Books 47-52
Book 47 - Laurell K. Hamilton, The Harlequin, Book 15 of the Anita Blake series. Paranormal fantasy. 4 stars.
At last, a return to a bit more plot than porn in the Anita Blake series, with more of the harem as actual people instead of yet another boy-toy for Anita. This one had strong overtones of the early books, with an actual mystery to be solved. I do notice that there are no strong female characters allowed, and if one turns up, they are highly likely to turn into either a villain or a mega-bitch that Anita has to slap down in some way. It's a bit sad, considering the main character is female. But definately readable and any book with Edward featured highly is always a treat.
Book 48 - Charlaine Harris, All Together Dead, Book 7 of the Southern Vampire series. Paranormal fantasy. 4 stars.
Reality finally sets in for Sookie, brought home a lot more strongly than even in previous novels, that vampires are not just people with fangs. She gets up to her neck in vampire politics, using her talent for the embattled Queen of Louisiana, and there's a strong mystery undercurrent that reveals itself as a nice culmination of the plots. Also good was Sookie's realization that not just vampires would want to take advantage of her telepathic talent - a good dose of reality for a character who is often a bit of a ditz.
Book 49 - Allen M. Steele, Coyote, Book 1 of the Coyote series. Sci-fi (colonization). 4.5 stars.
Originally written as a series of short stories for Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, the book does have a bit of a jarring lack of continuity because of its original format. Set in a future where America's gone down the extremist right-wing toilet and speaking out against the government gets you put in internment camps, I think the author did a good job of creating believable characters who would get desperate enough to engineer a plot to steal a starship and escape to their own colony. Unfortunately, the short story origin rears its ugly head in having too many POVs for true enjoyment, but definately a good read.
Book 50 - L.A. Banks, Minion, Book 1 of the Vampire Huntress Legend series. Paranormal fantasy. 4 stars.
Although several series have started out with vampire bad guys and a heroine standing against them, this one has a strong feel that it will stay along those lines: vampires bad, heroine good. Vampires can shapeshift, but their natural form is rather demonic in general, and demons rear their ugly heads as well. Damali and her Guardians use their music career as a cover to hunt vampires, giving some interesting twists to how musical instruments can become weapons. And at last, a vampire novel heroine with some ethnicity to her, instead of the ethnic characters being regulated as supporting cast.
Book 51 - Octavia E. Butler, Lilith's Brood, omnibus edition for the Xenogenesis series Dawn, Adulthood Rites, and Imago. Sci-fi post-apocalypse. 5 stars.
This series covers an Earth destroyed by mankind but salvaged by the Oankali, a space travelling species who specialize in genetic engineering. Dawn features the story of Lilith, one of the few humans saved by the Oankali, and her slow and reluctant conversion to their goals. Lilith's an interesting character, who never quite relinquishes her strong individuality despite her deep attachment to her Oankali mates. Adulthood Rites changes POV to Lilith's son Akim, who is a cross-breed of human-Oankali genetics, having 5 parents (two human, two Oankali, and the fifth a sexless Oankali ooloi). Kidnapped by resister humans as an toddler, his strange alien abilities make for a charming little character, if a bit scary to have a toddler chatting like an adult and with an adult's thought processes. His experiences among humans bring him to a creative solution to the resister problem. POV changes again in Imago, Jodahs, another of Lilith's children, reaches adolescence and morphs into a sexless ooloi, finally giving a lot more detail on how the third Oankali gender is different - and necessary - to its species. The plotpoint of how human resistance is hurting the human-Oankali mixed breeds was intriguing, as was the solution that ended the series.
Book 52 - Keri Arthur - Kissing Sin, book 2 of the Riley Jensen series. Paranormal fantasy. 3.5 stars.
Once again, Riley the dhampire (vampire-werewolf cross-breed) is pursued by the criminal syndicate that is trying to create cross-breed weapons of the various supernatural species. Arthur avoids the harem-syndrome by simply having Riley enjoy the favors of several men without any strong committment to any of them. It'll be interesting to see how Riley's character changes as she gives into the inevitable and becomes a Guardian (assassin) for the Directorate to seek out those who keep kidnapping her for their research.
Currently Reading: Woken Furies by Richard K. Morgan (book 3 of the Tarkeshi Kovacs series).