Author: @f33lthesun

Retired and reading.

The Book Blogger Memory Challenge Book Tag

On By @f33lthesunIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

I wasn’t tagged but I saw this tag on TheArtsyReader and loved it so I thought I’d give it a go! Not sure how secure my memory is but here goes…

Here are the rules:

ANSWER THE PROMPTS WITHOUT USING THE INTERNET OR LOOKING AT YOUR BOOKSHELVES. YOUR ANSWERS HAVE TO ALL COME FROM MEMORY! MAKE SURE TO LINK TO THE PERSON WHO ORIGINALLY TAGGED YOU AND, ONCE YOU’RE DONE, YOU CAN TAG FIVE OTHER PEOPLE IF YOU’D LIKE.

NAME A BOOK WRITTEN BY AN AUTHOR CALLED MICHAEL

Little Rabbit Foo Foo by Michael Rosen

“Little Rabbit Foo Foo, I don’t like your attitude…” is one of my favourite lines of all time. So much scope for doing the voices. This is a story in which LRFF finds out that actions (bopping things on the head) have consequences.

NAME A BOOK WITH A DRAGON ON THE COVER

Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell.

This superb book is a recent read so wasn’t difficult to remember the cover. Gatekeepers, mythical creatures in danger of extinction…what’s not to love. The clearly memorable cover illustration is by Daniel Egneus.

NAME A BOOK WRITTEN BY AN AUTHOR WITH THE SURNAME SMITH

The No1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

Those was the first author I came up with, having read a few of these many moons ago. I remember loving the descriptions and characters.

NAME A BOOK SET IN AUSTRALIA

Tiddalick, the frog who caused a flood by Robert Roenfeldt

Based on an Aboriginal Dreamtime story, Tiddalick was so thirsty that he drank up all the rivers and billabongs in the land. And the other animals had to find a way to get the water back – much humour follows.

I could not think of any other books for this one. I remember this one as the classes I read this to in my early teaching career loved it for story time. I did misremember the title though. I recalled it as “the wide mouthed frog” but reckon that was me mashing up this title with one of my favourite jokes.

NAME A BOOK WITH THE NAME OF A MONTH IN THE TITLE

October October by Katya Balen

So good they named it twice. The story of a girl and yer dad living in the woods, embracing the wild and then when something happens to cause October to have to live in the city, she struggles to find the wild there. This was my introduction to Balen’s sublime writing and I encourage you to read this and her other works. Cover art is by Angela Harding.

NAME A BOOK WITH A KNIFE ON THE COVER

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness,

from the Chaos Walking trilogy.

I thought of two for this category, this one and The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman, from His Dark Materials trilogy. I went with this one as it was the first to come to mind. It is also from a trilogy.

Todd is on the cusp of manhood in a world of men and can hear everything they think. Realising they are hiding things from him and that he is in danger he has to flee. The story is about making choices, growing up and dealing with differences.

NAME A BOOK WITH THE WORD ‘ONE’ IN THE TITLE

Quite Ugly One Morning by Chris Brookmyre

And so began my unrequited love affair with investigative journalist Jack Parlabane. Brookmyre’s acerbic wit and corking dialogue tells the story of a journalist who is not afraid to bend or break (mainly break) the rules to get to the heart of a story.

NAME A BOOK WITH AN EPONYMOUS TITLE

The Haunting of Aveline Jones by Phil Hickes

I came up with a lot of books that fit this category, but have chosen the first of the three Aveline Jones books Hickes has written so far, all eponymous. I say so far, as I am forever hopeful he will write more. Considering this is an MG book, the scares and spine chills are next level. I have said before that Phil Hickes’s writing evokes more goosebumps and foreboding than a lot of stories written for an adult audience. Those scarecrows! The superb cover illustration is by Keith Robinson.

NAME A BOOK TURNED INTO A MOVIE

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

My favourite book…EVER.

I enjoyed putting this together. Can you think of a book for each category? In some I could have listed many, but I struggled with a couple. For example, I have read lots by Michael Connelly but cannot for the life of me recall the titles. I tend to remember the characters, Bosch, Haller etc. As you can see from my choices, I am also an MG reader and lover of picturebooks.

