Written in Red / Anne Bishop

 

4 out of 5 stars 

Well, that was fun and a great way to spend a cold afternoon. It was too icy for the errands I wanted to do (that's my story and I'm sticking to it). I was so pleasantly surprised by this book! I've read most of Bishop's Dark Jewels series, which I find to be silly instead of dark. I was impressed by how different this series feels, at least in this first book.

Bishop has taken the usual urban fantasy creatures (shifters, vampires) and given them her own spin. These people are not just humans with different abilities. They are far more hostile to humans, not wanting much to do with them (beyond snacking, of course). Their derisive term for their neighbours is monkeys and the bad behaviour of humans seems to justify that attitude.

So when a half frozen Meg Corbyn shows up in the alpha-wolf's bookstore late one night asking permission to apply for the post of liaison between the humans and the Others, Simon Wolfgard wonders why he hired her on the spot. Especially since she seems far less experienced for her age than the usual young woman. Meg has led a protected life as the possession of an organization that sells her visions of the future to the highest bidder. In order to have the visions, her skin must be cut, throwing her into a trance of pain and ecstasy.

Meg needs shelter from her Controller, who wants her back asap. Because she knows so little of the outside world, she treats everyone she meets with politeness and kindness. She has no prejudices. As a result, she makes friends wherever she goes. And she doesn't cower in her Liaison office—she gets out to deliver parcels that can't be carried by the mail carriers, the ponies (who were won over with treats). Her willingness to work and to talk to anyone who engages her gains her status among the Others. She is The Meg and anyone who disturbs her will be dealt with, including Simon Wolfgard.

Needless to say, many humans seem to want to harm Meg which may start a war. Can it be avoided? Will she change the society of the Others? When will Simon realize that he's attached to this determined little woman? I can hardly wait to dig into the next volume!

The Quiet Tenant / Clemence Michallon

 

3 out of 5 stars 

How the hell do I rate a book like this? I swear that I'm not going to read any more serial killer books and then a new one gets published and my brain says, “Oh, shiny!” This novel was gripping. It was tense, especially toward the end. It was grimly, awfully believable.

Pluses: it was all related from the women's points of view. His daughter, his captive, and his girlfriend/soon to be next victim. It fairly portrayed what we are willing to do in order to stay alive. It fairly depicts how we women with psychological damage can be manipulated by a practiced offender. Speaking from personal experience, if you have a controlling man in your family, it feels like something you know how to deal with. It feels familiar. You think you know what you're getting into. You don't. And these offenders have radar for the women with this kind of background.

Minuses: these books always make me debate their merit. Do we need more books featuring criminals like Aidan Thomas? Do they do anyone any good? Or do they just turn us into voyeurs? Is this a tribute to the bravery and resilience of Rachel? Or I am I just thankful that it's her and not me?

In the end, I don't know the answers to any of these questions. I don't know what star rating to assign. My thought is to go middle of the road. Three stars.

Childhood's End / Arthur C. Clarke

 

4 out of 5 stars 

It's been over a decade since I last read Childhood's End and it was worth revisiting. Clarke was one of the celebrated authors of the sci-fi genre during the so-called Golden Age. And I was just as absorbed by this novel this time around as the previous outings. This despite Clarke's writing style, which I can only describe as chilly and overly logical. If aliens like the Overlords were to read this book, they would believe humans to be little swayed by emotion, basing their behaviour on rational thought, rather unlike the excitable, irrational people that I see regularly on the news.

Clarke also breaks one of those oft quoted rules of writers, to show rather than telling. He tells us an awful lot and his characters obey his decrees without protest. Women are few and far between, with Jean being the most prominent, both for proving humankind's suitability for future development and for producing the children who will lead the way. Beyond that, she gets relegated to the roles of housewife and mother, a great waste. I never felt like I knew any of the characters intimately and didn't feel much connection to them. I wasn't the slightest bit concerned as they were eliminated one by one.

What to make of humankind's ultimate end? Is it a good or a bad thing? Clarke portrays it as a desirable outcome, but I guess I'm too much of an individualist for it to sit comfortably. The universe is undoubtedly a huge and terrifying thing, but I love this blue and green planet where we live and I have no desire to abandon it. Are the misnamed Overlords to be pitied because they retain their uniqueness and some agency? Frankly I feel like they are getting the better deal.

Nevertheless, I still think this is an important book in the canon of science fiction and that it deserves its place there. I find it somewhat encouraging that even a man as devoted to science as Clarke would write a story with such definite paranormal elements.

4:50 From Paddington / Agatha Christie

 

5 out of 5 stars 

I am a day late and a dollar short, as the saying goes. This was the October book for my Agatha Christie reading group and I did start on Halloween but flaked out before I could finish it. Besides which I was enjoying it too much to hurry and I was under the erroneous impression that I might actually be able to finger the murderer this time. Foolish person that I am! I have the niggling feeling that I have seen the initial scene in some other venue: Elspeth McGillicuddy is on the 4:50 train, which is passed by another train in which she witnesses a man strangling a woman to death. Elspeth arrives on Miss Marple's doorstep convinced that she has been written off by the authorities as a tiresome old lady.

I always enjoy a Marple mystery and this outing adds the remarkable Lucy Eyelesbarrow to Christie's stable of wonderful characters. Of course Miss Marple recruits the younger woman to do her foot work. Searching for corpses is a young woman's game. Lucy can run a stately home like nobody's business and poke through the grounds in her spare time. Miss Marple has used her own resources to procure a map, to ride the same route, and deduce where the dead woman has likely been disposed of. Lucy will be responsible for ground-truthing her theory.

Lucy finagles a job in Rutherford Hall and soon has the whole family (and especially the men folk) eating out of her hand. Once the body is revealed, more mischief happens. Every time I had a suspect in my sights, Christie bumped them off! Also entertaining were the many proposals that Lucy receives along the way. Christie quite cruelly refused to finger the lucky man who wins Lucy (or if one of them manages that task), but she revealed the murderer clearly.

I do wish Lucy had more time to spend with Inspector Craddock, if she had to choose any of these louts!

This is book number 24 of my Read Your Hoard Challenge.

Cretaceous Sea / Will Hubbell

 

2 out of 5 stars 

Halloween Bingo 2024

Oh, the perils of cover art! When I ordered this book, it was the dinosaurs on the cover (and the sale price) that hooked me. The thought of being able to time travel to the Cretaceous was also pleasing and I clicked “buy" without thinking too deeply about the matter. This I regret.

The dinosaurs, when they are encountered, are fabulous. However, this novel is far too people-infested. And they are not very interesting. We have the ice-cold entrepreneur who controls the time machine and his minions (who are crystal clear regarding their status as mere minions). We have the selfish, self-indulgent billionaire, who comes complete with a blonde floozy and a daughter whose affection he is trying to buy. Plus a geology student who has been hired to be tour guide for said daughter, who is judged young and biddable (completely disregarding scientific curiosity).

Off they go, using this mysterious technology, to the Cretaceous. It doesn't take our geology student long to figure out that things are hinky. Apparently our entrepreneur has conked a time traveler over the head and claimed his vehicle, which can only be toggled between the present and the dinosaurs. The site where they are camping was built by future-dude. Entrepreneur needs billionaire to fund the reverse engineering of the tech. Meanwhile, the daughter finds a hidden room, filled with screens and a clock with a mysterious countdown. To the asteroid event that will end the dinosaurs.

The dialogue is dull, the roles of the characters are stereotypes, and I just couldn't find much enthusiasm for the plot. Of course the women must be protected, but not by the fat cats. It'll be the pilot and the geology student who step up. The one brown guy sacrifices himself to comfort the blond floozy, who graciously bestows one (count 'em, one) kiss on this guy she would normally not even acknowledge. Ick. I read to the 52% point, then skipped to the final chapters to see if I was missing anything worthwhile. Let's just say that people from the future are jerks.

I read this book to fulfill the Portal Fantasy square of my Halloween Bingo card.

A Night in the Lonesome October / Roger Zelazny

 

5 out of 5 stars 

Halloween Bingo 2024

I was delighted earlier this year when I was able to buy a copy of this out-of-print edition of Roger Zelazny’s final novel. I love James Warhola's cover art. It's obvious that Warhola had read the book and shared Zelazny’s joy in all the references to other literature and to the horror film genre.

I must thank my reading buddy Elentarri for researching the details of this elaborate book. The evocative title comes from an Edgar Allan Poe poem, Ulalume. The timing of a full moon over London on Halloween sets a date of 1887, perfect for including both Jack the Ripper and the Great Detective. Rumour has it that someone bet Zelazny that he couldn't write a story that made Jack into a sympathetic character (or even a hero). I'm glad he took the challenge.

Although I have read Zelazny's Amber series and his Lord of Light, I must admit that Lonesome October is by far my favourite. Now that I own a copy, I was finally able to follow the one-chapter-per-day reading plan. It was quite satisfying and I intend it to be an annual exercise in future Octobers.

I read this book to fulfill the Halloween square of my Halloween Bingo card.

Carpe Jugulum / Terry Pratchett

 

4 out of 5 stars 

Halloween Bingo 2024

This Discworld novel had a number of my favourite characters: the Witches, DEATH, and the Nac mac Feegle. Throw in some vampires and what could be better? The witches must kick some bat!

Mr. Pratchett examines the powers of choices. Mightily Oates, confused follower of the god Om, must decide if he’s going to see every side of every issue, or is he going to choose a position. You have to choose if you want to make a difference. Granny Weatherwax must keep choosing her balance between the dark and the light. Nanny Ogg steps up when Granny seems to have disappeared.

The vampires have decided to use the power of positive thinking and gradual desensitization to overcome their weaknesses: garlic, lemon, holy water and sunshine. The trick is to keep believing in your invulnerability. But they don’t know headology like Granny does—can she out-manoeuvre and outThink them?

Any book with the Nac mac Feegle is my kind of book! Pratchett obviously enjoyed writing them.

I read this book to fulfill the Gallows Humour square of my Halloween Bingo card.