2024 Reading Recap

I thought it would be fun to look back at what I read last year in fantasy. 2024 was a bit of a disappointment because I only read five things: four books and a short story. This was down from the nine I read in 2023. I'm happy with what I read, but wish it had been more. Oh well, there's always this year.

Convergence by Craig Alanson, read by R.C. Bray.

This was free on Audible, and wanting to read (or rather, listen) to urban fantasy that wasn't Dresden Files, I decided to give it a try.

It was fine. The story is about Kazimir Wolf, a guy who's also possibly the only wizard in the world just as magic starts to make its return. because of this, he finds himself constantly on the run from people trying to capture or kill him. He's soon joined a talking golden retriever named Duke who is possessed by an ancient Babylonian wizard, and two warriors from the middle ages: Markius from Egypt, and Giselle from France. On top of this, Kaz has to deal with an impending event called the Convergence that could spell doom for the world.

I had two main problems with Convergence. First, it dragged on for too long. The audiobook is only 16 hours, but it honestly felt longer because the plot moved at about fast as a glacier. Alanson spent too much time writing funny scenes with Kaz and Duke that didn't serve any purpose whatsoever. Second, the bad guys were practically a footnote. They appeared in a couple of brief scenes in the first half, then disappeared until near the end. It was the same for these two other characters who were nominally supposed to be trying to find Kaz to help and protect him, but worse: they made a brief appearance in the first half and likewise didn't pop back up until the end. If Alanson had cut out some of the needless fluff and wrote more scenes featuring those aforementioned other characters, I would have enjoyed this a lot more.

Having said that, I do plan on reading or listening to the second book in the series, Dragonslayer.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

Redemption's Blade by Adrian Tchaikovsky, read by Nicola Barber.

I loved this story. Redemption's Blade is about what happens after the evil dark lord is defeated and it's not a happily ever after. Celestaine is one of a band of heroes who managed to kill the evil demigod known as the Kinslayer and put an end to his war of conquest and annihilation. That was ten years ago and the world is still reeling from the devastation. Now, she's on a quest to undo an evil the Kinslayer inflicted on one of the many races he conquered and has to contend with the aftermath of the war.

This was a good fantasy story and I enjoyed seeing a fairly realistic portrayal of what a fantasy world would look like after a massive and destructive war.

Rating: 9 out of 10.

Goblins & Greatcoats by Travis Baldree.

This was a fun short story that Subterranean Press released for free on their website. It's set in the same world as Baldree's Legends & Latte series. In this, a little goblin named Zyll arrives at an inn one rainy night and has to solve a murder. Nothing much I can add to this other than to say that I really liked it.

Rating: 10 out of 10.

The Black God's Drums by P. Djèlí Clark.

A very interesting novella set in an alternate timeline where America is still divided by the Civil War (which is a frozen conflict IIRC), and Haiti is a regional, if not a world power with its own fleet of airships. The main character is Creeper, who's a young thief in an independent New Orleans who wants to join the crew of the airship Midnight Robber. To do this, she shares information with the Robber's captain, Ann-Marie about a kidnapped Haitian scientist who possesses knowledge of a weapon that could kill thousands if it falls in the wrong hands. At the same time, Creeper has to deal with an African goddess in her head.

I enjoyed this and wouldn't mind revisiting the world if Clark ever writes sequels.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny, read by Matt Godfrey.

I read, or rather, listened to this as part of a book club. The book is set over the course of the 31 days of October as a varied group of characters in Victorian era England prepare for a ritual event at the end of the month. All of them are supposed to be famous historical figures and fictional characters, which quickly becomes clear. What makes this story interesting is that it's told from the POV of Snuff, a dog belonging to one of the players, Jack, as he goes about his duties and interacts with the animal companions of the other players. Another interesting bit is that a lot of the book's fans will read one chapter a day for the entire month o October. I didn't because I was listening to the audiobook, but I may try it next October.

I enjoyed listening to this book. Zelazny doesn't miss.

Rating: 9 out of 10.

Blood Song by Anthony Ryan.

As you can see above, I didn't read or listen to much in the way of epic fantasy, but I did manage to fit one in. Blood Song tells the story of Vaelin Al Sorna, a man who was forced to join an order of warrior monks as a child and eventually grew to be a renowned champion of his kingdom. The book is set up with a framing device that a captive Vaelin is sent to fight another kingdom's champion and die. He's accompanied on the journey by a historian who wants to record his life story, which Vaelin relates. It's a tale of love, grief, pain, triumph, and tragedy.

I really dug Blood Song and plan to continue the Raven's Shadow series this year.

Rating: 9 out of 10.

And that brings us to the end of the recap. Like I said, I'm not happy with how few fantasy stories I read, but I plan on at least doubling the number this year. Hopefully, I'll do more than that.

Obviously, I bought more fantasy books

 Because when you're in a never ending slump, that's the sensible thing to do.

A Goodwill find and an impulse buy.

Found at a used bookstore that I've fallen in love with. I've never been heavy on urban fantasy outside of the like four Dresden Files novels I've read, but I'm willing to give this a try.

Bought this on Google's ebook store for like $.99 and read in fairly quickly. It was good enough to make me want to buy more of Parker's books.

Bought at a new-ish bookstore in town. I've reading it off and on and I'm going to make a concerted effort on this one.

Bought at same store as above. Lemme just quote you the opening:

In the myriadic year of our Lord - the ten thousandth year of the King Undying, the kindly Prince of Death! - Gideon Nav packed her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and she escaped from the House of the Ninth.

I'm hyped to read this one.

Another used bookstore purchase. Thought I'd take a chance on it.

Another new one. I've read it before, but wanted a copy of my own.

Does anything stand out for you? Read any of these before?

So I might own a first edition of Tad Williams' The Dragonbone Chair I guess?

I found a hardcover of the book at a Goodwill last month and just started reading it today and one of the things I noticed immediately is the year of publication listed is 1988 and no other dates or markings that would indicate that it's a reprint or anything. It also has Tailchaser's Song as Williams' only book published up to that point. The inside flap of the dust jacket says "Book Club Edition", so that probably disproves it as a first edition. A relief and preference, honestly, because I don't like the idea of owning first editions of classic SF&F series or really books in general.

Revisiting The Belgariad (again)

First, an apology for the lack of updating on this blog. Sadly, my fantasy reading slump from last year has carried over to this one and at this point, I'm prepared to upgrade it from a slump to a drought. N.K. Jemisin's excellent The Fifth Season is the only fantasy book I've read this year to completion. I made a worthy effort with Robin Hobb's Royal Assassin, but even that couldn't hold my attention. Strangely, the fantasy genre is the only thing affected, as I've no problem reading SF and other genres.

So I've decided to go back to basics and start afresh by reading (or re-re-reading in this case) some classics of the genre, which brings us to my current book, Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings.

This would be my second read through and much like the prior two times, I'm enjoying it. Indeed, I'm almost finished with it and I only started it the other day! I don't know what I'll read after PoP. Queen of Sorcery, the second book in The Belgariad would be an obvious next step but I'm not sure if I want to jump straight to it. I could finally sit down and read The Sword of Shannara or venture to the Underdark with the first Drizzt book, Homeland. The Last Wish would be another choice, but might be too "new" be the kind of classic I want to read right now. The whole idea is to ease my way back into reading the fantasy genre, basically.

You can('t) go home again: Devlin's Honor by Patricia Bray (The Sword of Change #2) (Spoilers)

This review took longer to get around to than I had expected. Add to it that my memory is piss poor, and this shouldn't be a long review.

Devlin's Honor is the second book in Patricia Bray's Sword of Change trilogy and while a good story, it doesn't quite match-up with its predecessor, Devlin's Luck. Still, it's worth reading.

The story picks up four months after the events of the previous book. Devlin has spent those months trying to shore-up the defenses of the Kingdom of Jorsk against the threats that he feels are imminent. Unfortunately, he hasn't had that much success and every attempt at strengthening the kingdom is a struggle due partly to the usual power plays and politics you see in most any fantasy novel, but with the added invective that Devlin is still looked down upon because he's a member of a conquered people and not a Jorskian. He later discovers via one of his few friends, the minstrel Stephen, that his very status as Chosen is questioned in the Jorsk circles of power because he lacks the Sword of Light (the sword on the covers of all three books and a pretty accurate description to boot).

