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kraitWorking my way slowly down the to-be-read pile! (Ha ha ha. At the rate I'm going it'll take me 97 years; I need to put some effort in.)
Last month I finished To the Haunted Mountains by Ru Emerson. It's... a good book, I guess? I picked it up because I like the essential conceit: the story is partly narrated by a sapient magical cat. :D The cat's voice was definitely the best part of it; the rest was all right, and entertaining while I was reading but easily ignored when I set the book down. It seemed like a fairly standard fantasy plot: there's a kingdom overrun by a barbarian horde secretly backed by an evil magician, there's a princess with magical heritage who is trained in swordsmanship despite it being uncommon for her gender, there's an evil half-brother who wants to usurp her throne, there's a trek across dangerous territory and a confrontation at the end that doesn't eliminate the main threat.
Parts that stood out were the magical cats; some of the small worldbuilding details, like the kingdom's historical relationship with an ethnic/religious minority, and the hints of other magical beings; the quest being not a Grand Epic Deed but a refugee party that includes an elderly servant, a noble girl with no experience of hardship, and a few guards plus the princess, all with little more than weapons and the clothes they were wearing. Their goal is to survive the 'Haunted Mountains' and reach a cave where other people from the capitol have taken refuge.
Ylia herself nicely, if a little typically, avoids being overpowered; her mother is a skilled mage, but her own magical skills are much more rudimentary and she's far more confident in her sword. Over the course of their trek she develops her magical talents (perhaps less than she thinks - her feline friend warns her several times that she's growing too confident/too reliant on it, which sounds like it's setting up a plot point for the next book). She also learns to work with the disparate group she's in charge of, and forges relationships with the group that I enjoyed seeing develop: they're a very miscellaneous bunch, presenting good challenges for Ylia and pushing her into a broader viewpoint.
Less enjoyable was the romance, which felt rushed, and the ending, which felt cliched: of course she defeated her half-brother but "honourably" refused to kill him, because I'll bet anything you care to name that he goes off somewhere and levels up and comes back to be a plot point again. Ylia, he told you outright to kill him, why did you not do it?!
Right now I have no plans to seek out the next book, but if I run across it somewhere in a used bookshop (which is where I got the first one) I might get it.
Last month I finished To the Haunted Mountains by Ru Emerson. It's... a good book, I guess? I picked it up because I like the essential conceit: the story is partly narrated by a sapient magical cat. :D The cat's voice was definitely the best part of it; the rest was all right, and entertaining while I was reading but easily ignored when I set the book down. It seemed like a fairly standard fantasy plot: there's a kingdom overrun by a barbarian horde secretly backed by an evil magician, there's a princess with magical heritage who is trained in swordsmanship despite it being uncommon for her gender, there's an evil half-brother who wants to usurp her throne, there's a trek across dangerous territory and a confrontation at the end that doesn't eliminate the main threat.
Parts that stood out were the magical cats; some of the small worldbuilding details, like the kingdom's historical relationship with an ethnic/religious minority, and the hints of other magical beings; the quest being not a Grand Epic Deed but a refugee party that includes an elderly servant, a noble girl with no experience of hardship, and a few guards plus the princess, all with little more than weapons and the clothes they were wearing. Their goal is to survive the 'Haunted Mountains' and reach a cave where other people from the capitol have taken refuge.
Ylia herself nicely, if a little typically, avoids being overpowered; her mother is a skilled mage, but her own magical skills are much more rudimentary and she's far more confident in her sword. Over the course of their trek she develops her magical talents (perhaps less than she thinks - her feline friend warns her several times that she's growing too confident/too reliant on it, which sounds like it's setting up a plot point for the next book). She also learns to work with the disparate group she's in charge of, and forges relationships with the group that I enjoyed seeing develop: they're a very miscellaneous bunch, presenting good challenges for Ylia and pushing her into a broader viewpoint.
Less enjoyable was the romance, which felt rushed, and the ending, which felt cliched: of course she defeated her half-brother but "honourably" refused to kill him, because I'll bet anything you care to name that he goes off somewhere and levels up and comes back to be a plot point again. Ylia, he told you outright to kill him, why did you not do it?!
Right now I have no plans to seek out the next book, but if I run across it somewhere in a used bookshop (which is where I got the first one) I might get it.