Signor Finzione

Ah, thanks, good to know. I've heard good things about Neverwhere, and I loved the film Stardust (even though it was cheesy!), so may try one of those if I come across them. Lucky me . . . I prefer the Legend cover, though, it matches my Waylander. Aren't HBO making a TV show of American Gods, or did I dream that?

Hi Angury, glad you're enjoying Discworld! I've read a fair few of them myself, not necessarily in the 'correct' order, and found that it doesn't really seem to matter what order I read them in since I almost always enjoy them. I have heard that it's better to read them in their 'groups' (all the Watch books together, all the witches, all the Rincewind etc.), but I really don't think it matters too much. I think I started with something like book #31, then read book #28, then went right to #1. I did start buying and reading them in series order, and oddly enough I'm up to Guards! Guards! as well (it's on this year's TBR). But I've read others on their own and enjoyed them much more than the earlier ones which I read in order. Hogfather and Going Postal are both fantastic, as is The Truth and Night Watch. Gaia, I love the witches too, especially Nanny Ogg and her drunken singing. Which was everybody's favourite TV film? Mine is Hogfather, I think. ETA: Angury, Death is one of the main characters in Hogfather, and I think you'll enjoy it for this reason!

Whoops! I went to Manchester and bought some books today. Here they are: From The Works (3 paperbacks for £5): The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak (read it before but never owned it) The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor by Robert Kirkman Earth Unaware by Orson Scott Card Control Point by Myke Cole Fortress Frontier by Myke Cole Warlord by Angus Donald From Waterstones: Miserere (An Autumn Tale) by Teresa Frohock The Prince of Lies by Anne Lyle The King's Blood by Daniel Abraham Legend by David Gemmell Midnight Falcon by David Gemmell I was also eyeing up Mage's Blood by David Hair, A Dance of Cloaks by David Dalglish, and The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson, but managed to resist (until next time). Here are the ones I bought!

It is! It looks prettier when it's bigger, but for some reason it's really tiny. Yes, it starts out slow but really improves towards the end, and I've heard really good things about the most recent one (book #3). I'll probably look into getting hold of the Long Price series if I enjoy the rest of this one. I've never read any Gaiman before, no, although American Gods has been on my wishlist for a very long time, and I really like the sound of The Ocean at the End of the Lane. Are there any you'd recommend to start with? Someone on another blog said recently that Abraham's Long Price books had a really great slow-burn plot, and that Dagger & Coin seems to be doing the same thing. If so I'm looking forward to the rest of the series, and I'm glad The Dragon's Path got better as it went along.

MALAZAN! Happy reading in 2014!

I bought 11 this afternoon.

Aw, cheers Devi, I love reading yours too! Yeah, I think Steve and Tim are responsible for a hefty amount of both my wishlist and TBR as well.

Thanks a lot! I edited it and it worked. Never had that problem before. Yeah, the Abraham really picked up the pace after a while, so much so that I might have to acquire book #2 tomorrow . . .

Is that not a good thing?

Congratulations on your new purchases! The Gemmell look awesome. How close are you to having a complete collection? Great review of the BAH - what a shame the last story dragged it all down. The Witch in the Wood sounds like the Mary Stewart novel The Wicked Day (the only one I really enjoyed), which was also about Mordred and Morgause and the dark deeds of Sir Gawaine and Agravaine and the rest.

Aw, cheers Chrissy, same to you!

Anyone know how to get around not being able to post an image? I tried posting it with a picture of the book cover but it came up saying "that image extension is not allowed on this community". It's a pretty cover, too.

Review: 'The Dragon's Path' by Daniel Abraham Summer is the season of war in the Free Cities. Marcus is getting out before the fighting starts. His hero days are behind him, and guarding the last caravan out of the city is better than being pressed into service by the local gentry. Cithrin has a job to do – smuggle the wealth of a nation through a war zone. An orphan raised by the bank, she is the city’s last hope of keeping its treasure out of the hands of the invaders. Geder, the only son of a noble house, is more interested in philosophy than swordplay. But in the fires of battle, a hero – or a villain – can be forged from even the most reluctant soldier. All three have a part to play as a minor summer skirmish threatens to spiral out of control and sweep the entire region onto the Dragon’s Path – the path to war. The Dragon’s Path is a fantasy novel written in a similar style to GRRM’s A Song of Ice and Fire, with a nice blend of violence, war, political intrigue, and a variety of point-of-view characters. Although slow to begin with, both the story and the characters steadily improve as the novel progresses. The Dragon’s Path is the first in a four-book series titled The Dagger and the Coin, a phrase which in this book refers to the two alternative paths of civilisation: war (or 'the dragon's path') and trade. The ‘coin’ is represented by the main female character, Cithrin, and it’s interesting to see how her story is juxtaposed against others who take the path of violence, like Dawson. While the initial sixty pages or so made me feel as though I was being bombarded with new characters and PoVs, this soon evened itself out into four central PoV characters, all of whom come to be interesting in different ways. The slightly Erikson-esque name-dropping of what seems like a hundred names of races and cities without any elaboration was also a bit confusing at first; it takes roughly the first half of the book for the characters to fully begin to form, and the various aspects of the world, such as its history, and details of the twelve different races, soon fall into place. There are four main PoVs, each of which are very different: there’s Cithrin bel Sarcour, young orphan girl and ward of the Medean bank; Marcus Wester, war hero-turned mercenary; Geder Palliako, reluctant soldier and amateur philosopher; and Dawson, king’s advisor and steadfast loyalist. Two of these characters – Cithrin and Geder – develop significantly throughout the course of the novel, and it was their stories I found most enjoyable to read. Both characters have some pretty major ups and downs; both are forced to shed their innocent naïveté by events that shape their thoughts and personalities in very different ways, and it’s these two characters in particular that I’m keen to read more of. The two main female characters in the novel are well-drawn, particularly since both have their own personal strengths, neither of which involves improbable skill with either sex or weapons: Cithrin, although very young, is well-versed in her knowledge of banking and finance, and skilfully uses this knowledge to turn many poor situations to her advantage; while Clara, the wife of Dawson and a comparably minor character, plays an important role by using her ability to read people and by exploiting the inferior position of women in society in order to get access to information and places inaccessible to men. I was pleasantly surprised by how interesting Cithrin’s chapters were, and how the details of her financial schemes actually became one of the most exciting plot points. The intriguing hints towards the bigger picture – a mysterious and deadly cult threatening to corrupt and engulf civilisation – and the fact that most of the characters have developed in such interesting ways more than make up for the novel’s occasional slowness; and although The Dragon’s Path is a little sluggish to start, the second half of the story – particularly the developments of the final few chapters – promises much greater things. My rating: 4/5

Cheers Devi, I think it'll be a good 'un.

I loved it so much I went to see it twice! And not just because of all the beautiful men in it . . . honest . . . Last night I watched The World's End, starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. I didn't quite enjoy it as much as Hot Fuzz or Shaun of the Dead, but it was still great, and very funny.

Hi Tim, you have some great books on your TBR, particularly the Tolkien! Will it be your first re-read of LotR? (I think I read them about 5 or 6 times in my teenage years, but haven't touched them in ages). I loved World War Z and Northern Lights, and the Crystal Cave was fairly enjoyable too. I've been wanting to read Warm Bodies myself ever since watching the film, which I thought was great. Happy reading in 2014!

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on Magician, and I wish you all the luck in the world with your journalism career and your writing in general.

Free Broken Empire short story on Mark Lawrence's blog! Let them wait in there, ready for a special occasion. Like your birthday. Or . . . Tuesday!

I always enjoy reading your thread Gaia, and I look forward to seeing how your reading year works out in 2014.

I feel your pain with the dog waking you up in the morning. Our two kittens wake us up wanting to be fed at 5.50am - on the dot! - every single day without fail. I realised recently that this might be because we got them in June, when I was getting up at 6.50am for work, and the clocks have gone back since then but their body clocks have stayed the same! Ah, that's interesting . . . I haven't read The Magic Toyshop (though I'll keep my eye out for it since you rated it so highly!), but I quite enjoyed The Bloody Chamber, though some stories were much better than others. I'd probably rate Nights at the Circus at the about the same as TBC (3/5), though I'd probably have enjoyed it more if I hadn't been reading it under time pressures for uni. There are some pretty dark moments in it which are great, though. My favourite Carter novel is Wise Children - very highly recommended.

Happy reading in 2014 Chalie! Have you read any other Angela Carter?

Happy new year Tim! I always enjoy reading your thread and I'll be following your new one in 2014. Have a good 'un. Probably not as many as there are in yours. Your new thread boggles the mind!

He's one of my favourites too. Happy new year, and happy reading in 2014!

Thanks Pixie! Yeah, I've heard good things about that series, I think I'll enjoy it when I do eventually read it.

Thanks Gaia. I like Pratchett, but occasionally find his books and humour a little bit hit-and-miss. This one was great, though.