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Phil Leader (619 KP) rated Guns of the Dawn in Books

Nov 14, 2019

Guns of the Dawn

Adrian Tchaikovsky | 2015 | Fiction & Poetry

9.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

A couple of years a go I was involved in a Twitter conversation about strong female characters in fantasy. The conclusion what that they were there but not very common. This book addresses this by adding another in the shape of Emily Marshwic.

Born into a priviliged family, she is nothing but practical, sparring with the local governor whom she blames for the suicide of her father. Then war breaks out with a neighbouring country and as the fighting drags on, taking the men of the Marshwic household, Emily ends up joining the army to do her bit. The war is brutal and through her experiences Emily finds out unexpected things about not only herself but those around her.

This story is entirely driven by character, not only of Emily but of all of those she meets and this is where Tchaikovsky shines, conjuring up a host of main and supporting cast, all of whom are three dimensional and painted in shades of light and shadow, even those whose lives are destined to be cut short. Emily herself is the central pillar of the book and is more than capable of that task.

The descriptions of the war - both of the frantic, muddled fighting and the times in between - is spot on, showing the futility of it all but also why the sides feel they must fight on. The plot is far from predictable and takes sudden turns onto new territory just as the reader becomes comfortable with the current situation.

The world is well drawn. This is definitely fantasy in style and there are magic users in the shape of the flame wielding Warlocks, but the main fighting is with muskets and flintlock pistols and it is clear that the war is driving technology on.

The only problem with this book? It is stand alone. I would definitely read more stories about Emily and will now be searching out Tchaikovsky's epic Shadows of the Apt series for future reading.

Advisory: Voilent scenes of battle and some sexual violence and references

Kudos

Ivana A. | Diary of Difference (1171 KP) rated Wide Open in Books

Feb 3, 2020

View this and other reviews on my blog: www.diaryofdifference.com

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Wide Open is one of the few books of this kind. I personally am not a huge fan of poetry and I don’t enjoy reading it too often, but sometimes a book comes and makes me wonder I act this way. Amy Bodossian truly wrote something beautiful and unique, and I look forward to reading more poems from her.

I have to say a huge thank you to Outside the Box Press, for letting me have a copy of this book in an exchange for an honest review.

Wide Open (Published by Outside the Box Press) contains poetry written about love and sex. Amy writes with so much emotion and oh, the feels! It can be very straightforward and harsh at times, and it can be warm and loving as well, and it is a perfect blend of feelings and emotions that make you see the art of love and sex in a completely different and unique way. In the book you can also see a lot of amazing illustrations made by Amy, which perfectly represent each poem.

I wouldn’t say I loved it, because I don’t easily love books, but I have to mention that this one did surprise me in a very pleasant way. It is incredibly open and very thorough, and I believe it deserves a place on your shelves as well. It makes your body shiver from her words in an unusual way, and it helps you realise to always keep your heart open – to new loves, to new experiences, to new adventures, to new opportunities!

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Kudos

Cat Danger Allan (29 KP) rated The Princess Bride in Books

Jan 27, 2020 (Updated Jan 27, 2020)

The Princess Bride

William Goldman | 1973 | Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy

8.6

(52 Ratings)

Book Rating

Top notch story telling (0 more)

Nothing. Nothing in this book could ever be bad! (0 more)

It is still my favourite book in all of the world. And more then ever, I wish I had written it

Contains spoilers, click to show

I watched the movie and loved how closely it related to the fairy tale in the book. We have Wesley and Buttercup who fall in love. However, when Wesley goes to make his fortune his ship is taken by the dreaded pirate Rogers, who never leaves a man alive. So Buttercup in her depression agrees to marry Prince Humperdink. One day Buttercup is kidnapped by a swordsman, a giant and the brains of the group. And so it goes.

This fairy tale has everything you could wish for. True love, a giant, a deadly forest, sword fighting, magic, pirates. You name it, its probably in there.

But what makes this writer so incredible. Is the abridgement section. Goldman writes this as if he's talking about his childhood story, alas this is all a fairytale too. The introduction where he talks about getting a copy of this book for his child's birthday like his father had done for him is one big hoax. He talks about removing all the sections and chapters from the book that never existed. He is just a great writer

The reunion scene he leaves an address to his publishers and promotes people to write in and ask for a copy of the scene. But this writer is so incredible, he replies back to these messages with a new fake story. It is all about how he is getting sued by Florin and cannot release the scene. If you would like to read the response I found a copy on twitter:

https://twitter.com/LettersOfNote/status/1063443712666161154?s=09

I just found that the storytelling was just so perfect, there was nothing you could not enjoy.