Sunday Salon: October Reading Reflections

When I look at my October reads I am struck by a few things. the first is that I read quite a few books! Part of the reason for that is that I had one weekend where I did nothing but read all weekend which was great, although the house showed the ill effects of such indulgence. The other thing that was odd is that I reread 4 books in October, which is very strange behaviour for me as I don't normally do a lot of rereading.

The first book I reread was The Boat, which was for bookclub. The others were the first three Virgin River books. I have talked before about how that series makes me do things I don't normally do, and now I can add rereading to the list! I have actually gone onto reread another 5 of the books in the series in November. The strange thing is that the first time I read the Virgin River series I read something like 11 books in a month (not something I would normally do) and that was almost years ago exactly. I am wondering if there is something going on mentally with me that causes this kind of reading to be necessary every couple of years.

Here are the books I read during October along with the links to reviews if I have written them.

The Boat by Nam Le 4/5
Falling Together by Marisa de los Santos 4/5
Cracking the Dating Code by Kelly Hunter 3.5/5
Inside Out by Lauren Dane 4/5
Playing to Win by Jaci Burton 4/5
Omamori by Richard McGill 4.5/5
Fables 5: The Mean Seasons by Bill Willingham 4/5
Saved by Cake by Marian Keyes 4/5
Flirting with Intent by Kelly Hunter 4/5
A Moment on the Lips by Kate Hardy 4/5
My Kind of Christmas by Robyn Carr 4 /5
Lola's Secret by Monica McInerney 3.5/5
The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis 4/5
The House on Olive Street by Robyn Carr 3/5
Bared to You by Sylvia Day 4/5
Tigers and Devils by Sean Kennedy 4.5/5
Caressed by Ice by Nalini Singh 4/5
The Case of the Missing Servant by Tarquin Hall 3.5/5
Reflected in You by Sylvia Day 3.5/5
I Shall Not Want by Julia Spencer-Fleming 4.5/5
Through Splintered Walls by Kaaron Warren 3/5
Lean on Me by HelenKay Dimon 3.5/5
All He Ever Desired by Shannon Stacey 4/5
Virgin River by Robyn Carr 4.5/5
Shelter Mountain by Robyn Carr 4.5/5
Whispering Rock by Robyn Carr 4/5
The Garden Intrigue by Lauren Willig 4/5


For reading challenges I made a little progress:

Australian Women Writers Challenge: Cracking the Dating Code and Flirting with Intent by Kelly Hunter, Lola's Secret by Monica McInerney, Through Splintered Walls by Kaaron Warren

Aussie Author challenge: As above but also adding in the The Boat by Nam Le and Tigers and Devils by Sean Kennedy

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge: Omamori by Richard McGill, The Garden Intrigue by Lauren Willig and Doomsday Book by Connie Willis

RIP VII: Fables 5 by Bill Willingham, I Shall Not Want by Julia Spencer-Fleming, Through Splintered Walls by Kaaron Warren

What's in a Name: The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis. I only have one category left in this challenge which is Creepy Crawly and I have NO idea what I am going to read for that!

Currently Reading

Poppy and the Thief by GabrielleWang, This is How by M J Hyland and listening to A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon (disc 24 of 49)

Up Next

How to Bake a Perfect Life by Barbara O'Neal

Cracklescape by Margo Lanagan

I am a big fan of the Twelve Planets series that is currently being published by Australian small press Twelve Planets Press. I look forward to each instalment but I must confess that this particularly instalment was one that I was anticipating more than most! And, of course, given that it is Margo Lanagan telling us short stories, I wasn't disappointed!

The collection opens with The Duchess Dresser. A young man picks up a duchess dresser from the side of the road and decides it will be the perfect piece of furniture for his room in the share house he lives in. The only thing wrong with it is that the drawer doesn't open.... oh and that same drawer rattles and shakes all night, and then there is the spectre of a young woman that seems to call it home. What I thought was interesting about this story is that while the story goes in a certain direction the reader is kind of lulled into thinking they know what is going on until suddenly it ends up somewhere differently but it still makes sense! Then again, that is pretty much trademark Lanagan and I should know that by now!

