This was originally two books, Valor’s Choice and The Better Part of Valor. They are fast moving military sci-fi, with a great main character and interesting roles. The brief afterward, where the battles are analogized to historical battles, are interesting but kind of suck the wind out of the story’s sails.
I’m eagerly looking forward to checking out the next books in the series. (They’re on request now!)
A great book. This is a fantasy story with very low key magic. It’s gritty– the world order is based on drug addiction and slavery, with a lot of political scheming and struggle. It feels a lot like GRRM’s Song of Ice and Fire, but it has some appealing protagonists, and they don’t all die!
The book does a good job of hopping between interesting scenes and switching among many POV characters. It leads to a somewhat choppy feel; occasionally the focus shifts away just before a dramatic confrontation and when you return it was resolved off screen and a month has gone on. It’s a little jarring at times– you’d ordinarily expect the focus to be on the conflict scenes– but it works. It made me think of a movie with obvious and dramatic cuts and quick story advancement, but it works. And you get the novel’s advantage of stepping into their minds, though I suspect actors could convey many of the thoughts well.
In the end, the contrast between the four children is stark. Corinn’s arc is well handled, as is her eventual decision to continue the dark path of history. Until the final chapter or three I thought it was a solid book and was going to appreciate it as a stand alone. The final scenes reincorporate some of the earlier promises and drive home how the world has reached a new and different equilibrium. It’s unstable, particularly given Mena’s promise Aiken… but that’s why I’ll eagerly look for book two.
A good book, solidly rooted in a fantasy Asia. The setting has large and subtle effects, and does a great job of kicking you out of “standard fantasy” mode. Jade is important, and more than symbolically, as comes clear as the book advances. The Jade Throne is more than a name…
The POV characters are all clearly drawn with interesting and overlapping storylines. The unlikely rise from fisherwoman to concubine was handled deftly, and the mountain man’s introduction to more complex society is disheartening and impressive by turns. The strange life of a servant and slave is very strange… and sets up the ending well.
This is the first book of Moshui, the Books of Stone and Water– as the final scene makes clear. I’ll keep my eyes out for book two.
A good, dark book, not quite a children’s book, but closely related. The main character is drawn very well, as is the world he tumbles into. There are a number of interesting similarities to other books; crossing into a fantasy world initially made me think of Narnia, but this world is darkly twisted.
The crooked man is the villain of the piece, and while he’s sometimes over the top, he’s an excellent tempter and driver of plot. Near the end he jarringly becomes somewhat more– but it’s in service to making him and interesting foe. The wearing down of the king, the land’s limited hopes, and the Loups are all great twists.
The book ends with a number of pages still left; he reprints several fairy tales and explains their tie to this book. It’s a nice peek into his thought process, and interesting to read the source stories after seeing what he’s done with them.
A very quirky ship with societies filled with interesting roles and rules. This book is primarily the story of two sisters as they are chased and courted by wild AIs, endure attacks and strange threats, and traipse across the ship. The nanotechnology is interesting and very different from most takes I’ve seen; the world is a dark mix of broken and advanced to the point of looking like magic. It never feels like magic, however, which must have been a hard line to walk… it’s always a ship and technology, no matter how advanced. Rien and Perceval’s relationship is quirky but feels appropriately complex. Rien makes an excellent pair of eyes to explore; she’s been so isolated that she provides a great viewpoint for exploration; her amazement matches ours.
While this book is the first book in a series, it feels like a stand alone novel. At the moment, I’m inclined to treat it that way– but it was strongly written, so I may very well continue the series when the sequel comes out later this year.
A worthy sequel to the previous book. Simon’s past comes back to haunt him (in the form of an old flame) and new dark things stalk the city. Romany jump in for a subplot, and the FOG elite versus the rest of the DEA is a big subplot. Partner and relationship problems are a very large focus of the book; at times it’s a little hard to feel sympathetic to Simon given how big a jealous ass he is, but it makes sense given his background.
All in all, a fun read, but I don’t feel compelled to keep reading the series. I’ll call it a successful two books and may keep an eye out for Anton’s other books.
