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imperfectletter2009-04-22 09:06 am
fiveforsilver) wrote in imperfectletter2009-04-22 09:06 am
Entry tags:
45-47
Hey, look! I'm all caught up!
45. *The Dragon Princess by E. D. Baker (218) YA/Fantasy
Millie's mother is a shapeshifting witch who enjoys being a dragon. In fact, she spend so much time being a dragon that when Millie is born, it turns out that she changes into a dragon when she is angry. Only when she's angry. She can't choose to turn other times, and she can't stop herself from turning, either. So, of course she ends up going on a quest to try and fix things.
This is a quick read, a darling story, and lots of fun. I will definitely check out more of Baker's books.
46. *Bloodhound by Tamora Pierce (538) YA/Fantasy
As much as Kel (Protector of the Small) is still my favorite Pierce heroine, it is my opinion that Bloodhound is the best book so far in the Tortall series, if not the best Pierce has ever written. I wasn't overly thrilled with the first book in the series, Terrier, but this book more than made up for it. Bloodhound is well-written and the characters are believable and interesting. The plot strong and intriguing, magic is used occasionally and not as a constant crutch, and Pierce is not afraid to put characters in real, even deadly danger as fits the plot and setting.
I do have two minor technical issues with the book. The first is that, as with Terrier, Bloodhound was supposedly written as a "journal", but, again like Terrier, it reads like a first-person novel. I've read journal-style books that are good reads but also are believably journals, and this is not believably a journal. However, it doesn't detract much from the book and is amusing at times.
The second issue is that it's never explained how the coles (counterfeit coins) are being made. One can't simply melt silver and pour it over brass disks to coat them. And what kind of 'silver paint' would match so perfectly with real silver as to fool suspicious people? But as I said, this is a technical issue and it wouldn't have come up if I hadn't studied metalworking, or if I hadn't been so impressed with how she'd dealt with metalworking in the Circle series.
But those are small issues, and those two small issues aside, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone who likes a fun fantasy read with a bit of crime drama mixed in (although you should probably read Terrier first as there are some things that will be pretty confusing otherwise).
47. *The Salamander Spell by E. D. Baker (248) YA/Fantasy
Another entertaining book by E. D. Baker. I didn't like it quite as much as I liked The Dragon Princess - there seemed to be a lot more things left unexplained in this book - but it was still fun and reminds me of books I loved when I was younger, The Farthest-Away Mountain, The Ordinary Princess, books like that.
47 / 150 books. 31% done!
26 / 75 *new books. 35% done!
0 / 10 ^non-fiction. 0% done!
14178 / 45000 pages. 32% done!
45. *The Dragon Princess by E. D. Baker (218) YA/Fantasy
Millie's mother is a shapeshifting witch who enjoys being a dragon. In fact, she spend so much time being a dragon that when Millie is born, it turns out that she changes into a dragon when she is angry. Only when she's angry. She can't choose to turn other times, and she can't stop herself from turning, either. So, of course she ends up going on a quest to try and fix things.
This is a quick read, a darling story, and lots of fun. I will definitely check out more of Baker's books.
46. *Bloodhound by Tamora Pierce (538) YA/Fantasy
As much as Kel (Protector of the Small) is still my favorite Pierce heroine, it is my opinion that Bloodhound is the best book so far in the Tortall series, if not the best Pierce has ever written. I wasn't overly thrilled with the first book in the series, Terrier, but this book more than made up for it. Bloodhound is well-written and the characters are believable and interesting. The plot strong and intriguing, magic is used occasionally and not as a constant crutch, and Pierce is not afraid to put characters in real, even deadly danger as fits the plot and setting.
I do have two minor technical issues with the book. The first is that, as with Terrier, Bloodhound was supposedly written as a "journal", but, again like Terrier, it reads like a first-person novel. I've read journal-style books that are good reads but also are believably journals, and this is not believably a journal. However, it doesn't detract much from the book and is amusing at times.
The second issue is that it's never explained how the coles (counterfeit coins) are being made. One can't simply melt silver and pour it over brass disks to coat them. And what kind of 'silver paint' would match so perfectly with real silver as to fool suspicious people? But as I said, this is a technical issue and it wouldn't have come up if I hadn't studied metalworking, or if I hadn't been so impressed with how she'd dealt with metalworking in the Circle series.
But those are small issues, and those two small issues aside, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone who likes a fun fantasy read with a bit of crime drama mixed in (although you should probably read Terrier first as there are some things that will be pretty confusing otherwise).
47. *The Salamander Spell by E. D. Baker (248) YA/Fantasy
Another entertaining book by E. D. Baker. I didn't like it quite as much as I liked The Dragon Princess - there seemed to be a lot more things left unexplained in this book - but it was still fun and reminds me of books I loved when I was younger, The Farthest-Away Mountain, The Ordinary Princess, books like that.