Category: Adventurer’s Guide Page 1 of 2

Hello hello, season of cozy blankets, rain and tea. While not everyone has been waiting for you, we are certainly excited to get into full autumn mode. And since our summer reading lists were just so much fun to put together and worked exceptionally well, we decided to go ahead and come up with lists for autumn as well.

TheLadyDuckOfDoom:

Beowulf: A New Translation
A Question of Navigation
Dawnshard
Monstress Vol. 4
Escaping Exodus
American Hippo
The Dark Archive
Fortune’s Pawn
The Library of the Dead
Shards of the Earth

The Outside
Queen of Sorrow
The Last Continent
King of Thorns
The Calculating Stars
Neon Birds
The Unspoken Name
Die Türme von Eden
Chaos Vector
The Autumn Republic
Before They Are Hanged

TheRightHonourableHarpyEagle:

Velocity Weapon
Ninth House
Die Türme von Eden
In the Watchful City
A Letter to Three Witches
The Hemlock Cure
The Unbroken
The God of Lost Words
The Lady Astronaut of Mars
Inside Man

A Psalm for the Wild-Built
Under the Whispering Door
Sea of Rust
The Red House Mystery
Driftwood
Unnatural Causes
Mrs England
Johannes Cabal the Necromancer
Pages & Co
Freshwater

TheMarquessMagpie:

Before They Are Hanged
Empire of the Vampire
Die Eroberung des Südpols
Drei Kameradinnen
Escaping Exodus
Stranger in a Strange Land
Inside Man
Shadow Captain
Finders Keepers
Eroberung
Drachensaat
Song of Susannah
Gingerbread

Das Erbe der Elfen
The Dark Vault
Medea
If You Go Down to the Woods
Zone One
Home Body
Windschiefe Geraden
The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing
The Wych Elm
Des Teufels Gebetsbuch
Stories of Your Life and Others
Nur vom Weltraum aus ist die Erde blau

Armchair Time-Travelling with St Mary’s #2 – or: Once I fall down a Rabbit Hole…

By TheRightHonourableHarpyEagle

On July 22, 2021

In A Day in the Life of a Bookdragon, Adventurer's Guide

Dear Jodi Taylor, should St Mary’s need another Historian, please send me the link to where I can apply. Apart from an actual degree in History and being fluent in at least two languages, I bring the most essential prerequisites: I run on tea, sarcasm and inappropriate behaviour.

When I started readingthe first book in The Chronicles of St Mary’s series by Jodi Taylor, Just One Damned Thing After Another, I thought I’d just get it over with, get another eBook-ghost off #MountTBR. Boy, was I wrong!

I fell into the time travelling world of St Mary’s with its snarky characters and well-researched adventures like Alice fell down that rabbit hole. I literally had to scramble to come out for reality and other books. I ran through the first four books and some of the short stories in no time. Then forced myself to read something else, which I barely finished before I went back to St Mary’s.

When I had finished book eight, And the Rest is History, I knew I’d re-read the stories about Max and Leon and Peterson and Markham and the rest of St Mary’s motley crew. So I took the plunge and bought the full set of signed novels plus two short story collections from Jodi Taylor’s site. Not more than 2.5 days after I ordered, the fourteen books arrived. I greedily put my talons out to snap the box from the postman’s hands.

I’m feeling like a mix of Gollum and Smaug at the moment. My precious! My hoard! I might or might not have hugged the books before I made room on my shelf for the collection. Fourteen books. All signed by the author. All the same format, because they were published by the same publisher. It’s definitely Christmas come early for this book-dragon. [Pictures of my unboxing and shelf stacking can be found on Instagram.]

TheMarquessMagpie and TheLadyDuckOfDoom might follow me down this rabbit hole. They have both agreed that if a series is that much the-Rt.-Hon.-Harpy-Eagle-approved that said Harpy Eagle didn’t even blink once at the expenses of international shipping and customs (the UK is no longer part of the EU), it must be good. IT IS! Make yourself a large mug of tea and dive into this world. Trust me on this.

Armchair Time-Travelling with St Mary’s

By TheRightHonourableHarpyEagle

On July 7, 2021

In 42, Adventurer's Guide, Reviews

Oh, excuse me. That’s wrong. The highly secretive St Mary’s Institute of Historical Research doesn’t do time travel, they ‘investigate major historical events in contemporary time’. The historians of the institute are to observe and document, otherwise History will right itself (by erasing them). Add a bunch of eccentric scientists, technicians and engineers who like to blow things up on a regular basis, and you have a fun romp through time. In the case of this first book in the series, Jodi Taylor’s Just One Damned Thing After Another, the catastrophes stretch from Norman conquest England, to France during World War I, the Cretaceous Period and the destruction of the Great Library of Alexandria – mind you, that wasn’t St Mary’s doing, though they tried their best.

If you’re into history, and explosions, mayhem, snarky characters, an extra portion British humour, lots of tea and even more booze, this is the series for you.

Jodi Taylor definitely did her homework in preparation to this book. Honestly, she even knows how to distinguish whether a British person has Saxon or Norman ancestry, something only history nerds know. [Yes, I knew before I read the book; guess that’s saying enough.]

5/5 Harpy Eagles – queue the next book, please.

PS: Yes, I noticed the parallels to the TV series Timeless – which I binged with my daughter ages ago – but I venture that St Mary’s was first and is better.

Astronettes? Lady Astronauts? Astronauts!

By TheRightHonourableHarpyEagle

On June 24, 2021

In 42, Adventurer's Guide, Audio Feedback, Reviews

Mary Robinette Kowal’s Lady Astronaut Universe series is the latest rabbit hole I fell down. Or should I say a black hole that drew me in? Three main works have been published so far, as well as two novellas. Book four will hopefully hit the shelves next year.

I’d wanted to read The Calculating Stars for some time but the audiobook kept gathering dust on my TBR. After listening to The Original, co-authored by MRK, I decided to not ignore it any longer.

In this alternate history the fate of humanity is threatened shortly after the end of World War II. This time not by war, but by a meteorite, which hits the east coast of the United States of America. The impact is similar to the one that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs, and doesn’t bode well for humanity. Colonising space might be the only option for humanity’s survival.

Elma York, a child prodigy with two doctorates and former pilot in WWII, is at the heart of this series. She’s working as a computer for the International Aerospace Coalition to help bring the first man to space. But with her skills as a pilot she soon wonders, why she can’t become an astronaut, too. Women will be needed in space colonisation sooner rather than later. Which leads her to notice that not only women are left out of the space programme.

This character driven story uses the sexism and racism of the 1950s and 1960s, sprinkles a good portion of humour, lots of ambition, some grief and heart break, and character flaws on it and out comes a story with characters to root for.

Without wanting to give away too much about the content of the sequel novel, The Fated Sky, let me just tell you, I bought book two and three (The Relentless Moon) right after finishing The Calculating Stars.

The Fated Sky reminded me, in part, of Weir’s Martian and Artemis – in part! Yet, it is it’s own unique story about the possible colonisation of Moon and Mars, including months of space travel with all its obvious dangers, but far more interesting and gross are the not so obvious dangers, like regurgitating vacuum toilets. I’m looking forward to the third book in the series, but I am pacing myself a bit, because the fourth book, The Martian Contingency, won’t be published before 2022.

The audiobooks are narrated by the author herself. Something that I enjoy very much in general and enjoyed with this series in particular. MRK does an excellent job giving Elma and her friends and foes a unique voice.

Lastly, I’d like to point out that I truly appreciate all the research that MRK put into the series to represent science and history as accurately as possible. I especially enjoyed the lengthy acknowledgements and lists of bibliography at the end of the books, which probably only represents a fraction of what the author actually learned and looked up.

5/5 Harpy Eagles for The Calculating Stars and The Fated Sky

Quest to steal a stone

By TheRightHonourableHarpyEagle

On June 23, 2021

In Adventurer's Guide, Audio Feedback, Buddyreads, Dungeons & Bookdragons, Reviews

The Thief the first book in The Queen’s Thief series by Meghan Whalen Turner, published 27 December 2005. TheLadyDuckOfDoom and myself had this book on our #SeptreSummer reading lists and we accidentally on purpose read it at the same time; or rather we listened to it (see below).

Gen is a thief, currently in prison for stealing from the royal court and then unwisely boasting about it in a tavern.

The king’s magus needs something found, a trinket from the gods, and he needs a master thief to help him find it. So he dregs Gen out of prison and onto a horse and the quest begins.

Like all good quests to find hidden treasure this is a journey through enemy territory, dangerous terrain and with travelling companions who can’t stand each other. It could be very boring, if it wasn’t for the stories of the old gods and goddesses they tell each other to while away the time on the road.

Although the stories might be inspired by the myths, stories and the countryside around the Mediterranean, this series is not a retelling of any myths, it is set in its own fantasy world and has its own unique voice and plot.

Some reviewers classify this novel and series as Young Adult. I’m not so sure about this. The protagonist might be on the younger side and is often described as a boy and not a grown man yet, though the story reads far more mature than your average YA fantasy. Probably because the usual tropes, like chosen one, love triangle, etc, are missing.

The narration by Steve West is excellent and was the main reason for me to pick this book up as an audiobook. In fact, it was so good that I hopped from book 1, to book 2 The Queen of Attolia, book 3 The Kind of Attolia, and books 4 and 5, A Conspiracy of Kings and Thick as Thieves.

4/5 Harpy Eagles

4/5 Duckies

Talk dirty to me

By TheRightHonourableHarpyEagle

On June 16, 2021

In 42, Adventurer's Guide, Audio Feedback, Dungeons & Bookdragons, Hidden Gems, Reviews

Ha, made you look, right?

I love a good audiobook. What’s even better than a good audiobook? An audioplay. Better than an audioplay? [Yes, yes, there can be a superlative here.] Better than an audioplay is an audioplay based on a story by Neil Gaiman, played by a whole cast of gorgeous voices and narrated by Neil himself. That’s reason enough for me to not fiddle with the speed of my audioplayer, which I usually set to somewhere between 1.75 and 2.5.

The Sandman audioplay is based on the DC comics/graphic novels of the same title. I’m going so far as to say that I enjoyed the audioplay much more than the GNs, because the cast surrounding James McAvoy makes the story/stories really come to life for me.

I can’t say much more without either starting to go all CAPS, or gushing about details. Get yourself a copy of the original version – trust me, I dared to listen into the German version for a few minutes, just not the same feeling – and enjoy it. Each episode is worth your time, and, at the same time, you can pace yourself by at least trying to listen to not more than one episode at a time. Something I failed at spectacularly.

5/5 Harpy Eagles

Sceptre Summer Reading Program

By Sceptre

On June 1, 2021

In A Day in the Life of a Bookdragon, Adventurer's Guide, For Honour and Glory

Welcome to our self-organized, highly individual, just for fun summer reading program. Each of us has created a list of books we really want to read, but somehow haven’t picked up yet. So, picking them for our summer reading seemed entirely logical. Given our success with challenges or reading lists so far, it’s highly unlikely we will follow through with them. But, as we all know, planning is half the fun.

TheLadyDuckOfDoom:

Fortune’s Pawn
Rule of Wolves
Seven of Infinities
The Galaxy, and the Ground Within
The Haunting of Tram Car 015
Dark Archive
The Reluctant Queen
American Hippo
Neon Birds
A Longer Fall
A Question of Navigation
The Outside
The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe
A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking

Way of Thorns
The Autumn Republic
How To
Velocity Weapon
Merciful Crow
Carpe Jugulum
Sisters of the Vast Black
Deal with the Devil
Bridge of Souls
One Day All This Will Be Yours
Shards of Earth
United States of Japan
The Thief
Ashes of the Sun
A Big Ship at the End of the Universe

TheRightHonourableHarpyEagle:

A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking
Bridge of Souls
The Thief
Deal with the Devil
Mary Toft; or, The Rabbit Queen
For the Wolf
Nine Nasty Words
Arsenic and Adobo
The Dictionary of Lost Words
Master of Revels
Prime Deceptions
The Calculating Stars

The Butterfly Effect
The Beholder
Just One Damn Thing After Another
The Devil’s Thief
The Library of the Dead
A History of What Comes Next
Firebreak
How to Mars
Daughter of the Salt King
Swearing is Good For You
The Octunnumi

TheMarquessMagpie:

Iron Gold Reread, for….
Dark Age
The Final Empire
Temper
Sharks in the Time of Saviors
The Outsider
The Blade Itself
Snuff (Discworld)
King of Scars
Sins of Empire
Hyperion

Tyll
She Would Be King
Orfeia
Harrow the Ninth
Identitti
Life on Mars
Dune Messiah
The Betrayals
The Ten Thousand Doors of January

I heart Murderbot

By TheRightHonourableHarpyEagle

On March 4, 2021

In 42, Adventurer's Guide, Reviews

The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells.

Murderbot is a rogue sec unit. It hacked its governor module and could do anything it wants. Like, hide behind its opaque visor and watch endless hours of its favourite TV shows. It still works as a sec unit, tough. And soon Murderbot grows on you, just as it grows on the humans it protects.

I enjoyed this inhuman MC very much. It was wonderful seeing Murderbot interact with humans, basing its communication skills on the TV series it has been watching. Just as fun is seeing Murderbot ‘make friends’ with other bots, drones, and AIs. One of my favourite secondary characters is ART, by the way, the AI of a research transport. I do like its sense of humour.

Over the course of the five stories, Murderbot is evolving, of course. It is learning from its interactions with humans and machines alike. This is not necessarily making it seem more human, but definitely less of a machine designed to kill.

