Ink of Blood

(This review may contain spoilers).

I’d give this book 3.5 stars out of 5. I remember that, when I initially bought it, the cover was one that really piqued my attention. And while I did find it interesting to be able to see and learn more about the world of ElfQuest, I actually found it wasn’t quite as informative as I was hoping.

My favourite part of this book was definitely the artwork. Even though it was in black and white, it was really obvious how much work Wendy Pini had put into the characters and scenery of ElfQuest. And another thing I really liked was the ability to see the contrast between another artist’s version of Cutter and how obviously different his creator drew him.

While the interviews did work to offer a bit more of an insight into the inner workings of Wendy and Richard Pini, I did find them to be something of a slog and quite repetitive in parts, though that could be said for quite a lot of the book. I lost count of how many times I read about the first failed attempt at getting ElfQuest made into a movie.

I was a bit disappointed in the article about the women of ElfQuest, as about half of it barely even touched on the subject. I wasn’t really left with any more information by the time I reached its end.

While I did find the article about the research to be quite interesting, I also found that to be a bit of a slog, as it was really nothing more than a list of books I ended up finding difficult to remember.

I really liked the article about the art of ElfQuest and being able to see some of the effects for myself, such as the white on black for an inverted effect; and the reflection of Cutter and Leetah in Rayek’s eyes.

It was nice to see some of the more realistic aspects of Wendy’s art, such as the drawings from the Beauty and the Beast graphic novel, which triggered an interest in seeking that out. I also found it really interesting to see the issues that there were in trying to get ElfQuest made into an animated series and I would hope the entertainment industry has come far enough by now that those issues no longer exist.

I don’t think I’d read this book again, as I did find it quite boring in parts. But it definitely triggered an interest in seeking out the ElfQuest graphic novels and more of the comics than those I’ve read already.

(This review may contain spoilers).

The Raven books are among those that have a huge amount of familiarity to me – to the point that, when I’m reading one, it’s like I’m seeing friends again. But out of all of the books in the series, this one is probably the hardest for me to read.

This book has a lot of what I love about the Raven and about these books in particular. While characters don’t die for the sake of it, one of the main things that’s really powerful about this series (in my opinion) is that the ‘good guys’ are not always guaranteed to win. And even when they do, it doesn’t mean that everything’s all sunshine and roses.

Ilkar and Hirad are my favourite characters and this book is really good at showing the relationship not only between them, but also between the rest of the members of the Raven. There’s a reason the group have such a strong reputation and I loved seeing the bonds of loyalty and friendship between them. And if I could ever hear Hirad’s, “Raven! Raven with me!” out loud in person, it would give me goosebumps.

I really liked being able to see more depth to Ilkar in particular. As he’s an elf and fairly long-lived, it wasn’t very clear what his life had been like before joining the Raven, apart from small pieces of information gleaned. I also really liked the opportunity to see more of the elven kind as a whole and also to see the different societies within them. It was nice to get the opportunity to see through some of the other characters’ eyes, as it allowed for the so-called villains to be given more depth, rather than just responsible for potential genocide.

I really liked the fact that magic wasn’t really used as a crutch, or a solve-all. And I couldn’t help but feel for Erienne, Denser and Thraun…each one wrestling with their own demons and having to learn (or re-learn) to rely on their closest friends and allies. The Raven is a lot more than just a band of mercenaries and I felt that came across really well in this book.

This book was difficult to read, but the characters are ones I cared about and the storyline is fraught with so much tension, it was nigh-on impossible to put down. I would absolutely love it if there were more than just the seven books I currently have in the Raven series.

(This review may contain spoilers).

I bought this book a while back and only just found myself with a good reason to read it, as part of a reading challenge.

I actually enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would, considering there were a lot of fairly sadistic tendencies in the book, especially between Baltsaros and Tom. I wasn’t really sure of what to make of Tom for a lot of the book, but I couldn’t help but feel a lot of empathy for him throughout the whole book.

I would have liked to see a bit more of Jon’s skills, considering that it seemed to have made him famous enough for a pirate captain to find him a valuable addition. I’m not a big fan of relationships that start off with a character being kidnapped and imprisoned by their potential love interest, but I felt that did work for this book.

It was really good to see the depth to the three main characters in this book, though it really wasn’t clear how much was true about what was revealed about Tom. There was a savagery about him that the other characters referenced but never really came out.

I liked the fact that, especially between Jon and Baltsaros, they switched off between dominant and submissive. It was really good to see how differently they each viewed their relationship; and even though he was very much an antihero, it was good to see that Baltsaros didn’t really change his personality and become a perfect partner after he and Jon got together.

I was left with a lot of questions about Baltsaros and even by the end of the book, I still kind of saw him as more of a villain than a good guy. Considering the clear amount of secrets he was still hiding from Jon, I can’t really see them having a healthy relationship until/unless Baltsaros opens himself up more to Jon.

I liked the elements of action in this book as well, but I would have liked to be able to meet a few more members of the crew, as there were only a handful who I could really picture in my mind.

I enjoyed seeing the relationship forming between the three characters and I found this book drew me in really well. I would definitely read the next books in this trilogy at some point in the future.

(This review may contain spoilers).

I remember purchasing this book originally a number of years ago, but I didn’t get round to reading it straight away.

I felt like I was missing a big chunk of the story, especially in regards to Va’s and Elenya’s relationship. While I did find Elenya a really interesting character, Va seemed to more react to what happened to him for a lot of the book. I didn’t really get a good handle on what motivated and drove him; and even by the end of the book, I couldn’t really decide if I liked him or not.

I did like Benzamir’s character, but there wasn’t nearly enough information about his real motivations. And while he hinted at there being danger for the people travelling with him if they got involved, I didn’t get any real sense of danger or urgency while I was reading this book. Even when characters were being attacked, there didn’t seem to be any real danger. Benzamir’s command of technology meant they were easily able to escape and I was disappointed by how slow this book moved.

