You are not ready for this book. I was not ready for this book. I am pretty sure that even when I re-read it, I will not be ready for this book.
HarrowYou are not ready for this book. I was not ready for this book. I am pretty sure that even when I re-read it, I will not be ready for this book.
Harrow the Ninth is like being put through a series of bizarre emotional windsprints. I laughed. I keened. I was buoyed up by triumph which was, even then, bittersweet. I spent the entire book not knowing at all what was going on and I still don't. Pressing questions were answered and even bigger questions posed without answers. New characters were introduced, old characters returned, and some who were somehow neither of the above became people I cared about very much.
As with Gideon, my girlfriend read this one out loud to me when it was my turn to cook or clean the kitchen, and that meant that we stretched it out over months with plenty of time to theorize. I was right about a lot of things, which I am very proud of... but I was wrong about plenty of others, and my theories went through many, many iterations as each new baffling piece of information refused to fit into the puzzle.
I don't know what to tell you all about this book and honestly, I don't want to tell you very much at all. Just let it happen to you and savor every single moment of carefully, skillfully crafted confusion and know that Tamsyn Muir is absolutely holding your heart in her hand and you can only hope she will be kind to it.
P.S. There is an honest-to-god 'none pizza with left beef' joke in this book. I'm not over it, and that's the one bit of plain fact I'll give away....more
Do you like your heart? Do you like it to remain inside your body, unbroken? Do you hate laughing and crying in the same reading experience?
This book Do you like your heart? Do you like it to remain inside your body, unbroken? Do you hate laughing and crying in the same reading experience?
This book is not for you.
If, however, you would like to be taken on an emotional roller-coaster ride through a bizarre, hilarious, dark, touching, incredibly powerful story... you should get on that pre-order, friends. Trust me: this is unlike anything you've ever read, and you need it in your life....more
With all due respect to other authors debuting in 2019: A Memory Called Empire is the belle of the debutante ball this year. Its rich worldbuilding, lWith all due respect to other authors debuting in 2019: A Memory Called Empire is the belle of the debutante ball this year. Its rich worldbuilding, layered characterization, and philosophical musing on identity and nation is absolutely marvelous; it rests at the Lagrange point between Aliette de Bodard’s Xuya universe and Katherine Addison’s The Goblin Emperor - multicultural galactic politics full of poetry and intrigue, centered on a deeply sympathetic protagonist who’s not as out of their depth as they first seem.
It feels like every time I turn around, Alexandra Bracken has risen to new levels of excellence in her works. From the beginning I've been a fan of heIt feels like every time I turn around, Alexandra Bracken has risen to new levels of excellence in her works. From the beginning I've been a fan of her work, but looking back, this trilogy completely blows Brightly Woven out of the water.
The Darkest Minds, as a series, is quite simply the best YA dystopia I've ever read. Its setting is terrifying but plausible; its characters are flawed but heroic; and this conclusion was one of the most satisfying ends to a series I have ever read. I don't even know how to start explaining how marvelous it was - how Bracken seamlessly interwove character development and relationship resolution with necessary plot elements, how beautifully it mirrored the first book, how I love Ruby Daly's growth arc beyond words.
The element that distinguishes this the most from other YA dystopian novels I've read is the way trauma experienced by characters is woven into them. All of the kids in this series have gone through hell, and they've all found different ways to survive and move forward. The depictions of PTSD and anxiety attacks in this book were painful to read, but at the same time one of its strongest aspects. Their roads to recovery aren't linear, and importantly, they hurt each other along the way and must learn to repair that damage even as they struggle to heal. It's a level of emotional complexity that is beautifully rendered and in many ways unique.
Obviously, because this is the third book, I have to talk some spoilers so... those of you who haven't read the series yet, get on that. The rest of you can read on.
(view spoiler)[Bracken is spectacularly good at heart-dropping moments in this series. Liam's letter to himself about Ruby just about ripped my heart in two. You love her, you love her, you love her. God. Liam in general was spectacular in this book - "I can find us the one real shot we have doing some lasting good in a world that's already too violent" really struck me like. This kid has gone through so much, struggled with so much, and yet he is so essentially committed to being good.
