New Books and a Reading Update and the Science Fiction Novel - Cornelia Funke

I gave my neighbour a piece of my mind today. I told him that the day after he had his yard aerated we had snow and then the other day he not only brought his boat out of storage but he also had his sprinkler system set up for spring. And guess what! Last night and today we've had a blistering cold wind from the north giving us a chill. And then he had the nerve to tell me that he was going to put the boat out in the water in a few days!!! What'll happen then!!! Nice neighbour eh?

Well, let's see? The COVID 19 has caused all of the professional sports leagues to suspend operations. We're not even getting the Women's World Curling championships this weekend. I totally understand but it's still disappointing. We've therefore cancelled our Sportsnet and TSN channels. We'll return to them once things get back to normal a bit. I have to admit that I did buy toilet paper the other day, too much derision from Jo. Just wait! It'll come in handy. She can wrap me up like a mummy in it. *sigh* I did go out to support some local businesses today. I got apple streudels and raspberry donuts from a local café. I picked up a couple of books from local book stores too. We have a new book store, it specialises in young adult books but the store name is perfect for me, Books4Brains. I had to get something, right? Oh, and one more COVID 19 item. I saw this video on someone's twitter page. It made me chuckle and even provided some good info. It's from an organization called Juice Media.

So now on to the subject of books. I picked up two books today and also finished one this morning. I'll update those and also provide the synopsis to the next book on my list. I'll then continue with my look at the Science Fiction novel. Let's go!

New Books

1. Disco for the Departed by Colin Cotterill (Dr Siri Paiboun #3). This is a most entertaining series.

"Dr. Siri Paiboun, reluctant national coroner of the People’s Democratic Republic of Laos, is summoned to a remote location in the mountains of Huaphan Province, where for years the leaders of the current government had hidden out in caves, waiting to assume power. Now, as a major celebration of the new regime is scheduled to take place, an arm is found protruding from the concrete walk that had been laid from the President’s former cave hideout to his new house beneath the cliffs. Dr. Siri is ordered to supervise the disinterment of the body attached to the arm, identify the corpse and discover how he died.

The autopsy provides some surprises but it is his gift as a shaman that enables the seventy-two-year old doctor to discover why the victim was buried alive and, eventually, the identity of his killer."

2. Call Down the Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater (Dreamer Trilogy #1). This is the first book in a new series for Stiefvater. I've previously enjoyed her The Scorpio Races.









"The dreamers walk among us . . . and so do the dreamed. Those who dream cannot stop dreaming – they can only try to control it. Those who are dreamed cannot have their own lives – they will sleep forever if their dreamers die.

And then there are those who are drawn to the dreamers. To use them. To trap them. To kill them before their dreams destroy us all.

Ronan Lynch is a dreamer. He can pull both curiosities and catastrophes out of his dreams and into his compromised reality.

Jordan Hennessy is a thief. The closer she comes to the dream object she is after, the more inextricably she becomes tied to it.

Carmen Farooq-Lane is a hunter. Her brother was a dreamer . . . and a killer. She has seen what dreaming can do to a person. And she has seen the damage that dreamers can do. But that is nothing compared to the destruction that is about to be unleashed. . . ."

Just Finished

1. The Forgotten Legion by Ben Kane (Forgotten Legion Chronicles #1).








"If you enjoy historical adventures set during the time of the Roman Legions (Julius Caesar timeframe), you might enjoy The Forgotten Legion, the 1st book in Ben Kane's Forgotten Legion Chronicles. If you don't like violence in books, you might have to think about it.

The story focuses on 4 people. Romulus and Fabiola are twins and slaves of land-owner Gemellus. He is awful (but that's not unique in this story), abusing the twins' mother regularly and just mistreating his slaves. Tarquinius is an Etruscan warrior and sooth-sayer who has had to leave his home in northern Italy to find his future. His mentor and teacher has been killed by the land - owner (Yup, another great guy). Brennus is a Gaul. The Roman legion has destroyed his family, his village, his people and Brennus is now a gladiator in Rome.

So these are the people that make up this story. Their lives will become intertwined in short notice. Romulus is sold to the same gladiator company as Brennus and twin Fabiola to a local house of ill-repute as Gemellus is running out of money. Tarquinius can see their futures coming together and stays in Rome, both to get their lives started and to enact revenge on the land-owner who killed his mentor.

As you can see there is lots of killing (the scenes in the Coliseum are often gruesome) and raping and more killing, but for all that, the characters are interesting and the plot moves along rapidly. Fabiola becomes very powerful, linking her fate to one of Caesar's officers, the well-known Brutus of Et tu Brute fame. The two gladiators will eventually have to escape from the gladiator company and, in league with Tarquinius, will become part of a Legion heading into the East to battle against the Parthians.

