Blood and Thunder is book five in The Grimm Chronicles, although it's supposed to be able to be read as a standalone. Since this book starts directly where the Orphanage of Doom ended (and I read this first), I was a bit confused, but I got my bearings pretty quickly
In this book, there's not only fairy-tales, but also Moby-Dick!
Yup Moby Dick. One of the classics I've never read (I really must remedy this soon). But if, like me, you've never read this book, no fear! What appears is what everyone knows (call me Ishmael) and the rest is a creative spin on the characters. Call it a form of fanfiction, if you will. And this link to the book is purposeful, it drives the plot.
Character-wise, I really did like Alice. She was a no-nonsense hero, prone to giving in. In school, she's not the most popular of girls (anymore), but she is a fencer! (As someone who does kendo, anything to do with swords gets my vote!). Sam-the-dwarf makes a minor appearance here (only in the front chapters), and of course, Seth plays a big role.
The only 'problem' with the characters was the lack of backstory. Espcecially for Chase, who, although is introduced in book four, only starts to play a big role in this book. His background is explained sometime in the book, but it is something that I thought should have been communicated earlier. If you haven't read the earlier books, you may be a bit lost.
And compared to the other books, the social dynamics in school are the strongest here. Alice used to be popular (well, she used to date someone popular), but now, she's dangerously close to social outcast status. And conversely, her friend Trish is starting to become popular (and hence more distant). Apart from the cliques, there's also the blatant favoritism. For example, athletes get a free pass, but normal students will get the full weight of the law on them.
Overall, a really interesting book. It's quite short (close to 150 pages) so if you have the time, you should give it a read(:
Disclaimer: I got a free copy of the book from the authors (via Enchanted Book Tours) in exchange for a free and honest review
Great review! I enjoyed reading this book as well, even though Moby Dick isn't my favorite book ever. I did like the references though, it was fun trying to figure them out. I think I'll probably enjoy the earlier installments more though.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I really like the whole series so far, although the earlier installments are definitely more geared towards fairy tales.
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