Notes of Life

Author: Lee Carroll
Publisher: Bantam Books
ISBN: 978-0-553-82557-2

I have had Black Swan Rising on my wish-list since Transworld mentioned its release. So when it was listed as one of the books to choose from in Transworld’s Book Group Reading Challenge, I picked it as my first book for the challenge.

So, was my first choice a good one? Definitely! Did it live up to my expectations? It did! I can safely say that I really enjoyed reading Black Swan Rising.

The setting of New York and the creepy fog that drifts in is the perfect setting and atmosphere for this story. We follow Garet James as her life goes from bad to worse.

For a young woman, Gary has her fair share of problems… money-issues, a struggling business and an elderly father to look after. On her way home after receiving bad news from her lawyer, Garet is forced to duck into an antiques shop by unexpected weather. The store owner recognises Garet and asks for her help in opening an old silver box which has been sealed shut. She agrees, but upon opening it things start to change… Garet’s world, once normal like yours or mine, is now a world in which magic, fairies, vampires, dragons and the like exist.

Black Swan Rising takes Garet and the reader on a journey of discovery, hope, love, possibilities and more. The story makes use of real-life historical events (including more recent ones) and characters throughout, which I found added an interesting aspect to the book. Black Swan Rising doesn’t just rely on one type of fantasy creature either, there’s a whole array of them.

This book encompasses a number of my favourite fiction genres… urban fantasy, crime, adventure and a little bit of love thrown in (OK, maybe more than a bit)! But it’s not just my favourite genres all rolled into one that made me love this book, it’s the atmospheric story and the ease with which I could read it.

Black Swan Rising is the first book in a trilogy, and, conveniently, the second book The Watchtower has just been released. My paperback copy of Black Swan Rising contains a sneak preview of The Watchtower’s first chapter and I’ve no doubt it’s a book I’ll be reading in the near future!

Buy Black Swan Rising by Lee Caroll from the Book Depository.

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Please note: I received this book free from Transworld Publishers as part of the Transworld Book Group Challenge. However, this has in no way influenced my opinion of the book.

Author: Bear Grylls
Publisher: Channel 4 Books
ISBN: 978-1-905-02648-7

Mud, Sweat and Tears is the story of Bear Grylls – family man, Chief Scout, former SAS soldier and all-round adventurer – as told by the man himself. Bear (birth name Edward!) has sought adventure from an early age and this book takes us not only from his childhood to becoming famous, but also tells us of his family history. In other words, we get the background information on not just what Bear has got up to in his varied and adventurous life so far, but also how and why he has become the man he is today.

As I sat reading this adventurous autobiography, I began to feel quite lazy! Bear has done so many things, pushing himself to his very limits, not just physically, but mentally too – climbing, sailing and parachuting, not forgetting training for the SAS and climbing Everest.

But these adventures have also lead to Bear nearly losing his life on more than one occasion. His faith and, most likely, his luck has saved him more than once! A parachute jump gone-wrong nearly paralysed Bear, while a fall on Everest nearly finished him off all together. However, Bear has never let these things get to him and, if anything, they’ve taught him a lesson as well as strengthened him.

This autobiography is inspiring and quite thrilling at times, but it’s also honest. Bear admits when he’s made mistakes or pushed his luck. The man truly has packed a lot into his life and he’s got a lot to be proud of.

While I really enjoyed reading Mud, Sweat and Tears, I have to be honest and say that I was slightly disappointed that more wasn’t covered in the book. Apart from his growing up, a lot of the book was focused on his SAS training and climbing Everest, and while they are big things (which not many people complete), I feel his other expeditions could have been covered with more than a line or two. But, then, maybe they have been left for another book. I know his TV shows have related books, so I can understand why they weren’t covered so much.

Something I have to note: Bear has been criticised in the past for faking or cheating in his TV shows. He does defend himself near the end of the book and admits that he made a mistake while filming one show which lead to the criticism. It was all because he missed his family. Bear Grylls is a normal man (though definitely more adventurous than your average person!) and is a family man at heart. His love for them is very evident throughout the book.

So, would I recommend this autobiography? Definitely! I especially enjoyed reading about his trip up Everest and would love to read more about his other expeditions. I’d certainly read another Bear Grylls book.

I’m an armchair adventurer!

Buy Mud, Sweat and Tears by Bear Brylls.

Bear Grylls is a British adventurer.

This is the 21st book I’ve read for the British Books Challenge.

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Please note: I received this book free from Transworld Publishers. However, this has in no way influenced my opinion of the book.

The audiobook version of Jim Butcher‘s Ghost Story (book #13 of the Dresden Files) was released a couple of days ago (see my post regarding the change in narrator). With John Glover narrating the book instead of the long-standing James Marsters (who apparently pulled out of recording at the last minute due to personal reasons), I’m wondering what people’s opinions are now that the audiobook has been released. Jim is happy with Glover’s narration for the book, but are the fans?

I must admit that I’ve only heard the sample of John Glover narrating Ghost Story on Audible, so my opinion is based on that.

Issue number one is that John Glover is not James Marsters. In other words, he is not the original narrator for the series and to change the narrator at this stage in the series is somewhat of a jolt. It doesn’t feel the same. In fact, I think if anyone would have been a suitable replacement for the narration of Ghost Story it would have been Paul Blackthorne. Paul played Harry in the TV series of The Dresden Files and did a superb job. However, I still think I would have prefered to have waited until James Marsters was available to do the job. Continuity is key… I hate it when the actor playing a main character in a TV series is changed. It doesn’t go down well.

Secondly, John Glover’s voice sounds a lot older than James Marsters’ and, to me, sounded too old for Harry Dresden (the main character). After all, there is an 18 year ages gap between the two actors.

I didn’t enjoy listening to the sample of Ghost story. John Glover just didn’t do it for me, it sounded too much like he was just reading from the book, rather than “acting” the narration (if you get what I mean). I couldn’t get away from the fact that it wasn’t James Marsters narrating when it should have been. I was comparing John’s voice and narration to James’s and I just didn’t think it was right. Do I need to listen to more than the 10 minutes sample or is that always going to be my opinion, no matter how much I listen?

It was James Marsters who introduced me to the world of the Dresden Files. Without him I may never have come across this fantastic urban fantasy series by Jim Butcher. Storm Front (book #1 of the Dresden Files) was also my first venture into the world of audiobooks. It is for these reasons (and the fact that the Dresden Files is my all-time favourite series of books) that I am disappointed that James didn’t narrate Storm Front.

However, I’ve read every Dresden Files book as soon as they’ve arrived. I haven’t yet read Ghost Story (as I’ve been quite busy these past two weeks), but I have no doubt it’ll be a fantastic read and I can’t barely wait to read it!

Back to the audiobook..

Did the change in narrator for Ghost Story have an affect of the audiobook sales? I’d like to find out. I know a number of fans cancelled their pre-orders (me included).

So what do other people think? Here are a few comments from my previous post on this issue…

Aron A – “…knowing that John Glover is a good character actor, having played so many different character types over the last few decades, I think that he’ll do just fine to keep me ensnared by Harry Dresden.”

Donna – “As fine an actor as Mr. Glover is, I really don’t believe he could convince me that he is Harry Dresden or Thomas, Murphy, Ebeneezer, Toot-Toot, etc. I would have gladly waited for a later release date, as I am sure many other would have.”

Skywise23 – “One way of looking at it is the difference in voices, represents the changes in Dresden after all the chaos of the last book.”

Deborah – “Just downloaded the first chapter from Audible. If Glover had been the voice of Dresden from the beginning, maybe, but I just can’t get over the change.”

Geoff – “Sample chapter is out and it’s a total disaster. Skip the audio version this time. Very disappointing.”

So what are readers/listeners opinions now the audiobook is out? Have you listened to the sample and have you bought or will be buy the full audiobook?

On a side note: If you’ve never read or listened to any of the Dresden Files books, then I urge you to do so! Start with book #1 – Storm Front and work your way through the series. Whether you listen to the audiobooks or read the physical books (which I definitely recommend you do!), this is a fantastic series that I’m sure you’ll enjoy! I’ve already got a number of my friends hooked on the Dresden Files through my recommendations.