Monday 20 June 2011

Once Upon a Time V wrap-up post

The last three months seem to have absolutely flown by and all of a sudden Carl's Once Upon a Time V challenge is over - officially finishes today I think.



Out of all the options for the challenge the one I chose was:




This was to: read at least 5 books that fit somewhere within the Once Upon a Time criteria. They might all be fantasy, or folklore, or fairy tales, or mythology…or your five books might be a combination from the four genres.

I managed to cover that quite nicely with seven books read and those were:

1. Beauty - Robin McKinley
2. The Eyre Affair - Jasper Fforde
3. Lost in a Good Book - Jasper Fforde
4. The Door into Fire - Diane Duane
5. The Court of the Air - Stephen Hunt
6. The Islands of the Blessed - Nancy Farmer
7. Storm Front - Jim Butcher

I can say, without a word of a lie, that all of these books were excellent reads. I think I managed, somewhat inadvertently, to start several new series. This is balanced, hopefully, by the fact that I also managed to read four books off my tbr pile. I could have done a bit better in that respect but four is better than none at all. I also managed to actually finish a series (Nancy Farmer's Sea of Trolls) which could even be a first for me. LOL. Oddly, I don't really have a favourite among them. If pushed... and I mean really pushed... I might name The Court of the Air by Stephen Hunt.




Despite its faults, it was a cracking read with world building that, to me, was amazing. And it was steampunk enough to introduce me to that branch of the fantasy genre and create a new fan.

So that's it, the Once Upon a Time challenge over for another year. I've loved participating and many thanks to Carl for hosting once again.
~~~oOo~~~

8 comments:

My Gallery of Worlds said...

Congratulations Cath! And you really enjoyed all of them, that's such a bonus. Four off the TBR pile is better than none. I understand...I have a serious series addiction...lol

Yvonne @ Fiction Books Reviews said...

Hi Cath,

We have had the discussion before, about fantasy not being one of my favourite genres, but I took a peek at the synopsis of 'Court Of The Air', as the title intrigued me and the cover didn't come across as too fanciful.

I have added this to my list of 'must try' books, who knows I may even be converted.

Thanks for the recommendation.

Yvonne

Carl V. Anderson said...

Congrats on all the reading you got done Cath, and thank you so much for joining in on the challenge again this year. I'm so happy that you branched out and tried some different stuff. And I feel your pain about the series--not my favorite thing, even when I love the books.

I was given a copy of the third book in Hunt's series, The Rise of the Iron Moon. If you are wanting to continue reading it I would love to give it to you. I don't generally keep books from publishers that I didn't request unless it is something I really want and while I may get to this series someday, I hate to see this hardcover languish in my basement. Shoot me an email if you would like it.

DesLily said...

wow I could have sworn I commented !
I am a little surprised that the court of air was your favorite. I went back to read your review and it seemed you weren't certain that it was confusing..?? Anyway, I am glad you finished the Nancy Farmer books! I enjoyed those when I read them too.

Kailana said...

Isn't it great to read so many great books? :)

Cath said...

Kelly: Thank you! I'm not sure why or how but much of what I read seems to be part of a series. Occasionally I just have to read a book that's a stand-alone to prove they exist. lol.

Yvonne: I'm sure if we all tried we could think of something fantasy for you to try that isn't too 'fanciful'. But nothing's coming to mind at the moment. Oh... maybe the Sam Vimes books by Terry Pratchett? Hmm.

Carl: Thank you, it's my pleasure. I love doing all of your challenges, including your sci fi experience.

Oh gosh, that would be wonderful to have book 3 of the Jackelian series. How nice of you to offer it to me! I have book 2 on my Kindle and hope to read it soon so to have book 3 lined up would be excellent. I'll drop you an e.mail later tonight.

Pat: It took me a while to get into Court of the Air and I found the characters not as well rounded as they could have been. But I found the world building amazing and inventive and over all I was glad I read it and definitely want to read the rest. It's maybe a case of the further away I get from reading it the more it grows on me. LOL!

Kailana: Yep... I was lucky this year and every book I read was good. Perhaps I'm getting better at choosing.

Anonymous said...

I just read The Eyre Arrair which I thought was average but I do love Storm Front and Beauty. I love this reading challenge :) Congrats on completing.

Cath said...

Rhinoa: Me too. It's a reading challenge which suits my reading tastes perfectly. Thank you!