Death Comes for the Archbishop

by Willa Cather

When I was a lot younger, I went to Santa Fe with my dad and a few siblings. On the drive there, my dad mentioned that much of Willa Cather’s novel Death Comes for the Archbishop was set in New Mexico and in Santa Fe particularly. Being young and somewhat ignorant, I assumed, from the title, that the book was some sort of intriguing murder thriller set in the early days of Santa Fe.

This delusion continued through the years, and I finally picked up a copy at the library last month. I was more than halfway through the book when I finally admitted to myself that there would be no murder and no thrill in the plot. Turning to the Romgi one evening as I read, I asked, “Judging by the title of this book, what do you think it’s about?” He looked at the title and cover and replied, “Probably the story of a person’s life. In the Southwest.”

(He was entirely right…I felt rather dumb.)

So, yes, the book is really just about the Archbishop. Death doesn’t come for him until the end of the book, when he dies of old age. I’m a little bit disappointed, since I honestly and truly thought I was sitting down to an exciting plot. It was actually rather dull. Sorry, Willa Cather.

(Please don’t mock my stupidity. I already feel foolish enough.)

The Sea of Trolls

by Nancy Farmer

This was on a list entitled something like “Fantasy books every 6th-grader should read.” It was one of the few I hadn’t read (as a 6th-grader or otherwise), and one of the books on my list that was available at the library. Thanks to the Bwun’s voracious appetite, I was able to start reading Saturday and finish today.

The first 100 pages were miserably predictable and therefore boring. But I kept reading, because if I got through The Eye of the World, I’m convinced that I can finish almost anything. Eventually the story did becoming intriguing, although I disliked the protagonist and his twelve-year-old mind. Annoying.

The ending was sappy and bleh, despite a plot twist I ought to have picked up on and missed. I have no intention of reading the sequel (or the third book, if there is one). But at least I can cross it off my list!

Now 5% complete with my 2009 goal of reading 100 books.

Krondor the Betrayal

by Raymond E. Feist

After finishing The Dangerous Book for Boys, the only English book left in our house that I hadn’t read was Krondor the Betrayal. When the Romgi and I were in high school, he let me borrow the Riftwar Saga; this book is part of the Riftwar Legacy. According to both the Romgi and Wikipedia, it was written after Feist helped create the computer game of the same name. So, yes, this book is based on a game.

I confess that the story was thoroughly tedious for the first hundred pages or so. I didn’t want to read the book at all, but I had to read something. And I noticed for the first time that while Feist tends to have very interesting plots, his writing could use a little help. The more I read, in fact, the more I became convinced that he’s actually a rather mediocre author.

But, finally, I got to a point in the book where I was involved in the story, and actually felt like continuing on.

Now that it’s been about two months since I finished reading, I have no idea what the book was about. So I’m going to rate this one as altogether meh.