The genre of political thriller is not one I read particularly often, and it usually has to have a very interesting premise for me to pick it up in the first place. This one did catch my attention: what could happen if wealthy and influential individuals lost a loved one in a terrorist attack and had the means, motive and opportunity to take personal revenge? The first half of the novel introduces the protagonists, describes the initial terrorist incident which sparked the titular revenge, while the second half follows its setup and first stages of execution. One thing I found detracted from the novel slightly was the abrupt end. I understand this is the first in a two book series, and it felt as though the ending was neither a tied up ending nor a lead in to book two. I found the characters to be well developed and in general sympathetic – at times it was all too easy to forget that what they are planning will cost the lives of many innocents in the name of personal revenge. The author does very well though in the way he describes their grief to gain the reader's empathy. The descriptions…
The genre of political thriller is not one I read particularly often, and it usually has to have a very interesting premise for me to pick it up in the first place. This one did catch my attention: what could happen if wealthy and influential individuals lost a loved one in a terrorist attack and had the means, motive and opportunity to take personal revenge? The first half of the novel introduces the protagonists, describes the initial terrorist incident which sparked the titular revenge, while the second half follows its setup and first stages of execution. One thing I found detracted from the novel slightly was the abrupt end. I understand this is the first in a two book series, and it felt as though the ending was neither a tied up ending nor a lead in to book two. I found the characters to be well developed and in general sympathetic – at times it was all too easy to forget that what they are planning will cost the lives of many innocents in the name of personal revenge. The author does very well though in the way he describes their grief to gain the reader's empathy. The descriptions…
What an absolutely wonderful surprise I had on reading my Twitter feed this morning (thanks @Elmblade43!) to find that the Harry Potter ebooks are now available for purchase through the Pottermore store. This was unexpected to me as I'd not seen any prior announcements that the store was due to open; I'd expected it to be delayed until after the opening of the Pottermore site to the general public given how the original beta launch of the Pottermore site was launched. I had many misgivings about the Pottermore store given how poorly the beta site was handled. However, from the moment I went to the store it was clear I was in much safer hands. The first step in the process was to create a Pottermore shop account (not the same as your Pottermore account, meaning that non Beta Pottermore fans can still purchase the books.) This was all pretty straightforward. The rest of the purchase process was too; select the books (I opted for the bundle of all seven for a 10% discount) – and it has to be noted that they are very reasonably priced – $7.99 – $9.99. The next stage was the one which caused me…
What an absolutely wonderful surprise I had on reading my Twitter feed this morning (thanks @Elmblade43!) to find that the Harry Potter ebooks are now available for purchase through the Pottermore store. This was unexpected to me as I'd not seen any prior announcements that the store was due to open; I'd expected it to be delayed until after the opening of the Pottermore site to the general public given how the original beta launch of the Pottermore site was launched. I had many misgivings about the Pottermore store given how poorly the beta site was handled. However, from the moment I went to the store it was clear I was in much safer hands. The first step in the process was to create a Pottermore shop account (not the same as your Pottermore account, meaning that non Beta Pottermore fans can still purchase the books.) This was all pretty straightforward. The rest of the purchase process was too; select the books (I opted for the bundle of all seven for a 10% discount) – and it has to be noted that they are very reasonably priced – $7.99 – $9.99. The next stage was the one which caused me…
Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith follows a similar structure to his earlier book Pride and Prejudice and Zombies in that it combines existing material with the fantastical. The premise of the book is that American President Abraham Lincoln’s life was spent hunting vampires as well as abolishing slavery. A mix of genres Now, straight historical biography is not a genre I tend to read very often; I’d rather be transported to a new world than learn about someone who lives or lived in ours. I found this particular combination of hard fact and fantastical fiction to be both fun and somewhat informative. A reader of this book would not finish it with an encyclopedic knowledge of Lincoln’s life – I must admit I kept Wikipedia on hand to check historical facts – but he may know more about him than he did previously, and possibly be inspired to learn more. It should be pointed out that as a Brit, my knowledge of American history is sketchy at best. It may be that American readers will learn little that is new to them. They however may enjoy trying to guess how the author will incorporate certain events into the…
Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith follows a similar structure to his earlier book Pride and Prejudice and Zombies in that it combines existing material with the fantastical. The premise of the book is that American President Abraham Lincoln's life was spent hunting vampires as well as abolishing slavery. A mix of genresNow, straight historical biography is not a genre I tend to read very often; I'd rather be transported to a new world than learn about someone who lives or lived in ours. I found this particular combination of hard fact and fantastical fiction to be both fun and somewhat informative. A reader of this book would not finish it with an encyclopedic knowledge of Lincoln’s life – I must admit I kept Wikipedia on hand to check historical facts – but he may know more about him than he did previously, and possibly be inspired to learn more. It should be pointed out that as a Brit, my knowledge of American history is sketchy at best. It may be that American readers will learn little that is new to them. They however may enjoy trying to guess how the author will incorporate certain events into the vampire…
Spellwright is the debut novel from Blake Charleton and is set in a world where words are magic in a literal as well as metaphorical sense. It deals with the protagonist’s cacography (think dyslexia for the magical language) and his struggles to overcome it and take his place in prophecy. Nico must learn whether he is the Storm Petrel, destined to change and corrupt language and lead to the demon invasion or the Halcyon, the protector of order in language. This is my second readthrough of the novel and I’d forgotten just how much fun it is. The characters are likeable and engaging, the world is believable and there are some amusing scenes such as the Jejunus cursing match. What I liked: The magic system: The magic system in this book is well thought out and absolutely fascinating. The author himself describes it thus: “Imagine a world in which you could peel written words off a page and make them physically real. You might pick your teeth with a sentence fragment, protect yourself with defensive paragraphs, or thrust a sharply-worded sentence at an enemy’s throat.” In our world, words can create, destroy, heal or wound but only in the most…
Spellwright is the debut novel from Blake Charleton and is set in a world where words are magic in a literal as well as metaphorical sense. It deals with the protagonist's cacography (think dyslexia for the magical language) and his struggles to overcome it and take his place in prophecy. Nico must learn whether he is the Storm Petrel, destined to change and corrupt language and lead to the demon invasion or the Halcyon, the protector of order in language. This is my second readthrough of the novel and I'd forgotten just how much fun it is. The characters are likeable and engaging, the world is believable and there are some amusing scenes such as the Jejunus cursing match. What I liked: The magic system: The magic system in this book is well thought out and absolutely fascinating. The author himself describes it thus: "Imagine a world in which you could peel written words off a page and make them physically real. You might pick your teeth with a sentence fragment, protect yourself with defensive paragraphs, or thrust a sharply-worded sentence at an enemy’s throat." In our world, words can create, destroy, heal or wound but only in the most…
To start I must disclose that this blog entry contains spoilers for all five of George R.R. Martin’s currently published A Song of Ice and Fire books. I am also obliged to preface it by the full and frank admission that I am a spoiler junkie. Anywhere I can hunt them down, I will. For those of you who do not know, a slip up by Amazon meant that a handful of copies of A Dance with Dragons (hereafter ADwD) were shipped a week or so early to customers in Germany. The internet being what it is, full and explicit spoilers were therefore readily available well before publication, and I drank them all up like a parched woman who has not had a taste of A Song of Ice and Fire for six long years. Now, I also know that George R.R. Martin detests spoilers and pleaded with those fans who got early copies not to spoil the book for the rest, and for the rest of us to wait until we had the book (or freshly fed Kindle in my case) in our own two hot, sweaty, little hands. Did this stop my hunting down spoilers? I confess not….
To start I must disclose that this blog entry contains spoilers for all five of George R.R. Martin's currently published A Song of Ice and Fire books. I am also obliged to preface it by the full and frank admission that I am a spoiler junkie. Anywhere I can hunt them down, I will. For those of you who do not know, a slip up by Amazon meant that a handful of copies of A Dance with Dragons (hereafter ADwD) were shipped a week or so early to customers in Germany. The internet being what it is, full and explicit spoilers were therefore readily available well before publication, and I drank them all up like a parched woman who has not had a taste of A Song of Ice and Fire for six long years. Now, I also know that George R.R. Martin detests spoilers and pleaded with those fans who got early copies not to spoil the book for the rest, and for the rest of us to wait until we had the book (or freshly fed Kindle in my case) in our own two hot, sweaty, little hands. Did this stop my hunting down spoilers? I confess not….