Monday, October 31, 2011

It's Monday - and Halloween








short and possibly sweet, because I have a cold, and it's late, and don't feel like doing anything but reading...


hosted by Book Journey's Sheila - here is my Monday "What are you reading" post...The only link I'm putting up is Book Journey's (lazy, tired and worn out, people - sick and worn out!)




I finished Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. An amazing book with great plot, sinister government, crazed teens and the works. Enjoyed it - I know there are two more - not sure if I have the heart to read them, but I know the writing is excellent (it's teens, forced to KILL each other).





Now that I've finished Hunger Games, I've started reading a not yet published e-book. More on that later, when I can say anything about it...(how mysterious, right? I just don't want to do anything wrong)



received in the mail (because I ordered them)

The Starts Down Under - which I'm reading when I can't focus on the laptop screen, The Stars Blue Yonder (the third in the down under star trilogy) and the sequel to Blood Song - Black Blood

Now I seem to be coming down with my first cold of the school year - had the grandkids this weekend and by Sunday only the granddaughter was left. She was an angel - playing quietly while grandma dozed off and on, staying right by me and being pretty quiet. Good thing I have a huge collection of toys for little girls to play with. polly pockets, barbies and my little ponies - enough to keep any little girl busy for a while. We also read - but that's mainly our night time routine - reading between three and six books before bed. :)

Happy Halloween every one!

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - review





Young Adult Fantasy




*****

Cover - I love that this is a YA book, featuring a young girl, and a cover that DOES NOT FEATURE a girl with flowing, translucent material that turns into either smoke or some other design floating delicately around the edges of the cover....Don't get me wrong - some of the young adult covers are absolutely beautiful - but like all other genres, when there's a good cover revealed then it gets used and re-used in all possible versions. And there are so many versions! This cover has a pin that the mayor's daughter has given to Katniss along with the suggestion of a target scope.


I don't normally read YA books - I read a few, such as Lili St. Crow, J.A. Campbell and....um....can't think of any others that I'm really into on a regular basis - y'know, the type of auto-buys that I have with many UF or SciFi authors. Right at this moment, the only YA auto-buy novelists that I follow are J.A. Campbell and Lili St.Crow; and St.Crow get's into my auto-buy because she's already on my auto-buy category because I was already following her adult UF books (under the name of Lilith Saint Crow) - J.A. Campbell earned her auto-buy status by virtue of writing, and the fact that I loved a snippet that she let me read long ago. :) My longwinded point is that I don't normally go searching out YA reads. One day, I was bemoaning the fact that I had recently went to the bookstore and couldn't find any new books that interested me enough to buy - now this is in spite of the fact that I have about 100 or so books sitting here waiting for me to crack them open....I have a problem, people! An Addiction problem. And book buying addiction and Book Attention Deficit Disorder (aka B.A.D.D., and it's a genuine faux disorder,) - it's very, very sad (I say with an insane laugh) I was at work at the time, at a school discussing books with a reading teacher. She tells me that I should read this book and pulls out Hunger Games. I told her I wasn't really into YA books (being about FORTY years older than most young readers - well, 35 years younger. sometimes every year counts, y'know) but she said "oh no! you need to try this - it may be young adult, but oh...". So despite my misgivings about reading a story where teens from 12 - 18 are forced to kill each other to win and survive a survival game that's as huge and viewed as the olympics - only instead of wanting to watch, many are forced to watch - I went ahead and borrowed her copy. And of course, she had a first edition copy of the hardback version, which I'm afraid to besmirch, or accidently ruin....so I took the cover off and covered it with "homemade" book cover, only read it when I wasn't eating dinner or other meals, no reading while snacking, no candy while reading, I made sure it was put up high, out of reach of children, etc. Which means I didn't read it around any of the grandchildren...etc. Which means reading The Hunger Games took me almost two weeks to read, even though it was so engrossing that it was hard for me to put down when I did get a chance to pick it up.


Though the subject matter was pretty intense, The Hunger Games was an intensely amazing read. Set in a futuristic post-war, post disaster America now called Panem - people now live in 12 districts that owe tribute to and are oppressed by The Capitol. The book starts out with Katniss getting ready for her daily hunt, and it's only gradually that you find out that not only is this hunting a daily thing with her, but it's illegal, they depend on it to eat, she barters with an illegal black market, and pretty much everyone in town - from the citizens to the "peacekeepers" are in on a quietly blackmarket lifestyle, just so they can survive. The information is given in bits and pieces and it's horrifying to find out that every year, each district is forced to attend, and pretend it's fun - a party like atmosphere like a fourth of July celebration - the yearly "Reaping". The Reaping is a lottery where one girl and one boy is picked each year to attend the Hunger Games - a survival of the fittest type of game where the last person alive is the winner. Horrific.


