Ravings of the Semi-Lucid

Title: Thunder and Roses
Author: Mary Jo Putney
Genre: Historical romance
Grade: A-
Reason for Reading: You know, I'm not really sure why I originally got this book, except that the title is kind of cool. When I read the plot synopsis and the prologue, though, my interest was piqued.

Synopsis: Nicholas Davies, the latest earl of Aberdare, is the only one who can do anything to improve the lives of the villagers in Penreith, in Wales. Clare Morgan, a Methodist schoolteacher, knows this and seeks Nicholas's help. He strikes a devil's bargain with her--he'll aid the village if she lives with him for three months and let him claim a kiss every day, thus ruining her reputation. Furious at his audacity, Clare accepts his challenge, and gradually finds herself struggling with her growing fascination for Nicholas.

My Thoughts: A lot of Regency-set historical romances have similar plot premises. There's invariably a rogueish rake of a hero and a supposedly intelligent heroine who likes to help others and be a martyr. And there seems to be a trend in the books I've been reading where the rake has a group of friends who are all confirmed bachellors with ridiculous nicknames.

Fortunately for me, Mary Jo Putney's Fallen Angels series was one of the first with the whole rakes club thing, and a wonderful gift for storytelling and highly relatable characters makes it so that I believe in these people and can see them as something other than archetypes.

I really loved the main characters. Nicholas is a strong, forceful man, but he isn't an arrogant jerk and he is that rare breed of romance hero that has a sense of humor. He mistrusts people, because lots of bad things have happened, but I bought his emotional struggles and he wasn't really an idiot about them. Clare is also anb interesting character. I loved that she struggled with her faith, and didn't just give lip service to the whole "Oh, I really want him to kiss me, but it simply isn't right" hand-wringing that often happens in this sort of story. I really felt Clare's angst about whether or not she should let Nicholas seduce her was justified.

As for the secondary characters, well, it's obvious that Nicholas's friends are sequel-bait, but Putney did a good job of giving each of the three men his own distinct personality. I really want to see what she does with them in the rest of the series, especially with the intense, war-scarred Michael and the shrewd Lucien, who plays the dilitante well but has hidden depths.

My quibbles are fairly minor. The suspense subplot was kind of cheesy, and the villain practically wore a sign on his back reading "I am the villain! Ph34r me!" There were also a couple of moments near the end where, to bring off a climax, Clare went haring off into danger. But aside from that, I really did enjoy this book and would definitely recommend it.

Title: Alien Taste
Author: Wen Spencer
Genre: science fiction?
Grade: A-
Reason for reading: If memory serves, I decided to try these because my reading twin recommended them.

Synopsis: Ukiah Oregon isn’t your average man. He’s not even your average human….
Ukiah Oregon is quickly becoming one of the greatest trackers in the country. Some
call it luck
—
those closest to him call it instinct. Abandoned as a child, he was found running
with a wolf pack. Now, in his job as a private investigator, he puts his nose to
the ground to track down missing persons and fugitives from the law.
A heightened sense of smell and taste
—plus a photographic memory—
make him an invaluable asset to his partner. But when Ukiah kills a crazed young
woman in self defense, he draws the attention of the FBI’s most wanted: a violent
and elusive gang known as the Pack.
And it won’t be long before Ukiah discovers just how much he has in common with the
Pack: a bond of brotherhood, blood…and destiny.

My Thoughts: Wow. This book was exactly what I needed. Everything is just about perfect, from the very well-drawn characters to the setting (which I don't normally pay attention to but which I was impressed with) and the themes explored.

First the characters. I loved Ukiah Oregon. In fact, he may have to supplant Miles Vorkosigan as the fictional character I would run off to live in sin with if he were real. He's a sweet, noble guy who loves deeply and purely and with all that he is. And you know that being raised by a lesbian couple has made him into the kind of man any woman would want to be with.

The secondary characters are also very well drawn. I was especially intrigued by Max Bennet, Ukiah's mentor and partner. I loved watching them interact. Max has also had a ton of crap heaped on him, but thanks to Ukiah, he is slowly beginning to heal. And we know this because we are shown, not told, which is one of the book's other strengths.

I mentioned the setting was well-done. The book is set in Pitsburgh, and it's very clear that Spencer knows about Pitsburgh. In fact, it's sort of amusing that the setting stuck out to me at all, because I kept being reminded of a Mage: the Ascension game I used to play in, which was run by a native of Pitsburgh who mentioned several of the same settings Spencer used in the book, which was cool and added more pleasant associations to my reading.

As for the plot, you'll notice the question mark under the book's genre. I really don't know how to classify this book. It's got a very definite urban fantasy feel for about the first two-thirds, reminding me of a somewhat grittier Charles de Lint (which is, natch, a good thing), but then it takes a left hand turn and goes wandering off into science fiction land.

The sci-fi elements of the plot were definitely not my favorites. They seemed straight out of a cheap B movie, and even though they made sense for the story, some of them seemed beyond preposterous and I had to roll my eyes.

I'm also not sure how well the romance worked for me. I can't decide if I thought it was rushed or if it made sense that Ukiah would fall for the person he falls for so quickly because he just seems to love people so intensely anyway. I think I'm leaning toward the latter, because it is one of the sweetest romances I've read in a while, but I'm not normally a fan of the characters meeting and professing their love mere days later.

Overall, despite its flaws, this was a great book which I highly recommend. I definitely intend to read the sequel as soon as possible.

Title: Naked in Death
Author: J. D. Robb aka Nora Roberts
Genre: romantic suspence
Grade: A-

Synopsis: Police lieutenant Eve Dallas is assigned to investigate the murder of a prostitute. All evidence points to a serial killer, and Eve is determined to make sure the killer won't strike again. As the investigation moves along, she meets Roarke, a mysterious billionaire who may or may not be involved with her case.

My Thoughts: Wow. I loved this book. Eve is the kind of female lead that makes my inner feminist do a happy dance. She's kick ass, completely capable of taking care of herself, doesn't actually need a man, but yet is very vulnerable. Eve's got scars, a lot of them, and she's not really sure how to deal with them, and my heart broke for her as some of the old wounds she's been trying to keep closed flared open.

And, though I feel so very very shallow for saying this, I loved Roarke like the proverbial corpulent pre-adult loves dessert products made by Sarah Lee. This is one of those instances where I wish I hadn't been reading a scanned version of the book, because I bet on audio the right narrator could make him even more toe-curlingly sexy than he already was. And, best of all, besides being sexy, he had a personality that was a bit more complicated than, "Me Roarke. You Eve. Time for the hot sexx0rz now."

The romance between Eve and Roarke is by far the best part of the book. There are no silly misunderstandings and forced conflicts. And there's enough of an end here that, if I weren't going to continue with the series (are you kidding? Of course I will!) I'd have been satisfied they were going to stay together.

OK, now for the quibbles. I had the villain pegged about halfway through the book. I am not generally a mystery or suspence reader, so I figure this should probably count against the book somewhat. Although, of course, I was involved enough with the characters that at one point I was shouting at them. "Eve, you're not looking in the right place!" were my exact words.

I also didn't really appreciate the lush, breathless descriptions of Roarke's lifestyle. Possibly, I just don't happen to have the typical fantasy of being swept off my feet by a multi-gazillionaire. But I could have definitely done with a bit less of that.

That being said, this was a very nice start to the series and I will definitely still be reading.

Well, laurelian did ask.
Title: Archangel
Author: Sharon Shinn
Genre: Fantasy
Grade: A-

Synopsis: In this book, we are introduced to the world of Samaria, which is ruled by angels, who can intercede for their people to their god, Jovah. Gabriel, one of these angels, has been groomed to take up the post as archangel, and now, six months before everyone on Samaria gathers to sing the gloria in praise of Jovah, Gabriel must find his angelica, the woman chosen by Jovah to sing at his side. However, Gabriel's angelica is not the sort of woman he's expecting. A farmer's daughter, Rachel's family was killed and her village destroyed, and she was adopted by the nomadic and slightly heretical Edori. However, the last few years, she's been a slave, and on the eve of the day she is to be set free, she meets Gabriel.

My Thoughts: I enjoyed this book. It wasn't one of my best reads of the year by any stretch, but it was quite pleasant, and I will definitely be reading other books by Shinn.

I really loved the characters, and in fact it's Rachel who brings this book up the few paltry points from a B+ to the A- I've decided to give it. She's an incredibly strong woman. She's not easy to like, and often I really wanted to shake her, but at the same time, I understood her, and I respected that she wanted to keep her independence. And she really did, unlike in some romance novels where the feisty heroine stomps her feet and declares she wants independence only to happily swoon into the hero's arms and produce eight kids in the epilogue. There was none of that for Rachel, and I got the sense she and Gabriel were always going to have struggles in their relationship, which made it more real.

I am also glad Shinn chose to explore faith in her books, and I enjoyed the brief lapses into theology. Each of the characters struggles with faith in their own ways, but the book is far from preachy.

Also, I loved the secondary characters. They were well-nuanced, and even the ones it was hard to like had glimpses of depth. And I have to say that I totally would have gone for the charming angel Obadiah over Gabriel any day, although, of course, I do see why Rachel wouldn't.

I read a review online that compared these books to Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series, and while I can see the similarities (McCaffrey praises Shinn on the back cover, and it's clear that she is one of Shinn's influences) they didn't bother me. There was enough here that was all Shinn that I didn't feel the work was derivitive at all, even though it might be interesting to compare the two.

I really don't have any major quibbles with the book. It's a very pleasant book, and if you like slightly girlie fantasies, (which I do) then you should read this book. It's thought-provoking, but very easy to read, and I'm looking forward to the rest in the series.

Title: Howling in the Park
Author: Mark Orr
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Grade A-

Synopsis: Nashville private investigator Harvey Drago isn't your typical P.I. He's been involved in a large number of cases involving things supernatural. And now he's being hired by Sonia Cheryl, whose daughter was killed by something very distinctly not human. And as Harvey investigates, he begins to unearth some secrets that could put everyone in his life in danger.

My Thoughts: I'm not sure that this is going to be one of the better reviews I've ever written, because, well, I know the author, have met most of these characters before, and have some definite opinions about many of them. But I'll try my best.

Given the grade, I obviously liked this a lot. Though I haven't read Raymond Chandler, Dashiel Hammet or any other hard-boiled pulpy detective novelists, I do like the style. I especially like that sort of mystery when juxtaposed with SF or fantasy, hence the fact that Jim Butcher was another really good discovery for me. Orr manages to do the style justice. And though I haven't read much mystery, I was engaged from start to finish.

Orr has a wonderful writing voice. Even though I was reading my ebook with a synthesized voice, I had no trouble picturing the way Harvey would talk without the author having to go to letter by letter recreation of local dialect.

As for the characters? There are definitely some intriguing ones. Harvey himself is kind of a cypher here, and I found myself with lots of questions about his past, his family, and some of the other cases he's worked. We also meet a down on his luck alcoholic former history professor, a blind coffee house owner (it should be noted here that this really minor character worked well enough for me that I wasn't even tempted to nitpick, even a little bit) and Big Stoop, a big hulking brute of a man with a mysterious past. (Big Stoop is a character I've met before in some of Mark's other writing, and I love him to distraction, but there's really not enough of him here except a few tantalizing glimpses, so I'm not sure other people will really get why this is.)

The humor in this story works well for me, too. It's not in your face slapstick, but there's a wry wit here that had me laughing out loud quite a bit.

Quibbles? I was left a bit cold at the romance, because I didn't think there was much chemistry between Harvey and his love interest. There was, however, chemistry in spaids between Harvey and another secondary character, which I would have liked to see more of.

Would I recommend this book? Most definitely. And it's on sale through fictionwise, so it won't break the bank.

Title: The Keeper
Author: Sarah Langan
Genre: Horror
Grade: A-

Summary: Some believe Bedford, Maine, is cursed. Its bloody past, endless rain, and the decay
of its downtown portend a hopeless future. With the death of its paper mill, Bedford's
unemployed residents soon find themselves with far too much time to dwell on thoughts
of Susan Marley. Once the local beauty, she's now the local whore. Silently prowling
the muddy streets, she watches eerily from the shadows, waiting for . . .
something
. And haunting the sleep of everyone in town with monstrous visions of violence and
horror.
Those who are able will leave Bedford before the darkness fully ascends. But those
who are trapped here—from Susan Marley's long-suffering mother and younger sister
to her guilt-ridden, alcoholic ex-lover to the destitute and faithless with nowhere
else to go—will soon know the fullest and most terrible meaning of nightmare.

My Thoughts: Apparently, this is Langan's first novel, and it's very good, considering that. She manages to convey the oppressive atmosphere of a small mill town, and she did it so well that surfacing out of the book was like shaking off a heavy black cloud for me. I thought the theme of a town full of secrets was very well done, and I liked the claustrophobic feel of the place.

The characters also felt very real to me, although this is something I have to downgrade the book for just a little. These are very real, flawed people, but I still didn't really like any of them. I don't know that I necessarily need to read about everyone's horrible sides, warts and all, in my escapist fiction. I think the book would have worked a lot better for me had there been at least one character I liked unreservedly.

The other thing that didn't quite work for me was the plot. I thought it could have been tightened up just a little, and maybe the focus of the story could have narrowed even more to much greater effect. I also wasn't all that thrilled with the structure Langan uses, because I thought there was a part where the suspence part just sort of stopped.

That being said, I loved the setting and the initial setup, and I even liked the end, enough that I'm going to give this one an A- and recommend it for anyone who likes horror.

Title: Lord of Scoundrels
Author: Loretta Chase
Genre: Historical romance
Grade: A-

Plot: Jessica Trent meets the Marquess of Dain when she's trying to rescue her silly brother from the debts he's gotten himself into. Sparks fly between Jessica and Dain, and, after a series of events, they marry, after which Jessica must try to heal Dain's wounded soul.
Thoughts: The readers over at All About Romance have rated this book as the 1 best romance of all time, so I was expecting something excellent. And while I didn't find the story perfect, and probably ended up liking it less because of the fact that it's been heavily hyped, I really did enjoy it. Jessica is a sensible, practical woman who doesn't let anyone, most especially Dain, push her around. She's practical and smart, and I loved that about her. Dain, in the meantime, is actually the sensitive, emotional one, and I loved his struggles to come to terms with his past and his feelings for Jessica. The banter between them is sizzling, and the sexual tension is squirm-in-your-chair intense.

My only real nitpick about this book was that I wish Chase had drawn the secondary characters a bit better. They felt a little like members of stock character central casting. My only other gripe was that Jessica says she's discussed sex in rather a lot of detail with her eccentric grandmother. At that point I shook my head and raised my eyebrows, because no, I don't see that. My grandma is the last person I'd ever talk about sex with.

But apart from that, the story is wonderful, and I would probably read more Chase.

Title: The Secret History
Author: Donna Tartt
Genre: Literary fiction

Summary: When Richard Papen is accepted at a small Vermont
college, he gladly leaves his boring California identity
behind. After he makes up an appropriate past, Richard is
allowed to join an elite group of students who take all of
their classes from one professor. Richard learns that the
clique is hiding some odd secrets--and one deadly one. The
members trust Richard, but they're not so sure of one of
their own.

My Thoughts: As I mentioned before, I never would have picked up this book if not for shantih. And even a few days after I'm done with it, I still don't entirely know what I think of it.

What I liked: Tartt evokes a sense of place and character effortlessly. I really got a sense for the college Richard attends, which is almost a character in and of itself. (I never understood what that expression meant, incidentally, until I read this book.) Also, the relationships between the characters, who are all real, flawed individuals, were intricate, complex and not at all easy to decipher. This is a good thing, because I like things like that.

The Bad: Well, to be truthful, it was a tedious, depressing story. Someone described it to me as squallid, and I have to agree. I tend to like a bit more escapism in my fiction, which is why I don't read more real literature. It was also hard to find a wqhole lot that was redeeming about the characters. But, well, that was the point.

Final thoughts: I don't think I'm likely to reread it again, but I am glad I did, and would recommend the book to anyone who enjoys a realistic story about human nature nd what it's made of.

Grade: A-

Summary: More adventures at Callahan's Place, which, as you may recall, is the best damn bar ever. This time we get three comparatively long short stories instead of several collected ones.

The Good: I still love the premise behind these short stories. The set we're presented here, though, are more serious tales than the Callahan stories in the last two books. Especially, we get lots more insight into the characters of Jake Stonebender, who has narrated all the Callahan tales, and Mike Callahan himself.

The Bad: This is such a minor nit to pick, but it still bugs me. I hate it every time Jake the character or one of the other Callahan's patrons mentions that they read science fiction. There's something smug in the way Robinson's characters bring up the science fiction they all read. It feels a lot like a self-insert to me, an indication that Spider Robinson and his characters would totally all be part of the good old SF boy's club if they had a chance. And now I have started looking for all the Robert Heinlein alusions. :P

Grade: I really did enjoy this book, but it's definitely not my favorite. On the other hand, it was so much better than its prequel, so I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and give this an A-.

Title: Gate of Darkness, Circle of Light
Author: Tanya Huff
Summary: Rebecca is a mentally retarded young woman who can see the the fairies. One day, Alexander, one of said wee folk, is killed, thus setting off a chain of events that will require Rebecca and her friends, including Roland, a street musician, Daru, a social worker, and Evan, adept of the Light, to save the world against the forces of darkness.
( Read more... )

This short novel packs quite a punch. It tells the story of Maggie Pitsfield, the summer she's twelve. Maggie has a lot on her mind--she's in summer school because of an accusation she made against her teacher, she has six different personalities which come out and embarrass her, and she's also harboring a secret that slowly comes out as the novel unfolds.

In only 150 pages or so, this book paints a much more convincing picture of a troubled young woman. I just wanted to reach into the book and give her a hug, which is always a good sign.
ETA: I'm going through and grading books to make it easier to search my book reviews. I think I'm going to go with an A- for this one, because it packed a huge wallop for such a short book.

I've read a lot recently and because of computer troubles haven't had a chance to update sooo.

• Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein: I love this book. Loved it the first time I read it, loved it this time. Especially now that I really get it. That book made me love Heinlein. Grade: A
  
• Charms for the Easy Life by Kaye Gibbons: Not terribly memorable, but a good portrayal of a group of very different, but strong women during the early twentieth century. Charlie Kate, the narrator's grandmother, is the central figure in this book, and she's a marvelous character. Grade: C+
  
• Daughters of the New World by Susan Richards Shreeve: Another wonderful portrayal of life during the twentieth century, and four generations of strong American women. This was made into a craptastic Lifetime movie that sucked me in, so I had to read the book. Naturally, the book was a lot better, and a lot less schlocky. In fact, what I really liked about it was that it was a feel-good story without being terribly sentimental. Grade: A-
  
  
• A Cure for Dreams by Kaye Gibbons: This one was short. I finished it within a couple of hours of starting. Another story of strong women in the Depression. I liked Charms for the Easy Life better, though. Grade: C
  
  
• World's End by Joan Vinge: The sequel to The Snow Queen . This didn't work so well for me because I found the style--that of a journal--insufferable and our hero is extremely whiny throughout and I spent the whole book wanting to smack him upside the head. Grade: D+
  
• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith: I'd read this book before, too. I got a lot more out of it on a second reread. Another nostalgic story about life in the early twentieth century. Smith's book is surprisingly dark, with moments of sweetness throughout. Francie Nolan, the protagonist, really resonated with me, and she led a hard life, but there wasn't really anything noble in her or her family's being poor. Smith also delves into such issues as sex, marital problems, and racial tensions, and I was surprised at how candid and frank the book was in parts. Grade: A
  
  

I'm going back and forth between two books now, Joan Vinge's The Summer Queen which I'm finding interesting except that at the part I'm at now, all of her characters are either pregnant or mommies, and I'm finding that a little bit irritating, Elizabeth Haydon's Rhapsody which would be a great book if it weren't for the title character, who is very inconsistently written and who makes me want to stick a fork in her eye. (However, Rhapsody's reluctant companions, Achmed and Grunthor, are worth reading about because Achmed is snarky and Grunthor is a gentle giant and we all know I love that archetype, even if Grunthor is written with an annoying cockney accent. I'm also starting to reread Charles de Lint's The Little Country which I know is going to be great since I've reread it several times.

This book is one of the best I've read this year, bar none. It sunk its little claws in me and wouldn't let me go until I was finished.

The premise: Two warring aliens land on Earth, in a small, dying Texas town. One is the good alien, and one the not so good alien. The people of the town, a disparate group of individuals from a school custodian to the members of two rival gangs, must use all their wits in order to survive the showdown between the aliens.

Yeah, it's a schlocky premise, even McCammon admits it. But it totally works, because McCammon writes some of the best characters I've read in a while, from Cody and Rick, the leaders of the rival gangs, who have a lot more in common than they think, to Sarge, the slightly crazy custodian, to the aliens themselves. They're all compelling.

McCammon also does a good job with the suspense. He just keeps ratchetting it up, and I felt that his pacing was excellent.

A lack of sleep over the last couple of days keeps me from rambling even more incoherently about why you should all read this book right now... but trust me, you should.

ETA: McCammon is totally underappreciated. A- for this one.