This was highly commended and I did like it a lot. But as I get to the end I raised that all just felt a bit too down and depressing for me right now....moreThis was highly commended and I did like it a lot. But as I get to the end I raised that all just felt a bit too down and depressing for me right now. It doesn't help that I'm really tired right now - started the Christmas holiday yesterday and now I've stopped I realise just how run down I am - and when I get that tired I get really emotionally run down too and sad with it. I don't need fluffy bunnies and rainbows (yuck) but this isn't the right series for me just now. Reading the blurbs of the next two suggest things continue not going well for Edie and I don't want to read that right now.(less)
Nice little story. Loved the idea of a rainbow chameleon wyr. I do like the world and hope to get back to the books again soon. But I also am realizin...moreNice little story. Loved the idea of a rainbow chameleon wyr. I do like the world and hope to get back to the books again soon. But I also am realizing I prefer a good urban fantasy with a love story even more than a paranormal romance with good world building. (less)
Majipoor Chronicles - Robert Silverberg Majipoor, Book 2; SF; 7/10 I read Silverberg's first Majipoor bo...moreORIGINAL READ: 9/10 (10 May 2008 - 23 June 2007)
Majipoor Chronicles - Robert Silverberg Majipoor, Book 2; SF; 7/10 I read Silverberg's first Majipoor book, Lord Valentine's Castle, many years ago and really liked it, but I never got into this book of short stories. I reread Lord Valentine's Castle again last year and bought myself this book to have another go. It turned out to take me a long time to read my way through - I'm really not a short story reader - but I actually really enjoyed my trip through the past of Majipoor. It's not a totally amazing book, but explains and expands on a lot of things mentioned briefly in the first book. I'm now planning to go on and read the third in the trilogy, although I don't know when that wil be.
[Copied across from Library Thing; 17 December 2012]
REREAD #1: 9/10 (17 December 2012 - 20 December 2012)
Really, really enjoyed the reread. Surprised by how much. Liked it more this time than last time. (Sorry, too tired for more.)(less)
Another very successful novel from Andrea K. Höst. I thoroughly enjoyed her Touchstone Trilogy. This new novel, again set in Australia and with a SF-b...moreAnother very successful novel from Andrea K. Höst. I thoroughly enjoyed her Touchstone Trilogy. This new novel, again set in Australia and with a SF-based mystery, was published about the time I finished that series, so I bought it as soon as it was released.
I really enjoyed it. Höst has come up with a fascinating premise and then slowly unfolded it and revealed more and more clues until we come to know what is really going on. I liked Madeleine a lot and enjoyed the way the story and characters developed with her at their centres.
The development of things between Madeleine and Fisher and how it ended up was wonderfully done and I'd just about be prepared to recommend the book on that alone, although what makes it wonderful is the the context of the story around which it all develops, crashes, burns a bit and maybe takes off again (I think that metaphor's got a bit out of hand). I can't say more without spoiling anything, but don't deny yourself the chance to explore this complicated and unusual piece of character and relationship building.
As I read the book something about the whole idea of Blue and Green kept nagging at me as a familiar concept until I finally tracked it down to an old episode of the 1970's The Tomorrow People called The Blue and the Green. Plot wise, they were quite, quite different, but I'm wondering (without doing any in depth analysis) if there are some thematic overlaps beyond the use of the two colours because the two stories are insisting on sitting side by side inside my head.
I really enjoyed the Australian setting. If I can't have a New Zealand one, then yay for the land across the "ditch".
One thing I did find interesting was the significant lack of adult characters. Tyler would have been the oldest at about 25 by my calculations, which still isn't really very old (or in the story that much). I guess this is something that has always been done in books for younger (YA in this case) readers, to side step the parents. (Look at all those holidays the Famous Five went on; given all the adventures they had, I wouldn't have let them off the property!) From the crusty old age of 43, I'm starting to notice this sort of thing more. I'm not saying it was a wrong choice - I don't think the Blue Musketeers could have succeeded with adults dragging them down - just that I notice it now where once I didn't.
Another most enjoyable book by Andrea K. Höst. In the more practical terms of writing quality and editing (since this is a self-published book), I think the writing is much tidier and more self-assured here, compared to the Touchstone books. There are certainly less typos and the like. I'd say I noticed maybe five or six where I went back to check if a word was right or not - and in some cases it was but I'd read it in my mind with the wrong inflections, making the sentence stop making sense. Actually, it did.
Personally, I think I enjoyed the Touchstone books more, but that was about the kind of story appealing to me a little more than this one did. But if I'd read this first, I might have put it at the top of the list instead. I'm not sure if Höst has written any other science fiction. I'm much more in an SF mood at the moment (especially with that touch of a puzzle of a mystery to solve), but I shall go and look at her fantasy novels, because she is most definitely an author to keep a watch over.(less)
REREAD #1: 9/10 (26 October 2007 - 2 November 2007)
Lord Valentine's Castle by Robert Silverberg
Come to the magical planet of Majipoor. Follow Valentin...moreREREAD #1: 9/10 (26 October 2007 - 2 November 2007)
Lord Valentine's Castle by Robert Silverberg
Come to the magical planet of Majipoor. Follow Valentine as he joins a motley band of jugglers to seek the secret of his lost past across a wide and wondrous world. In the shattered city of the Shapeshifters, in the temple of the Lady of Sleep and the Isle of the King of Dreams. From the depths of a dying emperor's dark domain, to the destiny that awaits him high atop Lord Valentine's Castle.
I first read this book long, long ago. It could easily have been twenty years ago. Then, somewhere in the years of house moves and book culls, my copy vanished. Of course, it was not long afterwards that I found myself with a hankering to reread the book. I checked out second hand copies as well as new, but somehow never quite made the decision to buy - buying books can be a long, complicated and expensive process here in New Zealand, especially if you want one that is older or not particularly popular. In the end, I bought an ecopy from Fictionwise and it then sat on my PDA waiting for me to find the time to read it.
I was a little concerned that the book might not stand up to my twenty (or however many) year old memories, but it came up trumps. I greatly enjoyed my long wander through Majipoor with Valentine and the others.
The plot is basically simple - the ruler of the world has his throne stolen from him and has to get it back - but Silverberg adds enough twists and turns to make it fresh. Valentine not only loses his throne, but also his memory and even his own body (although, given it was plagued with a limp, he eventually decides he got the better of the deal) and is dumped on the side of the road to make a new life and future. He falls in with a band of jugglers and, finding he has a natural talent for it, becomes one of the troop. However, his new and pleasant simple life is not allowed to last.
Plagued by dreams - on a planet where dreams hold truth, secrets and communication - the riddle of his past and identity is eventually revealed. Unable to believe it at first, he still finds himself drawn to follow the clues tossed out to him until he finds this amaing tale is true. From there, he sets about to regain his throne.
I like Valentine. At first he is almost simple, untroubled by the weights of life and responsibility, but even as he learns who he is and takes more and more onto himself, that sunny attitude almost never fades completely. The story is told in a close third person POV with Valentine as the focal character, so the only head we ever get inside is his. This means we get to know him very well, while the other characters are never as well developed. All the same, the reader (or this reader anyway) can develop a great liking for them. Besides Valentine himself, Carabella is probably my favourite character and while I fell I know her, I'd still like to know her a little better.
But really, it is Majipoor itself that is the star of the story. As Valentine and his companions slowly make their way from one side of the world to the other, the reader is taken on a fantastic journey around an amazing planet. Majipoor was originally home to the Metamorphs, a race of shapechangers, but people from Old Earth arrived fourteen thousand years ago and eventually took possession of the planet. A large range of other alien races also live on Majipoor and all are well described and make fascinating, well-rounded characters. There are the remains of the high-tech that came with the original settlers, but Majipoor is now in many ways more a fantasy world rather than a science fiction one. I love this mixture of the two genres and it is part of the attraction of the series for me.
As well as the strange races that populate the planet, the geography and flora and fauna are also unique and fascinating, from a mountain so high it's top sits outside the atmosphere and is maintained by ancient weather machines to amazing plants and creatures, Majipoor is a place of wonders and well worth the visit.
Oh, and we mustn't forget the Metamorph plot to regain their lost planet.
I never read any of the futher books in the series originally, but I am quite interested in doing so this time. The second book, Majipoor Chronicles, is now sitting on my PDA, waiting for me to have the time to read it.
Lord Valentine's Castle Majipoor, Book 1 Robert Silverberg 9/10
[Copied across from Library Thing; 3 December 2012]
REREAD #2: (3 December 2012 - 15 December 2012)
This is still a wonderful book, even on this third (or possibly fourth) reread. I did find it harder than I expected, but I think that's a combination of its length and how busy and tired I've been lately.
I find myself to want to stay on Majipoor for a while, so after choosing an in-between book (it ended up being And All the Stars) I'm now going on with Majipoor Chronicles which I've read once before. I'm hoping this means I'll finally read Valentine Pontifex at last. I'm also eyes up the other Majipoor books which are currently on sale from SF Gateway in the Amazon.co.uk store. Any courtside cheering towards this goal would be appreciated.
P.S. I love the new covers, even if they don’t make much difference to my ebook copies. The big downside to reading this on my Kindle is that I don’t have any decent maps. The images are in the file, but they’re way to small to make anything out. So I borrowed a paper copy from the library so I could check out where everyone was travelling. In a travelogue kind of book, I find it is wonderful to have maps to keep track of where everything is happening. It turns out the re-release edition has new, pretty maps (including a cool sea dragon in the corner of one of them). I’m terribly jealous, but not rich enough to justify double copies. (Although, she muses, they really are very, very nice.) So instead, I’ve requested the new editions of the next two books from the library so I can make use of their maps while I read on the Kindle.(less)
I loved it as a straight story - I'm a fantasy reader so I'm perfectly happy to accept Tara's story as true. Th...moreI'm not sure what I think of this book.
I loved it as a straight story - I'm a fantasy reader so I'm perfectly happy to accept Tara's story as true. The realistic response from the family worked really well.
Then the author threw in, at the beginning and end, the idea of a mystery, unreliable narrator. I can't decide if that killed the book for me or not.
I detest unreliable narrators with a passion. I'm a straight forward person myself with a tendency to take things at face-value (I don't know if that's a strength or a failing) so having the rug pulled out from under me feels like a betrayal.
Those two paragraphs leave me with a part feeling that maybe I'm being played with. And that seriously weakens (maybe destroys) my pleasure in the book.
As I said above, I'm a fantasy reader, so I was perfectly happy with the story being real in regards to the accuracy of Tara's recollection of how the time was. (view spoiler)[She talked to Mrs Larwood and saw a future and pain she couldn't face and went back to save her loved ones. After all, Ritchie was saved and her family at least partially healed, especially the rift between Peter and Ritchie.
The epilogue also fits - the Fae are tricksy and not to be trusted after all, and the trick has worked before. (hide spoiler)]
So why undermine the whole basis of a good, solid and enjoyable story with those two short paragraphs?
I guess there are people who like that. I detest it. Maybe that makes me an unsophisticated reader, tainted by my genre reading, but it's who I am.
I read this really fast, just wanting to read the next bit and find out what happened. Then I got to the end and wanted to growl.
It was heading for a high score and now I don't know what to think.
Question for the author (who I'm sure will never see it): Were those two "who is the narrator?" paragraphs a linchpin of the story, there from the beginning or a small thing tossed out to see where it fell (or something else altogether)? I didn't notice the first one and was knocked over by the second. And for me, personally, not in a good way. Was there specific authorial intent for this and are you willing to share what it was?
I may have to go and buy a paper copy of this, just so I can cross out those two paragraphs.
And I still don't know how to rate it. I've gone with 7/10, because that's my rating for something that's in the middle. Since I loved the book and hated part of it, I'm averaging it out.(less)
I really enjoyed her Inheritance Trilogy, so I bought this one and the sequel, The Shadowed Sun when they ca...moreAnother fascinating story by N.K. Jemisin.
I really enjoyed her Inheritance Trilogy, so I bought this one and the sequel, The Shadowed Sun when they came out. It's taken me until now and Calico Reaction's book challenge to get to read it. I'm very glad I did.
I did find the book quite slow at first, but I'm not sure if that was the book or me, working my way through a totally new world and society and belief system. I felt the pace picked up about 40% through and I read from there to the end in day. Again, that may have been the book, but may also have been me getting to the point where I had enough of a grasp on the world to fall deeper into the story. It it may have been both, with the author doing it that way quite deliberately to give me a chance to get into the world before hitting me with the guts of the story.
Certainly, by the end of the book, I felt I understood those things I needed to know that had confused me at the beginning.
Jemisin has set up a fascinating essential belief in the Law of Hananja. It's one that I, with my modern, western perception, still can't decide if I can agree with or not. In theory and in essence, there's a lot going for it, and it seems to work fairly well within the story - although the book at its heart deals with the problems that occur when the ideal fails due to the failings of human nature. All the same, by the end, it is the Gujareehan way that is seen to be more successful than the alternatives. It's perfectly right within the story, it's me that is left feeling thoughtful.
These kinds of endings, ones that feel totally right for the story and yet leave the reader still thinking about it, seem to be something in which Jemisin excels. I found myself with the same feeling at the end of each of her previous books.
Once again, Jemisin has left me feeling both satisfied and thoughtful. I look forward to reading the sequel, but I'm also not feeling I need to do it immediately. I'm feel nicely full and satisfied right now and I'm going to let myself enjoy that.(less)
I admit that sometimes I'm shallow. I was originally attracted to this book by the cover. I rather like a combination of fantasy and SF and while this...moreI admit that sometimes I'm shallow. I was originally attracted to this book by the cover. I rather like a combination of fantasy and SF and while this turned out to be more fantasy in the end, it retained the futuristic romance feeling that I rather like.
It is a romance, although not as explicit and sex heavy as I had thought it might be. There's still a bit more instant hardening and dampening than I really need, but it all fits it well with a solid story with a solid plot. The story and the sex are both well written and that's a credit to the writer.
Yes, there's a lot of angsting and I was left muttering "just, talk!" every so often, but the characters actually had decent reasons for why they didn't tell each other all their secrets. If I had been Azhura, I would probably have chickened out and made the same decision as well.
I would have liked to see more investigation into Azhura's magic, especially how it passed to Titus, but I'm willing to wait and see if it's in the sequel. Right now, I wouldn't mind reading the sequel at all. We'll see how I feel when it actually comes out in a year.
I haven't really read any romance at all lately; I just haven't been in the mood. So this was a pleasant return to the genre, even if it's not a particularly mainstream example. I think Crista McHugh is an author to watch.(less)
Just a pleasant (and free!) short story from an author I saw mentioned on a blog.
I enjoyed it a lot and liked the characters. I've got so many other t...moreJust a pleasant (and free!) short story from an author I saw mentioned on a blog.
I enjoyed it a lot and liked the characters. I've got so many other things to read at the moment that I'm not rushing out to buy anything else by the author, but I'd be willing to try her books at some other time.
I'm sure there are people who condemn this books as a blatant case of Celtic wish fulfilment. I don't disagree. But you know what, it's exactly my kin...moreI'm sure there are people who condemn this books as a blatant case of Celtic wish fulfilment. I don't disagree. But you know what, it's exactly my kind of wish fulfilment, so I really don't care. I just love reading them.
This was a lovely (if rather slow) reread and I hope to get to the sequel before too long (there's a whole bunch of book group books I'd rather like to read this month which will keep me busy).
All I need now is ebooks of the entire series to make the rereading easier and for the author to write those extra books she always promised. Please?(less)
REREAD: 7/10 (26 December 2006 - 27 December 2006)
[Copied across from Library Thing; 9 February 2013]
REREAD: 7/10 (11 November 2012 - 14 November 2012...moreREREAD: 7/10 (26 December 2006 - 27 December 2006)
[Copied across from Library Thing; 9 February 2013]
REREAD: 7/10 (11 November 2012 - 14 November 2012)
I read a lovely post about Peter and Harriet's relationship (and of course, now I can't remember where) that made me want to rush out and reread either their books or the whole Peter Wimsey series. Since this was the cheapest, I bought it and started here.
This isn't the best of the Lord Peter books, but it is rather nastily creepy in its own way and a good introduction to Peter and those around him. As always, I loved the Dowager Duchess and Parker but what I really need to say is...
BUNTER IS AWESOME.
That's the main thing I took away from this reread. I always knew Bunter was awesome, but he showed it here in spades, most particularly as he dealt with Peter's attack of shell shock.
I hate to admit it, because it may get me lynched, but I could never get into the Amelia Peabody books. I've read the first three and started off real...moreI hate to admit it, because it may get me lynched, but I could never get into the Amelia Peabody books. I've read the first three and started off really excited to read the series, that so many people had told me was so good. But it never really clicked with me.
All the same, I had been told by so many people how good Elizabeth Peters' book were that when I saw the first Vicky Bliss book on special for Kindle at Amazon, I bought it. As do so many of the books I buy, it then languished in the Amazon cloud (in this case, for about 16 months) while I got around to reading it.
Further proof that it's a method for choosing books that works for me, I started reading this one because it came up on the random number generator.
I enjoyed the story all right, but I have to admit that this story didn't really do it for me either. The puzzle was interesting, and I kept reading to find out what was going on - although I was more interested in the historical mystery than the current day one ("current" being the 1970s). However, I wasn't particularly enamoured of any of the characters, including Vicky.
There was something about her that grated with me, and I'm not even sure what it was. The undercurrent of "woe is me for being so beautiful and tall and strong and clever" didn't help, being someone who is neither beautiful, nor tall, nor strong and due to brain dysfunction, not even as clever as I used to be. I found the "whose better, woman or man?" sparring, while probably topical for original publication date of 1973 just to be annoying.
I wasn't bowled over by the prose; it was perfectly adequate, but it didn't grab me and drag me along. I kept checking how far through the book I was to see if I was almost at the point where the mysteries would be revealed. That, combined with the fact I didn't really like any of the characters at all, means I'm afraid this is another Elizabeth Peters series that has proved not to be my thing. I'm not planning to continue the series, which is kind of disappointing, but I'm not at all sorry I gave it a go.(less)
I was surprised by just how much I enjoyed this book.
