Redwall: The Long Patrol

Every few years, I go back and reread all the Redwall books.  This series is one that slips to the back of my mind, perhaps too often, but as soon as I pick up one book I'm reminded all over again why I loved Brian Jacques as a child and why I still love him as an adult.*  There is so much I could say about his books, and most of it applies to the series as a whole, not just one or two individual books, so I think I'll just talk about one or two points per book, instead of repeating the same things over and over or making one huge massively long post.  I'm not fond of massively long posts, in case you couldn't tell.

The Long Patrol is one of my favorite in this series, and is probably up there in the top three.  I just think Cregga and Tammo and Tansy's storylines mesh very well together, without a crazy amount of running around and riddle-solving.  It's also enjoyable to see how creatures that were young in a previous book--Pearls of Lutra, for those of you not "in the know"--have grown up and grown wiser.

But the singular Redwall-generic point I'd like to make first is FOODOHMYGODTHEFOOD.

Seriously.  I dare you to read a description of a Redwall feast and not start drooling.  I'm actually now in the habit of skipping all those lovely descriptions, because when I read through them I get hungry and go start eating.  I don't even like most the food he describes.  I read somewhere that Jacques--pronounced "Jakes," by the way--speculated that it was because he grew up during WWII in England, when food was scarce.  And if I remember correctly, until he was eight or so, he thought that an orange was a made-up fruit.  I think it's hard for most people to comprehend that level of not-having.

...and now my mouth is watering.  I ate dinner not even two hours ago!  Curse you, Brian Jaaaaacques!  Only not really, because his books are awesome.  And I know he will never see this, but it needs to be said anyway: Thank you, Brian Jacques, for writing these books and sharing with us your world.

*Oh, God, I'm old enough to use the phrase "as an adult."  When did that happen?  I was a teenager just yesterday!

Girl, Stolen

So this was the second book from the 2011 Best YA Fiction list that I read, and I think I actually enjoyed it a little more than Hold Me Closer, Necromancer, despite the fact that I prefer fantasy over contemporary.  Then again, debut novels really aren't my thing.

I picked up Girl, Stolen, by April Henry, because (duh) I thought it sounded interesting: A blind girl currently down with pneumonia is resting in the backseat of a car while her step-mother fills her prescription, when BAM, the car--complete with our heroine, Cheyenne--gets stolen on impulse by Griffin, who was originally just looking for packages.  But really, leaving your keys in the car is like asking someone to please steal it.

At any rate, I did indeed enjoy this book, and I swear it's not just because of my weird obsession with borderline-bad-boys.  (Just me?)  It's very well-written, and gives us the point of view of both Cheyenne and Griffin, and how an accidental kidnapper and a reluctant kidnappee (though I doubt there's any other kind) react to their situation(s).  It was a fairly short, quick read, but if I have to complain about anything, it would be the ending.  I know a lot of people enjoy an open-ended book, where the "rest of the story" could potentially go in many different directions--maybe because of the open-endedness of life or something, I don't know--but unless it's done in such a way as to indicate a sequel, then I'm usually not a fan.

And in case you couldn't tell, Girl, Stolen has an open ending.  Yaaaaaaaaaaaaay...


But if you think it sounds interesting, I do suggest you give it a try.

Ranger's Apprentice: Ruins of Gorlan

Another juvie book!  Yaaaaaaay!

Actually, these next few books I talk about are going to be juvenile or children's picture books, so if you want some more adult stuff, you'll have to be a little patient.  Sorry!

So this is the first book in the series Ranger's Apprentice by John Flanagan, called The Ruins of Gorlan. I believe it's Flanagan's first book (thus the "debut" in the tags), and apparently was originally a series of short stories for his son, to get said son interested in reading.  And I'll be honest, I was not in the least bit surprised when I found that out, because when I was reading it I thought that it was choppy in places, with the timeline moving along quickly (though that may be because I'm far more used to Tolkienish detailing of the passing of time).

One thing that I really appreciated was that the animosity between our main character, Will, and his pseudo-rival, Horace, did not have the cliched outcome that I was expecting.

But as with Cryptid Hunters, there's not much more than that to say.  I like the characters of Halt and his former apprentice, Gilan, but most of the other characters were pretty forgettable.  It's a good story, though nothing new, and the role/idea of the Rangers is pretty standard fantasy fare, but nothing I was particularly impressed by.  I can see why kids enjoy it, but I won't be hunting after the second book any time soon.

Cryptid Hunters

The first juvie book!  Yaaaaaay!

I picked this up because I've been eyeing its sequel, Tentacles, for some time now, and because it was in a small display we have set up of "books for boys."  I want to be an actual librarian, and am thinking about being a children's librarian, and boys are children, right?  Right?

Okay, mild justification aside, the bottom line is that I picked it up because I wanted to.  So there.

The starring roles of Cryptid Hunters, by Roland Smith, are 13-year-old twins Grace and Marty O'Hara, and fair warning: some of you nit-picking party poopers will point and scream "Mary Sue!  Gary Stu!  AT LAST WE MEET FOR THE FINAL TIME!"  Their parents (who have disappeared, presumed dead by some) are fabulously wealthy, the children themselves are fabulously smart and clever, they get in trouble--well, Marty does, at least--but not too much trouble, and are wily enough to go up against bad guys and henchmen and the dangers of the wild jungle and survive relatively unscathed.

But honestly, it really was a very enjoyable book.  Yes, it's a bit cliched at parts--but "cliche" does not equal "bad," and it's a kids' book.  When kids read, they don't necessarily pick up on the stuff that adults clearly see as cliches, for the simple fact that they usually don't have the years of reading experience that adults have, and therefore don't pick up on it.  ...that was redundant.

And...I think that's all I have to say about it.

The Alloy of Law

...I...I have no idea why it took me so long to read this book.  I checked it out December 1, 2011, and did not actually get around to reading it until, oh, March 25 or so.  Yeah, it's now been renewed five times (three weeks each!), the limit for what my library allows.

But I finally read it!  And I enjoyed it, as I knew I would.  Because, you see, I love Brandon Sanderson, and I don't think he gets nearly enough credit as an author of modern fantasy.  If someone were to come up to me and ask for a epic fantasy novel they could really sink their teeth into, he'd probably be the first on my list.

Yup, even above Tolkien.   I am a heathen.


So, The Alloy of Law, by Brandon Sanderson, is a "sequel of sorts" to his amazingly awesome Mistborn trilogy--"of sorts" because it takes place 300 years after the end of the trilogy, so the characters from those books--Vin, Elend, Sazed, etc.--are legendary figures with religious followings.  Instead, we get two new main characters, Waxillium "Wax" Ladrian and Wayne ("wax" and "wane," geddit?!).  There is also Marasai, an intelligent young woman and possible love interest for Wax, but Wax is stupid.  This is also "of sorts" because it can easily be read as a standalone--so if you're wary about reading an entire trilogy before getting to this one, you can relax.  Go ahead and go pick it up if you want.

I think one of the reasons why I enjoyed this so much is that the world of Scadrial actually had progression in those three hundred years, so while Allomancy and Feruchemy are still the big deal, there are also such nifty little things like guns, electricity, and even horseless carriages (or at least, mentions of horseless carriages--I don't quite remember if any of the main characters actually used one or not).  This makes the world so much richer and more believable, I think--so many fantasies seem to be permanently stuck in an idealized Middle Ages, which, yes, can be very fun, but once you really think about it, it's kinda boring with all the "same ol', same ol'."

Also: Sanderson has said there "might" be a sequel to this "sort-of sequel," to which I say, Mr. Sanderson, you are fooling yourself if you think you won't eventually write a sequel.  Yes, I know you've got a billionty-and-one other books in the works right now, but your ending was so blatantly set up for continuation that I think your subconscious may not be entirely in tune with the rest of your plans. You may want to look into that.