Favorite Book?
The wooden shortswords had been crafted from the native hardwood, carefully selected from the strongest amongst the forest. A gift from the land; sourced from two kinds of tree, from contrasting regions.
A young boy wielded the bulkier and sturdier of the two - created from the deep red oaks of the Ancestral Wood to the east.
His opponent’s blade maintained a longer reach and was made from the palest ash, harvested from across the western border of Kjofell, in Devlon. The sword was so ashen and firm that it appeared to be crafted from the femur bone of a mighty warrior. He felt the power of it in his grip. The name was engraved on the base, above the handle, ‘Bonebreaker’.
Both were fine pieces of work. Crafted from highly valuable materials - in the sense of necessity for survival, rather than actual trade value. Materials that were intended to help see the village through the winter by developing new shelters and maintaining fire pits, and other such tasks. Many would frown upon this use of the wood, particularly the redwood, if they were to become discovered.
The older showed a more offensive fighting stance, his blade was held out long in his right grip, perfectly in line with his sight and pointing directly at his opponent. Despite the blatant aggression within the duel, and hunger for another victory, he possessed an element of warmth and kindness, portrayed through a subtle playful smile.
Meanwhile, the younger of the two held his blade close to his chest in an upright position - gripped firmly with both hands. He observed his opponents every move with great attentiveness. The young man’s face was stern. He turned his attention to his foe’s footstep pattern, then turned his focus to the angle of the blade and the facial expressions. His every move was being observed carefully. His opponent side-stepped with large lunges, circling him slowly and menacingly. The younger boy pivoted on the spot. The ground was moist beneath his feet, causing him to lose stability on every step. He refused to take his eye off of the aggressor. To understand your opponent is the key to victory, his brother had always taught him.
They were positioned on the eastern side of the village, behind the boys’ abode in a small opening, parallel to the River Nova. Jarlyk removed his stern mask for a moment to reveal a sideways smirk. The older sibling reciprocated and lunged first.
They clashed against one another.
And again.
And again, more swiftly this time.
J
... keep reading on reddit ➡
“There are no more junkies at 103rd and Broadway waiting for the connection. The connection has gone somewhere else. But the feel of junk is still there. It hits you at the corner, follows you along the block, then falls away like a discouraged panhandler as you walk on.”
One of my favorite excerpts from this wonderful book.
Hey everyone. I have a book that I cannot remember the title of and it is driving me insane. I thought it was written by Tanith Lee, but I cannot find the story. I do not remember where I was when I read it or when it was when I read it, but I think it was within the last 15 years and I bought the book from Halfprice Books as a used paperback, so there's no telling when it was actually published.
Genre: fantasy
Protagonist: female
Basic Plot: Hero(ine)'s Journey
Plot details without spoilers:
A girl from a village sees a handsome man come into town (possibly a musician?) and she falls hard for him. (Please note that they have had virtually no contact with each other and won't until the very end. I don't even remember if this guy actually even sees her before he disappears.) Then the antagonist kidnaps the guy and she decides to rescue him. She has a mentor-type who is like, "You might be trying to save a person who doesn't love you back," but she's like, doesn't matter, I'm going to do the thing anyway. The mentor is like, okaaaaaaaay, but if you save him, look into his eyes, and you'll know if he loves you or not. And then it's basically a hero's journey where she learns magic and skills and there's a form of magic where she is kind of...astral-projecting, and there is a thread-type thing that links her soul to her body and I believe she can only do this between sunset and sunrise, and there is one tense part of the book where she might not make it back to her body in time and she will end up really dead. (Her body appears asleep/totally unresponsive and I THINK witchcraft is looked down upon, and there MIGHT have been some risk of beheading if someone found her like this, but I don't entirely remember if this is a plot point or if this book is just a fever dream I made up please help me.)
Ending: >!In the end, the girl goes through all the things and beats the bad guy and saves the dude and he looks at her and he's like, very grateful, but she can tell that he isn't looking at her with any kind of recognition and she's like, ding dang he doesn't love me, and she pretty much walks off into the sunset.!<
There was a suggestion that this might be related to East of the Sun, West of the Moon. It is not. If anything, this story has more closely related to the story of Psyche and Eros in that a girl is willing to go to the ends of the earth to save her beloved, but it's also very different because the love interest is merely a macguffin in
... keep reading on reddit ➡Exactly above. I read this in high school, and I remember the quote on the back saying that it was like drinking wine when all of your life you've had soft drinks. The book's cover was red (?)
Hello all! The title says most of what I can remember.
The book is set in the UK, it starts off with a man diving off the coast of Cornwall (?) where he has an interaction with an entity (heart/embodiment of the sea/ocean?). He freaks out and returns to the surface too quickly which gives him the bends and a permanent condition which means he can't ever dive again, not that he'd want to as he never returns to the water after the incident.
The sea has fallen in love with him and so tries to find him on land by causing a flood, and as people die in the rising flood waters the sea then uses them as eyes and ears to find her love.
I read this book approximately 13 years ago, I loaned it from my public library in the UK and I don't remember any details feeling particularly modern so it could've been 10+ years old at that point.
There's a chance the story could've been part of an anthology, I can't remember it being very long.
I've been trying to remember the title/author for so long, so any help would be greatly appreciated!
I would like to read this book again but I can't rememeber its title or the writer 😔 I read it about 13 years ago. The book had paperback and I think the cover was green (like a green field).
As described, It is about an Englishman (time is not specified, but the writer wrote about ball parties and "big dresses", i think it was late 18th century, early 19th) So he remarries and in time he softens and learns to love his 2nd wife. By the end of the book, she gives him a son, who, like his father, has a pircing green eyes and dark hair. It is a love story about a man hurt by his "perfect gorgeus 1st wife" who attempts to find happiness with a girl who is her complete opposit. The book describes their marriage and relationship development.
I believe she was a librarian. She was kidnapped by the royal family of a different country. The princess's life was being threatened and they needed the woman to pretend to be the Princess until the threat was dealt with. The bodyguard told her not to trust anyone. They argue a lot at first, but fall in love over time.
Spoiler Info It turns out the Princess herself was behind the threats. She orders the bodyguard to inject the decoy woman with poison. He injects her with something that made it seem like she died and she woke up back in her own home.
I was probably 14 when I read this, so around 2006. It wasn't new. It was probably meant for older teens/young adults since there was a fluffy sex scene.
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