Some thoughts on the Seven Realms

YAY YAY YAY!!!!! So I finished reading Grey Wolf Throne, which I'll talk about in a minute and I've found out that the fourth book is going to be called the Crimson Crown (Which I am seriously psyched about for several different reasons.) and its coming out in the fall of 2012. It's also going to be the last book in the series, which makes me super sad. Also coming in the future, discussion on Looking for Alaska, but anyways, on with the review!

Stats on Gray Wolf Throne

Length: 528 pages

Main Characters: Han and Raisa

Stars:  

Gray Wolf Throne is an incredibly interesting book. Although it takes awhile to reach the main action,the wait, in my opinion, is worth it. The tension between Han and Raisa steadily grows throughout the entire story as secrets are slowly revealed. The climax is a wee bit small, we can only assume that it is leading us up to grand finale. Also, we see new threats from Arden/ Tamron as "politics" lead to "unfortunate accidents". Not to mention, someone's been out on the streets murdering wizards, and we eventually see that that person might be closer to home than we may originally think. Melony may or may not pose threat as Raisa receives an expected title at an unexpected time and, as always, the Bayars and the agendas of others are posing a constant problem. That's all I'll say, for fear that I'll reveal more than I already have. Enjoy the book! I certainly did.

The Crimson Crown. That name alone sounds epic. Now, why though, is it crimson? Crimson is the color red, so is it literally , a red crown from a different country? Or is it a crown that will see much bloodshed? Knowing this series, I going with the later.  Why? Well, we already know that the Bayars constantly continue attempts to rid Raisa of her position and after a certain event at the end of the third book, I cant help but think that Lord Bayar would want to take some serious revenge on Han. Also, as I mentioned earlier, Raisa may soon be dealing with a threat from Tamron and Arden after she severely insulted their ruler. Dancer is also inadvertently causing problems, what with his dream of being a flash maker when he's a wizard. Melony, again, who received an inkling of what it would be like to be queen but had it snatched away may be the center of a rebellion. I think that this book will pick up exactly where Grey Wolf Throne left off, with trouble brewing like a not-so-distant storm and everyone with their own bickering agendas.

The Lives of Authors

OK, I hereby declare every Thursday to be daily author day on which I will discuss authors with you, my imaginary readers. First off though, I want to comment on this Indian summer that Geneva has been experiencing. I love Indian summers, I really do. they're quite nice. Read outside, make lemonade, pretend school hasn't started, ride your bike. Really, they're quite fun. But I also despise them. It's really annoying when you reach the Indian summer and because you've already put away your shorts, you're stuck with jeans. So then you get outside after school and you're sweating and wishing you had shorts and the kid next to you is going "Haha i have shorts and you don't. Shame you have to suffer. NOT!" Mentally that is, but other than that little fact, I'm actually quite happy with life. Almost done with my book (its very good and I'll aim to review it sometime next week!) and my mom had to come to school with me today, which was lots of fun. Overall it was just one of those good days where your favorite songs play all after each other on the radio and you stick your feet on the dashboard. Great day.
Wow I'm digressing a lot today. On to our author!
Cinda Williams Chima is a great author that I strongly suggest you read sometime. As far as I am aware, she has written only two series, The Heir trilogy (excellent) and the Seven realms series (even better). Currently I am reading the 3rd book in the Seven realms series, and I swear, it is one of the most interesting books I have ever read. I love her character. The way they act makes us think, and really, when you've gotten this far into a series, they're like old friends and you smile and laugh as they do funny things, and from as they commit acts of stupidity. That's a nice aspect f her writing. She makes it get personal fro you. These character, Han, Raisa, Micha, and even from her other series, Jack, Ellen and Jason, they're as much our characters as they are hers. I like to read her writing jot because i feel obliged to, but because i want to know how the story ends, and I've put this book on hold for a long time. If an author can get you to wait for their next book and you're still hanging around, loyal as ever, waiting to read it a year latter, that's impressive. If you find an author like that, hold onto them, they'll end up on your favorites list.
Anyways, I started talking about Seven realms a bit, didn't I? The series revolves mainly around two characters, Han and Raisa. Both of these people have some interesting backgrounds. Han was a gang leader, or street lord, who lived every summer with some aborigine tribes, i guess you could call them, every summer. Clans, as they are referred to in these books. the day came though that he discovered a big aspect of his life: Han's a wizard. For those of you who aren't big on this whole magic gig, bare with me, there's still more to say. Raisa is the queen-to-be of this nation, the fells, and after a series of interesting events, Raisa finds herself meeting Han. Now, if this little incidental meeting never took place, the plot wouldn't be anywhere near how interesting as it is. Raisa in intrigued by Han, but he's never, under any circumstances, be allowed to her. Han is similarly intrigued by Raisa, Rebbecca, as he knows her. Both these people want to meet, both of them want to get to know each other, and here we find where Ms. Chima has her biggest bravo: Romeo and Juliet stories. Really, there's nothing like them. Personally, I love her work because of this. Maybe you will to, try reading this sometime.
The heir trilogy. I stumbled upon this series quite by accident when my dad, seeing the title f the third book, thought that i might like it. Once i got my hands on the first book (which took forever, no one seemed to have it and i had already started reading the third one)I was glad had taken the time. Her characters are amazing. The first book, Warrior Heir, sets the stage for the other two books that follow. Now, if you're not big on the whole wizard idea, you can ditch me right now, but i advise you read on. This is an amazing series and i really hope to help someone else find it too. Jack is the main character for the first book. He lives in this tiny town somewhere in Ohio. I can't help but believe that the most incredible events happen in small towns. An example of this would be the fact that there are killer pixies in Maine, but we're talking about Miss Chima right now. Jack is, by blood, an incredible warrior. What makes him like this? Well, he belongs to one of the five guilds. The guilds are sooth-sayers, people who can imperfectly see the future, enchanters, sorcerers, who can create magical materials, wizards, who use words to shape magic (also the most powerful) and warriors, who are naturally great fighters. But jack isn't just a warrior, he also has some abilities of wizards. Not to mention, Jack is wanted to compete in a fight to the death with someone who is close to him than you may think. Personally, I think this probably some of the best fiction I've ever read. Perhaps you will too...

You can visit Cinda Williams Chima's website by clicking here. 

Déjà Vu: What an Allusion is

Have you ever just been reading along and suddenly, the characters says or does something that reminds you of some other subject? That's an allusion. Allusions are cultural references that authors add to stories to make them a bit more interesting. If you've ever read Fahrenheit 451, you'll know that Bradbury LOVES putting subtle allusions into his text. Well what might an allusion be? Well, anything. Anything that the readers might be able to connect to. You might have an allusion to music, religion, TV, other authors, or even other books.
For example: on page 93 of Fahrenheit 451, Faber begins reading Montag (Two of the characters in the story. Faber is a retired literature professor and Montag is a fireman who burns books. This is an excellent novel. I suggest you find the time to read it someday.) the Book of Job. What happens in the book of Job? Well Job is a man who never did anything wrong in life. Obeyed the law, said his prayers, was good to his children, and one day the devil comes up to gad and says that Job wouldn't love God so much if his life was so easy, so God lets the devil attack Job. Job looses all of his children, livestock, servants. He get's REALLY sick and covered in boils. A random kid walks up to him and starts criticizing him. Job's life get ruined.But never once dose he dis God, so in the end, God gives everything back to Job double what he had before. OK, so? Job's life is ruined, and well, Montag's life soon will be too. So, this allusion is a clever bit of foreshadowing, all it you need to do to find it is to take that extra minute and a half to look it up and see if it means anything.
Honestly, I like when I find an allusion in a book. It makes me feel clever when I figure out what it means, and when I'm writing, I feel like I'm giving the readers a little extra. Not to mention, it helps to make what's coming next a lot more justified. So next time you're reading, and you pick up on something that might be a little more than it displays, check it out. Odds are, its an allusion, and you just got a one-up on the story. Not to mention, finding these can be a lot of fun...