Review: The Son of Porthos: Or, the Death of Aramis

The Son of Porthos: Or, the Death of Aramis by Alexandre Dumas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Look this is really not the satisfactory conclusion I'd have liked but it's more Musketeer love so I'm all for it. I was satisfied the first time I read it (see original review below) but I guess I've become more demanding, and my craving for Musketeer adventures is not so easily sated as it was two years ago.

Anyhoo.

So pleased to discover this little-known Son of Porthos, Joel, who is on a quest to discover who his father was. Along the way, he's thwarted by a cunning, scheming old duke, who we all know better as Aramis. I cannot express how much it pains me that he's still scheming. It just adds insult to injury that the victim this time is the son of his BFF.

The adventure is fun and more of a spinoff than continuation of the previous books, and Joel makes his own friends but it's just not the same.

I love this for the simple fact it is part of my favourite series ever, and I think more people need to know of its existence, but you could probably read it as a standalone. Just be ready for spoilers if that's the road you take.

Ah, my musketeer heroes. I'll miss you.

Until my next re-read.

***
Original Review 10/16

Who could possibly not be entertained by the work of Dumas? This is such a simple yet satisfying conclusion to the D'Artagnan Romances. It has plenty of references to our old friends - mostly through the reflection of an aged Aramis - to keep their spirit alive but it's clearly its own story, conveying the sense that our Musketeer heroes have truly departed to make way for a new generation of heroes.
Joel, our new hero, is an admirable protagonist though somewhat lonely at times after the comraderie of the original sagas. However when he finds his own friends we easily warm to them. I found myself smiling frequently and even laughing out loud; such is the effect this saga has on me. I always feel the realness of Dumas's characters, and so I found with this novel. The writing is eloquent and creates vivid images in the mind whilst indulging the imagination. The story itself was fairly simple, and though I hoped for more references to the past I can see that this novel was stronger without them. It's certainly a tricky novel to track down but for fans of the previous installments I highly recommend getting your hands on this most fulfilling conclusion.

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Review: The Beauty

The Beauty by Aliya Whiteley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Um.

I don't even know how to rate this.

This is just one fkn WEIRD book okay.

Also it's two stories so that was completely unexpected.

The Beauty

The actual, titular story, which I thought was the entire novel. Super weird. Basically there's no women left because they all died from some nasty womb disease so there's just this little band of lonely men. I thought this was going to be a thought-provoking, feminist-type horror story about how hopeless men are without women but instead we get mushroom women with insatiable sexual appetites. I don't even know how to unravel all the hidden meanings in this. Straight up not smart enough for this horrific little story. I mean, I didn't hate it, but I also absolutely DID NOT GET IT.

Peace, Pipe

Actually probably preferred this story, even if it's entirely not what I signed up for. This time we've got some random in a cell who messed up an alien interaction on another planet and is now in quarantine thinking about his/her mistakes. Huh. I'm just now realising I assumed the entire time that the narrator was female but I don't recall anything indicating that. Just projecting my own gender I suppose! Anyway, this is quite an insightful commentary on language and all its nuances which I found completely fascinating. Definitely got the old wheels turning upstairs.

But then there's also that totally weird element of our protagonist talking to a pipe that might be an alien life form but might also be imagination/delirium taking liberties with noisy plumbing.

Both stories have a super-weird surface with lots of unfathomable depths of hidden meaning. It's all very confusing and if you're super smart when it comes to subtext you'll likely rate this one pretty high. Me, I'm way too dull to unravel this mess.

Weird, creepy and thought-provoking, but ultimately went waaaaaaaaaay over my head.

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Review: The Man in the Iron Mask

The Man in the Iron Mask by Alexandre Dumas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My insignificant words can hardly do justice to my love for this book, so I'll keep it short.

You can read my original review here.

If you are curious about this book because you're familiar with the title, or saw the (terrible) movie, or have read The Three Musketeers and can't be bothered with everything that comes in between, please don't bother with this book. You've hardly earned it, and as such it'll ring hollow for you.

If, however, you have loyally followed our musketeer friends over their 40 years of adventures; if you can comprehend the significance of Athos showing weakness, of Aramis's tears, of the words 'too heavy' ... read, and do justice to our friends by allowing their stories to conclude.

