A compelling, ambitious work of historical fiction set around the time of the burning of Alexandria’s magnificent library. I like big books and I cannot lie.

Let me begin by saying how daunting it is to review a work of quite epic proportions (and this is only book 1!). Once upon a time, I did entertain dreams of being an Egyptologist, thanks to Henry Jones Jr., but I claim no formal qualifications—just a fascination with history in general because it has been said that ‘the past is never dead. It’s not even past.’

‘Hatred is a poison, you cannot drink it and expect another to die’.

What an amazing line! I feel as though an essay might better suffice, but then Written in the Ashes is a journey that is better experienced without the spoilers that a review of that length would no doubt be littered with. Yes, the novel is inspired by actual historical figures and events, but it is told mainly through the eyes of Hannah, a Jewish shepherd girl abducted from her home in the deserts of Sinai and sold into slavery on the streets of Alexandria.

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In keeping with Halloween, this month’s Mixed Bag is a mix of (mostly) otherworldly books by (mostly) Australian authors.

Fallen by Lauren Kate (Fallen #1)

Fallen by Lauren Kate (Fallen, Book 1)

When Luce starts senior year (year 12 for us) at a boarding school for troubled teens, she discovers that her classmates aren’t, well, normal, and that the reason the school hottie is avoiding her at all costs has something to do with her destiny—until for some reason her destiny doesn’t happen on schedule.

I might have enjoyed this story more if I hadn’t already read the many—oh, so many—teen urban fantasy books with similar characters and conflicts. The brooding, I’m-no-good-for-you-so-I’ll-turn-down-your-advances-by-being-rude-and-offensive hero just doesn’t work for me anymore. At least, not unless the heroine calls him out on it—and Luce doesn’t do it enough. It got interesting towards the end, but the main characters didn’t have enough shades of grey for me.

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This month’s Mixed Bag features wildly different stories by Aussie authors, which have left me with…well, mixed reactions.

Liar by Justine Larbalestier

Liar by Justine Larbalestier

Micah Williams is a compulsive liar, and Liar is Michah’s attempt ‘to tell you my story…No lies, no omissions. That’s my promise.’ Zach, Micah’s friend, has gone missing and Micah’s story is a non-linear narration of events leading up to and following from Zach’s disappearance, interspersed with her family history.

You may have heard of this book due to the US cover controversy (a non-issue for Aussie readers because we got a different cover), but it’s  just as likely you’ve heard of it from the many great reviews it’s received. The praise is well deserved. Larbalestier has created an original and compelling if notoriously unreliable narrator in Micah—something the story depends on for its success.

If you know me at all, you know I almost always peek at a book’s ending. I have no problem with spoilers

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Twitterature by Alexander Aciman and Emmett Rensin

Twitterature: The World’s Greatest Books Retold Through Twitter is funny. Or, as the Internet might say, funneh.

Over the years the Internet has evolved—I refrain from saying “exploded”—into many things, many of which have developed their own language. For those of us who tweet and must use only 140 characters to express ourselves, this lingo comes in handy when we need to cut things down.

Alexander Aciman and Emmett Rensin have used this concept and produced the Web 2.0 version of  CliffsNotes, with each book condensed into around of 2 pages of tweets (some of the more dramatic books get 2.5). While tweeting might not be your thing, the one-liners presented do a great job of condensing the main points into a few interesting lines that pretty much sum up what the book needs to say, with a bit of modern banter and some LOL, WTF, OMG along the way.

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