Fool's Errand / Robin Hobb

 

R

4 out of 5 stars 

Free Range Reading 2024

Robin Hobb has done it to me again. Using her writing, she has squeezed my heart until tears leaked out of my eyes. Hobb is unsparing of her characters. They face big challenges and they don't emerge unscathed. Fitz really takes the brunt of it in this outing.

Every pet owner can sympathize with the losses experienced. Animals, however beloved, have shorter life spans than we do, and their care for us influences their behaviour. I had a little old bunny who waited for me to return from a trip and get to cuddle her one more time before she gave up her struggle. It was heart breaking and I'm just lucky that I got to and from the vet's office, crying as hard as I was.

Fitz is Witted, capable of bonding with animals (or should I say an animal) in a way that makes the non-Witted wary and hostile. Unfortunately for all of them, Prince Dutiful is also Witted, as well as desperately lonely and easily influenced. Has he been kidnapped or lured away by those who would use him? Either way, Fitz and the Fool are sent to retrieve the wayward Prince, disguised as servant Tom Badgerlock and Lord Golden.

I can only say that Hobb makes the emotional distress worthwhile. I was able to pick up where I left off in 2020 when I read Assassin's Quest, and sink right back into the Realm of the Elderlings easily. There is no question that I'll be completing this Tawny Man trilogy.

Second Rite / Geneva Lee

 

3 out of 5 stars 

Oh, the mysteries of the reading life! I borrowed the first book in this series from the public library and enjoyed it, but they didn't have subsequent volumes. They also turned down my request that they purchase this book. So I ordered this one from a bookstore in town back in the summer and was a bit whiney about it. What should happen next, but I get a notification via Libby that it's available through that platform as an audiobook. I should have been more patient. (Unusually, I can access it on Libby, but not through my library catalogue.)

This isn’t a bad book--it's very much a continuation from book one. Julian is still trying to run Thea's life and she's still trying to pry all the secrets out of him. But they have determined that they are Mates and that they will stand up to the Vampire Council together. Cue Olivia Newton-John singing Hopelessly Devoted. Julian has never been able to compel Thea and now we learn the possible reason for that. The couple unknowingly undergo the Second Rite necessary before they can wed with the Council's approval (if not Julian's mother's). The remaining number of Rites are unclear, but there are two more books, so I'm guessing two.

Here's my thing: book one was very much a screwball comedy. This one, not so much. Julian's jackassery is more pronounced and Thea's predictable problems with her mother and university friends are tiresome. Julian's family issues are suitably threatening. It was nice to figure out that Thea does have some magic of her own to help her cope with all the cranky vampires and witches.

Libby has volume 3 as an audiobook and I have no doubt that I will borrow it soon. I'm halfway through this soap opera and I might as well keep going. But I will wait MUCH longer before buying the final volume.

Homicide in Hardcover / Kate Carlisle

 

E

4 out of 5 stars 

I am always on the lookout for a good cozy mystery series. Being a recent convert to this sub-genre, I am still figuring out what makes a book good for me. For me, this first volume has all the hallmarks for a good series.

Brooklyn Wainwright is a professional bookbinder and restoration specialist. Having worked in a library with special collections, I was immediately interested in her work. She has just been reunited with her mentor, Abraham, after an estrangement when he is murdered at a big social event. As per usual in this genre, Brooklyn finds him and immediately becomes a suspect. She wants to get justice for Abraham, but her investigation of the matter is pretty minimal. Often authors will depict their main character distrustful of the police, but Brooklyn finds herself in the murderer’s sights, so she is reliant on police for their expertise. So she is not trying to usurp the investigation, but she finds herself more involved by default. I appreciate this approach as I don't find it realistic to think that an amateur is going to have more success than the professionals.

I also enjoyed Brooklyn's family—her hippie parents, the commune where they live, and her geographically named siblings. Her BFF Robin provides more comic relief as she tries to get Brooklyn to care about stylish clothing and her image. I could also appreciate Brooklyn's love of eating. Too often female characters are depicted as worried about their weight and/or restricting their food intake. To hell with that! Let women eat like normal people!

Of course a cozy mystery rarely lacks a love interest, but that aspect doesn't dominate this book. The issue of why a British operative is involved in the situation is never addressed, but I knew from the first moment, when Brooklyn locked eyes with Derek Stone at the original gala event, that he would be filling that role. As love interests go, he is better than many.

The second book in the series is available through my public library and I will be reading it.

This is book number 26 in my 2024 Read Your Hoard Challenge.

Busman's Honeymoon / Dorothy L. Sayers

 

5 out of 5 stars 

My favourite Sayers so far. Unlike so many mysteries, it takes quite a long time before the author produces a corpse. The first 100+ pages give us the hot goss about the wedding, namely that of Lord Peter and Harriet Vane. They are not youngsters and they are used to being on their own, so we get to witness them finding their way towards a comfortable life together. We become acquainted with more of the Wimsey family and their quirks. Harriet learns that she has an accomplice in Peter's mother, the Dowager Duchess.

Harriet realizes that she is marrying a rich man who desperately wants to give her a substantial gift, so she suggests a house in her old environs which she has always fancied. The best laid plans o' mice and men oft go astray. On the first night of the honeymoon, the newlyweds find themselves locked out of their new home. There is much ado until keys are located, the house opened, and everything is prepared for the wedding night. Not until the next day is the former owner's body discovered in a storage room.

Of course Peter has been detecting for years and Harriet writes mysteries, so you know they will get involved. Hence the title—as when a bus driver uses their holiday to take a coach tour, this couple uses their honeymoon to figure out who dunnit. Sayers has created a fabulous cast of characters as neighbours to the new residence, entertaining this reader immensely while the investigation progresses. Sayers gives Harriet very good sense and intelligence—she is quite the equal partner and acknowledged as such. Thank you, Ms. Sayers. (Incidentally, Sayers fine education and high intelligence are also on full display. Brava!)

Fun and funny, this novel is a perfect balance between mystery and romance. I will be definitely be enjoying it again in the future.

This is book number 25 of my Read Your Hoard Challenge.

Intruder / C.J. Cherryh

 

4 out of 5 stars

Book number 531 of my Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Project

What a change of pace in this volume of the Foreigner series! Was Bren shot at even once? Despite heading into a potentially volatile negotiation in pursuit of a peaceful solution, there seems to be a meeting of minds regarding politics and economics. It's not over until everyone signs on the dotted line, but the dowager trusts Bren to get everyone to the table.

Meanwhile, young Cajeiri must parse his man'chi and figure out just where his loyalties lie. He is going to have a sibling and is feeling threatened. Having grown a lot while in space with his great-grandmother, he feels somewhat detached from his parents, especially his mother. For an eight year old (almost nine, as he reminds everyone frequently) he is a very political animal, calculating what ties he has to whom.

Tabini speaks far more frankly than ever before to Bren regarding the boy and the state of the leader's household. It is rather terrifying to be so trusted, especially when Bren's body guards, members of the Assassin's Guild, also reveal startling secrets.

So, no shooting, no cross country chases, but plenty of political intrigue and complicated relationships.

Love and Other Conspiracies

 

4 out of 5 stars 

OMG, so cute! Hallie needs a great idea for a web series to keep her production career headed the right direction. As she frantically searches for the perfect subject, she runs across a handsome podcaster, Hayden. The subject he's obsessed with? Conspiracy theories of all kinds—Bigfoot, ghosts, Area 51, Mothman, you name it. His appearances on another program show him to be a charming if dorky show host. So why does he freeze up in front of Hallie's camera? As a committed nonbeliever, Hallie questions Hayden, firing him up in order to explain his position. Hallie's manager likes their chemistry and decrees that Hallie will join Hayden in front of the camera.

Can two people with such different worldviews travel and work together successfully? They give it their best shot and their series becomes wildly popular. After all, whether you believe or not, you'll have one of the hosts who represents you. The whole romance would be far too easy if it weren't for Hallie's vindictive ex, Cade. He's the classic controlling, selfish asshole, who's willing to gaslight Hallie and suck up to management. It's not enough that he has a popular series, he's determined to sabotage Hallie's success.

I knew how things would have to turn out. This is a romance, after all, and the HEA or HFN endings are pretty much a requirement. May I add that I sincerely hope there are guys like Hayden out there somewhere. However, I find them to be as elusive as any Bigfoot.

The Beekeeper's Apprentice / Laurie R. King

 

4 out of 5 stars 

2024 Re-Read

I am revisiting this novel because it is the November choice of my mystery book club. It's been about 6 years since I read it the first time and I have continued with several more volumes of the series since then. In fact, while renewing my acquaintance with Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes, I realized that volume 5, O Jerusalem, backtracks to cover their trip to Palestine which occurs in the last half of this book. It is the next step on my journey.

In short, I have more experience with Ms. King's work now and I am willing to bump up my rating from 3 to 4 stars. I like King's writing and I am willing to let her have her way with Holmes. The purists will eschew this series, but I have been reluctantly charmed. I can appreciate the insertion of an intelligent woman into the Holmes story, a story about a comfortably well off white guy by another one. It's a tradition ripe for feminizing. Holmes is a prominent character for sure, but the spotlight is focused squarely on Mary Russell.

I will be very interested to hear what my book club folks have to say about this title. I guess because I had read Conan Doyle’s version, I had definite ideas about what I was expecting. Do others have the same expectations? Some of the younger members seem unfamiliar with authors like Conan Doyle, Christie, or Sayers. Will that lack of familiarity leave them confused or bored? Or will it make them more open to King’s Holmes?

I have one reading friend who considers this series to be comfort reading and another who rejected it, complaining of Watson-bashing. This discussion should be fascinating.

Vision in Silver / Anne Bishop

 

4 out of 5 stars 

These books are like popcorn—irresistible and consumed far too quickly. It's the building of relationships between individuals and between species that captivates me. Especially when set against a high stakes confrontation between humans and the Others.

In our current political climate, when so many countries (including my own) are skewing towards the right and authoritarianism, the problems that Bishop explores here feel extra urgent. She portrays us humans as we often are: selfish, greedy, and xenophobic. There seem to always be manipulative leaders who choose to exploit these tendencies. But the Others are discovering that there are exceptions to that rule. Friendships and trust have snuck up on everyone in the Lakeside courtyard.

How is this series written by the same author as the Black Jewels? I like the Others so much more than all that supposedly dark witchy stuff.

Only Cold Depths / Jennifer Estep

 

3.75 out of 5 stars 

Vesper Quill and Kyrion Calderon are still on the run with a bounty on their heads. Their true-bond has made them the object of Callus Holloway's greed, wanting to capture their psion power. Vesper's friend Asterin has encouraged the couple to come to her home world, where the true-bonded are protected.

However, when they arrive, Vesper and Kyrion quickly learn that Asterin's family is not too thrilled to meet them. Asterin's sister is downright antagonistic. If that wasn't bad enough, a pair of mercenaries with powerful psionic powers are hot on their heels. And then the Zimmer family shows up—do they truly want a family connection with Vesper or do they have an ulterior motive?

As usual, Vesper and Kyrion have multiple problems to solve. They've been warned that their true-bond hasn't yet stabilized and they have no idea how to deal with that either. Can they figure things out? Can they overcome the past and forge a real future for themselves?

Estep continues to write fabulous food scenes. I wonder if those happen when she gets hungry? And why do I suspect that she may have a cocky and annoying brother rather like Zane Zimmer?

Written in Red / Anne Bishop

 

4 out of 5 stars 

Well, that was fun and a great way to spend a cold afternoon. It was too icy for the errands I wanted to do (that's my story and I'm sticking to it). I was so pleasantly surprised by this book! I've read most of Bishop's Dark Jewels series, which I find to be silly instead of dark. I was impressed by how different this series feels, at least in this first book.

Bishop has taken the usual urban fantasy creatures (shifters, vampires) and given them her own spin. These people are not just humans with different abilities. They are far more hostile to humans, not wanting much to do with them (beyond snacking, of course). Their derisive term for their neighbours is monkeys and the bad behaviour of humans seems to justify that attitude.

So when a half frozen Meg Corbyn shows up in the alpha-wolf's bookstore late one night asking permission to apply for the post of liaison between the humans and the Others, Simon Wolfgard wonders why he hired her on the spot. Especially since she seems far less experienced for her age than the usual young woman. Meg has led a protected life as the possession of an organization that sells her visions of the future to the highest bidder. In order to have the visions, her skin must be cut, throwing her into a trance of pain and ecstasy.

Meg needs shelter from her Controller, who wants her back asap. Because she knows so little of the outside world, she treats everyone she meets with politeness and kindness. She has no prejudices. As a result, she makes friends wherever she goes. And she doesn't cower in her Liaison office—she gets out to deliver parcels that can't be carried by the mail carriers, the ponies (who were won over with treats). Her willingness to work and to talk to anyone who engages her gains her status among the Others. She is The Meg and anyone who disturbs her will be dealt with, including Simon Wolfgard.

Needless to say, many humans seem to want to harm Meg which may start a war. Can it be avoided? Will she change the society of the Others? When will Simon realize that he's attached to this determined little woman? I can hardly wait to dig into the next volume!

The Quiet Tenant / Clemence Michallon

 

3 out of 5 stars 

How the hell do I rate a book like this? I swear that I'm not going to read any more serial killer books and then a new one gets published and my brain says, “Oh, shiny!” This novel was gripping. It was tense, especially toward the end. It was grimly, awfully believable.

Pluses: it was all related from the women's points of view. His daughter, his captive, and his girlfriend/soon to be next victim. It fairly portrayed what we are willing to do in order to stay alive. It fairly depicts how we women with psychological damage can be manipulated by a practiced offender. Speaking from personal experience, if you have a controlling man in your family, it feels like something you know how to deal with. It feels familiar. You think you know what you're getting into. You don't. And these offenders have radar for the women with this kind of background.

Minuses: these books always make me debate their merit. Do we need more books featuring criminals like Aidan Thomas? Do they do anyone any good? Or do they just turn us into voyeurs? Is this a tribute to the bravery and resilience of Rachel? Or I am I just thankful that it's her and not me?

In the end, I don't know the answers to any of these questions. I don't know what star rating to assign. My thought is to go middle of the road. Three stars.

Childhood's End / Arthur C. Clarke

 

4 out of 5 stars 

It's been over a decade since I last read Childhood's End and it was worth revisiting. Clarke was one of the celebrated authors of the sci-fi genre during the so-called Golden Age. And I was just as absorbed by this novel this time around as the previous outings. This despite Clarke's writing style, which I can only describe as chilly and overly logical. If aliens like the Overlords were to read this book, they would believe humans to be little swayed by emotion, basing their behaviour on rational thought, rather unlike the excitable, irrational people that I see regularly on the news.

Clarke also breaks one of those oft quoted rules of writers, to show rather than telling. He tells us an awful lot and his characters obey his decrees without protest. Women are few and far between, with Jean being the most prominent, both for proving humankind's suitability for future development and for producing the children who will lead the way. Beyond that, she gets relegated to the roles of housewife and mother, a great waste. I never felt like I knew any of the characters intimately and didn't feel much connection to them. I wasn't the slightest bit concerned as they were eliminated one by one.

What to make of humankind's ultimate end? Is it a good or a bad thing? Clarke portrays it as a desirable outcome, but I guess I'm too much of an individualist for it to sit comfortably. The universe is undoubtedly a huge and terrifying thing, but I love this blue and green planet where we live and I have no desire to abandon it. Are the misnamed Overlords to be pitied because they retain their uniqueness and some agency? Frankly I feel like they are getting the better deal.

Nevertheless, I still think this is an important book in the canon of science fiction and that it deserves its place there. I find it somewhat encouraging that even a man as devoted to science as Clarke would write a story with such definite paranormal elements.

4:50 From Paddington / Agatha Christie

 

5 out of 5 stars 

I am a day late and a dollar short, as the saying goes. This was the October book for my Agatha Christie reading group and I did start on Halloween but flaked out before I could finish it. Besides which I was enjoying it too much to hurry and I was under the erroneous impression that I might actually be able to finger the murderer this time. Foolish person that I am! I have the niggling feeling that I have seen the initial scene in some other venue: Elspeth McGillicuddy is on the 4:50 train, which is passed by another train in which she witnesses a man strangling a woman to death. Elspeth arrives on Miss Marple's doorstep convinced that she has been written off by the authorities as a tiresome old lady.

I always enjoy a Marple mystery and this outing adds the remarkable Lucy Eyelesbarrow to Christie's stable of wonderful characters. Of course Miss Marple recruits the younger woman to do her foot work. Searching for corpses is a young woman's game. Lucy can run a stately home like nobody's business and poke through the grounds in her spare time. Miss Marple has used her own resources to procure a map, to ride the same route, and deduce where the dead woman has likely been disposed of. Lucy will be responsible for ground-truthing her theory.

Lucy finagles a job in Rutherford Hall and soon has the whole family (and especially the men folk) eating out of her hand. Once the body is revealed, more mischief happens. Every time I had a suspect in my sights, Christie bumped them off! Also entertaining were the many proposals that Lucy receives along the way. Christie quite cruelly refused to finger the lucky man who wins Lucy (or if one of them manages that task), but she revealed the murderer clearly.

I do wish Lucy had more time to spend with Inspector Craddock, if she had to choose any of these louts!

This is book number 24 of my Read Your Hoard Challenge.

Cretaceous Sea / Will Hubbell

 

2 out of 5 stars 

Halloween Bingo 2024

Oh, the perils of cover art! When I ordered this book, it was the dinosaurs on the cover (and the sale price) that hooked me. The thought of being able to time travel to the Cretaceous was also pleasing and I clicked “buy" without thinking too deeply about the matter. This I regret.

The dinosaurs, when they are encountered, are fabulous. However, this novel is far too people-infested. And they are not very interesting. We have the ice-cold entrepreneur who controls the time machine and his minions (who are crystal clear regarding their status as mere minions). We have the selfish, self-indulgent billionaire, who comes complete with a blonde floozy and a daughter whose affection he is trying to buy. Plus a geology student who has been hired to be tour guide for said daughter, who is judged young and biddable (completely disregarding scientific curiosity).

Off they go, using this mysterious technology, to the Cretaceous. It doesn't take our geology student long to figure out that things are hinky. Apparently our entrepreneur has conked a time traveler over the head and claimed his vehicle, which can only be toggled between the present and the dinosaurs. The site where they are camping was built by future-dude. Entrepreneur needs billionaire to fund the reverse engineering of the tech. Meanwhile, the daughter finds a hidden room, filled with screens and a clock with a mysterious countdown. To the asteroid event that will end the dinosaurs.

The dialogue is dull, the roles of the characters are stereotypes, and I just couldn't find much enthusiasm for the plot. Of course the women must be protected, but not by the fat cats. It'll be the pilot and the geology student who step up. The one brown guy sacrifices himself to comfort the blond floozy, who graciously bestows one (count 'em, one) kiss on this guy she would normally not even acknowledge. Ick. I read to the 52% point, then skipped to the final chapters to see if I was missing anything worthwhile. Let's just say that people from the future are jerks.

I read this book to fulfill the Portal Fantasy square of my Halloween Bingo card.

A Night in the Lonesome October / Roger Zelazny

 

5 out of 5 stars 

Halloween Bingo 2024

I was delighted earlier this year when I was able to buy a copy of this out-of-print edition of Roger Zelazny’s final novel. I love James Warhola's cover art. It's obvious that Warhola had read the book and shared Zelazny’s joy in all the references to other literature and to the horror film genre.

I must thank my reading buddy Elentarri for researching the details of this elaborate book. The evocative title comes from an Edgar Allan Poe poem, Ulalume. The timing of a full moon over London on Halloween sets a date of 1887, perfect for including both Jack the Ripper and the Great Detective. Rumour has it that someone bet Zelazny that he couldn't write a story that made Jack into a sympathetic character (or even a hero). I'm glad he took the challenge.

Although I have read Zelazny's Amber series and his Lord of Light, I must admit that Lonesome October is by far my favourite. Now that I own a copy, I was finally able to follow the one-chapter-per-day reading plan. It was quite satisfying and I intend it to be an annual exercise in future Octobers.

I read this book to fulfill the Halloween square of my Halloween Bingo card.

Carpe Jugulum / Terry Pratchett

 

4 out of 5 stars 

Halloween Bingo 2024

This Discworld novel had a number of my favourite characters: the Witches, DEATH, and the Nac mac Feegle. Throw in some vampires and what could be better? The witches must kick some bat!

Mr. Pratchett examines the powers of choices. Mightily Oates, confused follower of the god Om, must decide if he’s going to see every side of every issue, or is he going to choose a position. You have to choose if you want to make a difference. Granny Weatherwax must keep choosing her balance between the dark and the light. Nanny Ogg steps up when Granny seems to have disappeared.

The vampires have decided to use the power of positive thinking and gradual desensitization to overcome their weaknesses: garlic, lemon, holy water and sunshine. The trick is to keep believing in your invulnerability. But they don’t know headology like Granny does—can she out-manoeuvre and outThink them?

Any book with the Nac mac Feegle is my kind of book! Pratchett obviously enjoyed writing them.

I read this book to fulfill the Gallows Humour square of my Halloween Bingo card.

The Old Woman with the Knife

 

3 out of 5 stars 

Halloween Bingo 2024

This book was interesting just because it was quite different from what I expected. I guess I thought it would be more like Killers of a Certain Age or The Thursday Murder Club, which have a certain humour to them. After all, the protagonist is an older woman who has been an assassin as a career, which sounds rather like those novels. Instead, I got a meditation on the decrease of abilities as one ages, the difficulty of making friends after a lifetime of self-isolation, and the unintended consequences of earlier deeds in one’s life.

Hornclaw suspects that her employer is thinking of removing her from the payroll. She isn’t getting as many jobs as she used to and a younger coworker seems to be trying to make her life miserable. Perhaps he’s been instructed to mess up her jobs and her confidence to make the employer’s wish easier? In the meanwhile, she makes the “mistake” of getting to know some of her neighbours. She has always maintained distance in the past, realizing it’s more difficult to kill people that you know.

She knows that she’s not as strong or as fast as she used to be. Her joints hurt and it’s harder to dodge blades or bullets. But her appearance as a small, older woman is useful camouflage which she can employ quite effectively. Occasionally she considers giving up, but it hasn’t come to that yet.

Are her problems all that different than those of other seniors? Declining physical abilities, social isolation, and a changing society that no longer values her? Her profession exaggerates these problems, but many seniors will recognize them.

I read this book to fulfill the Death in Translation square of my Halloween Bingo card.

Fang Fiction / Kate Stayman-London

 

3 out of 5 stars 

Halloween Bingo 2024

Not nearly as much fun as I anticipated. I liked it, but it could have been so much better.

Have you ever daydreamed about visiting your favourite fictional world? If I'm having trouble getting to sleep, I imagine having a conversation with one of my favourite characters. It relaxes me enough that I'm soon out like a light. Tess not only gets to dream about it, she is sent through a portal to experience it, but what was meant to be a quick message delivery turns into something rather more complicated.

Tess's beloved book is Blood Feuds which describes the lives of vampires, banished to an alternate reality overlaying mundane Manhattan. When she gets there, everything seems familiar. She recognizes the major players and the landmarks. But does she really know them? This all seemed like a good idea when Octavia, an accidental escapee from the Island, talked her into it, but now she's one lone, tasty human among a lot of bloodsuckers. Will she find safety with Callum or with Felix?

The additional wrinkle is that Tess has trauma in her past. The author flirts a l9ng time with the details, but any woman will recognize the situation—date rape drugs. She experiences panic attacks and leaves the university where she and the man in question both study and teach. (And in real life, it doesn't usually wrap up so positively.)

So, on the surface, this a story about Tess falling in love with a vampire, but really it is a rather thinly disguised sermon on consent and the way women are treated when they report sexual assault. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I prefer messages such as this to be less blatant. Tell me without spelling it out directly. I mean, it's a good lesson, but I want a fun novel more than I want a moral to the tale. In addition, once this point is hammered home, the rest of the plot is rather tepid and paint-by-number. Disappointingly, the vampires aren't too much different from mortals.

I read this book to fulfill The Carpathians square of my Halloween Bingo card.

The Broken Sword / Poul Anderson

 

3.75 out of 5 stars 

Halloween Bingo 2024

I liked this book fine, but it was Anderson's use of history and folklore that was fascinating. As one of my friends has pointed out, this novel and The Fellowship of the Ring were published in the same year (1954). Even though Anderson and Tolkien used the same basic material, they made very different fictional worlds. Tolkien chose to make his elves to be tall, beautiful, and noble. Anderson sticks closer to the ones we know as the Fae in current literature—believing themselves vastly superior to humanity, rather callous toward them, and existing in a slightly different reality. Anderson based his story in our historical, mundane Medieval Northern Europe, while Tolkien created his own Middle Earth, containing many similarities to our world, but separate. (I have taken a couple of Medieval history courses lately that cause me to appreciate some of the details very much.)

This is, at its root, a Changeling story. Skafloc is the human, raised among the Elves. Valgard is the Elven-troll hybrid sent to grow up among humans in his place. While Skafloc excels in Elven society, Valgard makes everyone uneasy and rightly so, as he has no empathy for those around him. In this version, it is trolls rather than orcs/goblins who are the main enemy. Skafloc, like Aragorn, wields a sword that has been reforged, though this one appears to be cursed. The gods of the Norse and the Irish both stick their noses into the action.

I can definitely see the influence on Michael Moorcock and his Elric of Melniboné series. He took the cursed sword idea and ran with it. And although D&D is largely influenced by Tolkien, the idea of light elves and dark elves shows up in the Legend of Drizzt books by R.A. Salvatore. As a result, I am somewhat surprised that this novel doesn't get more love from fantasy lovers. I also have a powerful urge to re-read The Lord of the Rings—it must be at least 10 years since I last did that.

I read this book to fulfill the Sword and Sorcery square of my Halloween Bingo card. It is also number 22 in my 2024 Read Your Hoard Challenge.

Love Sucks / Cynthia St. Aubin

 

4 out of 5 stars 

Halloween Bingo

Hanna Harvey's life has changed beyond recognition in a very short time. She's divorced, living on her own with three cats, and working at an art gallery owned and operated by werewolves. Werewolves who insist that she's a werewolf too. Hanna refuses to believe this (despite her love of a good steak). Her boss, Mark Abernathy, keeps his cards close to his (drool worthy) chest, but finally reveals that Hanna is heir to an alpha werewolf line and that mating with an alpha male will trigger her transformation. Of course he then disappears, as he is prone to doing.

If that wasn't enough, Hanna, an art history major, has discovered how many famous artists are also werewolves and she can hardly contain herself. Despite this newfound delight, she is being determinedly and forcefully pursued by a crowd of hopeful male werewolves, all convinced that she will choose to mate them. Hanna has news for them, she is going to London to track down Abernathy and get the truth out of him.

Hanna's devotion to food, especially cheese, is amusing, as is her reaction to a crowd of men in hot pursuit. Her snark is fabulous as she deals with secretive men, drunken artists, jealous women, art shows, and threats to her life. And you have to know that Oscar Wilde would make an excellent vampire, yes?

I can see book 3 in my future. Abernathy is doing his damnedest not to take advantage of her, despite her current lack of control. I think I need to see how that works out for him.

I read this book to fulfill the Urban Decay square of my Halloween Bingo card. It is also number 21 in my 2024 Read Your Hoard Challenge.