Infinite Sky By C.J. Flood | Review

Book Details
Author: C.J. Flood
Ages: Young Adult
Rating: 8/10
Number of Pages: 271
Plot: After being rocked by their mother's departure, Iris and her older brother Sam have been affected in different ways. But when a traveller family sets up illegally in front of their farm it seems that Iris and Sam's lives will be changed forever. As Iris secretly strives to form a friendship with the son of the travellers, Trick, it appears that the presence of the travellers coupled with the blossoming relationship of Iris and Trick is forcing Sam even more off the rails. With tensions higher than ever before, and the knowledge that someone is going to die, Flood's novel explores the effects of family breakdown whilst creating a story that leaves you on the edge of your seat. This contemporary manages to consistently mix the elements of a suspense with the exploration of an interesting family dynamic that is not often written about so successfully.

January Wrap Up

So as some of you may be aware I decided that 2016 was going to be the year that I increased the amount of books I read by posting my monthly progress at the start and end of the month in the form of 'TBR's' and 'Wrap Ups.' And whilst I only put 3 books on my January TBR I was only able to read 2 this month, which I was really disappointed with. But instead of just moaning about it, formulating elaborate excuses for why I wasn't able to read more I thought I would take this as a lesson from myself. In February, instead of being determined on finishing my books that I had put on my TBR, I'm going to focus on picking and reading books I feel in the mood to read. At the beginning of January I made the mistake of picking either fantasy books in huge series' or really thought-provoking books that require a lot of thought and concentration. As a student with a huge work load, this was probably the worst choice I could have made. In next week's post, my February TBR, I'm going to include a range of books so that I have a broad selection of genres and writers so that I don't get myself stuck in the same rut as I faced in January.

After that little rant, I'm now going to briefly detail the books I have read in the month of January! I will include just a few of my opinions about each book and whether or not they lived up to my expectations but if you want to read more, all of the books I have included I have written lengthy reviews with plot descriptions in the last couple of weeks.

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin 10/10

Having not read the television series or read any spoilers online, I went into this series knowing very little about the characters, plot or the fantasy world created by Martin. The first instalment was truly incredible. The multiple narrators and the fantasy world itself made the book a real page-turner from start to finish. It has been a while since I had read a fantasy series that explored such interesting themes and I know that the story will remain in my mind for some time to come. I can't wait to read the next instalments of the series and maybe explore other work by Martin.

Legend by Marie Lu 7/10

An interesting concept with some great characters, but, overall, it just wasn't my favourite example of a dystopian. I am probably a bit biased, having read quite a lot of dystopian YA series', but I just felt that the book itself was far too short and didn't really have enough time to effectively develop the whole world and concept Lu creates. A book is meant to make you wanting more, however, with this I felt that I was left wanting too much. I will say though that if you are interested in politics that the political aspect to it is rather interesting, being a politics student myself I think this is why I still liked certain aspects of the plot.

A Game of Thrones By George R.R. Martin

Book Details

Author: George R.R. Martin

Ages: 16+

Rating: 10/10

Number of Pages: 780

Plot: In a world where winters can last a lifetime, Lord Eddard Stark is conflicted when King Robert offers him the role of the Hand. Following a supposed accident, Stark's son is left gravely injured and all evidence points to the family of the King's wife, the Lannisters. Split between the north and the south, the Stark family must root out the treachery in the King's court to protect their King and each other. To make matters worse, in the Free Cities the heirs of the executed Dragon King have grown and are creating their own forces to claim their old throne. The struggle for the Iron Throne has begun. In a tale of war, treachery and magic, Martin creates a fantasy world that is truly unlike any other. Through his use of multiple narrators, Martin explores the deadly nature of a war between noble families for one throne.

Review: I have been wanting to start this series for some time now due to the pages and pages of positive reviews online and the wildly popular television series. It was not until I received the box set of the books for Christmas that I truly considered starting to read the series. As most of you will already be aware, I am a huge fan of fantasy fiction and so I was expecting to like the series. However, I don't think I could have imagined how much I would come to love the story and its characters.

I knew very little about the whole premise of the series, as I had steered clear of extensive reviews and the television series, and I am glad that I did. I have always felt that going into a new series knowing very little makes the premise more enjoyable and forming opinions of the individual characters more likely. The story, itself, is beautifully crafted. Martin manages to successfully have multiple stories running alongside each other due to his effective use of multiple narrators from the perspectives of both 'good' and 'bad' characters. Not only this, but Martin manages to create narrative voices that are all very different from each other, something that not all modern day authors can portray effectively. I feel that by using not 1 but 8 different narrative voices the reader truly gets an understanding of the differing characters whilst building these themes of treachery and betrayal.

I also loved how Martin didn't overuse the typical magical fantasy ideas that many other fantasy writers focus on. Instead, Martin subtly weaves in ideas of dragons into the story without steering away from the key themes, like betrayal and treachery. I think this is one of the main reasons why this book, and probably the whole series, is so popular. Instead of focusing on a genre, that is often associated with children or young adults, Martin creates a fictitious world that has a greater focus on, what some may describe as, more adult themes, whilst incorporating magical ideas and concepts like dragons.

If there was one criticism that I would make about the first book, however, it is the unnecessary use of sex in scenes that really don't need it. There were a few moments in the book where I was left thinking 'did that really add anything to the plot?' This was more apparent in the battle scenes when I felt not enough information was given about the battle itself. Some may also argue that Martin uses too many narrative voices. Towards the middle, I found that some of the narrative voices began to blur, especially during Catelyn Stark's chapters.

Despite this, I feel that this is by far one of the best fantasy books I have read due to its choice of narration and its focus on themes like treachery. Martin has created a fantasy world that is truly unlike any other and I am not surprised that so many have fallen in love with the story and its many different characters. I would recommend this to anyone that loves fantasy or just more adult fiction in general but I would say that this is probably not the series for you if you struggle with continually changing narrative perspectives. I can't wait to read the rest of the series and start the television series to see how the characters and plot develop.

Have you read 'A Game of Thrones'? Leave your thoughts and opinions in the comment section below!