Laurell K. Hamilton

I have been reading Laurell's books since I was 15, and have read almost every single book she has ever written/published.
I love her imagination, and her talent for creating/keeping track of hundreds of different characters at a time.

A lot of people have given her some harsh reviews because of the content of her stories. And yes, she can irritate me too sometimes. With how she can fixate on a problem like a dog with a bone, going back to it again, and again, and again.
I tried not to pay attention to what most of them were saying for a long time, but (especially with Anita) it did get tiring after she "over came" the same issues for what felt like the 10th time.
Bullet was the worst.
It's a good sized book, about a inch thick. 360 something pages
After reading it, I felt like I had absorbed 70 pages at most. If that. The rest was mush that I worked my way through.
It nearly put me off reading her books at all truthfully. But you know, despite all that, I do love her story lines. I love her characters, (most of them anyway, a few I want to give a kick up the behind) and you know, there was a reason I had stuck with her until then. The latest few books not included, I really enjoyed being in her different realities.
So I gave her the benefit of the doubt. And I'm glad I did.
As I said in my earlier blog, http://opinionsstoriesbooksnovels.blogspot.com/2012/06/kiss-dead-by-laurell-k-hamilton.html , "Kiss the Dead" was like breathing that first breath of air after being under water for a while.

Laurell's writing style.
Laurell is an author that talks to her reader. She is not as obvious about it as other authors like C. S. Lewis or Terry Pratchett, but her main characters (her narrators) are definitely talking to someone. Not like they expect a response, but almost as if they are laying it out for a diary.
She can also be very factual. Anita and Mary will often be thinking " A is ___ so that means B." All in a very matter-of-fact way, as if there could be no other possibility. "2 is added on to 3 so that means 5".
I'm not saying she's close minded. She's not. 
In fact, her main characters are all surprisingly fluid and ready to accept that they were wrong fairly easily(though not always). Often done in the same but-of-course way that they deal with everything else.

Laurell's different books and series.
Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series.
This is the series that I have mostly been talking about throughout the rest of this post.
All I want to add is a request that you not let my earlier harsh words decide you against taking a look at the series. There are currently 21 books in the entire series and my afore said rants only really apply to about 5 of them.
Every author has her bad day's, and, from what I can gather in the past years her publishers have been putting pressure on her to produce books at the rate hamsters have babies. (Ok, not quite, but you get what I mean)

As for what it's about. Close your eyes for a second and ask yourself "What if, what if Zombies, Vampires, Wears, and all other critters that you hear about in legends were real. What if they were an accepted part of our daily lives. What if, when you saw an animated corps walking outside you window, your automatic response wasn't to question your sanity or think leprosy. It would be to call the police to send in a fire squad and deal with the poor thing." There you go.
Anita, in the middle of all that, is a necromancer and legal Vampire Executioner with a messed up social life.
Great stuff. -No sarcasm intended.-

Merry Gentry Series
I have just now realised that I have not done any previous posts on any of Merry's books. I will change that as soon as I can.

Merry and Anita are as different as Strawberry Jam and Marmite.(That's the real, original thing that came before Vegemite)
Not to say that Merry is the epitome of sweetness. Far from it. But she was brought up by a father who expected her to know and understand the different customs of every different culture she might interact with as an adult. (As a Sidhe Princess to the Unseelie court, that's a lot.)
In other words, she was never as shielded as Anita was, and so came into the first book of the series with most potential issues already worked out.
Merry also knows that she isn't human, where as Anita is still in denial.

There hasn't been enough books in the series yet (8 total) for me to know if Laurell is going to get locked into a cycle like she did with Anita. (They may not have the same issues, but Merry's reality is far from perfect.)
Fingers crossed and looking forward to the next book.

Nightseer
This is the first book that Laurell ever published. She didn't make a series out of it, and I'm sort of on the fence about whether or not that is a sad thing.
I wont go into to much detail about that here, as I already posted a blog on this book when I first read it.
Here http://opinionsstoriesbooksnovels.blogspot.com/2012/05/nightseer-by-l-k-hamilton.html

Micah and Strange Candy.
Micah
"Micah" is a sweet little short story that comes into Anita's series just before "Dance Macabre". The two of them (Anita and Micah) are alone together for the first extended period of time.
I read this whole book a while ago now, but I remember that I liked getting to know Micah a bit better.
Strange Candy
"Strange Candy" is a series of Laurell's short stories that she did before getting her first major publication. Some she sent to magazines, some not.
I think there was even one that she did in her early teens. Though I could be wrong about that.
I'll tell you more when I read it again.

