May Reviews List

In reverse order, the books I've read and reviewed this month. I'd intended to have Heinlein's novel The Number Of The Beast on here as well given that I was about a day away from finishing it, but my copy has disappeared. I simply can't find it now.

Pilgrimages The Great Adventure Of The Middle Ages
John Ure
Caroll & Graff Publishers
Copyright: 2006
978-0786717804

An extract from my review:

John Ure wrote in a rather entertaining, light way, which does get the information across, but rather casually. This might be a better fit for somebody looking for something closer to travel literature, which is the author's normal area of writing, rather than an in-depth examination of the subject. The accounts of the pilgrimages are interesting, as he liberally uses quotes from the sources, but he moves fairly quickly from one pilgrimage route to the next.

Square Foot Gardening: A New Way To Garden In Less Space With Less Work
Mel Bartholomew
Rodale Press
Copyright: 2005
0425070506

An extract from my review:

I absolutely love Bartholomew's book. You don't need much space, the weeds don't take over, and it really doesn't take up much time to maintain the garden (at least once you've dug it out). Generally, I'm actively hunting for weeds when I'm out there now, as they don't have the chance to get very big. Maybe twenty minutes every couple of days is all it takes.

Time Enough For Love
Robert Heinlein
Berkley Books
Copyright: 1974
0425070506

An extract from my review:

Robert Heinlein really is a writer of classic science fiction that just keeps on going. For all that this book came out in 1974, there is nothing dated about it.It'll probably still be a readable classic in another fifty years or a century. Perhaps even longer, so long as real technology doesn't outpace the stuff Heinlein dreamed up. I first read Time Enough For Love a couple of years ago, and have enjoyed rereading it at least twice since.

Twilight of Avalon
Anna Elliott
Touchstone
Copyright: 2009
978-1416589891

An extract from my review:

Anna Elliott seems to know which details to include in order to make the time period come alive. There's not too much detail, but enough to make the characters and settings vivid in the mind's eye. Things like details relating to healing treatments, character traits, and clothing mostly.

...this is Anna Elliott's first published novel. I think she's got a very promising career in front of her with Twilight of Avalon and it's forthcoming sequels.

Lover Avenged
J.R. Ward
New American Library
Copyright: 2009
9780451225856

An extract from my review:

The world of the Black Dagger Brotherhood is one that keeps getting more and more involved and in depth as the books progress. First of all, we had just the vampires and the Lessers, then it progressed to their aristocracy, and now we have the Sympaths as well, which also has a couple of different castes. Not only that, but various members of each plotting against the others in both groups. Each book shows another facet of their lives and customs, all of it building together to form an interesting whole.

Lover Enshrined
J.R. Ward
New American Library
Copyright: 2008
9780451222725

An extract from my review:

I've said it before, but I do like the vampires Ward has created as they seem to go against most of the typical vampire stereotypes. It makes for a refreshing read. Not only that, but there's plenty of story in each book as well. J.R. Ward makes absolutely certain that the reader gets plenty of book for their dollar, something I appreciate given the growing number of books with larger fonts and margins, especially as a fast reader.

Island In The Sea Of Time
S. M. Stirling
New American Library
Copyright: 1998
9780451456755

An extract from my review:

As I started reading this trilogy, I found that it strongly reminded me of the Ring Of Fire series (1632 and sequels by Eric Flint). On the other hand, this series is turning out to be far more to my preference, if only because the characters go further back in time. It's neat seeing the depictions of Mycenaean society and the British Isles in this period. I love the hints of history. While I was reading the book though, I couldn't help but wish to know how much of an effect the characters actions were having on history as they (and we) knew it.

Books I've bought in the month of May

I did a bit of book buying this past month. Not as many as in April though.


Sigurd and Gudrun is the latest book out by J.R.R. Tolkien. The actual text is written in the form of Norse poetry, but there are large sections of commentary on the poems, and also selections from Tolkien's lectures on the subject. I'm enjoying reading it, but I do find it slow going at times.

The Snow Queen, by Mercedes Lackey. I read this book back when it first came out in hardcover, and I finally got around to buying it. This is the most recent title in the Five Hundred Kingdoms series.

Fortune's Fool, also by Mercedes Lackey is another book from the Five Hundred Kingdoms series. Light, fantasy romance, based around well known fairy-tales, they're good books for cold, rainy days when you want a happy ending. This is another book I read back when it first came out, but that was a couple of years ago now.

Twilight of Avalon is the first book in Anna Elliott's new Trystan and Isolde trilogy. I found it reminiscent of Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon, and really enjoyed the read.

Impressionism is a book about that period of art. I'll be honest and admit that I didn't buy this book for reading. I bought it because the pictures are all as large as they can be within the confines of the page, and as far as I can see, having flipped through the book several times, they are all in color. I love impressionist art work, and this has several of my favorite artists featured. I'm hoping to try and improve my own artwork by copying some of these in various media as a learning experience.

Greek Fire, Poison Arrows and Scorpion Bombs by Adrienne Mayor is turning out to be another fascinating read. The author has examined in detail various incidents from historical accounts to look at the ancient and medieval use of chemical and biological weapons. It's certainly a different perspective on history.

Tanya Huff Interview at ScifiGuy's Blog

Announced today on ScifiGuy's blog is an upcoming interview with Tanya Huff. The interview is going to happen on June 4th, and the main subject is going to be her new book The Enchantment Emporium, which, according to Amazon.com is going to be released on June 2nd. Check it out. I know I'm going to.

Given how much I've enjoyed Huff's other fantasy novels, especially Summon the Keeper and sequels, I'm definitely looking forward to this book.

Pilgrimages The Great Adventure Of The Middle Ages - John Ure

Pilgrimages The Great Adventure Of The Middle Ages
John Ure
Caroll & Graff Publishers
Copyright: 2006
978-0786717804

From the cover of Pilgrimages:

From his starting-point of travel and adventure, using contemporary accounts, John Ure relates the stories of medieval Christian pilgrimage during the 500 years of its peak between 1066 and 1536. Through the often forgotten records of Erasmus, John of Gaunt, and Margery Kempe among others, the author brings to life a colorful cast of characters.

Also embracing military expeditions described as religious journeys, Ure recounts tales of armed ventures such as the Albigensian Crusade and the Pilgrimage of Grace. The Great Pilgrimages considers these journeys as literary and allegorical manifestations via Sir John Mandeville and John Bunyan. Ultimately, Ure uses his practiced skills as a travel writer to give vignettes of these pilgrim routes today, some accessible and popular, others as remote and haunting as in medieval times.

First thing I'm going to admit in this review: I didn't fully read Ure's book from cover to cover. When I bought it a year ago, I bought the book looking for information on a very specific period, so I focused on that while I was reading the book. As a result, my dissatisfaction stems as much from not finding the information I wanted as from anything else in this book.

Still, I expect certain things from a history book, as I've said in other reviews, such as the one I wrote for Malcolm McGregor's book The Athenians And Their Empire. In this case, as in that one, I'm referring to footnotes and end-notes. I expect them when an author cites another work, or to add in more information. John Ure's book didn't have a single footnote or end-note. When he cited another work (usually an account of a medieval pilgrimage) it was in the body of the text, and only the title. No mention of where in the work the author is quoting from. My finding this annoying probably comes from years of writing term papers where that kind of citation would earn docked marks. Also, he's only included a Select Bibliography (which I'll admit I'm going to go through and see if I can find some of the books he's mentioned in local libraries), rather than a complete bibliography. I wouldn't mind knowing what works he's left out of this book.

As I said right at the beginning, I was focusing on finding information about a specific period, namely that of the tenth through thirteenth centuries. While the blurb on the back of the book looked promising for the period, in actuality, the accounts of the pilgrimages to the Holy Land, were both from 1480 and beyond, so the pilgrims circumstances and the surrounding situation were completely different.

Everything else goes with expectations, namely mine. I came into this book expecting a serious historical work, which it isn't really. John Ure wrote in a rather entertaining, light way, which does get the information across, but rather casually. This might be a better fit for somebody looking for something closer to travel literature, which is the author's normal area of writing, rather than an in-depth examination of the subject. The accounts of the pilgrimages are interesting, as he liberally uses quotes from the sources, but he moves fairly quickly from one pilgrimage route to the next.

For somebody looking for an introduction to the subject, this is a good book, but not so much for me.

Other books on medieval history that I have reviewed:
The Worlds Of Medieval Europe - Clifford R. Backman
Reading The Middle Ages - Barbara Rosenwein
The Crusades - A Very Short Introduction - Christopher Tyerman
Life In A Medieval Village - Francis And Joseph Gies
1215: The Year Of The Magna Carta - Danny Danziger and John Gillingham
By Sword And Fire - Sean McGlynn

Another new Tolkien book?

John Rateliff has a fascinating post on his blog about another new Tolkien book coming out in the next few months. This one is apparently a translation of the Book of Jonah. Probably it's not going to be of too much interest to the majority of Tolkien fans, but it looks interesting to me.

Also in the post he briefly discusses the book Sigurd and Gudrun, the new Tolkien book that came out at the end of last month.

(I just want to note that I'm half-way through Sigurd and Gudrun and enjoying it greatly)

Pre-Printing Press Challenge - My Reading List

I've finally put my preliminary reading list together for my own challenge, the Pre-Printing Press Challenge.

I'm not being too ambitious though (as the originator of the challenge, I need to complete it).

