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Review: The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson

Review: The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson

May 10, 2013 by · 6 Comments

Pabkin’s One Liner: A unique magic system like none I’ve seen before!

Rithmatist

More than anything, Joel wants to be a Rithmatist. Chosen by the Master in a mysterious inception ceremony, Rithmatists have the power to infuse life into two-dimensional figures known as Chalklings. Rithmatists are humanity’s only defense against the Wild Chalklings — merciless creatures that leave mangled corpses in their wake. Having nearly overrun the territory of Nebrask, the Wild Chalklings now threaten all of the American Isles.

As the son of a lowly chalkmaker at Armedius Academy, Joel can only watch as Rithmatist students study the magical art that he would do anything to practice. Then students start disappearing — kidnapped from their rooms at night, leaving trails of blood. Assigned to help the professor who is investigating the crimes, Joel and his friend Melody find themselves on the trail of an unexpected discovery — one that will change Rithmatics — and their world — forever.

Bestselling author Brandon Sanderson brings his unique brand of epic storytelling to the teen audience with an engrossing tale of danger and suspense—the first of a series. With his trademark skills in world-building, Sanderson has created a magic system that is so inventive and detailed that that readers who appreciate games of strategy and tactics just may want to bring Rithmatics to life in our world.

Fist pumps and kudos to Brandon Sanderson because The Rithmatist was fan-freaking-tastic amazing! He continuously amazes me with his ability to create new and unique magic system that draw me in and leave me wanting to know more.  But why…why did The Rithmatist rock my socks off? Well if you read a lot of young adult fiction like I do, you might have noticed a certain formula that many of the books seem to follow. Young tortured youth meets boy or girl, instantly falls in love, or even worse the tired love triangle is thrown in.

Don’t get me wrong I still read and enjoy many of those, but after awhile those are so predictable! There was none of that in The Rithmatist. It was full of mystery and knowledge seeking. I do have to admit though in several ways it reminded me of the Harry Potter books.

Sure, the protagonist Joel has a bit of tragedy in his past in the form of a passed away father, but that was many years ago and many people lose a parent while they are young. In ways because of who his father was it helped shape his interests and put him in a position to both pursue them, and yet at the same time perhaps miss his chance at doing our being something he greatly desires. For those of you used to a romance element in your YA fiction you won’t really get that here.

What defines Joel and makes him stand out from so many other young characters I’ve read is that he is one major goal in life, to learn as much as he possibly can about Rithmatics. In this wonderfully realized alternate world to ours, there are some awesome similarities but crazy differences. All of what would have been the United States are islands! I loved the era they seemed to be in. Imagine stream punk but without the steam, just all of the gadgets, and no actual electronics. Fascinating thought right?

The magic system, Rithmatics, is based off of people imbued with the power to make their chalk drawings come to life. The lines they draw with chalk have power and this magic is used to fight off wild chalkling creatures that all originate from some tower on a central island. I’d you find this all hard to picture never fear, The Rithmatist comes chalker packed full of illustrations! This was one of my favorite parts.

At its heart, I consider this book a mystery fantasy. There were crimes that need investigating and solving. We see wonderful growth of character in Joel, and he has an excellent sporting cast of characters.

 

Tabitha the Pabkins

GIVEAWAY!! Currently Tor Books is giving away 15 copies of The Rithmatist on Goodreads – Click Here to go enter! The giveaway ends on May 22, 2013.

The Rithmatist

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• This final copy was provided by the publisher for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own. Please note that this post also contains affiliate links. To view our full Blog Policy, click here.

Filed Under: 5 stars, amazingtastic, book review, giveaway, Pabkin's Reviews, young adult Tagged With: , , , ,
Review: School Spirits by Rachel Hawkins

Review: School Spirits by Rachel Hawkins

May 6, 2013 by · 15 Comments

Pabkin’s One Liner: A super fun paranormal mystery with a side of ahhh sweet.

school

Fifteen-year-old Izzy Brannick was trained to fight monsters. For centuries, her family has hunted magical creatures. But when Izzy’s older sister vanishes without a trace while on a job, Izzy’s mom decides they need to take a break.

Izzy and her mom move to a new town, but they soon discover it’s not as normal as it appears. A series of hauntings has been plaguing the local high school, and Izzy is determined to prove her worth and investigate. But assuming the guise of an average teenager is easier said than done. For a tough girl who’s always been on her own, it’s strange to suddenly make friends and maybe even have a crush.

Can Izzy trust her new friends to help find the secret behind the hauntings before more people get hurt?

Rachel Hawkins’ delightful spin-off brings the same wit and charm as the New York Times best-selling Hex Hall series. Get ready for more magic, mystery and romance!

School Spirits was just what I needed after having read other heavier fantasy. In comparison it was a breathe of fresh air. It was light and funny with endearing somewhat innocent characters.

