The Queen’s Blade

  Amazon has a bunch of free books on their website which I happily download from time to time. TC Southwell’s The Queen’s Blade was a great discovery. Enter the world of warring nations and an assassin of an unusual nature. There is a bit of “fantasy” involved when it comes to how everyone has a “familiar” or an animal to bond with. However, out of the many fantasy novels I have read in the past this series chooses not to focus so much on this. The assassin, known as Blade, is hired by the Queen to kill in order to save her kingdom and end the war that has lasted for centuries. Little does Blade know, that his involvement with the kingdom’s affairs would extend far past the first kill.

I appreciated the writing of the book though it took me awhile to get into the story. There were a lot of questions surrounding Blade and his character which were not always addressed in the book. Only later do I find out that there are prequels written to this series that will hopefully better explain what Blade’s past was. There are a lot of conveniences that are written into the story, but I don’t think there was a point I was rolling my eyes and saying “That’s just too neat.” I am definitely planning on finishing the series. Even though the cliffhanger ending puts me a bit on edge, and noticing the other books in the series are NOT free is definitely annoying, I think it will be interesting to see how this saga develops. Hook, line, and sinker.

Mao’s Last Dancer

Image via Wikipedia

There are some personal stories that can give such a new look into a world you don’t know. Mao’s Last Dancer certainly does that. Written in a story-like format, this autobiographical book has us see into a communist upbringing and truly being in love with your art no matter what the circumstances. Author Li Cunxin describes in detail about his living circumstances and a step by step walk-through on how he became a star ballet dancer in the Houston Ballet. On a side note I still don’t understand why Asian authors are listed with their last names first when their books are published in America.

It was fascinating to read one person’s account of a communist lifestyle and how much has changed since then. How little he had to live on growing up and yet his determination and strong family bonds helped him to succeed. It is a glimpse into a world that perhaps is always being blocked to the Western world. After all every country would rather put their best foot forward rather than give the world the wrong impression. There were descriptions of his culture too that I enjoyed reading about. His treasures included memories of times with his niang, brothers, and the precious food they had, including the thing he hated the most dried yams. Reading stories like these always makes me feel guilty for wanting so many material things. I suppose it is another reminder that someone always has it worse than you.

However, the story also inspires one to keep working hard. It encourages you to dream about the possibilities and then to put down the many hours of work and make it become a reality. I suppose being an artist myself I need to take lessons from that. It is all to easy to be complacent and comfortable. I know there is always the saying “take time to smell the roses”, but I’ll be the first to confess that I take too much time and end up smelling the roses, pulling weeds, and rolling around in the fields too.

This book was made into a movie and I can’t wait to see it. Li mentions how he had a hand in picking the dancers and he approved the portrayal of his story in a movie format. A definite recommendation to read!

Song of the Lioness

 

Lately, I have revisited books by Tamora Pierce. Now I know that she is considered YA fiction and (aren’t you a bit old for this?) type genre. But I had to revisit the roots of my avid reading~ fantasy. Not just any ol’ fantasy, but one where the main character is a kick-butt female and the story takes place during a time of castles, horses, chivalry, and magic.

Alanna is part of a 4-book series entitled Song of the Lioness. It takes place back when there were no female knights, and of course she strives out to be oneof the first. It helps that she is smart, resourceful, a wickedly quick wit, oh and she is a powerful healer who just happens to have the Goddess looking out for her. Despite the fact that the odds are stacked against her, she still finds a way to pave her own path. I like the sound of that~ after all that is real life!

So the writing may be simplistic, being a YA book and all, but there is something compelling about Pierce’s writing. I have read many of her other series (included in my Lists of Bests) and found each of them equally compelling, and equally fast to read. While, the plots may seem a bit simplistic, I find the characters compelling and it makes me want to read on and try to see what happens. (Isn’t that what Harry Potter is as well??) Come on, who doesn’t wish there was a bit of magic power in us? At least I can imagine that life in this series.

Hello Here I Am

Posting reviews of books is a very subjective action. There are so many reviewers, and blogs already up that perhaps I will merely be a tiny blip on the radar.  I am not a literature expert, but I love to read and thought I could put my opinions up as well. I hope to post books from all different genres and would love suggestions on good reads as well! Aside from books already waiting in my ever-growing queue I love to take books off My Lists of Bests ,  Real Simple’s No Obligation Book Club , and I am joining Vox Veniae’s Book Club . Hopefully there will be regular postings here.

 

Here’s to good reading!