Book Review: The Banished of Muirwood by Jeff Wheeler

Eighteen year old Maia was banished from her kingdom by her own father--with quite a bit of persuasion by his new lover.  Now, her only hope to save herself and her people lies in a quest to rid the world of the Myriad Ones, a nasty group of spirits drawn to all forms of human suffering.  Her dabbling in reading and magic (which are forbidden for women), however, has left her with several powerful enemies.  As she fights to stay one step ahead of those who hunt her, it becomes clear that something has already gone horribly wrong.  Something is wrong with Maia, and that something threatens to bring doom down upon not only herself, but anyone around her.

'The Banished of Muirwood' is the first book in a series entitled 'Covenant of Muirwood'.  It is a followup series to the original Muirwood trilogy called 'Legends of Muirwood.  Although Maia's story occurs one hundred years later than that of the first trilogy, 'Banished' does seem to expect the reader to have a basic understanding of its world and magic system, so, if you haven't read the first series, I would recommend you do so before trying this one.  I feel that the 'Legends' series was better than the first book of this latest series, but I did still enjoy 'The Banished of Muirwood'.  The character development and elements of magic were not as strong, but still managed to paint an interesting picture.  There is an element of Cinderella and her Evil Stepmother that I found difficult to get through, but Maia's story is, thankfully, more than that. Maia is part ruler, part young girl, and the combination of the two both saves and hinders her progress.  By the time she begins to realize that her quest has begun to unravel before it has really begun, multiple layers of the plot have converged, and the action of the story really takes off.  If you are a fan of epic fantasy, you'll want to add the Muirwood series to your list.

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Book Review: 'The Martian' by Andy Weir

Mark Watney wakes on the Martian surface, injured, alone, and wearing a suit bleeding air. He has survived the dust storm that separated him from his team during their evacuation, but he knows they have been forced to leave him behind. The good news is that the habitat has also survived and is stocked with enough food and supplies to last a few months.  He also knows that another team is scheduled to arrive on Mars and could potentially give him a ride home. There are only two problems. First, communication is down and NASA thinks him dead, so his only hope of connecting with the other team would be to appear on their doorstep at just the right time. Second, the next team will not arrive for over a year, when his supplies will have long been exhausted. Can Mark figure out a way to contact NASA, stretch his supplies, and get himself to the right location on a foreign planet that seems bent on his destruction?

This book is extremely well written.  Following along with Mark as he works out the solutions to his problems under such extreme pressure kept me up well into the night. I simply could not put the book down. The character himself is fascinating, and I loved how he kept managing to find his sense of humor, even after set backs that pushed him to his breaking point. This book reads like an adrenaline-packed 'How to Survive on Mars' handbook that perfectly balances the science detail with the action and drama of Mark's story.

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