Irish Chain by Earlene Fowler - this is the second book in this particular series, following on from Fool's Puzzle, which I reviewed last month.
Once again, our protagonist is Benni Harper, recently widowed and now running a small folk art museum and artist's cooperative. In Irish Chain, Benni becomes involved in the history of her small town, when two senior citizens are murdered in a local nursing home and there's apparently more to the past than meets the eye.
Interestingly enough, there seems to be a link with the treatment of Japanese immigrants during the War and Benni is also writing a book on the subject, so she has lots of opportunity to investigate, whether that's wise or not. Her boyfriend, the local Chief of Police, understandably is less than impressed by Benni and her activities.
Like in Fool's Puzzle, the author is working on both a romance sub-plot and a mystery sub-plot at the same time, though for me the romance angle is significantly less interesting. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that some of the behaviour between Benni and her boyfriend would strike me as being a likely deal-breaker in terms of a long-term relationship succeeding. Anyway, the series continues in Kansas Troubles.
Too Soon For Flowers by Margaret Miles - like the previous book, this is also book 2 in a series, following on from A Wicked Way to Burn, which I reviewed in January.
Like the previous book, Too Soon For Flowers is set in 18th century New England, still under the rule of the English but very much a place of its own in terms of culture. The local area has been swept by a smallpox epidemic and the small town of Bracebridge reluctantly agrees to allow a trial of the controversial new practice of vaccination.
Since this is a mystery novel, naturally there are more things going on here than meet the eye, and when one of the trial's participants is found dead, suspicion immediately lands on the doctor whose treatment she was recently given. Is the answer as simple as that, or is there something more sinister afoot?
As with the previous book, Too Soon For Flowers is enjoyable enough, although it's not the most exciting of reads - there seems to be something lacking in terms of the characterisation, perhaps in this case because there doesn't seem to be any peril for the main protagonists but only for supporting characters who are much less empathetic? The series continues in No Rest for the Dove.
Once again, our protagonist is Benni Harper, recently widowed and now running a small folk art museum and artist's cooperative. In Irish Chain, Benni becomes involved in the history of her small town, when two senior citizens are murdered in a local nursing home and there's apparently more to the past than meets the eye.
Interestingly enough, there seems to be a link with the treatment of Japanese immigrants during the War and Benni is also writing a book on the subject, so she has lots of opportunity to investigate, whether that's wise or not. Her boyfriend, the local Chief of Police, understandably is less than impressed by Benni and her activities.
Like in Fool's Puzzle, the author is working on both a romance sub-plot and a mystery sub-plot at the same time, though for me the romance angle is significantly less interesting. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that some of the behaviour between Benni and her boyfriend would strike me as being a likely deal-breaker in terms of a long-term relationship succeeding. Anyway, the series continues in Kansas Troubles.
Like the previous book, Too Soon For Flowers is set in 18th century New England, still under the rule of the English but very much a place of its own in terms of culture. The local area has been swept by a smallpox epidemic and the small town of Bracebridge reluctantly agrees to allow a trial of the controversial new practice of vaccination.
Since this is a mystery novel, naturally there are more things going on here than meet the eye, and when one of the trial's participants is found dead, suspicion immediately lands on the doctor whose treatment she was recently given. Is the answer as simple as that, or is there something more sinister afoot?
As with the previous book, Too Soon For Flowers is enjoyable enough, although it's not the most exciting of reads - there seems to be something lacking in terms of the characterisation, perhaps in this case because there doesn't seem to be any peril for the main protagonists but only for supporting characters who are much less empathetic? The series continues in No Rest for the Dove.
The Iron Dragon's Daughter by Michael Swanwick - this book was recommended to me somewhere along the way and also appears as part of one of the 'Fantasy Masterworks' series, so I expected it would be good.
The basic premise of The Iron Dragon's Daughter is of a world alongside ours where human children have been stolen to work in the great foundries where dragons are made. Our protagonist, determined to know a different life from the one she is currently leading, makes plans to steal one of the dragons and flee - her plan works well in some ways but not in others, as she is forced to take refuge among the people who enslaved her kind.
The idea of changelings being taken for a particular purpose was an interesting enough one, and the initial setting of the foundry was well-drawn and dark, but after the escape my interest began to wane. Add to that the author's apparent obsession with sex - not in itself a bad thing, but hardly a substitute for plot - and I got about two-thirds of the way through before I decided I really didn't care any more.
There's a sequel to this now, written many years after the original publication of this book: the follow-up is The Dragons of Babel, but I can't see myself bothering with it...
The Peshawar Lancers by S.M. Stirling - this was a bookswap book, by a writer I hadn't previously heard of, taken pretty much on the basis of the blurb.
It's an alternate history tale, where Victorian London (and significant parts of the northern hemisphere) are struck by meteors that leave desolation in their wake, forcing a mass emigration south. The Empire still exists, but its heart is in India, not London, and the ruling families have taken Indian culture and religion on board, amalgamating them seamlessly into their former way of life.
Our protagonists are brother and sister: Athelstane King, officer of the eponymous Peshawar Lancers, and Dr Cassandra King, eminent physicist. Attempts are made on both their lives, throwing them into esteemed company as Cassandra finds herself employed as a tutor to the Emperor's daughter, while Athelstane and his sidekick try to track down the source of the threat to themselves and the Empire.
In general, The Peshawar Lancers is an entertaining read, although Stirling does suffer badly from the 'my loads of research, let me show you it!' problem, leading to serious info-dumps at times. It's clear he has done his research, particularly into the culture of his setting, but it does start to get a little tedious at times when the reader is regularly reminded of how thorough the author has been in this regard. I'm not sure I'd actively seek out Stirling's other alternate history books, but I wouldn't hesitate to pick one up if I came across it, so that must say something!
The basic premise of The Iron Dragon's Daughter is of a world alongside ours where human children have been stolen to work in the great foundries where dragons are made. Our protagonist, determined to know a different life from the one she is currently leading, makes plans to steal one of the dragons and flee - her plan works well in some ways but not in others, as she is forced to take refuge among the people who enslaved her kind.
The idea of changelings being taken for a particular purpose was an interesting enough one, and the initial setting of the foundry was well-drawn and dark, but after the escape my interest began to wane. Add to that the author's apparent obsession with sex - not in itself a bad thing, but hardly a substitute for plot - and I got about two-thirds of the way through before I decided I really didn't care any more.
There's a sequel to this now, written many years after the original publication of this book: the follow-up is The Dragons of Babel, but I can't see myself bothering with it...
It's an alternate history tale, where Victorian London (and significant parts of the northern hemisphere) are struck by meteors that leave desolation in their wake, forcing a mass emigration south. The Empire still exists, but its heart is in India, not London, and the ruling families have taken Indian culture and religion on board, amalgamating them seamlessly into their former way of life.
Our protagonists are brother and sister: Athelstane King, officer of the eponymous Peshawar Lancers, and Dr Cassandra King, eminent physicist. Attempts are made on both their lives, throwing them into esteemed company as Cassandra finds herself employed as a tutor to the Emperor's daughter, while Athelstane and his sidekick try to track down the source of the threat to themselves and the Empire.
In general, The Peshawar Lancers is an entertaining read, although Stirling does suffer badly from the 'my loads of research, let me show you it!' problem, leading to serious info-dumps at times. It's clear he has done his research, particularly into the culture of his setting, but it does start to get a little tedious at times when the reader is regularly reminded of how thorough the author has been in this regard. I'm not sure I'd actively seek out Stirling's other alternate history books, but I wouldn't hesitate to pick one up if I came across it, so that must say something!
The White Mists of Power by Kristine Kathryn Rusch - given that every fantasy writer out there seems to be producing trilogies (at least), it's good to get my hands on a standalone novel every so often!
In The White Mists of Power, Rusch initially starts with two storylines, one involving a crazy duke who likes to hunt people with hounds (see cover) and one involving a young prince, the son of a figurehead king, who wants to see the real world for himself. In the former, the duke's latest prey is a bard who manages to outwit the dogs, with a little help, while the prince gets lost in the city and things get decidedly unpleasant for him.
All of this is underpinned by a world where the rulers live in uneasy relationship with those who control its natural forces, with the eponymous white mists being a sign of whether someone will become a leader. Where the novel falls down is when the two storylines collide and you discover that Rusch has somewhat pulled the wool over her reader's eyes - one of her main characters is not who he seems to be, but there's also things going on in the space between the storylines that we don't know about until the exposition dump towards the end.
I finished it, but I can't say it's a book I would read again, because that whole set-up and authorial sleight of hand vexed me too much.
Murder on the Eiffel Tower by Claude Izner - this is the first of a series of books, translated from the French, featuring Parisian bookseller Victor Legris.
It's 1889, the year of the Universal Exposition, and Paris is stuffed full of people from all over the place, including Buffalo Bill and various natives of the French Colonies. The Eiffel Tower is the place to be, at least until a death occurs - initially this is blamed on a bee sting, but when there are more deaths, that explanation suddenly sounds less and less convincing.
Victor Legris finds himself in the middle of this, getting dragged into a mystery involving his mentor and a Russian woman Legris is desperately in love with. Somehow the two of them are involved in these deaths and Legris is determined to discover how, one way or another.
Yes, the whole thing is somewhat contrived and various characters are thrown into the storyline apparently only to serve as red herrings, but in general it's an entertaining enough read set in a fascinating time in Europe. The series continues with The Père-Lachaise Mystery and although it's not a series I can see myself being desperate to continue, it's good enough that I'll read the next one if I come across it anywhere.
In The White Mists of Power, Rusch initially starts with two storylines, one involving a crazy duke who likes to hunt people with hounds (see cover) and one involving a young prince, the son of a figurehead king, who wants to see the real world for himself. In the former, the duke's latest prey is a bard who manages to outwit the dogs, with a little help, while the prince gets lost in the city and things get decidedly unpleasant for him.
All of this is underpinned by a world where the rulers live in uneasy relationship with those who control its natural forces, with the eponymous white mists being a sign of whether someone will become a leader. Where the novel falls down is when the two storylines collide and you discover that Rusch has somewhat pulled the wool over her reader's eyes - one of her main characters is not who he seems to be, but there's also things going on in the space between the storylines that we don't know about until the exposition dump towards the end.
I finished it, but I can't say it's a book I would read again, because that whole set-up and authorial sleight of hand vexed me too much.
It's 1889, the year of the Universal Exposition, and Paris is stuffed full of people from all over the place, including Buffalo Bill and various natives of the French Colonies. The Eiffel Tower is the place to be, at least until a death occurs - initially this is blamed on a bee sting, but when there are more deaths, that explanation suddenly sounds less and less convincing.
Victor Legris finds himself in the middle of this, getting dragged into a mystery involving his mentor and a Russian woman Legris is desperately in love with. Somehow the two of them are involved in these deaths and Legris is determined to discover how, one way or another.
Yes, the whole thing is somewhat contrived and various characters are thrown into the storyline apparently only to serve as red herrings, but in general it's an entertaining enough read set in a fascinating time in Europe. The series continues with The Père-Lachaise Mystery and although it's not a series I can see myself being desperate to continue, it's good enough that I'll read the next one if I come across it anywhere.
City of Masks by Mary Hoffman - I'd seen this book around, but since it's the first in a series, I'd resisted picking it up till now...
The basic premise of City of Masks is that there exists the ability of certain individuals (the stravagante) to travel between Earth and a parallel world much like it, but different in time. Hours passing in our Earth are equal to days in Bellezza, a city much like Venice and ruled by a masked Duchess.
Our protagonist, Lucien, is a teenage boy living in our London who is undergoing chemotherapy and discovers that he has this ability, leading him to a double life in both worlds. Naturally, there are plots and counterplots galore as the life of the Duchess is threatened and Lucien's new friends hold the key to the city's future prosperity, in more ways than one.
It's an enjoyable read, with strong characters (both male and female) although I guessed at least one of the major plot-twists way earlier than I was probably meant to. The series continues in City of Stars.
Deceptions by Lauren Maddison - I picked this book, and its sequel Witchfire, up while I was on holiday and was pleased to have done so, at least until I came to try and read this first book featuring novellist Connor Hawthorne.
Set partly in Washington and partly in New Mexico, Deceptions begins with the murder of Connor's former lover, an Italian model. When Connor, who used to be a district attorney, starts to probe a little deeper into Elena's life, she discovers that her lover was unfaithful to her and that there's also a possible link between Elena's murder and her father, who works for a shadowy government agency. The first third of the book focusses on that, before Connor goes off to Albuquerque for a writer's conference and finds herself on the run with Laura Nez, her Navajo driver/bodyguard.
Essentially, I found myself tolerating the Washington-based part of the book in the hope the story would improve, particularly since I found Connor decidedly unsympathetic to say the least. Initially, when the action moved to New Mexico, things were quite promising and then Connor started to annoy me again. I couldn't bring myself to continue much past halfway, so I have no idea how Deceptions works out, or indeed any interest in picking up Witchfire to find out what happens next, even with the potential lure of American-writer-writing-about-England when some/all of that book is set in Glastonbury.
Set partly in Washington and partly in New Mexico, Deceptions begins with the murder of Connor's former lover, an Italian model. When Connor, who used to be a district attorney, starts to probe a little deeper into Elena's life, she discovers that her lover was unfaithful to her and that there's also a possible link between Elena's murder and her father, who works for a shadowy government agency. The first third of the book focusses on that, before Connor goes off to Albuquerque for a writer's conference and finds herself on the run with Laura Nez, her Navajo driver/bodyguard.
Essentially, I found myself tolerating the Washington-based part of the book in the hope the story would improve, particularly since I found Connor decidedly unsympathetic to say the least. Initially, when the action moved to New Mexico, things were quite promising and then Connor started to annoy me again. I couldn't bring myself to continue much past halfway, so I have no idea how Deceptions works out, or indeed any interest in picking up Witchfire to find out what happens next, even with the potential lure of American-writer-writing-about-England when some/all of that book is set in Glastonbury.
The Fire Rose by Mercedes Lackey - this book travelled with me on my recent holiday, as I was well aware that I hadn't read much (anything?) by this prolific author and really didn't know quite where to start...
The basic premise of The Fire Rose, as with all the books in this particular series, seems to be the rewriting of fairy tales within a particular universe where magic is possible because of the mastery of certain elements. Following the death of her father, academic Rosalind Hawkins is left penniless and wondering what she can do to make a living when a mysterious job offer pretty much lands in her lap.
Since she has no other real option, Rosalind travels to the home of her new employer where she discovers that her job is to read out loud to him from a variety of books in various languages in which she is proficient. Circumstances naturally mean that she eventually learns her employer's secret and is pulled into the middle of things, as heroines in fairy tales usually are.
It's an enjoyable enough book, though Rosalind herself gets a bit wearing at times and the eventual end of the whole thing is pretty much clear from partway through. Still, I enjoyed it enough to want to read more books in this series, so I'll be picking up The Serpent's Shadow next, which is technically book 1.
Murder in the Collective by Barbara Wilson - given that I read crime books on a regular basis, sometimes names of authors seem familiar even though I can't remember what else I've read by them and Barbara Wilson was one of those...
In Murder in the Collective, the reader is taken back to 1970's America, where two collectives in roughly the same type of work are considering a merger - one is a leftwing printshop which spends much of its time printing posters and flyers for various campaigning groups, the other is a radical lesbian typesetting group whose work would seem to fit well with the first. Not everyone in either collective is particularly happy about the proposals and then one of the members turns up dead.
Alongside the murder plot is also the considerations of our narrator, who is trying to decide just what her sexuality is and figures it out within the life of the novel, though matters don't always run that smoothly. It's very much a book of its time, in many ways, but an enjoyable enough read despite that.
The basic premise of The Fire Rose, as with all the books in this particular series, seems to be the rewriting of fairy tales within a particular universe where magic is possible because of the mastery of certain elements. Following the death of her father, academic Rosalind Hawkins is left penniless and wondering what she can do to make a living when a mysterious job offer pretty much lands in her lap.
Since she has no other real option, Rosalind travels to the home of her new employer where she discovers that her job is to read out loud to him from a variety of books in various languages in which she is proficient. Circumstances naturally mean that she eventually learns her employer's secret and is pulled into the middle of things, as heroines in fairy tales usually are.
It's an enjoyable enough book, though Rosalind herself gets a bit wearing at times and the eventual end of the whole thing is pretty much clear from partway through. Still, I enjoyed it enough to want to read more books in this series, so I'll be picking up The Serpent's Shadow next, which is technically book 1.
In Murder in the Collective, the reader is taken back to 1970's America, where two collectives in roughly the same type of work are considering a merger - one is a leftwing printshop which spends much of its time printing posters and flyers for various campaigning groups, the other is a radical lesbian typesetting group whose work would seem to fit well with the first. Not everyone in either collective is particularly happy about the proposals and then one of the members turns up dead.
Alongside the murder plot is also the considerations of our narrator, who is trying to decide just what her sexuality is and figures it out within the life of the novel, though matters don't always run that smoothly. It's very much a book of its time, in many ways, but an enjoyable enough read despite that.
Our hero is Nobody Owens, a baby who grows up to be a child and then a teenager in a graveyard, after the brutal murder of his parents. As long as he stays in the graveyard, Bod is safe, taught by the ghosts who live there and protected by something darker. It's inevitable, of course, that the man who killed his parents is still looking for Bod and one day their paths will cross again.
As with all Gaiman books, The Graveyard Book is beautifully written, but somehow (for me at least) it's not quite as spectacular as Coraline or American Gods, my favourites of his. Still, it was an enjoyable and entertaining read, just as I've come to expect from this author, and I continue to look forward to what he produces next.
In Fool's Puzzle, Benni has taken over the job of curator of a small town museum and artist's cooperative as she tries to come to terms with the sudden death of her husband a year earlier. The museum is organising an exhibition of quilts, but Benni's plans are interrupted by her discovery of one of the coop's members, murdered - her equilibrium is also disturbed by the man whose job it is to investigate the murder, who is understandably vexed when Benni gets more involved than she should.
If there's one criticism I have of Fool's Puzzle, which is generally an entertaining book with a nice characterisation of Benni in particular, it's the speed at which she and Ortiz reach an understanding given the amount of tension and disagreement between them. There's no real resolution of this, yet it's clear that this relationship is going to be the core of the rest of the series, which continues with Irish Chain (soon to be reviewed here, as I have already read it...).
Kiss of Midnight by Lara Adrian - another ebook, both of this entry's books being ones I didn't finish for one reason or another.
The basic premise of Kiss of Midnight, which is the first book in a series, is that of Gabrielle whose mother had always claimed she had been bitten by a vampire. Since her mother had committed suicide shortly afterwards in an asylum, Gabrielle had never really believed anything she had been told about her. However, what Gabrielle doesn't know is that her mother was telling the truth, though only part of it - not only was she attacked by a vampire, both their lives were also saved by another.
Gabrielle discovers that vampires are very real, but that she is also something even rarer - a woman who can successfully give birth to a vampire's child. As such, she would be sought after by vampires and the one who rescued her as a child wants her to go into a refuge elsewhere. At least when he isn't soliloquising about how much he'd like to get together with her etc. etc. Yes, this time it's the vampire with the Tragic Past, blah blah blah.
The series continues with Kiss of Crimson, but I found Gabrielle so vexing I just wanted to shake her, along with the whole premise of the series, which is very much about how the women sit around barefoot and pregnant (since that's why they're special, after all...) while the big butch vampires protect them. Meh.
Spaceman Blues by Brian Francis Slattery - I tried with Spaceman Blues, really I did, having two separate attempts over the past few months to read it, but could never really get into it despite those efforts.
Manuel Gonzalez, New York resident and all round party animal, mysteriously disappears and his lover and best friend Wendell is determined to find out what happened to him. What happens next will forever remain a mystery to me as I never managed to get past about page 70 or 80 on either attempt.
The basic premise of Kiss of Midnight, which is the first book in a series, is that of Gabrielle whose mother had always claimed she had been bitten by a vampire. Since her mother had committed suicide shortly afterwards in an asylum, Gabrielle had never really believed anything she had been told about her. However, what Gabrielle doesn't know is that her mother was telling the truth, though only part of it - not only was she attacked by a vampire, both their lives were also saved by another.
Gabrielle discovers that vampires are very real, but that she is also something even rarer - a woman who can successfully give birth to a vampire's child. As such, she would be sought after by vampires and the one who rescued her as a child wants her to go into a refuge elsewhere. At least when he isn't soliloquising about how much he'd like to get together with her etc. etc. Yes, this time it's the vampire with the Tragic Past, blah blah blah.
The series continues with Kiss of Crimson, but I found Gabrielle so vexing I just wanted to shake her, along with the whole premise of the series, which is very much about how the women sit around barefoot and pregnant (since that's why they're special, after all...) while the big butch vampires protect them. Meh.
Manuel Gonzalez, New York resident and all round party animal, mysteriously disappears and his lover and best friend Wendell is determined to find out what happened to him. What happens next will forever remain a mystery to me as I never managed to get past about page 70 or 80 on either attempt.
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow - I'm starting to work my way through some of the ebooks I've acquired (all legitimately, before anyone asks!) and this was one of them, courtesy of Mr Doctorow's own website iirc.
The basic premise of Little Brother is about surveillance and the steps taken by a government that they justify because of the war on terror - in this case, our protagonist is Marcus, a teenager living in a world where there are more and more controls over communication and less and less room for individuality.
He's in the wrong place at the wrong time when a terrorist attack strikes a bridge in San Francisco and is taken into custody and tortured by a shadowy government agency. When he's finally released, he's warned to watch his step but then becomes instrumental in setting up a covert network of communication, just because he can.
Sadly, about three-quarters of the way through, the pacing of the book really seems to fall apart and it's hard to see where Doctorow wants to go with it. There's also the sudden introduction of something of a romantic sub-plot to cope with, which also doesn't help. All in all, Little Brother is an interesting read but not a book I could see myself returning to.
Darkness and the Devil Behind Me by Persia Walker - another ebook, and one that I was probably bound to latch onto, given my love of historical detective stories.
This book is set in the Harlem of the 1920's, with our hero being Lainie Walker, journalist for a black-read newspaper where she's been concentrating on writing a society column ever since the death of her husband. A couple of years earlier, Lainie had been involved in covering the mysterious disappearance of Esther Todd, prior to the house of her wealthy benefactor being robbed, and had been one of the few people who had been convinced Esther had nothing to do with it.
Now she's approached by Esther's family again and urged to resume her championing of Esther's innocence; Lainie reluctantly agrees to do so, only to find herself in increasing danger, between the machinations of local politicians and a corrupt police force who are not particularly interested in anything that might happen to one of the city's black population.
It's clear that Walker has done her research and the background details of 1920's Harlem ring true all the way through the book. Unfortunately, the character of Lainie, while supposedly sympathetic because of her experiences, starts to chafe as we head towards the latter parts of the book. She exhibits all the worst traits of the hero, ignoring sensible advice and putting herself in unnecessary jeopardy, which sadly still didn't lead me to care too much about whether she was in peril. I believe the author has a further book in this series in the works, but I can't say I'll be rushing to look for it.
The basic premise of Little Brother is about surveillance and the steps taken by a government that they justify because of the war on terror - in this case, our protagonist is Marcus, a teenager living in a world where there are more and more controls over communication and less and less room for individuality.
He's in the wrong place at the wrong time when a terrorist attack strikes a bridge in San Francisco and is taken into custody and tortured by a shadowy government agency. When he's finally released, he's warned to watch his step but then becomes instrumental in setting up a covert network of communication, just because he can.
Sadly, about three-quarters of the way through, the pacing of the book really seems to fall apart and it's hard to see where Doctorow wants to go with it. There's also the sudden introduction of something of a romantic sub-plot to cope with, which also doesn't help. All in all, Little Brother is an interesting read but not a book I could see myself returning to.
This book is set in the Harlem of the 1920's, with our hero being Lainie Walker, journalist for a black-read newspaper where she's been concentrating on writing a society column ever since the death of her husband. A couple of years earlier, Lainie had been involved in covering the mysterious disappearance of Esther Todd, prior to the house of her wealthy benefactor being robbed, and had been one of the few people who had been convinced Esther had nothing to do with it.
Now she's approached by Esther's family again and urged to resume her championing of Esther's innocence; Lainie reluctantly agrees to do so, only to find herself in increasing danger, between the machinations of local politicians and a corrupt police force who are not particularly interested in anything that might happen to one of the city's black population.
It's clear that Walker has done her research and the background details of 1920's Harlem ring true all the way through the book. Unfortunately, the character of Lainie, while supposedly sympathetic because of her experiences, starts to chafe as we head towards the latter parts of the book. She exhibits all the worst traits of the hero, ignoring sensible advice and putting herself in unnecessary jeopardy, which sadly still didn't lead me to care too much about whether she was in peril. I believe the author has a further book in this series in the works, but I can't say I'll be rushing to look for it.
Carnival by Elizabeth Bear - another bookswap book and my first experience of a book by this writer.
Essentially the premise of Carnival is that our protagonists, Vincent and Angelo, are two men who have previously worked together as diplomatic agents. They also happened to be lovers in a universe where this is frowned upon because of the scarcity of healthy human beings, so when their employer found out, they were separated and made to choose either therapy or exile.
They are forced together by the needs of a particular mission, to female-ruled New Amazonia which will only accept envoys who are either women or homosexual men, and so Vincent and Angelo get paired up again. During their time on New Amazonia, they encounter a society which is fixated by the concept of honour and where duels are commonplace, but where straight men's only roles are semi-gladiatorial combat and the strictly controlled procreation of the species.
The main problems, however, with Carnival are that I found the main characters quite 2-dimensional and the ending somewhat predictable. While it was nice to see a story where the romantic subplot wasn't just feisty female + domineering male, the spark that the author seemed to see didn't catch for me and I couldn't share her enthusiasm. All in all, it's a book I'm glad I checked out but am equally pleased I didn't spend much money on, which doesn't bode too well for my picking up anything else by this writer.
The Warrior's Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold - I'm not completely sure how I managed to avoid the Vorkosigan series of books for so long, but I finally succumbed to the hype and picked up this one. Technically speaking, it's the third in Bujold's series, after Shards of Honor and Barrayar (also available in one volume as Cordelia's Honor), but it still stands well on its own.
Our hero is Miles Vorkosigan, son and heir to the Vorkosigan name, who we first meet as he's attempting to join the Barrayaran military. Miles was left disabled by an attack on his mother while she was pregnant with him and so he's both short in stature and subject to brittle bones. However, he more than makes up for his physical shortcomings by a clever and cunning mind, not to mention a significant amount of luck.
When his military career falls at the first hurdle, literally, Miles decides the only way forward is to strike out on his own and, by a long and complicated process, he pretty much stumbles into forming a mercenary army. Through stratagem, and with the assistance of a bunch of supporting characters who travel with him or who he meets along the way, Miles ends up the unexpected leader of a ragtag fleet of ships and has to defend himself against a charge of plotting to overthrow the emperor of Barrayar.
I'd already read other books by Bujold (and enjoyed some of them immensely!), but I'd always wondered just why so many of the Vorkosigan series had picked up awards - well, now I know. The plotting is excellent, the characterisation superb, and the overall writing just drives the story along relentlessly, whether it's intrigues in the Barrayaran court or the intricacies of relationships within Miles' entourage. I'll definitely be reading the other books in this series, and fortunately I was able to pick up Cordelia's Honor during my recent holiday - the book after this in the series is The Vor Game.
Essentially the premise of Carnival is that our protagonists, Vincent and Angelo, are two men who have previously worked together as diplomatic agents. They also happened to be lovers in a universe where this is frowned upon because of the scarcity of healthy human beings, so when their employer found out, they were separated and made to choose either therapy or exile.
They are forced together by the needs of a particular mission, to female-ruled New Amazonia which will only accept envoys who are either women or homosexual men, and so Vincent and Angelo get paired up again. During their time on New Amazonia, they encounter a society which is fixated by the concept of honour and where duels are commonplace, but where straight men's only roles are semi-gladiatorial combat and the strictly controlled procreation of the species.
The main problems, however, with Carnival are that I found the main characters quite 2-dimensional and the ending somewhat predictable. While it was nice to see a story where the romantic subplot wasn't just feisty female + domineering male, the spark that the author seemed to see didn't catch for me and I couldn't share her enthusiasm. All in all, it's a book I'm glad I checked out but am equally pleased I didn't spend much money on, which doesn't bode too well for my picking up anything else by this writer.
Our hero is Miles Vorkosigan, son and heir to the Vorkosigan name, who we first meet as he's attempting to join the Barrayaran military. Miles was left disabled by an attack on his mother while she was pregnant with him and so he's both short in stature and subject to brittle bones. However, he more than makes up for his physical shortcomings by a clever and cunning mind, not to mention a significant amount of luck.
When his military career falls at the first hurdle, literally, Miles decides the only way forward is to strike out on his own and, by a long and complicated process, he pretty much stumbles into forming a mercenary army. Through stratagem, and with the assistance of a bunch of supporting characters who travel with him or who he meets along the way, Miles ends up the unexpected leader of a ragtag fleet of ships and has to defend himself against a charge of plotting to overthrow the emperor of Barrayar.
I'd already read other books by Bujold (and enjoyed some of them immensely!), but I'd always wondered just why so many of the Vorkosigan series had picked up awards - well, now I know. The plotting is excellent, the characterisation superb, and the overall writing just drives the story along relentlessly, whether it's intrigues in the Barrayaran court or the intricacies of relationships within Miles' entourage. I'll definitely be reading the other books in this series, and fortunately I was able to pick up Cordelia's Honor during my recent holiday - the book after this in the series is The Vor Game.
Murder, With Peacocks by Donna Andrews - this is the first in a series, another bookswap experience, so now I'm trying to get hold of the next one...
Our protagonist is Meg Langslow, who finds herself a bridesmaid and unwilling wedding planner at three weddings, where the respective brides seem determined to outdo one another. The eponymous peacocks are part of one bride's plans, for example. Then, of course, there's a murder in the middle of all of this chaos as a visitor from out of town dies and Meg gets drawn in to the investigation, whether she has time or not (which she distinctly doesn't).
Add to this a somewhat heavy-handed subplot about a man who everyone thinks is gay but really isn't, who is of course going to end up as Meg's boyfriend by the end of the book, and it's an entertaining read that doesn't require a great deal of effort. Just the thing you need, sometimes...
The next book in the series is Murder with Puffins.
Larklight by Philip Reeve - another first-in-series, I picked this one up through the bookswapping scheme because of how much I enjoyed Mortal Engines, the first book of his other series, a while back...
Our protagonist is Meg Langslow, who finds herself a bridesmaid and unwilling wedding planner at three weddings, where the respective brides seem determined to outdo one another. The eponymous peacocks are part of one bride's plans, for example. Then, of course, there's a murder in the middle of all of this chaos as a visitor from out of town dies and Meg gets drawn in to the investigation, whether she has time or not (which she distinctly doesn't).
Add to this a somewhat heavy-handed subplot about a man who everyone thinks is gay but really isn't, who is of course going to end up as Meg's boyfriend by the end of the book, and it's an entertaining read that doesn't require a great deal of effort. Just the thing you need, sometimes...
The next book in the series is Murder with Puffins.
In Larklight, we once again have male and female teenage protagonists, although this time they are brother and sister - Art and Myrtle Mumby, who live in a house in space (the eponymous Larklight). Their father is told to expect a visitor, a Mr Webster, who turns out to be a giant spider, and after that things continue to go wrong as his fellow spiders take over and the youngsters are forced to flee.
Again, it's an enjoyable enough book, though I find Reeve's attempts to write a romantic subplot between Myrtle and another character they meet along the way a little ham-fisted at times. It may also be the case that Mortal Engines was too good to compete with, so anything was going to be a letdown - this just doesn't have the same quality of worldbuilding, in my opinion.
The next book in this series is Starcross.
