Narilka reads in 2019 - Vol 3

New thread time!

My Rating System
- Absolutely horrible, don't bother

- Meh, I finished the book somehow but would not recommend it

- An entertaining read

- Highly enjoyable, I would probably recommend this book

- Excellent! The book may not be perfect but it was perfect for me. Possibly a new favorite.

A star is given for a book that falls between those categories.

Currently Reading


Listening To

Books Read in 2019
0. The Christmas Hirelings by M. E. Braddon
1. Fool's Quest by Robin Hobb
2. Assassin's Fate by Robin Hobb
3. Paradox Bound by Peter Clines
4. The Odyssey by Homer
5. Daughter of the Empire by Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurts
6. Sabriel by Garth Nix
7. Saint's Blood by Sebastien de Castell
8. King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo
9. Lirael by Garth Nix
10. Magic Rises by Ilona Andrews
11. Sightwitch by Susan Dennard
12. Bloodwitch by Susan Dennard
13. Abhorsen by Garth Nix
14. Mouth Care Comes Clean by Ellie Phillps, DDS
15. Dead Moon by Peter Clines
16. Awaken Online: Retribution by Travis Bagwell
17. Tyrant's Throne by Sebastien de Castell
18. And on that Bombshell by Richard Porter
19. Going Postal by Terry Pratchett
20. The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie
21. The Spirit Thief by Rachel Aaron
22. Bound by Mark Lawrence
23. Holy Sister by Mark Lawrence
24. Awaken Online: Apathy by Travis Bagwell
25. The Spirit Rebellion by Rachel Aaron
26. The Last Unicorn: The Lost Journey by Peter S Beagle
27. Fool's Gold by John Hollins
28. Blood Rites by Jim Butcher
29. The Spirit Eater by Rachel Aaron
30. Three Mages and a Margarita by Annette Marie
31. Brilliant Burnout by Nisha Jackson, PhD
32. Dark Arts and a Daiquiri by Annette Marie
33. Magic Mourns by Ilona Andrews
34. Spirit War by Rachel Aaron
35. A Taste Fur Murder by Dixie Lyle
36. One Word Kill by Mark Lawrence
37. Magic Dreams by Ilona Andrews
38. Two Witches and a Whiskey by Annette Marie
39. Spirit's End by Rachel Aaron
40. A Shadow in Summer by Daniel Abraham
41. Everybody Lies by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz
42. Pawsitively Poisonous by Melissa Erin Jackson
43. Finding Gobi by Dion Leonard
44. Awaken Online: Dominion by Travis Bagwell
45. The Cat, the Sneak and the Secret by Leann Sweeney
46. A Betrayal in Winter by Daniel Abraham
47. Private by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro
48. Part-Time Gods by Rachel Aaron
49. Limited Wish by Mark Lawrence
50. Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey
51. Sweep of the Blade by Ilona Andrews
52. The Last Continent by Terry Pratchett
53. The Cat, the Collector and the Killer by Leann Sweeney
54. An Autumn War by Daniel Abraham
55. The Ember Blade by Chris Wooding
56. Magic Gifts by Ilona Andrews
57. Demon Magic and a Martini by Annette Marie
58. Tamsin by Peter S. Beagle
59. Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan
60. Sapphire Flames by Ilona Andrews
61. Hunted by Kevin Hearne
62. How the Brain Thinks by Dr. Graham Desborough
63. Gunmetal Magic by Ilona Andrews
64. The Price of Spring by Daniel Abraham
65. What Game Are You Playing? by Robin Moriarty
66. The Android's Dream by John Scalzi
67. Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay
68. The Crimson Campaign by Brian McClellan
69. The Mystwick School of Musicraft by Jessica Khoury
70. What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions by Randall Munroe
71. Dune by Frank Herbert
72. The Boy on the Bridge by MR Carey
73. Second Hand Curses by Drew Hayes
74. Uprooted by Naomi Novik
75. Paternus: Rise of Gods by Dyrk Ashton
76. The Autumn Republic by Brian McClellan
77. Dispel Illusion by Mark Lawrence
78. Every Tool's a Hammer by Adam Savage
79. Starsight by Brandon Sanderson
80. Age of Myth by Michael J. Sullivan
81. Paternus: Wrath of Gods by Dyrk Ashton
82. The Genius of Birds by Jennifer Ackerman
83. Age of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan

Fun Stats
Books Read: 83
Total Pages Read: 22146
Audio Book Hours: 277h 58m
Rereads: 4
TBR Challenge: 11/12
Book Cover Challenge: 29/30

2019 Series Stats
In progress: 16
Up to date: 12
Completed: 10
Abandoned: 5

TBR Challenge
Another year, another TBR Challenge. Pick 12 books that I've been meaning to read and add them to the list. Try to finish one a month. I've done Primary and Secondary lists in case something in the Primary list just isn't working for me. This year's primary list is a random mash of items from Mt. TBR. The secondary list will be all the books I didn't get to from 2018's challenge.

