Lirael

Lirael by Garth Nix
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Lirael is a Sightless misfit amongst the prophetic Clayr, but during her work at the dangerous Library she discovers that her destiny may lay elsewhere; helping the Abhorsen defeat the rise of the Dead.

This is a sequel to Sabriel, set nearly twenty years after the defeat of Kerrigor. We finally get to see the inside of the Clayr's Glacier, where Lirael has grown up as an orphan. She is self-pitying and isolated by her sense of being different - more than anything else, she longs to gain the Sight that will make her a full Clayr.

To keep herself occupied, she takes up a post in the Library, a place so dangerous that Librarians wear whistles and keep clockwork mice in their pockets to call for help. Lirael discovers a talent for Charter Magic and begins uncovering some of the many secrets of her Library. The Library is even cooler than the Abhorsen's House, and it's a setting I wanted to see more of, along with the Clayr's Glacier.

Sabriel and Touchstone are now rulers, with two grown heirs ready to take up their work. At least, until their son Sam is attacked by a powerful necromancer and deeply traumatized by the event. Sam is a perpetual worrywart whose brush with Death made him afraid of his own calling just as an ancient evil is rising to destroy his homeland. It takes Sam and Lirael a long time to connect, but it is clear that they will work together in the next book.

Added to Moggett the cat is the happy-go-lucky Disreputable Dog, who is the perfect friend for a lonely young girl. The depiction of two teenagers who feel anxious about their futures is spot-on, down to the self-pity and self-absorption that slowly gives away to a sense of greater purpose. I think that fans of the Bartimaeus trilogy (starting with The Amulet of Samarkand) would love this book, too. Of course, I'm planning on rereading the final book of the Abhorsen trilogy, Abhorsen.

Quotable:
"The Library was shaped like a nautilus shell, a continuous tunnel that wound down into the mountain in an ever-tightening spiral. This main spiral was an enormously long, twisting ramp that took you from the high reaches of the mountain down past the level of the valley floor, several thousand feet below."

Ptolemy's Gate

Ptolemy's Gate by Jonathan Stroud

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Boy magician Nathaniel tightens his grip on the reins of power with help from his faithless djinn, Bartimaeus; meanwhile, Kitty Jones searches for a way to bring England's tyrannical magicians down.

Nathaniel, known as John Mandrake, is becoming increasingly disillusioned with the petty jostling for power that he sees among England's oligarchy of magicians. The prime minister is weak and paranoid, the war in America is going badly, and Nathaniel's role is limited to writing bad propaganda to convince the increasingly restless commoners that war is great. In his need for a connection, he's worn Bartimaeus down to a dripping pile of essence, fatally weakening the 5,000-year-old djinn by keeping him in constant service (without frequent trips back to the Other Place, demons die).

Meanwhile, Kitty Jones is secretly being awesome and has taken Bartimaeus's lessons from the last book to heart. She's searching for information about the enslaved demons to figure out how to free humanity from its cycle of magical tyranny, commoner revolt, rinse, repeat. We get great scenes between her and Bartimaeus as these two characters size each other up.

Woven throughout are scenes that finally illuminate Bartimaeus' deep friendship with the Egyptian boy, Ptolemy, which has been hinted at but never revealed in the other books.

This series is all about the characters: I want more scenes between Nathaniel and Bartimaeus, and Nathaniel and Kitty, and Bartimaeus and Kitty, and all three together. The way that each rubs up against the other is fascinating, and I am so relieved to see Nathaniel leave his terrible teens behind as he realizes the bigger picture and the horrible role he's been playing in the world so far. He's lost most of his annoying foppish tendencies, which is a shame since it was always fun to see Bartimaeus needle his master.

Storywise, the threads spun in the first two books all come together in an incredibly frightening and bloody climax (though I still find Gladstone's afrit from The Golem's Eye the creepiest thing ever). It's definitely not for readers on the younger end of YA. (For younger readers who like grim fantasy, start them with Suzanne Collins' Gregor the Overlander series instead and let them work their way up to Bartimaeus.)

I can't comment on the series without saying that the end broke my heart. I almost cried. I had hoped for an eleventh-hour rescue, and didn't believe what had happened until the last page forced me to. I loved Nathaniel/Bartimaeus/Kitty, and didn't want it to end that way for them, though I accept that there was no other way to end the story without it feeling like a cheat. Still, boo for making me care and then breaking my heart.

The Golem's Eye

The Golem's Eye by Jonathan Stroud

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Rebel Kitty Jones and her group threaten young magician Nathaniel's rise to power, so he summons the quick-witted djinni Bartimaeus to take care of them - and defeat the unstoppable creature threatening London's magical treasures.

There are now three point-of view characters: we have the always-delightful demon Bartimaeus, the overly ambitious but clever Nathaniel (now known as John Mandrake), and the energetic hero, Kitty Jones. Stroud brings back all the magic mayhem of The Amulet of Samarkand and gives me exactly what I hoped for: a look into the alternate world he's created, where England's empire stretches across the world well into the modern era thanks to their greedy but powerful magicians.

Poor Nathaniel. I can't help but like him, though he does absolutely nothing right. Getting into the government (as John Mandrake) has worsened his character. His hunger for power and vengeful tendencies are only exacerbated once he enters the insular, back-stabbing society of high-level magicians. He continues to treat Bartimaeus badly, calling him "slave" and generally being a brat. His cleverness is his one redeeming quality - and even that only makes him worse as a person.

Bartimaeus is his usual snarky, shape-shifting self, outraged at being summoned from his comfy Other Place to serve as Nathaniel's gofer. Understandably, he's irritated by being forced to take orders from someone 4,986 years younger than himself and our favorite demon is still quicker to hide than risk harming his essence in a fight.

Kitty is the real hero of this book. I think Stroud realized he needed a wholly likable character for balance, since Bartimaeus and Nathaniel spend every scene with each other as antagonists. (And Nathaniel is such a toad in this book.*) Kitty is a commoner (non-magician) with an unusual gift who recognizes the injustice of the magical oligarchy and wants to gain rights for her fellow British citizens. She's great, and she's the perfect antidote to Nathaniel.

It's an increasingly dark world, full of casual violence and blatant injustice where might makes right. I loved it, and I can't wait to see what happens to these characters in Ptolemy's Gate, the final book in the series. For older readers who love His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman or Garth Nix's The Keys to the Kingdom series.

*Not literally. That wasn't a spoiler. Bartimaeus is more likely to be a literal toad in these books.

Shadow and Bone

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Grisha come for Alina when they realize she is one of them: powerfully gifted, and destined to help rid their land of the terrible darkness of the Unsea.

Alina grew up as a peasant in an orphanage with her best friend Mal before they both joined the army. She doesn't believe she has any magic, but the Darkling, leader of the elite magicians known as the Grisha, understands exactly what she is and how to increase her power. They take her far from Mal, who Alina is in love with, and into the unfamiliar opulence of the king's court.

Alina is soon plunged into Grisha training and the deeply entangled politics of the king's court, where the Darkling is the real power. Slowly, Alina begins to hope that she can help the Grisha heal a diseased portion of land called the Unsea, which is inhabited by flesh-eating monsters and divides the kingdom of Ravka in half.

Shadow and Bone is set in a fantasy version of feudal Russia, complete with a weakened royal family and a Rasputin-like adviser called the Apparat. There's plenty of adventure, some great romance, and a terrible threat in the form of the shadowy Unsea. It's an impressive first novel, and I've already bought the sequel, Siege and Storm, which comes out on June 4th. The final book is Ruin and Rising, scheduled for 2014.

Shadow and Bone adds to all the excellent fantasy being published today that stars strong and interesting heroines. (I'm in book heaven!) If you've read it and can't stand to wait for the sequels, check out these series in the meantime:

• Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor, which is set in Prague and features a blue-haired art student named Karou who sketches monsters.
• I loved Seraphina by Rachel Hartman, which has a strong medieval Europe setting and one of the coolest takes on dragons I've seen in a long time.
• For those looking for fantasy worlds that are non-European, try Eon (and its sequel Eona, which completes the story) by Alison Goodman. It's set in a fantasy version of China and Japan and has plot elements similar to Shadow and Bone. Plus, more dragons!
• Or for a book set in modern-day London that has cool magic, two fantastic male leads, and a series that's already complete, try The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud.

The Amulet of Samarkand

The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When a young apprentice magician summons the djinn Bartimaeus to steal a magical amulet, both djinn and boy discover that revenge is often more trouble than it's worth.

Nathaniel lives in an alternate, contemporary London where ambitious, and selfish magicians are the ruling elite. Someday he'll be one himself, and he's made a good start: at age twelve, he's made an enemy and feels a burning desire for revenge. His life is harsh, but Nathaniel is clever and he knows just how he wants to get even. He's also a lonely boy starved for attention and affection who takes refuge in amassing power and becoming every bit as touchy and self-important as the magicians around him.

Bartimaeus is a jaded, 5,000-year-old djinn who lives by his wits and sees human masters as temporary annoyances until he can figure out a way to pull the rug out from under them and get a little revenge of his own. He is surprised to see how young his new master is, but that doesn't make the boy any less able to order him around - to the proud djinn's irritation. Bartimaeus' side of the story is told in first person, and he's a hilarious narrator who makes frequent asides that make his scorn for humanity and his pride in his own cleverness apparent.

It's been a while since I read a fantasy book that pulled me in like this one. The characters are deeply flawed but still likable, and I have high hopes for Nathaniel's future character development (where I hope his personality will be leavened under the snarky guidance of the djinn). There are hints of a much-needed revolution happening in London, possibly led by a mysterious girl whose power even Bartimaeus doesn't understand. It's an intriguing world, and I can't wait to see more of it!