The books I've chosen are:

1. Beowulf
2. The Illiad
3. Herodotus The Histories
4. The Alliterative Morte Arthur
5. The Quest of the Holy Grail
6. The Aeneid
   

References to other books - The Number Of The Beast

I'm reading Heinlein's book The Number of The Beast right now. While it's not my favorite of his books, it's one I like, and every time I've read it, I've intended to make a list of the worlds the characters visit.

Really, the book forms a who's who of classic science fiction novels. A lot of them I don't recognize at all. If you recognize one of these worlds that's not identified, or otherwise have more information to add to the list, please leave a comment to identify it.

The books include:
Worlds the characters visited:
The Edgar Rice Burroughs Mars series
Baum's Oz books
Who the heck wrote that world with the orthinopters (part two of The Number Of The Beast)? Is it a Heinlein creation?
Gulliver's Travels
The inside out universe?
Alice In Wonderland by Lewis Carrol
The Lensmen (No book or series title) by E.E. Smith
Heinlein's Future History Series

Just mentioned:
The Dorsai series by Gordon Dickson
The Darkover books by Marion Zimmer Bradley
Lovecraft's books
Heinlein's Stranger In A Strange Land
Isaac Azimov's Nightfall
Jules Verne
H.G. Wells
Galactic Patrol by ?
Star Trek
Larry Niven? (No first name given)
Poul Anderson? (No first name given)
The World of the Hobbits (J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and/or The Lord of the Rings)
The Sword In The Stone
The Once And Future King (TH White?)

Other Robert Heinlein related posts:
Time Enough For Love
Starship Troopers

LibraryThing - Got to love it!

I am now probably the world's greatest fan of the "Name That Book" group on LibraryThing. I got a really neat book years ago as a gift. As things sometimes happen, between then and now, the book went missing. Searched the house, canvassed my friends (I do sometimes loan my books out, as risky as that can be), but couldn't find it. By this point I'd forgotten the title and the author, though not a description.

Just found the Name That Book group on LibraryThing a week or so ago, and finally got around to posting about the book there yesterday. It took the group less than a day to come up with the book title, even though I'd made some mistakes in my description: The Tattooed Map. They were my last hope, as I'd asked around in various bookstores, but nobody had heard of the book before.

To top things off, Abebooks had a copy available at a very reasonable price.

So, sometime in the next few weeks, expect to find a review of The Tattooed Map showing up here. I just have to wait for the book to arrive now.

Interesting Essay Link

Bibliophile Stalker has written an interesting essay on the changing nature of book review blogs. In it he raises some interesting points. I found the comment responses to be just as interesting as the main essay. Certainly they were just as thoughtful (It probably helps my opinion that a number of them were from bloggers that I read. LOL).

Square Foot Gardening: A New Way To Garden In Less Space With Less Work - Mel Bartholomew

Square Foot Gardening: A New Way To Garden In Less Space With Less Work
Mel Bartholomew
Rodale Press
Copyright: 2005
0425070506

From the cover of Square Foot Gardening:

You CAN garden with
Less work, Less weeding, Less watering

Say good-bye to the hard work and endless maintenance of gardening in long rows, and say hello to Square Foot Gardening. This easy, fool-proof, and ingenious method of gardening allows you to grow more vegetables than you ever thought possible in less space than a traditional garden takes.

With Square Foot Gardening, you build your garden in a series of one foot squares. Each square holds a different vegetable, fruit or herb planted in quantities that you'll actually use. Gone are the long, labor-intensive rows that need to be thinned, weeded and maintained over the growing season. Gardening in squares means that you won't need to thin because you'll only plant what you can use. You'll water less because there's no wasted space in the bed, and you'll weed in record time because you can reach weeds from all sides of the square bed. By replanting squares as soon as you harvest, you'll guarantee a steady crop of vegetables throughout the growing season. Best of all, there are no elaborate structures, tools, or equipment to buy when you start your square foot garden.

All it takes for this simple system to work is a little bit of planning, just an hour or two of maintenance each week, and a bundle of enthusiasm. Once you start square foot gardening, you'll join millions of other square foot gardeners who are enjoying garden that are manageable, beautiful, and productive all season long.

I'll admit it right off. I did review Square Foot Gardening last year, but I'm following the method again this year. This is now a reference work for me, for reminding me of the spacings, water quantities and pest problems etc., and not a book for reading through for me. I bought it last year and tried the method in one 4x4 foot patch. I got the first successful vegetable garden I've ever had last year.

This year I've set up two patches. One of which, it turns out, gets a couple of hours more sun each day than the other. As a result, I'm giving the bell peppers another try. I got no result last year, but I did start things a bit late.

Otherwise, I'm repeating last year's crops (tomatoes, lettuce, swiss chard, radishes, bush beans, chives, parsley) with a couple of exceptions. I'm going to try growing a squash plant. The radishes didn't work last year, but are growing this year (if I can keep the slugs away). I'm also trying celery (which isn't in the book), a rosemary plant and spinach. The lettuce and swiss chard are all ready harvest-ready, as are the chives that survived from last year.

