Review: Quintana of Charyn by Melina Marchetta

Lumatere Chronicles, Book 3
Book 1: Finnikin of the Rock
Book 2: Froi of the Exiles review

Tags: YA, fantasy

Summary

Princess Quintana, carrying the child that prophecy predicts will be the one to break Charyn’s 18-year curse of barrenness, is in hiding. Numerous groups are trying to seek her out, whether it’s to kill her or take her unborn child in the power struggle for Charyn’s throne. But no one is looking for her more desperately than Froi, father of Quintana’s child, and whose recent discoveries about his own family history make him more confused than ever about his loyalties toward Lumatere, Charyn, and Quintana.

Review

How do you follow up perfection? It’s usually impossible—but this is Melina Marchetta we’re talking about, and she can do anything she wants to when it comes to writing. Still, when she actually managed to write a second book in a trilogy that was so astoundingly amazing, it was going to be a hard one to follow up for sure. While QUINTANA OF CHARYN didn’t do it for me as Froi of the Exiles did, it was still an overall satisfying ending to one of the most emotionally draining and ambitious YA fantasy series in recent publishing history.

QUINTANA OF CHARYN made me think for the first time in this series of why I like these characters when most of them can be so horrible, to themselves and to one another. Because in this installment, I think I was removed enough from their situations to be appalled at how they talked to and treated one another. If they were real, they’d be given restraining orders. We’d think they are off their rockers. We’d hiss in their faces about how they should be ashamed of themselves, about how saying you’d be willing to destroy yourself and others out of your love for her is more scary than romantic. Marchetta’s characters often seem like they’re acting out a dangerous dramatization of romance, one that borders on mentally abusive.

So how come Marchetta gets away with writing arguably abusive characters that we (hopefully) intelligent readers support fiercely, when we’re the ones who skewer portrayals of abusive characters as love interests in YA fiction? I don’t know. I’ve been turning this over and over in my head ever since I finished reading, and I still haven’t figured out why I’m okay with loving Froi, Quintana, Lucian, Isaboe, and the others, when in any other circumstance I would’ve condemned the sympathetic portrayal of such characters. Is it because I sympathize with their horrifying childhoods and feel that their experiences explain the way they interact with one another? (But the children of abusive upbringings can grow up to be positive role models.) Is it because they are good with no one except the few that they love with all their broken hearts? Possibly. Quite possibly that.

Reading what I’ve written, this probably doesn’t qualify as an actual review, more like my musings on my confusion over my feelings for the book. Stylistically and emotionally, QUINTANA was a lot like Froi of the Exiles for me: in the beginning I was frustrated with how unlikable so many of the characters were, and in the last hundred pages I was tearing up at every sentence on the page. While it didn’t have that Punch for me as Froi did, it’s still Melina Marchetta. It’s still the Lumatere Chronicles. It is so worth reading and falling for.

Cover discussion: I like the Australian cover a lot more than the US one. This is a pretty, calm, bashful model pretending to have the eerily raw fierceness that Quintana possesses. It's Quintana's strength that makes her alluring, not her outward appearances. And the Australian cover gets that.

Candlewick / April 23, 2013 / Hardcover / 528pp. / $18.99

e-galley received from publisher and NetGalley for review.

Reading for Solace or Escape?

This weeks' events have been, objectively speaking, horrifying. Boston, the failed Senate vote for gun control, Texas, and now another earthquake in China... and these are just the events that I've heard of. Who knows how many countless other tragedies less public have occurred?

For sure, times like these are not meant to be borne alone. The blogging community is just one of the many communities each of us belongs to that can help us bear the weight of knowing how much evil or senseless wrongdoing there is in the world at times. But, being the bookworms that we are, we also know how comforting a good book can be when the world makes you want to cry.

Books serve many purposes. They can entertain. They can educate. They can comfort us and make us feel less alone by sharing with us characters who we relate to, who have gotten through the situations that we're currently struggling with with wisdom to share. And they can take us away when our lives, our emotions, our problems are a little too overwhelming for us to deal with for the moment.

Yesterday, while I continuously refreshed Reddit to check on the latest updates about the manhunt for the Boston marathon bombers, I kept one hand firmly on the comforting cover of my Kindle, glad to know that, at any time of day, there were always books for me to turn to. And that made me wonder the question that I'd love you to answer as well: In hard times, do you tend to read books for solace or for escape?

Me, I think I'm an escape kind of reader. In particular, when the world is going crazy and I need to take a break from it, I devour fantasies like no one's business. The more intricate the world-building--the more characters whose unusual names and social positions I have to remember--the better. (The Song of Ice and Fire books are great for this task.) The time I can take away from the world refreshes and energizes me for when I return to deal with it.

It's your turn now, because I'm curious. How do books help you through your tough times? Are they dispensers of advice through relatable characters and their situations, or are they a temporary refuge so that you can recharge? Does it differ according to the scenario?

Review: The Emperor's Edge by Lindsay Buroker

The Emperor's Edge, Book 1

Tags: fantasy, assassins

Summary

Amaranthe Lokdon is one of the few female enforcers working for her emperor, but when she gets in the middle of a sinister plot that threatens the emperor’s life, she’s forced to drop everything from her old life in order to save herself—and possibly save the emperor. Amaranthe amasses a ragtag team, including Sicarius, a lethal assassin, to execute her crazy plan. But what if she can’t trust even her own team to have her back?

Review

To give credit where credit’s due, I kept on returning to this book after every time I decided to put it down because I found problems with the writing. So as far as self-published books go, this is a real nice free find. It has some of the problems that I’ve experienced in other self-published books—notably in pacing, world-building, and plot—but at its heart is a very delightfully strong protagonist and some chuckle-inducing dialogue.

Amaranthe is the type of woman that many protagonists think they are but aren’t really. With her enforcer training, she’s more than physically and intellectually competent. She’s also capable of getting herself out of sticky predicaments with creative thinking. Instead of saying all the time that she’s resourceful and smart and badass, she actually IS. Whenever I thought I was done with this because of some writing weaknesses, Amaranthe comes out with something that impresses me.

About those writing weaknesses… Well, it’s just the stuff that I’ve generally found to appear in self-published books. As in, the world makes sense in the author’s mind, but somewhere down the line, the author’s intended world doesn’t align with the words that actually end up on the page. THE EMPEROR’S EDGE claims to be a fantasy with steampunk elements, but besides for a few mentions of engines and mages and whatnot, it was difficult to distinguish what made this world so different than a medieval/contemporary mashup of our own. (At one point one of the characters calls out, “Yo!” I facepalmed like it was the end of the world.)

I also haven’t warmed up to the Amaranthe-Sicarius romance yet, primarily because Sicarius himself doesn’t demonstrate even a HINT of romantic gestures throughout the whole novel. Amaranthe, girl, you are really deluded if you’ve spotted anything even remotely resembling him caring for you in this episode of your life. However, I believe that the potential for romance is there, and it can pay off in the end, if that’s something that motivates your reading.

Nevertheless, THE EMPEROR’S EDGE exceeded my expectations for a free self-published novel. It’s got its flaws, but they’re not deal-breakers, not with great characters and an admirable female protagonist leading the charge. I may even consider reading on in the series sometime in the future. Snap up this free e-book and be prepared to be impressed with how much heart it’s got.

I got this e-book free on Amazon.

The Flame in the Mist Blog Tour: Interview with Kit Grindstaff!

I'm happy to have on my blog today debut author Kit Grindstaff, author of the middle-grade dark fantasy The Flame in the Mist, out on April 9th from Random House/Delacorte! Kit is here to appease my whims and was at the mercy of my interview questions. Welcome, Kit, to Steph Su Reads!

www.kitgrindstaff.com

1. Let's create some quick book poetry: describe your book using other books' titles.

Great! I love rhymes. Here goes!

