A Treacherous Curse / Deanna Raybourn

4.25 stars out of 5

London, 1888. As colorful and unfettered as the butterflies she collects, Victorian adventuress Veronica Speedwell can’t resist the allure of an exotic mystery—particularly one involving her enigmatic colleague, Stoker.

His former expedition partner has vanished from an archaeological dig with a priceless diadem unearthed from the newly discovered tomb of an Egyptian princess. This disappearance is just the latest in a string of unfortunate events that have plagued the controversial expedition, and rumors abound that the curse of the vengeful princess has been unleashed as the shadowy figure of Anubis himself stalks the streets of London.

But the perils of an ancient curse are not the only challenges Veronica must face as sordid details and malevolent enemies emerge from Stoker’s past.

Caught in a tangle of conspiracies and threats—and thrust into the public eye by an enterprising new foe—Veronica must separate facts from fantasy to unravel a web of duplicity that threatens to cost Stoker everything. . .

I do love sassy, sarcastic Veronica Speedwell! I am caught up now and ready to enjoy the next book in the series, which is due out in March 2019. (Next month! Squee!)

I adore Raybourn’s writing and the particular voice that she has established for Veronica. For example:

“Boys!” I said sharply. “There will be no brawling with your shirts on. Kindly remove your upper garments and give them into my keeping.” Both men turned to look at me, wearing identical expressions of astonishment. Mornaday spoke first. “I beg your pardon?” I adopted my best nanny tone—one that I had used with excellent results to bring unruly suitors to heel. “You cannot strike an opponent properly while hampered by a tight coat,” I pointed out. “Or a fitted waistcoat. And white does show the blood so badly. The shirt must come off as well.” I put out my hands. “Come on, then. Shirts off, both of you. Shall you fight to first blood or unconsciousness? I always think first blood is a little lacking. Let’s go until one of you is entirely senseless, shall we?”

Needless to say that the “boys,” Stoker and Moraday, think better of their impulse to beat on one another.

I’m also enjoying the slow progression of the friendship between Veronica and Stoker—we get the distinct impression that Raybourn will bring them together eventually, but she realizes that would change the chemistry of the books substantially and wisely is proceeding slowly towards that end. Throwing them into each other’s arms would take the wind out of the sails of the series.

The author has hinted that there may be further books (after #4) in this series, if she gets the word from the publisher. I can only hope that they give her the green light, as I would totally read as many as she can produce.

Silent in the Sanctuary / Deanna Raybourn

4 out of 5 stars

Fresh from a six-month sojourn in Italy, Lady Julia returns home to Sussex to find her father's estate crowded with family and friends— but dark deeds are afoot at the deconsecrated abbey, and a murderer roams the ancient cloisters.

Much to her surprise, the one man she had hoped to forget—the enigmatic and compelling Nicholas Brisbane—is among her father's houseguests… and he is not alone. Not to be outdone, Julia shows him that two can play at flirtation and promptly introduces him to her devoted, younger, titled Italian count.

But the homecoming celebrations quickly take a ghastly turn when one of the guests is found brutally murdered in the chapel, and a member of Lady Julia's own family confesses to the crime. Certain of her cousin's innocence, Lady Julia resumes her unlikely and deliciously intriguing partnership with Nicholas Brisbane, setting out to unravel a tangle of deceit before the killer can strike again. When a sudden snowstorm blankets the abbey like a shroud, it falls to Lady Julia and Nicholas Brisbane to answer the shriek of murder most foul.

I know that this series is generally considered a mystery series, but to me it is more of a romance series. The mystery portion of the plot merely provides the grit around which the pearl of the romance is gradually being formed. As per usual with Gothic romances, the mystery portion unfolds at an extremely leisurely pace and at least half of the fun of the reading experience is the amount of time the couple spends bickering rather than kissing—they seem to get 1-2 kisses per book.

There are the usual romance tropes—a strong willed heroine, a man who doesn’t feel like he quite fits into her world, annoyance gradually changing to passion.

