The Book Plank

Review Round-up April  1. The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson, Tor/Gollancz Ever since The Way of Kings was published back in 2010 I wanted to read it but due to so many other books I never gotten around to sit down and read it. Such a book deserves not to be rushed and should be read without interuptions. SO finally last month I sat down and tackled this tome and WOW. Brandon Sanderson has really outdone himself with this one. I have been a big fan of his Mistborn series, but with The Way of Kings Brandon Sanderson has really stepped up his game. The story that he introduces to the reader is full of cool idea's. Epic Fantasy usually follows the same direction, the underlying thread of The Way of Kings does show it but there is so much more going on with the ideas that are used to liven up the story. From the beginning of the prologue right down til the ending of the book I was hooked and had to abandon all my other plans just because I NEEDED to finish The Way of Kings ....

A Love Like Blood by Marcus Sedgwick 'I've chased him for over twenty years, and across countless miles, and though often I was running, there have been many times when I could do nothing but sit and wait. Now I am only desperate for it to be finished.' In 1944, just days after the liberation of Paris, Charles Jackson sees something horrific: a man, apparently drinking the blood of a murdered woman. Terrified, he does nothing, telling himself afterwards that worse things happen in wars. Seven years later he returns to the city - and sees the same man dining in the company of a fascinating young woman. When they leave the restaurant, Charles decides to follow... Every once in a while you come across a book that has a very catchy synopsis and readily invites you to pick it up and devour it I had just this feeling when I read the synopsis of A Love Like Blood. It in someway tells what the main idea of the story is but already promises so much more, especially the ...

(p)review forecast April part two 1. Wolfhound Century by Peter Higgins, Gollancz Investigator Vissarion Lom has been summoned to the capital in order to catch a terrorist --- and ordered to report directly to the head of the secret police.  A totalitarian state, worn down by an endless war, must be seen to crush home-grown insurgents with an iron fist. But Lom discovers Mirgorod to be more corrupted than he imagined: a murky world of secret police and revolutionaries, cabaret clubs and doomed artists.  Lom has been chosen because he is an outsider, not involved in the struggle for power within the party. And because of the sliver of angel stone implanted in his head. 2. The Better Part of Valor by Tanya Huff, Titan When Staff Sergeant Torin Kerr makes the mistake of speaking her mind to a superior officer, she finds herself tagged for a special mission for the interplanetary Confederation to act as protector to a scientific exploratory team assigned to ...