Signor Finzione

Yep! HARDCORE, that's me!

Review: 'Half a War' by Joe Abercrombie Words are weapons. Princess Skara has seen all she loved made blood and ashes. She is left with only words. But the right words can be as deadly as any blade. She must conquer her fears and sharpen her wits to a lethal edge if she is to reclaim her birthright. Only half a war is fought with swords. The deep-cunning Father Yarvi has walked a long road from crippled slave to king’s minister. He has made allies of old foes and stitched together an uneasy peace. But now the ruthless Grandmother Wexen has raised the greatest army since the elves made war on God, and put Bright Yilling at its head – a man who worships no god but Death. Sometimes one must fight evil with evil. Some – like Thorn Bathu and the sword-bearer Raith – are born to fight, perhaps to die. Others – like Brand the smith and Koll the wood-carver – would rather stand in the light. But when Mother War spreads her iron wings, she may cast the whole Shattered Sea into darkness. So far I’ve been kind of ambivalent towards the Shattered Sea trilogy. As a huge fan of Abercrombie’s six First Law novels I entered his latest series with humongous expectations . . . and ended up feeling a little underwhelmed by it. The characters in Half a King and the story in Half the World felt, to me, distinctly lukewarm: there never seemed to be any doubt as to whether the main characters would achieve their goal, and it never once felt as though they were in any real danger. Not so in Half a War. Despite its title, this book doesn’t do things by half. Half a War is packed from cover to cover with full-on danger, full-on violence, and full-on excitement. The stakes are higher than they’ve ever been: the events of the first two books have finally come to a head, and the Shattered Sea is embroiled in outright war. The High King’s army are marching, and standing against them is the small but dogged alliance of Gettland, Vansterland and Throvenland. But it’s an alliance of necessity rather than friendship, and the leaders of each nation must learn to co-exist for the greater good of their people. I simply can’t praise Half a War highly enough. This is the Abercrombie I know and love: the Abercrombie who writes killer action scenes and breathless, adrenaline-fuelled battles; the Abercrombie who loads his pages with dark humour and gritty violence; the Abercrombie who creates flawed yet likeable characters whose witty yet realistic dialogue dances off the page and whose fates we as readers become genuinely invested in. This Abercrombie is not afraid to place his characters in dangerous situations, and to force them to make decisions in which they must weigh their own needs against the needs of others. Neither is he afraid to hurt his characters – or, by extension, his readers – and I feel like this is the first time in this trilogy that the ‘true’ Abercrombie really shines through the YA veneer. In the same vein as the second book, Half a War has characters who previously featured as main protagonists taking something of a back seat, allowing a new set of characters to come to the fore. So, while Father Yarvi and Thorn Bathu both have their fair share of page time, the real focus here is on two new protagonists: Skara, a deposed and recently orphaned princess; and Raith, bloodthirsty swordbearer to the legendary warrior Grom-gil-Gorm. Both characters are remarkably different to one another, yet both are extremely likeable, and I personally sympathised with both of them a lot more than I did either Thorn, Brand or Yarvi. Still, each and every character has a role to play, and when the full extent of certain characters’ involvement with the ongoing conflict is revealed it makes for a delightfully outrageous surprise. The only aspect of the series I’m still not entirely convinced by is the notion of ‘elf magic’, which to me seems kind of shoehorned into Half a War given that it was only hinted at subtly in the previous two books (rather than made an integral part of the world as in Mark Lawrence’s Broken Empire). However, it does allow for incredible plot opportunities; and although I feel that the storyline involving the ruins of Strokom could perhaps have been fleshed out a bit more, I can’t deny that it results in some madly incongruous and awesome imagery (one particular scene involving the elderly Mother Scaer is both hilarious and terrifying, and will likely stick in my mind for a very long time). Half a War is fast-moving and highly entertaining. It’s a fairly intense read, full of action and twists, and is led by sympathetic yet unpredictable characters who constantly surprise us with their decisions, eventually leaving us with an optimistic yet by no means fairytale ending. All in all, a stunning finale to a really enjoyable fantasy series. I would absolutely love to see more of the Shattered Sea in the near future. 5/5

Yes! They're adorable. I love the Jurassic Park films and can't wait to see the new one!

That's a mighty fine bookshelf Michelle! I especially love the little dinosaurs.

You imagined him as a ninety-year-old woman, too?

Jasper is such a beaut! I LOVE Jamie's Italian - the squid with garlic dip is gorgeous.

Fantastic photos!! I didn't know that's where the Rockies are! They're beautiful. And that sign is awesome. An actual real bear???

Gaia, I actually prefer your cover too, since it matches with the rest of the books I have! Mine is the version published by PS (same as my copy of Night of Knives), simply because I bought it about eight years ago when it was the only edition available. It does look rather odd on the shelf next to all the Bantam ones.

It's a fish on a bike . . . ?! That's awesome Michelle. Won't enter this one myself but good luck to those who do.

Yay guys!!

Ooh well done Kell! Such lovely books.

Review: 'Blood Follows' by Steven Erikson All is not well in Lamentable Moll. A sinister, diabolical killer stalks the port city's narrow, barrow-humped streets, and panic grips the citizens like a fever. Emancipor Reese is no exception, and indeed, with his legendary ill luck, it's worse for him than for most. Not only was his previous employer the unknown killer's latest victim, but Emancipor is out of work. And, with his dearest wife terminally comfortable with the manner of life to which she asserts she has become accustomed (or at least to which she aspires) -- for her and their two whelps -- all other terrors grow limp and pale for poor Emancipor. But perhaps his luck has finally changed, for two strangers have come to Lamentable Moll... and they have nailed to the centre post in Fishmonger's Round a note requesting the services of a manservant. This is surely a remarkable opportunity for the hapless Emancipor Reese... no matter that the note reeks with death-warded magic; no matter that the barrow ghosts themselves howl with fear every night; and certainly no matter that Lamentable Moll itself is about to erupt in a frenzy of terror-inspired anarchy.... Blood Follows is Erikson’s first Malazan novella, the first in a series detailing the nefarious exploits of necromantic duo Bauchelain and Korbal Broach. Bauchelain and Broach made their Malazan debut in the third book of the main series, Memories of Ice, in which they played a minor part in a battle outside the city of Capustan. Here we were also introduced to their long-suffering manservant Emancipor Reese, and made to wonder just how ‘’Mancy the Luckless’ came to work for his unnatural employers. Blood Follows answers this question for us in the form of a darkly humorous tale detailing the origins of Reese’s unlucky alliance with Bauchelain and Broach. Containing all the trademark Erikson features without the weight of a 1,000+ page novel, Blood Follows is a Malazan tale in miniature, a single piece of the colossal jigsaw puzzle that usually comprises the full-length novels. As such it’s a tightly focused, fast-paced and brilliantly self-contained story, set on an obscure island and focusing on a handful of characters and their macabre involvement in a series of grisly murders. For this the setting of Lamentable Moll is perfect: a city whose houses and streets are built around and on top of hundreds of ancient (and occasionally haunted) barrows. The novella introduces a cast of characters which is relatively small, yet nicely diverse and fleshed-out considering the very short page count. The main players – both of whom are amusing and likeable – are Emancipor Reese, the aforementioned down-on-his-luck worker with an exceedingly demanding wife; and Sergeant Guld, top dog amongst the city watch but currently struggling with the pressure of hunting down a serial-killing sorcerer. As usual Erikson also manages to nudge on from the sidelines several awesomely bizarre supporting characters, some of whom are much more than they first appear; it’s these little touches of weirdness and magic and humour that, for me, really make him stand out as an author. These, and of course his ability to weave an intriguing tale leading to an exciting convergence no matter how limited the length of the story may be. Blood Follows is a ghoulish, hilarious and thoroughly enjoyable Malazan outing that’s now beckoning me (with a fat, white, delicate hand) to read more of these Bauchelain and Korbal Broach novellas. 5/5

I'd really like to read more Dickens in the near future, as I've loved everything I've read by him so far. (Bleak House, Our Mutual Friend, Sketches by Boz). On my TBR I have A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations and Oliver Twist; which would you guys recommend trying first?

I think this is the first negative review of Divergent I've ever read! It's never appealed to me personally, and it's good to know someone else who feels similarly has given it a go so that I don't have to. The Atwood sounds really interesting. What a shame she didn't flesh it out as much as she could have done. Also: Penelopiad??? That has to be the worst title I can imagine for this book! Makes it sound like a parody or something.

I can't believe they practically FORCED you to take extra books home. You must be devastated. Lovely reviews. So glad you enjoyed them all - I know you've really been looking forward to reading the Hamilton so I'm glad you liked it, even if you still prefer his other series.

Thanks Gaia! Yeah, I'm obviously going soft in my old age.

A BIGGER book throne?

Welcome to the forum!

Alright then, here's mine . . . This was the 'practice run' picture (hence the pyjamas and stupid expression), but since I kept telling my husband off for taking rubbish pictures he's refusing to do any more.

I don't know why I've refrained, since I'll have forgotten it all by the time I actually read the book anyway!

Bought a new book yesterday. £7 in Asda!! I'm hoping to read it extremely soon, along with Ruin (the first book I received from the Tor competition). For the moment I need to finish reading the two books I'm already reading: Blood Follows by Steven Erikson, and King of Thorns (re-read) by Mark Lawrence. I've been a bit behind with reading and reviewing lately, but since I work in a high school I now have six weeks of lovely book time.

Review: 'The Liar's Key' by Mark Lawrence The Red Queen has set her players on the board… Winter is keeping Prince Jalan Kendeth far from the longed-for luxuries of his southern palace. And although the North may be home to his companion, the warrior Snorri ver Snagason, he is just as eager to leave. For the Viking is ready to challenge all of Hell to bring his wife and children back into the living world. He has Loki’s key – now all he needs is to find the door. As all wait for the ice to unlock its jaws, the Dead King plots to claim what was so nearly his – the key into the world – so that the dead can rise and rule. Mark Lawrence is one of my favourite modern fantasy authors. First he blew me away with his Broken Empire trilogy (Prince of Thorns, King of Thorns and Emperor of Thorns). Then, just when I thought he couldn’t get any better, he unleashed a new trilogy titled The Red Queen’s War. The first book in this series, Prince of Fools, was simply awesome; happily, the series continues in the same vein with The Liar’s Key. Although its hefty length means it’s not quite the mile-a-minute thrill ride Prince of Fools was, The Liar’s Key does allow us more opportunities to catch our breath and spend more time learning about our favourite loveable rogue Jalan Kendeth. Having been dragged to the ends of the earth in the previous book, The Liar’s Key sees the spoilt prince of Red March dragged all the way back home again in a variety of dangerous and entertaining circumstances. We’re still following several of the same characters from earlier in the series, including Snorri, a Viking warrior on a quest to reclaim his lost family, and Tuttugu, Snorri’s most loyal follower (who actually prefers fishing to axe-fighting). A couple of new characters are also thrown into the mix: the witch Kara and the orphan child Hennan add a new dynamic to the not-so-happy gathering, and open up new and interesting possibilities plot-wise. The Liar’s Key is essentially a fantastically insane travelogue, meaning that yet more of the wonderful broken empire setting is unveiled here than ever before. Not only are we shown new places that have thus far only been hinted at – such as the dreaded Wheel of Osheim – but we also bump into a couple of characters from the original Broken Empire trilogy, each instance of which feels like a cross between a celebrity cameo and a reunion with old friends. Jalan himself is an incredibly likeable character despite his somewhat despicable nature, and his seemingly ceaseless supply of sardonic retorts and self-deprecating witticisms makes almost everything that comes out of his mouth immensely quotable. Furthermore I really enjoyed the way in which Jal’s character develops subtly and consistently, and thought that the use of flashbacks to reveal more about his family’s history was done in a really clever and interesting way. Lawrence’s prose flows effortlessly as always, making every page delightfully easy and entertaining to read. While I didn’t enjoy The Liar’s Key quite as much as I did Prince of Fools, it’s not often I find myself reading a book for the first time knowing that I’ll re-read it at some point in the near future. Lawrence’s Broken Empire books have already proven themselves to be even more clever and entertaining upon re-reading, and I’m certain that The Red Queen’s War will be the same. The world of the broken empire is like a distorted jigsaw puzzle, the pieces of which are scattered throughout each book, and we can’t truly start to put it together properly until we have all the pieces. Mark Lawrence is as creatively talented as Jalan Kendeth is outrageously likeable, and I continue to be thoroughly entertained by both of them. 5/5

Ooh, this is all very mysterious! Can't wait to actually read the book so I can come back and read the secret spoiler-tagged stuff.

Review: 'The Coldest War' by Ian Tregillis For decades, Britain's warlocks have been all that stands between the British Empire and the Soviet Union - a vast domain stretching from the Pacific Ocean to the shores of the English Channel. Now each wizard's death is another blow to Britain's national security. Meanwhile, a brother and sister - the subjects of a twisted Nazi experiment to imbue ordinary people with superhuman abilities - escape from a top-secret facility deep behind the Iron Curtain. They head for England, because that's where former spy Raybould Marsh lives. And Gretel, the mad seer, has plans for him. As Marsh is once again drawn into the world of Milkweed, he discovers that Britain's darkest acts didn't end with the war. And while he strives to protect queen and country, he is forced to confront his own willingness to accept victory at any cost. I was persuaded to read the first Milkweed novel, Bitter Seeds, last year, and although I found it a decent read it left me sceptical as to where exactly this trilogy was headed. After finishing The Coldest War I can hardly wait to find out. Set in 1963, The Coldest War takes place in the same alternate history as Bitter Seeds. The main events occur almost twenty years after the first book; the Soviets are now on the verge of winning the Cold War, having made use of the devastating Nazi scientific secrets stolen at the end of the first book. The characters themselves are almost unrecognisable. Each of them is in a dark place: Marsh’s marriage has degenerated into a resentful partnership that revolves around caring for a disabled son; Will is burdened by guilt and memories; and Klaus is imprisoned in a Soviet research facility along with his psychotic sister Gretel. All are shadows of their former selves, which makes for quite a gloomy kick-off to the story. However, the more time we spend with the characters the more we see them regain their old fire; and the further they’re dragged back into Milkweed, the more exciting their circumstances become. It’s not until later that it’s revealed just how many of these circumstances have arisen as a direct result of a certain character’s manipulations in the first book. I really wish I’d gone back to re-read Bitter Seeds before beginning The Coldest War, since reading them back-to-back is probably the best way to appreciate the author’s skilful use of timelines, not to mention the subtle set-ups and spectacular payoffs. The jaw-dropping ending actually had me racing upstairs to find Bitter Seeds and then flipping through the pages looking for one scene in particular, after which my jaw dropped and for several seconds I was literally speechless. The first book planted so many seeds (book two really gave ‘bitter seeds’ a whole new meaning) and I can’t wait to see how everything plays out in the final instalment, Necessary Evil. My only criticism is feeling that the Eidolon storyline didn’t mesh particularly well with the rest of the story, although its significance in the greater events of the trilogy is made abundantly (and terrifyingly) clear by the end of the novel. Despite this I absolutely LOVED this book. The Coldest War is awesome and exciting, and I already look forward to re-reading the whole trilogy in the future. 5/5

Thanks! We're going on Friday - I can't WAIT!