Rivers of London: Vol. 4 Detective Stories (2017) Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel, Luis Guerrero, Lee Sullivan The fourth Rivers of London comic finds Peter being interviewed to become a detective. The gentleman interviewing him is a bit unprepared for what he’s about to get. There is a lot to love about this comic. First off, […]
The Far West (2012) Patricia C. Wrede There are plans for a new expedition to explore and research the Far West, and they’re looking for scientists and others with experience to join. In my experience, the things everybody knows are just exactly the ones that are most likely to be mistaken in some important way […]
Across the Great Barrier (2011) Patricia C. Wrede Eff Rothmer has returned to Mill City, and much to her chagrin, people are calling her a hero, for the work she did in coming up with a way to destroy the mirror bug infestation. BEING A HEROINE IS NOWHERE NEAR THE FUN FOLKS MAKE IT OUT […]
Thirteenth Child (2009) Patricia C. Wrede This story is set in an alternate US (North Columbia) in the mid-1800s. (T)he Columbian Presidents past the first five—George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Eduard Baier, and Herman Augustus Morton. Eff is the twin of a seventh son, and also a thirteenth child. EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT A SEVENTH […]
Into the Fire (2017) Jeaniene Frost The fourth and final book in the Vlad and Leila series finds them trying to undo the links that Leila has to Mircea the necromancer–links that look as if they can only be undone by death. This becomes an even bigger problem when the necromancers discover they can use […]
Bound by Flames (2015) Jeaniene Frost Third book in the saga of Vlad and Leila finds them still searching for Vlad’s enemy Szilagyi. It also finds Leila again kidnapped and tortured. I really didn’t care for how many times Leila was traumatized by Vlad’s enemies over the course of this series. I think reading the […]
Twice Tempted (2013) Jeaniene Frost Leila is living with Vlad, but quickly comes to discover that as much as she loves him, she cannot live with him not loving her. One of the things I particularly like is the history that the various vampires have seen. the Knighthood of the Temple of Solomon had secret […]
Once Burned (2012) Jeaniene Frost Leila was electrocuted as a teen. “So let me get this straight,” Auburn Hair said, drawing the words out. “You touched a downed power line when you were thirteen, nearly died, and then later, your body began giving off electric voltage and your right hand divined psychic impressions from whatever […]
A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent (2013) Marie Brennan After publishing many scientific papers upon the natural history of dragons, Lady Trent has finally decided to write her memoirs. This is a fantasy set in a world somewhat like ours, only with dragons, and at a time and place comparable to […]
Child of a Rainless Year (2005) Jane Lindskold Mira Fenn was nine when her mother disappeared, and she was sent away to Ohio to live with foster parents. The further she goes from her time in Las Vegas New Mexico, the stranger her early childhood seems. Especially her mother. I watched, mesmerized, as Mother transformed […]
A Long Day in Lychford (2017) Paul Cornell This is not my favorite of the Witches of Lychford stories. It isn’t bad, but the three main characters are separated for part of the book, and their interactions are often the best parts of the book. Not to say that there isn’t plenty of amusement. A […]
Volatile Bonds (2017) Jaye Wells One of the things I like about kindle books is that you can mark typos and other errors and submit them. Does this information go anywhere? Probably not, but it makes me feel better. The editing of this book was so bad that I didn’t bother submitting errors, because I […]
River of Stars (2013) Guy Gavriel Kay I had forgotten just how melancholy the end of this book was. That doesn’t make the book any less good, but it did leave me craving something happy when I finished it. As with all Guy Gavriel Kay books, there are a variety of characters you follow over […]
Shadowhouse Fall (2017) Daniel José Older This is the second book in the Shadowshaper Cypher series. Sierra is coming to terms with being the Lucera and leading a team of Shadowshapers. She’s also learning that all of this is going to be far more dangerous that they could have guessed, because The Sorrows–the House of […]
Firebug (2014) Lish McBride I have this thing where if I really love an author, I sometimes have difficulty starting a book in a new series. Because I’m afraid the new book won’t live up to my expectations of the other books I’ve read, so I keep putting off reading it. Lish McBride fell into […]
Under Heaven (2010) Guy Gavriel Kay With bronze as a mirror one can correct one’s appearance; with history as a mirror, one can understand the rise and fall of a state; with good men as a mirror, one can distinguish right from wrong. —LI SHIMIN, TANG EMPEROR TAIZONG Guy Gavriel Kay’s writing is always epic, […]
A Rare Book of Cunning Device, Audio Short Story (2017) Ben Aaronovitch narrated by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith This is a Peter Grant short story, available only as an audible short story (currently free). Oh My Dog I love this so much. Peter is summoned to the London British Library because the library (who knew his mother) […]
