Book of Ile-Rien

Martha Wells

This book is actually a combo of Wells first two novels, where she creates the Ile-Rien world. It includes:

• The Element of Fire, and 
• The Death of the Necromancer. 

The first (Element of Fire) is set a century before the Ile-Rien trilogy of Tremaine. So really deep background (since I am reading it last). In this story, it takes a while (first third?) to figure out who really is the protagonist. I can definitely see a less polished writer in Wells than her later works. Some meandering descriptions as she works to build the world. Even so, an engaging story of captain of the Queens Guard Thomas Boniface, and a returning rogue sorceress Kade Carrion, who also happens to be part fayre. In many ways a classic political thriller, with dysfunctional rulers and coup attempts that require sorcery and subterfuge. In the end, my biggest complaint is that Wells never came back to Kade Carrion for more storytelling. 

The second (Death of the Necromancer) is set 100 years later, with Nicholas Valiarde as a young mafiosio in Vienne. There are only brief references to the characters and story of The Element of Fire. The main plot driver here is that Valiarde's foster father and mentor (Edouard Villar) was executed for necromancy after a false conviction, Nicholas entire driving purpose is to enact revenge on the perpetrator. And while this driver is maintained throughout the novel, it is effectively a wrapper for the real story, which introduces us to Valiardes crew, the sorcery spheres created by Viller and Arisilde, and live in the Ile-Rien capital of Vienne. 

Overall, this is a fantastic world. I would read more

4 stars (out of 4)

The Gate of Gods

Martha Wells

Book 3 in the The Fall of Ile-Rien

Wrapping up the trilogy, Tremaine and her cohort (including her newly returned father) take the battle to the Guardier. They have a theory about how the Guardier sorcery works and are continually discovering more about the staging worlds that are used for transport. Simultaneously, they are increasingly surprised by how much they do know. Tremaine, ever the confident schemer, has an idea that they will win before others have that confidence, so she also begins thinking about life after. And those decisions are nearly as difficult as the ones made in battle. All to say, I appreciate how Wells doesn't ignore the interpersonal and emotional weight that comes with conflict. A nice completion to a world building fantasy trilogy.

4 stars (out of 4)

Assassin's Apprentice

Robin Hobb

Book 1 of the Farseer Trilogy

I think this is the beginning of nice long diversion. Hobb has four trilogies in this Realm of the Elderlings world, and based on book 1, there are lots of possibilities. I like the fantasy and magic. I like that not everything is explained all at once (we will see if I keep liking that :), but at the same time enough clarity is provided so I am not just reading large portions of books with general confusion. Fitz is our protagonist and this story covers his discovery (at age 6) to his late teens, and all of his training and learning. Fitz is the illegitimate son of the heir to the Farseer throne. So political intrigue. He is largely oblivious to political intrigue, but clearly intelligent and his own person. So when he is secretly apprenticed to the kings assassin, and his talents are used to help rid the country of soulless victims of the Red Raiders, and he placed as a pawn in inter-kingdom diplomacy and subterfuge - Fitz doesn't always just "go along". A really good built world. What's next?

4 stars (out of 4)

The Ships of Air

Martha Wells

Book 2 in the The Fall of Ile-Rien

This volume takes place mostly in Cineth, and Tremaine and her crew are using the parallel world as an escape hatch of epic size. And along the way, they are actually able to travel to the Guardier homeworld, which comes with its own surprises. Like the first volume, there is plenty of depthening as we, the readers, are continually let into more of the secret at the same time as Tremaine. I feel like I am discovering at the same rate that she is, and the confusion about what is really going on is part of the puzzle and fun of the reading. 

4 stars (out of 4)

The Wizard Hunters

Martha Wells

Book 1 in the The Fall of Ile-Rien

You know I love Martha Wells. Can't believe I hadn't read this series. On the surface, Tremaine is a fragile young protagonist without much self confidence. She lives in a world where a magical, invading force (The Guardier) is invading her country Ile-Rien. There seems to be no hope. But Tremaine is also full of mystery and strength beyond her own knowledge. We follow Tremaine as she discovers that the Guardier are actually invading by using a parallel universe as a staging grounds for the invasion. And that in this parallel world, there are both potential allies and enemies. I love the slow development of this plot, revealing the magic and the reality, the differences between the worlds as a way to tell the story of what Ile-Rien actually is. It is going to be a fun ride. 

4 stars (out of 4)

System Collapse

Martha Wells

The Murderbot Diaries

SecUnit is on the surface of a planet, doing his SecUnit thing protecting his humans. On this planet, his humans are trying to negotiate with colonists to help them with planet ownership, trying to remove infected alien technology and not kill humans from the corporation trying to kidnap colonists and press them into slavery. All of this while trying to hold off a mental breakdown in his "squishy bits". This continues to be one of my favorite series of all time. 

4 stars (out of 4)

The Rage of Dragons

Evan Winter

Book 1 of The Burning Series

Fantasy novel where an entire people (The Omehi) have traveled across the sea to escape what I can only guess is some sort of magic induced plague. In their new land, they are not welcome and are immediately thrust into a 200 year war, where we pick up. The Omehi are a highly caste structured society, and our protagonist is Tau, a Lesser. Tau has noble friends, but has no real tolerance for caste castigation, which of course gets him into trouble. He joins the military and becomes a phenomenal fighter, taking advantage of the "magic source" in ways that others can't or won't.  In the end, Tau learns that he is not the only one who has concerns about caste, not the only one who questions the magic source, and not the only one fully gutted by the cost of war and violence. 

I'll definetly keep up with the series, but since Books 3 and 4 are not yet published, no hurry...

3 stars (out of 4)

Lotus and Thorn

Sara Wilson Etienne

Set on an expeditionary planet undergoing the woes of colonization, we are introduced to two populations. Those who live in the dome, protected from the elements and controlling all technology, and those living outside the dome, exposed to the elements. Sometime in the past a disease called Red Death decimated the population of the colony and now the outsiders scavenge old civilization for technology so they can trade the domers for food. Classic colonization power dynamics. And classic uprising/hero story. Etienne develops the characters well and gets buy in on the story. She has created a mystery (what is actually going on in the dome) that sustains the plot. While somewhat typical in the dystopian YA world, I found myself attached and read through pretty quickly. 

3 stars (out of 4)

The Invisible Man

H.G. Wells

A man has made himself invisible, thinking of all the benefits this would entail in his personal wealth and power. The story begins with the man experiencing all the detriments that were overlooked in his quest. Sort of a tragicomedy, I can imagine these themes being a modern telling of a Shakespeare story. As the story progresses, the protagonist becomes more and more convinced of his "right to power" which only makes things worse for him. Great short read - I'm surprised it took me this long...

3 stars (out of 4)

Lexicon

Max Barry

This is a sci-fi-ish book, if linguistics is considered science. Maybe just magical realism. The setting is a world where someone has figured out that the way sounds are processed in the brain (which neural pathways fire, which hormones are produced, etc.) can actually be weaponized and used to lower a persons defenses and become "extremely persuasive". This very much has Babel vibes in terms of how language is used. While Babel was primarily bringing a subtext of colonization, Lexicon is talking about personal power and corruption. It is into this world Emily is recruited off the Venice Beach hustle circuit and finds herself learning to be quite powerful, as well as to be wary of others in the organization. Ultimately, power and corruption are the guiding forces that drive this plot and Emily and her beau become pawns/catalysts at various points in the story. I actually appreciated the time jumps in the story telling, alternating between present and past to provide a backstory snippet just in time to understand what is next, without revealing the entire history. Engaging, with a fascinating interpretation of language processing. 

4 stars (out of 4)