Glamour in Glass (2012) Mary Robinette Kowal Set in alternate Regency England in 1815. Following their marriage, Jane and Vincent have come to the attention of the Prince Regent, and commissioned to create a Glamour for his ballroom, which makes them even more popular, so it is a surprise when they leave for the Continent […]
Shades of Milk and Honey (2010) Mary Robinette Kowal Set in Alternate Regency England ~1814. The first time I read this, it was immediately following a Guy Gavriel Kay book, and so this story suffered in comparison. Nothing against Mary Robinette Kowal, it’s just that Guy Gavriel Kay is that good. So searching for something […]
Magic and Manners (2016) C.E. Murphy Set in alternate Regency England, with magic. First, I really liked the magic and world-building. Magic is stigmatized in England, worked only by the lower-classes who are useful to the crown in warfare. The new Mrs Dover marked no complaints about a home where the tea remained mysteriously […]
Tremontaine: Season One Volume One (2016) by Patty Bryant, Joel Derfner, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Ellen Kushner, Malinda Lo, Racheline Maltese and Paul Witcover Let me explain… No, let me sum up. There is a book called Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner that is one of my favorites–a comfort read. After Swordspoint came The Fall of the […]
The Escapement of Blackledge (2016) Mary Robinette Kowal Set in alternate Regency London The Duke of Blackledge does NOT want to attend his coming-of-age birthday party, however, his mother is insistent. But there is only so much he can take, so he escapes to his laboratory where he works on his automatons, only to find […]
A Matter of Magic (2010): Mairelon the Magician (1991) and The Magician’s Ward (1997) Patricia C. Wrede Kim has been living on the streets, hiding the fact she’s a girl, and living by her wits as best she can. When she is offered a small fortune to check out the wagon of a traveling magician, […]
Sabriel (1995) Garth Nix Sabriel is the daughter of Abhorsen–the Charter necromancer who puts the restless dead beyond the ninth gate. She has been sent outside of the walls of the Old Kingdom for her education, seeing her father in person only a few times a year, but seeing him in death more frequently, as […]
The Far West (2012) Patricia C. Wrede The final book finds Eff grown up, but still unsure what to do with herself, even though she has come to terms with being a thirteenth child. Sometimes I couldn’t help thinking that the unluckiest thing about being a thirteenth child was having all those older brothers and […]
Across the Great Barrier (2011) Patricia C. Wrede The sequel to Thirteenth Child finds Eff coming to terms with her magic, and slowly discovering her dream–to travel the West, beyond the Great Barrier, studying the wildlife in that untamed area. Luckily for her, the events of the previous book have given her some leeway as […]
Thirteenth Child (2009) Patricia C. Wrede Eff’s twin brother Lan is a seventh son of a seventh son, and a natural magician. “Wow,” Dick said, looking after Papa and Lan. He looked back at me. “Does that mean you’re a natural, too? Because you’re his twin?” I stared at him. “I don’t know,” I said […]
A Matter of Magic: Mairelon the Magician and The Magician’s Ward (1991/1997) Patricia C. Wrede This is a reissue of two lovely YA novels, Mairelon the Magician and The Magician’s Ward. Kim is a thief in London, who hopes that this job will help her get off the streets for good–before those around her discover […]
The Lions of Al-Rassan (1995) Guy Gavriel Kay This is fantasy, but it parallels the history of the Jews, Muslims, and Christians in the Middle ages. But the parallels aren’t complete, as women aren’t nearly as subjugated as they would have been in Europe at the time. Jehane is a Kindath physician, and in high […]
The Mislaid Magician: or Ten Years After (2006) Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer The third Cecelia and Kate book comes ten years after their Grand Tour. Both have offspring that seem to get into as much trouble as their mothers did when they were younger, and some of the children seem to be showing […]
The Grand Tour: or the Purloined Coronation Regalia (2004) Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer We last saw our heroines married and getting ready to start their Honeymoon Grand Tour, or travel across Europe, which begins with the trip across the Channel. “Don’t fret,” Thomas told him, in what I thought was a most unfeeling […]
Sorcery & Cecelia: or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot (1988) Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer I had somehow managed to forget how marvelous this story is. Kate and Cecy are two young ladies in Edwardian England–where there is magic. Kate has been sent to London for her Coming Out during the Season, while her cousin […]
Farthing (2006) Jo Walton I had forgotten how dark and depressing this this story is. Mind you, it’s good, but it has the feel of a dystopia without actually being a dystopia. It’s 1949, but not 1949 as we knew it. For England, World War II ended when England made peace with Hitler. Charles Lindburg […]
River of Stars (2013) Guy Gavriel Kay First, this cover is gorgeous. The picture links to a large version of the cover and NOT the book at Amazon. The link to Amazon is the title text (if you’d like to help me earn bits of a penny.) Like all his work, this is an immense, […]
The Mad Scientist’s Guide to World Domination: Original Short Fiction for the Modern Evil Genius (2013) John Joseph Adams “Professor Incognito Apologizes: an Itemized List” by Austin Grossman “Father of the Groom” by Harry Turtledove “Laughter at the Academy: by Seanan McGuire “Letter to the Editor” by David D. Levine “Instead of a Loving Heart” […]
Across the Nightingale Floor (2002) Lian Hearn I first read these several years ago, and, as I said at the time, couldn’t wait for enough time to pass so I could reread them. Far more time than I expected has passed, but when I came across other books in the series, I had to read […]
The Girl in the Steel Corset (2012) Kady Cross Finley Jayne is about to lose her position as maid. The drunk son of the house–a dissolute dandy–has a reputation for taking advantage of maids and other young women in the employ of his house. But when he attempts to take advantage of Finley, he is […]
Clementine (2010) Cherie Priest Captain Croggon Beauregard Hainey is mad as hell: someone has stolen his ship, the “Free Crow,” and he’ll stop at nothing to get it back, even if that means going back into Confederate territory, where he’ll be (at best) hung as a runaway slave. Maria Isabella Boyd has been discarded by […]
Garrett Investigates (2012) Elizabeth Bear Five short Abby Irene short stories, covering most of her career, from 1897 to 1941. The first story, “The Tricks of London” has her investigating the return of Spring-Heeled Jack. Although the story set from the point-of-view of the Detective Sergeant Sean Cuan, we get to see Abby Irene early […]
Moonlight & Mechanicals (2012) Cindy Spencer Pape I think the reason I’m enjoying the stories so much is because they’re only novellas so they’re not full price. I can justify a couple bucks for a whimsical short story/novella. That’s not to say these are bad stories, because they aren’t. I very much like the world-building, […]
The Far West (2012) Patricia C. Wrede This is the conclusion to the Frontier Magic Series, that started with Thirteenth Child. Eff is a thirteenth child, a fact which plagued her when she was younger, because her aunts and uncles and cousins believed that she was unluckly. The fact that her twin is a seventh […]
Across the Great Barrier (2011) Patricia C. Wrede The sequel to Thirteenth Child, Across the Great Barrier continues the story of Eff Rothmer. Her twin brother is a seventh son of a seventh son, and a strong magician, but Eff–the old of the two–is the thirteenth child, and she grew up believing she was fated […]
Kilts & Kraken (2012) Cindy Spencer Pape I must admit I’ve been enjoying this series of novellas. The lovely steampunk and strong female characters offset the boinking (which, there’s nothing wrong with it, it’s just not my thing.) Dr. Geneva MacKay (Genny to her family) has worked very hard to establish herself as a rare […]
Wilder’s Mate (2011) Moira Rogers Satira is the daughter of a whore, who has spent the last several years working for Nathaniel. Like her mentor, Satira is mechanically gifted, but unlike her mentor, because she’s a woman she is forbidden to officially study and join the guild. Wilder is a bloodhound. Bloodhounds are men who […]
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell (2004) Susanna Clarke I admit it. When I saw this on sale on the kindle I grabbed it even though we already have the hardback book. Because this is a HUGE book, and it’s so much nicer to read a kindle than an 800 page hardback book. And since I […]
Steam & Sorcery (2011) Cindy Spencer Pape First off, this is a Steampunk romance, with equal weight being given to both descriptors. So there is lots of boinking. However, aside from the boinking, there are interesting characters and some good world building. Sir Merrick Hadrian is a Knight of the Order of the Round table, […]
The White City (2010) Elizabeth Bear Abigail Irene, Sebastian,and Phoebe have traveled to Moscow, as they attempt to get over their loss of Jack. However, Sebastian spent time here with Jack, before he met Irene and Phoebe, and his memories of the place include Jack. And murder–past and present–inserts itself into their lives, both causing […]
Eight Skilled Gentlemen (1991) Barry Hughart This is the third and final book in the Master Li and Number Ten Ox trilogy. I’m a little sad to see it end, but it was quite enjoyable. Oddly, the passages that caught my attention in this book weren’t the funny ones, but the ones that related to […]
Phoenix Rising: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel (2011) Pip Ballantine & Tee Morris I was a lot happier about this book before I discovered I’d paid full price for it. Eliza D. Braun and Wellington Books are agents of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences who met when Braun rescued Books from Antarctica after he’d […]
The Mislaid Magician or Ten Years After (2006) Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer Kate and Cecy are once again embroiled in magical mysteries. James is called to investigate the disappearance of a magician who was inspecting the rail lines up north. Thomas and Kate thus get to care for James and Cecy’s brood, and […]
