In a network of lines that enlace

Accurate.

I’ve not read much historical fiction; what I have is limited to a particular historical figure, and I attributed my interest to this. So picking up a novel where my knowledge of the time period was limited was a little a daunting. I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy it.

Turns out it was brilliant.

It’s an exceptionally gripping storyline that keeps you guessing. Each character is hiding a secret, or in some cases a multitude of them. Although I did guess some revelations, the majority were a surprise and subtly written. The way historical fact and fiction were woven together was fantastic and not forced. I did not feel that the writing or the characters acted out of the time period.

What was most intriguing was the way superstition and magic were used. The 1300’s were a time of extreme superstition, and this was prevalent through the writing. You’re never sure what you’re seeing; if it’s truly magic, or just a logical reaction and belief of the time period. It’s fascinating to see an author exploring the role of superstition in everyday 14^th century life. Discussions regarding the Church and the role of priests were also extremely interesting, and added to the depth and reality of the novel.

This is a truly interesting and absorbing read, and has opened up a new genre of writing for me. I’m excited to try more historical fiction very soon.

I tried reading this novel 2 years ago, and couldn’t connect with it. I decided to pick it up again at the end of last week; and didn’t stop until I finished.

The novel is a dystopian historical fiction of a world where the Allies lost WW2. Japan, Germany and Italy are the ruling powers, the Mediterranean Sea has been drained and the Africa has been destroyed. It’s a frightening reality, where crimes against humanity are ripe, and technology has advanced in strange ways; space travel and rockets are part of everyday life.

Reality is fluid in this novel, creating an interesting but disturbing read. You’re never sure where you are, nothing feels creating. The novel is set in one reality, so different from ours and references passages from The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, a radical book imagining if the Allies had one the war. In addition to this, there are various undercover agents, subterfuge and trickery happening between characters. It’s a novel that keeps you guessing, and you don’t know who to trust.

It’s a gripping and brilliant read, making you think and feel as you go through.

Scarlet is the second of the Lunar series; following the unoriginally named Scarlet and Wolf, while also continuing with Cinder and Kai’s storyline. Despite the lack of thought in the character names, this still is a clever twist on the original folklore. It flows nicely, and doesn’t fall down in the middle, which is an improvement on the first novel.

I will be reading the last in the series, and am looking forward to seeing how it all ties up.

I found this slow, and uninteresting. I couldn’t connect with Stoner, and found myself having almost no interest in his life – which defeats the object of this novel. I forced myself through just over half before I gave up. I wasn’t enjoying it, and that wasn’t going to change.

I’ll admit, as soon as I saw ‘cyborg Cinderella’ I had to read this book. It’s a clever twist on the classic tale, set in New Beijing where Cyborgs are looked on as sub human. The people of Earth are in a near war state with the Lunar, who use telepathy to control their people. Combined with this, a plague is sweeping the planet, that’s lethal to all who contract it. Cinder is a cyborg mechanic, forced to work by her step-mother, who blames her for the death of her husband. Cinder is approached by Prince Kai, the son of the Emperor to fix an android containing highly confidential information; which is where the story starts.

This is a trilogy, all of which are published; which helps as this novel ends on one heck of a cliff-hanger. It does drag a little in the middle, but all in all it’s a good novel, and I will be reading the next in the series.

Yes. Truly, yes.

I like Joanne Harris, so it’s a shame that this novel is nothing special. The writing is good, measured and well-paced. But the story just lacks any uniqueness and intrigue. Through part one and about half of part two it kept my attention, but after that it just seemed to fade away. This is too much of a regurgitation of legend that’s been written and read already; it needed that extra something to make it unique, but it falls short.

It’s taken me a while to catch up on my reviewing, but the final post of the day is the February Roundup!

This month has gone by incredibly quickly; it’s quite frightening to think of. It’s not been the best of months on a personal level, so I’m glad it’s over. However, from a reading perspective there have been some wonderful books.

I’ve managed to have a mixed month in terms of genre, incorporating poetry, romance (of which I’m not a huge fan of), science fiction, modern fiction and classics. So far, keeping with the resolutions. I’m also 19 down, so another 81 to go to hit my target!

The highlight of February is certainly The Shock of The Fall, with Wide Sargasso Sea and Forgive Me Leonard Peacock as close seconds. I’d recommend that everyone pick up a copy of The Shock of The Fall; it’s fantastically written and goes a long way to challenging the stigma of mental illness.  I was disappointed with The Glass Bead Game (I didn’t even have the energy to review it), and Attachments was average, but other than that it was a good reading month.

Hopefully the good book streak will continue through March. If anyone has any recommendations/comments/thoughts just let me know! :)

Romance isn’t straightforward, and neither are people. This book is about falling in love when your version of love isn’t recognised by society as ‘normal.’ It’s strongly suggested that Don has Asperger’s syndrome, and through his eyes we see the development of The Wife Project, The Father Project and The Rosie Project.

At first I wasn’t sure about this, and I didn’t find it comedic in any way. After the first few chapters though, I raced through it and found it charming rather than funny. Don’s take on social situations, romantic relationships and his interactions with Rosie are written wonderfully, drawing you completely into his mind set and way of thinking.

Of course the ultimate message of this novel is there’s no such thing as normal. Just because others don’t understand your relationship, take on love and perspective doesn’t mean its any less real or important. The novel leaves you satisfied with a smile on your face. A perfect pick-me-up.

I have so many thoughts and feeling about this book. This review won’t be logical, and I apologise if it descends into my nonsensical ramblings of how much I adore it. Because adore it I do. Adoration, admiration, excellence, importance, poignancy; these are all words that come to mind when thinking of The Shock of the Fall.

The novel is about Matthew. Matthew has a disease that ruins lives and cannot be seen. He introduces it early on with words whose brilliant have echoed round my head for days:

‘I have an illness, a disease with the shape and sound of a snake. Whenever I learn something new, it learns it too. If you have HIV or Cancer, or Athletes Foot, you can’t teach them anything…But my illness knows everything I know.’

He has schizophrenia. Oddly enough he’s not an axe murderer. He hasn’t escaped from an asylum covered in blood and muttering under his breath. Matthew is a nineteen year old man who is ill, and trying to learn to live with an illness that the medical community know very little about.

Nathan Filer is a registered mental health nurse, and this is obvious throughout the novel. I work for a mental health organisation whose main area of research is the causes of schizophrenia (an extremely neglected and underfunded area – but I digress) so to see someone exploring the known causes of this illness; genetic predisposition, trauma in early life that’s not dealt with, excess smoking of cannabis, is brilliant.

It’s also an incredibly real portrayal of the British mental health system. Of how it works, the powers people have and do not have, the way that the illness is currently addressed. These additions to me just reinforced how much Filer wanted to write a novel about the reality of schizophrenia, and of mental illness

.

It’s a stigma challenging novel. We’ve all seen the horror movies where someone with a mental health condition is the epitome of evil. The reality is that more violent crimes are committed against people with severe mental illness than by them. They aren’t the axe wielding maniacs of the film industry; take a look at the Time to Change advert called ‘Schizo.’ This is another stigma challenging piece of brilliance. I’ve not ever seen a real perspective of schizophrenia, and it’s fantastic that there now is one, and on top of that, it won the costa award 2013.

At its core, the book is about a tragic accident that changes lives and leaves a trail of damage in its wake. You feel for all the characters, and it’s an incredibly sad piece. Everyone tries to cope with the death Simon, and then Matthew’s illness. They all try their best in different ways, and the author has explored the way people deal with tragedy and mental health issues in others so well.

I will stop rambling now, but I’ll end with this. Please read this book.

There’s not anything dramatically original about The Name of the Wind. It’s the typical fantasy plot; a special child growing up in a world of magic, seeking revenge and understanding. However the writing is what makes this; it’s gripping, exciting and paced perfectly. You don’t get bored reading the novel.

I also like the style, but this is a personal preference. I like a novel that’s written through storytelling, a look at the past from the present. This is one of the reasons why this novel doesn’t lose pace, or the reader’s interest. You drift into the present, to understand the reactions of the storyteller and listeners which brings a deeper understanding of the characters.

I look forward to reading the second in the series.