When I reviewed Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant by Tony Cliff in 2013, I began by apologizing for the reductionist comparison between his insanely awesome character, Delilah Dirk, and Indiana Jones. But the thing is, Delilah Dirk is the closest I have found in all my reading to a girl character that I have no doubt could overcome the supposed reluctance boys have to reading books with main characters who are girls. But, this is all beside the point. The bottom line is that Tony Cliff has created a character and a world that is completely immersive and absorbing. Upon finishing Delilah Dirk and the King's Shilling, I felt as though I had read a 300 page novel and watched a fantastic movie. Seriously, these books are so beyond superlatives. I hope I can write about it coherently enough to convince you to give them a try! Enjoy several pages of Cliff's superb illustrations to find a short summary of book two in what I hope is a long series... 
Of course I don't want to give away too much of the plot of Delilah Dirk and the King's Shilling, but rather tempt you with some key details. Delilah Dirk, daughter of a Greek mother and English father who was a foreign ambassador, allowing him to provide a well traveled and uncommon childhood for his only child, and Erdemoglu Selim, former Turkish janissary and killer tea maker, have been traveling companions for two years. While not avoiding conflict, sword fights and occasional gun battle, the two have been mostly staying out of trouble - until they cross paths with Major Jason Merrick in Portugal where the British are preparing to battle the French in the Peninsular War. Merrick decides to frame Delilah for his treasonous activities and she does not go lightly, taking a bullet to the arm in the process. Of course Delilah and Selim escape and she insists on returning to England to confront Maj. Merrick and restore her reputation. Selim is a loss to understand Delilah's insistence, but he follows her to a country and class of people who assume he is her servant.
Cliff brings great character development to Delilah Dirk and the King's Shilling, both for Delilah and Selim. While there is plenty of action and fight after fight, the personalities, motivations and struggles both face are so compelling - as compelling as Delilah's strong jawline and voluminous hair. And, happily, with her return to England and her familial estate, we get to see where Delilah inherited these physical - and personality traits from!
Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant
Source: Review Copy
Etiquette and Espionage is the first book in Gail Carriger's Finishing School Series, which marks her first foray into the world of YA. Carriger's first series, The Parasol Protectorate, is set in an alternate-historyVictorian England that combines steampunk (quick definition: a sub-genre of science fiction set in an industrialized England and featuring steam-powered machinery, for Carriger's
The Last Dragonslayer is now in paperback, and with a cool new take on the original cover art!!
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The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde is the first
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W.A.R.P. Book 1: The Reluctant Assassin is the new series from Eoin Colfer of Artemis Fowl fame. When I was a bookseller, Colfer's Artemis Fowl series was
First reviewed in 2010, Well Witched remains the BEST ghost story for kids I have read. Harding is a brilliant, diverse writer and this book will give readers chills and make them think!
Well Witched is a remarkable and completely different follow- up to one of my all time favorites, Fly By Night, which Frances Hardinge published as her first novel for children in 2006. Whereas her first
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Seraphina by Rachel Hartman was published in July of 2012 and has received a lot of well deserved attention since then, including the Morris Award for a debut book by a
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Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld and illustrated by Keith Thompson is the first in a trilogy that also includes the companion book, The Manual of Aeronautics, which is
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The Alchemyst : The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott was published in 2007, the same
The Apothecary by Maile Meloy has so many intriguing things to recommend it. First off, the name "Meloy" caught my attention right away, having just finished reading and reviewing Colin Meloy's Wildwood when The Apothecary came out last October. Maile, author of a well received short story collection and two novels for adults, had her first book for kids published in the same year that her
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The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde is the first in the Chronicles of Kazam, his new series for young readers. Many years ago I gleefully gobbled up
Liz Kessler is the author of the very popular Emily Windsnap series of books about a twelve year old girl who lives on a boat with her mother. When Emily takes swimming lessons she discovers she is half-mermaid and her legs turn into a tail when she is underwater. Kessler is also three books into her Philippa Fisher series in which an eleven year old girl who's life is pretty miserable and gets
With Darkfall Janice Hardy brings to a close her amazing trilogy, The Healing Wars, which began with The Shifter and continued with Blue Fire. As always, the superb cover art is by the James Brown of kid's book cover illustration, Brandon Dorman. For an interesting look behind the scenes of how a cover is created, as well as incredible instruction and advice on writing a novel, check out
One of the (very few) downsides to writing this blog is feeling like I don't have the time to read more than the first in a trilogy or series of books. Tunnels series by Roderick Gordon and ND Wilson's 100 Cupboards trilogy are among the few I have taken the time to continue reading and reviewing. Add to that short list, Janice Hardy's Healing Wars Trilogy. Book One, The Shifter, caught my eye
With Reckless Cornelia Funke returns to the dark world of fairy tales, however this time the portal to another world is a mirror instead of the magical voice of a reader. Although their last name is Reckless, brothers Jacob and Will seem to be direct descendants of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm and the fairy tales that they recorded. In Reckless, the first book in what is to be a series, Funke proves
Fever Crumb was one of the seven books shortlisted for the Cybil's finalists in the Fanstasy & Science Fiction (Middle Grade) category. While I didn't give it the critical treatment here that I did for the other books that were nominated, I will tell you that it was the top contender for the award, along with Jacqueline West's The Shadows. All the judges loved it but, ultimately, we felt that
I love the quarkbeast!
YES!! My favorite fantasy beast, since the Raggant from ND WIlson's 100 CUPBOARDS trilogy. Wouldn't it be cool to compile a list of best fantasy beasts of the 20th/21st century then pair it with a compendium of mythical beasts. Then they could pair up, like a hippogriff with a quarkbeast and create all new creatures...
The two covers both look so good. Love the different perspective of the cars.
Agreed! I don't like it when the paperback cover is radically different from the original. I also wish I understood why the UK covers always have to be different from the US? Probably some marketing thing that I wouldn't understand, but in most cases, I think the US are often better...
"Rules out lives"? Interesting, if frightening, typo...if it is one.<br /><br />Covers are often changed because what sells in one country doesn't sell in another; it's doesn't make sense but it's proven in the sales receipts.
@=Tamar - HA! Thanks for catching that typo - it IS a typo but, as you noted, it could just as easily, frighteningly, not be one... And, re: US vs. UK book covers, I realize that they put one the covers that the think will sell best in each country, I guess I just find it hard to believe that what appeals to people here is so different than what appeals to people in England. Maybe it's a