The Honor of Violet Fate (I Shall Seal the Heavens, #3) by Er Gen

“His name is Meng Hao,” said Bai Yunlai quietly. “Have you heard of him? Recently, everybody in the Southern Domain has been talking about him.”

In The Honor of Violet Fate, former scholar turned cultivator Meng Hao continues his efforts to become one of the most powerful magic users of his era.

He has made the decision to learn alchemy because of the unfortunate ingestion of a highly toxic magical plant which is slowly killing him. If he can learn everything there is to know about how to create medicinal pills, maybe he can concoct a cure before it’s too late.

Every cultivator knows the most talented alchemists can be found in the highly selective and secretive Violet Fate Sect.

“His true goal in joining the Violet Fate Sect was to become a novitiate of Grandmaster Pill Demon and study the most powerful Dao of alchemy in the entire Southern Domain. Then he would create his own branch of alchemic arts.”

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The concerns I had in the last two books were mitigated somewhat in this entry in the series because of the introduction of alchemy to Meng Hao’s cultivation. He finally has some time to stay in one place and have a break from continual attacks from other magic users, which had a lot to do with the repetitious nature of the other books.

That’s not to say that there isn’t some monotony. It may be due to translation issues, but some phrases are used over and over again. It reminds me of passages from Homer or other stories that were originally transmitted through live storytellers. I imagine that if you read this story aloud, it might have a hypnotic quality to it through the repetition.

But I wasn’t reading aloud and it doesn’t really work.

“It felt like being slapped across the face, like having a dagger plunged into his chest. As an alchemist, all of it was a direct attack on him.”

It’s still annoying that all of the women in this world are in love with Meng Hoa like in the previous books. However, there seems to be a major love interest developing and the passages where they interact are actually quite touching.

“She wasn’t sure when it had happened, but Meng Hao’s figure had at some point become deeply ingrained into her; he was now a part of her very heart, a part that would never leave her.”

The romantic in me likes that very much.

The more I read I Shall Seal the Heavens, the more I realize that I am not the intended audience. This fantasy is more about spiritual cultivation and competition, than the relationships between the characters or character development. The fighting and acquisition of magical items is more important than the embodiment of spiritual virtues or enlightenment.

But even knowing all of that, I still want to know what Meng Hoa is going to get up to next. So I’m going to press on!

Only recommended for fans of the genre, wuxia.

Thanks for reading!

Witches Abroad (Discworld, #12; Witches #3) by Terry Pratchett

When Magrat is designated as the next Fairy Godmother (a legacy from her mentor), Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg feel compelled to help her straighten out the troubles of her new fairy goddaughter.

“I don’t trust that wand,” said Granny. “I looks wizardly to me.” “Oh, come on,” said Magrat, “generations of fairy godmothers have used it.” pg 47

Unfortunately, the city where this young woman resides is quite far away. That means a roadtrip- something that some of the witches tolerate better than others.

Complicating matters is the fact that Fairy Godmothers always come in pairs, a good one and a bad one. We all know that Magrat is good so…

The other Godmother works her magic through the power of stories. She may have some unique ideas about what constitutes a happy ending.

“People think that stories are shaped by people. In fact, it’s the other way around. Stories exist independently of their players. If you know that, the knowledge is power.” pg 8

Terry Pratchett has crafted three unforgettable characters in the witches. Their traveling, as well as evil-fighting, hijinks are amusing, like in the previous entries in this series.

But let’s talk about Magrat for a minute.

“Magrat would be the first to admit that she had an open mind. It was as open as a field, as open as the sky. No mind could be more open without special surgical implements.” pg 28

Though he’s writing it humorously, the elder witches constantly bully Magrat not only for her youth but also for her progressive ideas about what witchcraft should be. In addition, her open-mindedness makes her a target for derision.

Despite her efforts to look mysterious through the use of various pieces of “occult” jewelry, Magrat is teased by other characters (and the narrator) for her funny hair and ridiculous appearance.