I absolutely love Bartholomew's book. You don't need much space, the weeds don't take over, and it really doesn't take up much time to maintain the garden (at least once you've dug it out). Generally, I'm actively hunting for weeds when I'm out there now, as they don't have the chance to get very big. Maybe twenty minutes every couple of days is all it takes.

There's a newer version of the book available as well: All New Square Foot Gardening. I've only taken a cursory look through it, but the book looks to be the same for the most part. The photos and drawings are in color, which is a help, but on the other hand, I noticed that the planting grids for spacings have been removed from the sections on the individual plants. Those are what I'm finding that I use the most. I haven't checked to see if the book includes any different plants from the 2005 version, which would be nice. As far as I can see, it's a matter of choice as to which is preferable.

Time Enough For Love - Robert Heinlein.

I finished reading Time Enough For Love the other day, but simply didn't have the time to get the review written up until today.

Time Enough For Love
Robert Heinlein
Berkley Books
Copyright: 1974
0425070506

From the cover of Time Enough For Love:

Lazarus Long
1916-4272
Time Enough For Love

The capstone and crowning achievement of Heinlein's famous Future History, TIME ENOUGH FOR LOVE follows Lazarus Long through a vast and magnificent timescape of centuries and worlds. Heinlein's longest and most ambitious work, it is the story of a man so in love with life that he refused to stop living it; and so in love with Time that he became his own ancestor.

Robert Heinlein really is a writer of classic science fiction that just keeps on going. For all that this book came out in 1974, there is nothing dated about it.It'll probably still be a readable classic in another fifty years or a century. Perhaps even longer, so long as real technology doesn't outpace the stuff Heinlein dreamed up. I first read Time Enough For Love a couple of years ago, and have enjoyed rereading it at least twice since.

I'll honestly admit that I don't think the book is for everyone, as the author is quite frank about sex and the relationships of the characters are rather unorthodox. I find that it simply helps to make clear a different society and set of morals. There's certainly nothing 'dirty' about it the way Heinlein writes it. On the other hand, Time Enough For Love and its sequels are definitely not for all ages the way Starship Troopers and some of his other books are.

Lazarus Long is a fascinating character given the length of time he's lived. It seems that he's seen and done everything by the beginning of the book, but clearly that's not so. Part of the book is filled with recording his numerous adventures through the centuries, but the later half has caught up to the time the book starts and charts some of his adventures after that in present time rather than his relating them to the audience.

By no means is the book boring. Instead, there's the adventures, but also there are two chapters of extracted wisdom from his life in the form of sayings. A bit like Plutarch's Sayings of the Spartans in format, but generally absolutely hillarious, and very true to life today as well.

A selection of the sayings includes:

Always listen to the experts. They'll tell you what can't be done, and why. Then do it.

A generation which ignores history has no past - and no future.

Cheops' Law: Nothing ever gets built on schedule or within budget.

It may be better to be a live jackal than a dead lion, but it is better still to be a live lion. And usually easier.

An elephant: A mouse built to government specifications.

In a mature society, "civil servant" is semantically equal to "civil master".

Never try to outstubborn a cat.

A committee is a life form with six or more legs and no brain.

Time Enough For Love is a book that had me bursting out laughing at various points even on multiple rereads where all the surprise is gone. Be it from the various sayings, or from Dora the computer, or even the antics of Lorelei Long and her sister Lazuli. Heinlein really has created a cast of characters which works in the context of the story.

Other Robert Heinlein related reviews and posts:
Starship Troopers
References To Other Books: The Number Of The Beast

Upcoming novels by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Sherrilyn Kenyon has quite a few new novels due out over the course of 2009.

There's the League series, of which the first three are due out (at least I think they're the first three, the character names are not familiar to me):

Born of Night
Mass Market
978-0312942304
Due out: September 29, 2009
Amazon.com product description:

In the Ichidian Universe, The League and their ruthless assassins rule all. Expertly trained and highly valued, the League Assassins are the backbone of the government. But not even the League is immune to corruption . . .

Command Assassin Nykyrian Quikiades once turned his back on the League—and has been hunted by them ever since. Though many have tried, none can kill him or stop him from completing his current mission: to protect Kiara Zamir, a woman whose father’s political alliance has made her a target.

As her world becomes even deadlier, Kiara must entrust her life to the same kind of beast who once killed her mother and left her for dead. Old enemies and new threaten them both and the only way they can survive is to overcome their suspicions and learn to trust in the very ones who threaten them the most: each other.

Neither Amazon or Indigo display covers for this series yet.

