Books 30-36
Mar. 24th, 2022 12:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lavendersparkI tried another audio book. I think this format just doesn't work for me, I don't plan on listening to any more. The book was The Metamorphosis Gregor Samsa, a traveling salesman, wakes up one morning and discovers that he's transformed into a giant cockroach (or some similar oversized, insect-like vermin). He realizes he's missed his train, and gets acquainted with his awkward new body as he worries about his stressful salesman job. The story itself was interesting and this was more engaging than the other audio books I've tried. Its written well enough that by the end I felt bad for a cockroach, so that's a good sign.
I finished the last of my backlog of series to complete (or at least the ones I could complete using my unlimited free trial) with the Darkness of the Living Forest series.
Ascent of Darkness The deadly blight spreads. The Order of Valxiron resurfaces. The Dark One of Altarea will rise anew.
In the heart of Tir-na-Alathea, Aedon and Lief finally make it to the sanctuary of the Queen’s court. But, Queen Solanaceae is not the benevolent ruler Lief hoped for. Thrust into peril once more, duty binds Aedon and Lief to the Queen of the woodland realm. They must return to the heart of the darkness in Lune to discover what dangerous truth lies there and to face that peril with fire and song—if it does not devour them first.
Deep in Pelenor’s eastern mountains, dragon rider Vasili is a prisoner of an enemy that ought to be long dead—the Order of Valxiron. If he is to stand any chance of freedom, he must serve, but the Order will see him punished for the sins of his forefathers first. Vasili walks a dangerous path of loyalty and treachery under the punishing attentions of Morrigan of House Mallory. He will escape… if he survives her.
Strands of fate weave together unknowingly, as an old enemy rises—but those who stand against him may be far too late to save themselves.
Purge of Flame and Song The Dark One rises. Altarea will serve - or it will burn.
The Order of Valxiron disappeared, but General Elyvia of the Winged Kingsguard is no fool. With their Grandmasters and Oracle living, not to mention holding a priceless relic of immeasurable power, the Order poses the greatest threat in a generation.
That is until Valxiron's dark power stirs.
The woodland elves of Tir-na-Alathea muster for war. Aedon and Lief are amongst their number, and desire nothing more than their freedom, yet they remain bound to serve Queen Solanaceae to whatever end. An end that may bring about their own destruction, if the Queen is not careful.
With the Order of Valxiron's whereabouts unknown, Oracle-in-training Morrigan becomes Pelenor's greatest bargaining chip - but Vasili is determined that she not be beyond redemption or salvation. Can he protect her from those who will break her to gain the information they need at any cost...and can he protect himself from her?
War comes. Perhaps the last war. One that will see the Dark One cast down for eternity...or seated forevermore in dominion over all Altarea. This is a well done fantasy series. The world building is fantastic and the characters are well rounded. I enjoyed the journey of each of the characters as they all played their part in the war. I would love to see more of this universe.
A friend recommended that I read the Four Horsemen series, so I found it and read through the series in about a week.
Pestilence They came to earth—Pestilence, War, Famine, Death—four horsemen riding their screaming steeds, racing to the corners of the world. Four horsemen with the power to destroy all of humanity. They came to earth, and they came to end us all.
When Pestilence comes for Sara Burn’s town, one thing is certain: everyone she knows and loves is marked for death. Unless, of course, the angelic-looking horseman is stopped, which is exactly what Sara has in mind when she shoots the unholy beast off his steed.
Too bad no one told her Pestilence can’t be killed.
Now the horseman, very much alive and very pissed off, has taken her prisoner, and he’s eager to make her suffer. Only, the longer she’s with him, the more uncertain she is about his true feelings towards her … and hers towards him.
And now, well, Sara might still be able to save the world, but in order to do so, she'll have to sacrifice her heart in the process.
War The day Jerusalem falls, Miriam Elmahdy knows her life is over. Houses are burning, the streets run red with blood, and a traitorous army is massacring every last resident. There is no surviving this, especially not once Miriam catches the eye of War himself. But when the massive and terrifying horseman corners Miriam, he calls her his wife, and instead of killing her, he takes her back to his camp.
Now Miriam faces a terrifying future, one where she watches her world burn town by town, and the one man responsible for it all is her seemingly indestructible “husband”. But there’s another side to him, one that’s gentle and loving and dead set on winning her over, and she might not be strong enough to resist.
However, if there’s one thing Miriam has learned, it’s that love and war cannot coexist. And so she must make the ultimate choice: surrender to War and watch humankind fall, or sacrifice everything and stop him.
