So until recently, I had shelves and shelves filled with books, but live in a really small apartment at the same time. That doesn't really work when, you know, you're about to have twins - who will be completely taking over in August.
Hence the boxes...
Here's most of my books. I was allowed to keep one shelf (and a box under the bed), so I'll have plenty to keep me going for a little while. I just always like having plenty to be able to pick from when it comes to picking up the next book.
It's sad, but hopefully will only last until we get into our new place...wherever that happens to be. I graduate law school in May, take the bar in July, twins come in August, and who knows after that.
Once, all power in the Vin Lands was held by the prince-mages, who alone could craft spellwines, and selfishly used them to increase their own wealth and influence. But their abuse of power caused a demigod to break the Vine, shattering the power of the mages. Now, fourteen centuries later, it is the humble Vinearts who hold the secret of crafting spells from wines, the source of magic, and they are prohibited from holding power.
But now rumors come of a new darkness rising in the vineyards. Strange, terrifying creatures, sudden plagues, and mysterious disappearances threaten the land. Only one Vineart senses the danger, and he has only one weapon to use against it: a young slave. His name is Jerzy, and his origins are unknown, even to him. Yet his uncanny sense of the Vinearts' craft offers a hint of greater magics within -- magics that his Master, the Vineart Malech, must cultivate and grow. But time is running out. If Malech cannot teach his new apprentice the secrets of the spellwines, and if Jerzy cannot master his own untapped powers, the Vin Lands shall surely be destroyed.
In Flesh and Fire, first in a spellbinding new trilogy, Laura Anne Gilman conjures a story as powerful as magic itself, as intoxicating as the finest of wines, and as timeless as the greatest legends ever told.
Giveaway Rules
Want a signed copy of Flesh and Fire for free? Done. Just follow these simple giveaway instructions for your chance to win (giveaway runs till 11/15/09 @ 11:59 PM EST):
1) E-mail me [bloggeratf@gmail.com] your name and address, with the title of the book in caps, as the subject. Snarky comments increase your chances of winning. 2) Sign up for site updates either in RSS or with Friend Connect on the side. This will also let you know about future giveaways! 3) Think happy thoughts. 4) (OPTIONAL) Share or link to any post on the blog--this earns you brownie points as well as increasing your (if you have made it this far) already significant odds. 5) There is no rule number five. I just like odd numbers.
Welcome back to my weekly roundup. Again and again, I'm surprised at how fast a week goes by. Now let's start......
MOVIES
Do you V? No, I am not asking for the twenty second letter in the modern Latin alphabet, nor for V for Vendetta film. I wanted to hear an answer like this: "V!? Yes, there was an amazing series aired on NBC in the 80's. It was the continuation of a science fiction franchise also known as THE VISITORS." Get ready for it, because ABC decided to remake V. To be honest I always have concerns when I hear or read about remakes. In this case, it's the other way round. I watched some episodes from the 80's series on video-cassette. This was at the end of the 80's, well before DVD brightened our lives. Compared to the original series, the trailer of the remake is really mouth-watering. Check out the V - upfront trailer below:
BLOGOSPHERE
As you may have noticed the number of blogs related to SciFi/Fantasy is still growing, while some of them are not maintained any longer. In order not to get lost in the wild wild web, I searched for some help and advice. I found Reviewer Time: The Official Blog Post!! Harry Markov aka Daydream started to review blogs! So far he reviewed four blogs and if you want more information about blogs, I highly recommend to read these reviews. And the good thing is, there willbe more blog reviews in future!
Larry from OF Blog of the Fallen shared his thoughts about the "Essay: On Book Review Blogs" by Charles Tan over at Bibliophile Stalker. If you want more information and thoughts about changes of blogs then read it. And take part in the discussion by posting your thoughts.
John from Grasping of the Wind has an ongoing post under the tag Inside The Blogosphere which I really appreciate. For this week edition he asked several reviewers about Authors of note, without noteriety. The answers are like finding a lost treasure. I discovered great "old" authors which are new to me.
GAMES
In a time long long ago, (before I started to follow blogs and so on) I played a lot of PC- and Console games. I enjoyed games like SIM CITY, ZELDA, MARIO, OBLIVION, MORROWIND, ARCANUM and ANNO. Anno is a series of several strategy games developed by Germany-based Sunflowers Interactive Entertainment Software company. So far ANNO 1602, ANNO 1503, ANNO 1701 have been released for PC. ANNO 1701 : Dawn of Discovery has been released for Nintendo DS. Nowadays, I prefer to play in front of the TV instead on a handheld or a PC. Therefore I'm really happy that based on the new upcoming ANNO 1404 PC version a Wii and NINTENDO DS has been developed. The German WII version is available under title ANNO - Erschaffe eine neue Welt. The English version titled Dawn of Discovery will be released in June 2009. Now you ask yourself why the hell does this naughty guy fill us with gossip about video games. The answer is quite simple. On Wednesday this week I couldn't wait any longer and I bought ANNO for Wii. And I have no regrets about it. The controls work well, the graphics are a bit comic, due to the limits of the Wii. More importantly, they ported the game mechanism from PC to WII in a great way. Anyway, I am really enjoying it so far. Please read the IGN game review. They explain a lot better than me why ANNO for Wii is a great game. After so many words you need a video. Enjoy the ANNO trailer below.