It really wasn’t clear what kind of setting this book had. I assumed at first it was in a more fantasy world, but as the book moved on, it became more clear that that wasn’t the case. I found both Said and Wahir to be interesting characters. Alessandra didn’t really have enough detail shown about her for me to feel so concerned about her as a character.

It was clear that the world in this book was a large and far-reaching one and I thought it was good to see some semblance of culture and language problems. However, those did seem to go away when it came to Solomon. And as for Solomon, I was convinced he and Benzamir were from the same people; and it added to my confusion as the storylines began to converge.

When the action started up, it made the book more interesting and engaging. However, that was towards the end of the book and it was a long time before I got any kind of answers. I would have liked to see more depth and background to the characters and more in the way of action earlier in the book.

(This review may contain spoilers).

I wavered a bit at how many stars to give this book. In the end, I think 3.5 stars is about accurate, as I did enjoy the book and found it really easy to read, but I didn’t like it quite as much as the first book.

One of the strongest parts of this book, I felt, was the intrigue and tension felt in the English Court. If I’m honest, I was actually a little bit disappointed not to see more of Queen Mary in this book. I couldn’t help but feel a small amount of sympathy for her, even though she was clearly a tyrant. Unlike Elizabeth, there didn’t seem to be anyone who really cared about Mary or who was on her side.

There was also a lot of tension in this book that kept me reading throughout, but I would have liked more focus on the personal growth of the characters and less on the romance and inevitable love triangle Meg ended up experiencing. Her constant switching and questioning of her feelings for Alejandro made my head spin, as there were times she seemed fully accepting of her love for him…and others when her feelings seemed so much more negative.

I did feel there was some glossing over of some of the elements that could have been more interesting, such as Meg’s power not being as strong.

I didn’t really like Elizabeth so much in this book. While I could understand she was very much at the mercy of her sister, I felt she abused her power over her servants. Of course, it did fit with the historical figure of Queen Elizabeth…but I really ended up with a strong dislike for how she treated Meg by the end of the book.

While I did find Richard to be an interesting character, he would have had a lot more depth to him if I could have seen him interacting with some of the other characters than Meg and John Dee. His abrupt about-change in regards to Meg really didn’t feel realistic…especially given his entirely disrespectful actions in grabbing her shortly after their first meeting because he was ‘just looking’.

I would like to read the third book in this trilogy, as I did find this book a tense read, apart from the forced romances/love interests.

(This review may contain spoilers).

It’s been a long time since a book held me captive enough to find it nearly impossible to keep reading and I didn’t realise how much I’d missed that until now.

I found it really easy to fall into the world portrayed in this book. While there were villains in the piece, I liked the fact that most of them had enough depth that they came across as more human than not. And right from the start, I was questioning the rumours that had risen about Hallandren. It was nice to see so many role reversals in this book…and two main female characters who were so different from each other and yet still very strong each in her own right.

I did find the usage of the Awakening a bit confusing and even by the end of the book, I still wasn’t quite sure how it worked. Of course, some of the information was gleaned from what other characters said; and that wasn’t always accurate, whether due to ignorance or other, more sinister reasons.

The parts of the book I found the most interesting were when Siri was trying to navigate her way through the court, learning about politics and how to use the power she now wielded. I did find myself liking the God King, though I hadn’t expected to when he was first talked about.

It’s very hard to pick out a favourite character in this book, as most of them either went through some kind of growth that had me rooting for them by the end…or they were so engaging throughout, I found myself drawn to them straight from the start. Despite how he saw himself (and the religion surrounding him), Lightsong was actually a good example of both. I found myself laughing outright at some of the interactions he had with Blushweaver.

While I understand it wasn’t necessarily possible in this book, I would have liked to see a bit more from Nightblood. The sword itself became a really intriguing character throughout the book and I enjoyed its little asides to Vasher, along with the fact that it was really quite innocent and childlike when not in use.

I really enjoyed this book and I found the characters easy to empathise with and the world a really engaging one. I would really like to see more of the world and the characters in future books.

(This review may contain spoilers).

I bought this book quite a while back, after having watched and thoroughly enjoyed the movies, but it’s taken me a while to get round to reading it.

I did really enjoy this book. Even though I had a broader sense of knowledge about what was going on, due to having seen the movies, it was easy to engage with the Gladers and how the memory loss affected them in their society. I really liked seeing how they’d formed a sufficient community and even though Thomas was clearly the main character, there was enough detail about the other characters that I felt like I’d got to know them too.

I found it really easy to empathise with Thomas in this book and it was really good to see how he attempted to adapt to life in the Glade. Chuck alternated between annoying and endearing; just like a little brother.

I liked being able to see the depth to the book characters that the film hadn’t been able to show. However, by the end of the book, I kind of went off Alby; and I disliked Gally right from the start.

Another character I wasn’t especially sold on was Teresa. I would have liked more background and depth to her rather than just the stereotypical, ‘Thomas feels drawn to her for some reason’. I did really like both Newt and Minho and I especially liked seeing how they both interacted with Thomas.

It was a little more difficult to get a handle on the Maze; which made sense, as it was supposed to be constantly shifting and changing. As this was expanded upon in the book, I was disappointed to realise that the film makers had allowed much of the depth to the maze to fall by the wayside.

One of the strongest descriptions in this book was the Grievers. The maze was the unknown danger, while the Grievers were a physical manifestation, even though there was still a lot of mystery surrounding them.

All in all, I found this book an engaging read with a main character I could really care about. Despite having watched the next two movies, I plan to read the next books in this series, so I can see more of the world and the characters created by the author.