Other works.
Laurell has also done a number of other things, including a few compilations with other authors that I refuse to go through one by one.
For the full list, and anything else you want to know about Laurell, you can go to her websight here, http://www.laurellkhamilton.org/


That's it. Please leave a comment to tell me what you think, or find me on me facebook page https://www.facebook.com/SaaskiOFFICIAL

Tamora Pierce

Ok, today I've decided to do something a little bit different.
Instead of talking to you about a specific book or series, I'm going to talk to you about one of my favorite Authors, and all her books in general instead.

I already talked somewhat about Tamora's writing. I was trying to describe what what her Alanna series was like, and what I said then is still true now. So, rather then repeat myself, I think I'll just take out a quote from there for the benefit of those who haven't read it yet, and give you a lick where you can check it out for yourself here: http://opinionsstoriesbooksnovels.blogspot.com/2011/10/song-of-lioness-quartet-by-tamora.html

On her writing..

"...The best way I can describe Tamora's writing, I think, lies in telling you how I myself was first introduced to the books.

I had just finished reading half of "the Wheel of Time" series by Robert Jordan, and anyone who has read them can tell you just how mind numbing that series can be, even if taken in s slowly. Let alone at the almost inhaling pace I'd been going. So, needing a break but still wanting to read something, I asked my friend if she knew of a series or book that didn't force you to think too much, but at the same time wasn't boring or predictable. She showed me Tamora Pierce, and I fell in love. (Cheesy line yes, but none less true.)..."       I relise that by saying "doesn't force you to think", I might have put a few people off by implying that the books are simple, or even unimaginative. That's not what I mean at all. I just mean that you're not constantly banging you head up against the wall wondering just how much more twisted it could get, and wanting to scream at the characters for many reasons half of which haven't even happened yet. No. None of that. Her books are incredibly fun to read and very interesting, but they don't give you a headaches.

The truly brilliant thing about Tamora though, lies not in the fact that she doesn't give you headaches, but in the way that her male and female characters act toward each other. That is not to say that there is no such thing as gender discrimination within her worlds. (For some of main her characters, that is their biggest hurdle in getting to where they want to be) But among the strongest/most prominent characters, the idea of females being weaker because they are females is almost foreign. 

One of my most favorite lines out of her books is, "What do they think their lady mothers do when their fathers are at war and pirates are attacking. Sit there embroidering?"

At the same time, she doesn't lessen the strength in her men in order to make the gril's "seem" stronger. King Jonathon of Tortall, and Briar from the Winding Circle being only the two most obvious examples. 

Briar especially, as he grows up with 3 incredibly strong minded girls, and is raised my two of the most powerful women in the country. 

As a young adult, he is becoming a powerful mage in his own right, and is very secure in his masculinity.

How many authors ever pull that off hmm...?

... On the different reality's Tamora has created....

Tamora has two main realities for her books. One with Tortall in it, the other the Winding Circle. Neither of witch is the only place is either if their respective worlds, but are where the main characters spend most of their time.

Tamora has, in fact, created other realities. In her book (short story compilation), "Tortall and Other Lands" we see quite a number of different ones.

So far, she has written and released 28 books all together, and co-authored two more.

Namely;

White Tiger: A Hero's Compulsion with Timothy Liebe as co-author, and Phil Briones as illustrator.

Young Warriors: Stories of Strength with Josepha Sherman as co-editor.

She apparently has another book coming out soon with Briar as the main character. 

Now, as I don't want to give away any spoilers, I'm going to get cryptic.

Those of you who have read all the Winding Circle books out so far would have noticed that there is certain ... information ... missing between "The Circle Opens" series and "The Will of the Empress". Almost as is if you skipped reading an important book. I have reason to believe that it is that book. (Yay!)