Thanks for reading.

The Vanitas & Other Tales of Art and Obsession by Jake Kendall

On By @f33lthesunIn Adult1 Comment

Blurb

Spanning three hundred years of art history, The Vanitas & Other Tales of Art and Obsession tells the stories of those with an insatiable hunger for creation – those who may sacrifice friendships, careers, romance, and even their own happiness in pursuit of a vision.

Weaving art styles such as Cubism, Surrealism, and the Baroque into his prose, Jake Kendall has crafted a vivid and inventive collection. Each story is complemented by a black and white illustration, drawing out the visually evocative nature of the writing and offering readers a unique artistic delight.

Review

I was a bit nervous to read this book as, although I appreciate art and have a “recognition on sight” for many artists’ works, I worried this would not be enough to just enjoy the stories, that I might have to break off to do further reading. I was wrong. A couple of times, I even recognised the artist/painting before it was fully revealed.

This wonderful collection comprises seven short stories and a longer short story, The Vanitas. The author has managed to depict separate, individual voices in each one. They are all different points of view and each feels complete in itself.

The eight stories, whilst all centred around artists, their art and obsession, illustrate clearly and brutally, the consequences of the artists’ single mindedness on those around them, be they loved ones, friends, acquaintances or strangers brought into their sphere.

In one story, a whole city is caught up at varying levels. In another, the truth and horror of the event the artist has chosen to depict gets lost as he glorifies what happened, much to the horror of the two survivors he seeks to include.

It is difficult to write about the individual stories without giving them away so will keep it general. It is also difficult to write about the book as a whole, but better than giving spoilers.

One of the stories is about nature’s gift of the sunrise and the description is echoed gloriously in the colours of the book cover.

There are different themes across the stories – despair, abandonment, hope, pride, greed, poverty, vanity, love (including the unrequited sort), power and powerlessness. For me, one of the overarching themes of the book as a whole is to take in what is around you and not take what you have for granted if / when you decide you need to search for something more, unless of course what you have is not actually yours.

This quote from Earthly Delights struck a chord with me: Free will had been bestowed upon beings too flawed to choose restraint, and it had made them most unworthy stewards. Whilst in the context of the story it is referring to humans and our planet, more specifically I also related it to the obsession of those artists in blinkered pursuit of their vision, to the detriment of those who love them.

I thoroughly enjoyed this collection and will be looking out for more of Jake Kendall’s work in the future.

Thanks to @NeemTreePress and @The_WriteReads for the proof copy in order to write this review.

Secrets of the Snakestone by Piu DasGupta

On By @f33lthesunIn Upper KS2+Leave a comment
Cover art by Helen Crawford-White

Blurb

Meet Zélie Dutta. She has beaten her own father five times at chess (the last time he cheated). She has crushed the head of a poisonous cobra with her naked heel AND she can lick her elbow.

There’s nothing that she can’t handle… or at least that’s what she thinks. But when her father goes missing and a sinister secret society seems to be to blame, she’s forced to look for help in the most unlikely of places…

Swept up in a slew of crimes that stretch from the jungles of Calcutta to the sewers of Paris, Zélie and her new friend Jules begin a desperate hunt for the magical Snakestone at the heart of the conspiracy. Can they solve the ancient riddles and mysteries concealed in the miles of murky tunnels that twist beneath the ancient city above?

Review

It has a book map (said in the same voice as “It has pockets.”).

I thoroughly enjoyed joining Zélie and Jules on their adventures and derring do. Although Jules is more reluctant than Zélie to place himself in danger, he is a good friend and wants to help. He tries to warn her that not everyone should be taken at their word but she ignores his pleas, which puts her in mortal danger more than once. I particularly enjoyed the internal, motivational speeches Zélie gives herself when in need of a bit of extra bravery.

Set in the underbelly of Paris near the end of the 19th century and based on a colonial tale of a healing stone (with severe small print warnings), the story involves family separation and loss, subterfuge, circus acts, a secret society up to no good and a cast of diverse and often dastardly characters.

The main themes are friendship, trust, making the right choice, greed and power.

Thank you to the author for pointing out the absolute truth about pockets (severe lack of) in women’s clothes and the huge issue of back and front fastenings on clothing…how many items of men’s clothing need contortionist skills to fasten them? Exactly!

