I picked this novel up on a whim last year because it was about books and a cat, so what could be better? The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa has been translated from Japanese by Louise Heal Kawai, and I read this as an e-book.
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Here is the blurb:
Bookish high school student Rintaro Natsuki is about to close the secondhand bookstore he inherited from his beloved bookworm grandfather. Then, a talking cat named Tiger appears with an unusual request. The feline asks for—or rather, demands—the teenager’s help in saving books with him. The world is full of lonely books left unread and unloved, and Tiger and Rintaro must liberate them from their neglectful owners.
Their mission sends this odd couple on an amazing journey, where they enter different mazes to set books free. Through their travels, Tiger and Rintaro meet a man who leaves his books to perish on a bookshelf, an unwitting book torturer who cuts the pages of books into snippets to help people speed read, and a publishing drone who only wants to create bestsellers. Their adventures culminate in one final, unforgettable challenge—the last maze that awaits leads Rintaro down a realm only the bravest dare enter…
This was a fun and short read, but felt like a YA book rather than anything more serious. Rintaro follows Tiger through alternate worlds where he must figure out how to stop people who are mistreating books. Each of these challenges was interesting, but some of the people that Rintaro meets felt more like caricatures to me.
Tiger doesn’t take as active a role as I might have liked, but there are other secondary characters that help to liven up the plot. Given that this story was told by a Japanese author, I liked learning about some of the concepts from that culture that I was not aware of previously (like hikiomori).
Overall, I didn’t get quite as much out of this book as I would have liked, but it was also a quick read. I might pick up another book by this author in the future.
Have you read many books by authors from other cultures or backgrounds? Let me know in the comments (above).
Season of Storms by Andrzej Sapkowski is the most recently published book in The Witcher Saga, but is not the end chronologically. This could almost be read as a stand-alone novel and is set sometime after the initial relationships in the series have been formed, but before Geralt takes up his quest to protect Ciri. I listed to this as an audiobook, narrated by Peter Kenny.
Here are my reviews for the other books in the series:
Geralt of Rivia. A witcher whose mission is to protect ordinary people from the monsters created with magic. A mutant who has the task of killing unnatural beings. He uses a magical sign, potions and the pride of every witcher — two swords, steel and silver. But what would happen if Geralt lost his weapons?
In this standalone novel, Geralt fights, travels and loves again, Dandelion sings and flies from trouble to trouble, sorcerers are scheming … and across the whole world clouds are gathering – the season of storms is coming…
This last Witcher novel was a lot of fun to read and felt like a side quest. Geralt’s two special swords are stolen and he suffers a series of unfortunate events as he attempts to find them. While this is a conceptually simple plot, other complications arise, both from the local politics, the attentions of a sorceress, and a mad wizard who lives by the credo that the ends justify the means.
One of the best parts of Sapkowski’s writing is how he comments on the genre while clearly being a fan of it and all that it entails. In this novel he jokes around with the trope of the magical or otherwise special sword, with Geralt refusing to ever truthfully answer what powers his swords have beyond functioning as well-made blades.
Those readers not familiar with this series could likely read this book with no prior knowledge of the story. But anyone who has read the main series will get more out of this one with multiple references to minor characters throughout the text. I suspect that at least one part of the ending won’t make sense unless you know how Geralt and Ciri’s story ends in The Lady of the Lake (although it doesn’t give anything away about that ending).
Overall, if you have read the rest of the books, Season of Storms is one not to miss. It mixes the best parts of Sapkowski’s craft while putting Geralt into ever-worsening situations with Dandelion, and taking new twists as he struggles to survive magic and monsters.
Have you read any of The Witcher Saga? What did you think? Let me know in the comments (above).
Many years ago, I read The Riddle-Master of Hed series by Patricia A. McKillip, and I had loved that series. I don’t know why it took me so long to pick up another book this this author, but one of my book clubs recently chose to read this one – The Forgotten Beasts of Eld. This was a stand-alone fantasy tale and it won the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel in 1975.
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Here is the blurb:
Young Sybel, the heiress of powerful wizards, needs the company of no-one outside her gates. In her exquisite stone mansion, she is attended by exotic, magical beasts: Riddle-master Cyrin the boar; the treasure-starved dragon Gyld; Gules the Lyon, tawny master of the Southern Deserts; Ter, the fiercely vengeful falcon; Moriah, feline Lady of the Night. Sybel only lacks the exquisite and mysterious Liralen, which continues to elude her most powerful enchantments.
But Sybel’s solitude is to be shattered when a desperate soldier arrives bearing a mysterious child. Soon Sybel will discover that the world of men is full of love, deceit, and the temptations of vast power.
Sybel’s story reads like a fairy tale and I found this book thoroughly enjoyable. I read the entire thing in about a day and a half! As much as she wants to stay out of the political events and conflicts, Sybel is inevitably drawn into them. Her loyalty is tested and torn as the characters evolve, and I liked how she is not without her flaws.
The “forgotten beasts” come from the mythology of this land but are very much present physically in the time and place of this story. They aren’t tame though, and they even cause Sybel trouble, for she has the ability to call them and communicate with them, but does not truly control them.
This is also a romance here, and while it is not the main emphasis of the story, I felt that it added to both the conflict and the resolution of the tale.
After reading The Forgotten Beasts of Eld, I want to go back to read more of Patricia A. McKillip’s work. Have you read any of her other works and have suggestions? Let me know in the comments (above).
Master of Iron by Tricia Levenseller is the second of two books in the Bladesmith duology. I reviewed the first book, Blade of Secrets, here. This is also one of the books I had picked up at New York Comic-Con 2022.
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Here is the blurb:
Eighteen-year-old Ziva may have defeated a deadly warlord, but the price was almost too much. Ziva is forced into a breakneck race to a nearby city with the handsome mercenary, Kellyn, and the young scholar, Petrik, to find a powerful magical healer who can save her sister’s life.
When the events that follow lead to Ziva and Kellyn’s capture by an ambitious prince, Ziva is forced into the very situation she’s been dreading: magicking dangerous weapons meant for world domination.
The forge has always been Ziva’s safe space, a place to avoid society and the anxiety it causes her, but now it is her prison, and she’s not sure just how much of herself she’ll have to sacrifice to save Kellyn and take center stage in the very war she’s been trying to stop.
This book continued the story from Blade of Secrets and launches a new crisis where a power-hungry prince takes both Ziva and Kellyn captive and forces Ziva to create magical weapons for his growing army. The action in this book didn’t move as quickly as in Blade of Secrets and I had a harder time getting through it. Some of the plot felt too contrived to me.
The romance also felt like it stagnated, and despite Ziva and Kellyn being thrown together for so much of this book, Ziva’s lack of perception about their relationship made this a frustrating read. So overall, I didn’t like this second book as much as the first, but it did come to an exciting conclusion.
I feel like I’m seeing more duologies out there than I used to. Do you think that this is a good length for a story? Should they generally be combined into a single novel? Or could authors add more depth and get a trilogy out of it? Let me know in the comments (above).
I had picked up Blade of Secrets by Tricia Levenseller at New York Comic-Con a few months ago because I enjoyed reading one of the her previous books – Warrior of the Wild. This book was the first of two in the Bladesmith fantasy/romance duology series.
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Here is the blurb:
Eighteen-year-old Ziva prefers metal to people. She spends her days tucked away in her forge, safe from society and the anxiety it causes her, using her magical gift to craft unique weapons imbued with power.
Then Ziva receives a commission from a powerful warlord, and the result is a sword capable of stealing its victims’ secrets. A sword that can cut far deeper than the length of its blade. A sword with the strength to topple kingdoms. When Ziva learns of the warlord’s intentions to use the weapon to enslave all the world under her rule, she takes her sister and flees.
Joined by a distractingly handsome mercenary and a young scholar with extensive knowledge of the world’s known magics, Ziva and her sister set out on a quest to keep the sword safe until they can find a worthy wielder or a way to destroy it entirely.
This was an easy and fun read and moved quickly. Ziva was quickly established as a sympathetic protagonist because she suffers from pretty significant social anxiety and is only truly comfortable around her sister, Temra. Of course the story pushes her out from the comfort of her home and on a journey with her sister and two strangers.
The plot evolves and Ziva struggles to deal with new friends and family, only to be betrayed. The antagonist is relentless, but also holds some secrets that complicate everything. On top of that, Ziva wants to deny to her attraction to the handsome and irritating mercenary, Kellyn. He is only accompanying them for pay, after all.
This is not a complete story, so if you read this novel you will need to be prepared continue on to the second book, Master of Iron, to finish the tale. I will have a review of that one up next!
Have you read any of Tricia Levelseller’s books? Let me know in the comments (above).
I finally made it to the end. This is a book review for The Lady of the Lake, the final book (#7 publication order) in The Witcher Saga by Andrzej Sapkowski. I listened to this as an audiobook, narrated by Peter Kenny. There is another book that was published later (Season of Storms), but it is set earlier in the chronology and I’ll review that one soon.
There will be some spoilers in this review because I want to talk about the ending, but I’ll have a warning and some space before them.
You can find my reviews of the earlier books in this series here:
After walking through the portal in the Tower of Swallows while narrowly escaping death, Ciri finds herself in a completely different world… an Elven world. She is trapped with no way out. Time does not seem to exist and there are no obvious borders or portals to cross back into her home world.
But this is Ciri, the child of prophecy, and she will not be defeated. She knows she must escape to finally rejoin the Witcher, Geralt, and his companions – and also to try to conquer her worst nightmare. Leo Bonhart, the man who chased, wounded and tortured Ciri, is still on her trail. And the world is still at war.
It becomes ever more clear through this series that the main character of this story is Ciri, and NOT Geralt the Witcher. She is immediately identified as the titular character in the opening of this book, and we spend a lot of time with her in this one.
Like in some of the earlier books, the author uses multiple points of view and jumps into other times (and even worlds) to tell this story. This method is incredibly effective during the Battle of Brenna, the final clash between the armies of Nilfgaard and the allied Northern Kingdoms. I can’t say that I’ve ever read anything quite like it, and even though you don’t get a play-by-play exchange of blows, the scenes relayed from the viewpoint of a field hospital, a messenger, and Jarre (the boy Ciri knew from her days in the temple, now an infantry soldier), gave a perspective that shows a chaotic struggle while also depicting the events with eerie clarity.
This novel did not give anything away in regard to how it would end, so I read with a lot of trepidation as I got further along. It was satisfying to finally see Ciri use her power as she tried to decide whether to embrace her destiny or fight it. For my spoiler-free review of the finale, I will say that I thought it was well-done and brought the character arcs to a gratifying end. From reading other reviews, it seems that this ending was very polarizing with readers. If you want to hear more of my thoughts on it, keep reading, but there will be…
Spoilers to follow!
Before I talk about the ending, I wanted to first comment on how Sapkowski brought Arthurian legend into these books. At first I was rather put off by this because I didn’t feel like his fantasy world should be so connected to our own. But then as I thought about this, I realized that Arthurian legend is NOT our world, but another mythic tale. So why couldn’t it be connected to The Witcher Saga like all of these other stories from eastern Europe that influenced the author’s writing?
I feel a little betrayed by the television show after reading this because it gave away the secret that Emhyr was Ciri’s father, Duny, so early. When that was revealed in the book, I don’t think that it had as much impact as it could have without already sort of knowing that.
The struggle at Vilgefortz’s castle was terrifying to read since I was convinced that every last one of Geralt’s band was going to die. And then they did (sadness!)… so when Sapkowski began to use the same story-telling technique with Geralt I was in agony. I had forgotten that ominous prophecy back at Caer Morhen about his death. But then… it was okay.
Or, do you think Geralt did actually die at the end? Were the unicorn and Ciri only able to help him reach an afterlife together with Yennefer?
If Ciri used her power to travel to another world, then what happened to the prophecy and her destiny? This is the only loose end that I felt was left too open-ended. Was she really able to scorn her destiny and move on? What happened to the prophecy that said the world would be covered in ice? I wish this aspect had come to more of a conclusion, but perhaps the answer to that is that Ciri was able to thwart destiny and then the prophecy became irrelevant in the end. What do you think? Let me know in the comments (above)!
This review is for the 6th book (publication order) in The Witcher Saga by Andrzej Sapkowski and I have seen it titled both The Tower of Swallows and The Tower of the Swallow. I listened to this as an audiobook narrated by Peter Kenny.
You can find my reviews of the earlier books in this series here:
The world has fallen into war. Ciri, the child of prophecy, has vanished. Hunted by friends and foes alike, she has taken on the guise of a petty bandit and lives free for the first time in her life.
But the net around her is closing. Geralt, the Witcher, has assembled a group of allies including Dandelion, Milva, Regis, and Cahir, to rescue her. Both sides of the war have sent brutal mercenaries to hunt her down. Her crimes have made her famous.
There is only one place left to run. The tower of the swallow is waiting. . .
