I am a huge fan of fantasy literature, and have had a fantastic couple of months of reading. The monsoon is one of my favourite times to do some hardcore reading. If its raining on a weekend, I can go 8-10 hours in a day no problem.

Brief reviews of some of the books read this monsoon follow:

Spirit Gate by Kate Elliot (3.5/5)

I liked the concept of the Eagle riding Reeves. It promises to be a much larger story than what we have seen so far, and I am very much looking forward to the rest of the books. This had the feel of setup.

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson (5/5)

This was awesome. Just awesome. I am so glad this is the author finishing up Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time. Most visual and exciting magical system I can remember reading about. I’ve always thought for Fantasy to be good, Magic needs to be logical. Wave your hand and crazy shit happens is not fun. This is as detailed, as “scientific” as I can imagine a magical system be.

Orphans of Chaos by John C. Wright (3/5)

I don’t like it when its tough to keep track of who is who. For a book as short as this was, it seemed unnecessarily confusing. Every character has at least a couple of names, which are used interchangeably. This annoyed me to the point where it took away from my enjoyment. This was disappointing, as the story seemed funny. It was a set up book, and Im not sure if I would seek out the rest of the books.

Through Wolf’s Eye’s by Jane Lindskold (4/5)

The first book of the Firekeeper series. Reminiscent of David Eddings style. Lots of humor. Simple Story. A little cliched, but using cliche as short hand, rather than filler. Unforgettable characters in Lady Blysse and Blindseer.

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (4.5/5)

I am not a big fan of Doctorows non fiction writing. I agree with a lot of his basic ideas regarding Open Source, DRM etc. but he is an absolutist when it comes to these issues  and can come off as condescending. I thought his slamming audible.com for DRM on the This Week in Tech podcast, (during an audible ad no less!) was in extremely poor taste. That stridency has helped with this book though. Its set in the world of tomorrow and is the story of how a couple of kids get caught up in a Homeland Security roundup, how badly they are treated and how they get their revenge. It has interesting rants on privacy, burritos, xboxes, and biometrics among other issues of the day.

Mistborn 2: The Wells of Ascension (4.5/5)

Second book in the Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson. I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as the first book, but it was a fun read. More political, than the action kung fu style of the first book. In this volume we see how Vin grows into her power. There is an incredible set piece, where Vin goes berserk and causes an unholy amount of destruction. We have been often told but for the first time in this series we really understand how powerful Mistborn are.

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch (5/5)

Funniest, bloodiest, goriest, book I’ve read in a long long time. Locke Lamora is the leader of a gang called the Gentleman Bastards (Love that gang name, I will use some variation for my fantasy basketball team this year). He is the Thorn of Camorr, a Venice like city set in the middle ages. There is some magic going on here, but it has little to do with the story. This is the story of a group of con men, who get in deeper and deeper. The ending is extremely satisfying, and I worry about what that says about me, being satisfied by as violent an ending as I have ever read.

Red Seas under Red Skies by Scott Lynch (4/5)

Its not as good as the first book, but than again few books are. The surviving Gentlemen Bastards head to a new city, to take on the owner of the largest gambling house in the world. Than the Military Dictator of the city decides to involve them. And before we know it Lockes captaining a Pirate Ship. Badly.

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (4.5/5)

I don’t think I’ve ever read a book with a cooler summary at the back

I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep. My name is Kvothe. You may have heard of me’ So begins the tale of Kvothe – currently known as Kote, the unassuming innkeeper – from his childhood in a troupe of travelling players, through his years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-riddled city, to his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a difficult and dangerous school of magic. In these pages you will come to know Kvothe the notorious magician, the accomplished thief, the masterful musician, the dragon-slayer, the legend-hunter, the lover, the thief and the infamous assassin.

Kvothe is a prodigy, and this first book is about his growing up, how he becomes an orphan on the streets, makes it to The University, and the starting of how he becomes a legend. I really liked the structure of the story, the moving from third person to first person. I was also impressed with the chapter break ups. Each chapter was a chapter. A short episode in itself. One thing that I don’t like about a lot of Fantasy novels, is the incoherent(at least to me) chapter structure. There are obviously exceptions, but for the most part it seems like authors or editors try and make the chapters more or less equivalent in size, rather than the chapter trying to be organisational. But its not the structure, its the characters that make this a great read.

So as you can see I’ve had some fun over the last few months. I cant remember such a good streak of reading, where I’ve hit no duds whatsoever.

Image from flickr