Book Reviews: Shutter by Courtney Alameda

Micheline Helsing (yes she's a descendant of that Helsing) can see the auras of the dead.  Her family and the families of Stoker and Drake run a worldwide organization that tries to keep the world safe from vampires, zombies and ghosts.  Micheline is part of a crew with three others: Oliver, their tech geek, Jude, who can predict death and Ryder, a force to be reckoned with.  Micheline is the last of the Helsing line after a horrible attack that led to death of her brothers and mother many years ago.  Then her and her crew are infected with a curse known as a soul chain.  To save herself and her crew, Micheline will have to run from the organization and her powerful father.

A friend of mine brought this book back from a conference for me. Initially I wasn't going to read it because I thought it was straight up horror, but once I actually read the description and realized that it was about the descendents of Van Helsing, Stoker and Harker running a paranormal investigations type organization I totally got behind it. 

I thought the premise and world building within the organization was very clever and I enjoyed learning about the way the mirrors and camera worked. I would like to have known a little more about how society outside of the organization was run but that was more me being nosy then feeling like something was missing. I admit to being relieved by the lack of love triangle  as well.  Everyone had their own love interest, and although the road for Micheline and Ryder will hardly be smooth at least there was no competition for affection getting in the way of the story.  

I did not see the ending coming at all.  It was sad and gut wrenching and lovely. The book stands alone but there is room for a sequel as well, which also gives me warm fuzzies.  All in all a fun and interesting read.  

Book Review: The Death Catchers

Lizzy has a vision of her friends death Halloween morning of her 14th birthday. Her grandmother Bizzy tells her that this is normal in her family and that these are special powers that can be seen as a curse or as a blessing. Upon further research it is discovered they are the descendants of Morgan Le Fey and they are caught in a feud between her and Vivienne. So I loved the unique take on the Arthur myth. It was creative and unexpected and I am curious as to how the other parts of the myth will come into play in future volumes. That being said I do feel that Lizzy just behaved a little bit too young most of the book and sometimes I found her a little babyish or more babyish than she needed to be.

Book Review: Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy

I had always heard amazing things about the Skulduggery Pleasant audiobooks so when I was able to to get my hands on this I listened to it right away.  Stephanie Edgely's uncle passes away and leaves Stephanie his home.  This immediately embroils her in a world she never knew existed where she meets Skulduggery and with him tries to solve the mystery surrounding her Uncle's death.   

Skulduggery and Stephanie were great characters and I loved listening to Stephanie find her way in this whole new world. The magic and world building was really interesting.  Many of the characters are incredibly memorable and even months later I still remember them. The world is dark but not so dark that everyone ends up dying (i.e. just dark enough to keep me reading)

The audiobook narrator did a great job with all of the voices.  All of the characters sounded distinct and you could get a sense of their personalties from how he voiced them.  I also loved the transitional music that they would play sporadically, especially the xylophone that sounded like bones.   I especially loved the interview with Skulduggery at the end of the disk. His personality shone through in every single one of the answers.  

Book Review: The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

Rory Deveaux, from Louisianna has the opprotunity to go to London for her senior year when her parents take a job in England. She goes to Wexter, which lies in the heart of where the Ripper murders took place a hundred years ago and her first day there is the night after an imitator has started the Ripper murders again. Then Rory chokes one night during dinner and starts seeing ghosts, one of whom appears to be committing the murders. She gets a chance to see how the Shade Police work (London's ghost police.) 

For the most part I really liked the book although occasionally Rory would strike me as much younger then she was supposed to be. I liked the friends she made and the guy was interesting. I didn't realize this was going to be the beginning of a series and I am very curious about where this is going and the development of the ghostly powers.

Rage by Jackie Morse Kessler

Missy is a self injurer and whenever things are too much to handle she cuts herself with a razor. One night after a terrible party where she is exposed to the entire school, Missy cuts too deeply. In comes Death offering her the job of War the red horsemen of the Apocalypse. Missy takes the job and finds herself in an internal battle with the spirit of War and with herself.

At times Missy was very difficult to relate to. Understanding the impulse to injure yourself as a way of feeling control is difficult to understand, particularly since as a general rule people fear pain. I think that writing about a cutter is just more difficult. I did think that the author did a good job of showing the kind of alienation and the huge emotions that she was experiencing both before and after everyone knew what Missy was doing.

I absolutely loved the interactions between all of the Horsemen, it was nice to see Famine again although I wish they had let us know earlier that she retired from life b/c I was really confused trying to remember what happened. I thought Pestilence was scary in a very cool way. I am hoping that the next book is about him I really love how Missy's powers are all about passion, not just literal war and arguing; and again seeing how Missy was able to use her powers to help not just harm was pretty cool.

I think that so far this series is doing a great job. While they are obviously issue books they don't feel like issue books because of the fantasy component of the Horsemen. I also think this series works well to bring a series of issues to a group of kids that wouldn't necessarily read "issue" books.

Steel by Carrie Vaughn

Jill loses a major fencing tournament by half a second, and it completely throws her. She goes on vacation to the Bahamas with her family and spends a lot of time trying to figure out if she wants to continue fencing, whether she can handle not winning and if it's worth it. Then she finds a broken piece of a sword, which transports her back in time to Captain Cooper's ship and becomes a member of her pirate crew who is currently embroiled in a feud over the very sword Jill found.

This book was much slower then I thought it would be. I expected that since this was a fantasy/pirate adventure it would mile a minute action, however that wasn't how it was at all, and honestly it worked. There were definitely pockets of adventure but a lot of time was spent on everyday maintenance of the ship and being in Jill's head while she tried to figure out what to do. I would say that this was a historical fiction book with a light touch of magic/fantasy.

I am a sucker for historical detail so I was very interested to learn about Jill's adjustment to being on ship. The kinds of chores that she had to do and how pirate law worked and how pirate raids could actually be kind of nothing sometimes were all really interesting to me. I was glad to find out in the afterward that she did a ton of research.

There was a light romance here as well and I was super excited that a.) it was not a triangle and b.) it wasn't the focus of the story. It was never all about the guy and the romance aspect I think it was more about showing that Jill was more a part of the crew then she thought she was. It's been a while since I've read any YA novel in any genre where the romantic aspects didn't feel like they were taking over the story.

The curse and the supernatural elements of the story were definitely interesting and the story regarding the swords creation and how it seemed to end were also aspects of the story that I really enjoyed. The story of the swords original forging was creepy. The idea of what some people are willing to do for power and to get ahead is generally terrifying to me though so I don't know how much of the credit goes to the story and how much goes to my own mind.

Demonglass (Hex Hall, #2) by Rachel Hawkins

Sophie, Jenna and Cal go to England to stay with Sophie's father so that she can learn how to control her powers and make an informed decision about going through the removal. The Eye is still after Sophie and they still seem to be using Archer to do it. Or are they?

I still really like Sophie. She is still sarcastic and fun and watching her learn about her father and what he's like is definitely interesting. He doesn't come across as someone who would keep such a huge secret from Sophie as what she was and I do wish we had gotten some insigth into the decision.

I will say that I am extremely sick of the whole love triangle thing in YA. Archer and Sophie are star-crossed lovers. Does Cal really need to be in love with Sophie? Was it really necessary? I just felt like the whole star corssed lovers thing was enough especially when you include the developing relationship with her dad and the politics of the council. I'm also just kind of over Archer as a whole. He didn't feel as developed in this book as he did in the last and I was honestly just getting sick of him.

The Committee itself came across as interesting and dangerous. There seemed to be an extreme lack of checks and balances in the structure and I could feel both Sophie and her father's frustations with it.

The book ends on a cliffhanger and in a way that almost makes me wonder if it's a complete book or a just a bridge to a third volume. Enough happens that it definitely works as a full book, but I feel like too much happens too. It doesn't feel like it has it's own independent story because none of the plot threads feels entirely resolved (even though one kind of is.) For some reason this whole thing just felt unfinished to me and as of right now I just can't shake that feeling.

Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins

This is a great gross out read for tween and young teen boys. Gregor is babysitting his 2 year old sister Boots when they get sucked into Underland, a place below New York City that is settled by humans and some incredible speaking animals including but not limited too giant rats, cockraoches, spiders and bats. At first all Gregor can think of is getting home, but then he realizes his dad is a prisoner of the rats and that he may be able to free him by fulfilling an old prophecy.

This book was a great quick paced adventure. There is tons of cool, guy appealing gross out here (did I mention the talking GIANT cockroaches). There are quick escapes, massive battles and last minute saves. There is also a lot of death, betrayal and sadness here as well. There are also politics and intriuge here as well.

