Recently Read - February, 2006

Recently Read - February, 2006

It's been a busy month with reading taking last place. I read these
first two courtesy of a trans-Atlantic business trip. Fourteen hours
of uninterrupted boredom encourages reading. So does the giddy
nightlife of the West Country. Stonehenge Rocks! ... not.

Larke, Glenda, "The Aware" & "Gilfeather" ***
These are the first two volumes in an apparent trilogy previously
published in Australia in 2003. On the one hand, this is EFP. On the
other hand, it's well done EFP. On the gripping hand, Larke writes
almost as well as Robin McKinley on a so-so day. (That is _not_
damning with faint praise. _No one_ writes fantasy as well as McKinley
on a slightly above average day. Larke is a 5 on the McKinley
Fantasy-Writer Scale.)

The stock EFP staging is cleverly concealed by well-painted flats, and
the central casting elves and evil sorcerers are called something else
(glemphs, dunmagickers). There's a real plot, interesting
non-adolescent characters, and considerable ambiguity about just how
Good vs. Evil breaks out. It might just be Artlessly Obvious Evil vs.
Subtle Perversion of Good. They might even be one and the same.

If nothing else, the cover art of Blaze Halfbreed holding a big-ass
motherfucker of a sword gets it one star alone. A woman with a history
is _so_ much more interesting.

Robb, J.D., "Origin in Death" ***
Lt. Eve Dallas is after a cool character this time. She killed a
well-loved, saintly, plastic surgeon, in his own office, in a secure
building. What's more the woman did the good doctor with a scalpel
right through the heart with a single thrust.

Eve tracks the woman and probes the past of the to-good-to-be-true
victim, finding layer upon layers of intrigue and secrets. Above
average sf for Robb, although the mystery is sacrificed a bit for some
character development.
___________________

Non-sf

Douglas, C.N., "Good Night, Mr. Holmes" ***
The Holmes canon is almost sf. This is 'A Different Scandal in
Bohemia'. From adventuress & diva Irene Adler's viewpoint (as told by
her loyal chronicler, Nell) the scandal was the King of Bohemia's
dishonorable behavior. Nell tells the tale up to and past A.C. Doyle's
distorted, biased, and chauvinistic story of the King's embarrassed
attempt to cover his ass. A good read, and a good start to Douglas's
multi-volume Irene Adler series. I'll have to look up the others.
______________________________

My stars:
***** A classic, read it now
**** A very good book, you might even buy it in hardback
*** A good book, but maybe not in hardback
** A readable book, wait for it used, or in cheap paperback, or the
library
* A book with at least one redeeming feature (even if it's nice cover
art)
none =agkh pppht= (I probably didn't finish it, and I want my time and
money back, and the only reason I'm reviewing it is to dis the author,
editor, publisher, printer, distributor, vendor, and the clerk behind
the counter who sold it to me.)

Usual Disclaimer: YMMV, check Amazon, etc's reviews before you buy.

Happy Reading,
Jack Tingle

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