319. & 320. The White Mists of Power & Murder on the Eiffel Tower
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.