I know this is categorized as young adult but I would really place it in between middle grade and YA.  Mostly because even though these teens are about 16 they seem relatively naive to a lot of things where romance is concerned. I didn’t mind this at all but I’m sure some readers might have issue with it.

Izzy Brannick is descended from a family that make it their life’s mission to hunt and destroy paranormal baddies. Her sister, Finley recently disappeared on a job Izzy was supposed to be helping her with. Now all that’s left of the Brannick family is Izzy and her mom, who seems to think Izzy needs to take things easy. So she packs them off to a small town for ghost haunting which is supposed to be an extremely easy job.

Things get complicated when Izzy starts to make friends despite herself. Her friends are a misfit crew of wannabe ghost hunters, the Paranormal Management Society, PMS – none are cranky that I know of haha.. The members: flamboyant Romy, charming Dex, and distracted Anderson. I adored Dex and his eccentric personality. He feels like an old soul trapped in a young body, he is mischievous and you can see the possible romantic spark between him and Izzy.

The other character I really loved was Torin, a young, yet very old warlock trapped in a mirror. I have a total weakness for bad boys with loose morals.

This adventure moves fast especially considering it wasn’t very action packed.  When I finished I immediately bought a copy of Hex Hall also by Rachel Hawkins which School Spirits is a spin off from.

 

Tabitha the Pabkins

School Spirits

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• This advance reader copy was provided by the publisher for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own. Please note that this post also contains affiliate links. To view our full Blog Policy, click here.

Filed Under: 4.5 rating, amazingtastic, book review, Pabkin's Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,
Review: The Calling (Darkness Rising #2) by Kelley Armstrong

Review: The Calling (Darkness Rising #2) by Kelley Armstrong

March 22, 2013 by · 4 Comments

Pabkin’s One Liner: And we were trekking through the woods one day…

calling

Maya Delaney’s paw-print birthmark is the mark of what she truly is -a skin-walker. She can run faster, climb higher, and see better than nearly everyone else. Experiencing intense connections with the animals that roam the woods outside her home, Maya knows it’s only a matter of time before she’s able to Shift and become one of them. And she believes there may be others in her small town with surprising talents.

Now Maya and her friends have been forced to flee from their homes during a forest fire they suspect was deliberately set. Then they’re kidnapped, and after a chilling helicopter crash, they find themselves in the Vancouver Island wilderness with nothing but their extraordinary abilities to help them get back home.

In THE CALLING, the sizzling second book in the Darkness Rising trilogy, New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong pumps up the romance, danger, and suspense that left readers of THE GATHERING clamoring for more.

True to form Kelley Armstrong had a slow start with The Gathering but things were definitely moving right along in The Calling. The pace was great such that I didn’t want to put it down and was able to get through it in about a day.

We start with a tense and dramatic scene in the helicopter picking up right where The Gathering left off. I was so shocked how this scene turned out. It was a heart wrencher but I don’t want to do a spoiler. I must say once they are back on land Maya has a lot to think about. And when there is a repeat of the “almost drowning” incident from the year before it has Maya very suspicious concerning her friends.

I had a few moments of severe aggravation with Maya where I wanted to facepalm her because she keeps making excuses to herself as to why she is keeping information from Daniel. It started to get really old and annoying. I was also I we didn’t see as much of her snarky personality I’d come to love in The Gathering. But I guess that’s understandable since they are on the run the entire book.

Maya is in her element surrounded by the woods she loves, but the rest of the teens are at a disadvantage. It’s great to see them stick together and some of the self sacrificing acts that are pulled are very touching. Even though they spend most of the time in the woods I wasn’t bored at all, but I did wonder when they were finally going to get out of them.

I was in for a surprise near the end, and my suspicions about the possible love triangle were spot on I think. Though thankfully I think this one is being really well done. Now I have got to get my hands on the final book in the trilogy!

Tabitha the Pabkins

The Calling

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• This book was personally purchased. All opinions expressed are my own. Please note that this post also contains affiliate links. To view our full Blog Policy, click here.

Filed Under: 4 stars, book review, Pabkin's Reviews Tagged With: , , ,
Review: The Gathering (Darkness Rising #1) by Kelley Armstrong

Review: The Gathering (Darkness Rising #1) by Kelley Armstrong

March 21, 2013 by · 6 Comments

Pabkin’s One Liner: A slow but enjoyable simmer of a start.

gathering

Sixteen-year-old Maya is just an ordinary teen in an ordinary town. Sure, she doesn’t know much about her background – the only thing she really has to cling to is an odd paw-print birthmark on her hip – but she never really put much thought into who her parents were or how she ended up with her adopted parents in this tiny medical-research community on Vancouver Island.

Until now.

