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Reading Challenge Wrap-Up: Once Upon a Time IX
Hello my lovely readers! Once Upon a Time IX, the reading challenge I signed up for running between March 21st and June 21st focusing on reading books that fit into the categories of fantasy, folklore, fairy tales, or mythology is now over (it has been for 5 days, actually….), so it’s time to post my wrap-up!
I signed up for the level called “The Journey” reading at least one book in any of the categories named above, but I had a personal goal aiming for three books. I wound up reading a whopping NINE BOOKS. Particularly given that I used to think I didn’t like fantasy, I’m kind of blown away.
My completed reads for the challenge, in the order I read them:
- A Local Habitation by Seanan McGuire, 4 stars, review
- An Artificial Night by Seanan McGuire, 4 stars, review
- The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson, 4 stars, review
- Maplecroft by Cherie Priest, 4 stars, review
- Fables: Legends in Exile, Vol. 1 by Bill Willingham, 3 stars, review
- Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King, 3 stars,
not yet reviewed, review - Love in the Time of Global Warming by Lia Francesca Block, 3 stars, not yet reviewed
- Everlasting: Da Eb’Bulastin by Rasheedah Prioleau, 4 stars, not yet reviewed
- Fated by S. G. Browne, 3 stars, not yet reviewed
Unfortunately, as you can tell, I fell a bit behind actually reviewing the books during the challenge. Ah well. This just means you can expect to see more fantasy reviews coming up now through July!
Have you enjoyed the influx of fantasy on my blog? Did you participate in the challenge too?
Reading Challenge: Once Upon a Time IX
Hello my lovely readers! Many book bloggers are familiar with Carl of Stainless Steel Droppings’ two big reading challenges he runs every year. I often participate in the fall challenge for reading horror/thriller/mystery/etc… but I have never participated in the spring challenge for reading fantasy, because I used to think I don’t like fantasy. I’ve discovered that I’m wrong. I do like fantasy, just mainly urban fantasy and fantasies that are not set in a Medieval Europe style setting. So I thought that this year I would participate in Once Upon a Time IX!
Once Upon a Time IX focuses on reading books that fit into the categories of fantasy, folklore, fairy tales, or mythology between March 21st and June 21st. I’m signing up for the level called “The Journey.” Read at least one book in any of those categories. I’m hoping to read more than one but I was worried if I signed up for a higher level it would feel like too much pressure to me. My personal goal right now is three books.
Books I already own that fit the challenge are listed below. I’d love to hear from you in the comments if there’s one you’d particularly like to recommend to me from my list!
- Carpe Jugulum by Terry Pratchett
- Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King
- Deadtown by Nancy Holzner
- Fables Vol. 1 by Bill Willingham
- Fated by S. G. Browne
- A Local Habitation by Seanan McGuire
- The Nonborn King by Julian May
- Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos by H. P. Lovecraft
- Unshapely Things by Mark Del Franco
- The Veiled Mirror by Christine Frost
- Watership Down by Richard Adams
- The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson
Book Review: The Underworld King by Ranjit More (Series, #1)
Summary:
Drumila, four-armed king of the daityas, seeks to take them above ground to escape their enemy the naagas, giant flame-breathing serpents. Meanwhile, Krishna (the highest-ranking god) sends his daughter, Nandini, to Earth in human form to weaken Drumila and keep him from crossing the barrier from Earth into the higher plains. Unfortunately, Nandini ends up liking Drumila a bit more than they bargained for.
Review:
I was excited to have a fantasy based in a non-European mythology submitted to me, and wow is this different from the typical European-based fantasy. In a good way. This is a dense, different fantasy with a strong learning curve unless the reader is already very familiar with Hinduism.
The basic story reads just like mythology. This has pros and cons. On the plus side, it feels quite fantastical. On the minus side, some of the plot points can be cringe-worthy (such as an unwanted kiss that could have turned into a rape if the female character hadn’t suddenly 180ed from zero interest to desire) and the characters can be a bit two-dimensional. This will bother some readers, but those who enjoy mythology, in spite of its shortcomings, will appreciate this read. Personally, I generally prefer if authors update and modernize their mythological rewritings a bit more, but not all readers feel that way.
The author is well-aware that Hindu mythology won’t be familiar to many Western readers, so he offers an extensive footnotes that are well hyperlinked in the ebook that explain both definitions of words and various aspects of Hindu mythology. This means that the reader learns a lot but it does also slow down the reading of the book and breaks up the immersion in the world. The footnotes are a good idea but perhaps if some of the words and concepts were better incorporated and explained within the writing itself then there could be fewer footnotes that offered greater explanations of more value.
The ending is a bit abrupt. It’s clear this is intended to be the first book in a series, but an extremely abrupt ending like this one makes it difficult to feel like the reader got a full book out of the deal. It feels more like the pilot of a tv show than the first book in a series.
I would give this book a more full review, but it has been pulled from publication since the review copy was sent to me. I really wish when authors and/or publishers choose to do this that they would notify those of us with review copies. While I enjoyed the read enough to not regret reading it, it feels rather silly for me to bother reviewing a book no one else can get their hands on anymore.
Overall, this is a fantasy book set firmly in the tradition of Hindu mythology that will best appeal to readers who enjoy the traditional features of mythology and don’t mind an abrupt ending.
3 out of 5 stars
Source: Kindle copy from author in exchange for my honest review
Buy It Currently not available for purchase.
Book Review: Waiting For the Galactic Bus by Parke Godwin (Series, #1) (Bottom of TBR Pile Challenge)
Summary:
When two brothers from an incorporeal alien species get left behind on a spring break visit to prehistoric Earth, they decide to put their, as yet uncertified, evolutionary development skills to work by prodding along the the evolutionary process on Earth. In doing so, they accidentally create a species with a spirit tied to a body for a certain amount of time that then is tied to the idea of an afterlife. They also manage to turn themselves into Earth’s spiritual mythology.
Review:
An ingenious take on the aliens made humans concept with two overlapping plots, a tongue-in-cheek take on world religions, and a wry wit.
This take on aliens made humans makes humans the result of the bumbling activities of aliens from a species that controls evolution in the universe. However, these aliens are currently uncertified, unsupervised, and basically the frat boys of outerspace. At least at first. Thus, instead of it all being some evil experimental conspiracy, the direction of life on Earth is much more of an accident of floundering fools. Granted, the fools grow and change over the time that they spend on Earth waiting for their ride back from spring break, but the fact remains that evolution on Earth is a result of the experiments of two aliens who are not yet fully trained. This is also used to explain the phenomenon of souls in bodies and then souls that have an afterlife. All other species have souls that can either choose to be in or not in a corporeal body. This is the result of the two aliens, Barion and Coyul, not staying within the rules of evolution.
We thus get to the other really creative part of the book. Since the souls are unfotunately tied to bodies that die, when the bodies die, the souls don’t know what to do or where to go, and so humanity creates the idea of the afterlife, with the two aliens serving as the rulers of the two options (again, created by humans). The aliens thus are kind of forced into the roles of God and Satan. The way afterlives go, though, is generally more the result of what the various humans think it will be or think they deserve. The aliens have mostly tried to stay out of the way, but when they hear rumblings that remind them on the beginning of the nightmare that was Nazi Europe in the American midwest, they decide to dive on in and try to fix it.
Clearly the plot and setting are extremely engaging and thought-provoking. I could truly talk about them for hours. They are creative and a vision of the world I enjoyed visiting. The characterization of the two aliens is a bit weak though. I mixed them up a lot, constantly forgetting who was God and who was Satan. I honestly can’t remember right now if Barion or Coyul plays Satan. I wish they had been characterized more clearly, as this would have strengthened the story.
Overall, this is a unique take on aliens creating humans, featuring a rollicking and thought-provoking plot. The characterization can be a bit weak but the action-packed plot and vibrant setting generally make up for it. Recommended to scifi or fantasy fans looking for an extraterrestrial take on mythology.
4 out of 5 stars
Source: PaperBackSwap