The Tamuli

David Eddings presents another adventure about Pandion Knight Sir Sparhawk and his friends.

I love every minute of it. I think what captivated me were the characters. Sparhawk and his friends are quite a mixture of mixed nuts. Most of them have quick tempers and smart mouths. Each comment is witty but funny.

In the Elinium Trilogy, Sir Sparhawk is summoned from his exile in Rendor to find the queen encased in Diamond. Queen Ehlana is poisoned and the diamond encasement is the only thing keeping her alive. There is no worldly cure so Sparhawk must seek something not of this world. He travels to the land of the trolls and acquires the legendary Bhelliom, the sapphire rose of pure power. With Bhelliom, he cures Ehlana. But there are other threats like the party who poisoned Ehlana and the god Azash who desires Bhelliom. The Church of Chyrellos orders The Church Knights and Sparhawk to defeat the Zemochs and Azash. All seems well for the humans but for the gods, it is chaotic. Sparhawk turns out to be Anakha, the one without a destiny. The gods fear him for two reasons, one he possesses Bhelliom and two, they cannot see his fate.

Following the Events of the Elinium, Sir Sparhawk also Known as Anakha to the gods, is investigating trouble for the Church of Chyrellos. It seems trouble at home and trouble in the next empire are related. Sir Sparhawk is asked to journey to Tamuli in order to help Emperor Sarabian and his Tamul kingdom. They are invaded by ghouls, demons and other impossible things. Sparhawk and his friends must get to the bottom of things.

They reach Matherion, the domed city. Every corner of the palace speaks treason and all are ready for an uprising. Ehlana takes it upon herself to teach Sarabian the ruthless art of politics.

In the Second book, The Shining Ones, Sparhawk receives more friends as he encounters the Shining Ones or the Delphae race. Their god Edeamus granted them with unspeakable gifts and they offer their services to Anakha for a price. Of course, they encounter the Trolls and their gods and they too become allies. They find out that the god of the Cyrgai, Cyrgon desires Bhelliom. At the end of the book, Ehlana is kidnapped by the slippery Krager.

The last book, the Hidden City, is about the rescue and the war. Sparhawk brings the rest of the Church Knight from Chyrellos into the Tamuli empire. The god Cyrgon calls forth not ancients soldiers anymore but a force that equals Bhelliom itself, Kleal. Kleal is Bhelliom's brother and opposite. Kleal brings in soldiers from different worlds which levels the church knights and the Atans in almost half! Meanwhile Sparhawk and most of his friends attempt subterfuge and try to find Ehlana.

The other gods intervene and helps Divine Aphrael with Anakha. The gods of the Styrics, Edeamus god of the Delphae, The troll gods and the god of the Atans help Sparhawk and his army as they converge on the hidden city and battle the Cyrgai. Sparhawk battles Cyrgon who becomes Kleal's slave.

Everyone gets their adventure of a lifetime. All who fought in the battle has their lives changed. Even the trolls.

The conversations in the books makes you want to laugh or think. There are the usual witty comments that never seems to cease and there are philosophical and theological questions that makes you ponder on god, nature and church doctrine. All in all, the book is a very good read. I highly recommend it.

Halloween - Shalloween!

Is Halloween getting shallow? It seems like it.
It's too commercialized, it's no longer fun. In the village here in Merville, we have our usual trick or treating. Guess, what, there are no more village kids trick or treating. If there are, you can count them and they usually have chaperons. The kids trick or treating in the village are kids from the slums. "Squatters"
I hate to be discriminating but they are the worse kids in the world. They stole my pumpkin!
So, I decided to stop giving candies half-way through the afternoon.
I get some loving from Alonzo and Peppi and take a nice long cold shower.
I'm so not feeling Halloween anymore.

I want something like a masquerade party. A place to gather and have fun. Dress up, socialize, meet people. Perhaps eat and maybe have a few Halloween games, watch haunted movies and such. What do we have now? Cream Party? A haven for drugs!
Where are the wholesome ones? Wholesome even for big girls like me?

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Dargon's Fire

Anne McCaffrey's World of Pern, viewed from a different time and a different angle by her son Todd McCaffrey.

I never really thought about the Shunned or the miners or the Wher-handlers until Todd wrote about them. It's a classic Dragonrider book with the focus NOT on the dragonriders.

There are holders, crafters and dragonriders but there are also people not included in society, they are the Shunned. The shunned are criminals banned from hold or hall for their crimes. it is the Capital punishment for all deviants. but what about their family? with the Shunned, their families come with them. the children suffer from famine and disease.

Harpers Hall wants to get to the bottom of this. These Shunned keep growing and they might do something desperate.

Although the threat of deadly Thread is still 16 turns away, the Firestone mines explode and there are none left. They need 40 tons per dragon per Weyr in order to fight Thread successfully. With firestone being so volatile, not even the shunned wants to work in the mines. Some of them are getting ideas about the stone.

It's a must collect book for Dragonrider fans.

Characters:

Master Harper Zist- A Harper in his Mastery Level. Zist lost his wife and child while under cover looking for the shunned.

Pellar- Adopted son of Zist. He is the Mute Harper. He has excellent tracking skills and part psychic.

Halla- A little girl whose parents were Shunned. she has 8 orphans to take care.

Cristov- Miner Tarik's son. he is an excellent miner whose father is Shunned. he tries to prove himself.

Kindan- an orphaned boy. Zist adopted him too. He was bonded to the green watch-wher Kisk but gave her to Nuella, Natalon's daughter, and pursued being a harper.

D'vin- Wingleader, rider of Bronze Hurth. he is freind of Pellar, Zist and Cristov.

Master Aleesa- Wher-Handler of the last gold Watch-wher. She keeps the Whers a secret from Telgar's Weyrleader D'gan.

Moran- The harper Zist and Masterharper Murenny sent to contact the Shunned. He got caught up with raising the children that he failed to report to harpers hall for turns.

Fenner- Lord Holder of Crom. he is soft hearted and wants to help the Shunned.

Bad Guys:

Tenim- Tenim is greedy. His father was shunned and he has plans to get rich no matter what. he steals coals from Camp Natalon then steals firestone from Mine #9.

Tarik- A miner with big ambitions. He got shunned and sent to Mine #9. Tenim killed him and exploded the mine.

D'gan- D'gan was an Igen rider. The Weyr was absorbed by Telgar and he flew the gold. He is ruthless Weyrleader and demand most of the firestone. D'gan is not actually the bad guy but he is an anti-hero.

Ayala Bombings...

Is it really a bomb? The politicians are still bickering and trying to pin the blame on the other party. I wonder who's running the country now that they're busy.

Are we very callous if the New Worlds Convention really pushes through?
In a business point of view, Ayala needs to push the convention through because they need people to visit their mall. No people no revenue.
Plus, the tenant would want that as rent deduction.

Dark Hunger in Manga

Finally, it's out! Dark hunger in Manga format by Christine Feehan!
The Novella format is in a book called Hot Blooded, an anthology on Paranormal Romance.

This is part of the Carpathian Dark Series. Carpathians are a separate race of humanoid people. They are as old as time and they keep their identities a secret from humans. With good reasons. They are endowed with magical capabilities and shape-shifting abilities. they are psychics and has the ability to control Nature.

Riordan, the hot and steamy Carpathian alone in the jungle. He was captured by vampires and set as a trap for his brothers. Hundreds of years ago, the five De La Cruz brothers, Zacharias, Manolito, Nicholas, Rafael and Riordan, were sent to South America to battle vampires. The jungle has become their home. Now, the vampires are making a come back. They threaten the peace of the jungle. The five brothers must make sure vampires are eradicated as quickly and as quietly as possible.

Juliette had no idea that the stranger she rescued will be her ultimate salvation. He claimed to be her life mate but no man enters the lives of Juliette, Jasmine and Solange. The were man-hating activists to the core.

Juliette, Jasmine and Solange are Jaguars. They too are a gifted race. Jaguars are able to shift to human and back to being jaguars. They are psychics too. The trio were victims of violence wrought by jaguar men. They rescue girls like them and animals in dangered in the jungle.

Juliette cannot help what she feels for Riordan. Can the jaguar within her accept him? How will her sister and cousin accept Riordan?

The plot seems to thicken as jaguars, human vampire hunter society and Vampires team up and stalk them in the jungle. Will Riordan and Juliette survive?

It's sizzling but no scenes!

Even Pat was able to read this manga. Me and my sibs like it a lot. they think Riordan is so bishonen. Juliette looks like Fujiko from Lupin III.

Riordan has no sense of fashion. Even in Dark Possession. He has no idea how to dress properly. Perhaps MaryAnn can give the brothers fashion tips!

Too young?

I joined a yahoo group on Christine Feehan and her books. The conversations are very interesting. Lately, the latest conversation is about being too young or old enough to read romance. One mother asked the group if it was alright for her to give her 15 year old her Carpathian novels. Most of the people thinks it is alright. Teenagers have sex education in school and at that age, they arte quite curious. Better hand them the book.
This gets me thinking. What age will I allow my children to read things like these? The Carpathian Novels do have intense love scenes. Well, they get pretty intense as the series go along. I thought Dark Prince was a bit wild. The De La Cruz Brothers are not your typical Latino Lovers. They sizzle and pop!
I started out reading romances in eharlequin.com. A little sneak here and there. Then, i got a hold on Historical Romances. I liked it, especially the Native American Romances. Never liked Cowboy Romance. Then, i went on to Beatrice Small. She was nothing compared to Feehan's Carpathians. Now, i can't pick up a vampire novel.
I think I will let my kids read at 16. Perhaps just light romances at first. Got to Mother-Daughter talk101 then I can let them have the Carpathians books. I think by that time, Romance novels will evolve. Paranormal Romance is a relatively new Genre. It was popularized during the late 90’s. Sci-fi romances were popularized during the mid 80’s. Perhaps in the late 00’s, we would have more farfetched genres and more intense scene anyone today can’t imagine yet!

Dark Melody

By Christine Feehan

Dayan goes up to Canada with Cullen. He jams at a local club/bar. There, he meets Corrine. The moment she entered the room, he knew she was his life mate. She could save his soul. Corrine Wentworth was his everything. Her beautiful soul will save his dark soul. But Corrine is not so certain she could save anybody. Not even her own and her unborn daughter. Corrine has a heart condition. With the baby's complication, her time is running out.
She wants to believe in Dayan but her heart couldn't even take the pressure of believing in the paranormal. Darius and the rest of the band races to Dayan to save Corrine. Gregori and Shea joins them too.

Saving an unborn child while conversion is a relatively new ground for the Carpathians. Gregori and Shea must find a way to save baby Jennifer, a strong psychic even as she grows inside Corrine.

It's a mini reunion and non-stop teasing between Darius and Gregori.

One Corpse Too Many

A Cadfael Novel by Elis Peters.
1138 AD, Shewsburry, England. 94 corpse were hanged by King Stephen in a bloody war between him and Empress Maud yet the body count was 95. Who was the man strangled but not hanged? The murderer wanted to hide his leaf in a forest but forensic evidence was easily detected by the shrewd monk.

Brother Cadfael gets to the bottom of things and finds the murderer for Justice and for God. It is up to Hugh Beringer of Maesburry to fight the guilty is a trial by combat.
In a medieval world, Brother Cadfael is a modern thinker. He is a forensic annalist. He can spot minute details that normal people would not find and crude medieval sheriffs can't. Hugh trusted his judgment and they became friends in the process.

There are politics involved for all the characters. Some reasons explained but left the characters in the dark. As usual, there is betrayal and greed. Money was the ultimate motivator in the whole book. Cadfael thought Hugh was motivated by the secret treasury but it was actually a hidden enemy, always on the scene but not noticed until the end.

And in the end, it was not one corpse too many but three: the traitor in the camp, the secret messenger who was no hanged and the guilty person that Hugh had no choice but to kill in combat.

Magic in the Wind and Safe Harbor

by Christine Feehan

In the town of Sea Haven, there lived seven sisters with extraordinary powers. The people of Sea haven have a hush-hushed knowledge but the girls are well respected.

Magic in the Wind stars The Drake Sister's eldest, Sara. She is a securities expert sent to protect Damon Wilder. She is attracted to Damon and the gates of the Drake house opened for him. Now, she must protect him from death itself. Death, the shadowed figure of the Grim Reaper is following Damon constantly. It's up to Sara to protect him from death and the bad guys who wants Damon's brains.

Very short novel but a good start. Some of the sisters are introduced and their habits as well.

Safe Harbor

Another Drake Sister adventure. Starring Hannah Drake, the beautiful and sought-after model also the 5th sister.

Hannah is everything Jonas Harrington wants and more. Danger lurks at every corner and Jonas must protect Hannah and the other Drake Sisters. He works as a government spy and was one-time sheriff of Sea Haven. Jonas must give-up his dangerous lifestyle if he wants to win Hannah.

It's a sisterly reunion. Very touching. They all help Hannah with the trauma of being attacked by a maniac. Good story. Jonas and Jackson have abilities of their own too. Sinister Ilya is back. He's very powerful and you keep on guessing his motives.There will be a wedding at the end of the book.What harbor is safe? I don't know. Never was able to get the title.

The Drake Sisters From eldest to youngest:

Sarah - The securities expert. (Magic in the Wind)

Kate - Mystery novelist. (Twilight Before Christmas)

Abigail - Has the affinity for water. Everyone says the truth around her. (Oceans of Fire)

Libby - The healer. she travels the world healing people. (Oceans of Fire)

Hannah - Super model. She controls the wind. (Safe HArbor)

Joley - A spell-singer. She is a singing sensation traveling the world. (No Book Yet)

Elle- Quite confused. She has a lot of abilities. (No Book Yet)