Ruthless and supremely powerful, the Great Library is now a presence in every major city, governing the flow of knowledge to the masses. Alchemy allows the Library to deliver the content of the greatest works of history instantly—but the personal ownership of books is expressly forbidden.
Jess Brightwell believes in the value of the Library, but the majority of his knowledge comes from illegal books obtained by his family, who are involved in the thriving black market. Jess has been sent to be his family’s spy, but his loyalties are tested in the final months of his training to enter the Library’s service.
Great world building, well written characters and lots of action kept me very interested.
Wednesday, July 31, 2019
Wednesday, July 24, 2019
A Place Called Winter by Patrick Gale
This is the story of an outwardly conventional man in England around the turn of the 20th Century who is forced to leave his wife and daughter as a result of the discovery of his affair with another man. So he takes off across the ocean to homestead in the western part of the Canadian prairie. Ultimately, he forms a relationship with a brother and sister on a nearby quarter section of land. He marries the sister to save her reputation when she became pregnant after being raped and becomes the lover of her brother.
I really liked this book. It was well written, the story was flowed brilliantly and I loved Harry Cane as a character, so prim and proper but yet so strong willed and charming.
I really liked this book. It was well written, the story was flowed brilliantly and I loved Harry Cane as a character, so prim and proper but yet so strong willed and charming.
Friday, July 19, 2019
Soundless by Richelle Mead
Fei and her people have lived on the top of their mountain for generations. Hundreds of years ago, they also lived and farmed the fertile valleys beyond the mountain pass, but an avalanche blocked the pass, and ever since they have been dependent on the line keeper.
The line keeper sends food and supplies via zip cord, which has always been there and leads no-one-knows where.
But the line keeper only sends the supplies in exchange for the metal mined on the mountain top, and when the villagers begin to lose their sight in addition to their widespread and complete loss of hearing (also generations ago--no one on the mountain even knows what sound is), and they begin to send less and less ore, the line keeper sends less and less food.
It's only fair.
As an artist, it is Fei's job to record the daily life, to preserve the history in text and picture, to capture the growing crowd of beggars who have lost their sight and have never had sound. Beggars who can do nothing but sit in silent darkness, slowly starving, waiting for handouts from a dwindling food supply.
Fei is to observe, never interfere. She is separate from the lower working classes of miners and servants.
Except Fei herself grew up in a mining family. The boy she loved but can never marry (Li Wei) is a miner still. And when her sister, the last surviving member of her family, begins to lose her sight, Fei can no longer simply observe . . . So when an avoidable tragedy claims the life of Li Wei's father and he decides to climb down the mountain and confront the line keeper, Fei decides to go with him.
Something must change.
What follows is an incredible journey of discovery. Of life off the mountain. Of lies and abuse. Of kernels of truth in old stories. Of determination and hope and perseverance. Of new beginnings.
A truly lovely, beautifully written story.
The line keeper sends food and supplies via zip cord, which has always been there and leads no-one-knows where.
But the line keeper only sends the supplies in exchange for the metal mined on the mountain top, and when the villagers begin to lose their sight in addition to their widespread and complete loss of hearing (also generations ago--no one on the mountain even knows what sound is), and they begin to send less and less ore, the line keeper sends less and less food.
It's only fair.
As an artist, it is Fei's job to record the daily life, to preserve the history in text and picture, to capture the growing crowd of beggars who have lost their sight and have never had sound. Beggars who can do nothing but sit in silent darkness, slowly starving, waiting for handouts from a dwindling food supply.
Fei is to observe, never interfere. She is separate from the lower working classes of miners and servants.
Except Fei herself grew up in a mining family. The boy she loved but can never marry (Li Wei) is a miner still. And when her sister, the last surviving member of her family, begins to lose her sight, Fei can no longer simply observe . . . So when an avoidable tragedy claims the life of Li Wei's father and he decides to climb down the mountain and confront the line keeper, Fei decides to go with him.
Something must change.
What follows is an incredible journey of discovery. Of life off the mountain. Of lies and abuse. Of kernels of truth in old stories. Of determination and hope and perseverance. Of new beginnings.
A truly lovely, beautifully written story.
Thursday, July 18, 2019
The Lake House by Kate Morton
The story begins in 1933 with a couple named Eleanor and Anthony Edavane, living in Cornwall in a house called Loeanneth with their three daughters Deborah, Alice and Clemmie and their 11 month old son, Theo, along with grandmother Constance and several other people. Theirs was a happy and contented family, and nothing seemed to disturb their peaceful and tranquil life until a midsummer eve party throws everything out of gear. Nothing the Edavanes did could undo what happened. Broken and shattered, leaving the lake house for good, the family moved to London where the girls grew up.
Fast forward seventy years later to 2003, and we have detective Sadie Sparrow of the Metropolitan Police, with strong views and a no-nonsense attitude, who is forced to go on leave while handling a case involving a grandmother, mother and a supposedly abandoned child. Sadie visited her grandfather Bertie in Cornwall, and it was during her stay at Cornwall that she stumbled on a dilapidated Loeanneth, and learned of how it came to be abandoned.
A complex, captivating, intricate mystery that I loved.
Fast forward seventy years later to 2003, and we have detective Sadie Sparrow of the Metropolitan Police, with strong views and a no-nonsense attitude, who is forced to go on leave while handling a case involving a grandmother, mother and a supposedly abandoned child. Sadie visited her grandfather Bertie in Cornwall, and it was during her stay at Cornwall that she stumbled on a dilapidated Loeanneth, and learned of how it came to be abandoned.
A complex, captivating, intricate mystery that I loved.
