Reawakened

Reawakened by Colleen Houck, 393 pages

When seventeen-year-old Lilliana Young enters the Metropolitan Museum of Art one morning during spring break, the last thing she expects to find is a live Egyptian prince with godlike powers, who has been reawakened after a thousand years of mummification. And she really can't imagine being chosen to aid him in an epic quest that will lead them across the globe. But fate has taken hold of Lily, and she, along with her sun prince, Amon, must travel to the Valley of the Kings, raise his brothers, and stop an evil, shape-shifting god named Seth from taking over the world. I’ve enjoyed other books by the author more than this but this book wasn’t bad.  I’m interested enough to want to read the other books.  Her books combine fantasy and historical elements.  The biggest problem for me is that I thought the characters were a little flat.  There are teens that will really enjoy these, especially if they have any interest in ancient Egypt.

American Gods

American Gods by Neil Gaiman, 635 pages

American Gods is quite the interesting and award winning book. For the most part it follows the life of a recently released convict named Shadow who receives a proposition from a man calling himself Wednesday. What at first seemed like a simple bodyguard/assistant role soon spirals out of control and leaves Shadow fighting for his life.

What I liked best about American Gods is the blending of mythology into everyday life. There are the old gods, ones that have always been here and ones that were bought to this country with immigration, and the new gods, like internet, tv, etc. The gods get their powers from how many people believe and follow them. So in a world that is embracing all that technology has to offer, the old gods find themselves slowly drifting away. The plausibility of this scenario, assuming that the gods do exist, resonates with me. The assumption that media, television and internet are considered “gods” at first seemed unlikely, but as the story goes on, I came to believe it. If all that is needed for “worship” is our attention, then what else do we spend more time working with or sitting in front of?

I highly recommend this book to everyone, as it really makes you think about what might from some perspective be modern “mythology”.

Divine Misfortune

Divine Misfortune by A. Lee Martinez, 321 pages

Teri and Phil never felt the need to have their own personal god, but when Phil is passed up for a promotion  it's time they decide to take their own hands. Choosing a god isn't isn't simple though, there are too many choices and the benefits they provide often come at hefty prices such as blood sacrifices, vows of chastity, or possibly just cutting of a hand to prove your worthiness at being considered of notice. Then they find Luka, a raccoon headed god of prosperity who only asks for a small cut of their good fortune, and to crash on their couch for a few days.
As usual Martinez writes a great story filled with humor, all the while keeping the reader entertained with sudden twists. I think Martinez's books are a great read for people who like Douglas Adams or Christopher Moore.

Gods Behaving Badly

Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Philips, 293 pages

The Olympian gods have fallen on hard times. Their powers are fading, they are stuck living in a messy falling apart house in London fighting amongst themselves, and some of them have even had to get menial jobs.When Artemis hires a mortal cleaning woman what started as a minor act of revenge between two gods turns into the end of the world, and sadly it is up to two mortals caught in the crossfire to save everyone.
This was a quick fun read, and while the premise isn't anything groundbreaking it is funny and well written. If you enjoy humorous lighthearted takes on mythology then you will probably enjoy this book as much as I did.

Mortal Heart

Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers, 444 pages

This is the third, and I believe the final, book in the His Fair Assassin series.  Annith has been at the convent at St. Mortain since she was a baby.  Although she has not shown any special skills that Mortain’s daughters often have, she is exceedingly skilled in everything that it is possible for her to learn.  No one rides or shoots better than she and she has learned all she can about poisons and knives as well.  However, the abbess will not send her out on a mission and is sending out other girls before they are ready, Annith fears.  Then Annith comes to find out that the abbess plans to have her become the next seeress.  Annith is flabbergasted.  She has never shown any aptitude for seeing and believes that her skills would be wasted.  Not to mention, she doesn’t want to be shut up for the rest of her life as the seeress must be.  Therefore, she makes a plan and leaves the convent, following the abbess who has been called away.  Her plan is to confront the abbess and find out why she has made these decisions that seem to make no sense.  Annith may get her answers but she may not like what she finds out.  This was a good conclusion to this trilogy.  Pretty much all of the ends are tied up and I was very satisfied with how everything turned out.  I really enjoyed this series and I think this might have been my favorite book in the trilogy.  Teens that like historical novels with a little fantasy and adventure will like this series.

Mortal Heart

Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers, 444 pages

Perfect student and Death's number one fan Annith finally gets her due in Book Three of the His Fair Assassins series.  Annith, the long-suffering and unbelievably loyal friend of both Ismae and Sybella, has long felt she has been left behind as her friends go out to serve as handmaidens of Death.  No longer content to sit around waiting for her life to go the way she wants, Annith takes charge of her fate one night and flees the convent.   Disillusioned with her life there, Annith breaks free only to find herself mixed up with a very rough group of hellequins (read: traveling troop of demons hunting for souls trapped on earth who need an escort to the afterlife).   Shielded from the very start by the mysterious Balthazaar, Annith manages to hold her own among the demons.  As affection begins to grow between Annith and Balthazaar, it is clear there is more to this demon than brooding looks and an affinity for blood hounds.   Annith's realization that Balthazaar is really the one that needs rescuing makes for an unconventional romance with a happy ending relying heavily on mysticism.  

While Sybella and her story remains my favorite in the series, I found myself more intrigued by Annith's story then I originally thought I might be.  I thought I would be bored by her perfection, instead I found myself sympathizing with her quest to please everyone.  She has done everything right, and still she is punished.  She excels at every element of being an assassin, yet she is never sent out on missions.  The reasons for this are all explained in a plot twist I saw coming from Book One, but it is a YA novel, so I really cannot blame it for its predictability.  If the series held your interest through books one and two, Book Three is a must-read as it is over-all a satisfying read and ties up a lot of series loose ends.   

Dark Triumph

Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers, 387 pages

Dark Triumph is Book Two in Robin LaFevers' His Fair Assassins series.  Book Two picks up right where Book One left off, and the action is intense.  Focus shifts from the polite but dangerous Ismae to the mysterious, rebellious, and fascinating Sybella.  Sybella makes no apologies for herself or her chosen role as a handmaiden of death. In Book One, Sybella both arrived and left the St. Mortain convent under mysterious circumstances, all of which are revealed slowly with expert pacing throughout the course of Dark Triumph.  

While the overarching genre of historical fiction still reigns supreme, this book is full of other incredible themes:  guilt, redemption, revenge, incest, forgiveness, love and justice.  While I enjoyed Ismae's story, Sybella is certainly my favorite assassin novitiate.  Her emotions and motivations are incredibly believable and even heart-wrenching at times.   The one drawback (for some) might be the love story that occurs between Sybella and a character named the Beast.   I know some might feel it is somewhat of a cop-out to make romance as a central theme of this novel, and I can completely understand that, especially considering everything Sybella has lived through.  Still, I really like the Beast character, and I liked his contributions to the plot as well as his role as Sybella's partner-in-crime.  I cannot wait to read Book Three!

Grave Mercy

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers, 549 pages
The His Fair Assassins series by Robin LaFevers has received a lot of talk based solely on its central premise: assassin nuns.  I have to admit, that is what first attracted me to this young adult series.  We meet the heroine Ismae on the day of her wedding to a very cruel man.  Her entrance into the mysterious St. Mortain convent is somewhat of a rescue mission from that rather than a direct choice.   Ismae learns that she is now in service of St. Mortain, the god of death, and her training as a highly skilled assassin begins. 

Part historical fiction, part Quentin Tarantino fantasy, Grave Mercy is an exciting and thoroughly enjoyable read.  Combining court intrigue with other-worldly figures, LaFevers writes a novel that is both fast-paced and thoughtful.  The character of Ismae is likeable without being annoying.  I found myself really cheering for her throughout the book.   The love story/romance elements were well-placed, and I think contributed to Ismae's development without detracting from her strength.  I read this book basically in one sitting (during a long day waiting to be called for jury duty) and have since moved on to the rest of the trilogy.

Sandman

Sandman Omnibus Volume 1 by Neil Gaiman, 1034 pages

Having seen Kara blogging about this and hearing it hyped from multiple other sources I decided to try this series out. It might seem strange to try a series with an omnibus but I felt I could trust their recommendation.

The Sandman series is about Dream, the ruler of the dream world. It follows him on various adventures and stories that take place in hell, dreams and here on Earth. Along the way we meet various figures from mythology, gods, angels and demons. We also meet Dream's brothers and sisters Destiny, Death, Desire, Despair and Delirium.

There is a lot of chronological jumping around as some stories take place back in ancient times while others are present day. Gaiman also seems to play around with different art styles at times. The majority of the comics are like a modern day graphic novel, but then he will throw in one with a realistic or more abstract style. As a whole the series is very good and I enjoyed reading it.

Memories of Ice

Memories of Ice by Steven Erikson, 775 pages

This is the third book in the Malazan Book of the Fallen series. I have previously called this series a challenge to read and this book is no exception. What began in the previous books as basic god interference has blossomed into a huge web of convoluted action. To add some more confusion this book actually happens somewhat before and during Deadhouse Gates, which is the previous book in the series.

The overall plot of the book is Whiskeyjack and Dujec have banded together with previous enemies Brood and Rake to confront a new enemy in the southern part of the continent. The story then follows the Bridgeburners and some newly introduced characters as they try to save life as they know it.

There were some times in reading this that I found myself having to pause and reread sections at Erikson has an annoying trend to not mention which characters the story has jumped too. At times he can make it half a page describing the area before one of the characters speaks and identifies themselves. Despite that I do love how truly vast the world he has created is and will most likely continue the series.

Gardens of the Moon

Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson, 666 pages

Gardens of the Moon is the first book in the Malazan Book of the Fallen series. The series was recommended to me by NoveList while searching for other epic series similar to George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire. Having read it I can see the similarities. Both take place in a medieval time periods sinking into chaos. Both have very large scale battles in which the details are graphically described. Both have gods and magic, though the Malazan series has them more prevalently.

So far I have enjoyed the series, though Erikson has a tendency to skimp on characters initial backstory and let it emerge as the characters develop. While this is a more accurate portrayal of real life, it can lead to some confusion at times.