Bookish Thoughts

The premise for this book was really interesting. It's sort of a cross between a gothic novel and a choose you own adventure book. Jane gets invited to a party at a secluded mansion by a friendly acquaintance shortly after her aunt dies. But there's a lot going on at the mansion. After hinting at a variety of mysteries, Cashore puts Jane in a room with the option of following one of five different characters, each promising enlightenment about a different question. And then the book breaks into five different stories, one for each choice, with the remaining stories playing out in the background. It's the sort of experimental thing that I've gotten more and more interested in lately. But I think Cashore threw one too many elements into her mixing bowl. Each of the five stories is a different genre. This worked fine for the first few: a mystery, a thriller, even a horror story. The fourth story is science-fiction, and it's here that I think the book jumped the shark...

Bitterblue is the third book by Kristin Cashore, set in the fantasy world she created (which could really use a name). It's a standalone novel. You don't really need to have read the other two books first. But it's a lot better if you have read them. Bitterblue takes place eight years after the events of Graceling (and forty or so years after Fire ). Bitterblue has just turned eighteen and is trying to get a handle on the kingdom she's trying to run. But everywhere she turns, there are lies upon lies. She sets out to sort through the lies and get to the truth of her father's destructive reign. All of her research reveals truths that are almost too painful for her to bear and occasionally results in more lies as she attempts to keep her friends safe and determine which of her trusted advisers are lying to her. This book had a lot of fun twists and turns. It was a bit slow in the beginning, but once it got going it was really exciting. There were p...

Fire is the second book by Kristin Cashore.  It's a prequel to Graceling , but there's only one character who appears in both books and Fire takes place thirty years earlier in an entirely different world. Both Fire and Graceling take place on the same continent.  But there's a mountain range running down the middle of the continent that it so treacherous to cross no one attempts it (or even wonders what might be on the other side).  The world is effectively divided into a western part (where Graceling is set) and an eastern part (where Fire is set).  In Graceling , there are people born with extreme skills, marked by mismatched eyes.  They don't seem to exist on the other half of the continent at all.  Instead there are monsters, and Fire is the last human monster.  Monster versions of every animal species exists, from bugs and fish to wolves and raptors.  Monsters are distinguished by their vivid coloring and their ability to rea...

How absurd was it that in all seven kingdoms, the weakest and most vulnerable of people -girls, women- went unarmed and were taught nothing of fighting, while the strong were trained to the highest reaches of their skill Graceling (written by Kristin Cashore) is all about girl power.  Having it, embracing it, sharing it.  Wait, that's Buffy. Graceling is a young adult fantasy novel.  It's a coming of age story about Katsa. In Katsa's world, also known as the seven kingdoms, certain individuals are graced with extreme skills.  These skills might be cooking, sewing, or singing, or even mind reading.  Katsa herself is graced with killing.  She first killed a man when she was eight by shoving his nose into his brain when he attempted to grope her.  When the story starts she is eighteen and in the employ of her uncle, the king, who sends her out to enforce his tyrannical demands on the kingdom.  Although can't deny him, she has st...