Well, that’s where my evening went. I enjoyed it thoroughly; it was a fast paced fun story. I like the strange world building– it makes it a lot easier to detach in time and place– particularly the obsessive focus on “here”. The complete commitment schools are interesting backdrops and very quirky to think about.
The core of the story is Charlie, her friends, and high school social interactions. Even twisted into this fantasy world, the basic complaints of high school remain clear– though interesting, since it’s all inside baseball on the girls side. The bitter hate for the “boys like you” fairy possessor was fascinating– again, something I generically knew, but reading it deepened the experience. (Any number of real life asides and out of context snipes fall into place.)
It’s a quirky treat– a few hours of confection and characters you quickly come to care about. And not a dragon in sight.
A great followup to Terrier– Beka takes to life as a Dog very well. She has changed a bit, but her core remains the same. The primary plot is about counterfeiting, which the author does well in tying real consequences to. Beka goes through a lot, but her most trying events mostly involve her seeing deeper into the world… not exactly getting jaded, but being exposed to more corruption and courtship.
The courting was very well handled; though pitched at YA readers, Beka has full fledged feelings and experiences. The curtain comes down before she talks about mechanics… but that’s ideal to my mind, and is something I usually appreciate in novels pitched at anyone. (Some phrasings, like “peaches” are cute and consistent.)
In the end, if you liked the first book, you’ll like this one. The characters she meets are as well drawn as those of the first book, rouges, scoundrels, and nobles alike.
In addition to reading some Spirit of the Century, I also completed several books on vacation. This is probably all the record they’ll get.
Foreigner by C.J. Cherryh. A strong book with a strange setup; the first two or three chapters don’t tie to the rest of the book very strongly. (I think I’d have preferred them as a linked short story, even under the same cover.) The politics, aliens, and negotiations and cultural struggles are all deftly handled. The compromises in dealing with the native cultures are interesting, as is the history that is revealed as the book advances. There is action, but I like the suspicion and doubt even more.
RIM by Alexander Besher. OK, but weak. Lots of psychic and religious/eastern mystical meshing strangely. Not recommended for a reread.
The Female Man by Joanna Russ. A good story confusingly told; I didn’t like the structure, but the underlying story was good. It was just work to get to it.
Self Made Man by Norah Vincent. An interesting look at unconscious social cues, the effect of presentation, etc. She comes away with sympathetic look at men’s internal interactions and offers good commentary about how we reinforce a system that fails us. There’s no real solution offered, and the social pressures to conform look immense from her viewpoint, but bit by bit, maybe we can salvage men’s roles. Her perceptions of dating very much matched mine, particularly the ego crushing and reinforcement of roles inherent in the attempts. I’m so happy Jennifer and I mapped out a different route.
Jaran by Kate Elliot. I liked this book quite a bit. There are interesting sci-fi elements, but it’s also a great look at fitting into strange cultures, evaluating responsibilities, and so on. I like the novel’s heroine, Tess, and the men of the jahar. The Chapalii are realistically alien, with subtle differences adding up. I don’t know if I want to continue on to read the rest of the series, or just stop after this successful book.
New Sudden Fiction edited by Robert Shapard and James Thomas. A collection of well written stories, all 3-5 pages long. A few really worked well and ran with me, while others were okay but quickly forgotten. I really enjoyed the domestic stories; the audio tour of the ex-boyfriend’s apartment and a close examination of three voice mail messages. Others perfectly crystallize one moment or snippet of life. They won’t all work for you, but at 5 pages, even a bad story is over with quickly. It’s easy to get sucked into the next story, and the next…
A great collection of short stores. If you’re interested in James Tiptree, Jr./Alice Sheldon, this is the place to start. The stories are typically short and punchy, and the best are gathered here under one cover. It’s easy to see why she came to prominence so quickly; her stories are still cutting edge and quirky forty years later.
I disliked the introduction by John Clute– it’s a bad way to begin the book. Do yourself a favor and skip straight to the stories. The views of James Tiptree, Jr. by Jeff Smith (who originally interviewed her and kept in close correspondence with her throughout) and Julie Phillips (who wrote a long and well researched biography) are much less superficial.