Today we bring you the latest installment in our new feature, “What She Said…” in which we both review books that the other has already read and reviewed. The idea arose because of the dilemma that if one of us reads and reviews a book, the other can’t really post again about it, right? WRONG! Hence, “What She Said…” was born. For those books that we REALLY want to read after the other has reviewed – and gushed – about it.

For today’s post, we take on Resenting the Hero by Moira J Moore, and Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson.

Resenting the Hero by Moira J. Moore
Ace, February 2006, Paperback 304 pages

Original Review: Thea never really reviewed the first two books in the series, but she mentions them quite a few times.

Original rating: 7 – Very Good

What Thea said: These books are compulsively readable, and firmly in the ‘unputdownable’ category

What Ana says: Thea has been talking about these books and trying to make me read them for a long, long time. When the idea for the What She Said feature came up, I immediately thought about this series. Thea sent me the first book and here we are. I am glad to report that I had a most pleasant time reading Resenting the Hero – in fact , it was just what I needed to read right now, after two books that were rather sad and heavy (The Road Home by Ellen Emerson White and The Last Will of Moira Leahy by Therese Walsh) . The book was funny, fun and yes, unputdownable – I read it in one sitting.

Narrated in first person by Mallorough Dunleavy, Lee for short, the story follows her adventures after leaving the Shield Academy. In this world, there are regular people like you and me but also Sources and Shields. Sources channel forces of nature and are the only thing standing against possible natural catastrophes in a world plagued by them. Each Source works together with a Shield, who shield their minds as they are channelling the forces, and without a Shield, a Source would go mad. A Pair is a true partnership, a bond for life and should one die, the other follows suit. Sources, as the forces they control, are emotional and unpredictable, Shields are (or should be) calm and controlled. They go to separate academies growing up, to learn their powers, learn the rules they need to follow and then there is a matching/bonding ceremony when the right time comes and they are set into the world to protect it.

Lee is a Shield and as the book opens, she is about to find out whether she has been matched to a Source or not. All that she wants is to be matched to a reliable, sensible Source and go about life doing her duty in safe, collected way. To her dismay, the bond clicks with her last choice as a Source, the infamous Shintaro Karish, or Taro, known for his heroics and for being the most handsome, sympathetic man ever. Everybody loves Taro, men and women alike and gravitate around him like moths to the light. Lee is so not happy with the pairing but she has no choice but to learn everything about him and do her duty. Then, he has to go and get kidnapped. Oh, the nerve of the creature.

I loved Lee – she is a great character and a great narrator. She is very much her own woman, who knows what she has to do; she is reasonable and practical to the point where she might come across as not very sympathetic – because she is also selfish and prepared to think the worst of Taro. The title of the book is absolutely perfect as Lee spends most of the book resenting being paired off with Taro. And that resentment and her readiness to jump to conclusions about him kinda clouds her judgment and that makes for awesome reading. Because at the end of the day, Lee is a most unreliable character and I happen to LOVE those.

Everything that she thinks about Taro – that he is irresponsible, that he is a wastrel and whoremonger is based on prejudice and gossip. She has the most warped view of herself as well, and even though she says that she is ultra calm and collected and that she does not want any heroics , her actions points to something else altogether and that is what makes reading this book super, ultra fun.

Like for example, when Taro gets attacked:

“I was fine. Karish was the one who had been assaulted. Nothing had happened to me. There was no reason for me to be anything but all right. There was no reason for me to be reacting to anything at all. I was great. I was wonderful. My hands were strangely cold, but that was probably nothing. “

And even though she thinks HE has a huge ego, hers is not small either:

“Later. Time enough to save the world after I’d found Karish. And figured out how I was going to deal with this being a duke. And oh aye, what was going on with those strange Rushes. The list just kept getting longer and longer. “

Couple that with the cool scenes Sourcing/Shielding, the potential problematic dynamics that come from being bonded for life and having to suffer the consequences of misdeeds of each other plus the growing tension in the world they live in then add the chemistry between Lee and Taro, ergo, a very fun book indeed.

