The Big Four - Agatha Christie

After the excitement of a decent length trilogy I wanted to read something a bit shorter and more sedate.  Returning to the world's favourite Belgian detective for the first time in almost two years seemed to fit the bill.  And, luckily for me, my local library happened to have one of the series in that I hadn't read before.

The Big Four differs in style to other Poirot books that I've read.  Rather than revolving round one key mystery it revolves around a key group of villains (no prizes for guessing how many bad guys are in the group).  This means there are many distinct events spread over several months - definitely fitting my criteria of being more sedate.  The resulting feel is of a series of short stories glued together, and since finishing the book I've found that it pretty much was that.

One major change since I last read a Poirot book is that I've fallen into the world of Sherlock Holmes.  As Agatha Christie based her detective on Conan Doyle's it is easy to see how I kept falling into confused comparisons.  Unfortunately the comparisons didn't reflect that well on the little Belgian.  I suspect that it is this particular book that this is the case for though, as the style didn't really suit me.

The 'serial short stories' format meant that each mystery was on a smaller scale.  The clues and observations in each distinct case were less meaningful than they would be in a larger case.  This wasn't really helped by the fact that it's obvious each time that the Big Four will be behind it, which somewhat takes away the mystery element.

I feel somewhat as I did when I'd read The Final Problem - slightly cheated out of a puzzle and like I'd read about a detective's trip instead.  But that particular Holmes short story did not stop me reading more, and I'm sure that this won't be the last Poirot book I try.  Perhaps it's just the case that I didn't want a sedate read after all.

The Traitor Queen - Trudi Canavan

Addiction can be a controversial topic, but its nature is both interesting and debatable.  There are certain substances which are known to cause a physical reliance, with well documented withdrawal symptoms.  Some things are a bit more wishy-washy though.  Is it really possible to be addicted to reading, for example?  I'm not sure scientists would say so, but at times it really does feel like it.

Failing miserably to consume a varied diet of books I plunged straight into the third book of the Traitor Spy trilogy.  As you would expect, this continued the plotlines laid out previously and brought them together into wider conclusions.  Broadly speaking this boiled down into one outcome in each country, but naturally each of the sub-threads had its own result.  Some aspects are those you know will appear in a book of this kind, but I wasn't actually certain how the main elements would play out.

It was less than 48 hours from the time I started this book to the time I finished it.  I'm not sure it would actually have been possible to read it any quicker without completely neglecting my baby.  Part of it will have been the back-to-back reading, but I was drawn in straight away and wanted to stay drawn in.  I cared about so many of the characters and sat hoping to see the best for them, as well as worrying which main character would be the inevitable end-of-trilogy sacrifice.

The Traitor Queen covers a range of themes, reaching far beyond the fantasy genre (as is so often the case).  Social issues are raised in different ways, from dealing with drug addiction to equality in society.  Issues such as whether it is right, or even possible, to judge another society by your own rules are at the forefront.  It's always nice to read something that manages to make you think without being too preachy.

And of course there are the relationships between characters, which I really can't leave out.  While fairly transparent, the attachments formed were one of the elements that kept me wanting to read on.  You're left waiting until the last chapter before the Epilogue to confirm something that has been building up since the first book.  But waiting is no bad thing.  It just meant that it was in the section I had to re-read - speed reading the last few chapters of a book is a really bad habit of mine.

All in all I thoroughly enjoyed these books and really didn't want to leave the world behind.  I know that there are many other good books out there (hopefully many of them are on my to-read pile), it's just that sometimes the right book crosses your path at the right time and really makes its mark.  Oh, and I confirmed a suspicion that I've had for some time now.  I'm definitely the sort of person that benefits from waiting for all three books of a trilogy to be out before starting to read.  I dread to think how bad the withdrawal symptoms would have been.

The Rogue - Trudi Canavan

I have come to the conclusion that the second book in a trilogy is the most difficult one to review.  For the first book you're starting from scratch, and so can mention characters without ruining any precarious moments.  For the last book you know everything that has happened and so have less risk of making a fool of yourself with ideas and judgements.  The second book just seems the worst of both worlds.  Of course, that's just for reviewing and not for reading.

The Rogue is the second book in the Traitor Spy trilogy and continues all the storylines a few months from where they left off, as well as adding in a new strand.  I must admit, to start with I wasn't that keen on the new plotline, as it took away from those I was already invested in.  But, as with all enjoyable books, this one sucked me in as well.  It must be a good sign that each time I experienced the 'argh they swapped locations' I was quickly excited to read more about the replacement thread.

Much of the book is character-based, with the writing perspective allowing you to develop a strong attachment to the main 'cast'.  As someone who loves character development, I find this a good thing.  Occasionally it seems that the touchy-feely stuff gets more importance than the 'main' plot, but the carefully separate, and yet still linked, strands move at a comfortable pace, with the usual acceleration to the finish.

Speaking of touchy-feely, it doesn't seem unfair to say that the storylines all have a strong lusting element, and that at times this does rather take over.  Although if there were bonus points available for covering different scenarios then this should definitely score highly.  There are straight, gay and lesbian tendencies.  There is old love, first love, forbidden love, unrequited love and lust.  Not the first book I've read this year that could fit the 'sex-obsessed' description, but the book doesn't suffer for it.

As a general rule, when reading a trilogy I try to read other books in between.  This helps to ensure I read a variety of books, and often helps me to fully process what I've read before continuing.  As another general rule, I'm much better at sticking to this after the first book in a trilogy than after the second.  Because there's only so much investment I can put into a world before I get impatient.  So I'd better stop writing, as there's a book upstairs calling my name.

The Alloy of Law - Brandon Sanderson

When you lose yourself in the world of a book it's nice to have the change to re-visit.  However there's always the danger that the things you loved will have changed, and that reading more may even ruin your memories of what went before.  Of course, there are other possibilities as well.

The Alloy of Law is based around 300 years after the events of The Hero of Ages (the last book in Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy).  Unlike many fantasy books, the world has moved on and made technological advances.  In our terms they are somewhere around the Victorian era, with trains and new-fangled electric lights.  But advancement doesn't mean that all is well in the world, nor does it mean that magical ability is unimportant.

There are 3 types of magic in this world, although at the time of this book only two are in common use and knowledge.  Allomancy involves 'burning' metals internally to provide different powers, for example burning tin increases the user's senses.  Feruchemy involves 'storing' traits in metals for use at a later time, for example gold allows for storage of health.  Handily there is a table in the back of the book detailing the effect of each metal for the two types of magic.  I would have appreciated the addition of nicknames next to each metal as I have a tendency to get some of them muddle.

Of all the fantasy books I've read this is one of my favourite 'types' of magic, and so it was fascinating to read about its use in a whole new setting.  Technological advancements are made based on the priorities of a culture and so there are subtle but visible differences to the way things developed in our world.

Clearly this book features a whole new set of characters, although the heroes from the original trilogy are frequently referred to as 'deities' of various religions.  The new cast are dynamic, believable and somewhat crazy - so basically everything you could want in a book.  The relationship between Wax and Wayne is beautifully written, with all the casual digs and inside remarks that you would expect from a long-standing friendship.

The plot has the feel of a Western, with the 'heroes' returning from the wild Roughs to the Big Smoke and retaining the same ideas of law and order that they had before.  The era setting and prominence of guns certainly help with that feel - although of course these guns have to be specially crafted to be of any use.  I thought the storyline was really well designed, and it definitely feels like a story that happens to be set in a world with magic, rather than a series of events for the sake of magic.

So, back to those memories of what went before... Well I can definitely say that this has changed my perception of the original trilogy.  Because while I very much enjoyed what I'd read before, this was so much better.  Many of the concepts and references make more sense if you've read the Mistborn trilogy, but I think there are enough explanations that you could read this as a standalone book if you wanted to.  And you really should want to, because it's brilliant.

A Vicky Hill Exclusive - Hannah Dennison

Looking round the crime books in my local library I saw a book in the 'recommended' section by Hannah Dennison.  On further inspection it was the fourth book in a series, and the first book was nowhere to be seen.  Back at home I had a look on my Kindle and decided that 84p was an alright price to give something different a try.

A Vicky Hill Exclusive is set in a small town in Devon and follows newspaper reporter Vicky Hill.  Vicky is desperate for her big break so that she can move forward from writing obituaries but life in her little town is just to boring to get any big scoops.  That is, unless the last man she attended the funeral of had actually been murdered.

As I mentioned, I picked this book up as one of its successors was marked as a crime book, and I suppose it's fair to classify it like that given it follows a murder investigation.  However, a few chapters in my husband asked me how the book was so far and the description I gave definitely made it sound like chick lit dressed up as a detective story.  And it wasn't the best costume.  First-person storytelling very much hinges on the storyteller, and if that person is shallow and ever-so-slightly clueless then that is the impression you get of the whole story.

Don't get me wrong, I did actually enjoy reading the book once I got into it.  It definitely fulfilled my criteria of being something modern, different and not too taxing.  And the overall plot was fine.  It was mostly just the characters that were lacking, which is always a bit of a problem for me.  I'm not exactly rushing to buy the next book in the series, but given I was looking for a break from other series that's hardly a problem.  That doesn't mean I would rule out the second book in future, if I need to escape into a harmless world.

The Ambassador's Mission - Trudi Canavan

For Christmas I was given the Traitor Spy trilogy books, which 'follow on' from the Black Magician trilogy (albeit about twenty years later).  My original plan was to look online for plot summaries of the original three books so that I would be fully up-to-date ready for the newer trilogy.  Only then I realised that I wouldn't get round to doing this and so dived straight in.

The Ambassador's Mission starts in the city of Imardin in Kyralia, where the Magician's Guild is based.  Care is taken to catch up the gist of what has happened since the previous books, which in some ways helps to reference key events but at the same time made me realise quite how long my reading gap had been.  This was compounded by me getting confused with other books.  Partly the Age of the Five, which kind of made sense given they have the same author, but also the Mistborn series.  I think it was the reference to houses that did it.  Or perhaps the flashbacks to a young girl from a poor background hiding magic powers and being held by criminals... (are all fantasy books just the same plot?)

Anyway, the plot itself is built up around two main strands, the happenings in Imardin and those in Sachaka - a foreign land seen as both exotic and dangerous.  Sonea is contacted by an old friend to try to flush out a murderer, at the same time as the Guild are deciding whether to clamp down on contact with the criminal world.  Meanwhile her son, Lorkin, has found that life is a little too safe and predictable and that he would rather go to work in a country where people may want to kill him.  As you do.

This was a very enjoyable reading experience.  I find Trudi Canavan's style of writing very accessible, without seeming patronising or like something is missing.  My initial confusion with other books made it difficult to get to grips with the characters at first, however once settled in I found them to be generally believable and understandable.  Little sub-themes were appreciated as much as the main plot.  One of my favourite concepts was the Kyralians amusing other races with their over-politeness, a fate understood by any Brit that's been abroad.

In terms of the plots, there was only one element that I 'guessed' ahead of time, and this was because the clues had been laid there.  Presumably if I could work it out with my current scatterbrain then you're supposed to do so.  The balance as the first book of a trilogy was worked perfectly.  It feels like the plotlines have been sufficiently wound up for this to constitute a story in its own right, and yet they are sufficiently open that you feel more needs to be known.

And more will be known soon, I'm sure.  Although I'll make sure to read something else in between I doubt I'll be able to wait too long to continue on to find out more about the Traitors.. and the Rogue.

The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

For my first book of 2014 I used a tried and tested method of selection - I stared at the bookshelves until something looked ok.  I wanted something fairly modern that wouldn't prove too much of a challenge, and so a book that I seemed to be in the minority for not having read it fitted the bill.

The Da Vinci Code is, for the most part, set in Paris and is effectively one big cryptic treasure hunt.  Only the stakes are a bit higher than in most treasure hunts, what with it starting with a murder and the 'hunters' being wanted by the police.

As I'd expected with such a popular book, the writing style was very easy reading (if a bit boring in places during extended 'technical' explanations).  What I hadn't expected was to be so amused by the chapters.  It was almost like the concept of sections within chapters didn't exist, with many chapters just 3 or 4 pages long.  And when I found the chapter that was less than a page long I actually audibly laughed.

The best theme for me was the cryptology as I find codes and wordplay absolutely fascinating.  Although it was a worry on occasions how slow the characters were to pick up on certain clues given their professions, most notably the very obvious mirror writing.  In general the characters were alright - not strong enough that I grew particularly attached to them but they were deep enough to carry the storyline (the main ones at least).

Overall I'd say that the story was a good escape from everyday life, which is always a good point in a book.  While I enjoyed reading it the chances of me re-reading are slim, but I might add another of Dan Brown's books to my huge 'To Read' list.  At some point.  In the future.