August Review Round Up

August sure has flown by. The end of the month snuck up on me almost before I was prepared for it.

Anyway, here's my round-up of my reviews for the past month:

The most recent book read and reviewed was Curse of the Tahiera by Wendy Gillissen.

A snippet from my review:

The characters grew on me quickly and I had to know what was happening to them next. I still haven't quite shaken them out of my head yet.

The book starts out as a typical fantasy/journey, but takes on it's own dimensions and character quickly, growing into it's own storyline.

Hunting Ground, by Patricia Briggs was a book I've been looking forward to since I finished Bone Crossed back in March. It's the latest book set in her Urban Fantasy world, the sequel to Cry Wolf.

A quote from my review:

One thing I like about all the books set in this world, and Hunting Ground is no exception here, is the way the author sets up her mysteries so you think the bad guy is one character, and then throws in a twist or two, to fool the reader. So far, every single time, the villain has proven to be someone else at the end of the book.

Defenders of the Faith by James Reston Jr.
This was the first book I've been offered to review, which makes it a bit special. It examines the years between 1520 and 1536 in both Europe/The Holy Roman Empire and the Ottoman Empire. Definitely an interesting read.

A snippet from my review:

Overall though, I really enjoyed reading this book, and I feel like I learned a bit more about history, and about this period in our history especially. I'd recommend this as a good overview/introductory book about the years between 1520 and 1536. Defenders of the Faith is going to stay on my shelves as part of my "permanent" collection of books.

Stargate SG1 The Barque Of Heaven by Suzanne Woods is my current favorite of the Stargate SG1 novels I've read to date. This was definitely a five star book, and I think I'm going to have to implement that kind of rating on All Booked Up soon.

A snippet from my review:

The story is non-stop, and I found that I didn't need to have seen any of the later episodes in order to understand it (still haven't gotten past episode nine of season one). I just couldn't put it down. The characters seemed true to the series as well, and there were several points where I could "hear" the dialogue in the voices from the series.

Stargate SG1 City Of The Gods by Sonny Whitelaw. Another of the Stargate SG1 novels. A nice, quick read for a change of pace.

A snippet from my review:

City of the Gods is set within the Aztec/Mayan cultures of Mexico/Central America, which I found quite interesting. The story links with the little I know about the region/period well, although I'm sure that the story would drive anyone who really knows the cultures crazy (as have some stories set in the periods and areas I'm more familiar with).

Stargate SG1 the First Amendment by Ashley McConnell. The first Stargate novel I read.

A snippet from my review:

Ashley McConnell seems to have the character "voices" and attitudes matching the show as far as I can tell. Looking at the list of her other novels, novelizations for TV shows seems to be her particular niche. I saw a Highlander novel, Quantum Leap and several other Stargate novels listed under her name as well.

Nefertiti by Michelle Moran was a very good novel, and a good introduction to her books. I'm now reading The Heretic Queen, and I'm looking forward to reading her new book Cleopatra's Daughter as well.

A snippet from my review:

With a rich and detailed landscape, Nefertiti paints a wonderfully fascinating picture of Egyptian life during the time of Nefertiti and Akhenaten. Nearly as much as King Tut, Nefertiti has captured the imagination of the world, and Michelle Moran has created a captivating picture of this powerful woman and the events of the time. Nefertiti is told from the perspective of Mutnodjmet, her sister, and a figure I hadn't heard of before I read this book.

Order in Chaos by Jack Whyte is another book I'd been looking forward to for a while. Ever since Standard of Honor came out, to be honest.

A snippet from my review:

Jack Whyte writes incredibly vivid and exciting books. On the other hand, I found that I still couldn't quite picture any of the characters in my head.

Anyway, Order in Chaos was well worth the read, and if you like historical fiction, I recommend it strongly.

Standard of Honor by Jack Whyte is one of the books I bought when it first came out, and never got around to reading. That was a mistake! The book was really good. On the other hand, waiting until now meant that I didn't have to wait for the next book to come out for very long.

A snippet from my review:

Running through all three of the books, Knights of the Black and White, Standard of Honor and the newest one, Order in Chaos is a thread that seems as though it were straight from the book Holy Blood, Holy Grail. Jack Whyte is playing with the idea of an inner order that pre-dates the Templars in this series. Overall, I'd have to say it works too. The "Friendly Families", as he terms this, certainly do seem to add an extra air of mystery to the story. Perhaps it lessens the historical accuracy, but that's why its termed "historical fiction", after all.

Curse of the Tahiera - Wendy Gillissen

Curse of the Tahiera
Wendy Gillissen
Booklocker.com
Copyright Date: 2009
978-1601458391

The jacket description:

A journey through haunted forests, through dreams and time.
A story of love, magic and the power of forgiveness.
Rom, a young Tzanatzi outcast and Yldich, a mysterious Einache shaman are on the trail of an ancient curse.
Will they save their people from destruction?

Curse of the Tahiera is a book that was sent to me for review. I might not have bought the book on my own, had I seen it in a bookstore, but once I started reading it, I found that I really liked it, and I'm pleased there will probably be a sequel.

The story is suitable for more or less all ages from older teens to adults of all ages (provided they like fantasy). The book certainly has it's exciting moments! It managed to keep me up past one in the morning one of the days I was reading it.

It's different, because the true quest of the story doesn't become clear until well into the book, unlike those where the goal is known from the start. Makes for a different read, where I thought one thing was going to happen, when it all turned out to be caused by something else.

I found the start of Curse of the Tahiera to be a bit iffy, but I think that's as much because the book seemed at that point to almost be setting up to have some form of overarching message that I was supposed to be seeing. Soon enough though, I was into the story proper. The characters grew on me quickly and I had to know what was happening to them next. I still haven't quite shaken them out of my head yet.

The book starts out as a typical fantasy/journey, but takes on it's own dimensions and character quickly, growing into it's own storyline. Who is Yldich? What's going on in Rom's personal history? They're all questions that grow out of the beginnings of the journey, and need answering before the story is through. And the answers will take up much of the rest of the story. We're discovering the truth of the answers at the same time the characters are.

Wendy Gillissen has created an interesting landscape for Curse of the Tahiera, and the characters fit in their world well. I liked the way we learn the history of the world as the characters do and as the story goes by, rather than having it lumped in all in one place as is done quite often.

I should note that there are a couple of typos in the book, and a couple of times where things could have been phrased better, but overall, they don't affect the story (and I've seen the same things in other books, just not very often).

Overall, I'd say Curse of the Tahiera is definitely worth reading at least once, and I can see myself rereading it at some point in the near future.

Mailbox Monday - August 3

Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia of The Printed Page blog each Monday. She warns that it leads to increasingly large TBR piles, and I'd have to say she's correct. It's also a lot of fun to participate in.

Anyway, this was a special week for me, as my first two requested review books in hardcopy came in. I know I posted about them earlier, but I just couldn't wait until today.

Curse of the Tahiera
Wendy Gillissen

The jacket blurb:

A journey through haunted forests, through dreams and time.
A story of love, magic and the power of forgiveness.
Rom, a young Tzanatzi outcast and Yldich, a mysterious Einache shaman are on the trail of an ancient curse.
Will they save their people from destruction?

This book was offered to me by the author for review.

---

Defenders of the Faith
James Reston

The jacket description:

A bestselling historian recounts sixteen years that shook the world— the epic clash between Europe and the Ottoman Turks that ended the Renaissance and brought Islam to the gates of Vienna

In the bestselling Warriors of God and Dogs of God, James Reston, Jr., limned two epochal conflicts between Islam and Christendom. Here he examines the ultimate battle in that centuries-long war, which found Europe at its most vulnerable and Islam on the attack. This drama was propelled by two astonishing young sovereigns: Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and Turkish sultan Suleyman the Magnificent. Though they represented two colliding worlds, they were remarkably similar. Each was a poet and cultured cosmopolitan; each was the most powerful man on his continent; each was called “Defender of the Faith”; and each faced strident religious rebellion in his domain. Charles was beset by the “heresy” of Martin Luther and his fervid adherents, even while tensions between him and the pope threatened to boil over, and the upstart French king Francis I harried Charles’s realm by land and sea. Suleyman was hardly more comfortable on his throne. He had earned his crown by avoiding the grim Ottoman tradition of royal fratricide. Shiites in the East were fighting off the Sunni Turks’ cruel repression of their “heresy.” The ferocity and skill of Suleyman’s Janissaries had expanded the Ottoman Empire to its greatest extent ever, but these slave soldiers became rebellious when foreign wars did not engage them.

With Europe newly hobbled and the Turks suffused with restless vigor, the stage was set for a drama that unfolded from Hungary to Rhodes and ultimately to Vienna itself, which both sides thought the Turks could win. If that happened, it was generally agreed that Europe would become Muslim as far west as the Rhine.

During these same years, Europe was roiled by constant internal tumult that saw, among other spectacles, the Diet of Worms, the Sack of Rome, and an actual wrestling match between the English and French monarchs in which Henry VIII’s pride was badly hurt. Would—could—this fractious continent be united to repulse a fearsome enemy?

This was the first review offer I got, and it came from the publishing company. Funnily enough, both books arrived on the same day.

The third book I got this past week was one I bought. It was recommended to me by the folks at the Digital Photograpy School forums.

Understanding Exposure
Bryan Peterson

The amazon.com blurb:

For serious amateur photographers who already shoot perfectly focused, accurately exposed images but want to be more creative with a camera, here’s the book to consult. More than seventy techniques, both popular and less-familiar approaches, are covered in detail, including advanced exposure, bounced flash and candlelight, infrared, multiple images, soft-focus effects, unusual vantage points, zooming, and other carefully chosen ways to enhance photographs. The A-Z format make sit easy for readers to find a specific technique, and each one is explained in jargon-free language. Top Tips for each technique help readers achieve superb results, even on the first attempt.

First (and second) hardcopy book for review.

This is turning out to be a good day. I got my first hardcopy book in the mail for review today. The book is Curse of the Tahiera by Wendy Gillissen.

The jacket blurb:

A journey through haunted forests, through dreams and time.
A story of love, magic and the power of forgiveness.
Rom, a young Tzanatzi outcast and Yldich, a mysterious Einache shaman are on the trail of an ancient curse.
Will they save their people from destruction?

I've had e-books before, which I like (they don't take space on the shelf), but this feels "real". Mailbox Monday is going to be fun next week. I just couldn't wait that long to squeal in glee.

Edited to add:
Double reason to squeal: Defenders of the Faith, by James Reston Jr. just arrived as well (an hour or so later). This one will hold a special place as it was the first offer I got of a book to review. Not to mention that it simply looks interesting.

The jacket description:

A bestselling historian recounts sixteen years that shook the world— the epic clash between Europe and the Ottoman Turks that ended the Renaissance and brought Islam to the gates of Vienna

In the bestselling Warriors of God and Dogs of God, James Reston, Jr., limned two epochal conflicts between Islam and Christendom. Here he examines the ultimate battle in that centuries-long war, which found Europe at its most vulnerable and Islam on the attack. This drama was propelled by two astonishing young sovereigns: Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and Turkish sultan Suleyman the Magnificent. Though they represented two colliding worlds, they were remarkably similar. Each was a poet and cultured cosmopolitan; each was the most powerful man on his continent; each was called “Defender of the Faith”; and each faced strident religious rebellion in his domain. Charles was beset by the “heresy” of Martin Luther and his fervid adherents, even while tensions between him and the pope threatened to boil over, and the upstart French king Francis I harried Charles’s realm by land and sea. Suleyman was hardly more comfortable on his throne. He had earned his crown by avoiding the grim Ottoman tradition of royal fratricide. Shiites in the East were fighting off the Sunni Turks’ cruel repression of their “heresy.” The ferocity and skill of Suleyman’s Janissaries had expanded the Ottoman Empire to its greatest extent ever, but these slave soldiers became rebellious when foreign wars did not engage them.

With Europe newly hobbled and the Turks suffused with restless vigor, the stage was set for a drama that unfolded from Hungary to Rhodes and ultimately to Vienna itself, which both sides thought the Turks could win. If that happened, it was generally agreed that Europe would become Muslim as far west as the Rhine.

During these same years, Europe was roiled by constant internal tumult that saw, among other spectacles, the Diet of Worms, the Sack of Rome, and an actual wrestling match between the English and French monarchs in which Henry VIII’s pride was badly hurt. Would—could—this fractious continent be united to repulse a fearsome enemy?