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 This past week, we had a flood here in York. One of the most popular pictures going around on Facebook was Clifford’s Tower, our last particularly visible remnant of York’s two castles, surrounded with water. Here’s one of them, which was shared by English Heritage earlier this week:
 photo from English Heritage York floods frequently as a result of being in a valley and situated in between two rivers, the Fosse and the Ouse. In short, the reason for the town’s location and, in the past, prosperity, results in the flood which threaten it. usually it’s the Ouse that floods. Usually the floods don’t get far enough to do much other than overflow the river’s banks and get in the racecourse and the gardens, but this one was worse than usual. We were fortunately unaffected, although some drains overflowed just two streets away from ours and did get into people’s houses and a local pub’s cellar, but it served as a stark reminder that we’re never too far from Mother Nature’s wrath, even in a country which doesn’t suffer from the natural phenomenons that plague so many others. The flood is now receding, and I’m hoping the recovery for the people and livelihoods harmed by it is smooth and quick.
In reading news, I’ve spent most of the week buried in Blackout by Mira Grant. It’s been strange to read this straight after reading Ashes of Honor, which is written by the same author under her real name. The books have very different feels to them, except for a few things, one of which is the way both main characters absolutely crave a particular caffeinated drink. For one, it’s coffee, for the other, it’s Coke – and I don’t really remember reading too many main characters with such obvious addictions. Definitely curious, but both are fantastic books and well worth your time.
I’m now about halfway through Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor and hoping to finish today to round off this month’s reading. Can’t believe, as usual, that tomorrow is October, and we are well and truly into fall, but at least this season is perfect for curling up under a blanket with a great book.
How was your week? Anything exciting coming up for you in October?
 A young, dark-skinned girl awakens in the woods, unsure of who or what she is, burned across the huge majority of her skin, with massive head injuries. Shori slowly begins to understand the world around her and recall knowledge, but her past is lost to her. Though she has the appearance of a ten or eleven-year-old girl, Shori is actually fifty-three years old, a vampire, and needs blood to survive. Genetically modified to survive in the sunlight and stay awake during the day, Shori is anathema to some of her kind, and her very nature makes her a target and a threat to all she holds dear.
When Aarti proposed this week’s A More Diverse Universe blog tour, I knew immediately that I wanted to read something by Octavia Butler. I have for some time now, and this gave me the perfect excuse to finally get one of her books – the bookstore near me never seem to have them in stock – and actually find out what her writing style was like. I was rewarded with a vampire book that genuinely made me think about racism, with a few telling moments, but which also provided a story that I found compelling and interesting.
The main thread of the story focuses on the fact that someone is trying to kill Shori and the quest to find out who it is and bring them to justice. She doesn’t necessarily realize this at first, as she’s forgotten everything that happened to her. But slowly it becomes obvious that she is the target. Whether it’s because she has dark skin amidst pale, blond vampires, because she’s human, or because she’s genetically engineered, Shori must face up front people’s bigotry and dislike of her based on factors that she can’t control and that have nothing to do with who she is.
The fact that Shori has lost her memory gives the story a perfect way to impart this information to us, and there was indeed a considerable amount of detail on the Ina societies and how they sustain themselves. Despite the fact that Shori’s life is under threat, this isn’t really a book with a lot of action; some of the final scenes take place in a courtroom of sorts, rather than with violence. I found all of the detail really interesting and the way the society was fleshed out held my interest throughout. It was a short book, so I didn’t feel it was moving slowly at all in this respect.
The one aspect that made me vaguely uncomfortable was Shori’s age appearance. Picturing her as a ten year old sleeping with a twenty-five year old man really wasn’t a pleasant mental image. It’s easy to understand that their lure is incredibly strong, but it still put me off when scenes of that nature occurred.
The real attraction of the book, anyway, is how Butler questions the racism of the people around Shori. It could be any number of reasons why, and she experiences several of them to a certain degree. For example, on questioning a human who has just tried to kill her, Shori is presented with the strange dichotomy of a racist who can love a black person that he is related to, but is still racist against all black people. After he calls her filthy names, he continues saying:
I didn’t mean to call you … what I called you. My sister, she married a Dominican guy. Her kids are darker than you, and they’re my blood, too. I would kick the crap out of anyone who called them what I called you.
 And indeed Shori faces this problem several times – a person can know and love someone who appears different from him or herself, but remain racist against others just like them.
All in all, Fledgling is a very thoughtful book, vastly different from most out there featuring vampires, and definitely recommended.
For more blogs on the tour and to view the great range of reviews already, visit the tour schedule. Huge thanks to Aarti for organizing this fantastic week!
 Thomas of Hookton and his men, familiar to readers of Bernard Cornwell after the events of his Grail Quest series, are still in the middle of France, seeking to help Edward III and his son Edward, the Prince of Wales, called the Black Prince but not in his own time, to win the Hundred Years’ War. Focusing on the Battle of Poitiers, a true historic battle fought by the Black Prince, Cornwell takes Thomas around the lead-up to the battle where he must seek another holy relic, protect his wife and his men, and face down corruption from the Church’s most inner circles.
I love reading Bernard Cornwell’s medieval historical fiction; when I’m reading one of his books, I feel I’m actually getting fairly close to the way things would have been in a battle, at least as close as fiction can bring me at present. Cornwell does sometimes like to introduce slight supernatural elements which do serve to remind me that actually, I’m not in the *real* 1356. In context, though, knowing that people of this era believed that they had holy relics and deeply in the power of their religion, this works surprisingly well, and doesn’t ruin the feel of the book for me at all. In this book, Thomas is after a sword; in his previous trilogy, he sought the Holy Grail.
Throughout 1356, the characters do move around the countryside, and we learn about many of the things that made the Black Prince and the Hundred Years’ War relatively famous. The chevauchées throughout the countryside, weakening the French significantly, the practice of tournaments, and the strength of the English archers and the significant advantage they represented all feature majorly in the book. Chivalry is demonstrated most eloquently through a particular character, Roland, who believes himself to be a knight without reproach, convinced by romances that he was meant to always fight honorably and in a certain way. He learns, over the course of the book, that actually, it’s about winning, not really so much about remaining honorable at this stage in history. Chivalry is a fascinating subject and one that I spent some time studying, and I loved that Cornwell featured a small tournament on the outskirts of the battle, as did genuinely happen, as part of Roland’s learning process.
As usual, Cornwell’s battle scenes are gripping and his writing kept me very interested as I progressed through the book. I really like his down-to-earth style. I generally don’t feel too attached to his characters, but I felt like this set of them was very well-rounded, as though they could have been real people, helped by the fact that I’ve read books featuring them before. Even the new additions stand out in my memory, though, and I liked how they faced individual challenges, yet all had a part to play in the massive battle that came at the end.
Overall, another excellent addition to Cornwell’s impressive collection of historical fiction works. You needn’t read the Grail Quest series to enjoy this book, although I do think it adds to it – all you need is a keen interest in history. Recommended.
All external book links are affiliate links. I received this book for free for review from the publisher.
Bernard Cornwell’s latest novel, 1356, releases this week from Harper Collins in the UK. In honor of the release, the publisher has given me permission to share this excerpt with you – a perfect demonstration of just how excellent Cornwell is at writing battle scenes. Enjoy, and I hope you’ll return to read my review of the whole book tomorrow!
“The dauphin’s battle aimed itself at the centre of the English line. The widest gap in the hedge was there and, as the French came closer, they saw the largest banners flying above the waiting men-at-arms beyond the gap, and those banners included the impudent flag that quartered the French royal arms with England’s lions. That banner proclaimed that the Prince of Wales was there and, through the slits in their visors, the French could see the prince mounted on a horse, sitting close behind the line, and the battle anger was on them now. Not just anger, but terror, and for some men joy. Those men worked their way to the front rank. They were hungry for fighting, they were confident, and they were savagely good at their trade. Many other men were drunk, but the wine had given them bravado, and the arrows were slicing in from left and right, striking shields, crumpling on armour, sometimes finding a weak spot, but the attack flowed around the fallen men and, so very close now, the French broke into a run, screaming, and fell on the English.
