Malevolent Seven by Sebastian de Castell

 With one foot firmly set in snark-land, and a tongue firmly in the cheek, Sebastian de Castell has given us a tale about heroes with a skewed moral compass who do not give a flying fuck unless it involves a monetary payment. 

     The tale is told from the POV of Cade, a wonderist AKA a Mage, or a wizard, and a man with a bit of a conscious. The current buyer of his services has rubbed Cade the wrong way, asking him to go beyond the agreed services Cade and his companions were paid to perform. As the story progresses Cade goes from cad to hero, a nice trope that has been a winner since Casablanca. Probably other stuff before that used the trope, but nothing comes to mind as it is late at night and I am taking shots of this bottle of Korean apple flavored Soju which is not my cup of tea but I need to make room in the fridge. 

     There is a very nice pace to the story. There are some nice plot twists along the way. There are secondary characters that are fleshed out. All elements that contribute to the readability of the book. I have to admit that Sebastian de Castell Greatcoats series is one of my favorites in the fantasy genre. If you have not read that series, you are missing out. It has a nice "3 Musketeers" vibe.  So, I went into the read with an inclination to like it. I also should admit I met Sebastian at World Con Helsinki and he is an extremely likable person.    

I do not know if this is a tip of the cap to the great 1954 Japanese film classic Seven Samurai. Or maybe it just that seven has so many symbolic meanings that lends itself to being in the title that sells. I hope this is a good seller. It is a good, humorous read, perfect for summer. 

Previous books I have read and love that have the same humorous writing style as this book are Nicholas Eames' King of the Wild, David Wragg's Black Hawks, and Mark Lawrence's Wheel of Osheim series. Not to mention everything Joe Abercrombie writes, 

Woman Of the Sword. A Warrior with Child-Care Issues? Yes, and it is a great read.

 The main character is one that I, as a reader, do not run into in most fantasy books. Yes, maybe a minor character or two in a few books I have read. Lidea is a mother with two children, a recent widow and a retired warrior. Normally the children are dead. Or grown enough to take care of themselves. The story opens up on Lidea, pre motherhood, the warrior in battle. The next chapter Lidea is burning the body of her dead husband, dealing with two children, ages 8 and 5, when the world crashes in. A good portion of the book is spent with the reader in the thoughts of Lidea, whose thoughts a lot of readers will identify with. The notion that you never had any true choices in life.  You changed what you wanted, because someone you loved wanted something else.  

       Things I really liked about this Book.

      The battle scenes are told through the eye of Lidea, a foot soldier, who gets a limited view of the battle.  Lidea changes sides after each battle, some by luck, sometimes with help of others. Having read Christian Cameron's Chivalry series, it is a concept I have ran across before, that foot soldiers change sides because it really does not matter who you fight for sometimes, rather it is based on who will feed and pay you. (A shout out for the really inexpensive Historical Fiction series Chivalry by Christian Cameron, who also has a cool YouTube series on Medieval weaponry and how to fight with them.)

      Anna Smith Sparks writing style. When Lidea suffers a metal breakdown the reader suffers with her as Spark's paints the pressure of the situation brilliantly. The reader gets torn apart emotionally as Lidea is torn apart by deceit, love and responsibility. 

 I hope some Hugo voters will nominate Borodin for this fabulous cover. I like it when the cover art is from a scene in the book, a throwback to those Fantasy books covers I loved as a kid.

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.