The Sword of Light is one of the badges of office of the Chosen, but was lost during the conquest of Duncaer, Devlin's homeland. We get a brief rundown of how the conquest happened: Basically, the Caerfolk practiced a form of elective monarchy where a woman would be elected queen for a term, then either re-elected or replaced with another queen when their first term ended. Duncaer's final queen was a two-termer who wasn't going to get a third and so she went full asshole and "invited" the Jorskian army for a *ahem* visit. It's explained that only one city, Ynnis (or Yniss, I can't remember the proper spelling) resisted the invasion. That's not because the Caerfolk were a docile people but because the rest of the country was more focused on waging a bloodfeud against this queen and her entire family tree. And man, I'm not even exaggerating about that. Caerfolk are dead serious when it comes to blood feuds and the resulting conflict really didn't end until every single member of Queen Asshole's family going as far as distant relations were six feet under.

Devlin's Luck (The Sword of Change #1) by Patricia Bray (spoilers)

This year has been a tough one for reading fantasy. I've spent most of 2017 in a slump that for some strange reason, only dulled my interest in fantasy fiction with almost every attempt to jump back into it turned into a route. Thankfully, I've finally managed to break the slump, thanks in no small part to Devlin's Luck, the first book in Patricia Bray's The Sword of Change trilogy. I'd seen the book on the shelf at the local public library several times, but always ignored it because of the slump. Then about two weeks ago, I had the sudden impulse to take it home and damn near devoured it I would have torn through it like dysentery in a medieval army camp if not for the fact that I was reading a Jules Verne book at the same time, but once I was finished with that, I turned my full attention to this tome and finished it off in double time.

So what is Devlin's Luck about? It's a story of a man broken by tragedy who desires nothing more than to make amends for a past tragedy and die with dignity. At the beginning of the book, Devlin arrives in Kingsholm, the capital of the Kingdom of Jorsk, to take the office of Chosen One. It's a bit hard to explain what the Chosen One is, but essentially, they're the kingdom's official problem solver. If something needs to be investigated, for example, the Chosen One could be dispatched to do it. The same goes with quests and any situation that may require their services. The position itself was quite prestigious in days past, being equal to King's Champion and subservient only to the ruling monarch.

But those days are long gone. By the time Devlin arrives to take the oath, the office has declined into largely a ceremonial position so undesirable that the kingdom has to offer ten gold disks¹ in order to get anyone to take the job. Why? The office is seen as certain death because all of Devlin's immediate predecessors have lasted less than a year, each typically dying during or after their first quest.

And that's exactly why Devlin wants the job. As I said, Devlin is a man broken by tragedy. I don't count it as a spoiler since you find it out pretty early, but Dev's grief stems from his wife, their daughter, his brother and his son being killed by creatures called banecats. Even though he avenged them by hunting down and killing the banecats, he still blames himself both for their deaths and not being there to defend them. By the time he recovered from fighting the banecats and returned to civilization, he found himself named kinslayer by his sister-in-law and forsaken by all of his kin, a major thing in his people's culture. He goes into exile shortly thereafter and literally walks all the way to Kingsholm to become the Chosen One.

Your fantasy real estate: Neuschwanstein Castle

It does have a very fantastical look that would make it ideal for adventuring.

So I was farting around on Wikipedia last month and stumbled across this article about a castle in Bavaria called Neuschwanstein Castle. Built in the late 19th century by King Ludwig II as both a personal retreat and as an homage to composer Richard Wagner.

Seeing the castle immediately got the hamster running in my head and I started to speculate what this thing would be like in a fantasy setting. The first thing that jumps out at you is that Neuschwanstein is not a military fortification. There are no outer walls or any kind of protection save for the hill it's built on top of. So clearly not meant to withstand a siege or hold territory. It wouldn't need to do either if it was located within the interior of a kingdom or empire where having a military fortress wouldn't be needed.

Ludwig II, King of Bavaria.

But like I said at the beginning, Ludwig II built the castle as a retreat and that's how I see it function in a fantasy story or roleplay setting. A nice getaway place for the monarch and royal family for whenever they want to get away from the capital for a while or to hold secret negotiations with foreign powers. Even far from the borders, a castle like this could be a source of much intrigue if a GM had the mind to come up with a quest line.

Of course, it wouldn't have to belong to a monarch. It could just as easily belong to a powerful member of the nobility such as a duke or an earl. There too is a potential source of intrigue for a campaign. A castle such as Neuschwanstein Castle would be pricey to build. Indeed, Ludwig II accumulated huge debts because he insisted on funding the construction with his own money and loans. That level of expenditure could draw the attention of the monarch's court and make them very curious about where the good duke or earl (or duchess or countess) is getting the funds for such endeavors.

A castle full of mystery and intrigue.
(Arto Teräs/Wikimedia)

Campaign ideas:

• A member of the royal court, likely through a less visible functionary, hires a group of adventurers to pay a visit to the noble and try to discover the source of their funding. The infiltration is left to the party, but discretion is preferred by their employer.
• The noble in question is found to have been skimming tax revenue or involved in some less than legal operations. The court wants them in custody but is unwilling to go about it in public for fear of triggering a rebellion or civil war. The party is employed to find a way to extradite the felonious noble back to the capital where they can be formally charged. Alternatively, the court decides to send the party to take care of the problem. Permanently.
• Another alternative is that the royal court decides to make an example of the noble by sending a force to seize their castle and take them into custody for a very showy trial. The adventurers are sent to reconnoiter the area for secret entrances/exits that would allow the approaching soldiers to take the castle from the inside. Failing that, they're to try and sabotage and compromise the castle's meager (because again, this thing isn't a fortification) defenses to make the royal fore's job even easier.

Of course, a GM could also use Neuschwanstein Castle as the setting for a standard dungeon crawl, but I like the three above ideas better. I'm biased in that regard, though. Any of these ideas could easily be adapted into plots for stories too, which is a nice bonus.

And two more books fall

When we last left our hero, he had just finished reading Silverthorn. But what happened after that? Some say he was assailed by a group of kobolds and bugbears. Others say he was eaten by grues, while still others claim that he was last seen riding into the sunset on the back of an owlbear.

And none of these are correct. The last one would have been pretty friggin' awesome, though. No, after finishing Silverthorn, I took a short respite from fantasy and read two sci-fi novels: Ender's Game (actually a re-read) and Parable of the Sower. I returned after that and dived straight into A Darkness at Sethanon and Arrow's Flight.

A Darkness at Sethanon is the fourth in the Riftwar Cycle and the final in the Riftwar Saga. The plot focuses on the story arc began in Silverthorn with the rise of Murmandamus, a moredhel warleader of a massive Brotherhood of the Dark Path army and probably a greater threat to the Kingdom than even the Tsurani were in the first two books, and the extra-dimensional threat of The Enemy, which we also learn the origin of. Actually, I'd imagine most people figured out what The Enemy is before this book; I had at least an inkling of it in Magician: Master.

I would say that A Darkness might be better than Silverthorn. It had a lot more action and the fortress-city of Armengar and its siege was honestly one of the coolest things I've ever read in a fantasy book. I'll write up a separate post for A Darkness later on because it deserves its own post.

I got an itch while reading A Darkness in Sethanon. An itch that only Arrow's Flight, the second book in the Heralds of Valdemar series could scratch. I had been planning to read it at some point, but the itch didn't make itself known until about two weeks ago.

It was so, so worth it. The Valdemar series is quickly becoming one of my favorite and I will read the books until I cannot stand them anymore. Whereas Arrows of the Queen dealt with Talia being chosen as a Herald and her life at the Collegium with all of it's hardships, perils, and adventure, Arrow's Flight focuses on her internship. She spends a year and a half riding a circuit through the Northern sector of the Kingdom of Valdemar, learning to do what a Herald does and all of the ups and downs that come with the job.

This book was honestly heartbreaking and I'm not going to lie, I got teary-eyed a few times because of all of the torment Talia goes through. There's also a lot of great moments that made me laugh and generally it was a short, but worthwhile read. Like A Darkness, I'll be writing a stand alone post for Arrow's Flight...once I finish the one I started on Arrows of the Queen. So in about 20-30 years.

So what am I reading now? Well, funny thing is that I had planned on taking another short break so that I could focus on Flag in Exile (Honor Harrington #5) and start to go through the literal shit ton of books I bought at a library book sale and Barnes & Noble recently (more on those later). That's what I had planned. My brain had other ideas and I'm not reading, among other things, A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin. My reading habits are both random and vexing.

Another Riftwar book bites the dust (spoilers)

Boy howdy, am I ever on a roll! I kept forgetting to post about it, but I started Silverthorn almost immediately after finishing Magician: Master and finished it just the other day.

A poisoned bolt has struck down the Princess Anita on the day of her wedding to the Prince Arutha of Krondor.

To save his beloved, Arutha sets out in search of the mystic herb called Silverthorn that grows only in the dark and forbidding Northlands, home to the moredhel, the deadly Dark Elves.