The next story is called Isles of the Sun and very much evokes the feeling of summer life by the beach. The kids are out playing, the beach is nearby and life is pretty relaxed. When a young boy sees some light beings, he feels called to follow them, and he just knows that they will teach him to fly! As he takes various steps to feel lighter, his convinces his friends and their friends to do likewise and suddenly there is a whole town of kids who are determined to follow and learn. The emotional punch of this stories comes from his mother's view of these events, knowing what she has seen but not being able to believe, and knowing that no one else could possibly believe her version of events either.

Lanagan has the reader questioning how they would react to the unusual when Don and his wife are catching the train to a friend's social event in Bajazzle. When a group of Sheelas sit near Don and his wife in a crowded train carriage he is clearly uncomfortable with the overt sexualisation of these young women and even more so when they start to 'sing' their story. When he comments that he doesn't find their performance entertaining, Don's wife suggests that "Maybe that’s ’cause it’s not put on for your entertainment."

Don is a man who is stuck in the past. He misses the woman his wife was now that she has taken to a much more feminist inspired lifestyle. The reader might hope that when he is tempted into a dilapidated house by a beautiful young woman that his good moral strength will shine through, but that is certainly not the only thing that he leaves behind.

With imagery in the story including inspiration from sheel na gig (according to Wikipedia "figurative carvings of naked women displaying an exaggerated vulva") and succubi this story is not only fascinating and challenging but also quite disturbing. There was also a degree of sensuality in this story that I found quite surprising, until it was changed into something completely different in the course of a couple of pages.

The final story.is Significant Dust and takes as it's inspiration the Mundrabilla UFO encounter which happened in the middle of the Nullabor Plain in 1988. Rather than focus directly on this event, we instead meet Vanessa, a young woman, who has come to work in the isolated roadhouse in order to get away from a terrible accident that has basically changed her whole family. With the only interactions being with her misfit co-workers and travellers who pass through, Vanessa looks for ways to assuage her guild about the accident but also the truth about the strange people who sometimes stop in the roadhouse and the odd lights that illuminate her small room late at night.

What makes this collection different from previous short story collections by Lanagan is that there are only four stories, each approximately the same size, and that the setting for these stories is much more clearly Australian in setting than most of her other short stories. For these differences though, there are many similarities. Lanagan's writing is, as usual, pitch perfect and her ability to tell a complete story within such a small landscape is amazing.

I still have a few of Lanagan's stories to read which I must get to. Then again, I could quite easily reread this collection time and again and I am sure I would find something new each time. I think this is particularly true of the final two stories.

Rating 4/5

A presence haunts an old dresser in an inner-city share house. Shining sun-people lure children from their carefree beachside lives. Sheela-na-gigs colonise a middle-aged man’s outer and inner worlds. And a girl with a heavy conscience seeks relief in exile on the Treeless Plain.

These stories from four-time World Fantasy Award winner Margo Lanagan are all set in Australia, a myth-soaked landscape both stubbornly inscrutable and crisscrossed by interlopers’ dreamings. Explore four littoral and liminal worlds, a-crackle with fears and possibilities.

I read this short story collection for the following challenges

PS If you want to find out more about the Twelve Planets series check out my previous reviews which includes details of the collection as a whole.

Fables 5: The Mean Seasons by Bill Willingham

This is the fifth volume of the Fables series, and unfortunately I don't think that it is possible to talk about at least some of the aspects of this book without spoiling those earlier volumes. I will try and warn you first though before we get into that territory and I will not be spoiling for the action in this volume.

The action starts in this volume with all three of Prince Charming's ex-wives getting together for a lunch. You have to know that there are going some stories swapped when they do, but really it is a ruse for one of them, lying a trail of crumbs to cover up exactly what it is that she is really up to. This was a fun story that showed that some of the characters still have plenty of stories to be told, which can only be a good thing for the future of the Fables series.

Speaking of stories not yet told, during this volume we get to find out more about the somewhat normally terse character of Bigby Wolf. Memories of the big battle from the last book and the need to visit one of his former comrades (one of few mundies who actually know what he really is) has us revisiting his activities during World War II. There is no doubt that someone like Mr Wolf would make a great warrior, especially given his heightened senses (what with him being a wolf and all) and the story that we are told shows those skills, but also his capability to be a leader and a friend. The other thing that we do begin to see a bit more than we had is exactly how it is that Bigby keeps law and order in Fabletown. His methods are not always straight forward or perhaps even legal, but he does get results.

Heading into spoiler territory now.....


The main reason why we get to learn more of Bigby's method is that the results of the election are in (the campaigning started in the last book) and unfortunately there is going to be a new mayor, Prince Charming. Old King Cole is out and Prince Charming is in. With Snow White due to give birth any day now, her role will be taken by Beauty and the new sheriff will be The Beast assuming that Snow White and Bigby decide that they can't work with the new mayor. The decision is effectively taken out of Snow's hands when her children are born. Given that some of them will never pass as human, there is no option but for Snow to retire to the farm. Only problem is that Bigby is not banned from the farm, meaning that the new family has no choice but to be separated. Fortunately for Snow, she gets assistance from an unlikely source, one that can hopefully help train her children with their special gifts.

With the new administration in place it soon becomes clear that things are not necessarily going to go smoothly. Charming can't meet his election promises, Snow's skills as administrator are sadly missed and the Beast is clearly out of his depth even when he things he is doing the right thing.



End spoilers



Once again, the story takes the familiar characters that we know and put them into everyday and not so everyday situations. The imagery and stories are quite graphic, the humour is grown up, and yet the emotions are very recognisable. Some of my favourite scenes in this book including Snow White and her sister Rose Red discussing men and the babies are nnnnaaawwww, so cute!

The next volume has already been requested and I am looking forward to the next instalment in the Fables story.

I read for the RIP VII challenge

Written on the Wind

With the Battle of Fabletown won, and the surrounding city of New York none the wiser, the Fables have gained a little time for rebuilding and reflection - in between the interrogation of the Adversary's agent and the anticipation of Snow White's impending motherhood.

For Bigby Wolf, the father of her soon-to-be newborns, that means a visit with an old friend - and reminiscence of another, even deadlier war. For the Mayor of Fabletown, it means a rude awakening to the harsh realities of civic administration - and its conflicting demands. and for Snow herself, it means a long, painful labor - and a series or joyous, heartbreaking surprises.

August and September reading reflections

It's been a very busy few weeks - so busy that I never actually managed to find a Sunday to publish my August reads. Today I am therefore posting both my August and September reads.

August


When You Wish Upon a Duke by Isabella Bradford 3.5
Landscape of Farewell by Alex Miller 4
The Daughters of Mars by Tom Keneally 4
The Restaurant of Love Regained by Ito Ogawa 4
Timeless Desire by Gwyn Cready 4
Three Nights with a Scoundrel by Tessa Dare 4
The Siren by Tiffany Reisz 4.5
Queen's Bounty by Fiona Buckley 4
Changing the Game by Jaci Burton 3.5
The Baker's Daughter by Sarah McCoy 4.5
Blameless by Gail Carriger 3
The Ugly Duchess by Eloisa James 4
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness 4.5
I am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley 4
The Mirrored World by Debra Dean 3.5
The Angel by Tiffany Reisz 4.5
Faithful Place by Tana French 4
On the Steamy Side by Louisa Edwards 3
Fables 4: March of the Wooden Soldiers  by Bill Willingham 4.5

September

Rescue My Heart by Jill Shalvis 4
A Brief History of Montmaray by Michelle Cooper 4
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss 2.5
Taking a Shot by Jaci Burton 4
Sea Hearts by Margo Lanagan 4.5
Strong and Sexy byJill Shalvis 3.5
Because of You Jessica Scott 4
Until There Was You by Jessica Scott 3
Mr Chen's Emporium by Deborah O'Brien 3.5
The Lady's Slipper by Deborah Swift 4
Planning for Love by Christi Barth 3.5
The Winter Mantle by Elizabeth Chadwick 4.5
The Gilded Lily by Deborah Swift 4.5
Blood Song by Rhiannon Hart 3.5
The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf by Ambelin Kwaymullina 4
Laid Bare by Lauren Dane 4
The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes 4.5
Deep Autumn Heat by Elisabeth Barrett 3.5
Overseas by Beatriz Williams 4.5
When the Duchess Says Yes by Isabella Bradford 3
The Mystery of Mercy Close by Marian Keyes 4
Coming Undone by Lauren Dane 4

I made a fair bit of progress on challenges, or at least added lots of books to my challenges list as for several of the challenges I have well and truly completed the requirements for the challenge even though I continue to be a willing participant!

Here are the books I read for each challenge

Landscape of Farewell, Daughter of Mars, A Brief History of Montmaray, Sea Hearts, Mr Chen's Emporium, Blood Song, The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf

Daughter of Mars, Queen's Bounty, The Baker's Daughter, I am Half Sick of Shadows, The Mirrored World, Mr Chen's Emporium, The Lady's Slipper, The Winter Mantle, The Gilded Lily. The Girl You Left Behind, Overseas

Daughter of Mars, The Girl You Left Behind, Overseas

Faithful Place, Fables 4: March of the Wooden Soldiers, Sea Hearts, The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf

A Brief History of Montmaray, Sea Hearts, Mr Chen's Emporium, Blood Song, The interrogation of Ashala Wolf

Currently Reading

A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon (on audiobook) and Omamori by Richard McGill

Up Next

I need to get back to The Doomsday Book, Lola's Secret by Monica McInerney

The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf by Ambelin Kwaymullina

When Aarti from BookLust announced the More Diverse Universe reading tour, I knew straight away that I wanted to read an indigenous Australian author. I really didn't even consider any other options as possibilities. Then I started to think about possible reads and couldn't come up with any options of books to read that were written by indigenous authors that fitted into the spec fic genre classification. I ended up putting the call out on Twitter for suggestions but in the end there were only a couple which kind of proved the point that Aarti was making in starting this project.

One was Carpentaria by Alexis Wright which I tried to read a few years ago and DNF'ed (and considered to be Literature with a capital L).  The other was this book, The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf by Ambelin Kwaymullina, which was only published in Australia a couple of months ago and I do not recall having heard of before. I promptly bought the book, and I am pleased to say it is a really good read. I am also pleased to announce that the author is going to be guest posting on Sunday as part of this event!

Anyway, enough intro! Let's talk about the book.

There will come a day when a thousand illegals descend on your detention centres. Boomers will breach the walls. Skychangers will send lightning to strike you all down from above, and Rumblers will open the earth to swallow you up from below.... And when that day comes, Justin Connor, think of me.

Ashala Wolf has been captured by Chief Administrator Neville Rose. A man who is intent on destroying Ashala's Tribe - the runaway illegals hiding in the Firstwood. Injured and vulnerable and with her Sleepwalker ability blocked, Ashala is forced to succumb to the machine that will pull secrets from her mind.

And right beside her is Justin Connor, her betrayer, watching her every move.

Will the Tribe survive the interrogation of Ashala Wolf?

Set three hundred years in the future, Ashala Wolf's world is one that is very different from now. There had been an environmental catastrophe that caused the world's geography as we know it to be transformed. The population of the world has in effect scaled back from the reliance on technology all in the hope of maintaining the all important Balance in the world. For the powers that be Balance is quite easy to define. Anyone who is 'normal' is part of the Balance. Anyone who shows any sign of having a special ability is deemed to be an illegal and must be locked away in detention camps and have their powers neutralised. The world is highly regulated, mostly through a series of accords which dictate rules on everything from population, to the use of technology, the use of natural resources and more.

The powers that some people might have are many and varied. They may be sleepwalkers like Ashala, or Rumblers, Skychangers, Runners and so many more other types of power. Some, but not all, are dangerous but all are feared by large portions of the general population thanks to a pretty effective propaganda machine. If a family suspects that their child may have powers then they need to be assessed and the whole family unit could well be destroyed - traumatic for everyone concerned.

Ashala is the leader of a group called The Tribe who live in the forest of tuart trees known as Firstwood. She has gathered together a group of people who all are Illegals because they all have special talents and together they are trying to build a community that respects the forest and the animals around them. As well as each having their own abilities, they may also have a special affinity with an animal. For Ashala, this is a wolf, but for others in the group it might be spiders, or the fierce saurs that also roam the area. Her friends are well developed and incorporated into the story and I am really looking forward to find out more about Ember and Georgie. I especially enjoyed the storyline that features Jaz, an exuberant young man whose journey is very surprising throughout the book.

Things are a little unsettled within the group because recently a detention centre has been build near Firstwood, and that centre is being led by Neville Rose, a man with a reputation for thoroughness when it comes to the investigation of Illegals that are in his care. When Ashala is captured after being betrayed by an outsider who has infiltrated the Tribe, she is taken to be interrogated by the machine but only after her sleepwalking ability has been neutralised. Ashala can perform amazing feats of power and strength as long as she dreams them and so steps must be taken so that she cannot escape from the detention centre. The aim for Neville Rose is to be able to access all of the secrets that Ashala holds dear, about her past and especially about the Tribe. The person who managed to infiltrate the Tribe and to ultimately betray Ashala is Justin Connor and now he is her jailer, her shadow, a perfect example of the kind of people that Ashala has come to hate in her short life.

There are several really clever things in this book. One of this is the incorporation of Dreamtime motifs into the new world. Another thing was the way that the plot unravels throughout the course of the book. There were so many plot twists that completely changed the way that the reader might be understanding the book and yet those twists all seemed to make sense. Ashala believes that she knows exactly what is going on, but with each twist the truth changes. The biggest question are will Ashala find the truth or will she reveal all of her secrets to the machine and how will the Tribe cope without her to lead them.

This book is an intriguing mix of dystopian society and fantasy with a Dreamtime twist. Sounds complicated, and it is, especially with the way that the plot twists and turns it way to the conclusion. It is ultimately a fascinating and enjoyable read, both complex and nuanced.

I was also glad to see that the cover very clearly shows a young Aboriginal girl and clearly reflects the tone of the novel.

I am glad that by participating in this event, I was introduced to the writing of Ambelin Kwaymullina. I very much look forward to reading the next book in this series.

Rating 4/5



Read the book for the following challenges:

 

Sunday Salon: Blood Song by Rhiannon Hart

Blood Song is the debut novel from Australian author Rhiannon Hart. I was interested in reading it when it first came out, but I hadn't quite gotten around to it yet. A couple of weeks ago I received the second book in this series for review, but I can't knowingly do the whole reading out of order thing so I borrowed this book from the library.

Shortly afterwards, the author offered me the chance to participated in a blog tour for the two books. Given that I read so much better to a deadline, I agreed to review this first book, so here it is!

Our main characters, Zeraphina, is a princess from the House of Amentia,  a noble but poor land where even just the daily struggle to survive is getting harder and harder for the people. Luckily there is every likelihood that life is going to improve even just a little thanks to the fact that Zeraphina's older sister, Lilith, is betrothed to a handsome prince which should lead to trade agreements and so much more. However, life can change in a heartbeat and when suddenly Lilith is once again single thanks to the death of her fiance the Queen, Renata, knows that she much move fast to find another husband for Lilith.

Where Lilith is golden haired with fair skin, Zeraphina is almost her complete opposite - her hair is only a couple of shades away from blackest black and her skin is pale. It is however not only her external appearance that makes our heroine as being different to everyone else. There is also the small matter of the thirst for blood that comes up on her, the odd pets that she owns (Leap the cat and Griffin the eagle who just about steal the limelight every time they appear on the page) and an almost unnatural talent with the bow and arrow. What Zeraphina doesn't know is why she is different. Her mother insists that she is the natural daughter of the deceased king, and that she changed as a result of a childhood illness, but why is she so different to everyone else, and why does she feel a strong pull towards the northern lands.

It doesn't take Renata long to set her sights on Prince Amis of Pergamia as a potential husband for her eldest daughter and so the family travels north. Zeraphina hopes that she will be able to find out more about her own strange yearnings and also about the land of Lharmel. She just knows that this place is important and given that nearly every reference to the land has been moved from the texts of her homeland this is her chance to learn.

One of the first people she is introduced to on arrival is Rodden Lothskorn. He is advisor to the royal family of Pergamia and he and Zeraphina instantly dislike each other.

Then I remembered what Renata had said about protocol. Maybe it was written in stone that arrogant jerks had to lead the younger sisters of future queens of the nation through to dinner.

It was rather hard on younger sisters, I thought.

It soon becomes clear that Rodden has secrets of his own, and if he would only share some of his knowledge he may well help Zeraphina learn more about who and what she is.

As I was reading this book I was trying to figure out which author I was reminded of, and in the end I decided that it was the Study series by Maria V Snyder. Some of the reasons why I think that is the that the kind of faux-medieval world that is not all that much different from our own world albeit with pretty modern language, an interesting female lead character plus a touch of romance. I guess the phrase that I am grasping for is fantasy-lite.

I liked the world that the author created. The Lharmellian's are suitably horrible creatures, and the journey that Zeraphina and Rodden undertake is epic in scope, with danger and drama on every page. As individual characters, both Zeraphina and Rodden are interesting. Whilst Zeraphina does occasionally make decisions that have the reader shaking your head in disbelief, she does recognise that  in herself and is suitably self-chastised. The other good thing is that once they start to work together, the two of them are clearly partners and it is not a case that Zeraphina needs to be saved by a hero.

At 290 pages, this book is an easy, quick read which is great if you just want a fast, entertaining read. I found myself wanting a little more depth in the interactions between the various characters and a little more world building. Thankfully, the book doesn't end on a major cliffhanger, and I am intrigued enough to want to keep reading the next book in the series.

Rating 3.5/5

To visit other people on the tour and to find out more about the author and her books, check out the following links

Tour Schedule
Rhiannon Hart's Facebook page
Rhiannon Hart on Twitter
Rhiannon Hart's blog
You can read the first chapter of the second book, Blood Storm, at the following link:

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/93879529/Blood%20Storm_extract.pdf

Thanks to Rhiannon Hart for inviting me to participate in the blog tour.

Synopsis

I wanted to turn but I was held captive by the song on the wind. I’m coming, I told the voices. Please, wait for me.

When her sister becomes betrothed to a prince in a northern nation, Zeraphina’s only consolations are that her loyal animal companions are by her side – and that her burning hunger to travel north is finally being sated.

Already her black hair and pale eyes mark her out as different, but now Zeraphina must be even more careful to keep her secret safe. Craving blood is not considered normal behaviour for anyone, let alone a princess. So when the king’s advisor, Rodden, seems to know more about her condition than she does, Zeraphina is determined to find out more.

Zeraphina must be willing to sacrifice everything if she’s to uncover the truth – but what if the truth is beyond her worst nightmares

This book counts for the following challenges:

Fables 4: March of the Wooden Soldiers by Bill Willingham

In the last volume of Fables that I read, the four stories were cohesive in some ways but in other ways were four standalone stories, with only two of them driving the ploorward.

This time it is different. The first story takes us to the past, to the final battle before all avenues back their magical homelands were closed off. The next three stories very much drive the story arc forward building and building until there is a blazing finale.

When the book opens it is the Ides of May and Boy Blue has been playing the blues on his saxophone all day. When his boss, Deputy Mayor of Fabletown Snow White asks him why he confesses that it is the anniversary of the final battle against the adversary and the day that he lost the woman he loved. Through Blue's eyes we see the lead up to the final battle including the evacuation of the fable refugees. They were the last boatload of fables to make it out from the homeland safely and that was the final gate to be closed meaning that no one else could escape. Blue only escaped thanks to the generosity of his commander who made it possible for him to be on the last boat, not realising that his new love had been left behind and he grieves his losses on every anniversary.

Cutting back to modern times, Prince Charming has decided that he wants to be mayor, Snow White is dealing with an expected complication from the events in the last book and everyone is surprised when it seems as though someone has escaped from the homelands and made it through to the safety of Fabletown. Nearly everyone is absolutely delighted because it means that other people might be able to join them. Nearly everyone, but not absolutely everyone.

When Blue's old girlfriend, Red Riding Hood, is the woman who makes it to safety, he has more reason than most to be thrilled. Right from the beginning the security chief Bigby Wolf (as in Big Bad) is suspicious and he insists that it is nothing to do with their past encounters but everything to do with the way that she came to find herself in on this side of the gate.

It also soon becomes clear that she is not the only person who has made it through, and that the others have destruction on their minds. Both the Fabletown community and the inhabitants of the farm where non-human fables reside have to work together to defeat the seeming constantly multiplying enemy before they destroy Fabletown completely. Somehow, they also need to keep the battle a secret from their Mundy neighbours. This is no easy task, but once again Snow White, Bigby, Rose Red and all their friends rise to the fore.

Willingham and his collaborators have been slowly building up to this battle since the beginning of the series, and does so masterfully. This books is quite dark - lots of death and bloodshed and more - but it is also darkly funny in parts (I loved the scene where the wooden soldiers got to decide what they would wear), poignant in places (Pinocchio's blind faith in his father was touching although I am not 100% convinced that it isn't misplaced) and just downright fun most of the time.

I am very interested to see where the story goes next as it did feel as though some of the story arcs were resolved in this novel but I suspect that there will be plenty of drama in the next book as the characters have to recover from the terrible battle and the losses that they have sustained in the course of it.

Rating 4.5/5

Additional artists include Mark Buckingham, Craig Hamilton, Steve Leialoha and P Craig Russell.

Synopsis

To the Barricades

For centuries the fables have watched the gateways between our mundane world and their lost magical homelands, even on guard for signs of invasion. Now, after decades of quiet, it seems that someone has finally escaped Adversary's oppression and made it to the sanctuary. But appearances, as always, can be deceiving, and there's plenty about this refugee's story that smells wrong to the right noses. In fact, things are worse than they suspect - plans are already under way for the complete destruction of Fabletown, and every one of its citizens is about to get a refresher course in the unforgiving lessons of war

RIP VII (Readers Imbibing Peril)

Whilst we are just about to have our last day of winter and therefore the joy that goes along with those first warm sunny days, the flowers blooming and the longer days should be manifesting! But in the Northern Hemisphere, the opposite is happening and the days are drawing in. For some, that could mean spooky reads, and luckily I am not really a seasonal reader so I can be joining in with RIP VII, hosted by Carl from Stainless Steel Droppings.

The purpose (from Carl's intro post) of R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril VII is to enjoy books and movies/television that could be classified  as:

Mystery.
Suspense.
Thriller.
Dark Fantasy.
Gothic.
Horror.
Supernatural.
Or anything sufficiently moody that shares a kinship with the above.


Looking at the piles and piles of books that I have around me, I think my pool of books will include

Fables 4: March of the Wooden Soldiers by Bill Willingham
Cracklescape by Margo Lanagan
Sea Hearts by Margo Lanagan
Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier
I Shall Not Want by Julia Spencer-Fleming
Fool Moon by Jim Butcher
The Greatcoat by Helen Dunmore

Also, over at Estelle Society, they are hosting a readalong of The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters, which I might join in with as well, although I am thinking that I might just be over committing myself given the other books I have already got plans to read!

That's a starting list at least.