Bookwormom

Apologies

2009-07-18T17:00:00.000-04:00

College Student has been visiting this week, so I've been visiting with him as opposed to blogging and reading. Sorry for the lack of posts. :) Am also incredibly behind with my reading schedule! Gotta buckle down & get moving.

Yesterday's schedule: Taking the Pianist out to camp in Shenandoah then taking College Student back to his digs at Grandmere's. Then off to visit the Outlaws (lol) so Hubby can talk to his aunt & uncle. Uncle has very serious form of cancer & wants someone to translate "doctor-speak" into Plain English. My heart goes out to them, he was a farmer for years & farmers are thought to have higher incidences of certain cancers.

American Creationism

2009-07-18T10:11:00.003-04:00

In the beginning, God created the
Heavens and the Earth and populated
the Earth with broccoli, cauliflower and
spinach, green and yellow and
red vegetables of all kinds, so Man and
Woman would live long and healthy
lives.
Then using God's great gifts,
Satan created Ben and Jerry's
Ice Cream and Krispy Creme
Donuts. And Satan said, "You
want chocolate with that?"
And Man said, "Yes!" and
Woman said, "and as long as
you're at it, add some
sprinkles." And they gained
10 pounds. And Satan smiled.
And God created the
healthful yogurt that
Woman might keep the
figure that Man found so
fair. And Satan brought
forth white flour from the
wheat, and sugar from the
cane and combined them.
And Woman went from
size 6 to size 14.
So God said, "Try my fresh green
salad." And Satan presented
Thousand-Island Dressing,
buttery croutons and garlic toast
on the side.
And Man and Woman unfastened
their belts following the repast.
God then said, "I have sent you heart
healthy vegetables and olive oil in
which to cook them." And Satan
brought forth deep fried fish and
chicken-fried steak so big it needed its
own platter. And Man gained more
weight and his cholesterol went through
the roof. God then created a light, fluffy
white cake, named it "Angel Food
Cake," and said, "It is good." Satan then
created chocolate cake and named it
"Devil's Food."
God then brought forth
running shoes so that His
children might lose those extra
pounds. And Satan gave cable
TV with a remote control so
Man would not have to toil
changing the channels. And
Man and Woman laughed and
cried before the flickering blue
light and gained pounds.
Then God brought forth the potato,
naturally low in fat and brimming
with nutrition. And Satan peeled off
the healthful skin and sliced the
starchy center into chips and deep-
fried them. And Man gained pounds.
God then gave lean beef so that Man
might consume fewer calories and still
satisfy his appetite. And Satan created
McDonald's and its
99-cent double cheeseburger. Then said,
"You want fries with that?" And Man
replied, "Yes! And super size them!"
And Satan said, "It is good." And Man
went into cardiac arrest.
God sighed and created
quadruple bypass surgery.
Then Satan created HMOs.

Found in my inbox this week. Don't know original source.

Last Anne of Green Gables Coming

2009-07-13T11:14:00.003-04:00

According to the Guardian.co.uk book section the last L M Mongomery book will be published at the end of October. I couldn't find it anywhere except on Amazon Canada's website. Supposedly there was an abridged version released in the 1970's but this one will be the full text. Read the article linked to above for more details.

Image found on wikimedia.

6 Month Statistics

2009-07-13T00:05:00.000-04:00

Here are my monthly statistics, organized a little differently this time around. All reviews, including the DNFs, are hyperlinked within each month listed below. After that they're all listed by subgenre. As always, my goal is to read 100+ titles per year, although I've not managed that since traditional regencies have pretty much gone out of print.

January

February

March

April

May

June

Total Books Read~ 41

Books by Subgenre

Chick Lit, paranormal- 1
Christian Thriller- 1
Christian Women's Fiction- 1
Diet- 0
Fantasy-8
Fictionalized Memoir- 2
Historical Fiction- 0
Horror- 0
Humor- 0
Literary Criticism- 1
Metaphysics- 1
Mystery, Contemporary- 3
Mystery, Historical- 4
Science Fiction- 4
Sociology- 2
Women's Fiction- 1

Romances

Contemporary Suspense- 0
Fairytale- 0
Fantasy Anthology- 0
Fantasy- 1
Historical (Incl. long format Regencies)- 3
Medieval-1
Mythology- 0
Paranormal- Vampire- 3
Paranormal- Faery- 0
Paranormal- Mythological Being- 0
Science Fiction- 1
Time Travel- 0
Traditional Regencies- 2

YA Vampire Romance- 1

DNF~ 2

Historical Fiction, WW I- 1
Historical fiction, Mythological character- 1

June Monthly Synopsis

2009-07-12T16:46:00.003-04:00

I suppose June was more productive than I previously thought. I managed to catch up all of my reviews! I can't believe it. Still a slow reader, though, and it's not looking like it'll pick up anytime soon either.