If you want to look Tamora up yourself, her websight is here: http://www.tamora-pierce.com/

And, yeah. Leave a comment to tell me what you think, or find me on my facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/SaaskiOFFICIAL

"The Gathering" By Kelly Armstrong

Kelly is best known by her "Women of the Other World" series.
All though, she has three different series, they are all based in the same reality, and are more or less parallel to each other. (So far as a am aware, non of the characters in each series have met each other yet.)
"The Gathering" is the first book in Kelly's most resent series, "The Darkness Rising Trilogy". I am unsure of exactly where "The Gathering" is in the timeline Kelly has for all three books, because I haven't yet read the other two books and the characters start off very isolated from knowledge of whats actually happening around them.
In fact, the only reason that I know for sure that they are actually in the same reality as the other two series, is that two of the characters happened upon the word cabal. And because it's been a while since I've managed to get my hands on any of Kelly's books, I actually carried on reading one or two paragraphs before my eyes snapped back up to the word and I realised I'd seen something very significant.

If this book wasn't a part of a series, I think I would be very annoyed with it's end. I'd be going 'Nothing's really happened yet! The climax is only beginning.'
It's very much a book that is a first book. Like a really big introduction to the characters and whats going on in there lives. Giving you just enough to know that there HAS to be more. But not so little that you want to ask what the point of the book was.
Definitely engrossing, I enjoyed every minute of it. But if Kelly hadn't already had the next to books up in book stores, I currently be muttering about how there better be a sequel.

That said, it's not one of my favorite books of hers, mainly because I don't feel like I've finished it yet, so maybe after I've gone through the whole series I'll give you an overview of all three of them. See what I think then.

"Wings" By Aprilynne Pike

"Wings" is a good read.
It walks the thin line between traditional folklore belief's and the Authors own imagination, balancing perfectly.
I liked the story line. It's one of the few ones that I can honestly say hasn't been done before, and that's saying something.
The only problem I have for it would be the triangle going on between Lauren, David and Tamani. That definitely has been done before. I swear, the second I realised there was a second guy I felt like banging my head up against the wall and groaning. Why? Why is there always more then one. Maybe this is just me but I intend to make sure that the next book I read involves monogamy or no such relationships at all. I've had enough. For now anyway.

And that is all I'll say for this morning. I'm a bit tired as I couldn't sleep last night. (I ended up picking up "Wings" and reading through the night just to stave of boredom. I can however tell you that this book took me 5 - 6 unbroken hours to read.)
It is now 7:37am and sleep has decided to come calling at last. .... I am so lucky I don't have work today.

"Slave to Sensation" By Nalini Singh

"Slave to Sensation" is the first book in the Psy-Changeling Series.
It's about Sascha, a woman who is Psy. A race of powerful Psychic's who believe that anyone week enough to feel emotion is not worth keeping around.
And Lucas, a Changeling leopard who's just about had enough of Psy superiority.
He want's to know how he can stop the Psy from repeating their latest atrocity.
Nikita, Sascha's mother and head of her family group, wants to get new information on what makes Changeling's tick.

Pretty standard Romance stuff. My own mother doesn't like Nalini, but I do. The world's she paint's are just so fascinating. I love the way the plot develops from book to book. It's not like how most "episode" series end up. When each book is mostly a separate entity on it's own, with just the vaguest background to link them.
Nalini's series actually move forward, and even though I find them in the romance section of my local book shop, I keep getting them because I want to know what happens next.
The romance part of it is good too. She always focuses more on what brought them to be together, not sex. Though that's in there. It's secondary. Which is something I like, though I'm not sure how many of you will agree with me.

"Tangle of Need" by Nalini Singh SPOILER

Note: I'm Sorry there's been such a big gap between posts. My Internet has been down for the past two weeks or so, and I just got it back this morning.


"Tangle of Need" is the much awaited latest book in Nalini's Psy-Changling series.
You can find it in amongst the rest of the Romance genre. Same as her Guild Hunter Series (that's the one with Elena, I'm sure I've mentioned) That in itself tells you allot about the main focus of Nalini's books, but it is not why I like them.
Nalini's style, especially with her psy-changeling series, is to focus on one new couple with each book and tell an underlying story through that. And she's very good at it.
I'm not sure if I can give you a good impression of my thoughts on the book without giving too much away. Considering that this is the 11th one in the series... what the hell,(I'll go back and do one about the first book some time I promise) SPOILER ALERT STOP READING
I'm starting to have a fairly good idea as to who the Ghost is. I've narrowed it down to two suspects. One more likely then the other, but I'm not ruling 'the other' out yet.
It's getting exiting.
I liked what happened with Henry Scott. Good riddance. And I think Vasic needs to spend some quality time Sascha. I don't think he's as lost as he thinks he is. (Sascha is an empath and can heal "non-phisical" wounds. Just in case some of you who haven't read any of the other books decided to read past the spoiler alert anyway..)
My favorite line in the whole book is when Aden tell's Adria and Riaz that "We appreciate the assistance" as the two of them are leaving, and Adria looks back over her shoulder and "wondered how often one of these men said that to anyone." It just manages to sum up the entirety of what the Arrows are. You can just feel it in your bones as she thinks it. Their utter isolation and loneliness, with the weight of so much responsibility to so many people pressing down on their shoulders. Just the image of him standing there watching them go, with Vasic behind him, quietly beginning to clean up of the killers remains. Pretty powerful if you ask me.

