I guess I deserve this for jumping in at book two of a four book series - I picked up no. 2 and 4 from a box of freebies because I recognised the author's name and I'd enjoyed the Brother Cadfael novels years ago. Thrown in the deep end, English & Welsh history, lots of characters, lots of places in the landscape, I think you'll need a map and a family tree to follow what's going on. Mostly just went with the flow and enjoyed it as it went, letting the bigger picture lose itself in the background
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he/him scruffy monkeyhanger sysadmin cyclist Melbourne, Boonwurrung land, Aus
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ajft finished reading The dragon at noonday by Edith Pargeter (The brothers of Gwynedd -- 2)
ajft finished reading Marina by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
ajft finished reading Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow
I've had this kicking around in an EPUB for about five years, about time I got around to reading it! Enjoyed it more than I expected, the way you're thrown into the world with no explanation and figuring it out yourself
ajft finished reading John Carter and the Giant of Mars Edgar Rice Burroughs by Edgar Rice Burroughs
ajft finished reading Llana of Gathol. by Edgar Rice Burroughs (His Martian series, no. 10)
Llana of Gathol. by Edgar Rice Burroughs (His Martian series, no. 10)
ajft reviewed Llana of Gathol. by Edgar Rice Burroughs (His Martian series, no. 10)
ajft reviewed Llana of Gathol. by Edgar Rice Burroughs (His Martian series, no. 10)
ajft finished reading A Rising Thunder by David Weber
By the end of this all I can say is I'm relieved the book is over. I enjoyed the first few of the series, then I get the feeling the author was being paid by the page. Just seemed endless, and not much happening. Certainly didn't help that I read it slowly over a couple of months interspersed with other books. Not a favourite, and if I'd met this as my introduction to the series it would have quickly been a first and abandoned last
ajft finished reading Saint Peter's Fair by Edith Pargeter
I think I read the entire series of these some decades ago shortly after they came out, recently found this one in a roadside little library and picked it up. Can vaguely remember the story and enjoyed it, the gentle mix of whodunnit and historic setting appeals. Shrewsbury tourism has a lot to thank EP for!
ajft finished reading The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
A few years ago a work colleague was reading this and I skimmed the back cover, thought I'd enjoy it if I could fit it in
Loved it, although a few times I lost track of the large list of characters and places in time. It made me want to dig out a big map of Barcelona and pore over the streets and parks
ajft finished reading Riding Out by Simon Parker
ajft finished reading Ring of Bright Water Trilogy by Gavin Maxwell
Its been decades since I read Ring of Bright Water, sometime in my early teens I think I went through many of these, Elsa, Tarka, etc. Interesting to revisit it, and to read the full set of three, even if they are slightly abridged. Really felt for Maxwell and the tension between telling the story, and suffering the publicity and invasion of his privacy as a result
ajft finished reading Casino Royale by Ian Fleming
Found a $1 copy lying in a discard pile at an op-shop and couldn't resist, was curious how the original story would hold up after so many years of Bond being so much a part of modern culture. I was surprised at how many French terms and words were thrown around, not just casino-related but all part of setting the scene. Misogynistic, racist, cardboard, I doubt it'd get glanced at as a first novel 70 years on!
ajft reviewed A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters
I feel its not as good as later books in the series
3 stars
Must have read this decades ago, then stumbled across a very cheaply made copy in a street library a few months ago and picked it up. Rubbish paper, binding is falling apart, on re-reading it I'm wondering if I ever did read this, the first of the series? Enjoyable enough, I think too much of my memories of the series and characters are from later books that I've read more than once over the years