The Janus Stone

It's quite funny really. I was so concerned about reading this book in time to get it back to the library by next Saturday that I thought I'd better get reading. I ought to have realised that The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths - book two in her Ruth Galloway series - would be unputdownable and that I would whip through it in a couple of days!



There are two archaeological digs going on in Ruth Galloway's part of Norfolk and she has an interest in both. One is a Roman dig near the village of Swaffham where Ruth meets up with a passing acquaintance, archaeologist Max Gray, from Sussex, who is heading the dig. The second is in Norwich where a children's home is being demolished to make way for luxury appartments. The dig there has discovered the skeleton of a child under a doorway and Ruth, being a forensic archaeologist, is called in to investigate.

Foul play is suspected in the case of the skeleton and DCI Harry Nelson is called in to head the case. He and Ruth have a recent history, despite the fact that he is married with teenage daughters. It's awkward because Ruth has a secret that she is reluctant to divulge for a while.

The children's home is investigated and the elderly catholic priest who used to run the place found and interviewed. But it seems the home was a happy one and the staff kindly and supportive. Then it's discovered that before the house was a children's home it was owned by the Spens family, one of the sons of which is doing the new build. Some digging into their family history is required and Ruth and the police take this on. Things become complicated as Ruth struggles to keep her secret while events turn nasty at her isolated home beside the saltmarsh. Someone is prowling around at night and it seems as though, once again, her life might very well be in danger...

If anything I think this second book was even better than the first. Ruth is the same independent woman, who doesn't conform to female stereotypes at all. But her life has moved on and it's quite rivetting following events and the way in which she deals with things. Her relationship with Harry is still very complicated and tentative and I like the way the author doesn't try to sugar-coat their problems or create a 'happy-ever-after' scenario.

Apart from Ruth and Harry, Griffiths has created some excellent characters; the new-age Cathbad, permanently clad in his purple cloak and nutty as a fruit-cake, but a genuine friend to Ruth; Shona, Ruth's promiscuous best friend whose relationship with Ruth took a bit of a battering in the previous book; and Ruth's born-again Christian parents whose reaction to Ruth's secret is tragically funny. I love them all, to be honest. I'm even warming to Harry's wife, Michelle. In fact, that's one excellent thing about this series... the author has gone in for shades of grey rather than black and white. Her characters have faults and foibles just as in real life and Griffiths uses humour to describe them rather than being overly judgemental and superior. Perhaps *that* is what is so appealing about the books? I honestly don't know, I just know that I adore the two books I've read so far and can't wait for more!

The Colour of Magic

The Colour of Magic is the first book of Terry Pratchett's long 'Discworld' series. When I first began reading them - about seven or eight years ago - several people suggested that I didn't start with the first two (The Light Fantastic being book two) but began instead with Equal Rights and Mort. This I did and I think this was sensible, but the result was that I've been putting off and putting off actually reading the books that started the Discworld series off. This omission was one reason that I was so pleased when I heard about Marg's Terry Pratchett challenge as it gave me an opportuniy to read these first two books, plus various others that I've missed for one reason or another. So, this is The Colour of Magic and the question really is, 'what was I afraid of?'



Rincewind is what you might call a failed wizard. It's not entirely his fault, he had an encounter with a serious book of spells and was never quite the same again. But still he's basically an inept cowardly sort and greedy at that. He comes across Twoflowers, a four-eyed tourist from the mythical Counterweight Continent - the very first tourist ever as a matter of fact - and together they manage to start a fire that lays waste to the city of Ankh-Morpok. Escape becomes necessary and, together with Twoflowers's rather unusual 'luggage', they flee the city.

Their adventures take them on a tour of the Discworld. First they come across Hrun the Barbarian and end up fighting an eight-legged monster in a labyrinth of caves - shades of Lovecraft's Cthulhu here. Then they find dragons, which are not supposed to exist, along with dragonriders, in an upside-down mountain and again have to fight their way out. This bit was rather Anne McCaffrey's Pern in flavour I thought. Lastly, they end up on the rim of the world where the seas flow over the edge in a huge waterfall, and get caught up in a local 'space' type mission to find out what's actually over the edge. And while all this is going on what are the Discworld gods up to? Helping or hindering?

