• About

By Hook Or By Book

~ Book Reviews, News, and Other Stuff

By Hook Or By Book

Daily Archives: May 28, 2020

Coronavirus Update From New York City: May 27, 2020

28 Thursday May 2020

Posted by By Hook Or By Book: Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff in Uncategorized

≈ 7 Comments

Here is some more positive news from Brendan out of NYC!

Blind Injustice

I hope that everybody had a good Memorial Day weekend!

Everyone in my immediate family remains healthy. That being said, I’m glad that I’m not spending tons of time in public, because at times I get allergies that can cause me to have coughing fits (and coughing fits that can result in people being concerned about me). Employment continues to not be an issue for me, though I am knowing more and more people who are having issues with being furloughed or unemployed.

The situation is continuing to move in the right direction in New York City and New York State.

At the state level, nine of the state’s ten regions are beginning the process of reopening their economies, though I must emphasize that it is a process. There are four phases involved in reopening a region in New York, and these regions are only beginning to enter the first…

View original post 451 more words

#GeorgeFloyd …. “😕 ‘When a Knee Kills …. More Thoughts, #3 😕 …. “!!

28 Thursday May 2020

Posted by By Hook Or By Book: Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff in Uncategorized

≈ 40 Comments

I know many are already familiar with the murder of George Floyd, but Dr. Rex has put together a thoughtful and informative post that I think should be shared. My question is what is it going to take for people of color to be treated equally and with the dignity and respect that white people (speaking for myself here), take for granted?

It Is What It Is

~~May 27, 2020~~

MURDER BY COP

Remember ‘taking a knee”?

Mr. Floyd wasn’t resisting. Police were called for a non-violent crime. He was subdued, he was compliant. He followed orders. Once on the ground, he expressed he couldn’t breathe, he reported chest and neck pain, he asked for help. The public there were also stating that the man was on the ground.

HortyRex©

=========================================

The family of George Floyd – who died after pleading that he couldn’t breathe while a police officer held him down with a knee on his neck – say they want the four Minneapolis officers involved charged with murder.

“They were supposed to be there to serve and to protect and I didn’t see a single one of them lift a finger to do anything to help while he was begging for his life. Not one of them tried to do anything to help him,” Tera…

View original post 56 more words

Angel of the Crows, by Katherine Addison ~ 3.5 Stars

28 Thursday May 2020

Posted by By Hook Or By Book: Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff in Uncategorized

≈ 29 Comments

Tags

Adult Fiction, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, LGBTQ, Mystery, Steampunk, Supernatural

910206FA-A36B-470A-B215-BD7EC8813A6A

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Books for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: June 23rd, 2020

432 Pages

Synopsis: Katherine Addison, author of The Goblin Emperor, returns with The Angel of the Crows, a fantasy novel of alternate 1880s London, where killers stalk the night and the ultimate power is naming.

This is not the story you think it is. These are not the characters you think they are. This is not the book you are expecting.

In an alternate 1880s London, angels inhabit every public building, and vampires and werewolves walk the streets with human beings in a well-regulated truce. A fantastic utopia, except for a few things: Angels can Fall and that Fall is like a nuclear bomb in both the physical and metaphysical world. And human beings remain human with all their kindness and greed and passions and murderous intent.

Jack the Ripper stalks the streets of this London too. But this London has an Angel. The Angel of the Crows.

Being a Sherlock Holmes fan, I was immediately intrigued by Angel of the Crows which began as fanfic. It’s not bad, but it could have used some more originality.

For the most part, what Katherine Addison has done, is taken some of Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories (A Study in Scarlet, The Adventure of the Copper Beeches, The Hound of the Baskervilles, and The Speckled Band), thrown in the Whitechapel murders by Jack the Ripper in the background, and added fantasy, dystopian, and steampunk elements. The problem is, despite these different themes the characters and stories don’t really divert much from the original source material. Some of the dialogue is even remarkably similar to BBCs Sherlock Holmes series.

For the first half of the book I was also a bit confused much of the time in regards to this alternate London. It took me a while to understand the difference between angels and their roles. I felt as though I had just been dropped and left to make my own way through this murky world.

