The Fox Inheritance

Lock, Kara, and Jenna were all involved in horrible accident that destroyed their bodies. Their minds were imprisoned in electronic devices. Unbeknownst to the outside world, the three teens were both aware and suffering in the nothingness that contains them. They could communicate in the void and still had each other. Then Jenna disappeared, leaving Kara and Lock alone. They wake up 260 years later in a world they don't recognize, where everyone they once knew is dead except for Jenna Fox. A scientist wants to use the technology that trapped their minds and created their new bodies to market to very rich people and is using them as advertisements. Kara is very different from the person she used to be. She's violent, angry, and blames everything on Jenna. Kara disappears and Lock must get to Jenna before Kara does. He embarks on a journey and picks up unexpected friends along the way. Can he warn Jenna before Kara gets to her?

The Fox Inheritance is a great followup to The Adoration of Jenna Fox. Even though the beginning is similar to the first novel, Kara and Lock don't go through the same process of regaining their memories after waking up like Jenna did. Technology has become advanced enough that their memories are immediately accessible. The plot really takes off when the journey to California starts. Kara is nowhere to be found, which is creepy considering she's a sociopath. She could be doing or planning anything while Lock is running after her. On top of this already troubling situation, Lock has to avoid the scientist they ran away from and the government. The scientist wants to protect his investment and still use them for advertising, but can't call the police because of his own illegal activities. The government is after him because he has no identification and his existence is illegal because there wasn't any part of his original body used in the creation of his new, artificial body. The tension and suspense are what drives most of the story.

On the way to California, Lock meets an unexpected ally who is one of my favorite characters: Dot Jefferson. She's a cab driving bot that has no legs and a big heart. The world has changed a lot and bots like her are a common sight everywhere. They do menial jobs and are bullied or ignored. Dot and many others of her kind dream and want freedom, but the consequences for such behavior are harsh. Dot is taking a huge risk when she goes with Lock and she proves invaluable to him. She represents the hope that is still alive within the dystopian society that values security over freedom. This characters also challenges our definition of humanity. dot is one of the most human characters in the entire book, but she was manufactured in a factory.

My only criticism is the pacing is a little bit slow despite the tension through the first two thirds of the novel. Overall, The Fox Inheritance is an exciting sequel that outshines its predecessor. I would recommend this to younger readers and those looking for an introduction into the science fiction genre.

My rating: 4/5 fishmuffins

** This book comes out 8/30. Check it out here. **

Game of Thrones

In the Seven Kingdoms, winter is coming. Summer has lasted over 10 years and autumn is finally approaching, the harbinger of a long winter. North of the Seven Kingdoms, a supernatural force is gathering to battle against men. In the kingdom, the Hand of the King mysteriously dies, prompting King Robert Baratheon to ask his friend Eddard Stark to fill the position. Before he leaves, Eddard's son Bran has a tragic accident and he leaves not knowing whether his son will live or die. He enters King's Landing and a court where words and whispers are as sharp as knives. Treading carefully, he investigates the previous Hand's death and tries to run the kingdom despite empty coffers, a drunken, complacent king, and treacherous advisers. While he is away, Winterfell is in distress. An assassin tries to kill Bran, leading Catelynn, his mother, to suspect the Lannister family had something to do with his accident. She rides out to seek justice, leaving her 3 sons to rule. Can the Starks find out who their enemies are? Can Eddard save the King from the same fate as his Hand?

I started out watching the television series, which I enjoyed, but the book makes it pale in comparison. I'm honestly not typically a fan of high fantasy. The stories seem very similar and rip-offs of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. I didn't expect to like Game of Thrones at all and I was pleasantly surprised. This series is completely different from most others in its genre. Magic is usually a large aspect of fantasy, but the instances of it in Game of Thrones are few and far between. I even forgot I was reading a fantasy at times. The plot is very detailed and complex with many story lines and subplots in each chapter. I love Martin's writing style and he manages to be detailed without being overwrought or slow. My summary of the plot doesn't do this book justice at all because there is so much more going on besides that one plot line. The story is also realistic and gritty. There is no romanticism nor is it an idealistic view of the Medieval era. Life is hard and it gets progressively harder as the book progresses. No character is safe, which George R. R. Martin demonstrates by the end of the novel.

