Tag: Wyrd and Wonder

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Spirits that Walk in Shadow by Nina Kiriki Hoffman

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I read Spirits that Walk in Shadow for Wyrd and Wonder and then ran out of time to write up my thoughts and post them. And then got distracted. For a whole month. But hey, better late than never, eh? This is the third Chapel Hollow book, a series of books that are only very loosely connected and can easily be read as stand-alone stories. The thread that runs through them is the group of magical families whose customs and practices are mostly kept secret from we ordinary folk. Magic is often used by these families to coerce and enslave, … Continue reading Spirits that Walk in Shadow by Nina Kiriki Hoffman

Miscellaneous Thoughts18 Comments

Fun for Monday: Quick Fire Fantasy Books

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Tammy did this tag just the other day and it was too tempting to ignore. It was originally created by Jo The Bookworm Dreamer whose responses, along with Tammy’s, only added to my already-quite-large-enough-thank-you TBR. (Reader problems, eh? *grins hugely*). Anyway, let’s see Wyrd and Wonder out with a wave and a smile, and some rapid-fire responses to Jo’s prompts …   5 Star Book:   What’s that? I’m getting repetitive? Well, I don’t read as fast as some of you and when I like something I do tend to go on and on and on … I don’t think … Continue reading Fun for Monday: Quick Fire Fantasy Books

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My Wyrd & Wonder wind down … or, how I did with that bingo challenge in the end

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  Wyrd and Wonder is always such a blast and this year has been no different – I’ve made some new friends, read swathes of awesome posts by awesome people (and I’m still catching up), and seen my TBR list double in size (yet again) – what more could a book blogger want? Maybe only a book bingo. Which one of our three most excellent hosts, imyril, provided, and which I possibly spent a disproportionate amount of time agonising over. Because, you know, lists and achievements are how I work. So I did some extracurricular reading – crammed into lunch … Continue reading My Wyrd & Wonder wind down … or, how I did with that bingo challenge in the end

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The House of the Stag by Kage Baker

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In The Anvil of the World Kage Baker introduced us to a fantasy world peopled with the calamitous Children of the Sun, the gentle Yendri and the chaotic race of demons. There was a lot of fun to be had in the meeting and mingling of these three peoples, along with some pointed observations about humanity that made the book more than just another amusing fantasy adventure. So when I found The House of the Stag in the discarded books pile at work (with a badly broken spine) I swiped it. Naturally. In Anvil Baker created the Master of the … Continue reading The House of the Stag by Kage Baker

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Read-along: The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart (week 4)

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Wow! I’ve never been so frustrated at the conclusion of a book! Cliffhangers are a killer (which is why backlist reading is sooo appealing, I hate to wait), and Stewart has left us (or maybe just me?) with more questions than answers. Which is handy, in one sense, as I’m providing this week’s prompts, but, phew, it’s made answering them difficult! So without further ado, let’s talk about the end of The Bone Shard’s Daughter.   GIANT SPOILERS TO FOLLOW – DO NOT PASS THIS POINT IF YOU’VE NOT READ THE BOOK …   …   Chapters 36 to end … Continue reading Read-along: The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart (week 4)

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Read-along: The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart (week 3)

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Sheesh! Some Things have been revealed this week! And while none of the many mysteries have been truly unravelled yet, we are starting to see shapes in the mist … the truth may be stranger (and way creepier) than we think. This week’s prompts have been provided by the awesome Lisa of Dear Geek Place, one of our three rather marvellous Wyrd and Wonder hosts. Schedule details for this read-along can be found here. Watch out for the SPOILERS, SPOILERS, SPOILERS!   Chapters 24 to 35 inclusive Sand appears to be organising something of a rebellion herself – but against … Continue reading Read-along: The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart (week 3)

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Mordew by Alex Pheby

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Let’s get this out of the way first: Dickens, Hardinge, Miéville, Peake, Pullman, Swanwick. At different times along the way Mordew made me think of each of these authors. This book, this story, this world, is dark and weird. It revels in language. It toys with tropes and with the reader’s expectations. It’s a glorious trip down the rabbit hole. It is also entirely itself. Nathan lives in the slums of Mordew with his mother and father. His mother prostitutes herself and his father is dying, his body infested with lungworms. Nathan tries to help, earning money where he can … Continue reading Mordew by Alex Pheby

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Read-along: The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart (week 2)

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We’ve very quickly reached the halfway point in The Bone Shard Daughter this week and I’m still not sure about most of my feelings. Puzzles and questions abound! Let’s see if we can untangle a few thoughts, at least. This week’s prompts have been set by imyril of There’s Always Room for One More, which is also where you should go for schedule details about this Wyrd and Wonder read-along. As ever, SPOILERS can be expected from here on out.   Chapters 12 to 23 inclusive Jovis has begun to show strange new strengths since escaping Deerhead Island. What do … Continue reading Read-along: The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart (week 2)

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The Silent Strength of Stones by Nina Kiriki Hoffman

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  WARNING: SEVERAL SMALL SPOILERS AHEAD!   Seventeen-year-old Nick is working at his dad’s motel and convenience store on Sauterelle Lake, in the Oregon Cascades for the summer. He’s a quiet, lonely boy, who systematically spies on the various holidaying families, but he’s also hard-working. I wasn’t sure I liked him much as a protagonist for the first few chapters. Anyway, a peculiar family take one of the most tucked-away cabins out by the lake and Nick becomes fascinated by their odd behaviour, by the hypnotic young woman with them and by the strangely tame wolf also in tow. While … Continue reading The Silent Strength of Stones by Nina Kiriki Hoffman

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Buddy Reading A Darker Shade of Magic with Lynn

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Not long ago, Lynn and I read Schwab’s A Darker Shade of Magic together and agreed that Wyrd and Wonder would be a great time to post our discussion, and so here it is. For anyone who doesn’t know Lynn (and I am side-eying you vehemently) she is an awesome blogger, one of the very first I started following and responsible for a goodly wedge of my TBR, both stacks and lists. She also takes part in SPFBO every year and has done since the beginning I believe, which is no mean feat and gives you just a hint of … Continue reading Buddy Reading A Darker Shade of Magic with Lynn