4. Dark Star- Alan Furst

Second in Furst’s Night Soldier series follows a Soviet Jew newspaper man through the rise of Hitler, and the beginning of WWII. At first a spy for the Russians based in Germany when war begins his world is turned inside out and he flees through Europe.

I love how Furst shows what little control people in those circumstances have over their lives. At the mercy of powerful elements shoving them and forcing them this way and that.

A terrific series with insights into the mood, realpoliti0 and underside of the run up to war.

3. God Save the Child - Robert B. Parker

The second installment in Parker’s Spenser series, takes place in the 70s. Dated in some ways, intriguing in others. A bit sexist but comparatively speaking, for the time, not too bad really.  More dated is the morality of the time, but true, I think, as I remember the days.

Spenser is hired to find a missing 15 year old boy. At first it seems like he’s run off, but a few days later, a ransom note arrives. And then things get more bizarre from there.

Interesting twists and turns, and Spenser’s smart arse commentary and retorts amuse.

2. Return of the Crimson Guard–Ian C. Esslemont

Back to the world of the Malazan Empire with this book from Esslemont. Epic fantasy at its most epic, with world size wars, fought by tough men and women who appreciate the miseries and the horrors of their craft.

Not for the faint of heart, grim complex storyline and plot, lots of intrigue, backbiting, betrayal and the occasional honorable person who makes it all come together.  But don’t be so sure the good will survive.

1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone - J.K. Rowling

 

  

  Since LT folks are doing an HP yearly read, I thought I’d join in. I tried the audio on this re-read and at least found it interesting enough to listen to the whole thing. When I read this, not long after it came out, I found it boring and boorish on several levels.  Can you tell I’m not enamored of kidlit?

Since I can get more audios from the library, I’ll probably continue the series, hoping the follow on books are better.

Currently Reading:

 

Starting the new year with a 700 page book, and one I have to visit the Re-Read of the Fallen at Tor.com after every chapter might not have been my brightest move, LOL

Still, nearly done with Harry Potter, which is… meh. More enjoyable in the audio than it ever was written. MAYBE I’ll listen to more of it.

Yes, yes, I hear you, all you HP maniacs. I know.  I’m just not all that enamored of kidlit.

Plans for the New Year:

My plot plan for 2014 is to concentrate on several series rather than just jumping around like a loonie from one series to another. We'll see how well that works.
Series I hope to concentrate on:

Ian C. Esslemont and Steven Erikson Malazan Empire
S.M. Stirling's Alt History Nantucket Event extended series
Jo Walton's Farthing series
Connie Willis 's Time Travel Series
Iain M. Banks Culture series
Susan Hill's Simon Serailler series
Daniel Silva's Gabriel Allon series
Alan Furst's Night Soldier's series
Charles Finch's Charles Lenox series

No doubt I'll read other stuff as well, but I hope to maybe catch up with these. We'll see!

Catchup Post

 

I was very bad toward the end of the year, and ignored my blog. So I’m trying to catch up now and list what I’ve read and a few of my goals for the new year:

 

Books I’ve read but never posted to the blog:

 

103. Rest You Merry - Charlotte MacLeod
102. Quite Ugly One Morning - Christopher Brookmyer
101. Teckla - Steven Brust
100. London Falling - Paul Cornell
99. The Cruellest Month - Louise Penny
98. On the Oceans of Eternity - S.M. Stirling
97. Blackcollar - Timothy Zahn
96. Jar City - Arnuldur Indidason
95. Zoo Station - David Downing
94. A Drink Before the War - Dennis Lehane
93. Phoenix Rising - Pip Ballantine
92. The Fleet Street Murders - Charles Finch
91. The Man With a Load of Mischief - Martha Grimes
90 Hide and Seek - Ian Rankin
89. Sandman Slim - Richard Kadrey
88. Knots and Crosses - Ian Rankin
87. The Yard - Alex Grecian
86. Can You Forgive Her - Anthony Trollope
85. Ratking - Michael Dibdin
84. God Save the Queen - Kate Locke
83. Whitefire Crossing - Courtney Schafer

 

Yes, I’ve read 103 books this year. Just started a new one but I won’t get it done before the new year.