Despite these issues, I did find much to enjoy in this rather curious tale. I did like Crow (Sherlock), and Doyle (Watson), and as much as I love ACD’s original stories, it must be admitted that some had racist and sexist connotations. Addison deftly removed these without taking anything away from the story. I also liked the addition of Dr. Doyle’s secrets that he’s hiding. They’re creatively done yet perfectly fit in with his personality. The story is also quite fast-paced and I never found myself bored.

Overall, while not perfect, Angel of the Crows is an entertaining journey back to Victorian London with English literature’s most endearing odd couple. I can easily see this being turned into a tv series like Showtime’s Penny Dreadful. For fans of the original Sherlock series, think of this as a nice reread with some interesting fantastical additions. If you’re not familiar with the four stories I mentioned, you may actually enjoy this even more.

 

  • By Hook Or By Book: Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff

Archives

May 2020
M T W T F S S
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
« Apr   Jun »

Blog Stats

  • 290,651 hits
Follow By Hook Or By Book on WordPress.com

Blogs I Follow

  • Ned Hamson's Second Line View of the News
  • View from the Back
  • Fictionspawn
  • Books & Bonsai
  • BOOKSNMUSES
  • Blaisdell Literary Enterprises
  • Word by Word
  • slicethelife
  • Books With Raven
  • johnrieber
  • Book Coffee Happy
  • Susanlovesbooks
  • River Writes
  • heavenlybookish
  • Ana Bookshelves blog
  • For The Literature
  • On The Subject of Horror
  • Pfeiffer Pfilms and Meg Movies
  • Writergurlny
  • Sarah Collins Bookworm
  • The Inglorius Padre Steve's World
  • Chocoviv’s Lifestyle Blog
  • Mary Smith's Place
  • the novel gnome
  • Broken Tune's Blog
  • Mark Bierman
  • In Saner Thought
  • PA Reads
  • Little Mermaid's Writes
  • The Book's Whiskers
  • Between|the|Blurb
  • biblio_mom
  • Short Prose
  • Mental Health @ Home
  • The 4 Freedoms for ALL via Language & Adult Education, Writing, and PublicDomainInfrastructure
  • Carries Book Reviews
  • Beware Of The Reader
  • beetleypete
  • Blogger Tha Travis
  • Myths of the Mirror
  • Blue Reader Gal Corner
  • SoundEagle 🦅ೋღஜஇ
  • Cyranny's Cove
  • Saved By Words
  • Hundreds & Thousands of Books
  • Following Good Books
  • vinnieh
  • Mock Paper Scissors
  • The Bookshelf Corner
  • Doshelles

Member of The Internet Defense League

Follow By Hook Or By Book on WordPress.com

Blogs I Follow

  • Ned Hamson's Second Line View of the News
  • View from the Back
  • Fictionspawn
  • Books & Bonsai
  • BOOKSNMUSES
  • Blaisdell Literary Enterprises
  • Word by Word
  • slicethelife
  • Books With Raven
  • johnrieber
  • Book Coffee Happy
  • Susanlovesbooks
  • River Writes
  • heavenlybookish
  • Ana Bookshelves blog
  • For The Literature
  • On The Subject of Horror
  • Pfeiffer Pfilms and Meg Movies
  • Writergurlny
  • Sarah Collins Bookworm
May 2020
M T W T F S S
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
« Apr   Jun »

Blog at WordPress.com.

Ned Hamson's Second Line View of the News

Second Look Behind the Headlines - News you can use...

View from the Back

Ramblings of a retiree in France

Fictionspawn

Illustrations and Short Stories

Books & Bonsai

Anita Dawes & Jaye Marie

BOOKSNMUSES

Wrapped around genres and muses🥰

Blaisdell Literary Enterprises

Word by Word

Women in Writing sharing Encouragement One Word at a Time

slicethelife

hold a mirror up to life.....are there layers you can see?

Books With Raven

Book reviews from a bookworm

johnrieber

Burgers, Books, Music, Movies, Offbeat Adventures & Pop Culture!

Book Coffee Happy

Let's discuss books!

Susanlovesbooks

River Writes

Here you get writing tips, facts, and updates by the Author in process, River Angel Bee

heavenlybookish

bibliophile

Ana Bookshelves blog

Hi! My name is Ana. I’m a pharmacist & part time blogger! Book addict!

For The Literature

Reviewing the art of literature.

On The Subject of Horror

All things horror movie related!

Pfeiffer Pfilms and Meg Movies

Writergurlny

A Ginger's Point Of View

Sarah Collins Bookworm

Journalist, traveller, collector of hats, bookworm

The Inglorius Padre Steve's World

Musings of a Progressive Realist in Wonderland

Chocoviv’s Lifestyle Blog

Mommy blogger, who loves to share what she loves!

Mary Smith's Place

the novel gnome

Reading and Reviewing for You!

Broken Tune's Blog

Mark Bierman

Adventures in Writing

In Saner Thought

"It is the duty of every man, as far as his ability extends, to detect and expose delusion and error"..Thomas Paine

PA Reads

Reading and reviewing books all day long.

Little Mermaid's Writes

Movie Reviews, Travel stories, Lifestyle

The Book's Whiskers

Books ✦ Cats ✦ Gin ✦ Life is good!

Between|the|Blurb

opening a window of excitement, enthralment and over all wonder.

biblio_mom

Read & Escape

Short Prose

Poetry and Short Prose by Gabriela Marie Milton 2019 Author of the Year at Spillwords Press and Author of Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings

Mental Health @ Home

Building mental wellness on a foundation of strength

The 4 Freedoms for ALL via Language & Adult Education, Writing, and PublicDomainInfrastructure

Languages & Books (Stayed on Freedom's Call & WiP: #WhoByFireIWill) for Community Cooperation and #PublicDomainInfrastructure: Public Transit, Public Libraries, Financial & Legal Education, and Public Health Care

Carries Book Reviews

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Beware Of The Reader

Never underestimate the quiet girl reading in her nook! She's lived a thousand lives.

beetleypete

The musings of a Londoner, now living in Norfolk

Blogger Tha Travis

Myths of the Mirror

Life is make believe, fantasy given form

Blue Reader Gal Corner

Book Blogger and more

SoundEagle 🦅ೋღஜஇ

Where The Eagles Fly . . . . Art Science Poetry Music & Ideas

Cyranny's Cove

Refuge of an assumed danophile...

Saved By Words

When a woman tells the truth she is creating the possibility for more truth around her. Adrienne Rich

Hundreds & Thousands of Books

Book reviews by teens, for teens!

Following Good Books

YA Book Blog from a Christian Perspective. 1 Thessalonians 5:15.

vinnieh

Movie reviews and anything else that comes to mind

Mock Paper Scissors

The Internet's Band of Incorrigible Spitballers® Since 2006

The Bookshelf Corner

Writer. Blogger. Book Reviewer.

Doshelles

Bringing Words to Life

Ned Hamson's Second Line View of the News

Second Look Behind the Headlines - News you can use...

View from the Back

Ramblings of a retiree in France

Fictionspawn

Illustrations and Short Stories

Books & Bonsai

Anita Dawes & Jaye Marie

BOOKSNMUSES

Wrapped around genres and muses🥰

Blaisdell Literary Enterprises

Word by Word

Women in Writing sharing Encouragement One Word at a Time

slicethelife

hold a mirror up to life.....are there layers you can see?

Books With Raven

Book reviews from a bookworm

johnrieber

Burgers, Books, Music, Movies, Offbeat Adventures & Pop Culture!

Book Coffee Happy

Let's discuss books!

Susanlovesbooks

River Writes

Here you get writing tips, facts, and updates by the Author in process, River Angel Bee

heavenlybookish

bibliophile

Ana Bookshelves blog

Hi! My name is Ana. I’m a pharmacist & part time blogger! Book addict!

For The Literature

Reviewing the art of literature.

On The Subject of Horror

All things horror movie related!

Pfeiffer Pfilms and Meg Movies

Writergurlny

A Ginger's Point Of View

Sarah Collins Bookworm

Journalist, traveller, collector of hats, bookworm

Cancel
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy