The Blue Fairy's Bookshelf

Man, 2014 was a year, huh. It's definitely been an odd year for me. I have been reading, but not so much posting reviews. A few reflections from the year: I read the Paradox series by Rachel Bach, really enjoyed them. I took up with both of Kerry Greenwood 's cozy mystery series, as they make excellent bus and airplane reading. Total read so far between both series: eight! As a side note, this year I traveled twice for my job, which is twice more than ever before. I reread one of my favorites ( Memory , by Lois McMaster Bujold) compulsively for a few weeks during a particularly stressful time. I reread the entire Star Wars Thrawn trilogy this fall. It was less good than it was when I was a teenager, but still okay. I expanded my genre window, reading literary fiction, memoir, YA, historical thriller … I've continued to cut down on the number of comic series I buy as single issues, but bought a ton of graphic novels I haven't read yet. Even so, I read a bunch...

Crossposted from Mainlining Christmas This year, I am taking on The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries , a 674 page tome containing 59 individual stories about the Christmas season. Conveniently, it’s broken up into blog-post sized sections. This is post eight, section ten, the end! A Classic Little Christmas The Flying Stars , G. K. Chesterton - Oh, I actually quite liked this. Christmas Party , Rex Stout - Really good except for the unfortunate racism. The Raffles Relics , E. W. Hornung - Unlike others starring a ‘classic character’, it makes me want to read more about the character. The Price of Light , Ellis Peters - Definitely a favorite in this book. Classic Cadfael: just lovely and sweet and Christmassy. A Present for Santa Sahib , H.R.F. Keating - Odd. I guess it could be charming in some lights. Not sure about the dialect.. The Christmas Train , Will Scott - A charming crook fools the police. Not amazing but decent. Markheim , Robert Louis Stevenson - Huh. takes a...

Crossposted from Mainlining Christmas This year, I am taking on The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries, a 674 page tome containing 59 individual stories about the Christmas season. Conveniently, it’s broken up into blog-post sized sections. Here’s the seventh post, section nine. A Puzzling Little Christmas Sister Bessie , Cyril Hare - Not bad. Not awesome. Somewhat expected tragic twist. That’s the Ticket , Mary Higgins Clark - Ha. Not a bad little story, cute resolution. Death on the Air , Ngaio Marsh - Fine resolution, pace was a bit off. The Thirteenth Day of Christmas , Isaac Asimov - Super cute bit of fluff. The Christmas Kitten , Ed Gorman - A lot of buildup for not much substance. The Santa Claus Club , Julian Symons - *snurk* the butler did it, naturally. These were a little bit of a let down after the last section, but most of these stories were still pretty decent. Similar to the “Surprising” section, all of these stories had at least a bit of a twist or a reve...

Crossposted from Mainlining Christmas This year, I am taking on The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries , a 674 page tome containing 59 individual stories about the Christmas season. Conveniently, it’s broken up into blog-post sized sections. For today I’ve read sections seven and eight. (Section  1 ,  2 ,  3 & 4 ,  5 ) A Surprising Little Christmas Noel, Noel , Barry Perowne - The long build up was kind of dull for the okay punchline. Death on Christmas Eve , Stanley Ellin - A more interesting twist here, it colors the whole story before. The Chinese Apple , Joseph Shearing - Fine, a bit obvious. These three stories each end in what amounts to a punch line. "Noel, Noel" is told by a man learning the story of what his good-for-nothing brother, Noel, did with his life. It’s fine. Not really a mystery. "The Chinese Apple" has a twist that I saw coming a mile off. "Death on Christmas Eve" was a bit more interesting. It follows a lawyer called...

Crossposted from Mainlining Christmas This year, I am taking on The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries , a 674 page tome containing 59 individual stories about the Christmas season. Conveniently, it’s broken up into blog-post sized sections. Here’s section six. (Section 1 , 2 , 3 & 4 , 5 ) A Scary Little Christmas The Carol Singers , Josephine Bell - A well told tale. I liked the extensive picture of the victim before the real plot. Waxworks , Ethel Lina White - Creepy. I liked it, except for a hint of period-typical sexism. Cambric Tea , Marjorie Bowen - Weird pacing, weird ending, a bit deus ex machina. The 74th Tale , Jonathan Santlofer - First piece of true horror. The Uninnocent , Bradford Morrow - Decent tone, but unsatisfying. A bit ‘mystery for it’s own sake’. Blue Christmas , Peter Robinson - Nice vignette of melancholy and hope. There’s a bit of everything in this section. The two that didn’t really work for me were "Cambric Tea" and "The U...

