Uprooted by Naomi Novik

Uprooted    

From "real" dragons in the Temeraire series, to a wizard who is a dragon in name only in Uprooted; from a fantasy version of the Napoleonic Wars to a novel that takes the form of a Polish fairy tale--Naomi Novik's creative imagination provides readers with a new world.

It started very much like a book I read last year (Dragon Rose), and I was a little nervous about the similarity (of a girl chosen to leave her village and be a companion of the local dragon).  Fortunately,  Novik has created a story that captivates on several levels and has little in common with the other book. 

Novik's Uprooted  is one of those special fantasy/fairy tales that will seize your interest and curiosity, keep you in suspense, and linger long after you finish.  It has that indefinable "classic" feel, yet the characters  have a depth that classical fairy tale characters lack.  The best of both worlds!  

A perfect and timely read for Carl's Once Upon a Time Challenge!  Recommended.

About the author:

 Naomi Novik was born in New York in 1973, a first-generation American, and raised on Polish fairy tales, Baba Yaga, and Tolkien. She studied English Literature at Brown University and did graduate work in Computer Science at Columbia University before leaving to participate in the design and development of the computer game Neverwinter Nights: Shadows of Undrentide.

Her first novel, His Majesty’s Dragon, was published in 2006 along with Throne of Jade and Black Powder War, and has been translated into 23 languages. She has won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, the Compton Crook Award for Best First Novel, and the Locus Award for Best First Novel. The fourth volume of theTemeraire series, Empire of Ivory, published in September 2007, was a New York Times bestseller, and was followed by bestsellers Victory of Eagles and Tongues of Serpents.

On April 26, 2011, she published Will Supervillains Be on the Final?, volume one in a new graphic novel series titled Liberty Vocational. She is also currently writing League of Dragons, the final Temeraire novel. (naominovik.com)

Read in April; blog post scheduled for May 4.

NetGalley/Random House/Del Ray Spectra

Fantasy/Fairy Tale.  May 19, 2015.  Print length:  448 pages.

Once Upon a Time

If you are participating in Carl's challenge, you might appreciate this flash sale (today only , through April 7) of Intisar Khanani's Thorne.  Only 99 cents and the profits go to a great cause:

All proceeds from this sale will go towards helping a good friend cover the cost of international adoption of a pair of biological brothers with Saethre-Chotzen Syndrome--a condition that results in brain damage unless treated. Evan (age 7) and Raymond (age 9) were each given up at birth, and were unable to receive treatment for their condition. They have been in an orphanage in Eastern Europe since birth. You can find out more about the boys and Jamie, and link to their blog, here:http://reecesrainbow.org/83163/sponsorallison-3

I read Thorn and Sunbolt (Amazon links) last year and loved them both.

  You can read my reviews here and here. 

The Thousand Names by Django Wexler (Once Upon a Time)

The Thousand Names is the first in the Shadow Campaigns series.  It is a military fantasy (or a flintlock fantasy---new term for me), and since I have a tendency to like military strategy in science fiction, reading a military fantasy kept me engaged.

But it isn't all about battles and strategy, The Thousand Names has well-realized characters, gender-bending, intrigue, and magic, too.  

The prologue at the beginning seems a little out of place and a kind of misdirection, but once I got to Part One and Winter's pov, I became more and more involved with this epic fantasy.  

I liked both Winter and Captain Marcus d'Ivoire's characters and especially liked the information they provide about the third major character--Colonel Janus bet Vahlnick, the strange, brilliant, and enigmatic new arrival who takes command.  Marcus, who has more direct contact with Janus, is disconcerted and puzzled by the man, and no one expects the direction in which Janus takes the Colonials.

Secondary characters are also well-developed, and I especially liked a couple of these, but won't tell you which ones because they are important in several ways and figuring this out is part of the fun.

I was engrossed throughout and can't wait to see if the library has the second book, but must warn prospective readers that this will appeal mostly to those who enjoy military fiction.  Even if you don't, however, this book may change your mind.

Once Upon a Time Challenge

Library copy.

Military Fantasy.  2013.  528 pages.