Read a Free Book by Catherynne M. Valente
Apr
30
2011

To celebrate the release of Catherynne M. Valente’s The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making as an illustrated hardcover book on May 10, this book is available to download for free through the evening of May 2 (Monday).  The book started as a web serial and won the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy.  If you have not read a book by this amazing author, it’s a perfect opportunity to sample her work.  I haven’t read this book yet, but I’ve now read 3 of Valente’s books and they’ve all been beautifully written and creative.

Even though I downloaded the PDF version, I’ll probably wait for the physical book to read it.  It looks gorgeous:

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making

About The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making:

Twelve-year-old September lives in Omaha, and used to have an ordinary life, until her father went to war and her mother went to work. One day, September is met at her kitchen window by a Green Wind (taking the form of a gentleman in a green jacket), who invites her on an adventure, implying that her help is needed in Fairyland. The new Marquess is unpredictable and fickle, and also not much older than September. Only September can retrieve a talisman the Marquess wants from the enchanted woods, and if she doesn’t . . . then the Marquess will make life impossible for the inhabitants of Fairyland. September is already making new friends, including a book-loving Wyvern and a mysterious boy named Saturday.

With exquisite illustrations by acclaimed artist Ana Juan, Fairyland lives up to the sensation it created when the author first posted it online. For readers of all ages who love the charm of Alice in Wonderland and the soul of The Golden Compass, here is a reading experience unto itself: unforgettable, and so very beautiful.

Review of Dragonsbane by Barbara Hambly
Apr
29
2011
Dragonsbane
by Barbara Hambly
352pp (Paperback/Ebook)
My Rating: 8/10
Amazon Rating: 4.1/5
LibraryThing Rating: 4.09/5
Goodreads Rating: 3.86/5
 

Dragonsbane is the first novel in the Winterlands series by Barbara Hambly.  Originally released in the 1980s, Dragonsbane has been out of print for a while now, but it was recently re-released as an ebook along with several other books by Hambly.  The rest of the books in the Winterlands series are as follows: Dragonshadow, Knight of the Demon Queen, and Dragonstar.

Gareth is on a quest: to find Lord Aversin, the only man alive who has ever successfully slain a dragon.  The kingdom Gareth resides in has an unwelcome guest in the shape of a huge, black dragon, and no one has been able to defeat it thus far.  Having studied all the ballads dedicated to the great deeds of Lord Aversin, Gareth is confident he will heroically come to their rescue and dispatch the threat to the land.

On the outskirts of Lord Aversin’s land, Gareth meets his mistress, Jenny, a 37-year-old witch who is not particularly extraordinary.  Of course, Gareth wants to know all about John, Lord Aversin, and is quite dismayed when Jenny tells him the details of the dragon slaying and dashes his notions of the glory of being a dragonsbane.  Instead of foolishly facing the dragon with honor and a sword, John used the method he thought was least likely to get himself killed: a harpoon dipped in poison.  Gareth is further disappointed when he meets John for himself and discovers he’s not as lordly as he’d imagined.  He’s not handsome or imposing, and he’s standing in the mud next to a pigsty like it’s perfectly normal – because it is normal for him.

After some effort, Gareth eventually manages to convince John it’s in his best interests to help remove the pesky dragon.  However, once John and Jenny return to the kingdom with Gareth, they discover the dragon’s not the only threat after meeting the king’s mistress – a beautiful, powerful sorceress who has been creating some mayhem of her own.

While it was a somewhat slow paced book, Dragonsbane managed to pull me in immediately with the way it introduced the characters in the very first chapter.  Throughout the novel, they continued to be one of the highlights, along with how Hambly took what felt like a very traditional fantasy story and made it unexpectedly unique.  The plot begins with a quest to slay a dragon and stop an evil sorceress, and although the sorceress storyline was fairly typical, the dragon-slaying story was not.  The dragon was one of the most interesting characters, and what happened with this part of the plot offered a look at humanity and choices that culminated in a beautifully handled bittersweet ending.  Either result of the decision at the end would bring both happiness and sadness, and there was no perfect, correct choice – and this is part of what I loved about the end.  The other part was how the meaning of the title changed throughout the course of the story and what it turned out to truly represent.  It’s rare that I read a book where the conclusion is the part that really stands out to me, and I think it’s difficult to find endings that are truly done well.  Dragonsbane had one of those rare, memorable endings that was part of what made the book so wonderful.

That’s not to say that there’s nothing to recommend the book until the final pages, though, since part of what makes that ending so momentous is the main character, Jenny (as well as the dragon, but since he doesn’t actually play a prominent role until over 50% of the way through I won’t discuss him to avoid spoilers).  Jenny is a 37-year-old witch who is not as powerful as she wishes, largely due to the fact that she hasn’t completely given herself over to her studies because of her relationship with John, Lord Aversin.  While she doesn’t live with John or their two children in order to pursue magical knowledge, she still devotes enough of her time to them for it to be a hindrance to her magical abilities.  By trying to compromise and dividing her attention between love and her magic, Jenny is constantly wondering what might have been.  If she’d given up John completely and devoted herself wholeheartedly to learning, would she be the powerful mage she yearns to be?

In contrast, there is the evil sorceress Zyerne, who is everything Jenny could ever dream of being – young, beautiful, and an immensely powerful mage. For the most part, I didn’t find Zyerne a compelling part of the story since she didn’t have any great depth of character, but I think she did serve well as a look at what Jenny may have been able to accomplish had she been willing to completely give up love.  Because Jenny is a person who is perfectly capable of jealousy and insecurity, she has to wonder if she could have been more like Zyerne had she just made some different choices in her life.  Her vulnerability is part of what makes her such a sympathetic character, and I also liked that the story featured love, but not the oft-seen romance.  It was about established, mature love that’s existed for a while, not an exciting new relationship but a more familiar one.  It was a nice change to read about a couple who has been together for a while instead of romance filled with significant glances and conversations and wondering when/how the two people would end up together.

Even though there is a lot to admire about Dragonsbane, it’s not a perfect book.  The first chapter and the way it sets up the characters – who Jenny and John are and Gareth’s expectations of what a dragonsbane is – was wonderful, but it could be rather slow paced at times, especially since the dragon didn’t actually make an appearance until a little over halfway through.  Other than Jenny and the dragon, none of the other characters seemed nearly as notable although John had some interesting qualities.  He was a warrior, but a very scholarly one, and I also liked how he didn’t take himself too seriously.  When he came to the kingdom and discovered everyone thought he was a hick, he had quite a lot of fun just playing along with that.  As mentioned previously, Zyerne also seemed rather one dimensionally evil, although I do think she also demonstrated what putting power before all else could lead to.

On a technical note, there was one point toward the end of the book where I ended up completely confused.  There was a paragraph where it made a very abrupt switch, including someone talking who was not actually there at the time.  This made me think that I was missing part of the book, and I stopped reading at that point to check my original PDF to make sure something hadn’t gone wrong with the Kindle conversion.  After seeing it looked the same and reading on, it appeared it just had been missing some sort of formatting to indicate that this was the start of a new scene and not a continuation of the previous one.

In spite of some slow pacing and a flat villain, Dragonsbane was well worth reading for several reasons.  It had a fantastic ending tinged with both joy and sorrow that completely transformed the meaning of dragonsbane.  Furthermore, it had a realistic main character with very human weaknesses and dilemmas, and the exploration of the choices she made throughout the story was quite poignant.  I’ll definitely be reading more by Barbara Hambly after this novel.

My Rating: 8/10

Where I got my reading copy: Ebook review copy from the publisher.

Read the first chapter

The Leaning Pile of Books
Apr
24
2011

Hope everyone had a good weekend!  I just got back after spending my weekend away and was quite happy to see that this year’s Hugo nominees have been announced.  Also, I’ve read 2 of the 5 books and enjoyed them both (Feed by Mira Grant and The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin).  And I was also thrilled to see Lois McMaster Bujold was nominated, although I’m not quite caught up enough in the series to have read Cryoburn yet.

It may be a little quiet this week since I haven’t had a chance to even start the review I need to write yet (Dragonsbane by Barbara Hambly).  Hopefully I’ll be able to start on that soon and finish at least one of the books I’m reading.  I started Eona by Alison Goodman while I was away this weekend since I didn’t want to risk losing my signed copy of the book I was already reading (Passion Play by Beth Bernobich).

On to the books…  This week 1 ARC and 2 review copies showed up.

Naamah's BlessingNaamah’s Blessing by Jacqueline Carey

This is the final book in the third trilogy set in the same world as Kushiel’s Dart, and I’m very excited about reading it.  I really enjoyed the first book in this series, Naamah’s Kiss, and I also devoured Naamah’s Curse despite some reservations.  On her website, Jacqueline Carey says she is going to be signing copies at The Signed Page this year (it’s actually available for pre-order on the site now along with China Mieville’s Embassytown).  She also put up a link to the first chapter. This conclusion to Moirin’s story will be released on June 29 in both hardcover and ebook formats.

Returning to Terre d’Ange, Moirin finds the royal family broken. Wracked by unrelenting grief at the loss of his wife, Queen Jehanne, King Daniel is unable to rule. Prince Thierry, leading an expedition to explore the deadly jungles of Terra Nova, is halfway across the world. And three year old Desirée is a vision of her mother: tempestuous, intelligent, and fiery, but desperately lonely, and a vulnerable pawn in a game of shifting political allegiances.

As tensions mount, King Daniel asks that Moirin become Desirée’s oath-sworn protector. Navigating the intricate political landscape of the Court proves a difficult challenge, and when dire news arrives from overseas, the spirit of Queen Jehanne visits Moirin in a dream and bids her undertake an impossible quest.

Another specter from the past also haunts Moirin. Travelling with Thierry in the New World is Raphael de Mereliot, her manipulative former lover. Years ago, Raphael forced her to help him summon fallen angels in the hopes of acquiring mystical gifts and knowledge. It was a disastrous effort that nearly killed them, and Moirin must finally bear the costs of those bitter mistakes.

The Fear PrincipleThe Fear Principle by B. A. Chepaitis

This is a recently released reprint of a science fiction book that was published about 13 years ago.  It’s the first book in the Fear series and is followed by The Fear of God, Learning Fear, and A Lunatic Fear.  The book is fairly short, at just under 200 pages, and is also available as an ebook (the Kindle version is only $4.99).  It sounds pretty interesting, and I’ll be reviewing it next month.

Dr. Jaguar Addams knows about fear. On a satellite prison called Planetoid Three, she establishes a telepathic link to her subjects. She confronts their demons. And makes them her own . . . They were known as the Killing Times, when serial murder reached epidemic proportions. Victims of hard-edged crime demanded hard-wired punishment, and the new prisons were born. Now one determined woman, a survivor of that dark age, tries to rehabilitate killers by tapping into the source of their obsessions: their worst fears. Her name is Jaguar Addams, and she is about to face the most challenging subject of her career. The ultimate assassin. A dangerously disturbed woman who will teach Jaguar the true meaning of fear.

The RogueThe Rogue by Trudi Canavan

This is the second book in the Traitor Spy trilogy, following The Ambassador’s Mission.  This trilogy is set in the same world as Canavan’s Black Magician trilogy.  I haven’t read any of these books, although I am somewhat curious about them.  This novel will be released in hardcover and as an ebook on May 2011.

Discover the magic of Trudi Canavan with her brand new novel in the Traitor Spy Trilogy…

Living among the Sachakan rebels, Lorkin does his best to learn about their unique magic. But the Traitors are reluctant to trade their secrets for the Healing they so desperately want.

Meanwhile, Sonea searches for the rogue, knowing that Cery cannot avoid assassination forever. The rogue’s influence over the city’s underworld, however, is far greater than she feared.

And in the University, two female novices are about to remind the Guild that sometimes their greatest enemy is found within…

The Traitor Spy Trilogy, which began with The Ambassador’s Mission, is the new series set in the world of the international bestselling Black Magician Trilogy.

Review of Eon by Alison Goodman
Apr
21
2011
Eon
by Alison Goodman
576pp (Paperback)
My Rating: 7.5/10
Amazon Rating: 4.1/5
LibraryThing Rating: 4/5
Goodreads Rating: 4.03/5
 

Eon by Alison Goodman has been published as both an adult and a young adult novel in different parts of the world.  This novel has received several awards and honors: it is the winner of the Aurealis Award, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, a Locus Recommended Reading Selection, a James Tiptree, Jr., Award Finalist, a CBCA Notable Book, and a Bank Street College Best Book of the Year.  It has also been published under several different titles: Eon, Eon: Dragoneye Reborn, Eon: Rise of the Dragoneye, and The Two Pearls of Wisdom. A sequel, Eona, was just released this week.  This conclusion to the story is also known as Eona: Return of the Dragoneye and The Necklace of the Gods.

