Book Reviews | Books and travelling with Lynn

#artitupwithfriends : Danger

Posted On 2 May 2016

Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: #artitupwithfriends, 'danger', Monthly challenges, Sketches

For the month of May I am going to try and take part in a daily drawing challenge organised by @pabkins and @badaliceshop. These will only be sketches but if you check out the #artitupwithfriends hashtag you’ll see some really excellent pieces of art! Each day the aim is to sketch or draw using the word for the day. Today is ‘Danger’. This is a sinister and sweet themed month.

Tomorrow’s prompt is ‘Dreams’. I hope you come and join in.

Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt

Posted On 2 May 2016

Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Hex, Thomas Olde Heuvelt

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26802679 Hex is a unique story about a witch who haunts the inhabitants of a small town. It’s a creepy tale that stays with you after you finish reading and gives you plenty of food for thought – but probably in a way that you really wouldn’t suspect.

Katherine van Wyler was sentenced to death for witchcraft by the towns people of Black Springs in the year 1664. Unfortunately for the people of Black Springs Katherine took her death sentence rather badly and ever since has haunted the towns people who are now, effectively, cursed!

I think Hex probably has one of the most unusual concepts for a creepy tale that I’ve ever come across. A witch, who haunts a town and literally walks the streets or shows up in people’s houses. What makes this worse is that Katherine has her eyes and mouth sewn shut and is wrapped with chains. Her appearance is usually preceded by the smell of rot and dirty water and if the inhabitants listen closely enough they can hear Katherine whispering quietly a string of vitriol that can cause madness and worse in any that overhear her words. Add to this the fact that most people have become almost immune to the sight of Katherine and in some, far from causing fear she has almost become a figure to ridicule or taunt.

Now, I must confess that this isn’t a horror story! It’s not a slasher or blood filled fest. It’s a book that is progressively creepy. It lulls you into a false sense of security by showing you a town full of people who have come to terms with their own sentence. And, make no mistake, living in Black Springs is a sentence. Once you move there you can’t leave – I won’t go into the reasons why but trust me on this – there are no physical barriers but everyone knows that escape isn’t an option. This is the beauty of this book – it’s like a work of stealth! You’re reading along oblivious to the fact that you’re about to be hit by something strange and dark and more than that something that will shock you and keep you reading even if you want to stop.

So, to the town – Black Springs appears to be an average and picturesque place. The inhabitants have had a long time to come to term with it’s resident ghost and are now experts at keeping everything under wraps (or tea towels for that matter!) The odd thing is that nobody really knows the true story surrounding Katherine but everybody knows that if something goes goes wrong and upsets the equilibrium then the whole town could fall victim. This is such a clever concept – everyone is dependent on everyone else and it really only takes one weak link for the whole thing to fall apart and spiral into chaos. In turn it gives Black Springs an olde world feel – the people there live their life with fear and superstition. They don’t always trust each other and can in fact point the finger of blame without a second thought. Almost like a witch hunt all over again.

Of course, the last time that anything scary happened in town was so long ago that most of the residents have forgotten and although some still remain vigilant the younger members of the population are starting to resent the restrictions placed on them. They want a regular life, they want to take pictures and tweet them, date people from other towns, go on holidays to far flung places and be reckless – and so we have a situation bubbling and about to boil over. The town of Black Springs is a town stuck in the dark ages but with a young generation bursting at the seams to break into the modern century. A generation of youngsters who secretly wonder how bad it could really be.

I can’t give away too much more about Hex without spoiling it. It’s a very unusual ghost story. It takes a look at people and how they sometimes react, particularly when under severe stress or fear. The animal instincts that awaken, only thinly covered by a relatively new veneer of civility, when the going gets tough. And the fact that sometimes the fear and the reaction it causes can be equally bad if not worse than whatever it was that caused the fear in the first place.

I definitely recommend Hex. It’s such a compelling book, it will make you think, you’ll start the story and have questions, much like a new resident to the Town, and slowly the truth will become apparent – and just as you come to terms with what’s going on and think you have a grip on things everything will go to hell in a handcart!

I received a copy of Hex courtesy of the publishers, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

#artitupwithfriends : Another World

Posted On 1 May 2016

Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: #artitupwithfriends, Drawing challenge, Sinister and Sweet

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For the month of May I am going to try and take part in a daily drawing challenge organised by @pabkins and @badaliceshop. These will only be sketches but if you check out the #artitupwithfriends hashtag you’ll see some really excellent pieces of art! Each day the aim is to sketch or draw using the word for the day. Today is ‘Another World’. This is a sinister and sweet themed month.

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Tomorrow’s theme is ‘Danger’. I hope you come and join in.

April: My Month in Review

Posted On 1 May 2016

Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: April : My Month in Review, Books Bought, Covers, Events taken part in, Review Books

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April appeared and then I blinked and it was gone. I’ve had some great books this month. Plus I’ve been on a short break to Cornwall for a few days which was lovely.

Books read: (with links to reviews)

Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel
Eleanor by Jason Gurley
Masks and Shadows by Stephanie Burgis
The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe
The Silent Army by James A Moore (reviewed on Speculative Herald)
Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt
The Warrior Witch by Danielle L Jensen
An Artificial Night by Seanan McGuire

Last month’s covers are here

Backlist books

Okay – I’m not doing well with this – but I still have faith! I will read some of my long waiting and very patient books!

Unfinished series completed:

Another blip – but not one that cannot be conquered!

Books Bought:

A Room With a View by EMForster
And Then There were None by Agatha Christie
Five Children and It by E Nesbit
Sawbones by Melissa Lenhardt
The Chrysalids by John Wyndham

I admit I went a bit silly this month BUT in my defence I had gift vouchers – and it would be rude not to spend them and look at the lovelies.

Review Books (loads to look forward – I’m so excited for these):

The Shadowed Path by Gail Z Martin
The Deadhouse by Harry Bingham
Company Town by Madeline Ashby
Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones
The Sudden Appearance of Hope by Claire Hope
The Wheel of Osheim by Mark Lawrence

Which cover?:

This is a difficult one to choose between but I actually really like the one with the mobile phone on the cover – gives me the chills – review of HEX to follow and author interview can be found here!

Events:

Backlist Backburn is an end of month event organised by Lisa at Tenacious Reader. If you’ve caught up on any of your backlist then call over and link up. I find this a good incentive to dust off some of my books although I’ve not done very well recently.

Top Ten Tuesday at The Broke and Bookish (every Tuesday)

Waiting on Wednesday is an event hosted by Breaking the Spine where every week we get to shine the spotlight on a book that we’re looking forward to.

The Friday Face off by Books by Proxy

Announced two readalongs for March:

Kushiel’s Justice by Jacqueline Carey – now up to week 7
An Artificial Night by Seanan McGuide now completed – readalong of Book No.4 to be announced shortly

Classic Clubs read:

The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe

Once Upon a Time by Stainless Steel Droppings (details here):

Books already read for OUaT:

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
Fellside by M R Carey
The Everything Box by Richard Kadrey

Previous months in review:

Also: The next Self Published Fantasy Blog Off 2 (SPFBO2) is about to commence (detail to follow)

Kushiel’s Justice by Jacqueline Carey, Week 7 readalong

Posted On 1 May 2016

Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Jacqueline Carey, Kushiel's Justice, Readalong Week 7

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Kushiel's justice Today is week 7 of our readalong of Kushiel’s Justice by Jacqueline Carey. The schedule and participants are below. All welcome to join in or to simply jump in with the comments. This week we cover chapters 47-56, and I am hosting. Without further ado, to the questions with the customary warning of spoilers!

1. Imriel seems to be having a lot of adventures by himself for the past few chapters. What do you make of his adventures and his character as the story progresses.

I like Imriel’s development over this particular book. The very fact that he is now venturing out on his own is, I feel, quite significant on it’s own. In terms of where he’s from and his heritage he is taking a huge risk but it doesn’t feel like he’s just going off in a strop. He has a purpose. I liked that he’s not afraid to get stuck in. There are no airs and graces about him even though he’s used to being quite well looked after and the shipwreck is a perfect example of that.

2. What do you make of Urist’s misfortune do you think he will play a further role in the story?

I felt very sorry for Urist. I think he’s played a really good role so far and I really hope he comes into play again. More than that, I’m pleased that JC didn’t feel the need to kill him off! There is definitely something about Urist that is easy to like.

3. Berlik seems to be receiving a lot of help on his travels, he seems very sad and repentant – what do you make now of Imriel’s mission? Will he succeed or is he changing? And is this mission worth the price?

I feel that things have changed slightly and I wonder whether Imriel will be able to actually kill Berlik? I think that Imriel has great justification for his mission but I think that the longer and father the journey goes the more difficult hit becomes. Also part of me wonders if Berlik would find it more of a punishment to be allowed to live. Plus, I’m not sure now how it will make Imriel feel to kill Berlik. It’s going to be interesting.

4. Joscelin seems to have become known as an ‘angel’ and Imriel as an ‘avenging angel’ – any thoughts?

Like Joscelin is seen as good and Imriel is bad. That’s really kind of sad. I don’t think Imriel has actually done anything bad in fact he’s had a lot of bad things happen to him and obviously he is seeking vengeance for the death of his wife and child. I’m not sure this course is going to make him happy but I suppose we’ll see.

5. The war that is looming – how do you see this affecting what is yet to come for Imriel?

I think it’s going to make things very difficult indeed. Imriel has already been imprisoned as a spy – which, as an aside, I was totally pulled into that element of the story – goodness knows what will happen next. I can’t help thinking that the way he behaved in prison and treated his fellow prison mate might help him out in the long run.

6. What did you think of Imriel’s thoughts about the Gods and the fact that we sometimes change them by twisting the truth a little as time progresses?

I was really drawn to Imriel’s thoughts on this, particularly how they related to our discussion on how the nature of things/stories depending on whether they’re written or spoken. It can’t be good though to change the nature of a God! Feels like somebody is going to get smote or smite, or whatever the correct term for being smited is!

Here is the schedule:

Week 1: Chpts. 1-7, Mar 20 – Hosted by Dab of Darkness
Week 2: Chpts. 8-14, Mar 27 – Hosted by Emma Wolf
Week 3: Chpts. 15-22, Apr 3 – Hosted by Lynn’s Book Blog
Week 4: Chpts. 23-29, Apr 10 – Hosted by Tethyan Books
Week 5: Chpts. 30-37, Apr 17 – Hosted by Dab of Darkness
Week 6: Chpts. 38-46, Apr 24 – Hosted by Emma Wolf
Week 7: Chpts. 47-56, May 1 – Hosted by Lynn’s Book Blog
Week 8: Chpts. 57-65, May 8 – Hosted by Tethyan Books
Week 9: Chpts. 66-END, May 15 – Hosted by Dab of Darkness

And here is the current list of participators:
Allie at Tethyan Books
Lynn at Lynn’s Book Blog
Emily at Emma Wolf
Susan at Dab of Darkness
Lisa at Over the Effing Rainbow

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