Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter: The Long Utopia

Hi everyone

This was my second time reading the fourth book in The Long Earth series by Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter.
You can read my previous review here. 

" 2045-2059. After the cataclysmic upheavals of Step Day and the Yellowstone eruption humanity is spreading further into the Long Earth, and society, on a battered Datum Earth and beyond, continues to evolve.
Now an elderly and cantankerous AI, Lobsang lives in disguise with Agnes in an exotic, far-distant world. He’s convinced they’re leading a normal life in New Springfield – they even adopt a child – but it seems they have been guided there for a reason. As rumours of strange sightings and hauntings proliferate, it becomes clear that something is very awry with this particular world.
Millions of steps away, Joshua is on a personal journey of discovery: learning about the father he never knew and a secret family history. But then he receives a summons from New Springfield. Lobsang now understands the enormity of what’s taking place beneath the surface of his earth – a threat to all the worlds of the Long Earth.
To counter this threat will require the combined efforts of humankind, machine and the super-intelligent Next. And some must make the ultimate sacrifice... "

Even though this was my second time reading the story, the ending was as difficult to read as it was the first time. I really dislike Sally but the way things ended for her made me emotional.

The scope of this series just gets bigger and bigger. It actually makes me scared when I try to imagine it in real life. Now in the series there's different alien species from another universe that are actually aiming to destroy one long earth. How terrifying is that! 

The family history told from an other perspective threw me off a bit, I would have liked it better had it been told by Nelson or in the narrator's voice. 

Lobsang's plot was great. He is so humane, I understand his feelings and his reasoning behind his escape to another world to start anew. Agnes and he actually make a cute couple. 

Lastly in my list of little opinions; I am so, so glad Joshua and Sally never ended up a couple. It would have been so easy to write them in a relationship but I don't think it would work so I'm happy they didn't write them as a romantic couple. 

Happy reading!
Helena 

 

Brandon Sanderson: Tress of the Emerald Sea

Hi everyone

Tress of the Emerald Sea is a standalone novel by Brandon Sanderson. It is set in The Cosmere so it is part of his multi-series world but you can read it without having read the others.
It's also more of a YA book. 
I bought this book from Bol.com.

"The only life Tress has known on her island home in an emerald-green ocean has been a simple one, with the simple pleasures of collecting cups brought by sailors from faraway lands and listening to stories told by her friend Charlie. But when his father takes him on a voyage to find a bride and disaster strikes, Tress must stow away on a ship and seek the Sorceress of the deadly Midnight Sea. Amid the spore oceans where pirates abound, can Tress leave her simple life behind and make her own place sailing a sea where a single drop of water can mean instant death?"  

I didn't really enjoy this. The story was ok but boring, the plot was a bit rambling and the characters were dull and mediocre. Mostly, it was the POV, the tone of the storyteller that annoyed me. Hoid was not witty or funny he was just stupid all the time. Even when it wasn't intentional, when he was meant to be funny and smart he only ever was dumb and idiotic. The book was trying to be funny but it fell flat for me.
The worldbuilding is, as is usual for Sanderson, amazing, interesting and very different from other books I've read.
The main villain in this book was absurd. In the end she just leaves? I mean, that's just lazy writing. I don't see why she should leave because she really wasn't in danger from Tress and the others.

Happy reading!
Helena  

Bookhaul

Hi everyone

I bought some books and I received one (awesome surprise) too!
*    happydance    *

My parents went on holiday to the UK and my dad got me a very special gift. He bought me

- Ben Aaronovitch: Tales From the Folly

And the book is signed! It's signed! How amazing is that! I was so, so happy with my gift.

 

 

And here are the books I bought myself.

- Ben Aaronovitch:  The Masquerades of Spring

- Amy Bloom: In Love 

- Benedict Jacka: An Instruction in Shadow 

- Grant Snider: The Art of Living

- Emily Tesh: Some Desperate Glory 

Have you read any of these?

Happy reading!
Helena

Katherine Addison: The Tomb of Dragons

Hi everyone

The Tomb of Dragons is the third book in The Cemeteries of Amalo series by Katherine Addison. Like the other books in the series, this one has a gorgeous cover. This is actually the third book in the series but it's also the fourth book in the overarching series, namely The Chronicles of Osreth. 
I got my copy from Bol.

Thara Celehar has lost his ability to speak with the dead. When that title of Witness for the Dead is gone, what defines him?

"While his title may be gone, his duties are not. Celehar contends with a municipal cemetery with fifty years of secrets, the damage of a revethavar he’s terrified to remember, and a group of miners who are more than willing to trade Celehar’s life for a chance at what they feel they’re owed.
Celehar does not have to face these impossible tasks alone. Joining him are his mentee Velhiro Tomasaran, still finding her footing with the investigative nature of their job; Iäna Pel-Thenhior, his beloved opera director friend and avid supporter; and the valiant guard captain Hanu Olgarezh.
Amidst the backdrop of a murder and a brewing political uprising, Celehar must seek justice for those who cannot find it themselves under a tense political system. The repercussions of his quest are never as simple they seem, and Celehar’s own life and happiness hang in the balance." 

