![]() ![]() The ex-military transport expy of Dr Watson has the right mix of brittle anger, tiredness and idealism they view the former scholar Sherlock expy with the right mix of fascination and disdain. ![]() ![]() The strength and pacing of the character reveals makes up for that.Īnd the core of Sherlock Holmes - at least for me after watching too much of the BBC's Sherlock - is wonderfully executed. De Bodard's plotting has been the weak point that's stopped me liking her books before and it's not a strong point here either. Another would be that in the closing stages, the mystery feels a little rushed and easy. As such, I didn't get nearly the dosage I needed, and can only hope she revisits the idea frequently. Sadly, The Tea Master and the Detective is only a novella. Sherlock Holmes reimagined as the adventures of a scholar and spaceship mind in a future Sino-Vietnamese Empire? Why aren't all novel elevator pitches like this? Angels and alchemists duking it out over a post-war Paris? Intriguing. I have long wanted to like Aliette de Bodard's books, largely because every time I read about one of them it sounds like one of the greatest ideas ever. ![]()
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![]() "Blending intrigue and queer romance, A Strange and Stubborn Endurance stitches together two cultures and re-embroiders gender conventions. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied. It is a book that will live in your heart long after you turn the last page. ![]() Byzantine politics, lush sexual energy, and a queer love story that is by turns sweet and sultry, Foz Meadows' A Strange and Stubborn Endurance is an exploration of gender, identity, and self-worth. Survival is one thing, but love-as both will learn-is quite another. With an unknown faction willing to kill to end their new alliance, Vel and Cae have no choice but to trust each other. Caethari Aeduria always knew he might end up in a political marriage, but his sudden betrothal to a man from Ralia, where such relationships are forbidden, comes as a shock. But while his family is ready to disown him, the Tithenai envoy has a different solution: for Vel to marry his former intended’s brother instead. When an ugly confrontation reveals his preference for men, Vel fears he’s ruined the diplomatic union before it can even begin. ![]() ”-Jacqueline Carey “Stolen me? As soon to say a caged bird can be stolen by the sky.” Velasin vin Aaro never planned to marry at all, let alone a girl from neighboring Tithena. “Many a reader longing for a sense of homecoming in the realm of romantic fantasy will find it in A Strange and Stubborn Endurance. ![]() ![]() ![]() Chuck Wendig conversed with via e-mail to give us an intel report on Aftermath: Empire’s End. And in the final novel of the New York Times bestselling trilogy, Empire’s End, out today, everything points toward a showdown at a remote and desolate planet far from the bright center of the galaxy. In the Aftermath trilogy, author Chuck Wendig has told the story of what has happened after Return of the Jedi, with new and returning heroes and villains facing off, as the Empire struggles to survive while the Rebellion transitions to be the New Republic. The second part increases the stakes and changes the rules, and by the final installment, the audience is left wondering who will be left standing when the rules are completely thrown away. The first installment introduces the characters and the rules, and usually ends up with a win for the heroes. When it comes to storytelling, whether in film or in literature, a trilogy is hard to beat. The author of the Aftermath trilogy talks to about his epic story's final installment. ![]() ![]() ![]() A man legally named “Bubba the Love Sponge” who pulled stunts like killing a live pig on radio. Exploring every legal option to defeat a news agency. An anonymous benefactor only known as “Mr. McCarthy never saw it coming, and no one ever knew it was Eisenhower. Instead, Ike worked behind the scenes to remove McCarthy of allies and strip him of potential opportunities. To combat McCarthy, Eisenhower did not meet him head on. When Eisenhower was President, Senator Joseph McCarthy was at the height of his power. ![]() Niccolo Machiavelli explained in Discourses on Livy that a conspiracy goes through distinct phases: the Planning, the Doing, and the Aftermath.ĭwight Eisenhower was a great strategist even outside of the military. Macchiavelli’s three phases of a conspiracy. It’s a study in power, strategy, and one of the most wildly ambitious - and successful - secret plots in recent memory. ![]() Summary of Conspiracy: In Holiday’s masterful telling of this nearly unbelievable conspiracy, informed by exclusive interviews with all the key players, this case transcends the narrative of how one billionaire took down a media empire or the current state of the free press. ![]() I hope you enjoy my Countdown Review of Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and the Anatomy of Intrigue. In this review, I will summarize my thoughts on the book into 5 things I learned, 4 connections I made, 3 quotes I loved, 2 principles I plan to adopt, and 1 main takeaway. Countdown Review of Conspiracy by Ryan Holiday ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() He also explores the thorny patch of moral and ethical questions posed by biological explanations for mental illness. He confronts the challenge of defining the illness and describes the vast range of available medications and treatments, and the impact the malady has on various demographic populations-around the world and throughout history. Drawing on his own struggles with the illness and interviews with fellow sufferers, doctors and scientists, policy makers and politicians, drug designers, and philosophers, Andrew Solomon reveals the subtle complexities and sheer agony of the disease as well as the reasons for hope. The Noonday Demon examines depression in personal, cultural, and scientific terms. The Noonday Demon is Andrew Solomon’s National Book Award-winning, bestselling, and transformative masterpiece on depression-“the book for a generation, elegantly written, meticulously researched, empathetic, and enlightening” ( Time)-now with a major new chapter covering recently introduced and novel treatments, suicide and anti-depressants, pregnancy and depression, and much more. ![]() ![]() In the end, only Lena can bring him back from the tragic past that threatens to engulf him. ![]() Abigail's story, which unfolds in 1900, is woven so tightly with Declan's that he finds it difficult to escape her grasp. The cries are followed by voices, particularly that of Abigail Manet, the baby's mother. As Declan digs deeper at the Hall, he often hears a baby crying. Declan encounters an additional challenge in the person of Cajun beauty and bar owner Lena Simone, who has her own dark history and a surprising connection to Manet Hall. But Manet Hall comes with a dark history, and restoring it means uncovering its past, which includes rape, murder and betrayal. ![]() Now, on the eve of his wedding, Declan leaves Boston, the law and his fiancée, buys the decrepit hall and embarks on a mission to restore it with his own sweat, blood and money. Declan Fitzgerald, a Harvard-educated Boston lawyer, has longed to possess Manet Hall ever since he and his friend, Remy Payne, broke into the old place as drunken students on a lark. Triple-platinum romance doyenne Roberts spins a tale of bayou passions old and new in her latest romantic suspense novel, set on the grounds of a dilapidated postbellum mansion outside New Orleans. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() If, however, you are open to something a little different as you plan your fall reading list, S.J.I. If you are strictly anti-supernatural in your crime fiction (which I totally understand!), today’s featured title will be one you’re better off skipping. ![]() What do these books have in common? Each of the aforementioned titles balances a very human, earthly mystery with otherworldly, supernatural touches-and the resulting stories are made all the more gripping for this blend. Holliday’s forthcoming THE LINGERING, an atmospheric psychological thriller set in a building with a dark past life. Earlier this year, I read Yrsa Sigurdardottir’s brilliant Icelandic ghost story-meets-mystery I REMEMBER YOU I recently devoured Sharon Bolton’s THE CRAFTSMAN, a procedural with some otherworldly undercurrents and I similarly loved S.J.I. The year isn’t over yet, but if I were to name one trend that has surprised me most in my personal 2018 reading list, it would have to be how much I’ve enjoyed the supernatural suspense novels I’ve tried this year. The Verdict: atmospheric, supernatural suspense ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Attendance for her, she still has one ally up her sleeve: Lucien.Okay, yeah, he's a snarly, powerful, frustratingly perfect master himself, but at least she knows where she stands. A master who is looking for a mate and wants Simone to participate in the Selection to prove her worth. She'd been there, done that, and had the near death experience to show for her time.Then a summons back to Valdor-the vampire world- is dropped in her lap.Turns out that the last time she was there, her teeny tiny mistake sent out an energy burst that called to an ancient powerful master. Simone, of the Torma shifters, thought she was finished with the world of supernaturals that existed outside of Earth. Best read after Deserted for storyline continuity. A standalone story in the Shadow Beast Shifters world. ![]() ![]() There she confronts an evil that threatens much more than her life and comes face to face with her own hidden destiny… With Mogget, whose feline form hides a powerful, perhaps malevolent spirit, and Touchstone, a young Charter Mage, Sabriel travels deep into the Old Kingdom. But now her father, the Mage Abhorson, is missing, and Sabriel must cross into that world to find him. Since childhood, Sabriel has lived outside the walls of the Old Kingdom, away from the power of Free Magic, and away from the Dead who refuse to stay dead. With threats on all sides and only each other to trust, the three must travel deep into the Old Kingdom, toward a battle that will pit them against the true forces of life and death and bring Sabriel face to face with her own hiddden destiny.A tale of dark secrets, deep love, and dangerous magic, Sabriel introduces Garth Nix an exceptional new talent. ![]() Though her journey begins alone, she soon finds companions: Mogget, whose seemingly harmless feline form hides a powerful and perhaps malevolent spirit, and Touchstone, a younger Charter Mage long imprisoned by magic, now free in body but still trapped by painful memories. ![]() ![]() ![]() But now her father, the Mage Abhorsen, is missing, and to find him Sabriel must cross back into the world. Ever since she was a tiny child, Sabriel has lived outside the walls of the Old Kingdom, away from the random power of Free Magic, and away from the Dead who won’t stay dead. ![]() ![]() Formatted like a prayer book, The Lives We Actually Have is an oasis and a landing spot for weary souls, with blessings that focus on the full range of human moments: garbage days, lovely days, grief-stricken days, and even (especially) completely ordinary days. Kate Bowler and Jessica Richie offer creative, faith-based blessings that center gratitude and hope while acknowledging our real, messy lives. But what if our actual lives don’t feel very #blessed? Might our everyday existence be worthy of a blessing too? Even an average Tuesday? ![]() Bucket list-level adventures and matching family photos. ![]() We live in a world that demands relentless perfection. You with the hometown or home team that makes you very, very proud. Or the collection of movies or mugs or sneakers. ![]() Warm and witty blessings found within the struggles of our shared humanity, from the New York Times bestselling authors of Good Enough ![]() |