Janice's bookshelf: scribd

Janice's bookshelf: scribd en-US Wed, 26 Feb 2025 23:55:36 -0800 60 Janice's bookshelf: scribd 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg The Luminous Dead 40696299 The Martian and Gravity and the creeping dread of Annihilation, in which a caver on a foreign planet finds herself on a terrifying psychological and emotional journey for survival.

When Gyre Price lied her way into this expedition, she thought she’d be mapping mineral deposits, and that her biggest problems would be cave collapses and gear malfunctions. She also thought that the fat paycheck—enough to get her off-planet and on the trail of her mother—meant she’d get a skilled surface team, monitoring her suit and environment, keeping her safe. Keeping her sane.

Instead, she got Em.

Em sees nothing wrong with controlling Gyre’s body with drugs or withholding critical information to “ensure the smooth operation�� of her expedition. Em knows all about Gyre’s falsified credentials, and has no qualms using them as a leash—and a lash. And Em has secrets, too . . .

As Gyre descends, little inconsistencies—missing supplies, unexpected changes in the route, and, worst of all, shifts in Em’s motivations—drive her out of her depths. Lost and disoriented, Gyre finds her sense of control giving way to paranoia and anger. On her own in this mysterious, deadly place, surrounded by darkness and the unknown, Gyre must overcome more than just the dangerous terrain and the Tunneler which calls underground its home if she wants to make it out alive—she must confront the ghosts in her own head.

But how come she can't shake the feeling she’s being followed?]]> 14 Caitlin Starling Janice 2 x2019, audio, scribd
==============================================

Sometimes you see a book description and you think, Oh, that sounds good. I'll read that.

Sometimes you see that book in an audio version and you think, Snap, I'll listen to it.

Sometimes you think that you might have been better off eye-reading a book instead of ear-reading (listening) to it. That was the case with me here.

The narrator was doing so. Much. WORK. trying to convey the feelings of Gyre in the cave underground, and her mixed feelings about Em, her sole handler above ground. She did so much work, she made ME tired. And the narrator made me REALLY tired of these whiny characters.

I'm probably guilty here of wanting a puppy when the author was actually trying to give me a kitten. I totally lost patience with both characters. I just hate-listened to the last few chapters, just to see what was going to happen. I haven't been this close to abandoning a book because I disliked it in ages. (I often abandon books that don't grab me. I just stop reading them. This was different.)

Granted, I've never been alone in a cave in the dark like Gyre was. And what she was doing was actually really beyond her training. She'd lied about her experience to get the job, but we're told a lot at the beginning how strong and capable she was. And honestly? I never understood why Em was so anxious to get down in the cave that she sponsored a crapton of expeditions, most of which ended with the deaths of the cavers. Seriously???

Not every book works for everyone, and this didn't work for me. I'm not sure if the author is a spelunker, but the descriptions of gear at the beginning seemed good to this person who knows nothing about caving/climbing. And it's moderately gutsy to have a story where there are essentially just two female characters talking to each other. Even though I found them to be annoying gits after a while.

Oh well. So it goes.]]> 3.28 2019 The Luminous Dead

author: Caitlin Starling
name: Janice
average rating: 3.28
book published: 2019
rating: 2
read at: 2019/05/14
date added: 2025/02/26
shelves: x2019, audio, scribd
review:
Added 5/18/19: I've had some time to think about it and I've bumped my rating up another star. I think I was just so frustrated by this book when I finished listening to it that I was really harsh about it. I now think it's probably better than I thought, and I might try to eye-read it sometime and see how that goes. If I do, I'll update here then.

==============================================

Sometimes you see a book description and you think, Oh, that sounds good. I'll read that.

Sometimes you see that book in an audio version and you think, Snap, I'll listen to it.

Sometimes you think that you might have been better off eye-reading a book instead of ear-reading (listening) to it. That was the case with me here.

The narrator was doing so. Much. WORK. trying to convey the feelings of Gyre in the cave underground, and her mixed feelings about Em, her sole handler above ground. She did so much work, she made ME tired. And the narrator made me REALLY tired of these whiny characters.

I'm probably guilty here of wanting a puppy when the author was actually trying to give me a kitten. I totally lost patience with both characters. I just hate-listened to the last few chapters, just to see what was going to happen. I haven't been this close to abandoning a book because I disliked it in ages. (I often abandon books that don't grab me. I just stop reading them. This was different.)

Granted, I've never been alone in a cave in the dark like Gyre was. And what she was doing was actually really beyond her training. She'd lied about her experience to get the job, but we're told a lot at the beginning how strong and capable she was. And honestly? I never understood why Em was so anxious to get down in the cave that she sponsored a crapton of expeditions, most of which ended with the deaths of the cavers. Seriously???

Not every book works for everyone, and this didn't work for me. I'm not sure if the author is a spelunker, but the descriptions of gear at the beginning seemed good to this person who knows nothing about caving/climbing. And it's moderately gutsy to have a story where there are essentially just two female characters talking to each other. Even though I found them to be annoying gits after a while.

Oh well. So it goes.
]]> <![CDATA[Tales from Earthsea (Earthsea Cycle, #5)]]> 13659
The Finder
Darkrose and Diamond
The Bones of the Earth
On the High Marsh
Dragonfly]]> 280 Ursula K. Le Guin 0441011241 Janice 3 4.07 2001

Tales from Earthsea (Earthsea Cycle, #5)

author: Ursula K. Le Guin
name: Janice
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2001
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2025/01/25
shelves: x2018, scribd, currently-reading, 2025, dead-tree, kobo
review:

]]> Tehanu (Earthsea Cycle, #4) 8138026 The Nebula and Locus Award–winning fourth novel in the renowned Earthsea series from Ursula K. LeGuin gets a beautiful new repackage. In this fourth novel in the Earthsea series, we rejoin the young priestess the Tenar and powerful wizard Ged. Years before, they had helped each other at a time of darkness and danger. Together, they shared an adventure like no other. Tenar has since embraced the simple pleasures of an ordinary life, while Ged mourns the powers lost to him through no choice of his own. Now the two must join forces again and help another in need—the physically, emotionally scarred child whose own destiny has yet to be revealed��. With millions of copies sold worldwide, Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea Cycle has earned a treasured place on the shelves of fantasy lovers everywhere, alongside the works of such beloved authors as J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. Now the full Earthsea collection—A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan, The Farthest Shore, Tehanu, Tales from Earthsea, and The Other Wind—is available with a fresh, modern look that will endear it both to loyal fans and new legions of readers.]]> 289 Ursula K. Le Guin 1439106894 Janice 4
Tehanu is a little different. I mean, it's still a lovely book, just somewhat different in tone and content from others. It's a more feminist book. It focuses on Tenar, the protagonist of The Tombs of Atuan, and her life after leaving her life as an Eaten One.

Tenar adopts a child that had been injured and scarred in a fire by her "guardians." She's with the wizard Ogion as he dies. Ged returns, injured, shaken, and no longer a mage. There is a new King in the archipelago, but in spite of his reform efforts, evil and oppression still hide in hidden pockets in Re Albi.

It's a good story, an angry story, specifically a story of women's anger. And women have more power than they realize, as we discover toward the end of the book.

It's also one of the few books I know of where spinning is an integral part of women's work. Most of the spinning talk looks pretty good to me, except where Le Guin talks about winding yarn off the distaff. AFAIK, a distaff only holds fiber to be spun, unless there's a tradition I'm not familiar with of winding spun yarn somewhere on the distaff.

2025 edit: Yup, stand by all of the above. Plus there's more musing on women and men than I remember. It's good.]]> 4.34 1990 Tehanu (Earthsea Cycle, #4)

author: Ursula K. Le Guin
name: Janice
average rating: 4.34
book published: 1990
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/22
date added: 2025/01/22
shelves: scribd, x2018, reread, kobo, 2025
review:
I read this book in a dead tree version when it first came out. I've read the first 3 books (A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan, and The Farthest Shore) multiple times. They're all lovely books.

Tehanu is a little different. I mean, it's still a lovely book, just somewhat different in tone and content from others. It's a more feminist book. It focuses on Tenar, the protagonist of The Tombs of Atuan, and her life after leaving her life as an Eaten One.

Tenar adopts a child that had been injured and scarred in a fire by her "guardians." She's with the wizard Ogion as he dies. Ged returns, injured, shaken, and no longer a mage. There is a new King in the archipelago, but in spite of his reform efforts, evil and oppression still hide in hidden pockets in Re Albi.

It's a good story, an angry story, specifically a story of women's anger. And women have more power than they realize, as we discover toward the end of the book.

It's also one of the few books I know of where spinning is an integral part of women's work. Most of the spinning talk looks pretty good to me, except where Le Guin talks about winding yarn off the distaff. AFAIK, a distaff only holds fiber to be spun, unless there's a tradition I'm not familiar with of winding spun yarn somewhere on the distaff.

2025 edit: Yup, stand by all of the above. Plus there's more musing on women and men than I remember. It's good.
]]> <![CDATA[The Outsider (Holly Gibney, #4)]]> 36000789
Horrified by the brutal killing, Detective Ralph Anderson, whose own son was once coached by Maitland, orders the suspect to be arrested in a public spectacle. But Maitland has an alibi. And further research confirms he was indeed out of town that day.

As Anderson and the District Attorney trace the clues, the investigation expands from Ohio to Texas. And as horrifying answers begin to emerge, so King's propulsive story of almost unbearable suspense kicks into high gear.

Terry Maitland seems like a nice guy but there is one rock-hard fact, as unassailable as gravity: a man cannot be in two places at the same time. Can he?

Librarian note: An alternative cover for this ISBN can be found here.]]> 477 Stephen King 1473676355 Janice 4 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.]]> 4.05 2018 The Outsider (Holly Gibney, #4)

author: Stephen King
name: Janice
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2023/05/29
date added: 2025/01/11
shelves: x2018, audio, scribd, x2023, reread, libby
review:
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 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.
]]> <![CDATA[Post Captain (Aubrey & Maturin #2)]]> 77432 527 Patrick O'Brian 0393307069 Janice 4
I'm quite fond of Simon Vance as a narrator, and not just in these books. So that's good!

So I guess that's my 3rd pass through this book. I read the series in paper back in the early years of the last century. Maybe I'll make another pass through the whole thing again.

This is the one with the escape through France to Spain, with the Polycrest, and where we meet Sophie and Diana. I did find the parts with Diana a little tedious this time. She's such a troublesome character to me.

But Jack and Stephen are still wonderful, and the sea battles are exciting great fun.
And the words! Words like anfractuosity, crinkum-crankum, as well as others I wasn't at leisure to note down, delight me. I love it very much.]]> 4.25 1972 Post Captain (Aubrey & Maturin #2)

author: Patrick O'Brian
name: Janice
average rating: 4.25
book published: 1972
rating: 4
read at: 2023/07/17
date added: 2025/01/11
shelves: x2014, audio, reread, scribd, x2023, libby
review:
Well, looks like I listened to this back in 2014 -- haha, don't remember that! So anyway, listening to it again, from the library, the Simon Vance recording.

I'm quite fond of Simon Vance as a narrator, and not just in these books. So that's good!

So I guess that's my 3rd pass through this book. I read the series in paper back in the early years of the last century. Maybe I'll make another pass through the whole thing again.

This is the one with the escape through France to Spain, with the Polycrest, and where we meet Sophie and Diana. I did find the parts with Diana a little tedious this time. She's such a troublesome character to me.

But Jack and Stephen are still wonderful, and the sea battles are exciting great fun.
And the words! Words like anfractuosity, crinkum-crankum, as well as others I wasn't at leisure to note down, delight me. I love it very much.
]]> A Stir of Echoes 33553 This eerie ghost story, from Richard Matheson, the award-winning author of Hell House and I Am Legend, inspired the acclaimed 1999 film starring Kevin Bacon.

Tom Wallace lived an ordinary life, until a chance event awakened psychic abilities he never knew he possessed. Now he's hearing the private thoughts of the people around him-and learning shocking secrets he never wanted to know. But as Tom's existence becomes a waking nightmare, even greater jolts are in store as he becomes the unwilling recipient of a compelling message from beyond the grave!]]> 224 Richard Matheson 0765308711 Janice 4 ------------------------

6/12/18: Re-read this (eye reading) last night when I couldn't sleep. Still good.

I thought this was a genuinely creepy story. The ending actually surprised me a little.

I listened to it on audio. It's pretty effective that way.]]> 3.88 1958 A Stir of Echoes

author: Richard Matheson
name: Janice
average rating: 3.88
book published: 1958
rating: 4
read at: 2023/09/23
date added: 2025/01/11
shelves: x2014, audio, x2018, scribd, reread, x2023, libby
review:
9/23/23: reread, audio again, from the library this time. Still a good story, not really very dated.
------------------------

6/12/18: Re-read this (eye reading) last night when I couldn't sleep. Still good.

I thought this was a genuinely creepy story. The ending actually surprised me a little.

I listened to it on audio. It's pretty effective that way.
]]> <![CDATA[The City in the Middle of the Night]]> 37534907
Humanity clings to life on January--a colonized planet divided between permanently frozen darkness on one side, and blazing endless sunshine on the other.

Two cities, built long ago in the meager temperate zone, serve as the last bastions of civilization--but life inside them is just as dangerous as the uninhabitable wastelands outside.

Sophie, a young student from the wrong side of Xiosphant city, is exiled into the dark after being part of a failed revolution. But she survives--with the help of a mysterious savior from beneath the ice.

Burdened with a dangerous, painful secret, Sophie and her ragtag group of exiles face the ultimate challenge--and they are running out of time.

Welcome to the City in the Middle of the Night.]]> 366 Charlie Jane Anders 0765379961 Janice 3
There are a number of relatively unsympathetic characters. I got a little weary of Sophie's nearly unrelenting devotion to Bianca. And there was a lot of rambling around the planet to no real purpose.

Honestly, toward the end [spoilers removed]. But I thought there were also some parallels to Octavia Butler's Lilith's Brood (aka Xenogenesis) trilogy, where humans have to adapt to become something somewhat other than only human in order to survive in the long term.

So, ok. Rambling. Messy society, messy inter-personal relationships. It was ok.]]> 3.46 2019 The City in the Middle of the Night

author: Charlie Jane Anders
name: Janice
average rating: 3.46
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2020/08/12
date added: 2024/12/11
shelves: book-club, x2020, scribd, sffclub
review:
I don't know exactly what to say about this book. It was ok. I didn't really believe all the world-building as science fiction, but it sorta works if you think of it as fantasy.

There are a number of relatively unsympathetic characters. I got a little weary of Sophie's nearly unrelenting devotion to Bianca. And there was a lot of rambling around the planet to no real purpose.

Honestly, toward the end [spoilers removed]. But I thought there were also some parallels to Octavia Butler's Lilith's Brood (aka Xenogenesis) trilogy, where humans have to adapt to become something somewhat other than only human in order to survive in the long term.

So, ok. Rambling. Messy society, messy inter-personal relationships. It was ok.
]]> <![CDATA[Last Rituals (Þóra Guðmundsdóttir, #1)]]> 1613280 314 Yrsa Sigurdardottir 0061143367 Janice 3
This one may have some infelicities due to the translation. I thought some of the language was a little clumsy. For the rest of it, I didn't find the characters particularly compelling or interesting. It's actually a pretty straightforward mystery, not very exciting or compelling, to me at least.]]> 3.59 2005 Last Rituals (Þóra Guðmundsdóttir, #1)

author: Yrsa Sigurdardottir
name: Janice
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2005
rating: 3
read at: 2023/10/04
date added: 2024/12/11
shelves: x2018, scribd, x2023, reread, kobo, book-club, audio, mysteryclub
review:
Another Nordic mystery. A student is dead, and he was mutilated after death. He was a history student, interested in past German and Icelandic witches and witch hunters. He had a group of friends that were supposedly interested in black magic. Is there something weird going on here? His wealthy parents don't think the person arrested for the murder did it. They send a representative to enlist an Icelandic lawyer to help investigate. She finds stuff out.

This one may have some infelicities due to the translation. I thought some of the language was a little clumsy. For the rest of it, I didn't find the characters particularly compelling or interesting. It's actually a pretty straightforward mystery, not very exciting or compelling, to me at least.
]]> Warbreaker 1268479
Their world is one in which those who die in glory return as gods to live confined to a pantheon in Hallandren's capital city and where a power known as BioChromatic magic is based on an essence known as breath that can only be collected one unit at a time from individual people.

By using breath and drawing upon the color in everyday objects, all manner of miracles and mischief can be accomplished. It will take considerable quantities of each to resolve all the challenges facing Vivenna and Siri, princesses of Idris; Susebron the God King; Lightsong, reluctant god of bravery, and mysterious Vasher, the Warbreaker.]]> 688 Brandon Sanderson Janice 4
But it was a fun story, and I'm glad I went through it again, even though I had to blast through on audio to finish in time for book club!]]> 4.29 2009

author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Janice
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at: 2020/01/16
date added: 2024/12/11
shelves: audio, x2020, book-club, scribd, sffclub
review:
As I went through this book, I think I've actually read it in the past. I didn't remember that!

But it was a fun story, and I'm glad I went through it again, even though I had to blast through on audio to finish in time for book club!
]]> <![CDATA[The Atrocity Archives (Laundry Files, #1)]]> 23485227 Bob Howard is a low-level techie working for a super-secret government agency. While his colleagues are out saving the world, Bob's under a desk restoring lost data. His world was dull and safe - but then he went and got Noticed.

Now, Bob is up to his neck in spycraft, parallel universes, dimension-hopping terrorists, monstrous elder gods and the end of the world. Only one thing is certain: it will take more than a full system reboot to sort this mess out ...]]> Charles Stross Janice 4
I have a lot of respect for Charles Stross. He's fiercely intelligent and clever. I'm actually a little intimidated by him and his writing. But I generally like it.

In The Atrocity Archives, we meet Bob Howard and The Laundry. In the world of The Laundry, a certain type of advanced mathematics or computational analysis is effectively indistinguishable from the magic that catches the attention of malign non-human intelligences from Worlds Beyond Our Own. And there are always people who want to do this, to usher in the era of The Great Old Ones and end the world as we know it.

The Laundry, and Bob Howard as an employee thereof, work to try to stop this.

I eye-read this book a few years back. But I've been going back and listening to these books. TBH, I can sometimes get a little lost with Stross. I think audio works a little better for me, especially since this narrator, Gideon Emery, is EXCELLENT. (Note: it's not Stross, it's the way my brain processes his writing.)

Anyway, there's a little danger, a little trip to a parallel universe, a little computational demonology, and even a little romance. I approve.]]> 3.58 2004 The Atrocity Archives (Laundry Files, #1)

The Atrocity Archives (Laundry Files, #1)

author: Charles Stross
name: Janice
average rating: 3.58
book published: 2004
rating: 4
read at: 2017/06/30
date added: 2024/12/11
shelves: x2017, audio, scribd, reread, x2019, book-club, sffclub
review:
Rereading for the SFF book club 10/19.

I have a lot of respect for Charles Stross. He's fiercely intelligent and clever. I'm actually a little intimidated by him and his writing. But I generally like it.

In The Atrocity Archives, we meet Bob Howard and The Laundry. In the world of The Laundry, a certain type of advanced mathematics or computational analysis is effectively indistinguishable from the magic that catches the attention of malign non-human intelligences from Worlds Beyond Our Own. And there are always people who want to do this, to usher in the era of The Great Old Ones and end the world as we know it.

The Laundry, and Bob Howard as an employee thereof, work to try to stop this.

I eye-read this book a few years back. But I've been going back and listening to these books. TBH, I can sometimes get a little lost with Stross. I think audio works a little better for me, especially since this narrator, Gideon Emery, is EXCELLENT. (Note: it's not Stross, it's the way my brain processes his writing.)

Anyway, there's a little danger, a little trip to a parallel universe, a little computational demonology, and even a little romance. I approve.
]]> <![CDATA[Raven Black (Shetland Island, #1)]]> 19400316 357 Ann Cleeves 1743032528 Janice 4 ____________________________
I was trying to finish a big knitting project and I needed something to occupy my mind as well as my fingers. I started watching "Shetland" (BBC mystery series), and was utterly captivated. I saw the series was based on books by Ann Cleeves. When I saw that Scribd had one (just one!), I figured I'd give it a read.

It's an easy read. 8 years ago, a young girl went missing. In present day, another girl, a teenager, is killed. Are these two deaths related? Is the obvious suspect actually the killer? Turn the pages to find out! I read it in 24 hours.

I was kinda fascinated by the differences between the series and the book. I know screen adaptations have to make changes. The TV adaptation hewed pretty close to the novel here (no spoilers), but there are different relationships, people are described as looking different than they look in the series, and some characters are shifted and/or missing. Maybe because I saw the series first, I like it a little better. But I'd read another Ann Cleeves/Shetland novel.

Bonus for the TV and the book: I was interested enough to look up Shetland and read up on it. I've been a fan of Shetland fiddle music and Shetland wool/knitting for decades. It was pretty neat to learn more about the islands because of a TV series/novel.]]> 4.19 2006 Raven Black (Shetland Island, #1)

author: Ann Cleeves
name: Janice
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 2021/08/08
date added: 2024/12/11
shelves: scribd, x2017, x2021, audio, kobo, book-club, reread, mysteryclub
review:
August 2021, a re-read for our Mystery Book Club. I listened to the audio this time. I still like the book.
____________________________
I was trying to finish a big knitting project and I needed something to occupy my mind as well as my fingers. I started watching "Shetland" (BBC mystery series), and was utterly captivated. I saw the series was based on books by Ann Cleeves. When I saw that Scribd had one (just one!), I figured I'd give it a read.

It's an easy read. 8 years ago, a young girl went missing. In present day, another girl, a teenager, is killed. Are these two deaths related? Is the obvious suspect actually the killer? Turn the pages to find out! I read it in 24 hours.

I was kinda fascinated by the differences between the series and the book. I know screen adaptations have to make changes. The TV adaptation hewed pretty close to the novel here (no spoilers), but there are different relationships, people are described as looking different than they look in the series, and some characters are shifted and/or missing. Maybe because I saw the series first, I like it a little better. But I'd read another Ann Cleeves/Shetland novel.

Bonus for the TV and the book: I was interested enough to look up Shetland and read up on it. I've been a fan of Shetland fiddle music and Shetland wool/knitting for decades. It was pretty neat to learn more about the islands because of a TV series/novel.
]]> The Goblin Emperor 23261150
16 hrs and 25 mins]]> 17 Katherine Addison Janice 4
It's good! Even though it deals with stuff I normally hate (interpersonal wrangling, court intrigue and politics, etc.) It does help that the main character, Maia, is pretty likeable and relatable. He was given a hard row to hoe, and he handled it about as well as could be expected.

I really enjoyed the author's writing style. It's a bit formal, a teensy bit archaic, and totally enjoyable.

The only real issue I had in the book was keeping all the names straight. The names are long and complicated. The audiobook narrator handles them well, but then you see the word on the page and try to match it up with what you heard, and hoo boy, it's a challenge. My brain REALLY wanted to pronounce things according to how they LOOKED (w/o reference to the pronunciation key in the back of the book), and that clashed moderately hard with the audio narrator. It's a quirk of my brain, I think.

I did read portions of this book in dead tree (paperback) format. I can't remember the last time I read a dead tree.... Oh wait, I DO remember. It was The Lost Words by Robert MacFarlane and Jackie Morris, which is a FREAKING AMAZING BOOK AND HAS TO BEEN SEEN TO APPRECIATE. Ahem. Sorry, had to take a moment to gush.

But I was reminded of the challenges of reading a paper book - no back light, no ability to search easily, can't enlarge the text when your eyes are tired. But it was fine, really. :D
------------------------------
I started listening to this book a couple months ago and got distracted by something else shiny. But since it's my SF/F book clug selection for next Thurs 3/21, I need to get cracking on it. I think I'll do better this pass, because I know a bit more what to expect, and have mostly gotten over my stupid attitude of "this book is too popular! I don't read popular books!!" I know. It's stupid, but there it is.]]> 4.04 2014 The Goblin Emperor

author: Katherine Addison
name: Janice
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2019/03/20
date added: 2024/12/11
shelves: audio, scribd, dead-tree, x2019, book-club, sffclub
review:
Finished before book club tomorrow!!

It's good! Even though it deals with stuff I normally hate (interpersonal wrangling, court intrigue and politics, etc.) It does help that the main character, Maia, is pretty likeable and relatable. He was given a hard row to hoe, and he handled it about as well as could be expected.

I really enjoyed the author's writing style. It's a bit formal, a teensy bit archaic, and totally enjoyable.

The only real issue I had in the book was keeping all the names straight. The names are long and complicated. The audiobook narrator handles them well, but then you see the word on the page and try to match it up with what you heard, and hoo boy, it's a challenge. My brain REALLY wanted to pronounce things according to how they LOOKED (w/o reference to the pronunciation key in the back of the book), and that clashed moderately hard with the audio narrator. It's a quirk of my brain, I think.

I did read portions of this book in dead tree (paperback) format. I can't remember the last time I read a dead tree.... Oh wait, I DO remember. It was The Lost Words by Robert MacFarlane and Jackie Morris, which is a FREAKING AMAZING BOOK AND HAS TO BEEN SEEN TO APPRECIATE. Ahem. Sorry, had to take a moment to gush.

But I was reminded of the challenges of reading a paper book - no back light, no ability to search easily, can't enlarge the text when your eyes are tired. But it was fine, really. :D
------------------------------
I started listening to this book a couple months ago and got distracted by something else shiny. But since it's my SF/F book clug selection for next Thurs 3/21, I need to get cracking on it. I think I'll do better this pass, because I know a bit more what to expect, and have mostly gotten over my stupid attitude of "this book is too popular! I don't read popular books!!" I know. It's stupid, but there it is.
]]> Spinning Silver 40651157
But having the reputation of being able to change silver to gold can be more trouble than it's worth--especially when her fate becomes tangled with the cold creatures that haunt the wood, and whose king has learned of her reputation and wants to exploit it for reasons Miryem cannot understand.

Length: 17 hrs and 56 mins]]> 18 Naomi Novik 0525530991 Janice 5
I think I liked this a little better the second time. I eye-read it this time, in a dead tree version. It was a little easier to see that some of the language was really lovely here.

I also saw the Persephone/Hades elements a little more clearly. Which makes this a REAL mashup: Rumplestiltskin; the Snow Queen; Hades/Persephone; and I know there's a fairy tale somewhere where a lonely child got advice from a tree who also embodied her mother, but I can't think what it was. Having all these elements did make the story a little cluttered, but it still mostly works.

I appreciated the peasant girl Wanda more than I did the first time. The younger brother, Stepon, had a small part, but I appreciated the way his character was drawn.