That first rush was the most important. That was when the shortened lances could knock the enemy over, when the axes and hammers and maces would be given extra impetus by the charge, and so the dauphin’s men screamed at the tops of their voices as they charged, as they swung, thrust, and chopped their weapons.
And the English line went back.
They were forced back by the fierceness of the charge and by the weight of men who crammed through the gap, but though they went back, they did not break. Blades crashed on shields. Axes and maces slashed down. Lead-weighted steel crumpled helmets, shattered skulls, forced blood and brains to spurt through split metal, and men fell and in falling made obstacles, and other men tripped on them. The impact of the charge was slowed, men tried to stand and were stunned by blows, but the French had forced their way through the gap and now were widening the fight, attacking left and right as more men came through the hedge.
The English and Gascons were still being driven back, but slowly now. The initial impact had left men dead, wounded, bleeding, and moaning, but the line was not broken. The commanders, their horses close behind the dismounted men-at-arms, were shouting at them to stay closed up. To keep the line. And the French were trying to break the line, to cut and hammer their way through the shields so they could shatter the English into small groups that could be surrounded and slaughtered. Men hacked with axes, screamed obscenities, thrust with lances, swung maces, and the shields splintered, but the line held. It went backwards under the pressure, and more Frenchmen came through the gap, but the Englishmen and Gascons were fighting with the desperation of trapped men and the confidence of troops who had spent months together, men who knew and trusted each other, and who understood what waited for them if the line broke.
‘Welcome to the devil’s slaughteryard, sire,’ Sir Reginald Cobham said to the Prince of Wales.”
I received this book for free for review.
 In this second volume of Ben Kane’s Spartacus duology (read my review of the first), Spartacus has already been acknowledged as a serious threat to the Roman people. While he and his pregnant wife Ariadne are keen to return his army to Thrace and re-take his homeland, his army, made up of slaves from across the empire, is more interested in plundering Rome’s heartland and establishing a base where the land is rich. Spartacus has to choose whether to retake his homeland, but lose his army in the process, or stay in Rome and attempt to subvert the incredible power of the Roman state.
As with Spartacus: The Gladiator, Ben Kane delivers an action-paced historical fiction novel with Spartacus: Rebellion. Their release relatively close together means that we can seamlessly pick up the story from one to the other, and that’s really the way these books are meant to be read. They are two halves of one story that really belongs in one, and neither book will really stand alone particularly well without the other, especially not this one. It picks up right after the events of the first book and all of the tensions between the characters already exist and intensify over the course of the book.
This might come as a surprise to you, but I actually didn’t know what happened to Spartacus at the end of the book. I won’t spoil it, but this made the book far more gripping than normal historical fiction fare is. Spartacus and all of the people around him really do have to fight for their lives, as the Roman state out in force is determined to kill them and eradicate any threat that they represent to the orderly Roman way of life, slaves and all. It made for a surprisingly exciting book, and I really enjoyed feeling like I had no idea what was going to happen next.
As I’ve mentioned for the previous book in this set of two, Ben Kane writes historical fiction in what I tend to call the “gritty” way. There is no court here, no fancy trappings or much political intrigue; there is battle, and blood, and death, and deception. It’s a refreshing change when you read quite a bit of historical fiction focused on royalty and the people at the top, and though Spartacus is certainly a leader of his men, he doesn’t get puffed up with ego and remains very much an inspiring character, for both the men in the book and for the reader.
This duology is an excellent choice for anyone who prefers the “grittier” historical fiction with all of the violence that entails, or those who are interested in fiction set during the Roman Republic. Definitely recommended.
All external book links are affiliate links. I received this book for free for review.
 Twelve-year-old Kat Stephenson is looking for adventure. Fortunately (or unfortunately, as the case may be) she doesn’t have to look far, as she’s just discovered that she and her two older sisters may have inherited their mother’s talent for magic. While Kat is clearly a guardian, as she discovers very early on in the book, her sister Angeline has inherited her mother’s witch magic. Combined, the sisters represent a threat and a lure to many magic users in their version of Regency England. When Kat’s eldest sister Elissa is determined to sacrifice herself to ensure her family’s happiness, Kat decides that drastic action is required.
I don’t have all that much to say about this book – I remember reading quite a bit about Kat, Incorrigible when it came out in the US, so when the UK version I’m reviewing here appeared on Kindle for a small amount of money, I decided to read it for myself. I got exactly what I expected – a light, fun Regency story about a young girl with magic. I liked Kat’s relationships with her sisters and her antics were fantastic to read about.
I also liked that it wasn’t just Kat who made for an interesting character. I think her second oldest sister, Angeline, also had a story of her own, as did Elissa, and their stories would have fallen a bit more into my interest range, as they both had a fair bit of romance involved. With the focus on Kat, the book is more appropriate for younger readers, and does mean that the author can have fun with her main character while still hinting at some of the internal feelings of her older, more mature sisters.
A Most Improper Magick was a fun read that I’d recommend to younger fantasy readers who would appreciate a bit of history in with their magic. I’d have loved it when I was 12, and I think many pre-teens and teenagers would feel exactly the same.
Good morning everyone. I’m devoting this morning to catching up – on blogging, on fellow blog posts, on commenting. This past week was BBAW and it seemed like such a fantastic week. I only had a chance to post once, but I did have an opportunity to look around your blogs and leave comments on some posts, which I don’t do nearly often enough. I loved reading in particular about books that everyone loved, and the BBAW interview swap, both of which I missed. And, of course, thank you to everyone for your support on my own post. I am so grateful to have you all still interested and reading on a regular basis.
This week has been fairly busy for me, with only two evenings free and one of those spent gaming, the other spent cleaning (exciting, I know). We’ve not ventured anywhere particularly exciting this weekend, either, as my husband has an exam coming up and has been more diligent about studying. It’s also looking very rainy today, so less than ideal for a walk outdoors. I’d hoped for one last weekend spent camping, but I don’t think it’s going to happen this year.
Fortunately, what I do have to look forward to is a trip to Edinburgh in November for the first time; we’re going for a long weekend away and going to see our very first Final Fantasy concert. I’m also going to Barcelona for a week for work in October and hoping to actually see the city at some point, so the rest of the year isn’t all going to be stuck at home. And when my own city is full of beautiful history, I can’t complain all that much.
 York Minster On the reading front, I progressed incredibly slowly through 1356 by Bernard Cornwell this week, which was not the book’s fault; I’ve finished and I’m still pondering what to read next. I have Fledgling by Octavia Butler coming for the upcoming A Diverse Universe blog tour and I’m going to be reading Blackout by Mira Grant very soon as well. Speaking of Mira Grant / Seanan McGuire, I have Friday off work and I’m actually hoping to have an October Daye read-a-thon so I can get to Ashes of Honor, but I can’t decide if I’m patient enough yet to read five books before I get to the latest one. Lots of fantasy and science fiction, just the way I like it these days.
Wishing you all a wonderful week ahead – let me know what you’re looking forward to!
 Book blogging has changed in its meaning over the years for me. I’ve been doing this for five years now, and I think these past couple of years have been the most difficult. Blogging when I was a student was easy. I am very good at time management, so even though I worked hard, I had plenty of time to spend reading and reviewing. I had a lot of creativity just waiting to be unleashed, and the time and the opportunity to explore it. I made friends and felt like I was a real part of the community, and I think I was, for a while. It was a much needed outlet and I felt that my blog was valuable. While this was never the aim, it got me my first job, and played a part in my second. I’ve met and spent time with some of you, and every minute of that time has been delightful.
Lately, though, I’ve had genuine difficulty keeping up with my blog. I struggle to squeeze in the time to write reviews. I already barely have the time and the will to reply to emails, let alone actually write. I find myself busy on evenings and weekends, generally with things I enjoy, but I’m struggling to find a place for my blog. I find my day job incredibly draining, which means I normally want to spend my weekends away from the PC, or playing a game, or going for walks, or doing something that doesn’t involve staring at a screen. My creativity gets sapped out at work and I tend to find myself instead longing to read, rather than write one of the many reviews I have piled up. I worry that blogging is going to start feeling like a chore. If I’m honest, writing reviews, unless I’m passionate about the book, sometimes does. I still love reading others’ blogs and learning about new books, but sometimes, it’s hard with my own, and I’m not sure how to change things around to capture the pure enjoyment of it.
