Smugglivus has arrived!

As you know, Smugglivus is our end of the year celebration leading up to our blog-o-versary on January 7th. And in true celebratory spirit we have invited authors, publishers and bloggers to look back at 2009 and talk about their favourite reads, to rant if needed, to say what they are looking forward to reading in 2010 and more: it IS all about the love for books and reading!

And we kick-off the event tomorrow, with a great line up:

We start with horror writer Joel Sutherland as he officially opens the event.  Joel Sutherland was the first author we interviewed for the blog and the person who opened last year’s Smugglivus celebration, so it is now part of the Smugglivus tradition to have Joel kick-start the event. This year we’ll hear more from Joel, including a very cool contest too!

On Wednesday, it is UF/YA author Jackie Kessler’s turn to talk about her fave reads of 2009 and what we can expect from her in 2010. Her post is followed by Thea’s review of Gateway by Sharon Shin

On Thursday, Melissa Marr , writer of the YA Wicked Lovely series lists her favourite reads of 2009, followed by Thea’s review of Spellspam (with an autographed giveaway) by Alma Alexander.

On Friday, we have a chat with YA/Fantasy author Alma Alexander and Thea posts her final review of the WorldWeavers’ trilogy with Cybermage (again, with a giveaway).

Finally on Saturday, Kathryn McKenna, Simon and Schuster UK’s Children’s Marketing & Publicity Assistant talks about what we can expect from the publisher next year. We follow her piece with our first Smugglivus Flash Giveaway.

So, folks, buckle up and let get this party started!!

Title: Untouchable (one of two stories in the Deep Kiss of Winter anthology with Gena Showalter)

Author: Kresley Cole

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Publisher: Pocket
Publishing Date: October, 2009
Hardcover 436 pages (the novella has about 240 pages)

Stand Alone or series: Part of the Immortals After Dark series but can be read as stand alone

Why did I read the book: This series is my literary crack

How did I get the book: review copy from publisher

Summary: Murdoch Wroth will stop at nothing to claim Daniela the Ice Maiden — the delicate Valkyrie who makes his heart beat for the first time in three hundred years. Yet the exquisite Danii is part ice fey, and her freezing skin can’t be touched by anyone but her own kind without inflicting pain beyond measure. Soon desperate for closeness, in an agony of frustration, Murdoch and Danii will do anything to have each other. Together, can they find the key that will finally allow them to slake the overwhelming desire burning between them?

Review: Kresley Cole’s Untouchable is one of two stories in the anthology Deep Kiss of Winter (the other story is Gena Showalter’s Tempt Me Eternally which I did not read as I am not acquainted with that series) and is set in the Immortals After Dark world. Kresley Cole’s books are my literary crack and I have read all of the novels and novellas in the series. I have enjoyed the first few very much but I am starting to feel a certain boredom and dissatisfaction with the series with the latest instalments. Untouchable has just cemented this feeling.

For all intents and purposes , I should have loved the story. This is the romance between the last of the Wroth brothers, Murdoch and the Valkyrie Daniela known as the Ice Maiden for her Icere (Ice Fey) half and at its heart it is a “Reformed Rake” story, my favourite romance trope. Murdoch was quite the ladies men, never attached to any woman until he became a vampire. One of the things he fears the most is to find his Bride (the vampire’s version of a life-mate) as he can’t think of anything worse than to be shackled to someone for eternity. That makes him absolutely unique in the world they inhabit (for all vampires want to find their Brides) but also amongst the heroes we have seen so far. It also provides some entertainment in itself as he asks those questions I am sure we all have asked at some point about the very idea of “mating”: Is he supposed to feel okay about being mated FOREVER with someone he hardly knows?

Even worse for Murdoch is the fact that Danii, as part Icere , is very sensitive to warm temperatures and is literally, untouchable or else she feels pain. She is hiding in New Orleans with her Valkirye coven because she is the rightful queen of the Icere, whose crown has been stolen and she has been a fugitive for about 2000 years. She has been unable to have any relationships and is very lonely – her reaction to being Murdoch’s Bride is one of relief until she realizes that he is not happy, at all.

And here is where I reach a problematic part of the review, with a conundrum.

Kresley Cole’s books are known for the oversexed characters and plot. Her books follow a recognizable pattern (loads of foreplay, and some conflict, then loads of sex) and that becomes part of the comfort in reading them. You always know what you going to get, in a very predictable manner. This book is no different, the sexing is scorching hot as usual, and is pretty good at that.

BUT, I find myself, as I said above, bored. Although each of Kresley Cole’s characters has individual traits that differentiate them from the characters from the previous books, the journey they make towards the happy ending is a very repetitive one. Without a strong world building in which to set the romance, the books are starting to read the same, every single time. Especially when I compare them to other paranormal romance series such as Nalini Singh’s and Meljean Brook’s; both these series have strong world building and stories that go far, far beyond the sexing. I had hoped Kresley Cole’s would go the same route (what with the Ascension and the Lore) but I lost that hope with the latest instalments.

Even though the conflicts, both internal and external, in this story are interesting to begin with, they come to a resolution, far too easy and fast. For all that Murdoch resists the pull of his Bride still he falls in that predictable pattern: endless pages of foreplay, displays of jealousy-possessiveness and his doubts being pushed aside because hey LOOK , her sex is glistening. Similarly Danii’s storyline with the Icere is solved ridiculously fast especially if you think this has been going on for two thousand years. In a matter of seconds, all that comes to a resolution with a Deus Ex Machina in the shape of an Icere guy who has “I am a future protagonist” written all over his hawt, tormented self.

The “conundrum” and “problematic” comes from the fact that there is nothing NEW here. All of the above happened in previous books which brings me to my point. If the books remain the same, it is I who have come to a crossroads – do I keep reading or do I part ways with the series? I read Romance books for more than the sex, and I think that the Immortal After Dark series, after that initial novelty feel, is not really for me. I do intend to read the next one, Pleasure of a Dark Prince because I have been waiting for that story since book one, but I have the strongest suspicion that that will be my last one.

Notable Quotes/ Parts: I thought his passage was funny – like an inside joke about these books’ tropes:

“Obviously, I need to leave,” she said while thinking, tell me I’m your Bride, and that I WILL be staying. Be an arrogant, possessive Neanderthal vampire! She wanted him to simply inform her that he would never let her go and she would just have to accept that, or whatever domineering misguided trip these manly men always said.

Verdict: If you read this series you know exactly what to expect. All left for you to decide is: is it worth paying Hardcover price to read another similar story that does not progress the main plot at all?

Rating: Well. If you are looking for good romance and hot sex, the story is effective – I would give it a 6. Overall plot is quite weak though – and that is a 4.

Reading next: The Red Wolf Conspiracy by Robert V. S. Redick

So, while Thea is on a Thanksgiving break and I am left on my own, I decided to take over (Muwahaha) and do this stash, Ana style.

What was on my mind last week?

First and foremost: I was immersed in Smugglivus’ (upcoming event to celebrate reading and books!) preparations.

Drooling over the pretty poster, organising our crazy schedule, contacting our guests, etc. If you missed our Smugglivus’ announcement last Thursday, you can read it here.

I also spent some time trying to decide which books to read next month. Because of Smugglivus and the end of the year , I will be able to read those books I wasn’t able to read so far. One of those was The Magicians by Lev Grossamn and that did not work out as expected.  Alas, I do hope my next reads will be better. I have high expectations for those in particular:

I also spent some time musing and fawning over this one here:

I think the cover is fabulous; I like the blurb; I read one story by Sam Sykes in the Dragon Book and I liked it; The twitter buzz around this novel is growing; The book is not out till April though and it is KILLING me that I have other books I need to read before I can read this one.

Speaking of new authors: not a new author per se, but new author to me, I think I have a new author-crush for Jim C. Hines. I loved his Princess books, which I reviewed this week

….and I have been reading his livejournal. On top of interesting posts about writing, there is one about Rape in Fiction which I thought was fabulous.

Speaking of  rape in fiction. Kate, from What Kate’s Reading posted her thoughts on The Windflower and ended up writing a great post about rape and

why Rape is not romance. Rape is not a laughing matter. Rape is not a cheap literary device.

Her post is part of The Windflower World Tour, which by the way, is getting back on track!

For those who do not know, The Windflower World Tour is an across-blogs event in which a copy of the out of print The Windlower by Laura London is going around the world from blogger to blogger. The book is an old school romance and the reactions to it are all over the place. You can read more about it here and here. Next stop on the tour is at Literary Escapism.

Also on my mind last week, were the series of great posts that author Jackie Kessler wrote about the whole Harlequin Horizon debacle (in which publisher Harlequin opens a Vanity Publishing on the side). You can read more about it here and here. Also, here.

Great is also the word I would use to describe a post by Sarah Rees Brennan where she reviews some books she loved (including a couple of wonderful romance novels by the ever magnificent Meredith Duran) and mentions the Blank Page Heroine. Justine Larbalestier picked up the term and talked about it on her own blog . Make sure to read the comments – they are great too.

Speaking of heroines – and heroes and “great” , I jump right into Super-heroes ( am I trying too hard? LOL) : I saw this at Harry’s blog and loved it! The Super Emo Friends:

Seriously, how cute is that? And so, so true.

Anyways, this is what I have been up to. On Tuesday, we kick-off Smugglivus and we will post a special Week One Schedule tomorrow right after my review of Deep Kiss of Winter (Kresley Cole’s story) goes live.

What else? I think I need to do something important. Ah! Giveaway winners! I saved the best for last!

Tainted Giveaway:

Carolyn H (comment # 3)

Flash Giveaway:

Batch 1 – Jenny N (comment #63)
Batch 2 – Sarah (comment #80)

Congratulations! You know the drill – send an email to contact AT the book smugglers DOT com with your snail mail address, and we’ll get your winnings out to you as soon as possible! Thanks to all that entered, and if you didn’t win this time, don’t worry. There’s plenty more where that came from.

And that is it from me today! Have a great Sunday and until tomorrow!

~ Your friendly neighborhood Book Smugglers

“On The Smugglers’ Radar” is a new feature for books that have caught our eye: books we heard of via other bloggers, directly from publishers, and/or from our regular incursions into the Amazon jungle. This is how the Smugglers’ Radar was born, and because there are far too many books that we want than we can possibly buy or review (what else is new?) we thought we could make it into a weekly feature – so YOU can tell us which books you have on your radar as well!

On Ana’s Radar:

I got this ARC from Gollancz this week and it looks AWESOME. I read Sam Sykes’ story in the Dragon Book and I loved his characters so I am really looking forward to this one now. It is a debut novel that is creating quite the buzz online.

Lenk can barely keep control of his mismatched adventurer band at the best of times (Gariath the dragon man sees humans as little more than prey, Kataria the shict despises most humans and the humans in the band are little better). When they’re not insulting each other’s religions they’re arguing about pay and conditions. So when the ship they are travelling on is attacked by pirates things don’t go very well. They go a whole lot worse when an invincible demon joins the fray. The demon steals the Tome of the Undergates – a manuscript that contains all you need to open the undergates. And whichever god you believe in you don’t want the undergates open. On the other side are countless more invincible demons, the manifestation of all the evil of the gods, and they want out. Full of razor-sharp wit, characters who leap off the page (and into trouble) and plunging the reader into a vivid world of adventure this is a fantasy that kicks off a series that could dominate the second decade of the century.

Melissa Marr’s next in her Wicked Lovely series has its cover!

I have on good authority *ninja* that this new series is VERY GOOD especially for fans of the Sookie Stackhouse series!

After being laid off from her job as Half Moon Hollow’s children’s librarian, Jane drowns her sorrows in Electric Lemonade and Mudslides using her severance package (a $25 Shenanigans gift certificate). Atthe bar she’s kept company by a magnetically attractive (if a bit pale) stranger, Gabriel Nightingale – who follows her out and takes matters into his own hands when Jane’s car breaks down and she’s mistaken for a deer by a drunk with a rifle as she’s headed home in the dark, on foot. If Gabriel doesn’t turn Jane, she’ll be, as the saying goes, dying young and leaving a pretty corpse. Being undead, though, is just the beginning of Jane’s problems. She’s still unemployed, has “family issues,” a best friend who finds love with a werewolf (werewolves and vampires don’t mix well); she’s also being framed for murder, stalked by a former crush, and romanced by her moody sire. What’s an undead girl to do?This hilarious, delightful debut novel combines MaryJanice Davidson’s sass and Charlaine Harris’ small town Southern charm to form the perfect read for lovers of paranormal romantic comedy.

I follow Jill Myles’ livejournal and her first book is going to be out soon. It sounds fun But I am so not a huge fan of the cover!

Jackie Brighton woke up in a Dumpster this morning, and her day has only gotten weirder. Her familiar B-cups have somehow become double Ds, her sex drive is insatiable, and apparently she had her first one-night stand ever…with a fallen angel. All she remembers is gorgeous Noah’s oddly hypnotic blue eyes…and then a dark stranger whose bite transformed her into an immortal siren with a sexy Itch. With help from Noah, Jackie begins to adapt to her new lifestyle — until she accidentally sends Noah into the deadly clutches of the vampire queen and lands herself in a fierce battle for an ancient halo with the queen’s wickedly hot righthand man. Who just happens to be the vampire who originally bit her. How’s a girl supposed to save the world when the enemy’s so hard to resist?

And since I am always on the lookout for new PNR: has anyone read this?

A twist of fate made Zoe Pappas heir to the Byzant throne. Bound by duty and devotion to keep the Empire safe, Zoe is captured while on a secret diplomatic mission and sent to an underground prisoner-of-war camp. In this strange, shadowy place, residents are governed by fellow inmate General Matthias “Doc” Raven, whose powerful magnetism rouses an urgent desire in Zoe. But the intensity of her attraction is matched by her surprise at discovering that Doc has a secret of his own: he is a vampire.

Zoe’s presence puts everyone in the camp in danger. Doc knows it, and knows too that Zoe’s royal status makes it impossible for her to bond with a vampire. The only way to save her is to help her escape, and lose her forever. But some fires are impossible to quench, even when following your heart is the ultimate taboo….

Finally, this is the first Steampunk title from Angry Robot, to be released in January. It looks great!

A brilliant criminal stalks the streets of London. Scotland Yard is on his trail. But how can the city remain safe when every book is a potential weapon?

On Thea’s Radar:

There are so many books I’m looking forward to in this edition of the stash, it’s not even funny. First up, one of my absolute favorite authors of all time…

Far from the land of her birth, Moirin sets out across Tatar territory to find Bao, the proud and virile Ch’in fighter who holds the missing half of her diadh-anam, the divine soul-spark of her mother’s people. After a long ordeal, she not only succeeds, but surrenders to a passion the likes of which she’s never known. But the lovers’ happiness is short lived, for Bao is entangled in a complication that soon leads to their betrayal.

Naamah’s Curse comes out in June 2010, and I am already salivating. Then, there’s the third book in Michael Grant’s awesome ongoing Gone series:

No synopsis yet, but the cover looks awesome. I love this series, and cannot wait for this next book! Then there’s this upcoming book from Mette Ivie Harrison – I’ve read and really enjoyed The Princess and the Hound (which I will get around to reviewing one of these days), and her covers are just awesome:

Again, no synopsis yet! But pretty cover. Heard about this next one from book pimp Karen Mahoney:

Beings of unimaginable power, classified as myths and legends, have been imprisoned in the secluded town of St. Ives for centuries watched over by guardians with supernatural skills. Te Evangeline’s father was one such guardian, a “binder” who died in the line of duty and who passed along his ability to his daughter. Now, Te must awaken the magic within her before her father’s killer releases his fellow prisoners on an unsuspecting world.

Then, there’s the new Aprilynne Pike:

Six months have passed since Laurel saved the gateway to the faerie realm of Avalon. Now she must spend her summer there, honing her skills as a Fall faerie. But her human family and friends are still in mortal danger–and the gateway to Avalon is more compromised than ever.

When it comes time to protect those she loves, will she depend on David, her human boyfriend, for help? Or will she turn to Tamani, the electrifying faerie with whom her connection is undeniable?

I’m not crazy about the new cover (it kind of looks like bad calendar photo), but I really loved Wings and am eager for more from Ms. Pike. And finally, caught wind of this one thanks again to KMont over at Lurv a la Mode:

Sisters Serena and Meteora were once proud members of the high court of the Fairy Queen- until they played a prank that angered her highness. Separated and banished to the mortal realm of Earth, they must find a way to survive in a strange world in which they have no power. But there is more to their new home than they first suspect…

A sympathetic Meteora bonds with a troubled young girl with an ornate tattoo on her neck. Meteora recognizes it as a magic symbol that will surely bring danger down on them all. Serena, meanwhile, takes in a tortured homeless boy whose mind is plagued by dark visions. The signs point to a rising power that threatens to tear asunder both fairy and human worlds.