Crossposted from Mainlining Christmas This year, I am taking on The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries , a 674 page tome containing 59 individual stories about the Christmas season. Conveniently, it’s broken up into blog-post sized sections. This is section five. An Uncanny Little Christmas The Haunted Crescent , Peter Lovesey - Okay, yeah, I like it. Nice unexpected twist. A Christmas in Camp , Edmund Cox - Huh. Very odd. Problematic. The Christmas Bogey , Pat Frank - I don't know why this is in this section, but it’s funny and cute. The Killer Christian , Andrew Klavan - Not bad. Not a style I enjoy. But not bad. The Ghost’s Touch , Fergus Hume - Also not bad, though a bit obvious. A Wreath for Marley , Max Allan Collins - I expected a dark twist, instead I got a solid sweet period Christmas Carol. This section focused on ghost stories. The two I liked least of these tales were "A Christmas in Camp" and "The Killer Christian". The first is from...

Crossposted from Mainlining Christmas This year, I am taking on The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries , a 674 page tome containing 59 individual stories about the Christmas season. Conveniently, it’s broken up into blog-post sized sections. (Part one , two ) Today I’ve finished the third and fourth sections; they’re a bit shorter than the others. A Sherlockian Little Christmas A Scandal in Winter , Gillian Linscott - Ridonkulously cute. The Christmas Client , Edward D. Hoch - Well constructed pastiche if a bit too convenient with the names of secondary characters. The Secret in the Pudding Bag & Herlock Sholmes’s Christmas Case , Peter Todd - Why would anyone write or read this ever? Christmas Eve , S. C. Roberts - Charming. Slightly kinder than the originals but very well done. The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle , Arthur Conan Doyle - Still love it. This was an interesting section, all stories that connected to both Christmas and Sherlock Holmes. "The Advent...

Crossposted from Mainlining Christmas This year, I am taking on The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries, a 674 page tome containing 59 individual stories about the Christmas season. Conveniently, it’s broken up into blog-post sized sections. This is section two. A Funny Little Christmas The Burglar and the Whatsit , Donald E. Westlake - Short and clever, got great style. Dancing Dan’s Christmas , Damon Runyon - Enjoyable. Nothing unexpected. A Visit from St. Nicholas , Ron Goulart - Cute style, decent use of irony. The Thieves Who Couldn’t Help Sneezing , Thomas Hardy - Solid tale, not really a mystery. Almost fairy tale style. Rumpole and the Spirit of Christmas , John Mortimer - Ugh. I guess youre supposed to enjoy the humor and ignore the horrid classism. A Reversible Santa Claus , Meredith Nicholson - Longest story so far, pretty enjoyable. These were mostly pretty fun, with a couple of exceptions. The Thomas Hardy piece was fine, I guess, but it was so different. It...

The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries editor: Otto Penzler, 2013 Crossposted from Mainlining Christmas This year, I am taking on The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries , a 674 page tome containing 59 individual stories about the Christmas season. Conveniently, it’s broken up into blog-post sized sections. Shall we begin? Section One: A Traditional Little Christmas I actually need to start with a general formatting note. I am not a huge fan of the way the biographies of the authors are presented. Each story is prefaced by a quick explanation of the standing or fame of the author, often including whatever work they are most famous for, and the source of the story. Honestly, I’d rather simply have the source of the story and save the plaudits for afterward or the footnotes. I started to skip or skim these pages after the third time that I felt disappointed by a bait-and-switch. For example, from the bio I see that such and such an author was famous for his comedies, but I discover...

Those Who Hunt the Night Barbara Hambly, 1988 Premise: James Asher is a professor. He knows a little bit about a lot of things and a lot about linguistics and anthropology. He is also a retired player of the Great Game. This is why, when Simon Ysidro demands his help, Asher’s first response is to notice his unique accent. His second is notice that Ysidro isn’t breathing. Ysidro needs Asher to help him find out who is killing the vampires of London. Asher just needs to not get killed. A little fun with vampires for Halloween. I feel like it would be a little unusual today to see a novel that deals so well with the potential ambiguity of vampires. Even if they once were human, and retain some human qualities, that just makes them, at best, as untrustworthy as humans. Even when he becomes engrossed in the problem for its own sake, Asher never forgets that Ysidro might turn on him, or stops thinking about options should he need to turn on them. These are dangerous predators....

