Series: Kingmaker, Kingbreaker

Published Information

Author:	Karen Miller
Genre:	Fantasy
Titles:	Innocent Mage (July 2005, 672pp) Awakened Mage (October 2007, 736pp)

Ratings

Violence:	PG-13 (Fantasy violence)
Sexual Content:	PG
Language:	PG-13 (Fisherman swearing frequently)
Reading Age:	High school
Buy Recommend:	Paperback (Great book, but will only read once or twice)
Overall Rating:	5 out of 10 (More swearing than needed, otherwise, very enjoyable)

Plot Summary

The series sits in a world of two races that were forced upon one another centuries ago: the Olkens and the Doranen. The Doranen were powerful mages who fought wars of magic to gain power, etc. However, one of their race, Morg, became too powerful and began slaughtering all he found that resisted. As the mages ran from Morg, they found the Olken living in a corner of the world. One of the Doranen was able to wield a powerful magic that created a barrier separating Morg from the surviving Doranen and Olken. From that point forward, weather magic must occur to keep the barrier going. The magic causes incredible pain and bloody suffering to the holder, but it is also exquisitely beautiful working the power. The weather worker is always the king.

Thus, with the barrier in place, the two races were preserved, but they were also not able to leave the country they had sealed off. Also, to protect future generations, the mages hide their most powerful magics and created rules so that no one would ever attempt the devastating magics that had almost destroyed them.

Now, the two races live in a kind of harmony. The Doranen, with their magic skills, rule the land. The Olken are a lower class that serve the Doranen. It is in these circumstances that we are introduced to our main characters: Asher, who is an Olken fisherman that has traveled to the capital city in search for wealth that will enable him to take care of his father, Prince Gar who is the son of the king but born without magic, and Dathne, an Olken bookstore owner who is part of a secret circle of people who know the true history of the Olken people, and await an Olken mage that will eventually save the kingdom from unspeakable horrors. Dathne is able to help Asher and Gar meet and Asher quickly rises in the social rankings until he is Asher's right hand man.

In the first book, Morg is allowed into the kingdom because of a curious mage that uses a spell he didn't fully understand. However, Morg is not at his fullest powers. A part of him was not able to come through the small window in the barrier. So he must manipulate and force others to do the work of destroying the barrier in order to be whole again with all his powers. At the end of the book, Morg creates an accident that destroys the king, queen, and sister, leaving Prince Gar to be the king. Morg also gives Gar a semblance of magic. Enough that he can work the magic of the barrier, and then destroy it through Morg's manipulations.

The second book comes in the after math of the royal accident. Gar and Asher figure out that something isn't quite right, but can't figure out who is causing the problems. Soon after the accident, Gar looses his magic again can't do the weather magic anymore. As Asher and Gar try to figure out how to keep the magic going, they realize that somehow Asher also has magic and is able to do the weather working. However, one of the rules created when the barrier was established was that Olken would not practice magic on pain of death. So how can Asher continue to work the magic to keep the barrier running, but not get caught and be executed? Moreover, Dathne knows that Asher is the prophesied innocent mage that will save the country. How can she reveal her secret without exposing that she has been lying to him since the day they met?

Comments

So a couple of quick comments with the series. First, I truly enjoyed these two books. It was original (as far as the background, history, story line, etc) with a great story line, not to mention wonderful characters, but it did have an over abundance of swearing. In fact in the books following these, it gets worse to the point that I might not finish the second set of books in this series. Most of the swearing comes from Asher and other Olken (again, lower class, fisherman, etc) but some of the exclaimations that everyone says are fairly vulgar also. I went back and reread and had a hard time getting through it because of the swearing. Never the big words, but enough of others to make it hard to ignore.

Mockingjay

Published Information

Author:	Suzanne Collins
Series:	Hunger Games #3
Published:	August 2010
Genre:	Science Fiction
Pages:	400

Ratings

Violence:	PG-13 (Graphic war violence)
Sexual Content:	PG
Language:	PG
Reading Age:	High school
Buy Recommend:	Paperback (This is not one you would want to read several times, though it was very good)
Overall Rating:	7 out of 10 (Well written, true to characters and plot, but difficult to read)

Plot Summary

At the end of the last book, Katniss enabled an escape attempt for the tributes. Peeta and other tributes were captured, while Katniss and Fennrick were able to escape, with the help of Gale and Haymitch, and were taken to District 13. However even though Katniss and Fennrick escaped, they have experienced severe psychological trauma. The first section of the book deals with Katniss dealing with her inner nightmares and getting back into a state where she can help the war that is now raging with all the districts and the capital. She truly becomes the Mockingjay that the rebels need.

