Since it was Halloween last Friday, I thought I’d have some fun with my Twitter stream that day and pretend I was in an apocalyptic version of London. What started out as a handful of tweets turned into a fullblown story by the end of it, much to the confusion/worry of some people. It was a lot of fun and I’m now wondering how I can do better next year!
Enjoy:
This is such a simple idea, but so handy! I need one of these:
Book on Book is a transparent acrylic book weight that will keep you book open to the page that you want. I’ve can so see my self using this, especially when you’re trying to eat food and read a book at the same time!
It’s available for ¥6,490 (~£47) from the Japanese online store BuddyTools.
Ever since I found out that Brandon Sanderson would finish Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series, I’ve been curious to see how his own series are. I still haven’t gotten around to actually finishing the Wheel of Time, mainly cause it feels like I need to start completely at the beginning (again).
I had already read one standalone novel from Sanderson, Elantris, but turns out it’s not completely a standalone… It’s part of an epic 36 book series, all set in the universe of Cosmere. Each book/series he writes is set on a unique world, but that world is set in the same Cosmere universe. All of the books share a single creation myth, a single cosmology and are connected by an overarching story.
Wow.
After hearing that I knew I had to get my hands on his series Mistborn…
If that’s not enough to convince you, here’s the description of the first book:
A thousand years ago evil came to the land and has ruled with an iron hand ever since. The sun shines fitfully under clouds of ash that float down endlessly from the constant eruption of volcanoes. A dark lord rules through the aristocratic families and ordinary folk are condemned to lives in servitude, sold as goods, labouring in the ash fields.
But now a troublemaker has arrived and there is rumour of revolt. A revolt that depends on criminal that no-one can trust and a young girl who must master Allomancy – the magic that lies in all metals.
The books are available on Amazon.co.uk for ~£24.
I still love wandering around books shops and libraries. I always find it quite relaxing and calming to be completely surrounded by books, to be able to pick up any book that you see and spend a couple of minutes of getting lost inside a world you previously hadn’t known.
I’ve got some fond memories from Foyles’ flagship store on Charing Cross Road in London. I remember visiting the place on my first trip to London when I was 12/13 years old and discovering a ton of young adult fantasy and scifi books that seemed to be written specially for me. It’s sad to see that store closing, but thankfully they’re moving only a couple minutes down the road:
So excited about this! I love the look of this zombie series set in London. It reminds me a bit of The Tribe (did anyone else watch that as a kid?) but with zombies. And obviously adding zombies to anything makes things better.
To celebrate the release of the final book in the series, The Fallen, one lucky reader will receive all 5 books in The Enemy Series, courtesy of Disney Hyperion!
So what to do to enter the competition? Leave a comment behind explaining your Zombie Apocalypse Plan: what would you do if there was a zombie apocalypse? Where would you go? You’ll also get a second entry if you’re following me on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway with the hashtag #missgeeky. The competition is open to everyone and it will end on June 9th.
About the series
When the sickness came, every parent, policeman, politician – every adult fell ill. The lucky ones died. The others are crazed, confused and hungry.
Only children under fourteen remain, and they’re fighting to survive.
A gang of children begin their quest across London, where all through the city – down alleyways, in deserted houses, underground – the grown-ups lie in wait.
To find out more, check out The Enemy Series on Facebook, or follow Disney Hyperion and Charlie Higson on Twitter.
It’s been ages since I last did some proper reviews, so I’m going to attempt to catch up with several book and movie reviews the next few weeks. Like last year I’m doing the 52 Book Challenge: read 52 books in 52 weeks. I “only” managed 40 books last year, so I was really hoping to push myself this year and read more. So far though week 22 just finished yesterday and I’ve done 15 books. Not bad, but also not on target.
I love Mira Grant/Seanan McGuire’s books. She one of my favourite writers and never fails to tell an interesting story. In Parasite, Grant sets up a world in the near future where scientists have discovered a way to keep people in perfect health: genetically engineered tapeworm implants. Six years ago after a major car crash, Sally Mitchell was the first person to be implanted with an “Intestinal Bodyguard”, but not everything about the implants are as straightforward as it seems…
I really enjoyed the book; the future world Grant describes has just enough realism and science to it that makes you believe it could actually be possible. My only complaint is that the ending is a bit predictable, but I’m curious to see how the events play out in the next book.
I’ve only read one fantasy series from CS Friedman, so was interested to see what she did with a scifi story. I’m not even sure where to start with describing the plot: the background of the world she’s created is so rich and interesting, it’s impossible to describe in just a mere couple of sentences. I think the main thing though that sets it aside from other sci-fi books I’ve read: there are no aliens. When humans discovered long distance space travel, they discovered that a) they were alone and b) their long distance space travel created genetic mutations, creating basically a new alien race with each ship of colonists they sent out. After realizing this, they abandoned all the space colonies until a new form of travel could be discovered.
I really enjoyed Brent Weeks’s previous series The Night Angel trilogy, and he’s so good in telling interesting unpredictable stories. In The Lightbringer series he creates a world where magic is based on light and colour theory: mages can harness the visible light they have an affinity for and create a substance from it called Luxin. Each mage can “draft” at least one colour and each colour has its own special properties. Beyond the cool world and magic building though, the Lightbringer series so far tells such an epic story. I can’t wait until the next book of this series comes out!
These two books are the first two in Jean Johnson’s Guardians of Destiny series, a sequel to her previous Sons of Destiny series (8 books about 8 mage brothers). The books are about 8 different Guardians, each the protector of a great source of power bound to a specific location.
In The Tower, this takes the form of an ever-changing tower of traps, monsters and puzzles, which groups of adventurers can attempt for fortune and fame. When Guardian Kerric Vo Moss is locked out of his tower control center, he must pair up with the Painted Warrior Myal to run the gauntlet himself.
In The Grove, the Witch-Priest Aradin Teral is on a quest to find a suitable religious representative of the Kingdom of Katan to attend the Convocation of Gods and Man. He comes across Saleria, the Guardian of The Grove, a magical garden warped by the wild powers of the place.
Both of these books were so much fun! I loved reading about all the different puzzle chambers in the Tower and how the characters had to solve them. Unlike the previous series which was all set on the same island in the same country, this series visits different countries with different cultures and religions; Johnson has done a great job creating rich and intriguing stories.
What if something catastrophic happened in the world? What if you had heard about a place that was safe? Would you go? Grant’s Pass is an anthology that asks just that question. Unlike most anthologies I know though, the stories in this one are all set in the same world: a major epidemic of three engineered plagues wipes out most of the world, leaving only a handful of people behind. Just before major communications went down, one blogger’s article went viral: if anything happened, she had plans to meetup with anyone that remained at Grant’s Pass.
I loved this anthology. There are seventeen stories and each gives a unique take on the world the editor’s created. There were a couple that really stood out for me though: Ascension by Martin Livings, Animal Husbandry by Seanan McGuire and Remembrance by James M Sullivan.
Giveaway time! This time I’ve got a great giveaway for you guys, to celebrate the release of City of Heavenly Fire, the final book in the Mortal Instruments series. I’ve still been meaning to read this series myself, but I’ve heard so many good things about it.
Thanks to Simon & Schuster, one lucky reader will receive the complete series of The Mortal Instruments and a Mortal Instruments hoodie!
To enter the giveaway, leave a comment behind explaining what your favourite city is. You’ll also get a second entry if you’re following me on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway with the hashtag #missgeeky. The competition is open to US residents only and it will end on May 31st.
About the book
City of Heavenly Fire is the final book in the #1 Bestselling The Mortal Instruments series.
Shadowhunters and demons square off for the final showdown in the epic conclusion to the #1 New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments series.
Darkness has descended on the Shadowhunter world. Chaos and destruction overwhelm the Nephilim as Clary, Jace, Simon, and their friends band together to fight the greatest evil they have ever faced: Clary’s own brother. Nothing in this world can defeat Sebastian—but if they journey to the realm of demons, they just might have a chance…
Lives will be lost, love sacrificed, and the whole world will change. Who will survive the explosive sixth and final installment of the Mortal Instruments series?
Check out The Mortal Instruments website
I just got this book delivered yesterday and it looks great! Seanan McGuire is one of my favourite writers and it’s always fun seeing what she comes up with.
Here’s the description from Amazon:
Everyone knows the urban legend about the girl who asks for a ride home; the one who turns out to have been dead all along. But where did she come from? Who was she? And how did she die? She’s been called a lot of things: the Phantom Prom Day, the Girl in the Diner, and the Spirit of Sparrow Hill Road. Around here, we call her Rose.
Rose Marshall was sixteen years old in 1952, pretty as a picture, and in the wrong place at the wrong time. A drive along Sparrow Hill Road turned into a fight for her life—a fight she was destined to lose. Her story could have ended there, but a lucky break and a well-timed ride home set her on a different path. She’s been running down the ghostroads ever since, one more casualty who never made it home.
A lot of people have said a lot of things about her; she’s been called everything from angel to devil, from ghost story to myth to something more. They whisper her name everywhere from Michigan to Maine, from Wyoming to Washington…but no one knows what really happened that long-ago night at the top of Sparrow Hill.
Not until now.
Sparrow Hill Road is available from Amazon.co.uk for £9.49.
Yay, a new series from Anne Bishop! The Black Jewels remains one of my favourite series, so I can’t wait to see what this new trilogy brings.
Here’s the description from Amazon:
As a cassandra sangue, or blood prophet, Meg Corbyn can see the future when her skin is cut—a gift that feels more like a curse. Meg’s Controller keeps her enslaved so he can have full access to her visions. But when she escapes, the only safe place Meg can hide is at the Lakeside Courtyard—a business district operated by the Others.
Shape-shifter Simon Wolfgard is reluctant to hire the stranger who inquires about the Human Liaison job. First, he senses she’s keeping a secret, and second, she doesn’t smell like human prey. Yet a stronger instinct propels him to give Meg the job. And when he learns the truth about Meg and that she’s wanted by the government, he’ll have to decide if she’s worth the fight between humans and the Others that will surely follow.
Written In Red by Anne Bishop is available on Amazon.co.uk for £4.81 and on Amazon.com for $7.19.
I’ve not been doing that great in my 52 Books Challenge this year; we’re a full two months in and I’ve only 5 books so far! I just bought this book though from Philippa Ballantine called Hunter and Fox and it looks like a lot of fun.
I read Ballantine’s Books of The Order series last year and loved what she did there. She’s a great storyteller and worldbuilder, and I’m interested to see how she fares with another series. I’ve had a couple of times in the past where you love one specific series from an author and just can’t get into any other things they write. The description of this series bodes well though:
In a world that is in constant shifting, where mountains can change to plains and then to lakes, Talyn is the Hunter for the Caisah, and a wreck of a once-proud person. She has lost her people, the Vaerli, and her soul working for the man who destroyed her people. All unknowing, she carries within her a Kindred, a chaos creature from the center of the earth that wants to help bring the Vaerli back to power. However, she has lost the ability to communicate with it. Little does the Hunter know that salvation is looking for her, and it wears the face of gentleness and strength.
Finn is a teller of tales who carries his own dreadful secret. He sets out to find answers to his path but ends up in the city of Perilous and Fair where he meets Talyn. He knows the danger and yet is drawn to her. Their fates are bound together.
Meanwhile, the Hunter’s lost brother Byre is searching for his own solution to the terrible curse placed on the Vaerli. He sets forth on a treacherous journey of his own, which will intersect in the most unlikely place with that of Talyn and Finn. The ramifications of this encounter will be felt by all the people in Conhaero, from the lost Vaerli to the Caisah on his throne.
Hunter and Fox by Philippa Ballantine is available on Amazon.co.uk for £4.43 and on Amazon.com for $16.16.
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