The Exiled Queen - Seven Realms #2 - Cinda Williams Chima

Raisa has fled the country and is headed to Oden's Ford with corporal Amon Byrne and his Gray Wolves. She plans to attend school with them  in Wien House, the military academy. Raisa hopes to avoid her forced marriage to Micah Bayar in this way and she wants to learn some important things ​​to prepare for being queen. But was this the best choice? While Raisa is away,  the magicians force the current queen and Raisa’s mother, to make choices that could change the future of the country, maybe for good.

Meanwhile, Han Alister, having lost everything he loved and still trying to accept his new future, embarks on the journey to Oden's Ford along with Fire Dancer. They will get a Magician’s education in Mystwerk House, the magicians academy. Han is not 100% sure of his choice and wonders whether he is in the right place between the wise men from noble families. Firedancer gets a lot of criticism because he’s a "copperhead" , a resident of the mountain clans, who are normally greatly opposed against magicians.

Will the paths of Raisa and Han intersect once again? Can Raisa maintain the false identity of Rebecca Morley? And with Micah Bayar also in Oden's Ford for his training, will he cause problems again?

This is the second book in the series and it is just as good, maybe even better than the first. The story reads like a train and you just can’t put the book down. Every sentence makes you crave for more. In this part of the story of Raisa and Han, we clearly see how they begin to evolve. Raisa is more and more mature and learns to make important choices. Han discovers the land of magic and makes unexpected, mysterious friends (who is Crow? I have an idea ...)

In short, this is a fascinating journey through the lives of some fascinating characters who are really fun to follow.

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Michael Komarck - Cover Art

Biography:

Michael was born in Louisiana and moved at a very young age to Michigan. As the years passed, he moved from crayons on to pencils, then to acrylics and eventually oils. In 1989 he went to the community college where he soon realized that he was better off self-thaught in art. That's why he only remained there for a very short period.
After several years working as a projectionist at the local Cineplex, he was co-founder of a small publishing house. However, except for the illustration of several children's books, the majority of his time was spent designing business cards, advertisements and eventually web related material (mainly Flash animation). It was during this period that he became acquainted with Photoshop and he ultimately replaced his oils with digital paint. Eventually he left to pursue a career as a full-time illustrator. He spent several years building a portfolio and designed, in the meantime, business and self-help book covers to pay the bills.

In 2003 he received offers to design cover work for several authors including Robert Asprin and George RR Martin. This opened the door for him to work with many outstanding companies.
He now lives with his wife and son in Michigan.



Examples:
(All these images are property of Michael Komarck)

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Midwinter - Matthew Sturges

Release Date: March 1st 2009
Publisher: Pyr
Age Group: Adult
Pages: 344
Format: Paperback
Source: Bought

Midwinter is the debut novel by Matthew Sturges, previously best known for his comic books like Jack of Fables and House of Mystery. I regret’s me  a bit to say this, but it is clear that this is his first attempt at prose. Throughout the book I was often annoyed by missteps in the structure of the text, the use of paragraphs and layout.

But to a positive note: the story itself was very good, it was fascinating  and there was a detailed description of the environment and the atmosphere of this well-chosen world.

First let’s talk about the missteps I was talking about earlier, because readers who are annoyed by errors in text structure and the like, and for that reason will put a book aside: this is not the book for you. What struck me most and which got an exasperated sigh from me from time to time, were the jumps in perspective. Sturges changes suddenly in the middle of the text between positions or characters. One minute you're following the thoughts of the character Mauritane, trying to understand his reasoning when suddenly the following sentence feels totally out of place. Turns out that the position has changed and we now "follow" Raieve. Very confusing and especially annoying because it completely breaks through the smooth reading experience.

The same problem appeared with the time jumps. Mauritane is in the middle of a conversation and the next sentence he wakes up in his bed. Yet again this is much too abrupt, the reader needs time to realize exactly what is happening before being able to read on.

Furthermore, the text will at times be classified on the basis of a drawing, which would be very good in the case of the time jumps or changes in character. Unfortunately, these "breaks" are placed at the wrong times which sometimes seem superfluous. It seems Sturges lives in an inverted world.

Aside all these negative, rather technical points, I can honestly say that the story is very beautiful. We meet with the Fae, a fairy folk that live in a parallel universe (or on another planet?). The Fae have been entagled for years in a war between two queens. We clearly see that Sturges inspired by Celtic folklore since he describes the two camps as the Seelie and Unseelie Court.

Mauritane is a convict servant of the Seelie kingdom. After killing a fellow soldier he, former captain of the army of the queen, was sentenced to life imprisonment. Until the day that he gets the opportunity to go on a mysterious mission in the name of the queen in exchange for absolution and release. He’s allowed to choose his companions from the prisoners. Has he committed to a suicide mission or will he succeed? One thing is certain: he will not reach his destination without a struggle. While Mauritane begins his journey with his companions, Queen Maud of the Unseelie Court plans an attack on the Seelie kingdom. Will she finally succeed in her battle? Or will she be stopped by a very strong opponent?

What the book also gives extra points is the fact that all the storylines have closure. While this book has a follow-up, it is not necessary to read this. There is no open end, no cliffhanger and the reader can end this book with a nice story in memory. Anyone who feels like wanting more could still read the second book, but those who have enough of this story will not have a thousand of unanswered questions.

All in all not a fantastic book because of the technical difficulties, but the story is great! Hopefully Sturges has learned from his mistakes in the second book, which I will be reading in the months to come.

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Chris McGrath - Cover Art

Biography:

Chris McGrath was born in the Bronx and has spent his entire life in New York City lived. At an early age he showed interest in art, especially Science Fiction and Fantasy. At age 12 he discovered the works of Frank Frazetta and then decided that he wanted to be a book cover artist. When McGrath graduated from The School of Visual Arts in 1995, he thaught guitar for several years before he actually began his career as an illustrator in 2001. Since then he has made ​​covers for various New York Times Bestselling Authors like: Jim Butcher, Brandon Sanderson, Rob Thurman, Kat Richardson and many others.

Examples:
(All these images are property of Chris McGrath)

                       

                    

       

      

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Maps of the Worlds Beyond Reality - A Song of Ice and Fire

A Song of Ice and Fire

The Demon King - Seven Realms #1 - Cinda Williams Chima

This book is proof that sometimes you have to dive into the unknown. I bought this book at the local book festival (yes, I know, again!). After a full first round in the room, I didn’t have any Fantasy books in my basket, and leaving without my favorite genre wasn’t an option. Anyone who has ever visited the book festival knows that 1 round of all the books takes a whole afternoon. So I had a fast 2nd round (especially in the English fiction) for some fantasy books. As it was getting late, I had to rely on fleeting impressions: the cover, diagonally reading the back cover, ...

This is one of the books I found during the 2nd round. I didn’t know the author, had never heard of the series, but was attracted by the cover.

The world in which the story takes place is exactly what I love so much: a bit of a medieval scenario, with a queen, princess, court intrigues, magicians, war, and much more!

A short description: We are sucked into a world where Fells is ruled by a long line of queens, all descendants from the legendary Hanalea. Hanalea was the queen who, in the past, defeated the powerful magician "The Demon King" and thus saved the world. This is now still known as "The Breaking". Since that day magicians were restricted and the High Wizard bound to the queen.

The present Queen, Marianna, seems to be easily influenced by the High Wizard, Gavan Bayar. Her daughter, the heir Raisa ana'Marianna, has just returned from a 3-year stay in the Demonai Clan with her father's family. The clans live in the mountains and are responsible for the production of many products, including magical amulets.

Raisa is concerned about the weak ruling of her mother and wants to be a better queen. But her mother has other plans for her. Can Raisa take her fate into her own hands?

On the other hand we have Hanson Alister. Han lives with his mother and sister in the slums of Fells March, more specifically Ragmarket. He was formerly known as "Cuffs" referring to the 2 silver bracelets that he could not seem to get out of. Under his pseudonym Cuffs, Han was a famous leader of a street gang, the Raggers. To protect his sister and mother, however, he stepped out of the criminal life and he tries to earn money for his family.

Han stays in Marisa Pines Camp every summer, where he spends his days with his best friend Fire Dancer.

In the beginning of the story Han and his best friend Dancer encouter three young magicians, including Micah Bayar, son of the High Wizard. Although mages are only allowed to use magic as they receive their amulet when they’ve been to the magicians academy,  Micah has still managed to get hold of an amulet and sets a mountain ablaze.

Han forces Micah to hand over the amulet and thus initiates a war that will cost him all that’s close to his heart.

This is an ideal book to immerse yourself in and be lost in it until you've turned the last page. I can’t wait for the sequel that will arrive in my mailbox next week!

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