The Winter Queen by Amanda McCabe

Synopsis: As Queen Elizabeth's lady-in-waiting, innocent Lady Rosamund is unprepared for the temptations of Court. She is swept up in the festivities of the yuletide season and, as seduction perfumes the air, Rosamund is drawn to darkly enticing Anton Gustavson….
With the coming of the glittering Frost Fair, they are tangled in a web of forbidden desire and dangerous secrets. For in this time of desperate plots and intrigues, Anton is more than just a handsome suitor—he may have endangered the life of the woman he is learning to love

Quote: As Rosamund watched Leicester hand the Queen into the grandest sleigh, the one at the head of the procession, Anton appeared at her side. She did not see him at first, but she knew he was there. His warmth seemed to surround her; his clean scent carried to her on the cold breeze like a spell.

Why this book you might ask: I purchased this book a few months ago after reading a review about it. I haven't read much Historical Romance in the past few years and thought it might be a good place to start again.

My Thoughts: This was a nice light romantic read set at the court of Queen Elizabeth I. There was a little intrigue and lots of romance during the Christmas of 1564. I enjoyed reading about the festivities and gleaning some history of the period. Some of their love lorne musings did seem to go on...and on. As a fan of the nice wrapped up, hopefully happy ending I was not disappointed.

Links:
Amanda McCabe
Behind the book - history
Excerpt

Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Harlequin (November 1, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0373295707
ISBN-13: 978-0373295708
Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.1 x 0.8 inches

Challenges:
100+ Reading Challenge
What's In A Name challenge
Monthly Mixer Mele
NaJuReMoNoMo

Total pages in 2010:
This book - 274
Total - 2445

King Rat by China Mieville

Synopsis: Something is stirring in London's dark, stamping out its territory in brickdust and blood. Something has murdered Saul Garamond's father, and left Saul to pay for the crime. But a shadow from the urban waste breaks into Saul's prison cell and leads him to freedom. A shadow called King Rat, who reveals Saul's royal heritage, a heritage that opens a new world to Saul, the world below London's streets--a heritage that also drags Saul into King Rat's plan for revenge against his ancient enemy,. With drum 'n' bass pounding the backstreets, Saul must confront the forces that would use him, the forces that would destroy him, and the forces that shape his own bizarre identity.


Quote: This was a million miles form the tawdry world of conjuring tricks. His life was in thrall to another hex, a power which had crept into his police cell and claimed him, a dirty,raw magic, a spell that stank of piss. This was Urban voodoo, fueled by the sacrifices of road deaths, of cats and people dying on the tarmac, an I Ching of spilled and stolen groceries, a Cabbala of road signs. Saul could feel King rat watching him. He felt giddy with rude, secular energy.

My thoughts: Wow! What a ride. This dark urban fantasy story, Adult Fairy Story, that is basically a good verses evil story that kept me turning pages. Here the Pied Piper is an evil control freak who only wants to kill. I like the way this author takes figures from folktales and mythology, The piper, King Rat, Anansi, and adds Loplop, Bird Superior (who is a creation of the artist Max Ernst) and mixes it all up in the everyday world. King Rat has appeared in several books I've read over the years, but only in small parts. In some ways it reminded me of Neverwhere (one of my all time favorites) with none of the humor. It was a gritty story. Some of the discriptions, while true to the characters, gave me TMI.

S*P*O*I*L*E*R

I will complain about the end, where in the Big Fight, our hero did practically nothing. After spending many sentences in the book showing how he can control the rats, he didn't tell them anything. He could have had them rush the tape player for one thing. But then that would have cancelled the control of the Piper over all the people at the club. I'm giving it a B. I liked it and if you like urban fantasy, I think you'll like it too.

Links:
preview
China Mieville

Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Tor Books; Reprint edition (October 6, 2000)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0312890729
ISBN-13: 978-0312890728

Challenges:
100+ Reading challenge
Totally British challenge
Monthly Mixer Mele
NaJuReMoNoMo

Pages in 2010:
This book - 318
T0tal - 2171

Psych: Mind Over Magic by William Rabkin

Product Description: Based on the hit USA Network series Shawn Spencer has convinced everyone he's psychic. Now, he's either going to clean up- or be found out. Murder and Magic are all in the mind...When a case takes Shawn and Gus into an exclusive club for professional magicians, they're treated to a private show by the hottest act on the Vegas Strip, "Martian Magician" P'tol P'kah. But when the wizard seemingly dissolves in a tank of water, he never rematerializes. And in his place there's a corpse in a three piece suit and a bowler hat.Eager to keep his golden boy untarnished, the magician's manager hires Shawn and Gus to uncover the identity of the dead man and find out what happened to P'tol P'kah. But to do so, the pair will have to pose as a new mentalist act, and go undercover in a world populated by magicians, mystics, Martians-and one murderer...

