What I’m Reading: Uprooted

Ahh, today is a review that is NOT months late because I just finished Uprooted by Naomi Novik last week.

I have read Novik in the past, but that was her Temeraire series.  Uprooted is a standalone, and one that was getting rave reviews from my fellow librarians and patrons. It was on many year end best lists. So I was determined to get through it before the end of the year.

Becky’s Soundbite Review:

“Based on a Polish folktale, but wholly its own magical story, Uprooted tells the story of Agnieszka, a poor rural girl who is chosen by The Dragon to be his student. What follows is an epic fantasy tale of good versus evil, with heroes and villains, kings and queens, good spirits and an evil Wood. This is also Agnieszka’s coming of age story. She must learn what it means to be a powerful witch, help her friends, save her community, and become an adult.  Be ready to be enveloped by Novik’s vivid world, make life-long friends with Agnieszka and her best friend Kasia, find romance, and go on an amazing adventure in this compelling and exciting tale." 

I did not give much of the set-up here that many reviews do because the set up was my least favorite part of this book. In fact, I had trouble getting into the book at the beginning with all The Dragon chooses a girl every 10 years stuff. Once Agnieszka was taken to his tower and she started showing a natural gift for magic, I was hooked.

The most important appeal factor in this novel is the world building. Wow is it great.  Every single place, from the villages, to the evil Wood, to the capitol city to just the tower where The Dragon lives were all amazing.  The descriptions were vivid and made each place come alive without slowing the pacing down at all.  If you like a detailed historical or fantasy setting, you will enjoy Uprooted

And yes I said historical or fantasy because most of the time to world of Uprooted felt historical. It could have been real except for the magic. It reminded me of Game of Thrones in that way, although I would not say they are readalikes in any other way.

Many reviews have said this book is a fairy tale retelling, or a fairy tale for adults. I disagree. It is much more an epic fantasy like a Tolkien. There is quite a lot for high fantasy fans here. The novel is filled with many story arcs where a smaller hurdle is cleared with high drama, before we move on to another conflict, each one building in intensity until we get to the final battle against the Wood and the safety of the entire world. A fairy tale tends to have one conflict leading to a single climax. The story map here had many ups and downs-- in a good way. Also, the villain here was way too complex for a fairy tale; it was much more of a concept than a single evil force.

Speaking of the Wood. What a great place/character. I don’t want to give much away but “the Wood” is the evil antagonist in this world. It is filled with evil that infects the people who live on it’s edges and those edges are constantly encroaching on the villages, swallowing many of them [and their inhabitants] up over the years.

The Wood is a nice bridge from the importance of place to the characters. Next to the world building, the characters are the next big selling point.  All of them are well drawn, complex and interesting-- good guys, bad guys, and in-between ones. But it is Agnieszka and the Dragon that rule the story.  Well, Agnieszka first. She is a strong, independent protagonist. She is young and naive at the outset, but she also knows herself and is true to what she believes. When she goes to live with the Dragon she has no idea the power she holds inside herself. Watching both of them discover it together is magical.

And plus, their romance is great and believable. There is one sex scene between them which is well done, but I have to say that the sensuous descriptions of their magic co-mingling and working a spell together were much hotter [on purpose I think].

I feel like this book is going to become a sure bet. It is good for men or women, teens to adults, people who love setting, plot, OR character. There is much to love in this standalone, epic fantasy.

Limiters:  There is one attempted rape scene, but Agnieszka battles him off and they confront each other later in the story. Amends are made.

Three Words That Describe This Book: strong world building, strong female protagonist, suspenseful

Readalikes: I couldn’t stop comparing Uprooted to The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern while I was reading. Both are filled with magic, romance, secrets, a larger evil to battle, and have action and great secondary characters. They also both are fantasy novels but with such well defined settings that you would swear they are more historical fiction that just happen to feature magic. Both are modern, standalone fantasy classics.

I tend to enjoy novels that have a fairy tale feel without being strict retellings. You can click through to each review in the list below to see why else they are similar (beyond the fairytale-esque feel) and to find even more readalikes. Warning: these links may take you down a large rabbit hole from which you will emerge with a very long TBR list.

• Undermajordomo Minor by Patrick de Witt
• Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
• Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
• The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti

But Uprooted still has something many of these suggestions lack-- a lot of action. Those other book are mostly literary fiction with fantasy aspects. But Uprooted is first and foremost a fantasy book with literary and historical elements. There were times the story resembled classic high fantasy a la Lord of the Rings. Interestingly, I went back to my review of His Majesty’s Dragons and I also suggested Tolkien there too.

For people who want to read some of the other “best” fantasy of 2015, two titles that are also making many best lists and would appeal to those who enjoyed Uprooted are The Aeornauts Windlass by Jim Butcher or The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin; however these are both the first in a series, while Uprooted is a standalone title.