The next section of the book deals with the propaganda warfare going on between the capital and districts. But as Katniss adds her face to the cause, the Capital adds Peeta. They have some hold on him and begins stating some fairly bad messages for the rebel cause. However, after one particular interview with Peeta, he informs District 13 that an attack is on the way. He gets beaten, but District 13 is able to protect themselves from the attack just in time. It is decided that a small group should try and infiltrate the capital and free Peeta and the other captives. They are successful, but when Katniss runs to Peeta, he tries to kill her. Obviously, he isn't successful. It becomes evident that Peeta has been brainwashed with a technique called "hijacking." They use the venom of the bees that induce fear and horror. Basically, they make him remember good memories, and then inject him with the venom, so that all the good memories become warped and terrible. They realize the Capital allowed the rebels to leave with Peeta.

The last section of the book deals with the Katniss and a small group of other victors and soldiers invading the capital. The rebels send them in with the intention of using footage to continue doing propaganda, but Katniss has her own agenda, to kill President Snow. She begins to make plans, but then the leader of the rebels sends a mostly rehabilitated Peeta to join the group. It becomes evident that the rebel leaders no longer see Katniss as a help alive and have set this up to have Katniss killed. However, the group works together to help Peeta, and he begins to recover more fully, though he is still very concerned he will hurt or kill Katniss, or at least the others in the group.

In the end, Katniss realizes that even killing President Snow might not be enough. She still has people that see her more of a problem rather than a help, and she stops being able to trust anyone. As the final scenes of the war come to a head, Katniss has no idea what to do, or who to do it to.

Comments

This was a very difficult book to read. Not that it was not well written, not that it didn't hold true to the characters, or anything of that sort. The book is hard to read because it deals with the realities of war (at least in a futuristic setting) and that those that survive still have demons and wreckages to sort through. Suzanne Collins doesn't pull her punches and is fairly graphic in some of the fighting. As well, none of the characters are sacred, and none of them come out of this untainted.

As with the other books, there are political statements throughout the book. You would have to be purposely ignoring them to miss them. There was one point in the book where the rebels are beginning to take control and a discussion is had over government. They talk about how they want to come up with a government with representatives for the people and a follow-up comment is "Isn't that the government our ancestors had before they messed up?" I didn't quote it exactly, but the idea is correct. The point being that if we, in our world and with our government for the people, aren't careful, it makes no difference how good our government is. We can still blow ourselves up.

The book ends well, in that it ends as it should. War is dirty, psychologically and physically, and changes people. That being said, it is not a happy ending for just about anyone.

Elantris

Published Information

Author:	Brandon Sanderson
Published:	May 2005
Genre:	Fantasy
Pages:	656 (paperback), 499 (hardcover)

Ratings

Violence:	PG-13 (Fantasy violence, two fairly detailed)
Sexual Content:	PG
Language:	PG
Reading Age:	High School
Buy Recommend:	Hardcover (Many of family will read multiple times)
Overall Rating:	8 out of 10 (BRIEF EXPLAINATION)

Plot Summary

The book is set in the land of Arelon which up until 10 years ago, was ruled by the city of Elantris. The inhabitants of Elantris held incredible magic that made seem god-like. Even their appearances were more beautiful and glorious that other men. Every so often, someone local would go to sleep and wake up as one of the "gods" and move to Elantris. But 10 years ago, something changed and the "gods" that lived in that city have fallen. They no longer control magic that allowed them to be so powerful and beautiful. Elantris is now the city of damned souls. And now, when people change, their skin blotches, and their hair falls out. Once this happens to someone, they are considered dead by all, and are sent to live in Elantris.

