#Review of The Transcendent Tide by Doug Johnstone @doug_johnstone @OrendaBooks @RandomTTours #BlogTour

The Transcendent Tide
By Doug Johnstone

Review by Louise Cannon

For those following the Enceladons Trilogy, this is the grand finale, of what has been a rather urgently relevant, yet entertaining read that’s just got better and better, with this final one being one of the best. Even if you aren’t into sci-fi, which isn’t a huge genre read for me, it has much more than aliens. There’s humanity and eco-awareness too.
Discover the blurb and my review below. thanks to being on the Random T. Tours blog tour and Orenda for supplying the book. Please note, all opinions are my own.

Blurb

It’s been eighteen months since the Enceladons escaped the clutches of an American military determined to exterminate the peaceful alien creatures.

Lennox and Vonnie have been lying low in the Scottish Highlands, Ava has been caring for her young daughter Chloe, and Heather is adjusting to her new life with Sandy and the other Enceladons in the Arctic Ocean, off the coast of Greenland. But fate is about to bring them together again for one last battle.

When Lennox and Vonnie are visited by Karl Jensen, a Norwegian billionaire intent on making contact with the Encedalons again, they are wary of subjecting the aliens to further dangers. But when word arrives that Ava’s daughter has suffered an attack and might die without urgent help, they reluctantly make the trip to Greenland, where they enlist the vital help of local woman Niviaq.

It’s not long before they’re drawn into a complex web of lies, deceit and death. What is Karl’s company really up to? Why are sea creatures attacking boats? Why is Sandy acting so strangely, and why are polar bears getting involved?

Profound, ambitious and immensely moving, The Transcendent Tide is the epic conclusion to the Encedalons Trilogy – a final showdown between the best and worst of humanity, the animal kingdom and the Encedalons. The future of life on earth will be changed forever, but not everyone will survive to see it…

Review

The Transcendent Tide couldn’t be more timely, with a certain US President kicking off, greedily looking at Greenland, one of the most important and vital countries to save planet earth, if left virtually untouched. I’ve always reckoned that nature will always win-out, not humans in the end and this book is a fine example of nature vs humans and makes stark points of why we need to work with, not always against it. Who will win, can there be any winners, will anything turn out alright in the end?

What Doug Johnstone has created is a deeply profound trilogy, which has grown even deeper still come this final book. The way he gets the most important points across, mixed with a bit of entertainment, is done to a highly skilled quality. It’s thought-provoking and intelligently done, so that, if you’re worldly aware, you can join the dots between the events that are happening in the book to what’s happening in the world with the ideas of certain world politicians.

There are twists and turns, secrets and lies which forms some of the entertaining parts of the book, not that this dilutes any of the important points, it does however add to the readability of the plot.

I highly recommend The Transcendent Tide and the previous 2 books in the trilogy.

#Review By Lou of The Wager and the Bear By John Ironmonger @jwironmonger @fly_press @flyonthewallpress

The Wager and the Bear
By John Ironmonger

The Wager and the Bear is palpable and a novel of our times where the climate is concerned. It’s written so beautifully and urgently that it would be hard to ignore and hard not to be swept up in its flow to lush scenery, love and topical climate events. Find out more in the blurb and my full review below. Thanks to Fly on the Press, an independent publisher, for sending me a copy to review from…

Blurb

When young idealist Tom publicly humiliates politician Monty in a Cornish pub, it sparks a simmering feud that cascades through their intertwined lives. The consequences of their argument, and the deadly wager they strike, will cascade down the decades. Years later, they find themselves a long way from St Piran onto a colossal iceberg drifting south away from Greenland, their only companion a starving polar bear.

A heart-stopping tale of anger, tragedy, and enduring love, cast against the long unfolding backdrop of climate catastrophe.

Review

Set in St. Piran, Cornwall, the book begins, the style of writing has a feel of someone sitting in a pub with you as they recount what happened. It eases you into the book in an unexpected way. It’s just as well for all that’s to come next…

Tom Horsmith and his fellow companions meet in bar. He has quite a dramatic backstory, but it doesn’t linger on this. It gives enough to understand certain past circumstances.
There’s a climate denier in the mix. The anger and rage is palpable. Monty Causley, may well make your teeth grind together with sheer frustration. If he were in front of you, you know you’d have a lot to say too. For a character you’re not supposed to like, he’s written well.
Not far in, the story moves 2 years onwards after the wager with a sobering conversation between Lykke Nogaard and Tom and romance is in the air…
It’s interesting when Tom and Monty meet again 10 years after the wager with not just the circumstances the MP finds himself in, but also the exchanges in conversation between them both. Some of which is surprising and also funny, in a typical politician kind of way, before a bit of honesty creeps in, whilst they’re in Greenland. A timely place, given what is going on in the world. with a certain politician wanting his hands on it, (infuriating us who lived in the 90’s and were well taught about the importance of Greenland being left well alone, but also what might happen, which we are seeing now).
The book then moves onto 25 years from the wager to show the ice that is cracking and melting.
80 years on from the wager, there’s something beautiful, something heart-warming to hold onto…

The author manages to flip from anger to a softer air with a succinctness that carries you, the reader, onwards with the story being told.

The Wager and the Bear is a novel that may well cause you to feel so many emotions, including the same anger towards a fictional person as it will certain people in public life.

After the story, the author notes what inspired him to write The Bear and the Wager, stating it is a novel, but also showing what certain politicians and notable people have said about the climate as well as some other facts. That part is also an interesting read as it cements the fictional events and people in the story with what is happening in the world today, a bit like aiding readers to join the dots as it were, if they haven’t already.

Life & Death Decisions By Dr. Lachlan McIver @lachlan_mciver @Octopus_Books #RandomTTours #Autobiography #Memoir #LifeAndDeathDecisions

Life & Death Decisions
By Dr. Lachlan McIver

Today I am on the blog tour of non-fiction book – Life and Death Decisions. A fascinating book about delivering medicine and care in challenging climates and topical subjects, including climate change and over-prescribing antibiotics. It also goes into the human toll too. Find out more in the blurb and my review below.

Blurb

Lachlan was sixteen when he found his father dead

on the side of a dirt road in North Queensland, Australia. He had suffered a sudden heart attack and died alone. It was this

tragedy that motivated Lachlan to train as a doctor specialising in providing medical care

for people living in remote, resource-deprived locations.

Lachlan’s work with the World Health Organization and Me´decins Sans Frontie`res has taken him to some of the world’s most extreme environments from the sinking islands of the Pacific to epidemics and war zones in the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa.

In this no-holds-barred memoir, Lachlan recounts his experiences treating patients ravaged by tropical diseases, managing war wounds with drug-resistant infections, delivering babies by the light of a head torch, dealing with the devastating effects of climate change and narrowly avoiding being kidnapped by militia in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Tackling such impossible problems day in and day out inevitably takes a personal toll.

Lachlan is ultimately forced to face his own battles with depression, alcohol abuse and bankruptcy.

Life and Death Decisions is a deeply human look at the personal cost of our broken global health system and a vital call to action.

Review

Many people are fascinated by medical stories and what’s happening globally. The number of books published and tv documentaries show this and here is another book to add to readers list.

This book takes readers to Australia and into the life of Dr. Lachlan McIver. It is pretty well paced and starts with an event and a bit of encouragement that perhaps led to him becoming a medical doctor in the first place.

It is interesting reading about the life and death decisions he had to make and all the challenges and obstacles that present themselves from illness, people and environment and the places he goes to. It is also interesting reading about the mental and financial tolls taken on his own life and the drive to continue to survive and to continue to heal others.

The book, in fact covers such a wide range of subjects , all that are well-written and gives great insight into the world through medicine and Lachlan’s journey, but is written in “lay-man’s” terms, so anyone can pick up this book and not be flummoxed by it, instead can learn from it.

Dragons Walk Among Us by Dan Rice @TheWildRosePress #Fantasy #Dragons #YA

Dragons Walk Among Us
By Dan Rice

A mysterious procedure, dragons that may or may not be there amongst themes of climate change, health and friendship make this a twisty fantasy for Young Adults. Dragons Walk Among Us is Dan Rice’s debut.
Thanks to Dan Rice for contacting me via Contact Me on my blog and gifting me his book.
Fly down below to discover a bit about the author, the blurb and the rest of my review.

About the Author

Dan has wanted to write novels since first reading Frank Herbert’s Dune at the age of eleven. A native of the Pacific Northwest, he often goes hiking with his family through mist-shrouded forests and along alpine trails with expansive views.

Dragons Walk Among Us is his debut novel. He plans to keep writing fantasy and science-fiction for many years. You can explore his blog at https://www.danscifi.com.

Dragons Walk Amongst Us Cover

Blurb

Shutterbug Allison Lee is trying to survive high school while suffering the popular girl’s abuse. Her life is often abysmal, but at least her green hair is savage. Her talent for photography is recognized by the school paper and the judges of a photo contest.

While visiting her friend Joe, a homeless vet, Allison’s life irrevocably changes after an attack leaves her blind. All her dreams as a photojournalist are dashed as she realizes she’ll never see again. Despair sets in until she is offered an experimental procedure to restore her vision. But there are side effects, or are they hallucinations? She now sees dragons accompanying some of the people she meets. Can she trust her eyes, or has the procedure affected her more than she can see?

Dragons Walk Amongst Us Cover

Review

Cascadia Prep High School is where the book begins, with some powerfully described photographs. There’s quite a competition on, especially where pupil, Leslie and Allison Lee are concerned.

The book is bang on topic when it comes to climate change and public transport versus cars, it also includes figures. This may make some people really think about how they travel. I like that a lot. Climate change, homlessness and race relations are hot topics and they are both combined in this book. The book also turns into a detective story, which is interesting as it will appeal to young readers who enjoy a bit of a mystery as Allison suffers from an attack, rendering her blind, until an experiment is performed on her. Haji, who is very significant in her life and Dalia kindly visit her as she begins her journey in her different sort of life from what she knew before, which readers are taken on.
Readers are basically asked to be patient before anything fantastical occurs, but the background is pertinent and then comes the intriguing part when it comes to the treatment. Then Allison’s world becomes fascinating as glimmers of a dragon merges with the real world and there’s a sinister doctor and strange magician.

There are interesting concepts with the sort of experimental treatment conducted on her and the side,-effects experienced. It then gets more intense as further twists involving everyone’s lives occur, which then makes this quite the unexpected page-turner, that lures you further and further into this fantastical world that is created that blends together with the real world, until it keeps you guessing what has truly happened to Allison’s vision, as events get turn darker, lives are in danger as the interesting concept of shape-shifters emerges and soon it’s a race to save all of humanity.

The layers of story builds, although at certain points there’s quite a bit about will anyone kill anyone or not, and takes a little while to get anywhere near to seeing the dragon, but once you do, then this is a book worth sticking with as it really gets into its stride and pulls you in, until you need to know what happens next.

#Review by Lou – Tapestries of Life – Nature is all we have by Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson @annesver @HarperNonFic @RandomTTours #TapestriesofLife #NonFiction #Nature

Tapestries of Life – Nature is all we have
by Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson

Vibrant and interesting as the threads of life are all seemlessly stitched together to create a wider picture in the vast spectrum of nature we live in and the impact on our lives in an accessible fashion, by this expert in her field. Thanks to Harper Collins for gifting me the book and for Random Things Tours for inviting me to the blog tour to review. Discover the beautiful cover that would brighten up anyone’s bookcase and the blurb and my review.

Blurb

The second book by the bestselling author of Extraordinary Insects.

Trees clean air and water; hoverflies and bees pollinate our crops; the kingfisher inspired the
construction of high-speed trains. In Tapestries of Life, bestselling author Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson
explains how closely we are all connected with the natural world, highlighting our indelible link with
nature’s finely knit system and our everyday lives.
In the heart of natural world is a life-support system like no other, a collective term that describes all
the goods and services we receive – food, fresh water, medicine, pollination, pollution control, carbon
sequestration, erosion prevention, recreation, spiritual health and so much more. In this utterly
captivating book, Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson sets out to explore these wonderful, supportive elements
– taking the reader on a journey through the surprising characteristics of the natural world.

Review

This isn’t as heavy as it sounds. It’s very good for the inquisitive and those who have a care for the natural world. It reads quite biographical in tone, with a mix of accessible science, and at the heart of Anne’s adventure is an abundance of the surface and what’s underneath nature and its purposes. The book will increase understanding of planet earth and all that it has to offer. It isn’t written in a way that forces people to believe in this or that, but rather in a way that may well enhance the appreciation of the natural world and all that it has to offer, from the animals right down to the water it holds.

As well as animals and plants, it goes into studying DNA, organisms and bacteria ie all the parts that can’t always be seen to the naked eye and yet are just as important to the surface of nature that we can see. It goes onto why nature is essential to earth and humans and talks about how it is used for the prescription medicines/prescription drugs that people consume. There are also great analogies to help with the understanding.

Planted like seeds, throughout the book are some poems and diagrams that makes the book brighter and easily digestible and relatable and alive, for this is a livelier and interesting book than what you may first presume. The poems also seem to serve as a reminder as to how the great outdoors, influences and inspires creatives and has done throughout the centuries.

There’s a lot to learn, in particular in the USA, about what is there and certain astonishing legislation was passed, not the what, but the when; but it all reads easy as each bit of earth is stitched together and her travels weave in and around green spaces and more…
The book also delves into what earth still has and extinction and conflicting ideas that people have about earth and

The book is beautfully crafted as it weaves threads of a tapestry of life that only survives with nature at its heart.

About the Author

Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson is the bestselling author of Extraordinary Insects. A professor at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) in Ås, Norway, she is also a scientific advisor for The Norwegian Institute for Nature Research NINA. She has a Doctorate degree in conservation biology and lectures on nature management and forest
biodiversity.

Anne is an absolute expert in the subject. She has done and is still doing countless events for all the editions of her books all over the world, and festivals love her.

#ChildrensBook – Setsuko and the Song Of The Sea @Fi_BGB @TinyTreeBooks @lovebooksgroup #lovebookstours #WorldEarthDay

Setsuko and the Song of The Sea
By Fiona Barker
Illustrated by Howard Gray

Today I am excited to be part of the World Earth Day by highlighting Setsuko and the Song of the Sea. Fancy a dip? Come and dive into the blurb to find out what it is all about. Plunge further in if you wish and discover at the bottom depths, the buy links.
The wonderful thing is that 10% of the net profits from each book will be donated to the Marine Conservation Society, the UK charity working for seas full of life. Visit www.mcs.org.uk to find out more and swim on down on my blog to find out more about this children’s book.

Blurb

Setsuko loves the sea. She swims its shallows. She dives its depths. But she worries that her friends have chosen to abandon her way of life. Then she meets a whale who also fears he is the last of his kind. In return for giving him hope, he gifts her a song which she uses to remind people of the beauty of the ocean. Setsuko took the song and made it her own. They played together from the first crisp light of morning until the setting of the evening sun. Everyone who heard Setsuko’s song was filled with the wonder of the sea. They remembered the beauty and mystery of the ocean. A story of an unlikely friendship, Setsuko and her friend the whale have one thing in common ― their love of the sea. Much like the revered ama-san, ― women who have been diving off the coast of the Shima peninsula in Japan for over 2,000 years ― Setsuko is a strong girl who is on the path to becoming one of these real-life mermaids. 10% of the net profits from each book will be donated to the Marine Conservation Society, the UK charity working for seas full of life. Visit www.mcs.org.uk to find out more.

Buy Links

Publisher Shop – https://bit.ly/3cfj7mp

Waterstones – https://bit.ly/2YgEDz2

Foyles – https://bit.ly/3ooqzxS

Amazon – https://amzn.to/3a63xHb

Goodreads – https://bit.ly/3iNZ0gw