Book 34-35
Three Parts Dead by Max Gladstone
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I had a lot of fun with this one, mostly strong women, like Tara and her boss Elayne Kevarian. They are Craftswomen, magic users. This is the first job for Tara. they've been hired by the priests of the fire-god, Kos who has been killed. They are in town to bring him back to life before the magic that sustains the city fades. Helping them is a young priest, Abelard.
To make matters complicated, a local judge has been murdered and the blame tossed onto some handy gargoyles and they have Justice's blacksuits on their case. The blacksuits are a hive-minded police force with super powers.
The world is very diverse with many gods and tech levels. There have been god wars and there are vampire pirates and so many things to going on you almost need a score card. Tara and Elayne are extremely competent women and Abelard is young but promising. Tara's magic and how it's engraved into her skin is fascinating. She's also a woman of color though in this fantasy world it doesn't seem to be an issue.
I very much liked the mystery. It was smart and the writing engaging. It's imaginative and the world exciting. I know there are several more in this series. I'm looking forward to reading it.
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Ghost Stories of Nova Scotia by Vernon Oikle
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I got this while on vacation in Nova Scotia. I love true haunting stories. These days I prefer ones that are actually investigated. This collection isn't that. In fact in some ways it feels like it was done in two time periods. Many of the first stories felt like old-time sit around the camp fire stories and the second half of the book at least mentioned looking for historical back up to the stories. I really appreciated that attempt to see if there were the tragic events that were claimed by the story. I enjoyed the fact that I was at several places like the Keltic Lodge, Peggy's Cove and the fort. It's a fun book.
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