Famine Ana da Silva always assumed she’d die young, she just never expected it to be at the hands of Famine, the haunting immortal who once spared her life so many years ago. But if the horseman remembers her at all, he must not care, for when she comes face to face with him for the second time in her life, she’s stabbed and left for dead.
Only, she doesn’t quite die.
If there’s one thing Famine is good at, it’s cruelty. And how these blighted bastards deserve it. Try as he might, he can’t forget what they once did to him. But when Ana, a ghost from his past, corners him and promises pain for what he so recently did to her, she and her empty threats captivate him, and he decides to keep her around.
In spite of themselves, Ana and Famine are drawn to each other. But at the end of the day, the two are enemies. Nothing changes that. Not one kind act, not two. And definitely not a few steamy nights. But enemies or reluctant lovers, if they don’t stop themselves soon, heaven will.
Death He’s known by many names: Thanatos. Horseman. God’s last angel. And then, of course, there's the one I’m all too familiar with—
Death.
The day Death comes to Lazarus Gaumond’s town and kills everyone in one fell swoop, the last thing he expects to see is a woman left alive and standing. But Lazarus has her own extraordinary gift: she cannot be killed—not by humans, not by the elements, not by Death himself.
She is the one soul Death doesn’t recognize. The one soul he cannot pry free from her flesh. Nor can he ignore the unsettling desire he has for her. Take her. He wants to, desperately. And the longer she tries to stop him from his killing spree, the stronger the desire becomes.
When Lazarus crosses paths with the three other horsemen, an unthinkable situation leads to a terrible deal: seduce Death, save the world. A hopeless task, made all the worse by the bad blood between her and Thanatos. But Death’s attraction to her is undeniable, and try though she might, Lazarus cannot stay away from that ancient, beautiful being and his dark embrace.
The end is here. Humankind is set to perish, and not even the horsemen can stop Death from fulfilling his final task.
Only Lazarus can. Overall, I enjoyed this series. Famine is my favorite of the set. I did not like War, I skipped a majority of it. I felt Death had some unnecessary story lines, but I liked the ending and how it wrapped up the series. TW, there is a lot of death, fighting, and brutality in each book. Death specifically deals with infant death.
I finished the last of my backlog of series to complete (or at least the ones I could complete using my unlimited free trial) with the Darkness of the Living Forest series.
Ascent of Darkness The deadly blight spreads. The Order of Valxiron resurfaces. The Dark One of Altarea will rise anew.
In the heart of Tir-na-Alathea, Aedon and Lief finally make it to the sanctuary of the Queen’s court. But, Queen Solanaceae is not the benevolent ruler Lief hoped for. Thrust into peril once more, duty binds Aedon and Lief to the Queen of the woodland realm. They must return to the heart of the darkness in Lune to discover what dangerous truth lies there and to face that peril with fire and song—if it does not devour them first.
Deep in Pelenor’s eastern mountains, dragon rider Vasili is a prisoner of an enemy that ought to be long dead—the Order of Valxiron. If he is to stand any chance of freedom, he must serve, but the Order will see him punished for the sins of his forefathers first. Vasili walks a dangerous path of loyalty and treachery under the punishing attentions of Morrigan of House Mallory. He will escape… if he survives her.
Strands of fate weave together unknowingly, as an old enemy rises—but those who stand against him may be far too late to save themselves.
Purge of Flame and Song The Dark One rises. Altarea will serve - or it will burn.
The Order of Valxiron disappeared, but General Elyvia of the Winged Kingsguard is no fool. With their Grandmasters and Oracle living, not to mention holding a priceless relic of immeasurable power, the Order poses the greatest threat in a generation.
That is until Valxiron's dark power stirs.
The woodland elves of Tir-na-Alathea muster for war. Aedon and Lief are amongst their number, and desire nothing more than their freedom, yet they remain bound to serve Queen Solanaceae to whatever end. An end that may bring about their own destruction, if the Queen is not careful.
With the Order of Valxiron's whereabouts unknown, Oracle-in-training Morrigan becomes Pelenor's greatest bargaining chip - but Vasili is determined that she not be beyond redemption or salvation. Can he protect her from those who will break her to gain the information they need at any cost...and can he protect himself from her?
War comes. Perhaps the last war. One that will see the Dark One cast down for eternity...or seated forevermore in dominion over all Altarea. This is a well done fantasy series. The world building is fantastic and the characters are well rounded. I enjoyed the journey of each of the characters as they all played their part in the war. I would love to see more of this universe.
