tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11401380577341391692024-03-12T21:23:10.766-07:00PurpledovehouseElfyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09955473789404631382noreply@blogger.comBlogger357125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1140138057734139169.post-42394266281751001882020-02-24T20:35:00.001-08:002020-02-24T20:35:40.940-08:00The Deep by Mira Grant<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This wonderful little duology doesn't have a proper series name, but both volumes do have the words 'the deep' in their titles, so that's what I called it. In retrospect 'Mermaids With Teeth' would have worked as well.<br />
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Mira Grant (the pseudonym of urban fantasy author Seanan McGuire) tends to be better known for zombie fiction (the opening volume of the <b>Newsflesh</b> series; <b>Feed,</b> is what I describe as zombie fiction for people who don't generally read zombie fiction), this was her first foray into something that wasn't living dead.<br />
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<b>Rolling in the Deep</b> is actually a novella, and the two books can be read independently of each other, although <b>Into the Drowning Deep</b> does contain some pretty major spoilers for <b>Rolling in the Deep</b>.<br />
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The premise behind the book is that the Imagine TV network (a fictional company that is kind of like a cross between Syfy and NatGeo) sends out a ship filled with reporters, scientists and performers in the guise of proving whether or not mermaids are real. Unfortunately for everyone concerned they find the answer to the question.<br />
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<b>Into the Drowning Deep</b> takes place 7 years after <b>Rolling in the Deep</b> and has a different group, a much better prepared one, and they seek to answer the same question, with equally dramatic consequences.<br />
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The first book is close to perfection. It completely captures the feel of a mockumentary and it drags the reader into it. It's also a total page turner, just as well it's relatively short, because once someone has started this one, they are literally unable to put it down until it's done. Although short it draws it's characters well and completely and makes them connect to the audience. It's so well done that when I'd finished it I was disappointed and a little surprised to realise that the channel and the mockumentary that they set out to create didn't actually exist. The series as a whole has been optioned for a filmed version (whether or not it will really happen is anyone's guess), but I honestly think they could just do <b>Rolling in the Deep</b> as a one off and it would be a stunning piece of TV. It would require next to no adaptation, either, its that well written.<br />
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<b>Into the Drowning Deep</b> is the inevitable sequel. It's a full length novel that use it's extra size and word count to delve deeper into the mysteries that were only hinted at in <b>Rolling in the Deep</b> and to examine the further reaching consequences of actually achieving their objective to prove or disprove the existence of mermaids.<br />
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Mermaids have in recent times become one of the monsters du jour. They feature in the TV series <b>Siren</b> as well. However the modern mermaids are nothing like Ariel. These things are vicious, cunning, sea creatures that are used to fighting for survival and don't like any incursions their territory.<br />
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I don't know if Grant intends to add to these two slices of horror, but I'd be onboard if she does,Elfyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09955473789404631382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1140138057734139169.post-7405606874830923292020-01-01T17:31:00.002-08:002020-01-01T17:31:34.425-08:00Adventures in Reading 2019<br />
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;">Another
year of reading is done and dusted. I read 78 books for the year, not quite up
to the dizzying heights of plus 100 that 2018 reached, but pretty respectable
all the same. As always there were some standouts for the year and so here they
are:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><b>Jade City</b> by
Fonda Lee. I think I purchased this some time in 2018, but it didn’t make its
way up to the top of the pile in 2019. It’s one of those set in a low magic world
that is very similar to ours, but at the same time totally different. It was
actually kind of fun trying to work out where the various locations actually
were. The setting itself feels like a 60’s or 70’s time frame. The premise is
that certain well connected families on the island of Kekon have access to jade
and it gives them physical powers beyond that of the jadeless population. The
jade families are rather like the tongs of Hong Kong and the book takes us into
one of these families while they’re in the middle of a power shift and a turf
war. It was an action packed book with an interesting premise and some strong character
development, unafraid to make bold choices in story direction, which kept the
reader guessing. Highly recommended.</span></div>
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an Absent Dream</b> by Seanan McGuire. This is the 4<sup>th</sup> of McGuire’s
<b>Wayward Children</b> series. About children who find their ways into fantasy worlds
and while they return to our and their worlds, they don’t forget where they
were and this affects them going forward. This episode dealt with a character
readers had met before, but explained why and how she found her way into an
unreal world and why she would never be the same. McGuire ups her game with
every one of these and this one was no exception. We’ve seen glimpses of a
number of fascinating and very different worlds through McGuire’s eyes in these
books and<b> In an Absent Dream</b> gave readers another one. </span><br />
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by Chuck Wendig. In 2012 I read <b>Blackbirds</b>, the first of Wendig’s<b> Miriam Black
</b>books, the story of the inventively foul mouthed Miriam Black, a woman cursed
with the ability to touch someone and see the moment of their death. Throughout
a number of years and 6 books. I’ve loved these from the moment I first met Miriam in<b> Blackbirds</b> and adored
Wendig’s short, sharp, visceral, brutal style of writing. They have a noirish
feel about them and for the past few books, possibly because they’ve been set
in and around Florida they’ve given me a very Burn Notice feel about them. The
conclusion of Miriam’s story in <b>Vultures</b> was damn near perfect and the twist in
the ending was a real kick in the guts.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-AU"><b>Amnesty b</b>y
Lara Elena Donnelly. This was the final of Donnelly’s <b>Amberlough Dossier</b> books.
The setting and idea behind these is almost unique. Fantasy as written by Len
Deighton or Le Carre. The only thing that really qualifies them as fantasy is
that they’re set on a secondary world, but that world is not low magic, it is
no magic. Not having magic, but an unreal setting allows Donnelly to write
about people, not events, and follow their journeys through an always dangerous
world. <b>Amnesty</b> brought the whole bloody mess to an appropriately explosive
conclusion.<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><b>All the Birds
in the Sky</b> by Charlie Jane Anders. This is the story of two individuals with unique
abilities. It follows their lives and how they first met and develop a relationship
and then follows their own separate journeys through life until fate demands
that their lives once again intersect. It’s a lovely coming of age story which
explores people, events and power. It was Anders’ debut and totally astonished
me. Leapt easily into my best reads of the year for 2019.<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><b>The October
Man </b>by Ben Aaronovitch. This is part of Aaronovitch’s <b>Peter Grant</b> series, but
it doesn’t have Peter in it. One of the things that I, and I suspect other
readers of the series, have asked themselves, is do other countries have police
whose job it is to investigate magical crimes and events? The answer is yes and
it’s covered in this novella. One of the strengths of the <b>Peter Grant </b>series
has been the obvious love that Aaronovitch has for the city of London (I
actually felt that the one book located outside of the city; <b>Foxglove Summer</b>,
was probably the weakest entry), so I approached <b>The October Man</b> with a bit of
trepidation, not only did it not feature Peter, but was also set in Germany. I
must admit I thoroughly enjoyed it and the main character Tobias Winter was a welcome
change from seeing everything filtered through Peter’s eyes. Things are definitely
different on the continent, but in a good way and it’s great to see that the concept
has applications elsewhere. Would be interesting to see an encounter and maybe even
a collaboration between Peter and Tobias in the future.<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><b>To Be
Taught If Fortunate </b>by Becky Chambers. I don’t think Chambers is capable of
writing a bad book. This novella, while still science fiction, moves away from
her <b>Wayfarers </b>series. The two are not at all connected, even peripherally. This
is about a manned space exploration and in what is a Chambers signature it’s
less about the technology than it is about the people aboard it and how they
interact with each other and deal with the situation that they face. Stunning,
and it should win the Hugo for best novella in 2020, although I suspect that it
won’t.<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><b>The Girl
Who Could Move Shit With Her Mind</b> by Jackson Ford. I picked this up because I
liked the title. I knew nothing about it, but that is a very eye and mind
catching title. It was a really fun ride. There’s a fair bit of Miriam Black
about Teagan, although their ‘gifts’ are dissimilar, they have the same cynical
outlook on life and the world, plus neither of them really play well with
others. It was just such a thrill ride that kept me turning pages.<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><b>Middlegame
</b>by Seanan McGuire. In things that aren’t her two long running series McGuire is
at the top of her game, <b>Middlegame</b> is an example of that. It shares a bit with
All the Birds in the Sky in that it’s about two gifted people who first meet
when they’re children, separate and then life forces them back together again.
It does have a McGuire/Mira Grant (Mira Grant is a pseudonym for Seanan McGuire,
it tends to deal with zombies and recently mermaids) hallmark to it, in that
the two principals are part of a giant genetic experiment. I think it’s the
best thing that McGuire has written under her own name.<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><b>A
Little Hatred</b> by Joe Abercrombie. Abercrombie returns to the Circleworld, where
he set his first 6 novels, after a successful foray into dystopian YA fiction
with the <b>Shattered Seas </b>trilogy. Plenty of time has passed between the events
in <b>Red Country</b> and <b>A Little Hatred</b>, enough that the characters of the original
6 novels have had families who have grown up and taken centre stage. It’s the
coming of the 2.0’s Abercrombie style. I’m not generally a fan of grim dark,
but Abercrombie does it with more style and humour than any of his contemporaries
and that trademark wit is on display throughout <b>A Little Hatred</b>, it’s also an
interesting fantasy look at the Industrial Revolution. I’ve said it before, and
I will say it again: Abercrombie is a one trick pony, but he does that trick
better than anyone else with a similar act.</span></div>
<br />Elfyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09955473789404631382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1140138057734139169.post-66505462771400929902019-11-17T20:35:00.001-08:002019-11-17T20:35:42.455-08:00The Riftwar Saga by Raymond E. Feist<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I actually read <b>Magician </b>a few years ago for another reread that I was doing. It wasn't totally 'suck fairy' territory back then, but it hadn't aged well when compared to some of the newer works coming out in the epic fantasy field.<br />
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The way I see it <b>Feist </b>was part of the 3rd wave of epic fantasy writers. <b>Tolkien </b>was the first, followed by <b>Brooks </b> and <b>Donaldson </b>30 or so years later. Hot on their heels were <b>Eddings </b>and <b>Feist</b>.<br />
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What I've always felt sets <b>Magician </b>apart from other <b>Tolkien </b>imitators out there at the time, was the creation of another world, inspired by feudal Japan, the world of Kelewan. The world of Midkemia with its elves and dwarves and medieval inspired pre industrial society, is very <b>Tolkien</b>. Kelewan was fairly new for the time and a good half of the book is set there. Sadly <b>Feist</b> never really utilised Kelewant to it's full extent I felt. He did co write a trilogy with <b>Janny Wurts</b> that was set there and it came up occasionally in some of his other books, before he destroyed the planet, but was never fully explored. Readers never really got to see much of the Thun for instance.<br />
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<b>Magician, Silverthorn </b>and <b>A Darkness at Sethanon</b> are referred to as the first trilogy in the author's <b>Riftwar </b>which was published over 30 years and as many books. I tend to think of <b>Magician </b>as a big standalone and the other two as a duology, and this reread didn't change that opinion.<br />
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<b>Magician </b>is largely the story of Pug and his part in the Riftwar, whereas <b>Silverthorn </b>and <b>A Darkness at Sethanon</b> tend to concern themselves more with events concerning Prince Arutha and his battles with a dark elf who has world domination designs on Midkemia. There are sections of the second two books that do deal with tying up some of the loose ends that <b>Magician </b>left around the characters of Pug and his friend Tomas, but they're really Arutha's story.<br />
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I had a lot more problems with the other two books this time around. They haven't aged well, even less so than <b>Magician</b> and the suck fairy had sprinkled a good deal of its dust over their pages. A lot of the problem centres around Arutha. He's just a very bland character and the books rely heavily on the presence of the young thief Jimmy the Hand.<br />
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An example of how my thinking about the books is how long it took to read them. They're not particularly big tomes, combined they probably cover the length of <b>Magician</b>. Despite that it probably took me as long to get through them as it did to get through all 17 <b>Dresden Files </b>books earlier this year.<br />
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Glad I've reread them to find this out, but I won't be hurrying to read them again. I did still like <b>Magician</b>, but doubt I could put myself through <b>Silverthorn</b> and <b>A Darkness at Sethanon </b>again.<br />
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Into the realms of horror and science fiction with the G's.Elfyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09955473789404631382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1140138057734139169.post-15722257315538743422019-08-11T21:55:00.000-07:002019-08-11T21:55:17.690-07:00The Band Series by Nicholas Eames<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Although <b>Nicholas Eames</b> <b>The Band </b>Series is only 2 books in (a 3rd is apparently in the works), it's quickly made its way to being one of my favourites (I've already read <b>Kings of the Wyld</b> 4 times), and <b>Eames</b> is one of the few E authors that is on the shelves with a series.<br />
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Both were in my favourite books of the year, so I'll reproduce those reviews here to cover it:<br />
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Kings of the Wyld </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">by </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Nicholas Eames</b><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Oh my God, this one blew me away! I first read it in March, and I've already read it again since that. The last book to do that to me was</span><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> Scott Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">(18 reads on and I still love that book).</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Every so often a reader is lucky enough to encounter a book that is like a shot of nitro glycerine to the head. I get one every so often.</span><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> Kings of the Wyld </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">was my nitro glycerine book for 2017.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">I can't really tell anyone why I love it so much, but I just do. There's the perfectly executed conceit that the mercenary band of Saga are like an old school rock band doing a one last time tour, but going out to rescue their front man's daughter Rose from where she and many other doomed heroes are trapped by a horde of monsters from everyone's worst nightmare.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">It's the characters that form Saga themselves, from the lead of Gabe, to the wild, hard drinking ladies man Matrick Skulldrummer, the eccentric and dangerous wizard Moog and the mysterious, ageless hell on wheels Ganelon. Then there's the every man Clay 'Slowhand' Cooper, the glue that holds the band together. Clay is what makes this book, he gives it heart.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">The other thing that I loved about </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Kings of the Wyld</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> was the way it neatly skewered every cliche of grimdark and never took itself too seriously.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">So often sequels are the difficult second album and they just don't live up to expectations. I am happy to report that</span><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> Bloody Rose</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> is not one of those. I still personally prefer </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Kings of the Wyld</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> (having read it 3 times since I picked it up just over a year ago), but this is a worthy follow up.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Eames resisted the temptation of making Clay 'Slowhand' Cooper and rest of Saga the focus of </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Bloody Rose</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> and instead gave us a brand new protagonist; Tam Hashford, totally unconnected to Saga, well at least until she joins the band headlined by Bloody Rose, the daughter or Golden Gabe, the front man of Saga.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Kings of the Wyld</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> was very male dominated and </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Eames</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> redresses that with </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Bloody Rose</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> by flipping it around. Rose's band is more girl than boy, although she has male associates and they're an important part of her group.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Despite the book's title, the story is told through the eyes of Tam, not Rose, and I felt that Tam, not Rose was more the focus. Whereas </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Kings of the Wyld</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> was about an old band getting back together (can't help thinking it was based more on Led Zeppelin than anyone else),</span><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> Bloody Rose</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> is about a newbie starting out with a currently hot band, so that gives it a different dynamic.</span>Elfyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09955473789404631382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1140138057734139169.post-23391667996478096382019-07-01T22:43:00.001-07:002019-07-01T22:43:10.079-07:00The Han Solo Adventures by Brian Daley<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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When<b> Star Wars </b>first came out, this was back when the first movie was still called <b>Star Wars</b> and not <b>A New Hope</b> as it was later christened, (I don't think anyone even knew that it was the 4th story, but considered it the first) there was no EU, and kids like me, whose imaginations had been fired by the concept were eager for more content featuring our heroes.<br />
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I read Alan Dean Foster's 'sequel' to <b>Star Wars</b>; <b>Splinter of the Minds Eye</b>, as soon as I could get my hot little hands on it, and I did enjoy that, but what I really wanted were more stories featuring the roguish smuggler Han Solo. Solo was the favourite character of many, and I was no exception.<br />
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There was no internet then and I didn't live close to any bookstore of size, so the first I heard that Brian Daley had given me my wish was an excerpt from the second book that I found in a magazine at my grandmother's house. Once the genie was out of the bottle I knew I had to get these books, so I tracked them down. I read them and loved them and I'm pretty sure that they only whetted my already heightened appetite for <b>The Empire Strikes Back</b>.<br />
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I have read them a few times over the years, and I know they're no longer canon, but I tend to prefer Daley's background for Solo over others that I've read.<br />
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As an example of old school science fiction/space opera they still hold up. Maybe it's because I like my science fiction with a lot of cheese, it could also have to do with my love of Han Solo as a character. He has held a top spot in my list of fictional heroes right from the time he swaggered into that cantina in Mos Eisley.<br />
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The books are set not all that long before Han and Chewbacca met Ben and Luke on Tatooine. I base that on a short conversation between the Corellian smuggler and the Wookiee at the end of the last book; <b>Han Solo and the Lost Legacy</b>, where Han suggests that they try their luck again with the Kessel Spice Run and the idea of being financed by the Hutts is also mentioned.<br />
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Han's back story isn't investigated in great detail, but it is covered briefly in a conversation with a character in <b>Han Solo at Star's End</b> where he says that he lost his spot at the space academy due to an incident with a lady and his superior officer and the only one who could clear Han's name was an off worlder and who would believe a Wookiee?<br />
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The books are really old school with Han and Chewbacca going from one wild adventure and money raising scheme to another. There are chases and gunfights as well as shootouts between star fighters and space pirates. While they're very definitely set in outer space and they use blasters rather than six shooters, there's a lot of the Western in these stories. Han's definite matinee movie hero material and he even has a different love interest (all failed) in each book.<br />
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They're a huge amount of fun and in my opinion about the best thing to come out of the franchise since the movie that started it all. I would have loved to see them filmed, but I do understand that logistically that would never have been possible and that's without taking into account Harrison Ford's indifference to playing the character.<br />
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There are some differences to the <b>Star Wars</b> universe as it existed back then pre <b>The Empire Strikes Back</b>. One is the absence of the Empire (it's too late for it not to be a factor), it's place is taken by a massive oppressive commercial conglomerate known only as The Authority (I assume there were contractual issues around using the Empire). The other departure was the droids. Han does have droids, he acquired them early in the first book; Zollux and Blue Max. Zollux is a fairly old labour droid and his constant companion is the advanced little blue cube who uses the name Max. There's probably meant to be a correlation between them and C-3PO and R2-D2. Max is very R2 in that he is widely regarded by everyone as a child, because of his obvious newness and his voice, which sounds childlike (even Han treats him that way, scolding him for using bad language just because he does). Zollux is less like 3PO, having been a labour droid. I would have preferred he take 3PO's place to be honest. The protocol droid has been little more than an annoyance since the first film. Zollux and Max parted company with Han and Chewbacca at the end of the last book.<br />
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I could read these again and again and I probably will.Elfyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09955473789404631382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1140138057734139169.post-14225382847871220452019-06-30T22:45:00.002-07:002019-06-30T22:45:25.233-07:00The Reawakening Trilogy by Myke Cole<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I first encountered Myke Cole with his <b>Shadow Ops</b> series, books set in a near future world where otherwise ordinarily people start to develop super powers. The powered individuals are then used by the military as super soldiers. Those that don't agree or self report are hunted down and killed. There was never any real reasons given as to why people gained powers/magic, but Cole is a big <b>X-Men</b> fan so it was sort of a fantasy version of the mutant X-factor theme. Myke Cole is also a combat veteran, having served 2 tours of Iraq as a member of the US military and a 3rd as a civilian attached to the Department of Defense. He uses his military knowledge to great effect in his books, they do give them that air of authenticity.<br />
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I enjoyed the <b>Shadow Ops</b> series, but unlike the majority, I preferred the opening book in the series and didn't think the following novels quite lived up to the potential shown in his debut.<br />
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When I heard that <b>Gemini Cell</b> was a sort of prequel to <b>Shadow Ops</b> I was a little wary, but I did pick it up and was glad I did so. The entire<b> Reawakening </b>trilogy is a high point for Cole as an author. He definitely levelled up and upped his game with each subsequent novel in the trilogy.<br />
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Some of the action sequences, while terrifically written, do stretch the believability bone a bit. Mostly around the level of punishment even a magically enhanced and powered corpse can actually take before it just can't continue.<br />
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Central character, former Navy SEAL Jim Schweitzer is a hero that an audience can get behind. Someone to whom loyalty and love is everything and who even transcends death to rescue his family. In the <b>Reawekening</b> trilogy Cole gives his readers two fantastic female characters; Schweitzer's wife Sarah and in <b>Siege Line</b>, the character of Wilma 'Mankiller' the Dene sheriff of a remote Canadian frontier town, In many ways Wilma was actually more than main character of <b>Siege Line</b> than Jim was.<br />
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Every time I thought he couldn't top himself, Cole did just that with this series. I haven't even had it all that long and I've read it twice. I actually think it was even better the second time around. I don't advise to start reading <b>Gemini Cell </b>before bed because if you do you won't go to sleep that night, this is a compelling book and its hard to stop reading. Also once <b>Gemini Cell </b>is done, you're going to want to find and read<b> Javelin Rain </b>and then go onto <b>Siege Line</b>. Highly recommended.Elfyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09955473789404631382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1140138057734139169.post-74633561691213073012019-05-30T22:22:00.000-07:002019-05-30T22:22:13.782-07:00The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;">I’d always
wanted to do a complete reread of Jim Butcher’s urban fantasy series <b>The
Dresden Files</b>. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;">Part of the problem was that I wanted to wait until the final
volume was due out, and while Butcher’s put the estimate at 20 books, he isn’t
firm on that and considering that the 15<sup>th</sup> book in the series (<b>Skin
Game</b>) came out in 2014 and there’s still no release date for book 16, I felt
that this wasn’t going to conclude any time soon. I did want to do finished
series for this reread, but I don’t have many B authors to do and as the
<b>Dresdens</b> tend to be relatively self contained (one obvious exception being book
12 <b>Changes</b> and it’s followup <b>Ghost Story</b>) I figured I could break that rule
here, and mind you it’s unlikely to be the last time I’ll break it, either.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;">Rather than
being a book by book review of the 15 published novels and the 2 short story
collections this is more of an overview of the series and to a certain extent
it’s impact on the sub genre of urban fantasy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;">I don’t
think it’s stretching things too much to describe<b> The Dresden Files</b> as a game
changer for urban fantasy. Prior to the appearance of <b>Storm Front</b> (the first
book in the series) the genre that people were starting to call urban fantasy
tended to be dominated by the likes of Laurell K. Hamilton’s <b>Anita Blake </b>series
and Charlaine Harris’ <b>Sookie Stackhouse Mysteries</b>. Now <b>Anita Blake</b> tends to be
thought of as paranormal romance, or as some people refer to it vampire porn,
and Charlaine Harris has always thought of the <b>Sookie Stackhouse’s </b>as southern
gothic with supernatural elements. Both also feature sex fairly prominently.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><b>Dresden</b> was
different. Harry is a wizard for hire, he even advertises in the phone book.
While he’s a wizard, he’s more Phillip Marlowe than Merlin. The conceit made
was that he was as much a hard boiled private eye as he was a wizard. He did
much the same work as a PI, he just used magic to get the job done a lot of the
time. The books, especially the early ones, do have a very noirish feel to
them. The feel is continued by Butcher deciding to set the books in and around
Chicago. He also makes the setting feel older than it should, by giving a side
effect to Harry’s use of magic, it also affects most magic users, use of the
power tends to foul up complex machinery, mostly anything invented post WW II.
It creates some interesting obstacles for Harry and gives him a reliance on his
ever growing list of allies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;">Two other
points of difference were the fact that while creatures such as vampires and
werewolves do exist, their existence is not common knowledge as it is in the
<b>Anita Blakes</b> and the <b>Sookie Stackhouses</b>. The other was the lack of sex. Harry’s
not a monk, and he does have sex, but it never becomes a focus of the story the
way it did in other works. To my count by book 15 he’s had 4 significant
romantic connections; his adolescent crush Elaine, the reporter Susan
Rodrigues, Karrin Murphy and Anastasia Luccio, and he didn’t sleep with them
all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;">The first
few books were very standalone, and they began the work of introducing and
setting up Harry’s support crew, and his list of enemies and frenemies. Some of
these form what I feel are the best and most multi layered of the characters
(‘Gentleman’ John Marcone and the Leanan Sidhe are two that spring to mind).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;">Reading
them back to back as I did, and it took me the better part of the last 5
months, gave me a fairly good insight into how Jim Butcher developed as a
writer, although it has to be said that his characters are largely a case of
what you see is what you get. They pretty much remain as they first appear in
the books. They do go through some changes depending on their situations, but
essentially they’re still the same internally as when the readers first
encounter them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;">The early
books were a little formulaic, <b>Storm Front</b> concerned itself mostly with an evil
sorcerer, although it established that a staple of urban fantasy; vampires,
were significant players in Harry’s world. The second book <b>Fool Moon </b>introduced
werewolves and with book 3 a religious element entered the series when the Holy
Knight of the Sword Michael Carpenter made his first appearance. I always liked
Michael as a character and his large family, I never guessed how important his
pre adolescent daughter; Molly, would become at that time, though, which is a
clue to how while the stories have always been firmly rooted in the urban
fantasy genre, they’ve become more like a high fantasy epic in scope.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;">Over the
first few books Butcher set up his world and introduced his characters. The
first five or so books were quite episodic and this was probably because before
that the writers deal with the publisher hadn’t looked that many books ahead.
By book 5 there was a significant amount of public interest. Each volume wound
up high on the best seller list, the author had a hardback deal and later on
there was even a regrettably short lived TV show.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;">Around book
5 or 6 the major cast of characters had all been introduced. Mainstays like
Harry himself, Karrin Murphy and Bob the Skull were always there, and other
peripherals came and went: Bill Borden and his pack of werewolves, the fairy
warrior Toot Toot, Thomas the White Court vampire, Michael Carpenter and his
family, Susan Rodrigues. Ebenezar McCoy and Waldo Butters the polka loving
medical examiner. There were also Harry’s animal companions, Mister the cat and
Mouse the dog, who turns out to be much more than he originally seems. There
were others like Mac the bartender, Father Forthill, Kincaid and Ivy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;">That was
where I think Butcher decided how big this was going to be and the series arc
seemed to be set from book 7 on. They’ve remained quite self contained, except
for Changes and Ghost Story, but have become harder and harder to pick one up
and read it without feeling as a reader that there’s a fair bit of story
unread.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;">Since <b>The
Dresden Files</b> made it’s appearance with <b>Storm Front</b> and succeeded
spectacularly, it’s opened up the genre and moved more into a detective style
of fiction rather than the more paranormal romance side of things, where the relationships
are the focus rather than the plot.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;">In the past
I’ve described the<b> Dresdens</b> as the literary equivalent of fast food. They’re
attractive and easy to digest once in a while, but a steady diet of them would
ultimately do the reader more harm than good. I still stand by that, and after
largely shot gunning the entire 15 novels followed by the 2 short story
collections that’s only firmed the opinion. I did enjoy it, but it wouldn’t be
something I’d want to do again in a hurry.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;">When I read
the second short story collection: <b>Brief Cases</b>, for the first time last year I
tore through it and my overwhelming feeling was that it was great to read about
Harry and Co again. Kind of like spending time with a friend I hadn’t seen for
a while. Part of that was because I do enjoy the books and part of it was that
the 15<sup>th</sup> book;<b> Skin Game</b> came out in 2014 and readers haven’t had
another <b>Harry Dresden</b> since, although book 16 is promised.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;">15 novels
and the better part of 20 years is quite an achievement and I think it’s not
only a testament to the sheer readability of Butcher’s writing, he’s no prose
stylist, but he is easy to read, he has a lot of what author and critic Jo
Walton once described as ‘I want to read itosity’. There are also the
characters. The cast is diverse from all sorts of backgrounds and they’re quite
relatable to the majority of Butcher’s readers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;">The books
like their major character rose from humble and unlikely beginnings to become
quite powerful and much talked about. When people in the books mention wizard,
everyone knows that they’re talking about Harry, and now when readers mention
the words urban fantasy, Harry Dresden is often the first name of plenty of
people’s lips.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;">I’ve
already started the C’s, but you’ll need to wait for a bit to find out who it
is, I promise it won’t take this long or be this big.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Elfyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09955473789404631382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1140138057734139169.post-81510128330599364572018-12-31T21:40:00.001-08:002018-12-31T21:40:47.821-08:00The Top 10 2018Somehow for this years edition of what I read and really liked I managed to get the even 10, okay I did sort of cheat a bit with one of them, but it still technically rounds out to 10. I had 7 last year, but I read 114 books this year (a record for me I believe) so naturally the number went up a tad.<br />
<br />
So here we go, 2018 through my readers eyes:<br />
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<b>Into the Drowning Deep</b> by <b>Mira Grant</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Until a couple of years ago Mira Grant (pseudonym of urban fantasy author Seanan McGuire) confined herself exclusively to zombie fiction (they didn't call the monsters in the <b>Symbiosis</b> trilogy zombies, but that's what they were). That changed when she wrote a novella called <b>Rolling in the Deep </b>(also made this list in its year of publication).<br />
<br />
<b>Into the Drowning Deep</b> is the sequel to <b>Rolling in the Deep</b>. In the novella a TV network (it's not called SyFy or National Geographic, but it's an amalgamation of the two) set out to make a mockumentary about the existence of mermaids. The boat turned up, but all the crew members had disappeared.<br />
<br />
The premise of <b>Into the Drowning Deep</b> is that the same network wants to find out what happened to the crew of the Atargatis and are sending another expedition, even better equipped than the initial one to uncover what exactly does lurk in the depths of the Marianas Trench. The cast all have their own reasons for wanting to go on this journey, some because of a personal connection, some because of personal vanity and others for entirely scientific reasons.<br />
<br />
I say cast like it's a cinematic term, because both the novella and the sequel read like they were written to be filmed (in fact <b>Into the Drowning Deep</b> has been optioned and will hopefully be made as a film). There's a lot of the disaster movie in the book. As the various members of the cast are introduced, I found myself having fun as a reader trying to work out who and who wouldn't survive the coming ordeal, just like I often do when I'm watching a disaster film for the first time.<br />
<br />
Having read <b>Rolling in the Deep</b> (and I do recommend reading that before trying<b> Into the Drowning Deep</b>), I knew what the monster was, and so it's testament to the skill of the author that she was still able to create a great sense of tension in the book, even though I as the reader knew what was coming.<br />
<br />
The cast is quite diverse and well handled, the majority of them are given enough time on the page to grow and allow the reader to make a connection. There are some that made me angry and others that made me cry, some made me laugh, too. Being an Aussie I was particularly appreciative that the Australian character was not a Steve Irwin clone, the temptation to do that must have been strong.<br />
<br />
Fantastic book that keeps the pages turning and whitens the knuckles while doing so. Hopefully the film will do justice to the source material.<br />
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<b>Amberlough</b> by <b>Lara Elena Donnelly</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
This isn't fantasy, so much as it's secondary world fiction. It's not even an alternate history, because it is set on a world that is like ours, but at the same time isn't. I've read a few low magic fantasies, but it's not often I read one that is no magic, unless it's an alternate history. <b>Amberlough </b>is such a beast. It's also utterly brilliant!<br />
<br />
The city of <b>Amberlough</b> is kind of like a cross between 30's New York and Weimar Republic Berlin. The book concerns itself with a few characters in that city just before the hammer comes down. They are a spy (one quibble, the spy was called Cyril and try as I did, I just couldn't see him as a Cyril), a black marketeer and a dancer. They're all connected in one way or another and all have an interest in what is about to happen to their world as it will directly affect them and those close to them.<br />
<br />
Because the reader knows what this is based on and what ultimately happens in our world, there could be a lack of tension, but there isn't and this is because I became invested in the characters and wanted to see how events would both affect and involve them.<br />
<br />
It's hard to say what drew me in about <b>Amberlough</b>, it's not a standard sort of fantasy and not a hell of of a lot happens, but it is remarkably atmospheric and compelling and I did love the people I was reading about. It does end on a bit of a cliff, but the sequel <b>Armistice</b> is out and did let me off that particular cliff. I liked <b>Armistice</b>, but not quite as much as <b>Amberlough</b> and that's why it's not in the list, although when the series is complete, it may make the list as a whole. In fact when the 3rd book comes out this year I may read the first 2 again, because they are that good.<br />
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<b>Meddling Kids</b> by <b>Edgar Cantero</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
I picked this one up on a whim in of all places a bookstore in Cairns (I seem to have luck with random bookstores in Cairns. I found<b> D'Shai</b>, in a second hand bookstore in Cairns many years ago and I had been searching high and low for that for ages). I liked the idea of what it promised to combine.<br />
<br />
<b>Meddling Kids </b>is basically <b>Enid Blyton's Famous Five</b> and <b>Scooby Doo</b> combined, they even have a dog, and grown up.<br />
<br />
The years when the kids were a group of sleuthing youngsters uncovering the mysteries in a small town are long gone and they've all gone their separate ways into less than stellar futures, one of them has even died. That's when something draws those that remain back to the little town where they first made their names. There's also more than a bit of <b>Stephen King's It</b> about the book, and that's a good thing because I absolutely love <b>It</b>, probably makes my all time favourite list.<br />
<br />
<b>Meddling Kids</b> is one of those sort of books that just draws the reader in and won't let them go. I started it on the plane on the way home and read it fairly intently until I had it finished. I found myself reading it whenever I had a spare moment and also resenting whatever took me away from it when I had to go back to work or sleep or whatever else I do when I'm not reading.<br />
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I hope they make this as a film or a TV series, because it honestly would work in a visual medium.<br />
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<b>Space Opera</b> by<b> Catherynne M. Valente</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
There is only one author in the world who could take <b>The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy</b> and cross it with the Eurovision Song Contest then throw in a homage to glam rock, specifically David Bowie and somehow it make it all work. The author is <b>Catherynne M. Valente</b> and the book is <b>Space Opera</b>.<br />
<br />
I adore <b>Valente</b> and have ever since I first encountered her and her work at Worldcon 2010. I was however unaware that she could do comedy. Some of her books have funny moments, but never out and out comedy. Space Opera destroys that misconception. It is screamingly funny from start to end<br />
<br />
It's one of the weirdest concepts that there is. The other many many sentient species throughout our universe and all its countless galaxies have discovered each other and abandoned war in favour of a gladiatorial talent contest. Compete or cease to exist.<br />
<br />
The fate of the world hangs on the skinny shoulders and fading vocals of washed up, alcohol and drug affected former rock star Decibel Jones.<br />
<br />
When the term space opera is used the mind immediately goes to laser firing rocket ships and hotshot pilots. <b>Star Wars</b> is pure space opera. It doesn't think of what happens in <b>Valente's</b> book, but it kind of fits the term even more than the accepted idea.<br />
<br />
As well as being really funny, <b>Space Opera</b> also contains <b>Valente's</b> incredibly magical prose and we get some genuinely alien aliens. I'm kind of sick of vaguely humanoid aliens, I want ones that are so different I have trouble getting my head around them and that's what <b>Space Opera </b>gave me.<br />
<br />
While I often say I can see things being made into films and I'd like someone to try it, I don't want that done to <b>Space Opera</b> (it has apparently been optioned), because I just don't think anyone can do it justice. I want this on to live on in my head and all the heads of other people who have read it.<br />
<br />
<b>Catherynne M. Valente </b>knocks another one out of the park!<br />
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<b>Lovecraft Country </b>by <b>Matt Ruff</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
I really liked <b>Matt Ruff's Mirage</b>, so that's what made me pick up <b>Lovecraft Country.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
It was one of those books where I knew I was on a winner almost from the opening lines.<br />
<br />
Creepy as fuck were the words that kept popping up in my mind as I read it. It's not only the supernatural elements, either. It's the attempts of people of colour in certain parts of 50's US trying to live in a country that is theirs, but does everything possible to make them feel like they don't belong.<br />
<br />
Ruff infuses this into very Lovecraftian stories. <b>Lovecraft Country</b> isn't one single narrative. It's a series of interconnected stories that weave in and around each other. It's very well done and makes the reader really sit up and think. While there is major creep factor and plenty of ick moments, there's also a good deal of humour and humanity in this. I got a sense of real about it and it's characters and that's not easy to do these days, or at least not too many authors do it well.<br />
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Hollywood and I must be on a wavelength at present, because after reading <b>Lovecraft Country </b>I found out that a TV series based on it was in the works. Hope it can do the same thing to me that the book did.<br />
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<b>The Calculating Stars</b> by <b>Mary Robinette Kowal</b><br />
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I really liked <b>Mary Robinette Kowal's Glamourist Histories</b>, I also enjoyed the film <b>Hidden Figures. The Calculating Stars </b>combines the two.<br />
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Admittedly subject material for <b>Mary Robinette Kowal's Glamourist Histories</b> and <b>The Calculating Stars</b> are vastly different. One is a series about magic being used in a Regency setting and the other is about a how useful a mathematical genius is when a meteorite hits the Earth and the space program has to be accelerated greatly as a result.<br />
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The two do a little more than share an author, though. They're both alternate histories, they both feature strong female protagonists that have talent in traditionally male dominated areas. Because she is not talking about magic, though <b>The Calculating Stars</b> is far more granded in reality.<br />
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A lot of The Calculating Stars hinges on Elma and her struggle as a Jewish woman with a facility for numbers who also happens to be a highly talented pilot to make not only the males around her (her husband is one major exception) take her seriously, but also her fellow female 'computers' and pilots, who often seem to feel that Elma is given advantages by the colour of her skin, her family connections (Dad was a highly ranked and regarded military official) and her marriage (husband is an engineer, although Elma as a mathematical genius is actually smarter and better qualified than he is).<br />
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The book is actually a prequel to the author's Hugo award winning novelette <b>The Lady Astronaut of Mars</b>, but it doesn't need to be read to help with <b>The Calculating Stars</b> (in fact I'd recommend not reading it before, because it does contain some very slight spoilers).<br />
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Kowal captures 1950's America beautifully in this. Meteorite and its effects, aside, this is a great view of the period. Again it's not an action laden book, but no less compelling for it's talk of numbers and trajectories as well as the moral and gender politics of the time. In fact for a fairly 'hard' science fiction novel, there's not a lot of jargon and I found myself merrily zipping through the pages and I am an extremely unscientific reader.<br />
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Elma's story is well worth discovering. There's also a sequel; <b>The Fated Sky</b> and I believe there are plans for a 3rd novel.<br />
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<b>Bloody Rose</b> by<b> Nicholas Eames</b><br />
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<b>Nicholas Eames</b> debut <b>Kings of the Wyld </b>was probably my favourite book of 2017, so I awaited the publication of its sequel <b>Bloody Rose</b> with a mix of anticipation and trepidation.<br />
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So often sequels are the difficult second album and they just don't live up to expectations. I am happy to report that<b> Bloody Rose</b> is not one of those. I still personally prefer <b>Kings of the Wyld</b> (having read it 3 times since I picked it up just over a year ago), but this is a worthy follow up.<br />
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Eames resisted the temptation of making Clay 'Slowhand' Cooper and rest of Saga the focus of <b>Bloody Rose</b> and instead gave us a brand new protagonist; Tam Hashford, totally unconnected to Saga, well at least until she joins the band headlined by Bloody Rose, the daughter or Golden Gabe, the front man of Saga.<br />
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<b>Kings of the Wyld</b> was very male dominated and <b>Eames</b> redresses that with <b>Bloody Rose</b> by flipping it around. Rose's band is more girl than boy, although she has male associates and they're an important part of her group.<br />
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Despite the book's title, the story is told through the eyes of Tam, not Rose, and I felt that Tam, not Rose was more the focus. Whereas <b>Kings of the Wyld</b> was about an old band getting back together (can't help thinking it was based more on Led Zeppelin than anyone else),<b> Bloody Rose</b> is about a newbie starting out with a currently hot band, so that gives it a different dynamic.<br />
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<b>Bloody Rose</b> also makes it very clear that this is a duology, not a trilogy or an open ended series. I like that to be honest, and I'll be interested to see what<b> Nicholas Eames</b> does next.<br />
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<b>Small Change </b>by<b> Jo Walton</b><br />
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This is where I'm cheating a bit, although technically this is 3 books (<b>Farthing</b>, <b>Ha'Penny</b> and <b>Half a Crown</b>), it's a very closely connected trilogy, so I think I can include it as one story.<br />
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<b>Small Change </b>is a clever alternate history, it works on the theory that small changes can have massive effects. The 'small change' is that Rudolf Hess' attempted peace mission to Great Britain actually worked. This ended hostilities between Nazi Germany and Great Britain in 1941 and meant that the US never entered the European Theatre of war, it also kept Hitler in power and altered the path that Great Britain took.<br />
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The first book in the series; <b>Farthing</b>, takes place in the late 40's and has the feel of a British cozy mystery. While that is the focus of the story, there's also a sinister side story going on about how Great Britain is inexorably sliding towards a fascist style of government. The story is told using two points of the view. The story of Lucy Kahn (one of the Farthing set and a bright young thing married to a successful if not socially acceptable Jewish banker) is told in first person and the story of Inspector Peter Carmichael of Scotland Yard investigating the murder at the heart of the mystery is told in 3rd person. Carmichael is the hero of all 3 books and each time his story is written in 3rd person.<br />
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The second book; <b>Ha'Penny</b>, is another mystery, but this one centres around a terrorist plot with Hitler being one of 2 targets. The first person part of the story features the voice of Viola Lark; an actress and also loosely based on one of the real life Mitford sisters (I'm actually quite interested in the Mitfords and I could pick most of them mentioned in <b>Ha'Penny</b>, but Viola's character eluded me. I suspect she was a combination of a few of them and not meant to be any one of them in particular, the timing's also out. The book is set in the late 40's and the Mitford's real hey days were in the 20's and 30'). Peter Carmichael's investigation into the plot that Viola is drawn into forms the other part of the book, and details how he finds himself going further down a slippery slope he never wanted to be on.<br />
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<b>Half a Crown</b> is a bit of a departure. One the title references currency that is a worth a good deal more than the first two (a farthing is equivalent to a quarter of a penny, and a ha'penny is slang for half a penny. Half a crown is worth two shillings and sixpence, which is one eighth of a pound). This time the mystery Carmichael is investigating is a lot closer to home as it concerns his 'niece' or adopted daughter Elvira Royston (and she takes the first person narration). The other departure was the timing of the book. The first two were set in the late 40's, this one is in the early '60's.<br />
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There's a happy ending to <b>Half a Crown</b>, which is in contrast to the other two and everything seemed to end too neatly, tied up in a bow, While it flies in the face of conventional wisdom, I think a more bleak ending would have suited the whole thing better. The happy ending seemed tacked on and contrived. Overall a great series, but the ending left me slightly dissatisfied.<br />
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<b>The Stars Now Unclaimed </b>by <b>Drew Williams</b><br />
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Remember how before I spoke about space opera and how the book named that was absolutely not what people think of when the sub genre is mentioned? Well, <b>The Stars Now Unclaimed </b>is what people think of when the term space opera is mentioned.<br />
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There's a quote on the front of the book by author <b>Becky Chambers</b>: 'come for the exploding spaceships, stay for the intriguing universe' and that sums up<b> The Stars Now Unclaimed</b> perfectly.<br />
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What begins as a fairly standard extraction for Justified mercenary Kamali soon turns into a massive space battle that Kamali not only has to win to save the life of the gifted young telepath that she's rescued from a dying back water planet, but to secure the existence of the Justified from inexorable power hungry hive mind that calls itself The Pax.<br />
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There's a lot of action in this and that includes plenty of battles and snarky, pithy quips as well of heaps of stuff going boom, but there's also time to build a bit of a world and a back story about exactly how this particular universe found itself in the situation that it is in.<br />
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The characters are, as in most things that push my buttons, likeable and relateable. One thing I did love were the ships themselves. They're AI's, but they have personalities and make the reader feel for them and support them. It's essential in anything like this to get reader buy in and that's what <b>The Stars Now Unclaimed</b> does. It's been successful and I really hope there's a sequel, because it is perfectly set up for one.<br />
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<b>The Grey Bastards</b> by <b>Jonathan French</b><br />
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This is an example of why I do my best of lists at the end of the year, not in October or November, which many others seem to do. That way this one would have missed out (I read it mid December) and that would have been a great shame, because this was a fantastic fun book.<br />
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I don't really like grim dark. I find it too bleak and often contains content that seems to be dark just of the sake of it, however something about <b>The Grey Bastards </b>made me pick it up off the shelf. I think it may have been the fact that the half orcs were the focus of it and it's always interesting to see something from the point of view of characters that are often seen as villains.<br />
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Right from the beginning I got a very strong feeling that I was reading a fantasy version of <b>Sons of Anarchy</b>. The half orc bands came across as being organised like outlaw biker gangs, they ride giant war pigs, which they refer to as 'hogs'. The main character, tough as nails, but intelligent and with a bit of a soft spot is called Jackal, but many refer to him as Jack. The leader of <b>The Grey Bastards</b> has a shadowy past, is largely out for himself more than the band, conflicts with Jackal and is called the Claymaster.<b> Jonathan French</b> couldn't have really made his inspiration much more obvious. This was actually fine by me, because I really liked <b>Sons of Anarchy </b>and occasionally thought that it would make a really good fantasy novel.<br />
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<b>French</b> had me with his characters. I loved Jackal, Oats (you have to love a character who's steed is called Ugfuck) and Fetching. I sat up reading way later than I had intended one night because I hit a key moment in the book and I just couldn't stop at that point.<br />
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The world itself was interesting, it was a different setting, The author admitted to being inspired by spaghetti westerns and Reconquista Spain. Nice to see different views of some of the standard races like the orcs (called 'thicks'), elves, centaurs and I think the halfings were hobbits, but they could have as easily been gnomes.<br />
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There's a lot more story to come and a new book is due this year. I'll be getting a copy.<br />
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So that's 2018, 2019 could be worse than equalling that lot.<br />
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<br />Elfyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09955473789404631382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1140138057734139169.post-1916137108284321252018-12-30T21:54:00.005-08:002018-12-30T21:54:55.168-08:00The Legend of Eli Monpress by Rachel Aaron<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As threatened at the end of the last review I'm going to reread series that I've read before. Most of them will be rereads, but there are a few series in the library that I only read part of (Katherine Kerr's <b>Deverry </b>series springs to mind) before abandoning and they've since been completed, so some of those series will be entirely new to me. In most places I'll cover complete series, but in some cases when the series is composed of relatively self contained volumes (Jim Butcher's <b>The Dresden Files</b> for example), I'll do as much of the series as is already out. I also want to where I can highlight lesser known series, which is why I picked <b>The Legend of Eli Monpress</b> by Rachel Aaron for the first entry, rather than something by Joe Abercrombie, or Ben Aaronovitch's <b>Peter Grant</b> series.<br />
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I had an interesting history with Eli Monpress. I read the first book; <b>The Spirit Thief</b>, when it first came out and it was part of a experiment publishers played with back at the time. It may have been that readers of epic fantasy were becoming increasingly hacked off by the wait between volumes (we all know the authors I'm talking about, so there's no need to mention them again here) and so the publishers printed the books shot gun fashion, one after the other. The first one I can remember seeing do this with success was Brent Weeks <b>Night Angel </b>trilogy. It doesn't happen now, so as a marketing ploy the whole thing may not have been as successful as the publishers hoped.<br />
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<b>The Legend of Eli Monpress</b> started out as one of these experiments. By the time I picked up <b>The Spirit Thief</b>, the 2nd and 3rd volume were out. This gave me, and I am sure many others, the impression that it was in fact a trilogy. It's not. There are actually 5 books in it, although because it went through a few different formats, plenty of readers also have it as 3 volumes. What they did, for reasons known only to the marketing department of Orbit, was put the first 3 books out. Then wait for them to go out of publication, collect them into an omnibus, wait again for a whole bunch of new readers to discover Eli and then eventually put out the final 2 books, although they took their own sweet time about that, too.<br />
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There was also a bit of a marketing issue. The <b>Eli Monpress </b>books don't really fit neatly into any category. I can remember when they first came out, due to the cover (it was pretty bad) people asking what they were: paranormal (they're not), urban fantasy, epic, secondary world, etc... They have elements of a number of different sub genres, but they fit neatly as fantasy without confusing it with a bunch of sub genres.<br />
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<b>The Spirit Thief </b>introduces readers to the cocky, but strangely charming thief Eli Monpress and his partners in crime, the swordsman Josef Liechten wielder of the greatest awakened sword in the world; The Heart of War, a sword that has the power of a mountain within it and Nico, a insubstantial girl that carries the spirit of a demon within her small frame. Because Eli's aim in life is to get the biggest bounty ever offered for a single person on his head, that brings him direct conflict with the determined, straight down the line spiritualist Miranda Lyonette and her ever present friend the giant ghost hound Gin.<br />
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The first book is fairly light, and I can see in this grim dark worshipping world why some readers shied away from it. For me that was a selling point. I do read grim dark (in fact a grim dark will be making my books of 2018 post tomorrow), but it has to be in my opinion superlative to separate it from the unrelentingly bleak, dark for the sake of being dark, stuff that is glutting the market. The kingdom of Mellinor in the first book wouldn't look out of place in a Disney film (having said that the whole thing would make a great animation if anyone were minded to do it. Eli is as much Flynn Rider as he is Locke Lamora).<br />
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The first 3 books have the feel of a trilogy with each book giving us a new story about Eli and his two partners. Having reread it I can't see how the author could have wrapped it up earlier, but I think it could have been accomplished by making all 3 of them a bit bigger.<br />
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I think that maybe it was a trilogy and for various reasons it was decided to make it into 5 books. The gap between the 3rd and 4th book does show. They have different feel and it felt to me like they were written a fair time after the first 3, when the author's mind set had altered. They're a lot darker and they're also a lot bigger, in some cases unnecessarily (I'm completely over the extra words so many authors now, especially fantasy ones, seem to need to use to tell a story. I blame the ease of using a word processor), but they're still fairly good if they lack the joy of the original books.<br />
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There are some excellent ideas present in the series: the Heart of War, the ability to speak to the spirit present within all things like buildings and cutlery or carts, the way the spirits bound to the spiritualists interact with whoever they're bound to (Miranda's spirits were particularly fun to read as was Karon, Eli's lava spirit) and then there was Benehime, the Shepherdess, who over the 5 books went from beautiful, loving goddess to carelessly evil and cruel, especially where Eli was concerned.<br />
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It's a fun ride as a series, and it's a shame that it often gets overlooked now.<br />
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Next up, in the new year will be <b>The Dresden Files</b>. not including the 2 short story collections (I haven't decided whether I'll do those as well, I may inlcude them in a separate post if I do) that weighs in at 15 books, so I may be some time.Elfyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09955473789404631382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1140138057734139169.post-7389006605385302222018-10-18T01:54:00.002-07:002018-10-18T01:54:46.191-07:00Mount Toberead 18 Small Change by Jo Walton<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I first encountered Jo Walton as a writer when <b>Among Others</b> was nominated for the 2011 Best Novel Hugo. Up until reading it, I had been intending to vote for <b>A Dance with Dragons</b> by George R. R Martin, but after reading <b>Among Others</b>, voted for it, instead. It wound up winning the Hugo that year. My next Jo Walton experience was <b>What Makes This Book So Great?</b> A collection of essays she wrote for the website Tor.com about reading and rereading some of her favourite SFF works and authors. My wife then drew my attention to<b> Tooth and Claw</b>. <b>Tooth and Claw</b> actually won the World Fantasy Award in 2004. I absolutely loved<b> Tooth and Claw</b>. It’s not the easiest book to describe, but the best way to do it from my point of view is if Jane Austen were a dragon in a dragon dominated society then she would have written <b>Tooth and Claw</b>. I’ve read other authors who have attempted to write in an Austenish style, but Jo Walton has done it the best and with dragons, no less!<u></u><u></u></div>
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My wife read Jo Walton’s <b>Small Change</b> series a few years ago, but it sat in my tbr pile for a while, until undertaking this project gave me the time to actually read it.<u></u><u></u></div>
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It’s a trilogy, although the books could be read separately, although as there’s a fairly major spoiler in <b>Half A Crown </b>(the 3<sup>rd</sup> book) for something that happens in <b>Ha’penny</b> (the 2<sup>nd</sup> book), it wouldn’t be wise to read those 2 out of order. I found the title of the trilogy and each book itself quite clever. <b>Small Change</b> has a double meaning. It can refer to small denominations of British currency, which farthings and ha’pennies definitely are, but in the case of the books, which are alternate history, it also refers to what may have appeared to be a small change in history at the time it happened, but had much wider reaching implications for the future.<u></u><u></u></div>
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In this case the ‘small change’ was that Rudolf Hess’ 1941 ‘peace’ mission actually succeeded and brought Britain’s war with the Third Reich to a peaceful end 4 years earlier than in our reality (in our reality Hess’ plane crashed, he was taken into custody and spent the rest of his life in prison).<u></u><u></u></div>
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<b>Farthing</b> picks up 8 years later in 1949 and we see a post war Britain that in some ways is similar to the one we know, but in other ways vastly different. Politically in particular. The aristocracy used the peace and their part in it to keep themselves at the top of the tree and the country appears to be at the start of a slide into a Nazi style fascist government. The book itself centres around the murder of a powerful and influential man, what this means politically and how it gets blamed on an innocent party. The book is told from two points of view. One is that of Inspector Peter Carmichael of Scotland Yard, and Jo Walton elected to use tight 3<sup>rd</sup> person for his story and investigation into the homicide of James Thirkie. The second is from Lucy Kahn (nee Eversley), and it is told in 1<sup>st</sup> person. Although Carmichael is her major character (his 3<sup>rd</sup> person pov is consistent across the trilogy), I found Lucy more engaging and was actually more taken in by her story than Carmichael’s. The author admitted drawing inspiration from the ‘cosy’ mysteries of Dorothy L. Sayers, and there is definitely a sense of that in Carmichael’s story, although the deeper he and Lucy dig into the murder, the darker things become and the entire book has this sinister undertone, which was actually very effective. The incidents in the book will forever alter the lives of the two narrators.<u></u><u></u></div>
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<b>Ha’penny </b>takes place mere weeks after the events of <b>Farthing</b> and Carmichael is once again called into service on a major case, this time involving a terrorist plot to assassinate both the visiting Hitler and the British PM. The first person POV in <b>Ha’penny</b> is Viola Lark, an actress, and one of the famous (in this world) Larkins sisters. The Larkins’ girls are loosely based on the Mitford sisters (they were a fascinating bunch, kind of like the 30’s equivalent of the Kardashians. To find out more about them I highly recommend <b>The Sisters </b>by Mary S. Lovell). Jo Walton obviously had to change a few things (the time for one) I couldn’t really work out which of the sisters Viola was meant to be, it was either Nancy or Diana, it was more obvious who Unity, Decca, Deborah and Pamela were. I liked Viola and found her relationship with Devlin quite interesting, however I never warmed to her in the same way I did Lucy. I think knowing a bit about the Mitfords worked against me on that score, as I think individually the actual Mitford girls were more interesting in real life than any fictional counterpart could be. Whereas <b>Farthing</b> was a ‘cosy’ mystery, <b>Ha’penny</b> had more of a political thriller feel about it. Owed more to Len Deighton than it did to Dorothy Sayers.<u></u><u></u></div>
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The final book in the trilogy; <b>Half A Crown</b> pis set in 1960, and Britain is looking more and more like the Third Reich all the time. The small change known as half a crown does feature, but the title refers to Edward VIII, the Duke of Windsor (Jo Walton’s afterword leaves the reader in no doubt about her feelings on the man, I feel largely the same from what I’ve read about him, and I haven’t even read his autobiography, which Jo Walton has). Again Carmichael has to foil and uncover a sinister plot to save himself and the country to which he has devoted his life. The fate of his ward; Elvira Royston; a young debutant, through which the 1<sup>st</sup> person narration is handled is also at stake. I liked Elvira more than Viola and I had her up there with Lucy. In some ways <b>Half A Crown</b> was the least satisfying of the trilogy, this is largely because the happy ending felt a bit tacked on and contrived. I felt my believability bone creaking a bit. Maybe I’m getting old and cynical, but in many ways I would have preferred a bleaker ‘rocks fall, everyone dies’ ending, or even an ambiguous one.<u></u><u></u></div>
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Overall, though, the trilogy was excellent. Although I know the books were written over 10 years ago now (<b>Half A Crown</b> came out in 2008) I’m surprised that they don’t get more attention (in fact Jo Walton as an author does not get the attention that she deserves, not just from the SFF community, but from the reading public in general). She said she wrote them because of the world political situation at the time, but I think they’re even more apt now, particularly with the current US administration, and it’s attempts to shift everything further right. There is a <b>Fatherland </b>and <b>SS-GB</b> feel to them, because the result of WWII was significantly altered, and if they’d been set in the US, they probably could have felt rather like <b>The Man in the High Castle</b>. There is also more than a hint of Orwell’s <b>1984</b> (and that is in fact referenced in the trilogy a couple of times as the ‘scientifiction’ novel 1974), which Orwell was prompted to write by events he saw happening around him in Britain in 1948 (the title is the last 2 numbers of the year inverted, Orwell saw Britain getting there in approximately 40 years). Because of the gentle way its presented and the way the menace just lays there in the background for the most part I think that it’s a little better than either Harris’ or Deighton’s efforts and more believable (the end to <b>Half A Crown</b> aside).<u></u><u></u></div>
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Wonderful, under appreciated trilogy, and a great way to end the Mount Toberead project. I don’t have anything for X, Y or Z. After this I’ll be attempting to reread, and in some cases, read, series. I’ll endeavour to cover mostly completed series, but a few ongoing ones may also slip in there. I’ll also try and cover things that may not be as well known. For instance, I’m not sure what I’ll do when I get to M, but I can promise you that it will not be <b>A Song of Ice and Fire</b>, I’ve read all the books multiple times and quite like them, but the internet doesn’t need another review of it, by the same token T won’t be <b>Lord of the Rings</b>.</div>
Elfyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09955473789404631382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1140138057734139169.post-49370953404883149912018-10-05T21:40:00.001-07:002018-10-05T21:40:08.619-07:00Mount Toebread 17 Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It will come as no surprise to anyone who has read this blog for any length of time that I am a massive fan of <b>Catherynne M. Valente </b>(I think at least 2 of her books have made it into my best books of the year list, and this year's marvelous <b>Space Opera</b> is looking good to do that again this year). I picked <b>Deathless </b>up at Worldcon in 2011. So being a fan and seeming to read most of what she writes as she writes and publishes it why did it take me until now to read<b> Deathless</b> when I already had it in my possession?<br />
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I'm going to plead lack of time. My wife and I bought a massive amount of books at the 2011 Worldcon. Down here is Australia books are pretty heavily taxed and they cost way more than they do elsewhere, especially in the US. Back in 2011 the Australian dollar was at parity with the US dollar, this meant that we were effectively paying half price. It's fair to say that we went a little bit nuts (we had to buy another suitcase to fit all the books into!). <b>Deathless </b>was probably a casualty of that. We arrived home with a suitcase full of books to read through (we may not have read them all even now), and <b>Deathless</b> got a bit lost into the black hole that is our personal library until I embarked on this quest.<br />
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I was predisposed to like <b>Deathless</b> for a few reasons. Chief among them being that it was a <b>Valente</b>. In my opinion this woman's shopping list would make fascinating reading. I think she's actually an even better writer now than she was in 2011, though. Another was that I'd come off reading a <b>Michael Sullivan</b>, which I had not liked, and this would be a great refresher to that less than pleasant task.<br />
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It is a great book and so incredibly well written. It's more than one book, though. It's not long or big, but it tells such a massive story. The tone changes as the events around the book, do.<br />
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It's the story of Russia, pre and post Revolution, how it dealt with the fall of the monarchy, the rise of Communism, the Civil War, Stalinism and the tragedy that was Russia in WWII.<br />
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It's mostly seen through the eyes of Marya Morevna, who marries Koschei the Deathless and observes the events around her and how they transform both the mythical world that Koschei inhabits and the real world that she walks out of and into throughout the book.<br />
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As well as featuring <b>Valente's </b>marvelous facility with language and concept there are also things like the communist collective of domovoi, who were at once amusing and whimsical as well as being sinister and ultimately tragic. There was more than a bit of Animal Farm in them.<br />
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It was really quite an achievement by <b>Valente</b> and I honestly don't think any other writer currently working in the field would have thought of doing this, and if they had I doubt they'd have the skill to pull it off as successfully as <b>Valente</b> does almost effortlessly.<br />
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The W's too are looking promising. I've got a <b>Jo Walton</b> trilogy lined up.Elfyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09955473789404631382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1140138057734139169.post-28516167958942609142018-09-02T22:53:00.004-07:002018-09-02T22:53:34.983-07:00Mount Toberead 16 - Rise of Empire by Michael Sullivan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Michael Sullivan </b>didn't take the usual route to publishing success. His <b>Ryria Revelations</b> epic fantasy series was originally self published as 6 novels. When he was successful in that endeavour, a big publisher (Orbit) picked him up and reissued the books as 3 omnibuses.<br />
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The easiest way to describe <b>The Riyria Revelations</b> is to call them old fashioned epic fantasy, because that's exactly what they are. Sullivan's writing style or ability falls somewhere between David Eddings and Raymond Feist, he's probably closer to Eddings than Feist, although unlike Eddings he will allow bad things to happen to some of his characters, whereas Eddings was reluctant to let them get so much as a cut finger.<br />
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I read the first omnibus (<b>Theft of Swords</b>) some years ago and found it pleasant enough. Enough that I wanted to continue on at the time, hence <b>Rise of Empire</b> being on Mount Toberead. For various reasons I kept finding other things to read and this one kept being overlooked.<br />
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Remember how I said<b> The Riyria Revelations</b> is old fashioned epic fantasy? Boy, is it ever! To the point that this the middle part of the series is filled with the characters doing some of that pointless wandering about while the author gets all their ducks in a row (someone, somewhere must have told writers of epic fantasy that readers really love this, I don't know who it was, but they didn't do literature any services), the result being that <b>Rise of Empire </b>is incredibly boring and pointless.<br />
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It doesn't help that<b> Sullivan</b> prefers to write characters that are either clearly delineated as either good or bad, with very little in between. While this can be preferable to the multitude of morally ambiguous anti heroes that seem to populate epic fantasy these days, in the hands of some writers it can serve to create some very two dimensional characters that lack any depth whatsoever, and it's rather hard to develop much empathy or be particularly interested in them.<br />
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The only one I really liked much was the minor character of Amilia, unfortunately by the 2nd book of <b>Rise of Empire</b>, she too had lost much of her original interest.<br />
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I found this a real chore to get through, and while <b>Sullivan </b>is an adequate writer that's about as far as it goes. It may pick up in the next book and rise to a triumphant end, but I won't be seeing it.<br />
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Next up, I can't find a T or a U, so it will be straight to V.Elfyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09955473789404631382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1140138057734139169.post-73145501634396707102018-07-11T22:34:00.003-07:002018-09-02T22:53:54.998-07:00Mount Toberead 15 - Ice Station by Matthew Reilly<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I promised something different and I think I have delivered. The vast majority of the works I cover here are either fantasy or science fiction. <b>Matthew Reilly's Ice Station</b> is neither (I guess an argument could be made for science fiction), it's a straight forward, white knuckled, high adrenalin, military action novel.<br />
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The book has been around for 20 years, and it was the author's first traditionally published work, his first novel was a self published effort. My wife rereads it regularly and had recommended it to me a number of times, but I'd read another book by the same author and came away distinctly unimpressed, so I always held off on Ice Station until now.<br />
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I have to say that I loved the book. I started it late on a Thursday night and finished it that Sunday afternoon, and it's a 600 page book.<br />
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Occasionally as a reader I'll encounter a book that grabs me right from page one and won't let me go until I complete it. <b>Ice Station</b> is such a book.<br />
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<b>Matthew Reilly</b> is an unashamed fan of <b>Michael Crichton</b>, and while he covers different material, he has the knack of knowing how to control his audience.<br />
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The premise of <b>Ice Station</b> is fairly preposterous: the scientists manning an American ice station in Antarctica discover what they think is a spacecraft under their facility and a number of them promptly wind up dead. The US reconnaissance unit that come to their rescue are in turn attacked by covert French and British forces, plus there's a killer loose on the base and the reconnaissance lead by the badass Shane 'Scarecrow' Schofield has infiltrators amongst it's make up. Oh, I didn't mention the pod of orcas that hang around the base, either.<br />
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Somehow<b> Reilly</b> makes this all hang together. Like any good action movie, it moves quickly and doesn't give the reader a lot of time to get their breath or realise how some of it really doesn't make a lot of sense when given some time to think about it.<br />
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<b>Reilly </b>writes really good action sequences and there are two massive ones in <b>Ice Station</b>; a firefight on the base early on and a hovercraft chase, where every section ends on a cliff and drags the reader through to see what happens next.<br />
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The characters are fairly strong with decent shades of grey, although there is the occasional white hat and black hat. The author took the time to give them proper back stories and built up some decent chemistry between them, I particularly liked sequences featuring the pre teen science/math geek Kirsty and Scarecrow interacting.<br />
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There's been talk about making this into a film and how it hasn't already happened I do not know. Modern audiences would absolutely lap it up.Elfyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09955473789404631382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1140138057734139169.post-25749154525341128962018-07-09T22:41:00.001-07:002018-07-09T22:41:17.930-07:00Mount Toberead 14 - Boneshaker by Cherie Priest<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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On the face of it <b>Cherie Priest's Boneshaker</b> should be a cracking read: steampunk, alternate history, sky pirates, zombies, honestly what is there not to like?<br />
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Unfortunately it sounds a little better than it actually is. It's set in an alternate 19th century US in Seattle and a US that is beset by a seemingly endless Civil War that has gone on a lot longer than the one in our world did.<br />
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Seattle isn't involved in the war that much, but they have bigger problems, ever since Dr. Leviticus Blue's Boneshaker machine destroyed much of the city and unleashed a noxious gas that turns those exposed to it into mindless shambling undead creatures with a desperate need to feed.<br />
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In most cases I don't really want to read zombie books where we see the zombocalypse take place. In the case of <b>Boneshaker</b> I'm willing to make an exception. Had I read a book where we saw the Boneshaker being built and causing a massive disaster, and actually met the mysterious and brilliant Leviticus Blue, I think I would have liked it more.<br />
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Having said all that I didn't actually dislike <b>Boneshaker</b>. I just found it a bit frustrating. I liked the character of Briar, but she was inconsistent. I did not like the character of Zeke (the son of Briar and Leviticus), he was 15, but acted 12 and was written as if he were younger than he actually was. He behaved much like many pre teen characters in fiction these days, and I find many of them to be suffering from TSTL (Too Stupid To Live) syndrome. Zeke was no exception.<br />
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Often the book itself read as if it were a steampunk extravaganza for the young adult reader, rather than the dark more epic thing it was meant to be.<br />
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Possibly the reason it sat on the shelf for as long as it did was because somewhere I knew the book probably wasn't going to ultimately be for me. Shame, because I generally tend to like <b>Cherie Priest's</b> work.<br />
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R is up next (can't find a Q) and I have something completely different planned.Elfyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09955473789404631382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1140138057734139169.post-56132479072664545242018-06-24T22:40:00.001-07:002018-06-24T22:40:03.836-07:00Mount Toberead 13 - Emperpr Mollusk Versus The Sinister Brain by A. Lee Martinez<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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That title is a mouthful even for the mind that brought readers <b>Gil's All-Fright Diner</b>.<br />
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<b>Gil's All-Fright Diner </b>was <b>A. Lee Martinez's </b>debut novel, it was also the first one I read, and in my mind easily remains his best work.<br />
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<b>Martinez</b> is an interesting author in this day of multi volume series and trilogies, he writes standalone novels. To date he has not written a sequel to any of his books, including <b>Gil's All-Fright Diner</b>, which just screams for a sequel. He also likes to jump genres and sub genres. In some cases they're a mix up of things which makes classification next to impossible, Personally, I think <b>Martinez</b> just likes doing it to annoy people who want to put everything in a neat little box.<br />
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Over time, though, even the most fertile of minds can run a bit low on inspiration, and I think <b>Martinez</b> hit that wall with <b>Emperor Mollusk Versus The Sinister Brain</b>.<br />
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It's not a bad idea at the heart of it. It's a sort of pulp science fiction riff (something that seems to be enjoying a new rush of popularity at present) about the Neptunon self proclaimed Emperor of Earth (or Terra as our planet seems to be known) and the greatest threat he's even faced.<br />
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I'm sure Mollusk was meant to be both entertaining and amusing, but he somehow managed to be neither and became one of the most unlikable heroes I can remember encountering. One of the big problems was that he was too perfect and had the desire to try and turn everything into a joke. This made him look like a try hard. The perfection thing also worked against the story, because it very soon became clear that no matter how dire the situation, nothing would happen to Mollusk.<br />
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I felt that had Mollusk's much put upon bodyguard the Venusian warrior Zala been the central character and narrator that the whole thing would have worked a lot better.<br />
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While I've read a few <b>A. Lee Martinez</b> books that I wish had sequels, this isn't one of them.<br />
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I'll be skipping the letter N, because I just don't have anything that fits for this particular idea, and going straight to P.<br />
<br />Elfyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09955473789404631382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1140138057734139169.post-10801979509428034602018-06-06T22:20:00.002-07:002018-06-06T22:20:41.456-07:00Mount Toberead 12 - The Fairy Godmother by Mercedes Lackey<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Quite some time ago, I was a big fan of Mercedes Lackey/ I read one of her <b>Valdemar</b> books (from memory it the was first of<b> The Last Herald Mage</b> trilogy) and I was hooked. I gathered as much of her <b>Valdemar </b>stuff as I could and then moved onto other things, Amongst them was a wonderful urban fantasy series about a witch called Diana Tregarde. Unfortunately at the time urban fantasy hadn't boomed as a genre and for a number of reasons (sales amongst them) Lackey gave up writing <b>Diana Tregarde</b> books after 3 entries. I still think they're amongst the best things she's written.<br />
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This one sat on Mount Toebread for a while. My wife had read it and other entries into her reimagined fairy tales. <b>The Fairy Godmother</b> is a fun book and some of her alterations to fairy tales are quite clever. In this one Cinderella (known as Elena) becomes the fairy godmother and has to find her own prince. He starts out not very good at all, but after spending a period of time as a donkey, appreciates the advantages he's been given and comes to fall in love with Elena.<br />
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I felt the book could have been a good deal shorter and an easier and better read for it. There was a lot of info dumping around the tales she was telling and involving the magic system she'd invented for this. There was also a fair bit of repetition. Overall it was a solid story, but it did drag through the middle before ramping up the action and ending up as a reader would expect with a fairy tale, happily ever after.<br />
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M looks like fun with A. Lee Martinez on my radar,Elfyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09955473789404631382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1140138057734139169.post-73698919939987179232018-05-04T22:02:00.003-07:002018-05-04T22:02:19.282-07:00Mount Toberead 11 - The Glamourist Histories by Mary Robinette Kowal<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I kind of cheated with these. They were on my Toberead pile, but my wife had read them all and adored them. It was largely due to her urging that I put them in this challenge. I did always want to be read them, it was a matter of getting the right time and I decided to shot gun them all.<br />
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Prior to the publication of <b>Shades of Milk and Honey</b>, <b>Mary Robinette Kowal</b> was better known as a science fiction author, with some of her work having been nominated for the Hugo and Nebula awards,<b> Shades of Milk and Honey</b> was also her first full length novel.<br />
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<b>Shades of Milk and Honey</b> is very much a <b>Jane Austen</b> influenced story. At times it feels like reading <b>Pride and Prejudice </b>or<b> Sense and Sensibility</b>, but with magic in the form of glamour. In that it's another entry in the recent (20 or so years) subgenre of Regency romance influenced fantasy. <b>Susannah Clarke's Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell</b>, <b>Caroline Stevermer and Patricia C. Wrede's Cecelia and Kate </b>series and<b> Emma Newman's Split Worlds</b> all fit into that category in some ways. I don't think the author originally envisioned a series, because the first book is very much standalone, although she gave herself room for growth, particularly in the relationship between her Mr Darcyesque male lead Mr Vincent and her protagonist Jane.<br />
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With <b>Glamour in Glass </b>it became more apparent that the whole idea had legs. This is when the themes in the books started. It was very much a 'war' or even 'spies' book. Showing that glamour had practical military applications put me in mind of similar uses in<b> Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell</b>. The science fiction author in <b>Mary Robinette Kowal </b>came to the fore as she delved deeper into how and why glamour worked. It's interesting to see authors explain how magic works. I've seen people say that<b> Brandon Sanderson</b> has some of the best thought out and explained magic systems. He doesn't hold a candle to what <b>Kowal </b>did with glamour in these books.<br />
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<b>Without a Summer</b> used a historical fact that is only just being better known about in recent times as its backdrop. That was 1816 the year that the eruption of Mt Tambora played havoc with world weather patterns and effectively meant that the northern hemisphere didn't really get a summer. The book was a legal drama and I think of the 5 it was my favourite. The courtroom battle and the machinations of Vincent's horrible aristocratic family kept me reading until late into the night and early into the morning.<br />
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Then came <b>Valour and Vanity</b>, which was the caper/heist novel. This was a heap of fun, we had characters like Vincent's friend Lord Byron playing a significant part. There was a puppeteer character who had to be based on <b>Mary Robinette Kowal</b> herself, who is a puppeteer. And the whole thing was set in Venice. Most of the action took place on Murano, though.<br />
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By the time <b>Of Noble Family </b>came out it was apparent that there had to be a reckoning between Vincent and his father. The book was easily the biggest of the whole series and it had a family saga feel to it. It was also set in the West Indies, which gave it a very exotic feel and is not a place that many fantasies are actually set. Adventure novels, yes, but not fantasy, unless it's a secondary world that has a Caribbean feel to it.<br />
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Overall the entire series was a great read. The characters were solid and the magic had a real feel to it, because of the care and detail the author took and found fit to include. They were well paced and easy to read, they contained fun and drama in the correct amounts. I was a little sad when I finished <b>Of Noble Family</b>, but at the same time I felt that the series and the characters had come to a satisfying conclusion. There is room to write more in the world, but I would prefer that it be left where it was and not go to the well too often.<br />
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<br />Elfyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09955473789404631382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1140138057734139169.post-34140207101252802942018-03-11T21:00:00.003-07:002018-03-11T21:00:34.953-07:00Mount Toberead 10: The Abused Werewolf Rescue Group by Catherine Jinks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>The Reformed Vampire Support Group</b> also by <b>Catherine Jinks</b> is one of the best recent vampire novels I've read over the last 10 or so years. I call it the Anti-Twilight, as it basically explains exactly why being an immortal vampire (especially a teenage one) sucks (pun not intended).<br />
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Despite that, for some reason, the sequel; <b>The Abused Werewolf Rescue Group</b>, wound up on Mount Toberead for quite some time. I really don't know why. It could be that werewolves tend to interest me less than vampires, and I'm really not that into vampires, either.<br />
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One of the unusual things about both books is that they're set in and around Sydney. The reason for this is that <b>Catherine Jinks </b>is an Australian, and she lives in Australia (although not all of her books are set in the country). It's hard to write Australians, although being an Aussie, I probably give that a higher bar than most.<b> Jinks</b> gets it right and her descriptions of her setting prove that she does actually know the city that she's talking about. One of the vernacular things that she did get wrong, though, was referring to tomato sauce as ketchup. We rarely call it that.<br />
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The existence of werewolves along with the vampires in Sydney was mentioned in the first book, and the rescue of some of them being used to illegal dog fights in the outback was also part of the plot.<br />
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This one concerns a fairly clueless young man called Toby, who becomes a werewolf. <b>Jinks </b>changed a few things about the accepted methods and backgrounds of werewolves. It's not passed on by being bitten by an infected one, it's a hereditary thing (rather like in the original <b>Teen Wolf </b>film) and it also seems to affect people with Portuguese or Spanish heritage (not sure why<b> Jinks</b> targeted that particular background, but it was a point of difference).<br />
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Toby came across as quite real, as did his friends Fergus and Amin. In fact I did find it rather odd that Toby, who was a bit whiny and dopey at times, hung out with an idiot like Fergus, I also thought it strange that Amin also hung out with Fergus,. Not only was he an idiot, he was one with dangerous and stupid ideas.<br />
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The story mostly concerns Toby coming to terms with being a werewolf (it sucks about as much as being a teenage vampire does, although at least Toby won't live forever and won't permanently remain at 14 years old, he's also not dead) and trying to get his mother to deal with the reality as well.<br />
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He is eventually taken by members of the same illegal fight ring that appeared in the first book and has to be rescued by members of the Vampire Support Group. It's quite funny, sometimes violent and confronting, it also moves fast and is fairly likeable due to a diverse and interesting, well drawn cast.<br />
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I wish I'd read it a bit earlier. although I still enjoyed it. I did find <b>The Reformed Vampire Support Group </b>a better book, however.Elfyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09955473789404631382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1140138057734139169.post-10602912906720801112018-03-07T20:26:00.000-08:002018-03-07T20:26:12.226-08:00Mount Toberead 9: Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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There aren't a lot of authors whose surnames start with I (there may be, but they aren't on the shelves of our library), so I was in a bit of a quandary until I saw my wife's collection of <b>Eva Ibbitson</b> books. I'd never read anything by her, but my wife had urged me to on a couple of occasions. Here was the opportunity. <b>Journey to the River Sea</b> appealed to me most.<br />
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It's not fantasy, although it does have adventure and it's set in a very different world than that familiar to many of us. It's basically the story of a sunny dispositioned English girl Maia and her life after her parents pass away and she's sent to live with a family of distant relatives in Brazil.<br />
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The Carters, specifically Mrs Carter and her horrible twins Beatrice and Gwendolyn, could have come straight out of Cinderella. Mrs Carter made a splendid Lady Tremaine, and her daughters were excellent stepsisters.<br />
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Maia isn't alone, though, she has her governess Miss Minton and later meets Finn and has the young actor Clovis King. While I found most of the characters a bit too clearly either all bad (Beatrice and Gwendolyn) or all good (Maia, she's actually too pleasant to be believable), I loved Miss Minton, she definitely had layers to her. She also reminded me of<b> Terry Pratchett's </b>Perspicacia Tick.<br />
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The story, while not revolutionary, moves fast and is involving. <b>Ibbotson</b> used her setting well and described it vividly, even if it was just a little too pleasant at times. I did find myself comparing <b>Ibbotson's</b> writing with that of other teen and children's authors and she came off favourably. The others should read some of <b>Ibbotson</b> to work out how to really write.<br />
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After the frustration of <b>A. G. Howard</b>, <b>Eva Ibbotson</b> and Maia were a welcome remedy.<br />
<br />Elfyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09955473789404631382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1140138057734139169.post-55387919842170682602018-02-25T21:01:00.006-08:002018-02-25T21:01:53.679-08:00Mount Toberead 8: Splintered, Unhinged, Ensnared, Untamed and Roseblood by A. G. Howard<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As you can see by the title and the covers above I went on a bit of a binge when I got to H.<br />
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I also probably cheated a bit. The first 3 of the books were already on the shelves, but for completeness sake I bought the 4th (which is a book of short stories set in the same world and featuring the characters from the <b>Splintered</b> series) and the 5th (an entirely new story that I hope for the author's sake and her fans, is a standalone).<br />
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They were my wife's selection (and I think she's read at least the first 2 of the <b>Splintered</b> series), and largely chosen on the strength of the covers, and they are absolutely gorgeous.<br />
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The <b>Splintered</b> series is an entry into the various Wonderland related works. Central character Alyssa Gardner is a descendant of Alice Liddell (the girl who Lewis Carroll based Alice on) and as such has very vivid dreams set in Wonderland and also hears bugs speak to her. Alyssa lives in the town of Pleasance in Texas (Texas is also where the author lives, and the town name is a bit of an Easter egg for anyone who knows a little bit about the source material, Alice Liddell's middle name was Pleasance), and her mother is institutionalised for attempting to harm her daughter (this is a recurring theme in Howard's books, the lead character of <b>Roseblood </b>was also a survivor of attempted harm by a family member, in that case it was her grandmother). Alice's female descendants all seem to suffer mentally because of their origins. Alyssa also claims that Alice suffered from mental illness towards the end of her life (I can't find anything to suggest that this was in fact the case) and was treated with electroshock therapy, using electric eels (again I can't find anything that says Alice Liddell, or Hargreaves as her married name, was ever given electroshock therapy, or that it was ever administered using electric eels to provide the current). I can't work out if the author actually thought this was real or deliberately played with history to have fun with her readers, maybe it was a way of illustrating Alyssa's state of mind, but I'm not convinced that was the case.<br />
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Eventually Alyssa does find her way to Wonderland and is accompanied by hunky bad boy Jeb Holt (<b>Howard</b> has a thing for bad boys, there are 2 of them in the <b>Splintered</b> series and 1 in <b>Roseblood</b>). They meet up with Morpheus (the 3rd point of the love triangle) and set about to try and fix Wonderland and in the process help Alyssa's life in our world.<br />
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I have to speak about Morpheus here. Plenty of the characters are altered versions of the ones seen in Lewis Carroll's original, heavily influenced by Tim Burton's take, but Morpheus is probably the most changed. He's actually the hookah smoking caterpillar, although metamorphosed into a moth. He is weirdly enough a good deal younger than he was as a caterpillar and now speaks with a Cockney accent. I've never seen any other work that tried to make a romantic connection between Alice and the caterpillar, but <b>Splintered</b> does it. He's actually not just interested in Alyssa, but anyone from her family line, it's just that Alyssa is the youngest and he believes he can keep her that way. That concept and the entire character are actually rather creepy, and I still don't understand why the author or the main character was attracted to him on any level.<br />
