20 January 2020

Books from September 2019 until December 2019

Long time, no posts, sorry!

A Pocketful of Crows (Joanne M Harris)
I bought this on impulse, as I'm a sucker for more adult takes on fairy tales. I was pleased that it delivered. The protagonist is one of the travelling people, nameless and magical, capable of shapeshifting and working magic. She is captivated by the Laird's young son, falling in love, and abandoning her wildness to be with him. Promised marriage, he names her and binds her to him, away from her powers. Then his father returns and rejects the match the young master has made. The tale twists to one of hurt and revenge, as the slighted wilding seeks to regain her powers and release her anger. The book is well written, almost poetic and quite haunting. The illustrations are gorgeous, even on a Kindle. It's a short read, and well worth the time.

The Darkness (Hidden Iceland #1) (Ragnar Jónasson)
Having read the Dark Iceland sequence, I decided to read the new series coming out. I was surprised where this went and it was not entirely satisfying where the story ended. However, it did leave me wanting to read the next book to see if the threads start to pull together.

Palace of Treason (Jason Matthews)​
An enjoyable sequel to "Red Sparrow"; it verges on the Jason Bourne and James Bond end of the genre rather than le Carré and Charles Cumming, but it's well paced and plotted. It does draw you on with action, sex and violence and a big dash of tradecraft and traitors. I'll be reading the third book in 2020.

The Lights Go Out in Lychford (Paul Cornell)​An enjoyable return to Lychford, as the consequences of previous events continue to roll through and the coven tries to deal with the deterioration of its senior member and a threat from outside. Worth considering if you like Liminal or Rivers of London, but read the earlier books first.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen #1
Century 1910 (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen)
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen #2
Black Dossier (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen #3)
Nemo: River of Ghosts
Nemo: The Roses of Berlin
Nemo: Heart of Ice
Century 1969 (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen)
Century 2009 (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen)

So I went through nine books of Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neil's epic graphic novel series in preparation for reading:

The Tempest (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume #4)​
A hot mess of a book, written in multiple styles, bringing to a close the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. 3D glasses included. A challenging but enjoyable read.

20th January 2019




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