• Home
  • My Love is Vengeance
  • The Dictator’s Wife
  • The Cavaliers Series
    • Oxford Dining Societies
    • The English Civil War
    • Character Guide
    • Glossary
    • About Oxford
  • The Blog
  • The Author
  • Contact Georgiana / Mailing List

The Posh, the Privileged and the Paranormal

The Posh, the Privileged and the Paranormal

Monthly Archives: June 2014

Top Ten Tuesday – Books on my summer 2014 to-read list

17 Tuesday Jun 2014

Posted by georgianaderwent in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

grisha, luminaries, neil gaiman, outlander, ruin and rising, summer reads, top ten tuesday

It’s been a while since I’ve done a Top Ten Tuesday List – see http://www.brokeandbookish.com/p/top-ten-tuesday-other-features.html  for more information  -but today I’ve made a special effort, as it’s Top Ten Books On My Summer TBR list. I always find I end up reading more in those months that I’ve covered off in one of these lists, as getting through them feels like a nice little challenge.

Over the summer though, I intend to get some serious reading done. Apart from anything else, my honeymoon in August apparently involves a seriously longhaul flight (no one will tell me where I’m going, so don’t ask) which seems like the perfect opportunity to work my way through some of the longer books I’ve been avoiding recently because they felt like such a commitment. 

Anyway, without further ado, here’s my list.

1) Ruin and Rising – The Grisha 3 (Leigh Bardugo) – The first two books in this Russian-themed fantasy series were some of my absolute favorite reads of last year and I’ve been eagerly awaiting this final installment. There’s not much longer to wait – it’s out on Thursday, which also happens to be my birthday. The perfect present! Except that some of the pre-release reviews on Amazon are making me a little bit nervous about just how it’s going to play out.

2) The Girl on the Golden Coin (Marci Jefferson)- Precisely because I love history so much, I tend to be slightly wary of historical fiction, but from what I hear, this Restoration-era novel about Lady Frances Stewart is both well written and well researched, as well as full of intrigue. And more importantly, the main character marries the son of the real-life Lord George Stewart.

3) Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)- I’m dubious about this one, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a book recommended so many times, both generally on blogs and specifically to me. The length of both the first book and the seemingly never ending series have made me wary of getting drawn in, and summaries of the time-travel love triangle based plot make me unsure whether I’m going to love it or hate it, but people keep telling me it’s much better than that bizarre genre makes it sound, and this summer, I intend to finally give in and give it a go. 

4) Doomsday Book (Connie Willis) – And while we’re on the subject of time travel, this one is about an Oxford history student in 2054 who travels back to the 1320s as part of her course. I’ve heard good things despite the weird premise, but this is basically wish fulfillment for me. I feel very short-changed that my college didn’t have a time machine. 

5) The Luminaries (Eleanor Catton) – I always pride myself on liking literary and genre fiction in roughly equal measure, but my reading habits have definitely tipped towards the latter recently. I’ve just finished the Goldfinch (review tomorrow, hopefully) which is this year’s other Famous Eight-Hundred Page Literary Success Story and enjoyed it far more than I was expecting, so now I’m going to give this one a whirl. Friends and reviewers with very high literary tolerance warn that it’s quite hard work, so I’l consider myself fairly warned…

6)Crewel (Gennifer Albin)– And then back to something lighter. This seems to be basically a standard YA dystopia/fantasy, but I read a glowing review of it from someone whose opinions I broadly trust, and the way it seems to bring in the story of the fates who weave the world intrigued me. 

7)Stardust (Neil Gaiman) – I’ve been slowly working my way through Gaiman’s back catalogue, and this adult fairytale is next on the list. I enjoyed the film, and while I’ve enjoyed some of his books more than others, the author never really lets me down. 

8)Changeless – PArasol Protectorate 2(Gail Carriger) – I read Soulless, the first book in this (wait for it) steampunk paranormal mystery comedy series a few years ago, and found it a really funny, enjoyable read. Somehow though, I’ve never felt motivated to read the sequel, but I think this Victorian comedy of manners and vampires will be the perfect beach read in Mystery Destination. 

9)Whispers Under Ground – Rivers of London 3 (Ben Aaronovitch) – I’ve had a similar experience with this series about a wizard policeman in modern day London, enjoying it but never feeling a pressing urge to pick up the next installment. 

There is no one book pressing for the number ten slot and lots I’m tempted by that I could include. With some really epic books on there, ten is probably ambitious anyway, and I’d like to allow myself a bit of flexibility to go off-list if the mood takes me. 

Are there any that you’ve already read that you’d push me towards or nudge me away from? Or are you planning to give any of these a try this summer? In particular, who else is going to be reading Ruin and Rising on Thursday? I suspect I’m going to need a support group. 

Book Review – American Gods

15 Sunday Jun 2014

Posted by georgianaderwent in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

american gods, neil gaiman, review

I hope readers enjoyed the first two entries in my series about inspirations for characters in the Cavaliers, focussed on Augustine and George. I promised more entries, and they will be coming soon, with my intention being to write one about Adelaide (touching on her twin and on her previous incarnation) and then a joint one about Fea and the Visigoth Goth Twins. 

Sadly, this week’s been far too hectic to write any of those posts, as they tend to take me a while. In the meantime, therefore, here’s a review. Regular readers of this blog will have noticed that there are books I bring up again and again – in Top Ten Tuesday lists, in posts about my own books, and as comparators in reviews. One of those is American Gods by Neil Gaiman, which blew me away as a seventeen or eighteen year old when I was really, really into mythology. I’ve read several of his books since, and although I always enjoy them, they’ve never quite hit that high note for me.

Incidentally, the one other thing Gaiman has written that is as good is his Sandman series of graphic novels. I’m not a very visual person  – I definitely think in words rather than pictures – so due to personal preference rather than literary snobbery, I didn’t think I’d enjoy what are basically comics, but they are amazing and well worth a look even if it’s not a medium you’re familiar/comfortable with. 

Back to American Gods. Over the years, I’ve recommended it to loads of people, referenced it constantly, and looked back on it lovingly, but I’ve never re-read it. A few weeks ago, I decided to get a copy and re-read it cover to cover. It’s always a dangerous thing to do, thanks to the risk that it won’t be as good in reality as it is in your memory, but in this case, no such problem arose. I didn’t adore it quite as much as I did first time around, partly due to remembering the plot twists and partly due to not being quite so fascinated by the subject matter anymore, but it’s still a definite 5 star read and a book I’d heavily recommend. 

AMERICAN GODS – NEIL GAIMAN – 5 STARS

349347

THE BLURB

Days before his release from prison, Shadow’s wife, Laura, dies in a mysterious car crash. Numbly, he makes his way back home. On the plane, he encounters the enigmatic Mr Wednesday, who claims to be a refugee from a distant war, a former god and the king of America.

Together they embark on a profoundly strange journey across the heart of the USA, whilst all around them a storm of preternatural and epic proportions threatens to break.

Scary, gripping and deeply unsettling, AMERICAN GODS takes a long, hard look into the soul of America. You’ll be surprised by what and who it finds there…

THE REVIEW

I long been a believer that “genre fiction” can be just as meaningful and well-written as some of the more obviously literary novels, and this book, (which I first read around ten years ago but re-read from cover to cover recently) is a perfect example of the concept. 

The storyline is utterly compelling, with well-developed, memorable characters and some well-handled twists. The basic premise is an intriguing one. All gods and similar mythological creatures are real, created out of people’s belief in them. As waves of explorers and immigrants have come to America over the centuries, they’ve brought their gods with them, but with little belief left in Thor or leprechauns or whatever, they are mostly eking out a fragile existence on the fringes of society, as con artists or prostitutes or physical labourers. At the same time, new gods are coming into being – gods of the internet, of electricity, of cars etc, and having far more success. That rather bizarre set-up is handled well and believably, and both old and new gods are fun to read about. If you like mythology (and I love it) you’ll have lots of fun trying to work out who some of the more obscure characters are based on, and making frequent trips to wikipedia. Gaiman has clearly done his research.