Great Adult Reads Featuring Animals: A List and a RA Training Exercise

Later this morning my son will complete his 2 week theater camp with a performance of Doctor Doolittle Jr.  Over the last 2 weeks, we have talked a lot about the books upon which the production is based. It sadden and shamed me that my voracious reader son was not even aware of this series [so 100% my fault]. But besides talking about this series, for the last 2 weeks we have had numerous discussions about other books featuring animals which he has enjoyed.

Then at yesterday’s ARRT Steering committee two comments came up about books featuring animals.  One, had to do with whether or not a book featured violence towards animals. [On a side note, this is one of the most common limiters for adults and their leisure reading. In my experience, violence to animals trumps any violence (even to children) or sex restrictions]. The other was someone recommending H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald, as she prefaced her recommendation with he words, “And I don’t even necessarily like Hawks, but I loved this book.”

And then again, this week marks the 100th Anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo.  On my dresser is the ARC of a debut novel, The Sage of Waterloo by Leona Francombe that tells the story of this epic battle through the eyes of the rabbits that live on the farm where the battle took place. I will be reading it soon.

This is all a roundabout way to say, although I thought I was the only one with animal books on the brain due to living and breathing Dr. Doolittle all week, I am not alone.  Adults love reading about animals as much as kids do.

Animals are a great example of a specific frame that many readers enjoy but do not always articulate.  As I wrote in a recent article for NoveList on this topic:

"I have found that there are some specific frames that I enjoy in my leisure reading. For example, as a transplanted but proud Jersey girl, I will read just about any book if it is set in New Jersey. I also love books with circuses, ones set on college campuses, titles with a Civil War background but which do not focus on the battles, and books with baseball in them. I will read any type of book in which these subjects appear -- fiction or nonfiction. Nine times out of ten, I will end up loving the book, even if it is not a genre or writing style I would normally enjoy. I can go against my appeal preferences if these frames are present because their presence in the story in and of themselves gives me great enjoyment."

In my experience, I have found this last statement to be very true of a large number of patrons when it comes to animals.

So, here are some of the books I had read and reviewed on this blog which feature animals prominently. Click on the link to read about the specific appeal of each book because they are from a very wide range of genre, tone, and style. However, don’t forget that for some people, just the fact that animals are at the center of these books may be all a reader needs to enjoy all of these books.

The act of just gathering a list of these widely differing titles united only by their shared frame has been a great exercise for me.  You should try it too.  Just think about books you know about or have read that fit this category too. Or, do it for any category by frame, not just animals.  It really helps to get the RA recommendation juices going.  Trying to to only match for example, The Sage of Waterloo and Watership Down because they both have rabbit narrators is okay RA service for your patron.  But considering The Art of Racing in the Rain or Dog On It, which feature dog narrators is great RA service. Different animal, but very similar storytelling techniques.

If nothing else, just reading this list will encourage you to think outside the box as you suggest books to patrons, books they may never have found on their own, books they may love.  That is the power you hold; the power to enrich someone’s life with a great read. What a great job we all have.

Books where animals are narrators:
Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
The Bees by Laline Paull
Watership Down by Richard Adams
Dog On It by Spencer Quinn (first in a series of mysteries)

Books which feature animals prominently
Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand [nf]
The Big Year by Mark Obmascik [nf]
American Buffalo by Steven Rinella [nf]
Water for Elephants by Sarah Gruen
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
The Madman’s Daughter by Megan Shepherd (YA novel based on the Isle of Dr. Moreau)
His Majesty’s Dragons by Naomi Novik

What I'm Reading: His Majesty's Dragons

Today I have a review of a book that is part of my reading resolutions for 2013. Ironically, I have finished 3 books in the last 3 days, so I am seriously behind on the resolution to not have more than 3 books waiting for review at any time.  But here is the resolution to which His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik fits:

"Genre Resolution:  Last year I resolved to read 2 "new to me" contemporary romance authors. Not only did I accomplish this small goal, but by making the resolution, I also did a lot to educate myself on the newest trends in romance throughout the year. This year I am picking a new area to focus on-- Epic Fantasy.  I am a big watcher of epic fantasy in TV and movies, but not a big reader.  I love lighter, shorter single titles or series in my books. The big epic series are very popular though and I am not as well versed in them beyond George R R Martin. I am also currently working on a Game of Thrones readalikes list for the library, so a little more research will be helpful. Thus, I resolve in 2013 to read 2 first books in epic fantasy series that are new to me."

His Majesty's Dragon is the first in Novik's Temeraire series [and the first of my resolution], one that I have long admired and even lectured about. I knew it had a historically accurate Napoleonic War setting only with an aerial assault courtesy of intelligent, talking dragons.  The historical details are extremely accurate (despite the dragons), placing it firmly in the historical fantasy subgenre and making it very appealing to historical fiction readers.  It is also military (specifically naval) based so it also has fast paced battle action and the camaraderie of soldiers.