It makes me want to reach through the pages and say, just lay off her already, people. She’s trying to do the best she can with what she has, where she’s at. Can’t say the same for everyone else here.

“There’s nothing wrong with happy endings,” said Magrat hotly. “Listen, happy endings is fine if they turn out happy,” said Granny, glaring at the sky. “But you can’t make ’em for other people…” pg 103

The denigration of Magrat makes me view the other characters negatively. Because, even though Granny and Nanny are considered experts in witchcraft as well as wise (in their respective spheres), I don’t think they’re worthy of respect from others when they treat their young colleague like garbage.

I’m not sure why this dynamic between the witches is bothering me more on the second read-through than it did the first, which was eight or so years ago. But it does.

I still consider Witches Abroad an excellent read when I look past the treatment-of-Magrat issues. Highly recommended for readers who enjoy humorous fantasy.

Thanks for reading!

Battle Ground (The Dresden Files, #17) by Jim Butcher

I saw her study my face and then ask, “How bad does it have to be for you not to be making jokes?” pg 3

The last book in the series, Peace Talks, set up the epic battle for Chicago between the wizard Harry Dresden and his various allies against a relic of the old world and her vassals.

Jim Butcher delivers that battle in a very major way in Battle Ground.

“I hadn’t even seen what was coming for Chicago, and I was already bloodied and exhausted. This was going to be a long night.” pg 17

As per usual, Butcher is heavy on the puns and pop culture references, but I thought he did a fantastic job with this installment. Long-time readers of the series get to enjoy scenes from characters who haven’t made an appearance for awhile.

There are also some serious consequences from this book which, I thought, would have made an epic conclusion to the whole thing. However, Butcher teases more to come at the end of the novel, so I suppose it will continue.

“But whatever happened, after tonight there would be walls coming down between the mortal world and the supernatural one that had stood solidly for centuries. Stars and stones, I didn’t think anyone knew what that might mean.” pg 72

Which I’m not opposed to. You’d think I’d be sick of Harry Dresden and his constant, and ever increasingly powerful, problems. But I’m not. I enjoy this urban fantasy series very much.

Part of that is because of the writing and the characters. Despite the fantasy setting, Butcher manages to make everybody feel very real. I like to imagine that if magic were real, that it would function similarly to how Butcher has crafted it in his books.

The other reason I probably enjoy it so much is because I’m a big nerd. Whenever Harry gets into a bind and makes a cheesy joke to relieve his tension, I always get the feeling that I’d do something similarly silly. When the end of the world is staring you in the face, what else is there to do but smile?

Battle Ground is a must-read for fans of the series. If you haven’t read any of the other books yet, please do yourself a favor and start from the beginning.

Thanks for reading!

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

Things are not what they seem, Aomame repeated mentally. “What do you mean by that?” she asked with knitted brows. pg 28, ebook

Yes, what do you mean by that, I found myself asking over and over throughout 1Q84, my first foray into Haruki Murakami’s fictional works.

A few years ago, I read and enjoyed Murakami’s What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, a non-fiction book about the author’s creative process and long distance running habit. The way his mind works is fascinating.

He talks about how writing a novel is like participating in a marathon. It takes effort and discipline to go from page one to the end. In addition, the break throughs that he makes in his writing he attributes, in part, to the flow state he experiences during his physical exertions.

This creates a detail-filled and highly introspective world in his novels that some readers can’t get enough of.

But that approach didn’t appeal to me in this book.

The story develops slowly, so so slowly. We are in the characters’ minds for nearly every thought. We learn their eating and drinking habits, sleeping problems, past history, sexual preferences ad infinitum.

The magical realism portions of the story, my favorite parts by the way, were fleeting and infuriatingly uninformative. This is another draw, or so I have gathered, for some readers who like having major unanswered plot points by the end of the story.

This could lead to some interesting book club meetings, but I’m not one of those readers. If you’re going to tell a story, for heaven’s sake, tell the story.

On one hand, the introspective nature of the storytelling gives deep insight into the characters. By the time you’re through, you feel like you could write what Tengo and Aomame are going to do next. It is introversion to the extreme. On the other hand, it crushed my interest in caring what was going to happen next.

Why? Personal preference, I suppose.

Legions of readers love this book. I’m curious as to why, but it might be as simple as how readers like to experience and absorb stories.

Final note: Trigger warnings for domestic violence and sexual abuse.

Wyrd Sisters (Discworld, #6; Witches #2) by Terry Pratchett

Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, and Magrat are not witches who meddle in the affairs of a kingdom- there’s rules against that, after all. But then one stormy night, when they’re having a simple coven meeting, a desperate and pursued royal courier hands Granny a baby.

Now, some of the rules might have to be broken.

“The child gurgled in its sleep. Granny Weatherwax didn’t hold with looking at the future, but now she could feel the future looking at her. She didn’t like its expression at all.” pg 13

I first read Wyrd Sisters in April 2014 as part of a general read-through of the Discworld series (which I didn’t finish, but that is neither here nor there.) Now, I’m going back and reading the Witches series on its own which sits comfortably within the larger collection.

They’re quite good, of course.

“As the cauldron bubbled an eldritch voice shrieked: “When shall we three meet again?” There was a pause. Finally another voice said, in far more ordinary tones: “Well, I can do next Tuesday.” pg 1

The three witches, as well as the ancillary cast of humorous and villainous characters, are a delight to read and really make the story. Terry Pratchett’s tone goes deftly from playful to quite serious and back again as Granny Weatherwax practices her ‘headology’ or Magrat, the youngest witch of the three, accidentally finds romance.

“Extremely worrying developments of magical tendency are even now afoot,” she said loudly. pg 62

Something that I didn’t mention in the last review, but struck me again on the re-read, was the excellent development of the mad Duke and his evil Queen. These are not simple, two-dimensional villains. These are complex characters with neuroses and nightmares and nefarious histories.

The reason why I was so surprised by the ending of the story on the first read-through was the fate of the villains. Which they entirely deserve, I think, but was creative enough that I didn’t see it coming.

Highly recommended for readers who love light-hearted fantasy and humor.

First review: April 2014
This was a fun read. Pratchett takes the witch stereotype and bends it. We are reintroduced to Granny Weatherwax, the wise witch from Equal Rites. I liked her in that tale and I enjoyed seeing her again. Her character had time to be fleshed out even more and it’s a delight.

The ending to this novel really managed to surprise me. I was expecting a completely different ending but I loved Pratchett’s invention even more.

My favorite part of this story was Granny’s introduction to theater performance. The whole scene is incredibly funny but also integral to the plot so it wasn’t just tacked on like an after thought.

Overall, it’s an excellent fantasy. No one can write quite like Terry Pratchett.

Thanks for reading!

Cutting Into the Southern Domain (I Shall Seal the Heavens, #2) by Er Gen

“In the Cultivation world, respect is delivered to the powerful.”

Meng Hao, the failed scholar turned spiritual cultivator, continues his quest to become the most powerful magical practitioner in the Southern Domain.

Shedding his old identity and values, Meng Hao is becoming someone even his old sect members do not recognize. By utilizing secret methods, he has created a source of power within himself that is an anathema to the will of the heavens.

But he no longer cares. Because even though these methods are forbidden, it has brought Meng Hao incredible power. And that, for now, is his ultimate goal.

Despite the epic storytelling potential of I Shall Seal the Heavens, my complaints with the last book continued in this one- the repetition, predictability, and the slow slide of the hero into deeper darkness rather than enlightenment.

I keep wondering if that isn’t the point of these books, the idea that even the spiritually inclined among us can become corrupted in their search for power over themselves and others. If that is the case, Er Gen is taking readers there, but incredibly slowly.

