#61: Black Wine
Candas Jane Dorsey

Library book. Read this on the recommendation of a friend. It's hard to summarize; sort of a tale of several women all intermingled. Maybe it would make more sense on a second read, though I don't know if I'd make it through again. The prose is very literary. There's very little world-building, and while there are reasons characters go unnamed or change names, it gets very confusing at times. It's really quite a marvel at how the book is written and put together, but, as a whole, I don't get it. But then, I've never been one for extensive metaphors and having to fill in things that aren't there or catch a single sentence or word that changes the whole meaning of a piece. It won a Tiptree, and some other award, and she's a good writer, but this book just isn't for me.

But, for a more erudite appraisal, read Jo Walton's review on Tor.com.

#62: Sea of Trolls
Nancy Farmer

Audiobook. Boy and his sister get kidnapped by Beserkers, and boy has to go on a Quest for the Magical Object to spare his sister's life.

This one is . . . eh. It's largely based on Norse mythology. Lots of Trolls and Odin and Thor and Yggdrasil. Though Beowulf is thrown in there, which confused me for a while because I couldn't get a grip on what kind of a world this was supposed to be. And the boy is a bit passive; doesn't do anything to earn the tutelage from a bard (magic user) except be nice and totatlly misunderstood by his parents. He shows some spunk later on, but the darn quest just keeps going and going and going. I dunno. I did start listening to it in the car, then had to take it back to the library, and checked it out again so I could finish it. So there's something keeping me listening. And the boy's companion on the quest, Thorgil, is fairly original.

And every time I see the title, I keep thinking of Hamlet's speech, and "to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing, end them." Overall, it's okay, but not something I'd read or listen to again.

#58: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh
Robert O'Brien

Audiobook. I got this because I always loved the cartoon and wanted to see how similar they were. They are . . . and they aren't. There's no magic in the book. No magic amulet. It's all science. The part where the rats are in the lab is given in much more detail. Jeremy the crow doesn't come back so often in the book, but he still gets rescued from the cat and is trying to impress girls. Jennar is still the enemy rat in that he opposes giving up technology, but he doesn't actually show up in the book. The name changed--Frisby to Brisby--ostensibly because Brisby was easier to say. Overall, nifty to listen to, and interesting. Oh, the one thing that got me were all the references to modern, human things in language--"like fingernails on a chalkboard" or some such--when I couldn't figure out how the rats would know, no matter how well-read they were. There's a lot of telling too, but the book's a bit dated. STill worth the read though.

#59: Eulalia
Brian Jacques

Audiobook. Another in the Redwall series, this time about an orphaned badger who wants to wreak vengeance on his captors for slaying his grandparents. Largely the same tale as many Redwall books. The audio is entertaining, because they have a full cast of characters. Jacques narrates, and he's got about a dozen others doing voices. And there's music. Slightly cheesy, but heartfelt. Though I am getting rather annoyed that all the bad/evil critters are always vermin and always STUPID. And all the good critters are always smart and cute.

#60: Kushiel's Mercy
Jacqueline Carey

Library book. To marry the woman he loves--and the one woman in the kingdom that he's been forbidden to marry--Imriel de la Courcel agrees to a task he despises--to find his mother and bring her back for justice. But before he can, an evil befalls the kingdom that threatens all he holds dear, and his forbidden love may be the only key to the kingdom's salvation.

Dude, I liked the last book, but this one was just as good. And if you're looking for strong women characters, this one has a very, very good one, and thankfully it's not the cliched kick butt take-no-prisoners type that's been showing up in a lot of urban fantasy. Sidonie rocks. She's got brains and guts. And there's no frakking politics or gender role assumptions that get in the way, which is nice.

No complaints at all. A lovely, fantastic ending to the series. Carey is damn good at dealing with tension and making things worse, and worse, and worse again. Really good.

I still say skip #4, but #5 and #6 are must reads.

Haven't posted in a while because I've been lazy so I'm keeping these short. Likely I'm forgetting a couple. Oh well.

