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Title: Fires of Azeroth (The Morgaine Saga Book 3)
Author: C.J. Cherryh
Published: DAW, 2000 (1979)
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 255
Total Page Count: 220,210
Text Number: 699
Read Because: continuing the series, used paperback purchased from the Book Bin
Review: Journeying to a new world, Vayne and Morgaine encounter an existing qhal society and a people from Moragine's past. The pacing in this final book is significantly different: the first third opens room for peaceful domesticity, the second third once again separates the protagonists, and it all functions to create parallels to (via supporting characters) and a distanced view of Morgaine and Vayne's relationship. This slows and frustrates the larger plot, and the focus on the relationship overshadows the worldbuilding—I kept waiting for more science from the science fantasy, or to see the worldbuilding directly inform the plot, and that never came. But the highlighted central relationship is distinctly Cherryh, all sublimated intensity and conflicted, bittersweet tone, and it benefits from the reflection encouraged by this book. Insofar as a review of a finale is a review of its series: this series isn't worth it, but I don't regret reading it; it's a peek into the voice and themes that I love in Cherryh's later work.
Title: Promise of Shadows
Author: Justina Ireland
Published: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2014
Rating: 2 of 5
Page Count: 380
Total Page Count: 220,590
Text Number: 700
Read Because: on this list of Own Voices YA, ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: An exiled and disgraced harpy discovers that the secret she's been guarding may make her the prophesied savior. I DNF'd at 50%, almost entirely because it isn't my style. There's potential in the diversity of the cast and high-energy, Greek mythology-influenced worldbuilding, although the heavy exposition weakens both pacing and plot. But what killed it for me is the traditional YA execution: first person present tense, a protagonist who just wants to be normal, sudden onset romance, a dozen proper nouns—all genre staples that a YA reader may like or tolerate, but which put me off. It's not objectively bad, but nothing compelled me to finish.
Title: The Secret Horses of Briar Hill
Author: Megan Shepherd
Published: Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 2016
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 195
Total Page Count: 220,785
Text Number: 701
Read Because: personal enjoyment, ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: A girl in a WWII-era sanatorium can see winged horses reflected in the hospital's mirrors. This is occasionally heavy-handed in predictable ways (the pacing of the climax, clumsy reveals, belabored themes), but it's well within middle grade standards and doesn't feel as though it's talking down to its audience. And, even with caveats, it's a lovely book. The unreliable narration, fantastic elements, and historical setting combine to create fertile, flexible imagery grounded by a convincing setting. It's mournful but beautiful and slightly escapist, echoed by the beauty and clear pathos of the language. I recommend it (but read it in winter!), and I'd be interested to read more by Shepherd.
Author: C.J. Cherryh
Published: DAW, 2000 (1979)
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 255
Total Page Count: 220,210
Text Number: 699
Read Because: continuing the series, used paperback purchased from the Book Bin
Review: Journeying to a new world, Vayne and Morgaine encounter an existing qhal society and a people from Moragine's past. The pacing in this final book is significantly different: the first third opens room for peaceful domesticity, the second third once again separates the protagonists, and it all functions to create parallels to (via supporting characters) and a distanced view of Morgaine and Vayne's relationship. This slows and frustrates the larger plot, and the focus on the relationship overshadows the worldbuilding—I kept waiting for more science from the science fantasy, or to see the worldbuilding directly inform the plot, and that never came. But the highlighted central relationship is distinctly Cherryh, all sublimated intensity and conflicted, bittersweet tone, and it benefits from the reflection encouraged by this book. Insofar as a review of a finale is a review of its series: this series isn't worth it, but I don't regret reading it; it's a peek into the voice and themes that I love in Cherryh's later work.
Title: Promise of Shadows
Author: Justina Ireland
Published: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2014
Rating: 2 of 5
Page Count: 380
Total Page Count: 220,590
Text Number: 700
Read Because: on this list of Own Voices YA, ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: An exiled and disgraced harpy discovers that the secret she's been guarding may make her the prophesied savior. I DNF'd at 50%, almost entirely because it isn't my style. There's potential in the diversity of the cast and high-energy, Greek mythology-influenced worldbuilding, although the heavy exposition weakens both pacing and plot. But what killed it for me is the traditional YA execution: first person present tense, a protagonist who just wants to be normal, sudden onset romance, a dozen proper nouns—all genre staples that a YA reader may like or tolerate, but which put me off. It's not objectively bad, but nothing compelled me to finish.
Title: The Secret Horses of Briar Hill
Author: Megan Shepherd
Published: Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 2016
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 195
Total Page Count: 220,785
Text Number: 701
Read Because: personal enjoyment, ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: A girl in a WWII-era sanatorium can see winged horses reflected in the hospital's mirrors. This is occasionally heavy-handed in predictable ways (the pacing of the climax, clumsy reveals, belabored themes), but it's well within middle grade standards and doesn't feel as though it's talking down to its audience. And, even with caveats, it's a lovely book. The unreliable narration, fantastic elements, and historical setting combine to create fertile, flexible imagery grounded by a convincing setting. It's mournful but beautiful and slightly escapist, echoed by the beauty and clear pathos of the language. I recommend it (but read it in winter!), and I'd be interested to read more by Shepherd.