Thanks to NetGalley and Nosy Crow for the eARC in exchange for this review. The book will be published on March 14th 2024.

The Secret of the Moonshard by Struan Murray

On By @f33lthesunIn Fantasy, Upper KS2+Leave a comment
Cover and art by Vivienne To

Blurb

Domino is an eleven-year-old girl with a strange affliction: if she goes anywhere near magic, it will kill her.

All her life she’s been trapped in a floating laboratory, safe from magic but not from the cruel children and the crueler Science Barons who live there. Domino believes the Barons are trying to invent a cure for her magic allergy, but when a mysterious wizard arrives and unleashes total chaos, she discovers that everything she’s been told is a lie.

Domino escapes to the wondrous city of Abzalaymon, its streets filled with marvels she’s never seen, from automobiles to televisions to hulking thunder lizards. But the Science Barons are on her trail, and Domino must brave a hidden realm of magic if she is to defeat their sinister plot, and uncover a secret that might just save the world: the Secret of the Moonshard.

Review

Struan Murray has done it again. A superbly crafted story in a fantastically created world. The Scientarium floats above the city, tormenting Domino, who dreams of visiting it one day, who has known nothing else but the bullying / prankster revenge and testing cycles her life consists of, thanks to the Science Barons who raise her there “to protect her from magic”. Does she really need protecting?

Once again, following the highly original and exciting Orphans of the Tide trilogy, the author has delivered with a variety of well defined characters, twists and turns, magic and mayhem, chases that have you on the edge your seat and even some dinosaurs.

Creating characters with depth and believability is a special skill and Murray has this down to a fine art. The ones that I’m particularly drawn to are those who bring indecision to my mind…which side will these characters fall on when push comes to shove? Abzalaymon, the spirit, is a deliciously contrasting character, which puts you, as the reader, on edge. Will they help Domino, Calvin and Raphael…or eat them?

A book map is always a bonus.

Thanks to NetGalley and Puffin for the eARC in exchange for this review. The book will be published on March 7th 2024

The Siren, the Song and the Spy by Maggie Tokuda-Hall

On By @f33lthesunIn #YA, FantasyLeave a comment
Cover by Victo Ngai (@victongai)

Blurb

A diverse resistance force fights to topple an empire in this vibrant fantasy about freedom, identity and decolonization.

By sinking a fleet of Imperial Warships, the Pirate Supreme and their resistance fighters have struck a massive blow against the Emperor. Now allies from across the empire are readying themselves, hoping against hope to bring about the end of the conquerors’ rule and the rebirth of the Sea. But trust and truth are hard to come by in this complex world of mermaids, spies, warriors, and aristocrats. Who will Genevieve – lavishly dressed but washed up, half dead, on the Wariuta island shore – turn out to be? Is warrior Koa’s kindness towards her admirable, or is his sister Kaia’s sharp suspicion wiser? And back in the capital, will pirate-spy Alfie really betray the Imperials who have shown him affection, especially when a duplicitous senator reveals xe would like nothing better?

Meanwhile, the Sea is losing more and more of herself as her daughters continue to be brutally hunted, and the Empire continues to expand through profits made from their blood. The threads of time, a web of schemes, shifting loyalties, and blossoming identities converge in this story of unlikely young allies trying to forge a new and better world.

Review

I only realise after reading this that it is the second book set in this world, however I was able to read it without having read the first. Not giving anything away by saying I will be reading the first one, The Mermaid, the Witch and the Sea.

The author’s world building is excellent, as are the characters she has created and developed. They are well formed and deep. I think the use of chapters giving us multi viewpoints throughout helps us to bond with them. I particularly loved that the sea had her own chapters, which provided a link between a lot of the others.

The big themes of identity (individual and group), freedom, decolonisation, war and resistance are covered well and the friction between wanting freedom but having to inflict violence to achieve it is palpable, especially in Koa, one of the suppressed nation’s warriors.

If you enjoyed series like Utterly Dark by Philip Reeve or Orphans of the Tide by Struan Murray you will enjoy this. Note that this is definitely Young Adult, not for KS2 like those mentioned.

Thank to NetGalley and Walker for the eARC in exchange for this review. It will be published on 1st February 2024.

Clytemnestra’s Bind by Susan C. Wilson

On By @f33lthesunIn Grown Up Novel1 Comment

Blurb

Queen Clytemnestra’s world shatters when Agamemnon, a rival to the throne of Mycenae, storms her palace, destroys her family and claims not only the throne but Clytemnestra herself.

Tormented by her loss, she vows to do all she can to protect the children born from her unhappy marriage to Agamemnon. But when her husband casts his ruthless gaze towards the wealthy citadel of Troy, his ambitions threaten, once more, to destroy the family Clytemnestra loves.

From one of Greek mythology’s most reviled characters—a woman who challenged the absolute power of men—comes this fiery tale of power, family rivalry and a mother’s burning love.

Review

Going into this, the only retelling of the Greek myths I had read recently was Jessie Burton’s Medusa (which I reviewed here) so was unsure how I would find it. From my memory of Greek myths read as a child, I knew of Clytemnestra as Agamemnon’s wife and murderer, so was expecting that to be the story. However…

Susan C. Wilson takes us right back to just before Clytemnestra even meets Agamemnon, before he claims her as his wife and Queen, having been on a murderous rampage against her family to reclaim the throne he says is rightfully his. This enables us, through Clytemnestra’s eyes, to discover what brought her to the point of murdering her husband.

Clytemnestra, bizarrely for this era, decides not to seek vengeance for her murdered family, but to be his wife and put up with his vile attitudes, behaviour, ego, and general misogyny.

This part of her story is told by Clytemnestra herself, and the main focus is on her and the children, her love for them and her aim to protect them from their father. Only time would tell if this was the right thing to do or whether they would suffer because of her choices.

The children grew up with differing relationships with both Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, the latter’s mysogyny meaning Orestes (son) was favoured heavily from birth, the older girls, Iphigenia and Electra, being dismissed offhand. Despite Clytemnestra’s best efforts, Electra, a daddy’s girl, suffered the most from his dismissive attitude. Orestes and Electra shock their mother when they take their father’s side on a heartbreaking event later in the story.

All the way through this story, my thoughts were on how much danger women were in at all times, in those days. Just to survive, never mind thrive.

“She might be a poor farm wife and I a queen, but our similarities weren’t lost on me. We were pieces on a gaming board to be claimed, manoeuvred, and discarded by men. Rich or poor, famous or obscure, men made the rules that ordered our lives, and they broke them. She and I were women.

Clytemnestra puts her children first, above herself, and tries to instill “appropriate” female behaviour and attitudes in her daughters, mainly to protect them from their father’s wrath. Electra is having none of it, cannot understand why she cannot dress like her brother, go hunting and be trained in fighting skills as he is. Clytemnestra is blamed by Agamemnon for not bringing her up properly, Electra seeing her as a failure for not standing up to him over her upbringing.

Another theme I kept thinking about is that history is written by the winners. Throughout this book, different versions of the same events are told by people from different sides, or with a different viewpoint, having been involved in some way. Agamemnon’s victory over Clytemnestra’s family was joyous for him, heartbreaking for her. The same event, different viewpoints…both the truth… to the teller.

Agamemnon tells many stories in which he is the righteous winner (obviously) but pretty soon, Clytemnestra learns to mistrust everything he says and also wonder about the things he doesn’t say. It also means she mistrusts what anyone tells her, seeking verification from others.

There are so many familial links in the Greek timeline, so much to keep track of and I was glad of the family tree at the start as I needed to refer to it a fair bit. Even so, the power grabs made by all sides at different times resulted in many incestuous relationships, one of them being the last straw for Clytemnestra, making her decide the time had come to end Agamemnon.

Despite knowing more about what comes next, I will still be intrigued to read the next book in this series, as it is so well written.

Thanks to Neem Tree Press and @The_WriteReads for the ARC in order to take part in this blog tour.

The Haunting Scent of Poppies by Victoria Williamson

On By @f33lthesunIn Grown Up Novel, Spooky, SuspenseLeave a comment

Blurb

A spine-chilling winter ghost story set in the months after the Great War. Perfect for lovers of MR James and Susan Hill

The War is over, but for petty criminal Charlie his darkest days are only just beginning.

Charlie Briggs is never off-duty, even when a botched job means he’s forced to lay low in a sleepy Hampshire town for the holiday season. Always searching for his next unwitting victim, or a shiny trinket he can pilfer, he can’t believe his luck when he happens upon a rare book so valuable it will set him up for life. All he needs to do is sit tight until Boxing Day. But there’s a desperate story that bleeds beyond the pages; something far more dangerous than London’s mobsters is lurking in the shadows.

Could the book be cursed? Why is he haunted by the horrors of war? Can he put things right before he’s suffocated by his own greed?

Review

Having recently read a few of her books, a couple of MGs and a YA dystopian novel, I was intrigued to read a ghost story by her. I was not disappointed. Yet again, Victoria Williamson delivers.

The author’s descriptive writing, detailing the gas attacks and hauntings, is superb, my heart did beat faster during a couple of the “chases”. She creates a hauntingly spine-chilling atmosphere and builds the tension effortlessly.

I had some difficult finding any redeeming characteristics in Charlie, the main character. He was a wrong ‘un but did he deserve what happened to him? Was it karma for all his wrong doings, which including dodging the war draft?

Like all the best ghost stories, some things are left to the reader to wonder … was what happened to Charlie really a haunting, or hallucinations from nonchalantly burning the dried poppy bookmark he found in the book?

Thanks to @silverthistleps and @The_WriteReads for a copy of the book for review purposes.

Arvia: Wings of the Wild by D.H. Willison

On By @f33lthesunIn Fantasy, Young Adult3 Comments

Blurb

It’s easy to stand up for your friends. What about for anonymous creatures nobody else cares about?

With their homes apparently safe from the magical storms, Darin and Rinloh venture to an isolated elven village and another ancient mystery: ruins of an imperial city whose entire population vanished centuries ago.

The duo befriend a host of eccentric new characters, from a chipper ogress and hipster troll to a deadpan griffin. Yet the Forest of Nightmares challenges them as never before. Merciless carnivorous trees, subterranean horrors, ethereal creatures no mortal weapon can slay… and most sinister of all, the greed and ambition lurking within the human heart.

Darin and Rinloh’s empathic connection grows stronger the deeper into the wilderness they go, but will it be enough to stop a dark conspiracy from ravaging the land?

Arvia: Wings of the Wild challenges the harpy-human duo with their grandest adventure yet. They must balance their deepening relationship as they sharpen their skills and work together as never before to unravel a deadly new plot.

Review

A book that has a map is off to a cracking start, in my opinion.

This series, of which this is the fourth book, is mainly character/relationship driven, but the adventurous story is not compromised by this.

Darin has been transported from his mundane earthly existence, via a meeting with an extraterrestrial of questionable character, to a hew life on Arvia, a world full of magic as well as many different species, some friendly, some not so friendly and some downright deadly. On Arvia, humans are the smallest, weakest and generally most vulnerable so he has to use his very limited life skills to stay alive, which causes him problems. He manages to persuade a harpy not to eat him and they become the unlikeliest of friends.

The themes in the story explore friendship, differences, relationships and trust, which becomes more interesting when your life may be in danger at any point. As the characters get to know each other and decide whether their preconceptions were correct or not, we find that many myths about them are blown out the water.

Rinloh (a harpy) has grown up being told about the evils of elves, ogres, trolls and fairies…but is what she has been told the real story?

Despite their differences and preconceptions of each other, each of the different species brings their own skills and knowledge to the group, and this makes them stronger.

In amongst the adventure and peril, there are some side stories. As anyone who follows me on Twitter will know, I have a soft spot for herons so was particularly invested in the small part involving the pet heron one of the conclave visitors had brought with them. It was concerning when it got caught up in one of the attempts on Darin’s life.

My “adopted” local heron, Harold

My favourite character in this story was Maurice, the griffin (definitely not a flying cat). He turned out to be the fount of knowledge where the ruined city was concerned, whilst remaining aloof/grumpy and uncompromising, although could be persuaded to go against his better judgement for a pampering brush.

I also loved the author’s nod to one of my favourite films in some of Darin’s sarcastic responses … inconceivable.

