White Elephant

White Elephant is a 2019 historical fantasy novel by V. E. Ulett. It is the second novel in the Code Black series. While it’s a part of a series, the story itself is a stand-alone novel. I was provided with a free copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.

The novel follows Miriam, a crew member on the airship Nonesuch. In order to keep her place on board, she must complete a mission for Lord Q and persuade the first white rajah of Sarawak to become loyal to the British Crown once more. When Nonesuch crash lands on the coast of Borneo, Miriam’s mission changes to one of survival. In order to rescue the crew of the Nonesuch, she must trek through the jungle guided by a team of elephants to the would-be empire builder’s capital. The jungle has it’s own laws, however, and Miriam may not emerge with her mission and loyalties unchanged.

Before I get into my review, I wanted to point out a few topics/themes this book deals with. There are multiple mentions of rape and allusions to it. There are scenes involving animal cruelty. There are a few scenes where medical discussions happen, and the description of some of the injuries and conditions might make the reader squeamish.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this novel, especially since it is the second book in a series and I hadn’t read the first Code Black book Golden Dragon. Thankfully, the novel works as a stand-alone book and I was easily able to follow the story without getting confused by the dynamics between characters. I suspect Golden Dragon provides a little more detail about Miriam’s backstory and fleshes out the character of Lord Q a bit, but doesn’t impact this novel beyond that.

I enjoyed the characters in this story a lot. Miriam, the main character, was smart, while also having an edge to her that I liked. She’s a Muslim woman from Tehran and her education and resourcefulness is why Lord Q recruited her. Her behavior and attitude were very realistic for the setting of the story and I enjoyed the journey she went on as a character. My second favorite character was Maximus Thorpe, Miriam’s lover and the captain of the Nonesuch. While most of the story is told through Miriam’s eyes, there are chapters told from Maximus’s as the story begins to come together and the truth about the white rajah starts to become clear. Maximus is very intelligent, and I appreciated the fact that he was skeptical of information he was being told and went with his instincts, on more than one occasion, rather than simply believe what others told him.  This novel has a very diverse cast of characters, including some transgender characters, which was surprising read as historical novels tend to focus on white characters with very few non-white characters included in the background or they’re written as one-dimensional. This is the first historical novel I’ve read to include a trans character.

While the novel is not intended to be an action or adventure story, the actions scenes are well-written and the author maintains the tension through all of the fast-paced action scenes throughout the book without making things seem repetitive. Each scene is unique and each fight feels just as intense, if not more intense, than earlier ones. The novel as a whole is very well-written. The story kept me engaged and the author clearly did a great deal of research in writing it. I was especially impressed when it came to how much information about elephants and their behavior patterns was included. While the elephants start as being just a mode of transportation, they soon become characters in and of themselves. One of the book’s subplot involves the plight of the wild elephants and their treatment at the hands of both the native population and the British hoping to colonize Borneo.  

While I enjoyed the novel overall, I do have a few criticisms. The dialogue can be a bit hard to follow, given that it’s written in vernacular English. For characters who either don’t speak English well or have a strong accent, their dialogue is written to imitate how they’d actually sound. For example, “Miriam” and “England” are spelled like “Maryam” and “Inglang” respectively on several occasions. It’s hard to follow at the beginning, but the more you read of the book, the easier it is to follow. This style also applies to Maximus, who’s Scottish and his dialogue is written to emulate a Scottish accent. I wasn’t a big fan of the climax of the story, due to the way it unfolds. I don’t want to spoil anything, but the reader isn’t able to witness as much of it as I’d hoped. Similarly, the antagonist is described as having gone mad, but the reader isn’t shown enough evidence of this. The reader is shown evidence of him being a terrible person, but the madness, the urgency of Miriam’s mission, really isn’t delivered on. Lastly, there are a few in-universe things that Miriam does that don’t completely make sense. Perhaps I wasn’t pay close enough attention, but for some events, I felt like a little more insight on Miriam’s thought process or feelings would’ve gone a long way.

Overall, I enjoyed White Elephant. It was an engaging read, which I ended up liking a lot more than I expected to. While there are some kinks that need to be worked out and things the author can improve upon, it’s a good novel. I might go back and read the first novel in the series now that I’ve read this one.

Rating: 3.4 Stars

Follow Me Elsewhere: Facebook \ Twitter \ Goodreads \ Instagram

Buy Me A Coffee? 

Tolkien Book Tag

I was messing around online, trying to come up with an idea for blog posts, when it occurred to me that I might get  some inspiration if I searched "[book/series] + Book Tag". I decided to do that, which was how I found this tag, the Tolkien Book Tag on BookWormMuse's blog. It looked interesting, and Lord of the Rings is my favorite series of all time, so I decided to give it a try. With all of that (over) explained, I'm going to start completing the tag now.

HOW DID YOUR JOURNEY TO MIDDLE EARTH BEGIN?

It's actually a funny story. When I was in elementary, my teacher informed my parents that I was having problems reading aloud in class. My reading level was fine, but when I needed to read aloud, I'd stutter and stumble over words, even though I knew how to read what I was reading. She suggested that one of my parents have me read aloud at home regularly to improve. My dad volunteered to be the person to read with me, and since he didn't want to listen to me read The Cat in the Hat or other kid's books aloud, he got to pick the book. He chose The Hobbit. We started reading it together, my reading improved and by the time my teacher said we didn't need to do that anymore, I was already invested in the story. So, I kept reading the book. And then I read The Lord of the Rings.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE MIDDLE EARTH BOOK?

The Hobbit will always have a special place in my heart and it's the obvious answer. At the same time, I will say that my favorite Lord of the Rings book is The Fellowship of the Ring. There's just something about that book, about the very beginning of this amazing story, that stuck with me more than The Two Towers and The Return of the King. 

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE?

Return of the King, hands down. I love the way it's paced. I love the battle scenes. I love the way it was shot and how the plotlines all come together. Also, Aragorn's speech in front of the gates of Mordor gives me chills every time. And the extended edition of Return of the King is amazing and worth the four hours of time it takes to watch it.

MOVIES OR BOOKS?

Books. The book is always better. However, I have watched the movies more often than I've read the books. Also, the movies are pretty true to the books, which is probably why I like them so much. The films are visually stunning. You know you made a good adaptation when a complete Tolkien nerd (aka my dad) watches the films and the only complaint he can come up with is annoyance that Tom Bombadil doesn't appear in the film. 

WHO ARE YOUR FAVORITE CHARACTERS?

The better (easier) question to ask would be what characters don't I like, but I digress. I love Frodo and Samwise Gamgee. I'm also a big fan of Pippin and Merry. Also, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and Eowyn. And Gandalf and Arwen and everyone else. However, if I absolutely have to pick one character, I guess I'd have to say Sam.

WHAT MIDDLE EARTH RACE WOULD YOU BE?

A Hobbit. I feel like a lot of people would say "elf" or "wizard" because they can do cool things, but if I'm being realistic, I'm more like a Hobbit than anything else. They eat all the time, they don't usually get involved in the shenanigans of the outside world and they build their homes for maximum coziness. Sounds like the perfect life for me.

BEST ACTOR/CHARACTER CASTING MATCH?

Oh, this is a hard one. They got so much of the casting right with these films that narrowing it down to just one choice is hard and I'm not good at making decisions. I feel like a lot of people would say Ian McKellan, and I'd agree, but thinking back, I'm going to go with Richard Armitage as Thorin. That was an excellent casting choice.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE IN MIDDLE EARTH?

Rivendell, because it's absolutely beautiful. A runner-up is defintely the Shire, for how quaint and quiet it appears to be. I also really liked the design of Minas Tirith, so if I could go to Middle Earth, I'd definitely visit there.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE QUOTE FROM THE BOOKS OR THE MOVIES?

Another difficult question. I could start talking about how pumped I get when I see/read one of Theoden's epic speeches. Or mention a few lines that make me laugh, but then that's not really answering the question. So, I'll pick three, a favorite and two run-ups.

My favorite is Gandalf's speech when Frodo says he wished the ring had never come to him.

My second favorite is the scene in Return of the King when Eowyn kills the Witch King of Angmar and their exchange. You know the one. Very Macbeth inspired.

Third choice is Pippin and Treebeard's conversation in Fangorn Forest, when he convinces Treebeard to head south, since "the closer we are to danger, the farther we are from harm". I feel like that moment is underrated, even though it shows how smart Pippin can be.

And that's the tag. I hope you enjoyed. I hope I haven't bored anyone who doesn't like Tolkien. I don't know how many of you are Tolkien nerds like I am, but if you are a Tolkien fan and haven’t been tagged by anyone, consider yourself tagged.

The First Girl Child

The First Girl Child is a 2019 historical fantasy-romance by Amy Harmon. It was published in August 2019 by 47North. The story is set during the Viking era. I discovered the book while browsing Kindle Unlimited one day.

The novel takes place in the kingdom of Saylok. The story follows Bayr of Saylok, the bastard son of a powerful chieftain who is haunted by the curse his dying mother cast upon the land. With her dying breath, she cursed Saylok to not have any daughters. Raised among the Keepers at Temple Hill, Bayr is gifted with inhuman strength. But he’s also blessed with an all-too-human heart that beats with one purpose: to protect Alba, the first girl child born in nearly two decades and the salvation for a country at risk. Now the fate of Saylok lies with Alba and Bayr, whose bond grows deeper with every whisper of coming chaos. Charged with battling the enemies of their people, both within and without, Bayr is fueled further by the love of a girl who has defied the scourge of Saylok.

