A decent book, but one I probably won’t reread. It’s set in the childhood of Elenn, and focuses on a year of her life and that of her sister and friends. It’s an interesting study, with meddling gods, thought out customs like fostering, and interesting relations.
It’s a fine adventure, in the same world as “The King’s X”, but completely disconnected from the two Sullien novels. It’s not bad, just not what I was looking for.
A solid successor to the King’s Peace. The book takes place over a much shorter period of time; the core of it is less than a month of action. The struggles are tough– it’s a civil war with families falling on opposite sides, all spurred by Morthu’s plotting and pride.
The overall plot is “inspired by” Arthurian myth, but there are a lot of interesting deviations that keep the book fresh. You can’t be sure how it’s going to turn out, given the number of subtle and obvious changes. She does a good job of setting up the situation and delivering an exciting story.
This is the end of the series: while there are three books in the world, The King’s Peace and The King’s Name are the two Sullien novels. The third novel, The Prize in the Game, is set elsewhere and in the recent past. [It is set in Tir Isarnagiri, in the childhood of Elenn.]
Passage was an interesting medical research novel, a little outside of my normal reading. The book was from the point of view of Joanna Lander, a research psychologist, who soon partners with Dr. Wright to research near death experiences (NDEs).
This was the second book focusing on death in a row (right after Kress’s Steal Across the Sky). It was well written and didn’t suffer from the comparison at all– just a strange coincidence.
The investigation was interesting. Moving from observer to the participant made the experience different– just having the author describe the experience instead of transcribing other people’s experiences made it much more direct. I was right beside Joanna as she went deeper and deeper, trying to figure out what was going on– why the symbolism stuck, and figuring out what NDEs were for. A great novel, one I look forward to rereading in a few years.
A fascinating book that really made me think. It’s very had to explain, because so much of the explanation requires the context of the characters, and they’re a little harder to sketch than you’d think.
The Atoners are a fascinating mystery that is never quite explained– though near the end their plan becomes a little more clear. The changes that come with the gene expression in the various cultures are fascinating, and feel like reasonable offshoots or extrapolations.
In many ways, this felt very like an Ekumen novel, down to the witnessing and attempt at non-interference. It goes somewhere different than LeGuin would take it– which is good and occasionally surprising when I read. This book seems to be a stand alone– it doesn’t need another part and didn’t leave a glaring opening– but I’d be willing to read about the results of the Atoner’s actions if a sequel is in the cards.
A neat coming of age book, with a special twist. It’s a very interesting way of approaching the idea of minority, fitting in, and the compromises that maturing demands.
It’s a great cross; the love of flight, the desire not to compromise, the realities of maturing in modern America. The relationships are prickly and tense, in large part due to the closed in environment and need to conceal themselves.
I liked the book– it reminded me favorably of the growing up books from my own youth, but an extra dose of the fantastic.
The last book of the trilogy, and a solid conclusion to the series. The focus is tighter, with Elvira as this book’s female lead. Her relationship to Carmichael is much closer; they are intertwined from the start. And she’s not on the other side of Carmichael’s case, the way that the other books aligned things.
Elvira’s a little hard to take seriously. She’s an eighteen year old, written as a convincing eighteen, so she has a number of dangerous assumptions and holes in her knowledge that make her feel realistic.
Carmichael’s changes and experience with power are subtle but present. His good works, and the entire inner watch make sense as a continuation of his character from before. His relation with Normandy remains prickly and fraught, but there’s also a familiarity clear from the last ten years of working together.
All in all, an excellent end to the series. I like it and look forward to rereading the series in a few years.
The second story in the alternate post World War 2 book. Inspector Carmichael comes back for another turn, while the female lead is new. Our female lead this time is Viola Lark, an actress, formerly of a good family.
This was a good book, and stands alone. Unfortunately, despite standing alone just fine, it still felt somewhat like the middle book of a trilogy. I liked it, but the ending (with the MacBeth quotes) and distress seemed overwrought. Getting there, the book is much more solid; I liked the conspiracy and relations of conspirators, and the investigation arm. Carmichael continues to develop– not nicely, but the effects of the last book linger.
I liked it, and would read it again as part of rereading the trilogy. As a stand alone, I’d rarely pick it up.
This book is a fascinating twist on an Arthurian retelling, with a lot of adjustment for mixed gender knights. It’s set in the era immediately after Vincia [Rome] leaves the island, much like Hawk of May.
It was hard to evaluate, given that Hawk is so similar in setting and tale. In that way, it works well that crossing gender and mixing in politics changes the pacing and tale quite a bit.
In the end, I liked it. It’s a solid tale, after the tag end of Roman rule, but a different world and setting. The characters are all well drawn; Sulien is a great POV character, interesting and prickly, progressive in ways that appeal to a modern reader. Urdo and his knights are also well drawn; the other cultures are sketched and clearly different, with the differences slanted by Sulien’s POV.
All in all, an excellent retelling, even if it hasn’t toppled Hawk of May on first read. I look forward to reading the sequels.
This book wouldn’t let me go when it was time to sleep last night.
For the first long bit, the book is a dystopian near future police thriller. There is one obvious twist: Heinlein Inc. has been producing reviors– technologically reanimated corpses– for a while now. They fight wars for the US government, and are smuggled in/imported for other grunt labor.
The book has four point-of-view characters who get regular turns– no one gets only half the chapters of the others. Two link up soon and substantially: Nico and Faye, who are FBI and police respectively. The other two tie in less strongly, but their perspective provides useful balance to the world view: Calliope and Zoe. Zoe has a strange perspective– it’s clear she has a lot of problems– but it’s also clear that she’s going to be an important POV for the sequel. Speaking of which: the story ends at a good break point, it feels like a completed novel. You might be content to call this a stand alone novel, until Nico’s final scene, which clearly signposts a continuing storyline.
The characters are all good and interesting, but Nico has top billing. The other characters all compliment his story well, but the driving force of the story is his. In many ways, his is the only life that is enviable– everyone else is wrestling squalor, exhaustion, and third class status.
All in all, a good book, with a very interesting twist that develops throughout the second half of the novel. I’ll be looking for the sequel. [It’s called THE SILENT ARMY, according to the author’s blog.]
This is a great alternate history mystery, with two engaging and well drawn main characters.
Lucy is a great window into the aristocracy, with enough bristling at the system to make her sympathetic, but enough background so she makes sense. Inspector Carmichael, from Scotland Yard, is no fool, but there is quite a tangle to work through on the murder.
Along the way, the variations in belief and sympathy from the different characters keeps the book feeling real– each character comes from its own place and has its own prejudices. The main characters, fortunately, are quite progressive in their mindset, which does ease a modern viewer into their viewpoints.
I liked this one enough that I’m looking going to check out the rest of the trilogy (Ha’penny and Half a Crown). Though I wonder where they’ll launch from– these characters reached a strong break in their story. I wonder if we’ll follow new people in the next books.