And even though Sources and Shields are not supposed to fall in love or have sex with each other , it is obvious to me, with my powerful romance radar which can detect a romantic pairing from miles away, that these two? Oh yeah, prime romance material as evidenced by the A-MA-ZING scene it the cage which you will have to read to find out for yourself what it is that I am talking about. Because I am evil like that.

And now Thea is sending me all the other books in the series and I shall devour them presto!

Rating: I totally agree with Thea on this one – 7 Very Good leaning towards a 8

Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson
Tor, June 2009, Hardcover 592 pages

Original Review: July 2009
Original Rating: 8 – Excellent

What Ana said:

Warbreaker caught me by surprise and you can colour me amazed by this book.

What Thea says: This is my first read from non-Mistborn Brandon Sanderson, and I have to admit I was both excited and nervous as I started Warbreaker. I loved the Mistborn books, but a large part of the series’ appeal was its inventive, original system of magic (“allomancers” ingest certain metals which they then “burn,” allowing them to exert different magical abilities). Would Warbreaker – could Warbreaker – compare?

Well, folks, i’m happy to report that it certainly can.

Though it isn’t as fabulous as The Final Empire, Warbreaker shows Brandon Sanderson in his element, creating a fascinating new system of magic (“BioChroma”) whilst weaving intricate political schemes with compelling characters in an entirely new setting. The kingdom of Idris holds a shaky truce with the much larger, flamboyant kingdom of Hallandren to the south. In order to keep the peace, the King of Idris must send his eldest daughter, the perfect princess Vivenna, to Hallandren to marry the God King. But, he discovers that he cannot condemn his perfect, dutiful daughter to such a fate – he knows that war between Idris and Hallandren is inevitable, and he would be sending Vivenna to her doom. Instead, he makes a last minute decision and sends his youngest daughter, the vivacious but unruly Siri in Vivenna’s place. Terrified and completely clueless to Hallandren politics (as she never paid attention in her lessons), Siri makes her way to the foreign court of ostentation, vibrant color, and Gods that have “Returned” from death to share their knowledge and blessings with the world. Though she’s naive, Siri soon discovers plots upon plots in the Court of the Gods and finds allies in surprising places, especially in the form of a disenchanted Returned God named Lightsong. Together, Siri and her allies try to save herself and those she loves from war. Meanwhile, the spurned Vivenna sneaks away from Idris on a mission to find Siri and to bring her home safely – though Vivenna’s journeys through the slums of Hallandren, stirring up trouble may cause more harm than good. And all the while, a mysterious Awakener named Vasher prowls the streets of the city, with an agenda no one seems to understand…

Warbreaker is another keeper from Mr. Sanderson, especially so far as world-building and magic are concerned. The concept of “Breath” (each person is born with one, like a soul), and the ability to sell and gain it is fascinating and poses ideological questions that resonate throughout the book. People can give up their Breath, either to the Gods (who need to gain one new Breath each week to continue living) or to another person such as an Awakener (a person who has amassed enough Breaths to animate objects and Command them). The more Breaths a person or God has, the more powerful an Awakener they become. Breath also allows an Awakener to see colors more vividly, to understand the subtleties of each hue, and to bend light and color around them (in a power known as “BioChroma”). As with Mistborn, I found myself swept up instantly in this world of colorful magic, awed by Mr. Sanderson’s imaginative new take on sorcery. The concept of Gods, too, is a fascinating one in this novel – according to the Hallandren ideology, the Returned are those that have died noble deaths and awakened in their own reshaped flesh with a purpose of bestowing a single gift on humanity. Even the setting of the novel, in the politically embroiled city of Hallandren with its Irdian slums and its confident inhabitants, was well executed. The divisions of faith and nationality are the spark of all the troubles that threaten war, and Mr. Sanderson manages to build tensions nicely without ever making simple value judgements. Neither Idris nor Hallandren are “evil” or “corrupt” cities – they are simply kingdoms, trying to survive in a difficult world.

While the magical system, the power hierarchies and world building aspects were all fantastic, there were some issues in terms of characters and writing that detracted from Warbreaker. The book follows four different character stories, alternating viewpoints between Siri, Vivenna, Lightsong, and the mysterious Vasher. Unfortunately, not all characters (and storylines) are created equal – and I found myself growing bored with Vivenna’s (and at times with Vasher’s) plot threads. Headstrong Siri, with her mix of naivete and attitude makes for a strong, vibrant character that’s easy for readers to sympathize with. Her struggles in the Court of Gods, facing her silent new husband, disapproving priests and petty Gods is pretty compelling stuff, and easily my favorite storyline of the bunch. Lightsong, with his disenchantment with religion (despite the quiet understanding of his ever loyal priest and friend Llarimar) is a close second favorite – his irreverent sense of humor, his dogged determination that he is not a God, and (despite his efforts to seem frivolous) his caring heart make his unfolding story a delight to read. In contrast, Vivenna is a little lackluster – and I found myself resisting the urge to skim through her sections to get back to the more interesting storylines. Vivenna goes through a lot in this book, and I do appreciate her character arc as she faces her own deep-seated hate for Hallandren, her disenchantment with her father, her tenuous grasp on the true nature of life outside of the ideals of royalty – not to mention, early on she’s infused with a dangerously powerful number of Breaths against her will. But, there’s a level of repetition and inaction, especially where Vivenna’s concerned, that I couldn’t really engage with Vivenna’s storyline as I did with the other characters, making the middle portion of Warbreaker draggy. As far as Vasher is concerned, my only problem with his character is how LITTLE there is of him in the grand scheme of the story! He’s a major character by the final, dramatic showdown – but I do wish there was more of him and his witty (talking) sword.

Despite these gripes and some pacing problems, I thoroughly enjoyed Warbreaker. Brandon Sanderson has firmly rooted himself as an “auto-buy” author – and I cannot wait to see what he comes up with next.

Rating: 8 – Excellent (I fully agree with Ana!)

Reading next on What She Said:

Thea: Liar by Justine Larbalestier

Ana: The Magicians and Mrs. Quent by Galen Beckett

Today we bring you the latest installment in our new feature, “What She Said…” in which we both review books that the other has already read and reviewed. The idea arose because of the dilemma that if one of us reads and reviews a book, the other can’t really post again about it, right? WRONG! Hence, “What She Said…” was born. For those books that we REALLY want to read after the other has reviewed – and gushed – about it.

For today’s post, we take on Heir to Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier, and The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.

Heir to Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier
Roc (US)/Tor (UK), November 2008, Hardcover 416 pages

Original Review November 2008
Original Rating: 9 Damn Near Perfection

What Thea Said:

There are very few books that I have read this year that have left me dreading each turn of the page–not out of fear or distaste with the writing, but out of a passion to keep reading the book. Out of the knowledge that once the last page turns, that inevitable ache of loneliness will settle in–because the book is just that damn good.

Such is Heir to Sevenwaters.

This is a beautiful tale of family, courage, and–most importantly of all–love. I finished this book and was urged to flip back to the beginning just to read it again. I can only hope that Ms. Marillier plans on revisiting Sevenwaters again. And hopefully very, very soon.

What Ana Says: Oh my sweet baby Jesus – this book is made of awesome. Thea was absolutely right about it, this is the sort of book I love to read with its wonderful, perfect blend of Fantasy and Romance. Under Juliet Marillier’s expert writing, I am nothing but a puppet having my heart’s strings pulled. I laughed, I cried, I sighed more times than I can count. At one point, I thought I was going to drown in my own tears only to be rescued a few pages later by a scene that put a huge smile in my face. And this, THIS is what makes her books so damn good, the ability that this woman has to write amazingly emotional, romantic stories.

As with Daughter of the Forest, the author takes her sweet time with the setting of her story. It is not until way over page 100 that the plot gets moving but it doesn’t matter. Because the first 100 pages are the insight into the lives of the characters that you need in order to care: this is where you learn everything about Clodagh, the narrator of the story.

About her dedication to her family and to her family’s stronghold, Sevenwaters. About the family’s connection to the Good Folk who inhabit the forest around Sevenwaters. About how important is this moment in time, when her mother is pregnant once again, at a dangerous age, in the hope of giving birth to a son, who will be Heir to Sevenwaters. Everything is building up to that moment and it is a though things are suspended in time, waiting to see what is going to happen. Her father for example, has to deal with political complications stemming from Clodagh’s sister marriage but can’t concentrate on the matter. There are also visitors staying at Sevenwaters including the current Heir, Johnny and his band of warriors. Amongst them, there is one man who might be Clodagh’s sweetheart and his best friend, Cathal who is rude and distant.

This suspense affects Clodagh as well, who is in charge of the house, doing what she does best: organising the day to day life of Sevenwaters. Because they don’t know if the mother or the baby will survive, Clodagh has to put away plans to maybe one day get married until further notice. Then the baby is born and to everyone’s relief both mother and child, a boy, are well. Then something strange happens. One day Clodagh is taking care of her little brother when Cathal, mysterious, obnoxious Cathal, shows up at her bedroom to say goodbye and kisses her. When she is back inside the room the unthinkable has happened: the baby is gone and in his place, a changeling was left, a baby made of twigs and leaves. With Cathal gone at the same time, suspicions fall on him and on the possibility that the kidnapping was carried out for political reasons. No one thinks that there might a different explanation; expect for Clodagh who is the only one that can hear the changeling baby’s cries. She is convinced that this is not a mere kidnapping and that her brother’s survival is connected to the changeling’s survival; and because she is the only one that can see that he is alive, she is the one that has to make sure that he remains so, because no one will believe her. She is sure an exchange needs to be made soon and she takes the changeling baby in a journey to the Otherworld. She knows that the journey is full of dangers and she might not survive but on the way there, she is joined by Cathal who offers his help. And this is only the beginning.

After those first pages, I was completely INVESTED in Clodagh’s story. Understanding her need to save her brother AND the changeling’s life; compassionately feeling her frustration that one will believe her and her relief when Cathal can too, hear the baby.

All of Juliet Marillier’s protagonists are women, quietly strong and capable of sacrifices and Clodagh is no different. She has a capacity for compassion towards the baby made of twigs and faith towards a man who at first comes across as undeserving and these two traits, compassion and faith are what keep her going, fuelling this amazing woman ‘s actions.

And then there is Cathal. I can not dwell too much on him because I might spoil part of his mystery but let me just say that Cathal is one of those characters who grow on you little by little, as layer upon layer is disclosed to the reader and to Clodagh. But once you see who he is and how much he cares for Clodagh (like in this one scene, when he thinks she is gone and when he realises she is safe, he does something that is completely, totally aw-worthy, sigh-inducing and heart-warming) he is revealed as a Hero of the highest calibre.

Even if I don’t take into consideration the several aspects that make this book an excellent read: the lovely writing, the fantastic elements of Irish folklore, the politics involving the different chieftains around Sevenwaters, and concentrate only in the story, at its purest form and on the characters, it would be enough to put this in my keeper shelf.

There are several twists and turns, revelations and surprises to the point where by the end, the book you find yourself reading is not the book you thought you were when you first started. It also happens that the Fantasy elements are of the variety I most like: there is a Quest (a There and Back journey) with dangerous, scary threats; High Sacrifices; a trickster that needs to be tricked and tasks to perform. But in the end, this is a book about fighting for one’s True Love and Clodagh and Cathal’s story is one of the best love stories I ever read: full of loyalty and passion.

After reading three books by this author, I can appreciate Thea’s devotion to her books and I have now joined the ranks of devoted Marillier’s fans. Heir to Sevenwaters granted me that perfect reading experience and put me on a Book High. This is definitely a M.F.A. (Made For Ana) book and one that I wholeheartedly recommend to Fantasy and Romance readers alike.

Rating: I will see Thea’s 9 and raise it to a 10. This book, it was a perfect read for me.

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Daw (US)/Gollancz (UK), March 2007 (US)/September 2007 (UK), Hardcover 662 pages

Original Review May 2009
Original Rating: 10 and I quote: “A solid, perfect 10 which just set the bar higher for everything I read henceforth”

What Ana Said:

If I had any talent for poetry I would write an Ode. If I could compose songs, I would make one for the lute and call it “The name of the Wind knocked my socks off”. But I don’t. As it stands, the ONLY thing I can do to convey how much I love this book, is to write this review, hoping against hope that it will be enough, and say that whenever Patrick Rothfuss takes Kvothe next, I will follow, blindly and willingly.

And I will finish by saying the following: I don’t want to run into any rushed declarations but The Name of the Wind may well be the best book I read since The Book Smugglers’ inception.

What Thea Says:

This installment of What She Said is a tall order – both of the books that Ana and I read were among our favorite reads of 2008 and 2009. In my case, with The Name of the Wind, there’s a little history. See, I bought my copy back in early 2008. I even told Ana about the book. We were SUPPOSED to do a joint review of the book. But then, one day in March, I start getting these emails from Ana, in which she is squeeing over the wonder that is The Name of the Wind! (That hussy, she betrayed me! She and my book were cheating on me!) And wouldn’t you know it – she absolutely loved it. LOVED IT. I’m talking drooling, crying, cradling it near her body when she sleeps at night, obsessed with it. And it is partially out of this situation that “What She Said” was born – because Ana loved this book so much, and I was desperate to read it and review it too.

THUS, “What She Said” was created. And now, seven months later, I finally had the opportunity to read The Name of the Wind…

And I finally see what all the fuss is about – because The Name of the Wind is one damn fine novel. So far as first novels go (not only as the first novel in a fantasy series, but as a debut novel, mind you), The Name of the Wind is undeniably, absolutely, positively brilliant.

This is the story of the innkeeper Kote – Kvothe that was. This is the story of the fabled, revered and simultaneously feared Kingkiller; a man who has done incredible things in his life, and still is not yet thirty years old. He has stolen princesses, fought demons, and slayed dragons. He has defied Kings, and mastered magic and music alike. He is A Hero. The Name of the Wind tells Kvothe’s story as he shares it with Chronicler, the finest story recorder in the land. Though Kote is hesitant to tell his long story, he agrees to let Chronicler transcribe it over the course of three days – The Name of the Wind is the first day.

What can I say about this book that hasn’t already been said? Mr. Rothfuss’s debut effort is a gorgeously work, written in rich, almost musical prose. This is a story to be savored, as it unfolds slowly, following Kvote’s life as a happy child in a troupe of legendary performers, to wretched, impoverished life on the streets after the murder of his family. It is an epic Hero’s Journey, encompassing a childhood full of love and cruelty alike, as Kvothe grows into a brilliant young man. Kvothe is perhaps too good to be true – he’s literally a genius as well as a master musician and an unparalleled talent with sympathy and his other university studies (“sympathy” being the arcanists’ magic in this world). He’s also charismatic, charming, and, judging from the ladies’ reactions, a looker too. He could easily have been an exhaustingly Mary Sue as a character, but he wasn’t, thanks to Mr. Rothfuss’s sure hand. Kvothe’s voice is that of a true performer, and he – through Mr. Rothfuss – knows how to tell a story. A dash of healthy arrogance throughout, Kvothe keeps Chronicler and Bast enthralled as he pours his heart out, and all his impressive accomplishments seem the results of a carefully constructed reputation as well as the fruit of very concentrated efforts. In short, Kvothe isn’t pretentious. I loved him and his story.

To this accomplishment, add the fact that the other characters were solid all around, if a tad predictable and less developed than Kvothe (but, being honest, this is Kvothe’s story, and he is the one we care the most for as readers). The world building, complete with an entirely new mythology and opposing religions was awesome, on a re-interpretive level reminiscent of Jacqueline Carey’s alternate world with the stories of Elua and his companions. The University too was a fabulous new location, where Kvothe learns his magical craft (though perhaps too much time is spent on his monetary woes and inability to enter the mysterious archives). I also loved how Mr. Rothfuss subverts fantasy tropes subtly – taking familiar settings and characters, and spinning them. The entire novel is, in fact, a tale in a tavern. He takes the tavern trope, the tales within a tale, the grand adventure, the Great Hero and makes them all his – as Ana would say, he “takes the mick out of them.”

In terms of shortcomings, there were only a sparse few – my biggest complaint (if you could call it that), is that not much happens in the story. While Kvothe goes through a lot, this first novel barely scratches the surface of Kvothe’s legacy. The promise made at the beginning of the book with Kvothe’s adventures and accomplishments are barely seen in this novel – in a way, it’s a whole lot of set up for action that hasn’t yet come. Also, as far as stories go, Kvothe’s tale is surprisingly mundane, taking a day to day look at his young life. While most fantasy novels that I’ve read spend some time on childhood and move on, jumping even, to the hero’s adult life, Mr. Rothfuss takes his time and shows everything – which is both admirable and infuriating. The way that the trilogy is set up, book 2 is where the great action, where the real meat and potatoes of the story comes in. The Name of the Wind is an amuse bouche, tantalizing the tastebuds with the promise of more to come…and I, along with the rest of fantasy-fandom, am hungry.

This is the greatest strength and curse for Mr. Rothfuss – how damn good this debut novel was, because now we are ravenous for more. I cannot wait to read The Wise Man’s Fear. I need to know why Kvothe became Kote, the reason for the lines on his face and his faded vibrance and lost magic. I want to know what these demon spider creatures are that are invading the land.

I cannot wait.

Rating: 9 – Damn Near Perfection – and it can only get better from here…

Reading Next on What She Said:

Ana: Resenting the Hero by Moira J. Moore

Thea: Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson

Today we bring you a new feature, called “What She Said…” in which we both review books that the other has already read and reviewed. The idea arose because of the dilemma that if one of us reads and reviews a book, the other can’t really post again about it, right? WRONG! Hence, “What She Said…” was born. For those books that we REALLY want to read after the other has reviewed – and gushed – about it. For today’s installment, we take on Jasmyn by Alex Bell, and The Demon’s Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan.

Jasmyn by Alex Bell
Gollancz (UK), June 2009, Trade Paperback 320 pages

Original Review June 2009
Original Rating: 8 Excellent

What Thea Said:

“You know those books, the ones that when you finish them you feel like your heart is being twisted in your chest – with love for how wonderful the book was, but inexplicable sorrow too because the book has come to an end? Such is Alex Bell’s beautiful, haunting contemporary fairy tale, Jasmyn.

Jasmyn is a 27-year old widow, her beloved husband of less than a year having just passed away by sudden aneurysm. Jasmyn’s world is thrown into darkness with Liam’s death, leaving her alone and lost in the world. And that’s when the strange things begin to happen – at Liam’s funeral, six black swans fall dead out of the sky. Jasmyn starts to feel that she is being watched by a shadowy figure, and a few weeks after the funeral, a strange pushy man shows up at Jasmyn’s home, completely unaware of Liam’s death and claiming to have known him through work. With the help of her brother-in-law, the strangely spiteful and cruel Ben, Jasmyn uncovers a whole secret life Liam kept from her, leading her down a path into a fantastic world filled with cursed swans, star-crossed love, and shocking revelation. Jasmyn learns that Liam has meddled with some potent magic, and more importantly, that Liam is not at all the man who she believed him to be.”

What Ana Says: Thea’s review of Jasmyn made me almost regret sending the book to her instead of reading it first: Jasmyn, the book, travelled all the way from the UK to LA and back before I was able to read it, almost an exact imitation of the journey that Jasmyn, the character, undertakes in the book.

Starting in the UK, the 27 year old recently widowed albino woman tries to live through the grief of losing Liam, the man who was not only her husband, but her soul mate, her childhood sweetheart. Ever since that day, in primary school and he walked to her and instead of voicing the usual cruel taunt of “are you a ghost” he asked “are you a snow princess”, he has been her safe port, her best friend and Jasmyn is overtaken with loneliness when she loses him.

Then strange things begin to happen , starting with black swans falling from the sky on the day of the funeral and her wedding photos, all of a sudden showing her face twisted in agony instead of the happiness she remembers feeling – to an around the world race for answers – about Liam and who he really was.

Jasmyn is one of those books where the STORY itself outshines everything else and I simply loved reading this book – regardless of how I sometimes felt about Jasmyn and her lack of self-confidence. Regardless of the fact that I felt like punching Ben, Liam’s brother, in the face. Regardless that sometimes, the writing was tentative and the lack of detail about the background fairytale left me wishing for more. The fact remains, that from beginning to end I was completely captivated by Jasmyn’s story – it is everything a fairytale should be: difficult and sad sprinkled with bits of horror and heartache but with such beauty that was almost painful for me to read.

This is at its core a love story and it has a most rewarding happy ending but beware: two things you need to know before starting to read it

1)This is a contemporary fairy tale, which means that all that happens in the book happens in a world like our own and people believe in stuff like fairies and magic swans. There is no point in reading it if you are going to question the magic behind it or to question how people can believe in those things. It is a fairy tale: to question these here would be akin to reading Snow White and asking: “what do you MEAN there is a talking mirror?”

2) I cannot stress this enough: Don’t start this book unless you mean to finish it. As difficult as it may be especially with Jasmyn and Ben’s frustrating behaviour in parts, the pay off only comes when you read till the end – this is one of those books where the ending rewrites the whole story and it’s all the more poignant for that.

I will end with Jasmyn’s opening words:

“You have never heard a story quite like this one. I can hear you protesting already but, the fact is, it doesn’t matter how old you are, how many books you’ve read, how many things you’ve seen…this story will be new to you. Maybe it will even haunt you a little. Because what happened to me….well, I don’t think it’s even happened before.
(…)
This story (..) has the ribbons and the glitter and the magic. But it also has the blood and the sacrifice and the twisting evil – for this is a real fairy tale, not the sugar-coated imitation. It is a story of love, loss, illusion, castles, hatred, seduction, ice palaces, adventure and knights.”

And what a story this is. If it isn’t clear enough: I totally loved this book as much as Thea did and wholeheartedly second her recommendation.

Rating: 8 Excellent

The Demon’s Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan
Margaret K. McElderry (US)/Simon & Schuster Children’s (UK), June 2009, Hardcover 336 pages

Original Review June 2009
Original Rating: 8 (leaning towards a 9) – EXCELLENT

What Ana Said:

“The pipe under the sink was leaking again. It wouldn’t have been so bad except that Nick kept his favourite sword under the sink.”

The Demon’s Lexicon starts with this opening line and it’s a great beginning because it serves the book well. This line is significant in the way it shows how the “abnormal” coexists with the “normal” in this world. Right there and then, I am taken. And this feeling only increases as I read and every single time I had to put this book down, I felt its absence. Much like an umbilical cord between myself and it, there was a calling, something that connected me with to it; I kept thinking about it when I wasn’t reading, mostly theorising about the main character and what it all meant. I am in a way, a few days after reading The Demon’s Lexicon, still hooked in its characters, still thinking about them but mostly still overflowing with admiration for the author. For what she did, for what she dared, for how she constructed the characters, the world, but mostly for how she showed a wondrous dark world and amazing, wonderful feelings such as sensitivity, devotion, fondness and sacrifice through the eyes of a character that feels none of these very same feelings and who is, at every turn and all the time, conscious of this…lacking.

What Thea Says:

Ana has been trying to get me to read The Demon’s Lexicon practically from the second she started the book. I’d received countless emails from Ana about the darkness of the main character, the compelling plot, the strong writing and the humor of the novel, and was instantly intrigued. So, when I picked up Ms. Brennan’s debut novel for myself, I had some pretty high expectations, given Ana’s enthusiastic endorsement – and I’m pretty happy to say that I really liked this book.

The Demon’s Lexicon is told from the third person perspective, but with insight to the protagonist, Nick’s thoughts. Right from the beginning of the novel it is clear that Nick isn’t all that much like his kind and sympathetic brother Alan, and it rapidly becomes clear that Nick isn’t much like anyone else, either. Nick’s defining trait is his strange coldness; he doesn’t understand the motivations that fuel other people around him (like his brother Alan protecting two strangers, to the point where he takes on two demon marks willingly), nor does he get why people are so quick to emote, touch each other in comfort, or talk so much about anything and nothing. And I think Ana describes Nick best when she says:

Nick is a character that makes it hard for the reader to connect with – it is so very hard to feel sympathy for Nick but it is impossible NOT to feel for him.

Ms. Brennan does a ballsy thing by writing a character that is angry, cold, distant and almost alien – but it’s impossible NOT to care for him. Even though he doesn’t ever think or say it specifically, we know that he feels protective of Alan because he loves him (at least, that’s my interpretation). Nick might not identify with our concepts of love, but much like Jeff Lindsay’s Dexter, I think that he subconsciously knows and feels this. Maybe not in the way that “normal” people feel love…but it’s there, and he expresses it in his own way. In short, I loved Nick. He’s a very different character from the norm, and being privy to his thoughts, reading how he interprets (or fails to interpret) the people around him is fabulously different and insightful. Most YA novels tend to take the perspective of the everygirl/everyboy and look at the scarier, different characters from the outside – but Ms. Brennan flips convention through the eyes of a very different anti-hero protagonist. I cannot stress enough how much I loved that Nick was not written as a badass with a heart of gold – NO ONE in this book is what they seem. Besides Nick, Alan is another character that surprises with hidden depth. It is Nick as a character, and then the bond of brotherhood between Nick and Alan that makes The Demon’s Lexicon such a fabulous read.

My only problems with the book had to be the uneven start and some of the writing. In the early chapters especially, the odd descriptions of movements and repetitive details read very much like a debut author trying to write her debut novel – which isn’t really bad, and doubtless will improve in subsequent books (as it is, by the end of The Demon’s Lexicon, Ms. Brennan finds her voice and smoothly tells her story). My other quibble would be with some of the humor – Jamie’s jokes, endearing to Ana felt forced and awkwardly un-funny to me – and with a level of predictability with the plot. There are many not-so-subtle hints strewn throughout The Demon’s Lexicon concerning The Twist – but to the book’s credit, even though you KNOW what’s coming from a mile away, it doesn’t really matter because the story is so dratted compelling!

Basically, with only a few reservations I really enjoyed this book – and I cannot wait for the next in the series! Also, I just have to quote one part that gave me the goosebumps because it was that flipping awesome:

Nick threw his head back and let himself laugh. It was a slow, delighted laugh, rolling cold as the sea and washing through the whole room. He’d used the laugh before to make people shiver and turn pale…

“What?” [he] snapped, and then, as the low laugh continued, his nerve broke and he shouted, “What?”

Nick leaned forward in the dark and whispered, “You don’t know my brother.”

He was still speaking when the first shot was fired.

Rating: 7 Very Good – and Ms. Brennan is clearly an author I need to keep my eye on in the future!

Reading Next on What She Said:

Ana: Heir to Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier

Thea: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss