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Sam Hawke???s debut, City of Lies was originally released in 2018. It tells the story of it???s three main characters, Jovan, Kalina and the soon to be Chancellor, Tain. The main backdrop of the story takes place in the city of Silasta. A city that lives in hubris and ignorance, and as the book unfolds you get a clear picture of how this affects the population.
As an opening line, Hawke starts with one of the most memorable first lines that I have read, ???I was seven years old the first time my uncle poisoned me???, and from that we are introduced to the world of Jovan. One, in a long line of proofers, who maintains the safety of the leader of Silasta, the Chancellor, by having an ability to recognise the multitude of poisons that may kill a person.
What we learn from there is that this is the family business and Jovan is trained extensively by his Uncle Etan to recognise the different poisons, form an immunity and develop his ability to fashion antidotes for these deadly substances.
The drama begins innocuously enough with a series of seemingly unrelated events. However, as the plot unfolds, Jovan, Kalina and Tain are thrust into a world of intrigue, murder and secrets as both Jovan and Kalina???s Uncle Etan and Tain???s Uncle, the Chancellor, are poisoned.
Tain is thrust into the role of Chancellor, and whilst the city turns out to mourn the loss of the leading ruler of Silasta, an unknown army of invaders besieges the city. Without an army to protect them, the inhabitants of the city must band together to defend their city against an enemy that will not listen to reason or to their pleas of negotiation.
In City of Lies, Hawke presents us with an interesting take on the city under siege tale, instead of focussing on huge epic battles (there are some in there for all you battle mad readers!), she instead focuses on the small scale wars. The hunt to find the poisoner and the perpetrators of the plot against the city, who are sure to strike again. She also focuses on the reason for the siege and how and why this happened. What Jovan, Kalina and Tain learn, is that the demands of the city and its treatment of its people are the direct cause of this situation.
The story is a first person narrative, told from the POV of Joran and Kalina and we watch the events unfold through these two characters eyes and whilst they describe the events tat take place, we also watch as they develop in their roles and as characters.
Interestingly, whilst Hawke bases her story in fantasy, she brings real world problems into the story. Both of her characters are affected by illness in some way. Jovan describes symptoms of OCD and anxiety, whilst Kalina is affected by an unknown condition that causes her fatigue. Hawke raises some pertinent issues in these two characters. With Jovan, his OCD is part of him and even though he has a mental health problem, he is able to function in society and perform a valuable role in addition to dealing with his difficulties, not despite his mental health issues. However, she presents us with a differing view of Kalina in that her problems are more physical, and Hawke explores how other people view disability and how they see that a person with disability should fit into that role.
Additionally, she brings in wider issues, such as climate change, the effect of disregarding tradition and also the treatment of other cultures.
Hawke???s whodunnit approach is a good read and as the plot reveals its layers, the story twists and turns leading you in one direction and then the other. She weaves character development and world building in an accomplished manner, carefully constructing the world around her characters. At no point does she give any inkling of how the story ends, but when it reaches its conclusion, you are left satisfied with how it turns out.
Advance Reading Copy (ARC) kindly provided by Netgalley and Orbit. The actual joy and pleasure to read this book was all my own!
Legacy of Steel continues the story a year in the future from where Legacy of Ash left off. The story begins with Melanna, the tradition smashing Princessa of the Hadari, finally being accepted as the Emperor Kai Sadarn???s heir. However, the ceremony is marred when an unknown assailant attacks her father.
Meanwhile, the Tressian council is rebuilding and order is being restored to the Republic after the events that ended the last book. Councillor Malachi is elected to lead the council as First Councillor. However, the promises and bargains he made in the past reverberate in the present, subsequently pitching the City of Tressia into a war with forces long thought dead. This will lead to horrifying consequences, both personal to First Councillor Malachi and to the people of the city itself.
However, this is not the only threat. The Emperor Kai Saran of the Hadari has raised the full might of the Hadari Empire in a Holy war against the Republic. He will lead his armies to the border, and with the aid of the divine Ashana, he overruns the impenetrable fortress of Ahrad. Vowing not to stop until he has tore apart the Tressian Republic, at any cost!
As the battles rage, one man is needed. Viktor Akadra, the champion of the Republic. But he has forsaken the Republic and his role as champion,lost and broken by grief.
Matthew Ward???s latest instalment in The Legacy Series is pure joy to read. This book has everything that will delight fantasy readers. Exhilarating battle scenes, political intrigue, Gods walking the land and a scope of utter Epicness!
I cannot tell you how much I adore this series. When I read Legacy of Ash I gave it five stars, Legacy of Steel firmly blows the previous book out of the water and shatters all my expectations.
In this second book, Ward???s narrative gripped me from beginning to end. Building on the story that he had established in Legacy of Ash. He develops his characters superbly, bringing to the fore some of the minor players from the previous book and giving them major roles on the impact of the story.
One of the main things that I love about this book are the characters. For me they simply walk off the page and reside firmly in my imagination. He masterfully builds on the relationships of the characters, such as the touching and, often laugh out loud funny, friendship between Captain Kurkas and Anastacia.
In Legacy of Ash, Ward introduced the Crowmarket. A shadowy league of assassins and cutpurses. In Legacy of Steel, the Crowmarket becomes a more prominent entity in the story and attempts to influence the City of Tressia. With this storyline, this gives Ward the opportunity to turn his spotlight to Apara, who with her Raven Cloak, is a fantastic character and we join her on her journey as she changes and develops.
Now one of the standout characters for me in the first book was The Raven. He immediately captured my imagination and joy of joys, he gets so much more of a role in this book. I was hopping off my seat in glee everytime The Raven walked on to the page. He???s more of a God of Mischief than the customary resolute figure of Death.This is left to Jack O???Fellhaven. In this book the Gods become more involved and we get more of an insight into the gods of Aradane as we are introduced, not only to the full pantheon of the Gods. I really like Wards representation of The Otherworld, it reminds me both of the Celtic and Faerie mythos that I love and incorporates elements of British Folklore that I am fascinated by.
However, not only are Apara and The Raven???s characters expanded, but Sidara, Malachi Reveque???s daughter, and Roslava both have storylines that are absorbing and captivating at the same time.
I recently saw a comment from Matthew Ward (and I am paraphrasing), in which he says that you can have more fun with the side characters as they are not constrained by the expectations of the story. Well, he certainly does have fun with the side characters in Legacy of Steel, and so do we.
And for me that is one of the things that has pulled me into this story. Ward doesn???t waste a single character, he uses them all to build the wall of his plot, each one a foundation to the narrative that he carefully constructs.
As if that isn???t enough, Ward???s action sequences are incredible and so well paced. There were many times I had to stop myself punching the air in exhilaration when he was in full swing describing the battle sequences. They are so blood pumpingly described, that you feel that you are front and centre of the action, dodging the swords and arrows as they rain down on everyone around you.
I simply did not want this book to end, and if I had a time machine, I would send myself forward to the moment that I am holding Ward's third book in my hands and continuing this mesmerising journey with the characters of the book, and seeing how this series will end.
Mind you, I don???t think I want it to end!
Matthew Ward???s debut novel is a grand sweeping affair that whilst being expansive, is a tightly knit story that weaves war, rebellion, magic, political intrigue and legacy into a compelling drama that is unputdownable.
The Tressian Republic stands at the centre of the world, yet it???s might is being tested. Rebellion threatens in the Southshires and Josiri Trelan, the son of the rebel Katya Trelan and now imprisoned in his own home, is gathering his forces so that he can lead the rebellion started by his mother 15 years ago and free his people from Tressia???s harsh rule.
Meanwhile, the Hadari Empire is rising, ready to overwhelm the empire and become the leading power in the world bringing war and death
However, underneath the waves of military upheaval, a dark power is stirring. Gods walk the world, choosing their champions and setting in motion their own plans.
Ward???s tale is magnificent in its scale. The scope is an entire world, and yet, he can seamlessly change his focus to the smallest aspects of his tale and concentrate on the minutest aspects of the drama, like Revekaah and Kurka???s tale in the woods during the titanic battle against the Hadari, or Calenne???s story under the battlefield as she discovers terrible secrets.
The cast of characters is impressive, although at times this can become confusing, and sometimes if I took my brain off the plot for a second, I was left wondering what was happening and had to go back a page or two to reconnect. However, the book demands your attention and concentration, and if you feed the story well with these two things, you will be richly rewarded.
The characters themselves are excellently written, with the Lady Ebigail being a standout of scheming and general maleficence. However, she never once falls into parody as she joyfully plots and weaves webs of intrigue, murdering, blackmailing and manipulating anyone who gets in her way.
The other players in this book are Viktor Akadra, the champion of the Tressian council. A knight who gains this title after he kills Josiri and Calenne???s mother, Katya. Viktor is an interesting character, portrayed as a stoical villain initially, yet as the story progresses, his character is explored more, and we learn that his character is more faceted than we originally thought, and Ward plays with these facets to great effect. An especially touching aspect, is his relationship with Calenne, who originally believing him to be the monster who killed her mother and haunts her nightmares, forms an unlikely friendship and even allies with him to save the Southshires after she learns the truth of her mother???s death. In fact, far from being the monster and killing machine that he is believed to be, Viktor is a thoughtful, socially anxious man that is afraid of his own shadow (that part will become clear!)
Calenne, is the other prominent figure of the story. At first, she is portrayed spoilt brat of a child that generally mopes around her prison, dreaming of a way out, even if it is by dying. She is afraid of the legacy that her mother, the hero of Southshires has left her, and yet when the need arises, she wears this persona to motivate others around her. Again, Calenne is a rounded individual that has flaws, and at times shows that she can be as manipulative as Lady Ebigail, in order to get what she wants.
And then there???s Josiri, an ineffectual leader who dreams of freeing his family from the past. At times, Josiri can be the strong leader that is needed. However, other times he can be impulsive and not recognise the consequences of his behaviour. But, as with Viktor, Ward brings him to life showing us that his character has more sides than a twenty - sided dice.
Additionally, the main characters are bolstered by equally memorable side characters, like Anastacia, either an angel or a demon, depending on which characters point of view. And, the gods themselves, with some memorable cameo roles by the God of Death, known as the Raven, who reminds me in some parts of Baron Samedi crossed with old Father Time, a Herne the Hunter type figure who makes an infrequent appearance in the story and the capricious, Ashana
Don???t be put off by the fact that this is a weighty book and the fact that the plot simmers for the first part of the book. When the gears are turned up, the story explodes and gallops along at full speed.
As with every other aspect of this book, Ward skilfully manoeuvres his cast of characters around the chessboard of his plot, carefully placing them where they need to be so that we reach the finale of the story. He carefully weaves plot, pace and characters, all the while building a richly complex world, magic system and mythology that will surely delight fans of epic fantasy.
Django Wexler???s genre-fluid tale of sibling rivalry, Empire and Rebellion is a fast paced, action adventure from start to finish.
Wexler has carefully crafted a tale that successfully entwines SciFi Fantasy, Space Opera and coming of age tale to begin his new series, Burningblade & Silvereye
The story centres around two siblings, Maya & Gyre.
At the age of five, Maya is torn from her family to enter The Twilight Order, so that they can save her life and teach her the ways of Deiat (the magic used by the Order). As Maya grows, she becomes an apprentice to the famed knight, Jaedia.
Meanwhile, Gyre is left to suffer the consequences of his sister???s cruel removal from the family by a system that does not care about the havoc it wreaks. Gyre grows up to become disaffected and impoverished, eventually leading him to a life of crime to survive and become an enemy of the state. The rebel, Halfmask.
The book is generally action and character driven, telling the divergent stories of Maya and Gyre from each sibling???s perspective. Maya is the most compassionate of the two characters with a strong sense of morality, idealism and justice whilst being in the confines of a bureaucratic order that stiffly maintains tradition in order to maintain control. Wexler weaves a coming of age tale with a coming out tale, as not only does Maya have to traverse the many trappings of the Twilight Order, but she must navigate her own feelings toward fellow apprentice Beq.
On the other hand, Gyre is a cold and distant individual, who, whilst bearing the physical scars left to him by the Knight who removed his sister from their bucolic lifestyle, also bears the emotional scars of this trauma, and as a result has become obsessed with finding The Tomb. A fabled city of a civilisation that was destroyed centuries ago in a bloody war. This war shaped the current civilisation forming it into the unjust and tyrannical establishment that has no regard for the welfare of the people that it states it protects.
Gyre believes that when he finds the fabled city, he will find the ultimate power to destroy The Twilight Order and the establishment that leaves its people in poverty and hunger, scrabbling for ancient pieces of technology in the dangerous tunnels so that they can make a living. However, whilst Gyre may have ideals, his actions clearly indicate that he will use anyone in the pursuit of his obsession. He has become individualistic and self-motivated in his quest to obtain the power that he strives to wield, so that he can smash the Empire that he hates. That???s not to say that Gyre is a bad character, but he is morally grey in his actions and he is made greyer at the introduction of the character Kitsrea Doomseeker, a sociopathic individual who has the morals of an alley cat, and promises to lead him to the Tomb and towards his goals.
Wexler populates his colourful world with all sorts of creatures that include mutants, evil magic wielders and mythological races, that all in all, bolster the plot that Wexler has turned up to eleventy ??? stupid, engaging the reader from beginning to end, never letting the reader have a minute by introducing a plot that involves heists, quests, treachery, romance and much more.
It???s not to say that the plot is faultless, there are some questions that are left unanswered in the book, such as the relationship between Church and State, the history of the Republic and how the effects of the war affected the people. But, as I said, this is an introduction to this world, and there is a lot more scope for these questions to be answered as the series progresses.
One of the admirable aspects of the book is the way that it does not openly tout good or evil. Maya intrinsically, is a good character who has lots of worthy qualities. However, she is a shining star in an establishment that seems to be overtly oppressive and corrupt. Gyre, on the other hand, seems to have an admirable ideal in attempting to overthrow the establishment that is oppressive and corrupt, but his character is morally redundant, and in all honesty has few commendable qualities.
On the whole, Wexler has crafted a story that introduces new facets to the fantasy world whilst drawing on established SciFi fantasy tropes and has let loose a cracking book that will leave you hoping the second instalment is just around the corner.
A review copy was provided by Netgalley and the publishers, Head of Zeus in return for an honest review. The enjoyment was all my own!
In Croswald, the only thing more powerful than dark magic is one secret...
For sixteen years Ivy Lovely has been hidden behind an enchanted boundary that separates the mundane from the magical. When Ivy crosses the border, her powers awaken. Curiosity leads her crashing through a series of adventures at the Halls of Ivy, a school where students learn to master their magical blood and the power of Croswald's mysterious gems. When Ivy's magic and her life is threatened by the Dark Queen, she scrambles to unearth her history and save Croswald before the truth is swept away forever.
Warning: This review may contain clich??s and superlatives in my description of this book.
(Please note: no clich??s or superlatives were harmed in the writing of this review)
When I started reading this book I had a hatful of superlatives that I intended to use, you know, things like Magical, Enthralling, Enchanting, Captivating etc.
However, I decided to throw them out of the window and tell you what I really think.
I loved this book! It made me remember why I fell in love with fantasy books. Why, as a kid I would want to read books that took me out of this world and plonk me into another world with strange beasts, magic and a hero that would defeat the evil King, Queen, Sorcerer (delete as appropriate).
If I could time travel back to my childhood, I would take this book back with me, and say ???Here kid, read this!???
Now, I suppose you want me to tell you about pacing, character development and all that kind of stuff! Well, I don't know if I want to!
Well, I might just do that, but in a bit. What I wanted to tell you is that when I started this book, I started it with a reviewer's hat on, but after the Prologue, I decided to throw away all pretence of trying to review this book and decided to let myself get caught up in the story's joyful style and just read it, and enjoy it.
As the description tells you, the book is the story of Ivy. A maid in the Plum household, a household devoid of magic and is quite simply the most boring place in the world.
Ivy is a Scaldrony maid, in the kitchens of the Plum Acreage. Her job is to look after the Scaldrons,a type of dragon that doubles up as an oven. The kitchen is run by the tyrannical Helga Hoff and after a series of mishaps involving the aforementioned Helga Hoff, Ivy, finds herself, quite unexpectedly, out on her ear into the wider world.
However, things are not as they seem when her friend, Rimbrick, the bright spot in her previous life of drudgery, leaves her a small fortune, some books and a mysterious letter, telling her of a debt that he owes to her family.
She is shortly collected by the mysterious Lionel Lugg, longtime scrivenist and freelancer. The scrivenist informs her that she is to attend The Halls of Ivy, where Royals and Scriveners alike receive an education in the arts of magic.
What follows is a classic fish out of water story of a girl who is thrust into a world she does not understand. We follow Ivy as she tries to fit into this unfamiliar world, sharing with her the isolation that she feels and the sense of excitement and wonderment that she experiences when she is plunged into this new world that she does not quite understand.
As Ivy becomes more proficient in her learning, her powers start to blossom and soon Ivy finds that her world is full of secrets, adventures and mysterious strangers.
Now, full disclosure. I am not the intended demographic for this story, exceeding that age by at least three or four times. But does that matter? No, not one bit. I was able to enjoy and relish the story as much as I would have done when I was a much younger reader and admire the quality of the prose (although younger me would have no idea what that word meant).
Night's world is rich, filled with characters that will delight (Ha ha, I told you to expect that didn't I?) and keep the reader enthralled (there's another one!). Ivy???s character develops as she learns more about magic and the Halls of Ivy. Throughout the world, there is a vast array of beasts that will keep any young fantasy fan happy. She also has an interesting magic system that works well. However, this magic system is not too impenetrable for younger readers and is pretty easy to follow. As for the world, she is constantly introducing new aspects that enrich both the environment around our main protagonist and also the story.
The other thing that we have here is a strong female lead and a collection of equally strong female characters. The main positions of power centre around women and the fact that they have got there by being exceedingly brilliant in every way. And whilst the story centres around female characters, Night successfully brings in a nice element of scrunginess to the female characters that makes them seem like real girls, instead of the popularised image of little girls wanting to be princesses and queens (although there are plenty of princesses and queens in the story).
For me, the story centres around the magic of books and words. The scrivenists embrace the use of words in order to create their magic, but ultimately, the power is held by books and stories.
In all, Night brings in the right amount of danger, comedy and world building to keep the story moving along at a pretty good pace. The sense of threat is there to keep the reader involved and wanting to know more before they put it down for the night.
So, if you have a budding little fantasy book nerd at home, and you want to keep them happy, give them a copy of this book and hopefully, all will be well.
Right, I was asked by the publisher, Stories Untold & Netgalley to have a look at this book and review it. I did & all the enjoyment is my own. So there!
Warning, this is not a review, just some musings
I am late to the party with Joe Abercrombie. I don't know why, but I am. I wasn't going to write a review of this book. My intention was to just put up some stars and direct you to the much more accomplished reviews that are about this book.
However, I changed my mind and thought I would put some thoughts down on paper.
When it comes to Joe Abercrombie, and the amount of stars this bloke receives on review sites, he could literally throw them up in the sky and create his own universe. I mean the general consensus is that Abercrombie is such a good writer he could write a story that would convince a donkey it's a horse.
So needless to say, I had some pretty high expectations for this book. I expected this to be a masterclass in grimdark writing (I think you can see where this is going, can't you. There seems to be an unwritten ‘but' here doesn't there. However, before you all start howling at me that I don't know what the hell I am talking about, give me a minute!)
So, the book starts with Logan fighting a Shanka, or a flathead as they are also known. I am reading this. I think this is not a bad start, I haven't got a clue what a Shanka is, but I will go along with it and see where it goes.
The point of view then moves to Inquisitor Glotka. A member of the kings inquisition who is very good at his job of torturing people and has a severe dislike of stairs. His no.1 greatest enemy. Partway through his torture session, he suddenly has a job appraisal with his boss who gives him a secret mission
I've got to say, there's nothing grabbing me here. You know, it's just not doing it for me at all.
After Glotka, there's the introduction of another character, Jenkal. Now the book throws me because all of a sudden in my head it changes to a William Thackery type setting and reminds me of Vanity Fair.
Ok, we have a nifty bit of world building going on here. The barbarian north and Thackery's London.
Still a bit unsure about it to be honest with you , but I think I will plough on because this book is supposed to be like goldust.
Well, a few things happen in the first book and it keeps changing pov between these three characters. Logan is quite good, Glotka constantly tells you what is going on in his head and then there's Jezal, who, to be quite honest is a bit of a dick.
So for this first part, I an generally plodding along with the book, thinking ‘I might just give this a miss because its brilliance seems to be passing me by and I am not getting the hype at all. I mean seriously, I was thinking of ditching this book. It seemed to me there was no plot and it seemed to be just moving form POV to POV.
However, something weird started happening, in that I was laughing along with the prose. There seems to be some pretty dark humour running all the way through this book.
And then when Bayaz does his magic thing and starts blowing up the forest, the same way that Gandalf never would, I start to get really in to it. Then, I cannot put the book down and all of a sudden the pacing goes through the roof and I have finished it.
So, if you are just starting with Abercrombie, don't be put off. Stick with it, the payoff is ace. If you want a review, there are loads, with Petrik being the most notable, but other reviewers are available.
Hugo Award-winning authors Brandon Sanderson and Mary Robinette Kowal team up in this exclusive audio-first production of The Original, a sci-fi thriller set in a world where one woman fights to know her true identity and survive the forces that threaten her very existence.
In the near future, humans choose life - for a price.
When Holly wakes up in the hospital she is confused and disorientated. Her memory is confused and she does not know the events surrounding her admission into the medical facility that she now finds herself. She is confused as she awakes to find medical staff and agents of the government at her bedside. She soon finds that she has talents that she did not possess before she woke up in the hospital including the ability to kill......
As she becomes less confused and disorientated, she discovers the horrifying truth that she is in fact a copy of an original person. But it does not end there, not only is she a copy, but she has four days to track down the murderer of the man she loved, her original.
As she searches for the answers to the murder, Holly will find the answers to the questions that she uncovers. She will also find that the world she once lived in has become dangerous as she battles terrorists that want to bring down the government and kill her. But in the end, she will find the truth, about herself and the death of her husband.
The Original is a noir - ish thriller set in a future where the world is individualised to a person's ideal theme. The story moves at a break - necked speed and is action packed from beginning to end.
Sanderson has already proven that he he can genre hop at an instant and write stories that are as engaging and gripping as his fantasy novels. However, what took me by surprise is Kowal's writing. Goodness me, if this is the kind of stuff that she produces, then I am in and looking to get a hold of as much stuff as I can.
However, not only should praise go to Sanderson & Kowal, but Julia Whelan's performance throughout this audiobook. She delivers each line masterfully evoking each character that is introduced and aiding the listener to visualise every scene. Additionally, the sound design of Daniel Eaton and Paul Fonarev (not sure I am spelling this right) is skillfully done, sening the listener into the same confusion and disorientation that Holly feels at beginning and then the strangeness of the world in which Holly inhabits, making the production a completely rounded drama rather than it being just a being book that is been read to you and completely drawing the listener into an alien world.
Now to say this is a novella, the world is fully rounded, and Sanderson & Whelan build history and describe the environment with such clarity that the listener is never lost.
What is also interesting is the variety of influences that make up the story, obviously there the nods to the noir cinema of the 1940's such as DOA, science fiction classics such as Bladerunner (but in this story, it is a reversal of roles with the replica chasing the human) and E.M. Forsters The Machine Stops, with each individual living in its own little bubble, but they also manage to squeeze in the action genre as well. The writers shape these components like artificers into something new and exciting
In terms of pacing, as I said earlier, the story moves along at a break neck pace, never once stopping or losing its way. There are action sequences galore that are well written and fit perfectly into the plot.
Also, we have the characters. Each Character is believable and so real that they were there with me as I listened to the story unfurl. Each one fitting perfectly into their place and enhancing the experience.
The one thing that I can never work out though is the writing partnership and how it works. Whose writing is whose. If this were a musical collaboration, it would be easy to tell who was riffing off who, but in this partnership, these two are playing in partnership, complementing each other to give the perfect harmony.
The Fisherman by John Langan
“A story doesn't have to be fitted like some of pre - fabricated house - no, it's got to go its own way - but it does have to flow. Even a tale as black as this has its course”The Fisherman is a masterful tale of suspense and eldritch terror. Langan's tale of grief, horror and otherworldly horrors is an absolute masterpiece. This booked deprived me of sleep as I could not put it down and had to read well into the night to find out what happened next.The story revolves around Abraham or ‘Abe', as he tells us in the first line of the book, and Dan. When Abe's wife dies from cancer, he finds solace and relief from his grief in the gentle art of fishing. He finds that it quiets his mind and helps him get through the grief. When Dan, a colleague at work experiences a sudden bereavement, Abe offers his hand in friendship, the two form an unlikely bond, borne out of their shared grief. One Day, Dan unexpectedly suggests a change to their normal fishing trips and suggests a trip to an unknown stretch of water, called Dutchman's Creek. It's on their journey to Dutchman's Creek that the strange tale of how the unmapped stretch of water got it's name, when they stop in fisherman's diner. The horrific tale is told to them - as a warning.As I said earlier, this book is a masterpiece of suspense. The book is essentially two stories, the tale of Abe and Dan, and also the history of Dutchman's Creek and the terrifying events that surround it.Whilst, essentially these seem like two diverging tales. Langan skillfully weaves and interlocks the two stories into a fantastic ending that sent me searching for more of this author's work.In addition to two stories, the story is told from two different perspectives. Firstly Abe's, and then Howard, the owner of the diner which Abe and Dan visit on their way to Dutchman's Creek, who tells them the events surrounding how the creek got its name. For the final act of the book, we return to Abe and the initial story. This altering of the narrator, crafts the idea that there is a story within a story so effectively that you do not notice the shift of tone, but it makes it all the more compelling as you wonder how this has an effect on the main story. The initial story is set in the modern world of computers and IBM. However, there is a complete contrast of the second story which is set at the time of the construction of the Ashoken Reservoir, whose employees are mainly immigrants to America who bring their own folklore and customs. The prose that Langan writes is not too difficult, but it is hard to define his style. Whilst, it can be quite literary at times with passages of description, for anyone who is familiar with Lovecraft, this should not be too difficult to get your head around. In some ways, Langan's style is reminiscent of Stephen king and Shirley Jackson (he is on the Board of the Shirley Jackson Awards) in that he slowly layers the uneasiness constantly throughout his story until the story reaches a crescendo. Essentially, though, this is a human story of how grief affects us and what we would not do to have that final day with those who have passed. For me, I would recommend this book to anyone (and have to anyone who will listen) as one of the best horror novels of recent years and I do not say this lightly.If you liked this review, please check out some of my other reviews on my website, fantasybooknerd at www.ahordeoffantasy.blogspot.com
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Do you want to be a mighty wizard?
Do you want to join a group of like minded sociopathic individuals to get on and join the elite of the wizarding world? Then:
Welcome to A Deadly Education!
(Or how to win friends and influence people, so that the nasty things don't eat you)
Right, let's get the obvious out of the way. This is a magic school for witches and wizards and this is not the sole property of he who shall not be named. Okay? Phew, glad we got that sorted.
What we have here is a tale of friendship against adversity. The old romantic mismatch. A kind of Harry met Sally situation in which the good guy is annoyingly good and the damsel is constantly distressed at being regularly rescued by the good guy, even though she is some mega evil witch that has a prophecy attached to her (whoa, stop it! We got those comparisons out of the way in the first sentence. Didn't you know that in quite a lot fantasy stories, there's a chosen one with a prophecy attached? Well, don't you? Jeez anyone would think that this is a HP reference. Well it's not! Okay?).
Glad we got that out of the way!
The story revolves around Galadriel (or El for short) who is a pupil at the Scholomance, a school for witches and wizards whose first lesson that they have to learn, is to get safely through breakfast before they become breakfast. The Scholomance is a magic school that is populated by magical teens that have been whisked away from their parents and have to board in a school that has a vast array of different ways to kill you in some horrible way. From flesh eating maggots in the porridge to demonic corridors that will strip the skin from your bones, there is an endless way to get yourself killed. Add to that psychopathic students who will happily kill you for no apparent reason, this makes my days at school seem positively balmy in comparison.
On top of that, you have to have political skills that are reminiscent of a medieval court. Where you have to form alliances or trade something of worth in order to fix your door, brush your teeth or even get a shower This place is tough beyond belief and our hero, El is always letting us know how dangerous, how tough and how many different ways to kill you there are. On every page. Okay, okay we get it.
This school is flippin dangerous!
Surprisingly, El does not have many friends. However, this changes when the handsomely, charming popular kid, Orion Lake, starts to take an interest in her and forces his friendship on her, whether she likes it or not. However, as the story progresses we see that even though they are at the opposite ends of the popularity spectrum, they both share similar experiences and are both equally isolated.
In a Deadly Education, Novak's wizarding school is not all jolly hockey sticks and full of quaint little traditions that hark back to a corner of England that is stuck in the innocence of yesteryears. It's filled with scary monsters and super creeps. It is the dog eat dog world of a capitalist society where the more power and influence you have, the more likely it is that you will survive. It juxtaposes the world outside, which again is not filled with a lovely, cutesy world that resides in the past. In Novak's world, being a wizard is a dangerous lifestyle which attracts the monsters that live under your bed so that they can kill you and eat you.
Once you get past the myriad ways in which you can die, be eaten or be killed and then eaten, you get to the heart of the story. Which is, survive. Simple as that. Everything is geared towards surviving the experience of school and hopefully get out of there. That is if you can get past a cornacopia of nightmarish beasts at the graduation ceremony that are hell bent on doing all the things mentioned earlier.
Why anyone would want to be a wizard in A Deadly Education is beyond me. I would use the same tactics that the mundanes (the non - magical community) use. Don't believe in magic. Simple as that. The mundanes do not believe in it and that saves them from the monsters. Otherwise, it looks like you are in for a life of looking over your shoulder and elevating yourself to the rank of paranoid sociopath.
On the whole, I enjoyed A Deadly Education and the story of the snarky main character and how she manages to get through everyday and how her world expands from a world of one to her development of ‘friends'. This is a fantastic setup for the rest of the series, it sets up the world, the characters and is just the start of the story. Will I be reading the next one? Hmmm, I think I will, I wouldn't mind seeing what happens to El and the gang.
???This Savage Land???
Why everyone isn???t reading Mike Carey???s ???The Rampart Trilogy??? I don???t know. I simply cannot wait until the next instalment of this story hits my reading lists, it is simply brilliant and everyone should read it.
The Trials of Koli is the second book in ???The Ramparts Trilogy??? and follows our hero Koli and the rest of the crew as they travel in search of the ???Sword of Albion???. Their quest takes them through the savage land of England and what it has become following catastrophic environmental disaster and the subsequent devastating wars that have led the world to become a place that is full of cannibalistic tribes, ecological predators and a dark force that is exerting its will to take over the known world.
This second instalment moves the story of Koli, Ursula, Monono and Cup through a wider world as they travel through the devastated lands of England (or Ingland as it it referred to in the story) closer to ???The Sword of Albion??? that is coming from the mythical city of London.
Whilst Mike Carey???s story is set in a dystopian future of England, its feet are firmly planted in epic fantasy and has all the tropes of that genre that has hooked a diehard fantasy reader like me. For instance, it has the mythical quest for ???The Sword of Albion??? which is not entirely what you might expect, it has the party that comprises of a wizard (Ursala), the Fighter (Cup) and the quester (Koli) all with an end goal to save the world.
In the first book, the main protagonist is Koli, with the story being narrated from his perspective and focussing on how he came to be ???shunned??? and subsequently thrown out of his warm blanket of a life in the village of Mythen Rood and his survival following his expulsion. However, this book introduces another point of view and we spend time with Koli???s former love, Spinner. The points of view move between these two points of view and simultaneously expands Koli???s Story whilst showing what happens in the village of Mythen Rood following Koli???s expulsion through Spinner???s eyes, and also develops a separate character and another storyline. So effectively setting up two separate stories that share an equal billing.
Now one of the things that I find particularly brilliant is the language that Carey uses. However, I know that some people might find it a bit problematic because the narration is written in a mix of pigeon english and broad yorkshire colloquialisms that some people may find it difficult to get along with, for instance Koli will often say that he has ???et??? his food, which transcribes as he ate his food. And in another, when Spinner describes her meeting with ???Rampart Remember??? who is a member of the ruling elite in Mythen Rood who is tasked with getting information from an ancient piece of technology from the world before the one that exists now, she describes hat she ???done him a courtesy??? meaning she gave him a curtsy. However, I strongly urge you to keep going with it and you soon lose your preconception that this may be difficult to read and thoroughly get swept away in the story .
All in all, this is a fantastic story that left me wanting more and cannot wait until the conclusion comes in 2021.
Oh, and I want to mention that I got and ARC from Netgalley.co.uk and the publishers Little Brown Hat and gratefully thank them for letting me read this wonderful story!
You know when the review starts with the lines “I wanted to like this book......” It ain't going to be good! Well, I did genuinely want to like this book, that is why I bought it, but I didn't.
The book charts Picard's unimaginable task of relocating the Romulan Population before their star goes supernova and destroys their galaxy. Throughout the story, Picard has to battle the Romulans and their utter psychopathic need for secrecy, the beauroracy of the federation and the growing anti romulan sentiments on earth that could ultimately lead to the collapse of the federation.
Throughout the book, there is a recurring quote used to highlight the scale of the task - “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!” And I have got to say that is how I tackled this book. I just couldn't get on with it. I didn't like most of the characters, couldn't care less about the impending disaster and thanked the lord when the end came.
The characters that annoyed me the most were Bruce Maddox and Agnes. When he finally tells her at the end of the book to “Shut the f-bomb up”, I thought, “I know it's not nice, but I couldn't agree with you more”
There are some interesting insights into Romulan culture that I quite liked, but for me I couldn't wait till the impending supernova finally blew up.
Andrea Stewart's gothic fantasy tale of love, obsession and secrets is intriguing and delightful.
Andrea Stewart weaves a complex tale that keeps you guessing and turning the pages to uncover the secrets at the heart of the book just like the character, Lin, who is searching for the answers of the bone shard magic that her father wields and guards jealously.
The story centres around Lin, the daughter of the tyrant Emperor Shiyen who rules his house and his kingdom with cruelty and mistrust.
They live in the crumbling and oppressive castle that is as much a representation of the empire that they rule as it is the relationship that the Emperor has with his children.
The book has a distinct gothic feel to it when it tells the tale of Lin's life with her father, her brother and the soulless servants that surround her.
Her father is cruel and just as soulless as the servants, continuously fostering competition between Lin and her brother as they claw their way to be their way into their father's affections.
In as much as Lin and Bayan (Lin's foster brother) are the characters, Stewart also makes the environment that they are in as much a character as the people that reside in the castle. There is a palpable air of cloying oppressiveness that reminds me of Shirley Jackson's work.
However, the story regularly shifts points of view to other characters and the wider world outside of the castle in order to show the effects of the Emperor's rule and provide some world building and backdrop to the other protagonists of the story.
Jin is a smuggler who is obsessed with searching for the answers as to how his wife disappeared eight years ago. He is a man that has made bad choice after bad choice, getting himself embroiled with the shadowy underworld of the Ioph Carn, a crime organisation that rules with the same amount of fear as the Emperor on his search for his wife.
We meet Jin as he is following a lead for his missing wife when a disaster strikes one of the islands of this world.
Prior to the disaster, he agrees to smuggle a child to another island in order to save him from the horrific trials of the Tithing Festival, a terrifying ritual in which bones are chiselled from the heads of the islands children so that the Emperor can use their power to bring life to his twisted creations that populate the islands, carrying out the orders that the Emperor commands.
As disaster strikes he saves the life of the young boy and also rescues a strange cat like creature who is as much as a child as the one that he is carrying. The creature becomes part of his life and the boy that he saves names the creature Mephisolou which gets shortened to Mephi. However, things do not go as planned and the creature the he selfishly saves from death, so that he can stop the child he has saved from crying forms a strong bond with Jin. As the relationship grows between Jin and the strange creature, Mephi changes him in ways that he doesn't realise.
There are other characters in the book, Pahlue, the governor's daughter of one of the other islands of this strange world, and Sand. A mysterious occupant of another island whose importance at first is hidden, but becomes much more of a character as the book progresses.
I enjoyed this book immensely, devouring the story of Lin, Jin and Mephi and definitely cannot wait until the next installment of this story. Stewart has crafted a world full of mystery and intrigue that promises to get better and better.
I have got to say that the second book of The Greatcoats had me going wow and whoa at various points throughout Falcio's second adventure. De Castell has ramped up the action to eleventy stupid and it is more like a summer blockbuster.
This is a bigger book in every way, it's got more pages, more Falcio, more plots and is more expansive in everyway.
The second book starts shortly after the first book, with Falcio dealing with the effects of the Neatha poisoning that he suffered at the end of Traitors Blade. Whilst Falcio is experiencing the after effects of the Neatha poisoning, we learn more about the Greatcoats and Falcio's relationship with the King through a series of hallucinations that he experiences. As a reader, you are not entirely sure whether these are true recollections or whether they are how Falcio saw his relationship with the king as throughout the book there are different viewpoints of the kings actions and some of them are opposing to Falcio's view of his beloved king. What is certainly evident is the king was not a perfect godlike figure and that there were some aspects of his plans that were definitely shady.
I think one of the best bits of this book is the relationship between the three main characters, Kest certainly gets fleshed out a lot more in this book and Brasti provides the comic relief, except when he doesn' t.
However, this is a darker book than the first and at times is quite grueling. Not only from Falcio's own battle with his mortality and Kest coming to grips with what it actually means to be the Saint of Swords, but Brasti's own struggles with the cause that they have undertaken and the effect that it has on the lower classes of the world.
There are some parts of it that made me wince as they were extremely grueling, and when you get to it you will see what I mean.
It's very rare that a second book is better than the first, but this was. Now onto the third installment.
I came to this book not knowing much about it really. Quite a lot of the reviews mention The Three Musketeers, so I had an idea that it might be something in this vein.
The story centres on the disgraced order, The Greatcoats, who, after the King of the land is executed are disbanded and wander around scraping a living selling their services to anyone who will hire them.
The main protagonist, Falcio is man who holds his ideals despite the fact that the world around him is corrupt and subject to the fickle whims of the leading classes.
I really liked this book. It's fast paced and easy to read. The characters are likeable and the relationship between the main characters and the supporting characters is something that drives the story along.
Like I said, I didn't really know anything about the book but did have some preconceived ideas about it being like the three musketeers s. However, when it comes to the second act, it kind of reminds me of that Clint Eastwood film, The Gauntlet.
This is an action/adventure story and the book has plenty of this in spades. In fact, it never really let's up and the story moves along at a breakneck pace moving from one situation to the next without letting up.
In some reviews, they mention that there is a lack of world building. However, I didn't find this to be a hindrance at all and I felt that it was left to my imagination rather than having it spelled out to me. I kind of imagined that the setting was a renaissance Italy type set up with the Dukes of the story resembling the Borgias.
At first, I was a bit unsure on where the story was going. However, when we get to the second act the story finds its feet and takes you along with it.
On one hand, there is not much ‘traditional' fantasy, however, there are fantasy tropes on the story, on the other hand there are loads of fantasy tropes in the book but used in way that seemed fresh.
All in all, I liked this book and now moving on to the second in the series.
This is the the story of Noor Inyahat Khan, a wireless transmitter for the Special Operations Executive in WW2 and was executed in September 1944 at Dachau. The story is quite remarkable and well worth a read.
At times the book can get a bit much due to the fact that the author had so much information. At times, I got lost with all the names that were kind of thrown at you. However, that does not detract from the main story. I have got to say at times, this book broke my resolve and I nearly ended up on floods of years. At other times, whilst the horror of the treatment of these women was muted, it was ever present. Just think, in the book it tells you that the life expectancy of a Wireless transmitter in Paris was six weeks, Noor managed to evade capture for three months.
Jahna Mornglow is a thief and a liar, and also a half breed of the Narcean race, in this the first book of the Ardentia Saga by Jo ??? Anne Tomlinson. The story centres around the three main characters of Jahna, Lilac and Silko.
The land of Ardentia is threatened when the King becomes gravely ill with a mysterious sickness. This sickness affects all the land as it is attached to the fate of the line Ardentia. However, the king has no male heirs and his daughter is being manipulated by the evil Queen Regent.
Jahna and her friends journey back to the village that they grew up in for some kind of annual reunion.On top of that, Jahna???s mother has some information that she needs to tell her which results in Jahna???s life been changed for ever and leads her on a journey to change her destiny.
Yep, pretty standard fantasy fare with very few surprises. Now, don???t get me wrong, I wanted to like this book, I really did but it just did not happen for me at all. I am not above ditching a book if I don???t like it and it has not caught my attention, but like I said, I wanted to give this book a chance and there were many times that I thought ???Bugger it, I have had enough???, but I didn???t. I persevered.
And the main thing that put me off was that I was merely persevering with this book rather than enjoying it.
I was hoping that at some point in the book, the story would take off, but it just didn???t. The book lurches through a series of situations that the characters find themselves in, rather than drawing on a cohesive narrative that moves the plot forwards. There seemed to be no impetus at all for the characters lurching from one dangerous situation to the next.
I think the main thing missing for me was a sense that something was threatening the characters or even just making them a little bit scared might have given the story something to work with. I didn???t even know who the bad guy was and it only alluded to the Dark Star on a couple of occasions.
I didn???t gel with the characters at all. I had read reviews that said that Lilac was funny and added to the story, but I didn???t see it, and I was waiting for her to be funny. She just wasn???t!
All in all, I found the main characters to be one dimensional, and well frankly a little boring.
At some points in the story, it does tend to alight to the gender politics of the world that the author has built, but even that got lost to the normal fantasy tropes.
I think one of the worst problems that I had was with the dialogue. Particularly when the story tries to inject some political intrigue into the story to move the plot forward. At times it was clunky and at others downright incomprehensible and I was just going Ugh, what does that mean? For example when the Royal - advisor? Friziel was talking to Jahna???s mother in some weird hive mind that the Narcean race have (I didn???t quite get to grips with what that was).
Friziel scoffed. ???I am sure you are well versed in the history of the Dubraycon Kings. They are just and lordly men, but their hearts are cursed with the lusts of their sire. A lust you have known first hand.???
What does that mean? I have no idea
There were other things too but I haven???t got the strength to bother writing them down.
I think it is pretty fair to say that I won???t be reading the rest of the series, even with big cliffhanger at the end.
Disclaimer: I'm sorry but I refuse to call comics graphic novels. I have always read comics and will always read comics and refuse to give a so called air of adulthood and respectability to this art form that I love and this is a comic that shows how amazing this form of writing can be. So there!
It's very rare I give a book a five star rating, but this one is brilliant and totally deserves it. For me, this is an absolutely ace book from the tips of it's toes to the top of its spine.
Now along with many people, I do have a bit of a problem with Harley Quinn. I like the character (especially when she became a more singular entity in the comic world) but there is the matter of her relationship with The Joker and her constant over sexualisation. I mean in the Suicide Squad, M. R. made the character stand out but I was constantly face planting every time we got another shot of Harley's arse. Thank god that misdemeanor of a film got rectified. Anyway, I go off topic. That one has been brewing for years. However, with this comic things do get put into perspective. Sejic does not shy away from the fact that Harleen is manipulated from the start by the joker. I think as well , not only does it show The jokers manipulation of her, but also society's manipulation of her in the way that she is constantly alienated by those around her
The comic explores the fragile psychological state of Harleen before she completely disassociates from her old life to become the character that she becomes.
I like as well, that this is Harley's narrative, her voice telling the story, looking at the events leading up to her demise as though it's been told in a psychiatric interview.
Moving on to the artwork. Oh my goodness, this is just brilliant. I mean we all know how it ends up, but the art is constantly giving portents to her fate, using shadows and reflections as glimpses of the future.
Harley herself is portrayed as a woman, not the cartoon extreme of boobs and bottom that she is usually depicted as.
I mean, I was showing this to my daughter who is terribly arty and picking out particular panels and going look at that one, look at that one.
The Joker is drawn well as well. I am not sure, but it seems to me that it is from Harley's point of view and how her view of him changes, transforming from a monster to almost angelic. Instead of him been the misshapen monster that he is usually drawn as, in this comic, he is one handsome fella. I mean he really is.
Do you know, I am going to have to stop now I could go on and on about this all day.
All I can say, this is an ace comic and deserves to be put up there as one of the best comics .
This is two books in one. The Dark Vault collects The Archived & The Unbound in one volume.
Well, when I started this I did not realise that this was a book for young adults. Did it put me off. No! I don't know what the demographic is for this for this book, but the story appeals to a fifty year old man because of the fact that VE Schwab's writing is for all ages and the story that she tells is one that transcends age because it is so bloody good.
I mean, I couldn't tell that the story is meant for young adults and really enjoyed the story. The characters are well rounded and each one is relatable to whatever age.
One of the reasons that I like her so much, is that she has a really good aesthetic of show don't tell and this helps the story move at a rapid pace dragging the reader along with it.
The characters of the book are well rounded, even though they are dealing with issues of everyday life and the fantastical politics of the Archive.
I've got to say that I wasn't all that bothered about the main antagonist of the second book, compared to the antagonistic politics of the Archive as the main driver of the story.
I think any review has got to mention Wesley. Who wouldn't want Wesley as a boyfriend, he has the looks of a Korean popstar, the body of Bruce Lee, can charm the pants off a statue and is absolutely fantabulous at make up. Is there nothing that this boy cannot do?
It's funny isn't it with books, you don't want to finish the book and leave this world, but you can't wait to get to the end to see what happens.
I have got to say that it is a totally different way of looking at what happens after death, and is something that I have not seen before.
I don't know about anyone else, but when I was reading this, I had the song Dead Souls by Joy Division going through my head. Funny isn't it what you think of.
I loved The Gutter Prayer, the first book of The Black Iron Legacy and when I found out that there was going to be another, I was sooo excited, I bought it immediately when it came out. I put it on my shelf of must reads and finally got around to it. I don't think that I am going to go into the plot that much as there are countless reviews that are going to do that, but I will put some points to the story in, so that there is a point of reference.I have got to say that I found this book a bit hard going initially. I think the constant changes to the perspectives of the different characters made it a bit difficult to get into at first and I found it a bit slow. And then, without me noticing it, the book suddenly ramps up when certain events happen and all of a sudden I was flying through the bookWhen I think of this book I have got mixed feelings about this book. Initially, I was thinking that I simply wasn't enjoying it, but then a weird thing happened and I realised that I was. Is it as good as The Gutter Prayer? Do you know I think it is. I mean, there are loads of things that I like in this book. I really liked the character of Eladora and how she grew with the book. I've got to say, that at the beginning of the book I found her pretty annoying, but I think that she was supposed to be that way. And that is another thing! It is the normal practice for our main character to grow over the series of books, but Garth Hanrahan thinks sod that, I ‘m just going to introduce three new characters and bugger the other lot. They can make an appearance but hey there you go. I do like how he plays with fantasy tropes. I mean there's dragons, the return of the king, gods, mad gods and a magic sword, but not as you have seen them before. And I have got to mention the main character in the story, Guerdon. I think that the world that Hanrahan has built is done extremely well is to set the story in this world. It is something that is quite unique. It kind of mixes Victorian London, with steampunk, something completely weird and some HP Lovecraft. When I read the Gutter Prayer, I said that in some ways this reminds me of William Gibson, and that still holds for me. I mean, I know that he wrote sci fi, but he created fantastical worlds that were different and yet so familiar. For me this happens a lot in these books.Right, I am going to have a major gripe about something else though that is not directed at the author, but at the proof reading level. The ebook that I had was pretty shocking in its lack of proofreading and there were spelling mistakes all over the shop. At one point, I got really confused due to the fact that there were constant changes in the word aethergraph and aetherglyph. This seemed to interchangeable at some poimts.So, did I enjoy the book. Yes, I did [b:The Shadow Saint 40541565 The Shadow Saint (The Black Iron Legacy, #2) Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1554889265l/40541565.SY75.jpg 62946618]
As far as dystopian tales go, everybody from Mary Shelley to Ben Elton has added to the annals of the genre. So how do you conjure new stories and perspectives in this apocolyptic soup.
Well for one, you have to be Mike Carey. That could do it. With his book, The Girl With All The Gifts he managed to make a distinctive and thought provoking addition to the zombie apocalypse. With his new book ‘The Book of Koli' he adds a coming of age story set in the remnants of the Yorkshire countryside.
Koli is a young boy who lives in the fortified town of Mythen Rood. A village that is thriving despite the fact that everything and everyone is trying to kill you, or eat you or kill you and then eat you. As you can guess this is a savage world and every day is a test of survival. However, Koli is a young man who has aspirations of becoming a rampart. A member of the ruling elite who protect the village. Also, get the girl and live happily ever after. The End.
However, things do not go as planned, which is lucky for us or it would be a pretty dull book.
Now one of the first things that you will see mentioned is the language of the narrator. It is quite dense,but it wasn't to me as the language revolves around a crude broad yorkshire accent, whic is the way that I talk, so it was quite a surprise to see a book written with thsi type of prose.
Initially, the story revolves around the village and its trials and tribulations and things go well, there are loves and losses. However the story moves its settings when events ocur that change koli's life forever.
The story revolves around the main narrator Koli, who you can easily imagine being sat around a campfire telling the story to his enraptured audience. And the reader is his audience. Ursala, the technological Gandalf of the story becomes a main character that you hope will be expanded upon. The other main character of the party is Monono Aware (SE) whose charcter develop (literally) throughout.
With little snippets of information, you learn that the world that Koli and its other inhabitants live are the descendents of the remains of the human world that has been devastated by some kind of cataclysm. We are not sure when or how, but we know that nature has been turned into a voraciously savage beast and the main purpose of the ecosystem is to eat whatever it can. Even the trees have turned into carnivores and the threat of the world outside Mythen Rood looms in the background. However, nature is not the only threat.
At first, I did find the story a little sluggish, but I think that this reflects the setting. Whilst dangers threaten the life of the village, the little hamlet is as picturesque a village that could be anywhere in the English countryside with it's funny, quaint little customs. But this changes as events occur and the narrative speeds up to reflect of situation. This gear change sneaks up on you from behind and you don't realise it is there until you suddenly realise you have finished the book.
By the way, I read an advanced reading copy from the publishers - Many thanks!