Category: Arc

Posted on in Arc, Fantasy

Foundryside

 

Foundryside RD4 clean flat

Format : Ebook
Series : Founders
Pub Date : August 21st, 2018
Read Date : May 2nd, 2018

I loved Robert Jackson Bennett Divine City series so when given the opportunity to read this advanced copy of Foundryside from the publisher, I accepted it without any hesitation. After reading it I’m sure when edited and published in August Foundryside will get the attention it deserves.

Like Divine City this is a new world of magic, something remaining from a long lost magic era. The other similarity is the female protagonist which this time is a thief. This time the main city is called Tevanne and it has two side, Commons and Merchant houses. Merchant houses are wealthy and corrupt and commons are poor and have a slave like life.

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All main characters in the book are very likable and very well developed. If I want to say who my favorite was, it’s probably Clef the key, but still I enjoyed every character in its own role, even Orso.
The world Bennett has created is kind of mixing science and magic. Today’s human have access to part of a magic language of now a dead civilization and can utilize objects and change reality by scriving symbols of that language into objects. There are many lost symbols and critical missed parts that prevent them to fully use this magic science, until a small box with a Key in it is stolen.
This is a story of action, of mystery, of fighting for power and craving justice and highly recommended for fantasy lovers.i

Posted on in Arc, Historical

The History of Bees

32920292

Format : Ebook
Series : N/A
Pub Date : August 22st, 2017
Read Date : November 29th, 2017

This book consists of three connected stories which their connection is not clear until almost the end of the book. When the connection is revealed the three stories become one and it’s actually story of us, humans.

1851/ England: William, an academic which tries to design a new bee hive in order to observe their lives. He’s obsessed with first his research then his son Edmund who seems ignores him all the time.

2007/USA. George. He’s from a generation of bee keepers/ Organic bee keeprs. He takes taking care of bees very seriously and tries to win his to-be-writer son over and has him back to family business.

2098/China. Tao. She is a corn worker in an era that everything looks doomed, there is no education and children become workers at an early age. Tao tries to teach his young son what she knows in rare time off she has but when one day the family goes to picnic and the son collapses everything changes for them.

The main theme of the book is what we do with our environment and how it would affect our lives in long term. Bee’s fate is the symbol of disaster coming to humans due to playing too much with nature and neglecting alarming evidences that we screw too much to recover.
I really liked how three stories were connected at the end. It was done quite beautifully. At some point it might seem slow but for sure it deserves to be read.

ARC from NetGalley.

Posted on in Arc, Historical

The Memory Tree

34154640

 

Format : Ebbook
Series : N/A
Pub Date : March 30th, 2017
Read Date : March 29th, 2017

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book.

It’s in our dreams that we pull people towards us.

The Memory Tree has four timelines and narratives. All of them connecting to each other through memory or first nations spiritual rituals.Part one starts with Alowa not remembering anything from her past.

“Look how beautiful the flames are, Alowa. Look how beautiful my naked body is, Alowa. Are you looking at my naked body? I’m dancing towards you.”

The only thing she remembers is a boy’s voice in his head asking her to look at the flames and sees him. She escapes UNICorp and meets Janitor a mysterious old man who knows her. With the help of him she starts to dream and knows about Solstice, the boy she hears. It’s kind of a spiritual journey for Alowa and Solstice.

Part two is nowadays world in London. Zinnia has lost his father and her son Felix is being bullied in the school. She also fears that her husband is cheating on her. To run away from all misery she decided to have a trip to Italy to also knows more about her roots having a Jewish grandmother who herself is a daughter of a Indian. The only guide she has is a man named Max. She is trying to find him.
Part three is from view of Max. How he fell in love with Ada the Jewish girl, and how he was twisted into games of Nazis.
The final part is about ghost dance, people who have been killed and those who tried to flee. It connects all three previous parts and gives a clean ending to the book.
I found this book imaginative and liked it. It not an easy read though. Don’t get it to read it on a beach. It’s more like to be read in a quiet place absorbing it.