To The Kwai and Back: War Drawings 1939-1945
Book
In 1939, as an art student, Ronald Searle volunteered for the army. Called up in September, he...
Ross (3282 KP) rated You Die When You Die in Books
Jan 21, 2020
There follows a brilliant, exciting, funny story of this small clan with mixed abilities (some well trained warriors, some powerful yet cowardly warlocks, some useless wastes of space) travelling across North America, hunted by the magically-enhanced warriors sent to end them, and meeting numerous clans and tribes along the way.
The wonderful merging of plausible pre-history America and a more familiar fantasy setting (prophecies, evil empires, warriors) results in this superb story. The dialogue is witty and funny, the world is familiar yet strange enough to make you think, and the action sequences are fantastically narrated, often from different viewpoints.
The characters are all very well crafted and unique, and their interactions and conflicts really spur this story on.
I would urge anyone keen on fantasy to read this book. While the cover, and title, may suggest it is a brutal slobberknocker of a book, it is actually very clever, funny and thrilling.
I cannot wait to jump in to the next book in this trilogy. Wootah!!!
Young Jean Lee recommended Le Bonheur (1965) in Movies (curated)
NeverSeconds: The Incredible Story of Martha Payne
Book
Martha Payne is nine years old. She set up a simple blog neverseconds where she reviewed her school...
Flashlight & Morse Utility
Utilities and Photo & Video
App
-Light, Morse and Strobe -Brightness Adjustment -Screen Lock Super fast start of the flashlight!!! ...
The New Politics of Regionalism: Perspectives from Africa, Latin America and Asia-Pacific
Ulf Engel, Heidrun Zinecker, Frank Mattheis and Antje Dietze
Book
This edited volume approaches regionalism as one potential pattern in a changing global order. Since...
The Warrior-Prophet
Book
The first battle against the heathen has been won, but while the Great Names plot and squabble over...
Kyera (8 KP) rated City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments, #2) in Books
Jan 31, 2018
As much as I loved the first book, you can see a marked improvement in Cassie’s writing even by this second book. There is a particular scene in which the setting is described so vividly that you can easily imagine the location building around you in your mind. Immersive world building is always very important to me in books, especially fantasy series, so I cannot recommend this series enough. Although it is the earliest of her writing, you cannot miss out on all of the details she provides about the world. You go on the journey with Clary as you both learn about Downworlders, the Clave, and demons.
City of Ashes further develops the relationships and connections between the characters. You can feel how much they care for one another and it’s really authentic. Although I’ve read this series before it has been a while since I delved into the series that started it all. I am being reintroduced to favourite characters and realizing just how much they’ve grown over the course of the numerous novels that Cassie has written. As I re-read interactions and laugh at witty lines, I fall in love with the characters all over again. I remember what it is that made me care for them in the first place, not just their strengths but their vulnerabilities.
There’s not much else I can say without discussing plot points or spoiling things from this or the first book, so I would just end it with – please, if you’re hesitant, give this series a chance. I would highly recommend it and in my opinion, it definitely needs to be read prior to reading Cassie’s newest series, the Dark Artifices. As incredible as the world building is in that series, it’s adding to the lore that has been built and evolved over the course of ten novels. It won’t be as impactful if you don’t have the foundational knowledge before you read the Dark Artifices.
Weald
Book
On a remote livery yard in rural England, Jim arrives 'home' after eight years away, in need of...