High Fantasy

Review of Jinx by Sage Blackwood

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Jinx
By Sage Blackwood

Star Rating: 
Genre: High Fantasy/Young People/Young Adult/Children

Number of Pages: 384

Date Started: June 22, 2016
Date Finished: June 23, 2016

Synopsis: (From Amazon)jinxThe highly acclaimed first book of a fantasy adventure series set in a mysterious forest, starring a daring new hero.

“Readers will thrill to journey with Jinx” (SLJ, starred review), a wizard’s apprentice, as he sets off on a quest through the dangerous Urwald, a magical forest full of wizards and were-creatures, and discovers that it is more complex than he could imagine, and that it needs him more than he could ever guess.

This humorous and smart tween fantasy adventure is perfect for fans of Septimus Heap, The Sisters Grimm, and Fablehaven.

Supports the Common Core State Standards

Review:
This story is magical.  I am so glad that this book is the first in a series because as I got further and further along I was really worried that I wouldn’t get to continue on and learn more about Jinx’s life.  The Urwald is perfect.  Simon is the perfect differentiation from Jinx’s stepparents.  Jinx is refreshing and unique without shoving anything in your face.  The characters are gripping, the plot is intriguing, and I found myself less and less willing to set the book aside.  I definitely think this book is along the lines of Howl’s Moving Castle but this book has such unique qualities that it’s hard to compare it to anything.  The magic seen is new, refreshing, and interesting.  Everything you thought you might have known about magic and magical creatures might be right, or it might be turned on its head, depending on the person.  There are great morals, and it’s overall an amazing book.

Author Information: (From Amazon)
Sage Blackwood was born in Chicago and grew up in New York State. She graduated from Antioch College and the University at Albany, and taught ESL for many years. Her first fantasy novel, JINX, was selected as a Best Book of 2013 by Kirkus, Booklist, School Library Journal, and Amazon.

Review of First Lord’s Fury by Jim Butcher

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First Lord’s Fury
Codex Alera Book 6
By Jim Butcher

Star Rating: 
Genre: High Fantasy

Number of Pages: 784

Date Started: May 23, 2016

Date Finished: June 15, 2016

Synopsis: (From Amazon)6316821

For Gaius Octavian, life has been one long battle. Now, the end of all he fought for is close at hand. The brutal, dreaded Vord are on the march against Alera. And perhaps for the final time, Gaius Octavian and his legions must stand against the enemies of his people. And it will take all his intelligence, ingenuity, and furycraft to save their world from eternal darkness.

Review:
Despite being quite longer than the previous book, this book was what I was waiting for!  There was action, adventure!  There were twists and turns and times when you were unsure if the people you though you could trust were actually trustworthy or not!  Finally, a resolution to this whole series!  And yet…

Not impressed.  Although the ultimate confrontation was great and I enjoyed the tie ins, there was a bit left undone, and I was simply not a fan of one of the biggest sudden twists towards the middle-end of the book, and found it quite irritating that the particular event’s ability to happen had seemingly never been thought of(though Sextus has thought of it…)  I’m glad that the epilogue happened as it did, but I also found that all of it was just so… predictable.  Don’t get me wrong, I love a happy ending, but this seemed almost a bit too… ideal.

Author Information:
The Dresden Files are the first books that Jim Butcher managed to get published.  He is also the author of the Codex Alera, and a new steampunk series, Cinder spires.  He is a gamer, including tabletop, video games, as well as LARP.  He still lives in his hometown, Independence, Missouri.

For a detailed biography of Jim Butcher, and a way to purchase his books, see his Amazon page.

Review of Princeps’ Fury by Jim Butcher

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Princeps’ Fury
Codex Alera Book 5
By Jim Butcher

Star Rating: 
Genre: High Fantasy
Number of Pages: 640

Date Started: February 15, 2016
Date Finished: May 23, 2016

Synopsis: (From Amazon) Princeps_fury
Under Tavi of Calderon, heir to the crown, war-torn Alera rebuilds while politicians and nobles vie for power. But from the south comes news: the dreaded Vord have come to Alera. For a thousand years, Alera and her furies have withstood every enemy and survived every foe.

Review:
I haven’t too overly much to say about this book except: this book dragged.  It was a trudge to force myself through this book, which is probably why not only did it take me quite a while to finish it, but I also read several other books before finishing it.

Like usual, there were moments when you really wanted to see what was going on from one character’s perspective while jolted back to another character.  While everything that happened was necessary, it seemed to take a very long time for anything in particular of substance to happen and stick.  There are a lot of little victory, and some very heavy losses.

After reading this book, I knew I had to finish the series, and I hoped it wouldn’t be as much of a trudge as this one.  (It wasn’t.)

Author Information:
The Dresden Files are the first books that Jim Butcher managed to get published.  He is also the author of the Codex Alera, and a new steampunk series, Cinder spires.  He is a gamer, including tabletop, video games, as well as LARP.  He still lives in his hometown, Independence, Missouri.

For a detailed biography of Jim Butcher, and a way to purchase his books, see his Amazon page.

**This review has been edited based on faulty dates. (6/16/2016)