Thrice Bound Fool by Christopher Buehlman

 Kinch and Galva are an unlikely couple, well, duo as a couple may be misleading.  One a thief and the other an honorable warrior.  They are joined by a sentient, murderous book that attempts to murder Kinch at every opportunity.

 On a journey through the Thralls, an intimidating mountain range, they are captured by half-giants after some misadventures.  Galva’s fighting skills turn out to be a touch detrimental as they bring unwanted notice.

 This is an excellent follow-up on The Black Tongued Thief.

 Excitement, adventure, sad and often funny misadventures are intermixed with battles, fights, and wondrous creatures.  

 There are some surprisingly tender scenes to leaven the mayhem.

 
I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend the series. 

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases if you click on a purchasing link below.#CommissionsEarned

THE COURT OF VENUS by Bel Banta

 Magic centered loosely on astrology, defines this book.  Your skill in manipulation is based on your relationship to astrological symbols.  Bianca is an ultra-rare moonborn. Roland is a Venus. Hal is normal.  The three-way relationship has a major impact on the plot.

 Magicians are feared.  They are bound to service to normals
, and not expected to rule.  Roland is the Viceroy for King Richard.  King Richard’s main interest is immortality.  His previous Viceroy, Prospero, failed to provide either a suitable heir or immortality. 

 Three children, raised together, loved each other, and eventually sundered from one another, figure prominently in the story.

 Magicians against magicians, nobles plotting for power, shape-changing, death magic, inescapable prisons, and even a dragon are included.   There is an abundant serving of treachery and deceit as well. There is something for everyone in this book. 

I enjoyed it and recommend it.

 

 

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases if you click on a purchasing link below.#CommissionsEarned

A Trade of Blood by Robert Jackson Bennet

 A society and world that has embraced biotechnology and rejected mechanical technology is the setting for this tale.  Din, an augmented engraver, is enhanced to have an eidetic memory triggered by scent indexing. Ana has mysterious enhancements and is the senior partner of the Empire’s detective team. The two are sent to investigate the murder of a prominent citizen, whose family is one of the two most eminent families in the raising of enhanced beef.

 The storyline often indirectly alludes to the abuses of “lower” animals for the benefit of the masses. The killing of the biologically enhanced animals, as well as the harvesting of their main food source by biologically enhanced “cats,” figures prominently in the plot.

 Recognition of the value of all life may be the not-so-hidden message in the book.   Behavioral conditioning dangers are examined.

 It is a good mystery with strange and entertaining characters; I recommend the book and the series.

 

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases if you click on a purchasing link below.#CommissionsEarned

Hell's Heart by Alexis Hall

Hell's Heart by Alexis Hall

 This is a first-person account of a vagabond who ships to Jovian space to hunt leviathans on Jupiter.

 The premise seemed solid. I struggled with the execution of the story.  There seems to be a gratuitous use of sexual references for no discernible reason.  I don’t find the references to sex objectionable just of curious use.

 It surprised me that I found the first-person perspective enjoyable.

 Overall, I felt some succinctness would have improved the story for me. 

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases if you click on a purchasing link below.#CommissionsEarned

Alien Art by Gordon R. Dickson

Alien Art by Gordon R. Dickson

It could be a decade since I read a Dickson. I'm finally getting around to reading some of the many, many books I've collected.  Dickson's been deceased for more than 25 years, yet his voice and his symbolism still flourish. 

This book demonstrates the power of symbolism and how it can change the face of society. 

It also shows that our nation has lacked a cohesive symbolism.  We, as a nation, need something to bring us together, rather than drive us apart.  

A book published in 1973 drives home the need people have for something to believe, something to follow, something that satisfies the urge to be better than we are. 

Dickson is gone but his power lives on. 

 

Kill All Wizards by Jebediah Berry

 This book never grabbed me. It was good enough to read to the conclusion but not in any way compelling to me.  Gotchimus, the barbarian, seeks revenge against all Wizards for the multiple deaths of his brother. That is the plot.

Gotchimus is involved in action scenes depicting the demise of wizards. The narrator suggests that they are leaving out all the gruesome details.

The end of the book provides an interesting turn.

 

 

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases if you click on a purchasing link below.#CommissionsEarned

The Inn at the Foot of Mount Vengeance by Chiara Bullen

 Ainsworth Gladsly is a scholar, not just any scholar, a Skarrow Library Scholar.  As an esteemed research fellow, Ainsworth expected respect from his lessers and peers. Lessers being any person who hadn’t achieved his level of intellectual snobbery.

 After a fight with his paramour, Enach, Ainsworth finds himself on the way to the Misnich Inn at the foot of Mount Vengeance.  His goal is to document the travels of adventurers as they scale Mount Vengeance and challenge its dragon.

 Upon meeting Honey, the proprietress of Inn, Ainsworth is dismayed that the country bumpkins are not in awe of his vaunted intellectual skills.

 Bullen weaves a story fraught with emotional parables.  The growth of character interaction and how it changes is paramount to the plot.

 The point is driven home that personal satisfaction and accomplishment are underrated and need to be lauded rather than ignored. Internal rewards surpass transitory praise.

 I liked the book, loved the message, and recommend the book. 

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases if you click on a purchasing link below.#CommissionsEarned