Books Read in October, 2024
The start of a new month. Thus, as is my standard usage of my blog space at or near the beginning of the month, I present the listing of my October, 2024 reads.
*****
Books Read in October, 2024
Excession by Iain M. Banks
June, 2024 Locus
The Detail (RPG) (Scenario)
The New God of Finance (RPG) (Scenario)
The Boy Band Bandits (RPG) (Scenario)
Frozen Orbit by Patrick Chiles
Lost River (RPG) (Scenario)
The Ghost of Christmas Presents (RPG) (Scenario)
Doctor Who: The Rescue by Ian Marter
Doctor Who: The Romans by Donald Cotton
The Gutter Prayer by Gareth Hanrahan (r)
Doctor Who and the Zarbi by Bill Strutton
July, 2024 Locus
Rivers of London: The Font of All Evil by Paul Baldowski and Lynne Hardy (RPG) (Scenario)
The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst (r)
The Reluctant Queen by Sarah Beth Durst
*****
And that was my reading for October, 2024. This was a pretty decent month of reading for me, a little above average for what I usually read book-wise in a month, and definitely was above average in terms of the quality of the books read this month. I read a pretty decent amount of books and rpg-related material this month, considering I was still suffering from the effects of the most recent concussion I've had as well as allergies due to an unseasonably warm month. This month held a few re-reads and some fan created Rivers of London: The Roleplaying Game case files, in addition to newer material. As I've always maintained in these monthly book reading reports, it's all about the quality of the books, not the quantity, and this was true of October's reads in spades. Regardless, my bookcases are still stacked with a pretty large To Read Queue (TRQ). The books I enjoyed the most were:
Frozen Orbit by Patrick Chiles
A FROZEN ANSWER AT THE EDGE OF PLANETARY SPACE
Set to embark on NASA's first expedition to the outer planets, the crew of the spacecraft Magellan learns someone else has beaten them by a few decades: a top-secret Soviet project codenamed Arkangel. Now, during their long race to the Kuiper Belt, astronauts Jack Templeton and Traci Keene must unwind a decades-old mystery buried in the pages of a dead cosmonaut's journal. The solution will challenge their beliefs about the nature of humanity, and will force the astronauts to confront the question of existence itself. And the final answer lies at the edge of the Solar System, waiting to change everything.
The first (?) book in the Eccentric Orbits series. I've never read any books by author Patrick Chiles before, but have to say that my impression of this novel is pretty good. The story centres around two ships that fly out to Pluto: a Soviet vessel built in secret in the 1990s and an American one constructed in the near future. The narrative follows their journeys roughly in parallel even though they took place decades apart, one through the Soviet captain's logs and the other, more conventionally, through the actions of the American astronauts. The story told in this novel is ambitious, casting threads back in history to the end of the Cold War, with a top secret Soviet space project as bonkers as it seems weirdly plausible (see below), making it a fantastic hook for the story. The protagonists are the four crewmembers on the spacecraft Magellan, finely crafted and believable, down to their intelligent and meandering debates on (and with) AI, and regarding the meaning of life. While the four astronauts on Magellan are the focus of the novel, there are also chapters and sections that take place back on Earth at Mission Control (among other places) that shed light on the origins of the mission and some of the political and social climate on Earth. The technical aspects are nicely lacking in logic holes, a must for a novel of this kind. One regret that I have is that some plot elements, such as the expanded use of the hydroponic garden, went from seemingly very important to unresolved later in the book. This left the reader with some disjointedness, though to be clear the overall story was paced very well, with an unexpected but logical ending. One thing that becomes obvious while reading this book is that author Chiles has absolutely done his homework. This novel is a hard science fiction book, and it's clear to me that Chiles has mathematically plotted out the entire book just as assuredly as he narratively plotted it out. Every orbital path, burn period, docking manoeuver, landing, and so on comes with a somewhat meaty and satisfying sense of realism. There isn't a gram of handwaveium to be found in the entire book! That said, if hard science fiction is not to the taste of the potential reader, this book will seem somewhat tedious and perhaps boring. In terms of the two ships, Magellan and Arkangel, the author obviously spent a lot of time designing both. At no point does the technical detail become burdensome to the reader (unless you're bored or not interested in stuff like that). Instead, there's just enough to ground the story with the right amount of realism and immersion without going overboard. The Soviet vessel is particularly interesting, since it utilizes an Orion drive; for those unfamiliar with the concept, it involves dumping nuclear warheads out the back of the ship, detonating them one at a time, and letting the blasts push the ship forward! To paraphrase the author, only the Russians would try something that crazy! If I have any criticism of the story, it's that some of the secondary plot threads weren't as interesting as the main mystery. There are a few asides that dig into topics like religion and the nature of intelligence, and when those came up, I found myself yearning to get back to the main mystery of what the Soviets found on Pluto. Heck, the Magellan doesn't even reach Pluto until two-thirds of the way through the novel! Still, this is a relatively minor complaint, and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the book. And I can't wait to read the sequel to this story. If the potential reader like their science fiction hard, well-researched and well-written, then I think that they'll enjoy Frozen Orbit. That said, I very much recommend this book, with the provisos noted above about various aspects of the book.