Overall, I think this book was a miss for me. Judging by the blurb, I was expecting a novel that was a mix of fantasy and historical romance, but the book doesn't quite deliver. It is a historical romance with just a dash of fantasy elements thrown in. The magic system of curses and blood runes was under utilized in my opinion. The magic system itself had potential, but it wasn't expanded upon enough or taken proper advantage of. The system was unique and could've made the story interesting, but seemed to mostly serve the purpose of setting the plot in motion and being referenced occasionally later on. The curse itself created an interesting conflict, there are no girls being born and no one knows why, but it too is shunted to the side to focus on the romantic plot. I was also expecting something a little more action-oriented, since this is a Viking romance. There's nothing inherently wrong with the way the story is told and what plot elements received the most emphasis, but this novel simply wasn't for me.

Another issue I had with The First Girl Child was the overall pacing. The novel takes place over the span of about twenty years. It's a slow burn romance with not much action. There are parts of the book that move very slowly and I feel could have been consolidated down or explored in a different, less meandering way. It felt to me, upon finishing, that there were a lot of scenes that didn't really serve a purpose. If the author had chosen to skip over some of those moments, the book would flow a lot more naturally. The issue with pacing also applies to one of the later plot twists. The twist is introduced too late in the plot to be effective and by the time it happens, I was already expecting it. Due to the amount of filler, and amount of discussion happening in the story about Saylok's daughter problem and its consequences, it was almost a given how the king of Saylok would try to resolve the conflict. It also felt ineffective because it didn't conflict with the plotline I was the most invested in. I was curious about when and how the truths about Bayr and Alba were going to be revealed, not what the king was scheming about. So, I didn't really find the twist to be very groundbreaking.

I found it somewhat difficult to connect with any of the characters. The reader is meant to connect with Bayr and Alba, being the main characters, but they don't have much substance. It was hard to feel invested in their relationship as a result as well. The king of Saylok is the villain of the story, and it's very clear from his first appearance that he's meant to be the villain. Every subsequent scene is meant to show how evil he is, but the reader already knows that and those scenes instead put emphasis on the other, secondary characters around him, which doesn't feel intentional. I found myself liking the secondary characters, such as Ghost and Dagmar, more than the main ones, because they had much more nuance and complexity to them.

This review has been negative so far, but I don't want it to seem like I completely hated the book or the author. Harmon is a very skilled writer. The prose was captivating and made it difficult for me to put the book down, despite the aspects I mentioned above. She creates a vivid picture of the world of Saylok and, despite my disappointment in this novel, I want to read more of her work. I found the core idea of this story intriguing, but not the execution.

The First Girl Child was a book that didn't quite work for me. I expected a different story than I ended up reading. I don't want to discourage others from reading this book simply because it didn't fit my tastes. Romance isn't a genre I tend to enjoy, but I wanted to give the story a try. If romance is a genre you enjoy, and this story interests you, I hope my opinion doesn't sway you from deciding to read it. It's objectively a good book, just not the one for me.

Rating: 2.7 Stars

Follow Me Elsewhere: Facebook \ Twitter \ Goodreads \ Instagram

Buy Me A Coffee?

WWW Wednesday

Hello everyone! Today is Wednesday, which means it's time to do the three Ws. For those who don't know, the three Ws are:What did you recently finish reading? What are you currently reading? What are you reading next?

What I Recently Finished:

I finished The Summoned Ones by Darryl A. Woods. It's a young adult fantasy novel where a group of college students find themselves in a strange, magical world. My review for it can be found here.

I also finished The First Girl Child by Amy Harmon yesterday. It's a historical fantasy-romance involving warring clans and a cursed land. My review for it will be posted on Monday.

What I'm Currently Reading:

 

I'm reading White Elephant by V. E. Ulett, which I just started today. It's a historical fantasy novel. I've also decided to reread The Hobbit because it's been a while since I've read it, or The Lord of the Rings and I wanted to read it again.

What am I reading next:

The Elysian Prophecy by Vivien Reis is my next read. I don't know much about it, but the cover art and description intrigued me. I'm also going to be starting The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring once I finish The Hobbit, but I expect that to take me quite a bit.

What are you guys reading right now? What are you planning on reading next? Let me know in the comments!

Follow Me Elsewhere: Facebook \ Twitter \ Goodreads \ Instagram

Buy Me A Coffee?