The manner in which the author depicts women in this world is particularly troubling to this female reader. In addition to making the women all about their appearance, every one Meng Hao meets inevitably falls in love with him despite his egregious and sometimes abusive behavior. It definitively fails the Bechdel Test.

I think the most engaging characters in Cutting Into the Southern Domain aren’t human. Readers are introduced to a ferocious spirit creature as well as a chatty mystical shape changer. The lightness they bring to the table doesn’t offset the otherwise repetitive and depressing nature of the story, but they help.

I hope the next book moves out of the themes the author has fully explored in the first two book entries in the series. The world he has built is so fantastical and full of potential. It’s just a shame it isn’t a better story.

Only recommended for fans of the genre.

Thanks for reading!

Die, Vol. 1: Fantasy Heartbreaker by Kieron Gillen, Stephanie Hans

In Die, six teens enter a fantasy role-playing game, disappearing from the mundane world for two years. When they reappear, they are missing one of their members and carrying scars, both physical and emotional, from their ordeal.

Fast forward twenty five years, and a blood stained die shows up on someone’s birthday, mirroring the date when they last entered the game. The group has to face the fantasy world that has given them nightmares for decades in order to put the past to rest. But some things are easier said than done.

Readers of this series seem heavily divided on its quality. I thought it was brilliant.

This isn’t because of the fantasy elements which, as many have noted, rely heavily on tropes and the established world building of touchstone series like The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia.

What I loved was the character development and its relatability for aging gamers.

The author shares a series of essays in the back of the graphic novel about the development of the story and characters as well as their associations with classic rpgs. He nails the reasons why I loved the book so much:

“… the simple idea of six forty-something adults contrasting their teenage fantasies with the realities of where their lives ended up. It’s a pure midlife crisis scream of a book. And the bit that got me? The idea that maybe part of me did disappear into a fantasy world at the age of sixteen and never came out.”

In the hero’s journey, we venture forth into trials and return changed but bearing gifts from the experiences we went through. That format- there and back again- seems so clear cut and simple in many of the “through the looking glass” fantasy stories.

It is not so simple in this one.

In Fantasy Heartbreaker, the journey isn’t finished when the characters return to where they started and they aren’t bearing gifts, but a curse. It is only through the natural passage of time and the development of the adolescent into the adult, that the heroes in this story can finish their journey or, unbeknownst to them, begin an entirely new one.

This delayed emotional development speaks to any manner of gamers, both video or tabletop, who may find themselves, for a variety of reasons, gaming with a dysfunctional group of people over and over again each week. Perhaps this is because there are only a few people in their lives who love to game as much as they do.

For whatever reason, from the outside, such intense and conflict-prone relationships can seem confusing at best or borderline abusive at worst. But from inside the group itself, the bonds created through the traversing of realms of the imagination and overcoming obstacles as a team are real and important.

The members of the group form a family of sorts- one that they chose rather than one they were born with. It can be beautiful but bewildering. Something that one has to experience to truly understand.

Sort of like visiting a different world, and never really coming home again.

In addition to the peek into gamer culture, the artwork in Fantasy Heartbreaker is gorgeous, one of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen in a comic.

Highly recommended for readers, and gamers, who like fantasy graphic novels.

Equal Rites (Discworld, #3; Witches, #1) by Terry Pratchett

In Discworld, there are unwritten rules that govern magic. One of these is- guys are wizards and girls are witches. Wizards have staffs. Witches have pointy hats and work with nature.

When the eighth son of an eighth son has a daughter who is mistaken for a boy at her birth, a wizard leaving his legacy to someone who is destined to be incredibly powerful becomes somewhat of a problem. Untrained wizards are dangerous. But who is going to take responsibility for Esk, a girl who wants to be a wizard?

“They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it is not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance.” pg 37, ebook

Granny Weatherwax, that’s who, the local witch and an all-around no-nonsense kind of person.

What follows is a rollicking adventure through Discworld but also an examination of assumptions from our ordinary world.

“Esk, of course, had not been trained, and it is well known that a vital ingredient of success is not knowing that what you’re attempting can’t be done.” pg 61, ebook.

It is also a delightful skewering of gender roles and what society expects from each.

“Granny had counted the temples with a thoughtful look in her eyes; gods were always demanding that their followers acted other than according to their true natures, and the human fallout this caused made plenty of work for witches.” pg 76, ebook

Highly recommended for fantasy readers who enjoy heaping helpings of humor with their stories.

This was my second read-through for Equal Rites. I first enjoyed this book several years ago. And here is my review from the first go-round:
I was afraid that I wouldn’t like this, the third book in the Discworld series, as much as the previous books since it wasn’t starring Rincewind and Twoflower, but I shouldn’t have worried. Granny Weatherwax and Esk were excellent heroines and just as fun to read about as the boys.

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Pratchett’s Discworld is such a fantastic and surprising place, so different from structured reality, that it was really interesting to explore native prejudices and expectations among the inhabitants. Girls are witches and boys are wizards until Esk is born and turns those expectations on their head. Her struggles to find her place in the magical world and Granny’s attempts to teach her are slightly reminiscent of The Once and Future King, but with a feminine twist.

This is a fun read that fans of fantasy will certainly enjoy.

Thanks for reading!

Peace Talks (The Dresden Files, #16) by Jim Butcher

Harry Dresden’s life has become infinitely more complicated since the beginning of The Dresden Files. He constantly struggles to balance his responsibilities as a member of the Winter Court, the White Council, and familial concerns.

Not to mention his role as a warden of an island that protects the world from dangerous magical creatures.

“I slung the weighted vest over my shoulder and started trudging back to the car. I had that sinking feeling that things were about to get hectic again.” pg 8

He’s developed a little bit emotionally since his carefree days of “wizard for hire,” but, in other ways, his personality has remained exactly the same.

“…you can’t ignore things that are real just because they’re uncomfortable.” pg 4

The Dresden Files is a fun escape into a fantasy world of magic (one could call it ‘book candy’) but part of the problem with the series is that it has built to a major crescendo. What can one person really do against powers of the universe that are so strong that they can be described as “gods”?

“I think someone you don’t expect is going to stab you in the back, Hoss.” pg 30

Another issue is how often the “winter mantle” takes over Harry’s mind so that he’s constantly thinking about strutting his stuff in front of the opposite sex. I get that it’s a reoccurring problem for him, but it gets repetitive after the first half dozen incidents.

It doesn’t help that he hangs out with a literal queen of the succubus, but I digress. 🙂

Some of my Goodreads friends pointed out that the start of this book is somewhat ridiculous- hanging on the idea that the fairies always repay their debts though readers aren’t given the reason why a debt was needing to be repaid. I agree the setup could have been more carefully constructed.

Photo by Myicahel Tamburini on Pexels.com

That being said, I read the entire book in two days. (Book candy strikes again!) So there’s something very enjoyable about the whole thing even with the balance of power problems, repetitive sexual fantasies, and suspension of belief required to get in to it.

Highly recommended for readers who have enjoyed the previous books in the series or folks who like urban fantasy reads without too much complexity.

Thanks for reading!

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Category: Fiction

The Honor of Violet Fate (I Shall Seal the Heavens, #3) by Er Gen

Witches Abroad (Discworld, #12; Witches #3) by Terry Pratchett

Battle Ground (The Dresden Files, #17) by Jim Butcher

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

Wyrd Sisters (Discworld, #6; Witches #2) by Terry Pratchett

Cutting Into the Southern Domain (I Shall Seal the Heavens, #2) by Er Gen

Die, Vol. 1: Fantasy Heartbreaker by Kieron Gillen, Stephanie Hans

Equal Rites (Discworld, #3; Witches, #1) by Terry Pratchett

Peace Talks (The Dresden Files, #16) by Jim Butcher

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