Uglies: Specials (Book 3) by Scott Westerfeld

Tally has gone from Ugly to Pretty to dreaded Special. Now she is specially enhanced to help keep the people of her city in line–the pretties stupid and the uglies ready for their operations.

Once again we have the all too long passage of isolation where Tally is forced to reconsider her life while out in nature alone. I get that it is a theme, that being out in nature changes you. At the same time, it gets slow and tedious and a bit repetitive. (I say that despite enjoying the book.)

It is hard to get in touch with Tally and the other main characters because their personality change from one moment to the next. Tally is the sort of character who tends to get forced into situations and only takes action as a last resort. As a result, she is not my favorite character (of the many books I have read), but the fight itself–the bigger struggle against the city and the operations–is still interesting.

[SPOILER:] I am not sure how I felt about the resolution of the love triangle, it felt like an easy out. Tally never truly had to choose and technically she got them both in the end yet there was never the sense that her feelings for David ever resurfaced exactly. It is powerful to see her reaction to Zane once she finally sees him. It really highlights the ideas of being obsessed with beauty, being controlled by the government and brainwashing in a way that nothing else could.

Though not my favorite dystopian series, Westerfeld has a way with words that makes even the slower sequences enough to keep you turn pages.

Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code (Book 3) by Eoin Colfer

Artemis, super-villain extraordinaire, has both his mother and father back. He has one last plan before he settles into an honest life–a supercomputer compiled from stolen fairy technology. But he may have met his match. When his deal goes wrong, the cube is stolen, and one of the people he is closest to is deathly injured, everything he cares about is put at risk. In addition, his mistake might lead to the discovery and ultimate destruction of the fairy races below ground. Can Artemis, with the help of part-time/part-time ally Captain Holly Short set things straight in time?

Though I was sad to see the sidelining of one of the more common characters, it was nice to see more of Juliet who is now mostly grown up. She has a small, but satisfying story arc, which is all you can really ask for side characters.

Mulch Diggums also returns–I like how he always gets pulled into the story, no matter where he is or what he is doing. It also doesn’t feel overly coincidental, which I find many fantasy authors struggle to accomplish. He is my least favorite character (gnomes are a little too ridiculous for me) but he still always feels integral to the story, so I can appreciate him.

My favorite relationship of the series, Holly and Artemis, did not have as much development as it has in the first two books. This is unfortunate, but on the plus side, we did get a little bit of insight into her feelings for Artemis.

This book is darker and more complex than the others in terms of morality and trust, which is something I like to see in a series as it grows. Artemis himself has undergone a great deal of change over the course of the three books and I can’t wait to see where he goes from here.

Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods (Book 3) by Suzanne Collins

A plague is sweeping through the Underland and the Warrior, Gregor, is needed to help save them before it is too late. Ares, his bond and close bat friend, is just one of the many victims afflicted and Gregor feels he has no choice but to help, but his mother is not content to let him go himself.

Like with the last book, book three in the series is a major step forward in the story’s narrative. The themes are more complex and interesting–dealing with betrayal, disillusion, and being forced to grow up to soon. You feel for Gregor as he is forced to make difficult choices and is hurt in so many ways.

We get some new characters who are not only enjoyable in their own right, but are also helpful in revealing the truth about some of the characters we think we have gotten to know. They make this a deeper and more complex story without getting confusing or hard to believe.

This story is in turns exciting, surprising, terrifying, and heartbreaking. It only serves to make me more excited to see where the next book in the series will go.

Spy High: Chaos Rising, The Serpent Scenario, and the Paranoia Plot (Books 2-4) by AJ Butcher

Book 2: The Bond team is gearing up for the prestigious Sherlock Shield competition. Ben, leader of Bond, is determined to beat his rival on the Solo team. But there might be a spy on Bond team. But there may be bigger things to worry about, as CHAOS, the evil organization bent on crippling the world, has declared war. Can Bond team stop them in time?

Book 3: Jennifer (with Jake for company) has returned home to deal with her personal demons–specifically, to get revenge on the person who killed her family. Meanwhile the rest of the team is sent to investigate a new drug that is being sold on the street that turns people into vampire-like addicts. Can they figure out who is behind the drug and stop him before it is too late?

Book 4: With the arrival of a new team member, Rebecca Dee, comes questions and suspicions as Bond team is suddenly hit with mysterious accidents. Not only that, but she seems to be keeping secrets from them about her past. Bond team must deal with these and other issues–especially the unexpected return of a friend.

Once again with the large number of main characters, some of the characters get more attention than others. We get a lot more of Callie and Jennifer here and although we technically get to hear from Eddie more, he didn’t really get any deeper. He remained the goofy guy who did care about being a spy and was particularly, overly interested in getting a girlfriend.

I think the weakest point of this series (aside from the entire idea that they would send early trainees into the field without telling them) is how basic the characters are. They don’t really get more complex (besides Jennifer, of course). Callie has the potential to be interesting but we never really go in depth into her past the way we should.

Overall, they were easy, quick reads, but had I not found the books on sale for pretty cheap, I wouldn’t have bothered reading beyond a book or two. Unless I find the other ones for cheap too, I probably won’t be reading any more of the books.

The Last Apprentice: Night of the Soul Stealer (Book 3) by Joseph Delaney

This book takes a bit of a turn (an interesting one). We finally get more than a peak at the Spook’s life before Tom’s arrival and it is this past that helps move the story.

As the days get colder, it approaches time to move to the Spook’s winter home in Anglezarke. Tom doesn’t really want to go. He is comfortable in Chippenden, it’s warmer there, Anglezarke is more overrun by the dark, and Alice will be leaving them. A letter from Morgan, one of the Spook’s old apprentices prompts an earlier departure than expected. Once in Anglezarke, things get moving quickly. Meg (a witch and the Spook’s love) lives in the house but she is kept drugged to keep her memory from returning. There is dangerous stone-chucker boggart on the loose, and that is the least of their worries. There is something Morgan wants from the Spook and he will stop at nothing to get it.

Definitely driving this book is the Spook’s back story and, to a lesser degree, Tom’s family drama. The Spook, it turns out, is a much more complex character than he first appears. And he isn’t nearly as harsh and uncaring as he seems to want to appear either. This book employs the typical mentor not telling his mentee everything he needs to know device (though at least in this case it is because it is too personal, not because he thinks Tom “isn’t ready”), which is always frustrating because of the number of issues that could be prevented had he simply told him everything.

The strangest thing about the book is that we know Tom has six brothers, but because we never actually see anyone but his oldest brother Jack, it is hard to really imagine him having other brothers. Do we even get their names? It would be interesting to see Tom and Jack’s relationship develop beyond Jack being uncomfortable with him as a Spook. I’m also hoping we see Tom’s mother again, and I imagine we will eventually, but I am more curious to see what is in her room and learn more about her.

Alice and Tom’s relationship remains the most intriguing aspect of the book in many ways, but in this book Tom seemed to look at her as though they had something more than friendship between them. While I don’t doubt that sometime in the future this may be the case (even if only for a little while), it seemed a little early for it.

My one issue with the book is the Spook’s resolution for Meg seems more like he just fostered a dangerous issue on someone else who is unsuspecting of it.

The Immortals: Wild Magic, Wolf Speaker, Emperor Mage, and The Realms of the Gods by Tamora Pierce

Yet another book series I wish I had read before reading the Protector of the Small series, this tells us about Veralidaine Sarrasri, known as Daine. She too has a peripheral role in Kel’s story, but takes front and center here. We learn about how Daine comes to Tortall, discovers her magic, and finds love, just in time too, because Immortals that have not been seen in centuries have suddenly begun appearing again.

Book 1: Daine has always had a way with animals. More than a way, really. Running away from Snowsdale, the only home she’s ever known, she gets a job as a horse handler’s assistant for the Queen’s Riders. She finds Tortall much more welcoming than the home she escaped and meets Numair, a great mage who realizes that her skill with animals is actual a little known form of magic called Wild Magic. He takes it upon himself to teach her how to use her magic. But she has a secret, one which makes her hesitant to use her magic. Meanwhile, the kingdom is on the brink of war with Carthak–a kingdom that has the biggest army and navy around–and Immortals have returned to threaten them.