#52: Wide Awake
David Levithan

Very good, thoughtful book. SF, because it's in the future and there's some weird bits of technology in there, and because it's "what if we had a gay, Jewish president? What would you do if someone tried to alter the votes in that election?" I liked this one.

#53: Boy Meets Boy
David Levithan

Good, light book about a blossoming relationship in a very offbeat, LGBT-friendly school (the captain of the football team is a trans woman) and various LGBT issues brought up and resolved thoughtfully.

#54: The Moorchild
(forgotten)

Audio book about a half-fairy folk child that grew up as a changeling and never quite fit. Read quite well with lots of lovely Irish accents. Generally good, though after a while I just wanted something to happen besides the poor kid getting into trouble again.

#55: Nightmare
Steven Harper

Re-read. SF with a gay protagonist, about a kid brought into slavery and then rescued from it by a group of people dedicated to finding and teaching those able to enter the Dream, a psychic plane where one can communicate over great distances, among other things.

#56: Dreamer
Steven Harper

Second (chronologically) in the above series. Someone's destroying the Dream from the inside out.

#57:Renegade's Magic
Robin Hobb

I had lots of problems with this book. Some of it was POV (1st person from a guy who shares his body with a more dominant personality) and it was, well, boring. Like, Harry Potter lost in the woods and camping for months boring. I skimmed a lot. And it had LOTR movie-style endings; like, oh, it's over. no wait, there's more. Oh, wait, there's more. Gah. Third in the series, which is the only reason I stuck through it, but, dude, go find other Hobbs to read. Not the Soldier Son trilogy.

#51: Heir to Stone
S.L. Farrell

Library book. This book is the last in the Cloudmages trilogy, and everything pretty much goes to hell in this book. Meaning, events do, but the book is fun. That is, if you like things going from bad to worse. I did, and Farrell is very good at making his characters suffer in satisfying ways. :>)

#52: Woman who Rides Like a Man
Tamora Pierce

Audiobook. This was part III in a series. Dunno which one. This was fun; Alanna the female knight goes out to find herself (in a way) and ends up becoming a shaman of a desert tribe. Read by a female narrator, and the way she did voices took a bit of getting used to, but I did.

Only quibble was that the book wasn't stand-alone. It filled in the blanks of what happened in the past just fine, but there were some unfinished plot lines that presumably carry over into the next book. I do like Pierce's characters. They have very real emotions and seem very human. I want to hear (or read) more, but, alas, the library doesn't seem to have more.

#53: By George
Wesley Stace

Library book. This is an odd, amusing tale tracing the life of a ventriloquist's dummy from its original owner to his grandson. About half is told from the POV of the dummy. His name is George. So is the grandson's.

Anyway. I read another book by Stace, MISFORTUNE, and was quite happy to see another book by him. BY GEORGE is just as witty and weird and family-driven as the other one. The family business is show business, and the book shows the impact it has on four different generations. The whole format is quite clever in the way the stories are intertwined.

And Stace seems to have a thing for cross-dressers. MISFORTUNE had one as the main character; this one has a background character as one.

#54: Wolf Brother
Michelle Palaver

Audio book. Read by Ian McKellan! (Which I didn't notice when I picked it up, but, WOOHOO!)

This is a primitive YA tale about a boy who goes on a quest to slay the unnatural bear that killed his father and is accompanied by a wolf cub. I enjoyed this one (Ian McKellan notwithstanding) because it was a good adventure and coming-of-age tale. The setting is great, from forest to plains to glaciers, along with lots of animals and plant life and details of how clothing and food was made. Fun book.

#55: I feel like the Morning Star
Gregory Maguire

Library book. This is the same guy that went on to write WICKED, and, well, he's learned a lot since writing this YA book. I read it because someone recommended it that it was one of the rare examples of YA LGBT SF, but there were only a few vague references that a character might be gay, nothing overt.

Basically, this is a tale of a post-apocalyptic earth where a motley colony of people live in an underground compound. They were told that they'd only be there for a few months, but months turned into years, and there are still guards for reasons that the child protagonists don't know, and the Elders seem to have no inclination or rush to leave.

So, it was a bit odd. Big metaphor about freedom, though. But there were a lot of unanswered questions for me, so, overall, the book was unfulfilling. Oh well.

#48: Mage of Clouds
S.L. Farrell

Library book. Part II of the Cloudmages series. I'm stealing the synopsis from the third book's bookflap: "Jenna's only daughter, Meriel, is caught up in the power struggle between Jenna and her half brother Doyle. Thrust into the hands of her mother's enemies, Meriel becomes a pawn in a deadly game where individuals are worth far less than the clochs na thintri." (clochs being the stones of power.)

I liked the first book better overall, but I did enjoy this one, which is a bit calmer than the first one. It has a lot of focus on relationships and choices, especially between Jenna and Meriel. It largely is an exploration of a mother/daughter relationship and how the daughter learns to become her own person (as the dedication had suggested.) Very much a female coming-of-age story, and a nicely done one at that.

And I'm halfway through the third book in the series, in which Farrell is his back to his entertaining, knife-twisting, bloodthirsty self. It's great. :>)

#49: Wild Magic
Tamora Pierce

Audiobook from the library for the car.

This was a pleasant surprise I happened upon in the library. Hadn't read any of Pierce's stuff when I was younger, and this was my first introduction. I really enjoyed it, more so because Pierce was the main narrator while a complete cast filled in the characters around her.

Daine, an orphan, finds work with a horsemisstress because she's got a "knack" with animals, and soon learns that her "knack" is far more than she ever thought it would be. She gains both human and animal friends, but a secret from her past may keep her from being all that she is capable of.

The characterization in this was spot-on; it felt like Pierce got all of Daine's nuances just right, and she felt very real. I would have loved this as a kid, since I loved anything with animals. And being able to talk to animals, like Daine, would have been right up my alley.

#50: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
Mark Haddon

Audiobook from library for car.

See, once upon a time I did have this book, about the adventures of a kid named Christopher with Aspberger's who starts out trying to figure out the mystery behind who killed his neighbor's dog and ends up solving a far different mystery, but I lent it out and never got it back. Grrr.

Anyway. The audio of this is fantastic; highly entertaining, and the narrator gets Christopher's voice (and those of the people around him) just right. The story is good, too, but this time, the audio totally makes it.

#47: Reader and Raelynx
Sharon Shinn

Library book. Mind-reader Cammon and his Mystic friends do their best to protect princess Amalie from those who make attempts on her life and her throne.

I admit to skimming the last third of the book because I didn't care about what was going on. Cammon--arrggh. This was sort of his book, like the three previous ones focused on a different character, but he drove me nuts. There were many moments when he was little more than an innocent, naive puppet with no assertiveness, and there were others when he served as a voice of reason. I could never get a grip on him, and I kept waiting for him to change or to realize something about himself and do something, but he didn't, really. He didn't change. Or if he did, it was very subtle and I missed it. He's sort of too good to be true; I find it hard to like a character that has no vices except those that come from naivete.

Overall, the book is fine, but I did have a few peeves. I admire anyone who writes a book with an ensemble cast; it's hard to give everyone enough attention and to flesh them out. But it also caught me up a little bit because this started out as one character's story and pretty much ended as another's, and none of the other folks had plot arcs, really, they were just support or hindrance for the two main characters.

But there were a lot of times when certain types of magic seemed to appear because it was convenient. Character A needs more power? *poof* character B discovers he can route magic. Men dying on the battlefield? *poof* a character discovers she can heal too. I dunno. The magic has limits, it has a cost like good magic should, but so much of it felt put in for convenience. The origins of it are explained and plausible though.

I suppose I'm trying to compare it to, say, a magic that has a few limited variations, like, for instance, in Lackey, where there are mind-readers and fetchers and empaths and healers. There's the rare odd magic, like a firestarter. Or in the Dragonlance books, the magic and magic-wielders are much more specific. I think Shinn's bothered me because there were random gifts and gifts added on top of gifts with no idea of how many more would appear, and again, it felt convenient. Some of them were foreshadowed, at least.

Anyway. This felt like a very final book to the series, so I'm not expecting more. Out of the four, the third (DARK MOON DEFENDER) was the one I liked the best (because the characters and stakes weren't so spread out) and the first, MYSTIC AND RIDER, came in second. This one was all right, and the second I didn't care for at all.

And I do hate being mean to books. This is a good series at heart, there are plenty of things to like, I just wanted more out of it than I got.

#45: Brilliance of the Moon
Lian Hearn

Audiobook from the library. The third book in the Tales of the Otori series, though it's the fourth chronologically.

In this one, Otori Takeo faces the prophecy given to him by a sage: five battles to fight, four to win and one to lose, and his wife, Kaede, is kidnapped and forced to marry another, crueler man.

I still adore this series. I like the guy who does Takeo's voice, though Kaede's POV still grates a little. But, fortunately, there weren't that many Kaede sections in this one.

Basically, if you haven't read these, you should. And I wish the fourth book was on audio, but if it is, I haven't seen it at the library. Boo.

#46: Shadows Return
Lynn Flewelling

Bought this and got it signed. :>)

Alec and his lover Seregil, now out of place and out of favor in their usual haunts, are sent by the queen to fetch her sister. Along the way they're kidnapped, because Alec's half-faie ancestry gives his blood a certain property that a southern alchemist will do anything to get.

This book surprised me and made me blink several times in disbelief at the level of abuse the protagonists and others endure (I don't feel so bad about some of my own work now.) There is quite a bit of M/M goodness in there, and some very tender and sweet moments and some good characterization moments.

I liked it overall, though not quite as much as the previous one in the series. All in all, a worthy addition to the series, and a must-read for any Flewelling fan.

#43: Holder of Lightning
S.L. Farrell

Library book. Though why it was in the YA section, I don't know.

Loved this one. Really did. Have to admit, I'd seen it on bookstore shelves for years but never paid much attention to it, because I'd noticed DAW had been favoring big thick trilogies based on old cultures with strong female protagonists. I picked up a Gypsy one, and it was okay. Tried the Norse one and didn't make it through it. Saw this one was Celtic, and didn't try it.

This one, I should've bought ages ago, though maybe it's more valuable to me now in its own way. Jenna is the first to see the mage lights return to the sky, and picks up a glowing stone that turns out to be the most powerful of the clochs, stones that have various magical powers that can be used for good or ill. Jenna can't put the stone down despite the pain it causes her when it's used, and now everybody wants her, or, more appropriately, the powerful stone.

This is a book that, from the perspective of what all the pros tell you to do, does everything right. Magic has rules and a price? Check. Tension in every scene? Check. Three major turning points for the protagonist? Check. All the loose ends are tied up nicely. And Farrell is very, very good at making things worse. And worse. And even more worse. Several gut-wrenching scenes in here. Characters are all great, and it's hard to tell who's on which side, and it keeps changing. Very nicely done. So is the worldbuilding.

Anyway. I'm off to read the other two in the series here shortly. Can't wait. :>)


#44: Darkhenge
Catherine Fisher

Library book. This is the second I've read by Fisher, and I'm rather impressed. I liked this one better than the first, CORBENIC, but it's mostly because I'm not as into Arthuriana. This one weaves together two tales, the first a myth about Taliesin and Ceridwyn and the second about a boy dealing with the fact that his younger sister has been in a coma for three months after an accident.

So, for a bit of a comparison: both books have protagonists dealing with tragic, real-life issues that just hit you in the gut. Both involve secondary magical worlds in which the protagonist learns more about himself and his inner strength as he overcomes obstacles, including wrestling with the dark feelings that everyone has and no one wants to acknowledge. And both have legendary magical worlds that bleed into the present one--in Wales.

Darkhenge I liked, because it was, well, dark, and had a fun and intriguing cast of characters, all of whom were fully three-dimensional. All characters had good and bad sides and quirks.

It was just neat. Fortunately, the library has three more of her books for me to read.

#40: Un Lun Dun
China Mieville

Library book. This was weird. Yes, I know, one expects nothing less from China, but this is the tale of two girls who find a way to go from London to Un Lun Dun; a place where old, lost and broken items come to live, where they must find a way to stop a threat to both London and Un Lun Dun--the Smog, which has been growing more and more intelligent over the years.