The Story of the Stone (1988) Barry Hughart Master Li has taken Number Ten Ox on as his assistant. The Abbot of the monastery of the Valley of Sorrows comes to Master Li asking for help resolving the unexpected death of his librarian, and the strange dead spots in the Valley. Along the way they […]
Bridge of Birds (1984) Barry Hughart A year or so ago I ordered The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox, because I’d read Bridge of Birds, loved it, and wanted to read more. Unfortunately for me, The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox is a BIG book. It’s three volumes: Bridge […]
Boneshaker (2009) Cherie Priest I started this book the week Grandmom went into the hospital. Unsurprisingly, it took me a bit to get back to it, as I remembered almost nothing of what I read–not because of the story, but because I was distracted. Briar Wilkes had been married to a man claimed to have […]
Thirteenth Child (2009) Patricia C. Wrede I discovered Patricia C. Wrede’s writing when I couldn’t resist the title, Sorcery & Cecelia -OR- The Enchanted Chocolate Pot. I also read and enjoyed A Matter of Magic. Both are alternate histories where magic is an integral part of the world, however, in Thirteenth Child they live in […]
The King of Attolia (2006) Megan Whalen Turner The sequel to The Queen of Attolia and The Thief, we see Gen this time from the outside–from the view of a guard who doesn’t like–but yet must work with–Gen. As with previous books, there is a great deal of intrigue, and we’re a step removed from […]
Girl Genius Vol 10: Agatha Heterodyne and the Guardian Muse (2011) Phil & Kaja Foglio It was reading Agatha H and the Airship City that made me realize it had been awhile since I read a new Girl Genius comic. (Yes, I know you can read them online, but I just like having the bound […]
Shades of Milk and Honey (2010) Mary Robinette Kowal Oddly, Shades of Milk and Honey is in some ways a parallel to Under Heaven, only set in an alternate England instead of an alternate China. I also wish I had not read this immediately following Under Heaven–I should have read a thriller or a detective […]
Under Heaven (2010) Guy Gavriel Kay A new Guy Gavriel Kay book is like a small discovered treasure, something to be saved until a time when it can be enjoyed and savored. Some books I love because they are romps, others because they are long slow strolls through another place and time. With that in […]
A Matter of Magic (2010): Mairelon the Magician (1991) and The Magician’s Ward (1997) Patricia Wrede Kim is almost too old to pass for a boy, which means that when she is offered a significant sum of money simply to break into a magician’s wagon to see if a silver bowl is kept there, she […]
Mercy Blade (2011) Faith Hunter This is the third Jane Yellowrock novel, and I’m still thoroughly enjoying the story line. Jane has taken on the job of rogue hunter for the New Orleans’ vampire clans, and is in the process of emptying her apartment in Appalachia to move south when a news broadcast announces the […]
The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker (2009) Leanna Renee Hieber Picked this up a few weeks ago after breaking my leg, but as I was on pain killers, I couldn’t focus and put it back down. Now that I’m still laid up but no longer spaced out, I’m tearing through books and came […]
Soulless (2009) Gail Carriger Alexia Tarabotti doesn’t have a soul. This isn’t a particularly well known fact, since the only people who can recognize this are the supernatural–vampires, werewolves etc. But when she is attacked by a vampire at a ball, she is (quite willingly) drawn into an intrigue, against the wishes of Lord Macon […]
Farthing (2006) Jo Walton Wow. That was far more depressing than I expected. It’s 1949, and Great Britain remains independent after its “Peace with Honor” with Hitler. The war between Hitler and the Soviet Union continues on, but in Britain labor unions are starting to emerge to ask for better pay and working conditions. The […]
Bridge of Birds: A Novel of an Ancient China That Never Was (1984) Barry Hughart I have a weakness for fantasy novels set in Asia–especially those set in ancient China. So when I saw Bridge of Birds on the shelf I immediately snatched it up. A strange malady has struck the children of the village […]
The Ladies of Grace Adieu (2006) Susanna Clarke Illustrated by Charles Vess The Ladies of Grace Adieu is a collection of short stories set in the same world was Jonathan Strange and Mister Norrell during the 18th and 19th centuries. Several of the stories revolve around familiar characters–Jonathan Strange, the Raven King, the Duke of […]
The Grand Tour (2004) by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer If you’ve already read Sorcery and Cecelia, then you’ll need little or no encouragement to pick up The Grand Tour. Cousins Kate and Cecelia are taking the grand tour of Europe on their honeymoons. Within almost no time, they are caught up in intrigue […]
Sorcery & Cecelia -OR- The Enchanted Chocolate Pot (1988) Patricia C. Wrede & Caroline Stevermer After putting down a book that looked promising but I found only annoying after the first several chapters, I picked up Sorcery & Cecelia, which I’d put on my wish list because I thought it looked interesting. I thought that […]