 |
| 3.5 out of 5 stars |
Baghdad is holding
a secret superpower summit, but the word is out, and an underground
organization in the Middle East is plotting to sabotage the talks.
Into
this explosive situation appears Victoria Jones, a young woman with a
yearning for adventure who gets more than she bargains for when a
wounded spy dies in her hotel room.
The only man who can save the summit is dead. Can Victoria make sense of his dying words: Lucifer… Basrah… Lefarge.…
***2018 Summer of Spies***
I
went into this novel with trepidation, as my friends’ opinions of it
are all over the map. I think that reaction to it may be a function of
timing & mood—are you in the market for some fluffy, silly spy fun
or not?
It does get rather silly at several points—Victoria is
remarkably self-sufficient for a Cockney lass who has never been out of
London city before. Right after she loses her job, she has a brief
encounter with the handsome Edward, which sends her looking for a way to
Baghdad! When we are young, we are certainly willing to do ridiculous
things to pursue members of the opposite sex that we find attractive,
but this is just a bit over the top! Nor does she suffer from culture
shock (or not for very long) and is very good at the spy biz,
considering her only job experience is typing badly and telling tall
tales!
Nevertheless, I couldn’t refrain from speeding to the end,
to find out how everything resolved. I could enjoy the cheeky Victoria
as she bumped from crisis to crisis and appreciate the other players
(Sir Rupert of the swirling cloak, anyone?)
Buddy-reading this with some friends at Booklikes led us to discuss this book vs. Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale
(1953). The tale that I had always heard was that Fleming got his spy’s
name from the bird field guide to the West Indies (by James Bond), but a
bit of googling revealed that Dame Agatha beat him to the name, using
it for a character in The Rajah’s Emerald in 1934! Of course,
it doesn’t need to be either/or, it could be both/and. There is also a
scene early in TCTB where Anna Scheele examines her suitcases for
tampering which is apparently very similar to a scene in Casino Royale, so now I must read CR in the very near future, while my tired, middle-aged brain is retaining Christie’s version.
I also have to say that I think this book and Murder in Mesopotamia
must have been inspirations for M.M. Kaye when she began writing her
“Death in [insert exotic location here]” books. I re-read both Death in Kenya and Death in Cyprus
last year and to me they seem to have much the same vibe (although Kaye
inserts a bit more romance, the atmosphere remains very similar).
All
the comparisons made this a much more enriching read than just speeding
through a fluffy spy novel, so I thank my BookLikes reading companions
very, very much.
 |
| 3.5 stars out of 5 |
Computational
demonologist Bob Howard catches up on filing in the Laundry archives
when the top secret Fuller Memorandum vanishes - and his boss, suspected
of stealing the file. Bob faces Russian agents, ancient demons, a
maniacal death cult, and finding the missing memorandum before the world
disappears next.
***2018 Summer of Spies***
3.5 stars—the best one of the Laundry Files that I’ve read so far.
Perhaps
because we’re into historical references that I’ve actually lived
through. Younger folk may roll their eyes at all the Cold War references
in this volume the way I rolled mine during all the WWII/Nazi
references in the first book of the series.
There’s much less
computer jargon in this third novel, for which I was thankful. Bob may
be a computation demonologist, but he talks more like a regular guy
here. There was also a section in the first few pages of the story about
“Losing my Religion,” which in Bob’s case means that he must give up
his comfortable atheism because of his current knowledge of the eldritch
gods who could easily wipe out humanity if their attention was drawn
our way. Much more philosophical that you would normally expect from
such a fantasy tale.
The series does contain a lot of amusing pop
culture references. Bob’s coworkers, Pinky & Brains, show up again
in this installment and although Brains is not trying to take over the
world, he does take over Bob’s new phone to install beta software that
prevents Bob from returning the phone. Bob & Mo also name the
phone—the NecronomiPod. Highly appropriate for a series that references
Lovecraft in many fond ways. Not to mention Bob’s reading material while
on the train, which he describes as “a novel about a private magician
for hire in Chicago,” which would seem to me to be Harry Dresden! Plus
Bob’s kidnappers at one point ask, “What has it got it its pocketses?”
