House of Cards (2008) C.E. Murphy
Book two in the Negotiator series, House of Cards, continues the story of Margrit Knight, who has stumbled upon the existence of the Old Races: gargoyles, djinn, dragons, selkie, and vampires remain hidden in the world, although their numbers are diminished.
I enjoyed this book as much as I did Heart of Stone. It had it strengths and weaknesses, but for the most part was a fun read.
The strengths continued to be the variety of characters, and their complex histories and backgrounds. The major weakness was that Margrit was the only major female character in the story, and at one point all the male characters seemed to be swooning over her. Although they weren’t precisely swooning, I was a little annoyed by her being to only female surrounded by males.
Also? This bugged me:
“I thought you said the gargoyles were the only Old Races to have ever been enslaved.” Her voice came from a far distance, as if disbelief or weariness had made an unbreachable wall around her.
“I didn’t know. Alban slipped his arms around her, offering strength and support. Margrit groaned and urned against him, feeling distance melt away into comfort. “Perhaps it’s somewhere in the memories, buried in mountain roots. I’ve never studied the djinn that closely.”
Oh please! Folklore is full of stories of djinn–and even selkie–being enslaved or taken captive by humans. Especially djinn. Those two paragraphs struck me as so unbelievably false I was thrown completely out of the story and had to fume for several minutes.
But otherwise the story was solid and a nice fast read. There was boinking, which I wasn’t thrilled about. But at least things were clear with Margrit and who she was interested in and why. And I have to admit that although she is surrounded by men, it is clear who she is interested it, and although Janx flirts with her, he clearly isn’t interested in her. So it’s not like everyone is swooning over her. It just would have been nice to have other women to play off Margrit. (Yes, she did spent some time with her roomates and her mother. But it wasn’t the same.)
So, fun. Nothing great, but I’ll be reading the next book.
Rating: 7/10
Heart of Stone (2007) C.E. Murphy
I inadvertently picked up the second book in this series, so being me, I had to go back and find the first book in the series, and by then I’d gotten sucked into the Repairman Jack series and the Commissario Guido Brunetti mysteries, and pretty much forgot about this series. But after taking a break from those two series I found this and decided it was time to check it out.
Margrit Knight is a lawyer for Legal Aid, her on-again off-again boyfriend is a cop, and when she speaks to a man wanted for murder, her life gets very complicated, very quickly.
I liked Margrit a lot. She does stupid things, but her heart is in the right place, which is how a rich girl ends up working at Legal Aid I suppose. I also like he she recognizes that she can’t necessarily reconcile the contradictions in her life–especially how race affects her job and her personal life.
I also really liked how the supernatural element was done in these books. I won’t say more, because I really don’t want to give away any part of the series. I’ll simply say things didn’t go the way I expected, and that was a nice change. (Don’t read the back! It gives too much away! I didn’t read the back until after I read the book and I’m glad!)
Although there is kissing and there are threats of boinking, no boinking actually occurs, which was another nice change of pace for a supernatural fantasy. Though there is a fair amount of yearning.
The mystery surrounding the murders and the character she meets through the course of the book was also good, although there wasn’t much of a chance of being able to guess “whodunnit”. But that’s fine with me.
So Heart of Stone is an interesting supernatural fantasy. I enjoyed the main character, although I think she could have had one or two more weaknesses, and been less enamored of Alban, but all in all I enjoyed the book, and recommend it without reservations.
Rating: 7/10
Fables Vol 10: The Good Prince (2008) Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham, Steve Leialoha, Andrew Peopy
I’ve been reading Fables since 2005. And since then, I’ve pre-ordered the next in the series to get it the day it was released. Which tells you that this series is pretty fantastic.
For those who haven’t been playing along from the start, after a terrible war, many Fables escaped to our world, and are now hiding out in various locations all over the world, including Fabletown and The Farm in New York.
For those who have been playing along at home, Flycatcher has remembered his past, and is wallowing in misery now that those memories have returned. Meanwhile, Prince Charming is in negotiations with Hansel, who is representing the Adversary, for the return of the heads of the wooden soldiers who attacked Fabletown in an earlier strike. And on The Farm, Snow White and Bigby have their hands full with the cubs.
My goal last night was to go to bed early, because I had to get up early. However, once I started reading The Good Prince I couldn’t put it down and absolutely had to finish it. And at 228 pages it wasn’t a quick read. But it was totally worth it.
So far, 1001 Nights of Snowfall (a stand alone story in the Fables Universe) has far and away been my favorite in the series. But The Good Prince is giving it a run for its money. Excluding a short interlude for the cubs sixth birthday, from start to end this is Flycatcher’s story, and we get to see him change from the fool to the hero in a path that, although unexpected, is simply amazing to follow.
