Audiobook: PASSAGE TO DAWN by R.A. Salvatore (Drizzt #10), Narrated by Victor Bevine

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Passage to Dawn by R.A. Salvatore
(Legend of Drizzt #10, Legacy of the Drow #4)
Narrated by Victor Bevine

Genre: Fantasy / Adventure

Passage to Dawn by R.A. Salvatore was the first audiobook that I've ever finished out of my own accord. The listening experience was amazing, as it starts out with Drizzt and Cattibrie on a ship six years after the previous novel, and Victor Bevine conveys soulfully Drizzt's sense of wonder at the vastness of the world as he looks out into the sea. 

Victor Bevine's Narration of Passage to Dawn by R.A. Salvatore

Bevine's voices for the characters are fun. I love the voices for Cattibrie, the succubus, and that hag on the island. I giggled when he impersonated the succubus torturing Errtu's prisoner at the beginning as she purred, "Do not, my lover." If I ever become a succubus, whether by radioactive poisoning or by a lot of plastic surgery, I'd want my voice to drip with that much seductive nectar. 

Bevine is a master of the inflection of the voice. I think he has successfully layered additional nuance and meanings to the novel by making the characters and their lines come alive. Drizzt's voice is also great. When I read the books in this series with my eyeballs, I always connected deeply with Drizzt's thoughtful memoirs at the beginning of each section. When listening to Bevine's narration of Drizzt's thoughts, I felt that same level of connection with the character, if not more. 

Because there are so many male characters in the book, sometimes the voices of the human males, especially if they're from the same background (region, occupation, industry, etc), blend in with each other. Fortunately, the cast for this novel is wide and varied. 

The only voice I didn't like was probably Errtu's voice. Errtu's a balor, so he's supposed to be super frightening and inhuman-sounding. Bevine's rendition of the powerful demon's voice makes me visualize raspy and decrepit old men rather than a mighty balor tanar'ri. 

My Thoughts on the Story

Story-wise, Passage to Dawn was the fourth and last book in the Legacy of the Drow sub-series. I usually have a bit of trouble getting into Salvatore's novels when there are lots of minor characters in the beginning. By the end of the book, we reunite with two characters that we haven't seen in a long time. 

I was glad to be done with the annoying Errtu arc. The sort of "I'll be back for you!" villains make me yawn. This is the Forgotten Realms, not a Saturday morning cartoon show. 

Other visitors to the narrative include the prematurely-aged priest Cadderly, who apparently has his own series of books. I had only met him later on when Entreri met Cadderly. Also, Harkle Harpell, the ever-clumsy but knowledgeable mage, shows up and holds a flashy magic contest with a ship mage. We also see what comes of the barbarian tribe that invaded Ten Towns a few decades ago.

The scenes that reveal the rich dynamics between characters held my attention better than the action scenes, which I can follow better by text. R.A. Salvatore can write amazing action scenes, but sometimes they get excessive, especially when they're between minor characters instead of a major show-down between our favorite characters and their main enemies. 

Overall

Overall, I enjoyed Victor Bevine's narration of Passage to Dawn by R.A. Salvatore. His soothing, yet enthusiastic voice is a delight to follow by ear. Bevine's interpretation of the dialogue imbues the colorful characters in this book with life and personality. The novel itself has its great moments of character development, and it broadens the world by following the same restless spirit of adventure that Drizzt shares with his friends. 

My rating: 4/5 stars (4.5 for narration, 3.5 for story) 

The College Chronicles: Freshman Milestones by Kelly Owen

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The College Chronicles: Freshman Milestones

by Kelly Owen

Genres: Fiction / Young Adult / New Adult / College / Contemporary 

As someone who lived on campus at an infamous party school dubbed the "University of Casual Beer & Sex" for her freshman year, I can vouch for the social climate that we get in The College Chronicles: Freshman Milestones. All the fun social opportunities (parties! concerts! late night talks! group "study" sessions!) can morph into a huge distraction from one's studies if one is not disciplined. 

Set in Charleston, South Carolina, The College Chronicles: Freshman Milestones by Kelly Owen follows the life of a college freshman named Cadence. During her first year of college, Cadence Cooper experiences and witnesses a lot of new, wonderful, and also terrible things in the fictional Charlestowne College. 

True to the theme of college, the chapters are named after college courses, such as "ENGL 101", "GEOL 296", and "THTR 101". 