Book 2: Daine is called on to help by the wolf pack that saved her life. She and Numair go to Dunlath to find out what they need and uncover a much bigger danger, one not only to the wolves and the other forest creatures in the area but also to King Jonathan himself. New Immortals show up and not all of them are dangers to the kingdom as she thought. Daine also learns that perhaps her life and her destiny is meant to impact something bigger than she ever expected.

Book 3: Daine, Numair, and a small delegation from the king are sent to Carthak in hopes of forging a peace and preventing war. Daine is sent to heal the Emperor’s birds, which he seems to care about more than his own people. She’s not allowed to insult or anger him, even though he keeps Immortals in cages and keeps slaves. Numair must be careful, as the Emperor (his one-time friend) holds a grudge against him since their days in the mage university. But does Carthak’s Emperor really intend to make peace? Daine must figure it out, as well as learn to use the new power that the badger bestowed upon her–the power to raise the dead. It seems that her destiny–and the Gods–are not done with her yet.

Book 4: Daine and Numair are helping fight the growing number of Immortals besieging the kingdom when they are sucked into the Divine Realms. There she discovers the truth about her father and reunites with her mother, but they desperately need to return to Tortall where they are needed. The situation, they discover, is much worse than they first thought, as Chaos threatens to overrun the Greater Gods. Daine must also deal with an old enemy and new feelings.

I like this series too, as I have liked all of Pierce’s work so far, but there is one message that worries me a bit: the not surprising relationship that develops between Numair and Daine. The thing that bothers me about it is that it romanticizes a relationship between teacher and student (which nowadays is more than a little frowned upon and usually results in dismissal if not legal action). It’s true that in those types of time periods girls grew up and married earlier, but it still bothers me (even knowing–thanks to Kel’s story–that their relationship lasts and it isn’t just something born out of being around each other all the time).

This series gives us a while new insight into the Gods and Goddesses that we hear so much about in the other books. We again get glimpses of the characters that we learned to love in the other books.

There is one more set of books I need to read (about Aly Cooper, Alanna’s daughter and the descendant of Beka Cooper) plus the coming books from Beka Cooper’s series, but I hope to see even more from Tortall and the characters we’ve all met.

Song of the Lioness: Alanna the First Adventure, In the Hand of the Goddess, The Woman Who Rides Like a Man, and Lioness Rampant by Tamora Pierce

So once I realized, after reading Protector of the Small and Beka Cooper, that there were other books in the Tortall world (and that I had not read it in order–a big no no for me) I of course had to go back and read the others. As an added bonus, the actual first series was about Alanna the Lioness who, despite so little actual time in the books was one of my favorite character in Kel’s story.

Book 1: Alanna and her brother Thom have been all but ignored by their father the scholar are about to be shipped off. Thom, as the son, is to be sent to train as a knight and Alanna, as the daughter, is to be sent to the convent. But Alanna has no interest in being trained as a lady and she has a skill with weapons, while Thom is more interested in developing his magic (both siblings have a very strong magical Gift) and has zero coordination. They come up with the perfect plan: switch places! Can Alanna make it through training without anyone discover her secret? (Girls are not allowed to be knights.) She is tested in more ways than one when she must use the magic she fears to protect the Prince and heir.

Book 2: Done with her page years (which look nothing like Kel’s–they seem to have restructured things after Alanna’s time, largely because of her), Alanna becomes the squire for none other than Prince Jonathan. Her biggest challenge: reconciling her dislike for the Prince’s cousin, a powerful mage and next in line for the throne, Duke Roger, with the fact that everyone, but her, loves him. Including Prince Jonathan, who will not hear a word against him. Plus, though she wishes to escape her magic, that becomes increasingly impossible when a Goddess reveals that she has plans for Alanna.

Book 3: Finally a knight, Alanna has revealed that she is a girl to the court and decides to put some distance between herself and the capital while everyone gets used to the idea. Besides, all she’s ever wanted was to be a knight and have adventures. Alanna finds herself in the south where she is forced into a duel to the death in order to be accepted by the Bazhir, but this is the least of the troubles she must face. The Bazhir have their own prejudices against girls, which Alanna has no patience for. She brings with her a whirlwind of change and with it, she helps forge a new alliance for Prince Jonathan’s rule.

Book 4: Alanna decides once and for all to prove herself as a worthy knight (despite having already becoming famous for some of her deeds) by recovering the long lost Dominion Jewel, a powerful jewel that can do enormous good in the right hands. She plans to get it for King Jonathan’s use in order to secure the kingdom of Tortall. She must also make peace with herself, accept love that she’s been hiding from, bring a Princess to Tortall, and defeat an old enemy. Things never are easy for the God’s chosen.

While I don’t really see much evidence of the “famous temper” that Alanna the Lioness has, I found myself enjoying this story just as much as Pierce’s other books. It’s interesting to look at Alanna and Kel together (the only female knights of their time), both incredibly determined and strong. The two must overcome very different challenges–Alanna’s stemming from her fear of magic and love and hiding her gender, Kel’s stemming from her fear of heights and the fact that everyone knows she’s a girl and many don’t want her to succeed.

It’s nice to finally know all of Alanna’s story and I definitely find her to be my favorite Tortall world character. Through all the other serieses (how do you pluralize that?), I look forward to the small glimpses we get of her and wish for more.

Protector of the Small: First Test, Page, Squire, and Lady Knight (Books 1-4) by Tamora Pierce

Yet another enjoyable series by Tamora Pierce. Also set in the Tortall universe, this series is all about knighthood.

Book 1: Alanna the Lioness became a knight by pretending to be a boy through training and managed to become such a strong knight that she became the king’s champion. The king ruled that girls could now train to be knights if they desired, but for ten long years, no girl ever dared. Until Keladry of Mindelan. But the training master is not thrilled to be training a girl and convinces the king to put Kel on a one year probation (and forbid Alanna to see her). The odds are stacked against her and it doesn’t help that the boys aren’t happy to have a girl training alongside them. With so little support, can Kel make it through her first year?

(Skip ahead to after book 4 if you don’t want anything ruined.)

Book 2: Having managed to surpass all expectations, we follow Kel through the rest of her time as a page (three years). It seems like even though she’s made it passed year one, she may not make it through the rest in order to become a squire. She may have made some friends, but that doesn’t mean everyone is rooting for her success. Many are still reluctant to believe that a girl could ever be as worthy a knight as a boy (regardless of Alanna the Lioness’s successes). What I don’t like about this one is that so much time is compressed into such a short amount of pages, making it harder to get engrossed in her story. Despite book 2 feeling rushed, I found myself really liking it.

Book 3: Finally, Kel has made it through her page years and is a squire. But will any of the knights in the realm want to take on “The Girl” as their apprentice? It certainly doesn’t look like it, until Raoul of Goldenlake, chief commander of the King’s Own, decides to take her on. (As a close friend of Alanna’s through training, he knows what a girl can do.) Her time as a squire isn’t easy, in no small part because of the baby griffin she acquires along the way and a first romance. But the real thing worrying her is the Ordeal of Knighthood, which all Squires must complete in order to become a knight. Like the last book, this one felt a bit rushed, but is also filled with lots of intrigue and excitement. (Without ruining it, I will say that the best part of this book for me was the ending, when the one meeting you’re waiting for finally happens.)

Book 4: Kel has finally managed to become a knight, but a haunting image given to her by the Chamber of Ordeal haunts her. She is told that she must find a man who uses children’s spirits to fashion dangerous war weapons. The kingdom is drawn into a war with the Scanrans. She wants to go out and find this man but is instead relegated to a run a refugee camp. She is torn between her sense of duty to the refugees she protects and the quest the chamber has set for her that could help Tortall win the war.

Kel is like Beka Cooper, of Pierce’s newest Tortall series, determined to protect the innocent, strong and uncompromising. These characteristics serve her well because without them, she would have no chance of making it through her first year, much less the entire training to become a knight. Kel is a fun and admirable character, making her easy to root for in this male-oriented society.

Pierce has shown herself to be an excellent writer and I look forward to the rest of the books I can find by her.