I like the ending to this one as well, with Adria and Riaz. It's not as predictable as it usually is in all the other books that have come before. It's good to have a bit of verity.

I'm worried about Ming. He's the biggest immediate threat. He could (and probably will) do some serious damage. Though I do also wonder what Tatiana and Shoshanna are up to. Especially Shoshanna. It's not like a Counsil member to go all quite and mousy. This is I think the 2nd or third book where we've heard nothing about what she's up to. It's making me suspicious.

To be honest though, Kaleb is the one who worries me the most. He means well I think, but then some of the worst kind of monsters in the world come into being by being when people think that they are doing what is right and necessarily. He'd never do anything to hurt the psy-net. He would do anything to help his people. But what does he consider helpful? I don't know.

I was going to also tell you who I thought the Ghost was, but I'm not sure if anyone would want hear what I think on that one, it might influence you're thinking until you can't come up with you're own guesses. So let me know in the comments if you do want to know and I'll answer when I see it.

"Angel's Flight" By Nalini Singh

Angel's Flight is a collection of 4 short stories that fit into the world of Nalini's second series. We do not see, in any of them, much of either of the main characters Elena and Raphael, as the stories are ones based around things that are "back ground" stories in the main books. Thing's that we may hear hint's of but not get the actual details.
The first one, "Angel's Pawn" is about Ashwini, and her her irritating Cajun vamp as they visit the territory of Nazarach. An Angel who to a woman with the sixth sense like Ash, feel's like death and pain.
It's great because you never get to actually meet Janvier in the books. Only hear about him. So it's nice getting to see what he's like. It's a bit hard to place the timing of when the story happens, but I think it's just before the first book, "Angel's Blood".

Second story, "Angel's Judgement" is of Sarah, Ellie's best friend and Guild Director, and Deacon when they first meet. If that's not enough to entice you, I say 'You'll never guess what his job was before they got together.' Something about Slaying......!?

Third, "Angel's Wolf" is about Noel. A vampire that we meet in the second book who was found brutalised by the evil person. It's a miracle that he survived, and last we hear of him is I think in the beginning of the third book when Raphael tell's Elena that he's sent him to work for the Master Angel of Louisiana for a while, as it was a good place for him to heal. "Angel's Wolf" tell us what happens to Noel once he get's there. Something which I have been quite curious about for a while, and which made buying the book worth it almost all on it's own.

Last but not least is "Angel's Dance. This one is more a short Novel then a short story really, and takes up just over a third of the book. Not that I'm complaining. It is about how Galen first came to be one of Raphael's people, and how he and Jessamy -the Angel's Keeper of History- came to be together. A fact that is even less mentioned then anything about Noel. The only hint of it is when Elena see's him going in to visit her and draws the conclusion that they must be a couple. You also get to see what Raphael's Archangel Tower and the territory around it looked like four hundred years ago. Not to mention a glimpse of what it was like to be in his court only a century after he'd come into his power. We see Aodhan before whatever happened happened. It's nice to know he was once an innocent youth.
And if anyone was interested in finding out how Michaela rose to power, or who the Archangel who came before her was, then that's in there.

All around, good stuff.

"The Magicians of Caprona" By Diana Wynne Jones

You can tell I have had nothing much to do but read these past couple of days, since this is going to be my 3rd post in 30 or so hours.

The Magicians of Caprona is a very entertaining story that starts -note I say starts- off a bit like Romeo and Juliet, with to very respectable feuding families. But it's not about romance at all. It  focuses on the younger members of each family as they try to stop the adults from being stupid, and Chrestomanci is once again left with a big mess to clean up.