1. The Sinful Life of Lucy Burns; Elizabeth Leiknes

2. Hidden Honor; Anne Stuart

3. Ruby's Slippers; Leanna Ellis

4. Midwinter; Matthew Sturges

5. The Moon's Shadow; Catherine Asaro

6. The Ruby Dice; Catherine Asaro

The Ruby Dice; Catherine Asaro

2009-07-11T00:05:00.001-04:00

The Ruby Dice was published in 2008 by Baen, written by Catherine Asaro. It is the second novel in what I consider a duology. The first novel is The Moon's Shadow, reviewed here. These novels are set in Asaro's Skolian Empire world and are basically straight science fiction. If you are a romance reader looking to branch out into others of Asaro's worlds be aware that these novels are very different from her novels published by Luna. Honestly, I think one of the biggest problems SFF has is awful covers! They are so terrible. It can be very off putting. Her stories grab my attention and don't let go, but the covers..jeez. :(

Primarily The Ruby Dice is the story of how Kelricson Valdoria Skolia and Jaibriol Qox manage to drag their respective empires to the peace table. Unknown to Kelric, he and Jai are uncle and nephew, which adds a unique flavor to the storyline. Secondarily the story details the political and personal struggles each ruler has while trying to bring the desired treaty to fruition. This episode takes place nine years after the events in The Moon's Shadow. If you prefer to read these stories in internal chronological story order, the list is here.

It's hard to discuss this novel without including spoilers of the previous one, but I'll try. Kelric was thought dead, killed in action basically, for eighteen years until Jai set him free from the Eubians (previous novel). Ms. Asaro alternates between telling some of Kelric's back story with current political realities,linking them both to his desire for peace. Meantime, Jai has his own motivations for pushing for peace, albeit very carefully. Jai discovers that perhaps he has other, more personal motivations for wanting peace.

The Ruby Dice presents peace making between large governments as achievable via personal relationships between the two rulers. A hoped for solution, perhaps, but unrealistic as far as I'm concerned. I was reminded of the conferences and photo ops over the Cold War years: pretty to look at, nice to read about but they don't really achieve much. Peace isn't unwanted, mind you, but isn't achievable in the manner the author wishes the reader to believe. Other political machinations within each respective group seem to be believeable, the complexity of motivation, the unwieldy bureaucracy, the seeming inbred opposition for opposition's sake, etc.

Leaving that aside, I liked watching Jai and his wife interact, learning how they've built a relationship, how they work together towards goals Jai has for the Empire. Jai seems to spend most of his time suspecting his wife's motivations and goals. He's more of an idealist, while she's more capitalistic and pragmatic. He doesn't appear to recognize that someone behind the scene sometimes has to set the stage for future victories. He's become cynical and more aware that the personal price he will pay is much higher than he originally thought. Inevitable changes for one in his position. Meantime some of her actions proved, to me at least, that she deeply cares for him aside from his position and her subsequent power, although her ability to compartmentalize her roles often keeps Jai off balance. Then too, Eubian culture isn't his native culture and some of their behaviors probably continue to keep him off kilter.

Kelric's family story is unique and interesting and is central to the Skolians' efforts at peacemaking, but is very hard to talk about here without revealing major plot point. His story is also found in the book The Last Hawk. I'm very hopeful that Ms. Asaro will write books about the newest members of Kelric's already large family.

One of the most intriguing elements of The Ruby Dice are the dice themselves. Quis is a dice game played with multiple players using multiple dice. It's kind of a storytelling three dimensional chess game, click here for wiki article explaining chess variants. Kelric has a set and uses them to think through some of the problems presented to him. Quis is an essential element on the planet where Kelric was hidden. I like the concept of a culture that both forms and was formed by a game.

An enjoyable and satisfying episode in the Eubian-Skolian saga, all in all. The familial backstory and the to-ing and fro-ing of more intimate relationships was most interesting to me. Jai and his wife and their situation, personally and politically fascinate me no end & I'm hoping to see glimpses of them in the future.

Need a laugh?

2009-07-10T18:44:00.002-04:00

Click here and read this. Someone on this site took my Catherine Asaro The Moon's Shadow entry & either ran through a translator & put the translation up or attempted to translate it themselves & put it up or..?? I don't know. Maybe it's a Catherine Asaro fan who feels I wasn't complimentary enough?? A troll who has nothing better to do? Kinda funny though! :)

The Moon's Shadow; Catherine Asaro

2009-07-10T00:05:00.003-04:00

The Moon’s Shadow was published by Tor in 2002. I categorize it as science fiction with romantic elements. If you’re a romance reader, be aware that this has romantic elements only, unlike the novels Ms. Asaro has written for Luna. This novel is the first part of what I think of as a duology, the second part is The Ruby Dice, to be reviewed shortly. They are a continuation of the story of the same man, Jaibriol Rockworth Qox told with a nine year gap (within the story) between novels. This book is a coming of age tale. It’s set in the same world as her Skolian Empire series depicting a member of the Eubian Concord, the Skolian’s despised enemies.

Jaibriol Rockworth Qox, aka Jai, is seventeen and has grown up isolated and sheltered. His parents were mortal enemies who fell in love and were killed trying to reunite when Jai was young. Their story is told in the book Primary Inversion. At least I think that's the right one. If I'm wrong, please let me know. Jai knows neither his mother’s family nor his father’s. That they were intergalactic scions and rulers of most of the known universe between them all, is about all he knows. As The Moon’s Shadow opens Jai trades himself to the Eubian Concord in exchange for an uncle who doesn’t know who or what Jai is. You see, Jai will inherit the throne of the Emperor of the Eubian Concord as well as being a Ruby Telepath, the rarest of all gifts, inherited from his mother’s family.

As the saying goes, Jai leaps from the frying pan into the fire. He reckons the price worth it despite knowing only a smattering of Eubian culture and some of the language. Of course he’s only seventeen. At seventeen we humans invariably think we know everything (and we’re always right!). As a newcomer Jai sees everything with fresh eyes, perhaps he will be able to take the Empire to new places because of that. If he survives, that is.

I think these quotes sum things up nicely:

"I should so like to make the stars safe for those I love.." and then, four pages later, "..it may be desirable, sometimes, to act in benefit of Eube [the empire] rather than of oneself." Pages 456 & 460.

The Eubian Concord is a culture where everyone is injected with new and powerful nanomeds (tiny cell like machines) whose primary job is to hunt for poisons and to repair injuries and illnesses and other defects. Why? Because you can’t trust anyone, including members of your own family. Royalty, the universe over, since time immemorial, is always a target. Someone else is after your job because they can do it better, because they hate you, because they think you’re weak, because a ruler breeds enemies like dogs collect fleas.

Culturally, Eubians have bred out almost all feelings since feelings are often perceived as weakness. And Eubians despise all weakness. Eubians exist in a kind of symbiotic relationship with other humans the Eubians call ‘providers’ and everyone else calls slaves. The gap left within by the lack of feelings has to be filled with something though. The providers are the ones to fill this, forced by the Eubians. How can you force someone to feed you their emotions? Why, by torturing them of course. When inflicting pain upon a psychically gifted person a Eubian will feel euphoria (and other positive emotions). Eubians have a kind of ‘sixth sense’ about people who are or could be ‘providers’ and Eubian law and culture treats these people as belongings with very few rights.

What does this have to do with the new Emperor Jaibriol? As I mentioned above, he’s a Ruby Telepath. The Eubians don’t know this though. How can a provider rule the empire undetected? Aside from the fact that he’s only seventeen and practically untutored, that is. You’ll have to read The Moon’s Shadow and find out!

I love the books set in this world. I’ve read The Ruby Dice a review of which is coming in a few days. I also borrowed Ms. Asaro’s newest book, Diamond Star, from the library & plan to read (& review) it very soon. There is almost no physics or technological jargon in this book, which is either a plus or a minus depending on your point of view. As a character centered reader I view this as a plus. I was most interested in watching Jai maneuver in this new world he dropped himself into. Sci fi oriented readers may disagree. I wish that Ms. Asaro's website listed the series books in internal chronological order like Ms. Bujold's site does. I like to read the books by the internal chronological order, which I had to look up on wikipedia, unfortunately. A listing that includes short stories is here.

Image found on B&N.

Virus begone! Also- some summer fun :)

2009-07-08T21:26:00.010-04:00

I hope anyway. It was quite a battle. Two different security programs & we were still sucked under. We've been reloading & cleaning & polishing & scrubbing & whatnot for days it seems. I hope to goodness we're all ok now.

We spent the 4th (Independence Day) cooking out with the neighbors. Beef ribs, chicken wings & drummettes, 'burgers & hotdogs. Salads, beans. I swear, you've never seen so much food. It was so relaxing. Especially after spending so many damn days fretting with and fighting over the computer. Someone down the street had driven up to West Virginia and bought giant boxes of fireworks, then spent almost three hours setting them off (some time was spent hiding from the cops because lots of them were illegal!). So I didn't have to cook much & didn't have to drive anywhere for fireworks- it was great. The neighbor has a brand new screen house & we all sat in there and gossiped the night away.

Yesterday we drove out to Shenandoah Valley looking for a swimming hole. The weather was perfect for a drive, sunny & warm. We were about ten or twelve miles south and west (I think) of the little town of Sperryville not far from the famous Skyline Drive. We saw two black bears out there across the stream!! Honest!! A group of summer camp kids coming back down the trail from the swimming hole was so excited it was all they chattered about. A fisherman warned us to be careful since bears like to swim. The pair of them were gorgeous. Soaking wet. Avoiding the annoying humans, I suppose.

Not my photo. This is from Webshots. This is the type of bear though.

Midwinter; Matthew Sturges

2009-07-03T21:28:00.012-04:00

Somehow this year I ended up with two books written by authors who are primarily visual storytellers. This novel was written by a DC Comics writer trying his hand at novel writing. The other being Alan Campbell's Scar Face, reviewed here. Oddly enough both novels feature floating cities! Midwinter was published by Pyr this past March in QP format. It was faced-out on a shelf in my local bookstore & the cover completely caught my attention. No, it wasn't the oh so phallic sword in the male elf's hand. For me the image is atmospheric I suppose: ruins, snow, an armed woman whose pose suggests strength yet vulnerability. So I read the first chapter & that was enough. I was hooked.

Mr. Sturges' version of Faerie has different worlds (of which the reader's reality is but one) stitched together similar in feel to Patricia McKillip's Solstice Wood. These worlds felt 'stitched together' partly as a function of their existence and partly due to their inhabitants' efforts. From the Faerie side at least, they are aware of each others' existence although Faeries are obviously superior! Titania and Mab each rule different Faerie kingdoms originating from a father's inability to refuse a son's request even knowing the consequences of acceding to the son's request.

Midwinter is a classic quest plot. Mauritaine, a loyal, formerly highly placed soldier in the Queen's military is imprisoned. Purane Es, his enemy, succeeded Mauritaine and arrives at the prison with orders to embark upon a top secret, deniable quest for his Queen. It goes without saying this is a nearly impossible quest for an unknown object. Mauritaine must build a little band of adventurers and bring this object back to Titania within strict time requirements. The reward? Depends on the person involved, but for Mauritaine means a pardon.

Who are the band members? Mauritaine is the leader, wrongly imprisoned due to political vengeance stemming from his rival Purane Es'overhwelming ambition and lack of morality. Members of Mauritaine's team include: Perrin Alt, imprisoned because of his mother's belief in the wrong faith; Brian Satterly, a human theoretical physicist caught in Faerie while looking for his niece; Raieve, an ambassador from the country of Avalon seeking help to keep her country unified; Honeywell (proper name: Geluna Eled) Mauritaine's loyal lieutenant who followed him into prison and Grey Mave, the prison guard who lost his job due to Mauritaine. Together this merry band of former prison misfits embarks on what could be either their last adventure while alive or the adventure that could lead to the biggest payoff of their lives.

I have to say that the object of the quest wasn't what I expected. I loved the curse the gypsy girl put on Perrin Alt & his subsequent actions. The storyline was standard quest fare and the characterization is a little flat, but to me Midwinter is surprisingly visual and unique enough that the twists kept me interested. I have to be honest and say that I'm unlikely to buy another one of these in QP size unless it's considerably fleshed out. There isn't cliffhanger at the end, but there is certainly potential for further storyline and character development in future novels. Mr. Sturges' blog implies that he is still working for DC Comics, and while I certainly hope that is so, I also hope he finds enough time to write more in this world.

Image found on B&N

Scar Night; Alan Campbell

2009-07-01T21:39:00.006-04:00

Recently I’ve added several UK and Canadian science fiction (and its attendants subtypes) review blogs to my feed reader. It’s via one of these, Fantasy Book Critic, that I found Alan Campbell. Scar Night is the first in his trilogy about the city of Deepgate. It was published by Bantam Dell in the UK in 2006, US publication was 2007. This is his debut title. I like to read the short little biographies I find in the back of books and on some review sites, it turns out Mr. Campbell was a video game software designer for such games as Grand Theft Auto. It shows very clearly in this book. Scar Night is extremely visual which is central to the atmosphere and the setting of the story.

Thematically, several things stood out for me. On a large scale: exploration of how individuals and groups cope with death, vengeance, how geography helps form the perceptions of whole peoples. How gullible we humans can be when we dearly want to believe what we are told. Mr. Campbell has created a reality where the entire world is the playground of the Gods, where human beings are pawns without worth, where angels are weapons of war. It’s a fascinating and complex world.

The plot is obliquely approached: it was hard to get a handle on it due to uneven pacing and elements that were helpful to understanding what was happening were placed late in the book. Basically we have a city ruled by fear of things that go bump in the night, a city whose entire existence is due to the angels’ war eons ago. Over a period of time, things don’t add up- not all of the bodies found can be attributed to “the thing that goes bump in the night”- the angel Carnival. Once a month Carnival drains one victim of blood & leaves the body behind. Carnival is several thousand years old. Her body is almost completely covered with scars. This has continued for as long as anyone can remember. No one can stop her.

One night a young woman named Abigail Nettle is found dead, dead and drained of blood. This means that she can’t be buried in the traditional manner approved by the church. Mr. Nettle goes on a one man crusade to find his daughter. Meantime, a young angel named Dill is being kept in isolation at the cathedral in the city. Purposefully raised with very little contact with others, Dill is practically a prisoner. One day the Presbyter in charge of the cathedral, seemingly of the very religion, assigns Dill a bodyguard/tutor/babysitter named Rachael Hael. Dill is the only child of one of the last angels. Rachael was in training to become one of the church’s military members, an emotionless automaton titled a ‘Spine’, however, her brother Mark refuses to give his permission for her to undergo the final examination. The reader follows Dill, Rachel, Mr. Nettle and a selection of church members as events unfold in Deepgate.

Let me say first, before I go into the issues I have with this book, and they were several and serious, that I find Mr. Campbell’s voice compelling & I care about these characters. Rachael and Carnival and Arch Chemist Devon are absolutely my favorite characters. Carnival in particular is worthy of her own book. Rachael and Carnival together as fighting pair would have been incredible. I’ve already borrowed the second book.

