BW8: Happily Ever After

 

I Dream Of A Magical Place...

by

Parker A Blackwood 

And I, I dream of a magical place

Where I might have a smile on my face

A mother and father who love me

Living together under the eldest tree

It is a beautiful land

There are always adventures at hand

Ones where the good prevails

But darkness endures, as the tales

I wouldn't have to live in a castle

We needn't any vassal

Having each other was always enough

Even when things got tough

My friends would fight by my side

And we may never die

We had each other

We loved one another

My whole family, blood or not

Could always save each other if we sought with purity

Because love is the most powerful thing

So we all end up living as the king

Because our love is truelove

And the trees sing out above

The water flows with the music

Wind singing loud as the humans

The forest, the kingdom, the people

And even those who were thought to be evil

Their homes would be filled with love and laughter

And we would all live happily ever after

BW7: 52 Books Bingo - Gaslamp

 

Happy Sunday! My son surprised me with two books for Valentine's day:  Alan Moore's The Great When and Carly Fortune's Every Summer After.   Neither one was on my radar, but both look equally interesting. Moore's book fits our 52 Books Category this week - GASLAMP - and Fortune's book is a love story. I look forward to reading both. 

What's the difference between Gaslamp and Steampunk?  While both are considered Victorian Fantasy,  steampunk is science fiction centering around steam powered tech and magic vs gaslamp is more fantasy and centered around magic and supernatural creature.  Gaslamp has also since evolved to take place from the early 1800's Victorian era to the beginning of World War one in 1914 according to New York Public Library's Bewitched, Bothered and Betrothed: An Intro to Gaslamp Fantasy  

Some words on Gaslamp Fantasy, Good Friends, and Great Fiction

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell is an excellent example of a Gaslamp fantasy which I thoroughly enjoyed when I read it back in 2014.  I think it's time for a reread.  It's a chunky book at 1006 pages but well worth the effort. 

"The year is 1806. England is beleaguered by the long war with Napoleon, and centuries have passed since practical magicians faded into the nation's past. But scholars of this glorious history discover that one remains: the reclusive Mr Norrell, whose displays of magic send a thrill through the country.

Proceeding to London, he raises a beautiful woman from the dead and summons an army of ghostly ships to terrify the French. Yet the cautious, fussy Norrell is challenged by the emergence of another magician: the brilliant novice Jonathan Strange.

Young, handsome and daring, Strange is the very antithesis of Norrell. So begins a dangerous battle between these two great men which overwhelms that between England and France. And their own obsessions and secret dabblings with the dark arts are going to cause more trouble than they can imagine."

12 Gaslamp Fantasy Books Full of Magic and Mystery

Reddit Fantasy recommendations

Goodreads Listopia Gaslamp Fantasy

Helene Wecker's the Golem and the Jinni, Marie Brennan's Lady Trent series, as well as Devon Monk's Age of Steam series to name a few are all excellent as well.  

Happy reading!

BW6: Fascination

 

Happy Sunday! For some reason, I lost last week. All week I thought it was this  week and Friday was Valentine's Day.  I kissed hubby and wished him happy VD day as I headed out the door to work on Friday. The plan was to give him the card I bought when I got home and make a special meal on Saturday.  He calls me a few minutes later to let me know I was off by a week.  So every day now, he's wishing me happy Valentine's day. LOL!  Well, at least he won't forget now.  

To celebrate our day of love, according to the hallmark calendar, and the year in and year out love for everyone else, this week read a book which has Valentine or love in the title, or has a pink cover, with or without flowers, hearts, or is part of the book's theme. 

Fascination  ~ Nat King Cole 

It was fascination, I know

And it might have ended right then, at the start

Just a passing glance, just a brief romance

And I might have gone on my way empty hearted

It was fascination, I know

Seeing you alone with the moonlight above

Then I touch your hand and next moment I kissed you

Fascination turned to love

It was fascination, I know

Seeing you alone with the moonlight above

Then I touch your hand and next moment I kissed you

Fascination turned to love

Happy Valentine's Day

BW5: The Expeditions of Laurence and Temeraire

 

Welcome to February and our Dragon Bookology reading and spelling challenge for the month - Temeraire - and his faithful companion, Captain William Laurence.  They are the lead characters in Naomi Novik's alternate historical fantasy 9 books  series which takes place during the Napoleonic Wars and through England to China as well as Africa, Asia, South America and Japan. 

The first book in the series, His Majesty's Dragon, all about Captain Laurance who reluctantly bonded with the dragon Temeraire during the Napoleonic war and grew to love and trust him above all else, was an engaging five star read for me this past year.  

“after supper Laurence would go to sit outside and read to him by the light of a lantern. He had never been a great reader himself, but Temeraire’s pleasure in books was so great as to be infectious, and Laurence could not but think with satisfaction of the dragon’s likely delight in the new book, which spoke in great detail about gemstones and their mining, despite his own complete lack of interest in the subject.”

I went on the read the second book Throne of Jade and enjoyed it so much, decided to read the rest of the series and am currently on #3  Black Powder War.  

Naomi Novik also wrote the Scholomance Trilogy as well as Spinning Silver, Uprooted, and Will Supervillains be on the Finals?.

Goodreads Interview with Naomi Novik