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Book 2 (Le dire des Sylfes), so far: The fellowship thus is on a quest, has to search for clues (like the ones in the magical forest). But they are tracked down & evil creatures (e.g. Raskins) pop up. Hogo, the Lycan, is terrified of them, says they're bred to kill (i.e. killing machines). Yet, Lucia, with her annoying character, dares to defy them, even manages to hurt some of them. Until...

Grimbert wrote this first part, the other two are by Michel Robert. Grimbert's style is not that light. The world-building is quite alright, the characters aren't always as well depicted, so to speak. Lucia is an obnoxious girl, who gets more into trouble than is good for her. Ariale has hidden magical powers. This 1st part was not as inviting or exciting as his Secret of Ji series. 3/5 max for this 1st book.

a cloister where our fellowship of four can find temporary refuge before continuing their quest to find Eras & l'Arcane. However, the world is divided into two: Aeldo and Maûne (where the dark, evil creatures dwell). That is Balance, good vs evil. Ainsi est l’Équilibre, a credo the monks live by. Maunes (the evil) can somehow pass from one world to the other, without trouble. They must be stopped, of course.

1) Les Armes de Garamont: Eras, knight on a quest for l'Arcane. Leaves his daughters alone, the youngest, Ariale (10) lives in the castle, though has housekeepers. Lucia is older, has a mind of her own (can be obnoxious) & often away from home. Along come Zertide (sorcerer) & Hogo (Lycan), also on a quest. There are runes (bad & good), there are mythical creatures (Lycans, Harpies, Basilisks, a Minotaur, ...) and...

Standard fantasy, but with runes and evil creatures from another part of the world, coming through a magic corridor. No bad so far; I like it.

46 pages read and I really don't have a clue what's going on. A few characters have been able to tell part of their stories, but I can't for the life of me imagine the environment, the events, ... The difficult (archaic French) wording (more than before) is too much for me.

Smooth reading, page-turner, but so disturbing on an emotional and psychological level. :/ I feel for Charlie, reminds me of some of my past.

I'm liking it a lot so far. But the misspelled words are an attack on my intelligence. It's a real challenge to not fling the book in the corner. If I were a teacher, my red pen wouldn't contain enough ink to correct it all. AAARGH! While reading, I am correcting all those misspelled words. However, I do understand Daniel Keyes wrote the story like that on purpose, otherwise the message wouldn't come across.

Oh man, a dramatic turn of events for George aka Jake. Will his cover-up remain intact? The tension... aargh! Still 180 pages to go.

My first King. And man, this is exciting stuff! It's almost as if I'm with Jake Epping, eh, George Amberson in 1958. But I wouldn't mind the story speeding up a little. 879 pages is quite a brick.

Putting this on hold, or rather, back on the To Read shelf, as I will have to restart the reading, because it's not good to leave so much time between chapters with a book like this one (capitalism in the Middle Ages; serious matter). I've already forgotten most of it and currently don't feel like reading on.

Big world, important leader killed (part of a last mission for Esebian, the main character, to reach immortality, but the "cops" are after him), ... Lots of tech, scientific terminology here and there (make sure you know at least your basics in biology, for example), ... This book is most likely just too long. Either it's me (long time not having read anything German) or the style, but it's far from a smooth read.

Raisa Stepanova by Carrie Vaughn: about two Russian yak pilots in WW2 against Germany. About determination, perseverance. Even in the most dire circumstances. Ok story, nothing more.

GRR Martin's "The Princess & the Queen, or, the Blacks & the Greens". A prequel of events prior to A Game of Thrones (book 1 in ASOIAF), but maybe also filling holes in ADWD (5th book). Dry read, well-versed, but too many names, too chaotic. The king is dead, who takes the Iron Throne? Brother or sister, each from separate marriages? Bitch fight, clan fight, ... *sigh*. DNF. Won't read ASOIAF either.