Dear Readers,
I really look forward to enjoy two weeks just for relaxing and recharging.
No work, no PC, no phone .... only my wife, me, four books, and the Baltic Sea Coast.
That means I will be back on 11th of June with issue #1624 of the Weekend Wave.
And what happens in the meantime?
Last week I told you try to prepare something for the time of my absence. I don't know how but I prepared something.
You will get more information within this post.
ENJOY READING ....
Edi's Guidepost
The Lighthouse
News and information straight from the horse's mouth by Lighthouse keeper ediFanoB
Reading progress
While I'm away ...
Books
The latest report from our shelf shop net correspondent Bona
New books on my shelf/reader or when one book leads to another
Blogosphere
Messages from the depths of the blogosphere by spheronaut Bona Fide
THE DAVID GEMMELL AWARDS FOR FANTASY
Hypnotism
Pigeons
Beards
Interview with Edward Lazellari
Movies
Remote control junkie Fide and his zapping highlights
CGI animated short films
Quotes
The member of the house of quotes and a quote himself the Keeper of the minutes ( we call him Kotm) fished for you
German proverbs, sayings and idioms Quote related to vacation
The Lighthouse
However with some effort I finally finished two books which would have not been possible without the bank holiday on Monday.
Reading progress dropped dramatically. I explained the reason for that in the introduction to this post.
I finished
- Kaisersturz (digital, 13th November 2015) [Kindle edition ASIN: B017XLAIYQ] by Felix A. Münter which is the first book in the Imperium von Westrin trilogy.
I promised the author a review which will be done after my holiday.
Nevertheless I can tell you that the author did a great job.
Excellent start of the trilogy. Complex an intriguing story, battles, twist and turns, and I was not sure who would be alive at the end of the book.
I'm
- 283 pages in The Victoria Vanishes (digital 2014) [Amazon Kindle ASIN: B00H51SZO0] by Christopher Fowler, which is the sixth book in the Bryant and May Mystery series.
- 130 pages in The Jade Owl(digital, 23rd October 2008) [Kindle ASIN: B001J54AWO] by Edward C. Patterson which is the first book in The Jade Owl Legacy.
- 100 pages in Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries Volume One (digital, January 2012) [Kindle ASIN: B004O4C1AK] by Ashley Gardner.
This omnibus contains three books and two short stories.
I started to read the first book The Hanover Square Affair and so far I'm enjoying it. There are really dark areas in Regency London ......
No progress
- nothing to report
While I'm away ...
I'm not sure if every reader of my blog recognized the subheading of my blog:
Spotlights Sci Fi, Fantasy & more
The & more is definitely part of my blog. Monday has been a bank holiday in Germany and we used it to fill out our annual tax declaration which is far beyond to be a pleasure. Nevertheless after we finished the task, an idea popped up in my mind. Did I ever write a post how my interest in modern police procedural returned? I checked my post list but did no find a post related to the topic.
Instead of reading I started to search, collected information and wrote two posts which I finished on my first day out of office on Friday, 20th of May.
you will get these posts while I'm away ...
The schedule
28th of May It was not the XBox; the Ed James story
On 4th of June From Ed James to James Oswald and Stuart MacBride
I will talk a little bit about the authors, their books, and why I like their books respectively why I want to read them.
Don't worry I will not present each book in detail. Instead these posts are peppered with links which let you the choice to get more information about books and authors or not.
Enjoy your weekend ....
Books
Dear readers, I'm the one to tell you about books - only books? What about novellas and other stuff? My name is Bona. I scour shelves, shops and the net for books. If you call me a book whore I would not gainsay you. But be aware I have my own, sometimes elusive taste.
New books on my shelf/reader or when one book leads to another
Last week I told you about For winter nights – A bookish blog. Over there I found following post:
Crime catch up: Stuart MacBride’s Logan McRae series.
This post inspired my to buy a digital copy of following book
Cold Granite (digital, February 2009) [Kindle edition ASIN: B002RI9ZZO] by Stuart MacBride.
"Stuart MacBride’s Number One bestselling crime series opens with this award-winning debut. DS Logan McRae and the police in Aberdeen hunt a child killer who stalks the frozen streets.
Winter in Aberdeen: murder, mayhem and terrible weather…
It’s DS Logan McRae’s first day back on the job after a year off on the sick, and it couldn’t get much worse. Three-year-old David Reid’s body is discovered in a ditch, strangled, mutilated and a long time dead. And he’s only the first. There’s a serial killer stalking the Granite City and the local media are baying for blood.
Soon the dead are piling up in the morgue almost as fast as the snow on the streets, and Logan knows time is running out. More children are going missing. More are going to die. And if Logan isn’t careful, he could end up joining them…" [Source]
Will be interesting to see if I like this one as much as I like the books in the Scott Cullen Mystery series by Ed James.
