Tag: Books
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The Secret Commonwealth
Philip Pullman’s The Secret Commonwealth is the second volume of the Book of Dust. Lyra Silvertongue has grown up and lost her sense of adventure and imagination, attributes that once defined her. La Belle Sauvage, the first volume of the Book of Dust, followed baby Lyra and young Malcolm. His Dark Materials – the original […]
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What If It’s Us
Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera co-authored What If It’s Us; a cute, gay romance with some diverse and realistic characters bursting with personality. Ben is broken-hearted and stuck in summer school. Arthur is interning at his mother’s office and in love with everything New York. After a chance encounter at the post office the boys […]
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Highfire
Eoin Colfer’s Highfire chronicles the hilarious and action-packed adventures of a well-intentioned but wild tearaway, a crooked constable, and a snarky, fire-breathing dragon. Vern may be the last dragon on Earth, but he hadn’t survived this long by causing a scene or getting caught up in human affairs. He had been quite content hiding out […]
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Reading round-up 2019
I get my book recommendations from all over the place: friends, bookstore staff picks, email newsletters, library displays, podcasts, tube station posters, or just snapping up the next release from a favourite author. My approach to most things is quite methodical, but when picking my next book it’s different every time. I definitely judge books […]
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Planetfall and Do You Dream of Terra-Two?
Emma Newman’s Planetfall and Temi Oh’s Do You Dream of Terra-Two? both consider what happens when a small segment of humanity leaves a dying Earth to explore and establish colonies on distant planets. They contemplate the unique impacts on the human mind of isolation, the abyss of space, and living in close quarters with a […]
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Carry On and Wayward Son
Rainbow Rowell’s Simon Snow series is magical, charming, hilarious, heart-warming, and just tremendous fun. Now, I’m wary of spoilering so I won’t summarise the story, but instead present the blurb from Carry On – it sets the scene and the tone so well: Simon Snow is the worst Chosen One who’s ever been chosen. That’s […]
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The Winternight Trilogy
Katherine Arden’s Winternight Trilogy weaves stories of Russian folklore in an atmospheric tale of adventure, wildness, love, loss, magic, daring, difficult decisions, and moral ambiguity. The story begins on the fringes of the Russian wilderness. Folk endure the harsh winters, observe their superstitions and provide offerings to the household spirits, as they always have. Then […]
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Revenger and Shadow Captain
Alastair Reynolds’ Revenger series is set in the far future where humanity has colonised worlds built from the debris of our solar system’s planets. The story follows two sisters who sign on with a crew of space-faring treasure hunters in order to bring in the coin their family needs to stave off bankruptcy. Their crew […]
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The Nevernight Chronicle
Jay Kristoff’s The Nevernight Chronicle is the story of a daughter seeking revenge against those who destroyed her family. Set in a fictional world akin to ancient Rome and medieval Venice, with three suns in the sky and truedark only occurring every two-and-a-half years. Mia apprentices for the Red Church who shape her into an […]
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