The final part of my reading catchup series in which I discuss Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, Winter by Marissa Meyer and Soundless by Richelle Mead. [book-info]Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo is a new series set in the same world as her Grisha Trilogy, which I loved. One of Bardugo’s strengths as a writer is her worldbuilding – and that continues in this new outing. Instead of a Russianesque setting, the action moves to a place reminiscent of Amsterdam in its Golden Age. The characters were interesting, but in an ensemble book like this, they aren’t always given the time to be as fully developed as a single protagonist novel. I look forward to seeing where the series goes and will certainly keep up with it. I gave Six of Crows four stars out of five. [book-info number=1]Winter by Marissa Meyer is the fourth and final book in the Lunar Chronicles series and was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. This final book was loosely based on the Snow White fairytale and tells the story of Princess Winter of Luna as well as continuing the stories of Cinder, Scarlet and Cress and their attempt to…
And here we go for the second part of my reading catchup in which I discuss Shadows of Self by Brandon Sanderson, Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff and Carry On by Rainbow Rowell. [book-info]Shadows of Self is the second in Sanderson’s Wax and Wayne series (or the fifth Mistborn, however you like to look at it) and is set in the same world as the Mistborn trilogy only several hundred years later at a point in which the society is on the cusp of becoming industrialised. It has a deliberate steampunk feel to it. Sanderson is known as a master of worldbuilding, plot, pacing and magic systems and that is certainly borne out in Shadows of Self. The plot is imaginative, the pacing excellent and the magic system/worldbuilding outstanding as always. However, the more (recent) books of his I read, the more I realise I’m not very fond of his writing style. For me, personally, the informal style does not match the setting. It could be this is a deliberate choice by the writer – I know from his work on The Wheel of Time and The Stormlight Archive that he can use a more formal style…
First of all, my apologies for not having posted much in the last few weeks – I’ve been too busy reading to write about reading. As I have mentioned in previous posts, in the months of October and November there were a shedload of new releases about which I was very excited. I’ve only just now caught up with all of the new books in my life. Some of the reviews will be quite brief as it’s been quite a while and several books ago that I read them It will take a couple of posts to go through them all so let’s get started. [book-info] The Scorpion Rules is the first in Erin Bow’s Children of Peace YA series. In Bow’s world, peace is maintained by an AI named Talis who forces each country’s leaders to provide a child or grandchild as a Child of Peace – if the country enters a war, the hostage is killed. The book centres around a young princess named Greta, whose orderly world as a hostage is shaken by the arrival of a new Child of Peace, Elian. Elian is new to the hostage system and struggles to adapt. Things escalate when Greta’s…
This last couple of weeks I’ve read some great and some not so great books. Here they are. [book-info] Now sci-fi isn’t my usual fare, especially where there is more emphasis on the science than the fiction, but The Martian has been getting so much buzz lately that I decided to check it out. Within a few minutes of listening I was hooked by Watney’s situation; abandoned on Mars, has to use his ingenuity to survive in an inhospitable environment until rescue can come. Written as it is in a first-person journalistic style this is a perfect book for the audiobook medium, and R.C. Bray did a wonderful job of bringing Mark to life. Mark is a very witty and engaging protagonist and it is very easy to root for him. Weir did a fantastic job of explaining the various challenges Mark encounters and his solutions in a way that was easily comprehensible to someone like me who is not science minded. The story of Mark’s plight and his attempts to secure his rescue was very appealing on a human level. I gave The Martian five stars out of five. [book-info number=1] I picked up Agatha Raisin and the Quiche…
In the three weeks since I blogged, I have read several great – and some not so great – books. Check out my full (spoilery) review of Fool’s Quest by Robin Hobb. Other books I’ve read are as follows. [book-info] One of the YA books generating the most buzz this autumn is Eleanor Herman’s Legacy of Kings. Herman is a respected historical author and Legacy of Kings is her first foray into YA historical fantasy. The blurb makes it sound along the lines of Alexander the Great meets Game of Thrones. I’m assuming minus the graphic sex and violence as it’s YA. Early reviews have been positive. I have not yet read/listened to Legacy of Kings (it’s on my TBR list) but I have read the prequel Voice of the Gods, which is currently free on major ebook sites. It tells the story of the prophecy, which, I assume, is at the basis of the series. it was… fine. The worldbuilding was great, as you’d expect from a historian. The characters were engaging, but in the space of a novella, it was more difficult to become overly attached to them. I liked the story, but it’d didn’t grab me as…
Hello, yes I know it’s been a while since I blogged – work and life keep getting in the way! This last couple of weeks has involved routine doctor’s visits for both me and my cat, Isis. Now, most cats don’t enjoy going to the vet, but Isis takes it to the extreme psycho-cat-going-to-shred-your-hands-and-tear-your-face-off mode complete with screaming, hissing, yowling and hyperventilating (that last, all three of us, the cat the vet and me). My normally quiet, reserved kitty became so upset the vet had to fit her with a Hannibal Lecter Silence of the Lambs mask, which she STILL managed to remove to sink her teeth into the vet. Poor kitty. She’s now on meds which fortunately are a little easier to give! Anyway, onto reading-related matters. This week I’ve been rather obsessed with the upcoming release of Robin Hobb’s Fool’s Quest, the second in her Fitz and the Fool trilogy. I enjoyed book one, and more importantly, I’m heavily emotionally invested in the characters of Fitz and the Fool and their unconventional relationship. Some of the early non-spoiler reviews I’ve read have said that it’s a fantastic return to form by Hobbs, and to my mind she was…
First of all, may I just say isn’t this the most gorgeous cover art? I’m not certain who created them, but all three covers (four if you include the novella) in the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series are simply stunning. Days of Blood and Starlight is the second in Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy which is a contemporary fantasy based on the themes of Romeo and Juliet. We have the star-crossed lovers from different and opposing sides, faked death, boyfriend goes off the rails. This second instalment is based on the premise of “what if Juliet woke up from her fake death and found, not that Romeo had taken his own life, but that he’d killed all her family and friends?” What I liked The world. The world that Taylor has created is wonderfully rich and detailed. I loved reading about the chimaera and seraphim. We learn more about their world in this book. The themes. The idea of star-crossed lovers is a timeless one. There is a reason that Romeo and Juliet is a classic, and Taylor has done a great job of interpreting that into modern fantasy. Add into this the theme…
First of all happy St Jean-Baptiste to those of you in Quebec! It’s the provincial holiday here today and we have great weather for it. This week I finished Because You’ll Never Meet me by Leah Thomas. I mentioned it in my last reading roundup – it’s the letter exchange between two young boys whose physical limitations leave them isolated. I really loved the way their friendship was developed and a full review is coming soon. I know many people really enjoy the work of Guy Gavriel Kay, especially those who enjoy high fantasy. I started reading The Summer Tree, but I just couldn’t get into it. For some reason, the characters just didn’t click with me and I didn’t find myself drawn into the worldbuilding as I normally am. In all fairness, I think it was probably more to do with my not really being in the mood for epic fantasy than any fault of the novel or writer. I will likely revisit it at some point in the future. This is borne out by the fact that the other book I read this week was Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins. This is a…
One of the books I started listening to this week is Because You’ll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas. This is the story of two young socially isolated boys who become penpals. Their respective issues – one is highly allergic to electricity and the other requires an electrical pacemaker – precludes their ever meeting. I’m about a third of the way through it and am very much enjoying it. It is written in the style of letters the two boys send to each other – which means it’s about as perfect for the audiobook format as you can get. Both narrators are doing an excellent job. I may do a full review on this later, so I won’t say much more. [book-info number=1] Another book I started reading this week was Patricia Briggs’ Dead Heat, the fourth in her Alpha and Omega series. I felt in the mood for some contemporary fantasy. I’ve only just started, but so far, so good. Briggs is usually a reliable go-to for this kind of good, and her characters are generally well-developed and interesting. I’m beginning to feel though that she has just about come to the natural end of the stories she can…
This week I’ve been in a real reading slump. After finishing A Natural History of Dragons, I really couldn’t decide what to read next. I tried several books including L. E. Modesitt Jr’s The Soprano Sorceress, Star Wars: Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn and Graphic Audio’s full cast rendition of Brandon Sanderson’s Hero of the Ages, but none of them hit the spot. I was more interested in watching Animal Planet’s Cat Daddy. Incidentally, this week Jackson Galaxy’s autobiography, also called Cat Daddy, was one of Audible’s Daily Deals so I was happy to pick that one up. It’s narrated by Jackson himself, so could be a very good listen. Finally I was able to break my slump by picking up Mark Lawrence’s The Liar’s Key. This is the second in his Red Queen’s War series and continues the story of Jalan and Snorri. This series is set in the same world as The Broken Empire, and I adored the worldbuilding. I’m really enjoying this book so far – I’m just under half way through. So far I’m not seeing quite the same character development in Jalan as there was for Jorg in The Broken Empire series, but…