And this book had pictures. I'd forgotten how fun and entertaining pictures inside a fiction book could be, especially how they're put within the text. China drew them all, and I'm especially fond of the carniverous giraffe. (Yes, I told you it was weird.)

Overall, it's well-written, very witty and creative. Bizarre. I was going to say it reminded me a little of Gaiman's Mirrormask, but China thanks Gaiman for helping him think of things to use, so, there you go. I probably would have liked it a bit better if I were younger, but there's still much to admire about this book, and it's definitely worth the read. Far easier to get into and finish than his other books, and there are enough twists that it's not your average second-world Chosen One plot.

And I'm particularly fond of Curdle the milk carton.

#41: The Mark of the Cat
Andre Norton

Library book. In a world where cats play a large part in society and myth, a young man known for his talent with beasts is shunned from his family and sent on a sort of walkabout to gain his manhood, and ends up finding a destiny heavily entwined with the fierce cats of the desert.

I actually liked this one a lot. The only other Norton I've read is WITCH WORLD, and that was some time ago. This was a pleasant surprise, with only two complaints; one is that it's written in first person, but there are two point of views, and the second comes unexpectedly and without explanation so it took me a while to figure out who was talking. The second was that it ended, well, in a good spot, but there was a lot built up (because of the politics surrounding the hero) that I would have liked to have seen how he handled it, but I didn't get to. (Unless there's a sequel, but I can't really look that up right now.)


#42: Grass for His Pillow
Lian Hearn

Audio book from library for the car. This book is largely about Otori Takeo wrestling with his past and his destiny while trying to stay alive and his love, Kaede, doing much of the same, though they're separated for nearly the whole book.

And it's really better than I'm making it sound. The whole series is good; perhaps it's just the fascination with ancient Japanese culture with some magic skillfully woven in, but I've enjoyed these. Should've started with the first one, but I listened to almost all of it on audio a while back, and I have the first book. I don't remember as much of it as I would have liked, though the second book does a good job of reminding you of what happened.

The audiobook is good. Well, I like the guy's voice, because he sounds much more natural and makes an effort to differentiate between speakers. The woman's voice, while it's Japanese so you know things are pronounced correctly, is much more halting and almost annoying. Neither does she change voices for characters.

Anyway. I'm on the third one on audio now. Yaay. Sure makes the drives go faster.

#38: Fairest
Gail Carson Levine

Library book. Was wandering through the YA section, and saw this book was by the author of ELLA ENCHANTED, a movie I enjoyed, so I picked it up.

Aza's exceptional voice in a realm of singers make up for her less-than-lovely looks. She even teaches herself how to illuse--that is, to throw her voice and to imitate other voices and sounds. A chance encounter with a duchess raises her from her life as a maid at an inn and she ends up as the queen's chambermaid, and her desire to be pretty and her talent for illusing soon gets her into a world of trouble.

This was a fun, lighthearted, enjoyable book, although the ultimate moral of the tale is fairly obvious. It took some great twists and turns along the way. I liked this one, and would read ELLA if they had it, but they don't.


#39: Corbenic
Catherine Fisher

Another YA book I found while wandering that section in the library. This is a retelling of Parsifal (which I had to look up on Wikipedia, because I didn't know anything about it) who was one of the knights of the round table who searched for the holy grail. So there's a lot of Arthurian stuff here.

It's set in modern-day Wales, and is written by a Welsh author, which was cool. It's also a coming-of-age tale for Cal, who's had a miserable childhood with his alcoholic mother and who leaves to stay with his uncle, hoping that money will be his way to rise above his past.

I liked this one; I'm generally not one for Arthuriana, because there's a lot of it out there and I'd rather read something else, so what I pick up is by accident (hello, Susan Cooper), but this one had enough other plot stuff going on to keep me interested until the end. Overall, an enjoyable book.

#33: Speaking Stones
Steven Leigh

Mine! This is the sequel to DARK WATER'S EMBRACE. A later generation (with a few character overlaps) is still dealing with the consequences of trying to keep the human colony alive and flourishing while dealing with the planet's native species.

This book is almost more about societies and cultural conflicts than any one character. It still reminds me of Octavia Butler and the way she could take one tiny personality trait and use it to spark a war. STONES is still a very good book, and I enjoyed the writing overall. Lots of neat ideas here.

#34: Martin the Warrior
Brian Jacques

Audiobook from the library for the car. Did you know his last name is pronounced "Jakes?" I didn't.

I read and bought this book in middle school after totally falling for the whole Redwall series. Then I got older and got tired of every plot being the same. Still, I thought it would be fun to listen to, and it was. There's an entire cast performing this book with Jacques as the main narrator (he's Scottish!) and his son (I think) playing the title role. Most actors played more than one part.

Anyway. It was fun. And I totally did not remember the book at all except for one event at the end. And I was glad to have this when it took me an hour and a half to get home one day because of traffic.

#35: The Secret Books of Venus parts I and II
Tanith Lee

Library book. I read the first part, "Faces in the Water," but gave up on the second, "Saint Fire." Both parts are set in a parallel Italy, with Venus being the name of the town. The first book takes place during the six weeks residents are required to wear masks, and the protagonist, Furian Furiano, is bespelled when he finds a mask floating in the water that belonged to a composer, now dead, and consequently runs into a mute woman with blazing blue eyes and falls for her. After that it gets weird and twisty.

All in all, it was good. Fairy-tale-ish by the use of the language. And, annoyingly, someone went through and circled a lot of words they (presumably) didn't know, or which caught their attention. (ichor, flayer's, beaked, stealthily, susurrous, and on and on).

The second part I gave up on. It was about a girl who was a former slave and learned through her dreams how to call fire, but it got so thick with religious stuff that I got tired of it and didn't want to wade through it.

#35: Over Sea, Under Stone
Susan Cooper

Audiobook from the library for the car.

I picked this up thinking it was the first in the Dark is Rising series and I just didn't remember the title, but I think it's the second, which I hadn't read. So it was interesting to hear. More interesting to think she wrote it in 1965. Anyway, fun "read" about three kids on a holiday in a small English town that stumble on an old manuscript that sets them on a search for the Holy Grail while trying to evade the powers of darkness. Towards the end there's quite a bit of description and action around a cave and a rocky shoreline; that I liked quite a bit, because I could really imagine it, and that part sticks in my head the best. Though, I just recently read an entry on another LJ about how the first couple in the series weren't Cooper's best, so that stuck in my head the whole time and I kept thinking about weaknesses and plot holes, but overall it was a good book and a fun story and I can definitely see the appeal for kids.

The narrator was good too, and did the various voices very victoriously.

#36: Stardust
Neil Gaiman

Library book.

I must be one of the few that doesn't totally dig Gaiman. I read CORALINE; that one ticked me off, because the kid rescues the parents and I couldn't quite figure out why the parents were worth saving. The same thing happened in MIRRORMASK the movie; girl's mom is in trouble. STARDUST, too, has a little of that thread. But I feel like I'm missing something. Sure, the writing's good, the story is solid, but there's not really anything that stood out for me as being exceptional fantasy. I didn't like the main character and couldn't find a real reason to root for him. It didn't seem like he did much on his own and just got carried along and people helped him for no reason (or when there was a reason, their help came as awfully convenient.) But maybe that's the way some fairy tales go.

#32: Maledicte
Lane Robins

Library book. I wanted to like this more than I did. After all, it's something I should be interested--cross-dressers and more than a little queer sexuality. And this comes with the usual caveat that I don't like picking on a book . . . but I have a few nitpicks with this one.

Maledicte, a handsome young man formerly known as the girl Miranda, allies with a dark goddess to take revenge on those who have wronged her.

( Cut because I'm close to spoilers here. )

I'm getting behind, so rather than doing these separately . . .

#28: Dark Water's Embrace

Steven Leigh

My book. And autographed. :>) SF where nine human survivors try to keep their species alive and flourishing on a hostile planet that also causes children to be born with various defects. Several generations later, one special person discovers a link with the the planet's sentient race that might save the humans from extinction--but most of the other humans strenuously object.

I had the odd impression of this one being a sort of cross between Octavia Butler's Xenogenesis series and V for Vendetta. The former, because both have a "third" sex and a "save the humans" motif, and the latter, because I was listening to the audiobook at the time, and because in V there is a lot of support of homosexuality while it's being suppressed by the government, as there is in Leigh's book. The other interesting thing is the way it's written, in that there are a number of POV characters, and their POV's vary, either journal entries or first person or third, but each is clearly labeled at the head of the chapter so there's no getting lost. It works, because it's totally necessary to have all the POV's, and there are still clearly main characters. Good book overall, and I'm halfway through the sequel.

#29: Vintage
Steve Berman

I bought this one. Ghost story about a kid coming to terms with himself and his sexuality (he's gay, and lives with his aunt because his parents kicked him out) while dealing with a crush on a ghost that has his own, often frightening, issues.

I really enjoyed this one. It was very good for a first book, and certainly deserved all the nominations and nods it got for YA. It feels totally realistic both in character and setting, and could be both heartbreaking and hopeful. And the protagonist hates Pop Tarts, so now I felt rather guilty about having four different flavors on my kitchen counter. It's one of those character quirks that makes him that much more human.

#30: Heaven's Net is Wide
Lian Hearn

Library book. This is the first book chronologically in the Tales of the Otori series, although it was the last written. This tells the tale of how Otori Shigeru grew to be a man and how he dealt with his enemies, lovers, and power. I do like this series and have enjoyed all the books, particularly the setting and details, because there's not a lot of Asian fantasy out there, even though this is almost more historical than fantasy.

#31: Flora Segunda
Ysabeau Wilce

Library book. I picked this one up because I've seen it mentioned for awards like the Tiptree (I think) and the Norton. The extended title of the book says it all, though I don't have the book and can't look it up at the moment. Flora doesn't want to be a soldier like her sister and mamma, and doesn't think her decaying family is much to be proud of. She meets a banished denizen--a butler--who asks for her help in being restored. Flora tries, leading to many (mis)adventures.

The thing about this book is that it throws so much weird stuff at you right off the bat that ordinarily you'd be going, "What the heck? What is this?" but it's pulled off so exceedingly well that you're just along for the ride and anything goes. I mean, it has a totally logical and thought-out world, but all this random stuff comes flying in and yet fits there perfectly. I don't know how to explain it better. Flora has a very distinct voice, but it never tips over into an annoying attitude sort of voice.

It was a very good book though, utterly entertaining, and I look forward to reading the next in the series. And Wilce has an LJ around here somewhere, but I've forgotten where it is.

#27: One for Sorrow
Chris Barzak

My book, ordered on the recommendation of a couple other folks.

Adam's life seems to be going from bad to worse; his mother is paralyzed in an accident, which causes even more strife and arguments between his parents, and one of the boys in his class is found murdered. Jamie's ghost is still around, though, and Adam's ties to his own life become thinner and thinner the more he depends on Jamie. A coming-of-age ghost story.

Overall I liked this a lot, and it's really good for a first novel and certainly deserving of all the notice it's getting. Very readable, and pretty much spot-on about being a kid in a dysfunctional family and not being able to realize what is and isn't "normal" or healthy in a family, and not being able to see a way out, which is something I can sympathize with.

The only nitpick I had was the ending, but admittedly it's more from my own personal bias than because it isn't the right ending for the story. Seems too easy, and one thing feels a little like too much of a surprise to be believable, but it might just be me.

And now I'm bummed because he was at ICFA where his book won an award, and I'm only just now reading it. -sigh- Though I didn't need to carry more books there anyhow.

#26: V for Vendetta

By somebody Moore. Alan Moore? I don't remember.

Audiobook via the library. Listened to this in the car since I've been driving a bit farther lately. It was good and entertaining and not at all bad for a book based on a movie based on a graphic novel. It actually illuminated the characters a lot more (I like Finch now) and explained some things I didn't quite get from the film.

Anyway. It was good.

#25: Luck in the Shadows
Lynn Flewelling

This one's mine; a signed copy I got at Comic-Con. :>)

This was just a reread which I started last October on the plane home from YaoiCon and just managed to finish a couple weeks ago. Alec is imprisoned unjustly and then rescued by Seregil. Alec accompanies Seregil, who soon becomes gravely ill, and finds himself part of something far larger than he could have dreamed of.

Still a good book, though this time I had a harder time reading it because one of the characters reminded me too much of someone I know.

#24: Daughter of Lir
Judith Tarr

Bought this book at ICFA. Overall, I liked it a lot. It was different; daughter of the Mother (revered female spiritual leader) is raised away from the temple, and although she shows signs of taking her mother's place, the priestesses refuse to acknowledge her talents. Girl is "adopted" by the mare, a symbol of the horse goddess, and allies with the king's son to stop an advancing warring tribe.

This one is nice because it contrasts a "civilized", female-led society from the city with a "barbarian" male-led tribe from the plains. Lots of interesting power-play going on between the characters, and some good examinations of empowerment.

Anyway. Good book. :>)

X3: Bright the Sky
Kay Kenyon

Library book. I wanted to like this book. I did. I saw Kenyon at a local con, and one of my friends bought her books and was looking forward to it, and I saw that my library had a copy so I waited patiently for it . . .

. . . buy by page 221 I'd had enough. It's me, I think. The writing is good (though the point of view shifts within scenes catch me off guard at times) but this is definitely a "what if" story. "What if Earth found a reliable way to and from a constructed world called the Entire to establish trade routes to other worlds?" Titus Quinn may hold the key; he's the only earth man to have gone to the Entire and returned, although he only has scant memories of his time there. He's coerced by a corporation to go back and attempts to rescue his wife and daughter.

It's a very cool concept and drawn out well. Great worldbuilding. The beginning hooked me; Titus is secluded in Oregon and invests all his time and interest in model trains that have taken over his home. It's a great scene and great characterization, but after that the characterization just seems to spread too thin and give way to ideas and plot. Which isn't a bad thing, it's just not something I have patience for, and I found I stopped caring what happened to the characters. The daughter and her situation is interesting, and I wouldn't mind reading more about her, but not enough to wade through the rest of it to get there.

Anyway. This will work for lots of people, just not me.

#23: The Phoenix Unchained
Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory

Library book. When Tiercel learns about a certain kind of magic that hasn't been used in a thousand years and tries a spell, things start to go awry. He nearly burns down his house, and he keeps having dreams of a woman ringed with fire. He decides to seek help from the elves and his friend, Harrier, comes along for company and protection. Both boys soon find out that there's about to be another war between darkness and light but things aren't as bad as they thought they'd be--they're worse.

Good book overall, despite it being a quest story, and I'm not terribly fond of quest stories. And it, inevitably, ends in a cliffhanger. This is a distant (as in a thousand years later) sequel to three other books Lackey and Mallory wrote, the names of which I don't remember right now, but I liked that trilogy as well. It's not fluffy Lackey; these are much better-plotted and written, though there are still some obvious traits of hers.

And you don't *have* to read the first three books to get this one, especially since the history as the two protagonists know it is quite different than what really happened, but that kind of twist from reality to myth would be expected.

Anyway. I'll be looking forward to the next in the series.

#22: Kindred
Octavia Butler

Library book. Slave narrative in which Dana, who's from 1976, travels back in time to Maryland over and over to ensure her distant ancestor is born.

Interesting book overall, and a good read, though I'm sure I watch too much SF because I kept thinking about what happened if Dana and her husband changed the timeline when they went back, but of course if they went back they were supposed to go back so anything they changed was supposed to happen. Though that aspect was never addressed and didn't really need to be. I had an edition that had a scholarly essay at the back and all kinds of critical thinking questions, which, in a way, sort of lessened my enjoyment of the book a bit because I'd rather just think of it as a good book and not something to be taken apart in a classroom, though obviously it has been and will continue to be. I didn't read the questions or the essay; I suppose I wasn't in the mood to think that hard.

Definitely worth reading. I think this is one of Butler's early books (1979), and it's still fascinating the way she deals with the social aspects, how people fit in, how they don't, and tiny little incidents that can eventually unfold into something catastrophic.