Assaph Mehr's Blog, page 17

Book Review: Purple and Black, by K.J. Parker

I love KJ Parker’s pseudo-Byzantine fantasy, and this short read was up to his excellent standard.

What to Expect

An epistolary tale, a series of exchanges and communiqués between (mainly) the emperor and his fried whom he sent to govern a frontier province. (The title refers to the ink used in those missives – purple for the official imperial communications, and black for the private letters attached). In between we get a story that may start at handling a frontier rebelli...

Two courses on Food History

This week I’ll review two courses on food history, both by Prof Ken Albala and available on The Great Courses. The courses are complementary, and I’d recommend them to everyone who likes history, cuisines, and the involvement of both in literature.

First, a few words about the lecturer. Ken Albala is a professor of history, specialising in culinary history. I first came across his works through the Tasting History YouTube channel (see my post here), which in fact replicates some o...

Milandra (of The Cleansing, by Sam Kates)

Dear readers, tonight with us is a member of an alien race, a race that has had quite enough of humanity and has decided to do away with us.

I’d like to begin by thanking you for having me. I have lived here on Earth Haven for many years—for almost five millennia, to be more precise—but have not, until now, been able to talk about myself or my people. We have, through necessity, maintained a shadowy existence, one of secrecy and discretion, not attempting to deny the fact ...

Book Review: A Witch Steps into My Office, by Douglas Lumsden

Lumsden’s previous novel left me wanting more, so it didn’t take me long to delve into this second book in the series. Nor was I disappointed – this is an excellent sequel, even better than the previous.

What to Expect

Expect a story that reads like Raymond Chandler or Dashiell Hammett, but with mobile phones and magic. This is the second noir urban-fantasy case for Alex Sutherland. This novel has even more of the hard-boiled atmosphere that before, from slang and aesthetic...

From all the characters in all the books: Happy New Year!

Whatever you’ve gone through in this past tumultuous year, and with sincere hopes that you won’t need quite as much escapism during the coming one, here all of us at The Protagonist wish you a happy and book-filled year!

Join us next week for an explosive interview – we’re starting the year with a bang, interviewing a character out of one of fantasy’s longest running, award winning series of novels! Make sure you follow the site (bottom right) so you don’t miss out.

Note to...

I quit my job so I could write!

As one year ends and another starts, I thought I’d share some reflections and exciting news.

Keep reading to discover some excellent reads from authors you probably haven’t heard about (but should), and to learn about my plans for Felix’s next adventure (because, yes, the blog’s title is no joke!)

Reflections

Let’s start with reflections over the past year, in the Three-R’s that this blog normally covers: Reading, Writing, and Romans.

Reading

Yo...

Books Review: Penric’s Mission and Penric’s Fox, by Lois McMaster Bujold

I’ve read the first two novellas in this series before, and was looking forward to spending some more time in Penric’s unique world.

What to Expect

Two novellas, where the publication order is reversed to the chronological. I usually prefer to read in publication order (as that is usually the order they were written and therefore how the story world was built), but in this case I think the internal chronological order might work better. It seems to have been fixed on Amazon...

Thya (of Illusional Reality, by Karina Kantas)

Dear readers, tonight with us is a marketing exec turned heir to a magical kingdom. She’s here to tell us about power and destiny.

Tell us a little about where you grew up. What was it like there?

Well, I’m from the UK, at least I thought I was. Turned out I was adopted and was born in Tsinia a magical land on Enumac.  My adopted parents were amazing and gave me love and everything I needed.  Thanks to them, I went to college and studied hard and then got a position...

Book Review: The Haunting of Tram Car 015, by P. Djèlí Clark

I love the mix of historical fantasy and am fascinated by Middle Eastern cultures, so jumped on this as soon as I heard about it.

What to Expect

A Steampunk-ish world, where in the early 20th century Egypt – after releasing magic in the mid 19th century – has risen to a world power and ousted Britain from interfering in its affairs. The story itself focuses on agents of the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments, and Supernatural Entities as they are called to deal with a haunte...

Ylaine (of Princess of Undersea, by Leslie Conzatti)

Dear readers, tonight with us is a mermaid princess, desperately trying to avert war — even if it means transitioning into a human.

Tell us a little about where you grew up. What was it like there?

This might come as a shock to most people who havent met me, but I wasnt always a land-walking human. I used to be a Mermaid, living in the Channel between Overcliff and the mainland. The mer-kingdom is called Undersea, and it was once much shallower, Im told, back when the humans, the...