Ahoy there me mateys!  This be the twelfth book in me Ports for Plunder - 19 Books in 2019 list.  I have wanted to read this book for a long time.  I discovered it back in the days when I had no blog and even less money than I do now.  So first I read the owl killers about beguinages because I could get it from the library.  That was a five star read and so I knew I wanted to read more of her work.  Never did.  When 19 in 2019 came around, I gave in and bought a copy of this novel because a) I had some loot; and b) I just had to know about the falcons.

This book is set in 1539 during the Portuguese Inquisition.  The Inquisitors are out to destroy the "Marranos" who are the Spanish and Portuguese Jews who were forced to convert to Catholicism.  Some of them still practice in secret.  The Catholic Church wants all Jews to burn.  In the midst of this fervor, Isabela's father, the Royal Falconer has been framed for killing the King's favourite falcons and be imprisoned.  The falcons must be replaced within one year or father will die.  So Isabela sets out from Portugal to Iceland to capture two new birds.  Cool concept right?

Unfortunately I struggled with the execution of this one.  I absolutely loved the entire section set in Portugal and how Isabel's family gets tangled into the politics of the Inquisition.  The start of the journey to Iceland was where the problems with the book started.  How Isabel is able to buy passage on the ship to Iceland was unrealistic.  I mistakenly thought that Isabel would disguise herself as a boy and complete her tasks that way.  Nope.  She is so naive and travels as a girl alone.  Didn't buy it.  That said I loved the ship travel itself.  Arrrr!  But the multiple points of view started confusing me during the ship travel too.

Besides Isabel, there be Ricardo the rogue and Eywis the seer.  I actually did enjoy all three characters.  Ricardo is out to get Isabel but doesn't really want to follow orders.  Eywis (and her twin) be trapped in an Icelandic cave because of their powers and Eywis inadvertently helps release a menace that threatens all of Iceland.  The POV problem stems from the three young men on the ship (Ricardo being one) all traveling for nefarious sounding purposes and under assumed names.  During the Isabel chapters the three all seemed interchangeable and I couldn't tell who was who.  I was so confused even with flipping back and forth.  Of course they all chased and fawned after Isabel.  Bah.

Then comes the section in Iceland.  Having visited Iceland earlier this year, I absolutely loved reading about the setting and life there.  But the plot became plodding and the magic, while cool, didn't make much sense.  Isabel makes stupid choices continuously, the three men are still annoying, and seriously they all should have died multiple times given how unprepared and pompous they were.  The magic fighting evil plot felt nonsensical at times.  I bought Eywis' magic and found it to be interesting.  I didn't buy Isabel's part in the magic at all.  I wanted falcons dang it.  And then the falcons and ending were lackluster and irksome.

So did I hate this book given me complaints?  No.  I wanted to know how it turned out and did enjoy the characters, world building, and magic.  I just was under the impression that Isabel's story would be the focus and it wasn't.  The blurb was misleading and I wanted something different.

I do actually want to read more of this author's work.  I enjoy her viewpoints into the magic, myths, and politics of the middle ages.  I love the historical notes at the end of her books.  Her author Goodreads bio describes two other works as "her first medieval thriller was 'Company of Liars', was set at the time of the Black Death in 1348  . . . [and] 'The Gallows Curse' is set in the reign of bad King John."  Plus she has one called the plague charmer set in 1361 that sounds fun.  The library has company of liars so when I be in the mood for another of Maitland's books I will read that next.  Arrrr!

Ahoy there me mateys!  I absolutely fell in love with this author's Wayfarer series and was so glad it won the Hugo for best series this year.  So I was super excited to read this novella even if it be set in another world.  I was not disappointed.

Becky Chamber's website describes the novella like this:

" . . . set fourteen light-years from home.  At the turn of the twenty-second century, scientists make a breakthrough in human spaceflight. Through a revolutionary method known as somaforming, astronauts can survive in hostile environments off Earth using synthetic biological supplementations. They can produce antifreeze in subzero temperatures, absorb radiation and convert it for food, and conveniently adjust to the pull of different gravitational forces. With the fragility of the body no longer a limiting factor, human beings are at last able to journey to neighboring exoplanets long known to harbor life."

The novella is told from the perspective of Adriane who is one of the four scientists onboard an exploratory mission to do research on four exoplanets in a system far, far away.  The goal is to do a scientific study and go back home despite knowing that Earth will not be the same one they left.  Each trip to another planet involves a sleep cycle to somaform in preparation.  The astronauts receive periodic updates from home that seem increasingly irrelevant as they deal with the trials and triumphs of discovery.  But of course dealing with Earth's changes prove to be vital.

Unlike the Wayfarer series, this story does not deal with alien culture and technology even if alien lifeforms are present.  This story is about the human crew, their interpersonal relationships, and how they handle their time in space.  It has more of a hard sci-fi bent then her other works but it was both easy to follow and fascinating in concept.  I loved the science and psychology of this novella.  The novella is split into four parts, each covering a different exoplanet.  Even with the short length, Chambers continues to explore diversity, the human condition, and today's society.

I have to admit that being on a plane at night watching the thunderstorms below and the moon shining brightly above enriched the reading for me.  Everyone else around me was asleep in the darkened plane.  It is the closest to space I will ever be and it be magical.  I knew I was reading a story but it just felt so real and plausible.  I loved it.

There was also a very lovely special section discussing sci-fi facts and writing styles with a Q & A with the author and her mom.  Fun!  I loved this one and can't wait to see what Becky Chambers comes up with next.  Arrr!

Ahoy there me mateys!  I received this fantasy eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  So here be me honest musings . . .

I had been meaning to check out this author's books for quite some time.  Well when I saw this gorgeous cover, I knew the day had come.  Sea dragons mateys!  I was not disappointed.

This is a slow burn type of fantasy with a ton of world building.  The plot doesn't really pick up until about the half way mark.  But the ships!  The ships!  They are made out of the bones of the sea dragons of long ago.  There be two opposing island nations that have been raiding and warring with each other for centuries.  At the center of that fight be the bone ships because whoever has the most ships has the upper-hand (Arrrrr!).  But each ship lost at sea be a huge travesty because there be no more dragons.  Bone and the bone ships be at the center of trade and politics.  Bone supplies be ever dwindling.

Joron Twiner be the shipwife on a black bone ship called the Tide Child.  These black ships are crewed by the condemned whose lives are forfeit.  They crew the ship and fight for the navy until the Hag calls them home to the deep.  Joron is an unfit, dastardly drunken cur who fled his duty to both the ship and the navy.  He drowns in grog until one day Lucky Meas Gilbryn shows up to duel his ship away.  Joron doesn't stand a chance.  He believes his life is over but is surprised when Meas offers him a position as the deck keeper, basically the second in command, instead. 

The easy living is no more as Meas is a fierce shipwife who be determined to whip her unsavoury crew into shape.  But this be no simple task.  The ship has been severely neglected, the crew is sullen, and Joron is hardly great leadership material.  It should be a losing proposition.  But there are battles to be fought and when a potential sea dragon be sighted it's all hands on deck!  A storm be a brewin'.

Personally I love fierce female captains (biased I know!) and I also love redemption stories.  Watching Meas whip her crew into shape and watching Joron learn and step into the role he has been given is delightful.  Meas is a crafty b*tch and I approve.  Give no quarter!!  I also particularly love the windtalker, a Gulliame, an avian magic creature who controls the winds.  I wish I could be friends with the Tide Child's windtalker and commandeer her to me own ship!

While there be tons of naval terminology and history in this book which was well done and loved, I will admit that it did seem to take a bit too long for the sea dragon to make its appearance.  I was impatient.  The dragon also didn't get nearly enough page time.  But what ye did see of it be awesome.  The pace of this book was also a bit uneven despite the sea battles and such.  Overall the pace was slow, if engaging, and the scenes didn't always flow well.  But by the time I be finished, I certainly wanted to know what happens next!

If ye like sea dragons (and who doesn't?) then I do suggest ye get yer greedy hands on a copy.  Heave ho, me hearties!  Yo ho!

So lastly . . .

Thank ye Orbit Books!

Side note: I still be planning to read the author's Wounded Kingdom trilogy!

Ahoy there mateys! I heard about this book from Matey Charley @ booksandbakes1. Who doesn’t love a true story involving bookstores and typewriters? So the editor, owns his grandfather’s 1930s Smith Corona typewriter. There be a cute story in that. Then in 2013, him and his wife opened up the Literati Bookstore in Ann Arbor, Michigan. There be a cute story in that. In said bookstore, Gustafson put out a typewriter and empty white page. This be the cute story of the messages and stories arising from what visitors to the bookstore have typed on it. Throughout are lovely recollections from the editor about his life and the bookstore. The book be short and I read it in one sitting. I thought it was lovely. Equally lovely is the design of the book and how all of the quotes are laid out. Beautiful. Arrr!

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Ahoy there mateys! This book is about plagues and is fascinating. The First Mate listened to this one and recommended it. We ended up listening to it together. We would stop after each chapter and discuss. It was fun. I knew nothing about the Antonine Plague of Rome. I found how widespread syphilis was to be fascinating. The monk that worked on the leper colony, Father Damien, should be a saint. The man who promoted lobotomies, Walter Jackson Freeman II, was a devil and I want to believe that he is paying for it in death. People should vaccinate their children. And seriously bursting frogs to cure the black death. Ugh! There is a lot of humor in this book which I didn’t always love but it wasn’t done disrespectfully. I wouldn’t mind reading more of this author’s works. Arrr!

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Ahoy there mateys! Kids ask the strangest things. I first read this author’s book, smoke gets in your eyes, and loved it. So of course I had to read this one too. In this the author answers children’s questions about death including the question that is the title. I read most of the book out loud to the First Mate. There were just too many cool facts not to. My two favourite chapters were “What would happen to an astronaut body in space?” and “Can we give Grandma a Viking funeral?” The basic answer to the first question is that sci-fi books tend to get it wrong. And the second question is that the flaming floating boat is a Hollywood trick. The First Mate’s favourite was “Why don’t animals dig up all the graves?” Reasons. I love this book because it be funny, answers concisely and clearly about even the hypotheticals, and really does any excellent job explaining the whys and laws involved. The chapters be short but the book is a blast. Society should be able to discuss death instead of it being taboo. Arrr!

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Ahoy there me mateys! I wanted to read this book as soon as I saw it because it was marketed as African-based fantasy with dragons! Cool right? Well I have to admit that I struggled with this book for many reasons:

The dragons – I adored dragons and there just weren’t enough of them in this book. The dragons are important to the culture but most of the page time of this book was war training and demon fighting. I have no problem with either usually but with dragon in the title I expected way more dragons! And how the dragons are used is a bit lame and was a disappointment.

The culture – I liked the African influences that I did see like names and descriptions of landscapes but have to admit that it felt very surface level. I think this was because of the focus on the military stuff and not on other areas of the culture. I believe this could have been remedied by other pov characters – like a female perspective.

The women – The women are said to be important to the culture but I didn’t really see concrete evidence of it in the book. With the focus on the male military training, the women did not really get much page time. The Queen and the female sorcerers all seemed to have no real power and be dominated by the whims and rules of the men. And outside of Zuri (the love interest) many times the powerful female sorcerers had their magic fail because they couldn’t handle it. Also if I remember correctly, most of the women’s magic only works on men to support them in battle. As for the common people, one of the main non-sorcerer women was a rape victim who died. Where are the strong females? Really Zuri (who was me favourite character) was the only fleshed out female character who also showed real girl power. The exception to the rule it seems.

The Colonization – I understand why the Omehi people have fled and are looking for a new home. I sympathized with their wishes for survival. But it did seem rather sad that the goal of the Omehi is to kill off the native people and steal their land. That makes me feel squidgy. And because the Omehi people’s culture itself has problems with caste and politics, I kinda didn’t like them and did sometimes root for the “savages.” I am not sure if this will be addressed in later books but it’s hard to read a book when ye aren’t really cheering on either side.

The military training – I did actually like the combat training between the castes and a lot of Tau’s training. I like the combat style he ends up with. I just felt that there be too much emphasis on the details of day to day training and not enough on the characterization. With the exceptions of Tau and Zuri, everyone else felt rather flat.

The plot – I really loved the set-up and introduction of the book. It was much stronger than the rest of the novel. Once the main character, Tau, begins to work towards revenge the book became less original and less compelling. And I really wasn’t a fan of the climax or ending.

So this book ended up being a disappointment. I think it be because the bones of the story seemed strong and it did not meet its potential. And just enough time has passed that I know I have no urge to read any of the other books in the series. This may just be the case of the wrong book for this reader cause many of the crew are giving it lovely reviews. I would be interested in giving the author’s work another chance but this debut series doesn’t work for me so it must walk the plank!

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Ahoy there me mateys! This was Seth Fried’s debut novel and I picked it up because it deals with an AI and a mission in the greatest city in the United States. This book was worth reading for the relationship between the protagonist, Henry Thompson, and the AI named OWEN. I absolutely loved crazy OWEN and his sense of humor. I also rather enjoyed stick-in-the-mud loner Henry. I completely sympathized with Henry and his background and wanted him to succeed. I thought that the juxtaposition of the two characters was awesome and I was always wondering what they were going to do next. In addition, I loved watching them change and improve each other.

Unfortunately, I thought the mission, the world-building, and the bad guys were lackluster. For a town that is supposed to be the “gleaming city of tomorrow,” it really felt like any regular city with a couple of additions like more drones. The mission proceeds in a haphazard way and makes no real sense in terms of how the detective work is done. And the bad guys are boring and have dumb reasons to want to destroy the world. So aye, the plot was not to me taste even if I enjoyed the silly moments. But OWEN and Henry made up for it in the long run and kept me reading. Seriously OWEN is worth picking up this book and his and Henry’s friendship is awesome. Arrrr!

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