Welcome to this week’s Reading Roundup post. Once again, I am rereading a couple of books before I download the final book in a series. I decided to purchase the last book in The Bloodsworn Saga by John Gwynne, The Fury of the Gods, because I thought it might be a good idea to have a change from Guy Gavriel Kay. As I struggle with my memory, it also seemed like a great idea to reread the first two books. So, this week, I have been enjoying The Shadow of the Gods, Volume One in The Bloodsworn Saga…
The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne
Here is the blurb…
“This is the age of storm and murder.
After the old gods warred and drove themselves to extinction, the cataclysm of their fall shattered the land of Vigrio.
Now, power-hungry jarls carve out petty kingdoms, and monsters stalk the shadow-haunted woods and mountains. A world where the bones of the dead gods still hold great power, promising fame and fortune for those brave – or desperate – enough to seek them out.
As whispers of war echo over the plains and across the fjords, fate follows the footsteps of three people: a huntress searching for her missing son, a jarl’s daughter who has rejected privilege in pursuit of battle fame, and a thrall who has cast off his chains and now fights alongside the famed mercenaries known as the Bloodsworn.
All three will shape the fate of the world, as it once more teeters on the edge of chaos.”
And this is my response on Goodreads that I wrote after my first reading in 2021…
Whoooooop! Another exciting, pulse raising, heart pounding, sword and axe raising blood-fest! When you are beset by worries, this is just the kind of book you need to take your mind away from them.
Here, three different characters take inter-woven journeys in a fantasy Viking universe. This first book in the series really sets the scene of a brutal world with heroic characters and evil villains, hacking their way across the sea and land towards….
…. well I am sure we will find out in subsequent volumes!
I am fast becoming a fanatical follower of John Gwynne’s work as I love his ability to create such immersing worlds, characters and plots. I can’t wait until the next book!
One small niggle (and why I didn’t award the full five stars). The repetition of certain phrases does occasionally get on my nerves e.g. the belt holding the weight of the chain mail. There were several others like this, repeated so often throughout the book – just not necessary!
On the other hand, I am so pleased by the balance of strong female and male characters. This is, in my experience of fantasy writing, quite unusual. So, well done!
What do you and your children recommend I read to fill in the time before your next book, John?
On my second reading, the repetition of the phrase “thought cage” instead of brain or mind becomes quite annoying too! Oh well, it’s still a great escapist book!
I am already well into the second book in the series, The Hunger of the Gods, so will be able to write about it in next week’s post, all being well.
Well, it is lovely to be able to write a Friday Post once again. Yes, we are still very busy organising our house move, and I will try to update the blog about that next week, if I feel able. However, amongst all of the stress and angst of the last few weeks, I fell down a slightly less slippery slope than usual. I think you will see what I mean…
Here we go…
The iconic Hermès packaging…
The Bolduc ribbon around a smaller than usual box!
OK, maybe I shouldn’t keep taking orange box photos…
Ooh! This is a bit different!
Let’s have some more images!
Here we have an image of the entire scarf taken from the Hermès website. It is Bord a Bord, designed by Elias Kafouros, an 80cm cotton scarf. The website states:
”In this joyous circle, boats and trawlers swirl endlessly around the plain, magnetic center of this cotton scarf. The nautical-inspired piece can be worn all summer!”
When I was at university (not quite back in the Stone Age), Ancient History and Archaeology students took a six week study tour as part of their degree. My group travelled around Italy, Greece and the Greek islands. We saw many boats like these and even sailed between the islands on very similar craft. So this scarf evokes some very important and life-shaping memories for me.
I love the striped hem and the many-coloured boats…
Bord a Bord – cotton scarf by Hermès
When I can find the time, I will write a Scarf of the Moment post about this design. I have been informed that there are several colourways, although I haven’t seen any apart from the one above on the UK Hermès website at the date of writing. The others have a pink, blue or yellow background.
Anyway, here are a few quick modelling photos. Please excuse my awful hair. I have been too ill to visit my hairdresser for months!
Bord a Bord designed by Elias Kafouros for Hermès
As you can see, the scarf ties quite nicely, although I do have some qualms about getting a cotton scarf as I hate ironing! It will be nice to wear on sunny days.
Well, that’s all for now. I will continue to try to gather more information about this scarf so that I can compile my usual Scarf of the Moment post. So, if you know where I can find photos of the other colourways, blue, pink and yellow, please leave me a message in the comments for this post.
Hello everyone and welcome to my first Reading Roundup post for ages! Regular visitors will be aware that I have been struggling with my health whilst also trying to move house. In fact, my list of horrible illnesses was added to by a very frightening fall. I cracked a rib and ended up covered in bruises. After all of that, I was unable to concentrate enough to read books or post on here.
Thankfully, I am beginning to emerge from that nightmare. We now own our new home and are planning the move, which is waiting on some alterations. The bruising has now faded and I am feeling quite a bit better, although I am still much weaker than I was before all of this happened. I also feel extremely tired and cannot do very much. The great thing is that I have been able to concentrate enough to read for a few weeks and also do most of the organising of the move.
So, what have I been reading? I turned to comfort reading in my pain. You may remember that my most favourite author is Guy Gabriel Kay. His latest three books are all set in the same world and are part of a sequence which is, apparently, continued in his new book, due to be published later this month. For that reason, and because my stroke back in 2019 affects my memory, I decided to re read all three to prepare for the new work. In fact it was such a pleasure to revisit these books. Reading them again was wonderful and opened up his clever use of characters which span the whole arc of the series. Anyway, here they are with the blurbs and my original comments from Goodreads…
Children of Earth and Sky by Guy Gavriel KayA Brightness Long Ago by Guy Gavriel Kay
So let’s begin with Children of Earth and Sky. This is the blurb…
“Guy Gavriel Kay, bestselling author of the groundbreaking novels Under Heaven and River of Stars , once again visits a world that evokes one that existed in our own past, this time the tumultuous period of Renaissance Europe – a world on the verge of war, where ordinary lives play out in the grand scheme of kingdoms colliding.
From the small coastal town of Senjan, notorious for its pirates , a young woman sets out to find vengeance for her lost family. That same spring, from the wealthy city-state of Seressa, famous for its canals and lagoon, come two very different a young artist traveling to the dangerous east to paint the Grand Khalif at his request – and possibly to do more – and a fiercely intelligent, angry woman, posing as a doctor’s wife in her role of a spy.
The trading ship that carries them is commanded by the clever younger son of a merchant family – with ambivalence about the life he’s been born to live. And farther east a boy trains to become a soldier in the elite infantry of the khalif – to win glory in the war everyone knows is coming.
As these lives entwine, their fates-and those of many others – will hang in the balance, when the khalif sends out his massive army to take the great fortress that is the gateway to the western world . . .”
I simply cannot give less than five stars to this book, because I am completely in awe of GGK and always have been since my close friend recommended his writing. I love the way that he has created an alternate world, with two moons, which mirrors events in this one. I must admit that I don’t know anything about this particular period and the parallel events in our world, but that did not prevent me from immersing myself in the plot and characters. His plots and characters are always so interesting.
His writing always haunts me with its beauty. The way connections are made between the characters, then unmade as events take hold, then sometimes remade again. When I finish one of his books, they keep a hold on me for years. They are the only books that I have read and re-read multiple times, often for comfort. I still find new discoveries amongst the echoes of the previous reading.
As I can now no longer read print books, since I had a stroke, I am going to make sure that I have his entire work as ebooks, for those times when only the escapism of a GGK book will do!
I expect that my “reviews” of these three books will be rather similar. Probably because I am in awe of GGK’s writing skills!