As with previous volumes, I was perpetually surprised by the turns the story took, and The GOod Prince is no exception to that rule. There were several times when I commented out loud while reading, which is always the sign of a good story.
As usual, it’s hard to discuss Fables without giving everything away, so let’s just say that if you were already following Fables, you’ve probably already read The Good Prince. And if you aren’t already reading, then really, you need to run out right now and start at the beginning, because you’re missing out on a really good thing.
Rating: 9/10
City of Bones (2007) Cassandra Clare
I picked this up based on a review I read (I’m embarrassed to say I can’t remember where it was, just one of the book sites I peruse), and decided to check it out.
Then I got the book and it languished on the shelf for several months. First because it’s a trade paperback, and I really prefer smaller books to read, and second because the cover had a bare chested (and partially headless) guy on the cover, which I didn’t particularly like. But I was in the mood for a supernatural fantasy and decided to pick it up.
And then almost put it right back down when I read that the main character was 15 (almost 16).
But I read anyway.
And I liked it! It was light and fast and fun. Some of the plot twists I saw coming, but that was okay. One plot twist was extremely obvious, but then my brother’s best friend is called Jayce.
What I particularly liked, besides the fast-paced engaging story, is that although there was plenty of sexual angst and innuendo (they were teens after all) there was no outright boinking. Although the characters weren’t deep, I appreciated that they weren’t obvious either.
All in all, it was a fun romp, kind of a lighter version of some of the paranormal floating around, only without the sex. Which was nice.
Rating: 7/10
Dog Days (2007) John Levitt
The only thing that made me pick up Dog Days was the blurb by Rob Thurman. As I love her writing, I decided to take a chance on Dog Days, especially since I was taking advantage of Amazons 4-for-3 deal. So looking for something light and picked it up and was drawn in quite quickly.
Mason used to be a magical enforcer, helping to keep people on the straight and narrow. But his first love was music, and because magic interfered with his music, he put magic on the back burner and concentrated on being a Jazz musician. But Mason’s larger problem is that he’s lazy. He’s a lazy practitioner, and a lazy musician, so he gets by, but in nothing does he come close to his potential. So it makes no sense to him when he’s magically attacked, and the incidents that follow make even less sense.
Analysis? Not great, but good.
There were a lot of things about this story that I really liked: People died, and they didn’t even necessarily have meaningful deaths. The hero was far from perfect, and those weaknesses caused much of his trouble, and he didn’t get off lightly for his laziness. The story went in unexpected directions, and didn’t follow the typical fantasy HEA.
But there were some things that bugged me. First and foremost, When we are introduced to two different characters, it’s written as if Mason didn’t know them. As this this book was written in the first person, this came of as an incredibly annoying conceit. Yes, it allowed those characters to be described as an outsider would see them, but since Mason *knew* this characters, it instead grated on my nerves.
But, one the story started moving I quickly forgot those minor annoyances.
The second annoyance came right at the end. It was in no way a deal breaker, but it really bugged me that a significant detail was simply omitted.
SPOILERS!
(ROT 13)
Gur ovt guvat nobhg gur zntvpny qhry gb gur qrngu vf gung gur jvaare trgf nyy gur ybfref zntvpny cbjre. Gur obbx fnlf gung gur ernfba Puevfgbcu jnagf gb qhry Znfba vf orpnhfr ur’f na rnfl znex (frr: ynml) jvgu rabhtu cbjre gb chfu Puevfgbcu bire gur rqtr. Ubjrire, nsgre Znfba qrsrngf Puevfgbcu, n genafsre bs cbjre sebz Puevfgbcu gb Znfba vf ARIRE ZRAGVBARQ. Nf guvf genafsre frrzrq gb unir orra nhgbzngvp nf qrfpevorq va na rneyvre qhry, guvf jnf n UHTR birefvtug.
V ernyvmr guvf yrnirf gur nhgube bcra sbe nabgure obbx, va univat Znfba qrny jvgu uvf arj cbjre, ohg whfg vtabevat jung jnf fhccbfrq gb unccra–be jbefr, yrnivat vg bhg ragveryl–ernyyl obgurerq zr. Vg pbhyq fvzcyl unir orra zragvbarq nf unccravat, ohg jr trg abguvat. Fb guvf jnf n tynevat ubyr va gur raq bs gur fgbel.
END SPOILERS!
Which is really too bad, because I easily forgave the initial introductory annoyances. But the final annoyance threw me completely out of the story. Which is really too bad, because it was an otherwise very good book, that went out of it’s way to avoid many of the fantasy tropes that tend to get grating after awhile.
Oh, there was boinking in this book. It wasn’t badly done, but it was there. Just so you know.
Would I read a sequel or other book by John Levitt? Yes. But I won’t go out of my way to look for those books, in case he annoys me again.
Rating: 6/10
Bad Magic (2004) Stephan Zielinski
I had Bad Magic on my wish list for a long time, and finally I got it for Christmas from my brother. I put off reading it, because it’s hardback, and I just don’t find hardback books comfortable to read. But being home with the flu seemed like a good time to try it, especially as it’s a short book.
If Bad Magic reminded me of anything right from the bat, it reminded me of The Illuminitas Trilogy, primarily in it’s style of writing. The story starts and we’re kind of thrown to the dogs (so to speak) as far as trying to figure out what is going on.
Some individuals have their third eye open, which means they can see the world as it truly is, and have learned that there are two sides; once your third eye has been opened, you have a choice to make–and to make quickly.
The cast of characters are strange and unusual, and as with much of the story going on in the background, you’re never quite sure who is doing what and why.
So what does this book having going for it? It’s urban fantasy at it’s finest. Magic and technology can combine to make marvelous creations, and beings you thought were myth truly exist. Thing is, most people, when confronted with anything supernatural, simply forget the occult and forget that anything out of the ordinary happened.
It also has a story that tears out from the gate and even if you’re confused (which I was at times) you still want to know what happened.
If you don’t like urban fantasy, or you gave up on the Iluminitas Trilogy, then this book probably isn’t for you. But if you like urban fantasy, then you may want to give ad Magic a chance–assuming you can find a copy.
Rating: 7/10
The Man with the Golden Torc (2007) Simon R. Green
Eddie Drood is a field agent for a family that knows more secrets than anyone else, and has magical and mechanical powers that would make mages and mad scientists drool in envy. Unfortunately for Eddie (known on the streets as Shamus Bond) there’s trouble in the family, and that means trouble for Eddie.
Although this is not a Nightside book, I could tell quickly it was a Simon Green book. It had his quirky combination of blood, mayhem, and humor, and his telltale use of the word appalling with appalling frequency. From the title to Eddie’s use name, you could tell it was supposed to be a takeoff on James Bond. Except that the only exposure I have to James Bond is Ian Flemming’s books, and I’m not sure that Eddie Drood reminded me of Flemming’s Bond.
Neither of things are bad, they just are the way they are. I enjoy Simon Green’s writing, and although I do think he tends to overuse the word appalling, it mostly just serves to let me know I’m reading a Simon Green book.
As far as the James Bond comparison… In some ways Eddie does resemble Flemming’s Bond, in that he relies upon his had earned skills, though I didn’t find him quite as cunning as James Bond. But Eddie also has amazing magic and science, which he needs because his enemies can be just as strong as he is.
The story and characters are very much Simon Green. They’re sarcastic and pessimistic, except under the pessimism you’re sure there’s a shiny optimist just waiting to get out. Although the book is not set in Nightside, the world beneath the world we inhabit contains monsters aplenty.
If you like Simon Green’s Nightside books, they you’ll probably want to check out The Man with the Golden Torc if you haven’t already (I waited the year for the book to come out in paperback.)
Rating: 7/10
Blood Engines (2007) T.A. Pratt
Nathan raved about Blood Engines a couple months ago, so I decided to move it higher in the list, based on his recommendation.
Marla Mason is guardian of Felport, but is off the ranch in San Francisco, searching for a Cornerstone–a magical artifact that will give her the power to fight off the sorcerer trying to take over her territory. Unfortunately for Marla, and her assistant of sorts Rondeau, things are never as easy as one could hope, and often worse than one can imagine.
Blood Engines is a supernatural fantasy that takes place in the world as we know it, where magic exists, but is hidden from regular humans. Marla is a moderately amoral magician whose interests are first and foremost her own. If she happens to do a good deed or two along the way, it happens only because the right thing was easy to do.
This ended up being my problem with the story. I found Marla annoying.
I liked Rondeau, who in many ways acted as Marla’s conscience, and I liked B, but Marla? Not so much. She wasn’t bad, she simply didn’t care about anything other than herself, and this is a trait I have a difficult time comprehending, and so makes for a character I have a difficult time relating to.
Which is too bad, because the writing was strong, the dialog was good, and the story was very very good. All the characters were well-developed and could be easily told apart in dialog. Although I have to admit that Rondeau reminded me in many ways of Bob the Skull in the Dresden Files books, only with an actual body.
I could have done without the tour of the sex party. Sure, it makes sense that there are sorcerers that would gain their power from sex, and would throw the type of party described there, but I could have done without three chapters of it. I’m not saying it was badly done–it wasn’t (i.e. it didn’t make me cringe) but I just didn’t need three chapters of it.
What is it, anyway, about supernatural fantasy that compels people to fill whole chapters with lots of boinking?
I was also unsure about the limits upon magical power, and how one develops certain strengths and levels of power. Essentially, I was unsure what the limit of Marla’s power were. She said she had them, but they were never completely clear from the context of the story.
So Blood Engines was good, but it certainly isn’t the best supernatural fantasy I’ve ever read. The story, however, was very good and the writing was very strong, so it might be worth checking out the sequel, though I don’t think I’ll go out of my way to look for it.
Rating: 6/10
Quietly in Their Sleep (1997) Donna Leon
This was a rather strange story in comparison to the previous books. Brunetti is given only a vague idea that there might be something untoward happening in a nursing home–a home that is run by the same man as the home in which Brunetti’s mother resides. It is this personal interest that draws Brunetti into trying to determine if something untoward has happened or not.
What he ends up discovering is far more–and far worse–than he expected.
As with Death and Judgment there are entanglements with Brunetti’s home life that complicate matters. And to be honest, it was this complication that I felt was the weakest part of the book. The parallels of his case and the issue at home seemed a little too pat and things fell into place a little too neatly. Donna Leon almost makes up for it with the parallel resolution of the two cases.
It is also interesting to see how Brunetti is readily willing to accept extra-ordinary means–means that are outside the bounds of the law–when it is useful to him, even as he privately rails again similar powers being used against him.
Essentially, we were setting Brunetti change and learn to use whatever means he has at hand to fight for what he believes to be right, even if those means are outside the normal legal bounds and channels.
And that is what saves this book.
If you have not read a Commissario Guido Brunetti, you should be easily able to begin the series here. However, as the strongest part of this book is seeing how much Brunetti has changed since we first met him in Death at La Fenice, I would recommend starting at the beginning and then reading your way to this book.
Rating: 7/10
Witchling (2006) Yasmine Galenorn
This book came up as recommended for me several times, and the story looked interesting, but something kept me from reading it.
That something ended up being indifference.
Which is really to bad, because this book had some definite strengths. The world in which the characters lived is an interesting one. The Fae have come out of the closet on Earth in the modern world, and the D’Artigo sisters, Mellony, Deliliah, and Camille, are half-human agents for the Otherworld Intelligence Agency (OIS). They each have their own powers, some genetic, some other, and they are still learning to combine their powers to work as a unified force.
Yet as I was reading the book, I mostly just wanted to find out what happened and finish the book so I could go on and read something else. What problems did I have? First and foremost, I disliked the sex scenes and Camille’s obsession with sex. I also didn’t care for Camille’s obsession with clothing and how she looked. And as Camille was the main character, that meant I had to read quite a bit about her clothing and how hot she found all the men around her, and how all the men around her found her so hot.
Yawn.
And the sad thing is that if she hadn’t gone on so much about sex and clothing and how hot the men in her life were, I really would have enjoyed the story, because although t was often easy to guess where the story was going, at other times it took an unexpected turn that was really very good.
So, I don’t think I’ll be looking for the rest of the books in this series.
Rating: 5.5/10
Acqua Alta (1996) Donna Leon
In Acqua Alta we return to two of the characters that Guido met in the first mystery, Death at La Fenice. Brett Lynch is beaten in the doorway of her own apartment. When Guido discovers what has happened he goes to her hospital where he again meets Flavia Pitrelli, with whom he did not have the most cordial relationship several years before. First they must discover why Brett was beaten. Then, when other deaths follow, they must discover how those deaths are related to the assault against Brett.
Guido’s humanity shines through in this story just as strongly as it does in the previous stories. What isn’t as strong, however, is the mystery. Unlike previous book, I was pretty sure that Brett and Flavia were going to survive–it would have been unnecessarily cruel to bring them back just to kill one of them off, and we got to know few other characters, so there was little sense of loss related to the deaths.
Additionally, the scenes with Guido at home with his family seemed almost tacked on, as opposed to these vignettes as they appear in other stories. He still loves his family, but the familial interludes seemed to me to lack the depth of earlier episodes.
We also left Guido’s POV several times to return to Brett. Although this allowed us to follow her part of the story when Guido was absent, it also made her danger less immediate. To her know thoughts as the story passed seemed to say that she would survive to the end of the story to share those thoughts, so her danger, although immediate and severe, as not deadly.
The other off note was that although we began the story with Brett, and returned to her POV several times throughout the story, she is somehow abandoned at th end of the story. Flavia mentions Brett several times, but the shift from knowing what Brett was thinking and feeling to hearing about her third hand was distinctly unsatisfying.
Don’t get me wrong, this was a very good book. I just felt the ending wasn’t nearly as strong as previous books.
