Protector of the Small Quartet by Tamora Pierce

Quartet Title: Protector of the Small

Author: Tamora Pierce (American, 1954- )
Originally published: 1999-2002

Page count: 751+ total (still counting)

Dates read: 2/19/25-present

2024 book goal progress: 2, 3, 4, 5 out of 25

Read my other book reviews for my 2025 goals HERE.

Read my other Tamora Pierce book reviews HERE.

1. First Test (1999) - 228 pages

Description:

In the medieval and fantastic realm of Tortall, ten years after knighthood training was opened to both males and females, no girl has been brave enough to try. Keladry of Mindelan is the first girl to take advantage of the decree. Up against the traditional hazing of pages and a grueling schedule, Kel faces one roadblock that seems insurmountable: Lord Wyldon, the training master of pages and squires. He is absolutely against girls becoming knights. So while he is forced to train her, Wyldon puts her on probation for one year. It is a trial period that no male page has ever had to endure and one that separates the good-natured Kel even more from her fellow trainees during the tough first year. But Kel Is not a girl to underestimate, as everyone is about to find out.

First sentence:
"Alanna the Lioness, the King's Champion, could hardly contain her glee."

Favorite quote:
"Gods of fire and ice, bless my new home. Keep my will burning as hot as the heart of a volcano, and as hard and implacable as a glacier."

CAWPILE Rating: Overall - 7/10 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Characters      - 8
Atmosphere   - 8
Writing Style - 7
Plot                - 7
Intrigue          - 6
Logic             - 6
Enjoyment     - 7
What is a CAWPILE Rating?

Mini-Review:

This was a breath of fresh air after getting through the chore of my previous book. As a children's/young adult book, the language was simple and much of the story was predictable. Right now, I appreciate those things because they help me relax. One of my biggest complaints of the previous series by Tamora Pierce, was that the student started a romantic relationship with her teacher, who was about 15 years older than her. This book called that out and a character expressly said, "He's way too old for her." Overall, I enjoyed the familiar tropes of a female becoming a knight and I look forward to the rest of this quartet.

2. Page (2000) - 243 pages

Description:

As the only female page in history to pass the first year of training to become a knight, Keladry of Mindelan is a force to be reckoned with. But even with her loyal circle of friends at her side, Kel’s battle to prove herself isn’t over yet. She is still trying to master her paralyzing fear of heights and keep up with Lord Wyldon’s grueling training schedule. When a group of pages is trapped by bandits, the boys depend on Kel to lead them to safety. The kingdom’s nobles are beginning to wonder if she can succeed far beyond what they imagined. And those who hate the idea of a female knight are getting desperate—they will do anything to thwart her progress.

First paragraph:

"Fall that year was warm. Heat lay in a blanket over the basin of the River Olorun, where the capital of Tortall covered the banks. No breath of air stirred the pennants and flags on their poles. The river itself was a band of glass, without a breeze anywhere to ruffle its shining surface. Traffic in the city moved as if the air were thick honey. No one with sense cared to rush."

CAWPILE Rating: Overall - 6.6/10 - ⭐⭐⭐/5
Characters      - 8
Atmosphere   - 8
Writing Style - 7
Plot                - 5
Intrigue          - 6
Logic             - 5
Enjoyment     - 7
What is a CAWPILE Rating?

Mini-Review:

This book spans the 3 years she has left as a page and time moves quickly. The story felt like a filler that had to be done to get to the next book. Both the previous book and this one made a big deal about the exam of the pages at the end of their fourth year, but we don't ever see her do the test - it's just glossed over. The climax at the end had potential, but the build-up wasn't done well, so overall it felt pretty anticlimactic to me. Also, it's implied that Daine and Numair are still together and will stay that way despite the age difference - it's just something that bothers me.

3. Squire (2001) - 280 pages

Description:

Keladry of Mindelan has completed her four years as a page. Now at the age of fourteen and standing five foot ten, she is a squire - the second phase of training for knighthood in the land of Tortall. A squire serves and learns from a seasoned knight, then faces a final test. 

That final test is the Ordeal, which takes place in a magical room called the Chamber. There, a squire encounters parts of him- or herself that the chamber deems to be the most difficult to face - fears, failings, or unrepented wicked deeds. The Ordeal is an experience in which some would-be knights have lost their minds or their lives.

First sentence:
"Despite the overflow of humanity present for the congress at the royal palace, the hall where Keladry of Mindelan walked was deserted."

Favorite quotes:

"There was a saying: 'You need never unsay anything that you did not say in the first place.' "

"Seeing herself in the mirror, Kel thought she'd made herself into the girl she would've been had she not tried for her shield. The feeling was odd, more good than bad. Maybe I'm the same whatever I wear, she thought. It's just easier to fight in breeches."

"So long as there are nobles and commoners, the wealthy and the poor, those with power will be heard, and those without ignored. That's the world... The world is imperfect, but you do more than your share to set things right. Next time, report the wrongdoing. Even if nothing is done because the one reported is too powerful, a record will be made. When he does it again, the record will show he won't stop."

"When in doubt, Kel had been taught, shoot the wizard."

CAWPILE Rating: Overall - 7.1/10 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Characters      - 8
Atmosphere   - 8
Writing Style - 7
Plot                - 7
Intrigue          - 8
Logic             - 5
Enjoyment     - 7
What is a CAWPILE Rating?

Mini-Review:

So far, this is my favorite book in the quartet! I did really like it, though there were some logical things that had me scratching my head. I love how this series is pulling in multiple characters from the previous 2 quartets set in Tortall. One thing I didn't like was that this was was a bit more graphic regarding gory fighting and had multiple swears. I much prefer the gore glossed over and creative insults rather than outright swearing - which the book has as well. It just feels more fitting for what is clearly a children's chapter book, even though she's 17 by the end of it.

What bother's my OCD is that the first book spanned 1 year, the second book 3 years, and the third 4 years - I'm not sure how much time the next book spans yet. In this book, a little more than half of it is her first year as a squire (10/20), the second year is a little under a third (6/20), the third is 1/20, and the last year, which isn't even a full year, is about a fifth of the book (4/20). It irks me that some years are given so much more attention than others. I'd much prefer if each year was a single book, or each book was 2 years - but it stayed consistent for the entire series. I want more details - it feels like so much is skipped over in the 'shorter' years.

4. Lady Knight (2002) - TBD

Description:

First sentence:

Favorite quotes:

CAWPILE Rating: Overall - X/10 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Characters      - 
Atmosphere   - 
Writing Style - 
Plot                - 
Intrigue          - 
Logic             - 
Enjoyment     - 
What is a CAWPILE Rating?

0-3 = very poor
4-6 = mediocre
7-9 = really good
10 = outstanding

1.1-2.2 / 2.3-4.5 / 4.6-6.9 / 7-8.9 / 9-10

Mini-Review:

Overall Review:

TBD

Embroidery update:

Now I'm off to read another book... but since a review should be more about the author of the book than about the writer of the blog, I will let Tamora Pierce have the last words:

" 'I got tired of thinking and worrying myself sick. I knew what had to be done, and I did it.' She signed happily. 'I love it when that happens.' "

-First Test

This is between Kel and her mother, Ilane, having a 'birds and the bees' talk:

" 'Noble families are so determined to keep their bloodlines pure that they insist their daughters remain virgins before marriage, poor things. You don't see that nonsense in the middle and lower classes. They know a woman's body belongs to herself and the Goddess, and that's the end of it.'

Kel was trying to remember if she'd ever heard the matter put in quite this fashion. She hadn't.

Ilane continued, 'I've often thought the nobility's handling of sex and marriage in their girls is the same as that of horse breeders who try to keep their mares from being mounted by the wrong stallions... You can't say this to noblemen, of course. The good ones are too romantic to like it, and the bad ones don't care.' "

-Squire

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

Title: The Lost Symbol

Author: Dan Brown (American, 1964- )
Originally published: 2009

Page count: 654

Dates read: 1/12/25-2/19/25

2024 book goal progress: 1 out of 25

Read my other book reviews for my 2025 goals HERE.



Description on back of book:
When Langdon's mentor, Peter Solomon - a prominent mason and philanthropist - is kidnapped, Langdon realizes his only hope of saving his friend's life is to accept the mysterious invitation into an ancient world of hidden wisdom.

First sentence:
"The Otis elevator climbing the south pillar of the Eiffel Tower was overflowing with tourists."

Favorite quotes:
"The word occult, despite conjuring images of devil worship, actually means 'hidden' or 'obscured.' In times of religious oppression, knowledge that was counter-doctrinal had to be kept hidden or 'occult,' and because the church felt threatened by this, they redefined anything 'occult' as evil, and the prejudice survived."

"The difference between Masonic spirituality and organized religion is that the Masons do not impose a specific definition or name on a higher power. Rather than definitive theological identities like God, Allah, Buddha, or Jesus, the Masons use more general terms like Supreme Being or Great Architect of the Universe. This enables Masons of different faiths to gather together... In this age when different cultures are killing each other over whose definition of God is better, one could say the Masonic tradition of tolerance and open-mindedness is commendable."

"Masons meditating with skulls and scythes are no more unnerving than Christians praying at the feet of a man nailed to a cross, or Hindus chanting in front of a four-armed elephant named Ganesh. Misunderstanding a culture's symbols is a common root of prejudice."

"Our forefathers were deeply religious men, but they were Deists - men who believed in God, but in a universal and open-minded way. The only religious ideal they put forth was religious freedom... America's forefathers had a vision of a spiritually enlightened utopia, in which freedom of thought, education of the masses, and scientific advancement would replace the darkness of outdated religious superstition."

CAWPILE Rating: Overall - 4.9/10 - ⭐⭐⭐/5
Characters      - 5
Atmosphere   - 6
Writing Style - 3
Plot                - 6
Intrigue          - 5
Logic             - 3
Enjoyment     - 6
What is a CAWPILE Rating?

Review:

This book was pretty meh, especially compared to the first two books of the series - Angels and Demons, and The Da Vinci Code. The first two books had crucial, controversial critiques of Christianity, which I greatly appreciated. In this story, despite Masons accepting all religions, the book celebrates the Bible. I had hoped we would find a library of pre-edited and lost sacred texts from around the world, but the ending was very disappointing. I also guessed the biggest plot twist in the book from very early on.

Dan Brown needs to stop with his unnecessary cliffhangers. It makes the books unreasonably long and instead of driving the book forward, it just becomes annoying. He also left out critical information as part of cliffhangers, which left me as the reader not as invested in the story as I would've been if I had just been given the information from the beginning. This book should have been half its length - a lot of it just could've been removed.

Overall, it was OK and I still appreciated some of the philosophical points made at the end. Nonetheless, the tone was very different than the previous two books and it feels like it doesn't quite fit into the series. It almost seems like Dan Brown got too much backlash from Christians, so he had to write a more Christian-friendly book - though it may not appear so due to the quotes I've chosen.

Embroidery update:

It'll look better (I hope) when more books are read and the star has more spokes around it.

Now I'm off to read another book... but since a review should be more about the author of the book than about the writer of the blog, I will let Dan Brown have the last words:

"From the Crusades, to the Inquisition, to American politics - the name Jesus has been hijacked as an ally in all kinds of power struggles. Since the beginning of time, the ignorant have always screamed the loudest, herding the unsuspecting masses and forcing them to do their bidding. They defended their worldly desires by citing Scripture they did not understand. They celebrated their intolerance as proof of their convictions. Now, after all these years, mankind has finally managed to utterly erode everything that had once been beautiful about Jesus."

"You and I both know that the ancients would be horrified if they saw how their teachings have been perverted, how religion has established itself as a tollbooth to heaven, how warriors march into battle believing God favors their cause. We've lost the Word, and yet its true meaning is still within reach, right before our eyes. It exists in all the enduring texts from the Bible to Bhagavad Gita to the Koran and beyond. All of these texts are revered upon the altars of Freemasonry because Masons understand what the world seems to have forgotten - that each of these texts, in its own way, is quietly whispering the exact same message. 'Know ye not that ye are gods?' "

2025 Reading Goals

My goal is to read 20-25 books in 2025!

I don't have any book clubs or challenges I'm partaking in this year. I want to crack down on my TBR shelf. This will probably be a series year - finishing and starting!

I'm thinking of possibly doing a craft like in crocheted snake above, but would want to translate it to embroidery in some way. I also like the idea of showing the length of the book as well. Maybe instead of genre, I'll have each series be a color - since most will likely be fantasy in some way. A peppermint swirl-type pattern might work for embroidery. The tricky thing is that embroidery is a finite space, unlike crochet.

Update 2/7/25 - I've decided on a star pattern! It initially will have 20 spokes - 1 for each book, but more can be added between the first ones. I will update you with pictures at the bottom of this blog post.

I'll edit this page throughout the year and link my reviews to the titles as I complete them.

Without further ado - here's my list of possible books to read!

SERIES TO FINISH:

Note: I'm taking a pause from the Valdemar Universe by Mercedes Lackey (American, 1950- ) in order to finish Tamora Pierce's Tortall Universe and to allow Lackey some time to publish more books in the most recent series in her universe.

TORTALL UNIVERSE by Tamora Pierce (American, 1954- ) - extensive series

orange

Protector of the Small Quartet:

     -First Test (1999) - TBR

     -Page (2000) - TBR

     -Squire (2001) - TBR

     -Lady Knight (2002) - TBR

(Bone's Day Out (2014) - Short Story in Protector of the Small Omnibus, library?)

Tricksters:

     -Trickster's Choice (2003) - TBR

     -Trickster's Queen (2004) - TBR

The Bekah Cooper Trilogy:
     -Terrier (2006) - TBR
     -Bloodhound (2009) - TBR
     -Mastiff (2011) - TBR

Extra Stand-Alones:
     -Tortall and Other Lands (2010) - Short Story collection - TBR
     -A Spy's Guide to Tortall: From the Desk of George Cooper (2017) - library?

Note: I don't plan to read the Numair Chronicles since it only has 1 book that hasn't been added to since 2018 and I'm personally not a fan of Numair as a character.

FABLES COMICS by Bill Willingham (American, 1956- ) - extensive series

light blue

     -105 comics (2012-2015, 2017, 2021, 2024) - TBR

     -Fairest in All the Land (2013) - graphic novel, TBR

     -Fables #150: Farewell (2015) - graphic novel, TBR

ROBERT LANGDON by Dan Brown (American, 1964- ) - 5 books

gold

     -The Lost Symbol (2009) - TBR

     -Inferno (2013) - TBR

     -Origin (2017) - TBR

AMERICAN GODS by Neil Gaiman (English, 1960- ) - 2 books, 2 novellas

coral/red

     -The Monarch of the Glen (2006) - novella, library?

     -Black Dog (2016) - novella, library?

     -Anansi Boys (2005) - TBR

SERIES TO TEST / START:

KATE DANIELS by Ilona Andrews - 10+ books

*Pseudonym for husand and wife team of Ilona Gordon (Russian, 1976- ) and

Andrew Gordon (American, 1970- )

purple

     -Magic Bites (2007) - TBR

     -Magic Burns (2008) - TBR

A COURT OF THORNES AND ROSES by Sara Maas (American, 1986- ) - 5 books

yellow

     -A Court of Thornes and Roses (2015) - TBR

     -A Court of Mist and Fury (2016) - TBR

GRACELING REALM by Kristin Cashore (American, 1976- ) - 5 books

*I only own the first 3 books and those will be rereads.

pink

     -Graceling (2008) - TBR

     -Fire (2009) - TBR

ONE-OFF BOOKS:

dark blue

     -The Christmas Box (1993) by Richard Paul Evans (American, 1962- ) - TBR

     -Twelve Classic Stories of Christmas (2020) by multiple authors - TBR

     -The Carpet People (1971) by Terry Pratchett (English, 1948-2015) - TBR

     -A Treasury of Dragon Stories (1997) by multiple authors - TBR

     -The Poppy War (2018) by RF Kuang (Chinese-American, 1996- ) - TBR

          *Technically series but I only own the 1st book out of 4

CONCLUSION

I'm not going to get to all of them, but I like to have options - limited options because otherwise there's decision paralysis. Let me know if you have read any of them before and what you think of them! If you have any books you plan to read this year, let me know that too!

Now I'm off to go read.

BOOK TRACKER EMBROIDERY

I will use a star pattern to track my books, similar to a temperature blanket. Each spoke of the star represents a single book and each author/series will be assigned a color. From the center of the star moving outward, the length of each spoke will be measured in mm, and 1mm equals 10 pages. So, it will be a colorful star with different-length spokes.

Update 3/3/25 - I have 2 updates for you today. The first is that the fabric I'm using is a loose weave, so the edges fray a lot. I first tried painter's tape, but it fell off. I looked into fabric tape but it's all double sided, so that wouldn't help. I researched other ways to prevent fraying and decided to try duct tape, but that didn't stick either. After additional research, I took a scarp of the same fabric and tried burning the edges - that worked so I did it on my piece. It's not straight edges anymore, which bothers me, but it's not fraying anymore!

The second update is that I intentionally kept this design extremely simple. To try to give it a little flare, I was putting a French knot at the end of the star spokes (you should be able to see it in the first 2 pics), but that was making the spokes not as tight on the fabric as I liked. I decided to go back and redo the few that were already done and just did a basic lazy daisy stitch instead. I also decided to measure the page count from the end of the white spokes instead of from the center of the circle, so the spokes are a little longer now.

Tortall Series by Tamora Pierce - orange

Fables Comics by Bill Willingham - light blue

Robert Landon Series by Dan Brown - gold

American Gods Series by Neil Gaiman - coral/red

Kate Daniels Series by Ilona Andrews - purple

Court Series by Sara Maas - yellow

Graceling Series by Kristin Cashore - pink

One-Off Books - dark blue

2024 Reading Wrap-Up

I had a goal of reading 20-24 books this year and I read 24! Yay!

Below you will find the books I read in order of my ranking of them:

1 and 2. Fables Comic Series by Bill Willingham (American, 1956- )

     -90 comics and 1 short prose story (2009-2014)

     -The Wolf Among Us (2014) - video game

     -Werewolves of the Heartland (2012) - graphic novel

I have no ranking on this one due to the series being too long. Nonetheless, this is an incredible series that retells the stories of fairy tale characters. It is a long series with multiple spin-offs... and there are a LOT of characters. Part of what I love is learning about characters I'm familiar with from my childhood, and another favorite part is learning about other fairy tales from around the world that I'm not familiar with. I also like how, though it's mostly comics, the series is very much mixed-medium. I'm hoping to finish this series over the summer of 2025!

Here's a quote from Bufkin the Flying Monkey, Baba Yaga, a djinn, and the Magic Mirror:

3. American Gods (2001) by Niel Gaiman (English, 1960- )

8.6/10 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

This is actually a bit similar to Fables, except instead of retelling fairy tale character stories and saying where they are now. We get where the Old Gods (such as Odin) are now and who the New Gods are (such as Technology). The story is good and I plan to read the other book in the series and possibly the two novellas.

"There's never been a true war that wasn't fought between two sets of people who were certain they were in the right. The really dangerous people believe that they are doing whatever they are doing solely and only because it is without question the right thing to do. And that is what makes them dangerous."

Bonus (just because I love the imagery and how poetical this feels):

"The house smelled musty and damp, and a little sweet, as if it were haunted by the ghosts of long-dead cookies."

4 and 5. Angels and Demons (2000) and Da Vinci Code (2003) 

by Dan Brown (American, 1964- )

8.3/10 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

I love the puzzles and insights enclosed within these books. They're controversial and very thought-provoking. I enjoyed these a lot and plan to read more of the 7-book series next year.

"Very little in any organized faith is original. Religions are not born from scratch. They grow from one another. Modern religion is a collage... an assimilated historical record of man's quest to understand the divine." -Angels and Demons

"History is always written by the winners. When two cultures clash, the loser is obliterated, and the winner writes the history books - books which glorify their own cause and disparage the conquered foe. As Napolean once said, 'What is history but a fable agreed upon?' By its very nature, history is always a one-sided account." -Da Vinci Code

6. The Narrow Road Between Desires (2023) by Patrick Rothfuss (American, 1973- )

8/10 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

This is a part of the Kingkiller Chronicle series and is actually an expansion of a novella (The Lightning Tree) that I read last year. You really only need to read one of the two, so I would recommend this one due to it having more details. It tells the tale of what a day in the life of Bast looks like. 

"Bast laughed again. He knew he shouldn't, but there were times when it was either laugh or break wide open because he was too full. It would have been like holding back a sneeze. Sometimes the world was so perfectly revealed to be a joke, a picture, and a puzzle all at once. Laughter was the true applause you offered to the world for being beautiful."

7, 8, 9. The Mage Storms Trilogy by Mercedes Lackey (American, 1950- )

     -Storm Warning (1994) - TBR
     -Storm Rising (1995) - TBR
     -Storm Breaking (1996) - TBR

7.9/10 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

This trilogy is part of Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar Universe. I love this fictional universe, but I will likely take a break from it next year to finish up another deep-dive series and allow some of her new book/s in the series to be published.

"It is a man's deeds that define him. A good deed done in the name of the Dark is still done for the Light, but an evil one done in the name of the Light is still quite evil, and a soul could be condemned to Darkness for it. I have always felt that, before I passed judgment on any man because of the god he swore by, I would see how he comported himself with his fellows - what he did and how he treated them. If he acted with honor and compassion, the Name he called upon was irrelevant." -Storm Warning

"I want to make my own decisions, and if they're all the wrong ones, then I'll learn from them. I want to be an adult, not a child. I don't want to be led along the safe path! The safe path is never new, and the safe path never teaches you anything others don't already know!" 

-Storm Rising

"Please remember that religions are made up of people, most of whom have very little control over what their priests decree is doctrine. Keep in mind that given that the priests and the people have free will and the means to exercise it, gods may not always be able to control their priests either. So what the priests say, and the people believe, is not always the whole truth. Any God is far more than His people make Him. It is the responsibility of the priest to lead them to that understanding, so that they do not attempt to limit Him to what they know." 

-Storm Breaking

10. Greymist Fair (2023) by Francesca Zappia (American, 1993- )

7/10 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

This is a fairy-tale-esque story that was more teen/young-adult than adult. I was expecting it to be more gritty and for adults, but it was still good overall. Through personification, there's an approachable understanding of the concept of Death for teens, which was neat for me to see.

"Death comes for us all, eventually. Forgetting your fear of it can help for a time, and you can live, but Death is not evil. We will all go with Death one day. We don't have to fear them until then, but we also shouldn't ignore them. Death exists just as we do."

11, 12, 13. Father Brown Collections by GK Chesterton (English, 1874-1936)

    -The Donnington Affair and Father Brown's Solution (1914) - shorter

    -The Incredulity of Father Brown (1926)

    -The Secret of Father Brown (1927)

    -The Scandal of Father Brown (1935)

6.9/10 - ⭐⭐⭐/5

These are collections of short mystery stories based on the detective Father Brown. It's a good occasional read if you're looking for something quick to read.

"You must remember that in a murder case the guiltiest person is not always the murderer."

-The Donnington Affair, Father Brown's Solution

"Beware of the man you forget, he is the one man who has you entirely at a disadvantage. Beware of the woman you forget, and even more so. A lot of men, especially men like you and your employer, could go on saying for days that something ought to be done, or might as well be done. But if you convey to a woman that something ought to be done, there is always the dreadful danger that she will suddenly do it."

-The Secret of Father Brown, The Song of the Flying Fish

14. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2005) by Stieg Larsson (Swedish, 1954-2004)

6.6/10 - ⭐⭐⭐/5

This book sucked me right in with its mystery - it's very intriguing and draws readers in. Unfortunately, it's way too violent, gory, and sickening for me. I will not be continuing the series and have no interest in watching the movie.

"Friendship - my definition - is built on two things. Respect and trust. Both elements have to be there. And it has to be mutual. You can have respect for someone, but if you don't have trust, the friendship will crumble."

15, 16, 17, 18. The Immortals Quartet by Tamora Pierce (American, 1954- )

     -Wild Magic (1992)
     -Wolf-Speaker (1994)
     -Emperor Mage (1995)
     -The Realms of the Gods (1996)

5.9/10 - ⭐⭐⭐/5

I enjoyed the Tortall Universe when I was a kid, but, unfortunately, I'm not enjoying them as much as an adult. Nonetheless, I hope to finish off the books in this universe next year.

"Evil people say evil things to make good people cry and doubt. Don't let them get that hold on you." -Wild Magic

19. The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store (2023) by James McBride (African-American, 1957- )

5.7/10 - ⭐⭐⭐/5

This was an OK story to, but not what I normally read - fantasy. I know many people have really liked this one and it deals with many issues such as racism, ableism, sexism, religious discrimination, and classism. What McBride tried to do was admirable, but I don't think he quite pulled it off.

"She spent hours reading about socialists and unions and progressives and politics and corporations, fighting about a meaningless flag that said 'I'm proud to be American,' when it should have said, 'I'm happy to be alive,' and what the difference was, and how one's tribe cannot be better than another tribe because they were all one tribe."

20, 21, 22, 23. Song of the Lioness Quartet by Tamora Pierce (American, 1954- )

     -Alanna: The First Adventure (1983)
     -In the Hand of the Goddess (1984)
     -The Woman Who Rides Like a Man (1986)
     -Lioness Rampant (1988)

4.9/10 - ⭐⭐⭐/5

I enjoyed the Tortall Universe when I was a kid, but, unfortunately, I'm not enjoying them as much as an adult. Nonetheless, I hope to finish off the books in this universe next year.

"You're brave to admit you don't know everything and then do something about it." 

-The Woman Who Rides Like a Man

24. I Saw Three Ships (1969) by Elizabeth Goudge (English, 1900-1984)

4.4/10 - ⭐⭐/5

This is a very short Christmas story. If it was twice as long so the characters could've been fleshed out more, it would've been a really good story. As it is, it leaves much to be desired.

"Her spirits, which had been high, fell a little as a sense of time touched her. How slowly it crawled and yet how fast it flew. She had been young and now she was old and the years between had vanished as though they had never been."

Other books I read, or started and decided to not finish:

-Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale (2010) by Joss Whedon and Zack Whedon - comic, finished

-You Were Born for This (2020) by Chani Nicholas - astrology, finished

-The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge (2001) by Mark Brown / Charles Dickens - play, finished

     (I played Mrs. Cratchit!)

-Idylls of the King (1859) by Lord Alfred Tennyson - King Arthur, didn't finish

What was your favorite book you read this year?

I saw Three Ships by Elizabeth Goudge

Title: I Saw Three Ships

Author: Elizabeth Goudge (English, 1900-1984)
Originally published: 1969

Page count: 53 pages (with pictures throughout)

Dates read: 12/6/24-12/9/24

2024 book goal progress: 24 out of 24

Read my other book reviews for my 2024 goals HERE.




Description on back of book:
The morning star still shone, and when Polly opened the window the air was crisp and cool. As she leaned out, breathing in its freshness, all the cocks began to crow. And then her lips parted and the tingling blood sent a warm flow of warm flow of warmth to her fingertips. She leaned out farther, her eyes wide, for three ships were sailing towards the harbor. One had a red sail and one had a brown sail, and one had a sail like the wing of a swan.

First sentence:
" 'But we always did it at home,' said Polly."

Favorite quotes:
"Her spirits, which had been high, fell a little as a sense of time touched her. How slowly it crawled and yet how fast it flew. She had been young and now she was old and the years between had vanished as though they had never been."

CAWPILE Rating: Overall - 4.4/10 - ⭐⭐/5
Characters      - 5
Atmosphere   - 4
Writing Style - 4
Plot                - 3
Intrigue          - 6
Logic             - 4
Enjoyment     - 5
What is a CAWPILE Rating?

Review:

This was a cute, short story, but so short it felt pretty meh. I wish it was twice as long in order to develop the characters and plot a bit more.

Now I'm off to read another book... but since a review should be more about the author of the book than about the writer of the blog, I will let Elizabeth Goudge have the last words:

" 'The Wise Men might come,' said Polly. 'I was always expecting them at home, but they didn't come. I expect we were too far inland. They might come here. You wouldn't want to lock your door on the Wise Men, would you?'

'Don't talk nonsense, child,' said Dorcas impatiently. 'And there are no wise men. I have never met a man yet who was not foolish.' "

Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

 

Title: The Da Vinci Code

Author: Dan Brown (American, 1964- )
Originally published: 2003

Page count: 590

Dates read: 11/3/24-11/20/24

2024 book goal progress: 23 out of 24

Read my other book reviews for my 2024 goals HERE.



Description on back of book:

The Louvre, Paris: the elderly curator of the museum has been violently murdered in the Grand Gallery. Harvard professor Robert Langdon is summoned to decipher the baffling codes which the police find alongside the body. As he and a gifted French cryptologist, Sophie Neveu, sort through the bizarre riddles, they are stunned to find a trail that leads to the works of Leonardo Da Vinci - and suggests the answer to an age-old mystery that stretches into the vault of history.

Unless Langdon and Neveu can decipher the labyrinthine code and quickly assemble the pieces of the puzzle, a stunning historical truth with be lost forever.

First sentence:
"Renowned curator Jacques Sauniere staggered through the vaulted archway of the museum's Grand Gallery."

Favorite quotes:

"The sacred feminine and the goddess have now been lost, virtually eliminated by the Church. The power of the female and her ability to produce life was once very sacred, but it posed a threat to the predominantly male Church, and so the sacred feminine was demonized and called unclean. It was man, not God, who created the concept of 'original sin,' whereby Eve tasted the apple and caused the downfall of the human race. Woman, once the sacred giver of life, was now the enemy... 

I should add, that this concept of woman as life-bringer was the foundation of ancient religion. Childbirth was mystical and powerful. Sadly, Christian philosophy decided to embezzle the female's creative power by ignoring biological truth and making man the Creator. Genesis tells us that Eve was created from Adam's rib. Woman became the offshoot of man. And a sinful one at that. Genesis was the beginning of the end for the goddess."

"History is always written by the winners. When two cultures clash, the loser is obliterated, and the winner writes the history books - books which glorify their own cause and disparage the conquered foe. As Napolean once said, 'What is history but a fable agreed upon?' By its very nature, history is always a one-sided account."

"Every faith in the world is based on fabrication. That is the definition of faith - acceptance of that which we cannot prove. Every religion describes God through metaphor, allegory, and exaggeration, from the early Egyptians through modern Sunday school. Metaphors are a way to help our minds process the unprocessable. The problems arise when we begin to believe literally in our own metaphors."

CAWPILE Rating: Overall - 8/10 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Characters      - 9
Atmosphere   - 8
Writing Style - 6
Plot                - 8
Intrigue          - 8
Logic             - 9
Enjoyment     - 8
What is a CAWPILE Rating?

Review:

Though shorter than the first book in the series, this one could've been significantly shortened as well. I enjoy Dan Brown's writing, but he has significant pacing issues and creates unnecessary cliffhangers that are more annoyances that distance you from characters rather than creating tension and anticipation.

Overall, this was a good book! I enjoyed the characters and the riddles. The architecture and religious symbology were immersive to learn about. There are some good insights into both Christianity and paganism/Goddess worship. I found the book thought-provoking and eye-opening. I can't say too much without revealing spoilers, so this review will be short and end here.

Movie Review:

The movie was alright, but I still preferred the book. There were a couple of things that the movie changed that I liked, but the book has so many more details. An entire part of the puzzle was left out. I get it, they need to have the movie be a reasonable length, so things will be cut. Nonetheless, the book has so much more to it that it's worth reading even if you're already familiar with the story.

Now I'm off to read another book... but since a review should be more about the author of the book than about the writer of the blog, I will let Dan Brown have the last words:

(This is a very long quote - almost the entire chapter 55. It's a very controversial chapter regarding Christianity. The beginning and ending of the chapter were not included to avoid any spoilers being given away.)

" 'Everything you need to know about the Bible can be summed up by the great canon doctor Mertin Percy. 'The Bible did not arrive by fax from heaven.' The Bible is a work of man, my dear. Not of God. The Bible did not magically fall from the clouds. Man created it as a historical record of tumultuous times, and it has evolved through countless translations, additions, and revisions. History has never had a definitive version of the book.

Jesus Christ was a historical figure of staggering influence, perhaps the most enigmatic and inspirational leader the world has ever seen. As the prophesied Messiah, Jesus toppled kings, inspired millions, and founded new philosophies. As a descendant of King David, Jesus possessed a rightful claim to the throne of the king of the Jews. Understandably, His life was recorded by thousands of followers across the land. More than eighty gospels were considered for the New Testament, and yet only a relative few were chosen for inclusion - Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John among them.'

'Who chose which gospels to include?'

'Aha! The fundamental irony of Christianity! The Bible, as we know it today, was collated by the pagan Roman emperor Constantine the Great.'

'I thought Constantine was a Christian.'

'Hardly. He was a lifelong pagan who was baptized on his deathbed, too weak to protest. In Contantine's day, Rome's official religion was sun worship - the cult of Sol Invictus, or the Invincible Sun - and Contantine was its head priest. Unfortunately for him, a growing religious turmoil was gripping Rome. Three centuries after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, Christ's followers had multiplied exponentially. Christians and pagans began warring, and the conflict grew to such proportions that it threatened to rend Rome in two. Constantine decided something had to be done. In 325 AD, he decided to unify Rome under a single religion. Christianity.'

'Why would a pagan emperor choose Christianity as the official religion?'

'Constantine was a very good businessman. He could see that Christianity was on the rise, and he simply backed the winning horse. Historians still marvel at the brilliance with which Constantine converted sun-worshipping pagans to Christianity. By fusing pagan symbols, dates, and rituals into the growing Christian tradition, he created a kind of hybrid religion that was acceptable to both parties.'

'Transmogrification. The vestiges of pagan religion in Christian symbology are undeniable. Egyptian sun disks became the halos of Catholic saints. Pictograms of Isis nursing her miraculously conceived son Horus became the blueprint for our modern images of the Virgin Mary nursing Baby Jesus. And virtually all elements of the Catholic ritual - the mitre, the altar, the doxology and communion, the act of 'God-eating' - were taken directly from earlier pagan mystery religions.'

'Nothing in Christianity is original. The pre-Christian God Mithras - called the Son of God and the Light of the World - was born on December 25, died, was buried in a rock tomb, and then resurrected in three days. By the way, December 25 is also the birthday of Orisis, Adonis, and Dionysus. The newborn Krishna was presented with gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Even Christianity's weekly holy day was stolen from the pagans.'

'Originally, Christianity honored the Jewish Sabbath on Saturday, but Constantine shifted it to coincide with the pagan's veneration day of the sun. To this day, most churchgoers attend services on Sunday morning with no idea that they are there on account of the pagan sun god's weekly tribute - Sunday.'

'During this fusion of religions, Constantine needed to strengthen the new Christian tradition, and held a famous ecumenical tethering known as the Council of Nicaea - the birthplace of the Nicene Creed. At this gathering, many aspects of Christianity were debated and voted upon - the date of Easter, the role of the bishops, the administration of sacraments, and, of course, the divinity of Jesus.'

'I don't follow. His divinity?'

'My dear, until that moment in history, Jesus was viewed by his followers as a mortal prophet, a great and powerful man, but a man nonetheless. A mortal. Jesus' establishment as 'the Son of God' was officially proposed and voted on by the Council of Nicea.'

'Hold on. You're saying Jesus' divinity was the result of a vote?'

'A relatively close one at that. Nonetheless, establishing Christ's divinity was critical to the further unification of the Roman empire and to the new Vatican power base. By officially endorsing Jesus as the Son of God, Constantine turned Jesus into a deity who existed beyond the scope of the human world, an entity whose power was unchallengeable. This is not only precluded by further pagan challenges to Christianity, but now the followers of Christ were able to redeem themselves only via the established sacred channel - the Roman Catholic Church

'It was all about power. Christ as Messiah was critical to the functioning of Church and state. Many scholars claim that the early Church literally stole Jesus from His original followers, hijacking His human message, shrouding it in an impenetrable cloak of divinity, and using it to expand their own power.

'The vast majority of educated Christians know the history of their faith. Jesus was indeed a great and powerful man. Constantine's underhanded political maneuvers don't diminish the majesty of Christ's life. Nobody is saying Christ was a fraud, or denying that He walked the earth and inspired millions to better lives. All we are saying is that Constantine took advantage of Christ's substantial influence and importance. And in doing so, he shaped the face of Christianity as we know it today.

'The twist is this. Because Constantine upgraded Jesus' status almost four centuries after Jesus' death, thousands of documents already existed chronicling His life as a mortal man. To rewrite the history books, Constantine knew he would need a bold stroke. From this sprang the most profound moment in Christian history. Constantine commissioned and financed a new Bible, which omitted those gospels that spoke of Christ's human traits and embellished those gospels that made Him godlike. The earlier gospels were outlawed, gathered up, and burned.'

'Anyone who chose the forbidden gospels over Constantine's version was deemed a heretic. The word heretic derives from that moment in history. The Latin word haerericus means 'choice.' Those who 'chose' the original history of Christ were the world's first heretics.'

'Fortunately for historians, some of the gospels that Constantine attempted to eradicate managed to survive. The Dead Sea Scrolls were found in the 1950s and, of course, the Coptic Scrolls in 1945. These documents speak of Christ's ministry in very human terms. Of course, the Vatican in keeping with their tradition of misinformation, tried very hard to suppress the release of these scrolls. And why wouldn't they? These scrolls highlight glaring historical discrepancies and fabrications, clearly confirming that the modern Bible was compiled and edited by men who possessed a political agenda - to promote the divinity of the man Jesus Christ and use His influence to solidify their own power base.'

'It's important to remember that the modern Church's desire to suppress these documents comes from a sincere belief in their established view of Christ. The Vatican is made up of deeply pious men who truly believe these contrary documents could only be false testimony. That's understandable. Constantine's Bible has been their truth for ages. Nobody is more indoctrinated than the indoctrinator.'

'What he means is that we worship the gods of our fathers.'

'What I mean is that almost everything our fathers taught us about Christ is false.' "

[This is brilliantly written, I would only change the very last word in the quote to 'distorted' or 'modified' instead of blatantly 'false.']

