Review of "Crown Of Midnight: Throne of Glass, Book #2" by Sarah J. Maas

 

This is the second book in the 'Throne of Glass' series.

Background (with minor spoilers): In the debut novel, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is released from slavery in a salt mine.....



.....to compete in a contest set up by King Havilliard of Adarlan, a tyrannical and oppressive ruler whose court is in Rifthold. The contest winner will win a large amount of gold and become the king's 'Champion' - his personal assassin.



During the competition - with nice rooms, good food, new clothes, and a maid - Celaena regains her beauty and poise. Being intelligent, talented, well-read, and well-spoken, Celaena draws the attention of two members of the king's retinue.



The two courtiers, who are actually close friends, are the Captain of the Guard Chaol Westfall.....



.....and Prince Dorian Havilliard, the king's oldest son. Both men are attentive to Caelana, but she's wary of getting seriously involved with either one.



Celaena wins the competition, and becomes King Havilliard's 'Champion', which means she's obliged to kill anyone the king wants to dispatch.



*****

As 'Crown of Midnight' opens, Celaena - who King Havalliard ordered to kill Lord Nirall and his wife - strides into the monarch's Council Chamber carrying a sack. Celaena presents the king with the decaying severed head and hand of a man, and the rotting severed hand of a woman - both hands bearing distinctive rings.



Satisfied that Celaena completed her assigned task, King Havilliard says "There's a growing rebel movement here in Rifthold, a group of individuals who are willing to do anything to get me off the throne...Your next assignment is to root out and dispatch them all before they become a true threat to my empire." The king goes on, "There are several people on the list of suspected traitors, but I will give you one name at a time. The castle is crawling with spies." And the king passes Celaena a piece of paper with the name 'Archer Finn.'



Celaena is shocked because she's known Archer Finn since she was a child. Celaena has no intention of killing Archer, and in fact, Celaena hasn't assassinated any 'traitors' for King Havilliard. Instead, Celaena warned the 'victims' to leave the kingdom, and used decaying corpses from the morgue to fool the monarch.



Celaena arranges to meet Archer, a handsome courtesan, and - in return for information about the king's enemies - gives Archer four weeks to get his affairs in order and leave the region.



Celaena plans to use Archer's information against the king. For months, Celaena and her friend Princess Nehemia of Ellywe, whose population King Havilliard has decimated, have been plotting against the monarch.



And Celaena has resources. She discovered hidden tunnels beneath the castle, and found the ancient tomb of Elena, the first queen of Adarlan.



Queen Elena's spirit wants to rid the kingdom of evil King Havilland, and her ghost provides assistance to Celaena. By way of a talking doorknocker called Mort, Elena says the king has acquired supernatural powers, and Celaena must find the source of his powers and take it away.



In her quest to learn how to dethrone King Havilliard, Celaena confronts danger and death in Rifthold, and encounters hellish demons in the castle's tunnels. Finally, Celaena finds a book and a riddle that point her in the right direction.



The riddle speaks of a trio of hidden Wyrdkeys (ancient magic symbols). Whoever finds all three Wyrdkeys will be able to open a Wyrdgate and acquire great power. It seems King Havilliard has found one Wyrdkey, which helped him conquer neighboring regions, but he's searching for the other two symbols.....so he can take over the world.

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In the midst of all this, there's a great deal happening in Rifthold:

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King Havilliard places Lord Roland Havilliard of Meah (Prince Dorian's cousin) on his council, and Roland has an agenda.



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Celaena decides Prince Dorian isn't an appropriate match for her, and she becomes romantically involved with Captain of the Guard Chaol Westfall. Regardless, Dorian and Chaol remain close friends.



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Prince Dorian has an experience that will change his life.



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Prince Dorian's spoiled ten-year-old brother Hollin returns from school, and the Queen engages the 'Carnival of Mirrors' to entertain Hollin and the court.



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At the Carnival of Mirrors, Celaena consults a witch called Baba Yellowlegs about Wyrdkeys - not knowing the witch has secret plans.



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Chaol Westfall's father, Lord Westfall of Anielle - from whom Chaol is estranged - comes to Rifthold to try to convince Chaol to return home.



As the story unfolds, Celaena learns that people are not always what they seem, and she experiences grief and enlightenment. At the book's climax, Celaena embarks on a special assignment for King Havilliard, and Chaol Westfall learns a secret. It will be interesting to see what happens next.



The novel is engaging and moves the story along nicely. Recommended to fans of heroic fantasy books.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Review of "Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate situations, flawed coping mechanisms, mayhem, and other things that happened" by Allie Brosh

 

Author Allie Brosh

"Hyperbole and a Half" is culled (in part) from Allie Brosh's very popular blog. I hadn't heard of the author until I read laudatory comments about this book on Goodreads, and I'm glad I decided to read it. The entries about Allie's life - rendered as cartoon drawings with captions and anecdotes - are funny, relatable, and touching.

The book opens with a letter Allie wrote to her future self when whe was ten. The letter - which is actually a series of questions to her older self (Do you still like dogs? What is your favorite dog?...) - shows that Allie's childhood priorities were: dogs, dogs, dogs, Murphy the dog, favorite foods, and her parents' longevity.

Some of my favorite sections are about Allie's 'simple dog' (mentally challenged) - who can't learn to walk up or down steps; is unable to escape from a small blanket loosely thrown over her; can't find a treat she sees being placed under a plastic cup; won't stop eating stinging bees; is paralyzed by fear of snow; and so on.

At one point Allie decides to adopt a 'helper dog' to assist the simple one....and the new pooch constantly scream-barks at other dogs and misbehaves 24/7. Examples of what these two dogs get up to are hilarious.




Another very entertaining chapter is about little Allie - aged 4 - obsessively stalking her grandfather's birthday cake. Allie's mom does her best to keep the cake safe....to no avail. The child eats the whole cake and suffers the alimentary consequences. Young Allie's digestive system undergoes more assaults after she (accidently) eats food slathered in hot sauce. Allie's parents view the youngster's ability to eat hot food as a talent.....to be trotted out for friends and relatives. Oh....the suffering...

As a child, Allie got up to all sorts of mischief. When given a toy parrot that repeats spoken phrases, Allie (and her sister) used it to torture their parents. They taught the bird to make irritating noises and say "poop poop poop poop poop poop....." Of course the bird disappeared one day.



Allie also relates a story about wanting to go to a friend's birthday party despite being disoriented/unable to talk after dental anesthesia. Allie's attempts to convince her mom she's 'okay to go' are very funny.

The more serious chapters of the book deal with Allie's depression, her difficulties motivating herself to do things, and her secret 'mean' thoughts. I think most people can relate.

Some chapters are better than others, but the book is a quick read - with fun illustrations - and well worth the effort. Highly recommended.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Review of "Spirit Crossing: A Cork O'Connor Mystery" by William Kent Krueger

 

In this 20th book in the long-running 'Cork O'Connor' series, Cork helps investigate when local women go missing. The book can be read as a standalone, but familiarity with the characters is a bonus.

Background: Cork O'Connor, whose ancestry is Irish and Anishinaabe Indian, was the sheriff of Tamarack County, Minnesota for ten years. Afterwards, Cork became a private investigator.....



.....and he also runs a hamburger shack called 'Sam's Place' in his hometown of Aurora, Minnesota. Over the years, Sam's Shack provided jobs for many teens in the area, including the O'Connor youngsters.



Cork and his first wife Jo had three children named Jenny, Annie, and Stephen. Later, after Cork became a widower, he married Rainy Bisonette.



Rainy is an Ojibwe Indian and the great-niece of Cork's best friend Henry Meloux - an elderly Mide (medicine man) and spiritual guide.



*****

As the novel opens, Cork is almost sixty, and his grown children have embarked on their individual lives and careers.



At the moment though, the entire family is gathered in Aurora for law student Stephen O'Connor's upcoming wedding to his fiancée Belle.



Environmentalist Jenny O'Connor lives in the area with her husband Daniel English (an Ojibwe tribal police officer) and their 7-year-old adopted son Waaboo - whom Jenny found hidden under a rock when he was an infant.



Annie O'Connor and her romantic partner Maria Lopez have flown in from Guatemala, where they do social work in impoverished Mayan communities.



As the O'Connor family gathers for the auspicious occasion, two young women are missing from Tamarack County: Olivia Hamilton, the teenage daughter of a wealthy, influential state senator; and Crystal Two Knives - a young Ojibwe woman. The search for Olivia is in high gear, but the authorities show little concern for Crystal, and consider her a runaway.



Things take a turn when Cork, his son Stephen, son-in-law Daniel, and grandson Waaboo go blueberry picking. Cork takes the little group to a 'secret' blueberry patch on the unoccupied property of a deceased recluse called Erno Paavola. At the blueberry patch, Cork notices little Waaboo kneeling on the ground beside his bucket, staring straight ahead, with his lips moving as if he's talking to someone. Waaboo say's he's speaking to 'a lady who's lost and sad.'



It turns out Waaboo has found a shallow grave, and since it might be the burial site of the state senator's missing daughter Olivia, mulitple law enforcement agencies - including the FBI, Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and the Minnesota State Police - rush to the area.

Meanwhile, Waaboo's family takes the child to Mide Henry Meloux, who acknowledges Waaboo's spiritual abilities, and who intuits the body in the blueberry patch is an Indian woman.



When this turns out to be true, all investigators other than Indian police and Tamarack County Sheriff Marsha Dross lose interest in the case and leave.

The entire incident causes BIG trouble because journalists hear rumors about Waaboo 'talking to ghosts' and the story spreads. The perpetrator(s) who buried the Indian woman in the blueberry patch fear Waaboo will expose them, and set out to kill the little boy.



In the interim, Cork teams up with Sheriff Marsha Dross to investigate the Indian woman's murder.



This includes searching deceased Erno Paavola's cabin and grounds, and interviewing Paavola's heirs, who (presumably) own the property now.

The case gets very complicated, and that's all I can say without spoilers.

In the meantime, there's more going on in Tamarack County. The Stockbridge oil pipeline is being laid in the area, and environmental groups are staging demonstrations near the site.



Siblings Stephen and Annie O'Connor join the protestors, and run afoul of a vicious private security officer named Adrian Lewis. As things play out, Lewis loses his job and blames Annie, whom he proceeds to follow and harass. This is especially difficult for Annie, who's already dealing with personal problems.



There's danger, action, and adventure as the story rolls on, and as always, the extended O'Connor family and their friends come together for the challenges and celebrations.



I found the novel's convoluted storyline and large cast of characters a little confusing, but I enjoyed the book and recommend it to mystery fans.

Rating: 3.5 stars