Emerald Green is the final book in Kerstin Gier’s Gem Trilogy. It follows Ruby Red and Sapphire Blue. Originally released in German, the English translation is not available until October 2013. However, as I read German I can and will review it for you. The three books in the trilogy read like one long book cut into three parts rather than three separate novels with separate stories and one overarching plot line. I will be reviewing them as such. As I mentioned in my recent Reading Review, I was introduced to the books fairly recently and I devoured all three in a matter of days. They tell the story of Gwyneth (Gwendolyn in the original German) who learns that her family is the carrier of a gene allowing her to travel through time. Unlike her cousin, she has not been inducted into the family’s secrets, so she must work things out on her own, with the help of the mysterious and attractive Gideon. What I liked Gwyneth’s “voice.” I loved Gwyneth’s humour and warmth as she comes to terms with her situation. Having compared the English and German original the translator has done great work bringing that across. I liked that…
I have now had my Kobo Arc fir several days now and this is my update to my initial impressions. My other tablets are a Kindle Fire an iPad 3 and a Nexus 7. I find the smaller form factors of the Nexus and the Kindle Fire very comfortable to use. As with my review of the Kindle Fire, I will discuss how the tasks I usually undertake on my iPad and now the Kindle Fire translate to the Kobo Arc. Generally I don’t use my tablets for work/production related activities. There are many apps I use on my iPhone to check a few quick things. Checking email I was able to import most of my personal accounts – two Yahoo emails, Gmail and a non standard account for my evelynne@scottishbookworminquebec.com email – with minimal hassle. I did have a problem with one of my Yahoo accounts, but I believe that to be a Yahoo problem rather than an Arc problem.I have not been able to access my work Exchange email, but i generally check that on my iPhone rather than my tablet anyway. Surfing the web I find surfing the web on the Kobo Arc noticeably faster than on the…
This pair of books is probably the most difficult to compare and contrast since they are so similar. They are written by the same author and set in the same world. When I first read The Quickening series some while ago I very much enjoyed it. I found the concept of Myrren’s Gift fresh and new and found the characters engaging and interesting. During my recent reread my enjoyment remained the same. I found myself reading “just one more chapter” to find out what was happening next for Wyl, Valentyna, Finch et all. (handy for a reading marathon!) It was fun to guess where Myrren’s Gift would take Wyl next and how he would achieve his goals. I found it surprising then that I struggled so much with The Scrivener’s Tale. I found that the plot device remained basically the same, and the characters were carbon copies of those from The Quickening. There was Fynch Mark II, Valentyna Mark II and Wyl was found in three other characters. This actually made it harder to care for them – having just finished The Quickening, I felt that these characters’ tales had come to a natural end and I…
This pair of books is probably the most difficult to compare and contrast since they are so similar. They are written by the same author and set in the same world. When I first read The Quickening series some while ago I very much enjoyed it. I found the concept of Myrren’s Gift fresh and new and found the characters engaging and interesting. During my recent reread my enjoyment remained the same. I found myself reading “just one more chapter” to find out what was happening next for Wyl, Valentyna, Finch et all. (handy for a reading marathon!) It was fun to guess where Myrren’s Gift would take Wyl next and how he would achieve his goals. I found it surprising then that I struggled so much with The Scrivener’s Tale. I found that the plot device remained basically the same, and the characters were carbon copies of those from The Quickening. There was Fynch Mark II, Valentyna Mark II and Wyl was found in three other characters. This actually made it harder to care for them – having just finished The Quickening, I felt that these characters’ tales had come to a natural end and I wasn’t really…
It has to be said I’ve been slightly disappointed in the books I’ve read recently. I was unable to get into them for some reason. The Blade Itself by Joe Ambercrombie I read this on recommendation by Rick Riordan, one of my favourite young adult writers. I listened to it partly in audiobook and then gave up and read it on Kindle. I don’t believe it was a fault of the narrator; he did a good job, but I just couldn’t get into it very easily. On the positive side, I see that Amazon has enabled Whispersync for Voice for purchases on the Canadian store. It worked perfectly on this book. However, they do not yet offer the price reduction for both items, but maybe that will come. The Blade Itself is very similar to George R.R, Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire in that character development is more important than plot progression. That is all very well, but Ambercrombie can’t compare to the depth of characterization that Martin has reached. None of the characters grabbed me in the manner of Tyrion, Jaime or Arya. In all fairness, Martin has had five books to develop his characters, while I…
Please enjoy this guest post by Melissa McPhail, author of the spellbinding epic fantasy, Cephrael’s Hand. Then read on to learn how you can win huge prizes as part of this blog tour, including a Kindle Fire, $450 in Amazon gift cards, and 5 autographed copies of the book. My Take on Magic Systems A guest post by Melissa McPhail One of the most enticing aspects of writing fantasy is developing a magic system. The author’s magic system is inextricably woven into their world and contributes greatly to the reader’s vision of the world overall. The way a system is created either makes the world seem real or unreal, depending on how well the author has grounded the system with laws and limitations. For example, scientists in our own world have defined laws—inertia, gravity, the periodic table—that describe the physical limitations and properties of energy. We don’t expect a stone to rise upwards when we throw it, but we might believe it could float if it were somehow made of helium. Likewise in a fantasy world, it’s important to codify the system with laws and rules (and to stick to those rules once established), to set boundaries for…
This last few weeks, I’ve not taken much time to write reviews of my recent reads (well, the new TV season has started!) so I thought I’d write a few notes. The Timekeeper by Mitch Alborn This was rather a sweet story about a boy who was the first to mark time (in the sense of dividing it into years, months, weeks, days, hours) and how it became an obsession for him. In the story, he becomes Father Time. His tale is interwoven with those of a young teenage girl and a dying old man. While I loved the story, I felt the moralising about appreciating the time we have was a touch heavy handed. Still, I gave The Time Keeper 4 stars out of 5 Les Chevaliers d’Emeraude – L’Enlevement by Anne Robillard OK, I admit it, I’m a complete sucker for this series. I love Robillard’s understanding of character. Even though they are in a fantasy setting, they feel fresh and timeless. After all, a man in love with his best friend’s wife is still conflicted and in pain whether he’s a 21st century person or a heroic mediaeval knight. One thing I’m noticing about this series is…
It always seems to happen this way. I’d placed holds on three library e-books and all three became available within a few days of each other! On my reading list I now have: Harry Potter et les Reliques de la Mort by J.K. Rowling. (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in French). For some reason it really amuses me to see how the Potter-specific terms were translated into French; “Muggle” becomes “Moldu”, “Squib” becomes “Cracmol” and “Crumple-Horned Snorkack” becomes “Ronflak Cornu.” However, Quidditch remains Quidditch. Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake by Anna Quindlen. I think this was a recommendation I picked up from GoodReads. I don’t know much about it, other than that it’s a well written memoir by a Pulitzer prize winning author but it seemed an interesting read. It was free to borrow from the library, so I thought I’d give it a go. Rapture by Kate Lauren. This is the fourth and final part of Lauren’s Young Adult fantasy series about angels and demons. It’s not the best series in the world, and probably not one I’ll invest in to buy, but again, I don’t mind borrowing it from the library to see how it ends….
Fri, 02:49: RT @CatFoodBreath: Owning a cat is cheaper than therapy, but it may be just as difficult to get an appointment.
Fri, 02:49: RT @CatFoodBreath: Owning a cat is cheaper than therapy, but it may be just as difficult to get an appointment.