It's difficult to pinpoint what makes this series so comforting to read. The maincharacter is rather boring but he is also honest, always striving to be the best person he can be and to do the best he can. He is likeable in the way I can relate to him, him being introverted, his love for reading, tea, walking, his insomnia, his few close friends. His friends are also really lovely people.
The names of places and people are hard to remember and keep apart because they are so different from ours. But Addison's worldbuilding is amazing. The people feel like real people, the 'magic' is interesting and the plot is, while simple also effective and engrossing.
The whole setting is very different and unique.
The story is heartwarming, learning to rely on people, learning the value of friendship, opening the door for love again, questioning yourself, ... It's charming, heartwarming, sad and bittersweet, lovely and moving all at the same time.

The Tomb of Dragons is the last book in The Cemeteries of Amalo series but I truly hope and wish for other books in this world of The Chronicles of Osreth.  

Happy reading!
Helena 

Vernor Vinge: A Fire Upon the Deep

Hi everyone

I saw this being read by someone I follow on Goodreads and it looked good so I wanted to try it for myself. A Fire Upon the Deep is the first book in the Zones of Thought series by Vernor Vinge.
I read this on my e-reader.

"Thousands of years in the future, humanity is no longer alone in a universe where a mind's potential is determined by its location in space, from superintelligent entities in the Transcend, to the limited minds of the Unthinking Depths, where only simple creatures, and technology, can function. Nobody knows what strange force partitioned space into these "regions of thought," but when the warring Straumli realm use an ancient Transcendent artifact as a weapon, they unwittingly unleash an awesome power that destroys thousands of worlds and enslaves all natural and artificial intelligence.
Fleeing this galactic threat, Ravna crash lands on a strange world with a ship-hold full of cryogenically frozen children, the only survivors from a destroyed space-lab. They are taken captive by the Tines, an alien race with a harsh medieval culture, and used as pawns in a ruthless power struggle."

This was strange.
On the one hand I felt like I was reading a children's book and I didn't like that in this story, it didn't fit the story. The writing and the dialogue especially were childish. And on the other hand I didn't truly understand everything going on science-wise because some things got little to no explanation. I loved the concept of the Zones of Thought; that's an interesting idea but it wasn't used in a way that made me feel something more than wondering how life would be it this were true, so completely unrelated to the story. 

The book was way too long for the story it told. Multiple chapters where essentially nothing happened that was different from the previous chapters. There's no character development and no world-building anywhere. Endless talking about nothing or about the same things over and over. It was just boring.

It has also aged badly. The futuristic aspects are now completely dated and almost laughable.  

The moment I closed the book on my e-reader I forgot about it and I had to push myself to keep reading because I found it to be boring. I switched to reading other books while reading this one because my mind kept wandering while reading this one.

Interesting premise but not much more. 

So yes, another Award Winning Novel I didn't love or even truly liked. Sad but true.

Happy reading!
Helena 

Glen Cook: The Black Company

Hi everyone

For years I've been meaning to read something by Glen Cook but I couldn't find him in our local stores and when I started shopping online I kind off forgot about Cook. A few months ago I saw someone on Goodreads reviewing one of his books so I remembered! I decided to try his most popular series first.
The Black Company is the first book in his The Chronicles of the Black Company.
I read this on my e-reader.

"Some feel the Lady, newly risen from centuries in thrall, stands between humankind and evil. Some feel she is evil itself. The hard-bitten men of the Black Company take their pay and do what they must, burying their doubts with their dead.
Until the prophecy: The White Rose has been reborn, somewhere, to embody good once more. There must be a way for the Black Company to find her..." 

This was not for me.
I felt like it lacked a central plot. The story went from point to point like a little list Glen Cook wanted to check off. Endless boring card games and pointless conversations in between a few action scenes.
There's no character development and no worldbuilding. Every character was very cliché and predictable and while some had an interesting trait, most of the characters were forgettable. 

Also; flying carpets. Really? Really? 

Happy reading!
Helena 

Neil Gaiman: Coraline

Hi everyone

Believe it or not but this was my first time reading Neil Gaiman's Coraline. I have seen the movie when it first came out, so back in 2009 and I remember the story so that wasn't a surprise.
I read this on my e-reader.

"When Coraline steps through a door to find another house strangely similar to her own (only better), things seem marvelous.
But there’s another mother there, and another father, and they want her to stay and be their little girl. They want to change her and never let her go.
Coraline will have to fight with all her wits and courage if she is to save herself and return to her ordinary life." 

This was ok. I don't think I would have liked this as a child even though it is a children's book but I was an anxious child so I wouldn't have sought this out. As an adult it was nothing special to be honest. 
It lacked atmosphere, it was too much to the point, too much one thing after another. Also, what's the point of the old neighbor and his mice? And how could the hand come over? And what child gets to choose something else to eat if dinner doesn't suit her? And finally, Coraline sounds much too wise to be a child in her observations and at other times she's childish. That last one especially was difficult for me to read, the inconsistencies in tone, age and character.

So yeah, another mediocre read from Neil Gaiman. 

Happy reading!
Helena 

Tommy Orange: Wandering Stars

Hi everyone

Wandering Stars is Tommy Orange's second book. It's both a prequel and a sequel to his first book There There which I have read before I restarted this blog.
I read this on my e-reader.

"Colorado, 1864. Star, a young survivor of the Sand Creek Massacre, is brought to the Fort Marion prison castle,where he is forced to learn English and practice Christianity by Richard Henry Pratt, an evangelical prison guard who will go on to found the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, an institution dedicated to the eradication of Native history, culture, and identity. A generation later, Star’s son, Charles, is sent to the school, where he is brutalized by the man who was once his father’s jailer. Under Pratt’s harsh treatment, Charles clings to moments he shares with a young fellow student, Opal Viola, as the two envision a future away from the institutional violence that follows their bloodlines."

This one is difficult to review.
The story itself felt real, harrowing, eye-opening. The characters were real people with real struggles, good and bad choices made, people around them and circumstances that influence and change them. 
I loved the generational aspect. Reading about multiple family members and how their life's choices, pain, friendships, trauma, ... influence their children, brothers, ...
But the writing was so bad. Orange jumps from one thing to the next, his prose is almost childish. The characters all blended together because they sounded the same to me, they had the same voice. Orange also switches from first to third person and back; and every time it changed I felt thrown out of the story. 
And the book felt unfinished. It goes too fast from one person to the next. I wanted more time with them, I wanted to find out more about their life. The book was ultimately too shallow and the writing bad enough to make the book forgettable. 

Happy reading!
Helena 

  

T. J. Klune: Under the Whispering Door

Hi everyone

I've been seeing and reading great things about T. J. Klune's Under the Whispering Door for months so I finally gave it a try.
I read this on my e-reader.

"When a reaper comes to collect Wallace from his own funeral, Wallace begins to suspect he might be dead.
And when Hugo, the owner of a peculiar tea shop, promises to help him cross over, Wallace decides he’s definitely dead.
But even in death he’s not ready to abandon the life he barely lived, so when Wallace is given one week to cross over, he sets about living a lifetime in seven days." 

I didn't love it. 
I didn't really like it. 

It's a combination of things. 
I disliked Wallace immensely. Of all the characters in the novel he was the worst cliché. From page one he read like a character and not as a realistic person. Every single character is shallow, there's no real depth to them. Sure, they have a background that gets talked about but they are all so one-sided, so very black-and-white, they didn't feel like real people. The characters are written as if in a book for children where they are supposed to be all bad, and turn all good out of nowhere.
Secondly, the writing and pacing felt off. The characters talk in sighs, stares and Instagram platitudes. It's all Hallmark quotes meant to be put on a fridge or a toiletroomwall. It could be inspirational but it's just trite and boring. The novel goes very slow; tediously so and suddenly wham, we're two weeks further. 
Thirdly; don't get me started on the romance. For the record, I do not care who you love, if you love someone at all or not. But I do care about the portrayal of love and this is not how it should be done. It was fake from start to finish. And it aggravated me no end.
Lastly, the ending. That's a nice fridge-quote. Complain enough to the manager and you get what you want. 

Not recommended. It wasn't big so I finished it but you should not feel like you have to. 

Happy reading!
Helena 

Wrap Up: July 2025

Hi everyone

July was a great reading month! We were on holiday for two weeks (and the first week of August) soI read a lot in the evenings because there are less chores to do when you're not at home. :) With two daughters and lots of fun activities it's hard to find the time and quiet to read during the day but once they're in bed and we're done with the cleaning up, it's time to read! Although I did read quite a lot during the day too, whenever they were nicely playing together. 

Here's what I read in July:

- Brian McClellan: Promise of Blood

- Yuval Noah Harari: Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow

- Ilona Andrews: Magic Burns

- Peter Brown: The Wild Robot Protects

- Christian White: The Nowhere Child

- Terry Pratchett: Carpe Jugulum 

- David Dalglish: A Dance of Mirrors 

- Marie Brennan: The Waking of Angantyr 

- Margaret Atwood: Surfacing 

How was your month?
Do you read more or less when on holiday?

Happy reading!
Helena