Tag: Bloodstone

Bloodstone

Bloodstone is the sequel to the acclaimed Firebrand by Gillian Philip, which I reviewed here last year alongside an interview with its simply fantastic hero, Seth MacGregor. Firebrand has shot up to become one of my favourite books, and being an impatient sort I kept nagging Gillian to find out when Bloodstone was coming out.

Imagine my delight when I received a proof copy of Bloodstone from the publishers, Strident! So here’s my completely honest review to give you an idea of what to expect when it’s released on 19th August.

Firebrand set a really high bar. The story of two Sithe (faeries, but not as Disney know ’em) half-brothers gripped me and it was always going to be hard to live up to that. Bloodstone more than meets the challenge. Seth and Conal’s story continues, 400 years on from the end of Firebrand, and new characters are introduced alongside familiar ones. In particular Finn MacAngus and the mortal Jed really make their mark here, and I clicked with them straightaway with all their flaws and strengths. Kate NicNiven, of course, is back as the charmingly deadly faerie queen and she in particular, I thought, came across even more strongly than in the first book. It took real effort for me as a reader to not be taken in by her again and again and I still don’t know if she’s as black as she’s painted…

Seth is the real star, obviously. If you read the first book you know him as a wild, damaged and passionate young man. Well, take that and imagine him with all those traits distilled and honed for 400 years. Yep. He’s mad, bad and dangerous to know in a way Byron could only dream of. Liable to go off like a crazy rocket at any time, you still can’t help falling in love with him all over again right to the end. Conal is as noble as ever although 400 years have taken their toll.

I say it again and again, but Gillian has a real knack of making a character jump off the page. Everyone is brilliantly drawn, but I can’t overlook the beautiful, crisp language and the plot, which cracks along with the occasional pause for breath and left me, literally, shaking for about an hour after I finished reading. I have to put in a personal note here – when I was at school I would read solidly for hours and a book like Bloodstone would have been finished in a couple of days. Maybe the same day if it was a weekend. I just don’t have that luxury anymore with children and husbands and such (pesky things) and a book has to be exceptionally gripping to let me switch off entirely from my surroundings. Bloodstone is one of those books.

Bloodstone will undoubtedly appeal to adults as much as teens although I think teens will identify strongly with Seth, Finn and Jed. I’d say it is much better to have read Firebrand first but I’m sure it could stand alone. I’d also like to point you to Lucy Coats’ blog at Scribble City Central where she interviews Conal.

Two questions remain: when oh when will a film production company steal the rights to this series? And is there any way Gillian can get the third book out in, ooh, say the next couple of weeks so I don’t have to wait another whole year to find out what happens?

Pre-order Bloodstone from amazon UK here.

Follow Gillian on twitter here or become a fan on Facebook here.

Visit Gillian’s website here.

And Seth MacGregor is on twitter here: be warned though, he’s mine…

Reaching Authors

When I was little, I adored The Famous Five. I wrote a letter to Enid Blyton to tell her so. This was quite a big deal. I can’t remember if I actually found some sort of address or if I just sent it to “Enid Blyton, England” in the certain knowledge that she was so famous it was bound to find her but I wrote her a fan letter.

I gushed about how much I loved The Famous Five and how wonderful she was. I took time and wrote very neatly in my best writing and sent it off, shaking with excitement because I was writing to a real author and of course she would reply and I would treasure it for the rest of my life.

She never wrote back.

Of course, the fact that she’d been dead for about 20 years may have been some sort of excuse, but still. Anyway, although my love of her books remained and I went on to devour more for years, especially the St Clare’s series, I didn’t try to connect with any more authors. Maybe some little part of me decided that she hadn’t written back because authors just don’t do that – they are mystical creatures who must be kept on pedestals. I kind of equated authors with pop stars; in fact they were even more amazing because I wasn’t really ever into pop music but books were my best friends. I think my parents did try and tell me that Enid Blyton was dead but by then the damage was done; I was SCARRED for life (well, ok that might be a slight exaggeration. But only slight *sniff*).

Anyway, I was thinking about it all the other day. I was lucky enough to receive a proof copy of a fantastic book, which I’ll be reviewing soon (if you’re interested, it was Bloodstone by Gillian Philip, the sequel to Firebrand which I reviewed on here last year as well as interviewing Seth MacGregor, the main character). There were frequent occasions when I picked up my phone and tweeted a message to Gillian to say how much I’d enjoyed a particular part. I didn’t even think about it until one really heartstopping moment after which I sent her a private message telling her how that one passage had made me feel. Then out of nowhere I remembered my Enid Blyton debacle and the contrast really struck me.

It was nothing to send an author a quick message, not just about how much I liked her work overall, but about one particular passage of one particular book. And Gillian messaged me back. This was nothing unusual, we frequently chat on Twitter but that in itself is quite amazing when you stop to think about it. I think it is amazing, actually, on many levels. As an aspiring author myself now, I dream about fan mail, who doesn’t? And things like Twitter and Facebook Pages and this blog make it so much easier to get that fan mail and feedback quickly. I reckon if I get published feedback like this will keep me motivated and and reassured that people are enjoying my writing (hopefully anyway…). And for the reader, especially younger readers perhaps, that sense of authors being mystical beings who must be worshipped from afar might be broken down as they can reach them way more easily than I could. It’s another little endorsement for the Wonders of the Internet and a reminder that we are very lucky to have the technology that we do.

I do wonder what Enid Blyton would have made of it. Would she have been on Twitter? Not likely, from some of the things I’ve heard. Maybe she is an author best admired from afar, I don’t know. But it’d be great fun to think of what her twitter name would be. @gingerbeer maybe?