My book blog is on hiatus at the moment, as Vox's connection with Amazon is busted, which was the main reason I was blogging over here - I'm still reading away, just need to wait till it's fixed so I can catch up with myself.
See you on the flipside!
Butcher Bird by Richard Kadrey - picked this one up as a free ebook somewhere, can't quite recall where...
The basic premise of Butcher Bird is that our protagonist, Spyder, helps run a tattoo parlour in Los Angeles and one day discovers that the world he inhabits is not the only one there is - through a chance encounter, Spyder becomes able to see the inhabitants of other spheres who live alongside us, a decidedly unsettling and, at times, disturbing thing.
Spyder then meets Shrike, a blind assassin who is a princess in hiding from another sphere, having sworn vengeance against the man who misled and betrayed her. Spyder and Shrike hit it off, then end up travelling to Hell itself in search of a book that can free Shrike's father and also help one of Spyder's friends. Basically, it's a road movie book.
I found Butcher Bird enjoyable enough, although I'm not sure it's something I would have bought had I not been able to pick it up for free. There's so much out there that could be considered paranormal romance (sorry, Mr Kadrey!) that this book overlaps with that sub-genre in more ways than one. Ten years ago, this might have been a book that stood out, but now it's just one of many, some more gory than others.
Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman - another bookswap experience and this time, one I enjoyed very much, which is always a pleasant surprise!
There are two storylines in Soon I Will Be Invincible, running effectively the same plot from the perspectives of Fatale, would-be superhero, and Dr Impossible, supervillain. Fatale is the last evidence of a government-funded program to develop super soldiers, her body half-metal and half-flesh; Dr Impossible is working on his most recent plot to take over the planet, one way or another.
Soon I Will Be Invincible is clearly written by someone steeped in the ways of comics and the author's grasp of the tropes that comic books love so much shines through. Ultimately, of course, the truth is more complex than the initial villain v hero dynamic would suggest, as the line between the two blurs. Our heroes are still human, for the most part, under their costumes and their flaws are obvious.
The basic premise of Butcher Bird is that our protagonist, Spyder, helps run a tattoo parlour in Los Angeles and one day discovers that the world he inhabits is not the only one there is - through a chance encounter, Spyder becomes able to see the inhabitants of other spheres who live alongside us, a decidedly unsettling and, at times, disturbing thing.
Spyder then meets Shrike, a blind assassin who is a princess in hiding from another sphere, having sworn vengeance against the man who misled and betrayed her. Spyder and Shrike hit it off, then end up travelling to Hell itself in search of a book that can free Shrike's father and also help one of Spyder's friends. Basically, it's a road movie book.
I found Butcher Bird enjoyable enough, although I'm not sure it's something I would have bought had I not been able to pick it up for free. There's so much out there that could be considered paranormal romance (sorry, Mr Kadrey!) that this book overlaps with that sub-genre in more ways than one. Ten years ago, this might have been a book that stood out, but now it's just one of many, some more gory than others.
There are two storylines in Soon I Will Be Invincible, running effectively the same plot from the perspectives of Fatale, would-be superhero, and Dr Impossible, supervillain. Fatale is the last evidence of a government-funded program to develop super soldiers, her body half-metal and half-flesh; Dr Impossible is working on his most recent plot to take over the planet, one way or another.
Soon I Will Be Invincible is clearly written by someone steeped in the ways of comics and the author's grasp of the tropes that comic books love so much shines through. Ultimately, of course, the truth is more complex than the initial villain v hero dynamic would suggest, as the line between the two blurs. Our heroes are still human, for the most part, under their costumes and their flaws are obvious.
Shadow by KJ Parker - this is the first book in a trilogy, which I picked up from my local library, having tried to read something else by this author and found it hard going. Sadly, though I made it further through this than the previous book, I still didn't manage to summon up enough enthusiasm to make it all the way to the end, let alone books 2 and 3!
The basic premise of Shadow is about a man with amnesia who wakes surrounded by corpses on a battlefield - as a result, he is uncertain not only who he is but also whether the people he meets are enemy or friend. The first real connection he makes is with a woman travelling through the land with a man she pretends is the god Poldarn, whose place (and name) the amnesiac takes for himself.
Part of the problem I had with getting to grips with Shadow was that Poldarn is quite an unlikeable character, which makes it hard to feel any sympathy for the predicament in which he finds himself. Secondly, the narrative is hard to follow at times, as Poldarn experiences the memories or lives of others through his dreams and the author tries to set up his identity or play sleight of hand tricks on the reader where that's concerned, with equal vigour. The trilogy continues in Pattern.
The Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer - another library book, again the beginning of a trilogy, though at least this time around I actually made it through the first volume!
Our protagonist in The Sea of Trolls is Jack, a Saxon lad who ends up as apprentice to a bard at the time of the Viking raids on England - the bard in question has fled from those same Vikings, after offending the wife of one of their kings. When the Vikings raid again, Jack and his sister are taken captive and it's only Jack's abilities as a bard that save both their lives.
Part of the storyline involves Jack travelling to the land of trolls, as he needs to find a magic elixir that can save his sister's life by curing the queen (herself half-troll) of the effects of Jack's own magic on her. Jack is accompanied on his quest by would-be berserker Thorgil, whose attitude towards the world is changed by her experiences.
It's a little vexing, though hardly a surprise, that it's the female characters of this book who are hard to empathise with - Jack's sister is whiny and annoying, while Thorgil is only marginally less unpleasant as the book goes on. The author seems to have spent more time and energy on making Jack a sympathetic character and thus had nothing to spare for the others, which means the likelihood of my reading the next book in the trilogy (Land of the Silver Apples) isn't all that great.
The basic premise of Shadow is about a man with amnesia who wakes surrounded by corpses on a battlefield - as a result, he is uncertain not only who he is but also whether the people he meets are enemy or friend. The first real connection he makes is with a woman travelling through the land with a man she pretends is the god Poldarn, whose place (and name) the amnesiac takes for himself.
Part of the problem I had with getting to grips with Shadow was that Poldarn is quite an unlikeable character, which makes it hard to feel any sympathy for the predicament in which he finds himself. Secondly, the narrative is hard to follow at times, as Poldarn experiences the memories or lives of others through his dreams and the author tries to set up his identity or play sleight of hand tricks on the reader where that's concerned, with equal vigour. The trilogy continues in Pattern.
Our protagonist in The Sea of Trolls is Jack, a Saxon lad who ends up as apprentice to a bard at the time of the Viking raids on England - the bard in question has fled from those same Vikings, after offending the wife of one of their kings. When the Vikings raid again, Jack and his sister are taken captive and it's only Jack's abilities as a bard that save both their lives.
Part of the storyline involves Jack travelling to the land of trolls, as he needs to find a magic elixir that can save his sister's life by curing the queen (herself half-troll) of the effects of Jack's own magic on her. Jack is accompanied on his quest by would-be berserker Thorgil, whose attitude towards the world is changed by her experiences.
It's a little vexing, though hardly a surprise, that it's the female characters of this book who are hard to empathise with - Jack's sister is whiny and annoying, while Thorgil is only marginally less unpleasant as the book goes on. The author seems to have spent more time and energy on making Jack a sympathetic character and thus had nothing to spare for the others, which means the likelihood of my reading the next book in the trilogy (Land of the Silver Apples) isn't all that great.
Blood Red, Snow White by Marcus Sedgwick - I've read a couple of other books by Sedgwick, prior to picking this one up from my local library branch, and it seems to be the case that either I enjoy them or can't finish them. This was the latter.
The basic premise of Blood Red, Snow White is the story of the Russian Revolution, told from the perspective of the writer Arthur Ransome, who left his family behind in England and travelled to Russia essentially to 'find himself'. While there, Ransome gets involved with another woman, and his experiences and those of the country as a whole are told in a very fairytale style.
Unfortunately, I found that particular style quite difficult to reconcile with what I know of that particular historical period, which was extremely bloody. For me, that made Blood Red, Snow White a book I just couldn't get into, as I couldn't suspend my knowledge of what I knew sufficiently to go along with the style.
It's possible that most of Sedgwick's audience for this book would have known far less, given that it's targetted at young adults, and I'm not really sure how I feel about that, as it seemed to trivialise a degree of real suffering just because it happened almost a hundred years ago instead of more recently.
Crystal Rain by Tobias S. Buckell - this was one of the free e-books I picked up a while ago, which I am slowing working my way through, in this case the first in Buckell's loose series of novels set in the same universe.
The world in which Crystal Rain and the other books are set is one where a planet has been colonised by people from the Caribbean, who have brought their attitudes and way of life with them. Their world has been technologically set back by something that happened years earlier, which essentially means that telegraphs and steam-powered machinery are the height of technology.
Alongside the people of this world exist two alien species, the Loa and the Teotl, their parts of this world separated by a high mountain range - on the other side, the Azteca are warriors trained for war and conquest, driven by their worship of the Teotl, who they see as gods, to overtake the entire planet. The plot of Crystal Rain centres around two elements of this, the personal experiences of one man who had been literally washed up on shore with no memory of his past and those of the defenders of the city trying to withstand the Azteca invasion.
One of the best things about this book is that it neatly avoids many cliches inherent in science fiction just by the people with whom it populates its world, and the way in which they look at what surrounds them. I enjoyed Crystal Rain and look forward to reading more from Buckell, including the next book in the 'series', Ragamuffin.
The basic premise of Blood Red, Snow White is the story of the Russian Revolution, told from the perspective of the writer Arthur Ransome, who left his family behind in England and travelled to Russia essentially to 'find himself'. While there, Ransome gets involved with another woman, and his experiences and those of the country as a whole are told in a very fairytale style.
Unfortunately, I found that particular style quite difficult to reconcile with what I know of that particular historical period, which was extremely bloody. For me, that made Blood Red, Snow White a book I just couldn't get into, as I couldn't suspend my knowledge of what I knew sufficiently to go along with the style.
It's possible that most of Sedgwick's audience for this book would have known far less, given that it's targetted at young adults, and I'm not really sure how I feel about that, as it seemed to trivialise a degree of real suffering just because it happened almost a hundred years ago instead of more recently.
The world in which Crystal Rain and the other books are set is one where a planet has been colonised by people from the Caribbean, who have brought their attitudes and way of life with them. Their world has been technologically set back by something that happened years earlier, which essentially means that telegraphs and steam-powered machinery are the height of technology.
Alongside the people of this world exist two alien species, the Loa and the Teotl, their parts of this world separated by a high mountain range - on the other side, the Azteca are warriors trained for war and conquest, driven by their worship of the Teotl, who they see as gods, to overtake the entire planet. The plot of Crystal Rain centres around two elements of this, the personal experiences of one man who had been literally washed up on shore with no memory of his past and those of the defenders of the city trying to withstand the Azteca invasion.
One of the best things about this book is that it neatly avoids many cliches inherent in science fiction just by the people with whom it populates its world, and the way in which they look at what surrounds them. I enjoyed Crystal Rain and look forward to reading more from Buckell, including the next book in the 'series', Ragamuffin.
Death at Devil's Bridge by Robin Paige - this is the fourth book in Paige's long-running series featuring Kate Ardleigh and Sir Charles Sheridan, happily stumbling across murder and mayhem in Victorian England. It follows on from Death at Daisy's Folly, which I reviewed in November last year.
This time around, the plot focusses on the new-fangled automobiles that are starting to become popular, although controversy surrounds them, especially when one appears to be implicated in the death of an elderly villager. A gathering hosted by Kate and Charles includes the first meeting of two gentlemen by the names of Rolls and Royce, both keenly into cars but with very different ideas about what's important.
Naturally, as with all these kind of books, there's a murder or two and our central characters are left to try and figure out exactly what's gone on and why. As with the previous books in the series, Death at Devil's Bridge is an enjoyable read and both Kate and Charles and their supporting characters play their part in that. The series continues in Death at Rottingdean.
As with the previous book in the series, Dead Sexy is about magic shop owner Garnet, who has an uncomfortable relationship with the goddess Lilith - said goddess inhabits Garnet's body and has a nasty tendency to take over at times, the most important of these being at the beginning of Tall, Dark and Dead when a group of Vatican-sponsored assassins had killed the rest of her coven.
This time around, Garnet is still trying to deal with the aftermath of her friends' murder and her own gory involvement in the death of those agents, while juggling a relationship with the sexy Sebastian and her ex-boyfriend Parrish. The latter is, of course, complicated by the fact that both Sebastian and Parrish are vampires, although Sebastian can handily go about in daylight regardless. Life becomes even more complicated when an FBI agent tracks Garnet down, wanting to know about what happened to her coven.
Again, as with the previous volume, I enjoyed Dead Sexy and Garnet herself makes an engaging protagonist. I'm not sure it was quite as good as the first book, but it was still entertaining enough to make me want to pick up the next in the series, which is Romancing the Dead.
A Matter of Oaths by Helen Wright - I'm always on the look-out for free science fiction ebooks and this particular one was recommended by Jo Walton, whose writing I also like, over on the Tor books blog.
The basic premise of A Matter of Oaths is that there are two immortal Emperors, with the balance of power between them held by the Guild - a military group operating the majority of space travel in the universe - with binding oaths sworn by both Emperors and Guild members to the Guild. The breaking of an oath is considered serious business, with extreme punishments meted out to those who betray their Emperor or the Guild itself.
Each ship is run by a group of Three, between them taking responsibility for the ship and its crew, with much of the actual work of running the ship undertaken within the Web, a kind of total-immersion internet. We first meet Rallya, a commander, when she's looking to fill a vacant berth on her ship and encounters a man whose former identity has been wiped, which is usually the punishment for Oathbreakers. Somehow, Rafe impresses Rallya enough that she takes him on and subsequently discovers that not only is there much more to him than meets the eye, she's about to find herself in the middle of more trouble than even she can handle.
I very much enjoyed A Matter of Oaths, which is a prime example of the best that the 'space opera' sub-genre can provide - a strong storyline populated by interesting characters, that's not afraid to take the plot into places you might not expect. I understand that the author is planning to write more in this universe, but in the meantime A Matter of Oaths (which is sadly out of print) is available from her website.
The Naming (also published as The Gift) by Alison Croggon - this is the first in a series of four books, published under different titles depending on where you are in the world...
Our protagonist is Maerad, a slave in a grim holding on the edge of the mountains, who manages to keep a low profile and avoid the worst of treatment by pretending she is a witch. She knows nothing of her background, her only memories being of that place and her mother, now dead.
Naturally, otherwise The Naming would be a very short and somewhat dull book, Maerad is more than she seems, as she is about to discover. First she must leave the only place she has ever known, in the company of Cadvan, a man who only she can see - he tells her that is because she can do magic, like him, otherwise he would be invisible to her as well.
Despite her fears, Maerad accompanies Cadvan on his travels - he's been tasked with discovering what is going on, as the bards who were meant to provide for the people and keep the land safe have been falling down on the job. As the two of them travel, Maerad discovers more about herself and also about Cadvan, as well as discovering the part she is apparently supposed to play in turning back the tide of darkness that threatens to overtake everything.
It's clear that the author has put a lot of thought into the worldbuilding in this series, though a meaner editor could have helped immensely with trimming the unnecessary description she seems equally determined to put in everywhere. At times, that over-use of adjectives distracts from the storyline, and that's never a good sign. The next book in the series is The Riddle.
The basic premise of A Matter of Oaths is that there are two immortal Emperors, with the balance of power between them held by the Guild - a military group operating the majority of space travel in the universe - with binding oaths sworn by both Emperors and Guild members to the Guild. The breaking of an oath is considered serious business, with extreme punishments meted out to those who betray their Emperor or the Guild itself.
Each ship is run by a group of Three, between them taking responsibility for the ship and its crew, with much of the actual work of running the ship undertaken within the Web, a kind of total-immersion internet. We first meet Rallya, a commander, when she's looking to fill a vacant berth on her ship and encounters a man whose former identity has been wiped, which is usually the punishment for Oathbreakers. Somehow, Rafe impresses Rallya enough that she takes him on and subsequently discovers that not only is there much more to him than meets the eye, she's about to find herself in the middle of more trouble than even she can handle.
I very much enjoyed A Matter of Oaths, which is a prime example of the best that the 'space opera' sub-genre can provide - a strong storyline populated by interesting characters, that's not afraid to take the plot into places you might not expect. I understand that the author is planning to write more in this universe, but in the meantime A Matter of Oaths (which is sadly out of print) is available from her website.
Our protagonist is Maerad, a slave in a grim holding on the edge of the mountains, who manages to keep a low profile and avoid the worst of treatment by pretending she is a witch. She knows nothing of her background, her only memories being of that place and her mother, now dead.
Naturally, otherwise The Naming would be a very short and somewhat dull book, Maerad is more than she seems, as she is about to discover. First she must leave the only place she has ever known, in the company of Cadvan, a man who only she can see - he tells her that is because she can do magic, like him, otherwise he would be invisible to her as well.
Despite her fears, Maerad accompanies Cadvan on his travels - he's been tasked with discovering what is going on, as the bards who were meant to provide for the people and keep the land safe have been falling down on the job. As the two of them travel, Maerad discovers more about herself and also about Cadvan, as well as discovering the part she is apparently supposed to play in turning back the tide of darkness that threatens to overtake everything.
It's clear that the author has put a lot of thought into the worldbuilding in this series, though a meaner editor could have helped immensely with trimming the unnecessary description she seems equally determined to put in everywhere. At times, that over-use of adjectives distracts from the storyline, and that's never a good sign. The next book in the series is The Riddle.
Blue Heaven by Joe Keenan - given that I don't read a great deal of non-genre fiction, I thought I'd give this one a try as the blurb sounded interesting...
Philip Cavanaugh, living in New York, gets a shock when he hears rumours that his former boyfriend is getting married, then doubly so when he hears who Gilbert is getting married to, a woman that neither of them can stand! Already suspicious, Philip discovers that the couple are in fact attempting to scam their respective friends and family for the wedding gifts, with a plan to split the goods right down the middle.
Matters are complicated by the fact that Gilbert's new stepfather seems to have links with the Mafia and the family of his intended are not quite how she has been portraying them. As a result, Philip and Gilbert find themselves embroiled in a scheme they couldn't have imagined, which is bound to collapse spectacularly before the big day arrives.
Blue Heaven is an entertaining novel, from one of the former writers of the tv show Frasier, which will give you an idea of how good the use of language is. There is at least one more book featuring the same characters, Putting on the Ritz, but I can't say I'm desperate to read it though I wouldn't pass it over if it happened to come my way.
The Suspicions of Mr Whicher by Kate Summerscale - this is another rarity in my reading list, a non-fiction book, though it's about a real Victorian murder mystery so that probably counts as a genre book too.
The eponymous Mr Whicher is a detective at the newly-formed Scotland Yard, summoned to Wiltshire to help investigate the kidnapping and murder of a child, the youngest son of the owner of Road Hill House. From the outset, it's clear that it's an 'inside job', as although attempts are made to make it look like someone has broken in and stolen the boy, it soon becomes apparent that only the inhabitants of the house could have done it.
Unfortunately for the detective in question, although he comes to a conclusion (which turns out, in the much longer term to be the correct one, or so it seems...), the outcome of his investigations is not what polite society wants to believe. As a result, he's personally ridiculed in the press and his reputation destroyed.
The Suspicions of Mr Whicher won a number of awards and has sold by the bucketload, but for me it was ultimately a little unsatisfying - that may be partly because of the amount of padding the author needs to get the context across, much of which was superfluous for me given that I have a grasp of the period already. It also looks like it's a much more substantial tale than it actually is, given the degree of exposition involved and the lengthy reference section at the back of the book.
Philip Cavanaugh, living in New York, gets a shock when he hears rumours that his former boyfriend is getting married, then doubly so when he hears who Gilbert is getting married to, a woman that neither of them can stand! Already suspicious, Philip discovers that the couple are in fact attempting to scam their respective friends and family for the wedding gifts, with a plan to split the goods right down the middle.
Matters are complicated by the fact that Gilbert's new stepfather seems to have links with the Mafia and the family of his intended are not quite how she has been portraying them. As a result, Philip and Gilbert find themselves embroiled in a scheme they couldn't have imagined, which is bound to collapse spectacularly before the big day arrives.
Blue Heaven is an entertaining novel, from one of the former writers of the tv show Frasier, which will give you an idea of how good the use of language is. There is at least one more book featuring the same characters, Putting on the Ritz, but I can't say I'm desperate to read it though I wouldn't pass it over if it happened to come my way.
The eponymous Mr Whicher is a detective at the newly-formed Scotland Yard, summoned to Wiltshire to help investigate the kidnapping and murder of a child, the youngest son of the owner of Road Hill House. From the outset, it's clear that it's an 'inside job', as although attempts are made to make it look like someone has broken in and stolen the boy, it soon becomes apparent that only the inhabitants of the house could have done it.
Unfortunately for the detective in question, although he comes to a conclusion (which turns out, in the much longer term to be the correct one, or so it seems...), the outcome of his investigations is not what polite society wants to believe. As a result, he's personally ridiculed in the press and his reputation destroyed.
The Suspicions of Mr Whicher won a number of awards and has sold by the bucketload, but for me it was ultimately a little unsatisfying - that may be partly because of the amount of padding the author needs to get the context across, much of which was superfluous for me given that I have a grasp of the period already. It also looks like it's a much more substantial tale than it actually is, given the degree of exposition involved and the lengthy reference section at the back of the book.
A Fatal Thaw by Dana Stabenow - this is the next in the Kate Shugak series, following on from A Cold Day for Murder, which I reviewed earlier this week.
This time around, Kate finds herself in the middle of what's going on, as she is the last person to come across a man who's apparently just 'snapped' and killed a number of his neighbours in a shooting spree.
There is, of course, more to this than apparently meets the eye - one of the bodies that is found is discovered to have been killed with a bullet of a different calibre. In other words, someone has taken the opportunity of the killings to try and disguise a murder, though apparently very few people in the national park seem that bothered, given that the victim in question is a woman with a reputation for stealing other women's husbands.
I read a lot of mysteries, so I'm often quite good at guessing 'whodunnit' and A Fatal Thaw was no exception to that, and as a result I didn't find it quite as enjoyable as the first book in the series. The next novel featuring Kate Shugak is Dead in the Water.
Slow River by Nicola Griffiths - I'd seen a recommendation somewhere for this book and managed to pick it up through my favourite bookswap site.
Our protagonist, Lore, is the child of a rich family living in a future England - her family has made its money through bioengineering and we first encounter her when she is kidnapped and held for ransom as a teenager. Escaping from her captors, Lore is found naked and battered on the street and 'rescued' by Spanner, a woman who makes her living by hacking and generally doing whatever she needs to do.
Lore is convinced that her family didn't want her back, that the ransom hadn't been paid because of something she had learned, and we see her story in flashback interlaced with her efforts to find a way in this new world in which she is now living, with no legal identity of her own. Lore's relationship with Spanner comes to breaking point and, along with her new endeavours, Lore discovers that some of the things she had believed about her past are anything but true.
I have to say I enjoyed reading Slow River very much, without even being vexed (as is often the case) by the frequent use of a secondary storyline in flashback to tell us about how Lore got to where she is now. Nicola Griffiths is certainly an author whose name I'll be keeping an eye out for in the future...
This time around, Kate finds herself in the middle of what's going on, as she is the last person to come across a man who's apparently just 'snapped' and killed a number of his neighbours in a shooting spree.
There is, of course, more to this than apparently meets the eye - one of the bodies that is found is discovered to have been killed with a bullet of a different calibre. In other words, someone has taken the opportunity of the killings to try and disguise a murder, though apparently very few people in the national park seem that bothered, given that the victim in question is a woman with a reputation for stealing other women's husbands.
I read a lot of mysteries, so I'm often quite good at guessing 'whodunnit' and A Fatal Thaw was no exception to that, and as a result I didn't find it quite as enjoyable as the first book in the series. The next novel featuring Kate Shugak is Dead in the Water.
Our protagonist, Lore, is the child of a rich family living in a future England - her family has made its money through bioengineering and we first encounter her when she is kidnapped and held for ransom as a teenager. Escaping from her captors, Lore is found naked and battered on the street and 'rescued' by Spanner, a woman who makes her living by hacking and generally doing whatever she needs to do.
Lore is convinced that her family didn't want her back, that the ransom hadn't been paid because of something she had learned, and we see her story in flashback interlaced with her efforts to find a way in this new world in which she is now living, with no legal identity of her own. Lore's relationship with Spanner comes to breaking point and, along with her new endeavours, Lore discovers that some of the things she had believed about her past are anything but true.
I have to say I enjoyed reading Slow River very much, without even being vexed (as is often the case) by the frequent use of a secondary storyline in flashback to tell us about how Lore got to where she is now. Nicola Griffiths is certainly an author whose name I'll be keeping an eye out for in the future...
A Cold Day for Murder by Dana Stabenow - this was one of the (many) books I brought back with me from my trip to Arizona earlier in the year, the first book in a series that looked interesting.
Kate Shugak, former investigator for the Alaska DA's office, has returned to where she grew up and isolated herself in the wilderness after an encounter with a child molester led to her being savagely attacked. She's scarred by that encounter in more ways than one, but when a park ranger and then a fellow investigator go missing in the massive national park Kate calls home, there doesn't seem to be anyone else to call upon.
It's pretty obvious from A Cold Day for Murder, that the author knows her territory really well, not to mention being able to tell an entertaining tale full of well-drawn characters. The isolation of the Alaskan national park that is the book's setting is also well-written and I'd picked up the next book in the series (A Fatal Thaw) as well on my travels so I was bound to continue reading...
The Second Summoning by Tanya Huff - this is the second in Huff's series of books, Keeper's Chronicles, following on from Summon the Keeper, which I reviewed in November last year.
Kate Shugak, former investigator for the Alaska DA's office, has returned to where she grew up and isolated herself in the wilderness after an encounter with a child molester led to her being savagely attacked. She's scarred by that encounter in more ways than one, but when a park ranger and then a fellow investigator go missing in the massive national park Kate calls home, there doesn't seem to be anyone else to call upon.
It's pretty obvious from A Cold Day for Murder, that the author knows her territory really well, not to mention being able to tell an entertaining tale full of well-drawn characters. The isolation of the Alaskan national park that is the book's setting is also well-written and I'd picked up the next book in the series (A Fatal Thaw) as well on my travels so I was bound to continue reading...
Like the previous book, The Second Summoning is about Claire, whose job it is to keep Canada (and the rest of the world, of course) safe from places where the line is too thinly drawn between this world and others. This time around, she starts with a dilemma over her relationship, not helped by cryptic advice/prophesying from her sister. Different actions taken by both Claire and her sister Diana lead to an angel appearing on earth, closely followed (for sake of balance) by a demon.
Unfortunately I really couldn't get into this book, having quite enjoyed Summon the Keeper. Maybe it was because that book had more of a focus on a particular place and this time around it was more about characters, so less easy to follow? Whatever the case, I couldn't keep interested past about a third of the way in, so that means I won't be bothering with the final book in the series, Long Hot Summoning.
Evans Above by Rhys Bowen - picked this one up as a bookswap, as I'm always on the lookout for first books of new series so I can try stuff out...
There's a comment on the cover of Evans Above that likens the series to the Hamish Macbeth novels of MC Beaton and that should have told me everything I needed to know about this one. Like the aforementioned novels, Evans Above is about a big-city police officer coming to a small village, this time in the heart of Snowdonia.
The eponymous Evans becomes involved in a mystery when two bodies are found on the mountain and there seems to be a connection with the death years before of a soldier on training manoeuvres. Naturally, his superior officer doesn't really pay much attention to Evans' theorising and equally naturally, Evans is right and there is a connection.
Evans Above is an enjoyable enough read, even if Bowen pretty much telegraphed who is responsible very early on (or maybe I'm just good at picking these things up?), requiring very little in the way of mental engagement. The series continues in Evan Help Us and clearly this is a series to avoid if you're allergic to bad puns in titles.
Blood Bound by Patricia Briggs - this is the second book in Briggs' series featuring mechanic and shapeshifter Mercy Thompson, following on from Moon Called, which I reviewed in October last year.
This time around, Mercy is asked for help by Stefan, a friend of hers with an odd taste in transportation who also happens to be a vampire. Something odd is going on and Mercy's ability to shapeshift makes her a perfect witness to the meeting Stefan is about to take. Unfortunately, it all goes horribly wrong and soon both the local vampire and werewolf communities find that they have a common enemy.
I have to say, I didn't enjoy Blood Bound quite as much as I did Moon Called, though that's no fault of the main character, who remains just as independent and competent (thank heavens!) as in the previous book. I think the downside of it for me was the whole 'oh, which do I prefer?' romantic subplot running through this book which was a little too intrusive for my liking. I like my urban fantasy more fantasy than straight-out romance and maybe this leaned a little too much that way for my tastes...
Anyway, the series continues in Iron Kissed, and I am still very much looking forward to reading more Mercy Thompson books, regardless of my minor quibbles about this particular one.
There's a comment on the cover of Evans Above that likens the series to the Hamish Macbeth novels of MC Beaton and that should have told me everything I needed to know about this one. Like the aforementioned novels, Evans Above is about a big-city police officer coming to a small village, this time in the heart of Snowdonia.
The eponymous Evans becomes involved in a mystery when two bodies are found on the mountain and there seems to be a connection with the death years before of a soldier on training manoeuvres. Naturally, his superior officer doesn't really pay much attention to Evans' theorising and equally naturally, Evans is right and there is a connection.
Evans Above is an enjoyable enough read, even if Bowen pretty much telegraphed who is responsible very early on (or maybe I'm just good at picking these things up?), requiring very little in the way of mental engagement. The series continues in Evan Help Us and clearly this is a series to avoid if you're allergic to bad puns in titles.
This time around, Mercy is asked for help by Stefan, a friend of hers with an odd taste in transportation who also happens to be a vampire. Something odd is going on and Mercy's ability to shapeshift makes her a perfect witness to the meeting Stefan is about to take. Unfortunately, it all goes horribly wrong and soon both the local vampire and werewolf communities find that they have a common enemy.
I have to say, I didn't enjoy Blood Bound quite as much as I did Moon Called, though that's no fault of the main character, who remains just as independent and competent (thank heavens!) as in the previous book. I think the downside of it for me was the whole 'oh, which do I prefer?' romantic subplot running through this book which was a little too intrusive for my liking. I like my urban fantasy more fantasy than straight-out romance and maybe this leaned a little too much that way for my tastes...
Anyway, the series continues in Iron Kissed, and I am still very much looking forward to reading more Mercy Thompson books, regardless of my minor quibbles about this particular one.
