Yay for YA: Sisters' Fate by Jessica Spotswood

It's probably worth repeating something I said earlier this year in another YA review: I don't typically indulge in reading to completion.  So when I actually do finish a trilogy, you can bet that the author impressed me enough that I felt it worth my time to see it through to the end.

There was no way I was going to let Sisters' Fate, the third and final book in the Cahill Witch Chronicles trilogy by Jessica Spotswood, slip by me.  That twist at the end of the second book!  Oh, my word!  I actually squawked when I read what happened, and wanted to throw something at the perpetrating character.  So, I just had to know how things resolved in this book.

Not to mention, does the prophecy that one of the three sisters kills another come true?  Or can fate be changed?

(For my review of the first book, Born Wicked, click here.)

Statistics
Checkouts: The book is new to the school library; the series surprisingly hasn't been checked out at all.  I need to talk it up more, apparently.
Typical reader: Teen girls looking for paranormal romance
Source: Snowbound Books

Synopsis: As a fever ravages the city of New London, Cate must deal with what happened at the end of Star Cursed, the prophecy and what it could mean, her little sister Tess's own prophecies, her middle sister Maura's conniving ways, and regaining Finn's trust.

My Goodreads rating: 5 stars

First, I must comment on the cover art.  It's an improvement over the first book's hardcover printing, where Cate (presumably) looks all come-hither and wonton.  The paperback edition of the first book, and the printings of the subsequent books, fit the stories much better.  The three girls on this cover look like they could be Maura, Cate, and Tess.

On to the book itself.  It was everything I wanted, and more.  The end of the trilogy answered questions, left a few tasty dangling threads, and overall satisfied me.  There's also a tremendous climax - multi-tiered, even - that is action-packed and far-reaching.

What I loved most about this book is that while there's romance, it surpasses what is the norm in teen literature.  Cate benefits from her beau, but does not rely on him.  He's a support, not a crutch.  She can love, without being codependent.  This is absolutely marvelous, and well-written.  We need more strong females in YA fiction like her!  Really, many of us could learn a bit from Cate.

I look forward to more of Ms. Spotswood's works in the future.  (Also, thank you for the bookmarks.)

Guilty Pleasures: The Clockwork Dagger, by Beth Cato

The book I'd like to tell you about today comes out tomorrow (Tuesday, Sept. 16).  I read the ARC two months ago.  Oops!  Not to say I've been busy or anything.

Here's my review of The Clockwork Dagger by Beth Cato.

Statistics
Checkouts: Comes out tomorrow - none!  Having copies on the shelf before the release date is unethical, if not illegal.
Typical reader: Fans of steampunk, perhaps particularly the Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger (I actually agree with a read-alike on the back cover of an ARC, for once)
Source: Advanced reading copy, courtesy of Snowbound Books

Synopsis: Trained as a medician (medical magician, if you will), Octavia Leander sets off into the world to take her first job in a rural town.  But there is much intrigue and adventure to be had on her journey by airship.

My Goodreads rating: 5 stars

I fell in love with this book within the first dozen pages.  This is no small feat, but I was extremely impressed.  In that short amount of text, I learned more about the protagonist, why we should like her, how magic works, and the world she lives in than in some entire books.

And the book kept my love throughout.  This is one that I resisted finishing as long as I could, to savor it longer.  It depressed me at the end to know that I was reading an ARC, and I would have to wait even longer for the sequel (and it sounds like there will be one!)

How did I adore this book?  Let me count the ways.

• It has a plucky, unique heroine with a well-rounded support cast.
• The magic is unlike any other I've read about, coming closest to a cross between a Dragonlance mystic and a druid with a penchant for healing.
• It's an interracial romance!  How common is that?!  For all the diversity in romance in literature, you'd forget that Loving v. Virginia made it legal in the U.S nearly 50 years ago.  Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell gets a lot of its attention because it's a love story between an overweight redhead girl and a half-Korean boy.  I'd honestly like to see more books like these.
• Speaking of the romance, it isn't overbearing.  And in a Victorian-style steampunk setting, that's to be expected.  Flirting and wooing is very cordial.
• The plot has plenty of twists, turns, and intrigue.
• The worldbuilding is exquisite.  It has a Dickensian feel, particularly in the cities.  There wasn't much interaction between Octavia and the poor, but one particular scene made me sit back and say, "Whoa."  Outside the cities, the author has constructed an interesting, different world with a mixture of magic and mechanisms, spirituality and science.

Go out tomorrow and buy this book.  It could well be the best fiction I read all year.

Yay for YA: Hold Me Closer, Necromancer

Do you read books that people swear you'll like?  Do you like the suggested books?  Or do you feel like the person had no clue what you actually like?

Dana at Snowbound Books has been recommending the following book to me for several years now, practically since it was published.  And Dana is a pretty good judge of what people could like to read; it's her job as a store owner, and she and I used to work together, so she does know my tastes.  I finally purchased it for the public library, and read it before cataloging it.  Did it live up to her hype?

Statistics
Checkouts: New to the public library
Typical reader: Fans of teen urban fantasy, teens looking for something edgy, fans of ALA award winners and finalists
Source: Snowbound Books

Synopsis: Sam LaCroix, a college dropout working at a burger joint, is surprised to learn that he is a necromancer.  And that he has enemies because of this.

My Goodreads rating: 3 stars (3.5, rounded down)

Let's talk about what young adult literature is.  I took a class on it, back in my master's program.  And from that, I can tell you: everyone has a different definition of it.  It depends on the definition of "young adult."  Are young adults just teens?  Should college students be included?  Can it extend all the way through the 20s, especially considering how many 20-somethings are still in school, still living at home, still unemployed or minimally employed?  Can we judge it based on what the American Library Association awards in the young adult categories?

If we work with a strict definition of "young adult literature is for teens, under 18," I wouldn't call it YA lit.  The protagonist is a college dropout.  There are also elements to the book that would make me hesitate to hand it to immature high school students.  If they pick it up on their own, fine, it's their business and their parents' or guardians'.  I'm not one to censor.  But would I put this in a school library?  No.  Would I shelve it in a teen section?  *squirm*  Eh ...

On the other hand, ALA committees liked it and called it YA.  Hold Me Closer, Necromancer was a finalist for the 2011 William C. Morris Debut Award, which is for a new author's first book in the YA realm.  It was also on the YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) Best Fiction for Young Adults top ten list for 2011.