Katniss's little delicate flower of a sister, on her first reaping is picked. Katness volunteers to go in her place. The other participant is Peeta, the baker's son. Throughout the novel, little bits and pieces of different characters are slowly given, building in layers characters and the history of the Panem and the old United States.


Written in the first person, present tense, I found the narration to be engaging and the dialog between characters very believable. I was at times horrified and entertained - because no matter what, temporary happiness, the first time Kat was able to try different food, saw herself on T.V., was put through a makeover, etc - the underlying theme was these kids had to KILL each other to survive. And of course, if they did survive they were set for life, and their district would benefit a bit by their win.


I'm enjoying the hell out of this story, it's a blend of furistic suspense, big bad government and with just the smallest bit of SciFi - not a lot... (cures, body enhancements, applications, gene-tweaked birds, etc) = but really - there's not much of a fantasy or SciFi twist to things - but then suddenly toward the end comes this WTF moment for me......SPOILER ALERT........


SPOILER ALERT........... (POSTED IN BLACK ON BLACK, SO HIGHLIGHT TO READ)


*


*


there are, I kid you not - some sort of animal/reanimated dead people running around killing people, like Island of Dr. Moroau mixed with re-animated were-people mix....W.T.F. and then a hole in the ground opens up and the oddly mixed animal/were/formerly dead people just walk away - calmly walk away into the ground, and once again. I ask W.T.F.?


*


*


*end of spoiler alert....


now, if you've read this series, you know what I'm referring to - if you haven't I hope the spoiler alert and black font help protect you from spoilers... Whatever was going on - that section didn't seem to quite fit - it seemed kind of suddenly out of the blue, coming from left field, blindsiding someone and then no more hint of things like that until the miraculous medical care....It just didn't quite fit with the rest of the story - unless it's a hint of things to come.......


Regardless of that strange UF/Horror/SciFi interlude, the story was great, with good narration and believable dialog. Kept me engrossed, (and temporarily perplexed). I looked up the other two books on everyone's favorite website for reading the wildly mixed reviews and of course saw that there's a wild mix of reviews of ratings - so once again I'm not sure if the two sequels will be excellent reads or the worst book ever to rest between book covers. I could always skim a few pages at the bookstore and go from there I guess. According to some the books just got better and better, while for others the books were a huge disappointment. Meaning I'll have to read them for myself and find out - based on Collins' writing style though, at least I know the book will be a good read - even if she does insert random SciFi'ish characters. So I enjoyed The Hunger Games, late as I was to the Hunger Game table (haha) and will probably eventually read the sequels.


**disclaimer** - I'm half asleep as I write this, so I hope it makes sense.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Pathfinder by Laura E. Reeve - review


Pathfinder
Laura E. Reeve
Military SciFi
******
cover-this cover, compared to the other two, was a little tame, but there is something kind of cool about this hallway. However, the way a certain building and hallway was described in the novel, I would have liked to see something a bit more colorful and fantastical, something that really would have made a first time observer gasp, as in the book. Also -FINALLY, Ariane's hair looks more dark than blonde. Every book describes Ari's dark curls and she keeps showing up as a blonde on the covers. I know this is nothing compared to the whitewashing that goes on in many other novels...but just another example of covers not really matching books. Now I also admit that I'm not an artist - but I AM a part of a huge family with a large percentage of artistic types, and I can't help wondering what one of them would have come up with....This isn't meant to disparage the artist's work here - it's good for what it is, but it's a little plain, when this final novel had more wondrous things to convery - an eggshaped habitat for one! Take a look at the book trailer from youtube


Pathfinder was the final novel of the Ariane Kedros trilogy. It was kind of bittersweet reading it, since I'd enjoyed the novels so much - yet halfway through Pathfinder, I had actually looked on the Laura E. Reeve's website and learned that there was to be NO MORE Ariane books - becauase Tor/Nal hadn't renewed their option or asked for more, or in their dis-wisdom decided they didn't need to publish anymore. I strongly disagree with their decision. I so want to read more about all the characters in these novels - Hell, Ariane was just starting to think about doing something about her drinking....

Well, I'll stop soapboxing, and on with my review...

I loved this last novel. Ariane and her friends and frenemies went through very much in the last novel - being under the thumb of isolationist extremist, torture, fighting etc. In Pathfinder, a tribunal court has been appointed, the witness and defendants are all ready to testify. The press is at the generational ship - preparing for the trial of the century. At the same time, the Minoans are still there with their warship, and there is a guardian constantly following Ariane around wherever she goes in public places. Even senators and other rulers have appeared for the trial - and of course the lawyers are doing their job, misdirecting things, changing the focus, making the victims look guilty and the accused seem persecuted.

While all this is going on, the Minoans have approached Ari with a contract. They want her boss's ship, with her in particular to pilot so they can put her on a special mission. But this mission is more than first appears. Seems Ari needs to have a special implant....one she cannot ever get rid of.

While her friends have reservations, Ari is game for this. Ari also finds out, is the only one to be told about the real reason the Minoans are sending her on this mission...

I found this plot to be very complex, and all the previous layers of intrigue continue with twists and turns. Past enemies turn into uneasy frenemies, to guarded respect and allies. Civil war is looming between some of the rulers and more is at stake than ever.

Isolationist plots continue, putting more people into danger and Ari is at the center of everything.

This had an amazing beginning, middle and end and I was glad to get to the final page, and at the same time kind of sad that the read was over. I think Reeve is an amazing writer with a very interesting imagination. She came up with not just one, but two alien civilazations, history and on top of that, the whole series is based on an alternate history of Earth - one that's been interacting with the Minoan aliens for centuries. The Minoans are a very interesting alien race, also. Their starship was pretty cool - mostly described in book two (Vigilante) I would love to read more about them and all the other characters.

If you are at all into SciFi and/or military SciFi you should definitely give this a try. There is just the barest hint of romance, lots of intrigue and suspense and some humorous sections also. All the interplay between characters was great. Great dialog, also - never stilted or lame, or forced. Definetely a name I'm going to keep my eye open for - as far as any other books are concerned. Ironically, I almost didn't even read this series, because I had bought the last book months before - tried to start reading it but felt like I was really missing something. I came across the first book just a short while ago, bought it, finally cracked it open and then found the second and Loved It All. So glad I read them.

:)

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

New Weekly Meme - Daring You To Read...

I was thinking about checking my e-mail and taking care of business, when instead I began surfing the ol'web - and came across a post by Moirae about a new - brand spankin' new - book meme. This one sounds fun. So, since it's hosted by another blogger that I follow (and am cityville neighbors with) I clicked on the links and found a new weekly meme to take part in. Mwhahahahahahahahahahahah ....


Hosted by Tynga of Tynga's Reviews, this is a fun new meme where you get to dare people to read a fav of yours (if it's at least 6 months old). There are more guidelines, but you can read those by clicking on the blog badge or icon (or what ever they're called now) and visiting the host's site. Easy Peasy.

When you visit Tynga's post, enter for her giveaway - there is a surprise book giveaway happening.

I wanted my first post to be on J.A. Campbell's first e-book novel, but it's only been five months since the debut, so Senior Year Bites will have to wait another month for this dare.


So I'm going with Suzanne McLeod 's first novel in her Spellcracker's trilogy titled The Sweet Scent of Blood. (My review here) About a sidhe living in a London full of vampires, witch covens, trolls (handsome trolls), satyrs, nyads, brownies, pixies....the works. And it works! Loved it - one of the best debuts I've ever read; loved the sequels - and more are coming. Go on over to Spellcrackers.com - take a look around. Read The Sweet Scent of Blood - go on now - I'm Daring You!
Since I think everyone should be interested in every single book I like (LOL-well, they SHOULD) I have lots more books in mind, but I'll stick with one per post. :)

Vigilante by Laura E. Reeve - review

Vigilante
Military SciFi/alt history
******
Laura E. Reeve

cover-Like the first cover, love it...however, the gun and the hair don't really match the story - small potatoes though when compared to the other factors of the cover.

I LOVED this series. Emotionally scarred, functioning alcoholic, n-space pilot, military reservist with undercover assignments, mixed feelings for her civilian boss, a job on an exploration ship, "Destroyer of Worlds, Explorer of Worlds, Ariane as Kedros", full of guilt and ghosts in her head - and that's just one woman. The other characters are just as interesting. Her military commander, her civilian boss, the newly growing Artificial Intelligence, the spies/enemies turned "allies". This is one hell of an interesting novel full of intrigue, betrayal, twists, aliens, space ship travel and danger. Loved it.

One of the best things about this book is the dialog and the differing pov's in the narration. I guess some would call this the characterizations. Each character had a distinct voice and style. The dialog between all the characters was so believable because it all read so naturally - all the differing characters had their idiosyncrasies and manners of speech. I feel like I might be raving a bit, but sometimes in these SciFi books, the dialog can be a bit....over-dramatic or overly formal to denote a different planet or country. These all meshed nicely. Some of the characters even had the added depth of a type of sign language - little flicks and gestures that added to the conversation.

In Vigilante Ariane Kedros is off duty, traveling with her business partner to a generational ship that is in a new system. Things are complicated when the generational ship is attacked and taken over by extremists - extremists who don't care how many people they kill or if they cause a sun to go nova. They have an extremist agenda - and yet the leader is being led by someone else. Many layers are well - layered on this plot. Once again Ariane has to deal with a weapon of mass destruction, only this time it's a stolen one and she has a very slight chance of saving the system. Her former enemies are suddenly uneasy allies, because everyone wants to survive and they're all under attack.

