This Week by Proxy: 31 August – 06 September


Welcome to This Week by Proxy. Join me as I link up with the Caffeinated Reviewer to look back on the past week and see what I’ve been reading, posting, watching and playing!


| This Week by Proxy: 31 August – 06 September 2020 |

Having not had a holiday in over six months, the other half and I made our way to the Lake District on Monday and spent the next four days reading books (or playing on the Switch), exploring the local landscape and visiting remote and ruined castles. It was wonderfully relaxing, completely peaceful and I only wish our stay could have been for just a bit longer.

The weekend, however, was spent picnicking in the park with my stepdaughter, visiting my mum and dad on their narrowboat, and relaxing with many a good book. Brilliant fun all round!

I hope you’ve all had a fantastic week and I will try to catch up on all the posts I’ve missed over the next few days! 


| Books Read |

Over the past week I completed both ‘The Trouble with Peace’ by Joe Abercrombie and ‘The Doors of Eden’ by Adrian Tchaikovsky and still managed to squeeze in a little Pratchett before the end. All different, all brilliant, and all a joy to read from beginning to end!


| Currently Reading |

This week I’m continuing to read ‘The Court of Broken Knives’, a brutal but beautifully written grimdark fantasy epic by Anna Smith Spark. Unfortunately, in my haste to pack my Kindle, I forgot to bring the book with me to the Lake District and I’m a little further behind than I wanted to be. I did, however, manage to pick up a wonderful assortment of books in the Kindle sale and have started ‘Tombland’, the seventh book in the Matthew Shardlake series by C.J. Sansom.

I am also taking part in the Read-Along for Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey, organised by Imyril at There’s Always Room for One More. My Week One post, which covers Chapters 1 – 16, can be found here. If anyone would like to join in with this Read-Along, just head on over to the Goodreads group page and sign up.


| Upcoming Reviews |

Having spent an entire week on holiday (and most of that time spent reading!) I am even more behind on the review front, but will hopefully get a few out in the coming week! Every single one of these books was amazing so expect a whole host of glowing reviews!


| Watching |

Season One of Absentia was both an enjoyable and exasperating experience. Stana Katic was incredible as Emily Byrne and the overall plot was tense and unpredictable, but Nick Durand, Emily’s ex-husband and FBI agent, was an incredibly frustrating character who treated Emily like dirt, had serious trust issues, and couldn’t find a clue if it was stapled to his face.  He annoyed me so much I almost stopped watching altogether. However, I am glad I continued as it did have quite a gripping plot and Season Two is proving a far less rage-inducing experience.

Meanwhile, the other half and I are watching Season Five of Lucifer, which is as lighthearted and comedic as ever, and Season Two of The Boys, which is both brutal and bloody brilliant.


| Gaming |

As the past week has been spent in literary bliss up in the Lake District, I’ve only had time for a few short but sweet games of Apex Legends since our return.


| Posts |

Review: The Ashes of London by Andrew Taylor

 

Music Mondays: Gurdy’s Green

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten… Foodie Book Covers

Teaser Tuesdays: Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett

Waiting on Wednesday: God of Night by Tom Lloyd

Read-Along: Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey – Week One

The Friday Face-Off: Cold and Crisp

My Top Ten Games of the Past Two Years


I hope you all have a wonderful, book-filled week!

What have you been reading, watching and playing this week? Have you accomplished any goals?

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

This Week by Proxy: 17 – 30 August


Welcome to This Week by Proxy. Join me as I link up with the Caffeinated Reviewer to look back on the past week and see what I’ve been reading, posting, watching and playing!


| This Week by Proxy: 17 – 30 August 2020 |

The past two weeks have been a rather strange mix of highs and lows. I realised the week before last, that I had only taken a handful of my holidays from work this year and, as we are now approaching September, it sent me into a bit of a spiral where all I could think about was how much I needed a break, knowing full well that I had one this coming week.