OK, let’s move on to the next book in the sequence, A Brightness Long Ago. The events in this actually take place before those in the first book, if you see what I mean! Here is the blurb…
“Internationally bestselling author Guy Gavriel Kay’s latest work is set in a world evoking early Renaissance Italy, with an extraordinary cast of characters. In a chamber overlooking the nighttime waterways of a maritime city, a man looks back on his youth and the people who shaped his life. Danio Cerra’s intelligence won him entry to a renowned school, though he was only the son of a tailor. He took service at the court of a ruling count – and soon learned why that man was known as The Beast. Danio’s fate changed the moment he recognized Adria Ripoli as she entered the count’s chambers one night – intending to kill. Born to power, Adria had chosen a life of danger – and freedom – instead. Other vivid figures share the a healer determined to defy her expected lot; a charming, frivolous son of immense wealth; a religious leader more decadent than devout; and, affecting these lives and many more, two mercenary commanders, whose rivalry puts a world in the balance.”
Yet again, as I finish a book by GGK, I am left with my head both spinning and dreaming. The author does indeed weave bright stories, based around true events in history. In this case, I didn’t know anything about the real events, so just immersed myself in the interwoven tales of the main characters.
It was a little confusing for me, at first, that this is a prequel to his previous book, Children of Earth and Sky, and that there were also allusions to his two books set in a fantasy version of Byzantium. I have only recently finished reading the former, but it is such a long time since I read the latter two and I, therefore, feel inspired to buy ebook versions and re-read them. My memory is very poor now and I struggle to remember events in books that I have only just finished, never mind read decades ago!
I suppose this could be seen as a gift and another reason to read GGK’s books repeatedly!
Having read quite a few of the other reviews of this particular book here on Goodreads, I must recommend them to other readers. Many are truly excellent and will give you far more insight than I can.
We have now reached the final book: All the Seas of the World. First the blurb…
“Returning to the near-Renaissance world of A Brightness Long Ago and Children of Earth and Sky, international bestselling author Guy Gavriel Kay tells a story of vengeance, power, and love.On a dark night along a lonely stretch of coast, a small ship, the Silver Wake, sends two people ashore to a stony strand. Their purpose is assassination. They have been hired to do this by two of the most dangerous men alive. The consequences will affect so many lives both great and small, and possibly alter the balance of power in the world. One of those arriving on that night strand is a woman abducted by corsairs from her home as a child, escaping that fate, that destiny, years after, now trying to chart her own course – and bent upon revenge. Another figure, on the boat, bringing it to meet the secretive landing party at the city where they are going, is a merchant who still remembers being exiled as a child with his family from their home, for their faith. Returning triumphantly to the brilliantly evoked near-Renaissance world of his most recent novels, international bestseller Guy Gavriel Kay deploys his signature ‘quarter turn to the fantastic’ to offer readers a wide-ranging, vividly memorable set of characters in a story of vengeance, power, and love, built around profoundly contemporary themes of exile, loss, and memory. In a narrative of page-turning drama, All the Seas of the World also offers moving reflections on choices, fate, and the random events that can shape our lives.”
Yet another fabulous book by my most favourite author of all time! I feel like I need to lie down in a cool, dark room so that I can review my feelings and sort out a response. The carefully realised world, the diverse and finely drawn characters (even the lesser ones), the poignant side plots, the overarching main plot – everything is beautifully done.
The author’s voice is there from time to time as we follow a tiny sub plot to a sad or joyful end. The main story arcs coalesce into an exciting and satisfying finale. Such a great author! His work is usually labelled as fantasy, but it is much more than that.
Just a couple of tiny points: there was a slightly odd change to first person at one point in the book. This echoes the previous book, I think, but it marred a little. The other point is to do with me and not the author. My memory issues meant that I struggled to place this book in the context of the others written in this world. Perhaps I should go back and read them all again! That wouldn’t be a hardship.
Phew! Well, that’s been a race through these three books. While I have been waiting for the new one, I decided to take a break from GGK and try the latest book by another favourite author. Which book and author? Well, you will find out next week, all being well.
Hi there everyone! Well, it’s Friday once again and I am looking at my task list for our house move. Our completion date is 8th May (that means we will actually own the new bungalow on that day and will get the keys). With that in mind, there are various things that we need to consider and sort out, for example, finding a good removal company and sorting out house insurance.
Along with all of that my current bout of ill health has not improved. On Monday we managed to get a GP’s appointment and he prescribed more very strong painkillers. In addition, I need to have an x-ray to make sure that I don’t have a fracture in my shoulder or arm. I’m pretty sure that I haven’t broken anything, but I suppose that it’s necessary to confirm that properly. To be honest, I am still really struggling, especially on waking and just before bed, and all of this is affecting my ability to do any physical tasks for the move. All of the sorting and weeding of our possessions is on hold. I suppose that, if the worst happens and I don’t get some relief from the pain very soon, we will just have to take everything with us to the new house and sort it all out later. Not what I want, but we may not get any choice!
During my wandering around the web looking for ideas, I came across some really gorgeous textiles on several sites. One in particular caught my eye and I fell for a duvet cover set on there. Unfortunately, I found out yesterday that the design is completely sold out, but nevertheless the other designs are worth a look. The designer is Clarissa Hulse and her work is vibrant, colourful and lovely. I consoled myself with a scarf from her sale and she sells cushions, towels and other home items…
And here I am wearing the scarf with my lovely cashmere v-neck jumper…
Outfit of the day 04/04/25 with scarf by Clarissa Hulse
I must apologise for the state of my teeth! Today I have had a dentist appointment and we discussed some treatment to rectify this. The problem is that I would really struggle to tolerate it because of my chronic cough. Perhaps I just have to live with this. One of the perils of tea drinking!
On a lighter note, I showed you my three orchids last week, with the new one given to me for Mother’s Day. I was also fortunate to be given a basket of pretty miniature daffodils and they had all opened by Wednesday…
Mother’s Day flowers 2025
I think I have plant killer fingers, rather than green ones, despite being a keen gardener before my collection of nasty conditions arrived! Despite that handicap I can manage to keep orchids alive for a while and I am hoping to be able to plant the bulbs from the daffodils in our new garden. They will be a lovely reminder when they come up again next year.
I am sorry to say that I am still very ill and not able to concentrate on reading ebooks, even those by my most favourite author! This is most probably unprecedented in my life to date. I am still in incredible pain and am finding it very hard to cope with life in general, never mind the stresses of moving house.
Anyway, I will leave you with this image that I came across on Facebook the other week…
Why I Love Reading
I think that all of those apply to me, what do you think? Lovely Husband sometimes questions my general knowledge and I tell him that my brain has soaked all of this up during decades of reading mainly fiction books since the age of around three years old. Just think about how much you can learn from over 60 years of immersion in a wide range of genres. Even fantasy, and certainly science fiction, has a basis in real life.
I am finding it quite hard to believe that Friday has come around again! I do hope that everyone reading my blog is having a good time. Unfortunately, I am still struggling and in considerable pain. Despite very strong painkillers, there has been very little relief and I must admit that I am totally fed up! When my current prescription runs out next week I will have to talk to the GP again.
As far as the house move is concerned, we have now signed lots of documents, including the contract, and these have been sent by post to our conveyancer. All of the things that we need to get on with, such as clearing out unwanted items, have been put aside as I am too ill to do anything. I must admit that I am fretting and worried about this. We do have a lot of accumulated stuff that we really don’t need and I don’t want to move them to our new home! I have managed to do a little of the planning in terms of the new furniture and equipment that we need. It is such a long time since we last bought any new furniture that Lovely Husband is quite shocked at the cost, although I am hardly looking to make our home look like a stately mansion!
One of the things I am doing to gather ideas is looking at the houses for sale on Rightmove. Amongst the less salubrious places there are absolute gems where the owners have created beacons of good taste. I find it really interesting to see what other people have done with their homes. Mind you, I won’t be copying one amazing and gorgeous house that I saw this week. The whole place was a homage to white, pale grey and cream with faux (I hope) fur, texture and sparkling mirrors. It was absolutely beautiful, but definitely not for us. We are far too messy!
Unfortunately, I haven’t got any nice outfits or scarf photos for you this week as I am being very lazy only wearing my pyjamas. I do have a quick snap of the lovely orchid that Elder Son brought home. It’s really one of my Mother’s Day gifts, but he couldn’t exactly hide it! This picture shows it on the right with two others that my sons have given me in the past. My touch is usually death to houseplants, but these have survived my neglect…
Selection of orchids 28/03/25
Well, my lunch is apparently on the way, so I had better sign off!
Welcome to this week’s Reading Roundup post. Followers of my blog will be aware that I am very unwell at the moment and suffering with intense pain. A form of comfort for me is re-reading my all time favourite books and so I have been trying to do just that. I must admit that I have been finding it very difficult to concentrate enough to read. Even with very powerful painkillers, my brain cannot focus on the plot, which really saddens me.
Anyway, I have managed to read one of my favourite Guy Gabriel Kay books: Thr Lions of Al-Rassan. Here is the cover of the ebook…
The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay
And this is the blurb…
“Hauntingly evocative of medieval Spain, a deeply compelling story of love, adventure, divided loyalties, and what happens when beliefs begin to remake – or destroy – a world.
The ruling Asharites of Al-Rassan have come from the desert sands, but over centuries, seduced by the sensuous pleasures of their new land, their stern piety has eroded. The Asharite empire has splintered into decadent city-states led by warring petty kings. King Almalik of Cartada is on the ascendancy, aided always by his friend and advisor, the notorious Ammar ibn Khairan – poet, diplomat, soldier – until a summer afternoon of savage brutality changes their relationship forever.
Meanwhile, in the north, the conquered Jaddites’ most celebrated – and feared – military leader, Rodrigo Belmonte, driven into exile, leads his mercenary company south.
In the dangerous lands of Al-Rassan, these two men from different worlds meet and serve – for a time – the same master. Tangled in their interwoven fate – and divided by her feelings – is Jehane, the accomplished court physician, whose skills may not be enough to heal the coming pain as Al-Rassan is swept to the brink of holy war, and beyond.”
This is my response on Goodreads…
Oh, and don’t forget to read some of the other proper reviews on there!
I have no idea how many times I have read this book since I bought the paperback copy so long ago. It remains one of my favourite books of all time. GGK’s beautiful writing, clever plotting and wonderful characters draw me in and allow me to escape from my worries and fears. He takes real historical events and people as a basis for his alternative world under two moons, using these to weave complex and exciting stories.
I love the main female character in this book, Jehane. She is knowledgeable, brave, intelligent and resourceful. Such a strong woman. The two main males are also very attractive. As usual, the author also sometimes follows the stories of his lesser characters as sub plots, so that the reader can find out what becomes of them, but not always. As in real life, sometimes we don’t know what has happened to friends and acquaintances that we have met on the road of our lives. GGK also likes to tease his readers occasionally by leading us down alternative paths!
This book continues to resonate long after I have finished reading and I am sure that I will return to it again and again in the future.
I am now reading GGK’s more recent work in the run up to the publication of his new book, Written on the Dark. His latest three books are Children of Earth and Sky, A Brightness Long Ago, and All the Seas of the World. This is my first re reading of these books, so I feel that I hardly know them!
Sorry everyone, there is no proper Reading Roundup post today. I have an extremely painful arm and cannot type beyond a couple of sentences. Also, I can’t concentrate well enough to read my book!
Former professional school librarian, now retired through chronic illness. Trying to keep cheerful by reading, drinking lots of tea, blogging my new life, and my love of bling!
The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne
The Librain
The Librain......retired 
[…] If any of you wish to see my Scarf of the Moment post about this lovely scarf design, the…