Who Killed Sherlock Holmes? Audio Edition (2016) Paul Cornell narrated by Damian Lynch Quill’s group is in trouble. After events in the last book, Ross is abrely acknowledging Costain’s existence, Quill is obsessed with the sign outside Hell, and Lofthouse is finally looking into resolving her own problems. The three other members of his team […]
The Severed Streets (2015) Paul Cornell narrated by Damian Lynch (Shadow Police) Even though I *knew* the big surprise of this story, it still came as a shock when it happened. This is an amazing entry into this series, and the narrator continues to do a fabulous job. Published by Audible Studios Rating: 9/10
Rivers of London: Detective Stories #3: Cry Me a River (2017) by Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel, Lee Sullivan, Luis Guerrero This one is actually a murder mystery–a ghost is trying to get his murder resolved, even though most of the principals died long ago. Because Peter can talk to the ghost, he looks into it. […]
Rivers of London: Detective Stories #2: Old Soldiers (2017) Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel, Lee Sullivan, Luis Guerrero, Gary Erskine, Yel Zamor This story takes place before Leslie left the Folly to join the Faceless Man. They are called to an art gallery not because of a theft, but because a painting appeared–an authentic Goya. This […]
Mockingbird Vol. 2: My Feminist Agenda (2017) Chelsea Cain, Kate Niemczyk, Sean Parsons, Rachelle Rosenberg Clarification: the last two chapters (issues) in this book are NOT written by Chelsea Cain et al. They from The New Avengers. I didn’t like them. The difference between the two was kind of amazing. In the Cain chapters, Bobbi […]
Mockingbird Vol. 1: I Can Explain (2016) Chelsea Cain, Kate Niemczyk, Ibrahim Moustafa, Joelle Jones I said after the first time I read this it was going to need a second reading. But I decided to wait until I had a paper version of the comic, since the ebook versions of comics don’t work well […]
Curse on the Land, Audio Version (2016) Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam As I was listening to this, I kept being surprised by events, because for some reason I thought there were already three books. But no, just to published. A lot happened in those first two books. The nice thing about audio books […]
Blood of the Earth, Audio Version (2016) Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam I generally don’t listen to a book immediately after I’ve read it, so if I wanted more of Jane Yellowrock’s world, I was going to have to listen to the Soulwood series. Which was perfectly fine with me. Khristine Hvam also narrates […]
Steel’s Edge (2012) Ilona Andrews Charlotte has fled to the Edge to escape a marriage gone terribly wrong. The outrage swelled in her, mixing with hurt. Last night he’d kissed her before they fell asleep next to each other. This was the man she woke up to every morning? “Elvei, you realize, you’re telling me […]
Wildfire: A Hidden Legacy Novel (2017) Ilona Andrews This is the third book in the Hidden Legacy series. This was supposed to be a trilogy, but there are enough loose ends for at least another book. I could have done without the final bit with Victoria Tremaine, which felt more like a cliffhanger than this […]
Rivers of London Volume 3: Black Mould (2017) Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel, Lee Sullivan I read these as ebooks, but being able to read on paper made a surprisingly huge difference. It’s possible I picked up on more things because it was the second read, but I think it’s because I could read it as […]
Fate’s Edge (2011) Ilona Andrews On re-reading, this one I greatly preferred to the second book. First, although the main story is between Audrey and Kaldar (and Kaldar is a rogue, so of course I love him), they end up dealing with Gaston, and more interestingly Jack and George, and spending time with those two […]
Bayou Moon (2010) Ilona Andrews Following this immediately after finishing On the Edge helped clarify what bothered me about this story. I really like William in the first book. He’s odd, and he’s badly broken, but he is a good man who is fiercely protective of children. But he is definitely odd. And this book […]
On the Edge (2009) Ilona Andrews After reading their new series, I was struck with a desire to re-read The Edge series. Luckily, the eBook is available from the library, so I didn’t have to buy another copy to re-read it. Rose Drayton lives on the Edge, the area between the magical and mundane lands, […]
White Hot (2017) Ilona Andrews Guess what? I DESPISE THIS COVER TOO. It’s TERRIBLE. I tells you nothing about the story except that there is boinking. BLETCH. OK, enough. How about the story? The story is good! Things are even more complex, and not just between Nevada and Rogan. The cabal that attempted to destroy […]
Burn for Me (2014) Ilona Andrews I STILL DESPISE THIS COVER. Avon? THIS COVER IS HORRIBLE. No, really. It’s been what, three years, and I STILL HATE THIS COVER. Especially considering the proposed cover. But this review is not for me to rant. Well, not completely anyway. Nevada Baylor is owned by MII, the investigative […]