And now I’m finally on holiday I feel the utmost relief and can now enjoy the fact that the next four months have most of my holidays dispersed between them. Now this spiral is hardly the result of anything serious, but things seem so much more dramatic and terrible when you spend your days alone, working from home with only two rabbits for company until late in the evening!

I have, however, been reading some amazing books and I’m thoroughly enjoying escaping the world at large in between their comforting, if a little bloody, pages. I’ve also been lucky enough to see family, take my stepdaughter on a fairy treasure hunt and complete an enormous deadline at work – which feels like a giant weight off my shoulders!

I hope you’ve all had a lovely week and have been reading some amazing books! I look forward to reading all about them! 


| Books Read |

Over the past two weeks I’ve finished All Systems Red, the first in The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells, and A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie. Both books were brilliant, both entirely different, and both made me ridiculously excited to read the next in each series!


| Currently Reading |

I feel so lucky right now to not only be listening to the audiobook for The Doors of Eden by Adrian Tchaikovsky, but to be reading the brand new ARC for The Trouble With Peace by Joe Abercrombie. I’m trying ever so hard to savour every moment, but the pages are rapidly disappearing and I know it won’t be long before I’ve finished it entirely.

In between bouts of Tchaikovsky and Abercrombie, and believe me, The Doors of Eden is one hefty and time consuming audiobook, I’ve squeezed in a little bit of The Court of Broken Knives, which I hope to continue in earnest over my holiday, and my new Pratchett offering, Monstrous Regiment.

Now you might be weeping in horror at me reading so many books at once but, in my defence, with only an hour left in each, I am likely to finish both The Trouble With Peace and The Doors of Eden today.


| Upcoming Reviews |

My review for Ashes of London by Andrew Taylor will be appearing next week, hopefully followed by one other – if I can get it drafted before going away!


| Watching |

After finishing Season 3 of Good Girls last week, which was reasonably enjoyable and got better as the season progressed, I started watching Absentia.

Absentia tells the story of an FBI agent, Emily Byrne, who has been missing presumed dead for the past six years and who suddenly returns in an explosion of murder, lies and suspicion. Fast-paced and exciting, the only downside so far is Emily’s irritating FBI agent ex-husband who couldn’t spot a clue if it was stuck to his face! I am, however, trying to get beyond this annoyance and actually enjoy the series.

The other half and I finished watching The Umbrella Academy last week, which was brilliantly entertaining, and have started watching the latest season of Lucifer on Netflix. I absolutely love this series and it never fails to cheer me up, and no doubt we’ll polish it all off in the coming week!


| Gaming |

Although I’ve not had much time for gaming over the past two weeks, I’ve started playing Greedfall, a beautiful RPG in a fantasy setting, and have started the new season of Apex Legends, which introduces new Legend Rampart (pictured right) and her gun, Sheila (also pictured right). The latest changes to the game also include item crafting, altered locations and a new energy weapon, the volt.


| Posts |

Review: The Man With One Name by Tom Lloyd

Review: Sharp Ends by Joe Abercrombie

Music Mondays: Blade Runner 2049

Music Mondays: Svitjod

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten… Series That Should Have Screen Adaptations

Teaser Tuesdays: A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie

Teaser Tuesdays: The Court of Broken Knives by Anna Smith Spark

Waiting on Wednesday: The Dead of Winter by S.J. Parris

Waiting on Wednesday: Bear Head by Adrian Tchaikovsky

The Friday Face-Off: Hubble Bubble

The Friday Face-Off: The Road Goes Ever On and On

Friday Firsts: The Court of Broken Knives by Anna Smith Spark

Friday Firsts: Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett


I hope you all have a wonderful, book-filled week!

What have you been reading, watching and playing this week? Have you accomplished any goals?

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Teaser Tuesdays: The Court of Broken Knives


Welcome to Teaser Tuesdays – a weekly feature hosted by The Purple Booker. Expect a new teaser every week!


| Teaser Tuesdays: August 25 |

The Court of Broken Knives

Book One of Empires of Dust

by Anna Smith Spark

Fantasy | 470 Pages | Published by Harper Voyager in 2017


“We live and we die. Not one without the other. Death is as natural as life, we say, and as great a blessing. No light without darkness. No joy without pain. Life is a glory. Death is a sweet release.

~ Chapter 18 | Page 141 | The Court of Broken Knives by Anna Smith Spark


| Synopsis |

They’ve finally looked at the graveyard of our Empire with open eyes. They’re fools and madmen and like the art of war. And their children go hungry while we piss gold and jewels into the dust.

In the richest empire the world has ever known, the city of Sorlost has always stood, eternal and unconquered. But in a city of dreams governed by an imposturous Emperor, decadence has become the true ruler, and has blinded its inhabitants to their vulnerability. The empire is on the verge of invasion – and only one man can see it.

Haunted by dreams of the empire’s demise, Orhan Emmereth has decided to act. On his orders, a company of soldiers cross the desert to reach the city. Once they enter the Palace, they have one mission: kill the Emperor, then all those who remain. Only from ashes can a new empire be built.

The company is a group of good, ordinary soldiers, for whom this is a mission like any other. But the strange boy Marith who walks among them is no ordinary soldier. Marching on Sorlost, Marith thinks he is running away from the past which haunts him. But in the Golden City, his destiny awaits him – beautiful, bloody, and more terrible than anyone could have foreseen.

Amazon Book Depository | Goodreads


| Join In |

  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Please leave a comment with either the link to your own Teaser Tuesdays post, or share your ‘teasers’ in a comment here!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

 

Friday Firsts: The Court of Broken Knives


Welcome to Friday Firsts – a weekly meme created by Tenacious Reader. First paragraphs. First impressions. A new favourite?


| Friday Firsts: August 21 |

The Court of Broken Knives

Book One of Empires of Dust

by Anna Smith Spark

Fantasy | 470 Pages | Published by Harper Voyager in 2017


| First Paragraphs |

Knives.

Knives everywhere. Coming down like rain.

Down to close work like that, men wrestling in the mud, jabbing at each other, too tired to care anymore. Just die and get it over with. Half of them fighting with their guts hanging out of their stomachs, stinking of shit, oozing pink and red and white. Half-dead men lying in the filth. Screaming. A whole lot of things screaming.

Impossible to tell who’s who anymore. Mud and blood and shadows and that’s it. Kill them! Kill them all! Keep killing until we’re all dead. The knife twists and jabs and the man he’s fighting falls sideways, all the breath going out of him with a sigh of relief. Another there behind. Gods, his arms ache. His head aches. Blood in his eyes. He twists the knife again and thrusts with a broken-off sword and that man too dies. Fire explodes somewhere to the left. White as maggots. Silent as maggots. Then shrieks as men burn.

Amazon | Book DepositoryGoodreads


| First Impressions |

The Court of Broken Knives has been on my TBR ever since it came out in 2017 and, after several inordinately busy years, I have finally gotten around to reading it.

Lyrical, beautiful, bloody, grim and battle weary through and through, it will come as no surprise to those who visit my blog regularly that this style of writing is exactly my cup of tea. And, after those evocative, visceral opening paragraphs, I can’t quite believe I waited this long!

What are you currently reading? What were your first impressions?

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten… Books On My Spring TBR


Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday – a weekly feature from The Broke and the Bookish, now hosted by ThatArtsyReaderGirl. Expect a new top ten list every week!


| Top Ten… Books On My Spring TBR |

Welcome back to Top Ten Tuesday! This Spring I intend to make headway into my vast, vast to-be-read pile, a huge and ever-growing thing that only ever seems to get bigger the moment I look away. This week’s Top Ten is just the tip of that literary iceberg, but encompasses the ten books I am most excited to read. heart

| 1. |

The Ninth Rain

Book One of The Winnowing Flame Trilogy

by Jen Williams

heart

The great city of Ebora once glittered with gold. Now its streets are stalked by wolves. Tormalin the Oathless has no taste for sitting around waiting to die while the realm of his storied ancestors falls to pieces – talk about a guilt trip. Better to be amongst the living, where there are taverns full of women and wine.