That said, I have no plans to stop blogging, and I don’t see myself stopping any time soon. Because when it’s good, it’s really good. I still cherish the people that I know through blogging. I still dream of attending BEA. I still need to practice writing, because I no longer do it for a living, and I like that I’m good at my language. And, when it comes down to it, I still absolutely love talking about books. I still don’t get that from any other aspect of my life, and in truth, it’s one thing I don’t want to give up. So, I hope that while I’m here chattering away, there are still a few of you out there who will be interested in my opinion, and who will be happy to talk books with me. As long as you’re reading, I’ll still be writing, and I appreciate every last one of you.
What keeps you blogging?
 Bobby Dollar – or the Angel Doloriel – helps guide souls to Heaven once they’ve passed on. It’s his job as an advocate to battle the minions of Hell in a courtroom for each soul’s afterlife, fighting to save as many souls as possible, even when they have to spend some time in Purgatory first. But when a soul disappears, right underneath his nose, without ever having appeared to himself or Hell’s advocate, and then keeps happening, normality is uprooted and both sides are in crisis. Dollar feels compelled to investigate, but as he gets closer to the truth, he finds himself accused of theft, chased by an ancient monster, and madly in lust with Hell’s most attractive demon.
Compared to Tad Williams’ epic fantasies, this book is a speedy, exciting read, a cross between a thriller and a detective novel with a whole lot of fantasy mixed in. The concepts behind the novel are actually quite epic in themselves; we get a full description of his version of Heaven and Hell, and Bobby frequently tries to describe what Heaven’s like (since he is an angel). He might be in an improvised courtroom, but he does in fact help determine the eternal fate of people, which is not a small-town job in the slightest.
As an angel, Bobby is naturally somewhat tougher than a normal human, even though he wears a human body; he can still be killed, but usually angels reincarnate in new bodies. He’s done it before, but it’s never a guarantee, which means he is relatively careful and does try not to get too badly beaten up in the pursuit of answers. It’s really common in practically all urban fantasy novels for the main character to not sleep and suffer severe injuries that would probably kill another character, so this little caveat is very handy.
I didn’t love this book as much as I’d hoped, unfortunately; compared to the pace of a normal urban fantasy, I actually found parts of it moved slowly, and there was a lot of description as the world was built. Bobby is a good character, with a snarky attitude, but I wasn’t really drawn into his feelings towards Casimira, the demon, or his attitude towards women in general. I felt as though the book had a huge amount of potential, but never really swept me up and carried me away as a good book should. I’m hoping that subsequent books in the series stop with so much description and make me feel more attached to the characters in general. It’s been known to happen and I certainly hope it happens here.
The Dirty Streets of Heaven would be a good choice for a reader who already enjoys Tad Williams’ work and is looking for something a little less like a doorstopper, but it’s not quite up there with some of the other fantastic urban fantasy series. It could be, but he’s not quite there yet.
All external book links are affiliate links. I received this book for free for review.
Seems like summer – at least as the UK experiences it – has finally arrived in the beginning of September! We’ve spent the last two weekends exploring the area around a town in the North York Moors called Goathland.
This is a fantastic little town for walking with plenty to see – it has a waterfall called Mallyan Spout:
Lots of lovely paths across the moor, which is just coming out of the deep purple heather season:
And a Roman / no one actually knows but it’s certainly old road:
It also has its fair share of sheep, pubs, and other walkers, but I didn’t take any pictures of those. Next time! Hoping the weather holds until next weekend at least so we can continue to enjoy the countryside – it’s rained so much this summer that this is our first real chance.
I did fit in some reading yesterday, finished Small Favour by Jim Butcher and The Hidden Goddess by M.K. Hobson. I’ve now moved on to 1356 by Bernard Cornwell, which is going to be released later this month and so far promises to be just as good as his previous books. I’ll be reviewing that in a couple of weeks’ time.
This week, I’m anticipating BBAW and hoping to participate in a few of the post topics. I’ve always enjoyed this week, and I’m definitely looking forward to catching up and finding some new bloggers to follow.
Have a great week everyone!
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