Despite all the Gods drifting around and the fantastical nature of some scenes, much of the plot and the setting is very realistic, even gritty. The main character is a seemingly ordinary man called Shadow, who becomes embroiled in the old gods’ plot to regain their power and prestige, after a meeting with a Mr Wednesday, whose real identity readers with a passing knowledge of myths can probably take a guess at. Shadow starts the novel in prison for bank robbery, and the prison scenes and later fights and interrogations would not be out of place in something like The Wire. This is urban fantasy at it’s most urban, with a definite adult feel. 

Sometimes, the plot is full of action and revelation. At other points, however, it becomes slow and meditative, which seems quite unusual for a novel of this kind. Shadow spends large parts of the middle section hiding out in an oddly perfect snow-covered town in the north of America. This section could easily have dragged, but my interest in the character and the quality of the writing kept me engaged, and I ultimately felt the book was better for being willing to slow down. It gave it a real epic quality. 

Beyond the plot though, there are allsorts of big questions being explored. Why does every society have gods? What role do they fulfil in the human psyche? What is the nature of belief? What does it mean to be American? How does it feel to leave one country and culture behind and join another. They are the sort of questions you’d normally expect to be dealt with in a deadly serious Big Novel, but actually feel fresher viewed through this prism of gods and adventures. It’s helped by the fact that Gaiman’s writing style is consistently strong, and would actually translate perfectly to something less fantastical. 

Finally, one of my favourite things about the book is the way the main storyline is intercut with both stories of random gods’ everyday lives in modern America (I was particularly intrigued by the Queen of Sheba) and stories of the people who came to America and brought their gods with them. Of the latter, the standout was a story of an African woman brought to America as a slave, bringing some voodoo type gods with her. In one chapter, it honestly delivers the most powerful reminder of how horrific slavery was that I’ve ever read. Most of the others are lighter, but still fascinating. 

In conclusion, I’d definitely recommend this book to anyone that likes intelligent fantasy, as well as some people who think fantasy isn’t really for them. Gaiman’s one of my favourite authors, and this is probably his best book and a wonderful introduction to his style.

 

PS. This time around, I (deliberately) read the author’s preferred edition, basically a sort of director’s cut equivalent, with 12 000 words of previously cut material added back in. I’d recommend sticking with the original, slightly shorter (though still nearly 600 pages long) edition. It’s hard to be sure as it’s so long since I first read this, but I think the original is just that bit tighter and slicker. Editors serve a purpose, they’re not just there to thwart an author’s will, something that I’ve learned over time, as a naturally wordy writer. 

Blogroll

  • Buy Oxford Blood at Amazon (US)
  • Buy The Cavaliers at Amazon (UK)
  • Buy The Cavaliers at Smashwords
  • Oxford's website
  • The secret behind my beautiful cover
Oxford Blood (The Cavaliers, #1)

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

RSS Feed RSS - Posts

Previously on the Posh, the Privileged and the Paranormal…

  • March 2018
  • January 2018
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • November 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • January 2015
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012

Looking for something?

Recent news

  • My Love is Vengeance published
  • Sacrifice Night – An Extract from My Love is Vengeance
  • My Love is Vengeance – Kindle Scout
  • Dictator’s Wife Spinoff Story 3 – Julien
  • Dictator’s Wife Spin-off story Number Two: The Two Facts Everyone Knows About Me

Top Posts & Pages

  • Red hair, green dresses, and sheep - Pre-Raphaelite Fun-Times
  • The Riot Club and The Cavaliers - dining societies in fiction and in life

Twitter Updates

Error: Twitter did not respond. Please wait a few minutes and refresh this page.

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy