Reading List Ramble

At the time of writing, I’m reading Rome and the Mediterranean, by Titus Livy, the last of his works I have to read. But I also have a pretty hefty reading list of mostly fantasy books and for those looking for something to sink their teeth into I thought a menu of fantastic fare might prove useful (not least as many will soon be getting bookstore gift vouchers and the like).

I’ve read the first three Chronicles of the Black Gate, by Phil Tucker, and really enjoyed them a lot. They’re set in a fictional world with different parts accessed by various gates (the Black Gate leading somewhere rather horrid, and the White Gate opening the path to Heaven). The plot has nice twists and turns, and the characters shift and change in a credible way that makes friends into enemies and vice versa. It’s entertained me so far and I will be buying the later entries at some point.

Whilst we’re on sequels, I’ve really enjoyed the Stormlight Archive series by Brandon Sanderson. Especially good for fans of enormo-books, the latest instalment, Rhythm of War, came out in November (part 4, I think) and each entry is about 1,200 pages. Lots of world-building, interesting backstories and epic fantasy for those with a voracious appetite.

Chris Wooding’s Tales of the Ketty Jay is a quartet of rollicking adventures in an engaging steampunk world. Annoyingly, I’ve already read them. However, he does have another series, The Darkwater Legacy, and I’ve been meaning to give that a look. And if you haven’t read Tales of the Ketty Jay I can strongly recommend it.

I recently read and reviewed The Faithful and the Fallen part 1: Malice, by John Gwynne. It took me a little while to get into it, but the plot twists were very nicely handled and the finale was excellent. The sequel is called Valour, and is on the ever-growing monstrosity that is my reading list.

A couple of months ago my internet fell off, so I had a few days with limited distractions and no possibility of work. Luckily, I also had Half A King by Joe Abercrombie, which I absolutely devoured in a couple of days (fastest I’ve read a book for an awfully long time). The other two parts in the Shattered Sea Series are most definitely to be read in the future.

In the more distant past I wrote some Snapshot reviews, reviewing just the samples of various books. I found this pretty fun and also discovered some very promising stories, most of which I haven’t read yet due to my inability to bend time.

The Copper Promise, by Jen Williams, was right up my street, an old school fantasy of treasure hunting and torture.

Kingshold, by DP Woolliscroft, had an intriguing setup of a kingdom shifting from monarchy to democracy and a range of engaging POV characters, and is something I’ve always intended to read in full.

The Thief Who Pulled On Trouble’s Braids Michael McClung, and Dangerous to Know by KT Davies both piqued my interest and opened series focusing on thieves with intriguing premises.

Those are just the things off the top of my head. There are plenty more great samples I encountered during the Snapshot reviews, and hopefully, if you like fantasy, that’ll provide you with some ideas of what to consider if you’ve got money to burn and aren’t sure what to try next.

Thaddeus

Review: Malice (book 1 of The Faithful and the Fallen), by John Gwynne

I acquired this from a little library at the same time as the earlier reviewed Joe Abercrombie book. It took me rather longer to read for several reasons: it’s bigger, I actually had the internet (and therefore work to do), and it took me a little while to get into it.

The start felt slightly slow, but given it’s the beginning of a series that’s perhaps understandable. The plot takes place in a fictional world and follows multiple POVs, from the youthful Corban to older men who have proven themselves in battle already. The cast is geographically dispersed and, at first, it seemed the plotlines might exist in silos, but one of the big positives of the book was when the various threads became entangled with one another. The integration of differing plotlines was well done and it was interesting to see the main cast, often separate, interacting with one another.

The world is original and whilst there’s lore this is allowed to exist as an important backdrop rather than swallowing the narrative or drowning it in infodumps. Dialogue sometimes felt like it could be a touch sharper, to be honest, but this was a relatively minor drawback.

Plot twists were another highlight. Some were obvious, and meant to be so, others far more unexpected but they fit the world, characters, and plot, making them credible and deepening my engagement with the story rather than jarring. The finale in particular was well-executed.

Overall, I found myself liking the book more and more as I got into it. Which is annoying because I really don’t have the shelf space. However, at some point (the reading list grows, ravenous beast that it is) I will check out the sequel in e-book format. Or I might even try the audiobook.

Thaddeus

Review: A Brief History of Life in the Middle Ages, by Martyn Whittock

This book was a delightful gift I received recently, and one I read rather rapidly.

The time period covered is pretty broad, although as the author acknowledges a lot can be argued about when the Middle Ages starts and when it ends (personally, I always liked the view that the Middle Ages is the period of time from the fall of the Roman Empire until the fall of the Roman Empire). In this book it covers pre-Conquest Anglo-Saxon England all the way until the middle of the 16^th century.

The broader approach taken allows for a look at what changed over the centuries and what stuck around for a long time (indeed, part of the reason the end date was chosen was because of the founding of the Church of England which ended many longstanding practices).

Topics covered include diet, the cultural/religious calendar, and the role of women. I found especially interesting the section on lepers and the way different people of the same era might consider them holy (suffering purgatory on Earth, effectively) or sinful (punished by God with disease). Similarly, the general demographics were of interest, as England’s population had an effective cap that wasn’t really surpassed until the Industrial Revolution rolled around.

The author does make use of ancestral examples here and there, but they always fit into and add to the history rather than being awkward (in short, they’re not an act of conceit, but of explanatory use).

Map fans have a few at the front, though it should be stressed both the maps and the book itself focus on England.

If you’re after a broad scale overview covering an extensive period of time, this book will suit you rather well. If you’re after a more boots-on-the-ground and/or time-specific (14^th century) then you may prefer Ian Mortimer’s The Time Traveller’s Guide to Medieval England.

Thaddeus