THE PECULIAR tale of a PROPHECY

And a RED-haired girl with a DESTINY

She’s a GIRL OF NIGHTMARES, that’s for sure

DIVERGENT plots, and schemes, and more!

The doom and THE DARK ‘neath the Agromonds’ thumb

Sends Jemma into a DELIRIUM

‘Cause they’re DIABOLICAL, she’s their PREY

And they badly want her OUT OF THE WAY!

The ROT AND RUIN grows intense

In a SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS

Will Jemma live up to GREAT EXPECTATIONS

As she unearths each REVELATION?

Can wielding the MAGYK in her hands

RESCUE the POOR FOLK of her land?

THE DARK IS RISING! But ah, there’s a twist—

Read all about it in THE FLAME IN THE MIST!

Ok, I confess—I cheated a little. A couple of these are series titles, and there are several that I haven’t read. [full list of books that appear in Kit's poem appears at the end of the interview]

2. On your FAQ page you mention that you've had a lot of jobs before becoming an author. Which of them do you think had the biggest influence on your current writing style or material?

Not my main career of songwriting, for sure! Though “writing”, the formats are so different, and song content has little to do with dark, middle grade fiction! Far mor influential was a job I had before getting into the music business, when I was an assistant teacher in a primary school in England. It brought me into contact with children’s books after many years (since being a child!), and I totally fell in love with Maurice Sendak’s work with its dark, anarchic edge.

Also during that time I wrote a rhyming book which my sister illustrated (never published; it had serious flaws!). Knowing this, one of the teachers asked me to work with some of the kids in her class and write down fairy tales which they’d make up. Listening to the dark contents of some of those 5-year-olds’ imaginations—full of devouring witches and threatening forests—something clicked in me about children’s minds and archetypes in story telling.

The seed of wanting to write for children was definitely planted then. My dream of songwriting and being a pop artist took over, so it was years before I really began watering that seed. But it was always at the back of my mind, lurking in the shadows…

3. Tell us 3 things about THE FLAME IN THE MIST that aren't mentioned in the synopsis.

Ooh, what to say without giving too much away….How about this:

i) During her escape through Agromond Forest, Jemma is pursued by evil Inquisitors—bounty-hunters who enforce the Agromonds’ law.

ii) Later, Digby is kidnapped by those same Inquisitors and imprisoned at Blackwater, a town inhabited by Agromond supporters. And of course Jemma isn’t going to leave him there to rot…

iii) The head Inquisitor is connected to someone who will become very important to Jemma, and provide a major opportunity for developing her healing skills.

4. What is your favorite spooky:

www.248am.com

    - book?  The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. Two ghosts….possessed children…Creeeeepy!

    - movie? The Innocents, a 1961 movie based on The Turn of the Screw. It’s in black and white, perfect for spook factor! Close second is the more recent The Others, with Nicole Kidman. The end totally took me by surprise.

    - TV show? A fabulously atmospheric and creepy 2003/2005 series called Carnival. Set in depression-era U.S., it pits fugitive farm boy Ben Hawkins, who has powers some would call demonic, against Brother Justin, a rabid evangelical. The setting of a traveling carnival, with its colorful ‘freak show’ cast, is the perfect background against which their sinister heaven vs hell battle is played out. And there’s a great twist on the good/evil dichotomy.

    - event?  The Halloween parade in New York City! I only went once, about 10 years ago. It was pretty wild. Favorite costume? A man in vampire garb holding an upturned human skull (presumably plastic) from which he was eating spaghetti with tomato sauce that looked just like…Well, you can imagine what it looked like. Eeew!

5. Which fictional character(s) would Jemma be friends with if they met?

Jemma would love Conn from Sarah Prineas’s Magic Thief series. They’re similarly spunky, and he has an irreverence that she’d relate to. Also, Septimus Heap of Angie Sage’s series; the circumstances of their births and early years would give them a connection, and plenty to talk about, as well as teaching each other magical techniques. Septimus may be confused by Jemma’s name being so like Jenna’s from his own books, though.

