Book Review: REVIVAL by Stephen King

I enjoy Stephen King, have loved many of his books, but this one isn't high up on my list.

Premise: Jamie Morton recalls his run-ins with Charles Jacobs, originally a minister is his small town. Charles has a profound affect on Jamie at that first meeting, but as he runs into Charles again and again at various times later in life, he discovers his life changed in many ways, not necessarily good. The minister's fascination with electricity brings the supernatural aspect of this novel into play, with an electrifying end.

As I said, I love Stephen King, but I found I couldn't get into this one as much as some of his others. The main characters--both Jamie and Charles--just didn't grab me and pull me along as King's characters usually do. And the supernatural aspects with the lightning and electricity didn't feel as developed as they could have been, even though I ended up reading almost exclusively for those aspects as the book progressed. The best parts of the book are those that deal with Jamie and his girlfriend.

So while I enjoyed this overall, it doesn't rate high on my list of Stephen King books.

Book Review: MISTBORN by Brandon Sanderson

I've read ELANTRIS and loved it, so I was interested in what Brandon Sanderson had done with the "Mistborn" series, since everyone was raving about it. It's a good read!

Premise: Vin is a thief with the ability to affect people's emotions, helpful with her gang, but when she uses her ability on the wrong person, she catches the interest of the Lord Ruler's minions ... and Kelsier. Kelsier has survived the Lord Ruler's hellish mining prison and intends to bring the Lord Ruler down. He's gathered a group of the city's greatest thieves and con artists and decides to add Vin to the mix. All they have to do now is bring the ruling Houses of the city to war, train an army of peasants that can take over the city, and somehow kill the Lord Ruler himself. Easy, right?

This is definitely a good read. The world is interesting--a dark city with ash falls covering the streets on a regular basis and the commoners ground under the heel of the Lord Ruler and his government. The characters are interesting and fun to follow. And the magic system is unique, magic performed by swallowing and burning metals. My only real complaint is that the pacing was a little slow in some parts.

Definitely something those who love fantasy should check out.

Book Review: OF SAND AND MALICE MADE by Bradley P. Beaulieu

This is a novella featuring the characters from Bradley P. Beaulieu's "Shattered Sands" series.

Premise: Ceda is a pit fighter who catches the eye of an ehrekh, an evil creature created ages ago by the god of chaos. She attempts to escape, but this only makes her more interesting in the ehrekh's eyes. The more Ceda resists, the more the ehrekh wants her. How can Ceda escape the clutches of a creature that's part god?

This is really a story in three parts, each part a short story in an of itself, all connected. Overall, the story is good, the best part probably the last. Ceda is a great character and the world where people sail the sands like we sail the ocean is spectacular. The weakest part in this story is the middle part. Not because it isn't a complete short on its own, but it didn't have the depth that the other two parts had; it read a little more perfunctory than the other parts. I felt the characterizations were best in the first and last parts, especially of the ehrekh. But still, an enjoyable addition to the novels in the this series.