Accompanied by a mercenary, a minstrel, and a clever young thief, he will confront an ancient evil and do battle with the dark powers that threaten the enchanted realm of Midkemia.

So how was it? Better than what I had been lead to believe. I actually owned a copy at one point, but got rid of it because I had read some posts on the blogosphere about how it wasn't worth reading and I was easily swayed. I regret that now because Silverthorn was pretty good.

Some thoughts:

Jimmy the Hand is one of the best characters in the entire series, 'nuff said.

I liked how Arutha's quest for the eponymous Silverthorn didn't start until like sometime after page 100. Up until then, the story focuses on him, Jimmy the Hand, and the others trying to flush out the conspiracy against Arutha before his wedding to Anita. The build up towards the assassination attempt and Arutha's quest was exciting and intense and added a lot of emotional weight to what happens to Anita.

Moving on from Magician: Master

I finished Magician: Master on Wednesday and I'm still surprised by how fast I blew through it. While four days isn't a speed record for me, I'm still happy. What's more impressive is how much of the book I read in a relatively short amount of time: 324 pages in the span of about 24 hours, give or take. 125 on Tuesday and 199 on Wednesday.

As for the re-read, it was about as good as the one for Magician: Apprentice. Like I said in the previous post, there were plot details that I'd forgotten or had rearranged in my memory so the end result was that I got the same amount of enjoyment out of Master as I did the first time around. I basically forgot about damn near every character in the Kelewan plot line along with the plot itself!

The all too brief exploration of Tsurani and their culture is definitely one of my favorite parts of the book. Their culture is so different from the standard "European Middle Ages" setting of The Kingdom of the Isles and I'm honestly impressed that Feist somehow combined aspects of different real world cultures - Feudal Japan, China during the Sung Dynasty, pre-Columbian Aztecs, and even the Zulu - into a cohesive entity. That's some nice worldbuilding there.

If you want, you can read what I had to say about Magician: Master the first time I read it.

Re-visiting Midkemia

So for whatever reason I decided to do a re-read of Raymond E. Feist's Magician: Apprentice, the first (half) book in the Riftwar Saga. I originally read it and it's sequel (second half), Magician: Master back in 2012 and boy, did I ever need a refresher. Like, I'm reading Apprentice and there are just huge, huge chunks of the plot that I simply forgot. I remember important events, but not what happens between them.

An oddity about Magician: Apprentice is that it's only the first part of a book. Both it and Magician: Master are actually a single book call simply Magician, but when it was published in the U.S., it was split into two parts for whatever reason. I'm guessing it was due to size and printing big ass doorstoppers back in the day wasn't optimal. If that's the reason, then it shows how far both book making and the fantasy genre has come because the two halves combined would probably total less than a thousand pages, or one Wheel of Time book. Easily less than a Sanderson. Easily.

A very nice LOTR picture by Matt Rhodes

Credit: Matt Rhodes.

This would be pretty good artwork for an illustrated edition of the trilogy.

Holy crap, that is some damn flawless Geralt (from Witcher) cosplay!

I am legitimately awestruck by this Aelirenn's skills and dedication.

My Geraltina of Rivia (and Ciri as a bonus)

Absolutely amazing. Just amazing.

Belgariad by K-HUD

Credit: K-HUD.

I need to finish reading the series. Might have to start with a re-read of Pawn of Prophecy.

Finished: A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

(via Macmillan)

Kell is one of the last Travelers-magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel universes, connected by one magical city.

There's Grey London, dirty and boring, without any magic, and with one mad king-George III. Red London, where life and magic are revered-and where Kell was raised alongside Rhys Maresh, the roguish heir to a flourishing empire. White London-a place where people fight to control magic, and the magic fights back, draining the city to its very bones. And once upon a time, there was Black London. But no one speaks of that now.

Officially, Kell is the Red Traveler, ambassador of the Maresh empire, carrying the monthly correspondences between the royals of each London. Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they'll never see. It's a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.

Fleeing into Grey London, Kell runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.

Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they'll first need to stay alive.

A Darker Shade of Magic is something I took a chance on and ended up enjoying a lot. I'd seen it time and again on the shelf of the library's SF/Fantasy section, but didn't think it looked like the sort of fantasy I normally read. But you know, YOLO and all that, so I took the dive and I did not regret it even once. I fell in love with Kell and Lila and Rhys. I developed a solid, burning hatred of the Astrid and Athos. I dreamed of how amazing it it would be to travel to Red London and shuddered at the thought of going to White London.

