The Magician's Apprentice - Trudi Canavan

Whatever anyone tries to tell you, size does matter.  And in the case of The Magician's Apprentice, I was very nearly put off by the bulky size, particularly relative to my ultra-light Kindle.  What I failed to remember, though, is that other things matter more than size.  If a book absorbs you into its world and has you hooked then you quickly forget how big it is, until you try to put it in a small bag of course!

The Magician's Apprentice is a prequel to Trudi Canavan's Black Magician trilogy, which I read a few years ago and absolutely loved.  For some reason I've been putting off reading this prequel for a while.  This was a mistake in several ways.  The first is practical.  As with all prequels, many references are made to concepts that are accepted as norms by the 'later' stories.  While I remembered the basics of how the Guild worked, for example, I felt like I was missing out a little by having to work to understand certain ideas.

However, the main reason it was a mistake is that this is a really good book, and really good books should not sit on your shelves for that long waiting to be read.  I may have mentioned previously that I get on well with Trudi Canavan's writing style, and that definitely helps when trying to lose yourself in a world.

The setup of the world itself and the characters within it are beautifully described and easy to warm to.  So much so that I commented to my husband early on that I didn't want there to be a plot.  I have read books before that introduced wonderful characters that were then completely changed by unenjoyable (to me) plotlines that completely ruined things.  In this case though, the plots worked.  There was a balance that ensured character development and a realistic number of war casualties, without taking away what made you fall in love with the characters in the first place.

And yes, I definitely did fall in love with the characters which, as I have definitely mentioned before, will usually win me over.  Wonderful characters, an eventful plot, and lots of good magic thrown in.  Who could ask for anything more?

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle

My aim for 2013 is to read 30 books, and given it's almost the end of April and my tally has just reached 7 it might be time to get my skates on.  Still, things have been busy lately and so a book I can dip in and out of has been exactly what was required.  Cue the second collection of Sherlock Holmes short stories...

As my second dip into the world of short stories I was a little more aware of what to expect.  For one thing, I had far more idea of how long each tale would be.  And reading in more of a stop-start nature gave me more appreciation of the individual plotlines.  It always helps, of course, to make a strong start, and in this case I did enjoy Silver Blaze.  The balance of deductive reasoning and solid clue gathering worked well, and the storyline was enjoyable as well.

Two of the cases featured as stories are from very early in Holmes' career, indeed one is his very first case.  As such Watson's words are almost exclusively a relay of Holmes' description of events.  This makes for a nice change from the usual style and provides a different frame of reference.  While I wouldn't want to read a whole novel in that format it works well as part of a collection with other styles.

All's well that ends well, and unfortunately that is where this collection falls short.  I found The Final Problem to be disappointing.  Watson's tone throughout is sombre, for obvious reasons, but this made reading a little dry.  But that wasn't what disappointed me.  Nor was the ending a disappointment, as it could hardly have been a surprise from the build up (and a visit to the Reichenbach Falls several years ago).  What disappointed me was the lack of mystery.

The whole story is a chase.  There is nothing to solve, not even a mention as to how the gang in London are to be captured.  In a way, it just felt like it wasn't a Sherlock Holmes story.  Maybe I just didn't connect with it, or was too focused on how it would end.  Or maybe it really is disappointing to a mystery fan.  Either way, it tarnished the end of what had been a very enjoyable collection.

My next dip into the world of Sherlock Holmes will be the novel that inspired me to start reading about him in the first place, but I think that will have to wait for a while.  For now I'll just read whatever takes my fancy on the day.  So many books, so little time!

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - JK Rowling

Clearly the Harry Potter bug bit me harder than I thought, and just a few days after finishing the Chamber of Secrets I found myself curled up on the sofa deep in the world of the Prisoner of Azkaban.  And I wasn't disappointed.

The third installment of the series is full of little gems, so many of which it's easy to forget amongst the main storyline that sweeps you away.  And reading with hindsight is even better.  The little remarks, such as it being the second real prophecy that Professor Trelawney has made, are so blatant when you know what they mean.

This book contains my favourite Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher in Professor Lupin.  Clearly he's a favourite amongst the pupils too, but his watchfulness over his friend's son is touching.  I also like his carefully placed quips about the makers of the Marauder's Map and similar incidents.

Sometimes I think the proof that you've enjoyed a book is after you finished reading.  Sure, I was completely immersed in the story at the time and didn't want to be distracted at all.  However, the fact that since finishing I've been running through parts of Harry Potter books in my head must surely mean more.  I've been smiling as I remembered the elation of the house Quidditch Cup, and feeling pensive about some of the less happy moments.  And most of all I've been feeling annoyed at myself that I remember barely more than a few details of the later books.  Time to put that right soon I feel!

I'll finish with the end of the book, and a conversation snippet that I had completely forgotten but made me smile broadly (and has done so now just thinking about it).
'It's a letter from my godfather.'
'Godfather?'  spluttered Uncle Vernon.  'You haven't got a godfather!'
'Yes, I have,' said Harry brightly. 'He was my mum and dad's best friend.  He's a convicted murderer, but he's broken out of prison and he's on the run.  He likes to keep in touch with me, though... keep up with my news... check I'm happy...'
And it that didn't make you smile, you need to re-read the book.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - JK Rowling

Once again I've been through a non-reading patch, and am behind on where I should be for the year.  Still, there's plenty of time left to rectify that and yesterday I managed to read almost all of the Chamber of Secrets in one sitting.

Continuing my Harry Potter re-read journey, I started reading the second book a few weeks ago but for some reason never settled in.  Slightly unusual as I have always regarded this as my favourite in the series.  I guess that the opening scenes aren't what draw me in though.