When eccentric explorer, Lady Vincenza ‘Vintage’ de Grazon, offers him employment, he sees an easy way out. Even when they are joined by a fugitive witch with a tendency to set things on fire, the prospect of facing down monsters and retrieving ancient artefacts is preferable to the abomination he left behind.

But not everyone is willing to let the Eboran empire collapse, and the adventurers are quickly drawn into a tangled conspiracy of magic and war. For the Jure’lia are coming, and the Ninth Rain must fall… heart

| 2. |

The Providence of Fire

Book Two of the Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne

by Brian Staveleyheart

The conspiracy to destroy the ruling family of the Annurian Empire is far from over.

Having learned the identity of her father’s assassin, Adare flees the Dawn Palace in search of allies to challenge the coup against her family. Few trust her, but when she is believed to be touched by Intarra, patron goddess of the empire, the people rally to help her retake the capital city. As armies prepare to clash, the threat of invasion from barbarian hordes compels the rival forces to unite against their common enemy.

Unknown to Adare, her brother Valyn, renegade member of the empire’s most elite fighting force, has allied with the invading nomads. The terrible choices each of them has made may make war between them inevitable.

Between Valyn and Adare is their brother Kaden, rightful heir to the Unhewn Throne, who has infiltrated the Annurian capital with the help of two strange companions. The knowledge they possess of the secret history that shapes these events could save Annur or destroy it.
heart

| 3. |

The Air War

Book Eight of the Shadows of the Apt

by Adrian Tchaikovsky

heart

An empress demands her birthright . . .

All is in turmoil as the world moves towards war. In Solarno, the spies watch each other and ready their knives, while Myna sees the troops muster at its border and emotions run high as it vows never to be enslaved again. In Collegium, the students argue politics, too late to turn the tide.

In the heart of the Empire, new pilots have completed their secretive training, generals are being recalled to service and armies are ready to march. Their Empress, the heir to two worlds, intends to claim her birthright. And nothing – either within the Empire or beyond it – will stand in her way.

A conflict is coming, the like of which the insect-kinden have never seen.heart

| 4. |

Wrath

Book Four of The Faithful and the Fallen

by John Gwynne

heart

Events are coming to a climax in the Banished Lands, as the war reaches new heights. King Nathair has taken control of the fortress at Drassil and three of the Seven Treasures are in his possession. And together with Calidus and his ally Queen Rhin, Nathair will do anything to obtain the remaining Treasures. With all seven under his command, he can open a portal to the Otherworld. Then Asroth and his demon-horde will finally break into the Banished Lands and become flesh.

Meanwhile Corban has been taken prisoner by the Jotun, warrior giants who ride their enormous bears into battle. His warband scattered, Corban must make new allies if he hopes to survive. But can he bond with competing factions of warlike giants? Somehow he must, if he’s to counter the threat Nathair represents.

His life hangs in the balance – and with it, the fate of the Banished Lands.
heart

| 5. |

The Silver Tide

Book Three of The Copper Cat Trilogy

by Jen Williams
heart

Tales of the Black Feather Three and their exploits abound far and wide, and Wydrin of Crosshaven, Lord Aaron Frith and Sir Sebastian have become sell swords in demand. Having foiled powerful mages and evil magic, they now face a challenge unlike any before – in the form of Wydrin’s mother.

Devinia the Red, notorious pirate and captain of the Poison Chalice, is intent on finding the fabled treasure hidden within the jungles of the cursed island of Euriale. She needs the skills of her daughter Wydrin and her companions to get there, and our heroes cannot resist the lure of coin and adventure. But no explorer has returned from the heart of the island, and it’s not long before the Three find themselves in the clutches of peril. Deep within the island of the gods, there are remnants of forces best left undisturbed…
heart

| 6. |

Shadowblack

Book Two of Spellslinger

by Sebastien de Castell

heart

It’s a few months since Kellen left his people behind. Now aged sixteen, Kellen is an outlaw, relying on his wits to keep him alive in the land of the Seven Sands. He misses home, he misses family and more than anything, he misses Nephenia, the girl he left behind.