Every twelve years, one of the twelve energy dragons becomes ascendant, and the Dragoneye for that dragon steps down to be replaced by his apprentice.  At the same time, a new apprentice is chosen by the energy dragon from among twelve candidates and the cycle continues.  No one understands the reasoning behind the dragon’s choice of a new boy to replace the old one, who uses the power to control the earth in ways such as preventing earthquakes and monsoons.  In exchange for this power, much of the man’s Hua, or energy, is depleted by the end of his 24-year bond with his energy dragon.

It is nearing the end of training for the candidates who will appear before the Rat Dragon, the keeper of ambition.  The boy considered least likely to be chosen is Eon, a cripple who is only in consideration due to his very rare gift.  It is not very often that a person can see one energy dragon, but Eon can see all of them except for the Mirror Dragon, who has been missing for 500 years.  However, Eon and his master are playing a very dangerous game in the quest to make him the Rat Dragon apprentice – for Eon is actually not a twelve-year-old boy but Eona, a sixteen year old girl.  If it is discovered that a girl has the audacity to try to become a Dragoneye, she will be killed according to the law, which forbids females from attaining this position.  Yet not being chosen is also hazardous since Eona’s master will no longer have a use for her and she may end up sold to a new master, or worse.  So Eona has to hope she is chosen and can keep her identity secret while serving as an apprentice and eventually Dragoneye.

While it’s a fairly simple story with some predictable moments, I found Eon thoroughly engrossing and could hardly get myself to put it down once I was about 20% of the way through it.  It was a very fun story set in a fascinating world, and it also had two story elements that I personally tend to like: an Asian-influenced setting and a lot of emphasis on gender roles in society.

That said, it should come as no surprise that what I enjoyed most about the book was the world-building and the culture.  Eon is set in a patriarchal, Asiatic land that uses the magic of the twelve energy dragons for the common good – to keep earthquakes at bay or prevent flooding, for example.  While the Dragoneye united with a dragon is quite powerful, it’s not power gained without sacrifice.  By the end of the 24 years the Dragoneye spends with the dragon, he is quite weary and seems much older than his years.  Only males are considered worthy of learning this magic:

 

Women have no place in the world of the dragon magic. It is said they bring corruption to the art and do not have the physical strength or depth of character needed to commune with an energy dragon. It is also thought that the female eye, too practiced in gazing at itself, cannot see the truth of the energy world. [pp. 2]

Of course, we know immediately that this is not true due to Eona’s rare gift of being able to see all the energy dragons that are still accounted for (since one of them went missing 500 years ago).  Part of the fun is realizing this while everyone else other than Eona and her master remain oblivious to the fact that a woman has the sight that could change everything.

Although her situation was interesting to read about and I liked her well enough, I didn’t love Eona as a character.  Even though the entire book was told from her first person perspective, I never really felt like I understood Eona all that well beyond the surface level.  She had fears about being discovered to be a female, and rightly so, since this knowledge would lead to her death.  Also, she had faced a lot of hatred from others due to the fact that she was a cripple.  It was clear that Eona had a kind heart.  In a lot of ways, she was the ultimate underdog since the odds were so against her and I had sympathy for her because of these but I never really had an affinity with her because of who she was.  Throughout the entire book, I felt like I wanted to see Eona succeed because she’d had it so rough and not because she felt like a real character to me. Also, there were some occasions when she didn’t seem particularly bright, although I have some mixed feelings on whether or not she should have known better.  Without spoiling the plot, I’ll just say that part of me thinks it makes sense that she acted the way she did due to the culture she was raised in and the beliefs that had been presented to her for her entire life.  The other part of me thinks she should have seen the situation and had a better realization of what was going on.

In spite of the fact that I didn’t love Eona, there was one character I found very compelling, Lady Dela.  Lady Dela is a Contraire, a man with a woman’s spirit.  In the tribe she comes from, Lady Dela is considered fortunate due to this dual male and female energy, although some at court do not see her that way at all.  She’s also very helpful, knowledgeable about the happenings in court, and seems rather wise.  It’s an interesting contrast to Eona, who is lucky enough to have both small hips and a small chest and has learned to act like a boy.  In some ways she feels like a boy, but there are certain scenes that show she’d like to be more feminine such as when she tries on some of Lady Dela’s jewelry when no one is around.  Most of the other characters were not terribly memorable, although I did still like Ryko (Lady Dela’s bodyguard) and the prince.  The main villain was a bit too evil without any good qualities for my taste.  However, part of me also felt that made sense since he was the Dragoneye for the dragon associated with ambition.  His ambitions seemed to have overwhelmed all else.

