Nose in a Book -

Death of the Mantis by Michael Stanley

Posted by Lahni in Blog Tour | Mystery - (7 Comments)

Death of the Mantis by Michael Stanley

In the southern Kalahari area of Botswana – an arid landscape of legends that speak of lost cities, hidden wealth, and ancient gods – a fractious ranger named Monzo is found dying from a severe head wound in a dry ravine. Three Bushmen surround the doomed man, but are they his killers or there to help? Detective David “Kubu” Bengu is on the case, an investigation that his old school friend Khumanego claims is motivated by racist antagomism on the part of the local police. But when a second bizarre murder, and then a third, seem to point also to the nomadic tribe, the intrepid Kubu must journey into the depths of the Kalahari to uncover the truth. What he discovers there will test all his powers of deduction…and his ability to remain alive.

This novel was very enjoyable. From the first page I was drawn into the story and couldn’t put it down. After I finished the book I discovered that it is actually the third story about Detective Kubu. I can’t wait to read the others but there was no sense of missing out on anything. The book stands alone very well.

The book reminded me of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency for several reasons – they are both mysteries and they both take place in Africa. But the writing style is also similar. I’m not sure how to describe it but it is a very relaxing, laid back type writing style. There is none of the nail biting suspense of a typical western mystery novel. And this isn’t a bad thing (at least not for me). I love this writing style, which doesn’t make the story boring or meandering – just much more enjoyable.

The novel has everything a good mystery should have – murder, intrigue, near death experiences, and an unexpected resolution. Overall, I really liked this book and can’t wait to read the first two Kubu novels and anymore that Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip may write!

Irma Voth by Miriam Toews – Blog Tour

Irma Voth by Miriam Toews

From the back cover:

Nineteen-year-old Irma lives in a rural Mennonite community in Mexico. She has already been cast out of her family for marrying a young Mexican ne’er-do-well she barely knows, although she remains close to her rebellious younger sister and yearns fro the lost intimacy with her mother. With a husband who proves elusive and often absent, a punishing father, and a faith in God damaged beyond repair, Irma appears trapped in an untenable and desperate situation. When a celebrated Mexican filmmaker and his crew arrive from Mexico City to make a movie about the insular community in which she was raised, Irma is immediately drawn to the outsiders and is hired as a translator on the set. But her father, intractable and domineering, is determined to destroy the film and get rid of the interlopers.

I enjoyed this book but I’m having a really hard time knowing what I want to say about it. I have to be honest – I’m not really sure I got it. I’ve also read A Complicated Kindness and was left feeling much the same.

Irma was a likeable enough character but many times I had a hard time understanding her motivation for acting the way she did. I felt she was a little flat, as were most of the other characters in the novel. The only character that was consistent and well developed was Irma’s younger sister Aggie. She ends up playing a major role in the novel and one might argue that she is the main character even though the story is told as a first person narrative from the point of view of Irma – Aggie and her actions drive the whole story.

As the story meanders along some alarming details about Irma’s family are revealed and it is these details that jump the story into high gear. I found this change to be a little jarring. The whole tone of the story and the writing changed. All of a sudden Irma becomes responsible for a whole lot more than just herself and it spurs her into action. She must take matters into her own hands in order to protect her sisters and she steps up. The sense of confusion I felt as a reader may have been intended to mirror Irma’s own feelings of inadequacy in the face of her new responsibilities.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this novel but I still feel like I’m missing something important that the author was trying to share with her readers.

Blog Tour: Q&A with Lesley Livingston author of Once Every Never

Posted by Lahni in Blog Tour | Canadian Author | Fantasy | Young Adult - (4 Comments)

Good morning! I have a special treat for you today! This is my very first blog tour and author Q&A. Today I’ve got some questions for Lesley Livingston the author of Once Ever Never, a book about a teenage girl who instead of doing touristy things while she visits her Aunt in London, finds herself smack in the middle of a war between the Celts and the Romans. I sent Lesley some very unoriginal questions and she came up with some superbly fun and original answers!

Tell me a little bit about yourself. When I read a book I always want more information about the author than what is generally included in the author bio. Somehow it helps me to connect with the book more.

