Last Review of 2010: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin

I have a Kindle now! And this is the first book I read on it. Unfortunately, I added it to my ‘Disliked’ collection.

Schephs: *****—– 5 out of 10

I spotted a lot of buzz about this book on Twitter and book review blogs, so when I got my Kindle I thought of it and decided to give it a try. One of the neat things about ebooks is that a lot of them let you try a decently sized sample before buying. Upon starting the sample of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, I was still hesitant to try it. By the end of the sample, I was frothing at the mouth to read the rest.

Clearly something happened along the way. I honestly try to be respectful of all books I review (I don’t always succeed, heh heh), even the ones I don’t like, because I know that most published fiction has had much tender and loving care applied to it. I can really see that Jemisin put a lot of care and thought into this story.

Excitement & Nostalgia: My Very First Waiting On Wednesday & Remember Whensday!

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

I have been eagerly anticipating the following book since I finished the first one, The Name of the Wind (my review here):

Release date is March 1st, 2011. DAW Hardcover.

Amazon.com description, taken from the back of the first book since no official description has been released yet:

My name is Kvothe. I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep. You may have heard of me… So begins the tale of a hero told from his own point of view—a story unequaled in fantasy literature.

I will continue to suffer in anticipation until this is released. Parallel to my suffering over HBO’s upcoming Game of Thrones. BLARGH!

Zombies vs. Unicorns: Zombies Drool, But Also Rule

VERSUS

I’d like to start this review by discrediting myself: I love zombies. (Not like that.) And I don’t read YA very often. It’s not that I think I’m too mature–definitely not that!–or some other BS, I just find that I don’t like the tone that often accompanies YA and I usually don’t relate to the characters. So I’m also unfamiliar with most of the authors in this anthology. I’ve only read books from Garth Nix and Meg Cabot before.

Book Blogger Hop: October 1 – 4

So! This is my first time with the Book Blogger Hop. Obviously I joined in a little bit late, but I wanted to give it a try.

This week’s question: How do you spread the word about your blog?

How does book reviewing affect the reading experience?

A few weeks ago as I was reading Naamah’s Curse, a book that I didn’t review very favorably, I realized that I have become more critical of the books I read as I’ve gotten into the habit of reviewing them. An obvious change, I suppose. I feel that, before I began reviewing regularly, I would’ve read Naamah’s Curse and at least liked it somewhat (maybe rated it a 6/10 instead of 4/10). Anyway, I couldn’t decide if this was a good or bad change. I decided to e-mail some other, much more well-known reviewers to see their thoughts. The specific question I asked was:  Do you think book reviewing has soured your overall experience of books? Why or why not?

Four Glimpses Aren’t Enough!

If you like the Nightrunner series and/or slash fiction you will like this story collection.

Schephs: ********– 8 out of 10

SPOILER WARNING: This book itself, plus my review, is a spoiler if you haven’t read any of the Nightrunner books by Lynn Flewelling (beginning with Luck in the Shadows) or if you’ve only read Luck in the Shadows.

If you have read the Nightrunner series and wished the male/male sex scenes weren’t always cut off, this is the short story collection for you. That being said, there’s more to it than erotica (and more than just m/m erotica, even). Fitting the title, this collection offers four glimpses into “cut scenes” from the Nightrunner books, plus a short excerpt from the next book, workingly entitled The Summer Players (title WILL change) and expected to release October 2011. This collection is also peppered with fan art, selected by Lynn herself, depicting scenes from the various short stories. It’s a nice touch, as well as a charming homage to her fans.

The first short, “The Misfit,” follows Seregil just after his exile and into his apprenticeship with Nysander. It also details his first sexual encounter in Skala (m/m).

The second story, “The Wild,” covers a short part of Alec’s childhood with his father, which includes his father reminiscing about what happened between him and Alec’s mother. Warning: hetero sex.

The third, “By the River,” is a previously released short (mostly to fan groups) about how Seregil and Micum met. No erotica (apologies to the Seregil/Micum shippers…ha).

“The Bond” will probably be of the most interest to hardcore Nightrunner fans. No pun intended. (Okay, you got me, pun intended.) Herein lies the details of Seregil and Alec’s consummation of their love for one another on that fateful night following the end of Stalking Darkness.

Last but not least, “The Summer Players (working title),” the excerpt from the upcoming Nightrunner book. Some nudity.

Cold Magic Makes Me Feel Warm and Fuzzy

If you like steampunk, ice magic, the His Dark Materials trilogy, and/or cats you will probably like this book.

Schephs: ********– 8 out of 10

Cold Magic is my first introduction to Kate Elliott’s work, although I can’t count the times I have picked up one of the books from her Crown of Stars series and then put it back. I don’t remember now why I never bought one. So in respect to her other works, I can’t compare this first book of the Spiritwalker trilogy. I can say that I really enjoyed this book and I will probably get into the Crown of Stars series (or one of her other series). I certainly understand why this book is recommended to fans of the His Dark Materials trilogy, which happens to be one of my favorites.

