The Librain……retired

Ooh! I have just noticed that I have now clocked up 100 books in 2018, according to Goodreads 📖📚📖📚📖!  This week, I have read two very different books. Both were very enjoyable, so I count that as a reading success.

Green Rider by Kristen Britain

The first was Green Rider by Kristen Britain, #01 in her Green Rider series. Here is the blurb:

On her long journey home from school after a fight which will surely lead to her expulsion, Karigan G’ladheon ponders her future as she trudges through the immense forest called Green Cloak. But her thoughts are interrupted by the clattering of hooves as a galloping horse bursts from the woods, the rider slumped over his mount’s neck, impaled by two black-shafted arrows. As the young man lies dying on the road, he tells Karigan that he is a Green Rider, one of the legendary messengers of the king, and that he bears a “life and death” message for King Zachary. He begs Karigan to carry his message, warning her not to read it, and when she reluctantly agrees, he makes her swear on his sword to complete his mission “for love of country.” As he bestows upon her the golden winged-horse brooch which is the symbol of his office, he whispers on his dying breath, “Beware the shadow man…”

Karigan’s promise changes her life forever. Pursued by unknown assassins, following a path only her horse seems to know, and accompanied by the silent specter of the original messenger, she herself becomes a legendary Green Rider. Caught up in a world of deadly danger and complex magic, compelled by forces she cannot understand, Karigan is hounded by dark beings bent on seeing that the message, and its reluctant carrier, never reach their destination.

Oh, I love a bit of fantasy adventure! This is what I wrote on the Goodreads site (I gave the book three stars):

An enjoyable, if rather derivative, fantasy adventure. I enjoyed the characters, particularly the development of the central female. The plot was also exciting enough with plenty going on to keep me hooked. There were some shortfalls, however, which prevented me from giving this four stars. Some of the writing was odd – you can tell that this is a first book. For example, some of the vocabulary and grammatical construction grated on me. Also the derivative nature of the main storyline and some characters – I felt that a lot of this has been done already and done better!

Nevertheless, it was a good read and, if my local library has the rest of the series, I will definitely read another one.

After I wrote this review, I found out to my annoyance that the library does have a lot of the series, but not book #02! As they appear to be old copies, I think that the set was probably donated some time ago and the staff may be reluctant to purchase a new copy to fill in the gap. I will have to think about buying it myself.

The Blue Death by Joan Brady

My second read of the week was a complete change: Joan Brady’s The Blue Death. Here is the blurb:

For generations the Freyls have ruled Springfield, Illinois, capital of a state of great lakes and rivers. Now convicted killer David Marion threatens their invincibility, and he threatens it from within their own ranks.

Water: it’s blue gold, and the price on world markets is soaring. When Springfield gets a new mayor, it finds its supply under threat, not only from corporations out for the money but from a disease that appears from nowhere, that nobody can identify and nobody can treat.

None of this interests David Marion until his own past surfaces and he finds himself caught between multinational leviathans at war over America’s heartland.

I gave this book four stars as I really enjoyed reading it. This is my review:

This was a really interesting read. It quickly became clear that these characters had been in previous books, but I don’t think that this detracted much from my enjoyment of this book. Politics and the machinations of the rich and powerful battling for supremacy with international corporations were the central themes. Many of the characters were intriguing, if not very likeable, some were dangerous and highly unpleasant. The author has a slightly quirky style of writing with a dose of very black humour, which I found very entertaining. The whole book was a very good read, even if it left a rather bleak aftertaste. I will definitely look for more by this author.

In fact, when I have finished writing this post I will seek out more by Joan Brady on our local library online catalogue.

Right, so that’s all for this week. I will now read through the blurbs of the other books on my pile and decide which one to tackle next. I have six to choose from 😍😍😍.

Happy Reading to you all!

Best wishes,

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Yesterday I finally finished the book that I started last Wednesday, after writing the Reading Roundup post. It was a long and detailed book in a small print size, so that is why it took me such a long time. Well, that is my story and I am sticking to it!

Proxima by Stephen Baxter

The book was Proxima by Stephen Baxter. Here is the blurb:

The very far future: The galaxy is a drifting wreck of black holes, neutron stars, and chill white dwarfs. The age of star formation is long past. Yet there is life here, feeding off the energies of the stellar remnants, and there is mind, a tremendous galaxy-spanning intelligence each of whose thoughts lasts a hundred thousand years. And this mind cradles memories of a long-gone age when a more compact universe was full of light… The 27th century: Proxima Centauri, an undistinguished red dwarf star, is the nearest star to our sun. How would it be to live on such a world?

Now, oddly, that blurb doesn’t bear much resemblance to the book I actually read. Other Goodreaders agree. So I will try to find a better one:

Mankind’s future in this galaxy could be all but infinite….

There are hundreds of billions of red dwarf stars, lasting trillions of years—and their planets can be habitable for humans. Such is the world of Proxima Centauri. And its promise could mean the never-ending existence of humanity.

But first it must be colonized, and no one wants to be a settler. There is no glamor that accompanies it, like being the first man on the moon, nor is there the ease of becoming a citizen of an already-tamed world. There is only hardship…loneliness…emptiness.

But that’s where Yuri comes in. Because sometimes exploration isn’t voluntary. It must be coerced….

Well, this one is a bit better! The book is about the first human colonisation of a planet outside our solar system, and also about the shattering and far-reaching political machinations taking place between factions in the solar system. Anyway, I gave the book four stars and here is my review:

It is very hard to rate and review a book like this. So much of it is fantastic: the amazingly detailed world building, the complex political events taking place and also some of the characterisation. But other parts are not so good and are quite tedious to flog through. I hope that, if I bring myself to read the sequel Ultima, some of the hanging plot threads are dealt with: apparent time twists, for example. The book is also too long and could do with being edited down. Yet again, there are other even longer books and series that keep me enthralled all of the way through because the tempo is kept up and the reader doesn’t lose concentration. So, I think it is worth persevering with this book, but I will have a think about whether I will tackle Ultima!

As I have now been to the Library, I have a pile of eight new books next to my bed. When I have uploaded this post, I am going to have a good look through them and decide which one I want to read first. Such absolute luxury. Hooray for libraries!

Happy Reading to you all!

Best wishes,

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