A Time Of Blood (Of Blood and Bone #2) by John Gwynne
15 April 2019
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: A Time of Blood, John Gwynne, Of Blood and Bone #2
Wow. Again, I start off a review for a John Gwynne book with that very simple and yet I feel highly appropriate word. Wow. This was an excellent book that I thoroughly enjoyed and I cannot wait to see what comes next.
Truth and courage people. You will certainly find plenty of ‘truths’, some of them more unexpected than others, in the pages of this book and you will have to forgive me if I suggest that you might need a good helping of courage to get through this instalment – by which I mean the tension is ramped up, the battles are bloody and everyone seems to be in danger. This is, again, an epic story of battles, bloodshed, treachery, heroes and villains. It makes for thoroughly entertaining reading at the same time as leaving me with a very real dilemma about how to go about reviewing the story without giving away spoilers.
I’m going to veer away from discussing too much detail about the plot because that way leads to the land of spoilers and I really don’t want to give anything away here and ruin the many surprises in store for you all so this will instead be a simple reflection on my thoughts and feelings during the read.
Firstly I must say that this is an excellent second book in series. The pacing is almost relentless and there is not a glimmer of middle book syndrome in sight. In fact I would go as far to say that this is almost perfect in every respect. The story picks up almost immediately where the first book left off and brings us a thrilling game of cat and mouse being played out across the wilds. Meanwhile terrible plans are being put into place, armies moved around like chess pieces on a board just waiting to attack.
We once again follow a number of different character perspectives that allow us a bird’s eye view of what is taking place in different parts of this world. I love this form of story telling and Gwynne seems to be a dab hand at pulling off the different voices, keeping them all unique and allowing them to grow in the most natural way possible. You can’t help but develop genuine attachments to some of these characters and feel real fear when the author writes them into such terrible predicaments. I was holding my breath reading parts of this, my heart in my throat, here is an author who knows how to bring you to the edge of your seat and keep you reading into the early hours of the morning.
On top of this the world building is developing in a fascinating way. It is starting to become apparent that the Ben-Elim have many secrets. Secrets that they’re very anxious to keep that way. I like this, things are not quite as clear cut as they may have at first appeared and what began as a feeling of strong doubt in the first book has developed into these warrior angels falling much further from grace. Then there are the Kadoshim – this is an enemy that has been greatly underestimated and the price is about to be paid in the spilling of blood. Much blood – this book is indeed aptly named.
And, to repeat what I said about A Time of Dread, Gwynne can undoubtedly write action scenes that simply spring off the page in the mind’s eye. I confess that I sometimes become a little tired of battles and fight scenes or, more to the point, find them difficult to envisage. It’s not a feeling I experienced when reading either this or the first book. The fights and battles are just exquisitely wrought, they’re exciting to read with literally never a dull moment.
To be honest I don’t think I can say too much more. This is turning into a captivating series and an author that is fast becoming a favourite.
I have no criticisms at all and can only suggest that if you enjoy sweeping fantasy, epic battles that are much more complex than simply good vs evil then do yourself a favour and pick up this series. Oh, and lest I forget, there are bears and dogs – fantastic, faithful creatures that I just loved reading about.
I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.
Weekly Wrap Up : 14th April 2019
I am so busy at the moment. Far too much going on – I feel dizzy. Still, it’s all good although I feel I’m falling behind a little. I finished The Time of Blood this week and loved it and here’s the rest of my week:
My books:
- A Time of Blood by John Gwynne
- One Word Kill by Mark Lawrence
- The Brotherhood of the Wheel by RS Belcher – audio book
Next week’s reads:
- Emily Eternal by M G Wheaton
- A Boy and His dog at the End of the World by CA Fletcher
- Storm of Locusts by Rebecca Roanhorse
Upcoming reviews:
- Aching God (Iconoclasts #1) by Mike Shel
- The Binding by Bridget Collins
- A Time of Blood by John Gwynne
- One Word Kill by Mark Lawrence
- The Brotherhood of the Wheel by RS Belcher – audio book
I’d love to know what you’re reading this week.
Friday Face Off : ‘Odin, Odin, send the wind to turn the tide’
Here we are again with the Friday Face Off meme created by Books by Proxy . This is a great opportunity to feature some of your favourite book covers. The rules are fairly simple each week, following a predetermined theme (list below) choose a book, compare a couple of the different covers available for that particular book and choose your favourite. Future week’s themes are listed below – the list has been updated to help out those of you who like to plan ahead – if you have a cover in mind that you’re really wanting to share then feel free to leave a comment about a future suggested theme. I’ve also listed events that take place during the year, that I’m aware of, so you can link up your covers – if you’re aware of any events that you think I should include then give me a shout. This week’s theme:
‘Odin, Odin, send the wind to turn the tide’ – A cover featuring a longboat
Well, I’m kicking myself a little bit this week – a couple of weeks ago, when I was looking high and low for a particular cover for one of the themes, I came across the perfect book for this week’s theme. Could I remember it when I came to this post. No. I could not. Anyway, I’ve still found a great book, which I don’t believe I’ve used before. This week my book is : Assassin’s Apprentice (Farseer Trilogy #1) by Robin Hobb. This is a book that I thoroughly enjoyed when I read it a few years ago, and in fact, on the strength of this I think I bought a lot of other RH books. Have I returned to the series yet. No. I have not. Why, for goodness sake. Anyway. one day. For now though, here are my covers:
My favourites are :
My favourite this week :
Which one is your favourite?
Like last week I’ve added a Mr Linky here so that you can leave a link if you wish or please leave me a link in the comments so we can all visit and check out each others covers. Thanks
I’ve updated the list and included themes through to the end of 2019 – I’ve also included events that I’m aware of so that you can perhaps link your themes up where possible (if you know of an event you’d like to share that let me know in the comments). I also have a list prepared for 2020 and so will set up a separate page soon for forthcoming themes. As always, if you wish to submit an idea then leave me a comment.
Next week – A cover featuring a school
Future themes: (if you’re struggling with any of these themes then use a ‘freebie’ of one of your favourite covers)
2019
19th April – ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times – A cover featuring a school
26th April “The sunrise was the colour of bad blood” – A cover featuring a sunrise/sunset
(May is the month of Wyrd and Wonder – details here, Twitter: @wyrdandwonder)
3rd May – “How sweet to be a cloud, floating in the blue” – A cover that is predominantly blue
10th May – “As full of spirit as the month of May” – A cover featuring a festival/party/celebration
17th May – “The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udûn. Go back to the Shadow!” – A cover featuring a fantasy beast
24th May – “bibbity, bobbity, boo” – A cover that features ‘magical things’
31st May – “simples” – A favourite fantasy cover
7th June – “One swallow does not make a summer” – A cover that makes you think of Summer
14th June – “Coraline opened the box of chocolates. The dog looked at them longingly.” – A cover featuring something sweet
21st June – Summer Solstice – the longest day of the year – Pagan rituals/standing stones/blazing suns – a cover with your own interpretation
28th June – “And who decided which people wore the striped pyjamas” – A cover that is striped
5th July – “The question of whether or not we are alone in the universe… has been answered” – a cover featuring something/somebody historic
12th July – A wrap around cover
19th July – “You can’t choose between life and death when we’re dealing with what is in between.” – A cover that is grainy or looks like ‘white noise’
26th July – “Ludo ….. down” – A cover that is Upside Down
2nd August – “There are children here somewhere. I can smell them.” A cover featuring children
9th August – “I’m disinclined to acquiesce to your request.” – A cover featuring Pirates
16th August – “The haft of the arrow had been feathered with one of the eagles own plumes” – a cover featuring feathers
23rd August – A cover that is a movie tie in
30th August – “I wandered lonely as a cloud” – a cover that is predominantly yellow
6th September “Warm September brings the fruit” – a cover that is seasonal for Autumn/Fall
13th September – Friday the 13th – unlucky for some! A cover with ‘curse’ in the title
20th September – “Your hair is winter fire,January embers.” – A cover featuring hair
27th September – Freebie
4th October – “Feed me Seymour” – A cover that is 60s horror
11th October – ““And, though there should be a world of difference between the smile of a man and the bared fangs of a wolf, with Joss Merlyn they were one and the same.” – a cover featuring an Inn
18th October – “It’s your favorite scary movie, remember? He had on the white mask, he stalked the babysitters.” – A cover featuring a scream
25th October – for Halloween – pick any scary cover you like
(I’m hoping that November will once again bring to us SciFiMonth – Twitter @SciFiMonth)
1st November – A cover that is predominantly grey
8th November – “big badda boom” – a cover that features an explosion
15th November – “No thinking thing should be another thing’s property, to be turned on and off when it is convenient.” – a cover featuring a robot
22nd November – A cover that is Futuristic
29th November – “When a day that you happen to know is Wednesday starts off by sounding like Sunday, there is something seriously wrong somewhere.” – a cover that is 60s sci fi
6th December – Now is the winter of our discontent, Made glorious summer by this sun of York” – a cover that puts you in mind of winter
13th December – A cover that features a temple/or religious icon
20th December – Longest Night – a dark and foreboding cover
27th December – the festive season – a cover that is glittery or sparkling
(2020 – January is Vintage SciFi month so I’ll be including possible themes to take that on board.)
Sowing (The Purification Era #1) by Angie Grigaliunas
11 April 2019
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Angie Grigaliunas, Sowing, The Purification Era #1
Sowing is the fourth finalist I’ve read as part of the SPFBO. This is a low fantasy story, with a dystopian feel that felt like it was aimed at a YA audience – although there are certain elements of this story that don’t quite fit into that category (mention of rape, torture, etc). To be honest, I had high hopes for this one but it didn’t quite work out for me and that could be a combination of the fact that I’m not really the intended audience and I also tend to read less dystopian fiction these days not to mention that I can be a bit of a stickler for the details.
The book revolves around two sisters and their struggles. The city in which they live is ruled by the Hulcondans. The Hulcondans fought off a massive threat to all humans many years ago and now rule this city (and others) with an iron fist. Unfortunately, a force that started out as the saviour of the people, protecting them and saving them in their hour of need, has since dramatically changed. The Hulcondans have become the oppressors of the people, they mercilessly stamp out any signs of dissent and on top of that take terrible liberties. Rebellion is brewing, starting with the posting of subversive material around the city. On the face of it this sounds like something I would love but I think the focus of the story was perhaps just too narrow for me to really get on board.
The two sisters are Ariliah and her older sister Rabreah. Ariliah is very trusting of the system in place to maintain law and order. She believes in the way of life and is basically a very obedient young woman who does her best to stay within the parameters dictated to her. Her sister Rabreah feels quite differently. Past events left her reputation in ruins and she longs to join the rebellion movement. Again, this sounds good, on the face of it although it did leave me puzzled as to why Ariliah was so ready to believe in a system of power that had wronged her own sister, who she loves dearly, so very badly.
I think what I really struggled with here is the world building and character building. I liked the concepts but for me a lot of the story seemed to revolve around the two young women and the male interest that had caught their eye and vice versa. I realise that’s probably a really simplistic way of describing things but to be honest I really didn’t have any true vision in my own mind of what was going on. I struggled to visualise the world and the City, why things were run the way they were, who the enemy really was or to know anything of the rebellion movement, in fact I found it difficult to come to grips with who was good or bad other than being told. For example, at this point in time could I really say that the rebellion leader is any better than the leader of the Hulcondans? Okay, this may be a little bit unfair because there were a couple of executions that were carried out by the Hulcondans – as little more than a display of their power. But, that being said, the leader of the rebellion, who is clearly turning into the love focus for the older sister, has some very dubious methods himself. On top of this, how does the place run, why are there so many soldiers that they can take time to wander nonchalantly round the city whenever the urge takes them. Who decides the work allocation. Why does the girl’s mother treat Ariliah so dreadfully??
To be honest, I’m not really keen on writing negative reviews. I think this book will work for some people and not others. I’m sorry that I couldn’t get more on board with this one but I do wish the author all the best with this series and would also like to thank her for the copy for review.
In terms of scoring I would give this 4.5 out of 10.
Can’t Wait Wednesday : A Little Hatred (The Age of Madness #1) by Joe Abercrombie
10 April 2019
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: A Little Hatred, Can't wait Wednesday, Joe Abercrombie, The Age of Madness #1, Wishful Endings
“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly meme that was originally created by Breaking the Spine. Unfortunately Breaking the Spine are no longer hosting so I’m now linking my posts up to Wishful Endings Can’t Wait Wednesday. Don’t forget to stop over, link up and check out what books everyone else is waiting for. If you want to take part, basically, every Wednesday, we highlight a book that we’re really looking forward to. This week my book is : A Little Hatred (The Age of Madness #1) by Joe Abercrombie.
The chimneys of industry rise over Adua and the world seethes with new opportunities. But old scores run deep as ever.
On the blood-soaked borders of Angland, Leo dan Brock struggles to win fame on the battlefield, and defeat the marauding armies of Stour Nightfall. He hopes for help from the crown. But King Jezal’s son, the feckless Prince Orso, is a man who specialises in disappointments.
Savine dan Glokta – socialite, investor, and daughter of the most feared man in the Union – plans to claw her way to the top of the slag-heap of society by any means necessary. But the slums boil over with a rage that all the money in the world cannot control.
The age of the machine dawns, but the age of magic refuses to die. With the help of the mad hillwoman Isern-i-Phail, Rikke struggles to control the blessing, or the curse, of the Long Eye. Glimpsing the future is one thing, but with the guiding hand of the First of the Magi still pulling the strings, changing it will be quite another…
Due for Publication July 2019
Books and travelling with Lynn 