This is part of the weekly meme over at the Caffeinated Reviewer, where book bloggers can share the books and blogs they have written.
It’s been another quiet week. Weather-wise, it’s been drier and we have actually had several sunny days, which has been wonderful. I hadn’t realised just how much I’d missed seeing the sun! Himself had Tuesday off, so we went for another lovely walk along the beach, which we both enjoyed. Other than that, it’s been the usual routine.
I don’t often mention my TV viewing, but this week I watched a wonderful programme on BBC 4 – The Secret Life of Waves, which gave all sorts interesting scientific facts about what waves are, which were fascinating enough. But then it widened out into discussing how the life cycle of waves mirrors our own existence in a poetic, philosophical and highly personal way, which I found very moving. If you like that kind of programme, I highly recommend it.
I’ve now finished the first main edit of Flame & Blame and written the opening scene for Council of Dragons. It put up a bit of a fight – I needed three goes at it before I felt I had the right balance of character-bonding, explanation and action. But I’m now happy to continue onwards, so I hope to get going with it during the coming week.
The photos this week are from the walk last Sunday along the beach at very low tide.
Last week I read:
Terra – Book 1 of the Terra series by Mitch Benn
Abducted from Earth as a baby by a well-meaning alien, Terra has grown up far across the galaxy on planet Fnrr. Terra has always known she was different. Her skin isn’t grey. Her eyes are a weird blue colour. She has … ears.
And now Terra is starting high school. A daunting prospect, even without being the only human in class.There’s lots to like about life on Fnrr. Society is ordered and peaceful; founded on reason, logic and the pursuit of knowledge. However, its inhabitants are blissfully unaware of the impending invasion that could destroy their way of life forever …
I thoroughly enjoyed this charming, engrossing book featuring plucky Terra. Benn’s writing style was confiding and accessible, without being patronising – which is harder to achieve than he makes it look.
NOVELLA One Day All This Will Be Yours by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Welcome to the end of time. It’s a perfect day.
Nobody remembers how the Causality War started. Really, there’s no-one to remember, and nothing for them to remember if there were; that’s sort of the point. We were time warriors, and we broke time.
I was the one who ended it. Ended the fighting, tidied up the damage as much as I could.Then I came here, to the end of it all, and gave myself a mission: to never let it happen again.
Well this is different! Dark, punchy and funny – I think this is exactly the right length. Once again, Tchaikovsky manages to produce something completely different, yet thought provoking and interesting. Review to follow.
A Desolation Called Peace – Book 2 of the Teixcalaan series by Arkady Martine
An alien armada lurks on the edges of Teixcalaanli space. No one can communicate with it, no one can destroy it, and Fleet Captain Nine Hibiscus is running out of options.
In a desperate attempt at diplomacy with the mysterious invaders, the fleet captain has sent for a diplomatic envoy. Now Mahit Dzmare and Three Seagrass—still reeling from the recent upheaval in the Empire—face the impossible task of trying to communicate with a hostile entity. Whether they succeed or fail could change the fate of Teixcalaan forever.
I loved A Memory Called Empire – it was one of my favourite books of last year. So I was thrilled to be able to tuck into this sequel, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Though there was one jarring note… Review to follow.
AUDIOBOOK Driving the Deep – Book 2 of the Finder Chronicles
As a professional finder, Fergus Ferguson is hired to locate missing objects and steal them back. But it is rarely so simple, especially after his latest job in Cernee. He’s been recovering from that experience in the company of friends, the Shipmakers of Pluto, experts at crafting top-of-the-line AI spaceships.
The Shipmakers have convinced Fergus to finally deal with unfinished business he’s been avoiding for half his life: Earth. Fergus hasn’t been back to his homeworld since he was fifteen, when he stole his cousin’s motorcycle and ran away. It was his first theft, and nothing he’s stolen since has been anywhere near so easy, or weighed so heavily on his conscience. Many years and many jobs later, Fergus reluctantly agrees that now is the time to return the motorcycle and face his family.
Whatever you do – don’t read the rest of this very chatty blurb, as it goes on to produce a slew of plotpoints which you should be reading within this excellent, action-packed story. Fergus is rapidly becoming one of my favourite protagonists and I’m thrilled the next book in this entertaining series is coming out in May… Review to follow.
My posts last week:
Castellan the Black and His Wise Draconic Sayings
Series I Completed in 2020 – Part 2
Déjà vu review – No Humans Involved – Book 7 of the Women of the Otherworld by Kelley Armstrong
Friday Face-off featuring Industrial Magic – Book 4 of the Otherworld series by Kelley Armstrong
Covet the Covers – Robin Hobb (1)
Can’t-Wait Wednesday featuring NOVELLA One Day All This Will Be Yours by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Review of NETGALLEY arc Terra – Book 1 of the Terra series by Mitch Benn
Sunday Post – 21st January 2021
Interesting/outstanding blogs and articles that have caught my attention during the last week, in no particular order:
Reading Habits Book Tag https://spaceandsorcery.wordpress.com/2021/02/23/reading-habits-book-tag/ If you’re like me, you’ll be nosily curious as to how other readers approach the books in their life – and this tag answers those questions in a fun way…
The Ultimate Top 100 Book Tags https://nzfnmblog.wordpress.com/2018/10/30/the-ultimate-top-100-book-tags/ And if you’re fond of book tags – either taking part or having fun in browsing what others make of them, then this is THE site to visit…
10 of the Best Short Stories by Charles Dickens https://interestingliterature.com/2021/02/best-charles-dickens-short-stories/ I’ve read a couple of these – but now I’m inspired to track down others. ‘The Signal-Man’ is a creepy masterpiece…
Holiday of Creativity – Handmade Costumes “Two Trees” for Purim 2021 https://colorfulsisters.com/2021/02/25/holiday-of-creativity-handmade-costumes-two-trees-for-purim-2021/ I love this quirky travelogue site and this particular blog article is my favourite of theirs so far…
A Slightly Different Review: Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier
https://lynns-books.com/2021/02/25/a-slightly-different-review-daughter-of-the-forest-by-juliet-marillier/ And this is what the blogging community is all about – taking an essentially solitary activity, reading, and sharing ideas and impressions about books with like-minded people! No wonder I love my corner of the internet…
Thank you for visiting, reading, liking and/or commenting on my blog. I hope you had a peaceful, healthy week – and do take care. x
Brainfluff 