I also still think it was an odd choice on the author's part to start each section WITHOUT any indication of who was speaking. It was relatively easy to get who it was from context, but I have to wonder why the author decided to make the reader do that little extra bit of work.

Still recommended.

===================================================

This was a lovely book. I liked it rather better than Uprooted, largely because it didn't have the same problematic relationship dynamics as the previous book.

The book reads a bit like a mashup of Rumplestilskin and The Snow Queen, but with strong or determined women as protagonists. And while there was the turning-into-gold aspect, there was no actual spinning involved in this version. It also made me think a bit of The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden. They're both books set in some 18th/19th century fantasy version of Russia in winter, with a strong fantasy element.

My one quibble was that the story got a little convoluted as it went along. There were 3 female viewpoint characters: Miryen, Wanda, and Irina. Then a couple other viewpoint character have their say. While they do advance the story, it begins to feel a little cluttered as it went along. But it's a mild complaint.

I listened to the audiobook version. The only fault that I have with the narrator is that she could have differentiated a little better among the womens' voices. I had to listen carefully to know who was speaking, because the character names weren't announced, and the differences among them were pretty subtle.

Recommended.]]> 4.13 2018 Spinning Silver

author: Naomi Novik
name: Janice
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2019/07/18
date added: 2024/12/11
shelves: x2018, audio, scribd, x2019, book-club, dead-tree, reread, sffclub
review:
2019 re-read for our SFF book club.

I think I liked this a little better the second time. I eye-read it this time, in a dead tree version. It was a little easier to see that some of the language was really lovely here.

I also saw the Persephone/Hades elements a little more clearly. Which makes this a REAL mashup: Rumplestiltskin; the Snow Queen; Hades/Persephone; and I know there's a fairy tale somewhere where a lonely child got advice from a tree who also embodied her mother, but I can't think what it was. Having all these elements did make the story a little cluttered, but it still mostly works.

I appreciated the peasant girl Wanda more than I did the first time. The younger brother, Stepon, had a small part, but I appreciated the way his character was drawn.

I also still think it was an odd choice on the author's part to start each section WITHOUT any indication of who was speaking. It was relatively easy to get who it was from context, but I have to wonder why the author decided to make the reader do that little extra bit of work.

Still recommended.

===================================================

This was a lovely book. I liked it rather better than Uprooted, largely because it didn't have the same problematic relationship dynamics as the previous book.

The book reads a bit like a mashup of Rumplestilskin and The Snow Queen, but with strong or determined women as protagonists. And while there was the turning-into-gold aspect, there was no actual spinning involved in this version. It also made me think a bit of The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden. They're both books set in some 18th/19th century fantasy version of Russia in winter, with a strong fantasy element.

My one quibble was that the story got a little convoluted as it went along. There were 3 female viewpoint characters: Miryen, Wanda, and Irina. Then a couple other viewpoint character have their say. While they do advance the story, it begins to feel a little cluttered as it went along. But it's a mild complaint.

I listened to the audiobook version. The only fault that I have with the narrator is that she could have differentiated a little better among the womens' voices. I had to listen carefully to know who was speaking, because the character names weren't announced, and the differences among them were pretty subtle.

Recommended.
]]> <![CDATA[The Curse of Chalion (World of the Five Gods, #1)]]> 61886
It is an assignment Cazaril dreads, for it will ultimately lead him to the place he fears most, the royal court of Cardegoss, where the powerful enemies, who once placed him in chains, now occupy lofty positions. In addition to the traitorous intrigues of villains, Cazaril and the Royesse Iselle, are faced with a sinister curse that hangs like a sword over the entire blighted House of Chalion and all who stand in their circle. Only by employing the darkest, most forbidden of magics, can Cazaril hope to protect his royal charge—an act that will mark the loyal, damaged servant as a tool of the miraculous, and trap him, flesh and soul, in a maze of demonic paradox, damnation, and death.]]> 490 Lois McMaster Bujold 0007133618 Janice 5
It also makes me want to go back and read some of C.S. Lewis' work.

I like this book. I've read it several times now. Listening to it on audio was a new experience though. Good narrator, usual issues with Scribd audio.]]> 4.14 2001 The Curse of Chalion (World of the Five Gods, #1)

The Curse of Chalion (World of the Five Gods, #1)

author: Lois McMaster Bujold
name: Janice
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2001
rating: 5
read at: 2020/05/07
date added: 2024/12/11
shelves: reread, audio, scribd, x2020, ibooks, book-club, sffclub
review:
May 2020: Book club read. I still think this is an exceptional novel.

It also makes me want to go back and read some of C.S. Lewis' work.

I like this book. I've read it several times now. Listening to it on audio was a new experience though. Good narrator, usual issues with Scribd audio.
]]> The House Next Door 6567328 An unparalleled picture of that vibrant but dark intersection where the Old and the New South collide.

Thirtysomething Colquitt and Walter Kennedy live in a charming, peaceful suburb of newly bustling Atlanta, Georgia. Life is made up of enjoyable work, long, lazy weekends, and the company of good neighbors. Then, to their shock, construction starts on the vacant lot next door, a wooded hillside they'd believed would always remain undeveloped. Disappointed by their diminished privacy, Colquitt and Walter soon realize something more is wrong with the house next door. Surely the house can’t be haunted, yet it seems to destroy the goodness of every person who comes to live in it, until the entire heart of this friendly neighborhood threatens to be torn apart.]]> 356 Anne Rivers Siddons Janice 4 x2018, scribd
But I persevered, and I'm glad I did.

I found this book on a list of creepy novels for the Halloween season, I think. It's a tale of a house that may or may not be actively malevolent. The slow revelation of what happens, and the effects it has on the neighborhood, are really pretty compelling. And creepy!

It was well-written, I though. I read it mostly in a day, because I had to know what happened.

Good for Halloween! ]]> 4.11 1978 The House Next Door

author: Anne Rivers Siddons
name: Janice
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1978
rating: 4
read at: 2018/10/10
date added: 2024/09/29
shelves: x2018, scribd
review:
I initially resisted starting this book, because of its setting - a wealthy suburb in a southern (Atlanta? I saw a review that said that, but I'm not sure I actually saw it. But I might have missed it too.) I don't have anything in common with people who live in wealthy neighborhoods in the 70s and who casually join them in highballs on the patio and who send kids to Yale or where ever.

But I persevered, and I'm glad I did.

I found this book on a list of creepy novels for the Halloween season, I think. It's a tale of a house that may or may not be actively malevolent. The slow revelation of what happens, and the effects it has on the neighborhood, are really pretty compelling. And creepy!

It was well-written, I though. I read it mostly in a day, because I had to know what happened.

Good for Halloween!
]]> <![CDATA[Soldier of the Mist (Latro, #1)]]> 18929515 350 Gene Wolfe 146682851X Janice 5 scribd, x2017
First, the writing is gorgeous. Reading prose like this is just so satisfying. It's the story of Latro, the Roman mercenary who fought for Xerxes. Latro received a head injury that affected his memory. He doesn't remember his past, and his short-term memory is about 24 hours long. He carries a scroll with him, and writes down the events of each day. He also sees and interacts with pagan gods and mythological creatures.

Latro is on a journey to find his home and friends. He meets an interesting assortment of people along the way. It's interesting and compelling reading. Be warned though - starting this book is a little like hitting the first volume of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series. There are lots of words and terms that aren't familiar to most modern readers. Carry on through, looking up words as needed.

Good stuff.]]> 3.96 1986 Soldier of the Mist (Latro, #1)

author: Gene Wolfe
name: Janice
average rating: 3.96
book published: 1986
rating: 5
read at: 2017/07/07
date added: 2024/09/28
shelves: scribd, x2017
review:
I confess I've always been afraid that Gene Wolfe would be a little beyond me. I'm not a subtle reader, and symbolism and various other literary devices are mostly closed books to me. But I've decided not to worry about that anymore, and just to read and enjoy his books in any way I can. Because there's a lot to enjoy here. And I can look up reviews and analyses to fill in the bits I missed.

First, the writing is gorgeous. Reading prose like this is just so satisfying. It's the story of Latro, the Roman mercenary who fought for Xerxes. Latro received a head injury that affected his memory. He doesn't remember his past, and his short-term memory is about 24 hours long. He carries a scroll with him, and writes down the events of each day. He also sees and interacts with pagan gods and mythological creatures.

Latro is on a journey to find his home and friends. He meets an interesting assortment of people along the way. It's interesting and compelling reading. Be warned though - starting this book is a little like hitting the first volume of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series. There are lots of words and terms that aren't familiar to most modern readers. Carry on through, looking up words as needed.

Good stuff.
]]> <![CDATA[Comet in Moominland (The Moomins, #2)]]> 23311406
]]> 194 Tove Jansson 1466871571 Janice 4 x2019, scribd
When I read this way back when, I thought it was actually kinda dark for a kid's book. There's a comet ("a star with a tail") heading for Moominland. It seems likely that it will strike their world and nothing will survive. The waters and seas all dry up too.

Moomintroll and Sniff and Snufkin head off to the astronomers on top of the mounting to find out what will happen and what they can do. Then they rush home.

I like these books because there are passages like this in them:

Moomintroll thought how frightened the earth must be feeling with that great ball of fire oming nearer and nearer to her. Then he thought about how much he loved everything -- the forest and the sea, the rain and the wind, the sunshine, the grass and the moss -- and how impossible it would be to live without them all, and this made him feel very, very sad. But after a wile he stopped worrying.

"Mamma will know what to do," he said to himself.

author: Tove Jansson
name: Janice
average rating: 4.52
book published: 1946
rating: 4
read at: 2019/04/05
date added: 2024/09/28
shelves: x2019, scribd
review:
This is a re-read of a book I originally read in the 80's.

When I read this way back when, I thought it was actually kinda dark for a kid's book. There's a comet ("a star with a tail") heading for Moominland. It seems likely that it will strike their world and nothing will survive. The waters and seas all dry up too.

Moomintroll and Sniff and Snufkin head off to the astronomers on top of the mounting to find out what will happen and what they can do. Then they rush home.

I like these books because there are passages like this in them:

Moomintroll thought how frightened the earth must be feeling with that great ball of fire oming nearer and nearer to her. Then he thought about how much he loved everything -- the forest and the sea, the rain and the wind, the sunshine, the grass and the moss -- and how impossible it would be to live without them all, and this made him feel very, very sad. But after a wile he stopped worrying.

"Mamma will know what to do," he said to himself.

That simple faith that Mama Can Fix It isn't really something I ever had. I envy those who had it. And (spoiler, but not really) everything IS ok in the end.

All the little animals and really just delightfully weird too.
]]> Liar 8433127 The ultimate unreliable narrator takes readers on a thrill ride in this highly acclaimed novel. Prepare to grasp for truth until the very last page.Micah is a liar. That's the one thing she won't lie about. Over the years, she's duped her classmates, her teachers, and even her parents. But when her boyfriend Zach dies under brutal circumstances, Micah sets out to tell the truth. At first the truth comes easily. Other truths are so unbelievable, so outside the realm of normal, they must be a lie. And the honest truth is buried so deep in Micah's mind even she doesn't know if it's real. "Readers will get chills . . . [and] be guessing and theorizing long after they've finished this gripping story." -Publishers Weekly, starred review"[Micah's] suspenseful, supernatural tale is engrossing. . . . The chilling story she spins will have readers' hearts racing." -School Library Journal, starred review"An engrossing story of teenage life on the margins." -Kirkus Reviews, starred reviewAn ALA Best Book for Young AdultsA School Library Journal Best Book of the Year A Kirkus Reviews Best Young Adult Book of 2009]]> 385 Justine Larbalestier 159990571X Janice 4 x2019, scribd
I first knew about the book from the white-washed cover image controversy a few years ago. I remember reading that it was a good book aside from that. And that the narrator was very unreliable.

Boy howdy.

Micah is the eponymous liar of the story. Throughout the story we never know how much of what she's telling us is true or not true. There are some "revelations" in the middle of the book that I personally thought made a lot of sense, given what was happening in the story. But with a narrator as unreliable as this one, who knows if what she's saying is true or not?

I don't really like stories with unreliable narrators that much, but this one was ok. This misfit child is trying to find a way to live, to fit in SOMEHOW. Maybe it was all confabulation on her part, but it made sense to me in a twisted sort of way.

I understand why this book is problematic for a lot of people. I thought it was well-written and interesting. YMMV.]]> 3.31 2009 Liar

author: Justine Larbalestier
name: Janice
average rating: 3.31
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at: 2019/01/25
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: x2019, scribd
review:
Well, this book was a bit unexpected.

I first knew about the book from the white-washed cover image controversy a few years ago. I remember reading that it was a good book aside from that. And that the narrator was very unreliable.

Boy howdy.

Micah is the eponymous liar of the story. Throughout the story we never know how much of what she's telling us is true or not true. There are some "revelations" in the middle of the book that I personally thought made a lot of sense, given what was happening in the story. But with a narrator as unreliable as this one, who knows if what she's saying is true or not?

I don't really like stories with unreliable narrators that much, but this one was ok. This misfit child is trying to find a way to live, to fit in SOMEHOW. Maybe it was all confabulation on her part, but it made sense to me in a twisted sort of way.

I understand why this book is problematic for a lot of people. I thought it was well-written and interesting. YMMV.
]]> Bitter Greens 21410845
After Margherita's father steals from the walled garden of the courtesan Selena Leonelli, he is threatened with having both hands cut off, unless he and his wife give away their little girl. Selena is the famous red-haired muse of the artist Tiziano, first painted by him in 1512 and still inspiring him at the time of his death. Selena is at the center of Renaissance life in Venice, a world of beauty and danger, seduction and betrayal, love and superstition.

Locked away in a tower, Margherita sings in the hope that someone will hear her. One day, a young man does.

This sumptuous novel holds the stories of three women, braided together to create a compelling tale of desire, black magic and the redemptive power of love. A finalist for three awards, Bitter Greens is an impressive feat of storytelling.]]> 496 Kate Forsyth 1466847832 Janice 4 x2017, scribd
The other story, the Rapunzel tale, is told to Charlotte-Rose by another character. It would be a bit of a spoiler to tell who she is, but it does make for a somewhat satisfying (though also somewhat implausible, I thought) ending to the story.

I heard about this book on the Galactic Suburbia podcast. The ladies on those podcasts enjoy stories about women and womanly lives a bit more than I do, but this is a good, well-written story. I've always liked the Rapunzel story. The retelling in this book really brings it to life, and maybe makes you think about some things in the story that hadn't occurred to you before.

Recommended.]]> 4.09 2012 Bitter Greens

author: Kate Forsyth
name: Janice
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2017/07/20
date added: 2024/09/26
shelves: x2017, scribd
review:
Bitter Greens weaves together two interlocking stories - one is the Rapunzel fairy tale, and the other is the story of a lady in waiting in the court of Louis XIV in 17th century France. The lady in waiting, Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de la Force (known as Dunamis, from the Greek word for strength or power, a play on her family name) is a tall, rather plain woman who has to navigate the treacherous waters of court politics in the reign of the Sun King.

The other story, the Rapunzel tale, is told to Charlotte-Rose by another character. It would be a bit of a spoiler to tell who she is, but it does make for a somewhat satisfying (though also somewhat implausible, I thought) ending to the story.

I heard about this book on the Galactic Suburbia podcast. The ladies on those podcasts enjoy stories about women and womanly lives a bit more than I do, but this is a good, well-written story. I've always liked the Rapunzel story. The retelling in this book really brings it to life, and maybe makes you think about some things in the story that hadn't occurred to you before.

Recommended.
]]> <![CDATA[Shadow of a Broken Man (The Mongo Mysteries)]]> 36442295 A former circus performer and criminology professor becomes a PI in “one of the best detective novels of the year�� (TheNew York Times Book Review). With a genius IQ, a past career as a circus acrobat, and a black belt in karate, criminology professor Dr. Robert Frederickson—better known as “Mongo the Magnificent”—has a decidedly unusual background for a private investigator. He also just so happens to be a dwarf. Now a detective in New York City, Mongo is hired by the widow of a famous architect to find out if her husband is really dead—because a new building just went up and it looks like his work. As Mongo begins to uncover the surprising truth, his investigation gives a whole new meaning to an architect’s façade. The intrepid sleuth will need all of his extraordinary skills to find his man without losing his own life, as some very powerful forces want to send him back to the drawing board. With a freewheeling blend of mystery and science fiction elements, author George C. Chesbro introduces the man called Mongo, “the most engaging detective in decades�� (Library Journal). Shadow of a Broken Man is the 1st book in the Mongo Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.]]> 306 George C. Chesbro 1504046420 Janice 3 scribd, x2019
Into all this steps steps Dr. Robert Frederickson, aka "Mongo the Magnificent." Frederickson is a criminology professor; a genius; a former circus acrobat; a private investigator; a black belt in karate; and, a dwarf. And he's also an irresistible character.

Mongo gets called on to investigate whether a famous architect that was presumed dead 5 years ago is actually, indeed, dead. The kicker, as we slowly discover, is that maybe the architect has some abilities that MIGHT make it easier for him to "disappear" -- and which would also make him an invaluable asset in intelligence-gathering in a Cold War scenario.

Machinations happen. The plot is a little convoluted. It's a good ride. And if Mongo seems a little too good to be true, who cares? Because you come to like him a lot.
]]> 3.79 1977 Shadow of a Broken Man (The Mongo Mysteries)

Shadow of a Broken Man (The Mongo Mysteries)

author: George C. Chesbro
name: Janice
average rating: 3.79
book published: 1977
rating: 3
read at: 2019/05/18
date added: 2024/09/24
shelves: scribd, x2019
review:
I just looked up the date this book was first published. It looks like it originally came out in 1977. That makes a lot of sense to me, because it has the same feel as a bunch of mysteries I read back in the 80's. There are references to payphones that cost a dime, the Russians were still the bad guys, and the Cold War was still very much a thing.

Into all this steps steps Dr. Robert Frederickson, aka "Mongo the Magnificent." Frederickson is a criminology professor; a genius; a former circus acrobat; a private investigator; a black belt in karate; and, a dwarf. And he's also an irresistible character.

Mongo gets called on to investigate whether a famous architect that was presumed dead 5 years ago is actually, indeed, dead. The kicker, as we slowly discover, is that maybe the architect has some abilities that MIGHT make it easier for him to "disappear" -- and which would also make him an invaluable asset in intelligence-gathering in a Cold War scenario.

Machinations happen. The plot is a little convoluted. It's a good ride. And if Mongo seems a little too good to be true, who cares? Because you come to like him a lot.

]]> <![CDATA[Wounds: Six Stories from the Border of Hell]]> 43315536
In his first collection, North American Lake Monsters, Nathan Ballingrud carved out a distinctly singular place in American fiction with his “piercing and merciless�� (Toronto Globe and Mail) portrayals of the monsters that haunt our lives—both real and imagined: “What Nathan Ballingrud does in North American Lake Monsters is to reinvigorate the horror tradition�� (Los Angeles Review of Books).

Now, in Wounds, Ballingrud follows up with an even more confounding, strange, and utterly entrancing collection of six stories, including one new novella. From the eerie dread descending upon a New Orleans dive bartender after a cell phone is left behind in a rollicking bar fight in “The Visible Filth�� to the search for the map of hell in “The Butcher’s Table,�� Ballingrud’s beautifully crafted stories are riveting in their quietly terrifying depictions of the murky line between the known and the unknown.]]> 289 Nathan Ballingrud 1534449949 Janice 3 x2020, scribd
But it's good stuff, if you like horror. I'm about half-way through now.
___________________________________________

A few days later: well, I made it through. But honestly, these stories were a bit of a rough ride for me. I was a little reluctant to pick the book up initially, because I was pretty sure they WOULD be a bit hard for me.

Some day I'll learn to listen to that little voice in my head.

The writing is good, but holy cow, these stories are dark. I've got some images in my head now that are gonna stick for a while. Especially the last novella, The Butcher's Table. I honestly never thought that someone could depict the torments of hell as somehow impersonal. It's all pretty chilling.

I'll go back to lurking on the milder outskirts of horror for a while now, I think. ]]> 4.22 2019 Wounds: Six Stories from the Border of Hell

Wounds: Six Stories from the Border of Hell

author: Nathan Ballingrud
name: Janice
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2020/02/24
date added: 2024/09/24
shelves: x2020, scribd
review:
Holy carp, Nathan Ballingrud is writing some really creepy stuff here. I can't read straight through. I read a story, then put the book away for a while.

But it's good stuff, if you like horror. I'm about half-way through now.
___________________________________________

A few days later: well, I made it through. But honestly, these stories were a bit of a rough ride for me. I was a little reluctant to pick the book up initially, because I was pretty sure they WOULD be a bit hard for me.

Some day I'll learn to listen to that little voice in my head.

The writing is good, but holy cow, these stories are dark. I've got some images in my head now that are gonna stick for a while. Especially the last novella, The Butcher's Table. I honestly never thought that someone could depict the torments of hell as somehow impersonal. It's all pretty chilling.

I'll go back to lurking on the milder outskirts of horror for a while now, I think.
]]> <![CDATA[The Dog Who Knew Too Much (Rachel Alexander And Dash Mysteries Book 2)]]> 25313915

The path to enlightenment is fraught with danger when Greenwich Village PI Rachel Alexander and her pit bull, Dash, investigate the death of a tai chi practitioner

Did she jump or was she pushed? Devastated by the loss of their only child, David and Marsha Jacobs hire Rachel to find out why Lisa leaped to her death from the fifth-floor window of her martial arts studio. The tai chi instructor, who was studying to be a Zen Buddhist priest, seemed to have it all: beauty, brains, a vocation she adored, a sexy lover—and her beautiful, sad-eyed Akita, who may have been the only witness to her death and is still grieving the loss of his mistress.

Refusing to believe that Lisa would abandon her beloved pet—and with only a suspicious suicide note to go on—Rachel and her canine assistant, Dash, hit the streets of downtown New York, retracing the dead woman’s steps to figure out whether she was yin to a killer’s yang.

]]> 268 Carol Lea Benjamin 1504006453 Janice 3 x2018, scribd
Rachel is called in to investigate the apparent suicide of a tai chi teacher. Apparently this involves Rachel stepping totally into this other woman's life, sleeping in her apartment, wearing her clothes and jewelry, and stepping into her spot as apprentice to the main teacher at the tai chi studio where Lisa (the dead woman) trained.

I thought all that was a little creepy, honestly. I kinda didn't buy how fast she progressed in tai chi and various other physical pursuits she undertakes. But maybe that's because I've never been very athletic, and the one time I tried a tai chi class, I learned S-O S-L-O-O-O-O-W-L-Y that I never really mastered even the basics. :(

And then, when she had her answers, she just ... drops it all. Ok. Ooookay.

It just seemed weird to me, in an uncomfortable way. And Rachel really doesn't seem to care for Akitas. (Full disclosure: I owned an Akita in the 80s. She was A Good Dog.)

Not really bad, but not my favorite so far. And yes, I read the 1st, 2nd, and 7th books pretty much back to back in about 4 days. ]]> 4.05 1997 The Dog Who Knew Too Much (Rachel Alexander And Dash Mysteries Book 2)

The Dog Who Knew Too Much (Rachel Alexander And Dash Mysteries Book 2)

author: Carol Lea Benjamin
name: Janice
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1997
rating: 3
read at: 2018/11/11
date added: 2024/09/24
shelves: x2018, scribd
review:
This is the second book in the Rachel Alexander and Dash mystery series.

Rachel is called in to investigate the apparent suicide of a tai chi teacher. Apparently this involves Rachel stepping totally into this other woman's life, sleeping in her apartment, wearing her clothes and jewelry, and stepping into her spot as apprentice to the main teacher at the tai chi studio where Lisa (the dead woman) trained.

I thought all that was a little creepy, honestly. I kinda didn't buy how fast she progressed in tai chi and various other physical pursuits she undertakes. But maybe that's because I've never been very athletic, and the one time I tried a tai chi class, I learned S-O S-L-O-O-O-O-W-L-Y that I never really mastered even the basics. :(

And then, when she had her answers, she just ... drops it all. Ok. Ooookay.

It just seemed weird to me, in an uncomfortable way. And Rachel really doesn't seem to care for Akitas. (Full disclosure: I owned an Akita in the 80s. She was A Good Dog.)

Not really bad, but not my favorite so far. And yes, I read the 1st, 2nd, and 7th books pretty much back to back in about 4 days.
]]> The Mist 8121905 244 Stephen King 1101211660 Janice 3 x2017, scribd
It's more like the earlier movie than the series. Big surprise, eh? And it's fairly hopeless and dark too.

I haven't read a lot of Stephen King's earlier short works. This one wasn't too bad.]]> 3.99 1980 The Mist

author: Stephen King
name: Janice
average rating: 3.99
book published: 1980
rating: 3
read at: 2017/11/22
date added: 2024/09/23
shelves: x2017, scribd
review:
After I watched the series The Mist on Netflix (not really recommended unless you like gory and dark and hopeless stories about horrible people), I was curious about what was in the original story. I've seen most of the earlier movie.

It's more like the earlier movie than the series. Big surprise, eh? And it's fairly hopeless and dark too.

I haven't read a lot of Stephen King's earlier short works. This one wasn't too bad.
]]> <![CDATA[The Monkey's Wedding and Other Stories]]> 21079189
"Joan Aiken's invention seemed inexhaustible, her high spirits a blessing, her sheer storytelling zest a phenomenon. She was a literary treasure, and her books will continue to delight for many years to come."--Philip Pullman

"Aiken writes with the genius of a born storyteller, with mother wit expanded and embellished by civilized learning, and with the brilliance of an avenging angel."--"The New Yorker"

Joan Aiken's stories captivated readers for fifty years. They're funny, smart, gentle, and occasionally very, very scary. The stories in "The Monkey's Wedding" are collected here for the very first time and include six never before published, as well as two previously published under the pseudonym Nicholas Dee. Here you'll find the story of a village for sale . . . or is the village itself the story? There's an English vicar who declares on his deathbed that he might have lived an entirely different life. After his death, a large, black, argumentative cat makes an appearance. . . . This hugely imaginative collection includes introductions by Aiken as well as by her daughter, Lizza Aiken.

Best known for "The Wolves of Willoughby Chase," Joan Aiken (1924-2004) wrote over a hundred books and won the "Guardian" and Edgar Allan Poe awards. After her first husband's death, she supported her family by copyediting at "Argosy" magazine and an advertising agency before turning to fiction. She went on to write for "Vogue," "Good Housekeeping," "Vanity Fair," "Argosy," "Women's Own," and many others. Visit her online .]]> 225 Joan Aiken 1931520437 Janice 4 x2018, scribd
I liked them, though, even though sometimes I'd read one and think "Whoa, that was crazy." But then it was over, and you were on to the next story.

I like the way this author thinks. (thought)]]> 4.06 2011 The Monkey's Wedding and Other Stories

author: Joan Aiken
name: Janice
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2018/02/15
date added: 2024/09/23
shelves: x2018, scribd
review:
This is a book of short stories. They're weird, a little surreal, and generally hard to describe.

I liked them, though, even though sometimes I'd read one and think "Whoa, that was crazy." But then it was over, and you were on to the next story.

I like the way this author thinks. (thought)
]]> Last Year 31200229
In the near future of Robert Charles Wilson's Last Year, the technology exists to open doorways into the past--but not our past, not exactly. Each "past" is effectively an alternate world, identical to ours but only up to the date on which we access it. And a given "past" can only be reached once. After a passageway is open, it's the only road to that particular past; once closed, it can't be reopened.

A passageway has been opened to a version of late 19th-century Ohio. It's been in operation for most of a decade, but it's no secret, on either side of time. A small city has grown up around it to entertain visitors from our time, and many locals earn a good living catering to them. But like all such operations, it has a shelf life; as the "natives" become more sophisticated, their version of the "past" grows less attractive as a destination.

Jesse Cullum is a native. And he knows the passageway will be closing soon. He's fallen in love with a woman from our time, and he means to follow her back--no matter whose secrets he has to expose in order to do it.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.]]> 352 Robert Charles Wilson 146680078X Janice 3 x2019, scribd
A different kind of time travel story. In this world, when you go back in time, the time you go BACK to immediately becomes a different page in the Great Book of the Multiverse. What that means is that anything that is done in that past timeline WILL NOT change YOUR present. But when you close the time-travel door to that past, you can never go back to that particular time. The next time you open that door, even if it's to the same year as before, you'll go to A DIFFERENT instance of, say 1876.

Whoa.

As a practical matter, what then happens is that an American billionaire decides to open a door to the past, build up a compound (in the past) that serves as sort of a resort/playground for the 1% of the future, as well as giving the folks of 1876 sort of a glimpse of the world of the future. And hey, since this kind of meddling doesn't mess up OUR timeline, why not??? O.o Capitalism is a helluva drug, I guess, though honestly I wonder how much money they could really make given the construction and infrastructure that the future people would have to put into the past. But in the book, it seems to be worth it. Especially since the corporate guy only plans to keep the resort open for 5 years. Get the $$ and get out is the game.

However, some folks seem to have issues with using real people and places as an amusement park, and there is dissension in some of the visitors. And some of the 1876 folks start to think maybe they're getting a raw deal out of this, especially after some agitator from the future starts writing letters to the papers telling them of some of the bad things to come (with blacks and indigenous people, e.g.) and sending out contraband Glock guns to ringleaders.

The story focuses on Jesse Cullum, a local (from 1876), who's worked at the resort almost since the beginning. He catches the eye of the bigwigs, and gets tasked with finding out where the illegal guns are coming from.

The story goes on from there. It includes Jesse's growing affection for his partner from the future, Elizabeth. It also includes Jesse's backstory of being the son of a bouncer in a whorehouse in San Francisco, and a little bit of his and his sister's life there.

It's a pretty good story with an interesting twist on how not to have to worry about paradoxes in time travel. Robert Charles Wilson writes good, solid books that are always interesting to read.

]]> 4.13 2016 Last Year

author: Robert Charles Wilson
name: Janice
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2016
rating: 3
read at: 2019/04/26
date added: 2024/09/20
shelves: x2019, scribd
review:
Probably 3.5 stars, if I had the option of half-stars.

A different kind of time travel story. In this world, when you go back in time, the time you go BACK to immediately becomes a different page in the Great Book of the Multiverse. What that means is that anything that is done in that past timeline WILL NOT change YOUR present. But when you close the time-travel door to that past, you can never go back to that particular time. The next time you open that door, even if it's to the same year as before, you'll go to A DIFFERENT instance of, say 1876.

Whoa.

As a practical matter, what then happens is that an American billionaire decides to open a door to the past, build up a compound (in the past) that serves as sort of a resort/playground for the 1% of the future, as well as giving the folks of 1876 sort of a glimpse of the world of the future. And hey, since this kind of meddling doesn't mess up OUR timeline, why not??? O.o Capitalism is a helluva drug, I guess, though honestly I wonder how much money they could really make given the construction and infrastructure that the future people would have to put into the past. But in the book, it seems to be worth it. Especially since the corporate guy only plans to keep the resort open for 5 years. Get the $$ and get out is the game.

However, some folks seem to have issues with using real people and places as an amusement park, and there is dissension in some of the visitors. And some of the 1876 folks start to think maybe they're getting a raw deal out of this, especially after some agitator from the future starts writing letters to the papers telling them of some of the bad things to come (with blacks and indigenous people, e.g.) and sending out contraband Glock guns to ringleaders.

The story focuses on Jesse Cullum, a local (from 1876), who's worked at the resort almost since the beginning. He catches the eye of the bigwigs, and gets tasked with finding out where the illegal guns are coming from.

The story goes on from there. It includes Jesse's growing affection for his partner from the future, Elizabeth. It also includes Jesse's backstory of being the son of a bouncer in a whorehouse in San Francisco, and a little bit of his and his sister's life there.

It's a pretty good story with an interesting twist on how not to have to worry about paradoxes in time travel. Robert Charles Wilson writes good, solid books that are always interesting to read.

]]> Outside the Gates 43289142 Villagers were always warned that monsters live outside the gates, but when a young boy named Vren is cast out, he finds a home in the world beyond, in Whiting Award winner Molly Gloss’s classic fantasy novel.Vren has always been told that the world beyond the gates of his village is one filled with monsters, giants, and other terrifying creatures. But when he confides with his family about his ability to talk to animals, he’s outcast to the very world he’s been taught to fear his whole life. He expects to die alone, lost and confused, but he finds something different altogether—refuge in a community of shadowed people with extraordinary powers.Thirty years later, Molly Gloss’s dystopian fantasy novel is just as timely, poignant, and stirring as ever, in a brand-new edition!]]> 130 Molly Gloss 1534403116 Janice 5 x2020, scribd
Folks on the plain that have special powers aren't welcome. They're put outside the gates, with the monsters and the shadow men.

Vren makes friends with animals. The way he does it isn't allowed. He gets put outside the gates, and expects to die. Instead, he's found by Rusche, who looks rough and terrifying. But looks aren't everything. And Rushe and Vren take care of each other.

In a world where it seems like any encounter between a young man and an older man so often seems to fall into abuse and exploitation, it's refreshing to see a relationship that isn't like that. Sometimes a friendship is just a friendship, and loyalty and caring don't have to be declared out loud all the time.

This is another story that's really mostly hopeful. I really need those right now.

I read it in one session in the middle of the night.]]> 4.44 1986 Outside the Gates

author: Molly Gloss
name: Janice
average rating: 4.44
book published: 1986
rating: 5
read at: 2020/07/28
date added: 2024/09/18
shelves: x2020, scribd
review:
Oh my goodness, I loved this little book.

Folks on the plain that have special powers aren't welcome. They're put outside the gates, with the monsters and the shadow men.

Vren makes friends with animals. The way he does it isn't allowed. He gets put outside the gates, and expects to die. Instead, he's found by Rusche, who looks rough and terrifying. But looks aren't everything. And Rushe and Vren take care of each other.

In a world where it seems like any encounter between a young man and an older man so often seems to fall into abuse and exploitation, it's refreshing to see a relationship that isn't like that. Sometimes a friendship is just a friendship, and loyalty and caring don't have to be declared out loud all the time.

This is another story that's really mostly hopeful. I really need those right now.

I read it in one session in the middle of the night.
]]> <![CDATA[This Dog for Hire (The Rachel Alexander and Dash Mysteries Book 1)]]> 25265929

Winner of the Shamus Award for Best First PI Novel: In the first book of Carol Lea Benjamin’s acclaimed mystery series, Greenwich Village PI Rachel Alexander and her loyal pit bull must find a killer and a missing show dog

Divorced dog trainer–turned–private-eye Rachel Alexander and her canine assistant Dash—short for Dashiell—are hired by a man named Dennis Keaton to investigate the hit-and-run death of his friend and neighbor Clifford Cole, whose body was found on an isolated Christopher Street pier. The police are treating the gay painter’s suspicious death as a hate crime, but Dennis insists Cliff hadn’t cruised the waterfront in months. Plus, Magritte, Cliff’s champion basenji—a competitor in the upcoming Westminster Dog Show—may have been a witness to the crime and is now missing.

The search for answers takes Rachel and Dash from the SoHo art scene to the most famous dog show in America. Now Rachel is in the sights of a killer hunting her across a treacherous urban landscape. There’s no one she can trust—especially not of the two-legged variety.

]]> 274 Carol Lea Benjamin 1504006364 Janice 3 x2018, scribd
This time Rachel and Dash are investigating the death of a Greenwich village artist who was just about to get his big break in the art world. But then he's killed by a hit-and-run driver in the wee hours of the morning. And his champion Basenji is missing.

Rachel goes into the art world and the dog show world looking for answers. She finds them eventually.

It's a first novel. It's not bad. And there are dogs. I'm partial to dogs.

Nice, easy read for when your brain is tired.]]> 4.01 1996 This Dog for Hire (The Rachel Alexander and Dash Mysteries Book 1)

This Dog for Hire (The Rachel Alexander and Dash Mysteries Book 1)

author: Carol Lea Benjamin
name: Janice
average rating: 4.01
book published: 1996
rating: 3
read at: 2018/11/08
date added: 2024/09/17
shelves: x2018, scribd
review:
This is the first in the Rachel Alexander and Dash book series. I think I read these decades ago.

This time Rachel and Dash are investigating the death of a Greenwich village artist who was just about to get his big break in the art world. But then he's killed by a hit-and-run driver in the wee hours of the morning. And his champion Basenji is missing.

Rachel goes into the art world and the dog show world looking for answers. She finds them eventually.

It's a first novel. It's not bad. And there are dogs. I'm partial to dogs.

Nice, easy read for when your brain is tired.
]]> Memory of Water 20566287 An amazing, award-winning speculative fiction debut novel by a major new talent, in the vein of Ursula K. Le Guin

Global warming has changed the world's geography and its politics. Wars are waged over water, and China rules Europe, including the Scandinavian Union, which is occupied by the power state of New Qian. In this far north place, seventeen-year-old Noria Kaitio is learning to become a tea master like her father, a position that holds great responsibility and great secrets. Tea masters alone know the location of hidden water sources, including the natural spring that Noria's father tends, which once provided water for her whole village.

But secrets do not stay hidden forever, and after her father's death the army starts watching their town-and Noria. And as water becomes even scarcer, Noria must choose between safety and striking out, between knowledge and kinship.

Imaginative and engaging, lyrical and poignant, Memory of Water is an indelible novel that portrays a future that is all too possible.]]> 304 Emmi Itäranta 0062326163 Janice 5 x2017, scribd
Noria Kaitio is the daughter of a master of the tea ceremony. She lives in a world where the climate is drastically different from what it is now. Water is scarce. The oceans are much higher, and the coastlines have changed. The world is much warmer, even in the northern region where Noria lives. Water is severely rationed. You can be arrested for water crimes, and executed for them.

Noria and her father are also guardians of a spring whose secret location has been passed down from tea ceremony master to master over many generations. It's a gift, and a burden to them.

The book is beautifully written, with a gentle, elegaic tone through much of it. Like this quote:

“Most of the soil we walk on once grew and breathed, and once it had the shape of the living, long ago. One day someone who doesn’t remember us will walk on our skin and flesh and bones, on the dust that remains of us.��

Water flows through this book, symbolically and literally. Loss is everywhere. Everyone is aware of how much has been lost, and how much more could still be lost.

It's sweet and sad and melancholic, and I'll think about it for a long time.

I can thank podcast for bringing another author to my attention! Thanks, Ian and Kirstyn!]]> 3.87 2012 Memory of Water

author: Emmi Itäranta
name: Janice
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2017/07/12
date added: 2024/09/17
shelves: x2017, scribd
review:
What a lovely, extraordinary book this is.

Noria Kaitio is the daughter of a master of the tea ceremony. She lives in a world where the climate is drastically different from what it is now. Water is scarce. The oceans are much higher, and the coastlines have changed. The world is much warmer, even in the northern region where Noria lives. Water is severely rationed. You can be arrested for water crimes, and executed for them.

Noria and her father are also guardians of a spring whose secret location has been passed down from tea ceremony master to master over many generations. It's a gift, and a burden to them.

The book is beautifully written, with a gentle, elegaic tone through much of it. Like this quote:

“Most of the soil we walk on once grew and breathed, and once it had the shape of the living, long ago. One day someone who doesn’t remember us will walk on our skin and flesh and bones, on the dust that remains of us.��

Water flows through this book, symbolically and literally. Loss is everywhere. Everyone is aware of how much has been lost, and how much more could still be lost.

It's sweet and sad and melancholic, and I'll think about it for a long time.

I can thank podcast for bringing another author to my attention! Thanks, Ian and Kirstyn!
]]> <![CDATA[The Other Wind (Earthsea Cycle, #6)]]> 20204640
Alder seeks advice from Ged, once Archmage. Ged tells him to go to Tenar, Tehanu, and the young king at Havnor. They are joined by amber-eyed Irian, a fierce dragon able to assume the shape of a woman.

The threat can be confronted only in the Immanent Grove on Roke, the holiest place in the world, and there the king, hero, sage, wizard, and dragon make a last stand.

Le Guin combines her magical fantasy with a profoundly human, earthly, humble touch.]]> 266 Ursula K. Le Guin 0547543190 Janice 4 x2018, scribd, reread
More dragons in this one, and a resolution to several plot points left hanging in previous books. And a lovely healing of life and death.

Le Guin is a genius. ]]> 4.45 2001 The Other Wind (Earthsea Cycle, #6)

author: Ursula K. Le Guin
name: Janice
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2001
rating: 4
read at: 2018/04/01
date added: 2024/09/17
shelves: x2018, scribd, reread
review:
Still working my way through the later Earthsea books.

More dragons in this one, and a resolution to several plot points left hanging in previous books. And a lovely healing of life and death.

Le Guin is a genius.
]]> By Light We Knew Our Names 23907689 By Light We Knew Our Names examines the beauty and heartbreak of the world we live in. Across thirteen stories, this collection explores the thin border between magic and grief.]]> 200 Anne Valente 1941531970 Janice 4 x2017, scribd
But as I look back over the stories in the book, I realize the darkness was pretty much there from the beginning. Everyone is vulnerable in some way. Some vulnerabilities are exploited more ruthlessly than others.

Every story is a little jewel though, I think. Some are prettier than others, easier to look at, easier to read. Some are hard and uncomfortable and sad and rage-inducing.

But they're good. You should read them.

Stories:
a birthday present
Amelia Earhart & women & bears
Kids singing for sick mom
mysterious grandparents and bad relationships
divorce and tea
growing up w/Vietnam and the 1965 World's Fair

-then BOOM-
abused young women and their rage
etc.

]]> 3.97 2014 By Light We Knew Our Names

author: Anne Valente
name: Janice
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2017/08/29
date added: 2024/09/16
shelves: x2017, scribd
review:
This book of stories starts out with some absolutely lovely magical realism sorts of stories. I'm kinda glad that those stories were at the beginning of the book, because there's some harder stuff a little further in. I found the contrast a little jarring, frankly.

But as I look back over the stories in the book, I realize the darkness was pretty much there from the beginning. Everyone is vulnerable in some way. Some vulnerabilities are exploited more ruthlessly than others.

Every story is a little jewel though, I think. Some are prettier than others, easier to look at, easier to read. Some are hard and uncomfortable and sad and rage-inducing.

But they're good. You should read them.

Stories:
a birthday present
Amelia Earhart & women & bears
Kids singing for sick mom
mysterious grandparents and bad relationships
divorce and tea
growing up w/Vietnam and the 1965 World's Fair

-then BOOM-
abused young women and their rage
etc.

]]> A Skinful of Shadows 34913667
'Hardinge is an unusual talent who deserves to be read by children and adults alike'
Guardian

This is the story of a bear-hearted girl . . .

Sometimes, when a person dies, their spirit goes looking for somewhere to hide.
Some people have space within them, perfect for hiding.

Twelve-year-old Makepeace has learned to defend herself from the ghosts which try to possess her in the night, desperate for refuge, but one day a dreadful event causes her to drop her guard.

And now there's a spirit inside her.

The spirit is wild, brutish and strong, and it may be her only defence when she is sent to live with her father's rich and powerful ancestors. There is talk of civil war, and they need people like her to protect their dark and terrible family secret.

But as she plans her escape and heads out into a country torn apart by war, Makepeace must decide which is possession �� or death."]]> 432 Frances Hardinge 1509835512 Janice 3 x2018, scribd
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.]]> 4.08 2017 A Skinful of Shadows

author: Frances Hardinge
name: Janice
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2018/07/26
date added: 2024/09/13
shelves: x2018, scribd
review:
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.
]]> <![CDATA[The Crossing Places (Ruth Galloway, #1)]]> 6688087 304 Elly Griffiths 0547229895 Janice 3 x2018, scribd
I see why people like this book, mostly. It's rather atmospheric, with lots of stormy weather and danger in the marshland near where the heroine lives. She's not a bad character in her own right.

That said, I was pretty sure I knew early on who the Characters of Interest would be. And I was right. I didn't foresee their ends though, so there's that. I almost never care for romance in these kinds of books, so the attraction between Dr. Galloway and DCI Harry Nelson struck me as off-putting and unprofessional. (Nelson is married. I've apparently become a huge judgey prude in my old age.) We're supposed to see Dr. Galloway as very professional and qualified. The book doesn't seem to me that it really shows that though.

And here's my biggest gripe with this story, the one that almost ruined it for me. [spoilers removed]

The book is pretty well written, I guess. I read it pretty quickly. It's not deep or complicated, so if you want that, it's fine. I'm just really hard to please these days. :(

I started the second book, The Janus Stone, but there's a real good chance I'll drop it. Oh well.

]]> 3.88 2009 The Crossing Places (Ruth Galloway, #1)

author: Elly Griffiths
name: Janice
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2009
rating: 3
read at: 2018/04/07
date added: 2024/09/11
shelves: x2018, scribd
review:
Warning: may be a bit spoilery.

I see why people like this book, mostly. It's rather atmospheric, with lots of stormy weather and danger in the marshland near where the heroine lives. She's not a bad character in her own right.

That said, I was pretty sure I knew early on who the Characters of Interest would be. And I was right. I didn't foresee their ends though, so there's that. I almost never care for romance in these kinds of books, so the attraction between Dr. Galloway and DCI Harry Nelson struck me as off-putting and unprofessional. (Nelson is married. I've apparently become a huge judgey prude in my old age.) We're supposed to see Dr. Galloway as very professional and qualified. The book doesn't seem to me that it really shows that though.

And here's my biggest gripe with this story, the one that almost ruined it for me. [spoilers removed]

The book is pretty well written, I guess. I read it pretty quickly. It's not deep or complicated, so if you want that, it's fine. I'm just really hard to please these days. :(

I started the second book, The Janus Stone, but there's a real good chance I'll drop it. Oh well.

]]> Come Closer: A Novel 73160766 180 Sara Gran Janice 3 x2018, scribd
Wanting not to be alone can be pretty bad sometimes.]]> 3.69 2003

author: Sara Gran
name: Janice
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2003
rating: 3
read at: 2018/08/16
date added: 2024/09/11
shelves: x2018, scribd
review:
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 [spoilers removed], it just becomes kind of sad.

Wanting not to be alone can be pretty bad sometimes.
]]> <![CDATA[After the People Lights Have Gone Off]]> 56081807 After the People Lights Have Gone Off by Stephen Graham Jones explore the horrors and fears of the supernatural and the everyday. Included are two original stories, several rarities and out of print narratives, as well as a few "best of the year" inclusions. In "Thirteen," horrors lurk behind the flickering images on the big screen. "Welcome to the Reptile House" reveals the secrets that hide in our flesh. In "The Black Sleeve of Destiny," a single sweatshirt leads to unexpectedly dark adventures. And the title story, "After the People Lights Have Gone Off," is anything but your typical haunted house story.

With an introduction by Edgar Award winner Joe R. Lansdale, and featuring fifteen full-page illustrations by Luke Spooner, After the People Lights Have Gone Off gets under your skin and stays there.]]> 304 Stephen Graham Jones 1940430372 Janice 4 x2018, scribd
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.]]> 3.86 2014 After the People Lights Have Gone Off

author: Stephen Graham Jones
name: Janice
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2018/08/25
date added: 2024/07/26
shelves: x2018, scribd
review:
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 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.
]]> The House of War and Witness 28794290 1740. With the whole of Europe balanced on the brink of war, an Austrian regiment is sent to the furthest frontier of the empire to hold the border against the might of Prussia. Their garrison, the ancient house called Pokoj.

But Pokoj is already inhabited, by a company of ghosts from every age of the house’s history. Only Drozde, the quartermaster’s mistress, can see them, and terrifyingly they welcome her as a friend. As these ageless phantoms tell their stories Drozde gets chilling glimpses not just of Pokoj’s past but of a looming menace in its future.

Meanwhile the humourless lieutenant Klaes pursues another mystery. Why are the people of the neighbouring village so surly and withdrawn, so reluctant to welcome the soldiers who are there to protect them? What are they hiding? And what happened to the local militia unit that was stationed at Pokoj before the regiment arrived?

The camp follower and the officer make their separate journies to the same appalling discovery �� an impending catastrophe that will sweep away villagers and soldiers alike. But to stop it would pit Klaes against his entire regiment and Drozde against the one man in the world she truly fears.

Perhaps neither of them can prevail. If they do, it will be with the help of the restless dead. . . .

]]> 420 Mike Carey 177148313X Janice 5 x2016, scribd
I'm a sucker for a tale where Story is important. And this book if full of stories. And ghosts.

Stories are what keep us alive here, what keeps the ghosts alive. Time is fluid and changeable. We learn from stories, and live within stories.

This particular story takes place in a (relatively) unfamiliar time and place. As best I can tell, Charles VI of Austria has died (1740.) His daughter Maria Teresa reigns as archduchess. Not everyone in the surrounding countries is happy about this. Uppity women on thrones, bah! seems to be the attitude. Prussia, in particular, is threatening war. Under these circumstances, a troop of soldiers and artillery are sent to reinforce a spot of border. They take up residence in a crumbling mansion called Pokoj. The soldiers are attended by the usual camp followers and whores. The officers have their wives with them, because apparently that was a thing back then.

And there's Drozde, described by some characters as a "gypsy". She's a puppeteer who entertains the troops with puppet shows. She's accepted the bed and protection of the company's cook, Molebacher. Molebacher is a cunning and brutal man. He's managed to ingratiate himself with the company's commander. Lieutenant Klaes is a young soldier, with more scruples than are strictly helpful for a man in his position.

Drozde has seen ghosts all her life. The ghosts she sees at Pokoj, however, are more vivid than any other ghosts she's seen. And they have secrets.

This is, in part, a story about women's dependence, and about women's strength and INdependence. Drozde and other women in the camp have made a pragmatic decision to take male protectors (soldiers in camp), even though it makes them whores in the eyes of the rest of the world. They look after each other. Their lives are hard, but they do their best. There are other women among the living and the dead whose stories we learn. I think it's a really strong feminist work without being strident or preachy.

It's a good story that wraps other, small stories up within itself. Some of those small stories will stick in your mind.

I picked this book up because it had Mike Carey's name on it, and I've enjoyed his work in the past. I'm not sure who Linda and Louise Carey are in relation to Mike, but I'm glad they all wrote this book.]]> 4.70 2014 The House of War and Witness

author: Mike Carey
name: Janice
average rating: 4.70
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2016/11/01
date added: 2024/07/23
shelves: x2016, scribd
review:
Wow, I really enjoyed this book.

I'm a sucker for a tale where Story is important. And this book if full of stories. And ghosts.

Stories are what keep us alive here, what keeps the ghosts alive. Time is fluid and changeable. We learn from stories, and live within stories.

This particular story takes place in a (relatively) unfamiliar time and place. As best I can tell, Charles VI of Austria has died (1740.) His daughter Maria Teresa reigns as archduchess. Not everyone in the surrounding countries is happy about this. Uppity women on thrones, bah! seems to be the attitude. Prussia, in particular, is threatening war. Under these circumstances, a troop of soldiers and artillery are sent to reinforce a spot of border. They take up residence in a crumbling mansion called Pokoj. The soldiers are attended by the usual camp followers and whores. The officers have their wives with them, because apparently that was a thing back then.

And there's Drozde, described by some characters as a "gypsy". She's a puppeteer who entertains the troops with puppet shows. She's accepted the bed and protection of the company's cook, Molebacher. Molebacher is a cunning and brutal man. He's managed to ingratiate himself with the company's commander. Lieutenant Klaes is a young soldier, with more scruples than are strictly helpful for a man in his position.

Drozde has seen ghosts all her life. The ghosts she sees at Pokoj, however, are more vivid than any other ghosts she's seen. And they have secrets.

This is, in part, a story about women's dependence, and about women's strength and INdependence. Drozde and other women in the camp have made a pragmatic decision to take male protectors (soldiers in camp), even though it makes them whores in the eyes of the rest of the world. They look after each other. Their lives are hard, but they do their best. There are other women among the living and the dead whose stories we learn. I think it's a really strong feminist work without being strident or preachy.

It's a good story that wraps other, small stories up within itself. Some of those small stories will stick in your mind.

I picked this book up because it had Mike Carey's name on it, and I've enjoyed his work in the past. I'm not sure who Linda and Louise Carey are in relation to Mike, but I'm glad they all wrote this book.
]]> <![CDATA[Gemini Cell (Reawakening Trilogy #1)]]> 25066719
Myke Cole continues to blow the military fantasy genre wide open with an all-new epic adventure in his highly acclaimed Shadow Ops universe—set in the early days of the Great Reawakening, when magic first returns to the world and order begins to unravel��

US Navy SEAL Jim Schweitzer is a consummate professional, a fierce warrior, and a hard man to kill. But when he sees something he was never meant to see on a covert mission gone bad, he finds himself—and his family—in the crosshairs. Nothing means more to Jim than protecting his loved ones, but when the enemy brings the battle to his front door, he is overwhelmed and taken down.

