Humouress in 2021; third quarter (thread 3)

Snak75 Books Challenge for 2021

Bliv bruger af LibraryThing, hvis du vil skrive et indlæg

Humouress in 2021; third quarter (thread 3)

1humouress
Redigeret: jul 26, 2021, 9:53 am

You know me; I'm Nina, currently living in Singapore with my husband, two boys and - the star of the show - Jasper their/ our dog. My sons are superboy - but, sadly, he's given up reading though he used to be keen - and firelion, who still likes to read but a year ago (end of 2019) he got his first phone for his birthday and then at the beginning of the year he got a laptop (supposedly) for schoolwork so he's getting ...er ... distracted too.

2020 was a tough year for everyone but Singapore - trading on its SARS experience - got off fairly lightly (touch wood) and the upside for me was that I had a good reading year; I met the 75 book challenge for the first time since joining it in 2010 and exceeded it, finally reading 89 books in the year. I must confess that the lockdown/ circuit breaker period was relatively painless with my husband and kids tucked safely at home even though they had to work and study from home. My husband and I even got out of the house for walks - although that faded quite fast - and we finally got our act together and (as a family) taught our youngest how to ride a bicycle. Unfortunately, whatever exercise classes I was doing were cancelled and are very slowly starting again, for the most part, so I've had more excuses not to exercise ... and you can tell :0/

My preferred reading genres are fantasy and sci-fi with a touch of golden age humour, mysteries and the occasional school story though I'll venture further afield (very) occasionally. I also have a heap of cookbooks which, really, I ought to crack open and experiment with.


A Jasper montage

Please be welcome. I do tend to lurk on other people's threads rather than post - I've discovered a tendency this past year to read but not comment or to just make very brief comments - though sometimes I do get a bit chatty and end up leaving an essay.

75 Book Challenge 2021 thread 1

75 Book Challenge 2020 thread 1
75 Book Challenge 2020 thread 5

Green Dragon 2019 thread

ROOTs 2021 thread
ROOTs 2020 thread

>2 humouress: ticker & covers (this thread)

>3 humouress: books (this thread; 3rd quarter) September
>4 humouress: August
>5 humouress: July
>6 humouress: books (second thread; 2nd quarter)
>7 humouress: books (first thread; 1st quarter)

>8 humouress: constellation
>9 humouress: icons
>10 humouress: reading inspirations

>11 humouress: currently reading
>12 humouress:

2humouress
Redigeret: okt 12, 2021, 2:09 pm



September
73. 72. 71. 70.

69. 68. 67. 66.

August
65. 64. 63. 62.

61. 60. 59. 58.

July
57. 56. 55. 51.

54. 53. 52.

50.49. 48. 47.

3humouress
Redigeret: okt 12, 2021, 2:10 pm

September
Review:
recorded/ rated/ written/ read
/ / (#) / Title

  73) Marian Halcombe by Brenda W. Clough (2021)
  72) Princess in Practice by Connie Glynn (2018)
  71) Vardaesia by Lynette Noni (2019)
  70) Accidentally Engaged by Farah Heron (2021)
  69) The Little Café in Copenhagen by Julie Caplin (2018)
    68) FINNA by Nino Cipri (2020)
  67) Cast in Courtlight by Michelle Sagara (2006)
    66) We Three Heroes by Lynette Noni (2018)

4humouress
Redigeret: sep 21, 2021, 1:38 pm

August
Review:
recorded/ rated/ written/ read
/ / (#) / Title

  65) Clockwork Boys by T. Kingfisher (2017)
64) Undercover Princess by Connie Glynn (2017)
  63) Angels and Demons by Dan Brown (2001)
62) Dragonquest by Anne McCaffrey (1971)
  61) Alanna; the first adventure by Tamora Pierce (1983)
    60) Touchstone by Melanie Rawn (2012)
    59) The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams (2019)
  58) Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier

5humouress
Redigeret: sep 13, 2021, 1:07 pm

July
Review:
recorded/ rated/ written/ read
/ / (#) / Title

  57) The Siege of Macindaw by John Flanagan (2007)
    56) Midlife Bounty Hunter by Shannon Mayer (2020)
  55) A Dead Djinn in Cairo by P. Djèli Clark (2016)
    54) Cast in Shadow by Michelle Sagara (2005)
53) Esme's Gift by Elizabeth Foster (2019)
  52) The Letter for the King by Tonke Dragt (1962)
51) Balance of Trade by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (2004)
    50) Raisins and Almonds by Kerry Greenwood (1997)
  49) The President's Hat by Antoine Lauraine (2013)
     48) A Winter Kiss on Rochester Mews by Annie Darling (2018)
  47) Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Thief by Maurice Leblanc (this collection 2007)

6humouress
Redigeret: jul 23, 2021, 1:06 am

<>DNF: The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet (my e-library book expired 😢)

Review:
recorded/ rated/ written/ read

/ / (#) / Title

June

  46) The Candle and the Flame by Nafiza Azad (2019)
  45) Graevale by Lynette Noni (2018)
  44) Seraphina by Rachel Hartman (2012)
  43) Bound in Blood by P.C. Hodgell (2010)
  42) Sorcerer's Son by Phyllis Eisenstein (1990)
  41) Crazy in Love at the Lonely Hearts Bookshop by Annie Darling (2018)
  40) Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots (2020)

May

39) The Sorcerer in the North by John Flanagan (2006)
  38) Crystal Dragon by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (2005)
  37) Born a Crime by Trevor Noah (2016)
       36) An Offer From a Gentleman by Julia Quinn (2001)
    35) The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn (2006)
    34) The Duke and I by Julia Quinn (2000)
  33) Beyond the Empire by K.B. Wagers (2017)
  32) Draekora by Lynette Noni (2017)
  31) True Love at the Lonely Hearts Bookshop by Annie Darling (2017)
30) Point Blanc by Anthony Horowitz (2001)
  29) The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Squirrel Power by Ryan North & Erica Henderson (2017)
  28) Who's That Earl by Susanna Craig (2020)

April

  27) Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis & Tracey Hickman (1984)
    26) Fifth Quarter by Tanya Huff (1995)
  25) After the Crown by K.B. Wagers (2016)
    24) The Little Bookshop of Lonely Hearts by Annie Darling (2016)
  23) Dragonhaven by Robin McKinley (2007)
  22) Frostgilded by Stephanie Burgis (2020)
  21) The Left-handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix (2020)
  20) The Switch by Beth O'Leary (2020)

7humouress
Redigeret: aug 15, 2021, 3:57 am

DNF / on hold: The Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett

Review:
recorded/ rated/ written/ read

/ / (#) / Title
March
  19) Mister Monday by Garth Nix (2003)
18) Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz (2000)
17) One Fell Sweep by Ilona Andrews (2016)
  16) The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren (2019)
  15) Behind the Throne by K.B. Wagers (2016)
  14) The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman (2020)
13) Blue Moon Rising by Simon Green (1992)
12) The Politeness of Princes and Other School Stories by P.G. Wodehouse (1912/ 2002)
  11) The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary (2019)
10) The Time of Green Magic by Hilary McKay (2020)
   9) In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren (2020)

February

  8) Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho (2015)
  7) An Assembly Such as This by Pamela Aidan (2003)
  6) The Glass Magician by Caroline Stevermer (2020)

January

    5) A Spy in the House by Y.S. Lee
4) Blood and Iron by Elizabeth Bear (2006)
  3) Crystal Soldier by Sharon Lee & Miller (2004)
  2) Sweep in Peace by Ilona Andrews (2015)
    1) City of Brass by S. Chakraborty (2017)

8humouress
Redigeret: jul 3, 2021, 11:58 am

The constellation:

  You have got to read this one!                           
  Really good; worth reading                                 
     Good, but without that special 'something' for me   
      Very nice, but a few issues                                    
         An enjoyable book                                                   
         Um, okay. Has some redeeming qualities                   
              Writing is hard. I appreciate the work the author did    
             (haven't met one - yet)                                              
                  Dire                                                                            
                  Rated only as a warning. Run away. Don't stop.              

Purple stars, from Robin's thread:

5.0
4.5
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5

Robin has made coloured stars for me (happy dance) so I'm back in business. The codes are now enshrined in my profile.

9humouress
Redigeret: jul 19, 2021, 3:15 am

Reading at home : Raisins and Almonds

‘Waiting for the boys to finish classes’ book :

Bedtime reading :Tashi series (yes, still), Robin Hood, Swallows & Amazons
This one tends to go more slowly every month, now that only my 12 year old will occasionally listen to my reading.

Kindle :

Downtime : Skulduggery Pleasant, Cast in Shadow



Book club Six of Crows (we haven't had a chance to meet & discuss for a while)

e-book

online story

audio book

re-read

LTER

Overdrive start line & bookmarks:
 
Blood and Iron

The Game of Kings - (the story so far)
A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet



The President's Hat
The Letter for the King
A Winter Kiss on Rochester Mews

 

Libraries:

   

10humouress
Redigeret: jul 3, 2021, 12:01 pm

Reading inspirations

Ongoing series:

The Dark is Rising - Susan Cooper
Chronicles of the Cheysuli - Jennifer Roberson
Chronicles of the Kencyrath - P. C. Hodgell (group read, started January 2018; thread 2)
Tashi - Anna Fienberg
The Vorkosigan Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold (2014-2017 group read - savouring it before I run out of these glorious books)
**Farseer (group read starting March 2018)
***The Wheel of Time - Robert Jordan (relaxed group read starting January 2019)
{Tor read https://www.tor.com/2018/02/20/reading-the-wheel-of-time-eye-of-the-world-part-1...

Planning to read with the kids:
A Series of Unfortunate Events - Lemony Snickett
Ranger's Apprentice - John Flanagan (group read starting January 2019)

Ooh, what about...

Miss Fisher mysteries
Cinder
Vatta/Honor Harrington
*Ready Player One
Earthsea book 1

Mmm - looks like I need to pick up the pace on some of these.

11humouress
jul 3, 2021, 11:47 am

11

12humouress
Redigeret: jul 3, 2021, 12:07 pm

Okay; I'm open for business. Come on in!

13humouress
Redigeret: jul 3, 2021, 12:36 pm

47) Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Thief by Maurice Leblanc

 

{Short story collection, Arsène Lupin series. Crime, golden age detective.} (2007)

An English 'best of' selection of stories taken from several anthologies about a gentleman-thief, later turned detective, translated from French. Like the Sherlock Holmes stories these were modelled on, these were short stories first printed in newspapers.

This edition is annotated with footnotes printed at the end of the book. I would recommend you read them after the episode to prevent spoilers.

i) The Arrest of Arsène Lupin (1905)

Our narrator tells of the time he was traveling by ship from France to America and trying to win the affections of Miss Nellie Underdown when a telegraph was received to the effect that Arsène Lupin was on board.
Arsène Lupin in our midst! The mysterious housebreaker whose exploits had been related in all the newspapers for months! The baffling individual with whom old Ganimard, our greatest detective, had entered upon that duel to the death of which the details were being unfolded in so picturesque a fashion! Arsène Lupin, the fastidious gentleman who confines his operations to country-houses and fashionable drawing-rooms, and who one night, after breaking in at Baron Schormann’s had gone away empty-handed, leaving his visiting-card:

ARSÈNE LUPIN
Gentleman-Burglar

with these words added in pencil:
“Will return when your things are genuine.”

3.5****

ii) Arsène Lupin In Prison (1905)

Having been arrested in the first story, Lupin carries out an audacious burglary from an impregnable chateau in the middle of the Seine while awaiting the Government of France’s pleasure under lock and key.
It was just after mid-day when Ganimard was shown into Arsène Lupin’s cell. Lupin, who was lying on his bed, raised his head, and uttered an exclamation of delight.
“Well, this is a surprise! Dear old Ganimard here!”
“Himself.”
“I have hoped for many things in this retreat of my own choosing, but for none more eagerly than the pleasure of welcoming you here.”
“You are too good.”
“Not at all, not at all. I have the liveliest feelings of esteem for you.”
“I am proud to hear it.”
“I have said so a thousand times: Ganimard is our greatest detective. He’s almost—see how frank I am—almost as good as Sherlock Holmes. But, really, I’m awfully sorry to have nothing better than this stool to offer you. And not a drink of any kind! Not so much as a glass of beer! Do forgive me: I am only passing through!”

3.25***

iii) The Escape of Arsène Lupin (1906)

Arsène Lupin has declared that he has decided that he will not be attending his trial and will escape before that. The officers of the law go to great lengths to prevent it; will he manage to outwit them?
And when, in the course of this private interrogatory, which appeared at full length in the columns of the Écho de France, the magistrate resumed his cross-examination, Lupin exclaimed, with a weary air:
“Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear! What is the use of going on? All these questions have no importance whatever.”
‘How do you mean, no importance?”
“Of course not, seeing that I shall not attend my trial.”
“You will not attend? …”
“No, it’s a fixed idea of mine, an irrevocable decision. Nothing will induce me to depart from it.”
This assurance, combined with the inexplicable indiscretions committed day after day, ended by enervating and disconcerting the officers of the law.

Through the preliminary hearings we learn of how he prepared for his extraordinary life of crime.
It seems probable that the so-called Rostat, who, eight years ago, was acting as assistant to Dickson, the conjurer, was none other than Arsène Lupin. It seems probable that the Russian student who, six years ago, used to attend Dr. Altier’s laboratory at St. Louis’ Hospital, and who often astonished the master by the ingenious character of his hypotheses on bacteriology and by the boldness of his experiments in the diseases of the skin—it seems probable that he too was none other than Arsène Lupin. So was the professor of Japanese wrestling, who established himself in Paris long before jiu-jitsu had been heard of. So, we believe, was the racing cyclist who won the great prize at the Exhibition, took his ten thousand francs, and has never been seen since. So, perhaps, was the man who saved so many people from burning at the Charity Bazaar, helping them through the little dormer window … and robbing them of their belongings.”

4****

iv) The Mysterious Railway Passenger (1906)

Set in Leblanc’s native Rouen.

Our narrator takes a train for Rouen and shares a carriage with a nervous lady who has heard that Arsène Lupin is on their train.
As for myself, I opened my newspapers and read the reports of Arsène Lupin’s trial. They contained nothing that was not already known, and they interested me but slightly. Moreover, I was tired, I had had a poor night, I felt my eyelids growing heavy, and my head began to nod.
“But surely, sir, you are not going to sleep?”
The lady snatched my paper from my hands, and looked at me with indignation.
“Certainly not,” I replied. “I have no wish to.”
“It would be most imprudent,” she said.
“Most,” I repeated.
And I struggled hard, fixing my eyes on the landscape, on the clouds that streaked the sky. And soon all this became confused in space, the image of the excited lady and the drowsy man was obliterated in my mind, and I was filled with the great, deep silence of sleep.

4****

v) The Queen’s Necklace (1906)

Concerning the (second) theft of Queen Marie Antoinette’s diamond necklace. We learn a little more history.
This was really the famous necklace, the historic necklace, which Böhmer and Bassenge, the crown jewellers, had designed for the Du Barry, which the Cardinal de Rohan-Soubise believed himself to be presenting to Queen Marie-Antoinette, and which Jeanne de Valois, Comtesse de La Motte, the adventuress, took to pieces, one evening in February, 1785, with the assistance of her husband and their accomplice, Rétaux de Villette.

3.75***

vi) Sherlock Holmes Arrives too Late (1906)

Arsène Lupin meets Sherlock Holmes.
“Yes, he’s a man, and a man on whose shoulder I shall have great pleasure in laying this hand with which I now grasp yours, Monsieur Devanne. And I have an idea, mark you, that Arsène Lupin and Sherlock Holmes will meet again some day …. Yes, the world is too small for them not to meet …. And, when they do! …”

4****

vii) Flashes of Sunlight (1911)

Lupin sees a way to benefit from someone else's crime and solves a case.
4.5*****

viii) The Wedding Ring (1911)

Lupin does another good deed.
4.25*****

ix) The Red Silk Scarf (1911)

In a fit of altruism, Lupin hands Ganimard a case.
4.25****

x) Edith Swan-neck (1913)

Ganimard gets the better of Lupin.

'Edith Swan-neck' refers to Harold II of England's wife, represented on one of a set of tapestries which Lupin has declared that he will steal.
4.5*****

xi) On the Top of the Tower (1922)

Prince Serge Rénine, an alias of Lupin's, solves an old crime with the help of a new friend, Hortense Daniel, after promising her adventure.
4.5****

xii) Thérèse and Germaine (1922)

Rénine and Hortense move to prevent a murder.
4.5*****

xiii) At the Sign of Mercury (1923)

Rénine proposed eight adventures to Hortense to enliven her boredom and for the last one, she requested that he help her find her mother's clasp, lost years ago. And if he should succeed, the reward he requests is to embark on that greatest adventure together.

3.75****

Lupin is a thief but he is not malicious and often employs his intelligence to help people (although he's not always completely altruistic and might not neglect to help himself to some ill-gotten gains along the way). Lupin is young and cheerful. He has established his success by constantly changing his appearance so that he can't be identified and by outwitting the opposition by doing what they least expect, sometimes hiding evidence in plain sight. And although he usually outwits his nemesis, detective Ganimard, the two have a grudging respect for each other, if not an actual friendship (unlike the uncomfortable alliance between Holmes and Lestrade) and they have a similar level of intelligence.

I admit that the impetus for me borrowing this book was watching the Netflix series 'Lupin' in which the protagonist, Assane Diop, admires the stories and a policeman recognises aspects of Arsène Lupin's stories in the crimes that Diop commits so we often catch glimpses of the books. I read this quickly as my Overdrive library e-book was about to expire with at least a two week wait before I can get hold of it again, so I didn't have time to immerse myself in the atmosphere of the stories as I usually like to do; you may have noticed that my comments on the later episodes were more brief. Nevertheless, I enjoyed these stories; they are light and feel-good (once you acclimatise yourself to the 'hero' operating on the wrong side of the law) and although on occasion I had to suspend disbelief for a few moments, I didn't mind going along with it for the sake of the story.

Light and fun.

Averaging out: 4 stars

14jayde1599
jul 3, 2021, 12:29 pm

Stopping by to say hello and happy new thread. Trying to catch up with threads but not having much luck

15humouress
Redigeret: jul 3, 2021, 12:37 pm

>14 jayde1599: Hello and welcome Jess!

I'll have to forgive you on the catching up part because I do exactly the same ;0)

16humouress
Redigeret: jul 3, 2021, 12:41 pm

Barnes & Nobles have a lot of interesting looking ticketed talks over Zoom with authors. Unfortunately for me, they only seem to be open to US residents.

The link is https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/virtual-events-for-all-ages-with-barnes-nobl...

This month's virtual talks are with:
Rainbow Rowell
CC Sabathia (baseball)
Jasmine Guillory
Zakiya Dalila Harris
Daniel Silva
Richard Marx (musician)
Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
Karin Slaughter

17charl08
jul 3, 2021, 5:16 pm

>13 humouress: I've seen the Lupin series advertised, but didn't realise it was linked to such an early character. Interesting. I'm in the middle of an Italian crime series (the scenery is beautiful, the acting not so much). At least we can travel with netflix.

18charl08
jul 3, 2021, 5:16 pm

And happy new thread!

19MickyFine
jul 3, 2021, 7:59 pm

Happy new thread, Nina!

20humouress
jul 4, 2021, 8:06 am

>18 charl08: Thanks Charlotte! That reminds me, I would like to get back to watching the rest of the Lupin series on Netflix. The problem with being able to watch things anytime is that I put off watching whereas I still make a date for the few things still available on a weekly schedule.

21humouress
jul 4, 2021, 8:06 am

>19 MickyFine: Thanks Micky!

22PaulCranswick
jul 4, 2021, 11:02 am

Happy new thread, neighbour. Sorry a bit tardy this time but I am trying to move house these couple of days.

23humouress
jul 4, 2021, 11:09 am

>22 PaulCranswick: In that case, I'll forgive you this time Paul - but see you don't do it again. Welcome over.

24humouress
Redigeret: jul 4, 2021, 12:02 pm

I'm feeling a bit unmoored in time; I interrupted my reading of Raisins and Almonds, a Phryne Fisher mystery set in between-the-wars Melbourne to read the short stories of Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Thief in pre- and post-WWI France and now we've started watching the television adaptations of Maigret with Rowan Atkinson, set in post-WWII Paris.

I did read A Winter Kiss on Rochester Mews set in (more or less) present day London to counteract the effect but it was only partially successful; I'm still feeling a bit discombobulated.

25humouress
Redigeret: jul 5, 2021, 5:01 am

48) A Winter Kiss on Rochester Mews by Annie Darling

 

{Fourth of 4 Lonely Hearts Bookshop series. Romance, London, chick lit, low steam} (2018)

Life continues at the 'Happy Ever After' bookshop (the series titles of 'Lonely Heart Bookshop' are confusing) with Posy, Verity and Nina happily hooked up (without resorting to Sebastian's HookUpp app). Posy is about to have a baby and Nina is on a US road trip (while still handling remote marketing) with her new boyfriend. That leaves Mattie, who runs the adjoining teashop after her heart was broken in Paris, and Tom, who dresses in old-fashioned tweeds and bow ties and who now works full time in the bookshop after finishing his doctorate. But they're never going to get together (because Tom always seems to look down on Mattie so she reacts by sniping at him). Right? The only thing Mattie and Tom seem to have in common is their dislike of Christmas - Mattie for personal reasons and Tom because it is so commercialised. And then Mattie's ex-boyfriend appears and it turns out that he was abusive (shades of The Flatshare here) and Tom turns out to be a lot nicer than Mattie had assumed.

Each chapter gives us a daily countdown to Christmas Day starting with 30 days to go and Posy, who has been distracted by her pregnancy, suddenly panics about the Christmas rush - traditionally the bookshop's most financially productive time of the year. When Verity announces that she's moving out of the flat above the shop, Mattie and Tom vie for her room and eventually end up sharing the flat by moving Posy's remaining books out of the small room that her brother, Sam, used to live in when they were in the flat. Since it's the holidays, Sam is also around to help out at the shop so we get to see the whole cast list as Darling wraps up the series with happily ever afters for all of them.

Tom has always been the 'man of mystery' in the shop, keeping his private life very much to himself and decrying Posy's and Nina's needs to share which leads them and Verity to speculate about his background and so, of course, they ask Mattie to dish any dirt she comes across. Mattie, our protagonist, is not a booklover (gasp of horror) and wonders why people would spend more time with books after work having spent all day in a bookshop; however she does love cook books and picks up some cosy mysteries involving bakeries, so she may be redeemed.
Mattie would never understand what the deal was with the Happy Ever After staff and all their many, many, many books. ‘Really, Posy, couldn’t you just go digital? Have you any idea how many books you could put on an e-reader?’
Posy made a furious huffing noise.
‘Best not to go there,’ Tom advised
And as for Posy's pregnancy woes - swollen ankles, heartburn and so on - I can fully empathise, even though it's been over a decade since I was so afflicted. I did like Mattie's recipe ideas; my e-library book has a recipe for gingerbread cupcakes at the end and there are photos on Litsy of readers' Christmas pig-in-blankets.

I didn't get as much of a tingly feeling with this romance - it seemed that the couple were attracted to each other when they were arguing and I'm not fully sure why they fell in love. But I did enjoy spending time with the characters again and am a bit sad that that's the end of the series. (But if you need ideas, Ms Darling, I would love to read a series about Verity's family (no pun intended).)

3.25 stars

Litsy notes

I‘m assuming that this is the same as 'Under the Mistletoe at the Lonely Hearts Bookshop'.
The first chapter reminds me of all the ...‘joys‘ ... of pregnancy; swollen ankles, heartburn, ... 🤗
Our heroine, Mattie from the tea shop, is not a book lover 🤔

Litsy quotes

Mattie would never understand what the deal was with the Happy Ever After staff and all their many, many, many books. ‘Really, Posy, couldn‘t you just go digital? Have you any idea how many books you could put on an e-reader?‘
Posy made a furious huffing noise.
‘Best not to go there,‘ Tom advised

26FAMeulstee
jul 4, 2021, 2:34 pm

Happy new thread, Nina!

Looks like you are heading for 75+ again this year! :-)

27curioussquared
jul 4, 2021, 6:35 pm

Happy new thread, Nina! I'm also one who enjoyed the Netflix Lupin series and I might need to check out the stories as well, maybe even in the original French.

28humouress
jul 4, 2021, 10:55 pm

>26 FAMeulstee: Thank you Anita. Fingers crossed! I see you’re setting your usual deadly pace.

29humouress
jul 4, 2021, 10:57 pm

>27 curioussquared: Thanks Natalie!

That would be interesting although I doubt my French would stand up to that. I wonder if the style of written French has changed much since then?

30SandDune
jul 5, 2021, 8:40 am

I’ve been watching Lupin as well (not got to the end yet) so I was wondering what the original stories were like.

31humouress
Redigeret: jul 22, 2021, 10:08 am

49) The President’s Hat by Antoine Laurain

 

{stand alone. Historical fiction} (2013)

This seems to be a novella (my e-book is under 200 pages) and tells the story of the adventures of François Mitterand's hat starting in November 1986 when he had been president for about five years. The hat passes from person to person and seems to imbue them with presidential qualities, allowing them to find the strength of character to change their lives (for the better? - I'm still reading). It is told as one continuous story, albeit divided into title-less chapters, but I am dividing my review by character.

Daniel Mercier
When he decides to treat himself to a good (lovingly described) brasserie dinner while his wife and son are away on holiday, Daniel Mercier finds himself dining next to the (then) president of France. He realises later that Mitterrand has left his hat behind and so ... he takes it, most uncharacteristically. But he wears it constantly and feels that it gives him confidence.
Back in his office, Daniel settled into his swivel chair, stroked his hat, which he had placed on the desk in front of him, and savoured the quiet of the room. He closed his eyes. He had got through the meeting without being assailed by one of the waves of anxiety that had plagued him since early childhood. On the contrary, he had experienced a sense of serene calm. Just a few days ago, the very idea of a confrontation with Jean Maltard would have raised his blood pressure and brought on an attack of heartburn with the last bite of lunch. Tense as a bowstring, he would have played back their exchange over and over again in his mind, castigating himself all afternoon for some clumsy phrase, some word or point that had, unquestionably, caused him to hand the argument to Maltard. Daniel would have emerged ashen and drained at the end of the day.
Not so now.

3.5****

Fanny Marquant
When Fanny Marquant needs protection from the rain as she disembarks the Le Havre-Paris train (on the same evening of the day that Daniel took the train to Rouen from Paris), she finds a hat that doesn’t seem to belong to anyone else but has her initials in it. When she puts it on, along with her designer outfit that she shouldn’t have indulged in, she feels more powerful and it gives her the courage to face down her lover who hasn’t managed to leave his wife in nearly two and a half years.
At the age of twenty-seven, Fanny had achieved the status of mistress. The question of whether she might one day be promoted to official wife was still up in the air, as was the possibility of promotion to executive secretary at the tax office. Her application for that position was ‘under careful consideration’. The recruitment process for her life role was at the same stage, ‘under careful consideration’ by Édouard, whose inertia was thus on a par with that of the civil service.

And then she realises who the original owner must have been.
The picture showed François Mitterrand with a red scarf around his neck, a dark coat and a black felt hat on his head. He was staring into the camera with a mischievous glint in his eye, and Fanny had the distinct impression the President was looking straight at her.

3.25***

Pierre Aslan
Pierre ‘the Nose’ used to be a genius, creating well known perfumes, but for many years has been depressed because he suddenly lost his muse and has been unable to create scents. When he finds the hat, he smells Mitterrand’s eau de Cologne but also Solstice, the scent Fanny wears and one of those that Pierre created.
But there was also another perfume on the hat, a more recent addition: bergamot, pink jasmine, sweet myrrh, vanilla, iris and tonka bean. Pierre could have recited the ingredients of the second scent forwards or backwards. It was that mythical perfume Solstice. His perfume. Invented by him, Pierre Aslan, the nose.
He could not have said why he had picked up the hat. He had long since given up trying to find reasons for his bizarre behaviour, which had previously been a source of such confusion. He sniffed the hat again: there were definitely two perfumes, Eau d’Hadrien, for men, and Solstice, for women.

And so the hat brings him a new lease of life and one day Pierre takes his family to a certain brasserie.

There are a lot of well known brands throughout the book (the companies where the characters work, for example) and in Pierre’s chapters there are many recognisable perfumes.

3.75****

Then follows a series of correspondence between the characters as Daniel Mercier tries to recover the lost hat and we discover that they have capitalised on their good fortune, which has continued even after the hat passed out of their respective hands.

4****

Bernard Levallière
Bernard, a scion of old French aristocracy and who always wears a hat, unexpectedly (after visiting a certain brasserie) defends Mitterrand at a dinner party one night and then rebels against his family’s conservative traditions, becoming a buyer of modern art. I feel his story was an excuse for Laurain to extol the good that Mitterrand did for France.

3***

And finally, after its adventures, the hat decides to return to its legitimate owner, aided by Daniel Mercier who has been trying to find his lucky hat.
4****

Epilogue
A quirky twist on the whole story.
4****

3.75 stars

32jnwelch
jul 5, 2021, 10:04 am

Happy New Thread, Nina. I enjoyed those Lupin excerpts - thanks for posting them.

33humouress
jul 5, 2021, 11:05 am

>30 SandDune: Hi Rhian! I haven't watched many episodes and even those were a while ago but Omar Sy always seems to be smiling. The original Lupin had a cheerful outlook on life, too.

34humouress
jul 5, 2021, 11:06 am

>32 jnwelch: Thank you Joe!

You're welcome. I wish I had had time to post one for each story - shall I leave that to you?

35richardderus
jul 5, 2021, 3:44 pm

I do enjoy Sy's sly smirk...he feels like Lupin, a funny-grin-giving goof who does crime because, well, why not?

Happy toile nouvelle.

36humouress
jul 5, 2021, 5:04 pm

>35 richardderus: Merci beaucoup, mon ami.

37drneutron
jul 5, 2021, 7:00 pm

Happy new one! I’ve gotten interested in the Lupin stories too. Nice to see you enjoyed them.

38humouress
jul 6, 2021, 1:04 am

>37 drneutron: Thanks Jim.

I'll see if I can ferret any more of his books out, but they're a bit thin on the ground in my libraries.

39yhanako0000
jul 6, 2021, 1:07 am

>1it is a good idea to read books

40humouress
jul 6, 2021, 1:13 am

>39 yhanako0000: Yes; I've definitely read a lot more in the past 18 months. Welcome over.

41humouress
jul 6, 2021, 3:57 am

So my kids have just had their first vaccination, which means no strenuous exercise for them for about a week.

42humouress
Redigeret: jul 15, 2021, 3:24 am

50) Raisins and Almonds by Kerry Greenwood



{Ninth of 20: Phryne Fisher mysteries. Golden age crime, Australian}(1997)

While her lover, Lin Chung, is away on a business trip to Shanghai Phryne (pronounced Fry knee) is hired by a Mr. Abrahams to investigate a murder in a bookshop run by his tenant, Miss Lee, who has been arrested for the crime. Both Mr. Abrahams and Phryne feel that she couldn't possibly have done it and so Phryne dives into the lives of Jews in between the wars Melbourne - many of whom are dreaming of a Jewish state, possibly to be set up in the Middle East. Cue exotic young man (Simon Abrahams, whose father is hiring her) for Phryne to have a fling with, this time from the Jewish community. There is also a mysterious formula for the mythical philosopher's stone.

As this is my own book, I took two or three breaks from it to finish expiring Overdrive books before they disappeared and I must say a) I did need to take a break from it because the early parts, especially, irritated me and b) it was very easy to get back into the flow of the story.

Why did it irritate me? Well (maybe I wasn't in an amenable mood but) older men call Phryne 'beautiful lady' which sounds a bit stilted to me (I've felt that reading previous books), all young men immediately fall in love with her (who me? jealous? Seriously, though, it's not true to life) and their mammas, while initially suspicious, end up seeing her as a good thing for their boys (as long as she promises not to marry them) and practically throwing them at her. But this always happens and I can take it with a pinch of salt.

However, the thing that really got under my skin was that I felt that Jews were portrayed as caricatures; I've never heard anyone speak in that manner outside of a TV screen. There are a lot of Yiddish words sprinkled through the text; you can generally catch the gist of them but there's a glossary at the back with many of the meanings. It's probably due to personal experience, but too many words in a foreign language leave me feeling vaguely excluded.
'We saved for years, Yossel and me, working, working, always picking up anything we could do - my Yossel was a carpenter, I could embroider, but also paint and gild and carve, he taught me, what my father would have said I didn't like to think, but he said, Yossel said, we must leave Russia, the new laws are killing us, and when the war comes the revolution will follow and maybe then they will be glad to see the back of us, they hate Jews, but they hate Christians too, and unless you want to see our Philo a soldier and our little Helen a whore, we must leave ... ai, ai, what a time, we worked all the hours God gave, but he was right, my Yossel alav ha-sholom, the revolution did come
(and the sentence runs on like this for another seven lines).

I did start to come around when the animals were introduced, especially when Ember, the tom cat, started insistently mothering Phryne's wards' new puppy.
'Why "Molly", Jane?' asked Phryne, watching in fascination as Ember corralled the small dog and washed its face.
Then, observing a certain contemplative look on Molly's face, the two girls rushed the puppy downstairs into the garden, with Ember streaking after via the bannister. He had found out how to do this by accident, slipping down fast, all paws together and tail outstretched for balance, and Phryne suspected that he was showing off.

I was delighted to note, though, that Phryne, whom I've always imagined as long and elegant, is 5 foot 2 and tiny - but still elegant. There is hope for me yet. And 'Jack' Robinson collects cattleya orchids, which are one of the more showy types but (I find) not as easy to care for.

It was still fun visiting 1920s/30s Melbourne again although I had a suspect about 4/5ths of the way through (not in an 'aha!' way but more of a 'yeah, that works'). Solving this one takes the combined efforts of Phryne, Dot, Bert, Cec, Jane, Ruth and - of course - Detective Robinson; it was nice to see the girls getting a chance to help too and Dot coming even more into her own.

Apparently the title refers to a Jewish lullaby.

2.5-3 stars

Litsy notes

It does sound a bit stilted when Phryne‘s (pronounced Fry knee) foreign admirers address her as ‘Beautiful lady‘ all the time.
NB: she is 5 foot 2.
‘Jack‘ Robinson collects cattleya orchids

Phryne finds another beautiful young man while Lin Chung is on a business trip to China
This time, Phryne‘s exotic young man is of Jewish extraction. Maybe Jews in 1930s Melbourne sounded like they came from Brooklyn NY but I feel like I‘m watching a film. They seem like caricatures
Being neither Jew nor Muslim and having gone from a book featuring one (The Candle and the Flame) to this, I notice (again) how similar the religions are: shalom aleichem/ assalaam wa alaikum

I was daydreaming when I suddenly saw the ostrich in the bottom left-hand corner 😳

4/5ths of the way through and I have a suspect. Let‘s see if it plays out ...

I‘m enjoying the interaction between the pets; Ember the black Tom cat(!) and Molly the new puppy. I think they‘re winning me over.
Coming back to this for ... looks like ... the 3rd time. Fortunately it‘s easy to get back into

43curioussquared
jul 6, 2021, 12:34 pm

>41 humouress: Yay for first vaccinations!

44humouress
jul 6, 2021, 12:37 pm

>43 curioussquared: Thanks Natalie.

45richardderus
jul 6, 2021, 1:16 pm

>42 humouress: Yeah, I stalled about there, too. It's just...no.

I wish my entire reading life was so easy..."you've irked me once too often, bye" is so satisfying.

46humouress
Redigeret: jul 6, 2021, 1:29 pm

>45 richardderus: *sigh* Well, it's a bit more complicated for me in this instance. I'm a completist and the first book I bought in the series was Away with the Fairies, thinking it was fantasy. This of course meant that I had to buy all the other books before it which means that I've still got a couple of books in the series on my shelves to read.

ETA: I read it at the time, so presumably it wasn't horrendous. Mind you, I was going through a book drought at the time.

47richardderus
jul 6, 2021, 6:05 pm

Her fondness for girls as victims and her irritating way of having Phryne be Bond, Jane Bond, in the bedroom drove me out the door.

I don't know if I should admire or pity your completist-ness in this case....

48humouress
jul 7, 2021, 1:33 am

>47 richardderus: Certainly the Bondness is not my favourite aspect. When I bought and read Away with the Fairies and then decided to get Cocaine Blues, libraries weren’t an option (which is to say, I’ve never found the fiction section of any branch of the National Library very appealing; it’s not easy to use) and the first book was charming enough that I didn’t mind filling in the gap, which I have now done. I may stop there unless my completist nature gets the better of me.

49humouress
Redigeret: sep 19, 2021, 10:56 pm

51) Balance of Trade by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller



{Third in chronology/ twentieth of 45(?) in publication order of Liaden series; sci-fi, space opera} (2004)

This story takes place about 1,125 years after the events in Crystal Soldier and Crystal Dragon and lets us know how the original Liaden universe ties into this one - which is possibly a futuristic version of our own, given the presence of Terrans.

Jethri Gobelyn (who seems to be about 17 years old, give or take), a Terran, is the son of Arin and Iza Gobelyn and unwanted (by his mum) third child. His father, who died years before, educated Jethri but now all that he has left to remember him by is his lucky fractin (which we recognise as one of the type of tiles Jela used to program his tile array) since Iza got rid of everything else. At the beginning of the story, we find Jethri crewing aboard his mother's trading ship Gobelyn Market along with other family members; but now Iza is planning to send him to crew on another ship.

Jethri, partially taught by his father, is adept at trading and knows something of Liadens and the deep but foreign sense of Liaden honour. When he does a favour for a Liaden master trader, Norn ven’Deelin, in a matter of honour she offers him a berth on a Liaden trading ship (he will be the first ever Terran to do so), seeing in him an opportunity to build bridges between Liadens and Terrans. However, he has a lot to learn including the nuances of Liaden manners (and the finer points of bowing) and how to use them so as not to cause offence.
He checked, whistle dying on his lips, eyes rapt upon a performance the like of which he had not beheld since - well, since he had first come to Rinork, and spent so many hours before the mirror, shining his bows for High House display.
Alas, the person bowing so earnestly and with such ... interesting ... results in the wide space in the hall meant to accommodate a service jitney, had no mirror. Style was also sadly absent, though there was, Tan Sim allowed, after observing for a few heartbeats, a certain vivacity in delivery that was not ... entirely ... displeasing.
At just that point, the person in the shadows executed a bow with a vivacity sufficient to set them staggering and Tan Sim felt it was time to take a hand.
'Here then!' he called out in the mode spoken between comrades, which would surely have set Bar Jan to ranting. 'There's no sense breaking your head over a bow, you know.'
Master ven'Deelin treats Jethri like an adopted son and as part of his education Jethri sees what life is like in a Liaden household when she takes him to her foster mother’s house on planet Irikwae (where we find that there are dramliz within the current day Liadens).
‘Oh, certainly!’ Meicha cut him off. ‘It is understood that the ven’Deelin’s word must carry all before it!’
‘Except Aunt Stafeli,’ said Miandra.
‘Sometimes,’ concluded Meicha; and, ’Do you find the steps difficult, Jethri?’
He bit his lip. ‘My home ship ran light gravity, and I am never easy in heavy grav.’
‘Light gravity,’ Miandra repeated, in caressing tones. ‘Sister, we must go to space!’
‘Let Ren Lar catch us ‘mong the vines again and we shall.’
Meanwhile his family docks their ship for a year to refit and so are planet-bound for a time during which they receive visits from people who want to find out more about Arin and his interest in ‘Befores’ or ‘old technology’, such as Jethri’s fractin (Fractional Mosaic Memory Module) - which Liaden Scouts are also interested in - which came across from the old universe and is Sheriekas-made or derived from Sheriekas technology.

Liadens are generally smaller in proportion to Terrans so Jethri has problems with the height of chairs and handles of teapots; I thought that that was a nice detail (myself having the opposite problem) that highlighted that they are different species, despite being very similar in looks. I also appreciated the way that the authors showed how Jethri (who is space born and bred) has to deal with open skies and heavier gravity than he is used to on board ship; and I found it amusing that he uses 'mud' as a swear word.
‘Turn the knob and push the door away from you,’ Miandra coached. ‘If you like, we will show you how to lock it from the inside.’
‘Thank you,’ he said. The porcelain was cool and smooth, vaguely reminiscent of his fractin.
The door moved easily under his push, and he came a little too quickly into the room, the knob still in his hand.
This time he shouted, and threw an arm up over his eyes, all the while his heart pounded in his ears, and his breath burned in his chest.
‘The curtains!’ a high voice shrilled, and there were hands on his shoulders, pushing him,
turning him, he realised, in the midst of his panic and willingly allowed it, the knob slipping from his hand.
‘Done!’
‘Done,’ repeated an identical voice, very near at hand. ‘Jethri, the curtain is closed. You may open your eyes.’
It wasn’t as easy as that, of course, and there was the added knowledge, as he got his breathing under control, that he’d made a looby outta himself in front of the twins, besides showing them just as plain as he could where he stood vulnerable.
Mud, dust and stink! He raged at himself, standing there with his arm over his face and his eyes squeezed tight. His druthers, if it mattered, was to sink down deep into the flooring and never rise up again. Failing that, he figured dying on the spot would do. Of all the stupid - but, who expected bare sky and mountain peaks when they opened a sleeping room door? Certainly not a born spacer.
I found this book very more-ish. The syntax is a bit Yoda-like and the odd phrasing may initially keep readers at a distance but the story is engaging. There were some interesting concepts and story-lines opened which I hope are/ will be developed further; as I understand it, this was a departure by the authors from their main thread about clan Korval. I enjoyed reading Jethri's story and I look forward to reading more about him - and coming back to re-read this one.

4.5-5 stars

Litsy notes

Continuing with the 3rd book in the omnibus, ‘Balance of Trade‘ which takes place about 1,125 years later, in our own (?) galaxy. The tech is recognisable in our day and age - but we‘re not reading this series for the tech, are we. So, not an issue.

Jethri, a Terran, has a fractin as a lucky piece - all that he has left to remember his dad by. He is the son of Arin and Iza Gobelyn and unwanted (by his mum) 3rd child. So he finds a berth on a Liaden ship (the 1st ever Terran to do so) whose master trader sees in him an opportunity to build bridges. Meanwhile his family docks their ship for a year to refit.

Still reading. Love the way Jethri (space born) has to deal with open skies and heavier gravity than he‘s used to on board ship. And the way ‘mud‘ is a swear word. Fractins seem to be the tiles that Jela used to build circuits in ‘Crystal Dragon‘ but is now forbidden ‘old technology‘

50humouress
Redigeret: jul 12, 2021, 4:18 am

The weather here is either overcast and cool (as now)/ overcast and sweltering/ overcast and pouring with rain. We seem to have hit the second monsoon but (after 20 years here) I still can't tell the seasons. I'm not going to complain about the coolth, though, even though the overcast reduces the light available for cover photos. (No, not modelling. My LT catalogue books.)

And so. England got to the finals of the Euro cup (football*, y'all) where they faced Italy, scored a goal in the second minute and lead for the first half. Italy equalised in the second so it went to a penalty shoot out where it's down to the nerve of individual shot-takers and the goalies. After an unfortunate ricochet off the goal post, Italy are the winners. Disappointing final result for us but I'm proud of the English team.

*or what you might call 'soccer'

51richardderus
jul 12, 2021, 3:09 pm

Oh yeah there was some scumbaggery about the Black English players getting a lot of racist abuse wasn't there. Who could've predicted a bunch of violent hooligans would also be racist. I mean!

52humouress
Redigeret: jul 13, 2021, 3:11 am

Did I mention that I had an ... um ... book splurge? Five of my books arrived today:

Nightbirds on Nantucket by Joan Aiken
The Stolen Lake by Joan Aiken
Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman
The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Wynne Jones

Woo hoo!

I probably have a Thingaversary or two lying around that those should go (someway) to using up.

ETA: yup; it's less than a month away. It'll be lucky 13 years (just older than firelion).

53humouress
jul 13, 2021, 11:12 am

>51 richardderus: Richard, I do hope you’re not implying that I might be a hooligan 🧐

54richardderus
jul 13, 2021, 11:23 am

>53 humouress: If one likes "football" and is "English," le mot juste is inescapable. Non?

55humouress
jul 13, 2021, 2:00 pm

56curioussquared
jul 13, 2021, 2:13 pm

>52 humouress: Ooh, that's an excellent acquisitions list! Aiken and Jones are on my list of all time best children's authors. Might be time for a reread of the Wolves of Willoughby Chase series....

57humouress
Redigeret: jul 26, 2021, 8:58 am

52) The Letter for the King by Tonke Dragt
(translated from Dutch by Laura Watkinson)

 

{First of 3 in Unauwen series. YA, fiction, fantasy/ adventure} (1962)

Tonke Dragt (according to Wikepedia) was born in Indonesia in 1930 and was interned in a Japanese camp during WWII, along with her family, which was where her writing career began at the age of thirteen.

In the Kingdom of Dagonaut on Midsummer's Eve, while sitting vigil with his friends before they are due to be knighted the next day having met all the requirements for knighthood, Tiuri hears a plea for help. Even though he is not supposed to open the chapel door until morning, he does so and is sent on a secretive quest. He is to deliver a letter to the Black Knight with the White Shield at an inn in the forest but when he finds him the knight is dying, having been ambushed, so he charges Tiuri with delivering the letter to King Unauwen in the neighbouring kingdom over the mountains. Tiuri has no choice but to go, but he faces unknown dangers from the people who killed the Black Knight, all while not knowing the exact nature of his mission. Fortunately, as well as enemies, he makes good friends on his journey.
“Listen to me,” the knight said. “I must keep this brief, because I have little time. This letter is for King Unauwen and it is of the utmost importance. Now that I can no longer deliver it, you must do so!”
“Me?” whispered Tiuri.
“Yes, I know of no one who could do it better. You are perfectly capable and I have every faith in you. You must leave immediately. Enough time has been lost already. Journey westwards, first through the forest, and then along the Blue River, until you reach its source. There is a hermit who lives there, Menaures. Take this ring from my finger. When you show it to Menaures, he will know it was I who sent you. He will help you to cross the mountains, because you will not be able to do it alone. Once you are on the other side of the mountains, the road will lead you to Unauwen.”
This seems to be a classic of Dutch children's literature, given the number of times I've come across it. I thought that I had read it a while ago but forgotten the story but I can't find any record of my having read it on LibraryThing and reading it now didn't ring any bells.

I initially felt that the writing style was a little bit simplistic - he jumps on a horse and rides off, for instance - but it's possible that something got lost in translation; after all, Tiuri is sixteen years old and has been training to be a knight for years. I did notice frequent touches that hinted at more sophistication, which I appreciated; for instance, the jester at King Unauwen's court who is a well respected person both at court and in the city because of the information he can disseminate as well as for keeping the knights grounded.
“So, Tirillo,” called one of the knights, “you chide us for daring to think about the great deeds that we will perform. But are you not accompanying us when we ride out?”
“Most certainly,” replied the jester. “Someone has to keep an eye on you!”
“And which weapons will you be taking, Tirillo?” asked another in a gently mocking tone.
“His fool’s bauble to rap our knuckles,” said Marwen of Iduna, “and his jests to save us from pride.” Although he said this with a smile, he was clearly being serious.
“That’s right,” another knight agreed. “If we are to combat evil, Tirillo’s presence is required.”
The action did flow well; after all, Tiuri has an urgent message to deliver and so the entire book takes place within a month. I wouldn't have minded a map in my book. I liked the way the rivers were named for the colours they seem to embody (green, blue, white) especially the Rainbow River and I liked the way the inns were named (the Inn of the Setting Sun, for example - because all the windows face west).

The book reminded me of the children's hymn 'When a Knight Won his Spurs'.
Tirillo smiled. “That‘s right,” he said. “When King Unauwen gave it to me, he said, ‘One does not need to carry a sword and a shield to be a knight.‘”
“Yes,” said Tiuri. “Yes, of course.”
It was true. Why should a jester not be among the king‘s most faithful paladins? Tirillo was worthy of such a ring. He knew how to cheer people up when they were downhearted, and that was a gift few people shared.

3.5-4 stars

“Listen to me,” the knight said. “I must keep this brief, because I have little time. This letter is for King Unauwen and it is of the utmost importance. Now that I can no longer deliver it, you must do so!”
“Me?” whispered Tiuri.
“Yes, I know of no one who could do it better. You are perfectly capable and I have every faith in you. You must leave immediately. Enough time has been lost already. Journey westwards, first through the forest, and then along the Blue River, until you reach its source. There is a hermit who lives there, Menaures. Take this ring from my finger. When you show it to Menaures, he will know it was I who sent you. He will help you to cross the mountains, because you will not be able to do it alone. Once you are on the other side of the mountains, the road will lead you to Unauwen.”

“So, Tirillo,” called one of the knights, “you chide us for daring to think about the great deeds that we will perform. But are you not accompanying us when we ride out?”
“Most certainly,” replied the jester. “Someone has to keep an eye on you!”
“And which weapons will you be taking, Tirillo?” asked another in a gently mocking tone.
“His fool’s bauble to rap our knuckles,” said Marwen of Iduna, “and his jests to save us from pride.” Although he said this with a smile, he was clearly being serious.
“That’s right,” another knight agreed. “If we are to combat evil, Tirillo’s presence is required.”

Litsy notes

Translation by Laura Wilkinson
Starts off a bit simplistically but improves later. I like the way all the rivers are named for colours. And the way the inns are named (Setting Sun, First Night) are poetic too.

Tirillo smiled. “That‘s right,” he said. “When King Unauwen gave it to me, he said, ‘One does not need to carry a sword and a shield to be a knight.‘”
“Yes,” said Tiuri. “Yes, of course.”
It was true. Why should a jester not be among the king‘s most faithful paladins? Tirillo was worthy of such a ring. He knew how to cheer people up when they were downhearted, and that was a gift few people shared.

58humouress
jul 13, 2021, 2:53 pm

>56 curioussquared: Thank you :0) I'm still waiting on five more, although one of those hasn't been dispatched yet.

59FAMeulstee
jul 14, 2021, 3:21 am

>57 humouress: Glad you liked The Letter for the King, Nina, a childhood favorite I have read many times :-)
The original has a map, sorry they didn't include it in translation.

60humouress
jul 14, 2021, 3:42 am

>59 FAMeulstee: It was a book bullet from one of the Dutch LTers I'm following; was it you Anita? I see that there are two more books in the series and at least the sequel seems to have been translated into English. I notice that there is a Netflix series which I was thinking of looking for, but googling indicates that it doesn't follow the book very closely.

As for the map, if I'd been paying closer attention (because Dragt is very good about giving details like that, such as passage of time in the story) it would have been fine but it was yet another Overdrive book that was coming up on its deadline so I was in a bit of a rush reading it.

61FAMeulstee
jul 14, 2021, 3:59 am

>60 humouress: As far as I know there is only one sequel, Nina, The Secrets of the Wild Wood. There is also a story collection set in the same place, but I don't think it is translated.
Yes it could have been me, and Kerry (avatiakh) read it shortly after it became available in English. The book was published in 1962 and only translated into English a few years back.

62richardderus
jul 14, 2021, 1:32 pm

>55 humouress: Désolée, madame, mais oui...le mot juste reste.

le smoochings

63humouress
jul 14, 2021, 11:15 pm

>61 FAMeulstee: That’s what I meant but I didn’t type it out because I knew you would know that :0)

64humouress
jul 14, 2021, 11:17 pm

>62 richardderus: And I suppose you think les smoochings makes it all alright, do you? :0/

65charl08
jul 15, 2021, 4:31 am

Hi Nina, not going anywhere near the football discussion, just waving.

66humouress
Redigeret: jul 16, 2021, 2:03 am

>65 charl08: No, no, come back Charlotte! I'm not a hooligan. (Gee, thanks Richard.)

67richardderus
jul 16, 2021, 7:12 pm

>66 humouress: hmmm: the set "La Overkill":
∋unrepentant supervillainy
∋English
∋football fan
∴ hooligan
it's all just doing the math

68humouress
Redigeret: jul 17, 2021, 12:07 am

>67 richardderus: Supervillains are not hooligans.



Your maths is flawed.

69humouress
Redigeret: jul 22, 2021, 7:49 am

53) Esme's Gift by Elisabeth Foster



{Second in Esme trilogy; children's, fantasy, parallel world; LT Early Reviewers}(2019)

This was a LibraryThing Early Reviewers book from last year that I'm re-reading.

Esme is from Picton Island on our world but over the summer she has had adventures in the parallel world of Aeolia where she found her mum, who had been missing for seven years. But now her mum lies in a comma and in danger of fading away so Esme, together with her friends, is trying to wake her. When they learn of an obscure elixir they go on adventures (often adragonback) to try and obtain the exotic ingredients. In the meantime, Esme enrols in Pierpont School on Esperance, along with her friends Daniel and Lilian who are existing students, so she doesn't miss out on her education.

Pierpont is no Hogwarts since it has ordinary subjects like Maths and History but now that people's Gifts are starting to show, as a result of Esme's previous adventures, they do affect the classes, like Meera's Gift for portalling which ties in to her Art talent or Esme's own unreliable Gift for seeing the past which she uses to help her with her History homework and to search for the more unknown ingredients as well as to complete the decrepit recipe for the elixir.
When the subtle energies were at their height, Lillian’s unmade bed began to make itself. First, the sheets ironed themselves out and tucked themselves under the mattress. Then the purple bedspread smoothed itself over the top. Finally, the pillow gave a little shake, plumped itself up and settled into place.
Lillian kept singing, kept the spell going, just to prove that she could - and the wardrobe responded with a deep shudder. Its double doors flew open. The clothes on the floor rose up, then straggled like lost lambs into the wardrobe’s embrace.
When the song was over, Lillian stood there, very still, her face radiant. Somehow she seemed fuller, more complete, like a piece of the puzzle of who she was had slotted into place.
‘It’s really happened, hasn’t it?’ she murmured. ‘Oh, Mum!’
Miranda wiped away a tear. ‘I never thought I’d see the day you tidied your room without being asked!’
Did you ever read books in your childhood where you really wanted to go and live in that world? This world does that for me, and it's been a while since that happened; I mean, if you could escape to a parallel world where you could breathe under water, the weather is always nice, people have magical gifts and you get to ride dragons wouldn‘t you want to live there? I really like the gentle ambiance that Foster creates with Aeolia and its capital island of Esperance; it has a warm, relaxed Mediterranean feel to me (though Esme's term is at the beginning of the school year and ends in winter, it doesn't get very cold) which stays with me even more than the adventures although those are fun and nicely told.

There is a very helpful map of the canal city of Esperance but it would have been nice to have a map of the whole of Aeolia as well, since Esme's adventures take her to many different parts of that world.

The third book of the trilogy is due out later this year (2021) which will hopefully satisfy my curiosity about some questions (though the story is not left on a cliffhanger). I hope Foster doesn't stop there but sets more stories in this charming world.

4-4.5 stars



Litsy notes (from last year):

I love the summer-holiday, Mediterranean ambiance of these books. I sometimes pause my reading to savour the feeling. I‘m only a fifth of the way through the second book but I‘ll risk saying: LOVE it!

If you could escape to a parallel world where you can breathe under water, people have magical gifts and you get to ride dragons wouldn‘t you want to live there? Especially if you had a wicked stepmother at home and everyone thought you were losing your mind in your own world.

Excuse me - I need to get back to Aeolia ...

(BehindthePages: I love this book! I can barely put it down!)
humouress: I‘ve finished it now but I did keep putting it down - just so I could lengthen my stay there.

70humouress
Redigeret: aug 4, 2021, 9:07 am

54) Cast in Shadow by Michelle Sagara



{First of 16 Chronicles of Elantra; fantasy, sword and sorcery} (2005)

Kaylin Neya has been a Hawk in the city of Elantra since she joined them at the age of thirteen, seven years ago. She also does some healing on the side because she has unusual and strong magical healing powers that can save lives when medicine is not enough. The Hawks, along with the Wolves and the Swords, keep the city safe and are answerable to the three Lords of Law. However, Kaylin grew up in the fief of Nightshade and the fiefdoms, which lie across the river, also lie outside the law. Kaylin, who had then been known by a different name, had sworn never to return to Nightshade - but now children have been found murdered, with marks on their bodies; the same type of marks that suddenly appeared on Kaylin’s body all those years ago and the reason she fled the fiefs. And now the reason she must return, to fight the evil that the sacrifices represent as only she can. Along with her will go two men; Severn, who grew up with her in the fief and who betrayed her, and a Dragon, a member of one of the immortal races. And supporting them, her beloved Hawks of many races - human, Leontine, winged Aerians, immortal Barani - who have been a family to her for the past seven years.
'Did you see it?' she asked him, all enmity momentarily forgotten. He was Severn, she was Elianne, and the streets of the fiefs had become that most impossible of things: more terrifying than either had ever thought possible.
He shook his head. 'No,' he said, devoid now of arrogance or ease. 'But I know what you saw.'
'How?'
'I've only heard you scream that way once in your life,' he replied. He lifted a hand, as if to touch her, ands shied away instantly, her hand falling to her dagger hilt. To one of many.
He accepted her rejection as if it hadn't happened. 'I was there, back then,' he added quietly. 'I saw it too. It's happening again, isn't it?'
She closed her eyes. After a moment, eyes still closed, she rolled up her sleeves, exposing the length of arm from wrist to elbow.
There, in black lines, in an elegant and menacing swirl, were tattoos that were almost twin to the ones upon the dead boy's arms.

It could have been because my reading was fractionated with this book but it didn’t flow smoothly for me; the writing style was a bit casual and rather than my usual refrain of ‘show, don’t tell’ I could have done with more 'telling'. I felt I had to infer a lot and I felt I was missing things. It was slow to take off with a lot of history hinted at but not told, until around the halfway mark at which point some history was also filled in. I did wonder if this was Sagara’s debut novel but it seems to be her thirteenth published book.

I liked the characters, though, especially Tiamaris and I like the way that, although she is now twenty and can hold her own as a Hawk, many of the Hawks still feel protective towards Kaylin and she feels they are her family.

But I know that a lot of people love this series and I’m willing to give it another go - especially since I’ve already got the next book, anyway, and I liked Sagara’s (writing as Michelle West) The Broken Crown.

3-3.5 stars

Litsy notes

It‘s been slow to take off with a lot of history hinted at but not told. Now, around the halfway mark, it‘s taking off and some history is being filled in

I know I sometimes think an author is 'telling' too much instead of just 'showing' but I often feel a bit lost in this book; I could do with being told a bit more. But I know a lot of people like this series and I did like 'The Broken Crown' by the same author so I will continue with this series for a bit. Besides - I've already got the next couple of books 😊

71humouress
Redigeret: jul 20, 2021, 2:41 am

I’m watching the third episode of Loki and I have two questions: why are the TVA all humans except for the founders and why are they only concerned with human history (and not other planets)?; and why do Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Wunmi Mosaku have to have American accents if they're in the TVA?

72MickyFine
jul 19, 2021, 3:10 pm

>71 humouress: Wait and you shall be enlightened. ;)

73humouress
jul 20, 2021, 2:41 am

>72 MickyFine: Okay, so I see another planet - but no space racoons or sentient trees yet.

74humouress
Redigeret: jul 22, 2021, 2:02 pm

55) A Dead Djinn in Cairo by P. Djèli Clark

 

{First of 3 of Egyptian Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments, and Supernatural Entities series, novella; fantasy, Middle Eastern/ Egypt, alternative history, steampunk, djinn} (2016)

The story opens thus:
Fatma el-Sha’arawi, special investigator with the Egyptian Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments, and Supernatural Entities, stood gazing through a pair of spectral goggles at the body slumped atop the mammoth divan.
A djinn.
An Old One, at that—near twice the size of a man, with fingers that ended in curved talons, long as knives. His skin was a sheath of aquamarine scales that shifted to turquoise beneath the glare of flickering gas lamps. He sat unclothed between tasseled cushions of lavender and burgundy, his muscular arms and legs spread wide and leaving nothing to the imagination.
The story takes place over one night in a 1912 Cairo of a parallel world where a passage exists between 'our world' and others which allows djinn, ifreet, ghuls and even beings that call themselves angels (but require mechanical bodies to inhabit our plane) to live in our world. Fatma had been called to investigate when a body of a djinn was found and follows the line of enquiry to find herself at the end of worlds.

A baqlawa (sic) of a novella; rich, intensely flavourful (but not sickly sweet), slightly exotic and a perfect little Middle Eastern snack. This was a quick, rich look at a Cairo that might have been. I liked the heroine who, most unusually for a young Egyptian Muslim woman of the time, went unveiled and dressed in snazzy English men's suits. Clark has built an unusual, intriguing world; it's a shame the glimpse we get in this novella is so brief. He packs a lot into just one night and 40 something (depending on the font size of your e-book) pages.

I've been hearing a lot about this author on LT so it's not easy to rate objectively, but this works, I think:

4-4.5 stars

Litsy quotes

'Fatma el-Sha‘arawi stood gazing through a pair of spectral goggles at the body slumped atop the mammoth divan.
A djinn—near twice the size of a man, with fingers that ended in talons, long as knives. His skin was a sheath of aquamarine scales that shifted to turquoise beneath the flickering gas lamps. He sat unclothed between tasseled cushions of lavender and burgundy, his muscular arms and legs spread wide and leaving nothing to the imagination.'

Litsy notes

🧞‍♂️This looks like fun!

A baqlawa of a novella; rich, intensely flavourful, slightly exotic and a perfect little Middle Eastern snack

75humouress
jul 22, 2021, 7:05 am

Singapore was in the process of lifting restrictions (again) but for the second time has had to reverse direction and clamp down again. The kids will still be going to school (but things can change daily) although sports activities are limited to groups of two which makes it rather hard for team sports. My husband was scheduled for his two weeks at home, anyway, for the next couple of weeks. The boys have both had their first dose of the vaccine so they are some way to being protected - although, as my cousin's daughter found out, it is not a fail-safe.

While wearing masks is a pain, the Singapore government takes the view that it dramatically cuts transmission and so do my family - so we're watching in bemusement as many countries are doing away with the requirement of wearing masks. I have a nice collection going so - in the event that I do go out - I can co-ordinate my mask with what I'm wearing :0)

Stay safe out there!

76humouress
jul 22, 2021, 7:58 am

>52 humouress: Four more of my books arrived today (maybe the Cranswickian book haul vibes have been floating across the causeway):

Senrid
Sasharia en Garde aka omnibus edition of Once a Princess and Twice a Prince

(I've been on a bit of a Sherwood Smith kick lately because I like her world of Sartorias-Deles but her books are hard to find.)

Child of Flame by Kate Elliott
Dragonshadow by Barbar Hambly

to try and complete some series on my shelves.

Woo hoo!

Now - if they're for my Thingaversary, do you think I can read them before the actual date? Although that's probably an academic question as they join Mt. TBR ... and you know how the rest of it goes.

77curioussquared
jul 22, 2021, 1:07 pm

Glad you liked the Clark novella!!

I'm with you on masks. They're not required here anymore and I don't wear them with friends I know are vaccinated, but I'm still wearing them in public and keeping indoor dining at restaurants to a minimum. It's just such a simple thing and with the Delta variant picking up steam, I don't think we're out of the woods yet.

78richardderus
jul 22, 2021, 1:38 pm

Yay for more Djèlí love! The world is so satisfying to read, and the stories stay good.

If you can finish your Thingaversary acquisitions by the date, I will join you in supervillainy.

Nice (socially-distanced) weekend!

79humouress
jul 23, 2021, 12:56 am

>78 richardderus: Hmm. I want to say it's tempting, but ...

So where are we on this question of hooligans? 🧐

80humouress
Redigeret: aug 6, 2021, 4:15 am

56) Midlife Bounty Hunter aka Grave Magic Bounty by Shannon Mayer

   

{First of 5 of Forty Proof series; urban fantasy, contemporary setting, older female protagonist} (2020)

Full disclosure; this is not my preferred genre. I'm not sure why I picked this up but it's somehow landed on my Kindle. Could be I was sucked in by the blurb (note to self - do not be sucked in by the blurb. Again) or maybe I thought I should try something new (but I usually do that via the library) or maybe it was a Kindle deal.

So, anyhow. Breena O'Rylee is old and she's just gone through a nasty divorce so she's run home to Savannah from Seattle with her tail between her legs. Growing up, she lost her parents as a young girl so her gran brought her up and trained her to deal with the shadow world but after she got married, Himself (she can't bring herself to name her ex-husband) put her in a psych ward for seeing bogeymen and so she asked her gran to take away her second sight. As a result, she has no friends in Savannah and no contacts except Corb, the black sheep of her husband's family, and so she crashes at his place. She interviews for a job that pays better than her current dog grooming job and signs on as a trainee with the Hollows Group. They ... deal with the shadow world. And though Breena is old (older than the other trainees and older, even, than most of the mentors) she has other skills as her old training resurfaces.
I felt an immense amount of pity for them. They were young, early twenties at best, though they might have been even younger. I had a hard time telling now how old young people were. They all looked like babies to me with the lack of experience in their eyes, and the softness of their faces.
Unfortunately, her gran has died in the intervening twenty years that Breena has been away and Himself has somehow transferred Breena's signature to papers that will allow him to sell the house Breena grew up in and inherited from her grandmother - but that doesn't stop her reconnecting with her gran. In the meantime, there is something sinister (more sinister than usual, that is) going on in Savannah and the Hollows Group need to stop it. Once they find out what it is.

Well, it was okay. Breena, though, is so old and feels her age that I'm not looking forward to becoming ... hang on, she's a full decade younger than me! I see that the author must have been 41, the same age as her heroine, when this was published. 41, let me tell you, is practically a spring chicken but Breena's joints creak more than mine do. I think you gather that the constant harping about the age factor was something I wasn't fully on board with. Nor, to be honest, was I a fan of the swearing (so? I'm old fashioned) peppering the first few chapters but that faded away. It's as though Meyer wanted to make her a Lara Croft-type action heroine but emphasise her age and ended up with her neither here nor there. I appreciate her choosing to have an 'older' (supposedly) heroine but I wish she wouldn't keep playing up the downsides.

I did like, however, the variety of people Meyer introduced. As well as demons, leprechauns, werewolves and ghosts there were big foots (big feet?), river maids and some that were described but she refused to name.
I hit the stairs, stuffed one knife into my bag and grabbed the railing with my now-free hand, pulling myself up with my arm as much as with my legs, which had once more turned to jelly. I got to the top of the stairs and bent at the waist to catch my breath. A quick glance over my shoulder proved I’d thought wrong about the spider’s supposed limitations. Those long, hairy black legs were following me.

‘Gran, you never warned me about this!’ I yelled to myself as I moved with speed down the streets that would lead me back to East Perry. I had to believe Corb was still at the loft. Or Sarge.

Something splooshed into the building that I had just circled around. I looked back at the oozing hunk of what had to be web stuck to the old brick building. Only it wasn’t light and airy, but thick like mucus spit.
I stuck my head around the corner to glare at the still oncoming spider. ‘Seriously? You’re spitting at me?’

The spider let out a snarl - yes, a snarl! - and opened its mouth. I squeaked and ran all the way to the Colonial cemetery...
The writing style settled in the latter part of the book and it definitely improved but I'm not sure that I will be continuing with this series. Or, if I'm curious, I'll borrow it from the library, despite my completist genes.

3 stars

Litsy notes

The protagonist is 41 but acts like she‘s 61 - at least in the first few chapters - even though she‘s younger than me and her job keeps her active. Wonder how old the author is?
ETA: looks like she would have been 41 at the time this book was published. Not that I‘m sensitive about my age or anything 👵🏼

Set in Savannah. Urban fantasy, a little out of my preferred reading zone
Ch 9: Not enjoying the constant references to age. I‘m starting to feel sensitive ...

81PaulCranswick
jul 23, 2021, 2:56 am

Howdy neighbour.

Weekend starting a bit early for me. There was a leak in the powder room piping above the ceiling which brought down the ceiling overnight and we will be without water for eight hours for some reason I haven't fully comprehended. It is fixed now apparently but I cannot shower and therefore am again working from home.

82humouress
jul 23, 2021, 3:03 am

>80 humouress: Hey, Paul! That's not good news, about the water. I'm not clear; did it happen at work and so you're at home or at home and because you can't shower, you're not fit for company? ;0)

I remember the childhood days of water cuts when we filled the bathtub and pans and buckets or, more recently, if the water has to be turned off for piping works. Of course, then you have to make sure that the kids don't contaminate it.

Wishing you a speedy return to civilisation and a constant, clean water supply.

83PaulCranswick
jul 23, 2021, 5:37 am

>82 humouress: It happened at home so I cannot shower and don't want to inflict my odiferous self on my colleagues!

84humouress
jul 23, 2021, 7:41 am

>83 PaulCranswick: Very altruistic of you PC.

85humouress
Redigeret: jul 23, 2021, 11:09 am

>52 humouress: >76 humouress: The last of the ten books I ordered arrived today. There was a bit of a kerfuffle because the Singpost website indicated that it had been delivered but the postman hadn't rung the bell to deliver it as he had with all the other five parcels and, as it's an independently published book it's a bit bigger than the normal mmpbs. Just as I was on the phone to them, we discovered the package had, indeed, been put in our letterbox (which surprised me because, while spacious inside, it doesn't have an especially large flap) so I had to apologise to the lady on the other end of the line.

No matter, it arrived safely, which is all I care about.

A Stranger to Command by Sherwood Smith to continue building that series.

86jayde1599
jul 23, 2021, 5:49 pm

>76 humouress: ohh Thingaversary books! I think you can read them before the date. That reminds me that July is my thingaversary - 13 years! I need to order some books!

87richardderus
jul 23, 2021, 6:31 pm

>85 humouress: Safe arrival is all that counts, and I'm sure yours wasn't even the nastiest call of her day. I expect she's still a bit startled about the whole apology thing....

>80 humouress: Oh dear. Well, I wasn't likely to pick it up anyway but surely won't now.

>79 humouress: My math is impeccable; therefore my conclusion incontrovertible.

88humouress
jul 24, 2021, 12:55 am

>86 jayde1599: I am tempted to read them - but I have to reach past Mt TBR to get to them, so we'll see :0)

Happy Thingaversary!

89humouress
jul 24, 2021, 1:02 am

>87 richardderus: (>85 humouress:) I try to never be nasty on the phone, although I have been known to roll my eyes a lot and it is possible, if the person on the other end is being particularly obtuse, that my irritation/ condescension can show through in my voice. But 'you catch more flies with honey ...' and, really, if they're the only ones who can help you, it's best not to antagonise them. I was just worried that the book had been delivered to the wrong house so I was trying to trace it before it got lost, so I stated my case ie that the website said it had been delivered and (I thought) it had not.

>87 richardderus: (>80 humouress:) Oh. I do hope I didn't put you off.

90humouress
jul 24, 2021, 6:03 am

>87 richardderus: (>79 humouress:) How many times do I have to tell you, Richard?

I

am

a

Super-villainess,

not

a

HOOLIGAN.



Capisce?

I'll be round to yours soon.

91humouress
Redigeret: jul 26, 2021, 10:02 am

>1 humouress: I've finally updated my thread topper with a montage of Jasper photos, rather than the picture I carried over from my previous thread.

92richardderus
jul 26, 2021, 11:20 am

>91 humouress: *baaawww* he's such a sweet-faced smoochiekins!

>90 humouress: mm hmm

yes of course

aaahhh I see

93curioussquared
jul 26, 2021, 12:09 pm

The many faces of Jasper! So handsome.

94humouress
jul 26, 2021, 1:14 pm

>92 richardderus: Isn't he?

>93 curioussquared: ... and they all say 'feed me' :0)

95humouress
jul 26, 2021, 1:15 pm

>92 richardderus: Now I know what lengths to go to to get my message across.

96FAMeulstee
jul 27, 2021, 5:20 am

>91 humouress: Jasper is always adorable, in every picture.

>94 humouress: There are at least 3 pictures at the top where he doesn't say "feed me" ;-)

97charl08
jul 27, 2021, 6:01 am

>91 humouress: 😍

A (small) book turned up in the garage where it had been put with the, er, "overflow recycling" by someone trying to tidy up. Red face on my part, as I had asked them to send again thinking it was one of the parcels that had got lost in the COVID times.

98humouress
jul 28, 2021, 1:57 am

>96 FAMeulstee: Thank you Anita! I'm a bit biased, myself.

>96 FAMeulstee: >94 humouress: Probably the ones where he says 'I'm sleeping and cannot be disturbed.' ... 'Unless there's food, in which case I'm there.' :0)

99humouress
jul 28, 2021, 1:58 am

>97 charl08: Ah. Mmm. Well.

Perfectly natural mistake to make. I'm absolutely with you on that.

100humouress
Redigeret: aug 15, 2021, 2:49 am

57) The Siege of Macindaw by John Flanagan



{Sixth published/ seventh chronologically of 11 (or 12); Ranger’s Apprentice series. Fantasy, children’s, YA} (2007)
Group read.

Will, having had to leave Alyss trapped in a tower inside Castle Macindaw, is now desperate to rescue her as well as foil the plans of the traitor holding the castle. Luckily he finds unexpected and somewhat unusual allies, although they are still all outnumbered, and they plan to take the castle back to prevent it falling into the hands of Scotti invaders coming over the border from Picta because otherwise it would leave the whole of Norgate Fief open to their raids and weaken the kingdom of Araluen. And Alyss, a trained diplomat and Royal Courier, is no damsel in distress but contributes too, getting vital information about the enemy out to them as she can.

While most books in this series (so far) can be read as stand-alones - although they follow the overall story arc of Will’s apprenticeship as he grows up to become a Ranger - this book is the second part of the story that was begun in The Sorcerer in the North and should be read after it. Will is now a full fledged Ranger and is on his first solo mission, which was given to him in the previous book.

The tone of the book is a bit more serious than previous instalments although Will and Horace still bicker away (while recognising that sometimes their friend is covering for nerves). The friends, Alyss, Horace and Will, are now all around sixteen years old. As Flanagan’s characters are getting older and, presumably, so is his target audience, he’s introducing some (mild) swearing.
And illogically, right on the heels of a sudden rush of relief, Horace felt his anger welling up.
'His blood? Why didn't you say so? I was frantic here, thinking you were bleeding like a stuck pig!'
'When did you give me a chance?' Will said, 'You were all over me, grabbing at me, turning me this way and that!'
The anger, of course, was nothing more than reaction to the shock and fear they had both felt. But it was no less real for all that.
'I'm sorry!' Horace snapped back. 'Forgive me for being concerned about you. It won't happen again!'
'Well, if you'd got here a little sooner, there wouldn't have been a problem,' Will retorted quickly. 'Where the hell were you, anyway?'
'Where the hell was I? Where the hell were you? Is this the thanks I get for saving your life? Because let me tell you, it didn't look as if you were having the best of it with our friend here.'
He nudged the unconscious MacHaddish with the toe of his boot. The Scotti general made no sound. But Will had the grace to look suddenly chastened as he realised his friend was right.
'I'm sorry, Horace. You're right. You saved my life and I'm grateful.'
'Well ...' Now it was Horace's turn to shuffle his feet uneasily. He knew the reason for Will's apparent anger. He had seen it in many soldiers who had come close to death and he knew Will hadn't meant to be ungracious. 'That's okay. Think nothing of it.'
I’m always impressed with Flanagan’s fight scenes which are described well enough for me to follow them and for them to make sense without getting bogged down in the detail.

There are oblique references to the previous adventure (Erak’s Ransom) and the next one (The Kings of Clonmel) but I think it’s just to position this story within the timeline. Another good instalment in the series.

3.5-4 stars

Litsy notes

Will, now a Ranger and an expert archer, is using the cover name ‘Will Barton’. Coincidentally similar to the archer’s name in the MCU Avenger films.

As Flanagan’s characters are getting older (Will is now a full Ranger and on his first solo mission) and, presumably, his target audience, he’s introducing some (mild) swearing.

Flanagan’s fight scenes are well written and believable. (I say this with great expertise as a veteran of no battles whatsoever, though.)

Horace, and therefore Will and Alyss, are now 16

101humouress
jul 29, 2021, 3:12 am

So my eldest has been at home for a few days with a sore throat and drippy nose, waiting for the results of his covid test which came back negative. But then, instead of being able to go back to school, he developed a croupy cough. The same one he used to get when he was three years old and the doctor said was unusual at that age but he should shake it by four. And the one he had when he was four years old and the doctor said .... and so on until he was about nine. I thought he’d shaken it for good then - but now he’s seventeen!

102humouress
jul 29, 2021, 5:01 am

>100 humouress: Somehow I didn’t find The Siege of Macindaw as compelling as the previous Ranger’s Apprentice instalments although it was still as readable. Maybe my reading is slowing again?

103humouress
Redigeret: sep 21, 2021, 3:45 am

58) Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier

 

{First of 6 in the Sevenwaters series; YA, fantasy, folktale}

A retelling of the story of the Six Swans (The Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen), set in Ireland at the time of the high kings and Ethelwulf of Wessex (Alfred the Great’s father).

Twelve year old Sorcha is the seventh child of a seventh son, Lord Colum of Sevewaters. When he remarries, his new wife seems to have him under a spell and sets about doing the same to the rest of the people of his holding. She knows that Sorcha and her six brothers are versed in the ways of the Fair Folk and could thwart her plans so she casts a spell to turn them into swans. But Sorcha escapes and is told that if she can create a shirt for each of her brothers she can set them free; but she must weave them from a thorny plant that destroys her hands, she must do all the work herself from harvesting to spinning and weaving to sewing and she must allow no sound to cross her lips in the meantime. But she has to do it over many years without the support of her brothers - but after a couple of years she moves away from the forest and is found by a Briton, assumed to be an enemy, and taken across the seas to his lands, all the while continuing with her task in silence. He turns out to be a protector (from a villain who, I felt, was not so much evil as a sly, insinuating bully) and the damsel does rescue the princes in distress.

Richly detailed and I thought the romance was sweet. Sorcha, having been assaulted by local boys in her home forest earlier in her ordeal which caused her to mistrust men (be warned; this scene is written in the book), took a long time to register it and Red was sensitive to this.

I found the scene where her brothers were discussing whether Sorcha should remain in Britain or return to Ireland ironically funny. There were some story lines left open that I would have liked to know the ending of and I don't know that they were finished in the sequels (from what I've read of their synopses).

My favourite passage comes just after this, but that would be a spoiler (although I’ve posted it on Litsy) so I’ll leave you with this:
They appreciated a good tale; and this was told with feeling, though somewhat haltingly. Janis had her eye on the teller. I heard her whisper to one of the kitchenmaids, “That’s a man and a half, that is. If she doesn’t want him, I’ll be the first to offer him a warm bed for the night.”

And then I felt the inner voice of Finbar, whom I had thought scarcely listening, so distant was his expression.
This is a good man, Sorcha.

and I agree; he is a man and a half, in his character and personality.

August 2021
4 stars

104ronincats
aug 2, 2021, 10:14 pm

Hey, Nina, stopping by to finally catch up here. Hope your eldest feels better quickly and doesn't pass anything on to the rest of the family.

105humouress
aug 3, 2021, 2:19 am

He's feeling better, thanks Roni. I did have a bit of a sniffle at one point and then my husband had a bit of a sore throat. More than that, the protocols in place for covid have kept him off school for over a week and he has mock exams coming up. Completely understandable (even though his test was negative) but a pain, nonetheless. At least he didn't have his finals last year when everything was such a mess.

106charl08
aug 3, 2021, 2:43 am

>105 humouress: Hope the exams go ok. I do feel for the kids having so much interruption. Must be hard to get back into the swing of things.

107humouress
aug 3, 2021, 4:20 am

Thanks Charlotte. He was off for a month before that on school holidays; there's a lot of inertia to overcome ;0)

108humouress
Redigeret: sep 21, 2021, 7:29 am

59) The Bromance Bookclub by Lyssa Kay Adams

 

{First of 4 Bromance Book Club; romance, steamy} (2019)

Gavin is a baseball hero for the Nashville Legends whose marriage to Thea is in trouble but she and their twin girls are his life. So his friends step in with a plan which, incredibly, involves reading romance novels to find out how women think and to see things from their point of view.

Not high literature - there's lots of testosterone (and other hormones) and bedroom (and other places) scenes, as well as gratuitous language (which, to be perfectly honest, I'm not a fan of) - but laugh out loud, fun fluff. It uses a couple of my favourite romance tropes, which are people in an established relationship falling in love again and parents bonding with their kids.

I liked the scene with Thea's dad. And reading chapters of Gavin's book (which his bros have picked because it is similar to his situation) along with him was fun, along with the various names he called its hero, depending on whether its 'voice' in his head came through with good advice or not. And of course I liked the scene where Gavin's book club (big, macho men all) dressed up in Christmas tinsel for their little girls.

I did get a bit confused when things would go wrong just after they seemed to be resolved; I felt it happened one too many times. But it's a good pick-me-up with some hilarious moments.

August 2021
3 stars

109humouress
Redigeret: aug 5, 2021, 11:36 am

My Overdrive access has been somewhat curtailed; I sometimes use my SIL's card because her library in the States often has the books, when I get hit by LT book bullets, that my libraries don't - although they seem to have improved hugely over the past year or so. (ETA: but her card login seems to have stopped working for me, although she hasn't changed anything.) Did someone squeal on me? *peers suspiciously*

I hope it gets resolved before my hold on The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet comes through. I was around 54th on the list the last time I could check.

110charl08
aug 5, 2021, 8:19 am

>109 humouress: How annoying. I ended up having to delete the elibrary app and reinstall recently. Not sure if it was my phone or the app, but either way it stopped spontaneously crashing, so that was good.

111richardderus
aug 5, 2021, 11:07 am

I borrow ebooks like a fiend from my library, and was told a day or two ago that Kanopy (a shared streaming service for library patrons) thinks my card is expired! The librarian I spoke to had a good laugh over that one.

...still don't know if I can watch films on Kanopy...

112humouress
aug 5, 2021, 11:40 am

>110 charl08: Hmm - it might come to that. My own cards are still working and I still have one or two books that I downloaded into my Overdrive bookshelf from that library. Let's see if it's anything on that side; my niece is looking into it. But I think it must be the card because it happened on the app on my iPad as well as in the browser on my desktop.

113humouress
Redigeret: aug 5, 2021, 11:46 am

>111 richardderus: It surprised me that library cards can expire other than when you move away from the borough providing that service. One of my Sydney cards expired even though I'm still registered at my parents' address because it apparently has to be renewed in person every three years - but, anyway, they didn't have a lot of LT BBs for me to borrow, the last time I checked. I'll renew it when I eventually get to travel to visit my folks. Oddly, though, the card I have in a shire where my parents don't reside hasn't expired.

114MickyFine
aug 5, 2021, 1:51 pm

Many of the contracts libraries sign for digital resources are based on the population served (usually based on geographic areas). As a result many library users will have cards expire on a regular basis to ensure library users are still part of the local population. There's also budget considerations - making sure materials purchased with public funds are being used by the local population. :)

115humouress
aug 5, 2021, 2:28 pm

>114 MickyFine: Oops! I knew I should have kept quiet about it :0) Well, I do try not to use her card unnecessarily but it has been nice to be able to actually read some of the BBs I've been being hit with on LT during all these years. Admittedly, the National Library here seems to have finally realised that people use the library to read fiction and not just to study - probably because of the lockdown last year - so I haven't been too starved of options on my own card.

116MickyFine
aug 5, 2021, 4:30 pm

>115 humouress: Oh I'm not going to begrudge you using your SIL's card. If she's willing to share that's totally fine. There are some systems that don't have any kind of expiry date at all. I have a friend who hasn't lived in a certain large metropolis for years but her card still works it and she uses it to access their OverDrive collection regularly.

Just don't mention it to your SIL's library... :)

117jayde1599
aug 5, 2021, 7:14 pm

>103 humouress:
This looks like a book bullet for me! Nice review

118humouress
aug 6, 2021, 1:05 am

114 >116 MickyFine: That makes sense :0) I'll confess, I did try out my NYC card when I got onto Overdrive but it had been too long. I'm sure they're wise to the expiry thing since they must have a lot of turnover in population. I made the most of the libraries when I lived there.

119humouress
aug 6, 2021, 1:05 am

>117 jayde1599: Thank you! I hope you enjoy reading it.

120Berly
aug 6, 2021, 1:16 am

Hi there! Hopelessly behind, but the books look good, and so does Jasper and I hope everyone is well. : )

121humouress
aug 6, 2021, 1:27 am

Hi Kim! It's good to see you here. Everyone is well, thank you. Both boys are back at school and Jasper is (most likely) collapsed outside the kitchen until they get home later.

My husband is working from home and he's using the room opposite the kitchen, so Jasper can kill two birds with one stone, as it were, since he likes to be as close as possible to his humans. My husband complains that Jasper likes to find the most inconvenient spot to sprawl across to make him go the long way around. And it's true; I've often complained to Jasper that he almost deliberately finds the most trafficked spot at that time of the day to lie down in. For instance, in the corridor to the kitchen, he likes to lie against one wall - but then, his legs occupy the other half of the space so I have to clamber over him (because he isn't moving any time soon). But if I accidentally nudge him, he deigns to lift his head and stare at me slightly outraged, as if 'What was that for?'

122Berly
aug 6, 2021, 1:40 am

>121 humouress: I can totally see the image of Jasper sprawling across the space. LOL.

123curioussquared
aug 6, 2021, 1:40 am

>116 MickyFine: Seattle Public Library is like that as far as I know; I had no idea library cards expired until recently. I used SPL to check out books the entire time I was at college in WI because the local selection was much more limited. I did have to renew my King County library card a few years ago, but it was more because I hadn't used it since high school and they had changes systems since then.

124humouress
aug 6, 2021, 2:13 am

>122 Berly: I'll have to take a photo for you and see if it matches up :0)

125humouress
aug 6, 2021, 2:14 am

>123 curioussquared: Ah. Well, it's a King County card.

126humouress
Redigeret: sep 21, 2021, 1:40 pm

62) Touchstone by Melanie Rawn



{First of 5 in Glass Thorns series; fantasy} (2012)

The people of the kingdom of Albeyn have a thoroughly mixed heritage of goblin, elf, troll, wizard, human etcetera with no pure-bloods of any race left. Even if someone might be referred to as a troll, it is not a racial slur because everyone has such mixed blood. However, someone perceived as being an elf might be discriminated against in the further reaches of the kingdom because the elves refused to use magic or take sides in the devastating war that the Archduke lost to the king a generation ago.

Cade Silversun, together with his friends Rafe and Jeska, has formed a group of players and though they are talented they need to find a good glisker with enough elfen blood and who fits with their talents to be able to perform their magical plays effectively. The book throws you in at the deep end with the names of each profession, but a group of players consists of four men: a tregetour (who writes the plays and imbues the glass withies (glass twigs) with magic), a fettler (who keeps control of the magic), a masquer (who acts out all the parts) and a glisker (who uses the magic to create atmosphere, emotions, landscapes, the faces the masquer wears and so on). (There is a glossary of most of the unusual terms Rawn uses at the back of the e-book I borrowed.) The story begins as they meet the exuberant Mieka, who turns out to be the perfect fit as their glisker, and their theatre group finally takes off and becomes a roaring success.

However, even though they have begun their favoured career quite young (they’re all aged between seventeen and twenty one), not everything is perfect. Cade has that rarest of heritages, fae blood, which causes him to have random visions of potential futures which, for several reasons, he has to keep secret. He has managed to use the information to alter his own future, such as deliberately sabotaging careers early on (with, for example, a wine merchant) since he was determined to be a player - but he does not always know what to change for longer range futures and he cannot make those kinds of choices when it comes to other people’s lives. One such decision involved the group's name and eventually they decided on 'Touchstone'. In some of his visions, their group was a brief shining success but in a few, they were a long-running staple of the theatre scene and much of the difference depends on what Mieka will do. That kind of dilemma has driven some of his relatives mad, whose fae blood also manifested. And, to add to this story of the theatre troupe there is a larger story in which the current Archduke, son of the villain of the war, seems to be planning something sinister.

Since they are still young, the boys still live at home and I enjoyed seeing their families too; Cade's much younger brother who has a wise head on his shoulders, Rafe's mother who is one of the best bakers in Gallantrybanks and always makes sure the friends are well-fed, Mieka's large family - all twins, and their friend Blye whose glass crafter father is cruelly dying from the after-effects of the magical weapons from the war and who, though her glass work rivals any master glass crafter, cannot inherit her father's glassworks nor get her own crafter's stamp because she is female.

I remember reading Rawn's Dragon Prince series long years ago and this was very different. It wasn't what I was expecting, being about a magical theatre group rather than large sorceries and kingdom-saving battles, but it was fun. I wasn't a fan of the casual drug use, though. Cade experiments with various drugs in an attempt to avoid seeing his visions even though he sees that the worst of the potential futures are spoiled by Mieka's drug abuse which ruins his talent. It being my personal opinion that drug use should not be presented as acceptable or desirable, I am docking half a star for that.

August 2021
(3.5-4) 3-3.5 stars

Litsy notes

This is fun; I’m a quarter way through. I picked it up after an offhand comment on LibraryThing and it’s not what I was expecting. It’s about a quartet of young men (late teens) who want to go on stage, which in this universe involves a combination of magic skills and acting where each person contributes a different talent.
They all still live at home and I’m enjoying seeing their families, too.

I’m not a fan of the casual drug use, though

Told from Cade’s POV. He’s the tregetour of the theatre group; he writes the plays and primes fhe withies (glass rods) with magic. Mieka is the glisker; he uses Cade’s magic to create the atmosphere, emotions and effects for the play; there is only 1 masquer, Jeska, who acts out all the part; and Rafe is the fettler, who controls the magic.

127humouress
Redigeret: sep 21, 2021, 3:42 am

61) Alanna; the First Adventure by Tamora Pierce



{First of 4, Song of the Lioness/ fifth of 18 Tortal Universe chronological order; children's, fantasy, sword and sorcery} (1983)

I first came across this series at around the time the books were being published. Growing up, I had always wanted to be a knight (not really feasible, given my gender. And time period) so they appealed to me. Now that I‘ve collected this first quartet for my own shelves (nostalgia; I spotted a couple of the books when I was raiding Forbidden Planet in London) in the same cover style, it's time to start re-reading it!

Ten year old Alanna of Trebond, red-haired and purple-eyed, is almost identical to her twin, Thom. Their father is about to send them away from Trebond to futures that neither want. Alanna - who is good at martial arts and also has a strong healing Gift - is being sent to learn to be a lady while Thom - who would prefer to learn magic - is going to the palace at the capital, Corus, to learn to be a knight. So, by forging the letters of introduction that their father is supposed to send with them, they decide to swap places which will allow Thom (as himself) to study sorcery.
'D'you think I want to be a lady?' his sister asked. '"Walk slowly, Alanna,"' she said primly. '"Sit still, Alanna. Shoulders back, Alanna." As if that's all I can do with myself!' She paced the floor. 'There has to be another way.'
The boy watched the girl. Thom and Alanna of Trebond were twins, both with red hair and purple eyes. The only difference between them - as far as most people could tell - was the length of their hair. In face and body shape, dressed alike, they would have looked alike.
'Face it,' Thom told Alanna. Tomorrow
you leave for the convent, and I go to the palace. That's it.'
'Why do you get all the fun?' she complained. 'I'll have to learn sewing and dancing. You'll study tilting, fencing -'
'D'you think I
like that stuff?' he yelled. I hate falling down and whacking at things! You're the one who likes it, not me!'
She grinned. '
You should have been Alanna. They always teach the girls magic -' The thought hit her so suddenly that she gasped. 'Thom. That's it!'
From the look on her face, Thom knew his sister had just come up with yet another crazy idea. '
What's it?' he asked suspiciously.
Alanna looked around and checked the hall for servants. 'Tomorrow he gives us the letters for the man who trains the pages and the people at the convent. You can imitate his writing, so you can do new letters, saying we're twin boys.
'
You go to the convent. Say in the letter that you're to be a sorcerer. The Daughters of the Goddess are the ones who train young boys in magic, remember? When you're older, they'll send you to the priests. And I'll go to the palace and learn to be a knight!'
'That's crazy,' Thom argued. 'What about your hair? You can't go swimming naked, either. And you'll turn into a girl - you know, with a chest and everything.'
'I'll cut my hair,' she replied. 'And - well, I'll handle the rest when it happens.'
And so Alanna, pretending to be the younger male twin 'Alan', rides off to adventure to become a page. If she can hold the deception until she is eighteen, she can achieve her long held dream and become the first ever female knight. But first she has to survive the gruelling schedule of being a page; the academic education, training in different forms of fighting and sorcery not to mention still being on her (his) feet to serve at the nightly banquet. And homework. Fortunately, 'Alan' is good at making friends although she's so focussed on working hard to be more competent than the bigger boys and standing up for herself against bullies that she doubts herself and doesn't always feel worthy.

This book covers about three years of Alanna's training; we're given the information about passing time, such as her eleventh naming day, but that is one of the details that felt nebulous to me, somehow. You do root for Alanna to be able to achieve her dream without being discovered and she works hard to earn it. This and the fact that she has her faults - her quick temper, for one - prevents her from being too good to be true although there are hints that the gods of this world have chosen her for some great destiny.

Apparently this quartet was originally written as a single book for adults but Pierce was advised to resubmit it as a series for children. Well, it worked; it's been a resounding success - although I admit to curiousity as to what the original was like. It works as a children's book and I don't remember feeling anything lacking the first time I read it (when I was probably in my teens), but I think that, on this re-reading, I'm not as invested in the characters as I would have been if there had been more detail. I still enjoyed the story although I felt that the magical crisis at the end of this instalment was resolved too easily.

On to the next book (In the Hand of the Goddess)!

August 2021
3.5-4 stars

Litsy notes

I first came across this series at around the time the books were being written and I‘d always wanted to be a knight so they appealed to me. So now (nostalgia) I‘ve collected this first quartet for my own shelves in the same binding style. Time to start re-reading it!

(BehindthePages I had so much fun reading these in middle school!)

@BehindthePages So did I (though I was slightly older)

Apparently this quartet was originally written as a single book for adults but Pierce was advised to resubmit it as a series for children. Well, it worked! though I am curious to know what the original was like

128The_Hibernator
aug 9, 2021, 10:05 am

I've heard such good things about the Tamera Pierce books. I see that it got a pretty good score from you. Sorry I am not able to catch up on all your posts as you caught up with mine. I have quite a few to catch up on! I hope you have been well. :)

129humouress
aug 9, 2021, 11:31 am

>128 The_Hibernator: Thanks Rachel; we're well. My eldest starts his mock exams tomorrow, so a bit stressed, though. No worries about catching up - we've all been there.

I remember I liked the Song of the Lioness quartet, way back when, and I think I did start the following series after that but they were different characters and were still being published so I lost track. Your kids might like them; D especially is about the right age, I should think.

130jayde1599
aug 9, 2021, 7:08 pm

>127 humouress:
Interesting fact that the quartet was originally written for adults. I wonder what the original was like as well.
I read The Song of the Lioness quartet last year as well as Protector of the Small.
I have the Immortals and Tricksters Choice waiting in the TBR pile.

131richardderus
aug 9, 2021, 7:11 pm

>126 humouress: I give...what book is this we're discussing, please?

132humouress
aug 9, 2021, 11:47 pm

>130 jayde1599: Well, maybe I'll keep going too, once I finish this quartet. I'll keep an eye on what you think of them.

133humouress
Redigeret: aug 10, 2021, 12:09 am

>131 richardderus: Oops, sorry - I was in a rush to dump ideas down so I could read my next book. I've put the title in now and filled in the review a bit more, too (although it's still somewhat of a work in progress).

This was an incidental BB from a conversation Susan (quondame) had with, I think, you.

134PaulCranswick
Redigeret: aug 9, 2021, 11:56 pm

>129 humouress: Good luck!

My youngest has just paid for her exams coming up soon (well I paid, of course) and she has targeted only 5 subjects as that is the minimum required for her A Levels and she doesn't want to mess around with extra subjects. I almost begged her to take the history she has been studying at my expense for the last year but she is stubborn and won't do it. I hope she has no slips.

Back in the day the state paid and we had no choice but to do our 8-10 subjects.

135humouress
Redigeret: aug 10, 2021, 1:14 am

>134 PaulCranswick: Thank you for the wishes, Paul! Wishing Belle the best of luck too.

Surely not 8-10 A levels? *fans self*

My son is doing the IB, where you have to choose one subject from each of six groups as well as Theory of Knowledge (which is not examinable but is at the base of the research they use to back their essays, but he did have to submit an essay for it). So, no choice about the number of subjects he can take.

136humouress
Redigeret: aug 10, 2021, 1:18 am

137PaulCranswick
aug 10, 2021, 4:54 am

>135 humouress: God no - I meant O Levels. We A Levels plus General studies.

138richardderus
aug 11, 2021, 1:27 pm

>133 humouress: That title doesn't ring any bells for me...but that doesn't mean that it didn't come up, of course.

Happy Code Red! Best coddiwomple over to my thread today...my most recent review is of a novella you'd like that is reinforcement of Code Red.

139humouress
aug 15, 2021, 1:40 am

>137 PaulCranswick: Ah. Makes sense (?)

140humouress
aug 15, 2021, 1:41 am

>138 richardderus: Did so, thanks.

141humouress
Redigeret: aug 20, 2021, 5:30 am

Did you ever have one of those weeks, gals, dj'ya ever have one of those weeks? I have two teenagers in the house - and one doesn't even hit 13 until the end of the year. The other one is just at the end of two weeks of mock exams and his way of coping with the stress seems to be 'Nope. Not happening'. We seem to going through the 'worst mother in the world' scenario at the moment. And (on top of all the covid happenings) our area is in the middle of a dengue hotspot so the National Environment Agency has been going around houses checking for mosquito larvae. Unfortunately they did find some - only in one plant pot of all the dozens I have around the house and garden - so they've sent it off for testing to find out which species it is and will let us know the outcome - whether we'll be fined, for example - later. In the meantime, my parents and sister are in strict lockdown in Sydney and going stir-crazy.

I need me a dose of cheer-me-up.

142humouress
Redigeret: sep 21, 2021, 3:33 am

62) Dragonquest by Anne McCaffrey



{Second of original trilogy/ seventeenth of 27 of Pern series; fantasy, sci-fi, dragons}(1971)

The second of the original Pern trilogy it continues the story of the dragons of the planet of Pern and their riders who fight Thread, a voracious mycorrhizoid which occasionally crosses from a neighbouring planet and is inimical to life if allowed to land.
'Where was Thread seen?' he yelled up to the Igen rider still perched atop the Gate Wall.
'South!' The man's response was an anguished appeal. 'Across the bay from Keroon Hold. Across the water.'
'How long ago?'
'I'll take you there and then!'
The ripple of cheering grew as it spread back, as people were reminded that the Weyrs would go between time itself and catch Thread, erasing the interval of time lost
Although it focuses on Benden Weyr (a Weyr being where dragons and their riders live), its Weyrwoman Lessa, her partner F’lar and his half-brother F’nor and their dragons, with whom they are mentally linked, the scope of the book is planet-wide covering the adventures of the dragonriders of Pern (perceived as an elite society) and the politics of getting diverse groups to agree on how to fight Thread.
There wasn't a man alive in Pern who hadn't secretly cherished the notion that he might be able to Impress a dragon. That he could be linked for life to the love and sustaining admiration of these gentle great beasts. That he could transverse Pern in a twinkling, astride a dragon. That he would never suffer the loneliness that was the condition of most men - a dragonrider always had his dragon.
(I wanna be a dragonrider. Dragons fly, they teleport, they transverse time itself and they love you unconditionally. Although sometimes they'll countermand you for your own good.)

The triumphant conclusion to events of the story in Red Star Rising has been diluted by the seven years that have passed since then and new issues have arisen which F'lar and a group of like-minded people who want to do the best for their planet - including Masterharper Robinton, Mastersmith Fandarel, other (but not all) dragonriders and some (but not all) Lords Holder - try to solve. Including the perennial problem of how to get rid of Thread once and for all.

The story opens as a clutch of eggs laid by Ramoth, Lessa’s golden queen dragon, and most of it takes place before they hatch - although the hatching itself sets in motion the momentous events of the third book of this trilogy. The story is an interlacing of linked adventures, events (such as the discovery of 'ancient timer' labs and equipment) and decisions that occur across the planet but they are stitched together seamlessly and the narrative flows well. There are triumphs and tragedies; the dragon fight scene, especially, is riveting and ... but to tell you more would be to reveal too much.

There is a rumour that fire lizards - the small, mythical antecedents of dragons - have been spotted and now everyone wants to find one.
There isn‘t a beach along the coastline that doesn‘t have a dragon couchant, with rider a-coil, feigning sleep.
I have read this particular book many times before and I still love it. There were some things that I quibbled with before that I didn’t mind this time (such as 'why this person but not that person?') and some things that I’d glossed over before that jumped out at me, one of which was that despite it being written by a woman and having a cast of several strong female characters, I found it a bit misogynistic. It is always women (often specifically stated) who cook, clean, look after the weyr etc and (at this point) all dragonriders are male except for the queen riders. I like the romance but there is a passage that troubles me. It seems odd and doesn’t fit with the rest of those characters’ story; I suspect that McCaffrey didn’t intend it to come out that way. It may be a sign of the times that she was writing in (1971) when there were few female writers in the field of sci-fi/ fantasy and they were writing for a (perceived) male audience. I also thought Lessa's 'leaning' was ethically questionable, even if in a good cause.

However, despite the wide and varied cast and their distribution across different regions of the planet, I've rarely found it hard to keep track of the different personalities across the series which is a credit to the writing. (There is an instance in this book where two minor characters have similar names - male dragonriders abbreviating their names on Impressing helping the confusion in this case.)

Despite the seriousness of having to fight a planet-wide scourge, there are light moments too. For some reason, these are quotes that always come back to me:
'He has the entire Weyr hopping to when he itches and wants to be oiled. That‘s a lot of dragon to oil.' F'lar chuckled as much to reassure Corman who looked uncomfortable hearing a list of Canth's injuries as in recollection of the sight of Canth dominating a Weyr's personnel.
and (in response to the 'dragon couchant' quote above)
'Oh, you laugh?'
'Aye, and they‘ve made a note of both occasions that I did,' she said with due solemnity, but her eyes danced.
Although each book can be read as a stand-alone story, doing so may result in spoilers for other books. This is one series which might (therefore) benefit from being read in publication order. I'm sure I'll be re-reading this book and this series again.

August 2021
4.5 stars

Litsy notes

Re-reading for the umpteenth time. The misogyny is troubling me more than usual; could be a sign of the time it was written (1971)? Still loving it.

I want a dragon!

Litsy quotes

There wasn't a man alive in Pern who hadn't secretly cherished the notion that he might be able to Impress a dragon ...
(Still want a dragon 🐉)

There isn‘t a beach along the coastline that doesn‘t have a dragon couchant, with rider a-coil, feigning sleep.

Oh, you laugh?
Aye, and they‘ve made a note of both occasions that I did.

... the Weyrs would go between time itself and catch Thread ...

He has the entire Weyr hopping to when he itches and wants to be oiled. That‘s a lot of dragon to oil.

143curioussquared
aug 20, 2021, 12:09 pm

Sorry your week has been less than stellar! I also still enjoy McCaffrey, but there are definitely bits that haven't aged well.

144richardderus
aug 20, 2021, 12:17 pm

>142 humouress: I'd want Ruth, or a fire lizard...though life in a Weyr makes me coo and gurgle.

I'd never put the Search together with "revving up the gaydar" until I read The White Dragon.

You'll only be the Worst Mother Ever for a few more years. Then they'll spend the rest of their lives bragging about you.

145Berly
aug 20, 2021, 1:01 pm

>141 humouress: Ugh. Life is not easy right now. But I can assure you that your boys are wrong and you are one of the best moms in the world!! You can tell them I said so. Not that it will help. : )

Dragonquest!!! I read that series as a teen. Loved it.

Happy weekend!!

146humouress
aug 20, 2021, 2:36 pm

>143 curioussquared: >144 richardderus: >145 Berly: Thank you all for coming through for me when I'm going through the 'woe is me' phase!

147humouress
aug 20, 2021, 2:38 pm

>143 curioussquared: I think, if I'd been in a more cheerful mood, I'd have been a touch less critical. Those bits were always there but I could overlook them more easily before. Fingers crossed that this old favourite survives the test of time better than some others.

148humouress
aug 20, 2021, 2:43 pm

>144 richardderus: I see you're going for economy size but I also want to fly :0)

It's been a while since I read most of the Pern books. Dragonquest is one of the few I own, although I'm thinking of redressing the balance a bit and getting the other two in the original trilogy, amongst others. It never occurred to me before; but there are instances in this book that I noticed this time that could be construed that way.

149humouress
aug 20, 2021, 2:50 pm

>145 Berly: Thank you Kim! There have been days (in the past) when I was the best mum in the world and the worst at different times in the same day. Sadly, the 'best mum' part has been forgotten.

Re the Pern series, I think Red Star Rising was written as a one-off and the rest followed from there, so there may be more world-building in this instalment. I noticed bits that (going by my erratic memory) were setting the scene for future books - definitely for The White Dragon, which is the third book of the original trilogy. I'm reading this for the TIOLI challenge to read a book mentioned in Among Others, which was set in the 70s/ 80s, which period corresponds to our childhoods too.

150PaulCranswick
aug 20, 2021, 10:34 pm

Howdy neighbour!

New PM here across the straits and your pal in Kuala Lumpur will have his second jab tomorrow.

151humouress
aug 21, 2021, 2:04 pm

>150 PaulCranswick: Yes; I see he's your third in three years. I was hoping things would look up with the return of Mahathir and Anwar. Wishing you luck!

Good for you for the second jab. I hate needles - but now they're starting to talk about a third jab.

152humouress
Redigeret: sep 4, 2021, 3:51 am

63) Angels and Demons by Dan Brown

 

{First of 5, Robert Langdon series. Thriller, international, quest} (2000)

Angels and Demons is Brown's second thriller and the first in the Robert Langdon series. It follows Langdon, a professor of religious symbology, as he is called to CERN by its director to investigate the murder of a physicist there who has been branded with the old 'Illuminati' logo. The Illuminati were an organisation of scientists, now supposed disbanded, who were initially brought together by Galileo and who worked in secret from the Catholic church which opposed their learning, according to this book. The trail leads to the Vatican itself on the eve of the election of a new pope and then around Rome as Langdon - aided by Vittoria Vetra, daughter of the murdered physicist - races against time, following the Illuminati's centuries-old 'path of illumination' hoping to prevent the murders of four cardinals and recover the anti-matter particle she worked on before its containment field fails and vaporises Vatican City.

I found the first half readable but it didn’t grip me; it felt like Brown was showing off his research and occasionally it felt like he was belabouring the obvious.
His ancestors had formed a small but deadly army to defend themselves. The army became famous across the land as protectors - skilled executioners who wandered the countryside slaughtering any of the enemy they could find. They were renowned not only for their brutal killings, but also for celebrating their slayings by plunging themselves into drug-induced stupors. Their drug of choice was a potent intoxicant they called hashish.
As their notoriety spread, these lethal men became known by a single word - Hassassin - literally 'the followers of hashish'. The name Hassassin became synonymous with death in almost every language on earth. The word was still used today, even in modern English ... but like the craft of killing, the word had evolved.
It was now pronounced assassin.
I felt that much of the ‘cutting edge’ technology (such as the retina scanner) was actually mundane but that could be because the book was written over two decades ago and it has dated.

Once the 'treasure hunt' aspect started, at around the halfway point, it got more exciting and I enjoyed visiting the churches of Rome and ‘seeing’ the sculptures and buildings he described although I can’t speak as to his accuracy myself. I vaguely remember watching the film version with Tom Hanks; if he'd been present, it would have made the first part of the book more interesting :0) . The last part of the book was high drama and, while somewhat improbable, was fun to read.

I read this as an e-book and although there are 137 chapters, many of them were only a page or two on my screen (and may be even less than that in a paperback book). There are some humorous moments, such as when Vetra and Langdon are being held in the Swiss Guard's office and, hoping to speak to someone they know to get them out of a tight spot quickly, she logically (and insistently) presses 1 on the internal speed dial expecting to get the pope's office - and gets a recorded message from the Vatican's food delivery menu instead.

Brown puts together elements which I (as, I suspect, most people do) have enough knowledge of to find plausible, but not enough to dispute, to pull this thriller together. Although the first half was a bit heavy handed in parts, with Brown showing and then telling as well, and the last part was unlikely this was fun to read and watching Langdon and Vetra solve the puzzle held my interest.

3.5-4 stars

Litsy notes

Ch6 of 137. Finding it a bit ... heavy handed.

Published 2001
Ch 15. So now we‘re eyeing up the broad
Has some humorous moments, such as when Vittoria logically presses 1 on the internal speed dial expecting to get the pope‘s office - and gets the menu instead
Refers to Kohler‘s accident, Langdon‘s reason for claustrophobia, the camerlengo‘s miracle but (so far) hasn‘t expanded
The treasure hunt gets going around ch 64

'Langdon had only been in Kohler's presence a few moments and already sensed the director was a man who kept his distance. Langdon found himself practically jogging to keep up with Kohler's electric wheelchair as it sped silently toward the main entrance.'
😂 I don‘t think that pun was intentional... but it‘s funny

'Although Langdon was ashamed to admit it, his initial horror on hearing about the antimatter‘s location was not only the danger to human life in Vatican City, but for something else as well.
Art.'
'The world‘s largest art collection was now sitting on a time bomb.'(Ch 31)
'The entire power structure of the Roman Catholic Church is sitting on a time bomb.'

Tends to belabour the obvious.

153charl08
aug 23, 2021, 2:19 am

Sorry about the teenagers. I'm sure they'll be marvellous adults when they get there.

What happened about the eggs the inspectors found?

154humouress
Redigeret: aug 23, 2021, 8:40 am

>153 charl08: Thanks Charlotte. I can only hope :0)

They found larvae in different stages of development (I think they only take 3-5 days before they become adults) *shudder*. So far, we haven't heard back. My older son spoke to them (he was at home revising) while I rushed off to pick up my younger son from school, but he said we'd only hear back if the mosquitoes were dengue-carriers.

They were in a pot which has a second, raised base inside to keep plants out of water and it does have a drainage hole but a root from another plant had climbed in from the outside and blocked it. The water collected below the interior base and we didn't realise it was there. I am not, as you may recall, a fan of mossies.

155humouress
Redigeret: aug 23, 2021, 12:02 pm

Yesterday was my parents' 55th wedding anniversary so we had a Zoom cocktail session with them and my sister; needless to say, I'm feeling happier now ;0)

156humouress
Redigeret: sep 21, 2021, 5:39 am

64) Undercover Princess by Connie Glynn

 

{First of 3 of Rosewood Chronicles; children's, adventure, friendship, boarding school} (2017)

Fourteen year old Lottie Pumpkin has always loved the fairy-tales and stories about princesses that her mother told her when she was young but her mother died and now she has a ... well ... not quite nice stepmother. She has worked hard and fulfilled a promise to her mum by getting into Rosewood Hall school on a bursary. When she gets there, she is accidentally confused with the Maravish princess of Mardova but the two become friends and decide to continue the deception - and so Lottie realises her dream of being a princess. But then she discovers that being a princess brings life-threatening dangers with it too.

Meanwhile, Ellie Wolf - actually Princess Eleanor Wolfson, sole child of the king and queen of Mardova - just wants the chance to be a normal teenager.
But she was smart, she was confident and she was passionate – and for Alexander that was all far more important than any of the traditional values expected of her. Although occasionally he did wish she'd watch her language around her grandparents.
She has so far managed to avoid the social duties and parties that royalty is obliged to attend and is therefore not known outside the palace but now that she is scheduled to attend a finishing school (as her ancestors have done before her) she sees this as her last chance and applies incognito to Rosewood Hall instead.

This starts off as a boarding school story but evolves into an adventure story and things get serious.
'Ellie, this is different, I promise. They've –' he faltered for a moment, then looked back into Ellie‘s eyes – 'they‘ve brought your grandmother.'
I did think Lottie got out of a few lessons rather easily, presumably because she was (supposedly) a princess. I felt sorry for her best friend, Olly, left behind at home. He supported her on her journey to join the school and is disappointed when she goes to Mardova instead of going home for the holidays especially as she can't tell him the reason. Maybe he'll have a larger role in the next book.

The prologue begins:
There are places in our world in which wondrous and whimsical things seem more capable of happening than anywhere else. You can recognise them because they are thick with an atmosphere that seems out of time and place with the rest of reality. Sometimes they exist naturally, such as hidden waterfalls or secret meadows filled with flourishing wild flowers. Sometimes they are man-made, like empty playgrounds at twilight or dusty antique shops rich with history. But occasionally, although it is rare, these spaces exist in a certain type of person.
I found this story charming and very more-ish and the characters are believable. I think it would resonate very well with its target audience; reading it as an adult I enjoyed it very much.

August 2021
4.5 stars

Litsy quotes
There are places in our world in which wondrous and whimsical things seem more capable of happening than anywhere else. You can recognise them because they are thick with an atmosphere that seems out of time and place with the rest of reality. Sometimes they exist naturally, such as hidden waterfalls or secret meadows filled with flourishing wild flowers. Sometimes they are man-made, like empty playgrounds at twilight or dusty antique shops rich with history. But occasionally, although it is rare, these spaces exist in a certain type of person.

But she was smart, she was confident and she was passionate – and for Alexander that was all far more important than any of the traditional values expected of her. Although occasionally he did wish she‘d watch her language around her grandparents.

‘Ellie, this is different, I promise. They‘ve –‘ he faltered for a moment, then looked back into Ellie‘s eyes – ‘they‘ve brought your grandmother.‘

157richardderus
aug 24, 2021, 1:17 pm

Fifty-five years and all they got was some drinks?!? They deserve solid-gold crowns encrusted with flawless gems at the very least!

>156 humouress: It sounds very charming, though not for me. The idea of a princess being able to shake off the royal bonds sounds like the better deal to my adult self.

158humouress
aug 24, 2021, 1:40 pm

>157 richardderus: My mum had made a cake so we got to watch them eat it.

Re the princess; good point. That’s what the real princess gets out of the deal - the chance to pass as ordinary.

159richardderus
aug 24, 2021, 2:05 pm

>158 humouress: ...watch them eat a cake that she baked...not even flown in from Fauchon...you lot, I swaNEE.

160humouress
aug 26, 2021, 2:24 am

>159 richardderus: I confess; I was focussed on my son's mock exams and submissions and I thought I had a couple more days. I had stuff planned and when my sister proposed the call, I didn't realise until later that it was on the actual day. In my defence, my mum makes the yummiest cakes.

(Um ... 'swaNEE'?)

161humouress
Redigeret: sep 4, 2021, 3:48 am

65) Clockwork Boys by T. Kingfisher

 

{First of 2, Clocktaur War duology; fantasy, steampunk, YA} (2017)

We meet Slate as she is sneezing her way through the Dowager's prison. Slate is a forger but she has inherited a vague sense of magic - she smells rosemary (sidenote: I keep wanting to call her 'Sage') whenever her magic wants to warn her of something important but she's allergic to the scent (amongst other things). And she never seems to be able to hold on to handkerchiefs.
Slate tried to say, “Excuse me,” snuffled, and sneezed twice.
An eyebrow went up, but he didn’t say anything.
I suppose “Bless you,” is a little much to ask under the circumstances.
“Are you—damn—urrrggghhkk—” Her tongue pressed itself to the roof of her mouth as rosemary stormed the castle of her sinuses. There were no survivors.
The Dowager's kingdom (which doesn't seem to be given a name throughout the whole book) is at war and in imminent danger of being attacked by the clockwork boys being sent out of Anuket City. Slate and her erstwhile companion Brenner have been chosen for a mission to get to Anuket City to discover how to fight them; but they're no heroes. Slate is a forger (specialising in accounts) and Brenner is an assassin and this will be the third such mission being sent out, since the first one was destroyed and the second one has disappeared.
“Anyway it’s a suicide mission. You—and I, and a…coupla other people…will be going somewhere, and doing…err…something. Which is probably impossible, and we’ll likely all die.”
Joining them are Caliban, a failed paladin of the Dreaming God (currently in possession of the dead demon that previously possessed him), and the Learned Edmund, a monk of the Many Armed God, to whom the sight of women is anathema. Which could be a problem, since the Dowager has chosen Slate to lead the mission.
“Why are we bringing a woman?” he asked, peering down his nose at Slate. “I will not travel with one of their sex.”
Slate’s jaw dropped. The Captain put a hand over his eyes.
“I beg your pardon?” said Slate, clearly unable to believe what she had just heard.
“It is granted,” said the scholar, flicking his fingers outward in an abbreviated gesture of blessing. “Go forth and sin no more. Captain?” He turned away. “I believe I asked—”
Caliban and Brenner, acting with rare unity, reached out and grabbed one of Slate’s arms each, before anyone could learn what her sudden lunge in the scholar’s direction might mean.
Fortunately, he is only nineteen and has time to learn the error of his ways.

The clockwork boys are constructs (which may be organic or artificial or something in between - but nobody knows) which are eight feet tall, covered in cogwheels (which may or may not move them) and just about indestructible.
Down the road, three abreast, a column of Clockwork Boys came marching.
They were huge. They were horrible.
There were a great many of them.
The basic shape was centaur-like. Some had four legs, some had six. They stood between eight and ten feet tall.
...
The Clockwork Boys were the color of old ivory. Their heads—if it was anything so normal as a head—were blunt wedges, like a squared-off horse head. Slate caught a glimpse of what looked like inlay—carving—something.
Gears. They’re covered in gears, like barnacles. It’s how they move, somehow—but it doesn’t make sense. They’re alive, but they’re a made thing, but nobody could have made that, surely—
The story is told, in the third person, mainly from Slate's point of view, but sometimes from Caliban's, with the occasional interjection of their thoughts. A lot of the story is the snarky banter and interaction between the characters which I enjoyed. This particular passage, after their first day on horseback, has the power to get me giggling.
Brenner bounced by, stiffly, an expression of frozen horror on his face. He hadn’t been able to get down, either, and apparently any attempt to control his horse had failed utterly. The mare smelled food, and was roaming the yard looking for it.
Learned Edmund looked at Brenner. Brenner smiled horribly at him. His mare made another circuit of the yard.
Brenner and Caliban are both obviously potential rivals for Slate, although otherwise they seem to reluctantly admire each other.

I did find Caliban's demon confusing, though.
His own particular demon muttered down in the dark, ragged ends of syllables with no earthly meaning. Death hadn’t silenced it completely. It was a more familiar sound than the city, now, but not a comfortable one.
...
It was embarrassing that he’d spoken with the demon voice in the Captain’s office. He hadn’t meant to. It must have been the tattoo, or the tattoo artist. Magic made the corpse stir, as if something were walking past it and kicking up the flies. It took them a while to buzz and settle down again.
Although he asserted that it was definitely dead and its corpse was rotting in the back of his soul, it seemed to revive when confronted with another demon and seemed to act to protect Caliban.

I found some of the ideas (although not the story) reminiscent of Lois McMaster Bujold's Paladin of Souls which is no bad thing since that is one of my favourite books. I enjoyed this book which mainly introduced the story and covered the group's journey to Anuket City with a few diversions and adventures along the way. It ends as they ride through the gates into the city.

I picked this book up on my Kindle, having been hit by quite a few LibraryThing book bullets, and read it first about eight months ago. And now I've gone and got the second book.

4-4.5**** (this reading)
Looks like I enjoyed it more on the second reading; overall rating:

4 stars

Litsy notes

So many quotes highlighted in the first couple of chapters; I don‘t think it can keep up the pace. I‘m getting Paladin of Souls vibes from Caliban.

... and also the Learned Edmund

The clockwork boys are some kind of construct used by Anuket City in the war against the Dowager‘s kingdom (as yet - ch 6 - unnamed). Not known if they are organic or manufactured or some combination but it is Slate‘s and Brenner‘s mission to find out how to stop them.

Kindle quotes:

There are a number of smells one expects to encounter in a dungeon. Fresh rosemary generally isn’t one of them.

I suppose “Bless you,” is a little much to ask under the circumstances. “Are you—damn—urrrggghhkk—” Her tongue pressed itself to the roof of her mouth as rosemary stormed the castle of her sinuses. There were no survivors.

Slate had made peace with her god several times over in the last few days, but she commended her soul to heaven again just in case.

“Anyway it’s a suicide mission. You—and I, and a…coupla other people…will be going somewhere, and doing…err…something. Which is probably impossible, and we’ll likely all die.”

His own particular demon muttered down in the dark, ragged ends of syllables with no earthly meaning. Death hadn’t silenced it completely. It was a more familiar sound than the city, now, but not a comfortable one.

He looked at Slate instead. She was a small-boned woman, her eyes grey and glittering, like flawed quartz. She had dark brown hair in a thick braid down her back, and a long, mobile face. Her skin was a few shades lighter than her hair and her clothes were loosely cut and nondescript. Mouse brown, sparrow brown—some creature that relied on being small and drab and getting out of the way of predators.

It was embarrassing that he’d spoken with the demon voice in the Captain’s office. He hadn’t meant to. It must have been the tattoo, or the tattoo artist. Magic made the corpse stir, as if something were walking past it and kicking up the flies. It took them a while to buzz and settle down again.

The man who spoke was a wiry, compact fellow with heavy eyebrows and shoulder-length hair.

The man moved with more strength than grace, and yet, despite pacing wildly back and forth across the room (as he leapt up and began to do) his feet made no sound. He wore dusty black clothing, and his boots were very fine.

“Why are we bringing a woman?” he asked, peering down his nose at Slate. “I will not travel with one of their sex.” Slate’s jaw dropped. The Captain put a hand over his eyes. “I beg your pardon?” said Slate, clearly unable to believe what she had just heard. “It is granted,” said the scholar, flicking his fingers outward in an abbreviated gesture of blessing. “Go forth and sin no more. Captain?” He turned away. “I believe I asked—”

Caliban and Brenner, acting with rare unity, reached out and grabbed one of Slate’s arms each, before anyone could learn what her sudden lunge in the scholar’s direction might mean.

Down the road, three abreast, a column of Clockwork Boys came marching. They were huge. They were horrible. There were a great many of them. The basic shape was centaur-like. Some had four legs, some had six. They stood between eight and ten feet tall.

The Clockwork Boys were the color of old ivory. Their heads—if it was anything so normal as a head—were blunt wedges, like a squared-off horse head. Slate caught a glimpse of what looked like inlay—carving—something. Gears. They’re covered in gears, like barnacles. It’s how they move, somehow—but it doesn’t make sense. They’re alive, but they’re a made thing, but nobody could have made that, surely—

Review from December 2020:

{First of 2 Clocktaur War duology; fantasy, steampunk, YA} (2017)

We meet Sage as she is sneezing her way through the Dowager's prison. Sage is a forger but she has inherited a vague sense of magic - she smells rosemary whenever her magic wants to warn her of something important but she's allergic to the scent (amongst other things). And she never seems to be able to hold on to handkerchiefs.

The city of ... where she lives is under threat of attack from the city of Anuket who send constructs that those who have seen them and try to describe them cannot decide whether they are living beings or machines. The Dowager want to send a mission to Anuket to either find out how disable the constructs - known as 'Clockwork Boys' - at the source or bring back the secret of their creation to make them for her side. The first two missions have been unsuccessful so she is resorting to sending criminals on this third one. Along with Sage will go her erstwhile companion Brenner, an assassin, and one more whom Sage is in the prison to find. But the man she finds is demon-ridden.

This book tells us the story of how Sage, Brenner, Caliban and - eventually - the Learned Edmund meet, set out on their journey and the adventures that accost them on the way. As it ends, they are just approaching Anuket city walls, but there are still parts of their backstories that we have not yet learned. A lot of the story is the banter and interaction between the characters which is quite fun. Brenner and Caliban are both obviously potential rivals for Sage, although otherwise they seem to reluctantly admire each other, whereas the Learned Edmund (who is along for research) cannot bear to look at her or talk to her.

I did find the characters internal monologues a bit of an issue; granted, I have long conversations with myself inside my head but finding myself listening inside someone else's head was a bit disconcerting. Fortunately that tailed off after the initial chapters. The other issue I had was not always knowing whose head I was inside. The story (narrated in the third person) was told mainly from Sage's point of view but occasionally I would realise it had switched to Caliban's which was a bit confusing. I was also confused about the paladin's demon. It was dead (very definitely dead, he kept asserting) but it kept speaking through his mouth and seemed to have feelings.

But overall I'm looking forward to the next book.

3.5***

162humouress
Redigeret: sep 21, 2021, 1:36 am

66) We Three Heroes by Lynette Noni

 

{4.5 of 5 of Medoran Chronicles; YA, fantasy, adventure} (2018)

Three novelettes telling the stories of Alexandra Jennings friends; D.C., Jordan and Bear. Alexandra was called from our Earth (known as Freya) to Medora which is a magical/ technologically advanced world. I picked this up while waiting for the last book in the series to become available to borrow.

1. Crowns and Curses

Tells D.C.’s back story, growing up without friends, and how she came to the school and became Alex’s friend. I thought her parents were supportive but a bit too permissive, given the way outsiders might view her status as a princess.

3-3.5***

2. Scars and Silence

Takes up Jordan's story after his return; this story comes after Draekora. It shows his recovery from his perspective including flashbacks to when he saw his brother take his own life. This is a bit of a sensitive issue and didn't sit comfortably with me.

3***

3. Hearts and Headstones

Continues the story from Bear’s point of view, running concurrently with events in Graevale.

3-3.5***

This book fills in some details between the previous four books, focussing on Alex’s friends and should be read after Graevale to be able to follow the storyline and avoid spoilers from reading in the wrong order.

I confess that I didn’t really connect with the characters but I’m not the target audience; I was seeing things from an adult/ parent perspective. For instance, I wondered why Bear, a student, was given a particular project as opposed to, say, his older, genius brother. And I did find the way the word ‘shared’ was used a bit awkward as it kept knocking me out of the story - but I am aware that it’s trendy right now. I found the listing of helplines (in Australia) at the end a thoughtful touch.

Overall, an interesting side note to the series.

September 2021
3 stars

163humouress
Redigeret: sep 2, 2021, 4:11 pm

So, in my ongoing campaign against mozzies - who, if you remember, seem to find me irresistible - my husband bought a floor fan to blast them away from me. It worked so well that we got another one for the study. However, a certain dog has appropriated the one in the dining room, where he sprawls in front of it, merely moving to let the breeze cool him from a different angle. It has almost (almost) supplanted the kitchen threshold in his affections.

164richardderus
sep 2, 2021, 7:29 pm

>163 humouress: Sensible animal.
***
Normally I am a person who Knows My Own Mind. Startling, I realize, for you to hear this...as I've always been such a soft-spoken crowd-goer-alonger.

Stop laughing.

Anyway. I need help. The wisdom of the crowd is sought to help be decide between two equally strong contenders for Read of the Month. I am simply incapable to unparalyzing myself from the FOMO I get thinking about this problem.

Please vote on the poll or you will be directly responsible for my re-admission to the Goofy Garage this birthmonth.

165humouress
sep 3, 2021, 12:34 am

>164 richardderus: Hmm .... tempting. Should I vote or shouldn't I?

166humouress
sep 4, 2021, 4:36 am

Phooey, lost another one. I was reading a library book on Overdrive, hoping to finish it before it expired. Of course, I forgot to check if I could renew it until this morning, only to find that my iPad hadn't charged overnight (the cable is a bit finicky) and by the time I checked it on my desktop, it was too late. Now I'm in the queue again.

167PaulCranswick
sep 4, 2021, 6:05 am

>166 humouress: There are advantages occasionally to no decent library system!

Have a good weekend, Nina.

168humouress
sep 4, 2021, 5:47 pm

Thank you Paul.

I suppose that’s the downside to instant gratification :0)

169humouress
Redigeret: okt 8, 2021, 10:47 pm

67) Cast in Courtlight by Michelle Sagara



{Second of 16 Chronicles of Elantra; fantasy, sword and sorcery}(2006)

The events in this story follow almost straight on from those in the first book.

Kaylin Neya left behind her name along with her fraught past when she fled the fiefs of her childhood. As we all know, names have power.

She has been a Ground Hawk in the city of Elantra since she joined the Hawks at the age of thirteen, seven years ago. The Hawks, along with the Wolves and the Swords, keep the city safe and are answerable to the three Lords of Law. However, Kaylin grew up in the fief of Nightshade but the fiefdoms, which lie across the river, also lie outside the law and Kaylin had sworn never to return to Nightshade

As a healer - an almost unique power in the Empire - Kaylin is much in demand to help with difficult and dangerous births but this often makes her late (or, rather, even later) for her actual job as a Hawk policing the city of Elantra. But this power has recently brought her to the notice of the Dragon Emperor (not a courtesy title) who has decreed that she should be trained as a mage; unfortunately, Kaylin has always had little patience with lessons and ... ah ... frustrates the mages sent to train her.

But this book does not concern the Dragon caste. The two immortal races, Dragons and the elven-like Barrani, have always held themselves aloof, for the most part, from the mortal races. Kaylin does have a couple of Barrani friends in the Hawks and discovers that her friend Teela is a Lord of the Barrani High Halls when Teela whisks her there to attempt to heal the younger son of the Lord of the High Courts. Having done so, she is then invited back during Festival when she finds that things are not as they seem, although her discoveries are ... not aided by the inscrutable Barrani.
Teela lead them quietly. She paused as Kaylin paused and moved when Kaylin's attention was once again in the present. She did not ask what had caught Kaylin's eye. Sometimes it was the floor; the stones there had been laid out like a mosaic, or a series of mosaics. She almost hated to walk across them. She saw trees, birds, deer; she saw swords, armour and crown; she saw caves and mountains. The rivers that passed down the mountains were real; fountains were set at intervals throughout the Hall, blending with the floor. So, too, were flowers, and these were at least as remarkable as the floor itself.
'It has been long since mortals walked these Halls,' Teela told her not unkindly. 'And often they tarry. It will be expected,' she added, 'And lack of attention to detail might be seen as a slight.'
Given permission, Kaylin did tarry. The sunlight seemed endless, and the permutations of light through glass - for the walls were half glass, and all of it coloured and composed like hard tapestry - blended with the stonework of the floor.
She tried to remember that death was waiting. But it was hard to see death in these things.
She discovers that she still has work to do to drive back dark forces, this time within the Barrani court, although she finds that she is not alone as she makes more allies to go with existing ones. The mark that Lord Nightshade, the exiled Barrani lord, gave her in the first book turns out to be both a help and a hindrance, depending on the situation, as she navigates Barrani court politics.

I found that this book flowed a lot better than the first one and though I still had moments of confusion, many of them were resolved and I found the narrative quite more-ish. (I must say, though, that where Lord Nightshade was first scary and then protective in Cast in Shadow, now I‘m finding him creepy.)

Kaylin, for all her fierce independence and fighting skills, has spent the last seven years growing up with the Hawks and being protected by them to some extent so she still seemed a bit childish in the first book. Now she seems to be growing up and learning from her experiences - even deliberately ‘failing to notice’ things on a few occasions although she still tries to ask lots of questions. She also learns a bit more about events connected to the first book and how she inadvertently failed to save the world.

I'm beginning to see why people like this series and will be continuing with it soon. I think, too, that these first books could bear re-reading at some point, once I'm further into the series.

September 2021
3.5 stars

Litsy notes

This book (at the halfway point) flows better than the first Cast in Shadow and is quite more-ish. Kaylin, having grown up & been protected by the Hawks, was still a bit childish at times but maybe she‘s growing up now. Could be she has ADHD given her inattentiveness in her classes in the past? Where Lord Nightshade was first scary then protective in CiS, now I‘m finding him creepy

Finished. A definite improvement on the first though it still has the odd confusing moment

170humouress
Redigeret: sep 21, 2021, 6:10 am

68) FINNA by Nino Cipri

 

{First of 2(?) LitenVerse series; urban fantasy, parallel universes, adventure} (2020)

This was an intriguing concept where two workers (just-broken-up partners) work in ho-hum jobs at a furniture store (with a sky blue and sunflower yellow logo, so not one you'd know) and discover a dimensional wormhole. Apparently this is a not unheard of occurrence and connects our world's version of LitenVärld with LitenVärlds in other universes, some of which may be inimical. Since staff cutbacks have dispensed with the division that deals with such wormholes, Ava and her ex, Jules (who is genderless and very touchy about being assigned a gender by customers), are - as the two newest employees - volunteered to find the elderly customer who has wandered across the divide with only the 'FINNA' device and a quick viewing of a video (as in on a VHS cassette) to help them. The FINNA can locate the missing customer and then point the way back to our universe in case the original wormhole collapses.

Since the original wormhole does collapse, they have to work their way back to our Earth via other worlds, each with their own unique version of LitenVärld. And their own unique dangers.

Told from Ava's point of view, the book also deals with the relationship between the two protagonists. I found the different versions of the world interesting but the book was quite short and didn't really have time to explore the worlds nor for me to establish a rapport with the characters; there were some instances where I thought I should have been shocked but I was still processing the different worlds and so they just felt like part of the narrative.

I also found the use of 'them', 'they' etc in referring to Jules quite confusing, especially when the words were used in both the singular and plural (referring to both Jules and Ava together) in the same paragraph. I appreciate that both Jules and the author don't want to be assigned a gender but (without intending to be politically incorrect) it would be easier if someone could invent an universally acceptable alternative (I've seen 'xhe' used) because I've always found the formal, singular 'they' awkward.

I did enjoy the story, short as it was, and look forward to reading the sequel.

September 2021
3 stars

Litsy notes

Not sure if this one was written for us, because it is set in LitenVärld ??
LitenVärld is a furniture store chain that exists through the multiverses. Ava and Jules are asked to rescue a customer who has crossed a wormhole into another variation which may be inimical.
I did find the use of ‘them‘, ‘they‘ etc confusing because it was used as both the singular and plural and I wasn‘t always sure which was which.

171humouress
Redigeret: sep 6, 2021, 10:08 am

I finally got a close-up view of a parrot; I mean, if you’re going to live on a tropical island then there must be parrots. I was swimming in our back garden (I did forty laps!) (don’t ask how long a lap is) and saw a blur of green and blue wings as a bird landed in our neighbours’ tree and so I stopped and watched it until it flew off. For the longest time after moving here, I only saw pigeons, mynahs and sparrows but now I’m seeing more variety. It was only recently that I actually saw any flocks of parrots but they were always too far away or moving too fast to identify.

So this guy seems to have been a male rose-ringed parakeet, native to Africa and India but introduced to Singapore (much like the cockatoos) and there are feral populations around London. They’re a vivid green but even though the foliage of the tree he was sitting in was darker, he blended so well that at one point I blinked and lost him and had to stare a while before I found him again even though he hadn’t moved.


(image from Wikepaedia)

172humouress
sep 6, 2021, 10:05 am

Ooh; and there's a rose-ringed parakeet in the First Look Wildlife Photographer of the Year too. Mine had a longer tail though.

173The_Hibernator
sep 6, 2021, 11:33 am

"Here I come to read your thread!!!" (using Mighty Mouse song)

Cool that you saw a parrot!

>152 humouress: I read that way back when Da Vinci Code was the horror of Catholics across America. (Being a Catholic, I heard a lot about it.) I liked it better than Da Vinci Code.

174jnwelch
Redigeret: sep 6, 2021, 2:57 pm

Hi, Nina. I loved that Ranger’s Apprentice series. Will, Alyss and Horace are great characters. I read somewhere that Flanagan based these on stories he told his son. What a lucky son!

We read Tamora Pierce’s Alanna books with our daughter when she was the right age. We all had a good time reading them and discussing them.

I’ll have to take a look at Clockwork Boys. I’m a fan of snarky banter. :-)

175FAMeulstee
sep 6, 2021, 4:39 pm

>171 humouress: There are also populations of these parakeets in the cities here, Nina. I have seen (and heard) swarms of them around sundown. They seem to adapt almost everywhere.

>172 humouress: I think a large part of the tail is behind the tree at that picture ;-)

176richardderus
sep 6, 2021, 5:43 pm

>171 humouress: Parakeets are as adaptable as pigeons but far less tasty to cats.

This exhausts my store of parakeet lore.

177humouress
sep 7, 2021, 1:57 am

>166 humouress: Well, the book is available now as an audiobook so I’m trying it. I’ve started it at the beginning so I’m noticing the way the narrator tackles it since I don’t have to focus so much on the first part of the book. I’m noticing few differences; there was a whole passage that I didn’t remember - but I could have skimmed over it when I was reading. There was a bit on the extra letters in the Danish alphabet that they did modify for the spoken book.

178charl08
sep 7, 2021, 2:23 am

Ooh a parakeet! I love these. We had an excitement this weekend with a sparrowhawk eating its catch in the tree behind the house. (I thought it was a pigeon at first, but it was a lot clearer when I put my glasses back on.)

179SandDune
sep 11, 2021, 2:45 pm

>171 humouress: Very pretty! Apparently they have been seen locally to me (although I have never seen one myself). But as you say, there are lots in London.

180humouress
sep 11, 2021, 11:53 pm

>173 The_Hibernator: Hi Rachel! It's nice to see you out and about. I'm planning to eventually read the Da Vinci Code because I have Inferno on my shelves, which was a birthday present a few years ago.

181humouress
sep 11, 2021, 11:57 pm

>174 jnwelch: Hi Joe! Ranger's Apprentice is fun. I thought I'd read it with my son, but he finished the series years ago and has gone on to Brotherband. You remind me that I should go on to The Wonder Engine soon.

182humouress
sep 12, 2021, 12:00 am

>175 FAMeulstee: Oh, you're right Anita; I was assuming it was a short tail but looking again, that's actually the back wing and the tail does go behind the tree.

I read that there were parakeets in Amsterdam but I didn't realise that there were so many that you saw them before me :0)

183humouress
sep 12, 2021, 12:00 am

>176 richardderus: Gosh Richard, that's amazing. I suspect you have a rather larger store of cat lore?

184humouress
sep 12, 2021, 12:05 am

>178 charl08: Wow! I love seeing nature in real life as opposed to on a documentary. (I'm such a city girl.) I've seen a few raptors around here, but not close enough to identify properly apart from a brahminy kite. I thought I'd seen a garuda but I met some bird watchers by the canal when I was walking Jasper last week and they told me garudas don't live here, only in Indonesia.

Argh; the age and glasses thing ... I refuse to accept defeat.

185humouress
sep 12, 2021, 12:08 am

>179 SandDune: My audience was back again on Friday, just sitting hiding behind the leaves for a long while. I'll have to remember to take a phone or a camera out to the garden at that time.

186humouress
Redigeret: sep 30, 2021, 7:40 am

69) The Little Café in Copenhagen by Julie Caplin; read by Imogen Wilde

 

{First of 7 Romantic Escapes series; romance, Copenhagen, steam} (2018)

Kate Sinclair, angling for a promotion at her PR firm, is pipped at the post by her so-called boyfriend Josh who uses her idea. So Kate is palmed off with a project to bid for the account of Lars Wilder, a Danish businessman, promoting the art of 'hygge' (apparently pronounced 'hooge') - the indefinable sense of Danish style and comfort that its detractors dismiss as 'candles and cashmere blankets'. Surprisingly, she wins the account and is tasked with recruiting six journalists for a promotional trip to Copenhagen to discover hygge. She rounds up some contacts and, on a recommendation from Josh, phones the Sunday Inquirer to speak to Benedict Johnson - who shoots her down. Aiming to show Josh that she's fine without him, Kate attends an awards night at the Grosvenor Hotel wearing a simple, sexy Vera Wang creation where she meets someone to whom she's very attracted - but doesn't follow up on it.

Kate takes her journalists to Copenhagen - including (at the last moment) Benedict, who has been press-ganged by his boss into joining, which he's not too happy about - and although the start of the trip is a bit rough, the warmth of the Danish people rubs off on all of them. Fortunately, just around the corner from their hotel is Varme (meaning 'warmth'), the café owned and run by Lars's mum, Eva, where Kate finds refuge when the job gets too overwhelming.

Caplin takes us on a tour of Copenhagen and we have fun seeing it along with the little group.
The impressive Radhuspladsen with its huge tower, by now quite familiar to us because it could be seen from various parts of the city including the Tivoli Gardens, was a striking combination of austere and ornate. Built in sturdy red bricks, with rows of forbidding neat mullioned lead-paned windows on one floor which contrasted with the modern windows below, there were interesting architectural features like the two semi-circular bay windows topped with mini turrets and the elaborate crenelated affair on top of the roof, which brought to mind the palazzo in Siena.
I loved the friendship of all the characters and the romance; the attraction, the flirting, the friendship, the thoughtfulness, the hesitation, the gradual falling in love. I liked the way the little group, who at first seem incompatible, comes together as the trip goes along and end up being supportive of each other. For example, when they go to the Tivoli Gardens, Fiona (the shyest of them) uncharacteristically takes charge and decides that the group should go on the rollercoaster and Kate decides she should go along too, as a show of support - even though she's terrified of heights.
What the hell had I been thinking when I agreed to this? I think I let out a little involuntary whimper and with leaden legs mounted the next step on the staircase, my hand cramping on the handrail.
Ben turned my way. I raised my head with a determined who-me-scared lift of the chin and gave him an approximation of a smile, stretching my face in the right sort of direction and baring my teeth. It probably would have frightened small children and it didn’t fool him. His hand fumbled to take mine, giving it a quick squeeze. I closed my eyes, and squeezed back, waiting for his fingers to fall away but he kept my hand firmly clasped in his, stepping closer so that we were side by side.
‘You look terrified.’
‘I was hoping it didn’t show.’ My attempt at dry and deadpan failed big-time.
I felt perfectly happy, while reading it, if there wasn't to be a bedroom scene (even though the two leads would obviously end up together); well, there was a not-quite-made-it-to-the-bedroom scene which, to be honest, I felt didn't live up to the romance and I thought the book would have been just as good - or, even, better - without it.

My e-library-book expired when I was about halfway through and the only version I could find immediately (rather than wait for weeks for my hold to come back around) was an audiobook. It was read by Imogen Wilde who, I thought, did a brilliant job with the voices of the different characters (I say this with feeling, having attempted the feat while reading bedtime stories to my kids) including different accents, as appropriate.

I did like the way Caplin built the romantic tension and I had already borrowed the next in the series before I finished this book.

September 2021
3.5 stars

Litsy notes

Loving this; Caplin emphasises the romance & flirting & falling in love and the hesitation from both leads without the jumping into the sack. Getting towards the end now - she‘s really stretched out the anticipation. I could be in love 💕Imogen Wild does a brilliant job of narrating (yes; I finally got an audiobook, I was that desperate to finish it after my e library book expired)

Well, there was a not-quite-made-it-to-the-bedroom scene and TBH I felt it didn‘t live up to the flirting and falling in love and I thought the book would have been just as good - or, even, better - without it

Quotes
Ch 19: What the hell had I been thinking when I agreed to this? I think I let out a little involuntary whimper and with leaden legs mounted the next step on the staircase, my hand cramping on the handrail.
Ben turned my way. I raised my head with a determined who-me-scared lift of the chin and gave him an approximation of a smile, stretching my face in the right sort of direction and baring my teeth. It probably would have frightened small children and it didn’t fool him. His hand fumbled to take mine, giving it a quick squeeze. I closed my eyes, and squeezed back, waiting for his fingers to fall away but he kept my hand firmly clasped in his, stepping closer so that we were side by side.
‘You look terrified.’
‘I was hoping it didn’t show.’ My attempt at dry and deadpan failed big-time.

Ch 25: The impressive Radhuspladsen with its huge tower, by now quite familiar to us because it could be seen from various parts of the city including the Tivoli Gardens, was a striking combination of austere and ornate. Built in sturdy red bricks, with rows of forbidding neat mullioned lead-paned windows on one floor which contrasted with the modern windows below, there were interesting architectural features like the two semi-circular bay windows topped with mini turrets and the elaborate crenelated affair on top of the roof, which brought to mind the palazzo in Siena.

187libraian
Redigeret: sep 15, 2021, 2:45 am

Denne meddelelse er blevet slettet af dens forfatter.

188humouress
Redigeret: sep 18, 2021, 11:39 pm

Continuing on with my wildlife observations in this urban jungle, yesterday morning as I was walking Jasper we saw a snake crossing the path. It being the first time I’ve seen a snake in the ‘wild’ (as it were) in a while, we gave it a respectful distance (because of course it wouldn’t be dangerous but still) but I took a good look at it; it was fully black except what looked like some mud along its neck, and not big - about a metre long and a few centimetres thick. It went on its way and we went on our merry way and everything was fine.

Yesterday evening I remembered it and decided to look it up. It seems to have been a young spitting cobra (which are all black except for a white mark along their necks) ... and now I feel somewhat disquieted.

189charl08
sep 16, 2021, 2:42 pm

>188 humouress: Yikes!

>186 humouress: I like the sound of a tour of Copenhagen in a book. Will have a look for this at the library.

190richardderus
sep 16, 2021, 3:35 pm

>188 humouress: That doesn't sound terribly soothing to discover.

>186 humouress: That sounds like the right read for the moment. Thank goodness.

>183 humouress: Cat lore? "Evil Limb of Satan/hate machines with toxic spit" pretty much exhausts that vein.

191ronincats
sep 16, 2021, 6:48 pm

May be time to add a mongoose to the family!

192humouress
sep 17, 2021, 4:45 am

>189 charl08: Quite so. But it was minding its own business and I just wanted to have a look at it (from a safe distance) out of curiosity, so all was well - at the time.

It was fun to visit Copenhagen in a book. It gels with what I remember of it from our long-ago visit (my 17 year old was a toddler then); I only really remember the colourful houses along the Nyhavn waterfront and the Little Mermaid statue being smaller than I expected, to be honest.

193humouress
sep 17, 2021, 4:47 am

>190 richardderus: True, I was happier before I discovered that; but now I'll be more cautious so there may be a benefit. (As long as I still feel safe leaving the house.)

Was that cats or snakes? Though I think 'evil' is going rather too far.

194humouress
sep 17, 2021, 4:48 am

>191 ronincats: Good idea, Roni.

It's lovely to see you here again. I hope life is calming down, finally.

195humouress
Redigeret: sep 21, 2021, 1:48 pm

So the new MRT (mass rapid transport/ underground train) station has opened, a five minute walk away (which is mostly good but it does mean that this unusually quiet area of Singapore - less than suburban compared to where my BIL lives in Seattle but almost bucolic by local standards - has been getting 'upgraded' with larger roads, more shops etc). It was, to be honest, already scheduled before we bought our house about 15 years ago and was somewhat delayed by covid.

There was a piece in the lifestyle section of the paper about what foodie places could be found around each new station so now there are queues outside our round-the-corner food places (like the roti prata shop my kids like to get lunch from occasionally) and my husband says he spotted 'tourists' around here and at our nearest mall, which is now connected on the MRT system. (Isn't it hilarious that we have tourists ie people visiting from other parts of the island?)

The boys were initially quite keen ... for a couple of weeks; I tend to get to school to pick them up at the tail end of drive-through and they're always impatient so now they can be independent. But the other day my eldest was let out of school early, it being the run-up to his IB exams and the school seems to want the students to leave the premises because of covid rules and so he called to ask if I would pick him up. Since I was busy, I told him to take the train. 'But it's raining' he replied. Eventually, he did take the train; he managed to walk to the station because it was only drizzling. When I told my husband the story, his reply was 'You should have picked him up.' Not like my dad who, when we made a call from a payphone for a lift home after shivering in the cold and rain in winter, waiting for more than 40 minutes for a bus that was supposed to come every 20 minutes, would just reply 'Catch the bus.' (You see how the genes run, right?)

196humouress
sep 21, 2021, 1:49 pm

Okay; my reviews are up to date and posted up to the end of August (and a bit beyond). Now I can get on with some guilt-free reading.

197richardderus
sep 21, 2021, 2:31 pm

>196 humouress: ...as opposed to guilt-laden reading...? I'd never had you, erm, pegged as a reader of one-handed materials....

198humouress
Redigeret: sep 25, 2021, 12:46 pm

70) Accidentally Engaged by Farah Heron

 

{Second in series; romance, Canadian, East African Indian, culture, low steam} (2021)

After reading this and looking at Heron's other novels, I realised that this must be a sequel to The Chai Factor since the description talks about Reena's best friend Amina but, obviously, I didn't feel I missed anything by not having read it.

Reena Manji is the middle child of Canadian-Tanzanian-Indians. She's thirty-one years old, currently single and doing a job she doesn't love so that she can live on her own in an apartment (in her dad's building) and her parents can't interfere with her life. Quite as much. But she does have to go to Sunday brunch with them every week. As she's heading out for brunch one Sunday, she runs into her new neighbour, who is a hottie with a British accent and also from Tanzania, and there's instant attraction between the two of them; but then they realise that he works for her dad and their parents have arranged for them to get married, so that obviously pushes him off the boyfriend list.
A brown Captain America. Nice.
She stepped closer to the door—outwardly to help the man, but really to get a better look. Plus, Reena had questions.
How did he ride a bike while holding a six-pack?
Did he live here, or (perish the thought) was he just visiting someone?
And most importantly, did his front come anywhere close to matching that fine back view?
Reena pushed the door open for him and finally got a glimpse of his face: smallish eyes, thick brows, and dark, floppy hair. Plus, a meticulously trimmed douche-beard a touch too trendy for her tastes. What a shame. He did have that nice sweaty-man smell, though. God, it had been too long.
“Thank you,” he said as he passed through the door into the tiny hallway, leaving his bike outside. “I’m not sure I could have managed that on my own.”
Mystery man had a British accent! And a deep, almost aristocratic voice. Totally unexpected. He put down the case of beer in front of the door across from hers and took a key out of his pocket before turning to Reena. He stared wide-eyed for several seconds before speaking.
“You’re the one.” Dark brows raised as his mouth widened to a grin. “The goddess who makes my apartment smell like a bloody French boulangerie!”
Reena’s eyes widened. Goddess? She’d been called elfish, pixie, and even a sprite once by a Renaissance fair-type boyfriend, but Reena Manji was never a goddess.
“It’s driving me fucking mad!” Sexy-voice continued, tilting his head and winking. Kind of flirty, this one.
Reena reassessed her first impression of his face. When he was smiling, his dark eyes sparkled under the fluorescent lights of the narrow hallway, and his lips looked wide and expressive. And that voice? Kind of swoony. Couple that with the impressive physique, and Reena started to think today was looking better. Nothing like a little British Isles to spice up this building.
Reena's love is cooking multicultural food, especially baking artisanal bread and she's had her eye on a course which costs far more than she can afford. When a TV cooking contest comes up that would enable her to go on the course if she won, she discovers that it would also require her to film with a significant other. Well, there is Nadim next door and there are already sparks between them so maybe they can pretend to be a couple - but they can't tell her family because that would just open up a whole can of worms. Especially if it stops being pretence.

This was fun to read. I could relate to the parts about family because family always stick their oar into your business - 'for your own good' - and the asides where Reena's parents were obviously not au fait with social media (to be honest, my mum is probably more tech savvy than I am but I'm sure my dad's clueless about social media) (and my kids always accuse me of being a dinosaur). I may have sniggered a bit (although, what was with all the snorting by the characters? Not very elegant). Reena discovers that her family members are all keeping secrets from each other (for their own good) which hinders communication between them but it was amusing when they all discover that they're not actually secret. There are some slightly steamy scenes but the descriptions pretty much stop at kissing. There are some recipes at the end of this e-book that are featured in the story that I'm thinking of trying.

It's a feel-good romance and even though there was the obligatory hiccup, there was no deep tragedy because Reena realises that she is a stronger person than she was before. I liked the way that her relationship with her younger sister Saira evolves to a new level and I liked the mentions of life in Tanzania; it made me nostalgic for my own African childhood. Maybe I should get a baobab tattoo. If there's a sequel to this, I wonder if Heron would explore London or - especially - Tanzania. She made it sound delightful.

September 2021
3.5 stars

199PaulCranswick
sep 22, 2021, 12:57 am

>197 richardderus: Hahaha.

I would be happy to be able to concentrate on anything at the moment - guilty or not.

200charl08
sep 22, 2021, 2:57 am

>198 humouress: There's a big discount on kindle on this, so the sample may have just jumped into my library...

I had an hour journey home from school (the joys of public transport) so I'd have definitely said catch the train.
Would the environmental argument work?

201humouress
Redigeret: sep 22, 2021, 4:49 am

>200 charl08: You’d think they’d be worried about the environment but, unfortunately, no :0(

I think their mother slipped up on that one.

I hope you enjoy the book. It was a BB for me, too, from Natalie curioussquared

202MickyFine
sep 22, 2021, 11:37 am

>198 humouress: Glad to see you enjoyed this one, Nina. I read The Chai Factor a couple years ago and while I liked the concept I found the execution a little rough so I'm pleased to see this one sounds better.

203richardderus
sep 22, 2021, 11:47 am

>199 PaulCranswick: SOMEone appreciates me around here.

*hmmf*

The Chai Factor was on sale at some point, and made it onto my Kindle...no memory of when or why...and your report makes reading it sound much more like something I really will enjoy.

204humouress
sep 22, 2021, 10:46 pm

>202 MickyFine: Ah, maybe that's why The Chai Factor didn't hit my radar before. Well, if you do read this one, let me know how they compare.

205humouress
sep 22, 2021, 10:49 pm

>203 richardderus: I do appreciate you Richard, you know I do (so needy). When I'm feeling down I know I can always pop over to your thread and take it out on you ;0)

>199 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul! I'm sorry, I missed you too.

206curioussquared
sep 22, 2021, 11:13 pm

Glad you enjoyed Accidentally Engaged 😊

207humouress
sep 24, 2021, 10:42 pm

>206 curioussquared: Thanks Natalie.

208humouress
Redigeret: okt 10, 2021, 2:25 pm

71) Vardaesia by Lynette Noni

 

{Fifth of 5 of Medoran Chronicles; fantasy, YA, adventure}(2019)

The last instalment in the Medoran Chronicles sees Alexandra Jennings and her five closest friends - now paired off - journeying to the city of Vardaesia in Tia Auras (which always reminds me of the Maori greeting 'kia ora') to request the help of those immortals against the immortal Meyarin army Claimed by Aven Dalmorta which he is using to eradicate all mortal life on Medora. The first part of the book details the sequence of trials they have to undergo to prove that they are worthy of the Tia Aurans' aid and the last part is the final battle of the world against Aven and his army.
“Many eons have passed since we banished the Meyarins from our world,” Tayros said, his voice deep and silky smooth, like heated syrup. “We have no desire to reignite a war long since won.”
Alex had to bite her cheek to keep from jumping in, determined to wait until they were finished before she would argue her point again.
“However,” Calivere said, as if he and Tayros were tag-teaming their discussion. “The threat of the one named Aven does trouble us, if only due to the question of where he will next turn his gaze once he has conquered your world and slaughtered your mortal races.”
“This guy sure has a way with words,” Jordan muttered from beside Alex.
Calivere’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t engage other than to raise his head and watch Jordan emotionlessly from his throne.
When no one else said anything, Alex took that as permission to speak. Her heart pounding with hope, she asked, “Does that—Does that mean you’ll help us?”
It was Empress Saefii who answered.
“We will.”
Alex’s face broke into a wide smile as her spirits soared. She couldn’t believe it—after everything she’d been through to get to this point, it seemed surreal to receive such a positive response. She turned to share beaming looks with her friends, but all their expressions froze when it became clear that Saefii hadn’t finished speaking.
“We will,” the empress repeated, “but only if you prove yourselves worthy.”
This book brought the series to a fitting end, tying up all the threads quite well - though the time-loop paradoxes are mentioned but still left as mysteries.

I had a few small quibbles about this book; I felt that the writing could be a bit more polished (her English tends more towards American than British but I did catch one or two Australian phrases like 'Good on you, mate', which I appreciated) and Alex's boyfriend is a bit too perfect but I thought the final resolution worked. It seemed biased to me that all the non-fighters (who therefore were left to the healing and patching up) during the final battle were women, even though the main protagonist and the author are female.

As a whole the series was fun; my favourite instalment was Draekora, Alex's sojourn in the past before Aven turned. It could be me (I do seem to be remembering fewer details) but I could do with more physical descriptions of characters, especially Alex's friends, rather than their emotions because they don't seem to stick in my memory very well; there was one mention of DC's red hair which surprised me because I had forgotten that she has red hair (it's been a long while since that was last mentioned). Alex's parents are a bit convenient, disappearing for months on end so they don't get in the way of her adventures. I'm not sure my parents would be quite so blithe if I told them I was going off to sacrifice myself to save the world (and I'm not a teenager). Mind you, I doubt they'd believe it, either :0)

I see that Lynette Noni has written a couple of other series which I will have to check out soon.

September 2021
3 - 3.5 stars

“Alexandra Jennings, we have conferred in the wake of your tale and have brought you here to bear witness to our judgement,” Calivere said, his voice just as angelic as his features. But despite the soothing quality to his tone, his words caused a shiver of foreboding to travel down Alex’s spine.
“Many eons have passed since we banished the Meyarins from our world,” Tayros said, his voice deep and silky smooth, like heated syrup. “We have no desire to reignite a war long since won.”
Alex had to bite her cheek to keep from jumping in, determined to wait until they were finished before she would argue her point again.
“However,” Calivere said, as if he and Tayros were tag-teaming their discussion. “The threat of the one named Aven does trouble us, if only due to the question of where he will next turn his gaze once he has conquered your world and slaughtered your mortal races.”
“This guy sure has a way with words,” Jordan muttered from beside Alex.
Calivere’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t engage other than to raise his head and watch Jordan emotionlessly from his throne.
When no one else said anything, Alex took that as permission to speak. Her heart pounding with hope, she asked, “Does that—Does that mean you’ll help us?”
It was Empress Saefii who answered.
“We will.”
Alex’s face broke into a wide smile as her spirits soared. She couldn’t believe it—after everything she’d been through to get to this point, it seemed surreal to receive such a positive response. She turned to share beaming looks with her friends, but all their expressions froze when it became clear that Saefii hadn’t finished speaking.
“We will,” the empress repeated, “but only if you prove yourselves worthy.”
Just like that, Alex’s hopes crumbled.
“How would we do that?” Kaiden asked carefully.
It was to Alex that Saefii directed her answer.
“If you wish for us to come to your world and help you defeat Aven Dalmarta, then you must pass through Tu’eh Saeron ess Telari.” Saefii didn’t know Alex had an inner Tia Auran translator, so the empress spoke the common tongue equivalent aloud for all to hear. “You must undergo the Gates of Testing.”

209humouress
Redigeret: okt 12, 2021, 2:24 pm

72) Princess in Practice by Connie Glynn

 

{Second of 3 of Rosewood Chronicles; children's, adventure, friendship, boarding school} (2018)

Continuing shortly after the end of the first book, Lottie continues as Portman to stand in for the Maravish princess Eleanor Wolfson, starting with the celebration of the 'princess's' fifteenth birthday just before they return for another school year at exclusive Rosewood Hall.
‘I found a job,’ Lottie said. They were the first words that came to her.
‘What?’ Ollie’s brow creased in confusion.
‘I mean,’ Lottie started again. She just had to tell him quickly, like ripping off a plaster. She let her breath out in one long go. ‘Ellie is the undercover princess of Maradova.’ She glanced over at her friend and Ellie nodded encouragingly. Lottie swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry. ‘During my first weeks at Rosewood, a rumour started that I was the princess. So Ellie and I decided to swap identities. I’ve been hired by her family as a Portman – someone who pretends to be a member of the royal family so that the actual royal member can live a safe and normal life. That is, until they’re ready to officially take up their role.’ Lottie took another deep breath as she finished speaking.
Now, thanks to the kidnapping attempt on the princess, they are aware of the shadowy organisation called Leviathan, which is targeting the children of rich and powerful people, and life has become more dangerous so it is up to Lottie and Jamie, her Partizan (dedicated bodyguard), to keep Ellie safe.

As they try to find out what Leviathan is planning, they realise that some of their friends may have useful information especially as some of them may be in danger, which results in them pooling resources. There was one particularly funny chapter where the whole group of friends was out after curfew, following each other in the dark without being aware of each others’ activities. The danger and her admiration of their characters draws Lottie closer to both Ellie and Jamie; but who will her heart choose?

This mixes a boarding school story with a larger world plot involving heirs and heiresses, some of whom are Lottie's, Ellie's and Jamie's school friends, as well as secret tunnels and hidden histories though there is a touch of supernatural too. Despite the Enid Blyton premise I found the story well written and compelling and the characters feel real, within the story; unlike some children's/ YA books, it didn't talk down to its audience. There are, as you would expect in any real life boarding school, a good mix of nationalities and ethnicities (Jamie's mother, for instance, was Pakistani). Lottie feels conflicted at representing the Wolfson family as her own in public, especially as she still misses her mother. Her one link to her own life is Ollie, her best friend from home, and it’s nice to see him play a part in this book.

I am enjoying this series, which goes beyond the usual boarding school adventures.

September 2021
4 stars

Here she was now, about to tell him the truth. Would that be another mistake? The truth could expose him to the very dangers she’d been trying to protect him from.
‘I came back to explain myself,’ Lottie said calmly, ‘even though this is probably a terrible idea.’
‘It is,’ Jamie said from the doorway. Lottie scowled at him before turning back to Ollie. He was spooning his third sugar into his tea, his eyes trained on her. Watching, waiting.
Lottie cleared her throat nervously. ‘Ollie, before I explain, I need you to promise two things.’
Ollie’s eyebrows furrowed. ‘OK …’ He sounded less than convinced.
‘I need you to promise that you will never, ever tell anyone what I’m about to say.’ Ollie’s glance darted over towards Ellie and Jamie, who were trying their best to stay inconspicuous and failing terribly. He opened his mouth to speak, but Lottie cut him off. ‘And I need you to promise that you will under no circumstances try to get involved in any way.’
‘Well, that’s no fun,’ Ollie said, laughing in Jamie’s direction as if he expected him to join in. Jamie didn’t even crack a smile, but Ollie did get a small chuckle from Ellie.
‘I’m serious, Ollie. You have to promise me.’
He rolled his eyes. ‘Fine, I promise I won’t … do either of those things.’
‘I found a job,’ Lottie said. They were the first words that came to her.
‘What?’ Ollie’s brow creased in confusion.
‘I mean,’ Lottie started again. She just had to tell him quickly, like ripping off a plaster. She let her breath out in one long go. ‘Ellie is the undercover princess of Maradova.’ She glanced over at her friend and Ellie nodded encouragingly. Lottie swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry. ‘During my first weeks at Rosewood, a rumour started that I was the princess. So Ellie and I decided to swap identities. I’ve been hired by her family as a Portman – someone who pretends to be a member of the royal family so that the actual royal member can live a safe and normal life. That is, until they’re ready to officially take up their role.’ Lottie took another deep breath as she finished speaking.
Ollie’s teaspoon made a clinking sound as it fell against his mug of tea. ‘Is this a joke?’
Lottie shook her head.
‘But you have different names. How does this work?’
Lottie had always been a little touchy about her name but it had come in handy.
‘Oh, well, very few people actually knew the princess’s name and, well … everyone assumed Lottie Pumpkin was a fake name, so they just thought it was part of the undercover-princess thing and –’

210humouress
Redigeret: okt 10, 2021, 2:33 pm

73) Marian Halcombe by Brenda W. Clough

 

{First of 5 (so far) in Marian Halcombe series; historical fiction, Victorian}(2021)

This story is apparently based on the character ‘Marian Halcombe’ in Wilkie Collins's The Woman in White, which I hadn't realised when I requested it; I was attracted by the tagline 'the most dangerous woman in Europe'. Not having read any works by Collins, I didn't have preconceptions with regards to his style of writing or the character. A quick look at Wikepedia caught me up on the story in his novel, which is set in Victorian times. This e-novel is divided into six books although the narrative forms one story rather than separate episodes.

Book 1
In which Marian is courted. (1857): I found it slow going to start with, probably because it's not my preferred genre and Clough utilises a writing style which, presumably, would match the original; it does work, for the most part (I'm comparing it mentally to the Brontës' style though it's been a long time since I've read them), although there is the occasional slight slip. It is written as a selection of journal entries from Marian's diary and letters between herself and her sister or her suitor and mentions a few contemporary books (including references to ‘Arsène Dupin’ which must be a version of Arsène Lupin) and events, which enable the reader to place the story in time. There is a fair bit of nonsense about a woman's place being subservient to a man's (according to society and legal standing) when - I assume - the author has tongue firmly in cheek. It is short but sweet. 3.5**** (could have been higher but for brevity)

Book 2
In which there is a setback to Marian’s romance (1858): The narration (in the first person) alternates between Marian and her brother-in-law, Walter Hartright.
I like this quote:
With an effort I kept my face straight. ‘It was ill done of you, Camlet, to put her into that condition. She wields it like a brace of pistols, ruthlessly exploiting it at every opportunity.’

Book 3
In which Walter Hartright’s detective skills are called upon as there is a further setback.

Clough works the rights (or not) of women and the terrible conditions in gaols in those times into the narrative (although I don’t have enough knowledge to comment on her accuracy but it aligns with the little I do know). It does, for the most part, fit fairly comfortably into the story.

Book 4
In which Marian and Walter investigate further: We read her own written account by the most dangerous woman in Europe. (This would make an interesting novel in itself if Clough were to write it in full, which I’d like to read.) I noticed (and liked) the fact that both Marian and Walter are instrumental in resolving the case.

Book 5
In which Marian and Laura face down danger and Walter’s artistic talents are required.

Book 6
Endings. And beginnings.

I found the story interesting overall and it flowed well, although I still have a couple of questions that weren't answered. I liked the touches of humour interspersed through the story. Clough highlights some of the conditions of Victorian England that no longer exist (for instance the state of Newgate Prison, the miasma caused through London by the rubbish clogging up the Thames - and perish the thought of women asking for the right to vote) although it feels more like information for the present day reader than having impact as it might have done if it had been read in Victorian times. And though Marian is an independent character, she still defers to the rights that men (her brother-in-law and then her husband) have over her actions and property but despite this I still felt she was more modern than, say, Jane Eyre. 'Jane Eyre' (as a character in a book) and Charles Dickens (the author) are referred to a few times in the story; Dickens himself even makes a cameo appearance.

Although historical fiction is not my go-to genre I have the next book, thanks to LT Early Readers, and I am happy to continue with the series.

September 2021
3.5 stars

211humouress
okt 12, 2021, 2:25 pm

September reviews done and dusted.