I've never read any of Georgette Heyer's historicals before, unless you count Beauvallet, which s...moreI was surprised by just how much I enjoyed this book.
I've never read any of Georgette Heyer's historicals before, unless you count Beauvallet, which seems to straddle the boundary between historical and romance.
I'd heard that Heyer's historicals weren't as good as her romances and since this was the next in my Heyer Author Read (I haven't actually got very far through it yet), the whole thing had kind of languished.
Having found myself unable to choose between books lately, I made a list of books I wanted to read, sorted them by alphabetical order and used a random number generator to pick what I was going to read next. This is what came up.
Choice made, I hit the next snag; I only had this in ebook format as a PDF. Since my Kindle died, I've been reading on my phone and that was totally impractical. Then I had a good idea - why not try the PDF in the Kindle app on the family iPad. I was amazed at just how easy the PDF was to read that way and started the book.
I read and read, captured by a book as I haven't been in a long time. I went to bed each evening, iPad in hand, and read well after I should have turned the light out (back-lighting being what it is, I probably actually had).
I can tell you what should be wrong with the books - at the most basic level, there's an awful lot of tell rather that show and a severely bad case of written medieval dialogue. But I didn't care. I was taken by Simon from the beginning and that liking never wavered. (Okay there were a couple of chauvinistic moments, but you get those in modern books so I can't really complain about it appearing in a medieval set novel published in 1925.) I didn't mind in the least that the "romance" part of the story didn't show up until halfway through. I liked Margaret and I'm sure she and Simon made a good couple, but this was Simon's book, rather than a book about Simon's romance.
Even better than the romance was Simon's relationship with Geoffrey and Alan, which was a lovely example of brotherhood, and Fulk was a wonderful character. I hadn't expected him to become one when he was first introduced at the beginning, but he was lovely, gout and false grumpiness and all.
My English history is very rusty - a very vague memory of studying King Henry IV, Part 1 long, long ago in high school and a year's extramural study on Medieval England at university, almost as long ago. That meant I had to take it on trust that Heyer had things pretty much right in her history, but it certainly seems to hold together for the ignorant. I'll be looking up Henry V (on Wikipedia for starters I admit) and checking out the things he got up to, even if he didn't have a real Simon of Beauvallet at his side.
In conclusion, I really enjoyed this book, even though I didn't expect to do so. If you're interested, I suggest you don't listen to what "they" say and try it for yourself.(less)
I really enjoyed The Girl of Fire and Thorns when I read it earlier this year and I bought this one when it came out. I started it straight after I fi...moreI really enjoyed The Girl of Fire and Thorns when I read it earlier this year and I bought this one when it came out. I started it straight after I finished Captain Vorpatril's Alliance, but it's taken me a long time to read it. That's no fault of the book, but life getting in the way. I've been tired lately and that, combined with a week on single-parenting (real single parents, you have my utmost admiration; I don't know how you do it), left me not really reading and the book sitting there unfinished.
It's only this last week that I really picked it up again, and once I got going, I found I really loved it.
Elisa's success at the end of the first book hasn't made things easy for her. If anything, it may have made it harder. In some ways, this is a more political book than the first, as she tries to hold onto her new throne. The first half of the book is set in Brisadulce as she begins to see just what she is up against and tries to find the best way to stay in control.
Of course, God and the Godstone haven't finished with her yet, and in the second half of the book she is travelling again, trying to balance destiny and duty, not to mention love. I thought her romance (and if you've read the first book I'm sure you'll know with whom, but I'm not going to spoil it) was lovely as both of them try to first deny and then cling to duty. Elisa's decision at the end - and the fallout that is surely going to come in the next book - was excellent and while I'll concede it was convenient that something previously negative is now a positive, I didn't care. It was lovely.
I had liked the hints in the first book that people were on this world through the hand of God's deliverance and was hoping to learn more in this one. There was only a little bit, but I didn't guess the next level of information at all (in retrospect, maybe I should have, but I didn't) and I was delighted with the implications. I love this sort of thing and I hope it will be developed even further in the next (last?) book.
So all in all, I found this a very satisfying read and I'm eager to find out what happens next, since the book ends on what I guess should be called a cliffhanger. That doesn't feel like quite the right term to me, however. It's abrupt and we don't know how things will turn out, but it's more like a turning point than a cliffhanger. Whichever, I want to know how it ends. Fall 2013 is almost a year away, isn't it? Sigh. I don't want to wait that long.(less)
I bought this anthology for the Bishop story after reading an extract on her website. It's taken me a while to get t...moreA STRAND IN THE WEB by Anne Bishop
I bought this anthology for the Bishop story after reading an extract on her website. It's taken me a while to get to read it to I thought it was excellent. It's a very clever twist on some interesting ideas and I really liked them. I admit I could kind of see where the story was going in the big picture but it didn't matter at all because it was executed so well and I didn't know exactly how the characters were going to react or respond.
I highly recommend the story and really, anything by Anne Bishop. She's not for everyone, but those who like her books, tend to love them. This is very different from anything of hers I've read before - and SF rather than fantasy - but I really did find it a brilliant story.(less)
- Loved this. - A slow build which seemed odd in a "Vorkosigan" novel, until I remembered it was an Ivan no...moreI'm not up to a review, so some quick notes.
- Loved this. - A slow build which seemed odd in a "Vorkosigan" novel, until I remembered it was an Ivan novel and realised it was just right. - By setting the book earlier than the one before, there was a nagging worry right through that (view spoiler)[Ivan and Tej might not stay married because we didn't know he was married in CryoBurn(hide spoiler)] but it was managed perfectly. - I really liked the way absolutely nothing here was contradicted by CryoBurn, but because that one wasn't set on Barrayar, even the dramatic fate of ImpSec HQ was still new and a surprise. - I doubt anything will ever match the dinner party in A Civil Campaign, but the one in here was pretty awesome all the same. - I loved the way Ivan's ("I don't have claustrophobia') claustrophobia was included and handled. - What happened to ImpSec HQ (I will not spoil it for you) was such an amazing visual (and yet, again, no hint of it in Cryoburn but it still fits). - If I had rated this immediately after finishing it, I would probably have given it 9/10, but it grew on me as the days went by and I absorbed the full story. It matched Ivan ever so well. - I liked that Ivan was both smarter than he lets on and "Ivan, you idiot" at the same time. - Lady Alys at the memorial for Padma and all the pent up emotion behind it was wonderful. - Tej's mental names for Miles (The Coz), Gregor (The Gregor) and Aral (annoyingly, I can't remember it exactly) were great.
