Review: The Murder at Sissingham Hall

The Murder at Sissingham Hall by Clara Benson
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

disappointing

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Review: The Steerswoman

The Steerswoman by Rosemary Kirstein
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What an interesting take on sword and sorcery! Firstly, the main characters are two women and a youngish boy. And it definitely passes the Bechdel test! (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bechdel...)

The one woman is a Steerswoman, a keeper of the world's knowledge and an adventurer who searches for more information around the world. The other woman is a barbarian from the Outskirts. They meet and help each other then form a bond of friendship that becomes deep and trusting. The boy they meet along the way, he's determined to become a wizard because he saw his sister taken by a powerful wizard, so he wants to become powerful and stop that sort of thing from ever happening again.

Rowan, the Steerswoman, has found an odd crystal whose properties she wants to investigate. Bel, traveling in the same direction, decides she hasn't anything better to do so comes along for the adventure. It becomes clear early on that someone is attempting to kill Rowan for reasons unknown, and shocking, as the Steerswomen are generally revered as they share the knowledge they collect happily and generously with all who ask.

The characters are well drawn, interesting,and ::gasp:: don't do anything stupid!

The plot is tightly woven and has enough twists and turns to keep you guessing about a lot of things.

The world is well drawn and is quite surprising in that the book is really about science, even if it is sword and sorcery also.

Definitely looking forward to reading a lot more of this series.

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Review: Dark Fire

Dark Fire by C.J. Sansom
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

7. [Dark Fire] - C.J. Sansom - 3.5 stars



Second in the Matthew Shardlake series, about a hunch-backed lawyer who finds himself serving Thomas Cromwell, more by necessity than by choice. In this book, Cromwell is attempting not to be deposed by Henry VIII and pretty desperately sends Shardlake and a young assistant, Barak, off to discover the truth behind 'dark fire' which in this case refers to Greek Fire, something that has been promised to King Henry.

In short order, Shardlake's life is in danger and he and Barak are rushing across London to save themselves as well as Cromwell.

Not bad for the most part except : Why, when you are confronting a family you KNOW to have enabled the death of one young boy and then blamed that death on an innocent young girl, why oh why would you be stupid enough to drink wine they offered you? Why do authors seem to have this need to make characters stupid to come up with a stupid plot point?

I like Shardlake and I really enjoyed Barak and his development and change throughout the novel.

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Review: The Atlantis Gene

The Atlantis Gene by A.G. Riddle
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I have far too much to say about this book, very little of it fit for mixed company.

Plot: the plot bunnies definitely escaped their normal confines. Name a conspiracy theory, and this book wraps it up into the overarching master plan being perpetrated by a bunch of guys who obviously never read 'If I were an evil overlord."

I do like some of the ideas, but honestly, the book drove me pretty nuts. I did kind of like the basic idea, it just wasn't very well executed. Haven't we gone beyond Nazis yet?

Characterization? nada. Well, except for the little kid at the monastery.

Intellect of our heroes? Hah.

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Review: Miss Buncle's Book

Miss Buncle's Book by D.E. Stevenson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In tiny, quiet little Silverstream, a young woman is in need of money. What to do? Why write a book! Write a book about your town and barely conceal the identity of the characters in it. And then see what mayhem happens!
Edit | More

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Review: Into the Black

Into the Black by Evan C. Currie
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Interesting and pretty well done military SF, with the first starship into space from Earth immediately running into an interstellar war.

Barring the idea that the first shot out of the gate we'd run into such a thing, it was a well done space battle book, with some interesting hints of what is to come, and what sort of universe the crew of the Odyssey and Earth is going to be dealing with.

Pretty good characterization for this particular sub-genre as well.

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Review: Elantris

Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I thought I'd like this book more than I did. I liked the world building, I liked the characters a lot, but for my taste there was way too much religion or at least way too much religion that tended to preach at the reader.

I finished it because I cared about the characters enough to keep going.

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Review: Trading in Danger

Trading in Danger by Elizabeth Moon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ky is tossed out of the Space Academy for embarrassing the service and returns home where her father gives her a small ship from his shipping company and sends her off on what is supposed to be a milk run to a few minor planets. Ky, smarting from her ouster, sees an opportunity to turn a boring run into something much better for herself, her ship and her family's company. And then suddenly she finds herself in the midst of a war.

I really enjoyed this book, It is a coming of age book, in that Ky is trying hard to be her own person and break out of assumptions everyone has made about her. She's intelligent, thinks, and considers her actions. But sometimes your choices are limiting and you have to choose the best of multiple bad choices.

Ky grows a lot during the course of the book, learns from her mistakes, and faces her demons.

Having been in the military myself, her training and her reactions to situations felt very real to me, so props for that especially. Looking forward to more of this series.

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Review: Fellowship of Fear

Fellowship of Fear by Aaron Elkins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Back in the Cold War, a visiting professor gets caught up in the paranoia and craziness of Russian spies trying to get secrets from US bases in Europe.

Brought back lots of memories of my own about that sort of thing, not all of them pleasant.

The mystery was okay, but I liked the main character a lot.

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