Category: Books

Spring Book Fair, Sofia

~ Veselin ~ 14 Comments

Today was my first visit to the spring fair. The weather was cold and rainy, most tents were semi-closed or not open at all. I walked by a small fraction of the fair, visited two of the four publishers I wanted to find.

I plan to come back around the end of the week, when I have more time, and hopefully the books aren’t wet. There’s also a book signing with Julie Kagawa scheduled at the Pro Book tent on Saturday and Sunday. I hope to have a chance to meet her.

And my first round of harvest

Silo part 2 – Shift, Murderbot 4, and the latest translated book by Harlan Coben – Think Twice. I like his naming convention. Books are named like blog posts.

Dragonfired by J. Zachary Pike, Book Review

~ Veselin ~ Leave a comment

Books have a way of aging in your mind. I gave the first two Orconomics books 4 stars and enjoyed them moderately at the time. But the story and its characters lingered long after I finished reading, quietly growing on me. Eventually, I realized I was ready for book three.

I went in knowing it would be slow and long—and it was. Think of a late Terry Pratchett novel, stretched out, with a touch of romance. It was dark, funny, and packed with content. It was 800+ pages and took me more than a week to complete.

This time, our heroes must deal with the evil King Johan, all while tying up a wide web of loose ends. Gorm leads the charge – a dwarf with a berserker-like power (though it’s never called that). His band include an elf ranger, a fire mage, a necromancer/fire-mage who happens to be the son of a Liche, and some other, more mystical beings. Each of them gets a moment to shine.

I think it deserves 5*/5

PS. I misspelled the book name as Dragonfried, which I think would be at least as appropriate as Dragonfired. I read the Bulgarian edition.

My First Book Collection

~ Veselin ~ 8 Comments

I started reading somewhat big numbers of books as a child, during communism. There wasn’t much to read at that time because the books available in Bulgarian had to be ideologically compliant, which pretty much left us stuck with unreadable soviet books and adventure/romantic books about other centuries (pirates, wild west, knights and such).

Karl May was permitted and one of the first authors I really liked and attempted to read entirely. Since then, this turned to a preferred method of reading for me – once I like a writer, I’d try to read all of their works until it becomes repetitive. With Karl May, I think there were only 3-4 books I bought but never completed.

What I didn’t do and should’ve was to sell or donate the books. I shouldn’t have left them at my parents’ apartment to collect dust and rot once I moved on from Karl May. My reading habits create clutter.

The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker, Book Review

~ Veselin ~ 4 Comments

The struggle with the story of the golem and the jinni was real. Over the course of 620 pages, two theoretically enslaved magical creatures fight for building their identity, freedom, and personal growth. The writing style reminds of the tales of Scheherazade. It’s slow-paced and enchanting.

The book itself is a work of art: hardcover, high-quality paper, large print, and beautiful full-color page edges. It’s definitely one of the most beautifully designed books I’ve read recently. Many thanks to everyone involved in its production.

The story unfolds slowly. For a five-star rating, the plot could’ve been trimmed down to 300 pages. Most secondary characters didn’t need to die.

4*/5 but thanks to the beautiful print, the book already has a new home.

Books I Read in April

~ Veselin ~ 3 Comments

April was not a great month for reading for me. I missed the first 10 days and then read a few short ones for the number. Nevertheless, some mind blowing books came out of it. Few but good.

Best Books

  1. Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir – the sad story about necromancers who face too much magic and a universe that’s 10K years after the apocalypse. I think some love is lurking in there but it’s not a romance. It’s deeply touching, well written, engaging, interesting, and memorable. It was by far the best book I read this month, and I keep thinking about it.
  2. Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams – a former director from Facebook reveals dark secrets from her past work. Mixed feelings here. Her story is awful and at the same time, the genie is not going back to the lamp.
  3. Harrow the Ninth by Tasmyn Muir. A book where the imaginary and the reality are so mixed that I needed Wikipedia to explain the events to me. However, despite the 4*, I feel this book was far more memorable than the next books on the list that I can forget quickly. I plan to get the 3rd part as well but maybe after a break.
  4. The Narrow Road Between Desires – Patrick Rothfuss is a modern classic with his incredible skill of arranging small and tiny events into a larger puzzle. I’d say, a good member of the Cozy Fantasy family.
  5. Cursed by Alex Kosh – 5* but pretty much unavailable anywhere, I was the lucky first reviewer on Goodreads. And also, thematic, it is about ghosts and in line with Gideon, Harrow and the unfortunate sixth book.

Worst Book

  1. Five Broken Blades – ironically, almost identical plot with Gideon the Ninth, which I liked so much. The story is about 6 (no kidding) people trying to assault an immortal king who is both the enemy and the ally. However, unlike Gideon the Ninth, it’s constantly annoying, and none of it makes sense. For example, why 5 blades if it’s about 6 people, and why broken, if nothing is broken? The book doesn’t answer. Maybe the sequel will.