There is one more book to go in this trilogy (which I've read by now)
I think the trilogy is worth reading and I wish Roc/Penguin would ask for more from Reeve. Fortunately, Reeve is working on a prequel to Ariane's story and hopefully it'll be available for purchase...I'm hoping. anyway, you can check out the website and sign up for notification, which I did. sometimes, I'm quite the geek. The website also includes some of her worldbuilding, alternate history, info about the mysterious Minoans (the aliens) and the characters. I'm already missing the novels, now that I've finished reading them. It's fantasy/UF time now, though. I've ran the gamut of all the SciFi I could find that caught my eye. (I am a bit picky about my SciFi Space Travel novels)
The Trilogy includes:


  1. Peacekeeper

  2. Vigilante

  3. Pathfinder

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Teaser Tuesday - or Tuesday Teaser

I have to say, this is one of my favorite LOL Cat pics. Can you guess why?

which brings me to one of my favorite weekly blog/book memes (do you know, a few years ago I didn't know what the hell "meme" was? There are many new computer/blogger terms that weren't around 10 years ago-that's me stating the obvious. LOL.) Teaser Tusdays is hosted by MizB of ShouldBeReading. We tease each other with our current reads, avoiding spoilers.

My current read is The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I am focusing on this one, trying to have it be my only read (believe me, this is hard for me, because I tend to jump around with at least four books being read at one time, or rather in different places...) This is an intense subject matter, and a very interesting book. I find it hard to put down. The guidelines are for two teaser sentences, but some of us find it hard to limit to just two sentences. This is one of those times. :)

So, from page 133;

'For a moment, the cameras hold on Peeta's downcast eyes as what he says sinks in. Then I can see my face, mouth half open in a mix of surprise and protest, magnified on every screen as I realize, Me! He means me! I press my lips together and stare at the floor hoping this will conceal the emotions starting to boil up inside of me.'

Sending you off with another LOL Cat pic. Can't help, they're funny and cute.

Monday, October 24, 2011

Peacekeeper






******

cover - On her website, Ms Reeve has notations or quotes up about the "wretched" covers. I kind of like the cover, however the one thing that gets to me is the blond hair - the character has short dark curls, not flowing long blond locks. Also, I don't remember her carrying a large gun anyplace in the book, or even the sequels. But you know - how covers can be. I still like the cover though.

I just love SciFi - especially SciFi with space ships, implants and enhancements, and bigger than life scenarios. This trilogy has it all - even a tortured, flawed yet strong female character. Ariane Kedros just doesn't give up.

Ariane Kedros has a past, one with a different name, different face and slightly older face than she has now. She's in a program to protect her identity because of her history of following some orders that destroyed a solar system. Even though her identity is supposed to be secret, seems someone knows or has guessed who she is.

Ariane works for Aether Explorations - is part of a two person crew. Her other job is as reserve military, and sometimes undercover work for a Colonel Edones. In this novel, she's assigned to be part of an inspections team as two former warring factions are dismembering their weapons of mass destruction - these weapons can destroy whole solar systems...like in her secret past.

Ariane also has a problem - she's an alcoholic who practices extreme self control with the exception of her occasional binges. Being an N-Space pilot necesitates her using certain drugs, so that complicate matters.

So off Ariane goes, to her new assignment and her undercover second assignment - to be bait for someone who is systematically murdering her former crew-mates...and the plot thickens.

I enjoyed this book so much. There is intrigue, suspense, fighting and interesting characters. The dialog is superb - sounding real and never over dramatic or forced. I also enjoyed all the SciFi elements, the ships, the space travel, the weapons. There were sections where info was woven into the story, but it didn't feel heavy handed - it was handled in an interesting way, so that I wasn't left feeling like I wanted to skim over parts, or wanted to nod off. That's probably not easy to do when writing SciFi or any type of novel where you have to basically invent a whole complete history with added beings. In this case, the added beings are the alien Minoans. They are this super law abiding species that has extended a helping hand to humans, helping them to achieve space travel. Only they might have a hidden agenda. Many are afraid of them, because they can destroy quickly and have almost magical technology.

There are two other books in this series - Vigilante, and Pathfinder. At this time, I've finished all three, and enjoyed each one.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

It's Monday!

(huge sigh) It's Monday...again.


Hosted by Sheila of Book Journey - we share what we've been reading.
It's been a challenging reading month. I can't seem to stay away from science fiction books, even though I have many many many many urban fantasy novels I want to read. They are not only backing up, but I'm running out of room to put them, and some I can't even FIND.
like these below. I bought them. Don't know where they are. oops.



In the meantime;

I am currently reading Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins

Good writing, but it's hard for me to think about reading a book about kids being forced to kill each other. I haven't gotten very far yet, but the fact that there are two more in the series gives me a probably false sense of hope for the main character from the first novel.

