Ticia's 2012 Reading Log

TiciaRoma · Post by **TiciaRoma** » Mon March 5th, 2012, 2:27 am

Elizabeth George

22. Believing the Lie, 624 pp.

Elizabeth George's latest Thomas Lynley mystery. Not HF, but quite enjoyable. Coincidentally, it is set in coastal Cumbria as are the Kathleen Herbert books I've been reading (Bride of the Spear). I happened to read BotS and this on the same day when each described the Bor coming in at full speed and drowning people in a key plot twist This one leaves me wanting the next one right away to find out

. Unfortunately, the pub date of this is 2012 and she takes two years between books.

Brenna · Post by **Brenna** » Mon March 5th, 2012, 1:34 pm

[quote=""TiciaRoma""]Steve Berry

16. The Charlemagne Pursuit

Not HF, but fast paced thriller where main character tries to uncover the mystery of a long lost US submarine which was on a mission to the Antarctic to discover the remains of Civilization One, hinted at in papers recovered from Charlemagne's tomb. A fun diversion.[/quote]

I'm listening to this on my ipod right now. I travel by car a bunch and these are great to distract me from the long road.

[quote=""TiciaRoma""]Jack Whyte

19. The Forest Laird: a Tale of William Wallace

I loved Whyte's Camolud books and was gad to see the first book in a new series. I'll also confess that I liked Braveheart, and yes, I know it's not historically accurate. This story is told in the first person by Wallace's slightly younger cousin starting when the two boys escape from English soldiers who kill the other members of the household. I liked this book. Whyte's story unfolds and allows the reader to understand how a frightened 10 year old grew up to be a patriot and champion of his homeland. It also had the story of his marriage to and life with Mirrin.[/quote]

I can't wait to read this because I loved his Camolud series.

TiciaRoma · Post by **TiciaRoma** » Mon March 5th, 2012, 2:58 pm

[quote=""Brenna""]I'm listening to this on my ipod right now. I travel by car a bunch and these are great to distract me from the long road. [/quote]

I always have a book on cd in my car, too. My public library has a great collection, tho' I think I've read all of the HF!

[quote=""Brenna""]I can't wait to read this because I loved his Camolud series.[/quote]

Were't they the best!? I'll forever imagine that this is just how things evolved in post Roman Empire Britain. These are on my re-read list.

I think we have similar taste in books except I LOVED Katherine. It was one of my first HF.

TiciaRoma · Post by **TiciaRoma** » Tue March 6th, 2012, 1:43 am

Kathleen Herbert

23. Queen of the Lightning, 255 pp.

#2 in Herbert's Northumbrian Trilogy, set in the early 7th C. I loved the first one (Bride of the Spear) and was disappointed that this one didn't pick up where the first one ended, but rather two generations later. That said, Herbert is such a good writer that I got engaged with this new story within the first few pages. Very happy to have #3 waiting in the wings.

annis · Post by **annis** » Tue March 6th, 2012, 2:21 am

I love Kathleen Herbert's Cumbria trilogy. The third, Ghost in the Sunlight does follow the second book, Queen of the Lightning more or less directly, being the story of Riemmelth's daughter Alchflaed. A few readers have found these stories too grim and violent, but I'm not sure what they thought life was like in the Dark Ages! It was no picnic, but a time of almost constant warfare and power struggles exacerbated by ongoing blood-feud.

TiciaRoma · Post by **TiciaRoma** » Tue March 6th, 2012, 4:37 am

[quote=""annis""]I love Kathleen Herbert's Cumbria trilogy. The third, Ghost in the Sunlight does follow the second book, Queen of the Lightning more or less directly, being the story of Riemmelth's daughter Alchflaed. A few readers have found these stories too grim and violent, but I'm not sure what they thought life was like in the Dark Ages! It was no picnic, but a time of almost constant warfare and power struggles exacerbated by ongoing blood-feud.[/quote]