The Furthest Station (2017) Ben Aaronovitch My current theory is that the reason the previous novel took so long to come out was because it was too long, and a lot had to come out, and that material has made up the comics and this novella. Sounds good anyway. This is a Rivers of London […]
Cold Reign (2017) Faith Hunter This is Jane Yellowrock Volume 11. In case you had lost track (which I had). An unnatural storm has fallen over New Orleans and long-dead vamps are rising as revenants. And a lot of MAJOR events happen here. Some of which seem small, unless you’ve been reading along for eleven […]
Princeless Vol. 1: Short Stories Collection This is what it says on the tin: a short story collection. It’s really backstory for the different characters filled in, including the king and Kira (the wolf) and Angoisse (Adrienne’s sister) and Bedelia. I can see why these stories didn’t necessarily belong in the main volume, however, considering […]
Princeless Vol 5 Part 1: Make Yourself I am very conflicted about this volume. First, it’s only Part 1 (although it doesn’t say that on the cover). Second, there are 26 pages of ads for other comics. That made it feel like it was padded out with ads to make up for being split in […]
Mockingbird Vol. 2: My Feminist Agenda (2017) Chelsea Cain and Kate Niemczyk I’ll be honest, I didn’t understand most of what was going on here. But I really didn’t care, because I found the whole thing fascinating. Mocking bird receives a ticket to a cruise from an anonomous source. Since she’s trying to get out […]
Rivers of London: Detective Stories #4.1 (2017) Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel, Lee Sullivan, Luis Guerrero, Mack Chater I am… confused by this. This is Detective Stories #4.1 and it just came out. Rivers of London: Detective Stories #2 comes out July 12. Rivers of London: Detective Stories #3 comes out August 9th. All I can […]
Princeless Vol. 4: Be Yourself (2015) Jeremy Whitley, Emily Martin and Brett Grunig This is the fourth Princless book and finds Adrienne off to attempt to rescue her middle sister, Angoisse. This was good, but I think the bits about Adrienne were weaker than the previous volumes. She and Bedelia are more witnesses to events […]
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 characters introduced: Felicity and Odette. […]
Threads of Malice (2005) Tamara Siler Jones Holy crap. I had completely forgotten how dark this book is. I mean, extremely dark. Descriptions of torture and rape and then the murder of the victim. And by this we see the torture from the victim’s POV, not just Dubric seeing the results of the torture and […]
Legion: Skin Deep, Audio Version (2014) Brandon Sanderson narrated by Oliver Wyman I really like this series, but I fear with all his other writing commitments, further books may be few and far between. Since Michael listened to the first book, we listened to the second as well, on another car trip. Just as good […]
Magic Stars (2015) Ilona Andrews If you’ve read the Kate Daniel’s series, this novella (which seems like it’ll be ongoing) features Derek and Julie. If you haven’t read the Kate Daniel’s series, I’m not sure how good of a starting place this would be, simply because Derek and Julie have a past that is intertwined […]
New Watch (2012/2013) Sergei Lukyanenko translated by Andrew Bromfield The fifth book of the Night Watch series! I finally got around to reading it! This is a dubious text for the cause of Light. —THE NIGHT WATCH This is a dubious text for the cause of Darkness. —THE DAY WATCH As with the rest of […]
The Last Watch (2009) Sergei Lukyanenko translated by Andrew Bromfield This text is acceptable to the forces of Light. THE NIGHT WATCH This text is acceptable to the forces of Darkness. THE DAY WATCH This is the 4th book in the Night Watch series. As with the previous books, it is broken up into three […]
Twilight Watch (2006/2007) Sergei Lukyanenko translated by Andrew Bromfield The third book in the Night Watch series is one of my favorites. There are, of course, three stories: Nobody’s Time, Nobody’s Space, Nobody’s Power. “Nobody’s Time” is the first story, and finds Anton searching for an other who has promised to turn a human being […]
Day Watch (2000/2006) Sergei Lukyanenko translated by Andrew Bromfield This text has been banned for distribution as injurious to the cause of Light. —THE NIGHT WATCH This text has been banned for distribution as injurious to the cause of Darkness. —THE DAY WATCH As with the first book, there are three stories within the book, […]
Night Watch (2006) Sergei Lukyanenko translated by Andrew Bromfield This text has been approved for distribution as conducive to the cause of Light. —THE NIGHT WATCH This text has been approved for distribution as conducive to the cause of Darkness. —THE DAY WATCH I’ve got the final two Night Watch books just waiting to be […]
Salsa Nocturna: A Bone Street Rumba Collection (2012) Daniel José Older I was feeling out of sorts and unsure what I was in the mood to read, so I decided to re-read Salsa Nocturna since I knew I’d enjoy it. “Tenderfoot” published in The Innsmouth Free Press (2011) “Salsa Nocturna” published in Strange Horizons (2010) […]