The Fountains of Paradise Arthur C. Clarke, 1979 Hugo Winner - 1980 Premise: Vannevar Morgan has a vision. He is already the most acclaimed architect of his generation, but now he wants to help man climb to the stars in the first space elevator. The only thing in his way is the monastery sitting on top of the ideal building location. The Fountains of Paradise begins with a flashback to the ancient story of King Kalidasa (a fictionalized version of Kashyapa I http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kashyapa_I_of_Anuradhapura ) who terrorized his enemies and built a massive tribute to his own power, in sight of the proposed site of the elevator. The book, on a certain level, is all about men’s efforts to make a mark on history, to build something that will outlast them. I enjoyed this story quite a bit. Like Rendezvous With Rama , it does a nice job of balancing the intricacies of theory around the technology with the human stories of the people interacting with it. It’s not a book f...

Cold Fire (Spiritwalker, Book 2) Kate Elliot, 2011 Premise: Sequel to Cold Magic . Armed with some, but not enough, of the answers, Catherine tries to protect her cousin, disentangle herself from her arranged marriage, not get arrested, decide whether to help one of the factions of radicals, and figure out who or what her father is. It’s sort of a busy time. Let me start with the nitpicks. I don’t like how this book/series plays to the trope: ‘hot guy who is attracted to the main character conveniently secretly a good guy, despite initial evidence to the contrary.’ This was touched on in book one and expanded here. I’m willing to go with it, but… I like the magic plot and the politics plot so many times more than the romance plot here. I’m warming to Vai a little, but I need to spend like a few months sometime only reading books with NO romance to reset my internal calibrations. I hated how many times Cat was just floored by a twist. There are a lot of plot twists in this ...

Dreamsnake Vonda McIntyre, 1978 Hugo Winner - 1979 Premise: Snake is a healer traveling on her first year out of training. After a heartbreaking setback, she is determined to return to her people with something worthy of the trust placed in her. Looking at most covers of this book, you'd be forgiven for thinking it's a fantasy. The first few chapters don't do much to discourage the notion, either. The full picture of the setting and the lives of the people there is only slowly revealed. I liked Snake - her attitudes and assumptions felt right for someone caught between being highly trained and being still pretty young. I could have done with a bit less screen time for the guy crushing on her, but he was inoffensive and made a decent spearcarrier/exposition man. I do want to mention: part of the early set up for the plot gave me a real emotional punch in the gut. It's supposed to, so that you feel Snake's own anger and despair, but if you, like me, ha...

The Superior Spider-Man: Volume One: My Own Worst Enemy Dan Slott, Ryan Stegman, et. al., 2013 Premise: Otto Octavius has finally defeated Spider-Man. Defeated him, and become him. Now resident in Peter Parker's brain, with access to his memories, what will he make of Peter's quest to balance power and responsibility? Collects Superior Spider-Man #1-5 This is one of those cases where you just have to go with the insane set-up. Don’t worry, Peter doesn’t stay completely dead for even the entire first issue. The tension between the reader’s knowledge of Otto’s internal motivations and everyone else trying to make sense of his behavior is pretty fun, although not the real story. The real story is whether this Spider-Man’s different tactics and priorities will actually do a better job of protecting the city. It’s a classic ruthlessness-vs.-belief-in-redemption story that’s common to a lot of superhero tales, but it’s very well executed here. Oh, there’s also the side ...

Alias Hook Lisa Jensen, 2014 New Release! I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley for the purpose of review. Premise: The story of one James Hook, his rise, his fall, and his struggle with the reality and surreality of Neverland. If you read, I mean really read, Peter and Wendy as an adult, you discover a curious thing. On the one hand, it is the story of a delightful adventure in a land where children’s games rule. On the other hand, it is the story of the Darlings, left bereft and terrified by the disappearance of their children. It is the story of the pirates, men casually murdered by children with no moral sense and a great deal of power. It is about the tragedy as well as the joy of childhood, the utter carelessness and amorality of children. All that is to say that I enjoyed Alias Hook for the way the author is building on the original story. (I’ve seen a few reviewers already not take this into consideration and it bugs me. Yes, it’s inventive, but ...

