November 2020 Roundup – Reading, Writing and Blogging… #BrainfluffNovember2020Roundup

November was defined chiefly by the second lockdown in the UK, and although it wasn’t as strict as the first one, it did bring my social life to an abrupt halt again. So other than seeing the grandchildren when necessary (we are part of our daughter’s support cluster as she is a single-parent family) and shopping when Himself wasn’t able to fulfil the brief, I hunkered down at home, busy writing and reading. Other than teaching Tim, which I did resume after a long, serious discussion weighing the pros and cons with his mother…

Reading
I read twelve books in November, which isn’t a particularly large number – but that’s okay. More importantly, once again it’s been a great reading month qualitywise – particularly for space opera and space adventures in general. Because this was #Sci Fi Month 2020, which was once again organised by Imyril at There’s Always Room for One More and Lisa at Dear Geek Place and was a huge success.

My Outstanding Book of the Month was Nophek Gloss by Essa Hansen and my Outstanding Audiobook of the Month was Wintersmith – Book 3 of the Tiffany Aching series by Terry Pratchett.

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My reads during November were:

Dead Lies Dreaming – a Laundry Files novel by Charles Stross. See my review.

AUDIOBOOK Wintersmith – Book 35 of the Discworld novels & Book 3 of the Tiffany Aching series by Terry Pratchett – Outstanding Audiobook of the month. Review to follow.

Architects of Memory – Book 1 of The Memory War series by Karen Osborne. Review to follow.

The Thief on the Winged Horse by Kate Mascarenhas. See my review.

Angel Six Echo by Robert Appleton. See my review.

AUDIOBOOK The Son of Neptune – Book 2 of The Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan. Review to follow

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Nophek Gloss – Book 1 of The Graven by Essa Hansen. Outstanding book of the month. See my review.

The Sculpted Ship by K.M. O’Brien. See my review.

Aftermath – Book 5 of the Sirantha Jax series by Ann Aguirre. Review to follow.

Fallen – Book 10 of the Alex Verus series by Benedict Jacka. See my review.

Lifelode by Jo Walton. Review to follow.

The Dark Archive – Book 7 of The Invisible Library series by Genevieve Cogman. See my review.

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Writing and Editing
Halfway through the month, I finally completed the manuscript for Picky Eaters 2 – which initially was going to be a novella – only to discover that it was a monster of over 117,000 words! I will be writing about all this in more detail in a separate post later in the month – but basically that was just nonsense. I’m not in the mood right now to read anything of that length – so why would I expect my readers to do so, either? Particularly as the whole point of this series is to provide some escapist fun. So I rolled up my sleeves and dived in. It took nearly a week of hard work and rewriting – but I now have a version of Picky Eaters 2, renamed Flame and Blame, that I’m happy with at just under 73,000 words. The great news is that I also have just under 50,000 words of the next novel in the trilogy, which will be called Trouble With Dwarves.

Overall, I wrote just over 61,300 words in November, with just under 20,000 on the blog, and just under 40,000 on my writing projects. This brings my yearly wordcount to date to just under 477,000 words. I’m very happy with that – the increased in the speed of my writing since I returned from Bexhill has been a gamechanger and should mean that next year will be far more productive.

Blogging
Blogging revolved around Sci Fi Month, which was a joy. I added far too many books to my towering TBR and was able to swing by and chat to some other blogs I don’t regularly visit. Though as I battled with teasing apart my manuscript during the second half of the month, I’m afraid my visiting once more suffered. Sorry about that! In the meantime, I hope everyone is able to stay safe. Take care.x

*NEW RELEASE SPECIAL* Review of Dead Lies Dreaming – Book 1 of the Dead Lies Dreaming series by Charles Stross #BrainfluffNEGALLEYreview #DeadLiesDreamingbookreview

This book is set in the world of The Laundry Files and is a spinoff. I love this series – see my reviews of The Fuller Memorandum and The Apocalypse Codex. So you don’t need to have read any of the former books, as the character cast is completely different – though the scenario where an ancient monster is currently in charge at No. 10 Downing Street, still applies…

BLURB: In a world where magic has gone mainstream, a policewoman and a group of petty criminals are pulled into a heist to find a forbidden book of spells that should never be opened.

A new adventure begins in the world of the Laundry Files.

REVIEW: I’d wanted to get right up to date with The Laundry Files series, thinking that this book was also set within that world and that I’d need to know what was going on. In the event I didn’t – but that meant I read two of Stross’ books back to back, which is something I generally avoid doing.

Therefore, I found it a tad difficult to initially get into this one – the world is a bit bleak and grungy and the protagonists, although sympathetic and well written, were clearly very much the underdogs. While there was humour, it came from the snark between the Imp’s ragtag band of misfits – which I didn’t initially find as appealing as Bob Howard’s magnificently dry delivery. However, they did grow on me and as the first major action scene unspooled, there were some very funny moments in amongst all the tension and danger, which I thoroughly appreciated.

Eve is a difficult character to initially bond with – she is an assistant to one of most truly horrible antagonists I’ve met for quite a while. And therefore, has to also become unpleasant – so I didn’t appreciate how much of a victim she actually was until well into the book. There was a particular bonding moment when I had a lump in my throat when reading about a scene with her parents – it was beautifully handled.

In amongst Rupert Bigge’s scramble to the top and Imp and his little gang trying to eke a living while illegally squatting in what used to be his old family home – there are also some lovely touches of magic. The time-travelling scenes back to Whitechapel Road, back in the Victorian era were genuinely creepy and vividly depicted. I loved the way the narrative played out and very much hope we get to see more of Imp, Game Boy, Del, Doc and Wendy – and of course, Eve – in future adventures. This is a cracking start to a new series that is set in contemporary Britain, where the monsters are in charge…

Highly recommended for SFF fans, who enjoy their urban fantasy with a sardonic twist and something a bit different. You don’t need to read The Laundry Files to enjoy this one. While I obtained an arc of Dead Lies Dreaming via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
9/10

Two AUDIOBOOK Mini-reviews: Lies Sleeping by Ben Aaronovitch, and The Delirium Brief by Charles Stross #Brainfluffaudiobookmini-reviews #LiesSleepingaudiobookreview #TheDeliriumBriefaudiobookreview

Lies Sleeping – Book 7 of the Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch
This is another of those series that I have let slip through my fingers – but I was reminded of how enjoyable I found it and decided to catch up. Here are my reviews of previous books in the series – Rivers of London, Whispers Underground, Foxglove Summer and The Hanging Tree.

BLURB: Martin Chorley, aka the Faceless Man, wanted for multiple counts of murder, fraud, and crimes against humanity, has been unmasked and is on the run. Peter Grant, Detective Constable and apprentice wizard, now plays a key role in an unprecedented joint operation to bring Chorley to justice.

But even as the unwieldy might of the Metropolitan Police bears down on its foe, Peter uncovers clues that Chorley, far from being finished, is executing the final stages of a long term plan. A plan that has its roots in London’s two thousand bloody years of history, and could literally bring the city to its knees.

REVIEW: It was great fun to get up to speed with this entertaining series, particularly listening to the fabulous rendition of Peter Grant and all his adventures by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith’s narration. It absolutely nailed Peter’s character and I loved the blend of action, humour and quirky mix of myth and contemporary cool this series offers. There was plenty going on and I’m looking forward to getting hold of the next book in the series after the bombshell that Peter was presented with at the end of this adventure…

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The Delirium Brief – Book 8 of The Laundry Files by Charles Stross
This is another of those series that somehow slipped through my fingers, and I was delighted to get back into, because I just love Bob and Mo. And the whole premise of this series has entertained me from the start – see my reviews of The Fuller Memorandum, The Apocalypse Codex, The Rhesus Chart, The Annihilation Score and The Nightmare Stacks.

BLURB: Bob Howard’s career in the Laundry, the secret British government agency dedicated to protecting the world from the supernatural, has involved brilliant hacking, ancient magic and combat with creatures of pure evil.

Now the Laundry’s existence has become public, and Bob is being trotted out on TV to answer pointed questions about elven asylum seekers. What neither Bob nor his managers have foreseen is that their organisation has earned the attention of a horror far more terrifying than any demon: a government looking for public services to privatise. There are things in the Laundry’s assets that big business would simply love to get its hands on….

REVIEW: Jack Hawkins does a brilliant job of narrating this one, capturing Bob’s world-weary tone with the flashes of dark humour extremely well, as well as producing a pleasing range of different voices for the other characters. I’d forgotten just how engrossing and dark the overall storyline was – as well as just how exhausted and battle-weary the main protagonists are becoming.

Sunday Post – 1st November, 2020 #Brainfluffbookblog #SundayPost

This is part of the weekly meme over at the Caffeinated Reviewer, where book bloggers can share the books and blogs they have written.

I was just looking forward to re-emerging having tucked myself away for a fortnight, after suffering a heavy cold. And then our Prime Minister last night announced the country is going into a month-long lockdown, starting on Thursday… My thoughts are with teachers and other key workers (including Himself) who once more will be facing the world, while the infection rate goes on rising. And for all of you, who are staying at home and coping with hard financial difficulties… Meanwhile, I’m going to retreat back to Wyvern Peak and the adventures of Castellan the Black – I’m now on the final lap of writing Picky Eaters, Part 2.

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My photos are from the last night we spent at Bexhill – and the sunset that roared across the sky…


Last week I read:

AUDIOBOOK The Labyrinth Index – Book 9 of The Laundry Files by Charles Stross
The arrival of vast, alien, inhuman intelligences reshaped the landscape for human affairs across the world, and the United Kingdom is no exception. Things have changed in Britain since the dread elder god Nyarlathotep ascended to the rank of Prime Minister. Mhari Murphy, recently elevated to the House of Lords and head of the Lords Select Committee on Sanguinary Affairs (think vampires), finds herself in direct consultation with the creeping chaos, who directs her to lead a team of disgraced Laundry personnel into the dark heart of America. It seems the Creeping Chaos is concerned about foreign relations.

A thousand-mile-wild storm system has blanketed the midwest, and the President is nowhere to be found. In fact, for reasons unknown the people of America are forgetting that the executive branch ever existed. The government has been infiltrated by the shadowy Black Chamber, and the Pentagon and NASA have been refocused on the problem of summoning Cthulhu. Somewhere, the Secret Service battle to stay awake, to remind the President who he is, and to stay one step ahead of the vampiric dragnet that’s searching for him.
This one is told in multiple pov, with the main protagonist being Mhairi Murphy, a British Government secret service vampire, who is sent on a crazy mission. Lots of mayhem and rather dark fun, though perhaps with not the tension of The Delirium Brief. Review to follow.

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Crackle and Fire – An Angela Hardwicke sci fi mystery by Russ Colchamiro
Angela Hardwicke isn’t just any private eye. She’s a PI from Eternity, the cosmic realm responsible for the design, creation, and maintenance of the Universe.

When accountant Gil Haberseau hires her to find an intern with stolen corporate files, Hardwicke soon finds herself embroiled in a deadly case of lies, intrigue, and murder, clashing with vengeful gangsters, MinderNot rallies, and a madman who’s come a long way to get what he wants.

Bonus story included! The AI-themed Angela Hardwicke murder mystery, “The Case of Jarlo’s Buried Treasure”
An entertaining sci fi mystery thriller. There were plenty of plot twists in this whodunit, and Angela is a sympathetic protagonist that kept me turning the pages – but I wasn’t wholly convinced about the wider worldbuilding. Review to follow.

My posts last week:

Castellan the Black and His Wise Draconic Sayings

*NEW RELEASE SPECIAL* Review of Map’s Edge – Book 1 of The Tethered Citadel by David Hair

Friday Face-off featuring Hatchet – Book 1 of Brian’s Saga by Gary Paulsen

Covet the Covers aka Cover Love – featuring the covers of Charles Stross

Can’t-Wait Wednesday featuring Dead Lies Dreaming – a Laundry Files novel by Charles Stross

Interview with Jean Lee Regarding Her Writing Process and Her Books

Tuesday Treasures – 17

*NEW RELEASE SPECIAL* Review of Fallen Princeborn: Chosen – Book 2 of the Fallen Princeborn series by Jean Lee

*NEW RELEASE SPECIAL* Review of The Ministry For the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson

Sunday Post – 25th October 2020


Interesting/outstanding blogs and articles that have caught my attention during the last week, in no particular order:

SPFBO: Finalist announcement https://lynns-books.com/2020/10/28/spfbo-finalist-announcement-2/ Lynn, excellent book blogger and all-round good egg is one of the judges of this ambitious and long-running contest, which give indie fantasy writers a chance to get their books more recognition. And having waded through 30 books and kept us abreast of all her decisions in a series of blogs, this is it – her final choice…

Little Free Library Celebrates Milestone 100,000th Library https://littlefreelibrary.org/little-free-library-celebrates-milestone-100000th-library/ What a fabulous achievement – I know several wonderful book bloggers who are part of this scheme. And at such a difficult time, we know what a comfort books can be – so this is so very important.

Five 20th century science fiction books I love https://notesfromareaderholic.com/2020/10/23/five-20th-century-science-fiction-books-i-love/ Jan’s list brought back some lovely reading memories in this stormingly good list…

MANTIVORE DREAMS by S.J. Higbee: a review https://powerfulwomenreaders.wordpress.com/2020/10/29/mantivore-dreams-by-s-j-higbee-a-review/ I had a lovely surprise when I came across Rae’s review of the first book in my Arcadian Chronicles series. How kind of her to take the trouble to post her thoughts on it!

Halloween or not https://bereavedsingledad.blog/2020/10/30/halloween-or-not/ I enjoyed this well written article from a parent who didn’t even consider Trick or Treating – and has other options to offer families in the new normal…

Thank you for visiting, reading, liking and/or commenting on my blog – I hope you and yours have a peaceful, healthy week. Take care.

Covet the Covers – 9 #Brainfluffcovetthecovers #CovetthecoversCharlesStross

Welcome to another helping of Covet the Covers, aka Cover Love. This week I’m featuring some of Charles Stross’ covers in honour of his release of Dead Lies Dreaming, a novel of The Laundry Files series. If you are interested in learning more about this unique series, here are my reviews of The Fuller Memorandum, The Apocalypse Codex, The Rhesus Chart, The Annihilation Score, and The Nightmare Stacks. I have also provided reviews of Glasshouse, a standalone time-travelling adventure and The Family Trade, Book 1 of his portal fantasy, The Merchant Princes, which I recall absolutely loving – and I want to revisit this series and complete it. My reviews of The Labyrinth Index and Dead Lies Dreaming will shortly be available. I’ve chosen the Brit covers, because I think they absolutely rock and I love the unique branding they provide for this series. Which is your favourite?

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Can’t-Wait Wednesday – 28th October, 2020 #Brainfluffbookblog #CWC #WOW

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they’re books that have yet to be released. It’s based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine.

This week’s Can’t-Wait offering – Dead Lies Dreaming – a Laundry Files novel by Charles Stross – release date 29th October 2020

#fantasy adventure #contemporary #Lovecraftian monsters #Brit-based setting

BLURB: In a world where magic has gone mainstream, a policewoman and a group of petty criminals are pulled into a heist to find a forbidden book of spells that should never be opened.

A new adventure begins in the world of the Laundry Files.

Dead Lies Dreaming presents a nightmarish vision of a Britain sliding unknowingly towards occult cataclysm . . .

I am horribly behind with my arcs – and have only just finished the previous book in the Laundry Files adventures. It isn’t often in a long-running fantasy series that the hammer finally falls and the unthinkable comes to pass – but it has this time around. I’m fascinated to discover where Stross takes this next… If you are interested in reading more about The Laundry Files, which is truly a unique series unlike anything else I’ve read, here are my reviews of The Fuller Memorandum, The Apocalypse Codex, The Rhesus Chart, The Annihilation Score, and The Nightmare Stacks.

Sunday Post – 6th September, 2020 #Brainfluffbookblog #SundayPost

This is part of the weekly meme over at the Caffeinated Reviewer, where book bloggers can share the books and blogs they have written.

Most of the first half of the week was dominated by the launch of Mantivore Warrior on Monday, which went really well. Thank you to everyone who retweeted and mentioned that Warrior is now live and let loose on the world.

The weather was a lot better – though not good enough for our Writing Group to get together on Wednesday evening, which was a real shame. It had been bright and warm all day, until the evening when it started raining, so we were Zooming once more. Though it was a really productive meeting, where several of us shared our work and I got some valuable feedback on the beginning of Picky Eaters 2.

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Unfortunately, I am now struggling with a very sore back and my usual strategies for dealing with it aren’t working, so I’ve a physio appointment on Tuesday. I was supposed to travel down to Ringwood yesterday to see my in-laws with my husband – but I woke up feeling too sore and car journeys are never my friend, anyway. I’d travelled to Brighton on Thursday to see my daughter and the children and brought back the boys to stay overnight – a last sleepover before they go back to school. It was lovely to see them and their stay was rounded off by going out for a meal together at a local pub restaurant with a vegan menu, where my daughter and little Eliza joined us on Friday afternoon. Today is my husband’s birthday, and today’s photos are from the big wheel which was recently installed on Littlehampton foreshore. We are planning to have a lazy day together and go out for a meal with my sister tonight.


Last week I read an astonishingly strong selection of books:

Ink & Sigil – Book 1 of the Ink & Sigil series by Kevin Hearne
Al MacBharrais is both blessed and cursed. He is blessed with an extraordinary white moustache, an appreciation for craft cocktails – and a most unique magical talent. He can cast spells with magically enchanted ink and he uses his gifts to protect our world from rogue minions of various pantheons, especially the Fae. But he is also cursed. Anyone who hears his voice will begin to feel an inexplicable hatred for Al, so he can only communicate through the written word or speech apps. And his apprentices keep dying in peculiar freak accidents. As his personal life crumbles around him, he devotes his life to his work, all the while trying to crack the secret of his curse.

But when his latest apprentice, Gordie, turns up dead in his Glasgow flat, Al discovers evidence that Gordie was living a secret life of crime. Now Al is forced to play detective – while avoiding actual detectives who are wondering why death seems to always follow Al. Investigating his apprentice’s death will take him through Scotland’s magical underworld, and he’ll need the help of a mischievous hobgoblin if he’s to survive.
I thoroughly enjoyed this one. It was so refreshing to read of a sixty-something protagonist, who isn’t magically enhanced or rejuvenated and Hearne’s trademark humour is evident in this series, too. Recommended, particularly for fans of the Iron Druid series.


AUDIOBOOK – The Delirium Brief – Book 8 of The Laundry Files by Charles Stross
Bob Howard’s career in the Laundry, the secret British government agency dedicated to protecting the world from unspeakable horrors from beyond spacetime, has entailed high combat, brilliant hacking, ancient magic, and combat with indescribably repellent creatures of pure evil. It has also involved a wearying amount of paperwork and office politics, and his expense reports are still a mess.
Now, following the invasion of Yorkshire by the Host of Air and Darkness, the Laundry’s existence has become public, and Bob is being trotted out on TV to answer pointed questions about elven asylum seekers. What neither Bob nor his managers have foreseen is that their organization has earned the attention of a horror far more terrifying than any demon: a British government looking for public services to privatize.
This was huge fun to listen to – and has made me determined to get hold of the next one in the series sooner, rather than later as this one ended on something of a cliffhanger. I’d forgotten just how smart and darkly funny Charles Stross’s writing can be. Review to follow.


The Trials of Koli – Book 2 of the Rampart Trilogy by M.R. Carey
Beyond the walls of Koli’s small village lies a fearsome landscape filled with choker trees, vicious beasts and shunned men. As an exile, Koli’s been forced to journey out into this mysterious, hostile world. But he heard a story, once. A story about lost London, and the mysterious tech of the Old Times that may still be there. If Koli can find it, there may still be a way for him to redeem himself – by saving what’s left of humankind.
Carey keeps the tension up and expands the story by giving us an insight into what is going on in the village that exiled Koli in the first place, as well as taking Koli’s adventures further. The world is brilliantly depicted and I enjoyed the characters.

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The Green Man’s Silence – Book 3 of the Green Man series by Juliet E. McKenna
Daniel Mackmain has always been a loner. As a dryad’s son, he can see the supernatural alongside everyday reality, and that’s not something he can easily share. Perhaps visiting East Anglia to stay with Finele Wicken and her family will be different. They have their own ties to the uncanny.

But something is amiss in the depths of the Fens. Creatures Dan has never encountered outside folk tales are growing uneasy, even hostile. He soon learns they have good reason. Can he help them before they retaliate and disaster strikes the unsuspecting locals? Can the Green Man help Dan in a landscape dominated by water for centuries, where the oaks were cut down aeons ago? A modern fantasy rooted in the ancient myths and folklore of the British Isles.
I thoroughly enjoyed Dan’s latest adventure, which takes place in a corner of England that is rich with history and folklore. I loved that Finele was once again part of the story and found this one impossible to put down. Review to follow.



My posts last week:

A Déjà vu Review of Dangerous Waters – Book 1 of the Hadrumal Crisis series by Juliet E. McKenna

Castellan the Black and His Wise Draconic Tips on Food and Drink

*NEW RELEASE SPECIAL* Review of Deadly Waters by Dot Hutchison

Friday Face-off featuring Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson

*NEW RELEASE SPECIAL* Review of Ink & Sigil – Book 1 of the Ink & Sigil series by Kevin Hearne

Cover Love #3 featuring the covers of Juliet E. McKenna

*NEW RELEASE SPECIAL* Review of Grave Secrets – Book 1 of the Lavington Windsor mysteries by Alice James

Can’t-Wait-Wednesday featuring Kept from Cages – Book 1 of The Ikiri duology by Phil Williams

Two Sci Fi Mini-Reviews: To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers and Starsight by Brandon Sanderson

Tuesday Treasures – 11

MANTIVORE WARRIOR is published today!

Sunday Post – 30th August 2020


Interesting/outstanding blogs and articles that have caught my attention during the last week, in no particular order:

Everyday Items We’ve Been Using Wrong the Whole Time https://brain-sharper.com/social/everyday-items-using-wrong-tw/?utm_campaign=Everyday%20Items%20Elena%20V1%20VV%3E1%20En%20-%20Desktop%20WW%20TW&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=WC&psl=i_5486fa There are all sorts of tips and tricks here that I will be using in future! The pasta spoon tip is a revelation – and how to open a keyring without breaking nails…

What Counts as Speculative? https://specpo.wordpress.com/2020/09/03/what-counts-as-speculative/ This infographic is going to divide many SFF readers, I think…

Fantasy and Sci Fi to review for free 1-30 September https://storyoriginapp.com/bundles/09afb25c-d13e-11ea-bc51-0f1a41c9edf0?bundleLinkId=G1i79S8 If you’re looking for more SFF reads and enjoy helping authors out by leaving a review – then this might be just what you’re looking for…

Sci Fi Month 2020: the future is calling https://onemore.org/2020/09/01/announcing-scifimonth-2020/ I LOVE Sci Fi Month! If you also enjoy it and want to get in on the ground floor – here’s how to do it…

On Boundaries and Doors to Magical Realms https://jeanleesworld.com/2020/09/01/a-writers-thoughts-on-boundaries-in-magic-plus-a-coverreveal-and-arc-access-to-my-new-ya-fantasy-novel/ Jean Lee’s articles are always worth reading – and as she is shortly to release a new book – yippee! – she is considering this intriguing aspect of many fantasy tropes…

Thank you for visiting, reading, liking and/or commenting on my blog – I hope you and yours have a peaceful, healthy week. Take care.

Teaser Tuesday – 15th October, 2019 #Brainfluffbookblog #TeaserTuesday

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by The Purple Booker.
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This is my choice of the day:

Empire Games – Book 1 of the Empire Games series by Charles Stross
p. 123 Two months after her abortive kidnapping, Rita was allowed a weekend trip home to visit her family. In fact, she was urged to do so. “E-mail and Facebook aren’t enough,” explained her supervisor, an affable African American named Patrick O-Neill who’d worked surveillance operations when he was in the FBI. “If you vanish off the face of the earth for weeks, then send them vaguely reassuring messages, your parents will worry that you’ve been abducted; it’s entirely natural. But you’ve been through basic orientation and briefing now, and it’ll make life a lot easier for us – and for them – if you go home and explain what’s happened.”

“Easier for you?” Rita asked dubiously.

BLURB: The year is 2020. It’s seventeen years since the Revolution overthrew the last king of the New British Empire, and the newly-reconstituted North American Commonwealth is developing rapidly, on course to defeat the French and bring democracy to a troubled world. Two nuclear superpowers are set on a collision course. Two increasingly desperate paratime espionage agencies are fumbling around in the dark, trying to find a solution to the first contact problem that doesn’t result in a nuclear holocaust. And two women—a mother and her long-lost, adopted daughter—are about to find themselves on opposite sides of the confrontation.
I’ve performed major surgery on the blurb, which reads more like a mini-synopsis and the names won’t mean anything to you, anyway.

This is the first book in a spinoff series from Stross’s rightly successful Merchant Princes portal fantasy thriller, which deals with a measure of rigour and intelligence to the premise – what if there were parallel worlds that a few people could access? I had an unfortunate attempt to read this book back in 2017 – see here. But now I have managed to get hold of it in my local library and am enjoying it.

PREVIEW of Empire Games – Book 1 of the Empire Games series by Charles Stross

I’ll be honest – this is a complete mistake. I was under the impression that I had got hold of this latest series from Stross, so was somewhat underwhelmed when I realised it was, instead, the opening chapters as a taster…

The year is 2020. It’s seventeen years since the Revolution overthrew the last king of the New British Empire, and the newly-reconstituted North American Commonwealth is developing rapidly, on course to defeat the French and bring democracy to a troubled world. Two nuclear superpowers are set on a collision course. Two increasingly desperate paratime espionage agencies are fumbling around in the dark, trying to find a solution to the first contact problem that doesn’t result in a nuclear holocaust. And two women—a mother and her long-lost, adopted daughter—are about to find themselves on opposite sides of the confrontation.

I have left a large chunk out of the very chatty blurb because if you haven’t read the Merchant Princes series then the names aren’t going to mean all that much, anyway and I think it’s far too much information that you’ll learn more effectively once you read the book. That said, this is a spin-off series from the Merchant Princes series, which is a portal worlds thriller. I’ve only read a couple of books in this series, but found them thoroughly enjoyable and engrossing which was why I requested Empire Games. This epic storyline is spread across multiple worlds, so it takes some concentration to work out what is happening to whom and sadly, the preview extract I received was a misery to read. It’s been a while since I’ve had to slog through anything so appallingly formatted, with a binary thingy of zeroes and ones randomly appearing throughout the text and words being split across lines numerous times – I don’t think there was a single page where the text was correctly formatted.

If it hadn’t been a NetGalley preview, it would have gone winging across the room. I had a pre-migraine headache blow up on me later during the day I’d been battling through this ‘mare of a read and I’m not sure the two aren’t connected. I’ve made a promise to myself that it’s the last time I trudge through anything so egregiously messed up, anyway.

There was a lot of information to impart and just as the story was starting to gather pace and I was beginning to care – it all came to an end. Obviously I cannot comment on the characterisation, the pacing, the plotting or how satisfactorily the story ends. But it’s out there and given that Stross is an able storyteller, it should be good.

Sunday Post – 22nd January 2017

 

This is part of the weekly meme over at the Caffeinated Book Reviewer, where book bloggers can share the books and blogs they have written.

Another busy week, though I think I begin to see daylight and hope that Life is beginning to calm down, somewhat. Last week-end we had the pleasure of the grandchildren visiting – it was a joy catching up with them as we hadn’t seen them since Christmas, which now seems a very long time ago. Then on Sunday afternoon after we delivered them back to their parents, we had to rush back and get the spare room ready for an impromptu visit by my son who had a couple of audition tapes that needed doing. So Monday and Tuesday we were working on those between my teaching commitments – it is always a pleasure but as we had a very narrow timescale, it was also quite intense. However, lovely to catch up with Robbie before he flies out to LA on Monday. Unfortunately, my Wednesday evening session with my writing group was wiped out by a headache that threatened to turn into a migraine, but at least I sufficiently recovered to have my marvellous friend Mhairi come over for the day on Thursday. Friday saw us collecting the children for another session of grannying and on Saturday we went out for a meal to celebrate my father’s birthday at the fabulous George and Dragon at Burpham, where the food was delicious and the welcome warm despite the frosty weather. They went to a great deal of trouble to accommodate Oscar’s veganism.

This week I have read:
Terminal Regression by Mallory Hill
Laura Baily’s life is meaningless. In a world where purpose and passion are everything, Laura feels as though she has no place and no business even existing. Her life is forfeit, and it would be better for everyone if she simply ended it, if she simply got a ticket for a train to oblivion and faded from memory.

But what awaits her at the end of the line isn’t death but Terminal B a community of people more like her than she considered possible, including the beautiful, tormented Will Noble. Though Laura still thinks little of her own life, the lives of others begin to fascinate her as never before. And when those lives become imperiled, Laura discovers the last thing she ever expected to find on her way out of the world: a mission and a reason to live.

This is a brave book that confronts the tricky issue of a suicidal protagonist suffering from severe depression. Despite that, it is full of drama and tension, producing a strong story set in a dystopian world demonstrating a lot of skill by this young author.

 

NETGALLEY PREVIEW of Empire Games – Book 1 of the Empire Games series by Charles Stross
Two nuclear superpowers are set on a collision course. Two increasingly desperate paratime espionage agencies are fumbling around in the dark, trying to find a solution to the first contact problem that doesn’t result in a nuclear holocaust. And two women—a mother and her long-lost, adopted daughter—are about to find themselves on opposite sides of the confrontation.

This latest offering by Stross is a spin-off series from his successful portal world Merchant Princes adventures. I haven’t read them all, but those I did read were powerful and engrossing, so I was thrilled when it seemed I’d acquired Empire Games via NetGalley. Only I hadn’t. What I got was a slice of the story. So I cannot fully review the book – only report that it started with plenty of drama and quickly established what is at stake.

My posts last week:
Sunday Post – 15th January 2017

NEW RELEASE SPECIAL Review of Martians Abroad by Carrie Vaughn

Teaser Tuesday featuring Terminal Regression by Mallory Hill

NEW RELEASE SPECIAL Review of Terminal Regression by Mallory Hill

2016 Discovery Challenge – How Did I Do?

Friday Faceoff – Slipped the surly bonds of earth… featuring Abaddon’s Gate – Book 3 of The Expanse series by James S.A. Corey

Review of A Symphony of Echoes – Book 2 of The Chronicles of St Mary’s by Jodi Taylor

Interesting/outstanding blogs and articles that have caught my attention during the last week, in no particular order:
from the ‘Hjordis, I Miss You’ series https://photolicioux.wordpress.com/2017/01/20/from-the-hjordis-i-miss-you-series/ This intensely personal depiction brought tears to my eyes…

22 photos that will make you want to visit South America this winter https://roamwildandfree.com/2017/01/19/22-photos-that-will-make-you-want-to-visit-south-america-this-winter/ Another pictorial series – this time the scenery will take your breath away…

The Best Canterbury Tales Everyone Should Read https://interestingliterature.com/2017/01/18/the-best-canterbury-tales-everyone-should-read/
Once more this marvellous, informative site comes up with a cracking list…

God 1 https://zenandtheartoftightropewalking.wordpress.com/2017/01/16/god-1/ A wonderful poem by the talented Viv Tuffnell…

Inventing a Word For It – https://kristentwardowski.wordpress.com/2017/01/18/inventing-a-word-for-it/ Can you guess which is the right definition for this word?

Many thanks for visiting and taking the time and trouble to comment – and may you have a wonderful reading and blogging week.