After I finish Hunger Games, I have a plan to catch up a quite a few e-books that have been sent to me and one that I bought. I don't have covers for all of them, because they aren't all published yet, I'm not even sure I should give titles out - until I get permission. But the one I bought is The Weaverfields Heir - a book by David Bridger that I've been wanting to get for quite a while. Finally bought it and hope to read it either this week or next, depending on how many of the beta reads I can finish.
What I HAVE finished -

A short story by Tahlia Newland (from Australia - know who else is from Australia that I love to read? Marianne De Pierres - aka Marianne Delacourt), I enjoyed it, it was a quick, light and fun read.

Also just finished Pathfinder (#3) by Laura E Reeves and am hoping that she's going to write more about Ariane Kedros and co. I also finished the book that came right before (same author), called Vigilante (#2). Enjoyed the whole trilogy very much. Satisfied the SciFi craving along with some intrigue and suspense.




Until tomorrow - for Tuesday Teasers.

Saturday, October 22, 2011

The Drorgan Slayer's Choice by Tahlia Newland




e-book - short story fantasy



I just finished reading an entertaining short story written by Tahlia Newland. Right now it's available on Smashwords as well as Amazon.

Julia is on her break from work, hoping to get some coffee when she bumps her head after a fall. After dusting herself off, she sits down and notices that everything is brighter, she can see and hear better....and oops! Suddenly she's seeing some disturbing things. Like a giant octopus and people fighting this thing. Only no one else seems to notice.

What follows is an entertaining beginning of a romance. Julia follows the fighters to a new location and gets noticed by one of them- a handsome one. The rest is kind of a sweet beginning to a romance. And even though I'm not really into the romance formulaic style of writing, I enjoyed this, because it wasn't too heavy handed with all the romance buzzwords about how hot people are. I found Ms Newland's style of writing easy to read, and the dialog (which can be a deal breaker for me) was fitting. Of course, this being a short story - things move a bit fast, and there's an interesting fantasy twist to the heaven and hell (differing planets).

For the price of a candy bar, you can read this short story yourself, and it's less calories than candy. LOL. Give it a try - Tahlia Newland has a fine writing style and can sure write an entertaining read.

Contest Links and other random bits

My very favorite British author is having a fun contest at her blog - and not only is she hosting a contest for some very cool books, but she also has links to other fun contests. Go to Suzanne McLeod's Spellcrackers blog and enter and then take a look at the other contest links that are celebrating International Urban Fantasy Month. (Yeay! a month celebrating urban fantasy - one of my favorite genres)

Also, take a look at the Haunted Halloween button on my sidebar - it'll take you to a page at Confessions of a Bookaholic's blog - many contest links.

TGIF. I don't know about anyone else (though I have a pretty good idea) but I know I'm so very glad that Friday is here. It's been a long crazy-weathered week. We've gone from hot to cold t0 muggy to hot again. HUGE SIGH...I know this happens here every September and October. We always get what used to be called "Indian Summers" but everyone around here always acts so surprised - "I can't believe it's so HOT in October..." Really? Because you don't remember saying the same damned thing last year? or the year before? Our little city has always had mild summers complete with morning fogs and the occasional heat wave and late hot-summer weather. Every single year. And then we tend to have bouts of spring weather in January and February - interspersed with the freezing (for us freezing, nothing like Minnesota or Michigan cold) bone-aching cold. And every few years we get the rains all the way through the end of June - and this year into July. Needless to say, this wreaks havoc on pollen allergy sufferers. Because it seems the plants are always releasing pollen because the weather keeps fooling them. We never pack away winter clothes or summer clothes. Nope - we keep them all handy all year round because you'll need them all year round. Even in our hot weathered months, we still have cool evenings (thank GOD - because I can't take continuous heat without wanting to KILL) and so we need at least light jackets through out the summer. But I wouldn't give up our weather patterns for any other place - at the moment anyway. Even when it's bitterly cold, making me ache with excrutiating pain, I know it's going to pass soon with intermissions of pleasant weather. I think we're lucky like that. However, this year we've been getting as many as four weather changes in a single week, and that feels a little weird.

New subject - or back to books. I know that everyone else in the reading world has read Hunger Games - everyone but me it seems. I haven't read it yet for a couple of reasons. One being that Young Adult is not my main reading material (me being past 50 now) and so when I budget money for books, I generally either buy adult books or books for the grandkids - putting other reads kind of on hold. I do read a few YA authors such as J.A. Campbell and Lili St.Crow, but YA is not my first choice. The other reason being that so many people raved about it that I kind of thought...."couldn't be that good". There's quite a few books that I've tried to read after millions and billions of people have blogged about (really - BILLIONS) that I wasn't that impressed with. We've all been there - tried a book because so many raved about it, just to find it kind of HoHum experience, or even wondering what the hell were they on while they were reading? So it was kind of off my radar. However, a teacher at the school I work at had a copy in her classroom (we share a classroom) and told me I really should read it. When I mentioned that there are few young adult books that I read, she said - um - NO you should try this one. So I took it home and kind of skimmed the first page....then last night I couldn't find my current read, the one I'm really into right now; so I read a little more of Hunger Games and OH MY JESUS GOD. MAN! I'm to the part where she is on the train, after volunteering to take Prim's place. Ugh. I have to finish it, and I will soon - but I'm also really into this Vigilante novel. Maybe I'll be able to finish both books this weekend. We'll see. But Hunger Games has me hooked....and I see that this teacher also has the second and third books in the series.....

