Author: Nicky

Top Ten Tuesday

Posted December 8, 2015 by Nicky in General / 18 Comments

This week’s theme is the top ten new to me authors I’ve read this year. So, with the help of Goodreads, here goes!

  1. Kerry Greenwood. Actually technically not new to me, because I’d read Cocaine Blues before. But I hated it, for some reason, and didn’t read the whole thing the first time. This time, I devoured it and went on to eat up the rest of the series too (something I’m still in progress with). So I’m going to pretend the first time didn’t happen. I was clearly cranky at the time.
  2. Leigh Bardugo. I know I’m late to the party, but I finally read Shadow and Bone, and found myself unexpectedly riveted.
  3. Ann Leckie. Again, rather late to the party, but at least it meant that I got to read the whole trilogy more or less at once, with just a couple of months waiting for the last one!
  4. K.J. Parker. I’m not just late to the party, I crashed in after several hours. But I read the Tor.com novella and now I know I need to get round to more of Parker’s work.
  5. Freda Warrington. Her vampire novels are just ridiculously addictive. Hurrah for Titan rereleasing them so they came to my attention.
  6. Patricia Briggs. I have some problems with her books, but they’re also dead fun.
  7. Elizabeth Bear. Rather late to the party again, but Karen Memory made me want to read more of her work.
  8. Seth Dickinson. The Traitor Baru Cormorant was awesome.
  9. Zen Cho. I enjoyed Sorcerer to the Crown.
  10. Greg van Eekhout. I really need to get round to the third book in his trilogy, Dragon Coast.

I’ll be interested to see what other people have discovered this year! A couple of mine were actually debut authors, but as you can see from where I’ve been late to the party, a lot of them were discoveries of authors who’ve been going a while.

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Review – Ancillary Mercy

Posted December 7, 2015 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of Ancillary Mercy by Ann LeckieAncillary Mercy, Ann Leckie

For a while, I wasn’t sure how this book would or could wrap everything up, given the scale of the struggle that we began to see in Ancillary Justice. But I think, in the end, that comes down to the fact that the story isn’t actually about that struggle; this isn’t a never-ending epic struggle, it’s about one person — one fragment of a person, even, slowly becoming a person. It’s about Justice of Toren, and Breq, and then also about the people she interacts with: Seivarden, Ekalu, Ship, Station, Sphene… It’s about people and tangled loyalties and learning.

This makes the small stuff — the tea, the bureaucracy, Tisarwat’s purple eyes, Medic’s attempts to help Seivarden — all-important. So it’s great to see the bit where Seivarden and Breq negotiate mutual comfort; great to see the part where Seivarden struggles to apologise to Ekalu — and then later manages to really apologise to Ekalu. This passage was just so important, because it’s such a sign of how far Seivarden’s come, and such an important thing for people to realise:

“I’ve been thinking about it, and I still don’t understand exactly why what I said hurt you so much. But I don’t need to. It hurt you, and when you told me it hurt you, I should have apologised and stopped saying whatever it was. And maybe spent some time trying to understand. Instead of insisting that you manage your feelings to suit me. And I want to say I’m sorry. And I actually mean it this time.”

Now that’s the way to apologise, sincerely, even when you still don’t understand.

Also, this book does include glimpses of the wider world, beyond the Radch — mentions of the aliens, the presence of another Presger translator, etc. If you’re in this to see Anaander Miaanai go down, then I think you’ll be disappointed with the way the trilogy ends; if you’re in this for Breq and Seivarden and the people gathering around them, then this is an excellent ending.

Well, not an ending, but a good place to stop. You know that Breq will carry on, Seivarden will carry on, and they will still struggle and Anaander will still scheme and Tisarwat has a long way to go. But, “In the end, it’s only ever been one step, and then the next.”

Rating: 4/5

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Review – The Tombs of Atuan

Posted December 6, 2015 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Cover of The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula Le GuinThe Tombs of Atuan, Ursula Le Guin

This always used to be my favourite of the series, both for sheer atmosphere and because it featured a female-centred world, in complete contrast to the first book. It’s almost the opposite, in that way: Ged isn’t the POV character anymore, and instead we follow Arha/Tenar, seeing her experience in a different land, seeing Ged as an outsider. That latter is especially fun, because though he talks about not learning Ogion’s lessons, it seems that he really has. And there was always an attraction for the dark rituals, Arha’s dance in front of the Empty Throne, the drums struck softly at heart-pace. Le Guin didn’t just blindly throw together a bunch of superstitions and fake rituals: it hangs together as a cohesive whole, and the fact that even the characters find the rituals meaningless, strange, the significances lost in time… that also works for me.

One image that always sticks with me is that of Ged asleep on the ground, the small thistle by his hand. That image somehow epitomises the book for me: his serenity and trust, his link to the world around him, and also the way Tenar sees him, truly sees him, alive and in the world and not at all a part of the dark existence she led before… it’s hard to put into words, but that image does it.

Rating: 5/5

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Review – Raisins and Almonds

Posted December 5, 2015 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of Raisins and Almonds by Kerry GreenwoodRaisins and Almonds, Kerry Greenwood

In my thoughts on Urn Burial, I wondered if one of Phryne’s lovers was ever going to be really exposed to danger, so that you don’t feel as if everyone around her lives a charmed life. Well, this one has a bit more threat to it — the confrontation chapter, in particular, was tense and a little shocking. I had the sense that it could’ve gone either way, and the desperation of other characters around Phryne who clearly believed that helped. The lengths they were prepared to go to, to save the character in question… yeah, I felt that more than I have for several books.

As for the plot itself, well — it’s typically dramatic, with Phryne getting tangled up in race issues again: this time not Chinese, but Jewish. I know that some people would probably call her a “Mary Sue” for being so adaptable to other people’s customs, but it makes sense with the character: her background, her generally accepting habits, the fact that she is definitely a lady.

One of the scenes was borrowed whole-cloth from Dorothy L. Sayers, which bothers me a little. I think often the homages are deliberate, but taking one of Harriet Vane’s lines to her future husband and putting it in the mouth of a character who will appear in one book, if the pattern holds? Hm. I don’t know if it was deliberate reference, unconscious plagiarism, or what, but it stood out like a sore thumb — Miss Lee joking to Phryne that she will always find her at home, when of course, she’s in prison and can’t leave. That line, in Sayers, tells us so much about Harriet, and yet here it feels wasted. Sigh.

Still, that’s a minor quibble, and for the most part this is a solid outing for Phryne.

Rating: 4/5

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Stacking the Shelves

Posted December 5, 2015 by Nicky in General / 26 Comments

First things first! You’ll no doubt have noticed that the layout of the blog has changed. Well, so has the host — The Bibliophibian is now self-hosted, courtesy of the amazing Lynn O’ Connacht (who provided the hosting and did the migration for me)! So you may find that you need to resubscribe, if you haven’t already. If you have any issues at the moment, that might be due to the DNS redirect still percolating through the system. If there’s anything wrong with the layout, please let me know so I can try to fix it — at the moment it’s been optimised based on my mother’s visual needs, as she has macular degeneration, but I want to do my best to make it accessible in general.

Anyway, to celebrate the new hosting, and the fact that I can now embed Rafflecopter, there’s a giveaway! There are several options for joining in, including following the blog, tweeting, commenting on a post and a freebie. So please do join in!

Back to the original purpose of this post. I’m still doing okay on not buying books for myself — two big boxes of books have come in for family members, though! I love getting ready for Christmas and buying people the perfect book.

Despite the buying ban, I did get some preorders arriving. These don’t count, since I ordered them before the ban came into place! (And with Amazon vouchers, at that.)

Cover of The Masked City by Genevieve Cogman Cover of Pantomime by Laura Lam Cover of Shadowplay by Laura Lam

Excited to read Laura Lam’s books finally, and The Masked City should be a lot of fun too. I did also get a couple of library books, though not as many this week as sometimes!

Cover of The Violinist's Thumb by Sam Kean Cover of Charm by Sarah Pinborough

I’ve been reading Sam Kean’s books one by one, so here’s the latest I’ve picked up. And I read Poison, so I wanted to pick up Charm. Annoyingly, the library had Beauty as well, but my library card was “maxed out”…

What’s everyone else been picking up? And it can’t just be me that “maxes out” their library card, right?

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Review – Dancing on the Head of a Pin

Posted December 4, 2015 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of Dancing on the Head of a Pin by Thomas SniegoskiDancing on the Head of a Pin, Thomas E. Sniegoski
Originally reviewed 14th August, 2011

Like the first book of the series, Dancing on the Head of a Pin is a quick and easy read — fluff, almost. I mean, okay, there’s some gruesome bits, and it’s an apocalypse, but it’s still very easy to read.

I sort of wish there’d been more to the mystery aspect, and also that there’d been more of a build-up. Once you’ve dealt with the apocalypse, how can you go back to figuring out who the banker’s wife is screwing? Well, in real life, easily, but in fiction? I do wish there’d been some sort of reasonable escalation: now it pretty much has to be the apocalypse in every book.

The best character is Marlowe. Hands down.

Obviously, there’s unfinished business in this book, and I’m interested in how that’s going to play out. Not so interested I need to grab the next book right now, though.

Have to say, though, it still makes me think this is professional Supernatural fanfic, starring Castiel — uh, Remiel — the private investigator, and Dean — sorry, Steve — the human with a “profound bond” — sorry, “special bond” — with him.

Rating: 3/5

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New Hosting Giveaway!

Posted December 3, 2015 by Nicky in Giveaways / 21 Comments

Welcome to the newly fledged Bibliophibian! I’ve been promising a giveaway for a while, and this seems like the perfect time — especially since I’ve been longing for an easy way to do it, and now I can use Rafflcopter. Two entrants will be able to ask for a book or books of up to £10 value from The Book Depository. The only limitation is whether TBD ship to you!

The giveaway will end on Christmas Day, because that’s how I roll, but I’ll give people at least three days to respond to an email announcing their win.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you had a subscription to the site before, you do need to resubscribe to receive updates again. Sorry for the inconvenience!

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Review – Creative Colouring for Grown Ups: Mandalas

Posted December 3, 2015 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Cover of Creative Colouring for Grown Ups: MandalasCreative Colouring for Grown Ups: Mandalas, Various Authors

I think this might be my favourite in the series so far. Unlike most of the other Creative Colouring for Grown Ups books I’ve seen in this series, this has background colours, which can really set the mandalas off if you pick the right colours, and the paper quality seems to be even better, too. The designs are printed on one side of the paper only, too, so there’s even less chance of colour leaking than with other books, like the Japanese patterns book.

There’s a good range of patterns, too, with various different styles. I love colouring mandalas, so that might make me biased, but I’ve really enjoyed doing the designs in this one. Especially because I have new 0.4mm markers and they work quite well with the detailed patterns.

Rating: 5/5

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December TBR

Posted December 2, 2015 by Nicky in General / 6 Comments

To reach my ARC-reading goal, I need to read and review nine ARCs before December 31st is over. So this month’s reading list is mostly focused on that! I’ve made it ten, since nine as a number is just annoying to me.

ARCs

  • Armada, Ernest Cline.
  • The Masked City, Genevieve Cogman.
  • The Cutting Room, ed. Ellen Datlow.
  • Shadow Memories, Nicholas Erik.
  • A Legend of the Future, Agustin de Rojas.
  • Wolfhound Century, Peter Higgins.
  • Gabriel’s City, Laylah Hunter.
  • The Genome, Sergei Lukyanenko.
  • Unborn, Amber Lynn Natusch.
  • The Palace Job, Patrick Weekes.

Rereads

  • Over Sea, Under Stone, Susan Cooper.
  • The Dark is Rising, Susan Cooper.
  • Greenwitch, Susan Cooper.
  • The Grey King, Susan Cooper.
  • Silver on the Tree, Susan Cooper.
  • The Furthest Shore, Ursula Le Guin.
  • Tehanu, Ursula Le Guin.
  • Tales from Earthsea, Ursula Le Guin.
  • The Other Wind, Ursula Le Guin.
  • Feed, Mira Grant.

Series

  • The Blade Itself, Joe Abercrombie.
  • Before They Are Hanged, Joe Abercrombie.
  • Last Argument of Kings, Joe Abercrombie.
  • Siege and Storm, Leigh Bardugo.
  • Ruin and Rising, Leigh Bardugo.
  • Dragon Coast, Greg van Eekhout.
  • Deadline, Mira Grant.
  • Blackout, Mira Grant.
  • The Boy Who Lost Fairyland, Catherynne M. Valente.
  • The Dark Arts of Blood, Freda Warrington.

Well, the three Abercrombie books are rereads too, but shush. Symmetry and stuff.

What’s anyone else planning to read this December? And trust me, I know I won’t make it to the end of this lot without a miracle.

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Review – Over Sea, Under Stone

Posted December 2, 2015 by Nicky in Reviews / 6 Comments

Cover of Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan CooperOver Sea, Under Stone, Susan Cooper

It’s time for a The Dark is Rising sequence readathon again! If you wish to join, you can do so via this blog. It’s the perfect time of year to reread the books, at least the second one in particular, with the winter solstice coming up. I always try and read them around this time of year!

With that said, here goes my millionth (ish) review of Over Sea, Under Stone. I’ve noted before that it’s basically an Enid Blyton adventure/mystery story, with Arthurian trappings. This time through, I noticed a bit more than that; despite the fact that it is much lighter than the later books in tone, for the most part, there are moments of darkness and fear: the moment on the top of the cliff with the standing stones, Barney captured, Barney in the cave, the last few pages before the epilogue… Because of that link to Arthur, because of the figure of Merriman, the seriousness that we see later in the story is still there. The Dark doesn’t go away safely in the way that the criminals always do at the end of a Famous Five book.

I think it’s partly that which makes the books survive for me — under the concerns of the children, there’s that darkness and fear.

Another thing which gets me is how all the people act like people. Jane and Barney and Simon get scared, they get jealous of each other, they puff themselves up and act important… The adults are indulgent, complacent. And then there’s the poetry of the quiet moments, the moon on the water and the quiet dusty attic and… Yeah. Brilliant writing. Not as compelling as the later books, but even here it’s very fine.

Rating: 4/5

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