Category: Books

Stardust by

by Neil Gaiman

There was once a young man who wished to gain his Heart’s Desire.
And while that is, as beginnings go, not entirely novel (for every tale about every young man there ever was or will could start in a similar manner) there was much about this young man and what happened to him that was unusual although even he never knew the whole of it.

When Tristran Thorn heads off into Faerie to find a star he has no idea of what is about to happen. All he cares is that the beautiful Victoria has promised that she will grant whatever he wishes if he brings the star that she saw fall.

Celtika by

I was neither a stranger in this territory, nor familiar with it. The last time I had passed this way, the route into the wilderness of forest and snow that was the northern land of Pohjola had been an open gorge, guarded by nothing more sinister than white foxes, chattering mink and dark-winged carrion birds.

suppose that you are thinking that a series entitled The Merlin Codex might be about the Merlin of the Arthurian legend. If so, and you are expecting Camelot to make an appearance in this book, you are in for a surprise. Yes, the main protagonist is Merlin, but he isn’t the character you might have expected. Instead, although very old he is also quite young. In appearance at least. And instead of serving or advising Kind Arthur he travels with Jason of the Greek myths. The book is set hundreds of years after the quest for the Golden Fleece, and the love affair with Medea and the resulting tragedy, but Jason is not dead. He has been kept in a sort of suspended non-life by the magic of his ship, the Argus, and now Merlin has returned to bring him back to life. Merlin, you see, has discovered that Medea did not actually kill her two sons.

Fadó, fadó*

Carl is running another challenge, and this time I’m going to join in. And I think I’m going to do Quest 3: Read at least one book from each of the...

Grass by

This was an impulse purchase, I’ve read one or two others by Tepper and although I enjoyed them I do think that she has a tendency to be a little preachy in her books. However if the story is good enough I’m willing to overlook that, and I’d have to say that I really enjoyed this novel. Set at some point far in the future when humankind has colonised many different worlds, the majority of this book takes place on the planet Grass, among the insular bon as the aristocrats are called.

The Black Jewels Trilogy by

I am Tersa the Weaver, Tersa the Liar, Tersa the Fool.
When the Blood-Jeweled Lords and Ldies hold a banquet, I’m the entertainment that comes after the musicians have played and the lithesome girls and boys have danced and the Lords have drunk too much wine and demand to have their fortunes told.

I’m very much in two minds about this trilogy. One the one hand I read it all in the space of two days, and it is quite long at over 1200 pages. But on the other hand it read like fanfiction to me. And not very good fanfiction. Come to think about it, that may be the reason I read it so fast. The more I read, the more I saw Jaenelle as a Mary-Sue device and less as an actual character.

Suite Francaise by

Author: Irene Nireovsky

Two novellas and some appendices make up this book. The two fiction pieces were intended to be part of a series of books about France during World War II, but the author, Irene Nemirovsky died in a concentration camp in August 1942, and that is what makes up the non-fiction element of this book. Of course the real like story of Nemirovsky, and how this book came to be published makes up a large element of the media coverage surrounding the novel, but the fiction element alone deserves attention. The background, and fact that it was written as these events were taking place, adds to the work as a whole.

Brethren by

ISBN: 0340839694 The sun was approaching its zenith, dominating the sky and turning the deep ochre of the desert to a bleached bone-white. Buzzards circled the crowns of the hills that...

Blood Meridian by

Or the evening redness ISBN: 0679728759 See the child. He is pale and thin, he wears a thin and ragged linen shirt. He stokes the scullery fire. Outside lie dark turned...

The Rest Falls Away by

ISBN: 9780451220073 #1 in the Gardella Vampire Chronicles See also: ColleenGleason.com ; SSD review ; Quixotic’s review His footsteps were soundless, but Victoria felt him moving. She grasped the bark of...

By The Sword by

gladiators, musketeers, samurai warriors, swashbucklers, and Olympians ISBN: 0330482297 Thirty years ago I fought the only duel of my life. It wouldn’t have satisfied the dictionary definition, which requires that deadly...

The Liveship Traders by

Books in series: Ship of Magic The Mad Ship Ship of Destiny reread with ffseries She wondered what it would have been like to be perfect. I really love Hobb’s writing....