I'm about 1/3 of the way through so far, and I want to add one caveat: don't read these stories in bed as you're about to go to sleep. You're liable tI'm about 1/3 of the way through so far, and I want to add one caveat: don't read these stories in bed as you're about to go to sleep. You're liable to have some unsettling dreams. Ask me how I know this. (They're good stories, but some are really unsettling af.)
8/25/18: finished these last night. One of the stories apparently served as the beginning of his novel Mongrels, which I read and enjoyed greatly not too long ago.
There is almost no gore or grossness in most of these stories, except maybe for one. But they really are very unsettling. It's kinda like that feeling you get when you think everything is normal, but suddenly you see something maybe out of the corner of your eye -- something abnormal, or weird. You look again, and in this world, it's just something your brain interpreted wrong. In Jones's stories, you realize that things really are NOT what we always thought they were. That's what makes them unsettling.
But they're good. They'll weird you out, though....more
A perfectly serviceable thriller about blizzards and the dangers that lurk therein. It has some very exciting moments, though much of it is just a perA perfectly serviceable thriller about blizzards and the dangers that lurk therein. It has some very exciting moments, though much of it is just a perfectly cromulent thriller.
My biggest issue was I couldn't decide if the blizzard demons looked like the Night Walkers from Game of Thrones or the Snow Miser.
And of course I didn't listen to an audio CD, but sometimes it's hard to find the right audio edition. Scribd had it....more
The most interesting thing about this book is that the author based his society of interstellar colonists and terraformers on the Hopi nation. I thougThe most interesting thing about this book is that the author based his society of interstellar colonists and terraformers on the Hopi nation. I thought the depiction of the society was well done, though I can't vouch for its accuracy viz. the Hopis.
The alien ship that embodies itself into a human clone is pretty interesting too. You can see that there's a lot of back-story that the author worked out. He only hinted at it in this book, just enough to show why the conflict was happening.
The first part of this book was creepy AF, as the protagonist tries to figure out what is happening to her. But as it continues and (view spoiler)[sheThe first part of this book was creepy AF, as the protagonist tries to figure out what is happening to her. But as it continues and (view spoiler)[she gets more and more taken over by the demon (hide spoiler)], it just becomes kind of sad.
Wanting not to be alone can be pretty bad sometimes....more
When I got to the end of this book, I sat very still for a minute. Then I just said "wow" a few times. This one will stick in my mind.
LeAnne Hogan hadWhen I got to the end of this book, I sat very still for a minute. Then I just said "wow" a few times. This one will stick in my mind.
LeAnne Hogan had plans. She'd had plans to go to West Point and become an officer and maybe a pole-vaulting star. But her plans changed.
LeAnne enlisted in the Army. After two tours, she had plans for civilian life. But she got talked into coming back for one last special tour. And her plans changed.
LeAnne suffered during the war. She's suffering after the war. But she had a goal she wanted to accomplish, and almost in spite of herself, she goes for it.
This is not one of those books where the soldier comes home and is healed through the love of friends and family. Not everybody gets a happy ending. BUT IT DOESN'T MATTER. You do what you have to do, the best you can, with whatever time you have. That's what LeAnne did. It doesn't hurt that she had a slightly magical dog show up to help her. (NB: there's no actual magic involved. The dog just appears mysteriously and occasionally seems to know things that she'd have no real reason to know. But it's actually a pretty good dog portrayal aside from that.)
I found LeAnne to be a believable and compelling character. It's all her story, some of it told in flashbacks to her time at war, some of it in the present day. She's fierce and uncompromising and damaged, but goddammit, she does everything she can.
I loved this book. LeAnne will stay with me a long time.
I am not the target audience for this book. I read most of the first few chapters and lightly skimmed the rest, just so I would see that what I KNEW wI am not the target audience for this book. I read most of the first few chapters and lightly skimmed the rest, just so I would see that what I KNEW was going to happen would actually happen.
It's a portal fantasy. It's 4 years in the lives of kids in a training camp on the other side of the portal from our world. One of the kids, Elliot, is from our Earth. He is clever and smart and an asshole. He falls in love with an Serene, an elf maiden, right away. Their constant companion is Luke, the bestest, nicest, strongest, prettiest warrior in camp. (Yes, eye-rolling here.)
They start growing up and falling in love with each other and/or other people. Elliot as a kid is better able to negotiate treaties with various non-human species than any adult in sight can. Serene and Luke are sword-sisters. Elf society just inverts human gender norms, so that women are the warriors and men are the nurturers. It's funny for about 50 pages. Everybody starts growing up, mostly.
I have most of the same issues with this book that I had with The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet. Those issues start with things that SHOULD be good. Everybody's sex-positive. Which person you want to have sex with doesn't really matter. You're a boy who likes boys? Yay! You're a girl who likes boys? Yay! You're a boy who likes boys and girls? Yay!
