2021 Book Retrospective Part II
This post is pretty self-explanatory: it’s the direct continuation from last week, hence the ‘Part II’ aspect of the title. I’ll be continuing to take a very shallow dive into the books I’ve read so far this year, venturing dangerously close to review territory, but mostly spending too much time explaining why I decided to read each particular book. I’ve discovered with these posts I spend far too long in the introductory phase, so I’m cutting myself off this week and going straight into the main article… now!
Spellbreaker by Charlie N. Holmberg.
I believe this was a free book that I picked up from Kindle First Reads. Doing my usual skim of the blurbs for the various books on offer, I settled on Spellbreaker because it was a fantasy Victorian London setting, i.e. similar to Shadow of the Golden Dawn. Given that I like that type of setting enough to write a book set in it, I figured, of all the options, this was the one. Like most Kindle First Reads however, when I redeemed it, I had no intention of reading the book any time soon. I figured it would sit there on my ever-expanding digital bookshelf (I have a serious case of eBook tsundoku! Something I fortunately don’t suffer with for paperbacks.) for some mythical future day when I might eventually get around to reading it.
However, the foil in that plan was my partner. Regularly taking advantage of my own Kindle First Reads perk, she leapt on the opportunity to delve deep into the fictional life of Elsie Camden, an unlicensed spellbreaker in a world of regulated wizardry. Barely a few chapters in, my partner began banging the “you have to read this!” drum fairly loudly. My predictable response was a low grumble where I explained that I had too many other things I wanted to read and that I might eventually get around to it once I’d ticked a few other books off my list. In truth, I did read a couple other books before getting around to this one, but I made a start on it earlier than I’d figured I would. I think part of the reason being the short length made it appealing as a quick read. Regardless, I kept the fact that I’d started Spellbreaker quiet from my partner until I was about halfway through.
Quick summary: the book is great. Not necessarily amazing, but it is entertaining throughout and there is a charm about it all. Almost immediately, I could tell why my partner had enjoyed it so much, and that specific reason, whether she was aware of it or not, was the ‘will they, won’t they’ romance that I spotted a mile off. It wasn’t anything that made me roll my eyes, and in fact, the prudish Victorian attitudes to courtship that the protagonist has, made it somewhat entertaining as it unfolded; but it does mean that the novel certainly dips its toe into women’s fiction, which I generally steer clear of.
The strengths of this book are certainly twofold: the two main characters are pretty likeable, and you can’t help but root for them, cliché romance or not. Secondly, the magical system in this book is pretty unique, but simple enough that it can be explained in a couple of sentences, lending itself to the shorter nature of the novel. About two thirds of the way through, new mysteries are still being unveiled without any of the prior questions having been resolved; it was at this point I knew there was going to be an open ending. There is a resolution, but the door is left firmly open for the sequel (which has now been released). I was quite happy to discover that this book is the first in a duology, something quite uncommon in literature. Given that I know the story wraps up in the next instalment, I’ll definitely come around to reading it sooner than say, if it were part two in a trilogy, or more dauntingly, the first in a serial.
In conclusion: a charming short read that is definitely worth some attention. Certainly more appealing to a female audience, but most male fantasy readers will still get some enjoyment out of it. Once I’ve finished Spellmaker, the sequel, who knows, I might even take a look at some of the other books Charlie N. Holmberg has written.
Next up, Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey, the first book in The Expanse series.
It turns out, James S. A. Corey isn’t actually a person, but instead, two persons: a pair of authors that collaborated to write The Expanse—just something I thought was quite interesting. Anyway, I’m not going to lie, I read this because of the Amazon TV series… which I haven’t watched. It had been recommended to me years ago by my flatmate from university. I’d always intended to watch it, but never seem to get around to it. I watched the first episode twice (now three times) in order to make a start, but never seemed to get around to episode two. So, my thoughts were that I’d read the series, then I’d get into the TV show. I know, I’m weird; everyone else does it the other way around, but I never claimed to be normal.
Anyway, to make a long story short: I fricking loved this book. Compelling start to finish. Love the characters, love the setting, love the plot, highly recommend, will be starting the sequel soon…ish. This is certainly the best book I’ve read in a long time. It clearly came along at the exact moment I needed something just like it. Its reasonably long, about six hundred pages, which is something I find a bit of a turn off sometimes. I usually find with longer reads that I get bogged down somewhere in the middle, where there is a lull in the story, and because I don’t feel like I’m making too much progress, I lose motivation. At no point did this happen throughout the entirety of Leviathan Wakes.
Quick summary: Mars and Earth are in something of a cold war whilst those in the asteroid belt (Belters) live in squalid conditions and are sort of caught in the middle of the brewing conflict. The two POV characters are Miller, a washed-up Belter cop looking into a missing persons case, and Holden, an Earther ex-marine who has basically adopted life as a Belter onboard an ice hauler ship, the Canterbury. Things kick off pretty sharpish for Holden when the Canterbury responds to a mysterious distress call in deep space, whilst things take a little bit longer for Miller’s end of the plot to pick up, but when it all comes together it is glorious.
Since finishing Leviathan Wakes, I have started the TV show again, and I have now made it to episode two! So, you know… progress. To finalise: buy it, read it, like, subscribe, watch the TV show, whatever else you want to do. If you like good old sci-fi, you’ll probably enjoy this one.
That’s all for this week. I’m currently reading The Colour of Magic so that’ll probably feature in a month or so’s time. Next week, I might have a stab at summarising some of the non-fiction reads I’ve clocked up in 2021.