I saw this series repeatedly as a shelver at the library and thought it looked interesting, so when I found a copy at the thrift store (SIDE NOTE: II saw this series repeatedly as a shelver at the library and thought it looked interesting, so when I found a copy at the thrift store (SIDE NOTE: I am addicted to thrift store book shopping because I have a minor superpower that lets me find incredible, impossible to find books among the jumble. This is not my best superpower, which is the ability to open any book to the smuttiest passage, but it is really useful to someone who is a book collector like me.)
Ahem. I got sidetracked.
Right. I found this and two others in the series and decided to give them a try. I was immediately excited by Flavia's passion for chemistry, which I love, and the idea of an adult series with a middle-grade-age heroine was also compelling. And the story engaged me; it's closer to being a thriller than a mystery, not because the mystery isn't good, but because the action-adventure bits are strong enough to balance it. I liked the premise of the mystery and felt it played out well, mainly because the solution, which is sort of obvious, isn't hidden to an absurd degree. That is, I guessed who the villain was almost immediately, but the point of the story, I felt, is to show what Flavia perceives, and it made sense that she wouldn't have twigged to his identity. So I found that satisfying.
It's not a five-star book for me because, for one, it felt like a first novel, although one where the author is clearly talented and will only get better. For another, I didn't really warm to Flavia as a person. I was always conscious that in a different book, she'd be the precocious and annoying kid who gets in the protagonist's way. That was sort of charming and sort of irritating, so I never felt I cared that much about her fate (which is a problem when she gets into peril). But I want to read more of the series, so in that respect, I call it a win....more
I picked this up at the thrift store because I remembered friends talking about the author and because it was in beautiful shape and, let's face it, II picked this up at the thrift store because I remembered friends talking about the author and because it was in beautiful shape and, let's face it, I am a sucker for a beautiful book. I read and enjoyed it and gave it a four-star rating in my personal spreadsheet. (Yes, I keep multiple records of what I've read. No, I don't think that's obsessive. Carry on.)
And then I couldn't stop thinking about it.
This happens sometimes. Some book will grab me and won't let go. In this case, I think I was compelled by Sarah and Matthew's relationship, which is driven by their mutual need not to be alone. These are two deeply damaged people who find in one another something that saves them. I'm not sure how much else I can say without going into spoiler territory...well, maybe I'll just do that: (view spoiler)[Their sexual relationship does so much to define their characters, where both of them are just desperate for what the other provides. I was really moved by that. Though I was surprised by the ending, where we learn that Matthew thought Sarah was really pining for Alistair the whole time. It implied that Matthew thought Sarah was...what? Using him for really great sex? Biding her time? I don't know. It's resolved really well, though. (hide spoiler)]
The story itself isn't very unusual: the ghost is a typical dark-haired long-fingered cold-generating spirit, and she plays all the usual tricks. What saves it from being tedious is the historical setting, with 1920s ghost hunters and all the "equipment" they have to build or repurpose to capture evidence of ghosts. St. James has a great sense of period, and I particularly like the post-WWI setting and how it allows her to deal with the emotional fallout the surviving soldiers experienced, in a time before anyone had heard of PTSD. In Alistair and Matthew she shows different aspects of that reality, as the experience wasn't the same for everyone. Alistair isn't as obviously wounded as Matthew, but the scars are still real.
I'm really glad I picked this up on a whim. I also got a few of St. James's other books, and I look forward to reading them....more
My daughter read and loved this book and was appalled to learn I had never read it. (Her exact text: I thought u people LIKED books)(She doesn'tMy daughter read and loved this book and was appalled to learn I had never read it. (Her exact text: I thought u people LIKED books)(She doesn't bother spelling out words, ever) So I had her put it on my bed (Yes, of course I own it, I own like 1200 physical books I have not read, no I don't think I have a problem, thank you very much) and read it the next day.
Of course, this was almost three months ago, so I don't remember the details, but I loved it. It's a delightful story, and I'm a sucker for tales told through correspondence. There's a sweet little romance, and some heartwrenching moments, and overall I am glad I didn't put off reading it any longer. I really liked the sideways take on World War II, which kept the book from feeling stale. Highly recommended....more
I read this to help my daughter, who was assigned it for her high school English lit class. She needed someone to discuss theme and character with.I read this to help my daughter, who was assigned it for her high school English lit class. She needed someone to discuss theme and character with. This YA story about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911 is harrowing to read if you know anything about the historical event behind it. With three POV characters and a prologue that hints at tragedy, you know (view spoiler)[ it's virtually impossible for all three girls to survive--and Haddix is good enough at misdirection that right up until the end, you don't know which of them it is. (hide spoiler)] Harrowing, and heartbreaking.
But the real genius of the book is in accurately depicting the mindset of the early 20th century with regard to women. It's set at a time when the women's suffrage movement had lost a lot of steam thanks to the deaths of some of its founders and prominent members. I wonder how many young women today have any idea of how disdained and disrespected women of the time were: told they were too frail for college, informed that they had no reason to want the vote because their husbands would vote for them, considered unimportant labor even when they were struggling to support themselves. Haddix perhaps doesn't go into the kind of detail I would have liked to see about the socioeconomic issues that divided wealthy women and the poor, but that's not what this book is about, so I can't fault her for it.
The ending, in which the daughter of one of the factory owners goes looking for...absolution? Understanding? Even she doesn't know what she wants, except she knows her fortune, bolstered by the obscene insurance payout the owners received, is stained with the blood of the 146 people, most of them women, who died in the fire. In that ending, Haddix refrains from giving her (and us) an answer, though she touches on a number of possible responses. What we get, instead, is a greater appreciation for the desires that drove the women of that time to endure terrible deprivations and violence in hope of a better life. I would strongly recommend this book to teen readers looking to understand some of the events that shape the world they live in now--and adult readers who might have the same need....more
4.5 stars, rounded up for the wonderful friendship between Marcus and Esca. Hallie has been bugging me encouraging me to read this for a while, and I4.5 stars, rounded up for the wonderful friendship between Marcus and Esca. Hallie has been bugging me encouraging me to read this for a while, and I put it on the list for the 31-day reading challenge. When I finished reading The Bone Clocks, I needed something lighter, and as it happens, in the last section of The Bone Clocks the kids are reading The Eagle of the Ninth. I took it as a sign.
Marcus, a centurion posted to Britain, is severely injured in a battle that ends his longed-for career in the military, following in his father's footsteps. His father achieved a sort of immortality as the leader of the Ninth Hispana, a Roman legion that marched north into the wilds of Britain and never returned. When Marcus gets the chance to go north in pursuit of what is believed to be the lost legion's Imperial Eagle, he jumps at it.
It really is that simple a story. What makes it outstanding, aside from Sutcliff's remarkable ability to make you feel like you're there with Marcus and his friend Esca, a British slave (again, as with everything in this book, so much more than that), is how wonderful it is to see the friendship that builds between Marcus and Esca, two young men who ought to be enemies. Contrast this with Marcus's brief acquaintance with the British charioteer Cradoc; Marcus believed they had the potential to be friends, and yet (view spoiler)[Cradoc betrays him and the rest of the Roman legion stationed at Isca Dumnoniorum, and is indirectly or directly the cause of Marcus's laming. (hide spoiler)] Based on this, Marcus and Esca ought never to have become friends, since Esca has even more reason to hate Romans. And yet...
I see now how this book might have influenced Megan Whalen Turner's Thick as Thieves, which also features a strong friendship between two men who ought not to be friends, one of whom is a slave, and a long journey. There's no resemblance otherwise, but I'll probably mentally shelve both as books about friendship. The Eagle of the Ninth falters only in depicting the romantic relationship between Marcus and his neighbor Cottia, which requires a bit of filling in the blanks. But the ending is deeply satisfying, with (view spoiler)[Marcus realizing he loves Britain, and Esca becoming a Roman citizen in recognition of his efforts in retrieving the Eagle (hide spoiler)], and I'm certain I will read this book again....more
Having read Pigs Don't Fly, I was ready to move on to the sequel. Overall, I think it's better than the first, as Summer's journeys take her westHaving read Pigs Don't Fly, I was ready to move on to the sequel. Overall, I think it's better than the first, as Summer's journeys take her west after her dragon-man lover Jasper. Once again, Summer collects stray companions, and once again, her quest story is a lot of little encounters strung together, but as Summer has a direction of her own in this book, the plot has more coherence. I especially liked her magical friend Ky-Lin, companion of the Buddha and provider of a lot of necessary plot movement without feeling like a deus ex machina.
Unfortunately, the book loses a full star for the presence of Dickon, who was an ass in the first book and shows up again in this book. And again. And again. What's truly frustrating is that Summer knows he's a danger, feels it in her heart, and yet does nothing to kick him to the curb permanently. And it turns out he does ruin everything, repeatedly and finally at the end when Summer is about to get her heart's desire. I hated it every time he reappeared and hated his presence in the story. The revelation of what he did to ruin Summer and Jasper's chances with the dragon council comes at the very end, in the form of a deathbed confession, and it's so infuriating it tainted my pleasure from the rest of the book. The epilogue was not enough to redeem it, as it raised too many questions.
I also wasn't happy with the romance, which suffered from Jasper concealing his true feelings until he just suddenly comes out and tells Summer that he was only pretending to be indifferent to her. His seeming indifference fit with how he felt in the two short sections from his POV earlier in the book, so I wasn't satisfied with his change of heart.
There's still a lot to enjoy about this book. Brown is excellent at evoking the past without being too anachronistic, Summer's companions are delightful (except for that ass Dickon), and Summer herself has mostly grown up, though there's one moment where she reverts to being an idiot and Ky-Lin has to rescue her. But I can't recommend it whole-heartedly, and I have to say I'm not eager to read the next book....more
India of 1837 is richly realized in this debut mystery (the author's previous books were nonfiction) whose two main characters, William Avery andIndia of 1837 is richly realized in this debut mystery (the author's previous books were nonfiction) whose two main characters, William Avery and Jeremiah Blake, are as mismatched a duo as ever graced the pages of a historical novel. The characterization is good, and Carter demonstrates an appreciation for 19th century India that kept me reading. However, the story takes a couple of obvious turns (view spoiler)[like having the trusted native guide turn out to be a villain (hide spoiler)] and in general it felt less like a mystery and more like a straight-up historical fiction with some thrilling turns. Which probably just shows that my expectations were disappointed, but still.
I was wavering between three and four stars the whole way, but the ending pushed my rating down: (view spoiler)[Avery, who has a crush on a society beauty who's never looked his way because of his poor prospects, returns from his journey a dashing hero--and suddenly Helen just "was too embarrassed to show him affection before" and is willing to throw over her own near-engagement to someone else in his favor because he was *always* her favorite. Yeah, right. Blake clearly knows what's going on, and of course can't say anything (how could he?), and Avery's moon-calf behavior is in character for the relatively unobservant youth he is, but I liked him, and it bugged me that he hadn't learned *any* discernment in his journeys. So the ending left me with a nasty taste in my mouth. (hide spoiler)]
I'm interested enough in the pair to read the next book in the series, and Carter's descriptions of 19th-century Calcutta enthralled me....more
Writing this book was hard. Originally it was set in Bath, and there were kidnappings and a secret government organization and Revenge, all of whichWriting this book was hard. Originally it was set in Bath, and there were kidnappings and a secret government organization and Revenge, all of which lasted until I realized it wasn't working (about four chapters). So I ditched everything but the main character and the Revenge and started over. Now there's counterfeiting and Bow Street Runners and some really great secondary characters, and I love how it turned out.
Sophia, though--each of these books has a different Extraordinary woman, and I always intended to tell the story of the woman who discovered how the pirates were tracking the Royal Navy ships in Burning Bright. Sophia is brilliant, with the mind of a research scientist, but she also tends to obsess about her pursuits and has trouble leaning on others. Even falling in love is something she has trouble with. I hope readers will like her, but I hope even more they'll sympathize with her and understand the need that drives her to bring her enemy, Lord Endicott, to justice.
Sophia's cousin Lady Daphne St. Clair, on the other hand, is a lot of fun, and I hope she's popular, as she will be the heroine of the as-yet-untitled book 3 in the series. I loved writing her dialogue in particular. Writing a whole book around her will be a joy, as will exploring the nuances of the Bounder talent.
This book is dedicated to my husband Jacob, who read it in small pieces as I would demand his opinion every other chapter. This is not a pleasant way to read a book, getting into the swing of it just as it comes to an abrupt end, and he deserves great praise for never complaining about it....more
Re-read 5/21/18 in preparation for writing the next book in the series: I love having written this book, I'm proud of it, and what's the only thing IRe-read 5/21/18 in preparation for writing the next book in the series: I love having written this book, I'm proud of it, and what's the only thing I ever notice? That I wrote Wellington instead of Wellesley. Seriously, I do know the difference!
10/17/16: I wrote this book sort of on a dare. I love the Napoleonic/Regency era in fiction, but never thought of writing anything like that. But I had this magic system I wanted to do something with, and my husband challenged me to see what I could do with historical fiction. And this was the result.
The "magic" in the world of the Extraordinaries is actually psionics, and in a contemporary setting, they would be superheroes: telepaths, telekinetics, biokinetics, etc. Some of the fun was in backdating those powers; what would a world without the concept of genetics and psionics do to interpret those talents? In my alternate history, it was the Second Pandemic culminating in the plague of 1665 that created the talents, so by 1812 England is accustomed to its magical folk and society has rearranged itself to adapt to them. So many possibilities emerged. The Great Fire of London? Caused by out of control Scorchers. King George III's madness? The result of his Extraordinary Discerner talent, which made him capable of feeling other people's emotions to the extent of not knowing the difference between his own feelings and others. Working out the possibilities of eight psionic talents became so much more fun when I was allowed to play with the past.
Originally, Elinor was to serve in the Peninsular Army, something that excited me because I'm a huge fan of the Richard Sharpe novels. But at some point it became clear that there was much more scope for story in a woman who can control fire going to sea on those wooden, highly flammable ships. For the sake of that story, I fiddled with the truth--it actually wasn't uncommon for women to be aboard ship, as officers and petty officers might have their wives aboard, and those women might take charge of the young midshipmen. I wanted Elinor to be isolated from other women, forced to defend her femininity in a world that made no allowances for it. I think it makes her friendships with Captain Ramsay and Stratford Hervey stronger because of that. Or, possibly, I just wanted to make the character interactions manageable.
The plan for this series is to have each book featuring a different woman with a different Extraordinary talent, with previous characters showing up or being referred to in later books. So the sequels are not about Elinor--I feel I should make that explicit, so readers aren't disappointed. But Elinor and Ramsay's adventures aren't over, and they will return....more
I requested this book after recently meeting the author and wanting to read something she'd written. I like historical fiction, though WWI is not aI requested this book after recently meeting the author and wanting to read something she'd written. I like historical fiction, though WWI is not a period I've read much about, and this was a gripping adventure story that kept me interested from beginning to end. The story centers on espionage in World War I; the Spider of the title is Julian Olivier, a German-speaking Frenchman sent to spy on the Krupp munitions factory, and the Sparrow is Evette Touny, involved in counterespionage in Paris. The story of the war plays out through their actions, as well as those of Canadian pilot Warren Flynn and the girl he's attracted to, Claire Donovan, whose father is an American maker of war materiel.
Much as I liked Warren and Claire, I think the book would have been tighter if it had stuck strictly to the POVs of Julian and Evette. Julian's development as a character is particularly good, as he goes from being a simple poilu to having sympathy for the German family he works for as his cover. But both romances are sweet and satisfying, and I would be sad to lose Warren's story. The ending is rather melodramatic--which is to say the villain suddenly turns out to have a flair for gruesome death hitherto unrevealed--but in general everyone's scars are well-earned, and I was glad to have read it.
This novel is sort of a prequel to some of the author's other books, or at least Julian's relatives show up elsewhere, and I'm interested enough to want to give those a try.
I received a free copy of this from Netgalley....more
A new Tim Powers novel is always cause for rejoicing around here, and this one was excellent. When the aunt who raised them commits suicide in aA new Tim Powers novel is always cause for rejoicing around here, and this one was excellent. When the aunt who raised them commits suicide in a spectacular fashion, Scott and Madeline Madden are summoned back to her mansion to stay for a week until the will (drawn up just before her death) is tested. But the cousins who still live at the mansion, Claimayne and Ariel, don’t want them there, and a secret magic threatens to draw them back into its power. Still, how much can happen in a week?
The magic is complex and creative, mingling aspects of addiction with a form of time travel and alien presences in a way probably only Tim Powers could manage. Each of the four main characters is affected by it differently: Claimayne embraces it, Ariel is trying to get free of it, and Scott and Maddy are trying to benefit from it without being overpowered by it. I loved the complexity of keeping track of when everyone was, particularly Scott’s use of it in the first climax (there are two, which is one of the weaknesses of the book). Powers never fully explains how the “spiders” come to be, though one way of creating them is revealed; the spiders used by Scott and the others are modern interpretations of something older than they can imagine. It enhances the mystical creepiness of them in a way I enjoyed.
Powers is famous for his secret histories, and I’d have to say this is one of the weaker ones in the sense that very few of the historical figures are well-known enough to give the story the oomph something like The Stress of Her Regard has. However, Rudolph Valentino as a character works perfectly as someone I could imagine a modern girl falling in love with across time. The historical segments play out sequentially, doling out just enough information each time to keep me interested without being confused (given that they are all results of time traveling, sometimes with multiple characters). I did love the sense of place the story has, with its setting in and around Hollywood. It feels very immediate, and the description of the mansion (called the Caveat—it has the word carved to one side of the door, and the other side has been destroyed so you don’t know until the very end who’s being warned) left me with a very Miss-Havisham feeling about the whole thing.
Speaking of Miss Havisham, Ariel totally has the same vibe—that unlucky in love, dried-up spinster who maybe doesn’t want to be vibe. (view spoiler)[I was so glad Ariel and Scott worked out their misunderstanding. Don’t get that look; Scott and Maddy are adopted cousins. I was pretty sure from the beginning, when Ariel reflects on the rejected love note she gave Scott, that Claimayne had interfered in their relationship. On the other hand, that they can realize they’re in love after I don’t remember how many years of her hating him…that was a little too easy. But I wanted it to happen, so I let it go. (hide spoiler)] All the main characters are well drawn, though some of the secondary characters never rise past surface detail.
It’s the characterization that’s the first of my two reasons for not giving this five stars. For the first half of the book, I didn’t like any of the characters. Claimayne is fundamentally off, but we’re not meant to like him. Ariel is bitchy. Maddy engages in really stupid, unjustifiably stupid behavior. And Scott is a classic Powers hero—plenty of weaknesses, and it takes him time to rise above them. It took a really long time for the good guys to start showing likeable characteristics, and I stuck with it because I was certain they ultimately would. I’m just not sure they should have taken that long. (view spoiler)[My read of Ariel’s character was entirely off because of her proximity to Claimayne, who turns out to be the villain. She’s meant to be sympathetic, but she’s just mean (at first). (hide spoiler)]
The second reason is that there are two climaxes, and the second one suffers because of the first. (view spoiler)[The first climax is saving Ariel from Claimayne and the evil spider-user Ferdalisi. It’s edgy and exciting, with Scott using a spider to reach them in time, and both villains end up dead. And then they have to resolve the issue of the Medusa, the big spider, using the film they’ve spent most of the book trying to get. They know that whoever watches it will probably not survive, but Scott’s going to do it anyway. And I felt absolutely no urgency about what would happen, because it had all been telegraphed: Scott would use his semi-immunity derived from the Usabo spider to survive, Maddy would find a way to go back in time and live with Rudolph Valentino, and Scott and Ariel would end up together. It felt sadly anticlimactic. (hide spoiler)] Any time you build up the tension like that, you risk losing that tension when you have to play it out a second time. I thought it was too bad there wasn’t a way for Powers to combine the two.
I’m going to class this one with Three Days to Never as a Tim Powers novel I liked but didn't love. That still makes it excellent as far as I'm concerned. ...more
I admit it, this wasn't a five-star rating until about halfway through, when I realized I'd become extremely attached to the characters withoutI admit it, this wasn't a five-star rating until about halfway through, when I realized I'd become extremely attached to the characters without noticing. Danse de la Folie has a wonderful sensibility of the age and feels very authentic in the speech and manners of the characters, and I loved the romances--all of them, not just the main two. If the ending feels a little abrupt, I didn't mind so much because it felt like the right kind of comeuppance for our villain. Excellent story, and so satisfying....more
This third book in the Echo Company series goes in a different direction, with the main character being Lieutenant Rebecca Phillips, a nurse inThis third book in the Echo Company series goes in a different direction, with the main character being Lieutenant Rebecca Phillips, a nurse in Vietnam. She's cheerful, friendly, a little goofy, and lovable, and I was interested in her immediately. After some establishing scenes, however, everything goes wrong when she illicitly goes along on a rescue mission when no military corpsman is around. What happens next changes Rebecca forever.
I wouldn't have been so easy-going about not seeing more of the adventures of PFC Michael Jennings and crew if I didn't already know that Rebecca is the main character in the fifth book, The Road Home, and therefore important. And by the end, when the two characters are brought together, it's very interesting to see Echo Company through someone else's eyes. Rebecca is tough as well as kind, as soft-hearted in her way as Michael is in his, and I loved reading about her.
Most of this book is worthy of a spoiler tag, which I will now provide: (view spoiler)[Rebecca's stand-off with a VC "soldier" (since she's uncertain what the boy's relationship to the enemy is, other than that he clearly wants to kill her) is one of the most incredibly tense scenes I've ever read. She's exhausted and in pain, terrified, and at the same time afraid for her enemy as well. Her reaction to finally killing him is perfect and perfectly in character. One of the things I anticipate is seeing her again and learning how she finally copes with having taken a life. The ending, where her captain and her major come together to protect her from the fallout that would certainly come if her gunshot wound was known, was emotionally satisfying, but it's clear Rebecca's soul is going to need as much healing as her body. (hide spoiler)]
Again, this was an exciting read, and I really want to know what happens next--particularly if Michael and Rebecca ever meet again....more
This follow-up to Welcome to Vietnam is literally a follow-up because it happens immediately after the ending of the first book. Much as I enjoyed it,This follow-up to Welcome to Vietnam is literally a follow-up because it happens immediately after the ending of the first book. Much as I enjoyed it, it didn't feel as if it stood on its own, but was rather the second part of the first book. There's more of what I loved about Welcome to Vietnam, including the fantastic descriptions, the great friendships, and Michael's unique and compelling voice. It's not until the end, during the assault on the titular hill, that the book really comes into its own--that Michael comes into his own. He's terrified, he thinks the whole thing is stupid because they're being ground to powder by the enemy, yet he takes over when there's no one else to give orders and comes up with the tactics that win them the battle. His relationship (if you can call animosity that) with Lieutenant Kendrick is probably one of my favorites in the book, as the two of them have to work out a grudging acceptance of the other's strengths. I can't wait to read the next....more
This is really excellent young adult historical fiction about the Vietnam War, told through the eyes of PFC Michael "Meat" Jennings, who is draftedThis is really excellent young adult historical fiction about the Vietnam War, told through the eyes of PFC Michael "Meat" Jennings, who is drafted and sent to Vietnam even though he hates the Army ("Fuck the Army," FTA, is a frequent refrain with him). The story is very simple: Michael is assigned to a company and gets to know his squad mates and even to make friends, though he's warned by Viper, one of the experienced soldiers, not to get too close to anyone because death can happen at any time. There are moments of pure terror and moments of hilarity, and Emerson is fantastic at evoking the Vietnamese setting, how hot and wet and miserable it is. There's a constant sense of immediacy that's just great.
I loved Michael, even though he's remarkably unlovable. He's (reasonably) afraid all the time and covers it with bravado, he's hurt because his girlfriend dumped him cruelly, he misses his family and he's convinced he's a coward. And then, when the worst happens, he's the one who steps up and deals with it. He doesn't seem to realize that he's a natural leader, and I think it would take more than one year-long tour of duty to really turn him into that, but the quality is there.
I also loved the other characters, who have their own issues, particularly Sergeant Hanson, and if he dies I will cry big tears of misery because he's so great. Snoopy, Michael's closest friend, would be the Designated Sidekick if his comical actions didn't cover a warm and compassionate heart. The greatest tension in this book comes from knowing that any of them could be killed at any moment, and Viper might as well have been speaking to the reader when he warns Michael about having too good a friend.
I'm honestly surprised that Scholastic picked this series up. It is as profane and violent as you'd expect a story about soldiers to be, with one particularly gruesome scene and a lot of swearing. I predict this will be another of the books I have trouble explaining why it's YA to parents, but it totally is--it's all about becoming a man, about facing the greatest challenge I think anyone can be forced to face and learning who you are as a result. Excellent story, and I can't wait to read the rest....more
It took me a couple of chapters to really warm up to this--the beginning skips around between POVs too much for my comfort, and overall it felt aIt took me a couple of chapters to really warm up to this--the beginning skips around between POVs too much for my comfort, and overall it felt a little awkward--but then I really couldn't stop reading. What really makes this work is the main character, Anna, who from the beginning has to find ways to survive in a society that could easily eat her alive, and manages not only to survive but to rise above her circumstances in every situation. I loved the depiction of the troupe and all the people in it, with their quarrels and friendships, and I also loved how those early experiences continued to affect Anna even when she left them.
Anna's romance with Captain Duncannon is so sweet that I couldn't help being swept up in it myself. I liked that the story kept in touch with him just enough that he's not forgotten during Anna's European adventures (it's Anna's story, not really his, but he's an important part of it) so that when they're reunited, he's not a total stranger to the story. Favorite part of their romance: (view spoiler)[They make love for the first time, he murmurs the name of his former love, and Anna DOESN'T FREAK OUT, just figures he's drugged out of his mind and he didn't mean it. How cool is that? (hide spoiler)] I loved seeing them come together. I thought it was a little odd (stay with me here) that Anna's past didn't come out and create friction and misunderstanding between them and recriminations and then some kind of reconciliation. Odd only in the sense that that's the typical way to do it, and it's stupid, because it depends on the other person being so incredibly shallow that they're willing to ignore all the other great things about the one they love in favor of one negative characteristic or one mistake. And this book doesn't go there. So if the fact that Henry doesn't think less of Anna for having sung on the stage with a troupe of performers makes the story seem lacking in conflict, that's a weakness of the romance genre and a huge plus in this book's favor.
Overall it's a fun story, with interesting characters and a vivid setting. Loved it....more
I'm still not sure how much I liked this book. The Regency London setting is very well evoked, as is the political setting of a government on the cuspI'm still not sure how much I liked this book. The Regency London setting is very well evoked, as is the political setting of a government on the cusp of a Regency that may upset the balance of power between the Tories and the Whigs. If anything, the setting may be a little too good; maybe it's just that I've been reading a lot of the history of this place and time lately, but there were times when I felt Harris was putting in details just to show how much she knew about Regency London. The mystery was also very good, with plenty of possible suspects and motives right up until the climax, which was also very exciting. So I liked the story, I suppose.
I just didn't warm to Sebastian St. Cyr, really. He's exactly the kind of character that annoys me, the epitome of a romantic hero: darkly handsome, attractive to every woman he meets, smart, strong, clever, an excellent shot, at home in every environment, has supernatural senses, and his flaws are the romantic kind (emotionally scarred by war, dumped by the woman he loves, doesn't get along with his father) that really aren't flaws at all. Harris is good at supporting why he's like this, but I still have the feeling that she decided she wanted some Übermensch and found a way to make him make sense. (Surprisingly, the most unbelievable of his attributes, the heightened senses that are a real-life result of a genetic abnormality, were what I found least objectionable.) I kept wanting someone to punch him in the face just to throw him off balance. Fortunately, he does have one humanizing weakness, and that's his love for Kat Boleyn.
But then I'm not sure I care much for Kat either. She and the other woman in St. Cyr's life, the dead girl Rachel, both come from such incredibly tragic pasts that I had to roll my eyes. Yes, it's true that women in the early 1800s sometimes had very, very awful lives. They had virtually no rights and the ones belonging to the lower classes could often expect to die young from a lot of horrible causes. But both Kat and Rachel... orphaned early, raped, raped again, beaten... it's a little too much. Between them and St. Cyr, I get the picture of an uncertain first-time author who didn't quite trust her own craft to draw the reader in, and felt she had to resort to sensationalism.
Case in point: the stupidity that forces St. Cyr to go into hiding and investigate to clear his name. It was just ridiculous, and set up a situation where Harris had to pull a deus ex machina to make it go away in the end, because there was no other way to resolve it that didn't have St. Cyr dancing the hemp fandango. It's there solely because St. Cyr wouldn't have gotten involved in the investigation otherwise, and then there wouldn't have been a book. That struck me as sloppy.
Having said this, I'm still very impressed with Harris's craft. She clearly knows her world and has a very good sense of all levels of Regency London society. So I think I'll read at least the next one. I have hopes that St. Cyr will realize he has no future with Kat, or at least that she's able to convince him they don't have a future, and I would like to see more of Lovejoy, the inspector very fond of the scientific method--he's a character I really cared about....more
It's hard to comprehend the magnitude of Stalin's crimes against humanity. So many millions dead, so many more imprisoned for years in labor camps,It's hard to comprehend the magnitude of Stalin's crimes against humanity. So many millions dead, so many more imprisoned for years in labor camps, and very little of it known to the outside world. Ruta Sepetys's book tries to put a human face on that brutality through the eyes of Lina Vilkas and her family, separated from her father and shipped to Siberia where they're forced to work themselves nearly to death (and some of them do) just to stay alive. Lina is sixteen when they come for her family, a talented artist who draws pictures in the hope that they will reach her father, wherever he is. Her artwork, and her memories of a time before their imprisonment, tie the story to the unthinkable present and to its resolution.
The thing that struck me, the thing I can never comprehend, is how anyone can possibly dehumanize others to the point of being able to treat them like animals. Stalin made sure that his men thought of the Lithuanians as enemies of Russia and deserving of punishment, but some of those soldiers were capable of true brutality. Sepetys doesn't shrink from showing the consequences of that, from a young woman shot in the head and left to die to bodies thrown out into the Siberian winter to be eaten by animals. This is not an easy book to read, even if you're aware that Sepetys could have been far, far more graphic in her depiction of Lina's nightmarish existence. She's also unflinching in her characterizations of both Lina's fellow captives and their captors; there are good and bad people, brave and cowardly, on both sides. I was particularly moved by the plight of Mrs. Arvydas, who's forced to prostitute herself to the Russian soldiers to save the life of her son and is shunned by the rest of the captives for it. The book constantly raises the question--what would I do if it were me, what would I be willing to sacrifice for someone else? And the book is full of examples of sacrifice and selfishness for all sorts of reasons.
Lina's relationship with Andrius Arvydas is beautiful because it's so simple and so natural--two young people who would probably never have spoken to one another under normal circumstances are thrown together in this horror and discover common ground that links them together even when they are, inevitably, torn apart. For me, the most moving part of the book is when Lina, struggling to learn Russian by reading a Dickens novel Andrius has given her, finds that he's written notes to her in the margins so he's still with her though she has no idea where he is. Beautiful and terribly sad and full of hope all at once.
I don't know how I feel about the ending. Much as I was happy that it was not all unrelenting horror and that Lina survives, it was so abrupt and so counter to the hopelessness that Lina was feeling just pages before that I felt jerked out of the story. But I think it's an important ending because it's a reminder that not even Stalin could destroy these people's souls just because he could torment their bodies. Especially important was the afterword, because I'm not sure if young people are really aware of what happened in the Soviet Union back then and why it mattered that Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia regained their independence back in 1991. I'm not sure if many adults do either; I know I didn't back then.
Sepetys's prose is so simple and so perfect for this book that I hope she made a conscious choice not to clutter up the story with an over-elaborate style. With few words she clearly depicts the horror of an overcrowded train car and a deadly Siberian winter, and the people who managed to survive both. Beautiful and heart-wrenching, and I highly recommend it....more
I'm increasingly dissatisfied with this series, probably because it suffers so much in comparison to the other series I'm reading. The problem withI'm increasingly dissatisfied with this series, probably because it suffers so much in comparison to the other series I'm reading. The problem with this one is that Georgie comes off as kind of stupid, particularly in supposing that real vampires could be responsible for the mayhem surrounding her school friend's nuptials. I also didn't like her temporary maid Queenie, who is also extremely stupid but is meant to be endearing, and the fact that Queenie is going to be a recurring character or at least appear in the next book makes me less interested in reading it. And I'm getting tired of Georgie and Darcy dancing around the issue of whether they have a relationship or not. I didn't realize how much I liked Georgie's grandfather until he wasn't in the book, and it turns out he's one of my favorite parts of the series, so that might have contributed to my dissatisfaction. I may or may not continue; the series has been a good way to occupy my brain during my short break, when I don't want to get into something I care more about....more
Still enjoying this rather lightweight series, and maybe it's just that I was reading it in tiny installments on my break at work, but I didn't pickStill enjoying this rather lightweight series, and maybe it's just that I was reading it in tiny installments on my break at work, but I didn't pick up on whodunit right away, so I call it good. I'm starting to be fond of the supporting cast, particularly Georgie's friend Belinda, who is just too shallow and sex-obsessed for words. And I *was* warming up to Darcy as Georgie's love interest; he's started to demonstrate that he's really interested in her, and there's evidence that his constant disappearances are because he's some sort of secret government agent (or something), and he even tells Georgie's grandfather (probably my favorite character) that he's Georgie's "young man," and then he has to go and ruin it. (view spoiler)[At the end, Georgie asks him why he sticks with her, a strange phrase that implies that she's sort of a mess, which is untrue. And he says, in order, that a) at first he was interested in the challenge of getting into her pants, and then b) he thought she might be a good lay if he could get her to relax, and THEN c) he can't stop thinking about her like she's some kind of obsession. Not romantic. Not an attitude that makes me like him. And he was doing so well. (hide spoiler)]
The series makes for good lunchtime reading, so I haven't given up on it yet....more
This is an excellent resource not only for the Aubrey/Maturin series, but as an introduction to naval warfare and the seagoing life in the lateThis is an excellent resource not only for the Aubrey/Maturin series, but as an introduction to naval warfare and the seagoing life in the late 18th/early 19th centuries. I particularly appreciated the tables about such things as the actual breakdown of personnel on a Royal Navy ship by rating (how many lieutenants, how many Marines, etc.) and diagrams about how a crew would be broken down into smaller groups aboard ship. Fans of the Aubreyad will appreciate the sidebars relating historical fact to episodes within the series. Plenty of references and lists of further reading material make this a great starting place for anyone interested in the naval battles of the Napoleonic War....more
I'm reading this series fifteen minutes at a time, during my break at work, and that seems to be working out just fine. As in the first book, BowenI'm reading this series fifteen minutes at a time, during my break at work, and that seems to be working out just fine. As in the first book, Bowen takes a long run at the mystery, so I'm finding it easier to think of the series as historical fiction that happens to have a mystery attached to it. As it happens, I figured out the mystery well before the end, so that way of thinking made the book rather more enjoyable than frustrating. The characters are still interesting, and I find myself warming to Georgie, whose awkwardness I can relate to. Darcy O'Mara continues to be a presence hovering in the background, but in this book he makes a little more sense as a potential love interest for Georgie, and I like how her attraction to him is as uncertain as anything else she does. Good, light, fun reading....more
Very cute story. It took a while to get started, and I can see why--Bowen had a lot of things to establish so she could bring them up later, when theVery cute story. It took a while to get started, and I can see why--Bowen had a lot of things to establish so she could bring them up later, when the actual mystery began. I liked the characters, the mystery was a little light-weight, and I might read some of the others in the series, but in general there wasn't much to this book....more
There are no words. Wow. I knew there was a good chance I would like this. I didn't think it would be my favorite book of the year.
I am not a fan ofThere are no words. Wow. I knew there was a good chance I would like this. I didn't think it would be my favorite book of the year.
I am not a fan of Jane Austen pastiche, none of the "after Pride and Prejudice etc." books, none of the "let's retell Jane Austen set in the modern world!" because I find no fulfillment in them. Longbourn is not one of these, not only because it tells the story of Pride and Prejudice from the perspective of the servants at Longbourn as opposed to the original characters, but because it succeeds at adding not length, but depth, to the original work.
I'm not going to bother explaining the plot, because there's a lot that would be spoilers. The three main POV characters are Sarah, the older housemaid/lady's maid; Mrs. Hill, the housekeeper/cook; and James, the newly hired footman. Each of them takes up the narrative in turns, lending their perspective to the story at exactly the moment it becomes most interesting. I fell in love with Sarah, whose working day begins as the novel opens, her chilblained hands struggling to bring in water for washing day. Baker's prose is beautiful and her love for her source material undeniable. She takes few liberties with Pride and Prejudice, and the ones she does take, again, add depth to the original story. I had no idea anyone could redeem Mr. Collins' character. That alone makes the story brilliant. Her treatment of Wickham is similarly engaging; everything Baker does to expand on his character is plausible given his behavior in the original book.
Baker doesn't bother aping Jane Austen's style, which lends a sense that Austen's Regency-era prose is that of the gentry, while Baker's is that of those below stairs. It's structured like a three-volume novel, each book ending on some event that changes the story and sets the stage for the next part. I had some misgivings about the beginning of Book Three, which goes back in time to show some of what happened before the start of the book, but it turned out to be the right choice. The ending is sweeter for the tension leading up to it, and if The Silver Linings Playbook stayed with me for a day after I finished it, this one keeps replaying in my head with no sign of going away. Maybe it was the timing, maybe this was just the book I wanted to read at just the moment I wanted to read it, but I was blown away at how strongly I reacted to it, and I am certain I will return to it again....more
Re-read 11/26/19: See below. I got to thinking about Mrs. Simone the other day and realized I couldn't remember the name of the school she'd taughtRe-read 11/26/19: See below. I got to thinking about Mrs. Simone the other day and realized I couldn't remember the name of the school she'd taught at. Naturally, since this book is a relic of that school's library, it had the name stamped all over the inside flyleaf. And then, since I had the book in hand, I felt compelled to read it again. It made a nice complement to all the Mary Stewart books set in Greece I've read lately. (Roxboro Road Middle School in Syracuse, NY, if you were wondering.)
Read 5/22/13: I had my first literary criticism class when I was twelve. Children's Literature, taught by Mrs. Simone, who loved children's books and loved to teach children how to read critically. Our great reward, twice that year, was to be allowed into the library's discarded book room to choose a lost book of our very own. For someone who until that point had a library composed mostly of books from the Scholastic catalog, this was such a thrill: old books--you know the smell--that had been read and loved until they almost fell apart. Web of Traitors was one of the books I chose. (The other was A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, which is a whole 'nother review.) I still own it, tattered, spine coming away from the pages, a souvenir from those faraway days.
As I read the book again for the first time in, I think, twenty-five years, I'm astonished at how much of history it introduced me to. This is where I read about Socrates for the first time, learned the Athenian love of theater for the first time, even the first time I read about code making and breaking. It gave me the most romantic notions about Athens that were never fully dispelled even when I learned that its famed democracy only applied to men.
Alexis, fighting against his father's expectations for him, wants not to challenge Athenian tradition but to follow a different path. Of course, he does end up challenging both tradition and morals in listening to that gadfly Socrates, let alone by associating with a common girl like Corinna. And, also of course, he and he friends thwart the planned invasion and Alexis succeeds at writing a play which is performed at the Theater Festival. This is, after all, a suspense novel for young adults. But it's a thrill to think of being able to write a play that competes successfully with those written not just by adults, but by experienced adults.
Corinna, unexpectedly cultured for a girl whose mother keeps an inn, was one of my first feminist examples from literature. Not only is she clever, she also performs a daring act of espionage that puts her body on the line AND rescues Alexis when he's caught by the traitors. I admired her daring, even as I now as an older reader recognize that Trease was cheating a little by making her so unnaturally cultured despite her upbringing. He engages in a little classism by suggesting that (view spoiler)[her being born to an upper class family made her innately superior, and that superiority wasn't damaged by being raised the daughter of a coarse innkeeper (hide spoiler)]. Her friendship with Alexis isn't spoiled by any romantic notions, though I imagine you could extend the story by suggesting that Corinna, at the end, is someone Alexis's hidebound father might at some point find acceptable for his middle son. But that's not important to this story.
I re-read this because I was looking for fiction about Athens that wasn't about its wars with Sparta. There is remarkably little in that vein, which makes this book even more unique. I have no idea what I saw in it that made me pick it--a book that hadn't been checked on since 1967, a book that had sat abandoned on the shelf for another 17 years--but I am certainly glad that I did....more
Nick Meyer's first novel, The Seven-Percent Solution, was a clever take on the Holmes mythology. Meyer used the existing Arthur Conan Doyle storiesNick Meyer's first novel, The Seven-Percent Solution, was a clever take on the Holmes mythology. Meyer used the existing Arthur Conan Doyle stories and associated now-canon writings to build a story in which Holmes encounters, and is treated by, Sigmund Freud. Meyer does the same thing in this book, where the mystery centers on the theatrical community of the West End. Holmes encounters Oscar Wilde, Bernard Shaw, Henry Irving, Bram Stoker, both Gilbert and Sullivan...the list goes on, which may be part of the problem; yes, all these people associated with each other, but it still starts to sound like name-dropping.
But the real problem is that the solution to the mystery is so blindingly obvious that even I figured it out, and I'm terrible at working out whodunit. If I can solve the case faster than Sherlock Holmes, there's something really wrong with the book. I think, if you don't guess the solution, it would seem like a clever twist; as it was, it just felt pedestrian.
As pastiche, the book is pretty good. Meyer has a nice grasp of the language, and his footnotes are entertaining. The overall impression that this is a true Sherlock Holmes story persists (though Holmes and Watson's characters are more fleshed out than in the original stories, which I consider a plus). But as a mystery, it falls flat....more
I think I need to set boundaries on my Tom Holt reading. Specifically, I need to stop reading his early works, because I really don't like them. TheyI think I need to set boundaries on my Tom Holt reading. Specifically, I need to stop reading his early works, because I really don't like them. They seem unfunny and tedious to me. In this case, the main character was kind of a wet blanket, the other main character was surprisingly bland for a rock star, and I never got interested in the story. I don't know why the gags (like the robot "agents" who kept dying and being reassembled, or the fact that Guy invariably hit the hat of anyone he aimed at, regardless of where said hat was) fell flat, but they just didn't work for me. I like Tom Holt's work, but I don't think he really hit his stride until 2000 or so....more
I love Boris Akunin's books, but I think this one is my least favorite of the Fandorin series (which still ranks it fairly high). Fandorin returnsI love Boris Akunin's books, but I think this one is my least favorite of the Fandorin series (which still ranks it fairly high). Fandorin returns from many years in Japan to find himself out of favor and out of touch, "exiled" to Moscow and away from the political excitement of the capital. He's the first one to realize that the death of an old friend and military hero is actually a murder, and the only one to pursue that trail. The bodies keep piling up and the evidence of a conspiracy mounts, with Fandorin always a step behind the killer, up to the very end.
I think my dissatisfaction comes primarily from how very, very good the killer seems to be. The second half of the book tells his story, from his childhood through his perspective of the events of the first half, and his extraordinary abilities are pretty well justified. Even so, he was not only good but extraordinarily lucky, and I didn't really enjoy that because it made his, well, competition with Fandorin less than competitive, and such a lopsided challenge is no fun. I was also less than happy with the deus ex machina ending. I think it was meant to show that there was another conspiracy working against the first that was actually more powerful, but it wrapped everything up too easily. Even so, Akunin is a wonderful storyteller, and my enjoyment of the book wasn't ruined by what dissatisfied me....more
This pair of novellas puts Erast Fandorin on the trail of two Jacks. In "The Jack of Spades," Fandorin pursues the titular character, an infamous conThis pair of novellas puts Erast Fandorin on the trail of two Jacks. In "The Jack of Spades," Fandorin pursues the titular character, an infamous con artist who's come to Moscow to fleece the public; in "The Decorator" Fandorin must track down none other than Jack the Ripper.
"The Jack of Spades" is a good caper story. Momos, the Jack of Spades, is nearly as clever as Fandorin and has an excellent criminal mind. He cons Fandorin, Fandorin cons him, back and forth, and the ending is either unexpected or totally obvious, depending on how criminal your own mind is. I love young Anisii Tulipov. He's hapless and has enormous jughandle ears, but he's a decent assistant to Fandorin and a sweet kid.
I was less happy with "The Decorator." It's bloodier than I expect from the Fandorin books, for one thing, and I'm not really a fan of Jack the Ripper stories, so I wasn't a good audience for it. Still, I appreciated Akunin's skill at using the sections from the Ripper's POV as clues in the mystery, and he had a crucial moment of misdirection at the very end that I liked. What I didn't like was (view spoiler)[HE KILLED TULIPOV WHY WHY WHY?! Sure, it makes everything matter more when characters we love die, but there's got to be a limit sometime. (hide spoiler)] So the collection gets a solid 4 stars on average....more
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