It should be the end of the story. But Jim is raised from the dead by a sorcerer and recruited by a top secret unit dabbling in the occult, known only as the Gemini Cell. With powers he doesn’t understand, Jim is called back to duty—as the ultimate warrior. As he wrestles with a literal inner demon, Jim realizes his new superiors are determined to use him for their own ends and keep him in the dark—especially about the fates of his wife and son…]]> 13 Myke Cole Janice 3 x2015, audio, scribd
This book is about a man that's been made into a monster. He's managed to retain some of himself in spite of this and in spite of the supernatural entity (djinn) that's sharing his dead, magically resurrected body. He's driven by his desire to do the work he knows how to do, and to avenge the deaths of his wife and young son.

There's a lot of violence in this book, and a lot of collateral damage. The way Jim and other soldiers like him are used and turned into what they are is horrifying and horrible. I'm a lot more sensitive to horror and violence than I used to be, so that was a bit uncomfortable for me.

But the story drew me along and kept my interest. It didn't go to the obvious places I expected it to go. So props to Myke for that!

The story finishes up next year in Javelin Rain. ]]> 2.92 2015 Gemini Cell (Reawakening Trilogy #1)

author: Myke Cole
name: Janice
average rating: 2.92
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at: 2015/11/23
date added: 2024/06/10
shelves: x2015, audio, scribd
review:
Wow. I'm not quite sure how I feel about this book. I don't have any significant military influences in my family. I'll confess up front that some of the attitudes expressed by Jim Schweitzer in this book are bizarre and repellent to me. OTOH, I can understand being proud of things that you do well, even if one of those things is being able to put a bullet into a person from 2000 yds away. And I really like Myke Cole on Twitter and I wanted to support him, so I listened to the audiobook.

This book is about a man that's been made into a monster. He's managed to retain some of himself in spite of this and in spite of the supernatural entity (djinn) that's sharing his dead, magically resurrected body. He's driven by his desire to do the work he knows how to do, and to avenge the deaths of his wife and young son.

There's a lot of violence in this book, and a lot of collateral damage. The way Jim and other soldiers like him are used and turned into what they are is horrifying and horrible. I'm a lot more sensitive to horror and violence than I used to be, so that was a bit uncomfortable for me.

But the story drew me along and kept my interest. It didn't go to the obvious places I expected it to go. So props to Myke for that!

The story finishes up next year in Javelin Rain.
]]> <![CDATA[The March North (Commonweal #1)]]> 21801573 297 Graydon Saunders 0993712606 Janice 4
The first time I started reading, I was confused, and stopped. I could tell there was a story there I wanted to read. But the author drops you right into the story with almost no explanation or exposition. Common words (e. g. the standard) Mean Something Else here. You have to figure it out as you go. I was reminded of my first reading of Patrick O'Brian, another story where you're tossed into a different world with a different vocabulary and no hand-holding.

So I went at it again, and was rewarded by a pretty exciting battle story and some of the strangest and most interesting world-building I can remember in 50+ years of reading SF/F. I really want to know more about this world and these people.

The world building is the strongest part of this book. The characters are a little less distinctive than I personally like to see.

I think going back and rereading this book will be an enjoyable experience.

I'm another reader who has read Graydon on blogs and newsgroups, and always perked up when I saw his name. He always has interesting things to say. And he's written an interesting book, and now a sequel!! Woohoo!
]]> 4.21 2014 The March North (Commonweal #1)

author: Graydon Saunders
name: Janice
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2023/08/27
date added: 2023/08/26
shelves: x2015, scribd, x2023, kobo, reread
review:
Wow, how to describe this book?? Mostly it's a book about the following: battles; sorcery; magic; changeable and probably intelligent landscapes; demons; battles (again) and the aftermath of battles; sorcerers, but nothing you would see in Harry Potter, oh no; and a giant battle sheep named Eustace.

The first time I started reading, I was confused, and stopped. I could tell there was a story there I wanted to read. But the author drops you right into the story with almost no explanation or exposition. Common words (e. g. the standard) Mean Something Else here. You have to figure it out as you go. I was reminded of my first reading of Patrick O'Brian, another story where you're tossed into a different world with a different vocabulary and no hand-holding.

So I went at it again, and was rewarded by a pretty exciting battle story and some of the strangest and most interesting world-building I can remember in 50+ years of reading SF/F. I really want to know more about this world and these people.

The world building is the strongest part of this book. The characters are a little less distinctive than I personally like to see.

I think going back and rereading this book will be an enjoyable experience.

I'm another reader who has read Graydon on blogs and newsgroups, and always perked up when I saw his name. He always has interesting things to say. And he's written an interesting book, and now a sequel!! Woohoo!

]]> The Breaking Wave 10401383 The Breaking Wave is one of Nevil Shute’s most poignant and psychologically suspenseful novels, set in the years just after World War II.

Sidelined by a wartime injury, fighter pilot Alan Duncan reluctantly returns to his parents' remote sheep station in Australia to take the place of his brother Bill, who died a hero in the war. But his homecoming is marred by the suicide of his parents' parlormaid, of whom they were very fond. Alan soon realizes that the dead young woman is not the person she pretended to be. Upon discovering that she had served in the Royal Navy and participated along with his brother in the secret build-up to the Normandy invasion, Alan sets out to piece together the tragic events and the lonely burden of guilt that unravelled one woman’s life. In the process of finding the answer to the mystery, he realizes how much he had in common with this woman he never knew and how “a war can go on killing people long after it's all over.��

]]> 0 Nevil Shute 1556900724 Janice 4 audio, scribd, x2018
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. ]]> 4.33 1955 The Breaking Wave

author: Nevil Shute
name: Janice
average rating: 4.33
book published: 1955
rating: 4
read at: 2018/07/08
date added: 2023/02/05
shelves: audio, scribd, x2018
review:
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.
]]> Dark Matter 27833673 A mindbending, relentlessly surprising thriller from the author of the bestselling Wayward Pines trilogy.

Jason Dessen is walking home through the chilly Chicago streets one night, looking forward to a quiet evening in front of the fireplace with his wife, Daniela, and their son, Charlie—when his reality shatters.

"Are you happy with your life?"

Those are the last words Jason Dessen hears before the masked abductor knocks him unconscious.

Before he awakens to find himself strapped to a gurney, surrounded by strangers in hazmat suits.

Before a man Jason's never met smiles down at him and says, "Welcome back, my friend."

In this world he's woken up to, Jason's life is not the one he knows. His wife is not his wife. His son was never born. And Jason is not an ordinary college physics professor, but a celebrated genius who has achieved something remarkable. Something impossible.

Is it this world or the other that's the dream?

And even if the home he remembers is real, how can Jason possibly make it back to the family he loves? The answers lie in a journey more wondrous and horrifying than anything he could've imagined—one that will force him to confront the darkest parts of himself even as he battles a terrifying, seemingly unbeatable foe.

Dark Matter is a brilliantly plotted tale that is at once sweeping and intimate, mind-bendingly strange and profoundly human--a relentlessly surprising science-fiction thriller about choices, paths not taken, and how far we'll go to claim the lives we dream of.]]> 11 Blake Crouch 1101924470 Janice 3 x2016, scribd, audio
First off, I think it was well written. It's a story about venturing down different legs of the Trousers of Time (h/t PTerry!) if the ToT were worn by a millipede with an infinite number of legs. Ok so far. I can enjoy stories of the multiverse. But the original Jason has to be one of the most frustrating characters to read about since Donaldson's Thomas Covenant. Covenant refused to believe in the reality of the other world he landed in at first, and caused a LOT of harm thereby. The original Jason could never seem to distinguish people in the alternate versions of his world from the people in his ORIGINAL world either. This also made him act inappropriately in some cases, and caused harm. I kept saying "For Og's sake, man, THIS ISN'T *YOUR* FAMILY. WHY ARE YOU ACTING SO STUPID????"

I really thought the author had written himself into a corner at the end, with all the Jasons that had branched off from other timelines returning home. He got out of that cul1 de sac. But here's what I thought about as I started this review: We know that Jason2 (the one who usurped OrigJason's life) had been looking for the best possible life for a Jason in the multiverse. He'd been watching OrigJason and his family. Fairly early on, he referred to other possible futures where OrigJason and his wife had died in a car wreck. So why didn't THOSE excursions in the multiverse generate alternate Jason2's coming in to steal OrigJason's life? Ugh. So hard to do alternate worlds and time travel without employing handwavium or the old pay-no-attention-to-the-man-behind-the-curtain ploy.

There are interesting ideas here, about how our choices make us who we are, and why one iteration of us may not be quite like another. But it's a tricksy topic.

I guess here is where I confess that the Baxter/Pratchett collaboration "The Long Earth" was more fun to read. That series had an infinte number of earths, but all but one (Datum Earth) was unpopulated by humans. It's not a great series, but it's fun, and there's a bit more sensawunda there than in this volume.]]> 3.94 2016 Dark Matter

author: Blake Crouch
name: Janice
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2016
rating: 3
read at: 2016/08/10
date added: 2022/03/10
shelves: x2016, scribd, audio
review:
Oh man, how do I write about this book? Gonna mark it spoilerific, because of something occurred to me as I was writing this.

First off, I think it was well written. It's a story about venturing down different legs of the Trousers of Time (h/t PTerry!) if the ToT were worn by a millipede with an infinite number of legs. Ok so far. I can enjoy stories of the multiverse. But the original Jason has to be one of the most frustrating characters to read about since Donaldson's Thomas Covenant. Covenant refused to believe in the reality of the other world he landed in at first, and caused a LOT of harm thereby. The original Jason could never seem to distinguish people in the alternate versions of his world from the people in his ORIGINAL world either. This also made him act inappropriately in some cases, and caused harm. I kept saying "For Og's sake, man, THIS ISN'T *YOUR* FAMILY. WHY ARE YOU ACTING SO STUPID????"

I really thought the author had written himself into a corner at the end, with all the Jasons that had branched off from other timelines returning home. He got out of that cul1 de sac. But here's what I thought about as I started this review: We know that Jason2 (the one who usurped OrigJason's life) had been looking for the best possible life for a Jason in the multiverse. He'd been watching OrigJason and his family. Fairly early on, he referred to other possible futures where OrigJason and his wife had died in a car wreck. So why didn't THOSE excursions in the multiverse generate alternate Jason2's coming in to steal OrigJason's life? Ugh. So hard to do alternate worlds and time travel without employing handwavium or the old pay-no-attention-to-the-man-behind-the-curtain ploy.

There are interesting ideas here, about how our choices make us who we are, and why one iteration of us may not be quite like another. But it's a tricksy topic.

I guess here is where I confess that the Baxter/Pratchett collaboration "The Long Earth" was more fun to read. That series had an infinte number of earths, but all but one (Datum Earth) was unpopulated by humans. It's not a great series, but it's fun, and there's a bit more sensawunda there than in this volume.
]]> Eight Perfect Murders 52225186 A chilling tale of psychological suspense and an homage to the thriller genre tailor-made for fans: the story of a bookseller who finds himself at the center of an FBI investigation because a very clever killer has started using his list of fiction’s most ingenious murders.

Years ago, bookseller and mystery aficionado Malcolm Kershaw compiled a list of the genre’s most unsolvable murders, those that are almost impossible to crack—which he titled “Eight Perfect Murders”—chosen from among the best of the best including Agatha Christie’s A. B. C. Murders, Patricia Highsmith’s Strangers on a Train, Ira Levin’s Death Trap, A. A. Milne's Red House Mystery, Anthony Berkeley Cox's Malice Aforethought, James M. Cain's Double Indemnity, John D. Macdonald's The Drowner, and Donna Tartt's A Secret History.

But no one is more surprised than Mal, now the owner of the Old Devils Bookstore in Boston, when an FBI agent comes knocking on his door one snowy day in February. She’s looking for information about a series of unsolved murders that look eerily similar to the killings on Mal’s old list. And the FBI agent isn’t the only one interested in this bookseller who spends almost every night at home reading. The killer is out there, watching his every move—a diabolical threat who knows way too much about Mal’s personal history, especially the secrets he’s never told anyone, even his recently deceased wife.

To protect himself, Mal begins looking into possible suspects . . . and sees a killer in everyone around him. But Mal doesn’t count on the investigation leaving a trail of death in its wake. Suddenly, a series of shocking twists leaves more victims dead—and the noose around Mal’s neck grows so tight he might never escape.]]> 270 Peter Swanson 0062838202 Janice 2 x2020, scribd
I found the protagonist annoying. I don’t love unreliable narrators. I didn’t appreciate all the clever references to other mysteries.

If you like these things, though, you’ll probably find this book clever and interesting.]]> 3.61 2020 Eight Perfect Murders

author: Peter Swanson
name: Janice
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2020
rating: 2
read at: 2020/07/02
date added: 2020/11/16
shelves: x2020, scribd
review:
I am not the target audience for this book.

I found the protagonist annoying. I don’t love unreliable narrators. I didn’t appreciate all the clever references to other mysteries.

If you like these things, though, you’ll probably find this book clever and interesting.
]]> If It Bleeds 46015758 If it Bleeds is a collection of four new novellas ��Mr. Harrigan’s Phone, The Life of Chuck, Rat, and the title story If It Bleeds�� each pulling readers into intriguing and frightening places.

A collection of four uniquely wonderful long stories, including a stand-alone sequel to The Outsider.

News people have a saying: 'If it bleeds, it leads'. And a bomb at Albert Macready Middle School is guaranteed to lead any bulletin.

Holly Gibney of the Finders Keepers detective agency is working on the case of a missing dog - and on her own need to be more assertive - when she sees the footage on TV. But when she tunes in again, to the late-night report, she realizes there is something not quite right about the correspondent who was first on the scene. So begins 'If It Bleeds' , a stand-alone sequel to The Outsider featuring the incomparable Holly on her first solo case.

Dancing alongside are three more long stories - 'Mr Harrigan's Phone', 'The Life of Chuck' and 'Rat' .

The novella is a form King has returned to over and over again in the course of his amazing career, and many have been made into iconic films, If It Bleeds is a uniquely satisfying collection of longer short fiction by an incomparably gifted writer.]]> 438 Stephen King Janice 4 x2020, scribd
Anyway, pretty good fare from Mr. King here.

The first story, "Mr. Harrigan's Phone" is basically an old-fashioned creepy story. It's pretty effective for what it is, I think.

"The Life of Chuck" really impressed me. It's told from back to front in a pretty interesting way. It's more poetic (elegaic?) than what I see in a lot of King's work. I liked it. And there's a Whitman poem I won't ever look at in the same way again.

"If It Bleeds" is a Holly Gibney story. If you watched The Outsider on HBO (or, presumably read the novel), you'll know who Holly is. (Note: I read the book, and somehow she didn't stick in my mind. I am sure this is just me though. She was a VERY memorable character in the HBO series.)

I don't think it covers much new ground than the other book did though. Kind of a rehash, really.

The last novella, "Rat" about an author who has one last chance to write a novel, and what he goes through to get there, didn't catch in my mind like the others did.

But a good collection withal.]]> 3.99 2020 If It Bleeds

author: Stephen King
name: Janice
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2020/05/04
date added: 2020/11/16
shelves: x2020, scribd
review:
I could have sworn I'd already written about this book. Oh well.

Anyway, pretty good fare from Mr. King here.

The first story, "Mr. Harrigan's Phone" is basically an old-fashioned creepy story. It's pretty effective for what it is, I think.

"The Life of Chuck" really impressed me. It's told from back to front in a pretty interesting way. It's more poetic (elegaic?) than what I see in a lot of King's work. I liked it. And there's a Whitman poem I won't ever look at in the same way again.

"If It Bleeds" is a Holly Gibney story. If you watched The Outsider on HBO (or, presumably read the novel), you'll know who Holly is. (Note: I read the book, and somehow she didn't stick in my mind. I am sure this is just me though. She was a VERY memorable character in the HBO series.)

I don't think it covers much new ground than the other book did though. Kind of a rehash, really.

The last novella, "Rat" about an author who has one last chance to write a novel, and what he goes through to get there, didn't catch in my mind like the others did.

But a good collection withal.
]]> <![CDATA[Sweep in Peace (Innkeeper Chronicles, #2)]]> 19504964 237 Ilona Andrews 1943772320 Janice 3 x2020, scribd
This was a light and pleasant read. Dina, the Innkeeper of the series name, hosts a peace summit with 3 mutually hostile groups. It's a chance for her to get her Inn a little more visibility. But it will be really dangerous because two of the groups are really and truly warriors at each other's throats. (Think orcs vs vampires a little, but the orcs are more human, but BIG AND SCARY, the the vampires are less about hiding from the sun and sucking blood than about baring their fangs in threat displays and being BIG AND SCARY.) The third party, the Merchants, look like adorable blue foxes, but they're known for their cutthroat dealings.

And Dina has to keep them all from killing each other AND working to broker peace on a valuable planet.

I quite liked the Inn as a place of magic that follows the Innkeeper's will. Earth is apparently a sort of way station for the galaxy, with the Inns as places they can pass through. There's a lot of magic, or technology that's functionally indistinguishable from magic. There's instantaneous transportation and invulnerable suits of armor.

In my old age I've sometimes rolled my eyes at stories like these as being a little easy and simplistic, but cripes, we're still in a pandemic and the world is insane, and I was really pretty okay with this all around. There wasn't even much romance, always a plus for me. (Nothing against romance, just not my thing.)

+1, would probably read more like this.]]> 4.26 2015 Sweep in Peace (Innkeeper Chronicles, #2)

Sweep in Peace (Innkeeper Chronicles, #2)

author: Ilona Andrews
name: Janice
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at: 2020/06/05
date added: 2020/11/16
shelves: x2020, scribd
review:
This is book 2 of a series, but I got enough of the gist of book 1 from context that I didn't feel MUCH loss by not having read it.

This was a light and pleasant read. Dina, the Innkeeper of the series name, hosts a peace summit with 3 mutually hostile groups. It's a chance for her to get her Inn a little more visibility. But it will be really dangerous because two of the groups are really and truly warriors at each other's throats. (Think orcs vs vampires a little, but the orcs are more human, but BIG AND SCARY, the the vampires are less about hiding from the sun and sucking blood than about baring their fangs in threat displays and being BIG AND SCARY.) The third party, the Merchants, look like adorable blue foxes, but they're known for their cutthroat dealings.

And Dina has to keep them all from killing each other AND working to broker peace on a valuable planet.

I quite liked the Inn as a place of magic that follows the Innkeeper's will. Earth is apparently a sort of way station for the galaxy, with the Inns as places they can pass through. There's a lot of magic, or technology that's functionally indistinguishable from magic. There's instantaneous transportation and invulnerable suits of armor.

In my old age I've sometimes rolled my eyes at stories like these as being a little easy and simplistic, but cripes, we're still in a pandemic and the world is insane, and I was really pretty okay with this all around. There wasn't even much romance, always a plus for me. (Nothing against romance, just not my thing.)

+1, would probably read more like this.
]]> <![CDATA[Ancestral Night (White Space, #1)]]> 26159745
She thinks she knows who she is.

She is wrong.

A routine salvage mission uncovers evidence of a terrible crime and relics of powerful ancient technology. Haimey and her small crew run afoul of pirates at the outer limits of the Milky Way, and find themselves on the run and in possession of universe-changing information.

When authorities prove corrupt, Haimey realizes that she is the only one who can protect her galaxy-spanning civilization from the implications of this ancient technology—and the revolutionaries who want to use it for terror and war. Her quest will take her careening from the event horizon of the supermassive black hole at the galaxy’s core to the infinite, empty spaces at its edge.

To save everything that matters, she will need to uncover the secrets of ancient intelligences lost to time—and her own lost secrets, which she will wish had remained hidden from her forever.]]> 512 Elizabeth Bear 1473208742 Janice 4 x2020, audio, scribd -------------------
ETA: finished listening to this today while I was sewing masks for COVID19. I really liked it! It's a nice good hard SF story with an interesting female heroine. I liked all the spaceship stuff and the epic galaxy-spanning adventure.

I know I've bounced off some of Elizabeth Bear's work in the past. (Note: I bounce off a LOT of books. I'm insanely picky in my old age.) But this was pretty perfect for me. It was also mostly optimistic, which I NEEDED right now like a fish needs water. So thank you for that, Ms. Bear!

I did have some trouble understanding the narrator of the audiobook. There are some voices and accents that I have to work to understand, and hers was one of them.

+1, would read again, and I rarely do that.]]> 3.69 2019 Ancestral Night (White Space, #1)

author: Elizabeth Bear
name: Janice
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2020/07/11
date added: 2020/11/16
shelves: x2020, audio, scribd
review:
Alternating between ebook and audio, because audio narrator is kinda hard for me to understand.
-------------------
ETA: finished listening to this today while I was sewing masks for COVID19. I really liked it! It's a nice good hard SF story with an interesting female heroine. I liked all the spaceship stuff and the epic galaxy-spanning adventure.

I know I've bounced off some of Elizabeth Bear's work in the past. (Note: I bounce off a LOT of books. I'm insanely picky in my old age.) But this was pretty perfect for me. It was also mostly optimistic, which I NEEDED right now like a fish needs water. So thank you for that, Ms. Bear!

I did have some trouble understanding the narrator of the audiobook. There are some voices and accents that I have to work to understand, and hers was one of them.

+1, would read again, and I rarely do that.
]]> I'm Thinking of Ending Things 40605223 Now a Netflix original movie, this deeply scary and intensely unnerving novel follows a couple in the midst of a twisted unraveling of the darkest unease. You will be scared. But you won’t know why��

I’m thinking of ending things. Once this thought arrives, it stays. It sticks. It lingers. It’s always there. Always.

Jake once said, “Sometimes a thought is closer to truth, to reality, than an action. You can say anything, you can do anything, but you can’t fake a thought.��

And here’s what I’m thinking: I don’t want to be here.

In this smart and intense literary suspense novel, Iain Reid explores the depths of the human psyche, questioning consciousness, free will, the value of relationships, fear, and the limitations of solitude. Tense, gripping, and atmospheric, I’m Thinking of Ending Things pulls you in from the very first page…and never lets you go.]]> 241 Iain Reid Janice 2 x2020, scribd
Weird book, not straightforward enough for me. At least it was short.]]> 3.53 2016 I'm Thinking of Ending Things

author: Iain Reid
name: Janice
average rating: 3.53
book published: 2016
rating: 2
read at: 2020/08/11
date added: 2020/11/16
shelves: x2020, scribd
review:
Yeah, add me to the folks that didn’t get it. After the first 75 pps or so I just skimmed to see what happened.

Weird book, not straightforward enough for me. At least it was short.
]]> The Only Good Indians 52083312

The creeping horror of Paul Tremblay meets Tommy Orange’s There There in a dark novel of revenge, cultural identity, and the cost of breaking from tradition in this latest novel from the Jordan Peele of horror literature, Stephen Graham Jones.

Seamlessly blending classic horror and a dramatic narrative with sharp social commentary, The Only Good Indians follows four American Indian men after a disturbing event from their youth puts them in a desperate struggle for their lives. Tracked by an entity bent on revenge, these childhood friends are helpless as the culture and traditions they left behind catch up to them in a violent, vengeful way.

]]> 9 Stephen Graham Jones 1797105558 Janice 5 x2020, audio, scribd
Part ghost story, part monster story, this book packs a real wallop. Four young native American men decide to go hunting when and where it's forbidden by tribal law and custom. The stumble on a herd of elk who are sitting ducks (sorry for the mixed metaphor) for them. The wasteful hunting, and in particular, the death of one young female, have far-reaching consequences.

This book is like a classic tragedy. These young men are constrained by the memories and customs of their people in the modern world. They can't be the warriors that they had been, but they do what they can. The way they have to live now force them into lives they're not wholly comfortable in. Sometimes they make bad choices, because sometimes even a bad choice is better than no choice at all. When their past actions start to catch up with them, there's a lot of collateral damage. You can see what's coming, and you can see why it's coming, and it breaks your heart to know that there's really no way to escape the fate that was laid out for them.

This is a horror story. There is some gore, some gruesome deaths, so if reading about that troubles you, beware. But it's also the story of men trapped by their lives, but also caught up into something more than human, who wants revenge.

I express myself badly here. But it's a GOOD book. The first part and the last part probably work best for me, but you have to go through the middle to set up the ending.

I've enjoyed reading Stephen Graham Jones ever since I stumbled on Mongrels by accident. He also writes excellent (and unsettling) short stories. If you enjoy reading horror, I very highly recommend his writing.

I listened to the audio version, and it was fine. I listened pretty much straight through, with a break or two for sleeping. :)]]> 3.67 2020 The Only Good Indians

author: Stephen Graham Jones
name: Janice
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2020/10/03
date added: 2020/10/03
shelves: x2020, audio, scribd
review:
Be careful of decisions you make. Sometimes the consequences can kill you.

Part ghost story, part monster story, this book packs a real wallop. Four young native American men decide to go hunting when and where it's forbidden by tribal law and custom. The stumble on a herd of elk who are sitting ducks (sorry for the mixed metaphor) for them. The wasteful hunting, and in particular, the death of one young female, have far-reaching consequences.

This book is like a classic tragedy. These young men are constrained by the memories and customs of their people in the modern world. They can't be the warriors that they had been, but they do what they can. The way they have to live now force them into lives they're not wholly comfortable in. Sometimes they make bad choices, because sometimes even a bad choice is better than no choice at all. When their past actions start to catch up with them, there's a lot of collateral damage. You can see what's coming, and you can see why it's coming, and it breaks your heart to know that there's really no way to escape the fate that was laid out for them.

This is a horror story. There is some gore, some gruesome deaths, so if reading about that troubles you, beware. But it's also the story of men trapped by their lives, but also caught up into something more than human, who wants revenge.

I express myself badly here. But it's a GOOD book. The first part and the last part probably work best for me, but you have to go through the middle to set up the ending.

I've enjoyed reading Stephen Graham Jones ever since I stumbled on Mongrels by accident. He also writes excellent (and unsettling) short stories. If you enjoy reading horror, I very highly recommend his writing.

I listened to the audio version, and it was fine. I listened pretty much straight through, with a break or two for sleeping. :)
]]> I Remember You 15852019
In the vein of Stephen King and John Ajvide Lindqvist, this horrifying thriller, partly based on a true story, is the scariest novel yet from Yrsa Sigurdardóttir, who has captivated the attention of readers around the world with her mystery series featuring attorney Thora Gudmundsdottir. Now, Yrsa will stun readers once again with this out-of-this-world ghost story that will leave you shivering.]]> 391 Yrsa Sigurdardottir 1444738496 Janice 4 x2020, audio, scribd
It's more of a ghost story than a horror novel. There are chills and suspense, but almost no gore. It's a GOOD ghost story.

Three people decide to renovate a house in a settlement that's deserted for the winter. Their phones stop working. There are mysterious things left in their house. Strange things are happening.

