Books Read in May, 2020
As is my standard usage of my blog space at or near the beginning of the month, I present the listing of my May, 2020 reads.
*****
Books Read in May, 2020
Soleri by Michael Johnston
The Gutter Prayer by Gareth Hanrahan (r)
The Serpent of Venice by Christopher Moore
Noumenon Infinity by Marina J. Lostetter
Babylon 5 #1-11 (Comics) (r)
Babylon 5: In Valen's Name #1-3 (Comics) (r)
The Voodoo Killings by Kristi Charish
March, 2020 Locus
The Space Between the Stars by Anne Corlett
The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty
S.P.Q.R. XI: Under Vesuvius by John Maddox Roberts
May, 2020 Reader's Digest
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (r)
*****
And that was reading that I did in May of this year. This was a pretty decent month of book reading, both in terms of the quantity and the quality of the books read, though there were also a few re-reads in the book stack that I read. There was a good variety of reading in the month, but regardless, my bookcases are stacked with a pretty large To Read Queue (TRQ) still. The books I enjoyed the most were:
The Serpent of Venice by Christopher Moore - The second novel to feature Pocket, the Fool after his opening adventure in the novel Fool. Venice, a really long time ago: Three prominent Venetians await their most loathsome and foul dinner guest, the erstwhile envoy from Britain who also happens to be a favorite of the Doge: The rascal-Fool Pocket. This trio of cunning plotters have lured Pocket to a dark dungeon, promising a spirited evening. Their invitation is, of course, bogus. These scoundrels have something far less amusing planned for the man who has consistently foiled their quest for power and wealth. But this Fool is no fool... For this second novel featuring Pocket the Fool, author Christopher Moore has mashed together two Shakespeare plays, The Merchant of Venice>/b> and Othello (though there is passing reference to other Shakespearean works that I'll let the reader find), and creates a story that is all his own with both serious and humourous moments, but with an outcome unlike anything the Bard might have envisaged. There are some strange things in this book that are far from coincidental (notably the Serpent of the title), but... I don't want to spoil this book at all, so will just say that it's a fun read and well up to the author's best standard of writing. While the book can be read without having read Fool beforehand, as it stands alone, the previous book does give a better view of Pocket and some of the other characters who appeared in the first work. Don't take the book too seriously, just enjoy it as the brilliant pastiche and satire on Shakespearean works that it is. Highly recommended.
The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty - The first book in the Daevabad series. On the streets of eighteenth-century Cairo, Nahri is a con woman of unsurpassed skill. She makes her living swindling Ottoman nobles, hoping to one day earn enough to change her fortunes. But when Nahri accidentally summons Dara, an equally sly, darkly mysterious djinn warrior, during one of her cons, she learns that even the cleverest of schemes can have deadly consequences. Forced to flee Cairo, Dara and Nahri journey together across hot, windswept sands teeming with creatures of fire and rivers where the mythical marid sleep, past ruins of once-magnificent human metropolises and mountains where the circling birds of prey are more than what they seem, to Daevabad, the legendary city of brass.
It’s a city steeped in magic and fire, where blood can be as dangerous as any spell; a city where old resentments run deep and the royal court rules with a tenuous grip; a city to which Nahri is irrevocably bound - and where her very presence threatens to ignite a war that has been simmering for centuries. There's not a lot for me to say about this novel to be honest, as it's just brilliant! The book is an excellent work of speculative fiction that features an engaging story and set of characters. Set in the Middle East and focused on a female protagonist, this tale examines the "other" from a number of angles: what it's like to be an outsider when one is "home" or in one's own community. The story also touches on issues of gender, sexuality, and the politics and realities of people from various tribal and familial loyalties living together in a closed space. I highly recommend this book. It's well worth reading. For those unfamiliar with a lot of the terminology, there's a nice Glossary included.
S.P.Q.R. XI: Under Vesuvius by John Maddox Roberts - The eleventh book in the Roman series. Things are going well for Decius Caecilius Metellus. He is Praetor Peregrinus. His cases will be those dealing with foreigners, and all of Italy is his province. His first stop is Campania, Italy's most popular resort district. Decius and his wife, Julia, are happy for a change of scenery, but the good times end when, in a town near Vesuvius, a priest's daughter is murdered. Decius must find her killer and keep the mob off a young boy whom everyone blames, but who he believes to be innocent. Decius may have acquired more prestige, but he's also acquired more trouble.
This is another fine book in a solid, highly entertaining, and informative Roman period mystery series. The protagnist, Decius, is at the height of his power, right before Julius Caesar takes over. His job is to oversee areas outside Rome in the Italian peninsula, particularly acting as a magistrate. Naturally, everywhere he goes is plagued with particularly challenging troubles. While this mystery isn't one of the more cryptic ones in the series, the author does a nice job of peeling back the decadence and corruption under Rome's fairly civilized exterior. There are plenty of interesting bits of culture and history revealed, as this time Decius is in Baiae (now mostly underwater) and Vesuvius is rumbling quite a bit hinting at future disaster. There are minor quibbles with historical terms (courtyard is used a couple times; the proper term is "atrium") but they don't detract from the overall entertainment. The interplay between Decius and his wife, Julia, is a delight to read, and several of the other characters in the story are also quite decently written. I recommend this book.
Overall, I managed to read 9 novels, 0 RPG and RPG products, 2 magazines, 14 comics, and 0 graphic novels in May. This brings the year total for 2020 to a set of numbers that look like this: 39 books, 10 RPGs and RPG products, 8 magazines, 29 comics, and 1 graphic novel.
Anyway, thoughts and comments are always welcome. :)
*****
Books Read in May, 2020
Soleri by Michael Johnston
The Gutter Prayer by Gareth Hanrahan (r)
The Serpent of Venice by Christopher Moore
Noumenon Infinity by Marina J. Lostetter
Babylon 5 #1-11 (Comics) (r)
Babylon 5: In Valen's Name #1-3 (Comics) (r)
The Voodoo Killings by Kristi Charish
March, 2020 Locus
The Space Between the Stars by Anne Corlett
The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty
S.P.Q.R. XI: Under Vesuvius by John Maddox Roberts
May, 2020 Reader's Digest
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (r)
*****
And that was reading that I did in May of this year. This was a pretty decent month of book reading, both in terms of the quantity and the quality of the books read, though there were also a few re-reads in the book stack that I read. There was a good variety of reading in the month, but regardless, my bookcases are stacked with a pretty large To Read Queue (TRQ) still. The books I enjoyed the most were:
The Serpent of Venice by Christopher Moore - The second novel to feature Pocket, the Fool after his opening adventure in the novel Fool. Venice, a really long time ago: Three prominent Venetians await their most loathsome and foul dinner guest, the erstwhile envoy from Britain who also happens to be a favorite of the Doge: The rascal-Fool Pocket. This trio of cunning plotters have lured Pocket to a dark dungeon, promising a spirited evening. Their invitation is, of course, bogus. These scoundrels have something far less amusing planned for the man who has consistently foiled their quest for power and wealth. But this Fool is no fool... For this second novel featuring Pocket the Fool, author Christopher Moore has mashed together two Shakespeare plays, The Merchant of Venice>/b> and Othello (though there is passing reference to other Shakespearean works that I'll let the reader find), and creates a story that is all his own with both serious and humourous moments, but with an outcome unlike anything the Bard might have envisaged. There are some strange things in this book that are far from coincidental (notably the Serpent of the title), but... I don't want to spoil this book at all, so will just say that it's a fun read and well up to the author's best standard of writing. While the book can be read without having read Fool beforehand, as it stands alone, the previous book does give a better view of Pocket and some of the other characters who appeared in the first work. Don't take the book too seriously, just enjoy it as the brilliant pastiche and satire on Shakespearean works that it is. Highly recommended.
The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty - The first book in the Daevabad series. On the streets of eighteenth-century Cairo, Nahri is a con woman of unsurpassed skill. She makes her living swindling Ottoman nobles, hoping to one day earn enough to change her fortunes. But when Nahri accidentally summons Dara, an equally sly, darkly mysterious djinn warrior, during one of her cons, she learns that even the cleverest of schemes can have deadly consequences. Forced to flee Cairo, Dara and Nahri journey together across hot, windswept sands teeming with creatures of fire and rivers where the mythical marid sleep, past ruins of once-magnificent human metropolises and mountains where the circling birds of prey are more than what they seem, to Daevabad, the legendary city of brass.
It’s a city steeped in magic and fire, where blood can be as dangerous as any spell; a city where old resentments run deep and the royal court rules with a tenuous grip; a city to which Nahri is irrevocably bound - and where her very presence threatens to ignite a war that has been simmering for centuries. There's not a lot for me to say about this novel to be honest, as it's just brilliant! The book is an excellent work of speculative fiction that features an engaging story and set of characters. Set in the Middle East and focused on a female protagonist, this tale examines the "other" from a number of angles: what it's like to be an outsider when one is "home" or in one's own community. The story also touches on issues of gender, sexuality, and the politics and realities of people from various tribal and familial loyalties living together in a closed space. I highly recommend this book. It's well worth reading. For those unfamiliar with a lot of the terminology, there's a nice Glossary included.
S.P.Q.R. XI: Under Vesuvius by John Maddox Roberts - The eleventh book in the Roman series. Things are going well for Decius Caecilius Metellus. He is Praetor Peregrinus. His cases will be those dealing with foreigners, and all of Italy is his province. His first stop is Campania, Italy's most popular resort district. Decius and his wife, Julia, are happy for a change of scenery, but the good times end when, in a town near Vesuvius, a priest's daughter is murdered. Decius must find her killer and keep the mob off a young boy whom everyone blames, but who he believes to be innocent. Decius may have acquired more prestige, but he's also acquired more trouble.
This is another fine book in a solid, highly entertaining, and informative Roman period mystery series. The protagnist, Decius, is at the height of his power, right before Julius Caesar takes over. His job is to oversee areas outside Rome in the Italian peninsula, particularly acting as a magistrate. Naturally, everywhere he goes is plagued with particularly challenging troubles. While this mystery isn't one of the more cryptic ones in the series, the author does a nice job of peeling back the decadence and corruption under Rome's fairly civilized exterior. There are plenty of interesting bits of culture and history revealed, as this time Decius is in Baiae (now mostly underwater) and Vesuvius is rumbling quite a bit hinting at future disaster. There are minor quibbles with historical terms (courtyard is used a couple times; the proper term is "atrium") but they don't detract from the overall entertainment. The interplay between Decius and his wife, Julia, is a delight to read, and several of the other characters in the story are also quite decently written. I recommend this book.
Overall, I managed to read 9 novels, 0 RPG and RPG products, 2 magazines, 14 comics, and 0 graphic novels in May. This brings the year total for 2020 to a set of numbers that look like this: 39 books, 10 RPGs and RPG products, 8 magazines, 29 comics, and 1 graphic novel.
Anyway, thoughts and comments are always welcome. :)