Every year my family does a sort of Secret Santa. It’s slightly different, more similar to the Dutch tradition of ‘surprises’ (which you pronounce the Dutch way: so soo-pree-sez). I’ll blog about that more when the Christmas season really starts.

For now, I wanted to share with you two cool things I’ll be participating in this Christmas:

The first is a Secret Santa for the book blogging community and its readers. Each person has to get a book for someone else. Cool, right? I know it will be even trickier getting something for someone you don’t know than someone you do, but it sounds like it could be great fun! Check out the details on The Neverending Shelf.

The second is similar: the Book Blogger Holiday Swap. I wasn’t really sure if I should enter or not; I do write a lot about books, but also about loads of other stuff. Still, it sounds like a great idea, and it would be brilliant to surprise someone on the other side of the world with some cute gifts!

I’ve blogged about Blurb before (see the photo book I made with them), and you know how much I love them. Blurb is a publishing company providing a print-on-demand book publishing service for the public. In other words: you can create your own books! Blurb offers a free downloadable book layout software client, BookSmart, with which you can create your own books with your own text and images. The completed book can then be uploaded to Blurb, and you can order any amount of copies.

Blurb is currently running a competition for their photo book users, where you can enter a photo book you’ve created for a chance to win $3000. All you have to do is submit any photo book you’ve made  before the 22nd of October (it has to be published though at least once after 17th September 2009). There are 3 different categories (Family, Travel, Pets) that will be judged and each has a $3000 category winner and a $1000 runner-up.

The wonderful people at Blurb have offered me 3 vouchers of £30 to give away to my readers, so that they can create and enter their own photo book into the competition. Just leave a comment behind here with your best photography tip. The contest closes on Monday 12th October 15:00 and the 3 winners will be drawn at random.

Fifteen-year-old Boaz is the new Zar, freshly ascended to his throne. In the turmoil following the old Zar’s death, courtiers jostle and conspire to secure their positions – not least his scheming mother, the new Valide. It seems his only genuine friends are his late father’s mad jester; Spur Lazar, head of Percheron’s security; and a golden beauty – a new odalisque purchased in the foothills as a slave for the harem. But can a madman, a soldier and a concubine be trusted to keep him safe from the Byzantine manoeuvres of his father’s ambitious entourage? Pleasure and politics collide in Fiona McIntosh’s exotic new fantasy trilogy, set in the harem of the great Stone Palace of Percheron.

I love the small little discount book shop in Charing Cross; sometimes I come across the best deals. In this case, I found all three books of Fiona McIntosh’s Pecheron trilogy for only £12 (all three together, that is). Bargain!

I had tried one of McIntosh’s other books (Myrren’s Gift, to be exact), but I never finished it. Not sure why, cause I loved her writing and characters. Enough at least, to have no hesitation at all to buy this other trilogy of hers. I’m glad I did, cause it’s a great series. I haven’t finished it yet, but so far all McIntosh’s books has something unique about it. Each world she creates, with its own mythology and rules, feels special and fresh, making me want to find out more about it.

Instead of the familiar repeated fantasy setting of a medieval type kingdom, Odalisque is set in an Eastern realm with a Zar and a harem (apparently inspired by Constantinople). This sets an original backdrop to the rest of story. The way the harem scheming and intrigues work are again different than what you’ll see in your standard medieval “political” novels. Besides that, there’s the addition of gods to the story, but again in a way I hadn’t seen before. I think it reminds me the most of Wheel of Time where characters are reincarnations of past legends/myths; here something similar happens.

In Pecheron the story goes that every thousand years Lyana the goddess is reborn. Before she is revealed the owl god Iridor returns, as messenger and herald to Lyana. At the same time, the demon Maliz also comes into being, sent by the male god Zarab, to destroy Lyana. For the past couple of cycles, Lyana has each time been destroyed, and Pecheron only believes in Zarab, with Lyana remembered only as an bygone remnant of another era. Of course, this series is about the rebirth of Lyana, Iridor and Maliz, but the cool thing is that when the book starts you have no idea who is who and neither do the characters. You slowly get your own ideas, but even at the end of this first book you’re still not sure if someone is a “god” or just a random human. I’ve got my suspicions on how this series will end, and I’m really curious to see if my intuitions are right.

I’ve already dug into the next book of this series, and can’t wait to find out more! Definitely a recommended read to anyone who’s a bit bored by the standard medieval fantasy fare.

Odalisque is the first book in the Pecheron trilogy by Fiona McIntosh – £5.99 on Amazon.co.uk, $7.99 on Amazon.com

Master spies Seregil and Alec are no strangers to peril. Their assignments, nightrunning for wizards and nobles, have led them into many deadly situations. But sometimes the greatest danger can lurk beneath a Traitor’s Moon. Wounded heroes of a cataclysmic battle, Seregil and Alec have spent the past two years in selfimposed exile, far from their adopted homeland, Skala, and the bitter memories there. But as the war rages on, their time of peace is shattered by a desperate summons from Queen Idrilain, asking them to aid her daughter on a mission to Aurenen, the very land from which Seregil was exiled in his youth. Here, in this fabled realm of magic and honour, he must at last confront the demons of his dark past, even as Alec discovers an unimagined heritage. And caught between Skala’s desperate need and the ancient intrigues of the Aurenfaie, they soon find themselves snared in a growing web of treachery and betrayal.

The first time I read this book I was sorely disappointed; I don’t even actually know why, cause I barely remember reading it. Reading it again almost 7 years later, I was surprised to discover that most scenes felt new, as if I didn’t absorb the book the first time. And on this second read though I really enjoyed it. However, it does feel noticeably different than it’s predecessors (Luck In The Shadows and Stalking Darkness), and I think there’s slightly less action in it, which might have caused younger me not to like it that much.

In this book, Seregil and Alec travel to Aurenen to help the diplomats of the Skalan queen. Aurenen and the Aurenfaie are the main focus of this book, and it’s great to finally see more of Seregil’s past and people. The first time around I was I think disappointed by how the Aurenfaie are portrayed; I was expecting them to be more advanced and “polished”. The Aurenfaie are highly spiritual, and their beliefs and politics are so different than what we’ve seen from the Skalans, that it forms an interesting base to the story.

Being back in Aurenen provides Seregil a lot of inner conflict, especially after the loss of Nysander in the previous book. It’s interesting to finally find out how he exactly ended up in Rhiminee doing what he does. For Alec being in Aurenen means learning about a heritage he never knew he had, and I love how this will be carried on in the next book.

Traitor’s Moon is the third book in The Nightrunner Series by Lynn Flewelling – £5.99 on Amazon.co.uk, $7.50 on Amazon.com

One word: pwetty!

Don’t you think these are gorgeous? My favourites are The Odyssey and Alice In Wonderland (pink flamingos!). I still haven’t figured out yet where you can buy all of them. The Penguin website lists a couple of these (each for £12.99), but I’m not sure where you can get the others.

Via Design*sponge

A master of subterfuge, a rogue thief with a noble air, Seregil of Rhiminee has taught his young protege, Alec of Kerry, his greatest secrets of the trade. Together they’ve made their way with thieving jobs large and small, winning friends and enemies, their lives in constant danger and yet charmed by an aura of magic, friendship, and trust. But now, as their adopted country prepares for war, Seregil is called away by an ancient wizard Nysander to face the ultimate challenge of loyalties, and entrusted with a deadly knowledge that, if breached, could cost both Seregil and the unwitting Alec their lives. And as Alec learns the shocking truth of his own shadowed heritage, he, Seregil, and a handful of loyal companions are catapulted into a tumultuous conflict with the ultimate evil – in which magic alone may no longer shield them from harm…

Stalking Darkness is the continuation of Lynn Flewelling’s Luck In The Shadows; these two books are clearly meant to be read together. The book picks up where the other one left off: Seregil is helping Nysander with his very secret mission, yet still doesn’t know exactly why and what he is risking his life for.

Again like it’s predecessor this book is very character driven, focusing mainly on the friendship between Alec and Seregil, and the other characters. Slowly the relationship between the two main characters evolves into something more, and while not every reader might like this development, I adore the way Alec and Seregil interact with each other.

My only annoyance with this book was when I read it the first time, I was expecting this to be a trilogy. I thought the third book would finish the main story line, but it doesn’t. The main plot from the first book is completed in this second one, while the third book is pretty much standalone (still with the same characters). It’s not too much of a complaint; it’s just annoying when you’re expecting one thing, and get something else.

Stalking Darkness is part two of The Nightrunner Series by Lynn Flewlling – £7.50 on Amazon.co.uk, $7.50 on Amazon.com

Last Tuesday to celebrate the release of the Watchmen DVD, Paramount arranged a special art exhibition. Below the Southbank Centre in the skate park, graffiti artist Chu showcased his artistic talents, as he and the Watchmen illustrator, Dave Gibbons worked alongside each other giving fans a one-off Watchmen experience to remember.

I arrived during Chu and Gibbon’s break (of course), so I didn’t get to see them creating anything. However when I got there most of the graffiti mural was already done:

It was pretty cool, although I would have loved to see the artists actually at work. I still managed to grab some pics of Dave Gibbons, when he was posing for one of the other (official) photographers:

Check out this Twitpic for the finished product. I don’t think there’s that much difference; most of it was done already, except the polaroid photo in bottom left corner. One thing I’m not too sure about is what was done with the graffiti after the event. I was there during the past weekend for the Hide & Seek fest and I don’t remember seeing it (or was I just blind?).

When young Alec of Kerry is taken prisoner for a crime he didn’t commit, he is certain that his life is at an end. But one thing he never expected was his cellmate. Spy, rogue, thief, and noble, Seregil of Rhiminee is many things-none of them predictable. And when he offers to take on Alec as his apprentice, things may never be the same for either of them. Soon Alec is traveling roads he never knew existed, toward a war he never suspected was brewing. Before long he and Seregil are embroiled in a sinister plot that runs deeper than either can imagine, and that may cost them far more than their lives if they fail. But fortune is as unpredictable as Alec’s new mentor, and this time there just might be…Luck in the Shadows.

I read this book and it’s two sequels ages ago, back when I was still in high school. I loved the story, but never got around to re-reading it. This year though the writer is releasing two more books in The Nightrunner series, and I knew I should pick the first ones up and delve back into that world.

The main thing I love in this book are the characters; Alec and Seregil are both likable and easy to root for characters. It only takes a couple of pages, and you’re already invested and caring for these characters. The loyalty and friendship that slowly forms between them is amazing to read; they are not many writers I’ve seen that are able to pull this off. I also liked that they weren’t your typical heroes; Seregil is a spy/thief and takes Alec on as his apprentice. Most of the book shows Alec’s introduction to this world of intrigue which he never knew about, and the not always “honest” way of making a living.

The world that Flewelling built here is also pretty interesting. There’s sorcery and prophecy, but never falling in the familiar cliches that other fantasy books often do. The wizards here have power, but aren’t all too powerful, and the main characters clearly don’t rely always on magic to save their skins. Besides that, Skala (the main country where it takes place) has a rich backstory, with history and politics going back centuries.

The books after this one venture into slightly more mature themes, and not everyone might be comfortable with that. If that doesn’t bother you at all though, I’d highly recommend this book. It’s a great read, and one of my all-time favourites.

Luck In The Shadows is Part One of The Nightrunner Series by Lynn Flewelling – £5.99 on Amazon.co.uk, $7.50 on Amazon.com

I love my new apartment, but there are some ‘interesting’ walls with which I can’t do that much. A photo frame like this would fit perfect though!

The frame is available on Photojojo.com for $119 (or $99 if you blog or tweet about it).

I discovered a great little bookshop called Bookends in Charing Cross Road (London, of course) that sells “unwanted” books at a discount. One of the books I found there was Warprize by Elizabeth Vaughan (for £2.50!). This book had been on my radar for some time, but I couldn’t figure out whether or not it would be my type of book. Finding it for £2.50 though? I couldn’t resist trying it out.

Warprize is about Xylara, Daughter of the Xy, who has chosen to serve her people as a healer, until she is needed to make a marriage of alliance. Her half-brother, Xymund, is on the throne, but his reign is unstable and he is not popular in the eyes of his people. The kingdom of Xy is under attack by the barbarian Firelanders, and casualties are high on both sides. Disobeying Xymund’s orders, Xylara tends to the wounded captured Firelanders, but this soon brings her to the attention of the Firelander Warlord. When Xy is forced to surrender, the Warlord demands but one thing: to claim Xylara as his Warprize. 

I couldn’t put this book down! It’s been ages since I finished a book this fast: in two evenings, reading it before going to bed, and then a little bit during the afternoon, nothing more. The book is only 300 pages, so it was a pretty quick read anyway. Still: it’s definitely a book you’ll at least attempt to read in one setting.

Genre-wise it’s a romantic fantasy. Regular fantasy readers might be put off by the romance bit, thinking it’s too much of a romance novel. It isn’t. It does have a romantic relationship as a key plot line, but it nudges much more to the fantasy side. Lots of descriptions of the world and the differences in traditions between the Xyians and the Firelanders. Romance readers will love this book too though; Xylara and Keir are a great couple, although their relationship does unfold slower than in your usual romance fare. Their story is continued in Warsworn and Warlord, so don’t expect a HEA (Happily Ever After) at the end of this book.

The whole story is told from Xylara’s point of view, and at times that can be quite restricting. I would have loved to see the perspectives of some of the other characters, especially Keir. Despite that though, Xylara is a great character to follow: she takes her vows as a healer serious, and is willing to risk anything, if it means saving lives. Because of the first person view point, you really get to see how her mind works and why she acts like she does.

Warprize is a surprising great read and definitely worth getting. Especially if you find it for only £2.50 🙂 Warprize by Elizabeth Vaughan is £5.59 on Amazon.co.uk and $6.99 on Amazon.com.