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 […]
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell (2004) Susanna Clarke I got Michael this book for Christmas last year, but put off reading it myself because the book is huge: 800 pages huge. It’s not the kind of book I could curl up with; instead I had to set the book on the table, or prop it […]
Tigana (1990) Guy Gavriel Kay Why is it that every time I finish one of Guy Gavriel Kay’s books, I ask myself, “How could I have forgotten how good his books are?” Even reading this book for a second time, I was still surprised at how good it was. This book was frustrating at first. […]
The Last Light of the Sun (2004) Guy Gavriel Kay Good luck finding this book. I came across it only because I was searching Amazon for another of his books, and realized that he had a new book out. Of course I’ve found a lot of books on Amazon recently that I saw nowhere in […]
The Lions of Al-Rassan (1995) Guy Gavriel Kay This is a very good, albeit very depressing book. Set in the same world as Sailing to Sarantium, this book describes the battles between the followers of Jad versus the Asharites. If Sailing to Sarantium reminded me of Rome, this book reminded me of Spain. Of the […]
The Sarantine Mosaic: Sailing to Sarantium and Lord of Emperors Guy Gavriel Kay On a note unrelated to the story, I do have to say that I greatly prefer the Canadian cover art to the American. That’s the problem with thorough websites. You get to find out what you’re missing. I’ve had these books for […]