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Principles of Angels by Jaine Fenn - review

Principles of Angels
*****
Jaine Fenn
cover-at first glance, this cover looks a bit run of the mill. But then look a little closer, especially after reading a bit of the book (
one of the reasons I love holding a print book - the ability to simply turn my hand and see the cover) and then you'll see how much the cover matches the story. There's the arid, almost uninhabitable planet. There's this flexible dome, and within the dome you can see the suggestion of a structure. This is where the story takes place.
Principles of Angels is a gift from a wonderful person all the way 'across the pond' from me. It took me a while to get to it, but that's part of the fun of getting books for gifts - they wait for us to read. (Thank you very much, Wonderful British Woman - loved the book)
I am not sure that I can explain this novel well enough, or even the intricate world that the characters live in. There's this structure above an uninhabitable planet that is ruled in turns by three separate factions. It's a mysterious place, that seems self contained. Things are recycled - even urine. Some of the little details are a bit squicky - but this does not take from the story. Anyway I'll try to explain just a bit in my wandering way.
The society is ruled by a consortium, there is a prime minister type that keeps things running smoothly (as far as government) and one of his jobs is to assign assassinations to an "Angel". These assassinations are voted on by the governing body, usually when a member of the consortium has fallen in public favor. The consequence is death by assassination. The assassin is an Angel (not really an angel but one who is given the power to float, to fly and has ninja like skills and weapons). These Angels are both revered and feared. They are also considered "line mothers". The whole thing is intricate and can be a bit confusing but I just keep reading.
This brings me to the fact that in this structure are a few levels...the upper level for the rich and priviledged, and the lower level for the others. The people who have to struggle for a living, the prostitutes and pickpockets etc. There is a whole separate society in this second level, which oddly - is where the Angels live. This level has webbing and catwalks, all the dwellings have holes or openings in the middle of the rooms for lowering wastes and bringing up water, etc. This is where one of the main characters live - Taro. As mentioned in the blurb of the book - his line mother (who is really his aunt) is an Angel who has been murdered. Murder of an Angel is unheard of. This is just a small part of a intricate (my new word for the day) plot.
Visiting this structure, the upper part at least, is a singer from another planet. Elarn is on tour, singing deeply religious songs and comes from a very religious planet. She also has another reason for being on tour.
The paths of Taro and Elarn come together by accident after Taro unwittingly ruins an assassination attempt by an angel of one of the city's rulers. After that, things become complicated in more ways than one until at the end of the story there is such a twist, such a interesting twist - that I just have to read more. There is way more to the plot than the things I mentioned - there is a history of Sidhe - considered ancient and died off. Part of the history of this planet is the long ago migration of people from Earth - which is long gone.
Once I was able to concentrate solely on this novel, I found myself absorbed by it. The different characters had distinctly different voices. Jaine Fenn did a wonderful job of drawing these characters, making them stand out from each other. I also enjoyed the dialog (one of my pet peeves) - found each character's way of speech consistant and "fitting" each person. Written in third person - I also found the narration interesting and not once was I bored with info-dumps or huge chunks of explanations. There may have been a few things that seemed a bit involved, but I was able to keep reading and eventually understand what was happening, or understand the different levels of people/society. I think the author put a lot of thought into building her world and her different societies and fringe societies. I also enjoyed the way she let the reader learn little bits here and there without overwhelming me with too many details and long explanations.
As soon as I finished Principles of Angels (and of course when I had a few bucks in the bank) I ordered the second novel in this trilogy (or is it a four-bit now?). According to Fenn's website, the second book takes place at the same time as the first, though on a different planet. The third book has the characters of both first and second books coming together for a story. Looking forward to it.
Note, that if you're squeamish about prostitution or drug use, there is some of that going on. For me, that's not any worse than reading about murder and violence, though - so it doesn't bother me to read about, especially when it seems to be an accepted part of life in a story's society.
Very interesting read that has me wanting to read more. Just different enough to satisfy my SciFi cravings and Fantasy cravings at the same time.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Tuesday Teasers, and etc.

Before I post my teasers for the week, I want to mention a writer from Australia who is working on getting a book published. So far it's being shopped around by her agent. I read an excerpt of it a while ago and loved it. There is danger, creepiness, darkness and struggle - written from the pov of a teen girl. You can read the first chapter yourself. (click on the cover). Talia Newland also reviews books and maintains a pretty interesting blog. I love that she has made a sample of her work available online and I'm hoping she gets published soon. On top of all of that, she's an artist - as in painting and creating (besides the writing - I've always considered writing an art form). Go on over, check out Tahlia's blog and excerpt of Lethal Inheritance; then leave her some feedback. I think you'll enjoy the writing - especially if you're a fan of YA urban fantasy type of fiction.

AHHHHH! Tuesday Teaser. One of my favorite weekly book memes. Hosted by MizB of ShouldBeReading, we tease each other with what we're reading, making sure to avoid spoilers.


I've read many good reviews of The Hunger Games, but since it's YA and I rarely buy YA books, I haven't yet bought a copy; to be honest, I really wasn't in to buying a copy - preferring to spend my money on either adult fiction or books by YA authors that I am already familiar with (like J.A. Campbell, Lili St.Crow, etc). But a reading teacher happened to have a copy and told me that I would absolutely LOVE it, finish it in one night. I just started it, and can't really afford to stay up all night to read, but it does seem pretty interesting... so from page 11 of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins;


"The predators ignore us on a day when easier, tastier prey abounds. Buy late morning, we have a dozen fish, a bag of greens and, best of all, a gallon of strawberries. I found the patch a few years ago, but Gale had the idea to string mesh nets around it to keep out the animals."


I haven't read very much yet, and so far, no huge infodumps so I'm slowly learning as I read what is going on....I like it that way.


I hadn't planned on reading this series - in fact I picked up the first (Peacekeeper) on impulse almost a year after I bought the third in the series. Since I had bought the third, so long ago and tried to read it then, I really wasn't very interested. But then I found the first novel, got into it week before last, finally finished it Sunday night. Luckily, on my last book shopping trip (desultory trips since Borders shut its doors) I found the middle and Voila! Now I can't stop thinking about this series, so I'm now reading the second.


from page 46 of Vigilante by Laura E. Reeve

" 'I'm not going to let his threats rule my life, or yours. We need to be able to go about our business.' She was adamant, or at least she could act resolute, as Matt looked searchingly into her face. Internally, she was less sure."

Such an interesting series - SciFi, mystery, suspense - the works. :)

check out the author's website, all kinds of interesting background on the series available. (SciFi geeks, rejoice!)



More Tuesday Teaser fun can be found at J.A. Campbell's writerly blog, where she's teasing us with a bit from her newest novel - Summer Break Blues. (the sequel to Senior Year Bites)

Monday Madness

Hosted by Sheila of Book Journey - we're sharing what we've read, what we're reading etc.

I'm keeping it short and sweet, since I had a busy weekend and stayed up way too late reading (again)



I finally did it. Finally, I finished a book. I not only finished reading a book, but I finished reading two books. Combined with watching my favorite t.v. shows this week and falling asleep on the couch every evening this week, that's about all I accomplished...but se la Vi.
I finally finished Peacekeeper by Laura E Reeve and Principles of Angels by Jaine Fenn. I've developed a headache tonight, so I'm failing at providing book or author links...hopefully I'll catch up on that later.



I will say, though, that each of the books I finished (both SciFi in different ways) were very interesting, even though it took me so long to read. It wasn't any reflection on the books, just my own issues with sleeping, working and etc. Now I've picked up the second in the series by Laura E. Reeve, titled Vigilante, and have just started it....

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Grandchildren and t.v. shows

I look forward to Wednesday nights. My favorite night for watching silly sit-coms. I laugh and laugh, even though I usually end up watching them by myself with only the dogs watching me laugh. The spouse is usually in the bedroom watching any sit-com show that's been filmed before 1998. Seriously. His favorite shows are RoseAnn, Yes Dear, The King of Queens and for his one major concession to the 21st century programming - Pitt Boss.
I sat down, too tired to eat dinner and thought I would stretch out, rest the back. Woke up just in time for the start of
Middle. Watched about 10 minutes of it and woke up again, just in time to see the beginning of Suburgatory....then I woke up yet again just in time to watch the second 10 minutes of Modern Family...and again in time to see the last five minutes of it. DAMN!

Well, I told myself. At least I can watch Happy Endings....I saw about five minutes of that one.

GRRRRRR

Then, at 10 p.m. I am wide awake (of course). Wide awake and pissed off that I missed everysingle favorite show! So I went book shopping on Abe Books. Ordered a few used books of authors that I've read the first novel of a series.

Sandra McDonald's The Stars Down Under

John Meaney's Black Blood

Jaine Fenn's Cosort of Heaven.

All of them with free shipping. Under $20, which helps when I'm on a book budget.
Then, I found out that I can watch full episodes of some of my favorite shows online!

yeay.