I was quite surprised at how much I enjoyed this. It certainly is different in flavour to the later Discworld books. It's split into four or five novella type stories, all linked of course, and each one is much more of a spoof on the fantasy genre than later books are. Pratchett's humour is to the fore of course, although he still had to get into his stride I suspect. Death, for instance, a favourite character of mine, is slightly different - I'm guessing Pratchett still had to flesh his character out somewhat. He eventually became a lot more philosophical and kind of 'innocent' than he is here, where he's chasing after Rincewind desperate for him to die. I can't imagine him doing that in the later books.

One thing I really did enjoy about the book was the tour around the Discworld and discussions on the different countries and nationalites that make up the world itself. It was 'almost' a traditional fantasy novel in that respect and I liked that aspect a lot. I can't remember whether later books mention as many different part of the Discworld but I don't think so and perhaps that's a shame.

Anyway, all in all a very good read. I'd really like to read The Light Fantastic straight away as I gather it's very much a sequel, but I can't. A library book I have (The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths) is reserved by someone else and I only have it until the 17th. What with a busy week coming up (grandaughter coming to stay) I really need to start that if I'm to have any chance of finishing it in time.

The Colour of Magic is book three for Marg's Terry Pratchett challenge and book two for Carl's Once Upon a Time IV challenge.

Which fantasy author are you?

Couldn't resist this one but the result was a surprise.

Your result for Which fantasy writer are you?...

Robert Jordan (1948-2007)

-5 High-Brow, -15 Violent, -29 Experimental and 19 Cynical!

Congratulations! You are Low-Brow, Peaceful, Traditional and Cynical! These concepts are defined below.

Robert Jordan, the pen name for James Oliver Rigney, Jr, was the author of the best-selling Wheel of Time series. This gargantuan piece of fiction, set in a world where half the source of magic has been tainted by the Evil One, so that only women can do magic without turning insane, was published between 1990 and 2005. It is scheduled to be finished by 2011 by author Brandon Sanderson, who will be working from Jordan's extensive notes, since the latter's tragic and premature death in cardiac amyloidosis made it impossible for him to finish the series by himself.

Fantasy readers across the world will remember Jordan as the creator of one of the most detailed secondary worlds ever imagined by a single person, with carefully crafted cultures, legends and conflicts. This he used as the setting for a grand epic tale of the traditional fantasy theme of Good against Evil and seemingly insignificant people discovering that they are destined to play an important role in this struggle. Although the plot centres around conflict and several important characters are warriors, be it by choice or necessity, Jordan does not bask in gory details of violence and war is described as something evil that essentially does more harm than good. However, he is able to discern the forces that might push countries into conflict, leaving little room for over-romantic notions of ever-lasting peace.

All this makes Jordan's epic tale the choice for those who are not daunted by the scope and length of what is, perhaps, the longest story ever written. There are plenty who would say that it is also one of the best.

You are also a lot like J K Rowling.

If you want some action, try David Eddings.

If you'd like a challenge, try your exact opposite, Gene Wolfe.

Your score

This is how to interpret your score: Your attitudes have been measured on four different scales, called 1) High-Brow vs. Low-Brow, 2) Violent vs. Peaceful, 3) Experimental vs. Traditional and 4) Cynical vs. Romantic. Imagine that when you were born, you were in a state of innocence, a tabula rasa who would have scored zero on each scale. Since then, a number of circumstances (including genetical, cultural and environmental factors) have pushed you towards either end of these scales. If you're at 45 or -45 you would be almost entirely cynical, low-brow or whatever. The closer to zero you are, the less extreme your attitude. However, you should always be more of either (eg more romantic than cynical). Please note that even though High-Brow, Violent, Experimental and Cynical have positive numbers (1 through 45) and their opposites negative numbers (-1 through -45), this doesn't mean that either quality is better. All attitudes have their positive and negative sides, as explained below.

High-Brow vs. Low-Brow

You received -5 points, making you more Low-Brow than High-Brow. Being high-browed in this context refers to being more fascinated with the sort of art that critics and scholars tend to favour, while a typical low-brow would favour the best-selling kind. At their best, low-brows are honest enough to read what they like, regardless of what "experts" and academics say is good for them. At their worst, they are more likely to read what their neighbours like than what they would choose themselves.

Violent vs. Peaceful

You received -15 points, making you more Peaceful than Violent. This scale is a measurement of a) if you are tolerant to violence in fiction and b) whether you see violence as a means that can be used to achieve a good end. If you aren't, and you don't, then you are peaceful as defined here. At their best, peaceful people are the ones who encourage dialogue and understanding as a means of solving conflicts. At their worst, they are standing passively by as they or third parties are hurt by less scrupulous individuals.

Experimental vs. Traditional

You received -29 points, making you more Traditional than Experimental. Your position on this scale indicates if you're more likely to seek out the new and unexpected or if you are more comfortable with the familiar, especially in regards to culture. Note that traditional as defined here does not equal conservative, in the political sense. At their best, traditional people don't change winning concepts, favouring storytelling over empty poses. At their worst, they are somewhat narrow-minded.

Cynical vs. Romantic

You received 19 points, making you more Cynical than Romantic. Your position on this scale indicates if you are more likely to be wary, suspicious and skeptical to people around you and the world at large, or if you are more likely to believe in grand schemes, happy endings and the basic goodness of humankind. It is by far the most vaguely defined scale, which is why you'll find the sentence "you are also a lot like x" above. If you feel that your position on this scale is wrong, then you are probably more like author x. At their best, cynical people are able to see through lies and spot crucial flaws in plans and schemes. At their worst, they are overly negative, bringing everybody else down.

Author picture from Wikipedia. Licensed under the following conditions: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Take Which fantasy writer are you? at OkCupid

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I've never read anything by Robert Jordon in my life - perhaps I should?

Historical - People of the Book

I've finished this book at last! I seem to have been reading People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks for weeks on end although it is, in fact, probably only ten days. Anyway, this is my third book for the Year of the Historical challenge which is being hosted by
Lurv a la Mode.



Hanna Heath is an Australian restorer of ancient books and texts. The phone rings in the middle of the night and she's offered the opportunity of a lifetime - that of restoring a centuries old Haggadah, which is a Jewish, illuminated book. Unfortunately, the book is in wartorn Sarajevo where it was saved from the bombs by a librarian. Hanna travels to Bosnia to meet 'Ozran', who saved the book, and to examine the volume for herself. In the process of restoring it she finds several clues to its journey from the 15th. century to present day... an insect's wing, a grey hair, a couple of stains, salt crystals. Hanna's life is complicated, she never knew her father and has an unsatisfactory relationship with her mother who is an eminent brain surgeon. She also has difficulty maintaining relationships with men, shrugging them off the minute they start to get close.

The story within the story focuses on the Haggadah's history. We journey back through the Bosnian war of the 1900s, see how it survived the Nazi invasion of the Balkan states, witness Vienna in the 1890s, Venice in the 1600s and so on, right back to the book's creation in Seville in 1480. Various characters people the account, priests, a young Jewish girl escaping from the Nazis, a Jewish book restorer who is addicted to gambling, a young slave girl...

Running alongside this is Hanna's story - her investigations into the book, conclusions she reaches about the clues she discovers, her train-wreck relationship with her mother and the eventual discovery of who her father was and what that leads to. When she accepted the job, Hanna had absolutely no idea that it would change her life forever.

I wish I could say that I loved this book because I really did want to. That's not to say I *dis*liked it - not at all. I found it interesting, heart-wrenching, educational... all kinds of things in fact, but hardly ever gripping. If I put it down I was never bothered about picking it up again and sometimes actively avoided doing so. Until the last fifty pages, when I suddenly became wrapped up in events and wanted to read on to see what happened to Hanna. I can't really explain it, because I can't name anything that was actually wrong with the book at all. I'm inclined, though not convinced, to think it might have been my mood. Sometimes I'm in the mood for something a bit more challenging and maybe I'm just not at the moment? I don't know; it makes no sense.

Anyway, this is going to the charity shop unless someone wants to grab it off me? You would be most welcome. I'm in the minority with my reaction to this one - most seem to love it. As it's my plan to read quite a few books off my tbr pile this year and weed them out a bit, I have no complaints about doing that with this book.

Library loot

I'm unlikely to be updating until probably mid-week so I thought I'd plug the gap with a library and recent acquisitions post. I haven't done either in a while and a little bookporn is always welcome in my experience.

First up, my current library pile:



Two reserved books were ready to collect this morning so I had a bit of a spring-clean of the pile and took a few back that I didn't feel in the mood for right now. The resultant pile of eight books is a bit more manageable I feel. I can have twelve but when I do I tend to feel overwhelmed by them all, sitting on the shelf, eyeing me accusingly.

From top to bottom:

One Fine Day - Mollie Panter-Downes
Greenwitch - Susan Cooper
The Right Attitude to Rain - A. McCall Smith
The Careful Use of Compliments - A. McCall Smith
The Ivy Tree - Mary Stewart
44 Scotland Street - A. McCall Smith
The Janus Stone - Elly Griffiths
Remnant Population - Elizabeth Moon

It seems I'm on an Alexander McCall Smith kick at the moment!

Next up, a few recent acquisitions. I'm trying not to buy too many books at the moment and these are about all since Christmas. It's no good me putting myself on a complete ban as it just wouldn't work. Restricting myself is far more effective and the few books I am acquiring are really appreciated.



The three books from the Pitt series by Anne Perry were simply too irresistible I'm afraid. Novel Notes by Jerome K. Jerome I found in a charity shop. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo was a gift from a blogger friend who just couldn't get on with this book. And Storm Front by Jim Butcher and Nightlife by Rob Thurman are really just two random buys from the fantasy and horror genre, which is a particular weakness of mine.

And last, but by no means least, a gift from Pat, (Deslily at Here, There and Everywhere), my 'sis' across the pond who knows of my weakness, not only for bookmarks, but for TV and movie actors. Three beautiful 'fannish' bookmarks, and one from her novel, to use and enjoy. I love them. Thank you, Pat.





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The Museum's Secret

The Remarkable Adventures of Tom Scatterhorn: The Museum's Secret, by Henry Chancellor, is part one of a newish Young Adult series and my first read for Carl's Once Upon a Time IV challenge. Before my grandaughter pointed it out to me in her city library, saying how good it was, I'd never heard of it. *But* she has good taste in YA literature and I knew the OUaT challenge was coming up, so I happily took it from her.



Tom Scatterhorn's father has disappeared after developing an obsession with insects. He's gone abroad and no one knows where he is until a postcard arrives from Mongolia. Tom's mother promptly sets off to look for him leaving eleven year old Tom with his Uncle Jos and Aunt Melba. They are the proprietors of the Scatterhorn museum, a large, ramshackle, barn of a place housing many curiosities but primarily a collection of very realistic stuffed animals.

The Scatterhorns have had an ongoing, centuries old, feud with the Catchers, a family who inhabit Catcher Hall, across the valley. Apart from one period in Victorian times when taxidermist and scientist, August Catcher, was very friendly with Henry Scatterhorn, a 'daring-do', hunter/explorer type. Together they were the founders of the museum. But now Catcher Hall is empty and the museum is falling into disrepair. Onto the scene appears Don Gervase Askery and his daughter, Lotus, who claim to be long lost relatives of the Catchers. But are these two very odd individuals what they seem? And what is it they're searching for?

Tom, lonely and facing Christmas without his parents, begins an exploration of the museum. He soon discovers that all is not as it seems. One night, shocked to find a talking eagle in his bedroom, he's tricked into spending the night inside the museum. It seems that the eagle is not the only animal that can come alive... various talking specimens include a mammoth, a dodo, a snake, a troupe of bible-bashing mice and a very large tiger.

Tom's conversation with the animals is interrupted by two policemen who think the museum is being burgled. They give chase and the boy takes refuge in a travel-chest full of rags, stored in a cupboard. He burrows deep into the rags and finds himself falling... right smack into Victorian times where two of the first people he meets are Henry Scatterhorn and August Catcher. And, to his dismay and horror, Don Gervase Ackery and his daughter. Can things possibly get any weirder? Well yes as a matter of fact they can... and Tom's adventures are only just beginning.

Well, I have absolutely no trouble seeing why my grandaughter loved this one. I suppose one would have to say that the idea of animals coming to life in a museum is not exactly original - the movie, A Night at the Museum, springs to mind of course. But that's about the only similarity betwixt movie and book, as the story here is very different. This is a pacey, time-travelling yarn, which is more of a 'boy's own' adventure, inhabited by some quite gothicky villains and mad scientist inventor types. It's highly imaginative and nicely historical too with it's Victorian settings and even a trip to the India of the Raj. It also keeps you guessing. The author gives little away about the origins of the villains or in fact what is going on at all; the reader is just as confused as Tom, but it's an awful lot of fun guessing! A cracking good read to be honest, appealing, I would think, to both boys and girls of, say, nine to fifteen, and grannies like me who love a good, well written, YA adventure yarn. Book two of the series, The Hidden World is already out and book three is out this year I believe. Yes, I will be reading them...

Very pleased to have my first Once Upon a Time read under my belt. I now have to finish People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks before next Thursday (the 1st. April). Which sounds easy but sadly it's not inspiring me much and there's a lot of other stuff I would really rather be getting my teeth into. Hopefully, it'll grow on me as I go along.

The Once Upon a Time IV challenge

It's that time of year again! Spring is almost here and The Once Upon a Time challenge is once again upon us.



I feel as though I've been waiting for this one for weeks... my books all ready and waiting and piled up on the shelf. As always it is hosted by Carl and as always there are several options to choose from. I'm going for...



The object of this is to:

Read at least 5 books that fit somewhere within the Once Upon a Time IV criteria. They might all be fantasy, or folklore, or fairy tales, or mythology…or your five books might be a combination from the four genres.

These are the books I've collected together for my pool *but* they're not necessarily the exact books I'll read. I tend to read a few off my own pile and also get inspired by what others are reading and end up reading a few off their piles too! Such is the world of book blogging. Anyway this is my pile:



From the bottom:

The Remarkable Adventures of Tom Scatterhorn by Henry Chancellor. I know nothing whatsoever about this book. My little grandaughter gave it to me on a recent trip to Exeter city library and said that it was 'really good' and when she does that I always try to read whatever she's recommending so that we can chat about it.

Greenwitch by Susan Cooper. Book three of her 'Over sea, under stone' series that I've loved so far. There's only one copy in Devon libraries and I nabbed that too while I was in Exeter.

The Magician by Michael Scott. Book two in his Nicholas Flamel series. I read book one last year and it's about time I got to book two.

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde. This has sat on my tbr mountain for years but just recently my husband and daughter have been gushing about this series so it's time to see what I'm missing.

Temeraire by Naomi Novik. Another series I've been wanting to read in forever! This one will double up for my Year of the Historical challenge.

The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett. I've never read the first couple of Discworld books and am reading them for the Terry Pratchett challenge Marg is hosting. So this one will also be a double-up book.

Storm Front by Jim Butcher. The first in a series that I've been wanting to read forever. Now's my chance.

So that's it. The challenge runs from the 21st. March to the 20th. June and I can't wait to start reading.

Books actually read:

1.. The Remarkable Adventures of Tom Scatterhorn: The Museum's Secret - Henry Chancellor
2.. The Colour of Magic - Terry Pratchett
3.. Temeraire - Naomi Novik
4.. Greenwitch - Susan Cooper
5.. The Light Fantastic - Terry Pratchett

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