Books: Egyptian Mysteries, The Mermaid's Madness
The downside of not posting about books RIGHT AWAY is that I can never remember what books I've read by the time I sit down to write about them.
* Murder at the God's Gate by Lynda S. Robinson
You know how I keep saying that I read this series out of order but it's never really had a negative effect?
This time, it had a negative effect. This is book #2 in the series, and it sets up a series-wide arc. That means that the events in the book are important, and referred back to. Which means as soon as the mystery started to unfold, I knew the ending.
While I'm certain that I would have enjoyed it more had I read it in the proper order, the book was still vivid and engaging, and well worth the read. I was surprised at how many little clues Robinson set up in the early books, because a number of times I read a nearly-throwaway bit in this story and said "Oh, that's why [thing that happened several books later]."
* Slayer of Gods by Lynda S. Robinson
The last book in the Lord Meren series, and finally, one I read in the correct order. And thank goodness for that, because Robinson wraps up everything with a definite finality. The ending was a peculiar mix of satisfying and unsatisfying-- satisfying, because it made sense and answered all the nagging questions, yet unsatisfying because the Ultimate Perpetrator(tm) was beyond the reach of justice, so there was no grand climax in which the Bad Guy(tm) is hauled in to face his or her crimes. There were some times in which I said "Oh, of course, such-and-such-a-thing will happen" and it did, but I was wrong in my guesses at the tropes at least as often as I was right, and that kept me interested.
I definitely recommend this series (though I suggest reading them in the right order, or at least #1 and #2 first, and #6 last).
* The Mermaid's Madness by Jim C. Hines
You may recall that I did not care for the first book in this series. I gave this second book a try because I like the basic concept and I like Hines, and I'm pleased to say that it's much, much better. For starters, it only tries to fit one story into the book, instead of trying to cram several in like the first book did.
Hines still has some pacing problems, revealing things in this book that maybe should have been just hinted at and revealed in a later book. But that only knocks it down to three and a half stars, rather than nearly ruining the book like some other authors with pacing problems.
* Murder at the God's Gate by Lynda S. Robinson
You know how I keep saying that I read this series out of order but it's never really had a negative effect?
This time, it had a negative effect. This is book #2 in the series, and it sets up a series-wide arc. That means that the events in the book are important, and referred back to. Which means as soon as the mystery started to unfold, I knew the ending.
While I'm certain that I would have enjoyed it more had I read it in the proper order, the book was still vivid and engaging, and well worth the read. I was surprised at how many little clues Robinson set up in the early books, because a number of times I read a nearly-throwaway bit in this story and said "Oh, that's why [thing that happened several books later]."
* Slayer of Gods by Lynda S. Robinson
The last book in the Lord Meren series, and finally, one I read in the correct order. And thank goodness for that, because Robinson wraps up everything with a definite finality. The ending was a peculiar mix of satisfying and unsatisfying-- satisfying, because it made sense and answered all the nagging questions, yet unsatisfying because the Ultimate Perpetrator(tm) was beyond the reach of justice, so there was no grand climax in which the Bad Guy(tm) is hauled in to face his or her crimes. There were some times in which I said "Oh, of course, such-and-such-a-thing will happen" and it did, but I was wrong in my guesses at the tropes at least as often as I was right, and that kept me interested.
I definitely recommend this series (though I suggest reading them in the right order, or at least #1 and #2 first, and #6 last).
* The Mermaid's Madness by Jim C. Hines
You may recall that I did not care for the first book in this series. I gave this second book a try because I like the basic concept and I like Hines, and I'm pleased to say that it's much, much better. For starters, it only tries to fit one story into the book, instead of trying to cram several in like the first book did.
Hines still has some pacing problems, revealing things in this book that maybe should have been just hinted at and revealed in a later book. But that only knocks it down to three and a half stars, rather than nearly ruining the book like some other authors with pacing problems.