Inextricably bound to the fate of the land, Nevyn, Rhodry and Jill struggle to unite the humans of Deverry with the mysterious and once-hostile race of Elves. But the evil and powerful sorcerers of Annwn know that any alliance between the two races will threaten their own dominion.
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
It sounds like it should be confusing having multiple stories being told in 3 different time lines with the same characters reincarnated but it somehow managed to work. The three stories very much focus around Jill and her former lives this time and we see her portrayed as three very different people.
Add in the Dark Dweomer and this book is very interesting and a great read.
For such an easy going type of story there is a lot of sexual violence including sexual assault and systematic abuse and rape. There’s also the typical violence of a medieval setting and subsequent battles. However, despite all the violence and evil magic it somehow manages to escape being a dark story.
Kerrang! The Album (1994) was my first introduction to modern heavy metal music and one of the tracks on this was my first introduction to Pantera. The sound was very different to anything I’d heard before and it wasn’t long before I was hooked on their most successful album Vulgar Display of Power. This is one of the many tracks that I like a lot but is one of my favourites.
Lyrics
If ever words were spoken Painful and untrue I said I loved but I lied In my life All I wanted Was the keeping Of someone like you As it turns out Deeper within me Love was twisted and pointed at you
You keep this love (thing), love (child), love (toy) You keep this love (fist), love (scar), love (break) You keep this love, love, love You keep this love, love, love You keep this love
I’d been the tempting one Stole her from herself This gift in pain Her pain was life And sometimes I feel so sorry I regret this (the hurting of you) But you make me so unhappy I’d take my life (and leave love with you)
You keep this love (thing), love (child), love (toy) You keep this love (fist), love (scar), love (break) You keep this love, love, love You keep this love, love, love You keep this love
No more head trips
You keep this love (thing), love (child), love (toy) You keep this love (fist), love (scar), love (break) You keep this love, love, love You keep this love, love, love You keep this love
You keep this love You keep this love You keep this love You keep this love
Rammstein are the original NDH (Neue Deutsche Härte/New German Hardness) rock band creating a bizarre mix of heavy metal and Electronic/Techno styles and instruments. The songs are also typically sung in German as the genre developed in Germany and Austria in the 90s. Until I looked up the lyrics for this post I’d no idea what they meant but it really doesn’t matter. This one is all about the sound – it shouldn’t work but it does!
Lyrics
Du Du hast Du hast mich
Du Du hast Du hast mich
Du Du hast Du hast mich
Du Du hast Du hast mich
Du Du hast Du hast mich Du hast mich Du hast mich gefragt Du hast mich gefragt Du hast mich gefragt und ich hab nichts gesagt
Du Du hast Du hast mich Du hast mich Du hast mich gefragt Du hast mich gefragt Du hast mich gefragt und ich hab nichts gesagt
Willst du bis der Tod euch scheidet Treu ihr sein für alle tagen
Nein Nein
Willst du bis der Tod euch scheidet Treu ihr sein für alle tagen
Nein Nein
Du Du hast Du
Du Du hast Du
Du Du hast Du
Du Du hast Du
Du Du hast Du hast mich
Du Du hast Du hast mich
Du Du hast Du hast mich Du hast mich Du hast mich gefragt Du hast mich gefragt Du hast mich gefragt und ich hab nichts gesagt
Willst du bis der Tod euch scheidet Treu ihr sein für alle tage
Nein Nein
Willst du bis zum Tod der scheide Sie lieben auch in schlechten tagen
Temperance Brennan, forensic anthropologist for both North Carolina and Quebec, has come from Charlotte to Montreal during the bleak days of December to testify as an expert witness at a murder trial.
She should be going over her notes, but instead she’s digging in the basement of a pizza parlor. Not fun. Freezing cold. Crawling rats. And now, the skeletonized remains of three young women. How did they get there? When did they die?
Homicide detective Luc Claudel, never Tempe’s greatest fan, believes the bones are historic. Not his case, not his concern. The pizza parlor owner found nineteenth-century buttons in the cellar with the skeletons. Claudel takes them as an indicator of the bones’ antiquity.
But something doesn’t make sense. Tempe examines the bones in her lab and establishes approximate age with Carbon-14. Further study of tooth enamel tells her where the women were born. If she’s right, Claudel has three recent murders on his hands. Definitely his case.
Detective Andrew Ryan, meanwhile, is acting mysteriously. What are those private phone calls he takes in the other room, and why does he suddenly disappear just when Tempe is beginning to hope he might be a permanent part of her life? Looks like more lonely nights for Tempe and Birdie, her cat.
As Tempe searches for answers in both her personal and professional lives, she finds herself drawn deep into a web of evil from which there may be no escape. Women have disappeared, never to return…Tempe may be next.
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Fast paced, easy to read and just complicated enough to keep the reader interested without getting lost. My only complaints were how silly and immature Anne’s character was portrayed (I couldn’t see how she fitted with the overall story and her behaviour was just irritating) and Tempe’s relationship with Ryan. This latter was at least resolved and I hope it’s less angsty and distracting in the rest of the series.
I did find the ending very good and left me with a mixture of feelings which is good writing. I especially liked the final dedication and the author’s note for the real life inspiration behind the story.
The body of a well-liked local historian is found half-buried under a drystone wall near the village of Helmthorpe, Swainsdale. Who on earth would want to kill such a thoughtful, dedicated man? Penny Cartwright, a beautiful folk singer with a mysterious past, a shady land-developer, Harry’s editor and a local thriller writer are all suspects – and all are figures from Harry’s previous, idyllic summers in the dale. A young girl, Sally Lumb, knows more than she lets on, and her knowledge could lead to danger. Inspector Banks’ second case unearths disturbing secrets behind a bucolic facade.
My Rating: ⭐⭐
Dull and boring after the first in the series proved quite interesting. The investigation was entirely based on conversations and hunches, Columbo-esque without the charm of Peter Falk. I found the characters shallow and uninteresting and the premise of the case being based on teenage events of a decade previous was far from gripping. The requirement for a big reveal and detailed explanation (in an incredibly unbelievable setting) at the very end says it all really.
It wasn’t terrible but the main reason I stayed with it was so I wouldn’t miss anything I needed to know in later books.
Elena bears the mark of the wit’ch upon her palm, the crimson stain that testifies to the awesome power of unimaginable potency: wild seductive, and difficult to control. Only a mistress of blood magick can stand against the foul minions and all-corrupting evil of the Dark Lord. But Elena is not yet the mistress of her magick. Protected by an ageless warrior and a band of renegades, she quests for a lost city where prophecies speak of a mystic tome that holds the key to the Dark Lord’s defeat. But if the Dark Lord finds her first, Elena will become his most fearsome weapon.
A different form of power touches Sy-wen, girl-child of an ocean-dwelling clan that bonds-mates to the terrible and majestic sea dragons. But bonds more ancient still tie Sy-wen to the land she does not know, to a man she has never seen…and to a legend asleep in stone deep beneath A’loa Glen-a legend beginning to wake.
Now, as Elena and Sy-wen converge on A’loa Glen from land and sea, will the forces they unleash lead to a future of freedom-or an eternity under the Dark Lord’s yoke?
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This picks up directly from the first book and after the first quarter I was starting to wonder how the story was going to last through 5 books without getting repetitive and potentially boring. Then there is a massive injection of new characters and storylines that really ramp up the complexity. Particularly liked how everything was brought together at the end of this chapter and looking forward to seeing how it develops further through the rest of the books. Although I read this series a long time ago I remember very little about the story except that it was good.
The section of the story with the Swamp Wit’ch reminded me quite a lot of Shota and Richard from the Sword of Truth series. The characters and stories are different but it just felt very familiar for some reason.
For many AC/DC’s standout single is Thunderstruck. It gets a lot of attention for the thumping bass, drums and guitar riffs and rightly so. However, this unreleased title track in my opinion, is equally as good if not even better than Thunderstruck. The guitar on this beats anything else I’ve heard from AC/DC.
Lyrics
There’s fighting on the left And marching on the right Don’t look up in the sky You’re gonna die of fright
Here comes the razor’s edge
You’re living on the edge Don’t know wrong from right They’re breathing down your neck You’re running out of lives
And here comes the razor’s edge Here comes the razor’s edge
The razor’s edge
(Razor’s edge) To raise the dead (Razor’s edge) To cut to shreds
To raise the dead
Here comes the razor’s edge Here comes the razor’s edge
Well, here it comes To cut to shreds The razor’s edge
It’s the razor’s edge On the razor’s edge That you’ll be cut to shreds Got a razor’s edge By the razor’s edge
Eminem pushing as many buttons as possible and trying to create controversy to sell records as only he can do. I’m not usually a fan of hip hop or rap but there’s something about this album that I keep coming back to.
Lyrics
America, hahaha, we love you How many people are proud to be citizens Of this beautiful country of ours, the stripes and the stars For the rights that men have died for to protect? The women and men who have broke their necks For the freedom of speech The United States government has sworn to uphold (Yo, I want everybody to listen to the words of this song) Or so we’re told
I never would’ve dreamed in a million years I’d see So many motherfuckin’ people who feel like me Who share the same views and the same exact beliefs It’s like a fucking army marching in back of me
So many lives I touched, so much anger aimed In no particular direction, just sprays and sprays And straight through your radio waves, it plays and plays ‘Til it stays stuck in your head, for days and days
Who would’ve thought, standing in this mirror, bleaching my hair With some peroxide, reaching for a t-shirt to wear That I would catapult to the forefront of rap like this? How could I predict my words would have an impact like this?
I must’ve struck a chord with somebody up in the office ‘Cause Congress keep telling me I ain’t causing nothin’ but problems And now they’re saying I’m in trouble with the government I’m loving it, I shoveled shit all my life, and now I’m dumping it on
White America, I could be one of your kids White America, little Eric looks just like this White America, Erica loves my shit I go to TRL, look how many hugs I get
White America, I could be one of your kids White America, little Eric looks just like this White America, Erica loves my shit I go to TRL, look how many hugs I get
Look at these eyes, baby blue, baby just like yourself If they were brown, Shady’d lose, Shady sits on the shelf But Shady’s cute, Shady knew Shady’s dimples would help Make ladies swoon, baby (ooh, baby) Look at my sales
Let’s do the math, if I was black, I woulda sold half I ain’t have to graduate from Lincoln High School to know that But I could rap, so fuck school, I’m too cool to go back Give me the mic, show me where the fucking studio’s at
When I was underground no one gave a fuck I was white No labels wanted to sign me, almost gave up, I was like “Fuck it, ” until I met Dre, the only one to look past Gave me a chance and I lit a fire up under his ass
Helped him get back to the top, every fan black that I got Was probably his in exchange for every white fan that he’s got Like damn, we just swapped, sitting back looking at shit, wow I’m like my skin is it starting to work to my benefit now? it’s-
White America, I could be one of your kids White America, little Eric looks just like this White America, Erica loves my shit I go to TRL, look how many hugs I get
White America, I could be one of your kids White America, little Eric looks just like this White America, Erica loves my shit I go to TRL, look how many hugs I get!
See, the problem is I speak to suburban kids Who otherwise woulda never knew these words exist Whose moms probably woulda never gave two squirts of piss ‘Til I created so much motherfucking turbulence
Straight out the tube, right into your living rooms I came And kids flipped when they knew I was produced by Dre That’s all it took, and they were instantly hooked right in And they connected with me too, because I looked like them
That’s why they put my lyrics up under this microscope Searching with a fine tooth comb, it’s like this rope Waiting to choke, tightening around my throat Watching me while I write this, like, “I don’t like this note”
All I hear is, lyrics, lyrics, constant controversy Sponsors working round the clock to try to stop my concerts early Surely hip-hop was never a problem in Harlem, only in Boston After it bothered the fathers of daughters starting to blossom
So now I’m catching the flak from these activists when they ragging Actin’ like I’m the first rapper to smack a bitch or say “faggot, ” shit Just look at me like I’m your closest pal The posterchild, the motherfucking spokesman now, for-
White America, I could be one of your kids White America, little Eric looks just like this White America, Erica loves my shit I go to TRL, look how many hugs I get
White America, I could be one of your kids White America, little Eric looks just like this White America, Erica loves my shit I go to TRL, look how many hugs I get
So to the parents of America, I am the Derringer Aimed at little Erica to attack her character The ringleader of this circus of worthless pawns Sent to lead the march right up to the steps of Congress And piss on the lawns of the White House
To burn the – and replace it with a Parental Advisory sticker To spit liquor in the faces of this democracy of hypocrisy Fuck you, Ms. Cheney Fuck you, Tipper Gore Fuck you with the freest of speech This Divided States of Embarrassment will allow me to have Fuck you
Hahaha, I’m just playing, America You know I love you
Walt investigates a death by poison in this gripping novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Cold Dish and Dry Bones, the second in the Longmire Mystery Series, the basis for LONGMIRE, the hit Netflix original series
Fans of Ace Atkins, Nevada Barr and Robert B. Parker will love Craig Johnson, New York Times bestselling author of Hell Is Empty and As the Crow Flies, who garnered both praise and an enthusiastic readership with his acclaimed debut novel featuring Sheriff Walt Longmire, The Cold Dish, the first in the Longmire Mystery Series, the basis for LONGMIRE, now on Netflix.
Now Johnson takes us back to the rugged landscape of Absaroka County, Wyoming, for Death Without Company. When Mari Baroja is found poisoned at the Durant Home for Assisted Living, Sheriff Longmire is drawn into an investigation that reaches fifty years into the mysterious woman’s dramatic Basque past.
Aided by his friend Henry Standing Bear, Deputy Victoria Moretti, and newcomer Santiago Saizarbitoria, Sheriff Longmire must connect the specter of the past to the present to find the killer among them.
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This was a cracking good read. It’s one of those books that was just so easy to read and I flew through it. After the first book I’ve now gotten over the differences between the book and TV show and just enjoying this new version of the same characters. I still picture the actors faces though when reading.
The standout from this book is the humour. Walt is very self-deprecating and has a very wry attitude to everything that happens to him – the bad and good equally! Vic also adds to this considerably. I’m definitely looking forward to the 3rd installment.
Narcotics office Cal Moore’s orders were to look into the city’s latest drug killing. Instead, he ends up in a motel room with a fatal bullet wound to the head and a suicide note stuffed in his back pocket.
Working the case, LAPD detective Harry Bosch is reminded of the primal police rule he learned long ago: don’t look for the facts, but the glue that holds them together.
Soon Harry’s making some very dangerous connections, starting with a dead cop and leading to a bloody string of murders that wind from Hollywood Boulevard to the back alleys south of the border. Now this battle-scarred veteran will find himself in the centre of a complex and deadly game – one in which he may be the next and likeliest victim.
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Loved this, it’s Bosch at his best, fighting hard to get to the truth and giving the finger to the brass on the way. The author really builds Harry here as the lone wolf but also betrays his lonely side through his attraction to two different women. His back story is filled in quite significantly and we get to know the man behind the man.
the idle cyclist 