Trail of Lightning - Rebecca Roanhorse

Paperback, 287 pages

Published June 26th 2018 by Saga Press

Series: The Sixth World #1

UF Post apocalyptic

Own

My Thoughts

I did like the world. Post apocalyptic, water rose and destroyed most of the world, and the Dine built a wall.

Let me see nope now I can not remember why the Gods came to be again, but yes in this new world Gods walk, monsters hunt and heroes are born. I do love mythology.

I also really wanted a new UF series and even though it was good, it was never great and it did not even compel me to read more. I will end it here. A fun ride, but I am not invested enough to read more

It is the tale of a monsterslayer (I was more interested in her relationship with a certain hero, what was going on there?), her new sidekick, kicking some monster butt and Coyote, oh he is always around isn't he. The eternal trickster.

I felt the world was more fascinating then the story itself.

Blurb

While most of the world has drowned beneath the sudden rising waters of a climate apocalypse, Dinétah (formerly the Navajo reservation) has been reborn. The gods and heroes of legend walk the land, but so do monsters.

Maggie Hoskie is a Dinétah monster hunter, a supernaturally gifted killer. When a small town needs help finding a missing girl, Maggie is their last best hope. But what Maggie uncovers about the monster is much more terrifying than anything she could imagine.

Maggie reluctantly enlists the aid of Kai Arviso, an unconventional medicine man, and together they travel the rez, unraveling clues from ancient legends, trading favors with tricksters, and battling dark witchcraft in a patchwork world of deteriorating technology.

As Maggie discovers the truth behind the killings, she will have to confront her past if she wants to survive.

Welcome to the Sixth World.

Audio: The Gate to Women's country - Sheri S Tepper

Women rule in Women's Country. Women live apart from men, sheltering the remains of civilization. They have cut themselves off with walls and by ordinance from marauding males. Waging war is all men are good for. Men are allowed to fight their barbaric battles amongst themselves, garrison against garrison. For the sake of his pride, each boy child ritualistically rejects his mother when he comes of age to be a warrior. But all the secrets of civilization are strictly the possession of women. Naturally, there are men who want to know what the women know. And when Stavia meets Chernon, the battle of the sexes begins all over again. Foolishly, she provides books for Chernon to read. Before long, Chernon is hatching a plan of revenge against women. 

Audio CD, 12 h

Published June 5th 2018 by Tantor Audio (first published November 1st 1987)

Post apocalyptic

For review

MY thoughts:

This would be the perfect book club listen. There is soooooo much to discuss. The whole book is one big discussion. I do not even know where to start.

Men destroyed the world, with their bombs, with the guns. They do remember that they had things long ago (since in some sci-fi apocalyptic ones people have just forgotten, which I never get.) Like that they used to have cars, washing machines, but now they do not. Though a lot has been forgotten since women do not want people to remember.

Women rule the world, well they rule this parcel of land (and I can not put my finger on where it takes place. But then I get ideas further in). Women live in cities, men live outside in garrisons and fight wars, but mostly they play sports, train and drink beer (and the women do not mind.) Women do all the work, farming, fishing, making things. Having babies and sending boy children out when they grow older.

At first this world makes me wonder. How can it be a good idea that they men are outside and the women inside? That they men get to come in twice a year for fun times at Carneval? But the more I listen then more I understand, they might not be going about it the perfect way, but it truly is better that the men are outside. Except for those that have "returned" and they co-exist peacefully inside. And yes it does make me wonder if men are brutes who love war and women are the voice of reason. And then I see, maybe men are brutes...

SO much more that could be discussed, but spoilers!

Anyway the book is about Stavia, we see her at 10, 13 and 22. How she meets a young soldier and falls for him, and how she shows him things that are forbidden to the men. Oh Stavia! You said you would not be a fool for a man. But the book also shows her at 37 so we know she comes out ok, but SO much goes down before that. I liked Stavia, she is smart and she only wants the best for her friend Chernon (who is a bastard! Grrr.).

