At the author's request I have started The Equinox Tor, Book Three of David Doersch's Chronicles of the Raven.
I predicted that this book would begin with battle
and I was right, for the Autumn Equinox is but a day away and Fel's
servants must be stopped ere far more than Daffyd falls. Yet the Barbárs
hordes and their sadistic Angor blood-shaman allies hold the Tor and
advance deeper into the Green Mount, spilling Highlander blood all the
way. While further south, though Lachland is for the moment safe, the
Church of the Five are up to their polite necks in bloody plays for
power... and has it in for Queens the world over. All of it wrapped up in a web of far-reaching plots complex enough to make a spider envious, so here's hoping that
Queen Darienne and the Raven Corvus Corax and their kith and kin can – even without full understanding – fight
their way through it since the price of failure is...total.
The battle cry goes out as swords are drawn… "Protect the Tor!"
(Naturally the Official Book Review will come after I finish the book.)
My father and I just finished The Age of Enchantment, the first of Anna James' Chronicles of Whetherwhy.
Just
because an author wrote one book you loved does not mean that one
automatically reads, much less likes, their other, future books.
Sometimes ones does, others times not – and this was absolutely the
former! Coming strong off her Pages & Co. series, Anna James
once more weaves her enchantment in this new series on the magical
island of Whetherwhy, only instead of books the magic is rooted in the four seasons and everyone has the magic of the single season. All
save Enchanters, who have the magic of them all.
Of course, this is
Anna James, which means the plot – like the weather – is unpredictable.
Juniper had more trouble getting her school of magic than I have ever
read (I will never look at plant bulbs the same way again) and her twin
Rafferty got himself into a bigger tangle, a harder knot, that Juniper's
magpie and Zinnia's bloody stag. For all is not well in Whetherwhy,
dark plots born of jealously and a desire for fairness spouting grim
vines. Fortunately they contained the blight and healed their own
divide. But the magical balance of the island is still off and we never
did learn where the Queen stands in this.
By the way, I did not choose June 1st at the release date arbitrarily. It just happened to also be the day the June edition of Kirkus Reviews Magazine came out – which includes their stellar review of the book.
“The worldbuilding is
superb...[and] the characters are just as memorable...an enthralling
epic teeming with valor, camaraderie, and searing battles.” – Kirkus Reviews
I just finished Gift of Magic, Book 6 of Lynn Kurland's Novels of the Nine Kingdoms and the conclusion of its second trilogy.
Sometimes you have to walk back in order to move forward. You can choose your friends, but you cannot choose you relatives. Two age-old phrases that Ruithneadh of Ceangail and Sarah the dreamweaver would find very special appreciation for after learning who was leading them about, that Miach's theory was quite right, and where they ended up fighting a battle and building a home (two separate places these). And is not even talking Sarah's family history into account. But both family matters, and Gair of Ceangail's lifework, have been firmly to rest.
I will now say what I did after finishing the first trilogy: "I seldom dive into Romantic Fantasy...but this series caught and pulled me along with its ceaseless, heartfelt action. Seldom has any series chewed up entire afternoons the way this one has. Which is why I shall miss" Ruith and Sarah, for watching them first struggle against black mages and the past before ultimately prevailing was a gripping joy. Better still, they made it back to Mhorghain and Miach's wedding on time.
(Will I ever read the rest of the Novels of the Nine Kingdoms? Likely not, but who knows. I would like to see more of Rùnach and I just know the fate of the exiled Bruadair royals are involved, yet six more books is a lot to chew on though, and shelf space is, for me, almost as valuable as magic.)
"The series will be a faithful adaptation of the beloved “Harry Potter” book series by author and executive producer J.K. Rowling. The series will feature a new cast to lead a new generation of fandom, full of the fantastic detail and much-loved characters “Harry Potter” fans have loved for over twenty-five years. Each season will bring “Harry Potter” and these incredible adventures to new audiences around the world, while the original, classic and cherished films will remain at the core of the franchise and available to watch globally. The series is written and executive produced by Francesca Gardiner. Mark Mylod will executive produce and direct multiple episodes of the series for HBO in association with Brontë Film and TV and Warner Bros. Television. The series is executive produced by J.K. Rowling, Neil Blair, and Ruth Kenley-Letts of Brontë Film and TV, and David Heyman of Heyday Films."
Also, "this could be on HBO Max as early as 2026, according to BBC News." Beyond that and the general expectation born of curiosity and vicarious excitement, this news carries limited emotion resonance with me since I never watched the Harry Potter movie. But I LOVE the books and this proud Ravenclaw will not mince words: HBO – and the new trio – have some
very large broomsticks to fly. But more power to them in trying to
recast, so to speak, the spell that is Harry Potter and follow in the hallowed footsteps of the first three to let the world join them on the Hogwarts Express.
Yep! Hard to believe that June 1st is nigh upon us, and with it:
“The worldbuilding is
superb...[and] the characters are just as memorable...an enthralling
epic teeming with valor, camaraderie, and searing battles.” – Kirkus Reviews “À
la Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea saga… Adler’s world-building is
exceptional and the character development and dynamism is impressive.” – BlueInk Reviews
"Long
ago, the continent of Cynnahu was shattered by a genocidal war between
the native Dragonkin and invading human mages, leaving humanity
victorious and the Dragonkin extinct. Now, millennia later, the
descendants of those human conquerors face a newer yet still ancient
enemy as a time dictated in Prophesy has arrived. A time when not one
but five shall save – or fail to save – the Archipelago of Cynnahu in
humanity’s Last War against the snake-folk of Nag Isle. A time when a
Traveler, Orphan, Survivor, Student, and Lord will set sail to
rediscover the secret of the Elder Song, the last magics of the
Dragonkin.
They are Sakura, whose life is shattered when her
entire family and home island are slaughtered; now orphaned and
homeless, she seeks vengeance. Myrriden, the footsore mage and single
father whose life is busy enough without a war. Emrys, Myrriden’s
nervous son, who is certain he does not have what it takes to be a great
mage like his dad. Volcan Darkrod, the enigmatic Fire Mage who’s past
and powers are a mystery. And Archmage Hoth, the unflappable Leader of
the Cynnahu folk who feels the weight of countless lives on his
shoulders.
Guided by an ancient riddle recently uncovered by the
famed Grey Owl Aneirin, this Team of Five must run a race of swords,
spells, and dusty scrolls. But time is their greatest foe. Will the
courage and wits of two eleven-year-olds and three vastly different
mages be enough to free purposefully hidden secrets from forces
predating human rule in Cynnahu to reunite the scattered Song while
fighting a desperate war on land and sea? Only three things are certain:
the past is not dead, where swords fail scrolls may prevail, and that
humanity stands at the edge of extinction."
I just started Gift of Magic, Book 6 of Lynn Kurland's Novels of the Nine Kingdoms.
Sometimes
the only thing to do is walk opened-eyed into what is likely a trap; in
this case beyond likely seeing as the breadcrumbs leading them are
spell-fragments that, unlike most books of magic, absolutely deserves to
be tossed into the nearest white-hot bonfire. So the questions are who
is leading Ruith and Sarah on this merry chase, and which of the many black mages after Gair of Ceangail's lifework will try to kill them
first? I have a suspicion of course, and Miach's theory must be
considered as well – and there is always the horrible possibility that both are involved – but, regardless, the Nine Kingdoms will not dream easy until this family matter is put to rest.
