{"id":21347,"date":"2022-12-03T09:37:23","date_gmt":"2022-12-03T14:37:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=21347"},"modified":"2023-09-25T19:10:11","modified_gmt":"2023-09-25T23:10:11","slug":"blitz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/21347","title":{"rendered":"Blitz"},"content":{"rendered":"

Blitz<\/a><\/em> (2022) Daniel O\u2019Malley<\/a> (The Checquy Files)<\/p>\n

\"Blitz\"<\/a>This is the third book in The Checquy Files series. The story is split between London in (probably) 1940 and modern London (set perhaps a year after Stiletto, which was set maybe six months of the Rook, so ~2013) in (seemingly) unrelated stories. You of course know the story lines are going to tie together, but you have no idea how.<\/p>\n

Additionally, if you have not read the previous two books, you can absolutely<\/em> read this one without any confusion.<\/p>\n

In 1940 we have Pamela (a Pawn), Usha and Bridget (apprentices) all of whom work with the Lady of the Court. We also have multiple appearances by Henry Wattleman. (If you’ve read the previous two books, seeing him here is fascinating.)<\/p>\n

It is also a look at London during the Blitz, which was fascinating in and of itself.<\/p>\n

Next to them was a stout door with heavy metal handles and some handwritten instructions pinned to its side: <\/p>\n

IF THIS DOOR SHOULD BE BLOCKED BY DEBRIS ON THE OUTSIDE, THE OCCUPANTS SHOULD<\/em>: <\/p>\n

1. RELEASE THE LOCKING HANDLES<\/em> <\/p>\n

2. USE THESE CROWBARS TO LEVER
\n OPEN THE DOOR BY INSERTING
\n THE FLATTENED ENDS BETWEEN
\n DOOR AND FRAME AT THE RIGHT-
\n HAND SIDE AND THE THRESHOLD<\/em><\/p>\n

Bridget looked down. Sure enough, a rack below the sign held two crowbars. The matter-of-fact tone of the instructions in case of disaster made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. All too easily, Bridget could imagine being buried alive down here.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The second story is about Lyn, a woman who suddenly and unexpectedly discovers she can control electricity, and is this introduced to the Checquy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is this? You\u2019re\u2014 what? You\u2019re\u2014 you\u2019re scrying my family? In a cup of coffee?\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cLegally, scrying is seeing the future,\u201d said the woman. \u201cI\u2019m showing the present. Of a location within a 36.876-kilometer radius. Through an aperture of up to 41.34 inches.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cIs it magic?\u201d <\/p>\n

The woman shrugged. \u201cIt\u2019s just something I can do.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Because Lyn comes into her powers as an adult, we watch her go through time at the Estate, and learn what the Checquy is. We also see how different things were prior to the creation of the Estate, as Bridget, Pamela, and Usha were all apprentices. <\/p>\n

I really enjoyed reading about Lyn during her time at the Estate, because we see an entirely different part of the Checquy.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur physicists are terrifically excited by the implications, but then, they\u2019re in a state of almost constant excitement here. We\u2019ve had to schedule enforced naps for all the scientists on Kirrin Island to keep them from working until they keel over.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

To be clear, this means the first part of the book is somewhat slow, as Lyn learns about her powers, and about the Checqy. <\/p>\n

Then it suddenly takes off, and is almost non stop for the rest of the book.<\/p>\n

And through it all are the bits that are immediately recognizable as Daniel O’Malley writing about the Checquy,<\/p>\n

And then there were no more shots, only the unmistakable sound of someone having run out of bullets.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

She looked warily at Dr. Allard, who was busily using a protractor to ensure that the cake was sliced evenly.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cHelp!\u201d screamed Georgina. \u201cHelp<\/em>!\u201d <\/p>\n

Lyn shot her a startled glance. After their torturous silence, the girl\u2019s scream was shocking, but of course it made perfect sense. <\/p>\n

Absolutely, let\u2019s make this someone else\u2019s problem<\/em>!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

One of the things I adore about these books is that things are mentioned in passing that may come to be important later in the book, or they may just be interesting \/ amusing anecdotes. You never know.<\/p>\n