These characters are incredibly detailed and unique in their own way. My favorite are Eddard Stark, Tyrion Lannister, and Arya Stark. Eddard is honorable, serious, and reserved which can be mistaken for coldness by those who don't know him well. Arya is supposed to become a lady that will marry and bear heirs, but she's more interested in sword fighting and getting into trouble. Tyrion is a deformed dwarf and the shame of his noble family. He makes up for his lack of looks and height with cunning, intelligence, and humor. They don't fit into typical archetypes popular in the genre and seem more like actual people. These characters are not always clearly good or evil, but rest in shades of grey. Sometimes there isn't a clear hero or villain to depend upon or blame in each situation. Each chapter is told from a different perspective and Martin clearly captures each voice. Some chapters may even cover the same event and each character involved has a different view of it and a different version of the truth. This view of each character challenges the reader's views and sometimes even makes immoral or seemingly evil characters likeable.

I haven't felt this sense of urgency when reading a book in a while. I felt compelled to read at every possible moment even though I knew what was going to happen. If you like realistic characters, mystery, intrigue, and aren't easily offended, I would highly recommend Game of Thrones.

My rating: 5/5 fishmuffins

** You can win a copy of Game of Thrones in my Comic-Con giveaway here. **

The Night Circus Playlist

Here are some songs that reminded me of The Night Circus or shared some themes with it.

1) Aqua is an awesome pop band from my childhood. I recently was given their album Aquarius and this is one of my favorite tracks from it: Goodbye to the Circus.

2) Mirrormask is one of my favorite movies. It's kind of like Labyrinth and The Wizard of Oz with Neil Gaiman thrown in the mix. The story is about Helena whose family owns a circus. She fights with her parents as teens are wont to do because she just wants a normal life, but her mother gets very sick and she blames it on herself. She goes into this other world where she must wake the White Queen and find her double to return to her mother the Dark Queen. Anyway, the film score by Iain Ballamy is wonderful. He puts together instruments I never thought would work well together like the soprano sax and the accordian. The melodies just seem to soar out and it sounds effortless. I just love it and it has a magical quality. Watch the film if you haven't yet.

3) The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is a film that has a similar feel to The Night Circus. The story is about an aging but immortal magician who bets against the Devil and madness ensues. I need to watch the movie again because it's very surreal, but I would recommend it. The score is beautiful and is composed by Mychael and Jeff Danna. I don't recall hearing other scores by them, but this one is wonderful.

4) Vermillion Lies was introduced to me because they opened for Amanda Palmer. They are comprised of twin sisters Kim and Zoe Boekbinder and they incorporate carabet and circus into their music. Their song is a little darker than The Night Circus, but is delightful nonetheless.

Any playlists for books you guys have read? Please share! :)

The Night Circus

Two magicians, one who calls himself Prospero and the other has no name that anyone remembers, are locked in a competition of sorts. These men aren't the competitors. Instead, they choose children to groom and teach for years until they are ready to battle. As they grow up, the children, Celia and Marco, are only given bits and pieces of the situation to work with and are largely kept in the dark. When the aging illusionists find their respective protegés ready, the duel begins, using Le Cirque des Rêves as a battleground. This enchanting traveling circus features a monochromatic color palette and the most unique performances from around the world. It arrives unannounced and only opens its doors at night. The circus touches the lives of people in each city it travels to. Celia and Marco unexpectedly fall in love there despite being pitted against each other. However, the competition must end at any cost. Can Celia and Marco end their mentors' duel and still be together or will it destroy them?

I was entranced by The Night Circus from the very first page. I literally read it in one sitting because I couldn't put it down. The story was infused with magic that was used in a way I had never seen before. In addition to being incredibly imaginative, the language used was lyrical and fluid without being overwrought. This is especially impressive because it would be very easy to over describe the marvels within the circus. Morgenstern's writing was so elegant and she balanced the darkness and light in her novel very well. The setting in both time and place made this book special. The novel took place in a span of time from the late nineteenth century to the early twentieth century. This industrialized time was an interesting choice for something so magical. Magic seemed to not have a place there outside of the circus, but it provided a contrast between the two worlds. The circus was just exquisite. The performers, the presentation, the illusions, and all the different attractions were my favorite part of the novel. I really couldn't get enough of it. I am definitely a rêveur at heart.

I absolutely loved the structure of the novel. Each chapter was only a few pages long, but it manipulated the tempo of the novel and made me feel as if it were passing quickly. The perspective jumps around between main characters whose numbers grow and shrink as they enter or exit the story. Each view reveals something about the circus or the competition that may no even make sense until reading others' stories much later. The written in the third person which I liked because it made the writing feel more uniform and like I was being plunged into a world. Changing voices every chapter would have been tiresome in this format. The narration also The other thing I really liked about the format was the second person voice that was would last for only a couple of pages interspersed between the other characters' chapters that made me feel as if I were seeing this circus for the first time. It was a small touch, but made me forget the rest of the world while I read it more easily than usual.