The College Chronicles: Freshman Milestones blurb from Goodreads:

SLEEPING FEET FROM STRANGERS is not a description Cadence Cooper remembers from the brochure that brought her to Charlestowne College, but this jarring reality becomes one of many she encounters during her freshman year. Threatened with expulsion from a "Demon of Darkness" professor and tormented by a hellacious roommate, Cadence struggles to survive in this realm of hookups and higher education. Here sex, drugs, and drinking become subjects of study just as much as coursework. Just when she's ready to give up the dream of a college degree, she finds romance with a rock star classmate and a position as a student photographer. With her lens fixed on the campus and Charleston, a stunning city that teaches its own powerful lessons, Cadence uncovers the details of a devastating rape, a mysterious suicide, and a secret group intent on exposing a scandal that will forever change the school. Knowledge never comes without cost--or surprises. Life with strangers transforms into profound experiences with friends, foes, lovers, and liars in and out of the Holy City's classrooms. Cadence's first-year journey begins with "English 101: The Composition of Life," but where it ends shocks even her.

An Ambitious Project: Capturing the Freshman Experience

The College Chronicles: Freshman Milestones aims to capture an enormously wide scope of the freshman experience in a single book. In many ways, Owen's book succeeds in giving the reader a taste of many, many possible experiences of a freshman student:

• campus rape, date rape drugs, sexual assault 
• domestic violence 
• racism, discrimination 
• feminism, sexism, double standards 
• partying, dancing 
• relationship problems 
• drug addiction 
• pregnancy
• eating disorders 
• coping with grief, loss of a loved one 
• bad roommates 
• clingy boyfriends 
• students who work as strippers for college tuition 
• professor scandals 

Welcome to the Fast-Paced College Environment

Everything is new to Cadence, who is a young white woman who grew up on a farm in the South. Before coming to Charlestowne College, Cadence had never had sushi before, and she didn't often meet people of different cultures or backgrounds. She is the perfect blank canvas for the craziness that is college. 

Since we are following Cadence around campus, there is no central plot. Instead, we meet a lot of people moving swiftly in and out of Cadence's life. Such is the way of the fast-paced life on campus, and Cadence meets a few people who especially broaden her horizons, such as Isabella, a student from Mexico, who helps Cadence with a presentation for her Spanish class. I saw this same kind of enlightenment in my suitemate, who came from a home of socially conservative values and went home with a more open mind. 

Covering A Wide Scope of Experiences: Good or Bad?

The advantage in covering so many experiences who come in the shape of characters is that we get to explore a wide scope of experiences, more than any individual freshman ever will. A lot of these stories are heard through the grapevine, but very few freshmen will ever experience it all themselves. This is freshman year on steroids. All of these people and tidbits of life come together to make Charlestowne College feel like real. 

The disadvantage of covering such a large collection of experiences is that some individuals that Cadence meets are reduced to college archetypes, like they were only placed there to represent "eating disorders" or "bad roommate". While I recognized a lot of the stock experiences that they represented, some parts of the book with these archetypal college figures felt forced or disconnected from the rest of the narrative. Sometimes there would be a sudden switch in point-of-view from Cadence (third person limited) to another character for a few paragraphs, which was a bit jarring to me as the reader.  

A Heavy Tome: More Entertaining on Ereader than Physical Copy

At 572 pages, this book is very long, and its physical form is no waif nor supermodel. I read the first half of it using the physical paperback, and the last half on my ereader. I felt a lot more comfortable reading this book on the ereader, partly because I could do so with one hand, and also because I was better able to focus on the beautifully descriptive language. 

Writing Style: Fun, Tongue-in-Cheek

Kelly Owen's writing voice is remarkably fun, and deliciously tongue-in-cheek in some parts. One of my favorite spots in the book was the passage right after Corrine (Cadence's repulsive roommate) decides to drop out of college and marry her high school sweetheart:

"A good 'ole boy, raised on a strict diet of God, guns, and backwoods culture, Jed believed a woman's place was in the home, so he worked hard to restore Corrine to the proper path dictated by the limitations of her gender. This country boy would rescue her from the city and the evils of elitist professors and fanatical feminists by convincing her she was miserable...Together they would pursue their American Dream, raise their children in the steadfast tradition of family values and grow old teaching their grandchildren the importance of faith without question..." (WOST 261) 

I read this in a doctor's waiting room and snorted with delight. The lady next to me wasn't very appreciative.

A Multi-Media Narrative

Kelly Owen and her students have expanded this narrative to include more than text. On the College Chronicles website, there are photos, music, and videos that her students have worked on. Kelly Owen also shares the story behind her book. 

Conclusion

The College Chronicles: Freshman Milestones by Kelly Owen offers a great overview of the freshman experience to high school students who haven't attended college yet, seasoned college veterans who have braved and survived their freshman year, and also to anyone who is curious about what it's like during a student's first year of college. If anyone ever needed a handbook to the freshman year of college, this would be it.

In some parts, The College Chronicles: Freshman Milestones can be a bit unfocused at times due to the wide breadth of Cadence and her friends' experiences, but the latter half of the book has more of a focus than the first half, as people's paths start to converge. The beautiful writing keeps things entertaining throughout the whole book. The foreshadowing at the end sets up the scene for the next volume in the series. I look forward to reading about Cadence's sophomore year!