Quote: "Headhunter who?" Shawn stared at him as if he'd just said he couldn't name all the Goonies. "He's only the reigning champ of Extreme Handball in all of Santa Barbara. and I'm playing him next. Do you know what this means?" ............ "Headhunter Hank can - " Gus broke off, finally recognizing the name. "Hank Stenberg?" You're going to play against Hank Stenberg?"
"Someone's got to take that killer down"
"You mean the kid who lives down the street from your dad? I doubt he's even twelve
years old."

Why this book you might ask: I was looking through Amazon for a book with OVER in the title for the Opposites Attract challenge when I ran across this book. I love the TV show Psych so I thought "Why not?" I wasn't sorry.

My Thoughts: This was a cute quick read with some laugh out loud moments. It started out like the show: in the 80s when Shawn and Gus were kids. The author did a good job with the personalities, I could just hear them and picture them. He wrote in all the charm and humor from the show and it is captured perfectly. If you like Psych you'll like this book. If you like light funny reads you'll like this too.

Links:
At USA Network.
William Rabkin

Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 345 KB
Print Length: 288 pages
Publisher: NAL HARDCOVER (July 7, 2009)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B002FQOHSI

Challenges:
100+ Reading Challenge
eBook Challenge
Monthly Mixer Mele
Opposites Attract
NaJuReMoNoMo

Pages in 2010:
This book - 288 pages
Total - 1853

Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett

Publisher Comments: One enemy spy knows the secret if the Allies' greatest deception, a brilliant aristocrat and ruthless assassin--code name: "The Needle"--who holds the key to the ultimate Nazi victory.
Only one person stands in his way: a lonely Englishwoman on an isolated island, who is coming to love the killer who has mysteriously entered her life.
Ken Follett's unsurpassed and unforgettable masterwork of suspense, intrigue, and dangerous machinations of the human heart.

Quote:
He had the flashlight in his left hand, the stiletto loose in his sleeve and his right. right hand free. He switched on the flashlight and grabbed the sleeping man's throat in a strangling grip.

Why this book you might ask:I read this book some 25 years ago and found it recently on iTunes. I wanted to reread it and needed a book for the Flashback Challenge. Perfect.

My Thoughts: I found this to be just as good to me as it was years ago. This tale of a German spy who found out the D-Day plans and and the hunt go find him before he is able to get back to Germany to warn the High Command was very suspenseful. The way Follett wrote the spy's part was interesting in that I couldn't find it in me to totally hate him. What a great anti-hero. There were no big twists or turns, just a straight forward story. Besides the strong spy story there was a little sizzle and some romance to round it off nicely. At the end I was really emotional for Lucy Rose. She was a strong character who had to go through a lot. A great read.

Links:
Excerpt
Wikipedia

MP3 CD
Publisher: Brilliance Audio on MP3-CD; MP3 Una edition (June 10, 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1593352786
ISBN-13: 978-1593352783

Challenges:
100+ Reading Challenge
Totally British Challenge
Flashback Challenge
5x4 Challenge
Decades Challenge
Audio Book challenge
Monthly Mixer Mele
NaJuReMoNoMo

Audio Hours 2010:
This book - 9hrs. 17mts.
Total - 40hrs 42mts

Web of the Witch World by Andre Norton

About the book: Simon Tregarth, whose own Earthly prowess had won him a throne and a witch-wife in an alien world, knew that both triumphs were precarious as long as the super-science of held a foothold on that planet. And his premonitions were right when those invaders from another dimension made their final diabolical strike for total conquest

>Quotes:Patience. Long ago Loyse had learned patience. Now she must use it again as a weapon against fear and the panic which was chill in her, a choking band about her throat, a crushing weight upon her. Patience - and her wits - that was all they had left her.

There was no change in the metal pillars, no sigh that the gate was in use, until those men suddenly appeared as if from the air itself. Possessed men, yet they showed caution as they fanned out, moved up the break.

Why this book you might ask: I read this for the Flashback Challenge. It is one of the first SF books I remember reading YEARS ago. I remember it being so fascinating to me.

My Thoughts: This book was a nostalgic read for me, it was one of the books I read earlier in my life (maybe around '68 or '69) that drew me to Science Fiction & fantasy. I think I might be a little more critical than I was way back then. For instance, the action was, well I don't know how to say it. One minute they were talking about something that must be done and the next paragraph it had already been done. One paragraph they were talking strategy and the next paragraph a new character was there to help. I still loved it though. I liked the clash between a an almost medieval culture, fighting with swords and axes (with witch help) and the foreign Kolder technology. It was a short book at 190 pages, but action packed all the way.

Links:
Witch World on Wikipedia
Preview

Paperback: 190 pages
Publisher: Ace Books; First. edition (January 1, 1964)
Language: English
ASIN: B000NXA7YI

Challenges:
100+ Reading challenge
Flashback Challenge
Decades Challenge
What's In A Name Challenge
Monthly Mixer Mele
NaJuReMoNoMo

Total pages in 2010:
This book - 190
Total - 1565

Gone for Good by Harlan Coben

About the book: On October 17, eleven years ago, Julie Miller was found brutally strangled in the basement of her house in the township of Livingston, New Jersey. On that day, Will's brother, Ken Klein, became the subject of an international manhunt accused of the crime. He has not been seen since. Will has tried to get on with his life in the intervening years. He has a beautiful new girlfriend, Sheila, and a job working with the homeless. But when his mother reveals, on her deathbed, that Ken is still alive, and shortly afterwards Sheila disappears, the cracks start to show in his landscape again. But it is only when he finds that Sheila herself is wanted for a savage double murder that his life actually starts to fall apart...

Quote: Three days before her death, my mother told me - these weren't her last words, but they were pretty close - that my brother was still alive.

Why this book you may ask: I recently discovered Harlan Coben for myself so when looking for books on CD in my favorite local used book store this book was there calling my name.

My thoughts: I found this book to be thoroughly entertaining & suspenseful. It kept me wondering and listening right up to what I thought was the end. At that point, I was confused, questions were not answered. A actually thought "what the..." But not to worry, in what I thought would be merely short wrap up there were more twists and turns than a roller coaster. After navigating this ending my questions were answered and all was well with the world! I would not hesitate to recommend this book to mystery readers!

Links:
Official Coben website.

Preview it here.

Audio CD
Publisher: Random House Audio; Abridged edition (April 30, 2002)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0553712985
ISBN-13: 978-0553712988

Challenges:
100+ Reading Challenge
Audiobook Challenge
NaJuReMoNoMo

Audio time 2010:
This book - 5 hrs.
Total - 31 hrs. 25 mts.

Cat Striking Back by Shirley Rousseau Murphy

Book Description : Beware of the cat striking back . . .
On a lovely moonlit night, Joe Grey is minding his own business, carrying a gift of mice to a litter of kittens, when he stumbles upon a murder scene. Behind an empty house lies a swimming pool, its bottom covered with mud. There is also blood, the smell of human death, and drag marks. But there is no victim. Without a body, it's a crime that will be hard to prove.
With stubborn feline curiosity, Joe Grey sets out to investigate. As he, Dulcie, and Kit follow the killer's trail among four houses whose owners are on vacation, they discover that more murder has been planned for the small, close-knit neighborhood. They uncover evidence of conflict among the residents and multiple signs of breaking-and-entering, although nothing valuable seems to be missing.
With the help of two local ferals, the cats find the victim's hidden grave and learn of the violence that is yet to come. As they set out to alert the law, they discover the perfect way to thwart the killer—through that person's unnatural but powerful fear of cats.
Thus unfolds the next installment in Shirley Rousseau Murphy's beguiling series about the gray tomcat P.I., his feline friends, and human companions, as, skirting danger, they unravel events shaped by human frailty and by the darkest feline imaginings from the killer's past.

Quotes: When Joe slipped out of his tower to the rooftops, his belly full of supper and his mind on the empty houses, the fog had blown away; the sky was clear, the moon bright as he leaped across the singles to the neighbor's roof and raced on into the night.

Why this book you might ask: I follow this series so there was no question about buying and reading this.

My Thoughts: I love this cat themed fantasy, cozy mystery series. This is the 15th book. It was a fun light read and while it won't be my favorite of the series I still enjoyed it. The thoughts of the human characters seemed to go on far too long, especially the musings of the bad guy. They were predictable and repetitive, I found myself skimming some pages. The lively dialogue I expect to read wasn't fully here this time. If you are a mystery person who loves cats or a cat lover who reads mysteries you'll like it.

Links:
Joe Grey books

Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: William Morrow; First Edition edition (October 27, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0061123994
ISBN-13: 978-0061123993

Challenges:
100+ Challenge
2010 Cat Book Challenge
NaJuReMoNoMo
Monthly Mixer Mele

Total Pages for 2010:
This book - 319
Total - 1375

Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot

About the book: These playful verses by a celebrated poet have delighted readers and cat lovers around the world ever since they were gathered for publication in 1939. As Valerie Eliot has pointed out, there are a number of references to cats in T.S. Eliot's work, but it was to his godchildren, Tom Faber and Alison Tandy, in the 1930s that he first revealed himself at "Old Possum" and for whom he composed these poems.

Quote:
The Rum Tum is a terrible bore:
When you let him in, then he wants to be out
He's always on the wrong side of every door

Why this book you might ask: I've owned this book for many years and have enjoyed it greatly. It was just time to read it again.

My thoughts: These poems are a lot of fun to read. They are humorous, playful, and at times insightful. If you ever owned a cat you might recognize him/her in the Rum Tum Tugger. I've had cats who were always on the wrong side of the door. My white cat is named for one of the cats in here: Jennyanydots. The poems vary in rhythm and rhyme, each one a unique work that works well with the others in the book. It's amazing to me that the play Cats was based on this little volumn. I recommend it highly, whether or not you like cats.

Links:
Preview here

Hardcover: 46 pages
Publisher: Harcourt, Brace and Co. (January 1, 1939)
ASIN: B000SSNKV0

Challenges:
100+ Reading Challenge
Cat Book Challenge
Monthly Mixer Mele
Flashback Challenge

Pages read in 2010:
This book - 46
total - 1056

Sweet Thursday by John Steinbeck

About the book: "Sweet Thursday" reads as a post-war continuation of "Cannery Row". Set on the Californian coast, amongst the junk heaps and flop houses of Monterey, the book brings to life the denizens of a netherworld of laughter and tears - from fauna who runs the local brothel, to Hazel, a bum whose mother must have wanted a daughter.

Quotes: He rejected the theory of private ownership of removable property almost from birth.

"I'm going to call my paper 'Symptoms in Some Cephalpopds Approximating Apoplexy.' " "Great God Almighty!" said Mack.

Why this book you might ask: After reading Cannery row last year I found that Steinbeck had written a sequel to it. Sweet Thursday. I've wanted to read it ever since.

My thoughts: I truly enjoyed this book. I loved revisiting the folks from Cannery Row. It was light-hearted with plenty of humor and love. Love of friends, love of community, & romantic love - Cannery Row style. Steinbeck's turn of a phrase, such as the quote above talking about one of the character's bend to thievery, was fun to read and turn over in my mind. I will read this book again, I'm sure. If you haven't read Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday you should give these novellas a chance. I read it on my Kindle.

Links:
Preview here.
A critical study of Sweet Thursday.

Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 244 KB
Print Length: 288 pages
Publisher: Penguin Classics (June 24, 2008)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B001BC2ZTA

Challenges:
100+ Reading challenge
eBook Reading Challenge
NaJuReMoNoMo
Monthly Mixer Mele
5x4 Reading challenge
Decades Challenge

Pages Read in 2010:
This book - 288 pgs
Total - 1010

In the Woods by Tana French

Synopsis: A gorgeously written novel that marks the debut of an astonishing new voice in psychological suspense.
As dusk approaches a small Dublin suburb in the summer of 1984, mothers begin to call their children home. But on this warm evening, three children do not return from the dark and silent woods. When the police arrive, they find only one of the children gripping a tree trunk in terror, wearing blood-filled sneakers, and unable to recall a single detail of the previous hours. Twenty years later, the found boy, Rob Ryan, is a detective on the Dublin Murder Squad and keeps his past a secret. But when a twelve-year-old girl is found murdered in the same woods, he and Detective Cassie Maddox—his partner and closest friend—find themselves investigating a case chillingly similar to the previous unsolved mystery. Now, with only snippets of long-buried memories to guide him, Ryan has the chance to uncover both the mystery of the case before him and that of his own shadowy past. Richly atmospheric, stunning in its complexity, and utterly convincing and surprising to the end, In the Woods is sure to enthrall fans of Mystic River and The Lovely Bones.