It is, as I said, a little slower at the start–at least the Lyn portion, as she goes through the estate, but it does shift into action adventure. I ended up reading this in chunks, because it is a long book (just under 700 pages) and I was never sure when things were going to take off, so when I reached a lull and stop, and then pick it back up when I had another longish stretch of time.<\/p>\n

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and am very much looking forward to listening to the audio book, so pick up on the inevitable things I missed when reading.<\/p>\n

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company<\/p>\n

Rating: 9\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Blitz (2022) Daniel O\u2019Malley (The Checquy Files) This is the third book in The Checquy Files series. The story is split between London in (probably) 1940 and modern London (set perhaps a year after Stiletto, which was set maybe six months of the Rook, so ~2013) in (seemingly) unrelated stories. You of course know the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[13,30,292,2,48,8,16],"tags":[91,698],"class_list":["post-21347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-10","category-british","category-ebook","category-fantasy","category-female","category-mystery","category-supernatural","tag-daniel-omalley","tag-librarian"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/siQkW-blitz","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":22123,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/22123","url_meta":{"origin":21347,"position":0},"title":"Blitz, Audio Book","author":"Michelle","date":"July 21, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Blitz, Audio Book (2022) Daniel O'Malley narrated by Moira Quirk (The Rook Files) \u201cOur physicists are terrifically excited by the implications, but then, they\u2019re in a state of almost constant excitement here. We\u2019ve had to schedule enforced naps for all the scientists on Kirrin Island to keep them from working\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "10\/10"","block_context":{"text":"10\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/10-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Blitz","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Blitz.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":24686,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/24686","url_meta":{"origin":21347,"position":1},"title":"Blitz, Audio Book","author":"Michelle","date":"June 28, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Blitz, Audiobook (2022) Daniel O'Malley narrated by Moira Quirk (Checquy Files #3) And then there were no more shots, only the unmistakable sound of someone having run out of bullets. Responsible for supernatural security throughout the British Empire, the executives of the Checquy were all horrendously busy and had been\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "10\/10"","block_context":{"text":"10\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/10-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Blitz","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Blitz.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10847,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/10847","url_meta":{"origin":21347,"position":2},"title":"Stiletto, Audio Edition","author":"Michelle","date":"May 4, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Stiletto, Audible Edition (2016) Daniel O'Malley narrated by Moira Quirk Felicity Clements is a Pawn of the Checquy--a pawn who wants to become a Barghest. Odette Leliefeld is the great(s)-granddaughter of Ernst, lord and master of the Wetenschappelijk Broederschap van Natuurkundigen. She and her little brother have come to England\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Stiletto-e1511037105669.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":13672,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/13672","url_meta":{"origin":21347,"position":3},"title":"The Rook","author":"Michelle","date":"December 14, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The Rook (2012) Daniel O\u2019Malley (The Checquy Files) I love this story so much. (T)he most effective psychics are the ones who never realize they\u2019re psychic and instead manage to live excellent lives by consistently making the right decisions. Their powers effectively guide them through the shoals of life without\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "10\/10"","block_context":{"text":"10\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/10-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Rook","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/TheRook-e1511011839562.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":23471,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/23471","url_meta":{"origin":21347,"position":4},"title":"Stiletto, Audio Book","author":"Michelle","date":"March 25, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Stiletto, Audio Book (2016) Daniel O\u2019Malley narrated by Moira Quirk \u201cBut where did you get my urine?\u201d she asked. \u201cThe Checquy has samples of everyone\u2019s everything,\u201d said Odgers cheerfully. \u201cRemember, during your time at the Estate, they kept taking specimens of your every fluid and solid?\u201d \u201cThat was for scientific\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Stiletto","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Stiletto-e1511037105669.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9111,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/9111","url_meta":{"origin":21347,"position":5},"title":"Stiletto","author":"Michelle","date":"June 27, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Stiletto (2016) Daniel O'Malley I really enjoyed The Rook, so I was thrilled when the sequel, Stiletto, went on sale. At first, I was a tiny bit disappointed that Rook Myfanwy Thomas wasn't the main character, but she made a later appearance, and I came to really like the new\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Stiletto.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21347"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21347\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}