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The Devils by Joe Abercrombie
I've waiting for this book since it first came out in March. My jealousy that the Yeti read and advanced copy drove me insane. Many was the time I almost gave in and bought the book. I wish it lived up to all my expectations. Alas, it did not.
The Empire of the East, set in Troy, needs a new empress. Turns out she exists and is currently a deeply in debt thief in Rome. Now a group of Creature Commandos, a suicide squad of monsters must make the perilous journey from Rome to Troy fighting all sorts of monsters and claimants to the throne along the way. The problems only get worse once she is in Troy.
The world building is kind of clever. It's an Earth alternate where the scions of Rome and the savior are all women. The Church in the East is based in Troy rather than Constantinople because the Trojans never lost the war to the Mycenae. And the Roman church has a group of monsters it uses for the really bad jobs, fighting devils with devils. Yes, I did keep tripping up on the fact this was just an episode of Creature Commandos.
Abercrombie does write great action sequences and this book had a bunch of them, but it all felt really familiar. I kind of guessed every twist because they were kind of blatant. And it wasn't as nihilistic as Abercrombie usually writes or maybe politically expedient. The one person who did embody this was Cardinal Ziska but she was barely onscreen for most of the book. I did appreciate the completely unhinged Vigga-Wolf, a Norwegian werewolf.
Yes, I know, Dr. Yeti. I do not like fun.
As a matter of fact, my anger does keep me warm
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(11-30-2025, 03:07 PM)Greg Wrote: The Devils by Joe Abercrombie
I've waiting for this book since it first came out in March. My jealousy that the Yeti read and advanced copy drove me insane. Many was the time I almost gave in and bought the book. I wish it lived up to all my expectations. Alas, it did not.
The Empire of the East, set in Troy, needs a new empress. Turns out she exists and is currently a deeply in debt thief in Rome. Now a group of Creature Commandos, a suicide squad of monsters must make the perilous journey from Rome to Troy fighting all sorts of monsters and claimants to the throne along the way. The problems only get worse once she is in Troy.
The world building is kind of clever. It's an Earth alternate where the scions of Rome and the savior are all women. The Church in the East is based in Troy rather than Constantinople because the Trojans never lost the war to the Mycenae. And the Roman church has a group of monsters it uses for the really bad jobs, fighting devils with devils. Yes, I did keep tripping up on the fact this was just an episode of Creature Commandos.
Abercrombie does write great action sequences and this book had a bunch of them, but it all felt really familiar. I kind of guessed every twist because they were kind of blatant. And it wasn't as nihilistic as Abercrombie usually writes or maybe politically expedient. The one person who did embody this was Cardinal Ziska but she was barely onscreen for most of the book. I did appreciate the completely unhinged Vigga-Wolf, a Norwegian werewolf.
Yes, I know, Dr. Yeti. I do not like fun.
Captain No-Fun rides again! I thought it started slow but found its footing in the latter part of the book. I’ll bet you a shiny dollar that it only gets better with the subsequent books.
In the Tudor Period, Fencing Masters were classified in the Vagrancy Laws along with Actors, Gypsys, Vagabonds, Sturdy Rogues, and the owners of performing bears.
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Gone, Before Goodbye by Reese Witherspoon and Harlan Coben
I expect so much better from Coben. They are formulaic but they are engaging. Maybe that slapped his name on what is basically a Witherspoon book to sell more copies?
Maggie is a black balled surgeon giving the opportunity to make a bunch of cash doing reconstructive surgery on a Russian Oligarch. Things go haywire and Maggie is on the run caught up in a mystery concerning her dead husband and his missing partner.
The dialogue felt clunky. The setups seem all sorts of bad cliche. You could see the big plot twists coming a mile away.
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Once was Willem by M.R. Carey
This was supposed to be a Grimdark fantasy but I didn't find it especially dark or grim. The book might be categorized such because the main hero is mostly a zombie or at least undead. The book just struck me as a fable, a pretty good one. Bad wizard comes to town and wants to kill children so he can tap into some power in the region. The monsters of the forest band together to try and stop him.
Carey writes a good story. He writes interesting characters. You can do worse than this book.
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The Magician of Tiger Castle by Louis Sachar
Another fun fable set in the south of France I think. Anatole the court magician needs to save Pito from being executed. He had the temerity to fall in love with Princess Tullia. Tullia is set to wed a prince from a rival kingdom. Every solution Anatole comes up with just leads to further complications. It was a fun read for a Saturday. Sachar has written plenty of books. I might have to check out more of his works.