Death and Judgment (1995) Donna Leon
In two seemingly unrelated incidents, a truck goes off a cliff, killing the driver and his unexpected cargo of lumber and women. And months later, in Venice, Commissario Guido Brunetti is given the investigation of the murder of a prominent local loyal, whose unblemished record is enough cause for suspicion in thoroughly corrupt Venice.
As with the previous mysteries, we follow not just Guido’s investigation of the murder, but to his home where he discusses (against all regulations) his cases with his beloved wife. And this time, his daughter Chiara, however tangentially.
There are so many things that make these mysteries so good. First and foremost is Guido’s (and thus the author’s) open-eyed love of Venice. Despite the faults and corruption that run through the core, Guido still loves the city, and considers it in loving detail, especially when he must go elsewhere in pursuit of a case.
As with the previous stories, we continue to see the corruption in the city, and how that corruption has infiltrated every corner of the city, and of Italy. We see that the laws and rules are so arcane and confusing that it is impossible for anyone not to break laws during the course of a regular week. It also leads to and interesting discussion upon legality versus morality, and where Guido’s job falls in this spectrum.
As with the previous book, you should easily be able to pick up Death and Judgment without having read the previous books in the series, but as with most series, the books build upon each other, so it’s always more fulfilling to read a series, watching the characters develop over the course of the series.
Rating: 8/10
The Coyote Road: Trickster Tales (2007) Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling
I love short stories. Aside from collections by Charles de Lint, I best love anthologies by Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling best. Their books are like comfort food, and I save them up for when I’m sick or feeling low.
In the same vein as The Green Man and The Faerie Reel, Datlow and Windling have this time collected stories about tricksters, and they’ve got some of my favorite authors in this collection: Charles de Lint, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Ellen Kushner. As usual, they manage to collect stories by some of my favorite story tellers.
For those who are Charles de Lint fans, “Crow Roads” is not a Newford tale, but an excellent story nevertheless, of a girl dreaming to escape her small, restrictive life. There is little more I can cay, other than as expected, this was an excellent story.
As with many of her stories, Nina Kiriki Hoffman’s “The Listeners” is a dark at times, but it’s the dark of the truths from which we all try to hide, rather than from imaginary monsters. And of course being a trickster tale, all’s well that ends well.
I didn’t recognize “Honored Guest” as an Ellen Kushner story initially, until the dialog started to feel familiar and the name Campion came up. Then I belatedly realized that was the Ellen Kushner story. In a way, almost wish I hadn’t recognized the name, because part of me felt the story was stronger for not being tied to that world.
But only a very small part of me.
Besides those there, all the stories in this collection were good, and most were excellent. I especially enjoyed “The Fiddler of Bayou Teche” by Delia Sherman, which is somewhat of a deal with the devil story, except it’s not really the devil, though for all he does, he may as well be acting in the devil’s stead.
Another deal with the Devil story was Holly Black’s “A Reversal of Fortune.” Despite the gross out bits (considering eating candy all day is enough to make me feel ill), was an excellent story.
Some other favorites were Richard Bowes’ “A Tale for Short Days” where a trickster comes back again and again to revisit one family. “Black Rock Blues” by Will Shetterly was one story where the trickster was the main character who did the outwitting rather than being outwitted, as was Elizabeth E. Wein’s “Always the Same Story.”
Another favorite was “The Constable of Abal” by Kelly Link. The story ranged near and far and I was never quite sure where it was going, but that was ok because I was glad to be along for the ride.
If like short story collections, or trickster tales, then you will want to read The Coyote Road. It has stories from many of my favorite writers, and as with all their collections, I was delighted to discover new authors for whom I’ll be on the lookout.
Rating: 9/10
Death in a Strange Country (1993) Donna Leon
The second Commissario Guido Brunetti mystery (how I managed to read the third book instead of the second in two different series within a week is beyond me) finds Guido awakened to come down to a canal as a body was found in the water. The stab wound that is discovered rules out an accident, and as it becomes quickly apparent that the man was not an Italian but was instead an American, things become even more confusing–and dangerous.
The more time I spend reading about Commissario Guido Brunetti, the more I like him. He’s a straight man in a very crooked world–a man who sees the big things as they should be, rather than as they are. He doesn’t try to right every wrong–he knows the futility in that–but tries to right the big wrongs, the murders and deaths it is his job to solve.
But what I like most is that we see Guido not just at work, but at home, talking to and thinking about his wife. Worrying about his children. Thinking about food and money and the things that we all consider every day. But most importantly, we see him enjoying the world around him. He stops to enjoy the beauty of Venice, of the everyday world around him.
It is the complexities that make him such an interesting character. The complexities of the murders and crime around him are a bonus.
