bookingitonthemove
Booking It On The Move
I love to travel and I love to read, so why not document both? Mona, she/they
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Burn
Patrick Ness. 1956 America, but with dragons.
“On the whole, one should worry less about prophecies and more about the lunatics who believe them.”
Like all Ness books, it was an incredible work of art. An impeccable balance between reality and fantasy. A sure adventure.
There are two parts to Burn, and there are very entirely separate. If it moved slower and included more detail, they could easily be two different novels of the same series. The story follows Sara Dewhurst, a 16-year-old girl whose father has just hired a dragon to help work on their farm, something not exactly socially acceptable. We also follow Malcolm, a young assassin that belongs to a dragon-worshiping cult religion, tasked with killing someone he’s told has the fate of the world in their hands. And the dragon? He knows more than he’s letting on. He knows about Sara’s fate. He knows about the prophecy. Sara does not.
For avid readers of Ness, this book moves faster than most of his books I’ve read of late. Probably the fastest since the Chaos Walking Trilogy. It was based pretty heavily on plot rather than characters and relationships, but I still felt they were developed enough to carry the story effectively.
It was also complex. Although Ness confirmed this is a standalone book, the world has a lot of potential. Not a lot of serious world-building went on because of the length of the book, but without giving away anything, there was definitely opportunity for a more complex world. In fact, I found myself wanting it to be longer so I could get to know the characters more, understand more about the world, and live a little longer in 1956 America-but‐with-dragons. There were also a lot of perspectives going on, probably four or five main ones, something that made the book seem to move even faster. Because of this, there was a lot to remember and pay attention to. I’ve heard people say that it was confusing and jumpy and they didn’t feel any connection to the characters, but I personally enjoyed the complexity and pace of the book. That being said, it’s definitely a book I would like to read again, knowing the twists and how it ends. I sort of got the feeling, especially in the first part, that I was watching a story happen, but I didn’t really know what was happening. That can be a good thing, though. And it all came together in the end. Mostly. Sort of. (I did quite like the ending, though.)
I really did enjoy reading this book. Ness, per usual, has some very interesting ideas about society. He explores right and wrong, the ideas of people being good or bad and whether or not the circumstances of their choices contribute to their character. He explores racial discrimination, religion, homophobia, police brutality, destiny, prophecy. There were definitely things that surprised me, and I can honestly say that when reading part one, wherever you think part two will end up—you are wrong.
#Patrick Ness#Burn#Dragons#Sara Dewhurst#Fantasy#Book Review#No Spoilers#you guys it was so good#please read it#talk to me about it
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Avatar: The Last Airbender
I’m not even going to do a proper review on this because I can’t think of any negative critique. For real. If you haven’t watched this series you are in for a serious treat and a new obsession. It’s on Netflix now and I very very very highly recommend.
It has one of the best character arcs I’ve ever seen, it has the planned seasons with a planned ending, wonderfully developed characters, great humor, and deep, still relevant themes. I could go on and on, and I will if you want to hear more about it.
It also has a slightly controversial sequel series called The Legend of Korra. I, personally, like it nearly as much--It seems a little more grown-up to me (more obvious violence and mature themes, but still very much meant for children), but isn’t nearly as deep and developed as the A:TLA series.
A perfect series to watch on Netflix during quarantine. You will laugh, you will cry, you will thank me later. :)
Stay safe everyone, and enjoy this amazing show!
-Mona
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My absolute favorite author ever Patrick Ness is releasing a new book on June 2nd, 2020 (In the US. I believe it’s already released in the UK). It’s called Burn and it takes place in the 1950′s and it has dragons and a cult that worships dragons and a LGBTQ+ assassin in said cult like literally how could this not be good??
#burn#Patrick Ness#fantasy#lgbtq#assassin#dragons#i mean c'mon dragons#in the 1950s#chaos walking#a monster calls#release
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The Letter for the King
I recently binged this Netflix series in the span of two days, and let me tell you, up until the last episode I absolutely loved it. I went into this with no context; I haven’t read the book (of the same name by Tonke Dragt if you were wondering) and I didn’t know anything about this series before I watched. I had a good time watching this show, I really did. I do, however, have some serious problems. Let’s dig in.
The Things I Liked:
-The dialogue. I thought the writing was really fluent and there were some beautiful lines. It drew me in right away.
-The world-building. I know this was based on a book, but I think the world has some real potential. It was set up nicely for following seasons and seemed pretty consistent, with distinct regions and cultures
-The characters. They had good development and diversity (If you’ve already watched it, I know, I know, more on this later). I thought there was a lot of potential for growth and they seemed really consistent with in-character reactions. The characters also had realistic relationships and interesting dynamics with each other, one of the best qualities of the show, in my opinion.
-It was (mostly) unpredictable. Granted, I could spot some one-liners and Emotional Scenes from a mile away, but some of the plot points took me by surprise. I also had to figure out the dynamics of the world and the characters’ history on my own, which I quite enjoy in a story.
The Things I Didn’t (a little spoiler):
-A few characters get lost. It could be on purpose to set up another season, but I thought it was unnecessary and lazy.
-Some people are upset about Iona’s character arc, saying that it was another racist move to have her turn her back on her group, effectively ostracizing the only other main POC on the show. I didn’t feel this way. Iona was still incredibly developed, more so than most of the other characters (and super badass if I may say). She’s witty and cunning and strong, and I think she still represents women and POC in the show despite her nature.
-Otherwise, I’m not going to nit-pick. The things they did well, they really did well. The things they didn’t, they majorly screwed up. Read on.
The Serious Problems (major spoilers ahead):
-The transfer of “Hero”. This was a no-no in my book. Not only is it racist taking the “savior role” from a well developed POC character and giving to the Generic White Girl, but it was also cheap. I could go on and on about how in this day and age we should really be past the “default” for our main characters as white straight males (or more recently females) and how POC need representation as much as strong women in media, and not only is all of that true, but it was a cheap plot ploy to surprise the audience. We were rooting for the main character the whole way, sympathizing with him and thinking with him and experiencing with him. To take that away from audiences for the sake of a plot twist is just unnecessary. Furthermore, it didn’t make much sense in the context of the story. The whole time, Tiuri is associated with magic because of his past, and he’s hunted for it. His family drops some serious hints about his abilities and his past, and we were set up from the beginning to thinking he was special. Lavinia doesn’t have that background. Granted, we don’t know about her mother and we don’t know hardly anything about Tiuri’s past, so the writers could potentially recover in the future. Even said, the twist was unprecedented, racist, and I, personally, feel cheated out of a good ending.
-Jussipo. This was a big one for me. Again, in this day and age, we shouldn’t have to deal with things like this. Gay characters are a very rare thing in canon, and it’s even rarer that they live. Revealing a character as gay in the same episode you’re going to kill him in? Horrible. I understand it was an emotional scene and it was character building and sacrifice and battle and blah blah blah, but c’mon guys, it was homophobic (Bury Your Gays anyone?). Especially because Lavinia was seen just a few minutes ago using healing magic on Tiuri. And she just stood and watched. Not only from a viewer’s standpoint am I disgusted and angry, but it was just bad writing.
Overall:
I really enjoyed the show. Aside from those two things. I would definitely recommend watching, but no need to watch the second half of the last episode. ;)
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The Lorien Legacies
“Discovery is born of desperation.” -Pitticus Lore, United as One
This YA fantasy series by Pitticus Lore (a collective pseudonym for James Frey, Jobie Hughes, and formerly Greg Boose) has been on my list for so long, and what with not being allowed out of my house in the middle of a pandemic, I finally got to reading it. It’s about a group of aliens with extraordinary abilities called Legacies that were brought to Earth from a dying planet when they were very small. They can only be killed in order of their numbers, and with another civilization of warriors called Mogadorians out to destroy them, this comes in handy for those down the line. The story starts with John, number four. Everyone before him has been killed, and his life is next. I was a little skeptical at first, but as I read more I found I couldn’t stop. There are seven books, a spin-off series, and several short stories. I only read the main books; “I Am Number Four”, “The Power of Six”, “The Rise of Nine”, “The Fall of Five”, “The Revenge of Seven”, “The Fate of Ten”, and “United as One”. Let’s dig in.
(There will be no spoilers for the series)
What I didn’t like:
The beginning of the series.
-It started off slow at first. I really didn’t think I was going to like it, and I almost stopped after the first book. I didn’t see where it was going, and it didn’t have enough depth for me.
-The writing seemed a little amateur. It wasn’t very eloquent and it was mostly telling, not showing. There wasn’t a whole lot left for the reader to figure out, and it just seemed a little childish and cliche to me. This gets better through the books.
-At the beginning it was just . . . flat. There wasn’t too much depth to the characters and not much to figure out and it didn’t seem very developed. But again, this all changes later in the series.
What I did like:
The end of the series.
-The characters and their arcs. Especially toward the end of the series, we start to see some serious changes in the characters. They become more developed and three-dimensional and make choices unique to them. Choices that fit their character based on things that have happened to them. In the last book, there’s one of the best examples of grief and trauma and character development I’ve seen in a while
-The ending. There’s an expression that says when writing a book, write the ending you need to read. That said, I really enjoyed the ending. I think the characters were treated appropriately, it was (mostly) realistic, and it was the kind of ending I needed.
-The books grow. Exponentially. The first book compared to the last one is insane. They grow with the reader in content, becoming more suited for older readers the farther into the series you go (I mean it gets a little dark, it swears a lot more. Nothing too big). I love stories that do this because it allows the reader to grow with the book. Not only does the series grow in content, but it also grows in skill. The writing is more fluent, the dialogue is better, the books get more complicated, and the series overall seems less amateur. The characters and plot also grow. We get some back story and some depth and more development.
-The world. It was obvious a huge amount of work went into world-building. Everything was consistent and without (at least that I noticed) big plot holes. More of the world is revealed in later books, and there’s so much depth and understanding put into the world-building.
Overall:
I really ended up loving this series. The last two books were by far my favorite, and I couldn’t stop reading them. I would definitely recommend reading, but the first few books will be a little grueling. It’s one of the few series that I can confidently say get better the more books you read, not worse. It will leave you with a world missing in your life and a healthy dose of emotional trauma, as all the best books do.
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Welcome!
Hey everyone! Welcome to my blog! I love to read and immerse in all things not reality, so I figured, why not document it? I thought I’d give my friendly opinion on the books I’ve read, the places I’ve been, and the things I’ve watched. Feel free to ask me anything or submit things you think I should experience or things you’ve experienced and want to share.
A little about me: As you might’ve figured out, I’m a huge nerd. Always have been. Always will be. I love writing as well as reading, and I always have a few works in progress, ideas, or general feelings with bits of dialogue thrown in. I probably gravitate toward fantasy and science fiction most, but I’m a sucker for a good love story and a great character arc. Honestly, I’m open to almost anything. I also absolutely LOVE to travel. Experiencing new cultures and places (and bookshops) and things I’ve never seen before are experiences that I’ll never forget. I travel as much as I can, though it isn’t as much as I’d like to.
I also want to let anyone interested in my blog know that this is a safe place. I am a huge supporter of LGBTQ+ rights and representation and believe in equality for all people. I believe that as long as you aren’t hurting anyone, you have a right to your beliefs, practices, culture, choices, and lifestyle, whatever they may be.
Thanks for your interest! I hope to see you again!
-Mona
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