Harry Potter Month (7)
Today is day seven of my monthly challenge to post something on a particular theme. This month being Harry Potter. Today, just a simple silly Dude’ll:
Wolf’s Empire: Gladiator by Claudia Christian and Morgan Grant Buchanan
7 August 2016
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Claudia Christian, Morgan Grant Buchanan, Wolf's Empire: Gladiator
Wolf’s Empire is a space opera with, as strange as it may sound, the Roman Empire set at it’s heart. Imagine a world in which the Roman Empire continued to go from strength to strength dominating not only the known world but eventually branching out into space to eventually embrace an empire spanning the galaxy. This story imagines a Rome set 7,000 years in the future and yet still brings to us an empire with conflict at it’s core. The story is one of revenge and involves a young woman who goes to great length to avenge the deaths of her mother and brother and also to try and break free of the unwanted role placed upon her by society.
Firstly, a little background. Accala Viridian is a noblewoman, from House Viridian, one of the seven houses that rule the Empire’s provinces, with the Emperor himself ruling supreme in the eighth house. House Viridian, are the bearers of the Golden Wolf insignia, they have for years embodied the virtues of honour and duty above all else, steeped in tradition their house is probably a little less progressive than some of the others. House Sertorian, bearer of the Ruby Hawk insignia focus more on ambition and seem to embody the notion of ‘winning no matter what the cost’ – to them, honour is an antiquated value that has no place in their ruthless world. Their desire for greater power and recognition for their house has led to war with House Viridian – a war that not only seems to have cost the lives of Accala’s mother and brother but also seems to be one that House Viridian are not faring too well in.
The Emperor, in a bid to stamp out the war, decided to stage an Imperial Games based on the planet Olympus Decimus. The winner of the games will rule supreme, the losers will no longer be one of the ruling houses and will be stripped of all their titles and assets – so a lot is resting on the outcome. Added to this – the local population on Olympus Decimus are staging their own protest against Roman rule and everything is about to come crashing together in a most spectacular, sometimes mind boggling, incredibly entertaining, blood thirsty and horror soaked way imaginable – well, as much as you would expect from gladiators!
I think the authors have managed to combine the ancient and the new in a remarkable way. The story has a very large scope and yet doesn’t feel cumbersome or overburdened with backstory or history – these aspects just flow naturally as the story progresses. We have a central character who is far from perfect and not above making wrong decisions that will just make you want to yell at her occasionally. There are some epic fight sequences and gladiator scenes that are brought to life so vividly and that, whilst they will seem familiar, have been updated to include technology and drug enhanced fighting skills.
Accala is a character who develops continually as the story advances as do quite a number of the other characters. She begins the piece with vengeance firmly in mind and really you have to remember this as you read along because this really is her sole motivation and leads her to at times make some disastrous decisions. Of course, Accala never really knows who are the good guys and who are the bad guys – they seem fairly obvious at the outset but nothing is ever quite as clear cut as it first seems and certainly a lot of the characters here have their own motivations that drive them on which makes it difficult to know who is helping and who is hindering.
Accala’s dreams of gaining revenge seem at first to be continually thwarted. Her own father seeks to marry her off before she can cause him any embarrassment and even though she succeeds in gaining a place on the gladiator team the Emperor decrees that she return home and honour her father’s wishes. Then an unexpected alliance offers her the chance to become a gladiator and fight in the arena. And this is when her world is really turned on it’s head.
We have a number of chapters where Accala trains with her new team members as they travel through space on route to the games – I particularly enjoyed these chapters. We see Accala brought low by an addiction that really takes a grip on her – but I won’t go further because their lies the path of spoilers. Upon reaching their destination the tension doesn’t relent at all with some furious fight scenes upon the gladiator field which are then followed by a change in tack as we delve into the core of the planet.
In terms of criticisms – well, at first I wondered how well the Roman theme would work being expanded into such a modern world and I must say that I had a few moments where I initially thought – surely a civilisation which has moved on 7,000 years would have developed a little more in terms of seeking such bloodthirsty entertainment and surely they would have developed a little more in terms of equality amongst the sexes, but, that being said, I think the authors were, as mentioned above combining the ancient aspects with the new – it’s a difficult combination to balance but I think they did a very good job. The only other criticism I had was that towards the last 25% there was undoubtedly a lot of action but some of it became a little repetitive – not in that they were the same fight scenes but more the set up and outcomes.
Apart from a few little niggles I found this a very enjoyable read.
I received a copy from the publisher through Netgalley for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.
Harry Potter Month (6)
Today is day six of my monthly challenge to post something on a particular theme. This month being Harry Potter. So, for the next month, sketches, quotes, discussions, maybe a review and perhaps a giveaway! Who knows (basically I haven’t got a clue because I’m making it up as I go along…)
Today is a Dude’ll. The Dude has a new pad:
#SPFBO Spotlight : the fourth set of books..
This is my fourth batch of books for the SPFBO. My update from the third selection of five will follow shortly. For details of the SPFBO check here. I chose my first five books to look at during the course of May and my update post for the first five is here. The book that I took forward at that stage was Rebel’s Honor by Gwynn White review here. My update for the second set of five is here. My post for the third batch is here.
The book choices are being randomly chosen. I’m aiming to read about 20% of each book or five chapters (which I think should be enough to give me a fair idea of whether or not the book could be my potential final choice). Basically, if one of the books is standing out above the other four then that will be the clear choice from that section.
My next set of five are below. I’ve added underneath each a synopsis (taken from Goodreads) and also linked up the titles so they’re easy to check out.
1. Melody of Demons by Ros Jackson
In her home village, Aivee is worse than nobody. If her secret identity as a half-demon leaks out, she’s dead. But in the capital city she will reinvent herself as a dancer. She’ll be wealthy, and adored by thousands. Nobody will be able to hurt her.
Will they?
Nori knows how cruel the city can be. She’s lost her mother to its plagues, and lately her younger sister has joined the ranks of its disappeared. But she’s not giving up. The ruling classes think they can treat people worse than beasts and strip them of their human rights. Powerful factions want to keep the epidemic of missing people a secret. Well, they can eat her blades.
Nori joins a group of vigilantes fighting for answers, and voices in her head urge her to recruit Aivee to the cause. These vigilantes are bumbling amateurs, as likely to get themselves killed as to save anyone. But Nori is changing, going mad, lusting for battle and remembering centuries-old conflicts. She will whip them into shape, or die trying.
Bloodthirsty gangs, inhuman mages, and dragon gods have it in for the people of Kaddon city.
Yes, Nori is mad. But she’s not nearly even.
2. Rescuing Pavra by Terra Lorin
On the planet of Avadonya, handsome yet brutal shapeshifters called the Beasts raid a small Bormian village, kidnapping young females. A young Beast named Romi wins the youngest captive Pavra in a challenge and takes her as his prize to save her from the hands of the other Beasts. As the years pass and Pavra transitions into womanhood, she and Romi fall in love and thus ensues their romance.
Meanwhile, twins Gael and Gion head a group of young Bormians to rescue their younger sister Pavra and the other females taken on that fatal night two years ago. Will the eleven young Bormians be able to battle these shapeshifting Beasts, who outnumber them, and are just as deadly in their beastly incarnation? Not to mention the other dangers they must face along the way, even before they reach the Beasts’ lair.
Action, adventure, romance, and surprises are in store for this band of brave heroes as they encounter fairies, ogres, gigantic creatures, more shapeshifters and other friends and foe on their courageous rescue mission.
3. Pathfinders by Aidan J Reid
– In the darkest corners of your mind, they hunt –
Norman Adams’ life changes in an instant when he experiences his first lucid dream. The watershed moment reveals an alternate world of consciousness which compels the young man to explore the boundaries of reality.
He meets an eccentric librarian, Stephen Breagal, whose interest in the topic seems to know no limits and they strike up an unlikely friendship.
Soon however, the dream turns into a nightmare when Norman is involved in an accident sending him into a coma. Under the apprenticeship of Breagal, loyal but sceptical friend Victor James volunteers to use the librarian’s pioneering techniques to enter Norman’s dream state and finds the horror trapping him there.
The race is on to rescue their friend as together they search the deepest, darkest recesses of the mind – a place where nightmares are born.
4. Bronze Magic by Jennifer Ealey
Bronze Magic, a fantasy novel of 484 pages, is the first in a series that track the woodfolk legend of Tarkyn, Guardian of the Forest. It is written in an easy flowing style that makes it accessible to both teenagers and adults. The major protagonist, although powerful, spends much of his time trying not to intimidate people, while memorable characters battle with issues of trust, cultural differences and respect against a background of magic and action:
In Eskuzor, land of sorcerers, Prince Tarkyn, tempestuous and strong in magic, is forced to flee from his brother the king, leaving a trail of death and destruction behind him.
After days on the run, he wanders into the woodlands in the company of an old wizard, only to find himself unable to leave. Even worse, Tarkyn is horrified to discover that he is the unwelcome, bitterly resented liege lord of an elusive people whose oath to him has been spellbound to the welfare of their forest. The prince, moved by his unwilling liegefolk’s plight, modifies his expectations. On the other hand, one woodman, Waterstone, puts aside his own prejudices to offer Tarkyn his friendship, persevering in the face of the prince’s mistrust.
Bounty hunters are tracking Tarkyn. Wolves and sorcerers are hunting the woodfolk.
Battling the woodfolk’s resentment, Tarkyn holds true to his duty as their liege lord to fight with them against wizard-driven storm, captivity and exposure of their existence to the world beyond the forest. As Tarkyn works side by side with his liegefolk, he not only develops friendships and acceptance but also gains new powers which transform him, in the eyes of the woodfolk, into a figure of their legends, the guardian of the forest.
Despite this, their mutual trust is fragile and when Tarkyn discovers that his liegefolk have been concealing the existence of woodfolk not sworn to him, he is driven to extreme lengths to repair the schism in woodfolk society that his presence has caused, so that they can stand united against the greatest threat in their history.
The Amber Isle by Ashley Capes
Roguish Never is on a quest to lift a curse on his blood and to learn his true name; but upon joining a group of treasure-hunters he soon finds himself unearthing world-altering secrets that have long lain dormant within the mysterious Amber Isle.
Harry Potter Month (5)
Today is day five of my challenge to post each day about Harry Potter. Quotes, books, films and silliness.
Yesterday’s mystery character – as if you didn’t know – was Luna Lovegood.
As part of my challenge I found out about this fun discussion event called Hype or Like over on Rant and Rave About Books – check it out here if you’re interested in taking part.
The Discussion this week is:
If you could choose 3 magical items from any Harry Potter book, which would you choose and why? Explain what you would do with them and how you would use them to your advantage.
- A Pensieve – imagine if you could see your memories in this way! More to the point – as the memory is stored in the pensieve others can also view it – I wonder if you took two people, with what they thought was the same memory, and viewed both, would they differ? That would be interesting
- An enchained car like Arthur Weasley’s Ford Anglia – just think about going to work in this and missing all the congestion and rush hour traffic! Oh hell yes! Plus – no need to find a parking space – just pull up in a whomping willow.
- A Time Turner – I think everyone must surely want one of these! Sit in all day and read a book, then turn back time and go to work – in your enchanted car!