If it were juice I would have dipped in a straw, and sucked steadily down to the last dregs. Barely pausing to breathe.
I live for books.

"Charmed Life" By Diana Wynne Jones

This book is actually a few books ahead of "The Pinhoe Egg" in the Chrestomanci series that I posted about around a week back. It's the first one that Cat comes into in fact.

In contrast to the Pinhoe egg, this is not one of my favorite Diana books. This was actually the first time I've reread it. Not because it's a bad read or anything, but because of Cat's sister, Gwendolen. She's a nasty piece of work. I tell you.
And I don't like the way Chrestomanci deals with the whole situation. It's not one of his best moments..

One thing that is fascinating is that you see in detail a lot of Chrestomanci's dressing gowns. Quite amusing really. I'd almost forgotten just how extravagant they all are. By the time the other books come around, Cat has gotten somewhat used to them, and does not notice them so much.

"Black Maria" by Diana Wynne Jones

This is another book by Diana. One that I had put off reading for a while, because the title and cover promised that it would have a dark theme to it. I try to stay away from books like that, with psychological war fair and so on. My own brain doesn't react well to it.
But, I am out of money and new books to read. So, thinking of how I have yet to read a book by Diana that was actually mentally damaging, I went into my sisters room yesterday to pick it up.
And it was ok.
It did have a little scary bit with a ghost, (don't worry, that's not a spoiler. He gets mentioned in the first chapter) but even that can't really be classified as scary.

It will never be one of my favorite books, mainly because it's not my type, but Diana certainly demonstrated with it her ability to make engaging even that which you thought wouldn't interest you.

The Pinhoe Egg. by Diana Wynne Jones

Dianna was a genius with pen and paper as far as I'm concerned. (I use the word 'was', because sadly she passed away last year.................... A moment of quiet in respect.....................)

I have yet to read one of her books that I didn't like, and 'The Pinhoe Egg' is my favorite of the lot. 

Hmm, I'm having trouble describing what I liked about it without giving away spoilers, so I'll start by saying the simple things and hopefully that will put some wind in my sails.

• It's aimed at a younger audience, but it's enjoyable for everyone.
• Her writing stile is simple but engaging. It has a steady rhythm to it that manages to remain constantly "new" yet not overwhelming. 
• It's part of the Chrestomanci series about Chrestomanci who is a very powerful enchanter, who's job it is to police other magic users so that the don't misuse it.
  'The Pinhoe Egg' is about Erik Chant - aka Cat - who is in training to be the next Chrestomanci.

I would definitely recommend it to anyone. 

And that's pretty much all I can say about it I think without turning this into a spoiler version.

The Fellowship of the Ring. by J.R.R. Tolkien

Two days ago, (I didn't have a computer on me at the time, so I wrote what I thought down on a note book. Which I will now copy onto here.) I finished reading Part 1 of "The Lord of the Rings", and I tell you it was a bite and a half.
It took me 5 days to finish. Though even with the fact that it had small font, usually that size of book would only have taken me 2, maybe 3 days at most.
Having said that though I did enjoy it very much.

For years, people have been telling me that it is a great book but really hard to read, and that Tolkien rambled on a bit about scenery etc., taking ages to get to the point.
I did feel this a bit as I was reading. Though I think it does make sense, as he originally made these books as a place for his made up language (the eleven language) to exist. In a sense the world and the culture of the people where more important then the main characters.
In opposition to that theory however, there was a jarring note when it came to directions. To give you an example; In the beginning when the four hobbits are going through the Old Forest, they start off facing East, then turn 'right' towards North.
If you are facing East and turn right, you are going South.

This, among other things, makes me think that Tolkien was a person who "heard the words" (in his mind as he read) rather then saw the pictures that they represented.
What I mean, is that when reading most people(as far as I know most people) picture what is happening in their mind. This way, it can be almost as though they are watching the story rather then reading it.
Tolkien on the other hand was, I think, among those who enjoyed the flow of the words and how they formed ideas. - As I am not one of these people, I'm not rightly sure how it works. -

I must admit, the way he strung the words together was beautiful. Lord of the Rings is one story which I wouldn't mind getting in audio. Though usually I like to read the book myself, I have a feeling that it would be great to listen to.

I loved his songs. One person who told me about the books described them in the same category as his long descriptions of the scenery's, but I loved them. I could almost hear the people singing.
Every time I came to the songs, I would sing them out loud just to hear them, and they would make their own rhythm on my tongue. No effort required on my part.
-Side Note. Maybe Tolkien would have been able to become a great Bard if those things were still around.-

As to the movie, I haven't seen it in a while, but I still think it is one of the best book based movies ever to be made. And maybe Tolkien's slow but steady pace had something to do with that.

New directions in Life. Ski, Books, or other work.

Ok, so this post isn't a story or a review.
Just, me.

It's been a year since I finished High School. Over a year, really.
I don't wont to go to Uni, that much I'm sure of.

As for what I want to do with my life, well, I know I want to do something with books.
That's one reason I started this Blog. It would be great if I could do something to do with that, but there isn't much in the way of jobs in that area.
'round the beginning of this year, my Mother got fed up with my doing almost nothing but eat and read, and she told me to get a job, or go to Uni.

So I began looking for jobs.

This was around the beginning of April.

Right before that though,(in February) I had tried to start a book club in order to find people here in Malaysia who love reading as much as I do.
It didn't go well. A few people expressed interest, but did not come.

I sent out applications to Ski resorts in New Zealand to begin with. Living in Malaysia, I have had as much of Summer as I want, and I loved to ski as a kid.
I would love the chance to do it again. I also considered going on a Ski instructor course. That would be the experience of a life time as far as I'm concerned.
But it is very expensive, even without considering how much getting my own ski gear and feeding myself for 10 weeks with no income.
I could get out a lone, but I'd really rather not do that unless I had no other choice what so ever.
Plus, you know, I haven't skied since I was 12. I think. 13 at most.
Even that wasn't any professional stuff.
So I decided to do that maybe next year, once I've had the chance to save some money and hopefully done some more skiing practice in the mean time.

But the question arose, what if I didn't manage to get a job in a Ski resort? There were hundreds, or for the bigger places thousands, of applicants every year to get a job at the ski resorts and not half that many positions.
What was I to do? Sit on my but until the Northern half of the world went into winter and try them? It would be even harder for me to get work there, because I'd need a permit.
My goal of going getting an instructor qualification seemed suddenly to be so so far away.

Maybe if I got normal seasonal work for a few months I could at least save some money, then I could tackle the problem of getting work up north for their winter when that time got here. That problem would be there weather I got work in a NZ ski resort or not. I thought, one bridge at a time.
So I also sent in some applications for seasonal work.

Here is where that reading club comes in. ( I know that it must of seemed really random earlier, when I mentioned for no apparent reason a book club that didn't go anywhere.) Over the past week, and especially the last two days, I have suddenly run into a whole lot of people who love the idea of a book club.
I was all for trying that again. I hadn't heard back from any of the people that I'd sent an application to, except for one rejection, and after all, the direction of books is where I really want to go in life.

Here is where the twist comes in.
I woke up this morning to an e-mail from one of the seasonal work places saying they want more information, such as when I'll next be in their area.
Hopeful sign?
Maybe. But now the question is, do I want to go and do seasonal work, or do I want to pursue the reading and writing part of my life.
Seasonal work would mean that I get to save some money, and maybe do the ski course next year, but if I go now, I might be giving up the chance to create some friends that are interested in the kind of thing that I am interested in.

So which way do I go?

The one thing that is clear is that I need to work on this blog allot more. I shall make it a rule from now on. I must not pick up a new book until I have spoken of it on here.

I am reading 'The Fellowship of the Ring' right now. (For those of you who live with your head stuffed under a pillow, that's the 1st book in 'Lord of the Rings'. And if you're still lost after I say that, then I say "Congratulations! Your time machine works brilliantly. Welcome to the 21st century.) So I should be doing a post on that in 2 ~ 3 days at most.

Sincerely, if perhaps not articulately,
Saaski

"The Da Vinci Code" By Dan Brown

This book has the potential to deeply offend some, highly intrigue others, and simply not interest most of the rest.

Which opinion you'll have is based, I think, very much on your belief in religion(or lack of it). But either way, I can promise you that it is not a book to take lightly. And if you are of the religious kind, I would strongly suggest reading it with and open mind, and the knowledge that when push comes to shove this is a FICTION book, and that Brown never claimed that it was fact. Or you simply won't enjoy it.

