Monday, February 28, 2022

Book Review: Scream of the White Bear by David Clement-Davies


The most recent and presumably last in the David Clement-Davies Animal Xenofiction Universe. Like, these aren't all technically part of the same series (except for The Sight and Fell), but they obviously take place in the same universe, just in different locations and time periods. So let's take a look at the most recent installment. Spoilers ahead.

Sunday, February 27, 2022

Book Review: A Light in the Mist by Erin Hunter (Warriors: The Broken Code #6)

 



The last one. Can you believe it? After 5+ years of (very) slowly making my way catching up to the modern Warrior Cats books, I'm finally caught up (with exception of the graphic novels and field guides, but I don't care much for those). Why did it take me so long? A whole bunch of factors. Me taking long breaks sometimes, me only wanting the paperback editions of the new covers, and just generally not having the funds to buy the 40ish books/novellas I missed out on makes it take a while. 

So let's have a look at the final book of the latest arc! Let's hope it ends with a bang! Spoilers ahead.

Saturday, February 26, 2022

Book Review: The Place of No Stars by Erin Hunter (Warriors: The Broken Code #4)

 


Book five! One left and we're done with this arc! While I didn't consider book four to be particularly engaging, it did leave off with a large cliffhanger! So let's see how our main three and the Clans are doing in The Place of No Stars. Spoilers ahead.

Friday, February 25, 2022

Book Review: How to Tame a Fox by Lee Alan Dugatkin and Lyudmila Trut

 


In the fifties of the twentieth century, some Russians set up a crazy experiment: trying to breed the silver morph of red foxes to become domesticated. This is the experiment in extremely broad terms, but it really is what stuff comes down to. The results were sometimes quite interesting. This book details the backstory and some of the results of the experiment.

Thursday, February 24, 2022

Book Review: Brotherhood of the Goat by Reggie Naus

 


Note: The title of this book has been translated into English by me for the reading comprehension of this blog's viewers as the book itself isn't available in English (yet).

One of my more recent hyperfixations is the buckriders folklore & history in the Netherlands. For those not in the know, in the 1700s there were a lot of ongoing trials against these "gangs" called the buckriders (bokkenrijders in Dutch). 

There was a lot of hysteria surrounding them, leading to mass witch hunts where these Buckriders were taken captive, tortured and, in almost all cases, executed. There was also all kinds of more supernatural elements (supposely) that surrounded these buckriders. For example, they (supposedly) all had to take a satanic oath before becoming a part of a gang, and they'd ride flying billy goats through the night skies as they robbed churches and the rich. 

A lot of it is probably exaggerated or not even true at all, but we do know this one thing: many people did suffer and ended up being killed during the buckrider trials. 

Naus wrote a book based on this buckrider history, so let's have a look! Spoilers ahead.

Monday, February 21, 2022

Book Review: Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer (Twilight Saga #3)

 


One left. After this there is only one left in this series and I'll be free from Twilight. Why am I putting myself through this again? Ah well, let's have a look. Trigger warning for mentions of pedophila and racism, with this being a Twilight book and all. Spoilers ahead.

Sunday, February 20, 2022

Book Review: Fell by David Clement-Davies (The Sight #2)


Ever since I first read The Sight many years ago, I've been meaning to get to the sequel. But just never ended up doing so, probably because I could never find a physical copy. But now that I got the ebook I am finally getting to it. Spoilers ahead.

Wednesday, February 16, 2022

Book Review: Scorch Dragons by Amie Kaufman (Elementals #2)


It's been a good while since I looked at the first Elementals book, Ice Wolves, but I'm now finally getting to book two! After this one there's only one left! Spoilers ahead.

Tuesday, February 15, 2022

Book Review: Wolves at the Veluwe by Evert de Jonge

 


Note: The title of this book has been translated into English by me for the reading comprehension of this blog's viewers as the book itself isn't available in English (yet). The original title reads Wolven op de Veluwe.

So, wolves huh? Quite the hot-button topic, and not just in the USA. Where I live, in the Netherlands, they have been the talk of the day many times in the past few years. After 120+ years of extinction here, they came back of their own volition to our little country. They were once wiped out in pretty much all of Western Europe, but after a successful return to certain lands like Germany, they're now here as well! So let's take a look at this book! 

Sunday, February 13, 2022

Book Review: The Band of the White Feather by Paul van Loon (Raveleijn #2)

 

Note: The title of this book has been translated into English by me for the reading comprehension of this blog's viewers as the book itself isn't available in English (yet). The original title reads De bende van de Witte Veer.

The second and as of now last installment in the Raveleijn duology. Unlike the first book, this one is not directly tied to the parkshow or TV series. Some elements of this book do return in the parkshow (such as Samira having a brother named Jarno) but other than that it's just pretty much a sequel that doesn't have a direct counterpart to the TV or parkshow. Anyways, let's dive in. Spoilers ahead!

Thursday, February 10, 2022

Book Review: Ghost Hunter by Michelle Paver (Chronicles of Ancient Darkness #6)

 


Here we are, the final book of the "original" series. Yes, the newer books are still technically part of the same arc, but they were only written after the series was originally declared complete. The whole main looming threat of the Soul Eaters is also concluded in this book, so the newer books might feel more like addons to the story. I don't know, I haven't read them yet, but this will be my last Ancient Darkness review for a while until I get the new books! Spoilers ahead!

Monday, February 7, 2022

Book Review: Oath Breaker by Michelle Paver (Chronicles of Ancient Darkness #5)

 


Can't believe I'm almost done with the original run of these books. Yes, we are currently getting a few more than was originally intended, but so far I only have books one through six due to the Dutch translations not going beyond that. So let's see what Oath Breaker has in store for us, shall we? Spoilers ahead?

Friday, February 4, 2022

Thursday, February 3, 2022

Book Review: Black Beauty by Anna Sewell


It's probably a well-known fact that despite me being the animal lover I am, I simply do not vibe with equines (horses and ponies specifically). They're just too big (in the case of horses at least) and skittish for my taste. They're definitely allowed to exist, just not in a close radius to me personally as I'd rather keep my distance. 

So obviously I haven't read that many horse books. I think I read a few from the library at age 6 but other than that my interest has been peaked much more by canine, feline and cervine-centric xenofictions. But that isn't to say I'm not willing to give Black Beauty a chance; it's a classic after all and maybe I'll end up liking it like other xenofiction classics like Bambi: A Life in the Woods or Call of the Wild. Spoilers ahead, as well as mentions of animal abuse.

Wednesday, February 2, 2022

Book Review: Rising Moon by Ethan Summers (The Dogs of the Spires #4)

 


The first book in the second trilogy. Or the fourth book, technically speaking. Apparently everything prior to Rebirth is just one big arc but honestly this might as well be the start of a second trilogy because pretty much all plot threads of the first three books all tied together in Raven's Call, with some small room left open for future plotlines. Anyways, let's have a look! Spoilers ahead.