There were some infodumps that slowed down the pace.  The first two pages were all details about the energy dragons and the Dragoneyes.  Yet I found these sections didn’t really bother me since I found the world truly interesting and did really want to know how it worked.

The ending did bother me a little bit just because there were some problems that were too easily solved by magic.  It certainly wasn’t a deal-breaker since I still enjoyed this book a great deal, but certain issues were resolved more quickly and suddenly than I would have liked.

Even though I felt it had some flaws – infodumping, characters who were not fully fleshed out, and a dash of magic-makes-it-better syndrome – I really loved reading Eon.  The world, the exploration of the topic of gender, and culture were the highlights, and the tension in the story about whether or not anyone would discover Eona’s secret kept me fully immersed to the point where I did not want to stop reading it.  I’ll definitely be reading Eona and most likely sometime soon – because I still really want to know what happens next!

My Rating: 7.5/10

Where I got my reading copy: I bought it (because I got the sequel from the publisher).

Read an Excerpt

Other Reviews:

The Leaning Pile of Books
Apr
17
2011

This week I’m excited about watching A Game of Thrones on HBO tonight – finally!  But first I’m going to talk about some books (yay!) and do some cleaning (boo!).  The OCD part of me also wants to decide what to read next since I just finished Dragonsbane by Barbara Hambly, which was a great fantasy book.

For the books – this week brought 3 ARCs and 2 finished review copies.

The Uncertain PlacesThe Uncertain Places by Lisa Goldstein

I’d never heard of this book or author before I was contacted about reviewing it, and I can’t believe I hadn’t heard of either because they both sound fantastic.  Lisa Goldstein has been a finalist for the Hugo, the Nebula, and the World Fantasy Award and has won the American Book Award for The Red Magician.  Also, first line from the press release:

 

What if magic existed — for a price — and fairy tales were as real as the Brothers Grimm, the Oxford English Dictionary, and the ’70s?

As you probably know, I love fantasy involving fairy tales and I also love the description about a family secret.

The praise section for the book also has quotes from Ursula Le Guin, Tim Powers, and Patricia McKillip.  Praise for the author has a quote from Diana Wynne Jones calling Lisa Goldstein “the perfect, born storyteller.”  After reading this, my anticipation level is pretty high.  I can’t wait to read it, but I’ll try to wait until it’s a little closer to its release on June 15 to read it.

An ages-old family secret breaches the boundaries between reality and magic in this fresh retelling of a classic fairy tale. When Berkeley student Will Taylor is introduced to the mysterious Feierabend sisters, he quickly falls for enigmatic Livvy, a chemistry major and accomplished chef. But Livvy’s family—vivacious actress Maddie, family historian Rose, and their mother, absent-minded Sylvia—are behaving strangely. The Feierabend women seem to believe that luck is their handmaiden, even though happiness does not necessarily follow. It is soon discovered that generations previous, the Feierabends made a contract with a powerful, otherworldly force, and it is up to Will and his best friend to unravel the riddle of this supernatural bargain in order to save Livvy from her predestined fate.

EmbassytownEmbassytown by China Mieville

I was fortunate enough to win an early copy of this from LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers program.  Ever since I saw it in the publisher’s catalog last year, I thought it sounded like a very interesting book and have really wanted to read it.  Embassytown will be released on May 17.  Since the ARC requests reviews be posted after release date, I’ll wait until early next month to start it.

China Miéville doesn’t follow trends, he sets them. Relentlessly pushing his own boundaries as a writer—and in the process expanding the boundaries of the entire field—with Embassytown, Miéville has crafted an extraordinary novel that is not only a moving personal drama but a gripping adventure of alien contact and war.

In the far future, humans have colonized a distant planet, home to the enigmatic Ariekei, sentient beings famed for a language unique in the universe, one that only a few altered human ambassadors can speak.

Avice Benner Cho, a human colonist, has returned to Embassytown after years of deep-space adventure. She cannot speak the Ariekei tongue, but she is an indelible part of it, having long ago been made a figure of speech, a living simile in their language.

When distant political machinations deliver a new ambassador to Arieka, the fragile equilibrium between humans and aliens is violently upset. Catastrophe looms, and Avice is torn between competing loyalties—to a husband she no longer loves, to a system she no longer trusts, and to her place in a language she cannot speak yet speaks through her.

Sleight of HandSleight of Hand by Peter S. Beagle

This is a finished copy of this story collection, which I had received as an ARC a little while ago.  I’m hoping to read it over the next couple of weeks.  Although novels are more to my liking than short stories, I loved The Last Unicorn and was excited to see one of the stories was about Schmendrick.  Also, I’ve heard some very good things about this particular book.  I might even read it next, but I’m also considering reading some books by authors I haven’t read yet who will be at BEA now that the schedule has been released.

Abundant with tales of quiet heroism, life-changing decisions, and determined searches for deep answers, this extraordinary collection of contemporary fantasy explores the realms between this world and the next. From the top of the Berlin Wall to the depths of the darkest seas, gods and monsters battle their enemies and innermost fears, yet mere mortals make the truly difficult choices. A slightly regretful author and a vengeful-but-dilapidated dragon square off over an abandoned narrative; the children of the Shark God demand painful truths from their chronically absent father; and a bereaved women sacrifices herself to change one terrible moment, effortlessly reversed by a shuffle of the deck. Whether melancholic, comedic, or deeply tragic, each new tale is suffused with misdirection and discovery, expressed in the rich and mesmerizing voice of a masterful storyteller.

Born of ShadowsBorn of Shadows by Sherrilyn Kenyon

This was one of those surprise books that showed up.  Since Sherrilyn Kenyon is a New York Times bestselling author, I thought it might be nice to try reading this book, but it is actually the fourth book in the League series.  I looked them up and it sounds like each book in the series features different characters, though, so I’m not surely how closely connected they are.  So if anyone has read these books, do they stand alone?  If not, would it be worth getting the first book to read?

Born of Shadows will be released on April 26 in hardcover and as an ebook.  The other books in this series are (in order) Born of Night, Born of Fire, and Born of Ice.

In a world where the League and its assassins rule, where betrayal and treachery are everywhere . . . the only survivors are those ones who are . . .

BORN OF SHADOWS

For Caillen Dagan, a defiant soldier of fortune, survival isn’t a right, it’s a brutal daily battle. Moving through the Ichidaian universe like a wraith, his brushes with the law and death are legendary. But when an act of rare heroism reveals his hidden birthright, he’s forced into a world much more dangerous and cold-hearted than the bloody streets where he was raised-one of obscene wealth and lethal politics.

Ferocious and determined, Desideria serves as an official bodyguard for her queen. Born of questionable genetics, she will do anything to prove herself worthy of the weapons she carries and the position she’s won by combat. But when she uncovers a ruthless plot to assassinate the queen and overthrow her country’s government, Desideria is caught in the crosshairs.

With assassination contracts out on both of them, Caillen and Desideria must learn to fight together or die alone. And if they fail, their governments will fall into the hands of an unimaginable evil.

City of the SnakesCity of the Snakes by Darren Shan

This was another surprise book, and it will be released on June 2 in the US.  It’s the conclusion to The City trilogy following The Procession of the Dead and Hell’s Horizon.  Supernatural crime sounds like it could be fun, but I’m not sure about reading the series just because there are so many other books that look more interesting to me.  If you’re read them, feel free to let me know what you think, though!

For ten years Capac Raimi has ruled the City. Created by the first Cardinal to continue his legacy, Capac cannot be killed. 

Then Capac disappears. His trusted lieutenant, Ford Tasso, suspects the mysterious villacs, ancient and powerful Incan priests. To Ford, only one man has the cunning to outwit such adversaries-Al Jeery, who has taken the guise of his father, the terrifying assassin Paucar Wami.

Al has no love for Capac and no wish to tangle with the villacs. Until Ford promises him the one thing he truly craves-retribution against the man who killed those he loved most and destroyed his life. Lured into the twisted, nightmarish world of the Incan priests, Al will learn more about the City than he ever imagined, and be offered more power than he ever desired.

