Red Queen

Book six of 2015 is Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard.

Yes, yes, another teenage book. I didn't realise it when I chose it. It was on a list of most popular reads at the moment so I tried it based on the blurb.

This one is not original in any way but is a rehash of classic fantasy where a poor disadvantaged person finds they have a special power that catapults them in to power, intrigue and adventure. In this case it is a teenage girl, in style of Hunger Games and Divergent.

It could be because I've read so much fantasy and teenage post apocalyptic fiction that I'm unimpressed. Stick with Hunger Games and Divergent for teen fiction. If you want a very well written and more original series in this style with a strong female protagonist, read the Black Magician series by Australian Trudi Caravan.

One thing I did like about this book is that it is fantasy written by a woman so the female characters have depth and multiple dimensions, as opposed to the usual vacuous side characters that a lot of male fantasy writers create. That helped this book along. The inner dialogue wasn't too hard to believe.

It was very easy to read. I smashed through it in about 5.5 hours.

Three red bloods out of five.

Should I read this? Best for teenagers. This book does not span to the adult reader.
What did I learn? Someone has to create a new popular genre because the teenage post apocalyptic books are starting to get very weak.

The Ocean At The End Of The Lane

Since I am not counting Green Eggs and Ham, book 7 of 2014 is Neil Gaiman's The Ocean At The End Of The Lane.

I have read a lot of his books, starting with Neverwhere. Maybe that was my mistake because I have never enjoyed any of them the way I loved that story. American Gods disappointed me and made me realise that books others rave about can mean absolutely nothing to me and that is ok.

This book is good. It starts slowly though and makes me feel as though it was written with a movie in mind for it. I really hope that isn't the case but it sure feels like it.

Gaiman paints pictures with simple and accessible words unlike any modern authors I can think of today. I do enjoy reading him just for each individual sentence. He is a master like that.

It's a short book and obviously a short story that had to be told as a novel. It is easy to consume and enjoyable.


Should I read this? Yes
What did I learn? When we are children, the world is magical. When we grow up, we are too broken to see that magic anymore. That thought makes me sad.