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This book pulls you into a richly detailed 12th Century world of politicking lords, dangerous Welsh border raids and a likeable protagonist in the form of Guy of Maebury. A careful, steady feed of recognisable, but not yet legendary, characters tops it all off.

The slow build-up is worth it and does contribute to a much livelier, fuller world and more meaningful character motivations.

This is a well-told tale about the power of the written word to endure and change.

A wonderful collection of three novels of a “China that never was”, featuring the narrator, Number Ten Ox, and Li Kao, an ancient sage and scholar with “a slight flaw in his character”.

Full review at [ https://sohkamyung.github.io/reviews/fiction/2025/20250228-ChroniclesMasterLiNumberTenOx.html ]

Crime fiction is a genre I rarely venture into, but Ruth Sutton's Cumbria-set series may be my gateway.

The story nips along at a nice pace, providing plenty of information while avoiding info-dumps. The characters are likeable in their own ways and the late 60s setting is nicely done, especially the insight into the Cumbrian coastal region of that period.

I can't wait to start the sequel.

Beautiful prose, evocative story, clever book that threw me back on my haunches and made me want to re-read it immediately.

A fantastic book about the VIC20, one of the early home computers that helped to launch the home computer revolution. The book covers the various versions of the computer created for different markets and includes notes and anecdotes from some of the creators of the computer, who had to overcome obstacles in their path in creating the computer.

A very different book to the previous two in the series.

The Lost Steersman takes a different turn about half-way through, where the scope and scale of the world and its inhabitants undergoes another astonishing twist.

I got a definite Jane Goodall vibe from this book. Our understanding of the steerswomen grows in this wonderful instalment in a fantastic and surprising series. Loved it!

Yes, The Fisherman is a little Lovecraftian, with its ancient gods, cultists, and watery... things. But it has much more going for it. The Fisherman is a work of beauty that Lovecraft never came close to.

You grieve with Abe as he tries to pick up the pieces. You worry about what Dan will do... and when he'll break. You wonder which story you are actually reading and who is telling it.

Absolutely superb. Gutting, terrifying, and hopeful.

Virginia teases the twist right from the off. But The Year We Lived is so finely written and enchanting that you lose yourself in the world and simply enjoy it, forgetting about this possible twist.

You'll quickly relax and let the sun-dappled fens, the reeds, woods, the description of the Hall and its inhabitants wash over you and pull you like a slow current into its 11th Century setting.

A fantastic middle book!

New characters, new plans, new plots and schemes, and new enemies join the existing and brilliantly realised characters from the first book.

The underlying evil is still on the edges. We're never sure who truly represents it - which makes this series a wonderful read for fantasy fans looking for more meat on the bone.

Another must read!

The Fermi crew is a mess, but in Planet of the Apiaries, they're starting to come together. Starting to discover their roles, and what each of them means to the others... even if they can't remember them all.

The sci-fi references come thick and fast, but are never exclusionary. This fantastic third instalment ups the ante and drops a bombshell in its final line!

Must read sci-fi!