Mercy Blade (2011) Faith Hunter Book three in the Jane Yellowrock series, finds Jane taking on a long term contract with Leo Pellissier and the New Orleans vamps to provide security. Unfortunately, Leo doesn’t seem to trust her enough to tell her things that are important–like the weres coming out of the supernatural closet and […]
Blood Cross (2010) Faith Hunter The second book in the Jane Yellowrock series (and another re-read). Jane has remained in New Orleans to hunt the vampire who is making young rogues–and allowing the free into the population where they kill, unrestrained. Additionally, while Evan is in Brazil, Molly and her kids are staying with Jane, […]
Skinwalker (2009) Faith Hunter This is a re-read. The first book in the series introduces us to Jane Yellowrock, a skin walker and rogue vampire hunter. She’s come to New Orleans at the request of the local vampire council to take out a rogue who has been killing civilians. I enjoyed going back to the […]
Magic City: Recent Spells (2014) Paula Guran Table of Contents “Street Wizard” by Simon R. Green “Paranormal Romance” by Christopher Barzak “Grand Central Park” by Delia Sherman “Spellcaster 2.0” by Jonathan Maberry “Wallamelon” by Nisi Shawl “-30-” by Caitlín R. Kiernan “Seeing Eye” by Patricia Briggs “Stone Man” by Nancy Kress “In the Stacks” by […]
Rising Stars, Vol. 1: Born in Fire (2001) J. Michael Straczynski, Keu Cha, Ken Lashley, Christian Zanier, Jason Gorder, John Livesay, Edwin Rosell, David Wohl, Dennis Heisler, Dreamer Design, Robin Spehar, Liquid!, Matt Nelson, John Starr, Tyson Wengler Rising Stars, Vol. 2: Power (2002) J. Michael Straczynski, Keu Cha, Ken Lashley, Christian Zanier, Jason Gorder, […]
Hellboy: The Midnight Circus (2013) Mike Mignola, Duncan Fegredo, Dave Stewart Couple things about this: 1) It came out as hardback. 2) I purchased the kindle version, because it was cheaper than the hardback (and by now we should all know my feelings about hardback books). 3) This is more of a novella than regular […]
Urban Shaman (2005) C.E. Murphy I read this several years ago, and never read any further in the series, though I remember finding the book and the premise interesting. But I’d forgotten the story completely, and decided I needed to re-read the start before I dove into any sequels. Joanne Walker (named by her mother […]
Local (2008) Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly There is absolutely nothing wrong with this story, it just is not my thing. Published by Oni Press
Strange Brew (2009) edited by P.N. Elrod This is a re-read, and as such, I skipped the stories I didn’t like or wasn’t in the mood for. Seeing Eye by Patricia Briggs Last Call by Jim Butcher Death Warmed Over by Rachel Caine Vegas Odds by Karen Chance Hecate’s Golden Eye by P.N. Elrod Bacon […]
Hellboy in Hell Volume 1: The Descent (2014) Mike Mignola, Dave Stewart My feelings about Hellboy? It’s complicated. I tend to love the Hellboy collections that are more-or-less short story collections of his adventures. The stories about Hellboy’s inheritance, I tend to enjoy much less, so… every other collection I love. Hellboy in Hell, Volume […]
Dangerous Women (2013) edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois “Some Desperado” (Red Country story) by Joe Abercrombie “My Heart is Either Broken” by Megan Abbott “Nora’s Song” by Cecelia Holland “The Hands That Are Not There” by Melinda Snodgrass “Bombshells” (Harry Dresden story) by Jim Butcher “Raisa Stepanova” by Carrie Vaughn “Wrestling Jesus” […]
Angelica’s Smile (2010/2014) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli “Ah Chief, Chief! Ahh Chief!” Catarella’s cry pretty much describes how I feel about this book. Ah Chief, how you’ve fallen. A strange series of burglaries has hit Vitaga. Burgulars break into a vacation home, gas the couple sleeping there, then, stealing the keys, return to […]
The Archangel Project (2008) C.S. Graham October ‘Toby’ Guinness is an Army vet who was washed out with a psychiatric discharge after an incident in Iraq. “You didn’t want to go to Iraq?” said the Colonel. “Are you kidding? The only people who actually want to go to Iraq are either seriously delusional or very, […]
Fairest Vol. 3: The Return of the Maharaja (2014) Sean E. Williams, Stephen Sadowski, Phil Jimenez I am a huge fan of Fables, but I have not cared for all the spin-offs–especially Jack of Fables. I despise Jack, and can’t stand reading about him. But I’ve enjoyed Fairest, and so had Vol 3 on pre-order, […]
Half-Off Ragnarok (2014) Seanan McGuire I don’t know what it is about this series. I love the Toby McGuire series. I love the Toby short stories I’ve read. But every book in this series I’ve expected to love as much as I love the Toby series, and I just… don’t. These aren’t bad books, and […]
The Golden Egg (2013) Donna Leon I am starting, perhaps, to be disconcerted by how Brunetti and his family seem to have stopped aging. The first book was written in 1992, so twenty years have passed since that book, but time has not passed at the same rate for Brunetti. It’s most obvious with Chiara, […]
Night Broken (2014) Patricia Briggs This is the latest Mercy Thompson book, which I got as a new release, but was waiting for me to finish Why Kings Confess, which was waiting for me to catch up on the Sebastian St. Cyr series (which I didn’t actually do). Mercy’s life is about to become miserable. […]
Why Kings Confess (2014) C.S. Harris I gave up re-reading the past books and the series and jumped straight to the newest book. No more hardback books for me, I think. The last several books have been set in a relatively compressed time frame–within a nine month period, to be precise, and in this book […]
What Remains of Heaven (2009) C.S. Harris I’d forgotten this book ends on a cliff-hanger of sorts. Not the mystery, but the situation of Hero Jarvis. Sebastian is pulled into yet another mystery when he formidable aunt asks him to look into the death of the Bishop of London and the presumed successor to the […]
Under Camelot’s Banner (2005) Sarah Zettel Lynet Carnbrea is the daughter of Steward Kenan, the man who holds Camilard for Queen Guinevere, whose name is under a shadow, for she acted as a go-between for Tristan and Iseult. Shamed, and broken by her penance, she is seen as damaged goods, and so unlike her sister, […]
Where Serpents Sleep (2008) C.S. Harris Now we reach the point where I started buying this series in hardback. And I hate hardback books. The fourth Sebastian St. Cyr book discovers Sebastian working with someone entirely unexpected: Hero Jarvis. A home for reformed fallen doves (ie women who want to escape prostitution) is burned to […]
For Camelot’s Honor (2005) Sarah Zettel I still love the cover, but the contents didn’t live up to my memory. I’m not saying it was a bad story–it’s not–I just remember it as being fabulous, and instead it’s just fine. Elen is the daughter of a Welsh chieftan, and King Arthur wants her family to […]
Why Mermaids Sing (2007) C.S. Harris This is a hard book. Lots of terrible things are revealed, which are very hard for Sebastian (and the reader) to bear. These discoveries, however, are separate from the mystery. Young men are being killed–butchered in a horrible way–and the Magistrate Lovejoy asks St. Cry for his help, because […]
When Gods Die (2006) C.S. Harris I have to admit, I’m reading slower than I have been, because I can’t afford to buy the eBook version, so I’m re-reading my paperbacks. It’s odd how much more comfortable I find an eBook to read. Plus, if I fall asleep reading an eBook, I don’t loose my […]
What Angels Fear (2005) C.S. Harris Sebastian St. Cyr is a young nobleman who returned from the wars with France wanting only to forget, but unable to do so, and thus unable to fit back into society. His refusal to wed and produce and heir only makes his already poor relationship with his father even […]
The Grimrose Path (2010) Rob Thurman Trixa Iktomi is a trickster. She comes right out with it at the beginning of this story, so you know what you’re getting into. But she and her friend Leo (the reformed Bad Boy but now a trickster by calling, Loki) are mortal while Trixa rebuilds her powers after […]
Trick of the Light (2009) Rob Thurman Now, apparently, I need to re-read Rob Thurman. But as I relatively recently re-read the Cal & Niko series, I decided to go with the Trixa Iktomi series. Trixa runs a bar in Sin City, but all she really wants is revenge for her brother’s murder. Leo helps […]
Gunmetal Magic (2012) Ilona Andrews And now I reach the conclusion of my binge reading of Ilona Andrew’s Kate Daniels (& World) series. We end with Andrea’s book: how Andrea puts herself back together after being thrown out of the Order. Except there’s lots of monster fighting and shooting (this is Andrea) so it’s not […]
Magic Slays (2011) Ilona Andrews And here we are at book five. I’m thinking I may stop here for now. Book six came out relatively recently, and it wasn’t a particular favorite. But I have hunted down all the Kate Daniels short stories I can find, so I’ve got a little more Kate left. Kate […]
Magic Bleeds (2010) Ilona Andrews This one is more romance than mystery, but still all fantasy and action. First, I really appreciate how Kate actually thinks and considers before taking action. She doesn’t always so manages when it’s important. If Curran and I got into it, our fight wouldn’t be seen as a conflict between […]
Magic Strikes (2009) Ilona Andrews This is the third book in the Kate Daniels series, and we learn more of Kate’s secrets. This book also has a scene that stuck with me, and sort of bothered me, but that’s something else entirely. Kate is continuing to work for the Order, but spending more and more […]
Magic Burns (2008) Ilona Andrews Book two in the Kate Daniels series finds Kate still working as a merc, but also still working for the Order. We get more important introductions here: Julie, Andrea, Auntie B, Raphael… Most of the main characters have now entered the series. We’re still missing a lot about Kate’s history […]
Magic Bites (2008) Ilona Andrews After finishing off the Inspector Salvo Montalbano series, I’ve been picking up books, trying to figure out what I was in the mood to read. There were several new releases that I quite liked, but they didn’t help me fall into what I wanted to read after. At a loss, […]
In Camelot’s Shadow (2004) Sarah Zettel I originally picked this book up because I fell in love with the cover. This is one of my favorite book covers, ever. It’s gorgeous, it’s romantic, and it shows an active heroine not in need to rescue, but capable of defending herself. Luckily, the book lives up to […]
Midnight Blue-Light Special (2013) Seanan McGuire So… I had pre-ordered this, and then it sat, unread, for… ten months. I think, first and foremost, it’s a sign that I’ve become predominately an eBook reader. (Further evidence? The last Cat and Bones book is sitting on my coffee table, staring at me, wondering why I haven’t […]
The Dance of the Seagull (2009/2013) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli Alas, I’m now back to current on the Inspector Montalbano series, and I have no idea what I want to read next. The story opens with Montalbano seeing a seagull dive to the ground, do a strange dance, and then die on the […]
The Age of Doubt (2008/2012) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli On this second reading, I really didn’t like this story. The mystery was fine, but I knew what was coming, and I just kept getting madder and madder at Montalbano, not wanting him to make the mistakes I knew he was going to make. […]
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 […]
The Track of Sand (2007/2010) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli This is another story that is not a particular favorite. Montalbano and Livia are still fighting (of course), but the book opens with a really horrible scene, the discovery of a dead horse by Montalbano. A horse that has been beaten to death. This […]
August Heat (2006/2009) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli This is not my favorite Montalbano story. This is the book where the relationship between Montalbano and Livia starts to fall apart. (It continues to fall apart for the rest of the series so far.) We also see Montalbano behaving in ways he’d avoided in the […]
The Wings of the Sphinx (2006/2009) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli Somehow, I managed to read this book and the one that comes before it out of order. Which was unusually problematic because events in the previous book–events involving Montalbano and Livia–had a tremendous influence upon events in this book. I remembered what they […]
The Paper Moon (2005/2008) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli The story opens with a woman–concerned that she has not heard from her brother–coming to report him missing. It hasn’t been long enough to declare him officially missing, but she convinces Montalbano to come with her, to see what signs are at his apartment. “Aahh, […]
The Patience of the Spider (2004/2007) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli This book picks up right after the events of Rounding the Mark. Monalbano has been on leave, recovering from being shot in the shoulder. Livia has come down to stay with him during his recover, so they get to argue in person, instead […]
Rounding the Mark (2003/2006) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli It finally happened. The corruption of the Italian government and system has finally gotten to Montalbano, and he has decided he no longer wants to work in such a system. But his morning swim changes everything, when he (literally) runs into a corpse. The first […]
The Smell of the Night (2001/2005) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli Ah, Chief! Chief! This is the book where Catarella truly takes on the personality he has for the rest of the series. It always amuses me how so much of what he says ends up sounding like gibberish. And it’s all good and […]
Excursion to Tindari (2000/2005) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli All murder mysteries are, at their heart, depressing. They tell the tale of how someone decided that the life of another human was disposable, and then act to snuff out that life. But the heart of this story feels even more depressing, somehow. Despite the […]
Voice of the Violin (1997/2003) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli This story is a turning point for Catarella. “(I)n a few days, some absolutely up-to-date computer will be arriving… He wanted each of us to give him the name of an officer we thought had a special knack for computer science. Which I did.” […]
The Snack Thief (1996/2003) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli This is the third Inspector Montalbano book. In the same morning, there is a shooting death aboard a fishing boat and a man found dead in the elevator in his apartment. (This is Sicily, after all.) Catarella plays a larger part in this book, though […]
The Terra-Cotta Dog (1996/2002) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli I was out of sorts yesterday and didn’t know what I wanted to read. Since I recently read Montalbano’s First Case, I decided I wanted to read some Andrea Camilleri–despite the fact that the first book in the series was loaned out to someone and […]
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 […]