I'd love to say more, but yes secrets. Just let me say that the entire world is not Women's country and it is clear that Women's country is the only way to live in the end.

Such an interesting listen!

Narrator Emily Durante

I truly liked her voice for Stavia, it changed with every year, but still kept the essence of her. She did a great job

Mitosis - Brandon Sanderson

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Words of Radiance, co-author of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series and creator of the internationally bestselling Mistborn Trilogy, Brandon Sanderson, comes Mitosis, a short story set in the action-packed world of Steelheart: the Reckoners series, exclusively available in a HB collector's edition. Epics still plague Newcago, but David and the Reckoners have vowed to fight back. Catch all the action before Firefight, the exciting sequel to Steelheart, hits the shelves. 

My thoughts:

A short story that takes place after book 1. Newcago is trying to get back to normal. Our hero is enjoying a hot dog and normality. But alas, like life could be normal in this post-apocalypic dystopic world.

There is a new baddie to take down and that is what the story is about. An Epic fight to be had.

Short, nice, I do understand the epics now. The power that makes them insane. What good is superhero powers if it makes you into a sociopath? 

I am looking forward to book 2 where the fight to rid the world of Epics will continue. 

Hardcover, Gollancz Hardback Collector's Edition, 35 pages
Published October 23rd 2014 by Gollancz (first published January 1st 2013)
Reckoners #1.5
Dystopia / YA / sci.fi / apocalyptic
For review

Preternatural - G.S.Anderson

From the reality of the known to the depths of imagination, these twelve tales will skew your perceptions. Embracing mystery, science fiction, horror, and fantasy, the stories examine greed, ignorance, superficiality, and our ideas of home. A little girl wonders about the price of her new home. A woman searches for a place to fit in. A contest exposes hidden personalities. A man tries to overcome his fears. A gift comes with strings attached. A man lives his greatest dream. A fairy tale finds a little girl. An artist describes her process. A soldier discovers the past. A woman encounters reality. A man holds the key to saving the world. Tales to entertain, surprise, and make you think.

My thoughts:

There are 12 stories and as the book is only 60 pages then yes all the stories are really short. But they all pack quite the punch.

That is also why I can't say a lot about the stories, cos I say one thing and the whole thing is spoiled.

1. Seemingly dystopian, then it change for the little girl. And the end, yes I did not see it coming. It's about a little girl getting a new home.

2.A story about a woman who has a bookloving sister. A more quiet story.

3. A mum tells her son to go out and play....boom! Ha.

4. A relative dies and sets a contest about who will get it all. Boom! I love her endings!

5. Astraphobia. A man is afraid of the thunder. Honestly all I could say about all of these are, awesome ending!

6. The Gift. Dystopia with a nice twist.

7. One man at a time. A man gets the chance of a lifetime. Happiness or not?

8. The unicorn. I love all the twists and turns.

9. Piecé dé résitance. An artist shows us her work. Freaky.

10. Short fable.

11. To kill Hitler. A time-travel piece.

12. The end. Apocalyptic story with you guessed it, a twist.

I could not say much cos all these stories will surprise you. And in a good way. Twists, turns and surprise endings. Great short stories, and they are great just like that, as short stories. Because this way they all will thrill and surprise you. ;)

I would recommend them and they would fit perfectly for before bedtime. A short story and then night :)

ebook, 60 pages
Published April 18th 2014 by The Story Vault
Science-fiction /dystopia /post-apocalyptic
For review 

Audio Sunday: How to train your dragon + Bloodring

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III is a truly extraordinary Viking hero known throughout Vikingdom as "the Dragon Whisperer" ... but it wasn't always so. Travel back to the days when the mighty warrior was just a boy, the quiet and thoughtful son of the Chief of the Hairy Hooligans. Can Hiccup capture a dragon and train it without being torn limb from limb? Join the adventure as the small boy finds a better way to train his dragon and becomes a hero!