I loved to read London Falling (digital, 2012) [Kindle edition ASIN: B00AER81ZU] and The Severed Streets (digital, May 2014) [Kindle edition ASIN: B00IXLVW3W] both by Paul Cornell, There was no other decision then to order the third book in the Shadow Police series in advance. The digital copy of Who Killed Sherlock Holmes? (digital, 19th May 2016) [Kindle edition ASIN: B018XV0A4I] by Paul Cornell arrived on Thursday.
"Someone has murdered the ghost of Sherlock Holmes. As a fictional character remembered by the people of London, Holmes’ ghost walked the city, and now someone has put a ceremonial dagger through his chest. What could be the motive? The small team of Metropolitan Police detectives who have The Sight find themselves pursuing a criminal genius who soon lures them into a Sherlockian maze of too many clues and too much evidence. Ross finds herself drawn to an actor who may or may not be a deity, and goes on a quest to win back her happiness. Lofhouse seeks the answers, finally, about why she brought the team together. Quill battles for his sanity. Costain battles for his soul. And Sefton just wants to bring his team back together, even if that takes him to the edge of death." [Source]
Sounds like a good story. In case you would to get more information about this book I recommend to read
Guest Post: “Stuck in the Middle with Sherlock” by Paul Cornell
What will happen when you transfer a stage magician gets the opportunity to visit a world where magic is real? One answer has been given by author Dan Koboldt in his book The Rogue Retrieval (digital, 19th January 2016) [Kindle edition ASIN: B0124Q9WDI].
"Sleight of hand…in another land
Stage magician Quinn Bradley has one dream: to headline his own show on the Vegas Strip. And with talent scouts in the audience wowed by his latest performance, he knows he’s about to make the big-time.
What he doesn’t expect is an offer to go on a quest to a place where magic is all too real.
That's how he finds himself in Alissia, a world connected to ours by a secret portal owned by a powerful corporation. He’s after an employee who has gone rogue, and that’s the least of his problems. Alissia has true magicians…and the penalty for impersonating one is death. In a world where even a twelve-year-old could beat Quinn in a swordfight, it's only a matter of time until the tricks up his sleeves run out." [Source]
I often order books in advance. It is helpful for my planning and there is a real benefit when it comes to the price. In case the price for the book increase, I still pay the price valid at the time of the order. In case the price for the book decrease, I pay the lowest price. On the other hand such kind of orders is good for authors, publisher, and seller.
A few days ago another digital copy arrived which I ordered in advance. This time it was the 11th and latest book in the Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries series by author Ashley Gardner. First I thought something went wrong with the price. I could not believe to get a copy of a brand new book for just 2,99 EUR = 2.35 GBP = 3.39 USD!
The Alexandria Affair (digital, 17th May 2016) [Kindle ASIN: B01C3ETC54] by Ashley Gardner.
"Captain Gabriel Lacey accompanies famous dandy Lucius Grenville to Egypt, a land that Lacey has long anticipated visiting. Lacey travels there for more than a simple holiday, however--James Denis has tasked him with finding an "object" from ancient Alexandria and procuring it, whatever the cost.
The task does not turn out to be so simple. Locating what Denis wants proves difficult, sending Lacey and Grenville exploring tombs down the Nile. Lacey must deal with treasure hunters, a shadow following him and his friends, murder, and missing his new family as he explores the exotic country he has so longed to see." [Source]
That means for know I own copies of all books in the series. As you could read above I still have not finished the first one
No more today, see you next week ......
Blogosphere
Hey, I'm Bona Fide. I just came back from my last foray through the blogosphere. What can you expect from me? I tell you: Everything from Art to Fart as long as there is any faint connection to books. And here is some honey from the beehive blogosphere...
THE DAVID GEMMELL AWARDS FOR FANTASY
I hope you don't mind when I show you the official opening message
Voting on the longlists is now open
You can now vote for one nominee on each of the three lists of nominations for the Legend Award (best novel), the Morningstar Award (best debut) and the Ravenheart Award (best cover art).
Voting on the longlists closes at midnight (GMT) on Friday, 24th June.
The shortlists will be opened for voting on Friday 8th July.
The David Gemmell Awards For Fantasy enter their eighth year in 2016, once again recognizing and rewarding the very best in fantasy fiction and artwork. 2016 also marks the tenth anniversary of the untimely death of bestselling author David Gemmell, in whose memory the awards were created.
We’re pleased to announce that 2016’s Gemmell Awards presentation will take place at Fantasycon, the UK’s longest-running fantasy convention. This year, Fantasycon (http://fantasyconbythesea.com/) will be held in Scarborough, between 23rd and 25th September, with the Gemmell Awards ceremony staged at 8pm on Saturday 24th September.
Fantasycon is the British Fantasy Society’s (www.britishfantasysociety.org) annual conference and has been part of the UK scene since its inception in 1972. Past guests include Joan Aiken, Clive Barker, Terry Brooks, Ramsey Campbell, Raymond E Feist, Jasper Fforde, Joanne Fletcher, James Herbert, Robert Holdstock, Tom Holt, Graham Joyce, Tanith Lee, Anne McCaffrey, George RR Martin, Sarah Pinborough, Michael Marshall Smith and Tad Williams.
This year’s Guests of Honour are Costa Book Award winner Frances Hardinge and leading British horror author Adam Nevill, with more to be announced in due course.
SCHEDULE
These are the dates to note for this year’s voting rounds. (All times GMT, ie UK times.)
The longlists will be published on this website, and voting will open, at midday, Friday 13th May.
(Note that for the first two weeks following publication of the longlists – ie until Friday 27th May - we will consider additional nominations submitted by members of the public. These must be for books published in 2015 in the English language, including translations, and which meet our criteria in being novel-length fiction, and cover art, within the epic, heroic fantasy tradition exemplified by David Gemmell’s own work. An email address for these nominations will be provided when the longlists are published.)
Voting on the longlists closes at midnight, Friday 24th June.
The shortlists go up and voting begins at midday, Friday 8th July.
Voting on the shortlists closes at midnight, Friday 19th August.
We post regular updates and news relevant to The David Gemmell Awards For Fantasy on our official Facebook page: www.facebook.com/gemmellawards
A T T E N T I O N
you should be aware of the fact, that the nominations are out
B U T
THE ARE NOT COMPLETE !!!
The DGLA announced that they will take crowd-sourced nominations until 27 May
In order to avoid the disadvantage for such nominations it would be more than fair to wait with your vote until after 27 May.
There is still enough time until the longlists closes at midnight, Friday 24th June.
Nevertheless if you are pretty sure about your votes then
VOTE HERE
I will vote after my return from holiday.
Hypnotism
Hypnotism has been a famous amusement around 1900. A significant proof for that are the hypnotism posters shown over at The Public Domain Review.
Hypnotism Posters (ca. 1900)
Pigeons
In a lot of towns they are not really welcomed because their excrement cause problems. But that may change for some of them as following post over at WebUrbanist demonstrate ...
Pigeons on Patrol: Birds with Backpacks Monitor London Air Pollution
Beards
Beards have a long history and it seems nowadays beards are as fashionable as in Victorian era. There is also a long history of beard taxes and the more fashionable beards get today the more the idea of a beard tax is growing. If you do not believe me then visit Atlas Obscura and have look at
A Beard Tax is Being Proposed in England, and It's Not the First
Interview with Edward Lazellari
Last week I told you about the fourth book which I will read during my holiday.
Awakenings (paperback, 2012) [ISBN-13: 978-0765366313] by Edward Lazellari which is the first book in the Guardians of Aandor series.
"Awakenings by Edward Lazellari launches a captivating fantasy saga by an amazing and talented new storyteller.
Cal MacDonnell is a happily married New York City cop with a loving family. Seth Raincrest is a washed-up photographer who has alienated even his closest friends. The two have nothing in common—except that they both suffer from retrograde amnesia. It's as if they just appeared out of thin air thirteen years ago, and nothing has been able to restore their memories. Now their forgotten past has caught up to them with a vengeance.
Cal's and Seth's lives are turned upside down as they are stalked by otherworldly beings who know about the men's past lives. But these creatures aren't here to help; they're intent on killing anyone who gets in their way. In the balance hangs the life of a child who might someday restore a broken empire to peace and prosperity. With no clue why they're being hunted, Cal and Seth must accept the aid of a strange and beautiful woman who has promised to unlock their secrets. The two must stay alive long enough to protect their loved ones, recover their true selves—and save two worlds from tyranny and destruction." [Source]
In case you would like to get more information about the author, the book in the series, and future plans then I recomment to visit Civilian Reader and read
Interview with EDWARD LAZELLARI
That's it for today. Come back next week for more ......
Movies
Hey, it's me Fide. I'm a remote control professional. I'm that fast that I can watch two movies at the same time.
In order to sweeten your weekend and put a smile on your face I share with you three wonderful CGI animated short films.
That's it for today. Come back next week for more ......
Quotes
I 'm the Keeper of the minutes. But I don't mind when you call me Kotm. No, no. I don't explain to you how to pronounce.
I fully agree to following quote.
"Vacation used to be a luxury, however, in today's world, it has become a necessity.”
Source, Author unknown