Book Review: Shattered Souls

Shattered Souls
Author: Mary Lindsey
Published: Philomel/Penguin, December 2011
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance, 336 pages
Rating: 4/5

Even though the publishing industry is moving on from the paranormal romance craze I still enjoy reading a novel from this genre. I purchased Shattered Souls because reincarnation is part of the story and I am working on a novel that deals with several reincarnated characters. I was interested in seeing how another writer handled the character's psychological reaction and development after learning they have been reincarnated. I was not disappointed in Lindsey's approach in both character and plot.

Lenzi can hear voices. She is afraid of becoming a schizophrenic like her father, who has recently died. She attempts to hide the voices from her mother and her boyfriend but the volume only increases. The voices are not in her head. She is hearing the voices of the dead who cannot pass on.  Alden comes to her wih great understanding and friendship. He knows what is happening. They are bound as Speaker and Protector and have been for several lifetimes. Lenzi is not sure she wants to be a Speaker and help the dead move on. Even more, she does not want Alden to compare her to "Rose", the person she has been. Lenzi must come to terms with her forgotten past lives as a malevolent spirit comes to try and claim her current life.

Lindsey is a talented writer and I read this whole novel in one day while riding the trains to and from work. Lindsey's characters are three-dimensional and Lenzi is an engrossing character whose strong voice pulls the reader completely into her story. The only part I did not like about Lindsey's novel was the "showing" of Lenzi's past lives from other characters. I felt as if it ruined the plot element that Lenzi is a "blank slate". Perhaps, this novel might have been rendered differently had the character faced an even greater struggle by never being allowed to see parts of her past lives.

Book Review: Lady Macbeth's Daughter

Lady Macbeth's Daughter
Author: Lisa Klein
Published: September 2010, Bloomsbury USA Children
Genre: YA Historical Fiction/Retelling
Rating: 5/5

Often, a reader learns what motivates a character's thoughts and actions as they progress through the novel. At times we think we understand a character only to have our impressions of them change as the character develops and grows throughout the story. Other times we find our understanding and sympathy verified and deepened through their pains, tragedies, strengths, weaknesses and triumphs. When I first read a book by Lisa Klein, Ophelia, I was became intrigued by her ability to look into a classic story and reconstruct and interpret a character with a new motivation. Since then, she has been one of my favorite authors.

Albia is raised in the forest by her mother and two aunts. They are wise women who know the secrets of the earth, as well as Albia's true parentage. Scotland is in a turmoil of unrest as King Duncan is murdered and Macbeth mounts the throne. Albia discovers she has the second sight and can foretell the events of the future. She also learns she is the daughter of the tyrannical new king and his wife, Lady Macbeth. Did her mother ever love her or try to save her when Macbeth ordered his newborn daughter to be left for dead? Is Lady Macbeth haunted by the loss of her daughter? Or, is she just as emotionless as her murderous husband?

Klein brings forth in powerful scenes and alternating 1st POV  narration the emotional and psychological affects the loss of a child can have on a woman. In a society where a man can take his wife's child from her and leave the child to the elements how would she react? Does she become as cold as him? Or is it all a shield to protect herself from the pain and loss? Through her characterization of Lady Macbeth, Klein brings together the clashing emotions of a woman whose heart has been broken and stitched back together with bitterness. Personally, I think Klein's strongest craft element lies in the creation of her characters. So for those who love well-developed characters with deep psychological and emotional development they might want to read Klein's novel Lady Macbeth's Daughter.

Reading Challenge for 2013 ^^

Hello, my blog readers! Last year I decided to participate in the read 100 fiction book contest. Needless to say, I failed quite miserably at it having read only 31 fiction books total for 2012. Three of them I still have not written reviews for, so please be looking for them in my future posts.

For 2013 I have decided to set my own challenge instead of following another blogger's or website's reading challenge. So here it is!

Heidi's 2013 Reading Challenge

1. Read 50 books
2. Twelve of these books must be Classics.
3. Another twelve must be nonfiction books.
4. I will read the complete works of Shakespeare.

As for writing goals I would like to polish my manuscript I wrote during graduate school. For the past six months I have let My Kingdom for a Horse rest in my portfolio folder. I think tonight may be the night to pull it out and start reading it over and making notes on the manuscript. My only other goal is to write as much as possible with the hope I produce another rough draft of a novel. I am sure there will also be a smattering of short stories and poems produced from my brain and soul as well.

Then there shall be the continuous research on horses in Japan. Right now I have an idea for a novel brainstorming in my head about horse racing. I am sure one day a character or even shall come to me. All I can say is that my keyboard or pen had better be ready to run like a racehorse when that day comes!

Let's all have a good reading and writing year in 2013! ^^

Book Review: The Flame of Olympus

Pegasus: The Flame of Olympus (Book 1)
Author: Kate O'Hearn
Published: 2012, Aladdin Publishing
Genre: Middle-Grade, Fantasy
Rating: 5/5

One of my favorite pastimes as a child was learning about horses in myth and legend. The most famous equine in legend beside the unicorn is Pegasus. Horses in ancient Greece were used for transportation, war, and sacrificed in religious ceremonies. The horse was a respected and revered creature and found a form of immortality in the religion of ancient Greece. Thousands of years later some writers, such as Kate O'Hearn, still look to these ancient stories and the power of a mythical equine to weave a new tale.

Emily is twelve and has suffered the recent loss of her mother to cancer. While her father works long hours as a policeman she finds herself alone during a storm. When she hears a crashing sound on the roof of her apartment building she goes out to discover a winged horse: Pegasus. With the help of a schoolboy, Joel, they nurse the injured immortal equine to health. They learn the Greek Gods are engaged in war on Mount Olympus and the two children soon find themselves in the middle. Only the power of Pegasus' bridle can destroy the Nirads. Will Emily and her companions be able to save their world and that of the Gods from destruction?

I found the writing of this novel very engaging and all the characters to be rounded. O'Hearn endears her readers to the characters through well developed scenes and dialogue. The relationship between Emily and Pegasus is the strongest among the characters in the novel. Through alternating 3rd POV she reveals the growing bond between them that will bind them together. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy novels inspired by Greek mythology.

Book Review: Legacy

Legacy
Author: Susan Kay
Published: 1985, Reprinted 2010 (Sourcebooks Landmark)
Genre: Historical Fiction, 672 Pages
Rating: 5/5


Most of my readers know I love a good historical fiction novel. However, the story that could be told a thousand times over by different writers about the life of Elizabeth I is my favorite. Even more so, I am obsessed with the relationship of Elizabeth I and her childhood friend, Robert Dudley. What was it like to love someone and yet be told by your station and society not to love?

Elizabeth is just two-years-old when she learns of the horrors the male-sex can bring to a female. Her mother is beheaded because she cannot have a son. When she is eight her young stepmother, Catherine Howard, is also brought to the block.She swears to her best friend, Robert Dudley, she will never marry. At the age of 14 she is molested and fawned after by her guardian, Thomas Seymour, uncle to her brother. Through her sister's reign she learns that the wrong marriage can make your subjects despise you. When she finally ascends the throne there is few she can trust and even the man she loves the most she cannot trust. For what man will not lust after the crown even as he lusts after her royal personage?

I have to say, this book is by far the best I have ever read exploring the psychological and sociological aspects of Elizabeth's relationship with Robert Dudley. In Kay's interpretation of Elizabeth she explores the darkness that touched a child's mind and heart. As Elizabeth grows further negative experiences nourish the darkness and she begins to put up a wall around her heart. She will wear a mask to the world and even the man who loves her will never truly know who she is. In a romantic love that can never be satisfied Elizabeth and Robin love, fight, fear, never forget and always forgive each other. When he dies her world crumbles apart and she is never again quite the same. Kay has taken truly taken hold of the emotions that sometimes brings Elizabeth down and other times raises her above everything that has happened to her.

I would highly recommend this novel to anyone who is a fan of the Tudors. More so, anyone looking to read a story of a bizarre romance should find this novel very unique and stimulating. Perhaps, readers shall be reminded of the wide-range of relationships possible within human nature and history.