Raybourn also gives me enough amusing dialog to keep me entertained:

”I suppose it is quite certain he is dead?” I asked faintly.
“There are bits of him stuck to your shoe,” he remarked, rather unhelpfully.

However, the ending of the book, with Julia’s final visit to the Roma camp, just didn’t ring true for me. In my humble opinion, she drastically overpaid for the information that she received. Nevertheless, I will be happy to proceed to the next novel.

I Still Miss My Man But My Aim is Getting Better / Sarah Shankman

4 out of 5 stars

Tuesday, eleven-thirty, a bright spring morning .... Just off the breakfast shift at Sweet Willie's meat-and-three, Shelby Kay Tate rushes down an old-fashioned Nashville sidewalk with Thursday night playing itself out in her mind. It's songwriters' night at the Sutler, a chance to serve up her big, bluesy voice to a crowd hungry for new country songs. Shelby's picturing herself onstage, a girl from Star, Mississippi, belting one clear against the back wall, when a familiar head of golden hair brings her out of her reverie. She'd know Leroy Mabry's puny frame from a mile away - and the last time she'd seen it was in divorce court. Though she wonders what the devil he's up to, she's got better things to think about.

An eclectic mix of jealous women, scouting agents, and a big-name star ready for a big-time comeback make their own plans!

With this title, how could I resist this book? And it is highly appropriate that it is also the title of the country song that the main character, Shelby Kay Tate, is working on. She has come to Nashville to follow her passion, singing & song writing, having finally divorced her dead-beat husband Leroy.

When I first was getting going, I must confess that I was a bit worried that it was all going to be too cutesy. But once I gained some momentum, I got into the spirit of the book and was willing to go with the author’s plan. She is playing with stereotypes, both of the Nashville scene and those of what life in the Southern U.S. is like. As a Southerner herself, Shankman is obviously fondly making fun of her home and that affection shines throughout.

I loved how she kept introducing characters who all improbably are connected, creating a real tangle of yarn as all their threads cross during the course of the story. There is also a strong feminist vibe through the whole book, as both Shelby and several other women break free of bad or abusive relationships and are able to sing along, “I still miss my man, but my aim is getting better.”

Athyra / Steven Brust

3 out of 5 stars

Vlad Taltos is very good at killing people. That, combined with two faithful companions and a talent for witchcraft, makes him an assassin par excellence. But lately his heart just hasn't been in his work, so he decides to retire. Unfortunately, old enemies have scores to settle with Vlad. So much for retirement!

Although I liked this story well enough, it is my least favourite of the Vlad Taltos books that I’ve read thus far. I think it’s because it’s not narrated by Vlad, but by a young Teckla man who befriends Vlad on one of his self-directed missions. I missed the cheeky, smart-ass remarks that we have come to expect from our Eastern (ex-)assassin friend.

As I say, the story isn’t bad, but it suffers from this change in point-of-view. Brust has made the young man ignorant--he’s smart enough, but he’s had relatively little education and no experience to cause him to question any of his culture’s world views. There’s limited interest in his learning about the outside world and how others perceive it and him, but it’s not riveting.

I imagine that Brust wanted to experiment with a new writing technique--writing the same thing over and over may appeal to your core audience, but I can see needing to try new things to keep yourself interested in an established character. My hope is that book 7 will revert to Vlad as the main voice.

Book Number 309 in my Science Fiction & Fantasy Reading Project.

The Wicked King / Holly Black

4 out of 5 stars

After the jaw-dropping revelation that Oak is the heir to Faerie, Jude must keep her younger brother safe. To do so, she has bound the wicked king, Cardan, to her, and made herself the power behind the throne. Navigating the constantly shifting political alliances of Faerie would be difficult enough if Cardan were easy to control. But he does everything in his power to humiliate and undermine her even as his fascination with her remains undiminished.