Grand-Pets; substituting for grandchildren
When you get to a certain age; when your children are all grown and it's time for grandchildren, there is no guarantee that you're going to get grandchildren from them. I consider myself blessed that I do have one granddaughter and one grandson. Sometimes you just have to take what you get. And sometimes you get a grandkitty. That's right...a grandkitty. This is the newest grandkitty. And true to grandbaby type duties, last night I ended up cleaning up a bottom, washing pee soaked towels (with the help of the proud new owner) and even feeding it a kitty bottle. This kitty is three weeks old, drinking out of a small cat bottle because the mother was a feral cat that died after giving birth to three kittens. A couple took the three babies in and in a clever move brought them to visit a bar (in an area with many hippy & bohemian types) and found homes for all three baby kittens with people who were just buzzed enough to think it's a great idea to take home kittens that have to be bottle fed and hugged alot. hahahahahahahahahahahaha. Just in the few hours that they were visiting our house, the kitty became comfortable enough to climb over to my arm and fall asleep draped lengthwise along my forearm. Strange little thing. Showed no fear or hesitation to our two dogs, just looked at them. No hissing, no hunching, just looked at them. Meowed a lot, but also purred and snuggled. At one point she even tried to breastfeed from my son's neck. LOL. Possibly not the smartest cat in the world. :)

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Waiting On Wednesday and Book B-Day coming up

I haven't posted a Waiting On Wednesday meme for quite a while...and I've been waiting for books! as always. LOL


Waiting On Wednesday is hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine. Full guidelines available at Breaking the Spine. I'm listing three books that I've been waiting for, and all three are established writers, all favorite authors. One was just released this week (getting myself to the bookstore very soon!), one comes out in November and the other one comes out



Snuff by Terry Pratchett came out in hardback October 11th. One of my rare auto in hardback buys now, as soon as I can, I'm treating myself to a copy. It's hard for me to describe just why I like Terry Pratchett's writing so much. Some of the complaints I've heard from readers are parts of the reasons I love reading his novels (varying pov, jumping from character to character and back again - love this type of writing, keeps you on your toes! and it's really not that hard to keep up.) This is one of the few series, that has over 30 books that I've enjoyed and am enjoying every single novel. This guy could keep going and going and I'd be happy. But he won't, since he's ended up with Alzheimer's which will eventually end his writing career long before it should have.


Reckoning by Lili St.Crow is another bittersweet wait - it's the final novel in the Strange Angels' series. The fifth and final. One of my rare young adult reads, I've enjoyed them since the first novel and have found it refreshingly dark, even with the inevitible teen angst. It all fits, and I enjoy the main character's attitude and teen anger. Due out October 27th, 2011.


Finally - Magic On The Line is the 7th Allie Beckstrom novel and very close to the end of this series. Smart of Devon Monk - to end the series while it's still popular. Seems like a hard call, also. On one hand, why end a good series, and on the other when do you end it, how do you tell when it might be going down hill, what if it would stay popular, etc? November 1st is the release date for this soon to end series' next novel. Bittersweet on all novels. I can honestly say that things won't seem the same without the Discworld novels, and it'll be a joyful shame to be reading the final novels of the other two series that I enjoy so much. On the other hand, with Devon Monk and Lili St.Crow always going in new directions and thinking with their writerly brains, I'm pretty sure that we're going to be treated to more from them. And then there's always my other favorite British author ....
Suzanne McLeod - who has a U.S. book b-day coming up. In December, The Bitter Seed of Magic will come out in paperback over here in the States. It's also coming out in mmppb (mass market ppb size). It's been out in the UK in hardcover - time to celebrate the ppb version! If you've been waiting for the US ppb to come out.


If you've been a fan, and have signed up for McLeod's newsletter, then you'll see that there is a special contest for newsletter subscribers. If you're not as subscriber, then you should definitely check this newsletter out ('cause the contest is very generous). It's very easy to join - just click here to sign up for her newsletter and the rest will follow. Or click here to find out more about being a part of her Spellcrackers.com Clan

Along with having book b-days and contest, Ms Suzanne is being interviewed - more information is on her blog. Seems she's sharing some interview space with Ann Rice, which is pretty cool. Hopefully Suzanne's part will survive the inevitable edits that always seem to take place with interviews, but how exciting for her.


I've just spent a very long time waiting for blogger to upload a short video of my grandchildren. I give up. It's taking so long that you're now either to be disappointed or spared (whichever you choose to be) the unbearable cuteness of my two grandchildren battling with two soft bowling pins (used them as swords). It was pretty cool, because this was from last winter, just about the time when Liliana started realizing that her cousin is pretty fun to play with. She was doing slow motion moves, he was fighting her pretty softly and waiting like a gentleman when her back was to him (could have taken her down, but he chose to wait. He's a very thoughtful, considerate opponent.) This is probably a good thing for y'all because, (snickerk shickWerk hahahaha). also had plans of sharing videos of them playing the drums, dancing in the kitchen, and in geneal being very cute, as grandchildren often are. And THEN I was going to share videos of the pets - playing, chasing the grandkids, etc.....you just barely escaped...


MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ....(but then - of course, there's always YouTube!!! go ahead - you know you want to. click on it. good rock blues)