Stella Matutina

Into the Hellmouth: Season One and Two

Mon, 28 May 2012 12:00:26 GMT

My original plan for the review portion of this BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER extravaganza involved short, not-really-reviews of each season; the sorts of things I could post in sets of three and four.

Turns out, I've got so much to say about each season of BtVS that they really needed their own space to shine.

Well, except for S1. I've paired it with S2 below. Without further ado:

Season One

In Brief: I began rewatching S1 last September. I figured I’d take it slow; an episode per day, or maybe even an episode every two days, so I could ease back into the Sunnydale experience without ODing on teen issues.

Instead, I became pretty durned interested in such tasks as bathing the dog or dusting the living room.

Yep. It was like that.

I forced myself through the first six or seven episodes (minus the hyena one, which I’ve never liked because I’m a weirdo), then drifted away from the show for a good long while. I always intended to go back in, sure, but I never quite managed to put the DVD in and press “play.”

Eventually, I admitted it wasn’t working. I like individual moments from S1, but I’m still not thrilled with the season as a whole. As I’ve mentioned before, I find it far too focused on the sorts of teen issues that mean little to me--popularity and young adult dating and strict parents and suchlike. Not my scene.

So I gave up. I skipped the second half of S1 and dove straight into S2.

And I found the momentum I needed to stop bathing Murchie and start watching BUFFY.

A Few Favourite Bits: uh.... I’m drawing a blank. I’m sure there are at least a couple of places where I awwwwed or giggled or teared up (or maybe all three), but I can’t recall them.

Pet Peeve: this one is more for the entire series, but it bugs me that every single DVD cover features at least one photograph where the eyes follow you wherever you go. I hate those. I always have to put them face down so they don’t stare at me. I’m the same way with character-centric book covers.

Season Two

In Brief: And so I began S2. Again, I intended to watch an episode a day until I reached that magical place where I was so immersed in the story that I needed more, more, more.

That moment was longer in coming than I expected. Turns out, the first half of S2 is fantastic in comparison to S1, but it’s a wee bit of a let-down if you’ve skipped straight to it.

The teen issues are somewhat less in evidence, but they’re still present and accounted for in such episodes as “Inca Mummy Girl,” where Xander crushes on an exchange student who’s actually a resurrected mummy out to devour his life force, or “Reptile Boy,” where Cordelia and Buffy sneak out to a frat party and are offered up as sacrifices to their hosts’ demonic god. There’s also a lot of cheesy piano music (something I actually quite enjoy under certain conditions; ex, if the entire show is corny as all hell, so not so much here but very much on CSI) and quite a few directorial choices that feel a tad too expected.

Slowly, though, everything clicks into place. The show builds momentum as the characters become involved in deeper, more complicated relationships, romantic and otherwise. I love so, so much of what goes down with Giles, with Xander and Cordelia, and between Buffy and her mother--not to mention the masterful, ever-shifting Buffy/Angel storyline that forms the backbone of S2.

The viewer gets a clear sense that what happens to these characters matters. The writers aren’t going to discard character notes at will (though they’re willing to retcon a few things here and there so it all fits). If something happens, it’s happened. It has a lasting effect on whoever it happened to. It shapes who they are, and it dictates how they relate to everyone else. Forgiveness is possible, as Buffy is slow to discover, but one can’t ever forget. Not entirely.

The season also holds some awesome (and heart wrenching) surprises, most notably the Big Bad’s true identity. I remained largely spoiler-free during my first viewing, so the shift was one hell of a kick in the arse, in the most ZOMG-MUST-WATCH-MORE way possible.

S2 doesn’t quite rank among my favourite seasons anymore, but it’s still powerful, affecting television.

A Few Favourite Bits: Every time Xander and Cordelia do anything together, but especially the moment when we realize how much she loves the necklace he gave her, and the part where he tells her they can fight extra-often in public, if she wants. Oz’s phone conversation with his aunt. Joyce and Spike in the living room, when she asks where she knows him from.

Pet Peeves: Xander does an awful, awful, awful thing right at the very end, and--semi-spoiler coming up--there are never any repercussions. Nobody even seems to realize he's done it. There’s this one point, in S7, where it looks like it’ll finally come out into the open, but it’s just a blip. Buffy, who saw it from one side, mentions it in passing; Willow, whose as-it-happened POV was quite different, makes a few noises like she might correct Buffy’s misconception. Then we never hear about it again.

Xander was my favourite character through to the middle of S4, and my second-favourite character until this most recent viewing. I love him to bits. And yet, I wish he’d been forced to atone for that awful, awful thing, because it had huge consequences and he shouldn’t have gotten away with it. One could argue that he does it to help Buffy, not hinder her, but I can never manage to believe that he acts with anything more than malice in his heart. I want him to pay for it.

I guess I’ll just have to hope it rears up again in S9.

Back in the Day:

One Year Ago: nada

Two Years Ago: nada

Three Years Ago: The Long List

Into the Hellmouth: Buffy and Me

Sun, 27 May 2012 12:00:41 GMT

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER is my favourite TV show in the history of ever.

It wasn’t always. Back in the day, I thought BtVS was one of those silly teeny-bopper things. I mean, what the hell kind of a name was Buffy? A no-thank-you kind of a name, that’s what.

I mostly steered clear of the show during its initial run, save for a couple of blips. I caught the pilot, then one or two more episodes from S1, then a couple more from S3. Shortly after S4 aired, an addicted friend sat me down and insisted I watch two particular episodes: the one where Angel and Riley meet, and the one right before the season finale. I dutifully kept my eyes on the screen, even though I had no idea who any of these people were or what was going on. I mostly got hung up on the bit where Spike drinks his blood out of a mug, since I find it too damned funny when vampires drink blood out of cups and things instead of, like, jugular veins. (I have a similar, and similarly inappropriate, reaction to the scene in INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE where Louis and Lestat drink blood out of wine glasses.)

That was pretty well the extent of my involvement with BUFFY until mid-2007, when I discovered FIREFLY.

FIREFLY is a pirate western in space. It was cancelled after twelve episodes, but has since attained cult status. I found the DVDs on sale, devoured them, saw the movie that sorta-kinda wrapped everything up, and promptly went into withdrawal.

I couldn’t watch any more FIREFLY (because there will never be any more, sob, groan, gnashing of teeth, etc.), but I soon learned that Joss Whedon, the show’s creator, was also responsible for another couple of series. I’d be lying if I said I was thrilled to learn that one of them was BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, but sometimes, a girl’s just gotta take what she can get. FIREFLY was awesome. Maybe BUFFY would be, too.

It wasn’t.

The first season proved... disappointing. I immediately liked Buffy herself, but I found the show way too teen issuesy for my liking. There was a cheerleading episode! A going-on-a-date episode! An over-abundance of high-school-is-hell metaphors!

It was okay and all, but not my thing. Sigh.

If I’d had to buy the second season, I would have quit right there; however, my library came through for me. I have a soft policy of giving any series at least two volumes (or seasons, or whatever) before I bail for good and certain, so I borrowed S2.

And fell utterly in love.

I still didn’t adore it the way I adored FIREFLY, but it was damned good stuff nonetheless. I wanted more.

I bought S3 (since my library didn’t have it). I watched it even more quickly than I had S2, then bought both S4 and S1 of ANGEL and watched them in rotation. S5 soon followed, as did S6 and S7.

I can’t pinpoint the moment when BUFFY surpassed FIREFLY in my estimation, but surpass it it did. It quickly crept past even such beloved series as SIX FEET UNDER and early MY NAME IS EARL.

By the time the credits rolled on S7, I had a new favouritest of favourite shows.

Since then, I’ve watched the entire series two more times. I’ve seen ANGEL, the spin-off, twice. I’ve read Season Eight, which chronicles the Scooby Gang’s continuing adventures in comic book form, multiple times, and am desperate for the first volume of S9 (why isn’t it August yet???). I’ve explored the great and wonderful world of BtVS criticism. I’ve obsessed over the show with my friend Michelle, who kindly avoided peppering me with spoilers during my first viewing. (She wasn’t so nice on the ANGEL front. We'll get to that.) I’ve drawn parallels between BUFFY and, like, everything.

I love the hell out of the show, is what I’m saying.

I love it so much that I’m turning Stella Matutina into Buffy Central for the next few weeks, just so’s I have an excuse to gush about it in a public forum. I’ll have posts for you on such varied topics as:

my favourite characters I initially disliked
souls and me
Buffy Studies, with recommended critical texts
how Buffy helped cure me of being a vampire purist
Joss Whedon’s penchant for madness
how spoilers affected my viewing experience

Plus not-really-reviews of every season of both BUFFY and ANGEL, including S8, as many of the AS6 comics as I could get my hands on (ie, all except the last two collections), and volume one of ANGEL & FAITH. Maybe I'll even squeeze in volume one of S9, if it appears on NetGalley and Dark Horse lets me read it (please oh please oh please).

