Dinara Tengri

 Winner of the World Fantasy Award 2004.  A tale of love, money, and family conflict--among dragons. A family deals with the death of their father. A son goes to court for his inheritance. Another son agonises over his father's deathbed confession. One daughter becomes involved in the abolition movement, while another sacrifices herself for her husband. And everyone in the tale is a dragon, red in tooth and claw. Here is a world of politics and train stations, of churchmen and family retainers, of courtship and country houses....in which, on the death of an elder, family members gather to eat the body of the deceased. In which the great and the good avail themselves of the privilege of killing and eating the weaker children, which they do with ceremony and relish, growing stronger thereby. You have never read a novel like Tooth and Claw. It may seem that the last line in the blurb is trying to oversell Tooth and Claw . But after having read it, I can honestly say, ...

So after months of counting pros and cons, I finally took a leap of faith in myself and started a new book blog. It's been a while, and I realise now, that I've missed writing reviews. It's been a slow and mind-melting summer, but with the October chill finally in the air, I'm able to think straight and - most importantly - commit myself writing again. Without further ado, I give you a list of titles I'm planning on reviewing this month. I've chosen these particular books, because I think they will set the tone for this blog. Here we go... 1. Tooth and Claw , by Jo Walton It's like Dynasty , but with dragons instead of people. I'm reading this novel as we speak, while jotting down notes for the upcoming review. Can't spoil anything at the moment, but just the idea of a high society drama involving dragons is enough to tickle my imagination. 2. In Other Worlds , by Margaret Atwood Another book I found during my "library scaveng...

A Steampunk adventure by Cherie Priest.    Maria Isabella Boyd’s success as a Confederate spy has made her too famous for further espionage work, and now her employment options are slim. Exiled, widowed, and on the brink of poverty…she reluctantly goes to work for the Pinkerton National Detective Agency in Chicago.   Adding insult to injury, her first big assignment is commissioned by the Union Army. In short, a federally sponsored transport dirigible is being violently pursued across the Rockies and Uncle Sam isn’t pleased. The Clementine is carrying a top secret load of military essentials—essentials which must be delivered to Louisville, Kentucky, without delay.   Intelligence suggests that the unrelenting pursuer is a runaway slave who’s been wanted by authorities on both sides of the Mason-Dixon for fifteen years. In that time, Captain Croggon Beauregard Hainey has felonied his way back and forth across the continent, leaving a trail of ...