The Sword of Shannara

Back in January 2016, I wrote a post about the show The Chronicles of Narania that had premiered. I went on to say that I as I thoroughly enjoyed the show (which only went on to get better from that first episode onward) I hoped that it would draw people into the books. Well, I got my wish. A friend messaged me not long after the show ended for the season, asking me where to start in the series (a question I highly discourage because my answer tends to be long-winded at best, mind-numbing at worst) as she wanted to read the books that inspired the show. I pointed her to The Sword of Shannara partly because that was where Brooks started, and partly so that she could get a little bit of backstory for some of the things she would be seeing later on in the series (book or show). As we talked about it, I decided to join her and read the books again as well. While it took me a lot longer to finish, only because life got really in the way, the story was everything that I remembered it to be.

Sword tells the story of Shea Ohmsford, small town boy looking to mind his own business until the Druid Allanon appears to tell him that he is the heir to an overwhelming birthright in the form of a legendary sword that would be the one weapon that could take out the incredible powerful evil that is the Warlock Lord. A lot of traveling, fighting, chaos, confusion, and adventures ensue. It is a great place to start the series if you have never read the books before.

This is not the beginning though. Even that first time I read the series, when I was around 10, I started with The First King of Shannara which tells how the sword came to be, sets up the stories of the families, the druids, the world that is the Four Lands. I encourage everyone to read it!

But with the next season starting soon, I am glad that my friend started with Sword because I am going to quickly jump into Elfstone of Shannara, the next book upon which the show is based, and hopefully get to Wishsong of Shannara before the show starts getting too far off track from the original story line (which has already been confirmed to mixed reviews).

Anyway, I absolutely loved getting pulled back into this story once more. I have loved this series, this world for so long, getting to fully step back into it again was like returning to an old friend. And we picked up right where we left off. Once more I have the insatiable urge to read them all! Getting to talk with a new fan was a real bonus that I greatly enjoyed as well. So if you have recently picked up the books, please let me know so we can talk about them! If you have only just found the series, that's great too, because I love it just as much! And if you need a push to get into either, let me know, I will gladly give you a nudge as I pick up Elfstones and program the TV to record season 2 on Spike! Join me in one of my very first fandoms! Trust me, it is so worth it!

East Of The Sun

October - Bestsellers

I know I am a full month late on this one, but with National Novel Writing Month I got distracted and am just now managing to finish this one. I want to be up front and claim all the fault for this. This novel was great, I enjoyed it for reasons I will expand on in just a moment, but there were parts in the narrative that sort of slowed down just a bit. With those parts lining up with me having to put the book down for whatever reason, I was slow to pick it back up for a few days. This meant this book took far longer than it should have when it was actually a good read. All my fault.

Let me tell you what the story is about: Viva was young when she left India after her parents and sister had died, but now she has reason to return thanks to a letter from an old friend of her mother's saying that she had found a trunk of Viva's parent's and would she kindly do something with it. So to help pay her way, Viva takes on the job of chaperone for other young people making the trip to India: Guy, a young man rejoining his parents after being away at school for so long. Rose, a young woman headed to India to get married to a soldier who had proposed after a very short acquaintanceship. And Tor, Rose's best friend and bridesmaid who is looking to find an escape from her mother. All three women find themselves in a very different world with their lives turned upside down. While maintaining their friendship in this new land, they also grow individually into very different people.

So, why did I like it? Because it was complex. Gregson took three main women and put them in a foreign land and left them to their own devices. Things got chaotic. Specially when the women were so different from each other which led to very different paths begin taken and a very wide range of events to tell of. Which is why this book was a bit longer than what I have been reading lately (with the very notable exception of Game of Thrones). There was far more story for Gregson to tell. And she did it wonderfully!

Not only did the story wind along various paths, but the characters she gives us changed greatly over the course of the novel. Even the characters that we would consider minor, unimportant to the main story, seemed to develop thanks to the things the leading ladies did. I greatly enjoyed the final result of this.

So I encourage everyone to take a chance on this. Pick it up and enjoy the wonderful characters and story that Gregson works with to make a tale that is truly fascinating and touching.

Game of Thrones

I will freely admit that a friend got me hooked on the show a few months back and when I ran out of episodes to watch I immediately jumped to the book series. Just like with Attack on Titan, I was looking to find out what happened next. I also wanted to know how the two compared. Wow, they are so incredibly similar that it really is like HBO brought the books to life.

I wont give away any spoilers by telling you where the book ends in comparison to the series, but I will say that more than just season one is in this first book. Sh, that's all you're getting.

So, in case you have absolutely no idea what these books or the show are about (because you are cozy under your rock) I will try and give you the briefest overview:
Martin created a vast world where most of the land is united under a King with Lords that have sworn fealty to him. This first book starts with King Robert making the trip north to Winterfell to ask his old friend (and almost brother-in-law) Eddard Stark to be his right hand man, the Hand of the King to be exact. Meanwhile, across a sea are the last two members of the Targaryen family, the former rulers of the kingdom before they were overthrown by Robert. Viserys, the brother, is trying to amass an army to help take back his throne, only things are not going his way.

So much goes wrong, chaos fills this world as people betray others, families fight, and the common people kind of get stuck in the middle of it all. And all the while Winter, a years long frozen season, is coming, bringing bad things from the North.

Martin weaves an incredibly complex tale aptly titled that resembled a very intense game of chess. There are a few good guys, plenty of bad guys, and even more people with intentions that are so muddled I am not sure how Martin himself kept them all straight.

I do have to warn you, there is plenty of inappropriate moments throughout the book as well. Scenes of gore that made me a little sick and other...intimate moments that made it a little awkward since I was listening to the book on my phone. It is also a long read. Something like 50 hours on audio that took me a full month to listen to.

All that being said, I think this is an incredible read! If high fantasy, intrigue, plot twists, are your thing, this book will fill your heart with glee. Right before someone you like dies, but that is a risk you won't mind taking because there will be someone new to love!

Pick this one up! Let me know what you think! Or if you have seen the show, let me know too, I love fangirling over it with people!

The Ocean At The End Of The Lane

October - Bestsellers

My mother, a huge fan of Gaiman, had this book autographed and then gave it to me. As soon as I saw the theme for this month, I knew I was going to pick this one up. Gaiman is a bestselling author, and for very good reason, and this book is one among many that have earned a spot at the top of any list.

In true Gaiman fashion, this is a story set in the mundane world, completely possible events happening interwoven with elements of the fantastic. The story follows a man who has gone home for his father's funeral and decides to visit the house of a childhood friend. But sitting in front of the pond in her yard, memories come rushing in, of an event he had forgotten, that was so incredible it is hard to believe fully, and yet looking back on it, he never questions the validity of the memory.

The story moved a little slower than I would have liked, although I think that may have been due to the fact that this wasn't the book I wanted to be reading right now. But I enjoyed it nonetheless. And of course I did, because Gaiman is such an incredible writer, there is no "not liking" his works. I am so glad that I got to read this one, too, because it was all such an incredible tale with an ending that left me thinking simply "wow, huh".

I think this is going to be one that I come back to again in the future, to see if it is different for me, because it was great even n my slight disinterest this time around. Have you read Gaiman? Have you read this one? What do you think? Let me know.