I’ll also have a few guest posts from fellow Buffy-loving bookish types who've agreed to write about the novels, casual fandom, and how Buffy has impacted their professional lives, among other fascinating topics. And hey, I've got a few later-in-the-month slots left open, if any of y'all have something Buffy-related you really want to discuss...? I've already contacted a bunch of known-to-me Buffy fans, but I know I missed a few.

I'm not the only one planning Buffy-centric shenanigans for June, either. A group of bloggers, including Suey, Ana, Kailana, Iris and Lu, are considering a watch-along. If you're at all interested in discovering BtVS, or in rewatching the first season in company with others, you ought to pop on over and indicate your interest. Perhaps we'll check in with them here, too.

If you want to go past S1, the folks at NoWhiteNoise have just launched their Buffy Summer Rewatch, slated to last through to September. They watched the first four episodes last Friday and will now proceed to watch three more every Monday, taking them through to the end of S3. If you join in, be sure to use their #BuffyRewatch tag on Twitter so's you can connect with like-minded fans.

I hope y'all enjoy the next month and a bit! I'm pretty durned excited about it, myself.

Back In the Day:

One Year Ago: nada

Two Years Ago: nada

Three Years Ago: Blood Bank by Tanya Huff

The White Swan Affair by Elyse Mady

Sat, 26 May 2012 13:20:27 GMT

Title: THE WHITE SWAN AFFAIR
Author: Elyse Mady
Publisher: Carina Press
Publication Date: 21 May, 2012
Pages: 384
Status: electronic (ARC)

LibraryThing Info

The White Swan Affair for purchase on CarinaPress.com

Review solicited by the author. Review copy provided by the publisher, via NetGalley.

THE WHITE SWAN AFFAIR centers on Hester, a young woman whose life falls apart when her brother, Robert, is imprisoned on sodomy charges. Abandoned by even her dearest friends, Hester takes refuge with the handsome Thomas Ramsay, her landlord--and the man she's spent nearly four years trying to resist. Their relationship quickly deepens as they work together to mount Robert’s defense, but reservations on both sides leave their future in doubt.

I’ll be straight with you: the opening chapters of THE WHITE SWAN AFFAIR terrified me. I liked the main character. I loved the writing, which is both distinctly Regency in flavour and much easier to read than actual Regency prose. I thought the book had the most wonderful atmosphere; the loveliest sense of inclusion one could hope for in an historical novel.

Except for the homophobia, that is.

I couldn’t help but react poorly to what my rational side recognized as authenticity, not endorsement. The anti-gay sentiments expressed in the early chapters are disturbing, yes, but they in no way promote homophobia. The characters are products of their time. They respond as they’ve been conditioned to. If their virulent disdain feels real, it’s a testament to Mady’s skill at bringing her characters to life.

Trouble is, it does feel real. I had to remind myself that I’ve read three of Mady’s previous publications, all of which deal in some way with overcoming prejudice and seeing people for who they are. I trust her to present a balanced view of any given situation, no matter the baggage it brings.

My trust was well-founded. Mady does, indeed, bring her characters around to a more accepting view. Robert is far from the only character who behaves in opposition to society’s ideals. Hester herself lives with a man to whom she isn’t, and may never be, married. Nonetheless, she’s unable to deny her love for him--a circumstance that leads her to realize her brother can’t deny his own feelings, either. Her love for Thomas hasn’t altered who she is, no matter how society may regard their partnership. Robert, too, is no less himself for loving other men. I do wonder if Hester's acceptance came a tad too swiftly, given her knee-jerk reaction when she first hears of Robert's arrest, but I was pleased to see her work through the problem at any speed.

Robert also makes a great deal of progress towards self-acceptance. He's spent his whole life hiding who he is, assuming he'll never find enduring love because his culture tells him it simply isn't possible for people like him. I was pleased that Mady gave him a small but deeply affecting romance of his own.

I wanted to open with the LGBT angle because I’m sure it’ll terrify other readers, too, but it’s only one part of the book. Robert's arrest is the catalyst that brings Hester together with Thomas, a man she's desired for years and resisted because she knows it can't go anywhere. Theirs is a tale in the commoner-and-nobleman vein, albeit with a somewhat different focus. They're both at some remove from society: Hester due to her brother's disgrace and Thomas because he's broken with his wealthy family and built his own fortune. This eliminates the usual focus on balls and parties and what the ton thinks of their scandalous arrangement, allowing for a more personal look at what Hester and Thomas mean to one another. We see them hash out their relationship on their own terms, in and around Hester’s concern for her brother’s fate.

Hester’s determination to help Robert ensures that her feelings for Thomas are not her sole preoccupation. She has interests and motivations beyond her relationship--though, make no mistake, her possibly unrequited love does occupy a decent chunk of her mental energy. Mady strikes a nice balance between Hester-as-lover and Hester-as-person. One could almost read THE WHITE SWAN AFFAIR as a straight historical novel with romantic elements, rather than an historical romance.

We also see quite a bit of early nineteenth century London as Hester moves about the city, exploring with Thomas or working on Robert’s behalf. Mady’s clearly done her research. The place feels exactly as one expects that London in 1810 would feel. There’s heaps of period detail to go with the carefully constructed prose. We see everything from an early department store to the inside of a courtroom during a notorious trial. The space comes to vivid life.

All told, THE WHITE SWAN affair is a lovely novel that explores such themes as acceptance in the face of societal disapproval, overcoming one’s prejudices, and being true to who you are. I enjoyed it very much and do not hesitate to recommend it to you.

3.5 stars – really liked it

Other Reviews:

The Book Pushers
Love Saves the World
Paranormal Itch Reviews
Red Hot Books
Unwrapping Romance

Did I miss yours? Please let me know so I can link to it.

Back In the Day:

One Year Ago: New York City: Days Four and Five

Two Years Ago: Vlog Time!

Three Years Ago: The Non-Fiction Five Challenge and Random Bookish Stuff

Stuff From Books: A Motorcycle

Sat, 26 May 2012 12:00:46 GMT

My filthy bike.

This is my motorcycle. It's a 1975 Yamaha 100 Torque Induction. It received a thorough bath soon after this picture was taken and so is no longer quite so scuzzy-looking.

It is still in pieces, though.

Here's the bike from the other side, with a better view of the gas tank.

About thirty years back, someone sabotaged it for reasons unknown. My parents, who rode it at the time, assume this person put sugar in the gas tank, though they can't say for sure. Whatever happened, it needs a lot of fixing up.

I'm out to restore it. To that end, I've been reading up on such topics as engine repair and general motorcycle maintenance. I've found Haynes's 1991 MOTORCYCLE BASICS MANUAL immensely helpful thus far. I've also dipped into THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO MOTORCYCLE MAINTENANCE by Mark Zimmerman. And, of course, I've spent quite a bit of time poking at the bike itself, looking at the theory in action (or as much action as is possible when the bike doesn't actually work).

It may be a long shot, but I'd love a few more book recommendations. If you've ever mucked around with a bike, which texts helped you? Older manuals are just fine, this being an older model and all.

Back In the Day:

One Year Ago: New York City: Days Four and Five

Two Years Ago: Vlog Time!

Three Years Ago: The Non-Fiction Five Challenge and Random Bookish Stuff

Felt Tips, Book Expo America, and Buffy

Thu, 24 May 2012 15:13:10 GMT

Three things.

Item #1: FELT TIPS

FELT TIPS, the world's first anthology of office supply erotica, now has a table of contents. You can peruse it on editor Tiffany Reisz's blog. I'm on there, along with lots of other fantastic people.

FELT TIPS also has a release date: December 12th, 2012. That's 12-12-12, no matter whether you put the month, the year, or the day first. (I'm a day-month-year kind of a girl, myself.)

I'll let you know as soon as the book is available for preorder, then post incessant buy-it-buy-it-buy-it reminders as the date draws nigh.

Item #2: Book Expo America

BEA is nearly upon us, and my calendar is not so full as it could be. I've arranged an American cell number for when I'm down there, so e-mail me (or DM me on Twitter) if you want to be in touch and/or do things! (Perhaps things involving beer, in a not-getting-drunk-just-enjoying-the-taste sense? Or duck pancakes?) I want to get my money's worth out of this unlimited plan o' mine, too, so I'm totally open to being week-long text buddies with US & Canadian folks who aren't attending BEA. :)

I'll be there from the 2nd to the 10th. My cell plan starts on the 3rd, though I might add in the 2nd if I feel like I need to.

