Bogormen

Title: Thone of Jade (Temeraire #2)
Author: Naomi Novik
Genre: Fantasy, Historical fiction
Rating: 3.5/5
# pages: Audiobook ~12hrs
Date read: September, 2013

China has discovered that its rare gift, intended for Napoleon, has fallen into British hands - and an angry Chinese delegation vows to reclaim the remarkable beast. But Laurence refuses to cooperate. Facing the gallows for his defiance, Laurence has no choice but to accompany Temeraire back to the Far East - a long voyage fraught with peril, intrigue, and the untold terrors of the deep. Yet once the pair reaches the court of the Chinese emperor, even more shocking discoveries and darker dangers await.

Unfortunately I wasn't quite as blown away by this sequel as by the first book in the series. It was still good, but somewhat repetitive. Guess I prefer their English exploits to their Chinese ones. We'll see where the next book takes us.

Title: To Have and To Code (A Modern Witch, #0.5)
Author: Debora Geary
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4/5
# pages: 364, Audiobook ~12hrs
Date read: September 2013, October 2019

Nell Sullivan is fiery, easily distracted by cookies, and doomed to wear the peach monstrosity at her best friend's wedding.

And she's a witch.

Daniel Walker is a former baseball player turned bored hacker looking for a challenge. Hacking Nell's online gaming world is going to get him a lot more than he bargained for.

A prophecy says they will make babies together - but when it comes to the love life of a modern witch and a hacker, prophecy might not get a vote.

Adorable novel, but definitely more about the romance than the magic. That's okay - I liked that it focused on Nell-the-person rather than Nell-the-witch... Or rather how they were one and the same and one shouldn't take a back seat to the other.

But why does nobody in Berkeley even ever blink an eyelid at somebody being a witch? Okay, Daniel was more surprised than most, but he was the only one... seems slightly too good to be true to me.

Ah well, minor nitpick, and I did enjoy this glimpse into Nell's past and her interaction with her family of origin. Not to mention I'm pretty sure we saw a recurring character from one of her short stories - but I'm too lazy to go back and check the names ;)

Title: Shangriman - eventyrlandet
Author: Peter Sonne
Genre: Fantasy, Childrens
Rating: 4/5
# pages: 156
Date read: September, 2013

Benjas far er forsvundet, og den eneste der tror på at han stadig er i live og vender tilbage en dag er gamle Noah. Men selv han kan ikke fortælle Benja hvor han er, eller hvornår han kommer tilbage.

Men en dag viser Noah ham et gammelt, gulnet kort over landet Shangriman og fortæller at Benja er udvalgt til at tage dertil for at hente eventyrets Magiske Amulet tilbage for at redde menneskenes verden. Benja er ikke sikker på at han er modig nok til det - han er jo kun en lille dreng - men da han opdager at hans far også er i Shangriman er beslutningen pludselig taget for ham... selvfølgelig skal han hjælpe!

Hvad følger er en eventyrlig rejse gennem Shangriman, hvor Benja møder Skovfolket og opdager at de er i krig med Sølvmaske. Men da selv Sølvmaske anerkender at Benja er den udvalgte som skal finde amuletten, må Benja søge dybere for at finde ud af hvem der er venner og hvem der er fjender.

Ganske vidst er jeg aldersmæssigt noget over målgruppen for Peter Sonnes "Shangriman", men jeg blev alligevel fanget ind af historien. Han skriver i den gode, gamle fortællestil ellers ofte fundet hos Astrid Lindgren, og bogen mindede mig skiftevis om "Mio, min Mio" og "Brødrene Løvehjerte" (dog med en bedre slutning!) med en lille smule af Bjarne Reuters "Shamran" smidt ind i blandingen for en god ordens skyld -- forhåbentlig ikke forfattere Peter Sonne har noget imod at blive sammenlignet med.

"Shangriman" har en ganske åben slutning, så jeg forventer at den er første bog i en serie, og hvis efterfølgerne kan leve op til standarden sat her, er Peter Sonne absolut en forfatter man skal holde øje med.

Title: Out of the Silent Planet
Author: C.S. Lewis
Genre: Sci-fi
Rating: 4.5/5
# pages: Audiobook ~6.5hrs
Date read: June 2007, September 2013, May 2016, November 2018

This first book begins with our hero, Dr. Ransom, out for a walking tour in the countryside, dressed in that shabby way for which professors are renowned. His foes are his former schoolmates Devine and Weston. These men believe they need a human sacrifice, and by capturing Ransom they have their victim, for they have made a spaceship and are taking Ransom to Malacandra the red planet.

Once on Mars, Ransom escapes his captors, meets many species, and finds out that on Mars there has been no `Fall' and Ransom from Earth or the Silent Planet is a bit of an oddity. People from earth are considered to be `bent' in nature, from the original sin of the fall.

Follow Ransom as he treks across a strange world, and must find the courage to risk it all to save not only an alien race, but also, possibly his own soul.


I remember a long car ride as a child. It was too dark for us to read, so either Mum or Dad told us a story about a man from earth who was kidnapped and brought to a strange planet.

Several years later, Dad was looking for a book to read aloud to me, and picked it this one. I still pronounce all the Malechandrean terms in his voice, so the audiobook narrator got them all wrong ;-) Took me a few years to remember the car ride and realize it was the same story though.

But ever since then, I've been fascinated with the idea of not only life on other planets, but religion on other planets ever since. But then, why should the Earth be the only planet God ever revealed Himself to? If indeed there is life on other planets, wouldn't it make more sense that God revealed Himself there too, rather than that he didn't?

It's a brilliant book, and the descriptions of Malechandra wonderfully other-worldly. It's the first in a trilogy but can easily be read on its own.