Waiting on Wednesday (39)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. So here's a thing I'm looking forward to: Bracelet of Bones, by Kevin Crossley-Holland (Quercus, 11 March 2014).

It is 1036. Halfdan is a Viking mercenary who is determined to travel to Constantinople and become one of the Viking Guard serving Empress Zoe. He promises to take his daughter, but one morning Solveig wakes up to find him gone. Setting off in her own tiny boat, she is determined to make the journey from Norway to the breathtaking city. Her boat is washed up, but Solveig is undeterred. What awaits Solveig as she continues on her summer journey across the world? She finds passage with Viking traders, witnesses the immolation of a young slave girl and learns to fight. She sees the clashes between those who praise her Norse Gods and the new Christians. In this perilous and exciting world, a young girl alone could be quickly endangered or made a slave. Will Solveig live to see her father again, and if she survives, will she remain free? A glittering novel that explores friendship and betrayal, the father-daughter relationship, the clash of religions and the journey from childhood to adulthood.

Cover and description from Fantastic Fiction.

*****

This only counts as an upcoming release for those of us in the USA; it apparently has been out in the UK since 2011. But hey, I am in the USA, and I'm looking forward to this one.

I happen to know that Halfdan did make it to Constantinople, because archeologists have found the spot in the Hagia Sophia where he left some runic graffiti on the wall (something along the lines of "Halfdan made these runes"), but I'll be very interested in seeing Solveig's journey.

Waiting on Wednesday (38)

 

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. So here's a thing I'm looking forward to: King's Ransom, by Sharon Kay Penman (Putnam, 4 March 2014).

 

This long-anticipated sequel to the national bestseller Lionheart is a vivid and heart-wrenching story of the last event-filled years in the life of Richard, Coeur de Lion. Taken captive by the Holy Roman Emperor while en route home—in violation of the papal decree protecting all crusaders—he was to spend fifteen months chained in a dungeon while Eleanor of Aquitaine moved heaven and earth to raise the exorbitant ransom. But a further humiliation awaited him: he was forced to kneel and swear fealty to his bitter enemy.

For the five years remaining to him, betrayals, intrigues, wars, and illness were ever present. So were his infidelities, perhaps a pattern set by his father's faithlessness to Eleanor. But the courage, compassion, and intelligence of this warrior king became the stuff of legend, and A King's Ransom brings the man and his world fully and powerfully alive.
Cover and description from Fantastic Fiction.
*****

I am a big fan of Sharon Kay Penman; it's because of her work that I'm a fan of historical fiction in general and of historical fiction set in the medieval era specifically (and also a defender of Richard III). I've read almost everything she's ever written, though I've gotten a little bit behind; I haven't read Lionheart yet. Now that this new one is coming out, I guess I'll have to bump the previous volume closer to the top of the list of Books I Want to Read Real Soon Now.

Waiting on Wednesday (37)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.  So here's a thing I'm looking forward to: Gospel of Loki, by Joanne Harris (Gollancz, 13 February 2014).

The novel is a brilliant first-person narrative of the rise and fall of the Norse gods - retold from the point of view of the world's ultimate trickster, Loki. It tells the story of Loki's recruitment from the underworld of Chaos, his many exploits on behalf of his one-eyed master, Odin, through to his eventual betrayal of the gods and the fall of Asgard itself. Using her life-long passion for the Norse myths, Joanne Harris has created a vibrant and powerful fantasy novel.

Cover and description from Fantastic Fiction.

*****

I love novels based on myths. I'm not as familiar with the Norse myths as with the Greek, so this has the capacity to surprise me, always a good thing.

Waiting on Wednesday (36)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. So here's a thing I'm looking forward to: Like a Mighty Army, by David Weber (Tor, 18 February 2014).

For centuries, the world of Safehold, last redoubt of the human race, lay under the unchallenged rule of the Church of God Awaiting. The Church permitted nothing new - no new inventions, no new understandings of the world.

What no one knew was that the Church was an elaborate fraud - a high-tech system established by a rebel faction of Safehold's founders, meant to keep humanity hidden from the powerful alien race that had destroyed old Earth.

Then awoke Merlyn Athrawes, cybvernetic avatar of a warrior a thousand years dead, felled in the war in which Earth was lost. Monk, warrior, counselor to princes and kings, Merlyn has one purpose: to restart the history of the too-long-hidden human race.

And now the fight is thoroughly underway. The island empire of Charis has declared its independence from the Church, and with Merlyn's help has vaulted forward into a new age of steam-powered efficiency. Fending off the wounded Church, Charis has drawn more and more of the countries of Safehold to the cause of independence and self-determination. But at a heavy cost in bloodshed and loss - a cost felt by nobody more keenly that Merlyn Athrawes.

The wounded Church is regrouping. Its armies and resources are vast. The fight for humanity's future isn't over, and won't be over soon...

Cover and description from Fantastic Fiction. 

*****

Science fiction for people who like Patrick O'Brien.  I read the first book in this series after seeing David Weber speak at a library conference a couple of years ago, whenever the ALA annual conference was last in New Orleans. I had not read any of his work before, but Off Armageddon Reef was fabulously entertaining, and seven books in I'm still following after. I have to admit that some of the technical detail on things like munitions design loses my attention a little, and there is a lot of technical detail in this series; but I still want to know what happens next. 

