A Confusion of Princes

I'm struggling folks. Not with life, but with reading Dragonswood. I don't know why it's taking me so long to read it but perhaps it has something to do with the fact that it isn't that great. Admitting that to myself made me really sad. I hate when books fail to live up to my expectations.

BUT I will finish it and provide y'all with a full review. I just can't promise it will be a timely review. Until then, I can write a little piece about A Confusion of Princes by Garth Nix. I recently lost control of my credit card and bought myself a Nook Tablet and since that time I've been blowing up the download book option like it's going out of style. 

A Confusion of Princes was one of the first ebooks I read on it and it completely blew me away. As you all may know, or not if you don't know me, I adore Garth Nix's Abhorsen series. I've seriously read Sabriel about 30 times and it's only the first book. I keep that (--->) on my bedside table just in case I feel like reading before I go to bed. Yes. I'm that in love with those books. 

However, when I found out that Nix was writing a book based in space, I reached a whole new level of fandom. It was quite amusing. The first few sentences is where Nix always manages to get me. (For some reason my autocorrect wanted to make manages into mangoes. How odd.)

Just take a read for yourselves. 

I have died three times, and three times been reborn, though I am not yet twenty in the old Earth years by which it is still the fashion to measure time.  

This is the story of my three deaths, and my life between.  

My name is Khemri, though this is not the name my parents gave me. I do not know who my parents are, and never will, for I was taken from them as a baby.

                                        -A Confusion of Princes (Chapter 1, page 5) by Garth Nix



See what I mean? How can you not want to learn how Khemri died three times and still lives?

Nix does what I've rarely seen other authors do, at least not as well as he does: he combines a feeling of history with fantasy. I'm not sure of any other way to explain it than that. Even though his books are filled with magic or in this case, advanced science and alien technology, it still feels like it could be real. Nothing is too outlandish to exist. Everything feels plausible. And that distinction marks true fiction.

The worlds of Sabriel and Khemri have history. They have weight. The backgrounds aren't just filler, they are actual characters in the story, without which the main characters would be lost.

And I love every minute I spend reading about them.

Anyway, I feel like I've sufficiently sung the praises of Garth Nix today. Mission accomplished. I hope y'all follow the link to check out Goodreads' summary of A Confusion of Princes. It's a great book.

Until next time...

RTW: YA MC Showdown

Welcome to our 114th Road Trip Wednesday!

Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway's contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question that begs to be answered. In the comments, you can hop from destination to destination and get everybody's unique take on the topic.


We'd love for you to participate! Just answer the prompt on your own blog and leave a link - or, if you prefer, you can include your answer in the comments.

This Week's Topic: 

 Write a dialogue between two of your favorite YA characters.

Two of my favorite YA characters come from completely separate novels, and I think that if they ever did meet IRL, that this sort of confrontation would transpire. Meet Dru Anderson and Sabriel Abhorsen.

Sabriel

Dru Anderson

Dru: So...you're a necromancer. *fidgets with gun*

Sabriel: *furrowed brow* No. Necromancers employ Free Magic. I am the Abhorsen. I abide by the laws of the Charter. I stop necromancers from playing with the dead. 

Dru: *snorts* 

Sabriel: And what exactly do you do?

Dru: *eyeroll* I try not to get killed by vampires wanting to suck my yummy Svetocha blood and basically save the day even though I don't want to be a part of it. It all started when my Dad came back from the dead as a zombie and I had to kill him. Things started going downhill into crazy town from there. 

Sabriel: *nods* Yes. Dead fathers do have a habit of complicating things. Mine sent me his sword and bells and then told me I had to save the entire Old Kingdom from the greatest Greater Undead that the world had ever seen. 

Dru: It's like they do it on purpose. 

Sabriel: Exactly. I mean, we're only teenagers, what reasonable person would tell his teenage daughter to go into the Old Kingdom without telling her everything she needed to know? I almost died, like, at least five times in the first half of the book. 

Dru: Men. I have two guys fighting over me, I love them both, but Jesus, they both just tick me off sometimes and I want to punch them. Repeatedly. I mean, come on! Stop trying to control me already! I've been practically taking care of myself my entire life and I shot my own zombified father for pete's sake! 

Sabriel: *sighs* The guy I like has memory issues. I found him on a ship, frozen as a figurehead in a spell one of my ancestors put in place because he went a little nutty during some past event he never likes to talk about. I like him and all, but sometimes I feel like he isn't being very honest with me, you know?

Dru: I say just beat the crap outta him and make him talk. Or else just run away and leave him behind. Sometimes I think we'd be better off without them. 

Sabriel: Yeah...but it's my duty to help the Old Kingdom. And he's a part of it. Besides, it's not like he's all bad. He saved me a few times!

Dru: They do have some uses. Stupid jerks. 

Sabriel: This has been nice. The sendings don't talk and Mogget can be a real pain. He never answers my questions and sometimes I feel like he wants to eat me. 

Dru: It has. I've never really had friends before, but you're alright. *eyes her sword and bell-bandolier* So...what do those do?

Sabriel: *pats bells gently* They send the dead back to the realm of death. 

Dru: I need me some of those. 

Sabriel: Umm, perhaps not. 

Dru: ...

Sabriel: *stern look*

Dru: You're probably right. My powers are way cooler anyway. 

Sabriel: I'm sure they are.  

Well, there you have it folks! I modernized Sabriel's speech for the sake of expediency, but just imagine her with an Australian accent. That should help. 

Until next time...