Kraken by China Miéville

A book review of Kraken by China Miéville.

Kraken is a complex urban fantasy about a missing squid, an astonishing large cast of characters and the end of the world – in no particular order.

China Miéville is an incredibly imaginative author. In this story, he has created a half dozen separate religions with their own gods and customs. (Hundreds more are hinted at.) Not content with that, he also created magic of all kinds, a strike by familiars, protective London-based angels and a supernatural police force.

And that’s just the tip of the storytelling iceberg.

I would put forth the argument that he is one of the most inventive authors I’ve ever read.

That being said, I wanted more story and less world building.

Miéville has a cadence to his storytelling. Just when I thought the next important point in the plot would be revealed, he’d unveil a new character. It started to become annoying rather than astonishing.

The pace of Kraken is slow, so slow. But, for readers who enjoy a complex setup and completely unexpected reveal, this may be the read for you.

Personally, I like my stories to move at a faster clip.

There’s also a good bit of coarse language in Kraken. I’m not the most sensitive person in the world, but it did grate my ears at times. Consider yourself warned.

My absolute favorite character, out of the legions to choose from, is Wati. It’s not just for his unique premise either, which is incredibly inventive. (Another tip of the hat to Miéville.)

Wati has so much heart. He fearlessly goes where others can’t or won’t, putting himself in danger for his friends.

And Miéville certainly takes the time to build his characters. That is his absolute strength – world and character building.

Recommended for readers who enjoy complexity and stunningly fantastical worlds, and who have the patience to thoroughly savor all of it.

Thanks for reading!

Death Masks (The Dresden Files, #5) by Jim Butcher

Harry Dresden can’t catch a break… or a full night’s sleep. He’s up against the Red vampire court, he’s being attacked by supernatural creatures with powers he’s never seen before and his ex-girlfriend is back in town.

But, you can’t keep a good wizard down, right?

Even when you introduce a holy relic into the tale: “Someone stole the freaking Shroud of Turn?’ I demanded. ‘Yes.’ I settled back into the chair, looking down at the photos again. This changed things. This changed things a lot.” pg 28

In case you haven’t read the first four entries in this series: Harry Dresden is a wizard for hire. He solves supernatural crimes, he finds lost items and he never seems to make enough money to be comfortable.

“I’d learned something in several years of professional wizarding. Never walk into a fight when the bad guys are the ones who set it up. Wizards can call down lightning from the heavens, rip apart the earth beneath their enemy’s feet, blow them into a neighboring time zone with gale winds, and a million other things even less pleasant- but not if we don’t plan things out in advance.”pg 58

Some criticisms of this series are that the humor is juvenile and corny. I’ll confess: it is. But I still love it.

“I get more threats before nine a.m. than most people get all day,” I responded, and shut the door on him. Purely for effect, I locked it too. Me, petty? Surely not.” pg 110

If I was a male wizard, I think I’d be something like Harry. I’d go in with the best of intentions and end up with the most mediocre of results.

Harry stands up for the little guy and has a soft spot for the ladies. He protects children and holds the door for women.

He likes to drink, wears a leather duster and can’t seem to sleep even when he’s exhausted.

Aren’t we all, in some ways, Harry Dresden? Fighting the good fight, even though we know that death waits around the corner?

“Apocalypse, as you refer to it, isn’t an event. … Apocalypse is a frame of mine,” he said then. “A belief. A surrender to inevitability. It is despair for the future. It is the death of hope.” pg 353

Recommended for fans of urban fantasy and especially the Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne. I am a fan of The Dresden Files despite the fact that it can seem formulaic. I think Harry Dresden is worth the read.

Thanks for reading!

Gork, the Teenage Dragon by Gabe Hudson

Gork needs to crown his queen today and leave to take over a distant planet or suffer terrible consequences. He has a few major problems: he’s in love with one of the most popular females at the military academy, his heart is far too big, his horns are far too small, his class rating is too low and his grandfather, Doctor Terrible, has gone missing.

Nothing a teenage dragon can’t handle, right?

Gork, the Teenage Dragon is one of the most unique books I’ve read in a long time. It is a story about dragons, yes, but not just that. Gabe Hudson has created an entire dragon culture.

