Review: The Red Pyramid

The Red Pyramid 

Rick Riordan again produces a fabulous start to a teen series that is sure to fly off the shelves, and indeed already has, in his new series: The Kane Chronicles. 

The story focuses around the Kane children, Carter and Sadie, and the discoveries that they make about their ancestry, not the least of which is the fact that they are Egyptian wizards! Rick Riordan has taken everything that made the Percy Jackson and the Olympians the popular series that it is, and has infused it with the flare of ancient Egyptian gods. 

I'm going to start off by saying that I did read most of the Percy Jackson series, although I still have to finish the last book, and this book and probably the series, if the first installment is any indication, is by far the better of the two in my opinion. 

In Short

I very much enjoyed the story of the Kane children, however the narrative style got to me a little bit and made it hard for me to enjoy the book in all of its glory. 

The Good

The story is great, its original enough to keep me from treating it like I do so many YA books, and the characters are very well portrayed, again, for a YA novel. 

As you might have noticed I geek about whatever form of magic that there is in a fantasy book, I look for background, for clarification, and for ample description of it. Riordan does a good job of fully describing the magic that Sadie and Carter perform, and it helps to create a fuller and more rounded world. 

What I liked about the Percy Jackson series was that it have me a good general overview of Greek mythology, introducing me to it pretty much for the first time, this book does much of the same for Egyptian mythology. Rick Riordan was a teacher for 15 years and he brings a lot of his teaching ability into his books, something that I always like to see. 

The Bad

The only qualm I have with this book is the narrative style that Mr. Riordan has chosen to use. The writing of the book is supposed to be a transcribing of an audio clip that "you" receive and listen to. Throughout the book little side notes [denoted like this] are seen and are supposed to represent comments made by the characters out of context of the story as they're recording the audio.

The chapters are split up into two categories based on whether it is currently being narrated from Sadie's point of view or Carter's, and while this creates some interesting background dynamics for the characters, it is altogether a little off putting for the reader. 

Overall it creates a cheesy way for us to see the interaction between brother and sister, and in my opinion it subtracts from the entertainment value of the book as a whole. Just as much effort as was taken to create better dynamics between the characters "off screen" could have been put into making the interactions within the context of the story better. Indeed, it probably would have been an even better book if it had been done this way, and in a different narrative style. 

I sincerely hope that Mr. Riordan chooses to change his narration style for the next books in the series. Though I'll probably continue reading anyway if he doesn't

The Verdict

At a glance this might appear to be a rehashing of the Percy Jackson story with new characters and mythological theme, but upon further inspection it is a very good and original introduction to a series that I'm sure will become just as, if not more, popular than the Percy Jackson series. I encourage you all to read this, if not for Riordan's writing ability, then for the fantastical story that he weaves. 

Buy this book on Amazon for as low as $7.50

I'm So Ashamed!

On the off chance that I still have the readers that I left the blogosphere with then I would like to personally apologize for my lack of activity for the past few months, and I would like to assure you all that my activity will pick up again come October. The reasons for my absence are many and I won't bore you with the details, or anything else really, all you need to know is that I'll soon be back.

Here's a list of the books that I've read in my absence, though they are few. Reviews to Follow. 

A Wizard Abroad

The Red Pyramid 
(Reviewed)

A Magic of Twilight

Greywalker 

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 

I would also like to announce that I've been playing with the idea that I'd like to make this blog more than a review blog with the occasional meme thrown in there. I've recently developed the want or need, I haven't decided yet, to vent and share. As such, I think I'll add a bit more of a personal flare to my blog. Now whether or not this will attract more readers to my blog or deter them, I really don't care. All work and no play makes for a very boring blog, wouldn't you say?
How exactly is this going to change the face of Cornucopia of Fantasy? Well for starters I've been thinking of changing the name, though to what I have no idea. Also, the content may begin to take on the look of a personal blog rather than a review blog. This does not mean that I will cease writing reviews, as I love to do that. It does mean that you'll see a few more videos posted that may or may not pertain to books, or fantasy for that matter, a few more posts on life and ideas that I find interesting and generally anything that I find is important enough to make a blog post about. You might even see a few movie reviews or suggestions popping up here or there.
Hopefully I'll still be entertaining enough to read and you'll still value my opinions on books and the like. I'll try and keep it as fun as possible.

Exciting Update!

I'll bet that title drew you in right? You though it was going to be something so awesome that you'd be rolling on the floor laughing (rofling), your insides would explode, and your mind would be blown all at once.

Well you were right.

No, in all actuality this post is really not exciting for anybody but me. It seems that a certain author on a certain twitter page saw a certain review that a certain reviewer wrote about said author's book series: Age of Misrule and it turns out they decided to comment on it!

I nearly wet myself when I read this.

Nearly.

Ok now I realize that it's probably his press manager or secretary or some other lacky who manages his twitter account or something, but the sentiment and the momentousness of this occasion is not lost on me.

You might notice that the date is from quite a while ago, that's because I never look at that portion of twitter as I haven't had the opportunity to speak with any of my followers on twitter. So let this be an official invitation to initiate a conversation!

Dual Review: Well of Ascension (Mistborn book 2) and The Hero of Ages (Mistborn book 3)

Predictability, nothing is worse than predictability when you're reading a series of books. Many series will effectively fail because their authors are unable to (or unwilling to) come up with the diversity of content needed to keep their readers interested in their books. When the same thing happens in every book in a series it's extremely hard to stay connected and interested in it.

Luckily, that is exactly the opposite of what happened with these two books.

I wrote this as a double review simply because of the fact that I never took a break in between these books, as soon as I was finished with The Well of Ascension I started on The Hero of Ages (thank you, nook)  and I almost never put it down until I could finally turn the final page of the trilogy. I must say (and I say this a lot) this is probably one of the best series I have ever read in my life, if not the best.

Click Here for a synopsis of the series in Mr. Sanderson's own words

 The Good

Almost everything. Specifically the fact that I NEVER knew what was going to happen next. The books were filled with so many twists and turns it left me with whiplash. The best part of the book (without giving too much away) was basically that neither I, nor the characters, knew what was going to happen next. Many books weave a story that is meant to make you look at the big picture, to make you feel that what you're seeing and what you're reading about is just a small piece of the whole. Let me just say that that is exactly the feeling that I felt as I read these two books, and yet when I looked back at everything I found myself saying "THAT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE!!!!" (yes, I was that excited). Brandon Sanderson does this so flawlessly that I honestly found no holes in his plot, everything about it was flawless.

Obviously with the amount of unknowns in the books it was an extremely gripping read, I kid you not that I had to actually pause for a few minutes in between some chapters just to take a breath and contemplate the newest arrivals to the "OMG WTFBBQ" section of my brain. Nothing I can say can accurately portray the amount of joy I felt while reading these books.

The Bad

Again, Mr. Sanderson uses the word "maladroitly" quite often....that's it. 

Oh wait no. It ended, that was bad. 

If it's not completely apparent by now, I love this series and I love this author! Again, if the glorious picture that I painted for you of this book doesn't convey this fact accurately.

I highly recommend these books!

If you don't go out and buy these books as soon as possible, I guarantee that you're head will explode from sheer lack of...these books....yeah. BUY IT! Here I'll even give you a link to Amazon Here and Here

Character Connection: Magnus Bane

Today is the first day of a new meme created by Jennifer over at The Introverted Reader, I'll faithfully be participating in this meme, as it's one of the most creative I've come across in my short time as a book blogger. The idea of this meme is to post about a character you like in any book that you've read. It's a pretty open ended meme, and its content is open to creativity.

Magnus Bane

Magnus Bane, from Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments, is probably my favorite character from this amazing series. He's apparently described in the book as looking to be around 19 years old (although I must have skipped over this part, as I don't remember it, I've always imagined him as 25ish) Magnus is a warlock, the high warlock of Manhattan in fact, and he's probably one of the most flamboyant characters in any book I've read. Throughout the series his clothing is constantly being described, and it's always bright colors and interesting hairstyles. That alone should make him a good character, but there's so much more to Magnus! He's constantly a source of consternation to the characters, especially in the first book, but he slowly becomes friend and ally to the group. I like to describe him as an antagonistic protagonist, it just seems to fit, and it's probably why I like him so much.

He's also gay, and that, in itself, should be of note. I haven't read many books where there are gay characters and it always makes me happy to see them in books, especially good books, and especially especially popular books.

So there you have it, my first contribution to the first day of Character Connection, make sure to head over to The Introverted Reader to check out the others who have decided to participate in this great meme! 

The Final Empire (Mistborn Book 1)

Recently I purchased a nook (one of the best purchases I have ever made) and after reading The Final Empire on it I can honestly say that most of my book reading will now occur in digital form!

The first book that I decided to read on my nook was The Final Empire, and what a book it was! Although this book was published some time ago (2007) I had never heard of it and after reading the synopsis I was drawn to it by its innovative presentation of the "mystical" powers in the book. Allomancy, an ability that allows users to "burn" metals in their stomach to gain superhuman abilities, is one of the most original ideas that I have ever been presented with in any book that I have read, simply fantastic.

...For a thousand years the ash fell and no flowers bloomed. For a thousand years the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear. For a thousand years the Lord Ruler, the “Sliver of Infinity,” reigned with absolute power and ultimate terror, divinely invincible. Then, when hope was so long lost that not even its memory remained, a terribly scarred, heart-broken half-Skaa rediscovered it in the depths of the Lord Ruler’s most hellish prison. Kelsier “snapped” and found in himself the powers of a Mistborn. A brilliant thief and natural leader, he turned his talents to the ultimate caper, with the Lord Ruler himself as the mark....

The Good

 It's been a while since I've read a book that I simply could not put down, for any reason whatsoever. I was literally shushing people and moving from room to room because people were bothering me while I read this book. The story and the action is so brilliantly captured that it almost brought a tear to my eye while I read it. Allomancy is the most innovative and original "magical" powers that I have come across in any book. 

The characters in The Final Empire are some of the most likable characters you will ever meet, even the psychologically damaged Vin and the self absorbed manipulative Breeze. I felt like I actually know these people in real life, or at least I want to know these people in real life.

The Bad

Other than the fact that it ended eventually and that the end was extremely heart wrenching, I found nothing wrong with this book whatsoever. 

Actually, that's not true, the author uses the word "Maladroitly" way too often. Who cares though right?

The Verdict

Go out and buy this book immediately if you haven't already read it, and if you have already read it recommend it to all of your friends and family. It's that good. You'll enjoy every action packed page of this book, Blogger's Promise (however much that's worth). Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be reading the next book in the series.

Review: Always Forever (Age of Misrule Book 3)

Well I finished this book several weeks ago, and I'm finally getting around to writing a review for it, and I'm glad that I am because it's helping me remember exactly how good this book, and this series, is. It's not often that I find a book that seriously makes me think at the end, a book that makes me care for the characters, even after the last page is turned. In my review of World's End (the first book in the series) I mentioned that I struggled through the first book because the beginning of the book turned out to be nothing like the end of the book the events had changed things so much. I think my initial struggle with this series lay in the fact that I have no knowledge of English topography and so many of the places that are mentioned in the book went right over my head, as well as the highways and street names in London. Once, however, I got on Google earth and looked at many of the places, I began to see the events transpire a lot easier and learned something in the process. O.K enough prattle, let's get on with the review. 

The eternal conflict between the Light and Dark once again blackens the skies and blights the land. On one side stand the Tuatha de Danaan, golden-skinned and beautiful, filled with all the might of angels. On the other are the Fomorii, monstrous devils hell-bent on destroying all human existence. And in the middle are the Brothers and Sisters of Dragons, determined to use the strange power that binds them to the land in a last, desperate attempt to save the human race. Church, Ruth, Ryan, Laura and Shavi have joined forces with Tom, a hero from the mists of time, to wage a guerrilla war against the iron rule of the gods. This is the stunning conclusion of a powerful fantasy saga by one of Britain's most acclaimed young writers.

The Good

The final book in the Age of Misrule series ended in the way that every good series or stand alone book should end, leaving more questions, and the possibility of more events to come (not necessarily a sequel though), it should leave of making you think, and that's exactly what Always Forever did. These three books weave an epic tale that every good fantasy fan should read, the story is nothing new to the fantasy genre, but it is presented in a way that makes it a fantastic and a thrilling read. Set in a world where technology and the age of science have failed, the events are presented in a way that really make you think "what IF all the technology in the world were to stop working?" 

The Bad

As a series I found absolutely nothing wrong. There is, however, something about this book that makes me cringe, it's a little thing but it irks me none the less. The characters, lovable as they are, seem to have the same interactions over and over again; dreading what is to come, talking about what they miss about technology, and disparaging the state of the world as it was before the start of the book. It just all seemed very repetitious in some points. Although this took almost nothing away from the story itself, I feel that there could have been a lot more depth to these books if the character interactions were tweaked a little. 

The Verdict

Overall a brilliant not so modern day fantasy series capped off by a thought provoking ending that left nothing to be desired, except for maybe another book. I would most definitely recommend this book for fantasy fans.