Thank you to D.H. Willison ( @dhwillison ) and @The_WriteReads for an advance copy of this book for the purposes of this review/blog tour.

Pax and the Missing Head by David Barker

On By @f33lthesunIn #Dystopian, #SciFi, Upper KS2+1 Comment

Blurb

In a country beset by civil war, New London defends itself behind a giant wall. Inside the city, children are forced to work from am early age, except for the lucky few who train to be leaders in the re-purposed Palace of Westminster. 12-year-old orphaned Pax is brilliant at recycling old tech. He enjoys working on the verti-farms and just wants a bit of peace and quiet. But when that is taken away from him, his only hope is to pass a near impossible exam and join the other students in Scholastic Parliament. There he’ll make new friends and new enemies. He’ll get tested like never before. And he’ll discover that not everything is quite what it seems under the mayor’s harsh leadership.

Review

David Barker has created a dystopian future of walled cities where the young, poor live, either working or, for a select few who pass an exam, being educated to be future leaders. Outside those walls are the Countryside Alliance, where all the rich, older residents live. The two groups are at war and will stop at nothing to win.

Pax is a seedling, created as a worker, so has no parents. Alderman, the AI overseer, spots his intelligence and potential, especially in engineering and encourages him to apply for the school exam. Pax has no family to ground him or build up his self belief which means he constantly questions his own abilities.

How will he get on when a powerful someone does not want him to pass? If he does pass, will he make friends and fulfil his dream of becoming an engineer who fixes things to make life easier for others?

There are themes of friendship, bullying, war, dictatorship and doing the right thing.

I really enjoyed this book. There are a few red herrings, a couple of which I fell for, unusually for me, and there was the right amount of tension building. I liked the way Pax went about problem solving, using his skills in building robotic creatures from tech scraps to help him and his friends.

This is David Barker’s first MG book, although he has written for adults previously, and I look forward to his next one.

Thank you to @TinyTreeBooks and @The_WriteReads for the ARC.

The Nameless by Stuart White

On By @f33lthesunIn #Dystopian, #SciFi, #YALeave a comment

Having read and enjoyed Stuart’s MG novel, Ghosts of Mars, earlier this year, I was intrigued to read his latest YA dystopian novel.

Blurb

IN A NAMELESS WORLD, ONE HERO RISES BY DISCOVERING THEIR IDENTITY.

In a dystopian world dominated by genetic perfection and numbered gene pools, sixteen-year-old E820907, known as Seven, yearns for an identity beyond his assigned number.

To escape a life as a Nameless Exile, and become a citizen of the Realm, he must pass a loyalty test to prove his allegiance to the totalitarian Autokratōr.

With the world’s fate hanging in the balance, Seven’s journey sparks rebellion, hope, and the reclamation of individuality.

But as the truth unfolds, Seven faces a difficult choice between revenge and love.

Review

Stuart White has created a disconcertingly possible future world, where a dictator demands obedience and service. Children are trained and placed in the area of their strength (military, science, environment) to further the realm. Those who do not meet the standard are discarded from the walled city and left to their own devices and at the mercy of the other Nameless groups out there, some of which have turned brutally cruel, without an identity.

This obviously leads to rebellion, spies, treason and war.

Seven sits the tests … but will he ever find out who he is, who his parents are, why his foster mum protects him and refuses to answer his questions? Full of self doubt, fear and infinite questions that he frustratingly rarely gets full answers to, his journey takes him to places he never imagined, meeting people he didn’t even know existed, making him decide where his loyalties lie, despite knowing very little about the sides he is choosing between.

He also struggles with his purpose. Is it to protect his friends or lead a group who resent him? Will his impetuous decision making put him and others in even more danger? Will his training help or hinder him?

I recommend reading to find out the answers to all these questions. The author leaves us with some of the story resolved but waiting in expectation for Book 2 to take Seven’s journey on further. As a reader, this made me sympathise with Seven, not getting all the answers to my questions straight away! I look forward to accompanying him on his next chapter.

Trigger warning: this book is not for the faint hearted, it is bloody and involves torture.

Thanks to @StuartWhiteWM and @The_WriteReads for the eARC.