For all its violence, there is political intrigue, strength of character in its main characters and an action-filled storyline. It's well written and flows nicely. One thing I will say, if I were ever given the chance to go to another historical period, it wouldn't be this one. This book is the first in a trilogy so it will leave you somewhat hanging but it will also make you want continue. (3.5 stars)"

Just Started

1. The Devil You Know by Mike Carey (Felix Castor #1).

"Felix Castor is a freelance exorcist, and London is his stamping ground. It may seem like a good ghostbuster can charge what he likes and enjoy a hell of a lifestyle--but there's a risk: Sooner or later he's going to take on a spirit that's too strong for him. While trying to back out of this ill-conceived career, Castor accepts a seemingly simple ghost-hunting case at a museum in the shadowy heart of London--just to pay the bills, you understand. But what should have been a perfectly straightforward exorcism is rapidly turning into the Who Can Kill Castor First Show, with demons and ghosts all keen to claim the big prize. That's OK: Castor knows how to deal with the dead. It's the living who piss him off..."

The Science Fiction Novel - Cornelia Maria Funke

Cornelia Funke

Cornelia Funke was born in Dorsten, West Germany (at that time) in 1958. She is the author of children's literature and is especially noted for her Inkworld trilogy. It falls into the fantasy / adventure genre. I first became aware of the books when I saw the movie based on the first book, Inkheart (2008). It starred Helen Mirren and Brendan Fraser and was excellent. When I discovered that there were books as well, I had to see if they were as good. I've since read and enjoyed the first two books and #3 is sitting on my bookshelf and I will finish it this year as it's part of my 'Finish some Darn series challenge'.

a. Inkheart (2003).

"I enjoyed this story very much. I was introduced to it by the movie, which was also quite excellent. It took me a couple of years to get around to buying a copy, but I'm so glad that I did. I thought the concept of the story; reading characters out of books, basically, was quite interesting. I liked the characters, especially Meggie, Elinor and Farid. There was definite suspense and tension, especially with villains like Basta and Capricorn. All in all, it grabbed my attention quickly and held it until the end. I look forward to finding the second book, Inkspell. (4 stars)

Synopsis - "One cruel night, Meggie's father reads aloud from a book called INKHEART-- and an evil ruler escapes the boundaries of fiction and lands in their living room. Suddenly, Meggie is smack in the middle of the kind of adventure she has only read about in books. Meggie must learn to harness the magic that has conjured this nightmare. For only she can change the course of the story that has changed her life forever."

b. Inkspell (2005).

"Inkspell is the second book in the Inkworld series by Cornelia Funke. I enjoyed the first book very much and this second book was just as good. It's a very rich fantasy peopled with interesting characters and a wonderful story.

In the first story Mo and his daughter Meggie and aunt are harassed by characters from a story created by Fenoglio. At the end, Meg's mother Resa is returned from captivity in Lombrica, but is unable to speak any more. Some of the characters from the book remain, especially Mortola and Basta and the are a threat to Mo and his family. With the help of Orpheus, and later Meggie, Mortola, Basta, Mo, Resa, Meg and Farid all get sent to the fictional world. Mo is shot and lies critically injured.

The story moves from the various characters as they search for each other and interact with the other characters that reside in this rich, wonderfully described world. You have two competing Kings; the Laughing Prince and the Adderhead. Fenoglio the author of the story and creator of this world, has also been sent there and tries to influence events. There are almost too many events and characters to give you a complete impression of the story and people.

There are so many unique aspects; the fire creating abilities of Dustfinger and Farid, this ability to change lives with the written / spoken word. I loved the 'good' people; Roxane, the Barn Owl, Resa, Dustfinger, etc.. and the villains are very scary. Mortola and Basta especially. It's just a fascinating second book and I can't wait to see what happens in the final story. The story was resolved to an extent but there are still unresolved issues that I need to get satisfied.. Excellent!! (5 stars)"

c. Inkdeath (2008).









"Ever since the extraordinary events of Inkspell, when the enchanted book Inkheart drew Meggie and her father, Mo, into its chapters, life in the Inkworld has been more tragic than magical.

The fire-eater Dustfinger is dead, having sacrificed his life for his apprentice Farid’s, and now, under the rule of the evil Adderhead, the fairy-tale land is in bloody chaos, its characters far beyond the control of Fenoglio, their author. Even Elinor, left behind in the real world, believes her family to be lost—lost between the covers of a book.

Facing the threat of eternal winter, Mo inks a dangerous deal with Death itself. There yet remains a faint hope of changing the cursed story—if only he can fill its pages fast enough." Ooooh! 

So there you go. If you wish to check out all of Cornelia Funke's books, you can find the list at this link.