The Potter’s Field (2008/2011) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli This might be one of my favorite mysteries in this series. A dismembered body is found in clay fields, the face beaten so as to hinder identification. A beautiful woman comes to the station, to report that she believes her husband may be missing. Mimi […]
Black Arts (2014) Faith Hunter I really wish this book had come out over the holidays. Instead, it comes out at the start of the week, after school is back in session, so I have to wait until the weekend to read it, lest I lose sleep staying up all night to finish it. For […]
The Fifth Woman (1996/2000) Henning Mankell translated by Steven T. Murray This is the first Kurt Wallander I’ve read, and I wonder how I’ve gone so long without reading him before. This is almost the definition of police procedural, and what we see is something that looks like what we’d actually see in a police […]
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, […]
Night Watch (2006) Sergei Lukyanenko translated by Andrew Bromfield This is not the first or even second time I’ve re-read this book (series, really). The book Night Watch is split into three separate story arcs, Destiny, Among His Own Kind, and All for My Own Kind, each building upon the previous. Anton Gorodetsky works for […]
Walking Your Octopus: A Guidebook to the Domesticated Cephalopod (2013) Brian Kesinger I’ve been following Otto and Victoria for awhile now, so how could I not have ordered when I saw they were going to get their own book? I’ve seen some–but not all–of these pictures before, but wanted a paper copy both because the […]
The Privilege of the Sword (2006) Ellen Kushner I’ve been listening to the audio book version of this, when I reached a point where I gave up and started re-reading (from the beginning) on the Kindle. Mind you, I’m still listening to the audio version, but it had been too long since I’d read the […]
Sabriel (1995) Garth Nix I was feeling depressed and sad, so I took advantage of the fact I’d picked up Sabriel as a deal at one point, and decided it was just what I needed to re-read. Sabriel has spent most of her youth in Ancelstierre, and is now preparing to return to the Old […]
What Darkness Brings (2013) C.S. Harris The 8th book in the Sebastian St. Cyr series finds Sebastian Lord Devlin and Hero (now Lady Devlin) setting into married life. They are still keeping secrets from each other–Sebastian his past, and Hero, her father’s secrets, but they are also clearly in love with each other, and working […]
Slashback (2013) Rob Thurman Needless to say, I was eagerly waiting Slashback So let’s get the bad out of the way first: it felt like this book hadn’t been copyedited. On multiple occasions I had to stop and reread in order to figure out what was actually being said, which threw me completely out of […]
Thomas the Rhymer (1990) Ellen Kushner Of course I’d read this before. But after rereading Swordspoint, I wanted to read it again. This is actually a novel based upon the folklore and myth surrounding Thomas the Rhymer, told in four parts. The first is told by Gavin, a crofter, living in the hills with his […]
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 […]
Madame Mirage (2008) Paul Dini and Kenneth Rocafort Oh! That was lovely! Well, not lovely lovely. I mean, it was violent and lots of bad things happened. But it was a fabulous story of revenge and consequences. It also took a quick poke with a sharp stick and hero and gender stereotypes–yeah, I know. I […]
Companions to the Moon (2007) Charles de Lint This is a short story that’s not connected to Newford–just the story of a woman who thinks her boyfriend is cheating on her, and what she discovers. Of course, this is Charles de Lint, so you never expect what she discovers. Charles de Lint never fails to […]
4:50 from Paddington (1957) Agatha Christie Mrs. Elspeth McGillicuddy is taking the train from London to visit her friend Miss Marple, when she looks into the windows of a passing train and sees a woman being throttled–she alerts the conductor, the station master, and the local police, but–strangely–no body is discovered. Her curiosity piqued, Miss […]
Easy (2012) Tammara Webber Wow. I wasn’t sure I wanted to read this story. As I started the first chapter, I REALLY wasn’t sure if I wanted to read this story. The book opens with Jacqueline suffering a sexual assault–a friend of her ex-boyfriend attempts to rape her. That’s a pretty heavy start to a […]
Lord John and the Hand of Devils (2007) Diana Gabaldon This is a collection of three Lord John novellas: “Lord John and the Hellfire Club,” “Lord John and the Succubus,” and “Lord John and the Haunted Soldier.” The first two stories follow in time after the novel, Lord John and the Private Matter. The third […]
Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade (2007) Diana Gabaldon I am really enjoying this series, and REALLY like Lord John. Lord John’s mother is getting remarried. Hal and John choose to meet with General Sir George Stanley, so Hal can make sure he’ll be acceptable for their mother, at which time they also […]
The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2011 (2011) edited by Mary Roach and Tim Folger I’ll admit I bought this because 1) it was on sale and 2) because it was edited by Mary Roach. I have no idea is Mary Roach is a good editor or not on her own, but I love […]
The Very Best of Charles de Lint (2010) Charles de Lint I love Charles de Lint. I believe I have all of his mass published story anthologies, and several of the smaller press novellas, so I’d read most of the stories in this collection. Doesn’t matter. I can read his stories time and again, and […]
Under My Hat: Tales from the Cauldron (2012) edited by Jonathan Strahan This is a lovely YA anthology, with some amazing stories by some of my favorite authors. I didn’t love all the stories, but none of them were bad. The theme is young witches coming of age, but the stories are far greater than […]
Down These Strange Streets (2011) edited by Gardner Dozois and George R. R. Martin If you look at the list of authors above, you’ll immediately see why I read this series. There are some of my favorite authors here–many of whom write short stories I tend to love. And surprisingly, I loved most of these […]
Made for Goodness: And Why This Makes All the Difference (2010) Desmond Tutu and Mpho Tutu Let’s start this with a truth: Desmond Tutu is an amazing human being. Like his good friend, the Dalai Lama, he has lived through things that those of us in the developed world cannot even imagine yet has remained […]
A Conspiracy of Kings (2010) Megan Whalen Turner Although Eugenides makes many appearances in this story, it is about Sophos, the heir to the throne of Sounis. Sophos had disappeared, and this story is told, in large part, as his retelling of what happened to him. As with every other book in this series so […]
Roadkill (2010) Rob Thurman I’ve got one book left and then I’m all caught up on the Cal Leandros series. In a way, that’s a good thing, because I have a huge to-read pile. But mostly it’s sad, because I love spending time in this world. As I reread these books, I keep coming upon […]
Deathwish (2009) Rob Thurman Yeah, still can’t stop reading the Cal Leandros books. Deathwish is the fourth book, and even better than the previous three. Which are damned good. Unlike the previous stories, in Deathwish, each chapter alternates between Cal and Niko’s point of view. In this I like not only the perspective of Cal […]
Moonshine (2007) Rob Thurman Yup. Another re-read. I’ve been out of sorts, so a re-read of a favorite series is always good for helping my mood–or at least drawing me out of myself to forget about what’s bothering me. This is the second Cal Leandros book, and it’s even better than the first. Niko and […]
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 […]
Men at Arms (1993) Terry Pratchett Another reread and another Night Watch story. This one also had several passages that stuck with me. Such as, And this was right. And it was fate that had let Edward recognize this just when he’d got his plan. And it was right that it was Fate, and the […]
Guards! Guards! (1989) Terry Pratchett I love Discworld. That’s not to say I love all the books, but some of the character arcs in this series feature some of the best writing around. Guards! Guards! is the start of the Night Watch story arc. When we meet Captain Samuel Vimes, he’s drinking himself into the […]
Bangkok 8 (2003) John Burdett Yeah, this is a reread, but it’s on sale on Amazon as an eBook for $1.99. I couldn’t resist. Here’s my first review, which tells you a tiny bit about the story: https://klishis.com/reading/archives/486. The nice thing about eBooks is it’s easier to mark passages that tickle my fancy. So this […]
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 […]
Night Watch (2006) Sergei Lukyanenko translated by Andrew Bromfield I have a HUGE to-be-read pile, so what do I want to read? Things I’ve read before. Go figure. However, Night Watch is well worth a re-read. Published by Miramax Books / Hyperion
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 […]
