... " So you stand in the darkest winter of your life, Warrior. And so you must dig deep to find the warmth and the strength that will he*** 4 ***
... " So you stand in the darkest winter of your life, Warrior. And so you must dig deep to find the warmth and the strength that will help you survive the bitter cold and the terrible darkness. No longer do you have the bloom of spring or the vigor of summer. You must find the strength you need in your heart, in your soul. Then, like the Vallenwoods, you will grow once more. "...
These Adventure Fantasy books are very nostalgic! They remind me of the time I fell in love with the genre and related to Tasslehoff, full of adventurous spirit and mischief Kender. It is very interesting to return to these books now, many years later, and see I still adore Tess, but I relate to the broken down, again, let his body go and having no control of his life aging warrior, Caramon. Man, do I wish I could still be that full of vigor and adventure Kender, and not have lived through things that have made me more like Caramon... But life leaves its imprint on all of us to some degree and we try to fight for the light we cradle deep in our souls, so it would shine through us as we keep on going! ✨...more
This deserves the high rating not only for the freshly humorous heist story, but for the perfection of narration of the Audiobook!!! It is*** 4.75 ***
This deserves the high rating not only for the freshly humorous heist story, but for the perfection of narration of the Audiobook!!! It is delightful and her timing is right on point, but the juels of the book are the moments when the main character, who has been the voice over actor for a couple of popular Disney - like animation films, belts the popular songs of said movies! This voice and this author are a marriage made in heaven ❤️❤️❤️...more
Don't read too much into my rating. When it comes to G. A. Aiken while writing in the Dragon Kin Universe, I am completely unreliable as a*** 4.75 ***
Don't read too much into my rating. When it comes to G. A. Aiken while writing in the Dragon Kin Universe, I am completely unreliable as a reviewer. I am in love with the crazy characters, constant absurd situations, and rude and irreverent banter in between, so I am bound to get overly excited every time a new book comes out and I get to be entertained by this, what my friends and I decided to call it, Absurd Fantasy! ...more
Moody, Dark, Emotional, Devastating at times, and so, so very good!!!
"“I did not for one moment long to be alone; in fact, my loneliness was as muMoody, Dark, Emotional, Devastating at times, and so, so very good!!!
"“I did not for one moment long to be alone; in fact, my loneliness was as much a prison as this brig is. I simply longed for someone who would let me be as I wished to be.”"
I liked the first book, but I thought the author had some issues with pacing and a ton of world building, which was understandable, since he was introducing us to a very ugly world, harsh and unforgiving, where women are revered for having healthy children, and men who are able to father children without flaws are given desired positions, as long as they keep trying to father such on other proven women... The majority of people are crippled from birth, or if, as in the case of our protagonist Joron T, the mother dies at birth, they are considered low class and undesirable, never given a chance to rise above their birth. The world is mostly ocean, and people live on scattered islands, with the two major unions of such islands being constantly at war. The way they wager war and have commerce is by ships. The biggest, best ships are built with the bones of long extinct water dragons. But those big ships are now old and it seems with their disintegration, the never ending war might be coming to an end. This is what Joron and his crew want most of all. However, it seems some of those long lost water dragons seem to be awakening from a deep sleep, and both sides would do anything to be able to kill them and harvest their bones again for their ships. Only it turns out this is not easy to do, and a horrible recipe might be the only way.
Only our crew is not going to stand for it. And a race to discover what exactly is going on and stop it ensues...
""Worry only about tomorrow, and the day after. Think not on the day after that for we fly a ship of the dead, and the Hag calls us all. To plan far ahead is to ask for the Maiden to thwart all you are. We live in the now. We fight for what we believe is right. We can do nothing else.”"
This was a much better structured book than the first, and I couldn't put it down, as much as the author hurt my heart in numerous occasions... It put me through the wringer and set up for the third and final book, which has me wanting to grab it right away, but I will be strong and give myself some time to process and put some distance by reading some fluffy and light books, because we need to take care of our mental health, right? ...more
I just finished this enchanting first book in a trilogy and I am very interested in knowing what happens in the story. I like the writing *** 3.39 ***
I just finished this enchanting first book in a trilogy and I am very interested in knowing what happens in the story. I like the writing and I love the world and the dragons. I really, really wish she had edited more heavily, it could have been at least a 100 pages shorter. Love the Egyptian influence and the hot sandy ecosystem in which the dragons feel most comfortable. As always, I love how well the author portraits the horrors of war.
I also feel, and I can't believe I am saying this, because usually just the opposite is my complaint, that our very young hero acts waaaaaaayyyy above his years. I know harsh childhood can accelerate maturity very fast, but in this case, our 12-13 years old kid speaks at times as a counselor for adults who attend college, or as a student of psychology, who is wrestling with his own failings... And this is a kid, who has had no schooling, nor any adults guiding him since he was 5... Not very congruent...
However, the story is still very intriguing and leads the reader to the desire of more! ...more
…“Well than try giving it some thought, why don’t you? Apply that finely tutored mind of yours to all those bullshit hero-with-a-high-dest*** 3.75 ***
…“Well than try giving it some thought, why don’t you? Apply that finely tutored mind of yours to all those bullshit hero-with-a-high-destiny legends you people are so fucking fond of telling one another. You really think, in a mudball slaughterhouse of a world like this, where war and privation harden whole populations to inhuman brutality and ignorance, where the ruling classes dedicate their sons to learning the science of killing men the way they consign their daughters to breeding till they crack--you really think the gods of a world like that have got no better thing to do with their time than take some random piece of lowborn trash and spend long years carving him into shape for a cat’s-paw?”...
This is the second book of a trilogy, which I would describe as a dark fantasy with Sci-Fi elements. It is a world with its own wars, slavery, aliens who had come and protected humanity, but then had left and are possibly all dead, versions of Eldridge Folks, both Dark and Light Courts, possible dragons and derivatives as lizard folks, and some really screwed up medieval-like world, but with cyborg-like hybrid AIs... I find the ideas in the story very compelling and interesting, but when you add a whole another reality, called The Gray Places, where time can jump back and forth, the cohesiveness of the narrative becomes shaky and confusing not only for our heroes, but for the reader as well...
Once again, we have an author who has embraced a rougher language and doesn't hold back with what is done to slaves, or how those who have been in prolonged war environment, fighting and killing for their survival on daily basis, have a hard time going back to the life of a regular civilian. I guess this could be considered by some as a work belonging to the Grim Fantasy genre, since the characters are of the gray variety, with as many virtues as failings, and at times in complete opposition of what we expect from our protagonists. However, it differs in some ways, because it doesn't dwell as much on bleakness and hopelessness, and despite its darker mood and antiheroes, it still feels like there could be a light at the end of the tunnel... Also, two of our three main characters are gay. Well, one is a lesbian and the other is gay, and we do get couple of same sex scenes, which, at least for me, was a first in this genre, and I am all for it! Actually, I am not a big fan of sex in any of my Epic or Grim Fantasy books, because usually the better the Fantasy author is, the worst the romance and sex are, but hey, why not, right? ...more
Dark, moody, reads like a marine legend of old. Hypnotic at times, at times the story takes itself a bit too serious... Maybe a bit of hum*** 3.85 ***
Dark, moody, reads like a marine legend of old. Hypnotic at times, at times the story takes itself a bit too serious... Maybe a bit of humor, even dark and hopeless, would have helped the story's flow. However, it is still imaginative and unique, despite the main theme to remind me a ton of Robbin Hobb's tales and to have the tried and true feel of the ocean battles of adventure authors of times past. I don't mind that, but I feel the whole book could have benefited of some lighter moods at times... I loved the main characters though, especially Lucky Meas and the wind-talker, Gullaime! Strong, well established and made me care for them. The world itself is dark and cruel, but presents itself in all of its infamous glory... A good read for those who like their adventures dark and moody... ...more
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