Short Story: Nocturne

While working at the library the other day, I stumbled upon the brand new anthology Angels of Darkness. I was intrigued so I read the back. I'm not entirely sure why, but Sharon Shinn's story "Nocturne" caught my attention. So I took the book out specifically to read that story.

I have to say, I'm really glad I did. "Nocturne" is the story of Moriah, a woman working in a school as a cook. She discovers a blind angel living in a building rumored to be haunted. So she takes it upon herself to push him out of his misery.

I had no intention of reading the other stories in the book. My plan was to simply read the one story and send the book back. But I loved that story so much, I bought Angels of Darkness for my Kindle. I don't know for sure that I'll read the other stories, but I have the option to should I one day decide to. All I know is I loved "Nocturne" so much I wanted a copy of it to enjoy in the future.

I also went today and bought Sharon Shinn's novel Archangel. I liked the world and was sufficiently intrigued by it, I want to learn more!

Library Book: Toads and Diamonds

I have a lot of books to read which are currently on the List. I also have a couple of library books which I took out late last week. But that didn't stop me from taking Heather Tomlinson's Toads and Diamonds out from the library today. And reading the entire book all in one day.

Toads and Diamonds is the story of stepsisters Diribani and Tana. While going to the village well for water, Diribani meets a goddess who grants her a gift: every time she speaks, precious jewels and flowers fall from her lips. At her mother's urging, Tana also visits the well and receives a gift as well; but it is snakes and frogs that fall from her lips. Diribani's gift looks much more like a gift while Tana's seems to be a curse, particularly in their province where the governor kills snakes.

Diribani finds herself in the company of a prince, while Tana attempts to seek enlightenment. Both girls strive to find meaning in their gifts, to learn what the goddess wishes to teach them.

Toads and Diamonds was a great story. I really liked both Diribani and Tana (although I will admit, I kept yelling at Tana to just understand her gift already!) While there are many other books I could have (or maybe should have) read today, I'm glad I chose this one.

Library Book: Amulet: The Last Council

The Last Council continues the story of Emily. Along with her family and friends, Emily has arrived at the floating city of Cielis, the stronghold of the Stonekeepers. Finally Emily will be able to get some help from the Stonekeeper Council.

But all is not right in Cielis. The people are terrified, hiding in their homes and unwilling to talk to strangers. Emily and her family is separated from their friends. And the elves are arrested and left in prison (which admittedly isn't that strange. They are elves, after all. One of which is the Elf King's son). And Emily is further separated from her family when she is subjected to the Council's trials.

Admittedly, this wasn't my favourite of the Amulet series. But it was a great interlude where the stakes have just been increased. I look forward to the next installment, whenever that will arrive (as of right now it isn't even announced on Kibuishi's website, so I will probably have to wait quite a while).

Kindle Book: No Plot? No Problem!

I have decided to participate in NaNoWriMo this year. I've always wanted to, but November was always a terrible month for me due to school. But with school now a thing of the past, and with no other super-pressing concerns, I am finally free to try writing a novel in a month!

Before embarking on the crazy literary adventure that is NaNoWriMo, I decided to give No Plot? No Problem! a quick read through. Chris Baty, the guy who started NaNoWriMo back in 1999, wrote the book as a guide to the entire month. He details what you're up against, encourages you to get snacks, and gives you strategies to help you succeed during the month-long escapade (and beyond, should you choose to continue polishing your masterpiece). Unfortunately, the warning not to read all the chapters until you actually get to the week in question comes at the end of the book; I did read the book from cover to cover, which I wasn't supposed to. But I did enjoy reading it; I am now ready to embark on my month long escapade.

If you want to follow my novelling progress, you can find me on NaNoWriMo. You can also follow my weekly blogging updates here.

The Sleeping Beauty

After reading Snow Crash, I had to read something that I knew would be all around more appealing to me. So today I read Mercedes Lackey's The Sleeping Beauty, which I have been hoarding since it was published last year. And now that I have the sixth book, Beauty and the Werewolf, now was a good time to get caught up with my reading!

