Books Read - September 2010

[crowinator]

79. Mouse Guard, Volume One: Fall 1152, by David Peterson. Juv Graphic Novel. 3 stars.

80. Meanwhile: Pick Any Path, 3856 Story Possibilities, by Jason Shiga. Juv Graphic Novel. 5 stars.

81. The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson, Book Five), by Rick Riordan. Juv Fantasy. 381 pages. 4 stars.

**82. Most Wanted, by Kate Thompson. Juv Historical Fantasy. 128

Comments

[midnightsmagic]

I loved Clockwork Angel, but I think a lot of that is actually because it reminded me so much of her other series. That is to say, it seemed like a better version of the Mortal Instruments books. I want to like the Mortal Instruments a lot more than I do (the incest thing was drawn out waaaaay too long, in my opinion), and Clockwork Angel was like an extremely successful do-over for me. Plus, I really love fiction set in London in that time period.

[crowinator]

That's an interesting way of looking at it. I agree that Clockwork Angel is better written, but I never thought of it in terms of a do-over. I did get tired of the turgid romance in TMI, but since Clare seems to already be setting up a romantic triangle, I'm reserving my opinion. I do like Tessa more than Clary, though.

Have you read The Hunchback Assignments by Arthur Slade? I've just started the second in the series and it's as excellent as the first. If you like steampunk action/fantasy set in Victorian London, you might want to check it out.

[midnightsmagic]

I have not read that book! Thank you for the rec. *adds to list*

[checkers65477]

I've flipped through Meanwhile and Mouse Guard--they both look very cool.

[crowinator]

Meanwhile was a lot of fun for the length of time it took me to do the whole thing, and I was impressed by all the work Shiga must have done to calculate all of the various choices you could make and craft a decent overarching storyline, as well as lots of side stories. It'd make a great cult hit, I think. Mouse Guard on the other hand is so beautifully illustrated, but I grew bored with it quickly. I think the writing is not as good as the artwork. I wanted to like it more than I did.

[dragon_smoke]

I really liked Clockwork Angel, but I admit I only read the first of her other series and that was a long time ago.

[crowinator]

I really liked it, too. Overall, I think it's better written than Clare's previous series. I just couldn't stop comparing the characters of one series to the other and it distracted me. Still, I think I will end up liking this series better than the MI series as it goes on. Maybe I'll increase my rating back to four stars -- I keep going back and forth on that.