The plot itself isn't hard to follow, but it can get a little heavy, for lack of better words. Because of some of the things it deals with. -love, religion- And the fact that it is based around what is to many of us, our own beliefs. Or at least something that we grew up hearing about, and were taught to take for granted.
I will not get into my own beliefs in religion, but I will say that I had to put this book down and walk away for a while half way through, and that I am not one to put books down lightly. - So that's saying something.
It is like the difference between eating a fudge cake, and eating a sponge cake I guess. Both are delicious, but one you have to eat slowly, and the other you can take it in at what ever pace you like.

On a purely technical note however, the story is written well, and I believe is well worth reading.
Brown did tend to drag on a bit with his descriptions, but then may a great authors do.

So, yeah.

I enjoyed it, and so did my acupuncturist.

Saaski.

"The Song of the Lioness" Quartet, by Tamora Pierce

For those of you who don't already know of her, and because this is the first time I'm posting about any of her books, I think I should tell you a bit about how this author writes first.
The first thing I'll say, is that Tamora writes series among series. Now, what I mean by that is that her series are connected. (Another person who does this is Terry Pratchett.) For example, her main character in this series, -Alanna- is the mother of the main character in her forth series, -Alianne- which is based almost 20 years after Alanna's series. Alanna is in her mid-to-late 30's, and it is Alys' turn to find her place in the world.
And so on and so forth...

As far as I can find, Tamora Pierce has created 2 main worlds in which her story's grow.
I will also note that unlike Pratchett's "Disc worlds", and the alternate worlds that the manga authors of CLAMP creates, Pierce's two worlds are not connected and have nothing to do with each other. They are entirely separate.

The best way I can describe Tamora's writing, I think, lies in telling you how I myself was first introduced to the books.
I had just finished reading half of "the Wheel of Time" series by Robert Jordan, and anyone who has read them can tell you just how mind numbing that series can be, even if taken in s slowly. Let alone at the almost inhaling pace I'd been going. So, needing a break but still wanting to read something, I asked my friend if she knew of a series or book that didn't force you to think too much, but at the same time wasn't boring or predictable. She showed me Tamora Pierce, and I fell in love. (Cheesy line yes, but none less true.)
I would not hesitate recommend her books to anyone who doesn't hate Fiction. It is good for all ages. And by that I don't mean that parents won't get bored reading it to their kids. (Though they won't. My mum and I are reading them to my little sister now and are having a great time.) I truly mean it's good for all ages. My mum is 41 and she loves them as much as I do. My sister is 11. My friend, that I mentioned earlier, read them when she was even younger.

And now, I shall talk about what the title of this post says I am talking about.

As far as I can find, this series is the first of all the books that Tamora Pierce has ever sold. It started out as one book, titled The song of the Lioness, and was later split into 4 separate books at the recommendation of her agent. Now, I can't tell you if it is better as 4 different books, because I never read it as 1 book. But I can tell you that I was caught immediately by Alanna and her struggles, as she strives to become a knight while unable to tell anyone that their little guy friend or student Alan is actually Alanna, and not a guy at all.
And I know now, you're probably staring at your screen wanting to yell at me, "Hey! Did you just give the plot away!?"
I promise you no, I didn't. Everything I've said, you find out in the first chapter, and isn't even the beginning of what makes it such a good series.
Hmm.. now I come to the difficult part. How do I tell you what does make it a good series Without doing what just I promised you I wasn't doing. Which is tell you the whole story.
I guess I go back to saying what I did before, in explaining the whole of Tamora's writing. "The Song of the Lioness" Quartet is very good in that it doesn't twist your brain around with convoluted plots, and/or have you wanting to scream at the characters and call them every name under the sky for not seeing what's right. Under. Their noses. But at the same time it is interesting. It can have you chuckling and wanting to cry, or even rolling your eyes at times. Tamora paints her worlds clearly. But she doesn't go on about them either. You can see everything she wants you to see clearly in your minds eye, including which way North, South, East and West are. But you'll never find yourself skipping paragraphs to get to the juicy bits.

It's based in a world that's not our own. Some can use magic, and the Gods speak to their people. Legends happen, and immortals are real. No such thing as electronics. That kind of thing.

Alanna is as stubborn as they come.

No, it's not all innocents and fairy tales.

And that's it I think - all I can tell you of what I thought without giving anything away. I'll do a Spoiler version some other time.

Sincerely, Saaski.