But in the City, everything comes at a cost…

What Works: Dragonsbane by Barbara Hambly
Apr
12
2011

This is a new feature I’ve been considering doing for a while – talking about a small portion of a book and why it works (or doesn’t perhaps in some cases).  For my inaugural post, I’m going to discuss the first chapter of the book I am currently reading and why it works.  What it does so well is setting up the book as being not-quite your traditional high fantasy novel and really making the characters involved interesting immediately.  This book is Dragonsbane by Barbara Hambly, which was recently re-released as an ebook after being out of print for a while (along with several other books by the author).  It was originally published in 1986 and is the first book in the Winterlands series. (Note: I’ve actually seen the publication date listed as everywhere from 1985 – 1987, but I went with the date listed on the author’s website.)

In the first chapter of Dragonsbane, we are introduced to two people who are not your traditional fantasy hero and heroine – and not just because they have two very common names that are easily pronounceable, Jenny and John.  First, we are introduced to Jenny, a witch of rather mediocre powers.  Yes, you read that right – Jenny is not the most powerful magic-user in the land but actually not very powerful at all.  She’s also 37 years old instead of in her teens or early twenties.  Nor is she beautiful or even particularly noble as is shown when she defeats some bandits no thanks to Gareth, her would-be rescuer.

When Gareth startles some bandits, Jenny is forced to fight them and feels obligated to use her magic to finish one of the dying men:

 

Jenny sighed, feeling suddenly cold and weary and unclean, looking upon what she had done and knowing what it was up to her yet to do. She knelt beside the dying man, drawing the stillness of her magic around her again. She was aware of Gareth’s approach, his boots threshing
through the dew-soaked bindweed in a hurried rhythm that broke when he tripped on his sword. She felt a tired stirring of anger at him for having made this necessary. Had he not cried out, both she and this poor, vicious, dying brute would each have gone their ways . . .

. . .And he would doubtless have killed Gareth after she passed. And other travelers besides.

She had long since given up trying to unpick wrong from right, present should from future if. If there was a pattern to all things, she had given up thinking that it was simple enough to lie within her comprehension. Still, her soul felt filthy within her as she put her hands to the dying man’s clammy, greasy temples, tracing the proper runes while she whispered the deathspells. She felt the life go out of him and tasted the bile of self-loathing in her mouth.

Gareth is rather disturbed by this, but Jenny accepts it even though she didn’t like it. As soon becomes evident, living in the Winterlands isn’t easy and it’s all about survival.  It’s complicated, this line between morally right and self-preservation.

When Gareth recovers from his shock over Jenny’s actions, he comes to the realization that as a witch Jenny should have done something far more spectacular such as casting fireball, blindness, or polymorph.  So he asks Jenny why she didn’t, to which she responds simply, “Because I cannot.”  It upsets her deeply to admit this:

 

Even after all these years of knowing it, she found the admission still stuck in her throat. She had come to terms with her lack of beauty, but never with her lack of genius in the single thing she had ever wanted. The most she had ever been able to do was to pretend that she accepted it, as she
pretended now.

At this point, I already like Jenny – she’s showing human complexity and doesn’t seem like a stereotypical heroine, gorgeous or a superwoman.

It turns out Gareth is on a quest: a dragon is in need of slaying so he has come to find the one man alive who is a true dragonsbane, Lord Aversin.  He’s heard all the ballads about how courageous and honorable Lord Aversin is so he’s rather disappointed to learn he didn’t kill the dragon by facing him with a sword but with a harpoon dipped in poison, followed by an axe.  Alas, his hero did things the way least likely to get himself killed rather than the standard, romantic method.  But surely he’s still as handsome and imposing as the ballads say?

Not exactly…  When Gareth meets John, Lord Aversin, he discovers he is unkempt, medium-sized, and wears spectacles.  Oh, and he’s standing in a bunch of mud next to a pigsty.

So much for our would-be hero’s romantic notions of dragon-slayers.  The poor boy faints.  (The blood loss from the wound he got in the battle probably had something to do with this, but it was still good timing.)

The entire first chapter of this book and the way it set up the characters really intrigued me.  Right now I’m about 50% of the way through it and am still really enjoying it.

Have you ever read a first chapter that really drew you in and made you want to know more about the characters like that?  Or, have you read Dragonsbane or any other books by Barbara Hambly?