When it becomes all too clear that someone close to Jude means to betray her, threatening her own life and the lives of everyone she loves, Jude must uncover the traitor and fight her own complicated feelings for Cardan to maintain control as a mortal in a Faerie world. 

Move over, Machiavelli, now we have Jude to give you a run for your manipulating money!

For a very young woman, she has managed to make everyone dance to her tune and has out-maneuvered much more experienced politickers. Now her challenge is to control herself! When she first placed Cardan on the throne of Elfhame, he was more interested in drinking and carousing than in ruling. Will she still be able to control him if he develops an interest in governing?

After the very dirty trick that she played on Cardan to get him on the throne, the tables are turned and he proves that Jude is not the only one who can play hard-ball. When Jude shows him how to use emotional manipulation to get information, she did not expect him to learn the lesson or to practice on her.

Black has written a fascinating second stage in their relationship--one in which neither one of them is willing to admit how attracted they are to each other. They are still very much at odds. Perhaps I’m wrong, but I keep feeling like they will eventually be a couple and I can hardly wait for the third book to see how Black accomplishes this about face.

OMG, I have to wait until some time in 2020 before I get my next hit of Jude & Cardan! It is going to be an agonizing wait.

Oh, and incidentally, that is a gorgeous cover illustration!

The Myth Manifestation / Lisa Shearin

4 out of 5 stars

New York is one of the most popular convention destinations in the world—for humans and supernaturals. Every hundred years, rulers of thhe world’s supernatural races come together to negotiate and renew a peace treaty. Meeting in the same hotel are the governors of our world’s goblin and elf colonies. SPI is saddled with the security nightmare of keeping the living delegates alive and the undead delegates from becoming permanently deceased. We’ve got our work cut out for us.

I’m Makenna Fraser, seer for SPI. Our security nightmare becomes real when monsters from the delegates’ mythologies begin mysteriously appearing in the flesh to hunt delegates from every side of the debate. And when the hotel gets sucked into another dimension, there’s no escape.

We discover that we’re all pieces in an elaborate and deadly game. A game about to spill out into the real world. Failing to escape is game over and not an option. We have to save the world—but first, we have to save ourselves.

I’m still enjoying this series--there’s plenty of action in each book, but somehow the overarching plot line moves along very, very slowly. But this seems to be a Shearin thing, as her Raine Benares series is exactly the same in this regard.

Speaking of the Raine Benares series, this is the volume where the two series come together. One of Raine’s piratical relatives shows up as a diplomat here in Makenna’s universe and Mac’s goblin love interest, Rake, turns out to be a cousin of Raine’s one-time love interest, Tam.

I’m not entirely sure, but it seems that Shearin has had to publish this book (and later volumes of Raine Benares) as an independent, rather than with a traditional publisher. My public library wouldn’t order this volume, because their policy is to only purchase from traditional publishers, so I had to put out my own cash for this adventure. Not a big deal, since I’ve purchased the entire series, but it makes me a bit sad that people who depend on the library can’t continue on.

I think I’m safe in saying that if you liked previous volumes of the SPI Files, you will also enjoy this one. If I have any critique, it’s that I didn’t get nearly enough of Mac’s partner, Ian, in this volume. The Mac-Ian show has been entertaining and I’m sorry it got short shrift in this outing. I’m also a little disappointed with Rake, who seems to be going all ooey-gooey good guy. Where is the dark mage that Makenna fell for in the first books?

Despite these concerns, I don’t think there’s any doubt that I will put out the money for the next volume!

Steel Beach / John Varley

2 out of 5 stars

Fleeing Earth after an alien invasion, the human race stands on the threshold of evolution, like a fish cast on artificial shores. Their new home is Luna, a moon colony blessed with creature comforts, prolonged lifespans, digital memories, and instant sex changes. But the people of Luna are bored, restless, and suicidal -- and so is the computer that monitors their existence... 

I would have to say that this book is very much an homage to Robert A. Heinlein. That’s not necessarily a bad thing--there’s a very strongThe Moon is a Harsh Mistress vibe, which I was totally okay with. The Central Computer (CC) in Steel Beach is channeling the self-aware computer in TMiaHM and ends up having similar problems.

