The Life of the World to Come / Kage Baker

 

3.5 stars out of 5

Kage Baker had interesting ideas, particularly about time travel. Where I find difficulty with her books is the relationships she writes, which don't ring completely true to me. Whether that's due to her Asperger's or whether it was deliberate, I don't know.

Who doesn't like a good time travel paradox? Most stories in the genre feature one and Baker's series is no exception. Dr. Zeus company is a shadowy, mysterious entity, it's mission is murky. But, once again, we get a bit more information revealed and the suggestion that interference from the future creates the company, whose employees then create the company…and round and round we go! This is the issue that is really keeping me reading at this point.

Still, it was nice to see Mendoza again. She makes her appearance on the very first page, delighting me since I really missed her in the previous book. Her immortal outlook is fun, despite her obsession with Alec/Edward/Nicholas. In this book, we get the back story about how this guy keeps recurring (and it gets pretty silly by the end).

Baker takes the idea of being politically correct and pushes it to the outer limits in her 24th century. Current virtuous prejudices have become law in parts of her world. Almost everything that brings any comfort or fun is verboten: coffee, tea, sugar, chocolate, dairy products, and meat, not to mention being outdoors and exercise. Of course there is a black market. For example, Ireland stubbornly insists on producing dairy products. But most people hide in their homes and play video games. Few are able to read. And because you need a permit to reproduce, populations are way down. Sex is frowned upon as “animalistic," leaving sleep as one of the few pleasures remaining. For everyone's sake, I hope we get to skip this particular future!

Book Number 443 of my Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Project

The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections / Eva Jurczyk

 

R

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4

I wonder if Eleanor Roosevelt really said that a woman is like a teabag—you don't know how strong she is until she's in hot water. I struggled with this book for the first half of it. Liesl was just too nice and too gentle to be in her assistant director position, filling in for the charismatic man who was felled by a stroke. Liesl knows it too, as she is browbeaten by the male members of her staff and harassed by the slimey president of the university (he, at least, is portrayed quite accurately). Her boss is unconscious in hospital, a priceless acquisition has gone missing, and the donors are circling, demanding to be able to admire the rare thing that their largesse has procured for the institution. She should be demanding that everyone account for their part in the ordering and receiving processes, but she too busy apologizing and pleading with her staff. You don't get that far up the hierarchy without being tough and willing to do what it takes to deal with problems.

Liesl cannot convince all the arrogant men that they should contact the police about the theft. They are convinced that no one would ever donate again. Then a female staff member goes missing and they give Liesl the same song and dance about her. It's at the point where Liesl goes off script and calls police that I was converted to liking her. I watched as she developed an understanding with the detective, as she quits drowning her sorrows with wine, and actually starts to use her excellent brain. She is assisted by another female academic, who I immediately liked. Who says women don't help each other?

The answer about who dunnit surprised me, but pleased me. It was suitably subversive and I hope that similar changes are happening all over academia. I loved that Liesl grew a backbone and dealt smartly with all the pushy men. The pleasure of the last hundred pages convinced me to round up my stars from 3 to 4.

A Hat Full of Sky / Terry Pratchett

 

4 out of 5 stars

Crivens! I am so glad that my SRR friends mentioned buddy-reading this series! I really like young Tiffany, our apprentice witch. She is growing up nicely and learning how to deal with the expectations of others, peer pressure, and other tricky situations. Through sheer ignorance, she leaves her body at the wrong moment and a hiver takes possession of her, proceeding to make trouble.

As in the last book, Tiffany has assistance from the Nac Mac Feegle, fae folk who prevent the book from being too serious or too preachy. Their determination to drink fuels much of the hilarity, with Daft Wullie at one point claiming he can safely drink rat poison because he's “no' a rat.” Their taste for Special Sheep Linament (moonshine) is on display too. The Nac Mac Feegle (also called Pictsies, The Wee Free Men, The Little Men, and “Person or Persons Unknown, Believed to be Armed”)

 

Tiffany gets a gift from Roland, the Baron's son rescued from Fairyland in book one. The image of the Horse carved in the chalk becomes an important image during her dealings with the hiver. (And their behaviour as they interact makes me wonder where this friendship is going). But perhaps her most important lesson is the human connection. It's difficult to be content with the daily grind of taking care of people and things, but it needs to be done and satisfaction can be derived from it.

The Lone Drow / R.A. Salvatore

 

R

3 out of 5 stars

Wherein Drizzt learns that it's okay to break the man-code and actually feel emotions beyond anger. He learns that he is allowed to feel grief for fallen friends, to regret past actions, and to love the important people in his life. Painful things happen and that pain can't be avoided forever—it has to be dealt with. Grief means that you have loved someone, that they were important.