I should also note that I'm rather shy, so if you haven't heard a peep from me, it doesn't mean I don't want to see you in New York. It just means I'm leery of imposing myself on you in case you're all, "That Memory chick? Uh..." Y'know?

Item #3: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Y'all know I haven't been reading as much as I'm accustomed to. That's at least partly because I've spent the last couple of months immersed in the Buffyverse.

I've had such a marvelous time there that I wanted to do something bloggish to express my love for Buffy et al. At first, I figured I'd have a Buffy Week. That quickly grew to a Buffy Fortnight when I realized how much I wanted to say, then Three Weeks of Buffy when I decided to solicit some guest posts.

Then it hit me that I had more than a month's worth of posts in mind.

The festivities begin this Sunday. More details then.

Back In the Day:

One Year Ago: New York City: Day Three

Two Years Ago: nada

Three Years Ago: TBR Additions and Book Coveting (NB: I've since read all but one of the titles listed there, and that one is on la TBR. I'm not usually that good with the follow-through.)

Bride of the Rat God by Barbara Hambly

Wed, 23 May 2012 12:00:19 GMT

Title: BRIDE OF THE RAT GOD
Author: Barbara Hambly
Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
Publication Date: originally published in 1994; reissued as an e-book in March 2012
Pages: 302
Status: electronic (ARC)

LibraryThing Info

An excerpt of Bride of the Rat God on Scribd

Review copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley.

BRIDE OF THE RAT GOD follows Norah, a young widow who’s just come to Hollywood as assistant to and dog-minder for her film star sister-in-law, Christine. Norah quickly settles into the theatrical lifestyle, unaware that dark forces lurk on the horizon, determined to drag Christine into an unwelcome pact.

Full disclosure: I didn’t finish this one. And it wasn’t the book’s fault.

Y’all know I’ve been a slow-as-molasses reader for the last couple of months. I have a devil of a time connecting with fiction when I limp along at an uneven pace, and alas, this particular book suffered for it. I read about half of it before I admitted to myself that I was simply reading too slowly to get much out of it. I put it aside.

It’s gone onto my "to return to" list, though, not my "definitely a write-off" list. Here’s why:

It’s set in 1920s Hollywood. I lovelovelove old Hollywood. Love it. Hambly brings the period to life with a wealth of detail about the film industry, the stars’ personal lives, and the studios’ political manoeuvrings. It was a pleasure to pick through it all.

It’s chock full of actors. I like theatrical books, and theatrical books tend to contain actors. This particular theatrical (cinematographic?) book explores the silent film era, so there’s plenty of talk about acting with one’s body rather than one’s voice, plus the usual off-screen gossip about who can and can't act. Interesting stuff indeed.

There are dark curses. I do enjoy a good dark curse, and it sounds as if this one is gloriously campy. It's Chinese in origin, though, so I do worry the story might have relied on disturbing stereotypes past the point where I stopped reading. That’s not something I can comment on with any degree of accuracy, though, since I never reached the moment when the curse really kicks in. I can say that many of the characters exoticize China throughout the first half. I’d like to hope they come around to a more balanced view later on, but again, I can’t say for sure.

Christine’s three dogs are a delight. I love a bit with a dog even more than I love a dark curse or a book full of actors. The three Pekingese Norah cares for really are characters in their own right, complete with quirks and interests. They’ve got personality to spare, and they’re as fierce and loyal as they are adorable. They delighted me.

So BRIDE OF THE RAT GOD has a lot going for it, and I do hope to try again at some point in the future. I ought to mention, though, that the plot is rather slow to unfold. There’s a lot of build-up in the first half, with a few key clues as to what’s really going on, but the beginning is mostly about the characters and the world they inhabit. Readers who enjoy atmosphere and the opportunity to sink into a story will enjoy this, but those who need plotplotplot right away may be disappointed.

Other Reviews:

Dear Author

Did I miss yours? Please let me know so I can link to it.

Back In the Day:

One Year Ago: New York City: Day Two

Two Years Ago: nada

Three Years Ago: Veniss Underground by Jeff VanderMeer

The Greyfriar by Clay Griffith and Susan Griffith

Tue, 22 May 2012 12:00:12 GMT

Title: THE GREYFRIAR
Authors: Clay Griffith and Susan Griffith
Series: book one of Vampire Empire
Publisher: Pyr Books
Publication Year: 2010
Pages: 301
Status: seller

LibraryThing Info

The Greyfriar for purchase on The Book Depository

Review copy received at Book Expo America.

THE GREYFRIAR is an alternate world vampire fantasy with a twist: it’s set in a future that's a direct result of the moment when this world’s course of events diverged from our own. The moment in question hit in 1870, when the vampire hoards rose up and slaughtered most of the northern hemisphere (and, I presume, much of the southern hemisphere), leaving the equatorial regions for the humans. It’s now 2020, and human technology has evolved along decidedly steampunk lines, with a few nods to dieselpunk and the like from the American contingent.

Princess Adele, heir to the Empire Equatoria (which used to be the British Empire and is now based in Egypt), is on tour in southern France when her convoy is attacked by vampires. The Greyfriar, a mysterious vampire hunter, rescues Adele, but continued resistance from the leader of the vampire army makes it difficult for the two to fight their way home. As their stay in the north draws on, Adele begins to wonder about vampire culture, and the true nature of the men who aid her.

A thing about me: I like vampires. I like 'em a lot. I used to be a vampire purist--more on that in a few weeks--but over the last few years I’ve gained an avid interest in how different authors deal with the vampire mythos. I’m fascinated with what they keep, what they throw away, and how they make the beings their own.

Griffith and Griffith have taken the vampire-as-separate species route. Their vampires were never human, and they behave accordingly. They’re essentially scavengers, unable to truly comprehend human behavior or social mores. Even such things as tool use are wildly foreign to them. It’s a challenge for them to wrap their minds around crewing their own airships, sewing their own clothing, or even using a simple device like a pair of scissors. They struggle with the idea of written communication. Human emotions aren’t entirely out of their reach, but they travel a long road to get there because human perception is so very foreign to them. Their physiology differs, too; they can control their body mass, they feel pain differently from humans, and they have trouble with warmer air temperatures (though they’re fine with sunlight).

I loved unpacking the details of their inhuman lives. The authors deliver a fascinating setup with plenty of room for the reader to poke around and figure things out. Just what I like best.

The plot is also fairly engaging, albeit a tad predictable. THE GREYFRIAR follows the basic Buffy setup: one girl has the power to destroy all the vampires. In this case, the girl in question isn't entirely aware of what she can do, though she has a mentor who recognizes and nurtures her abilities--and, perhaps, steers her in a direction she might not wish to go. The fate of the world may well depend on how well she faces the challenge before her. And oh, yeah, there’s this vampire? And there’s maybe a hint of a romance there?

I’ve often said the BBP (Basic Buffy Plot) has to work pretty hard to entertain me, so when I tell you that this one did, it means something. I had a wonderful time with it, despite its shortcomings.

Said shortcomings include the abovementioned predictability, which is certainly an issue in places, and the writing. I often found the prose stiffer and less polished than I would have liked. It’s what I think of as good scanning prose; you notice it enough that it's occasionally jarring, but it’s still possible to whip on through it at a decent clip.

Overall, though, this was a fun read. The worldbuilding is great and the setup is engaging indeed. I’m looking forward to the sequel.

3.5 stars – really liked it

Strange Asides:

This is the last of my standalone BEA 2011 novels! I still need to read THE CHILDREN OF THE SKY by Vernor Vinge, but I’ve put that on the back burner for now because I’ll have to read A FIRE UPON THE DEEP first and I’m not currently up to hard SF chunksters.

Other Reviews:

There are lots, so I'll send you to the Book Blogs Search Engine for lots and lots of other opinions.

Back In the Day:

One Year Ago: New York City: Day One

Two Years Ago: nada

Three Years Ago: nada

Brook Street: Rogues by Ava March

Mon, 21 May 2012 17:06:17 GMT

Title: ROGUES
Author: Ava March
Series: book three of the Brook Street Trilogy
Publisher: Carina Press
Publication Date: 7 May 2012
Pages: 112
Status: electronic (ARC)

LibraryThing Info

Brook Street: Rogues for purchase on CarinaPress.com

Review copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley.

A small disclaimer, first off: ROGUES, like THIEF and FORTUNE HUNTER before it, stands alone. You don't need to read the previous books in the trilogy to enjoy this story, though I’d still recommend them on their own merits.

March takes a somewhat different tack with this final Brook Street novella. While the previous two stories explored new relationships, this one delves into the transition from friendship to acknowledged romantic love. Rob and Linus have been best friends since they were ten years old and occasional lovers since their mid teens. They have few secrets and no barriers save one--Linus, afraid that Rob’s preference for women will eventually drive a wedge between them, refuses to consider his friend as a permanent lover.

