This is part of the weekly meme over at the Caffeinated Reviewer, where book bloggers can share the books and blogs they have written.
And finally I’m feeling back to normal, again. No more thick head, sore joints, scratchy throat and the taste of petrol. I also managed to touch base with both children. They are both doing well – I’m so proud of them both for entirely different reasons. My daughter has been thrown SUCH a curved ball and she has been coping brilliantly. While my son is happier than I’ve ever seen him and long may it continue. I just wish he wasn’t quite so far away…
The weeds are taking hold after the rain we’ve had, though we are hoping to get out into the garden in the coming week and get it back under control. The echiums hum with bees and we have lavender in flower and strawberries in the garden… My very favourite time of year!
On the writing front, I have been working on a new space opera adventure, Unearthly Things Above and I am looking forward to Picky Eaters being released tomorrow. Below is a lovely review written by Hayley at Rather Too Fond of Books.
Last week I read:
Flower Power Trip – Book 3 of the Braxton Campus mysteries by James J. Cudney
At a masquerade ball to raise money for renovations to Memorial Library, Kellan finds a dead body dressed in a Dr. Evil costume. Did one of Maggie’s sisters kill the annoying guest who’d been staying at the Roarke and Daughters Inn, or does the victim have a closer connection to someone else at Braxton College?
I thoroughly enjoy this cosy mystery series featuring a single father trying to bring up his small daughter in between holding down a job and solving the murders that keep turning up at his university. And this is yet another well-plotted whodunit, with a steady stream of convincing suspects, entertaining characters, and a sympathetic protagonist with secrets of his own… See my reviews of Academic Curveball and Broken Heart Attack.
The Case of the Deadly Butter Chicken – Book 3 of the Vish Puri series by Tarquin Hall
Vish Puri is as fond of butter chicken as the next Punjabi. So when it’s served at the Delhi Durbar hotel at an India Premier League cricket match dinner, he’s the first to tuck in. Faheem Khan, father of Pakistani star cricketer Kamran Khan, can’t resist either. But the creamy dish proves his undoing. After a few mouthfuls, he collapses on the floor, dead…
This series is another firm favourite – I fell in love with this one after reviewing The Case of the Reincarnated Client as a Netgalley arc and was so impressed that I went out and bought the rest of the series. I’m now working my way through it and loving the vivid Indian setting, which is beautifully evoked by Hall’s wonderful writing.
To Be Taught, If Fortunate – NOVELLA by Becky Chambers
In her new novella, Sunday Times best-selling author Becky Chambers imagines a future in which, instead of terraforming planets to sustain human life, explorers of the solar system instead transform themselves. Ariadne is one such explorer. As an astronaut on an extrasolar research vessel, she and her fellow crewmates sleep between worlds and wake up each time with different features. Her experience is one of fluid body and stable mind and of a unique perspective on the passage of time. Back on Earth, society changes dramatically from decade to decade, as it always does. Ariadne may awaken to find that support for space exploration back home has waned, or that her country of birth no longer exists, or that a cult has arisen around their cosmic findings, only to dissolve once more by the next waking. But the moods of Earth have little bearing on their mission: to explore, to study, and to send their learnings home.
I loved this one. It takes great technical skill to successfully write a novella – and Chambers nails it. I finished this one with tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat and whatever you do, please read the Afterword – because there you find the reason for that striking title… See my reviews of The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet and A Closed and Common Orbit.
The Ruthless – Book 2 of The Deathless series by Peter Newman
THE REBEL.
For years, Vasin Sapphire has been waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. Now, as other Deathless families come under constant assault from the monsters that roam the Wild, that time has come.
THE RUTHLESS.
In the floating castle of Rochant Sapphire, loyal subjects await the ceremony to return their rule to his rightful place. But the child raised to give up his body to Lord Rochant is no ordinary servant. Strange ad savage, he will stop at nothing to escape his gilded prison.
AND THE RETURNED…
Far below, another child yearns to see the human world. Raised by a creature of the Wild, he knows its secrets better than any other. As he enters into the struggle between the Deathless houses, he may be the key to protecting their power or destroying it completely.
THE WILD HAS BEGUN TO RISE.
I loved The Deathless – see my review. So when I was reminded of this series, I tracked down this second book, which had all the taut tension and atmospheric worldbuilding of the first book, with a cast of vivid characters and a suitably twisty plot. As it left everything on a cliffhanger, I’m relieved that the third book is being released in August.
My posts last week:
Review of Relatively Strange – Book 1 of the Strange series by Marilyn Messik
Friday Face-off featuring The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell
The Book Character Quarantine Tag
Can’t-Wait-Wednesday featuring Entangled Secrets – Book 3 of the Northern Circle Coven by Pat Esden
Review of NETGALLEY arc Hostile Takeover – Book 1 of the Vale Investigation series by Cristell Comby
Sunday Post – 14th June 2020
Interesting/outstanding blogs and articles that have caught my attention during the last week, in no particular order:
A Summary and Analysis of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream
https://interestingliterature.com/2020/06/shakespeare-midsummer-nights-dream-summary-analysis/ One of my favourite Shakespeare plays – along with The Tempest…
When You Want to Help Someone: What Helps, What Doesn’t https://mrsozzie.wordpress.com/2020/06/15/when-you-want-to-help-someone-what-helps-what-doesnt/ The hard fact is that in these times, we are more likely to encounter someone in serious trouble. And often we are unprepared and don’t really know what to say or do for the best. This helpful article provides great advice…
Regarding Privilege, Empathy and Voice https://writerunboxed.com/2020/06/15/regarding-privilege-empathy-and-voice/ As I’ve said before – I don’t generally get involved in politics on this blog. But this article written by a white, middle-aged man on what is going on right now has some important things to say for those of us who desperately want to do something to help things change, but because of our colour and privilege, we don’t quite know how or what. I also recommend you read the comments…
Rose Garden Haiku https://mythsofthemirror.com/2020/06/11/chaos/ Diana also turns to her garden when she finds the world too hard to take – but in addition to taking photos, she writes beautiful poetry, too…
Book review: Picky Eaters by S.J. Higbee @sjhigbee https://rathertoofondofbooks.com/2020/06/19/picky-eaters-s-j-higbee/ This is a lovely review by Hayley for my short story Picky Eaters, which is due to be released tomorrow… All proceeds are going mental health charities for the duration of this book’s publication life.
Thank you for visiting, reading, liking and/or commenting on my blog – I hope you and yours have a peaceful, healthy week. Take care.
This edition was produced by Del Rey in June 2005 and is a real contender. I love the image of the haunted-looking young man – the blurring effect of the light and the quirky positioning of the title. My main grizzle is the chatter in the bottom left of the cover which I think compromises the design, though at least it has been positioned with some thought.
Published in May 2004 by Ballantine Books, this Tenth Anniversary edition is another effective cover. The interlocking pieces making up the whole image, which is still off-centre creates an eye-catching, arresting effect. However, the title font is underpowered and boring, while that ugly textbox is completely out of place, especially given the strong colour draws the eye away from the otherwise muted design palette.
This offering, published by Ballentine Books in March 2004, is the least successful effort. The child’s windmill is evidently supposed to look as if it’s spinning at speed, but ends up looking like a poorly executed blur. This effect is emphasised in thumbnail, where the binary sequencing manages to make the whole cover look out of focus. I don’t like the limp title and author fonts, or the chatter cluttering up the design, either. A book this awesome deserves a far better cover.
This next cover was released in December 2010 by Hachette. I love the drama of the splinters of light flying off across the cover, while the dark purple corona against the black background looks beautiful. This cover certainly stands out from the others with the sheer visual drama. For once, both the title and author fonts are substantial enough to stand out from the design to be easily read, which surely ought to be their purpose, anyhow. This is my favourite.
This Polish hardback edition, released in May 2005 by ISA, is also a contender. I love the purple image of the young man with the silvered eyes, while the play of light in the background is beautiful and eye-catching. This one was so very nearly my favourite – which is yours?
A kidnap attempt outside the school gates in broad daylight convinces Gabriel Ash that his renegade wife is trying to steal their sons from him. Only the intervention of his friend Constable Hazel Best kept them safe. It’s a simple if alarming explanation, but is it the truth? Hazel uncovers disturbing information about another crime, the repercussions of which are still threatening innocent lives seventeen years later. Once again Hazel finds herself at loggerheads with her superiors. Did they really conspire to protect a murderer? And this time she isn’t getting the support she needs from Ash. She’d thought they were kindred spirits: now she’s not sure what his motives are.
Jacob Wesson is a timecop from 2040, sent back to WWII London to stop the assassination of Britain’s war leader. The assignment plays out with apparent ease, but the jump home goes wrong, leading to a series of events that not only puts in jeopardy the outcome of WWII, but all history…
Brainfluff 