Graceling

Graceling

By Kristin Cashore

In a world where people born with an extreme skill - called a Grace - are feared and exploited, Katsa carries the burden of the skill even she despises: the Grace of killing. She lives under the command of her uncle Randa, King of the Middluns, and is expected to execute his dirty work, punishing and torturing anyone who displeases him.

When she first meets Prince Po, who is Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change.

She never expects to become Po's friend.

She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace - or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away...a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.

So I have been meaning to read this book for a long time. It's been recommended to me several times and I've actually gotten it from the library three times. I just never have managed to get around to reading it before this fourth time.

I felt like this definitely had a first book in a series type feel. What I mean is that there a lot of aspects of this world that are unexplored. I hope that as the series goes on, some of the ideas or questions I thought of will be addressed.

I felt like the romance was a little weak, but it wasn't really the focus of the story. Katsa says from the beginning that she never wants to marry and she never wants children, and, because of her Grace there is really no one who could ever force her too. I didn't really agree with some of her reasoning, but I had to respect that she stood by what she said, even when (THIS IS NOT REALLY A SPOILER) she realizes that she has come to really care for Po. Sadly, I could not get over my mental picture of a sexy panda bear every time his name came up.
In this world, which as far as I can tell is called The Seven Kingdoms (why is it always the seven kingdoms?), the Graced are very easily spotted, they all have heterochromia. Gracelings have two different colored eyes. Sometimes their eye color doesn't settle into different colors until weeks, months, or even years after birth.

Once the Graced are identified they belong to the king and are sent to his court to be raised. If the child's Grace is useful, they remain there in the king's service. In the event that the child has a useless Grace, it is sent home with apologies, because it will be difficult for the family. There is a great deal of fear and superstition attached to Gracelings and they tend to be avoided.

Honestly, I don't know how this country keeps going without simply collapsing. Almost all of the Kings, which are really more like Warlords, are horrible rulers. They are corrupt and are constantly squabbling. I may need to read through it a few more times to get how it works, but most of the rulers of each kingdom are distantly related to each other.

Overall, I thought this was a very interesting concept and world. I thought that the storyline was weak in some spots and I predicted who the villain was, almost as soon as he was mentioned for the first time. It's attempt to be surprising backfired a little. I hope that the later books will improve though.

This definitely young adult, which shouldn't mean that I don't expect as much from it, but sadly does. I think I may just be a little to old to enjoy it as much as if I were, oh, about 14-15.

I'm trying to think of any other books I've read that really use heterochromia, but all I can think of are mangas, which have an overabundance of strange hair and eye colors. Maybe some of my readers *hint,hint* will be able to think of some titles.

Mummies, Parasols, and Cucumber Sandwiches

Crocodile On The Sandbank

By Elizabeth Peters

This is the first book in a favorite series of mine. You can't read all the books at once and the earlier books are my favorite, but the whole series is worth a read. My favorite way to read this series is actually to listen to the audio book narrated by Barbara Rosenblat.

Set in 1884, the indomitable Amelia Peabody has been left a significant sum of money by her deceased scholarly father. While she enjoys the sudden attention and popularity she never enjoyed in her youth, she finds that it quickly bores her and she has no interest in marrying any of the men who have called on her. So, armed with her faithful parasol, she decides to travel and to see the wonders of the ancient world that her father wrote about.

First stop is Rome, where Amelia rescues young Evelyn Forbes. Seduced and abandoned in a foreign country by a villainous Italian, Amelia immediately takes pity on the girl and endeavors to help her however she can.

Together they set out for Egypt with Evelyn as Amelia's new companion. They begin to sail the Nile with the intention of stopping at various archeological sites, however when they reach Amarna circumstances arise which make it difficult for them to leave.

Radcliff Emerson, a loud, irascible man, who Amelia has clashed with once before, is deathly ill and his amiable brother, Walter, is struggling to keep their archeology site from being destroyed and keeping his brother from working himself to death. Amelia immediately realizes that her helping hand is needed, whether they want it or not. 

All is not going well though, many strange things are happening, including the appearance of a murderous mummy who's target seems to be the lovely Evelyn.

The name of the book comes from an Egyptian love poem which is reproduced in the front of the book:

The love of my beloved is on yonder side
A width of water is between us
And a crocodile waiteth on the sandbank.

Lots of this book, and the series as a whole, is very tongue in cheek and parodies the novels of the times as well as making fun of the stereotypes of the day.

Amelia is well-meaning, but entirely heavy-handed with her kindnesses. A trait that gets her into trouble many times throughout the series. She always carries a parasol with a strong steel tip so that she may jab people with it, if she has the need.

I love this series so much that I'm actually having a hard time not saying too much and limiting myself to what pertains to the first book.

The book is written in a journal form which she has partially rewritten for publication by her heirs. After all, as she comments to her readers, she is sensitive to the fact that certain events may prove embarrassing for certain individuals were they published at the present time.

She often claims (after the fact) to have had 'dire premonitions', a notion that Emerson heartily scoffs at.

There is a romance but this is also mostly a mystery.

It's not necessary to begin with the first in the series to enjoy it. I began with the second book, "The Curse of the Pharaohs", which introduced two of my favorite reoccuring characters: Cyrus Vandergelt, and Kevin O'Connell.

My cats, Bastet and Horus, are named after some of the cats which appear in this series. What literary characters have you named pets/children/videogame characters/etc. after?