The Summoned Ones

The Summoned Ones: Book 1 Flight to Bericea is a 2020 young adult fantasy novel by Darryl A. Woods. It was published in February 2020 by Bresford Ridge Publishing and is the first novel in the series. I was provided with a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

The novel follows a group of college-aged friends from a small Kentucky town. While exploring Daniel Boone National Forest, they find themselves somehow brought into a strange, chaotic world. To the residents of this magical world, they are the Summoned Ones, prophesized beings who will aid Bericea in its time of greatest need. Over the past 9 years, Zybaro, the leader of a small band of unknowns, has evolved from his days as a minor usurper of a tiny kingdom. Now, almost the entire country of Malabrim is under Zybaro's control, and his army looks to challenge Bericea's army. Still, Bericea continues its raids into Malabrim, hoping to stem Zybaro's methodical progress and thwart his tyrannical means of control. Zybaro has seized village after village, forcing anyone capable of joining his army and enslaving all who remained in deplorable working conditions to supply his army. This latest conflict with Zybaro pushes General Darnon to a decision, one he had resisted making for over a year. Though he still held grave reservations about the Prophecies, he was willing to support the clerics who would attempt the summoning behind enemy lines. On the perilous journey back to Bericea, the Summoned Ones will discover many truths about themselves and experience a world beyond their imaginations.

To start off this review, I want to say that I enjoyed the world of The Summoned Ones. Woods created a dynamic world, which is reminiscent of other fantasy worlds, such as Middle Earth or Narnia, but is unique in and of itself. The prologue alone gives a great deal of information about the basics of Bericea and more detail is shown as the story progresses and as the Summoned Ones start to see more of it. The aspect of the world that I found the most fascinating and the most unique was the magic system. As far as I can remember, this is the first book I've read where the magic system was tied to music, which was refreshing and unexpected. Additionally, the level of detail put into creating the atmosphere of this story is commendable. Without using language that is too flowery or descriptive, Woods created a world that I could picture as I was reading. I was able to get immersed into the story easily and it kept my attention.

Another aspect of this novel that I enjoyed was the ages of the protagonists, which I know might sound a bit odd. I refer to these types of stories as "portal stories", meaning stories in which the main characters end up in another world or time period by falling through a portal of some kind or a similar event happening. In most books I've read with this plot device, the characters are either children, such as The Chronicles of Narnia, or fully-fledged adults. A good deal of fantasy in general has characters that are either high school aged or adults in their late 20s or 30s. There aren't many fantasy novels, at least that I've read, with protagonists who are college-aged. It was refreshing to see characters in that age range, and well-written ones at that. Of the eight Summoned Ones, all eight had one trait or another that reminded me of someone that I knew. Their behavior and the way they responded to this strange new world made sense both in the context of their backstories and the world they left at the beginning of the story. I can't accurately delve into each character without having this review be far too long, but I really enjoyed these characters and their dynamics. The dynamics between the Kentuckian college students and the soldiers they meet along their journey was fascinating as well, since each character develops their own friendships and connections along the way with the citizens of this strange world.

Now, I'm going to dive into some of the less story-oriented, and more structural topics related to The Summoned Ones.  First, let's discuss the pacing of the story. Maybe I'm weird, but pacing is very big deal for me in literature. The pacing for this novel is a bit slow at first, as the characters are introduced and the plot is being set into motion. As expected, once the Summoned Ones find themselves in Bericea, the story starts to gain momentum. The pacing of individual scenes is well-executed as well. The fighting scenes are fast-paced and exciting, while scenes that focus more on exposition are more relaxed and less intense. I enjoyed the split perspective as well. The Summoned Ones are separated into three groups shortly after arriving in Bericea, so each group ends up on the different journeys to the same destination. Not only does this allow the reader to see more of the world, but the effects of Bericea's fight against Zybaro's forces can be seen on different levels and to different extents. I feel like this novel ended at the exact right moment. As mentioned above, this is the first novel in a series. The Summoned Ones ends when one stage of the characters' journey is over and another is about to begin, which is perfect from a story-telling perspective and the epilogue made me excited for the next installment.

While I did enjoy the novel as a whole, there were a few things I wasn't a fan of while reading. My biggest complaint would be a frustration at how quickly the Summoned Ones are able to master their abilities. None of them face much of challenge, either when learning the magic system or learning more mundane skills they need. It felt like they went from amateurs to experts after only one or two attempts at something. It felt like things were made to be too easy for them, which irked me a little bit. As I mentioned in the last paragraph, the story starts off slowly as characters are being introduced and it did feel like that part of the book was longer than it needed to be.

Overall, I enjoyed The Summoned Ones. It was a refreshing, well-written novel with an interesting and engaging story. The world created in the story reminded me of some of my favorite works. While by no means perfect, the novel is overall pretty great. I'm eagerly awaiting the release of the next book in the series to find out what happens next.

Rating: 3.9 Stars

Follow Me Elsewhere: Facebook \ Twitter \ Goodreads \ Instagram

Buy Me A Coffee?