(along with 2-3 “my Precious” occurrences). Stross’ geek cred is
maintained with these details.
At least in this installment we
learn the significance of paper clips, which perhaps explains the zeal
of the Auditors in questioning the Laundry employees regarding their
inventories of those office supplies. (It’s not all just the Pointy
Haired Bosses trying to make their employees’ lives miserable).
The
author (unsurprisingly a former computer programmer) manages to
continue to combine elements of James Bond, Lovecraft, and Dilbert
successfully to create a funny and readable sci-fi series. The
Laundry—successfully defending humanity against the NIAs (Nightmarish
Immortal Aliens).
 |
| 4 out of 5 stars |
Seventeen-year-old
Alice and her mother have spent most of Alice’s life on the road,
always a step ahead of the uncanny bad luck biting at their heels. But
when Alice’s grandmother, the reclusive author of a cult-classic book of
pitch-dark fairy tales, dies alone on her estate, the Hazel Wood, Alice
learns how bad her luck can really get: her mother is stolen away―by a
figure who claims to come from the Hinterland, the cruel supernatural
world where her grandmother's stories are set. Alice's only lead is the
message her mother left behind: “Stay away from the Hazel Wood.”
Alice
has long steered clear of her grandmother’s cultish fans. But now she
has no choice but to ally with classmate Ellery Finch, a Hinterland
superfan who may have his own reasons for wanting to help her. To
retrieve her mother, Alice must venture first to the Hazel Wood, then
into the world where her grandmother's tales began―and where she might
find out how her own story went so wrong.
Don’t go into this novel
expecting a romance featuring a handsome prince or some fae lord. It
isn’t that kind of fairy tale. This is one with a dark overtones, like
some of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales that lived up to the grim part.
The
first section of the book sets up Alice’s life with her mother Ella.
They have spent their lives in transit, trying to stay one step ahead of
the weird bad luck that has dogged their lives. Ella refuses to talk
about her own mother, Althea Proserpine, or Althea’s property, the Hazel
Wood. The book that Althea wrote (Tales from the Hinterland) that made
her famous (or infamous) is almost impossible to find and Alice has
become quite fixated on acquiring a copy. When Alice’s grandmother dies
and her mother is kidnapped, Alice must decide whether to follow her
mother’s last instruction: stay away from the Hazel Wood.
Of
course if Alice wants her mother back (and she does) there is only one
thing to do—find the Hazel Wood and figure out what the heck is going
on. She must brave the Hinterland and all its strangeness to learn about
her heritage once and for all. She discovers that the Hinterland
contains a variety of folk—those who are refugees from her world and
those who are native, consisting either of Stories or those who surround
the Stories as supporting cast so to speak. If you are a Story, you
relive your Story over and over again without end. Can Alice disrupt the
Story that holds her life hostage?
It struck me that many of us
are caught in similar loops in our lives that we have a difficult time
recognizing and breaking out of. Don’t we all have that one woman friend
who flees one abusive man only to end up almost immediately in a
relationship with another jerk? Or your friend who is so busy collecting
people to take care of that her own life goes nowhere? Or the man walks
by a room full of nice women directly to the one woman who will never
be faithful or committed to a relationship? It’s easy to see these
patterns in others, much more difficult to recognize them in our own
lives and much, much tougher to actually break those patterns.
So no, this is not a fairy tale romance, but it speaks to the patterns visible in fairy tales and in our own lives.
 |
| 3.5 stars out of 5 |
His memory is a
blank. His bullet-ridden body was fished from the Mediterranean Sea. His
face has been altered by plastic surgery. A frame of microfilm has been
surgically implanted in his hip. Even his name is a mystery. Marked for
death, he is racing for survival through a bizarre world of murderous
conspirators -- led by Carlos, the world's most dangerous assassin. Who
is Jason Bourne? The answer may kill him.
