Book Haul

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve managed to get my hands on more books than I expected in such a short time. Some purchased, an ARC, a Library find and a viking trilogy gifted to me by my dad (we are both viking-crazy when it comes to books). Been a good few weeks … now to get through them all!

 

Netgalley:

The Bone Ships by RJ Barker

For generations, the Hundred Isles have built their ships from the bones of ancient dragons to fight an endless war.
Then the dragons disappeared. But the battles for supremacy persisted.
When the first dragon in centuries is spotted in far-off waters, both sides see a chance to shift the balance of power in their favour. Because whoever catches it will win not only glory, but the war.

 

 

Library find:

The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons

As a bard’s apprentice, Kihrin grew up with tales of legendary deeds. He also steals, desperate to buy a way out of Quur’s slums. Then he raids the wrong house, he’s marked by a demon and life will never be the same again.

Kihrin’s plight brings him to the attention of royalty, who claim him as the lost son of their immoral prince. But far from living the dream, Kihrin’s at the mercy of his new family’s ruthless ambitions. However, escaping his jewelled cage just makes matters worse. Kihrin is horrified to learn he’s at the centre of an ancient prophecy. And every side – from gods and demons to dragons and mages – want him as their pawn. Those old stories lied about many things too, especially the myth that the hero always wins.

Then again, maybe Kihrin isn’t the hero, for he’s not destined to save the empire. He’s destined to destroy it.

 

Gifts:

Blood Eye by Giles Kristian

For two years Osric has lived a simple life, though he is feared and shunned for his mysterious past and blood-red eye. When raiders from across the sea ransack his village, Osric finds himself taken prisoner by their chief, Sigurd the Lucky.

Immersed in the Norsemen’s world and driven by their lust for adventure, Osric proves a natural warrior and forges a deep bond with Sigurd, who renames him Raven. But the Norsemen’s world is a savage one, where loyalty is often repaid in blood, and a young man must become a killer to survive…

Sons of Thunder by Giles Kristian

If you betray a Fellowship you are a dead man…

Raven and the Wolfpack plough the sea-road in pursuit of the Saxon traitor, Ealdred, who has left the Fellowship for dead and fled to the Frankish Emperor Charlemagne and the promise of untold riches. Sailing in search of revenge, the pagan Norsemen venture into the heart of a Christian empire that would wipe their kind from the face of the earth, a place where danger lies in wait around every bend of the great river up which they travel.
A young man with no memory and a blood-tainted eye, Raven has found friendship and purpose amongst this fierce band of warriors. Having proved himself in battle, he is now certain that Viking blood flows in his veins, but to survive this adventure, his cunning must be as sharp as his blade…

Odin’s Wolves by Giles Kristian

We lusted for an even greater prize: one that can never be lost or stolen or burnt…

Raven and his fellow Vikings have suffered. Good men have died. Hard-won treasure has been lost. But for these Norsemen, there is something more precious than gold or silver, and that is fame – for this is what a warrior leaves behind when he has breathed his last.

And so the brotherhood sail for Constantinople, the city they call Miklagard. There, it is rumoured, both riches and glory are to be found, but the journey takes them through unknown and dangerous waters – from the wind-whipped marshes of the Camargue to the treachery and faded glory of a once-mighty Rome.

For Raven and the Wolfpack there is a high price to pay for the fame they seek. Miklagard’s streets may seem paved with gold, but they also run with blood . . .

 

Audio Books:

Lies Sleeping by Ben Aaronovitch

Martin Chorley, aka the Faceless Man, wanted for multiple counts of murder, fraud and crimes against humanity, has been unmasked and is on the run.

Peter Grant, Detective Constable and apprentice wizard, now plays a key role in an unprecedented joint operation to bring Chorley to justice.

But even as the unwieldy might of the Metropolitan Police bears down on its foe, Peter uncovers clues that Chorley, far from being finished, is executing the final stages of a long-term plan.

A plan that has its roots in London’s 2,000 bloody years of history and could literally bring the city to its knees.

To save his beloved city, Peter’s going to need help from his former best friend and colleague – Lesley May – who brutally betrayed him and everything he thought she believed in. And, far worse, he might even have to come to terms with the malevolent supernatural killer and agent of chaos known as Mr Punch….

Lancelot by Giles Kristian

The legions of Rome are a fading memory. Enemies stalk the fringes of Britain. And Uther Pendragon is dying. Into this fractured and uncertain world the boy is cast, a refugee from fire, murder and betrayal. An outsider whose only companions are a hateful hawk and memories of the lost.

Yet he is gifted, and under the watchful eyes of Merlin and the Lady Nimue he will hone his talents and begin his journey to manhood. He will meet Guinevere, a wild, proud and beautiful girl, herself outcast because of her gift. And he will be dazzled by Arthur, a warrior who carries the hopes of a people like fire in the dark. But these are times of struggle and blood, when even friendship and love seem doomed to fail.

The gods are vanishing beyond the reach of dreams. Treachery and jealousy rule men’s hearts and the fate of Britain itself rests on a sword’s edge.

But the young renegade who left his home in Benoic with just a hunting bird and dreams of revenge is now a lord of war. He is a man loved and hated, admired and feared. A man forsaken but not forgotten. He is Lancelot.

Set in a fifth-century Britain besieged by invading bands of Saxons and Franks, Irish and Picts, Giles Kristian’s epic new novel tells – through the warrior’s own words – the story of Lancelot, that most celebrated of all King Arthur’s knights. It is a story ready to be re-imagined for our times.

Luther: The Calling by Neil Cross

Meet Detective Chief Inspector John Luther. He’s a murder detective. He’s brilliant; he’s intense; he’s instinctive. And yet there are rumours that DCI Luther is bad – not corrupt, but tormented.

The first in a new series of novels featuring DCI John Luther takes us into Luther’s past and into his mind. It is the story of the case that tore his personal and professional relationships apart, and propelled him over the precipice.

Metro 2033 by Dmitry Glukhovsky

The year is 2033. The world has been reduced to rubble. Humanity is nearly extinct and the half-destroyed cities have become uninhabitable through radiation. Beyond their boundaries, they say, lie endless burned-out deserts and the remains of splintered forests. Survivors still remember the past greatness of humankind, but the last remains of civilisation have already become a distant memory.

Man has handed over stewardship of the earth to new life-forms. Mutated by radiation, they are better adapted to the new world. A few score thousand survivors live on, not knowing whether they are the only ones left on earth, living in the Moscow Metro – the biggest air-raid shelter ever built. Stations have become mini-statelets, their people uniting around ideas, religions, water-filters, or the need to repulse enemy incursion.

VDNKh is the northernmost inhabited station on its line, one of the Metro’s best stations and secure. But a new and terrible threat has appeared. Artyom, a young man living in VDNKh, is given the task of penetrating to the heart of the Metro to alert everyone to the danger and to get help. He holds the future of his station in his hands, the whole Metro – and maybe the whole of humanity.