WarWings graduates continue to conquer the universe one planet at a time. We are the proud preservers of the EggHarvest tradition. Victory will always be ours! pg 30.

In some ways, WarWings reminded me of the military academy from Ender’s Game. It is dog eat dog, or dragon eat dragon.

My favorite part of the dragon culture is its use of poetry: “I don’t know why it is, but singing a poem out loud will always make you appear more repulsive and psychotic to those who you intend to enslave.” pg 56.

I also enjoyed the nudging of journalists: “The vibe in the room was definitely fiendish, and you should know that dragon journalists on Blegwethia are notoriously ruthless. Because on my home planet Blegwethia if a journalist shows up to report a story and they don’t like the situation they’re seeing, they’re not afraid to wade right in and get their claws and beak bloody. That’s dragon journalism for you.” pg 88.

If anything, Gork, the Teenage Dragon suffered from too many lovingly crafted details about dragon culture to the detriment of the story. It dragged as a result. And some of the gags didn’t quite work.

On the other hand, I was laughing out loud quite a lot at Gork’s antics: “… I study my scaly green reflection and see five nasty-looking slashes in my forehead from where that demon Torp has swiped me with his claws. ‘Not bad, Professor,’ I say, looking at the slashes. ‘This could make some nice scars.’ Now in case you don’t know, teenage dragons love scars.”

I was also not fond of the ending.

Recommended for readers with patience and the willingness to overlook some repetitious dialogue.

Gork, the Teenage Dragon won’t appeal to everyone, but I could see some die-hard dragon fans absolutely devouring this book.

Raising Fire (Ben Garston, #2) by James Bennett

Red Ben, a dragon, is the last of his kind. He is a Remnant, one of the few magical creatures left to walk the earth after the sealing of magic by King John in 1215.

However, laws have been broken, the ancient guild of knights that was tasked with guarding the lore has been slaughtered and the religious branch of the pact is after Ben.

Meanwhile, the last fairy who guards the enchanted sleep of all of the magical creatures, as well as other ancient magics, has gone missing. Could things get much worse? Probably. Ben isn’t holding his breath.

I like the world James Bennett has created.

I also like Ben. He reminds me of a draconic Harry Dresden. He’s magic, cynical and sometimes makes mistakes when he’s tired.

And, like the wizard Harry Dresden, Ben protects the unsuspecting public from great evil and all manner of magical mischief makers.

“Ahead, an open space spread out before him. Tiananmen Square, the largest square in the world, at least offered a safer battleground. With a snap of his wings, he pushed himself after the dragon, flying beyond firing range. A moment of grace that he knew wouldn’t last. He was already too late.” pg 112

Raising Fire is the sequel to Chasing Embers. It delves more deeply into the legend of the fey and how they left the world, and their creatures, behind.

In the great brier of fabulous beings, the Fay were like roses made of steel. The petals might look pretty enough, but if you didn’t watch your fingers, you’d quickly find out that they were sharper than razor blades.” pg 165

Readers also get to meet Jia, the Guardian of the East. A young being when her parents are put into the enchanted sleep, Jia grows and matures without her family and only the fairy that put them to sleep for a teacher. She plays an important role in this story.

Jia traipsed behind Ben through the valleys of treasure, her eyes wide, her feet crunching over jewels, kicking the occasional urn from her path. An enchanted light illuminated the cavern, shimmering from the treasure itself, gathered over centuries into a bed.” pg 202.

Warning: Raising Fire ends on a cliffhanger. If such things bug you, you may want to wait to read it until the next book is out.

Recommended for readers who enjoy cynical heroes, urban fantasy and dragons.

Thanks for reading!

Kith (The Good Neighbors, #2) by Holly Black

Rue’s world is getting darker. In the last volume of The Good Neighbors, she discovered that faeries are real and not harmless, glitter-sparkled fantasies like fairy tales have described them.

In this installment, Rue learns about the perils of faerie enchantments and intricate faerie plans. Mixing magic with the every day world, human and faerie, is downright dangerous.

Rue also discovers more about her mother’s (Nia’s) family and not everything she learns is comforting.

“You can’t keep mom here against her will.” “Oh, can’t I?” “Give me a test then. A test like you gave my dad. I’ll win her from you.” “Don’t be silly. Nia, do you want to leave my hill? Does the moral world hold anymore allure for you?” pg 49. Yeah, does it?

Rue’s parents didn’t have a traditional first date. It’s awfully sad just how their two worlds came together.

Rue spends much of this volume trying to walk the line between the faerie and human worlds and feeling guilty about loving and belonging to both.

“Let me propose a toast. To love. In what we love best, our worst selves are revealed.” pg 52.

Love and jealousy play a large part in this story as does control and betrayal.

Sometimes, we ruin the relationships that mean the most to us because we’re careless or confused or bored. Other times, we may not be completely honest with ourselves about whether two people, or in this case human and faerie, even belonged together in the first place.

Rue stumbles her way through these questions in a teenage, angsty sort of way. She’s a flawed heroine, but I rather like her.

I’m looking forward to the last entry in the series.

See my review of the first book in the series: HERE.

Thanks for reading!

Kin (The Good Neighbors, #1) by Holly Black

Rue’s mother has always been a little different. She talks to plants, hangs out naked in the yard and seems ageless. Rue knows her mother is not like other parents. But then, one day when her mom disappears, Rue begins to see strange things- creatures with horns in the coffee shop, a winged girl hanging out in the high school hallway- and she realizes that she’s different too.

Where has her mother gone and is Rue going crazy?

“You know how sometimes, when you glance at something out of the corner of your eye, it looks different for a moment? Well, sometimes when I look straight at a thing, it looks weird too. And those moments are stretching wider and wider.” pg 5.

I enjoyed the faerie lore in this graphic novel: “If an older mortal is beautiful or good at riddles, we might take them, but we always leave something behind in exchange. Sometimes we glamour wood to take on their appearance or we abandon a faerie in their place.” pg 36.

This book deals with surprisingly dark themes so I wouldn’t let my tween read it. The story contains (non-explicit) drug use, rape and kidnapping. It should be ok for most mature teens.

The artwork is pretty. The people aren’t depicted like normal every day people (especially the faeries) but, for the most part, I don’t think the artist over-sexualized the women. That’s one of my pet peeves with graphic novels: when they depict females as ridiculously proportioned pin ups. But, like I said, this one isn’t over-the-top.

The faeries are quite creepy too: “Let me tell you a story. … Long ago, mortals called us the fair folk, the people of peace, the good neighbors. They called us these things not because we were fair or peaceful or good, but because they feared us. As they should. As they will again.” pg 77

Recommended for readers who like dark fairy tales and fans of Holly Black.

The Princess and the Goblin (Princess Irene and Curdie #1) by George MacDonald

A charming fairy tale for children about a princess, a miner and hundreds of goblins- not just one.

The goblins hate the king because they used to be normal humans. They chose to live underground, to be away from the king and his taxes, and that choice has turned them inhumanely ugly and grotesque.

“They had enough of affection left for each other to preserve them from being absolutely cruel for cruelty’s sake to those that came in their way; but still they so heartily cherished the ancestral grudge against those who occupied their former possessions and especially against the descendants of the king who had caused their expulsion, that they sought every opportunity of tormenting them in ways that were as odd as their inventors; and although dwarfed and misshapen, they had strength equal to their cunning.” loc 54, ebook.

So, the king hides away his daughter to protect her from the goblins, while he travels across the kingdom, exerting the rule of law.

One rainy day, she is wandering bored through the house, when she discovers a secret stair with an extraordinary person in a hidden room.

The Princess tries to tell her nurse about her experience, but the nurse doesn’t believe her.

“You don’t believe me, then!” exclaimed the princess, astonished and angry, as she well might be. “Did you expect me to believe you, princess?” asked the nurse coldly. “I know princesses are in the habit of telling make-believes, but you are the first I ever heard of who expected to have them believed.” loc 181, ebook.

Meanwhile, in the mines under the mountains, the miners are accustomed to hearing strange sounds from the goblins who dwell within the walls.

“They worked only at night, for the miners’ night was the goblins’ day. Indeed, the greater number of the miners were afraid of the goblins; for there were strange stories well known amongst them of the treatment some had received whom the goblins had surprised at their work during the night.” loc 411, ebook.

One day, a miner named Curdie, hears actual goblin voices and discovers that they are closer to the goblin’s world that anyone ever realized.

He also overhears something frightening and determines to investigate the goblins’ world more to learn the truth.

To discover how the princess’ and Curdie’s worlds come together, you’re going to have to read the story.

I enjoyed The Princess and the Goblin. Recommended for tweens or the young at heart.

Readers who crave the simplicity and magic of books like The Hobbit, may also enjoy the story.

Thanks for reading!

The True Tale of the Monster Billy Dean Telt by Hisself by David Almond

A strange story about a boy who grows up in a room by himself. Through his extreme isolation, he discovers he has powers beyond that of a normal boy. There is a mystery surrounding his parentage and also about the world outside the only room he has ever known. The boy’s name is Billy Dean and this is his tale.

This pseudo-memoir is written mostly phonetically and with intentional misspellings, which was incredibly annoying at first, but you find yourself getting used to it. “This tale is told by 1 that died at birth by 1 that came into the world in the days of endles war & at a moment of disaster. He grew in isolayshon wile the enjins of destruchshon flew & smoke rose over the sitys & wile wilderness & waste crept all acros the world.” pg 1, ebook.

David Almond was attempting to capture Billy Dean’s innocent but uneducated voice through the misshaping of the words. I get what he was going for, but felt it did a disservice to the story.

Which wasn’t that good. It could have been though and that was disappointing.

Take this intense moment when Billy Dean’s father tells him that he should have killed his son the moment he was born: “Wilfred O bliddy Wilfred shud hav killd the monster in the woom. …. He grabbd me by the throte. Shudnt he? he yelld at me. Anser me you cretin! Tel me I shud have ended it befor it had bluddy begun. Tel me yes you shud hav Daddy!” pg 32, ebook.

It just doesn’t have the impact it could have, does it.

Or this moment, when Billy Dean is comforting his mother: “Im so sory” she wispers. “It was all supposed to be so different.” … “Its lovely Mam” he grones at her. “Its byutiful.” And all this nite he wil not slepe for the aykin of his mussels & the stingin of his bones & the thumpin of his hart & the byuty & the wunder of this world. pg 87

Beyond my issues with how the author chose to present his story, I felt that the magical part of the story was misshandled, especially when it comes to the child Billy Dean.

It made the timing of events feel strange. Nothing would happen, this this huge unexplained thing would roll out and the reader would be expected to accept that as the new normal and go on.

Perhaps Almond was trying to express the inexplicable nature of existence?

This book left me with a lot of unanswered questions, but not in a good way. I can’t recommend it.

Thanks for reading.

M.F.K.: Book One by Nilah Magruder

M.F.K. is an enigmatic, fantasy graphic novel about a girl from the desert, a boy from a beleaguered town and a journey to deliver an urn filled with ashes.

The Goodreads description of this book gave far more plot line than the book itself managed to deliver.

But, I feel this read was elevated by the beautiful, full-page, colorful artwork and the promise of a better storyline to come.

Jaime’s parents left him with relatives when he was only a child. But don’t pity him: “Sometimes I dream about seeing them again… and punching them in their faces.”

The desert town, where Jaime and his remaining family stay, is occasionally threatened by beings from the deeper desert. Their abilities seem to be a gift from desert gods.

“The devas gave us this strength to create and destroy to lead and conquer.”

In some ways, this book is like a fantasy western. You’ve got the obvious good guys, the obvious bad guys and the unlikely hero or heroine who saves the day.

I’m intrigued.

Recommended for readers who enjoy pretty graphic novels. Also recommended for young adults and reluctant readers.

This book has an interesting story and the women are drawn like people, not pin ups. I’m looking forward to the next installation.

Thanks for reading!

The Help Desk Book Blog

Sharing reviews and deep thoughts about life.

Category: Fantasy

Kraken by China Miéville

Death Masks (The Dresden Files, #5) by Jim Butcher

Gork, the Teenage Dragon by Gabe Hudson

Raising Fire (Ben Garston, #2) by James Bennett

Kith (The Good Neighbors, #2) by Holly Black

Kin (The Good Neighbors, #1) by Holly Black

The Princess and the Goblin (Princess Irene and Curdie #1) by George MacDonald

The True Tale of the Monster Billy Dean Telt by Hisself by David Almond

M.F.K.: Book One by Nilah Magruder

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