There are nods to other writers as well. There’s a lot of sex-changing in this novel, which made me think of Iain Banks’ Culture series and George Effinger’s When Gravity Fails. Varley’s version also made me think of Tiersias of Greek mythology--you know, the guy who found a pair of copulating snakes and hit them with a stick? Hera was so displeased with him that she turned him into a woman for seven years (apparently being female is a punishment). Needless to say, the Ancient Greeks were eager to hear his perspectives on this and he confirmed their bias by saying that women got much more out of the sexual experience than men did. It seems that Varley believed this too.

There’s also a shout out to Arthur C. Clarke, when the CC is worried that he’s going to end up singing “Daisy, Daisy,” like Hal in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Another Heinleinian element: a scrapped spaceship called in R.A. Heinlein, within which his spiritual descendents live & grumble. When Hildy is handing out pseudonyms, she christens one of them Valentine Michael Smith (see Stranger in a Strange Land).

I read until the end because I wanted to see how things were wrapped up, but if you’re not a big fan of RAH, my advice is to skip this book.

Book number 308 in my Science Fiction & Fantasy Reading Project.

Lies Sleeping / Ben Aaronovitch

4 out of 5 stars

Martin Chorley, aka the Faceless Man, wanted for multiple counts of murder, fraud, and crimes against humanity, has been unmasked and is on the run. Peter Grant, Detective Constable and apprentice wizard, now plays a key role in an unprecedented joint operation to bring Chorley to justice.

But even as the unwieldy might of the Metropolitan Police bears down on its foe, Peter uncovers clues that Chorley, far from being finished, is executing the final stages of a long term plan. A plan that has its roots in London’s two thousand bloody years of history, and could literally bring the city to its knees.

To save his beloved city Peter’s going to need help from his former best friend and colleague–Lesley May–who brutally betrayed him and everything he thought she believed in. And, far worse, he might even have to come to terms with the malevolent supernatural killer and agent of chaos known as Mr Punch….

As I said in my review of the last Peter Grant novel, I just enjoy Ben Aaronovitch’s version of London and spending time there with Peter, Bev, Nightingale, Molly, Toby, Guleed, and all the assortment of other people who populate Peter’s world.

The Folly has certainly become a much busier place and the world of magic is much more acknowledged in this installment than when we first met PC Grant. I’m particularly happy to see Peter’s young cousin, Abigail, getting to learn the basics from Nightingale and starting to participate in the adventures. I do hope that the books won’t lose their charm with more & more people involved in Falcon mattrs! But I’m positively anxious to see more of Muslim-ninja, Guleed. Her character has the greatest promise, at least in my mind.

Hopefully we’ll see more of Molly & Foxglove as well. Now that Bev is a fixture in Peter’s life, I can only hope that more of the magical demi-monde establish themselves in similar fashion. Maybe there’s even hope for Lesley May????

I think it’s safe to say that I’ll be reading anything that Mr. Aaronovitch cares to produce in this story line. Please sir, may we have some more?

Decluttering at the Speed of Life / Dana White

3.5 stars out of 5

While the world seems to be in love with the idea of tiny houses and minimalism, real women with real families who are constantly growing and changing simply can’t purge it all and start from nothing. Yet a home with too much stuff is a home that is difficult to maintain, so where do we begin? Add in paralyzing emotional attachments and constant life challenges, and it can feel almost impossible to make real decluttering progress.

In Decluttering at the Speed of Life, decluttering expert and author Dana White identifies the mind-sets and emotional challenges that make it difficult to declutter. Then, in her signature humorous approach, she provides workable solutions to break through these struggles and get clutter out—for good!

This was exactly what I needed this week--an inspirational book to spur me to get a few things done around the house. I took a week off to do things like tackle my laundry mountain, tame the paper piles, do some pre-emptive cooking, and generally clean & reorganize some of the corners of my home that have been driving me crazy.