And the mysteries are good. Like the characters, they are complex, and there are not always eat solutions or answers. (As much as I love mysteries and the resolution of story arcs, sometimes the resolution is that the problem is not and cannot be solved, and that there can be no neat and tidy ending. It is this not knowing how things are going to turn out that I like so much about these mysteries.
You should easily be able to read this book without having read the first. Although each story builds Guido’s character, you should be able to appreciate the mystery and enjoy it for its strengths even without having read the previous book. But it seems to me that the more we learn about Guido through this series, the better the series will get.
Rating: 8/10
The Nymphos of Rocky Flats (2006) Mario Acevedo
Michael was actually the one to pick this up, and was also the first to read it. When he finished it, he said it was funny, and that he thought I would like it.
Well, it is funny. And I did like it. But I didn’t love it.
Felix Gomez is a veteran of the Iraq war, a private investigator, and a vampire. Not necessarily in that order. After receiving a phone call from from an old friend who is now in the DOE, Felix drives out to Rocky Flats, Colorado to investigate an outbreak of nymphomania among the female workers at the DOE facility.
With a premise like that, you know a book isn’t going to take itself seriously. Which is why the opening chapter surprised me. It tells of Felix’s conversion to a vampire during a firefight in Karbala, and is surprisingly sad and haunting.
However, after the first chapter things do get silly. Felix must discover what has turned certain women in the facility into nymphomaniacs, and in the meantime, he also meets the local vampires and other supernaturals.
As with all vampire books, the powers and weaknesses of the vampires are a picking and choosing of supernatural folklore as well as other bits thrown in by the author. All of which is fine with me. As I’ve said before, I like seeing what bits of folklore different authors keep and discard when writing about supernatural creatures.
As for the book, the mystery was interesting, if silly. The writing was solid. The characters were fun, although a handful seemed to be interchangeable. It was a fun book, nothing serious, and despite the title, there wasn’t any actually boinking, although there was discussion of boinking, and some working up towards boinking, but no actual boinking. Which was perfectly fine with me.
There was one thing that bugged me however. The vampires constantly talk about how afraid they are of being discovered, yet the go around biting just about everyone to subdue them. Yes, they say the marks heal quickly, but there are marks. So if they’re so afraid of being found out, shouldn’t they be a little more circumspect? He just bit so many people over the course of the investigation I was expecting him to be caught at any moment.
Aside from that, it was a fun, interesting book. I can’t say I’m going to run out and buy the next book(s) in the series, but if I saw them used somewhere I wouldn’t hesitate to pick them up to read.
Rating: 6/10
Dressed for Death (1994) Donna Leon
The second third Commiario Guido Brunetti mystery, Dressed for Death starts with the body of what is assumed to be a prostitute found behind a slaughterhouse in Marghera. The case falls to the Mestre police department, however due to a series of unfortunate events, they have no detectives, so Brunetti is sent to investigate, despite the fact that he was supposed to leave for vacation.
As with Death at La Fenice, there was so much I liked about this story. I like Brunetti and how he deals with people. I find Venice fascinating–so much corruption, taken at face value. And I really enjoy the mysteries. Then putting all three of those things together, we got a thoroughly enjoyable story.
What I think I like best about Brunetti is that even his home life is fascinating. His wife and kids are real and complex people (even if we don’t see much of his kids in this story) and his own background is as complex as the mysteries in which he becomes entangled.
I have no idea if the Venice presented her reflects Venice as it actually is (or was as this book was written in 1994) but real or no it’s a fascinating place. Not a world I think I would be comfortable moving in myself, but a fascinating place to visit.
The other thing I particularly like is the complexity of the mystery, and law enforcement. In such a complex city, solving a murder is complex was well, especially when politics and money are involved.
If you have not read the first Commissario Brunetti you should easily be able to read this without having read Death at La Fenice. Although we learn more about Brunetti’s character here, this story is not dependent upon the previous. But as the first mystery was good, you’ll probably want to find and enjoy that one as well.
Rating: 7/10
Serenity: Better Days Vol 3 (2008) Joss Whedon
And now I have to close yet another chapter of the Firefly/Serenity story.
I actually had to go back and reread the previous two, because I had forgotten some of the details, but that only drew me back further into a story and character that I enjoy. Only bad thing is that I still want more Firefly stories, but am unlikely to get them. (sigh)
When we last saw our heroes, Mal was in trouble, so in vol 3, Zoe plans how to get him back.
There were several things I particularly liked about this story. First, Mal gets to go back to the gray moral territory where he lived for much of the show. Much of the movie focused upon Mal doing the right thing, here we see him on much more questionable ground. Which is where I like him best, to be honest.
Second, we see Shepherd book in a light that reinforces my idea of what his life may have been like before he joined his monastery. Maybe I’m wrong, but if so, don’t tell me. Because I like what I came up with just fine, thank you very much.
We also see part of the reason why Inara and Book left Serenity. Because Those Left Behind just didn’t give a very good explanation. We saw the aftermath, but we don’t see what lead to Book and Inara leaving. This gives us a bit more of a clue.
But mostly, I just got to spend time with Wash and Zoe and Book and all my other characters. And really, who could ask for more? Other than for Firefly to have been allowed to finish it’s run. But as that is impossible, this will have to do for now.
Rating: 9/10
Tooth and Nail (1992) Ian Rankin
In some ways, 1992 doesn’t seem that long ago to me. But reading this book, it seems a lifetime ago. Tooth and Nail was written in 1992, it many of the little things in the book made it feel old to me: the lack of cell phones, the smoking, little things like that.
Somehow, reading a story that feels dated, and realizing that I was 22 when the book was written is… disconcerting.
Despite the details feeling dated, I thoroughly enjoyed the story and gulped it down in a couple of hours.
Several years have passed since the incidents in Knots and Crosses. Rebus is slightly older, slightly more bitter, and still lonely. Yet he seems to have survived after the events of Knots and Crosses. And now he’s been called down to London to help as an “expert” in finding a murderer who has been killing women in a particularly brutal way.
Ian Rankin’s mysteries are not necessarily easy to read. The details can be quite graphic, but they also give you a feel for the scene and the area, though some may feel the details are overmuch.
One other thing to note, this is a British novel, and as such, the language is properly British, and there were a couple times I really had no idea what a word or phrase meant. I didn’t bother me though, just made me realize that my English is more parochial that I often care to admit.
Rating: 7/10
Gateways (2003) F. Paul Wilson
In this seventh Repairman Jack novel, Jack receives a call from his brother, saying their father is in the hospital in Florida, and Jack needs to go down to take care of their father.
While there, Jack must discover not only what placed his father in the hospital, but why. And he continues to learn more about the Otherness and the Adversary. He also tries to learn more about Anya, the woman who lives next to his father, and who seems to be watching out for him.
As with the previous stories, Gateways was a good story, and although we continue to learn about the coming storm, the arc of this story was completed, which is always important to me. What I found interesting was that in the resolution, the problem one thinks would loom the largest played only a small part in the story and in Jack’s interest.
More importantly, Jack begins to mend his relationship with his father–a relationship that further disintegrated after Kate’s death. As Jack moves to become a father himself, I’m glad he is patching things up with his own father.
I also liked Anya, and was disappointed that we were left with more questions than were answered about her. But then that’s par for the course with these novels, and really, the way life works as well. Sometimes you just don’t get to learn all the answers.
If you like supernatural fantasy, then you’ll wan to read the Repairman Jack novels. Just make sure you start at the beginning, with The Tomb.
Rating:7/10
The Haunted Air (2002) F. Paul Wilson
The sixth Repairman Jack novel, Haunted Air takes place a year after the events of The Tomb. Jack is still in turmoil after the events of Hosts as he attempts to deal with Kate’s death.
Like the previous books, Jack is still learning more about The Otherness, and still unhappy that he has been told he has a preordained place in that battle. However, like the previous books, through Jack’s current cases we slowly learn more about The Otherness and what Jack is battling, but this book (like the others) has a satisfactory conclusion. We know something is coming, but we don’t know where or when, but we are learning at the same pace as Jack, and meanwhile he finishes the cases he started in the book, so there is still a satisfactory sense of conclusion to the book.
What I particularly liked about this book was the relationship between the brothers Lyle and Charlie. Regardless of what they have had to do to get by, they mange to survive, and even thrive in their own way. They are who they are, made by their circumstances.
I also enjoyed he evolution of Jack’s character, as he struggles with his future as well as his past. This story went in directions I did not expect, as Jack considers his future, as well as the battle against The Otherness.
One thing I did like is that for those of us who have missed Conspiracies, we do learn a bit about things that must have been discovered in that book. Thank goodness, because it won’t be re-released until this fall. (I hate waiting.) Although you could start the Repairman Jack series here, I believe it would be far more enjoyable to start at the beginning. No only will you understand more of what is going on, but you will also be able to enjoy learning about Jack and watching him change as his relationship with Vicki and Gia deepens.
Rating: 8/10
Hell To Pay (2006) Simon R. Green
Now I’m back to waiting for the next Nightside book to come out in paperback.
I hate waiting.
Paths Not Taken (2005) Simon R. Green
This is the one that ends badly. Off to read Sharper than a Serpent’s Tooth.
Hex and the City (2005) Simon R Green
Humph. I’d nearly forgotten that this is where the books change and now it’s all a mad rush to deal with John’s mother and the possible destruction of Nightside.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go get the next book.
Something from the Nightside (2002) Simon R Green
Decided that re-reading the Nightside was what just what I was in the mood for, so I re-read Something from the Nightside and enjoyed it even more the second time than I did the first, as I got to see that all the passing comments that became important plot points later.
Daemon Eyes (2007) Camille Bacon-Smith
This book is a compilation of Eye of the Daemon (1996) and Eye of the Empress (1998)
I have been, quite literally, carrying this book around for months. I believe I started it when the leaves were just changing color. I had it in my bag for any times I might be waiting for more than a few moments, because I always carry a book around, just in case. However, the books I carry around fall into two categories: something I pick up, and then immediately fall into and start reading and finish quickly, or those that are interesting enough as a distraction, but don’t draw me into the story enough that I have to find out what happens.
Like Perdido Street Station, Daemon Eyes falls into the second category. I eventually took it out of my bag to finish, so I could stop carrying it around. After all, as a two book compilation, it is slightly bulky.
That’s not to say this is a bad book–it isn’t. It just didn’t draw me in and make me need to know what happened next. I was quite content to pick things up where I left off, even if it was a month between readings.
We meet Evan Davis as his life is falling apart. He is apparently suffering from mental illness, but not seems to help, and we see his life spiral out of control. This was a difficult part of the story to read, all the more so because it went on for several chapters. We don’t just hear about Evan’s low points, we get them in all the gory detail. Mind you, this makes his problems later more understandable, but it’s tough reading initially.
After the lows, Evan finally meets his father, learns why his life had been so difficult, and then puts together a new life, as part of an investigative agency.
The book had it’s strengths. Brad was probably the most fascinating character, although it is good to see Evan finally pull his life back together, and keep it together. The story is also interesting, in that I was never sure where it was going. I just wasn’t compelling enough to make me keep reading the book beyond when I picked it up while waiting.
Aside from that, one of the things I particularly didn’t like was the amount of sex. It wasn’t bad or embarrassing, it’s just not what I prefer to read.
So it wasn’t a bad book, and it wasn’t unreadable. It just didn’t pique my interest and make me want to keep reading beyond five and ten minute snatches.
Rating: 6/10
The Becoming (2004) Jeanne C. Stein
Anna Strong is a bounty hunter. She and her partner David are trying to bring in a bail jumper when he attacks them both, and his attack on Anna turns her into a vampire. (This isn’t a secret. This story is about how she becomes a vampire.)
So. Another vampire story. Lots of those out there. Does this one manage to be different? Yes and no.
The vampires in Anna’s world are very different from those in ours. They can walk in sunlight for one thing, which has allowed to remain the hidden in plain sight. But some things from folklore remain true, and the vampire’s desire for blood is one of them. This change in the mythology I liked, although the vampires in Anna’s world seem to have all the strengths of the vampires of folklore, including super strength and speed and an ability to control others to some degree.
Where it doesn’t much differ from many other vampire books is that there is lots of boinking. OK. Vampire sex is the most awesome sex in the world. Fine. We got it. Now shut up about it.
But the real strength of this book is the story. It goes in directions I didn’t expect, which was a very nice touch. There is also a focus upon whether Anna keeps or loses her humanity to her vampire nature. And that was quite interesting as well.
As far as the story arc, the primary arc was finished, and that is how Anna becomes a powerful vampire, and resolves the problems that come from that, including finding the vampire who turned her. There are very many questions left unresolved, but they are the kinds of questions that would take more than a single book to unfold, so I don’t mind too much. So there is a lot we don’t know, but the primary plot arc is concluded. But I can also see how the author might have a tendency to leave lots of things hanging at the end of a book, which will annoy me if it gets to be too much.
So it was a decent supernatural fantasy. Way too much focus on sex, but that tends to be par for the course with many supernatural fantasies (which is why I am always so excited when I find a series that isn’t all about sex). But the writing was good, and the story was good, so I’ll pick up the next book in the series and see what I think of it.
Rating: 7/10
Serenity: Better Days, Vol 2 (2008) Joss Whedon, Bret Matthews, Will Conrad, Michelle Madsen
The second issue in a three part series, Vol 2 continues the story of the crew between the end of the series and the movie. Now that they have escaped their last gig, they’re off to spend the loot.
The best part is seeing how the various crew members want to spend their share of the loot.
Unfortunately, that’s about all I can tell you about the story, without giving away the first volume, or the plot of this story.
Needless to say, there’s a cliff hanger ending. Luckily I only have a month (!) to wait for the next and final volume.
Rating: 7/10