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Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor
So many books in one. First is the story of Zelu, a disabled author who writes a huge best seller about robots called Rusted Robots. This story deals with her Nigerian heritage and all that entails. Then there is the Rusted Robot book itself dealing with the aftermath of humans and the upcoming war between the AIs and the Robots. Then there is the effect of Zelu and how she interacts with the world around her taken from the perspective of her friends and family.
It was an interesting look at Nigerian culture, learning about the different part of that society. The robot section got better as it went along. I think a lot of the book was Ms. Okarafor talking about her own dealing with fame and social media and what a burden that can be.
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The Society of Unknowable Objects by Gareth Brown
The Society finds magic items, which they refer to as Unknowable Objects, and hides them away so they are not misused. Magda is a member after her mother died hunting for said objects. Franks leads the group. Will is an unwilling participant. Henrietta doesn't show up for meetings. And for the the first time in a long time a magic object has been located and Magda heads off from London to go retrieve it and to find out how somebody not of the society knows about the society. But other people know about the objects and are on the hunt for them which throws Magda into conflict with a killer.
It was a good read. Not too sophisticated. Seemed a lot like a cozy mystery but not too cozy. It's a companion piece to to Brown's previous book, The Book of Doors. They both rely heavily on the setting of bookshops.
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Bad Debts by Peter Temple
Jack Irish is an ex-lawyer current sort of private detective. He's also pals with a bunch of horse bettors. One of his former clients, back when he was deep in the bottle after the death of his ex-wife, calls him but is murdered before they can meet up. Irish goes on the trail to find out what mistakes he might have made for this client and tries to right the wrongs. Set in the suburbs of Melbourne, it's an Australian Noir detective story. Things of course get worse the more Irish digs into the mystery.
I stumbled upon Jack Irish as part of a detective series on Amazon. I had to go to the books when I realized they were only going to show me one season and I would have to sign up for a different streaming service if I wanted to see any more. I got the books from the library, instead.
I prefer the book Jack Irish to series Jack Irish. Series Jack Irish was more hapless while book Jack Irish is tougher. There are quite a few of these books and I will read more.
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The Summer War by Naomi Novik
Ms. Novik can spin a good yarn. I've been reading her books for quite some time. I adored the first book in her Scholomance series. In this Novella, Novik switches to high fantasy. There is a war going on between the Summerlings, a race of elves who appear every Summer, and the humans because the human king humiliated his Summerling bride that was supposed to bring peace to the two kingdoms.
Celia the daughter of the Lord who fought and won against the Summerlings witnesses a fight between her oldest brother and their father which causes Celia to curse her brother. Realizing the mistake she made she resolves to find her brother, lost in the Summerlands, and lift the curse.
It's a quick fun read. I suspect more books in this world.
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The River has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar
Another novella of high fantasy by the co-author of "How to Lose the Time War". There are mystic rivers and the borders of fairy and of course a swan. Esther and Ysabel live on the edge of Arcadia. Esther has fallen for Rin a member of the fairy realm but she is also being pursued by Pollard a local landlord that wants to join Esther's family own for the riches of the magical willow trees on her property. Lots of tragedy and then comeuppance. El-Mohtar writes in a really poetic style.
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(12-27-2025, 11:44 AM)Greg Wrote: The River has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar
Another novella of high fantasy by the co-author of "How to Lose the Time War". There are mystic rivers and the borders of fairy and of course a swan. Esther and Ysabel live on the edge of Arcadia. Esther has fallen for Rin a member of the fairy realm but she is also being pursued by Pollard a local landlord that wants to join Esther's family own for the riches of the magical willow trees on her property. Lots of tragedy and then comeuppance. El-Mohtar writes in a really poetic style.
I’m reading the latest from the other half of the “Time War” duo, Max Gladstone “Dead Hand Rule”. Very enjoyable, but I might have to re-read the previous book as a lot went on/expanded cast to set up this one. The story and characters are racing ahead, but I’m keeping up. His writing is genuinely good.
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If "Dead Hand Rule" is the sequel to "Dead Country" I will have to seek it out.
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It is and you should.
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There is actually a book in between and I have placed it on order at the library.
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Sorry, couldn’t keep my “Dead”s straight. I imagine DM has a similar problem. This is indeed book III, I just assumed you had already read II.
Once all of that mass (story) gets going….!
In the Tudor Period, Fencing Masters were classified in the Vagrancy Laws along with Actors, Gypsys, Vagabonds, Sturdy Rogues, and the owners of performing bears.
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