***2018 Summer of Spies***
Perhaps
I came into this novel expecting a bit too much—I’ve never seen the
movies, only advertising for them, so I didn’t go in completely blind to
the story, but about as close as you can get in our society. I can
certainly see that this would make a great shoot-‘em-up, car-chase
intense movie. I really can’t say that I cared whether Bourne got his
memory back or who he actually was. I would have been much more
interested in more exploration of nature of the memory loss rather than
all the frantic chasing around!
Kudos to him for his good taste
in women, however. I was amused to find out that she was Canadian, from
my city. It was also revealing that, although she is a very capable,
knowledgeable economist in her own right, she is still often referred to
as a ‘girl.’ Oh, I do not miss the 1980s!
I did very much like
the book’s ending, but for me it is the perfect ending. I won’t ruin it
by continuing on with the rest of the trilogy.
 |
| 3 out of 5 stars |
"What kills you
today is forgotten tomorrow. I don't know if this is true or false
because all that's real for me is remembrance." In her old age, Dora
reflects on the major influences in her life: her mother, her career in
the theater, and her one true love. Set in Brazil in the early part of
the century, Dora, Doralina is a story about power. Through her fierce
resistance to her mother and her later life as a working woman and
widow, Doralina attempts to define herself in a time and culture which
places formidable obstacles before women. Married off by her mother to a
man she does not love, told what to wear and eat, Dora's reclaiming of
herself is full of both discovery and rage. For her, independence is the
right to protect herself and make her own choices. From a life confined
by religion and "respectability," even her passionate attachment to a
hard-drinking smuggler contains an act of free will previously
unavailable to her. Dora, Doralina is an intimate, realistic, and vivid
glimpse of one woman's struggle for independence, for a life in which
she owns her actions, her pleasure, and her pain.
I read this book to fill
the Q position in my quest to read women authors A-Z in 2018. I will
honestly tell you that it is not a novel that I would naturally pick up
so I probably didn’t appreciate it as much as someone who regularly
reads literary fiction.
This is a character driven story which
reads very much like an autobiography. It is basically a window into the
world of women in Brazil in the first half of the twentieth century.
Brazilian society, as in many societies at the time, is extremely macho
and women don’t have all that much latitude.
The book is divided
into three sections, representing three stages in the life of our
narrator, Dora. The first section is Dora growing up and struggling with
the control of her domineering mother. Dora refers to her as Senhora,
not mother, and seems to be one of the only people in the household who
longs for freedom. Dora ends up in a marriage which was more-or-less
engineered by Senhora, and while she doesn’t mind her husband, she’s not
desperately fond of him either. When he is killed, Dora takes a page
from her mother’s playbook and uses her widowhood to give herself more
freedom in the world.
The second section is Dora’s adventures in
the world outside her mother’s farm. She finds employment and eventually
ends up on stage, despite her shyness. She is both fiercely independent
and highly reliant on her friends in the acting company, a duality that
she freely acknowledges. And it is during her travels with the company
that she meets the love of her life.
Part three is her life with
The Captain. He reminded me of her first husband in several ways (his
drinking, his macho possessiveness) but Dora’s feelings for him make the
marriage an altogether different experience from the first.
Documenting
women’s lives is an important pursuit, filling in the blanks of
previously ignored reality. The novel also shows the particular barriers
that many South American women are up against culturally.
 |
| 4 out of 5 stars |
Tessa
Quayle-young, beautiful, and dearly beloved to husband Justin-is
gruesomely murdered in northern Kenya. When Justin sets out on a
personal odyssey to uncover the mystery of her death, what he finds
could make him not only a suspect but also a target for Tessa's killers.
A
master chronicler of the betrayals of ordinary people caught in
political conflict, John le Carré portrays the dark side of unbridled
capitalism as only he can. In The Constant Gardener he tells a
compelling, complex story of a man elevated through tragedy as Justin
Quayle-amateur gardener, aging widower, and ineffectual
bureaucrat-discovers his own natural resources and the extraordinary
courage of the woman he barely had time to love.
***2018 Summer of Spies***
So
its summer, finally and at last, here in the Great White North. It’s
time for some summer fun reading about espionage! This is my first
venture into Le Carré’s work and I enjoyed it.
I had expected a
rather light & frothy thriller and instead I got a serious
examination of big pharma—its use of the unfortunate as test subjects
and its desire to put profit well ahead of human kindness. Also explored
is the nature of colonialism in Kenya, reminding me a bit of The Poisonwood Bible. Heavy subjects for a popular novel!
I
also got a reminder on the nature of marriage—those of us on the
outside of a marriage really have no idea what’s happening on the
inside. On the outside, Sandy and Gloria Woodrow look like the stable,
steady couple and Justin and Tessa Quayle look like a precarious,
unmatched union. The book begins from Sandy Woodrow’s point of view and
quickly disabuses the reader of the notion that his marriage is solid.
Woodrow’s constant search for sex outside his marriage was tiresome and
it was a relief when I reached the point where Le Carré switched to
Justin’s POV. There we discover that, far from being unstable, Justin
and Tessa trusted and loved each other a great deal.
Thereafter
followed the labyrinthine machinations that I had been expecting. Who
knows what, who is hiding something, what can be done about it all? I
can definitely see why The Guardian lists it as one of their 1000
recommended books
 |
| 3.5 stars out of 5 |
In the aftermath
of the brutal murder of his father, a mysterious woman, Kahlan Amnell,
appears in Richard Cypher's forest sanctuary seeking help . . . and
more.
His world, his very beliefs, are shattered when ancient
debts come due with thundering violence. In a dark age it takes courage
to live, and more than mere courage to challenge those who hold
dominion, Richard and Kahlan must take up that challenge or become the
next victims. Beyond awaits a bewitching land where even the best of
their hearts could betray them. Yet, Richard fears nothing so much as
what secrets his sword might reveal about his own soul. Falling in love
would destroy them--for reasons Richard can't imagine and Kahlan dare
not say.
In their darkest hour, hunted relentlessly, tormented by
treachery and loss, Kahlan calls upon Richard to reach beyond his
sword--to invoke within himself something more noble. Neither knows that
the rules of battle have just changed . . . or that their time has run
out.
I’ve read quite a number of “high fantasy” epics as part of my SFF reading project and the Sword of Truth
series is yet another one. Maybe I’ve read a few too many of these
series over the past couple of years, as I was quite weary by the end of
the first 100 pages. Goodkind believes in getting right to it—by 100
pages we are introduced to Richard Cypher (our chosen one for this
series), Kahlan Amnell (his love interest & travel companion), and
Zedd (the obligatory wizard). Not only that, Richard’s brother is set up
as the corrupt politician who is going to cause trouble later. I guess
it’s a toss-up between those who don’t want too much exposition or
description and those who would like a gentler introduction to this new
fantasy world. I cut my high fantasy teeth on Tolkien, so I tend to
favour more introductory material before plunging into the adventure.
Warnings
to those who are sensitive souls: both torture and pedophilia are
aspects of this story. If you choose your TBR based on avoiding these
issues, strike this book from your reading agenda. The torture section,
where Richard is in the power of a Mord-Sith, Denna, is rather long and
dwells lingeringly on her brutal treatment of Richard. We learn about
what Mord-Sith are right along with Richard. Needless to say, they are
on the Evil side of the equation in this story.
Richard’s talents
appear to be a questioning nature, insisting on getting to the truth of
things, and an ability to see things from another’s perspective and
appreciate them despite their behaviour. This is how he manages to find
an affection for Mistress Denna and sweet talk a dragon, among other
diplomatic coups. The fact that he is portrayed as a highly unusual man
because of these capabilities (to empathize with others) I leave to your
judgement.
Richard and Kahlan have a whole Romeo-and-Juliet
plot line going through most of the book, probably one of the oldest
plot devices going. If you’ve read The Lord of the Rings you
will also see echoes of Wormtongue when you consider Richard’s brother
Michael and hints of Gollum when you read about the former Seeker who
has been distorted by magic. Not to mention Zedd’s tendencies to give
incomplete advice and to disappear when he is most needed, rather like
Gandalf.
I think that perhaps my adoration of modern urban
fantasy is a reaction to the plethora of rather medieval settings and
simplistic good-vs-evil plots of much of high fantasy. There’s a place
for both and I enjoy them both—they use many of the same tropes, after
all—but we all need variety in both our physical and reading diets.
Book number 289 in my Science Fiction & Fantasy reading project.
 |
| 3 out of 5 stars |
For eons,
sandstorms have swept the desolate landscape. For centuries, Mars has
beckoned humans to conquer its hostile climate. Now, in 2026, a group of
100 colonists is about to fulfill that destiny.
John Boone, Maya
Toitavna, Frank Chalmers & Arkady Bogdanov lead a terraforming
mission. For some, Mars will become a passion driving them to daring
acts of courage & madness. For others it offers an opportunity to
strip the planet of its riches. For the genetic alchemists, it presents a
chance to create a biomedical miracle, a breakthrough that could change
all we know about life & death. The colonists orbit giant satellite
mirrors to reflect light to the surface. Black dust sprinkled on the
polar caps will capture warmth. Massive tunnels, kilometers deep, will
be drilled into the mantle to create stupendous vents of hot gases.
Against this backdrop of epic upheaval, rivalries, loves &
friendships will form & fall to pieces--for there are those who will
fight to the death to prevent Mars from ever being changed.
A “hard” science fiction
book which takes the reader to Mars with the First Hundred settlers,
tasked with making the planet livable for humans. There’s a lot of
science in this one, folks, and not presented in Andy Weir’s humorous
fashion as in The Martian.
There were actually a couple of equations and diagrams, so if that kind
of stuff gives you a rash, strike this book from your TBR.
Now,
I’m generally a preferential fantasy reader, but I’m also a fan of
science fiction, even occasionally this kind of technical science
fiction, but I found the amount of detail about the building of things,
the science of trying to change the atmosphere, the geology, etc., to be
a bit excessive. If all the science-y stuff really turns your crank,
you will love Red Mars.
This author could really have
taken some lessons on describing landscapes from Zane Grey. Grey wrote
romantic westerns in the early 20th century and is acknowledged for his
beautiful descriptions of the settings of his tales. Mars in this book
becomes rather like a wild west, also with some awesome (in the original
sense of that word) landscape features, but they tend to be described
in terms of physics, rather than the beauty that is inherent in them.
Having seen the movie version of The Martian with its gorgeous planetary scenes, I feel there was room for a bit less utilitarian description of the features of Mars.
I’m
glad that the author chose to have women in the First Hundred and that a
couple of them achieve high standing among them. That said, there were
some dynamics in the group that were awfully predictable. The two people
who reach the highest are, of course, white American men. The author is
a white American man, and its true that these positions have been
disproportionately inhabited by that demographic, but wouldn’t it be
more interesting if someone else rose to that level on Mars? There’s a
lot of talk about building a new, fresh society, but things end up back
in the old rut. (Perhaps that’s what the author intended, to be fair).
There are also Russians on this mission, but they are stereotypically
fixated on socialism and revolutionary plans. The two Russian women
followed throughout the book are polar opposites—Maya is beautiful,
emotional, flighty, and manipulative, while Nadia is plain, practical,
solid, and steady. I loved Nadia, despite the fact that she was an
engineer’s engineer, totally fixated on building and problem solving.
But really, are those the only roles available to us? Beautiful prima
donnas or practical Plain Janes?
I liked the book well enough
that I will read the next one in the series, and not just because it is
part of my reading project, but it will never be one of my favourites.
And that’s okay, because it will be loved by the people who love this
kind of book.
Book number 288 in my Science Fiction & Fantasy Reading Project.
 |
| 3.5 stars out of 5 |
He used to be the best detective on the job. Until he became the hunted...
Once
a legendary police inspector, Nicolas Lenoir is now a disillusioned and
broken man who spends his days going through the motions and his
evenings drinking away the nightmares of his past. Ten years ago, Lenoir
barely escaped the grasp of the Darkwalker, a vengeful spirit who
demands a terrible toll on those who have offended the dead. But the
Darkwalker does not give up on his prey so easily, and Lenoir has always
known his debt would come due one day.
When Lenoir is assigned to a disturbing new case, he treats the job
with his usual apathy—until his best informant, a street savvy orphan,
is kidnapped. Desperate to find his young friend before the worst
befalls him, Lenoir will do anything catch the monster responsible for
the crimes, even if it means walking willingly into the arms of his own
doom…...
I didn’t connect with this character as much as I did the characters in the author’s other series (The Bloodbound,
Erin Lindsey), but I still enjoyed the reading experience. I’m not
gonna lie, I found many of the plot points to be a bit predictable, but
the writing was good enough that I was willing to forgive that. I do
like a paranormal detective story, even if Nicolas Lenoir is a moody,
often drunken jerk. There’s a bit too much lingering (without details)
on the big bad awful thing that happened in his past that left him in
this detached state.
He may initially remind the reader of
Sherlock Holmes, but there are significant differences. His alcohol
dependence resembles Holmes’ drug habit, but the reasons behind them are
different. Holmes indulges occasionally when he’s bored, Lenoir drinks
every night to forget the dark event in his past. Holmes, for all his
disdain for regular people, is pretty honest & upright. Lenoir is
open to bribery and willing to slack on investigations that he doesn’t
consider particularly important. With his snarly, detached demeanour,
Lenoir is certainly lacking a sidekick like Watson, although he has
Sergeant Kody waiting in the wings to fill the position. In this volume,
Lenoir has Zach, a wily orphan boy, who stands in for all the Baker
Street Irregulars, to help him with his inquires.
The setting is
Victorian without being set in London. This world is obviously not ours
and we learn the differences as the story progresses. Magic is very much
a thing in this reality and has to be taken into account. The Adali
people are very Romany-like and provide an exotic source of tension.
This
author will be at the August conference that I’ll be attending. I think
I’ll have read all of her books by then! She has attended before and I
enjoyed her perspectives on fiction and writing, so I’m looking forward
to more of the same.
 |
| 3 out of 5 stars |
In this
hyperkinetic and relentlessly inventive novel, Japan’s most popular (and
controversial) fiction writer hurtles into the consciousness of the
West. Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World draws readers into
a narrative particle accelerator in which a split-brained data
processor, a deranged scientist, his shockingly undemure granddaughter,
Lauren Bacall, Bob Dylan, and various thugs, librarians, and
subterranean monsters collide to dazzling effect. What emerges is
simultaneously cooler than zero and unaffectedly affecting, a
hilariously funny and deeply serious meditation on the nature and uses
of the mind.
I’m not sure what to say
about this book, beside the fact that it is not really my cuppa tea. Not
that I disliked it, I often found it amusing and I easily read to the
end, no arm twisting necessary. But it certainly wouldn’t encourage me
to pick up more of this author’s works.
It took me a little while
to get into the rhythm of things, the chapters alternating between two
narrators. Both story lines felt a bit odd to me, despite my love of
fantasy fiction. But it was interesting in its nonconformity to
traditional fantasy plots. Neither narrator is really very heroic, none
of the women are portrayed as serious love interests, the reasons for
the adventures are largely undefined, plus there is very little wrap-up
at book’s end.
Interestingly, none the characters have
names—they are referred to by title (the old man, the chubby girl, the
librarian, etc.). Which I guess makes sense, as I assume that they are
all parts of the same brain! At least it seemed to me that the point of
the book was to explore the idea of the unconscious and how it interacts
with the conscious mind.
Pluses? Unicorns! Even if they were
kind of sad and decrepit unicorns, they were still unicorns. And who
doesn’t love enemies like the INKlings who worship a large fish with
violent tendencies? Also, the narrator’s fondness for the librarian.
Good taste that.
Book number 287 of my Science Fiction & Fantasy Reading Project.
 |
| 3.5 stars out of 5 |
He’s the best cop they’ve got.
When a drug bust turns into a bloodbath it’s up to Inspector Macbeth and his team to clean up the mess.
He’s also an ex-drug addict with a troubled past.
He’s rewarded for his success. Power. Money. Respect. They’re all within reach.
But a man like him won’t get to the top.
Plagued by hallucinations and paranoia, Macbeth starts to unravel. He’s convinced he won’t get what is rightfully his.
Unless he kills for it.
My enjoyment of this book
suffered greatly from a case of bad timing—it came in at the library
when I was in the mood for lighter, happier reading. And yet, I’d waited
many weeks for it and there were 60 people behind me in line, so I felt
duty bound to read it and pass it on. Perhaps I should have returned it
and rejoined the line of holds.
Macbeth is a dark, bloody story.
Jo Nesbø is expert at dark and bloody plot lines. This is a match made
in hell. But I came to realize that when I watch Shakespeare’s version, I
am insulated. There are kings and thanes and witches and iambic
pentameter, none of which occur in my regular life and I’m able to
distance myself from the violence, the blood and the back stabbing. This
version, set in a modern town and police department, removed that
cotton wool and exposed my nerve endings! During the first third of the
book, I had a difficult time picking it back up after a break, because I
knew the basic story line and knew that death and destruction were
coming. Seeing it in modern terms, with modern weapons, in a current
setting somehow made it so much worse and made it so much more relevant
to a 21st century reader.
In Nesbø’s version, Macbeth is the
successful head of a SWAT team in a town seething with corruption,
double dealing and drugs. Everyone is on the take, it seems, if the
price is high enough. Macbeth, orphan child, former circus performer,
recovering addict, has come up in the world and is poised to go even
higher. His love, Lady, has similarly come up from violence and poverty
to now own a large and successful casino.
I thought Nesbø’s
choice to make Hecate the head of the most successful drug cartel in the
town was brilliant, and especially to have three women brewing the
drugs. One of these three, Strega (Italian for witch, dontcha know) is
Hecate’s main way of communicating with Macbeth and Lady, among others.
Someday,
when I’m more in the mood for dark and dangerous, I may take this book
on again and see what I make of it the second time around. In the
meanwhile, I may check out the National Theatre’s production of the play
(starring Rory Kinnear and Anne-Marie Duff) later this month at my
local movie theatre.
 |
| 4 out of 5 stars |
When nurse Amy Leatheran agrees to look after American
archaeologist Dr Leidner’s wife Louise at a dig near Hassanieh she finds
herself taking on more than just nursing duties – she also has to help
solve murders. Fortunately for Amy, Hercule Poirot is visiting the
excavation site but will the great detective be in time to prevent a
multiple murderer from striking again?
***2018 Summer of Spies***
It must have been the exotic location of Afghanistan,
but this Hercule Poirot mystery really made me think about M.M. Kaye’s
series of mysteries, set in similarly foreign settings. Last summer, I
read both Death in Zanzibar and Death in Cyprus, and I have a feeling that Murder in Mesopotamia
may have been one of the influences on Kaye. Perhaps it was the English
nurse as narrator—an Englishwoman in an alien environment, applying her
standards of judgement to the events (and to Hercule Poirot as
investigator).
The solution to the crime was suitably obscure.
Christie fools me more often than any other mystery writer that I’ve
encountered so far. She is expert at the art of misdirection!
Christie
portrays the archaeological setting so accurately—the reader can tell
that she went to many dig sites with her second husband. She gets the
surroundings, the finds, the group dynamics, etc. just right. You can
taste the dust and feel the heat as you read.
I could also
appreciate her confidence as a writer. This is a Poirot mystery, but the
man himself doesn’t appear until well into the book and we see him only
through the eyes of Nurse Leatheran. Altogether a very skillfully
assembled mystery story, perfect for summer reading.
 |
| 3 out of 5 stars |
The mysterious
Mr. Socrates rescues Modo, a child in a traveling freak show. Modo is a
hunchback with an amazing ability to transform his appearance, and Mr.
Socrates raises him in isolation as an agent for the Permanent
Association, a spy agency behind Brittania's efforts to rule the empire.
At 14, Modo is left on the streets of London to fend for himself. When
he encounters Octavia Milkweed, another Association agent, the two
uncover a plot by the Clockword Guild behind the murders of important
men. Furthermore, a mad scientist is turning orphan children into
automatons to further the goals of the Guild. Modo and Octavia journey
deep into the tunnels under London and discover a terrifying plot
against the British government. It's up to them to save their country.
Although others have
classified this book as young adult, I would consider it to be for a
younger audience than that. I would recommend it for tweens and young
teens. I’m rating it three stars, but that’s for the reading experience
from my current vantage point as an adult. I think that if I’d read it
at the right age, I would definitely have rated it at four stars.
The
story is an interesting mix of steampunk elements and allusions to
classic literature. The main character, Modo (the hunchback of the
title) harks back to Quasimodo of Victor Hugo and Modo’s partner in
crime, Octavia Milkweed, reminds me obliquely of La Esmeralda in The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Like Quasimodo & Esmeralda, Modo becomes enamoured with Octavia.
Unlike Quasimodo, Modo has a paranormal ability to change his appearance
for limited amounts of time. Because of his crush on Octavia, he spends
quite a bit of time & effort to avoid being seen by her in his
natural state—this is obviously a state of affairs that will progress in
future volumes.
The story’s villain, Dr. Hyde, has some roots in Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde,
without the virtuous Jekyl state. He performs many horrible experiments
on both adults and children, but nothing vivid enough to leave younger
readers with nightmares, unless they are ultra-sensitive. The bolts that
he inserts in his experimental subjects reminded me strongly of the
popular-culture version of Frankenstein’s monster.
Unlike so many
of these alternate history Victorian stories, this one seems to be
aimed more at boys than at girls, although I think any girl of the right
age would definitely identify with Octavia. But with Modo as the
narrator of the tale, the appeal to boys is greater. Since I think that
reading for young men is a neglected demographic, I am glad to know
about this fun, engaging series.
The author, Arthur Slade, will
be attending the When Words Collide conference this August (2018) and I
am glad that I read one of his books before hearing him speak there.
 |
| 4 out of 5 stars |
On a freezing
Christmas Eve in 1879, a forensic psychic reader is summoned from her
Baker Street lodgings to the scene of a questionable death. Alexandrina
Victoria Pendlebury (named after her godmother, the current Queen of
England) is adamant that the death in question is a magically
compromised murder and not a suicide, as the police had assumed, after
the shocking revelation contained by the body in question, Alex must put
her personal loss aside to uncover the deeper issues at stake, before
more bodies turn up.
Turning to some choice allies—the handsome,
prescient Lieutenant Brooks, the brilliant, enigmatic Lord Desmond, and
her rapscallion cousin James—Alex will have to marshal all of her
magical and mental acumen to save Queen and Country from a shadowy
threat. Our singular heroine is caught up in this rousing gaslamp
adventure of cloaked assassins, meddlesome family, and dark magic.
***2018 Summer of Spies***
Recommended for fans of the Victorian lady detective form of fantasy.
I’m
not necessarily the biggest fan of the steampunk subgenre, although I
seem to be warming up to that category as I read more of it. This novel
is one of those best suited to my particular tastes in fantasy.
I chose it partly because of the series title, Her Majesty’s Psychic Service.
It is definitely a mystery with a dollop of romance—I’d been hoping for
something spy related, from that series title. But there was enough
intrigue that I’m still counting it towards my Summer of Spies.
I loved the family complications that the heroine,
Alex Pendlebury, coped with throughout the story and the workplace
machinations that also had to be factored into her calculations.
Operating on the theory that forgiveness is easier to get than
permission, Alex shows a lot of initiative on the investigation, aided
by the sometimes-prescient always-handsome Lieutenant Brooks.
As
Patricia Briggs wrote in her blurb for the book, there is “Murder,
mayhem and tea.” If you like alternate-history Victorian adventure with
witty banter and paranormal talents, this is the book for you. Now I am
just crossing my fingers that Ms. Elrod will be publishing another
volume in the series eventually.