Now, Prince Roaden is engaged to marry Princess Sarene. They have written and communicated through several months and recognize the alliance will be very beneficial to both countries. Additionally, they both recognize something in each other that might allow their marriage to be one of more than convenience. But as she travels to meet Roaden and to be married, he dies. Their marriage contract was written so that if either died before they could actually perform the ceremony, it would be as if they had already wed. So Princess Sarene finds herself widowed without ever having met her husband. As she arrives, she finds that the city is having difficulties, politically and otherwise, and decides that since she is now a princess of this country, she will make it her home and help fix the problems. However, unknown to her, Prince Roaden didn't die. He was changed, and now lives in Elantris.

As Prince Roaden enters Elantris, he finds that things are not what they seem. They people there don't need to eat, but their bodies also don't heal. So any pain felt doesn't go away. So hunger becomes a constant state and, when added to the small pains that occur from little (and not so little) accidents, the pain drives the people of Elantris into a vegetative state where they give into the pain, lie down, and slowly become buried in the muck of the streets. Roaden, seeing and recognizing what is happening to this people, his people, he decides to see what he can do to help them.

At the same time, a leader of the Shu-Dereth faith, named Hrathen, arrives in the land with the mandate to convert or destroy the land within three months. This land, as well as Princess Sarene's home land are the last two countries still to be converted to the Shu-Dereth faith. Unfortunately, conversion is often forced through Shu-Dereth lead insurrection, or through war. Will the same happen in these two lands?

Comments

This is one of my favorite books of all time. There is so much to read into the narrative. Leadership, religious differences, and prejudices are all discussed in the book, and done in such a way that the storyline is not interrupted.

One of the main themes of the book deals with when good (or in the book "god-like") people "fall from grace." In our lives, we often see those who seem to be doing everything right. They work hard, they are good to their friends, live their religion, and yet bad things still happen to them. In this book, the fall from grace has nothing to do with how the Elantrians lived or how good they were. Rather, there was some aspect of their environment that was out of their power. How do we react when that happens in our lives? Do we give up after we have hurt too much? Or do we endure no matter what the difficulties and survive?

The Book Thief

Published Information

Author:	Markus Zusak
Published:	March 2006
Genre:	Historical Fiction
Pages:	560

Ratings

Violence:	PG-13 (Some scenes of war)
Sexual Content:	PG
Language:	PG-13 (Lots of German swear words)
Reading Age:	High School
Buy Recommend:	Hardbound (One of the best books I have read in a while)
Overall Rating:	10 out of 10 (Well written, feel good ending after terrible tragedy)

Plot Summary

The book is about a girl, Liesel, who lives in Nazi Germany during the time of World War II. She is left by her mother to live with an older couple who raise and take care of her. Her new "father", Hans, plays the accordion and is a painter for the town in which they live. Her "mother", Rosa, swears, harasses people (mostly her husband), does laundry for many of the folks in town and takes care of the house. She has a friend (who is a boy) named Rudy. However, the book is told from the point of view of the Grim Reaper. He talks about how he meets Liesel several times over the course of the war, and how this girl changes him.

As Liesel gets to know her new "parents", they take in a Jewish man. Obviously, this is very dangerous in Nazi Germany, but Hans had made a promise to help this man years earlier. But the best they can do is keep him in the basement. Liesel becomes good friends with this man and spends much of her time talking to him and helping him live the world through her eyes. At one point, he becomes very sick and she brings him gifts of the outside world to try and help him know that she has been thinking about them.

As the war begins to wind down, things become very dangerous for the family, especially with them hiding a Jewish man. We begin to see how fear can truly beat down on the people in the town, especially Hans family. More than anything, through some of the sub-plots in the book, we see the true power of words, both spoken and written and how they can change the course of the world.

Comments

This is one of the best books I have ever read. Recently, I have wondered if I have ever read a book that I would consider a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10. It wouldn't necessarily be a book that was action packed, or a book that was incredibly funny. Rather, it would be a book that would lift me up and make me a better person for having read it. It would make me thing about life and what it is to be human. I would be one that I would think about for days after having read it. And even though it might not be an exciting book, it would be one I would have a difficult time putting down. This is one of those books. It does have its moments of excitement. It is very funny. But it also brought me to tears, and made me feel alive. I feel like a better person for having read this book.