Book Review: The Girl and the Mountain

Potential Spoilers Ahead: The Girl and the Mountain is the second book in the Book of the Ice trilogy. As such, the blurb for this book and the following review will inevitably have some level of spoilers for the previous book. I’ve tried to keep those spoilers to a minimum, but you have been warned.  

On the planet Abeth there is only the ice. And the Black Rock.

For generations the priests of the Black Rock have reached out from their mountain to steer the fate of the ice tribes. With their Hidden God, their magic and their iron, the priests’ rule has never been questioned. But when ice triber Yaz challenged their authority, she was torn away from the only life she had ever known, and forced to find a new path for herself.

Yaz has lost her friends and found her enemies. She has a mountain to climb, and even if she can break the Hidden God’s power, her dream of a green world lies impossibly far to the south, across a vast emptiness of ice. Before the journey can even start, she has to find out what happened to the ones she loves and save those that can be saved.

Abeth holds its secrets close, but the stars shine brighter for Yaz and she means to unlock the truth.

Summary: The Girl and the Mountain is a tense sequel, full of danger, magic and ancient technology. It’s good, but the characters were shallower than I would have liked, and the plot relied on a lot of hitherto unknown abilities and technology.

Book Review: Priest of Lies

Potential Spoilers Ahead: Priest of Lies is the second book in the War for the Rose Throne series. As such, the blurb for this book and the following review will inevitably have some level of spoilers for the previous book. I’ve tried to keep those spoilers to a minimum, but you have been warned.  

When Tomas Piety and his Pious Men returned from the war, he just wanted to rebuild his crime empire and look after his people. But the sinister Queen’s Men had different ideas and whether he likes it or not, he’s now a spy as well.

Now, half the city of Ellinburg lies in ashes and the webs of political intrigue are stretching out from the Queen’s capital to pull Tomas in. Dannsburg is calling.

In Dannsburg the nobility fight with words, not blades, but the results are every bit as bloody. In this pit of beasts, Tomas must decide once and for all whether he is truly the people’s champion . . . or just a priest of lies.

And as Tomas’ power grows, the nobility had better watch their backs . . .

Summary: Priest of Lies by Peter McClean is a grim and gritty gangster fantasy sequel, where power rules and the price of winning might be worse than loss itself.

Sequel Reviews: Royal Assassin and Assassin’s Quest

This review is for the second and third books of the Farseer trilogy, and thus may contain spoilers for the book(s) preceding them. That said, I will try to keep spoilers to a minimum.

Quick Book Review: The Just City

‘Here in the Just City you will become your best selves. You will learn and grow and strive to be excellent.’

One day, in a moment of philosophical puckishness, the time-travelling goddess Pallas Athene decides to put Plato to the test and create the Just City. She locates the City on a Mediterranean island and populates it with over ten thousand children and a few hundred adult from all eras of history . . . along with some handy robots from the far human future.

Meanwhile, Apollo – stunned by the realization that there are things that human beings understand better than he does – has decided to become a mortal child, head to Athene’s City and see what all the fuss is about.
Then Socrates arrives, and starts asking troublesome questions.
What happens next is a tale only the brilliant Jo Walton could tell.

The Just City by Jo Walton is a strange beast. Figures of myth, scholars of the ages, futuristic robots and a slow ponderous story about coming together to create Plato’s Republic. It is a study of human nature as much as anything else, a story that draws you along inexorably to what feels an inevitable conclusion.

Book Review: The Shadow of the Gods

After the gods warred and drove themselves to extinction, the cataclysm of their fall shattered the land of Vigrið.

Now a new world is rising, where power-hungry jarls feud and monsters stalk the woods and mountains. A world where the bones of the dead gods still hold great power for those brave – or desperate – enough to seek them out.

Now, as whispers of war echo across the mountains and fjords, fate follows in the footsteps of three people: a huntress on a dangerous quest, a noblewoman who has rejected privilege in pursuit of battle fame, and a thrall who seeks vengeance among the famed mercenaries known as the Bloodsworn.

All three will shape the fate of the world as it once more falls under the shadow of the gods . . .

Summary: Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne is a brutal, action packed epic set in a blood soaked, Norse-inspired land with a mythic feel. It’s a distillation of the best of action-epic fantasy.

Book Review: Children of Ruin

Potential Spoilers Ahead: Children of Ruin is the sequel to Children of Time. As such, the blurb for this book and the following review will inevitably have some level of spoilers for the previous book. I’ve tried to keep those spoilers to a minimum, but you have been warned.

It has been waiting through the ages.
Now it’s time . . .

Thousands of years ago, Earth’s terraforming program took to the stars. On the world they called Nod, scientists discovered alien life – but it was their mission to overwrite it with the memory of Earth. Then humanity’s great empire fell, and the program’s decisions were lost to time.

Aeons later, humanity and its new spider allies detected fragmentary radio signals between the stars. They dispatched an exploration vessel, hoping to find cousins from old Earth.

But those ancient terraformers woke something on Nod better left undisturbed.

And it’s been waiting for them.

Summary: Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky is a thrilling and intelligent standalone sequel. Tchaikovsky astounds me with his ability to imagine vastly alien beings, and the book bounces deftly along between past and present before reaching a powerful conclusion.

Mini Review: Bloodline

Bloodline by Will Wight is the ninth book in his bestselling Cradle series, and tows the line as a fun, but heartfelt progression fantasy full of over the top action. Click ahead to read the rest of this spoiler free review.

Book Review: The Shadow Saint

Potential Spoilers Ahead: The Shadow Saint is the second book in The Black Iron Legacy series. As such, the blurb for this book and the following review will inevitably have some level of spoilers for the previous book. I’ve tried to keep those spoilers to a minimum, but you have been warned.

Enter a city of spires and shadows . . .

The Gutter Miracle changed the landscape of Guerdon forever. Six months after it was conjured into being, the labyrinthine New City has become a haven for criminals and refugees.

Rumors have spread of a devastating new weapon buried beneath the streets – a weapon with the power to destroy a god. As Guerdon strives to remain neutral, two of the most powerful factions in the godswar send agents into the city to find it.

As tensions escalate and armies gather at the borders, how long will Guerdon be able to keep its enemies at bay?

Summary: The Shadow Saint by Gareth Hanrahan is the second book in the Black Iron Legacy series, and like its predecessor, bursting with character, imagination and a twisty action packed plot. The series has moved from heists and secret cults, to a political thriller and looming war.

Book Bingo Journey – Introduction/Hub

Over the next year, you’re probably going to hear me talking a lot about Book Bingo – if you’re reading this, there’s probably a good chance that you already know what it is. On the off chance that you don’t this post will contain an introduction to Book Bingo and links to find out more. As well as that, I’ll be talking a bit about how I usually approach Book Bingo, what I like to get out of it, and will use this page as a hub to link to any relevant posts I create in the future. Click on and we’ll begin!

Monthly Reading Retrospective (March)

A post series looking back at the books I’ve read this month – I’ll have a look at any trends or through-lines I see in what I’ve read, and how I’ve stacked up against my goals for the year. Let’s begin!