I find Tom Marvolo Riddle to be an absolutely fascinating character, particularly with the parallels drawn between his and Harry's upbringing.  The complete self-assurance of being popular and brilliant is hard to ignore.  But I think what I find most interesting is that he is a half-blood, which always puts the reactions of 'faithful' families like the Malfoys into a different context.

Part of me has now got the Harry Potter bug back, and I can't wait to read more.  But part of me thinks it might be time to return to Poirot or Holmes for some good old-fashioned detective work.  Not sure which will win, I just hope I read something!

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - JK Rowling

This is the 29th book I have written about in this blog, but the very first one that is a re-read.  It's not that I've run out of new books to read (not by a long way), the time just felt right to read something more familiar.  And after a book that was pretty heavy-going in places it was nice to read something a bit lighter.

Like a lot of other people, I've read all 7 Harry Potter books.  Books 4, 5, 6 and 7 were read as close to the day of release as could be managed.  But actually, the Goblet of Fire is the only one of those that I've ever read since.  Despite reading the earlier books several times I've never found the motivation for the others.  Until now.

My husband has said I need to watch the films, which I've managed to avoid very successfully.  The condition for me giving in is that prior to each viewing I will read the relevant book, and so will be fully equipped to complain about portions of the plot which are incorrect or missing.  And so yesterday I sat down to read Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.  It was somewhat of a novelty to be finished just a few hours later.

The main thing thing to strike me about the book was the content balance.  In my head, Harry arrives at Hogwarts really early on, and a large section is devoted to trying to get the Stone at the end.  I'm not sure if I should be blaming this on my devotion to Lego Xbox games, but it was a fair distance from reality.  Around three quarters of the way through the book it's only got as far as Christmas.  And conquering the challenges to reach the stone takes merely a chapter.

This may actually be a good thing, as it helps the book to retain its innocence.  The focus is on making friends and adjusting to life in a new school, with inter-house rivalry being of the utmost importance.  Sure, the basics of the evil that has occurred are told.  Yes, Harry has to face the guy who tried to kill him.  But really those parts serve as what they are supposed to be, a warm up for next time.

And for me that next time may be very soon indeed, as easy-reads are about all I can manage this week!

Assassin's Quest - Robin Hobb

Books are powerful things.  They can transport you to another time, to another world.  They can temporarily change your perception of reality, and permanently change your perception of yourself.  They can make you wish for more in your life, and completely take over your life.

Now that reading is becoming more of a habit for me, I'm managing to become more absorbed in stories.  And as is now tradition, reading the third book of a trilogy meant that many other things moved down the priority order.  The final component in the Farseer trilogy had me reading through my lunch break, and going to bed earlier just to get more chapters in.  One day I even got some reading in before work.

As might be expected from the title, Assassin's Quest follows the storyteller assassin on a quest.  The quest takes different forms as he and the world around him change.  A quest for revenge, a quest for knowledge, a quest to serve, a quest to save.  Much of the story is a journey with changing purpose.  Do you fight to harm your enemy or to help your friends?  How do you know who your friends are at all?

One theme that runs throughout is that of family, friendship and love.  When most of the world thinks you're dead, trusting people with the knowledge of your true identity isn't so simple.  The journey into the mountains that features in the later section of the book brings together a misfit group who are forced to lean on each other to survive.  The struggles they have each faced bring them closer together as a 'pack'.

Ok, so I haven't been the most specific here.  And there's a good reason for that.  I'm not actually sure how I felt about the book.  All I know is that it made me think about what is important.  I guess that has to be a good thing, but along the way there were aspects of the plot I struggled with.  Some of the Skilling got a bit much for me, and while I know it was supposed to be unclear when things were Skill-influenced I still got confused and slightly annoyed.  There were also a few times when I quickly read through pages as they seemed to be background detail on a subject about which I no longer cared.

The characters, as ever, were wonderful in their quirks and secrets.  The ever-evolving relationships between those characters was beautifully written.  And for all I got confused with the Skill aspects of the plot, I couldn't help but feel for its users and those used by it.  For the White Prophet and the Catalyst, the constant struggle to interpret the prophecies and not be disheartened by them also tugged at my emotions.

I think the impact from the trilogy is going to take some processing, and maybe in a few days I will feel a bit clearer about the whole thing.  But I can't dwell for too long, there's another story out there just waiting to pull me in.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle

For my next literary adventure I took a dip into the world of short stories.  This made quite a nice change from longer novels that demand you keep reading, particularly with my habit of reading short chunks in my lunch break.  That's not to say I now have a preference for the shorter format, just that variety is a good thing.

Continuing my journey through the world of Sherlock Holmes, the first two novels are followed by a collection of short stories.  While each story has its own plot, references are frequently made to past cases that have been 'documented' by Dr Watson.  Although the references are small, it is enough to feel some small reward for loyally reading everything in order.

One thing I did struggle with was the timeline.  The first story, A Scandal in Bohemia, is set shortly after The Sign of the Four, however the pattern does not continue.  While some stories play out in order others are from an earlier time, even from between when the two novels are set.  The year is usually given at the start of the story but, particularly with references to earlier documented cases that were actually later, I still found it a little hard to keep track of.

As would probably be expected of a collection of short stories, my reaction to the individual plots was mixed.  In some cases, particularly The Adventure of Copper Beeches, I managed to work out the major plot point very early on, which isn't something I particularly enjoy in a mystery book.  However with others I found the story interesting and the mystery intriguing.  The only problem is that as I read each story in a row it's hard to remember the individual plots!

And now I think I will return to novels for a while.  Not for too long though, as my obsession with Sherlock Holmes is getting stronger, and I'm sure the next collection of short stories will start to call my name.