Quote: There was a time when I believed I was the redeemed one, the boy borne safely home on the ebb of whatever freak tide carried Peter and Jamie away. Not any more. In ways too dark and crucial to be called metaphorical, I never left that wood.

Why this book you might ask: I saw this book reviewed on a couple of blogs. I but it on my wish list and finally got it.

My Thoughts: This was a beautifully written book, if a little verbose. I truly enjoyed the look into modern Irish culture. It took awhile to get into it but it captured my interest and pulled me along.The main character Rob turned out to be unlikable, to me. He justifies his odd actions and behavior toward Cassie by citing the trauma in his childhood. Really though, I just wanted to hit him. I guess it is good when a novel can evoke emotion from the reader.

The two plots that intertwined through out the novel were both interesting and compelling. While the more modern murder was solved, the the older, more interesting one (to me) was just left hanging. It was written with such potential. There were hints that something possibly supernatural was involved, many nods to mythological creatures, and I wanted to get to it..... No such luck. I left at the end feeling a little unsatisfied. I wonder, if nothing is going to come of the old crime why was so much time spent on it, teasing the reader? Perhaps it is shallow to like an ending that is neatly wrapped up.

Over all, I liked it and will read the next one in hopes that Robs childhood experience will be looked into. I know Cassie will be the main character of the next book. I also liked the voice of the narrator of this audio.

Links:
Read this reader's comments on the supernatural elements in this story.
Preview the book here.

Audio CD
Publisher: Penguin Audio; Unabridged edition (May 17, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0143142186
ISBN-13: 978-0143142188

Challenges:
100+ Reading Challenge
Audiobook Challenge
Monthly Mixer Mele
5x4 Reading Challenge
NaJuReMoNoMo

Time:
This audio: 20 hrs. 25 mts.
Total: 26 hrs. 25 mts.

Elvis and the Dearly Departed by Peggy Webb

Synopsis: They say you can't get to Heaven without passing through the Eternal Rest Funeral Home. And no one gets into Eternal Rest without passing muster with Elvis—the basset hound who's convinced he's the reincarnation of the King of Rock ‘n' Roll. Brewing up a big ol' pitcher of Mississippi mystery, Peggy Webb's delightful new series is as intoxicating as the Delta breeze.
Normally, Callie Valentine Jones spends her days fixing up the hairdos of the dead, but when the corpse of local, prominent physician Dr. Leonard Laton goes missing, it's bad for business. So Callie and her cousin Lovie (Eternal Rest's resident wake caterer) have no choice but to go in hot pursuit of the recently embalmed, last seen bound for Vegas by way of downtown Tupelo.
In Vegas, Callie and Lovie hit the jackpot when they find the dearly departed inside a freezer owned by his showgirl mistress, Bubble Malone. But their luck runs out when Bubble decides to join her man in the afterlife. With the poisonous Laton family tree providing plenty of rotten suspects, Callie, along with some help from her basset hound, Elvis, is determined to crack this case—and have a killer singing “Jailhouse Rock” in time for her next haircutting appointment. . .

Quotes: I wonder if I'll ever know a passion such as that. Or have already known it, and let it slip through my fingers.

Having spiked coffee and crumpets around a coffins not your everyday sort of social, but the Valentine family takes a more broad-minded view of death.

Why this book you might ask: I got this book for Christmas. It was a combination of several things I enjoy in books: a dog, a southern setting, humor, and it is a cozy mystery. I figured it was worth a try.

My thoughts: What a silly bunch of nonsense. I loved it! It was a fast, fun, light hearted read with plenty of charm. Even the chapter titles were funny. Do not get this expecting a great work of literature but do expect to laugh and be entertained. Through out the book Callie's pet Basset Hound, Elvis (the reincarnated King) made comments on his humans and his surroundings. I enjoyed his funny little asides, and the details they brought to the story. Callie and her cousin, Lovie (The Southern Cousins) were likable characters. I intend to read the next in the series, I must find out what is going on with Jack. Elvis knows but he is not telling.