11/12

Primary
1. Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay DNF 10/1/19
2. Daughter of the Empire by Feist & Wurtz (The Empire Trilogy 1 of 3) Completed 1/25/19
3. Going Postal by Terry Pratchett (Discworld 33 of 41ish) Completed 3/30/19
4. Circe by Madeline Miller
5. Finding Gobi by Dion Leonard Completed 6/22/19
6. Uprooted by Naomi Novik Completed 11/5/19
7. Never Grow Up by Jackie Chan
8. The Boy on the Bridge by M. R. Carey Completed 10/27/19
9. The Future of the Mind by Michio Kaku
10. The Odyssey by Homer Completed 1/18/19
11. Tamsin by Peter S. Beagle Completed 8/24/19
12. Blood Rites by Jim Butcher (Dresden Files 6 of 15) Completed 4/28/19

Carryover from 2018
1. Red Rising by Pierce Brown (Red Rising 1 of 3)
2. Wool by Hugh Howey (Silo 1 of 3)
3. Foreigner by C. J. Cherryh (Foreigner 1 of 19)
4. Digital Fortress by Dan Brown
5. A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
6. Everybody Lies by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz Completed 6/16/19
7. Hunter by Mercedes Lackey (Hunter 1 of 3)
8. The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch (Gentleman Bastards 3 of 7 planned)
9. The Genius of Birds by Jennifer Ackerman Completed 12/20/19
10. A Cat Named Darwin by William Jordan
11. The Gunslinger by Stephen King (The Dark Tower 1 of 8)
12. Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik (Temeraire 2 of 9)

My Personal Incomplete Series Challenge
I always knew I juggle a lot of series, primarily so I don't suffer series burnout and also partly because shiny new books keep being published :D I decided it was time to make it "official" and actually track all the series I have in progress for the year. The list is frightening! Maybe this will give me some incentive to finish a few more series off before I start even more new ones. Maybe ;)

Series Stats Summary
In progress: 16
Up to date: 12
Completed: 10
Abandoned: 5

In Progress
Discworld: Rincewind - 6/8
Discworld: City Watch - 5/8
Discworld: Tiffany Aching - 1/5
Discworld: Overall - 29/41
Kate Daniels - 6/10
Iron Druid Chronicles - 6/9
The Gentleman Bastards - 2/3, 7 planned?
The Dresden Files - 6/15, 17 planned?
Temeraire - 1/9
The Empire Trilogy - 1/3
Lighbringer - 1/5
Legends of the First Empire - 2/4
West of West - 2/3
Jane Avery Mysteries - 1/2
Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot Mysteries - 1/4
Witch of Edgehill - 1/2

Up to date and waiting
The Band - 2/2 - #3 expected 2021
DFZ 2/2 - #3 TBD
Skyward 2/2 - #3 expected 2021
King of Scars 1/1 - #2 TBD
The Witchlands - 3/3 - #4 TBD
Threshold - 3/3 - #4 TBD
Awaken Online - 4/4 - #5 TBD
Inkeeper Chronicles - 4/4 - #5 TBD
The Darkwater Legacy - 1/1 - #2 TBD
The Guild Codex - 4/4 - #5 audio expected Jan 2020
The Hidden Legacy - 4/4 - #5 TBD
Paternus - 2/2 - #3 expected May 2020

Deliberately On Hold
Waiting for future publication date(s) before continuing. Some authors have a bad habit of taking too long between books (yeah, I'm looking at you GRRM). I want the series completed before continuing my reading.
A Song of Ice and Fire - 3/7?
Murderbot Diaries - 1/4 - hoping they go on sale, they're expensive for novellas

Completed in 2019
The Fitz and the Fool - 3/3
Abhorsen Trilogy - 3/3
Greatcoats - 4/4
The Book of the Ancestor - 3/3
The Legend of Eli Monpress - 5/5
Cats in Trouble - 8/8
The Long Price Quartet - 4/4
The Girl with All the Gifts - 2/2
Powder Mage Trilogy - 3/3
Impossible Times - 3/3

Abandoned in 2019
The Dragon Lords - 1/3
Frontlines - 1/6
The Shadow - 1/4
Private - 1/7
Dragonriders of Pern - 1/3

Book Cover Challenge
This is a challenge I'm participating with a group on GoodReads. Using the list below, fill in your book information as you read titles that match the categories.

Progress: 29/30


Red cover Going Postal
Orange cover The Spirit Rebellion
Yellow cover King of Scars
Green cover Pawsitively Poisonous
Blue cover Mouth Care Comes Clean
Purple cover Holy Sister


Pink cover Brilliant Burnout
White cover Bound
Black cover Paradox Bound
Metallic cover Tigana
Rainbow cover The Last Continent


Cover with the author’s name in the biggest font The Android's Dream
Cover with the title in the biggest font One Word Kill


Cover with a tower A Betrayal in Winter
Cover with a cityscape Three Mages and a Margarita
Cover with a boat/ship Age of Swords
Cover with a house Magic Dreams


Cover with a tree Age of Myth
Cover with a mountain The Ember Blade
Cover with a night sky Dead Moon


Cover with a man Bloodwitch
Cover with a woman Daughter of the Empire
Cover with a dragon Fool's Gold
Cover with a bird Uprooted
Cover with a magical creature The Last Unicorn: The Lost Journey


Cover with a weapon Sweep of the Blade
Cover with a crown Promise of Blood (over the D in Blood)
Cover with a cloak Tyrant's Throne
Cover with a mask
Cover with a dress Sapphire Flames

>5 Narilka: Quite a collection! Happy new thread!

Fun cover challenge!

>7 MrsLee: I think I'm going to do it again next year too. I love book covers :)

69. The Mystwick School of Musicraft by Jessica Khoury



Sometimes you find a gem with the monthly free titles from Audible. The Mystwick School of Musicraft by Jessica Khoury is one of these gems. I went in expecting a musical Harry Potter and got so much more. The story is absolutely charming, told with a lot of heart and has a strong message about believing in yourself. Here's the official blurb:

Amelia Jones has always dreamed of attending the Mystwick School of Musicraft, where the world’s most promising musicians learn to create musical magic. Unfortunately, Amelia botches her audition and her dream comes crashing down—until the school agrees to give her a second chance. Amelia vows to do whatever it takes to make her dream come true.

Initially it was hard not make Harry Potter comparisons. Thankfully Mystwick is vastly different from Hogwarts so my brain was able to stop comparing them fairly early on and I was able to absorb myself into this magical, musical world. Amelia is highly likeable and relatable. Her aspiration to attend Mystwick as a way to connect with her late mother definitely tugs at the heartstrings. She also has some growing to do, as both a musician and a person, and I think people of all ages will be able to identify with Amelia's feelings of inadequacy and self doubt as she learns to believe in herself. There is a fun cast of supporting characters, especially Jai Kapoor, with plenty of entertaining magical hi-jinks and mischief for the kids to get into.

I listened to the audio book narrated by Suzy Jackson and with musical performances by the NJSO Youth Orchestra. The music blends seamlessly in with the story making for a unique and magical listening experience. There were times I rewound the audio just so I could listen to the musical portion a second time. I highly recommend it!

Here's hoping that there will eventually be a sequel.

Rating:

70. What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions by Randall Munroe



I absolutely loved this book!! It was right up my alley with the perfect blend of science and humor. People definitely ask some weird (and sometimes worrying) questions. Such as:

• Can you make a jetpack from machine guns?


• What would happen if the earth and all terrestrial objects suddenly stopped spinning but the atmosphere retained its velocity?


• If everyone who took the SAT guessed on all the questions, would anyone get a perfect score?


• What US state is actually flown over the most?


• From what height would you need to drop a steak for it to be cooked when it hit the ground?

I listened to the audio book narrated by Wil Wheaton. Wheaton gives an excellent performance and nails the humorous tone of Munroe's writing.

I enjoyed this book so much I am planning to pick up a physical copy and have recommended it to many friends.

Rating:

>9 Narilka: Sigh, another book bullet and it isn't out until January!

>10 Narilka: That is a book I've wanted to read ever since it came out.

>11 ronincats: Guess they released audio first.

>12 mattries37315: I hope you pick up a copy some day :)

71. Dune by Frank Herbert



Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.

This is going to be a short review as I do not have the words to truly do the book justice. Dune is a classic for a reason. The story takes a good hard look at the human condition and wraps it in a scifi adventure story about a young man's fall and subsequent rise as the hero of a repressed people. There are so many great elements to the story which help it remain relevant every time I've read it. A concern for nature/ecology, environmental stress, philosophy, religion, morality, loyalty, corporate greed, social upheaval, the importance of family - the list goes on. There are even dragons and witches should the reader prefer a more fantasy-style tale than science fiction. Layers within layers within layers! It is these things that bring me to reread Dune every few years. I still thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Rating:

72. The Boy on the Bridge by M. R. Carey



The Boy on the Bridge is the second in the Hungry Plague series by M. R. Carey and serves more as a companion tale to the first book rather than a direct sequel. Set several years prior to Melanie's and Miss Justineau's tale, this is the story of the crew of the Rosalind Franklin and their mission to try to find a cure to the hungry plague. Things don't quite go to planned.

There are many similarities to The Girl with All the Gifts. Cary has a thing for unusual central characters. This time it's a boy named Stephen Greaves, a scientific genius who also happens to be autistic and is constantly underestimated. He has is mentor and protector in one of the scientists on the mission, Dr. Khan. Their relationship strongly reminded me of Melanie and Miss Justineau, though Stephen and Melanie themselves have quite different personalities. There's also the gruff military commander, a handful of doomed soldiers, an unpleasant lead scientist and even a hidden traitor. As if there wasn't enough to worry about with just basic survival! Beyond Stephen and Dr. Khan, I found it hard to like most of the characters, though this wasn't really problematic since I was expecting most everyone to die anyway based on the first book.

Somewhere around the 50% mark I finally found myself drawn into the tension the crew is feeling with their race against time, even knowing that things are unlikely to end well since this is a horror novel. It all culminates in one hell of a thrilling finale that I was only partially expecting. The epilogue even managed to bring a tear to my eye as it ties both books together nicely.

If you enjoyed The Girl With All the Gifts there's a strong chance that you'll enjoy this installment as well. While technically Boy on the Bridge occurs first in the timeline, if you're new to Carey's post-apocalyptic world I would recommend starting with Girl as Boy assumes you have a basic knowledge of the world and would ruin the mystery and discovery that was a huge part of the first book.

Rating:

You've had a run of great reading lately! Dune is deservedly a classic. And What if? is so much fun. He has a new book just out, called How to: absurd scientific advice for common world problems - kind of the reverse of the first book.

>16 Sakerfalcon: "How To" is on my audio wishlist :)

I've read Dune multiple times, but probably not in the last 20 years. It's probably time to revisit it soon as it is a great read!

>14 Narilka: Glad to see your opinion of Dune has held up! Um, dragons? I think I forgot those.

>19 Karlstar: Maybe the sandworms?

>18 ronincats: You should totally do it :)

>19 Karlstar: You can see sandworms as dragons that fly through the ground. They even guard "treasure" ;)

>21 Narilka: I see! Very tricksy!

Not book related.

Another something funny for your day: https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/ristay/why-i-am-a-horrible-person/viewer?t...

>23 Narilka: LOL, that is both funny and disturbing!

>14 Narilka: I'm so happy that you enjoyed Dune. I keep meaning to reread or perhaps listen to this one.

Are you still working on Uprooted?

>25 clamairy: I finished Uprooted last night and enjoyed it. I should get a review up for it and Second Hand Curses this weekend. Apparently I was on a fairy tale kick :) I feel lucky I've had so many good books in a row.

I'm starting The Autumn Republic tonight to wrap up the Powder Mage trilogy. For audio, I started Paternus: Rise of the Gods about a week ago. Right now I'm really waiting for Dispel Illusion (11/14) and Starsight (11/26) to release. I may mix in a non-fiction book between if I have much wait between.

>26 Narilka: I loved Uprooted. I really should read my copy of Spinning silver.

>27 Sakerfalcon: I read Spinning Silver earlier this year and loved it. As much as I enjoyed Uprooted, I liked Spinning Silver more :) I hope Novik keeps on the fairy tales, she's doing great.

73. Second Hand Curses by Drew Hayes



I love a good fairy tale retelling. Second Hand Curses by Drew Hayes takes many well known and loved fairy tales and nursery rhymes, turn them on their head, adds a dash of sly wit and a heavy dose of action. The combination is often hilarious, with a touch of darkness, and pure fun. Here's the official blurb:

When your fairy godmother threatens to enslave you with a curse - when a malevolent piper solves your rat problem but steals your children - when you seek revenge on the prince who turned you into a frog - who can you turn to in your hour of need? The band of scoundrels known far and wide as the Bastard Champions - the swashbuckling trio who travel a world of legend, seeking adventure and righting wrongs - as long as there's enough gold to be earned. They are Jack, the seemingly unkillable leader whose ever-present grin belies a dark past; Marie, who fights with fury but battles more fiercely to control the beast within; and Frank, the master of logistics, whose cloak hides horrific scars that are far more than skin-deep. As they slash and scheme through kingdom and village alike, the Bastard Champions uncover tantalizing clues to their ultimate quarry: the powerful Blue Fairy, who has made each of their lives a living hell.

The story is told in an episodic format, with each chapter being it's own story within a story, typically focusing on a specific fable or two. These all combine together to provide a cohesive, overarching whole, with interesting background details of the three main characters worked in. It was a lot of fun puzzling out with fairy tale Jack, Frank and Marie came from and attempting to predict how their personal run ins with the Blue Fairy brought the characters to where they are today.

I listend to the audio book narrated by Scott Aiello, Marc Vietor and Tavia Gilbert. The three narrator format works quite well as each voice actor brought to life one of the main characters and a whole host of side characters. I especially loved whoever it was that voiced the story's narrator.

The author has stated on his website that this book is a stand alone story with no plans for a sequel. I hope Hayes changes his mind and decides to write more in this world some day. I'd love to read more of Jack, Frank and Marie's adventures.

Rating:

74. Uprooted by Naomi Novik



Nothing much ever happens in the valley where Agnieszka and her family live. Well, other than living near the malevolent Wood, where travelers are known to disappear and its very presence corrupts anyone or anything unlucky enough to get too close. Only the local wizard known as the Dragon keeps the evil of the Wood at bay. Every 10 years the Dragon takes a young village girl to his tower to serve him. Everyone knows it's Kasia who he will pick. Kasia is beautiful and brave, the perfect choice to serve a wizard. It comes as a complete shock to all when the Dragon chooses plain Agnieszka instead.

Inspired by Polish fables from author Naomi Novik's childhood, Uprooted grabs you and takes you on a journey into the darkness of the Wood. This is definitely more Brothers Grimm than Disney. The Wood is a terrifying place, not for the faint of heart! The world is vivid and Novik's writing is just wonderful.

Agnieska is a typical YA heroine, brave and smart though a bit whiny in the beginning, and I enjoyed joining her on this adventure. I especially loved Agnieska and Kasia's friendship. Female friendships just aren't done enough in fantasy literature and it was wonderful how well developed this one was. It was foundational to the story.

I think the Wood as the antagonist was brilliant. Trying to stay away from spoilers here is hard. Let's just say that the wood's corrupting influence as it's slowly revealed through the story is what made this book hard to put down at times.

Where the story had a huge miss for me was the romance plot. I could definitely have done without it. Thankfully it is not a major plot thread for the book.

Between Uprooted and Spinning Silver I think Naomi Novik has found a talent in writing modern fairy tales. I hope she writes more books like these.

Rating:

I really enjoyed Uprooted, a lot more than I expected, as Novik's Temereire books don't appeal to me at all. I agree that the romance wasn't necessary but at least it didn't take up a lot of space in the book.

>29 Narilka: sounds lots of fun, I really enjoy stories like that when they're clever and well done.

>31 Sakerfalcon: Time to put Spinning Silver in your TBR if you haven't yet :)

>32 reading_fox: Was that a near miss or a hit? ;)

>30 Narilka: One of my favorite revelations in this book was finding out that the reason Agnieska is so clumsy is that the plants and trees are always reaching out for her and tripping her. I just loved that.

I can't wait to see what Novik writes next.

>34 clamairy: I'm right there with you. I really should go back and read more of Temeraire while I wait for the next fairy tale :)

I'm now behind on 3 book reviews. Paternus: Rise of Gods started a bit rough and ended on an extremely exciting note. I'll definitely be continuing the series. Dyrk Ashton has taken just about every myth known to man and blended them all together for one wild ride. I found myself wishing I'd read it traditionally instead of listening on audio so I could look up many of the myths I'd never heard of and had no way to spell or remember after my commute.

The Autumn Republic is a satisfying end to the Powder Mage series. The story and action are relentless! I see that the final book of his second series is due out soon so I expect I'll read it next year.

Dispel Illusion brings the Impossible Times series full circle and is a nice end. All loose ends are tied up, all mysteries explained.

Hopefully I'll get full reviews for each of these done this weekend.

>33 Narilka: - It went on my LT wishlist. Whether it ever actually gets bought is a very different matter, I only tend to peruse the wishlist when I've run out of new releases from my extensive favourite authors. And at the moment I've been re-reading books anyway so haven't bought anything new for a few months.

75. Paternus: Rise of Gods by Dyrk Ashton



Take every myth ever, put them in a high speed blender, pick up where their eon spanning war most recently left off and drop it all on top of two unsuspecting college kids volunteering at a nursing home in Ohio and you have a general gist of Paternus: Rise of Gods, the first in the Paternus trilogy by Dyrk Ashton. Be warned that while this story ends up so fast paced that I could not put it down, it has a very slow start with a YA feel where it seemed like the author was trying to find the voice of the story. Trust me, it's worth pushing through.

Fiona Patterson is an average girl living an ordinary life in Ohio. Fi lives with her eccentric uncle Edgar, goes to school and volunteers at a local nursing home where she's the primary care giver for a patient named Peter. She's still trying to figure out her relationship with fellow volunteer, Zeke Prisco, after a horribly awkward date that leaves Fi thinking Zeke doesn't like her very much. Just another day in the average college student's life. Right up until the moment the hospital is attacked by a group of definitely not-human creatures that appear to be intent on capturing Fi's patient.

The story is told from several points of view, humans, gods and monsters alike. Written in the third person present tense, POV's change rapidly, sometimes multiple times in the same chapter. It's an interesting stylistic choice and one that I think worked quite well to enhance the frantic pace of the second half of the book. It was good getting to know Fi, Zeke, Peter and a whole host of side characters. Especially impressive were how Fi and Zeke ended up reacting and dealing with all of the crazy thrown their way throughout the course of the day. Their perspectives kept the story grounded and at a very human level where it could have easily gone off the rails. They also help inject moments of levity in the extreme action and violence of the war between gods.

When I say "every myth ever", I mean it! Ashton has really done his homework. He touches on just about every myth and legend from around the world. Greek, Hindu, Judaeo-Christian, Japanese, Egyptian, Chinese, Akkadian, Celtic, Norse, etc. etc. You name it, it's probably in this book somewhere. This is easily my favorite aspect of the story as I was constantly wanting to google many of the less familiar to me myths so I can see just how well Ashton has tied them all together.

I listened to the audio book narrated by Nik Magill. His style of narration is very slow and deliberate, with the delivery of exposition in a monotone. Which was weird because his character voices were amazing. After the first hour I had debated returning the book to Audible and downloading a Kindle copy. Instead I increased the speed and magically the narration started to work for me. I even tested it once by slowing the narration back down and it started to bother me again. So if you're having trouble with Nik Magill's narration, try speeding it up.

By the end, I found myself fully invested in Fi, Zeke and Peter's story. I can't wait to find out what happens next.

Rating:

> 37 When you put the myths in a blender, do you watch them spin around to a beautiful oblivion?

>38 Karlstar: Not to oblivion but definitely combining to a unique whole other thing.

Darn, I thought someone might pick up on the Eve6 reference.

>40 Karlstar: so sorry to have left you to find nothing but faith in nothing... :D

>41 Darth-Heather: My faith is restored!! :)

76. The Autumn Republic by Brian McClellan



The Autumn Republic is the highly satisfying ending to a truly enjoyable trilogy. Events pick up shortly after where two leaves off and doesn't waste any time getting us back in the action. Adro's capital has been taken over, the army is divided, the Kez continue to advance and Taniel has gone missing. Field Marshal Tamas has his hands full!

I can't say enough good things about how much I enjoyed this final installment. Well written action scenes, great character development, answers about how Privileged magic works, an understated romance, betrayals, brilliant battle plans. As much as I enjoyed the arcs Taniel, Tamas and Adamat went on it was Bo and Nila who stole the show for me. I loved Nila's discovery and mentorship as she learns her new skills and role in society. Bo would be a frustrating and fun teacher. I couldn't wait for the story to come back to these two each time the POV shifted to someone else.

The grand finale does a great job of tying the story threads together and cleaning up a lot of loose ends yet leaving things open enough that more could be written for these characters and world. Which McClellan already has done. I'm looking forward starting the next trilogy.

Rating:

Happy Thanksgiving, Gale!

>44 quondame: Thank you!

Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate!

Thank you, same to you!

77. Dispel Illusion by Mark Lawrence



Everything comes full circle in Dispel Illusion by Mark Lawrence, the final book in the Impossible Times trilogy. Nick and Mia's story moves relentlessly toward the crisis of 2012 that is the heart of events in 1986. Yeah, that's time travel for you!

I continue to enjoy just how well the D&D campaign is woven into the overall plot. It's brilliant. Lawrence's ability to mix in the scientific theory and make it all seem plausible without being overwhelming is also great. Watching the kids grow up and apart made me wistful. I was also able to figure out the main part the big twist ahead of time due to the well place foreshadowing though there were still some surprises along the way.

This is a fitting end to the series, with everything wrapped up nicely and all my questions answered. I've enjoyed the time I spent getting to know Nick and his friends.

Rating:

78. Every Tool's a Hammer by Adam Savage



As a fan of Mythbusters I was excited to pick this book up. I was expecting more of a memoir from Adam Savage and hoping for some Mythbuster stories along with thoughts about his life and how he got there. Instead, Every Tool's a Hammer is Adam's ode to his life's passion: making. Part memoir and part instruction manual to people looking to get into the craft this ended up being an enjoyable read, though not exactly what I was expecting. Adam's love and passion for making things shines through on every page and is told in exactly the excited and enthusiastic manner he had on the show. Other makers of all skill level will likely enjoy this book.

I listened to the audio book narrated by the author. This continues to be my preferred method of "reading" memoirs. I just wish we'd gotten more insights into his life and career and a little less about types of glue and how to organize a shop.

Rating:

I finished up Starsight over the weekend and absolutely loved it. 5 stars. It's going to be hard to review without spoilers.

I started Age of Myth. This is my first time reading anything by Michael Sullivan and I'm enjoying it. I'm going to have to move Riryia Chronicles up in my list for next year.

I've also been sort of reading The Genius of Birds. The subject is interesting but I find the writing 50% boring. It's become my "I need help falling asleep" book :\

>48 Narilka: I want to read both this book and Kari Byron's book. Massive fan of Mythbusters.

>49 Narilka: Haha, there’s something to be said for having a book to help you fall asleep! When you finish that one, I can highly recommend The Complete Grimm’s Fairy Tales as another. That one helped me fall asleep for nearly half of 2017. On separate nights, I mean. I didn't sleep for half a year straight.

>50 mattries37315: I'm surprised that Jamie doesn't have a book out yet. Hope he writes one too.

>51 YouKneeK: Boring books do have their uses lol

79. Starsight by Brandon Sanderson



Spena's dream of becoming a fighter pilot has come true, though it meant learning some hard truths about her father and herself. Confident in her flying and ability to defend her people and planet, Starsight picks up not long after Skyward left off. Giving any more of a synopsis is near impossible without spoilers as the story quickly takes a big turn into unexpected and surprising territory that had me alternately worrying and cheering for Spensa, M-Bot and Doomslug. Scud, it made for an exhilarating read!

So what can I say about the book? It's a great big universe out there. The additional world building (galaxy building?) is amazing. The variety of alien species and cultures Sanderson created is impressive. It added a wonderful dimension and depth to what we already knew and created a great "fish out of water" experience for Spensa. I loved discovering right along with her just how much of what Spensa thought she knew was wrong and how she adjusted to it/learned from it. She finds new strengths she never knew she had and grows so much throughout the course of the story. It's a great character arc.

We're introduced to a whole host of new side characters. They come in all shapes and sizes and really great personalities. It did make me miss some of our old Skyward flight crew as they took the backseat for most of this story. I have every confidence we'll be seeing them again in the second half of the series and can't wait for them all to meet.

If you enjoyed the space fights of the first book, never fear! There's plenty of that in Starsight too.

Fair warning, this book ends on a cliffhanger. Weirdly it's one of the most satisfying cliffhangers I've ever read as most of the plot threads started in this book are resolved. It's just that last bit at the very end, which is obviously our set up for the next book and has me pulling my hair out. Of course now I'm craving book 3 like crazy and wishing his Cosmere writing wasn't getting in the way even though I'm looking forward to that publishing too. Ahh, the life of a Sanderson fan :)

Rating:

>53 Narilka: I've been hearing a lot of good things about this series lately! It's definitely on my radar to try once he finishes it. Last I heard, the 4th and final book was projected to be out in 2022, so it will be a little while for me. :)

>54 YouKneeK: Yeah, you should wait. It would drive you nuts otherwise :) Book 3 is currently projected for Spring 2021 so he can publish Stormlight 4 and, I think/hope, Mistborn 7. Dear god I've been waiting for Mistborn 7 for what feels like forever so I can binge all of Era 2 in one go. I'm very glad he's such a reliable author that I have no fear of him going all GRRM and never finishing his series lol

I have reviews for Age of Myth and Paternus: Wrath of Gods that I'm hoping to write and post this weekend. I also have the most adorable photo of one of my cats helping me decorate for Christmas that I need to upload from my phone and share.

I gave a 3 hour session at work on Thursday about Agile project methodologies that had me pretty busy prepping the first half of the week for. My audience was managers, Directors and their VP. It took all of my brain capacity to both get my materials in order and psych myself up for the conversation since public speaking isn't something I enjoy :) It went amazingly well. It's going to be interesting to see what the outcome will be over the next few months.

>49 Narilka: - Riryia : the author was on LT for a while until he became published. I'm sure there's some threads in the GD archives where we discussed his work. I found it ok but nothing special and IIRC the worldbuilding was a bit lacking.

>53 Narilka: - I did enjoy Skyward so I'll keep going with the sequels. I'm not surprised it jumps a lot in plot.

>55 Narilka: Congrats on the successful presentation!

>55 Narilka: Congrats on getting through the presentation! That's a tough thing to do. However, ugh, Agile. Looking forward to your Age of Myth review.

>57 YouKneeK: & >58 Karlstar: Thanks!

And here's the photo of one of my boys helping me decorate.

>60 Narilka: Aww, that's so cute!

>60 Narilka: Great capture!

>60 Narilka: Cute! One bemused kitty.

>61 YouKneeK:, >62 MrsLee:, >63 hfglen: Thanks! It took him less than 5 seconds to realize he wanted to bite the lights while I tried to hang them lol He doesn't bother them now that they are on the tree but had a lot of fun being my helper.

Now he and his brother have been taking turns stealing ornaments off the tree. I bought a new set this year of unbreakable (plastic) ornaments to replace the ones that have been lost over time. My other boy likes to try and "eat" metal so I swapped all the ornament hooks with pipe cleaners to their great delight. I need to see if I can get a photo of them in the act. It used to be that the ornaments are just large enough that they couldn't easily carry them around in their mouths so stayed on the ground floor after being knocked off. With their new and convenient handles I'm finding ornaments upstairs and down LOL The tree gets redecorated daily.

> 64 A great example of the phrase, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em."

>64 Narilka: LOL, this sounds like regular chaos! I don’t do holiday decorations, for Christmas or other holidays, but I can only imagine the chaos if I did. I’m pretty sure Ernest would end up on top of the tree, or else the tree would be horizontal because he knocked it over. We would likely have similar ornament issues as well.

>65 MrsLee: It makes them happy and isn't much of a chore :)

>66 YouKneeK: My tree is what's called a "tabletop" tree. Yes, it's real, about 3.5 feet tall. I transfer it to a full size tree base and put it up on an end table in my living room. I buy them at Home Depot the weekend after Thanksgiving. Amazingly enough my boys have never tried to climb or knock one over in their 6+ years. I am afraid to go back to full sized trees because there's no way they wouldn't climb one and I do not want to come home to that kind of mess! I also have two girl kitties who could care less about the tree or ornaments and just want to drink the tree water LOL

80. Age of Myth by Michael J. Sullivan

In the days of darkness before the war, men were called Rhunes. We lived in Rhuneland or Rhulyn as it was once known. We had little to eat and much to fear. What we feared most were the gods across the Bern River, where we were not allowed. Most people believe our conflict with the Fhrey started at the Battle of Grandford, but it actually began on a day in early spring when two men crossed the river. --The Book of Brin

Raithe and his father have found themselves on the wrong side of the river. Confronted by one of the gods and his servants, Raithe makes an unexpected discovery - the gods aren't immortal after all. Joined along the way by a group of companions, Raithe attempts to flee his destiny of being the God Killer. Only one thing is certain: The Age of Myth is over. The time for rebellion has begun.

Age of Myth is the first of six books planned in the Legends of the First Empire series by Michael J. Sullivan. This is my first time reading anything by the author. I was assured that it was OK to start my Riyria journey here, that you didn't need to know anything from the prior books to understand this one. They were right. This is classic epic fantasy told in a modern way. I quite enjoyed the experience.

At its heart this is a story about how a war between men (Rhunes) and elves (Frey) began. The humans are still fairly primitive in their civilization, barely having transitioned from nomadic tribes to living in towns and using basic tools, while the elves are highly advanced, living in big cities and are able to use magic. The elves are seen as gods by the humans, apparently immortal, to be feared and obeyed. It's no wonder Raithe's discovery is such a shock to both cultures.

This is definitely a character driven narrative. The story starts at a slow pace as we're introduced to the cast, both human and elves. Raithe, the reluctant warrior; Malcom, the freed slave; Persephone, the former chieftain's widow; Suri, apprentice mystic and her wolf Minna; Arion, an elven mage. Each main character is well fleshed out, with backgrounds, motivations, and flaws, covering a wide range of personalities. There are a whole host of secondary characters and a lot of politics that happen on both sides. I was impressed at how many strong female characters the story has, both in major and minor roles.

Once we're through with meeting the characters the second half of the book picks up nicely. There is plenty of action and suspense to go around. It was highly engaging and got hard to put down the closer I got to the end.

I have the author's Riryia Revelations in my TBR. It's time to bump them up in my reading priority. But first, on to Age of Swords!

Rating:

Well, I just realized I had been conflating Michael Sullivan and Michael Stackpole, who I refuse to read after a scene in the first (and only) of his books that gave me nightmares. I shall have to give Sullivan a try.

>69 ronincats: Not sure I've heard of Michael Stackpole. Doesn't sound like I'm missing much :)

>55 Narilka: Congrats on getting thru the prz! We were doing agile development at work my last few years. I remember asking one manager with whom I was interviewing whether her team was doing agile, and she responded, "More like spastic." I hope your gang is able to take advantage of others' growing pains and avoid the worst of the annoyances.

>68 Narilka: I liked this one also, but I didn't care for Age of Swords as much, I'll be interested to see what you think. I do have to get back to his other series, I liked The Crown Tower better.

>72 Karlstar: Age of Swords is slow going. I haven't been feeling as motivated to read it as I don't find the story as engaging.

81. Paternus: Wrath of Gods by Dyrk Ashton



Just when I thought this story couldn't get any crazier. Paternus: Wrath of Gods was everything I could hope for in a sequel. Higher stakes, bigger and bloodier action, and even more mythology packed into a story that I seriously thought already featured just about every world myth ever. I was wrong in the best way possible.

The story picks up immediately where book one leaves off, with the Deva starting to gather their forces as they prepare to face the Asura threat. Unlike other books that have a build up, we're off at frenetic speed. Just as you're feeling breathless from all the action, the story slows down as we start to reach the end. This is not to say things get easy for our heroes. Even with the action died down, there is so much tension that I was constantly worrying for the charters and their well being. Turns out I had good cause for that.

I am highly impressed with how well Ashton is able to manage such a large cast of characters. Each one has it's own unique voice and is incredibly well researched. I love all the character interactions as they banter back and forth. It is entertaining and even touching at times. I especially love Mrs. Mirskaya and the Pratha. Zeke and Fi go on nice character arcs, each gaining depth as they learn more about themselves.

Again I listened to the audio book narrated by Nik Magill. Now that I know the trick that his style works better for me at a higher speed I had no issues at all with his narration. Magill does an excellent job at keeping the ever increasing cast of characters distinct. It was always easy to know who was speaking.

This series is just pure fun. I'm greatly looking forward to the final book's release next year. I'm also starting to wish I'd picked up regular (non-audio) copies of these books so I can Google some of the deities I don't know much about.

Rating:

82. The Genius of Birds by Jennifer Ackerman



Basically the author looked up all the studies she could find on bird intelligence and wrote a research paper. It is definitely well researched and decently written, with the final third of the book being all her references and an appendix. While I do enjoy the topic, I was hoping for more original content.

Rating:

Success!!! I finally caught Logan in the act :D Sorry for the horrible quality of photo. He almost always drops the ornaments when I get close with a camera LOL

Book update. I finished Age of Swords. I'm thinking 3.5 stars. It's a solid entry, if a slow one, and mostly feels like a set up for later books. Started The Republic of Thieves. So far it feels like two books merged into one.

Have a comfy, caring, and very

Merry Christmas!

>76 Narilka: LOL, great picture, I know all too well how difficult it is to catch cats in the act on camera!

>78 quondame: Thanks! You too :)

>79 YouKneeK: That red ornament is one of his favorites. He's played with it so much that he's scraping the paint off already lol I'm glad it makes him happy.

That's a beautiful picture of a guilty little ornament thief!

And I really like your tree too.

A very merry Christmas to you too.

>81 -pilgrim-: Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone!!

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Merry Christmas to you, too.

Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Solstice, some other tradition or none at all, this is what I wish for you!

>86 ronincats: Thanks Roni!

I'm about 40% done with The Republic of Thieves. The large chunks of context switching is bugging me. I'm thinking to read all the remaining interlude chapters and then the rest of the main story. To anyone who has read this one, is this a seriously bad idea? I don't get the feeling that the stories ever intersect, that they're more for background on Locke and Sabetha's relationship.

For the record, reading all the Interludes and then all of the main story works just fine. It's even helped speed things up a bit. Not sure I'll finish tonight but definitely in the next day or two. Then I can start my first thread of 2020.

On the ornament front, my little thief has managed to disconnect 6 hooks from their ornaments and I have no idea where he's hidden the bulbs LOL I'll probably be finding ornaments for the next 6 months all over the house. As they come off the tree, and I find them, I'm putting them back into storage. Of a total of 24, it looks like there's about 10 left on the tree today.

Took a lovely hike around Cloudland Canyon yesterday. I have some great waterfall photos to share, probably tomorrow.

>89 Narilka: Haha, you’ll probably find a cache of ornaments somewhere eventually! At least, that's how it often goes at my house when I'm mystified about where all his toys have been vanishing off to lately.

>90 YouKneeK: LOL yeah! I might do a more extended search tomorrow and see. If I do find them all clustered in one spot I'll take a photo for sure.

Cloudland Canyon:

Cloudland Canyon

Cloudland Canyon

Cloudland Canyon. The lighting on the trails was just so pretty.

I may be trying to bump my post count up so I can make an auto-continue thread :) And I still need to review Age of Swords. I'll try to get that done today too.

Lovely photos of a beautiful place! Hoping some of the bumps will be photos of kitties. ;)

Beaut, all of them!

83. Age of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan



Picking up not long after where the first book leaves off, Age of Swords starts off quite literally with lightning, leaving the inhabitants of Dahl Rhen with little more than their lives. A gang of giants attacks in the aftermath of the storm and Persephone decides her people can no longer stay in the area if they hope to survive. It's time to gather the clans and decide how to face the Frey threat.

This book is all about character development and girl power. Many of our original characters are given a chance to grow (Persephone, Suri, Arion and others) with several side characters from the first book taking the spotlight. It was great to learn more about Roan, Moya and Brin. On the downside, Mawyndule the Frey prince was given POV chapters. Good lord I couldn't stand him! Which I guess is job well done to the author for making an annoying teenager, well, annoying. We're also introduced to dwarves in this book. Going with the ladies to explore the dwarven city across the sea was easily my favorite part of this book. I couldn't wait for these chapters to cycle back into the spotlight.

This book does have some issues. The pacing is uneven with long stretches of character dialog providing us with background information on history and magic with the unfortunately shorter stretches of activity. There is also an unrealistic amount of technological progression for the humans, accomplished in a matter of days, almost exclusively done by one person. Leonardo da Vinci has nothing on these characters!

My gripes aside, Age of Swords is a solid entry to the series. It had a lot of things to set up for the future books. With that done hopefully the third book will pick the pace again.

Rating:

Some year end stats!

2019 General Info
Books Read: 83
Total Pages Read: 22146
Audio Book Hours: 277h 58m
Rereads: 4
TBR Challenge: 11/12
Book Cover Challenge: 29/30

Ironically the book I'm about to finish (The Republic of Thieves) will complete both my TBR and Book Cover challenges :) I should wrap that up today.

2019 Ratings
Overall Average: 3.9

2 stars: 1
2.5 stars: 2
3 stars: 9
3.5 stars: 19
4 stars: 31
4.5 stars: 12
5 stars: 9

Apparently I picked a lot of good ones last year!

2019 Series Stats
New series started: 14
In progress: 16
Up to date: 12
Completed: 10
Abandoned: 5
Owned but not started: 29ish*

*Some of my purchases are the first book in a series to try and see if I like it. If I do, I'll purchase the rest later. I have also bought a few things on sale the last few days and may need to update this count.

Random Stuff according to GoodReads
Shortest book: Bound by Mark Lawrence - 49 pages
Longest book: Assassin's Fate by Robin Hobb - 946 pages

Most popular: The Odyssey by Homer - 791,314 people also read
Least Popular: How the Brain Thinks by Dr Graham Desborough - 10 people also read

Highest Rated on GoodReads: Assassin's Fate by Robin Hobb - 4.68 stars average on GR (4.53 on LT)

The 5 Star List
Starsight by Brandon Sanderson
What If? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions by Randall Munroe
What Game are you Playing by Robin Moriarty
Awaken Online: Apathy by Travis Bagwell
Tamsin by Peter S. Beagle
Dune by Frank Herbert*
Brilliant Burnout by Nisha Jackson
Abhorsen by Garth Nix*
The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie

*Reread

I don't feel like waiting for 150 posts. Starting my new thread the old fashioned way: https://www.librarything.com/topic/314934

Cloud Canyon looks beautiful. Thanks for sharing the photos with us.