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Molly Templeton

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Hugo Awards 2019

Hugo Spotlight: Embracing Character Flaws in Rachel Hartman’s Tess of the Road

Molly Templeton

Tue Aug 6, 2019 12:00pm 1 comment 6 Favorites [+]

Background image: Ray Fragapane [via Unsplash]

In the lead-up to the 2019 Hugo Awards, we’re taking time to appreciate this year’s novel and short fiction Finalists, and what makes each of them great.

We know the language for the novels that shape us when we’re young: formative, inspirational, the books that made us who we are—the ones that show us who we can grow into, and ways of becoming those people. But it’s less common to talk about the books that serve this same purpose once we’re grown-ups—even though we keep becoming who we are. It’s not a finite process!

Fantasy

Assassins, Pirates, or Dragons: Where to Start With the Work of Robin Hobb

Molly Templeton

Fri Jun 7, 2019 3:00pm 19 comments 6 Favorites [+]

Choosing a Robin Hobb book to start with isn’t just choosing a series—it’s choosing a doorway into a huge, interconnected world. All but one of Hobb’s trilogies make up a giant tale told in many pieces (the oddball is the Soldier Son series). They span continents and decades, damaging leadership and ecological damage, traumatic childhood and challenging coming-of-age.

And you can start in several places. If you’re a completist, you’ll probably start at the beginning, but if you’re not, you can choose based on character, or location, or focus. Would you like a young man with royal blood, or a headstrong young woman fighting to lead the family business? Prefer your dragon-centric tales set in a strange, deadly landscape? Would you like to explore a bustling port town in a series where family drama involves magical ships? Or do you like your fantasy set in castles and keeps, fully engaged with the foibles and flaws of royalty?

movie reviews

Mortal Engines Is This Close to Being a Good Movie

Molly Templeton

Fri Dec 14, 2018 2:00pm 22 comments 2 Favorites [+]

The worst thing about Mortal Engines is that you can see, in fits and starts and flashes, the movie it could’ve been.

That movie is a lot better than the one we actually got.

Reading Throne of Glass

We Might Be So Much More: Reading Sarah J. Maas’ Throne of Glass: Kingdom of Ash

Molly Templeton

Wed Oct 31, 2018 2:00pm 22 comments 6 Favorites [+]

All our theories can at last be put to rest, though not all of our questions got answers. But how could they? Even in almost a thousand pages, there were so many things in motion, going into this last book, that only one thing seemed definite: A really big showdown, years in the making, was coming.

Welcome to the last post in Reading Throne of Glass! My head is absolutely full to bursting with details, both vital and random, and I’m dying to talk about what happened at the end. So let’s get to it.

This post involves all the spoilers for all the books!

Earthsea

How A Wizard of Earthsea Made Me a Fantasy Reader

Molly Templeton

Mon Oct 29, 2018 11:00am 10 comments 17 Favorites [+]

Illustration by Charles Vess

This week, Saga Press releases a gorgeous new omnibus edition of Ursula K. Le Guin’s Books of Earthsea, illustrated by Charles Vess, in celebration of A Wizard of Earthsea‘s 50th anniversary. In honor of that anniversary, this week we’re running a different look at Earthsea each day—starting with the first book in the series.

I didn’t meet the book that would make me a fantasy reader under the best of circumstances.

When I was small, 8 or 9, I got very sick with some sort of stomach thing. Nothing would distract me from whatever was twisting my gut. I sprawled on our scratchy, plaid sofa, miserable, unsoothable, probably an absolute terror to be near. My mother, being very smart and very well-read, decided to read to me.

I don’t know if she started with A Wizard of Earthsea, but I know it’s what worked. It was the only thing that worked, a magical spell of distraction and calm—and change, because I was never the same afterwards.

Throne of Glass

10 Questions We Hope Are Answered in Sarah J. Maas’s Kingdom of Ash

Molly Templeton

Mon Oct 22, 2018 11:00am 11 comments 3 Favorites [+]

After reading the entire Throne of Glass series in six weeks, I am extremely ready for Kingdom of Ash—maybe more ready than I can remember being for the last book in a series, ever. And by “ready” I largely mean “armed with many details and about a thousand questions, approximately one for each page of the massive final book.”

Here are 10 of the biggest questions—from the mysteries of barely-seen countries and tricksy villains to the question that hangs over every final book in a series packed with conflict: Who’s going to make it out alive?

The entirety of Throne of Glass up through Tower of Dawn is discussed below, so enter here only ye who have read the books.

Reading Throne of Glass

Side Quest: Reading Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass: Tower of Dawn

Molly Templeton

Mon Oct 15, 2018 11:00am 3 comments 3 Favorites [+]

After Empire of Storms, our heroine is off the page in more ways than one: Tower of Dawn is primarily Chaol’s book, as he and Nesryn venture to the Southern Continent and meet up with another person whose life has been unexpectedly affected by a certain former assassin. A reader might think they could skip Chaol’s sometime frustrating tale of healing, but that would be a mistake: it’s also full of super-important secrets and one reveal that changes the entire nature of the threats our heroes face. (I have so many questions.)

Welcome to the next installment of Reading Throne of Glass! In anticipation of Kingdom of Ash, I’ve been reading the entire series over six weeks. This isn’t a reread for me, but a first-read: if you’ve already read the whole series, you will be able to feel extremely superior while I ponder things you probably know backwards and forwards.

Spoilers for the entire published series follow!

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

Ambrose Spellman Is Already My Favorite Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Character

Molly Templeton

Tue Oct 9, 2018 10:30am 5 comments Favorite This

According to Chance Perdomo, who plays Ambrose Spellman in the upcoming Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, he’s “the Alfred to Sabrina’s Batman.” I don’t think this means Sabrina’s going to be flying around using a witch utility belt, but I do think it means that Ambrose is likely to be an absolute fan favorite once the series airs. Based on the first episode, which fans got a sneak peak of at NYCC, he’s pretty much got my vote.

Reading Throne of Glass

Through the Looking-Glass: Reading Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass: Empire of Storms

Molly Templeton

Mon Oct 8, 2018 11:00am 5 comments 4 Favorites [+]

Just when it seemed like things couldn’t get any more complicated for the woman formerly known as Celaena Sardothien… they did. From sea dragons to Settling, magic mirrors to Manon’s secret history, Empire of Storms is crammed with revelations and confrontations. There are even more queens playing this unfinished game than we thought—and power keeps shifting.

Welcome to the next installment of Reading Throne of Glass! In anticipation of Kingdom of Ash, I’m reading the entire series over six weeks. This isn’t a reread for me, but a first-read: if you’ve already read the whole series, you will be able to feel extremely superior while I ponder things you probably know backwards and forwards. My fellow first-readers, though, beware: there are likely to be spoilers for future books in the comments.

Spoilers for the series up to and including Empire of Storms follow!

NYCC 2018

Mortal Engines Looks Better Than You Might Expect

Molly Templeton

Fri Oct 5, 2018 2:55pm 6 comments 3 Favorites [+]

At NYCC’s Mortal Engines panel, moderator Andy Serkis made a big show of extending how much footage the audience would get to see. Eight minutes? Surely not enough. Seventeen? Twenty? A little more, actually: the sneak peek was of the first 24 minutes of the film, a race across a deserted green-and-brown landscape, in which a small traction city makes a desperate bid to escape the metallic gaping maw of, well … London.

And it was … pretty cool?

Reading Throne of Glass

Vengeance and Victories: Reading Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass: Queen of Shadows

Molly Templeton

Mon Oct 1, 2018 11:00am 2 comments 2 Favorites [+]

The young woman who used to call herself Celaena Sardothien is back on her home continent, having reclaimed her name and heritage—and with several new goals in mind. One is to destroy her old master, Arobynn Hamel. The other two are even more dangerous.

And just about anything else I might say here is a spoiler of some sort, so let’s jump right in.

Welcome to the next installment of Reading Throne of Glass! In anticipation of Kingdom of Ash, I’m reading the entire series over six weeks. This isn’t a reread for me, but a first-read: if you’ve already read the whole series, you will be able to feel extremely superior while I ponder things you probably know backwards and forwards. My fellow first-readers, though, beware: there are likely to be spoilers for future books in the comments.

adaptations

Please Gender-Swap the Heck Out of the Riftwar Saga TV Series

Molly Templeton

Wed Sep 26, 2018 11:30am 45 comments 1 Favorite [+]

Like many a passionate young fantasy reader in a certain era, I quickly realized I could only reread The Lord of the Rings so many times. So when I discovered Raymond E. Feist’s Tolkien-influenced Riftwar Saga, I fell in love. The books had some of the same elements—dwarves under the mountains, elves in the woods, mythic old mages sneaking around—but with a magician-in-training main character who was entirely to my can-I-please-grow-up-to-be-a-wizard tastes.

I haven’t re-read Riftwar (by which I mean the first three-or-four books, depending on how you’re counting) in years. I remember them in a slideshow: young Pug, chosen as apprentice by the magician Kulgan; the soldier Tomas meeting a dragon deep in a cave; Martin the forester, friend to the elves; the hunt for the cure for Arutha’s poisoned princess; Jimmy the Hand, the thief who turns squire.

You might notice a theme there.

Every major character in this series is male.

Reading Throne of Glass

Among the Witches and the Fae: Reading Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass: Heir of Fire

Molly Templeton

Mon Sep 24, 2018 11:00am 8 comments 2 Favorites [+]

Heir of Fire finds Celaena Sardothien—Adarlan’s Assassin, the King’s Champion, and so many other things as well—drinking on foreign rooftops. She’s crossed the sea on assignment to assassinate the royal family of Wendlyn, but accepting that assignment was a ruse to get her closer to the Fae queen, who may know a thing or two about Wyrdkeys.

This task will be even more complicated than she expects. Heir of Fire has a certain middle-book vibe, in that while it’s packed full of slow-burn reveals and backstory, in the present timeline, it’s a lot of putting-pieces-in-motion. There’s so much to learn, and so much to set up. Everyone’s in research and training mode.

Personally, I love a good training montage.

Welcome to the next installment of Reading Throne of Glass! In anticipation of Kingdom of Ash, I’m reading the entire series over the next six weeks. This isn’t a reread for me, but a first-read: if you’ve already read the whole series, you will be able to feel extremely superior while I ponder things you probably know backwards and forwards. My fellow first-readers, though, beware: there are likely to be spoilers for future books in the comments.

Reading Throne of Glass

Secrets and Sacrifice: Reading Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass: Crown of Midnight

Molly Templeton

Mon Sep 17, 2018 11:00am 13 comments 5 Favorites [+]

Cover illustrations (c) 2013 Talexi

Following the events of Throne of Glass, Celaena Sardothien has a lot on her plate. Assassination, scheming, magic, Wyrdmarks, loss, love, witches, a major revelation or two—Crown of Midnight may not have the plot-driving competition of the previous book in the series, but it’s got all the intrigue you could ask for and then some (and two creepy monsters, no less!).

In short, this book is a lot.

Welcome to the next installment of Reading Throne of Glass! In anticipation of Kingdom of Ash, I’m reading the entire series over the next six weeks. This isn’t a reread for me, but a first-read: if you’ve already read the whole series, you will be able to feel extremely superior while I ponder things you probably know backwards and forwards. My fellow first-readers, though, beware: there are likely to be spoilers for future books in the comments.

Reading Throne of Glass

Wyrdmarks and Worldbuilding: Reading Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass

Molly Templeton

Mon Sep 10, 2018 11:00am 26 comments 21 Favorites [+]

Cover illustrations (c) 2013 Talexi

When a series is seven books long and each book seems to get longer and longer, the first book is bound to raise more questions than it answers. And that is entirely the case with Throne of Glass, the first book in Sarah J. Maas’s series of the same name: it leaves a reader with so many questions. Where’d magic go? Is there really a whole kingdom of witches? How can a prince be so nice when his father is a total monster? And when am I going to get the whole story on teenage assassin Celaena Sardothien’s history?

I’m pretty sure I’m going to have to be patient with these and some of my other endless questions—or relatively patient, anyway…

In anticipation of the seventh and final Throne of Glass book, I’m reading the entire series over the next six weeks! This isn’t a reread for me, but a first-read: if you’ve already read the whole series, you will be able to feel extremely superior while I ponder things you probably know backwards and forwards. My fellow first-readers, though, beware: there are likely to be spoilers for future books in the comments.

There’s so much to talk about. Let’s start at the beginning.

Spoilers for all of book one, Throne of Glass, discussed below!