The Jewel of Seven Stars / Bram Stoker

 

The Jewel of Seven Stars by Bram Stoker
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

We all know Bram Stoker as the author of Dracula. I knew that he had written other books and decided that Halloween 2021 would be a fine time to try one of them out. I'm no stranger to Mummy tales, having read works as diverse as Curse of the Kings by Victoria Holt, The Mummy by Anne Rice, and the short story Lost in a Pyramid or the Mummy's Curse by Louisa May Alcott. This one has a slightly different twist.

The pace of the story is slow and there is a lot of agonizing done by the narrator, Malcom Ross. The poor guy is deeply in love and is both concerned and thrilled when his lady love summons him in the middle of the night because she needs a strong shoulder to lean upon. Her father, an eccentric Egyptologist, has been injured and collapsed in their home. He seems to be in a coma of some kind, although there is no evidence of a head injury. When Ross arrives, a doctor and the police are summoned, with our man making sure that they are suitable. Since he is a well known lawyer, everyone falls in with his plans. However, things get weird(er). Mr. Trelawny has left a letter stating that if weirdness should happen, he is not to be removed from his room full of Egyptian curios and that none of those antiquities should be removed. His lawyer is consulted, only to tell them they must do things the great man's way. So there are many odd, vague goings on. Interestingly, there are two endings given. I didn't find either of them exceptionally satisfying, but given my druthers, I'd pick the happier of the two.

The novel seemed to me to be a bit like Frankenstein, with everyone willing to comply with Trelawny's experiment without really wondering if it was a good idea. I also thought about H. Rider Haggard's fiction, with his penchant for the mysterious, African settings, and Victorian “gentlemen" despoiling foreign countries to build their collections. The mysterious female mummy reminded me of Haggard's Ayesha, star of his novel She.

I can definitely see why this novel didn't achieve the same level of fame as Dracula. It's a bit nebulous concerning what is exactly going on and Stoker drags it on longer than necessary.




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The Three Damosels / Vera Chapman

 

The Three Damosels by Vera Chapman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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This collection of three short novels are intertwined, all examinations of the King Arthur legend. When I was in my teens (more years ago than I can believe), I read the third novel, King Arthur's Daughter. It was my first brush with Arthur and it started me on a lifelong reading pattern, trying out the many versions of Arthurian fiction. I was excited when I found a used copy of this anthology for a reasonable price and I nabbed it.

It was a treat to finally read the first two books, but I was shocked when I made it to my remembered favourite and very little was familiar. It has been a long, long time. But I see very clearly why Vera Chapman's fiction inspired me so much. She features the women of Arthur's court: Vivian, Lynette, and Ursulet—the three damosels of the anthology title. Despite the limitations on femininity, they forge roles for themselves and are crucial to the tales. Also, Chapman includes magic unapologetically. Morgan le Fay is a dark rival to Merlin, another prominent female presence.

Chapman rejigs some of the genealogy of these mythic figures, but as she notes in a foreword, that has been a tradition by bards and jongleurs for centuries. From that time period, daughters are insignificant and Chapman gives Arthur a daughter, Ursulet, who could easily be left out of the official history. Chapman tells a very compressed version, in fact, using legendary characters to populate the story and relying on their iconic status to tell the reader what to expect. The action is unceasing and there is little effort spent on setting or fleshing out the plot. I found myself using descriptions of court life from other books to help me envisage the surroundings.

These works are a combination of the mythic and historical detail, obviously a patriotic work, showing why the British people can believe themselves to be exceptional. Chapman states very clearly that the blood of Arthur infuses them and one day Arthur will come again, dare I say it, to make Britain great again. I'm very glad to have revisited the third novel and to have finally read the first two. I certainly see why it appealed to my romantic teenage notions of history especially since Canada was still strongly linked to Britain when I was first exposed to Chapman's writing. I still enjoyed it a great deal, but I'm much less nostalgic now. I will hang on to this volume, I think, and read it again in the future.




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Lord Edgware Dies / Agatha Christie

 

Lord Edgware Dies by Agatha Christie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Agatha Christie almost always fools me and this novel is no exception. I try so hard, just like Arthur Hastings, and I have just as much luck as him. Poor Hastings, Christie writes him so thick headed, stubborn, and easily misled. I also wonder how he can spend so much time in England and away from his wife and financial life in Argentina. But that's beside the point, I guess.