March does a nice job of unpacking the baggage both men carry. She crafts legitimate concerns for the characters, with stakes that feel real. Linus wants a long-term relationship with Rob more than anything, but he’s afraid his lover will someday break it off and marry a woman, opening Linus up to a world of heartache. Rob hates that there’s distance between him and Linus, but can’t quite find the means of convincing his friend that they should cleave only to each other--if forever is even what he wants.

They work through these issues separately and together, with results both sweet and touching. There’s never any worry that the two men will fall out entirely. It’s always clear that their friendship is deep and true. The tension comes from the question of whether they’ll ever act on their romantic feelings, and whether they can truly be happy if they don’t.

I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as the previous two books, but it was still an enjoyable way to spend an evening. If you liked THIEF and FORTUNE HUNTER, or if you’ve been looking to give Ava March a try, you’ll want to seek out ROGUES.

3 stars – liked it

Other Reviews:

Fiction Vixen
Seductive Musings

Did I miss yours? Please let me know so I can link to it.

Back In the Day:

One Year Ago: nada

Two Years Ago: nada

Three Years Ago: The Kalahari Typing School For Men by Alexander McCall Smith

You Are My Only by Beth Kephart

Sat, 19 May 2012 15:18:30 GMT

Title: YOU ARE MY ONLY
Author: Beth Kephart
Publisher: Edgmont USA
Publication Date: October 2011
Pages: 244
Status: seller

LibraryThing Info

You Are My Only for purchase on The Book Depository

Review copy received at Book Expo America.

YOU ARE MY ONLY is something of a departure for me: it’s young adult fiction in the Deep, Meaningful Literature vein. Not contemporary with a humorous-yet-poignant bend; not fantastical. Just straight up literary styling.

I have an odd relationship with Deep, Meaningful Literature. I’ve read a fair amount of it, albeit not recently, and I almost always find it intellectually stimulating yet emotionally distanced. I whip through DML at a decent clip, registering all sorts of great and noble truths of the heart without ever feeling them myself.

That was very much the case here, and I feel like a total putz about it.

YOU ARE MY ONLY follows two narrators with intersecting stories. Emmy, a young mother, leaves her baby daughter alone for mere moments. She returns to find her gone, stolen by persons unknown. Sophie, a homeschooler whose strict mother works long hours, finds some solace with the family next door. Their loving, supportive home stands in sharp contrast to her own, giving her the impetus she needs to dig into her past.

I think you can guess how these two girls are connected.

Therein lies the reason I had such trouble connecting with the book. The outcome is obvious. We know Sophie has to be Emmy’s stolen daughter. We also know the deception will come to light.

The plot, then, is secondary. Emmy obviously won’t find her daughter for at least fourteen years, since fourteen-year-old Sophie is still with her abductor. Sophie will obviously uncover the truth, because that’s how fiction works. There are few true mysteries here; few opportunities for the reader to engage with the plot.

That said, plot isn’t everything. A predictable story can still engage the reader by virtue of its vivid characters. I imagine most folks will become so strongly invested in Emmy and Sophie that they won’t much care about the play-by-play. They’ll sink into the many smaller moments: the elegant details that illuminate Emmy’s pain at her daughter’s loss; Sophie’s simultaneous joy at her burgeoning friendship with the Rudds and terror that her mother will find out. Kephart’s talent for bringing forth the parallels and contrasts between her two storylines will win them over, and her poetic prose often demands to be whispered aloud.

I strongly suspect that most readers will find YOU ARE MY ONLY a deeply immersive experience. That I wasn’t one of them perhaps says more about me than it does about the book. I still encourage you to give it a go if it sounds at all interesting.

3 stars – not for me, but probably for you

Other Reviews:

YOU ARE MY ONLY was part of a blogger-driven publicity campaign, so there are scads out there. You can find most of them through the Book Blogs Search Engine.

Back In the Day:

One Year Ago: Unclean Spirits by MLN Hanover

Two Years Ago: nada

Three Years Ago: Time of Your Life by Joss Whedon, Jeph Loeb, Karl Moline and Georges Jeanty

Stuff For Books: Kobo Vox Cover

Sat, 19 May 2012 14:20:23 GMT

I adore my Kobo Vox. It's easy to navigate, it tracks interesting stats about my reading, and it allows me to read on several apps other than Kobo itself. It does require a few work-arounds for maximum functionality, but those were simple enough to figure out.

From where I stand, the Vox's main problem is external to the device itself: all the covers currently on the market are boring as dry toast. They're sober, solid colours--and to make matters worse, they're hella expensive. I'd consider paying $40 for something with a great deal of panache, but I ain't shelling out that kind of money for a plain product.

I'd planned to wait and get a cover once the selection diversified, but then it hit me. I had a couple of rolls of brightly coloured duct tape sitting around. Maybe I could make a cover.

That's just what I did.

Most duct tape creations are meant to mimic fabric, so they utilize nothing but duct tape.. I wanted a sturdier arrangement, since the Kobo Vox is on the heavy side, so I built off of a cardboard frame. Here's what I came up with:

I'd originally intended to do something a little more punk rock with the front cover, but tape hates me and I had trouble cutting out a suitable design. I've stuck a vintage travel sticker on there for now, but I may switch it out at a later date. The ribbon tie is built into the cover and features iridescent glass beads.

I built up a sturdy frame inside the cover so my Kobo wouldn't come tumbling out. (That way lies disaster. Also, much profanity.) I hid a Great Wall of China sticker in the space behind the reader.

I need to be able to access my reader's on/off button, headphone jack and USB port without removing it from the cover, so I built wee peep holes into the top and bottom of the frame.

Finally, the back cover features a vintage Paris sticker.

You wouldn't mistake my DIY e-reader cover for something you could buy in a store, but I'm pleased with it. It's got panache, and it's sturdy enough that I shan't have to worry about my e-reader getting all scuzzy when I take it to New York next month. That's always a good thing.

Back In the Day:

One Year Ago: Unclean Spirits by MLN Hanover

Two Years Ago: nada

Three Years Ago: Time of Your Life by Joss Whedon, Jeph Loeb, Karl Moline and Georges Jeanty

Fire by Kristin Cashore

Thu, 17 May 2012 22:51:24 GMT

Title: FIRE
Author: Kristin Cashore
Series: this is a standalone prequel/companion volume to GRACELING. A third related novel, BITTERBLUE, has just been released.
Publisher: Dial Books
Publication Year: 2009
Pages: 480
Status: seller

LibraryThing Info

Fire for purchase on The Book Depository

FIRE, which takes place some years before GRACELING, transports us to the lands east of the Seven Kingdoms. The Dells are a nation at war, thanks in large part to the influence of the human monsters who have long used their magic to manipulate the country’s rulers. Fire, the last living human monster, can’t bear to think of using her powers to harm anyone, let alone rule from the sidelines as her father did. But when she makes the acquaintance of a royal prince who remains immune to her monsterly charms, she begins to wonder if the powers she’s always abhorred might be useful, rather than destructive.

After my first reading, I loved GRACELING just a smidgen more than I loved FIRE. This time, the opposite held true. While GRACELING didn’t quite grab my attention as it once did, FIRE just barely fell short of its former 4-star rating.

It continues to resonate with me because it’s a story about family, above all else. There’s a fate-of-the-kingdom plot, sure, complete with some dicey political manoeuvring, but at its heart, FIRE is about the way families fit together.

Fire herself has a complicated relationship with her father, Cansrel. She spends much of the book in his shadow, worried her powers will lead her down the destructive path he trod for so long. She’s well aware of his crimes, and of the impact his cruelty had on the Dells; and yet, he’s still her dad. She struggles with her inability to hate him.

Her friends also navigate through complicated family dynamics. Archer, Fire’s childhood friend, has always known his father isn’t biologically related to him, but it doesn’t make a whit of difference. Nash, the young king of the Dells, is in the same boat as Fire: he knows his father was an awful person, but he can’t hate him, no matter how hard he tries. Nash’s siblings, Clara, Garan, and Brigan, have varied parents, but this makes no difference to their love and respect for one another. Several other illegitimate princes and princesses, including Fire’s young friend Hanna, complicate matters further.

I apologize for the vagueness here; I’m trying not to spoil the various relationships for you, as they shift quite a bit over the course of the novel and I want you to discover them for yourself. The bottom line is, FIRE is intimately concerned with how families form; how people react to their blood relatives, and how they find families amongst people who have no traditional connection to them.

Books that present biology as the only viable means of identifying family have always bothered me, even when they do a wonderful job of depicting sibling relationships and the parent/child connection. I love it when a book recognizes that bonds of affection are just as important as bonds of blood. FIRE gets it right.

Cashore also delivers a satisfying romance. Fire and Brigan’s connection unfolds slowly. Understandable reservations on both sides gradually give way to mutual respect, then support, then love. It’s wonderfully done.

Regarding the audiobook: FIRE has a single narrator, in contrast to GRACELING’s full-cast production. Xanthe Elbrick does a fine job with Fire, and with the bulk of the characters, but I couldn’t get behind her Brigan-voice. She makes him sound like a gentleman between fifty and sixty years of age; the kind of guy who cultivates a moustache of epic proportions, affects a monocle, and wears waistcoats in questionable taste. Which is maybe the way some people see Brigan, but it sure didn’t match the picture in my head.

All in all, though, I’d recommend the audiobook to anyone who wants to give FIRE a try, or reread it. I didn’t notice any of the niggly prose issues that plagued my reread/relisten of GRACELING, either, so I assume Cashore’s writing improved from her first book to her second. Bring on BITTERBLUE!

3.5 stars – really liked it

Other Reviews:

Same deal as with GRACELING--there are a lot of other reviews. You can find them through the Book Blogs Search Engine.

Back In the Day:

One Year Ago: Assassins & Gentlemen, The Inconvenience of Being Dead, and Murdrous Fancies by Fabien Vehlmann and Denis Bodart

Two Years Ago: nada

Three Years Ago: TBR Additions Returns! and The Sunday Salon

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Thu, 17 May 2012 12:19:57 GMT

Title: GRACELING
Author: Kristin Cashore
Series: there are two companion volumes: FIRE, a prequel, and BITTERBLUE, a sequel
Publisher: Harcourt
Publication Year: 2008
Pages: 472
Status: seller

LibraryThing Info

Graceling for purchase on The Book Depository

I’m sure most, if not all, of you are well acquainted with GRACELING. It reaped heaps of praise upon its initial publication, and it’s back in everyone’s thoughts now that BITTERBLUE has hit shelves.

If, however, you’re among the minority who’ve never heard of it: GRACELING is the story of Katsa, a young woman who lives in a kingdom where certain people are born with Graces--that is, particularly strong skills in a single area. Katsa herself is Graced with killing, a fact her uncle the king takes ample advantage of. He forces Katsa to act as his chief enforcer, torturing and maiming anyone who crosses him. Katsa hates her job and considers herself little better than a beast, until a new friend gives her the strength to look outside her uncle’s plans for her.

GRACELING was a reread for me. I chose to listen to the full cast audio production this time, and it proved most enjoyable. I enjoy full cast audiobooks because they’re similar to old-time radio plays. Each actor delivers a performance, not a straight reading, and there are sometimes sound effects and bits of music between each section. In this case, I found both Katsa and Po to be particularly well-cast, while the other characters were distinct and effective in their roles. The audio experience also helped me understand certain things that niggled at me the first time through, most notably the number of times Katsa says Po’s name. This struck me as strange and unnecessary in print (he knows who he is; why do you have to keep saying his name at him?), but it felt smooth and well-integrated on audio.

Story-wise, I remain impressed with the way Cashore treats Katsa’s transition from her uncle’s enforcer to a person with choices. Katsa is realistically flawed, and every issue she deals with is a direct result of her upbringing. All her life, she’s been told she’s vicious and untameable; the sort of person people keep around on sufferance, not because they actually enjoy her company. She does have a small group of friends who treat her as a person, first and foremost, but their influence isn’t strong enough to allow her to consider herself as anything other than a beast.

This setup gives Katsa plenty of room to grow, and grow she does. Some of this is in response to Po’s belief in her, and his influence as a Graceling who doesn’t abhor his Grace, but most of it comes from who she is. She creates her own change, albeit with help. She’s still very much herself at the end of the book, but her understanding of her own capabilities has altered to such an extent that she’s in a perfect position to move forward. It’s well done.

A wee negative, now. The audio presentation did make it easier to understand some of Cashore’s authorial choices, as discussed above, but it also made it harder to ignore certain stilted turns of phrase and oft-repeated words. As a result, I didn’t sink into the story as deeply as I did the first time through, when my own control over the speed at which I read the text allowed me to gloss over prose-related issues. I still enjoyed the book, but it wasn’t the same wonderfully immersive, emotionally charged experience this time through.

Still, the production itself and the book from which it springs are most definitely worth a listen or read. Those on the hunt for realistically flawed characters who change and grow in believable ways really ought to meet Katsa.

3.5 stars – really liked it

Strange Asides:

How do y’all feel about identifying something as a review copy when you’re rereading, and rereviewing, it? I received my personal copy of GRACELING from the publisher, shortly after I started blogging. I promptly reviewed it, which I figure takes care of any obligation I had towards Harcourt. This time, I read GRACELING purely because I wanted to, so I didn’t include my usual “Review copy received from the publisher” disclaimer at the start. Anyone have any thoughts on the ethics here?

Other Reviews:

There are sixteen billion (aprox) on the Book Blogs Search Engine.

Back In the Day:

One Year Ago: Assassins & Gentlemen, The Inconvenience of Being Dead, and Murdrous Fancies by Fabien Vehlmann and Denis Bodart

Two Years Ago: nada

Three Years Ago: TBR Additions Returns! and The Sunday Salon

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Tue, 15 May 2012 02:36:25 GMT

Title: CINDER
Author: Marissa Meyer
Series: book one of the Lunar Chronicles
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Publication Date: January 2012
Pages: 400
Status: library

LibraryThing Info

Cinder for purchase on The Book Depository

Marissa Meyer’s much-lauded debut novel recasts Cinderella in a far future world where tensions run high between the Earth and the Moon, and between full humans and cyborgs. Cinder is an Earthan cyborg whose talents have made her one of the most well-regarded mechanics in New Beijing. Not that she ever sees any of the profits--her legal guardian keeps the lot, treating Cinder as barely more than a possession. But when the handsome Prince Kai stops by her booth to ask her to fix his favourite old android, he and Cinder form an instant connection that will change her lot in life forever.

I do like me a good fairy tale retelling, and Meyer does a lovely job with this one. The core story remains the same: a downtrodden girl with an unhappy home life gets the opportunity to hobnob with the heir to the throne. The novelty comes from the way Meyer shifts and changes this story and its characters so they fit into a science fictional world.

Cinder’s downtrodden status comes not from the standard stepmother-hates-her-husband’s-brat approach but from the fact that Cinder is a cyborg and thus considered less than human in New Beijing. Her mechanic’s booth at the market stands in for the original Cinderella’s domestic toils. She’s a girl with guts, too; a girl who hasn’t lost her spunk, despite the hardships she endures. She has a well-developed sense of humor that veers towards the snarky, and she’s fully capable of fighting her own battles. I loved her.

Cinder has a wonderful relationship with Kai, her Prince Charming. Their romance develops organically over a series of meetings that give them plenty of opportunity to get to know one another. Their chemistry is immediately apparent, but it takes them a believable amount of time to go from, "Hey, I maybe sort of like you" to "There must be snogging! There must! There must!" What’s more, Kai has his own story, his own stake in everything that’s happening outside of his developing romance with Cinder. He’s not just a pretty boy who shows up when the heroine’s story demands it.

The other characters also settle into familiar-yet-different roles. Iko, Cinder’s quirky android friend, effectively fills the same place as the animal companions from the Disney movie. Adri, Cinder’s legal guardian/owner, makes a sufficiently vile wicked stepmother. The doctor who performs medical experiments for the Emperor isn’t an exact fairy godmother analog, but his research has an arguably magical impact on Cinder’s life. And Levana makes a most excellent and creepy evil queen. (Yeah, I know there’s no evil queen in Cinderella. Just roll with it.)

And oh, how I loved Cinder’s connection with Peony, her younger adoptive sister! Y’all know I’m a total sucker for a good sibling relationship. Give me two siblings who care for and support one another, and I’m a happy girl. Peony and Cinder’s relationship is so damned sweet.

Some potential downsides now: I knew exactly where the story was headed at all times. There were a couple of minor surprises here and there, but I had the basic shape mapped out from quite early on, and I was right on all counts. I’m never sure whether this sort of thing is down to my wicked-mad guessing skillz or legitimate predictability, but in this case, I imagine many other readers will find themselves in the same boat.

I was also iffy on the way the text deals with grief. CINDER takes place during a plague outbreak, and several characters lose loved ones. They seem to bounce back from it awfully quickly. There’s the expected "they're gone and it's awful" scene, then it’s business as usual for all involved. The deaths don’t have a demonstrable impact on anyone’s worldview, or on the way they react to subsequent events. I wish there had been more emotional resonance to it all.

Finally, this is very much the first chunk of a larger story. It introduces the characters, their worlds, and the central conflict, then ends on something of a cliffhanger. Readers who find this sort of thing annoying may wish to wait until at least one more book has been released.

All in all, though, I had a wonderful time with CINDER. Meyer has done some great things with the original fairy tale, and I had a wonderful time meeting her heroine. I’m already looking forward to the sequel.

3.5 stars – really liked it

Other Reviews:

Popular book is popular. You can find a couple dozen other reviews on the Book Blogs Search Engine

Back In the Day:

One Year Ago: nada

Two Years Ago: nada

Three Years Ago: Burning Water by Mercedes Lackey

To NYC I go I go, to NYC I go

Wed, 09 May 2012 17:17:55 GMT

Friends, I'm going to New York for the first week of June!

There was a while there when I didn't think it was going to happen. The friend I'd planned to travel with had to bow out due to some family issues. It was understandable, but it still threw my budget out the window.

I've managed to find a new roomie for part of the trip, though--hi Grace!--and I've decided to go ahead and pay for a solo hotel the rest of the time. This does mean I have less cash for touristy stuff, but I did most of that last year. This time, I want to roam the streets and look at the free and cheap things I missed before, like the Brooklyn Bridge and the wooden escalators at Macy's. I might splurge and go to Madame Tussauds, too, since I've got a total thing for wax museums.

Of course, I'll also hit up as many bookish locales as I can find. That goes without saying.

Any suggestions on what I should see? Where I should eat? And, most importantly, who among you wants to get together and Do Stuff? I believe there was talk of Pinkberry at one point...

I'd also appreciate any advice on buying a SIM card in the US. They were super easy to find and use in NZ, but they're a bit more complicated here in Canada. How do they work south of the border?

Back In the Day:

One Year Ago: The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson

Two Years Ago: nada

Three Years Ago: nada

Empire State by Adam Christopher

Tue, 08 May 2012 14:18:53 GMT

Title: EMPIRE STATE
Author: Adam Christopher
Series: a sequel is forthcoming
Publisher: Angry Robot Books
Publication Date: January 2012
Pages: 448
Status: electronic (ARC)

LibraryThing Info

Empire State for purchase on The Book Depository

Review copy provided by the publisher via the Angry Robot Army.

Surely y’all have heard of EMPIRE STATE. It garnered widespread acclaim seemingly from the moment Angry Robot announced its impending publication. Interest in this alternate history with superheroes and private eyes ran high, and I certainly wasn’t immune to the book’s siren song. I knew I had to seek it out.

A wee bit of summary: Rad Bradley is a private detective in the Empire State, a fog-shrouded island city mired in Wartime. He’s down on his luck and desperate for cash when a hot dame brings him a job: find her missing lover at any cost. Easy and lucrative. But what seems like a straightforward case soon grows thorns as Rad becomes involved with the Empire State’s leaders, a pair of warring superheroes, and a mysterious place called New York City.

I enjoyed EMPIRE STATE for its allusiveness, above all else. Christopher knows his stuff. He blends crime fiction tropes and science fiction standards with great aplomb, tweaking each to suit his story’s needs and to remind us that this ain’t your standard crime novel. The hot dame who wanders into the hardboiled PI’s office is a lesbian, not a potential love interest. Rad himself is an older, overweight, bald dude¹, not some uber-sexy hunk whose rugged exterior mirrors the damage in his soul. The superheroes are the crux of the problem, not its solution.

Christopher also works in some allusions to comic book history (THE SEDUCTION OF THE INNOCENT being a particular favourite; I’ve always wanted to get my hands on that book), to Doctor Who, and to the pulp fiction that flourished throughout the ‘20s and ‘30s. And on top of that, he juggles some fascinating ideas about such tropes as alternate worlds, doppelgangers, gender issues in crime fiction, and the dividing line between the good guys and the bad guys.

It’s pretty damned interesting.

I very much enjoyed the book as a dialogue with crime fiction and the superheroic tradition, but I fear I had a little trouble connecting to the plot. I have no doubt that this was due primarily, if not entirely, to personal circumstances. Shortly after I began EMPIRE STATE, I entered one of those frustrating periods where I could not read more than a few pages at a time. I read no more than fifty pages per day--a glacial pace, for me--and proceeded to limp through the book in fits and spurts. It took me over a week to finish.

I rarely get as much as I should out of shorter books with which I spend protracted periods of time. I lost momentum, and my reaction to the denouement suffered for it. Christopher pulls everything together quite nicely, with fair conclusions for all involved, but it struck me as the sort of thing that’s best read at a rapid-fire pace. No limping allowed.

Alas, I broke that rule.

Please don’t take this to mean I disliked EMPIRE STATE. I liked it very much, both as an allusive text and as a cracking story. I’d recommend reading it at a fairly brisk pace, though, if you possibly can, so you’ll maintain the momentum that I failed to sustain.

3.5 stars – really liked it

Other Reviews:

Remember how this one's got a lot of hype behind it? Hype translates to lots and lots of reviews, which you can find via the Book Blogs Search Engine.

Back In the Day:

One Year Ago: The Sunday Salon: Break Time!

Two Years Ago: nada

Three Years Ago: Born to Exile by Phyllis Eisenstein

In the interview in the back of the book, Christopher states that he had Chi McBride in mind when he wrote Rad Bradley. I love Chi McBride, but I’m kind of glad I didn’t know this until afterwards, since I’d have had a hard time not equating Rad with Emerson Cod from PUSHING DAISIES. Emerson Cod rocks my socks (he’s one of my favourite Obligatory Grumpy Characters), but he’s got totally different mannerisms from the Rad I pictured as I read.

Somewhere Beneath Those Waves by Sarah Monette

Mon, 07 May 2012 19:11:29 GMT

Title: SOMEWHERE BENEATH THOSE WAVES
Author: Sarah Monette
Publisher: Prime Books
Publication Date: November 2011
Pages: 336
Status: library, alas

LibraryThing Info

Somewhere Beneath Those Waves for purchase on The Book Depository

SOMEWHERE BENEATH THOSE WAVES is that rare beast: a book I loved and want to praise to the rafters, but can’t quite manage to write about.

I really want y’all to read it, though, so I’ll muddle on through in the hope I can convince you to seek it out. Because really, short fiction collections as good as this one deserve a wide readership.

So, anyways, SOMEWHERE BENEATH THOSE WAVES is Sarah Monette’s first nonthemed collection. (THE BONE KEY, a collection of her Kyle Murchison Booth stories, first appeared in 2007 and was recently reissued.) The stories are diverse in both content and genre. There are secondary world tales, contemporary fantasies (some of them decidedly urban), ghost stories, historicals, alternate world stories, science fiction pieces, sorta-kinda mainstream bits... the works. Whatever genre of SFF you most enjoy, you’ll find something to strike your fancy.

They’re also diverse in terms of length. I was surprised to find a great deal of flash fiction in amongst the longer pieces. I read many novels, novelettes and novellas, but I’ve had limited experience with flash (which is fiction of absolutely no more than 1000 words, and usually far less). The form fascinates me, nonetheless. It’s compact, by necessity, with never a word out of place. The author has limited time to introduce characters and a situation, and to make us feel for them. Monette is exceptionally good at this. Many of the flash pieces lingered with me for days afterwards, despite their brevity.

I was pleased, too, with the number of stories about people who are somehow Other, whether they embrace non-hetero sexuality, belong to a marginalized gender, or face the troubles that come when one is part of a low socioeconomic bracket. As Elizabeth Bear states in her introduction, Monette adopts an inclusive approach to fiction. There’s room in her stories for everyone, no matter their identity. I was particularly happy to come across a trans story, which emerged as my favourite in the collection. I shan’t tell you the title, since Monette conceals the character’s status until quite far in (presumably so readers disinclined towards trans folks can form a connection independent of any preconceived notions), but I urge you to keep an eye out for it. It’s lovely.

If you’re at all interested in short SFF, you must check this out. I’m biased and all, Monette being my very favourite author, but I truly believe you’ll enjoy it too.

4 stars – loved it

Other Reviews:

Brit Mandelo for Tor.com
So Many Books, So Little Time

Did I miss yours? Please let me know so I can link to it.

Back In The Day:

One Year Ago: nada

Two Years Ago: nada

Three Years Ago: A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf and Cover Love: Jody A. Lee

April In Review

Tue, 01 May 2012 22:50:42 GMT

Y'all, April kicked my arse. I read exactly four prose books. Everything else on the list you're about to peruse is either audio fiction or comics, and most of the latter were read in a glut at the tail end of the month.

Sigh. I hate reading slowly. I can't enjoy things properly if I limp through them. My reading speed dropped so sharply that I decided to put the kibosh on my regular April rereads. I couldn't bear it if I failed to love my favouritest books in all the world, so they'd best wait until June.

