I kept putting off doing these two book reviews, and now I have to do a mini-review because frankly they aren’t fresh enough in my mind for something more in-depth.
Jennifer Roberson’s Deepwood continues from Karavans, which I reviewed earlier. Like it’s predecessor, Deepwood is well-written. The characters, which I found a touch lacking last time around, have grown in the face of hardship. Unlike the last novel, a lot happens in this book. Since the entire karavan family and Rhuan got taken in by the Deepwood, they find themselves in a lot of danger, so the book is never dull. It’s a little on the dark side, but the book is interesting, and is a definite improvement over Karavans. If you like fantasy, I would say it’s worth your time.
Next up is Freda Warrington’s Elfland. I was admittedly drawn to this book by the lameness of its title. I mean, really? I saw that it won a fantasy award and had lots of praise, so I went ahead and got it. Readers should know that books featuring the world of fae in any way, shape, or form get an automatic bonus with me. I am besotted with the world of fae and the endless interpretations it receives. This book featured a race of people somewhere between human and fae, who could escape into the edgy world of fae at will… Except that the gate keeper has barred the doors. The plot centers on Rosie, her brothers, and her neighbors, who are mostly part of this odd race. Because the doors to Elfland are closed, she has grown up without learning about the world beyond those gates.
At first I really liked this book. The writing struck a deep cord with me, not so much by its skill, but by how it presented the feelings of feeling the world of fae on the edges around you. Unfortunately the plot seemed to be trying to outdo itself with “and then it got worse” moments. Frankly the stuff that happened in this book seemed aimed to shock for no reason. For instance, Rosie cheats on her husband, causing him to put her younger brother and half brother into his car and drive them into a tree at full speed because she loved them, and he wanted to hurt her. You’re left saying “Wait, what, really?”. Sadly that was just one of many weird moments in this book. Stuff like this, coupled with the constant string of stupid decisions involved, made me not really care about the characters and their fates. I just liked the stuff about fae. The bottom line is that if you have a taste for the world of fae, or for rather extreme drama, you’ll probably like this book well enough. Otherwise, probably not.
So, the doll world has been kind of busy lately, which is always great news. I thought I’d give you a run through of some of the activity that has been of interest to me lately.
Dream of Doll
DOD has released two new limited SDs. They are elves, and are wearing pretty awesome clothes. I really like the dreaming one! So handsome. I’m not sure how DOD is limiting them, so keep a close eye on them if you’re interested. Check them out!.
PIPOS
Pipos released some fullsets yesterday. These fullsets are, from what I can tell, re-releases of some of their older ones. The catch is that there is only one of each available; they probably sold out already. Additionally, they released the 2010 basic versions of their Pi line, which includes the cats Baha, Heero, and Chesire, the fox Bao, the rabbit Curo, and, my personal favorite, the dog Mac. These dolls were unavailable for a few months while they did some tweaking to the molds for this year’s release. I’ve been toying with the idea of getting a Mac ever since the mold was released about two years ago; he is so cute! Anyone who has been waiting for these cuties to reappear should head over to Pipos right away!
Fairyland
Fairyland introduced an a la carte for their new chic line today, which is great news for anyone who was frustrated over the lack of choice concerning bust, leg, and body types in the initial release. Unfortunately, this a la carte does not include the pieces and options needed to put LTF and MNF heads onto the chic line body. The options are strictly for the chic line head sculpts.
Blue Fairy
Blue Fairy recently added a Shiny Fairy choice system, so each doll is available in its opposite sex. They are all adorable! You can even order the standard uniform for the opposite sex with the choice menu! I wish BF would add this option to their tiny fairy choice menu… I would love to get my hands on a standard tiny fairy female uniform.
And that’s all for me now :)
She’s really cute, but I need to get her new eyes ASAP. I really don’t like the ones she came with, they have no depth and are very hard to get into a natural pose. I’m fairly sure I wasn’t able to make them look natural :/ But that is easy enough to fix!
Her name is Epiphany, or “Piff” or “Piffle” for short.
~Jen
I meant to do the sequel of Karavans today, but I have to return this book to the library and I wanted to write about it before I did. Today I have another fantasy offering for you, and this time it’s from a New York Times Bestselling Author. Get ready for Michael Scott’s The Magician {The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel}.
The book mixes fantasy and a real-world setting, which I think is always fun. It’s really difficult to sum up this book, even though it’s another one where really not much happened in the grand scheme of things. Basically there are humans, immortals, and Elders. Humans can gain immortality on their own (it’s very rare for this to happen) or gain it from an Elder in return for undying devotion to that Elder (also rare). Of course, mythology fans will know about Nicholas Flamel, a French alchemist who is said to have lived a very long life thanks to his ability to create sorcerer’s stones/the elixir of life/whatever. There’s also magic, or power, and immortals tend to have it. Humans can, too.
Flamel gets his elixir recipe from a book called the Codex in the story, and the Codex has a lot of other stuff in it. Among this information is a prophecy predicting the coming of a pair of twins with a silver and gold aura. Their power will either save the world or end it (presumably by preventing or causing the return of the Elders to power on earth). The book is about Flamel traveling with the twins, training them and protecting them from men associated with the Elders. These dudes want to capture them for their own purposes.
Strengths:
The quality of the writing is sound, and the novel is action-packed, which makes for a great page-turner. However, the book is loaded with delicious mythology and contains everything from oni to Valkyries. I would like to read it again and just look everything up, even the things I’m familiar with to see if there are alternate uses. I get a kick out of seeing creatures and mythology in books. There’s also lots of history in there… in fact, Joan of Arc is one of the characters! The author also tries to get some science in, but it’s all rudimentary and seemed tacked on compared to the depth of the mythological and historical references. The magic/power system is also interesting.
Weaknesses:
The story is more about the plot than the characters, and other than being delighted with seeing Joan of Arc with magic, I didn’t really care about any of them. This is probably because the story was all action with very little breathing room. Hence, there were almost no “chill and build character” scenes. However, it’s important to note that this is apparently the second book of the series, something which is not to be found on the cover, spine, or back of the book (unless the library sticker is covering it). This means that the characters may have been the focus of the first book. Frankly the complete lack of trust in the group frustrated me, even though it was understandable and likely given the plot. However, as a trusting person I was a little repulsed by everyone agonizing over who to trust.
Overall it was an interesting read that could serve as a page-turner or a dense mythology lesson depending on the effort put forth by the reader. I might try to find the first and third of the series. Although I did not become emotionally invested in the story, the mythology references and interesting magic system may be enough to get me to read more.
~Jen
Time for another book review! Today we have Karavans by Jennifer Roberson. It’s a fantasy novel about a country under invasion and its people, who are desperately fleeing the invaders. The story is divided between a few groups. One is a large family whose matron is pregnant. They want to reach a certain land in time for the birth because prophets have warned them that the child must be born there. The problem is that they need to take a risky shortcut to make it in time. Another includes the workers at the karavan that the family joins, including a hand-reader, two guides, and the karavan master. There is also a standoffish courier named Brodhi, whom frequently deals with the members of a fantasy-esque Hooverville.
The invaders are a problem, but so is the land of Alisanos. Alisanos is sort of… Hmm. It’s a hellish land that you can physically walk into. Most humans die quickly there, and those that do not slowly turn into demons. The thing is, everyone knows where it is, so you just avoid it. However, for whatever reason it’s decided that it’s time to change locations of its own will, and it seems like it’s gonna move right where the family needs to pass through for the sake of the child in the mother’s womb.
We’ll start with the good things that this book has to offer. The book is well written and includes several story lines. The author also does a great job of revealing things slowly, dropping hints here and there instead of throwing the backstory in your face. Although this was well done, anyone paying proper attention and thinking while they read could piece stuff together much faster than I think she might have intended, but she may have been going for that. Also, family relationships are realistically explored, especially the strength parents need for their children in times of uncertainty and upheaval.
Now for the not-so-good. Despite having a few plots going on here, nothing…nothing really happens in this book. The whole book is essentially a backdrop for the sequel, which is a little unappetizing since it’s still 441 pages long. It’s a little dull, and the only strong, interesting character (in my opinion, of course) was Rhuan, one of the guides.
Despite these weaknesses, the quality of the writing is strong, and I think the book is worth reading, especially for potential payoff in the sequel (which I will review shortly). I wouldn’t say to go out and by it right now, but if you see it at your local library or in a friend’s collection and need a book, go ahead and borrow it.
~Jen
Lately I’ve been reading a lot of books; it’s what I do when I have down time, but no place to work on art and stuff comfortably. For those who don’t know, I am a voracious reader and can knock out lots of books fast. And so, in no particular order, I’m going to review what I’ve read. It could help someone find something to read, or just help me remember authors I liked, things I liked about books, and things I hated.
First on the agenda is Catherine Asaro’s The Misted Cliffs. What drew my eye to this title is that the cover art is done by a faerie watercolor artist that I adore, Stephanie Pui-Mun Law. I always meant to pick it up in the store, but found the price too steep for my liking, so when I noticed it at my library, I snatched it and its sequel up. The genre is fantasy/romance.
The book is about an 18-year-old princess named Melody, known as Mel. Her parents came into their royalty through circumstance rather than lineage; an invader tried to take the crown, and when he failed, the crown was handed to Mel’s father. Or something. I don’t know, my brain always glazes over when books talk politics, especially if the word “royal” crops up. Frankly it didn’t interest me enough to remember exactly what happened. Anyway, Mel is a mage, she’s beautiful, she’s good with a sword, and, of course, she’s smart and spunky.
The magic system in this book is…different. Mages cycle through colors, with each color corresponding to greater strength. Then, within each color, spell strength is determined by utilizing geometric shapes, with simple spells using two-dimensional shapes of few sides, and a sphere representing the most powerful spell. Interestingly, magic can only do fairly subtle things like determine and influence emotions.
So. Remember that guy who tried to take the crown? Well, the victors imprisoned him instead of killing him, allowing his son to come back and rescue him years later. Now, the father and son want to seize the crown that they were originally after: Mel’s future crown. In an attempt to claim the throne without destroying the land they want to conquer, the son proposes that he marry Mel as a sign of a treaty between his people and hers. Then his child will have the crown that his family wants.
Now, this son’s name is Cobalt, and his life was, of course, traumatic. His father was gone, and his mother’s father beat him regularly, and so forth and so on. No one wants to see him marry Mel, but she does it to preserve her people, even though she’s terrified of him.
Cue the romance? Even though Mel is terrified of him, she of course ends up naked and such with him immediately, despite having never had a proper conversation with him or anything. The romance is initially very unnatural and frankly just a touch disturbing. Why would Mel cry as she left her home and throw herself at the person responsible hours later? Awkward.
So then you see the development of Cobalt, the stereotypical disturbed, dark man with a kind heart. Who likes to conquer people. Yes, despite securing a throne for his family, I guess he still wants a kingdom for his father and himself, so he goes out conquering people not involved in the treaty.
There’s also his grandfather, who is so pointlessly cruel and abusive that… He really isn’t a character. He’s sort of a big sign that says “I am nasty.”
Oh, let’s just wrap it up. The characters are uninspired and painfully predictable. The writing is somehow reminiscent of a preteen book, despite the politics and the sex scenes. And if I see another strong, angelic, beautiful, magical warrior princess in a fantasy book, I think I’ll puke. They’re everywhere, man. I’m all for girl power and such, but I’ve been inundated with it. I want to read something where the girl is the most messed up character, and I want to read it now.
The book is readable, certainly, but it was too light for me. Sort of like the watching a simple sitcom on TV, if you know what I mean. Nothing deep, nothing new, nothing daring. I understand that a lot of people enjoy this type of reading; hence the popularity of this title. However, when I read, I want to be challenged, I want to think, or at the very least, I want to be pulled in and touched. That just didn’t happen here. I picked up the sequel, but I don’t think I’m going to read it unless I get through the other books I got from the library and want more to read.
~Jen
My club, the Gamer Symphony Orchestra, recently released the recordings of our Spring 2010 concert. If you like video game music, please head on by. There was a neat Celtic style Legend of Zelda song!
Check it out here!
~Jen
So, I plunged into the world of Azone dolls by ordering Mugi, a character from K-on that I love. She’s super cute! My only complaint is that her elbow joints are stupid and allow the arm to fall off at the elbow if you bend it too much :/
She’s a fashion doll, meaning that she’s designed to wear a bunch of cute, relatively inexpensive outfits. Think Barbie dolls, only nicer. She’s not made of resin, so she’s much more affordable than my other girls. I don’t plan to collect these girls; I just love this character and was fascinated by all the clothes options available. Some day I probably will get her a friend, just so she has some company of her own kind, but I doubt I’ll ever have more than two or three of these cuties.
But she’s a joy to have around <3
So cute!!
Here’s a quick size comparison, showing you how big an Azone doll is standing next to a Fairyland Littlefee. She was bigger than I expected!
She is so cute and sweet that she won my mom over right away, which is darn right impressive.
Also, have some random pics of Nora, who is gorgeous and deserves camera time.
And that’s all for cute dollies today! Soon I’ll pop in with some pics of the new faceup I gave Binya.
~Jen
Hey guys! I just gave Himeka-chan her first face-up. I’ve never worked with vinyl or acrylic paint before, so it turned out pretty sloppy, but she’s naturally cute so she still looks nice. I wanted to show you :) I will redo it better ASAP.
A problem I had was the paint getting clumpy and sort of solidifying on the brush… I wonder if using thinner would help? I don’t know squat about acrylic paint. All I know is you can’t erase like you can using watercolor pencils, which I use on my resin girls :/
~Jen
Man, it’s been a while since the last post, sorry everyone. Tony and I have had awful, hectic semesters… But two more finals and I’m free (1 more for Tony). Well… by free, I mean free to then start working fulltime at my old lab job, which of course is both good and sad.
But enough about me! Sadly, I have fallen completely out of touch with the world of dollfie dream shortly after getting Himeka-chan… I fell out of touch with a lot of stuff this semester, but I did manage to keep tabs on my more main-stream resin girls. Anyway, I just got wind of the fact that Volks is planning to celebrate it’s 7 year anniversary of making dollfie dreams with “seven projects.” Pretty mysterious, but a combination of the announcement image and the rumor mill supports the idea that, for one, the Natsuki/Moe head mold will be made a standard. If that’s the case, I might have to switch Himeka-chan’s head… I really love that sculpt.
Other speculations include that Volks will re-release some of its more popular fullsets. I’d only be interested if this included Escalayer, Nia, or possibly Sasara… But Sasara seems the only likely one of the three, due to her stunning popularity. I like Sasara a lot, but her expression is so distinctive that I get kind of tired of seeing her around… Anyway, this would cause massive “rage-quits” for people who paid inflated prices for sold-old limiteds on the second-hand market (sometimes over $2,000!). So… who knows?
Personally, I’ll be beyond happy if they make Moe standard, and if they make some cute outfits I want. I never seem to want what they make, or at least what they make and release in the USA (I really wanted the K-on summer uniform, sob!). I really hope they release some fanciful street clothes, sort of the stuff girls wear in “slice of life” anime when they’re out on the town. Instead they make maid dresses and miko outfits, which, while cute, are not what I want for Himeka-chan. But no matter what they make, I’m super excited to see it!
Unfortunately they didn’t even say WHEN this is going down :/ AND I can’t find the original announcement! But here’s a link to the figma.fm announcement of the announcement: Dollfie Dream Announcement
Now, on to Fairyland’s chic line. Let’s see. The chic line is a line of 40cm dolls (MSDs) and… Well, of course this is very close to the MNF size (42cm) so people were kind of scratching their heads over it. Turns out that, as their name implies, they are very sleek dolls with bodies that are thin and curvy, essentially like fashion models. People sort of… flipped out over it on DOA when the first teaser images went up. They have a very adult aesthetic, and people were calling them “fashion dolls” because of it, and the DOA mods even froze up the discussion over them because they were not sure if they were “on-topic.” Frankly this annoyed me… They are resin, ball-jointed, and use an elastic skeleton… Why should having small facial features make them off-topic?
Anyway, apparently FL sent the DOA mods some pictures of the chic line bodies in the nude, which they should be posting for the rest of the world tomorrow, when the dolls go on sale. These pictures convinced the mods of the chic line’s on-topic…ness, so now we can discuss them again on DOA. Sadly, this isn’t exactly a good thing… People really seem to be disappointed/looking down on them! I admit that I’m not into the adult aesthetic in dolls, but FL is going to release more heads for the body that will be more like those of MNF and LTF, and you will be able to put the heads of MNF and LTF faces using a special neck piece. I am super excited to see these bodies, because I have a suspicion that FL somehow pulled off even greater and more innovative construction than they did for the MNF A-line body.
Anyway, I feel kind of sad when I imagine the Cerberus Project sculptors being like “…What? They hate the chic line?!” after all of their hard work. :< But not really because once people look beyond their oddly stand-offish first impression, they'll probably buy them in droves like everything else FL makes! :D
Link to images of Chic line:
Chic-line faces: Here
First L-line faceplate Ruru: here
~Jen
