This Is the Story of -Eva-'s 13-in-13 - Bonus Thread

I've decided against having categories for my bonus and just do free-reading the rest of the year. I'm currently working on the short story collection USA Noir and am about to start A Dance with Dragons - when I'm done with that one, I'll be with the rest of the people who want George R. R. Martin to "write like the wind," even if it comes with a scolding from Neil Gaiman. :)

1. Past Reason Hated by Peter Robinson ♫ Finished November 1st
2. Blood Rites by Jim Butcher Finished November 20th ♫
3. Red Rising by Pierce Brown Finished December 9th
4. Wednesday's Child by Peter Robinson Finished December 11th ♫
5. A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin Finished December 19th
6. Preacher - Gone to Texas by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon Finished December 21st

Have fun with your bonus reads! I can't say that I blame you with not having categories. There are only a couple of months remaining, and if you have as wide of tastes as I do, you wouldn't get many read in each category anyway. It makes sense to lump them all together.

It's like a book vacation. Read what you want when you want as slow as you want. Enjoy!

Yay, free reading! :D

Hurrah! More Eva reading adventures! I have Past Reason Hated on deck as well. Will be interested to hear what you think of it.

Free reads = greatness. Enjoy!!!

First bonus done!



Bonus #1



Past Reason Hated by Peter Robinson

When an actress with a mysterious past is murdered, Inspector Banks and his team must sort out which of the many suspects, most of which feel guilty about her death, actually is the perpetrator. This installment in the series is slightly meandering with a huge amount of suspects, all of which are likely, but which are ruled out one by one through clever interviews, so since it's not an action-packed story, the tension comes from the puzzle which is slowly put together. There are more red herrings than you can shake a stick at, which gets a little frustrating, but it should do the job of keeping you from figuring out who really dunnit. The story takes place at Christmas and the cold weather creates a nice mood, but I did miss the regular descriptions of the lovely Yorkshire landscape.

Eva - So jealous from your last thread that you read Dept Q book 4! Jussi Adler-Olsen was true to his word that he was going to try to get the publisher to catch up a little faster in the US. Book 4 comes out here in December. I hope that means book 5 will become available next May.

Congratulations on completing your category challenge!

->8 luvamystery65:
That's good news! #4 was a great one! Unfortunately I've heard less than great about #5 so I'll adjust my expectations, but I'm expecting it to be well above par regardless. :)

Hej Eva! I just smiled at the traditional dancing girls ( They are so closely connected with you in my mind, I find myself assuming you're always sporting short-cut chain mail dresses) and want to throw my woo-hoo into the pile of congrats. Enjoy your bonus reads!

Have a great bonus round of reading!

->10 GingerbreadMan:
Yep, that's my day-wear! The people at work were a little awkward at first, but now I think they enjoy the jingle-jangle I make as I walk down the hall. :)

Just found your old thread (I'm months behind now!) but will comment here - glad you enjoyed Dafoe's Pirates and I'm definitely going to do a re-read of American gods for next year!

I have to ask . . . does the chainmail cut down on the backstabbing in the workplace? LOL.

Congratulations on finishing the challenge! I'm working on my second Pirates! book now, and they're a lot of fun. But yes, a bit "same-y", I suppose. Still, lots of ham and luxuriant beard jokes are better than poorly written drivel!

HAM NITE!!!! That's become a running joke in our household :)

Bonus #2



Blood Rites by Jim Butcher

Wizard-detective Harry Dresden does a favor for his vampire friend Thomas and tries to keep an entropy curse from killing again and, while he isn't entirely successful, Harry gains some knowledge into his own family history in return. This is a very good installment in an otherwise good series and the action is full-speed from the very beginning. The humor is there, the plot-twists are there, and the characters get to shine. The stakes are quite high too since Harry finds out something quite surprising and gains something much more important than just professional satisfaction. I do enjoy the way Butcher suspends his characters equidistant between reality and the magic world and somehow makes it all feel real. And, of course, there's the introduction of a new character, Mouse, who I am looking forward to seeing more of in future installments. If you are looking for entertaining urban fantasy, look no further (but start at the beginning of the series!) and if you enjoy audiobooks, James Marsters is a near perfect narrator for Harry's voice.

->13 psutto:
Looking forward to seeing what you think after the reread. How long ago since you read it the first time?

->14 BookLizard:
The battle-axe helps to dissuade people. :)

->15 LauraBrook:
They are quite a lot of fun, I'm just going to space the rest of them out when I read them - and possibly try them on audio, I think.

->16 rabbitprincess:
That's brilliant!

17> Glad you enjoyed Blood Rites. Mouse is a great and funny addition to the series. I loved the last line . . . still gives me giggles.

what number if blood rites? I think I read a few with Mouse in....

->19 BookLizard:
Yes! Pretty much the perfect way to end the book!

->20 psutto:
It's #6 - I think Butcher is already up to 14, so I hope there's a lot more Mouse to come. :)

Eva?

Hi Eva, hope all is well...

Bonus #3



Red Rising by Pierce Brown

Darrow, a lowly Red in the color-coded society of tomorrow, suffers the insufferable and joins with a group of rebels to rise up against the Golds and the other higher castes. I have to say I was quite impressed with this debut, especially since the book-world seems inundated with the Hunger Games/Pretties/Game of Thrones-clones, but, although partially a mix of all, this is also something very different. The world-building is very good and the characters flawed and believable, so much so that I have a hard time believing this is a debut novel. The author has a story-telling background, though, and I have to say I'm impressed with how he uses it. There's really only one drawback - it's the first of a trilogy and we'll have to wait a long time to see how it all ends. Looking forward to it, though. Very much!

Bonus #4



Wednesday's Child by Peter Robinson

Inspector Banks is following the leads on a dead body found in a mine while Superintendent Gristhorpe is investigating two fake social workers who have abducted a child, but the two cases soon turn out to have a close connection. This installment works at a slower pace than the others I've read, but that's because there's time spent on properly introducing Banks' coworkers since they play a larger part in this than before. As is true with the rest of the series, this is a solid police procedural with an interesting, if not complex, plot and some very good characters. The audiobook reader, James Langton, does a great job with the voices and doesn't dumb down the Yorkshire dialect too much (one of the previous installments has a truly horrific reader, so I'm very grateful Langton took over).

->22 luvamystery65: & 23
Thanks you guys! Yes, I am still alive, but have been a bad LT-er for a while. Lots of stuff going on IRL. Work is getting better, but not less crazy. I only have 6 more workdays left, though, and then I'm off for the rest of the year - yey! Hopefully will manage a road-trip or two in that time. Also, my best friend who travels about 10 months out of the year for work is home for the holidays, so we have been playing catch-up. I have been reading, but not as much as I would have wanted. Am nearing the end of A Dance with Dragons, but since the next installment isn't out, it's with some trepidation I finish. :) So, alive and kicking! The plan is to sort out the group reads and the other stuff on the 2014 group-page this weekend - we'll see how that goes... :) Now off to read the threads I've been missing!

Glad to hear all is well, Eva! I understand the trepidation you feel finishing up A Dance of Dragons. I just finished Storm of Swords and am going to try to follow Leigh Butler's read-a-long on Tor for the next two books. I'm hoping that, if I can drag the reading out this way, I won't be waiting forever for the sixth book. I'm not sure my willpower is strong enough to do this, though.

->27 mathgirl40:
It's hard to resist - I do so want to know what happens with all the characters!

Eva glad all is well.

James Langton is a fabulous narrator. He did the narration for The Prydain Chronicles and he was excellent with all the characters.

I do so want to know what happens with all the characters!

Maybe Martin will surprise everyone and NOT kill off a major character. ;-)

Hurray for catching up with friends! And I hope your last few work days go by quickly. It's been mildly crazy at our office too as clients want to get stuff done and dusted before they go away for Christmas. Nice review of the Robinson!

Yay! Hi!

Took a book bullet with Red Rising, Eva, and since it will take me so long to actually get around to it, the author may well have completed the trilogy by the time I start it!

I remember when I was reading the Alan Banks series, I was going along enjoying it well enough, but somewhere around Wednesday's Child or the next book, Dry Bones That Dream I felt the author had elevated the series and it was becoming something special.

->29 luvamystery65:
That's good to know for when it's time for a reread.

->30 BookLizard:
Yeah, right, I don't think anyone believes that. :)

->31 rabbitprincess:
Yeah, us too - I'm not looking forward to next week's workload, but we'll get a proper break over the holidays, so I'll happily stick it out for that.

->32 andreablythe:
Hello back!!! :)

->33 DeltaQueen50:
I highly recommending Red Rising! I do hope the next installments keep the same standard - if they do, this'll be one of those trilogies that stand the test of time.

Stopping by and starting the countdown for your holidays!

BB for me too! I'll have to keep an eye out for Red Rising.

Eva - The neighboring county has 18 copies of Red Rising on order but I may wait until there is a release date for the sequel before I read it. I get too stressed waiting around for these books to come out. lol

Oy vey, I haven't been around in a while - and I'm only stopping by quickly now to wish all of you a Merry Christmas!! On the schedule for today is baking and cooking and running around in general and after the holiday, I'm off for a bit of a road trip. Hope to check in properly on all of you soon! Happy reading!

I'll leave you with a pic from my walk this morning - perfect Christmas weather! :)

Happy holidays Eva! Enjoy your trip. The weather looks lovely!

Merry Christmas Eva! Thanks for all the wonderful hosting you do.

Merry Christmas! Happy baking :)

Nice picture.

Happy holidays!

All the best for the holiday season, Eva. Enjoy your trip.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Eva!

Happy New Year!

Hi, Eva,

I have been very remiss at visiting threads of others this year, but I did want to stop by to wish you a Happy New Year. I was just thinking of you since my husband just finished (and thoroughly enjoyed) The Stone Cutter by Swedish author Camilla Läckberg. I thought of you immediately - because you're the only Swede I "know". Ha!

Hope all is well with you. Have a safe and terrific road trip.

Bonus #5



A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin

This installment is a second part of A Feast for Crows in that it deals with almost the same time-span, but follows the characters on the Wall and across the narrow sea, with the addition of some of the characters who didn't get to have a voice in Feast. Still an engaging story with lots of action, but there is an enormous number of narrators in this one and they sometimes get very confusing to keep track of. I'm now "caught up" with the publication of the series, so I'm officially joining the group of people who are waiting for a new installment. My favorite character is in dire straits at the end of this one, though, so I really hope Martin gets a move on!

Bonus #6



Preacher Vol. 01: Gone to Texas by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon

Accidentally possessed by a supernatural creature, ex-preacher Jesse teams up with his former girlfriend and an Irish vampire to journey across the US in order to find, quite literally, the God who has abandoned Heaven. I have to say, I was somewhat baffled by this in the beginning, but very soon begun to love it, mainly because, despite the blood and gore and violence, Jesse is inherently a very moral character (albeit with slightly iffy ethics) and he has a lot to say without getting preachy (no pun intended). It's very clever without getting pretentious and also extremely funny - the characters are really carrying their weight in that sense. Looking forward to continuing the series.

Thank you all for the greetings - appreciated!! Had an amazing trip. Highlight was sitting on the beach in Big Sur and spotting a school of whales playing in the bay - too cool!

I have now (well, last year, actually) officially finished my 2013 - a few days late, but still. Onwards to 2014! :)

I wasn't that into Preacher. The racism (even if it was just the characters) was a little too much for me . I liked Vol 2 better, but not enough to continue the series.

->51 andreablythe:
I think it was so engaging to me because it was so different from what I had expected - I like being kept on my toes. Hopefully, I'll enjoy the next installments too.

My brother loves them, so you may, too. :)

God fortsättning, Eva! (You know I just love that expression)

>24 -Eva-: sounds a bit like Shades of grey in its setup. Then again, colorcoding your dystopias is perhaps not that unusual :)

Glad you enjoyed Preacher. I think that if you liked the first then you should also be partial to the rest.

->54 GingerbreadMan:
Detsamma! Haven't gotten to Shades of Grey yet, but knowing Fforde, I'm guessing it's a lot punnier.

->55 AHS-Wolfy:
If the rest are as surprising as this one, I'm in!

Hi Eva! Greetings!

I know this thread is from 2014, but I had to see if anyone I "know" has read the Preacher series by Garth Ennis. You are the only one I found so far. A neighbor donated the whole 9-book series to my Little Free Library. I glanced through the first book, and was horrified by what I read. Then I went back to reread it a little more carefully, and I fell in love with it. Go figure! I'm finished seven of the books and only have two more to go. It is so well done if you can get past what to many would be offensive. I found it original, thought-provoking, artistically amazing, cynical. darkly humorous, and pointing fingers in all the right places. No wonder this series won awards. I can't wait to see how it ends! :D

I remember how fun the Category Challenge was, but I don't have time for any more challenges now!

Bye!