I'm happy to welcome historian Sharon Bennett Connolly to my blog today with a fantastic post on the daughters of William Marshal as part of her Ladies of Magna Carta blog tour!

I don't know if I would have stuck it out like Conrad did.  

Take a job where nobody tells you nothing but they get all pissy when you ask questions, then complain about how you do the job.

Like when he gave technology to a giant mole so it wouldn't eat him.

Other than that, this was fun, though slightly off kilter because of 'how did he know that' sort of moments.

The Dwarves (Dwarf?) were creepy.  I couldn't tell if there was one with many bodies or if they were so hive minded it didn't matter.

The Weight of Our Sky is one of the rarest Malaysian books I enjoy. I did tried a few that even prevent me from reading any further local author works... until this was released. I heard so much about it that I said to myself, alright I will read this and if its not good, I will never read another Malaysian written book ever. And for that, there were no regrets.

Melati Ahmad is a young 16 year-old girl with a Djinn inside her head that torments her with scenes of death of her mother. Taunting her in her daily life, the only way she can suppressed it is by counting of threes. On the day of 13th May, 1969, the inevitable happened and she was cut off from her mother when racial clash between three races happened in Kuala Lumpur. With the Djinn inside her head and Melati need to survive in one of the darkest history event in Malaysia, can Melati ever reunited with her mother without getting caught on both sides?

Fictional and yet, based on May 13th 1969 Racial Clash in Malaysia, I found myself engrossed in reading what would be a better young adult novel about Melati trying to survive and saving some others in need of help and looking for her mother. I love the style of writing and the constant flow of storytelling. Hanna Alkaf had done no other authors (those who wrote historical stories) dare - writing fiction based on May 13th. There is suspense and there is hope, and the genuine of how close reality was written. There are scenes of violence that may make you feel cringe and there scenes of sadness that may make you feel teary. What I like about it is its straightforwardness in telling this story. The characters are well-developed in a sense you can remember them. I always love Aunty Bee and Jaydev, no matter how supporting characters they are. Still, there are words that really are memorable - "Di mana bumi dipijak, di situ langit dijunjung". Absolutely real and priceless.

I am proud to say that this is one Malaysian book everyone should read. Ms. Hanna Alkaf is bold, brave and for her first English debut book on how she wants her book to written, truly a respectable author I am looking forward in the future to read more. If you have not read The Weight of Our Sky, its time to read it.

And thus continues what is possibly the slowest reading year I've experienced in a verrrrry long time. Since I really enjoyed the first book in the Warren the 13th series (and reviewed it a few weeks ago) I thought I'd be safe reading its sequel Warren the 13th and the Whispering Woods by Tania del Rio & Will Staehle. I was totally right. (Thank goodness for middle grade fiction when you're in a bit of a reading slump, ya'll.) After the events of the previous book, the hotel has become wildly popular as the world's only traveling hotel. However, trouble is brewing right around the corner in the Malwoods where the Witch Queen Calvina has decreed that she must have the hotel and its occupant Beatrice (remember she vanquishes witches). While Warren and his friends are unaware of the trouble brewing in their mists, Warren has set out on his own quest to find something to repair the hotel's control panel and lands himself in one mischief after another. (Ever heard of a snake oil salesman? How about one that literally sells snake oils that he procures himself?) Unforeseen dangers, new allies, scarier enemies (in larger numbers), and the resilience of a hotel manager pack the pages of this fun little book. Once again, I need to note that this book has amazing illustrations that I'd be more than happy to frame and put on the walls of my apartment. This is a really great series to use as a bedtime readaloud with a slightly older child because reading aloud isn't something you should stop once your child can read to themselves. #librarianrant2k19 10/10 for this sequel and I'm excited to continue with the third book Warren the 13th and the 13-Year Curse which is due out on March 26th of this year. 

 

In the Black Cauldron with Witch Queen Calvina.                [Source: Entertainment Weekly]

 

What's Up Next: Elfquest Archives: Volumes1-3 by Wendy & Richard Pini

 

What I'm Currently Reading: Strange Magic: An Essex Witch Museum Mystery by Syd Moore

I write this review as a member of Rosie’s Book Review Team (authors, if you are looking for reviews, check here), and I freely chose to review an ARC copy of this novella.

I won’t keep you guessing, I loved this story. After reading several longish novels in a similar genre, I fancied a break. And what better break from reading than reading something completely different?

I had read some great reviews of another one of Leonard’s novellas (also from the Dead Boxes Archive series) from members of the review team and knew I was in for a treat.

The story starts innocuously enough. An old man of means, Vincent Preece, (he used to have a business, one of the early businesses in mobile phones, and he sold it making a big profit) who likes to go to second-hand shops and car-boot sales finds something rather unusual and impossible to resist for him. It looks like an old mobile phone, but he does not recognise the model and cannot find any indication of how it works. Still, he has to have it.

If, like me, you loved the old Friday the 13^th TV series with its creepy objects, or other similar stories (including some of the films in the Conjuring series), you will have guessed by now that things are going to take a turn for the interesting. And they do.

I don’t want to spoil the read, but let’s say the phone does not keep silent for long, and the atmosphere gets creepier and darker as it progresses. The story, told in the third person but almost totally from Vincent’s point of view, gets deeper and deeper into the protagonist’s psyche. When we meet him, he is a lonely man, somewhat embittered and opinionated (although he keeps those opinions to himself), who has suffered losses in his life, from his business and his cat, to his wife and daughter, but he seems settled and has learned to enjoy the little things in life. He is a keen and witty observer, has a quick mind, and a sharp sense of humour. I am not sure I would say she is the most sympathetic character I’ve read about, but he comes across as a grumpy but amusing old man, and his wit and the plot are more than enough to keep us engaged and turning the pages. If you’re a reader of the genre, you’ve probably guessed that things are not as clear-cut as they seem, but I won’t give you any specific details. You’ll have to read it yourselves.

Is it a horror story? It is not a scary story that will make you jump (or at least I don’t think so), but there are some horrifying scenes in it, graphically so (although no people are involved), and they’ve put some pictures in my mind that will probably remain there for a long time, but it is more in the range of the darker The Twilight Zone or Alfred Hitchcock Presents type of stories than something that will have you screaming out loud. If you read the description of the series, you’ll get a good sense of it, and the epilogue and the closing warning to the reader are very well done and reminded me of both these TV programmes.

The writing style is crisp and to the point, and the author manages to create a credible character with recognisable personality traits despite the briefness of the story. There are also moments when the writing reaches beyond functional storytelling, as if the character had dropped his self-protective shell and his stiff attitude and was talking from the heart.

Here, talking about his wife and daughter:

Their departure had left Vincent mystified and empty. As if the marrow had been sucked out of him. Hard to stand with hollow bones.

But also:

However liberal you tried to be, some folk were simply a waste of good organs. There was no denying it.

I won’t talk about the ending in detail. There is a twist, and although some readers might have their suspicions, I think it works well, and I enjoyed it.

I recommend this book to people who like dark and creepy reads, have a twisted sense of humour, and don’t mind some horrifying scenes. If you love The Twilight Zone or Alfred Hitchcock Presents and are looking for a short and quick-paced read, give it a try. Perhaps we don’t need Dead Boxes’ objects in our lives, but we definitely need more of their stories.