Precursor (Foreigner #4) by CJ Cherryh

The more I look at this series, the more I begin to realise how prescient Cherryh is in terms of socio-cultural world building – there are lessons for us that are relevant today. For the sake of those who're not invested in this gargantuan series, I'll keep my review short and sweet. 

Humans and the indigenous atevi are simply hardwired differently. But the humans are doing what humans in a post-colonial situation gone tits-up usually do – lean on their incredible sense of entitlement to make a fraught situation worse. And now, added to the mix, we have humans who've returned from an interstellar jaunt to lay claim to the atevi home world's natural resources and the space station orbiting the planet. Even worse, they're fleeing from a big bad from another solar system that may have followed them here.

The space station is a big point of contention. The humans abandoned it ages ago, and now the atevi want to lay claim to it – especially since they've seen the possibilities of space travel thanks to having been given access to the humans' technology. The big question is will everyone play nice (of course not!).

And we're once again walking in our interpreter/diplomat/spy's shoes as Bren, our intrepid paidhi, attempts to navigate this political minefield. As always, his loyalties are called into question – he's been working for the leader of the atevi's strongest political power for so long that he struggles to relate to humans. Yet he can never forget that he's not atevi. The lens with which he views his world is distorted, and at a time when the stakes couldn't be higher, this is a dangerous place to be.

As much as he'd like to remain impartial, he can't help but be drawn into the murky dealings, and things get dangerous, fast – especially when Bren thinks that he has a handle on things. He has some pretty nifty manoeuvrings to perform, and the tension in this instalment had me clawing at my seat. Nothing is ever easy, and everyone he knows – or thinks he knows – has a few spanners to throw at him. Trust, when it's most needed, is in short supply, which is a problem when each group suffers from the conviction that their way of doing things is the only way.

This is part political thriller, espionage, and good, old-fashioned space opera. Advice to any South Africans wanting to read Cherryh's books – they're hard to come by. Either listen to the audiobooks or visit Thriftbooks or Abe books.

Book Review: Remnant: The Palimar Saga: Book One by KR Solberg and CR Jacobson

It's not often that I hit a fantasy novel that's the perfect blend of intergenerational adventure, but KR Solberg and CR Jacobson have pulled together a compelling tale that finds that balance. Jon Therman and his family are smugglers, getting by in a land that staggers under the yoke of an oppressive Drawlen empire ruled by authoritarian immortals and their thugs.

And for the most, he's happy to be smuggling sunrock, and he and his wife are doing their best for their kids ... and maybe things would have continued like that indefinitely if it weren't for the fact that the nefarious immortals are sniffing around for Jon's kids. Because Reasons. I'm not going to spoil it for you.

While things get off to a relatively sedate start, stuff becomes unhinged quite quickly and the story picks up momentum as everyone pretty much gets scattered to the four quarters. And nothing peeves a parent more than having bad people threaten their brood – and hijinks ensue.

What stands out for me is the attention to detail with the worldbuilding. I am an unrepentant Tolkien nerd, so to have an author put so much effort into their setting really tickled me. And yeah, a rather large, diverse cast of characters, too, all of whom you quickly realise have complex backstories. And baggage. Booyeah! The authors throw readers in at the deep end, which I love. There's so much to discover. 

I listened to the audiobook version of this which was dual-narrated by Michael Kramer and Kate Reading (who're known for their reading of Brandon Sanderson's novels). Granted, this was my first time experiencing the pair, and while I liked Reading, I wasn't that sold on Kramer at the start (I'll admit I'm a Simon Vance fangrrrl.) But it's a treat having two immensely talented and experienced voice actors at the helm, so if audiobooks are your jam you so will not be disappointed.

But a word of warning – there is a large cast. So, if you struggle with names and stuff, maybe have a print or ebook handy so you can consult the appendix. This is flintlock adventure fantasy with familiar themes. I was thinking a lot about the old telly series Firefly in terms of the banter and the ease with which the characters interact with each other. I don't see enough of this in epic fantasy.

Even better, we see some non-human sentients like trolls and shapeshifters, all with complex backgrounds – which I always adore. The authors' style is easy to get into, solidly written and engaging, resulting in a series I will heartily recommend to anyone who wants an epic that features ordinary people thrust into extraordinary circumstances where they realise their heroic qualities.

Southern African Months & their Caterpillars

If were also one of those kids who collected caterpillars and fed them until they formed a chrysalis, purely for the joy of seeing them emerge as butterflies ... or kept silkworms ... or both ... then this is likely the book for you. Southern African Moths & their Caterpillars, by Hermann Staude, Mike Picker and Charles Griffiths is one of the more useful guides for any lover of creepy-crawlies or those irritating flutterers who end up in your wine glass on the stoep at night (true story).

While a bunch of the previous field guides I've reviewed have been somewhat on the small side, this one's got it just right. Surely, unless you're hiking in the bundus specifically to go moth-hunting, you're going to go to the trouble of carting this along and deal with the weight. It's a big book. But for your reference library, it's perfect.

Nice, clear images of the moths appear on the right-hand pages, numbered so that they correspond with the text information on the left-hand pages where we've got distribution maps, Latin and English names, a brief description, biology, habitat and description. It's just enough to get by so you can tell your mates you fished the feather elegant out of your vino the night before. Where possible, images of caterpillars have been included, and dog knows I've seen enough questions on my community WhatsApp group about the same weird-looking fuzzy caterpillars. This book will help you ID them with relative ease, without having to rush off and have fights with "experts" on the iNaturalist app.

Something else I learned, which I hadn't realised, is the incredible diversity and beauty of moths in this region. Yes, many are rather brown and drab but there are some real standout species, with special mention of the emperor moths. Also, I'd had no idea that we found the death's head hawkmoth (I first learnt about this watching The Silence of the Lambs) here in South Africa. A particularly awesome discovery for me was the Bietou Tip Concealer. Who comes up with these names? (That one ended up in my bath.)

This hefty tome also includes a helpful introduction that will help you figure out how to go about identification and also give an idea of regional distribution patterns, while also underscoring the important ecological niche these amazing little critters inhabit. I whole-heartedly recommend this one to all armchair conservationists.

Stein on Writing by Sol Stein

It's not often a book on writing that I jam into my head sticks, but Stein on Writing by Sol Stein is one of those that was so packed with *actual* useful advice that this is one of those almost biblical tomes on the craft that I keep recommending. Interestingly enough, I find my own method of approaching layered writing already is pretty much in line with how Stein teaches, so it wasn't as if I got something completely new. More like a refresher, really, and a reminder that I'm on the right path. (Which means I in all likelihood won't be the next BookTok sensation.)

Stein peppers his advice with anecdotes and tongue-in-cheek humour, and though he's clearly a beast from another era, much of what he says is still relevant today – except for the last chapter where he's busy plugging his writing software. I don't hear people talking about that anymore. Therein lies a cautionary tale for anyone pinning their hopes on big tech. Things are changing so fast that any book on the craft of writing is going to have to tread carefully to remain relevant.

Ah, heck, who'm I kidding? I don't use ChatGPT so I'm already irrelevant.

There's a part of me that feels that by and large the industry has shifted quite far from where Stein was at as editor, and it's also quite clear judging by his tone that he was... and I'll say it quite gently... full of himself. I don't think I would have enjoyed having him as my editor. Then again, I don't think he would have touched my writing with the soggy end of a barge pole considering what I write.

But that's not to say I can't learn from him – and he does offer up some nuggets if you can put up with the dross. And even reading the dross is entertaining. As a cultural object, this book definitely offers an interesting time capsule, and the one method that he did give in this book that I thought was worth its weight in rhodium was what he terms his 'triage' method of revising – something I've taken on board and teach to all my padawans. (You can ask me about it the next time I do a writers' workshop.)

Anyhow, this book is solid. It's an entertaining 'how to' that has some good points to make. If you can put up with Mr Stein himself. I suspect in real life his must have been insufferable. But he's quite dead, so I can say this without fear of reprisal. 

Cassiel's Servant by Jacqueline Carey

I've been a huge fan of Jacqueline Carey's writing since basically forever, and fell irrevocably in love with courtesan and spy Phèdre nó Delaunay the instant I read Kushiel's Dart. These days I suspect the books will likely fall under the banner of romantasy, but this was fantasy romance way before that term was every coined. I've been wanting to return to this alternative historical fantasy setting for years, so when Carey announced that she was writing the story from Joscelin's point of view, I was all over it.

Oh, Joscelin. [swoons]

If you know, you know.

Joscelin is a warrior-monk sworn to celibacy, so it's easy to imagine that he's less than thrilled when he's tasked with minding a courtesan, of all people. And Phèdre has a habit of finding herself in the midst of all manner of intrigue. As if her sensuality wasn't enough to drive the poor dear man to distraction.

I still intend to read the first three books back to back again. What I love about Carey's writing is that it's lush, filled with twisty intrigue, and plenty of sensuality that doesn't override the plot. She's built a fascinating alternative to Europe here that strikes me as having an almost gothic-baroque feel to it, for lack of better description.

Alexandre Dumas might be frowning at me right now. I don't care. This has the flavour of one of his stories, but with a bit more spice and less waffling.

At any rate, I remain forever one of Carey's minions, and the world of Terre' d'Ange will never lose its glamour for me. Horribly biased, I know, but I will always recommend these books.

The Collapsing Empire (The Interdependency #1) by John Scalzi

This is my introduction to John Scalzi's writing. I've been following him awhile now on social media, and I gel with his vibe, so it was good to get to see what he's writing is all about. The Collapsing Empire is a fine case of space opera, if this is something that you're in the mood for, and it it's fast-paced and absurdly funny. Of course this does mean that the characterisation falls a little by the wayside, but it's more the biting social commentary that kept me going.

The premise is simple – in a hyper-capitalistic society that is spread out across the stars, it stands to reason that being able to reach the most far-flung parts of the empire and communicate is rather important. It would be a pity if the method of transport through a figurative hyper-space were to fail...

But this is exactly what is happening, and those who control the information have a leg up on those who don't, and how they choose to deploy any advantage they have in the matter will of course send the story spiralling into all manner of directions.

Scalzi is witty, a keen observer of society and human nature, and for those reasons alone he's a treat to read. There's a kind of wry, acerbic wit imbued in some of the situations that had me smirking to myself while I read. 

We see this story from the point of view of three characters – a reluctant absolute ruler, a scientist who says it like it is, and a scion of a powerful trading family. All will be affected once the Flow implodes, and the society that everyone has, up until now, taken for granted and milked for riches without much though to the consequences, is coming to an end. Which is kinda prescient for what we're facing at present.

De Zoon van Dik Trom door Cornelis Johannes Kieviet

Ik ben bezig met het leren spreken en schrijven van Nederlands, dus vergeef me alstublieft de fouten in mijn spelling en grammatica. Ik heb dit boek op mijn Kindle-app gedownload, en gekozen als het eerste boek dat ik zou proberen te lezen. Dit is het verhalenbundel over het leven in een klein stadje en de energie waarmee een kleine jongen in de problemen komt met zijn vriendin. Dit boek is licht leesbaar en gemakkelijk te gebruiken voor mensen die de taal aan het leren zijn.

Almost Human by Lee Berger and John Hawks

I will admit straight-up that I'm terrified of caves, so there were parts of this book that had me kinda claustrophobic in a big way. But oh, what a wonderful read. I've been fascinated by the work done by archaeologists, anthropolgists, and palaeontologists since I was a wee lass, so Lee Berger's story in Almost Human (narrated by Donald Corren) about how he pulled together the team that discovered and described an early hominid and one of our ancestors – Homo naledi – was absolutely riveting.

What many of us often don't realise when we're watching a nature documentary is how much behind-the-scenes effort goes into these expeditions of literal blood, sweat, and tears at times. Lee Berger is a paleoanthropologist who has spent many years here in South Africa studying the ancient remains of our ancestors and near cousins, and he really digs deep into how he pulled his team together and how they faced and overcame the many challenges they encountered in their work.

What I love about his writing is that he not only comes across as a scientist who knows his stuff, but he tells a darned fine story, too – a rare combination. So his writing is very much accessible to those of us who may not be conversant in all the scientific terms. His approach of sharing his findings with the scientific world at large also goes contrary to the methods of many researchers who are not so forthcoming with their research – his attitude geared towards getting as much input as possible from those in the know.

The basic story of the H. naledi discovery is particularly fascinating because not only is the species a crucial, missing link in our understanding of human evolution, but also the the remains themselves were discovered in a practically inaccessible cave, making it an incredible challenge to not only analyse the site but to retrieve the remains for further study using a scientific method.

And for once this was an opportunity for women to shine – with young women researchers being the ones who had the physical characteristics that made them best suited to squeeze through the tight spots guys would struggle with and then still spend hours at a time at their work carefully retrieving the remains.

This was a thrilling account that turned, ahem, dry bones, into something exciting. 

All the Devils by Catelyn Wilson

Dark academia with serious gothic vibes is always my jam, so I was totally on board to give All the Devils by Catelyn Wilson a shot. We join Andy as she embarks on a mission to solve the mystery of her sister Violet's disappearance. Violet might apparently be dead and buried, I mean, heck, Andy even saw her body before she was interred. But one clue – a missing tattoo – has set Andy on Violet's footsteps that lead to the rather gloomy Ravenswood Academy that is bursting at the seams with secrets. And yes, a rather enigmatic love interest who has a Huge Secret.

As a reader, I enjoyed the mystery element, and most certainly the setting, and things do get rather out of hand in terms of the chthonic weirdness factor – and in a way that I found rather aesthetically pleasing. I did feel that the characterisation for Andy is a little thin on the ground in terms of interiority – she's very much in the present, but there's not enough sense of how she connects with a larger world in terms of parents and friends, and her past. So it's more or less like having a first-person viewpoint for the present, which is fine, but I could have used a bit more interconnectivity and layering. This is a fault I've found with quite a fair amount of YA, that has characters existing almost in a narrative vacuum. Not a dealbreaker here as I quite enjoyed the story. I also feel that as a main character, she could have been a bit more proactive, but then again, that's also just me. 

In terms of world building, this is all pretty generic on the surface mix-and-match – so nothing earth-shattering in terms of fresh takes on assorted standard mythologies. This may annoy some. Didn't blow me out of the water, but as stated earlier, I enjoyed the aesthetics, even if I'd have liked a deeper dive. It did mean, eventually that the pacing/suspensive payoff was a bit underwhelming for what was otherwise an enjoyable story.

The Book of Atrix Wolfe by Patricia A McKillip

Part of what I love about trawling my local secondhand bookstore, which reminds me rather a lot of the store that we see in the opening of The Neverending Story film that traumatised me as a child, is that I'll often find books there that won't stray to my local Wordsworth. The Book of Atrix Wolfe by Patricia A McKillip is one such, and I really wish I'd read her writing sooner.

McKillip sadly passed away in 2022, and I feel that she's one of the voices in fantasy fiction who is chronically underrated in the genre, and one I'll happily hold up next to the likes of Ursula K Le Guin and Tanith Lee. 

The Book of Atrix Wolfe is a lush, nuanced tale, and the real treat is really the way that she crafts her story – the poetry in each paragraph, the images, sights, and sounds that beg you to keep this book on your shelf to reread at a future date. The story itself is deceptively simple, involving a wizard who, in his hubris, wreaks great destruction that unleashes a darker magic, and a faerie queen who loses her husband and daughter, and how a young wizard must work to right an ancient wrong.

And it's McKillip's magic in describing the environment, food, and the smaller details of the lives of the folks in the kitchen of a great castle that shines for me. So much exquisite detail. This book is very much a primer for fantasy authors who wish to craft beautiful prose. Or for readers who wish to immerse in a slowly unfolding fairytale filled with awe and wonder to be savoured.

Sins of the Past by JD Franx

So, JD Franx is one of my recent discoveries off Audible, and while JRR Tolkien they are not, there's something to be said for their pacing and ability to hold an action-packed tale that is engaging, and that makes you care about the characters. Sins of the Past is a prologue for their The Darkness Within saga, and gives you the backstory and setup for Yrlissa Blackmist. She's an elven assassin and she's gone deep undercover. The only problem is, she's fallen in love, settled down, and started a family – while on the job.

This obviously presents a problem for not only those who deployed her, but also means that her family is now vulnerable to forces beyond their ken.

One of the bones that I do pick with fantasy is that often we don't see enough emotional conflict for characters who're constantly on the go with their adventures vs. their personal lives – so this is the kind of high stakes vs. personal stakes story that really introduced some great conflict. This being a prologue, it's more a teaser, really, and gives you a little background for a character without dumping reams of exposition on you. I'm most certainly invested in Franx's writing, and if you're looking for an accessible fantasy series, this is is one of them. Their writing is easy on the eye and ear (depending on whether you're going for the Audible editions), and while not overly complicated at least has sufficient depth to the setting and characters' motivations to keep things engaging.

Of course I must add that I initially picked up this title because I'm a HUUUUGE fan of narrator Simon Vance, who could read me a telephone directory and my ears would be happy.

Across the Kala Pani by Shevlyn Mottai

Don't read this book if you don't want to get even more angry at British colonialism. That's my advice. Me? I like to get plenty angry about what these powers did to Africa. Across the Kala Pani by Shevlyn Mottai tells the story of four indentured Indian women who sought a better life for themselves in South Africa, working on the sugar plantations in what is now KwaZulu-Natal during the early 1900s. The author herself, is descended from indentured Indians, so these four intertwined lives draw deeply from her own cultural heritage.

One thing I've also thought about at length is that for anyone to uproot themselves from their home to take a chance in another land, with an ocean between, is an option that a person would only choose if their present state has become intolerable. And each of the women in this story – Lutchmee, Vottie, Chinmah, and Jyothi – has a tragic situation that has resulted in them finding themselves aboard a ship headed to Africa.

In South Africa, the rigid castes that defined them in India no longer matter, but what does matter is the bonds of friendship that they have formed during a difficult voyage and endured during the hardships they continue to face. Life, they find, is no easier once they disembark, where they now contend with British plantation owners who treat them no better than chattel, one step up from outright slaves. This is heartbreaking and illuminating, painting in stark tones the lived reality that many immigrants faced here.

I find the idea of culture transplanted and transformed fascinating, and this is one such story, underpinned by the efforts of brave women who carve their own fates despite the incredible adversity they experienced. This is is a harrowing tale, but it is a heartfelt one, that I believe is important, offering a glimpse into our country's colonial past that is crafted with incredible empathy and an eye for laying bare inconvenient truths our history books may well gloss over – highly recommended.

A Thing Immortal: A Tale of Western Horror by Barry K Gregory

I'm a huge fan of indie books. I've found, of late, that the stories I encounter in them are often far more inventive and unconventional than what I find with their traditionally published brethren. A Thing Immortal by Barry K Gregory is one such book. This story is a glorious mashup of the American West that exists only in popular culture with horror – that's the best way to explain it. I picked it up last year when it was a contender in SPFBO.

Gregory plays loose and fast with history to concentrate rather on a story of gradually unfolding mystery and dark terrors, as we follow the doings of a small handful of characters that include a Native man who can fly on borrowed wings, an old gunslinger, a Black bounty hunter, and a mysterious girl. Oh, and a massive spirit wolf. 

I think what I liked the most about the story was that it didn't pull its punches. There's some seriously dark stuff happening here, reminiscent of early Stephen King, that left me feeling gritty behind the eyes. And I liked the fact that Gregory doesn't explain everything – he leaves much up for me to fill in the gaps, which is something else I appreciate. Yeah, so Trigger Warning time, there is some seriously Bad Stuff that happens to the girl (as can be expected in the context of the story's setting), but it's not on screen so to speak (thank dog) but if mention of this sort of thing in a story does bother you, perhaps this one is not for you. Beyond that, the setting is pretty brutal in how all minorities are handled, so be warned, there are people doing and saying things that wouldn't fly in a more civilised setting.

This is a solid read, and while there were a few little typo gremlins here and there, they didn't harm my overall enjoyment of a solid story that wraps with an almost Gaimanesque conclusion.

A Fate Inked in Blood (Saga of the Unfated #1) by Danielle L Jensen

I won't lie, a pretty cover catches my eye, and it was the lovely illustration by Portuguese artist Eleonor Piteira that made me read the blurb then request A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L Jensen off NetGalley. As some of you already know, I'm a huge fan of Scandinavian-inspired yarns, and there does rather seem to be a rash of them lately. Depending on how much research an author has bothered to do or if they've just watched one too many episode of Vikings or The Last Kingdom, savvy readers can quickly tell. I suspect Jensen falls firmly in the latter category, however.

I'd cast A Fate Inked in Blood firmly in the romantasy genre, so if 'icky girl stuff' isn't your jam, then this is probably not the novel for you. Me, I'm quite happy with the romance, provided it doesn't derail the plot, and Jensen does strike a fair balance between the two that kept those pages turning.

The plot is pretty standard, compared to many that I've seen. We meet Freya, who's married to a fisherman who's got divine blood. He's kinda a celeb in their village, his magic responsible for bringing in good catches. The catch? He's Not A Very Nice Man. Of course, we meet Bjorn very early on, and he is A Very Nice Man. Too bad that when Freya's husband is out of the picture, she has to get married to someone else who isn't Bjorn, but his daddy. Of course, Freya, who's been pretty disenchanted with her initial lot as fishwife, is not particularly charmed with being treated like chattel when all she's ever wanted to be is a renowned shield maiden. Everyone else seems to know what's best for her, however. And she's in a situation where she can't say no.

But there's more. It seems that Freya's pretty special herself, for she, too, has a drop of divine blood about her – the kind that would make her a rather good shield maiden. Also, she's wrapped up in a prophecy, which makes things even more complicated, because now there's a bunch of ambitious men who are making grabby fingers at her.

Anyhow, it's not this review's purpose to retell the entire book. For what it is, this isn't a bad little story, and if you're looking for a bunch of romantic tension, this book has it by the bucketloads. As a reader, I do wish there'd been a bit more attention to detail in terms of world building. I guess if you've watched Vikings, it's going to be easy for you to visualise stuff – but I did feel the environment was a bit white-roomy and could have used a smidge more fleshing out. The story does get off on a strong start, but it starts dithering a little and then rushes to wrap stuff up before ending on a cliffie. What did work for me was the Freya-Bjorn dynamic – they seem well suited to each other, and as characters, complement each other well. If you're hooked by book one, I expect you're in for quite a wild ride with glorious battles, intrigue, and wild magic, all liberally dosed with Norse flavour.

Sisters of the Circus by Laila Manack

What drew me to Sisters of the Circus by Laila Manack is that I'm a huge fan of stories about performers that are set in liminal spaces such as theatres and circuses. This story introduces as to twins Kahina and Noor, who together perform a trapeze act in a circus. This life is all they know, although they are aware that they were sold to the circus owner, Garret, when they were very young – so in essence, they are slaves.

Although the setting is nominally European, and it's suggested that the story takes place during the interwar period, the focus is very much on the microcosm of the circus and the small dramas that play out beyond the eyes and ears of the audience. Theirs is a tight-knit, often toxic community, and Noor and Kahina endure much cruelty. 

It's a kind of love-hate situation, because undeniably performance offers one heck of a kick to the sisters, and this is the only life that these two young women know. Although they can conceive of a life beyond that which is familiar, it is understandably difficult for them to break from the routine – until events conspire that see Kahina training a mysterious young man to be part of her act. Central to the plot is almost a coming of age, as the sisters struggle with notions of identity and a claiming of agency out of an oppressive space.

All this plays out against the somewhat exotic background (for those of us not in the business, of course) of circus life and the often harsh realities the performers face when they're not in the ring. Kahina and Noor soon discover that there is a bigger, more dangerous game at play, and while they navigate and negotiate the terms of their potential freedom, they face many risks while bigger players revel in their machinations. 

This was, largely, an enjoyable read. I did feel that the editing for this book could have been a bit sharper – I picked up quite a few obvious typos and grammatical errors. And not just copy editing, but I felt that the story itself, while it has a strong start, becomes a little muddled towards the end, as if Manack wasn't quite sure where to end it and the developmental editor either didn't leave strong hints or these edits were rushed and not implemented. It could be a combination of all these, which I've seen played out with otherwise awesome books over the years. Some pretty exciting stuff happens plot wise, but I often feel as if Noor and Kahina are carried along by events rather than having a firmer hand in steering them. I also would have liked to have seen more attention paid to differentiating their voices, as I often struggled to tell the two apart.

All things considered, this is still a great little story, left open ended enough for continuation. Manack's voice is fresh, and she weaves a compelling tale in the kind of setting that should appeal to those of us still sore about the fact that a series like Carnivale was canned after only two seasons.

The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien (read by Andy Serkis)

I think by now it's pretty pointless to give a blow-by-blow account of JRR Tolkien's masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings (LotR) considering that it has become so firmly entrenched in popular culture. But I do feel I need to share a few of my thoughts and feelings about the Andy Serkis reading of all three books, which total approximately whopping 65 hours of listening pleasure combined.

I've been threatening for years to revisit the trilogy. I first read it around the tender age of 12, one heady summer holiday that had my mom complaining I spent too much time indoors when other kids my age were working on future basal cell carcinoma on Cape Town's beaches. I knew from the moment that I first read these books (I own the hardcover centenary edition, now sadly sans dust cover, with Alan Lee's illustrations) that I wanted to be an author who wrote about elves and dragons, and created worlds I could get lost in. The Peter Jackson films remain among my firm favourites.

So, yeah, LotR inhabits a very special place in my heart. It was my gateway to becoming a SFF author, and it's one of the few epics that has left me in tears at the end. Every time those elves go West. Sam's almost anticlimactic "Well, I'm back" at the end always slays me – that we can embark on these earth-shattering adventures and still return to merely being ourselves. We are forever changed on the inside, even if we present a face to our friends and family that appears the same as always. I can peel back so many layers.

The problem with LotR, is I simply don't have the time to sit down and read the entire thing, but I do have time when I'm doing mindless menial things like washing dishes and driving, to listen to audiobooks. Audible has been a lifesaver, and The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King, as narrated by Andy Serkis, are absolute gems.

It's one thing to read Tolkien, and have an appreciation for his exquisite style, but it's quite another to hear a gifted actor such as Serkis breathe life into the story so that it feels as if my earballs are giving me a full-cast production. Of course, as always, Gollum steals the show. 

I feel as if I've reconnected with the work in a different way through having listened to this rendition of one of the greatest works of fantasy literature in my personal library, and if you find the idea of sitting down with a dead-tree version daunting, you can't go wrong with these three chaps. Granted, it took me about three months to work through all of them consecutively, but they served to remind me why I keep returning to Tolkien's writing. His wordplay remains exceptional, and very few authors come close to how he describes the beauty of nature. (I realise I'm one of those individuals who won't tire of endless descriptions of bloody trees, okay?)

God of Broken Things (Age of Tyranny #2) by Cameron Johnston

I am so late to the party on this one it's not even funny. This book has been sitting on my TBR pile for YEARS. God of Broken Things is the sequel to Cameron Johnston's Traitor God, in which we encounter the Tyrant magus Edrin Walker, who although much maligned by his fellow magic wielders, at the end of the day is the only one who possesses the power and the fortitude to scrape their collective posteriors out of the flaming frying pan. The reason why everyone hates a Tyrant is because their magical powers allow them to get inside others' heads, and no one is a fan of mind control, especially when the person with that power isn't a particularly nice individual. Which Edrin isn't. He's entirely self-serving and often snarky, with no regard whatsoever for social hierarchy, and this is magic combination that's never going to win him friends.

But for all his irreverence, he's not a bad sort, and all told is quite fun to hang around precisely because he doesn't give a toss about the things that matter in high society. His understated, often darkly absurd observations of the goings on around him are what made me keep on reading – if Edrin took himself too seriously, these novels wouldn't be half as entertaining. 

In God of Broken Things, we see our hero mucking about in the aftermath of the Big Bad that pretty much wrecked the city of Setharis in book one. Except he and the rest of the Arcanum (the mages who rule the city) face an even bigger bad that makes Edrin and his powers look like a minnow. And he's packed off back to the region where he grew up – to face not only the Even Bigger Bad, but also the things in his past he's been doing his darndest to avoid dealing with. I'm not going to spoil, but all I'll say is he has a really creepy gran. Oh, and did I mention that there was something that was even worse than the Even Bigger Bad? 

Of course he doesn't have to go it all alone – he has a few of his fellow magi from the Arcanum, including my favourite, Eva – a knight who in many ways is the perfect opposite of Edrin – and the interaction between the two is rather special. 

Now, Cameron doesn't do anything by half-measures. This is the second of his novels that I've read, and if epic, world-destroying cataclysms*, with a side order of demons, ravening hordes, and inter-dimensional beings blows your hair back, then you'll be in the right hands. The Age of Tyranny duology packs a whopper of a punch, with piles of action, cinematic battles, a rich, varied cast of characters, and some deeply fascinating world building while Cameron's at it. This is a fire cracker in the fine old tradition of GrimDark fantasy and well worth the read if you're looking for a story that will dance with all your favourite tropes but then pull a few sly ones when you're not looking. 

*If the old ultra-violence isn't quite your thing, then maybe skip this round, okay?

The Angel of Darkness by Caleb Carr

Okay, so The Angel of Darkness by Caleb Carr was a bit of a side quest for me. This is ordinarily not the type of novel that I'd read, but a copy showed up at my local book swap, and I was intrigued because I'd heard so much about The Alienist. And, while this is clearly book two in a series, I didn't feel too out of my depth, and I'm sufficiently intrigued to go pick up book one should I cross paths with it.

Set in New York during the late 1800s, this story is told from the perspective of the delightfully disreputable Stevie Taggart, a chain-smoking kid saved from a life of crime by Dr Laszlo Kreizler, a psychiatrist known for his (at the time) unconventional methods of understanding how people's minds work. Accompanied by friends such as journalist John Schuyler Moore, private investigator Sara Howard, and police detectives Marcus and Lucius Isaacson, and the enigmatic Cyrus Montrose, Kreizler is off on an adventure to find a missing child. But nothing is as simple as that, when they realise their work is far more dangerous and darker than initially expected.

Look, I really don't want to spoil the plot by giving too much away, so I'm going to focus on what I loved – which was the teamwork and the camaraderie between characters. Everyone brings something special to the table, and we have moments of humour interspersed with the serious business of solving a mystery. What becomes immediately apparent is that Carr knows his stuff in terms the setting, and he really makes New York City come alive for me in vivid Technicolor. So I really did feel authentically immersed in the period. (A huge plus point for anyone who wants a bit of a field trip into the past.)

That being said, I did feel that the novel plodded on a bit too long – part mystery, part court-room drama, but even though it felt like a slog at times, I was so invested in the characters, that I was genuinely sad to let them go when I reached the end. Carr's writing style is engaging, and he treats often problematic subject matter with great sensitivity. And yeah, there's some stuff here that shows the not-so-nice side of a big city that I've never seen so frankly examined.

I did feel as if the plot wrapped in a way that I could almost see coming, but it was still fun, and there were elements that were truly tragic. I really do need to go pick up The Alienist now, but if you like me, haven't read it either, although there will be stuff referenced in The Angel of Darkness that you won't have context for, it won't be a dealbreaker for following what's happening in book two.

Star by Anthony Azekwoh

One of my favourite pastimes is finding novels that wouldn't necessarily cross my path in my regular haunts, and Star by Anthony Azekwoh is one of those. A while back I put out a call for African speculative fiction, so that I could give a signal boost, and this is one of those stories that landed on my desk.

A little rough around the edges, Star could have used a bit more of a developmental edit followed by some spit and polish with a sharp-eyed copy editor, but rough edges aside, this story still drew me in. We learn of a girl named Star who loses her mother. A dysfunctional relationship with the remaining parent sees her adrift, until she discovers that there is a way to bring her mother back from the dead. And then she will stop at nothing to get what she wants, no matter the cost. Or so she thinks.

Except this is not a path to be trodden lightly, and the consequences of certain actions might be far more devious than a young girl would want to consider. This little novel is a dip into Lagos's magical underbelly, filled with wicked witches and other creatures that may not have the best of intentions when it comes to Star's eventual fate. I get the idea that this short tale is part of a larger piece of world building – the assorted threads are most certainly there. There's definitely room to grow.

If you're in the mood for a little contemporary fantasy quest in an African setting by an African author, then Azekwoh weaves a tale filled with dark magic, mystery, and a whole lot of heart.

Mirage by David Ralph Viviers

I love a good mystery that flirts with magical realism, and Mirage by David Ralph Viviers blends so much of what I love. Part Karoo-gothic, part mystery that teases at time-travelling, this is a book that is difficult to fully quantify. And maybe it should not be picked apart, because in its lyrical prose it presents us with lush narrative ambiguity that plays out against the backdrop of the South African hinterlands and all the mysteries that abound there.

We have two threads interwoven in the mythical Karoo town of Sterfontein. On the brink of the South African War, writer Elizabeth Tennant stays here in a hotel frequented by those wishing to convalesce in the Karoo's fresh air. She grapples with her own, deep sense of loss while trying to claim meaning for herself. We also meet Michael, a university student whose deep fascination with the life and work of Elizabeth sees him delving into her journal and the mystery surrounding her death. He, too, carries a great burden of loss, which he subconsciously tries to work through by uncovering the secrets presented in Elizabeth's work.

I really don't want to delve into particulars, because that would ruin the journey for you. And this is a journey, liberally flavoured with the aesthetic of the Karoo's history. Threaded through this tale that blooms like the enigmatic Boophone disticha, are the light of distant stars and delicate strands of past and present woven together in the discrete threads of a surprisingly interlinked narrative. 

Grief and disappointment are hallmarks of the human condition, and Viviers takes these aspects of his characters' lives and examines them closely, then puts them together again in a way that made me sit back and say, "Oh." He effortlessly evokes the magic and mystery of this region in a way that only those who've fallen under the Karoo's spell will fully understand. This is an old landscape. It has drunk many tears. In it, you may examine your own life set against an ancient backdrop where you truly understand how insignificant one human life is. And yet each brief flowering is precious.

Much like Elizabeth steps into a liminal space, you do, too, following Michael as he embarks on a road trip that will allow him to confront aspects of self and his past that he has not dealt with, along with gaining a better understanding of the woman whose words have moved him to journey to Sterfontein. Everything is connected; everything is significant.