I would easily, easily give this book a 10/10.

And that's how you troll a troll

Credit: Stepan Alekseev.

I get the feeling that there are a lot of DMs and players who will look at this picture and go "Yeah, that's happened before."

Stardust's finished, time for The Magicians

Well, I wrapped up reading Neil Gaiman's Stardust yesterday. I had planned on finishing it on Monday, but real life sank that battleship. Stardust was really a great book and I would highly recommend it. Like I mentioned in a previous post, Stardust was written in a pre-Tolkien style of fantasy and has a fairy tale feel to it. There's no mega-quest or big bad, but there's plenty of enchantment and interesting characters. I'll write a separate post about it later, but I give it two thumbs up.

Moving on, I've already started to dig into Lev Grossman's The Magicians. One of the reasons why I picked it is because Syfy's adaptation is set to premiere later this month and I want to read the book before it airs. The other reasons are that I've had the book for years and I've heard nothing but praise for it. Might as well give it a whirl.

And that makes nine

(via Tor.com)

Just finished Dark Jenny not more than an hour or so ago, which brings my book reading total to nine with five of those being of the fantasy genre. I really binged on this book, running through 192 pages in a few hours. Dark Jenny is 348 pages total and if Google's math isn't wrong, that's more than half the book. I'm not sure if it's related or not, but I felt exhausted afterwards.

So next is either King of Thorns (Mark Lawrence) or The Mirror Empire (Kameron Hurley). The former is 419 pages, while the other is 511, not counting the glossary and such. Not even a hundred page difference, so either could work. They're both longer than Dark Jenny, which means it might take longer to read through whichever one I choose before the month and year end and I'd really like to make the number of books read a nice even ten. I guess it'll all come down to the one that hooks and pulls me in.

I do plan on writing reviews (or what I call reviews) for Dark Jenny and The Crown Tower at some point soon. I might wait until next month when I have more time I can spare away from reading. I have a mostly finished review about Legacies that I need to finish too.

Handy guide on how to tell if you're living in a high fantasy novel

From The Toast:

• The Elders would like a word with you.
• The Ritual is about to begin.
• Something that has not happened in a thousand years is happening.
• You are going to the City. There is only one City. It is only said with a capital C. No one needs to bother saying the name of the City. It is the City.
• Certain members of the Council are displeased with your family’s recent actions.
• A bard is providing occasional comic relief; no one hired or invited him and his method of earning a living is unclear.
• The High Priest is not to be trusted.
• Someone is eating an apple mockingly.
• There is one body of water. It is called the Sea. The Great Sea, if you are feeling fancy.
• You live in a region with no major exports, no centralized government, no banking system, a mysteriously maintained network of roads, and little to no job training for anyone who is not a farmer.
• You have red hair. You wear it in a braid. Your father was a simple man, and you don’t remember much about him – he died when you were so young – but you remember his strong hands, as he fished or carpentered or whatever it was that he used to do with them.
• You’re going to have to hurry, or you’re going to miss the Fair – and you never miss the Fair.
• There is trouble at the Citadel.
• Your full name has at least one apostrophe in it.
• It is the first page, and you are already late for something. Your mother affectionately chides you as you gulp down a few spoonfuls of porridge; she will be dead by page forty-two.
• There are two religions in your entire universe. One is a thinly veiled version of Islam. It is only practiced by villains. The other is “being a Viking.” You are a Viking.
• There are new ways in the land that threaten the Old Way. Your grandmother secretly practices the Old Way, as do all of the people of the hills.
• The real trouble began the day you arrived at court. Every last nobleman hides a viper in his smile. How you long for the purity of life in your village, which is currently on fire or something.

Read some fantasy books recently

I'm still alive! My lack of posting recently is due entirely to being lost in a dungeon while trying to find a bathroom. I was sure that door said "Men's". Suffice to say, I know now why those places are dank. In any case, my fantasy reading drought broke this month and I packed away two, count 'em, TWO books!

(via Amazon)

(via A Fantasy Reader)

Both were enjoyable, but Prince of Thorns was a rough and tough one to get through because of how grimdark it was. I'm used to being able to sympathize with the protag, but Jorg is not a sympathetic character at all, even after you learn his life story and how he became the bastard he is in book.

I plan on doing separate posts about each book soon, so look for those. Furies is probably going to fuel several posts because of its magic system - furycrafting.