And speaking of Stewarts who are committed to things - Cole's death totally blindsided me; I kept expecting him to appear out of nowhere and end up okay. And yet... looking back, and having read one of Bracken's Tumblr posts about why she made that writing decision, I see how it fits? It also works well with the two characters he's in foil relationships with, namely Liam and Clancy - Cole differs from Liam in that he doesn't feel like he can form bonds with people again because he's too different and dangerous, and from Clancy because what Clancy sees as power he sees as a curse. Like Clancy then, his arc ends because of his abilities - but where Ruby uses her Orange talents to give Clancy the gift of peace, Cole burns the way he always expected to.
There's a much longer essay here about this, but I can't really articulate it just yet. But - dang did that trio work well in this series.
Speaking of Ruby using her abilities as a gift, I about cried when she gave Lilian Gray back her memories. Not just because of what she did, but because of what it means for Ruby herself. The first book felt so hopeless, like all the people whose minds she had erased herself from were never going to be part of her life again, but this - she's grown, she's developed, she has moved past the fear and now she can mend all of her bridges. that was beautifully satisfying.
Unnerving as it was, I found myself agreeing with Clancy early in this book. "They want to strip you of yourself - your ability to protect and enforce your right to make decisions about your life. Your own body. Mark my words: in the end, it won't be a choice. They'll decide this for you." For someone who has, in the past, used his Orange abilities to violate Ruby's boundaries and take away her agency, he makes a good argument. I was immensely pleased to see Chubs take it up at the end as well: "I finally have the right to choose what I want for myself but, if I make the wrong choice, I'll still be punished for it?" and "By locking someone up for making a choice about their body that they have every right to make, what you're essentially saying is that, no, you don't trust us. Not to make good choices, not to treat others well."
Fundamentally this series is a story about fear of the unknown, about potential danger that can't be controlled. The point that Clancy and then Chubs make is one that applies outside of the fictional world: that that fear hurts people in unconscionable ways, and that people deserve better. We can't just shut away everything we don't understand, and we certainly can't use that lack of understanding to tell others what choices they can make about their lives and their bodies.
March 5th: Done with first readthrough. It was, in fact, more perfect than expected. I only cried a little bit; mostly afterwards I just have this feeMarch 5th: Done with first readthrough. It was, in fact, more perfect than expected. I only cried a little bit; mostly afterwards I just have this feeling of intense satisfaction. I will probably still wait to review until I've read through twice; I have a lot that I think I want to say but I haven't fully processed it.
August 10: It's obvious to everyone that I'm not gonna get around to a reread for a while, right? Cool. I'll do it eventually, because I have a lot to say about this book, but it'll take a lot more time and energy than I have right now.
4 MARCH 2014: IT'S OUT! I'm going to leave this review up as-is until I can replace it with an actual review of the book; as I'm going to be reading it twice (one speed-read before Sanderson comes to my area for a signing, one thorough re-read afterwards) that may be some time.
18 December 2013: Review rewritten/reorganized to be more coherent and remove out-of-date info. 19 January 2014: Links added for TOR-released chapters. There will be two more chunks posted on the website before the book comes out. 21 January 2014: First of those two remaining chunks released at noon EST. I feel pretty comfortable saying we'll see the last set of chapters - the ones Peter Ahlstrom has been hinting at by saying we haven't gotten the 'hooks' yet - at the same time on the 28th. 28 January 2014: I was right. Links updated below. Note that now all the chapters we know to expect have been released; this may be the end of preview material.
RELEASE DATE: March 4. This is pretty much set at this point. COVER/FLAP DESCRIPTION: can be found here. If you're not sure who's who, title explanations are under the spoiler cut: (view spoiler)[the Windrunner is Kaladin, the Lightweaver is Shallan, and the Explorer is Eshonai. We're pretty sure the Bondsmith is Dalinar; I'm hesitant to list that as an absolute ID because I still think he's a strong contender for being a Stoneward. The Assassin, obviously, is Szeth. (hide spoiler)] As of this review update, the version Goodreads has on their page for the book is the old version. There are obviously major changes between the two, but both provide interesting hints towards plot events.
READINGS/EXCERPTS: - Eshonai interlude (Audio, part 1 (excerpt starts at 12:30), part 2 (overlaps somewhat with first part); transcript) - Shallan flashback (Audio, transcript) - Rysn interlude (Writing videos: prewriting, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve; transcript) - Taravangian interlude (Excerpt) - Jasnah prologue (Transcript) - Kaladin, chapter 2 (Transcript) - Dalinar flashback (Transcript) - Ym interlude (Transcript) - Lift interlude (Excerpt) - Teeny fragment of conversation involving Dalinar (Excerpt, sort of) -Prologue, Chapter 1, and Chapter 2 at TOR (Excerpt) - Chapters 3-5 at TOR (Excerpt) - Chapters 6, 8, and 9 at TOR (Excerpt) - Chapters 10, 12, 14, and Interlude I-1 at TOR (Excerpt; note that Ch. 10 and Interlude I-1 were previously released in audio as Red Carpet, Once White and the Eshonai Interlude; however, there have been changes in the final versions.)
As of right now, everything released via the Steelhunt is also on this list, so if you don't have a code you're not missing anything. One note: Everything marked 'excerpt' can be considered correct re: spelling and grammar, because it comes from an official source. Anything marked 'transcript' may have misspelled names or inaccurate punctuation. Obviously, any and all of these portions are subject to change before the final version. ...more
Once again, I've picked up an Erin Bow book, and once again I find myself struggling for words that aren't 'just read this, it's beautiful'. I'm gonnaOnce again, I've picked up an Erin Bow book, and once again I find myself struggling for words that aren't 'just read this, it's beautiful'. I'm gonna try to articulate it better, but I might not be able to so... just read this, it's beautiful.
Comparisons between this book and Garth Nix's Old Kingdom series are probably inevitable, since both share the concept of binding the dead so that they may not walk again. They are, however, fundamentally different sorts of stories: the Abhorsen books are adventure tales at their heart, rife with magic in numerous forms and culminating in a great confrontation. Sorrow's Knot is a character-driven story and fundamentally turns on themes of grief. The adventure is less sweeping, the goal and the resolution more personal. It is a tight knot of a story, the kind that must be picked at with fingernails and teeth and leaves the string bent when it finally comes free.
The writing is... simply incredible. I don't really know how else to put it. Erin Bow's descriptions are flowing and lyrical (and speaking as someone who's spent a lot of time in the Rockies, accurate both in environment description and in capturing the feeling of the landscape). Her use of words is elegantly balanced between beauty and economy, and it's consistently so throughout the book - I feel like I could flip open to a page at random and find something to quote. Actually, I did that, and:
"She says everything is too tight but the rope is rotting." The cornmeal gave a last great glub, like someone drowning. A silence tightened, and Fawn said: "She says it will be soon."
And from another segment, two economical sentences that horrified me and turned my stomach:
"Cricket had a story - do you know it? - about the lost woman who was starving, and wished that everything she touched would turn to meat? And then she found her children…"
Everything in this book is so careful and beautiful and meticulous and I just can't get over it or put it into clearer words.
I would be remiss, too, to mention the setting and not discuss it a bit more at least - especially the fact that the cultures Bow describes are clearly Native American-based, with nary a white person in sight. The acknowledgements for the book make it clear that this was done with much research, ranging from modern botanists to historical accounts to consulting actual sacred drummers. I'm not Native myself, so I can't speak to the accuracy of the details, but I certainly did get a strong sense of a uniquely and wholly non-European fantasy setting here.
Unlike Plain Kate, I didn't find this book to be a tearjerker. It was more of a heartstring-tugger, really; deeper and quieter and slower. What it has in common most with its predecessor (other than gorgeous prose) is staying power: this is a book that will sit in the back of your mind for a long time after you turn the last page....more
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