Links:
Peggy Webb Homepage
Preview the book

Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Kensington (September 1, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0758225903
ISBN-13: 978-0758225900

Challenges:
100+ Reading Challenge 2010
Monthly Mixer Mele
NaJuReMoNoMo

Pages read in 2010:
In this book - 295
Total- 722

Sandstorm by James Rollins

Product Description: An inexplicable explosion rocks the antiquities collection of a London museum, setting off alarms in clandestine organizations around the world. And now the search for answers is leading Lady Kara Kensington; her friend Safia al-Maaz, the gallery's brilliant and beautiful curator; and their guide, the international adventurer Omaha Dunn, into a world they never dreamed existed: a lost city buried beneath the Arabian desert. But others are being drawn there as well, some with dark and sinister purposes. And the many perils of a death-defying trek deep into the savage heart of the Arabian Peninsula pale before the nightmare waiting to be unearthed at journey's end: an ageless and awesome power that could create a utopia . . . or destroy everything humankind has built over countless millennia.

Quote: The image stopped, shuddering slightly on the monitor. The iron artifact could be seen clearly in its glass display. In fact, too clearly. It appeared to shine with a light of its own.

Why this book you might ask: I was looking in the used book store for a book on CD and found this. I like James Rollins books so I got it, about half price. A book I would probably like at a bargin price!
My thoughts: Even though the first half or so was a little slow this was a fairly fun read. I find the idea of a lost city under the Arabian desert fascinating. Rollins usually has a hook, linked to something in the past. This audio got a C instead of a B because I had trouble keeping up with the convoluted trail the adventure took. I think some of it could have been left out. I'm sure listening to it instead of reading it didn't help. I liked this book but it wasn't among my favorites of Rollins' works.

Links:
James Rollins at Wikipedia.
James Rollins official website.
Excerpt from Sandstorm.

Audio CD
Publisher: HarperAudio; Abridged edition (July 26, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0060874694
ISBN-13: 978-0060874698

Challenges:
100+ Reading Challenge 2010
Monthly Mixer Mele
Audio Book Challenge 2010
NaJuReMoNoMo

Time:
This audio - 6 hours
Total time - 6 hours

Ravenheart by David Gemmell

ABOUT THIS BOOK: Eight hundred years have passed since King Connavar of the Rigante and his bastard son, Bane, defeated the invading army of Stone. Now the Rigante have lost the freedom and culture so many gave their lives to preserve. Only one woman remains who follows the ancient ways–the Wyrd of Wishing Tree Wood–and she alone knows the nature of the evil soon to be unleashed. But the Wyrd pins her hope on two men: a giant Rigante fighter, a man haunted by his failure to save his best friend from betrayal; and a youth whose deadly talents will earn him the rancor of the brutal Varlish. One will become the Ravenheart, an outlaw leader whose daring exploits will inspire the Rigante. The other will forge a legend–and light the fires of revolution. . . .


Quotes: "Always listen to fear, Kaelin. Never be ruled by it. Fear is like a cowardly friend. His advice is not always wrong, but given the chance, he will drag you down into the pit he dwells in."~Jaim Grymauch

"If you want to win the girl, you'll have to swallow your pride and say what needs to be said."~ Jaim Grymauch

Why this book you might ask: I've read several of Gemmel's books and I was in the mood for some heroic fantasy.

My Thoughts: I quite enjoyed this book. I didn't read the first two books in this series but this one stood quite nicely on its own. I'll get the others and read them eventually. Right now I'm looking forward to the next one which I assume will be about one of the minor characters in this book.
Even though the title of the book, Ravenheart, would suggest that the book would be all about him it wasn't. It follows several characters as Ravenheart (Kaelin Ring) grows up and comes of age. My favorite character was Jaim Grymauch, a larger than life heroic figure. Ravenheart seemed like a hot headed brat at first and was not, for me, very likable - but he came around. More than most other books the line between good guy and bad guy was fuzzy. The good guys did bad things and some of the bad guys did some good which made for an interesting mix and emotional involvement on my part.
For a fantasy novel there was relatively little fantasy. One character, the Wyrd, used some magic otherwise it was like reading historical fiction. Gunpowder and muskets are used along with cannons. I guess it would be fantasy in that the races of people were imaginary. I stayed up late a couple of nights reading this book. It just kept me turning the pages. I only hope that the next this series will be as good as this one.

Links:
Preview the book here.
David Gemmell at fantasticfiction.

Mass Market Paperback: 448 pages
Publisher: Del Rey; First Thus edition (February 26, 2002)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0345432282
ISBN-13: 978-0345432285

Challenges:
100+ Reading Challenge
Typically British Reading Challenge 2010
Monthly Mixer
NaJuReMoNoMo

Mele

Pages in 2010:
This book - 427
Total - 427