Tag: Fantasy

Posted on by — 13 Comments

The Bookish Owl – Making Money by Terry Pratchett

Making Money Terry Pratchett Collector's Edition

Next on the reading list is Making Money by Terry Pratchett.

I’m rapidly nearing the end of Discworld, but at least I know I’ll have to slow down soon, as the last couple of books won’t be released in the Collector’s Edition until November. Guess that’ll give me an excuse to reread some of my favorites!

‘Making Money’ is the 36th (did Pratchett ever stop writing…?) Discworld book overall and the second with Moist von Lipwig as the protagonist. I really enjoyed ‘Going Postal‘ and, after reading the first 50 pages, this one seems to follow the same scenario: Vetinari making not-so-subtle threats, Moist getting a new job, and then everything going haywire.

Making Money
by Terry Pratchett

Amazingly, former arch-swindler-turned-Postmaster General Moist von Lipwig has somehow managed to get the woefully inefficient Ankh-Morpork Post Office running like . . . well, not like a government office at all. Now the supreme despot Lord Vetinari is asking Moist if he’d like to make some real money. Vetinari wants Moist to resuscitate the venerable Royal Mint—so that perhaps it will no longer cost considerably more than a penny to make a penny.

Moist doesn’t want the job. However, a request from Ankh-Morpork’s current ruling tyrant isn’t a “request” per se, more like a “once-in-a-lifetime-offer-you-can-certainly-refuse-if-you-feel-you’ve-lived-quite-long-enough.” So Moist will just have to learn to deal with elderly Royal Bank chairman Topsy (née Turvy) Lavish and her two loaded crossbows, a face-lapping Mint manager, and a chief clerk who’s probably a vampire. But he’ll soon be making lethal enemies as well as money, especially if he can’t figure out where all the gold has gone.

Making Money Terry Pratchett Collector's Edition

Posted on by — 2 Comments

The Bookish Owl – House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones

House of Many Ways Diana Wynne Jones

Yep, new book. It’s House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones.

I loved the first book in this series, “Howl’s Moving Castle“, and since a friend gave me all the books for my birthday, I saw no reason not to get started on the sequel. Hopefully it holds up!

I’m trying to get a lot of reading done this summer, but I prefer to read outside if possible and the Danish weather is (as usual) rather bipolar. Right now it seems to have two settings: So windy that I have to bring a blanket or so hot and sunny that I last all of 10 minutes before being roasted.

Often both of these happen within a few hours of each other.

House of Many Ways
by Diana Wynne Jones

When Charmain Baker agreed to look after her great-uncle’s house, she thought she was getting blissful, parent-free time to read. She didn’t realize that the house bent space and time, and she did not expect to become responsible for an extremely magical stray dog and a muddled young apprentice wizard. Now, somehow, she’s been targeted by a terrifying creature called a lubbock, too, and become central to the king’s urgent search for the fabled Elfgift that will save the country. The king is so desperate to find the Elfgift, he’s called in an intimidating sorceress named Sophie to help. And where Sophie is, the great Wizard Howl and fire demon Calcifer won’t be far behind. How did respectable Charmain end up in such a mess, and how will she get herself out of it?

House of Many Ways Diana Wynne Jones

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Smashwords Summer/Winter Sale 2019

Fantasy Covers

Fantasy Covers

It’s time for Smashwords’ annual Summer/Winter sale!

These sales keep creeping up on me. I am in no way ready for it to be July. I was supposed to have achieved so much by July. Before you know it, it will be December, and then it’ll be 2020, and then we’ll all be old and gray, and I’ll still be behind on everything.

Ahem.

Sale. Right.

The Summer/Winter sale will run for all of July and will include soooo many free or discounted ebooks. So many. Probably thousands.

(You realize you have been doing this for too long when it feels like you can’t even come up with a way to make free shit sound interesting…)

And yeah, my books will be part of the sale. But as I assume most people following my blog will have already gotten said books if they wanted them (since I’m too damn slow to have published anything new since last sale), I’m going to encourage you all to check out some of the other great indie publishers offering discounted books.

Smashwords Summer/Winter Sale

1. July 2019 – 31. July 2019

Resounding Echo – FREE
Silent Sound Cover Angel
Silent Sound – 75% off
Quiet Whisper Book Cover
Quiet Whisper – 75% off
Redesign Fantasy Cover
Huntress – FREE
Book Cover Demon
Demon’s Dance – FREE
Song of Angels Book Cover
Song of Angels – 75% off
Posted on by — Leave a comment

The Bookish Owl – Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett

Wintersmith Terry Pratchett owl

Though I struggled a bit to get through my last book, I’m finally starting on Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett.

I’m looking forward to another Tiffany Aching book, especially because I was dragging my feet with my last read. Discworld is always a good palate cleanser and the Tiffany Aching subseries even more so. Sometimes you just need a not-quite-a-witch hitting things with a frying pan.

And if Granny Weatherwax is around to mess with people’s heads, all the better.

Oh, by the way, if you wanted a photo where you can see the cover artwork, I’m going to have to disappoint. I sat the bird down and then he would not move. Not sure what I did to deserve him freezing in a “Come at me, bro!”-stance like this…

Wintersmith
by Terry Pratchett

Tiffany Aching put one foot wrong, made one little mistake…

And now the spirit of winter is in love with her. He gives her roses and icebergs, says it with avalanches and showers her with snowflakes – which is tough when you’re 13, but also just a little bit… cool.

And just because the Wintersmith wants to marry you is no excuse for neglecting your chores. So Tiffany must look after Miss Treason, who’s 113 and has far too many eyes, learn the secret of Boffo, catch Horace the cheese, stop the gods from seeing her in the bath–

‘Crivens!’ Oh, yes, and be helped by the Nac Mac Feegles – whether she wants it or not.

But if Tiffany doesn’t work it all out, there will never be another springtime…

Wintersmith Terry Pratchett owl

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Resounding Echo – Excerpt (Chapter 27)

Excerpt Resounding Echo

Selissa took a shaky breath to steady herself. “If you’re not here for me,” she said slowly. She knew that if he really wasn’t going to hurt her, she should just get the hell out of there and put as much distance between herself and him as humanly possible. But no matter how frightening she found him, there was also something about him that made her pause. “Then why are you here?”

His grin widened and Selissa felt the blood freeze in her veins. She had never met anyone who made a smile look so unnerving.

“I had some…” Ardeth paused for a moment. “Business to take care of in the area. And I decided to pay this place a visit while I was here.”

Selissa shuddered at the way he said the word ‘business’. She wondered how many innocent lives were lost every time he had business to take care of.