Artemesia is the daughter of a pirate queen, and she's sick of practicing deportment at the Angels Academy for Young Maidens. Escaping from the school, she hunts up her mother's crew and breezily commands them out to sea in a leaky boat. Unfortunately, Art's memories of her early life may not be accurate-her seasick crew are actors, and Art's infamous mother was the darling of the stage in a pirate drama. But fiery, pistol-proof Art soon shapes her men into the cleverest pirate crew afloat. And when they meet the dread ship Enemy and her beautiful, treacherous captain, Goldie Girl,…
I mean, Brust is one of my favourite authors, full stop. This latest in the Vlad Taltos series finds Vlad hiding out in a theatre. With a theatre background myself, I find so many books that take place in theatres painful, because of the inaccuracies. This one, on the other hand, is a really accurate depiction of the way things work in the theatre, even though it is clearly a different world from ours. And heck, Vlad is just always so clever with his problem solving!
Vlad Taltos is on the run. Again. This time from one of the most powerful forces in his world, the Left Hand, who are intent on ending his very lucrative career. Permanently.
He finds a hidey-hole in a theatre where the players are putting on a show that was banned centuries ago...and is trying to be shut down by the House that once literally killed to keep it from being played.
Vlad will take on a number of roles to save his own skin. And the skins of those he loves.
I really enjoyed the writing, and the concept of training dragons to fight the Napoleonic wars was cool and interesting. I love how polite everyone is, even to their enemies. Can we go back to days like that, please?
Naomi Novik's stunning series of novels follow the adventures of Captain William Laurence and his fighting dragon Temeraire as they are thrown together to fight for Britain during the turbulent time of the Napoleonic Wars.
As Napoleon's tenacious infantry rampages across Europe and his armada lies in wait for Nelson's smaller fleet, the war does not rage on land and water alone. Squadrons of aviators swarm the skies - a deadly shield for the cumbersome canon-firing vessels. Raining fire and acid upon their enemies, they engage in a swift, violent combat with flying tooth and claw... for these aviators ride…
She plunged her blade into his chest, feeling it grind along his ribs...
Outcast swordfighter, Kyer Halidan, was abandoned in a cornfield at age three. Now, twenty years on, she’s searching for answers: Who left her there? And why?
Kyer doesn't suffer fools, and when she kills a man in a duel, her life takes a dangerous turn. She catches the eye of legendary hero, Valrayker, and he pulls her into his company for a high-stakes mission to save a village. However, Kyer's past comes back to haunt her as she is stalked and captured by the allies of the man she killed. They will stop at nothing to find out what she knows.
Just when all hope seems lost, Kyer is rescued by an inexplicable magic that raises suspicions among her friends and enemies alike. As trust crumbles and danger closes in, Kyer must defy orders and challenge those she swore to follow.
As for her true identity, Valrayker has his own suspicions, but he's keeping those secrets to himself...for now. Gatekeeper's Key is what happens when you drop Katniss Everdeen into Lord of the Rings -- a thrilling start to a fantasy series full of danger, intrigue, mysterious magic, scheming villains, humour, sword-wielding badassery, and dark consequences.
