Storm without End by R.J. Blain

I'm so glad that I read Storm Without End just before Storm Surge (the sequel) came out. Because by the time the book ends, you'll want to purchase the next one.

Storm Surge starts with Kalen, the Rift King, as he's out of his kingdom. Why? We don't know, but the poor guy is going to undergo a lot of suffering before the book ends. At the same time, his guardians are out there searching for him, because if he dies, the Rift will Ride. Ok, I don't know what that really implies, but it's a cool phrase that's repeated quite a few times.

Kalen, the poor guy with the worst luck in this book, is a young 30 year old Rift king who's been reigning for 15 years. Because of his small size and missing arm, people can underestimate him. Even I underestimated what he could do, although I could see he was smart. But at the end of the book, I found out just how powerful he is, which justified the reasons why the Rift King was so feared.

Apart from Kalen, there are a few other characters, like his father Breton and his - whoops, almost had a spoiler there. Suffice to say, Kalen's familial relations are complicated, even if we don't include his many, many adopted foals (sons/daughters. The Rift seems to love their horse and horse-inspired terms). Anyway, Breton comes across to me as a really sweet guy, although as a Guardian, I'm pretty sure I'd be scared of him if I met him.

As for the Rift, well, I haven't really figured out what it was. I know slightly more about this world at the end of the book than at the start, but I can't say I know everything. I know, for instance, how Kalen becomes the Rift King (and how Rift Kings are made), but the reason why the Rift King is so important, I still don't know.

This book basically builds up for the next book. This world that R.J. has built is very unfamiliar to me, so the time spent on getting to know it should pay off in the later books. At least, given the promising cast of characters so far, I hope it does.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for a free and honest review.

The Dragon Tutor by Mar Mai

I came across this book thanks to Google+. And after reading this book, the first thing I wanted to do was the buy a Kindle gift-card and get the sequel! (Then I will probably spend the rest on books by my friends on Google+^^)

The Dragon Tutor is the first in what looks to be a really interesting comic series. It has Dragons, an adorable little prince, a ditzy little princess and... tragedy. Yes, tragedy strikes really early in the book. Zephyr, the dragon tutor of the book, is the tutor to Prince Quiver, this really adorable little Prince. The Prince is the son of two rather, shall we say ditzy parents, who try to betroth him to Princess Calista (who's surprisingly like him in temperament). Unfortunately, tragedy strikes (I'm not tell you what), and Prince Quiver is missing, presumed dead. A few years later, Zephyr is called to be a Dragon Tutor again, this time to Princess Calista.

What did I like about this comic? Everything! It had adorable characters, a range of settings and a hint of something darker. It's not all puppies and flowers, and there's a small hint of a conspiracy, of things about to get worse. That's really what's made me into a fan - it feels rounded and not too saccharine sweet.

I'm so glad that I got the chance to read this book! If you're looking for a fantasy comic that can be enjoyed by people of all-ages, you have to pick this up.

Should I Buy A Kindle Paperwhite?

Hi friends, today's post isn't a book review. It's basically an opinion poll on if you think I should buy a Kindle Paperwhite.

You see, Amazon has just started selling the Kindle Paperwhite in Japan, and yay for me, I've been living in Tokyo since April. So, I'm trying to decide whether to pre-order the kindle. At about 8500 yen for the wifi only version and 13000 yen for the wifi plus 3G version, it's (the wifi only anyway), cheap compared to the about 10000yen Rakuten Kobo.

I already on an iPad where I do a lot of reading, and I really like to listen to music and read.

But I really would like to read more Japanese books (and I hear that they have quite a few copy-right expired books). But I also hear that some kindle books cost more than their American versions.

So, what do you think? Should I get myself the Kindle for a Christmas present? If I should, which model should I get? You can find more details about the Kindle Paperwhite here (if the link appears in Japanese, there should be a button on the top right which will bring you to the English page).

I'm also putting in a poll at the right, so if you don't want to leave a comment, you can always vote on the poll. ^_^