Runemarks - Joanne Harris

Five Hundred years after the end of the world, and the goblins had been at the cellar again.

This is everyday life for Maddy, who was born with a strange coppery symbol on her hand, known as a runemark. It marks her out in her simple village as an outsider and someone not to be trusted. Her only friend is an old man called one-eye, who suddenly wants her to travel into Red Horse Hill, where the goblins come from. Maddy's world is soon ripped apart as secrets are revealed, enemies and allies resurface from the old world and all Hel breaks loose.

If there's one thing Joanne Harris can do and do well, it's to tell a great story. This book is no exception. But what we have to remember is that this is her first novel for Young Adults, and is therefore slightly less sophistiated than what we are used to from her. As a result, her characters are lacking a little in complexity. The protagonist, Maddy, doesn't really star as much as she should, instead making The Captain (don't worry, you'll work it out when you read it) a much more prominent character in the readers eyes. She also does what she's told most of the time, which isn't the most spunky attribute in a protagonist. However, she is so integral to the plot, I can almost forgive this minor lapse. And anyway, I've always had a soft spot for The Captain.

However her plot is, as always, beautifully thought through. The action is in place from the beginning, which gets you right int the plot. Her descriptions perfectly capture imagination and the imagery puts you right in the middle of the story. Fantasy teen fiction is usually to do with education, groups, a selfish streak and almost always has a love interest. 'Twilight' is a nice example of this, as is the likes of 'Matched' or 'Divergent'. 'Runemarks', like the popular 'Hunger Games' trilogy, is so much more than a simple teen story. It turns away from angst and romance, and into the fray instead. It talks about religion, mythology, family, betrayal and a battle of wills. Maddy has so much more on her shoulders than your usual teen heroine - ie: the end of the universe.

Finally, I have to comment on the subject matter. Norse mythology is something that I haven't really taken a great interest in compared to the likes of Greek and Roman myth. When 'Thor' came out, I took a bit more interest in the matter, but now I think I definitely need to read up. I commend Joanne Harris for choosing this mythology as her basis. Not a lot of people are educated in the liked of the World Tree and Ragnarok, but I certainly hope that this book helps with that.

Oh, and one more thing.. this is no Percy Jackson.

8 out of 10. Only because I wasn't quite prepared for the amazing contrast to her other works and the change to her style because of the teen genre.

Runelight, the sequel, is out now.

Mistborn Trilogy - Brandon Sanderson

Unless you've been living under a fantasy rock for the past couple of years, you'll know that Brandon Sanderson is well on the map for fantasy fiction. His work is articulate, complex and intriguing, and his writing style is excellent. He's even ghost writing the rest of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series.

I was mesmerised by the covers of these books, and the story sounded equally compelling, so I borrowed this particular set from my boyfriend and I was not disappointed.

What if the Dark Lord won?
(If that isn't an interesting first sentence to a blurb then I don't know what is.)

Vin is a lonely, abandoned girl working in a thieving crew when Kelsier strolls into her life. After learning that she is actually a very gifted Allomancer, he takes her in and gives her a life she had never dreamt of before - one where you trust others and laugh, and eat enough food. But Kelsier is about to turn everything on it's head. He is planning to overthrow the oppressive and cruel Lord Ruler, and with Vin's help, they may just succeed.

So that's just the premise of the first book. After that, the plot grows into a twisting mass of story, each book more detailed and grander than the last. Never mind trying to defeat a tyrant, there are bigger things in store.

The Mistborn trilogy is and engaging read, set in a world where mists always come at night, where people ingest metals to wield powers we could only dream about, where strange creatures roam and terrible things happen. It is full of suspense, action and mystery - in others words, it is every fantasy-lovers paradise.

The writing is perfect. There is a touch of humour, which balances the slightly gruelling subject matter. There is a level of detail that is very well thought through. Sometimes you wonder how someone can think of a world where everything makes perfect sense according to the laws there - the balance of forces, the explanations for everything that goes on in the plot. The history, the religions, the species. It amazes me how beautifully they all combine to create these books.

I like the characterisation, though it did take some time for me to warm towards Vin. But overall, every character was very different, and given different drives. It always disappoints me to see similar characters whose voices or feelings you can't recognise straight away. But here you know who is talking without having to read the name.

I can't actually say too much without giving the plots away for each of the books, so I will leave you with this: You need to read these books. 10 out of 10.

PS: I can't wait to get on and read the other Mistborn novel, The Alloy of Law

Fever - Lauren DeStefano

I was casually walking around an Oxfam bookshop, not really wanting to buy anything in particular, when I saw this little beauty. The first one was great, and I was waiting for the oppurtune moment to pick this one up on the cheap from Amazon. But at a meagre £2.00, I just had to snap it up. It was so much cheaper than anything else I would ever find.

