Daniel Shellenbarger > Recent Status Updates

Sadly, I think that's as far as I'll get for now as the copy I've been reading is heading to Bangkok with my sister tomorrow, but I'll get back to it as soon as my library reserve comes in in a few weeks

This is a historical fiction novel about the dispute between Owain Gwynedd and his idiot brother Cadwalder and the subsequent Dublin-Danish "invasion" of Wales; calling it a mystery novel is almost false advertising. Yes, there's a murder in the book, but no one cares about it. Not Cadfael or the rest of the cast and certainly not the author. It feels like an obligatory murder included to keep the publisher happy.

a new noodle shop mystery named after my all-time favorite appetizer: yes, please!

Look, I know WH40k is grimdark, but do we have to keep repeating the "evil psychotic guy within the regiment who can get away with murder whenever he wants as an excuse to shamelessly kill off beloved characters" subplot, it was bad enough with Lijah Cuh, but now we've got Meryn and his band of whiny self-pitying jerks. Come on Abnett, get a new subplot!

The biggest problem I have with this series is misapplied geographic terms. For instance, this chapter started stating it was in Brzesc, Western Sardinia, but it quickly became clear that they meant Western Sarmatia (aka modern Belarus/Ukraine) and if I had a nickel for every time the author has mixed up the Horn of Africa and Cape of Good Hope...

Great book, don't know why it didn't get more hype