One Salt Sea (2011) Seanan McGuire Most fantasy series, the longer the series goes on, the weaker the stories get. Or perhaps the series remains strong, but for a book or two it seems like the author is struggling to figure out where they are going with the characters. Or, to work with the overarching […]
The Queen of Attolia (2000) Megan Whalen Turner I really loved The Thief, so when I realized The Queen of Attolia was a sequel, I wanted to read it, in the hopes that Eugenides would be one of the main characters. He was. And as with the previous book, I could hardly stop reading. Attolia […]
Edie Ernst – USO Singer: Allied Spy (2011) Brooke McElowney I’m not even sure anymore how I stumbled across 9 Chickweed Lane, but I did, and it amused me, so I’d read it most days. Then the Edie Ernst thread started and I was hooked. Some background: 9 Chickweed Lane is about three women: a […]
The Thief (1996) Megan Whalen Turner My friend Natalie has been pushing me for quite awhile to read this book. However, I haven’t been in the mood to read much in the way of fantasy, so although I bought the books months ago, it sat unread on my shelf, until last time I saw her […]
Muse and Reverie (2009) Charles de Lint The last Newford short story collection was in 2002, so it was quite a wait for this fifth collection. In the interim of course, he has had stories in a variety of anthologies, many of which I have, some of which I picked up solely because he had […]
The Tokaido Road (1991) Lucia St. Clair Robson Despite my known dislike of boinking books, I am a huge fan of Smart Bitches, Trashy Books. I admit, I was initially a fan for the cover snark, but any site that loves and defends genre fiction, and is blunt and in your face about what they […]
The Rabbi’s Cat (2005) Joann Sfar One way to summarize this story would be that when the Rabbi’s cat eats the Rabbi’s parrot and gains the power of speech, his relationship with the Rabbi and the Rabbi’s daughter, Zlabya, changes. But it is so much more than that. The cat is both an observer and […]
The Naming of the Beasts (2009) Mike Carey The last Felix Castor book, Thicker than Water, ended with the escape of Asmodeus. Not a very good point to end a story in my opinion, however, it was a logical conclusion to the way things were going, so I didn’t particularly mind. After all, the series […]
Sandman Slim (2009) Richard Kadrey Stark has just gotten out of Hell. His former friends sent him there, but somehow he managed to survive, and now he has escaped and is looking for revenge. That simple summation tells you about the story, but it is so much more than that simple synopsis. If you read […]
These Old Shades (1926) Georgette Heyer Justin Alastair, the Duke of Avon, is walking through Paris one night when a youth dashes out of an alley and runs into him. After first checking for his purse, the Duke starts to berate the boy when a large burly man who claims to be the older brother […]
Thicker than Water (2009) Mike Carey Felix gets a call to come out to a crime scene–something that had not happened since he was accused of murder and became persona non grata with the police. Unsurprisingly, nothing good comes of the call, and Felix is embroiled in a mystery involving involving individuals from his past–way […]
The Grand Sophy (1950) Georgette Heyer Horace Stanton-Lacy needs to get his daughter married. He also needs to go to South America on a diplomatic mission, thus he Sophy to stay with her aunt in London, where he hopes she can be introduced to society and find a good match. The Ombersley house, however, is […]
Chimera (2010) Rob Thurman I love Rob Thurman. I really do. Which is why I pre-ordered this book without even having an idea what it was about. Imagine my disappointment when I read the back cover, “From Rob Thurman, national bestselling author of the Cal Leandros novels, comes a sci-fi thriller that questions what makes […]
L.A. Requiem (1999) Robert Crais Synopsis: Although this is an Elvis Cole novel, the heart of the story is really about Joe Pike. As Lucy and Ben are settling into L.A., Joe asks Elvis to help him solve the murder of a women with whom he was once involved. In searching for the killer, we […]
The Masqueraders (1928) Georgette Heyer A couple weeks ago I decided I wanted something completely different to read. After coming upon a review of The Masqueraders by Georgette Heyer, “I thought this might be a fun read,” and ordered it. I will admit, the language took some getting used to. The book is set in […]
A Broken Vessel (1994) Kate Ross Continuing my effort to lift my mood, I read the second Julian Kestrel book, A Broken Vessel.