Recs and Sundry
Our air conditioner stopped cooling night before last, and while I was running it trying to figure out if it was a repeat of the freon leak problem from earlier this summer, I noticed it was making the lights in the house fluctuate. Not generally a good sign. The repair guy found two electrical components that had gone bad, one that was failing slowly and one that had had a little explosion and was getting ready to take other things with it. So it's good it didn't happen while we were gone. It probably helped that it's been a bit cooler lately (highs in the low 90s or upper 80s) so we've been trying to keep it turned off for most of the day.
While I was waiting for the repair man to fill out the invoice, I saw a cat had trapped a squirrel on a tree stump across the cul-de-sac in our neighbor's yard. With someone else there, I was a little too self-conscious to intervene (ie, run across the cul-de-sac flailing my arms and yelling) but when he got out of his truck and slammed the door, the fight broke up.
Good news:
The Cloud Roads got a great review at Escape Pod
Books like The Cloud Roads by Martha Wells are why I love fantasy literature. In The Cloud Roads, Wells has built a world where people aren't just divided by color and language, but by species and life-cycle. In a surprisingly short time, Wells touches on the kinds problems that a world like hers would have, and populates it with compelling, believable characters who provide the driving force behind the narrative. Yay! I especially liked what she said about the female characters.
Books:
Just finished Cold Fire by Kate Elliott and absolutely loved it. It's the sequel to Cold Magic, and is set in a steampunkish world where Europe, still trapped in the ice age, was colonized by West African people led by powerful sorcerers, who were fleeing a zombie-like plague. It's a complex world and very well drawn, and I love the main character, Catherine Hassi Barahal.
A bunch of good books are coming out this month. I'm about to read Ganymede by Cherie Priest, the next Clockwork Century book, and I'm waiting for Sup with the Devil by Barbara Hamilton (Barbara Hambly) and Kingdom of the Gods by N.K. Jemisin. There's also The Sacred Band by David Anthony Durham, So Silver Bright by Lisa Mantchev (which came out last month but I was so busy I missed it.) and Infidel by Kameron Hurley.
While I was waiting for the repair man to fill out the invoice, I saw a cat had trapped a squirrel on a tree stump across the cul-de-sac in our neighbor's yard. With someone else there, I was a little too self-conscious to intervene (ie, run across the cul-de-sac flailing my arms and yelling) but when he got out of his truck and slammed the door, the fight broke up.
Good news:
The Cloud Roads got a great review at Escape Pod
Books like The Cloud Roads by Martha Wells are why I love fantasy literature. In The Cloud Roads, Wells has built a world where people aren't just divided by color and language, but by species and life-cycle. In a surprisingly short time, Wells touches on the kinds problems that a world like hers would have, and populates it with compelling, believable characters who provide the driving force behind the narrative. Yay! I especially liked what she said about the female characters.
Books:
Just finished Cold Fire by Kate Elliott and absolutely loved it. It's the sequel to Cold Magic, and is set in a steampunkish world where Europe, still trapped in the ice age, was colonized by West African people led by powerful sorcerers, who were fleeing a zombie-like plague. It's a complex world and very well drawn, and I love the main character, Catherine Hassi Barahal.
A bunch of good books are coming out this month. I'm about to read Ganymede by Cherie Priest, the next Clockwork Century book, and I'm waiting for Sup with the Devil by Barbara Hamilton (Barbara Hambly) and Kingdom of the Gods by N.K. Jemisin. There's also The Sacred Band by David Anthony Durham, So Silver Bright by Lisa Mantchev (which came out last month but I was so busy I missed it.) and Infidel by Kameron Hurley.
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