Book Review: The Song Rising by Samantha Shannon

The Song Rising sounds awkward to me. Maybe This Song Rising.

Following a bloody battle against foes on every side, Paige Mahoney has risen to the dangerous position of Underqueen, ruling over London's criminal population. 

But having turned her back on Jaxon Hall, and with vengeful enemies still at large, the task of stabilising the fractured underworld has never seemed so challenging.

Little does Paige know that her reign may be cut short by the introduction of Senshield, a deadly technology that spells doom for the clairvoyant community and the world as they know it.

This is the third book in The Bone Season series (I have reviewed the previous ones if you're new to the series The Bone Season and The Mime Order), so spoilers for the first two. This is the first of the novels that I've listened to on audiobook. The voice actor,  Alana Kerr Collins does a pretty good job of capturing Paige's voice and does all of the other books so no jarring changes (and hopefully none in the future).

Despite, liking Collins it took me a while to finish this book. It technically took me eight months to read this book exactly according to my Goodreads. 20.9.2017 to the 20.5.2018 for a book that's twelve hours and a bit long. I got to the Chapter 7/25% in by 31st of December and didn't properly go back till May. I just didn't want to. I went after other audiobooks, I wasted time repeatedly going through the oddest and rubbish opinions my local library has (it's rubbish for me, there's like no fantasy or horror of any kind), instead of listening to this book already downloaded to my phone.

Though, with the next novel not coming out till 2020 so not like it a big deal, with a planned six books from the start, I do wish they had been coming out more frequently. I don't think its time, more the last of pacing. The start of the book is political stuff as Paige recovers and takes control of the Mime Order.

In terms of world-building, we get to see more of other Scion control locations and what has gone down in the past. That was interesting and seems to be more where the series is going.

We get new characters that are fine, though once again I couldn't say who for sure was actually introduced in this book. The old characters do a lot of searching. I didn't feel that connection to them this book.

Slight Spoiler, Highlight to see: I was also half convinced that Shannon was going to kill off a main character and did not care. Half-convinced in I thought she just might do it.

I had completely forgotten that Paige is still only meant to be like 19 when all this shit is going down. I guess that's because of the time that takes for the books to be written and I've been slowly ageing and ageing away from Paige. Though, she was already in the future so she was always going to be the youngest of us two.

The ending is quite a cliffhanger, in tune with the other books. I'm kinda disappointed due to what's been set up for the last book, but I also get the choice.

Overall, I give this book 3/5 stars for Gaelic Dungeons. This novel was okay once I actually listened to it. I might just wait until the series is finished before picking more novels. I want to know what happens, but all at once might work better.


I paid for this book with my own damn money thing time. I probably would have request it off NetGalley if I had saw it.

Book Review: Fleshmarket by Nicola Morgan

Fleshmarket does not contain cannablism. Only Jokes about Cannabism,

"Footsteps echoed through the towering corridors as the woman walked...followed by her silent family. No One could touch her. She touched none of them. She was different. Robbie, young as he was, felt it...had felt her pain as if it was his. It had burned him and left its mark. The mark was the empty space where his real mother had been. The place where she had left him.'

It is Edinburgh, 1828 and Robbie is haunted by the horror of his mother's death at the hands of the famous surgeon, Dr Robert Knox. The Operation was intended to save her life. Instead it brought her intolerable pain before it killed her. Now her family is torned apart, and living in appalling poverty. A desperate Robbie is intend on Revenge on Knox. But how far is he prepared to go - and what will he lose in the process?


This is a book I wanted to read since 5th Nov 2007 when I heard about, brought it 7 years later and read it almost 10 years later. It sounded cooler, I tried to buy when I heard about it, but I don't think I had enough money on me. The lady selling the books also seem confused that I would want that one also.

So this book is about Robbie who blames his family's poverty on real historian person Dr Robert Knox. The book goes during the birth of Modern Medicine, as in they didn't know about bacteria and inflections yet. Nor much about the Human body as no one was willing to have their body cut for science as religion says that you need your body to rot for God for some reason.

This book does have lot questioning of God, because of the time period and the list of bad things that have happened to our main character. It's a few pages of the book, and think is reflective of the time the book is set. The bodies rotting for god does come into play of the plot. If you recognize Doctor Know, then you probably guess how it relates. I didn't and strangely I never guess what a book called Fleshmarket set in 19th century would involved such a famous Edinburgh thing so I will leave you to discover it or already know.

I think a big problem is that Robbie is a bit desperate to blame Knox for his problems that it comes across as dumb. Yes, he 14 and hormonal, but there's several "error of my ways" moments that happen in this book. He also abandons his 8 yr old sister several times, making him unlikable.

Overall, I give this book 3.5/5 stars for bread barrow. I prefer Nicola Morgan's The Highwayman's Footsteps series better than this book. It was okay, I don't know if Young me would have liked it better. If more a fan of historian fiction involving real people then this might be the book for you.

To Edinburgh Again

I come to you from the past to tell you a tale of wore and wonder. That sure would be a great intro if I had anything to follow that up with.

I am currently on my way to Edinburgh. Sadly, not for the first day of the Edinburgh International Book Festival. I will not be stalking David Levithan. Instead I will be at screening of films that have been shortlisted and should have something about light. Don't you be a stalker. I feel hardly any of ownership of this film, there like one short or something. I filmed it. If we win, it's bagging rights. Also answering questions we don't have answers to.

I plan to give you an update later on today.

UPDATE

We won....something. Most Original Idea which I had hardly anything to do with but screw it, lets just pretend to be like person who that demands an Executive Producer credit and did nothing of the sort. Of course, in this case I actually worked on the film and its hard to know how much you committed to something when it's a free for all of creativity and knowledge of science.

I could link you to the now award wining film and maybe I will as my last name is in the credits, which I never noticed. I actually thought it had it but it doesn't. I just saw my first name and scrimed over the rest. I would like to estabished that I live in the middle of nowhere and this just shows that I do in fact live in the South West of Scotland.

What does it matter? You can find anyone if you really try. We won a GoPro camera which I will now try find ways to use it in the next film. We didn't know that the other winners got anything before we got there, besides Best Film getting a trip to Bristol and the experience interviewed where one of the questions being asked to define a short film which is a horrifying to asked anyone because really, the only answer is it's shorter than a feature film and a story will tell you how long it has to be.

It was really interesting to see other people interpretation of the theme.

Our filmed shared a lot of things with the other films which was funny.

Woods was a recurring theme, though that might just because we all lived in Scotland and how far away are you ever away from the trees. I am looking at some now outside the window. Another film  had the same letter effect for their title and narration was a thing that we shared with of the films. Also science and space was a thing that most took into account.

There was also one that had them burning a Robot. Silly post-apocalyptic, people, mental doesn't burn. It's melts or chars. That was also one of the rare, taking light as metaphoric light in the darkness. It also opens with Dumbledore quote as though he is a real person: "Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light." 

Do I have a favourite? Hell no. I don't pick favourites, I just pick out the errors and cool elements which is why my reviews are a mess. Though, I liked our film better now that I've seen on a Cinema scene. You'll have to settle for YouTube.

 

I am now off to pretend to write or film something that can be edited into something interesting. Totally now going to sarcastically writing award winning film maker in my blurbs of everything. Na, no one would get the sarcasm.

Tramatic Open days

I went to an Open day for one of the university I'm interesting in attending. It was a problematic process getting there. I had to get up at 3.40 to catch the bus to get there. However, I only fell asleep at 11pm something and somehow slept through my alarm. Actually, I think I turned it off in my sleep. I'm a person who does that.

So we missed the first bus, we just missed the seconded bus because I had confused its time with the first bus we had missed. So we chased the bus and finally caught up with it an hour later. Way to go us.

Once we finally got into the city, we had to find where we were going as we first came across the the uni library and thought it was where we were meant to be. It wasn't there probably should have signs to point you in the right direction, considering they knew people would be visiting from different places and not know the city at all. Frankly, I don't know the street name for the nearest town to where I live.

I had a terrible hot chocolate and we eventually found the right building. We wait in line for a while, but due to it being "Over-subscribled" my mother couldn't go into the talk with me (I had to actually send her away.) I found out the horrifying fact that the course apparently only has 8-10 people on it. Small she said. Someone asked how many people apply and the tutor refused to answer. She said she didn't want to horrify us. Well, too late because there was more than ten people in the room and that talk had been given two times already (on another open day) and there was another that day. That probably 100-160 people who at at least showed up to the open day for the course. That information alone is horrifying. I really don't get why that would put people off applying or making that journey.

OMG, 10 people is tiny. Also they like having a lot of international students. HAHAHA *laughs manically whilst rocking self forward and backwards for hours*

Still applying because there isn't another good option anyway. Who knows I might be in that ten. *laughing and rocking begins again* I once won a contest for my drawing of my dream room and who knows how many probably didn't enter that.

 The worst part is I was already anxious about my portfolio. I have footage but nothing edited. I have a few ideas but not sure if any of them are good. I know what I want to do and I know its a competitive industrial but I didn't think the training would be that competitive. It was my favourite but I can't honestly plan to get in. It's contest and who knows what they will think of me.

I guess the worst part of creative careers is that any rejection is a rejection of your soul. * The laughing and rocking begins again but tears are clear to falling down checks*

I have the writer answer of saying it's all experience to draw on. *a single tear escapes this time, hints of past trauma*

I also got a grant for driving lessons and tests so YAY! Booked my theory test so that's happening. I brought things I shouldn't of have today. I've also decided not to make BookTube videos (the video even went up saying so) for a while, I just don't to have that self inflicted pressure to create when I have more important pressure to create something I could use as a portfolio.

Now I'm off to make a Big Tall Wish and try my best to believe in magic.