Planet of the Apes / Pierre Boulle

 

3 out of 5 stars 

Wow, time has not been kind to this novel. Space travelers find a message in a bottle and read it. It describes a small group of humans who travel from Earth to Betelgeuse and land on a planet that they name Soror. Their first encounter with other beings is with a beautiful woman who runs around naked, can't speak, and doesn't act very human despite her appearance. The three men eventually find themselves pursued and captured by gorillas in clothing and carrying guns. Ulysse, the narrator, finds himself confined in a laboratory, where he attempts to display his intellect and his distinction from the Sororan version of human.

Ulysse is an educated white man who suddenly finds himself treated like an animal, a nonentity, and it enrages him. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to occur to him that he may have treated others that way back on Earth (i.e. women and POC). I doubt that the author had animal rights in his mind as he wrote this novel, but I'd like to think he was commenting on class structure and possibly colonialism. The gorillas in particular reminded me of the British in Africa or India.

There were several zoological details that bothered me. The first was Ulysse referring to his captors as monkeys. I spent some time teaching natural history and helping people sort out the differences between monkeys and apes. This really rubbed me the wrong way. Secondly, the chimpanzee Zira, who believes Ulysse, states that gorillas eat meat and love hunting. In our world, gorillas are gentle vegetarians. It's chimpanzees who hunt monkeys avidly and relish eating meat. I've had to remind myself repeatedly that Boulle wrote this before the ground-breaking research by Jane Goodall and Diane Fossey.

The revelation at the end elevates the novel from 2 to 3 stars. Anyone who has seen the original 1968 movie will have a pretty good idea of what happened, although the movie makers gave it their own twist. This may be one of the rare movies that is better than the source material.

Green Rider / Kristen Britain

 

3 out of 5 stars 

Not a bad little novel. It is very obviously a first novel, suffering from a clunky plot and thin characterization . Our main character, Karigan, is expelled from her school for besting a boy of the nobility in a sword contest. But for the winner of such a fight, she seems absolutely clueless when she next picks up a sword.

Kari stumbles across a dying Green Rider during her trip home. He manages to convince her to take up his task—to deliver a message to the King. Reluctantly, Kari agrees, pins on his brooch, picks up his messenger bag, and catches his horse. She is the typical reluctant questor, learning things as she goes. The brooch turns out to fill much the same role as the One Ring in The Lord of the Rings , allowing Kari to fade out of view when necessary. Like A Game of Thrones, there is a magically enhanced wall to keep the darkness at bay, but someone messes with it (in the first chapter), loosing evil on this world.

Bumbling she may be, but Kari always lands on her feet and is successful. The author seems to have believed that making her reluctant and shy will substitute for character development. Several of the numerous ghosts in the story have more personality than Kari. And yet, the captain of the Green Riders wants to recruit her and the king takes notice of her.

The plot is interesting and that's what saves the novel. I found myself pulled along despite the very basic writing and jerky pacing. It's nice to have a young woman at the centre of things, even if she does flip between having good ideas and being clueless. There are no obvious love interests, though there are a couple of possibilities. There are at least seven more books in the series and I can only hope that Britain's writing style smooths out in later volumes.

Paranormal Payback

 

3.75 out of 5 stars 

I've been anticipating this collection of stories and am pleased to report that I enjoyed all but one of them. Of course some appealed to me more than others--that's the nature of these collections.

Jim Butcher's contribution was a small visit to Harry Dresden's Chicago. I've noticed that his short stories tend to explore the criminals of this world, which must be an entertaining change. I've heard that writing villains is fun.

I haven't yet read Holly Black's The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, but her story here takes place in that world. Perhaps I liked it as much as I did because her protagonist is an older woman. I think I may backtrack to the novel.

Tanya Huff has become one of my favourite authors. Her story is set in Henry Fitzroy's Vancouver. I have her Smoke Trilogy on my shelf, waiting. This story convinced me that I need to find room for it in my reading plans.

Another favourite is Faith Hunter and the world of Jane Yellowrock. It was fun to be reminded of those books and even inspired me to go to Libby and sign out Skinwalker. (This is is why my reading queue is so crowded. It's my rereading habit.)

Those were my highlights. Your mileage may vary. A worthwhile book for the urban fantasy fan.

Too Old For This / Samantha Downing

 

3.25 out of 5 stars 

I'm not sure what I expected this book to be, but it didn't square with those nebulous expectations. I guess I wanted it to be more humorous. Instead I got a rather serious examination of the indignities of aging.

Lottie is a retired serial killer. She just wants to spoil her grandchildren, attend her son's second wedding, go to church on Sundays, and maybe win at bingo now and then. Instead, a young woman shows up on her doorstep, wanting to film a docuseries about people wrongly accused of crime. What Plum can't know is that Lottie wasn't innocent, just good at disposing of evidence and keeping her mouth shut. When Plum gets persistent in her interest, Lottie decides she knows exactly what to do.

Unfortunately for Lottie many things have changed. She's no longer as strong as she once was, her balance has deteriorated, and her memory for detail isn't as sharp as it once was. Plus technology has changed and she keeps forgetting that her phone can track her. What started out as a straight forward murder spirals out of control, as two detectives, Plum's boyfriend, and Plum's mother show up at her house. It's tiring for an old woman.

During the whole shitshow, Lottie realizes that she could conceivably die and rot in her big old house. She  begins to research senior communities and consider how to get top dollar for her run down home. She relaxes her wardrobe and simplifies her bingo night food contributions, which worries her friends.

I struggled a bit to finish this novel, but eventually I made it to the remarkably peaceful ending. I am doubtful that I will read any of the author's other works. My TBR is long and there are many more appealing novels to spend my time on.

Second Chance Romance / Olivia Dade

 

3.75 out of 5 stars 

The second book in the Harlot's Bay series centers on Karl Dean, the grumpy, antisocial, loudly profane baker who runs his successful business in the town. In the first volume, Athena worked for him briefly and was highly amused by his blasting of audiobooks over the bakery's sound system before they opened for the day. Mostly because the books in question were monster romance novels. In this book we learn that Karl isn't really into monsters--it's just that the narrator was the love of his life and the books are his only connection to her.

Molly Dearborn left Harlot's Bay behind in her last year of high school and has never returned. She's recently divorced, lives in California, and earns her keep as a voice actor. Two events cause her to take a break and return to Maine: her house requires significant renovations and her author friend sends her Karl's obituary. Obviously, the obit is the result of a misunderstanding, but Molly and Karl discover they still have chemistry.

I loved Karl in the first book, with his murder threats against anyone who annoyed him, his profane mutterings, and his obvious soft heart and care of the people that he reluctantly allows into his life. I like Molly well enough to begin with and warmed up to her as I learned her circumstances. Neither of them wear their hearts on their sleeves and communication is their big obstacle.

Fiction is comforting when you know what the outcome will be. The conclusion is predictable, the big question is how the characters will get there. I didn't enjoy this novel quite as much as the first one, but it was still very enjoyable. Should Dade produce more entries in the series I would definitely read them.

The Forget-Me-Not Library / Heather Webber

 

4 out of 5 stars 

This was just what I wanted right now—a gentle story of friendship and love with low stakes problems. I could tell from the first few pages where the plot was headed, but I was perfectly okay with that. It was just a lovely walk in a familiar garden.

I loved the magic of the town of Forget-Me-Not, that crippled the cars of those who need emotional help of some variety and ensured the car repairs wouldn't be completed until they are ready. If they're not meant to go, the car will break down again as they're leaving town.

Juliet is recovering from being hit by lightning while walking with her beloved grandfather. She survived with some amnesia, but her grandfather did not. She is searching for peace and wants to regain her memory. Tallulah has returned to live with her Papaw in Forget-Me-Not following her divorce. She is juggling two children and a job and is dismayed when Juliet’s car breaks down in front of their big old house and the rest of the family welcomes her right in. They gradually learn to trust each other and they both build relationships in the community.

If you like the idea of good friendships in a small Southern town, this is the book for you.

The Tokyo Zodiac Murders / Soji Shimada

 

DNF @ 26%

I tried. This novel began with a simultaneously horrible and boring fantasy of a would-be serial murderer. Eventually I learned that he died before he could kill his daughter, step-daughters, and nieces to construct his perfect imaginary woman. They each represented a sign of the zodiac governing a particular body section.

I read far enough to get past the potential killer's diary. It was then revealed that the young women were systematically killed after his death and those cases remained unsolved. The narrative consisted of two men discussing the cold cases. One of them has studied the evidence and is describing it to the other, who appears to be a Japanese version of Hercule Poirot, who will solve the mystery solely by analyzing the evidence second-hand. 

Two men sitting, talking to each other, just didn't have the juice to hold my attention. My only regret is that this novel was chosen by my book club. I haven't attended a meeting since September 2025 and they will have forgotten me entirely.