Good morning and welcome to another reading roundup. This week I finished Naomi Novik’s League of Dragons, the last in the Temeraire series. As I mentioned in my last reading roundup, I skipped the intermediate seven books of the series and relied on Tor.com’s reread. That wasn’t such a great idea in hindsight. While there was a lot to love about the book – especially the narration (Simon Vance, people!) – I expect some of the emotional punches passed me by. I did very much enjoy the whole theme of draconic rights and Temeraire’s commitment to improving his kind’s lot in life. What did irk me though was the sudden switch in goals. It seemed that every time our protagonists came near to achieving their goals, the posts were moved and they were sent off on another errand. It did all come together in the end, but it did bother me at the time. I gave League of Dragons three and a half stars out of five. My library hold of Zen Cho’s Sorcerer to the Crown came through earlier and I’m enjoying it very much indeed – much more than I had anticipated. I would place it in the…
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…
The next few weeks are relatively quiet in terms of upcoming book releases about which I’m excited. I’m thinking therefore that this could be a good opportunity to catch up on my TBR pile, specifically in terms of catching up with series with which I have fallen behind. Generally, I like variety in my reading so it’s unusual for me to marathon a whole series, even if I enjoy it immensely. So, without further ado, here are some of the series I really should catch up on. (NB, these are series which are not necessarily complete, but for which I’ve not read up to the latest published book.) It goes without saying that I’m up to date on Game of Thrones and am eagerly awaiting Winds of Winter. The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne. This series is about an ancient Druid, Atticus O’Sullivan and his Irish Wolfhound, Oberon, who live in modern times. Each of the novels – currently seven, with an eighth due out next year – is relatively self contained, and tells of a new adventure, but builds up the world of the Druid and its inhabitants. I have listened to books one to three, and this…