Born of Fire
Mass Market
978-0312942311
Due out November 3, 2009
Amazon.com product description:

In a universe where assassins make the law, everyone lives in fear—except for Syn. Born of an illicit scandal that once rocked a dynasty, he always knew how to survive on the bloodthirsty streets. But that was then, and the future is now…

Syn was raised as a tech-thief until his livelihood uncovered a truth that could end his life. He tried to destroy the evidence, and has been on the run ever since. Now trained as an assassin, he allows no one to threaten him. Ever. He is the darkness that swallows his enemies whole.

Shahara Dagan is the best bounty hunter in the universe. When Syn comes back on the radar, she’s the only one who can bring him to justice. There’s only one problem: Syn is a close family friend who’s helped out the Dagans countless times. But if she saves him, both of their lives will be on the line. Is Syn’s protection worth the risk? The only hope Shahara has is to find the evidence he buried long ago. Now it’s kill or be killed—and they, the predators, have just become the hunted…

Born of Ice
Mass Market
978-0312942328
Due out on December 1, 2009
Amazon.com product description:

In the Ichidian Universe, the League and its ruthless assassins continue to keep rule. But at what cost? Welcome back to the future…and a whole new world.

Devyn Kell spent his life in service to the League until he learned of the double dealing and backstabbing that was costing innocent people their lives. Refusing to play those politics, he became a Runner—someone who makes sure planets get the weapons, medicine and supplies they need to survive. May the gods have mercy on any who get in his way, because he definitely won’t.

Alix Garran is a woman on the run from a past she can’t escape. Signing on to work for Devyn as a System’s Engineer, she finds a cause she can fight for—and a man she can respect. But as Alix’s past catches up to her, and Devyn’s old enemies turn lethal, they have to fight together…or fall alone.

Then there's the Lords of Avalon series she's written as Kinley MacGregor...

Lords of Avalon: Knight of Darkness Graphic Novel
Hardcover
978-0785127680
Due out September 23, 2009
Amazon.com product description:

The world of best-selling author Sherrilyn Kenyon's dark spin on the Arthurian mythos returns in this adaptation of the second book of the Lords of Avalon series! Varian duFey may be the son of evil Adonai sorceress Narishka duFey, but he turned his dark heritage to the side of good, acting as Avalon's most deadly assassin. Though hated and mistrusted by the other knights whose cause he shares, when someone begins killing Grail Knights, Merlin sends her darkest knight on a quest that leads him directly to his mother's door... and to a hag named Merewyn, who is more than she seems. Collects Lords of Avalon: Knight of Darkness #1-6.

The Darkness Within
(Kinley MacGregor)
Mass Market
978-0061140488
Release Date: August 25, 2009

Amazon.com has neither a product description or a cover image yet for this book. However, it is apparently, the third book in the Lords of Avalon series, following Knight of Darkness and Sword of Darkness.

Bad Moon Rising
Hardcover
978-0312369491
Release Date: August 4, 2009
Amazon.com Product Description:

Fang Kattalakis isn't just a wolf. He is the brother of two of the most powerful members of the Omegrion: the ruling council that enforces the laws of the Were-Hunters. And when war erupts among the lycanthropes, sides must be chosen. Enemies are forced into shaky alliances. And when the woman Fang loves is accused of betraying her people, her only hope is that Fang believes in her. Yet in order to save her, Fang must break the law of his people and the faith of his brothers. That breech could very well spell the end of both their races and change their world forever.

The war is on and time is running out...

Honestly, this is the one I've been waiting for. Only two months and a bit left to wait.

Book Rambling: Anthologies

I've started wondering about the various anthologies shelved under "Romance" and people's reading habits. Admittedly, this is because I've ended up buying three or four of them, but I'm curious.

When you get an anthology such as Love At First Bite, or On the Prowl, do you buy it for one of the stories/authors it contains, or do you get it for all of them? Or, sometimes, does it vary?

I'm finding that it varies. Usually I buy fantasy anthologies where there are a larger number of stories in the book, and they are centered around a theme, such as the Valdemar and Darkover anthologies, Catfantastic, or the Sword and Sorceress series. In that case, I'm buying it to read all of the stories, no matter who the author is. Alternatively, I tend to go for the collections of short stories by one author, such as the L.E. Modesitt volume Viewpoints Critical, or Elizabeth Moon's collected short story books (Phases, Lunar Activity and Moon Flights).

However, lately I've branched into the romance anthologies. I bought Dead After Dark and Love At First Bite for the Sherrilyn Kenyon stories they contained, never having read any of the other authors in the volume. The same thing for On The Prowl (in that case it was the Patricia Briggs story). However, I intended to read the other stories the books contained as well, as an introduction to the authors and their styles. It hasn't happened yet, although I was pleasantly surprised to discover the J.R. Ward story in Dead After Dark, after I'd gotten into the Black Dagger Brotherhood series.

The number of similar anthologies available has got me wondering though, who they're intended for/marketed to, and also the reading habits of romance/urban fantasy readers. Do they figure that if you like one of the authors in that anthology that you'll probably be fans of the others? Or is the assumption simply that people who like one author will buy a book just for that short story, and never read the rest?

Robin McKinley's Blog

I've added a link to Robin McKinley's blog in the section titled "In Their Own Words". She's got some neat posts there, and what's more, it looks like she updates on a very frequent basis.

The reason I've added it is she's written a couple of my favorite books to date, namely The Blue Sword and sequel.

Reason For No Updates

I got my hands on the newest Tolkien book, Sigurd and Gudrun two days ago. Yesterday, I also went and bought One Good Knight and The Snow Queen, both by Mercedes Lackey - as if I didn't have enough to read. That's on top of borrowing P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast's second book in the House Of Night series, Betrayed along with a Robin McKinley from the library.

Primarily though, I'm reading Sigurd and Gudrun right now.

Twilight of Avalon - Anna Elliott

Twilight of Avalon
Anna Elliott
Touchstone
Copyright: 2009
978-1416589891

From the cover of Twilight Of Avalon:

Book One in the Twilight of Avalon Trilogy

She is a healer, a storyteller, a warrior, and a queen without a throne. In the shadow of King Arthur's Britain, one woman knows the truth that could save a kingdom from the hands of a tyrant...

Ancient grudges, old wounds, and the quest for power rule in the newly widowed Queen Isolde's court. Hardly a generation after the downfall of Camelot, Isolde grieves for her slain husband, King Constantine, a man she secretly knows to have been murdered by the scheming Lord Marche -- the man who has just assumed his title as High King. Though her skills as a healer are renowned throughout the kingdom, in the wake of Con's death, accusations of witchcraft and sorcery threaten her freedom and her ability to bring Marche to justice. Burdened by their suspicion and her own grief, Isolde must conquer the court's distrust and superstition to protect her throne and the future of Britain.

One of her few allies is Trystan, a prisoner with a lonely and troubled past. Neither Saxon nor Briton, he is unmoved by the political scheming, rumors, and accusations swirling around the fair queen. Together they escape, and as their companionship turns from friendship to love, they must find a way to prove what they know to be true -- that Marche's deceptions threaten not only their lives but the sovereignty of the British kingdom.

In Twilight of Avalon, Anna Elliott returns to the roots of the legend of Trystan and Isolde to shape a very different story -- one based in the earliest written versions of the Arthurian tales -- a captivating epic brimming with historic authenticity, sweeping romance, and the powerful magic of legend.

This is the first of the books I'm reading for the Arthurian Challenge, for which I have signed up to read between three and six books.

I've not read any of the versions of the legend of Trystan and Isolde before, even though I took a class in Arthurian literature a couple of years ago, so the characters were all new to me, although the setting was less so thanks to other books I've read.

Actually, Twilight of Avalon really reminded me of Marion Zimmer Bradley's bestselling novel The Mists of Avalon, because it is written in a similar perspective, that of the woman. I must say I liked it a lot, partly because of that. Because Bradley's book was one of the first I read on the Arthurian legend, it has rather become the one that I judge all of the others I read against.

Twilight of Avalon compares well against that baseline, although (and this is turning out to be a fairly frequent complaint for me these days) the font size and line spacing are fairly generous. Still, the book took me a couple of days to read. It wasn't absolutely gripping (I had no problems putting Twilight of Avalon down for a while and picking it back up again), but I'm looking forward to the sequel, which according to the ad in the back of the book is due out some time next spring.

Anna Elliott seems to know which details to include in order to make the time period come alive. There's not too much detail, but enough to make the characters and settings vivid in the mind's eye. Things like details relating to healing treatments, character traits, and clothing mostly. I'll be honest and admit that I'd have liked more detail, but then I find historical details on everyday life to be something I particularly enjoy reading about. I know that's not to everybody's taste though.

According to the Historical Tapestry blog (which is where I found out about the book), this is Anna Elliott's first published novel. I think she's got a very promising career in front of her with Twilight of Avalon and it's forthcoming sequels.

Definitely a good read, and if you enjoyed reading The Mists of Avalon I recommend reading this book.

Other reviews of Twilight of Avalon:
The Burton Review: Book Review: "Twilight of Avalon" by Anna Elliott and Arthurian Links To Ponder

Arthurian Challenge Reading List

I know it's nearly a month after I signed up for the challenge, but I've finally put together a tentative list of the six books I plan to read. I'll guarantee getting three of them read, but I hope to get six, and perhaps even more after that (one or two of the ideas I have will overlap with my Pre-Printing Press Challenge as well).