I can’t wait to see what its next adventure will be like. Fugitive Telemetry is going to be out 27 April 2021. I’m practically counting the seconds until the release. Not to mention that I applied for a review copy, which I was approved of only minutes after I wrote my first draft of this post.

As you can see, I’m not the only Sceptre who has a crush on Murderbot. TheLadyDuckOfDoom reviewed The Murderbot Diaries in September 2020.

Please be gentle, 2021

By TheMarquessMagpie

On January 2, 2021

In A Day in the Life of a Bookdragon, Adventurer's Guide, For Honour and Glory

We all can agree that 2020 was… well, let’s say challenging for all of us. I wonder what this year has in store, but taking a bookish look at it is a sure way to get our hopes up. So, here we go.

I am sure our monthly Buddyreads picked by the Otherland staff will continue to be a source of joy and lead to interesting discussions with my fellow Sceptres. The next Buddyread delivery will be accompanied by some other books I ordered, so the year is off to a good start.

Usually I’m not really good at keeping track of new releases, but there are some I am really excited about:

Jade Legacy by Fonda Lee
two new Becky Chambers books, the fourth Wayfarer book will even get here as a signed preorder thanks to TheLadyDuckOfDoom
Broken by Jenny Lawson
Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire
The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey

Apart from that, there are a couple of books already waiting on my shelves that I finally want to get to:

Dark Age by Pierce Brown – I excitedly preordered a signed edition back in 2019 and it has been waiting for me ever since
Assassin’s Quest by Robin Hobb, to finish the Farseer trilogy
5 (!) books by V.E. Schwab
Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn trilogy and Warbreaker
The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin – also signed, also silently judging me from its place on the shelf

As always and against my better judgement, I also get really excited about reading challenges at the beginning of the year. The Goodreads challenge is the only I’ve really stuck with in the last couple of years, but I always take a look at Book Riot’s Read Harder Challenge and the Popsugar Reading Challenge. I usually plan books for most of the categories in January and forget all about them by April at the latest. But still, the planning is a whole lot of fun.

To a bookish 2021

By TheLadyDuckOfDoom

On January 2, 2021

In A Day in the Life of a Bookdragon, Adventurer's Guide

2020 really sucked. One of the only good things that happened was starting the Buddyread group and the resulting book blog. So let’s just leave the rest behind and have a look at all the great books waiting for us this year.

Our Buddyreads chosen by Otherland (the best bookshop here in Germany) will, of course, continue. They have been a delight last year and I would bet my favourite pair of socks (there are ducks on them) that they will continue to pick fantastic, thought-provoking books.

There are a ton of books I already look forward to. Let’s start with some new releases of 2021. Maybe we will open my ever-growing TBR shelf in a later post.

The first book I really look forward to is Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire, the 6th release of the Wayward Children Series. These novellas are so beautiful and will resonate with those who ever felt lost on this world. Publishing date is 12th January, so I won’t have to wait long.

Next up is The Galaxy, and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers. I love the Wayfarers series, and even ordered a signed HC for me and the Marquess. I am still angry that there is no German audiobook, because I keep talking to my love how awesome these books are – and audiobooks are what works for him. The release is on 16th February. Maybe I can get a whole year filled with a new release each month in this article?

March will end with the release of Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo, second in the King of Scars Duology. If you have not read anything in the Grishaverse yet, maybe do it soon, the Netflix adaption is on the horizon.

Whatever else happens in April, it will be overshadowed by the release of the next Murderbot installment, Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells on 27th. Everyone loves Murderbot.

There will be a lot of releases in May, but I’m particularly intrigued by Son of the Storm by Suyi Davies Okungbowa, released on 11th. The blurb sounds fantastic, so I really can’t wait to get my hands on it.

My to-buy list of new books is already overflowing, and June will only pile more on top. The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri, published on June 10th, is one of the books I will definitely get on release day. It is the start of a new fantasy trilogy inspired by the history and epics of India, and features morally grey characters.

July has another Becky Chambers coming up: A Psalm for the Wild-Built, released on July 13th. A new series of novellas, and I hope Becky Chambers will continue her unique hopepunk style in a new setting.

On August 24th The Thousand Eyes, book 2 in The Serpent Gates series by A.K. Larkwood, will be released. I haven’t read book 1 yet (it’s staring at me from my shelf), but I will. Soon.

September has the heavily anticipated release of Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff on the 7th. He seems to be really proud of this novel, and while I was not a total fan of his last books, I will pick this one up with an open mindset.

As of right now the announced releases are looking scarce for the year’s later months, but I bet they will be filled with a whole ton of awesome books. Last year, I did not manage to keep up with the new releases at all, but maybe this year will be different?