Review: Hood by Stephen Lawhead

September 12, 2013 by Alyssa

Title: Hood

Author: Stephen Lawhead

Publishing Information: September 1, 2006

Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Adventure, Adult, Retellings

Series information: Book 1 in the King Raven Series

Format: Hardcover, 490 pages

Source: Purchased for my personal library

Recommended For: Fans of historical fiction and those looking for a new take on an old tale.

The Legend Begins Anew

For centuries, the legend of Robin Hood and his band of thieves has captivated the imagination. Now the familiar tale takes on new life, fresh meaning, and an unexpected setting.

Hood is a novel that I have been meaning to read for a very long time. In fact, I attempted to read it quite a few years ago and despite my love of Robin Hood, I just couldn’t become immersed in the story. Being that I have owned the novel for years, the Classics Retold project seemed like the perfect excuse for me to give it another try.

Rhi Bran’s (see what he did there, Rhi Bran = Robin) father is killed and he is left as the would-be heir to his father’s castle and lands. Unfortunately Bran is injured severely by Normans and he is found near death by a mysterious old woman. After many trials she succeeds in nursing him back to health and assisting him in realizing his truth worth as a leader to his people.

I did enjoy the characters for the most part, Bran was pigheaded and a rather different type of hero. It was interesting to watch his growth throughout the novel and I thoroughly enjoyed his characterization of King Raven. The two most descriptive secondary characters in Hood are Merian, and Friar Tuck, who goes by the name Aethelfrith. I did not like the portrayal of Merian, I found her to be somewhat silly in her dual nature. On one hand she was strong headed and stubborn, but then she seemed rather silly and naïve in her actions. Tuck, however, was incredibly loveable. He assisted Bran in keeping a cool head in many situations and was incredibly keen and fun to read.

Hood is a very different retelling than the original tale of Robin Hood, and it reads more like a historical fiction novel than anything else. Lawhead in no way romanticizes Robin Hood’s tale, in fact it is a darker retelling than I have ever read and to be honest there is not much happiness through the novel, despite the fact that things do move forward little by little for our hero.

While reading, I wasn’t completely enthralled with the tale, and I had hoped for some more action. Much of the story is Bran finding his potential, and background on the different Barons who are fighting for control of the land. There was one particular scene that took place in the “haunted forest” that I thoroughly enjoyed, the atmosphere was absolutely chilling. It is obvious while reading that this is only one part to the Robin Hood tale and it is hard to judge the novel on its own as it really is a piece to a much bigger puzzle. That said, as a whole I found the novel to be an interesting new beginning to the Robin Hood legend, I will definitely be continuing on with the story.

Review: The Woodcutter by Kate Danley

August 13, 2013 by Alyssa

Title: The Woodcutter

Author: Kate Danley

Publishing Information: November 6, 2012

Genre: Fantasy, Fairy Tale, Mystery, Young Adult, Adult

Series information: Standalone

Format: Kindle, 346 pages

Source: Gifted for my Kindle from Amy (Tripping Over Books)

Recommended For: Fans of Grimm’s Fairy Tales, John Connelly, and intense yet simplistic dark fantasy novels.

Deep within the Wood, a young woman lies dead. Not a mark on her body. No trace of her murderer. Only her chipped glass slippers hint at her identity.

The Woodcutter, keeper of the peace between the Twelve Kingdoms of Man and the Realm of the Faerie, must find the maiden’s killer before others share her fate. Guided by the wind and aided by three charmed axes won from the River God, the Woodcutter begins his hunt, searching for clues in the whispering dominions of the enchanted unknown.

But quickly he finds that one murdered maiden is not the only nefarious mystery afoot: one of Odin’s hellhounds has escaped, a sinister mansion appears where it shouldn’t, a pixie dust drug trade runs rampant, and more young girls go missing. Looming in the shadows is the malevolent, power-hungry queen, and she will stop at nothing to destroy the Twelve Kingdoms and annihilate the Royal Fae…unless the Woodcutter can outmaneuver her and save the gentle souls of the Wood. (Synopsis from Goodreads)

One of the first things I noticed about The Woodcutter was the simplicity yet enthralling nature in which Kate Danley draws in the reader. Those of you familiar with more traditional fairytales will love the language of this novel. In lieu of proper names, the author uses the more ambiguous “Wife,” and “The King,” which set them apart from the named characters in an interesting way. Even The Woodcutter wears his title as his armor, he IS The Woodcutter and that title overpowers all things. In addition to this ambiguity, the novel is also filled with many “moral of the story” moments. The most important of these being that “true love conquers all.” As an avid reader I may have become somewhat jaded in terms of true love and characters who are “meant to be,” but this novel delivers these moments in a different and more subtle way that is reminiscent of the tales of old.

In terms of plot, The Woodcutter was intense yet at the same time very subtle. I was surprise at how dark the novel was, not horror story dark, but just lacking a bit of light throughout. There is much conflict through The Woodcutter and like any epic hero he is forced to work through many different obstacles in order to succeed. The wonderful thing here is that as I stated above The Woodcutter does all for The Wood, he is the protector of the land and that is his priority, on the inside though, he only wishes to return home to his wife to live out his days by her side. This was interesting as the reader was able to see the internal conflict of The Woodcutter and how he worked to meet his vastly different goals.

One of the best things about this novel is that it isn’t just a fairytale retelling, it bridges genre (and age) gaps as is holds so many different elements. Not only is it filled with fairytale elements, there are also significant nods to mythology and traditional folklore, not to mention the bits of fantasy, mystery and horror throughout. As you read you gain more knowledge of the world and characters within it, and therefore you are able to journey with The Woodcutter as he learns about the land he protects.

If I can tell you anything to sway you to pick this novel up as soon as possible, know that Kate Danley’s writing is beautiful. She is a master at words and I found myself reading and re-reading many lines throughout. I highly recommend The Woodcutter to those of you looking for an enthralling and lovely read. Fans of The Book of Lost Things by John Connelly and traditional fairy tales will find this especially lovely.

Yes, true love’s first kiss

“The spell has been broken,” said the Woodcutter…The hellhound that stalked you will have lost your scent, for you are no longer that which you were and will forever be more than you ever thought possible…”

He knew they no longer needed him, for wild magic does not meddle with the hearts of those who have tamed it with true love.

For true love conquers all.

Review: A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin

May 9, 2013 by Alyssa

Title: A Game of Thrones

Author: George R. R. Martin

Publishing Information: August 1, 1996 by Bantam

Genre: Adult, Epic Fantasy, Adventure

Series information: Book one in A Song of Ice and Fire

Format: Hardcover, 790 pages

Source: Purchased for my e-Reader

Recommended For: Fans of high fantasy novels and readers who don’t mind picking their jaw up off the floor.

Long ago, in a time forgotten, a preternatural event threw the seasons out of balance. In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom’s protective Wall. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to. Sweeping from a land of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, here is a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens.

Here an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildlings carry men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne; and a determined woman undertakes the most treacherous of journeys. Amid plots and counterplots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, the fate of the Starks, their allies, and their enemies hangs perilously in the balance, as each endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones.

As you may know, I am reading the entire Song of Ice and Fire series for an amazing read along. This book is MASSIVE and is filled with ALL THE THINGS so I don’t want to even come close to spoiling ANYTHING. Therefore, instead of a traditional review I am going to just provide you with my THOUGHTS on the book, the characters, and the epicness that is this series.

*I am just going to say before we begin that I KNOW that I am not on the same page as everyone for the most part. I usually love the villains, and dislike the characters everyone else loves. *shrugs* I’m a Slytherin so one can only assume that I would be a Lannister as well.

I am a huge fan of the TV show Game of Thrones, and I was worried that I would be bored by the first book because I heard that it was so well done that the book and show were extremely alike. I’m not going to lie to you, HBO did an amazing job with season one of the show, and they were very alike. However, I am so relieved and thrilled to tell you that the book was so much better. I absolutely adored the way that the reader was able to get into the character’s minds and know what they were going through. I especially felt this way about Sansa, who I had a very hard time liking in the show. As I neared the end of the novel, I really felt for Sansa and I was surprised at the strength that she was able to show, I will definitely look at her differently while watching the show from now on.

Speaking of amazing characters, I LOVE DAENERYS. She is amazing in the book and the show and I WILL NOT SPOIL but WOW does she turn into a BAMF. Tyrion is fantastic, I love how witty and strong he is despite his disabilities. I also love Jon Snow with a deep burning in my being. Also Ghost. I can’t even. *dies*

I actually really like Cersei in the show, I know, I KNOW, she is appalling and “evil” but I don’t care I think she is strong and awesome (creeptastic elements aside), and I was kind of sad that we didn’t see her as much as we do in the show. Eddard is, of course, loyal and amazing. Arya, pigheaded and strong, yet she still bothered me, though not as much as she does on screen. Catelyn kind of annoyed me, I know she is supposed to be strong, and she totally is, but for the most part I was questioning everything that she did. Also I was happy to see that I enjoyed Bran more in the novel, I think this was largely because of ALL OF THE DIREWOLVES, YO!! I hope to see a lot of growth with his character in the future novels.

Anywho, in terms of plot, WE HAS IT. So many things happened and even though I knew most of them were coming I was still like “sayyy whaaa” at a lot of parts. I am absolutely giddy to see where things go. Many friends who have read the series in its entirety have told me on more than one occasion to not get too attached to the characters, and to be quite honest, I am equally excited and so scared to continue on. I will positively have hysterics if something happens to ~~Ghost~~ one of the direwolves.

In short, I loved the book.

Winter is coming, you guys, and I can’t wait for it.

Review: A Lion Among Men by Gregory Maguire

February 18, 2013 by Alyssa

Title: A Lion Among Men

Author: Gregory Maguire

Publishing Information: October 16th 2008 by William Morrow

Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Fairy tales

Series information: Book 3 in The Wicked Years

Format: Hardcover, 309 pages

Source: Owned

Recommended For: Fans who have read Wicked and Son of a Witch and want to see more characters in the Wicked universe.

A Lion Among Men chronicles a battle of wits hastened by the Emerald City’s approaching armies. What does the Lion know of the whereabouts of the Witch’s boy, Liir? What can Yackle reveal about the auguries of the Clock of the Time Dragon? And what of the Grimmerie, the magic book that vanished as quickly as Elphaba? Is destiny ever arbitrary? Can those tarnished by infamy escape their sobriquets–cowardly, wicked, brainless, criminally earnest–to claim their own histories, to live honorably within their own skins before they’re skinned alive?

Here we are again representing all things Wizard of Oz to celebrate Project Fairy Tale! If you want to learn more about this fun event head over to my intro post!

I can’t lie, it was hard to pick this one up twelve years after reading Wicked, I couldn’t bring myself to re-read and there was a little bit of confusion as I tried to remember where we were in the story. As I said before, these novels read more like companions while also working toward the major story arc so thankfully once I started reading it wasn’t a major issue that I couldn’t recall specific details from book one and two. A Lion Among Men provides another piece to the puzzle that is Elphaba and Oz. The reader follows Brr as he grows and learns how to be both Lion and “man.” Though I enjoyed the story enough, I did feel a little lost and confused as to why most details were important to the main story. That is, for the most part I was conflicted that we weren’t learning what happened after the huge bomb that was dropped at the end of Son of a Witch or what any of this had to do with Elphaba and her sacrifices. The last quarter of the book, however, tied everything up in a way that had my mouth on the ground. Maguire is a genius storyteller. He invokes so many feelings in a reader and does it so subtly that as I was reading I wasn’t realizing how much the story was affecting me but as the bomb was dropped I was left feeling hurt and raw, as if I was the one betrayed. The reader learns more about Yackle and she provides much comic relief to an otherwise dramatic and serious story, I did enjoy her parts very much though much of the back story on Brr wasn’t as entertaining as I had hoped.

It seems as if Maguire is giving us miniscule pieces to a very large puzzle. Though I was entertained enough to want to read the last book in the series, I have to be honest and say that my main reasoning is because I felt as if I couldn’t abandon the series after coming so far. Overall, I felt as if Maguire took a very long time to tell a not so long story. That being said, I do look forward to sharing my feelings about Out of Oz next week. I found that like myself, many readers were upset at how little this story has to do with Liir or Nor, but I am happy to say that the conclusion of The Wicked Years ties together every open story thread and brings the characters together so that the reader is able to better understand their stories throughout the first three novels.