Lesley Fun Facts time! Let’s see… I used to water-ski. I also used to down-hill ski. Backwards. Sometimes, that ended poorly. I once had a hamster named Spartacus. When I was a kid, I named my shiny white and gold ten-speed bike Apollo. I chew my lower lip when I can’t figure out a plot problem. It’s highly surprising to note that I still have a lower lip. I own a pair of moss-green cowboy boots that I wear on an almost constant basis. They are awesome. I’m pretty sure I met a ghost once. By ‘met’ I mean it tried to push me down a hillside in the middle of Wales. I am not to be given chocolate-covered coffee beans. EVER. For the sake of myself and those around me.

Where do you get the inspiration for your books? (I know this is a pretty lame question but I am actually curious!)

That’s not a lame question at all! (Heh… there are days when I wonder that very same thing, myself!) I get inspiration from a lot of places, but I do find that I draw frequently and deeply on history and mythology and folklore. For Once Every Never, the germ of the idea came from a visit to the British Museum in London, where I spent a great deal of time staring open-mouthed at glass cases containing some of the actual artifacts that Clare comes into contact with in the story. I was, of course, also profoundly inspired by the story of Boudicca, the fierce Celtic queen, herself.

I’m not very good with history so can you fill me in on how much of the Boudicca parts of the story are true and how much is artistic licence? Were Connal and Comorra real people? Did they really find bodies in the Norfolk Broads?

Essentially, the basic storyline I’ve set out in the book sticks fairly closely to what happened to Boudicca—as far as we know. We don’t actually know a great deal, in fact, and what was written about her contemporaneously was, of course, written by Romans. Specifically the historians Tacitus and Cassius Dio. The details are sketchy, but the bullet points—her rebellion, the subsequent massacre, and her ultimate defeat in AD 60 or 61 are accepted fact. So, too, it’s a fact that she had two daughters. There names aren’t verified to my knowledge but Comorra and Tasca are the two possibilities I came across in my research that I liked best. As for Connal, he is a creature of my imagination. Sometimes, I like my imagination. (I like it too!)

As far as I know, there have been no known discoveries of bog bodies found in the Norfolk Broads… yet. But my Spirit Warriors are based on similar finds—specifically one bog body in the British Museum called Lindow Man, who was discovered in Cheshire in England.

I found Clare to be a really interesting character. I loved her attitude and her fearlessness. Is she like you at all?

Yay! Thank you for saying that. I’m very fond of Clare, too. She’s headstrong and generous and funny and sharp but not the most… how shall I say… ‘intellectually curious’ character I’ve ever written. At least, she doesn’t start out that way! Once she does find herself compelled to act by circumstances, though, I think you’re right—she is fearless. Part of that is a kind of ‘never say die, never think things through’ attitude, but it serves her well. I think I probably would have spent more time trying to work through the problems she faces—and probably would have just wound up getting impaled on a flaming arrow or something. So… Go Clare!

I haven’t read any of your other novels. Can you tell me a little bit about them?

Sure! The WONDROUS STRANGE trilogy is about a 17 year old girl named Kelley Winslow who, while rehearsing an off-Broadway production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, discovers that the Bard didn’t make all that stuff up: Faeries are real, she is tied far more closely to that supernatural community than she could ever have imagined, all of Central Park in New York City is a gateway to the Otherworld—the Faerie Realm—and it’s opening. Only one things stands between the city and looming Faerie peril, and that’s Kelley. And a fierce, handsome changeling named Sonny Flannery. Okay—that’s two things. (Sounds interesting, I’m definitely going to look into those!)

What is your favourite book or author?

Can I say Shakespeare? I know his collected works can’t really be considered a ‘book’ per se, but man! That guy could really write! (Thank you, Captain Obvious…)

Doesn’t she sound friendly and fun! You should definitely check out Once Every Never – I really liked it and it was well written and original.

Possession by Elana Johnson

Posted by Lahni in Dystopian Fiction | Young Adult - (1 Comments)

Possession by Elana Johnson
I really have no idea how to summarize this book so I’m going to do something I rarely do and use the publisher’s description.