My thoughts:

Not much to say really. I listened to the audio and it was nothing like the movie...well they were vikings and there were dragons. 

David Tennant narrated the book and I did enjoy listening to his voice, but then who wouldn't? ;) He was the sole reason for me listening.

The story itself was also fun as Hiccup tried to train his whiny dragons and then something BIG happens, and then something BIGGER. So a nice world all in all.

Oh and it was like 3,5 hours long, awesome.

cover

eh

Audiocd, 208 pages
Published February 12th 2004 by Hodder Children's Books (first published 2003)
How to Train Your Dragon #1
MG / fantasy

No one thought the apocalypse would be like this. The world didn't end. And the appearance of seraphs heralded three plagues and a devastating war between the forces of good and evil. More than a hundred years later, the earth has plunged into an ice age, and seraphs and demons fight a never-ending battle while religious strife rages among the surviving humans.

Thorn St. Croix is no ordinary neomage. All the others of her kind, mages who can twist leftover creation energy to their will, were gathered together into Enclaves long ago. There, they live in luxurious confinement, isolated from humans and exploited for their magic. When Thorn's powers nearly drive her insane, she escapes - and lives as a fugitive, disguised as a human, channeling her gifts for war into stone-magery and the pacific tasks of jewelry making. But when Thaddeus Bartholomew, a dangerously attractive policeman, shows up on her doorstep and accuses her of kidnapping her ex-husband, she retrieves her weapons and risks revealing her identity to find him. And for Thorn, the punishment for revelation is death....

My thoughts:

I am torn over this one. It was good, but audio...it worked but if I did something else for a second then I got confused. I am sure I missed a ton of things in this book.

But the premise was so cool. Angels came down, killed humans and destroyed shit. Then suddenly they fought alongside humans cos evil spawns came forth. But the cool thing was, were they really angels, or aliens? Ohhh. 

What was left was a post apocalyptic world in an ice age. So the world was truly good.

Thorn, the heroine is a neo mage...would have wanted more stuff there. Anyway, she always seemed to be in heat. People showed up, ugh this is why I need short audios! I know 12 is not long, but too long for me.

I would rather read the next book than listen.

Cover

meh

Audio, 12ish
Published November 7th 2006 by Roc Fantasy
Rogue Mage #1
Post apocalyptic /urban fantasy /sci-fi

Review: The Office of Mercy - Ariel Djanikian

In America-Five, there is no suffering, hunger, or inequality. Its citizens inhabit a high-tech Utopia established after a global catastrophe known as the Storm radically altered the planet. Twenty-four-year-old Natasha Wiley works in the Office of Mercy, tasked with humanely terminating—or sweeping”—the nomadic Storm survivors who live Outside. But after she joins a select team and ventures Outside for the first time, Natasha slowly unravels the mysteries surrounding the Storm—and the secretive elders who run America-Five.

My thoughts:

Do not go in waiting for a non stop action book where someone fights the big bad and comes out victorious, because good always wins. No, this book was different, more thinking, more slow, more grey. 

It's the perfect society, everyone is happy. The oldest people, The Alphas are over 300 years old. You can live forever as they grow new organs there. Babies are grown, not made. Sex is better had in "The Pretend". Everything is very logical, and clean. People are content.

Does this make it better, no. They live in their bubble ever since the world ended. Some people survived on the outside but those are being killed tribe by tribe. The people of america 5 are so caught up in the philosophy and logical thinking that they do think their way is right. Their way of killing the tribes because they are suffering, they are hungry, always on the move, what kind of life is that? Not to mention they die fast. I did get this whole concept, yes everything is better in the safe haven, killing others is merciful. But also truly evil, just go out and invite them in and give them meds and be happy. But that would not be logical, that would mean less for those inside. There is where the conflict is. Natasha the lead character comes in contact with the tribes after a sweep and starts to think that this does seem pretty messed up. 

