New Spring, by Robert Jordan

I had to read this prequel to The Wheel of Time at some point or another. So I ordered it at the same time I ordered Mistborn. Although nothing really unexpected happens and the story only covers up to Lan's bonding by Moiraine, I still enjoyed the book. Discovering Moiraine, Lan and Siuan when they were young was fun and .. it made me want to start reading the whole series once more now that I have some extra information. Plus I just love the universe and the characters to much.

Mistborn, by Brandon Sanderson

I bought this book after reading the latest volume of the Wheel of Time co-written by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, since I enjoyed the book and read good reviews about Mistborn.

I really enjoyed the book and couldn't put it down, which resulted in two nights in a row with very little sleep. The characters are diverse and easy to like. Vin and Kelsier are credible and both make good heros. I wasn't too happy about the character development of young Venture. I thought he became a bit of a mop after an intriguing beginning, and then all of a sudden he gets a key role. It really feels like the end of the novel could have used a lot more writing up: too many things happen at once and "by luck".

But it's still a really nice read and I have already started reading the book for a second time, at a much slower rate.

The Gathering Storm, by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson

I know I know the illustration is horrible ! I really really wonder why they keep choosing the cheesy graphics. Sorry for the artist, but I just can't stand them. Luckily I bought the hard cover book by mistake on Amazon and the illustration is just on the jacket ! So when I took the book with me during my train trip and on the bus, I had a very smooth book with me. By the way, I am used to reading this series in the cheap edition (pocket edition) but the hard cover book is really nice ! I love the feel of the pages, how thick the book is, and yet so light ! Perfect.

On with the story. I have re-read all 11 books I had from the series before buying "The Knife of Dreams", the last book entirely written by Robert Jordan before his death. While the beginning of the series is great, books 9 and 10 are exceedingly slow and boring. Number 11, that I read a couple of months ago, gets back on track.




All 11 books are in the picture below (the first one is a prequel I think .. I haven't read it yet anyway).


Then Robert Jordan died. Luckily for all the fans, Brandon Sanderson, fantasy author and WOT fan, was able to take on the job to write the end of the series, based on notes from Robert Jordan, sometimes even entire chapters already written down. There are still two more books to be published, but "The Gathering Storm" was really really good.

So many things happening, and a great end. I am already re-reading "The Knife of Dreams" (slowly this time) and will re-read "The Gathering Storm" after that. I just love being in the universe Robert Jordan created. Like many fans, I feel as if the main characters of the series were old friends.

Looking forward to the two last books !

Le lien maléfique, de Anne Rice

Fantasy, English

Au restaurant du personnel, tous les lundis, la bibliothécaire nous présente une sélection de livres. Du coup, même plus besoin de se déplacer jusqu'à la bibliothèque pour découvrir de nouvelles aventures !

J'ai été attirée à ce livre par la couverture, et un collègue, regardant par dessus mon épaule m'a dit "ah ouais il est vachement bien celui-là, tu vas adorer" ! En plus, il y a toute une histoire de sorcières, de vampires, et même un livre où les deux se rencontrent.

En effet, le livre est très prenant : pratiquement dès les premières pages, on est happé dans l'histoire. Pendant toute la lecture, je n'ai posé le livre que lorsque j'étais vraiment à bout et que je m'endormais malgré moi, à des heures indues. L'histoire est intéressante et les personnages assez attachants. J'ai quand même trouvé qu'il y avait pas mal de longueurs dans le récit de l'histoire de la famille des sorcières : par moment, trop de détails sont donnés sans vraiment être exploités en tant qu'histoire. On en vient donc à se demander pourquoi on vient de lire quatre pages de descriptions minutieuses alors que tout ce qu'on veut, c'est savoir ce qu'il va arriver aux personnages principaux. Mais c'est peut-être juste mon impatience qui parle, là :)

Earthsea (the trilogy) by Ursula K. Le Guin

One book that doesn't come from the library ..

I recently went to the cinema to see Tales from Earthsea from the studio Ghibli. I liked the universe a lot, the drawings and details of course, but thought too much was going on for too little explanations. And then I was lent this book, which is the inspiration for the film.

The book as I read it is a trilogy containing A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan and The Farthest Shore. All three stories are related through the life of Sparrowhawk (Ged) the wizard. Earthsea seems a beautiful (but dangerous !) universe. It seems that there are other stories of Earthsea, and more books by Ursula Le Guin. I'll be hunting for them in the library, for sure !

I wish Ghibli could illustrate the complete stories of Earthsea with their wonderful animations ...

Lady of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley and Diana L. Paxson

I went back to the library last Wednesday, and got so many books the lady at the checkout wanted to stop at the first of my three piles. lol. And a woman behind me in the queue showed her son that I had borrowed books in English and French (she seemed impressed). She doesn't know that she should be impressed that I borrowed German books, but hey.

I spotted this book from the English shelves and thought I had to borrow it. After all, I really like the world of Avalon, the priestesses and the Goddess. This was also the best book so far: I didn't get angry at the characters. It is split in three parts in which we follow different characters at different time points. I also like how spirits come back to life several times. Also, this book fits between Priestess of Avalon and the Mists of Avalon, so it was interesting to see another point of view. I just found out how big the collection was .. I hope I'll get to find the other ones one my one at the library :)

I enjoyed this book (and read it in two or three days), liked the themes. I would always like to have more small details on everyday life to really feel in the universe of Avalon, but I suppose it could get boring.

Priestess of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley

In November 2006, I read "The Mists of Avalon", by the same author. I liked her description of Avalon and its religion a lot and that was my main reason for borrowing "Priestess of Avalon".

I prefered the writing style in the second book, but I liked the description of religion in both. Feminism didn't disturb me (although I find that for a feminist book, women still have a tendency to hide their nature and take the will of their husbands for an order). I really enjoyed the criticisms the author writes about Christianism and how she explains how and why it took over the Roman gods and the Goddess of Avalon.

What I totally disliked was the unability of the powerful women to positively influence their children. But maybe it is something that really happens in life: people involved in a fight or a cause are sometimes the best contradictors of their own cause in their private life.

All in all, I found both books entertaining, easy to read and real page turners. I enjoyed some of the ideas, but was often angry at the behaviour of the main characters, which I don't particularly enjoy when it becomes recurrent).


[Wikipedia article on The Mists of Avalon],[Wikipedia article on Marion Zimmer Bradley]