Dracopedia: The Great Dragons

Christine RLeave a comment

My ‘go to’ place to purchase real books is Book Depository. When I recently discovered this series of dragon books, I knew I must have them. For Christmas, I decided to get this one first – Dracopedia: The Great Dragons. An Artists Field Guide and Drawing Journal. It was on special, at the time, and seemed the logical choice purely for that reason.

Dracopedia: The Great dragons
Dracopedia: The Great Dragon

The colour in the second image is closer to the real thing. Sorry, I had bad lighting, but even the official photos on the publisher’s website does not do the real thing justice.  The cover has such an awesome 3D-look that I was surprised to find it a flat surface. My first thought was that I need to buy real metal embellishments to add to the spine. That would be cool.

The end papers are fabulous! Here’s a peek…

dragopediaendp

The featured image is a deliberate blurred part-illustration for the purpose of showing you something else from inside the covers.

Today was the first day that I looked inside the covers a little better than the fast flick through when it arrived. I wouldn’t let myself look again until I finished the arduous revision lesson with which I was struggling. A good incentive.

I can’t wait to read from cover to cover and then to try drawing my own dragons – Rufus, Driscoll and Uity.

But there will not be time for much dragon drawing quite yet, not with only 32 days to go to the launch of Taniel.  And I promised to begin posting book two, Cladessa, to Wattpad during February.

I have reset my enrollment in the Magic in the Middle Ages MOOC so I won’t get too far behind. I have time for two more of Holly Lisle’s revision lessons, I think, before I must begin the rewriting. I’m really excited at how much better the story will be from the Wattpad version.

I’ve just flicked through the Dracopedia one more time, breathing deep of the new book smell. I reckon it’s already my favourite book of all time – at least it will be until I get the Dracopedia: The Bestiary.

The more I think about drawing dragons, the more I know I must, and soon. Sounds like a promise. 🙂

A kangaroo fence & an impromptu book review

Christine R7 Comments

Hello people. I took Vika on one of our extended walks this morning, hoping to walk out a sciatic hip – caused by half-sitting up in bed too long, reading, last night. Or this morning, 2:30 AM, to be precise. I was engrossed by a free e-book from Amazon for Samsung. ‘Never Kiss A Rake: Scandal at the House of Russell, by Anne Stuart.

never kiss a rake

Anguished by death. Driven by revenge.

Bryony Russell and her two sisters are left destitute by the disgrace and unexpected death of their father, a wealthy shipping magnate. He left a cryptic note, and Bryony is determined to find the real villain and clear her father’s name. In disguise as a servant, Bryony infiltrates the home of her father’s business partner to find proof of his guilt…or innocence. It’s not just clues that Bryony finds, but temptation too…

Once a month, I  get a choice of four books, and sometimes I have to select the best of a bad lot. But, wow, this one sucked me right in. Four decades or so ago, I loved reading Georgette Heyer, but this isn’t quite that sort of historical romance. This has a feisty heroine, a wickedly lewd hero, flying sparks, and ramped up tension. I loved the tongue-in-cheek humour. I was all set  to download the second book, but parting with six Aussie bucks nearly always stops me in my tracks, forcing that finger away from that oh-so-convenient buy now with one click button. That yellow bar is akin to chocolate bars by the checkout counter. While reading some of the reviews, I learned that this trilogy is less erotically charged than this author’s other series. Oh?

Umm, where was I? I didn’t mean to do a book review, but I’ll keep it.

The kangaroo fence, Argyle Street
The stunning kangaroo fence, Argyle Street, looking north-ish

We were on our morning walk, and we went past where the Shetland pony lives, to the end of Argyle Street. Down this end of the street I found an awesome sight – this concrete kangaroo fence.

I have pushed the brightness up a tad on the Nokia Lumia 530, else the photos are gloomy. The colour is pretty much how I see it.

argylest2
Argyle Street, looking south-ish.

I live another block beyond the trees down the end.

Each had a different colour marble for an eye.
Each has a coloured marble for an eye.

Someone put a lot of work into this fence. I hope no-one was watching me standing there, with my gob hanging open in amazed awe. In case you are wondering, the only time the Shetland pony has been near enough for a photo was the day my phone was critically flat.

I hope you are having a good week-end. 🙂

Book Review: Pit of Vipers

Christine R4 Comments

pit-of-vipers-final-largePit of Vipers is the second book in the Sons of Kings trilogy written by Millie Thom. It continues the tale of Alfred of Wessex and Eadwulf of Mercia started in Book 1, Shadow of the Raven. The year is 864.

Alfred is now fifteen, and learning kingship at the successive courts of his older brothers.

Eadwulf,  the Mercian who had spent time as a Danish slave, has been back in his homeland now for four years. Though settled into married life in the household of his father-in-law, a Mercian ealdorman, he cannot shake off the memory of his lost love, Freydis. On top of this, he is frustrated by failed attempts to extract vengeance on his uncle. I’ll say no more about either of those worries.

Once again the author includes a handy The Characters page to help with the old names. Names which could easily grace the pages of a fantasy novel: Aethelberht, Heahmund, Wulfrida, Dryhtwald, Paega, Katato – to name just a few. You need your wits about you, but the well-written story does quickly place everyone in context and you are never left confused.

Handy maps in both print and digital versions place the positions of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in perspective.

512px-England_Great_Army_map.svg
map from Wikipedia

Large bands of  Scandinavian Vikings break the treaties, raiding Kent.  In 865, they are joined by more Norse and Danish invaders – dubbed The Great Heathen Army – landing on the coast of East Anglia.

While some historians believe the invasion was a natural progression from the increasing raids on the Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the author has chosen to present her story from the view put forth in the Norse Sagas.

Millie Thom says on her explanatory About Book Two page:

In this version, The Great Heathen Army is led by three of the sons of the notorious Ragnar Lodbrok in response to an incident that demands reprisal …

I love the way Millie Thomas imbues her characters with personal qualities. Alfred is a different Alfred than what I came to expect from reading other historical novels where he is portrayed as extremely pious. Here, he seems no more pious than normal in those days when ailments of the flesh were considered manifestations of sin. Alfred does marry and is able to satisfy his fleshly desires without all the guilt. His hemorrhoids seem to cause less trouble, but this bother is replaced by bouts of a mysterious debilitating illness which he bears with fortitude. He hopes he will not die of the same mysterious ailment which takes some of his family.

I don’t think Eadwulf plays as great a part in this novel, but again he is a well developed character and it’s a pleasure to track the life of the ordinary Mercian household from his view-point. His loyalty’s are divided, of course, since he has strong ties with the Danish friends he had to leave behind four years earlier. I expect unfolding events in Book 3 will severely test Eadwulf’s loyalties.

The Pit of Vipers closes in the year 871. Alfred is now King of the West Saxons, and Eadwulf is given an invitation by three Danes which I don’t think he can refuse.

Overall, the story has a lovely finished feel. While I’m eager for the next book of the trilogy to be written and published, I wasn’t left with that unresolvedness you sometimes get in trilogies.

If you love historical fiction of this era, and you don’t wish for seemingly endless blow-by-blow battles,  then you will enjoy Pit of Vipers.  I did.

NOTE:  I purchased the Pit of Vipers. I could have asked for a review copy, but I hold the standard of the author’s research and her writing in high regard and was only too happy to buy myself a copy as soon as I saw it available.

Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Australia

My review of Shadow of the Raven