69. Map of Bones–James Rollins

     

I had sooooo much fun reading this book, the second in the Sigma Force series. I got to look up lots of stuff and try to see what was real and what wasn’t.

Some stuff I looked up: m-state metals (monoatomic metals), the Order of Dragons, how many Magi were there?, heap-leach cyanide recovery method to extract precious metals , Meissner Fields and superconducting metals,Catharism, Thomas Chrstians, the Chinon Parchment .

There were more.

Great action, believable storyline not going too far afield, fleshed out characters,  hateable bad guys, and never sure who was on which side.  What more can you want from a thriller!

68. Yendi–Steven Brust 69. House of Silk–Anthony Horowitz

Yendi is the second book in the Vlad Taltos series.  Very funny assassin with a smartass tiny dragon who sits on his shoulder.

House of Silk is a Sherlock Holmes pastiche which I thought was excellently done. Very much evoked the originals, I thought.

66. Reliquary–Preston/Child and 67. What Angels Fear–C.S. Harris

Reliquary is the second book in the Pendergast thriller series. A wild ride as Pendergast and old friends find out that they didn’t really understand what happened in BOOK 1, and that things were going pear-shaped again.  Very effective sequel.

What Angels Fear is a period mystery, set in London, just as the Regency is about to begin. A woman is found murdered and raped in a church and the clues point to Lord Devlin, the only remaining son of one of the Prince’s main advisors. I realized after I began this that I’d read it many years ago.  I did remember whodunnit, but reread it entirely anyway. Quite a good period mystery with lots of grimy scenes of the poor sectors of London.

64. Gateway–Frederik Pohl, 65. White Rhino Hotel–Bartle Bull

                                                                                        

Gateway, a science fiction novel, is  about the discovery of a mysterious, uhm, gateway created by aliens long gone.

The White Rhino Hotel is a novel about a young man leaving England to try to make a life in Africa.

The two books are eerily similar in structure. 

I didn’t plan to read the second one right after Gateway, but just picked it up, so this similarity was entirely unexpected.

Both go into detail about the strange worlds the people step into, and spend a lot of time dealing with the reactions, surprises and learning curves for each new world.

Both were wonderful reads, and eye-opening in multiple ways. Both are highly recommended.

63. Hexed–Kevin Hearne

Atticus, no longer able to keep a low profile, is forced to face down a bunch of bad witches. And discovers he has some new friends.

62. The Small House at Allington–Anthony Trollope

Not my favorite Trollope but very much the usual tale with lots of fun pokes at society and its peccadillos.

61. The Hunt for Atlantis–Andy McDermott

(Audiobook)

I love books about archaeological quests, so I’d hoped for a bit more from this book. There was lots of chases and gunfire but not enough archaeology for my tastes. Also, I found the ending a bit hard to believe, at least the plot denouement at any rate.

Still, I own book two and because I like one main character, and want to kick the other, I’ll probably listen to it as well.

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60. The Unexpected Mrs Pollifax–Dorothy Gilman

A fun and easy story about a New Jersey widow, bored with her life, who goes to the CIA and asks to be a spy. What happens after that is just a crazy patchwork of happenstance.

Cool characters, interesting story, and lots of fun.