Angels & Demons by Dan Brown

Title: Angels and Demons

Author: Dan Brown (American, 1964- )
Originally published: 2000

Page count: 620

Dates read: 9/30/24-10/28/24

2024 book goal progress: 22 out of 24

Read my other book reviews for my 2024 goals HERE.



Description on back of book:
CERN Institute, Switzerland: a world-renowned scientist is found murdered with a mysterious symbol seared onto his chest.

The Vatican, Rome: the College of Cardinals assembles to elect a new pope. Somewhere beneath them, an unstoppable bomb of terrifying power relentlessly counts down to oblivion.

In a breathtaking race against time, Harvard professor Robert Langdon must decipher a labyrinth trail of ancient symbols if he is to defeat those responsible - the Illuminati - a secret brotherhood presumed extinct for nearly four hundred years, reborn to continue their deadly vendetta against their most hated enemy, the Catholic church.

First sentence:
"Physicist Leonardo Vetra smelled burning flesh, and he knew it was his own."

Favorite quotes:
"Langdon's eyes were locked on the brand. Illuminati, he read over and over. His work had always been based on the symbolic equivalent of fossils - ancient documents and historical hearsay - but this image before him was today. Present tense. He felt like a paleontologist coming face to face with a living dinosaur."

"The most dangerous enemy is that which no one fears."

" 'The Illuminati brotherhood held that the superstitious dogma spewed forth by the church was mankind's greatest enemy. They fear that if religion continued to promote pious myth as absolute fact, scientific progress would halt, and mankind would be doomed to an ignorant future of senseless holy wars. Much like we see today.'

Langdon frowned, he was right. Holy wars were still making headlines. My God is better than your God. It seemed there was always a close correlation between true believers and high body counts."

"Galileo was an Illuminatus. And he was also a devout Catholic. He tried to soften the church's position on science by proclaiming that science did not undermine the existence of God, but rather reinforced it... He held that science and religion were not enemies, but rather allies - two different languages telling the same story, a story of symmetry and balance... heaven and hell, night and day, hot and cold, God and Satan. Both science and religion rejoiced in God's symmetry... the endless contest of light and dark."

"Very little in any organized faith is original. Religions are not born from scratch. They grow from one another. Modern religion is a collage... an assimilated historical record of man's quest to understand the divine."

"Sometimes divine revelation simply means adjusting your brain to hear what your heart already knows."

CAWPILE Rating: Overall - 8.6/10 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Characters      - 9
Atmosphere   - 9
Writing Style - 7
Plot                - 9
Intrigue          - 10
Logic             - 7
Enjoyment     - 9
What is a CAWPILE Rating?

Review:

I enjoyed this book! I have not read or watched anything in this series, so it was all a surprise to me. I can't say too much without giving things away, but I was swept up hook, line, and sinker. It was fun to learn about the secret society of the Illuminati. It was fun to try to solve the crazy mystery all over the Vatican. I had my suspicions for a while, but I couldn't figure out the motive. It's a good ending overall, but a sad one for one of my favorite characters. 

There were two significant logical errors that could've been worked out better. The first 200-or-so pages and the last 70ish pages seemed to drag on forever - those should've been summed up MUCH more succinctly. The two media people were very annoying and felt unneeded. But other than those issues, the book was really good overall.

Movie Review:

The book Angels and Demons was written and set before the book Da Vinci Code - though the movies were made in reverse. I watched Angels and Demons first because of the order of the books, and my partner said it didn't reveal anything about the Da Vinci Code. I think the movie was good overall, but it glossed over many things - which was expected due to the size of the book. 

I have mixed feelings about many of the changes. I liked some of the changes better than the book, such as Langden's gift at the end. Others I didn't like as much, such as how different the elector and h/assain were - though I liked how they ended, they were very different from the book. Richter was a combination of two characters in the book. Many lines were direct quotes from the book, though said by different characters. It was a good movie, but the book is definitely worth the read due to how many details were lost in the film.

Now I'm off to read another book... but since a review should be more about the author of the book than about the writer of the blog, I will let Dan Brown have the last words:

(This is a long quote between Vittoria and Robert, which is shortened in the movie and with the Camerlengo instead of Vittoria.)

"Vittoria was watching him. 'Do you believe in God Mr. Langdon?'

The question startled him... 'I want to believe,' he heard himself say... 'but it's not that easy. Having faith requires leaps of faith, cerebral acceptance of miracles - immaculate conceptions and divine interventions. And then there are the codes of conduct. The Bible, the Koran, Buddhist scripture... they all carry similar requirements - and similar penalties. They claim that if I don't live by a specific code, I will go to hell. I can't imagine a God would rule that way.'

'...I did not ask if you believe what man says about God. I asked if you believe in God. There is a difference. Holy scripture is stories... legends and history of man's quest to understand his own need for meaning. I am not asking you to pass judgment on literature. I am asking if you believe in God. When you lie out under the stars, do you sense the divine? Do you feel in your gut that you are staring up at the work of God's hand?'

Langdon took a long moment to consider it... 'As a scientist and the daughter of a Catholic priest, what do you think of religion?'

Vittoria paused, brushing a lock of hair from her eyes. 'Religion is like language or dress. We gravitate toward the practices with which we were raised. In the end, though, we are all proclaiming the same thing. That life has meaning. That we are grateful for the power that created us... Faith is universal. Our specific methods for understanding it are arbitrary. Some of us pray to Jesus, some of us go to Mecca, and some of us study subatomic particles. In the end, we are all just searching for truth, that which is greater than ourselves. '

Langdon wished he could express himself so clearly. 'And God?' he asked. 'Do you believe in God?'

Vittoria was silent for a long time. 'Science tells me God must exist. My mind tells me I will never understand God. My heart tells me I am not meant to.' "