Welcome back to The Book in Hand Blog, where I continually talk about books. I don’t often cross over with Twitter and Instagram, and quite frankly I have neglected by Instagram of late.
I plan to get back to it, but while I plan what I want to do with it and how I want to change it up I thought I would share some awesome accounts that continually produce amazing content and stunning pictures.
I’m going to get straight into it because you NEED to see these accounts.
I can’t shout about Instagram without highlighting my fellow blogger and contributor to this site…I don’t even need to big Arthur up because his account does all the talking
We are now firmly settled into the new year, or at least I pretend to be! We are only 23 days into January. I thought I would change up my Sundays Seven a little and talk about a few of the new books coming our way next week. Hopefully I can find seven I want to sing about!
I am also going to throw in a few Sci-Fi books that intrigue me, as I don’t read much sci-fi even though I want to. Apparently I’m a little too comfortable with fantasy and romance!
ON TO THE BOOKS…
GOLIATH BY TOCHI ONYEBUCHI
Goliath is one of Tor’s upcoming releases and sounds incredibly interesting with a varying and fun cast of characters from all backgrounds. We have a journalist, a space dweller and a group of labourers all trying to make their way in a violent and harsh world!
SYNOPSIS:
In the 2050s, Earth has begun to empty. Those with the means and the privilege have departed the great cities of the United States for the more comfortable confines of space colonies. Those left behind salvage what they can from the collapsing infrastructure. As they eke out an existence, their neighbourhood’s are being cannibalized. Brick by brick, their houses are sent to the colonies, what was once a home now a quaint reminder for the colonists of the world that they wrecked.
A primal biblical epic flung into the future, Goliath weaves together disparate narratives—a space-dweller looking at New Haven, Connecticut as a chance to reconnect with his spiralling lover; a group of laborers attempting to renew the promises of Earth’s crumbling cities; a journalist attempting to capture the violence of the streets; a marshal trying to solve a kidnapping—into a richly urgent mosaic about race, class, gentrification, and who is allowed to be the hero of any history.
I love monsters so a story about finding out your family are terrifying monsters calls to me. I am a little sceptical with it being romance and the protag being 16 but it might be a wholesome romance and not be smutty but we shall see!
I also really like this book cover, something about it just works form me.
Plus, I am always intrigued about debuts and what makes them stand out in todays market, so let us see!
SYNOPSIS:
It should have been the perfect summer. Sent to stay with her late mother’s eccentric family in London, sixteen-year-old Joan is determined to enjoy herself. She loves her nerdy job at the historic Holland House, and when her super cute co-worker Nick asks her on a date, it feels like everything is falling into place.
But she soon learns the truth. Her family aren’t just eccentric: they’re monsters, with terrifying, hidden powers. And Nick isn’t just a cute boy: he’s a legendary monster slayer, who will do anything to bring them down.
As she battles Nick, Joan is forced to work with the beautiful and ruthless Aaron Oliver, heir to a monster family that hates her own. She’ll have to embrace her own monstrousness if she is to save herself, and her family. Because in this story . . .
Apocalypse. Impending death sentence. Team of outcasts. Thief. Hunted by enemies…
It is like this authors just got all the things I like to read and threw them into one awesome sounding book!
SYNOPSIS:
A gifted student foretells an apocalypse. Her reward is a sentence of death.
Fleeing into the unknown she is drawn into a team of outcasts:
A broken soldier, who once again takes up the weapons he’s forbidden to wield and carves a trail back home.
A drunken prince, who steps out from his beloved brother’s shadow and claims a purpose of his own.
An imprisoned thief, who escapes the crushing dark and discovers a gleaming artifact – one that will ignite a power struggle across the globe.
On the run, hunted by enemies old and new, they must learn to trust each other in order to survive in a world evolved in strange, beautiful, and deadly ways, and uncover ancient secrets that hold the key to their salvation.
This book is out of my normal reads but it sounds really quite fun and a little dang emotional.
Imagine your brother vanishing and then coming back older and with news of a war…One of the elements I loved about Sword Of Kaigen was the family drama and the emotional punch it had so the fact I loved that, despite the difference in books, is really drawing me in to this one.
SYNOPSIS:
Every family has issues. Most can’t blame them on extraterrestrials.
Evie Shao and her sister, Kass, aren’t on speaking terms. Fifteen years ago on a family camping trip, their father and brother vanished. Their dad turned up days later, dehydrated and confused—and convinced he’d been abducted by aliens. Their brother, Jakob, remained missing. The women dealt with it very differently. Kass, suspecting her college-dropout twin simply ran off, became the rock of the family. Evie traded academics to pursue alien conspiracy theories, always looking for Jakob.
When Evie’s UFO network uncovers a new event, she goes to investigate. And discovers Jakob is back. He’s different—older, stranger, and talking of an intergalactic war—but the tensions between the siblings haven’t changed at all. If the family is going to come together to help Jakob, then Kass and Evie are going to have to fix their issues, and fast. Because the FBI is after Jakob, and if their brother is telling the truth, possibly an entire space armada, too.
The perfect combination of action, imagination and heart, Light Years From Home is a touching drama about a challenge as difficult as saving the galaxy: making peace with your family…and yourself.
Ohhhh this book has me hella interested. It sounds different and filled with drama. Warrior women, mothers, queendoms and so much more. this one could truly be something amazing.
SYNOPSIS:
A centuries-long peace is shattered in a matriarchal society when a decade passes without a single girl being born in this sweeping epic fantasy that’s perfect for fans of Robin Hobb and Circe.
Five hundred years of peace between queendoms shatters when girls inexplicably stop being born. As the Drought of Girls stretches across a generation, it sets off a cascade of political and personal consequences across all five queendoms of the known world, throwing long-standing alliances into disarray as each queendom begins to turn on each other—and new threats to each nation rise from within.
Uniting the stories of women from across the queendoms, this propulsive, gripping epic fantasy follows a warrior queen who must rise from childbirth bed to fight for her life and her throne, a healer in hiding desperate to protect the secret of her daughter’s explosive power, a queen whose desperation to retain control leads her to risk using the darkest magic, a near-immortal sorcerer demigod powerful enough to remake the world for her own ends—and the generation of lastborn girls, the ones born just before the Drought, who must bear the hopes and traditions of their nations if the queendoms are to survive.
I was recently introduced to Staveley’s work and loved it so just based off his previous work I am really excited for this book. Though I do want to finish his other works first before tackling this.
SYNOPSIS:
The Annurian Empire is disintegrating. The advantages it used for millennia have fallen to ruin. The ranks of the Kettral have been decimated from within, and the kenta gates, granting instantaneous travel across the vast lands of the empire, can no longer be used.
In order to save the empire, one of the surviving Kettral must voyage beyond the edge of the known world through a land that warps and poisons all living things to find the nesting ground of the giant war hawks. Meanwhile, a monk turned con-artist may hold the secret to the kenta gates.
But time is running out. Deep within the southern reaches of the empire and ancient god-like race has begun to stir.
What they discover will change them and the Annurian Empire forever. If they can survive.
This one has been on my radar for a while now as I received an ARC of it a good while ago! I have waited and waited to read this but I have a week off now so it is time to dive into this!
SYNOPSIS:
The Justice of Kings, the first in a new epic fantasy trilogy, follows the tale of Sir Konrad Vonvalt, an Emperor’s Justice – a detective, judge and executioner all in one. As he unravels a web of secrets and lies, Vonvalt discovers a plot that might destroy his order once and for all – and bring down the entire Empire.
As an Emperor’s Justice, Sir Konrad Vonvalt always has the last word. His duty is to uphold the law of the empire using whatever tools he has at his disposal: whether it’s his blade, the arcane secrets passed down from Justice to Justice, or his wealth of knowledge of the laws of the empire. But usually his reputation as one of the most revered—and hated—Justices is enough to get most any job done.
When Vonvalt investigates the murder of a noblewoman, he finds his authority being challenged like never before. As the simple case becomes more complex and convoluted, he begins to pull at the threads that unravel a conspiracy that could see an end to all Justices, and a beginning to lawless chaos across the empire.
There you have it, seven books that I have found that are releasing very soon and looking back at them 2022 looks pretty damned promising. We have futuristic and intriguing sounding books and some awesome sounding fantast too!
Good evening all! How are we all doing? Great I hope. It may be the end of the weekend but worry not I have a treat for you.
I have been meaning to do this post for a little while now, so why not restart my Sundays Seven with this little gem!
Here I am going to give you seven books that I feel have been a solid second instalment in their series. As much as we love series’ sometimes the middle book is a weaker book. Don’t get me wrong they are still good books but they sometimes fall victim to middle book syndrome!
What is middle book syndrome do you ask? Well, you may know it as ‘Second Book Slump’. Either way it refers to those second books that don’t quite live up to the first book. There are tons of reasons for this and some are even worth it! Some authors opt for more character development. They have already won you over so now they take the time to build their characters. Which again is not a bad thing at all but it can mean a lag in pace and we always notice it!
I see a good amount of people calling out series’ that slump but I am not about that, because the books are still solid books, they just miss some of the marks we readers demand. We are needy folk!
Any who, away from my ramblings. Let’s get to it…
ON TO THE BOOKS…
THE CRIMSON CAMPAIGN BY BRIAN MCCLELLAN
As the fantastic reviewer Petrik said in his review of this book “It’s not an exaggeration to say that The Crimson Campaign is a marvellous sequel that’s better than the first book in every aspect“.
Petrik speaks the truth!
McClellan showed huge improvements in this instalment, not to say book one wasn’t great, it truly was but McClellan gave us so much more in book two. Characters grew, the action increased, the magic became more prevalent and so much more!
Tamas’s invasion of Kez ends in disaster when a Kez counter-offensive leaves him cut off behind enemy lines with only a fraction of his army, no supplies, and no hope of reinforcements. Drastically outnumbered and pursued by the enemy’s best, he must lead his men on a reckless march through northern Kez to safety, and back over the mountains so that he can defend his country from an angry god. In Adro, Inspector Adamat only wants to rescue his wife. To do so he must track down and confront the evil Lord Vetas. He has questions for Vetas concerning his enigmatic master, but the answers might come too quickly. With Tamas and his powder cabal presumed dead, Taniel Two-shot finds himself alongside the god-chef Mihali as the last line of defence against Kresimir’s advancing army. Tamas’s generals bicker among themselves, the brigades lose ground every day beneath the Kez onslaught, and Kresimir wants the head of the man who shot him in the eye.
I recently read this book and thoroughly enjoyed it! This is another fantastic series, and while I loved book one, book two showed so much improvement! There are so many ways for an author to avoid the slump and Zack definitely did these in this instalment. We see more character growth, the stakes are raised and Stones of Light not only moves the overall plot forward it has its own story arc too!
The coreseal is shattered and a new darkness is coming.
Chrys swore to never again let the Apogee take control but, in a moment of desperation, he gave in. Now, he will learn what the Apogee truly wants.
In Alchea, Laurel will do anything to get her threadlight back, even if it means working for the leader of the Bloodthieves. But she has no choice…a life without threadlight is no life at all.
To the west, Alverax travels with the Zeda people to the large port city of Felia, where they seek refuge after the fires in the Fairenwild. But he shattered the coreseal, and no one quite knows what the consequences will be. They only know it won’t be good.
Together, they doomed the world…now, they must save it.
I am a HUGE fan of this series. This is a series in which every book gets better and better as it goes on. Priest of Lies continues with Tomas’ utterly distinct and incredible narration.
This is another series in which the stakes get higher and the risk greater! We also see huge development to several characters who are all pivotal to the story. This book is incredibly written and evokes so much emotion.
Tomas Piety has been many things: soldier, priest, gangster…and spy. As Tomas’s power grows, the nobility better watch their backs, in this dark and gritty epic fantasy series.
People are weak, and the poorer and more oppressed they are, the weaker they become–until they can’t take it anymore. And when they rise up…may the gods help their oppressors.
When Tomas Piety returned from the war, he just wanted to rebuild his empire of crime with his gang of Pious Men. But his past as a spy for the Queen’s Men drew him back in and brought him more power than he ever imagined.
Now, with half of his city in ashes and the Queen’s Men at his back, the webs of political intrigue stretch out from the capital to pull Tomas in. Dannsburg is calling.
In Dannsburg the nobility fight with words, not blades, but the results are every bit as bloody. In this pit of beasts, Tomas must decide once and for all whether he is truly the people’s champion…or just a priest of lies.
To some this might seem a slightly odd book to have on this list because it can definitely feel like a second book. Some very good friends and I decided it was a bridge book. It has some of the characteristic’s of middle book syndrome but Islington still manages to make this book shine, and I personally think that is a feat in itself. An Echo of Things to Come remains engaging throughout and despite its page count keeps you wanting to learn more about the characters and the world.
I think that is easily one of this series’ main strengths you are constantly asking ‘what is next?’.
Oh my, is this a book that knows what it is doing! Mike raises the stakes, he ups the action and anything you thought you knew he obliterates.
I think this is easily one of the best second books I have read, hence why it makes the cut!
A Fool’s Hope is intense, filled with action, packed with emotion and does not hold its punches.
If you haven’t read this series then you need to start it! NOW!
War takes everything. From Tinnstra, it took her family and thrust her into a conflict she wanted only to avoid. Now her queen’s sole protector, she must give everything she has left to keep Zorique safe. It has taken just as much from Jia’s revolutionaries. Dren and Jax – battered, tortured, once enemies themselves – now must hold strong against their bruised invaders, the Egril. For the enemy intends to wipe Jia from the map. They may have lost a battle, but they are coming back. And if Tinnstra and her allies hope to survive, Jia’s heroes will need to be ready when they do. The sequel to the darkly fantastic WE ARE THE DEAD: with more unflinching action, A FOOL’S HOPE sees Jia’s revolutionaries dig in their heels as they learn that wars aren’t won in a day.
The Fires of Vengeance is a top quality sequel, one of which I hugely enjoyed. This is a series that I feel is going to keep getting better too. Which considering what an incredible book The Rage of Dragons was is very impressive!
This is a second book you just don’t want to end, it is another author who has you constantly wondering what is going to come next. There are cliff hanger’s throughout and the risks are immense.
It is another very intense book, which is fast paced but also has time to build on all you have already been introduced to and with exquisite detail. It builds on the already incredible The Rage of Dragons and takes you to new heights.
Desperate to delay an impending attack by the indigenous people of Xidda, Tau and his queen craft a dangerous plan. If Tau succeeds, the queen will have the time she needs to assemble her forces and launch an all-out assault on her own capital city, where her sister is being propped up as the ‘true’ Queen of the Omehi.If the city can be taken, if Tsiora can reclaim her throne and reunite her people, then the Omehi might have a chance to survive the coming onslaught.
Is it really a list from me if John Gwynne doesn’t feature in it? No. No it is, and so here be Valour by John Gwynne.
If you haven’t read this series then be prepared to be wowed with every book. John Gwynne doesn’t just do book two right, he does books three and four perfect also. As one of my all time favourite series I am so chuffed to tell you that this book is phenomenal and while Malice was near perfection, Valour brings you even more!
Gwynne reveals so much more in this book. You can expect intrigue, scheming, deception, villainous POV’s, heroics, humour and SO MUCH MORE!
The Banished Lands are torn by war as the army of High King Nathair sweeps the realm challenging all who oppose his holy crusade. Allied with the manipulative Queen Rhin of Cambren, there are few who can stand against him. But Rhin is playing her own games and has her eyes on a far greater prize . . .
Left for dead – her kin have fled and her country is overrun with enemies – Cywen fights to survive. But any chance of escape is futile once Nathair and his disquieting advisor Calidus realize who she is. They have no intention of letting such a prize slip from their grasp. For she may be their one chance at killing the biggest threat to their power.
Meanwhile, the young warrior Corban flees from his conquered homeland with his exiled companions, heading for the only place that may offer them sanctuary. But to get there they must travel through Cambren, avoiding warbands, giants and the vicious wolven of the mountains. And all the while Corban struggles to become the man that everyone believes him to be – the Bright Star and saviour of the Banished Lands.
Embroiled in struggles for power and survival, the mortal world is unaware of the greatest threat of all. In the Otherworld, dark forces scheme to bring a host of the Fallen into the world of flesh to end the war with the Faithful, once and for all.
I have missed a few of these lately, I have been so busy, work is making the most of the fact we are on furlough and I have so much training to get done by the weekend. I still have so many modules to get done but I feel bad that I have neglected this feature. So pardon me for a shorter post this week…
The Method…
In order to find out if I wish to KEEP IT OR CUT IT I will do the following:
Meghan Chase has a secret destiny; one she could never have imagined.
Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan’s life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school or at home.
When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she’s known is about to change.
But she could never have guessed the truth – that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she’ll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil, no faery creature dare face; and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.
Thoughts:
I feel like this book will be a bit of a throwback book, I really like fae stories always have but I cant always find one that deal more in the adult fantasy genre than young adult.
“I was greatly impressed with the way Kagawa intertwined the steampunk of today with the fey stories we have always been so captivated by.”
A heartbroken girl. A fierce warrior. A hero in the making.
Sixteen years ago the Kingdom of Winter was conquered and its citizens enslaved, leaving them without magic or a monarch. Now, the Winterians’ only hope for freedom is the eight survivors who managed to escape, and who have been waiting for the opportunity to steal back Winter’s magic and rebuild the kingdom ever since.
Orphaned as an infant during Winter’s defeat, Meira has lived her whole life as a refugee, raised by the Winterians’ general, Sir. Training to be a warrior—and desperately in love with her best friend, and future king, Mather — she would do anything to help her kingdom rise to power again.
So when scouts discover the location of the ancient locket that can restore Winter’s magic, Meira decides to go after it herself. Finally, she’s scaling towers, fighting enemy soldiers, just as she’s always dreamed she would. But the mission doesn’t go as planned, and Meira soon finds herself thrust into a world of evil magic and dangerous politics – and ultimately comes to realize that her destiny is not, never has been, her own.
Thoughts:
Trusty reviewer I appreciate do not love this book, and the points raised can be a pain sooo…
Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness. Elisa is the chosen one.
But she is also the younger of two princesses, the one who has never done anything remarkable. She can’t see how she ever will.
Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king—a king whose country is in turmoil. A king who needs the chosen one, not a failure of a princess.
And he’s not the only one who seeks her. Savage enemies seething with dark magic are hunting her. A daring, determined revolutionary thinks she could be his people’s savior. And he looks at her in a way that no man has ever looked at her before. Soon it is not just her life, but her very heart that is at stake.
Elisa could be everything to those who need her most. If the prophecy is fulfilled. If she finds the power deep within herself. If she doesn’t die young.
Most of the chosen do.
Thoughts:
You know, this books sounds like a book I would like to read. I always like these reads when Im in the mood and I don’t feel like im aware of to many that are done well, so considering the reviews I will keep this for one of those days.
“For one reason or another, this book didn’t have much initial cover appeal to me, so I passed it over early on without taking the time to find out what it was about. Foolish I tell you – FOOLISH! It wasn’t until I jumped aboard the Throne of Glass bandwagon that I started noticing the many cross-references between the two series.“
Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can’t seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper. And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worse – Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him. When Percy’s mom finds out, she knows it’s time that he knew the truth about where he came from, and that he go to the one place he’ll be safe. She sends Percy to Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods (on Long Island), where he learns that the father he never knew is Poseidon, God of the Sea. Soon a mystery unfolds and together with his friends—one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena – Percy sets out on a quest across the United States to reach the gates of the Underworld (located in a recording studio in Hollywood) and prevent a catastrophic war between the gods.
Thoughts:
This is a book I have been meaning to read for so long but never have, and sadly I don’t think I will..
When Eragon finds a polished blue stone in the forest, he thinks it is the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy; perhaps it will buy his family meat for the winter. But when the stone brings a dragon hatchling, Eragon soon realizes he has stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself.
Overnight his simple life is shattered, and he is thrust into a perilous new world of destiny, magic, and power. With only an ancient sword and the advice of an old storyteller for guidance, Eragon and the fledgling dragon must navigate the dangerous terrain and dark enemies of an Empire ruled by a king whose evil knows no bounds.
Can Eragon take up the mantle of the legendary Dragon Riders? The fate of the Empire may rest in his hands.
Thoughts:
I actually have these books on my shelves and I have read them, but it was that long ago I have no clue what happens (not beyond the movie) so I really want to see if it still good.
A young witch emerges from a curse to find her world upended in this gripping fantasy of betrayal, vengeance, and self-discovery set in turn-of-the-century France.
For centuries, the vineyards at Château Renard have depended on the talent of their vine witches, whose spells help create the world-renowned wine of the Chanceaux Valley. Then the skill of divining harvests fell into ruin when sorcière Elena Boureanu was blindsided by a curse. Now, after breaking the spell that confined her to the shallows of a marshland and weakened her magic, Elena is struggling to return to her former life. And the vineyard she was destined to inherit is now in the possession of a handsome stranger.
Vigneron Jean-Paul Martel naively favors science over superstition, and he certainly doesn’t endorse the locals’ belief in witches. But Elena knows a hex when she sees one, and the vineyard is covered in them. To stay on and help the vines recover, she’ll have to hide her true identity, along with her plans for revenge against whoever stole seven winters of her life. And she won’t rest until she can defy the evil powers that are still a threat to herself, Jean-Paul, and the ancient vine-witch legacy in the rolling hills of the Chanceaux Valley.
Thoughts:
I don’t know why but this book just doesn’t grab me, it did when I first saw it, and I even have the eBook. Maybe I will read it but if I really fancy it and see it on my kindle but otherwise…
In the blackest dungeon of the Clockwork City, a prisoner lies bound in silver shackles. Who is she? And why are the wizards so afraid of her?
Seventeen-year-old Gwyn has no family and no past. Apprenticed to a half-mad herbalist, she travels the snow-blasted High Country, hawking potions in a peddler’s wagon. Her guardian hides her from the world like a dark secret, and she knows better than to push for answers.
But when she discovers she is hunted by the goddess Beheret, Gwyn is drawn into a deep and ancient tale: of chained gods and lost magic, of truths long buried and the rising of a war she never could have imagined.
Wizards and their magic-sniffing hounds pursue her – as does a stranger in a smiling mask, who calls her by an unfamiliar name…
But what really terrify her are the dangerous gifts she’s spent her life suppressing. Now, Gwyn must step out of the shadows and take charge of her destiny – even if the price is her own soul.
The Ninth Sorceress is the breathtaking first instalment of The Price of Magic, a sweeping fantasy saga full of rich storytelling and tangible magic.
Thoughts:
I don’t actually mind the sound of this book, it isn’t doing anything new but it doesn’t sound bd. I just know I won’t read it over other books I have and want to read.
In this character driven novel of first contact by debut author Sue Burke, human survival hinges on an bizarre alliance.
Only mutual communication can forge an alliance with the planet’s sentient species and prove that mammals are more than tools.
Forced to land on a planet they aren’t prepared for, human colonists rely on their limited resources to survive. The planet provides a lush but inexplicable landscape–trees offer edible, addictive fruit one day and poison the next, while the ruins of an alien race are found entwined in the roots of a strange plant. Conflicts between generations arise as they struggle to understand one another and grapple with an unknowable alien intellect.
Thoughts:
Character driven, debut and bizarre alliances…what isn’t intriguing about that, plus it has some good reviews. I remember adding this because it was nothing like what I have read or usually read and I want to push the boat out a little.
The first installment of the trilogy, Ninefox Gambit, centers on disgraced captain Kel Cheris, who must recapture the formidable Fortress of Scattered Needles in order to redeem herself in front of the Hexarchate.
To win an impossible war Captain Kel Cheris must awaken an ancient weapon and a despised traitor general.
Captain Kel Cheris of the hexarchate is disgraced for using unconventional methods in a battle against heretics. Kel Command gives her the opportunity to redeem herself by retaking the Fortress of Scattered Needles, a star fortress that has recently been captured by heretics. Cheris’s career isn’t the only thing at stake. If the fortress falls, the hexarchate itself might be next.
Cheris’s best hope is to ally with the undead tactician Shuos Jedao. The good news is that Jedao has never lost a battle, and he may be the only one who can figure out how to successfully besiege the fortress.
The bad news is that Jedao went mad in his first life and massacred two armies, one of them his own. As the siege wears on, Cheris must decide how far she can trust Jedao–because she might be his next victim.
Thoughts:
I did not know this was Yoon Ha Lee! It doesn’t make much a difference because I tried reading this a while back but couldn’t really get it into but I find it coincidental that I have just read Phoenix Extravagant and then this books crops up.
The great city of Ebora once glittered with gold. Now its streets are stalked by wolves. Tormalin the Oathless has no taste for sitting around waiting to die while the realm of his storied ancestors falls to pieces – talk about a guilt trip. Better to be amongst the living, where there are taverns full of women and wine.
When eccentric explorer, Lady Vincenza ‘Vintage’ de Grazon, offers him employment, he sees an easy way out. Even when they are joined by a fugitive witch with a tendency to set things on fire, the prospect of facing down monsters and retrieving ancient artefacts is preferable to the abomination he left behind.
But not everyone is willing to let the Eboran empire collapse, and the adventurers are quickly drawn into a tangled conspiracy of magic and war. For the Jure’lia are coming, and the Ninth Rain must fall…
Thoughts:
This has been on my radar for quite a while, and I actually grabbed a copy of it recently.
“The Ninth Rain won the Best Fantasy Novel trophy in British Fantasy Awards 2018; this is a totally well-deserved victory. “
Petrik (4.5 Stars)
There it is!
So, this week I have cut 5 books and kept 5. HALF AND HALF, I think this is the first week I have cut more than three!
What do you think are there any books I really should have cut or ones you cant believe I cut?
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Happy Sunday Bookish Folk! Sam here, and I am going to talk to you today about AUDIOBOOKS…
I love audiobooks!
But boy can some of them be long ass narrations, I mean they are long ass books so it not going to be a short narration but still they can be pretty daunting. I find that I quite like the 12 to 16 hour mark, I will listen to longer but I like that it doesn’t take me ages to finish these narration lengths.
They are great for cleaning, cooking, longer drives, commutes and so much more! But this isn’t a post about when you can listen to audiobooks. So, here is a list of seven audiobooks within the Fantasy genre that are less than 12 hours long…
ON TO THE AUDIOBOOKS…
The Black Elfstone NARRATED BY SIMON VANCE
Book One of the Fall of Shannara, TERRY BROOKS
Narration Length: 10 Hours 37 Minutes
A lot of people talk about Terry Brooks and his books and yet I haven’t read any of his books yet but when I saw this audiobook was just over 10 hours I had to pick it up, and then to see it is narrated by Simon Vance…I WAS SOLD!
Simon Vance is a great narrator and has one of those voices I could listen to for quite some time, he always brings his books to life and his characters are always distinguishable and fun. I have started to listening to this narration and straight off the bat he sets the tone of the opening scene and brings to life the characters involved.
This is one of my favourite audiobooks, and it is a favourite book of mien too but to have it read by Andy Serkis is nothing short of amazing! We all love Gollum and his unique voice to to have Serkis narrate this and bring Gollum to life on a whole other level was so fun.
Serkis bring everything from the long descriptions to the singing to life, and I really hope he narrates the LOTR’s audiobooks to then I can listen to them.
Now, this is a super short audiobook as it is a short story but it is so good and it packs so much into its five and a half hours! I loved this when I read it, and I grabbed the audiobook so I could keep reading/listening while I did other things too.
The BEAR AND THE NIGHTINGALE NARRATED BY KATHLEEN GATI
Book One of the WINTERNIGHT TRILOGY, KATHERINE ARDEN
Narration Length: 11 Hours and 48 Minutes
This absolutely gorgeous novel can be enjoyed in Gati’s soothing and immersive voice. Gati really tells this story, it is so atmospheric and I adore this audiobook. They way she tells the story is just so soulful and brilliant and you really get a feel for the characters and their struggles and triumphs.
Ok, so The Witcher series hardly need any introduction, it is a TV show, a book series and a game. It is everywhere. It has epic creatures and Geralt…what more do you need to know?! The narration of this book is really great Kenny has a really unique voice. I will admit at first I wasn’t sure but having a few more narrators and listens under my belt I can appreciate Kenny’s voice for what it is, and that is a gritty and very charismatic voice.
Book One of the DRAGONRIDERS OF PERN, ANNE MCCAFFREY
Narration Length: 10 Hours and 7
In this instance it is Sophie Aldred who needs no introduction, I listened to Sophie’s narration of The Doors of Eden and I also have her narration of Brandon Sanderson’s Skyward. Sophie is an incredible narrator and I had such fun listening to The Doors of Eden, obviously it is as much to do with the book as it is the voice, but I cannot praise Sophie enough.
Ahhh Colin Mace, I love Colin Mace’s voice. He is very similar to Simon Vance in that he is a narrator I can listen to for longer durations. He is such a great storyteller and and his voice…I swear it just is a balm to my soul!
***Please note this page contains affiliate links and at no extra charge to you I can earn a small fee on any qualifying purchases. Any and all money earned through these goes straight back into the blog***
Happy Sunday Bookish Folk & Happy Mother’s Day to all you beautiful mommas out there!
Well, seen as though it is mothers day I figured what better way to celebrate than to have todays Sundays Seven feature some of the awesome mums that feature in SFF books!
I was talking to David and Eleni a little while ago about tropes and I had myself a wee moan about the orphaned hero trope. I don’t hate it but I always thought to myself why can’t the hero just have a normal and functional family? I get it, the ambiguous origins trope means that you can have an easier route to other tropes such as the amazing trope of found family or the secret heir trope, but there are still ways to get to those with them having a family! Then to add to that, when there is a family dynamic we see the evil step mother or the disgraced child (in the terrible parents eyes) and so you can see how parents have themselves a wee bit of a bad rap in books!
And folks that ain’t on! I have a fierce ass momma bear of my own, and she has been mom and dad for a bloody long time, so as a thank you to her and all the fierce mothers out there I wanted to find some books with some fierce, loyal and loving mums in them!
So, without further ado, here are seven books which feature a fierce momma bear…
ON TO THE BOOKS…
ORKA
(The Shadow of the Gods BY JOHN GWYNNE)
“Fear is no bad thing,” Orka said. “How can you be brave if you do not feel fear?” “I don’t understand,” Breca said, frowning.” “Courage is being scared of a task and doing it anyway.”
Having just read this incredible book (which I will post a review for soon) I simply could not have a list about fierce momma bears and not feature Orka! I think I was less than ten pages into this book and I knew I would love Orka, I even tweeted about expecting to see one of the fiercest mums in the book and I wasn’t disappointed!
Orka is such an incredible mum, and not one I would want to mess with…AT ALL! This mum has some serious skills and she will scour the earth for her son and die to protect him! The raw emotions you see within the pages of this book are incredible, from the motherly chastising to her internal worries and fear you will feel it all!
“It is a hard world, and we will not always be here to protect him from it. We are not just his parents, we are his teachers, too.”
“You – will – never – touch – our – children – again!’ screamed Mrs. Weasley. Bellatrix laughed, the same exhilarated laugh her cousin Sirius had given as he toppled backwards through the veil, and suddenly Harry knew what was going to happen before it did. Molly’s curse soared beneath Bellatrix’s outstretched arm and hit her squarely in the chest, directly over her heart.”
I love Mrs. Weasley she is a different kind of fierce mum, she is the stay at home beautiful mother to a brood of seven (I think) and she is such a loving and caring mum and one I adore! She is funny, she cooks the best food, knits the sweater and will shout at her silly kids through a letter for being a dumb kid! I’m sure I have pushed my mum to some of the levels of frustration you see from Molly for being a little shit!
“Now, you two – this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you’ve – you’ve blown up a toilet or –” “Blown up a toilet? We’ve never blown up a toilet.” “Great idea though, thanks, Mum.”
Then throw in the fact that on top of her children already she has no issue taking Harry and Hermione under her wing too!
Oh Misaki! How I love her, she made me feel strong yet beaten and so much more.
Misaki is another type of fierce mother and her journey is a phenomenal one, she goes through so many stages with her children and motherhood, she goes from feeling like her children are husbands and less hers, to longing for her old life and all the way to her realising that isn’t the case and her fighting ! It is an emotional roller coaster!
“What is really important to me was protecting the people I cared about. I’ve never needed a sword to protect you—to raise you the way your father wanted. Caring for my family meant putting away the fighter, so I did.”
“Tamra’s breath caught in her throat. She spun around and there was Shalla! Dropping to her knees, Tamra pulled her in tight until she yelped.”
Tamra is another mother who just wants what is best for her little girl! She faces so many challenges through her journey and is constantly trying to make the best of her situation. She proves that they don’t need all tings lavish, but what her daughter does need is unconditional love!
On top of that she assumes a mother role of another character within the book too, despite all her struggles.
“Agnes almost laughs at her: of course she wants a child. Of course she wants to lay its sleeping cheek against her breastbone and smell its milk-sweet bread, to become on its behalf something grander than herself: a castle or a sword, stone or steel…”
In The Once and Future Witches we see a different take on being a mum, we see it through the eyes of Agnes as her baby grows in her tummy.
Agnes shows the love and care that mothers go through on their journey, from realising they are pregnant to the bond they slowly but surely develop throughout the pregnancy. Agnes develops a fierce love for someone she has never met and you see how it changes the way she sees the world, the people and how she makes some huge decisions.
CERSEI LANNISTER, GILLY, LYANNA STARK & CATELYN STARK
GAME OF THRONES BOOKS BY GEORGE R. R. MARTIN
Game of Thrones reps so many mums here, and with such a variety too! We have Cersei who, despite having some seriously messed up traits, can’t be said to not love her children! Yes, she makes mistakes but down to her core her children are her everything.
Gilly is my absolute favourite she goes so far to protect her baby, she is so wholesome and lovely and is always trying her best!
Then we have Catelyn and Lyanna Stark! Lyanna did everything she could before her son was even born to ensure he was safe and it cost her everything, if that isn’t a fierce display of love then i don’t know what is! Then we have the super tough mum, Catelyn Stark she might have been a dick to Jon but she loved her own children fiercely and always seemed to have their best interest at heart.
Hello Everyone and welcome back to The Book in Hand for another Sundays Seven post!
If you have been with me from the start of my blogging journey you will know I only really read fantasy and a small amount of sci-fi. Well, I realised when I was walking the other day how much I now listen to audiobooks. I listen when I am walking the dog, when I am playing around on Inkscape, cleaning and cooking. I even listen when I am at work sometimes so I can get few quite a few.
I want to challenge myself a little bit to broaden my reading genres but also use the gift that audiobooks have become for a little more.
I am one of those people that digests so much more information through listening to people than reading, all the way through university I recorded myself reading my textbooks so I could listen to them and do other stuff while doing some of my pre-class reading and revising, because revising for exams sucks.
Since finishing university, and being so thankful to finally not be in education I stopped learning much of anything, and despite having done five years at university doing my undergraduate and my master, I miss it. So, I am going to task myself with some nonfiction books about things I want to learn more about! They will likely be about history but it may change depending on how this goes, if I discover some cool fun things but…
LET US LOOK AT THE BOOKS THEN, EHH….
Last Boat Out of Shanghai: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Fled Mao’s Revolution by Helen Zia
TOPICS:
Chinese History | Politics | War | Asian Culture
The dramatic real life stories of four young people caught up in the mass exodus of Shanghai in the wake of China’s 1949 Communist revolution–a precursor to the struggles faced by emigrants today.
Shanghai has historically been China’s jewel, its richest, most modern and westernized city. The bustling metropolis was home to sophisticated intellectuals, entrepreneurs, and a thriving middle class when Mao’s proletarian revolution emerged victorious from the long civil war. Terrified of the horrors the Communists would wreak upon their lives, citizens of Shanghai who could afford to fled in every direction. Seventy years later, members of the last generation to fully recall this massive exodus have revealed their stories to Chinese American journalist Helen Zia, who interviewed hundreds of exiles about their journey through one of the most tumultuous events of the twentieth century. From these moving accounts, Zia weaves together the stories of four young Shanghai residents who wrestled with the decision to abandon everything for an uncertain life as refugees in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the United States.
Benny, who as a teenager became the unwilling heir to his father’s dark wartime legacy, must decide either to escape to Hong Kong or navigate the intricacies of a newly Communist China. The resolute Annuo, forced to flee her home with her father, a defeated Nationalist official, becomes an unwelcome exile in Taiwan. The financially strapped Ho fights deportation from the U.S. in order to continue his studies while his family struggles at home. And Bing, given away by her poor parents, faces the prospect of a new life among strangers in America. The lives of these men and women are marvelously portrayed, revealing the dignity and triumph of personal survival.
Black and British: A Forgotten History by David Olusoga
TOPICS:
Race | Politics | British History
In Black and British, award-winning historian and broadcaster David Olusoga offers readers a rich and revealing exploration of the extraordinarily long relationship between the British Isles and the people of Africa. Drawing on new genetic and genealogical research, original records, expert testimony and contemporary interviews, Black and British reaches back to Roman Britain, the medieval imagination and Shakespeare’s Othello.
It reveals that behind the South Sea Bubble was Britain’s global slave-trading empire and that much of the great industrial boom of the nineteenth century was built on American slavery. It shows that Black Britons fought at Trafalgar and in the trenches of the First World War. Black British history can be read in stately homes, street names, statues and memorials across Britain and is woven into the cultural and economic histories of the nation.
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford
TOPICS:
Genghis Khan | Mongol History | War | Asian Culture
Weatherford resurrects the true history of Genghis Khan, from the story of his relentless rise through Mongol tribal culture to the waging of his devastatingly successful wars and the explosion of civilization that the Mongol Empire unleashed.
There was a far longer synopsis for this book but this one was still better, I’m pretty sure the other was jus an except from the book!
100,000 years ago, at least six human species inhabited the earth. Today there is just one. Us. Homo sapiens.
How did our species succeed in the battle for dominance? Why did our foraging ancestors come together to create cities and kingdoms? How did we come to believe in gods, nations and human rights; to trust money, books and laws; and to be enslaved by bureaucracy, timetables and consumerism? And what will our world be like in the millennia to come?
In Sapiens, Dr Yuval Noah Harari spans the whole of human history, from the very first humans to walk the earth to the radical – and sometimes devastating – breakthroughs of the Cognitive, Agricultural and Scientific Revolutions. Drawing on insights from biology, anthropology, paleontology and economics, he explores how the currents of history have shaped our human societies, the animals and plants around us, and even our personalities. Have we become happier as history has unfolded? Can we ever free our behaviour from the heritage of our ancestors? And what, if anything, can we do to influence the course of the centuries to come?
Bold, wide-ranging and provocative, Sapiens challenges everything we thought we knew about being human: our thoughts, our actions, our power … and our future.
Military History | War | Politics | Declaration of Independence | American Revolution
In this masterful book, David McCullough tells the intensely human story of those who marched with General George Washington in the year of the Declaration of Independence – when the whole American cause was riding on their success, without which all hope for independence would have been dashed and the noble ideals of the Declaration would have amounted to little more than words on paper.
Based on extensive research in both American and British archives, 1776 is a powerful drama written with extraordinary narrative vitality. It is the story of Americans in the ranks, men of every shape, size, and color, farmers, schoolteachers, shoemakers, no-accounts, and mere boys turned soldiers. And it is the story of the King’s men, the British commander, William Howe, an his highly disciplined redcoats who looked on their rebel foes with contempt and fought with a valor too little known.
At the center of the drama, with Washington, are two young American patriots, who, at first, knew no more of war than what they had read in books – Nathaniel Green, a Quaker who was made a general at thirty-three, and Henry Knox, a twenty-five-year-old bookseller who had the preposterous idea of hauling the guns of Fort Ticonderoga overland to Boston in the dead of Winter.
But it is the American commander-in-chief who stands foremost – Washington, who had never before led an army in battle. Written as a companion work to his celebrated biography of John Adams, David McCullough’s 1776 is another landmark in the literature of American history.
England’s Other Countrymen: Blackness in Tudor Society by Onyeka Nubia
TOPICS:
Tudor History | England | Race | Politics
The Tudor period remains a source of timeless fascination, with endless novels, TV shows, and films depicting the period in myriad ways. And yet our image of the Tudor era remains overwhelmingly white. This ground-breaking and provocative new book seeks to redress the balance: revealing not only how black presence in Tudor England was far greater than has previously been recognized, but that Tudor conceptions of race were far more complex than we have been led to believe.
Drawing on original research, Onyeka Nubia shows that Tudors from many walks of life regularly interacted with people of African descent, both at home and abroad, revealing a genuine pragmatism towards race and acceptance of difference. Nubia also rejects the influence of the “Curse of Ham” myth on Tudor thinking, and persuasively argues that many of the ideas associated with modern racism are therefore relatively recent developments. England’s Other Countrymen is a bravura and eloquent forgotten history of diversity and cultural exchange, and casts a new light on our own attitudes towards race.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE AMAZONS: WOMEN WARRIORS IN MYTH AND HISTORY by Lyn Webster Wilde
TOPICS:
Women | Mythology | Amazons
‘Golden-shielded, silver-sworded, man-loving, male-child slaughtering Amazons,’ is how the fifth-century Greek historian Hellanicus described the Amazons, and they have fascinated humanity ever since. Did they really exist? For centuries, scholars consigned them to the world of myth, but Lyn Webster Wilde journeyed into the homeland of the Amazons and uncovered astonishing evidence of their historic reality. North of the Black Sea she found archaeological excavations of graves of Iron Age women buried with arrows, swords and armour. In the hidden world of the Hittites, near the Amazons’ ancient capital of Thermiscyra in Anatolia, she unearthed traces of powerful priestesses, women-only religious cults, and an armed, bisexual goddess – all possible sources for the ferocious women. Combining scholarly penetration with a sense of adventure, Webster Wilde has produced a coherent and absorbing book that challenges preconceived notions, still disturbingly widespread, of what men and women can do.
***Please note this page contains affiliate links and at no extra charge to you I can earn a small fee on any qualifying purchases. Any and all money earned through these goes straight back into the blog***
Happy Sunday Bookish Folk!
This post is about a few things this week. Not only is it seven books I am SO excited to read, but also seven book on my NetGalley TBR that I have to get and I am so excited for! So we have a degree of accountability today…but books!
My NetGalley ratio is NOT good. So, having got through many of my physical arcs I can get to my NetGalley ones and make a move on my ratio. I have some serious work to do, but I am so up for it
ON TO THE BOOKS…
SHE WHO BECAME THE SUN BY SHELLEY PARKER-CHAN
I am so excited for this book, every time I read the synopsis I nearly screw the TBR and just pick it up. I love Mongol history from its rise to its fall, it is one of the most interesting periods and then throw in the serious Mulan vibes and I am practically vibrating with excitement for this book!
She’ll change the world to survive her fate . . .
In Mongol-occupied imperial China, a peasant girl refuses her fate of an early death. Stealing her dead brother’s identity to survive, she rises from monk to soldier, then to rebel commander. Zhu’s pursuing the destiny her brother somehow failed to attain: greatness. But all the while, she feels Heaven is watching.
Can anyone fool Heaven indefinitely, escaping what’s written in the stars? Or can Zhu claim her own future, burn all the rules and rise as high as she can dream?
She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan is a re-imagining of the rise to power of Zhu Yuanzhang. Zhu was the peasant rebel who expelled the Mongols, unified China under native rule, and became the founding Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.
I am ashamed I haven’t read this book yet, I actually got it quite some time ago and it is still yet to be read. With its discord, need for revolution and mechanical freaking dragons I need to pull my finger out and get this book read!
Dragons. Art. Revolution.
Gyen Jebi isn’t a fighter or a subversive. They just want to paint.
One day they’re jobless and desperate; the next, Jebi finds themself recruited by the Ministry of Armor to paint the mystical sigils that animate the occupying government’s automaton soldiers.
But when Jebi discovers the depths of the Razanei government’s horrifying crimes—and the awful source of the magical pigments they use—they find they can no longer stay out of politics.
What they can do is steal Arazi, the ministry’s mighty dragon automaton, and find a way to fight…
This is another one I really wish I had read already, it sounds fab and it reviewed so well. I was silly enough to let page count steer me away each time I contemplated it.
Following in the steps of Neil Gaiman & Joanne Harris, the author expertly weaves Norse myths and compelling characters into this fierce, magical epic fantasy.
A dead man, walking between the worlds, foresees the end of the gods.
A survivor searching for a weapon releases a demon from fiery Muspelheim.
A village is slaughtered by Christians, and revenge must be taken.
The bonds between the gods and Midgard are weakening. It is up to Hilda, Ragnar, their tribesmen Einer and Finn, the chief’s wife Siv and Tyra, her adopted daughter, to fight to save the old ways from dying out, and to save their gods in the process.
Recently released this book is reviewing really well! I have read each one I have seen pop up in th book community and they all make me even more excited to read this book. I’m actually due to start it in the next few days.
The Black Coast is the start of a series filled with war-dragons, armoured knights, sea-faring raiders, dangerous magic and battle scenes.
When the citizens of Black Keep see ships on the horizon, terror takes them, for they know who is coming: for generations, Black Keep has been raided by the fearsome clanspeople of Iwernia. Saddling their war dragons, the Naridans rush to defend their home only to discover that the clanspeople have not come to pillage at all. Driven from their own homeland by the rise of a daemonic despot who prophesies the end of the world, they have come in search of a new home. Meanwhile the wider continent of Narida is lurching toward war. Black Keep is about to be caught in the cross-fire of the coming war for the world – if only its new mismatched society can survive.
I only recently found out about this book from stalking the indie lists on Goodreads and then I saw it on NetGalley and couldn’t resist! This is another I’m due to read in the near future.
Lose yourself in this fusion of Asian and Western fantasy, which critics extol as “wonderfully opulent,” “Breathtaking,” and “Unique.”
Only the lost magic of Dragon Songs can save the world. Only an awkward girl with the perfect voice can rediscover it.
The Dragon Singers of old summoned typhoons and routed armies, liberating mankind from the orcs before fading into legend. Now, with the world again facing a new cataclysm, the power of music stirs in Kaiya, an a naïve misfit with the perfect voice.
Without a master to guide her, she must rely on Hardeep, a disgraced foreign paladin, to help awaken her latent magic. His motives might not be entirely noble. When he leads her to the fabled Dragon Scale Lute, which only a Dragon Singer can wield, it is up to Black Lotus Clan to intervene.
Because the instrument’s fell power can save the world…
I am so sooooo LATE on this one, I’m pretty sure bloody book three is due out soon! I have no excuses!
In the midst of a burgeoning war, a warrior, an assassin, and a princess chase their own ambitions no matter the cost in Devin Madson’s visceral, emotionally charged debut.
War built the Kisian Empire. War will tear it down.
Seventeen years after rebels stormed the streets, factions divide Kisia. Only the firm hand of the god-emperor holds the empire together. But when a shocking betrayal destroys a tense alliance with neighboring Chiltae, all that has been won comes crashing down.
In Kisia, Princess Miko Ts’ai is a prisoner in her own castle. She dreams of claiming her empire, but the path to power could rip it, and her family, asunder.
In Chiltae, assassin Cassandra Marius is plagued by the voices of the dead. Desperate, she accepts a contract that promises to reward her with a cure if she helps an empire fall.
And on the border between nations, Captain Rah e’Torin and his warriors are exiles forced to fight in a foreign war or die.
As an empire dies, three warriors will rise. They will have to ride the storm or drown in its blood.
I actually have this book in physical copy too, from Goldsboro but I originally got it on NetGalley. Considering when this book came out you can imagine how shite my ratio is!
Long ago, a magical war destroyed an empire, and a new one was built in its ashes. But still the old grudges simmer, and two siblings will fight on opposite sides to save their world in the start of Django Wexler’s new epic fantasy trilogy. Gyre hasn’t seen his beloved sister since their parents sold her to the mysterious Twilight Order. Now, twelve years after her disappearance, Gyre’s sole focus is revenge, and he’s willing to risk anything and anyone to claim enough power to destroy the Order. Chasing rumors of a fabled city protecting a powerful artifact, Gyre comes face-to-face with his lost sister. But she isn’t who she once was. Trained to be a warrior, Maya wields magic for the Twilight Order’s cause. Standing on opposite sides of a looming civil war, the two siblings will learn that not even the ties of blood will keep them from splitting the world in two.
***Please note this page contains affiliate links and at no extra charge to you I can earn a small fee on any qualifying purchases. Any and all money earned through these goes straight back into the blog***
Happy Sunday Bookish Folk!
I have been reading a lot more over the last two months, I read a lot anyway but I made a big push in December for the Goodreads goal and January saw quite a few books too. It was some of my January reads that actually inspired this post, two books in particular…The Bear and the Nightingale and A Ritual of Bone. These books were such atmospheric books, they truly transported you into their worlds and you felt the moods they imagined.
So, I’m ready to find more books of that nature. I truly appreciate brilliant world building but at the same time it is my least coveted aspect in a book. I am much more for character development and plot. Don’t get me wrong I want world-building but I sit firmly in the category of moderate world building. I don’t need everything told to me in explicit detail, I like to fill in the gaps myself but having read the above two book I now fid myself wanting more of them, not meticulous world building but immersive and atmospheric reads.
ON TO THE BOOKS…
The Bear and the Nightingale BY Katherine Arden
This is an amazing book, I had been told on more than one occasion that this book was really atmospheric, and it was honestly the first time I had ever heard a book be described as such. So, little ole me was like okkkk, good. It wasn’t until I read this book that I truly understood just how accurate this was.
It is the dark and stormy night that makes you shiver and feel like you need to throw a few more wooden logs onto your fire. The mood is clear and purposeful.
At the edge of the Russian wilderness, winter lasts most of the year and the snowdrifts grow taller than houses. But Vasilisa doesn’t mind—she spends the winter nights huddled around the embers of a fire with her beloved siblings, listening to her nurse’s fairy tales. Above all, she loves the chilling story of Frost, the blue-eyed winter demon, who appears in the frigid night to claim unwary souls. Wise Russians fear him, her nurse says, and honor the spirits of house and yard and forest that protect their homes from evil.
After Vasilisa’s mother dies, her father goes to Moscow and brings home a new wife. Fiercely devout, city-bred, Vasilisa’s new stepmother forbids her family from honoring the household spirits. The family acquiesces, but Vasilisa is frightened, sensing that more hinges upon their rituals than anyone knows.
And indeed, crops begin to fail, evil creatures of the forest creep nearer, and misfortune stalks the village. All the while, Vasilisa’s stepmother grows ever harsher in her determination to groom her rebellious stepdaughter for either marriage or confinement in a convent.
As danger circles, Vasilisa must defy even the people she loves and call on dangerous gifts she has long concealed—this, in order to protect her family from a threat that seems to have stepped from her nurse’s most frightening tales.
The Bear and the Nightingale is a magical debut novel from a gifted and gorgeous voice. It spins an irresistible spell as it announces the arrival of a singular talent.
When I think of what atmospheric is, it is so many things but for this novel it is much about the mood. It is that obscure haunting feeling that fills you as you slowly reveal what this book gives you, the slowly unravelling of the books events…
“Only valour and steel can stand against the rising dead”
Arnar is a land of warriors, its people as stalwart as the stones themselves. In a land of dark forests and ancient hill forts, a forgotten evil is awoken by curious minds.
The Great Histories and the Sagas say nothing of this evil, long passed from the memory of even the studious scholars of the College. For centuries, the scholars of Arnar have kept these records and preserved the knowledge and great deeds of a proud people. The story of these peoples forever chronicled in the Sagas of the Great Histories.
But now the evil spreads and the dead walk in its wake, terrible creatures roam the night and even the spirits are restless. The Dead Sagas could perhaps be the final chapters of these great records.
Many threads entwine to tell this Saga, interweaving the tales of those who played their part in the search for answers and ultimately their fight for survival. Amid plague, invasion and terror, the inexorable rise of the dead sends a kingdom scrabbling to its knees.
This Dark Fantasy Epic combines dark malign horror and gritty survival adventure as the Dead Sagas unfold in a world where honour and renown is all, where beasts and savages lurk in the wilderness, and where sword, axe and shield is all that stands between the living and the grasping hands of the dead.
I feel like this is even more impressive, that is managed to create such an intense atmosphere in far less words than all the other books on this list.
D. W. Griffith is a sorcerer, and The Birth of a Nation is a spell that drew upon the darkest thoughts and wishes from the heart of America. Now, rising in power and prominence, the Klan has a plot to unleash Hell on Earth.
Luckily, Maryse Boudreaux has a magic sword and a head full of tales. When she’s not running bootleg whiskey through Prohibition Georgia, she’s fighting monsters she calls “Ku Kluxes.” She’s damn good at it, too. But to confront this ongoing evil, she must journey between worlds to face nightmares made flesh–and her own demons. Together with a foul-mouthed sharpshooter and a Harlem Hellfighter, Maryse sets out to save a world from the hate that would consume it.
I feel like I put this book into so many lists, I don’t but it was in last weeks Sunday Seven, so it feels like it sometimes. BUT, this book belongs on this list!
Told in Kvothe’s own voice, this is the tale of the magically gifted young man who grows to be the most notorious wizard his world has ever seen.
The intimate narrative of his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, his years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-ridden city, his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a legendary school of magic, and his life as a fugitive after the murder of a king form a gripping coming-of-age story unrivaled in recent literature.
A high-action story written with a poet’s hand, The Name of the Wind is a masterpiece that will transport readers into the body and mind of a wizard.
I have spoken to this a few people about this book and all of them have said in some way or another that this is such an engrossing and enchanting book and made even more immersive by the beautiful prose.
Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children No Solicitations No Visitors No Quests
Children have always disappeared under the right conditions; slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere… else.
But magical lands have little need for used-up miracle children.
Nancy tumbled once, but now she’s back. The things she’s experienced… they change a person. The children under Miss West’s care understand all too well. And each of them is seeking a way back to their own fantasy world.
But Nancy’s arrival marks a change at the Home. There’s a darkness just around each corner, and when tragedy strikes, it’s up to Nancy and her new-found schoolmates to get to the heart of the matter.
Now, this one might seem like a little bit of an off one but one praise that comes up quite a lot for this book is that is des an incredible job at giving that dark and foreboding feeling with magic and strange creatures.
Sent to a boarding school in Ancelstierre as a young child, Sabriel has had little experience with the random power of Free Magic or the Dead who refuse to stay dead in the Old Kingdom. But during her final semester, her father, the Abhorsen, goes missing, and Sabriel knows she must enter the Old Kingdom to find him.
With Sabriel, the first installment in the Abhorsen series, Garth Nix exploded onto the fantasy scene as a rising star, in a novel that takes readers to a world where the line between the living and the dead isn’t always clear—and sometimes disappears altogether.
I have had this on my TBR since September 2020, so I haven’t read this but from the reviews and some other posts and articles this book is worthy of being on this list.
The story takes place in Barcelona, 1945 and for those readers that haven’t ever stopped foot there it matters not because this book delivers. Want to visit Barcelona, red this book and be immersed!
Barcelona, 1945: A city slowly heals from its war wounds, and Daniel, an antiquarian book dealer’s son who mourns the loss of his mother, finds solace in a mysterious book entitled The Shadow of the Wind, by one Julian Carax. But when he sets out to find the author’s other works, he makes a shocking discovery: someone has been systematically destroying every copy of every book Carax has written. In fact, Daniel may have the last of Carax’s books in existence. Soon Daniel’s seemingly innocent quest opens a door into one of Barcelona’s darkest secrets–an epic story of murder, madness, and doomed love. –back cover
Hello fellow book lovers and welcome back to KEEP IT OR CUT IT! As usual I am going to talk to you today about ten books that have been sitting on my Goodreads TBR for quite some time. The books in this weeks post were all added in August 2019, so 16 months ago. That’s a long time for a book to be sitting! Though, briefly looking some of these and I know a few of them have flickered back up on my radar through either purchasing the book or the audiobook so not totally unloved.
Last week my Keep It Or Cut It post evolved a little, changing ‘Reasons‘ to ‘Reasons & Thoughts‘. It wasn’t a huge change to the layout but it was a change none the less, and today the post is going to evolve a little more.
As you can see from the method below, I do some or all of the below checks, so I’m thinking of adding a few review comments from others, maybe a good opening to the book from the sample or a little information into why the blurb is an interesting one. Hopefully it ill make me a little more accountable for my decisions and also it may be fun for you. Who knows?!
The Method…
For any who are unsure as to how I vet a book you can see below the checks I run through. I may only need to see the blurb to love it, I may want to check out a few reviews of those with similar tastes to me or I might read a little bit of the sample. I don’t always do all three but here they are, the method checks…
See if the blurb/synopsis still tickles my fancy
Check out the reviews
Maybe read the sample
THE BOOKS…
BOOK #1
The Thousand Names (The Shadow Campaigns #1) by Django Wexler
Enter an epic fantasy world that echoes with the thunder of muskets and the clang of steel—but where the real battle is against a subtle and sinister magic….
Captain Marcus d’Ivoire, commander of one of the Vordanai empire’s colonial garrisons, was resigned to serving out his days in a sleepy, remote outpost. But that was before a rebellion upended his life. And once the powder smoke settled, he was left in charge of a demoralized force clinging tenuously to a small fortress at the edge of the desert.
To flee from her past, Winter Ihernglass masqueraded as a man and enlisted as a ranker in the Vordanai Colonials, hoping only to avoid notice. But when chance sees her promoted to command, she must win the hearts of her men and lead them into battle against impossible odds.
The fates of both these soldiers and all the men they lead depend on the newly arrived Colonel Janus bet Vhalnich, who has been sent by the ailing king to restore order. His military genius seems to know no bounds, and under his command, Marcus and Winter can feel the tide turning. But their allegiance will be tested as they begin to suspect that the enigmatic Janus’s ambitions extend beyond the battlefield and into the realm of the supernatural—a realm with the power to ignite a meteoric rise, reshape the known world, and change the lives of everyone in its path.
KEEP IT
Reasons & Thoughts:
While I added this on to my TBR around 16 months ago as I really love military fantasy fiction, it actually came back to my attention again in Feb 2020, around the time I had read and LOVED Brian McClellan’s Powder Mage Trilogy. It was strongly recommended as a book to read if you liked that flintlock fantasy.
This isn’t the first Django Wexler book on my TBR and I doubt it will be the last. Also, the whole woman dressed as a man trope, well, I kinda like it and that bit of the blurb honestly gives me Mulan vibes! Don’t laugh.
Petrik described it as “…A great explosive Flintlock/Military fantasy debut that left me begging for more by the end of it...”
BOOK #2
The Emperor’s Blades (Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne #1) by Brian Staveley
The circle is closing. The stakes are high. And old truths will live again…
The Emperor has been murdered, leaving the Annurian Empire in turmoil. Now his progeny must bury their grief and prepare to unmask a conspiracy.
His son Valyn, training for the empire’s deadliest fighting force, hears the news an ocean away. He expected a challenge, but after several ‘accidents’ and a dying soldier’s warning, he realizes his life is also in danger. Yet before Valyn can take action, he must survive the mercenaries’ brutal final initiation.
Meanwhile, the Emperor’s daughter, Minister Adare, hunts her father’s murderer in the capital itself. Court politics can be fatal, but she needs justice. And Kaden, heir to an empire, studies in a remote monastery. Here, the Blank God’s disciples teach their harsh ways – which Kaden must master to unlock their ancient powers. When an imperial delegation arrives, he’s learnt enough to perceive evil intent. But will this keep him alive, as long-hidden powers make their move?
KEEP IT
Reasons & Thoughts:
This is another one of those books that was added some time ago but had quite recently popped back up in my mind. Though for a different reason. As some of you may be aware I have recently joined the many who love audiobooks, and on my mission to find a narrator I could listen to I stumbled across this. I remembered it was a book I had on my TBR and reread the blurb, it quickly had me wanting to read it and so I grabbed the audio with one of my credits! Though if it isn’t enough that this is narrated by Simon Vance, someones voice I quite like, it also sounds epic. It’s cover is stunning, its book title is intriguing and it blurb has you wanting…
A murdered emperor; an empire in turmoil; TRAINING MONTAGE; mercenaries; and court politics!
This is a book that has some quite amazing reviews and ratings too among the book community, so that is always a promising sign!
Guile is the Prism, the most powerful man in the world. He is high priest and emperor, a man whose power, wit, and charm are all that preserves a tenuous peace. Yet Prisms never last, and Guile knows exactly how long he has left to live.
When Guile discovers he has a son, born in a far kingdom after the war that put him in power, he must decide how much he’s willing to pay to protect a secret that could tear his world apart.
KEEP IT
Reasons & Thoughts:
From what I have read this is a fairly complex book, its world building is highly praised and has a brilliant magic system that is integral to the story. While all of these praises make me want to read I, it is probably the idea of the magic system I want to experience the most. I haven’t, despite reading fantasy for a good while now, read all that many books with a complex magic system. I want to see one in action that honestly is Sanderson’s. That’s nothing against him, at all, I’ve not read his works but books that hyped are always tougher reads.
Mike said “…Im not selling you a bill of goods here, guys; I feel like Black Prism is the best book 1 of a fantasy series that Ive read in over a decade….“
BOOK #4
Paternus: Rise of Gods (Paternus Trilogy #1) by Dyrk Ashton
Even myths have legends. And not all legends are myth.
When a local hospital is attacked by strange and frightening men, Fiona Patterson and Zeke Prisco save a catatonic old man named Peter—and find themselves running for their lives with creatures beyond imagination hounding their every step.
With nowhere else to turn, they seek out Fi’s enigmatic Uncle Edgar. But the more their questions are answered, the more they discover that nothing is what it seems–not Peter, not Edgar, perhaps not even themselves.
The gods and monsters, heroes and villains of lore—they’re real. And now they’ve come out of hiding to hunt their own. In order to survive, Fi and Zeke must join up with powerful allies against an ancient evil that’s been known by many names and feared by all. The final battle of the world’s oldest war has begun.
KEEP IT
Reasons & Thoughts:
To say how much I enjoy urban fantasy in TV and movies I haven’t actually read a lot in the genre. I have read PNR and shifter books that are still urban fantasy, and while I enjoy them, they are not really what I’m looking for in an adult urban fantasy story. So, to see a so widely loved urban fantasy is great and it had me buying this book, that and it obviously sounded cool!
Nick Borelli said “…Let me start off by saying, I am not a big fan of Urban Fantasy for those who know me. In fact, it’s my least favorite sub-genre of Fantasy. So when I say I was blown away in a good way by this book, it really is saying something about both the story and the author Dyrk Ashton…”
BOOK #5
Steelheart (The Reckoners #1) by Brandon Sanderson
Ten years ago, Calamity came. It was a burst in the sky that gave ordinary men and women extraordinary powers. The awed public started calling them Epics. But Epics are no friend of man. With incredible gifts came the desire to rule. And to rule man you must crush his will.
Nobody fights the Epics…nobody but the Reckoners. A shadowy group of ordinary humans, they spend their lives studying Epics, finding their weaknesses, and then assassinating them.
And David wants in. He wants Steelheart — the Epic who is said to be invincible. The Epic who killed David’s father. For years, like the Reckoners, David’s been studying, and planning — and he has something they need. Not an object, but an experience.
He’s seen Steelheart bleed. And he wants revenge.
KEEP IT
Reasons & Thoughts:
I don’t remember a thing about this book, but having just reread the blurb…It sounds bloody brilliant! I LOVE rebellions against oppression, and your hunter type books. Also, having just watched ‘The Boys’ this whole blurb reminds me a Frenchie, with his experiments to find a supe’s weakness and what not.
The Coycaterpillar Reads has sold this to me even more than the blurb. I am all about a books beginning, as some of you may know, so when Yvonne said “…It’s usually within pages that I will be able to determine whether a novel is going to submerge me within its world, whether I mould between its pages…I was a goner by page two…” I was done.
BOOK #6
The Way of Kings, Part 1 (The Stormlight Archive #1, part 1) by Brandon Sanderson
LIFE BEFORE DEATH. STRENGTH BEFORE WEAKNESS. JOURNEY BEFORE DESTINATION.
AND RETURN TO MEN THE SHARDS THEY ONCE BORE.
THE KNIGHTS RADIANT MUST STAND AGAIN.
Roshar is a world of stone and storms. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter.
It has been centuries since the fall of the ten consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. Men trade kingdoms for Shardblades. Wars are fought for them, and won by them.
One such war is about to swallow up a soldier, a brightlord and a young woman scholar.
Widely acclaimed for his work completing Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time saga, Brandon Sanderson now begins a grand cycle of his own, one every bit as ambitious and immersive.
KEEP IT
Reasons & Thoughts:
For some reason this book keeps coming to mind, I really am going to have to read it! I have seen fan art for it a lot recently, new revises and general Sanderson talk. The world is telling me to start reading this book! Plus I already have this book on my shelves at home…
David sold it to me even more with his review comments “…you like beautifully intricate worlds, fun magic systems, and likable characters, I would definitely recommend this to you…”
Three centuries after terrible floods drowned most of Earth’s civilizations, humanity scratches for safety in a world of deadly evils. And through this world walks Jon Shannow, the Jerusalem Man. His quest is to find lost Jerusalem–and confront the world’s evil, including the devil himself.
CUT IT
Reasons & Thoughts:
My first ‘cut it’ of today’s post! I haven’t read any Gemmell and while I have every intention of doing so I won’t be begging my journey into his works with this one. It doesn’t sound like a bad story but nothing about it really grabs me either.
BOOK #8
Beyond Redemption (Manifest Delusions #1) by Michael R. Fletcher
Faith shapes the landscape, defines the laws of physics, and makes a mockery of truth. Common knowledge isn’t an axiom, it’s a force of nature. What the masses believe is. But insanity is a weapon, conviction a shield. Delusions give birth to foul new gods.
Violent and dark, the world is filled with the Geisteskranken—men and women whose delusions manifest, twisting reality. High Priest Konig seeks to create order from chaos. He defines the beliefs of his followers, leading their faith to one end: a young boy, Morgen, must Ascend to become a god. A god they can control.
But there are many who would see this would-be-god in their thrall, including the High Priest’s own Doppels, and a Slaver no one can resist. Three reprobates—The Greatest Swordsman in the World, a murderous Kleptic, and possibly the only sane man left—have their own nefarious plans for the young god.
As these forces converge on the boy, there’s one more obstacle: time is running out. When one’s delusions become more powerful, they become harder to control. The fate of the Geisteskranken is to inevitably find oneself in the Afterdeath.
The question, then, is: Who will rule there?
KEEP IT
Reasons & Thoughts:
I like this cover. It almost reminds me of the covers for Brian McClellan’s Gods of Blood and Powder books, but that literally could just be the whole charging horses aspect…
A dark fantasy with a twisted and intriguing plot, peoples delusion twisting reality, that sounds crazy and quite interesting. Plus, when does the puppet god/king/leader plot ever go to plan?
The Tattooed Book Geek said “I was hooked from the first page all the way up until the last, great world building and great characters make this a quality read, fantasy at it’s darkest, deluded best, a unique read that I thoroughly enjoyed and would gladly recommend to everyone!”
Well, we cut the husband, let us see if we keep the wife..
KEEP IT
Reasons & Thoughts:
I remember adding this book to my TR and to say it was added over 16 months ago I think that is quite a feat, even more so because I haven’t seen this token about in the book community at all. That is not to say I remember the full blurb, but I do remember being greatly interested in the whole idea of a waring city filled with tribal fighting and a mysterious leader.
I also already have this book on my shelves to read so it is a easy keep it book!
I was clearly digging the Gemmell’s during this phase of my Goodreads hunting…
He is DRUSS the Legend. His skill in battle has earned him a fearsome reputation throughout the world and the stories of his life are told everywhere. But the grizzled veteran has spurned a life of fame and fortune and has retreated to the solitude of his mountain lair to await his old enemy, Death.
Meanwhile, barbarian hordes of the Nadir are on the march, conquering all before them. All that stands before them and victory is the legendary six-walled fortress of the Drenai empire, Dros Delnoch. If the fortress falls, so do the Drenai. Druss reluctantly agrees to come out of retirement. But can even Druss live up to his own legends?
Held by many to be Gemmell’s most iconic work, the book is considered a classic in the heroic fantasy genre.
A second chance, will Gemmell make the cut this time?
KEEP IT
Reasons & Thoughts:
And now we have both Mr and Mrs Gemmell being kept this week on Keep It Or Cut It! This is another trope I really like to read, the retired veteran who has removed themselves from the world to live the rest of their days alone in some hut on a mountain storyline.
I think I like these storylines because they have the potential for such incredible characters, we are given a character who has already lived a life, so you are constantly wondering how much the character can still grow, how will their life experiences steer them in their new journey? What is going to happen?
Then throw in the whole last stand, the last remaining defence against a seemingly unstoppable force and you have a book I really want to read!
I actually really enjoy writing these posts because I am slowly but surely noticing more and more what tropes, storylines and more that I truly like. I am seeing clearer each time what I want to see in a book, what I want to experience. This feature is genuinely beneficial and I would recommend you guys doing your own.
One cut, nine kept!
This was nearly a full strike! Just one fell short but nine out of ten isn’t bad. or it is because the aim is to reduce the TBR but I’m not cutting books for the sake of it! Plus, I feel like I have learnt more about my own reading tastes in this weeks post so I would say that is a win!
What do you think are there any books I really should have cut or ones you cant believe I didn’t cut? Have I made any mistakes? How many did you guess correct?
Again, thank you to everyone who takes the tie to read my posts and engage with me over on Twitter, it is always such fu and I appreciate you all so much!
_ The Book in Hand _ 