reading

Your Next Read: Under Heaven & The Dervish House

Your Next Read is a website that makes reading suggestions based on a title, author or genre.

I put in Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay (amazing, amazing book. So amazing I haven’t found a way to review it yet) and it suggested The Dervish House by Ian McDonald.

I am sitting here and trying to figure out what they have in common.

Under Heaven is a historical fantasy; The Dervish House is science fiction set in the near future. Under Heaven takes place in China; The Dervish House takes place in Istanbul. Under Heaven has a few characters, but one is a central character; The Dervish House has six characters, but I have no idea if any of them could be a central character. (I like central characters, they give me something to focus on.)

They both involve politics, but is that really enough to make them similar enough to recommend?

fantasy · reading · Teaser Tuesdays

Teaser Tuesday: Under Heaven

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teaser:

It was difficult, despite everything, to picture his brother selecting an assassin. It was painful as a blow. It was a crack, a crevasse, in the world.

– Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay