Books: end-of-year cleanup
* A Witch In Time by Madeline Alt
I don't remember why I grabbed this book-- it might have been a "I'm on vacation and didn't bring enough books with me" purchase, though I don't think I've had any of those since I got the Kindle. I do know that I read it on a plane, so it's still possible that I grabbed it because I had no other choices with me. Once again, I've picked up a book that's in the middle of a series I haven't read any other books in, so once again I spent an entire book feeling like I was missing something. The story is alright, but some of the attempts at adding suspense are a little heavy-handed. Also, I can't shake the feeling that the super-hot boyfriend who is far too perfect will end up being a traitor at some point in a future book. Even with that feeling that there's a multi-book arc, though... I don't feel inclined to track down other books in the series.
* Eater of Souls by Lynda S. Robinson
Possibly the best in the series (disclaimer: I'm reading these wildly out of order, and have not read the second book in the series yet), but a little disconcerting, because a goodly portion of the book is shown from the killer's point of view... and the killer is an Egyptian god, one who in mythology doesn't actually kill. (Spoiler: the killer is mentally unstable and fully believes themselves to be the god in question.) It's well enough written that partway through the book, the idea that the killer's POV might not be a god but instead a very broken human starts to wiggle into your head, and it still remains interesting rather than "seriously, you're really going to go there?"
* Pale Demon by Kim Harrison
I've known for a few books now that this series is "about" morality. This book makes it crystal clear that Harrison intended it that way from the start. I *love* things like that, especially when they're done subtly (and if you read the series from the beginning, you are generally supportive of Rachel's "evil" choices, which are always done with good intent). I know that A has stopped reading the series because she feels they are too dark and Rachel can't ever catch a break, but the last couple of books have shown a tendency towards "and *that's* what she had to go through to get to this point, and *this* is what she's going to have to go through to get to a better place" and have gotten considerably lighter without actually changing in tone. Also? Rachel caught a rather surprising break at the end, one I didn't see coming.
* John Dies at the End by David Wong
This is billed as a horror, and I had some qualms about getting it because I don't like horror. But I absolutely love David Wong, so I got it anyway, and I'm very glad that I did. There are elements of horror to it, but Wong makes it pretty clear that the true horror he intended is the psychological aspects, and the gory bits are cheesy enough to not be troublesome. I don't mind psychological horror as much, and Wong's sense of humor keeps it from being a downer.
* You Might Be A Zombie and Other Bad News by Cracked.com Editors
This is basically "cracked.com in a book." There are 40 Cracked-style lists ("X reason why Y"), of which 22 or so are on the website, and the remaining 18 were written specifically for the book. To be honest, I couldn't tell you which were which, because when I estimated the new-vs-old ratio, I thought it was more like 5:35. (Disclaimer: I actually read this book about 8 months ago, and just forgot to post about it, so my memory may not be 100% accurate.) The book is just as fun as the website, and even with the feeling that I've read all of those articles before, I'm still happy to purchase the book as a way of supporting a site that routinely entertains me.
I don't remember why I grabbed this book-- it might have been a "I'm on vacation and didn't bring enough books with me" purchase, though I don't think I've had any of those since I got the Kindle. I do know that I read it on a plane, so it's still possible that I grabbed it because I had no other choices with me. Once again, I've picked up a book that's in the middle of a series I haven't read any other books in, so once again I spent an entire book feeling like I was missing something. The story is alright, but some of the attempts at adding suspense are a little heavy-handed. Also, I can't shake the feeling that the super-hot boyfriend who is far too perfect will end up being a traitor at some point in a future book. Even with that feeling that there's a multi-book arc, though... I don't feel inclined to track down other books in the series.
* Eater of Souls by Lynda S. Robinson
Possibly the best in the series (disclaimer: I'm reading these wildly out of order, and have not read the second book in the series yet), but a little disconcerting, because a goodly portion of the book is shown from the killer's point of view... and the killer is an Egyptian god, one who in mythology doesn't actually kill. (Spoiler: the killer is mentally unstable and fully believes themselves to be the god in question.) It's well enough written that partway through the book, the idea that the killer's POV might not be a god but instead a very broken human starts to wiggle into your head, and it still remains interesting rather than "seriously, you're really going to go there?"
* Pale Demon by Kim Harrison
I've known for a few books now that this series is "about" morality. This book makes it crystal clear that Harrison intended it that way from the start. I *love* things like that, especially when they're done subtly (and if you read the series from the beginning, you are generally supportive of Rachel's "evil" choices, which are always done with good intent). I know that A has stopped reading the series because she feels they are too dark and Rachel can't ever catch a break, but the last couple of books have shown a tendency towards "and *that's* what she had to go through to get to this point, and *this* is what she's going to have to go through to get to a better place" and have gotten considerably lighter without actually changing in tone. Also? Rachel caught a rather surprising break at the end, one I didn't see coming.
* John Dies at the End by David Wong
This is billed as a horror, and I had some qualms about getting it because I don't like horror. But I absolutely love David Wong, so I got it anyway, and I'm very glad that I did. There are elements of horror to it, but Wong makes it pretty clear that the true horror he intended is the psychological aspects, and the gory bits are cheesy enough to not be troublesome. I don't mind psychological horror as much, and Wong's sense of humor keeps it from being a downer.
* You Might Be A Zombie and Other Bad News by Cracked.com Editors
This is basically "cracked.com in a book." There are 40 Cracked-style lists ("X reason why Y"), of which 22 or so are on the website, and the remaining 18 were written specifically for the book. To be honest, I couldn't tell you which were which, because when I estimated the new-vs-old ratio, I thought it was more like 5:35. (Disclaimer: I actually read this book about 8 months ago, and just forgot to post about it, so my memory may not be 100% accurate.) The book is just as fun as the website, and even with the feeling that I've read all of those articles before, I'm still happy to purchase the book as a way of supporting a site that routinely entertains me.