Saturday, May 21, 2011
A Review of White Cat (Curse Workers, Book 1), by Holly Black
White Cat (Curse Workers, Book 1), by Holly Black
A book review by Krista Ahlberg
The mob…now with magic!
Cassel Sharpe lives in a world much like ours…except that the touch of someone’s bare hand could kill you. In a world where magical ability—the ability to manipulate emotions, give luck, transform, and even to kill—is carried in the fingertips, magic was outlawed along with alcohol during the Prohibition and never legalized again. Gloves are worn at all times, especially in public, but everyone knows that there are curse workers still out there, whole families of them moving in the shadows and influencing events in every arena.
Cassel is the black sheep—the only non-worker in a family of workers, stuck away at boarding school, rigging poker games, fielding phone calls from his loving but misguided mother (who’s not going to be in jail much longer), and trying to forget about his best friend Lila, whom he accidentally killed three years ago. But then one night Cassel finds himself on the roof with no idea how he got there, except the memory of a white cat leading him through the darkness. With this, everything in Cassel’s world starts to shift, and he discovers that everything he thought was true is wrong. His brothers have been lying to him for years, Lila isn’t dead, and there just might be more to Cassel than anyone—even he—suspects.
I knew I would love this book from the first page. Cassel’s voice is conversational, likable, and yet dynamic, moving the reader through past and present with ease. The plot moves quickly, covering a variety of material and painting the world in fantastic detail: you’ve got to admire a book that makes both a trip to the animal shelter to kidnap a cat and a seedy underground mobster restaurant vital to the story it’s telling. White Cat brings together a large cast of interesting characters, all realistic, flawed, and often very funny, especially Cassel’s Granddad, who stands out among the rest. My only complaint is the book’s ending, which seemed to rush through the final climactic scenes and failed to explain everything to my satisfaction. But I have high hopes for the sequel, Red Glove, and I don’t doubt that it will live up to all of them.
A book review by Krista Ahlberg
The mob…now with magic!
Cassel Sharpe lives in a world much like ours…except that the touch of someone’s bare hand could kill you. In a world where magical ability—the ability to manipulate emotions, give luck, transform, and even to kill—is carried in the fingertips, magic was outlawed along with alcohol during the Prohibition and never legalized again. Gloves are worn at all times, especially in public, but everyone knows that there are curse workers still out there, whole families of them moving in the shadows and influencing events in every arena.
Cassel is the black sheep—the only non-worker in a family of workers, stuck away at boarding school, rigging poker games, fielding phone calls from his loving but misguided mother (who’s not going to be in jail much longer), and trying to forget about his best friend Lila, whom he accidentally killed three years ago. But then one night Cassel finds himself on the roof with no idea how he got there, except the memory of a white cat leading him through the darkness. With this, everything in Cassel’s world starts to shift, and he discovers that everything he thought was true is wrong. His brothers have been lying to him for years, Lila isn’t dead, and there just might be more to Cassel than anyone—even he—suspects.
I knew I would love this book from the first page. Cassel’s voice is conversational, likable, and yet dynamic, moving the reader through past and present with ease. The plot moves quickly, covering a variety of material and painting the world in fantastic detail: you’ve got to admire a book that makes both a trip to the animal shelter to kidnap a cat and a seedy underground mobster restaurant vital to the story it’s telling. White Cat brings together a large cast of interesting characters, all realistic, flawed, and often very funny, especially Cassel’s Granddad, who stands out among the rest. My only complaint is the book’s ending, which seemed to rush through the final climactic scenes and failed to explain everything to my satisfaction. But I have high hopes for the sequel, Red Glove, and I don’t doubt that it will live up to all of them.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
The Wind Singer: Book Review
Book reviews often start with comparisons. “For those of you who loved x, you should really try y,” the reviewers say. But I can’t take that easy path with this review for The Wind Singer by William Nicholson, simply because I can’t think of anything else to which I could possibly compare it. The Wind Singer is the first book of The Wind on Fire trilogy. It concerns ten-year-old twins Bowman and Kestrel Hath, and their long journey to save their city, Aramanth. The people of Aramanth are governed by tests and sorted into castes by the results. In the center of Aramanth stands a strange structure called the Wind Singer; once it made beautiful music, but ever since the removal of its “voice” (a small, silver S), it only creaks. The rebellious Kestrel and the highly empathic Bowman set out to get it back and restore the true spirit of Aramanth. Rounding out the cast of characters are the twins’ eccentric parents and baby sister, and their outcast classmate Mumpo.
The world of this book is highly unlike anything I’ve ever read. Underground mud-diggers, a chocolate button-addicted emperor, eternally battling mobile cities, and the terrifying Old Children are just some of the elements that combine to create a bizarre, often humorous, and extremely vivid setting. A mystical element is introduced with the Morah, which is a great malevolent entity (or entities) bent on destruction. This and the Old Children will send shivers up the back of any reader, especially the very young. However, children readers will also appreciate how Kestrel and Bowman have more insight than many of the foolish or ignorant adults around them, and will be drawn into the fast-paced action. The next two books of the trilogy, Slaves of the Mastery and Firesong, take place five years later, when the twins are fifteen, and are consequently a bit darker and heavier, though Nicholson never loses his propensity for whimsy. All three books have a vast, spiritual thematic landscape, but are grounded by the details of the world and, more importantly, by the intense, immediate emotions of the characters. I highly recommend The Wind Singer and its sequels, and would gladly discuss them with anyone who takes me up on that recommendation!
by Kathleen Kellet, Quiver Editor
The world of this book is highly unlike anything I’ve ever read. Underground mud-diggers, a chocolate button-addicted emperor, eternally battling mobile cities, and the terrifying Old Children are just some of the elements that combine to create a bizarre, often humorous, and extremely vivid setting. A mystical element is introduced with the Morah, which is a great malevolent entity (or entities) bent on destruction. This and the Old Children will send shivers up the back of any reader, especially the very young. However, children readers will also appreciate how Kestrel and Bowman have more insight than many of the foolish or ignorant adults around them, and will be drawn into the fast-paced action. The next two books of the trilogy, Slaves of the Mastery and Firesong, take place five years later, when the twins are fifteen, and are consequently a bit darker and heavier, though Nicholson never loses his propensity for whimsy. All three books have a vast, spiritual thematic landscape, but are grounded by the details of the world and, more importantly, by the intense, immediate emotions of the characters. I highly recommend The Wind Singer and its sequels, and would gladly discuss them with anyone who takes me up on that recommendation!
by Kathleen Kellet, Quiver Editor
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Monday, November 1, 2010
Welcome!
Quiver, Knox College's collection of genre webzines, has a temporary home at this blog. Issue 4 of Diminished Capacity, Knox's humor/satire webzine, will be posted here.
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