Elsewhere: there's an instance of vandalism at a local elementary school. A psychiatrist is called in by the police to help give insight into the motives of the vandal. But wait... 60 years ago, almost the same thing happened. Is there a connection.

The psychiatrist: His young son disappeared 3 years ago. He was never found. The psychiatrist lost his marriage due to the trauma, and his wife has never gotten over it. She dreams about the son.

These different threads weave together VERY NICELY in this story. I did NOT figure out what was going to happen ahead of time!

A well-written and engaging ghost story, not TOO creepy, but very effective.

]]> 3.79 2010 I Remember You

author: Yrsa Sigurdardottir
name: Janice
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2020/09/30
date added: 2020/10/01
shelves: x2020, audio, scribd
review:
I found this book on a list of horror novels on Twitter.

It's more of a ghost story than a horror novel. There are chills and suspense, but almost no gore. It's a GOOD ghost story.

Three people decide to renovate a house in a settlement that's deserted for the winter. Their phones stop working. There are mysterious things left in their house. Strange things are happening.

Elsewhere: there's an instance of vandalism at a local elementary school. A psychiatrist is called in by the police to help give insight into the motives of the vandal. But wait... 60 years ago, almost the same thing happened. Is there a connection.

The psychiatrist: His young son disappeared 3 years ago. He was never found. The psychiatrist lost his marriage due to the trauma, and his wife has never gotten over it. She dreams about the son.

These different threads weave together VERY NICELY in this story. I did NOT figure out what was going to happen ahead of time!

A well-written and engaging ghost story, not TOO creepy, but very effective.

]]> We Are All Completely Fine 20344877
Stan became a minor celebrity after being partially eaten by cannibals. Barbara is haunted by the messages carved upon her bones. Greta may or may not be a mass-murdering arsonist. And for some reason, Martin never takes off his sunglasses.

Unsurprisingly, no one believes their horrific tales until they are sought out by psychotherapist Dr. Jan Sayer. What happens when these likely-insane outcasts join a support group? Together they must discover which monsters they face are within and which are lurking in plain sight.
]]> 182 Daryl Gregory 1616961716 Janice 3 3.74 2014 We Are All Completely Fine

author: Daryl Gregory
name: Janice
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at: 2020/09/18
date added: 2020/09/17
shelves: scribd, x2015, x2020, humble-bundle, reread
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Tiger’s Daughter (Ascendant, #1)]]> 29760778 Even gods can be slain��.

The Hokkaran empire has conquered every land within their bold reach―but failed to notice a lurking darkness festering within the people. Now, their border walls begin to crumble, and villages fall to demons swarming out of the forests.

Away on the silver steppes, the remaining tribes of nomadic Qorin retreat and protect their own, having bartered a treaty with the empire, exchanging inheritance through the dynasties. It is up to two young warriors, raised together across borders since their prophesied birth, to save the world from the encroaching demons.

This is the story of an infamous Qorin warrior, Barsalayaa Shefali, a spoiled divine warrior empress, O-Shizuka, and a power that can reach through time and space to save a land from a truly insidious evil.]]> 526 K. Arsenault Rivera 0765392534 Janice 3 x2020, scribd
One is the heiress of an empire. The other is a nomad of the steppes, daughter of a chieftan, who, through no fault of her own, becomes a monster. But who is still loved.

It went on a little too long, but it was a good story.]]> 3.82 2017 The Tiger’s Daughter (Ascendant, #1)

author: K. Arsenault Rivera
name: Janice
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2020/08/30
date added: 2020/09/01
shelves: x2020, scribd
review:
A story about two people who were meant to be together.

One is the heiress of an empire. The other is a nomad of the steppes, daughter of a chieftan, who, through no fault of her own, becomes a monster. But who is still loved.

It went on a little too long, but it was a good story.
]]> Nightflyers 42303624
This is the definitive audio edition of an electrifying tale that combines the deep-space thrills of Alien, the psychological horror of The Shining, and, of course, the inimitable vision of George R. R. Martin.

When a scientific expedition is launched to study a mysterious alien race, the only ship available is the Nightflyer, a fully autonomous vessel manned by a single human. But Captain Royd Eris remains locked away, interacting with his passengers only as a disembodied voice—or a projected hologram no more substantial than a ghost.

Yet that's not the only reason the ship seems haunted. The team's telepath, Thale Lasamer, senses another presence aboard the Nightflyer—something dangerous, volatile, and alien. Captain Eris claims to know nothing about the elusive intruder, and when someone, or something, begins killing off the expedition's members, he's unable—or unwilling—to stem the bloody tide.

Only Melantha Jhirl, a genetically enhanced outcast with greater strength, stamina, and intelligence than other humans, has a chance of solving the mystery—and stopping the malevolent being that's wiping out her shipmates.

But first she has to keep herself alive.]]> George R.R. Martin 1984844652 Janice 3 x2018, audio, scribd
SF horror in SPAAAAAACE. That's pretty much what it is. But the idea of the volcryn, a mysterious ship or group of ships that's been flying through space since well before the beginning of recorded history, adds an eerie appeal. I liked that bit.

Look for the SyFy adaptation later in 2018.

Apparently this is a new audio edition of this book. I copied the info from Scribd, which is where I found the book. It contains an introduction read by the author.]]> 3.50 1985 Nightflyers

author: George R.R. Martin
name: Janice
average rating: 3.50
book published: 1985
rating: 3
read at: 2018/10/12
date added: 2020/08/23
shelves: x2018, audio, scribd
review:
Meh, it was ok. It seems dated in its storytelling style. I guess that's not surprising in an almost 40-year old SF book. It's written in a style I call "cinematic," because you can see (heh) how easily some of the scenes could be adapted for a visual medium.

SF horror in SPAAAAAACE. That's pretty much what it is. But the idea of the volcryn, a mysterious ship or group of ships that's been flying through space since well before the beginning of recorded history, adds an eerie appeal. I liked that bit.

Look for the SyFy adaptation later in 2018.

Apparently this is a new audio edition of this book. I copied the info from Scribd, which is where I found the book. It contains an introduction read by the author.
]]> Slow Bullets 23013875
A vast conflict, one that has encompassed hundreds of worlds and solar systems, appears to be finally at an end. A conscripted soldier is beginning to consider her life after the war and the family she has left behind. But for Scur—and for humanity—peace is not to be.

On the brink of the ceasefire, Scur is captured by a renegade war criminal, and left for dead in the ruins of a bunker. She revives aboard a prisoner transport vessel. Something has gone terribly wrong with the ship.

Passengers—combatants from both sides of the war—are waking up from hibernation far too soon. Their memories, embedded in bullets, are the only links to a world which is no longer recognizable. And Scur will be reacquainted with her old enemy, but with much higher stakes than just her own life.
]]> 192 Alastair Reynolds 1616961937 Janice 3 x2020, scribd
It was ok. Didn't go quite where I thought it might go. Interesting look at the way this ship of folks ("dregs") coped with finding themselves unexpectedly thrown out of the only world they ever knew.

It was ok.]]> 3.57 2015 Slow Bullets

author: Alastair Reynolds
name: Janice
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at: 2020/08/22
date added: 2020/08/22
shelves: x2020, scribd
review:
Needed a SF fix and I picked this.

It was ok. Didn't go quite where I thought it might go. Interesting look at the way this ship of folks ("dregs") coped with finding themselves unexpectedly thrown out of the only world they ever knew.

It was ok.
]]> <![CDATA[The Thief (The Queen's Thief, #1)]]> 448873 Instead of Three Wishes, the first book by Megan Whalen Turner. Her second book more than fulfills that promise.

The king's scholar, the magus, believes he knows the site of an ancient treasure. To attain it for his king, he needs a skillful thief, and he selects Gen from the king's prison. The magus is interested only in the thief's abilities. What Gen is interested in is anyone's guess. Their journey toward the treasure is both dangerous and difficult, lightened only imperceptibly by the tales they tell of the old gods and goddesses.

Megan Whalen Turner weaves Gen's stories and Gen's story together with style and verve in a novel that is filled with intrigue, adventure, and surprise.]]> 280 Megan Whalen Turner 0060824972 Janice 3 x2020, scribd
Interested to know more about the character(s). ]]> 3.86 1996 The Thief (The Queen's Thief, #1)

author: Megan Whalen Turner
name: Janice
average rating: 3.86
book published: 1996
rating: 3
read at: 2020/08/19
date added: 2020/08/19
shelves: x2020, scribd
review:
A pretty enjoyable read. I liked the sorta-Classical world references. And the story is a little twistier than I expected at the beginning, in a GOOD way.

Interested to know more about the character(s).
]]> The Bone Weaver's Orchard 43128270
It’s just a tall tale. That’s what they tell Charley when he sees the ragged grey figure stalking the abbey halls at night.

When Charley follows his pet insects to a pool of blood behind a false wall, he could run and let those stones bury their secrets. He could assimilate, focus on his studies, and wait for his father to send for him. Or he could walk the dark tunnels of the school’s heart, scour its abandoned passages, and pick at the scab of a family’s legacy of madness and murder.

With the help of Sam Forster, the school’s gardener, and Matron Grace, the staff nurse, Charley unravels Old Cross�� history and exposes a scandal stretching back to when the school was a home with a noble family and a dark secret—a secret that still haunts its halls with scraping steps, twisting its bones into a new generation of nightmares.]]> 192 Sarah Read Janice 3 x2020, scribd
I don’t know what I was thinking when I started reading this, because it’s way to dark for me to read at this point in this timeline. But TBH I didn’t expect it to be quite THIS dark.

Yikes. ]]> 3.79 2019 The Bone Weaver's Orchard

author: Sarah Read
name: Janice
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2020/08/13
date added: 2020/08/13
shelves: x2020, scribd
review:
Unpleasant hijinks at an English boy’s school just after WW 1. Warning for a labyrinthine manor house converted to a school with lots of weird twisty dark passages. Contains torture, mutilation, & abuse.

I don’t know what I was thinking when I started reading this, because it’s way to dark for me to read at this point in this timeline. But TBH I didn’t expect it to be quite THIS dark.

Yikes.
]]> <![CDATA[The Fox's Tower and Other Tales]]> 25733384 167 Yoon Ha Lee 0692458506 Janice 4 x2020, scribd 4.05 2015

author: Yoon Ha Lee
name: Janice
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2020/08/12
date added: 2020/08/12
shelves: x2020, scribd
review:
Little vignettes of lovely flash fiction. Vivid imagery, often with foxes. Reminded me a little of some of Lord Dunsany's short works, though less dated in language, obviously. Best read in delicious little bites.
]]> Unforeseen: Stories 40538625 From bestselling and award-winning author Molly Gloss comes her first complete collection of short stories—including three never-before-published original tales!

Award-winning and critically acclaimed author Molly Gloss’s career retrospective collection, Unforseen, includes sixteen celebrated short stories that have never been published together before and three new stories.

This collection includes:
“Interlocking Pieces��
“J�Ǿ��Ծ��Բ��
��ٱ𲹲��ǰ��Ա��
“Wenonah’s Gift��
“Personal Silence��
“Lambing Season��
��ǷɲԲ��ٰ��𲹳��
“V��Դ��
“The Visited Man��
“U�Դڴǰ��
“The Grinnell Method��
“The Presley Brothers��
“Dead Men Rise Up Never��
“Eating Ashes��
“Personal Silence��
“A Story��
“Little Hills��
“The Everlasting Humming of the Earth”]]> 352 Molly Gloss 1481498509 Janice 4 x2020, scribd
This is a book of short stories. The writing is lovely. Some, of course, are better than others.

"Lambing Season" is an extraordinary story. I keep thinking about it.

Molly Gloss can WRITE.]]> 3.84 2019 Unforeseen: Stories

author: Molly Gloss
name: Janice
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2020/08/07
date added: 2020/08/07
shelves: x2020, scribd
review:
Apparently I'm destined to read everything by Molly Glass that I can find on Scribd.

This is a book of short stories. The writing is lovely. Some, of course, are better than others.

"Lambing Season" is an extraordinary story. I keep thinking about it.

Molly Gloss can WRITE.
]]> Toad Words and Other Stories 22877976
Author's Note: Many of these stories have appeared in various forms on the author's blog.]]> 131 T. Kingfisher Janice 4 x2015, scribd 4.35 2014

author: T. Kingfisher
name: Janice
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2015/08/30
date added: 2020/08/03
shelves: x2015, scribd
review:

]]> The Dazzle of Day 750524 256 Molly Gloss 031286437X Janice 4 x2020, scribd
But it's really and truly the story of the people on the ship, who've lived there for generations and built a society and an ecosystem that works for them. The society is Quaker. They spend time sitting quietly and letting answers come to them as a group.

This is no a linear tale; and though it takes place on a generation ship, the mechanics of it all are not part of the story. There's a bit at the beginning where they're doing maintenance on the sails that have brought the ship to its new "harbor," but that's about it. Honestly, thaAurorat was kind of a relief, because I'm the sort of person who always wonders about the how the plumbing works and who maintains the reactors and stuff like that. I could just let that worry go and assume it all just works. (Cf Aurora) No worries about incompatible proteins here.

The writing here is very fine and a little dense. It's quietly intelligent. The characters are complex and interesting. The story is ultimately hopeful. It takes a little work to read, but I'm glad I read it. ]]> 3.57 1997 The Dazzle of Day

author: Molly Gloss
name: Janice
average rating: 3.57
book published: 1997
rating: 4
read at: 2020/08/01
date added: 2020/08/02
shelves: x2020, scribd
review:
The framing story is about a sub-light speed generation ship that is finally about to arrive at its destination star. Once there, the ship's colonists have to decide what to do: stay with their aging vehicle, or take their chances on a cold and inhospitable new world.

But it's really and truly the story of the people on the ship, who've lived there for generations and built a society and an ecosystem that works for them. The society is Quaker. They spend time sitting quietly and letting answers come to them as a group.

This is no a linear tale; and though it takes place on a generation ship, the mechanics of it all are not part of the story. There's a bit at the beginning where they're doing maintenance on the sails that have brought the ship to its new "harbor," but that's about it. Honestly, thaAurorat was kind of a relief, because I'm the sort of person who always wonders about the how the plumbing works and who maintains the reactors and stuff like that. I could just let that worry go and assume it all just works. (Cf Aurora) No worries about incompatible proteins here.

The writing here is very fine and a little dense. It's quietly intelligent. The characters are complex and interesting. The story is ultimately hopeful. It takes a little work to read, but I'm glad I read it.
]]> Wheel of the Infinite 367336 400 Martha Wells 0380788152 Janice 4 x2020, scribd
The bit about the world basically being something that was recreated in a small scale but which affected the large scale was pretty interesting to me.

The ending did get tied up a little quickly, I thought, but it was fine, mostly.

Interesting characters, intriguing ideas, unusual setting, competent woman. Yup, that's what I like.]]> 3.88 2000 Wheel of the Infinite

author: Martha Wells
name: Janice
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2000
rating: 4
read at: 2020/07/18
date added: 2020/07/18
shelves: x2020, scribd
review:
Well, this was a nice surprise! Although I'm not sure WHY I was surprised. I know that Martha Wells writes well. But this book was intriguingly unusual to me. The setting was a bit exotic. I kept thinking of Angkor Wat in her descriptions of the city. The protagonist was a strong female character. She had a love interest, but she rescued him about as often as he rescued her.

The bit about the world basically being something that was recreated in a small scale but which affected the large scale was pretty interesting to me.

The ending did get tied up a little quickly, I thought, but it was fine, mostly.

Interesting characters, intriguing ideas, unusual setting, competent woman. Yup, that's what I like.
]]> Plain Kate 7888162
For Kate and her village have fallen on hard times. Kate’s father has died, leaving her alone in the world. And a mysterious fog now covers the countryside, ruining crops and spreading fear of hunger and sickness. The townspeople are looking for someone to blame, and their eyes have fallen on Kate.

Enter Linay, a stranger with a proposition: in exchange for her shadow, he’ll give Kate the means to escape the town that seems set to burn her, and what’s more, he’ll grant her heart’s wish. It’s a chance for her to start over, to find a home, a family, a place to belong. But Kate soon realizes that she can’t live shadowless forever—and that Linay’s designs are darker than she ever dreamed.]]> Erin Bow 144182135X Janice 3 x2020, audio, scribd
People who are afraid of witchcraft can have their fears inflamed by bad actors. This is what happens to Kate. She essentially gets blackmailed by Linay, a REAL witch, into giving up her shadow to help Linay's sister, who was killed as a witch. After that, there are Complications.

This is a moderately dark story, enlivened by a talking cat named Taggle. But neither of them have an easy time. Kate and Taggle suffer many losses. Happiness is never assured.

I've run across a number of stories inspired by Russian tales in the past few years. This is another. One big difference here: no stoves big enough for people to sleep on. :D But there's a rusalka, and Kate is actually Katerina Svetlana. And to people who love her, she's Katerina, star of my heart.

There's love and loss here. Nothing is quite perfect, much is bittersweet. Like life.

A sad, sweet, good book.

]]> 3.09 2010 Plain Kate

author: Erin Bow
name: Janice
average rating: 3.09
book published: 2010
rating: 3
read at: 2020/06/20
date added: 2020/06/22
shelves: x2020, audio, scribd
review:
Plain Kate is the daughter of a woodcarver and a talented woodcarver in her own right. When her father dies, she's left to eke out a living selling charms and minor woodwork to the people of the village. People who make charms are sometimes looked at askance as witches or as having special powers - maybe DANGEROUS powers. But Kate's only power is excellence in woodcarving. But in a world where witches are burned, even SUSPICION of witchcraft is a dangerous thing.

People who are afraid of witchcraft can have their fears inflamed by bad actors. This is what happens to Kate. She essentially gets blackmailed by Linay, a REAL witch, into giving up her shadow to help Linay's sister, who was killed as a witch. After that, there are Complications.

This is a moderately dark story, enlivened by a talking cat named Taggle. But neither of them have an easy time. Kate and Taggle suffer many losses. Happiness is never assured.

I've run across a number of stories inspired by Russian tales in the past few years. This is another. One big difference here: no stoves big enough for people to sleep on. :D But there's a rusalka, and Kate is actually Katerina Svetlana. And to people who love her, she's Katerina, star of my heart.

There's love and loss here. Nothing is quite perfect, much is bittersweet. Like life.

A sad, sweet, good book.

]]> Ironclads 34466691
Scions have no limits. Scions do not die. And Scions do not disappear.

Sergeant Ted Regan has a problem. A son of one of the great corporate families, a Scion, has gone missing at the front. He should have been protected by his Ironclad �� the lethal battle suits that make the Scions masters of war �� but something has gone catastrophically wrong.

Now Regan and his men, ill equipped and demoralised, must go behind enemy lines, find the missing Scion, and uncover how his suit failed. Is there a new Ironclad-killer out there? And how are common soldiers lacking the protection afforded the rich supposed to survive the battlefield of tomorrow?]]> 160 Adrian Tchaikovsky 1781085684 Janice 4 x2020, audio, scribd
Adrian Tchaikovsky has managed to put together a novella that combines an adventure story, a war story, a mecha story, and a commentary on the future of war and of corporations. And of wars BETWEEN corporations. And it's GOOD.

A team of hard-bitten soldiers is sent to rescue a Scion. Scions are the offspring of powerful corporations. Because of the perceived values of these offspring, they go around in super-fancy giant mechanical suits that inspire awe and respect among the grunts.

But one of the Scions has just... disappeared. This team was sent out to find him.

It's a wild ride, with a good bit of sly commentary in the If-This-Goes-On-Holy-Shit category.

And the real badasses are the Finns.

I liked it. It was a quick listen, and the narrator was fine. +1, would read at least a bit more set in this world with these characters. Especially the Finns.
]]> 3.51 2017 Ironclads

author: Adrian Tchaikovsky
name: Janice
average rating: 3.51
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2020/06/07
date added: 2020/06/07
shelves: x2020, audio, scribd
review:
Holy carp.

Adrian Tchaikovsky has managed to put together a novella that combines an adventure story, a war story, a mecha story, and a commentary on the future of war and of corporations. And of wars BETWEEN corporations. And it's GOOD.

A team of hard-bitten soldiers is sent to rescue a Scion. Scions are the offspring of powerful corporations. Because of the perceived values of these offspring, they go around in super-fancy giant mechanical suits that inspire awe and respect among the grunts.

But one of the Scions has just... disappeared. This team was sent out to find him.

It's a wild ride, with a good bit of sly commentary in the If-This-Goes-On-Holy-Shit category.

And the real badasses are the Finns.

I liked it. It was a quick listen, and the narrator was fine. +1, would read at least a bit more set in this world with these characters. Especially the Finns.

]]> Stoneskin (Deep Witches #0.5) 36259523

Or so she thought.

At sixteen, Tembi takes her rightful place with the other Witches. They believe the Deep is a tool; Tembi knows it’s a person with its own hopes and dreams, and a wicked sense of humor! With a war coming that could cost the lives of millions, Tembi has to find a way to convince the Witches that the Deep wants them to join the fight.

Because something worse than war is coming, and the Deep needs its Witches to be ready.

STONESKIN is a prequel to the DEEP WITCH TRILOGY, coming soon.]]> 226 K.B. Spangler 0998431729 Janice 3 x2020, scribd
The people who "control" the Deep are the Witches. It takes many years of training to get to even a tiny little level of "control," because the Deep is a bit capricious and doesn't really speak in words or understand words.

A certain amount of lore has built up among the Witches about the best ways to approach the Deep, but there's disagreement about that. Is the deep just a sentient energy field, or is it more like a big friendly dog that just wants to help without really understanding what's going on? Is it a tool, or is it a friend?

And it's possible that if the Witches consider changes in their relationship to the Deep , they might end up threatening the supply chains that keep dispersed humanity alive among the stars. That's not even counting changes brought about by wars.
This book is solidly on the bridge between fantasy and sf. There's a school for Witches, a plucky heroine and her plucky friends, and a way of transporting oneself instantly across the galaxy. There are also nanobots and Medkits that heal broken skulls in moments and FTL travel. But the FTL travel is still too slow to supply humanity-as-it-is.

Not sure that I'll read the sequels, but I might. I just have some other books I want to get through first.
]]> 4.39 2017 Stoneskin (Deep Witches #0.5)

author: K.B. Spangler
name: Janice
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2020/05/29
date added: 2020/05/29
shelves: x2020, scribd
review:
I liked this book. It posits a society where a sentient energy (the Deep) has decided that humans are pretty ok, and if it can help them move through various things and people through space pretty much instantaneously, it would be happy to do that.

The people who "control" the Deep are the Witches. It takes many years of training to get to even a tiny little level of "control," because the Deep is a bit capricious and doesn't really speak in words or understand words.

A certain amount of lore has built up among the Witches about the best ways to approach the Deep, but there's disagreement about that. Is the deep just a sentient energy field, or is it more like a big friendly dog that just wants to help without really understanding what's going on? Is it a tool, or is it a friend?

And it's possible that if the Witches consider changes in their relationship to the Deep , they might end up threatening the supply chains that keep dispersed humanity alive among the stars. That's not even counting changes brought about by wars.
This book is solidly on the bridge between fantasy and sf. There's a school for Witches, a plucky heroine and her plucky friends, and a way of transporting oneself instantly across the galaxy. There are also nanobots and Medkits that heal broken skulls in moments and FTL travel. But the FTL travel is still too slow to supply humanity-as-it-is.

Not sure that I'll read the sequels, but I might. I just have some other books I want to get through first.

]]> <![CDATA[The Whitefire Crossing (Shattered Sigil, #1)]]> 10928630
But smuggling a few charms is one thing; smuggling a person through the warded Alathian border is near suicidal. Having made a promise to a dying friend, Dev is forced to take on a singularly dangerous cargo: Kiran. A young apprentice on the run from one of the most powerful mages in Ninavel, Kiran is desperate enough to pay a fortune to sneak into a country where discovery means certain execution - and he'll do whatever it takes to prevent Dev from finding out the terrible truth behind his getaway.

Yet Kiran isn't the only one harboring a deadly secret. Caught up in a web of subterfuge and dark magic, Dev and Kiran must find a way to trust each other - or face not only their own destruction, but that of the entire city of Ninavel.]]> 375 Courtney Schafer 1597802832 Janice 3 x2020, scribd 3.70 2011 The Whitefire Crossing (Shattered Sigil, #1)

The Whitefire Crossing (Shattered Sigil, #1)

author: Courtney Schafer
name: Janice
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2011
rating: 3
read at: 2020/05/22
date added: 2020/05/22
shelves: x2020, scribd
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Hallowed Hunt (World of the Five Gods, #3)]]> 61887 423 Lois McMaster Bujold 0060574747 Janice 3 x2020, scribd, reread 3.83 2005

The Hallowed Hunt (World of the Five Gods, #3)

author: Lois McMaster Bujold
name: Janice
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2005
rating: 3
read at: 2020/05/17
date added: 2020/05/17
shelves: x2020, scribd, reread
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Paladin of Souls (World of the Five Gods, #2)]]> 61904 470 Lois McMaster Bujold 0380818612 Janice 5
This book isn't the wonderful achievement that The Curse of Chalion is, but it's still good. Ista, formerly mad, formerly a saint, now a saint again, but for a DIFFERENT god, has to unravel some bad stuff happening in a neighboring castle.

Good stuff.]]> 4.17 2003 Paladin of Souls (World of the Five Gods, #2)

Paladin of Souls (World of the Five Gods, #2)

author: Lois McMaster Bujold
name: Janice
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2003
rating: 5
read at: 2020/05/09
date added: 2020/05/12
shelves: audio, reread, scribd, x2015, x2020
review:
I'm on a re-read kick. I just read Curse of Chalion, so I figured, why not continue on with this series?

This book isn't the wonderful achievement that The Curse of Chalion is, but it's still good. Ista, formerly mad, formerly a saint, now a saint again, but for a DIFFERENT god, has to unravel some bad stuff happening in a neighboring castle.

Good stuff.
]]> To Be Taught, If Fortunate 43190272
Ariadne is one such explorer. As an astronaut on an extrasolar research vessel, she and her fellow crewmates sleep between worlds and wake up each time with different features. Her experience is one of fluid body and stable mind and of a unique perspective on the passage of time. Back on Earth, society changes dramatically from decade to decade, as it always does.

Ariadne may awaken to find that support for space exploration back home has waned, or that her country of birth no longer exists, or that a cult has arisen around their cosmic findings, only to dissolve once more by the next waking. But the moods of Earth have little bearing on their mission: to explore, to study, and to send their learnings home.