I also don't think it would appeal to typical adult readers.  If your library has a "new adult" section, perhaps this book should be there.  It's probably the best place possible.  If not, YA works.

What did I actually think of the book?  I suppose you are here for the review.

I greatly enjoyed the character development.  Learning about Sam's background, which had many secrets and tantalizing revelations, captivated my interests.  Characters are well-rounded, intriguing, and quirky.  And the back of the book is amusingly vague, almost misleading, about his "undead friend" and "hot werewolf girl."  Surprises can be fun, particularly in this book.  I thoroughly enjoyed finding out all of what James was.

The plot ... it was an interesting twist on coming-of-age and finding one's place in life, certainly.  But if you read a lot of this sort of genre, it blends in and is unremarkable.  It suffers from a problem that gamers familiar with the Old World of Darkness settings would understand: The trope that everyone is actually supernatural, and the last human just became a hunter.  Yawn.  A bit of normalcy would have been exciting, if you get where I'm coming from.

That said, I did enjoy it overall.  I could find myself reading the sequel, because there is a curious thread left hanging.

Yay for YA: Born Wicked

Here is the first in my series of catch-up reviews.  This is a book that I read January 27-February 3.  Now it's almost the end of March.  Shame on me.

What's even worse about delaying this review is that it was such a good book!  Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood is a historical fiction, with paranormal and romantic elements, that I thoroughly enjoyed.  I can hardly wait for the sequel, which come out in June.

Statistics
Checkouts: New to the charter school library
Typical reader: Teen girls in need of sci-fi/fantasy books, or teen girls looking for paranormal romance
Source: Authors Are Rockstars! giveaway

Synopsis: In an alternative turn-of-the-twentieth-century New England, religious orders hold sway and accusing witches never went out of style.  However, some girls and women actually are witches, such as Cate Cahill and her sisters.  Cate is coming of age, and she will soon have to choose someone to be betrothed to, or the priests of the Brotherhood will.  Luckily, her old childhood friend Paul McLeod is home and expressing interest in her hand in marriage - or there's the bookseller's son, Finn Belastra, who is the Cahill's gardener and oh-so-tempting.  All the while, Cate must try to keep the family secret from ruining all she cares for.

My Goodreads rating: 5 stars

Be shocked!  I have given a romance novel 5 stars, a top rating.  What could make it so good that even I can applaud a romantic YA story?

First and foremost, there's the writing style.  It charmed me quickly.  Ms. Spotswood does a great job of introducing the characters straightaway, so that I soon knew them and could relate to and care about them.  Also, there author has no fear of flexing a large vocabulary.  I was scrambling to look up a new word on page 10 (barouche).  I appreciate learning new words, which is difficult to do with YA literature and my already-ample lexicon.  It's also appropriate for historical fiction, because educated people (such as Cate Cahill) actually did have decent vocabularies.

Second, there isn't just a love triangle!  It's introduced a bit late in the book, but there's a third option.  Cate learns some interesting tidbits about the Sisterhood from the governess her father has hired for her and her sisters.  Joining the Sisterhood, which would offer more educational opportunities, delay or stave off marriage, and include other benefits that I'm not going to spoil, is something Cate must consider in addition to the young men that vie for her affection.  Which will she choose?

Finally, there are some great twists to the plot.  That's all I'm going to say about that!

Guilty Pleasure: A Game of Thrones (the book)

Hello, I'm back!  I hope you didn't miss me too much during my hiatus.  While I did not get much writing done, I did do a lot of reading - 835 pages worth in one book alone.  Let me tell you about this behemoth, known as A Game of Thrones in the Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin.

(Note: video, screenshots, and music of A Game of Thrones from HBO, all rights and such are theirs.  Please don't eat me.)

Statistics
Checkouts: Not owned by the charter school library
Typical reader: Fantasy aficionados who are not daunted by reading a paper brick; fans of the show on HBO
Source: Birthday present

Synopsis: ... You want me to summarize a book that's more than 800 pages?  A lot happens!  The main plot involves the Stark family of the north, as their lord Eddard is invited south by his old friend, King Robert Baratheon, to be the Hand of the King; political intrigue and dark family secrets abound.  Meanwhile, his illegitimate son, Jon Snow, goes north to the Wall to nobly protect the Seven Kingdoms from whatever lies in the frozen wastelands beyond.  Finally, an exiled, deposed princess struggles to find her place in the world.

My Goodreads rating: 5 stars

I believe I've mentioned before that I really enjoy fantasy, but it's a turnoff that so many adult fantasy novels are massive tomes.  Several of my friends rave about this series, though, and with them I've watched the first two seasons of A Game of Thrones on HBO.  The show, which is very good (though very adult), swayed me to read what it was all about.

Kudos to everyone that made the first season of A Game of Thrones happen.  It followed the book very well, giving superb visualizations to the text.  Some scenes are even on Youtube, and worth revisiting from time to time, like Tyrion the Imp smacking his nephew, Prince Joffrey.  (The video below loops the slapping, because it's just that satisfying.)

What could the show have done better, to be more accurate?  It needed more dire wolves and less prostitutes.  While there is certainly sex in the book, the show added plenty more, of many varieties, to meet a sort of cleavage quota or something.

In the book, Tyrion liked to read.

In the show, Tyrion liked bed sport.

To focus on the novel itself, this masterfully crafted brick of a book is told from multiple third-person-limited vantage points to paint the wide world and intricate plots from the eyes of those involved.  Many of the Stark household are focused on, as well as Tyrion the Imp, brother-in-law to the king, and Daenerys Targaryen, the last descendant of the former ruling house.  Fall in love with them or revile them, these main characters and the dozens of supporting cast are well-rounded, deep, flawed, and utterly exquisite.

Do you like complex plots, with plenty of intertwining stories and facets?  This is an excellent book for these reasons.  A myriad of events, dealings, scandals, mysteries, magic, schemes, and dreams occur.  If you like a well-described world, it can be found here.

I could go on and on about this book, but maybe I'll just dance about it instead.

Yay for YA: Bitterblue

As I promised on Friday in my "Feature and Follow Friday" post, I would like to tell you about Kristin Cashore's latest book, Bitterblue.  But if you've read that post, you also know a bit of what I thought of it.  If you haven't, that's cool too.  Welcome to the review.