 

Book Review: The Night Circus

The Night Circus
Author: Erin Morgenstern
Published: 2011, Doubleday Publishing
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: 5/5

Sometimes I put a book on my "to buy" list and my intentions to purchase it gets lost amongst all the other books I want to buy. This is what happened with The Night Circus. I had been meaning to pick up the book for well over a year since one of my friends recommended it to me. A year later in Japan I was starving to have a physical book with in front of me. The kindle just wasn't doing it for me. Against his better judgement, my friend Chris took me to the Kinokuniya bookstore in Shinjuku where they have a selection of English texts.When I saw The Night Circus on prominent display I knew it would be one of my selections that day.

A circus comes to town without warning. The color scheme is black and white and the circus is only open at night. The circus is called Le Cirque des Reves and is a battleground of magic. Celia and Marco have been trained since they were children by their instructors for this purpose. They have been given no choice. Just as they had no choice when they fall in love. How will they survive together when only one is meant to win the challenge and live?

What I loved best about Morgenstern's writing was the breathtaking descriptions she wrote to render the surroundings of her novel believable. This writer knows how to make use of all five senses to pull her readers into the world of her novel. At times I could imagine the pain Celia endured during her father's training, see the shocking red of the twins' hair and taste the undeniable sweetness of the treats sold at the circus stands. There is one prime element a fantasy writer needs and that is the ability to make her world believable, no matter how fantastical. Morgenstern has proven her writing has this quality with her first novel.

Guest Blogger: Jason Korolenko

Hi, blog readers! Today is a special post as it is my first time welcoming a guest blogger onto Equus Phasmatis. My friend and classmate, Jason Korolenko, released his novel The Day I Left this past August. With my journey to Japan in search of a story, I asked him to write about how his time in France influenced him to pen his novel.

Thank you so much Jason for being my first guest blogger! Readers can buy his book here at Amazon.com for the kindle. Also, please follow his blog Infamy and Misfortune to follow his writing adventures!

Heidi asked if I’d talk a little bit about the writing and research process behind my recently released novel The Day I Left. These are both directly linked to the main reason why I begin writing anything: inspiration.

Much of my work is set in foreign environments because I have an insatiable passion for travel, a passion for breaking out of my comfort zone into places I wouldn’t normally go, and these unfamiliar locations inspire me to write about them. I’d written three novels (which, if you are wondering, were locked in a trunk, chained up, and tossed into the ocean) before a single line of The Day I Left was committed to paper. One of those novels was set largely in Paris, written almost immediately after my first trip to France. Another novel alternated settings between Scotland and Brazil, shortly after . . . well, you get the idea.

In 2007, I began a year of study abroad in the southern French town of Pau, about an hour’s drive away from the border with Spain. And though I didn’t work on it right away, I knew I would eventually write a book about the place.

It took me three years to start that book. And when I did, I only had the seed of an idea. What if an American kid came to study in France, but witnessed so something terrible and life changing that he spent the rest of his days running away from the truth of what he’d seen?

Okay, the idea needed work. And a lot of it. But at least I had a setting.

The writing process was easy. Sit down, churn out words. I don’t really subscribe to the idea that writing is some magical, esoteric thing where the writer’s conscious mind shuts down, and the blah blah blah of “the characters come to life and tell me what they want to do” takes over. While that does happen from time to time, writing is mostly just work. It’s long, exhausting, and sometimes tedious work. But without that work, the characters are nothing. If you love it, which I do, it becomes easy.

But it is work.

Once the first draft of The Day I Left was complete, I found myself researching locations I hadn’t been to in three years. I pulled out all my old maps, pictures, home videos, and hand-written notes. I memorized the layout of Pau in a way I hadn’t before, even when I actually lived there. But there was one problem.

The town had changed quite a bit since 2007.

So, what did I do? I took a bit of artistic license. I wrote the town as I remembered it all those years ago, but exploited the hell out of Google Maps to make sure one street still connected to another, and to make sure the general layout of Pau worked within the context of my story. I think it did.

And if it didn’t, well, that’s why we call it fiction.