The biggest problem is uneven pacing. Passage of time within the story felt like it was in super slow motion . It took over one hundred pages to move thirty six hours. Then you get one sentence where several days or more pass and then we’re onto more or less normal time. The second problem I had was placement of certain storyline information late in the book. It made Scar Night unnecessarily complicated and opaque until late in the story. Third, the backstory of and relationships between certain characters wasn't fully explored. Devon and Sypes come to mind, as do Rachael and Dill. Carnival. In terms of Rachael and Dill readers are asked to believe that they somehow come to care for each other despite the fact that a) they get very little face time and most of that is action packed, not in a romantic way and b) the story itself takes place over roughly a month. In fact, Dill seemed pretty much superfluous for a while. Fourth, and this is related to number one, just as the narrative builds momentum the book is over.

So, yeah, for me Scar Night has flaws, flaws that interfered with my enjoyment of the story. However, Mr. Campbell is absolutely compelling. Mr. Nettle, Carnival and Rachael totally suck you and refuse to let go. I’m looking forward to Mr. Campbell’s future writing and I hope that he’s prolific. And available here in the US!

The Midnight Choir; Gene Kerrigan

2009-06-29T12:51:00.010-04:00

I think I found this in my feed reader while browsing through the Guardian online book section. Mr. Kerrigan is or was a journalist for a newspapers and magazines in Ireland. I’ve read one other title written by an actively working journalist. Generally, I find the quality of the writing to be high & the narrative compelling. The edition I read was published in 2006 by Europa and had a drab green cover. Yes I know I shouldn’t judge a book by its cover- I ordered this from interlibrary loan without seeing the cover. Recently though I’ve found other covers on the internet.

What I didn’t realize in my first forays into crime fiction, if I can call it that, is that certain subtypes are harder edged than others. And that crime fiction, like all genre fiction is often underestimated by those who are unfamiliar with it. Yes, I am one of those people. Crime fiction has within it other subtypes. Police procedurals are told from the point of view of the police although the perpetrator is usually known to the reader from the start. Noir fiction is often told by the criminal or someone intimately involved with committing the crime and is known to be unsentimental and unsparing in its look at society’s underbelly.

I have to admit my ignorance here. I’m primarily a romance and science fiction/fantasy reader, with a sprinkling of straight up fiction thrown in. My knowledge of police procedural and whodunit crime mysteries has been limited to characters like Sherlock Holmes, Sano Ichiro, Miss Marple and Sister Fidelma. Through watching Maigret and Wallender and a German detective series called Tatort in German (Scene of the Crime by our local tv station) my interest turned to similar literature. After I finished reading The Midnight Choir it occurred to me that there are distinct similarities between D.I. Synott and to characters in the US tv series The Shield and to the movie The Secret Window.

The Midnight Choir is set in modern Ireland. The narrative takes place over the course of a week, starting on Wednesday. Point of view swings between characters depending on what case is at the forefront. Mr. Kerrigan masterfully demonstrates to the reader that the assumptions you make regarding the protagonist, in this case Detective Inspector Harry Synott, are not necessarily the truth. To be clear, these are things that it appears Det. Insp. Synott believes about himself, thus inducing this reader to believe them too. I suppose that my inherent cynicism regarding motivation in actual human beings doesn’t always translate over into fiction. No matter. When I recognized the trend things were taking, it spurred many conversations between the Hubby and I regarding power, corruption, and the slow deterioration of the demarcation between right and wrong. Not that the line was ever clear and bright and unmistakable.

Despite my own initial misunderstanding of what this book might be labeled, The Midnight Choir grabbed me from the start and didn’t let go. I’m hopeful I can find more of his work, although I think it’ll have to be via interlibrary loan as his work is in neither my local library nor the local bookstores. Excellent read.

The Magician's Guild; Trudi Canavan

2009-06-28T00:05:00.002-04:00

I think I’m late getting on the Trudi Canavan bandwagon. If you’re not already aboard, you’re missing a great storyteller. The Magician’s Guild is the first novel in Ms. Canavan’s Black Magician’s Trilogy. The second book is The Novice and the third is The High Lord both of which are available. Her newest title is __________ out in hardcover, I believe. Just a minor little rant here. I borrowed this via interlibrary loan. After I read it I requested the other two titles. They could only find one. The third one. I mean, really? What use is reading only the first and the third book in a three book series? I ended up buying the second one, so now I own only one of the set. Annoying! Yes, I’m a little OCD about my books. Why do you ask?

Imardin is a socially stratified citystate, ruled by King Merin. Most of the citizenry are nonmagical folks of every class. Dwells are ordinary everyday folk, thieves control the underground (both literally & criminally) and crafters are skilled laborers. You have House and Rogue magicians, who, once they are identified, seem to be automatically elevated into the highest class. Only the aristocracy, known as aristos, can become magicians. They’re the crème de la crème. Then you have your vagrants, society’s dregs. Homeless, jobless, uneducated & without prospects, they live in dread of being caught in the annual purge. What’s that you ask? Why, it’s when the magicians drive as many of the vagrants out of the city as they can.

Sonea is a teenage vagrant and former street gang member whose family aspires to become crafters. Parted from her friends by her family’s financial needs, she comes across some of her former pals during what turns out to be a purge. In an effort to warn her friends Sonea is caught up and her future becomes dire in the blink of an eye. For Sonea is a natural born magician, something that the Magicians haven’t seen in many many years and some thought didn’t exist at all. For a slum dweller to be a very powerful magician? Unheard of, and for some, unwelcome.

Sonea is traumatized and afraid of what is happening to her. She doesn’t know who to trust or where to turn. Her friend Ceryni (Cery) takes her under his wing. Together they embark on a whirlwind, frightening tour of the seamier side of Imardin in an effort to hide her from the magicians. The magicians of the Guild are looking for Sonea because untrained Magicians can cause great harm to the populace and the city if they don’t learn to control their gift. So the magicians want to get to Sonea before she..explodes, sort of. To either help her learn to control her gift or to bind her gift in such a way that she can never use it. Sonea and Cery don’t know any of this, though . Cery’s father was Thief and Sonea’s family are slum dwellers. Neither of them trust Magicians or Aristos at all.

That’s the basic set up: girl with strong and powerful gift tries to evade the (mostly male) Guild authorities. The end third or so of the book sets up internecine strife within the guild and potentially within Imardin. The book isn’t told in first person, but is primarily from Sonea’s point of view spliced in with one or two of the magicians who are looking for her.

I have to say that my first reaction to this book, other than “Wow, this is fantastic, I have to order to the rest of these” was “this is what I wish Sarah Monette’s book Melusine , link to my review here, was more like.” I can’t quite fully explain that impression except to say that I wish Felix’s personality was more similar to Sonea’s, that he was less damaged or that Mildmay was the protagonist. This book also had echoes of Sharon Shinn’s Thirteen Houses series. Anyhow, I recommend The Magician’s Guild for anyone who likes character centered fantasy with strong female protagonists. I already have the nest two books in the trilogy.

Cover image found on TRudi Canavan's website, link in title above.

Computer problems

2009-06-27T12:57:00.003-04:00

Posting may be iffy for a while, the home pc has picked up a horrible illness & I'm having to post from either the hubby's laptop (which is only here at home sporadically) or from the library. Unfortunately I'd written up several posts & saved them-on the other computer. :(

$1 ebooks

2009-06-23T08:00:00.002-04:00

Orbit books, probably best known for science fiction & fantasy, has started a new site where they're offering one free ebook per month. The site doesn't say how long the promotion will run, but they do say that each title will be available for one month only. This month it's Marie Brennan"s Midnight Never Come.

Next month it'll be:

Brennan cover image found on Orbit

Kindle owners beware??

2009-06-23T00:05:00.001-04:00

If you're a kindle owner, you might want to click over to Consumerist.com to read a little article about hidden limits on how many times you can download a title. I'm not sure how new this actually is, but I thought someone out there might like to know. Consumerist is pretty widely read but not everyone stops by. The article has the details. Go read. Might be something you want or need to know before buying. Link in title & in post. Cheers all. Onwards towards total Amazon domination! lol ;)

Ruby's Slippers; Leanna Ellis

2009-06-22T00:05:00.000-04:00

Ruby’s Slippers by Leanna Ellis is a contemporary Christian women’s fiction novel set primarily in California. This is the second title I’ve read by Ms. Ellis, which was sent to me for review by B&H Publishing. While acknowledging that two titles is hardly a large enough soap box from which to preach, it seems to me that Ms. Ellis writes of women who are at a major turning point in their lives. A time when the confluence of events and people impel a woman to assess who she is and where she is going.

Ruby’s Slipper’s is such a novel. As both the title and the cover imply the novel follows a similar path, both literally and symbolically, as the characters in the Wizard of Oz: fellow travelers have a mission to accomplish, their path is replete with peril and misinformation, the exact destination & outcome are unknown. I have to say that while I enjoy the movie significantly more now than I did when I was a child, it is not something with which I’ve more than a glancing familiarity. I very much enjoyed figuring out which book character matched up with which movie character.

The plot is deceptively simple. Two sisters, whose mother has been deceased only a year, own a small family farm in rural Kansas. Their father disappeared when the girls were barely out of toddlerhood. The younger sister, Abby, is an actress in California, the older, Dorothy, a teacher who cared for their mother in her waning years. The farm has been a bone of contention between them ever since she died. Until the day a major tornado hits the tiny town and flattens the Meyers homestead, inflicting a head injury on the oldest daughter. Abby brings Dottie to California to recover. After that everything changes.

Ms. Ellis’ plot doesn’t go quite where this reader rather thought it would. It was fabulous! I became quite fascinated with unraveling the various threads in my mind and then reweaving them once I realized that I was quite wrong after all. LOL  As for theme, you’ve your pick of several. One, that there are two sides to every story and it’s best to try and learn what they both are. Two, fear and anger are often bedfellows and frequently feed each other. Three, the dawn must come eventually no matter how dark and menacing the night may be. And four, it’s always possible to begin anew.

A wonderfully fun insightful read. Excellent for the summer.

Free Lara Adrian book

2009-06-21T11:56:00.002-04:00

Via PBackwriter, one of Lara Adrian's books is available free for download from Random House. Click here to go to their page, PBwriter says it's available only for a short time so don't wait!

Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell

2009-06-19T11:55:00.008-04:00

I was first made aware of this title by Pianist's French teacher (he was in 7th grade at the time) in an email. She wanted him to read it. Unfulfilled expectations and all that. This review isn't about him, though. So the day I read the email I put myself on the library waiting list for this book. I was number forty seven. Bummer. It took five months before it was our turn. In the meantime, I watched Charlie Rose's interview with Mr. Gladwell.

In America, the mythos of the self made man is a deeply entrenched, beloved belief that is in some ways central to our culture. Generally, we're supposed to believe that here in the US anyone, from anywhere, from any background can rise to the top of our society through their own hard work & very little else. Like cream rises from milk. Unbidden & naturally. We like to pretend such things are practically guaranteed by the constitution, for heavens' sake! Or so the thought goes.

IMO, it's quite easy to sum up Outliers: it's a thoughtfully written, soundly defended debunking of the myth of the self made man. Mr. Gladwell's position is that preferential treatment can be based on such arbitrary measures as birth dates, generational size and parenting style. He argues that coincidental circumstances and arbitrary random sorting of children often boosts one group over another. Success, according to this position, results from cumulative advantages & isn't merely the result of native ability.

Mr. Gladwell reveals that parenting styles may differ by economic class- and that these seemingly inconsequential differences can ultimately have a serious impact on how much better one child may do as opposed to another. In other words, socialization training taught in the home can have more impact for better or for worse on a child's trajectory than many parents may be willing to admit.In young children an age difference as little as four or six months can make a huge difference in academic and athletic outcomes. He uses the Canadian hockey training system and American kindergartners as effective examples. In other words, future achievement is predicted better by family involvement, location, culture and cumulative advantages that started early in life- not necessarily intelligence quotient, work ethic and other nebulous characteristics.

Mr. Gladwell discusses such vagaries as how Asian language structures inherently confer advantages on their young learners that English does not- giving their children a strong and enduring boost up the ladder that lasts through their childhood into their adulthood. Gladwell shows how it may take a few generations for a family or group to boost itself out of one economic class into another and he tells us how much effort that entails & what the rewards and sacrifices may be.

Outliers isn't a book I'd've necessarily picked up on my own and for that I'm grateful to the French teacher. Anyone who is interested in the sociological origins of success and how various factors impact each individual should pick this up. It's a fascinating read.

Ebooks vs. Actual Books

2009-06-18T13:27:00.002-04:00

I posted a column over at Access Romance discussing my love for actual physical books despite the inevitable coming digital publishing revolution. Click title above to go to column directly.

TBR Challenge: Hidden Honor, Anne Stuart

2009-06-17T00:05:00.001-04:00

One of my all time favorite keepers is an old book by Anne Stuart, Lord of Danger. Click title above to go to challenge webpage. Click here to go to author's webpage. So when this month's TBR Challenge rolled around & I looked up the theme I was thrilled. After all, Anne Stuart's heroes are often unique and push the boundaries of what an acceptable hero is. And I just happen to have four of Ms. Stuart's historicals in my TBR. Lucky me! So I chose this one. For those who wonder about cover accuracy: the cover accurately portrays Elizabeth's hair and dress! It's a nice touch, I think.

So, Hidden Honor is a 2004 Mira release set in early thirteenth century England (near as I can tell). For romance readers familiar with the terms, this is a combination road & in disguise romance. Young Elizabeth (17) is being sent to a convent by her widower father as she's too skinny, too ugly and too stupid to get a husband (dad's words, not mine). It just so happens that the bastard son of King John, one William Fitzroy, is traveling to the Shrine of St. Anne to confess and do penance for (accidentally) murdering a well born young woman. Fearful of an ambush on his life, an elaborate role switch takes place among William's retinue. William is disguised as a monk named Br. Matthew, a monk named Br. Peter takes William's place & yet another young nobleman named Adrian is also along pretending to be a monk, albeit using his own name.

You can see where this is going right? Peter, pretending to be William, falls in lust with Elizabeth. Elizabeth is kept in the dark as to who is whom, and her father sends her on her merry way with this group since she is to join the convent at the Shrine. Understandably squicked out by the attention the murderous William pays to her, Elizabeth is confused by her intuition, which tells her that William (in truth, Peter) means her no harm. Along the way they pick up a cookie cutter 'wise whore with a heart of gold' named Joanne so that she can impart some words of wisdom to young Elizabeth along the way.

Really, this could've been an excellent read. I mean, Ms. Stuart's rep is for truly out there heroes. Peter's past history with William is only slowly revealed & late into the book- but plays a crucial role in what unfolds. I think Peter could've been, should've been, edgier. He is portrayed as remorseful, penitent, guilty over what passed between himself and William, but he never seems to question his judgement. And what transpired between them should've raised quite a few questions regarding his own judgement and morality and responsibility. Aside from wishing Peter was edgier & sharper, I really enjoyed the secondary romance between Joanne and Adrian. Elizabeth annoyed me, to be truthful. I had to constantly remind myself that she's only seventeen & what can you expect from a teenager after all?! I would've been happier if Elizabeth was older, more experienced, to match Peter's issues better. I mean, really, a seventeen year old?

So, yeah, kinda disappointed here. Not quite up to par, IMO. Good but not quite there. :( Aw well, we can't always be at the top of out game, can we?

The Sinful Life of Lucy Burns; Elizabeth Leiknes

2009-06-16T00:05:00.000-04:00

This is, I believe, Ms. Leiknes' debut novel published by Bancroft Press out of Charm City (aka Baltimore MD), up the road a bit from Bookwormom Central.Link to author's website in title above. I received a copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of this review. The flap lists this as romantic comedy, my assessment is that it's paranormal chick lit- a subgenre that's currently selling well & is popular. I like the voice & the pacing & the story is cute and hides its deeper meaning pretty well. I wish Ms. Leiknes much success & future book deals.

The plot is your classic Faustian bargain: as an eleven year old Lucille Burns' older sister is hit by a truck and is hospitalized with a coma. Lucy writes a letter 'to whom it may concern' and promises that if Ellen is ok she will 'be forever in your debt' and put the letter in their magic mailbox. The next morning Ellen is miraculously healed. In the magic mailbox a note appears, "it's a deal..I'll be in touch."

Fast forward nineteen years: Lucy has had to give up her family and forgo personal relationships with men because her job requires her to be on the down low all the time. What is her job? Lucy's a facilitator for the Devil. She's to ensure that evil people get to their final destination. To do this she's given a few paranormal powers, a magic basement that leads to hell, and a type of were-dog that's alternately a normal scruffy mutt and satan's minion. She has inhumanly perky breasts and never breaks out during her period. She can eat lots and lots of chocolate and never gains weight.

For all of the her superficiality and her physical perfection, Lucy is unfulfilled and lonely. Although she's good friends with the earth mother neighbor and her kids next door Lucy misses her sister and really wants a steady man in her life. Kids of her own maybe. None of which are available to her unless she can figure out how to break the contract she made as an eleven year old. The turning point comes when the earth mother neighbor takes Lucy to a concert to see Lucy's favorite easy listening idol perform.

The novel hangs together tightly- which I loved. Sometimes story elements are unevenly treated in shorter novels, but the author avoids that this time around. Ms. Leiknes touches on some deeper themes than your usual genre novel: the disconnectedness of modern life, wish fulfillment vs. personal development, morality, ambiguity, and others. I did have some problems with the narrative, mostly to do with characterization and plot details and the too neat wrap up at the end. Mostly minor, and not enough to stop me dead in my tracks. The story fit well for the length of the book (only 167 pages). The Sinful Life of Lucy Burns is a light quick read- good poolside or beach umbrella reading. Or, if you prefer, it can be a meditation on modern life,moral ambiguity and easy listening lyrics! Enjoy!

Image found on B&N.

15 Books, 15 Minutes

2009-06-14T23:01:00.004-04:00

Found on Annie Kelleher's blog, writers and witches and words oh my, a quick game where you list 15 books that made an impact on you, but you can only take 15 minutes to list them:

1. Summer Lightning, PG Wodehouse

2. Edgar Allen Poe's short stories

3. To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee

4. Robert Louis Stevenson's children's poems

5. Book of Nursery and Mother Goose Rhymes, Marguerite d'Angeli

6. Merchant of Venice, William Shakespeare

7. The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne

8. The Great Sermon Handicap, PG Wodehouse

9. A Lesson Before Dying, Earnest J. Gaines

10. Breath, Eyes, Memory; Edwidge Danticat

11. The Strangeness of Memory, Lydia Minatoya

12. The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle

13. Moreta, Anne McCaffrey

14. Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll

15. The Ocean Between Us, Susan Wiggs

Shameless Plug

2009-06-13T21:53:00.007-04:00

I've been following this blog for years, Random Acts of Reality, written by a London native who goes by Tom Reynolds. MBMS&ACOT is based on Reynolds' work based blog & is, in fact, his second book. It's great stuff if you're into behind the scenes medical realities all too often glossed over. My hubby's a nurse, many's the time when I've bookmarked a post & made him read it later. Or I've handed him the laptop demanding "read this!!"

Reynolds' book, titled More Blood, More Sweat and Another Cup of Tea, linked here to Amazon page. Need a review? The Guardian has a combo review interview up, click here to read (can't remember if you have to register, sorry). Click here to read Harper Collins page.

As I mentioned, I've lurked on his blog for years & love to read his stories. I'm not a shill, I've not received an arc or a free box of latex gloves for mentioning his book here. Simply put: I like to cheer on fellow bloggers who've successfully made it into print. Reynolds has a deft way of delineating both the light and the dark sides of humanity. Please try it out, it's well worth it.

London Ambulance Service vehicle image found on policeblue999's Flickr photostream

Cover image found on Harper Collins UK.

Simon & Schuster & Scribd.com News

2009-06-12T09:54:00.004-04:00

Via the New York Times, Simon & Schuster & Scribd.com have signed a deal to make S&S titles available on Scribd.com. Good news for ebook lovers!