Statistics
Checkouts: Coming soon to the library
Series checkouts: 23
Typical reader: YA fantasy readers, and fans of the series
Source: Snowbound Books

Synopsis: Eight years after the events of Graceling, Queen Bitterblue of Monsea is still trying to make heads or tails of what happened in her father's reign, correct wrongdoings, and be a fair and just ruler.  All these things are very hard to do.  She also sneaks out at night and meets interesting townsfolk.

My Goodreads rating: 3 stars

Isn't that a beautiful cover?  I love blues and purples, and these jewel tones are so vibrant.  The gold lettering looks great with it all, too.

But you know what they say.  You can't judge a book by its cover.

Well ... thinking this will be a beautiful book is somewhat correct.  I sum it up as "beautifully boring."  The prose is excellent.  It just doesn't go anywhere.  And it takes 563 pages to do that.  This is one chunky book.  Thick books aren't a bad thing - Eona, which I reviewed earlier this year, was 637 pages, and I quite liked that one.

But this isn't just a doorstop.  While it takes forever to accomplish anything, and I did put it down for a few months to read more interesting books, this novel does have merit.

1. Maps, illustrations, and other accoutrements.  I can really appreciate maps in books.  Fantasy novels, as well as history and historical fiction books, can be enhanced with physical representations of where the books' events happen.  This not only has maps of the lands and the castle, it also has a glossary of people (though that does contain a few spoilers), and renderings of the bridges in the capitol city.  These things please me.
2. Katsa and Po.  While it is said that Bitterblue can be read without either Graceling or Fire, you'd be greatly missing out if you jumped right in without at least reading the former.  (Minor spoiler, but a character from Fire doesn't show up until page 500.)  This is especially true with the protagonist from Graceling and her bosom buddy.  The book brightened when Po, Bitterblue's cousin, showed up.  It became more interesting.  Bitterblue is a good character, but it really felt like Ms. Cashore put her heart into Po and Katsa.  They are intriguing, deep, mysterious, and have fascinating interpersonal relations with each other and their comrades.
3. The librarian.  As long as I'm on the subject of great characters, let me talk about Death.  Technically pronounced "Deeth," rhyming with "Teeth," Death the Librarian is wonderful.  He can come across ill-tempered, and is often sardonic and/or sarcastic, but he's fascinating.  His Grace includes speed-reading and eidetic memory, perfect for any librarian.  And he has a cat.  It's name is ironically Lovejoy, and it has a most foul disposition.  I found myself musing on occasion how the story would be, if told from his vantage point.  (Aside: Death the Librarian tickled my fancy on a personal level, as a librarian friend goes by the nickname of Death.  I don't know her to be deadly or particularly morbid; it's just one of those aliases that get attached in college.)
4. It's not a romance.  Ms. Cashore even says so.  There's an odd "thing" between Saf and Bitterblue, that is far more complex than just falling in love.  Or falling out of love.  Or figuring out how a queen and a ruffian should act toward each other.  But this isn't a romantic fantasy novel, and that's pretty true to Ms. Cashore's other writings.  Her strong heroines get along fine with men, but aren't dependent upon them.  I can appreciate that.

This book set me to musing over what could have made it better.  Maybe it should have been told with a focus on Saf, the scamp Bitterblue meets and becomes entangled with (in many ways) during her nighttime excursions.  I think a downfall of this book was that since it focused on the queen, there was no adventure.  If you liked the other books set in the Seven Kingdoms for the action, this is a disappointing book.  Bitterblue is mostly an observer trying to puzzle out the world around her.

The timing of the book's plot perplexed me.  It took eight years for Bitterblue to finally start wondering about how to fix her kingdom.  Why?  I cannot fathom how she wouldn't have started trying to figure things out, and realize how wrong things were close to home, when she was a teen.  Is it for the sex scene?  It's a very vague scene, not explicit at all, and something that could be glossed over by a reader who didn't realize what went on in the "fade to black" spacing between one thing and the next.  That seems unlikely, as plenty of YA books have sex.  Heck, the wonderful Song of the Lioness fantasy series by Tamora Pierce had sex in it, and that was written in the 1980s.  Anyway, I just don't get why Bitterblue didn't pursue finding out why her kingdom is so screwy until she was 18 years old.

In sum, I wanted to like this book.  I've enjoyed the other books in this world.  The story of Queen Bitterblue and her kingdom may have been a story that needed to be told, particularly if Ms. Cashore continues this line of novels and builds off what we learned in Bitterblue.  But this book was too dry, too drawn-out, and it left me wondering how it could have been better written.

Yay for YA: Toads and Diamonds

Sometimes a stroll down the aisles of the local library is all that's needed to find a treasure.  And treasure is certainly alluded to - and found - in Toads and Diamonds by Heather Tomlinson.

Statistics
Checkouts: Not available
Typical reader: Fans of fairy tale retellings, perhaps
Source: The local library

Synopsis: This is a wonderfully embellished retelling of Charles Perrault's "The Fairies."  Two step-sisters in India encounter a goddess at a well and receive life-changing gifts/curses.

My Goodreads rating: 4 stars

Isn't this a pretty cover?  I enjoy henna/mehndi art, and sari fabric is so pretty.  Also, I was not familiar with the original fairy tale, so I was greatly intrigued by the whole package.

This is quite a different take on fairy tales.  Right away, I was impressed by how the two step-sisters got along well with each other, as did the step-mother/step-daughter set.  The girls are even friends, admiring each other's talents and caring about one another's well-being.  Not something you see normally in this sort of story!  The characters are also far more well-rounded and realistic than in classic fairy tales.  Really, this novel is as character-driven as it is plot-driven; it is about the growth and maturation of two teen girls undergoing unique trials and tribulations.

The setting and catalyst are also refreshingly new.  Toads and Diamonds is set in India, or something like it, at a point similar to/inspired by the Mughal Empire.  (FYI, that's the Muslim empire in the Indian subcontinent that erected such wonders as the Taj Mahal.)  The cultures are based on the native Hindus and the ruling Muslim conquerors, though the author makes clear in her notes/acknowledgments that they are not actually those religions and cultures.  It comes across a little on the "cover your butt" side of things, as the inspirations are quite recognizable if you know much about them, but it's fairly understandable.  No use ruffling feathers.