BOOKS
In 2009 I read one of the best books in my life so far: The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruis Zafon. I bought and read the book based on Aidan's review. I'm still grateful for this. There are a lot more reviews available. Google "The Shadow of the Wind Carlos Ruiz Zafon review" and you get 31,500 hits! Incredible! Now, I am looking forward to reading his next book: The Angel's Game. Instead of a review link you get a book trailer:
When you read a post like this one you are interested in books. And I estimate you are a well-read person. As we all know we can't read everything. So what do you do when you attend an event - party, meeting, whatever - and people start to discuss books you don't know? The simple answer is LIE. But how to lie about books in an educated way? Read How to Lie About Books by Jason Henninger. CAUTION - you can catch the giggles...
Broken Angels (2003) is the second book by Richard K. Morgan in the Takeshi Kovacs series, a hard bitting military science fiction adventure that, once again, is sure to leave you breathless.
The Setup
Broken Angles follows on the action packed Altered Carbon, and it can easily be read as a standalone book. In Broken Angels, we once again find Takeshi Kovacs hard at work trying not to get killed. This time around, the action centers on the discovery of an ancient Martian door that may very well lead to the greatest technological and archeological find in human history. The only problem is that Sanction IV is embroiled in a full out war, and both sides want a piece of the find. Cutthroat corporate executive, re-sleeved black ops operatives, and nano-tech gone rogue make the second installment in the Takeshi Kovacs series one not to be missed. If you enjoyed Altered Carbon, then you are going to love Broken Angels.
My Take in Brief
Takeshi Kovacs is a brilliantly constructed character. I am hooked to the tension created by his Envoy training and his individuality. That said, Broken Angles is definitely more formulaic than Altered Carbon, and seems to lack some of the grit and realism present in its predecessor. That doesn't make it a poor read, quite the contrary in fact. I attribute that mostly to this book not being set on Old Earth, a setting to which the plot and action were central last time, as opposed to this installment where the setting on Sanction IV appears secondary. The fact that most of the action takes place on a beachhead doesn't help matters much. That said, I really enjoyed this book, with its earthy realism and extended cast of secondary characters. Mr. Morgan is quite the expert at brining to life new characters in as few words as possible. Sadly, he is also quite the expert at getting them killed in fairly gruesome ways as well. As usual, nothing is quite what it seems in the world of Takeshi Kovacs, so be ready for the plot to kick into overdrive and leave you gasping for breath as you are pressed down into your reading chair. Here is a blurb from Mr. Morgan himself:
"A deeper and darker excursion into the Kovacs universe, more detail on the politics of the Protectorate, the Martians and the Archaeologue Guild. A planetary war, a paradigm-shattering discovery and a journey into the inner reaches of Takeshi's trauma-ridden consciousness.
"If there was ultimately something clean at the end of Altered Carbon, Broken Angels offers no such comfort. You're just lucky if you get out alive. Focus called it 'nasty', and they were right."
Highlights
Boom, squish, splash, crunch.
Awesome pace and tempo.
I mean come on, its Takeshi Kovacs!
The "paradigm-shattering" discovery. It is really cool, no joke.
Angry, and self-evolving nano technology.
Lowlights
A certain lack of detail in the setting.
Slightly formulaic.
Again, slightly deus ex, but much cleaner than last time.
Your Take
I am really curious to see that people though about Broken Angels. I loved the first book, even though it left me feeling like I just avoided a car accident on the highway, and sincerely enjoyed this one as well. Sadly I bought Market Forces thinking it would be another Takeshi Kovacs novel, only to find out it wasn't---its still pretty decent so far though. So, which did you like better: Broken Angels or Altered Carbon?
I love the Takeshi Kovacs series so far and most definitely plan to pick up the third installment soon, so expect a review of that. In the meantime make sure to pick up Altered Carbon if you haven't already, because you are going to love Broken Angels.
Giveaway
Want this book for free? Done. Just follow these simple giveaway instructions for your chance to win (giveaway runs for five days from the date of posting):
1) E-mail me your name and address with the title of the book as the subject. Snarky comments increase your chances of winning.
2) Sign up for site updates either in RSS or with Friend Connect on the side. This will also let you know about future giveaways; typically 2-3 per week.
3) Think happy thoughts.
4)(OPTIONAL) Share or link to any post on my blog--this earns you brownie points as well as increasing your (if you have made it this far) already significant odds.
Congratulations Jake L. on your free copy of Broken Angels. Let us know what you thought when your done reading.
Disclosure: Assume all links are affiliate links (i.e., we get paid a small percentage). That helps run the blog and do what we do, which is mostly reading more books.
, by Carlos Ruis Zafon. I bought and read the book based on Aidan's review. I'm still grateful for this. There are a lot more reviews available. Google "The Shadow of the Wind Carlos Ruiz Zafon review" and you get 31,500 hits! Incredible! Now, I am looking forward to reading his next book: The Angel's Game
. Instead of a review link you get a book trailer:
Broken Angels (2003) is the second book by Richard K. Morgan in the Takeshi Kovacs series, a hard bitting military science fiction adventure that, once again, is sure to leave you breathless.
if you haven't already, because you are going to love Broken Angels
. 