A Game of Thrones
by George RR Martin

For the Here Be Dragons and First in a Series reading challenges.

English
837 pages
Bantam Books
ISBN: 987-0-553-57340-4

First line: “We should start back,” Gared urged them as the woods began to grow dark around them.

Back cover blurb:
In a land where summer can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom’s protective Wall. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family born as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to. Sweeping from a land of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, here is a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens. Amid plots and counterplots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, the fate of the Starks, their allies, and their enemies hangs periously in the balance, as each endeavor to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones.

Thoughts: I kept pushing back reading this forever, as it’s such a big book. I didn’t use to mind big books—quite the opposite, in fact—but then I got a job and I don’t have as much time for reading as I used to, so I’ve rarely got time to finish big books in one sitting, which is what I prefer to do (example: I read A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth, which was 1239 pages in the translation I read, in less than two days).

Anyway, I went to London and I needed to have some reading material with me, or I’d go spare, but I also didn’t want to take too much, on account of weight issues and such, so this book got to come along with me. I didn’t finish it there, but I did get about half-way through. And then I finished it today.

For the first couple of hundred pages or so, it was pretty much just confusing. It’s written in third person. However it’s not one person we follow, but at least eight (I probably forgot someone now. It wouldn’t surprise me) and they never have two chapters in a row, which means that it took a while to get to know them.

Once I did, though, things did pick up a little and the story ends up being quite good. I even had a couple of favourite characters (Dany, Eddard, Jon and Tyrion). However, I don’t feel that it was good enough that I’ll likely want to read the rest in the series. Probably not, anyway. I am itching a little to know what happens next, so maybe one day I will end up reading the other books, but right now I doubt it.

It’s a C grade, which means it was a decent read, but not awe-inspiring.

Throne of Jade
by Naomi Novik

For the Here Be Dragons reading challenge.

English
399 pages
Del Rey
ISBN: 978-0-345-48129-0

First line: The day was unseasonably warm for November, but in some misguided deference to the Chinese embassy, the fire in the Admirality boardroom had been heaped excessively high, and Laurence was standing directly before it.

Back cover blurb:
When Britain intercepted a French ship and its precious cargo—an unhatched dragon’s egg—Capt. Will Laurence of HMS Reliant unexpectedly became master and commander of the noble dragon he named Temeraire. As new recruits in Britain’s Aerial Corps, man and dragon soon proved their mettle in daring combat against Bonaparte’s invading forces.
Now China has discovered that its rare gift, intended for Napoleon, has fallen into British hands—and an angry Chinese delegation vows to reclaim the remarkable beast. But Laurence refuses to cooperate. Facing the gallows for his defiance, the captain has no choice but to accompany Temeraire back to the Far East—a long voyage fraught with peril, intrigue, and the untold terrors of the deep. Yet once the pair reaches the court of the Chinese emperor, even more shocking discoveries and darker dangers await.

Thoughts: I read the first book in this series back in January, then bought the second book in mid-February, but I haven’t got ’round to reading it until know. Don’t ask me why, as I have absolutely no idea.

It’s a really good story. There is adventure and swashbuckling and excitement, and I could hardly put the book down. I adore the main characters (Laurence and Temeraire) and their relationship with each other, as well as the plot that takes them to China. I was a little worried that I’d find the voyage there a little dull, but Novik manages to make eight months at sea quite interesting, by skipping over the parts where nothing much happens. Good on her!

I will definitely get the rest of the books as soon as I can, because this is a series I want to follow to its conclusion. There are already two more books out (possibly three by now, as I do not know the exact publication date for the fifth in the series, except that it was supposed to be sometime in June, which is almost all gone now), which is nice. The only thing is that the two books I own so far are the ones published by Del Rey, and the ones published by Voyager really have so much prettier covers. However, I refuse to mix covers.

As for the rating, it’s a B.

Sent i november
by Tove Jansson

Swedish
164 pages
Alfabeta
ISBN: 91-501-0473-X

First line: En tidig morgon i Mumindalen vaknade Snusmumriken i sitt tält och kände att det var höst och uppbrott i luften.

Back cover blurb:
Det är höst i Mumindalen. För dem som kommer dit ser allting annorlunda ut, inte riktigt som de hade tänkt sig. Och muminfamiljen tycks inte vara hemma. De som samlas i det tomma muminhuset får försöka bo och leva med varandra bäst de kan. Det är Filifjonkan och Hemulen, Mymlan, Onkelskruttet och den lilla homsan Toft. Långt bortifrån kommer Snusmumriken vandrande tillbaka i dalen där han tappat något mycket viktigt. Ute i trädgården ligger den blå glaskulan på sin pelare och speglar stora förändringar medan mörkret blir tätare omkring dem. Och slutligen en kväll börjar en helt liten men stadig ljuspunkt lysa inne i glaskulan.

Thoughts: In this book, we don’t even meet the Moomins. They are off somewhere (probably on the island they relocated to in Pappan och havet), and other characters move into their house in Moomin valley. Again, it’s a bleak and depressing tale, and most of the people populating the story are unappealing. At least Snufkin hangs around for a greater part of the story.

A C grade is what I give this. It’s not that it’s a bad story, exactly, it’s just that compared to Jansson’s earlier works, I don’t like it at all as much.

Pappan och havet
by Tove Jansson

Swedish
203 pages
AWE/Gebers
ISBN: 91-20-06402-0

First line: En obestämd eftermiddag i slutet av augusti gick en pappa omkring i sin trädgård och kände sig onödig.

Back cover blurb:
Långt ute i havet låg Ön. Den var så gott som öde. Där fanns en fyr, men den var släckt. På en udde bodde en fiskare, men han teg. Till denna ö förde pappan sin familj, som han ville beskydda och försvara.
Ön var annorlunda. Den var något helt annat än Mumindalen, där allting var som det skulle.
Sanningen att säga höll det pÃ¥ att bli ganska förfärligt pÃ¥ ön. Den var nära att förvandla alla — utom lilla My. Och orsaken var havet, som man inte kunde förstÃ¥ sig pÃ¥.
Vad som behövdes var en storm, en bärgningsbragd och att fyren tändes igen. Havet hade kanske dålig karaktär, men det var en bra fiende.
Tror du att denna roman handlar bara om muminfamiljen?
Läs den dÃ¥ en gÃ¥ng till — det gör man gärna — sÃ¥ fÃ¥r du se.

Thoughts: This is the second to last of the Moomin novels and gone are the optimistic and happy tones of the previous installments. It’s bleak and depressing, and my favourite character is missing, which is why I don’t rate this one particularly high. The best Moomin books are Trollkarlens hatt (Finn Family Moomintroll) and Farlig Midsommar (Moominsummer Madness). Well, in my opinion, anyway.

Pappan och havet receives a C grade.

Det osynliga barnet
by Tove Jansson

Swedish
167 pages
AWE/Gebers
ISBN: 91-20-07544-8

First line: En lugn och molnfri kväll i slutet av april kom Snusmumriken så långt norrut att snöfläckarna låg kvar på nordsidan.

Back cover blurb:
Om Snusmumrikens vårvisa och Ti-ti-too,
Homsans hemska äventyr och mote med lilla My,
Filifjonkan som trodde på katastrofer,
Den sista draken i världen, inte större än en tändsticksask,
Hemulen som älskade tystnad och byggde ett nöjesfält,
Det osynliga barnet som blev synligt igen,
Hatifnattarnas hemlighet,
Den lilla plysch-hunden Cedric med topasögonen,
och om Mumintrollens jul under granen i snön

handlar denna underbara bok för alla åldrar.

Thoughts: This is a collection of short stories all featuring one or more characters from the world of the Moomins. The longest of these is the one about the invisible child, which is also the one that’s given its name to the collection.

It’s not the best of Jansson’s works, but it’s more than decent all the same. A C rating is in order.