Books 2013: will I never have sufficient time in my life again?

[hawkwing_lb]

Books 2013: 78-85


78. Seanan McGuire, Ashes of Honor. DAW, 2012. Copy courtesy of DAW.

It's a fun series, but HELL PEOPLE. I'm getting really really tired of "Irish" being shorthand for "sensitive to weird-ass made-up mythological shit." (Also, I have never in my life heard of "Bess" being a nickname for Bridget. Really? 'Cause I've always thought of Bess as a peculiarly English shorthand for Elizabeth.) Seriously. Any more of this "Irish" - ahem - bullshit is really going to ruin my generally happy feelings about this series.


79. Ilona Andrews, Magic Rises. Ace, 2013. ARC via Tor.com.

Review to appear on Tor.com. Perfectly cromulent series installment, no real surprises.


80-82. Roberta Gellis, The English Heiress, The Cornish Heiress and Siren Song. Ebooks.

Historic romance from an elder generation - although one would probably be more correct to call them romantic family sagas. Entertaining.


83-85. Ali Vali, The Devil Inside, The Devil Unleashed, and Deal With the Devil. Ebooks.

Lesbian mobsters. Yes, I will read almost anything.

Comments

[nwhyte]

I'll just forewarn you about McGuire's Hugo-short listed story "Rat-Catcher" then...

[hawkwing-lb.livejournal.com]

Oy. Thank you kindly, sir, and the next time I come across bad Celticism in any book at all I will be that much more likely to go after kneecaps with a rusty hammer.

[hawkwing-lb.livejournal.com]

I'm not saying no one here ever answered to it. But as a nickname for Bridget?

[beth-bernobich.livejournal.com]

'Bess' for 'Bridget' makes no sense at all.

[hawkwing-lb.livejournal.com]

Not to me!

[katallen.livejournal.com]

Bride, Bridie, Birdie, Bridge, and Biddy I've come across -- the only thing I can think of is the person using Bess is one of *those* people who just pick a random name for a person and use it as a "pet" name. (You know - the guy who calls all his lady friends the same pet name so he never uses the wrong name by accident :D)

[hawkwing-lb.livejournal.com]

Except the narrative calls it the "proper Irish diminutive" for Bridget. Oi.

[katallen.livejournal.com]

And thusly was Good Queen Bess singlehandedly reclaimed for the proper Irish :) (Maybe he's from an alternate universe/timeline in which Henry 2 set John up as King of Ireland before dying, and Richard ticked on a bit longer (still with no heir, or a daughter) and then either John and his (half-Irish) heirs claimed the throne after Richard's death or... well you know where else it can go... eventually leading to Glorianna -- the red-haired Queen Bridget -- the faerie queen... *ducks and runs before Liz weilds the rusty hammer*)

[hawkwing-lb.livejournal.com]

That's an interesting alternate history. Done properly *eyes* I might not even need the hammer...