I liked it because I understood their way of thinking, and I hated their way of thinking. It was an interesting world. It's not the whole oh we are right (and therefore not evil), no because they truly wanted to do good. They wanted to be merciful.

Conclusion:

A different kind of dystopia.

Cover

meh

Paperback, 320 pages
Published January 28th 2014 by Penguin Books (first published February 21st 2013)
Dystopia / post apocalyptic
For review

Review: Osiris - E.J.Swift

Osiris is a lost city. She has lost the world and the world has lost her. 

Adelaide Rechnov, wealthy socialite and granddaughter of the Architect, spends her time in pointless luxury, rebelling against her family in a series of jaded social extravagances and scandals until her twin brother disappears in mysterious circumstances. 

Vikram Bai lives in the Western Quarter, home to the poor decedents of storm refugees and effectively quarantined from the wealthy elite. His people live with cold and starvation, but the brutal winter coming promises civil unrest, and a return to the riots of previous years. 

Brought together by circumstance and fate, these two very different people attempt to bridge the divide lurking at the heart of Osiris, but who is using whom, and what secrets will they uncover?

My thoughts:

Osiris was a dream that turned to dust, but then what kind of dystopia post-apocalyptic book would we have if everything did not go to hell?

In this world storms and well everything really turned the world to a wasteland and Osiris was a refuge for some. The rest of the world is dead..or is it? (no really is it? I wanna know!! I guess I have to wait until book 2 for that). But this Oasis is not a happy place. There are citizens who have it all, and then refuges behind a wall who has nothing and freeze to death. The perfect setting to cause some conflict. Especially since our heroine is a spoiled rich girl and the hero a poor Westerner.

The premise is interesting. A city eating itself, but some being to close-minded to see it. A world where I wonder if anyone is alive in the world? Because the rich have secrets.

The characters are not exactly lovable. Adelaide is rich and spoiled, and obsessed with finding her lost brother. Vikram on the other hand is nice, but maybe a bit naive. Sometimes you just have to storm the barricades. But they grow on you.

Conclusion:

Osiris has a pace of it's own, it moves slowly, like a dream but always forward and never slowing down that it would get boring. And when it ends I do wonder, what's next? I enjoyed it.

Cover:

Ok

Series; The Osiris project #1
Genre: Post-apocalyptic, dystopia
Pages: 448
Published: February 2013 by Del Rey UK
Source for review

Review: Feed - Mira Grant

The year was 2014. We had cured cancer. We had beaten the common cold. But in doing so we created something new, something terrible that no one could stop. The infection spread, virus blocks taking over bodies and minds with one, unstoppable command: FEED. Now, twenty years after the Rising, bloggers Georgia and Shaun Mason are on the trail of the biggest story of their lives - the dark conspiracy behind the infected. The truth will get out, even if it kills them.

My thoughts:

I did want more, this is after all Seanan McGuire we are talking about, but then nothing compare to her October books. I love those.

The book was well written, it threw a few punches that made me sit up but for me, yeah, me and thrillers are not exactly a couple. And that is what it was. Lots of politics as they were covering a candidate running for office, political conspiracies and newstalk. Eh, not my cup of tea, and it made some parts of this book frankly a bit boring.

It was still a good book, a book I enjoyed and still finished in a day. But you know not a book that I need to buy book 2 of. I still want to read book 2 and see what happens, but not a buying urge. Here I go again complaining about a book that still was good, yes please do not get me wrong. The book was good! It was just dry at times.

I do not have much more to say. Cool characters, a bit of info dumping (but then we are dealing with zombies and I do want things explained so it was all good).

And I did not see that end coming...

Conclusion:

I just wanted more of...something.

Cover:

Meh

Series: Newsflesh trilogy #1
Genre: Post-Apocalyptic /political thriller /zombies
Pages: 571
Published: 2010 by Orbit
Source. Library