Christmas Presents

The tradition in Norway is to open presents on christmas eve, and now all the gifts are opened. I had already gotten a digital camara from my family, so I wasn't expecting too many presents. i did get some books though, so I have a lot to read in the near future. From my parents I received Renegade's Magic, the third book in Robin Hobb's Soldier Son trilogy. As I have read the other two books and liked them, I can't wait to open this book. From a friend I received Gardens of the Moon, by Steven Erikson. From my brother I received an omnibus containing five of Wilbur Smith's books. I have never read anything by Steven Erikson, and only one book by Wilbur Smith, so I'm looking forward to discovering new authors. Reviews will follow as soon as I read the books.

I have also been reading a lot in Baudolino, and so far I love the book. I love Eco's way of writing, and his knowledge of the historical periods he writes from. If you are interested in historical fiction, you should definelately check out Umberto Eco. More on this book will come when I'm finished (hopefully tonight or tomorrow).

Well, Christmas eve is almost over in Norway, I have loved having a day off work. Tomorrow it's back to work. My next day off is the 28th, other than that I will be working every day until at least the 2nd of january. Until next time

cya

Finished with Liveship Traders

Today I woke up early and headed to work, only to find out there was a mix-up and I wasn't supposed to work anyways. So I had a day with no plans at all, which left a lot of time for reading, which suited me perfectly. I have been working a lot lately, and haven't slept as much as I wanted to, so I have been very tired. So most of the day was spent on the couch, reading or napping.

I managed to finish Ship of Destiny, the last book in the Liveship Traders trilogy, and I must say the ending was just superb. The whole series has been very good, and the ending completely complemented that. All the different plots and characters got interwoven into a great and believeable finale, leaving me very satisfied. It definately is the sign of a good book when I can't decide whether to quickly finish it to discover what happens to the characters I have come to love or to read it slowly just to enjoy it longer. These books will definelately be read again in a year or two.

I have now started on Perdurabo: The Life of Aleister Crowley, a biography about Aleister Crowley. I have always felt that Crowley has been misunderstood by most people. He is viewed as a satanist and even the Great Beast, 666, but in my mind he was not evil, only a man willing to explore different religions and make up his own mind about what to do in his life. Anyways, whatever he was, I find it interesting to read about his life, to see where he was coming from and how he chose to live his life. I haven't gotten very far in the book yet, but I already find it very interesting.

Christmas is also coming up fast, yesterday I bought christmas presents for friends and family, deciding this year to get books for most of them. I love walking through bookstores, browsing through books. Buying books is fun, even if they are not for me.

Now I'm gonna have to write up my resyme, as I'm planning to apply for a new job in January. I'm currently working at 7-Eleven, but planning to find a job more relevant to my finance degree. Until next time

cya

Finally finished

Yesterday I finished Mad Ship, the second book in Robin Hobb's Liveship Traders trilogy. The book finished in style, putting the chararacters in new and tricky spots and leaving the reader to ponder how things can turn out by the end of the third book. What I really loved about this book was how it, concerning some characters, totally changed the readers feelings towards them. The characters are pitted against each other in new and interesting ways, and a happy ending for all the protagonists seems unlikely. The character development is also very good. The characters are in no way static person, but evolve and develop throughout the books in a believable way. I most certainly recommend this book.

I have now begun on the third book in the trilogy,Ship of Destiny, with great expectations. I expect a grand finale to the trilogy. Luckily I don't work as much this week, leaving more room for reading. Yesterday, I did my 10th day in a row of working, which has left me very tired. Well, well. Tonight it's time to party as my best friend just finished his exams for this semester. Hopefully it will be a good night. Until next time

cya

Liveship Traders

Ship of Magic is finished, and I have started on the second book in the trilogy: Mad Ship. Unfortunelately I haven't been able to read as much as I wanted to since I just started working after three years off due to 'studies'. Strange how tired you can get from work when you're not used to it.

Mad Ship continues where Ship of Magic left off and, in my opinion, is just as good. The characters you have come to love get thrown into bad situations and I find myself wondering if they are able to make things right and if the trilogy will have a happy ending. Also, the scope of the second book is a bit bigger, introducing new characters and making the book not only about the Vestrit family, but about the whole town. The book is certainly more political than the first one. The book does not disappoint though, I certainly recommend it.

Cya

Ship of Magic

Haven't finished Ship of Magic yet, but it's coming along really fast. This book is really good, with interesting and enjoyable characters and a good plot, although the story could progress a bit faster in the beginning. What really hooked me on this book though was the characters. They seem very real and I instantly connected with them. Whether I liked the characters or despised them, they kept the story going and made the book interesting and hard to put down. I have always been a fan of the characters in Robin Hobb's books and constantly find myself thinking about them when not reading.

The book is about the liveship traders, merchants who use special ships made of wizardwood. These ships will come alive after a few generations, to be living beings of their own. The ships always form strong bonds with the family of their owners, usually unwilling to cooperate unless someone from the family is aboard the ships. In the story you meet one such ship, the Vivicia, owned by the Vestrit family.

As it turns out, many other people are after these ships and wants to own one themselves, but the liveships only sail with Liveship traders from the town of Bingtown. I won't go into too much detail about the story here, but I greatly recommend this book. It has a good plot and interesting and believable characters. Robin Hobb always delivers, and this book is no exeption.

cya

Mad Ship

Cosmic Trigger II is finished, and in retrospect (it was published in 1991) I have to say RAW was a bit optimistic about future technology. According to his estimates, we would now live for at least 200 years due to a longievity pill and we would also be starting to move to space-cities. Well, that hasn't happened yet, but it was still an interesting read.

I have started on Ship of Magic (The Liveship Traders, Book 1). Only a few chapters into the book yet so not much to say about it, but I will write my opinions as soon as I progress a bit more. It seems promising though (I have already read this book but that was years ago and I can't remember much).

I am a huge fan of Robin Hobb, having read her Farseer trilogy and Soldier Son trilogy (actually just the first two books, but I will come around to buying and reading the last soon), so I have high hopes for this trilogy as well. If you like fantasy, but haven't yet read Robin Hobb, I recommend you give her a shot.