The Sleeping Beauty is the retelling of Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and the story of Sigurd and Brynhild all rolled into one (with even more fun!) It begins with the Princess of Eltaria, Rosamund, fleeing an evil Huntsman and being enslaved by dwarves. Rosamund's mother was killed and her father hastily remarried an "evil" sorceress. Rosamund believes that the Huntsmen was sent to kill her by her new Stepmother.

Unknown to Rosamund (and the Kingdom), the new Stepmother is actually Lily, the Fairy Godmother of Eltaria. Lily married the King in an effort to stop the Tradition, the magic of the land, actually forcing Eltaria's king down a dark path. While maintaing the ruse to fool the Tradition, Lily works to save the Princess. But all is almost foiled by the appearance of two men: a roguish middle son, and a Hero who is trying to escape his Doom (and the woman who keeps appearing, asleep in a ring of fire....) Add to that the unexpected death of the King, which leaves Rosamund and Lily scrambling to save Eltaria from invasion.

As usual, Lackey has a wonderful assortment of characters. Rosamund and Lily are both strong heroines; I loved reading about their adventures. Siegfried and Leopold were a lot of fun to follow. And I can't leave out mentioning Luna, the unicorn with the lisp!

The Sleeping Beauty was another hilarious romp through the Five Hundred Kingdoms. I absolutely loved it (especially the end of Chapter 14! I laughed extremely hard when I read that!); The Sleeping Beauty was exactly what I needed to read after being so disappointed by Snow Crash.

Kindle Book: Snow Crash

A friend of mine has been wanting me to read Snow Crash for awhile now. So when I found out that Neal Stephenson was going to be the keynote speaker at GDC Online (which I attended), I decided it was time to give Snow Crash a read. My friend lent the book to me, but in the interest of travelling as lightly as possible, I bought the book on my Kindle. I started reading it on my flight to Texas and got about 40% through it....and then didn't pick it up again until a few days ago.

Snow Crash is a really interesting book. It's got some unique characters, like Hiro Protagonist, the sword-toting hacker who delivers pizza for the Mafia's franchise, and Y.T., a young Kourier who manages to be in the thick of everything. Hiro and Y.T. get caught up in the search for information on a virtual drug called Snow Crash, which crashes the minds of hackers who are exposed to it.

My problem with Snow Crash was simple: it started out as a really interesting book with the pizza delivery stuff, but then it kind of lost my interest when Hiro started "researching." I say "researching" because it was more along the lines of the Librarian lecturing Hiro. Hiro would ask a question or two, and the Librarian would lecture him for a few chapters. At this point, there would be a chapter of Y.T., the other protagonist, doing something crazy, then back to the lecture. I don't know exactly how long this went on for, but my estimate is 30% of the book. Then, after Hiro was done listening to the lecture, he went off on his own adventure, during which he decided to regurgitate everything the Librarian had told him!

Despite this, there are some really interesting (and awesome) things that happen, particularly with Y.T. The chapters with her really helped me get through the Librarian's lecture.

All in all, the story of Snow Crash was pretty good, but I really didn't like being lectured at. I almost stopped reading Snow Crash a few times because of this. But I soldiered through and did finish the book. But I'm not going to lie, there were more than a few times when I thought I could be reading something else. And now that I'm done, I'm more excited to start something else than to dwell on Snow Crash.

Library Book: Amulet: The Cloud Searchers

The Cloud Searchers continues the story of Emily and Navin. After saving their mother, they are now on their way to find Cielis, the legendary city of the Stonekeepers. Unfortunately, the city is believed to be either gone or hiding among the clouds. They will need to hire an airship to take them. But few captains are willing to chase after a dream. Few except Enzo and Rico that is.

Once again, the elves are hot on their trail. This time the Elf King has hired the assassin Gabilan to find and kill both Emily and his son. Unknown to him though, his son, Prince Trellis, and Emily have joined forces. Together they plan to take him down once and for all.

Unfortunately The Cloud Searchers is the final volume the library has. Book 4 is on order, so I'll be reading it once it comes in. I can't wait!