Whatcha Readin' Jan 10 Edition

[Eleanor_of_Aquitaine]

@AuntiePam

(From last month’s thread)

@Eleanor of Aquitaine

The Blade Itself, Joe Abercrombie - I keep hearing good things about this gritty fantasy series.

I liked it a lot, but it starts off slow. The first book is almost all character introduction/development, people bumping up against each other, with no real action until the end. This was fine with me though. He wrote another book, Best Served Cold, set in the same world. It was almost all action, but not quite as satisfying.

I just finished The Blade Itself, and I really loved it. Great writing, terrific characterization and amazing fight scenes. I’m off to order the rest of the trilogy.

@TheMerchandise

Soulless, by Gail Carriger. This is a lovely blend of a Jane Austen comedy of errors and steam punk paranormal fantasy. A very light read, but something I recommend for anyone who likes Kelley Armstrong, Charlaine Harris, or Miss Austen herself.

I liked this, too, as pure comedy. The book was set during the Victorian period (the Queen has a cameo) but it read like a Regency novel to me, with a lot of Regency slang. But I haven’t read a lot of Victorian novels, so maybe the slang was correct for the period. Although since it’s fantasy/alternate history I guess the author can use whatever slang she wants.