Throwback Thursday (141)

I found this picture of Trinity College Library, and thought it would work for this meme with a little play with lighting and adding the words.

Let's talk about those books already on the shelves, yours or the stores.

I have a post for books I'm looking forward to coming out;

Looking Forward To...

But what about all those wonderful books that are ALREADY on the shelves.

Whether it be on your shelf waiting to be read or on the shelves in the stores waiting for you to give it a good home.

So, I thought I would share a book a week that is just waiting for me to travel through it's world.

Now... where do I start? Lets go by Published Date on the books...

This Week:

This is one thing I hope to start to get to this year, the tbr pile of series I've already started. I loved the first two books of this fantasy series. I desperately want to get back to the last one. And then I want to get the books set in the same world. This is one brutal world, and I love it. I need to get back to it.

Goodreads Synopsis:
The end is coming. Logen Ninefingers might only have one more fight in him but its going to be a big one. Battle rages across the North, the King of the Northmen still stands firm, and theres only one man who can stop him. His oldest friend, and his oldest enemy. Its past time for the Bloody-Nine to come home. With too many masters and too little time, Superior Glokta is fighting a different kind of war. A secret struggle in which no-one is safe, and no-one can be trusted. His days with a sword are far behind him. Its a good thing blackmail, threats and torture still work well enough. Jezal dan Luthar has decided that winning glory is far too painful, and turned his back on soldiering for a simple life with the woman he loves. But love can be painful too, and glory has a nasty habit of creeping up on a man when he least expects it. While the King of the Union lies on his deathbead, the peasants revolt and the nobles scramble to steal his crown. No-one believes that the shadow of war is falling across the very heart of the Union. The First of the Magi has a plan to save the world, as he always does. But there are risks. There is no risk more terrible, after all, than to break the First Law ...

I've heard back from a few bloggers that they would like to join in this meme post, so I'm adding a Linky for you to join in.  Grab the picture above, and join in.  All I ask, is if you can acknowledge my blog in the post so others know where to come back to.

Looking Forward To... (34)

There are so many amazing books already on the shelves and new ones coming out.

For a list of books yet to be released I'm looking to get, you can also look on my right Sidebar at the ever growing list titled Desired Reads - just scroll down. Of course there are tones of other new books to come out that are amazing as well, but these ones are part of series I have already started or for one reason or another caught my eye (and haven't seen much on other blogs yet). But I will highlight one here each week.

(mentioned in order of Release Date then Alphabetical if there are more than one book coming out on the same date.)

Next Book Is...

The Heroes

By:  Joe Abercrombie

Due Out:  February 7, 2011

I have to throw in some Fantasy books here and there as I'm a Fantasy fan.  Joe is one of the amazing authors I've read.  He can draw a picture of a world in words which makes it so easy to see in your mind.  And the battles...  He has a great dark world created in which he sets his stand-alone books as well, The First Law Series started this world and it works great.

This picture might be hard to see, but there are faces in the splatters.  This is an amazing looking cover!  It mesmerizes me.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

War: where the blood and dirt of the battlefield hide the dark deeds committed in the name of glory. THE HEROES is about violence and ambition, gruesome deaths and betrayals; and the brutal truth that no plan survives contact with the enemy. The characters are the stars, as ever, and the message is dark: when it comes to war, there are no heroes...

Meet THE HEROES. 

Curnden Craw: a ruthless fighter who wants nothing more than to see his crew survive. 

Prince Calder: a liar and a coward, he will regain his crown by any means necessary.

Bremer dan Gorst: a master swordsman, a failed bodyguard, his honor will be restored - in the blood of his enemies.

Over three days, their fates will be sealed.

Book Review: Before They Are Hanged

Before They Are Hanged

By:  Joe Abercrombie

Publisher:  Pyr

Publish Date:  2008

Genre:  Fantasy

Format:  Paperback, 539 pages - 6"x9"

Series:  2nd book in The First Law series, To read the review of Book 1 - The Blade Iteself, Click here.

Recommendation:  If you like lots of action and not to squimish of blood, and a magical journey... I would start with The Blade Itself and dive right into this read.

Book Synopsis:
Superior Glokta has a problem.  How do you defend a city surrounded by enemies and riddled with traitors when your allies can by no meands be trusted and your predecessor vanished without a trace?  It's enough to make a torturer want to run - if he could even walk without a stick.

Northmen have spilled over the border of Angland and are spreading fire and death across the frozen country.  Crown Prince Ladisla is poised to drive them back and win undying glory.  There is only one problem - he commands the worst-armed, worst-trained, worst-led army in the world.

And Bayaz, the First of the Magi, is leading a party of bold adventurers on a perilous mission through the ruins of the past.  The most hated woman in the South, the most feared man in the North, and the most selfish boy in the Union make a strange alliance, but a deadly one.  They might even stand a chance of saving mankind from the Eaters.  If they didn't hate each other quite so much.

Ancient secrets will be uncovered.  Bloody battles will be won and lost.  Bitter enemies will be forgiven - but not before they are hanged.

First Sentence:
Damn mist.  It gets in your eyes, so you can't see no more than a few strides ahead.

My Review and Summary:
Before They Are Hanged picks up right where The Blade Itself left off.  Bayaz - the First Mage, Quai his apprentice, the Navigator, Logen or Bloody Nine as he's known, Ferro, and Jezel are all on their journey to the edge of the world to get the seed to save everyone.  Glokta and his practicals are in the Southern city Dagoskan, to save a doomed city from the Gurkish.  Colonel West is up North fighting with, or for, the Prince against the savage Northmen.  It all sounds simple where the characters are and what they are doing.  But, the journey with these characters always seems to go by quickly for me with the wonderous things, good and bad, that happen.

