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taharielSo on Monday I went into London to attend a booksigning for Sarah Rees Brennan (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sarahtales's novel The Demon's Lexicon. I had a great time and met some really lovely people, but what I want to talk about today is the book itself, which I finished today.
The Demon's Lexicon is the first in a trilogy of young adult urban fantasy novels set in the UK by long-time fanfic author, now pro author Sarah Rees Brennan. You may know her from Harry Potter fandom as mistful, who wrote the much-loved Underwater Light and Drop Dead Gorgeous. I had long loved her fanfic, and so knew that her writing was good enough for me to be very interested in reading her novel. And I am so glad I did! Here's the summary I pinched off of Amazon, not that I think it does it justice:
Nick and his brother Alan are on the run with their mother, who was once the lover of a powerful magician. When she left him, she stole an important charm - and he will stop at nothing to reclaim it. Now Alan has been marked with the sign of death by the magician's demon, and only Nick can save him. But to do so he must face those he has fled from all his life - the magicians - and kill them. So the hunted becomes the hunter...but in saving his brother, Nick discovers something that will unravel his whole past...
Not only is Nick's voice strong and intensely individual, but it's also very moving, as he struggles to understand the motivations of the other characters and what is the best thing to do. Despite his unemotional, practical outlook on life, we also are made to care strongly about the things that happen to him even when he doesn't, and to feel emotions for him, in a way, without it becoming intrusive. Despite the third-person-limited style of the novel (think Harry Potter - we only see what the main character sees, as though we're tagging along inside his head) the other characters and their wants, needs and motivations are made equally important and unique by skilled writing and clever dialogue. (Personally, I have a real soft spot for Jamie, who reminds me very strongly of Draco's voice in her fanfiction, which I always adored.)
The well-constructed world and viewpoint from within it, as well as clever twists and turns, make the book difficult if not impossible to put down, and while the end of the book is open enough to continue into the rest of the trilogy it is also satisfying enough to make me happy to close it and think about what I've just read with a warm glow in my bookloving place.
In conclusion: absolutely 100% worth the read. You won't be sorry. Try the first chapter for yourself, here on her website.
sarahtales's novel The Demon's Lexicon. I had a great time and met some really lovely people, but what I want to talk about today is the book itself, which I finished today.The Demon's Lexicon is the first in a trilogy of young adult urban fantasy novels set in the UK by long-time fanfic author, now pro author Sarah Rees Brennan. You may know her from Harry Potter fandom as mistful, who wrote the much-loved Underwater Light and Drop Dead Gorgeous. I had long loved her fanfic, and so knew that her writing was good enough for me to be very interested in reading her novel. And I am so glad I did! Here's the summary I pinched off of Amazon, not that I think it does it justice:
Nick and his brother Alan are on the run with their mother, who was once the lover of a powerful magician. When she left him, she stole an important charm - and he will stop at nothing to reclaim it. Now Alan has been marked with the sign of death by the magician's demon, and only Nick can save him. But to do so he must face those he has fled from all his life - the magicians - and kill them. So the hunted becomes the hunter...but in saving his brother, Nick discovers something that will unravel his whole past...
Not only is Nick's voice strong and intensely individual, but it's also very moving, as he struggles to understand the motivations of the other characters and what is the best thing to do. Despite his unemotional, practical outlook on life, we also are made to care strongly about the things that happen to him even when he doesn't, and to feel emotions for him, in a way, without it becoming intrusive. Despite the third-person-limited style of the novel (think Harry Potter - we only see what the main character sees, as though we're tagging along inside his head) the other characters and their wants, needs and motivations are made equally important and unique by skilled writing and clever dialogue. (Personally, I have a real soft spot for Jamie, who reminds me very strongly of Draco's voice in her fanfiction, which I always adored.)
The well-constructed world and viewpoint from within it, as well as clever twists and turns, make the book difficult if not impossible to put down, and while the end of the book is open enough to continue into the rest of the trilogy it is also satisfying enough to make me happy to close it and think about what I've just read with a warm glow in my bookloving place.
In conclusion: absolutely 100% worth the read. You won't be sorry. Try the first chapter for yourself, here on her website.