As a girl pal, I think Jemma would hit it off with Ginny Weasley. Not Hermione—she, Harry and Ron are too much of a unit. Jemma needs her own friend. Hogwarts might remind her too much of Agromond Castle for comfort, though.

6. Something I've been intrigued by recently is what makes certain book titles especially alluring to readers. Yours is definitely one of those special titles. How did you come up with it? What are some of your favorite book titles? What do you think makes a good book title?

Thanks, Steph Su! So glad you think of my title as special—words any author would love to hear.

Actually, coming up with it was a group effort. My editor, Michelle Poploff, and I had discussed that my working title wasn’t zingy enough for kids. She suggested including the words “Mist” and “flame” (or “fire”), as they’re recurring symbols in the book. Brain-tied by my familiarity with my old title, I sent out an email to a few friends who’d read the book, telling them Michelle’s suggestion and asking for ideas.

Brainstorming with my husband, he said, “How about The Flame in the Mist?” Too obvious, I thought. Not long after, I got an email from my nephew in England, responding to my SOS. His suggestion? The Flame in the Mist. Er….weird. Two people coming up with the same title…? But I still wasn’t convinced. Later that day, though, it hit me: their suggestion wasn’t just right; it was perfect! Now, it feels like it’s always been the book’s title, and it couldn’t be anything else.

Titles that pull me most in are ones that pose a question I want answered, even if it’s as simple as “What does that mean?” Perhaps it’s a word that’s inherently intriguing to me, like Stefan Bachmann’s The Peculiar, (what Peculiar?) or juxtaposing words in an interesting way, like Laura Amy Schlitz’s Splendors and Glooms or R. L. LaFevers’s Grave Mercy, which has a clever twist to it. Others do that while also suggesting fun, like Sarah Prineas’s The Magic Thief series. (I mean, ooh…How do you steal magic?)

Then there are the catch phrases, the ones which take an extract from the book and place it out of context, like To Kill a Mockingbird and Of Mice and Men, both of which are enticing. Another I’ve been dying to read simply from its title is Cat Winters’s In the Shadow of Blackbirds, whose eeriness is borne out by its synopsis. I totally want to know about that shadow, and what being in it will do, or has done. And as obvious as I thought it was, I like to imagine now that if I saw my own title on a book I hadn’t written, I might just be intrigued enough to pick it up!

Thanks so much for hosting me, Steph Su. It’s been fun!

The Peculiar: Stefan Bachmann (Greenwillow)  Prophecy: Ellen Oh (HarperTeen)  Red: Alison Cherry (Delacorte) [tbr 10/13]

Destiny: Carly Phillips (Berkley)  Girl of Nightmares: Kendare Blake (Tor Teen)  Divergent: Veronica Ross (Katherine Tegan Books)  The Dark: Lemony Snicket and John Klassen (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)  Delirium: Lauren Oliver (Harper Collins)   Diabolical: Cynthia Leitich Smilth (Candlewick Press)   Prey: Michael Crichton (Harper)

Out of the Way: Uma Krishnaswami (Groundwood)    Rot and Ruin: Jonathan Maberry (Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers)   A Series of Unfortunate Events: Lemony Snicket (HarperCollins)  Great Expectations: Charles Dickens (many editions)  Revelation:  C. J. Sansom (Penguin)  Magyk: Angie Sage (Katherine Tegan Books)  Rescue: Anita Shreve (Little, Brown and Company)  Poor Folk: Fyodor Doystoyevsky (many editions)  The Dark is Rising: Susan Cooper (Margaret K. McElderry Books)   The Flame in the Mist: Me! (Delacorte Press)

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Thank YOU, Kit, for the fun answers! You can check out the other stops on the Flame in the Mist blog tour over at Mod Podge Blog Tours. In addition, enter the blog tour-wide giveaway using the Rafflecopter form below:
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