Demon King of Karanda

David Eddings' book number four of the Malloreon series, Demon Lord of Karanda. 

"Zandramas had stolen King Garion's infant son and fled to use the child in some ritual that would make the Dark Destiny supreme. Garion and his friends had followed, but now they were captives of Zakath, Emperor of Mallorea, who, while friendly, stubbornly refused to let them leave.

Meanwhile, a horde of demons was ravaging the cities through which they must travel. Zandramas was escaping further toward her goal. And the Seeress of Kell revealed that they must be at the anient palace of Ashaba within a matter of days or Zandramas would win by default. Then a horrible, fatal plague struck the city of Mal Zeth. closing it against all traffic in or out."

General Thoughts: I was originally going to give this one a much lower ranking, but then I remembered the Emperor and the time they spent in the Mallorean Empire and the development that happened there, and I had to give it a higher ranking. I don't do demons. I don't like them and it put a sour taste in my mouth toward the end of the book, but there were other parts of the book that could hold up the rest. 

<<Spoilers>>

Plot: Because we spent more time in particular areas, I think I was able to enjoy it more than others. Instead of we are traveling all over tar-nation for plot points to happen, we were able to be captured by the Empire and spend time with the Emperor in his city. Plague breaks out and we must find ways of escaping quarantine (it seems realistic after 2020), while still finding out what is going on in the country at the same time worrying about where Geran is with Zandramas. It was an engaging plot. I didn't particularly like the fact that demons were rampaging over the countryside and what Polgara had to do. It definitely left a nasty taste in the mouth. It was more disturbing than where Garion drops in on the Demon Lord. I do also find it kind of annoying that so much of the previous books are mirrored in this one. That fact is actually pointed out by Garion himself. It's as though David Eddings didn't want to come up with a new plot at all, which is saddening. 

Setting: We were able to get a better impression of what was in the world around us in this one than I think we did in others. It still has much to be desired in my opinion, but it's alright. 

Characters: The Emperor and how the Company "dealt" with him and the circumstances around him was good for development of side characters not actually in the Company. I wish there was more to the Company development wise then there seems to be. Ce'Nedra has gone into a depression that isn't talked about. Garion goes on rampages that isn't talked about. Belgarath and Polgara for "knowing everything" really suck at dealing with people and they don't develop at all over either series. They almost seem emotionless. Durnik does have to deal with the fact that a friend betrayed them, which is good for development and it is probably the most talked about. However, even that is lacking and then over quickly. 

Spice: 2/5 Spicy Chilis. I think there is mention of Ce'Nedra and Garion going to bed together or going into the baths together, but those curtains are quickly closed with hardly any flirtation happening. Between other characters there is a little, but not much. I don't know if David or Leigh Eddings know how to write romance, steamy or in simply just passing. There is hardly any of it in either series as I recall. 

Writing Style: I would want more of a focus on Characters instead of simply traveling, which we get probably too much of here. These books are almost like a travel guide through the kingdoms with the story being a secondary plot. It is also a rather dry book at times where there is little anticipation or even care at times for the characters and what they are going through. I have to imagine on my own what it would be like for Ce'Nedra to have had this baby kidnapped, because I'm not given it here. I don't think I've ever had any inclination to cry over a single person in the Belgariad or Malloreon, except on poor little singing boy in a war. But one side character out of eight books so far... that is a lot of not caring about the characters. 

Overall: If I reread this one, I'd probably skip parts. I don't do that often in books, but there are some moments that are just bland or demons happen. The time in the Imperial City was pretty good, but it has been found wanting. 

One For Sorrow

One For Sorrow: A Ghost Story takes place in 1917 and 1918 just as the influenza epidemic became
rampant across the USA. It is a children's story focusing around a new girl, Annie, who just moved into a new house and started at a new school. Nervous about making friends and slightly standoffish at the beginning, Annie gets picked up by the strange girl in the class. Elsie is weird. Larger than most girls in class, with an odd family, sweaty hands, and a knack for tattling on the other girls, Elsie is not hated by most of the class. Annie soon realizes why most of the other girls don't like Elsie, and she agrees with them. After inviting herself into Annie's house, she breaks her toys, calls herself Annie's best friend, and intrudes on everything Annie holds precious.

After a week or so of torture forcefully being Elsie's friend, Elsie is gone from school for a week and Annie is given the chance to show the girls that she is normal and doesn't like being "friends" with Elsie at all. Elsie comes back and feels betrayed that her only friend has sided with her enemies.

Influenza travels across the sea and starts killing people by the hundreds. Annie's new town is no acception. The girls see this as an opportunity though. The many funerals have refreshments and candies that just can't be ignored. So they sneak in, pretending to know the deceased and partake of the tasty treats. Over and over they do this until, after a particular night teasing Elsie, they find that Elsie herself has died of the Flu. Then after a sledding accident and bumping into Elsie's grave, Annie starts seeing Elsie everywhere. Elsie forces her to do nasty things. When will this stop?

I needed to step away from fantasy for a moment and I found 1918 and ghosts. It was an okay diversion. Not the best but for a children's book it was alright. The story toward the beginning gave me chills which was cool and I wanted to see how Annie would get rid of the ghost so I read it all. The setting and scenery was lacking for most of it, the reasoning as to why Elsie was fading was unclear, her meeting and being friends with someone who actually knew what to do seemed like a "because: plot" reason.

I do believe that the characters, though, were true to real people. I know just how terrible girls can be when you are different. I know how getting picked on can feel. It had a good moral to the story of "be nice to those around you otherwise it can come back to haunt you" as well as try to be understanding to those around you, we are all going through something.

This would be a book that I'd give a 5th or 6th grade girl. Good book for the appropriate audience.

The Kingdom of Little Wounds

I was sorely disappointed in this book.

The writing was beautiful. The idea was very interesting and new--a fairy tale about syphilis in Scandinavia, how fresh. The cover is gorgeous. And the copy of the book I got my hands on had red all along the sides making the book stand out beautifully against the other books on the library shelf.

HOWEVER! it was extremely graphic. Both in the sickness and sores that constitute syphilis and in intimate encounters. Describing bodily functions and whatever else have you. It was "gross," as one reader on the Goodreads mentioned, and grotesque.

I only read about sixty or so pages before I became hesitant and went to encounter the comments on Goodreads to know if I should continue reading. Many people gave it five stars for it's beautiful use of language but the rest of the people who gave it lower remarks called it that because of the skanky and perverse scenes.

Originally I found it in the young adult section of my library and, because I work there, was quickly able to suggest to the cataloger to change it to adult. I think this is part of the "New Young Adult" section that is popping up in libraries/book stores, but I don't think that this should be in the YA section of libraries. I would not recommend this to anyone, adult or YA, because although the language is beautiful it is still so very skanky.

If Susann Cokal but I don't think I'll read anything else by you.