Seven Blades in Black / Sam Sykes

Seven Blades in Black

(Grave of Empires #1)

by Sam Sykes

fantasy

copyright 2019

read in February 2021

rated 7/10: well worth reading

This book has an enormous scope. A well-imagined world with a mix of magic and mechanisms. Plus enormous quantities of blood. A lot of fun in an imaginative and violent way.

Enjoyable but -- several times -- I almost gave up reading.

The heroine suffers so. Not a worry. Except that she has a habit of describing a really terrible time in her past -- then saying that today is even worse.

She also has a mission to kill people. Then, when they are in her sights -- she pauses. Thinks about it. Perhaps talks to the intended victim. Stalls for so long that... the victim escapes. Or just walks away while the hero is philosophising.

Hero? Heroine? Is there a standard? Just to be clear: "she".

There is a lot of philosophising. A. Lot.

So it's an exciting story with ... not quite tedium but... near-tedium. Unless you read for the exploration of the character's angst.

So, the plot. She has a list of people to kill. The seven blades of the title. There is one name crossed off near the beginning of the story. The gradual reveal of the reason for killing is well done.

Then the list grows to -- or is now said to be -- more than thirty people. Okaaayyy. She has killed one. How obvious is it that this book is just one of a series? Okay -- good -- it does say "book one" near the front.

There's a bit of a rush at the end. Several names wiped off the list. Okay, I lost count -- but it seems to be less than seven. Sure there's a lot of violent action... actual advancement of the plot is... dead... slow.

So I finished reading the book. Skimming some introspection to avoid boredom. Yes, I enjoyed it. Yes, the ending is a solid conclusion: well wrapped up yet leaving me wanting more. Well worth reading but with slow patches.

btw: Is there a fantasy equivalent of "space opera"?

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

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I'd rather be super rich than completely stupid... Ginger Meggs

===

Dying for you to read my blog, at https: // notdotdeaddotyet .blogspot. com. au/ :-)

The Hyena and the Hawk / Adrian Tchaikovsky

The Hyena and the Hawk

(Echoes of the Fall #3)

by Adrian Tchaikovsky

fantasy

copyright 2018

read in February 2021

rated 7/10: well worth reading

I've read the previous two books and -- for unknown reasons -- had this one but failed to read it. So, finally...

This book is a good wrap-up for the trilogy. Well constructed, well told, likeable characters. Lots of violence, plenty of death and destruction. A "big picture" view of a fascinating world. (I wonder if there is a link to the author's insect-themed world?)

So why rate the book at seven when it's so good? There are too many new ideas for a wrap-up book. New tribes, new ideas, new explanations. Some have been hinted at. Others seem to have been introduced just for this book.

The best part of this world -- and it seems to be stronger in this third book -- is the application of the characters were-magic. Unbelievable, clever and excellent.

Finally... this book is a satisfactory finish for the trilogy. Yet it leaves a situation which is wide open for further books. If you enjoy the world, you may get more. And that is how a book should end.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

===

I'd rather be super rich than completely stupid... Ginger Meggs

===

Dying for you to read my blog, at https: // notdotdeaddotyet .blogspot. com. au/ :-)

The Wolf's Call / Anthony Ryan

The Wolf's Call

(Raven's Blade #1)

by Anthony Ryan

fantasy

copyright 2019

read in February 2021

rated 7/10: well worth reading

Okay, "well worth reading" if you want violent, action-packed fantasy. Once I settled in to reading, it was fun. Violent fun.

Every so often there is a battle. By the end everyone -- everyone surviving, that is -- will be wading in blood and stepping over body parts. A few people will clearly survive to the end of the book -- despite chapter endings where they are dying. Anyone else is likely to die suddenly.Yes, it is violent.

But not nasty. It's bloody, violent, occasionally stupid but not nasty.

Still, I almost stopped reading... very near the start. This is "book one" -- but it continues from an earlier trilogy. Who are all these people? I wondered. It was enough fun for me to read on and soon, past history didn't matter. Current roles were made clear. Then new characters were introduced -- and often killed -- so the confusion of characters was no longer due to the previous books.

btw: Despite the previous trilogy, this adventure is brand new. The action has moved to a new continent, to an old "China".

So. It's violent action. Solid macho posturing. Death and stupidity in every chapter.

To survive, the characters are tough. That should be tough in capital letters. For instance: The junior member of the band is told to do the cooking. She can't cook. Yet every member of the gang eats whatever she produces, with no complaint. Sooo tough.

Then there is the hero. (Yes, definitely "hero".) In a previous book he "saved" the woman he loved by knocking her unconscious and sending her overseas. To "safety". Of course it was not safe, so in this book he rushes off to "save" her again. She has a secret plan. Does he ask her, What is your plan? Of course not! He simply plans to knock her out and send her to some other "safety". Sooo macho.

Yes, it's ridiculous.

It's violent.

It's a lot of fun.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

===

I'd rather be super rich than completely stupid... Ginger Meggs

===

Dying for you to read my blog, at https: // notdotdeaddotyet .blogspot. com. au/ :-)

Neuromancer / William Gibson

Neuromancer

by William Gibson

science fiction, dystopia

copyright 1984

not read in January 2021

rated 4/10: bad but could be read

I keep reading references to this book. Wikipedia, for example, says, "It is one of the best-known works in the cyberpunk genre and the first novel to win the Nebula Award, the Philip K. Dick Award, and the Hugo Award. It was Gibson's debut novel and the beginning of the Sprawl trilogy."

Finally... I reserved it from the local library. Took it home. Started reading... and could not be bothered reading past the first few pages.

Unappealing main character. Unappealing setting. (I've just added "dystopia" to the book's category.) Unexplained plot.

I skipped to the last few pages. Found an explanation of what has happened. This indicates, (1) It's a complicated story which needs to be explained and (2) the body of the book does not explain what happened. Of course I could be wrong.

This is an unappealing book.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

===

I'd rather be super rich than completely stupid... Ginger Meggs

===

Dying for you to read my blog, at https: // notdotdeaddotyet .blogspot. com. au/ :-)

Monument / Lloyd Biggle Jnr

Monument

by Lloyd Biggle Jnr

science fiction

copyright 1974

read in January 2021

rated 6/10: read to pass the time

A lot of my attitudes were shaped by science fiction. I grew up with messages about major problems with society, such as the perils of modern development on culture and the environment. This is one of the message-heavy books from the era of my youth.

It's not bad. It's not particularly good, either.

The style smacks of Asimov. There are nice people following a very clever plan. There are representatives of all that is evil -- yes, that's our modern civilization --  people who will happily destroy Paradise for their own gain. Luckily, the Plan (yes, capitalised) is very clever.

The final solution is clever but inadequately explained. There's a mysterious court case, no prior hint, very little explanation. I can see how the locals can avoid the penalties of a new law -- but I can't see an explanation in the book.

The message is still valid. The book is easy to read. It's not a great book.

Nick Lethbridge    /    Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting    /   Problems? Solved.
   ===

We are here and it is now. After that, everything tends towards guesswork... Didactylos in Small Gods
   

A Symphony of Echoes / Jodi Taylor

A Symphony of Echoes

(Chronicles of St Mary's #2)

by Jodi Taylor

science fiction, humour

copyright 2015

read in January 2021

rated 8/10: really quite good

I hesitated over that rating. Considered seven, well worth reading... but no... I really enjoyed the book. And I rate on my enjoyment.

Book one was ludicrous humour with lots of action -- and I was surprised by the occasional tragedy. In this book the mix has the same style of humour but far less of it. Enough to classify it as humour but humour is not the main theme.

This book is an adventure through time and history. Separately. There is villainy afoot within St Mary's, this generates a time travel adventure. Then the villainy is tracked to actual history and the adventurous historians travel to meet Queen Mary in historic Scotland.

The Scottish adventure shows the author's enjoyment of history. There is fun, there is raglan(*), there is enough "real" history to get me reading Wikipedia. (I now know a lot more about Bothwell.)

(*) No, there is no raglan. I have no idea what I tried to type. Stupid swype keyboard typed raglan. Whatever it was meant to be, there was plenty of it.

I think, if my rating was dispassionate this book would rate a seven. Because I enjoyed it... it's an eight.

Nick Lethbridge    /    Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting    /   Problems? Solved.
   ===

We are here and it is now. After that, everything tends towards guesswork... Didactylos in Small Gods