Then he meets Seneira, a blindfolded girl who isn’t blind, and who carries a secret that’s all too familiar to Kellen. Kellen and Ferius resolve to help – but the stakes are far higher than they realise. A Shadowblack plague is taking hold – and Kellen can’t help but suspect his own people may even be behind it. 
heart

| 7. |

Half a War

Book Three of the Shattered Sea

by Joe Abercrombie
heart

Words are weapons

Princess Skara has seen all she loved made blood and ashes. She is left with only words. But the right words can be as deadly as any blade. She must conquer her fears and sharpen her wits to a lethal edge if she is to reclaim her birthright.

Only half a war is fought with swords

The deep-cunning Father Yarvi has walked a long road from crippled slave to king’s minister. He has made allies of old foes and stitched together an uneasy peace. But now the ruthless Grandmother Wexen has raised the greatest army since the elves made war on God, and put Bright Yilling at its head – a man who worships no god but Death.

Sometimes one must fight evil with evil

Some – like Thorn Bathu and the sword-bearer Raith – are born to fight, perhaps to die. Others – like Brand the smith and Koll the wood-carver – would rather stand in the light. But when Mother War spreads her iron wings, she may cast the whole Shattered Sea into darkness.
heart

| 8. |

A Time of Dread

Book One of the Of Blood and Bone Series

by John Gwynne
heart

The Ben-Elim, a fierce race of warrior-angels, burst into the Banished Lands over a hundred and thirty years ago. They were in pursuit of their eternal enemy, the Kadoshim demon-horde. On that day a great battle was fought, the Ben-Elim and Kadoshim joined by allies from the races of both men and giants, and a great victory was won.

Now much of the Banished Lands is ruled by the Ben-Elim, who have made this world their home, extending their influence and power as they swallow ancient kingdoms into the protective grasp of their ever-extending borders. But peace is fragile within the realm and the Kadoshim that remain are now amassing on the edges of the empire….

Threats long in the shadows are about to strike. 
heart

| 9. |

The Court of Broken Knives

Book One of the Empires of Dust

by Anna Smith Spark

heart

They’ve finally looked at the graveyard of our Empire with open eyes. They’re fools and madmen and like the art of war. And their children go hungry while we piss gold and jewels into the dust.

In the richest empire the world has ever known, the city of Sorlost has always stood, eternal and unconquered. But in a city of dreams governed by an imposturous Emperor, decadence has become the true ruler, and has blinded its inhabitants to their vulnerability. The empire is on the verge of invasion – and only one man can see it.

Haunted by dreams of the empire’s demise, Orhan Emmereth has decided to act. On his orders, a company of soldiers cross the desert to reach the city. Once they enter the Palace, they have one mission: kill the Emperor, then all those who remain. Only from ashes can a new empire be built.

The company is a group of good, ordinary soldiers, for whom this is a mission like any other. But the strange boy Marith who walks among them is no ordinary soldier. Marching on Sorlost, Marith thinks he is running away from the past which haunts him. But in the Golden City, his destiny awaits him – beautiful, bloody, and more terrible than anyone could have foreseen.

heart

| 10. |

Age of Assassins

Book One of The Wounded Kingdom

by R. J. Barkerheart

To catch an assassin, use an assassin…

Girton Club-foot, apprentice to the land’s best assassin, still has much to learn about the art of taking lives. But his latest mission tasks him and his master with a far more difficult challenge: to save a life. Someone, or many someones, is trying to kill the heir to the throne, and it is up to Girton and his master to uncover the traitor and prevent the prince’s murder.

In a kingdom on the brink of civil war and a castle thick with lies Girton finds friends he never expected, responsibilities he never wanted, and a conspiracy that could destroy an entire kingdom.
heart

What books are you looking forward to reading this Spring? If you would like to join in with Top Ten Tuesday, head on over to ThatArtsyReaderGirl and sign up!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin