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Books 2012: 66-75
66. Jonathan Maberry, Patient Zero. (St. Martin's Press, 2009)
Ick. Why did I do that to myself? Now I can't get Sexism Fairy spit out of my clothes. This? Would be a not-actively-terrible skiffy zombie thriller if it weren't male gaze-y as all hell and possessed of two active women characters, one of whom is a Cackling Seductrice Islamic Villainess and the other is an SAS major on detached duty in the States who is uber-competent, beautiful, and ends up falling for Our Hero.
Also, Hollywood called. It wants its boilerplate B-movie American Paranoia Terrorism plot back.
67-71. Sandy Mitchell, Caves of Ice, The Traitor's Hand, Death Or Glory, Duty Calls, and Cain's Last Stand. (The Black Library, various dates.)
These are actually fun. And surprisingly lacking in many kinds of fail (particularly gender-fail) that regularly turn up in milSF. I'm not about to become a W40K fan, but for light entertainment in airports, I could do worse.
72. Laini Taylor, Daughter of Smoke and Bone. (Hodder and Stoughton, 2011.)
YA. It's fun until you think about it, and then you realise it's got no logic. Also replicates a couple of icky love-attraction narratives and the protagonist is Special enough to make my teeth hurt. Also, excessively romanticised USian view of Europe. A longer review forthcoming in Vector eventually.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
puddleshark, was it you who wanted to talk about this one?
73. Patricia Briggs, Fair Game. (Orbit, 2012.)
I thought Briggs' spin-off series was going to be hideously romance-generic. Three books in, they're really not: this is an interesting mystery/character study that pulls the rug out from how you thought things would go at the conclusion, with intriguing implications for the future directions of both this and the Mercy Thompson series.
74. Seanan McGuire, Discount Armageddon. (DAW, 2012.)
I've an inquiry for a review of this out in the big bad world. It's damn entertaining, funny, doesn't take itself too seriously, has a really engaging voice and a sensibility that reminds me of the short-lived TV show "The Middleman." It has flaws, sure, but considering that I bounced - hard - off McGuire's first series, I'm pretty happy I enjoyed this one so much.
75. K.E. Mills, Wizard Undercover. (Orbit, 2012.)
Review forthcoming from Tor.com, I hope. Fast, engaging blend of drama and humour in a second-world setting remniscent of the Edward period. Recommend it.
I am going to go sit in the corner and shake now, because I got the Reader's Report comments back on my not-quite complete first chapter of thesis just a moment ago. I may need to throw up.
It's not a bad report. In many ways a bad report would be easier to deal with.
66. Jonathan Maberry, Patient Zero. (St. Martin's Press, 2009)
Ick. Why did I do that to myself? Now I can't get Sexism Fairy spit out of my clothes. This? Would be a not-actively-terrible skiffy zombie thriller if it weren't male gaze-y as all hell and possessed of two active women characters, one of whom is a Cackling Seductrice Islamic Villainess and the other is an SAS major on detached duty in the States who is uber-competent, beautiful, and ends up falling for Our Hero.
Also, Hollywood called. It wants its boilerplate B-movie American Paranoia Terrorism plot back.
67-71. Sandy Mitchell, Caves of Ice, The Traitor's Hand, Death Or Glory, Duty Calls, and Cain's Last Stand. (The Black Library, various dates.)
These are actually fun. And surprisingly lacking in many kinds of fail (particularly gender-fail) that regularly turn up in milSF. I'm not about to become a W40K fan, but for light entertainment in airports, I could do worse.
72. Laini Taylor, Daughter of Smoke and Bone. (Hodder and Stoughton, 2011.)
YA. It's fun until you think about it, and then you realise it's got no logic. Also replicates a couple of icky love-attraction narratives and the protagonist is Special enough to make my teeth hurt. Also, excessively romanticised USian view of Europe. A longer review forthcoming in Vector eventually.
puddleshark, was it you who wanted to talk about this one?73. Patricia Briggs, Fair Game. (Orbit, 2012.)
I thought Briggs' spin-off series was going to be hideously romance-generic. Three books in, they're really not: this is an interesting mystery/character study that pulls the rug out from how you thought things would go at the conclusion, with intriguing implications for the future directions of both this and the Mercy Thompson series.
74. Seanan McGuire, Discount Armageddon. (DAW, 2012.)
I've an inquiry for a review of this out in the big bad world. It's damn entertaining, funny, doesn't take itself too seriously, has a really engaging voice and a sensibility that reminds me of the short-lived TV show "The Middleman." It has flaws, sure, but considering that I bounced - hard - off McGuire's first series, I'm pretty happy I enjoyed this one so much.
75. K.E. Mills, Wizard Undercover. (Orbit, 2012.)
Review forthcoming from Tor.com, I hope. Fast, engaging blend of drama and humour in a second-world setting remniscent of the Edward period. Recommend it.
I am going to go sit in the corner and shake now, because I got the Reader's Report comments back on my not-quite complete first chapter of thesis just a moment ago. I may need to throw up.
It's not a bad report. In many ways a bad report would be easier to deal with.
