Book Review: Terrier

Terrier
Tamora Pierce

Terrier is set two hundred years before Tamora Pierce's best known series, Tale of the Lioness, but remains in Tortall. Terrier is basically a rookie cop's story, in which the rookie comes across two truly ugly cases. "Beka is a slum kid who was brought into the household of the realm's top cop, the Lord Provost, eight years ago," Pierce said in an interview. "Now, at 16, she's returning to the slums of her childhood as a Puppy, which is what the Provost's Guards, or Dogs, call their rookies. Her life expectancy in this year is slim: Police work in this medieval-esque setting is hard and nasty, and even veterans don't always survive. Beka's lucky to have two of the best Dogs for her trainers, and she'll need them. Hers is a truly brutal world of tavern brawls, murder-for-hire, rivalry between thieves and murderers and those who profit from their work and those who will kill to keep their secrets. She's facing someone who is kidnapping children and killing them if their parents won't pay up and a man who slaughters the crews who dig treasure for him so they won't give away what they are doing." Pierce said that Beka is cool, tough and shy and has a powerful but subtle kind of magic. Beka is able to hear magically well, and is, like Alanna, guided by her cat - whether she wants to be or not!



Star Rating:


Review:
I liked Beka's story because it was one of Pierce's, but that was about the extent of my interest. I found some places to be tedious, as though it took Beka a very long time to find one little piece of information, but she discovered the whole plot in a moment. I understand that Pierce is working towards a trilogy, and so the things that bore me now are likely to be important later.

This book is written in the first person, and that must be expected before going into it. Traditionally Pierce writes in the third person, so the journal-reading experience is a new one for readers of hers.

There were many charming aspects. I liked Beka's friends - the rouges more than the Puppies and Dogs. You can tell from the start which are going to be important based on the way she writes about them, and I look forward to hearing all of their stories in the later books. I also loved Beka's cat, Pounce, and I remember Alanna's trusted cat-friend who turned out to be a deity and I cannot help but wonder if it is that same handing guiding Beka....

Pierce does not disappoint. I believe that Terrier is far from being her strongest work, but it is a good read nonetheless and should not be missed by any fan of her work.

Moving Slowly... and a Book Cover!

One thing that sitting in a hospital waiting room in the early hours of the morning can assure you is that if you're not the type to sleep in public places, such as myself, you'll get a lot of reading done. I've been struggling through Terrier, but I got a good chunk of it done last night waiting for the results of my father's CAT Scan. I like it better now, and will probably be more inclined to read it. Plus, he's okay. For now.

I've struggled with the Camp NaNoWriMo writing over the last few days, courtesy of real life, and have barely hit a thousand words a day. Today, however, on a measly four hours of sleep, I tied up a plot problem, wrote over two-thousand words, and created a different cover for The Secret of Treacher's Creek for no other reason than I found a font I liked.



I feel like I've caught myself up a bit, and I'm mostly tired. I recently acquired the first season of Boardwalk Empire, so I think I'm going to indulge a little bit.

We all deserve a reward after hard work and emotional turmoil.

book review: special topics in calamity physics

Special Topics in Calamity Physics
Marisha Pessl

Calamity Physics:  The resulting explosion of energy, light, heartbreak, and wonder as Blue van Meer enters a small, elite school in a sleepy mountain town.  Blue's highly unusual past draws her to a charismatic group of friends at St. Gallway (see page 2, "wild, wayward youths" Everyman Parenting) and their captivating teacher, Hannah Schneider.  A sudden drowning, a series of inexplicable events, and finally the shocking death of Hannah herself lead to a confluence of mysteries.  And Blue is left to make sense of it all with only her grimlet-eyed instinct and cultural lexicon to guide her.



Star Rating:


Review:
I'm still wrapping my head around this book.  It's very detailed, incredibly well-researched.  I'm impressed.  It's not the type of book where you feel good walking away from.  The ending didn't feel like an ending, more like an ending interrupted, but I think that is exactly what the writer (Marisha Pessl) intended.  In that way, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the ending.  The reader is left thinking and wondering.  We can fill in the blanks for ourselves.

In some ways, it was difficult to read this book just because it was set up like an incredibly long MLA essay.  I found myself skimming over things when they got incredibly scientific.  Only once did I feel like I had missed something when I skipped sections, and the time that I did feel as though I missed something, going back and re-reading it twice, thoroughly didn't give me any more closure.  I think those who read this book very closely will have it figured out long before I did.

I found the writing to be very careful and very deliberate.  I think this book is an excellent example to aspiring writers about the importance of relevant information and careful editing - every word in this book was there for a reason.  Regardless of whether or not it was an enjoyable book, it was an excellent piece of writing.

As for the characters, they were remarkably real-to-life.  If you're looking for a happy ending or beautiful, romantic characters, there isn't a single one to be found.  All the characters are either depressingly shallow people (note:  I said people, not characters.  The characters are very round.) or else they are a lying caricature of themselves.  It's difficult to find a single character to sympathise with, to care about.  Mostly, as the reader, I found that I wanted answers.  That was why I kept reading.  But I didn't read the last chapter, which was in the format of a "final exam".  I had read enough, and I think that even without that supposedly knowing the deepest, darkest secret that chapter may reveal, I know enough.

pink is the new evil

Nathan Bransford posted a question in his blog:  who is the evillest villain ever?  I couldn't decide for myself, as characteristically, I have a soft spot for villains (Draco? Smeagol? Vader?  They've all got their reasons for being evil).  So, I decided to peek through the answers and see if I agreed with any of the ones there.

Vincent Kale gave this response, and I wanted to share it, because it made me smile:

"Greatest Villain in Fiction goes to:
Dolores Umbridge, HP:Order of the Phoenix

No one character ever got under my skin more than she did. Sure Voldemort is trying to kill everyone and take over the world, blah, blah, blah.

But Umbridge's sadism, sense of propriety and the insufferable decor of her office (so much pink!) just made me squirm.

Stephen King agrees, as he "noted the success of any novel is due to a great villain, with Umbridge as the "greatest make-believe villain to come along since Hannibal Lecter..."."

So, even though I remain undecided (Vogons? de Glanville?  The Man in Black?)  I dare open up the question to you:  who is the most terrifying literary villain of all time?  Since I am undecided, this is a wonderful opportunity for you to convince me that your favourite villain is the only villain for the job.

Greatest Villain in Fiction goes to:
Dolores Umbridge, HP:Order of the Phoenix

No one character ever got under my skin more than she did. Sure Voldemort is trying to kill everyone and take over the world, blah, blah, blah.

But Umbridge's sadism, sense of propriety and the insufferable decor of her office (so much pink!) just made me squirm.

Stephen King agrees, as he "noted the success of any novel is due to a great villain, with Umbridge as the "greatest make-believe villain to come along since Hannibal Lecter...".