Here is the tentative list:

1. Twilight of Avalon - Anna Elliot (I'm half way through the book already and loving it)
2. Black Horses For The King - Anne McCaffrey
3. Sir Gawain And The Green Knight
4. Arthur And The Sovereignty of Britain by Caitlin Matthews
5. The Quest Of The Holy Grail
6. Stanzaic Morte Arthur (Middle English Poem)
   

The original sign up post for the challenge is here.
My original post committing to the challenge is here.

Lover Avenged - J.R. Ward

Lover Avenged
J.R. Ward
New American Library
Copyright: 2009
9780451225856

From the cover of Lover Avenged:

Caldwell, NY, has long been the battleground for the battleground for the vampires and their enemies, the Lessening Society. It’s also where Rehvenge has staked out his turf as a drug lord and notorious nightclub that caters to the rich and heavily armed. His shadowy reputation is exactly why he’s approached to kill Wrath, the Blind King, and leader of the Brotherhood. Rehvenge has always kept his distance from the Brotherhood, even though his sister is married to a member. Because he’s a sympath, his identity is a deadly secret- the revelation of which will result in his banishment to a colony for sociopaths. And as plots within and outside the Brotherhood take their toll against Rehvenge, he turns to the only source of light in a darkening world- Elhena, a vampire untouched by the corruption that has its hold on him- and the only thing standing between him and eternal destruction.

Lover Avenged is the most recent of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, having just been released at the end of April. It may be the longest, but that's hard to say for sure as this book is currently in hardcover, while the rest of the series is in mass market paperback. Either way, it was a book I enjoyed reading a lot.

For the first book in the series focusing mostly on characters outside of the Brotherhood, there was plenty of adventure and excitement. Nearly all of the characters from previous books played major roles: John Matthews, Lash, Xhex, etc. Even Torhment is back after a several book absence and mystery. There were plenty of loose ends for the next book to tie up, even though everything seemed to work out for Rehvenge and Elhena.

The world of the Black Dagger Brotherhood is one that keeps getting more and more involved and in depth as the books progress. First of all, we had just the vampires and the Lessers, then it progressed to their aristocracy, and now we have the Sympaths as well, which also has a couple of different castes. Not only that, but various members of each plotting against the others in both groups. Each book shows another facet of their lives and customs, all of it building together to form an interesting whole.

As usual, it seems that the characters can't get a break, although from the little said, Elhena broke the mold by having a happy(ish) childhood. I rather liked her the best of the characters in this book - she knew when she'd made a mistake and made the best of her life thereafter, rather than making excuses for it.

The Black Dagger Brotherhood series is starting to get more like some of the fantasy series I've enjoyed, where each book really builds off of the previous ones, in such a way that they really do have to be read in order for full enjoyment. Some of the series I've read, such as the early Dark Hunter books by Sherrilyn Kenyon on the other hand, can be read out of order without a problem.

Overall, Lover Avenged is another five star novel, sure to keep you up far past your bedtime, but then, that's when the vampires are out, isn't it?

The series so far:
Dark Lover
Lover Eternal
Lover Awakened
Lover Revealed
Lover Unbound
Lover Enshrined
Lover Avenged

Other vampire novels I've reviewed:
Blood Noir - Laurell K. Hamilton
Bone Crossed - Patricia Briggs

Royal Reviews Giveaway

Over at Royal Reviews they're running a giveaway for The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran. I've got to say the book looks really good from what the blog has to say. I'll also admit that I'm rather partial to historical fiction from this period.

The contest runs until the end of the month, so be sure to go over and check it out.

Lover Enshrined - J.R. Ward

Lover Enshrined
J.R. Ward
New American Library
Copyright: 2008
9780451222725

From the cover of Lover Enshrined:

In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there’s a deadly war raging between vampires and their slayers. And there exists a secret band of brothers like no other—six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. And now, a dutiful twin must choose between two lives...

Fiercely loyal to the Black Dagger Brotherhood, Phury has sacrificed himself for the good of the race, becoming the male responsible for keeping the Brotherhood's bloodlines alive. As Primale of the Chosen, he is to father the sons and daughters who will ensure that the traditions of the race survive and that there are warriors to fight those who want all vampires extinguished.

As his first mate, the Chosen Cormia wants to win not only his body but his heart for herself- she sees the emotionally scarred male behind all his noble responsibility. But while the war with the Lessening Society grows more grim, and tragedy looms over the Brotherhood's mansion, Phury must decide between duty and love.

Lover Enshrined is the sixth book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. As such, it closes off this part of the series, but it's not the last book. Lover Avenged has just been released in hardcover, so there's plenty more to read. I say it closes off a part of the series because Phury was the last of the Brotherhood left unmated. From here on in, the story is obviously going to focus on the surrounding characters.

At the same time as Phury's problems are coming to a head, there are other major issues as well. John Matthews and the group of trainees around him are the other main storyline, well, that and the Omega.

He's really come up with the master plan, and it does explain some things about some of the characters. I don't want to say more though, for fear of spoiling the storyline.

