book 40

the nameless day, sara douglass

this is me, branching out! that's right, i read a 'fantasy' novel and really liked it. i'll have to say, though, that this was more in the realm of historical fiction than high fantasy. 14th century europe -- lots of intrigue, wars between england and france, corruption in the church, hotspur, etc. the fantasy comes in when the main character, friar thomas neville, is charged by this archangel to be the keeper of the cleft of hell. this one friar died of the plague, and when he did, he accidentally left the cleft open, so there are totally demons running around everywhere! and no one can tell because they are also shape-shifters! anyway, this book was really engrossing (and not as religious as it might sound, so don't worry). it's the first in a trilogy, and i'll definitely be looking for the next one to see what happens. this one ends with a cliffhanger.

in other news: today is my birthday! yay! and it's a sequential number birthday, which won't happen again for 11 more years! sadly, my plans to be totally pampered have been hampered (you like that, don't you?), but i still get to open awesome presents and have a special birthday meal! and there's always cake!