Nadia’s shoulders slumped and her voice was quieter when she answered, “I don’t know. They came searching for him. They weren’t interested in me.”
She fell quiet and Selissa had no idea what to say. Nothing she could think of seemed like it would be of any comfort. Luckily, Ardeth cared very little for sensibility and broke the silence.
“Either way, he’s probably long dead by now.”
It’s time for assassins and disgruntled mummies with Pyramids by Terry Pratchett.
You didn’t think I was done with Discworld, did you?
I only have a few books left to finish my reread of this entire series, but I’m pacing myself. Running out of Pratchett books is one of the biggest problems I face in my reading life, so I’m rereading even those books that weren’t among my favorites the first time around. Pyramids doesn’t have the greatest story or characters, but it does have some pretty funny scenes. There’s Teppic getting ready for his Assassin’s exam and then promptly falling over from the weight of all the weapons he’s hidden on his person. And then there’s his prophetic dreams:
“There was seven fat cows and seven thin cows. One of them was playing the trombone.”
What the book needed was more Assassins. But considering I own two pairs of Assassin’s Guild socks, I might be bias…
Pyramids
by Terry Pratchett
It’s bad enough being new on the job, but Teppic hasn’t a clue as to what a pharaoh is supposed to do. After all, he’s been trained at Ankh-Morpork’s famed assassins’ school, across the sea from the Kingdom of the Sun. First, there’s the monumental task of building a suitable resting place for Dad — a pyramid to end all pyramids. Then there are the myriad administrative duties, such as dealing with mad priests, sacred crocodiles, and marching mummies. And to top it all off, the adolescent pharaoh discovers deceit, betrayal – not to mention a headstrong handmaiden – at the heart of his realm.
Another book, and this time it’s An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir.
Overall I enjoyed this book. The romantic relationships between the characters seemed a bit juvenile compared to the dark themes of the book and the situation the characters found themselves in, but not so much that I felt it distracted from the rest of the book.
I bought the second book in the series and I look forward to seeing what happens next, because honestly, all the character screwed up a lot in the end of the first book.
An Ember in the Ashes
by Sabaa Tahir
Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free.
Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.
It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.
But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.
There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.
“Look around,” Orrell said. “He’s usually here somewhere.”
The room appeared deserted, but there was no telling what might hide behind the heaps of rubbish balanced on every surface. Selissa walked past a pile of old laundry on the floor and, on second thought, gave it a prod with her foot.
“Sod off!” it yelled angrily.
“I think I found him,” she called to Orrell.
The pile squirmed angrily and a head poked out from between the folds of the dirty clothes. It was small, scarred, blind in one eye, and probably human, but Selissa didn’t want to jump to conclusions.
“What’s ya deal, ya great big lout, kicking sleeping people in their own home?” it said, untangling a set of scrawny arms from somewhere inside its robes. Selissa watched in fascination.
“You the alchemist?” she asked.
More squirming, and a pair of legs in crumbled breeches appeared. “‘Course I’m the alchemist, ya idiot. Who else would I be?”
Her first thought was ‘leprechaun’, but Selissa wisely kept that to herself.
“Get up, Ebeus, you old kook,” Orrell said gruffly. “We need your help.”
“What’s so important that ya burst in here at the crack of dawn?” the alchemist said, getting to his feet. Considering he wasn’t that much taller standing up, he might have saved himself the struggle.
“It’s nearly dinner time,” Selissa said, slightly puzzled.
“What’s ya rambling about, woman?” the man – Selissa was now pretty sure that it was, in fact, a man – said irritably.
“Don’t even bother,” Orrell said tiredly. “All the fumes have melted his brain. I would be surprised if he knew what year it is. Hey, Ebeus—” he tapped the alchemist, who had wandered over to a table to inspect something simmering in a flagon, on the shoulder “—pay attention. We need you to identify some powder for us.”
The stuff in the flagon made a loud hissing sound as it bubbled, and Selissa politely took a step back.
“What powder?” Ebeus said distractedly, grabbing something from the vast pile of rubbish on the table and adding it to the flagon.
“This powder,” Selissa said. She put the pouch down on the table, then hastily retreated as the mixture in the flagon released a puff of steam.
“We think it’s some kind of explosive chemical,” Orrell said, watching the alchemist dispassionately. “How long do you need to figure it out?”
Ebeus opened the pouch and held it up to his good eye for inspection.
“Three days,” he said brusquely, then went back to his potion.
Orrell bristled. “Three days? Half the city might be blown to pieces by that time! Can’t you do it faster?”
Ebeus glared at him as only a man with one eye can glare. “When I say three days, I mean three days, ya pansy! Ya just earned yourself the honor of paying an extra fee.”
Selissa grabbed Orrell’s arm before the captain could strangle the smaller man.
“It’s fine,” she said. “We’ll just have to make do.”
Orrell clearly wasn’t happy about it, but he let the matter drop, even though he continued to glare at Ebeus as if he wanted to give him a good kick.
“Anything you can tell us about the substance without testing it?” he asked through gritted teeth.
“Smells explosive,” the alchemist said simply, not looking up from his work.
“We already told you it’s an explosive!” Orrell said, clearly about to lose his temper again.
“Good for ya!” Ebeus said sarcastically. “Since yar so smart, there’s no reason to stick around, is there?”
He began hustling them toward the door with surprising ferocity, ignoring Orrell’s spluttered protests. Opening the screeching door, Ebeus quite literally kicked them out of the shop.
“But—” Orrell started.
Ebeus wasn’t listening. “See ya in three days, ya bastards!” he said and slammed the door in their faces.
Selissa blinked at the closed door, before turning to Orrell.
“I sort of like him.”
Today’s book is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling.
I don’t think I need to tell you that this book is fairly depressing. A lot of beloved characters die, but I’m going to completely ignore that for this post and instead focus on my favorite part of the book:
The Battle of Hogwarts.
All the awesome parts of this final battle don’t get enough credit, because everyone only tend to remember the deaths. But there is so much badassery going on. Not only has Neville turned into a surprisingly capable rebel leader, but the elderly ladies of Hogwarts are basically guerilla fighters when let loose. Professor McGonagall leading an army of animated desks and yelling “Charge!” might just be my all time favorite scene in a book. And Professor Sprout didn’t hesitate for a second when told she would need to fight, just rushing off to get every dangerous plant she could think of. Even Trelawney went berserker and cracked heads open by throwing crystal balls at them
Who cares about Harry, Ron and Hermione? Just piss off the lady professors, sic them on Voldemort, and be done with it.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
by J. K. Rowling
Harry Potter is leaving Privet Drive for the last time. But as he climbs into the sidecar of Hagrid’s motorbike and they take to the skies, he knows Lord Voldemort and the Death Eaters will not be far behind.
The protective charm that has kept him safe until now is broken. But the Dark Lord is breathing fear into everything he loves. And he knows he can’t keep hiding.
To stop Voldemort, Harry knows he must find the remaining Horcruxes and destroy them.