And the sisters realize that perhaps the queen cast them from their homes not out of anger or spite- but because they were the only ones who could do what must be done…

Jane Yolen was one of my favorite authors as a young adult (Sister Light, Sister Dark and the Pit Dragon books were my favorites), so I’m eager to try this new release.

Phew. That’s it from us – what books are you looking forward to?

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! In celebration of the holidays, we’ve got a cornucopia of books on the table – TWO giveaway batches for two lucky readers.

This weekend’s offerings are Paranormal Romance!

Batch 1:

And in Batch 2:

The contest is open to everyone in the US or Canada. In order to enter for either batch, leave a comment here (one comment per person please – your comment will automatically enter you for BOTH batches! Multiple and/or duplicate comments will be disqualified). The contest will be open until 11:59 PM (PST) tonight, November 28th. GOOD LUCK!

Title: The Magicians

Author: Lev Grossman

Genre: Fantasy

Publisher:William Heinemann Ltd (UK) / Viking (US)
Publishing Date: May 2009 / August 2009
Paperback/ Hardcover: 416 pages

Stand Alone or series: Stand alone with rumours of a sequel

Why did I read the book: I have wanted to read the book since it first came out and after so many positive reviews. A lot of reviewers mention this as one of the best of the year.

How did I get the book: Bought it.

Summary: Quentin Coldwater is brilliant but miserable. He’s a senior in high school, and a certifiable genius, but he’s still secretly obsessed with a series of fantasy novels he read as a kid, about the adventures of five children in a magical land called Fillory. Compared to that, anything in his real life just seems gray and colorless.

Everything changes when Quentin finds himself unexpectedly admitted to a very secret, very exclusive college of magic in upstate New York, where he receives a thorough and rigorous education in the practice of modern sorcery. He also discovers all the other things people learn in college: friendship, love, sex, booze, and boredom. But something is still missing. Magic doesn’t bring Quentin the happiness and adventure he thought it would.

Then, after graduation, he and his friends make a stunning discovery: Fillory is real.

Review: I have wanted to read this book for months now. We were supposed to write a joint review and I keep sending weekly emails to Thea asking “so, when can we read The Magicians” – but other reading commitments kept us from finally getting to it. With the end of the year upon us, I felt the urgency even more so I just went ahead and read it. I kind of expected The Magicians to knock my socks off and maybe even make my top 10 of 2009.

Boy, was I wrong. Delusional. The experience of reading this book turned out to be one of the strangest experiences of my reading life. From the very first pages, I felt a mix of anger and downright revulsion towards the book and its main character Quentin; I had the weirdest, most negative reaction and the only reason I kept reading till the end was so that I could have all the information necessary to write this review.

The easiest route to summarise The Magicians is perhaps to say what a lot of reviews already said: this is what Harry Potter or Narnia would be like if their characters were on drugs , or drunk or both. But I would go further: The Magicians is like every Fantasy novel if they were stripped of any warmth, sense of wonder, heroism and replacing it all with what can be interpreted as a dose of “reality”.

Basically, the plot follows the main character, a depressed (god only knows why) guy called Quentin who is a smart, handsome, 17 year old, as he learns that there is real magic in world, just like in the books he loves. Instead of going to Princeton as he was supposed to, he is invited to attend a school of magic, ‘Brakebills College for Magical Pedagogy’ and the story follows his days at the school until he graduates, then has to go back to the real world and then to Fillory, an alternate world out of children’s books.

“Real” is very much the key word here and the fundamental theme of the book: what would happen if there was magic but not a “big bad” to fight? What if there was a hidden world of wonders, of people who had these abilities? What would be the point?

Well, obviously, people would get drunk, take drugs and have sex. Duh. Because there is NOTHING else in the entire wide world that you could possibly do. Because you see, magic is HARD.

The clear attempt of taking the Fantasy and making it less fantastic by adding an element of “reality” to it, in order to tell us that hey, “life is in shades of grey people, there is no black and white” is as trite and lacking subtlety as if the author was trying to do just the opposite. In trying, too hard in my opinion, to infuse this Fantasy with bleakness and edginess, the author removes any and all chance of me, ever connecting with his characters or with the plot.

Going even further with that, I am left wondering about certain aspects of the story. For example: in order to enter the school, all these kids, are taken from their world, without a moment’s notice, to take a test, and should they pass, they get to attend this school which is hidden from the regular world. None of them even blinks when that happens. Later down the road, they get to visit Fillory, a world which up to that point they thought was fictional but they take that in stride and are ready to jump into it and live the stories they read as children.

The assumption made is that since they all like to read Fantasy novels, this new reality comes so easily to them because they are used to the idea of Fantasy – and that to me, was so freaking insulting as a Fantasy reader, I can’t even express myself coherently. It is as though, Fantasy readers can’t tell reality from fantasy and are so immersed in their escapism that well, if ever confronted with the imaginary world, turned real, not one would ever think about it for two seconds. I am left with a very sour taste in my mouth, one that comes from feeling like I was being mocked by the author. Maybe that was not his intent. Maybe he tried to criticise the genre and I am totally missing the point. Given the universal praise this book received it might well be. I do know that it didn’t work for me.

That this book has a “message” is clear to me, though. Even more so when every single aspect of the Fantasy world is unoriginal and lifted from other Fantasy novels. The school is Harry Potter’s Hogwarts; Fillory and its mythology is Narnia down to a “t”. It is as though Lev Grossman didn’t even try to come up with a Fantasy world of his own because he was more interested in a message than in storytelling. This message is more important than everything else that some things are completely glossed over: there is a student who dies in the middle of a lesson and nothing ever comes out of it. The students are at one point transformed into geese and foxes but again, very little comes from this experience; they are completely pointless and there for shocking effect, especially their time as foxes .

The bottom line is this: I absolutely HATE to read books that try this hard to tell me something. Especially when they try to tell me that life is hard. I am alive. I KNOW that. Tell me a story in shades of grey but do so in a less blatant way, please.

Regarding the characters: Taking it a step further from the questions asked above, if a young man is unhappy in his life, what would it take to make him happy? Would living his dream do it? Would discovering that the world he thought was fictional was actually real make any difference? The answer according to The Magicians is, no.

And this is essentially IT: Quentin is a depressed guy, a guy who struggles to find a place in the world, a guy who is full of resentment but who has a sense of entitlement; who is granted his heart’s desire and still, he can’t be happy. And so page after page, we read about this guy in school, with his friends, with his girlfriend whining about how miserable he is. Even when he finds out that the world of Fillory, the world from the books he loves to read is REAL and THERE for him, still he manages to make a mess out of it. Does that make him a flawed, real character? Yes, it does. Do I want to read about him? Hell, noes. He is a total tool.

Because frankly, there is nothing I hate more than to read about a privileged kid (rich, handsome, ultra smart and powerful. Hey, Marty Sue!) constantly whining about his life.

And THIS, THIS is what made me so repulsed. Quentin is my worst nightmare coming to haunt me: he is Holden Caulfield all over again. I have no sympathy for Holden as I have no sympathy for Quentin. From the moment I realised that, The Magicians had no chance with me – this review is every bit a reflection about me as a reader and what I like or don’t like. Catcher in the Rye is one of my least favourite books ever. And The Magicians reminds me a lot of it.

I feel so strongly about Quentin that I almost wished that he was actually suffering from medical depression in which case he could be treated with anti-depressants. I almost wished that everything in this book was happening inside his head. Almost, because really, I couldn’t.Care.Less .

As for the secondary characters, I only really liked Alice, Quentin’s love interest; in fact she might be my favourite character in the book. Flawed, strong, driven Alice, she is ironically, the only one to have called Quentin on his bullshit.

The rest was only there to fill pages with required stereotypes. And I have a huge problem with Elliot, one of Quentin’s friends. You see, Elliot is gay. So then, obviously, he likes to dress up really well, loves to cook and has S/M tendencies and I find that insulting as hell. Not to mention, lazy characterisation.

Having said that: the book is completely readable; I did enjoy his writing and there were turns of phrase that I did really like. And I am happy that I stuck to it and finished the book because toward the end, there is a revelation that makes the story, at least, bearable. Just. But ultimately, and rather unfortunately, The Magicians did not live up to my expectations, and that is to put it very mildly.

Notable Quotes/ Parts:

He had done it. Magic was real, and he could do it.

And now that he could, my God, there was so much of it to do. The glass marble would be Quentin’s constant companion for the rest of the semester. It was the cold, pitiless glass heart of Professor March’s approach to magical pedagoy. Every lecture, every exercise, every demonstrantion was concerned with how to manipulate and transform it using magic. For the next four months Quentin was required to carry his marble everywhere. He fingered his marble under the table at dinner. It nestled in the inside pockets of his Brakebills jacket. When he showered, he tucked it in the soap dish. He took it to bed with him, and on those rare occasions when he slept he dreamed about it.

Verdict: The good writing is not enough to make me like a book that comes with such a blatant, bleak message. The Fantasy world is unoriginal and the main character is unappealing.

Rating: 4 – Bad but not without some merit

Reading next: Going Bovine by Libba Bray

On December 1st, we officially kick-off Smugglivus, our month-and-a-bit-long, end of the year, event, now in its second year. Inspired by Seinfeld’s Festivus, Smugglivus starts on Dec 1st and ends on Jan 7th , the date of our second bloggiversary.

And, now we officially unveil the amazing poster that Kmont did for us and give you the dirty details. Ta-daaaaaaaaaaaaaa:

(We are completely in love with it!)

So, what can you expect from Smugglivus?

Guests, loads of guests

For the duration of the event, every single day, we will have at least one guest, from authors and publishers to prominent bloggers talking about their favourite reads of 2009, and what we can expect from them in 2010. The line up includes those in the poster (points to pretty poster) and many, many more.

Feats of Strength

The Feats of Strength is nothing more than the usual dare but taken to the next level. We each will read a book the other picked that is more than outside their comfort zones. It is like in another- galaxy- zone.

Airing of Grievances

Oh, one of our favourite Smugglivus rites in which we basically well, rant. About books, TV shows, movies, reading and…..maybe even, each other. *gasp*

Best of Lists:

That will be our Ana and Thea’s Most Excellent Books of 2009 list and the Best of the Rest (TV and Movies)

Giveaways:

We have TONS of books to giveaway on every Saturday of the month and with some of the guest posts as well.

And that is basically it. We will of course, continue with our regular schedule with reviews (although less than the usual 3-4 each per week) but The Boob Tube and Radar posts will go on a break till January.

We hope you join us for the event and have as much fun as we had organising it!

Title: Madame Xanadu – Volume 1 Disenchanted

Author: Matt Wagner
Art: Amy Reeder Hadley

Genre: Graphic Novel/ Fantasy

Publisher: Vertigo
Publishing Date: July 2009
Paperback: 240 pages

Stand Alone or series: This is a self contained collection with the first 10 issues of the new Madame Xanadu series . It can be read as a stand alone story.

Why did I read the book: Kaz Mahoney told me it was good.

How did I get the book: Borrowed from Kaz Mahoney

Summary: Legendary creator Matt Wagner (MAGE, GRENDEL, SUPERMAN/BATMAN/WONDER WOMAN: TRINITY) and rising star artist Amy Reeder Hadley, present Vertigo’s newest ongoing fantasy epic MADAM XANADU.

Centuries long and around the far reaches of the globe, her tale winds before the ageless fortuneteller, whose powers of sight can change the course of human events.

As the mysterious past of Madam Xanadu is slowly unraveled, Wagner takes us on a journey throughout her history, from a medieval kingdom beset by foul sorcery to the court of Kublai Khan. Eventually Madam Xanadu returns to Europe as mystic advisor to Marie Antoinette, and as political tensions begin to boil, the Phantom Stranger makes his return. This time he seeks to kick-start the revolution and ensures that Paris’s streets run red – a blood sacrifice that will keep certain demonic forces at bay.

Review:

Confession: I had no idea who Madame Xanadu was before reading this Graphic Novel as I am not a DC connoisseur ( I am a Marvel Girl – ha – all the way; except you know, for Batman) ; I only decided to read it for two reasons: the recommendation from Karen Mahoney and the fact that Death from The Sandman makes an appearance. I did do a bit of homework (read: Wikipedia-ed) , in order to get my bearings and learnt that she is a minor, supporting character in the DC universe who use magic Tarot Cards to predict the future and help other characters with their supernatural problems playing a role of advisor without ever directly interfering. She is immortal and has some magical powers of her own.

In this new series by Vertigo, she is given a revamp and put in a central role. This first volume covers the first 10 issues in what can be described as an Origin story; it provides more information about the character throughout the ages and you can read only this first volume, as it has a definite ending in a self-contained story.

The volume is divided into 5 stories, each set in a different era, following Madame Xanadu in critical moments of her life. Starting with her true identify as the nymph Nimue (Yep, THE sorceress Nimue), in Arthurian times, sister to Vivienne and Morgana and the person that has a major role to play in the fall of King Arthur by being the one to take Merlin out of the equation. In this retelling, she has good reasons (which portray Merlin as a *gasp* villain) for doing so but her meddling has serious consequences. In this first story, she also encounters for the first time (at least from her point of view) The Phantom Stranger, a powerful time-traveller, observer of events who will make appearances in all stories at key moments.

The other stories follow Madame Xanadu as she spends time an advisor in the court Kubla Khan (in Xanadu hence her name), during the French Revolution where she befriends the Queen and will meet –and beat – Death, in London when Jack the Ripper is doing his worst and finally in America in the early twenties and her role in the appearance of The Spectre .

It is in this last story that all becomes clear, the story comes full circle ,showing just how Matt Wagner played his hand (ha, I am full of the intended puns today) with intention and design from the start making it all connect including that A-Ha Moment I tend to love. For that, for the interesting story (or history?) , I just loved this collection.

The insight into Madame Xanadu’s past is also an examination of history, of destiny and of will as with each encounter with the Phantom Stranger raises all of these issues. His fatalistic, inflexible attitude is in direct contrast to Xanadu’s indignation and frustration with they should or should not, do. Inaction vs. Action, Observing vs. Interfering , these are very intriguing concepts that interest me as a reader, and which pulled me right into the story. I also loved their tragic relationship: starting with a lot possibility and turning into antagonism over the centuries.

With regards to the artwork – I thought it was absolutely brilliant. It definitely has a slightly Manga-inspired feel (look at her eyes!) and since I am a fan, I thought it worked quite well. The background colours, the richness of the details were stunning:

Not bad. Not bad at all!

Notable Quotes/ Parts

Ah, as a total Sandman and the Endless fangirl, I obviously LOVED the encounter between Death and Madame Xanadu.

Additional Thoughts:

This collection, following Xanadu through the ages reminded me a lot of another collection of stories: Fables and Reflections, volume 6th of The Sandman which also has Morpheus through the ages. Funny enough, there is a story set during the French Revolution as well.

Also, speaking of Manga and of an Immortal who reads Tarot to help supernatural beings, if you like this combination, I highly recommend The Tarot Café by Park Sang-Sun.

The Tarot Café is a series with 7 volumes (all already published ) that follow Pamela, the Tarot reader in question. I really liked reading it.

Verdict: All in all, I really liked this volume: I liked learning about the character, like this specific story, loved the character’s interactions with the Phantom Stranger and LOVED the artwork. Highly recommended.

Rating: 8 – Excellent

Reading Next: Deep Kiss of Winter by Kresley Cole

Title: The Mermaid’s Madness

Author: Jim C. Hines

Genre: Fantasy

Publisher: Daw Books
Publishing Date: October 6, 2009
Paperback: 352 pages

Stand Alone or series: book 2 in the Princess Novels’ series

Why did I read the book: I read the first one and loved it.
How did I get the book: Bought

Summary:

There is an old story — you might have heard it — about a young mermaid, the daughter of a king, who saved the life of a human prince and fell in love.

So innocent was her love, so pure her devotion, that she would pay any price for the chance to be with her prince. She gave up her voice, her family, and the sea, and became human. But the prince had fallen in love with another woman.

The tales say the little mermaid sacrificed her own life so that her beloved prince could find happiness with his bride.

The tales lie.

Review: After reading and enjoying The Stepsister Scheme, I immediately picked up its sequel, The Mermaid’s Madness, and ended up enjoying it even more than the first one.

The three princesses Sleeping Beauty (Talia), Snow White (Snow) and Cinderella (Danielle) return and this time, they must face another fairytale princess turned villain: The (not so) Little Mermaid.

The story opens and it’s one year after the events of The Stepsister Scheme. Princess Danielle and her mother-in-law Beatrice are at high seas, preparing to parley with the Undine in their annual meeting when they exchange tributes and reinforce their association. But this time around something goes awry when they are attacked by a group of merfolk led by their new Queen, Lirea – she is looking for her missing sister and she believes Queen Bea is keeping her. Lirea ends up stabbing the Queen who falls into a magic-induced coma. The undine declare war against the humans until the queen’s sister is returned. This is when Danielle and Talia learn that Snow knows where the mermaid is and why is Queen Bea keeping her. It turns out, she is hiding in fear of her sister’s madness, a madness that comes from her tragic story, a gritty and sad story worse than anyone ever thought.

A young girls fall in love with a prince and her sorceress grandmother helps her become human so that she can woo him. In order to become fully human he has to marry her within six days. The prince uses the young princess and ditches her without ever committing because no Prince could ever marry a half-animal; driven by grief, the mermaid stabs the prince with an enchanted knife provided her grandmother (which is the same knife used to stab Queen Bea) ; in her guilt and sadness the mermaid goes crazy, kills her father and older sister and is in search of her other sister for revenge for helping in the creation of the knife.

It is this knife that Snow, Danielle and Talia must find in order to save Queen Bea and on their perilous journey (full of adventure!) they will meet many friend and foe and they will once again, save the day but not before realising some truths about themselves.

Now, this is what I am talking about: a good, adventurous story, great fighting sequences, with truly fleshed out characters. This time around, we get the three princesses’ PoV and I loved it. These three are absolutely great characters: courageous, determined, interesting far from being timid, spineless, feeble protagonists. They are also complex: Snow for example, has a tendency to get lost in a power trip whenever she is using her magic; Talia is on the brink of losing control – not only for feeling guilty for not preventing the attack on the Queen but for her unrequited love for Snow (by the way, I am so shipping these two). Danielle is concerned about her son and what exactly did the black magic used to speed up her pregnancy DO to him. Plus her need to clean whenever she is anxious is both funny and a bit sad.

The true tragedy and sadness of the story lie in finding out that the villain is far from being one-dimensional. Instead, even though it is clear that she really must be stopped, it is impossible not to feel sympathy for her. And towards the end, there is a new revelation that was somewhat sad but not unexpected – and I think that will open a new possible thread in the next instalments. And I can’t wait to read them – these books are fun, quick reads and the author do not keep from packing some punches. I can feel such a potential for this series and I am deeply connected with these characters: I totally, truly LIKE them.

Notable Quotes/ Parts:
The final showdown between Talia and the Little Mermaid – when Talia knows what she must do, Lirea knows what must be done and it is not only sad but poignant. Especially when Talia says that she “knows”: because she too, was never lucky in love.

Additional Thoughts The next book in the series will be released in 2010 and is called Red Hood’s Revenge:

Roudette’s story was a simple one. A red cape. A wolf. A hunter.

Her mother told her she would be safe, so long as she kept to the path. But sometimes the path leads to dark places.

Roudette is the hunter now, an assassin known throughout the world as the Lady of the Red Hood. Her mission will take her to Arathea and an ancient fairy threat. At the heart of the conflict between humans and fairies stands the woman Roudette has been hired to kill, the only human ever to have fought the Lady of the Red Hood and survived:

The princess known as Sleeping Beauty.

Can’t wait!

Verdict: These books are a lot of fun and of the highest quality. The Fantasy elements are great, the twists to known fairytales are creative and the characters…. I just love them. And where else can you get a Sleeping Beauty that is gay and a ninja?

Rating: 7 – very good, leaning towards a 8

Reading next: The Magicians by Lev Grossman

Title: Tainted

Author: Julie Kenner

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Publisher: Ace
Publication Date: October 2009
Paperback: 320 pages

Stand alone or series: Book 1 in the Blood Lily Chronicles

How did I get this book: ARC (from publicist)

Why did I read this book: When we were contacted with a review query for Julie Kenner’s debut Urban Fantasy novel, I read the synopsis for Tainted and was definitely interested – it sounded gritty, dark, and right up my Urban Fantasy alley.

Summary: (from JulieKenner.com)
Lily Carlyle has never been a good girl. She’s lied, cheated and stolen, but she did it all to protect her younger sister. To keep food on the table after their mother died. She’d made a promise, after all. A promise to take care of her sister. To keep the family together. And that’s a promise she’s determined to keep.

It’s a job she believes she can really get into-but she doesn’t realize that she may not be able to get out…

Review:

Lily Carlyle is dead.

Her last memory is of a the man she kills before she dies of her own fatal wounds. Even through the haze of pain and death, Lily is at peace, because she thinks she has finally killed the monster that had brutally raped and stolen the innocence from her younger sister, Rose. But Lily doesn’t stay dead. She’s rescued from the pits of Hell and given a second lease on life in another young woman’s body with one catch; she has to work as an assassin for Heaven. Turns out, Lily’s a prophesied warrior – the only one who will be able to stop the ninth gate to hell from opening and unleashing a demonic apocalypse on Earth. In exchange for working as a demon slayer and keeping the ninth gate closed, Lily has a chance to be redeemed and gain entry into Heaven. The path to redemption is even rockier than Lily ever could have expected, though, as she has to not only deal with demons hungry for her blood, but also must pretend to be the woman whose body she has taken over – one Alice Purdue, a twenty-some year old young woman. Lily masquerades as Alice, going to her job as a barmaid and improvising with Alice’s old relationships. Even more difficult than playacting at Alice’s life, however, is the growing darkness within Lily as she learns more about demons and how to kill them. And then, there’s the perplexing matter of Deacon – a preternaturally strong and terrifying man that Lily feels an inexplicable connection to; a man she cannot get out of her head, nor can she elude. As the hour draws closer for Lily to finish her task, she grows increasingly confused and angry. Who can she trust? And what can she do to protect the innocent bystanders that could be hurt – including her very own sister from her first life, Rose?

Tainted is a compelling start to a very dark new urban fantasy series. As the glittery allure of Urban Fantasy has been wearing off with the myriad copycat series’ clogging the market (all depicting some tough, hot twenty-some year old badass heroine, clad in leather with an enormous attitude problem and a tramp stamp) it’s tough for a new series to really distinguish itself in the sea of redundancy and mediocrity. Tainted employs a number of genre clichés (twenty-something badass, attitude problem, cheesy tattoo, badass fighting ability, with save-the-world-and-don’t-trust-anyone syndrome), and yet by virtue of its clever plot manages to entertain thoroughly.

In terms of characters, Tainted is nothing new or groundbreaking. Heroine Lily reads like a number of any other UF leading ladies – abrasive, headstrong, badass but with her heart in the right place (even if her methods are a little questionable, ethically). That doesn’t mean she’s boring or unsympathetic, though – even with this rather familiar, mundane characterization, Lily’s narrative is snappy and easy to read. As a heroine she’s sympathetic in that she’s so hard on herself, and for all her flaws she has a deep rooted urge to keep her word and protect those she loves – and those are admirable traits. Predictably, Lily also has a love interest in the smoldering, morally compromised Deacon. From the moment these two characters set eyes on each other, they fall into instant lust – Lily cannot control her sexual urges when Deacon’s in close proximity (which induces more than a little eye rolling). Other characters are more varied and interesting, in particular Lily’s new mentor Clarence, a lackey from heaven sent to deal especially with Lily’s prickly personality.

If the characters were clichéd and leave readers wanting, the plot certainly makes up for them. Ms. Kenner puts a fresh spin on the Heaven versus Hell/ Good versus Evil battle by means of a gradually building mystery that turns all preconceived notions of UF plot tropes on their heads. Over the course of the book, little hints and inconsistencies begin to add up, leading to a very effective twist. I don’t want to say to much for fear of spoilers – but I will say that I loved where Ms. Kenner took Tainted. Concluding with a nail-biter of an ending, I found myself really enjoying this book almost in spite of myself. And I’m pretty thrilled that I don’t have to wait long to read the next two books in the series, as Torn and Turned come out very soon.

Notable Quotes/Parts: The Prologue:

“. . . And by her hand that which would be open may be closed . . .”
—The Prophecy of the Orb

Can I just say that dying sucks?

All that bullshit about seeing the light and having this final moment of inner peace, blah, blah, blah. It’s crap.

Dying is messy and terrifying and it hurts like hell.

I ought to know. After all, I was the one on that basement floor in a puddle of my own blood and bile. And there was no peace, no light, no anything. Nothing except the ice-cold knowledge that the sins I’d racked up in the last twelve or so hours were more than sufficient to push me through the gates of hell.

Forget everything else I’d done in my twenty-six years on this earth, good and bad. You go out planning to kill a man—even a man as vile as Lucas Johnson—and your fate is pretty much sealed.

From a practical standpoint, the moment of death is a little bit late to start getting all profound and reflective. As they say, what’s done is done. But that doesn’t matter, because even if you’re the least introspective person on the planet, you still go through the whole Psych 101 rigmarole. You tell yourself that maybe you should have said your bedtime prayers once in a while. You wonder if all those torture-porn horror movies you watched while your boyfriend copped a feel weren’t actually a sneak peek into what hell had to offer.

In other words, you get scared.

When you’re living, you might tell God to take a flying leap for putting your mother six feet under when you were only fourteen. For leaving you with a stepfather who decided to cuddle up with Jack Daniels because he no longer had a loving wife in his bed. For leaving you in charge of a pigtailed little half-sister who thought you hung the moon.

And for making you arrogant enough to swear that you’d protect that precious kid no matter what, even though that wasn’t a promise you could keep. Not when there are monsters like Lucas Johnson trolling the earth. Monsters who suck the life from little girls.

For all those reasons, you might turn your back on God, and think you’re oh-so-righteous for doing it. But you’d be wrong.

Trust me. I know.

I know, because even as my life faded, the fires of hell nipped at my toes.

In the end, I got lucky. But then again, luck is all a matter of perspective, isn’t it?

You can read the first two chapters online HERE.

Additional Thoughts: The next two titles in The Blood Lily Chronicles are already written and are scheduled for rapid-fire release! Torn, book 2 was released on November 24, and Turned will be out in stores on December 29th. This minimum waiting time between books is pretty awesome for little ol’ impatient me, so I’ll be scooping these up soon.

On a slightly critical note though, while I do like the color scheme and model for the covers, I am not crazy about Lily’s dagger. It looks like a mini-pirate sword and just…not very threatening. She looks like a halloween costume swashbuckler. Any thoughts?

Verdict: Though Ms. Kenner relies heavily on genre clichés in terms of characters and themes, Tainted has such an enjoyable plot that those shortcomings are worth overlooking. I certainly enjoyed Tainted, and am eager to pick up copies of Torn and Turned!

Reading Next: The Magicians by Lev Grossman

Giveaway Details:

We are giving away a copy of Tainted to ONE lucky winner! The contest is open to residents of the US, Canada and the UK, and will run until Saturday November 28 at 11:59 pm (PST). To enter, simply leave a comment here letting us know what your badass weapon of choice would be if you were an Urban Fantasy hero/heroine. One entry per person, please! Multiple or duplicate entries will be disqualified. Good luck!