Sunday, July 7, 2019
Girl Reading by Katie Ward
Seven portraits. Seven artists. Seven girls and women reading. Each chapter of this richly textured debut takes us into a perfectly imagined tale of how each portrait came to be. It is a collection of stories linked by art and the lives of seven girls reading in seven different time periods between 1333 and 2066.
Very enjoyable, well written book about the lives of 7 girls connected through time by reading. I liked how each story had a mention of the artwork in the previous story.
I also got a small thrill at the mention of Bookcrossing.
Very enjoyable, well written book about the lives of 7 girls connected through time by reading. I liked how each story had a mention of the artwork in the previous story.
I also got a small thrill at the mention of Bookcrossing.
Tuesday, July 2, 2019
Lies Sleeping by Ben Aaronovitch
The Faceless Man, wanted for multiple counts of murder, fraud, and crimes against humanity, has been unmasked and is on the run. Peter Grant, Detective Constable and apprentice wizard, now plays a key role in an unprecedented joint operation to bring him to justice.
But even as the unwieldy might of the Metropolitan Police bears down on its foe, Peter uncovers clues that the Faceless Man, far from being finished, is executing the final stages of a long term plan. A plan that has its roots in London's two thousand bloody years of history, and could literally bring the city to its knees.
To save his beloved city Peter's going to need help from his former best friend and colleague--Lesley May--who brutally betrayed him and everything he thought she believed in. And, far worse, he might even have to come to terms with the malevolent supernatural killer and agent of chaos known as Mr Punch....
The humour and inventiveness of the storylines and the characters remain fun to read, so I continue to recommend the series. I particularly enjoy Peter's "voice" - his wry attitude and his entire approach to being a wizard's apprentice while at the same time being a newly promoted Detective Constable in London.
But even as the unwieldy might of the Metropolitan Police bears down on its foe, Peter uncovers clues that the Faceless Man, far from being finished, is executing the final stages of a long term plan. A plan that has its roots in London's two thousand bloody years of history, and could literally bring the city to its knees.
To save his beloved city Peter's going to need help from his former best friend and colleague--Lesley May--who brutally betrayed him and everything he thought she believed in. And, far worse, he might even have to come to terms with the malevolent supernatural killer and agent of chaos known as Mr Punch....
The humour and inventiveness of the storylines and the characters remain fun to read, so I continue to recommend the series. I particularly enjoy Peter's "voice" - his wry attitude and his entire approach to being a wizard's apprentice while at the same time being a newly promoted Detective Constable in London.
Wednesday, May 22, 2019
McCullock's Gold by L A Johannsen
When the pilot of a light aircraft reports an abandoned vehicle in the desert country north of the Plenty Highway on Tarlton Downs Station, bush policeman Senior Constable Rick Frazier is sent from Harts Range to investigate. His regular assistant is away on tribal business, so he calls at Bonya Community to recruit Jack Cadney - a bush mechanic with previous experience as a Police Aide.
Cadney can hardly believe it. Why would anyone abandon a perfectly good tray back 4x4 Nissan Patrol in the middle of nowhere? ...And where is the driver?
Cadney's father Twofoot Jack has more pressing worries. Some strangers came by - prospecting, they said. On learning they'd been into the north Simpson Desert looking for a special ceremonial site he is angry and concerned, though mainly for reasons of his own. - Yet how could they have done so? ...when not a whitefella alive is supposed to know the place even exists.
Old time miner and prospector Les McCullock may be long dead and buried, but Cadney and Frazier soon find themselves entangled in the legacy of his secretive dealings - plus the more recent activities of others.
This is no TV CSI murder at some million dollar mansion, with cool-as bikini clad witnesses being interviewed poolside. This is Central Australia. THIS IS THE BUSH.
Get a taste of the red sand and spinifex country as you head into the desert with Cadney and Frazier. Then puzzle turns to mystery and mystery to murder as secrets old and new start piling up. And when the wily old Twofoot stirs the stew-pot with a few secrets of his own, his son Jack Cadney finds himself in a difficult situation with little room to move and very few options...
This was a really good book. I enjoyed the mystery, but the best was how accurate and true to life the setting, language and culture was. Expressions such as "finish-up", "same-same" and "full drunk", "little-bit thataway" are everyday, heard all around the Territory.
Cadney can hardly believe it. Why would anyone abandon a perfectly good tray back 4x4 Nissan Patrol in the middle of nowhere? ...And where is the driver?
Cadney's father Twofoot Jack has more pressing worries. Some strangers came by - prospecting, they said. On learning they'd been into the north Simpson Desert looking for a special ceremonial site he is angry and concerned, though mainly for reasons of his own. - Yet how could they have done so? ...when not a whitefella alive is supposed to know the place even exists.
Old time miner and prospector Les McCullock may be long dead and buried, but Cadney and Frazier soon find themselves entangled in the legacy of his secretive dealings - plus the more recent activities of others.
This is no TV CSI murder at some million dollar mansion, with cool-as bikini clad witnesses being interviewed poolside. This is Central Australia. THIS IS THE BUSH.
Get a taste of the red sand and spinifex country as you head into the desert with Cadney and Frazier. Then puzzle turns to mystery and mystery to murder as secrets old and new start piling up. And when the wily old Twofoot stirs the stew-pot with a few secrets of his own, his son Jack Cadney finds himself in a difficult situation with little room to move and very few options...
This was a really good book. I enjoyed the mystery, but the best was how accurate and true to life the setting, language and culture was. Expressions such as "finish-up", "same-same" and "full drunk", "little-bit thataway" are everyday, heard all around the Territory.
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