Cuckoo's Calling

                                        

    

I will come right out and admit that the only reason that I read Cuckoo's Calling is because it is by J.K. Rowling. She wrote is under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, and I didn't give the book a second glance until it came out that she wrote it. That being said, I had no doubt that I would enjoy it, as I have enjoyed all of her other books.

I am not typically drawn to the mystery genre for books, but there is something enjoyable about the concept of a private investigator. In University, I went through a CSI phase, which was easier to fall back into than I expected. I found myself drawn into the twists and turns of the storyline.

The book follows a private detective named Cormoran Strike. He is struggling both personally, and professionally. He is asked by family to investigate the apparent suicide of a popular celebrity.  I enjoyed how the reader learned of the Cormoran's back-story as it came out to his new, temporary, secretary/assistant. This made the mystery aspect of the book almost twofold. The reader both delved into the mystery of the death, but also the mystery of Cormoran Strike.

Unlike many readers who enjoy this genre, I don't find myself thinking ahead, and trying to solve the mystery. I simply sit back and let the story unfold. It seems that by doing this, I may be denying myself an added layer to the reading experience which others may enjoy, but I have never been one to pause and reflect on what I am reading, while I am reading it.

All in all, it was a good book. I have started the second book in the series, and the third is on my shelf waiting for me. I'm sure that I will continue to read the series as each book comes out.

The Book of Life

     The Book of Life, by Deborah Harkness, is the third, and final installment of the All souls trilogy. These books combine history, science, myth, and magic to create a story with many, MANY, layers. Unlike some books of this type, the author is able weave the story so that all of the pieces make sense even when you don't yet see the whole picture.
     While this series is science fiction/fantasy, it has elements of historical fiction as well. The use of modern and historical science and knowledge was excellent in my mind. The combination genetic research, and ancient alchemy is fascinating, and brings about the real life issues of racial purity and segregation.
      The importance of family lines, yet the acceptance of adoption into vampire families, even in ancient times, is key in this book. I quite enjoyed the fact that once a person was claimed as family, it was simply accepted in vampire families.
      It seems standard for me recently to read trilogies, and to rank the second as my least favourite, the third as the middle, and the first as my favourite. This series is no different, although I think that I simply don't like the fact that there are not any more coming out.

The Magician's Land

     The Magician's Land, by Lev Grossman, is the third and final part of the Magician's trilogy. By the time that I started to read this trilogy, the first two were already out. I quite enjoyed the wait, and having a book to look forward to. Magician's land continues the story of Quentin Coldwater, Brakebills school, underground magic, and the land of Fillory. I found that it brought a satisfying conclusion, although throughout the book I thought that the readers would be left hanging.
     In the previous book, Quentin was banished from the land of Fillory which had been his home for many years. After a short-lived stent teaching a Brakebills, his old school of magic, Quentin, joins up with some underground magician thieves. Through a series of events unknowingly started in world war two, and recorded in Quentin's favourite childhood books (Narnia reference), Quentin is challenged with the task of saving a failing Fillory.
     While I enjoyed the first book in this series the most, this is definitely second. I found that there were a lot of new characters, but in the end, the old favourites were still the key characters. I was concerned for the first part of this book, not for the characters, but for the plot. Somehow it all worked, but the ragtag group of magical thieves seemed like a very different book than I was expecting. Lev Grossman managed to make it all make sense, and looking back on the book, it all works.