Onto the book itself. As a longtime advocate of gender equality, with particular interest in the transgender community, this book brought emotional perspective to the facts and diagrams and advice (and even training!) I've offered to those seeking to be allies, or simply more informed citizens. There were parts of Sallans's history that I felt eerily mirrored my own. The desire to be just like my father, the discomfort in a feminine body, the struggle with weight and shape, even the internalized sexism (of which there is definitely quite a bit, though Sallans never outright mentions it). And of course there were parts that I could do nothing but read and understand as best I could, being a cisgender individual and thus unable to relate. It also made me realise that I had somehow forgotten that fantasy just means it's set in an imaginary world - that fantasy doesn't actually have to involve magic or mythical creatures. The story's action is interspersed with contemplative moments, such as when grandfather Laurent recounts that "… a great war leaves a country with three armies: an army of cripples, an army of mourners, and an army of thieves." [ citation needed]

I’ve been wanting to finish this one for ages due to my goal of reading more series from female fantasy authors and have finally completed my first Jennifer Fallon read. I was in two minds throughout my experience and this has not changed upon finishing the novel. Contrary to popular belief, I rarely DNF books. Okay, so I do DNF crappy stuff regularly sometimes, but it's "stuff" and it's "crappy" so it doesn't count as " book." QED and, you know, stuff. Anyway, Lion of Senet no relation to His Furriness, just in case you were wondering nearly almost practically (and most tragically, because it's always fun to be tragic) ended up in the DNF Graveyard. Which, considering it's a book, and not crappy stuff, would have been a real, um, you know, tragedy and stuff. Because it's, um, you know, always fun to be tragic and stuff. Okay, it seems that Mr Lagavulin is having quite the stimulating effect on my Innately Wondrous Rambling Abilities (IWRA™), so let me switch to camomile tea otherwise we'll be here until 2048 or something *prepares a delicious cup of beautifully innocuous dirty water herbal infusion* Ah, my little head feels much murkier clearer already, let's get this crappy non-review rolling and stuff! Lee has three homes—an apartment in Manhattan, a country house in the south of France, and whatever airplane cabin he happens to be in while traveling between the two. In the US he drives a supercharged Jaguar, which was built in Jaguar's Browns Lane plant, thirty yards from the hospital in which he was born. On the world Ranadon there is no night as both suns shine brightly. The intervention of Belagren, High Priestess of the Shadowdancers, and the sacrifice of a child of royal blood, has banished the Age of Shadows from the skies. Belagren's position is unquestioned . . . until circumstances begin to tip political rivalries into a deadlier game altogether. And Joseph is a lovable, moving character that you root and care for. Not all the supporting characters are as well developed-the worst being the love interest, a parallel to Mary Magdalene, but with none of the depth or spirit the character is given in say, a work like Jesus Christ Superstar. She's more just there to be a plot complication.The story seems to be your basic, typical coming of age tale at first. Which is pretty scary, I have to admit. I mean, coming of age stories are terrifying enough, but the standard kind is particularly ghastly. And a little abhorrent, too. I really enjoyed how this story was told from both Johnny & Amy’s point of views – it made it feel more authentic seeing both sides of their sometimes-hidden lives. The pace was excellent and even though there were a lot of moving parts in this story from the police, the immediate and extended family and other gangs it was all crafted together to make for a compelling, bingeable read. A war is brewing between the Serbs and Croats on the streets of Western Sydney following the murders of high profile gang members. When Ivan Novak is added to the list of the slain, gunned down putting his garbage out, Milan Novak calls for revenge - an eye for an eye. He demands his second son Johnny deliver it.

The Lion of Senet is the type of fantasy story in the Wheel of Time mould. It is a traditional coming of age fantasy story following a group of mostly likeable, if a little flawed, young protagonists. The one big difference from your regular traditional fantasy series is that this fantasy world was completely devoid of magic. This could have been an alternate history story. Albeit one set on an alien planet. It begins with an Everyman Hero. Joseph Turner is a former orphan, the proverbial grown version of Oliver Twist with the heart of gold. A steel worker assigned to an under construction skyscraper, he falls from the highest beams to the pavement below-and miraculously walks away unscathed. Add in a few more miracles, and it seems that he may or may not be the 2nd coming of Christ. I'll go ahead and use the spoiler tags, although honestly it should be pretty obvious from the title. He is a decorated military serviceman. Reacher buried his Silver Star with his Mother and has also received the Defense Superior Service Medal, Bronze Star and Purple Heart, to name a few. To say he has special “skills” is probably an understatement. In many of the novels, Reacher is in the wrong place at the wrong time but ends up using his skills to solve even the most perilous situations. In “Killing Floor”, for example, the first of the Reacher novels, Reacher is arrested for murder shortly after arriving in Margrave, Georgia. Yes, the style might be a bit basic but if there is something Fallon is brilliant at, it's storytelling. She weaves a compelling tale, and although the beginning of the book is slightly boring a bit, um, you know, slow and stuff, it's almost impossible to put the book down once you get into the story. Add to that dynamic multiple POVs and Joe Jameson's excellent, lively narration and you get, well, me not DNFing and stuff. Which is quite the miraculous achievement, if you ask me. This story showed how sometimes the people you thought you were the closest too can become your enemies while the people you thought were your enemies might be your best allies. It also shows that when people have chosen to put you into the game even by trying to not play you are playing.Dirk? Dirk? A dirk is an insignificant blade: too small to be a weapon, too large to be a decent table knife. Just an annoying little poker with grandiose ambitions.” Belagren the head of the religious sect has some very dark secrets in her past indeed. It was amazing the choices she made and the reasons she made them. I thought Cersei Lanister was bad but Belagren might give her a run for her money. Kirshov a second son of the prince comes off as a fun loving playboy most of the time but in his ignorance he hurts others often. Political maneuvering and machinations and scheming galore! Treacherous religious freaks aplenty! Theology vs. science, yay! I thought it was all gloriously stupendous stuff, but it might explain why some People of the Erroneous Opinion (PofEO™) thought the book was tedious as fish. Plus, there is nada zilch zip and absolutely no magic whatsoever in this world, which might have put some PofEO™ off, too. Which might in turn explain why they read the book wrong and stuff. But hey, their judgment is obviously inaccurate so it doesn't count and stuff.

But as well as being a story about gangs, turf war, kidnap and drug dealing, at its core is a story about what being ‘a family’ really means – there is also plenty of mystery hidden in amongst the action. Something big is bothering Amy. And who actually did the assassinations – was it the Serbs, or is there something more sinister going on?Another Reacher novel, “The Enemy”, won the Barry and the Nero awards for Best Novel. With all of these accolades one would think Lee Child was born to be an author. But as usually is the case, his success story has many twists and turns that lead him on the path to writing his best selling novels and to ultimately create this alluring character. Born Jim Grant on October 29, 1954 in Coventry England, Child and his family moved to Birmingham when he was four years old. The novel begins with the execution-style murder of Johnny’s beloved older brother, Ivan, who is fatally shot one dark evening while doing that most mundane (and unglamorous) of domestic duties: putting out the bins. The hitman is thought to be one of the gang’s Serbian rivals. Revenge is on everyone’s mind and police fear this will be the start of an ongoing tit-for-tat gangland war. Dirk is just fascinating. If I recall correctly, Jennifer Fallon's premise for him was "How many bad things can a character do and still be sympathetic?" That surprised me, because even though he's thinking ten times faster than everyone around him, there's obvious logic in all his decisions and I was rooting for him the whole time. Dirk is my favorite male character under 30. I like that the author didn’t pull punches. Not one character is Mary or Gary Stu. Dirk while brilliant in some ways is completely stupidnaïve in others. The Prince Antonov who is basically the main bad guy is really very brilliant but he also so incredibly cruel and possibly guilty over his past so unwilling to accept that he might have made a mistake.