I found the story a bit slow to start, although that may have been more due to the fact that I'd read the previous books more or less back-to-back, and needed a bit of a break. In fact, I read and finished the previous book I reviewed, Island In The Sea Of Time, after I'd read the first half of this book. Still, once I got back to Lover Enshrined, I found it keeping me up late again in order to finish it.

I've said it before, but I do like the vampires Ward has created as they seem to go against most of the typical vampire stereotypes. It makes for a refreshing read. Not only that, but there's plenty of story in each book as well. J.R. Ward makes absolutely certain that the reader gets plenty of book for their dollar, something I appreciate given the growing number of books with larger fonts and margins, especially as a fast reader.

The series so far:
Dark Lover
Lover Eternal
Lover Awakened
Lover Revealed
Lover Unbound
Lover Enshrined
Lover Avenged

Other vampire novels I've reviewed:
Blood Noir - Laurell K. Hamilton
Bone Crossed - Patricia Briggs

The Fantasy Literature Website

Fantasy Literature

Reviews, Favorite series, a blog, forums, highlights about an author's life, this site seems to have it all.

If you like reading fantasy of all sorts, this is a place to check out. Apparently they cover paranormal, epic/high fantasy, sword and sorcery, urban fantasy and so much more.

Island In The Sea Of Time - S. M. Stirling

Island In The Sea Of Time
S. M. Stirling
New American Library
Copyright: 1998
9780451456755

From the Amazon.com blurb:

It's spring on Nantucket and everything is perfectly normal, until a sudden storm blankets the entire island. When the weather clears, the island's inhabitants find that they are no longer in the late 20th century, but have been transported instead to the Bronze Age. Now they must learn to survive with suspicious, warlike peoples they can barely understand and deal with impending disaster, in the shape of a would-be conqueror from their own time.

Island In The Sea Of Time is the first book in the Nantucket Trilogy. The sequels are: Against The Tide Of Years and On The Ocean Of Eternity. I picked up this book because I've been enjoying the Change series by S. M. Stirling (mostly back in January/February), and some of the reviews of the books on LibraryThing list this trilogy as part of the same world. Perhaps the connection is made clear in The Sunrise Lands and Scourge Of God, but I'm not entirely certain the two series are connected.

Not that that gets in the way of the story at all! Whereas in Dies The Fire, all technology just stops working, in Island In The Sea Of Time, the island of Nantucket gets thrown back to sometime circa 1250 BCE. Everything they have on the island keeps working (so long as there are small things such as fuel for the engines, anyway).

As I started reading this trilogy, I found that it strongly reminded me of the Ring Of Fire series (1632 and sequels by Eric Flint). On the other hand, this series is turning out to be far more to my preference, if only because the characters go further back in time. It's neat seeing the depictions of Mycenaean society and the British Isles in this period. I love the hints of history. While I was reading the book though, I couldn't help but wish to know how much of an effect the characters actions were having on history as they (and we) knew it.

Stirling takes into account a number of issues I haven't seen used in time-travel novels before, such as the lack of immunity to common diseases, all of which adds to the realism of the story. Not to mention to the level of detail, which is another factor of the books that I love. These are no "one day reads". Two or three days is far more realistic, given the six hundred plus pages of small font text per book.

As with the Change series though, the characters we hear the most from all seem to have some useful skill for the past: astronomer, historian (specializing in ancient history), military commander with high level martial arts skills... What does the ordinary person think, and how do they react?

S. M. Stirling is an author that I'm finding I enjoy a lot, although, I will admit, after one or two of his books, I do find that I need a break for a while before I come back to continue the series.

To date though, this is my favorite.

This ended up being another book read for the TBR challenge, as it's been more than three months since I bought it.

The books in this series:
Island In The Sea Of Time
Against The Tide Of Years
On The Ocean Of Eternity

The Change series:
Dies The Fire
The Protectors War
A Meeting At Corvallis
The Sunrise Lands
Scourge Of God

Giveaway at Royal Reviews - Lover Avenged

If you've been racing through the J.R. Ward series the Black Dagger Brotherhood like I have, you'll want to hurry over to the Royal Reviews blog. They're giving away the latest book in the series, Lover Avenged. All of the details are here.

John Garth's Review of Sigurd And Gudrun

John Garth, author of Tolkien And The Great War has written a fascinating review of Sigurd and Gudrun, the newest Tolkien book. In it he discusses the poem, the history of the poem, and its relationship to Middle-Earth.

As with his full book, this little review is well researched and full of information.

Link to Upcoming Books List

As usual, Scifiguy has posted a thorough list of upcoming books in the fields of paranormal, science fiction, and fantasy. Some of them look pretty good. On the other hand, some of them came out last month, such as Bloodhound, by Tamora Pierce. Don't let that stop you from reading the books though.