Vi knows the Rule: Girls don’t walk with boys, and they never even think about kissing them. But no one makes Vi want to break the Rules more than Zenn…and since the Thinkers have chosen him as Vi’s future match, how much trouble can one kiss cause? The Thinkers may have brainwashed the rest of the population, but Vi is determined to think for herself.

But the Thinkers are unusually persuasive, and they’re set on convincing Vi to become one of them…starting by brainwashing Zenn. Vi can’t leave Zenn in the Thinkers’ hands, but she’s wary of joining the rebellion, especially since that means teaming up with Jag. Jag is egotistical, charismatic, and dangerous–everything Zenn’s not. Vi can’t quite trust Jag and can’t quite resist him, but she also can’t give up on Zenn.

This is a game of control or be controlled. And Vi has no choice but to play.

I have to warn you – I have a lot of issues with this book – I wouldn’t normally review a book I had this many problems with but it was sent to me by the publisher so I feel an obligation to review it. I’ll start with the bad so I can end of on a good note, shall I?

Here we go…my first problem with it (and many other reviews I’ve read have said the same thing) is that there simply was not enough information about this future world the characters were living in. I know it’s pretty common, especially in this genre, to just drop hints about the dystopian world and let the reader figure it out for themselves and I’m ok with that but there simply was not enough information in this novel to piece it together. I had a really hard time following the plot because I just didn’t have enough background information.

Which brings me to my next point. There were times when the story didn’t make any sense. I’d go back and reread and reread and still not have a clue what had just happened. Added to this the pacing of the novel was just a little strange. At times it seemed there was so much action packed into a few pages that I could hardly follow and then things would slow right down with a whole bunch of navel gazing on the part of the main character. All of that just added to the sense of confusion I felt.

My last complaint is the characters. They were so bloody annoying. (And yes, they too were confusing.) Vi and Jag were the worst but most likely because they were the main characters. They seemed to get upset at each other over tiny little things and then leaving each other in the middle of the desert or where ever. And they fought and made up and fought and made up and fought and made up and…you get the picture. It was so ridiculous and it got old really fast. And the other characters didn’t make any sense to me either. They didn’t seem real and they were all over the place.

Now for the good. I did like the book and I thought it had tons of potential to be an awesome book. I really think a major rewrite or even just a really strict going over with a red pen could have made this book fantastic. It just seemed like a first draft – not a final published draft. Oh and my favourite thing about the book? The cover – it jumped out at me as soon as I opened the package it came in – isn’t it beautiful?

Overall my feeling after finished this novel is one of confusion and I really wish I could have understood the plot better because I think it could have been a really great book. But that’s just my opinion and there are plenty of other reviewers out there that loved the book.

Elana Johnson

Beyonders: A World Without Heroes by Brandon Mull

Posted by Lahni in Children | Fantasy - (Comments Off)

Beyonders: A World Without Heroes by Brandon Mull

Jason, a thirteen year old boy would loves to play baseball, suddenly finds himself transported to an entirely new world. While working at his job at the zoo, he falls into the hippo tank and ends up in a place called Lyrian. He stumbles onto the Repository of Learning where he reads a forbidden book (of course!) that sets him a course to recover all of the syllables to a word that has the power to destroy Maldor, the evil wizard ruling all of Lyrian. He sets off on his quest and is soon joined by another beyonder -what the people of Lyrian call people from our world- Rachel. Jason and Rachel face much opposition to their quest to find the six syllables of the magical word but they also find many allies.

I liked this book (not as well as Fablehaven, but still) and so did my 8 year old son. From the opening chapter to the final page there was non-stop action. It was exciting and captivating. The story was well-paced and the plotting was good too. I also think that Mull’s writing has improved significantly since Fablehaven. I’ve said this many times before but I’ve really noticed that reading a book aloud reveals a lot of flaws in the flow of the writing that you don’t really notice when you are reading silently. And this book was so much easier to read than the Fablehaven books. (I forgave that though because the story was so fantastic. And really, I’m making it sound the like the writing was horrendous and it really wasn’t. I didn’t even notice it until I read it aloud.)

The characters were good too. Sometimes in books meant for children the characters can be flat and one-sided but the characters in this story were believable. They had dimension and weren’t completely predictable.