My rating: 4/5 stars

Find out more about The College Chronicles: Freshman Milestones by Kelly Owen on:

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ROAD OF THE PATRIARCH by R.A. Salvatore

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Road of the Patriarch 

(Sellswords Trilogy #3)

by R.A. Salvatore

Pairing an intense, usually objective-driven character with a flamboyant, slightly reckless character leads to a lot of adventures that wouldn't otherwise happen, especially on the part of Artemis Entreri. I was intrigued by his character when he appeared in the Drizzt series as the noble dark elf's relentless adversary. What else was there to his character, I wondered. I was curious about the sort of past that would create a lone individual who prefers to identify himself with his weapon skills than other attributes. 

I'm not the only Artemis fangirl.
Credit: Yoski

Among the books in The Sellswords trilogy, this one is the juiciest in terms of getting to know Entreri's past. The novel begins with a teaser into his childhood but it doesn't resurface until the latter half of the novel. The first half focuses more on Jarlaxle's imperialistic antics, which drive the story forward but feel a bit pointless and cumbersome in Road of the Patriarch. Despite all the action scenes during Gareth's invasion of Entreri's "castle", I was actually pretty bored with this part and didn't really see how it was necessary, aside from Jarlaxle's pet project getting them kicked out of the land. However, it was cool to see Entreri face off against the well-intentioned King Gareth in a philosophical debate about righteous claims to kinghood. 

Entreri's decision to pursue his "ghosts" is an impulsive decision, influenced by the magical flute that Jarlaxle encourages him to play. My issue with the magical flute is that it's an obvious plot device to inject character development into a character that's tough as a rock. It felt a bit too artificial and easy, and I felt that since the catalyst for Entreri's emotional growth was a physical objected, the effects would only last so long before it was either taken away from him or smashed. 

I can understand the benefits of having a static character, and it looks like Salvatore wanted to keep Entreri from becoming a completely different person. A lot of readers like the character for the way he is--ruthless, smart, and with a potential for tenderness buried somewhere within. And granted, he's in his forties--by now, his personality and life views are set firmly as opposed to the way it'd be for a youth unsure of his role in the world. 

Vaasa, by MaverikElf

In the latter half of the novel, we get to see a closeup of Memnon, the town that Artemis grew up in. The descriptions of the unchanging state of poverty and ignorance in the town created a vivid image in my mind, as well as a sense of indignation at the religious cleric who exploited these qualities of the poor to take their gold in return for "prayers". The closure that Entreri pursued in his hometown ended in a satisfactory way for me. 

Betray, by Yoski

Ultimately, I thought this was a great conclusion to the trilogy. The imperialistic ventures into Gareth's realm weren't the most interesting to me because none of the minor characters were that eye catching besides Gareth and his moral dilemma. Jarlaxle's manipulative schemes make things a lot more interesting (and occasionally infuriatingly complicated) than they would be with Entreri's tendency to pursue objectives directly. I loved the exploration of Entreri's past and getting to know what he hides from. Jarlaxle and Entreri cross roads (separately) in R.A. Salvatore's newer series, the Neverwinter Saga. 

My rating:

Road of the Patriarch 

(Sellswords Trilogy #3)

by R.A. Salvatore

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Book Review: THE WISDOM OF THE SHIRE by Noble Smith

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The Wisdom of the Shire

by Noble Smith

Published: October 29, 2013
Genres: Nonfiction / Philosophy / Self Help / Secondary Source

A self help book based on Tolkien's philosophies in his works on Middle-earth, Wisdom of the Shire is a wonderful guide on living the simple and fulfilling lives of Hobbits. It's a short work - you can finish it in a day if you like, but I chose to read it slowly over the course of a month to make it last. 

Book Review: THE POWER OF THE RING: THE SPIRITUAL VISION BEHIND THE LORD OF THE RINGS AND THE HOBBIT by Stratford Caldecott

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The Power of the Ring: The Spiritual Vision Behind The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit

by Stratford Caldecott

Published/Edition: 2012, Crossroad Publishing Company

Genre: Non-Fiction / Religion / Literature / Fantasy / Secondary Source

(For the short version of my review, see the bottom.)

I consider The Power of the Ring a great secondary source to commentary and analysis on Tolkien's works from a strongly Catholic perspective, but the biggest issue I have with this book is the misleading phrase in the title: "The Spiritual Vision." Now, this was probably not the fault of Caldecott but more likely an attempt by the publisher to sell the book to a wider audience. 

The word "spiritual" is often tacked onto Christian literature, but the word also applies to other elements (from Buddhism to Cherokee philosophy), and so I came into the pages expecting to get a good coverage of the spiritual backgrounds and origins that went into Tolkien's work, including both the Christian and the pagan. 

