|
|
Posted by Grete, on June 26th, 2009  Booklover Laura Horsley is a shy, quiet girl who loves her job working in a small bookshop. When the owner decides it’s time to retire, she finds herself in the scary position of having to find new employment. Against her better judgement, she agrees to help organise a literary and music festival in the countryside and a moment of misunderstanding leads the committee to think she personally knows one of the literary world’s brightest and more reclusive stars. With the funding, band involvement and other author attendance all dependent on Dermot Flynn attending, she is given the task of tracking him down personally and getting his involvement. No small task then, especially since she’s had a crush on him since University and first read his books!
I thought this was an incredibly sweet book. I loved the characters, especially Laura and Dermot and groaned each time they had a missed opportunity be it from bad timing or misunderstandings. The pace of the story was good and as the run up to the festival started, you felt the pressure and urgency mounting which I thought was very clever. It was involving and interesting and I loved seeing Laura come out of her shell. I think a lot of people will see themselves in the character, myself included. There were several funny moments that had me laughing and there were also some very touching scenes which were nicely done. It was very enjoyable, couldn’t put it down and I think it’s definitely one of Katie Fforde’s best books.
Rating: 
Posted by tony, on June 20th, 2009 The first David Gemmell Legend Award for Fantasy was held last night in London, the following press release gives information on who won.
The David Gemmell Legend Award for Fantasy
Winner announced
The first annual David Gemmell Legend Award for Fantasy has been won by Andrzej Sapkowski for his novel Blood of Elves (published in the UK by Gollancz).
The Award was accepted on Sapkowski’s behalf by his UK editor, Jo Fletcher.
Presented before an audience of publishing industry professionals, authors, media and fans at the Magic Circle headquarters in Euston, London on 19th June, the Award has been established in memory of fantasy author David Gemmell, who died in 2006. The trophy, supplied by Raven Armoury, takes the form of a butterfly axe, named Snaga, that featured in Gemmell’s fiction.
Born in Poland in 1948, Andrzej Sapkowski worked in business before turning to writing. His cycle of tales set in the world of The Witcher have made him a bestseller in his native Poland and internationally.
The other shortlisted authors were:
- Joe Abercrombie: Last Argument of Kings (Gollancz & Pyr)
- Juliet Marillier: Heir to Sevenwaters (Tor)
- Brandon Sanderson: The Hero of Ages (Tor)
- Brent Weeks: The Way of Shadows (Orbit)
Each of the runners-up were presented with a miniature version of Snaga.
The Award was decided by an open ballot, and attracted over 10,000 votes from 75 countries.
**Photographs of the award ceremony to follow.
Further information: millerlau@clara.co.uk
Official website: http://GemmellAward.com
Stan Nicholls (Chair)
Deborah Miller (Award Administrator)
The David Gemmell Legend Award for Fantasy
Posted by Grete, on June 17th, 2009  Since Gabriel Stern has made it abundantly clear he neither wants nor needs Sam Ryan as a partner, she succeeds in being reassigned only to get a bodyguard detail. The downside is, the man she is assigned to isn’t the real person, he’s a clone and people linked to the base of Hopeworth keep dying. With confusing hints about her childhood and where she came from appearing at random intervals and the mysterious Joe Black who claims to be a friend but her senses say otherwise, will the truth finally come out? With her abilities continuing to develop at a rapid pace, Sam fears she is no longer human, if she even was to start with. All answers seem to lead back to the ex-military project known as Penumbra.
This is the third book in the Spook Squad series and it continues the story nicely. Sometimes in a series, each book stands alone with just the main characters linking them, but Keri Arthur has integrated the storyline seamlessly across the three books. As far as I can tell it was promoted as a trilogy but the story seems far from over. You get a lot of the answers you seek but it’s lacking aftermath and a few things like her attraction with Gabriel Stern are left unexplored. There is also one huge thing left to resolve but I won’t mention it here as it would be a major spoiler. Maybe that was the intention but it felt unfinished so I am hoping there are more books in the works. Again, the characters made the story for me, I love Sam and her ‘I can take care of myself’ attitude which she can even back up. I still want to smack Gabriel occasionally but he is getting easier to deal with, as emotions he has long had locked away start coming out. All three books have been very entertaining and as I said, I hope there will be more!
Rating: 
Posted by Grete, on June 14th, 2009
Posted by Grete, on June 13th, 2009
Posted by Grete, on June 13th, 2009  If you haven’t read the Black Jewels Trilogy then stop reading this review, go and buy, borrow or request them from the library this instant! You won’t be disappointed and they are without a doubt among my top 5 must read books.
The Shadow Queen is a novel set in the Black Jewels world and introduces new characters set in Dena Nehele in the realm of Terreille. Dena Nehele was the location where The Invisible Ring was set but this story is in the present. After the Witchstorm was unleashed and all the blood who carried the taint and corruption of Dorotea were wiped out, many places in Terreille were left vulnerable and open to attack from the ordinary Landens. The bloodline of Lia and Jared has weakened and only one male heir is left, and he is desparate to restore Dena Nehele to it’s former glory and return to the old ways of the Blood. To do so he needs a queen and as a legend was handed down through his family line, there might be a man who owed the family a favour and could help. He didn’t bank on that man being Daemon Sadi nor have to petition the former Queen of Ebon Askavi Jaenelle Angelline, who is also Witch and Daemon’s wife.
I loved this book. I loved having new characters brought into it who had connections to those from The Invisible Ring but above all I loved seeing Daemon, Jaenelle, Lucivar and Saetan again. Anne Bishop created something so magical when she wrote the Black Jewels Trilogy and I go back and read them time and time again and still fall in love with them anew. Her writing is beautiful, fluid and so easy to read, her characters attractive and lovable. Her plots tend to follow along similar lines but there is an overall reason and really, the plot is secondary to the characters. I think I would read absolutely anything written by her to do with the Black Jewels world and I hope she continues to write about it and let us play there in our imaginations. I couldn’t put the book down and finished it in pretty much one sitting, and now I want to go and find the original trilogy and start all over again, including the additional, later books.
Just phenomenal.
Rating:
Posted by Grete, on June 12th, 2009  I don’t really know how to start this review. Usually I say a little about the book and then go on with my thoughts and feelings after finishing it. A Madness of Angels has kind of turned that on its head. I struggled to get into it, I think I read the first chapter three times before it started sinking in. Too many similes and repetitions started to put me off but since I am a stubborn kind of reader, I persevered and I’m glad I did. The writing matured as it went on and the characters became more solid. I can’t say I was able to truly empathise with the main character of Matthew Swift, but you understood where he was from and you did end up liking and caring about him. What made the book so interesting was the setting and method of magic. An arcane London living, breathing and existing alongside the mundane. The magical community has their own rules, ethics and paths and the rich history of London plays a large part in that.
The reason I bought this book was because of a citation from Mike Carey on the cover and since I enjoy his work a lot, I thought it might be similar in feel and in that respect I was not disappointed. It was not anywhere near as easy to read as Mike Carey’s work or to mention another favoured urban fantasy author Jim Butcher. I can’t say I was gripped enough to keep reading in spite of other things that needed doing, and I was quite confused with the plot at times. Saying that, I was keen to pick it up when I could and continue on, needing to see what happened in the end.
I think on the whole I would recommend this book, I can’t quite put my finger on why I didn’t find it absorbing but it was entertaining.
Rating:
|
Very young children eat their books, literally devouring their contents. This is one reason for the scarcity of first editions of Alice in Wonderland and other favorites of the nursery.
Rosenbach, A. S. W.
About BookThing! BookThing! is a website where Grete can indulge her passion for books. There are reviews covering a range of genres (paranormal romance, crime, fantasy, romantic comedy), bibliographies for selected authors, features and sometimes the odd free book giveaway!
|
Recent Comments