Signor Finzione

Thanks for running it! It was fun putting faces to names.

'Wrong' is exactly the right word. Even though I'm slowly getting used to 8 I still don't like it. DOWN WITH NEW TECHNOLOGY! Thank you! Glad it's not just me. I forgot about Edge - yet another thing I really disliked! You're right, I suppose everything takes time to get used to. Some of us just take longer than others . . .

I TOTALLY understand! I get this ALL the time and it drives me crazy. I hate how so many people (mostly women, which is extremely annoying) just assume that in order to have a 'proper' life you have to have, or be planning to have, children. Everyone always acts shocked when I say I'm married but have no plans to have kids. Or they get this really smug look on their face and say "you'll change your mind in a few years". It's nothing to do with them!!! Also, a lot of family members I know who have kids aren't actually happy. They're always arguing with their partners and getting stressed about everything. I just don't want that in my life. There are loads of kids on Dan's side of the family. His sister has 2, his brother has 3, his other brother has 4, and his parents are currently fostering 4 as well. All the kids are aged between 1 and 15, and family parties are exhausting to say the least! I can't cope with all the noise and the shouting and the chaos. </rant> I'm so glad you understand!

I've had to stop myself buying checkered shirts, because at one point half my entire wardrobe was filled with them. Winter is my favourite season for clothes, too - long sleeves, comfy jumpers, and yes, boots and scarves!

Ah, such cuties!

Bear in mind that I'm a bit backwards when it comes to computers, and I don't like change. I bought a new laptop a few weeks ago which has 8 on it, which I do find confusing but have (sort of) become accustomed to. Maybe it was just having a second change in such a short time that short-circuited my brain . . . I just really dislike the whole interface. Too similar to the Xbox One dashboard, which I also find confusing. Yeah, I think it's just me. Glad it's working for you Pixie! Maybe I'll drag myself out of the dark ages and try it again . . .

I heart Primark. Most of my clothes come from either there, or from George/Asda. I love the sound of your outfit, Noll! A couple of days ago I wore a long-sleeved black bodycon dress with grey woolly tights, so you're not the only one rocking the winter look in the middle of summer. (I also tend to wear fluffy socks all year round . . .) Last week I had a trip to Matalan and bought two casual dresses (this one and this one). I can't wait until autumn, when I'll likely match them up with black tights, long black sleeveless cardigan, and either black boots or black flats. Yeah, I like black clothes. Yay for clothes!

Eugh, I downloaded Windows 10 then uninstalled it a couple of days later - found it far too confusing!

WOW, that's a lot of books! Sounds like you had an awesome read-a-thon, well done! The illustration on the cover of the Wings & Co book is adorable. I like how you said in your BSC review about how you're not really at ease with young children. I totally sympathise! It seems like every other female my age loves them, and wants one of their own. But I'm the opposite. When you go to visit a family member with a new baby and everyone passes the baby around to hold (like a game of pass the parcel) I'm like, "whoa, get it away from me!" Also, I have quite a lot of young nieces and nephews, and going to visit that side of the family really is exhausting! Although I do like them, I'm always glad to come home to peace and quiet with just me, Daniel and the cats.

Me too! It's much more awesome than the Tor cover: Thanks Gaia! I only have until February next year to wait for the second one, and then the third is out next October, so it's not too bad. I can bear waiting so long as the book doesn't end on a cliffhanger (which I really dislike), and as long as I don't have to wait TOO long (like with A Song of Ice and Fire ).

Review: 'When the Heavens Fall' by Marc Turner If you pick a fight with Shroud, Lord of the Dead, you had better ensure your victory, else death will mark only the beginning of your suffering. A book giving its wielder power over the dead has been stolen from a fellowship of mages that has kept the powerful relic dormant for centuries. The thief, a crafty, power-hungry necromancer, intends to use the Book of Lost Souls to resurrect an ancient race and challenge Shroud for dominion of the underworld. Shroud counters by sending his most formidable servants to seize the artefact at all cost. However, the god is not the only one interested in the Book, and a host of other forces converge, drawn by the powerful magic that has been unleashed. Among them is a reluctant Guardian who is commissioned by the Emperor to find the stolen Book, a troubled prince who battles enemies both personal and political, and a young girl of great power, whose past uniquely prepares her for an encounter with Shroud. The greatest threat to each of their quests lies not in the horror of an undead army but in the risk of betrayal from those closest to them. Each of their decisions comes at a personal cost and will not only affect them, but also determine the fate of their entire empire. I both love it and hate it when I enjoy the first book in a new series. I love it because I have the thrill of knowing that even when I reach the last page there’s still plenty more where that came from . . . and I hate it because what do you mean I have to wait until next year for the second one?! After just a few pages I knew that the Chronicles of the Exile would be (yet another) series I’d be following. I’d seen this book reviewed on several blogs I follow, and was completely pulled in by the overwhelmingly positive comments as well as numerous comparisons to Steven Erikson (my favourite author) and Glen Cook. And I can totally see where these comparisons are coming from. For a start there’s a whole host of crazy-powerful supernatural beings, the understated yet chilling descriptions of which strongly reminded me of the Taken in Cook’s Black Company. Then there are the sort of quirky, rock-hard, darkly humorous characters you’d expect to find dwelling in Erikson’s Malazan series, not to mention long-lost ancient races and interfering gods using the world as their own personal chess board. And there’s also a dark, gritty undertone – the sort of grimdark sensation that none of the characters are ever going to catch a break – that put me in mind of Joe Abercrombie’s excellent First Law trilogy. But, as easy as it is to say “fans of Cook/Erikson/Abercrombie will love this book,” When the Heavens Fall is not as easily pigeonholed as that. Turner has taken many much-loved aspects of these kinds of fantasy and has used them to embellish rather than define his own work; a sort of homage as opposed to a blueprint. While admittedly it was these kinds of parallels that drew me in from the beginning, the thing that actually kept me reading was the patient and gradual build-up to a final convergence which, while not quite as climactic as I’d hoped, was nonetheless well-done and satisfying. The climax itself and the form it will take is deliberately signposted right from the beginning, but the routes by which our characters arrive there are sufficiently twisted that, while we can guess what will happen, we’re entirely unable to predict how it will happen. Having the entire plot of the novel building up to a single moment is somewhat risky – especially with sequels on the horizon – but I found it refreshing, a bold change from the many sprawling fantasy epics I usually read. The author uses the alternating points-of-view of a small handful of characters to great effect, switching between them at varying points within each chapter to build momentum and create tension. I personally found all four point-of-view characters to be unfathomable and unpredictable: while this meant that I didn’t quite connect with the characters as much as I would have liked, it did keep me constantly guessing what they would do next, with many pleasant (and nasty!) surprises as a result. Yes, When the Heavens Fall is somewhat slow to begin with. But once it gets going there’s no stopping it; and it really gets going once it hits the halfway point. There’s a notable change of pace at around the two-fifty page-mark, and the story shifts up several gears from the moment the characters’ stories first begin to overlap. The characters themselves are compelling if not always sympathetic: a particular favourite of mine is Romany, the self-indulgent-yet-badass high priestess whose witty and irreverent verbal exchanges are a constant source of entertainment. The big climax is enjoyable if slightly drawn out, and for every problem resolved there are another ten questions still needing answers: the author has done a great job of making his readers clamour for the next book without quite leaving us on a cliffhanger. What do you mean I have to wait until next year for the second one?! 4/5

Cuuuuuute! I absolutely LOVE ginger cats! And black cats. And white ones. And tabbies . . . etc . . . etc . . .

Oi!!

Congratulations to Gaia and the book throne!!

The cat on the front cover is going, "whyyyyyyyyyy?" Are you going to make one?

That sounds awesome Tim! Very jealous! Why are these things always in bloody London?!

YAY FOR CHALIEPUD'S DOGGY PHOTO!!!!

'Kevin'?

Annihilation sounds fascinating. WIshlisted!

Someone genuinely said this?!? That's crazy! Good luck sifting through all the weirdos, whitie . . .

What a numpty! I'm guessing you won't be dating him?

Dear self-thinking guy, You are an absolute twerp. I courage you to go out and actually read a book or two yourself before judging all book readers to be mindless. Yours sincerely, Book Human

I had NO idea you were the other entrant!! :O Have you written stuff before or was this your first go at it? I really liked the idea behind your story, and considering we were on a deadline I think we did well just to submit something! I liked how you played around with the POVs . . . do you think you'll go back to it again in the future, or have you anything else in mind? I too expected there to be more - I was looking forward to being able to read loads, and having great feedback discussions with everyone. Maybe next year? Chrissy, you're such a cutie - thank you so much for your amazingly kind words. My dream is to be a full time writer, and hearing such supportive words really lets me hope that one day it will come true. (Cheesy, right? But true. )

Yay! I hope you enjoy it. Oh dear!!!

This sounds extremely bizarre Gaia! Shame you didn't enjoy it as much as the others (though at least there's no unnecessary food on the cover of this one ). I was about to say the same thing! A 6/10 is a real damning score from Gaia - the author should hang her head in shame.