Saevus Corax Deals with the Dead — K. J. Parker

16 January 2024 By 5t4n5

Saevus Corax Deals with the Dead -- K. J. Parker

Ancillary Mercy — Ann Leckie

20 September 20231 November 2023 By 5t4n5

The final episode in the Imperial Radch Trilogy, and quite a good page turner it was.

We;re still at the space station and planet system but “She” has turned up, and it’s one of those “She’s” that really doesn’t like Breq.

So all kinds of chaos and fun ensues with some great new characters thrown in to spice things up.

I did feel the ending was a bit lacking, as in it didn’t finish the trilogy off neatly, leaving lots of openings for further stories — which is a good thing because there’s four more books in this universe to read next. Hopefully we’ll get to find out what happens next during one of those stories.

So that’s exactly what i’m going to do now, start reading those four stories, beginning with Night’s Slow Poison.

Bye for now.

Ann’s Page

#scifi #annleckie

Eddy’s Little Day — Joseph R. Lallo

16 July 20234 November 2023 By 5t4n5

Eddy's Little Day -- Joseph R. Lallo If you enjoyed Joseph’s Book of Deacon side story The Adventures of Rustle and Eddy then you’ll love this little story.

Eddy borrows a few spells from his sister and goes off on an adventure to find Rustle, who hasn’t turned up for his latest visit.

Yes, those naughty fairy catchers are at it again, but they didn’t factor Eddy into their accounts.

I really enjoy the Rustle and Eddy stuff, so this was a very welcome sequel which i also really enjoyed.

Bye for now.

Joseph’s Page

#fantasy #josephrlallo

An Ivy Tale — Joseph R. Lallo

16 July 20235 November 2023 By 5t4n5

An Ivy Tale -- Joseph R. Lallo A nice little side story for all you fans of Joseph’s Book of Deacon series.

Ivy goes on a wander to cheer herself up when she gets a bored after saving the world and becoming an ambassador. One day, during her wander, she walks into an inn where Malthropes aren’t exactly made welcome.

A sweet little story.

Bye for now.

Joseph’s Page

#fantasy #josephrlallo

What Lot’s Wife Saw — Ioanna Bourazopoulou

5 July 202321 March 2024 By 5t4n5

What Lot's Wife Saw -- Ioanna Bourazopoulou I read this soooo many years ago and decided to put it away for a few years before reading it again. But the years came and went and finally i jumped in and did it.

And yes, i enjoyed it totally again.

It’s a rather strange book dealing with authoritarian rulers and their lackeys, but what happens if the lackeys decide to do something unexpected?

Set in a colony on where the Dead Sea used to be before it overflowed and flooded all the Mediterranean’s surrounding countries. The colony now mines the special, addictive, purple salt that was sealed down beneath the ground and sells it to the rest of the world.

The authoritarian 75, based in Paris, own the colony and have a global monopoly on the salt it produces. They have sealed it off from the outside world and only keep in contact with the governor via a green box delivered by a special ship. the governor, in turn, instructs his 6 lackeys to do his bidding.

And then, one night, things all change. The governor’s 6 lackeys send 6 letters to the 75 explaining what happened and they in turn bring in Phileas Book, a constructor of strange crosswords for The Times to decipher the chaotic letters and to work out what the truth is and what really happened in the colony.

It’s a really strange story and quite unlike anything else i’ve read, but it is totally enjoyable and has a great ending.

Bye for now.

Ioanna’s Page

#fantasy #ioannabourazopoulou

The Midnight Library — Matt Haig

18 June 202311 November 2023 By 5t4n5

The Midnight Library -- Matt Haig A bit of a strange book. I like the idea of being stuck in limbo, just on the edge of death, and going through all your regrets and considering what you could have done differently; how it might have all worked out if only you’d gone for that cup of coffee, or hadn’t quit the band, etc.. But what i don’t like at all is why it had to be dumped into the parallel/multiple universe twaddle. Parallel/multiple universe twaddle is just twaddle and it really doesn’t need promoting.

Scientists who bang on about god being nonsense who then claim that every time we make a decision a whole new universe if formed are obviously more deluded that people who believe in god – and that’s pretty deluded.

Schroedinger’s cat is not neither alive nor dead, it’s not stuck in a quantum state in between. It’s either dead or alive, one or the other, you can’t have both. Locking it in a toxic box and pretending that it’s neither of either until you open the box is just the most ridiculous thing to come out of science. Yes, if a tree falls in the woods and you don’t hear it does still make a rather big noise, ask the fox.

That said, if you just read the book as about someone stuck in limbo, in that timeless moment just before death, then it’s a really good book. It just doesn’t need the twaddle.

Bye for now.

Matt’s Page

#fantasy #matthaig

The Paladin of Golota — P. DjÃ¨lÃ Clark

4 February 2022 By 5t4n5

The Paladin of Golota, written by P DjÃ¨lÃ Clark.

Once again, DjÃ¨lÃ writes the perfect short story, this one about zealots going to the battle fields of Golota to kill and die for their respective gods.

On the floor dying, is Zahrea, one of the zealots, and waiting to pick her body clean of valuables is Teffe, a picker, one of the local orphans who survive by combing the fields after each battle for anything worth selling. Teffe doesn’t believe in gods but while he waits for Zahrea to die he has no choice but to listen to everything she has to say about that.

Super good.

This is available in the periodical, Heroic Fantasy Quarterly — Issue 37.

Next up on DjÃ¨lÃ’s timeline, from 2019, is The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington

P. DjÃ¨lÃ Clark’s Page

#fantasy #pdjeliclark

The Angel of Khan el-Khalili — P. DjÃ¨lÃ Clark

1 February 2022 By 5t4n5

The second story from the Dead Djinn Universe, which i only just got hold of with it having been quite some time since i finished the other three books (silly me thought it was a trilogy). But not to worry, while it would have been better to have read it before The Haunting of Tram Car 015, it was very much worth reading still and doesn’t detract from anything i’ve already read in this series.

Once again, all the super good writing we’ve come to enjoy from DjÃ¨lÃ, my only question would be is will there be any more Cairo books? I do so hope so, this is a fantastic world DjÃ¨lÃ has created that begs to be explored a lot more. And i totally recommend this whole series for everyone, even if you’re not already into steampunk flavoured fantasy with a North African twist you soon will be.

This is available in the anthology, Clockwork Cairo and also can be read for free over at Tor.com.

P. DjÃ¨lÃ Clark’s Page

#steampunk #fantasy #pdjeliclark

A Practical Guide to Conquering the World — K. J. Parker

1 February 2022 By 5t4n5

The third instalment in The Siege. The first two thirds of the trilogy were excellent, this book has a lot to live up to.

As soon as i got a copy of this book i dropped everything else i was reading and jumped straight in: that’s how much i enjoyed the first two books of the trilogy.

Once more, great writing with great characters being forced into corners and having to do whatever it takes just to survive another hour or so, because you only need another hour or so to figure out how you can find a way to survive the next hour or so. Fortunately for us avid readers our protagonists in these stories always find a way to keep surviving all those next hours or sos and thus the story keeps on rolling along with calamities and shenanigans abounding.

To be honest, i was sold on K. J. Parker’s writing after the first book, Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City, the second book, How To Rule An Empire and Get Away With It, just confirmed that i wasn’t mistaken in my assessment, and this book now makes me realise that i’ve been missing out on some great writing for over 20 years, but hey, now i can go back and read the complete K. J. Parker back catalogue and really enjoy myself.

So yeah, if you’re looking for a good fun read then do give The Siege trilogy a go, i’m sure most people with even just a tiniest smattering of a sense of humour will enjoy these books.

K. J. Parker’s Page Tom Holt’s Page

#fantasy #kjparker

Skin of the Sea — Natasha Bowen

24 January 2022 By 5t4n5

Natasha’s Page

#natashabowen

A Voyage Through Air — Peter F. Hamilton

23 January 2022 By 5t4n5

Peter’s Page

#scifi #peterfhamilton

The Hunting of the Princes — Peter F. Hamilton

23 January 2022 By 5t4n5

Peter’s Page

#scifi #peterfhamilton

The Secret Throne — Peter F. Hamilton

23 January 2022 By 5t4n5

Peter’s Page

#scifi #peterfhamilton

The Things My Mother Left Me — P. DjÃ¨lÃ Clark

23 January 2022 By 5t4n5

More great fantasy story telling from DjÃ¨lÃ. And i’m definitely looking to return to this issue of Fantasy magazine once i’ve got done reading the rest of DjÃ¨lÃ’s books.

This is available in the periodical, Fantasy Magazine — Issue 60.

Next up in my P. DjÃ¨lÃ Clark reading festival will be The Angel of Khan el-Khalili, which i seem to remember reading is just an excerpt from A Dead Djinn in Cairo. Which i’ll be perfectly happy reading again anyway, so who cares anyway?

P. DjÃ¨lÃ Clark’s Page

#fantasy #pdjeliclark

With a Golden Risha — P. DjÃ¨lÃ Clark

16 January 2022 By 5t4n5

Available in the periodical, Heroic Fantasy Quarterly — Issue 23.

To begin, a risha is to an Arabian oud as a plectrum is to a guitar. If you want to know more you can read all about ouds and rishas by clicking here.

So, with that out of the way, let’s get to a review.

Great book. This is early DjÃ¨lÃ introducing steampunk elements into his fantasy. Our story begins with our oud player, Saleh, getting rescued by a philosopher pirate (captain who’s not a captain), Usman, and the rest of the crew of the airship The Beggar. Then we’re off on a 537-kindle-loc-point adventure to find treasure, amongst which is a magical golden risha with which Saleh gets to play his oud.

I really enjoyed this book and hopefully, one fine day in the future, DjÃ¨lÃ might even sit down and write some more stories with Saleh and Usman. There’s got to be some great stories to be told about a philosopher pirate captain and his side-kick minstrel oud player.

And so, next up in my DjÃ¨lÃ reading list will be The Things My Mother Left Me