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

Review of KINDLE Ebook Fallen – Book 10 of the Alex Verus series by Benedict Jacka #Brainfluffbookreview #Fallenbookreview

I have enjoyed the Alex Verus series, following the fortunes (or is it misfortunes) of hapless divination mage Alex Verus – see my reviews of Fated (Book 1), Veiled (Book 6), Burned (Book 7), Bound (Book 8). So I was pleased to catch up with Fallen as I’m trying to make an effort to continue onwards with series I’ve enjoyed.

BLURB: Once Alex Verus was a diviner trying to live quietly under the radar. Now he’s a member of the Light Council who’s found success, friends…and love. But it’s come with a price–the Council is investigating him, and if they find out the truth, he’ll lose everything. Meanwhile, Alex’s old master, Richard Drakh, is waging a war against the Council, and he’s preparing a move that will bring Alex and the life mage, Anne, under his control. Caught between Richard and the Council, Alex’s time is running out. To protect those he cares for, Alex will have to become something different. Something darker…

REVIEW: Like a number of the long-running, urban fantasy adventure series I’ve been following, such as the Harry Dresden series, the overall tone has steadily got darker as the series continues. And in this one, Alex finds himself caught between a rock in a hard place. As it had been a while since I’d picked up one of these book – once again, I was struck by just what an unpleasant experience it was to find yourself with any magical ability in Jacka’s alternate world. Immediately practitioners have to choose between being Light or Dark mages – something which Alex has tried to avoid. While many of the Dark mages are just plain nasty, the Light mages are not as advertised, either. Judgemental, with draconian punishments for anyone who doesn’t see the world through the same lens, they aren’t all that much better. And Alex has made some powerful enemies on The Council.

There were a couple of incidents in the middle of this one that took the story to another level. A character who has appeared throughout the books and helped Alex a great deal suddenly was subjected to a shocking attack. It was cleverly done, because I found I was very angry at what had been done – to the extent that when Alex makes a momentous decision, I’m right alongside him, hoping this gives him sufficient power to keep himself, and those around him properly safe. That said, there are still moments of humour that I enjoyed – the little elemental he relies on for transport is amusingly unreliable at times. The pages zipped by and I found I’d reached the end with real regret there wasn’t more.

However, I’m comforted by the knowledge that I’ve more Alex Verus goodness waiting for me – I have an arc of the new release. For those of you who have also let this adventure lapse for whatever reason, I can confirm the narrative arc takes Alex in a different, challenging direction. And Jacka is a master at depicting thrilling magical battles. Highly recommended for fans of well-written urban fantasy adventures set in London.
9/10

Sunday Post – 29th 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.

The week started overcast and dull, but the last couple of days has been brighter and sunnier – and doesn’t that make a difference? Himself has been on annual leave and we planned to clean, tidy and declutter. The great news is that we have made a bit of progress! The kitchen and the lounge are now looking a LOT better. Yay! My eldest grandson is now out of quarantine and returns to school this week to his Drama exam, so I am very relieved. And in this week’s links below, I have included Tim’s mix of the song ‘Let It Go’ using 103 clips from films and TV programmes, which he has also edited himself – I think he’s done a magnificent job. Do nip along and check it out…

I have now successfully disentangled my monster manuscript and have the complete first draft of Picky Eaters 2, which is now called Flame & Blame. I also have two-thirds of the next book written, entitled Trouble With Dwarves and I’ve been working on completing the plan for that one and the next book in the series, which will be entitled, A Conspiracy of Dragons. So enough to keep me happily occupied for the rest of the year and into 2021…

I have also been loving Sci Fi Month and I’m very sorry that it’s coming to an end – but I’ve picked up so many recommendations for exciting new sci fi reads. A huge thank you to thank you so much to Imyril at There’s Always Room for One More and Lisa at Dear Geek Place for all their hard work and if you are looking for more science fiction goodness in your life – here’s the link to the Master Schedule for a quick browse.

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The photos this week come from a rather soggy walk along the beach with Himself, when we talked through the plans for Trouble With Dwarves. Notice the shingle and seaweed up across the sea front after a recent storm…

Last week I read:

Fallen – Book 10 of the Alex Verus series by Benedict Jacka
Once Alex Verus was a diviner trying to live quietly under the radar. Now he’s a member of the Light Council who’s found success, friends…and love. But it’s come with a price–the Council is investigating him, and if they find out the truth, he’ll lose everything.

Meanwhile, Alex’s old master, Richard Drakh, is waging a war against the Council, and he’s preparing a move that will bring Alex and the life mage, Anne, under his control. Caught between Richard and the Council, Alex’s time is running out. To protect those he cares for, Alex will have to become something different. Something darker…
I was delighted to dive back into this excellent Brit-based urban fantasy adventure, which is one of the smartest I’ve come across. Needless to say, Verus is in a bucketful of trouble and things are steadily getting worse… I’ve an arc for the next book, which I’m looking forward to, after an intriguing ending. Review to follow…

Lifelode by Jo Walton
Lifelode is the Mythopoeic Award Winning novel from Hugo, Nebula and World Fantasy Award winning author Jo Walton. It was published in hardcover in 2009 by NESFA Press and is now available for the first time as an ebook.

At its heart, Lifelode is the story of a comfortable manor house family. The four adults of the household are happily polygamous, each fulfilling their ‘lifelode’ or life’s purpose: Ferrand is the lord of the manor, his sweetmate Taveth runs the household, his wife Chayra makes ceramics, and Taveth’s husband Ranal works the farm. Their children are a joyful bunch, running around in the sunshine days of the harvest and wondering what their own lifelodes will be.

Their lives changed with the arrival of two visitors to Applekirk: Jankin the scholar and Hanethe, Ferrand’s great grandmother and the former lord of the manor, who has been living for many generations in the East, a place where the gods walk and yeya (magic) is so powerful that those who wield it are not quite human.
Walton is one of my all-time favourite authors, so I was thrilled to discover this gem that I hadn’t yet read. As ever, it’s a masterpiece… Review to follow.

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The Dark Archive – Book 7 of The Invisible Library series by Genevieve Gogman
Irene is teaching her new assistant the fundamentals of a Librarian’s job, and finding that training a young Fae is more difficult than she expected. But when they both narrowly avoid getting killed in an assassination attempt, she decides that learning by doing is the only option they have left – especially when the assassins keep coming for them, and for Irene’s other friends as well…

In order to protect themselves, Irene and her friends must do what they do best: search for information to defeat the overwhelming threat they face and identify their unseen enemy. To do that, Irene will have to delve deeper into her own history than she ever has before, face an ancient foe, and uncover secrets that will change her life and the course of the Library forever.
It was a real treat to get hold of the arc of this latest offering in this engaging portal fantasy. Irene is one of my favourite protagonists – cool, clever and generally in command of the situation. I loved the major plot twist, but I’m not too sure about that Epilogue… I’m hoping it isn’t a massive misstep! Review to follow.

My posts last week:

Review of The Sculpted Ship by K.M. O’Brien

Castellan the Black and His Wise Draconic Sayings

Friday Face-off featuring Embers of War – Book 1 of the Embers of War series by Gareth L. Powell

Great Science Fiction Series I’ve Discovered in 2020

Review of A Memory Called Empire – Book 1 of the Teixcalaan series by Arkady Martine

Can’t-Wait Wednesday featuring A Desolation Called Peace – Book 2 of the Teixcalaan series by Arkady Martine

Review of Stranger Still – Book 3 of the Strange series by Marilyn Messik

Covet the Covers 12 – featuring the sci fi covers of Elizabeth Moon

Two mini-reviews: Embers of War by Gareth L. Powell and Ribbonworld by Richard Dee

Sunday Post – 22nd November 2020


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

Crotty’s Lake I https://inesemjphotography.com/2020/11/26/crottys-lake-i/ Inese’s fabulous photos capture the wonderful landscape and wildlife – such a treat at this time…

Frozen’s ‘Let It Go’ Sung by 103 Movies and TV Shows https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZC4et1M8T_I&feature=youtu.be And here is Tim’s rendition of ‘Let It Go’ – one of his recent projects… Though I teach him – I want to make it clear that I had nothing to do with this achievement. This is his own talent and hard work shining through!

TOP TEN TUESDAY: Sci Fi Month edition: My Top Ten Sci-Fi tv series – #SciFiMonth https://spaceandsorcery.wordpress.com/2020/11/24/top-ten-tuesday-scifi-month-edition-mytop-ten-sci-fi-tv-series-scifimonth/ Someone else joining in the Sci Fi Month jollity – reading this list brought back some very happy memories – as well as a reminder to get stuck into The Expanse…

The Tale of Two (or more) Rockets https://earthianhivemind.net/2020/11/22/the-tale-of-two-or-more-rockets/ I always enjoy Steph’s articles about what is happening in the world of science…

Top Ten Tuesday: Reading in a time of COVID… https://lynns-books.com/2020/11/24/top-ten-tuesday-reading-in-a-time-of-covid/ Lynn provides a list of the books that provided her with comfort during this difficult year – have you changed your reading habits during 2020?

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