But you know what? It's BORING. I don't read fan fiction, but this is what I imaging fan fiction must be like in a lot of places (I know, #notallfanfiction) because of all the references I see to various non-canonical pairings people seem to want to write about. I DON'T CARE ABOUT THEM. If you want to write about Hermione and Snape getting together, that's fine, but I DON'T WANT TO READ IT. It's just NOT INTERESTING to me. I don't like kissing books or most romance. That's ME, not the genre.
So why did I read this, you ask? It was engaging enough for the first few chapters. It's obvious we're supposed to like and/or feel sorry for Elliot even though he's an asshole, because Nobody Ever Loved Him Before. I guess that was part of it. And then, like I said, just to see if it was going to be as totally predictable as it looked like it was going to be.
I hate being right about stuff like that.
Many other people love this. I'm happy for them. Its just not for me.
I think of Nevil Shute as an old-fashioned storyteller. His books aren't really very long. They have a lot of detail about characters' everyday lives.I think of Nevil Shute as an old-fashioned storyteller. His books aren't really very long. They have a lot of detail about characters' everyday lives. And many of his stories are set back in WW2 or just after. There's a leisurely kind of narration that is kinda different from a lot of today's books.
This is a story about a RAF pilot who falls in love with a WAAF Signal Officer who's stationed on the same base. He's certain almost right away that She is THE One; she's not quite so sure. She had other plans for her life. And right there is my biggest quibble with the book. (view spoiler)[ After he asks her to marry him, she tells him she's not in love with him, and they should stop seeing each other. His performance as a pilot falls WAY off. His crew gets lost returning from a bombing raid and barely survives. She BLAMES HERSELF for this, and lets him basically bully her into hanging out with him for a month before she decides ABSOLUTELY not to marry him. ::rolleyes:: (hide spoiler)] Okay, other times, other manners, sure, but still...
There's a big dramatic event toward the end. I'll tell you honestly, I was so worried about what was happening, I had to put down my knitting and just listen for a while.
It's a good book. It's got romance, but it's subtle and gentle enough for my I-can't-really-abide-romance sensibilities. And there are a couple of small, subtle things that Shute does with other characters that tug your heartstrings too.
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Frank Muller on Scribd. He is a very excellent narrator. I loved this book. ...more
One of the pitfalls of having read sf/fantasy etc for over 55 years is that you get tired of seeing the same thing over and over. Well, if you're me, One of the pitfalls of having read sf/fantasy etc for over 55 years is that you get tired of seeing the same thing over and over. Well, if you're me, you do, anyway.
I was a little forewarned that this book had a Dr. Who/Sherlock vibe by the other reviewers. I wasn't really too crazy about that idea, because seriously? WRITE SOMETHING NEW. But after rattling through the first few chapters, I thought a bit better of the book. It's still kinda twee, but not horribly so.
I think the credit can all go to the heroine, Abigail Rook. I found I was pretty uninterested in Jackaby himself. I think I can put some of the blame for that to the fact that I listened to about 80% of this book in audio, and eye-read the end. The narrator of the audiobook made Abigail quite appealing. Her interpretation of Jackaby, however, was less so. I also thought that Abigail had the most interesting things to do. Jackaby was a bit of a cipher to me. Maybe he's more developed in previous books. In this one, he comes across as a preoccupied, self-absorbed sort-of-a-jerk kind of character who's not interested in sharing what he knows. And if you can't keep up with him, kinda sucks to be you.
Oh well. It was better than I thought it was going to be. And it has a werewolf. And I do like the name Jackaby. And Abigail Rook....more
Scribd had another book or two by Frances Hardinge, so I jumped right into this one.
It starts with the Sunderly family coming to the island of Vane unScribd had another book or two by Frances Hardinge, so I jumped right into this one.
It starts with the Sunderly family coming to the island of Vane under a cloud of disgrace, though nobody's talking about what's for a while. They've supposedly come to help with an archaeological dig, since Reverend Sunderly is well known for his work in the study of natural history.
But scandal intervenes. There's a murder, or maybe it was a suicide? Suicide had bad implications for inheritance in Victorian England. So Faith (the daughter) is pretty sure it's a murder. But how can she prove it? No one (i.e., no adult man) around her takes the ideas of a 12 year old girl seriously.
But then there's a mysterious plant that feeds on lies. In turn, it will give you a truth, or the semblance of one. And then the story gets a bit dark, because if you want to learn a big truth, you have to feed the plant big lies. And Faith discovers she has an unexpected talent in this area.
Things get worse before they get better.
This is a very feminist book, in a GOOD way, mostly. Poor Faith has known from an early age that she is less valued than any brother she might have, in spite of how smart she is, and how determined. But she finds some power, even though it's not always a GOOD power. She comes to see that there is more than one way of being powerful. But power has costs, and sometimes you're not the one that pays the price.
This is a good book. I thought it MIGHT be hitting the feminist message a little hard in a few places, but that just makes it a little preachy. I liked it, though it's still a bit dark....more
Makepeace is growing up in the time of Charles I and the coming battles between the Crown and Parliament. She's also finding that she can see ghosts. Makepeace is growing up in the time of Charles I and the coming battles between the Crown and Parliament. She's also finding that she can see ghosts. And that ghosts can see her, and sometimes try to possess her. Her mother tries to toughen her up against these ghostly assaults by locking her up in the local church, by the local graveyard, so that she can learn to fight back and not be such easy prey for these desperate spirits. Of course, this is hard and traumatic for Makepeace.
Then she loses her mother, and ends up going to live with her biological father's family. That's where she finds out where her ghost abilities come from, and what they're used for in that family. And it's not pretty or happy. She meets a half-brother there. They plot to escape the house, and actually try many times, but are always brought back. You can't let assets or potential vessels escape, after all. But Makepeace keeps plotting to get away.
Then the war comes, and everything goes pear-shaped.
I've heard a lot about Frances Hardinge, but this is the first book I've actually read by her. She reminds me a bit of Franny Billingsley, who I like very much indeed. Hardinge is a bit darker, I think. But both authors have plucky heroines who don't back down....more
This is a perfectly inoffensive and undemanding little book. Heartbreak gets healed, unfinished business is finished, and love conquers all, except foThis is a perfectly inoffensive and undemanding little book. Heartbreak gets healed, unfinished business is finished, and love conquers all, except for bitchy sisters.
There are many worse ways to spend a sleepless night....more
**spoiler alert** What a heartbreaking book this is. (NOTE: SPOILERY REVIEW)
It starts at the end of what happens, so you know how it comes out. Then i**spoiler alert** What a heartbreaking book this is. (NOTE: SPOILERY REVIEW)
It starts at the end of what happens, so you know how it comes out. Then it goes back and tells you what happened to make things come out that way.
Janet Prentice was a WREN in England in WW2, and she was a good one. She worked on guns for ships, and she could hold her own with the men she worked with. She could even shoot guns, though that wasn't her job. But sometimes needs must, and it was her shooting down a plane that changed her life.
After her lover Bill was killed in the war, Janet was at loose ends. She had several tragedies follow, and she became convinced she was in some way responsible for those tragedies because of the shooting. All that finally breaks her, and she's out of the WRENs, and out of the one job where she felt she really belonged. She spent years trying to get back, but couldn't.
I thought of that Robert E. Lee quotation while reading this book: “It is well that war is so terrible, or we should grow too fond of it." War gave her life meaning. She found some solace looking after others (her mother, an aunt, and finally the mother and father of her lover), but in the end she felt that she was in a corner with no way out.
And that's what so heartbreaking. Her lover Bill's brother, Alan, had only met her once, but never forgot her. He searched for her for years, on and off, hoping to bring her into HIS life. And he missed her by one day.
I really quite like Nevil Shute stories. This one was narrated by Patrick Tull. Mr. Tull has a... unique narrative style. Sometimes I like it, sometimes I don't. I liked most of it in this book. He conveyed who was speaking by fairly subtle accent shifts.
There's some language of the time here, like the implication that women who don't have families are in an "unnatural" state and that that's what makes them unhappy. But Shute's characters are well-formed and interesting.
4 stars instead of 5 because I felt the very end was a bit of a cop-out after all that had gone before. But it's a good story. Scribd has a number of his books on audio, and I'm looking forward to listening to more. I'm working my way up to listening to On The Beach. I've been scared of it since I was a girl. ...more
Reread in April 2020, in prep for the novel coming out soon.
The Murderbot novellas are really pretty enjoyable to read, largely because the Murderbot Reread in April 2020, in prep for the novel coming out soon.
The Murderbot novellas are really pretty enjoyable to read, largely because the Murderbot is an interesting character.
In this one, it goes back to the place where it supposedly Did A Bad Thing to try to find out the truth of the situation. It doesn't remember, because its memory was partially wiped. (You can wipe the computer parts, but the organic bits can't be wiped as cleanly.) On the way it meets and befriends a highly competent but sensitive bot that controls a ship, some ladies that need some security, and some murderous folks on the stations it's going to.
I found the plot in this novella a little less interesting than the first one, but I still enjoyed the Murderbot and its interactions with others, human or inorganic....more
Fred was an accountant who was turned into a vampire. Now he's a vampire accountant (working from home). And his life got better, mostly. He's still mFred was an accountant who was turned into a vampire. Now he's a vampire accountant (working from home). And his life got better, mostly. He's still mild, nerdy, inoffensive Fred, but now he has a girlfriend, plus a zombie assistant, a weresteed, and a necromancer as best buddies. They have adventures.
Pleasant, inoffensive, but not terribly exciting. But if you're tired of grimdark stories or too much blood and gore, it may be just right for you. I think there are more books in the series too....more
Eh, it was an ok b-movie sort of horror book. A childless woman ends up with a child she didn't expect; a boy who has trouble knowing what's really reEh, it was an ok b-movie sort of horror book. A childless woman ends up with a child she didn't expect; a boy who has trouble knowing what's really real is challenged by what's happening to his best friend. Mayhem ensues.
There were lots of typos in the edition I read (on Scribd). And the author doesn't appear to know the difference between tics and ticks. Hint: the boy with the problem had tics, not ticks. O.o Some people (i.e., me) are really bothered by stuff like that.
It was a fast read that required not much thought....more
Friends, if you haven't read Ursula Vernon or her alter ego T. Kingfisher, you are missing a treat.
Under her own name (Ursula Vernon), she writes charFriends, if you haven't read Ursula Vernon or her alter ego T. Kingfisher, you are missing a treat.
Under her own name (Ursula Vernon), she writes charming children's stories about hampster princesses and goblins and such things. Under her T. Kingfisher alias, she rewrites fairy tales and weird tales and magical tales and other hard-to-characterize stories.
The first story I ever read by her was and it pretty much struck me dumb with delight. I've been a serious and resolute fan ever since. I follow her on Twitter too.
These stories are some of her very best. "Jackalope Wives" won a Nebula. "The Tomato Thief" won a Hugo. All are weird and wonderful.
Personal note: I have been in very low spirits lately because of Various Things Happening Now. The other night I felt that if I couldn't get some relief from this darkness, I just didn't know what I would do. I picked up this book and read. I got pulled into other worlds where some problems are solvable, and where there are marvels and magic. After a while, I felt better, and it was a balm to me, and heart's ease.
Reread (ear-read) 2023. Still love Will Patton. Book's from the library this time. ETA: on second listening, I didn't love Patton's way of expressing HReread (ear-read) 2023. Still love Will Patton. Book's from the library this time. ETA: on second listening, I didn't love Patton's way of expressing Holly Gibney's voice. My opinion may have been affected by having seen the HBO series in the interim too. ---------------------------
Well, this was pretty good.
The first part presents the puzzle: how can an upstanding community man suddenly be found guilty of a really heinous crime against a child? Moreover, how can he do it when he is also incontrovertibly HOURS AWAY, with LOADS OF WITNESSES?
That's what keeps you going through the first half. How can these two totally contradictory things be true? You puzzle and puzzle till your puzzler is sore.
Then you get the reveal, and that's when the tension really starts.
I understand this book references some othe books by King, but I haven't read them and have no information about that.
I listened to the audiobook from Scribd., with Will Patton as the narrator. I have to say that I really enjoy Patton's narrations. His southern (or is it western?) accent is easy to listen to, he uses his voice to build tension and has enough differentiation between characters to make it easy to understand who's speaking.
Good stuff. I listened for hours the first day, took a day off, and powered through to the big finish on the second listening day....more
This was a pretty good one. Mr. Crais has his dog info down pretty well. The story is of two injured souls, one caniI'm a sucker for books with dogs.
This was a pretty good one. Mr. Crais has his dog info down pretty well. The story is of two injured souls, one canine and one human, who have been injured, and who need to recover, both physically and emotionally, from their traumas.
The police part of the story is the officer trying to find out who the villains were that killed his partner and shot him and left him for dead. He does that.
The only quibbles I have is that the whole "alpha" thing with dogs has been pretty much shown to be bogus. And IME dogs don't always bond so quickly with a new handler. It might be more specific to a military dog though, vs. pet dogs.
I enjoyed it, but I don't know that I need to read any others in this series....more
This was an enjoyable story with an engaging protagonist. A security bot (android? artificial person?) manages to hack its governor module. Mostly thiThis was an enjoyable story with an engaging protagonist. A security bot (android? artificial person?) manages to hack its governor module. Mostly this gives it the ability to watch hours of serials in its off-time, but has some helpful side effects when the bad guys come calling.
I liked the first part a little better than the last, but the whole thing was fun. A quick, pleasant read.
ETA: I eye-read the ebook. A few days later, I saw it was available in audio on Scribd, along with book 2 of the series, so I listened to the both. :D
ETA 2: I upped my rating to 5 stars because I keep coming back to these novellas. They're really good, y'all. I read this one again this afternoon....more
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