Yes, Cumbria Trilogy seems a better name for it. I'm glad #3 follows more closely on the heels of #2; thanks for letting me know. I read an interview with KH where she said the second and third books were based much more on historical records than the first. She's quite impressive, really, learning Welsh so she could better understand medieval Welsh poetry and actually tramping the sites of the places where she set her books. I think it really comes through in her writing.

annis · Post by **annis** » Tue March 6th, 2012, 6:53 am

I don't think Kathleen Herbert's trilogy has an official series title - I have seen it described as both the Northumbria Trilogy and the Cumbria Trilogy - I guess you can take your pick

Carla · Post by **Carla** » Tue March 6th, 2012, 11:35 am

[quote=""annis""]I don't think Kathleen Herbert's trilogy has an official series title - I have seen it described as both the Northumbria Trilogy and the Cumbria Trilogy - I guess you can take your pick

[/quote]

Trifolium Books are thinking of calling it the 'Kingdoms of the North Trilogy' when they republish all three books later this year (blog post about the various names here http://trifoliumbooks.blogspot.com/2011 ... north.html if interested). I like the new label because it includes the Lothian settings in Bride of the Spear and the Pennine/Peak District settings in Ghost in the Sunlight as well as Cumbria and Northumbria. I tend to think of the three books as one stand-alone (Bride of the Spear) and one pair (Queen of the Lightning, Ghost in the Sunlight), because as you say, there's a jump of a generation or two between Bride of the Spear and Queen of the Lightning. (One of the things that attracted me to Eadwine's story in Paths of Exile is that it falls neatly into this gap in Kathleen Herbert's novels, so I felt that his story hadn't already been told). As Annis says, Ghost in the Sunlight follows on from Queen of the Lightning more or less directly, telling the story of the next generation. I'm glad you're enjoying these! They are among my favourites.

TiciaRoma · Post by **TiciaRoma** » Tue March 6th, 2012, 1:21 pm

[quote=""Carla""]Trifolium Books are thinking of calling it the 'Kingdoms of the North Trilogy' when they republish all three books later this year (blog post about the various names here http://trifoliumbooks.blogspot.com/2011 ... north.html if interested). I like the new label because it includes the Lothian settings in Bride of the Spear and the Pennine/Peak District settings in Ghost in the Sunlight as well as Cumbria and Northumbria. (One of the things that attracted me to Eadwine's story in Paths of Exile is that it falls neatly into this gap in Kathleen Herbert's novels, so I felt that his story hadn't already been told). As Annis says, Ghost in the Sunlight follows on from Queen of the Lightning more or less directly, telling the story of the next generation. I'm glad you're enjoying these! They are among my favourites.[/quote]

Even better for the series title. I'm so glad you mentioned Paths of Exile. I read and enjoyed it last fall. I think I'd like to re-read it now to place it more firmly in its temporal niche in my mind. I just spent fifteen minutes looking for it on my shelves only to remember that I have it on Kindle.

Brenna · Post by **Brenna** » Tue March 6th, 2012, 6:11 pm

[quote=""TiciaRoma""]I always have a book on cd in my car, too. My public library has a great collection, tho' I think I've read all of the HF!

Were't they the best!? I'll forever imagine that this is just how things evolved in post Roman Empire Britain. These are on my re-read list.

I think we have similar taste in books except I LOVED Katherine. It was one of my first HF.

[/quote]

I loved Katherine the first time I read it. Something about the reread was a bit off for me. It could have been my mood, it could have been the pressure of rereading it so I could get to something else..who knows. I was just annoyed by her this time around.

[quote=""TiciaRoma""]Kathleen Herbert

23. Queen of the Lightning, 255 pp.

#2 in Herbert's Northumbrian Trilogy, set in the early 7th C. I loved the first one (Bride of the Spear) and was disappointed that this one didn't pick up where the first one ended, but rather two generations later. That said, Herbert is such a good writer that I got engaged with this new story within the first few pages. Very happy to have #3 waiting in the wings.[/quote]

I really want to read these but my library doesn't have them and they are out of print. I'm hoping to pick them up when the rerelease them.