Review – Half A King

Posted March 22, 2015 by in Reviews / 5 Comments

Cover of Half a King by Joe AbercrombieHalf a King, Joe Abercrombie

I originally had this as an ARC. It’s now out in paperback, so I do actually own a copy. I feel terrible about taking so long to get round to it; I can only cite a long, long, long, long… backlog. Also, I wasn’t sure if I was in the mood; I’ve read the First Law trilogy, and that is generally pretty violent and depressing. This was still… gritty, I guess, though that word might be overused, but the characters and situation are interesting enough.

I was actually amused by the parallels (initially) with The Goblin Emperor, which I love so much. It took almost every trope I was glad that Addison avoided, and used them to spin a new story. The result isn’t entirely original (I mean, I could go “oh goodie, it’s about time for the epic cross country trek followed by a battle”), but it is fun and very readable, and Abercrombie can ditch the worst of the profanity and write something that most people wouldn’t mind their teen reading. (I shouldn’t be surprised, given I know Chuck Wendig can do it too, and that man loves profanity like I love ketchup.)

Overall, the result is an interesting bunch of characters, a not-so-typical relationship between some of them (like, the teenage crush doesn’t come to anything), and a very readable book. I’ve got Half the World from the library, and intend to get to it very soon.

Rating: 4/5

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Review – Speaking from Among the Bones

Posted March 21, 2015 by in Reviews / 3 Comments

Cover of Speaking from Among the Bones by Alan BradleySpeaking from Among the Bones, Alan Bradley

I do like this series — and tear through the books — when I get round to reading it, but I don’t particularly feel a pressure to keep up. There’s just something too precious about Flavia, and indeed the whole portrayal of idyllic British country life after the Second World War. My usual pet peeves with this series are firmly in place, in that sense.

But it is nice to just relax into it and enjoy the family’s weirdnesses, the unusual set up for the mystery, the intrepid Famous Five feel you get from Flavia — and the fact that hey, she’s a young girl who is great at chemistry, who deserves and demands respect from the people around her for what she can do. Sometimes she overshoots (and, ah, I think I do recognise myself in that; I was quite a mature kid, but also very aware of it and keen for people to know, which then veers toward being immature again), but mostly she’s quite right that she deserves some respect. I do enjoy her little crush on the inspector, too.

The last line is clearly set up for Things To Change, and I’m quite looking forward to that. There’s a formula now to these books; I hope the next book breaks it, at least somewhat.

Rating: 3/5

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Stacking the Shelves

Posted March 21, 2015 by in General / 6 Comments

Hey everyone! If you were curious about how my year’s goals are going, you can swing by my resolutions update here. If you just want to see what I’ve acquired this week, well, read on. It’s not actually a big haul; instead of splitting them up into sections, I’ll just list them together this week, I think!

Cover of We Are Our Brains by Dick Swaab Cover of Knight's Shadow by Sebastien de Castell Silk #2

Super thanks to the publisher for Knight’s Shadow — I requested it based on being halfway through Traitor’s Blade, and I’m looking forward to it.

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Review – Wildwood Dancing

Posted March 20, 2015 by in Reviews / 2 Comments

Cover of Wildwood Dancing, by Juliet MarillierWildwood Dancing, Juliet Marillier
Review from 23rd January, 2011

Wildwood Dancing is a very interesting blend of several different fairytales and folklore: the seven dancing princesses, the princess and the frog, stories of vampires and fairies. I love fairytale retellings, and it was interesting to see the way these were all put together in a reasonably historical framework, in Romania — with strong touches of realism, when the girls were going about their ordinary lives.

Unfortunately, for me, there was something all too predictable about it. I’d answered all the questions long before the narrator, Jena, even thought to ask them. I knew the identity of Gogu, and what Cezar had done, and what would happen to Costi… At some point, I’ve read a book very like this, or enough books that were like this to tie them all together and make an Ur-Wildwood Dancing in my head! That made it rather less fun for me, since I knew how it would all go and I was just waiting for the other shoe to drop, constantly.

With that in mind, I’m not sure how much I actually enjoyed reading it. Everything just seemed so familiar — and I’m absolutely positive I haven’t read it before. If you enjoy fairytale retellings, I think it’s worth a try, and I haven’t been put off Juliet Marillier entirely: I’m going to read Cybele’s Secret, at least, which is the sequel to this. I’m told the narrator is one of the sisters from this story, but not Jena. I wanted more depth in Paula, Iulia and Stela, so perhaps Cybele’s Secret will provide. If not, I’ll give one of her other books from a different series a try, and then perhaps give it up if that doesn’t work out… I really want to like what Marillier does — and in some ways, her work reminds me of Robin McKinley’s: that was a part of the familiarity I had with the writing, I think — but this was just too, too predictable for me.

Rating: 3/5

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Review – Sand and Ruin and Gold

Posted March 19, 2015 by in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of Sand and Ruin and Gold by Alexis HallSand and Ruin and Gold, Alexis Hall
Received to review via Netgalley

This is… not a romance. It’s something strange and sad; a fairytale with an ending that isn’t precisely happy or sad. The writing is lovely, and the descriptions of the mermaids as something wholly other really works. The relationship — is it a relationship? — between the narrator and the merman is strange, and the more realistic for being ambiguous, for being… what it is, a strange union between two species where one has more power over the other, where one is a captive and the other is, nominally, in control.

It’s not a very long story, at all, but it’s just the right length; someone else commented that it feels like the background to a novel rather than a story in itself, but I definitely didn’t feel that way. I would’ve liked more, more explanations, more depth to the world, but I didn’t feel as if it was necessary.

Rating: 3/5

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No Book Buying Challenge: My Secret Sauce

Posted March 18, 2015 by in General / 6 Comments

Yes, my puns are terrible, I know. This month’s prompt from the #ShelfLove challenge is about free books: where do you get them from?

I have a feeling that I had a brilliant idea for this list and then forgot it. Ah well: I can always add it later. And now to the general update!

  • 8/51+ already owned books read
  • Spent: £21 out of ~£30 budget (budget is 10% of my income) for January
  • Spent: £20 out of ~£25 budget for February
  • Spent: £12 out of ~£25 budget for March

As for my other resolutions:

  • No books impulse-bought (two marginal; they weren’t on my list, but I was aware of and interested in them before, and I used a voucher)
  • Read every day
  • Bed before midnight… mostly
  • Up before ten every day (now basically up before eight every day and not entirely happy about it)
  • Only bought one book from a series at a time
  • Posted to the blog every day
  • Commented on at least one other blog every day
  • Tithed 10% in January, February and March.
  • Done 27 hours volunteering total
  • Reading/reviewing books from NG/etc… making some slow progress

I now have a couple of challenges and stuff set up on HabitRPG to keep me accountable, too. If I don’t get to 80% feedback on Netgalley by December 31st 2015, I pay an eight gem forfeit to a random person who joined the challenge. (You can find it in the Short-Term Accountability Guild if you’re a HabitRPG fan like me!)

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Review – The Importance of Being Earnest

Posted March 18, 2015 by in Reviews / 4 Comments

Cover of The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar WIldeThe Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde

I don’t think there’s much I have to say about this that hasn’t been said. Like, gee, did you know Wilde was really witty and satirical? I know, it shocked me too… But in all seriousness, even reading this rather than seeing it performed, it has a wonderful flow and wit, and it’s really funny. I don’t normally have much patience with plays, because they’re so much flatter on the page, and you don’t get the fun of watching actors/directors interpreting them, but I really enjoyed this anyway.

And yes, yes, I know; it’s disgraceful I have two English Lit degrees and this is the first time I’ve ever read The Importance of Being Earnest. I can only say that Wilde was a bit too recent for me…

Rating: 4/5

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Review – The Tale of the Duelling Neurosurgeons

Posted March 17, 2015 by in Reviews / 4 Comments

Cover of The Tale of the Duelling Neurosurgeons by Sam KeanThe Tale of the Duelling Neurosurgeons, Sam Kean

I’d been eyeing this for a while, but Robert really convinced me to read it. I was worried with that title it would be a bit too silly, but I shouldn’t have worried. The tone can be light, and there are a few jokes cracked and some wry asides, but it’s more scientific than the title suggests, while still being accessible to the general reader. A lot of the cases it discusses were ones I was already aware of, but it added depth and colour. I really need to get round to reading Permanent Present Tense, a book about “H.M.”, or Henry Molaison, which I’ve already got, and I’m curious about Clive Wearing’s wife’s book about his condition (though this youtube video gives you some idea).

It also added information about scientists who’ve studied the brain, though I kept muddling up my timelines and getting confused about who discovered what and when, and how it impacted everyone else. It’s arranged more thematically than chronologically, although there is a certain chronological element too (throughout the book, it moves toward more recent incidents and discoveries), so the timeline doesn’t matter incredibly.

Altogether, I found it a good primer on the science and history of neurology, for a casual reader, and the notes and such at the back offer plenty more places to dig for interesting information. (Where the library has any of these rather specialised books might be another matter, alas.) Best of all, it never feels like a lecture: the tone is warm, and the author finds the best in people and theories rather than mocking previous insights that turned out to be wrong. Which is wise, since we don’t understand the brain yet, and all of this may yet be overturned again…

Rating: 5/5

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Top Ten Tuesday

Posted March 17, 2015 by in General / 6 Comments

The Top Ten Tuesday prompt for this week is all about your spring TBR. Since I don’t really plan ahead much (I get too obsessed) and I’m writing this post two weeks before it goes live (I like to be organised), this is a somewhat random selection, and I might have got round to them by the time this goes live…

  1. Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Thorns and Roses. I should get round to this soon, since the publishers were kind enough to grant me access on Netgalley, and I actually have yet to read anything by Maas. Everyone’s so enthusiastic… I’ll get there soon!
  2. Karen Maitland, The Raven’s Head. Also an ARC, though I’ve read just about everything Maitland’s written so far. I’m hoping this one breaks the mould a bit, though.
  3. Emma Healey, Elizabeth is Missing. The idea of this really intrigues me. It should be waiting for me at the library as I write, so I should be reading it soon. I might find it a bit upsetting, though; apparently the portrayal of dementia and mental illness is very good.
  4. Joe Abercrombie, Half a King. It’s about time, that’s all I can say.
  5. Guy Gavriel Kay, The Lions of Al-Rassan. The next in my project of rereading all Kay’s books in publication order. (The idea is to watch his writing improve/change with experience, though oddly enough his earliest novels are probably my favourites.)
  6. Sam Kean, The Tale of the Duelling Neurosurgeons. I’ve been recommended this, neurology is fascinating, I might want to become a neurologist, and the library has it. What more could I wish for?
  7. Melissa Grey, The Girl at Midnight. Just got approved for this on Netgalley after a long wait, and it was in a previous Top Ten Tuesday as a book I was particularly looking forward to. Ergo, I have no excuse.
  8. Carrie Vaughn, After the Golden Age. This is a reread I’ve been meaning to get round to for a long time. I think there’s another book now, too!
  9. Gail Carriger, Changeless. I don’t want to end up waiting ages and ages to read this and forgetting everything about the first. Too bad I’m so easily di
  10. Susanna Kearsley, Named of the Dragon. Arthurian connection, you say? Set in Wales, you say? I’m there.

And probably all of these are going to appear again on my summer TBR, knowing me…

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Review – Clouds of Witness

Posted March 16, 2015 by in Reviews / 1 Comment

Cover of Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L. SayersClouds of Witness, Dorothy L. Sayers
Featuring Ian Carmichael as Lord Peter Wimsey, Peter Jones as Bunter, and Gabriel Woolf as Inspector Parker

This is the second of the Lord Peter radioplays, at least going chronologically by the order of the books. It’s longer than Whose Body? and a bit more personal: Lord Peter has to defend his own brother, the Duke of Denver, against a charge of murder. As usual with the Wimsey radioplays, the cast is excellent, and the parts chosen directly from the novels for dramatisation are great. I think only Ian Carmichael could get exactly the right tone for me in the part where Wimsey climbs on Parker’s back, looks over the wall, and then announces that it’s a marvellous ditch which he is going to proceed to fall into.

And of course, the ending with everyone drunk is pretty funny…

The main thing that doesn’t really work for me is, unfortunately, the sound effects. The gun sounds are more like party poppers — hardly the dramatic scenes needed. And I could maybe wish that Ian Carmichael wouldn’t sing — it’s in character, but something about it grates.

Rating: 5/5

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