Another 3 months, another set of books. I do find myself reading less (or maybe just slower) these days, especially after Monster Hunter World was released (I'm still trying to catch-up) and just general laziness. I fell off on the writing, but I'll try to get that started back up too.
Echo Burning by Lee Child
In another Jack Reacher novel, Reacher finds himself hitchhiking through Texas where he is picked up by a woman with an interesting proposition: to kill her husband. She gives him a story that her husband was abusing her, right up until a year ago when he was sent to jail. Now that he's about to get out early, she's afraid that the beatings will start up again so she needs Reacher to kill her husband to protect her and her child. Reacher refuses and instead presents her with less drastic options, which she in turn refuses. But when her husband is killed the same night as he's released and the woman arrested for the murder, Reacher sets out to prove her innocence.
Another great Jack Reacher novel, Child keeps a good pace throughout the story, mixing together moments of action and moments of investigation (Reacher was supposed to be an investigator with the Military Police, after all). Giving the perspective of the bad guys spliced into the rest of the story was great to build the tension until they and Reacher come to a climactic gun fight, and honestly, one of the most thought-out gunfights ever put to the page. As much as I would like to see this book adapted into a movie (which, honestly, is one of the reasons I've been reading all of these books), which it probably could, I think it would lose something in terms of showing off Reacher's investigative prowess, especially in that particular scene. I'm not sure what else to write about as a review, as this is the 5th Jack Reacher book I've read (and I just finished another one), and the best part is that they are all basically the same: Reacher encounters a problem, Reacher solves a problem. Basically, if you want a mystery novel (I mean, there's a crime to solve so I guess it counts as a mystery novel) about Jack Reacher solving crimes and kicking ass, you'll like this book.
Gilded Cage by Vic James
Set in England, the Equals, armed with magical abilities known as the Skill, rule over the normal population as society's elites. To further reinforce their rule, they force the rest of the population to serve 10 years of slave labor, known as Slave Days. The story follows the Hadley family as they serve their Slave Days together at the Kyneston family estate, elite amongst elites. A clever idea set up by their eldest daughter, Abigail, to keep the family together as an individual can't serve their years until 18 years old, unless they are part of a family unit. Except the estate doesn't have need for Luke, their middle child, who is thus sent away instead to a slave town to serve out his 10 years doing manual labor, though he is still a minor. The story follows Abigail as she works at the estate amongst the Equals while trying to find a way to get her brother back to their family; as well as Luke as he struggles to survive, and keep from being broken, in the slave town.
One of the more terrifying books involving Magical Realism I've ever read. No, it isn't a horror novel, but it is scary to see magic used to rule so completely over people. Typically, in Magical Realism, the main character either has access or will have access to magic to level the power gap between him/her and the evil-doers and thus fight back at the moment the situation looks hopeless. Instead, the reader knows that Abigail and Luke will never have access to that power, that their enemies will always be stronger. I did like the little bits provided to show the reader how the world has changed with the rise of the Equals throughout the globe: in England, the Equals took over the country through regicide; in France, the French Revolution became a battle of the commoners against the Equals in which the commoners took back power in their country; and in Japan, the Imperial Family demonstrates it's power and right to rule by blooming all of the country's cherry blossoms at once.
As the first part to a trilogy, I will spoil that it does end on a cliffhanger, one that almost got me to go out and buy the next one in hardcover (at least I didn't see it in paperback yet), especially now that the third part is coming later this month. And buying something in hardcover, to me, is a big deal ... because I'm cheap, and there are literally only 2 books I've ever bought in hardcover, ever.
Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb
First off, before I get to the plot, I do want to say this book was so, so much better than the first book. FitzChivalry, royal bastard and apprentice assassin, having recovered from his poisoning and own attempted assassination, returns to the kingdom to find things changed: King Shrewd a shadow of his former self; King-in-Waiting Verity beginning to show signs of his former self; Prince Regal schemes almost openly for the crown; Molly, the girl he though he had lost, returns a different woman; Master Assassin Chade begins to show his age. Fitz now takes a more active role in his kingdom, still assisting his king and the king-in-waiting in a role others may find dishonorable, but still very necessary. The kingdom is finally able to mount a defense against the Red Ship Raiders, but Fitz must still deal with the Forged, broken victims of the Raiders. He must use both Skill (an ability to link the minds of individuals) and Wit (a forbidden art to link the minds of a human and an animal) to fight against his enemies. And he must discover the truth behind the plot for the crown and rule of the kingdom.
As much as I liked this book more than the first, it still took me a month or so to finish (still not sure why it always takes me so long to finish high-fantasy stories). Basically, now that all of the set up was done, we are finally into the story. Fitz now takes an active role against the story's many antagonists rather than just sitting on the sidelines and learning about them. This new role finally makes him an actor in the story and not just an observer, a role that was missing in the previous book. Fitz battles physically against the Raiders, the Forged (victims of the the Raiders magic that have lost their humanity), and even his own people. He must outwit his opponents in the Kingdom's nobility, his every action and even inaction scrutinized by the rest of the court which could possibly undermine his position. Once again, the book ends in cliffhanger, but at least I'm now looking forward to reading the next one rather than just doing it out of obligation.
After a long, high-fantasy novel, I decided on some easy reading with some old comic books :
Nemesis by Mark Millar
What if Bruce Wayne decided to be a super-villain instead? That's probably the best way to describe this comic book about a bored billionaire that decides to go after a local police chief out of revenge for his parents. He's just as rich and brilliant as Batman, creating riddles to his next crime only for the police to figure them out after he's already carried out his mission. Unlike Batman though, he's lethal, killing anyone who gets in his way. Can the police chief catch him before he's completed his plan? Can anyone stop him?
Wanted by Mark Millar
What if all the superheroes were dead, and the super-villains controlled the world? Yeah, a lot different from the movie. Like the movie though, Wesley Gibson inherits his father's position in The Fraternity after his father's assassination: his wealth, weapons, and status within the group. Before he gets it all though, he must complete a training exercise to unlock his potential and change him from just another worthless human being into the greatest killer on the planet. Because, that, after all, is Wesley's superpower: the power to kill people.
So, just to get this out of the way, I've read this one many, many times before. I even delivered the final, 4th-wall-breaking monologue of the comic in English class one year (I mostly remember getting a lot of odd looks from the older people in the class). I think this was one of the first comic books I ever bought with my own money and it definitely changed my perspective of what the genre could be, not just stories about superheroes saving the day, but a re-imagining of a world with superpowers, and the consequences of it. Definitely an inspiration to any of the superpower stories I've ever written.
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