Generally speaking, I find White’s advice to be very practical. Start with the easy stuff--take out the garbage, do the recycling, move as many of the things as you can without having to make big decisions. It needs to be done so just do it.

She also has you ask yourself a practical question: if I was looking for this, where would I look first? Then go put that thing there. Question two I found a bit iffy: Would I even remember that I had this if I needed one? Maybe its an indication that I really am on the verge of being contained and organized that I’m pretty sure I’m secure in the knowledge of what I own and where it lives.

I did love (and am stealing) her term for this work: deslobification. That’s exactly what I’m engaged in. Her other wonderful word is procrasticlutter. You know, that stuff that sits on the table, in the hallway, in your bedroom, etc. waiting for you to do it and then put it away. I am awful about this kind of thing, procrastinator that I am!

Another concept that I will be grateful for as I move forward is that of a shelf or a closet as a container. Yes, I can have such-and-such a number of some thing--but only as much as the drawer or the shelf will contain. When the container is full, you must choose your favourites and then let go of the rest. A wonderful way to limit oneself!

Between this book and a bit of journaling (which I’ve also had time for this week) I’ve come to realize how much progress I’ve made in the organizing of my household and I’m feeling quite optimistic about it.

Recommended as an inspirational text when you need a boost towards your household goals.

The Legacy / R.A. Salvatore

2.5 stars out of 5

Having found a measure of peace among the dwarves in the reclaimed Mithral Hall, Drizzt begins to know contentment for perhaps the first time in his tumultuous life. But for a dark elf renegade from a city ruled by priestesses of a demon goddess, no peace can long last. It is Lolth herself, the dreaded Queen of the Demonweb Pits, who musters her followers to pour up from the black depths of the Underdark to reclaim for their goddess the one soul that had managed to elude her. The soul of Drizzt Do’Urden. 

In which Drizzt learns that family is forever. They may be evil psychotic bitches, but you’re still tethered to them unless you’re willing to do something drastic about it. Readers who have had a change in religion from their families and find it coming back to bite them will also feel right at home in this adventure!

The Spider goddess, Lloth, does her best to re-capture Drizzt and get what she considers her due. Possibly because friendship is an unknown quality in Drow Elf society, she under-estimates the number and quality of Drizzt’s friends and allies.

Obviously, the author is setting the stage for Drizzt to return to his society of origin and settle everyone’s hash with his amazing blade work. The biggest question for the next book is who will be accompanying him, especially after the losses in this book. I guess it says something about character development when one of the major characters can be wiped out completely and everyone else just keeps on keeping on.

Book Number 307 in my Science Fiction & Fantasy Reading Project.

Doomsday Book / Connie Willis

4.5 stars out of 5

For Kivrin, preparing an on-site study of one of the deadliest eras in humanity's history was as simple as receiving inoculations against the diseases of the fourteenth century and inventing an alibi for a woman traveling alone. For her instructors in the twenty-first century, it meant painstaking calculations and careful monitoring of the rendezvous location where Kivrin would be received.

But a crisis strangely linking past and future strands Kivrin in a bygone age as her fellows try desperately to rescue her. In a time of superstition and fear, Kivrin--barely of age herself--finds she has become an unlikely angel of hope during one of history's darkest hours.

One of my pet peeves about time travel stories is the ease with which the people blend in and communicate smoothly with people from the past. Having studied just enough linguistics to be dangerous, I’m pretty sure that language changes quickly enough to scuttle that part of the plot line! Witness all the people who struggle with Shakespearean language today, and you realize that traveling to the past is not going to be a cake walk. Kivrin struggles enough upon her arrival in the Middle Ages to be credible.

I thought the flu epidemic in the future environment was a stroke of genius on Willis’ part. Disease is disrupting life on both ends of the time travel, creating uncertainty everywhere. And I suspect that Willis has spent time in a university environment (as I have) and is fully aware of department heads like Gilchrist who think that they know everything and regard cautious people as foolish. It’s not usually the life of a student which is on the line, but we are familiar with the guy who won’t listen to reason and doesn’t have to because he’s “in charge.”

This also made me consider how we view historical texts—how we try to reinterpret them according to our own contemporary standards. Kivrin’s studying of Middle English, for example, and how she finds it incomprehensible when confronted with those who spoke it naturally. Gilchrist’s easy assumption that people of the Middle Ages exaggerated the number of deaths due to plague. It’s so easy to sit in our comfortable 21st century chairs and criticize their observations!

I also remember being tied to a landline phone as Mr. Dunworthy is in flu-epidemic-stricken Oxford! At the time that this book was written (1992), mobile phones were still pretty clunky. If there were to be a revised version, some of it would have to change to make the same problems for smart phone users. People do leave mobile phones behind or turn them off or get outside of networks, so the same problems could be created. But it did seem strange to have a book set in our near future that didn’t incorporate mobile phones at all.

All in all, I found this a very satisfying tale and I’ll look forward to reading the next installment in the Oxford Time Travel series.

Book number 306 in my Science Fiction & Fantasy Reading Project.

I'll Be Gone in the Dark / Michelle McNamara

4.5 out of 5 stars

For more than ten years, a mysterious and violent predator committed fifty sexual assaults in Northern California before moving south, where he perpetrated ten sadistic murders. Then he disappeared, eluding capture by multiple police forces and some of the best detectives in the area.

Three decades later, Michelle McNamara, a true crime journalist who created the popular website TrueCrimeDiary.com, was determined to find the violent psychopath she called "the Golden State Killer." Michelle pored over police reports, interviewed victims, and embedded herself in the online communities that were as obsessed with the case as she was.

"I love reading true crime, but I’ve always been aware of the fact that, as a reader, I am actively choosing to be a consumer of someone else’s tragedy. So like any responsible consumer, I try to be careful in the choices I make. I read only the best: writers who are dogged, insightful, and humane. It was inevitable that I would find Michelle."

So says Gillian Flynn in her introduction to this fascinating book. She is so right about author Michelle McNamara. Her writing is top notch—right up there with Truman Capote in his classic In Cold Blood. So many true crime writers get bogged down in details, so intent on giving the reader every tiny fact that they neglect to tell a story. McNamara goes down the rabbit hole of details regularly, but she doesn’t make the reader accompany her—she sorts things out, investigates tirelessly, then reports her results.

This is as much a memoir of McNamara’s obsession and search for this killer as it is a history of the crimes and investigation. I felt like I got to know her and I liked what I saw. She would have been a fascinating coffee date and I got the feeling that she missed her calling, that she should definitely have been a professional investigator of some kind.

The saddest thing for me about the book was that Michelle died two years too soon to know the identity of the man she was searching for. From her descriptions in the narrative, I was unsurprised that it was Paul Holes who made the DNA discovery. He seems to possess the same investigative drive that Michelle embodied. As for justice, I guess this is a “better late than never” scenario.

The title of the book makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up, coming as it does from a line from the criminal himself: “Make one move and you’ll be silent forever and I’ll be gone in the dark.”

If you, like me, tore through this book and wished it was a bit longer, try James Renner’s True Crime Addict: How I Lost Myself in the Mysterious Disappearance of Maura Murray, which provides a very similar reading experience.

Half Spent Was the Night / Ami McKay

3.5 stars out of 5

During the nights between Christmas and New Year's, the witches of New York--Adelaide Thom, Eleanor St. Clair and the youngest, Beatrice Dunn--gather before the fire to tell ghost stories and perform traditional Yuletide divinations. (Did you know that roasting chestnuts were once used to foretell one's fate?)
As the witches roast chestnuts and melt lead to see their fate, a series of odd messengers land on their doorstep bearing invitations for a New Year's Eve masquerade hosted by a woman they've never met. Gossip, dreams and portents follow, leading the witches to question the woman's motives. Is she as benevolent as she seems or is she laying a trap. And so, as Gilded-Age New York prepares to ring in the new year, the witches don their finery and heard for the ball, on the hunt for answers that might well be the end of them.

