I hope everyone has some good weekend plans. I’m hoping to get some reading done but it will mainly be essay writing.
My chosen poem this week is by Percy Bysshe Shelley who was a Romantic poet of the early nineteenth century. He was married to Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein. He was also good friends with Lord Byron.
Love's Philosophy
The fountains mingle with the river
And the rivers with the Ocean,
The winds of Heaven mix for ever
With a sweet emotion;
Nothing in the world is single;
All things by a law divine
In one another's being mingle.
Why not I with thine?
See the mountains kiss high Heaven,
And the waves clasp one another;
No sister-flower would be forgiven
If it disdained its brother;
And the sunlight clasps the earth,
And the moonbeams kiss the sea:
What is all this work worth
If thou kiss now me?
Percy Bysshe Shelley
No one in the history of histories has lost more than Philippa Georgiou, ruler of the Terran Empire. Forced to take refuge in the Federation’s universe, she bides her time until Section 31, a rogue spy force within Starfleet, offers her a chance to work as their agent. She has no intention of serving under anyone else, of course; her only interest is escape.
But when a young Trill, Emony Dax, discovers a powerful interstellar menace, Georgiou recognises it as a super-weapon that escaped her grasp in her own universe. Escorted by a team sent by an untrusting Federation to watch over her, the emperor journeys to a region forbidden to travellers. But will what she finds there end the threat—or give “Agent Georgiou” the means to create her old empire anew?
Review
This is the latest book in the Star Trek Discovery series and I must admit I was a bit hesitant to read it at first because I was worried about whether Emperor Georgiou would annoy me or not. Thankfully I did read it and was mistaken.
It has been a long time since I have read a book that has made me laugh so much. Georgiou is hilarious and very dangerous. Georgiou the emperor is a ruthless woman who has lost it all but is determined to make the best of the situations she finds herself in by any means necessary. Georgiou delights in causing chaos and the things she says are hilarious but one thing is for sure she is a lethal weapon. Georgiou is an expert killer, tactician and spy and this is all shown in the book.
In this book we also meet Finnegan. Georgiou knows Finnegan as Blackjack in her universe and by sheer coincidence she meets Finnegan in the current universe. Finnegan loves a good brawl and definitely loves a drink. You can happily imagine him getting drunk in a pub and starting a fight for fun. However, Finnegan does not agree with killing or enjoy it and that is where he differs from Blackjack. I really enjoyed the relationship that developed through the book between Georgiou and Finnegan and found it very funny how Finnegan was quite happy annoying Georgiou.
Emony Dax was an interesting character and one who wasn’t daunted by the scary things Georgiou kept coming out with. I felt quite sorry for Emony at times as people did not take her seriously and just ignored her opinions and ideas. Emony is an interesting character and I really enjoyed seeing how Finnegan took her under his wing and taught her how to fly a shuttle craft and even Georgiou at times looked after her and taught her things.
I loved this book, the storyline was excellent but the main thing that really made this book was Georgiou, Finnegan and Emony and how they interacted with each other. A big 5 out 5 Dragons from me.
(All purchases made using one of the above affiliate links gives a small percentage of money to myself with no extra cost to yourself. All proceeds go towards the upkeep of this blog. Thank you ever so much, your support is gratefully received.)
About the author
New York Times bestselling author John Jackson Miller has spent a lifetime immersed in science fiction. His Star Trek novels include the Discovery – Die Standing, the acclaimed novel Discovery — The Enterprise War, the Prey trilogy, and Takedown. His Star Wars novels include A New Dawn, Kenobi, Knight Errant, Lost Tribe of the Sith, and the Knights of the Old Republic comics, available from Marvel as Legends: The Old Republic.
He’s written comics and prose for Halo, Iron Man, Simpsons, Conan, Planet of the Apes, and Mass Effect, with recent graphic novels for Battlestar Galactica, Dumbo, and The Lion King. Production notes on all his works can be found at his fiction site.
He is also a comics industry historian, specialising in studying comic-book circulation as presented on his website, Comichron.. He also coauthored the Standard Catalog of Comic Books series.
The rules are answer the questions below and share a link to your blog in the comments section of Sam’s blog.
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you will read next?
Hello!
I hope everyone is having a good week so far.
Here is my reading update…
What I am Currently Reading
Just started this today and only 24 pages in as I have read it in gaps between teaching as all my spare time has been used wrestling with an essay, but so far I am really enjoying it. It took me a bit to get used to Kidd’s writing style as she is very descriptive but I’m hooked!
What I have Recently Finished Reading
Loved this and found it highly amusing. Review will follow shortly.
What I think I will Read Next
There are so many books I want to read at the moment and so many I have on my wish list. I just don’t know what to read next!
What is on your WWW Wednesday? Please drop me a comment with your link and I will head over for a visit.
We are half way through the week! I am busy researching and writing an assignment which is sadly digging into my reading time but hopefully I will complete it soon.
The quote this week is from Earl Nightingale (1921-1989) who was an American radio speaker and author.
Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and now hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. For more info please check out Jana’s blog.
Hello!
I hope everyone is well this Tuesday evening.
I love books that make me laugh out loud so this weeks theme is perfect for me. So here are my ten books.
Caliban’s War by James S. A. Corey
I only finished this book last week and I must admit it made laugh out loud a lot. There are some fantastic one liners in this book.
Skipping Christmas by John Grisham
One of my Christmas reads that I absolutely loved.
The Sea of the Dead by Amy Kuivalainen
Another book with some very amusing scenes and one liners and I can’t wait till book 3 is published.
The Flat Share by Beth O’Leary
My friend introduced me to this book last year and it was a laugh a minute and was a welcome relief from lockdown 1.
Going Postal by Terry Pratchett
I love all the Discworld books but this has to be one of my favourites.
Die Standing by John Jackson Miller
I haven’t actually finished reading this yet, I have 30 pages left but it has been so funny! Georgiou is hilarious and Finnegan is even better.
Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey
This was my first read of 2021 and was another fun read, Amos was definitely the funniest character in this book.
Cat Out of Hell by Lynne Truss
It’s a talking cat, what more do I need to say?
The Martian by Andy Weir
Just like the film this is another very funny read.
Goodbye to All Cats by P. G. Wodehouse
This is only a short little book but it was a very amusing hour long read.
So there is my Top Ten Tuesday. Please drop me a comment with your Top Ten Tuesday and I will head over for a visit.
Goodreads Monday is hosted by Lauren’s Page Turners. All you have to do is show off a book from your TBR that you’re looking forward to reading.
Hello!
The book I have chosen today has been sat on my TBR pile for a very long time. I actually got the second book in the series in a Goodreads competition and then immediately bought the first in the series and they have been on the pile ever since.
So here is the book…
Red Sister by Mark Lawrence
“I was born for killing – the gods made me to ruin”
At the Convent of Sweet Mercy young girls are raised to be killers. In a few the old bloods show, gifting talents rarely seen since the tribes beached their ships on Abeth. Sweet Mercy hones its novices’ skills to deadly effect: it takes ten years to educate a Red Sister in the ways of blade and fist.
But even the mistresses of sword and shadow don’t truly understand what they have purchased when Nona Grey is brought to their halls as a bloodstained child of eight, falsely accused of murder: guilty of worse.
Hopefully I will read the series this year.
Please drop me a comment if you have taken part in Goodreads Monday and I will head over for a visit.
I had a lovely surprise this week from my husband who had very kindly bought me books 3, 4, 5 and 6 of The Expanse series as a present. I am so excited to get reading book 3 as I am absolutely loving the series.
So there is my week. I hope everyone has also had a good week. Please drop me a comment if you want a chat.
As tension between Mars and Earth mounts, and terrorism plagues the Martian city of Londres Nova, sixteen-year-old David Draper is fighting his own lonely war. A gifted chemist vying for a place at the university, David leads a secret life as a manufacturer for a ruthless drug dealer. When his friend Leelee goes missing, leaving signs of the dealer’s involvement, David takes it upon himself to save her. But first he must shake his aunt Bobbie Draper, an ex-marine who has been set adrift in her own life after a mysterious series of events nobody is talking about.
Set in the hard-scrabble solar system of Leviathan Wakes and Caliban’s War, Gods of Risk deepens James S. A. Corey’s acclaimed Expanse series.
Review
This story is based around a character that we have not met before in the previous books but we have met his aunt, who is Bobbie Draper. David Draper is sixteen and under a lot of pressure to get a good placement at university but he also has a secret and that secret is that he is secretly making drugs for a drug dealer.
David is like any other gifted teenager, he is hard working and desperate for the placement of his dreams that he knows will also make his family proud of him. David is also the typical moody teenager and he particularly is not keen on having aunt Bobbie staying in the house. David also has a crush on Leelee who is always with the drug dealer and dreams of one day being her boyfriend. This crush leads to trouble for David when he decides to save her from her fate.
I must admit I can’t believe how much weight lifting she does in this short story, every time we see her she is lifting weights, I have no idea how she finds the energy. She also seems to do a lot of arguing with her brother but to be honest he seems to be the one doing the provoking and does come across as rather a know it all who thinks his job is the hardest job there is and that being a marine is nothing compared to being an engineer.
Although the story is based around David we do get to see how Bobbie is faring after the events of Caliban’s War and as the story goes on we see how Bobbie makes her mind up about a few things and these decisions are helped along by her involvement with her nephew.
This is a great little short story that I enjoyed reading and it was fantastic to read about Bobbie again. I give this story 4 out of 5 Dragons.
(All purchases made using one of the above affiliate links gives a small percentage of money to myself with no extra cost to yourself. All proceeds go towards the upkeep of this blog. Thank you ever so much, your support is gratefully received.)
About the author
James S. A. Corey is the pen name of fantasy author Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, George R. R. Martin’s assistant. They both live Albuquerque, New Mexico.
First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?
Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
Finally… reveal the book!
Happy Friday!
I thought it was time to do a First Line Friday as I haven’t done one for a while. As usual the answer is below the cats. Good Luck!
As pale as a grave grub she’s an eyeful.
She looks up at him, startled, from the bed. Her pale eyes flitting fishy: intruder – lantern – door – intruder. As if she’s trying to work out how they all connect, with her eyes cauled and clouded.
get guessing!
Answer
Bridie Devine, female detective extraordinaire, is confronted with the most baffling puzzle yet: the kidnapping of Christabel Berwick, secret daughter of Sir Edmund Athelstan Berwick, and a peculiar child whose reputed supernatural powers have captured the unwanted attention of collectors trading curiosities in this age of discovery.
Winding her way through the labyrinthine, sooty streets of Victorian London, Bridie won’t rest until she finds the young girl, even if it means unearthing a past that she’d rather keep buried. Luckily, her search is aided by an enchanting cast of characters, including a seven-foot tall housemaid; a melancholic, tattoo-covered ghost; and an avuncular apothecary. But secrets abound in this foggy underworld where spectacle is king and nothing is quite what it seems.
Blending darkness and light, history and folklore, Things in Jars is a spellbinding Gothic mystery that collapses the boundary between fact and fairy tale to stunning effect and explores what it means to be human in inhumane times.
Did you guess successfully?
Please drop me a comment with your First Line Friday and I will head over for a visit.
Lady Book Dragon 