When Michelle Paver announced a continuation trilogy ten years after Ghost Hunter ‘ended’ the series in 2010, I had concerns that it would slip into what I’ve come to term ‘Cursed Child’ syndrome - when an author tries to continue a series years after its end and it ends up feeling like fan fiction. Is this series objectively better than some of the literary masterpieces I’ve read over the years? Probably not, yet I’d still rank it above most of those classics. I think everyone has books like that, though: the ones that seem as though they were written specifically for you, that speak to your interests and passions and contain worlds you can entirely lose yourself in. In a way it sculpted who I am as both a reader and writer, and as such I’m aware that rose-tinted glasses is an understatement. I suppose I should start with a disclaimer that I’m pretty much incapable of being objective with this series I first discovered the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness in primary school and it was the first series that I fell in love with.
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Now the airmen’s slack ways are finally working on him and he’s learning to have fun. He was such an uptight stick in the mud that he wasn’t much fun in the first book. Laurence has finally learned to loosen up. But I mostly accepted it and just read this for a good yarn. Don’t ask me why I’m willing to believe that a dragon can fly around with a crew of something like 15-20 men running around on his back, but I draw the line at this. It’s not supposed to be funny, but I find the whole idea so ludicrous that it’s funny to me. Temeraire’s special fighting ability continues to crack me up. Novik came up with this whole different dragon culture that fit in with my vague ideas of Chinese culture. It was really cool to read about how the dragons and people interact in China. All of that was mostly pretty interesting, but the best part was the part that takes place in China–only the last third of the book. The whole point is supposed to be resolving this conflict, but most of the book is taken up with the journey. But it was such fun filler that I didn’t really mind. To resolve the issue, Laurence, Temeraire, their flight crew and a diplomatic delegation are sent on a journey to China. The Chinese people are not happy when they find out that Temeraire is a mere captain’s pet and he’s being used to wage war on France. Temeraire was meant to be a gift from the Chinese emperor to Emperor Napoleon. Captain Will Laurence and his dragon, Temeraire–or is it the other way around?–are in something of a bind. Rich in detail and spanning more than three decades, this is an essential addition to our understanding of how the West was really won. Blood and Thunder: An Epic of the American West Audible Audiobook Unabridged Hampton Sides (Author), Don Leslie (Narrator), & 1 more 4,686 ratings See all formats and editions Kindle 9.99 Read with Our Free App Audiobook 0. Blood And Thunder: An Epic of the American West Paperback Import, Maby Hampton Sides (Author) 4,726 ratings See all formats and editions Kindle 15.99 Read with Our Free App Audiobook 0.00 Free with your Audible trial Hardcover 27.31 Other new, used and collectible from 3. Sides shows us how this illiterate mountain man understood and respected the Western tribes better than any other American, yet willingly followed orders that would ultimately devastate the Navajo nation. Fueled by the new ideology of "Manifest Destiny," this land grab would lead to a decades-long battle between the United States and the Navajos, the fiercely resistant rulers of a huge swath of mountainous desert wilderness.Īt the center of this sweeping tale is Kit Carson, the trapper, scout, and soldier whose adventures made him a legend. In the summer of 1846, the Army of the West marched through Santa Fe, en route to invade and occupy the Western territories claimed by Mexico. NATIONAL BESTSELLER - From the author of Ghost Soldiers comes a magnificent history of the American conquest of the West-"a story full of authority and color, truth and prophecy" ( The New York Times Book Review). Published in 2001, Blood and Thunder: An Epic of the American West is a narrative history of the turbulent period from the 1800s to the 1860s, the settling of the American West. When she discovers that Dylan, the class nerd, has massive artistic talent, she invites him over to her place to take part in an experiment.ĭylan is so friendless, he's a pushover to persuade. To test her theory, she's been on the lookout for someone who can draw quite well. She thinks it would be possible - perhaps through some combination of telepathy and access to Jung's 'collective unconscious' to observe the past, not much differently to seeing the present. Juniper has a theory she's always wanted to test: that time in not linear but part of an eternal NOW. The relationship between Dylan and Juniper is far from normal. She, by contrast, has many - including a handsome boyfriend in the seventh form. His homework suffers and he's always getting detentions. He's also got the washing, ironing and other domestic chores to do. When his mother abruptly abandons them, Dylan has to step up and mind his twin sister. Dylan's mother, on the other hand, is a wounded, broken woman who is about to leave because his underemployed father is having an affair. Juniper's mother has a house full of light and imaginative touches as well as a boyfriend who lives in a gypsy caravan. Their home lives couldn't be more different. She's also manipulative.ĭylan is creative, artistic, withdrawn, nerdish and desperately lonely. Juniper is beautiful, brilliant, bubbling with vitality, buoyant with theories about life and immensely popular at school. His extant works, including some collaborations, consist of about 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few other verses, the authorship of some of which is uncertain. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon". William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616) was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. It was published in 1898, based on the article contributed to the Dictionary of National Biography. This book was one of the first major biographies of the Bard of Avon. Life of William Shakespeare is a biography of William Shakespeare by the eminent critic Sidney Lee. Don Pedro's bastard brother, Don John, provides the intrigue, and the dimwitted constable Dogberry provides the laughs. These youthful lovers are contrasted with the more experienced Benedick and Beatrice, who have to be tricked into falling in love. The dashing young Claudio falls for Hero, the daughter of Leonato, governor of Messina, and his friend Don Pedro helps him secure her affection. The men are back from the war, and everyone is ready for romance. Written around the middle of his career (15), Much Ado About Nothing is one of Shakespeare's great festive comedies. Why make it easy for him? That was one kind of work you could say no to." But after being viciously attacked by a sadistic farmer, she agrees to light out with Caesar under the cover of darkness, destined for a station on the Underground Railroad. When Cora is approached by another slave, Caesar, about escaping from the plantation, she initially demurs: "White man trying to kill you slow every day, and sometimes trying to kill you fast. She remembers every horrible incident, even - especially - the ones she'd rather forget: "There was an order of misery, misery tucked inside miseries, and you were meant to keep track." In her time on the Randall farm in Georgia, she's been worked to the point of sickness, beaten, raped, forced to watch her fellow slaves tortured to death. The protagonist of Colson Whitehead's The Underground Railroad is a slave on the plantation where her grandmother, Ajarry, died while picking cotton, and her mother, Mabel, escaped from years ago. How?Įditor's note: This review contains language some may find offensiveĬora is 16, maybe 17 she's not quite sure. Your purchase helps support NPR programming. Close overlay Buy Featured Book Title The Underground Railroad Author Colson Whitehead Sorry to ramble on - I can never resist a chance to share admired books. In the young people’s division, kudos goes to Lloyd Alexander’s Prydain series, and C.S. Garth Nix Old Kingdom Series 4 Books Collection Set (Sabriel, Lirael, Abhorsen, Clariel) Goodreads reviews for Garth Nix Old Kingdom Series 4 Books Collection. There’s something to be said for Kathryn Kurtz’s Deryni books, though they may not be quite the epic you have in mind Elizabeth Moon’s The Deed of Paksenarrion Sheri Tepper’s weird but fascinating True Game series Roger Zelazny’s Chronicles of Amber (epic in their own way) Robin McKinley’s The Hero and the Crown and The Blue Sword and various treatments of the Arthurian legends (I have a pair of old blog posts describing those). I assume you’ve already read LotR, since that’s THE seminal epic fantasy (of the modern era). I read The Sword of Shannara, but it seemed so complete a rip-off of The Lord of the Rings that I never went any further. From the above list, I’d endorse The Wheel of Time - though it’s REALLY long and unfathomably complicated and the Dragonriders of Pern (though it’s actually science fiction, not fantasy it just feels like fantasy). Divine soon meets Sean, who gives her all the love and attention she doesn’t receive at home. Her newfound freedom takes her out of her home and into a world of desire, where Divine loses sight of her faith as she searches for a love to fill the deep emptiness that won't go away.ĭarion, a man who had supported and helped her through a time of loss, seemed to have been perfect for Divine, but later on their relationship becomes strained and she finds herself feeling neglected and unappreciated again. She endures the pain and suffering with the help of her faith, until a life changing family secret is revealed.Ĭlosed-off and broken down, Divine was uncertain of her next step until a sweet friend and admirer, Darion, influences her to finally leave the hurt behind and start fresh. It's a riveting, heart-warming story about a woman's journey in life.ĭivine Wilkinson is a young girl longing to break away from the strict, abusive hands of her father-a man of God who's adored by everyone on the outside. Hope Divine Tan Morgan, The Perfect Match (Ringside Romance) (Volume 1)Pat White, Dear Bronx ZooAltman & Goldberg, Transnational Civil Society Coalitions And The World Bank: Lessons From Project And Policy Influence Campaigns (Working Paper Series / Hauser Center For Nonprofit Organizations)L. How can we make intelligent decisions about our increasingly technology-driven lives if we don’t understand the difference between the myths of pseudoscience and the testable hypotheses of science? Pulitzer Prize-winning author and distinguished astronomer Carl Sagan argues that scientific thinking is critical not only to the pursuit of truth but to the very well-being of our democratic institutions.Ĭasting a wide net through history and culture, Sagan examines and authoritatively debunks such celebrated fallacies of the past as witchcraft, faith healing, demons, and UFOs. From the first page to the last, this book is a manifesto for clear thought.”- Los Angeles Times A prescient warning of a future we now inhabit, where fake news stories and Internet conspiracy theories play to a disaffected American populace Pandemic lockdowns have Ruth Galloway feeling isolated from everyone but a new neighbor-until Nelson comes calling, investigating a decades-long string of murder-suicides that is looming ever closer. The Last Remains: A Mystery (Ruth Galloway Mysteries #15) (Hardcover): The Night Hawks: A Mystery (Ruth Galloway Mysteries #13) (Paperback): The Lantern Men: A Mystery (Ruth Galloway Mysteries #12) (Paperback): The Stone Circle: A Mystery (Ruth Galloway Mysteries #11) (Paperback): The Dark Angel: A Mystery (Ruth Galloway Mysteries #10) (Paperback): The Chalk Pit: A Mystery (Ruth Galloway Mysteries #9) (Paperback): The Woman In Blue: A Mystery (Ruth Galloway Mysteries #8) (Paperback): The Ghost Fields: A Mystery (Ruth Galloway Mysteries #7) (Paperback): The Outcast Dead: A Mystery (Ruth Galloway Mysteries #6) (Paperback): The House At Sea's End: A Mystery (Ruth Galloway Mysteries #3) (Paperback):Ī Room Full Of Bones: A Ruth Galloway Mystery (Ruth Galloway Mysteries #4) (Paperback):Ī Dying Fall: A Mystery (Ruth Galloway Mysteries #5) (Paperback): The Janus Stone: A Mystery (Ruth Galloway Mysteries #2) (Paperback): The Crossing Places: The First Ruth Galloway Mystery (Ruth Galloway Mysteries #1) (Paperback): This is book number 14 in the Ruth Galloway Mysteries series. |