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Each book in the trilogy follows a different character's journey. <b>Splintered</b> is Alyssa's, <b>Unhinged</b> is Morpheus' and <b>Ensnared</b> is Jeb's. The ending book saw Alyssa faced with the choice of living out her days in the real world with Jeb or staying forever young in Wonderland with Morpheus. The author worked it so that Alyssa got to eat her cake and have it too. I felt rather ripped off by that and think that the readers were shortchanged.<br />
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<b>Howard</b> has strengths and weaknesses as an author. For me the weaknesses outnumbered the strengths. She writes fairly strong characters, although she can only write 3 types of characters. Replace Morpheus with Etalon in <b>Roseblood</b> and no one would notice the difference, Rune from <b>Roseblood</b> is basically a dark haired Alyssa and when she write Alyssa's mother Alison as a young teen in Untamed, if she hadn't occasionally mentioned the name Alison I would have been convinced that I was reading about Alyssa. I must admit I did kind of like Jeb, except for when he went all alpha male in the guise of doing right by Alyssa.<br />
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Her weaknesses as an author are many. Firstly there's the bad boy obsession. Then there's her taking liberties with actual history to suit her story (she seems to subscribe to a theory that The Phantom of the Opera was in fact some sort of psychic vampire, she also seems to think that <b>The Phantom of the Opera</b> was a factual recounting of events, and not a fiction). There are a lot of very elaborate descriptions of clothes that simply aren't required. No one seems to own a couch or a sofa, they all have chaise lounges. She uses a lot of $5 words when a $2 word would do just fine and probably make her point more clearly.<br />
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So why did I read 5 books? That's one of <b>Howard's </b>strengths. She does weave a clever and involving enough story that the reader wants to read to the end and find out what happens, even if she does mess it up by giving her work too happy an ending.<br />
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I will mention that the only reason I got through <b>Roseblood</b> was sheer bloodymindedness.<br />
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The <b>Splintered</b> trilogy and the associated book of short stories (Untamed) have their moments and are harmless enough pieces of YA fantasy romantic fluff. <b>Roseblood</b> is something else altogether, the only good thing about that book is the cover (and that wasn't drawn by the author). The best review I can give it is: <b>The Phantom of the Opera</b> meets <b>Twilight</b>.<br />
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Now that I've managed to climb out of the worlds of <b>A. G. Howard</b> with all my brain cells intact, I'll see what I can find with an I author.Elfyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09955473789404631382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1140138057734139169.post-44057685191179534722018-01-31T20:28:00.003-08:002018-01-31T20:28:29.382-08:00Mount Toberead 7: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'm not sure why this one sat on the mountain as long as it did, and it was literally years. It could have to do with the fact that I'm really not that into <b>Gaiman</b>. I have read some of his work (<b>Good Omens</b>, which he cowrote with <b>Terry Pratchett</b> and I mainly read that because of <b>Pratchett's </b>involvement, <b>Neverwhere</b> and <b>Norse Gods</b>), and came away not all that impressed.<b> Norse Gods</b> was fun, but I tend to prefer the retellings by the likes of <b>Roger Lancelyn Green</b>.<br />
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Anyway the letter G came up. I looked at the shelves in the library and <b>The Graveyard Book </b>leapt out at me. It is far and away the best <b>Neil Gaiman</b> book I've read. It won the Hugo and I can see why. It may suffer from the fact that people see it as a 'kids book', and yes it was clearly written for a younger audience, but it's one of those rare books that works on a cross generational level. Kids can read it and will enjoy it, but adults can also read and enjoy it, but possibly for a number of different reasons.<br />
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It's certainly a different sort of book, about a child who escapes from a murder attempt and is found by ghosts in a nearby graveyard. They raise him, along with the help of a vampire and dub him Nobody. Often protagonists in novels aimed at younger readers can grate on older readers. I didn't get that with Bod, I genuinely liked him and wished him well.<br />
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<b>The Graveyard Book </b>is quite enchanting. It is at various times funny, touching, sad, frightening and tense. I haven't heard anything about a filmed version, but I think it would work well on screen, possibly better than other filmed <b>Gaiman</b> works have. The version I read featured illustrations by <b>Chris Riddell</b> and they set it off perfectly.<br />
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<br />Elfyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09955473789404631382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1140138057734139169.post-37999123995615545312018-01-30T21:45:00.000-08:002018-01-30T21:45:37.889-08:00Mount Toberead 6: The Woman Who Died a Lot by Jasper Fforde<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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How did this one even wind up on Mount Toberead?<b> The Eyre Affair</b> (<b>Jasper Fforde's</b> debut and the first book in the <b>Thursday Next</b> series) is one of my all time favourite books. I've read it many times and enjoy it every time. The two sequels (<b>Lost in a Good Book</b> and <b>The Well of Lost Plots</b>) were worthy successors and together make a wonderful trilogy. That is however where it should have ended. There can be too much of a good thing, and the<b> Thursday Next</b> books have been becoming less and less entertaining, beginning with the 4th book of the series (<b>Something Rotten</b>), there have been 3 books since<b> Something Rotten</b>.<br />
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<b>Jasper Fforde </b>hasn't written another <b>Thursday Next </b>book since <b>The Woman Who Died a Lot</b>, that was in 2012, and while there is a note in the back that Thursday will return, there hasn't been anything forthcoming. I kind of hope there isn't, because Thursday Next has become the sort of series that lives on past glories and has gone to the well too many times, only to find it dry.<br />
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Some of my most loved things about the books were the Bookworld and Thursday's Uncle Mycroft. Neither are present in <b>The Woman Who Died a Lot</b>. Fortunately Thursday still has her pet dodo Pickwick, but there's not enough of the extinct bird, either.<br />
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By now the jokes have become stale and strained. The characters behave illogically, they've always been silly, but that was in keeping with the sheer weirdness of the reality they lived in, in this book and the previous one, it just seemed off. There's a great deal of deus ex machina at work here, so readers know that the characters aren't in any real peril, because they'll find some magical way out of whatever situation they find themselves in. This kills tension and detracts from the narrative itself. The situation of Thursday's son Friday was one of the most interesting, but even that ended with a whimper rather than a bang.<br />
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To be honest, and it hurts to say this, but<b> The Woman Who Died a Lot</b> could have stayed on the mountain and I wouldn't be any the poorer for not having read it.Elfyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09955473789404631382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1140138057734139169.post-18062529444825819032018-01-29T20:38:00.004-08:002018-01-30T21:46:02.203-08:00Mount Toberead 5: The Hanged Man by P. N. Elrod<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Firstly do not pay any attention to the cover. It's awful. I'm not sure what they were trying to do with it, but it bears next to no relation to the book behind it.<br />
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My wife had read this and really enjoyed it, so when I came to E in this particular reading challenge I decided to give it a whirl.<br />
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It's fairly hard to categorise. It's rather steampunky, although I don't recall seeing an airship. It is set in Victorian times in London, although it's an alternate Victorian age, with the young queen marrying a charming commoner, rather than Albert, and as a consequence gave the vote to women much earlier than happened in our reality, and they play larger more responsible roles in society in general.<br />
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There's a paranormal aspect to it, in that the central character Alex (full name Alexandrina, after the Queen) is a reader. This means that she can partially read people's minds. Werewolves and seers also make appearances in the book.<br />
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It has a mystery. Alex works for the police force in a way and uses her talents to solve murders, which is what the title refers to, her latest case concerns a hanged man.<br />
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There's also some romance between Alex and the by the book, but upstanding Lieutenant Brooks, who is assigned to Alex for most of the case in the book.<br />
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It was quite a lot of fun with plenty of quirky characters and an interesting look at an alternate reality. It occasionally put me in mind of <b>Gail Carriger's The Parasol Protectorate</b>, although not as funny and <b>The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences </b>by <b>Philippa Ballantine</b> and <b>Tee Morris</b>, not as steampunky.<br />
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The ending indicates that it's the first book in a series, although no sequels have yet appeared.Elfyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09955473789404631382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1140138057734139169.post-80383920450764421532018-01-24T20:27:00.000-08:002018-01-24T20:27:04.379-08:00Mount Toberead 4: The Woodcutter by Kate Danley<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Why was this in the pile? Look at that cover! How could you not buy it? The cover initially drew my eye when I first saw it in the book shop and I bought it for my wife. It was more her sort of thing than mine. For one reason or another (mostly that we have so many books!) neither of us ever got around to reading it, until now.<br />
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On the surface of it <b>The Woodcutter </b>sounds like another fairy tale themed YA romance. The actual book is very different. There is a romance, but it's not YA. There are also fairy tales, but it's not one fairy tale, it's loads of them. There is pretty much every European fairy tale you could think of, and even a few you may not know, shoe horned into the pages of<b> The Woodcutter</b>.<br />
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It's a quick and easy read, but also quite fun. It's not really humourous as such, in fact the title character is rather humourless, but the fun comes from the spin that <b>Kate Danley</b> has put on the well known tales and seeing how she'll weave them into her narrative.<br />
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I was pleasantly surprised by this. It made me think of <b>Garth Nix's Frogkisser!</b> which I adored, but whereas <b>Frogkisser! </b>riffed on fairy tale tropes, it was an original story with original characters. This has those same tropes, but because they're being enacted by the characters they were originally written for, no new characters.<br />
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I also kind of like the idea that there's a world out there where all the fairy tale characters live together. That's one of the things I like about <b>Amy Mebberson's</b> webcomic <b>Pocket Princesses</b>. I liked the idea so much that I've even used it in two books of my unpublished <b>Realmspace</b> series. Admittedly <b>Realmspace </b>may never be published, but I keep writing them because they're so much fun.<br />
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It's that rare beast in fantasy these days, in that it is a standalone story. Admittedly I'm uncovering more of those with this reading project (3 out of the 4 books I've read have been standalone). I could see it making a pretty good film and it's one of those unknown little gems.Elfyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09955473789404631382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1140138057734139169.post-79488326706774188572018-01-22T21:48:00.001-08:002018-01-22T21:48:09.710-08:00Mount Toberead 3: Chalk by Paul Cornell<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Chalk</b> didn't spend long on Mount Toberead, but it was the only unread book by an author whose name began with C that took my fancy. I think my wife bought it, but it was something that we knew we'd both read.<br />
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I've enjoyed <b>Paul Cornell's Shadow Police</b> novels, although he tends to be best known for his <b>Doctor Who</b> work. So, it wasn't much of a chance when I pulled this one off Mount Toberead.<br />
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<b>Chalk</b> isn't really a fantasy novel, it's not really horror, either. The title refers to the giant chalk figures that appear in some parts of England, and what magic there is in the book is in relation to them.<br />
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It's really the story of Andrew Waggoner a bullied boy growing up in the early 80's. The confronting nature of the story doesn't make<b> Chalk</b> a necessarily easy book to read, despite it's size (it's not much over novella length), although I read it quickly, largely because I felt compelled to read on.<br />
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After a particularly brutal bout of bullying, Andrew suddenly gains a shadow. The new boy looks like Andrew and he's nearly always with Andrew. Andrew calls him simply Waggoner (most of the characters, especially the male ones, are referred to by their surname) to differentiate from himself, and while he's at pains to explain that Waggoner is real, the fact that no one else can seem to see or really hear Waggoner, suggests that he's a part of Andrew's personality that was unearthed by what the bullies did to him.<br />
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It is very well written, despite how confronting it is, and the characters while not exactly engaging or likeable are both compelling and believable. I prided myself in knowing nearly every song that was referenced in the early 80's pop soundtrack that was the backing of Andrew's life and the story of how that life changed over the course of one year.<br />
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<b>Chalk </b>is highly recommended, it's the sort of book that you can lose yourself in and that will stay with the reader for a long time after they close its pages for the final time.Elfyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09955473789404631382noreply@blogger.com0