As the author has done in other parts of this series, the scenes are not told in chronological order for much of this book. Ciri relates her story to a hermit as he cares for her during recovery from a horrific injury. She eventually opens up to him and relates the events that led her to him. Despite all the trauma Ciri has withstood, it felt like she was actually safe for the first time.
As I read this book, I began to realize that I had no idea where this story was going and how it might end. Everything about this book hints at a tragic end. Ciri’s story continues to become darker, while Geralt and his companions stick with him through increasingly dire situations.
One small issue that I’ve had with this series is that Ciri is often a victim of circumstance and runs from her power and her problems. Finally, she begins to take charge of her own situation in this book, which was a welcome change to her character.
The author also continues to use the fantasy genre to comment on itself, and the time spent in the land of Toussaint was a dive into a land of over-the-top chivalry used to excuse and mask human nature. The way that the author writes about the fantasy genre is a large part of why I don’t have a good feel for how this will end. Much of the focus in the series has been on destiny and prophecy, with Geralt obstinately refusing to believe in either. Will the finale lead to the fulfilment of prophecy or characters that somehow defy their destinies? At this point, I didn’t know, and that is why I had to read on.
How many books in this series have you read? Do you think the show will try to adapt these later books accurately? Let me know in the comments (above).
Next up for review is Baptism of Fire, the 5th book (publication order) in The Witcher Saga by Andrzej Sapkowski. I listened to this as an audiobook, narrated by Peter Kenny.
You can find my reviews for the other books in this series here:
The Wizards Guild has been shattered by a coup and, in the uproar, Geralt was seriously injured. The Witcher is supposed to be a guardian of the innocent, a protector of those in need, a defender against powerful and dangerous monsters that prey on men in dark times.
But now that dark times have fallen upon the world, Geralt is helpless until he has recovered from his injuries.
While war rages across all of the lands, the future of magic is under threat and those sorcerers who survive are determined to protect it. It’s an impossible situation in which to find one girl – Ciri, the heiress to the throne of Cintra, has vanished – until a rumor places her in the Nilfgaard court, preparing to marry the Emperor.
Injured or not, Geralt has a rescue mission on his hands.
Geralt begins this book recovering from his injuries, yet he is desperate to discover the fate of Ciri and Yennefer after the events at the conclusion of the previous volume. Finally he sets out from his refuge and follows rumor in an attempt to track down Ciri in Nilfgaard.
This book isn’t about reaching Ciri, but rather about the relationships that form on the journey, and how a war that spreads over a continent affects the everyday people trying to live there. Geralt slowly changes as a character and even though he is a Witcher, he is propelled more by his drive to see Ciri safe than his former mercenary lifestyle of monster-slaying.
Several characters are introduced in this book who will feature through the end of the series: Milva the archer, Cahir the outcast Nilfgaardian knight, and Regis – an aloof hermit with valuable medical skills. Geralt has always tried to handle danger alone, but through this story we can see how he starts to accept help from others, a theme that continues through the finale of the books.
Ciri and Yennefer take more minor roles in this book, so it came as a surprise that Sapkowski brings in issues of reproductive rights and pregnancy loss in this story. This topic becomes relevant in later books in a more indirect sense, so I can see why he has a direct conversation between the characters in this one.
Despite being an epic fantasy tale, this series uses stories to also make fun of fantasy in a very self-aware sense. Is Geralt of Rivia from Rivia? This book will finally explain his title.
While most of this book moves slowly in terms of plot, the characters are the high point here. Yet, action lovers can be satisfied with a fantastic scene near the end of the book in The Battle for the Bridge. I enjoyed this book and thought it was a solid installment in the series as it continues to add complexity and higher stakes.
Have you read any books in The Witcher Saga? What did you think? Let me know in the comments (above).
I finished the last book in the Witcher Saga by Andrzej Sapkowski a few days ago and I wanted to get back to writing out my thoughts and reviewing the rest of this series. The next up is The Time of Contempt, the 4th book in publication order, coming after the two short story collections (The Last Wish, Sword of Destiny) and the first novel (Blood of Elves). I listened to this as an audiobook, narrated by Peter Kenny.
You can find my reviews for the other books in this series here:
Book 1 – The Last Wish – I guess I didn’t review this one.
The blurb for this book was not very useful, so I pieced together a couple of them to come up with something better:
Geralt is a Witcher: guardian of the innocent; protector of those in need; a defender in dark times against some of the most frightening creatures of myth and legend.
His task now is to protect Ciri. A child of prophecy, she will have the power to change the world for good or for ill—but only if she lives to use it.
To protect his ward Ciri, Geralt of Rivia sends her to train with the sorceress Yennefer. But all is not well across the lands as a coup threatens the Wizard’s Guild, war breaks out across the lands, and a serious injury leaves Geralt fighting for his life. And Ciri – in whose hands the world’s fate rests – has vanished…
This book starts off with Ciri finally being able to show off some Witcher skills as she ventures out from the Temple School and is more on her own. However, her escapades are eventually interrupted as the sorceresses want to have her train at their magic school in Aretuza.
One huge theme in this entire series is that everyone is trying to control Ciri, presumably to help her fulfill a prophecy or whatever her destiny entails. But in the course of this, no one ever asks Ciri what she wants. Is she a pawn of her destiny or should she have a say in her own fate? Could it change anything if she does?
The events that occur in Thanedd were confusing to me as a reader, but I think that accurately reflected how things happened for those involved. From that point onward, I feel like these novels took a darker and more pessimistic turn, but one that sort of allows Ciri some new freedoms. This book sets the stage for the later events in the series in ways that are not immediately obvious.
The politics of this world becomes more important and the worldbuilding broader and more impactful as Ciri and Geralt’s fates unfold. I enjoyed reading this book, but it was one of those where I have to wonder what might stand out to me on a second read-through of the series, now that I know how it ends. Overall, this was a solid installment and moves the story along in an unforeseen way.
The narrator is wonderful and I was able to tell which characters were speaking without being told: Geralt is suitably gruff, while Dandelion is a frivolous dandy. This only adds to the superb characterization in this series, and I appreciate when the same narrator voices an entire series (as in this case).
Have you read any books in this series? Which was your favorite? Let me know in the comments (above).
I started to read Stephen King’s books at least 15 years ago when I picked up The Dark Tower series. I guess that after delving into many more of his works, I now consider myself a fan, although I still don’t read everything that he writes. When I saw that he had a book titled Fairy Tale, though, I knew that this was one I’d need to read.
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Here is the blurb:
Charlie Reade looks like a regular high school kid, great at baseball and football, a decent student. But he carries a heavy load. His mom was killed in a hit-and-run accident when he was ten, and grief drove his dad to drink. Charlie learned how to take care of himself—and his dad. Then, when Charlie is seventeen, he meets Howard Bowditch, a recluse with a big dog in a big house at the top of a big hill. In the backyard is a locked shed from which strange sounds emerge, as if some creature is trying to escape. When Mr. Bowditch dies, he leaves Charlie the house, a massive amount of gold, a cassette tape telling a story that is impossible to believe, and a responsibility far too massive for a boy to shoulder.
Because within the shed is a portal to another world—one whose denizens are in peril and whose monstrous leaders may destroy their own world, and ours. In this parallel universe, where two moons race across the sky, and the grand towers of a sprawling palace pierce the clouds, there are exiled princesses and princes who suffer horrific punishments; there are dungeons; there are games in which men and women must fight each other to the death for the amusement of the “Fair One.” And there is a magic sundial that can turn back time.
A story as old as myth, and as startling and iconic as the rest of King’s work, Fairy Tale is about an ordinary guy forced into the hero’s role by circumstance, and it is both spectacularly suspenseful and satisfying.
I truly enjoyed this book! The opening is very relatable and takes place in our world. There’s a mysterious old man with secrets, a sympathetic protagonist in Charlie, and a wonderful dog. You KNOW that this story is going to go somewhere fantastical though from the title.
The first half provides a lot of character background and is essentially about saving a dog. The focus then shifts to an unpredictable story about heroes, quests, and doing the right thing. King references traditional fairy tales that you know, but in a way that isn’t obvious at first. But he also brings in more modern stories that have developed their own cultural following: everything from Cthulhu and Disney characters, to his own lines from The Dark Tower series. He even trolls George R. R. Martin with his own take on “the prince who was promised.”
Like the original versions of classic fairy tales, this story has its dark aspects. However, it is much more of a fantasy story than something from the horror genre. The ending was satisfying and I might even have shed a tear on the final page. I expect that Fairy Tale will end up being one of my top books of 2023 and I’m finding it hard to even offer any criticism of it right now, so go read it!
Selection Error – a flash fiction story podcast by Utopia Science Fiction Magazine in December 2022