‘His Majesty’s Dragon’ Book Review

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Mount Readmore Book Review, 2018 95/200

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His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik

Audiobook Edition

Finished on 6/17/2018

Goodreads

Description:

Aerial combat brings a thrilling new dimension to the Napoleonic Wars as valiant warriors ride mighty fighting dragons, bred for size or speed. When HMS Reliant captures a French frigate and seizes the precious cargo, an unhatched dragon egg, fate sweeps Captain Will Laurence from his seafaring life into an uncertain future – and an unexpected kinship with a most extraordinary creature. Thrust into the rarified world of the Aerial Corps as master of the dragon Temeraire, he will face a crash course in the daring tactics of airborne battle. For as France’s own dragon-borne forces rally to breach British soil in Bonaparte’s boldest gambit, Laurence and Temeraire must soar into their own baptism of fire.

Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Dragons, Alternate History, Flintlock Fantasy, High Fantasy

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‘Tris’s Book’ Book Review

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Mount Readmore Book Review, 2018 94/200

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Tris’s Book by Tamora Pierce

Audiobook Edition

Finished on 6/16/2018

Goodreads

Description:

Earthquake damage leaves Winding Circle vulnerable to pirate attack, so everyone – including the young mages-in-training Tris, Briar, Daja, and Sandry – is working to strengthen the community’s defenses. When Tris’s cousin Aymery comes to visit, he advises the “weather witch” to return to the family that exiled her, but she doesn’t wish to leave her friends to face the threat without her.

As the onslaught begins, two things become terribly clear: The pirates have a powerful new weapon, and they have an accomplice within Winding Circle. But the attackers have failed to reckon with the fury of a young mage betrayed once too often and her very stubborn, very loyal friends….

Genres: Fantasy, YA, Middle Grade, Circle of Magic Continue reading →

‘The Infernal Battalion’ by Django Wexler

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Mount Readmore Book Review, 2018 93/200

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The Infernal Battalion by Django Wexler

Audiobook Edition

Finished on 6/15/2018

Goodreads

Description:

Military might and arcane power clash in Django Wexler’s thrilling new Shadow Campaigns novel.

The Beast, the ancient demon imprisoned beneath the fortress-city of Elysium for a thousand years, has been loosed on the world. It absorbs mind after mind, spreading like a plague through the north. The fell army it has raised threatens the heart of Vordan, and it is under the command of the Beast’s greatest prize: legendary general Janus bet Vhalnich.

As Queen Raesinia Orboan and soldiers Marcus D’Ivoire and Winter Ihernglass grapple with the aftermath of a hard-fought military campaign, they soon discover a betrayal they never could have foreseen. The news arrives like a thunderbolt: Janus has declared himself the rightful Emperor of Vordan. Chaos grips the city as officers and regiments are forced to declare for queen or emperor.

Raesinia must struggle to keep her country under control and risks becoming everything she fought against. Marcus must take the field against his old commander, a man who has seemed an unbeatable strategist. And as Winter recovers from her injuries and mourns her losses, she knows the demon she carries inside her might be the only thing standing between the Beast and the destruction of everything in its path….

Genres: Fantasy, Flintlocke Fantasy, The Shadow Campaigns, High Fantasy, Politics, Fiscal Fantasy, Military Fantasy, Epic Fantasy

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‘Ghosts of the Tristan Basin’ Book Review

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Mount Readmore Book Review, 2018 92/200

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Ghosts of the Tristan Basin by Brian McClellan

Audiobook Edition

Finished on 6/12/2018

Goodreads

Description:

Taniel Two-Shot is a powder mage with the Tristan Ghost Irregulars, a band of volunteers who have made a name for themselves fighting in the Fatrastan Revolution. They range through the swamps of the frontier, cutting off enemy supplies and raiding towns while Taniel hunts the Privileged sorcerers that make the Kez armies so powerful.

When a desperate call for help comes from the nearby city of Planth, the Irregulars aren’t the only ones to answer and Taniel must deal with another hero of the revolution: Mad Colonel Styke. But not all is well within the young Fatrastan government, and more hangs on the defense of Planth than Taniel and his companions could possibly know.

Occurs eight months before the events of Promise of Blood.

Genres: Fantasy, Novella, Powder Mage, Flintlocke Fantasy

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‘First Lord’s Fury’ Book Review

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Mount Readmore Book Review, 2018 91/200

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First Lord’s Fury by Jim Butcher

Audiobook Edition

Finished on 6/12/2018

Goodreads

Description:

For Gaius Octavian, life has been one long battle. Now, the end of all he fought for is close at hand. The brutal, dreaded Vord are on the march against Alera. And perhaps for the final time, Gaius Octavian and his legions must stand against the enemies of his people. And it will take all his intelligence, ingenuity, and furycraft to save their world from eternal darkness.

Genres: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Rome, Codex Alera

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‘Kushiel’s Dart’ Book Review

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Mount Readmore Book Review, 2018 90/200

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Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey

Audiobook Edition

Finished on 6/10/2018

Goodreads

Description:

The land of Terre d’Ange is a place of unsurpassing beauty and grace. It is said that angels found the land and saw it was good… and the ensuing race that rose from the seed of angels and men live by one simple rule: Love as thou wilt.

Phèdre nó Delaunay is a young woman who was born with a scarlet mote in her left eye. Sold into indentured servitude as a child, her bond is purchased by Anafiel Delaunay, a nobleman with very a special mission… and the first one to recognize who and what she is: one pricked by Kushiel’s Dart, chosen to forever experience pain and pleasure as one.

Phèdre is trained equally in the courtly arts and the talents of the bedchamber, but, above all, the ability to observe, remember, and analyze. Almost as talented a spy as she is courtesan, Phèdre stumbles upon a plot that threatens the very foundations of her homeland. Treachery sets her on her path; love and honor goad her further. And in the doing, it will take her to the edge of despair… and beyond. Hateful friend, loving enemy, beloved assassin; they can all wear the same glittering mask in this world, and Phèdre will get but one chance to save all that she holds dear.

Set in a world of cunning poets, deadly courtiers, heroic traitors, and a truly Machiavellian villainess, this is a novel of grandeur, luxuriance, sacrifice, betrayal, and deeply laid conspiracies. Not since Dune has there been an epic on the scale of Kushiel’s Dart-a massive tale about the violent death of an old age, and the birth of a new.

Genres: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Romance, Erotica, Literati Fantasy, Fantasy Classic

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‘Lone Wolf and Cub vol. 1’ Book Review

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Mount Readmore Book Review, 2018 77/200

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Lone Wold and Cub vol1 by Kazuo Koike, Goseki Kojima

Paperback Edition

Finished on 5/19/2018

Goodreads

Description:

Shogunate executioner Ogami Itto is framed as a traitor by the agents from a rival clan. With his wife murdered and with an infant son to protect, Ogami chooses the path of the ronin, the masterless samurai. The Lone Wolf and Cub wander feudal Japan, Ogami’s sword for hire, but all roads will lead them to a single destination: vengeance.

Genres: Manga, Comics, Graphic Novel, Historical Fiction, Japan

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‘The Poppy War’ Book Review

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Mount Readmore Book Review, 2018 115/200

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The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

Audiobook Edition

Finished on 7/13/2018

Goodreads

Description:

When Rin aced the Keju, the Empire-wide test to find the most talented youth to learn at the Academies, it was a shock to everyone: to the test officials, who couldn’t believe a war orphan from Rooster Province could pass without cheating; to Rin’s guardians, who believed they’d finally be able to marry her off and further their criminal enterprise; and to Rin herself, who realized she was finally free of the servitude and despair that had made up her daily existence. That she got into Sinegard, the most elite military school in Nikan, was even more surprising.

But surprises aren’t always good.

Because being a dark-skinned peasant girl from the south is not an easy thing at Sinegard. Targeted from the outset by rival classmates for her color, poverty, and gender, Rin discovers she possesses a lethal, unearthly power—an aptitude for the nearly-mythical art of shamanism. Exploring the depths of her gift with the help of a seemingly insane teacher and psychoactive substances, Rin learns that gods long thought dead are very much alive—and that mastering control over those powers could mean more than just surviving school.

For while the Nikara Empire is at peace, the Federation of Mugen still lurks across a narrow sea. The militarily advanced Federation occupied Nikan for decades after the First Poppy War, and only barely lost the continent in the Second. And while most of the people are complacent to go about their lives, a few are aware that a Third Poppy War is just a spark away . . .

Rin’s shamanic powers may be the only way to save her people. But as she finds out more about the god that has chosen her, the vengeful Phoenix, she fears that winning the war may cost her humanity . . . and that it may already be too late.

Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Adult, YA, Grimdark, Military Fantasy

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‘Return to Dominaria’ Book Review

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Mount Readmore Book Review, 2018 88/200

Dominaria Art

Return to Dominaria by Martha Wells

eBook Edition

Finished on 6/7/2018

Goodreads

Description:

Dominaria’s story starts right after the events of Hour of Devastation. Gideon and Liliana have arrived on Dominaria following the Gatewatch’s defeat at the hands of Nicol Bolas. Together, they begin a mission to kill Belzenlok, the final demon holding Liliana’s contract. They get to see a lot of Dominaria in the process, which gives fans a look at how the plane has changed, and make some allies who may be familiar to longtime players.

Besides the members of the Gatewatch—Gideon, Liliana, and Chandra—you’ll see Jhoira, Teferi, and Karn, plus a few others who make surprise appearances along the way.

Genres: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy, Franchise Fiction, Magic the Gathering, Wizards of the Coast

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