Unwept (The Nightbirds, #1) Tracy Hickman and Laura Hickman, 2014 New Release! I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley for the purpose of review. Premise: Ellis wakes up on a train after a terrifying dream. She is sitting across from a woman with a baby, who tells her that she’s been sick, and she is going to stay with her cousin. She has no memory, only a sense that something is terribly wrong. This is one of those books where the discovery is half the joy. You, the reader, will figure out things faster than Ellis, who doesn’t have the ability to notice references and foreshadowing. I went back and forth while reading the book over which of a few possible reveals I thought it would be, and which I wanted. While I’m not 100% on board with the final reveal, I think the world could go interesting places from here. The setting, a tiny New England town, is perfectly creepy, and the build slow without losing tension. It helps that the book is rather short. ...

\ All-New X-Men Vol. 1: Yesterday's X-Men Brian Michael Bendis, Stuart Immonen, 2013 Premise: Henry McCoy, aka Beast, is struggling with his life, with his mutation, with recent events, with their place in history. He has a crazy idea. It involves time travel. It also involves the teenaged original X-men. Collects All-New X-Men #1-5 I had heard all sorts of good things about this title, and I'm happy to report that it lived up to my expectations. I should mention that while everything is explained, if you don’t already know what happened with Cyclops and the return of the Phoenix and A v X and Schism and the splitting of the X-men characters, this might not be the best jumping on point. This is one of those times, not all that rare in comics, when something awesome and intriguing comes out of something annoying. After A v X, parts of the X part of the Marvel Universe seemed too far gone, but give that wacky starting point to a solid writer with a good idea, and sud...

Earthly Delights (Corinna Chapman Mysteries, Book 1) Kerry Greenwood, 2007 Premise: Corinna left a life in the corporate world and the spouse who fit there to move into a building full of friendly eccentrics and open her own bakery. She has a routine, regular customers, and cats. Then an overdosing addict shows up on her doorstep, the women in her apartment building start receiving odd threats, and she meets a charming man who seems to be charmed by her. It’s all a bit much at once, but Corinna faces everything in life straight on. This is the modern-day series by the author of the Phryne Fisher books. And yes, I agree with all the folks who say that, at least in this volume, it isn’t nearly as good. The characters are fun, if often stereotypes of a sort. The setting is interesting, and the dialogue and narration is snappy. “I believe in absolutely nothing except yeast and the inevitability of politicians…” The beginning of this book was exactly what I needed when I o...

I’ve been thinking lately about how books get on my radar. I usually consider reading a book for one of three reasons: (Note, this is all regarding books by authors I’ve never tried before . Authors I follow, I already know whether I’m going to read their next one.) One: Proximity and Pretty Covers There have been times in my life, some not so long ago, in which the easiest way for an unknown book to end up on my list was for it to be available at my local library and have an interesting cover. That’s how I read Recursion and Illium and By the Mountain Bound when we lived in New York. It’s why I picked up books from the middle of these series before reading the first one: Lost Fleet , Mercy Thompson , Kris Longknife , probably others. It’s why I’ve read a great deal of odd/obscure stuff from the 90’s. The Winter of the World . King of Morning, Queen of Day . It’s probably how I started on Anne McCaffery and Mercedes Lackey. In the town where I grew up, I eventually read al...

One of several Mike Maihack prints on my wall! Cleopatra in Space: Volume One, Target Practice Mike Maihack, 2014 Premise: On her fifteenth birthday, Cleopatra skips out on her lessons to explore the city with a friend. She ends up finding more than she bargained for. In the far future, her appearance is prophesied, although no one will tell her what her role in the intergalactic war is supposed to be, and in the meantime, she still has to go to class. I’ve loved Mike Maihack’s art for some time now, and I enjoyed the early webcomic version of Cleopatra in Space, so I picked this up as soon as it hit store shelves. This is a charming volume. Cleo is fun, funny and sharp, there’s enough intriguing backstory to flesh out the concept but not so much to weigh down the story. The pace flies; I finished this book extremely quickly and then had to flip back through more slowly to enjoy the art. The art style is so effortless and stylized that it’s easy to miss all the little d...

Fortune's Pawn Rachel Bach, 2013 Premise: Devi Morris is a merc with a goal: get into the most elite unit on her home planet. To do so before anyone else her age, she plans to get some bonus points spending a year pulling security duty on a ship known for trouble. But with a crew full of secrets, and even more trouble than Devi's got plasma shots, she may not make it out at all. I'm going to come out on one point first. This book has a lot in common with a lot of current urban fantasy. First person female narrator, mysterious love interest, action, drama. However, this book is superior, because it's in SPACE! I had heard nothing but good things going into this book, and I can see why. Devi is awesome. Kick-ass, naturally, funny and clever. Stubborn and bad-tempered too, prone to shooting first and maybe asking questions if the other guy pulls through. (Her anger is something I really connect with.) She's not at the start of her career; she's a pro...

Sex Criminals: Volume One Matt Fraction, Chip Zdarsky, 2014 Electronic copy provided by NetGalley for review Premise: Susie and Jon have something unusual in common. When they orgasm, time stops. No, literally. Once they find each other, what else would they do with such a talent... Collects Sex Criminals #1-5 I had heard only good things about this title, so I jumped at the chance to read the trade. I did really enjoy it, but I think it starts much stronger than it ends. The story starts in medias res, then flashes back and forth to fill in all the background. Susie's origin story in the first issue was probably my favorite part. I'll agree with other commentators here, and say that for a book written by two guys, it does a fantastic job with a girl's sexual awakening. Susie's confusion, angst, loneliness and curiosity all felt very real and plausible. I have less context for the plausibility of Jon's story in issue two, but it's interesting a...

River of Stars Guy Gavriel Kay, 2014 Premise: Sequel to Under Heaven . It is a different time for Kitai. The balance between the court and the army is finally tilted to the court’s satisfaction, but what will that mean when Altai riders from the steppe pour over the border? Into this time are born a few people who may affect the course of history. Or they may not. It is not given for mortal men to know. It is hard to describe a book like this. I can describe the characters: subtle, passionate, vengeful, honorable, wise, foolish. I can describe the prose: meditative, textured, delicate. I can describe the themes: the place of men in history, the role of narrative in destiny, the secret small reasons behind the sweep of ages. But somehow, all of this together is more than the parts. Kay's style of historically-inspired fantasy isn't for everyone, but I usually find it satisfying. River of Stars is a book about an invasion and a war. It is also a book about extrao...

Cold Magic (Spiritwalker, Book 1) Kate Elliott, 2010 Premise: Catherine Barahal was brought up by her aunt and uncle after her parents’ death. She plans to go to school. She plans to help in the family business. She would never plan to get swept up in the politics of nations, revolution and magic, but once events are set in motion, she’ll do whatever she must to survive and discover the truth of her past. After I loved Jaran , I decided to pick up one of the author's more recent books. Despite being different in almost every other way, the books share a cross genre appeal and a compelling heroine. Cold magic is... fantasy steam punk adventure alternate history with a thread of romance. The magic is fascinating. The characters are complicated and varied. I was completely thrown by a sharp left turn in the plot, but was eager to discover where it was headed. I loved how historical figures were different, but recognizable. The story swings from the concerns of young girls...

Gateway Frederick Pohl, 1976 Hugo winner - 1978 Premise: Ever since humanity found ships left behind by the mysterious Heechee, people have been taking them out for the chance at a fortune, despite a much larger chance of death. Robbie Broadhead tries to be one of those prospectors, but he doesn't get what he expects. I have seriously mixed feelings about this book. The ending was actually pretty effective. Getting there, however, was somewhat of a slog. I found the first third or so incredibly slow. The story flips back and forth between Broadhead's experiences as a prospector and his sessions with an artificial therapist years later. It's supposed to be a mystery how he became rich and so screwed up, but the character is rather unlikable, and I wasn't able to muster much interest in his story. However, I do think that there is some really interesting writing in this regarding unreliable narration and self delusion. The ending, as I said, is emotional...

The Price of the Stars Debra Doyle and James D. MacDonald, 1992 Premise: Beka Rosselin-Metadi has no interest in being part of her famous family. She’s a brilliant spaceship pilot, and she’s happy working the trading lanes. But when her politician mother is assassinated, she’ll have to get interested in the politics of the galaxy. It’s the only way to stay alive, and bring her mother’s killers to justice. I wanted some solid space action, and I got it! This book started a little slow for me, but it picked up. For one thing, apparently I didn’t read the back closely enough and it threw me that it’s sci-fi with magic . Once it gets going, though, the authors handle both the spaceships and the magic well, ending up with something akin to a more hard-edged Star Wars-type world. I picked up this book for the cover. Look at the cover! Isn’t it awesome? Beka is great fun. Tough and prickly with only occasional sentimentality, she’s interested in getting the job done. She spends a g...