What have I read this week?

The Tawny Man Trilogy by Robin Hobb

The trilogy consists of Fool’s Errand, The Golden Fool and Fool’s Fate. It follows on from The Farseer Trilogy, and continues the adventures of FitzChivalry Farseer. It’s set about 15 years after the events of The Farseer Trilogy. Fitz has changed his name and essentially been in hiding since the end of the previous trilogy. He is not allowed to continue hiding, however. I found these books interesting. I liked finding out more about what had happened to them since the end of The Farseer Trilogy. The books are a little bleak, however.

The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb

The trilogy consists of Assassin’s Apprentice, Royal Assassin and Assassin’s Quest. This trilogy is about FitzChivalry Farseer, the illegitimate son of Chivalry Farseer, the King-in-Waiting of the Six Duchies. I thought I had read the entire trilogy before, but it turns out I had only read the first two books. These books are interesting, and I like the characters, although Fitz can be a little annoying sometimes. Overall I’d recommend it, although, again, they are a little bleak in some ways.

© bardofupton 2018

What have I read this week? Not very much.

Time Travelling with a Hamster by Ross Welford

This is a children’s book about a boy who goes time travelling to save his father’s life. It was fairly enjoyable, although I didn’t like it as much as The 1,000-Year-Old Boy.

The Inheritance by Robin Hobb/Megan Lindholm

This is an anthology of short stories. I enjoyed it, although I found the final story a little horrifying.

© bardofupton 2018

What have I read this week?

Empire of Ivory and Victory of Eagles and Tongues of Serpents and Crucible of Gold and Blood of Tyrants and League of Dragons by Naomi Novik

These are books 4 to 9 in the Temeraire series. The series is set during an alternate universe version of the Napoleonic wars. The books follow a British naval officer called William Laurence who accidentally bonds with a dragon (Temeraire) and therefore has to join the Aerial Corps and leave the navy. I have read and enjoyed the previous three books in this series, and I enjoyed these also also. They are quick, fun reads, and I really like the characters, particularly Temeraire and the other dragons.

The Infinite Lives of Maisie Day by Christopher Edge

This is a children’s book about a girl who wakes up on her 10th birthday to discover that there is nothing outside of her house. There’s a lot of physics in this one, which is worked into the story, and overall I really enjoyed it.

© bardofupton 2018

What have I read this week?

The King’s Justice (A Stanton and Barling Mystery) by E.M. Powell

This is a historical crime novel set in the 12th century during the reign of Henry II of England. Stanton is a messenger and Barling is a law clerk. They are sent to look into a murder. I enjoyed this book a lot – several times I thought I knew who the murderer was, but I was wrong, so it managed to surprise me. I definitely plan to read other books by this author.

The 1,000-Year-Old Boy by Ross Welford

This is a children’s book aimed at readers 10 and up about a boy who gains eternal life at the age of 11. It’s told partly from his point of view and partly from that of another boy that he meets. I enjoyed this book – it was a fun read and I thought the idea was well-executed. I’d definitely read other books by this author.

The Idiot Brain: A Neuroscientist Explains What Your Head Is Really Up To by Dean Burnett

This is a nonfiction book about the brain. I was pretty sure I’d enjoy this book after I read the opening sentence of the introduction:

This book begins the same way as nearly all my social interactions; with a series of detailed and thorough apologies.

Things I have learned:

• the olfactory nerves are one of the few nerves in the human body that can regenerate

My favourite quote?

Overall, personality tests would be more useful if our personalities didn’t get in the way.

This book is both amusing and educational; I would definitely recommend it. I’ve never laughed this much reading a book on neuroscience.

© bardofupton 2018

What have I read this week?

With Silent Screams (The Hellequin Chronicles Book 3) by Steve McHugh

This is a contemporary fantasy novel about a sorcerer called Nate Garrett, also known as Hellequin. I realised partway through that I’d read this one before, but I finished it anyway. It was quite enjoyable, fairly fast-paced; however there was an undertone of (mild but irritating) homophobia and misogyny that I’d overlooked previously, so I probably won’t read any more.

Sister Sable (The Mad Queen, Book 1) by T Mountebank

This is a fantasy novel, set in a world with similar technology to our own but also containing people with psychic powers. I didn’t manage to get far with this one; it was written in too obscure a style, and it didn’t interest me enough to persevere.

Daughter of Eden by Chris Beckett

This is a science fiction book about a colony of humans who are on a planet called Eden. They are all descended from a man and woman who crashed there many generations ago. This is the third book in the series. It’s an easy read, and I found the story interesting, especially seeing how things developed from the first book. (I thought I’d read the second one, but it turns out I haven’t.) I would recommend it, but definitely read the other two first.

© bardofupton 2018

What have I read this week?

Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel

This is a science-fiction novel set in the near future. It is written as a series of interviews, reports and diary entries with various characters, including scientists, military pilots and politicians. The interviews are conducted by a shadowy unnamed figure who wields a great deal of power and influence but doesn’t seem to be associated with any government agency. The basic premise is that a giant robot hand has been found buried on earth. The lead scientist believes that it’s part of an entire robot and the US government begins searching for the rest of it.

I enjoyed this. It was a quick read, exciting and interesting. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes this type of book.

Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel

This is the sequel to Sleeping Giants, set 10 years later. It’s written in a similar way, but with fewer interviews and more transcripts of conversations. In this one, another giant robot appears on earth and the characters have to deal with that and also the aftermath of events that occurred in the first book.

I found this one slower going initially than Sleeping Giants, but it did eventually click for me and I would say that I enjoyed it overall. If there’s a third, I will probably read it.

A Glimmer of Hope (The Avalon Chronicles Book 1) by Steve McHugh

This is a contemporary fantasy novel set mainly in the UK. It’s about a young woman who is being sought by supernatural forces because her father has special abilities and they want to use her for leverage on him. It was okay, not great, and I probably won’t read any more in the series.

© bardofupton 2018

What have I read this week?

The Uncanny Express by Kara LaReau

This is a fiction book aimed at children, and illustrated by Jen Hill. It’s part of a series called The Unintentional Adventures of the Bland Sisters. This particular book is a parody of or homage to Murder on the Orient Express. It’s pretty short, quite fun, and a quick read.

I did find it (presumably) unintentionally horrifying, though, because the premise is that the sisters are living alone at home because their parents went on an errand and never returned (although they do write to them). They survive by getting paid to darn other people’s socks. I guess you’re not meant to dwell on that part…

Edward Gorey

I reread a few books by Edward Gorey: The Gashlycrumb Tinies, The Doubtful Guest, The Object Lesson, and The Curious Sofa (written under his pseudonym of Ogdred Weary). These are all illustrated books, with a macabre sense of humour. I remember liking them all initially, but now I only really like The Gashlycrumb Tinies and The Doubtful Guest.

Ariel by Sylvia Plath

This is a book of poetry.

Themes:

Love; death; illness.

Favourite lines:

People or stars
Regard me sadly, I disappoint them.
(Sheep in Fog)

Dying
Is an art, like everything else.
I do it exceptionally well.
(Lady Lazarus)

I have suffered the atrocity of sunsets.
(Elm)

Obscene bikinis hide in the dunes
(Berck-Plage)

For a minute the sky pours into the hole like plasma.
There is no hope, it is given up.
(Berck-Plage)

I do not stir.
The frost makes a flower,
The dew makes a star,
The dead bell,
The dead bell.

Somebody’s done for.
(Death & Co.)

The moon, too, abases her subjects,
But in the daytime she is ridiculous.
Your dissatisfactions, on the other hand,
Arrive through the mailslot with loving regularity,
White and blank, expansive as carbon monoxide.
(The Rival)

The beads of hot metal fly, and I, love, I

Am a pure acetylene
Virgin
Attended by roses,

By kisses, by cherubim,
By whatever these pink things mean.
(Fever 103°)

Favourite poems:

The Couriers; The Applicant; Lady Lazarus; Tulips; The Rival; Daddy.

Overall I love this book. I like the imagery, the way she structures her poems, and the sheer intensity of feeling that shines through.

© bardofupton 2018

What have I read this week?

Not much, is the answer. A variety of things conspired to ensure not much reading got done.

A Time of Dread by John Gwynne

This is a fantasy novel. There are four viewpoint characters, two male, two female. The novel features a battle between the Ben-Elim, who are, more or less, martial angels, and the Kadoshim, who are demons. They have been fighting a war and have involved humans and giants, the other two intelligent races that inhabit the Banished Lands. I quite enjoyed this, but found it fairly predictable and not exciting enough to really grip me. I probably won’t be reading any further books in this series.

Curse of the Werewolf Boy by Chris Priestley

I couldn’t finish this one. It’s aimed at 8+ readers, and I have read and enjoyed other books for this age range. This one is just trying too hard to be funny, and managed only to be tedious. I definitely won’t be reading any more by this author.

© bardofupton 2018

What have I read this week?

Goblin Market, The Prince’s Progress, and Other Poems by Christina Georgina Rossetti

This is a collection of poetry.

Themes:

Romantic, unrequited and sororal love; Virtue; death; nature/spring; female jealousy; God/religion

Favourite lines:

She sucked and sucked and sucked the more
Fruits which that unknown orchard bore;
She sucked until her lips were sore;
(Goblin Market)

The prudent crocodile rose on his feet
And shed appropriate tears and wrung his hands.
(My Dream)

Favourite poems:

Cousin Kate; Remember; Song (the first two and the fourth of that name); Sister Maude; The First Spring Day; L.E.L; Somewhere Or Other.

Overall I didn’t really like this collection – there were a lot of religious poems, and I’m not religious, so they left me cold. But she has some great turns of phrase, and a sly sense of humour in some of the poems. I wouldn’t read the whole collection again, but might well reread the ones I liked.

---

How To Destroy The Universe and 34 Other Really Interesting Uses of Physics by Paul Parsons

This is a non-fiction book about physics. It is written in a simple accessible style and covers topics such as earthquakes, hurricanes, how rollercoasters work and faster-than-light travel. I found it a little too basic for me, probably because I read a lot of science books – a lot of the information was already known to me. I would definitely recommend it to people who want to learn more about physics but don’t have much background knowledge. I definitely feel like I learned some stuff from it, so it was worth reading.

---

Women & Power: A Manifesto by Mary Beard

This is a short book, collecting two lectures given by Beard in 2014 and 2017. I had not previously read or heard any of her work, although I was peripherally aware of her existence. The basic theme of both lectures was women and how they are excluded from (mostly political) power, the cultural tropes which perpetuate this, and some discussion of the history of that exclusion, tracing particularly from ancient Greek and Roman culture (Beard’s area of expertise). The second lecture also talks a lot about Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, as a commentary on the nature of women in power.

Overall I found this book very interesting. It was thought-provoking. It’s also very short, about 100 pages, so it was a quick read.

© bardofupton 2018