The Book That Wouldn't Burn by Mark Lawrence

 

"Reader 1 " Who put Romance in my Grimdark?"  Reader 2 "Who Put Grimdark in my Romance?

     Mark Lawrence, that's who!  Okay, this is the least Grimdark book Mr. Lawrence has written. Wait, that is not true.  Mark Lawrence has his self-published Impossible Times series, a time travel, "Stranger Things" inspired trilogy that starts with One Word Kill. That series too, is not Grimdark. And a great read and one of the best time travel stories I have read in the past decade.  Yes, this is a shout out for this underrated series.  Please read them, they are cheap, short and very readable. 

     This new series, as this is Book One of Three, has more twists and turns than the Ivy at Wrigley Fields. There are a lot of "Whoa, I did not see that coming" moments in this tale. A very satisfying read, the further into the book you dive, and things start to fall in place, you will fall in love with the story whose setting is a library of mysterious origins. 

      Mark Lawrence has always been a First-Person Narrative author, namely POV by Jorg, Jalan, Nona, Nick & Yaz in their respected trilogies. In this tale Mark gives the reader two POVs, his first and I hope not last, multiple POVs style narrative. 

      Mark Lawrence is one of my favorite authors and I hope this is his breakout book. This is the one that I think will get on Fantasy book bloggers and Fantasy BookTubers Top 10 reads of 2023 lists. The kind of book that at the end of the year you will be astonished if your friends have not read it.   

A Classic From 1985. Legend By David Gemmell

                                                                 

      

Two of my favorite Self-Published authors, [author:Michael R. Fletcher|7035308] and [author: Krystle Matar|20047399] are planning to write a book together.  So, they did a buddy read of [author:David Gemmell|11586]'s Legend. What better time to get one of my longest residents of my TBR?

  First published in 1985 and there are parts of the book that are very evident of being written in the early 1980s.  And yet I would still rate this a classic in the genre. The main character, Druss, has qualities that harken back to Robert E Howard's Conan. Owner of a great Battle Axe, Druss got his bones in a previous battle that saved the Empire. Called out of retirement, to once again save the Empire's bacon, Druss spends the book saying "I am not all that that," then proceeds to show by his actions "He Is" A retelling of the famous last stand of the Spartans, always a winning trope. 

     David Gemmell uses omniscient narration, a writing style which has fallen a bit out of fashion in the Fantasy genre.  This book clocks in at a tight paced 370 or so pages, which has also fallen out of fashion. Except for a couple of dated scenes and dialogue, I really liked this book. First of eleven in the series, but can be read as a stand-alone. The last 30% of the book was mostly full-on action. 

Mike Shackle's The Last War series is Epic Fantasy at its finest, in my humble opinion.

     

     Got to love a series in which the "Bad Guys" are evil in the true meaning of the word. The Last War series does not fool around with grey moral characters save for a few. But as a rule, you are going to love the good guys & gals and hate the bad guys & gals. Which give this series an "Old School Epic Fantasy Vibe." Mike Shackle's worldbuilding and magic system are well fleshed out. 

     The country of Jia is a flawed society. The Military Class, the Shulka, lords over the populace.  The Shulka have achieved this special status by being a protector against the Northern tribe, the Egril. The Egril have been united by Raaku who has declared himself a son of a god and Emperor. Never a good combo. So, when the Egrils attacked, the Shulkas were overrun and Jia was completely conquered in six days. The first book in                                                    the series, We Are The Dead, introduce the POVs as the Jains start to                                                        fight back against the invaders.                                                

The second book in the Last War series continued its Good vs. Evil theme. Again, multiple POVs tell this great, fast paced tale. Read this rather quickly as the first book sets everything up so nicely. Nice plot twist about midpoint of this second book. Sometimes the second book in the series can be a bit of a drag as its purpose is to get the characters into place for the final battle. No such problems with this novel. It jumps between the POVs and leaves to wanting more from each. I continue to enjoy the fabulous worldbuilding and magic system.  

 

The final book in the series was very satisfying. The good guy prevailed and the Bad guys got what was coming to them after 3 volumes of mostly getting their way save for a few setbacks. Every now and then I need break from the morally grey characters and need some straight up Good Vs Evil shit to feel better. 

The Children of Gods and Fighting Men: A review

 

    

     

Nice that book reviewers you follow on Twitter and BookTube liked this debut novel enough for me to pre-order. I enjoyed it too. An Irish inspired tale, Shauna Lawless has taken the reader to the Early Medieval and Viking era of Ireland.  A period where Irish and Norse beliefs systems were being challenged by the Christian belief system. The book has two POVs, both ageless and part of two opposing gods. The book opens up on Gormflaith, wife of the dead King. She scrambles to protect her son Sitric, and avoids being placed in a funeral pyre. She is also a Fomorian and can control fire, the fantasy element of the story. Floda is a healer and part of the Druid group Tuatha De Danann who hunt the Fomorians. Floda must hide her abilities or be burned at the stake by you know who for being a witch. Lawless writing style made it easy to keep all the characters straight, most who are actual historical figures. A fabulous blend of Historical Fiction and Fantasy. Hopefully this book and author will get some Hugo votes for Best New Writer, Best Novel and Best Debut Novel for 2022. It is well deserved if it happens. If you enjoy Historical Fiction or are a fan of Fantasy novels where the two main protagonists are females and fighting the system that restricts them, this novel is for you. If you like the character Cerci Lannister from the fabulous Song of Ice & Fire Series, you will relish the character Gormflaith, as she does everything she can to ensure her son inherits what is his by birthrights. 

1 year in Bangkok, ( Really, just outside Bangkok by one BTS stop.)

 As I got near that lovely retirement age, it became very apparent to me I did not save enough money to continue living in Southern California. I could barely afford it while working in So Cal, living on a fixed income would come with a part time job or a move out of the area.  There are cheap places to live in California, but if not by a beach, why stay?  I wanted a lifestyle in California I could not afford. So where could I go where my retirement income will allow me to live in a nice Condo rental, near transportation and a place known for its food. After months of weighing the pros and cons of various spots, Thailand was far and away the best spot for me. 

I have been here a year now and I can tell you, it has worked out better than expected. Found a nice Condo, built in 2017.  Rent is 7,500 bhats or $ 230 a month. A nice pool to do laps, a nice fitness room with a couple of machines, an adjustable bench, barbells, treadmills, and stationary bikes. The Condo itself is a very small studio. But the nice thing about it being so small, it takes 2 hours to clean. When I say small, we are talking 28 Sq ft. 

I live just outside Bangkok, in the city of Samut Prakan. It is a working-class neighborhood.  Samut Prakan is not an Ex-Pat trendy place (Ex-Pat is short for Western Foreigners or Farang, the Thai slang word.).   If I had chosen to live in the trendy Ex-Pat neighborhoods, I would be paying 3 times what I pay now. 

      Bangkok transportation system is one of the strong pros in the list of reasons to move here. The BTS Skytrain runs down the length of one of Bangkok busiest streets. It takes a little over 1 hour to go from one end to the other. The BTS connects to two subway systems called the MRT. 100 bhats is around $3.50 and most of the travel costs are under 100 bhats. For example, it takes me 48 bhats to go from Samrong to Asoke. Asoke is where there a very fancy mall called Terminal 21 is located. Terminal 21 has a lovely Multi plex movie theatre. Further down the BTS line is the Siam Station and more fancy Malls, Plus another MRT subway. I can get to most of the Tourist spots, the Ancient Buddhist Temples, the night life and the Malls by way of the Skytrain and the two subways. A short 10-minute walk gets me to the Samrong BTS Station.  

     I am not playing any golf. It is too hot. Even just going to hit balls in a driving range is not that much fun.  I play pool every week, it is very popular here. I now have HBO GO, Disney Plus and Netflix, most days are very like my days two years ago.  Watching sports in the morning, watching a streaming service at night. Afternoons are for workouts or exploring. 

     

Review: The Books of Babel by Josiah Bancroft

      Okay, I am late to the party. This title has been in my TBR list for too long.  One of the best reviewed self published book that eventually got picked up by a major level, a soon to be masterpiece.   But you know what.  The reviews were so positive, I hesitated to read it.  What if I did not like it?  Is my taste of book so outside the main, am I the outlier? Happy to report that no, I am not.  I was engaged from the very first page and felt entranced by the tale. It is a totally different Fantasy.  More like Alice in Wonderland. Yes it is the Biblical Tower of Ur, in which the builders of said Tower attempted to reach the Heavens and Old Testament God became a Nimby.  In Bancroft's wonderful but strange world, the Tower is a tourist attraction with it own worthless guidebook, something our hero protagonist Thomas Selin and lovely new bride Marya found out the hard way,  If you want to read a different kind of fantasy, steampunk without the punk, an ever changing quest tale, read this fabulous book. 

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     Picked up where the first book ends, as most series will do. Thomas Selin has now spent a spot of time in the first 3 rings of the Tower of Babel. ( Think of a Layered Cake.)  Thomas Selin has now assembled a crew, some even willingly, stole an airship and decided on a name change. Dread Pirate Thomas Selin just does not have a ring to it. His crew, a young man who has betrayed Thomas twice in Book 1, his lovely sister who Thomas felt obligated to save from her current situation, the muscle of 3rd ring crime boss who got sick of breaking bones for the capricious man, and finally, the girl Selin failed to save in the 2nd ring of Babel. So the four characters set off to be pirates. Figuring out how to avoid capture and continue Thomas' quest is the main plot. Josiah continues the fabulous worldbuilding and the lyrical writing style shown in first book of the series. 

    Did not think this series could get any better, but it did. Bancroft expands the POVs to include all of Senlin's  crew, which added a layer of richness to the tale. Got this book as an Audible sale. The narrator, John Banks, did a brilliant job bringing the characters to life.  Selin has gone from a naive newlywed tourist to a pirate to his present job as a spy for the Sphinx. What follows is yet another wonderful dive into the lyrical writing of Josiah Bancroft. The pages, really hours as it was a audiobook, flew by.  The one drawback to the audio version, there is a bit of going back in time when switching the POV of a new character. A bit of confusion and uncertainty that was, after a bit of time,  solved.  Might have been a bit easier in the print version to handle these time jumps, maybe. But not fatal to the enjoyment of the book. It was nice to have a first-rate narrator in my head telling me a excellent story as I made multiple long sweaty walks in the city of Bangkok. 

                                           I really liked the way The Fall of Babel started out. A brief summary of the main events of the Hod King told in the form of a theatrical review with a splash of Society Gossip. It is a trick I also saw used in a Witcher book, only that time it was Song to Interrogation.  I like it when an author uses various literary devices to add to the enjoyment of the tale. What can say? I believe this series will, with the passage of time, become a classic of the Fantasy genre. It will grow in popularity; box sets will be sold during the holiday season. No Fantasy reader's bookcase will be without the series in some form of slipcase special edition. I will be dead by the time that happens of course, so no " I Told You So " coming from me. Unless there is a TV series in the works that will come out in 5 or so years, speeding up the popularity.  

My reading goals will not be met. What happened?

   

  It is mid- year and I have come to realize I have fallen way behind on my reading goals. According to Goodreads I am 20 book behind. So what happened. I am newly retired, have all the time in the world and still I found it has taken me longer to finish a book.

     I still read before I go to bed at night. I pick it back up when I awake for no apparent reason in the middle of the night.  It nice to have that happen and not worry about getting ready to go to work in two hours and forcing yourself to sleep. Afternoon naps will take care of that. 

      It is my audiobooks that have dropped off. I could easy do 3 or 4 audiobooks per month thanks to the commute to work, the 7 pm walk for exercise and weekly cleaning of the abode. None is that is happening now.  No commute, retired.  Sold all my material good and moved halfway across the world because I could. Ended up in Bangkok. Thailand where apartment here are super tiny. A good cleaning takes me little under an hour. But the main reason my reading goals are in the dumps, is the lack of pedestrian right here in Thailand. The only right you have here as a pedestrian is the right to be clipped by a scooter. Having lived in the USA for over 60 years, I am always looking the wrong way for traffic. I look left when right is where my danger is. Every walk, my senses are on high alert for the speeding scooter and cars ready to plow into me. 

     Which means no walking around with my air pods giving me the docile tones of my favorite voice actors.  All because I don't want to die. Which is good, because all through the 2010s I was kind of ambivalent about staying alive. If it was not for waiting for a couple of book series to finish ( Thank you George RR Martin and Patrick Rothfuss ) checking out early was a viable option. What got me to that state?  

     I got tired of people. The people I like were not coming around very often and the people I did not like were always there. Too many individuals with a total lack of empathy.  I might add, the total lack of being able to have a difficult conversations without the other person resorting to name calling.  I just gave up. And left. 

      There might be difficult people here in Thailand, but I do not speak the language, so I don't know. Everyone seems nice and I can go on with ignorant bliss. Which all adds up to, I want to keep on living and it is effecting my audiobook totals. 

      Well that is it for my second post. My next post will be a review of the Tower of  Babel by Josiah Bancroft and why it took me so long to read Selin Ascends. Until then, keep the booklight shining,