In my experience, trilogies always have one downfall: The second book is never quite as thrilling as the other two. The first one tends to be a story in itsself, and the third one is the huge climax. The second, therefore, is the build-up. There are only a few exceptions, and I'm sad to say that Fever is not one of them.

While the storyline was very good, I found that it lacked the goal that we had in Wither. Although I absolutely loved the characters, I found it harder to sympathise with them in this book.

However, the plot was very good. It has intrigue, love, loss, and it always keeps us wondering what is going to heppen to our beloved characters. Their time is running out, and their mortality is more pronounced. This time, you really can't see where it is going to lead you. I thought the ending in Wither was rather obvious, but here there's a twist that you don't see coming. Again, the cover perfectly encapsulates the story, though you don't see it at first.

A little review, this one. As there's not so much more to say about the writing, the characters or the themes that I didn't already say in my review for Wither.

7 out of 10 this time. But I have more hope for the final book, Sever, which should be out early in 2013.

Snow White and the Huntsman

We all know the story. An evil queen looks into a magic mirror every day and asks it if she is the most beautiful woman in the world, and one day it says her step-daughter is more beautiful than her. The queen has a hissy rage and orders a Huntsman to kill the girl, but he doesn't. She then runs away into a forest and lives with seven little men before being found and poisoned with an apple. The prince wakes her up and the queen mysteriously disappears. The End.

There have been loads of adaptations of this story, but something about this version had me intrigued. The film flows rather nicely in with the original telling, but there is something much more haunting and fantastical about this version.

The characters are multi-faceted and realistic; something that a lot of adaptations of the fairytale fail to do. Ravenna (Charlize Theron) is the evil queen with destructive powers to match, and though she does want to kill Snow White because of her beauty, there is a lot more riding on it than we first suspect. Her powers weaken as Snow White becomes more beautiful - a side affect of a piece of magic from Ravenna's youth. Snow White (Kristen Stewart) is a much more ballsy (can I say that?) character than her insipid Disney counterpart. She even rescues herself. And she has excellent reasons for being terrified of the forest: it is really, really creepy and has a rather nasty defence mechanism. Oh, and the Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) comes complete with his own history and motives.

The second thing that is exceptional about this film is the effects and the overall look of the film. The costumes are exquisite and perfect for what seems to be a medieval time frame with a modern twist. The landscapes are flawless, right down to the trees in the forest and battlements of the castle. But the effects... Ravens turning into queens, apples rotting away, hands melting, fairies and rather well known actors playing dwarves. It is a feast for the eyes.

The acting was excellent, but I think I was most impressed by Sharlize Theron, whose depiction of the easily angered queen was both convincing and a little scary. I love the way that she also made her more human. We can see that she fears for her life and that she still wants revenge for her past. The dwarves were amusing and interesting at the same time. They were acted well and even they weren't one-dimensional.

One or two things bothered me, though. Firstly, I didn't think Kristen Stewart suited the role too well. Snow White was being described as life and as a thing of beauty (more beautiful than Charlize Theron, who is stunning in my opinion) that everyone would follow. While she is a very pretty girl and her acting has certainly improved, I feel that she didn't quite fit with what they said about her. Another thing is the Prince-like character, William. I really didn't think that the story really needed him at all. He was only used for a couple of things that could have easily been changed slightly so he wasn't in them.

Despite that, I think that Snow White and the Huntsman is an excellent film, and I will definitely be buying it when it comes out on DVD. So I'll give it a 9 out of 10.

0.4 - Mike Lancaster

'My name is Kyle Straker, and I don't exist any more.'

It was a normal day in Kyle's village. Up until the point where everyone stopped moving except for Kyle and the three other people who had been hypnotised. Sound intriguing? I certainly thought so when I had a quick read of the reviews on Amazon.

The plot is a little slow at first, but soon picks up when our lead characters find themselves in a predicament. And it gets more exciting. But I mustn't ruin the plot for you! There is a giant element of danger that is slow in coming at first, but gradually increases during the read. However, I found that the end simply petered out. Maybe this sets up a second book, because if I were Kyle or the other three main characters, I wouldn't leave things as they were.

What I like the most about this book is the way that it has been set out. The tapes that Kyle records his story on are very much in the fashion that 'The Handmaid's Tale', by Margaret Atwood, is written. And yet the reason for the use of tapes is so very different to anything I was expecting.

The entire concept is a very clever one, and I love the Sci-fi element to it all. But I don't dare say anything else, for fear of giving up the plot again. Oh, and 0.4 is a very clever title too. I love how that little number keeps you guessing!

     (This is a tough review to write.)

So, I think all I can say is that if you like Sci-fi and you like a puzzle, this is a great book for you to read. Adults don't have to worry too much about the Young Adult tag. There isn't too much teenage angst in here, though if there's a second book, there could be more.

It's a sturdy 7/10.

The second book, 1.4 is out now.