A charming little novella, perfect for the days leading up to the New Year’s celebration. I was surprised at how long a waiting list there was for this book at my public library! I didn’t get my paws on it until late January, well into the New Year. But I still enjoyed this gentle little historical urban fantasy.

Lovely uses of British Isles mythology and some intrigue made it a worthwhile reading experience for me. I will definitely be willing to read the author’s The Witches of New York for the background story.

Smoke and Iron / Rachel Caine

4.25 out of 5 stars

The opening moves of a deadly game have begun. Jess Brightwell has put himself in direct peril, with only his wits and skill to aid him in a game of cat and mouse with the Archivist Magister of the Great Library. With the world catching fire, and words printed on paper the spark that lights rebellion, it falls to smugglers, thieves, and scholars to save a library thousands of years in the making...if they can stay alive long enough to outwit their enemies.

Rachel Caine is becoming one of my favourite authors! Especially with this series, which offers plenty of twists & turns and lots of characters that you wish could spend time with (after the crisis is over, of course).

I love this whole idea of the Library of Alexandria surviving into modern times and becoming an evil empire! The whole ecosystem of knowledge, with the Library controlling as much as they can, with protest movements like the Book Burners and Ink Lickers, and the criminal smugglers, there is plenty of complexity around which to build an excellent plot.

Caine leaves it to the reader to figure out how it all might relate to our world today, instead of getting to explain-y, like some authors do. I love that she gives her young adult audience the opportunity to think for themselves about the issues and doesn’t preach to them.

I’m very much looking forward to the grand finale, Sword and Pen.

Give Me Everything You Have / James Lasdun

3 out of 5 stars

A true story of obsessive love turning to obsessive hate, Give Me Everything You Have chronicles the author's strange and harrowing ordeal at the hands of a former student, a self-styled "verbal terrorist," who began trying, in her words, to "ruin him." Hate mail, online postings, and public accusations of plagiarism and sexual misconduct were her weapons of choice and, as with more conventional terrorist weapons, they proved remarkably difficult to combat.

James Lasdun's account, while terrifying, is told with compassion and humor, and brilliantly succeeds in turning a highly personal story into a profound meditation on subjects as varied as madness, race, Middle East politics, and the meaning of honor and reputation in the Internet age.

I first read this book back in 2013. I had a great deal of sympathy for the author, as I had four creepy men oozing their way around the outskirts of my life at that time and I was struggling to cope with the situation. Fortunately for me, none of them was nearly as persistent or proactive as the woman who troubled Mr. Lasdun.

On re-reading this volume, I was struck by two things. First, that the events in this book took place before we were really familiar with things like public shaming on the internet, revenge porn, and GamerGate and so many other attacks on people’s reputations in cyberspace. It’s taken a long time to get police interested in pursuing physical stalkers and their assistance has extremely mixed results, so I’m unsurprised that this author couldn’t get them effectively interested in his predicament.

Second, I have to point out that I don’t think this book wouldn’t have been deemed worthy of publishing if the author had been female. Women have to put up with this kind of behaviour with very little help from authorities on a regular basis. The reason that this book was “news” was because the victim was male and that character assassination on the internet was a new-ish thing.

I’m pleased to report that all four of the creepy men in my 2013 life are history. I don’t know where a single one of them is and I’m happy that way. Stalking is about power, having the power to make someone else’s life miserable while trying to get them to conform to some fantasy.

For observations on the stalking phenomenon, I would recommend Obsession by John E. Douglas (former FBI agent). For advice on keeping yourself safe, I would advise reading The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence by Gavin De Becker.

