#The Hod King. by Josiah Bancroft

[oceanssapart]

“What I wouldn’t give to see it for the first time. Familiarity is such a cataract. I can’t see past my stale impression of it anymore.”

— Josiah Bancroft, Arm of the Sphinx

#books of babel #senlin ascends #arm of the sphinx #josiah bancroft #books #i think my brain will not stop buzzing until ive read the fall of babel #starting hod king 😌 #words

[tpfw01]

#the hod king #thomas senlin #josiah bancroft #books of babel

[bookgooblin]

If I finish my book, I have to wait at a minimum of 4 weeks for the electronic version because I have no idea when my already several week hold on the physical copy will come through. I sort of didn’t think they’d all be holed up, the book is several years old and a fourth of the quadrilogy. And I’d buy it but I’m still figuring out gas for the next 9 days.

If I start another book, which I’m not even gonna be able to focus on because of aforementioned Book, then I’m still delaying the inevitable until next paycheck. :( being an adult was supposed to be fun and I can’t even spend $15 on a book I NEED. Sigh.

I only have, like, a hundred pages left. And I’m like IN it.

#Josiah bancroft #tower of babel #the hod king #senlin ascends #arm of the sphinx #the fall of babel

[thesardonicus]

“Memories accumulate like leaves upon the forest floor. They are irregular and fragile. They crumble and break upon inspection. They turn to naught but soil the deeper you go.”

- “i sip a cup of wind”, the hod king by Josiah Bancroft pg 544

#quotes #fantasy #psychology #memories #past #remembering #josiah bancroft #thehodking #isipacupofwind #truth

[daisywiththorns]

December Book Roundup

A Snake Falls to Earth (2021), Darcy Little Badger The Hod King (2019), Josiah Bancroft The High House (2021), Jessie Greengrass The Apollo Murders (2021), Chris Hadfield Cloud Cuckoo Land (2021), Anthony Doerr The Fall of Babel (2021), Josaih Bancroft You Sexy Thing (2021) Cat Rambo Into the Riverlands (2022), Nghi Vo The Last Watch (2021), J.S. Dewes Midnight in Everwood (2021), M.A. Kuzniar

#month in books #book pile #wow this is late

[scientificmethds]

Sunday 9/11/22

5/100 days of productivity

Had a pretty chill day, slept a LOT then hung out with friends. Did some assignments and tried to get my life together a bit in the evening, much more to do tomorrow though.

🎶 Falling for U - Seventeen

📖 The Hod King - Josiah Bancroft

#100dop #my posts

[promonetpublishing]

INTERVIEW TO THE WRITER DAVID ISAAC

>

Interviewer: David, can you tell us what you were inspired to write your first novel in this one so ambitious genre?

I like it read stories that illuminate my imagination, elevate me and take me to fantastic worlds where to escape from reality. Since I was a child I knew it and today I can dare to invent my own universe full of characters unusual. That's why I searched in universal history for a young noble, but with a past illegitimate, to a bastard as we also tell him. I also found Laurentius de Valla, a philosopher accused of heresy in the first years of the inquisition that proved in spite of its faults that the reason can be demonstrated with intelligence. So I was able to discover the Visconti, another family from Milan with very interesting characters from whom it was said they used mystic divination, and we were writing a singular novel that I hope will be liked by the readers.

Interviewer: We can say that historians rewrite the European past in a way supposed based on his investigations, how true do you consider that legend of the Castle in Italy?

My first novel of the fantastic historical genre is "Fernand and the Castle of the Magic Egg" which is based on a real legend that happened in a Castle of Naples from which its ruins are still preserved. I started it write in 2005, before formally studying writing, so I still do not stop rewriting its final version. Ferrante is an antihero who must show himself as a firm conqueror of a territory fought by other Mediterranean kingdoms. At the end of his life he will discover that everything he battled for can be lost for his decendents.

Interviewer: Well, we wish you many successes in this new path that you have just embarked on as digital novelist. Could you share a fragment of your novel?

Many thanks for your support. Of course, yes, I advance a few lines of the argument of my next novel. He says thus: "Giraldona met your father there, the affinity of both young noblemen was immediate. as a royal councilor in Naples at the end of that afternoon he saw them depart in a boat for a walk along the coast when holding hands they left the garden walking towards the Castillo dock. Another reason to know was that their duchies would be together. When the holidays ended and the letters with congratulations of some Neapolitans ceased, the regent Juana II remained withdrawn in the castle of the Egg, leaving the Duke I stayed there while an Aragonese castle was being built in Pizzo de Calabria. That's when your father asked me to accompany you in the dukedom as a counselor and a scribe of his court. I accepted his offer carrying my parchments with me. "

#famous #goodreads books #wellknown #writers #writing #interview #fantasy #novel #italy #15th century #castles #magical leyend #king of spades #games #amazon kindle #usa #united kingdom bestselling #The Hod King. by Josiah Bancroft

[stinkybreath]

He was emphatically not a monster. Monsters didn’t have feelings, or friends, or fashionable sensibilities, or wit. Monsters could not hold a brush, or organize a tea, or even burn a pudding. No, if there was a monster in the hall, it certainly was not him.

The Hod King, Josiah Bancroft

#(: I love Byron he’s so sweet #the hod king #josiah bancroft #the books of babel

[hush-syrup]

You know you cannot panic your way to freedom; you cannot worry yourself home. You must face your fears. The only way out is inward.

From The Hod King by Josiah Bancroft

#literary quotes #literature #lit #prose #poetic prose #the hod king #josiah bancroft #the books of babel #thomas senlin #words #book quotes #book quote

[hestiea]

“He had to choose to love. Not just once, but again and again for the rest of his life.”

Josiah Bancroft, The Hod King

#books #josiah bancroft #the hod king #senlin ascends #books of babel #CANNot stop thinking about these words....

[quibliography]

Books of Babel by Josiah Bancroft 🎣

Synopsis:  This series is about a mild-mannered school headmaster who visits the infamous Tower of Babel on honeymoon with his newlywed wife. Overwhelmed by the mass of people crowding the base, they immediately become separated. Despite the hopelessness and discouragement of those who’ve also lost loved ones to the Tower, Senlin is determined to find Marya even if he has to climb the entire Tower of Babel himself, a task he soon learns which will require more of him than he realizes.

My Quibs: To preface: this wonderful series is so far unfinished. Untitled book four will come out, hopefully, soon.

I loved these books right from the synopsis (not mine, mine sucks). Mostly because it is an allegorical Frankenstein of many of my favorite things. The symbolic structure of a character traveling through/climbing up a tower really appeals to my logical right-side mind. It’s a Dante’s Inferno of humanity, each ring appealing to a different twisted part of the mind. He only climbs through the first three or four rings though before Book one ends and Book two leaves that structure entirely behind. But before I can be disappointed, Bancroft is like - Senlin is a sky pirate! SKY PIRATES?! YES! So world-building: a million checks. Then, characters? I personally can’t help but sympathize with the starry-eyed introverted academic. He has flaws that are understandable and he makes mistakes that are only human. Not to mention his supporting cast, which is a nice list of strong female characters. Not only are they strong, they also have their flaws, which make them, in my opinion, all the stronger. And there’s also a cyborg deer butler. Named Byron. I mean, what else do you need?

Should you read it? Yes. If you like reading, reading fiction, or reading steampunk action fiction. There are sky pirates! Who doesn’t like reading a book that has sky pirates?

Similar reads? I haven’t been this infatuated with a series since the Johannes Cabal series by Jonathan L Howard. I don’t know content-wise if they’re so similar, but they would be next to each other on my shelf.

(Spoiler Alert!) The one thing that I wavered on when it came to Senlin’s trials and tribulations is when he finally finds Marya. I suppose it’s understandable that such an ordeal would change you. And change you enough to be ‘not the same man she married’. But it’s a little heartbreaking that he comes so far to not even want the goal anymore. Not just to not want Marya but then to also want someone else. Dislike. But I suppose that’s life. You spend a good portion of your life working towards something to find out that it’s not what you want in the end. *sigh* BUT then there’s the baby! Dammit Book Four! Tell me what happens next!

What did you think of the Books of Babel?

#senlin ascends #arm of the sphinx #the hod king #josiah bancroft

[foreverlostinliterature]

My review for the third book in Josiah Bancroft’s The Books of Babel series, The Hod King, is up now on my blog! This series is SO good and I highly, highly recommend. It’s super inventive and unpredictable and there are so many fantastic female characters. (I also have a link to the first book, Senlin Ascends, on this review in case you’d rather check that out!)

#review #book review #the hod king #josiah bancroft #the books of babel

[bookcoversonly]

Title: The Hod King | Author: Josiah Bancroft | Publisher: Orbit (2019)

#books #The Hod King #Josiah Bancroft

[lizziestudieshistory]

22.11.2021 - oops I forgot to post this...

11:00 - I got up late so I've only just sat down to start work, I'll be doing some seminar prep and primary sources reading today so better get cracking!

14:00 - I've finished half my seminar prep and made lunch. I'm definitely getting faster at reading the articles/chapters we're set each week, it's just a pain there's SO MANY of them, 7 pieces of reading is excessive for a 2 hour seminar...

17:45 - I haven't quite finished my to do list for today but I'm taking my dog back to the vets this evening so I need to stop. I'll be finishing off a last piece of reading before packing it in for the day. Hopefully I'll be able to finish my primary sources tomorrow!

Currently reading: Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson (I know this is getting ridiculous... But I'm in the mood?); The Hod King by Josiah Bancroft; Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray

#studyblr #gradblr #masters #early modern history #essay research #william perkins is becoming the bane of my life #i also feel like I'm making no reading progress BUT I am several hundred pages into 3 enormous books #it's going to be an odd reading wrap up this month

[thesardonicus]

“Smiles are like candlelight.

They can warm even the bleakest room. But we would be wise not to forget:

Even the brightest candle hides a blackened wick.”

- Josiah Bancroft, the hod king

#quotes #fantasy #psychology #truth #literature #facade #josiah bancroft #thehodking #faces #deception #darkness #candlelight

[balioc]

BALIOC’S READING LIST, 2019 EDITION

This list counts only published books, consumed in published-book format, that I read for the first time and finished.  No rereads, nothing abandoned halfway through, no Internet detritus of any kind, etc.  Also no children’s picture books.

1. In a Time of Treason, David Keck

2. A King In Cobwebs, David Keck

3. War In Human Civilization, Azar Gat

4. The Kingdom of Copper, S. A. Chakraborty

5. The Impossibility of Religious Freedom, Winifred Fallers Sullivan

6. The Winter of the Witch, Katherine Arden

7. Out of the Silent Planet, C. S. Lewis

8. Perelandra, C. S. Lewis

9. The Great Divorce, C. S. Lewis

10. Underlord, Will Wight

11. The Devil-Wives of Li Fong, E. Hoffman Price

12. How to Hide an Empire: The History of the Greater United States, Daniel Immerwahr

13. The Raven Tower, Ann Leckie

14. The Rage of Dragons, Evan Winter

15. The Bird King, G. Willow Wilson

16. A Betrayal In Winter, Daniel Abraham

17. An Autumn War, Daniel Abraham

18. The Price of Spring, Daniel Abraham

19. Chartism, Thomas Carlyle

20. Impro: Improvisation and the Theater, Keith Johnstone

21. A Memory Called Empire, Arkady Martine

22. Foundryside, Robert Jackson Bennett

23. Against the Grain: A Deep History of the Earliest Stats, James C. Scott

24. The Ruin of Kings, Jenn Lyons

25. Ship of Smoke and Steel, Django Wexler

26. Pan, Knut Hamsun

27. The Unbound Empire, Melissa Caruso

28. The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation For Failure, Greg Lukianoff & Jonathan Haidt

29. Empire of Sand, Tasha Suri

30. Imagined Communities, Benedict Anderson

31. A Brightness Long Ago, Guy Gavriel Kay

32. The Riddle-Master of Hed, Patricia McKillip

33. Heir of Sea and Fire, Patricia McKillip

34. Harpist In the Wind, Patricia McKillip

35. Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment, Francis Fukuyama

36. Every Heart a Doorway, Seanan McGuire

37. The Witchwood Crown, Tad Williams

38. Empire of Grass, Tad Williams

39. Ten Restaurants That Changed America, Paul Freedman

40. The Priory of the Orange Tree, Samantha Shannon

41. The Dictator's Handbook: Why Bad Behavior is Almost Always Good Politics, Bruce Bueno de Mesquita & Alastair Smith

42. Wyrms, Orson Scott Card

43. Seedfolks, Paul Fleischman

44. The Axe and the Throne, M. D. Ireman

45. The Sun King, Nancy Mitford

46. The Demons of King Solomon, various (ed. Aaron J. French)

47. Towards a New Socialism,  W. Paul Cockshott & Allin F. Cottrell

48. The Oracle Glass, Judith Merkle Riley

49. The Orphans of Raspay, Lois McMaster Bujold

50. Blood Meridian, or, the Evening Redness In the West, Cormac McCarthy

51. Lent, Jo Walton

52. Empress of Forever, Max Gladstone

53. Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood, Trevor Noah

54. The Intuitionist, Colson Whitehead

55. The People's Republic of Walmart: How the World's Biggest Corporations are Laying the Foundation for Socialism, Leigh Phillips & Michal Rozworski

56. Turning Darkness Into Light, Marie Brennan

57. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, David Mitchell

58. The Initiate Brother, Sean Russell

59. Gatherer of Clouds, Sean Russell

60. Primal Screams: How the Sexual Revolution Created Identity Politics, Mary Eberstadt

61. The New Achilles, Christian Cameron

62. World Without End, Sean Russell

63. Sea Without a Shore, Sean Russell

64. Uncrowned, Will Wight

65. A Brief History of Indonesia: Sultans, Spices, and Tsunamis: The Incredible Story of Southeast Asia's Largest Nation, Tim Hannigan

66. The Vagrant, Peter Newman

67. Jade War, Fonda Lee

68. The Affluent Society, John Kenneth Galbraith

69. The Hod King, Josiah Bancroft

70. The Name of All Things, Jenn Lyons

71. Cold Iron, Miles Cameron [Christian Cameron]

72. Dark Forge, Miles Cameron [Christian Cameron]

73. Emily of New Moon, Lucy Maude Montgomery

74. Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory, Ben Mcintyre

75. The Ten Thousand Doors of January, Alix E. Harrow

76. Feathered Serpent, Dark Heart of Sky: Myths of Mexico, David Bowles

77. Flowers In the Mirror, Li Ruzhen

78. Bright Steel, Miles Cameron [Christian Cameron]

79. On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society, Dave Grossman

80. That Hideous Strength, C. S. Lewis

***********

Plausible works of improving nonfiction consumed in 2019: 19

Works consumed in 2019 by women: 24

Works consumed in 2019 by men: 55

Works consumed in 2018 by both men and women: 1

Balioc’s Choice Award, fiction division: Lent

>>>> Honorable mention: A Betrayal in Winter et al

Balioc’s Choice Award, nonfiction division: Impro: Improvisation and the Theatre

>>>> Honorable mention: War In Human Civilization

Cultural Heritage Award For “Holy Crap This Will Fuck You Up”: The Great Divorce

Cultural Heritage Award For “This Will Not Fuck You Up Nearly as Much as the Author Thinks It Will, or Maybe I Was Just In a Cranky Un-Receptive Frame of Mind”: That Hideous Strength

**********

A year of progress, I think.  This is probably About Enough Reading.  More nonfiction than before, although not enough (and too many things that I wanted to be Really Enlightening turned out to be duds).  More literary classics too.  A lot of modern genre fiction that was pretty-good-but-definitely-not-great.

#yearly reading list