Patrick Rothfuss has a way with book endorsements…

Mr. Rothfuss has graced the front cover of Stormdancer and the back cover of Libriomancer, two of my favorite recent reads. What I love so much about his quick blurbs is how they’re not your average endorsement. Normally, you get something like “a gripping tale of heroism” or “so and so has taken the fantasy genre to a new level” or whatever, but Mr. Rothfuss’ comments are much more personal.

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Stormdancer: “What’s that? You say you’ve got a Japanese steampunk novel with mythic creatures, civil unrest, and a strong female protagonist? I’m afraid I missed everything you said after ‘Japanese steampunk.’ That’s all I really needed to hear.”

Libriomancer: “I picked up the book meaning to read a few pages. My first thought was, ‘This is a cool concept.’ The second thing I thought was, ‘This is really, really clever.’ The third thing I thought was, ‘I should have gone to sleep three hours ago.”

~

See what I mean? They’re personal with a touch of humor. It feels more like he legitimately enjoyed the novel and wants to convince others to read it, while other book endorsements just seem flat and stale. While I would have bought Stormdancer and Libriomancer regardless of what Patrick Rothfuss thought of them, these brief quotes convinced me to add The Name of the Wind to my short list. The man seems to love the kind of books I love, and seems clever and genuine as well, so how could I not enjoy his work?

If you are somehow lucky enough to be publishing a book, do everything you can to get Patrick Rothfuss to endorse it. Then you’ll be all set!

Stormdancer

Stormdancer

By: Jay Kristoff

www.jaykristoff.com   misterkristoff.wordpress.com

(Japanese Steampunk!)

324 pages

You had me at Japanese Steampunk…

It’s not often that my two favorite things collide in one neat little package like this, so I was determined to love this book no matter what. I was not disappointed. This book is awesome!

Now, I have a hard time reviewing the books I love, because I get all excited, and spew out random things, and become completely incapable of organizing my thoughts. Really, I just want to write I LOVED IT!, and leave it at that, but I’ll do my best to tell you why I loved it.

I love Japan, I love Steampunk, and this book did justice to both. This story is not feudal Japan with a few Steampunk gadgets thrown in. It’s an entirely original Steampunk world based on both modern and historical Japan, with a wonderful sprinkling of Japanese words and concepts throughout. This was fun for me, because I know a little Japanese, but if you don’t, there’s a very thorough glossary at the back…which I didn’t actually notice until I had finished the book. I’m a genius.

On the Steampunk side of things you have a wonderfully corrupt government, nifty technology (airships included), and a broken down world with a serious environmental problem. The blood lotus is brilliant, creating everything from an opium-like drug, to a fuel that pollutes the sky, all while destroying the very land it grows upon. I also liked the idea of this Japanesque country invading and conquering its neighbors on a grand scale, all in the name of growing more lotus.

Throw in an angry arashitora (which is essentially a griffon) and an amazing mythology, with demons and everything, and there’s no way I couldn’t love this book. But what I really loved the most was the arashitora and his relationship with Yukiko, who can communicate with him, a gift that she could be burned at the stake for. I really just loved his personality, and their bond is truly beautiful.

I could gush about its brilliance forever, but I think it’s best if I stop here, before I go recounting the entire tale. Thankfully, there will be sequels, and I can’t wait for them to come out. Kinslayer, the next installment of this trilogy, should be out sometime in September and I’m sure it’ll be just as great. Until next time…

Happy Reading!