Between Hastings and Japp, the two of them allow Poirot to explain his theories to the reader. Poirot may use the little grey cells a lot, but there's no easy way for us to appreciate his virtuosity without an audience. Hastings may doubt his friend's sanity or debate with Japp if Poirot is past his best-before date, seemingly during every book. But you would think after eight installments he would have learned that his own instincts were off kilter. Poirot realizes it and tells his sidekick that he judges what the murderer is trying to make Poirot believe by what Hastings believes. Hastings is convinced every time by the killer's ruses.

I never feel like I can discuss the details of the plot for fear of spoiling things for readers who are more attentive to detail than I am. But I do think I can safely say that Hastings represents the common, conservative Englishman in Christie's books. Completely and erroneously convinced of their own superiority despite all the evidence to the contrary.

I enjoy matching wits with Ms Christie and I'm always entertained by the twisty path that she leads me on while on the way to the solution. I think I am more pleased with being hoodwinked than I have been on the rare occasions when I anticipated the correct answer.


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Slough House / Mick Herron

 

Slough House by Mick Herron
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If you aren't reading the Slough House spy novels yet, what are you waiting for? Pick up a copy of Slow Horses and get going! You are unlikely to regret it and you have lots of reading pleasure ahead.

I couldn't put this book down last night—I read until I ran out of words. Mick Herron nails the spy genre, creating characters that I care about, turning them loose in a dangerous city, and giving them enemies both foreign and domestic to cope with. Herron has a keen grasp on contemporary politics and you have zero doubts about his views on the state of affairs. I love his dark sense of humour and his sharp commentary on politicians and bureaucrats in addition to the espionage biz. I appreciate how Herron works events from the current news into his plotlines: Brexit, Yellow Vests, Novichok and Russian “tourists," for example. Although some of his references may not age well, I think the quality of the narrative will hold up to the test of time.

Despite the attrition rate at Slough House, many of the regulars are still there. Jackson Lamb takes his place at the centre of this novel, asserting his exclusive right to bedevil his slow horses. It's like siblings—we can bad mouth each other, but we'll stand together against the criticism of others. Though the slow horses may be failures, they are his failures, they are still joes, and Lamb protects them or avenges them as necessary. Don't get me wrong—I’ve always appreciated Lamb. He is the archetype of the horrible boss, but when the chips are down, he defends his own and I love him for it. We still don't know why he's attempting to drink and smoke himself to death or why he dresses like a homeless person, but those characteristics provide excellent cover.

Unusually, Herron ends this volume on a cliffhanger. The next book cannot come out fast enough for me! I will be on tenterhooks until that time, but at least I know there will be another book. I will make an appropriate sacrifice to the Goddess of Book Publishing in thanks.




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Kushiel's Chosen / Jacqueline Carey

 

Kushiel's Chosen by Jacqueline Carey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I think Jacqueline Carey was channeling Mary Renault and Guy Gavriel Kay while she was writing this novel. The fantasy setting is recognizable as a version of historical Renaissance Europe, altered to accommodate Carey's plotline. Straight historical fantasy would be too limiting, so she makes adjustments like Kay does. She also includes supernatural elements, slightly more prominently than Kay's work. Once the action arrived at Carey's version of Crete, I couldn't help but think of Mary Renault's ancient history settings, especially as Phedre meets the descendants of King Minos.

So, in this fantasy setting, Carey writes a sexy spy thriller. Phedre reminds me of Angelique from the multiple-book series by Anne Golan featuring the French adventuress. Somehow, Phedre is always at the centre of things, despite her lowly beginnings. Her sexuality is part of her rise to prominence (like the aforementioned Angelique), combined with her covert training with her deceased sponsor, Delaunay. She has skill as a linguist and is a devoted student of literature and history. When stated like that, she sounds like a Mary Sue character, but I tended to overlook that because so many things seem to go wrong with her plans.

The largest supernatural intervention in Phedre's world seems to be the influence of the gods in the lives of their worshippers. Several times in this novel, they seem to intervene to save Phedre's life, only to leave her in yet another desperate situation. It is maybe not an advantage to be marked by a god.

The action is unflagging, there are twists and turns, and for the last few chapters I couldn't set the book down. Even after the major plot is dealt with, there remain urgent tasks requiring attention. Only the very last chapter lets the reader come back to reality gently, willing to let go of Phedre until the time comes to pick up the next volume.

Book number 426 of my Science Fiction & Fantasy Reading Project.



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Joy in the Morning / P.G. Wodehouse

 

Joy in the Morning by P.G. Wodehouse
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wodehouse never fails to delight. He is my choice for the DWS October birthday selection and I am pleased. Bertie, being unable to stand up for himself effectively, is forever becoming engaged to strong minded young women, outraging senior relatives, and offending his former schoolmates. Happily, in this novel, Jeeves doesn't have to rescue him from every problem, although he does provide the background support and encourages the well-timed escape.

As usual, Wodehouse writes like a dream, beautiful sentences which describe hilarious situations with ridiculous vocabulary. At least that's my posish, and I'm sticking to it. I love that Bertie is never too proud to make a fool of himself or to flee a bad situation.

I must branch out, one of these days, and try some of Wodehouse's non-Jeeves literature. Perhaps next October.

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Magi'i of Cyador / L.E. Modesitt

 

Magi'i of Cyador by L.E. Modesitt Jr.
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book is very consistent with the previous volumes. It is perfect for people who don't care for strong emotions. (Which is strange for characters who are specializing in chaos manipulation!) The characters act ultra-rational at all times, which does not accord with my experience of dealing with people at all. Obviously a fantasy world. A side effect of this is really dull dialog, with no witty repartee, no emotional exploration, no snark. It is similar in my mind to those who prefer their food bland, eschewing any kind of spice or bite. Plus I've realized that there is not a sniff of religion in this series—even when getting married (or consorted, the awkward term used here), the ceremony consists of signing in an official book and paying a small fee. Very practical, but very cold.

The plot is extremely similar to earlier volumes as well. A young man enters his profession and public life and finds that there is corruption of some flavour somewhere above him in the hierarchy. But he calmly and rationally focuses on doing his job to the best of his ability, while being careful about possible plotting. Success always results. As usual, the setting is military and the events are unremarkable and repetitive, which may be accurate but doesn't make for scintillating reading. A distressing amount of the dialog consists of repeated “Yes, ser.”

Lorn is marginally more interesting than previous main characters in that he is not 100% honest with those around him and he likes to stack the deck in his own favour. Lying is particularly difficult among the Magi'i, who have finely honed truth sensing talents. Misdirection and distraction seem to work well for Lorn, who is easily the shiftiest main character to date. I think he is also the first who seems to think he understands women, not considering them to be confusing or unfathomable. That's a semi-pleasant change. On the flipside, his family consider him a “ladies man.” He is also willing to dress as a member of a “lower" social position to facilitate his liaisons and to perform some “charitable" crimes. Possibly as a side effect of his choices, Lorn appears to have no real friends (except his sisters, from whom he is separated by his profession), another first among Modesitt's main characters. At least he has a sincere, loving relationship with Ryalth.

Modesitt seems focused on describing the very boring diets of his world. (That's another new feature of Lorn, his sweet tooth). At least there's less cheese consumption in this book! The other thing I really noticed in this installment was his tendency to provide measurements for everything. How thick a wall is, how tall each man is, how far it is between towns, etc. I find this incredibly tedious, especially when he uses invented measures (e.g. cubits, kays). It reminded me of Philip Jose Farmer, in his Riverworld series, where he provides measurements of every damn thing in both metric and imperial. Add to that his tendency to refer to horses as “mounts,” which annoys me with its clunkiness.

Regarding the cover art, I am glad to see that Darrell K. Sweet has returned to illustrating horses, obviously his favourite subjects. This cover is a vast improvement over The Colors of Chaos, which was sadly forgettable.

Book number 425 of my Science Fiction & Fantasy Reading Project.



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Migrations / Charlotte McConaghy

 

Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy


I have no frickin’ idea how to rate this book. I kept putting off reading it until the very last days of my library loan. I've had the blasted book for 12 weeks. That's right, twelve. I can't renew it any more and it's due today. So, I hate feeling pressured to read something, but for some reason I was completely unwilling to return it unread. (Have I mentioned that I'm one of the most stubborn people that I know?)

This book is beautiful and ugly. It has all of the things that I should love: birds, travel, friendship, family, conservation, twists and turns. It has despair and hope. It's well written, revealing Franny gradually, not giving her secrets away too easily. McConaghy makes you work your way through the novel, scattering her bread crumbs strategically, luring the reader along.

If I had read this at a different time, I probably would have adored it. I still like it a great deal. I may reread it at some point in the future, when my memory of it has faded. Without the last few pages, it would have been depressing, as the world without wild birds and animals is not one I want to live in. I feel like we are headed for this future and I hope I don't live to see it. Thank you, Ms. McConaghy, for that last hopeful scene. I'm glad to have finished the book, which was both a pleasure and a struggle to read.


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Fugitive Telemetry / Martha Wells

 

Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The best money I have spent in a long time! I cannot express how much I adore Murderbot. If we were to meet, I would make it very, very uncomfortable. There might even be hugging, as I have no contract with Murderbot to restrain my behaviour.

I love MB's interior monologue and the unrelenting paranoia/pessimism. From the very first pages, I was wanting to quote and share text. Martha Wells knows just how to snark in a delightful way. I was happy to see that the bad guys are still being identified as Targets, while the civilians are now indicated as Humans.

I'm also impressed by MB's eloquent descrption of itself while choosing a name as its Preservation station ID: ”Or I could use the name Rin. I liked it. I could use it, and the humans on the Station wouldn't have to think about what I was, a construct made of cloned human tissue, augments, anxiety, depression, and unfocused rage, a killing machine for whichever humans rented me, until I made a mistake and got my brain destroyed by my governor module.”

I can hardly wait for the next installment of the adventures of my favourite SecUnit. In the meantime, let the rereading begin! In actual fact, I finished this book, reopened it to the first page and immediately read it again. (I used the pandemic as an excuse to buy all the volumes from a local independent book store, ostensibly to support a local store, but really to feed my addiction.)


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The Brutal Telling / Louise Penny

 

The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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I have to say that as a Canadian, I have always loved the Canadian-ness of this series. This volume steps it up a notch, involving Emily Carr and Haida Gwaii. I think perhaps there was a bit more French spoken by the characters here, too.

Penny doesn't coddle her characters. She puts them through the wringer, aided and abetted by Armand Gamache. Not that he goes untested either--it's not easy to have your friends as suspects. Even the brand new characters, Marc and Dominique, are tested in ways they never suspected possible. Clara has her loyalties come into conflict with her ambition. Her husband, Peter, is tortured by his own feelings of competitiveness with his wife. Some of these situations are resolved more pleasantly than others.

However, there is some humour and lots of compassion. Penny seems to inhabit the characters, feeling things along with them. I have a hunch there are more turbulent waters in the future of Three Pines. I found it amusing that the people of the village also feel they are a murder vortex. Using small communities for murder mysteries makes the plot easier for the author, but they rarely let their characters realize that their community produces bodies, as Gamache's friends put it.

I look forward to the next installment.






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Weird Women / edited by Lisa Morton and Leslie Klinger

 

Weird Women: Classic Supernatural Fiction by Groundbreaking Female Writers, 1852-1923 by Leslie S. Klinger
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

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This was an interesting anthology, suitable for people who are intrigued by the history of horror fiction and/or the role of women as authors. As the editors point out in their introduction, writing was a way that women could earn the cash to support themselves and their dependents if there was no man in their lives. Like the Bronte women, they often used pseudonyms or went by their initials to disguise their femininity.

I forget where I read that Louisa May Alcott wrote supernatural stories, but now I have read one of them. In my opinion, it is one of the most enjoyable offerings in the book. She writes a pretty good Mummy's Curse. There are some other well known names: Elizabeth Gaskell, Charlotte Gilman Perkins, Frances Hodgson Burnett, for example.

I was also pleased to read that the anthologists photographed one story from a Special Collections volume in a university library's collection. This made me happy, as I finished out my career as a special collections cataloguer at a university library. Unfortunately I didn't really care for the story (The Swine Gods by Regina Miriam Bloch). It was far too moralistic for my taste, although I appreciated that it is now back in print.

I am a cautious horror reader, having an active imagination and being easily spooked. This collection didn't set my nerves on edge. It could be read after dark without concern—I didn't end up in bed with the covers over my head. Recommended to those who want to dip their toes in the horror genre without scaring their socks off.




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Prudence / Gail Carriger

 

Prudence by Gail Carriger
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

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For some reason, I didn't enjoy this book as much as the other Gail Carriger books that I have read. It still had the remarkable names, the comedy of manners, the spicy possible romance, and the antics of vampires and werewolves. Those details have always entertained me before, but it felt like I didn't really understand the reasons for things until very late into the novel. Perhaps I'm just cranky. Perhaps this book suffered in comparison to the completely adorable Miss Buncle's Book, which I just enjoyed.

Nevertheless, I liked this enough to finish it and to want to read the next installment. Rue's soul stealing talents are fun, as she can become any supernatural creature by making skin contact with them. When she steals werewolf abilities, the resulting end product is an exposed Rue trying to somehow maintain some modesty. It becomes obvious that Rue simply doesn't care quite as much as she is expected to.

Lord Akeldama has given his adopted daughter her own dirigible and sent her on a tea mission to India, seemingly to get her out of London and out of trouble. I was every bit as confused as Rue when all her instructions seemed to be missing the important bits and might even be misleading. In my opinion, there was a little too much of this dancing around the issues. Like Lady Maccon and Rue herself, I'm a pretty straightforward person. I would make a rotten spy. I haven't much patience for this much fiddling around.

Carriger has created a fun world and is having fun playing with her characters in it. I love both Quesnel Le Fou and Percy Tunstell. Their mutual resentment is amusing and I can see either one of them being a match for Rue. Mind you, Percy would have a difficult time of it to break through his pseudo-brother status to catch the young woman's attention. The only way to find out is to read on.




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Miss Buncle's Book / D.E. Stevenson

 

Miss Buncle's Book by D.E. Stevenson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

All the stars! I adore Barbara Buncle! I picked up this book this morning, saying “I'm not in the mood for this.” I knew the book was due at the library in four days and determined that 75 pages per day would accomplish it. What was I thinking? I will ALWAYS be in the mood for Miss Barbara Buncle.

Barbara needs money. She has economized, she has considered different schemes, but what she actually does is sit down and write a book. She claims to have no imagination, so she gives the people of her village new names and proceeds to write about them in a very clear-sighted way. She submits her manuscript to the first publisher listed in the phonebook (Abbott & Spicer) and is both shocked and delighted when Mr. Abbott writes, asking “John Smith” to a meeting.

When the book (Disturber of the Peace) is published, the cat is among the pigeons. And the pigeons are (some of them) pretty ruffled. Because people ignore dowdy old Barbara Buncle she has had a front row seat to all the village dramas and people fill her in on all the gossip. She doesn’t need to invent a thing, although she does produce a pied piper who gets some of her neighbours moving! Proposing marriage, threatening divorce, recognizing bad behaviour. Whatever she thinks would be in their best interest.

What Miss Buncle never imagined was that her wishes might be followed and she is ever so pleased that some of their lives improve (and that she can subsequently pay her bills). However she also didn't foresee that some of those with an exaggerated sense of their own dignity would want her punished!

Absolute charming in the way that Barbara bungles along, comforting the distressed and distressing the comfortable. I thought immediately of Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, which also delighted me. I guess I cheer for the older spinsters because I am one. Obviously this is not everyone's cup of tea, but is was definitely mine and I shall read further adventures of Miss Buncle with unadulterated pleasure.


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Pattern Recognition / William Gibson

 

Pattern Recognition by William Gibson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The title says it all: Pattern Recognition. The human brain is a pattern seeking processor. It's one of our great talents and it can also lead us into weird places. It's this tendency that allows us to see the Virgin Mary's face on a piece of toast, as we seem to be strongly programmed to see faces in things. The problem is that some things may just be coincidences and not really part of whatever narrative we're creating to make sense of the information around us. How can you sort out the actual from the accidental? Too much pattern seeking leads to paranoia, perhaps explaining the many conspiracy hounds out there, obsessing over non-existent plots and cabals.

Cayce Pollard is an interesting character. She can't abide advertising logos—Tommy Hilfiger can make her vomit, the Michelin Man can send her into a full blown panic attack. This makes her a discriminating evaluator of marketing plans and she is known as a “cool seeker.” Her father disappeared during the events of 9/11, her mother is part of some rather hippie-ish group who are busy listening to blank tapes, extracting “voices from the Other Side.” Her father is a former security expert during the Cold War, leading me to wonder if he had disappeared on purpose (me looking for meaning where one may not exist). And obviously her mother is looking for another kind of meaning, rather like Victorian spiritualists. Cayce is named after Edgar Cayce, the Sleeping Prophet, which seems meaningful, but is it really? I found myself questioning all the connections that I would usually expect to create a structure to hang the book on. Gibson seems to be having fun, seeding the novel with coincidences and synchronicities, leaving it up to the reader to sort the noise from the message.

I also enjoyed Gibson's sense of humour—one man whose ex-girlfriend referred to him as a Lombard. Not an Italian from Lombardy--it's an acronym: loads of money but a real dickhead. I was amused by Cayce's calm-down mantra (about a pilot whose cockpit was bombarded by birds and “he took a duck to the face at 350 knots.”). Why that phrase would be calming is one of the mysteries of human psychology.

There are two more Blue Ant books, but this one ends satisfactorily (at least for me) so I doubt that I will continue on. My TBR is already groaning!

Book number 424 of my Science Fiction & Fantasy Reading Project.



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