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Lover's Knot (Dorina Basarab #3.5)

Karen Chance

9.0 (2 Ratings) Rate It

Book

One of the most powerful vampires in existence has gone missing, which is fine with Dorina Basarab....

urban fantasy

David McK (3623 KP) rated Hero in the Shadows (Drenai 9; Waylander 3) in Books

Dec 5, 2021

Chronologically the third entry in David Gemmell's Drenia saga, published ninth in order, that completes the trilogy of Waylander the Slayer: a character first introduced in Waylander before being further expanded upon in Waylander II: In the Realm of the Wolf and which thus makes him of the very few characters that Gemmell returned to more than once in that series (indeed, the only other character I can think of is of Druss himself. Oh, and Skilgannon (who had two novels).

I've always found that there is an element of truth to the charge that the nations in his works reflect real-life counterparts (Nadir = Huns, Drenai = Greek), with those novel expanding to include the Kydor and the Chiatze, with the Men of Mud obviously reflecting the Terracotta army.

Oh, and the finale of the novel, in which Waylander finally finds peace?

*Chef's kiss*

Kudos

Isaac and the Egg

Bobby Palmer

10.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

Book

This is the story of Isaac and the Egg, a grieving young man and his unforgettable new friend, who...

Trigger Warning: suicide (but not carried out)

ClareR (5996 KP) rated The No-Show in Books

Jan 3, 2023

The No-Show

Beth O'Leary | 2023 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Mystery, Romance

10.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

The No-Show is Beth O’Leary at her best, and I think she’s just made it on to my auto-buy list of authors. She’s made me smile, cry and feel huge amounts of empathy for the characters in this book.

The way she has woven the stories of Miranda, Siobhan and Jane together was so clever, and I reached all sorts of (incorrect) conclusions. I have to admit to not liking the main male character, Joseph Carter, much to begin with, but he is portrayed to be something he isn’t at the start - and that’s all I’ll say about him!

This is sold as a romance but as with all of Beth O’Leary’s novels, they’re much more than that. There’s a mystery threaded throughout this, and there’s a mental health theme as well.
This book was perfect, wonderfully narrated too, and I can’t wait for Beth’s next book.

Kudos

David McK (3623 KP) rated Ghost Story (The Dresden Files, #13) in Books

Dec 31, 2021

It's been a while since I last read the last full-length Harry Dresden novel ([i]Changes[/i]), so I'd more or less forgot how action-packed they generally are.

Picking up months after *that* ending of the previous books, I've gotta say, you'd wonder how Jim Butcher is going to continue the series! The answer is rather unusual: how many other novels (or, for that matter, stories in general) can you think of where the main character/narrator are a ghost? Beetlejuice, maybe, but other than that ... ?

Anyhow, this is another action packed entry in the series, with Harry's shade - unable to touch any physical object, or to communicate with the vast majority of the world - is back in Chicago, primarily looking for the identity of his own killer (I must admit that I was actually blindsided a bit by that identity, when it was finally revealed).

Kudos

Down Among the Dead Men (Forest Kingdom, #3)

Simon R. Green

4.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

Book

"Ten years have passed since the Demon War. The Forest's scars are slowly healing, the Darkwood is...

David McK (3623 KP) rated Extinction in Books

Aug 11, 2024 (Updated Aug 11, 2024)

I remember, back in the mid to late 90s, reading both 'Relic' and it's sequel 'Reliquary', and quite enjoying the both of them.

(The movie 'Relic', on the other hand, was a bit of a dud).

They're the only 2 novels by Douglas Preston I'd ever read, until I decided to give this one a go based on both the premise (extinct animals being brought back to life) and the blurb.

I knew it wouldn't be a 'Jurassic Park' (which is name-checked) scenario; wasn't quite sure what it would be. What I got was an enjoyable enough read that put me in mind of something from the late Michael Crichton: I also have to say that, whilst I didn't get either the specifics nor who was behind it (or the reason), I did see what was coming from just over roughly the halfway mark!

Kudos

David McK (3623 KP) rated Star Wars X-Wing: The Krytos Trap (X-Wing #3) in Books

Oct 26, 2024 (Updated Oct 26, 2024)

Now considered part of 'Legends' rather than canon, this is the third in the 90s series of Star Wars: X Wing books by MMichael A Stackpole, back before the sequels and even before the prequels were a thing!

Here, this novel primarily deals with the fallout from the conquest of Coruscant (or Imperial Centre, as it was originally called in the films), with the main character of Corran Horn captured by Ysanne Isard and believed dead by his comrades.

Isard, meanwhile, has unleashed a deadly contagion upon the denizens of the city planet in a plan to stir up foment amongst the various species (and leaders) of the New Republic.

While the novel does show its age somewhat - Jedi had family, no Padawans (remember, written before the prequels!) - this is still an entertaining read that, I feel, stands up well amongst several of the 'newer' novels.