Tag: Books: Canadian

Hero at the Fall

LauraLeave a Comment on Hero at the Fall
Hero at the Fall
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, Book # 3
Viking Books for Young Readers
November 15th 2017
Hardcover
463
English
August 5, 2019 August 6, 2019

When gunslinging Amani Al'Hiza escaped her dead-end town, she never imagined she'd join a revolution, let alone lead one. But after the bloodthirsty Sultan of Miraji imprisoned the Rebel Prince Ahmed in the mythical city of Eremot, she doesn't have a choice.

Armed with only her revolver, her wits, and her untameable Demdji powers, Amani must rally her skeleton crew of rebels for a rescue mission through the unforgiving desert to a place that, according to maps, doesn't exist.

As she watches those she loves most lay their lives on the line against ghouls and enemy soldiers, Amani questions whether she can be the leader they need or if she is leading them all to their deaths.

About the book

Third and last book in the Rebel of the Sands trilogy starring Amani and the desert. In this new book we find Amani still in the capital, finally free from the claws of the sultan but still trapped in the city. Here she reunites with Jin, but other rebels are taken prisoner by the sultan. Their fate is in the hands of our favorite Demji and some other longtime friends.

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Rebel of the Sands

LauraLeave a Comment on Rebel of the Sands
Rebel of the Sands
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, Book # 1
Viking Books for Young Readers
March 8th 2016
ebook
321
English
July 24, 2019 July 27, 2019

She’s more gunpowder than girl—and the fate of the desert lies in her hands.

Mortals rule the desert nation of Miraji, but mystical beasts still roam the wild and barren wastes, and rumor has it that somewhere, djinni still practice their magic. But there's nothing mystical or magical about Dustwalk, the dead-end town that Amani can't wait to escape from.

Destined to wind up "wed or dead," Amani’s counting on her sharpshooting skills to get her out of Dustwalk. When she meets Jin, a mysterious and devastatingly handsome foreigner, in a shooting contest, she figures he’s the perfect escape route. But in all her years spent dreaming of leaving home, she never imagined she'd gallop away on a mythical horse, fleeing the murderous Sultan's army, with a fugitive who's wanted for treason. And she'd never have predicted she'd fall in love with him...or that he'd help her unlock the powerful truth of who she really is.

About the book

Rebel of the Sands is the first volume of a trilogy of fantasy books, set in a fantastic Middle Eastern world. We follow the adventures of the protagonist, Amani, who, to escape from her small town and from the archaic traditions, dresses up as a boy and tries to make money by shooting at bottles in a hideout for gunslingers. Amani has particular characteristics, beautiful blue eyes that distinguish her from the other people of her village. She is also an excellent shooter and thanks to this ability she manages to survive in the desert. At the lair she meets Jin, a mysterious stranger wanted by the sultan’s army.

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Gardens of the Moon

LauraLeave a Comment on Gardens of the Moon
Gardens of the Moon
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, Book # 1
Tor Books
April 1999
Mass Market Paperback
666
English
July 3, 2019 July 22, 2019

The Malazan Empire simmers with discontent, bled dry by interminable warfare, bitter infighting and bloody confrontations with the formidable Anomander Rake and his Tiste Andii, ancient and implacable sorcerers. Even the imperial legions, long inured to the bloodshed, yearn for some respite. Yet Empress Laseen's rule remains absolute, enforced by her dread Claw assassins.

For Sergeant Whiskeyjack and his squad of Bridgeburners, and for Tattersail, surviving cadre mage of the Second Legion, the aftermath of the siege of Pale should have been a time to mourn the many dead. But Darujhistan, last of the Free Cities of Genabackis, yet holds out. It is to this ancient citadel that Laseen turns her predatory gaze.

However, it would appear that the Empire is not alone in this great game. Sinister, shadowbound forces are gathering as the gods themselves prepare to play their hand...

Conceived and written on a panoramic scale, Gardens of the Moon is epic fantasy of the highest order--an enthralling adventure by an outstanding new voice.

About the book

I haven’t read a lot of Fantasy in the last few years, in fact maybe in my whole life, but I would like to start reading more. At home, I only have The Chronicles of Ice and Fire dated 2002 (the first time I read it) and frankly I don’t want to read it for the third time since I will have to read it again when the sixth book (maybe never) will be published; the Avalon saga, also already read but it didn’t thrill me that much; The Sword of Shannara of which I have only one book and the Malazan Book of the Fallen saga of which I have two. So for continuity I decided to reread Gardens of the Moon. Yes reread because I have already read it. And you may ask, why do you read it again if you have already read it? Because in the heat of finding a saga similar to The Chronicles of Ice and Fire, in 2010 I bought the first two books of the saga (and because as usual, there were discounts) and I immediately read the first one. But, and this is why I stopped reading fantasy, I didn’t like it at all. I was looking for something epic like Martin’s books, but alas I didn’t find it.

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His Hand in the Storm

LauraLeave a Comment on His Hand in the Storm
His Hand in the Storm
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, Book # 1
Self published
January 31st 2019
ebook from Netgalley
260
English
January 29, 2019 February 7, 2019

His team believes he’s calm and Zen. His boss finds him obsessive. Suspects think him gorgeous but dangerous. They’re all right.

Chief Inspector Gray James is sculpting the remembered likeness of his small son when he receives the call – a faceless corpse is found hanging by the choppy river, swirls of snow and sand rolling like tumbleweeds.

Montreal glitters: the cobbled streets slippery with ice, and the mighty St. Lawrence jetting eastward past the city. One by one, someone is killing the founders of a booming medical tech startup – propelling Gray into a downward spiral that shatters his hard-earned peace, that risks his very life, that threatens to force him to care and face what he has shunned all along: his hand in the storm.

From the prize-winning author comes a psychological, page-turning mystery with all the elements one needs on a rainy night: a complex murder, a noble yet haunted detective, and an evocative setting to sink into.

About the book

I would like to thank NetGalley and the author Ritu Sethi for my ARC in exchange for an honest review. I chose this book because I didn’t know the author. Obviously I read it in English.

First of all this book is set in Canada and this is a good book for that reason (do’t you know I love Canada?). Joking aside, this is the first book in a new series with Chief Inspector Gray, set in Montréal, Canada. I’ve already read a series set in “French Canada” but here there’s no French (except for two cases where there are long French sentences, not translated in English, but they aren’t part of the plot so no use in understanding them, but a translation would have been better).

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