I only have two tiny complaints about the book and they relate to the target audience. First of all, the book is really long (for children). It took us almost three months to get through the book (which says a lot for the story actually because my son never lost interest.) The second thing was that the ending was a little disappointing. The novel is intended to be a series of three books and there isn’t so much an ending as a “to be continued…” which for me is fine but for my son who has to wait another whole year (and then another one for the third book) to find out what happens it’s a little disappointing. I just wish there had been little more closure at the end of this one. In my copy of the book there was a note from the author explaining about the other books and when to expect them.

Overall, we both liked the book and are excited for the next one!

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Posted by Lahni in Canadian Author | Historical Fiction - (6 Comments)

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

I’m probably the last person to read this book but I gave it to my sister for her birthday and she read it in only a few days and then lent it to me so I figured I’d better read it!

Jacob Jankowski is just finishing up his ivy league veterinary degree when he receives some bad news that causes him to walk away from his life and join a travelling circus. The circus crew is firmly divided into performers and others, with performers being the upper class. As Jacob is a vet he’s not technically a performer but since he is ivy league educated and in a vet, he seems to be able to bridge the gap. He soon is befriended by the beautiful Marlena and her husband August, the animal trainer, who is a cruel, abusive man. Of course, Jacob and Marlena fall in love and August can’t help but notice. To make matters worse the circus obtains a seemingly untrainable elephant.

I really liked the story, it flowed really well and pulled me right along with it. It wasn’t unputdownable (I know, not a word) but almost. The story is definitely original and Gruen did a lot of research and even based some of the plot lines on true stories. I really can’t wait to see the movie (even though the book is always better, am I right?) but I do have one complaint. And it’s the same problem I had with Ape House. I felt the ending was a little rushed. I didn’t love the ending either but that I could have dealt with. I just seemed like she kind of got bored of the book or lost steam and just decided to finish it up as quickly as she could. Other than that, though the novel was definitely enjoyable and worth reading.

Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay

Posted by Lahni in Canadian Author | Fantasy | Historical Fiction - (1 Comments)

Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay

This is only the second book I’ve ever read by Kay and I have to admit, I wasn’t all that impressed by the first book. But the publisher sent me this one so I thought I’d better give it a chance. And it’s big so I was a little worried about picking it up! But I am so glad I did. I LOVED this book. Once I got into it, I couldn’t put it down!

A little bit historical fiction, and a little bit fantasy this book was full of action and intrigue. The story was really about the Tang Dynasty and the An Shi rebellion in 8th century China but the name of Kay’s country is Kitai. I don’t know much about Chinese history so I don’t know how much of Kay’s book is fiction or speculative but it was definitely interesting.

As the book begins, a young soldier, Shen Tai, has taken on the task of burying thousands of sets of bones that have been left from several different battles between the Kitan and the Taguran armies at a distant lake. As Shen Tai is going about his task he receives word of a gift that changes his entire life and possibly the entire history of his people. Because of the gift he must give up his task and travel back into the heart of the dynasty, both physically and politically. I can’t say more about the story without giving away important plot points but I hope that’s enough to spark your interest.

As I said, I loved this book and couldn’t put it down. The plot was intelligent and exciting, and the writing was good. I was never sure where the story was going to go next, yet it always came together beautifully. My only, teeny, tiny complaint was that the ending was a little disappointing. I was looking for more ends to be wrapped up in regards to one specific plot point but as I’ve thought more about the book, that wasn’t really what the story was supposed to be about so I understand what Kay was doing, but I still wanted a little more in that regard. Overall though, I thought this was a fantastic novel and I can’t wait to read more!

Heads You Lose by Lisa Lutz and David Hayward

Posted by Lahni in Funny | Mystery - (1 Comments)

Heads You Lose by Lisa Lutz and David Hayward

Lutz and Hayward are old friends and when Lutz starts a novel, she decides to send the first chapter to Hayward asking him to write the next chapter and further alternating chapters. In between each chapter of the actual novel are the notes and letters the pair sent back and forth.

The first chapter introduces the main characters, siblings Lacey and Paul Hansen. Lacey stumbles across a headless body in their backyard and as they can’t call the cops on account of their pot growing business in the basement, they decide to dump the body elsewhere. However, the body reappears a few days later on their front porch.

I have to be honest, the plot in this novel was a little thin. But I’m not really sure that was the point of the book. It was really entertaining and funny because of the notes between the chapters. Characters introduced by one author were ruthlessly killed by the other, and then brought back to life, and then killed again and so forth. The characters were all slightly looney as one author would begin the development and the second would derail the attempt. I loved it. And as in all good mysteries, I never saw the end coming. So, although the plot wasn’t really all that great, I truly enjoyed the book because it was humorous and light and fun.

David Hayward, Lisa Lutz

The Map of Time by Felix J. Palma

Posted by Lahni in Science Fiction - (1 Comments)

The Map of Time by Felix J. Palma

I’m not sure how to summarize this one without giving away major parts of the plot but I’m going to try. The book takes place in the late 1800s in London. There are three parts to the book, each introducing the reader to a new set of characters with some of the characters reappearing in each part. The first part involves a young man who travels back in time to prevent the murder of his beloved. The second part involves a man from the year 2000 and the young woman (from the nineteenth century) whom he loves and the third brings many of the characters together to stop a time traveller who is trying to steal famous manuscripts before they are published. One of the recurring characters in the novel is H. G. Wells, whose novel, The Time Machine, gave rise to the time travelling fad that seems to have overtaken London.

I really liked this book. It took a bit to get into but it was actually really entertaining and a really unique story. The writing was fantastic and I loved the storytelling style. The story is told in the third person by some all-knowing being who constantly acknowledges his presence. Sometimes, this type of storytelling doesn’t work but here it did. I actually really enjoyed this and found it kept the book lighthearted.

The book was looong but so worth it and because it wasn’t heavy it actually seemed a lot shorter than it was. I thought it was interesting that H. G. Wells played such an important role in the novel. I think it’s pretty brave to include a real person play such a major character in a fictional novel like this but I got over that. Bram Stoker and Henry James make an appearance too.

I only have one complaint and it’s just that I think that sometimes there was a lot of pointless back story. I read a few (lengthy) parts of the book and I’m still wondering what was the point of including those particular parts. I didn’t think they contributed to the plot or character development and I have to admit, there was so much of this going on in the the first part especially that I almost gave up on the book. It seemed to be toned down a little in the second and third parts of the novel.

Overall, though, I loved the book and look forward to reading more by this author.

Uglies by Scott Westerfield

Posted by Lahni in Dystopian Fiction | Young Adult - (3 Comments)

Uglies by Scott Westerfield

Tally Youngblood lives in a world where at 16, you have an operation to make you pretty. Until then you are considered an “Ugly”. But Tally’s new friend, Shay, isn’t so sure about the whole thing. Just before their shared birthday Shay tries to convince Tally to run away with her to the Smoke, a camp where several other uglies have gone to escape turning pretty. Tally refuses and Shay leaves but on Tally’s birthday instead of being taken to the hospital she’s taken to Special Circumstances and told that she either has to find Shay and bring her back or she’ll be ugly for the rest of her life.

It took a bit for me to get into this book and to get over the whole premise. At first the whole idea of doing surgery to make everybody pretty at a certain age seemed really unrealistic to me but as the book progressed and more information about how it all came about was revealed it became a little more believable.

As far as dystopian novels go, this one was ok. The plot was definitely intriguing and entertaining but somehow it just wasn’t believable in some sense. And it wasn’t that I had a problem with the entire premise but something about the details just struck me as a little off somehow. For example, the whole reason our society died out was because they was some virus that infected gasoline products and caused them to spontaneously combust. That seemed just a little too far-fetched for me and there were other details like that that just didn’t jive.

Other than that I did really enjoy the book. It was well written, the characters were believable and well developed and as I mentioned before the story was interesting. Previously, I said that the one was only ok but I think that may do the novel a disservice. The problem is that when compared with books like The Hnuger Games, there really is no comparison. Or even comparing to some of Westerfield’s other (non-dystopian) novels, like Leviathan and Behemoth, Uglies (and Pretties, which I am almost finished reading) is just not the same quality. I’m not even sure I’m going to read the remaining books in this series.

That being said, I know these books have been reviewed extensively in the book blogging world and that many people have loved them. Here are some more favourable reviews: