Book Review of "Red Seas Under Red Skies, The Gentlemen Bastards #2 - by Scott Lynch"

After the amazing "Lies of Locke Lamora", I admit I expected a lot from "Red Seas Under the Red Skies".

And it did start off pretty good actually - the sarcastic banter, the wise-ass remarks, a couple of crisp, artistically crafted new characters, a new intriguing city-state as a story backdrop and the usual dare devilish and/or foolhardy schemes to pull off ! All was well. 

But after about 200 or so pages into the book, things started going downhill for me. The next one-third part of the book delved deep into a completely tangential pirate story. For no specific reason that I could fathom, readers are bombarded with a lot of naval jargon and some unnecessary maritime details.

Luckily for me, this detour of sorts did not last very long and the story resumed its total awesome-ness in the last act !

Just like the first book, the protagonists were embroiled in 3 or 4 different story arcs - all connected by a common theme - and all of these story arcs converged and concluded in a fairly well executed crescendo !

One great point to note are the female characters in Scott Lynch's fantasy world. Without making a great deal of it, without making any fuss, you would see the women characters doing jobs which are traditionally considered masculine in such fantasy fiction worlds. The women in this world are formidable warriors, bodyguards of important people, captains of pirate ships and also doting mothers and fierce lovers.

Overall, I would give 'Red Seas Under the Red Skies' a 4/5. This is a fiction, fantasy book and I believe it does deliver on its promise of entertainment and storytelling - just not in the same perfect way as the first book did.

Book Review of "The Lies of Locke Lamora, The Gentleman Bastards #1 - by Scott Lynch"

Insanely entertaining, fast-paced & action packed ! "The Lies of Locke Lamora", the first book in the Gentleman Bastards series, is part Ocean's 11, part Italian Job, part Robin Hood and part Game of Thrones. And if that isn't enough, it has some of the wittiest, sassiest & downright bad-ass characters who never miss a chance of giving out a good sarcastic burn! 

I have read my share of fantasy books, and Gentleman Bastards does have some similarities with other great fantasy works of fiction, but it is still so much different than many of them. The main protagonist, 'Locke Lamora' is - for the lack of a better word - a thief. Yes - he has a heart of gold and a sense of right and wrong - but he can also be extremely ruthless, downright cold & calculating and basically a bit of a jerk. I wouldn't go so far as to call him an "anti-hero", but his shades of grey make for a great story indeed !

The author, Scott Lynch, weaves his tale in the fictional city of "Camorr" - inspired after Venice, the city of canals. The language, the dialogues are excellent, character interactions flow effortlessly and you get hooked on to the story very easily.

Overall, a great read if you enjoy fantasy or fiction in general and even if these genres aren't your cup of tea, still worth giving it a shot for a good weekend read. 

Book Review: "1984" by George Orwell

Depressing & thoroughly unsettling. I was not prepared for "1984", it caught me utterly off guard.

I had heard so much about this book before. I had seen the terms "Big Brother" & "Orwellian future" being used countless number of times. I thought I understood what they essentially meant, I thought I knew the gist of what these sayings represented. I was wrong. 

George Orwell's "1984" is, at its core, a political commentary. It is a terrifying depiction of a totalitarian nation-state. A future in which everything that makes a person "human" is stripped off of him. Constant surveillance to the point where even one's thoughts are not private, 95% of the population kept purposefully in extreme poor conditions so that they won't have the time & the energy to think about anything other than mere survival. "The Party", as George Orwell calls it, has policed the language itself, eliminating a lot of words, making it basically impossible to express exactly what one thinks. The act of even thinking something out of line, labelled 'ThoughtCrime', warrants a capital punishment !

In spite of this hopeless picture of the future that George Orwell paints, in spite of this book not being an easy read (it starts out very slowly but picks up in the latter parts), I think "1984" should be read by anyone interested in political fiction. 

It is fascinating how the author has done his world building. The thought process of his protagonist, 'Winston Smith', the inner turmoil that he feels, his helplessness is captured very well. George Orwell has coined some terms which are now basically part of our everyday vocabulary. "Big Brother is watching you" - the eerie slogan that is now associated with extreme Communist regimes was first conceptualized in this book.

But what was George Orwell getting at ? Why such a dark, disturbing tale ? After finishing the book, I couldn't let this go. So I did some digging about George Orwell himself, his own political leanings, his non-fiction essays about twentieth century political scene (he calls himself a 'democratic socialist'). He published "1984" in 1949, when the echoes of World War II were still fresh in people's memories & the stage for cold war was being setup. The totalitarian nation state depicted in "1984" is based on the Nazi Germany's extremism and the 'iron curtain' that Stalin's Communist Russia put on eastern European countries. George Orwell wasn't just pointing out what would happen if an extreme Communist regime took over Europe, but he was also commenting about the abuse of power a complete authoritarian nation state would do. By portraying an extreme situation, "1984" makes you think why "privacy" & "personal freedom - of thought, of choice and of lifestyle" is an essential aspect of humanity & the backbone of any democratic state of affairs.

Book Review: "Hogwarts: An Incomplete and Unreliable Guide"

The third and the final ebook based on the material from Pottermore. This one has 19 (very) short stories about anything and everything that is Hogwarts - you will find out more about Hogwart's grounds, different creatures that dwell there, some of its history & of course some of its secrets.

The most intriguing part of the book - a chapter that details how a magical portrait is created and specifically how past headmasters' portraits are created. It is fascinating to see how much thought & attention to detail JKR had put in while creating even the smallest of the things of her fantasy world.

4/5 like the previous two Pottermore ebooks. Potterhead junkies will enjoy it. One downside, leaves you wanting more !

Book Review: "Short Stories from Hogwarts of Power, Politics and Pesky Poltergeists"

The second book of the 'Short Stories from Hogwarts' series continues in the same spirit as the first (review here). And just like the first book, this one also leaves you with a smile on your face and a healthy dollop of nostalgia.

This time around, the focus is on the slightly grey and one downright dark character. Who would have expected a full blown backstory of Dolores Umbridge! JKR has jotted down her thought process about Umbridge's character & how she drew slight inspiration from a real life teacher while developing her demeanor. 

One chapter actually lists all the Ministers for Magic starting from 1707 to present day! Each name is accompanied by a short description. Some are funny with a few tongue-in-cheek-moments. Careful readers of the Harry Potter books (i.e. obsessive fans) won't fail to notice some easter eggs ! 

The best bit of the book is the complete character story of Horace Slughorn, again a definite treat for the fans.

Overall, 4/5. Short read, fun read.