All, it all, another excellent book in the series. Many thanks Lois.(less)
I admit to being a sentimental puppy sometimes, so I loved this "tie up the ends" piece from Andrea Höst. It's set after the end of Caszandra and does...moreI admit to being a sentimental puppy sometimes, so I loved this "tie up the ends" piece from Andrea Höst. It's set after the end of Caszandra and does exactly what it says on the cover. it gives the readers a look at how everyone copes after the end of the trilogy and gives us a glimpse of what are mostly happy endings.
It's fun and satisfying and I enjoyed it very much.
Of course, you need to read the actually trilogy first (I just gave a friend the first book, Stray in the hope of introducing a new convert), but if you like seeing the ends tied and all the bows looking pretty, this is a great little addition.
I think it would have been wrong at the end of the last book, but as something on its own that the reader gets to choose if they want to read or not, it's brilliant.(less)
I really enjoyed getting to read more short Liaden stories. As with Unibus I, I skipped anything set after I Dare and/or Plan B and I'll go back to th...moreI really enjoyed getting to read more short Liaden stories. As with Unibus I, I skipped anything set after I Dare and/or Plan B and I'll go back to those later. I also went on through the single chapbooks beyond this compilation, again reading the earlier chronological stories and skipping the ones I want to keep for later.
I always thought the Liaden chapbooks were a great idea, even if I hadn't finished them all. Now I think it even more and I hope Lee and Miller keep the tradition going, if they are superhuman enough to manage it around all the other things they seem to have on the go.
I'm now ready to go back to the main story with Carpe Diem, but the troubling question is whether I slip in a different book first as I had made the plan for the series reread. And if I do, how do I choose between Magic Bites which I've suddenly had the urge to go back and try again, Leviathan Wakes which I've had my eye on for quite a long time and finally bought because it was on special - and available in my geographical location for a change - or Captain Vorpatril's Alliance which I just bought from the Baen website. It's going to be a hard choice.
Fully satisfying. A great series I highly recommend.
I'll try to come back later and make some useful comments about both this one and Lab Rat One, but...moreFully satisfying. A great series I highly recommend.
I'll try to come back later and make some useful comments about both this one and Lab Rat One, but I just can't manage it right now.
Copied from my blog (this content is also in my review for Lab Rat One):
Life being what it is, I just haven’t managed to write up any kind of review for either Lab Rat One or Caszandra, the second and third books in Andrea K. Höst’s Touchstone trilogy. Today, I added comments to my Goodreads entry for the epilogue to this trilogy, so I thought I’d better say something here before posting that.
The bottom line is that I really loved this trilogy. It’s quick and pacey and has an engaging protagonist in Cass. I love a science fiction mystery, and there’s a lot of that in these books, which made me very happy. It’s also a good coming-of-age story that manages to touch on a bit of teenage angst (and every teenager has some) without dwelling on it. Instead, Cass is both realistic and at times self-deprecating and I really liked her for both those things.
I had been planning to read these two books alternating between the Liaden series, reading one of one, then one of the other and so on. Instead, I read straight through, buying Caszandra as soon as I finished Lab Rat One (or possibly a bit before) and then the Gratuitous Epilogue as soon as (or before) I finished Caszandra. I had to keep going and I had to know how it ended. Also, what happened after it ended.
This is really one story cut into three books, which means that there is next to no recap on previous volumes when you get to the next one. That’s fine if you’ve got a good memory, but I don’t, so if you’re like me, I recommend having all three books (and the epilogue) ready and waiting and keeping right on reading.
There are a few formatting errors in these self-published books, but they are very few and don’t interfere with the story. I am most impressed with Andrea K. Höst and I am sure I’ll be reading more of her books. In fact, I bought her latest, And All the Stars, on release day and I’m looking forward to reading it.
I hope that gives you a good idea of how much I really enjoyed these books and highly recommend the series. The first one is Stray and you need to begin there.(less)
Copied from my blog (this content is also in my review for Caszandra):
Life being what it is, I just haven’t managed to write up any kind of review for...moreCopied from my blog (this content is also in my review for Caszandra):
Life being what it is, I just haven’t managed to write up any kind of review for either Lab Rat One or Caszandra, the second and third books in Andrea K. Höst’s Touchstone trilogy. Today, I added comments to my Goodreads entry for the epilogue to this trilogy, so I thought I’d better say something here before posting that.
The bottom line is that I really loved this trilogy. It’s quick and pacey and has an engaging protagonist in Cass. I love a science fiction mystery, and there’s a lot of that in these books, which made me very happy. It’s also a good coming-of-age story that manages to touch on a bit of teenage angst (and every teenager has some) without dwelling on it. Instead, Cass is both realistic and at times self-deprecating and I really liked her for both those things.
I had been planning to read these two books alternating between the Liaden series, reading one of one, then one of the other and so on. Instead, I read straight through, buying Caszandra as soon as I finished Lab Rat One (or possibly a bit before) and then the Gratuitous Epilogue as soon as (or before) I finished Caszandra. I had to keep going and I had to know how it ended. Also, what happened after it ended.
This is really one story cut into three books, which means that there is next to no recap on previous volumes when you get to the next one. That’s fine if you’ve got a good memory, but I don’t, so if you’re like me, I recommend having all three books (and the epilogue) ready and waiting and keeping right on reading.
There are a few formatting errors in these self-published books, but they are very few and don’t interfere with the story. I am most impressed with Andrea K. Höst and I am sure I’ll be reading more of her books. In fact, I bought her latest, And All the Stars, on release day and I’m looking forward to reading it.
I hope that gives you a good idea of how much I really enjoyed these books and highly recommend the series. The first one is Stray and you need to begin there.(less)
I had read some of these stories before in their individual chapbooks, but not all of them.
I'll say quickly that I enjoyed them all and even the ones...moreI had read some of these stories before in their individual chapbooks, but not all of them.
I'll say quickly that I enjoyed them all and even the ones I'd read before helped make further sense of the universe.
My favourites were Changeling and Breath's Duty.
I knew Ren Zel's back story was in one of the chapbooks and I was glad to get to read it finally. I found myself ever so furious on his behalf and was very glad of Shan's tendency to pick up waifs and strays when they need it. I'm rather looking forward to seeing Ren Zel again as a secondary character in the upcoming books.
Breath's Duty was great, but I kind of wish I'd known it came around the time of Plan B and I Dare and I could have read it there. More than a piece of backstory, I felt this one was more a part of the main narrative itself and I'd have preferred to read it where it was supposed to fall.
I've managed to track down a rough timeline of the short stories and as I move to Liaden Unibus II I'm going to try only to read the stories that fall before Agent of Change and keep the later ones (and I know there are some on Surebleak in the aftermath of the main novels) until I'm at that point in the story. It's all a bit vague, so I suspect I'll get some of it right and some of it wrong, but I'll do my best.
(Sorry this is a short one; sickness in the family, school holidays and my own health are kicking my butt right now.)(less)
This was a good book to pick up and read a few pages and see what kinds of odd things the author (a second hand book dealer) had found between the pag...moreThis was a good book to pick up and read a few pages and see what kinds of odd things the author (a second hand book dealer) had found between the pages of books that came into his shop.
It was geared towards older things - old letter, old postcards and other ephemera. It's kind of cool to see an old letter dated in the late 1800s and wonder how long it had been stashed in a book. I also found it interesting to compare the dates of the "bookmarks" with the publication date of the books they were found in. Was it put there by its original owner? Had it been passed down for years before it got left in a book?
More of a small sized coffee table book than "literature" it's a good choice if you like old books and the ephemera you find in them. If you think that sounds boring, choose something else.
I'd also love to see a similar book about the more modern bits and pieces you might discover in more modern books. Is this sort of thing something that will soon be gone and more and more people read electronic books that don't have pages for you to slip something into?
Fun but light.
P.S. Speak of ebooks, while this book is available as one, I'd recommend the paper edition since it is mostly a book of photographs. A small or black and white reader is unlikely to do it justice.(less)
I saw this book mentioned on someone's blog (sorry to be so vague but I don't remember whose) and noted it down as a book that looked interesting but...moreI saw this book mentioned on someone's blog (sorry to be so vague but I don't remember whose) and noted it down as a book that looked interesting but I wasn't inclined to buy on the spot. I may even have downloaded a sample to my Kindle.
Then Gav and Simon over at The Readers announced that it was going to be their second book club read. That was the push I needed and I bought the book and made sure I read it in time for the podcast (which will come out on October 5th, so I made it with some time to spare).
I found this book to be a rather strange experience. I am aware that that probably comes from my own reading habits and preferences, but that doesn't make my response invalid.
I loved the language and the strange, poetic atmosphere the author created for the stories. The way it made me feel, caught up in the salt-air taste of these stories (so many of them with a feeling of the sea) was wonderful.
But there's a but.
Hardly any of them felt like they had a proper end. Let me stress, they felt that way to me. They seemed to just kind of meander to a stop. I admit to being a fairly linear reader (especially as a result of 20 years of CFS - and sorry I keep harping on that fact; maybe if I don't add it I feel that I must just be plain stupid for not "getting it"). I was also trained as a scientist and I have that kind of brain. It's a brain that thinks in terms of abstract and method, results and conclusion. These stories don't conclude, that just seem to stop.
I like my stories to be going some place and planning to reveal something to me and leave me in a particular place. So for me, ones like this that seem to be about the place and the feeling and the prose without progression and plot, feel lacking to me.
I'm left feeling either that there was something there that I totally failed to see and I'm stupid, or that it was only about the words and what was the point?
Again, I acknowledge that this is most likely a case of how my brain works (and I think it's the reason I shy away from literary fiction because it leaves me feeling the same way - either stupid or taken for a ride because there wasn't the kind of conclusion I need to feel satisfied).
I really loved the tone and the language and the feeling these stories evoked in me. I highly recommend them as they were lovely to read. All the same, for me, that "but" remains. If you have the kind of brain I do and you need a more solid sense of ending, just go into this collection knowing you might not get it and I hope you'll love it without any sense of disappointment the wrong kind of expectation and produce.(less)
I actually finished this a few days ago, but I haven't written anything ye, because I couldn't figure out what I wanted to say beyond "Yeah, I really...moreI actually finished this a few days ago, but I haven't written anything ye, because I couldn't figure out what I wanted to say beyond "Yeah, I really liked rereading this one too and this is such a cool series". While honest, that's not really very helpful, even for someone who writes such subjective "reviews" as I do.
I've let it all percolate a bit, and I think that now, as I type, something hopefully useful will appear on the page.
It's been a while since I first read this series. My wonderful book pusher, Barbara, set me on them around the time (as best as I recall) as Balance of Trade came out. The Ace editions had been published and I know that BoT is the last one I have in paperback. After that I was buying hardcovers as they were published. BoT came out in 2004, so okay, perhaps it hasn't been as long as I thought. But it's been around 10 years and I've had CFS/ME all that time, so as usual, I didn't remember a lot of details.
What that ramble is leading to is that when I look back on this series, which is a series I love and am loving rereading, I still look back with impressions more that solid memories.
One of the impressions I carried with me "Shan and Priscilla are cool and all that, but I'm a Val Con girl and Miri is awesome".
I stand up now, having reread this book and admit I was wrong. What I should have been remembering was "Yes, I'm partial to Val Con and he and Miri are cool, but Shan and Priscilla are absolutely equally awesome".
Their interaction was wonderful, their adventure was exciting and their romance quiet and controlled and I liked that by the end, they were ready to try it rather than an established couple.
I think the problem I probably had the first time, is that Priscilla and Shan are both Healers/empaths/dramliz/wizards/whatever you want to call them. That was a brand new concept to me. I had read Local Custom and Scout's Progress which looked at the concept briefly (and I think in regard to Shan and his "sparklies", although that may have been more in Mouse and Dragon), but this was the first time I'd hit against it hard.
While the basic idea is easy to follow, some of the writing isn't. There is talk of Walls and Trees and Dragons. Priscilla calls what she does spells, Shan thinks about pathways and other words I can't remember as I sit here now. The "standard" SF trope words aren't used for telepathy and the like, and while I think they would be out of place in this book, it makes it harder for the reader to get a solid feel about it all. Yet, it's all very important to the characters and their relationships and I felt that as a reader, even as a rereader, there were parts where I was thinking "huh?" and not actually getting a clear sense of what it was the authors wanted me to pick up on.
I'm don't want to be too picky about this, as this was one of the first books in the series to be written (at least as long ago as 1988) and the vocabulary may not have been fully established, but I do think it's probably why I originally responded better to Val Con and Miri's debut, than I did to Shan and Priscilla's.
However, don't let that put you off. It's still a great book with some wonderful characters. The crew of the Dutiful Passage, so diverse and interesting, create a wonderful backdrop to the story and on the whole this is a very good introduction to the whole idea of Balance and melant'i on a small scale before we hit the much larger expression of it as we reach the next books and it is Clan Korval entire that has been wronged.
I found myself left with a couple of questions, the main one of which I hope will be resolved as the books progress. I was trying to figure out how this book fitted, time-wise, with Agent of Change. In that one, Val Con talks of Shan, but there is no mention of Priscilla. When I sat down and worked out the dates it seemed that this book occurred seven Standard years before that one. Priscilla was on Liad, setting up her "clan" and getting to know Shan better by the end of this book. Does this mean Val Con didn't make it back home between the scouting mission he was mentioned as being on in this book and his recruitment by and missions for the DOI which is where he is at in Agent of Change. If so (and I expect this to be cleared up as I keep reading, I just can't remember now) then that's another sin to be laid at the DOI's door.
Finally two little things - everyone took to Priscilla so fast when she joined Dutiful Passage, such as Rusty being so friendly almost as soon as she arrived. What was up with that? And secondly - while she needed it, what right did Shan and Lina have to unilaterally decide Priscilla needed Healing and set right in on doing it without her permission?
In summary, this is another great book in the series and I'm loving my reread. My current plan is to keep straight on going, reading a Liaden book, something else, a Liaden book, something else etc until I'm all caught up. Right now, I'd then like to go right back to the beginning and start all over again. But I don't seriously plan to do that, as I have a whole lot of other things I want to reread too. Maybe in a few years. Sharon Lee and Steve Miller have just announced that they've sold another five Liaden books on top of the two already under contract, so I'm not going to run out any time soon.(less)
I really enjoy these books - even if I can't quite believe I'm up to number 44 in the series (if you count the short stories). I don't read them for d...moreI really enjoy these books - even if I can't quite believe I'm up to number 44 in the series (if you count the short stories). I don't read them for depth or amazing plots with astonishing twists. I read them because I love the opportunity to hang out with Eve and Roarke. I generally read them quickly and find them easy, so all I have to do is sit back and enjoy myself.
I said a few reviews back that I take a lot of notes to help me remember stuff. With these, I don't. It's not about that (although if anyone can remind me which book included "Cassandra" I'd appreciate it). It's pure escapism and enjoyment.
I found this to be one of the stronger books lately. It has a interesting plot (although I hope she doesn't feel the need to keep upping the body count as there were a lot of dead people in this one), good character development for the regulars, especially as Eve addresses some of her issues from New York to Dallas. (Oh, I do love Dr Mira to bits.) There's a twist at the end that I didn't pick up - in fact I thought early on I had how the end was going to go down worked out, and I turned out to be totally wrong.
I know some readers are frustrated that Eve and Roarke seem to have worked out most, if not all, of the issues between them and feel the books have dropped in quality since then. Personally, I love it. I love watching two very different people who love each other to pieces working out living their daily lives together, without the angst and difficulties they have had in the past. It's so rare to get that in a book. Either you have a couple starting out with all the issues that involves, or a couple with their relationship in stress and disarray. Here, we have a great couple just living their lives, yet in a way that I still find hugely involving. I hope this continues as it adds to the "comfort read" aspect of the series for me. It's like sitting at home beside a roaring fire on a day when the weather is miserable, discovering that despite the rain and the grey, life is good.
My favourites in the series are those that have a good balance of relationship and mystery and this one had that for me. On reflection, we don't actually see a lot of extended cast doing much more than their jobs, but that lets us focus on Eve and Roarke, along with a nice, juicy side role for Mira.
Another thing I like about various book in the series, this one included, is that the team have worked out who the killer is by about halfway through the book, and most of the "why" of it by three-quarters. The second half of it is about finding the evidence to back up the gut feeling and stop the culprit from doing it again. I imagine this is what a lot of police cases are like, rather than the sudden, unexpected twist at the end that so many books have. This one is about doing the job rather than surprising the reader - although there was a surprise as well. I can see this not working for some readers, but it worked for me.
We've got a little bit of world-building history added in as well, although I readily acknowledge that world-building is not what this series is about. But we get a bit of history about Summerset and more on the Urban Wars (although they do still remain fairly vague).
So all in all, a good addition to the series and one I really enjoyed reading. As always, I'll be pre-ordering the next one.(less)
There was so much I didn't remember about this one, that it was almost like reading a new book (which is never a bad thing). I must have only read thi...moreThere was so much I didn't remember about this one, that it was almost like reading a new book (which is never a bad thing). I must have only read this once and that right back when I started the series, which was after it first began, but still a long time ago.
I do love Val Con and Miri and that's what I was expecting when I opened the pages, lots of Val Con and Miri, so I was almost surprised to rediscover that at the beginning of the book, really Val Con isn't the Val Con we've come to know in later Liaden novels. Having vague memories of upcoming events, I found myself very worried by the latter half of the book whether or not we were going to get the "real" Val Con back before the end. (And I have absolutely no memory of how they get out of the pickle they are in right at the end, so I remain exceedingly motivated to keep rereading the series.)
It was a very enjoyable but slightly weird reading experience, shifting between the things I remembered, the many things I didn't and the things that I got the feeling were foreshadowing, but again, I couldn't really remember.
Let me digress to say that, once upon a time, I had a very good memory. I was a highly academic A-grade student in the sciences. Then, 22 years ago now, I developed CFS/ME and one of the major symptoms of the illness is significantly decreased cognitive function. My memory has been getting worse and worse over the years, I suspect as a combination of both illness and age. (I have lists and noticeboards and set alarms everywhere to try to get stuff done without forgetting about it.) In terms of my passion for reading, this can be both good and bad. Given a bit of time, there is just so much I can't remember about the books I've read. People discuss them with me, commenting on so-and-so doing such-and-such a thing and I'm left looking blank. It's gone. I don't remember. I remember the emotions of reading a book but not the detail. (That's part of why my "reviews" here are really more emotional responses to the books, with some pretty much stream-of-consciousness comments, rather than true reviews - I couldn't manage the memory and cognition for those.) On the up side, it means I get to enjoy the book again without carrying the baggage of any "spoilers".
But this lack of memory can be a problem when reading a series where book 7 refers back to something that happened in book 2. The chances of me remembering that (or even a character's name from one chapter to the next) are slim-to-none. It's another of the reasons why I love my ereader. My books are full of highlighted passages and short comments, usually specifically chosen as being something I'm likely to want/need to remember later. And because of that problematic memory, I have a huge list of books I want to reread. Books I remember really enjoying, but the details are all gone.
So I'm really enjoying the Liaden ones, and since my copy of Dragon Ship arrived last week when I still haven't read Ghost Ship because I wanted to reread the earlier books first because I'd forgotten so much, I think I'm going to try carrying on with the series and getting caught back up.
So getting back to Agent of Change, I loved rereading it and I loved reading it for the first time all over again. I can't wait for more Val Con and Miri, but I plan to enjoy re-meeting Shan and Priscilla all over again first.
For a book that was originally published in 1988, it's stood the test of time pretty well. It is another clear case of the fact that, despite everyone's predictions of the future in the 1980s, the swift widespread use of the internet, mobile devices and cloud computing was missed by pretty much everyone. Val Con needs to go to an info booth to find out about shuttle time, and you can see the ship in-and-out information in a bar, but you don't have a mobile phone to check it on. The most interesting one was books: books are on "tape" (although that could fit digital media as well) and you need a book reader to read them. Lois McMaster Bujold has almost exactly the same situation in her Vorkosigan books. The idea of an ereader was possible, but the idea of the books being digital and downloadable and stored on the device itself was missed. Maybe we were just to hung up on physical libraries where you could actually SEE your books. Even as a total ebook convert, I do miss that I can't run my hands along a shelf of my ebooks.
But that's a very minor quibble. The reality of 21st century information technology simply wasn't imagined in 1988. I mention it here not because it was a problem (although I admit I did keep noticing it) but because it's an interesting artefact of the passage of time that shows up quite often when reading SF written before at least the 1990s.
Right, I shall shut off the aforementioned stream-of-consciousness typing before this gets too long and just finishing up by saying: Yay! Val Con and Miri! Next, Shan and Priscilla! Yay again!(less)
Just quickly, I thought this one had dated worse than a lot of the others.
I still really liked the first story, but the one I remember as a favourite,...moreJust quickly, I thought this one had dated worse than a lot of the others.
I still really liked the first story, but the one I remember as a favourite, A Womanly Talent, I found problematic and annoying. The basic idea - using TK to manipulate genes and proteins at a microscopic level - remain very clever, but I found the way it was done to be patronising (or at least, that's the closed word I've come up with). Ruth, meant to be a sympathetic character, came across as annoying and while I can't really explain what exactly was wrong with it, the whole story put my hackles up. I still totally love Dorotea though, and if you're planning to read the later Talent stories, it's worth reading this one just to find out about her.
I'm not sorry for the reread, but I don't think this is one of McCaffrey's best.(less)
Jethri Goeblyn is a very junior, and somewhat unwanted, apprentice on the Terran trading ship, Gobelyn'...moreORIGINAL READ: 10/10 (5 May 2005 - 10 May 2005)
Jethri Goeblyn is a very junior, and somewhat unwanted, apprentice on the Terran trading ship, Gobelyn's Market. While stopped on a Liaden world, Liaden ways being very different from Terran ways, he finds himself embroiled in Liaden politics and a possible trade scam. He is even more surprised at the end of the matter, to find himself apprenticed to Liaden Master Trader Norn ven'Deelin.
Thus begins Jethri's apprenticeship not only in Trade, but also in all things Liaden. He stumbles, he makes errors and slowly, he begins to find his feet. If he can keep his life and his melanti intact, Jethri may just find himself the first Trader fully of Terra and Liad.
I loved this book. Reading it was a great experience and that is the main reason for its high score. It is a solid tale, set around 200 years before the main sequence of Liaden books. It throws in some new ideas that had be somewhat confused at first, but that grew clearer as the story progressed. About 100 pages from the end, I was wondering how the authors could possibly tie up all the threads they had produced in the space that was left. Knowing the most recent books were set in a completely different time period, I was worried that I'd be left wondering what the heck was going on and knowing there wasn't another book about Jethri for me to find out.
I was very pleasantly surprised and most impressed to discover it was done perfectly. Suddenly, everything started falling into place and by the end, I was left at a perfect ending point. True, there could be more about Jethri and his companions - and I hope there will be - but it isn't necessary. This book stands beautifully on its own.
It does introduce some new concepts that took a while to make sense and made me wonder why I hadn't heard about them before in the books that are set later. Belatedly, I realised that this point too was completely under control and made perfect sense. Instead, I find myself hoping all will become clearer in the next books, which go back in time instead of forward.
I don't think I would recommend making this one's first Liaden book, but I also believe it would stand up to that. Wherever you start, explore Lee and Miller's Liaden universe. It is a fascinating place.
[Copied across from Library Thing; 16 October 2012]
REREAD #1: 9/10 (24 August 2012 - 1 September 2012)
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