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hawkwing_lbThis is a bit of a catch-up post, you see. I haven't had a book!post since way back in November, and I've managed to finish a good few since then.
Books 174-186, Fiction 164-176:
164-165. Julie E. Czerneda, Ties of Power and To Trade the Stars.
Ties of Power is... meh. Too much running to-and-fro, not enough real stuff happening. I wasn't quite bored enough to toss it, but I skimmed a lot, and it was a close-run thing.
To Trade the Stars, on the other hand, manages to be reasonably interesting. But after Ties of Power, I didn't have very high expectations.
166. Tamora Pierce, The Woman Who Rides Like A Man.
Found unbelievably cheap, and bought it to re-read. The same rollicking (I do not get to use that word enough) YA ride you can generally rely on Tamora Pierce to provide.
167-168. Philip Pullman, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass.
I dug out my copy of The Subtle Knife* after seeing the film version of Northern Lights. When I read it for the first time, at the age of eleven, it disturbed the shit out of me, because the one thing the His Dark Materials trilogy isn't, is comforting reading.
So I read The Subtle Knife, and once it settled down to get going, it blew me away.
Then I went looking for The Amber Spyglass.
That's not a comforting book, either. But it's worthwhile, and while the ending isn't happy, it means something. Love doesn't always find a way. Victory never comes without cost. And every individual is responsible for making the world better, every day.
Good book.
169. Naomi Novik, Empire of Ivory.
Speaking of good books. I didn't expect this one to be: I soldiered through Black Powder War but didn't love it. But this one? Well, there's the travelogue, and Temeraire, and a very, very interesting twist at the end of it. I eagerly await more.
170. Tanya Huff, The Heart of Valor.
I really like the Valor books. They're space opera, fun, fast, and clever. This one doesn't disappoint.
171. Kathy Lynn Emerson, Face Down O'er the Border.
Elizabethan murder mystery. Fun, interesting, and with compelling characters.
172. Linnea Sinclair, The Down Home Zombie Blues.
Science fictional zombies in Florida. With human-like aliens who fight them. Pretty good stuff, all in all, provided the occasional Star Trek homage doesn't grate.
173. Merry Shannon, Sword of the Guardian.
This one deserves perhaps a little more time spent on it. It's a good book, battles, peril, women dressed as men, revelation and counter-revelation... provided one accepts the occasional leaps of illogic and awkward transitioning required to get from point A to point B.
That said, I understand it's a debut novel, so perhaps the occasional awkward transition and leap of illogic is to be expected.
174. Kristine Smith, Endgame.
The last of the Jani Kilian books. This book? Is an excellent conclusion to the series. Great reading.
175-176. Jennifer Roberson, Lady of the Forest and Lady of Sherwood.
Two novels - romances, I suppose - dealing with the Matter of Sherwood, largely from the perspective of Marian. The historical scene-setting feels nice and authentic, and the characters are well-drawn and interesting. That said, the story in each book feels unfinished, and I find romances fundamentally unsatisfying, at best. But good books, still.
#
Well, that's me up to date. I wonder, will I hit 200 books by January 1? It doesn't look likely, but then again, always possible.
*I tend not to get rid of books. Unless I really dislike them. Or they look at me funny. Or I know someone who really needs to read them.
Books 174-186, Fiction 164-176:
164-165. Julie E. Czerneda, Ties of Power and To Trade the Stars.
Ties of Power is... meh. Too much running to-and-fro, not enough real stuff happening. I wasn't quite bored enough to toss it, but I skimmed a lot, and it was a close-run thing.
To Trade the Stars, on the other hand, manages to be reasonably interesting. But after Ties of Power, I didn't have very high expectations.
166. Tamora Pierce, The Woman Who Rides Like A Man.
Found unbelievably cheap, and bought it to re-read. The same rollicking (I do not get to use that word enough) YA ride you can generally rely on Tamora Pierce to provide.
167-168. Philip Pullman, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass.
I dug out my copy of The Subtle Knife* after seeing the film version of Northern Lights. When I read it for the first time, at the age of eleven, it disturbed the shit out of me, because the one thing the His Dark Materials trilogy isn't, is comforting reading.
So I read The Subtle Knife, and once it settled down to get going, it blew me away.
Then I went looking for The Amber Spyglass.
That's not a comforting book, either. But it's worthwhile, and while the ending isn't happy, it means something. Love doesn't always find a way. Victory never comes without cost. And every individual is responsible for making the world better, every day.
Good book.
169. Naomi Novik, Empire of Ivory.
Speaking of good books. I didn't expect this one to be: I soldiered through Black Powder War but didn't love it. But this one? Well, there's the travelogue, and Temeraire, and a very, very interesting twist at the end of it. I eagerly await more.
170. Tanya Huff, The Heart of Valor.
I really like the Valor books. They're space opera, fun, fast, and clever. This one doesn't disappoint.
171. Kathy Lynn Emerson, Face Down O'er the Border.
Elizabethan murder mystery. Fun, interesting, and with compelling characters.
172. Linnea Sinclair, The Down Home Zombie Blues.
Science fictional zombies in Florida. With human-like aliens who fight them. Pretty good stuff, all in all, provided the occasional Star Trek homage doesn't grate.
173. Merry Shannon, Sword of the Guardian.
This one deserves perhaps a little more time spent on it. It's a good book, battles, peril, women dressed as men, revelation and counter-revelation... provided one accepts the occasional leaps of illogic and awkward transitioning required to get from point A to point B.
That said, I understand it's a debut novel, so perhaps the occasional awkward transition and leap of illogic is to be expected.
174. Kristine Smith, Endgame.
The last of the Jani Kilian books. This book? Is an excellent conclusion to the series. Great reading.
175-176. Jennifer Roberson, Lady of the Forest and Lady of Sherwood.
Two novels - romances, I suppose - dealing with the Matter of Sherwood, largely from the perspective of Marian. The historical scene-setting feels nice and authentic, and the characters are well-drawn and interesting. That said, the story in each book feels unfinished, and I find romances fundamentally unsatisfying, at best. But good books, still.
#
Well, that's me up to date. I wonder, will I hit 200 books by January 1? It doesn't look likely, but then again, always possible.
*I tend not to get rid of books. Unless I really dislike them. Or they look at me funny. Or I know someone who really needs to read them.
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Date: 2007-12-23 11:02 pm (UTC)I loved Northern Lights, and Subtle Knife struck me as having a lot of potential but leaning very strongly on how well the thirds volume did. Mind you, I might well have thought very differently had I first met them at eleven.
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Date: 2007-12-23 11:14 pm (UTC)The final iteration of the republic of heaven - that it's something that everyone has to make, and take responsibility for, where they are (and I read where to mean who and what and when, too), the iteration of the republic of heaven that Lyra and Will commit to creating -
That one strikes me as an antidote to the problem you point out. Because that republic of heaven isn't dependent on strength or wit or armies but trying and failing and trying again to make the world a better place, in whatever way you can. Being a decent human being, basically.
And Pullman does a very good job there, I think, of pointing up the fact that being a decent human being does not come without cost. (And I have to give him props for that, in a YA.)
It seems to me that you read an entirely different ending that the one I did, though. :)
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Date: 2007-12-23 11:51 pm (UTC)