Dance With Death (Barker & Llewellyn #12) by Will ThomasMystery320 pagesExpected publication: April 13, 2021, by Minotaur Books June 1893. Private enquiry agents Cyrus Barker and Thomas Llewellyn are hired to help protect the young Russian Tsarevitch, the future Peter III, who has traveled to London to attend a royal wedding. With him are his private … Continue reading Book Review: Dance With Death
Book Reviews
Reading Valdemar: Intrigues
...while there are still plenty of slice-of-life goings on, we're presented with a book that has 47.3% more plot
Book Review: The Councillor
The Councillor by E.J. BeatonFantasy448 pagesExpected publication: March 2, 2021 by DAW Lysande Prior was a no-name orphan girl raised into the highest levels of her society after catching the eye of Sarelin Bray, the Iron Queen of Elira. The queen and the orphaned scholar became the closest of friends, a strange friendship in a … Continue reading Book Review: The Councillor
Book Review: Queens of the Crusades
Queens of the Crusades: England's Medieval Queens, Book Two Alison WeirNonfiction/History560 pagesExpected Publication Date: Feburary 23, 2021, from Ballantine Books The Crusades have fascinated the Western world since they began in 1096, when Pope Urban II called on the leaders of Europe to raise armies in support of the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos as … Continue reading Book Review: Queens of the Crusades
Reading Valdemar: Foundation
Mags has had a rough life. The son of bandits who were killed in a skirmish when he was a baby, Mags was "adopted" by a cruel mine owner and put to work as soon as he could accomplish minor tasks. Now at thirteen, Mags lives and works in the mine, gathering sparklies, and helping … Continue reading Reading Valdemar: Foundation
Book Review: The Searcher
The Searcher by Tana FrenchMystery464 pages After retiring from a decades-long career on the Chicago police force, Cal Hooper decides to buy a fixer-upper on a plot of land in rural western Ireland. He's tired of solving other people's problems, and wants to get the 'detective itch' out of his system. Moving to Ireland gets … Continue reading Book Review: The Searcher
Book Review: To Be Taught, if Fortunate
To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky ChambersScience Fiction138 pages In the not-so-far-away future, four astronauts leave Earth to explore interstellar space. Thanks to the unfathomable distance and the time it takes to travel the distance between stars, they spend the majority of the journey in cryosleep, where they age incredibly slowly compared to the … Continue reading Book Review: To Be Taught, if Fortunate
Book Review: Promise of Blood
Promise of Blood (The Powder Mage Trilogy #1) by Brian McClellanFantasy545 pagesPublished April, 2013, by Orbit "The age of kings is dead," Field Marshal Tamas declares at the beginning of Promise of Blood, after he stages a bloody coup that brings and end to the corrupt and inept monarchy that enriched itself while allowing the … Continue reading Book Review: Promise of Blood
Dune: The Book and Its Influences
Earlier in the fall, partly prompted by the then-upcoming Denis Villeneuve film, Jackie at Death by Tsundoku and I decided to embark on a buddy read of the epic science fiction classic, Dune, written by Frank Herbert. It was Jackie's first time reading the book and the I-don't-know-how-many-th time through. We had multiple discussions throughout … Continue reading Dune: The Book and Its Influences
Book Review: The Lost Queen
The Lost Queen (The Lost Queen trilogy #1)by Signe PikeHistorical Fantasy527 pagesPublished September, 2018, by Touchstone Though scholars and armchair historians have spent centuries debating the historicity of the stories of King Arthur and his knights, no one has ever nailed down historical figures who can be decisively called 'King Arthur' or 'Merlin' and serve … Continue reading Book Review: The Lost Queen