This is the book where four inseparable, energetic men find that time and politics have finally caught up with them. It's absolutely gut-wrenching at times to see how their stories have been influenced.

This book will live forever in my heart, as will its heroes.

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Review: Mind Behind The Crime

Mind Behind The Crime by Cheryl Critchley
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I feel like this book was trying to be too many things at once and so ultimately failed at all of them.

There are three main components to it:
-The true crime stories
-The psychology of criminal acts
-How the psychology of criminal acts is relevant to each specific crime

The book opens with a long-ass introduction that discusses what cases will be included and what disorders are relevant to these cases. Then it talks about different types of murders. Then it touches on the psychological disorders behind different types of murders. So just in the introduction alone we already have a serious case of repetition. Not gonna lie, I skipped a lot of it when I realised it was being repeated (and then when it came up again in relation to each case).

Then each case is grouped under a general disorder/murder type, with an introduction that AGAIN discusses the traits of the disorder/murder.

The cases themselves are set out in a rather messy manner, and to me it didn't really seem to flow. First you get the 'character' list, then motive/short summary of the crime, then an introduction that sets the scene, then the actual crime and its fallout, followed by an overview of the murderer's background/history. Then some more about the relevant disorder and how it applies to the murderer (yet again).

But not always.

The subheadings change, the order is sometimes different, some include a LOT of extra detail and some are quite vague. I found it incredibly frustrating.

I felt like I was reading the same thing repeatedly when it came to the psychological stuff. There is some really fascinating information here but it's kind of just dumped so you have to be pretty patient to wade through it all. I found that when it related to the behaviours of the murderers it was quite interesting and easy to understand, but there was always the patronising info-dump either in the introduction or in the conclusion (or both) that seriously undermined it.

Then the cases themselves were really interesting but tainted by the personal opinions of the author(s). This bugged me so much. You'd get this nice long paragraph about the influence a personality disorder has, and how it affected the murderer, and it would really make you think about how much psychological disorders are responsible for unacceptable behaviour. But then you'd get this naive, black-and-white statement where the author basically says, 'the disorder is irrelevant because this person committed murder which makes them a horrible person. Full stop.'

I mean, I agree, there are seriously terrible people in this book, and the crimes are absolutely heinous, but you can't write a book about the influence of personality disorders and then inject your own biased opinions. That's not how science works.

I think this would have been better had it focused in one direction. For example, if it was just the true crime stories, including fleshed out characters with personality disorders. Or if it discussed how different personality disorders can have criminal implications, with reference to some true cases. I think going into this much detail for both aspects just made it a tedious read.

It was quite interesting to read about some cases that I'm actually familiar with, and I was horrified to learn some of the details that were obviously withheld when I watched the story emerge on the news. It's quite sobering to think that these crimes were committed only a few years ago in most cases, and some not too far from where I'm currently living. That fact had the potential for such a massive impact, and I think it's important to emphasise that so many of these murders came completely by surprise.

Unfortunately our society has become such that we must be constantly aware of our surroundings, be vigilant, and take serious note of suspicious behaviour. I feel like this book is trying to say, 'these are homicidal tendencies, PAY ATTENTION!' but the message is buried by all the superfluous crap.

So it wasn't a great read but it does contain some fascinating, important information and I'll keep it as a reference book for sure. Even if it's just for the fun of picking which personality disorders most suit the people I know ...

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Review: The Small Hand

The Small Hand by Susan Hill
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Creepy, but average.

I mean, if I stop and think about that little hand ... *shudder* There's just something special about evil kids, even if they are ghost kids.

But there was a relative lack of creepy occurrences, and the chill factor was slightly underwhelming. I'd probably appreciate this story more as an episode of Supernatural. Get some sass into this ghost story.

It's got some lovely descriptions but it never really builds a haunting atmosphere because he's always moving. TBH I was probably more interested in his work as an antiquarian book dealer. I loved the stuff at the monastery.

It was a good, short little ghost story but nothing particularly special.

That being said, I won't be holding hands with kids any time soon ...

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Review: Two Dark Reigns

Two Dark Reigns by Kendare Blake
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

PHWOOOOOAAAARRRRR!!

WARNING: This review contains spoilers for the previous two books of the series.

This series honestly just keeps getting better. It's so dark and twisted now! I was not expecting such fantastically macabre things from a ya fantasy about competitive queens.

So the third book opens with a mini history lesson, which was fun. I love when we get dark pasts that affect the present. That historical thread was probably one of my favourite aspects of this novel. It made the whole story level up and created a new, intriguing dynamic. I was so frustrated for Arsinoe that it took so long to convince people she wasn't just dreaming. It should just be common knowledge that if you dream something more than once you need to accept it as the message it inevitably is.

At the end of the second book, here's where we stand:
-Mirabella, Arsinoe and Billy are on the mainland
-Jules is with the war-gifted
-Katherine is queen and possessed by innumerable dead queen spirits
-Pietryr still has the worst name in the whole book and I'll never remember how to spell it. Oh, and he's still Kat's right-hand man. Even though it's his fault she's possessed. I don't get that. *shrugs*

Arsinoe on the mainland is hilarious. She's definitely my favourite queen because she grumbles about everything, hates wearing dresses, and refuses to show affection. She's basically me. Billy is devoted to her no matter what, and it's interesting to see the interaction between his family and the exiled queens but it doesn't pack much of a punch. It's mostly just filler - a diversion before we get to the good stuff. I thoroughly enjoyed imagining the tea parties, though.

I've always loved Mira's feisty-ness but it seems paled a little here. Possibly because, on the mainland, her powers are somewhat muted. It's like she's lost a little piece of herself, and I liked how that was reflected in her behaviour. It made me a little sad, though.

Katherine is becoming more and more badass and I love it but I wish she'd embrace it more. She's still trying to Do The Right Thing but she's got these evil queens circling around inside her so things keep going awry. I kinda wish she'd just accept it and go total Evil Queen. I guess it's good that there's hope for redemption, though. *sigh*

Jules is being recruited to lead a rebellion which is a fun surprise! She's pretty tough so it's interesting to see how she approaches the suggestion and still maintains her integrity. Sort of. Camden is kinda my favourite part of Jules, though. I'm just so jealous because I want my own mountain cat to be my bff and claw my enemies to shreds when they deserve it. I love the animals in this book. I want an exotic pet.

Peitiryr of the Terrible Name is still an annoying little brown-noser who is more of a lapdog than an equal. I honestly don't know what Kat sees in him. Also if I, as a reader, am supposed to be enamoured with this guy? Honestly the only fella I'm digging in this series is Billy, and even he doesn't have quite enough pull to make me swoon. Piet- you know what, I'm just gonna call him P-Diddy- P-Diddy spends most of this book running around telling Kat what to do but backing down meekly when she objects. I just do not like that guy. Not one bit.

Did I mention the series is getting darker? I mean, there are some gruesome things, and people die and stuff. It can get messy. I LOVE that. I'm such a psycho. But I love that this is so dark and twisted and nothing is safe and I have absolutely no idea how this is going to end. Not a clue. There was less magic in this one but I feel like that aspect was just the calm before the storm, and I sense the final book is going to be one epic finale. I'm so excited for magical showdowns.

I love the way this series is written. It always takes me a few pages to get into the present tense, but once I'm there it's such an easy read. There's always something happening.

This series isn't slowing down and I'll be anxiously awaiting the fourth book! In the meantime I'll have to track down the short stories.

With massive thanks to Pan MacMillan Australia for my advanced copy!

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Unrequited

Unrequited

Fear, love, pain and lust

We’d forget them all

For a moment’s trust

Your opinion of me

So high in my eye

A lie lingers there

I just pass you by

So skewed from my view

Barely noticed by yours

Overlooked, overworked

Trying to be heard

To be seen

To be feared, felt

Loved

Faith, doubt, hope and heart

So fragile and dependent

On another’s part

Your eyes never see

A slip of the lip

The quick cover up

With unwearied wit

I won’t be ashamed

Of my pathetic rogue heart

Overlooked, overworked

Sometimes it hurts

To feel doubt

To feel faith, hope

Loved

Devotion and shame

So easily unnoticed

Through my own pain

Of feeling unloved

He’s forward; I’m awkward

Towards his advance

As an afterward

I apologise

Unloving, and unloved

Review: Asylum

Asylum by Madeleine Roux
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Actually kind of impressed with this Young Adult horror story.

Creepy cover ✔
Horrible history ✔
Mysterious happenings ✔
Creepy AF location ✔
Terrifying photos ✔

The photos definitely make this book a hundred times creepier, even if most didn't really match the story. I think the shudder effect comes from knowing that people and places like this did actually exist once upon a time.

For any horror aficionado, haunted asylums aren't really anything new. They arise constantly in books, films, tv shows ... you name it. It's an endless source of fear, possibly because it also forces us to consider what kind of depravity humankind has been responsible for in the past. Those poor departed souls.

So it's not a particularly original idea, but there's a reason it's been done on numerous occasions. It's a totally creepy premise.

Fun fact: the place I stayed during my first year of uni was actually once an asylum.
Not so fun fact: Absolutely zero haunting shenanigans for the entire year I was there. Like, one day I came home from classes and the gas had been left on in the kitchen but I'm pretty sure that was incompetent roomies rather than vengeful spirits.

But I digress.

One of my favourite songs (aptly titled 'Ghost'), includes the lyrics: We're not afraid of what we know, more what we don't. I think that explains why so many people are fascinated (and easily terrified) by ghosts. Departed souls. Spirits. NO ONE KNOWS. It's a lot harder to stand and fight something that may or may not be there. The best horror stories are the ones where you're not entirely sure what the horror is. Not knowing is part of the fear.

I had a few theories in my head reading this, but I was still scratching it by the end. I think that's a lot to do with this being a series: it leads to unanswered questions. I think that's what stopped it from packing a nice hard punch at the end. It kinda tapers out in a weird way and nothing is properly resolved.

I liked the characters, but I wasn't too fond of the coincidences. They felt false to me, like the story was trying to hard to link things. I did really appreciate Jordan as a non-conforming character, but I was also thrown by his lack of characterisation. The book kinda tells you he doesn't fit a standard mold but then doesn't give you much more about him? I suspect his personality will come more into play in the sequel. Abby was okay, I liked her just fine, but she was a bit naive for my liking. Dan ... I mean, forgive me for saying so, but the guy seems like a total nut job. I'm definitely keen to see his insanity progress in the next book. (Wait, what?)

I guess I really liked the premise and this book scores major points for the creepy factor, but the story itself felt a bit weak to me. Like all the gimmicky stuff came first and then the author was like, 'oh, wait, I guess I kinda need a twisted story to go with this ...' I enjoyed it, and it has some great creepy moments and ideas, but the story is a bit ehhhh. Also weird. Rubbish ending.

Hoping the sequel amps up the creepiness and brings a stronger story. I'll definitely be reading it. There's got to be something way more sinister lurking underneath this lil horror story.

*rubs hands together in anticipation*

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Musings

Sometimes I wish I could express things as elegantly as the hundreds of books I read.

Create characters that I can interact with so clearly in my mind, with my heart; see them come to life through my words as they do in my imagination.

To create is a wonderful, liberating experience, but it comes with a heavy burden of responsibility.

To do justice to words; to use them well, and carefully; to do no harm.

Because with the worlds we create within fiction, we create lives that can be inspirational, aspired to, emulated.

There is no way to tell what effect our stories will have on readers. What characters will speak to their secret hearts, and what deeds will come from it. Hopefully we can inspire greatness—courage, heroism, empowerment, love, empathy. But there is never a guarantee, and the greater the readership, the higher the chance of unexpected—and unintended—consequences.

***

Review: Cedar Valley

Cedar Valley by Holly Throsby
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

SWEET JEEZUZ I NEED A MINUTE HERE.

I just ... what?

I'm so confused.

Help.

***

Ok.

So.

This was a fantastic book.

Me and Australian small towns don't really get along. Both in life and in the literary world. I hate the small-town vibe where everyone knows everyone and gossips about everyone else's business. I hate the lack of drive, how everyone is just settled into their dull routines and passes every day the same. I've got a Took spirit, like Bilbo. I want adventure and mountains and hey if there's dragons I'm not gonna complain.

(I should also mention that, if you are from a small town, I realise my opinions of you and your lifestyle are completely unfair, stereotyped and likely untrue. Please forgive me.)

When it comes to Australian books set in small towns, they have to be pretty special. They have to give me something new and different.

You know what this book gave me?

An appreciation for the simplicity of life in a small town.

How the heck did that happen??!

Maybe it had something to do with the way Benny became a part of the town so easily? Maybe it was to do with how comforting she found it, and how naturally she got along with everyone. I'll admit it - I was envious. She made it seem like such a wonderful adventure, to go and live among these people and become one of them.

There are also some brilliant, 'Australia in the 90s' references which I really enjoyed. Who doesn't love a side of nostalgia with their small-town story? But it never went overboard; never overindulged in describing things or included things that didn't need to be included. Everything had its place. It not only held my interest but had me picturing the town so vividly. This book has such a wonderful community vibe and for the duration of reading I really felt like I was a part of it.

There's a really neat parallel between Benny settling in, and the mystery of the man outside Curios. There's so many unanswered questions and curiosities, and this book threw me from page 7. SEVEN. It effectively kept me hooked on the mystery while trying to also figure out the life of Benny's mother, who has recently passed. There's the sense that the two are connected, but there's no possible way to work out how.

Now, allow me to explain my initial comments upon concluding this novel. I won't detail any spoilers, but I'll add the tag in case it gives you too much of an idea of how things may turn out.

(view spoiler)[This is one of those books that expects you to put the pieces together yourself. It means that if you miss clues, or want things tied up in a neat little bow, you may end up as confused as I did. This is not a bad thing. It actually causes quite an interesting sensation, to not have things spelled out at the end. I was left completely mystified by the ending, and I'm still trying to puzzle it out. (hide spoiler)]

There are some interesting, if familiar, characters, and I particularly enjoyed Cora's growth. She seemed so easy to look down on at the start but by the end of the novel I really appreciated who she was. Plus if I had a neighbour that constantly bought me cake I'm pretty sure we'd be BFFs instantly.

This was a true delight to read, and I think fans of Australian fiction will enjoy this small town story that revolves around a mysterious man and a new girl settling in. It's set in 1993 so there's some fun references, and it paints such a beautiful, peaceful portrait of a quaint little life.

Highly recommend.

With thanks to Allen & Unwin for my ARC to read and review.

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Review: Scythe

Scythe by Neal Shusterman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Well this book was pretty great!

There's a plot about two kids unwillingly chosen to be apprentice Scythes - sanctioned murderers - but I was definitely more fascinated by the setting.

This is possibly a first for me: to be so completely fascinated by the setting! Unreal! But I was blown away by the whole idea of a future where humankind has perfected everything, and because of this perfection everything is completely dull.

As a creative person, the notion of having nothing to aspire to, nothing to strive for, nothing to motivate and inspire ... that's a horror story right there. To think that everyone is just average, just going through the motions, just completely underwhelmed by life because there's nothing more to refine ... I can't think of anything more depressing! It just really emphasises the whole ying/yang side of things. No one likes it when evil things happen, and I'm all about treating one another as equals, but it is also utterly fascinating to consider a world completely devoid of conflict of any kind. I think world peace would be a beautiful thing, but there'd have to be something seriously big to fill the gap in society that would be come about from the relinquished time and energy that currently goes into hating other people.

It's such a giant well of possibility and consequences and it makes my mind reel. I really loved that aspect of this story. It made me think pretty deeply about society, and good vs evil, and the constant quest to be better, and to enhance our way of living. There is some deep thinking to be done as a consequence of reading this.

There was a cool story, too!

Citra and Rowan are really neat characters. They're both pretty ballsy in their own ways, and I liked that there wasn't a huge focus on budding romance. This is a pretty serious story with some big ideas, and I appreciated that it wasn't cheapened by insta-love. I hope Citra and Rowan go on to become a pretty badass duo by the end of the series.

All of the scythe rules and customs etc were quite interesting, and I liked that it allowed for a sliver of our own world issues to be present in this horrifying future. Corruption is such a sly little malice. It leaks into the world slowly but surely, and spreads quietly. I enjoyed the tainted evil that was Goddard, who naturally does not see himself as evil, making him all the more formidable. The most terrifying villains are the ones who see themselves as the good guys.

Faraday was a great mentor and I enjoyed his idealism, and Curie was quite an interesting character, whom I definitely suspected of being a bad guy in disguise for a time. I didn't like the cowardly big boss, but the pool incident gave me mixed feelings.

Man, this book just has some epic ideas.

Re: the missing fifth star: I suspect there's some plot holes related to the implications of living in a perfect world, and I would have appreciated some more humour/sass, but I guess it's not exactly a light-hearted kind of book. It also would have been more fun with more characters ... like some rival apprentices or something. More willful teens wreaking havoc, basically. But it's actually pretty well done as it is. Just not fun enough for me to give it 5 stars.

There's a great story here revolving around Citra and Rowan's apprenticeships, but my favourite part of this book was all of the moral questions it raised. This one will definitely have me thinking over it for a while. and I'll be anxious to get my hands on the sequel.

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Review: We Three Heroes

We Three Heroes by Lynette Noni
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Let me delay my gushing over how much I love this series to say, THIS IS SUCH AN IMPORTANT BOOK.

Fantasy stories always have bad things happening to good people. Death, torture, imprisonment ... our heroes all go through some pretty rough times.

What they rarely have is a full appreciation of the aftermath. Our heroes overcome all these things in maybe a page or two of feeling bad then deciding to get on with things. We rarely get the detailed psychological process that would be involved for us mortals in the Real World.

The four previous books in this series are told from Alex's POV, and her three friends play a major role, which means they all experience bad things. The three novellas in this book, told from the viewpoints of DC, Jordan and Bear, explore what it takes to recover from trauma, and just how complicated the process is. I'm sure there will be differing opinions as to how well it was done, but I think the important thing here is that it's actually spoken of.

Fantasy is such an escape, and I'm sure many of us have moments of wishing our life was like that of our heroes. Wanting to explore wonderful places, cast magic spells, meet supernatural (and often super hot) beings. So it is a breath of fresh air to believe that maybe our fantasy heroes experience similar pain and suffering that can be found in our own lives. That it takes work to overcome these things.

So that's my first big thumbs up for this book: thank you for talking about the seriousness of these things.

Now, please, allow me to gush.

I love this series. It's got such a good blend of fantasy setting with real world problems and characters. Alex has always been an endearing hero because she's not all, 'I must save the world and I am the only one who can'. She's sassy AF, loves her friends and is more like, 'aw man, why do I have to be the one to do it?' and 'well then I'm bringing all my friends and you can't stop me'. She appreciates the support she has around her. I love that.

DC, Jordan and Bear have been by her side through the past four books, experiencing a lot of the nasty stuff.

YOU ARE NOW ENTERING THE SPOILER ZONE
The rest of this review may contain spoilers for the previous four books of the series

So the first novella is DC's. I gotta be honest - she has never really been my favourite character. I mean, she was kinda rude in the first book, and then kinda just meh because she's less sassy than everyone else. I liked her, but that was about it.

Crowns and Curses has given me newfound respect for her. It explores why she was such an ice queen when we met her in Akarnae and it actually made my heart hurt a little. Particularly when she met Jordan and Bear for the first time. <3 This novella takes a closer look at bullying, and it is really interesting to see the psychological impact of it. Really enjoyed it.

The second novella, Scars and Silence, is the most powerful, and looks at how Jordan is recovering after (I ALREADY WARNED YOU ABOUT SPOILERS) being Claimed by Aven then released by Alex. He bounces back pretty quick in Graevale so it was really great to read this more detailed account of what was actually going on in his head. There's some interesting stuff regarding his brother, too, and I really appreciated the way it was dealt with so open-mindedly. Plus Jordix for the win! They're so cute together! Bless.

The third story, Hearts and Headstones begins with familiar events from Graevale however we're given Bear's point of view so it's a different take. His story is more about the drama of its last few chapters, but it was still interesting to see the budding friendship between him and Declan. (I'm secretly hoping it doesn't turn into romance though because then everyone is coupled up and I hate it when that happens. I'm totally here for the bromance, though.)

Yeah, this whole book gave me another case of the feels.

Apparently there's stuff in this book that will be important for the next, but nothing felt hugely important to the story progression (except for maybe that lil scene with Marcus). This is more like going back and seeing how the pieces were picked up and put back together, so that we can appreciate the scars and the trauma everyone has overcome and become stronger from.

Devastating lack of Kaiden, though. I miss him.

Summary: Same lovable characters with greater depth, and Alex is barely in it at all so this is firmly a 'Sidekicks' story. It reflects on some serious issues that readers may actually experience themselves so it's quite an important addition to the series to show how these things can be overcome.

Like I wasn't already impatient enough for Vardaesia!

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