Cold Magic is a steampunk tale with a science-vs.-magic twist ( I haven’t really encountered science-vs.-magic before). The main character, Catherine Hassi Barahal, is a young university student more inclined towards science when she is thrust ceremoniously into the clutches of the cold mages. Soon enough, the true danger of her situation is made clear, leading to great steampunky fantasy adventure.

GRRM Giveaway Winner!

Drumroll please! Random.org selected the number…

TWO! (2) aka the number assigned to one of the entries of…

Alex from Hawaii Book Blog!

Congratulations, Alex! Please email me at maischeph[at]gmail[dot]com with the subject “GRRM Giveaway” and the mailing address you would like to receive your prizes at. I will email you more details once you have contacted me. If I don’t get a response by Saturday, September 25th, I will select a winner from the other entries.

To everyone else, thank you so much for participating! I will be having another giveaway sometime in October, so check back if you’re interested. I really appreciate all of your participation.

My next review (hopefully up tomorrow or the next day) will be for Cold Magic by Kate Elliott.

BBAW: Book Giveaway, Towers of Midnight News & the Evil that is HOAs

Book Blogger Appreciation Week

Today I am honoring BBAW as well as excitement (mine) over the upcoming A Game of Thrones HBO show. I’m doing it with a book giveaway! Yay! Original, I know. Since it’s BBAW, I will give you an extra entry into the giveaway if you have a book-reviewing blog that is at least one month old. Make sure to link it to me somehow (and make sure to read on How to Enter below).

**ANOTHER NOTE: I appreciate this post being tweeted by you wonderful peoples, but please go to my Twitter profile and retweet my tweet about this so I can keep track of who wants to enter! Also, in further BBAW celebration-ness, if you have a book blog, comment below with a link to it and I will put up a post in a few days with a link and blurb of your blog. That is all.**

Giveaway: The Prizes!

A) A brand new paperback copy of Legends, an anthology edited by Robert Silverberg that includes stories by Stephen King, Robert Jordan, Terry Goodkind, Anne McCaffrey, Orson Scott Card, Terry and Lyn Pratchett, Raymond E. Feist, Tad Williams, Ursula K. Le Guin and, most importantly (in this instance), George R.R. Martin. The short story by GRRM is “The Hedge Knight,” a prequel story that occurs roughly 90 years before A Song of Ice and Fire.

B) A brand spankin’ new copy of the graphic novel of “The Hedge Knight,” adapted by Ben Avery (Writer) and Mark Miller (Illustrator), re-released by Marvel in 2007. The illustrations are wonderful, and I love the story. I can’t speak for how well it was/wasn’t adapted from the written version, because I actually haven’t read that (oh look, I’m blushing). If I find the story so enjoyable in this format, I can only imagine how awesome it is in the original format!

C) Last but not least, there will be a Mystery Prize that is Not A Book included in this prize package. That’s right, all three items will be given away to one lucky winner!

Too Much Excitement: HBO’s A Game of Thrones

Best birthday present ever (except for the t-shirt my husband is making me with Logan Gyre‘s sigil on it)!! News about the forthcoming A Game of Thrones TV series, based on George R.R. Martin‘s A Song of Ice and Fire series, was posted on September 12th to a blog about the making of said series. The TV show is scheduled to air on HBO in March 2011.

They included a picture of Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen:

I hope they make her eyes purple in post-production....

A VERY short teaser trailer:

A short “Behind the Scenes” video:

Keep an eye on the Making Of blog if you enjoy being frustrated for months at a time!

I never had any reason to get HBO before (in fact, I generally prefer Showtime…not that I get that either, just Netflix…. But HBO does have Jim Jefferies, who makes me lolcry. He’s definitely worth checking out. Perhaps my second favorite comedian, after Eddie Izzard.  I’ve gone off on quite a tangent, haven’t I?), but I am definitely getting it now. Usually I would just wait for the DVD/Blu-Ray release, but there is not a chance I would survive that long in this situation. I always assumed that my favorite fantasy series, being so complex, would never be made into any sort of visual medium. And if it was, it probably wouldn’t be quality. Except that one of my all-time favorites IS being translated into a visual medium, and it appears to be quality (HBO and whatnot…also, bewbz). I can’t even wrap my mind around it, I sort of go into an excitable ‘SQUEEEEEE!!!!’ mode.

Anyway.

I have been reading this series since I was thirteen, roughly seven nine years (my math skills have gone down the toilet). I can only imagine the excitement one might feel if they’ve been reading since the beginning. Heck, even people who haven’t read the series are getting psyched!

Oh! Also, there are two screenshot desktop wallpapers available. One has Sean Bean as Eddard Stark, and the other has the above photo of Dany.