Drizzt has made assumptions, namely that all of his friends died in the battle in the last book and that he is once again friendless and on his own. He also assumes that surface elves will despise him and should be avoided. Silly, silly Drizzt. But orcs are flooding out of the roots of the mountains and fighting them is an excellent distraction. The battle scenes, both with Drizzt and following the dwarves of Mithril Hall, are stirring and kept me reading intently to see what would happen. If you like battle stories, this book will be your jam.

Back when I was reading The Silent Blade and The Spine of the World, I had hopes that this series was moving towards four star territory. The writing in those particular books was a cut above Salvatore's usual fare. It was like someone else was writing them and I liked this new person. Unfortunately, the author seems to have abandoned this new, grittier style and reverted to type. Count me as disappointed.

These adventures are still fast and kind of fun. I would never have picked up a Drizzt book if I wasn't working on this reading project, trying to get caught up on science fiction and fantasy after a ten year reading hiatus. I'm glad to know who Drizzt, the Drow elf, is and have some appreciation for this Forgotten Realms subgenre. What amazes me most, I think, is that Salvatore is still cranking these out! I am very unsure if I'll read to the end of the series, but I will at least read until the one book that I have waiting for me on my own bookshelves.

Book Number 442 of my Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Project

The Time Traveler's Wife / Audrey Niffenegger

 

4 out of 5 stars

Some of my friends are allergic to science fiction. To them, I say, “Consider trying this book.” Yes, there is time travel. The title kind of gives it away. But there is so much more going on here. Just think how much effort it takes to maintain a regular relationship, then imagine if your partner just faded out every now and then, unpredictably returning naked, scared, hungry, and upset. You have to give up the fantasy of having someone to lean on, to share the vicissitudes of life.

Henry and Clare get to know each other backwards. It is an older Henry who shows up repeatedly in her childhood backyard, who helps her with her homework, and dispenses sage advice. When Clare meets him in real time, none of that has happened to him yet and she keeps surprising him with her knowledge of him. Plus, there are things they can't reveal to each other because, as Henry puts it, that makes things weird(er). Interestingly, the author doesn't hold to the usual time travel rule that two versions of a person can't inhabit the same time frame, thus allowing an adult Henry to mentor his younger self, teaching himself how to pickpocket, to pick a lock, and to defend himself.

One of the parts that I found particularly poignant was the car accident which killed Henry's mother. He survived because he time traveled, appearing back on the side of the road, a naked, confused nine year old. Deeply emotional experiences seem to suck the time traveler back repeatedly and soon there are multiple versions of Henry all around the accident scene as he tries to process the loss. But he also gets to go back and view his family's life from the outside and derive comfort from watching his mother's pleasure in life. OMG, I wish I could do that and I'm so glad that I can't.

Things get sad late in the book. I sniffled my way through the last few pages. I both like to be moved this way and hate the mess that crying creates.

Book Number 441 of my Science Fiction & Fantasy Reading Project.

Blood of the Earth / Faith Hunter

 

4 out of 5 stars

I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed Faith Hunter's Jane Yellowrock world. I've been meaning to try this series offshoot since 2017 and I'm so glad that I finally picked it up.

I really liked Nell Ingram as a main character. She is self sufficient in so many ways, an escapee from the abusive cult that she grew up a part of. She may be out, but her land is right next door and the men of the cult still try to make her life miserable. But Nell has talents that her former community isn't aware of and they didn't manage to squash her will during childhood. Then Jane Yellowrock appeared in her life and re.cognized her abilities. Now Rick LaFleur and the paranormal law enforcement agency PsyLED showed up on her doorstep and Nell must choose: is she still a church lady or is she independent Nell?

No points for guessing which choice stubborn Nell chooses. Exactly the same one that I would in her place. It's fun watching Nell grow, expand her abilities, to flourish and bloom. Just what I want for all women. I'm very impatient to read the next book and part of me wants to reread the Jane Yellowrock novels too. Perhaps I'll use them as treats to keep me on track in other areas of my life. If you are interested in a nonfiction version of escape from an abusive religion, try Tara Westover's Educated.

Chili Con Carnage / Kylie Logan

 

3 out of 5 stars

I picked up this book for two reasons: first, I read The Big Chili earlier this year and enjoyed it so much that I thought another chili book was a great idea; second, I've read the first book of another series by Kylie Logan (Mayhem at the Orient Express) which I also found very enjoyable.

Then I was confronted with the main character, Maxie Pierce, who appears to be dumb as a post. She annoyed me, because, you know, women main characters ought to be smart. By halfway through the novel, I realized that I was being prejudiced. Maxie had a father who was always on the make. Even though she loves him, he is a charming philanderer at the very least. Needless to say, her parents are divorced and her mother hasn't had much good influence on Maxie either. How do you learn life skills if no one is role modeling for you? And it turns out that Maxie is smart, but no one has taught her how to focus.