The Night Circus was an all around great read with mystery, suspense, romance, and magic. I was almost disappointed that I only took a day to read it because I wanted to stay immersed in that world a bit longer. The book was very visual in nature and I'm excited to hear that it's going to be made into a film. I would recommend this to any fans of Geek Love, Water for Elephants, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell or films like The Prestige.

My rating: 4.5/5 fishmuffins

**The Night Circus will be released on 9/13. Check it out here.**

The Lantern

Eve fell for mysterious and secretive Dom in a whirlwind romance in France. They buy an old, crumbling farm called Les Genévriers. At first all is well. Dom is happy playing and writing music and Eve is happy reading and writing. The idyllic summer passes and winter comes with strange happenings and dark mysteries. Dom’s previous wife vanished and Dom refuses to talk about her at all, leading Eve to assume the worst and try to uncover the truth. The strange happenings increase in frequency, creating even more tension between Dom and Eve. The past of Les Genévriers is also entwined in the mystery. Eve must figure out both Rachel’s fate and the fate of the previous inhabitants to before the same fate befalls her and Dom.

The Lantern is a beautifully written story. The lyrical descriptions and the historical setting really drew me in. I was engaged in the story very quickly. The setting in the French countryside is absolutely beautiful and creates a unique atmosphere for this modern gothic tale. The story is told in alternating points of view from Eve in modern times and Benedicte in the past. Both tales are interesting and have their own mysteries to sort out. Eve needs to find out about Dom’s secrets. Benedicte’s problems don’t become apparent until pretty late into the book. Her narrative jumps around in time and covers her childhood to old age. Her family goes through misfortune after misfortune from her father’s death to her abusive brother leeching off the family to her sister going blind. The stories subtly intersect with some objects and small events until the end when the two stories connect in a significant way. Benedicte and Eve are both compelling characters that I enjoyed following throughout the novel.

I did have a few problems with the book. The chapters aren’t labeled, so if I had put down the book and picked it up, I would be confused for a while until I figured out which chapter I was in. The story moves very slowly in some parts. Even though the language is beautiful, it gets a little tedious when nothing is really happening. Dom wasn’t really likeable or fleshed out. One of the big problems was just his refusal to tell Eve anything about his past. It seems kind of ridiculous in a modern setting for him to be so obstinate when his actions were obviously hurting his relationship. Even though Eve and Dom were supposed to be in love, I felt it wasn’t shown in a believable way before their relationship started to break down. The plot was predictable for the most part.

The Lantern is a unique book that brings the gothic novel to the present. The masterful writing flows easily and creates memorable images with florid descriptions. The novel definitely has some flaws, but through it all, I was interested throughout the novel and I would read more from Deborah Lawrenson.

My rating: 4/5 fishmuffins

This book will be released 8/9. Check it out here!

SDCC 2011: Giveaway!

As you can see from the In My Mailbox from Comic-Con, I got a lot of free books and a few doubles because of my boyfriend. I have decided to have a giveaway to share my books and swag with you guys! There are 3 different bundles up for grabs.

1) Urban Fantasy

* Nightshade ARC by Andrea Cremer

* Greywalker by Kat Richardson

* Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey

2) Science Fiction

* Crossed by Ally Condie

* The Strain by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan

* Star Carrier by Ian Douglas

3) High Fantasy and a random mystery/thriller book

* Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin

* Genesis of Shannara by Terry Brooks

* The Bride Collector by Ted Dekker

There will be 3 winners. The first person chosen gets first choice, the second person has second choice, etc.

To enter:

* must be a follower

* leave a comment with your email address

* for extra entries, comment on any of my posts labelled SDCC 2011 (+1 for each, previous comments count) and/or spread the word somewhere (+1 each limit 2, links in the comment please).

* This giveaway is only going to be for the US. I spent all my money at Comic Con, but my next giveaways will be international.

* ends August 27

SDCC 2011: Panels

I finally feel human again! Yay! I've been fighting off my Comic-con cough and I feel so much better. I feel kinda bad that I haven't been posting that much, but there's a giveaway in the extremely near future to make up for it! On to the panels...

On Thursday, I unfortunately did not go to any panels at all. :( I didn't get into the Con until 10:30, so the Deadliest Warrior: Vampires vs. Zombies panel was almost over by then. I went an hour early to see the Game of Thrones panel. The line didn't seem to long until I realized it went outside and looped on itself about 5 times. The volunteer said if we weren't in line for 4 hours, we weren't getting in. So we were about 2 hours early for the Dr. Horrible screening which was nearby, but that line was also ridiculously long. *sigh* We still had a lot of fun that first day. I'm glad we didn't choose to spend hours and hours standing in line instead of finding free stuff, shopping, and playing Magic.

So the next day, we were resolved to see the Magic: the Gathering panel. So much so that my boyfriend DJ decided to sit in the room it was in for 5 hours and seeing 2 other panels.

The first panel was about Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine. I had seen it in the bookstores and magazine racks next to my preferred horror magazines Fangoria, Horrorhound, and Rue Morgue, but the covers always seemed to feature old horror films. I was interested in what was new and little known. I didn't know the magazine actually shows you how to get the effects and monsters that are in those films. They also cover interviews, reviews, and retrospectives. The magazine is more for the whole family whereas the other magazines would definitely not be for children. I left halfway through the panel to get a galley from PenguinTeen of Cornelia Funke, but I actually misread it and it was the Relic Hunter by Catherine Fisher. It still looks good anyway. I went back to the room and saw the second panel. On the way, I passed a huge crowd of people that were waiting for the Magic panel.

The second panel was about being a successful comic book retailer. My boyfriend really wanted to see this because one of his dreams is to have a comic book/hobby store with an adjacent cafe/restaurant. I walked in when someone asked how to get more female customers in the store. Being a female customer, I was instantly interested in how this question would be answered. One woman on the panel recommended a "for girlfriends" shelf and having a girls' night where women can come and meet other women and play games together. Another female comic book store owner advocated assuming that everyone who walks into the store is a client. So many times, I've been dismissed as this customer's girlfriend when I actually read more comic books than he does. Other people had questions that were very interesting. A store owner from Mexico wanted to know how to get product from the US. Another retailer wanted to know if he should keep back issues in his store or not. The discussion was surprisingly interesting and I learned a lot about what to do in order to have a successful comic book store.

Finally, it's time for the Magic Panel!!! First, the flood of people outside took a while to fill in every available seat. The ballroom was fairly small, only seating 200-300 people, so quite a few were turned away. (Hopefully it will be in a bigger venue next year.) Every seat had a t-shirt with a mana symbol on it, which was awesome except that they were all extra larges. (Yay, nightshirt for me!) Anyway, everyone settled down and they started to reveal things to come in the future of Magic. On the panel were the people behind the card game: Mark Rosewater (head Magic designer), Aaron Forsythe (research and development), Matt Cavotta (head creative Magic art director), and Mark Purvis (manager).

First, some cards for From the Vaults: Legends were revealed. These are small groups of cards put out in limited edition box set of 15 cards in premium foil (meaning they are pretty and shiny). This set goes with the Commander decks that were just released because you can use all of these legendary creatures as a general in that format. 7 of these cards are going to have alternate art and there will be one preview card from the next set Innistrad, which will come out in October. Here are some of the legends:

Kresh the Bloodbraided*

Doran, the Siege Tower

Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker

Sun Quan, Lord of Wu

Next, they revealed the art of the 2 planeswalkers from the new duel deck, Nicol Bolas vs. Ajani

Ajani Vengeant

Nicol Bolas

Next was what I was really excited about: Innistrad! This is the next set in Magic and the start of a new block. According to Mike Rosewater, the set is going to be based on classic horror films with creature types such as:

Unlike other sets, these creatures won't only be seen in black. Vampires will be black and red. Zombies will be black and blue. Werewolves will be green and red. I'm really looking forward to the new set!!

There are 2 other art from cards that are released, but no word on what they do. This art is just gorgeous. The panel said if you play zombies, you will use this card, so I can't wait!

I really hope this picture is for a new Sorin Markov planeswalker that is actually usable in standard, but we won't see until the set after Innistrad, Dark Ascension.

Next came the Q&A, which included such questions as "Why did you take so long to realize Jace, the Mind Sculptor was broken?" The really awesome part of the Q&A was the random prizes given out. One person got a box of Legends in Italian. Another got a pack of Arabian Nights and got a Library of Alexandria, which is a card worth about $300. One unlucky fellow got a pack of Beta, the second set of Magic ever, and got a basic land for a rare. :( A little boy received an original painting of a card called Creepy Dolls that will be in Innistrad.

Even though this is the only panel that I got to see that was planned, it was totally worth it.

* Sorry about the quality! The lights were on up until the vampire picture, so the projections look really crappy before then.