Athena Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 Great review ! The book is on my TBR (as an ebook on the Kindle). I'm glad you enjoyed it, though it's a shame there wasn't much zombieness for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timstar Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 It sounds really interesting! I have been looking for some more Steampunk, think I will check this out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 Nice review! I have this on my Kindle and have nearly started reading it a few times, but something else always distracts me (which is easy when you have a huge TBR list! ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted March 29, 2014 Author Share Posted March 29, 2014 Thanks a lot guys! Would definitely recommend it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted March 29, 2014 Author Share Posted March 29, 2014 So, book update: some of you know I occasionally get sent free books from publishers on account of my blog. I had a nice surprise the other day when I came home to find, not one, but two of these on my doormat! Neither are the kind of thing I'd normally choose for myself, but the beauty of being on mailing lists is that getting sent the books for free can encourage you to read outside your comfort zone: after all, you have nothing to lose by trying them! Here are the books: And the synopses from Amazon: Red Moon: Every teenage girl thinks she's different. When government agents kick down Claire Forrester's front door and murder her parents, Claire realises just how different she is. Patrick Gamble was nothing special until the day he got on a plane and, hours later, stepped off it, the only passenger left alive. A hero. President Chase Williams has vowed to eradicate the menace. Unknown to the electorate, however, he is becoming the very thing he has sworn to destroy. Each of them is caught up in a war that so far has been controlled with laws and violence and drugs. But an uprising is about to leave them damaged, lost, and tied to one another for ever. The night of the red moon is coming, when an unrecognizable world will emerge, and the battle for humanity will begin. And Lexicon: Two years ago, something terrible was unleashed in an Australian mining town called Broken Hill. Thousands died. Few people know what really happened. Emily Ruff is one of them. She belongs to an elite organisation of 'poets': masters of manipulation who use language to warp others to their will. She was one of their most promising recruits until she made a catastrophic mistake: she fell in love. Wil Parke knows the truth too, only he doesn't remember it. And he doesn't know why he's immune to the poets' powers. But he knows he needs to run. As their stories converge, the past is revealed, and the race is on for a deadly weapon: a word. Because the poets know that words can kill... I'm actually quite looking forward to reading Lexicon. And hopefully Red Moon won't be too much of a generic werewolf story . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 Both sound interesting, and I love the cover of Lexicon! Hope you get on well with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtrpath27 Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 Ooh...I'm starting Lexicon tonight. My cover is totally different, though. My dearest has read it and said he really enjoyed it. Congrats on snagging a copy for free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted March 29, 2014 Author Share Posted March 29, 2014 Both sound interesting, and I love the cover of Lexicon! Hope you get on well with them. Thank you! The cover is quite striking isn't it? Ooh...I'm starting Lexicon tonight. My cover is totally different, though. My dearest has read it and said he really enjoyed it. Congrats on snagging a copy for free. Awesome, I'm glad to hear he enjoyed it. I think I'll be starting it tomorrow - I look forward to comparing thoughts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 Lexicon sounds intriguing. Lucky you with your free books! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 I love your review of 'Boneshaker', definitely getting added to my wishlist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted March 30, 2014 Author Share Posted March 30, 2014 Lexicon sounds intriguing. Lucky you with your free books! I know! The only thing better than a book is a free book! I love your review of 'Boneshaker', definitely getting added to my wishlist Thanks very much! Hope you like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 I hope you enjoy your free books ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted March 30, 2014 Author Share Posted March 30, 2014 (edited) I hope you enjoy your free books ! Thank you! I'm starting Lexicon today. Edited March 30, 2014 by Signor Finzione Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted March 30, 2014 Author Share Posted March 30, 2014 It's been a while since I've really bothered with a reading plan, but I thought it was about time I whipped my mind back into shape and got organised! This is mainly because I've bought a few hardbacks over the last few months, and it would be annoying if the paperback versions came out before I'd even had the chance to read them. So, here's a picture of my 'Mini TBR', which will probably take me three or four months to wade through: (They're organised by size rather than reading order!) I'm pretty awful at taking pictures and some of them are a bit unclear. The one at the very top is The Sword in the Storm by David Gemmell, and the bottom two are The Emperor's Blades by Brian Staveley and Valour by John Gwynne (this one was a pre-order and only arrived yesterday - another pleasant surprise!). I also have a couple of pre-orders that should be arriving in the next few months, which will make the pile a bit bigger. These are The Crimson Campaign by Brian McClellan (May), Prince of Fools by Mark Lawrence (June) and The Broken Eye by Brent Weeks (August). I'll post pics as they arrive (I'm very excited). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 That's a nice looking pile ! I hope you enjoy all the books . I wish I had that cover for The Final Empire (Mistborn book one), since all his other covers are like that for me but the Mistborn books 1-3 have the American covers (they are still in the box set wrapper ). At the time of buying the cover you have wasn't available so I bought this box set instead. I hope you can read all the hardbacks before the paperbacks come out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted March 30, 2014 Author Share Posted March 30, 2014 That's a nice looking pile ! I hope you enjoy all the books . I wish I had that cover for The Final Empire (Mistborn book one), since all his other covers are like that for me but the Mistborn books 1-3 have the American covers (they are still in the box set wrapper ). At the time of buying the cover you have wasn't available so I bought this box set instead. I hope you can read all the hardbacks before the paperbacks come out! Thanks Gaia. It's annoying when the cover art for a series/author doesn't match isn't it? I'm almost ashamed to say it but it was the cover art that actually made me want to read Sanderson in the first place! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 It's a very pretty cover, so I can understand that . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted March 31, 2014 Author Share Posted March 31, 2014 Review: 'Blood Song' by Anthony Ryan Vaelin Al Sorna's life changes forever the day his father abandons him at the gates of the Sixth Order, a secretive military arm of the Faith. Together with his fellow initiates, Vaelin undertakes a brutal training regime - where the price of failure is often death. Under the tutelage of the Order's masters, he learns how to forge a blade, survive the wilds and kill a man quickly and quietly.Now his new skills will be put to the test. War is coming. Vaelin is the Sixth Order's deadliest weapon and the Realm's only hope. He must draw upon the very essence of his strength and cunning if he is to survive the coming conflict. Yet as the world teeters on the edge of chaos, Vaelin will learn that the truth can cut deeper than any sword. Wow. I opened this book prepared to be disappointed: I knew it had received literally thousands of perfect scores on Amazon and Goodreads, and was somehow convinced that it couldn’t actually be that good. But . . . it really is. Wow. Blood Song is the first instalment in Anthony Ryan’s Raven’s Shadow series (the second book, Tower Lord, is out later this year), and it’s simply a stunning start to what will undoubtedly be an amazing series. The world and its mythology are vividly established, the story is exciting and, most importantly, the characters are impeccably introduced and developed. The main group of characters, the Order brothers, are almost as awesome as Scott Lynch’s Gentleman B@stards, and the main character, Vaelin, is now firmly established in my Top 10 Favourite Fantasy Protagonists (somewhere between Kvothe and Jorg). One of the main things I loved about the story was how it was entirely focused on one POV: that of Vaelin, abandoned as a child at the gates of a monastery by his father. Blood Song follows Vaelin’s journey as he and his new-found ‘brothers’ are trained and initiated into the order of battle-priests, where they are forced to undergo rigorous and dangerous tests of survival and skill. The rivalries and camaraderie between the boys is continually a joy to read, and I loved watching them develop as a group throughout years of training, during which their loyalty is tested as they confront dark plots and assassination attempts against their Order, and each endure personal trials of their own. The characters develop brilliantly, the battles are fantastically plotted and exciting, and the gradual reveal of the underlying plot is spectacular. The main story itself is framed by another narrative, written in first person from the POV of the man to whom Vaelin is narrating his story. This reminded me very strongly of Patrick Rothfuss’ Kingkiller Chronicles, which is by no means a bad thing: as with Rothfuss, the switches are infrequent enough to not be annoying, and serve to show us more about Vaelin while also teasing us with hints about things we have yet to learn about. The ending – which came around far too soon despite the book’s 728 pages – is a perfect balance of resolution and cliffhanger, and I can’t wait for the release of Tower Lord later this year. 5/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 I'm looking forward to seeing what you make of the Greg Keyes book, Laura - that's one I've looked at several times but not bought as yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 Review: 'Blood Song' by Anthony Ryan 5/5 Yay! Welcome to the Ryan fan club Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted March 31, 2014 Author Share Posted March 31, 2014 I'm looking forward to seeing what you make of the Greg Keyes book, Laura - that's one I've looked at several times but not bought as yet. I'm looking forward to seeing what it's like - I'm not even sure why I bought it the other week, as there are other books I wanted more, but something about it just seemed to grab me. (Maybe because 'Briar King' reminded me of 'King of Thorns'? ) Yay! Welcome to the Ryan fan club Thanks. I haven't enjoyed a book that much since reading The Name of the Wind last year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 Blood Song follows Vaelin’s journey as he and his new-found ‘brothers’ are trained and initiated into the order of battle-priests, where they are forced to undergo rigorous and dangerous tests of survival and skill. The rivalries and camaraderie between the boys is continually a joy to read, and I loved watching them develop as a group throughout years of training, during which their loyalty is tested as they confront dark plots and assassination attempts against their Order, and each endure personal trials of their own. One thing I loved about this aspect was how it could have been awfully cliched and predictable, but he kept it moving at such a pace and with enough twists that it avoided all the potential pitfalls. He really managed to put his own mark on that part of the story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted March 31, 2014 Author Share Posted March 31, 2014 One thing I loved about this aspect was how it could have been awfully cliched and predictable, but he kept it moving at such a pace and with enough twists that it avoided all the potential pitfalls. He really managed to put his own mark on that part of the story. I totally agree. The pacing was great, although I do actually wish there had been more of their Order days in there. The scenes focusing on their friendship, such as during lessons and whilst telling stories in the dormitory, reminded me of Harry Potter, which I loved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 I totally agree. The pacing was great, although I do actually wish there had been more of their Order days in there. The scenes focusing on their friendship, such as during lessons and whilst telling stories in the dormitory, reminded me of Harry Potter, which I loved. That's actually the reason I was glad he steered away from it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtrpath27 Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 Thank you! I'm starting Lexicon today. How is Lexicon going? I'm starting the last section right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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