Book Review: NO-NO BOY by John Okada

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Genres: Literature / Fiction / WWII / Asian American

No-No Boy by John Okada is another one of those books that make me want to shake it violently and go, "Where have you been all my life?! Why have you deprived me of this misery?"

"But...But..." stammers No-No Boy. "I've been here all this time. Since 1957. It's gotten quite lonely, really." 

Lonely indeed. This was the only novel ever completed by John Okada, who died at the age of 47 thinking that no one, especially in the Asian American community, cared about his work. His wife burned his other novel in progress after the Japanese American Research Project at UCLA refused to look at his stuff. It was one of the first Japanese American novels to be published, and like the community it represented, it was mostly cast aside and ignored for years until people started picking it up and studying it for its literary value.

Book Review: Heartkeeper by B.T. Lyons (Heartkeeper Saga #1)

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(Kindle edition is free right now!)

Genre(s): YA / Fantasy / Post-Apocalyptic / Coming of Age / Allegory

139 pages on Kindle

Heartkeeper is a novella set in the post-apocalyptic future, where the world population has dwindled to a sustainable level. To ensure their survival in the generations to come, humans picked up sustainable lifestyles and went back living in pre-industrial societies. Earth noticed their efforts and helped them out by releasing a system of Hearts, spirits of animals who each bind with a human and serve as their conscience.

Adain's a thirteen-year-old boy who has to complete an adulthood initiation rite with the other thirteen-year-olds called the Heart Chase, to hunt for his heart. Not all children are successful, and not all hearts are good. Most hearts are golden hearts, benevolent to humans. Red hearts are spiteful animal spirits, and they work as bullies in the forest. Black hearts are malevolent animal spirits, who had become embittered from suffering at the hands of humans--these tear people apart, and the village feeds their misfits to the black hearts. 

The children who fail to catch a golden heart by sunrise get eaten by the black hearts. Also, in order to be accepted by the village, a person has to be bound to a golden heart. When their heart leaves them (usually because they don't listen to the heart or do bad things to others), they are exiled from the village--basically condemned to be ripped apart by the black hearts. 

What I liked:

Book Review: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Old Cover (left): "Does this knife make me look fat?"

New Cover (right): "I will find you. And I will cut you." 

Published 2012

Genre: YA / Fantasy

The issue I have with high fantasy is that after you've read a lot of it, you start to notice a lot of the similar patterns being thrown at you over and over: character archetypes, plots, and settings, for example. 

Now, don't get me wrong. I enjoy reading high fantasy. I shiver with delight whenever I turn past the cover page and come upon a beautiful map with forests, mountains, jungles, and cities etched out throughout the map. I go in knowing that I'm probably going to read something with a quest or mission, magic, and swords.

Throne of Glass sits right in the middle of high fantasy

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner (An Eclipse Novella) by Stephenie Meyer -- Book Review

Published: 2010

Genre: YA / Contemporary / Vampires

Okay, so I was curious about Bree Tanner as a character after I saw her in the movie, so I borrowed this book from the library. I must admit that I haven't read Eclipse, but I've read the three other books. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner is about Bree's short, confused life as a vampire being trained to fight in an army against the Cullens. 

The Friday Society by Adrienne Kress -- Book Review

Published: 2013

Genre: Young Adult / Steampunk / Mystery

From the book flap:

The Friday society follows the stories of three intelligent and talented young women who work as assistants to powerful men: Cora, lab assistant; Michiko, combat instruction assistant; and Nellie, Magician's assistant. Their lives become inexorably intertwined after a chance meeting at a ball ends with the discovery of a murdered mystery man. It's up to these three, in their own charming but bold way, to solve the murder--and the crimes they believe may be connected to it--without calling too much attention to themselves. Of course, blending in has never been these ladies' strong suit, especially with so many eligible men around.

Told with Adrienne Kress's sharp wit and a great deal of irreverence, this Steampunk mystery introduces three unforgettable and very ladylike--well, relatively ladylike--heroines poised for more dangerous adventures. 

Clearly, these three young women are ahead of their time. They're independent, smart, and resourceful--but they live in an era where women receive little credit for their work except for their looks and supporting roles.

In Too Deep (Elite #2) by Jennifer Banash -- Book Review

A tale of the Upper East Side told from the perspective of four private school girls about parties, fashion, biological moms, and forbidden romances. 

Genre: Young Adult / Contemporary / Privileged

Although I didn't read the first one, I still enjoyed this book a LOT. The four-way, high-stakes drama was captivating. 

Published 2009

If you enjoy reading about fashion and brands, then you will definitely enjoy the descriptions of the designer clothes and cars. But even if you don't, this series is great in the way that each major character has her own motives for doing everything, even if she is slightly delusional about what's actually happening. It makes it nearly impossible for me to cheer for one particular person.