Lady Slings the Booze / Spider Robinson

2 out of 5 stars

Despite his employer's doubts that he is an authentic detective, Quigley is called in to investigate Lady Sally's establishment, a reputable place that caters to adults of all species and tastes. Lady Sally was the wife of the proprietor of Callahan's Place, the bar where human and other beings from all space and time come to cajole, drink, and occasionally save the world. The clientele and staff at Lady Sally's may have the same mission at hand, but now Quigley plays a significant part as the fate of the world hangs in the balance....

I have a difficult relationship with Spider Robinson’s writing. Unfortunate for me, since he wrote a number of the volumes on my self-assigned science fiction & fantasy reading list. Robinson is a great admirer of Robert A. Heinlein and it certainly shines through in his Callahan’s stories. Although I admire Heinlein’s achievements & acknowledge that he was a great influence in the science fiction genre, I don’t love all of his work either.

The story itself could have interested me, if Robinson had been willing to stick to the mystery aspect of it and treat it seriously. However, he simply cannot resist long, winding sidetracks, inserted specifically to make ridiculous puns. All of which I consider unfair pun-ishment to my reading sensibilities.

He also refuses to be serious about the mystery aspect of the story, serving up silly non-clues and preposterous reasoning. I could have forgiven a lot if he had given the plot more slightly more serious consideration.

It’s been difficult to find Robinson’s books—my public library weeded them out of their collection a couple of years ago. As a result, I’ve searched for and found several more volumes of the Callahan’s collection as second hand books. I’m debating whether to read them or whether to just take them to my favourite used bookstore for credit. I’ll probably persevere, but I’m certainly questioning my own judgement on that!

Book number 305 of my Science Fiction & Fantasy Reading Project.

Narcissus in Chains / Laurell K. Hamilton

2 to 2.5 stars out of 5

Just returned to St. Louis after six months away, Anita is still no closer to choosing between her lovers—Jean-Claude, a vampire, and Richard, a werewolf. But she has to rely on both for help after two of the wereleopards that she has been watching are abducted at a seedy club called Narcissus in Chains. 

Anita and her boyfriends rescue the wereleopards from the sinister people holding them, but Anita is wounded in the fight and put at risk of becoming a wereleopard herself. Richard angrily captures the wereleopard he believes is responsible and threatens to execute him.

Anita must now rescue that wereleopard from Richard and the werewolves he leads, even as she mourns the apparent end of her relationship with him. Then she realizes that those who kidnapped the first two wereleopards are targeting other lycanthropes. Maybe she will be next. 

Stick a fork in me, I am finally done. Done reading this Anita Blake novel, which I have found less satsifying than previous offerings. Call it 2.5 stars for my reading experience.

Many people of have told me “the Anita Blake series is fine until you hit book 10.” That’s this one, and I’m certainly aware that the series is moving in directions that I’m less interested in.

Now, those of you who do not read fantasy or urban fantasy may find the genre silly, what with its legions of vampires, werewolves, witches, zombies and other creatures. In the cold, everyday light of life, they are indeed silly. But they are also fun and they make a wonderful alternate world to explore imaginatively.

However, sometimes these fantasy worlds take a turn that seem ridiculous even to those of us who are dyed-in-the-wool urban fantasy junkies. That’s what’s happening to Anita Blake for me. Anita has changed from the young woman in book one who was afraid that someone might glimpse her underwear! Now she is a sexual adventuress who maintains intimate relationships with several men at one time, despite having misgivings about it every 4 or 5 pages.

I’m fine with a woman being able to love more than one man and I found Anita’s dilemma, being torn between Richard & Jean-Claude plausible. But Anita’s bedroom is getting crowded and she acquires more bed fellows than she knows what to do with!

Hamilton still delivers some excellent lines of inner dialog: “Maybe they know what I know, that the true way to a man's heart is six inches of metal between his ribs. Sometimes four inches will do the job, but to be really sure, I like to have six.”

Will I still continue to read? Well, my cousin gifted me with an armload of Anita books, which are still loitering on my bookshelf, so probably. But I’m definitely taking a break before tackling the next book.