I can’t believe I actually liked Tender Morsels; 75 pages in, I was convinced that I would hate it. However, it turned out to be quite a good book, although it is uncomfortable to read. (side note: I actually have an autographed hardcover of this book, having chanced upon a remnant of a recent signing in Anderson’s Bookshop in Naperville, IL.)

Tender Morsels is generally advertised as a retelling of the Snow White and Rose Red fairy tale, and it does live up to that. It follows a mother and her two daughters, one quiet and one impetuous, and they do encounter a bear. I think that the fairy tale retelling almost does the book a disservice, since the phrase “fairy tale retelling” raises so many different expectations for the reader. I didn’t see how the evocation of the Snow White and Rose Red story was important to the book, but that’s probably something I’m missing, rather than a fault of the book.

The protagonists of the story are Liga, and her two daughters Branza and Urdda. Liga’s first fifteen years of life are quite horrible, she’s is subjected to constant rape, forced abortions and infanticide from her father, all while being totally sheltered from the outside world. After his death, she is left pregnant and becomes an outcast in her town, and is also treated poorly. (This forms the first 75 pages of the book, and is the reason I thought I’d hate the book.) However, her luck finally changes, and she is transported to a safe version of her world, where she raises her daughters in peace. The rest of the book tells of her journey back to the world where she’s from and how she learns to cope with events from her life and trust people again. Her daughters’ stories and fates are also explored.

SPOILERS FOLLOW

Liga’s story is ultimately sad and heartbreaking, and I wish the book hadn’t ended the way it had, with Liga’s disappointment. I understand that that was a consequence of Liga having spent twenty five years in her safe world, rather than learning to live with the truth about humanity, however unintended that was. It keeps with the somber tone of the issues the book addresses, but It doesn’t make it any less heartbreaking. I was glad that Branza and Urdda were able to get a good ending, though.

I was also made uncomfortable by the controversial “rape as vengeance” scene, but that seemed to be the intent. It also fits in with the tone of the book, though, and I understand why it was there.

SPOILERS END

Overall, an uncomfortable but thought-provoking book, and one I’m glad I read.

This is book 8 of 25 of my Dec 11, 2011 book challenge.

The Privilege of the Sword follows Katherine, a poor noblewoman who is invited to her uncle’s home in the city. She arrives expecting a season of balls and parties and hoping to find a good match and secure her family’s future, but her uncle, the unconventional Mad Duke Tremontaine, has other ideas. Katherine is to become a swordsman (and his bodyguard), unprecedented for a woman.

I first heard about this book on the Williamsburg Regional Library blog, Blogging for a Good Book. Like that reviewer, I was immediately struck by the proud swordswoman on the cover, and being a sucker for swashbuckling women, figured that I would probably enjoy the book. Upon further research, I discovered that it was a sequel to Swordspoint, which I decided to read first (earlier this year.) Although I didn’t love Swordspoint, I liked it enough to want to read more, and I’ve finally gotten around to it.

The Privilege of the Sword, and other Ellen Kushner books have been described as a “fantasy of manners.” I can certainly understand the “manners” bit, but I’m not quite sure that it’s a fantasy. I’ve always thought of the defining characteristic of fantasy being magic/some sort of supernatural power. The Privilege of the Sword takes place in an imaginary world, but there is no magic involved.

Anyway, onto the actual review. I really enjoyed the book, more so than Swordspoint, probably because of the younger, female protagonist. Katherine was a lot of fun to read about, she’s determined, curious, and honourable.  She manages to become an accomplished swordsman without losing any of her femininity. Her reactions to all the things that happen to (and around) her, and her growth as a character is written really well and feels totally real. The world of the nobles around her is also entertaining (although probably would be really tiresome to live in), with constant plotting and scheming within the strict customs of rich society.

I’ll definitely be reading the third book set in this world, The Fall of The Kings, soon!

This is book 6 of 25 of my Dec 11, 2011 book challenge.

The Way of Kings is the first book in a projected ten-part epic fantasy series (The Stormlight Archive) by Brandon Sanderson. After reading other Sanderson books (the Mistborn series, Wheel of Time), I was almost certain that I would fall in love with this book, and so I didn’t really want to start it, because I liked being able to look forward to reading it. Unfortunately, that plan didn’t work, and now I have to wait a year or more for the next book to be released.

So yeah, I thought The Way of Kings was a fantastic book. I’m always at a loss to describe what I like about good books because I get so immersed in the world and characters that it’s hard to pick out things as being outstanding. The world was richly drawn, with detailed mythologies, history, countries, peoples, etc. The main characters were all fascinating, three-dimensional people with compelling stories. I liked the description of the Vorin society – it’s interesting that women have their own specialties and talents, as opposed to a lot of traditional fantasy. After reading Mistborn, with its clear descriptions of the (really cool) magic systems, I expected something similar, but magic is very much shrouded in mystery, and that’s pretty well portrayed. I love the amount of scholarship depicted in this book.

I found that the middle dragged a tiny bit as Kaladin sorted out his emotions and accepted being a leader, but I think that’s a curse of first books in series’ – the hero has to go on a believable journey. It also seemed like a whole bunch of plot twists came at the very end; I would have appreciated it if there were a couple of those to liven up the middle of the book. However, it did succeed in making me really impatient for the next installment of the story.

One really cool thing about Brandon Sanderson’s books that I recently found out (on his official fansite, The 17th Shard) is that they are all set on different planets in the same cosmere universe. They even share a couple of characters, and I believe they do have a large overlapping mystery. I can’t wait to read Elantris and Warbreaker and try to catch the references there. (I still have 21 books to go before I can acquire those, though.)

Anyway, I’d say I want the next book right now, but Brandon Sanderson is also finishing up The Wheel of Time, and I also want to read A Memory of Light really badly. Maybe I could have both concurrently?

This is book 4 of 25 of my Dec 11, 2011 book challenge.