I was looking forward to reading this one and getting back to the originally written stories rather than the fill-ins I've been reading lately.
It was I was looking forward to reading this one and getting back to the originally written stories rather than the fill-ins I've been reading lately.
It was an interesting one, as it was old characters in new locations and a much higher concentration of folk dancing. I don't know much (or really, anything) about folk dancing, so those specific details slipped past me, but I did enjoy the interactions between all the new and old characters.
I'm still struggling with names and the number of significant characters is exploding, so that's a bit of a challenge, but I'm still having fun....more
I'm slowly rereading my way through this trilogy from the late 1980s and early 1990s. I had already read the first two volumes (this one and New Moon)I'm slowly rereading my way through this trilogy from the late 1980s and early 1990s. I had already read the first two volumes (this one and New Moon), but while I've owned it since it was published, I have never read the concluding book (I don't remember why I didn't read it at the time).
I've really enjoyed reread the first two. They are quite hard work - the print is small and the prose is quite dense compared to the easier style that is own employed these days. They are gritty books without being "grimdark" as we would say now. There's bad language and hard lives and flawed people, but the story, setting and characters are all interesting and worth the effort.
I'm looking forward to find out the end of the story....more
This is a piece published online by Catherine Asaro that relates the childhood backstory of Major Bhaajan from Undercity and The Bronze Skies (sorry, This is a piece published online by Catherine Asaro that relates the childhood backstory of Major Bhaajan from Undercity and The Bronze Skies (sorry, I'm not getting Goodreads to do the links for me). It is a filler piece, but a satisfying filler piece that rounds out the details we got in Undercity....more
There are definitely some good stories in here (my favourite was Tansy Rayner Roberts' "How to Survive and Epic Journey"), but with some of them I wasThere are definitely some good stories in here (my favourite was Tansy Rayner Roberts' "How to Survive and Epic Journey"), but with some of them I was left with that "I'm too dumb for short stories" feeling that I often get. That's okay though - I'm only going to get better at digesting short stories by reading them, I guess.
Another very good story from Mira Grant. While it is technically a prequel to Into the Drowning Deep, they can be read in either order (I know for surAnother very good story from Mira Grant. While it is technically a prequel to Into the Drowning Deep, they can be read in either order (I know for sure, because I asked the author and she kindly answered). I went with this one second and I was very happy with doing it that way.
Another story I've been wanting to reread as I remember really liking it when I read it in an anthology. I did like it all over again, and found it a Another story I've been wanting to reread as I remember really liking it when I read it in an anthology. I did like it all over again, and found it a solid story but not blow-me-away amazing. Still very much worth the read though....more
I took a little break from New Moon, which was an excellent by slow read, to enjoy the next Abbey book. Another lovely read. These are perfect for ligI took a little break from New Moon, which was an excellent by slow read, to enjoy the next Abbey book. Another lovely read. These are perfect for light but delightful summer reads and I think there might be a lot of Oxenham over the course of my summer.
Reread: A masterclass from the author of purposefully creating a character for your readers to dislike. The poor girl doesn't stand a chance, then is unrealistically redeemed by the regular characters....more
This is one of those books that has been on my reread radar for a while (along with it's two sequels) and I finally got to it.
It was a slow read - a 1This is one of those books that has been on my reread radar for a while (along with it's two sequels) and I finally got to it.
It was a slow read - a 1980s paperback with small pages and even smaller type, combined with excellent but dense prose. I'm very happy to have reread it and I'll be moving on to the next in the series soon.
For some reason I can no longer remember, I have the third book but I never read it. I'm looking forward to reading that one too and to have finally finished the story....more
I backed this on Kickstarter so long ago I can't remember why. I'm very glad I did, as I thoroughly enjoyed pretty much all the stories in the book.
I'I backed this on Kickstarter so long ago I can't remember why. I'm very glad I did, as I thoroughly enjoyed pretty much all the stories in the book.
I've often been cautious about short stories as I often feel too stupid for them, since I can't figure out what the writer is trying to do or to tell me. I've realised it's either because I can only see one way the story can go, or I can see too many. That only happened a couple of times here and I liked the book very much. I don't know if that's a change in me or in the stories, but hey, good stories are always a good thing....more
Nalini Singh is an automatic read for me and she hasn't let me down yet. Another great story with lovely characters it is easy to love and want the beNalini Singh is an automatic read for me and she hasn't let me down yet. Another great story with lovely characters it is easy to love and want the best for....more
Another excellent novel from Megan Whalen Turner. I do so love this series.
I'm left with a certain feeling after this one that, excellent story as it Another excellent novel from Megan Whalen Turner. I do so love this series.
I'm left with a certain feeling after this one that, excellent story as it is, this is about putting pieces in place. There's a confrontation with the Empire coming, Gen knows it, and he's doing what he can to be ready when it happens. Kamet is part of that planning. Certainly, he helped with the short term problem of the ships, but Gen is all about long term planning and I'm sure Kamet is going to be important there.
I would so love to get to see Kamet and Costis being domestic together.
But why, why, did they have to change from the lovely covers we had previously to these, far less interesting ones? Oh, and while I'm at it, why is there no ebook for this outside the US? (None of which, bears any relationship whatsoever to the author.)...more
I saw this recommended somewhere (Smart Bitches, Trashy Books I think) and thought it sounded rather nice. A few other people in the comments secondedI saw this recommended somewhere (Smart Bitches, Trashy Books I think) and thought it sounded rather nice. A few other people in the comments seconded the recommendation, it wasn't very expensive and I've liked Grace Draven's work before, so it seemed like a bit of a no-brainer. I bought it very soon after.
Since I managed to finish The Moonspinners today, it was a perfect moment to slip it in before I made the big decision of what to read next.
There are two stories in this small collection - the titular Sunday's Child and a shorter story called The King of Hel.
I really liked Sunday's Child, but it actually The King of Hel that I found to be my favourite of the two. The characters are lovely, the difficulty between them makes sense, there's respect between them and they feel like they belong together. There's a complete and satisfying romance in here all written in about 50 pages.
If the blurb for Sunday's Child appeals to you, go on and read it as you get a lovely tale that gives you just what it promised. (And to address any parents of children with autism, that is dealt with very well and there is never any indication that anything about Jake should or will change, despite the book being technically a paranormal.)
But don't stop there. Read The King of Hel too. I don't think you'll regret it. I didn't. Quite the oppisote, I really loved it....more
Finally, finally, I have finished another book in my Mary Stewart author read/reread. I'm (very slowly) reading my way through all Dame Mary's books iFinally, finally, I have finished another book in my Mary Stewart author read/reread. I'm (very slowly) reading my way through all Dame Mary's books in publication order. Given that I started this in 2011 and The Moonspinners is only the seventh book, I'm not exactly racing along.
But oh, how I enjoyed this. I had become stuck on The Ivy Tree (and if you read my review for that book, I briefly discuss why there) and so the books felt like they were going to be hard work, just as that one had been. It wasn't. It was a bright, sunny, swift-paced delight. The Cretan landscape and flora and fauna, the village and the sea and the people, they were all drawn with a sense of deep appreciation and empathy that spoken to me as the reader.
This is a lovely book. Nicola is a lovely heroine and the characters are all well drawn and real. Nicola and the hero, Mark, are apart for much of the book, which I think is a point in its favour as it allows Nicola to consider the situation with a little distance and make logical explanations and sensible guesses without it being all, "Mark, Mark, Mark..."
It also means we get to spend time with Nicola's cousin Frances, her "much older"' cousin who turns out to be - gasp - in her forties and positively ancient like me. Sarcasm aside, Frances is a wonderful character and her friendship and camaraderie with Nicola is delightful. It is always lovely to see two women sharing a close, caring relationship where it is clear how much they care for each other, but they don't need to focus on that and can just "hang out" together and enjoy time in each others' company.
I suspect I'm just rambling on now, but I did so enjoy this and I'll enthused to get back to my Mary Stewart reading now. That or go for a Susanna Kearsley, as she feels very much like a modern successor to Stewart to me....more
Marking and reviewing this as a separate book is a little bit of a cheat. Binti has been on my "to read" list for a while, and having recently caught Marking and reviewing this as a separate book is a little bit of a cheat. Binti has been on my "to read" list for a while, and having recently caught up on overdue reads of a couple of other novellas (All Systems Red and The Lady Astronaut of Mars), this one was on my mind. But I got sidetracked by the space opera anthology, Infinite Stars: Definitive Space Opera and Military Science Fiction.
While reading that, I tapped my way through the next story and there was Binti, waiting and read for me to read. It seemed too good to be true. But because I was always planning to read this as its own individual book, I'm recording and reviewing it as such.
The only book of Nnedi Okorafor's I'd read previous to this one, was Who Fears Death, which was amazing, although very hard to read in places. I would like to read Lagoon one day, but I've never quite fitted it in (that whole, too many books, too little time thing) so a novella was the perfect answer.
And such a good novella it is. Binti herself is an amazing character, and I think I'd follow her adventures pretty much anywhere. I am embarrassed to admit that I had to make use of Wikipedia to discover that there are real-world counterparts to Binti's people, and I learned about the real clay (sorry, at a distance I can't remember the proper word) they use for their hair and bodies. I had already bought into the significance of it within the story thanks to Okorafor's deft writing, but adding the real world knowledge to balance and inform the fictional world's knowledge added much extra depth, even in a story with a short word count.
The medusae are fascinating, but I still don't know that a fully understand them, either because they are to be further developed in the next story (that is so on the TBR now) or because I was distracted by discovering Binti to pay quite enough attention.
There were also a few little world building things I didn't fully understand, but I'm laying that on myself rather than the author. She had to choose where to focus and I'll be interested to see where the worldbuilding expands in Home....more
I'll admit straight up that I bought this because it has a Skolian story by Catherine Asaro in it. I was going to jump straight to that story, but I fI'll admit straight up that I bought this because it has a Skolian story by Catherine Asaro in it. I was going to jump straight to that story, but I found myself reading the introduction and instead, I slowly read my way through the book.
I skipped some stories as either being from a heavy continuity that I hadn't read before, or just because I'd consider the author and their series before and decided I wasn't interested. But I read a few I hadn't tried before, reread some I had read before and enjoyed all the ones I did read.
I enjoyed the first two Ender books many, many years ago, before I grew uncomfortable with giving Orson Scott Card money, so I read the story here and liked it. It was nothing striking or new, but an enjoyable tale that reminded me to a certain degree of Speaker for the Dead, which I remember as an amazing book with a stunning concept. I wasn't so keen on cats being the villains, but it worked for the story.
I also only ever managed to read the first two Dune books. I loved Dune itself especially, but I never felt the slightest inclination to read any of the books not written by Frank Herbert himself, so skipping that story was easy.
I enjoyed trying out the older, classic space opera stories, none of which I'd read before. I found myself initially confused by the concepts in "The Game of Rats and Dragons" and did take advantage of Wikipedia to get things explained. I think I would have worked it out from the story, but of course, once I'd look it up, it was too late. A very good story that does stand up to the years, so long as you don't try to fit it into more modern space opera tropes. It has its own.
I considered skipping "The Borders of Infinnity" as I've read it several times before, but, it's Miles... Still a great story an a multiple time reread, I'm glad I did decide to spend my time revisiting the prison camp, which sound kind of dubious when I type it, but, it's Miles...
I skipped a couple of series I didn't know and got to the Asaro story. It's not a huge and significant story, but it was lovely to see into the hearts and minds of two familiar characters at points in their lives that we've known about from book 1 but never seen explored before. If you're a reader of the Skolian series, then definitely read this one, but it's a lovely reflective piece, rather than one that moves the overall story forward.
"Binti" by Nnedi Okorafor has been on my TBR list for a long while and I was planning to get to it soon, so I was delighted to find it in here. It was an excellent story that deserves the praise it has gained. I've cheated a bit and I'll be adding it to Goodreads on its own, since, as I said, it was a planned read.
So more skips and a very enjoyable new "old" story, with "Stark and the Stark Kings" by Leigh Brackett and Edmond Hamilton. I've know about Brackett and her influence on the genre for a long time, but I haven't read much of her work. This is good one and I really like the tone and place of it. This kind of story is pretty much gone from space opera these days, and it's a lovely change of style and place. I can see why her work was both successful and significant.
I rather enjoyed Alistair Reynolds' Revelation Space story, although I've never read his work before. I don't think I'll try to full novels, but I'm glad I read this story.
I also really like A. C. Crispin's Starbridge story, "Twilight World". This was a first contact story with lovely characters and a fascinating and unexpected sentient alien. I've only known Crispin from her media tie-in work before, but I think I'll be looking into the Starbridge stories, as I really liked this one.
I did skip "The Ship who Sang", not in any disrespect to the awesome Helva, but because I've read it a lot of times before. It is rightfully a classic.
The last story I chose to read was Robert Silverberg's "The Iron Star" which was also a really excellent story. It has suitably alien aliens, a good take on evolution of different species focussing in different areas and a ending that isn't unexpected, but also isn't the usual sort of conclusion.
I'm very glad I didn't just read the Asaro story in this book, as I had a very enjoyable time reading a number of other stories I would have missed out on if I'd chosen to be more blinkered. I have also come to the conclusion that military space opera/science fiction is not for me. I'm all for galaxy spanning empires and their politics, and scientific/first contact mysteries. I'll also happily give planetary romance a go, but nah to the straight military stuff is much less likely to be my thing....more
I'm slowly watching my way through the "Vera" TV series that is based on these books. They are relatively light mysteries and I'm enjoying slowly watcI'm slowly watching my way through the "Vera" TV series that is based on these books. They are relatively light mysteries and I'm enjoying slowly watching my way through them. Hooray for libraries that carry DVD box sets.
I'm also a big fan of Ann Cleeves' Shetland series and I'm up to date with those books, but I'd never read any of the Vera Stanhope ones. I thought I'd try one of the actual books (hooray for libraries that carry ebooks).
I have a terrible memory. It's very frustrating as I used to have an excellent one, but it just folded itself up and went away when I developed ME/CFS. That was 27 years ago, so I while I'm used to the issue now, it is still very annoying. The one area where I can't decide if it is a negative or a positive is with mystery stories.
I knew I'd read this book, I could remember the feel of it and had a few memory pictures of the scenery of the story. But I had no idea who the murderer was. As I read the book I remembered more bit and pieces, but I still had no idea who the murderer was. Even when I critical piece of information that was going to get us to the answer was revealed, while I remembered that fact, I still had no idea who the murderer was. I only worked it out in advance of the conclusion by a process of elimination.
I don't know if I'm delighted I got to read it all over again without knowing the answer, or annoyed that I still couldn't remember.
That said, it's a very good book and once again, Ann Cleeves has developed fascinating, complex characters and a provided a sense of place that is delightful. Vera herself, obviously the main character of the show on screen, barely shows up for the first part of the book and we're well over half way before the viewpoint shifts to hers. I actually liked that as we got to know the three main characters very well before it becomes a huge police investigation.
I will be reading more in the series, I think, especially if I can easily borrow them from the library in ebook format. We'll have to see how my memory goes next time. I remember watching the story that the next book is based on, but again, I haven't got a clue who the culprit was.
And I still don't know if I'm pleased or annoyed by that....more
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