Legends and Lattes / Travis Baldree

 

4.5 out of 5 stars 

Free Range Reading 

For some time now I have been weary of all the warfare that pervades fantasy novels. You know, the complex battle scenes, the tense strategy sessions, the field hospitals, the disposal of the dead, all that jazz. This book is the antidote to that weariness. 

I've never before read a book with an orc as a pleasant main character. Tolkien's and Salvatore's orcs are obvious villains and Salvatore's female orcs are off-putting. Baldree manages to give us Viv, a female orc who is highly aware of her appearance and reputation, but who desperately desires a change. She deliberately tries not to loom or menace, not to flash her fangs too often.

It was refreshing to see Viv fighting an economic rather than a military campaign. To see her hang up her sword as a reminder of who she used to be. To watch her gather her circle of friends and pursue her peaceful dreams with as much gusto as her previous lifestyle. Her previous partners were just that—work partners. Viv is ready now for more friendly relationships and when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. Enter Tandri, the able assistant, Cal, the master builder, and Thimble, the gourmet baker. Each in their own way teaches Viv about friendships, loyalty, and love.

I don't think you need to be a coffee drinker to appreciate her coffee shop, but it certainly doesn't hurt. I enjoyed several cups of hot, milky coffee while simultaneously reading about it. Be sure to have a cinnamony treat ready to hand as well. 

The Hunter / Tana French

 

4 out of 5 stars 

Free Range Reading

Tana French is one of my favoured authors. Whenever she publishes something new, I put a hold on at the library as soon as they order it. Once again, I was well entertained.

Cal Hooper, retired Chicago cop, has settled into this small Irish community more or less. He still keeps a wary eye on some of his neighbours, who may be clandestine and Machivellian about their grudges and revenge. Despite these reservations, he has become a mentor to young and rather feral Trey Reddy. She is handy at woodwork which the two of them pursue as a team. And he has acquired a woman friend, Lena, who likes him fine, but vows she'll never marry again.

All's well until Trey's deadbeat dad shows back up in town after being gone for years, spinning a tale about a foolish Englishman and gold in them thar hills. There's plots a plenty, between Johnny Reddy, his Englishman Rushborough, Cal, Trey, and the community's menfolk. Who's conning who? Who is going to shoulder the blame? Will Cal and Trey have a relationship left when the dust settles? Is Trey more like her conman daddy than we gave her credit for?

Johnny Reddy is a charming con man and the whole community knows it, but they're willing to play along at least for a little while. But, as we learned in the first book, they can turn really nasty when they feel like they've been wronged. Cal has tried, with limited success, to remain neutral in his dealings with them. He spends a lot of this book uncomfortably trying to thread the needle of being part of the community but not complicit in a crime.

Trying to stay straight around twisty people, trying to stay neutral in a bad situation, trying to figure out a stroppy teenager—Cal has his work set up for him. French doesn't go easy on him. I find myself hoping that she will find another twisty problem for him solve in another book.

The Vampire Knitting Club / Nancy Warren

 

3 out of 5 stars 

Book 9 of the 2024 Read Your Hoard Challenge

I forget how I originally became attracted to this book, but I purchased it in 2020, so it has been languishing on my shelves for 4 years. Although I'm not sorry that I read it (and spent money on it), I don't believe that I'll be reading further in the series.

This is a not-very-mysterious cozy with a bit of witchcraft and some vampires thrown in. Lucy Swift returns to her grandmother's wool shop, only to find that her gran is dead and Lucy has inherited said shop. And that the shop has been a meeting place for a vampire knitting circle. Now, Lucy can't knit to save her soul, but she decides to re-open the store while she figures out what happened. Of course Gran has joined the ranks of the undead, just to complicate matters. To cap things off, Lucy seems to be exhibiting some witchy powers, including a black kitten familiar.

Some conflict is needed, so we are given a missing grimoire, shifty employees, several break-ins, a persistent estate agent, and two handsome men: Rafe, a vampire, and Ian, a detective (very much alive). To this point, these two guys have just been attentive to Lucy, but there's potential for a full fledged love triangle in future books. Okay, tell a lie, the second book is available as an audiobook through Libby and I could probably withstand one more installment….

Just a note on the publishing—a Google search revealed that they deal with just three authors. It seems to be a case of authors banding together to bring their books to market. Kind of a step above basic self-publishing. I have to say that the cover art is lovely and very appealing.

Neogenesis / Sharon Lee & Steve Miller

 

4 out of 5 stars 

The Liaden Universe: the Artificial Intelligence edition

If Clan Korval isn't careful, they will end up completely responsible for the whole universe! But this volume deals primarily with the AIs involved with the clan. The first chapters kindly remind us of many of the organic members of the family. These books have many characters who are all quite active, so the memory nudge was welcome.

The largest concern is the impingement of the Pre-Migration Universe on the currently inhabited universe. How will it be prevented from killing everyone through crystallization? There are several groups acting from different angles on this matter: members of Korval, the Uncle and his sister, and the space station Tinsori Light (an AI creation of the Uncle which is degrading rapidly). And perhaps the Lyre Institute, who strive to capture and control artificial intelligences. And speaking of the Uncle, he must find a way to reunite Daav yos'Phelium and Aelliana Caylon, newly revived, to their clan while dealing with all of these situations.

The Scouts are split after Korval's relocation to Surebleak and those who remained on the Liaden homeworld are in hot pursuit of Theo Waitley and her sentient ship Bechimo, which they seek to prosecute under the Complex Logic Laws. On one of Theo's previous adventures, she helped to create the AI known as Colonel Bunter, whose sanity has required the work of two Mentors, with unexpected complications. The Korval's AI butler, Jeeves, has a “daughter" Tocohl who is a pilot and involved in several of these issues. The complication of two members of the proto-Yxtrang, rescued by Theo, to find a place in the new universe provides an additional wrinkle. Meanwhile, Val Con and Miri are trying to shepherd the planet of Surebleak through an inspection to upgrade their status as a port and trade centre. Each time they think the way is smooth, the clan throws them another curve. As Val Con muses, “First we conquer a planet, then at once we save the universe and overthrow a space station—all unwitting, but who will believe it?”

This is not the volume to plunge into the series if you are unfamiliar with it. There are threads that lead all the way back to the first volumes, and connecting to most of the previous books. There is even a call-back to Jethri Gobbelyn! Newly begun readers would be bamboozled by the flood of details that one is assumed to be knowledgeable about.

Book number 516 of my Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Project

The Gathering Edge / Sharon Lee & Steve Miller

 

4 out of 5 stars 

I was fussing around, trying to find something I was excited to read. Of course the books coming due at the library or my book club selection had little to no appeal. I grabbed the next Liaden book from my book cart and it was just the thing.

It is always a pleasure to spend time with Theo Waitley and her ship Bechimo. Bechimo is a sophisticated AI and thus a character in its own right. But this universe is hostile to artificial intelligence and the luck runs roughly around this pair. Theo has an excellent crew, tough, smart, and loyal. Bechimo has returned them to one of its favourite quiet places to regroup. Earlier, a ship registered to one of Theo's ancestors appeared in this location. It appears that this spot is the gathering edge of the universe, gathering items from elsewhere. They have secured the empty ship for transport, as it was devoid of crew, unless you count a tree very like the one which has grown to be a symbol of Clan Korval. Thus they acquire a giddy tree in their hydroponic bay.

Suddenly, another ancient ship in distress arrives from the old universe. The only survivors on board are two proto-Yxtrang and one ship's cat. Shortly, Theo has an extremely varied selection of beings under her care and command. The two refugee Yxtrang must learn to communicate in modern languages and make decisions about their future. They are understandably worried and uncertain of Theo's plans for them. She, however, is determined to treat them as guests, not prisoners, to their amazement.

Since the Department of the Interior seems to still be in pursuit of any member of Korval, Theo must plan next moves carefully. Theo, being the honourable person that she is, is unwilling to leave a friend in a bad place and must teach Bechimo to properly evaluate risk, something the ship is strongly averse to. But Theo is Korval—she is a talented pilot and not going to back down from challenges. Similar to good urban fantasy, Theo is assembling her crew, chosen family. Whether she realizes it or not, this is typical Korval behaviour.

These plot lines are much too numerous and complicated to be resolved in one book. I can hardly wait to read the next one!

Book number 515 of my Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Project

Big Meg / Tim Flannery & Emma Flannery

 

R

3.7 out of 5 stars 

Free Range Reading

I have developed many odd interests over the last 60 years. Paleontology has been a long lasting love. My father used to tell me that I knew the names of “all the dinosaurs" by the time I was three (an exaggeration I'm sure). In the last decade or so, I've also become fascinated with fossil fishes. Attendance at a lecture/slide show by the artist Ray Troll sparked my interest (check out his website for fabulous fin art).

Anyone who has read Peter Benchley's Jaws will understand the lure of the gigantic prehistoric shark Megalodon. Shark fossils are particularly scanty, as their skeletons are mostly cartilaginous rather than bone and cartilage doesn't preserve well in the fossil record. However it is amazing what scientists have been able to piece together from what there is available: range maps, possible birthing localities, diets, possible habits and causes of extinction (although the last two items seem rather more speculative).

The ocean is a mysterious place to most of us and its predators are a source of fascination. There is good reason that there are many shark gods envisioned by the people of Oceania. Our current world has an impoverished ocean, with sharks and other fish, whales, even corals and other small creatures in decline. Nevertheless, there are those who would like to believe that the Megalodon still lurks in the depths. I suppose anything is possible, but it seems to me that there just aren't enough food species left to maintain a sustainable population of this enormous shark. But I think it is natural, in a world where so many species teeter on the edge of extinction, to hope that this awesome predator is still out there.

I've read other books by Tim Flannery which I also found enjoyable. He provides accurate information (although paleontology is a science prone to revision as new specimens are studied) and he writes in a clear, accessible style. I get the impression that he truly loves sharing his knowledge. If you are particularly interested in fossil sharks, I would also recommend Resurrecting the Shark: A Scientific Obsession and the Mavericks Who Solved the Mystery of a 270-Million-Year-Old Fossil. If fossil fishes in general are your jam, The Rise of Fishes: 500 Million Years of Evolution might suit you. If you are intrigued by the connection between fish and land animals, Your Inner Fish: a Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body is a great choice.

Find Me / Anne Frasiet

 

4 out of 5 stars 

2024 Re-read

I had forgotten that the main character, Reni Fisher, was so focused on birds, an obsession of mine over the years. I'm unsure why I felt the need to read this again, but it was a very strong urge and that may have been a factor. I am bumping the rating from 3 stars up to 4, reasoning that wanting to reread it and reading it just as quickly the second time indicates that I am really engaged with the work.

Reni is the daughter of serial killer Benjamin Fisher, used by him as a lure for his victims while she was a child. A heavy burden to bear and the major reason that she became an FBI agent. A mental episode where she mistakes her partner for her father leads her to retire from the Bureau and retreat to the desert. She is persuaded to assist Agent Daniel Ellis when her father seems willing to give up locations of his victims. Little does she know that Daniel has his own dark history.

If you are curious about nonfiction concerning the families of these murderers, I suggest looking for A Serial Killer's Daughter: My Story of Faith, Love, and Overcoming. Go into it aware, however, that it is truly about the daughter. (She makes it plain that far too many people are way too interested in her father and have completely ignored her.) Also interesting is The Phantom Prince: My Life with Ted Bundy, a memoir by a woman who was involved with that notorious man. These people are collateral damage in the killers' lives.

Cryoburn / Lois McMaster Bujold

 

4 out of 5 stars 

Another wild whirl with Miles Vorkosigan at its centre. He does surf the chaos with remarkable skill. As a reader, one sympathizes with Armsman Roic, who must try to protect the Lord Auditor. Miles has been sent to figure out what, if anything, is untoward about the cryogenic preservation business on Kibou-daini as it looks to expand to Barrayaran territory. A bit of an exploration of whether it is worthwhile or even moral to try to cheat death through this method, being frozen until there is a cure for whatever ailed you. And there is indeed something rotten in the state of Denmark (or Kibou-daini, as the case may be).

Miles, who seems to collect strays wherever he goes, soon acquires a young man whose mother seems likely to have the dirt that the investigation needs. Unfortunately the cryocorp goons seem to have reached her first and she is in cryogenic storage, quite literally on ice. In his usual inimitable fashion, Miles devises a plan to extract and revive her.

Rogue cryogenic facilities, a menagerie of animals, two children, a stunned planetary consul, an arson attempt, kidnapping, plus a business deal involving Lord Mark, this book has all that. It's the usual Vorkosigan experience. The epilogue, however, broke my heart. 💔

Book number 514 of my Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Project

Trade Secret / Sharon Lee & Steve Miller

 

4 out of 5 stars 

How did I miss the fourth book of this series? It was time to backtrack and patch this hole in my Liaden knowledge. I appreciate how Lee and Miller follow many characters, keeping their story telling fresh. This, then, is the second installment of the adventures of one Jethri Gobelyn ven'Deelin, raised on the Terran ship Gobelyn's Market (such a clever name) but adopted by the Liaden master trader van'Deelin.

Never before has a Terran been adopted and trained as a trader. As a result, there is resentment among certain Liaden clans, who feel that associating with humans is beneath their dignity. Surely Jethri cannot understand their complex system of melanti, Balance. Unfortunately for them, Jethri is quite competent in his understanding of most aspects of trade and of Liaden society. He has had exemplary education, after all.

However Jethri encountered resentment on the Terran family ship also. The current captain disliked him for quite unaccountable reasons, refusing him pilot training and forcing him off ship. Only by a stroke of good luck (or was it bad luck?) did he find his way to his new Liaden adoption. In this volume, he discovers that his biological father's work may account for this situation and he must set about recovering items inherited from that man. He also learns of his close relationship to that mysterious man known only as Uncle to most of the universe.

Jethri gets to grow up, learning about piloting, getting experience at trading, having confidence, not to mention how to conduct himself with young women. Like all the Liaden books that I have read, there is plenty of space travel, subterfuge, and action. I hope I will meet young Jethri again in the future.

Book number 513 of my Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Project

Twilight's Dawn / Anne Bishop

 

4 out of 5 stars 

I didn't realize when I started this book that it was a collection of four shorter works rather than one continuous story. But it features the same crowd and deals with issues following from the previous books, hooking my interest quite easily. I must say that I find this imaginative world to be a bit on the silly side, but the lives and loves of the characters keep me reading.

These four vignettes take us far into the future compared to the last book. It's like each section was an idea that the author needed to write, but none of them required a whole novel to explore. But it does act like stepping stones, transitioning us to a new generation, and giving her new scope for the subsequent books.

Get ready to say goodbye to a couple of longstanding characters while welcoming new children, who grow up to fill their parents' lives with excitement. Young Jaenelle Sadi in particular is going to lead her father Daemon a merry dance. And it's not just the genetic children—there are a number of strays who get folded into the family in these stories and who will feature in the next volume, according to my snooping ahead. After a long hiatus (2011-2020), Bishop has produced three more books centered on these youngsters. Their elders are too settled to provide the necessary drama!

Not to everyone's taste, but fun and fast. 

Book number 512 of my Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Project

Mrs. McGinty's Dead / Agatha Christie

 

4 out of 5 stars 

”How do I know?“ said Mrs. Oliver crossly. “How do I know why I ever thought of the revolting man? I must have been mad! Why a Finn when I know nothing of Finland? Why a vegetarian? Why all the idiomatic mannerisms he's got? These things just happen. You try something—and people seem to like it—and then you go on—and before you know where you are, you've got someone like that maddening Sven Hjerson tied to you for life. And people even write and say how fond you must be of him. Fond of him? If I met that bony, gangling, vegetable-eating Finn in real life, I'd do a better murder than any I've ever invented.”

Ariadne Oliver, the mystery writer, is allowed to speak some home truths about being a well known author. Her bony, vegetarian Finn is the fictional stand in for one rotund gourmand Belgian! No wonder Hercule Poirot spends the first pages of this book wishing that he could somehow spend more time eating. Following which, he must stay in guest accommodation where his hostess not only is clueless about cooking, but positively reckless with food safety.

Mrs. Oliver is delightful, declaring trees to be preferable to people, much more restful. Poirot is his usual puffed up self, with irritating mannerisms that Christie seems to regret creating for him. She made a lot of cash from him though, so he was good for something. Honestly, this is the thirty-second installment featuring him, and I know there are more. Colonel Race, Inspector Battle and even Jane Marple would be within their rights to feel neglected.

I've met Mrs. Oliver before in Cards on the Table, but I liked her much more in this novel. I look forward to seeing her again in other titles. (And I could wish for more books that included her too!)

Aftermarket Afterlife / Seanan McGuire

 

4 out of 5 stars 

Book 8 of the 2024 Read Your Hoard Challenge

This series, which began as good, fluffy fun, has taken a rather serious turn. This volume is narrated by Mary Dunlavey, former crossroads ghost, now full time caretaker/ babysitter for the Price family. The whole Price family has been sort of reunited, since Alice managed to rescue her husband Thomas (see Backpacking Through Bedlam). Honestly, having this many reckless, violent people together in one family compound seems like an extraordinarily bad idea.

However, they have no time for family bonding. The Covenant of St. George, the group that the Prices split from decades ago, have come to North America with two goals: their leader, Leonard Cunningham, wants Antimony Price as his wife (if she can be suitably convinced to abandon her family and her values); and they also want to purge the continent’s cryptid populations, especially the recently rediscovered dragon, William, who is responsible for bringing dragons back from the brink of extinction. They have more operatives and more resources. But the Price family knows how to fight dirty.

Actually, this plan is largely Mary's doing. She devises the plan to make victory too expensive for the Covenant. In doing so, she pushes herself to a dangerous degree. And I have to give Seanan McGuire credit—she doesn't go easy on her fictional family. There are deaths, y'all, and not just peripheral characters. (When I first started the book, I ignored the family tree at the beginning, thinking I knew them all too well to need it. I was soon refreshing my memory as the family reunion got complicated.)

If you've come this far, as I have, with McGuire's family of cryptozoologists, you are fond of them and their antics. I mourn with them for their losses and wonder how things will shake out. Thank goodness that Ms. McGuire can pump out the fiction, as I want to know the upshot. I have to hope there's another book in the offing.

Grave Secret / Charlaine Harris

 

4 out of 5 stars

This is the book where Harper and Tolliver learn the details of their sister Cameron’s fate. (That's in the cover blurb, it's not a spoiler.) We've had four books to get to know Harper and her ability to find and identify the dead. Harris started right in the first book letting us know that someday Harper would find her sister.

But this duo have a few adventures to get through before the payoff. Harper is hired by a ranch family to determine the cause of death of their family patriarch. But Lizzie, the major share holder, lets Harper wander the cemetery a bit and investigate other graves. Apparently she finds something that someone present didn't like, because bad things begin to happen to people around Harper.

Matthew (Tolliver's father and Harper's stepfather) has been released from jail and turns up like a bad penny. The eldest child, Mark, seems determined to reunite the family. Needless to say, Harper and Tolliver are not fans of this plan and they must endure repeated visits from both of these men. They are of the opinion that trusting a former addict is a bad bet.

Between the professional and personal complications, it's difficult for our main characters to concentrate on figuring out what's going on. So it is helpful when Manfred Bernardo show up like a magician's trick and is willing to be helpful.

When I reached the end, I felt like everything had been wrapped up neatly. Perhaps the way all the threads came together was a little too good to be true, but it left me with a good feeling. I would recommend this series to any Charlaine Harris fans out there.

The Taken Ones / Jess Lourey

 

4 out of 5 stars 

I picked up this book with anticipation and trepidation combined. Anticipation because Lourey's writing draws me in. Trepidation because her book The Quarry Girls scared the giblets out of me. This story was gripping without scaring me silly, probably because it dealt with issues foreign to me. There were still occasions when I had to go do housework and calm down.

Van Reed is an unusual law enforcement officer. She grew up on a commune run by a psychopath, Frank. She has unresolved trauma issues, including really awful nightmares about horrible things being done to helpless people. A news story early in her career has revealed that she is getting true visions of actual crimes. Her first partner on the police force believed her—she would tell him her “hunches" and he would do the investigative work necessary to confirm them and make a lawful arrest. When he dies, she is vindictively hounded out of the police department. She finds a haven in the Cold Case branch where her main tormentor had limited access to her.

Then a woman is found buried alive and her identity is determined to be that of a girl abducted in 1980. The case is known as the Taken Ones, two little girls vanishing on a hot summer day. Van immediately claims the cold case files, but her nemesis, Comstock, is working the current murder and he has lost none of his hatred for Van. However Van has a good team and the forensic scientist, Harry Steinbeck, is a solid supporter (with his own issues). But when Van finally confesses one of her visions to him, she is justifiably worried that he too will think she's a nut job. Instead, he arranges an intervention which reveals the truth of her visions and cements their partnership.

Reed and Steinbeck make a good team. Steinbeck is logical, reasonable and neat. Reed is emotional, excitable and a slob. They are complementary in so many ways. A second book featuring this duo will be coming out this fall and I have my fingers crossed that my library will order it.

Endangered / Pamela Beason

 

4 out of 5 stars

I have recently discovered a new (to me) flavour of mystery: the wilderness mystery, usually investigated by a young woman in the ranger service or a wildlife biologist. I'm thinking of Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon, Claire Kells' National Parks Mysteries, Sarah Yarwood-Lovett’s Nell Ward, even Anne Frasier's Inland Empire series or Annelise Ryan's Monster Hunter Mysteries. Add to the list Pamela Beason and her Sam Westin.

All of these feature intelligent, capable women doing their best in challenging situations. I wouldn't trade places with any of them, but I enjoy reading their exploits. At first, I was worried that Summer (Sam) Westin would follow in the footsteps of Alex Carter in A Solitude of Wolverines, which wasn't my cup of tea at all. Sam's struggle to prevent the hunting of mountain lions verged on the obsessive, like Alex, and there were “evil hunters" involved, but she never became the rather Terminator-like character that Alex was. And the challenges Sam faces were realistic-ish. I did think that Beason put her main character through a physical torture test (rather similar to Barr's writing about Anna Pigeon).

Sam is discovering that her journalist maybe-boyfriend is an opportunistic jerk, who is willing to “report” anything to get ahead. She is definitely feeling used, but there is an attractive FBI agent to distract Summer from this situation. I couldn't help liking Agent Chase Perez, who also seems to have a bit of a thing for Sam.

I'm sold. I need to read book two. My library doesn't have it but a neighboring city's does. Interlibrary loan for the win.