Academ's Fury / Jim Butcher

 

3 out of 5 stars

I enjoyed the first book of this series, probably because it was a new fantasy world to figure out. Somehow this second book was less exciting. Oh, lots of stuff happened, but it loses its savour when the main characters never make a wrong decision. And they figure things out much too quickly and easily. The Marat have known about the parasitic vord for generations, but all of a sudden Bernard and Amara figure out how they work and how to kill them within hours of their first engagement. It doesn't give the Maray much credit despite the fact that they are otherwise depicted as intelligent.

It's not just the adults—Tavi is so uber-responsible and ulta-moral that he is downright unbelievable. A kid in his teens facing down ambassadors, military leaders, and even chiding the First Lord. Plus he is apparently acting incompetent to hide his secret duties from his friends and classmates. He is just too perfect, able to take on whatever comes his way and triumph.

What mystifies me is that the Harry Dresden series predates Codex Alera, and Harry is far from a perfect character. It's not like Butcher doesn't know how to craft a realistically flawed protagonist. Dresden was interesting, even when his some of his attitudes drove me nuts. Tavi gets self righteous and kinda boring pretty much immediately. This harks back to the early days of fantasy, on par with works like Edding's Belgariad or Feist's Riftwar Saga, much less morally ambiguous than we are used to now.

The redeeming features are the relationships. Bernard, as a powerful furycrafter, is expected to produce as many children as possible. Amara, we are led to believe, has been wounded and is now unable to conceive. But they are so besotted with one another that I had to cheer for them. And of course there's Tavi and his Marat gal, Kitai. She'll educate him in many ways! Three cheers for Kitai!

Book number 471 of my Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Project

A Feast for Crows / George R.R. Martin

 

4 out of 5 stars

I can see why this is not the favourite volume of A Song of Ice and Fire. Very, very little Jon Snow. No Daenarys. No Tyrion. However, it still rates pretty highly for me because I am interested in Arya, Sansa, and Brienne. Yes, I missed Tyrion, but I do not look forward to all the Daenarys I will have to put up within the next book! And I am reluctantly coming to be rather fond of Jaime Lannister.

This is a very dark and violent world, which I can usually handle, but there were a couple of scenes here that I quickly skipped over. I didn't need the gory details. Can I dare hope that there will be less of that in A Dance with Dragons? I won't hold my breath. I will read that last-published volume and be done. I don't expect GRRM to ever write that last book. I think the tv series killed any lingering desire of his to write it. However, if I'm proven wrong, that would be a pleasant surprise.

I do look forward to getting more time with Jon and Tyrion, plus hearing how things go for Queen Cersei. She has embroiled herself in quite the situation! Couldn't happen to a better person. She should have studied her father's methods a little better. Had no one ever told her to keep her friends close and her enemies closer? Sending all the schemers away from her court just gives them more license to plot and plan. Then there's the old saying about catching more flies with honey than with vinegar. She kept treating her allies with rudeness and scorn, but still expected their loyalty. How can one person, so highly placed, be so clueless?

It will be some time before I tackle Dance, but I shall look forward to it.

Book number 470 of my Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Project

Eclipse of the Moon / Jessie Mihalik

 

3.7 out of 5 stars

This book came available at the library much sooner than I thought it might. This event was both good and bad. I'm trying to clear the decks before a book bingo game and instead I am unwilling to return this book and get it again later. Nope! It's bad enough that I will have to wait until next year to read the third book in this series. So, I was excited to get my paws on it, but it's messing with my deck-clearing mission.

So my complaint about book one was the rapid pace of the romance in it. But Torran and Tavi took their time compared to Kee and Varro. As the novel opens, Kee is trying to find a way to get some physical distance from Varro, convinced that he finds her annoying rather than attractive. She explains her desire to stay on the space station Bastion to Tavi, giving three motivations: get her emotions regarding Varro under control, do some indepth research, and to hang around the fringes of a prestigious fashion show. But it turns out that Varro feels the need to protect her and insists on getting to stay on the station too. Of course she finds him lurking and a lot of the book revolves around their struggle to figure out what their relationship actually is.

But it's not all about the romance. We also meet a snooty fashion designer, one of her security staff, and a Valovian royal, all at the fashion event. Kee gets recruited by the designer to model one of her dresses at a party and things really get going from there! There are evil traitors (human and Valovian), shadowy military bases, unforeseen technology, and complicated capers galore.

This fictional universe is really growing on me, yet another reason that I would like the romances to stretch out a bit. More books. Please, Ms. Mihalik, more books.

The Gift of Fear / Gavin de Becker

 

4 out of 5 stars

This was a re-read for me, purchased back at a time in my life when I was dealing with 4 or 5 creepy men who seemed to think that I owed them attention. It was quite surprising to them when I determined that I owed them nothing and acted accordingly. Thankfully most of them weren't very energetic stalkers and they weren't dreadfully intelligent, so they were easily outwitted and avoided. This author provided the good advice that kept me from getting embroiled in messy situations.

One of his most useful piece of advice is the simple statement that “No" is a complete sentence. You aren't required to explain yourself. Do not negotiate. If you give in to negotiation, you have given him control. And believe me, these situations are 99% about control. There may be sexual overtones, but it's not about sex. It's about a person who hasn't had much success in life and doesn't accept responsibility for their own shortcomings. The potential for violence is real. And the second great suggestion: avoidance is preferable to extrication. Better to avoid a bad situation than to try to get out of it.

Fear is a gift your body gives you. There's no reason to worry about something that isn't happening. If you feel real fear, you should follow your intuition/gut feelings. Turn around, get away, escape. Too many of us worry about things that will never happen, but try to talk ourselves out of real fear when we feel it. Don't let yourself be controlled by the need to be nice or polite. Get the hell away as rudely as necessary!

This was published in 1997 and some details seem sadly dated now. A new edition with advice on social media would be very helpful. Fortunately human psychology doesn't change much and the basic bones still apply. Now I am not one who normally recommends Oprah books, but I really think that every woman in North America should read this one and pay close attention. Men who have women in their lives that they care about (girlfriends, wives, mothers, daughters, nieces, etc.) could benefit from reading it too, to see what life is like for the other gender and to support us in our attempt to keep ourselves safe (and to learn not to hassle us about it).

Okay, getting off my soapbox now. Rant over.

Old Man's War / John Scalzi

 

4 out of 5 stars

As I read this novel, I couldn't help but think of Starship Troopers. When I read the acknowledgements at the end, I realized that was an accurate reading. This book is quite different from what Scalzi writes today to my way of thinking, but that makes sense considering that this is his first novel published by a commercial publisher. As a beginning novelist, you write what you think will sell. The trademark Scalzi sense of humour is already there, as is the inclusiveness that marks his fiction.

War is not a subject that I would have expected John Scalzi to tackle, especially just going out into the universe to blast aliens. I guess his main character does make the switch from pacifist to elderly army recruit, which seemed kind of odd to me, I must confess. But it is necessary for the plotline that he wants to pursue, so I shrugged it off and kept reading. The “ambassadorial" mission to the Consu seemed to be the most true to the author's values. We must do something that makes no sense, but we'll do it to the best of our abilities and get the information we need. In many ways, this book seems like an updated 21st century version of Armor, Ender's Game, The Forever War, and Starship Troopers all combined. The competition among species made me think of David Brin's Uplift series as well.

I liked it well enough that I may add subsequent volumes in the series to my SFF Reading Project.

Book Number 469 of my Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Project

North and South / Elizabeth Gaskell

 

4 out of 5 stars

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

I am delighted to have made Elizabeth Gaskell's acquaintance. This was an interesting study in English culture during a time of change. The Industrial Revolution is in full swing, bringing with it tension between unions, workers, and management. Class values are also shifting, as men like John Thornton could become wealthy and successful without belonging to the aristocratic class. Women like Margaret Hale are betwixt and between, largely constrained by family and cultural expectations, but maybe not willing to marry as those families would choose. She is neither aristocratic nor working class, neither fish nor fowl.

Margaret is a young woman when we meet her, but she carries heavy loads. When she rejoins her parents at the parsonage, it seems like she becomes responsible for regulating everyone's emotions. Dissatisfied mother must be protected and cajoled along. Her weak father has decided to give up his living and move the family to the industrial North. He hasn't the guts to tell his wife, downloading that responsibility to his daughter. She also shoulders the burden of packing, arranging the move, finding a home to rent, and getting her parents settled. Her brother got into trouble in the Navy and will be hung if he returns to his home country. He dares to visit when their mother is on her deathbed and Margaret must ensure that he remains safe from prying eyes.

Margaret loses so many people so quickly! She quarrels with John Thornton because neither of them can see things from the other's point of view. There are the deaths of her parents, then the godfather who has stepped in to shield her. She ends up back where she started, living with her aunt and cousin, but feeling uneasy about it this time.

The novel deals with issues that women still deal with: the expectation that they will bear the emotional burdens and help all her family members feel better about themselves; trying to find a spouse who wants you for yourself, not your looks or your money; how to run your own life despite family members/men who think they know better; having more limited options because you are female.

Ruby Fever / Ilona Andrews

 

4 out of 5 stars

This morning found me driving to my local bookstore to snag a copy of Ruby Fever. I checked their website yesterday and sure enough, they had done a soft release and there were two copies available. I checked again early this morning and the inventory was reduced to one. Which is why I drove several kilometres and lurked outside the store until the door was unlocked.

I'm ever so glad I went to the effort. After doing my appointed tasks for the day, I settled in to read the conclusion of Catalina's story. So well plotted! The action was nonstop and the loose story threads were neatly woven into the ending. Arkan's forces keep on coming, Catalina must stretch herself yet again, and all the generations, in-laws, and out-laws must cooperate to survive.

Many of the relationships get sorted out too. Bern and Runa are headed for marriage, things seem to be going well for Penelope, and we just need to sort the two youngest Baylors. Arabella certainly has some options, which I hope the Andrews will write eventually. Leon needs to meet his match too. Surely the authors have something in mind—Leon needs balance.

Happy sigh! I have no doubt that I will read it again soon.