Anyways, here's ze breakdown, with stars beside the books with forthcoming reviews:

Books I Read

Empire State by Adam Christopher - electronic (ARC)*

Brook Street: Fortune Hunter by Ava March - electronic (ARC)

Graceling by Kristin Cashore - seller*

Cinder by Marissa Meyer - library*

The Magicians and Mrs Quent by Galen Beckett - keeper

Fire by Kristin Cashore - seller*

Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson - keeper

The House On Durrow Street by Galen Beckett - keeper

The Long Way Home by Joss Whedon and Georges Jeanty et al - keeper*

No Future For You by Brian K. Vaughan, Georges Jeanty and Joss Whedon et al - keeper*

Wolves At the Gate by Drew Goddard, Georges Jeanty and Joss Whedon et al - keeper*

Time of Your Life by Joss Whedon, Karl Moline & Jeff Loeb et al - keeper*

Predators and Prey by Joss Whedon et al - keeper*

Retreat by Jane Espenson, Georges Jeanty and Joss Whedon et al - library*

Twilight by Brad Meltzer, Georges Jeanty and Joss Whedon et al - library*

Last Gleaming by Joss Whedon, Georges Jeanty and Scott Allie et al - library*

The Long Way Home by Joss Whedon and Georges Jeanty et al - keeper*

No Future For You by Brian K. Vaughan, Georges Jeanty and Joss Whedon et al - keeper*

Wolves At the Gate by Drew Goddard, Georges Jeanty and Joss Whedon et al - keeper*

Why yes, I did start rereading BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, SEASON EIGHT the moment I'd finished it. I've never, ever, ever done that before¹, but I'm so bloody sick of not enjoying things that I figured I'd dive right back into the only thing I genuinely loved in April. I've gone a little more slowly this time, looking for all sorts of evidence and such to help me process the WTFery near the end (which really does get easier to deal with when you've read it a few times).

Places I Visited

New York City and the Empire State. 1820s London. The Seven Kingdoms. New Beijing. Invarel and the countryside. The Dells. New York City again. Invarel again. Scotland, Sunnydale, Cleavland, London, Tokyo, New York City again, Los Angeles, Italy, the wilds of Europe, and Tibet.

Pages So Far

21,471. By some miracle, I'm still on track to hit my goal for this year.

American Reading

My great and wondrous plan to reread many of my favourite American fantasies died a quick death. I only managed to read two of them, plus four other American novels and the Buffy comics (which have lots and lots of American contributors).

I did so poorly with the whole reading American books thing that my reading list is still 80% non-American. Which, okay, fits perfectly into my long-term goals, but it's a disappointment nonetheless.

Short Fiction

Urgh. Let's catch up next month instead, mmkay?

The Best of April

Well, I exclude rereads, and I only read three new-to-me books last month: EMPIRE STATE, FORTUNE HUNTER, and CINDER. They were all 3.5ers; that is, books I really liked, but didn't love. FORTUNE HUNTER and CINDER entertained me about the same, so let's call it a tie.

Back In the Day:

One Year Ago: The Sunday Salon: Leaving New Zealand

Two Years Ago: nada, because I was traveling to New Zealand

Three Years Ago: The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, Eighteenth Annual Collection, ed. by Ellen Datlow and Kelly Link & Gavin J. Grant and The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Well, except for this one time in first year uni. I sped-read THE HANDMAID'S TALE within a couple of days of finishing it, since I had big, important universityish things to do with the text and I wanted a complete refresher. It worked because I didn't much care about the book (yes, I know that makes me a cretin with no taste whatsoever) and was revisiting it purely for academic reasons. I've never, ever, ever done it before with something I read for pleasure. Look at me, expanding my horizons and all.

Women In SF&F Month, plus other notes

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 18:25:30 GMT

It seems I've taken an impromptu blogging break, but never fear! Today I'm guest posting at Fantasy Cafe as part of Kristen's Women In SF&F Month. Pop on over there if you'd like to hear about the women who helped me become a fantasy fan.

Be sure to check out the many other Women In SF&F Month guest posts, too, if you haven't already done so. They make for some great reading.

A couple of brief housekeeping things, now:

I've received several dozen pornographic spam comments over the last week, so I've had to put Captcha on all anonymous comments for the time being. I don't think this will affect anyone who comments via a LiveJournal account or OpenID, but please be in touch via Twitter or e-mail if you're having problems.

Also, the friend who'd planned to accompany me to Book Expo America no longer can, which means trouble on the budgetary front. If you still need a BEA roomie, we know each other reasonably well, and you like the idea of staying in a tiny, nautical-esque bunk room in an awesome hotel (with a girl who's happy to take the top bunk), please be in touch.

Back In the Day:

One Year Ago: The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson

Two Years Ago: The Trouble With Demons by Lisa Shearin

Three Years Ago: The Sunday Salon: Reading Speed and TBR Additions

Read-a-Thon: Hour 19

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 05:57:43 GMT

Currently Reading: THE HOUSE ON DURROW STREET by Galen Beckett
Pages So Far: 230
Books Finished: none
Mini-Challenges Completed: the intro meme; Reading In Translation; Turn To A Page; Book Appetit!; E-Reader Survey; Literary Companions.
Albums Listened To: Tori Amos's Abormally Attracted To Sin; Green Day's 21st Century Breakdown; Streetlight Manifesto's Somewhere In the Between; The Offspring's Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace.
Food and Drink Consumed: one glass of chocolate Instant Breakfast; lots and lots of glasses of water (I always lose track, since I drink a lot); four cups of creamed Earl Grey; four cups of Lake of the Woods herbal tea; a Dairy Milk chick, plus all the chocolate buttons in its belly; a few croutons; a bowl of my delicious turkey chili; a large mug of coffee with chocolate soy milk; two scoops of Wunderbar ice cream; six Double Stuf Oreos; two chicken sausages; two hashbrown patties.
Episodes of Buffy Watched: six. I told you, I have a problem.
Other Tasks Completed: breakfast; ablutions; book market; canine upkeep, including extensive ear-scratching and a game of persuade-the-puppy-to-eat-his-breakfast; lunch; many Pottermore duels; Buffy-watching; supper; mini-challenge organization.

I've switched back to THE HOUSE ON DURROW STREET. I even read a little bit of it, though most of the last reading session went to watching another episode of Buffy (I'm such an addict) and looking at mini-challenge entries.

Huge thanks to all who participated! Your pictures were great. I've contacted the winner, so y'all should check your e-mail to see if it was you!

I think I'll make it through another hour or so, but I'm not sure if I'll endure any longer than that. It's getting pretty hard to put words in the right order. I've got the feeling I'd drop right off if I closed my eyes, too; a pretty good sign that it's time for bed.

We'll see what happens. If you don't hear from me again until tomorrow, I fell asleep.

Read-a-Thon: Hour 17

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 04:11:22 GMT

Currently Reading: SUITE SCARLETT by Maureen Johnson
Pages So Far: 221
Books Finished: none
Mini-Challenges Completed: the intro meme; Reading In Translation; Turn To A Page; Book Appetit!; E-Reader Survey.
Albums Listened To: Tori Amos's Abormally Attracted To Sin; Green Day's 21st Century Breakdown; Streetlight Manifesto's Somewhere In the Between
Food and Drink Consumed: one glass of chocolate Instant Breakfast; lots and lots of glasses of water (I always lose track, since I drink a lot); four cups of creamed Earl Grey; four cups of Lake of the Woods herbal tea; a Dairy Milk chick, plus all the chocolate buttons in its belly; a few croutons; a bowl of my delicious turkey chili; a large mug of coffee with chocolate soy milk; two scoops of Wunderbar ice cream; six Double Stuf Oreos; two chicken sausages; two hashbrown patties.
Episodes of Buffy Watched: um. Five.
Other Tasks Completed: breakfast; ablutions; book market; canine upkeep, including extensive ear-scratching and a game of persuade-the-puppy-to-eat-his-breakfast; lunch; many Pottermore duels; Buffy-watching; supper.

BIG REMINDER TIME! I'm hosting a mini-challenge. It's all about pictures. You have until the end of Hour 17 to enter, so hop to it, please and thanks.

Moving on:

I switched to my audiobook during this most recent session, since I wanted to read and cook sausages at the same time. I've done it with print books, sure, but I find it hard to make it more than a couple of pages through them before the sausages are done. I'm a cautious sausage-cooker, so I fiddle with them quite often, and that usually requires taking my eyes off the page. This time, I opted for the audio approach so I wouldn't have the option of taking my ears off the book.

SUITE SCARLETT is a reread for me, and it's just as enjoyable the second time through. I have such a brother-crush on Spencer. He's my ideal big brother, even though he's younger than me (and fictional). I've got to admit, I don't get those people who have snogging-crushes on him. He feels so brotherly to me that I couldn't even contemplate it.

I haven't yet decided whether I'll listen to more during this upcoming session. I may return to print, or I may, um, squeeze in another episode of Buffy. I'm currently in character heaven, since Anya's being all generally wonderful and Andrew's such an awesome dork and Buffy and Spike are just settling into their mutual support pattern, and have I ever mentioned how much I love generally wonderful people and awesome dorks and mutual support patterns? 'Cause I do. I really, really do.

Read-a-Thon: Picturiffic Mini-Challenge

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 01:51:05 GMT

Well, friends, we're now on Hour 15 of Dewey's 24-Hour Read-a-Thon. We've passed the midpoint, but we've still got a fair ways to go.

Time for a wee break, yes?

I want you to step away from your current read just long enough to find a picture that somehow relates to the book. Find an image that makes you think of the story, the characters, the book's theme, a vital element... whatever works for you.

You don't have to create the image yourself, though you're welcome to do so if you'd like a longer break. Something you've found via Flickr's Creative Commons archive or a Google image search is fine. Just remember to credit the person who took the picture or did the painting (or collage, or sculpture, or whatever).

The only images that don't count are a) the book's cover art or b) film stills, if the book has been adapted for movies or television. That'd be a little too easy. :)

Write a sentence or two to tell us which book you're reading and what the picture has to do with it. You can post it to your own blog, tweet it, put it up on the Read-a-thon Facebook wall, or leave it in the comments here.

If you post it somewhere else, please comment with a permalink to your post or tweet.

An example:

I'm currently reading THE HOUSE ON DURROW STREET by Galen Beckett. The central character has a magical bond with the sentient trees of her native country. These trees feel pretty vengeful towards the folks who've beaten them down, so I found a picture of a slightly evil-looking tree:

Image by Mark Hillary

Your turn! One participant will be randomly selected to receive a set of vintage (ie, 1950s-1970s) postcards. The challenge is open worldwide and will close at the end of Hour 17.

Read-a-Thon: Hour 13

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 00:05:21 GMT

Read-a-Thon: Hour 11

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 22:08:05 GMT

Currently Reading: season seven of Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Pages So Far: 182
Books Finished: none
Mini-Challenges Completed: the intro meme; Reading In Translation; Turn To A Page; Book Appetit!; E-Reader Survey.
Albums Listened To: Tori Amos's Abormally Attracted To Sin; Green Day's 21st Century Breakdown; Streetlight Manifesto's Somewhere In the Between
Food and Drink Consumed: one glass of chocolate Instant Breakfast; seven glasses of water; four cups of creamed Earl Grey; four cups of Lake of the Woods herbal tea; a Dairy Milk chick, plus all the chocolate buttons in its belly; a few croutons; a bowl of my delicious turkey chili; a large mug of coffee with chocolate soy milk.
Episodes of Buffy Watched: none, though that's set to change pretty soon.
Other Tasks Completed: breakfast; ablutions; book market; canine upkeep.

Oh, friends. The Moomins kicked my arse.

I began this reading session all, "I will immerse myself in children's literature, with its large type and its easy readability!"

I finished it all, "Moomins are hard."

Okay, that's not quite true. The Moomins aren't difficult, they're just puzzling, what with their inhuman worldview, and my brain isn't quite up to puzzley stuff right now. I may not have read as much as some of y'all, but I've still been focused on books for eleven hours. That takes a lot out of a girl.

So I'm going to read Buffy Season Seven next session. And by "read," I mean "watch and pretend it's semi-literary because I want to reread Season Eight and I can't do that until I finish S7. Plus, I'm almost up to 'Conversations With Dead People' and part of that episode takes place in a library, which means there are books all over the place. See? It's book-related!"

I may drink some more coffee, too.

Oh! After the Moomins kicked my arse, I listened to some ska and contemplated the differences between Canadian punk shows and kiwi punk shows! Wanna hear?

Punk shows in Canada involve metal detectors and pat-downs and a total moratorium on anything that might either a) be used as a weapon (up to and including umbrellas) or b) somehow hold alcohol and/or poison.

Punk shows in New Zealand involve someone waving you in at the door without so much as checking your bag, no matter how suspicious it is (my friend brought a grocery bag containing some chocolate and his wallet. They didn't bat an eye). There's probably a water station open and exposed on the bar so you can pour yourself a drink whensoever you please. Nobody even thinks you might spike (or poison) it with all that alcohol and/or arsenic you brought along.

Multi-band punk festivals in New Zealand involve hanging out with a bunch of polite people in a park behind the outdoor venue because if you sit well away from the gigantic air conditioners, you can hear pretty well and you don't have to pay the $120 entry fee.

Maybe the folks who took the alternate (er, ethical?) route had to go through metal detectors and weapon/umbrella confiscations, but I'm not thinking it was much of an issue.

Read-a-Thon: Hour 9

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 20:04:31 GMT

Currently Reading: MOOMINVALLEY IN NOVEMBER by Tove Jansson
Pages So Far: 160
Books Finished: none
Mini-Challenges Completed: the intro meme; Reading In Translation; Turn To A Page; Book Appetit!
Albums Listened To: Tori Amos's Abormally Attracted To Sin; Green Day's 21st Century Breakdown.
Food and Drink Consumed: one glass of chocolate Instant Breakfast; seven glasses of water; four cups of creamed Earl Grey; four cups of Lake of the Woods herbal tea; a Dairy Milk chicken, plus all the buttons in its belly; a few croutons. I should probably eat some real food...
Episodes of Buffy Watched: zero, though I'm pretty sure that'll change soon. I'm starting to get the shakes.
Other Tasks Completed: breakfast; ablutions; book market; canine upkeep.

Well, I decided not to go to that author event I mentioned earlier. I've got some good momentum here in my reading cave, and I don't want to spoil it with a trip to the outside world.

I read my fifty pages during my last session, in and amongst other things, so yay! Only two hundred more pages and I'll have finished THE HOUSE ON DURROW STREET. Good times. I want to take a little break before I dive back in, though, so I've switched to reading MOOMINVALLEY IN NOVEMBER for the time being. Finnish children's literature ahoy! Here's hoping I can finish it so I'll be able to say I completed at least one book during the 'thon.

Oh! Exciting news! I weighed the copy of A DANCE WITH DRAGONS I bought this morning, and it's heavier than Murchie! He's 3.1 pounds, compared to the book's 3.21.

I'm always absurdly pleased when I encounter books heavier than my dog--a weird reaction, since I hate how difficult such books are to hold and haul around. At least the hardcover was much, much cheaper than the e-book I was planning to buy. It's got that going for it, right alongside its amusing heavier-than-Murchieness.

Read-a-Thon: Hour 7

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 18:12:40 GMT

Currently Reading: THE HOUSE ON DURROW STREET by Galen Beckett
Pages So Far: 110
Books Finished: none
Blogs Visited: six
Comments Left: five
Mini-Challenges Completed: the intro meme; Reading In Translation; Turn To A Page; Book Appetit!
Albums Listened To: Tori Amos's Abormally Attracted To Sin.
Food and Drink Consumed: one glass of chocolate Instant Breakfast; one glass of water; four cups of creamed Earl Grey; four cups of Lake of the Woods herbal tea; most of a Dairy Milk chicken, plus all the buttons in its belly.
Episodes of Buffy Watched: still none. I am so the queen of not watching TV.
Other Tasks Completed: breakfast; ablutions; book market.

I think I've finally found my rhythm with THE HOUSE ON DURROW STREET. Those of you who're already acquainted with me will know that I've spent the last month or so in slow-reader mode. No matter how hard I've tried, I haven't been able to get through more than fifty pages per day.

I hate reading this way. More on that in a few days (unless I forget to write about it).

But hey, I've already read 110 pages today! I hope to read another fifty or so during my next reading period, after which I'll probably switch to something short, just so I can have the satisfaction of finishing a book.

Before I dive back into the story, I've decided to participate in the Book Appetit! mini-challenge at Book Journey, since it sounded too fun to ignore. We're supposed to design a meal one could eat during a book club discussion of our current read.

Since THE HOUSE ON DURROW STREET is a fantasy of manners set in a Regency-inspired, our meal would be mannerly and restrained. We'd have plenty of tea, of course, plus hot chocolate in a fancy silver pot. The meal itself would consists of small sandwiches with the crusts cut off--cucumber, for sure, plus corned beef with mustard, cream cheese and cherry, and egg salad. (None of those are period-appropriate, but that's okay. I'm going for a feel, not for historical--or pseudo-historical--accuracy!) We'd finish with an assortment of cakes, including Neenish tarts, Nanaimo bars, and miniature Jeannie's cakes with shortbread crusts.