That's what I knew BEFORE I read this novel, and I am happy to confirm that my perceptions were all correct after I actually read it.

As a first book in what is an on-going epic fantasy series, what we have in His Majesty's Dragon is a whole lot of world building.  Personally, this is why I love first books in fantasy series and tend to lose interest as the series continue. I love this setting the stage detail and character focus.

In this case the story begins with our narrator, William who is an experienced ship captain for the British Navy.  After overtaking a French ship at the novel's open, his crew finds that the conquered ship was carrying a dragon egg.  This is huge because in the British's fight against Napoleon, they are strong in naval defense, but weak in dragons.

What follows is the story of the birth of Temeraire and William's reluctance at leaving the Navy behind and entering the strange world of Aviators (those who control the dragons for the British army).

The joy in reading the story is William and his "fish out of water" status.  Most Aviators come to the profession as young children. William has to enter a new world with what is already a strange and unidentified dragon species. His social faux pas are amusing, but they are shed a lot of light on the customs and behaviors of the era.  William is the traditional 19th Century man and his new Aviator compatriots challenge him.

But no one affects William more than Temeraire.  He is an amazing creature this dragon.  He is intelligent and brave, true to William and good hearted. He questions everything and opens both William's and the readers' eyes to the truth in our flawed human world and interactions with each other.  I lived for the moments when the two, William and Temeraire, sat together and talked.

The world building and relationship building is what takes up most of this novel, the battles are few and far between, but that is to be expected in a first book in an epic fantasy series.  I have heard from readers that while the character-centered story found here does give way to more action and plot oriented battles as the series goes on, the character centered focus still lays at the heart of this long running and popular series.

The pacing is compelling, but not brisk.  There is much set-up that needs to be done since William (and readers) know nothing about dragons. There are pages and pages of dragon lore, harnessing rules, and discussions of caring for dragons.  But I was so invested in William and Temeraire that the pacing felt faster; I wanted to keep reading to know what would happen to them next. I wanted to read just one more section so I could learn more about dragons and the people who loved them, cared for them, and entered battle with them.

The ending of this book sees William and Temeraire take part in a huge battle and ends with them recuperating back at base, assessing their losses, and beginning to move on to their next adventure. Novik is asking you to go along on the next adventure in the final lines.

Overall, I loved being immersed in this world and I can see myself returning back to book 2 but not right away.  I think when I get bored of my same-old-same-old and need a shakeup, I will know exactly where to turn.

A note on the audio:  I listened to His Majesty's Dragon narrated by Simon Vance. I love Vance.  Click here to hear a snippet of the audiobookfor yourself.  His voice makes me listen harder.  I would listen to him read anything.  In fact, he also read the Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson which I also listened to.  You can click here for those reviews. Vance made that series better for me too.  But specifically here with Novik's book, I was drawn to the voices of William and Temeraire.  In fact, Temeraire in particular came alive to me through Vance's portrayal of him.  And at only 10 hours for the full unabridged, you are looking at a fairly short time investment given the genre.

Three Words That Describe This Book: historical-military, dragons, fish out of water

Readalikes:  Novik's series reminded me most of some of the best historical, naval fiction writers, most of who ply their trade during this rich Napoleonic Wars time period when there were no airplanes and naval warfare was still king.  Specifically Bernard Cornwell (the Sharpe series in particular, but all his books are great), Patrick O'Brien, and C.S. Forester.

Another historical fantasy author who I think would appeal here is Susanna Clarke and her Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell.  There is plenty of the historical detail from a similar time period that Novik fans would enjoy, but there is not the large military component.

A few readers have mentioned that the Temeraire series is like The Hobbit with a lot more dragons.  I agree.  You have the fish out of water protagonist, great battle scenes and a clear sense of right and wrong.

I am going to include Novik's series in my list of readalikes for George R.R. Martin for people who want more dragons.  The dragons are not the main appeal here or in the Martin series, but there are many readers out there who will read anything with dragons. If you, or one of your patrons, fits this bill, click here to pull up a list on Goodreads of every book that got a "dragons" tag.

So as you can see, readailke options are kind of all over the place depending on which parts of the story you most enjoyed.  However, there will be people [myself included] who like the whole package.  Readers like this will want a series that has the actual history, mixed with the interesting characters, and an added slice of a fantasy creature to bring it all together.  For these readers, I think you get a whole package readalike with Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan series.  Now I should begin this suggestion by mentioning that the Leviathan series is technically YA, but I know plenty of adults who enjoy it too.  The setting is historically WWI, with the British against the Germans, but the British use these genetically engineered airships made out of living creatures.  Both series also have a steampunk feel without really being part of steampunk proper. I would highly suggest the Leviathan series for fans of Novik's Temeraire series.