Alex Is Reading...SORCERER TO THE CROWN

This debut fantasy is the most sink-in-and-enjoy book I've read in quite awhile--the kind of book that makes me stop periodically and think, "Why do I bother reading anything that I like less than this? I could be reading this!"

It is also one of those books where I, to be totally honest, just want to rip off the dust jacket and write READ THIS BOOK across the cover instead. The cover is not good. The cover is a red splodge with a vaguely decipherable dragon across the top. The book, on the other hand, is a spectacularly handled regency diversion, a funny, spirited mix of disarmingly likeable characters, court politics, personal feuds, grumpy fairies, surprise dragons, and thoroughly considered, culturally diverse magical practice.

You might be reminded of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell from the premise on its own: England is losing its magic, and everyone wants to know why. Sorcerer to the Crown's protagonists are its superpower, though. Atypically for its genre, none of the three main characters is white. More typical are the harangued young gentleman and the strong-minded young woman who leads him on a chase, but this familiarity is paired with originality; generally speaking, regency heroines aren't nonchalantly traipsing through London with the majority of England's magical power tucked in their reticules.

(The third major player, by the way, is a Malaysian witch named Mak Genggang, who is so delightful that I will just leave her for you to discover on your own.)

It's a thoroughly fun book, and I'm already excited about the sequel--check it out in our scifi/fantasy section!

What To Read Next

The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer is my favorite book by the absolute queen of regency romance. There are no bodice-rippers here--she's all family friendly, the long eighteenth century by way of the 1930s. This book features a haughty man of morals finding himself aghast at the cheerfully wild behaviors of a heroine who will remind you very much of Cho's Prunella.

Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian is the starting point of this quintessential Napoleonic sea epic. Between battles against man and tide, you will learn so much about boats. Just, absolute loads about boats. You will not mind this, and the characters are wonderful.

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin is a fantasy novel which drags a distant child of the emperor into the treacherous capital. There, barely restrained gods live, either the potential ruler's best hope for salvation, or an even greater danger to her than her vicious family.

Evelina by Frances Burney is where Jane Austen got her stuff. If you like Gossip Girl and Pride and Prejudice, it's time to back up to the 1770s, where hair is tall, gambling is rampant, and there's nothing worse you can be than a nice girl in London.

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison is not set in our world, but it borrows a little steampunk and drags it back to the seventeeth/eighteenth centuries. Much like Sorcerer's Zacharias Wythe, newly enthroned Maia is racially an outcast, insecure as the new emperor. It's not an action book. Instead, intrigue, threats, and all, it moves slowly and gently through Maia's growth in a role he never expected.


His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik is the natural fantasy counterpart to Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey and Maturin novels, featuring sentient dragons piloted by humans into the Napoleonic wars by brave men (and the occasional woman). Book-loving dragon Temeraire by far outshines everything else in the series, but the action is great and the human hero is noble--which I assume is something you like a little, if you like this genre at all.

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell  by Susanna Clarke is a period fantasy that features Dickensian characters, heaps of intricate description, and a particularly good scene with the gargoyles of Yorkminster coming to life.

Newt's Emerald by Garth Nix is an upcoming (2016) young adult novel by the author of the Abhorsen series, mixing regency romance, magic, and mystery.

The Strangler Vine by M.J. Carter is a Sherlock Holmes-style mystery featuring a whiningly naive member of the East India Company paired with a jaded ex-member of same, trekking across India in search of a missing author and finding death and corruption along their trail. Complex, textured, and very aware of exactly what kind of role the British had in colonized India, it's a quick-paced, highly readable, fun adventure, absolutely packed with historical goodies.

Kidsmith Presents: Television Inspired Literature

We're obsessed. It's all we can think about. It's all we talk about. It's all I'm going to blog about today: Reign. CW's drama about Mary, Queen of Scots is a show a few of us children's booksellers discovered and fell in love with. Naturally after we watched all available episodes we sought out other ways to feed our obsession in the form of books. Thus, it has inspired a new monthly feature on the blog brought to you by the kidsmith booksellers.

Television Inspired Literature will go up once a month. We know first hand that book lovers can also be TV lovers and want to share our obsessions with you. Based on popular TV shows, we've come up with some YA book titles that you might enjoy if you like the show. If you have any suggestions for TV shows we should feature or books we may have missed let us know in the comments!

Without further ado may I present the first Television Inspired Literature:

Because history happens to people

As far as I know, Laurie Halse Anderson has plenty of shoes. Boots, even. So what was she doing walking barefoot in the snow? Research, of course. She wanted to get the details of an American Revolution soldier's experience just right.



If you're looking for a Memorial Day read, this is a great one.

If you're learning any bit of history, one of the best ways to make it make sense, to make it meaningful, to make it matter is to read historical fiction. It's one thing to learn that Charles Darwin's theories were controversial. It's another to see Calpurnia Tate try to research these newfangled ideas while her parents think she should focus on learning to cook.



It's one thing to learn about genocide. It's another to catch your breath with Lina as her mother trades her brother's life for a watch.



It's one thing to learn that the 1960s were a time of significant cultural change. It's another to watch Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern make sense of their Black Panther mother's ideals when they're used to their more old-fashioned grandmother's way of thinking. It's yet another thing to watch them fangirl over the Jackson Five in the brand-new sequel.

 

It's one thing to learn about the Vietnam War. It's another to to sympathize with Hà, who emigrates from Vietnam to Alabama and is so unfamiliar with American customs that she wears a flannel nightgown to school.



It's one thing to be told something. It's another to feel like you've experienced it, or at least been told about it by a good (fictional) friend.

Guilty Pleasures

The other day, one of our book buyers Mark and I were having an in-depth conversation about music. "What music do you listen to that is a guilty pleasure?" I honestly couldn't think of anything. Akin to books, I fully believe that if you like something, you like it, and why worry about what others will think. Just like other traits we can't always pick what lights up our brain's pleasure centers, and if it doesn't hurt anybody then WHO CARES. Embrace what you like! Listen to Sublime and read trashy romances!

But Mark's question resurfaced for me this week when I started watching the new History Channel series Vikings. Vikings is an original series that follows characters based on legendary sagas and set around the time of the first Viking raids on England. There's a badass shieldmaiden lady warrior. There's music from Wardruna, one of my favorite bands. There's handsome men with long hair (perhaps the Achilles heel of this bookseller). I can't stop looking at this show and it makes me feel a little ... guilty. The acting is good. The premise is cool. While occasionally historically inaccurate, the sets and ships and armor and weapons and clothes are cool. Gabriel Byrne is always good. The pacing and dialogue is a bit ... rough, but the show is young and could always improve.

Anyway, it's definitely a guilty pleasure for me. If you're in the same longship here are some recent acquisitions to the UBC to read during the commercials so by the end of your hour you feel like you've done something productive.

Hounded by Kevin Hearne. A series that melds all kinds of ancient mythology into a modern day fantasy adventure mystery quest. Thor makes an appearance eventually. The author also wins my award for best book dedication ever: "Look, Mom! I made this! Can we put it on the fridge?"

The Vikings by Else Roesdahl. A quick and dirty history with lots of pictures.

The Kings in Winter by Cecelia Holland. A historical fantasy novel of Celtic chieftains fighting off their Viking overlords. GOOD LUCK.

Niall Ferguson's book on Vikings, as well as the Sagas are also obvious books you should have already read. Get off the internet and go read them now.

Got any other guilty pleasures to share? Confess in the comments!