Strange things have been happening in this claustrophobic town – from the mountain lions that have been approaching Maya to her best friend’s hidden talent for “feeling” out people and situations, to the sexy new bad boy who makes Maya feel . . . . different. Combine that with a few unexplained deaths and a mystery involving Maya’s biological parents and it’s easy to suspect that this town might have more than its share of skeletons in its closet.

The Gathering starts this trilogy out rather slow. I think that is just Kelley Armstrong’s style. I have to admit I am a long time fan having read about 14 of her books. Her adult Women of the Otherworld series is one of my favorite urban fantasy series.

So she does take awhile to rev things up. I thought The Gathering was going to be different. It starts with an action packed opening scene where you are holding your breath to see how that turns out. But things promptly settle down with a short jump forward in time. From then on anything dealing with Maya and any special traits she has are mostly hinted at. It remains this way almost completely to the end of the book.

Maya has a snarky, without being mean, personality. Dialogue like below had me chuckling and totally loving her.

“something’s wrong with her.” “Um, yeah. She climbed a tree to escape a cat. She’s suffering from a serious case of stupid.” Page 14

“Have you met the tattoo artist? Is he hot?” “He’s a she,” Mom said. “Is she hot? Cause I’m still young, you know. My sexual identity isn’t fully formed.” Page 37

“Or,” I said, turning to Rafe, “if you want to skip the whole awkward meet-the-family social event, you could just submit your life story, including your views on politics, religion, and every social issue imaginable, along with anything else you think they might need to conduct a thorough background check.” Mom sighed. “I really don’t know why we even bother trying to be subtle around you.” Page 202

What I really enjoyed was the portrayal of the awesome relationship she has with her adoptive parents. The love and interaction there is so endearing. Then you have her best friend Daniel who seems like the perfect dream boat who does so much for Maya, that you can’t help but adore him. I could sense there is tension there and once Rafe comes into the picture I saw the setup for a possible love triangle. I am disappointed if that is indeed the case since there was already a love triangle in her first young adult trilogy Darkest Powers. I guess I will have to wait and see.

My biggest pet peeve is that I am a big believer that even if a book is part of a trilogy or a series that it should still be able to stand on its own two feet. I like there to be a major goal or obstacle that must be overcome and for something considerable to be achieved. With The Gathering it was very much just the setup for the next two books. I’ve already started book two so obviously I still enjoyed The Gathering.

Tabitha the Pabkins

The Gathering

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• This book was personally purchased. All opinions expressed are my own. Please note that this post also contains affiliate links. To view our full Blog Policy, click here.

Filed Under: 3.5 stars, book review, Pabkin's Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,
Review: Chasers by James Phelan

Review: Chasers by James Phelan

March 11, 2013 by · 6 Comments

Pabkin’s One Liner: A great start but stutters out shortly thereafter.

chaser

The trip of a lifetime just turned into the end of the world.

When Jesse crawls out of the wreckage of a subway car and emerges into daylight, he’s greeted by a living nightmare. An unexplained force has destroyed New York City, turning skyscrapers into ash, cutting off all power and communication. Jesse and his new friends, Dave, Anna and Mini are dazed but unhurt. The other survivors are not so lucky. Every human being they encounter is infected, gripped by an unquenchable thirst that drives them to monstrous acts of violence.

Somehow, Jesse has to escape. But first, he has to stay alive.

Zombie fiction has become such a hugely popular thing lately and I can’t help it I’ve been swept up and can’t get enough.

Chasers is told entirely from Jesse’s POV. He is a decent character and I got to really like him. I did like the other kids different personalities, I thought a lot of their behavior probably spot on. But almost the entire book is just all of them being holed up on the restaurant level of a skyscraper. Repetitive daily scavenging and lazing around for the most part.

Now, what was seriously aggravating was the lack of dialogue punctuation through the whole novel!

Chasers sounded like it would be a good addition to the young adult scene. I felt that this wasn’t even a real zombie book. I tell you there were about FOUR zombie scenes. Four! What kind of zombie book only has roughly four scenes with them in it? The book is called “Chasers” and yet these “chasers” were barely seen, and hardly felt. Though admittedly I did like the concept of them being thirsty, not hungry for flesh like the typical genre zombie.

Depending on the kind of zombie book you are going, most of them still set your teeth on edge or instill this kind of tempered anxiety in you as you read. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel anything with Chasers other than bored out of my mind. There was an awesome twist ending that I didn’t see coming at all. It that made a lot of other stuff earlier on make sense, but it wasn’t enough to redeem the overall experience for me.

Tabitha the Pabkins

Though I may not have loved it – Here are a few other reviews so you can get a different perspective!

Book Chick City

Good Choice Reading

Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review

Chasers

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• This book was provided by the publisher for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own. Please note that this post also contains affiliate links. To view our full Blog Policy, click here.

Filed Under: 2 stars, book review, Pabkin's Reviews Tagged With: , ,
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