The Last Arguement of Kings - Joe Abercrombie

So, I have finished the trilogy for the second time and I must say, I am as pleased with it this time as I was last time.





The final book is as good as the other two and although there has been some wide discussion about the ending of the novel, I found that I was still pleased with it. It is in keeping with the rest of the book and suits the themes that Abercrombie has chosen to work with. The ending may not seem fair to many readers however, I would point out that nothing in these books are fair. There is only one person who seems to come off better than they started (I'm not saying who) and when you really think about it, you're not really sure if that's the case. The ending is a good point for discussion and I look forward to discussing it at some lengths with the significant other when he gets round to reading it for himself.

Once more, the characters in the novel are fab and there is no telling who is going to be alive after the many many fights there are. It doesn't seem to matter how good, or bad, they are at fighting, luck plays a healthy part in the novel and it works well. I've not touched really on magic in the series yet as it appears to play a minor role for the most part. The magician character seems to start off nice but soon descends to the levels of the more base characters, especially with what you learn in the final part of the series. However, the magic system is well thought out and the details are woven into the story so when it comes to the forefront it appears to have been there all along.

The only thing that I found to be a bit of a drag in this final part of the trilogy was the many many many fight scenes. There are loads of them and after the fifth I found they were a bit wearisome to read. They are well written and also essential to the plot but I got tired of reading them. That said, it is not something that detracted from the overall enjoyability of the trilogy and I would suggest you go and read them, they are a delight.

Wand of the Witch (Misfit Heroes 2) - Daniel Arenson

I really enjoyed the different aspects of Arenson's first Misfit novel and thought I would give the second one a go. It has a tough first novel to follow and I feel it fell a little short, here's why.

There were a couple of things Arenson tried to achieve in writing that should be left in the realm of film. The Montage. This works very well as a time filler in films, where we don't need to see the entire training session of a group of soldiers for example. I found this did not translate well into words. For a start the placing of this montage in the book was a real jerk to the pacing. Normally montages are set to music and although a tune is mentioned in the novel, it was a real difficulty trying to suspend my disbelief enough to allow for random music, even in a comedy fantasy novel. It just seemed too far fetched for me to enjoy. Saying this, a huge well done to Arenson for trying something new and a bit quirky. It just didn't work for me.


The pacing of the novel was a bit off for my tastes as well, there seemed to be parts that dragged on when you just wanted to find out what was going on. Who needs a side story when you're about to go fight the baddie at the end? 

One thing that worked for me in the first novel was the use of accents and stutters. One of the characters suffers from a crippling stammer, she is unable to pronounce 'r's' and 'l's', instead they are typed as 'w', this was endearing in the first novel, it was annoying in this one. Some of the sentences were hard to understand and this was a hindrance to the novel as a whole. One of the other characters comes across as 'too stupid to live' and I have to wonder what they brought to the novel as a whole. I'm not going to name them as that would be unfair.

There are good points in the novel as well, the world is well written and some of the writing is well worth a read. I enjoyed reading about Mazrilla and I think her background is very cleverly written. It fits well and she has sound motivation for being the way she is. You learn a lot about the people from the world as a whole while seeing through her eyes and these part of the narrative are very good.

Putting aside the issues I have highlighted above, this novel is worth a read. It's nowhere near as good or as funny as the first novel and if a third comes out I doubt I will bother to look at it but to say the book is unreadable would be unfair. Give it a go, after all, this is just my thoughts and who's to say I'm right?

Eye of the Wizard (Misfit Heroes, Book 1) - Daniel Arenson

This book was a blessing of a find. I wanted to read some fantasy, as I often do, but fancied something a bit different and this book offered me just that. It follows the story of five characters and how their apparent flaws get them exiled from their homes. They end up banding together and having to save the world from a skeletal warlock whose lust for revenge seems to dominate his entire being.

