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hawkwing_lbBooks 2010: 21-29
21. Dorothy L. Sayers, The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club.
Classic Sayers, classic detective work. The death of General Fentiman - quietly, or so it seems - in his chair at the Bellona Club is complicated by a will, the general's two heirs, and the mysterious Mr Oliver, who disappeares when wanted for questioning. Lord Peter Wimsey is his usual inimitable self. Always entertaining.
22. Ariana Franklin, Relics of the Dead.
Following on from The Death Maze and Mistress of the Art of Death, this is the third medieval murder plot to feature Adelia Aguilar, anatomist and doctor from Salerno, on permanent - and reluctant - loan to Henry II. It's somewhat weaker than both of its predecessors, suffering from an unevenness of structure and pacing, and the central puzzle - whether two skeletons unearthed at Glastonbury monastery are those of Arthur and Guinevere - is insufficiently central. I enjoyed it, but not nearly as much as its predecessors.
23-24. Michelle Sagara, Cast in Fury, Cast in Silence.
Fourth and fifth books, respectively, in the "Chronicles of Elantra" series, starring Private Kaylin Neya of the investigative branch of the law in the city of Elantra. Popcorn. Entertaining and enjoyable, if somewhat forgettable.
25. Anne Bishop, Shalador's Lady.
Compared to the "Black Jewels" trilogy and Tangled Webs, this and the previous book, The Shadow Queen are... pretty tame, actually. Safe. Well, almost.
Nothing drastic happens. It's a friendly little ramble through non-potentially world-changing events with mainly sympathetic characters. And the bad guy hurts puppies.
26. Seanan McGuire, Rosemary and Rue.
Urban fantasy involving no vampires and no werewolves. Instead, it has Faerie. And Toby Daye, a half-human, half-Faerie former private investigator who spent thirteen years as a fish and, understandably, has issues.
I liked it quite a lot. It reminded me in a good way of Tim Pratt's Marla Mason books, except with less havoc. I'll be looking out for the next one.
27. Jim Butcher, Changes.
The latest Harry Dresden novel packs a punch. It starts out hectic and only gets faster, all the way to the rather earth-shattering kaboom of the climax, and the bloody nasty cliffhanger on the last couple of pages.
Any further details would be spoilery. But it has Susan. And Sanya. And Thomas. And Harry's dangerous fairy godmother. And consequences.
It's a very good thriller. But definitely the middle book of a series: I'd hate to pick this up and have to figure out all the backstory from context.
28. David Weber, By Heresies Distressed.
Less technobabble and more politics and character than the last two. Less - or rather, more skillful - infodumping. No hint that Weber has any idea of direction for a series other than an open-ended sprawly thing, but really, I don't expect anything of Weber's to actually end, these days.
It's entertaining, and fun enough if you don't mind not having anything like the prospect of resolution.
29. Wm. Shakespeare, Anthony and Cleopatra.
Pretty poetry. But we all know how it goes. And how it ends.
"Give me my robe, put on my crown: I have immortal longings in me... I am fire and air; my other elements I give to baser life."
There were other books today. All Cypriot things. With unwieldy academic bits. It seems that two hours is the limit of my concentration, however: thereafter my brain was mush.
And a gym. I ran 1.2 miles in 11:10, and 2.0 miles in 22:30, and spent two hours there doing energetic things. It feels quite good.
21. Dorothy L. Sayers, The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club.
Classic Sayers, classic detective work. The death of General Fentiman - quietly, or so it seems - in his chair at the Bellona Club is complicated by a will, the general's two heirs, and the mysterious Mr Oliver, who disappeares when wanted for questioning. Lord Peter Wimsey is his usual inimitable self. Always entertaining.
22. Ariana Franklin, Relics of the Dead.
Following on from The Death Maze and Mistress of the Art of Death, this is the third medieval murder plot to feature Adelia Aguilar, anatomist and doctor from Salerno, on permanent - and reluctant - loan to Henry II. It's somewhat weaker than both of its predecessors, suffering from an unevenness of structure and pacing, and the central puzzle - whether two skeletons unearthed at Glastonbury monastery are those of Arthur and Guinevere - is insufficiently central. I enjoyed it, but not nearly as much as its predecessors.
23-24. Michelle Sagara, Cast in Fury, Cast in Silence.
Fourth and fifth books, respectively, in the "Chronicles of Elantra" series, starring Private Kaylin Neya of the investigative branch of the law in the city of Elantra. Popcorn. Entertaining and enjoyable, if somewhat forgettable.
25. Anne Bishop, Shalador's Lady.
Compared to the "Black Jewels" trilogy and Tangled Webs, this and the previous book, The Shadow Queen are... pretty tame, actually. Safe. Well, almost.
Nothing drastic happens. It's a friendly little ramble through non-potentially world-changing events with mainly sympathetic characters. And the bad guy hurts puppies.
26. Seanan McGuire, Rosemary and Rue.
Urban fantasy involving no vampires and no werewolves. Instead, it has Faerie. And Toby Daye, a half-human, half-Faerie former private investigator who spent thirteen years as a fish and, understandably, has issues.
I liked it quite a lot. It reminded me in a good way of Tim Pratt's Marla Mason books, except with less havoc. I'll be looking out for the next one.
27. Jim Butcher, Changes.
The latest Harry Dresden novel packs a punch. It starts out hectic and only gets faster, all the way to the rather earth-shattering kaboom of the climax, and the bloody nasty cliffhanger on the last couple of pages.
Any further details would be spoilery. But it has Susan. And Sanya. And Thomas. And Harry's dangerous fairy godmother. And consequences.
It's a very good thriller. But definitely the middle book of a series: I'd hate to pick this up and have to figure out all the backstory from context.
28. David Weber, By Heresies Distressed.
Less technobabble and more politics and character than the last two. Less - or rather, more skillful - infodumping. No hint that Weber has any idea of direction for a series other than an open-ended sprawly thing, but really, I don't expect anything of Weber's to actually end, these days.
It's entertaining, and fun enough if you don't mind not having anything like the prospect of resolution.
29. Wm. Shakespeare, Anthony and Cleopatra.
Pretty poetry. But we all know how it goes. And how it ends.
"Give me my robe, put on my crown: I have immortal longings in me... I am fire and air; my other elements I give to baser life."
There were other books today. All Cypriot things. With unwieldy academic bits. It seems that two hours is the limit of my concentration, however: thereafter my brain was mush.
And a gym. I ran 1.2 miles in 11:10, and 2.0 miles in 22:30, and spent two hours there doing energetic things. It feels quite good.
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no subject
Date: 2010-04-21 03:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-21 06:36 pm (UTC)(Being Irish, I frequently get... irritated at many iterations of Faerie in urban fantasy. Fortunately not this one!)