The Road to Roswell / Connie Willis

 

4 out of 5 stars

***100 Days of Summer Reading 2023***

Reading Prompt: Any type of romance
Virtual 12 sided dice roll: 8

Definitely my favourite of Connie Willis' books of those that I have read. She was obviously having fun as she wrote this farce. She places the story in the Roswell area, where she can play with all the UFO mythology that has accumulated around it. Our main character, Francie, has arrived there to be the maid of honour for her rather kooky friend Serena. Once Francie arrives at the UFO Museum in Roswell, where the wedding is to take place, it rapidly becomes apparent that the groom, Russell, is yet another nut in Serena's collection. When given the opportunity to go out to Serena's vehicle to fetch something, Francie willingly goes. And is grabbed by an alien. Who looks like a tumbleweed. Who can't vocalize. But who manages to use a tentacle to point to where he wants to be driven.

Once out on the road, they encounter Wade, a hitchhiker who Francie narrowly avoids running down. Soon they are two kidnapping victims. They name the alien Indy (because of his whip-like tentacles and Indiana Jones). When they manage to convince Indy that they must stop for gas, they acquire a third human, Lyle, a conspiracy theorist and UFO true believer. Further additions to the company follow. They (mostly) become convinced that Indy needs their help to accomplish something, but no one is sure quite what that thing is.

Willis obviously believes that communication with an extraterrestrial species won't be easy. Francie starts by talking to Indy, trying to explain things. Eventually they move on to written words and Indy struggles to acquire vocabulary and concepts. An extensive collection of western films provides both, but hampers understanding because Indy doesn't always get the true meaning of situations. It reminded me of the Willis novel Doomsday Book, where a time traveler doesn't speak or understand Middle English as well as she thinks she does.

As phrases from many westerns become part of their lexicon for dealing with Indy, the farce-like elements become more pronounced. The situations are rather wild, but make sense within the context of the novel. You can't help but be amused as they bump from one crisis to the next. Or as Francie begins to catch feelings for Wade. Can you fall in love as you are dragged all over the countryside by a confused alien?

Willis doesn't ridicule UFO believers, although several of her characters judge them as nutty. And since she produces as bona fide alien, you might say she reinforces that worldview. It was a fun road trip. I'm glad I was along for the ride.

Doctor Thorne / Anthony Trollope

 

4 out of 5 stars

***100 Days of Summer Reading 2023***

Prompt: Book written by an author whose first and last initials can be found in “Summer Vacation"
Virtual 12 sided dice roll: 3

If you have read any gothic romances, you may believe that it is always penurious young women who are in search of well off husbands. Reading Anthony Trollope and Jane Austen, you will realize that aristocratic men could also find themselves unable to support the lifestyles to which they are accustomed. Hence the popularity of American heiresses, looking to exchange cash for pedigreed husbands.

True to Trollope’s style, we are introduced to Mary Thorne, niece of the titular Doctor, of dubious parentage and known poverty. She has been educated in the squire's home and if this was a gothic romance, she would be swept off her feet by the handsome Frank and marry into the wealthy family. But the Greshams have fallen on hard times and Lady Arabella's family (with wealth and position) have decreed that Frank must marry a woman of means.

It is obvious from the very beginning where this novel is headed, especially if you have previously read The Warden and/or Barchester Towers. Doctor Thorne ends up in quite the conflict of interest, knowing how a will is made out but not feeling free to blab. Trollope examines this society, where money trumps love and rich people can largely do as they will. Lady Arabella is set up as the villain of the piece, though not a very effective foe. He deftly shows us the hypocrisy as her family flaunt their bloodlines but fall all over themselves to scoop up rich spouses for their children. However there is pride on both sides of this equation, with the doctor not admitting to any inferiority in his status or his niece's.

It's all a matter of timing, with the younger people being the most impatient with their elders who keep saying wait a month, wait a year, just another fortnight. But despite all the obstacles that Trollope throws into the path of his romantic couple, you know that everything will work out in the end.

All Systems Red / Martha Wells

 

5 out of 5 stars

***100 Days of Summer Reading 2023***

Prompt: Book that involves travel (interplanetary travel in this case)
Virtual 12 sided dice roll: 1

I've lost count of how many times I've read All Systems Red, but this was my first time listening to it. As I have discovered while listening to other favourite books, it gives a different perspective on something I thought I knew well. New things seem to gain prominence in the audio version.

I enjoyed Kevin R. Free as narrator. He managed to provide a calm, soothing version of Murderbot which is rather ironic considering how much turmoil and anxiety lurks beneath our favourite bot's surface. The pronunciation of the occasional word reminded me that I'm Canadian and he's American, but that's par for the course. It's a tiny thing in an otherwise lovely performance. Note to self: check to see the other books that he has narrated and consider adding some to my TBR. My only reservation is that his smooth voice lulled me to sleep as I was attempting to stay up past bedtime to finish the book. I had to rewind and resume the story once I had the ability to pay attention to it again.

Already, I have requested the audio format of Book 2. The recordings are popular, so it will be a while. That's okay, I have more than enough library books to occupy me until it arrives.

Morgan is My Name / Sophie Keetch

 

4.5 stars

***100 Days of Summer***

Reading prompt: Book based on a fairytale or mythology
Virtual 12 sided dice role: 9

King Arthur retellings, especially those that centre on the women of the myth, hit me where I live. Morgan le Fay has always been on of my favourites, so this tale which features her seems to have been written just for me. Including the mysterious Merlin, the lovely Ninniane, and adding in healing powers exhibited by Morgan, and I was well and truly hooked. I chalk it up to Celtic blood in my mother's family, this love of mystical, magical stories.

I also appreciate the current trend of writing the old tales through a feminist lens. It doesn't change the chauvinist society that existed in that time period, but it does introduce the notion that women may have felt much the same as they do today—resentful, rebellious, wrathful. The smug male view that women should be satisfied with childrearing and keeping the household accounts gives me heartburn, and I cheered Morgan on as she carved out a place for her medical studies and hid her manuscript on women's health concerns from Urien's prying eyes.

At this point, this book seems to be a stand alone, but there is definitely potential for a sequel. Should one be forthcoming, sign me up to read it too! I love this reinterpretation of Morgan le Fay, who has been written as a villain by the men who originally wrote down the mythology. It's always seemed to me that she was a much more complex woman than that, more sinned against than sinning.

The Rise and Reign of the Mammals / Steve Brusatte

 

4 out of 5 stars

***100 Days of Summer Reading 2023***

Prompt: Book with an animal on the cover
Virtual 12 sided dice roll: 3

I've previously read Brusatte's book The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World. As he tells in the beginning of this volume, he was lured into paleontology by dinosaurs, those fearsome extinct creatures that have enraptured generations of children. I was one of those kids, so his dinosaur book was retreading well known territory for me. It was written in an accessible style and I was delighted when I realized that he had penned a similar book about early mammals.

Dinosaur books are numerous and omnipresent. Finding books about early mammals is much more difficult. I remember being excited about Peter Ward's book Gorgon: The Monsters That Ruled the Planet Before Dinosaurs and How They Died in the Greatest Catastrophe in Earth's History. I was disappointed when it was more a Ward memoir than a treatise on gorgonopsids. There haven't been many others that have crossed my path. This book does address the pelycosaurs, therapsids, and cynodonts, but only in the first hundred pages. I must do some research to find more information on those beasts. I guess it's fair, as this is about “true” mammals, not the ancestral almost-mammals.

All is forgiven, though, for the excellent history of those animals defined by jaw, ear, and tooth structure as capital M Mammals. They start small, fitting themselves into the niches around the dinosaurs. The variety is impressive. I knew that mammal paleontologists had to be very interested in teeth and jaws (because those are the most frequent fossils). I had absolutely no idea of the sheer number of critters I'd never heard of. Or some of the remarkable fossils that have been found. It's a shame that the dinosaurs hog the limelight because their remains are so large and showy.

The cover of this book, understandably, displays the charismatic megafauna. Three lovely mammoths, a sabretooth, a short nosed bear, assorted grazers, and a small group of hominids. The publisher knows what will attract us nerds. And of course the author knows that mammoths and sabretooth cats are the rock stars of fossil mammals, so he provides special coverage of them.

I know that we humans are the egomaniacs of the mammal family, so I was glad that Brussatte devoted only one thin chapter almost at the end of the book to hominins. The paleo-human fossils are almost as well documented as the dinosaurs! I can find more about them elsewhere, but it was a good way to wrap up this volume.

Capture the Sun / Jessie Mihalik

 

3.5 out of 5 stars

***100 Days of Summer Reading***

Reading prompt: Book published in June 2023
Virtual 12 sided dice roll: 8

I enjoyed the first two books of this trilogy enough that I purchased my own copies of them. Now when I need a hit of speculative fiction romance, I have these at my fingertips. So I was determined to read this third book when it was published. I recommended that my library purchase it, but they hesitated for a couple of months, prompting me to lose patience and order a personal copy.

Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this excursion as much as the first two. I didn't find Lexi as engaging as a main character as Tavi and Kee were in their books. Maybe because Lexi was a con woman and a thief? I don't usually hold that against a character, so I'm not sure if that was actually my problem. Whatever my issue, I just didn't feel this one in the same way. The plot was still jam-packed with action, but the rest of Starlight's crew didn't get as much page time as before and I missed them. I would have enjoyed more of Prince Liang, getting to know this member of the Valoff imperial family. He had such potential but didn't get to strut his stuff.

Unless, of course, there are more books coming? After all, Commodore Morton's trial hasn't commenced yet and war between humans and Valoffs hasn't been decisively deterred. If the author is matching up the crew members, Eli's fate is not yet been sealed and Anja's (unrequited?) feelings for the Prince would be an excellent jumping off point for a fourth volume. Time will tell, but despite my vague disappointment with this book, I would definitely read another.

Magic Claims / Ilona Andrews

 

4 out of 5 stars

***100 Days of Summer Reading***

Reading prompt: Book that has a character that can shift into an animal form that is not a werewolf
Virtual 12 sided dice roll: 10

I got an email from my favourite bookstore yesterday telling me that this book (and several others) were waiting for me. I headed out, trying not to speed. That's more difficult than it sounds, as there are multiple speed zones and school zones between the store and home! But I think I avoided a ticket.

As soon as I got home, I settled in with a cold drink and a snack, then cracked the book open. I barely remember my snack, I was so engrossed in the Kate Daniels world. I enjoyed it so much that when I finished, I returned to the first page and read it again. Truly, I love when Kate is wielding her sword and Curran is roaring, in prehistoric lion form. After seven years of trying to be safe and normal, what a relief it was to see them acknowledge their true natures, Curran as leader and Kate as protector.

The authors add new characters for us to care about and add dimension to some that we thought we knew. Plus I always love Ice Age animals! (I spent a lot of time thinking about Mythago Wood in the course of this novel. And Julian May's Saga of Pliocene Exile.) Things have been set up smoothly for the next installment and I couldn't be happier about that! And I do hope we see more of that wily Wizard, Assistant Director Luther Dillon. I don't think I'm alone in my admiration.

I know that this has already joined my queue of re-readable books, bringing calm and happiness when required. So far, the Andrews have always hit the mark for me and I hope they continue to do so for many years to come.