Books 48-52
Books 48-52: Jacqueline Carey: Kushiel's Chosen, 5 stars. Charlaine Harris: Dead Until Dark, 4 stars. Robert A. Heinlein: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, 5 stars. Charlaine Harris: Club Dead, 4 stars. Charlaine Harris: Dead to the World, 4 stars.
Book 48
Jacqueline Carey: Kushiel's Chosen, book two of the Kushiel trilogy. Carey's complex and detailed world remains believable, and her characters as intriguing as they were in Kushiel's Dart. I especially enjoyed that her heroine remains rather humanly flawed, especially her facination for a woman who she knows is a traitor. It's not often that a book catches me unawares on a plot twist, but I did not expect the character deaths that occurred and was quite emotionally stricken when it happened. That happens so rarely that I consider it a testimate to Carey's characterization skills and cannot wait to lay hands on the last book of the trilogy. 5 stars out of 5. Finish Date: 23 Aug 05.
Book 49
Charlaine Harris: Dead Until Dark, book one of the Southern Vampire series. A friend convinced me to try at least two more books of the series before I declared it unreadable, so I did. I'm glad I did, as it allowed me to release my discomfort at Sookie's ongoing obsession with describing her clothes and body and actually enjoy the rather different skew Harris is placing on typical "modern day vampire" stories that are hitting the market nowadays. Sookie is an interesting character, if a bit annoying in some aspects, but her life and town are utterly believable to someone who grew up just north of the area whose lifestyle is described in such vivid detail in this series. Besides, I like that the first vampire that shows up is named plain old "Bill" and not some fancy French name too common in vampire fiction. 4 stars out of 5. Finish Date: 26 Aug 05.
Book 50
Robert A. Heinlein: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. A rare Heinlein that I enjoyed immensely, I will buying a copy of this to join my long-beloved Stranger in a Strange Land. I can only admire the skill it takes to come up with a believable slang and "voice" for the narrating character and to stick with it evenly throughout the novel. While on the surface, the story seems to follow a rather boring formula (a professor, a pretty blonde, and a jack-of-all-trades join with a master computer for a revolution), Heinlein spins enough creativity into those basic premises to make for an enjoyable read. The moon colony's society is richly detailed and believable, and I could almost imagine such a thing happening in reality rather than fiction. 5 stars out of 5. Finish Date: 29 Aug 05.
Book 51
Charlaine Harris: Club Dead, book three of the Southern Vampire series. While I'm still giving it 4 stars because of the enjoyment I get from Harris' everyday style and her rather mundane heroine who regularly gets her butt kicked and makes mistakes, I am still a bit wary of the series due to Sookie's seeming irresistability to two-thirds of the non-human males she meets. Having been burned once by a series that started out good, then turned into soft-core porn, I'm wary, but I will keep reading them for now. I like Alcide as a character, but seriously, if Harris wants to muddle up Sookie's love life, why not just let the existing two-natured fellow (Sam) have a chance? 4 stars out of 5. Finish Date: 31 Aug 05.
Book 52
Charlaine Harris: Dead to the World, book four of the Southern Vampire series. I liked the premise of the book, that Sookie was taking care of an otherwise powerful vampire, and that Harris displays that in her world, vampires are not necessarily the top of the food chain of supernaturals. She allows a glimpse into the other supernatural societies (weres/shapeshifters, witches, fairies) without committing to complete details about each just yet. However, considering the part of the content of this book, my wariness radar of the series following LKH's is still on full alert. Does she really *have* to have so many men panting after her? A tentative 4 stars because I did enjoy the story and for some reason, I really like the characters of Eric and Jason better than half the rest of the cast. 4 stars out of 5. Finish Date: 3 Sep 05.
Currently Reading: Chelsea Quinn Yarbro: Tempting Fate, Robert A. Heinlein: The Door Into Summer.
2005 Reading List
Crossposted to 50bookchallenge, my journal, and readthealphabet.
Book 48
Jacqueline Carey: Kushiel's Chosen, book two of the Kushiel trilogy. Carey's complex and detailed world remains believable, and her characters as intriguing as they were in Kushiel's Dart. I especially enjoyed that her heroine remains rather humanly flawed, especially her facination for a woman who she knows is a traitor. It's not often that a book catches me unawares on a plot twist, but I did not expect the character deaths that occurred and was quite emotionally stricken when it happened. That happens so rarely that I consider it a testimate to Carey's characterization skills and cannot wait to lay hands on the last book of the trilogy. 5 stars out of 5. Finish Date: 23 Aug 05.
Book 49
Charlaine Harris: Dead Until Dark, book one of the Southern Vampire series. A friend convinced me to try at least two more books of the series before I declared it unreadable, so I did. I'm glad I did, as it allowed me to release my discomfort at Sookie's ongoing obsession with describing her clothes and body and actually enjoy the rather different skew Harris is placing on typical "modern day vampire" stories that are hitting the market nowadays. Sookie is an interesting character, if a bit annoying in some aspects, but her life and town are utterly believable to someone who grew up just north of the area whose lifestyle is described in such vivid detail in this series. Besides, I like that the first vampire that shows up is named plain old "Bill" and not some fancy French name too common in vampire fiction. 4 stars out of 5. Finish Date: 26 Aug 05.
Book 50
Robert A. Heinlein: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. A rare Heinlein that I enjoyed immensely, I will buying a copy of this to join my long-beloved Stranger in a Strange Land. I can only admire the skill it takes to come up with a believable slang and "voice" for the narrating character and to stick with it evenly throughout the novel. While on the surface, the story seems to follow a rather boring formula (a professor, a pretty blonde, and a jack-of-all-trades join with a master computer for a revolution), Heinlein spins enough creativity into those basic premises to make for an enjoyable read. The moon colony's society is richly detailed and believable, and I could almost imagine such a thing happening in reality rather than fiction. 5 stars out of 5. Finish Date: 29 Aug 05.
Book 51
Charlaine Harris: Club Dead, book three of the Southern Vampire series. While I'm still giving it 4 stars because of the enjoyment I get from Harris' everyday style and her rather mundane heroine who regularly gets her butt kicked and makes mistakes, I am still a bit wary of the series due to Sookie's seeming irresistability to two-thirds of the non-human males she meets. Having been burned once by a series that started out good, then turned into soft-core porn, I'm wary, but I will keep reading them for now. I like Alcide as a character, but seriously, if Harris wants to muddle up Sookie's love life, why not just let the existing two-natured fellow (Sam) have a chance? 4 stars out of 5. Finish Date: 31 Aug 05.
Book 52
Charlaine Harris: Dead to the World, book four of the Southern Vampire series. I liked the premise of the book, that Sookie was taking care of an otherwise powerful vampire, and that Harris displays that in her world, vampires are not necessarily the top of the food chain of supernaturals. She allows a glimpse into the other supernatural societies (weres/shapeshifters, witches, fairies) without committing to complete details about each just yet. However, considering the part of the content of this book, my wariness radar of the series following LKH's is still on full alert. Does she really *have* to have so many men panting after her? A tentative 4 stars because I did enjoy the story and for some reason, I really like the characters of Eric and Jason better than half the rest of the cast. 4 stars out of 5. Finish Date: 3 Sep 05.
Currently Reading: Chelsea Quinn Yarbro: Tempting Fate, Robert A. Heinlein: The Door Into Summer.
2005 Reading List
Crossposted to 50bookchallenge, my journal, and readthealphabet.