Carrying all the trademarks of her other beloved works, including brilliant writing, fantastic world-building and exceptional, diverse characters, Becky's first audiobook outside of the Wayfarers series is sure to capture the imagination of listeners all over the world.]]> 153 Becky Chambers 0062936018 Janice 4 x2020, audio, scribd
I heard a podcast review of this book that was very favorable, so I bumped it up in my queue. I listened to it one evening while I was finishing up doing laundry, and then finishing up spinning a bobbin of yarn.

Four astronauts are sent out on basically a mission just to explore. It's not a mission to do anything else, really. They're set to visit 4 different planets and then return home decades after they leave. And that's what they do. But partway into their mission on the second planet, they stop receiving updates from earth.

The story is basically this, then: do you keep going and doing the work you set out to do, not knowing if there is anyone back home to share it with? What then would you do at the end of your mission?

These days it's a bit of a challenge to find fiction with a generally hopeful turn. It genuinely cheers me that there is an author who looks at exploration and science as good in its own right, even though you do have to ask questions about why you're doing something, and what it means to persevere.

About that title. [spoilers removed]]]> 4.19 2019 To Be Taught, If Fortunate

author: Becky Chambers
name: Janice
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2020/02/27
date added: 2020/05/12
shelves: x2020, audio, scribd
review:
What a lovely book this was. Becky Chambers just keeps getting better.

I heard a podcast review of this book that was very favorable, so I bumped it up in my queue. I listened to it one evening while I was finishing up doing laundry, and then finishing up spinning a bobbin of yarn.

Four astronauts are sent out on basically a mission just to explore. It's not a mission to do anything else, really. They're set to visit 4 different planets and then return home decades after they leave. And that's what they do. But partway into their mission on the second planet, they stop receiving updates from earth.

The story is basically this, then: do you keep going and doing the work you set out to do, not knowing if there is anyone back home to share it with? What then would you do at the end of your mission?

These days it's a bit of a challenge to find fiction with a generally hopeful turn. It genuinely cheers me that there is an author who looks at exploration and science as good in its own right, even though you do have to ask questions about why you're doing something, and what it means to persevere.

About that title. [spoilers removed]
]]> <![CDATA[Artificial Condition (The Murderbot Diaries, #2)]]> 40194200 4 Martha Wells 1501977830 Janice 4
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.]]> 4.09 2018 Artificial Condition (The Murderbot Diaries, #2)

Artificial Condition (The Murderbot Diaries, #2)

author: Martha Wells
name: Janice
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2020/04/26
date added: 2020/04/27
shelves: x2018, audio, scribd, x2020, audible
review:
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.
]]> <![CDATA[All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries, #1)]]> 32758901 "As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure."

In a corporate-dominated space-faring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. For their own safety, exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids. But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn’t a primary concern.

On a distant planet, a team of scientists is conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied ‘droid--a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module and refers to itself (though never out loud) as “Murderbot.�� Scornful of humans, Murderbot wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is, but when a neighboring mission goes dark, it's up to the scientists and Murderbot to get to the truth.]]> 144 Martha Wells Janice 5
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.]]> 4.11 2017 All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries, #1)

All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries, #1)

author: Martha Wells
name: Janice
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2020/04/24
date added: 2020/04/27
shelves: x2018, kindle, audio, scribd, reread, x2020
review:
This 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.
]]> Salvation Day 52273633
They thought the ship would be their salvation.

Zahra knew every detail of the plan. House of Wisdom, a massive exploration vessel, had been abandoned by the government of Earth a decade earlier, when a deadly virus broke out and killed everyone on board in a matter of hours. But now it could belong to her people if they were bold enough to take it. All they needed to do was kidnap Jaswinder Bhattacharya—the sole survivor of the tragedy, and the last person whose genetic signature would allow entry to the spaceship.

But what Zahra and her crew could not know was what waited for them on the ship—a terrifying secret buried by the government. A threat to all of humanity that lay sleeping alongside the orbiting dead.

And then they woke it up.]]> Kali Wallace Janice 4 x2019, audio, scribd
I listened to the audiobook there, and it is EXCELLENT. They use two different narrators for the main viewpoint characters, Zahra & Jas. The narrator for Jas was supremely comfortable with the East Indian characters names. I appreciated that a lot.

There's a little Mad Cultist Leader, a little Aliens, a little Borg, a little zombie here, along with a healthy (and welcome, in my world) spiel about refugees and their rights. There's also some government shenanigans, which I'm on record as hating, because 2019. Amirite???

I thought it was all handled very well. Perhaps the denoument went a little too long? But that's probably my biggest quibble. The Big Bad is SCARY, but the characters Take It Seriously.

Kudos to the narrators. They really made the book for me.

I knitted most of a hat while I finished listening to this book. :)]]> 3.45 2019 Salvation Day

author: Kali Wallace
name: Janice
average rating: 3.45
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2019/08/31
date added: 2020/03/10
shelves: x2019, audio, scribd
review:
I think this was one of those books I see on sale pretty cheap. S0 I look to see if it's on Scribd, and if it is, I just read it there.

I listened to the audiobook there, and it is EXCELLENT. They use two different narrators for the main viewpoint characters, Zahra & Jas. The narrator for Jas was supremely comfortable with the East Indian characters names. I appreciated that a lot.

There's a little Mad Cultist Leader, a little Aliens, a little Borg, a little zombie here, along with a healthy (and welcome, in my world) spiel about refugees and their rights. There's also some government shenanigans, which I'm on record as hating, because 2019. Amirite???

I thought it was all handled very well. Perhaps the denoument went a little too long? But that's probably my biggest quibble. The Big Bad is SCARY, but the characters Take It Seriously.

Kudos to the narrators. They really made the book for me.

I knitted most of a hat while I finished listening to this book. :)
]]> The Uninvited 3564508 342 Dorothy Macardle Janice 3 x2020, scribd
There's a haunted house bought by a brother and sister. There are hidden family secrets, and a number of people trying to find their way forward. The ghost story part is pretty good. The bit of romance isn't really to my taste, though it's not horrible. (I just generally don't have a lot of patience for most romance.)

I very much enjoyed the writing style. Something about the slightly mannered pre-WW2 proper English novels is very comforting to read for me. I don't think it quite approached 4 stars for me, but I did like it.]]> 3.95 1942 The Uninvited

author: Dorothy Macardle
name: Janice
average rating: 3.95
book published: 1942
rating: 3
read at: 2020/03/03
date added: 2020/03/03
shelves: x2020, scribd
review:
I learned about this book from one of those lists of Halloween books that comes around every year. I like to read ghost stories sometimes. And this is very much a ghost story. I understand that there is also a movie, so I'll have to look for that.

There's a haunted house bought by a brother and sister. There are hidden family secrets, and a number of people trying to find their way forward. The ghost story part is pretty good. The bit of romance isn't really to my taste, though it's not horrible. (I just generally don't have a lot of patience for most romance.)

I very much enjoyed the writing style. Something about the slightly mannered pre-WW2 proper English novels is very comforting to read for me. I don't think it quite approached 4 stars for me, but I did like it.
]]> Upright Women Wanted 45320365
Esther is a stowaway. She’s hidden herself away in the Librarian’s book wagon in an attempt to escape the marriage her father has arranged for her—a marriage to the man who was previously engaged to her best friend. Her best friend who she was in love with. Her best friend who was just executed for possession of resistance propaganda.

The future American Southwest is full of bandits, fascists, and queer librarian spies on horseback trying to do the right thing. They'll bring the fight to you.

In Upright Women Wanted, award-winning author Sarah Gailey reinvents the pulp Western with an explicitly antifascist, near-future story of queer identity.]]> 176 Sarah Gailey 1250213584 Janice 3 x2020, audio, scribd
But if you're looking for an ok western/lesbian romance/gender non-conforming story with a happy ending, this is the book for you. It was a quick afternoon's listen. 2.5 stars rounded to 3, largely because it's not my thing, and some of the writing made me wince a little. ]]> 3.59 2020 Upright Women Wanted

author: Sarah Gailey
name: Janice
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2020/02/21
date added: 2020/02/21
shelves: x2020, audio, scribd
review:
I'm not really the target audience for this book. It takes place in a sort of alternate America/alternate west (I don't like westerns); it's mostly a romance (don't normally read romance); it doesn't have much plot (I like plots).

But if you're looking for an ok western/lesbian romance/gender non-conforming story with a happy ending, this is the book for you. It was a quick afternoon's listen. 2.5 stars rounded to 3, largely because it's not my thing, and some of the writing made me wince a little.
]]> <![CDATA[The Expert System's Brother (Expert System, #1)]]> 49212916 Bestselling British master of science fiction Adrian Tchaikovsky brings readers a new, mind-expanding science fantasia in The Expert System's Brother

After an unfortunate accident, Handry is forced to wander a world he doesn’t understand, searching for meaning. He soon discovers that the life he thought he knew is far stranger than he could even possibly imagine.

Can an unlikely saviour provide the answers to the questions he barely comprehends?]]> Adrian Tchaikovsky Janice 3 x2020, audio, scribd
It was pretty interesting to see how he worked out this particular world. It reminded me somehow of the feeling I got from some of the ST:TOS episodes. I particularly liked the contrast between the native life-forms on the planet and the humans.

Good stuff.

Note on the audio: I think the narrator may have been Australian?? His inflection was a little unusual to me at first, but I got used to it and it was fine. Listened to it in one afternoon.]]> 3.31 2018 The Expert System's Brother (Expert System, #1)

The Expert System's Brother (Expert System, #1)

author: Adrian Tchaikovsky
name: Janice
average rating: 3.31
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2020/02/09
date added: 2020/02/09
shelves: x2020, audio, scribd
review:
Big props to Adrian Tchiakovsky for some really imaginative SF! I agree with some of the other reviewers that this was maybe not among his best works, but it was still pretty decent.

It was pretty interesting to see how he worked out this particular world. It reminded me somehow of the feeling I got from some of the ST:TOS episodes. I particularly liked the contrast between the native life-forms on the planet and the humans.

Good stuff.

Note on the audio: I think the narrator may have been Australian?? His inflection was a little unusual to me at first, but I got used to it and it was fine. Listened to it in one afternoon.
]]> The Need 42201850
But then the footsteps come again, and she catches a glimpse of movement.

Suddenly Molly finds herself face-to-face with an intruder who knows far too much about her and her family. As she attempts to protect those she loves most, Molly must also acknowledge her own frailty. Molly slips down an existential rabbit hole where she must confront the dualities of motherhood: the ecstasy and the dread; the languor and the ferocity; the banality and the transcendence as the book hurtles toward a mind-bending conclusion.

In The Need, Helen Phillips has created a subversive, speculative thriller that comes to life through blazing, arresting prose and gorgeous, haunting imagery. Anointed as one of the most exciting fiction writers working today, The Need is a glorious celebration of the bizarre and beautiful nature of our everyday lives.]]> 272 Helen Phillips 1982113162 Janice 2 audio, scribd, x2020
I'm not a mother, and never wanted to be one. Little wonder this made no particular sense to me.

Also, there was something about alternate universes or something. And I got really tired of reading "I felt my milk come down." Jeezopete.

Not for me.]]> 3.15 2019 The Need

author: Helen Phillips
name: Janice
average rating: 3.15
book published: 2019
rating: 2
read at: 2020/01/19
date added: 2020/02/05
shelves: audio, scribd, x2020
review:
I am not the target audience for this book. I think it's saying something about motherhood and the ties that bind women and children in some idealized version of parenthood, but I'm not sure.

I'm not a mother, and never wanted to be one. Little wonder this made no particular sense to me.

Also, there was something about alternate universes or something. And I got really tired of reading "I felt my milk come down." Jeezopete.

Not for me.
]]> <![CDATA[This Is How You Lose the Time War]]> 43352954 Burn before reading. Thus begins an unlikely correspondence between two rival agents hellbent on securing the best possible future for their warring factions. Now, what began as a taunt, a battlefield boast, grows into something more. Something epic. Something romantic. Something that could change the past and the future.

Except the discovery of their bond would mean death for each of them. There's still a war going on, after all. And someone has to win that war.]]> 209 Amal El-Mohtar Janice 4 x2019, audio, scribd 3.86 2019 This Is How You Lose the Time War

author: Amal El-Mohtar
name: Janice
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2019/01/01
date added: 2020/01/26
shelves: x2019, audio, scribd
review:

]]> <![CDATA[An Easy Death (Gunnie Rose, #1)]]> 39939289
She may be young, but Gunnie Rose has acquired a fearsome reputation and the wizards are at a desperate crossroads, even if they won't admit it. They're searching frantically to locate the only man whose blood they believe can save their tsar's life.

A powerful enemy sends enemies who want their mission to fail. The trio are set upon by a powerful force does not want them to succeed in their mission. Lizbeth Rose is a gunnie who has never failed a client, but her oath will test all of her skills and resolve to get them all out alive.]]> 320 Charlaine Harris 1481494945 Janice 3 x2020, scribd
Gunnie Rose has the job of guiding two of these wizards to find a child who may be able to help Nicholas's son stay alive. But Gunnie has a secret too, one she may not want the wizards to learn.

There's lots of killing in this book. It seems to be a pretty brutal time.

Charlaine Harris is always readable. I just didn't really enjoy the brutal society and the prospect of an America even more divided and dilapidated than our current country. But I'm super-sensitive to stuff like this right now. :(]]> 3.98 2018 An Easy Death (Gunnie Rose, #1)

author: Charlaine Harris
name: Janice
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2020/01/26
date added: 2020/01/26
shelves: x2020, scribd
review:
In an alternate America that's broken up into different factions, Gunnie Rose is a gunslinger, smuggler, and guide. In this world, Tsar Nicolas II escaped from Russia and took up residence in California. When America fractured, he basically took over the rule of that part of the country. He also has wizards.

Gunnie Rose has the job of guiding two of these wizards to find a child who may be able to help Nicholas's son stay alive. But Gunnie has a secret too, one she may not want the wizards to learn.

There's lots of killing in this book. It seems to be a pretty brutal time.

Charlaine Harris is always readable. I just didn't really enjoy the brutal society and the prospect of an America even more divided and dilapidated than our current country. But I'm super-sensitive to stuff like this right now. :(
]]> Devil and the Deep, The 36563366 Stranded on a desert island, a young man yearns for objects from his past. A local from a small coastal town in England is found dead as the tide goes out. A Norwegian whaling ship is stranded in the Arctic, its crew threatened by mysterious forces. In the nineteenth century, a ship drifts in becalmed waters in the Indian Ocean, those on it haunted by their evil deeds. A surfer turned diver discovers there are things worse than drowning under the sea. Something from the sea is creating monsters on land.

In The Devil and the Deep, award-winning editor Ellen Datlow shares an all-original anthology of horror that covers the depths of the deep blue sea, with brand new stories from New York Times bestsellers and award-winning authors such as Seanan McGuire, Christopher Golden, Stephen Graham Jones, and more.]]> Ellen Datlow 1543680364 Janice 3 audio, scribd, x2020
Some stories stretch the "sea" specification (hello, wind wagon on the great plains?). Some are pretty haunting, like the last one, "Haunt" by Siobhan Carroll. There's supernatural horror, and there's human horror.

A solid collection, worth a read.]]> 3.75 2018 Devil and the Deep, The

author: Ellen Datlow
name: Janice
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2020/01/20
date added: 2020/01/22
shelves: audio, scribd, x2020
review:
Another solid book of stories edited by Ellen Datlow.

Some stories stretch the "sea" specification (hello, wind wagon on the great plains?). Some are pretty haunting, like the last one, "Haunt" by Siobhan Carroll. There's supernatural horror, and there's human horror.

A solid collection, worth a read.
]]> <![CDATA[Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead]]> 45037745
In a remote Polish village, Janina devotes the dark winter days to studying astrology, translating the poetry of William Blake, and taking care of the summer homes of wealthy Warsaw residents. Her reputation as a crank and a recluse is amplified by her not-so-secret preference for the company of animals over humans. Then a neighbor, Big Foot, turns up dead. Soon other bodies are discovered, in increasingly strange circumstances. As suspicions mount, Janina inserts herself into the investigation, certain that she knows whodunit. If only anyone would pay her mind . . .

A deeply satisfying thriller cum fairy tale, Drive Your Plow over the Bones of the Dead is a provocative exploration of the murky borderland between sanity and madness, justice and tradition, autonomy and fate. Whom do we deem sane? it asks. Who is worthy of a voice?]]> 12 Olga Tokarczuk 1984888803 Janice 3 scribd, audio, x2020
People are dying in this small community. Are the hunted animals revolting? Maybe.

Maybe astrology or William Blake have the answer. May you should never underestimate eccentric old women.

I listened to the audio version. The narrator read with an accent, rather slowly.

It was fine. A little out of my usual ambit, but it was fine. A little more astrology than I like to hear about.]]> 3.63 2009 Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead

author: Olga Tokarczuk
name: Janice
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2009
rating: 3
read at: 2020/01/12
date added: 2020/01/12
shelves: scribd, audio, x2020
review:
Well, that was an odd little book.

People are dying in this small community. Are the hunted animals revolting? Maybe.

Maybe astrology or William Blake have the answer. May you should never underestimate eccentric old women.

I listened to the audio version. The narrator read with an accent, rather slowly.

It was fine. A little out of my usual ambit, but it was fine. A little more astrology than I like to hear about.
]]> <![CDATA[The Found and the Lost: The Collected Novellas of Ursula K. Le Guin]]> 29868611
Ursula K. Le Guin has won multiple prizes and accolades from the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters to the Newbery Honor, the Nebula, Hugo, World Fantasy, and PEN/Malamud Awards. She has had her work collected over the years, but never as a complete retrospective of her longer works as represented in the wonderful The Found and the Lost.

CONTENT
"Vaster Than Empires And More Slow"
"Buffalo Gals, Won’t You Come Out Tonight"
"Hernes" by Ursula K. Le Guin
"The Matter Of Seggri"
"Another Story Or A Fisherman Of The Inland Sea"
"Forgiveness Day"
"A Man Of The People"
"A Woman’s Liberation"
"Old Music And The Slave Women"
"The Finder"
"On The High Marsh"
"Dragonfly"
"Paradises Lost"

This collection is a literary treasure chest that belongs in every home library.]]> 816 Ursula K. Le Guin 1481451391 Janice 0 scribd, to-read 4.42 2016 The Found and the Lost: The Collected Novellas of Ursula K. Le Guin

The Found and the Lost: The Collected Novellas of Ursula K. Le Guin

author: Ursula K. Le Guin
name: Janice
average rating: 4.42
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/01/04
shelves: scribd, to-read
review:

]]> Walking to Aldebaran 49951381 Chilling story of a lost astronaut on an alien artefact from Arthur C. Clarke award-winning Adrian Tchaikovsky

My name is Gary Rendell. I’m an astronaut. When they asked me as a kid what I wanted to be when I grew up, I said, “astronaut, please!�� I dreamed astronaut, I worked astronaut, I studied astronaut.

I got lucky; when a probe sent out to explore the Oort Cloud found a strange alien rock and an international team of scientists was put together to go and look at it, I made the draw.

I got even luckier. When disaster hit and our team was split up, scattered through the endless cold tunnels, I somehow survived.

Now I’m lost, and alone, and scared, and there’s something horrible in here.

Lucky me.

Lucky, lucky, lucky.]]> Adrian Tchaikovsky 1515936112 Janice 4 x2019, audio, scribd
And then there's Adrian Tchaikowsky and his protagonist Gary Rendell.

LOL.

I liked it.]]> 3.80 2019 Walking to Aldebaran

author: Adrian Tchaikovsky
name: Janice
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2019/12/20
date added: 2020/01/02
shelves: x2019, audio, scribd
review:
Ok, I'm a sucker for unconventional ways of traveling through space. Space highways, portals, etc. are all good for me. And if there's a monster on the way, all the better.

And then there's Adrian Tchaikowsky and his protagonist Gary Rendell.

LOL.

I liked it.
]]> The Light Brigade 40523931
Dietz, a fresh recruit in the infantry, begins to experience combat drops that don’t sync up with the platoon’s. And Dietz’s bad drops tell a story of the war that’s not at all what the corporate brass want the soldiers to think is going on.

Is Dietz really experiencing the war differently, or is it combat madness? Trying to untangle memory from mission brief and survive with sanity intact, Dietz is ready to become a hero—or maybe a villain; in war it’s hard to tell the difference.]]> 356 Kameron Hurley 1481447963 Janice 3 audio, scribd, x2019 3.88 2019 The Light Brigade

author: Kameron Hurley
name: Janice
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2019/12/22
date added: 2019/12/22
shelves: audio, scribd, x2019
review:

]]> Big Machine 49592706 A fiendishly imaginative comic novel about doubt, faith, and the monsters we carry within us

Ricky Rice was as good as invisible: a middling hustler, recovering dope fiend, and traumatized suicide cult survivor running out the string of his life as a porter at a bus depot in Utica, New York. Until one day a letter appears, summoning him to the frozen woods of Vermont. There, Ricky is inducted into a band of paranormal investigators comprised of former addicts and petty criminals, all of whom had at some point in their wasted lives heard The Voice: a mysterious murmur on the wind, a disembodied shout, or a whisper in an empty room that may or may not be from God.

Evoking the disorienting wonder of writers like Haruki Murakami and Kevin Brockmeier, but driven by Victor LaValle’s perfectly pitched comic sensibility Big Machine is a mind-rattling literary adventure about sex, race, and the eternal struggle between faith and doubt.

]]> 13 Victor LaValle 1541495217 Janice 3 audio, scribd, x2019
There are different kinds of redemption stories going on, mixed with an uncanny element. There are lots of flashbacks.

The writing is wonderful, but the story just didn't really work that well for me. It took me a long time to finish.

I listened to the audiobook, and the narration was fine. The story just didn't grip me.
]]> 3.40 2010 Big Machine

author: Victor LaValle
name: Janice
average rating: 3.40
book published: 2010
rating: 3
read at: 2019/09/25
date added: 2019/12/20
shelves: audio, scribd, x2019
review:
I have to say I didn't enjoy this book quite as much as I have some of LaValle's other works. At the end, I just felt like I didn't quite see all of what was going on, or why.

There are different kinds of redemption stories going on, mixed with an uncanny element. There are lots of flashbacks.

The writing is wonderful, but the story just didn't really work that well for me. It took me a long time to finish.

I listened to the audiobook, and the narration was fine. The story just didn't grip me.

]]> <![CDATA[This World is Full of Monsters]]> 35500189
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.]]> 38 Jeff VanderMeer 1250165717 Janice 3 x2019, audio, scribd
But the words and descriptions were nice.

It was a quick listen.]]> 3.34 2017 This World is Full of Monsters

author: Jeff VanderMeer
name: Janice
average rating: 3.34
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2019/12/13
date added: 2019/12/16
shelves: x2019, audio, scribd
review:
Well, that was a thing. I'm not sure I'm quite bright enough to know what was actually going on here.

But the words and descriptions were nice.

It was a quick listen.
]]> An Agent of Utopia 40606635
“Duncan’s unique voice shines through in his third collection. You’ve not read him yet? Shame on you! Go out now and buy An Agent of Utopia. You’ll thank me.�� ―Ellen Datlow, award- winning editor

“Andy Duncan is one of the most hilarious and poignant writers of short stories that we have. He effortlessly forges dreamlike and nightmarish tales with wit and wisdom that rivals Mark Twain.�� ―Christopher Barzak, author of Wonders of the Invisible World

In these tales you will meet a Utopian assassin, an aging UFO contactee, a haunted Mohawk steelworker, a time- traveling prizefighter, a yam- eating Zombie, and a child who loves a frizzled chicken―not to mention Harry Houdini, Zora Neale Hurston, Sir Thomas More, and all their fellow travelers riding the steamer- trunk imagination of a unique twenty-first- century fabulist.]]> 288 Andy Duncan Janice 5 x2019, scribd
CW: a number of these stories deal with racism and abuse. There's possibly more use of the n- word than we really need. But the author's voice is very Southern. If you can take a deep breath and read past the offensive word(s), the stories are worth it.

His stories here often read like tall tales, folk tales, or myths of some kind. I also particularly enjoyed the way he mixes characters from real life into his fiction. In "An Agent of Utopia" the main character is from - surprise! - an actual country called Utopia. He has an encounter with Sir Thomas More (real-life author of a book called Utopia) and More's daughter. The encounter is... strange.

"Joe Diabo's Farewell" builds a story from and early 20th century Indian shows into a story about identity, life, and death.

In "Beluthahatchie" a blues musician meets (and maybe beats) the devil.

"The Map to the Homes of the Stars". I don't know exactly how to characterize this. Maybe a coming of age story?

, aka "The Pottawatomie Giant" encounters Houdini and has a dispute with him. Or maybe not. I liked this one. (I liked them all, but we always have favorites, amirite?)

"Senator Bilbo" takes
and muses on racism and nationalism via orcs.

"The Big Rock Candy Mountain" builds from the
of the same name. It's a little about being satisfied with what's in front of you vs. looking for something new. This one felt like a tall tale to me. I like tall tales a lot.

"Daddy Mention and the Monday Skull": another tall tale/folk tale, this one involving jails and black prisoners, and escapes. Nice. I'd thought, while reading this, that it was just a story. But it turns out that there WAS a , who may or may not have been a real person.

In "Zora and the Zombie", Zora Neal Hurston researches zombies in Haiti (which really happened: see Tell My Horse: Voodoo and Life in Haiti and Jamaica. I just don't know if she actually met Erzulie or a zombie there. Maybe she did.

In "Unique Chicken Goes in Reverse", a priest meets a girl named Mary who has a talented chicken. The story has a nice zinger at the end too. And holy cow, here's the referred to in the story!

"Slow as a Bullet" reads like another tall tale. Cliffert Corbett wagers he can outrun a bullet.

"Close Encounters" is about UFOs and alien contactees. As far as I can tell, all the contactees and UFO researchers mentioned in the story were real, including the narrator. It's a great story to end the collection.]]> 3.35 2018 An Agent of Utopia

author: Andy Duncan
name: Janice
average rating: 3.35
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2019/05/31
date added: 2019/12/12
shelves: x2019, scribd
review:
I enjoyed this collection of stories very much. Andy Duncan knows how to put a story together. As I was writing up this review and adding links, my admiration grew and grew at how Mr. Duncan could take a grain of truth and wrap a pearl of a story around it.

CW: a number of these stories deal with racism and abuse. There's possibly more use of the n- word than we really need. But the author's voice is very Southern. If you can take a deep breath and read past the offensive word(s), the stories are worth it.

His stories here often read like tall tales, folk tales, or myths of some kind. I also particularly enjoyed the way he mixes characters from real life into his fiction. In "An Agent of Utopia" the main character is from - surprise! - an actual country called Utopia. He has an encounter with Sir Thomas More (real-life author of a book called Utopia) and More's daughter. The encounter is... strange.

"Joe Diabo's Farewell" builds a story from and early 20th century Indian shows into a story about identity, life, and death.

In "Beluthahatchie" a blues musician meets (and maybe beats) the devil.

"The Map to the Homes of the Stars". I don't know exactly how to characterize this. Maybe a coming of age story?

, aka "The Pottawatomie Giant" encounters Houdini and has a dispute with him. Or maybe not. I liked this one. (I liked them all, but we always have favorites, amirite?)

"Senator Bilbo" takes
and muses on racism and nationalism via orcs.

"The Big Rock Candy Mountain" builds from the
of the same name. It's a little about being satisfied with what's in front of you vs. looking for something new. This one felt like a tall tale to me. I like tall tales a lot.

"Daddy Mention and the Monday Skull": another tall tale/folk tale, this one involving jails and black prisoners, and escapes. Nice. I'd thought, while reading this, that it was just a story. But it turns out that there WAS a , who may or may not have been a real person.

In "Zora and the Zombie", Zora Neal Hurston researches zombies in Haiti (which really happened: see Tell My Horse: Voodoo and Life in Haiti and Jamaica. I just don't know if she actually met Erzulie or a zombie there. Maybe she did.

In "Unique Chicken Goes in Reverse", a priest meets a girl named Mary who has a talented chicken. The story has a nice zinger at the end too. And holy cow, here's the referred to in the story!

"Slow as a Bullet" reads like another tall tale. Cliffert Corbett wagers he can outrun a bullet.

"Close Encounters" is about UFOs and alien contactees. As far as I can tell, all the contactees and UFO researchers mentioned in the story were real, including the narrator. It's a great story to end the collection.
]]> <![CDATA[Tropic of Night (Jimmy Paz, #1)]]> 178189 563 Michael Gruber 0330426842 Janice 5 scribd, x2019
Tropic of Night is a thriller/mystery with supernatural elements. It bounces back and forth in time from the viewpoint of Jane Doe. Jane is a bright, wealthy anthropologist. She's studied (though not really understood) a secretive tribe in Siberia, and another (with more understanding) in Africa. She's been in hiding for a couple of years after her return from Africa. She's hiding from her husband, who's apparently fallen wholeheartedly in love with The Dark Side of a particular kind of witchcraft practiced by the obscure African tribe.

In Miami, someone is killing pregnant women in a particularly gruesome way. Iago Paz, detective, is on the case. Turns out that Jane's sister Mary had been killed in that same way in her home a couple of years earlier. Is Jane's husband back and looking for her/continuing the murders???

The threads of this story weave together pretty masterfully. I was initially a bit put off by Jane's character. She was seriously damaged by her time in Africa and just after, and she's been hiding/recovering.

Paz has his own burdens with his mother and his non-present father and his parnter.

I really enjoyed this book. I had no idea how it was going to turn out. The entries from Jane's journal are pretty interesting. I ended up actually being a little more invested in her than in the detective.

Will definitely look at more books by this author. This was great fun, and a bit creepy to boot.]]> 3.86 2003 Tropic of Night (Jimmy Paz, #1)

author: Michael Gruber
name: Janice
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2003
rating: 5
read at: 2019/12/07
date added: 2019/12/08
shelves: scribd, x2019
review:
Well, THAT was quite the ride!

Tropic of Night is a thriller/mystery with supernatural elements. It bounces back and forth in time from the viewpoint of Jane Doe. Jane is a bright, wealthy anthropologist. She's studied (though not really understood) a secretive tribe in Siberia, and another (with more understanding) in Africa. She's been in hiding for a couple of years after her return from Africa. She's hiding from her husband, who's apparently fallen wholeheartedly in love with The Dark Side of a particular kind of witchcraft practiced by the obscure African tribe.

In Miami, someone is killing pregnant women in a particularly gruesome way. Iago Paz, detective, is on the case. Turns out that Jane's sister Mary had been killed in that same way in her home a couple of years earlier. Is Jane's husband back and looking for her/continuing the murders???

The threads of this story weave together pretty masterfully. I was initially a bit put off by Jane's character. She was seriously damaged by her time in Africa and just after, and she's been hiding/recovering.

Paz has his own burdens with his mother and his non-present father and his parnter.

I really enjoyed this book. I had no idea how it was going to turn out. The entries from Jane's journal are pretty interesting. I ended up actually being a little more invested in her than in the detective.

Will definitely look at more books by this author. This was great fun, and a bit creepy to boot.
]]> The Invited 46035481
Duration: 11:50:16

A chilling ghost story with a twist: the New York Times bestselling author of The Winter People returns to the woods of Vermont to tell the story of a husband and wife who don't simply move into a haunted house, they start building one from scratch, without knowing it, until it's too late . . .

In a quest for a simpler life, Helen and Nate abandon the comforts of suburbia and their teaching jobs to take up residence on forty-four acres of rural land where they will begin the ultimate, aspirational do-it-yourself project: building the house of their dreams. When they discover that this charming property has a dark and violent past, Helen, a former history teacher, becomes consumed by the legend of Hattie Breckenridge, a woman who lived and died there a century ago. As Helen starts carefully sourcing decorative building materials for her home--wooden beams, mantles, historic bricks--she starts to unearth, and literally conjure, the tragic lives of Hattie's descendants, three generations of "Breckenridge women," each of whom died amidst suspicion, and who seem to still be seeking something precious and elusive in the present day.]]> 10 Jennifer McMahon Janice 3 x2019, audio, scribd
The heroine goes out of her way to find objects related to people who had history in the area of the house she and her husband are building. Things like a mantel made from the tree where a woman was hanged, for instance. Then she's terrified to find that the presence of such a thing means a ghost shows up!!

Then she does it again. OMG, another ghost shows up, and she's scared AGAIN. Jeezopete, lady, slow learner much?

That said, it's not bad. I did a little eye rolling when she kept buying ghost-related historical objects and was then freaked out by ghosts, lol. But there's a spunky middle-school girl who's lost her mom in the story, and a white doe that may ALSO represent a ghost, and some weird townspeople. It was fine. I listened to it pretty much straight through.]]> 3.43 2019 The Invited

author: Jennifer McMahon
name: Janice
average rating: 3.43
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2019/11/24
date added: 2019/12/04
shelves: x2019, audio, scribd
review:
This is mostly a ghost stories (or ghosts story, TBH). It's not too creepy or scary, but there are a couple of bad deaths (not really described too graphically).

The heroine goes out of her way to find objects related to people who had history in the area of the house she and her husband are building. Things like a mantel made from the tree where a woman was hanged, for instance. Then she's terrified to find that the presence of such a thing means a ghost shows up!!

Then she does it again. OMG, another ghost shows up, and she's scared AGAIN. Jeezopete, lady, slow learner much?

That said, it's not bad. I did a little eye rolling when she kept buying ghost-related historical objects and was then freaked out by ghosts, lol. But there's a spunky middle-school girl who's lost her mom in the story, and a white doe that may ALSO represent a ghost, and some weird townspeople. It was fine. I listened to it pretty much straight through.
]]> Full Throttle 43801817 480 Joe Hill 0062200674 Janice 3 x2019, audio, scribd
This is a pretty good collection of stories. I liked most of them.

Sorry, not much else to say about them.]]> 4.00 2019 Full Throttle

author: Joe Hill
name: Janice
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2019/11/26
date added: 2019/12/04
shelves: x2019, audio, scribd
review:
Note: the audio version omits a story from the original.

This is a pretty good collection of stories. I liked most of them.

Sorry, not much else to say about them.
]]> <![CDATA[The Girl Who Drank the Moon (Winner of the 2017 Newbery Medal)]]> 31243194 New York Times bestselling epic fantasy, a young girl raised by a witch, a swamp monster, and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon must unlock the dangerous magic buried deep inside. The New York Times Book Review calls The Girl Who Drank the Moon "impossible to put down . . . as exciting and layered as classics like Peter Pan or TheWizard of Oz."
]]> 287 Kelly Barnhill 161620656X Janice 3 scribd, x2017
Sometimes things aren't what they seem. Not all witches are baby-eating monsters. And not all monsters are... monsters.

This is a little story about magic. It's about loss and sadness, and about coming into your own, and about sacrifice. It's about "safety" that isn't really safe. It's about not questioning the assumptions you've grown up with, and how that can hurt.

I think there's some symbolism at the end, but I'm not sure, since I'm pretty symbolism-deaf.

There's a lot to like here. I thought while I was reading it that it would be a good story to read aloud. Fyrian the "Simply Enormous" dragon was sweet. Glerk the Bog Monster I found a little enigmatic. I was a little unsure about Luna's character arc. I guess one character waxing in strength requiring the other to wane in strength is sorta moon-related?

Anyway, things come out all right in the ends. And there's some nice imagery along the way (thank you for the image of escaping from a tower window on the backs of a multitude of paper birds!) But the story as a whole doesn't sit really strongly in my imagination. Just bits and pieces do.

]]> 4.03 2016 The Girl Who Drank the Moon (Winner of the 2017 Newbery Medal)

The Girl Who Drank the Moon (Winner of the 2017 Newbery Medal)

author: Kelly Barnhill
name: Janice
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2016
rating: 3
read at: 2017/11/30
date added: 2019/11/20
shelves: scribd, x2017
review:
Sometimes there are witches in the forest. Sometimes babies have to be left to the witch so the town can go on.

Sometimes things aren't what they seem. Not all witches are baby-eating monsters. And not all monsters are... monsters.

This is a little story about magic. It's about loss and sadness, and about coming into your own, and about sacrifice. It's about "safety" that isn't really safe. It's about not questioning the assumptions you've grown up with, and how that can hurt.

I think there's some symbolism at the end, but I'm not sure, since I'm pretty symbolism-deaf.

There's a lot to like here. I thought while I was reading it that it would be a good story to read aloud. Fyrian the "Simply Enormous" dragon was sweet. Glerk the Bog Monster I found a little enigmatic. I was a little unsure about Luna's character arc. I guess one character waxing in strength requiring the other to wane in strength is sorta moon-related?

Anyway, things come out all right in the ends. And there's some nice imagery along the way (thank you for the image of escaping from a tower window on the backs of a multitude of paper birds!) But the story as a whole doesn't sit really strongly in my imagination. Just bits and pieces do.

]]> <![CDATA[Growing Things and Other Stories]]> 41212413 The Cabin at the End of the World and A Head Full of Ghosts.

A masterful anthology featuring nineteen pieces of short fiction, Growing Things is an exciting glimpse into Paul Tremblay’s fantastically fertile imagination.

In “The Teacher,�� a Bram Stoker Award nominee for best short story, a student is forced to watch a disturbing video that will haunt and torment her and her classmates�� lives.

Four men rob a pawn shop at gunpoint only to vanish, one-by-one, as they speed away from the crime scene in “The Getaway.��

In “Swim Wants to Know If It’s as Bad as Swim Thinks,�� a meth addict kidnaps her daughter from her estranged mother as their town is terrorized by a giant monster... or not.

Joining these haunting works are stories linked to Tremblay’s previous novels. The tour de force metafictional novella “Notes from the Dog Walkers�� deconstructs horror and publishing, possibly bringing in a character from A Head Full of Ghosts, all while serving as a prequel to Disappearance at Devil’s Rock. “The Thirteenth Temple�� follows another character from A Head Full of Ghosts—Merry, who has published a tell-all memoir written years after the events of the novel. And the title story, “Growing Things,�� a shivery tale loosely shared between the sisters in A Head Full of Ghosts, is told here in full.

From global catastrophe to the demons inside our heads, Tremblay illuminates our primal fears and darkest dreams in startlingly original fiction that leaves us unmoored. As he lowers the sky and yanks the ground from beneath our feet, we are compelled to contemplate the darkness inside our own hearts and minds.]]> 352 Paul Tremblay 0062679147 Janice 3 x2019, audio, scribd
I've read way too much horror this year. It's kinda fucked me up, I'm afraid. Not Tremblay's fault.]]> 3.50 2019 Growing Things and Other Stories

author: Paul Tremblay
name: Janice
average rating: 3.50
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2019/11/10
date added: 2019/11/16
shelves: x2019, audio, scribd
review:
Listened to the audiobook. It was fine. Not great, but fine.

I've read way too much horror this year. It's kinda fucked me up, I'm afraid. Not Tremblay's fault.
]]> <![CDATA[A Lush and Seething Hell: Two Tales of Cosmic Horror]]> 43801611 The award-winning and critically-acclaimed master of horror returns with a pair of chilling tales—both never-before-published in print—that examine the violence and depravity of the human condition.

Bringing together his acclaimed novella The Sea Dreams It Is the Sky and an all-new short novel My Heart Struck Sorrow, John Hornor Jacobs turns his fertile imagination to the evil that breeds within the human soul.

A brilliant mix of the psychological and supernatural, blending the acute insight of Roberto Bolaño and the eerie imagination of H. P. Lovecraft, The Sea Dreams It Is the Sky examines life in a South American dictatorship. Centered on the journal of a poet-in-exile and his failed attempts at translating a maddening text, it is told by a young woman trying to come to grips with a country that nearly devoured itself.

In My Heart Struck Sorrow, a librarian discovers a recording from the Deep South—which may be the musical stylings of the Devil himself.

Breathtaking and haunting, A Lush and Seething Hell is a terrifying and exhilarating journey into the darkness, an odyssey into the deepest reaches of ourselves that compels us to confront secrets best left hidden.]]> 368 John Hornor Jacobs 0062880829 Janice 3 x2019, audio, scribd
I was right. Maybe cosmic horror (and some earthly horror) just really isn't for me.

The language the writer uses is fine. He writes very well, with lots of lush adjectives.

I listened to "My Heart Struck Sorrow" first. A musical folklorist goes chasing after the origins of a song in the rural south. There may be some cursed verses of the song. He goes looking for them, and finds some weird stuff. A generation or so later, another musical folklorist tries to follow his trail. He also finds some weird stuff.

I strongly disliked the modern-day folklorist. But that was the worst part of this story for me.

The other story is the one with the lovely title "The Sea Dreams it is the Sky." I honestly had some issues with this one, because of the abuse and torture depicted here. I couldn't even pay good attention to what was going on because of my revulsion. If you have a stronger stomach than I do, you will probably like this story more than I did. The writing, the words on the page, is fine. The subject matter is repellent to me. YMMV.

2.5 rounded up to 3 stars because of the writing. I hated almost every minute I listened to the first story.]]> 3.76 2019 A Lush and Seething Hell: Two Tales of Cosmic Horror

A Lush and Seething Hell: Two Tales of Cosmic Horror

author: John Hornor Jacobs
name: Janice
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2019/10/27
date added: 2019/10/27
shelves: x2019, audio, scribd
review:
I put off listening to this book because I was pretty sure I'd have issues with it.

I was right. Maybe cosmic horror (and some earthly horror) just really isn't for me.

The language the writer uses is fine. He writes very well, with lots of lush adjectives.

I listened to "My Heart Struck Sorrow" first. A musical folklorist goes chasing after the origins of a song in the rural south. There may be some cursed verses of the song. He goes looking for them, and finds some weird stuff. A generation or so later, another musical folklorist tries to follow his trail. He also finds some weird stuff.

I strongly disliked the modern-day folklorist. But that was the worst part of this story for me.

The other story is the one with the lovely title "The Sea Dreams it is the Sky." I honestly had some issues with this one, because of the abuse and torture depicted here. I couldn't even pay good attention to what was going on because of my revulsion. If you have a stronger stomach than I do, you will probably like this story more than I did. The writing, the words on the page, is fine. The subject matter is repellent to me. YMMV.

2.5 rounded up to 3 stars because of the writing. I hated almost every minute I listened to the first story.
]]> Skidding Into Oblivion 44058612

With Skidding Into Oblivion , his fifth collection, award-winning author Brian Hodge brings together his most concentrated assortment yet of year’s best picks and awards finalists, with one thing in It’s the end of the world as we know it . . . and we don’t feel fine at all.]]> 249 Brian Hodge Janice 4 scribd, x2019
Anyway:
I like short stories. And a good horror short story can be very good indeed. I think this is the first time I've read Brian Hodge (except for one story in this collection that I must have read elsewhere.)

I wanted to see if I could do a quick summary of each story without spoiling it. These summaries may sound a little snarky, but I don't mean them too. They're all deeply unsettling.

Roots and All: Folk horror + modern drug concerns and the loss of a sister. Or is she lost?

The Stagnant Breath of Change: A deal made in the past comes due. Be careful what you wish for.

Scars in Progress: Demons aren't what you think they are.

Just Outside Our Windows, Deep Inside Our Walls: Boy meets girl in next building. They get together, sort of.

Eternal, Ever Since Wednesday: Ultimate snow day(s)

Let My Smile Be Your Umbrella: Hunger artist inspires feelings.

We, The Fortunate Bereaved: A Halloween tradition has unexpected results.

One Possible Shape of Things To Come: Someone's watching. That's not good news.

Cures For A Sickened World: Death metal critic plays unexpected role.

The Same Deep Waters As You: Innsmouth meets the Animal Whisperer.

One Last Year Without A Summer: Monument at world's end]]> 4.45 2019 Skidding Into Oblivion

author: Brian Hodge
name: Janice
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2019/10/06
date added: 2019/10/06
shelves: scribd, x2019
review:
I'm reading this book on Scribd. It doesn't appear to be the Kindle edition, but I don't see another ebook version to use. And I'm not confident enough to add a new edition.

Anyway:
I like short stories. And a good horror short story can be very good indeed. I think this is the first time I've read Brian Hodge (except for one story in this collection that I must have read elsewhere.)

I wanted to see if I could do a quick summary of each story without spoiling it. These summaries may sound a little snarky, but I don't mean them too. They're all deeply unsettling.

Roots and All: Folk horror + modern drug concerns and the loss of a sister. Or is she lost?

The Stagnant Breath of Change: A deal made in the past comes due. Be careful what you wish for.

Scars in Progress: Demons aren't what you think they are.

Just Outside Our Windows, Deep Inside Our Walls: Boy meets girl in next building. They get together, sort of.

Eternal, Ever Since Wednesday: Ultimate snow day(s)

Let My Smile Be Your Umbrella: Hunger artist inspires feelings.

We, The Fortunate Bereaved: A Halloween tradition has unexpected results.

One Possible Shape of Things To Come: Someone's watching. That's not good news.

Cures For A Sickened World: Death metal critic plays unexpected role.

The Same Deep Waters As You: Innsmouth meets the Animal Whisperer.

One Last Year Without A Summer: Monument at world's end
]]> And The Ocean Was Our Sky 39813157 From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Monster Calls comes a lyrical tale, one that asks harrowing questions about power, loyalty, obsession, and the monsters we make of others.

With harpoons strapped to their backs, the proud whales of Bathsheba's pod live for the hunt, fighting in the ongoing war against the world of men. When they attack a ship bobbing on the surface of the Abyss, they expect to find easy prey. Instead, they find the trail of a myth, a monster, perhaps the devil himself...

As their relentless Captain leads the chase, they embark on a final, vengeful hunt, one that will forever change the worlds of both whales and men.

This remarkable work by Patrick Ness turns the familiar tale of Moby Dick upside down and tells a story all its own with epic triumph and devastating fate.]]> Patrick Ness 0062882686 Janice 3 x2019, scribd
I was just honestly unsettled by the idea of whales building ships and going on the hunt for people, in retaliation for people hunting whales. In stories like this, I have to fight with my literal-minded self, the one that keeps saying "whales can't build ships, they DON'T HAVE HANDS." (I have this problem with a certain subset of SF/F all the time, though. It does ruin some works for me, alas.)

Patrick Ness is a very good writer, and I've enjoyed a number of his books. I was just a bit bemused by this one.

I listened to this book (novella?) in an afternoon while I was knitting.]]> 3.22 2018 And The Ocean Was Our Sky

author: Patrick Ness
name: Janice
average rating: 3.22
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2019/09/30
date added: 2019/10/01
shelves: x2019, scribd
review:
I really don't know what to make of this book. A story of whales hunting humans? And specifically a whale nemesis name Toby Wick in a white-hulled boat? I'm pretty blind to symbolism, but even I can see that one. I think there's some deeper messages too, but see above re: blind to symbolism.

I was just honestly unsettled by the idea of whales building ships and going on the hunt for people, in retaliation for people hunting whales. In stories like this, I have to fight with my literal-minded self, the one that keeps saying "whales can't build ships, they DON'T HAVE HANDS." (I have this problem with a certain subset of SF/F all the time, though. It does ruin some works for me, alas.)

Patrick Ness is a very good writer, and I've enjoyed a number of his books. I was just a bit bemused by this one.

I listened to this book (novella?) in an afternoon while I was knitting.
]]> Wakenhyrst 40725252
During a walk through the local church yard, Edmund spots an eye in the undergrowth. His terror is only briefly abated when he discovers it's actually a painting, a 'doom', taken from the church. It's horrifying in its depiction of hell, and Edmund wants nothing more to do with it despite his historical significance. But the doom keeps returning to his mind. The stench of the Fen permeates the house, even with the windows closed. And when he lies awake at night, he hears a scratching sound �� like claws on the wooden floor...

Wakenhyrst is a terrifying ghost story, an atmospheric slice of gothic, a brilliant exploration of the boundaries between the real and the supernatural, and a descent into the mind of a psychopath.]]> 359 Michelle Paver 1788549562 Janice 4 x2019, scribd
Wakenhyrst is a story about a man's slow descent into madness, as seen through the eyes of his daughter. The daughter, Maud, has issues of her own. She's unlovely (at least in her eyes), and unloved by her father. Her mother, who DID love her, is dead.

We meet Maud toward the end of her life, when interest in her father's story has been reignited when paintings he did in the asylum have been found. The story's told through the father's journals and Maud's recollections, in flashbacks.

The horror is all in Edmund Stearne's fascination with a subject becoming an increasingly unhealthy obsession. Poor Maud, sidelined and unloved, seems mostly to have to just sit by and watch - or does she? Maud's not quite as helpless as her father thinks she is.

The book is well-written and evocative. I liked it.]]> 3.82 2019 Wakenhyrst

author: Michelle Paver
name: Janice
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2019/10/01
date added: 2019/10/01
shelves: x2019, scribd
review:
I've read other books by Ms. Paver that I enjoyed, so that when I saw this one was out, I was happy to have a chance to read another one.

Wakenhyrst is a story about a man's slow descent into madness, as seen through the eyes of his daughter. The daughter, Maud, has issues of her own. She's unlovely (at least in her eyes), and unloved by her father. Her mother, who DID love her, is dead.

We meet Maud toward the end of her life, when interest in her father's story has been reignited when paintings he did in the asylum have been found. The story's told through the father's journals and Maud's recollections, in flashbacks.

The horror is all in Edmund Stearne's fascination with a subject becoming an increasingly unhealthy obsession. Poor Maud, sidelined and unloved, seems mostly to have to just sit by and watch - or does she? Maud's not quite as helpless as her father thinks she is.

The book is well-written and evocative. I liked it.
]]> The Seventh Bride 23550710
Rhea has a hedgehog. It claims to be ordinary, but normal hedgehogs don’t act like that.

It’s probably not going to be enough.]]> 183 T. Kingfisher Janice 4
I did like a lot of the almost cinematic description. I'll carry some of the mental images with me for a long time.

I do like fairy tale reselling a. It's especially nice to find an author who does them like T. Kingfisher does! It's kinda good to subvert the genre like she does :)]]> 3.86 2014 The Seventh Bride

author: T. Kingfisher
name: Janice
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2019/09/25
date added: 2019/09/25
shelves: x2015, scribd, x2019, audible, kindle
review:
Another T. Kingfisher story that I liked quite a lot. This one's a bit darker and grimmer. I really couldn't tell where the story was going to go for a long time. I HOPED it would have a good ending, but I wasn't sure.

I did like a lot of the almost cinematic description. I'll carry some of the mental images with me for a long time.

I do like fairy tale reselling a. It's especially nice to find an author who does them like T. Kingfisher does! It's kinda good to subvert the genre like she does :)
]]> <![CDATA[The Hazel Wood (The Hazel Wood, #1)]]> 34275232
Alice has long steered clear of her grandmother’s cultish fans. But now she has no choice but to ally with classmate Ellery Finch, a Hinterland superfan who may have his own reasons for wanting to help her. To retrieve her mother, Alice must venture first to the Hazel Wood, then into the world where her grandmother's tales began―and where she might find out how her own story went so wrong.]]> 359 Melissa Albert 1250147905 Janice 4 x2019, scribd
Alice and her mother have always been moving. Bad luck seems to dog them. And it's all tied to a mysterious book of stories (Tales From the Hinterland) written by Alice's grandmother.

Because Alice's grandmother stole those stories from Hinterland.

I generally approve of stories that show that Faery/Fairyland/Elfland (it goes by different names with different authors) to be not just some slightly alternate earth populated by pointy-eared pretty people. In my world (LOL), the best depictions show that world as a strange, strange place. Beautiful, maybe, but also perilous and more dangerous than you might think. Susanna Clarke in her Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell does this really, REALLY well. This book handles it well enough. Hinterland isn't quite an Elfland. It's more of a land of stories, or rather, Stories. And the stories are embodied in people.

Alice's mother, Ella, disappears under mysterious circumstances. Alice feels like she HAS to find here. This is the unfolding of that story.

I liked the writing pretty well. I wasn't quite as drawn in by the story as I thought I would be, though I'm not sure I can say exactly why. Maybe I just didn't feel as involved with Alice as I wanted to be.

But it's a good book, I think. Just wish it had sucked me in a bit more.]]> 3.55 2018 The Hazel Wood (The Hazel Wood, #1)

author: Melissa Albert
name: Janice
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2019/09/10
date added: 2019/09/10
shelves: x2019, scribd
review:
Stealing a child out of a fairyland may have unintended consequences.

Alice and her mother have always been moving. Bad luck seems to dog them. And it's all tied to a mysterious book of stories (Tales From the Hinterland) written by Alice's grandmother.

Because Alice's grandmother stole those stories from Hinterland.

I generally approve of stories that show that Faery/Fairyland/Elfland (it goes by different names with different authors) to be not just some slightly alternate earth populated by pointy-eared pretty people. In my world (LOL), the best depictions show that world as a strange, strange place. Beautiful, maybe, but also perilous and more dangerous than you might think. Susanna Clarke in her Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell does this really, REALLY well. This book handles it well enough. Hinterland isn't quite an Elfland. It's more of a land of stories, or rather, Stories. And the stories are embodied in people.

Alice's mother, Ella, disappears under mysterious circumstances. Alice feels like she HAS to find here. This is the unfolding of that story.

I liked the writing pretty well. I wasn't quite as drawn in by the story as I thought I would be, though I'm not sure I can say exactly why. Maybe I just didn't feel as involved with Alice as I wanted to be.

But it's a good book, I think. Just wish it had sucked me in a bit more.
]]> The Gone World 38107860 Inception meets True Detective in this science fiction thriller of spellbinding tension and staggering scope that follows a special agent into a savage murder case with grave implications for the fate of mankind...

Shannon Moss is part of a clandestine division within the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. In western Pennsylvania, 1997, she is assigned to solve the murder of a Navy SEAL's family--and to locate his vanished teenage daughter. Though she can't share the information with conventional law enforcement, Moss discovers that the missing SEAL was an astronaut aboard the spaceship U.S.S. Libra—a ship assumed lost to the currents of Deep Time. Moss knows first-hand the mental trauma of time-travel and believes the SEAL's experience with the future has triggered this violence.

Determined to find the missing girl and driven by a troubling connection from her own past, Moss travels ahead in time to explore possible versions of the future, seeking evidence to crack the present-day case. To her horror, the future reveals that it's not only the fate of a family that hinges on her work, for what she witnesses rising over time's horizon and hurtling toward the present is the Terminus: the terrifying and cataclysmic end of humanity itself.

Luminous and unsettling, The Gone World bristles with world-shattering ideas yet remains at its heart an intensely human story.]]> 14 Tom Sweterlitsch 0525497765 Janice 4 audio, scribd, x2019
This one made me scratch my head and think.

Something bad is coming, and it's getting closer. The Terminus. It's a white hole in the sky. It makes people run mad. It will be the end of the human race. Unless Shannon Moss can stop it.

Due to some technology possibly purloined from the future, humanity can travel into the future and back, as well as into deep space. It's all a big secret to most of the world. But then there's a murder of men who shouldn't have been alive. They SHOULD have been on a ship lost in the depths of space. So how'd they end up being murdered on earth??

That's what Shannon has to figure out. And holy moly, there's a twisty-turny route to get to the truth of everything that goes on. It's pretty well done, but after a few twists, you start to feel like you've fallen into a recursive wormhole or something. The comment that it's like Inception meets True Detectives season 1 may be apt, though I haven't seen TD to know for sure.

I listened to it straight through over two days of spinning and knitting.

One pet peeve: the narrator of this book did the same thing that annoyed me about the narrator of The Luminous Dead. (I even looked them up to see if the same person did the narration. It wasn't the same person, just two narrators with the same "technique," I guess. When things get tense, she makes her voice go all trembly and shaky. It annoys me because, to my ears, it makes the character sound weak. Don't like it. Otherwise, the narration was fine.

The book is a head trip, but it's pretty interesting.]]> 3.74 2018 The Gone World

author: Tom Sweterlitsch
name: Janice
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2019/08/19
date added: 2019/08/19
shelves: audio, scribd, x2019
review:
It seems like in the past year or two I've seen more than my share of time travel books. Some are interested, some make you sigh and roll your eyes.

This one made me scratch my head and think.

Something bad is coming, and it's getting closer. The Terminus. It's a white hole in the sky. It makes people run mad. It will be the end of the human race. Unless Shannon Moss can stop it.

Due to some technology possibly purloined from the future, humanity can travel into the future and back, as well as into deep space. It's all a big secret to most of the world. But then there's a murder of men who shouldn't have been alive. They SHOULD have been on a ship lost in the depths of space. So how'd they end up being murdered on earth??

That's what Shannon has to figure out. And holy moly, there's a twisty-turny route to get to the truth of everything that goes on. It's pretty well done, but after a few twists, you start to feel like you've fallen into a recursive wormhole or something. The comment that it's like Inception meets True Detectives season 1 may be apt, though I haven't seen TD to know for sure.

I listened to it straight through over two days of spinning and knitting.

One pet peeve: the narrator of this book did the same thing that annoyed me about the narrator of The Luminous Dead. (I even looked them up to see if the same person did the narration. It wasn't the same person, just two narrators with the same "technique," I guess. When things get tense, she makes her voice go all trembly and shaky. It annoys me because, to my ears, it makes the character sound weak. Don't like it. Otherwise, the narration was fine.

The book is a head trip, but it's pretty interesting.
]]> Once Upon a River 40539417
“One of the most pleasurable and satisfying new books I've read in a long time. Setterfield is a master storyteller...swift and entrancing, profound and beautiful.�� —Madeline Miller, internationally bestselling author of Circe and The Song of Achilles

“A beguiling tale, full of twists and turns like the river at its heart, and just as rich and intriguing.�� —M.L. Stedman, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Light Between Oceans

“This is magical, bewitching storytelling...High prose expressed with rare clarity, story for the unashamed sake of story, a kind of moral dreaminess…well, the list continues to grow.��—Jim Crace, National Book Critics Circle and Booker Prize winner and author of Being Dead and Harvest

From the instant #1 New York Times bestselling author of the “eerie and fascinating�� (USA TODAY) The Thirteenth Tale comes a richly imagined, powerful new novel about how we explain the world to ourselves, ourselves to others, and the meaning of our lives in a universe that remains impenetrably mysterious.

On a dark midwinter’s night in an ancient inn on the river Thames, an extraordinary event takes place. The regulars are telling stories to while away the dark hours, when the door bursts open on a grievously wounded stranger. In his arms is the lifeless body of a small child. Hours later, the girl stirs, takes a breath and returns to life. Is it a miracle? Is it magic? Or can science provide an explanation? These questions have many answers, some of them quite dark indeed.

Those who dwell on the river bank apply all their ingenuity to solving the puzzle of the girl who died and lived again, yet as the days pass the mystery only deepens. The child herself is mute and unable to answer the essential questions: Who is she? Where did she come from? And to whom does she belong? But answers proliferate nonetheless.

Three families are keen to claim her. A wealthy young mother knows the girl is her kidnapped daughter, missing for two years. A farming family reeling from the discovery of their son’s secret liaison, stand ready to welcome their granddaughter. The parson’s housekeeper, humble and isolated, sees in the child the image of her younger sister. But the return of a lost child is not without complications and no matter how heartbreaking the past losses, no matter how precious the child herself, this girl cannot be everyone’s. Each family has mysteries of its own, and many secrets must be revealed before the girl’s identity can be known.

Once Upon a River is a glorious tapestry of a book that combines folklore and science, magic and myth. Suspenseful, romantic, and richly atmospheric, the beginning of this novel will sweep you away on a powerful current of storytelling, transporting you through worlds both real and imagined, to the triumphant conclusion whose depths will continue to give up their treasures long after the last page is turned.]]> 416 Diane Setterfield 1508256780 Janice 5 x2019, scribd
The story starts when an injured man carrying an apparently lifeless girl stumbles into a pub on the night of the winter solstice. At first the girl is assumed to be his daughter. When that turns out not to be the case, everyone that sees her is drawn to her. It honestly made me think of that Ray Bradbury story in The Martian Chronicles, where someone thinks they see a lost son, and someone else sees a lost daughter, and on and on. It had rather dire consequences to the shape-shifting Martian in the story. In this book, the girl fares a bit better.

Thereafter follows the story of who THIS girl is. There are other lost children (it's Victorian England or some analog thereof, after all). Relationships build and change. The river flows by, rising and falling. Families have problems, and work through them, mostly. Love doesn't solve everything, but without love, everything would be much, much worse.

These days we see a lot of stories about flawed characters and bad people. This story has some very good people. It has some ordinarily good people too, and a couple of thoroughgoing villains.

ETA: HOW DID I FORGET THAT THIS IS A STORY ABOUT STORIES??? I love stories about making stories.

If you like audiobooks, listen to this one. Or just read the book. It's lovely.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Finished now, and...
HOLY CARP, what a lovely, LOVELY book. And I am absolutely in love with Juliet Stevenson's narration.

More when I've had time to think about it for a bit. But seriously, one of the best books I've read all year.
_______________________________________________________
14 chapters in and OMG how have I never listened to anything narrated by Juliet Stevenson before??? SO VERY DAMN GOOD!!!!

Chapter 21: "There were standards at the Swan. Storytelling was one thing, lying quite another..."
Chapter 24: "But some men went about in their armor every day and showed the blades of their swords to all."

Note to self: Bradbury's "The Martian" in The Martian Chronicles.]]> 3.90 2018 Once Upon a River

author: Diane Setterfield
name: Janice
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2019/08/03
date added: 2019/08/04
shelves: x2019, scribd
review:
I've had a little time to think about this book now. Still think it's one of the best books I've read in ages. I'm also absolutely positive that Juliet Stevenson's narration contributed to that opinion. These days I usually listen to audiobooks at 1.25 or even 1.5x normal speed. But Ms. Stevenson's voice and narration was just so wonderful that I was totally content to listen at normal speed, and soak up the richness of the story.

The story starts when an injured man carrying an apparently lifeless girl stumbles into a pub on the night of the winter solstice. At first the girl is assumed to be his daughter. When that turns out not to be the case, everyone that sees her is drawn to her. It honestly made me think of that Ray Bradbury story in The Martian Chronicles, where someone thinks they see a lost son, and someone else sees a lost daughter, and on and on. It had rather dire consequences to the shape-shifting Martian in the story. In this book, the girl fares a bit better.

Thereafter follows the story of who THIS girl is. There are other lost children (it's Victorian England or some analog thereof, after all). Relationships build and change. The river flows by, rising and falling. Families have problems, and work through them, mostly. Love doesn't solve everything, but without love, everything would be much, much worse.

These days we see a lot of stories about flawed characters and bad people. This story has some very good people. It has some ordinarily good people too, and a couple of thoroughgoing villains.

ETA: HOW DID I FORGET THAT THIS IS A STORY ABOUT STORIES??? I love stories about making stories.

If you like audiobooks, listen to this one. Or just read the book. It's lovely.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Finished now, and...
HOLY CARP, what a lovely, LOVELY book. And I am absolutely in love with Juliet Stevenson's narration.

More when I've had time to think about it for a bit. But seriously, one of the best books I've read all year.
_______________________________________________________
14 chapters in and OMG how have I never listened to anything narrated by Juliet Stevenson before??? SO VERY DAMN GOOD!!!!

Chapter 21: "There were standards at the Swan. Storytelling was one thing, lying quite another..."
Chapter 24: "But some men went about in their armor every day and showed the blades of their swords to all."

Note to self: Bradbury's "The Martian" in The Martian Chronicles.
]]> <![CDATA[Baltimore Blues (Tess Monaghan, #1)]]> 351654
A former Star reporter who knows every inch of this town—from historic Fort McHenry to the crumbling projects of Cherry Hill—now-unemployed journalist Tess Monaghan also knows the primary suspect: cuckolded fiancé Darryl "Rock" Paxton. The time is ripe for a career move, so when rowing buddy Rock wants to hire her to do some unorthodox snooping to help clear his name, Tess agrees. But there are lethal secrets hiding in the Charm City shadows. And Tess's own name could end up on the ever-expanding list of Baltimore dead.]]> 336 Laura Lippman 0061210021 Janice 3 x2019, scribd
And it's fine. It's a mystery introducing a new protagonist, Tess Monaghan. Tess is unemployed, and her rowing friend, Rock, is having problems with his fiancee. Then he gets accused of murdering his fiancee's boss, because he thought the boss had coerced the fiancee into sex.

After that, things get kinda complicated.

Like I said, it was fine. It read easy, though I didn't find it to be compulsively readable. But you could find worse ways to spend a few hours reading. Not sure I'll pick up other books of hers soon, but I might.]]> 3.51 1997 Baltimore Blues (Tess Monaghan, #1)

author: Laura Lippman
name: Janice
average rating: 3.51
book published: 1997
rating: 3
read at: 2019/07/29
date added: 2019/07/29
shelves: x2019, scribd
review:
I've recently seen Laura Lippman mentioned in the news or on some of my favorite sites, so I was curious how her novels were. I picked this one to try.

And it's fine. It's a mystery introducing a new protagonist, Tess Monaghan. Tess is unemployed, and her rowing friend, Rock, is having problems with his fiancee. Then he gets accused of murdering his fiancee's boss, because he thought the boss had coerced the fiancee into sex.

After that, things get kinda complicated.

Like I said, it was fine. It read easy, though I didn't find it to be compulsively readable. But you could find worse ways to spend a few hours reading. Not sure I'll pick up other books of hers soon, but I might.
]]> <![CDATA[The Best Horror of the Year, Volume Eight]]> 28862203 400 Ellen Datlow 1597805874 Janice 3 scribd
This was a pretty decent collection. There are stories by Kelley Armstrong, Neil Gaiman, Stephen Graham Jones, Laird Barron, John Langan, and others. None really stick out in my mind though. I'd read a couple of them before.

Short stories are a good format for horror, IMHO.]]> 3.00 2016 The Best Horror of the Year, Volume Eight

The Best Horror of the Year, Volume Eight

author: Ellen Datlow
name: Janice
average rating: 3.00
book published: 2016
rating: 3
read at: 2019/07/24
date added: 2019/07/24
shelves: scribd
review:
I like some horror, not the gross stuff, but more the unsettling stuff. And sometimes horror is easier to take in smaller doses, like short stories.

This was a pretty decent collection. There are stories by Kelley Armstrong, Neil Gaiman, Stephen Graham Jones, Laird Barron, John Langan, and others. None really stick out in my mind though. I'd read a couple of them before.

Short stories are a good format for horror, IMHO.
]]> Recursion 46133009 Length: 10 hours 48 minutes

Memory makes reality.

That's what NYC cop Barry Sutton is learning, as he investigates the devastating phenomenon the media has dubbed False Memory Syndrome—a mysterious affliction that drives its victims mad with memories of a life they never lived.

That's what neuroscientist Helena Smith believes. It's why she's dedicated her life to creating a technology that will let us preserve our most precious memories. If she succeeds, anyone will be able to re-experience a first kiss, the birth of a child, the final moment with a dying parent.

As Barry searches for the truth, he comes face to face with an opponent more terrifying than any disease—a force that attacks not just our minds, but the very fabric of the past. And as its effects begin to unmake the world as we know it, only he and Helena, working together, will stand a chance at defeating it.

But how can they make a stand when reality itself is shifting and crumbling all around them?

At once a relentless pageturner and an intricate science-fiction puzzlebox about time, identity, and memory, Recursion is a thriller as only Blake Crouch could imagine it—and his most ambitious, mind-boggling, irresistible work to date.]]> 11 Blake Crouch 1984886894 Janice 4 audio, scribd
That's Recursion (the book).

It's kind of like time travel, except you're just traveling within your own timeline. But of course actions you take affect others around you. It all gets a little convoluted with interlaced timelines/lives and it gets rather dark toward the end of the story. But Crouch handles it well.

The narrators were effective.

Recommended.]]> 4.01 2019 Recursion

author: Blake Crouch
name: Janice
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2019/07/24
date added: 2019/07/24
shelves: audio, scribd
review:
What would happen if you could go back to a turning point in your life and make a different decision? Would you do it? Would you do it if it meant that other peoples' lives would be changed, that memories they had of the life BEFORE you changed YOUR life haunted them?

That's Recursion (the book).

It's kind of like time travel, except you're just traveling within your own timeline. But of course actions you take affect others around you. It all gets a little convoluted with interlaced timelines/lives and it gets rather dark toward the end of the story. But Crouch handles it well.

The narrators were effective.

Recommended.
]]> Ghost Wall 44006096
For two weeks, the length of her father's vacation, they join an anthropology course set to reenact life in simpler times. They are surrounded by forests of birch and rowan; they make stew from foraged roots and hunted rabbit. The students are fulfilling their coursework; Silvie's father is fulfilling his lifelong obsession. He has raised her on stories of early man, taken her to witness rare artifacts, recounted time and again their rituals and beliefs—particularly their sacrifices to the bog. Mixing with the students, Silvie begins to see, hear, and imagine another kind of life, one that might include going to university, traveling beyond England, choosing her own clothes and food, speaking her mind.

The ancient Britons built ghost walls to ward off enemy invaders, rude barricades of stakes topped with ancestral skulls. When the group builds one of their own, they find a spiritual connection to the past. What comes next but human sacrifice?

A story at once mythic and strikingly timely, Sarah Moss's Ghost Wall urges us to wonder how far we have come from the "primitive minds" of our ancestors.]]> 4 Sarah Moss 1250204801 Janice 3 x2019, audio, scribd
There's various kinds of abuse; a bit of feminism; creepy ancient rites that still have a hold on modern imaginations; reenactment of life in the Iron Age.

There's slowly-building tension and dread. It's not horror, but an academic exercise slowly starts to become horrible.

It's good.

I listened to it in one day while I was knitting.]]> 3.55 2018 Ghost Wall

author: Sarah Moss
name: Janice
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2019/07/02
date added: 2019/07/02
shelves: x2019, audio, scribd
review:
There's a lot going on in this little book.

There's various kinds of abuse; a bit of feminism; creepy ancient rites that still have a hold on modern imaginations; reenactment of life in the Iron Age.

There's slowly-building tension and dread. It's not horror, but an academic exercise slowly starts to become horrible.

It's good.

I listened to it in one day while I was knitting.
]]> Uprooted 22544764 “Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that’s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the Wood, and we’re grateful, but not that grateful.��

Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life.

Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood.

The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows��everyone knows—that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn’t, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her.

But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose.]]> 438 Naomi Novik 0804179034 Janice 4 scribd, audio, x2015
There really is a lot to like in this book. I thought the story was very well done, for the most part. The story went somewhere I didn't really expect it to go,and that was mostly fine. Agnieszka, the heroine, is a plucky character. She turns out to have magic she didn't know she had, and a LOT of it at that. Harry Potter's got NOTHIN' on this gal. Through some twists and turns involving battles with the evil wood and rescuing people from said evil wood, she goes from the Dragon's tower to the capital of the kingdom, and back to her valley again. She becomes a most puissant wizard, but retains her down-to-earth ways.

So. There were some things that bugged me in this story. (Warning, geek musings ahead.)
As I've gotten older, I've discovered I have less patience than I used to for systems of magic that seem to ask almost nothing of the magic-wielder. In the story here, there is some lip service paid to the idea that using a lot of magic is taxing to the user. In practical terms, however, that really seems to mean nothing. Agnieszka gets warned not to use magic for an hour at one point, because she needs to refill. But it seems like 30 seconds later, and she's doing powerful magic spells again. Hmm.

And Agnieszka is AMAZINGLY adept. In a few months she is teaching her teacher things. O.o This is kinda handwaved away by saying that HER magic is slightly different from the traditional ways of doing magic. She can work spells that were considered useless folklore by the other wizards in the country. It seems to have something to do with her connection to her valley. Hmm. Ok.

And I guess the magical healing stuff is really effective, because in the big battle at the Tower, she gets shot with an arrow, and very shortly thereafter is up and doing magic again like the wound never happened. Hmm.

And I was a little taken aback by the SURPRISE! CANNONS! in the battle at the Tower too. All we'd previously seen were swords, armored cavalry, spears/pikes, and crossbows. But maybe cannons developed well before other firearms IRL too. Hmm.

That's probably the worst of what bothered me, though. Nerd/geek stuff. I don't want my fantasy to be grimdark, but having a nearly inexhaustible store of magical energy just kinda rubs me wrong these days.

Now, what I liked: Kasia, the invincible girl! I did mostly like The Dragon too. When Agnieszka approached the Dragon's room, the description of her walking over the dragon in the carpet was lovely. At one point I thought the story was going to devolve into a "kissing book" (pace Princess Bride). It didn't, for the most part, and that pleased me.

The character of the prince is telegraphed pretty early. He's a warrior, but he's reckless and self-involved, and uses other people to get what he wants. I was still surprised at his end, though.

The corrupted wood is adequately menacing. The story behind it is not what I expected. The Wood Queen and the people of the woods made me think a bit of Tolkien's elves. Specifically, I thought of Arwen marrying Aragorn. What happened to the Wood Queen is a sad twist on that story. And there are bits about letting go and moving on that I liked.

The audiobook: Didn't care for the narrator. She speaks with what sounds to my untrained ear in a light Slavic sort of accent. The accent was fine, though I'd occasionally have to mentally rewind a word or two when I realized that what I THOUGHT she was wasn't what she'd ACTUALLY said. But it wasn't a serious issue. What was worse for me was that her narration didn't flow. My husband likes to listen to audiobooks at 1.5 speed. I normally prefer NOT to have my narration speeded up. But this narration was so fully of choppy sentences and slightly halting phrasing that I bumped it up to 1.2 speed so it would sound a tiny bit more flow-y. It looks like the narrator is from Russia. I don't know if she was playing up the accent for the book (set is a sort of Slavic-like country) or what, but it didn't completely work for me. I do appreciate knowing how to pronounce Agnieszka though. :) I contemplated abandoning the audiobook for the ebook. Pretty sure I'll buy the ebook and read it again that way.

Summary: an excellent effort in spite of my few quibbles. Quite a lot happens toward the end. Will read again.]]> 4.02 2015 Uprooted

author: Naomi Novik
name: Janice
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2015/09/08
date added: 2019/06/20
shelves: scribd, audio, x2015
review:
Gonna put the spoiler warning on here because I want to ruminate on this book in this space. So it's SPOILERIFIC from here on out.

There really is a lot to like in this book. I thought the story was very well done, for the most part. The story went somewhere I didn't really expect it to go,and that was mostly fine. Agnieszka, the heroine, is a plucky character. She turns out to have magic she didn't know she had, and a LOT of it at that. Harry Potter's got NOTHIN' on this gal. Through some twists and turns involving battles with the evil wood and rescuing people from said evil wood, she goes from the Dragon's tower to the capital of the kingdom, and back to her valley again. She becomes a most puissant wizard, but retains her down-to-earth ways.

So. There were some things that bugged me in this story. (Warning, geek musings ahead.)
As I've gotten older, I've discovered I have less patience than I used to for systems of magic that seem to ask almost nothing of the magic-wielder. In the story here, there is some lip service paid to the idea that using a lot of magic is taxing to the user. In practical terms, however, that really seems to mean nothing. Agnieszka gets warned not to use magic for an hour at one point, because she needs to refill. But it seems like 30 seconds later, and she's doing powerful magic spells again. Hmm.

And Agnieszka is AMAZINGLY adept. In a few months she is teaching her teacher things. O.o This is kinda handwaved away by saying that HER magic is slightly different from the traditional ways of doing magic. She can work spells that were considered useless folklore by the other wizards in the country. It seems to have something to do with her connection to her valley. Hmm. Ok.

And I guess the magical healing stuff is really effective, because in the big battle at the Tower, she gets shot with an arrow, and very shortly thereafter is up and doing magic again like the wound never happened. Hmm.

And I was a little taken aback by the SURPRISE! CANNONS! in the battle at the Tower too. All we'd previously seen were swords, armored cavalry, spears/pikes, and crossbows. But maybe cannons developed well before other firearms IRL too. Hmm.

That's probably the worst of what bothered me, though. Nerd/geek stuff. I don't want my fantasy to be grimdark, but having a nearly inexhaustible store of magical energy just kinda rubs me wrong these days.

Now, what I liked: Kasia, the invincible girl! I did mostly like The Dragon too. When Agnieszka approached the Dragon's room, the description of her walking over the dragon in the carpet was lovely. At one point I thought the story was going to devolve into a "kissing book" (pace Princess Bride). It didn't, for the most part, and that pleased me.

The character of the prince is telegraphed pretty early. He's a warrior, but he's reckless and self-involved, and uses other people to get what he wants. I was still surprised at his end, though.

The corrupted wood is adequately menacing. The story behind it is not what I expected. The Wood Queen and the people of the woods made me think a bit of Tolkien's elves. Specifically, I thought of Arwen marrying Aragorn. What happened to the Wood Queen is a sad twist on that story. And there are bits about letting go and moving on that I liked.

The audiobook: Didn't care for the narrator. She speaks with what sounds to my untrained ear in a light Slavic sort of accent. The accent was fine, though I'd occasionally have to mentally rewind a word or two when I realized that what I THOUGHT she was wasn't what she'd ACTUALLY said. But it wasn't a serious issue. What was worse for me was that her narration didn't flow. My husband likes to listen to audiobooks at 1.5 speed. I normally prefer NOT to have my narration speeded up. But this narration was so fully of choppy sentences and slightly halting phrasing that I bumped it up to 1.2 speed so it would sound a tiny bit more flow-y. It looks like the narrator is from Russia. I don't know if she was playing up the accent for the book (set is a sort of Slavic-like country) or what, but it didn't completely work for me. I do appreciate knowing how to pronounce Agnieszka though. :) I contemplated abandoning the audiobook for the ebook. Pretty sure I'll buy the ebook and read it again that way.

Summary: an excellent effort in spite of my few quibbles. Quite a lot happens toward the end. Will read again.
]]> Exhalation 41160292
In "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate," a portal through time forces a fabric seller in ancient Baghdad to grapple with past mistakes and second chances. In "Exhalation," an alien scientist makes a shocking discovery with ramifications that are literally universal. In "Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom," the ability to glimpse into alternate universes necessitates a radically new examination of the concepts of choice and free will.

Including stories being published for the first time as well as some of his rare and classic uncollected work, Exhalation is Ted Chiang at his best: profound, sympathetic—revelatory.]]> 368 Ted Chiang Janice 4 x2019, audio, scribd
"The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling" is another story that really caught my imagination. How are memory and the stories we tell ourselves affected by technology? And even WRITING is a technology. Things changed when humans learned to write. Here's a quote that struck me:

People are made of stories. Our memories are not the impartial accumulation of every second we've lived. They're the narrative that we assembled out of selected moments.

Yes. And we can tell ourselves true [factual - something really happened] stories and we can tell ourselves stories of our truth [things that seem true to us]. It's all story.

Anyway, not good at expressing why this impressed me. But the stories are good. Read them. Mr. Chiang has a little afterword after each story where he speaks about what he wrote. I usually actively dislike author notes like this. Shouldn't the story stand on its own, without an author's gloss? But Mr. Chiang actually has interesting things to say. So many of his stories go in ways I would never have thought of by myself. It was interesting to hear him say how he got there himself.]]> 4.27 2019 Exhalation

author: Ted Chiang
name: Janice
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2019/06/17
date added: 2019/06/17
shelves: x2019, audio, scribd
review:
I've read several of the stories before. I think I might find Ted Chiang a bit easier to follow in audio though. His stories are dense and thoughtful. My long-time favorite is "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate." I first encountered that story on an old episode of Starship Sofa while at a spinning guild retreat.

"The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling" is another story that really caught my imagination. How are memory and the stories we tell ourselves affected by technology? And even WRITING is a technology. Things changed when humans learned to write. Here's a quote that struck me:

People are made of stories. Our memories are not the impartial accumulation of every second we've lived. They're the narrative that we assembled out of selected moments.