Here we are at the end of another month and we are hurtling at a very scary pace towards the end of 2018. It’s been another good reading month, but I was mostly continuing on with series I know I like so it should be no surprise that I liked them. Also, I still managed to read eleven books even though I barely read anything in the first week of October. It probably helped that some of them were rather short.
Skyward
Brandon Sanderson
Gollancz
510 Pages
Release: 6/11/18
3.5/5
Advance copy received through Netgalley for review. All opinions are my own.
Skyward, by Brandon Sanderson, is a science fiction story focusing on the remnants of the human race and their battle against an enemy known as the Krell. The story follows a young woman, named Spensa, who has to overcome her father’s label as a coward in order to achieve her dream of becoming a pilot.
There’s also an awesome AI.
The Iron Ghost
Jen Williams
The Copper Cat #2
Headline
536 pages
4/5
The Iron Ghost is the second book in the Copper Cat trilogy and follows the continuing adventures of Wydrin, Sir Sebastian and Frith. This time they’re dealing with an ancient and long dead mage.
And a variety of imaginative and sometimes quite weird creatures. But more on that later.
I’m back with another Top 5 Wednesday and today’s topic is top five books featuring paranormal creatures. Now, I’m not one for reading horror stories, or any sort of scary story in general so don’t expect any horror novels to pop up in this list because I am a wuss and I don’t want to have any nightmares. Check out the Goodreads group if you want to have a bash at this yourself.
Not going with Harry Potter for this one because, as a child, The Worst Witch was my favourite book about a witch who went off to a magic school and had a crazy adventure. Mildred Hubble is a trainee witch at Miss Cackle’s Academy and she isn’t very good at it but she tries and she saves the day in the end.
There are so many books out there that I could have chosen to represent the dragon but none of them have the same place in my heart that Robin Hobb does. I love the Elderlings series and the dragons are a major part of what makes it so good. Tintaglia is awesome. She is mighty and haughty and I love every page in which she appears. The other dragons are great too but she’s the first to appear and she’s the one who makes the most impact.
Oh, this book used to creep me out as a child. It’s a kid’s book that is full of tales, supposedly true, of ghosts and ghouls and perfect for young people to have a bit of a scare. My favourite stories were always The Hallowe’en Ghost: The Restless Mummy and The Ghost’s Revenge: The Miller of Chester-le-Street’s tale. It sends a slight shiver down my spine even now, just thinking about it.
There are a number of books which have been released in recent years which focus on the theme of sexy fairies. I have not read any of them because I don’t want my fairies to be sexy and that’s where Dreams and Shadows comes in. The fairies in this book are dark and I like the inclusion of the changeling because that is something which has always fascinated me. Dreams and Shadows isn’t a perfect book by any means but I love the premise of the fairy world and I like the fact there is an edge of danger to the fae rather than just hot women fucking hot fairies. It’s more interesting, in my opinion.
I was never going to include Dracula in this list. I don’t like it and I’m not a massive fan of vampire novels in general but, once upon a time, I did love Sookie Stackhouse and her adventures. It’s an interesting premise, vampires coming out of the closet, so to speak, and integrating into human society. Although I got bored with this series and stopped reading at book nine, I still do like the early ones and, if you care about my opinion, Eric was the best.
Rise of Empire
Michael J. Sullivan
The Riyria Revelations vol. 2
Orbit
756 pages (minus extras)
5/5
I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it!
I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it!
I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it!
I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it!
I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it!
I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it!
Oh, you want a review? Isn’t I love it enough? No?
Continue reading “Review: Rise of Empire by Michael J. Sullivan”
Mageborn
Stephen Aryan
Age of Dread #1
Orbit
392 pages
4/5
Mageborn, the first book in the Age of Dread series, picks up several years after the end of the previous series. The Red Tower has been re-opened and is taking in children who show signs of magic, much to the fear and dismay of the people of the world. Magic is something that is regarded as being a very bad thing and there are people who want to end it for good.
Hello and welcome back. I’m having another bash at a top five Wednesday because I had so much fun compiling the last one I did. The group is here if you want to have a look at what it’s all about. Today’s topic is favourite monsters/mythical creatures. You’re probably going to see many creatures from Greek Mythology because, let me tell you, the obsession is real.
And by elves, I’m pretty much talking about Tolkien’s elves because they are probably the best interpretation of elves I have ever read. He has pretty much defined how elves have been written for the last half a century. Tolkien’s elves are wise and noble; highly intelligent and long lived. They are beautiful, ethereal and completely badass. You can read about elves in their prime in the Silmarillion as well as the end in The Lord of the Rings. They never stop being awesome, though.
When I was just a lass (about seven years old) I developed a rather large obsession with Greek mythology after we studied it at school. I then watched the 1980s film of Clash of the Titans and that just cemented my obsession. That film has a particularly creepy stop motion Medusa creature and it is completely and utterly freaky. So much better than the shit CGI one in the remake from a few years ago. Anyway, I love the Perseus story and I love Medusa’s backstory. The snakes are creepy af and the fact she can turn a man into stone with just a single look is complete nightmare fuel.
Another creature from Greek mythology. He is not, as the films suggest, part of a race of winged horses but the child of Medusa and Poseidon, who sprang forth from Medusa’s blood when Perseus parted her head from her body so he could utilise it on his adventures. Pegasus is an awesome creature, I mean, it’s a winged horse; how is that not completely awesome?
Yes, this one does stem from watching The Little Mermaid a few too many times as a child and gives us a heart-warming tale of a beautiful half girl, half fish who just wants to be part of the human world. So lovely. Then, on the other hand, you have sirens who will lure unsuspecting sailors to their deaths with their beautiful singing. Really, the two don’t have that much in common other than sitting on rocks, trying to pull sailors (sirens are more bird than fish) but, hey, it’s my list and I’ll lump them together if I want to.
And were back to Tolkien because of course we are. I love hobbits. I want to be a hobbit. Their lives are just so wonderfully simple (unless they go on adventures) and I would just love to have my own little hobbit hole where I could live in peace. Hobbits are lovely creatures, they have pure hearts and love life to the fullest. Damn it, I want to be like that as well.
The Cuckoo’s Calling
Robert Galbraith
Sphere
509 pages (ebook)
3/5
The Cuckoo’s Calling is, as everyone knows, the work of JK Rowling writing under a pseudonym, Robert Galbraith. Since I am not really into whodunnits, I never picked this up but I watched the TV show last year and, whilst I did enjoy it, I do have to admit the whodunnit confused me quite a bit. I decided, therefore, to read the book during my holiday to see if that confusion came solely from the adaptation or if the book is the same.
It still confuses me.
Continue reading “Review: The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith”
Prince of Fools
Mark Lawrence
The Red Queen’s War #1
Harper Voyager
512 pages
4/5
I’ve always found hitting a man from behind to be the best way to go about things.
So starts the tale of Jalan and, to be quite honest, there have rarely been such words that sum up a character as much as those. The novel introduces its main protagonist in much the same way as it means to go on throughout the rest of the novel and what a fun novel it was.
Scarlet Tides
The Moontide Quartet #2
David Hair
Jo Fletcher Books
642 pages
3.75/5
Scarlet Tides, the second book in the Moontide Quartet by David Hair picks up where the first book left off. The Moontide has arrived, the Leviathan bridge has appeared and War is about to begin. Not too quickly though, we still have 600 pages to go before any of that stuff happens.
THE HOBBLEIT 