I admit to being a bit unsure during the first chapter or so as I didn't know quite how to take the novel. Once I realised it was a comedy and written to be so, I started enjoying it. I enjoyed it so much I managed to finish it in a matter of days! Although I wasn't quite laughing out loud, there were a few snickers along the way. Arenson writes in a few cliches through the novel which normally would be a massive ranting point - as I have done in the past - but he uses them to his advantage. He pokes fun at the accepted norms of fantasy and does so very well. The antagonist of the novel is a walking cliche but that's what he is meant to be and as a result, is all the more amusing.

The language was a delight to read, simple and to the point, there are no long winded descriptions in the novel, a lot of this is left to the reader - just how I like it, I think even the ten year old kids in my class at work would enjoy this novel, its so easy to read! Not too many adverbs and the right balance between action and chatter.

There are five protagonists in the book and each one has different flaws. These flaws do cause the characters no end of problems, especially the warlock who gains a temporary deformity every time he casts a spell, like rabbit ears or a giraffe neck, yet somehow they manage to overcome their difficulties and still achieve their goals. The characters seemed balanced and well formed to me, I cared about what happened to them and even the odd repetition of phrases didn't bother me.

I only have two niggly points to make about the novel; the chapters seemed episodic to me, like the novel was written as a bunch of short stories and then formed into a novel later, they are consistent but I like a bit of a cliff hanger at the end of a chapter, not for everything to be well rounded - maybe a personal preference and don't let it put you off reading. The other is an even more minor point, one of the characters makes a curse on the Queen of England. It bothered me because it's set in a fantasy world, which means England probably doesn't exist, let alone have a queen, it grated me a little but not enough to put me off the novel.

I have heard there is a sequel to the novel so will be off to give that a read in a little while, this book is well worth it, it will have you laughing on the inside, if not the out!

Complete Works - H P Lovecraft

I needed to read something different. I've read a couple of really good books lately and to read another novel in the same genre would be unfair. I've wanted to read some Lovecraft to see what all the fuss was about and now seemed like a good time to do so.

I must indicate before I review the short stories that they cannot really be judged by modern standards, written between the late 1910's to 20's the language is vastly different to what we read now. Writing conventions were different and subject handling has also altered. to apply my modern standards onto a book written nearly one hundred years ago would be unfair.

At first, I struggled with the language of the short stories, some of which is rather archaic. The sentence length is typical of the writing period: long, which makes them difficult to fathom at times. It took a while to readjust to reading them but once I managed it, the language was indeed beautiful and a pleasure to read. It just took a bit more effort than normal.

The subject matter of the short stories seems to focus on several themes: dreams and the paranormal. The ends of the stories are left ambiguous and the reader has to make up their own mind as to what has happened. The narratives are generally first person accounts of events that have happened to the narrator; who ha a desire to pass on their account of what has happened. It made a refreshing change from the norm and I thoroughly enjoyed them.

I have some of the stories left to read but there themes will be similar to those I've already read and I know I will enjoy them. I hope you'll give these stories as go, once you get your head around the archaisms, its well worth it.

Supernatural: The Unholy Cause - Joe Shreiber

And now everyone knows I am a fan of Supernatural. No bad thing, the TV show is well worth a watch and after my last couple of reads I felt it was time for something cheap and easy.

This book is both of those, cheap and easy, I read it in a matter of days and have to admit I was most pleased with it. The author has caught the two characters perfectly. Dean says some very Deanish lines and Sam is his usual moaning self. Castiel is about as deadpan as he is in the show and the three characters manage to work together to save a small Southern American town from disaster while also averting the Apocalypse. Who could ask for more than that?

The pacing of the novel is brilliant as well. The ending has me flicking the buttons on the Kindle as fast as I could. I was even reading while lounging on the sofa - a rarity for me - it had gripped me that much! The language used in the book is good, yet not too complicated and has some decent similes as well. In fact, this book as so many similes in it, they become a bit grating towards the end. However, this is my only complaint about the book and it's a minor one at that!

I'd recommend this book for Supernatural fans without hesitation but if you don't know what the show is about, your just going to get confused so it won't be worth your time.