Review: 'Til The World Ends

'Til The World Ends

Author(s): Julie Kagawa, Ann Aguirre & Karen Duvall

Summary: 

Dawn of Eden by Julie Kagawa 

Before The Immortal Rules, there was the Red Lung, a relentless virus determined to take out all in its path. For Kylie, the miracle of her survival is also her burden-as a doctor at one of the clinics for the infected, she is forced to witness endless suffering. What's worse, strange things are happening to the remains of the dead, and by the time she befriends Ben Archer, she's beginning to wonder if a global pandemic is the least of her problems.... 

Thistle & Thorne by Ann Aguirre 

After a catastrophic spill turns the country into a vast chemical wasteland, those who could afford it retreated to fortresses, self-contained communities run by powerful corporations. But for Mari Thistle, life on the outside-in the Red Zone-is a constant struggle. To protect her family, Mari teams up with the mysterious Thorne Goodman. Together, they'll face an evil plot in both the underworld of the Red Zone and the society inside the fortresses that could destroy those on the outside...for good. 

Sun Storm by Karen Duvall 

Sarah Daggot has been chasing storms since she was a child. But after the biggest solar flares in history nearly destroy the planet, she becomes a Kinetic, endowed by her exposure to extreme radiation with the power to sense coming storms-in the cosmos and beyond. And she's not the only one. Sarah believes the Kinetics are destined to join forces and halt the final onslaught of the sun. She'll vow to keep trying to convince the one missing link in their chain of defence  the enigmatic Ian Matthews, up until the world ends.

Published January 29th 2013.

*

Dawn of Eden was fantastic. I've never read The Immortal Rules (I know, I know), but I had a decent idea about its premise. Here's a one-liner that will help those readers who are interested in reading this novella but have not yet touched The Immortal Rules: Before vampires ruled the world and humans became the lesser creatures, there was the apocalypse, the diseases and a group of humans who survived. Since I knew only this much, I had a slight hunch while I was reading the first fifty pages or so, and "bam!", the revelation about the epidemic still hit me hard. The writing is masterful because Kagawa chose to go all out this time, showcasing all the grittiness and brutality of the Rabids. Creepy and morbid, this story made me involuntarily shiver several times. 

The prospects are bleak and humanity is nearing its end, but amidst all this is an intense romance that brews up fast and furious. It took me by surprise how much I liked the love between Ben and Kylie though it wasn't the most solid romance. The love happened over a week or so, but when set against an apocalypse and harsh surroundings, the craving for love and the hope it brings is painfully real, and I got fully swept up into their passion.

New dangers sprout out at every corner and from the moment when Ben meets Kylie, it's all storm and no calm. The fast-paced action in this novel is delightful and because of that, this novella covers a lot of ground within a hundred and thirty pages or so. Loved it!

As for Thistle & Thorne, the world-building is quite limited yet well done within the small boundaries of the Snake Ward. If I'm not wrong, this novella has got nothing to do with the Razorland series. Since I have also yet to read Enclave, I was kind of worried that I won't be able to understand the story at its best. But, turns out, this story stands well on its own, dealing out details about the world as the story progresses. Again, we are faced with a fresh new apocalyptic universe! I'm amazed at how authors can keep surprising us with new interpretations of dystopian society.

After reading Dawn of Eden, I was almost hesitant to jump straight into another dystopian world, but trust me, this second novella varied so much in tone and writing style from Kagawa that I was mind-blown and in love, for the second time straight within the short span of an hour. The world is not creepy in any sense, but more brutal and relatable to our lives. There are guns, squatter settlements, junkyard, and the ultimate villain is only a beefy gangster boss. However, the story propels itself forward with amazing momentum and I am breathlessly tugged along by the rebellion and takeover mission launched by Thistle and Thorne. 

The romance isn't a center attraction of the book, and as for the promises of love between them, there is little or none. Yet, the air is thick with crazy attraction and a strange chemistry, and heavy with all the things left unsaid and unacknowledged. We know with a tiny bit of exasperation that this pair just aren't prepared enough to pursue love in the midst of their conspiracies, escape and ambitious plans. However, the ending hints at the possibility of a romance in the future when everything settles and for now, the promise of something better is enough for me.

But, the ending finale, Sun Storm, was a huge disappointment. It started off brilliantly with another apocalyptic setting that will blow your mind and make you sigh in wonder at the author's ingenuity. Fast forward a few decades and the sun in the sky has become a bringer of disasters. The temperature has shot up and there are often sun storms which either kill off anyone who comes into contact with the sun sparks or turn them into a kinetic-- a person with a special ability given by the sun (e.g. forecaster, weather controller, telekinetic)-- but the chances of that happening is close to none. 

Things start getting interesting when two kinetics meet, doubt each other, start to fall in love and eventually progress onto saving the world. Yet, the execution was lacklustre as there were a lot of slow moments, a romance that I could not invest myself into and a climax that was so hastily done that I was aghast. The two managed to save the world in two paragraphs! 

And sadly, this anthology ended up being just another book which almost became a quintessential apocalyptic read but missed by a mile. What a pity. 

  

Source: From the publisher for review purposes
Via Netgalley.


xoxo,
Sel

My Thoughts on Strange Chemistry

I rarely review self-published books, hence, the publishers I work with are pretty much limited to the Big Six-- Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, Random House, Hachette, Macmillan and Penguin-- as well as Harlequin. They have amazing books under them and I've realized that almost every single one of my favourite novels before I came into book blogging were from one of these seven publishers. 

Sometimes, when the occasional unfamiliar name pops up under the publisher's label, they are most often imprints of the already established publishing houses (that caused some confusion on my part initially). For instance, Katherine Tegen Books is an imprint of HarperCollins. And I think that's why I almost never encounter new publishing houses in my search of new books to read. 

Here's when Strange Chemistry comes in.

It appeared out of nowhere in September last year and its books just kept on popping up in my radar. They had some really good titles of more than decent quality and I started unknowingly requesting them on Netgalley, only discovering afterwards that they were not from one of the Big "Sevens".

A few titles that I can recite off the top of my head would be:

Blackwood by Gwenda Bond

Shift by Kim Curran

The Assassin's Curse by Cassandra Rose Clarke

Broken by A.E. Rought

Pantomime by Laura Lam (which I'm reading now!)

The Holders by Julianna Scott (I'm planning on reading this soon)

Do any of these sound familiar to you? :)

Apart from the interesting premises, one of the reasons why their books catch my eye is the cover. And I'm a total sucker for good covers! They are the first thing that draws my attention to a book and more often than not, my favourite books have gorgeous covers to match their brilliant plot-lines.

Strange Chemistry has covers that are quite different in style and tone from most of the covers under traditional publishing houses, and they are refreshingly simple!

And what brought on this post was one of the latest covers which really took me by surprise! 

It's beautiful :)

I'm a reader who believes that the efforts that go into a cover often reflects the standards of publishing and the value of the work that is churned out by the publishing house. In the case of Strange Chemistry, their covers just keep getting better each time round!

Here's to a Young Adult imprint that is slowly gaining ground! *Cheers* For me, it's really exciting to see a publishing house slowly grow into something big and established right before our eyes :)

One thing for sure, this is one publishing house that has inched itself onto my look-out list and I'm pleasantly surprised. I bet they will have a lot more good stuff coming along!

Are there any new imprints that caught your eye? Have you read any books by Strange Chemistry? 

xoxo,
Sel

Debut Author Interview + Giveaway: Kristin Bailey (author of Legacy of the Clockwork Key)

This interview is part of the Debut Author edition of the TALKING WITH THE STARS feature on Bookcase to Heaven™. This is a feature that doesn't appear on schedule, it arrives without warning like the Circus.

Today, we have with us Kristin Bailey-- a Young Adult author whose novel, LEGACY OF THE CLOCKWORK KEY, debuts March 5th 2013 from Simon & Schuster. 

Kristin Bailey grew up in the middle of the San Joaquin Valley in California. As a kid she enjoyed visiting the beach, camping and skiing with her two brothers. 

Now she is a military wife and mother of two young children. She is also terrible about spoiling her pets. She has one fluffy mutt, two cats who think they own the world, and a fish tank with some really plump little fish and a pair of snails who are secretly ninja assassins.

In the course of her adventures, she has worked as a zookeeper, balloon artist, and substitute teacher. Now she enjoys writing books for teens who enjoy mystery and adventure as much as she does. 

Find her on Twitter, Facebook and her official site.

Now, onto the really really interesting interview:

Hello Kristin! I'm going to not post the blurb of LEGACY first and have you describe it to us :)

[Aside] Um, guys, you can find the blurb when you scroll all the way down. But, you can read the interview first and see what Kristin has in store for us!

YOUR BOOK 

Describe your book to us in seven words. 

How to have fun with mad inventors.

Tell the readers, why should we read LEGACY?

I wrote Legacy of the Clockwork Key because I wanted to explore my own take on my very favorite classic book structure.  I've always wanted to tell the story of a character that is swept away into a world that seems magical, beautiful, and yet dangerous all at once. That is the core of nearly every book I loved growing up, from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, to The Wizard of Oz. 

But more than anything, I wanted to have some fun. I had been reading and writing a lot of things that had some intensely dark themes where all the drama came from within the characters' heads or the "world" of the book felt very depressing or hopeless. I missed the excitement and thrill of unabashed adventure. If there is any one reason to read this book, it's because it is fun. Writing it was like being on a roller-coaster, and I loved every minute of it.

If you had fun writing it, I'm sure that we will have fun reading it! Moving on, Steampunk is still an unfamiliar genre amongst the Young Adult books, but it's slowly gaining ground. Tell us about the Steampunk subculture through your eyes. 

I love Steampunks, I really do. I have this utter fascination with people who spend their time and energy making gorgeous intricate mechanical designs for things you'd never imagine as mechanical structures. If this book is an ode to anything, it is a tribute to that unrestrained spirit of invention.  I often imagine the inventors in my story as modern Steampunks if you could take them through a time machine and have them set up shop in Victorian London, with no limit to their genius or knack for creating something extraordinary.

For as much as I love Steampunks, a lot of Steampunk books and stories can be a little overwhelming. It's one thing to wrap your head around a concept of Victorian era Science Fiction, it's a lot more difficult for the average person to jump into stories of entire alternate histories that may or may not actually be Earth with legions of airships doing battle against a mechanically enhanced army of zombies, with witches, demons, vampires and ray-guns thrown in for good measure.

While I enjoy reading hard-core Steampunk, I really wanted to try to keep things a little more simple than that. So the Catch 22 that I find myself in is that many people are quick to peg Legacy of the Clockwork Key as Steampunk, but I'm not sure how it will be received by the Steampunk community that inspired it. I accept that many people in the community will find the story not as involved with these more encompassing Steampunk tropes as other books out there.

The one thing that can be taken away from all of this, is that if you are a reader and find Steampunk intimidating, confusing, or just a little overwhelming, this book may be a good one to dip your toes into the Steampunk world. It takes place in true to our history Victorian London and there are no magical or paranormal elements like vampires or zombies.

It is just a story about some half-mad inventors and the crazy things they came up with, with some murder and mystery thrown in. If there is one thing I do hope for, it's that the Steampunks who do read it marvel at the inventions, even if they lament the lack of an alternate history.

Wow, now I really am looking forward to the inventions that will make an appearance in this book! So, which character did you enjoy writing the most? Tell us about him/her. 

My favorite character in the book is a man named Oliver who serves as a mentor/older brother type to the heroine, Meg.  While the "world" of this secret order of inventors is a mystery to our heroine, Oliver is the embodiment of everything that is witty, wild, and cool about the Amusementists.  I have a crazy soft-spot for the chap, but he takes the lead by only a hair. I love all my characters, even the villains. They feel so real to me.

Why choose to set your books in the Victorian era? 

The Victorian era was a natural choice for so many reasons. First of all, so many of those classic books I read as children that I loved so much came from Victorian writers. Setting that type of story outside of the Victorian era can certainly be done *cough, Harry Potter, cough*, but I suppose I wanted to embrace the legacy of those books by bringing my story back to those roots.

Second, I needed a time period that was enthralled by invention. In the modern era we take a lot of the magic of our technology for granted. My phone is a more capable computer than a lot of the technology that put a man on the moon, and it fits in my pocket. And yet, I hardly ever stop to marvel at it. I wanted to set the story in a time period where it seemed natural to feel that technology is no different that magic.  After the first World War, that innocence was lost, I'm afraid.

And finally, I wanted to set the story in an era that was marked by both decadence and restraint, because the push and pull of those two desires is delicious especially when a love story is involved.

Oh my, that's totally true *looks at my Android phone in a new light*. I suppose that's the magic of the era-- when invention is as thrilling as magic itself!

What is one song that can best represent the central theme/relationship in your novel? 

I am really terrible at this game. I don't process auditory information well through my brain, so pinning down music is really difficult for me. I have found as I have been writing that many Mumford and Sons songs seem to fit the mood and themes of these books.

YOU 

What are your favourite movie(s), favourite book(s) and favourite song(s)?

I love movies, all types of movies, cheesy ones, action ones, cheesy action ones and pretty much everything else except horror.  I have no love for slasher flicks. I recently cried my brains out for Les Miserables. I thought The Hobbit was fun, and I adore Disney movies.

Lord of the Rings probably takes the cake though.

Frankenstein is my favorite book, and songs are difficult for me, but Pride by U2 is up there.

Me too! I totally adore all sorts of movies :) I cried buckets for Les Miserables and thought that The Hobbit was a better movie than Lord of the Rings (many of my friends wanted to kill me for that statement). 

Do you believe in true love?

I don't believe in true love as if it is an entity outside of myself. I believe I love truly. Love is a verb after all.  It's not something that happens to you, it's something that you actively do. The trick is finding someone worthy of your very best love, and earning their love in return. Right now, I do have that, and it is wonderful, but I can't ever take it for granted. Love, like a garden, needs tending.

Lucky you, Kristin! I'm still waiting for my nerd in shining armour :) Now, who is your favourite fictional character of all time?  

Captain Jack Sparrow. I can't help it but I love him.

Okay, that's it, guys. I'm officially the No. 1 fan of Kristin Bailey. How can I not love someone who loves Lord of the Rings, writing AND Captain Jack Sparrow? 

Thank you so much for being here today, Kristin! I absolutely cannot wait till your book hits the the stores and legions of fans come knocking at your door (Sel loses herself in her own rhyming session). 

*

BLURB

A teen girl unravels the mysteries of a secret society and their most dangerous invention in this adventure-swept romance set in Victorian London.

When a fire consumes Meg’s home, killing her parents and destroying both her fortune and her future, all she has left is the tarnished pocket watch she rescued from the ashes. But this is no ordinary timepiece. The clock turns out to be a mechanical key—a key that only Meg can use—that unlocks a series of deadly secrets and intricate clues that Meg is compelled to follow.

Meg has uncovered evidence of an elite secret society and a dangerous invention that some will stop at nothing to protect—and that Meg alone can destroy. Together with the handsome stable hand she barely knows but hopes she can trust, Meg is swept into a hidden world of deception, betrayal, and revenge. The clockwork key has unlocked her destiny in this captivating start to a trilogy.

*

GIVEAWAY (Aw, yeah!)

Kristin has also generously offered up a swag pack to one lucky winner! 

This is opened internationally, yay! Isn't she awesome? :) I'm really honoured that she did this interview with me and it just makes me grin really widely when I think about how one lucky reader will be holding this swag pack. Take a look at the contents below: 

This giveaway will end in one month's time, on the day Legacy of the Clockwork Key is released.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

More interviews under the Debut Author edition will be coming soon :) 

xoxo,

Sel

P.S. For those who are Chinese, happy Chinese New Year in advance!