Most cozy protagonists are written as mystery readers. They know how the story is supposed to go. Maxie is more a drinking, smoking, and partying kind of girl. So she has a reputation to work against when a murder is committed in a nearby trailer. She has never applied herself to anything and has a lot of catching up to do. Mind you, she's still impulsive and tempermental, prone to doing boneheaded things without considering how things might end.

Her half-sister Sylvia is stuck up in much the way I was at the beginning of the book. Maxie doesn't help things any by shirking work and making it obvious that she considers herself the more attractive of the two. But Sylvia has business skills and knows how to look professional, things that Maxie needs to learn.

The mystery is decent and the solution makes good sense. If you'd asked me during the first 50 pages, I would have told you this would be the last book of this series that I'd read—one and done. But now I find myself wondering where the women's wandering father is, whether security guard/former cop Nick is going to be a love interest for Maxie eventually, and what will happen when Sylvia and Maxie rejoin the Chili Showdown. Consider me interested.

Poppy Done to Death / Charlaine Harris

 

3.6 stars

This series always surprises me. I like it without loving it, and yet when I start reading each volume, I find it very difficult to set down. Aurora (Roe) is a very proper Southern woman, determined to be polite, even to people who don't really deserve it. She is modern enough to date as she pleases, until she met her late husband. Now that he is gone, she's rejoining life, including a writer boyfriend. So she knows a bit about living in a way that she might not want broadcast to the whole community. She makes a determined effort to not be judgmental, not always successfully.

I think it's a pretty sure thing that everyone has at least one secret, something that they're embarrassed about or don't want generally known. I sure do and I'm sure that would surprise a lot of people (who forget that I haven't always been an older woman). But this book is all about secrets. When Roe's step-sister-in-law is murdered, Roe finds her body and then just keeps finding unsettling facts about a great many of the people around her. You know how we sometimes avoid knowing things about our extended family to grease the social wheels of regular life? Yeah, Roe has to give up some of those planned gaps in her knowledge.

All the infidelities make Roe suddenly feel very insecure. It's a natural side effect of discovering this kind of secret. Add to that Roe's 15 year old half-brother showing up because of similar ructions in her father's marriage, and it's no wonder her worldview is a bit shaky. Despite her uncertainties, Roe faces facts and gets on with things in a way that makes me really admire the character. I've had to do similar things and I get the impression that Charlaine Harris is intimately acquainted with that necessity as well. I've only got two books left in the series, but I am looking forward to seeing how Aurora's life turns out.

Prador Moon / Neal Asher

 

3 out of 5 stars

Artificial intelligences are in vogue these days and they appear in the Polity series. Although they don't feature as heavily as I would have expected. Augmented humans get the starring roles here.

The Prador are an alien race that humans have been communicating with, but have not yet seen. The book opens with the first physical meeting of the two species. Of course things go horribly wrong. The Prador are enormous crab-like creatures with a taste for humans and a tendency to eat each other as well. If they had moustaches, they would twirl them like Snidely Whiplash. Unfortunately, they must instead clack their mandibles in unholy joy when their villainous plans are successful.

Our main human protagonists are Jebel Krong and Moria Salem. Krong was present at that disastrous first encounter and saw his lady love die there. As a result, he has become a Prador hunter extraordinaire. He occasionally threatens to reduce them to crab paste or to use mines to blow them to bouillabaisse. Moria, on the other hand, chose the wrong augmentation surgeon to go to and ended up with an unusually powerful aug. She becomes a protégé of one of the AIs and gets seconded to assist in the war effort.

This would make an excellent cartoon. It is very melodramatic and there are plenty of guns and bombs. Lots of stuff goes boom. I'm sure those drawing it could find some way to suggest all the death and dismemberment done by the Prador without being graphic.

Explorer / C.J. Cherryh

 

4 stars out of 5

For some reason, I really struggled with the first 200 pages of this novel. More to do with me than the book, I suspect. I've been in a restless state since Christmas, with a short attention span, and the first pages require attention to the Ship vs. Colonists politics and guessing about the Guild, all of which require that the reader pays attention! I finally got into the groove and I am so glad I stuck with it.

When the Ship arrives at the Guild space station, they discover a large hole blown in it and an alien ship lurking near by. The Guild is determined, despite their dire situation, to maintain control of all humans. Too bad they have no idea any more of how to actually deal with real humans, who think for themselves, make their own plans, and have their own objectives. What could they possibly have done to annoy the aliens so much? Bren and Jase have a lot on their plates, but they have Ilisidi, the aiji-Dowager, and a committed security staff. And cooks and tailors who know more than a little about diplomacy.

I love the Dowager! When she bangs her cane, everybody snaps to. After a long life of plotting and planning, she is a formidable presence. She manages to steer them all to a path that may accomplish what seems impossible at the beginning. And I love that she has no compunction about ordering even Bren to go sleep if she judges that they need it.

Cherryh writes political manoeuvring and covert operations very well. I couldn't put the book down for the final 200 pages, making up for my slow start.

Book Number 440 of my Science Fiction & Fantasy Reading Project.

Death in the Clouds / Agatha Christie

 

3.5 stars?

The February 2022 selection for the Appointment with Agatha reading group. Yet another Hercule Poirot mystery. I think I may be quite tired of the little Belgian by the end of this reading program.

I knew that flying used to be a much more civilized endeavor in the past, but this novel really brought it home to me. The stewards spoke of china cups, coffee spoons, and fish knives! Nowadays, you’re lucky if you can beg a paper cup of bad coffee and a stir stick. Mind you, I have no clue how to identify or use a fish knife. It all sounds spacious and comfortable and pleasant. Sigh! I miss travel, even the long waits, security lines, and cramped quarters of the Before Times. I have not yet the bravery for air travel in the Covid Times.

I note that once again Madame Christie has inserted two archaeologists into the tale, one of them young and handsome and interested in Miss Jane Grey. She has Poirot mention their passion for pottery as opposed to dig donors, who are obsessed with gold, jewelry, and other treasures. I imagine she knew a thing or two about it, having spent time on her second husband's dig sites.

This month's book reminded me strongly of last month's choice, Three Act Tragedy, at least in the identity of the murderer. And I do wish she hadn't tried to ship off so many of her criminals to Canada!

Touched by an Alien / Gini Koch

 

3.25 stars?

It's February, the month that includes Valentine's Day, so I'm going to try to clear some of the paranormal romances off my bookshelves. Every now and then, I'm tempted by a PNR that hits my particular interests. This one includes aliens (although they are conveniently human in appearance) and there‘s a fight to save the world. It's not all about the bedroom.

This book quickly reminded me of Darynda Jones' Charley Davidson series, which stars a smart-talking private investigator who can see ghosts and has supernatural connections. I often feel like Jones tries just a bit too hard with the humour in that series and I experienced a similar thing here. Kitty is just a bit too snarky for my taste, but there's a market for it. (The first Jones book and this one were published within a year of each other).

The title is maybe referencing the old TV show “Touched by an Angel," based on the whole concept of a guardian angel who can influence human lives. Humanity is definitely being influenced by the Alpha Centurians, but hardly in the neutral or chaste way that angels are usually envisioned. That seems to be part of the humour. (FYI, for a more carnal version of angels, see Nalini Singh's Guild Hunter series).

What really hooked me was the cover art, so I was unsurprised to realize that the artist is Daniel Dos Santos. He has illustrated for both the Mercy Thompson and Alpha & Omega series by Patricia Briggs. He has a talent for depicting urban fantasy heroines to show both strength and attractiveness. He also has a penchant for exposed midriffs, but doesn't exaggerate breasts or show nearly naked women. His covers are pretty good in the genre.

The Big Chili / Julia Buckley

 

4 out of 5 stars

I really enjoyed Julia Buckley's Writers Apprentice Mystery series which inspired me to branch out to this first book of another series. I really liked this one, too. Ms. Buckley writes a nice cozy mystery. You, like me, may have noticed that many cozy protagonists meddle far more in investigative matters than is strictly realistic. Often I think they could be charged with impeding the investigation. Buckley doesn't go there. Her heroines use their brains to analyze the publicly available information. They may ask a few questions, but it's always a discussion with a friend or friendly acquaintance, never grilling a stranger.

Buckley also writes a very realistic small community. She understands the relationships, the eccentric characters, the generations long prejudices that can affect small towns. It's difficult to keep your life private in such a place. (When one of my sisters returned to our home town for a while, she drove 19 miles to the next town to go to the liquor store so no one would be counting how many bottles of wine she bought). Buckley centres this story around the even smaller circle of the church parish. Those are even more gossipy, if that's possible, because of the tendency to be morally judgey in religious contexts.

Only in a small community could you be an undercover cook, as Lilah is. A remarkable number of clients can't cook, but want the reputation of providing tasty, enjoyable food. Once again, a small community, and especially a religious community, will put more emphasis on traditional female tasks. You are judged by things like your housekeeping, the state of your yard, and the quality of your food offerings at public events. Not to mention your volunteer life.

If you can't tell, I really enjoy Buckley's books. The next book in this series is set at Christmas time, so I think I will schedule it for this upcoming December.