Forget fairy godmothers and witches.  How about a goddess to get the story rolling?  Naghali-ji, a goddess in the indigenous pantheon, appears to Diribani when she goes to fetch water at the sacred well.  The interaction seems to go well, and Diribani is blessed with flowers and jewels falling from her mouth whenever she talks.  Her step-mother is amazed, and somewhat greedily sends her own daughter, Tana, to the well in hopes of a similar outcome.  Tana encounters a different visage of the goddess, and gets cursed with toads and snakes instead.  And the local governor - as well as others of the conquering people - fears and hates snakes.

And so begins an adventure that lightly follows the original French fairy tale, but diverges for a lot more depth and different results.  After I finished the book, I looked up the inspiration, and this is an improvement.  Even the moral is far more complex, since gems and flowers don't always bring good things, and snakes and toads can be useful.

This is quite an enjoyable retelling of a fairy tale, and worth reading.

Yay for YA: Eona

My summer of epic fantasy novels continues with a review of Eona, by Alison Goodman.  It is the sequel to Eon (reviewed two weeks ago); as always, I try to avoid spoilers, but they are kind of hard to swerve around when discussing stories that rely heavily on a previous book's events.

Statistics
Checkouts: Not owned by the library
Typical reader: Teens and young adults who enjoyed the previous book
Source: Checked out from my local library

Synopsis: Lady Eona, the Dragoneye bound to the long-lost, female Mirror Dragon, has cast aside her masquerade - at a very tumultuous time.  She and her companions join in the struggle to place the rightful emperor on his throne.  As with Eon, there's plenty of intrigue, action, magic, and twists ... but also romance, and very complex relationships.

My Goodreads rating: 4 stars

Eon was an epic tome, but it's dwarfed by its sequel.  Eona in hardcover tips the scales with 637 pages.  And not one of those 637 pages is dull.  There is so much action, and there are so many twists and turns, that looking back, it's almost hard to believe that it all worked in one book.

This is a strong second half to Ms. Goodman's duology.  The powerful writing remains consistent.  The world-building and lore wow me.  And the characters are complex but portrayed well for the most part.  I feel like I need to reread parts of it to see if one particular character did something out of left field, or if I just missed the foreshadowing - but I have a ton of books I'd like to get through this season, and I already returned the tome to the library.

Enter the vague spoilers.

Lady Dela is still one of my favorite characters.  And her feelings toward Ryko, the eunuch soldier who has been her bodyguard for years, are just so "Awwww."  There's tension and heartache, and honor gets in the way, but they make an endearing, yet awkward, couple.

That's not so much the case with the relationship triangle between Lady Eona, the treacherous Lord Ido, the Rat Dragoneye, and the dethroned Emperor Kygo.  It's not a love triangle, let me make that clear.  There's hate, distrust, deception, manipulation, and plenty of other things along those lines.  I'm sure there are some who could find the nauseatingly ubiquitous love triangle that teen literature seems to need these days, but honestly, I don't think Eona and Ido's slap-slap-kiss goes beyond the hunger for power.

This book is certainly one for older teens (or young adults).  As with its predecessor, it touches on some mature subjects, and handles them well overall.  There's torture, both on- and off-"screen".  At one point, Lady Eona and a companion dress as Blossom Women to get into the palace; these are akin to Japanese geisha.  Also, there is a scene of uncomfortable sensuality in the name of power.

Power is a huge theme in this book, as is the morality of using power.  It goes beyond Spiderman's "with great power comes great responsibility," or using the Star Wars' force for good or evil.  Lady Eona has to do some ample soul-searching and boundary-testing in this epic tale.

End spoilers.

I touched on the research that must have gone into these books in my review of Eon.  Let me say that I really appreciate how much work Ms. Goodman put into these books.  If you're interested, she has a bit about her research as well as a bibliography on her web site.  Many kudos!

Yay for YA: Eon: Dragoneye Reborn

As a birthday present from the birthday girl to you, I'm going to tell you about a great book that I just finished.  It's Eon: Dragoneye Reborn by Alison Goodman.

Statistics
Checkouts: Not owned by the library
Typical reader: Teens that love fantasy
Source: Checked out from my local library

Synopsis: Eon, a Dragoneye hopeful in the Year of the Rat, has a dark secret: he's a 16-year-old girl, disguised as a 12-year-old boy.  If discovered, she and probably even her master could face horrible deaths for the ruse.  In an unanticipated turn of events (at least for those in the story), Eon becomes the Dragoneye not of the Rat Dragon, but of the long-lost Mirror Dragon.  Mystery, intrigue and action are found in abundance in this thrilling, epic tome.

My Goodreads rating: 5 stars

When I say that this is an epic tome, I mean it.  The hardcover is 531 pages.  You're not going to hand this to a reluctant reader.  But if you have a patron that loves fantasy, especially those with mythological influences or girls disguised as boys, this is a good pick.

Ms. Goodman has built an excellent, interesting world in Eon.  There are plenty of influences from Chinese and Japanese cultures, from the mythology and imperial system, to gender roles and writing history.  I feel the need to make a special mention of that last one, because it figures very neatly into a major plot point.  It's an obscure enough detail, at least for a Westerner, that I think most readers won't pick up on the subtle hint right away.  As for me, I was tense with anticipation until my suspicions were confirmed 400 pages in.

I really became attached to some of the characters in this novel, which is more evidence of good writing.  In particular, I was quite drawn to Lady Dela, the foreign Contraire in court who befriends the protagonist, Lord Eon.  A Contraire is a man living as a woman; in modern terms, Lady Dela is a male-to-female transsexual.  She is one of the most likable, interesting, well-rounded characters in the book, and her identity is well-handled.  I'm honestly surprised that the book did not win a Lambda Award for the excellent portrayal of Lady Dela.

Another subject this novel handled well, in my opinion, is steroid use.  In trying to be more manly, among other reasons, Lord Eon experiments with the potentially dangerous Sun Drug, which is used mostly by eunuchs to maintain their masculine features and strength.  It can have bad side effects, though ... including one that specifically affects Lord Eon as a Dragoneye.  The topic is not something for the immature, which certainly puts this book solidly in young adult literature.

If you're looking for a fantasy novel packed with plenty of intrigue, backstabbing, plots, sword-fighting, and strong female characters, this is an excellent choice.

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A friend on Facebook recently told me that he doesn't respond to my posts directly on my blog because he's intimidated, and feels like it's a sacred institution. Please feel free to comment here! Really, I don't bite, and I appreciate getting feedback. Plus, looking like I actually have a readership would be nice.

Diablo 3 review, one week in

The computer game Diablo 3 has been out for a week, and I've been playing it a bit since my awesome boyfriend got it for me as an early birthday gift, so I thought I'd offer up a bit of a review.

All screenshots beyond this point are my own. Diablo 3, Blizzard Entertainment, etc., are properties of their respective owners.

Once upon a time, I was about as skeptical that Diablo 3 would ever come out, as many other gamers doubted that Duke Nukem Forever would ever hit the market. Well, both games came out within the past year, and from all I've seen and heard, the fans of the fantasy role-playing computer game got the better deal.

Story: It feels like something from the Diablo universe, which is definitely a plus.  Twenty years have passed since the events of Diablo 2, and Deckard Cain is doing research in the old Tristram cathedral with his niece, Leah, when something falls from the sky and all heck breaks loose.  Once again, the player has to rescue the last of the Horadrim, and set out to defeat more of the Prime Evils.

Characters: First of all, I was very happy to hear the same old voice for our buddy Deckard Cain.  Michael Gough is back for another round of voicing the sage old man.  Even when he's not with your character, you'll hear his voice, such as in journal notes about the various monsters you encounter.  Horray.

Each class has the option of playing a male or female, and each offers a unique take on the story.  That's a neat touch.  It actually sounds like the haughty wizard has totally different reasons for being there than the curious witch doctor.  Also, the hero will make small talk with his or her follower.  My female barbarian gets compliments from her Templar follower about her fighting, and how it must reflect the purity of her heart.  It's little stuff like this, that gives the game a lot of its flavor.

Button mashing: It's a top-down RPG like its predecessors, with fairly similar mechanics.  There's a whole lot of mouse-clicking going on.  One change I'm not crazy about, though, is that you cannot choose which skills you want to assign to which buttons.  More importantly, you no longer have skill trees with which to customize your character.  That's probably one of the biggest flaws to the game.  If you also play D&D and don't like how there is a set "right" way to play a given class in 4th edition, this game may not be for you.  The only real customization you get is what armor and weapons you give your character.

Visual effects: Is this game shiny?  Oh yes, it is!  The landscaping is quite lovely.  Developers put a lot of time into this game, and I appreciate it.

Somewhere, over the rainbow ...

As for how the spells and effects look, I am very pleased.  My main character is a female barbarian, and she is good as smashing things.  Sometimes, she smashes everything, not just her opponents.  Nearby tables, carts, enemies' bodies, and anything else not tied down is likely to go flying all over the screen in a merry display of how ragdoll physics works in games like this.  The spells a wizard casts are also quite brilliant.

When not captured in a screenshot, it reminds me of bowling.  Monsters make satisfying pins.

All for one, and one for all: I knew for a few years leading up to this release that the game wasn't going to be available for multi-player fun over a LAN (local area network) with friends.  However, I don't think I was expecting to not be able to play single-player on my computer without a network connection.  The other massive flaw to the game - and it certainly trumps a lack of customization - is that you have to be online to play Diablo 3 at all times.  I have not had much trouble with connectivity since the first day, but here in the middle of nowhere, I still know people who don't have broadband internet.  Back in the good old days, they could play StarCraft, another Blizzard bestseller, over a 56k telephone modem, or hook computers up to a router and adventure in Diablo 2 with friends at a LAN party.

You must assimilate.

This leads to an excellent point brought to my attention by that great boyfriend of mine, who bought this game for me even though he has a love-hate relationship with Blizzard (for more on that, visit his blog): When Blizzard decides that it's made all the money it's going to on Diablo 3 and takes down the servers supporting the game, the game will no longer be playable.  Over a decade after its release, I can still play Diablo 2 since my computer is running a compatible version of Windows.  That might not be the case with D3.

That's a sobering thought.

I would like to end on an upbeat note, however.  So, in sum, Diablo 3 is a fun game that I am enjoying playing.  It's by no means perfect, but it overall gives me what I wanted from a game in this series.

Yay for YA: Liar's Moon review

Last fall I reviewed an excellent young adult fantasy called Star Crossed, and mentioned that I was looking forward to the next in the series.  I finally purchased it for the library with our Scholastic Dollars, though, and roguishly (fitting, considering the main character!) checked it out to myself before putting it on the shelves.  So, let me tell you about the sequel, Liar's Moon, by Elizabeth C. Bunce.

Statistics
Checkouts: 1
Series checkouts: 8
Source: Scholastic

Synopsis: Being a thief, Digger lands in jail now and then.  But she did not expect to end up in a noble's holding cell with her old acquaintance, Durrel Decath, nor to find out that he's being held for the murder of his wife.  Since Durrel once saved her life, she promises to get to the bottom of the mystery.

My Goodreads rating: 4 stars (4.5 like the first in the series, but a lower 4.5)

Let me start by saying that my quibble with Star Crossed was addressed: Liar's Moon has maps!  I'd heard a rumor - in the comments of my review of the first book, of all places - that this one would, and it pleases me greatly.  The irony is that we're finally given a map of the lands, and Digger stays in the capitol city of Gerse the entire time.  Still, I appreciate it, and the city map is handy.

Ms. Bunce's writing continues to be superb, and she shows her genre flexibility with this book taking quite the different tack than its serial predecessor (or heck, her first book - A Curse Dark As Gold - which is a fairy tale retelling).  Murder mysteries are not my cup of tea; they don't excite me, and aren't going to receive top marks in a review from me.  That said, this is a good one, with plenty of twists and turns.  Think you know whodunit?  You'll find yourself second-guessing plenty as this narrative moves along.

I really enjoyed the secondary characters Digger interacted with in this book.  There's a few gay males, and I give kudos for them being as normal as everyone else - they just happen to love someone their own gender.  Nobles didn't particularly marry for love, in medieval times or in Digger's world, and being homosexual in Gerse just means that after you carry on the family name with your spouse, the lover you take isn't going to give you more progeny.  Beyond that, such supporting cast as Koya and the high priestess of Taboran intrigued and delighted me in their complexity and portrayals.