I enjoyed The Blade Itself, but I think I enjoyed Before They Are Hanged even more.  Joe Abercrombie has a wonderful way of telling the story full of action and wonder.  I enjoyed reading of all the happenings with these characters in the different ends of the world, to see there is a great deal going on around the world and needing help in fixing. 

I don't know which set of characters I enjoy reading about more.  They are all have different happenings and characteristics that pull me into their stories.  Glokta is always a pleasure to read with his suspicious negative thoughts are always interesting in how he comes to his conclusions of people and happenings.  And he is usually right in his suspicions.  Bayaz and the crew have the magic with them and the great journey.  Magic and wonder always interest me.  Colonel West has the Northern Men coming to him and the crazy chaos.

The characters have all gone through great hardships of their own kind.  They are all grew greatly by the end of this book.  The Blade Itself defined who they where at the start, and now they are changing.  I got to learn more about the Eaters in the south and Shanka (or Flatheads) in the north.  Also, some history leading up to the reason Khaluh is doing what he is doing.

You start to see the inside workings of the history to why they are where they are and the world as it is.  I love how the history ties everyone together.  Even why Bayaz picked the crew, and yet wonder the purpose of a few of them.

There was one thing I would have liked to have, a map.  BUT I really liked how Joe Abercrombie drew a map of the world with his words and I didn't need a physical map to help visualize the world.

I have The Last Arguement of Kings on the shelf here, and will be looking forward to the time I can squeeze it into the schedule to see what all happens to everyone.



This book qualifies for my Speculated Fiction Challenge @ Book Chick City.

Book Review

The Blade Itself

the first law: book one

By: Joe Abercrombie

Publisher: Pyr

Recommendation: Yes, if you like a series with corruption somewhere deep within and like to think on it yourself.

First Sentence of the Book:

Logen plunged through the trees, bare feet slipping and sliding on the wet earth, the slush, the wet pine needles, breath rasping in his chest, blood thumping in his head.

Books Synopsis:

Logen Ninefingers, infamous barbarian, has finally run out of luck. Caught in one feud too many, he's on the verge of becoming a dead barbarian - leaving nothing behind him but bad songs, dead friends, and a lot of happy enemies.

Nobleman, dashing officer, and paragon of selfishness, Captain Jezal dan Luthar has nothing more dangerous in mind than fleecing his friends at cards and dreaming of glory in the fencing circle. But war is brewing, and on the battlefields of the frozen North they fight by altogether bloodier rules.

Inquisitor Glokta, cripple turned torturer, would like nothing better than to see Jezal come home in a box. But then Glokta hates everyone: cutting treason out of the Union on confession at a time leaves little room for friendship. His latest trail of corpses may lead him right to the rotten heart of government... if he can stay alive long enough to follow it.

Enter the wizard, Bayaz. A bald old man with a terrible temper and a pathetic assistant, he could be the First of the Magi, he could be a spectacular fraud, but whatever he is, he's about to make the lives of Logen, Jezal, and Glotka a whole lot more difficult...

Murderous conspiracies rise to the surface, old scores are ready to be settled, and the line betwween hero and villain is sharp enough to draw blood. Unpredictable, compelling, wickedly funny, and packed with unforgettable characters, The Blade Itself is noir fantasy with a real cutting edge.

My Review and Synopsis:

The beginning of the book was easy yet a little hard for me. There is a lot of background work done here on the characters and the status of the world. You are introduced to all the characters in their elements, places, and world before they are introduced to each other. It can get a little confusing, but if you can keep it all separate it is worth it. One of the best parts here is having your characters separate and seeing their views on what they know or see, then seeing them actually meet and how the knowledge of that one character could help the other they just meet-if shared. Seeing how they get into the conversations to share the information or even when they don't share the information because they don't know who they have been in contact with or what they are involved in.

Through out the book you really get a feel of how unstable the three Empires are and the contempt they feel for each other. There are the Northmen, the Union and Angland, and the Gurkish. The Northmen and Gurkish seem to have leaders that are very ruthless and blood thirsty to take over as much land they can and rule all they take. The Union is stuck in the middle of both these places, yet doesn't seem to be as barbaric as the other two with killing. Angland is the place, in the North but is part of the Union, in which the Union sends all their guilty parties of treason agains the crown or toward the government (and in this time it could be a small thing or a large doing that could land you here - even working with or looking at the wrong person could hurt you). They have shared borders all these years?!? If you ask me I don't know how...

Just when you think you have all the characters details down a few more are added. All these people from the different areas of the world are pulled together to save their worlds from a bigger threat than the Northernmen or Glukish navy or Unions soldiers. What is this greater thing to be defeated by these specially selected few? That answer seems to be only known by the First of the Magi, Bayaz, and his brothers.

There seems to be a magic that surrounds each character in their own way. Yet the characters don't seem to be aware to the fact they have something special about them. These characters don't even realize the enemies they make and the bigger enemies they upset. In this book the story only begins, the adventure only starts.

I am sorry to add here that you will have to read the next book to see where they go after this story. What about the war? Who is this greater threat? I too have to now go get the second book in this trilogy. I have questions and can not let them go unanswered. There is just too much scheming and bribing and underlying meanings in things said or not said that I just have to keep going with the trilogy. I hope you enjoy it as well.