Tag: Fantasy

Posted on by — 7 Comments

I Need a Book Title. Hit Me!

Help me graphic

Seeing as Ghostly Scream will soon be published, I have run into a recurring problem in what I need something to write underneath the sentence “Next Book in the Angel’s Voice Series” on the last page.

Yep. I need a title for book 5.

Like I have taken to doing with character names, I’m just gonna crowd source ideas before I drive myself insane.

Good thing about this series is that you don’t need to know anything about the content of the books to help out! The theme is pretty simple, seeing as none of the titles have much to do with the plot in the individual books. They just have to relate to the sound of a voice.

(If it includes some kind of redundancy or other things that make it sound slightly silly, that’s just a plus.)

Examples:
Book 1 – Resounding Echo
Book 2 – Silent Sound
Book 3 – Quiet Whisper
Book 4 – Ghostly Scream (never really liked this one…)
Book 5 – ??? (Help me!)

 

So! Help me brainstorm, will ya?
Any ideas are welcome. Even if it’s just separate words, we might be able to Frankenstein a title out of it in the end.

(Also, if your help has a price, name it. Whether you want to be a character in the book or want the soul of my firstborn, I’m open for negotiations…)

Posted on by — 17 Comments

The Bookish Owl – Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett

Guards! Guards! Terry Pratchett Collector's Edition

Next up is Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett.

If you have been following this blog, you will probably have noticed that I’m reading all the Discworld books in order. However, I’m also reading them in the lovely hardback Collector’s Edition, and the last few books will not be released in this edition until November.

Obviously, this does not mean I will take a break from Discworld. It just means that I get a chance to reread my favorites and that’s something I’ve been dying to do!

So yes, ‘Guards! Guards!’ is a reread for me, but I’m still ridiculously excited about it. It’s the first book in the City Watch series, and it’s got:

  • Dragons
  • Vimes when he was still only reluctantly doing his job
  • Carrot arriving in Ankh-Morpork and horrifying watchmen and criminals alike by insisting on upholding the law
  • Dragons
  • Sybil pursuing a highly confused Vimes
  • Errol the Swamp Dragon
  • Dragons
  • Vetinari getting locked up in his own dungeon and creating a spy network of rats
  • Carrot still thinking he’s a dwarf
  • …Dragons

The plot might not be as deep and multi-layered as the later books, but no one can convince me this isn’t the greatest Discworld book of all times.

Guards! Guards!
by Terry Pratchett

Here there be dragons . . . and the denizens of Ankh-Morpork wish one huge firebreather would return from whence it came. Long believed extinct, a superb specimen of draco nobilis (“noble dragon” for those who don’t understand italics) has appeared in Discworld’s greatest city. Not only does this unwelcome visitor have a nasty habit of charbroiling everything in its path, in rather short order it is crowned King (it is a noble dragon, after all . . .).

Meanwhile, back at Unseen University, an ancient and long-forgotten volume–The Summoning of Dragons–is missing from the Library’s shelves. To the rescue come Captain Vimes, Constable Carrot, and the rest of the Night Watch who, along with other brave citizens, risk everything, including a good roasting, to dethrone the flying monarch and restore order to Ankh-Morpork (before it’s burned to a crisp). A rare tale, well done as only Terry Pratchett can.

Guards! Guards! Terry Pratchett Collector's Edition

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Quiet Whisper – Excerpt (Chapter 48)

Excerpt Quiet Whisper

“Tell me most of the blood isn’t yours and that one of your new strays is the kid’s brother,” Bane said in the voice of a man who couldn’t handle any more insanity. Taelan patted him on the shoulder, leaving a bloody handprint on his shirt. 

“Most of it isn’t my blood, and we picked up the right stray,” Taelan assured him good-humoredly. “And as an added bonus, I just killed the commander of the Ver’dohnian forces.” 

He continued past Bane, leaving his lieutenant stunned for all of five seconds. 

“You what?!”

Posted on by — 4 Comments

The Bookish Owl – Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones

Castle in the Air Diana Wynne Jones

I’m starting on Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones today.

This is a companion novel to Howl’s Moving Castle, so let’s hope it shares its charm and quirkiness.

I feel like I should say something more, but this week is kicking my ass and my brain is pretty much fried…

Have an owl photo instead.

Castle in the Air
by Diana Wynne Jones

Far to the south of the land of Ingary, in the Sultanates of Rashpuht, there lived in the city of Zanzib a young and not very prosperous carpet dealer named Abdullah who loved to spend his time daydreaming. He was content with his life and his daydreams until, one day, a stranger sold him a magic carpet.

That very night, the carpet flew him to an enchanted garden. There, he met and fell in love with the beauteous princess Flower-in-the-Night, only to have her snatched away, right under his very nose, by a wicked djinn. With only his magic carpet and his wits to help him, Abdullah sets off to rescue his princess….

Castle in the Air Diana Wynne Jones

Posted on by — 6 Comments

The Bookish Owl – I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett

I Shall Wear Midnight Terry Pratchett

I’m on to read I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett!

I have been working hard on my own books for the last couple of weeks, revising like crazy to get the new editions ready for a convention in November, and my brain feels like mush at this point. I can’t even tell you how much I need Pratchett-style leisure reading. All the way through my last read, I kept subconsciously entering revision-mode, spending 5 times as long to read a page because I was correcting every slightly awkward sentence in the description-heavy dark fantasy book that I was supposed to be reading for fun.

I think something light and humorous is the only thing that will keep my brain from burning down and sliding out my ears right now…

I Shall Wear Midnight
by Terry Pratchett

As the witch of the Chalk, Tiffany Aching performs the distinctly unglamorous work of caring for the needy. But someone – or something – is inciting fear, generating dark thoughts and angry murmurs against witches. 

Tiffany must find the source of unrest and defeat the evil at its root. Aided by the tiny-but-tough Wee Free Men, Tiffany faces a dire challenge, for if she falls, the whole Chalk falls with her . . .

I Shall Wear Midnight Terry Pratchett