Waiting on Wednesday (35)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.  So here's a thing I find I'm looking forward to, almost in spite of myself: Stolen Crown, by Dennis L. McKiernan (Roc Hardcover, 4 February 2014).

For more than a hundred years, a bitter dispute over how the High King had been selected simmered in the dark halls of the royal family whose line had not been chosen. They held fast to their anger and bitterness through generations.

Finally one of their sons, Arkov of Garia, seized the throne through treachery and by force of arms, claiming it as rightfully his. But in his haste to see the king and queen slain, Arkov failed to confirm the death of the young prince, Reyer, who was spirited away to safety.

On a distant and mysterious island ruled by elves, where he was raised and trained by a trusted Captain of the slain High King, Reyer has now come of age. He has learned of his lineage—and those loyal to the bloodline of the true High King have rallied to his side.

And though the forces of his enemy are far superior, Reyer will gather an army and lead them against the Usurper—to gain back the crown and kingdom stolen from him and to restore Mithgar to its rightful rule.

Cover and description from Fantastic Fiction.

*****

I have an ambiguous relationship with the work of Dennis McKiernan. His first published work, the Iron Tower trilogy that established his Mithgar setting, was such an egregious ripoff of The Lord of the Rings that I was frankly amazed, even at the age of 14 or 15, that it had gotten by the eagle eyes of the Tolkien estate. I mean, the plot corresponded beat for beat, and the characters were all exceedingly familiar Types. I mean, it was more obvious than Terry Brooks' first Shannara books, and those were pretty damned obvious. And on top of that, McKiernan tried to use a Shakespeare-in-the-park kind of language that didn't come naturally to him, and it sounded pretty clunky.

But I read the whole thing, and not just because at that time of my life I hadn't yet realized that I really had no obligation to finish every book I started. There was just something about it, in spite of all the obvious surface flaws, that showed enough promise that I wanted to keep going. I read some more of his Mithgar stuff later on, too, and to this day I will defend Dragondoom against all comers, one by one or all in a bunch, as a truly excellent epic tragedy of a fantasy novel.

It's been a while since I read anything by him, but I think I might give this one a try.
 

Waiting on Wednesday (34)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.  So here's a thing I'm looking forward to: Air of Treason, by P.F. Chisholm (Poisoned Pen Press, 4 February 2014).

After his hair-raising adventures in London, Sir Robert Carey has finally tracked down the Queen who is about to make a state visit to Oxford. But instead of giving him his much-needed warrant and fee for being Deputy Warden of the West March with Scotland, Her Majesty orders him to investigate the most dangerous cold case of her reign - the mysterious death of Amy Dudley nee Robsart, unloved wife of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, the Queen's long ago favourite suitor and potential husband. Since the Queen herself is one of the most obvious suspects for Amy's murder, Carey is not happy about this. And then somebody nearly manages to poison him with belladonna which blinds him temporarily. Worse still, Sergeant Dodd has totally disappeared on the road from London. As the Queen's scandalous past collides with her magnificent State entrance into Oxford, can Carey recover from being blinded by poison in time to find both Dodd and the true murderer of Amy Robsart?

Cover and description from Fantastic Fiction.

*****

I read the first four Robert Carey books a lot closer to their publication date, back when I lived in North Carolina, and was so fascinated by the setting on the notoriously lawless 16th-century Scottish border that I went on to read George MacDonald Fraser's history book on the subject, The Steel Bonnets (highly recommended, and don't skip the appendix with the complete text of the Archbishop of Glasgow's Monition of Cursing). So I was pretty excited a couple of years ago when, after a twelve-year hiatus, there was suddenly a fifth book in the series; and now a sixth one is coming out, huzzah. Should be good!

Fangirl

by Rainbow Rowell.

There's a lot about her first semester of college that tends to throw Cath off her stride, starting with the idea that her twin sister Wren doesn't want to room with her and not ending with the fact that her surly assigned roommate seems to come with a boyfriend who's always in their room (or at least waiting in the hallway outside). The followers of Cath's fanfic would really like it if she updated more often, and her Fiction Writing professor thinks that all fanfic is essentially plagiarism and has given her her first F for turning in one of her fics. Wren has thrown herself into the party scene and seems to be getting drunk pretty often, and back home, their dad is left with nobody to look after him and rein him in when he goes off his meds and gets too manic. It gives Cath a lot to worry about; maybe going away to college wasn't the best idea?

This really entertaining book was recommended to me by the teen librarian where I work, but it was already on my radar from things I'd seen at the Tor.com blog. I kept reading random lines out loud to my husband when I thought they were self-contained enough to be funny without much context ("Don't get charm all over my sister. What if we can't get it out?"), but a lot more of it was funny in context. Cath's struggles with anxiety and self-doubt really resonated with me as well, given that I too was a shy, socially awkward, writer girl in college; though my reams of fanfic rightfully didn't see the light of day, let alone have a following.