A friend recommended that I read the Four Horsemen series, so I found it and read through the series in about a week.
Pestilence They came to earth—Pestilence, War, Famine, Death—four horsemen riding their screaming steeds, racing to the corners of the world. Four horsemen with the power to destroy all of humanity. They came to earth, and they came to end us all.
When Pestilence comes for Sara Burn’s town, one thing is certain: everyone she knows and loves is marked for death. Unless, of course, the angelic-looking horseman is stopped, which is exactly what Sara has in mind when she shoots the unholy beast off his steed.
Too bad no one told her Pestilence can’t be killed.
Now the horseman, very much alive and very pissed off, has taken her prisoner, and he’s eager to make her suffer. Only, the longer she’s with him, the more uncertain she is about his true feelings towards her … and hers towards him.
And now, well, Sara might still be able to save the world, but in order to do so, she'll have to sacrifice her heart in the process.
War The day Jerusalem falls, Miriam Elmahdy knows her life is over. Houses are burning, the streets run red with blood, and a traitorous army is massacring every last resident. There is no surviving this, especially not once Miriam catches the eye of War himself. But when the massive and terrifying horseman corners Miriam, he calls her his wife, and instead of killing her, he takes her back to his camp.
Now Miriam faces a terrifying future, one where she watches her world burn town by town, and the one man responsible for it all is her seemingly indestructible “husband”. But there’s another side to him, one that’s gentle and loving and dead set on winning her over, and she might not be strong enough to resist.
However, if there’s one thing Miriam has learned, it’s that love and war cannot coexist. And so she must make the ultimate choice: surrender to War and watch humankind fall, or sacrifice everything and stop him.
Famine Ana da Silva always assumed she’d die young, she just never expected it to be at the hands of Famine, the haunting immortal who once spared her life so many years ago. But if the horseman remembers her at all, he must not care, for when she comes face to face with him for the second time in her life, she’s stabbed and left for dead.
Only, she doesn’t quite die.
If there’s one thing Famine is good at, it’s cruelty. And how these blighted bastards deserve it. Try as he might, he can’t forget what they once did to him. But when Ana, a ghost from his past, corners him and promises pain for what he so recently did to her, she and her empty threats captivate him, and he decides to keep her around.
In spite of themselves, Ana and Famine are drawn to each other. But at the end of the day, the two are enemies. Nothing changes that. Not one kind act, not two. And definitely not a few steamy nights. But enemies or reluctant lovers, if they don’t stop themselves soon, heaven will.
Death He’s known by many names: Thanatos. Horseman. God’s last angel. And then, of course, there's the one I’m all too familiar with—
Death.
The day Death comes to Lazarus Gaumond’s town and kills everyone in one fell swoop, the last thing he expects to see is a woman left alive and standing. But Lazarus has her own extraordinary gift: she cannot be killed—not by humans, not by the elements, not by Death himself.
She is the one soul Death doesn’t recognize. The one soul he cannot pry free from her flesh. Nor can he ignore the unsettling desire he has for her. Take her. He wants to, desperately. And the longer she tries to stop him from his killing spree, the stronger the desire becomes.
When Lazarus crosses paths with the three other horsemen, an unthinkable situation leads to a terrible deal: seduce Death, save the world. A hopeless task, made all the worse by the bad blood between her and Thanatos. But Death’s attraction to her is undeniable, and try though she might, Lazarus cannot stay away from that ancient, beautiful being and his dark embrace.
The end is here. Humankind is set to perish, and not even the horsemen can stop Death from fulfilling his final task.
Only Lazarus can. Overall, I enjoyed this series. Famine is my favorite of the set. I did not like War, I skipped a majority of it. I felt Death had some unnecessary story lines, but I liked the ending and how it wrapped up the series. TW, there is a lot of death, fighting, and brutality in each book. Death specifically deals with infant death.
no subject
on 2022-03-27 07:42 pm (UTC)We had to read Kafka at school, and I loved his Der Prozess (no idea what the English title is). It's unfinished, because he died before he could finish it, but I still loved the claustrophobic setting. It was perfect for my late-teen self. :) I suspect it might be a bit too dark for me these days. But Kafka did dark really well.
The Living Forest series sounds interesting! I'll check it out.
no subject
on 2022-03-29 06:20 pm (UTC)The Living Forest was great! There's another trilogy(?) that's set before the one I read. I read book one and liked it, I may try to read the rest.