The Kaiju Preservation Society / John Scalzi

 

4 out of 5 stars

2022 Free Range Reading

A book chosen for fun, not part of any project, plan, or list. And it was lots of fun! Scalzi, in his acknowledgements, likens it to a catchy pop song. My thoughts went to cotton candy. Sweet, light, no nutritional value, but still highly enjoyable.

It is classic Scalzi. His emphasis on the place of kindness in life reminded me a lot of Kurt Vonnegut’s fiction. His use of the devoted circle of friends seemed to recall Spider Robinson's group of allied weirdos in Callahan's Bar. That and the tendency among KPS staff to celebrate with alcohol and feasting (plus ukeleles and staff change-over rituals). His sense of humour is both ironic and pervasive. (And I “get" it, which I appreciate. That's not a given for me.) It's very much what I would call “internet influenced.” I haven't read his blog lately, but it was very much like I remember his blog being—interested in basic human rights, human justice, and being righteously angry about all the ways he sees society getting things wrong.

But really, this is just a great creature feature. Kaiju are awesomely wonderful monsters. Just like in Jurassic Park, the KPS thinks they have everything under control, but we all know that control is overrated. Not to mention prone to failure. Scalzi lets the tough stuff happen, but finds ways to bend events toward the good. A feel good monster book.

Furies of Calderon / Jim Butcher

 

4 out of 5 stars

A fun fantasy novel that is a good start for this series. Jim Butcher is great at getting a plot rolling, and like a snow ball rolling down hill, it gets bigger and faster and picks up material as it goes. There are three main strands to the plot, Tavi's adventures in the Steadholt, the shenanigans in the Empire, and the traitors and the Marat hordes that they are allied with. Butcher gets them tangled together quickly, not drawing out the exposition like many other fantasy authors.

Butcher writes battle scenes well and takes full advantage of that ability during the course of the novel. He has also created an interesting frenemy in the Marat. It is Tavi who is smart enough to realize that they may not be human, but they share the love of their families and a sense of personal honour and responsibility with the steadholders and that they don't necessarily need to be enemies. Perhaps because Tavi has no talent for the furycrafting that everyone else seems to practice, he has to use his wits and skills.

Tavi is your typical epic fantasy main character: he is an orphan, he has unexpected depths and courage, he has luck in leadership, and he downplays all these aspects of himself. I had to laugh as this reminded me of The Princess Bride—it has battles, farming details, kissing, honour, revenge, hate, beautiful women, handsome men, traitors, loyal friends, whatever you dig, you will find it here. The magic system (furycrafting) is interesting and Butcher plunges right into it without doing too much explaining. If you're like me, you catch on quick and that's not a problem. Butcher truly does show rather than telling and could teach some other writers a thing or two. If your systems and societies make sense, you don't need to over-explain it to your readers.

I will need to request the next book from another library, so there will be a natural pause before I get to it, but I can hardly wait to see what happens to Tavi, Fade, Isana, Bernard, and Amara. Not to mention the Marat who seem to be entwined in their fates now. What a good feeling with which to conclude a book.

Book Number 462 of my Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Project

A Mixture of Frailties / Robertson Davies

 

4.25 out of 5 stars

The (Mostly) Dead Writers Society Author in Residence program 2022

You know, I was sure that I had read this book thirtyish years ago, but I have to say that it was completely wiped from my memory banks if I did. I think I'm maybe giving myself credit for something I never actually got around to.

I'm really struck by the similarities between A Mixture of Frailties and Davies’ later work, The Lyre of Orpheus. Both involve financial trusts funding musicians and the creation of operas. Here, Monica Gall is sent to London to improve her voice and develop a reputation for her singing. Monica becomes involved with one of her tutors (I hesitate to call it ‘romantically‘ since he seems to be the taker to her giving). Eventually some of her trust money is put towards his opera, The Golden Ass. The Lyre has the obnoxious Schnak, who is to finish ‘Arthur of Britain' both to earn her degree and to gain her own reputation as a composer.

Monica and Schnak are both from religious, repressed families and Davies turns both of them loose from those bonds, with additions of art, booze, and sex. Having gone through a much milder form of both religion and liberation, I could relate to them. Both of them also must overcome their backgrounds as provincial Canadians and learn to properly value their own talents. This is not so much in evidence here in 2022, when I think Canadians have learned to be proud of our own accomplishments, but it very much held us back in our earlier history. Now we are rightfully proud of our artists, musicians, and writers.

Because this is a trilogy, we once again see Solly Bridgetower, Auntie Puss, Dean Knapton, and attourney Snelgrove as members of the Bridgetower Trust. When Solly's manipulative mother dies, her will is revealed to be an instrument of punishment for the son who dared to marry Veronica Vambrace against her wishes. The Anglican Church gets punished, her friend Puss fares no better, and the trust members must find a deserving young woman (i.e. Monica) to send to the UK for artistic training. At least until Solly and Veronica produce the son to whom the fortune will be bestowed.

Davies had such a clear view of human nature that I can easily envisage the novel's events playing out in real life. He oversaw enough theatrical events and university students that he must have seen many such personal dramas in his career. His writing may be somewhat old fashioned but I still appreciate its clarity and the compassion he shows for his characters as he puts them through their paces.

Jhegaala / Steven Brust

 

3.5 stars

I know for a fact that I started this book much too soon after reading Dzur, but when I requested that book on interlibrary loan, the only available option was a combined volume that included this one. Because it was an ILLO renewal isn't allowed. And my local library didn't have Jhegaala either, so it was one of those two-birds-one-stone things.

Brust really enjoys putting together complex plots and we get to watch as crafty Vlad figures things out. In this case, he goes East, to his “homeland,” a place he's never been. A few questions to his grandfather and he has a clue about his mother's family. He can learn about his family while avoiding the Jhereg assassin that is pursuing him. It should be a win-win, right? But no one in the Eastern town of Burz believes him and he soon finds himself at the centre of overlapping plots. And no one will talk about his relatives. For once Vlad is being straight forward and he is met with only suspicion and hostility.

At this point, I've lost track of why there is a Jhereg after Vlad. In fact, Brust refers to a bunch of past events that I don't really remember either. But as the author, it's a good thing that he does! He also keeps up Vlad's unrelenting sense of humour, which thankfully is mostly funny and rarely grating. As an Easterner who doesn't relate to his own people much, Vlad's is a fish out of water story. Ironically, he fits into Dragnarean society more easily than his grandfather's. He mourns his failed marriage to Cawti, who does identify with her biological people, which is one of the reasons that their relationship soured.

Part of me wonders how much more Brust can come up with to do with this character, but I note that book 16 of the series will be published in 2023. So apparently Brust is still interested in his ex-assassin and he hopes that we are too.

Book Number 461 of my Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Project

All the Queen's Men / S.J. Bennett

 

4 out of 5 stars

I was taken with The Windsor Knot earlier this year and put a hold on this second book quite soon after finishing it. Others have obviously also been charmed by S.J. Bennett's version of HRH Queen Elizabeth II, as I had to wait quite a while to get my turn at it.

Bennett has created a wonderful cast of characters of courtiers and palace employees around Her Maj, and of course using the built in people too, with Prince Philip and Princess Anne playing roles here. The star of course is Rozie Oshodi, who becomes a more fully rounded person in this second book. We get to see her in her natural habitat when she visits her family and also see her desire for nice things when she goes to the Cotswolds one weekend to interview a former palace functionary.

There are three mysteries put forward: a painting of the Queen's that has gone missing and found in the Navy's offices; a nasty series of poison pen letters that are making work life in the palace tense and unhappy; and the death of a housekeeper which is deemed an accident. But is it? Bennett braids all three together to give the reader (and the Queen) a great deal to think about.

Once again, the Queen involves Rozie in her investigative process, much to Rozie's delight. She genuinely likes her Boss and is even willing to help arrange things so that, once again, the senior men in the household are convinced that they figured it all out. That takes a generosity that I don't think I have, to let someone else take credit for your ideas and footwork.

There is a third book coming out later in 2022 and I do hope my library will purchase it.

How to Solve a Cold Case / Michael Arntfield

 

4 out of 5 stars

2022 Free Range Reading

A book chosen for education, not part of any project, plan, or list. I heard the author interviewed about this book on CBC radio and couldn't resist requesting it from the library. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the writing, but have researched enough to know that the author teaches a university course entitled Literary Criminology and the Fiction of Detection. I hate to admit how much I would love to take that course!

I was disturbed by the author's linkage of several of paraphilias common to killers to a gravitation to the outdoors in general and to forests in particular. Forested areas are camouflage from which to observe and stalk potential victims, while having an easy excuse for being there, namely taking a walk. Having just recently heard about an unsuccessful attack on a woman in a park just a few minutes north of me, this information made my blood run cold! Hearing about that attack pretty much ended my intentions to go out birding by myself, but this cinches it. No more venturing out alone. Even before reading this, I had determined that being alone in more remote locations is asking for trouble.

One of the most interesting parts of the book for me was in the last third, where the author discusses literary criminology, the history of writing “true crime," from Charles Dickens (he had a regular column about shadowing a law enforcement friend) to the present day. He offers examples of investigative techniques invented by authors which came to be used by law enforcement (eg. Handwriting analysis). He also includes all those TV shows and podcasts (and gives the reader an objective rating of many of them). Statistics seem to suggest that many middle-class middle-aged women are the consumers of this genre. Here I must put up my hand and admit that I am guilty as charged. In fact I cancelled my cable TV because I watched too much of this stuff and was making myself excessively paranoid. ”Real violence in the real world produces stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol, while watching or simulating violence produces pleasure chemicals. It's a fascinating dichotomy.” This is the first convincing explanation that I have heard for the popularity of this genre. (It also gives me insight into my undying love for violent urban fantasy fiction).

Reading this book made me itchy to be able to DO something about the issue of unsolved murders. Perhaps just realizing that I can take better care of myself out in the world will have to do the trick. Mentioned in the text was Gavin de Becker's The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence, which I have benefited from. I recommend it to all women and any men who have women in their lives. That book was instrumental in my life years ago when I was dealing with several creepy men who lurked on the edges of my life, and de Becker's advice kept me unscathed.

Dzur / Steven Brust

 

3.5 stars

Who's your favourite smart cracking ex-assassin? Vlad Taltos, of course. This is the volume where he has to deal, at least a little bit, with his past. Although he used to kill people for a living, Vlad makes friends rather easily. And he doesn't much care if they're Easterners or one of the many sorts of Dragnerians. Which explains why he's back in Adrilankha. His ex-wife, Cawti, is in trouble and Vlad is determined to iron things out for her, whether she wants help or not.

So, he gets the tour of his old stomping grounds: the house his grandfather used to live in, his old office, his favourite restaurant. In fact, Brust uses the opulent meal at this restaurant as a structure for the book, with each chapter headed by a description of a meal course. And his discussions with a Dzur lord who has joined him, hence the title of this volume.

After his time spent wandering the wilderness, it's nice to have him back in the old neighbourhood and speaking civilly to Cawti. But just like a long elaborate meal, there was a lot of pausing and resting along the way. The pace is leisurely and like Loiosh, I got impatient from time to time. While the final confrontation worked, plot-wise, it was a bit of an anticlimax. Perhaps the very final reveal made it worthwhile?

Book Number 460 of my Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Project

When Calls the Heart / Janette Oke

 

2 out of 5 stars

***2022 Summer Vacation in the West***

My first summer theme book, not a traditional western but a tale set in the Canadian west, when my current home, Calgary, was just getting its start. The cover proudly proclaims that it is a Hallmark Channel movie edition. It is certainly the kind of saccharine sweet story that Hallmark is known for.

Part of the reason I chose this novel was that the author was born the same year as my mother, who was a writer who often wrote historical romances like this one. Oke’s author photo looks exactly like what she is: a nice church lady. There are many Christian details, so if you are allergic to that I would encourage you to put this book down and find something else to read.

My parents both attended one room schools in rural Alberta and two of my aunts taught in them, so I knew many of the details of the classroom and the treatment of the teacher to be accurate. Elizabeth is a greenhorn in Alberta, having very little experience with starting fires, chopping wood, dealing with mice, or cooking for herself. Her wardrobe is too fancy, she lives in fear of coyotes, and faints when she sees a bear. Despite this (or maybe because of it) she is aware of being the focus of single male attention in the community.

First she must deal with a school superintendent who is so sure she will marry him that he neglects to even ask. Once Elizabeth sets him straight, he responds by posting her in the back of beyond (sorry, Lacombe, you're a nice town now). The good people of the area are so glad to finally have a teacher for their school that they are more than willing to take care of her. But of course, it is her half-brother's friend, Wynn, who snags her attention, a member of the North West Mounted Police. This is a romance, so they have to have some misunderstandings and miscommunication, but there's little doubt that the Mountie will get the woman.

It's a quick read, but the writing is a stilted and the course of events is obvious. The main characters are so goody-goody as to be pretty boring. I know my mother would have been eager to get published, as she was writing at the same time as Ms. Oke, but I don't think she would have been willing to use a religious publisher to accomplish her goal. It would have felt like cheating, I suspect.

All the Seas of the World / Guy Gavriel Kay

 

5 out of 5 stars

A book over 500 pages can be either a burden or a joy. This one was a joy to me, consumed over two days, but I will savour it for some time to come. It is set in the same world as Kay's previous novel, Children of Earth and Sky. Knowledge of that novel may enhance your appreciation for this work, but isn't necessary to enjoy it.

I've said it before and I will say it again—Guy Gavriel Kay writes female characters with tremendous skill. He writes women as fully realized as his male characters, recognizing the same desires and motivations behind behaviour, but knowing the threats that women face that most men don't. Lenia embodies this, having been taken as a slave as a very young woman. If she finds her family after all these years, will they be glad to see her or horrified because she is now “damaged goods"?

He also includes his version of the Jewish people (the Kindath), known for their business skills but generally distrusted. Nevertheless, Kay treats them with sympathy. Like any of the nationalities and religions included in the book, there are good and bad people in all the divisions. As it is in our world. And really, I wouldn't have thought that I would be cheering for the two assassins who I met in the initial pages. Yet here I am, sorry that this volume is finished and I won't be able to follow them further.

The use of alternative history enables Kay to examine issues without the need to accurately represent the historical record. He can invent his own powers and potentialities, his own battles and historical events. Plus, he can add little fantastical elements, white stags among them. If you have enjoyed Kay's earlier works, you can rest assured that you will feel the same about this one.

Shadow Rites / Faith Hunter

 

I 

4 out of 5 stars

2022 Re-Read

A good, fast hit of urban fantasy entertainment! The action picks up right away and hail, hail, the gang's all here. The Trueblood family and cat are in town for the vampire/witch conclave. The Youngers have scooched over to make room for them in the house. Edmund, one of Jane's favourite vampires, has moved in too, as Leo has pretty much insisted that Jane take him on as her Primo. And he comes with accessories, namely the enormous werewolf, Brute, and the wolf's grindylow. There's not much elbow room at Jane's house these days. She's thanking the stars that she can escape to Bruiser's occasionally.

Hunter has created an intricate world and takes full advantage of her previously established details to give a really edge-of-the-seat ride. She mixes witch magic, vampire politics, and one of my favourite skinwalkers to produce a fast paced, dangerous adventure. Edmund is the star of the show among Jane's household. This guy is smart and sneaky and he's been plotting to become Jane's Primo for a couple of books now. This is a vampire who used to be a blood master and we are given to believe that he allowed himself to be bested by a weaker vamp, presumably to slither his way to better things. Just what his plans are will be most interesting. (Although I remember really liking his character on my first read through, the fine detail is gone, so I get to enjoy the discoveries all over again.)

I really should have held onto this book for a little while and tended to books with closer due dates, but when I picked it up at the library this afternoon I found it irresistible. I can't say I'm sorry to have slipped my leash.

Fated Blades / Ilona Andrews

 

3.5 out of 5 stars

You know I had to read this--it's Ilona Andrews. I am a member of the BDH (Book Devouring Horde). Therefore, I placed my hold at the library and rejoiced when it arrived. I hate to admit that I wasn't sure how much I would like it, so didn't run right out to buy a copy. I'm still not sure whether I need to own it (so I suspect the answer is ‘no').

This is very similar to many Andrews novels. It's a Romeo and Juliette tale, where two powerful people from rival families are forced to team up to track down their errant spouses, who have scarpered with important family business research. Ramona and Matias have never met in person before, but they have studied each other via spies. Meeting in person is a shock, as they find that they are very, very attracted to one another.

Of course the mission is not easy. There are evil fathers-in-law and psycho military aliens to be dealt with. Thank goodness Ramona and Matias have trained since they could walk with their implanted weapons. This is very much an ‘enemies-to-lovers' romance, which is my preferred trope. If I have a complaint, it's that the plot and the romance play out much too quickly. At only 200 pages, the authors must blast through events at warp speed. I really like their trilogies, where the tension gets spun out for a greater length of time.

So, my verdict? Nice, but not quite as satisfying as either their Kate Daniels or Hidden Legacy series. If they publish more Kinsman books, I will read them, because that's what I do. And you do not need to have read the first two novellas to enjoy this book. It can stand firmly on its own.

The Winter Sea / Susanna Kearsley

 

3.5 out of 5 stars

I picked up this novel because the author will be a key note guest at a writers conference that I'm attending in August and I wanted to sample her writing. I was pulled in from the very first pages, very intrigued by this story of a young writer, Carrie, who names her main character after one of her ancestors, Sophia Paterson, and writes of her life in Scotland in the early 1700s. But the writing flows so easily that she feels like she's channeling Sophia and gets a bit freaked out when she will write scenes and only later confirm their accuracy through research. At the same time, Carrie is getting to know her kind landlord and his two sons. Much like Sophia in her fiction, Carrie must negotiate her way diplomatically. When it becomes obvious that both of the sons are courting her, will she be able to choose one brother over the other without causing family ructions?

When I went to my library catalogue to choose a Kearsley novel, I noted that all of the titles that the library possesses are in use, some with long waiting lists. That's generally a good sign, although popular books are not always necessarily to my liking. I do, however, understand her appeal, as she skillfully alternates between the past and the present, renders Scots speech clearly, without being annoying, and mirrors the lives of the two women main characters without getting too matchy-matchy.

Fans of Outlander and Diana Gabaldon would no doubt also enjoy this book, with its romances, past and present. I confess that I much prefer The Winter Sea to that series. The writing is much more to my taste and the editing is much better, so thus far I have found no egregious bird errors! (An eternal complaint of mine regarding Gabaldon, who doesn't seem to realize that Scotland and North America have different bird life.) Indeed, if Ms. Kearsley has made any historical errors, I wouldn't know, but as she is a former museum curator, I would expect her to be professionally accurate. Having worked briefly in the museum environment myself, I have witnessed how much the staff enjoy research and connecting people to history. (Indeed, in her afterword, the author specifies where she deviated from the official record and why.)

Despite being a reluctant romance reader, I found this book easy to read and very engaging. The suspension of disbelief required by the fictional author's “genetic memory" of her ancestor may be a large ask of some readers (it sounded ridiculous when I attempted to describe it to a cousin), but it flowed naturally on the page and was never labelled as paranormal. It was just a thing that happened. I'll admit to crying at a couple of junctures, but so much of Scots history is sad that it's difficult to avoid sad situations.

Knife of Dreams / Robert Jordan

 

3.75 out of 5 stars

I’m involved enough in this series to keep plugging along with it, but I have big frustrations with it. For one thing, there are SO MANY story lines and characters. This would be fine if the plot moved along in a spritely fashion, but it really doesn't. I wade through pages and pages, with only tiny plot progress. I wish Jordan would just get on with it. Instead, he tells us what every darned noble is wearing, exactly what everyone is eating, and any other darned detail he can imagine, bogging down the flow of the action. Honestly, details of tea, wine, and what kind of cups it is served in? Every darn time?

My other major complaint is one that I think I moan about in every review that I write: the relations between men and women. I mean, Mat Cauthon is one of my favourite characters, but his ideas about what motivates women, or his convictions that he cannot possibly understand women, drive me nuts! For fucks sake, we are humans! We want the same things men want! Robert Jordan, I want to shake you until your teeth rattle! (Would that make me an Aes Sedai? That seems to be one of their moves!) It's no better from the female point of view—all the women seem to think men are thick as bricks, unable to cope without female guidance. This is also bullshit and makes my blood pressure rise.

And yet, I want to know what happens in this long, drawn out series. Having struggled my way to book eleven, I think I will eventually conquer it. Now I must hope that the ending isn't a complete let down (and I realize that Jordan didn't write the conclusion, but please tell me that he left notes or an outline of how he intended things to go). In the meantime, I have to say this was one of the better books in the series. Rand isn't being a complete a-hole, although one wonders how trustworthy his Asha'man are. Elayne gets her hold on Andor, without Rand's intervention. Go, Elayne! We learn that Lan is much more than we have been led to believe (and that Nynaeve is more pragmatic that I would have given her credit for). Both Mat and Perrin make arrangements with the Seanchan that would have been unthinkable just in the last volume, but which lead to success. And my favourite part, Egwene has more moxie than all the other Aes Sedai combined! Go, Egwene! Elaida won't know what hit her!

Book Number 459 of my Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Project

Poirot Loses a Client / Agatha Christie

 

3 out of 5 stars

Perhaps I've read a few too many Poirot mysteries in the past couple of years, but I found this one rather lackluster.  Our detective doesn't seem quite as sharp as usual and Hastings seems particularly dense. They pick at each other when you would expect them to be happy to be together again, now that Hastings has returned from the Argentine. There's much more running around, interviewing people, when Poirot usually stresses thinking through a crime and resists this much activity.

Really, the most engaging character was the terrier, Bob. His personality came through loud and clear, when everyone else was rather boring. In the matter of doggy details, Hastings finally has an advantage over Poirot, understanding dogs far better than he does humans. The dog is a playful detail, especially when Christie gives his “thoughts" in print, granting him intelligence as many dog lovers do. 

As usual, Poirot gathered the suspects for a last lecture, but I hardly cared. Did Christie give me enough hints to see the solution? I'm not sure, but I find myself not worried about it. Not a book that I will read again, I think.

Bad Actors / Mick Herron

 

4+ out of 5 stars

OMG, I do love Shirley Dander! She is a glorious fuckup. Throwing herself into trouble, often fueled by cocaine, willing to use most anything as a weapon, she is always the center of chaos. Shirley gets a starring role in this Slough House installment. No monkey wrench this time (although she remembers it fondly), but she wields a mean plastic fork. She was paying attention during combat classes, that's for sure.

Mind you the gang's mostly all there. Roddy Ho is being his usual self—leading a rich fantasy life in which he believes himself to be suave and smooth, instead of a guy who loses his grip on a broom and sends it through a window at Slough House. It's the newest slow horse who finally gets him a date, negotiating with a woman that Ho was trying to convince to cosplay with him. And this new woman, Ash, is going to be a handful. She's already started a food war with Lamb, putting extreme spice in her lunch, left in the fridge for him to steal. He may have a worthy opponent with this one!

Of course, Jackson Lamb is much in evidence, making everyone nervous when he shifts position. They all back away on the relatively likely chance that there's a fetid fart in the offing. Is his grossness an act? He does look after his joes, despite their general tendency to bungle everything. And is he really assisting Diana Taverner, or has he set her up? 

Herron does what he does best, he writes a twisty, convoluted plot, with cynical political bon mots placed artfully. He manages to suggest real people that we know from the news, while inventing realistic shenanigans for them to be sent prancing through, lying and scheming all the way. He seems to be telling us that we might as well make entertaining art from the news, rather than just feeling disgusted or despairing. 

Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments / T.L. Huchu

 

I 

4 out of 5 stars

I do enjoy spending time with Ropa Moyo. She is not-yet-sixteen, but is so responsible. Her grandmother and sister depend on her and she leans on them as a reason to keep going. They live in a crappy old caravan in a slum area of post-apocalyptic Edinburgh, negotiating the poverty, crime, and lack of opportunity. Ropa is a ghostalker with a talent for magic, but she is held back by lack of education and the need for paid employment. When she finally catches the eye of a significant magician, she is disgusted to realize that she'll be an unpaid intern, not a salaried apprentice. 

However, Ropa knows an advantage when she has it in her hands, and she is determined to make it work. She juggles the intern work and side hustles while attempting to keep her family fed and together. Ropa's outlook is obviously more mature than we are used to and her vocabulary is colourful and varied. You can't help but root for her and Huchu really puts her through a lot. Just when she thinks that she's made a breakthrough, there's a hitch that sets her back. 

I just kept reading, wanting to see how things worked out, if they worked out. Huchu portrays a family living in hard circumstances so well. They love one another and manage to keep body and soul together, but they also have to deal with people who have resources but no empathy. If hard work always resulted in wealth, the Moyos would be very comfortable. Still, they continue to do the work in front of them and hold their heads high. I do hope there will be more adventures to come.

Heroic Hearts

 

4 out of 5 stars

This anthology is very astutely structured, leading with Jim Butcher (Harry Dresden) and ending with Patricia Briggs (Alpha & Omega). It’s like good vacation tours, where you start in a nice hotel and end in a really nice hotel, with some less comfortable places in between. The leader knows that first and last impressions are important to how the clients feel about the tour. The deck is also stacked with many popular urban fantasy authors. It was better suited to my tastes than many of these collections. 

Having said all of that, Patricia Briggs’ story about her werewolf character Asil was definitely the highlight of the volume for me. I love the direction that Briggs is taking Asil and I am now, more than ever, looking forward to the next Alpha & Omega book. However, if you haven't read any of that series, some of the fun of this little tale may evade you.

As always, your mileage may vary, but urban fantasy fans will no doubt find a story or two that will please them in these pages.

The Children of the Company / Kage Baker

 

4 out of 5 stars

There's nothing more delicious than a really good villain and Kage Baker serves up a couple of them in this installment: Labienus and Victor, immortals who have agendas of their own. They are quite convinced that they know better than Dr Zeus Company, and certainly better than humans, who they refer to as “the monkeys.” We get the views of both characters, so we know that they despise one another while working together. Really effective bad guys can't be of the mustache-twirling variety, and both Labienus and Victor have ideals that they are working towards, goals that they believe are worthy, even if it's the takeover of the world at the point where the record is cut off.

Baker also has an interesting take on time travel, namely that written history can't be messed with, but anything in the “event shadow," the unrecorded details around the record, can be manipulated by someone determined to claim influence. We see none of the future Dr Zeus employees in this novel and are left wondering if they know nothing of their cyborgs' plots. Truthfully, they have seemed none to bright in past volumes, certainly not up to the challenge of running the complex company. Plus they seem to be scared of their immortal employees. Despite this, they are still ordering the production of more cyborgs, so they can't be aware of too much plotting.

Mendoza gets mentioned a couple of times, although we don't get to see her. We learn more about her love interest, Alec/Edward/Nicholas, as part of Labienus' machinations, showing that Baker has a well plotted, rather convoluted plan running through her series. She is very adept at leaving each book with a satisfying ending, but with enough questions still unresolved to draw her readers along.

Book Number 458 of my Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Project

Leaven of Malice / Robertson Davies

 

4 out of 5 stars

The (Mostly) Dead Writers Society Author in Residence program 2022

”I don't find malice so horrible as you, Mr. Snelgrove; perhaps because I see more of it; or perhaps I should say because I recognize it more readily than you do. But it is horrible enough, certainly. In the Prayer Book you will find a special plea to be preserved from it, appointed for the first Sunday after Easter: ‘Grant us so to put away the leaven of malice and wickedness that we may always serve Thee in pureness of living and truth.‘ The writer of that prayer understood malice. It works like a leaven; it stirs, and swells, and changes all that surrounds it.”

Oh how Davies' experiences in both the newspaper business and the academic world shows in the persons of Gloster Ridley and Solly Bridgetower. He excels at plotting a realistic contretemps in a small community. I met Solomon Bridgetower in Tempest-Tost, where he is in a community theatre production with Professor Vambrace and his daughter, Pearl. They all three have starring roles this time around too.

I think that children of cultures where children are totally beholden to their parents, taking care of them no matter what and being obliged to do things the parents' way rather than their own way, these people will sympathize with Solly and with Pearl to some extent. Solly is absolutely tied to his mother's apron strings and hasn't found the backbone yet to free himself. Pearl has never before considered that she has options and, frankly, her own income. Having her father pitch an ugly fit changes their relationship, actually for the better, when she asserts her autonomy with a haircut and new clothes. Solly and Pearl also have a couple of serious fights that change their perceptions of the situation and each other.

It's fun to watch Davies play with these ideas, of the extent of a child’s responsibility to their parent, with the mischief that causes havoc, of the effects of gossip, the role of the newspaper, among other things. There are hilarious moments as well as serious ones, but they all strike the right note.