Shout-Out: A Conspiracy of Truths by Alexandra Rowland

Arrested on accusations of witchcraft and treason, Chant finds himself trapped in a cold, filthy jail cell in a foreign land. With only his advocate, the unhelpful and uninterested Consanza, he quickly finds himself cast as a bargaining chip in a brewing battle between the five rulers of this small, backwards, and petty nation.

Or, at least, that's how he would tell the story.

In truth, Chant has little idea of what is happening outside the walls of his cell, but he must quickly start to unravel the puzzle of his imprisonment before they execute him for his alleged crimes. But Chant is no witch—he is a member of a rare and obscure order of wandering storytellers. With no country to call his home, and no people to claim as his own, all Chant has is his wits and his apprentice, a lad more interested in wooing handsome shepherds than learning the ways of the world.

And yet, he has one great power: his stories in the ears of the rulers determined to prosecute him for betraying a nation he knows next to nothing about. The tales he tells will topple the Queens of Nuryevet and just maybe, save his life.

Video: Weta Workshop Sculptor's Talbletop Miniature World

Adam Savage visits Weta Workshop sculptor Johnny Fraser-Allen’s tabletop model labyrinth, swamp, forest, and village. Each piece is modular and so can be moved and built up to create new configurations. The kickstarter campaign for the first set of miniatures, Hagglethorn Hollow, is up and almost over.

Book Review: The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

Pros: told through images and text, some tense moments, fun characters, fast read

Cons: most of the conflict is due to Hugo keeping secrets

Hugo Cabret lives in the Timekeeper’s room inside a Parisian train station. When an elderly toy maker catches him stealing a toy mouse, the man takes a notebook Hugo received from his deceased father. The notebook contains images of an automaton Hugo’s trying to fix, images that cause a startling reaction from the old man.

The book follows Hugo as he tries to get the notebook back and interacts with the man and his goddaughter, Isabelle. There are old movies, magic, clocks, thefts, and lies. The best part of the book is that the movies and automata discussed are all real.

This is a fun - and fast - read. Some sections are told through full page illustrations rather than text, giving the book the feeling of a movie. The immediacy of the action and Hugo’s point of view narrative enhance that feeling.

There are some tense moments, especially towards the end of the book.

While I can understand Hugo’s fear of being taken from his current home and his fear of what would happen to him, it has to be said that most of the problems he encounters throughout the book are due to his inability to trust others, even after they’ve been proved trustworthy and his compulsive need to keep secrets. Things would have resolved much faster had he told Georges why the notebook was so important to him.

Though it’s a thick book (due to the images) it really is an easy read, perfect for readers of all ages.

Shout-Out: Phoenix Unbound by Grace Draven

Every year, each village is required to send a young woman to the Empire's capital--her fate to be burned alive for the entertainment of the masses. For the last five years, one small village's tithe has been the same woman. Gilene's sacrifice protects all the other young women of her village, and her secret to staying alive lies with the magic only she possesses.

But this year is different.

Azarion, the Empire's most famous gladiator, has somehow seen through her illusion--and is set on blackmailing Gilene into using her abilities to help him escape his life of slavery. Unknown to Gilene, he also wants to reclaim the birthright of his clan.

To protect her family and village, she will abandon everything to return to the Empire--and burn once more.

Video: Tasting Astronaut Food

Tested posted a video about tasting astronaut food a few years back. Most of the video is a short history of how astronaut food has developed over time, from tubes and cubes to the current use of tins (Russian) and MRE style bags (US).

Book Review: Heartstone by Elle Katharine White

Pros: fun characters, great romance

Cons: minor issues

Aliza Bentaine’s life at Merybourne Manor changes when gryphons invade the nearby wood and kill her youngest sister. It changes again when the Riders they hired to hunt the gryphons show up and include the handsome but arrogant Alastair Daired. But more than gryphons stalk the land, and other mysteries darken Aliza’s world.

This is a close retelling of Pride and Prejudice, set in a world where monsters roam and dragons fly. There’s no recycled dialogue and the motivations for why characters act as they do have been adjusted to fit the realities of this world. I found that Aliza’s reasons for disliking Daired were more substantial here, making their eventual reconciliation a bit harder to accept. The ending has several major deviations from the source material, which I enjoyed. I especially liked that Gwyn (Charlotte in the original)’s marriage is for different, more mysterious reasons and that their marriage seems better matched. I did wish the mystery regarding her father had received more of a resolution though.

The addition of a wide variety of monsters was fabulous. I didn’t always know what creatures were, but it was fun seeing new and lesser used beings intermixed with the more familiar gnomes, wyverns, and dragons. The use of monster heartstones as engagement/wedding tokens was interesting. I also liked that different creatures spoke different languages, and not all humans understood all languages. 

If you like Jane Austen and fantasy, it’s a fun retelling.

Sometimes you just need a break

Sorry for the lack of posts this week. It wasn’t intentional. We celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving on Sunday and my husband was home Monday, which meant I did my grocery shopping Tuesday morning and then I had a dentist appointment Wednesday morning… It was Thursday before I even noticed I hadn’t posted anything this week.

I’ve also been feeling a bit of burnout. I haven’t read a book in the past few weeks. I’m half way through rereading one but can’t seem to get into it this time (too many other things going on in my life that need immediate attention). Yesterday I started a new book that’s interesting but… 

I'm planning some trips for next year and in addition to the research required for that, there's also a lot of non-fiction I want to read in preparation.

While movie reviews are an easy way to generate content, sometimes it's nice to watch stuff just for fun. I like writing reviews, but it's work and knowing you're going to review it makes it less relaxing. I've been watching more TV shows lately than movies as well (Colony, Caprica, Legion). While I may review the seasons, I have to finish one first.

I am not a gamer. I have played games but they’re often stressful for me as I’m not particularly good at them (and yes, I tried for several months one year to improve my skills before realizing I was wasting my time). I enjoy watching my husband play games with interesting stories or gorgeous worlds (Silent Hill, Bioshock, Assassin’s Creed). When he insisted I play the first level of a new game he’d bought, Nier: Automata, neither of us thought I’d continue without him. I’m part way through the 3rd main story and it’s fascinating. I will note that I am playing on easy mode - I’d have rage quit that first level otherwise. The last time I got into a game like this (playing it on my own) it was Minecraft. So far I’ve played over 60 hours in the past 3 weeks. Which tells you where my reading time has gone.

Anyway, this post is just to say sorry for missing my regularly scheduled content. Guess I just needed a break.