Along these lines, I will say that the romance in Liar's Moon doesn't bother me one iota.  It's fairly minimal, but the relationship Digger comes to be in is completely believable.  And I do like the guy, who was introduced in Star Crossed.  He's got his flaws, but overall, he's a good fellow.

I don't do spoilers, but I must address the ending.  Everything seems so nicely wrapped up, and then BOOM!  There's a jaw-dropping, gasp-inducing cliffhanger.  I really, really hope that Ms. Bunce gets to write another book in this series.  There's evidence that she wants to.  I'd be okay if Digger's story ends after two books, but it would really please me if we get to find out what happens next.

It's Elementary: The Hop review

Today is Earth Day, and I feel like reviewing The Hop by Sharelle Byars Moranville is a great way to honor it.

Statistics
Checkouts: Not owned by the library.
Source: I found an Advance Reader's Copy (ARC) at Snowbound Books.  The ARC was free and I am not paid for this review.

Synopsis: Tad is a toad whose home, Toadville-by-Tumbledown, is in grave danger of being destroyed by a monstrous earth-eating machine.  Taylor is a girl whose grandmother lives by a beautiful pond that is going to be filled in to make room for a strip mall.  Tad and Taylor's paths cross as they both try to save what they love.

My Goodreads rating: 4 stars

Usually with ARCs, you miss out on the illustrations, pictures, maps, and other visual aids of a book.  Not so with the ARC of The Hop, and I'm so glad.  The illustrations by Niki Daly are perfect.  They not only complement, they complete the story written by Ms. Moranville.  The drawings add a lot of charm to the book, too.

The narrative itself is great.  Most of the chapters alternate between focusing on Tad and Taylor, in third-person limited.  Each has a distinct feel, and Tad's thoughts are toad-like without being insultingly simple (for an example of oversimplified animal narrative, try The Case of the Library Monster, reviewed earlier this month).  It's fun reading about how close the two are to meeting up several times, yet missing each other, until everything comes together.

This is a retelling of the folktale "The Frog Prince," but it's different and unique enough to be interesting.  And that goes beyond the fact that Tad is a toad, not a frog!  Taylor wins her royal title in a competition.  Tad doesn't want to be a human for the long run, and in fact doesn't know that this will be a side-effect of kissing a queen to save his home.  Also, there's some wonderful conservation leanings to the tale.

If there's one issue I have with the book, it's the pacing.  There are plenty of red herrings, twists of fate, and near-misses.  I think a child could easily get frustrated, and tire of the book.  Know your child or student's attention span before recommending this one.

Yay for YA: Time Snatchers

It is always my goal to be as objective as possible with reviews.  Unfortunately, I am only human, with likes and dislikes, and a perception that is sometimes colored by preconceptions.  Time Snatchers by Richard Ungar was a book that really suffered from a case of "It's not you, it's me."  Let me tell you about it.

Statistics
Checkouts: Not owned by the library
Typical reader: Upper elementary/middle school boys
Source: I found an Advance Reader's Copy (ARC) at Snowbound Books.  The ARC was free and I am not paid for this review.

Synopsis: Caleb is a time snatcher working for Uncle, the man who raised him and several other children to steal precious items through time travel.  There's rivalry, a confused love interest, and a meeting that could change Caleb's life.

My Goodreads rating: 3 stars

When I picked up the ARC of this book, I thought that I had found something to recommend to my students who love the Artemis Fowl series.  The cover art suggested a similar genre.  Time-traveling teenaged thieves?  It sounds like it could be comparable.

It isn't.  Caleb is nowhere near as intelligent and cunning as Artemis.  That really disappointed me.  Don't get me wrong, Caleb is witty, but he's not a scheming, evil prodigy.  On the other hand, his humanity could appeal to many readers.  He's a nice kid.  His long-time snatch partner, Abbie, confuses him as he tries to figure out if they like each other as more than just friends.

While the novel gets right into the time traveling and snatching, I really didn't feel like the action got going until about 100 pages in.  And then it sometimes petered out.  This isn't a page-turner.  But, it's pleasing in the quality of writing and descriptiveness.

In sum, your mileage may vary.  I probably had too many expectations going into this book.  It really isn't bad, but it didn't wow me either.  I'll probably pass it on to one of my sixth grade boys that I think might be interested, and see what he thinks.  (Hopefully he passes it on to classmates, so I can get more feedback, too.)

It's Elementary: The Wizard of Dark Street review

My little naming scheme for books suitable for children is quite appropriate for this review.  The Wizard of Dark Street by Shawn Thomas Odyssey is a mystery novel.

Statistics
Checkouts: New to the library
Typical reader: Children who enjoy the Harry Potter series, or like mysteries
Source: Superiorland Preview Center

Synopsis: Oona Crate is a Natural Magician, born with the rare gift of being able to cast magic at will, rather than having to learn to do so.  But due to some unfortunate past events surrounding her magic use, she wants to give up being her uncle's apprentice and become a detective like her father was.  The evening she signs the paperwork to give up her apprenticeship and meets the candidates for the position, however, her uncle is stabbed by a magical dagger and disappears.  Whodunit?  Is her uncle, the Wizard of Dark Street, still alive?

My Goodreads rating: 4 stars

I must say, I love this cover.  It actually completely fits the story!  You have Oona and her magical pet raven, Deacon, on her shoulder, in front of the Wizard's house.  The house is pretty much just as the prose describes it, complete with all its eccentricities.

The pace of the book is a bit slow, particularly for the first third of the book, and some young readers may be put off by that.  In place of a fast-paced read is some great world-building.  I'm almost hesitant to describe it, because so much of the effort is put toward the setting that to do so seems like a bit of a spoiler.  The gist of it is that Dark Street is a magical location that for one minute every night, when the clock strikes midnight, a huge set of gates opens to connect Dark Street to the mundane world.

Once you do get into the meat of the plot, it's a pretty good mystery.  Or rather, it's a pretty good set of mysteries, possibly intertwined.  I'm not much of a reader of this sort of novel, but the twists and added information kept me guessing until the caper was solved.

Yay for YA: StarCrossed, by Elizabeth C. Bunce

Last month, I'd gotten into a good rhythm of posting on Thursdays.  Having a consistent updating schedule for a blog is important, I've heard.  Readers can come to expect a post on a given day.  So of course, October comes and there goes my schedule.  For good reason, though.  I've gotten a new second job, and am working there three days a week.  With training and then actually working at it, I didn't have time to either finish a book or make a post.

On to the book.  I really like fantasy novels, yet tend not to read them.  When one gets to the adult level of fantasy, one finds a plethora of massive tomes that tend to be in trilogies, courtesy of the trend started with how Lord of the Rings was published, or in lengthy series which may outlast the author's life (see the Wheel of Time series).  It's daunting.  And treasures at the YA level like Tamora Pierce's Song of the Lioness series or the more recent Graceling by Kristin Cashore are few and far between, at least in my humble opinion.  So when I find a good fantasy novel, I savor them.  (Another reason why this post is late.)

Without further delay, let me present to you Star Crossed by Elizabeth C. Bunce.

Statistics
Checkouts: New to the library, courtesy of the Superiorland Preview Center
Typical reader: Fans of fantasy literature, upper elementary to higher grades

Synopsis: After a job goes very wrong and Digger is forced to run while her partner in crime and lover, Tegen, is captured and/or killed by the religious guard in Gerse, the capital city, she falls in with some nobles on a joyride on a boat out of the city.  She becomes the young Lady Merista's maid and moves with the girl and her family to a mountainous, fortified castle far from the city and her troubles.  But trouble finds her, and she must not only use her cunning and thieving skills, but also choose sides in matters that could be leading to war.

My Goodreads rating: 5 stars (4.5, really)

This book plops you right down in the middle of the action.  Digger, the protagonist and narrator, has just escaped from the guards who had interrupted a job where she and her partner/lover had been stealing documents.  What happened is slowly patched together while she changes into a disguise and looks to make her way out of the city.  Over the course of the book, you learn more and more about her, the world around her, and the political/religious conditions that are threatening to boil over.  Not every book can just set the reader into the thick of things and make it work.  Star Crossed works well, with plenty of intrigue, mystery, plotting, backstabbing, twists, and changes of heart.  It is, in a word, delicious.

Yeah, I'm one of "those."

Digger is a classic rogue.  She makes me think of characters from Dungeons and Dragons games I've played.  She's intelligent, cunning, dexterous, nimble-fingered, and a bit cocky.  And she has secrets.  Lots of secrets.  But then, apparently so do the rest of the characters, and she is going to do her darnedest to learn them, because she can't help but break her rule of not getting involved - especially after she breaks another one, "Don't get caught," by the slimy Lord Remy Daul, foster brother to her lady's father.  He blackmails her into doing his bidding, and she gets in over her head as he stews over old wrongs and a battle that happened before Digger was even born.

I love the effort Ms. Bunce put into the world.  The religions, politics, culture, and even the oaths and cursing are thought-out.  The realm of Llyvraneth is rich in all these, as well as in strong female characters - something fantasy novels often lack.  Now, if only I knew what this place looked like!  The biggest downfall of the book is the lack of maps.  While one could argue that illustrations of locations were not needed since the story only takes place in a few areas, I feel that it could have been much improved if I knew where the heck things were on a map.  Bryn Shaer, the living quarters of Merista Nemair's family in the mountains, could have also been sketched out, as it's pretty expansive and varied.

Overall, this was a great book.  It's one that I can actually say that I felt like turning back to page 1 and starting over when I finished it.  I'm also greatly looking forward to the sequel, Liar's Moon, due out next month and published by Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic.  If it shows up in the Scholastic book fair the school is having during parent teacher conferences, I shall dance.

Yay for YA: Abandon, by Meg Cabot

When I hear the name "Meg Cabot," I think "chick lit."  Chick lit is not something I read.  However, as a librarian, I have to keep an open mind and be familiar with a vast expanse of different types of literature.  I picked up a copy of Abandon by Meg Cabot from the Superiorland Preview Center for the library, and gave it a read.  That it's part of the current trend of novels based on mythology helped a bit.  Maybe this could be something I can recommend to girls who liked the Percy Jackson series and want something more advanced (and girlie).

Statistics
Checkouts: New to the library, courtesy of the Superiorland Preview Center
Typical reader: Teen girls

Synopsis: Pierce Oliviera died, and was revived.  After bad things happened at her school a year later, she and her mother move to her mother's hometown on Isla Huesos, Florida, to get a fresh start.  The brooding, dangerous man named John that she encountered in the Underworld can't leave her alone, though.

My Goodreads rating: 3 stars (2.5, really)

Let me start with the good points to this book.  I really enjoyed the story.  Whether Pierce was narrating what was happening in the present time, or reflecting back on all that had happened, I was captivated.  The plot was never dull, and the pace kept things interesting, revealing bits and pieces of the past here and there.  It had a reasonably natural stream of consciousness.  The story was the strongest aspect of the novel.

The use of Greek mythology was pretty good, if a bit tweaked here and there.  The scenes by the river Styx (wide enough to appear to be a lake to Pierce) were excellent.  On the other hand, the Furies are completely different beasts than in Classical myths.  It's not so bad as sparkly, day-walking stalker boyfriends being called vampires, but there's probably a better name for the monsters the Furies in this book were instead of Furies.  On the other hand ... and this might be a slight spoiler ... I can't help but wonder what John really is.  If he's not really Hades and is in fact just a nasty guy, the Furies are doing their time-honored job of tormenting the damned.

Pierce is a mixed bag of a protagonist.  I am loath to call her a heroine, because that would mean that she did something heroic.  Sure, she threw hot tea in John's face and ran to escape him when he brought her to his prisonlike bedroom, but most of the time she was a hapless rich brat that needed rescuing either by her father's money or by John's brute force.  She is simultaneously altruistic and shallow, determined and fragile.

Perhaps it is her shallowness that leads to a major problem I had with the book: the other characters.  Pierce is the narrator, and maybe it's because she's so self-absorbed that the other characters are never really described.  I would be hard-pressed to describe any supporting character with more than a sentence.  Even John could be summed up fairly succinctly.  It would have been nice to know more about any of them, rather than having a cast of people as flat as pancakes.

Then there is the romance.  Don't get me wrong, romance has its place.  This just doesn't seem to be it, especially how sparingly it's used.  John doesn't kiss Pierce until page 260.  The book only has 44 pages to go from there.  If you're looking for a romance novel, I don't think this is it!  Plus, their relationship is so unhealthy.  I get that this is based off Hades and Persephone.  Hades kidnapped Persephone to be his queen, reluctantly giving her back to her mother for half the year after ordered to do so by Zeus.  So the relationship is a bit doomed by the parameters to be a bit one-sided and forced.  Does that make it right for him to show up and severely injure people when he perceives Pierce to be in danger?  No.  Does that make it right for him to kidnap her, whether it's for her protection or not?  No.

This book is the first in a trilogy.  I'm mildly curious to know whether she escapes from him in the next two books, or if she develops Stockholm Syndrome.

It's Elementary: Athena the Brain

I tend to read a lot of teen/young adult literature.  However, over half the school population is in the K-6 wing, and the youngsters check out far more books than the older students.  So, welcome to the inaugural segment of my new feature, "It's Elementary," where I will review books aimed at young to middle readers.  First up, I'd like to talk about the premiere book in the Goddess Girls series by Joan Holub, Athena the Brain.

Statistics
Checkouts: Not owned by the school
Typical reader: Aimed at girls, ages 8-12

Synopsis: Greek middle school student Athena is invited by the father she's never known, Zeus, to be a student at Mount Olympus Academy, where she can learn to be a goddess.

My Goodreads rating: Undetermined; probably a 3 or 4

I picked up this book on a mythology kick, in search of more novels in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians vein.  Also, I've got a bunch of girls moving up from Kindergarten that really need to expand their horizons from just reading princess and Barbie books - what better way than with goddesses, right?

Okay, so I may have fallen flat with both intentions.  Despite claiming to be for ages 8-12, I highly doubt the students that are reading Percy Jackson would stoop to this reading level.  On the other hand, it's probably above what my little princesses can handle on their own.  It might work when they're a bit older, or maybe this series would be a good one to share with their moms and dads at bedtime.  I'll try steering them toward the easier American Girls series first.

The story itself has me baffled as to how to rate it.  If you're a purist when it comes to Greek mythology, stay away!  Zeus is principal at the school, yet his classically older brother Poseidon is a hunky student who most of the "goddessgirls" swoon over.  But if you're looking for some clever rewriting and don't mind playing fast and loose with the Greek myths, this really isn't bad.  Athena the Brain features stories about how the gods influenced the Trojan war (in the "Hero-ology" class) and why Athena has a city named after her (her invention fair debut of olives bested Poseidon's water park).  There's also a nice story of making friends and dealing with mean girls.  And the cover art is fantastic.

I'll keep this series in mind for if the budget allows, but it's not a must-have.

Reading what the students read: Artemis Fowl

Today for "Reading what the students read," I would like to discuss the first book in the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin (pronounced "Owen," for what it's worth) Colfer.

Statistics
Book checkouts: 12
Series checkouts: 55
Typical reader: Upper elementary or middle school student, approximately 60/40 male/female

Synopsis: To sum it up in a sentence, "Imagine an evil, 12-year-old James Bond exploiting fairies for their treasure."

My Goodreads rating: 4 stars

This series is tremendously popular with the grades 5-7 crowd.  The first book alone garnered a dozen checkouts, even with having to pull it for repairs a couple times.  So I absolutely had to give it a try.

My impression of the eponymous first book of the series is a bit mixed, but positive overall.  I had a little difficulty getting into it at first, but once Captain Holly Short, the protagonist on the fairy side, was introduced, the reading became more to my liking.  It is a genre-defying mix of science fiction, fantasy, folklore, and criminal/espionage thriller.  And it actually works for the most part.  This is a great story.

Artemis Fowl is a rather sinister title character, who brings to mind the "James Bond" and "Mission Impossible" themes and maybe the need for a cat to stroke, Dr. Claw-style, on the arm of his chair.  He is coldly calculating, a young criminal mastermind from a long lineage of such villains.  By his side are his henchman Butler and Butler's little sister, Juliet, ready and willing to do his bidding.  In this story, that bidding is to a) track down the "Book" that all fairies have in their possession that, when decoded, reveals many of their secrets, b) kidnap a fairy when it comes above-ground to complete a magic ritual, and c) obtain the pot of gold ransom in exchange for the prisoner.

On the plus side, the fairy lore is superb and both Artemis and Holly are well-rounded characters.  Artemis comes across as a pretty solid villain, yet he also has soft spots, a touch of childishness that he can't quite shake, and other qualities that make him human.  Holly is a soldier, the first female LEP-recon officer, with both a penchant for screwing up and being tough as nails.  She's rather likable.  Several secondary fairy characters are also nicely fleshed out.

On the negative side, I would prefer to have seen more to Butler and Juliet's personalities.  Juliet especially came across a bit one-dimensional.  There are hints that Butler is more than just a big goon who follows orders without question and cares for his sister, but his character was left wanting.  Mature readers may be turned off by the abundance of toilet humor concerning dwarves - though that can also be a draw for many young readers.  Lastly, your mileage may vary concerning the environmentalism and xenophobia of the fair folk.

Overall, this is a good first adventure that has the potential to draw in readers of many different genres.

---

Next time on "Reading what the students read": Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney.  I got it from the library today.  Stay tuned!

Reading what the students read: The Lightning Thief

For the first installment of "Reading what the students read," I chose the first book in Rick Riordan's series Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Lightning Thief.

Statistics
Book checkouts: 9
Series checkouts: 38
Typical reader: Upper elementary student, either gender

Synopsis: "Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school...again. And that's the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he's angered a few of them. Zeus's master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.
"Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus's stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves."

My Goodreads rating: 5 stars

Wow!  This is one of those novels where I can actually say, "I see why it's popular!"  The writing is strong, the plot unique and catchy, the action nonstop, and the characters well-rounded.  It's a story that captures the reader and doesn't let them go until the tale is completely resolved.  There really wasn't a dull moment.

One of the highlights of the book for me was trying to figure out who each god or monster was before the narrative actually revealed its identity.  It's great fun to catch the hints.  Riordan also has been quite clever in bringing the Greek pantheon to the 21st century, trading in battle chariots for motorcycles and magical helmets for baseball caps.  This series has gotten a lot of kids interested in Greek and Roman mythology - always a good thing.