Tricked by Kevin Hearne

(Iron Druid Chronicles #4)
Genre: urban fantasy
Pages: 338 (handy Mass-market paperback)
Published: April 2012 by Random House
Recommended for: only those who've read the first three books in the series, but I recommend the Iron Druid books to absolutely any fan of urban fantasy or the paranormal genre

My Take:

At the start of this fourth book in the series, our hero Atticus O'Sullivan, last living Druid on Earth, has just returned from the realm of Asgard and a mission to kill the Norse god Thor to find that-- as per usual for Atticus-- a whole bunch of gods, goddesses, and mythological characters of various ilk and pantheon would like very much to see him dead.  After conscripting his old friend Coyote (of Navajo and other Native American tribal lore) to help him fake his old grand demise, Atticus just wants time to train Granuaile, the former philosophy major/hot-headed lady bartender he took on as his apprentice a few books ago, in the magical arts, to spend some quality hunting time with his Irish wolfhound Oberon, and generally lay low for a decade or so.  Unfortunately for Atticus, Coyote has something else in mind: he recruits Atticus to solve a seemingly innocent problem in the local Navajo tribe which turns out to involve defeating a couple of malevolent and nearly invincible local skinwalkers-- scary Western American shapeshifters.  Add to that already deadly mix the reemergence of Atticus's vampiric friend and lawyer Leif, a (characteristically violent) vampire political feud, a Navajo hatalii (medicine man) who is more than he seems, and a very foreboding encounter with the Norse goddess of the Norse underworld (appropriately named Hel) and her pet hellhound, and you have, well, another week in the life of Atticus O'Sullivan.  You have to wonder how the poor guy gets any downtime, after dealing with a millennium or two of this kind of stuff.

This is the third book in the Iron Druid Chronicles which I've reviewed (somehow I managed to miss the chronological third book, Hammered, but I'll get around to reviewing it sometime.)  I remain just extremely impressed and generally delighted by this unconventional and endlessly entertaining fantasy series.  Atticus's flashback-stories about his life in various countries and time periods, the modern urban Arizona setting, the eclectic-ness of the mythological people and creatures featured-- and how hilariously they are portrayed in many cases-- is just fantastic.  In Hammered (the volume I haven't reviewed yet), Atticus has an encounter with the Virgin Mary as well as of course her peace-loving son, Jesus Christ, a variety of valkyries, and of course the total jerk that is the Norse thunder god Thor.  In Tricked, we get to meet somewhat fewer new characters and deities than in the previous books, probably because the ranks of the series' large cast have already swelled with so many great characters.

There is the introduction of Hel and a dastardly hint about a possibly pending apocalypse (but what else is new??)  We get much better acquainted with Coyote-- one of my absolute favorites from the earlier books. Coyote definitely lives up to his reputation as a trickster god, but I came to love his distinct way of talking and pulling strings around "behind the scenes"-- oh, and the way he calls Atticus "Mr. Druid".  I don't want to dole out a ton of spoilers (it's hard with these books, because I just want to put my favorite of Atticus's quotes and pop culture references in the review and maybe frame them), but all of the running gags with Atticus and Granuaile and Oberon had me chuckling out loud every few pages.  (This, by the way, is not such good behavior to be exhibiting-- I'm in college and have a roommate now.)  Speaking of Atticus's hound Oberon, he featured quite a lot in this book, especially compared to Hammered, where his hilarious commentary, lovable naivety, and penchant for sausages were for the most part much missed.  I also enjoyed the (slow but definitely present) progression of Atticus and Granuaile's relationship, which is frequently less master-pupil than Atticus says he would prefer it to be.  (But we all know he belongs with Granuaile and Granuaile alone.)  Who knows, maybe their romance will take front seat in the next Iron Druid book, Trapped.  This fifth book will be released on November 27th, which is soon but barely acceptable-- I need another "fix" of this series very soon.    I'd absolutely love to hear from fellow Iron Druid fans or any other readers!!

My Rating:

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Genre: historical fantasy
Pages: 387 (paperback)
Published: September 2011 by Doubleday

Synopsis (from Goodreads): The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.

True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus per­formers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead. 

My Take: 
The Night Circus is like a mesmerizing performance written in short acts, chapters from different character perspectives and timelines which wind together to form a beautiful and intricate story.  The book itself has the feel of a very enchanting circus: along with the main show involving Celia and Marco, two young enchanters trained in two different schools of magic and made by their respective teachers to participate in a game to prove which is stronger, the reader is afforded brief glimpses into other circus tents. The subplots in this book are truly intriguing as well as relevant, and I'm discovering that some of the less-developed stories, like those belonging to the various circus performers and visitors,  are the ones which linger most potently in my mind.  I was captivated by the circus's mysterious contortionist, Tsukiko; by the tarot reader who helps to hold the fate of the circus in balance with a single card; by the German clockmaker who falls in love with the circus and becomes the first of its most ardent admirers, a reveur; and by the Murray twins, born on the circus's opening night and forever bound up in its web of magic and secrets.

This was a novel right up my alley in many ways: the Victorian elements paired with the subtle romance, a cast of characters with ambiguous motives and hidden depths, and of course, the magic.  It's so rare that a reader can become completely immersed in a fictional setting, but this is one of those unique books which helps us accomplish it.  Reading this spectacular novel, I can imagine with perfectly clarity what it would be like to walk down the chilly, winding roads of the Night Circus wrapped in a Victorian overcoat and a woolen red scarf, passing by black and white-striped tents and breathing in the scents of bonfires and caramel popcorn.  There are so few books with settings as lucid and characters as fully-realized as that of The Night Circus that I would be hard-pressed to come up with more than a couple more-- Hogwarts in the Harry Potter series as that kind of this-could-be-a-real-place feel, and maybe Narnia.  To successfully endow a book with that quality of perfect seamless immersive-ness is a kind of literary magic, the ultimate achievement in any genre, but particularly in fantasy.  I really wish there were more books in the world as beautifully-written and complex, yet sweet and simply intriguing, as this one.

My rating:

Poison Study by Maria V Snyder

Genre: fantasy
Pages: 409 (paperback)
Published: 2005 by Mira
Recommended for: not just fantasy fans-- pretty much any reader will find something to enjoy in this one

My Take:

Poison Study has a lot in common with those USA spy shows which they run marathons of every week or so.  Even the people who consider themselves immune to the mind-numbing powers of drama TV for the most part *waves hand*, will doubtless fall prey to the absorbing formulaic plot and constant action, and end up watching the entire episode no matter how they try to get away during commercial breaks.  There were a lot of elements in this novel I'd definitely seen before in fantasy: lots of court politics (minus the king, who'd been murdered long ago), gossipy kitchen workers, Smelly Dungeons, and a Seemingly Ordinary Girl who in fact is an Innately Potent Magician and perhaps also a Lost Heir.  (If you're ever up for a laugh, read Diana Wynne Jones's Tough Guide to Fantasyland).

Yelena has spent the past year rotting away in a dungeon, awaiting her execution for the murder of a General's son.  A murder she does not even deny committing.  When Yelena is roughly wrenched from her prison at last, she expects to encounter the noose, but instead she is brought before Valek, the Commander's most expert and trusted ally.  Valek informs her that the Commander's previous food-taster has died, and by law, the next prisoner to be executed-- her-- must be offered the position.  Desperate to escape the noose, Yelena agrees.  She begins to train under Valek, for it seems there is more to being the Commander's official food-taster than taking a bite of his meals and waiting to see if she keels over.  Yelena learns the precise and deadly art of poisons and of physical combat, from a couple of friendly soldiers, even as the circumstances surrounding her crime are brought violently into the light by enemies of the Commandeer, including the father of the man she killed.  Meanwhile, Yelena cannot help but be drawn in by Valek.  Dangerous and unknowable as he is, she dares to believe that she has discovered a hidden kindness in this apparently cold and business-like assassin...

Yelena was an intelligent protagonist, and I really grew to like her despite the fact she tended to get in a hell of a lot of trouble every few minutes.  (Really, the woman broke a record for Most Injuries Received Over the Course of 400 Pages!)  Valek was my favorite character by far.  He was ninja, in a word.  I also loved how he showed that he cared for Yelena in very small ways at first-- so much that we were never quite sure he returned her equally subtle affections, but strongly suspected it.  I can't wait to read more about these two... must get Fire Study, the sequel.  There were a few plot twists I saw coming, and one I never would have guessed in a billion years.  Poison Study is a great read-- not the most unique fantasy ever, but a fascinating and very well-written one nevertheless. 

Cover: 4/5 (there are a ton of different covers-- I don't like this one the best, but it was the cheapest editon ;)
Premise: 4/5
Characters: 5/5
Story: 4/5
Overall Rating: