Top Five Tuesday – Books that have caused a hangover

A new Top Five Tuesday, the prompts are created by Bionic Book Worm. This weeks topic is what books have given youna hangover, I put a picture of tea as it’s my cure for hangovers (or anything really). I’ve never really thought about book hangovers before, but my definition is not being able to stop thinking about the book and its events, because it’s so emotional so on that basis, here is my list:

1. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by JK Rowling

I remember when I first read this staying up late to finish it and being heartbroken by the ending so then I couldn’t really sleep. It definitely affected me for days, especially knowing that the next book would be completely different because Harry wasn’t going back to Hogwarts.

2. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

The book as a whole is so suspenseful but we have the worst shock towards the end of the book. I was so traumatised but the flash forward at the very end saved me from complete despair, it was so beautiful. But the shock this book gave me stayed with me.

3. A Storm of Swords by George R.R Martin

Three words: The Red Wedding. I will never get over what happened to my babies. I still ugly sob everytime I read that chapter, I re-read the book recently and put off this chapter for days! There are more surprising deaths in the book but this is the part that caused me the most pain.

4. The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton

This book left me in a haze, a good haze. It ends with the knowledge that places hold memories and ghosts sometimes but that doesn’t have to be bad, it might be that someone is looking out for us. My full review is here.

5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling

Saying goodbye to my favourite childhood characters was so tough! Mainly the last half of the book was the most difficult but when I finished reading the epilogue, I remember wondering how Harry’s life was in the nineteen years in between the last chapters.

What are some books that gave you a hangover?

Top Five Tuesday – Bookish Habits

A new Top Five Tuesday, the prompts are created by Bionic Book Worm. This week’s topic is bookish habits, I’ve never really thought about my reading habits before and I’m excited to read other people’s as well.

1. Always use a bookmark

It doesn’t have to be a proper bookmark, cardboard tags work. But I would never be able to remember the page number and folding down the corner of the page will damage the book. I have got a load of back up bookmarks as well just in case I need them!

2. Rarely read in silence

I use music to help me concentrate, I couldn’t watch something on tv and read that would be too confusing but music helps block out other noises, especially when I’m on the train to/from work.

3. Keep my books safe in my bag with a sleeve

My sister got me a sleeve or as I call a sleeping bag for Christmas a couple of years ago and I love it so much. I take a book to work everyday and before I struggled to protect them but now they could be new, it stops the corners bending or fraying, it’s wonderful.

4. Read at work over lunch

I have an hour to kill, I don’t know what else I could do. It lets me escape and helps me be calm for the afternoon if I’ve had a good read. And it allows me to process the book and what I just read better because I have to stop every now and then.

5. I often hug my books when I finish them

If I loved the book or it had an emotional ending, I will give it a hug. Mainly as a thank you and also I feel as if I’m hugging the characters.

Please share some of your bookish habits, I’m really intrigued!

Top Ten Tuesday – Top Ten Couples/Ships

Today’s Top Ten Tuesday topic by thatartsyreadergirl is a Love Freebie so I chose to share my favourite literary couples. Most of my picks are couples but some aren’t canon (yet!). I detest Valentines Day and everything it stands for but I like talking about my favourite ships so here we are!

1. Braime – Brienne of Tarth & Jaime Lannister, A Song of Ice and Fire

These two are so in love, they just don’t know it yet. They start out hating each other, Jaime is Brienne’s prisoner but she has been tasked with taking him safely home. Unfortunately they encounter horrible people along the way, they go through hell together and at the end they have genuine respect for one another. In the fourth book of the series they are apart, but not a chapter of their’s goes by without them thinking of the other. Brienne almost lets herself be executed to save Jaime’s life, Jaime risks everything to protect Brienne and ends up having his right hand chopped off. It’s a classic enemies to friends to lovers relationship, we’re just missing the last part!

“I dreamed of you.” – Jaime on why he went back to save Brienne from Harrenhal.

“In this light she could almost be a beauty, in this light she could almost be a knight.” – Jaime’s thoughts about Brienne.

“She went to sleep dreaming of the fight they’d had, and of Ser Jaime fastening a rainbow cloak around her shoulders.” – Brienne dreaming whilst on her travels to find Sansa.

2. Claire and Jamie Fraser, Outlander

I could not be more in love with these two, they’re so adorable! Their love stretches across time, they meet when Claire is on her honeymoon in Scotland in the 1940s and comes across a magical portal which takes her back in time to 1743. Through the choas of the time they find each other. They love each other so much and I just want them to be happy together but everything keeps getting in the way.

“Does it ever stop? The wanting you? Even when I’ve just left ye. I want you so much my chest feels tight and my fingers ache with wanting to touch ye again.” – Jamie

“I will find you,’ he whispered in my ear. ‘I promise. If I must endure two hundred years of purgatory, two hundred years without you – then that is my punishment, which I have earned for my crimes. For I have lied, and killed, and stolen; betrayed and broken trust. But there is the one thing that shall lie in the balance. When I shall stand before God, I shall have one thing to say, to weigh against the rest.'” – Jamie

“To be with Jamie was bliss, adventure and absorbtion.” – Claire

3. Elizabeth Bennett and Mr Darcy, Pride and Prejudice

My favourite classics couple, I love angst and these two have it in bucket loads. They remind me of Brienne and Jaime in that they don’t realise for ages how much they care about the other person. They meet when Darcy is still arrogant and broody and Elizabeth puts him in his place. Darcy actually realises he was in the wrong and tries to change his behaviour for the better.

“You are too generous to trifle with me. If your feelings are still what they were last April, tell me so at once. My affections and wishes are unchanged; but one word from you will silence me on this subject for ever.” – Mr Darcy

“They walked on, without knowing in what direction. There was too much to be thought, and felt, and said, for attention to any other objects.” – The moment after Elizabeth finally admits her feelings for Darcy.

4. Minuette Wyatt and Dominic Courtenay, The Boleyn Trilogy

The Boleyn King is the beginning of a series in which history is changed and Anne Boleyn gave Henry VIII the son he wanted. Minuette and Dominic are childhood friends of Princess Elizabeth and Prince William. Their relationship is friendship for the most part until something sparks between them. Unfortunately the future king also has romantic feelings for Minuette and if they betray William and tell him of their feelings it could put their lives at risk. But through all the fear and stress of living in a Tudor court, their love sustains.

5. Fleur Delacour and Bill Weasley, Harry Potter

I love these two because everyone doubts them and their love for each other but that’s because they’re incredibly shallow and projected that onto Fleur assuming she was too. Bill and Fleur met at Gringotts Bank where they both worked, Bill has always been a complete individual, and I think Fleur liked that about him. They got married while their world was on the brink of war and fought together to protect their families.

“You thought I would not weesh to marry him? Or per’aps, you ‘oped?’ said Fleur, her nostrils flaring. “What do I care how ‘e looks? I am good-looking enough for both of us, I theenk! All these scars show is zat my husband is brave!” – Fleur after Bill was injured by a Death Eater and Molly assumes she doesn’t want to be with Bill anymore.

“While her radiance usually dimmed everyone else by comparison, today it beautified everybody it fell upon. And once Fleur had reached him, Bill did not look as though he had ever met Fenrir Greyback.” – Bill and Fleur’s wedding

6. Katniss and Peeta, The Hunger Games

My babies! They break my heart! I started shipping them in Catching Fire, the trauma they went through connected them and they were able to comfort and support each other. When they are separated in the last book, it was horrible and Katniss managed to break through Peeta’s conditioning and connect with him again. Their book at the end of the series is one of my favourite things, together they write about their lost friends and tell the stories to their children.

“To this day, I can never shake the connection between this boy, Peeta Mellark, and the bread that gave me hope, and the dandelion that reminded me that I was not doomed.“ – Katniss

“Peeta and I grow back together. There are still moments when he clutches the back of a chair and hangs on until the flashbacks are over. I wake screaming from nightmares of mutts and lost children. But his arms are there to comfort me. And eventually his lips.”

7. Cersei Lannister and Rhaegar Targaryen, A Song of Ice and Fire

A slightly out-there ship as we never see them together in the series. It’s more a pre-asoiaf ship. When Cersei was a child Tywin tried to arrange a marriage for Cersei and Prince Rhaegar but Aerys deemed the match unacceptable. I think Rhaegar would have been a far better match for Cersei than Robert ever was, we know that he was kind, creative and melancholic. If it had come to war for the Targaryens against the North and Stormlands then with the help of the Lannisters they would have won. More than that I think Cersei would have been much happier and really that’s all I care about!

“However bright a torch might burn, it could never match the rising sun.“ – Kevan Lannister wondering what would have happened if Cersei had married Rhaegar.

“Had any man ever been so beautiful? He was more than a man, though. His blood was the blood of old Valyria, the blood of dragons and gods.” – Cersei remembering Rhaegar

8. Lucette Courtenay and Julian Le Clerc, The Virgin’s Daughter

Lucie is the daughter of Minuette and Dominic who I spoke about earlier. Her and her siblings have grown up close to court and Elizabeth’s daughter Annabel. Lucie wants to escape and is tasked with spying on a dangerous French Catholic movement. She stays with the Le Clerc’s who have ties to her parents and both the brothers are suspects. But Lucie doesn’t know that Julian is also working for the English. At first they don’t like each other, but as they start to work together they realise their attraction and affection for each other.

“I want to be undone by you. I want to be the one to come to pieces in your arms, to forget there is anything in this world but the two of us.”

9. Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, Harry Potter

Possibly controversial but I thought these two would end up together. Ron and Hermione used to argue constantly but Harry and Hermione cared for each other and supported each other always. I have nothing against Ron, I just didn’t get it!

“Hermione turned around and beamed at Harry; her eyes too were full of tears.” – When Fleur and Bill are saying their vows Hermione turns to look at Harry.

“Hermione raised her wand, moved it in a circle through the air, and a wreath of Christmas roses blossomed before them. Harry caught it and laid it on his parent’s grave. He put his arm around Hermione’s shoulders, and she put hers around his waist, they turned in silence and walked away through the snow, past Dumbledore’s mother and sister, back toward the dark church and the out-of-sight kissing gate.” – Hermione knows what Harry is thinking before he even mentions flowers, this is one of the most emotional and beautiful scenes in the books.

10. Anne Elliot and Frederick Wentworth, Persuasion

Another classics couple with angst! At the beginning of the book Anne hear’s Frederick’s name for the first time in years. She rejected his proposal some time ago and has come to regret it, they meet again when Frederick rents her family home and the sparks are still there. Like I said earlier, I love angst and because Frederick is still upset there is a lot of it.

“I can listen no longer in silence. I must speak to you by such means as are within my reach. You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone for ever. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own than when you almost broke it, eight years and a half ago.” – Captain Frederick Wentworth

Top Five Tuesday – Most Anticipated Books For 2020

A new Top Five Tuesday, the prompts are created by Bionic Book Worm. This week’s topic is the books published this year that I’m most looking forward to reading. There are lots to choose from but here are my favourites:

1. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

Publication date: May 2020

This is another book set in Panem but this story starts with the tenth Hunger Games. I had no idea this was happening and I’m so excited!

2. Katheryn Howard: The Scandalous Queen by Alison Weir

Publication date: May 2020

This will be the fifth book in Weir’s Tudor Queen series. The other books in the series are so detailed, I felt like I knew the queens so much better than before so I’m really looking forward to reading Kitty’s story.

3. Dark and Deepest Red by Anne-Marie McLemore

Publication date: January 2020

The book is set in the 1500s and surrounds the dancing fever that spread through Strasbourg. This phenomenon has fascinated me for ages ever since I listened to the Hysteria podcast and they did an episode on it. People literally danced until they collapsed or died, there was no music and the ‘fever’ spread rapidly. The book is fictional but I love historical fiction!

4. The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner

Publication date: May 2020

This is based on a true story and set just after WWII, Jane Austen’s house is still owned by her remaining relatives but they are struggling to keep the estate going. A group of disparate individuals come together to preserve both Jane Austen’s home and her legacy. These people; a laborer, a young widow, the local doctor, and a movie star, among others, could not be more different and yet they are united in their love for the works and words of Austen. It sounds like such a wholesome book and Jane Austen’s house isn’t that far from where I live, it’s lovely there.

5. Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy

Publication date: August 2020

Set in the future, this book follows the journey of some of the world’s last birds and the woman who is chasing them. Franny arrives in remote Greenland with one purpose: to find the world’s last flock of Arctic terns and follow them on their final migration. This sounds so beautiful and sad and the premise reminds me of one of my favourite childhood films Fly Away Home.

Day of the Dead by Nicci French Review

“Everything that happens to you becomes part of you. It’s like what you eat. You metabolize it.”

This is the last book in the Frieda Klein series, I am sad that it’s finished but my goodness this was a thrilling end.

It had an interesting beginning, Frieda is on the run but strange crimes are happening in London. Then we meet Lola, a criminology student hoping to write her thesis on Frieda. But of course she can’t find her so she goes walking as Frieda used and accidentally stumbles upon the most dangerous man in London. Lola finds Frieda by chance and goes into hiding with her. Lola is quite naive she hasn’t grasped the severity of the situation. They are both in danger from a man who has committed several murders over the years of this series and has never been caught by the police.

Frieda can sense that the end is nearly here, either she will die or Dean will be caught. She has lost so much all she wants is for this horror to be over, she can’t stand the thought of her friends being in danger anymore which is why she is on the run. The pace of the story is so quick that it makes it almost impossible to put the book down. I was gripped until the last page, waiting for another twist.

“There was a quality to her stillness that felt dangerous as if she might burst into flames.”

My Top Five Reads of 2019

It is almost the end of the year so I thought I would pick my favourite reads from 2019! It’s been my first full year of running this blog which has been really fun, I might try and post more next year.

1. Fire and Blood by George R.R. Martin

I am fascinated by the history of Westeros and the Targaryens are the most interesting of them all. It is written like a history book but is still just as gripping as ASOIAF. I can’t wait for the second part to be published!

2. The Storm Sister by Lucinda Riley

This is the second book in the series and we follow Ally on her journey of discovery to Norway. I loved reading about Norway and some of its history and Ally is such a strong character, I really connected with her.

3. The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye by David Lagercrantz

I love the Millennium series, Lisbeth Salander is one of my favourite characters ever, she’s so complex and badass. This is the fifth book in the series and at the beginning we find Lisbeth in prison. She’s only there for a few months but she finds out that as a child she was almost involved in a experiment carried out on twins. They separated twin children and put them into families with different wealth and status. As always Mikael and Lisbeth investigate and get into serious danger!

4. Tangerine by Christine Mangan

Tangerine is set in the 1950’s in Tangier, Morocco. We meet Alice first, she followed her husband to Tangier but has struggled with the city. The stifling heat and the crowds cause her to panic. Then an old school friend arrives out of the blue and brings back dark memories. I loved how strange all the relationships were and then we were gradually told the reasons why, very well written.

5.Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett

My favourite Discworld books are probably the City Watch ones, in this story a cult of bitter citezens try to summon a dragon to attack the city. Dragons haven’t been seen for hundreds of years, but somehow they manage it. The City Watch consists of only a handful people, they are not respected by anyone and the laws are so corrupt that normally they barely have to do anything, but with the threat of the dragon they must step up. Witty, engaging and bonkers as always.

There they all are, Happy New Year everyone!

End of the Decade – My Favourite Books from the Past Ten Years!

It is so strange to think we are at the end of the 2010s, it’s been a pretty dodgy decade in many respects but I have read some fantastic books! Most of the books weren’t published in the last 10 years but it’s when I discovered them.

1. A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin

The fullness and complexity of these books and the characters has kept me coming back to it, I’ve read the first three books a few times already. The more you read it the more in depth you see the story. I am so happy I’ve found ASOIAF, even if it does make me cry a lot!

2. Dominion by C.J Sansom

The book is set in the 1950s in Britain except the Nazis have taken over, we never fought them. It is one of the most terrifying and genius books I’ve ever read. It felt so real, I was so distressed! Our main character works for the government and is unhappy with the changes taking place so he joins the freedom movement lead by Winston Churchill. He feeds them important files but then he gets involved with protecting a Jewish scientist who has been locked in an asylum. If the Nazis find out where he is, the world is doomed. I strongly recommend this book, it’s incredible.

3. The Millennium series by Stieg Larsson and David Lagercrantz

This series is so brilliant and dark, it’s terrifying at moments but it always comes back to the characters and how genius they are. Lisbeth who has had to fight her whole life against truly evil people who are still out to get her and Mikael who thrives on exposing conspiracies, which has got him into trouble a few times.

4. The Book Thief by Markus Zukos

Just genius, narrated by Death as he tells us about his run-ins with Liesel as she discovers her love of reading. Her foster father teaches her to read, soon she is stealing books from Nazi book burnings. Liesel lives in Germany during WWII and her world is made more dangerous when her foster family hide a Jewish man in their cellar. This is one of the best books I’ve ever read, I’d never read a book that centred around the innocent German people during WWII before and this was written superbly.

5. The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins

These books have so many important themes about corruption and controlling governments and its such a chilling premise, children fighting to the death for the entertainment of the elite. As a reader it made me have a good look at our own media and how toxic it can be. Aside from that the characters are real and flawed and I love them.

6. Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

This book is one of my favourites ever! It’s like my dream book with past lives/WWII but it’s better than anything I could have imagined. We follow Ursula through her life from birth to her many different deaths. In each life different choices are made. It’s such a magical book and so different from everything I had read from Kate Atkinson before, I’m so glad I found it!

7. The Long Earth series by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter

Sci-fi heaven, one day on Earth, hundreds of children disappeared at once, they moved to a parallel world with a devise that had gone viral on the internet. Soon adults realised what was happening and humanity was changed forever. Humanity spread out into the connected worlds where we made new homes for ourselves. In my favourite book of the series, scientists found a way to reach Mars and found its own string of parallels.

8. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

This book is about Esther Greenwood’s struggle with mental health, Esther has moved to New York to try and be a journalist but soon finds herself breaking down. It is so powerful and such an important book, I’m very glad I read it.

9. The Power by Naomi Alderman

Just epic! Through some strange evolution young girls suddenly gain the power to channel electricity through their hands. They can shock others, hurt them and kill them. They can also release the gift in older women. A shift is happening, no longer are men more powerful. The book follows different young women and one young man on their journeys through this fascinating time. But is life better under woman’s rule or are all humans inherently corrupt?

10. The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton

I love this book so much! I read it this summer and fell in love with it. It’s a story about time and how precious stories are. How houses can hold memories forever but not always in a bad way, Birchwood Manor is a place of safety and comfort.

There we are, bring on the 2020s and all the books they will bring!

A Song of Ice and Fire Re-Read – A Clash of Kings

This will contain spoilers for A Clash of Kings so read on with caution!

This is one of my favourite in the series. The way George describes the war torn country is chilling, in fantasy we often read or see the glory of the battles but not the effects they have on the people left behind. The Riverlands are burning, it’s people rounded up and brutally killed. Arya gets captured by a group of vile men determined to get their hands on gold or the illusive Beric Dondarion who was sent out by Ned Stark to capture the Mountain and is still continuing his quest.

Tyrion had the most chapters in this book which is lucky because his were definitely my favourites. He is either making me laugh or cry, there is no in between! Tyrion and Cersei’s relationship is so complicated, I absolutely love reading them sass each other and try to out do the other. They’re both as dramatic as each other. But ultimately Tyrion worked hard to protect King’s Landing in this book, he was never thanked for it but he saved the city.

The Battle of Blackwater is one of the most epic and chilling sequences in ASOIAF, we flick between Davos, Tyrion and Sansa to get the full view of the battle. I of course was rooting for King’s Landing because half my favourites are in there and Stannis is the worst! I forgot how arrogant and pathetic he was until I read these chapters. He’s convinced he is the Azor Ahai, a prophecy that claims this man will come to save Westeros in its darkest hour. This is hardly our darkest hour for starters and you can’t rule your way out of a paper bag Stannis, face it, no one likes you, no one respects you and using magic to kill your own brother does nothing to help you. That’s probably why I hate him the most, Renly was a sassy gem, I miss him!

One of the most important chapters was when Daenerys visited the House of the Undying. She went there to secure funds for some ships but ended up seeing visions of the past and future. There is so much in there; Dany sees here old childhood home with the red door, she witnesses her father sitting on the Iron Throne calling to “burn them all.” One of the most important visions that we only now know the meaning of now is the Red Wedding *shudders*. Dany sees her brother Rhaegar and his wife Elia after the birth of their son, Rhaegar names his son Aegon and declares he is the prince that was promise, but he wants another child because “the dragon has three heads.” There were many more but my other favourite was a blue flower growing from a chink in a wall of ice (our boy Jon!)

On my kill list: Stannis Baratheon, Melisandre, Theon Greyjoy, all the Iron Born, Joffrey Baratheon, Tywin Lannister, Gregor Clegane and everyone working with him and Littlefinger.

Let me protect them: Arya, Sansa, Jon, Tyrion, Jaime, Cersei, Catelyn, Brienne, Bran and the smallfolk of Westeros.

Favourite dynamic: Cersei and Tyrion – although they don’t really get on at all, they’re constantly paranoid that the other person has the upper hand. But honestly together they are so funny, they’re both clever and brilliant at living life in the capital (i.e bribing and manipulating people) if they teamed up they would be unstoppable. There is one moment where Cersei truly shows her affection for Tyrion when they learn that Stannis went to attack Storm’s End, it is such a lovely moment. “They laughed together. Cersei pulled him off the bed and whirled him around and even hugged him. For a moment as giddy as a girl. Is this the Cersei that Jaime sees? When she smiled, you saw how beautiful she truly was.”

Favourite death: Stannis’ hopes and dreams – *evil laugh* when he lost at the Battle of Blackwater he barely left his chambers for weeks, you can’t magic your way out of that one can you! He was an arrogant fool and his army paid the price. My favourite bit of the aftermath is that the soilders swear they saw Renly’s ghost fighting against Stannis, that’s karma!

Favourite quotes: “There are ghosts everywhere. We carry them with us wherever we go.” – Jorah Mormont

“The gods don’t care about men, no more than kings care about peasants.” – Brienne of Tarth

“Love is poison, a sweet poison, yes, but it will kill you all the same.” – Cersei Lannister

“I think it passing odd that I am loved by one for a kindness I never did and reviled by so many for my finest act.” – Jaime Lannister

Who I actually want to win the war of the Five Kings: I would have loved Renly and Robb to form an alliance, Robb could rule the North and Riverlands and Renly the rest. But as much as I hate Joffrey, I wouldn’t want the other Lannisters to die so…awkward.

Most heartbreaking deaths: Renly Baratheon – I think it’s so sad because of all the potential that Renly had, yes his claim to the throne wasn’t strong but to be killed by magic, a literal stab in the back by his own brother, it was so awful. Also he’s one of the few gay characters in the series and Loras’ heartbreak at losing his boyfriend was too much. Also Brienne who was also in love with Renly saw him murdered before her eyes but could do nothing, if Catelyn hadn’t been there Brienne would have been left in the pavilion, in shock and sobbing at the death of her king. Luckily Catelyn saw the danger they were in and ran.

Maester Luwin – I mean the entire destruction of Winterfell was awful but when Bran and Rickon find Maester Luwin dying in the Godswood it’s so sad. This man helped raise all the Stark children and when Ned and Catelyn left he became another parent to the boys. He was such a kind and wise man, he did not deserve to die in such a way. When the boys leave him they are leaving behind their childhood and any happy memories that they have from it.

I have started A Storm of Swords already and it’s already making me cry! What are your thoughts on A Clash of Kings?

Nightflyers and Other Stories by George R.R. Martin Review

“Man invents gods because we’re afraid of being alone, scared of an empty universe, scared of the darkling plain.”

I can hardly put into words how brilliant this collection of stories is. My favourite type of story are ones that look at the depths of humanity, our drives and flaws. All these stories are set in our future on alien planets or deep in space and yet we are still the same, still so flawed and desperate to find something better.

Nightflyers

An obsessed scientist hires a ship and a crew to take him to an alien ship that he has dremaed of seeing for most of his life. The Volcryn have never made contact with any other race, they are almost as old as the universe and appear to have been fleeing from it for eternity. They travel far away from civilisation on purpose? No one knows.

But their ship has other ideas, their captain stays sealed in his chambers, watching them, only communicating with the humans through a hologram.

This story was creepy and engaging, I really enjoyed it. The whole concept is very clever. Some of the members of the crew were telepathic/psychic and throughout the other stories humans crop up who have those abilities, I really like the idea that we evolve to be able to read minds etc.

“But now the darkness woke in the room, a holoscope coming to life, cold black and stars everywhere, points of icy unwinking brilliance, no up and no down and no direction, the floating control sphere the only feature in the simulated sea of night.”

Override

We find ourselves in Grotto, a quiet world that humans have settled on and discovered the rare jewels that lie in its caves. We meet some of the miners who don’t have to mine themselves because they have corpses to do it for them, they control the dead and put them work. It took me a little while to get used to the premise of this story but Martin has a way of describing things that puts you so fully in the narrative you can’t possibly question it.

A really interesting tale about the greed of humanity and how we will always find ways to divide us.

Weekend In A War Zone

This one really messed me up! On Earth there has been no war for over fifty years. Brilliant, well done us…except there are corporate get away weekends for people who want to experience war, who want to kill others. Real people, they pay to kill people. Extreme paintballing.

And Seven Times Never Kill Man

This story shows the evil of humanity, we colonise, we slaughter and we destroy what we fear. We have invaded an alien planet and instead of living peacefully with the Jaenshi people that live there we a fighting them.

The Jaenshi are a peaceful people, they worship their gods at their pyramids. They spend hours praying and asking for guidance on any decisions they must make. When one tribe fight back against the humans, they are punished, their children slaughtered, their pyramids destroyed.

This story was a tough read, it made me so angry and upset. But we continue to do this on our own world, I hope we never reach any others because we would be as awful as this story depicts.

Nor the Many-Coloured Fires of a Star Ring

In the depths of space scientists discovered a gap in the universe, the reverse of a black hole perhaps? They created technology to open the gap, on the other side is a void, no stars just darkness. Still they build a base and investigate. For Kerin this trip is exciting, his girlfriend is the scientist who has lead the research and he gets to accompany her on the adventure. At his heart he is a poet but he enjoys his work, sending out the probes to see into the nothingness. But Kerin starts to get affected by the void, he curls in on himself. The way it was described sounded like he had depression, Kerin blamed his proximity to the void, he started worrying about the probes he was sending out he could hear them screaming into the darkness.

“Outside the window the stormfires raged on. The view filled an entire wall in the monitoring room, a tapestry of ever-moving flame, a flowing pattern of liquid light of every colour and shape.”

A Song for Lya

This one is probably my favourite, it’s so beautiful. It’s set on a world older than ours, with a people older than humanity but they have never progressed like we have, their technology isn’t sophisticated. But they are happy and young and free. Why? Because they are ruled by on organism who feeds on them and eventually kills them as soon as they reach fifty years of age. The Shkeen’s religion is based on the Unity that they gain upon their death.

Humans have lived alongside the Shkeen for a number of years but they have started to have an alarming number of converts to their strange religion. Robb and Lyanna are both gifted telepaths. Lyanna can read people’s thoughts and Robb can read their emotions. They have been asked to help find out why so many humans are essentially killing themselves by joining this religion.

I really enjoyed seeing this world through Lya and Robb’s eyes. I love what George did with this story, I won’t give it all away but it’s so profound.

“How much can human beings know each other? Aren’t all of them cut off really? Each alone in a big dark empty universe? We only trick ourselves when we think someone else is there. In the end, in the cold lonely end, it’s only us, by ourselves, in the blackness.”

I know I’ve mentioned it a lot but George is a genius and I just can’t get over how incredible he is!

Sunday Morning Coming Down by Nicci French Review

“If there’s a wasp in the room, you’d rather know where it is.”

In the penultimate novel in the Freida Klein series we dive straight into the action. At the end of the sixth book Frieda has just discovered a dead body under her floor, she had sent this man to track down her stalker and this was his response.

Things only get worse for Frieda and her friends, the book was fast paced which definitely made it more addictive. Frieda’s niece was abducted for a weekend and found in a graveyard, still alive but with no memory of the past days. She was unharmed apart from the drugs that had been injected into her system.

The police are at a loss, but still it keeps getting worse. It appears that Frieda’s stalker who the police thought was dead now has a copycat who is escalating his attacks.

I felt so awful for all of these lovely characters who we’ve got to know over the series, they are all so different but they’ve all gravitated towards Frieda for different reasons, she is the heart of the group but that has put them all in grave danger.

As a reader we also get an insight into the copycat’s mind. Nicci French has always been good at getting into the minds of their sociopathic characters, and this one was no exception, it is both fascinating and terrifying!

I really enjoyed this book and I am excited to read the final book except I hate endings!