Once again I'm totally failing to maintain this blog, but at least this time I have a legitimate excuse. Yes, the camping season is upon us once again and I've been off for five days with my trusty tent, husband and four kids, sampling the delights of camping in the North Yorkshire Dales.
Delights such as:
1. High winds which snapped one of the poles on our toilet tent.
2. Freezing night temperatures
3. Youngest son getting hit in the face by a cricket bat. Then three days later hit in the face with a swingball racquet (which needed a trip to the local doctor).
4. Youngest daughter getting hit in the forehead by a stone which went astray.
5. Hub not being very good at wounds gushing blood and retreating whilst I dealt with the aforementioned injuries.
6. Eldest son getting too near the fire and burning a hole in his trousers (and leg) when an ember flew out at him.
7. Drinking far too much red wine.
8. The kids finally learning that going camping means you sleep in and don't get up at 5am - yay!
9. Feeling hungry all the time and eating too much cake.
10. Socialising with friends who I haven't seen for a few months.
And, obviously, the most important aspect of camping is that I get to read some of the paperbacks in my TBR pile because I don't want to take my Sony anywhere it might get accidentally wet. I'm sure you're all dying to know what I read so here's a short summary:
This is the first Dresden Files book which I picked up because both Chris and Erastes had gone on about how much they like them. The story is about a detective wizard, Harry Dresden, and his sometimes hapless attempts to discover the whereabouts of a client's missing husband and also to help the local Chicago police with a grisly double murder. I was initially put off by the simplicity of the prose but soon got into the swing of it. Harry is a great character with a dry sense of humour and a wittiness to the narrative. He pulled off the 'dour wizard' label perfectly and carried me through the story with his mix of self-deprecatory comments and genuine caring about those with whom he comes into contact. The UF world building was great with lots of interesting detail about wizarding set into a recognisable Chicago. I had great fun with the whole thing and will probably continue the series which seems to be a very daunting 12 books long at this stage! Grade: Very Good.
Continuing the fantasy reading, I set my sights on this duology from Ginn Hale which has been in my TBR pile since Yaoicon where I bought the books at the Blind Eye Books stall. This sweeping fantasy tells the story of Kiram, a Haldiim young man who is the first of his countrymen to attend a prestigious academy in Cadeleonia. When he arrives his roommate is Javier, a troubled yet confident and brash young man who currently controls a 'white hell' in his body. The rest of the book follows Kiram as he settles into the baffling Cadeleonian traditions of the school and helps Javier to find out how to break the curse over Javier's family. As with all Ginn Hale books, the beauty in this was in the detail which was fabulous - far too all encompassing for me to do it justice in this mini-review. Every little thing is described and as such the world of the Cadeleonians and Haldiim was brought to life under the author's masterful touch. In a funny way though, this was also the book's downfall as some of the description was a little self-indulgent at times and, although interesting, added nothing to the overall narrative. I found this especially towards the end of the first book/beginning of the second where my interest waned a little with all the descriptions of a competition that Kiram has to enter. Having said that, this was still an excellent fantasy novel with characters who behaved like 17/18 year olds should, lending it the slight air of a YA book. The book ends with the overall story arc complete but with further adventures in the future for these pair and I wonder whether the author intends to pick up the story again at some point. I hope so. Grade: Excellent.
I did start a fourth book - another fantasy, Luck in the Shadows by Lynn Flewelling, but I'm only 80 odd pages out of about 500 into that at the moment so can't really comment except to say that I'm enjoying it so far.
So there you go, a very productive holiday overall, I think!
I really couldn't get into the Butcher books. I didn't even finish the first one, and that was back in my PNR days when I should have been all over it. I was bored.
ReplyDeleteI must get to the Lords books. I too picked them up in SF. Speaking BEB, I should get you back Wicked Gentleman although I keep gently nudging Kristen to read it. Maybe once school is out in 3 weeks and she has more time on her hands.
Glad you had fun even if it sounds like a bit of an injury prone trip for the kiddos. Men. Wimps.
I think the success of the book depends on how you feel about Harry. I found him to be an engaging narrator and that's what carried me through the book.
ReplyDeleteNo rush on Wicked Gentlemen. Hope you can get Kristen to read it.
Hub is a complete wimp when it comes to injury. He tends to over-react which often makes the situation worse, silly man :).
Sounds like an exciting holiday, that's for sure! There's a book in there somewhere, maybe two! :))
ReplyDeleteAnne
xxx
I never actually thought of a toilet tent in relation to camping! o_O
ReplyDeleteSounds like a fun trip! :))
Anne: Well, I suppose exciting is one word for it :).
ReplyDeleteLilli: We camp in a field in the middle of nowhere with only a cold water tap so a toilet tent is very necessary! :) We did have fun, thanks!
And now you're back in civilization and all showered. :)
ReplyDeleteYay! I'm glad you liked Harry. Of course, I've lost momentum on the series and haven't actually read the last two. The first I didn't read was because I was told it ended in a cliffhanger, and you know how I feel about those. By the time the next came out, all momentum was lost.
I have the Ginn Hale books from SF, too - must read! Soonishly...
Oh yes! A hot bath was definitely in order when I got back on Wednesday :).
ReplyDeleteI think this will be one of these series where I plod on through rather than read all the books quickly. I don't get much opportunity to read pb books anyway so maybe I'll be reading one every 4 months or so - mind you I may never catch up with the series then!