This is one of the first of several books I had to read for work that I know I will be reading inside and out and over and over this summer. Hence the short review, I am trying to avoid burning myself out. As I read it again I may add more to the review. Once the summer's over (and I know it wont confuse me) I think I want to read the rest of the series.

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Diana Bishop is a witch, but when she was a child her parents were killed and Diana associated it with being a witch so she has tried her best to cut witch craft and magic out of her life. Unfortunately Diana is a powerful witch so magic is not willing to leave her alone. As a historian working on a paper in Oxford, she one day calls up a Ashmole 782, an alchemical text hidden with spells for centuries that may hold the key to any number of things depending on what witch, vampire or daemon you talk to. It's drawing her all kinds of attention from the witches, daemons and vampires she has been trying to avoid; including one Matthew Clairmont, a powerful vampire that she finds herself developing a relationship with.

I really loved this book so much. It was recommended by a friend and even though it took me almost a week to read, I was thrilled with the outcome. The book is sooo rich in detail. Historical details and figures have been intricately woven into an amazing world populated with paranormal creatures. There are references to famous playwrights, musicians, monarchs and popes. It was kind of wonderful to see find out who was human and who wasn't and how the creatures traits were woven into the existing historical figures behaviors.

I also really loved the interplay of genetics in this book. Science can be kind of a turn off because it's not my strong suit and sometimes it just confuses me enough that I can no longer follow the story. However all of the science here makes sense and the explanations are basic enough that I don't feel like I'm lost in it. The science part of the plot was enough to even make my fiance interested in the story. (Not a big paranormal fiction reader). I especially like the idea of science and magic being tied together in such a strong way. I've always thought that the best kinds of magic were probably science that hasn't been explained yet and this book subscribes to that theory in a strong way.

I loved getting to know the characters in this book as well, from Diana and Matthew to Ysabeau and Sophie. While not everyone is obviously likable initially they are all interesting. Reading about them opening up to each other and their origins or even just the long lives they have had the opportunities to lead was one of the things that really kept me going.

Matthew and Diana's relationship at the moment does leave something to be desired, mainly because Matthew is kind of stuck with many of the sensibilities he developed during his life and because of his predatory instinct. Right now Diana is walking a very thin line, trying not to become subservient but being more flexible then she would normally be to accommodate for him. One of the things I love about Diana is how strong and independent she is and I don't want to see her lose that. I also like Matthew chivalrous nature but these habits of his to dominate make me wonder if I am going to continue to like him. I can't wait to read the next book in the trilogy and see what happens and learn more about the world the author has created. (Of course with my luck that wont be for forever.

The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley

Harry's father dies and she is sent to Daria. Once in Daria she begins to love the country although she does find herself a bit bored. Then she is abducted by the local king and grows to become a strong commander and legend among his people in her own right.

I finished this book last night and it was completely amazing. This is another book that I wasn't sure what to think about because I had heard that a lot of people weren't happy when it was awarded the Newberry and I think that's because it's high fantasy which doesn't appeal to everyone but I still think people should give it a chance.

The world building in this book was just amazing. From the depictions of the dry, windy desert of Damaria, to the stark differences between the Homelanders' very proper and polite society to Corlath's people's more equal and almost Arabian society, and the haunting descriptions of the evil northerners and their demonic mounts I just felt like I could picture everything that was going on, and imagine it as a place I might want to visit someday.

Reading about how Harry grows from someone who considers herself a misfit for being a bright girl who likes to keep busy to a both physically and mentally strong young woman but becomes a leader in her own right. She is willing to risk anything and everything to do what she thinks is right. Many of the minor characters are fully fleshed out as well, with both Harry's horse and a cat that adopts her having very strong personalities even though they aren't anthropomorphized in any way.

Insatiable by Meg Cabot

Okay so it wasn't until I was like a quarter of the way through the book that I realized that this is JUST LIKE TRUE BLOOD. Mind reader meets vampire and they fall in love. Well Meena can't read minds, just tell you when you're going to die. She works for a soap opera as a dialogue writer and she's having a very bad week. She was passed over for a promotion and the prince of darkness is in love with her and she with him, wreaking all kinds of havok in her life.

Short chapters usually mean that pacing will be quick but honestly this book just felt like it dragged a little bit. I may have liked it better if it had been a little bit pared down. It felt like it took way too long for Meena and Lucien to meet and then it took way too long for them to find out each others secrets.

The characters were mostly all likable (except for Meena's brother Jon he was kind of a pain in the butt and I frequently found myself wanting to strangle him.) There were also some minor characters I would have liked to have gotten to know a little bit better. But it was mostly fun and I laughed a lot because of how over the top things got (Is everyone I know a vampire?) I also really like Lucien and Meena. Meena isn't passive about her powers, she makes it a point to try and help people once she has seen their future, even if (Although sometimes Meena spent a little too much time going on about things...this would have been a good thing to pare down, I'm just sayin'.) Alaric Wulf was sometimes likable and other times I just loathed him. He ran the gamut from complete jerk to kind. I find myself wondering if there is going to be sequel because it was left very open, particularly in the love triangle department.

There was one thing I was a little bit confused about(I'm going to try and be vauge cause I don't want to cause a spoiler). Knowing who Lucien is descended from and due to several brief mentions of a great grandmother named Wilhemina Harker I find myself wondering if all of these characters are supposed to be direct descendents of the characters from their Dracula counterparts or if the writer was just doing an homage.

The Mermaid's Madness (Princess Novels # 2) by Jim C. Hines

I realized yesterday that somehow I forgot to post this to the blog so I thought I should get it up here quickly since I love this series and am hoping that it doesn't end with just the three books that are out now.
Lirea the undine (mermaid) princess has gone mad. She is attacking everyone, undine and human alike and breaking treaties that have stood for years. At an annual ceremony she attacks Queen Beatrice and traps her soul in a knife. The Princesses (Cinderella, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty) go on a high seas adventure to try and get the knife, save Beatrice and help the undine princess.

This was just as good if not better then the previous Princess book. Through out the book we once again get details regarding the "real stories" of the lives of all of the princesses and get to meet some new, interesting characters.This book is delves more deeply into the feelings and pasts of each of the princesses, especially Snow White's relationship with her mother and Talia's coming to the castle and feelings regarding Snow White.

The Mermaid's story is made darker as well with evil witch being her grandmother who is pursuing a very different agenda reminiscent of a mad scientists experiments reminiscint of Josef Mengala's. The book is fun but maintains an aura of darkness that keeps it from getting to silly. This is a great book about a sisterhood of women who are tough and smart. Hopefully the series maintains its drive.

Also I love the covers for these. The girls look the way they are described and you can figure out who is who which I really appreciate, and you can clearly see their personalities in the way they are drawn which I think is awesome. When I read the first one I had a lot of fun figuring out who was who.

Red Spikes by Margo Lanagan

I really really wanted to like these short stories but I just couldn't get into it. I love Margo Lanagan's writing, I think it's absolutely beautiful, and the language in these stories is absolutely gorgeous. One of my favorite things about Margo Lanagan's writing has always been her ability to really set a mood in a story, and these stories evoke many different moods from the down right disturbing to a sense of satisfaction. Unfortunately all of the stories felt unfinished to me. Each tale felt like an excerpt from a larger tale that I (mostly) wanted to hear the rest of. This left me feeling frustrated and unsatisfied as a reader.

I read an arc that I got from work and at the end of the arc there was a two page note from the author dealing with where the inspiration for each story. I hope that made it into the final copy because I thought that was really interesting. The stories I liked the best were Baby Jane; A Feather in the Breast of God; Under Hell, Over Heaven; Forever Upward, and Daughter of the Clay. Unfortunately, these all left me feeling the most frustrated as well. It just felt like I was missing out on getting to know characters, endings and even beginnings.

Other by Karen Kincy

Gwen is half-pooka in a small town where people don't really appreciate 'others'. She is forced to hide her secret from everyone except her parents and others like herself. Although she is thinking of coming out to her boyfriend. Then Others are being murdered and the police are turning a blind eye, so Gwen begins to search for clues before she becomes the next victim.

Gwen is a hugely likable character even if she is a little bit headstrong and her actions are sometimes unrealistic, to the point where I was becoming annoyed with it. I really liked Tavian too, although I would have liked to know a bit more about him and have had his character more fully developed. (Maybe the next book in the series could be told from his point of view.) Zach was annoying to me but most likely that is because his strong religious back ground. I am always irked by people who let their common sense be blinded by religious belief, even though in this case it lead to some major plot points. (I'm going to leave this ambiguous so that I don't spoil the story.)

I loved the different Others that existed in the story. I thought they were all really interesting and some of them were really unexpected. I particularly appreciated that the author selected mythological creatures from all over the world, and not just the standard vampires, werewolves and fairies.

There was a lot going on here in terms of plot, but it was all dealt with in a timely fashion. Nothing felt rushed or jammed in at the last second. As far as the mystery was concerned I felt like it was maybe a tiny bit predictable mainly because tolerance and lack of tolerance were such a big part of this story how could you not see this coming.

White Cat (Curse Workers, #1) by Holly Black

Cassel is the only normal person in his entire caster family. Because of that he's constantly being left out of the loop in his crooked caster family. Although he guesses he's not that different, cause he did kill his best friend Lila. But now he's older, in boarding school and pretending to be normal. Until he sleepwalks his way to the roof. Now everything has changed and Cassel needs to figure out what's really going on with his family.

Cassel is a great character. And the word he lives in mirrors our own, except for there being people with magical abilities. I think how close their world is to ours will make this a good beginner fantasy for teens. I liked the twists and turns that the plot took and I was extremely glad for the relationships Cassel developed, with both friends and family, regardless of how they were developed. Even though Cassel is a con artist, at heart he does appear to be a good person, which is what makes him an enjoyable character. This was a great beginning for this series. It's story was self contained enough to keep you from being frustrated but there is also enough to keep the series going. All in all I really loved it and I hope other people love it as much as I did.

Another Faust by Daniel & Dina Nayeri

I wanted to read this book cause I loved the cover and the title sounded interesting. I love new takes on old tales, whether it's high literature or fairy tales. But this was kind of a strange book. It was easy to get into but I had to take a break in the middle so I could read the new Sookie Stackhouse because of library due dates and that made it hard to get back into.

Five unhappy children are whisked away from their homes in the middle of the night at the age of ten. They are all given special powers as part of their deals with their governess or in order to entice them into making deals. The powers threw me off a little. Since I had never read Faust and only knew the basic tale I couldn't figure out exactly how the stories were connected, but by the end I think I figured it out. We watch the children go through a year at one of the most prestigious high schools in New York as they try to use their powers to get what they want. In the end the children must each decide for themselves how they want to live their lives.

I found the parts regarding the governesses life at the beginning of each chapter and occasionally tucked into a chapter, very interesting. The authors had her interacting with famous figures so that readers could see how futures can be affected. I also really liked all of the interesting ideas regarding language. While this book is probably not for everyone (the ending is a little ambiguous and I know some people really hate that) if you do choose to read it there is definitely a strong "be careful what you wish for" theme.

Foiled by Jane Yolen

Aliera doesn't fit in at school. She's just a little bit too different to fit into any of the cliques. But she has fencing and her cousin so she's still pretty happy. Then Avery Castle shows up, he's gorgeous and nice and he seems to be interested in her. Is there more then meets the eye to Avery?

I liked this graphic novel although I felt a little disappointed about how quickly it was over. This one was a ton of set up and very little plot moving forward type stuff. I feel like that happens a lot when a novel writer writes a graphic novel series. It does have it's own self contained story that is an extremely cute take on the frog prince (kind of if you think about it and stretch the bounds of the story.) It was a fun story and I loved the illustrations and the integration of black and white and color. The story looks like it's going to be an interesting one and I can't wait to see what happens next.

Rampant by Diana Peter

Unicorns are not the light happy creatures we think they are, they are dangerous man eating beasts and after 150 years of supposed extinction they have suddenly reappeared in the world. Only virgins descended from Alexander the Great can hunt unicorns but very few people remember this, but Astrid's mother does and she is shipping Astrid off to Unicorn hunter training camp.

At first I couldn't get into this book because I was so incredibly turned off by what happened to Astrid with Brandt and Kaitlyn. However once Astrid got to Rome and Phil showed up I was entranced. I loved watching Astrid develop as a person and Phil was a ray of sunshine in amid a bunch of heavy, troubled characters. For me Phil was what this book needed to keep from getting too dark and it is a very dark book. But Phil wasn't all light and sunshine, she had darkness too keeping her from being the obnoxious peppy character.

***Possible Spoiler***Trying to avoid spoilers so I am going to be as general as possible, but feel free to skip this paragraph about my big gripe.
There was one issue regarding sex and rape that I wish had been clarified by the author. This is a book for teens and I felt the author should have made it clear that the second someone says no, it is rape. While she did do a good job handling the mixed feelings that people experience, there should have been a more solid clarification that it wasn't that certain characters felt it was rape and others didn't. As soon as the character said no, it was date rape.
***End possible spoiler***

I feel this story could end here and doesn't really need any sequels since all of the major villains appear to be vanquished and the only real loose ends involve a minor character I wasn't really thrilled with to begin with. However I am extremely curious about where the story is going to go since it is clearly being labeled as a series.

Pursuing the Lioness Challenge & Terrier by Tamora Pierce

Tempting Persephone is holding a challenge called Pursuing the Lioness. All you need to do to participate is read at least one of Tamora Pierce books between January 2010 and June 2010. As a bonus part of the Challenge you can also read something off of Tamora Pierce's Ultimate Ever Fantasy List. My original plan was to read the Song of the Lioness Quartet, but when I saw the cover of Terrier the first book in the Beka Cooper Trilogy, I just had to read it. I still plan on reading the the Song of the Lioness Quartet and something off of Tamora Pierce's Ultimate Fantasy List, but I don't know if I can get it done by June so I decided to post this for now.

Beka is a Puppy (or Dog in training) which is basically like being a police cadet. She works in the worst part of the city but since this is where her life started she is happy working here. She wants to help the community where she was raised and make it better for those that are stuck living a difficult life in a hard world. Instead of going for glory, she picks difficult cases to work because she wants to help people. The cases of the diggers and the shadow snake went ignored for a long time because they were happening to people that are often ignored by those of authority. Beka with her special connection to those living in the Lower City makes it a point to help those that would otherwise be ignored. She isn't a perfect heroine either; she suffers from crippling shyness and has special abilities to talk with the spirits of the dead. What really makes me lover her is her strong desire to help people and to hurt those that make life harder for people who's lives are already exceedingly difficult. She is not in it for the glory and in an organization where bribery is actually what makes the police system work she doesn't get greedy either.

Beka isn't the only fantastic character in this work. The two dogs she is assigned to Goodwin and Tunstall are also interesting. There personalities are opposites and allows Ms. Pierce to play them off of each other. It also showcases two different styles of working and provides us with yet anothers fabulous strong female character. Rosto the Piper and his freinds Aniki and Kora were other favorites of mine and Rosto the Piper maybe my new literary crush, so I really hope he makes an appearance in the next book in the series. They come from another country and even though they are Rats, they have a strong sense of honor. They also see the importance of helping those who are weak and can't necessarily take care of themselves. (I could go on forever about these characters and others but I assume you have other things to do with your day.)

While there is alot of world building in this book I really feel that what makes Tamora Pierce's work stand out are her fabulous characters. I always find myself loving them and they are just so easy to connect to. The more I read, the more I like her work so I think eventually I will read all of it.

Prince of Persia by Jordan Mechner

This graphic novel is part of the storyline followed by the Prince of Persia video games. However it doesn't actually tell the story from the video games; it's more of a backstory. The book tells the story of twins, a boy, Guiv, and a girl Guilan who will rule Persia and a boy, Layth that grows up with them who is the prince of an enemy their father defeated. Eventually the Layth marries the Guilan, but other's interfere in the ruling of the kingdom and all end up dead or in hiding. The stor...mThis graphic novel is part of the storyline followed by the Prince of Persia video games. However it doesn't actually tell the story from the video games; it's more of a backstory. The book tells the story of twins, a boy, Guiv, and a girl Guilan who will rule Persia and a boy, Layth that grows up with them who is the prince of an enemy their father defeated. Eventually the Layth marries the Guilan, but other's interfere in the ruling of the kingdom and all end up dead or in hiding. The story then moves forward a hundred years or so to the love story of Ferdos and Shirin. Shirin finds Ferdos in a well, he is hiding in an abandoned city. At times the stories are told parallel to each other on the page so that the reader can see all of the connections between the two tales and their characters.

The story was interesting and the artistic style definitely fits the story, with vibrant colors and style that reminds the reader of the stories Arabic roots albeit in a superficial way. However Ferdos' confusion about who he is makes the story difficult to follow at times, and also makes it difficult to figure out when the two plot lines are happening in relation to each other. This is where the parallel story telling becomes especially helpful.