the Realms of the Gods, The Immortals IV, by Tamora Pierce

"That's the trouble with being so tall, she thought, not for the first time."

Well I've finally cracked the one hundred mark. That is one hundred books read this year and this happens to be the very book in question. It also happens to be the final chapter in  The Immortals series, one which I very much enjoyed.

Daine has grown in age and ability since the first novel and now she is hanging out with the Gods in the immortal realm.

A fantastic reunion is afoot, along with mystery, war and just a hint of romance. Yes, this one packs a heck of a lot into 347 pages. The questions of Daine's parentage are finally explained and are pretty impressive. Indeed, this is anything but a boring read. My only regret is that I've finished the book and now my time is Daine's world is up.

 5 out of 5 talking beavers gods are unusual to say the least.

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North

“When I am optimistic, I choose to believe that every life I lead, every choice I make, has consequence. That I am not one Harry August but many, a mind flicking from parallel life to parallel life, and that when I die, the world carries on without me, altered by my deeds, marked by my presence”

Lately, I have a particular fascination with books about time travel or eternal youth, be they the Outlander series, the book I read this month How to Stop Time, or my ongoing appreciation of all literary vampires. I say lately, but honestly, I think the subject has always held my imagination in thrall. Now that I am beginning to see signs of dreaded ageing, my interest has been amplified somewhat and perhaps that is what drew me to this novel. I’d just finished the book in my bag on the train and was en-route to the dentist’s office without any supplementary reading material. A potentially horrid situation that was put to rights by a quick dash into Dymocks in Sydney. I’d seen this book before and managed not to succumb to buying it, however this was a book emergency and it seemed to fit the bill.

Harry August lives more than one life, none of which are boring. In fact, the first three quarters of the book were spellbinding. I mean a man who never really dies. Well he dies, he just remembers all his lives. He even becomes a spy — it is like this story was devised purely to tempt me. All was going so well, a secret society — oh you know how much I adore a secret society (and with a name like the Chronos Club —  so appealingly steam-punk) — was icing on the cake and then; well then, Victor came along. I’m not a fan of Victor. I’m not a fan of his tale. That didn’t stop me reading and it doesn’t make the book less than stellar, it is a mere quibble of mine about the story in its entirety.

Perhaps you will find Victor more intriguing than I did. Something about him gave me a faint whiff of  errant posh school boy and that was not a positive thought. Now, I’m not alone in enjoying this book, it was nominated for a raft of awards and secured the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (2015). I’ll be interested to see what my fellow fan of time-bending fiction, Nicki, thinks of this one when I lend it to her.

5 out of 5 deaths are permanent…or are they?

Emperor Mage, The Immortals III by Tamora Pierce

 

"This close, the reek of mush and dead made it hard for the girl to breathe."

The third instalment is where things get really exciting. I was sitting on the train seething that I hadn't brought the next book with me to continue the journey - such bad planning on my part. This one has battles, storm wings, rats, gods, goddesses , you name it, Pierce delivers.
Heading to the realm of the evil Emperor to broker peace might seem like a fool's errand. How bad can a guy be who really loves his birds? They are sick and need help from Daine. Is this just a ploy? Who is the hag? What is going on? Will all the furry friends survive? Is someone really crucial to the plot going to die? Oh my goodness, so much going on! This is an intense read and so good. I cannot wait for the next one but unfortunately started a different novel in the interim - awkward.

5 out of 5 storm wings smell rather hideously.

Wolf-Speaker, The Immortals Book II, by Tamora Pierce

"A wolf's nature is opposed to mine, but that does not make wolves evil."

I must admit to absolutely flying through this second instalment of the Immortals series. Daine is called upon by the wolf pack she met earlier. Something is amiss and they need her help. Mining opals has the potential to put everyone at risk and Daine and friends must take on the combined might of the Lord and Lady of Dunlaith who appear to want to use their magical powers to overthrow the King. Things are getting serious, such that the charming Maura, Lady Yolane's little sister, is prepared to run away to resist the evil plans of her sister and her husband.

There's a dragon, Daine finds some new powers, basically it is all very captivating and I suggest you start reading now, or when you have a spare moment.

5 out of 5 times at Chinese New Year, I'm glad I'm a Dragon.

Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce

"Her hand was locked around something — a large animal's claw, or a semblance of one."

Sometimes you crack the pages of a series and think, I"m totally not going to be on board for this one. I don't need another fantasy saga in my life. In this, quite deluded state, you persevere, disregarding your initial thoughts that someone that speaks to animals and isn't Dr Doolittle won't hold your interest. This is a mistake because you will fall victim to the powers of this saga.

I''ve not had a decent night's sleep in the three days that I've read the three books in the series.

As such, I'm struggling to recall which events sit within which novel, however, I will give it a red, hot go.

It took a while for me to warm to the character of Daine (or her full name Veralidaine Sarrasi), but once in, I was in for good.Being of questionable parentage and feeling different due to her ability to connect with animals, Daine lives very much in the fringes until she meets the master mage Numair and her adventures begin. Have I mentioned there's a badger god in the mix. I refuse to spoil it for you, hurry up and rustle up a copy, you won't be disappointed.

Yes, I know its young adult fiction, so what. We all remain young adults at heart.

5 out of 5 talking badgers are compelling.

The Night Sessions by Ken Macleod

"Drew Warsaw was the man, the king of the silent scene. He stood in the pulpit of the Liquid Cosh dance club and looked over a couple of hundred bopping heads."

Sometimes you read a blurb and get rather excited that this book could be the one. By the one, I mean a book that will deliver on its promise of entertainment. Upon reading the synopsis for this book, I was rather intrigued to get my teeth into the novel, so to speak.

It begins promisingly with space elevators and such and somewhere along the line,  I just lost interest. At that point it just became an exercise in getting through the pages so that I could finish and move on to something more entertaining - don't you hate when you read like that? I certainly do. More rational beings would just set the book aside, but I, I like to finish.

Perhaps my issue stems from a surfeit of religious fundamentalists on the daily news, and suggesting that the need for fictional ones is lessened somehow. Certainly, I just had very little interest in the story post the first couple of chapters which posed some interesting questions about Artificial Intelligence taking on a belief system, which is an intriguing conceit.

At least I ticked off another  novel from the Guardian's 1000 novels  you must read list - you know my penchant for lists by now, surely.

3 out of 5 religious zealots can be rather tedious.

Five Star Billionaire by Tash Aw

“It was thrilling to chat with people she barely knew, and she began to imagine what some of them might be like — rich, handsome, successful.”

A gorgeous rich tapestry of stories that was a delight. I don't know if its because I recently read all the Crazy Rich Asians  books, or that I just got back from Hong Kong, but I feel like there's something captivating about Asia as a literary setting and I'm actively seeking out novels from that continent at the moment.

I particularly liked this one because it brought people from various countries together in the fast-paced surrounds of Shanghai, all with a view to achieve wealth and success.
The characters are beautifully expressed and I was particularly unhappy when the novel ended as I just wanted to keep on reading about this lives.

A place of reinvention, high highs and low lows. That makes for entertaining drama. The depiction of Phoebe's dating experiences was written so eloquently- hence my selection of the quote affixed above.

It has taken a while for me to become acquainted with this tome, even though it was long listed for the Man Booker Prize in 2013, and I look forward to reading more by Tash Aw.


5 out of 5, self help books sometimes pan out.