Doctor Who: The Rescue by Ian Marter
Having left Susan on Earth, the Doctor, Ian and Barbara land the TARDIS on the planet Dido in the year 2493. From his one previous visit, the Doctor remembers the inhabitants of the planet Dido as a gentle, peace-loving people. But when he returns, things have changed dramatically. It seems that the Didoi have brutally massacred the crew of the crashed spaceliner Astra Nine. Even now they are threatening the lives of the sole survivors, Bennett and the orphan girl Vicki. Why have the Didoi apparently turned against their peaceful natures? Can Bennett and Vicki survive until the rescue ship from Earth arrives? And who is the mysterious Koquillion?
This book is the novelisation of The Rescue, the third serial of the Second Season of Doctor Who and the eleventh serial overall, featuring the First Doctor, as portrayed by William Hartnell, and his original companions Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton - and introducing the first new companion ever, Vicki. This novelisation is penned by Ian Marter, based on the television serial (teleplay) by David Whitaker. The Rescue is the serial of Doctor Who that was a two-part story that served to introduce the first new companion to join the show since its beginning, Vicki - one of two survivors of a spaceship crash on the apparently hostile planet, Dido. This has always been a serial that could have benefited from a good deal of filling out the back story: the Doctor's past relations with the natives of Dido; the story of what had actually happened to the human settlers, among other thing. While the serial introduces new companion Vicki, there's also the interesting mystery on the planet itself for the Doctor to solve - but very little of the Doctor's reaching the solution to the mystery comes across. Ian Marter has the freedom to expand on the setting and to answer some of the questions raised in the serial when it comes to the novelisation, and he does an excellent job of it, also adding a real sense of menace to the planet Dido and the locations that the Doctor, Ian and Barbara encounter and visit. Author Marter's style tends to make the novelisations of the stories darker and grittier than their televised counterparts, and Doctor Who: The Rescue is no exception to this. However, this works for the novelisation, turning the story into a much more scary, more exciting tale than it actually was on television. Author Marter gives the reader several additional sequences which expand on the televised episodes. The new material helps the pacing and flow of the story, most of it connecting scenes, but also expanding the role of the natives of the planet Dido and gives us a view of the subterranean city of Dido. There are also some scenes on board the rescue ship Seeker, with the crew discussing the rescue of the Astra Nine crew. These additions make for an improved version of the story. Furthermore, the twenty-something Maureen O'Brien could never really pass as the young teenager that Vicki was meant to be; Marter is not restricted by the actor's appearance. The monsters of the planet were among the least compelling aspects of the original TV serial, and again, author Marter can just make them up and does indeed bring in at least one more. The reader gets loads more banter between the Doctor and Ian, with Marter for once putting comic dialogue in rather than taking it out. And the entire story is topped and tailed by the rescue ship which is supposed to be coming for Vicki and her fellow survivor, so that one feels that this planet is one that fits into a wider history. Because the novelisation takes a two-episode serial and fits it into 139 pages, there are some sequences that go on for a little too long, and the story actually feels concluded long before the final page. Sadly, this is the last Doctor Who novelisation that Ian Marter wrote, as he died shortly after writing the first draft of this novel. The novel was completed by novelisation series editor Nigel Robinson, as I recall, but I could be mistaken in this. Overall, Doctor Who: The Rescue is a wonderful novel and an excellent novelisation of a serial that served to introduce a new companion, but is so much more than that in book form. The tv serial itself wasn't as exciting as the novelisation is, but it also fleshes out some of the characters a bit more than could be done on television and offers some good insights into the various characters, while allowing Vicki's personality to come out a bit more than it did in the serial. The story marked the turning point of the television series, introducing the first new companion to the First Doctor's run, and Ian Marter's novelisation is a book well worth reading, even with the dark turn things take at the end. I highly recommend this novelisation of The Rescue.
Doctor Who: The Romans by Donald Cotton
The TARDIS crew members have taken a break from their adventures and are enjoying a well-deserved rest in a luxury villa on the outskirts of Imperial Rome. But in the gory grandeur that is Rome, things don't stay quiet for long. If the time travellers can save themselves from being sold as slaves, assassinated by classical hit-men, poisoned by the evil Locusta, thrown to the lions, maimed in the arena and drowned in a shipwreck, they still have to face the diabolical might of the mad Emperor Nero. As if that isn't enough, they also discover that, although Rome wasn't built in a day, it was burnt down in considerably less time...
This book is the novelisation of The Romans, the fourth serial of the Second Season of Doctor Who and the twelfth serial overall, featuring the First Doctor, as portrayed by William Hartnell, and his companions Barbara Wright, Ian Chesterton, and Vicki. This novelisation is penned by Donald Cotton, based on the television serial (teleplay) by Dennis Spooner. The Romans is one of my favourite serials of the First Doctor, if not my favourite serial from that time, so it's no surprise that I was looking forward to reading the novelisation of the story. Imagine my surprise to find that the novelisation is not written in a standard format, but written as a series of diary entries, notes, and letters from the various main characters' points of view (except for one, see below). While this style of novel may not appeal to all potential readers of the novelisation, it makes for an intriguing take on the serial itself, and is probably one of the few Doctor Who serial novelisations that could get away with this. A sort of comedy of errors on screen, the TARDIS crew are separated early on - the Doctor takes Vicki to Rome on an educational visit, Barbara is taken by slavers, as is Ian, who ends up shackled to a galley rowing bench. Eventually they reach Rome - where Nero is smitten with Barbara, the Doctor is assumed to be the famous musician/lyrist Maximus Petullian, despite his lack of accomplishment on that instrument, Ian is shipwrecked and then ends up in the arena, Vicki briefly apprentices with the Palace poisoner... And so it goes. The Romans is the first serial in which the viewer sees the Doctor get just a tiny bit complacent (it won't be the last!). He coasts on public goodwill (in his role being mistaken for the minstrel Maximus Petullian) and the charm and chemistry of the story's regular cast. This is the series' first attempt at a historical comedy, that largely succeeds on the basis of its humourous moments, some stellar dialogue, the almost Keystone cops/Carry On elements of the story, the slapstick nature of some of the scenes (particularly those between Barbara and Emperor Nero), but still retains some serious elements as well. When it comes to the novelisation, Doctor Who: The Romans shows author Cotton's love of language and a gift for voice, as seen in his earlier novelisations of the serials The Myth Makers and The Gunfighters, being being written as a Homeric eye witness account and a parody of American Western fiction, respectively. With Doctor Who: The Romans, Cotton goes full David Mitchell and tells the story through a series of different eye witness accounts, finding every bit of comic potential in journal entries and letters by a colourful array of characters, and transforming Dennis Spooner's rather heavy-handed farce into genuine wit. The Doctor himself is represented by a journal that perfectly captures (and only ever-so-slightly heightens) the blinkered self-assurance of Hartnell's incarnation - in fact there's something very pure and back-to-basics in portraying the Doctor not as a hero but as a guileless explorer, innocently blundering his way from one near-death incident to another. The amoral enthusiasm at experiencing all aspects of history, however unpleasant, is perfectly in keeping with the character we first encountered, and his innocent surprise at the attempts on his life combined with mild irritation at every interruption provide the book with some genuinely laugh-out-loud moments. It becomes even funnier that the Doctor thinks Ian and Barbara are safe in their villa this whole time - even ignoring the entreaties of a slave at an auction who looks uncannily like Barbara! - and heightens the moral greyness of the character at that time when he, for example, accidentally lets a lot of lions loose in a colosseum, but isn't that bothered because his would-be assassin is still in there. The same can be said about the letters that Ian Chesterton writes to the Headmaster of Coal Hill School as a continuing attempt to explain his absence, or the 'jottings from Nero's scrapbook', or the extracts from Nero's wife, Poppaea's Commonplace Book ("even to bring this little note book up to date requires more time than I can really spare from keeping my wits about me, and ensuring that I am not imposed upon or murdered in some way") - each chapter snaps instantly into a recognisable "voice" that gains comic momentum with every return (the sadistic centurion, Ascaris, who writes to his mother about his adventures has a perfectly formed journey of his own). Furthermore, the absurdity of each of these characters even finding the time to write down what is happening to them becomes a very funny motif in its own right, as the unlikely coincidences of the main characters almost crossing paths and just missing each other stack up. The ideas here (and the story's conflagratory climax) are Spooner's, but it takes Cotton's brilliance to realise them properly, with a linguistic verve that I honestly think bears comparisons with Kingsley Amis or Michael Frayn. The problem here is that the two female companions, Barbara Wright and Vicki, get short shifted here in this book. There is one entry from Barbara, a letter to Nero telling him to cease and desist, and nothing at all from Vicki's point of view; even the poisoner Locusta gets a couple of entries, which give us a bit of insight into Vicki! Does this unapologetically humourous approach lose some of the story's dramatic tension? Perhaps so. However, as I've mentioned earlier, there wasn't a huge amount of that to start with. The jeopardy of Ian's situation in particular is exchanged for the amusingly matter-of-fact way that he takes it in his stride, and the reader is denied the small moment of pathos when Tavius is revealed to be a Christian with progressive views towards slavery (though again, Cotton doesn't miss the opportunity for a joke acknowledging this). Perhaps Cotton's novelisations of his own scripts remain more successfully rounded for this reason (but you'll have to wait for my (re-)reading of those books for when they occur and I review them), though as an exercise in delivering Doctor Who as out and out comedy this is his tour-de-force. When it comes down to it, the only real negative of the story, in both serial and novelisation form, is that everyone seems to be completely irritated by everyone else, but since the misunderstandings of the plot have lead to a constant dance of life and death one can sort of forgive bad tempers. While it's a shame that Vicki and Barbara aren't in that much of the book, and when they do appear it's (with one exception) recounted by some other character so the reader only gets a heavily biased view, it stands to reason that it would have been too many voices if the reader had to switch between the journal entries of *EVERY* character; Ian and the Doctor were probably the right choices from the TARDIS team. Of the non-TARDIS characters, I particularly enjoyed the entries of Ascaris, the unsuccessful centurion and assassin. They were short and made nice interludes between the rest of the plot. Overall, Doctor Who: The Romans is a somewhat short, rather engaging read that is epistolary in form, and written in a style that is unconventional for the line of Doctor Who novelisations. Quite engrossing. I recommend this novelisation for it's style and it's readability, but wouldn't say that it's a stand out novel. But it's certainly different and entertaining.
Doctor Who and the Zarbi by Bill Strutton
Doctor Who lands his space-time machine Tardis on the cold, craggy planet of Vortis. The Doctor and his companions, Ian and Vicki, are soon captured by the Zarbi, huge ant-like creatures with metallic bodies and pincer claws; meanwhile Barbara falls into the hands of the friendly butterfly-like Menoptera, who have come to rid Vortis of the malevolent power of the Zarbi. Doctor Who and the Tardis crew finally encounter the power which controls both the Zarbi and the living Web City. How can they defeat this strange bladder of blazing light which draws in and absorbs all who come into its presence?
This book is the novelisation of The Web Planet, the fifth serial of the Second Season of Doctor Who and the thirteenth serial overall, featuring the First Doctor, as portrayed by William Hartnell, and his companions Barbara Wright, Ian Chesterton, and Vicki. This novelisation is penned by Bill Strutton, based on the television serial (teleplay) by Bill Strutton. The Web Planet is another serial from William Hartnell's run that fans either like or hate. Many fans seem to think that this serial was/is boring, but nothing could be further from te truth. The TARDIS gets pulled to the planet Vortis, where the Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Vicki quickly find themselves in the middle of a giant insect war. The Animus is basically a giant spider that's using the ant-like Zarbi as mindless slaves, while slowly infecting and taking over the entire planet. The butterfly-like Menoptra once inhabited Vortis, but the Animus forced them to flee to another planet. Now the Menoptra finally have the technology to fight the Animus and they've come back to reclaim their planet. The serial is in fact a really ambitious, imaginative and creative story. It has some very fascinating world building and a strong plot. It's also very experimental, which is usually either a hit or a miss. And if there's one thing Doctor Who has been known for it's its ability to experiment and even to reinvent itself; that's the reason why Doctor Who is still going strong after all these years. The Web Planet was the second Doctor Who serial to be novelised, and this was way before the Target series of books was launched. And it is very noticeable in the novelisation from Bill Strutton. The most obvious difference is the constant referencing to The Doctor as 'Doctor Who' except in the narrative lines in the book. While the Doctor's TARDIS is referred to be name, as in it's not called "the Ship", it is called Tardis in the book. With a higher page count and the six-part serial spread across just six chapters, the novelisation is somewhat different than the television serial. When watching The Web Planet, the gulf between the actual storytelling scope of the adventure as written and the limited, small budgets of 1960s Doctor Who becomes glaringly obvious. For all that though, i>The Web Planet, bless it, really, truly tries, and absolutely succeeds in both looking and sounding like nothing else in the history of the television series. When it comes to the novelisation, Doctor Who and the Zarbi is penned by the writer of the television serial, and Bill Strutton was able to describe the insect planet of Vortis and its inhabitants as he had originally envisaged them, which was a plus due to budgetary restraints in the special effects area. The book is divided into six chapters and follow the pace and structure of the six episodes of the serial closely, but I am of the opinion it could have been shortened a bit to good effect. The gold bracelet that Barbara obtained from Emperor Nero in The Romans plays something of a role here, but there is definitely some sexism in the story, and Barbara and Vicki get the short end of the stick in terms of the story...which is so strange, as Barbara is by far the main character who shines the most in this story. On the positive side, Target did keep the masterful John Wood illustrations in the paperback edition, and these are just marvellous, lending the written word some extra oomph! (even if they got Vicki's hair and look somewhat wrong). Doctor Who and the Zarbi> improves upon the pacing. The story feels like it is progressing faster, making it less of a chore for the reader to get through the first half. The motivations of certain characters are explored in a bit more detail, and some added subtle details bring a little bit more clarity to the plot. The larvae guns are defined much better and are made more threatening here than in the serial; they're essentially venomous grubs used like weapons by the Zarbi. The Animus is better described here as a parasite or a even a disease, spreading and infecting the planet, and comes across much more menacingly than it does in the television serial. (I actually wondered way back when whether the Animus was meant to be the Great Intelligence the Second Doctor first encountered in Tibet.) The sacrifice made towards the end also feels a lot more impactful and memorable in the novelisation. While the novelisation doesn't really feature that many detailed descriptions of the fascinating alien world of Vortis and leaves a lot to the reader's imagination, this is both a good and a bad thing. The alien setting from the tv series is, simply put, stunning and shockingly beautiful, especially considering the limited technology and budget that was available at the time. Although it might look a bit cheap by today's standards, this was experimentation and technical ingenuity at its finest and is a perfect example of the ambition this story had during its inception. While it's one of the greatest strengths of The Web Planet, it would have been nice to get more descriptions in Doctor Who and the Zarbi so the reader could explore this alien world further. Overall, Doctor Who and the Zarbi is a very good novelisation of one of the tv series' most inventive, creative serials that comes across a little bit better than the serial itself, if one can get past some of the obvious flaws of the book. Definitely recommend this novelisation from the series.
The Reluctant Queen by Sarah Beth Durst
Not long ago, Daleina used her strength and skill to survive the malevolent nature spirits of Renthia and claim the crown. Since then, she has kept the peace and protected the humans of her land. But now for all her power, she is hiding a terrible secret: she is dying. And if she leaves the world before a new heir is ready, the spirits that inhabit her beloved realm will once again run wild, destroying her cities and slaughtering her people. Naelin has the raw power necessary to become an heir, but she couldn't be further removed from the Queen - and she wouldn't have it any other way. Her world is her two children, her husband, and the remote village tucked deep in the forest that is her home. But when Ven, the Queen's Champion, passes through the village, Naelin's ambitious husband proudly tells him of his wife's ability to control spirits - magic that Naelin fervently denies. She knows that embracing her power will bring only separation from those she loves and even death. But Ven has a single task: to find the best possible candidate to protect the people of Aratay. And as the queen's power begins to wane and the spirits become emboldened - even as ominous rumours trickle down from the north - Naelin realizes that the only way to keep her son and daughter safe is to risk everything.
This is the second book in The Queens of Renthia series, begun in The Queen of Blood. I will say right off the bat that this novel is not a stand alone book, and the potential reader really should read the first novel before picking up this book and getting into it. One thing I really like is when book series, fantasy or science fiction, evolve, and there is no question in this reader's mind that The Queens of Renthia series is doing just that - maturing in more ways than one. First of all, the story grows richer with the addition of a new protagonist character in this book; I have to say Naelin is one of the more interesting characters, and certainly one of the most conflicted characters, I've encountered in a fantasy novel in quite some time. Much like how Daleina started off and developed in the first novel, Naelin is not your typical 'Chosen One'; she's a middle-aged woman and a mother, whose only desire is to provide a safe, stable home for her children. She loves the simple yet rewarding life she has built, and is content with the way things are. Furthermore, unlike The Queen of Blood which at times had the feel of a young adult novel because of the age of its protagonist as well as some of its adolescent "magic school" themes, The Reluctant Queen shines the light on topics which are more oriented towards adulthood (such as parenting and marital issues), imbuing the series with a certain weightiness that certainly wasn't there before. This also makes the novel's conflicts seem more significant somehow, because Naelin has so much more to lose. Her charming, adorable children are her entire world, and author Sarah Beth Durst should be applauded for doing such an excellent job getting readers to engage and sympathize with this little family. (Even if the two children in question, Erian and Llor, are a bit annoying at times for my taste.) They wanted nothing more than to live their lives in obscurity and peace, but instead they are thrust into the limelight, and Naelin is given the most difficult choice of all, which made this reader appreciate the author's exploration into the many different roles of women by featuring a predominantly female cast. On the surface, this book offers Daleina, whose duty is to provide safety to her people, as well as Naelin, who is a mother fully devoted to her children, but nothing is ever so clear cut or simple. Whether it's queen, protector, wife, mother, daughter, sister - some characters must bear the burden of a great number of responsibilities and take on multiple roles. The timeless themes of family and sacrifice woven through this story are very powerful and touching. The novel features a variety of returning characters, including Champion Ven, Hamon the healer, and others, but the two new primary characters in The Reluctant Queen, Naelin and Garnah, are a welcome addition to the series. While both are intriguing and well-rounded characters, they vividly contrast with each other in their outlooks on life and treatment of others. Naelin has a deep concern for others and a protective instinct, while Garnah uses others cold bloodedly to advance her own purposes. I can't say that Garnah is one of my favourite characters in the book, but she surprised me by being a more intelligent, multi-faceted, character whose motivations were somewhat obscure for large portions of the text, but more enjoyable than I had expected. Daleina remains a presence in this second novel, having visibly matured from the untried girl she was in The Queen of Blood. However, Naelin is a rarity for a main character in fantasy literature: a mature woman with children. It was fascinating to see her point of view as an older person with more life experience, contrasting in almost every way with Daleina. Naelin has a strong "mama bear" streak, and gets understandably impatient when Champion Ven tries to forcibly push her through training without explaining things to her or taking her opinion into account. Though The Reluctant Queen shares a similar "train a magical heir as queen" storyline with the first book as a primary plot element, the differences between the two women who are the subject of the training in each book, along with other elements of the plot, are dissimilar enough that it made for an interesting "retelling" of the story, and I was never bored while reading this book. Merecot, a memorably gifted and ruthlessly ambitious young woman from Daleina's days at the Academy, also makes a welcome reappearance. The world of Renthia is one where everything in nature ― air, trees, water, earth, fire and more ― has a spirit that lives, moves... and maliciously attacks humans, unprovoked. It is part of their nature. These wild, chaotic spirits can be killed, but then their corresponding bit of nature (a tree, a field, etc.) dies and becomes barren as well. Thus, people generally try not to kill the spirits, and the magically gifted women of Renthia, particularly the queens, are charged with keeping the spirits under control with their powers. Author Sarah Beth Durst continues the superb world building that she started in The Queen of Blood with this novel, as the reader learns new things about the various spirits of the world, and something of some of the nations of Renthia that lie around Aratay, notably Semo. The introduction of Naelin and her family, including her husband, Renet, provides the reader with more insight into the world of the villages of Aratay, rather than life in the capital Mittriel, and how the villagers survive the incursions of spirits and how they deal with them when necessary. Overall, The Reluctant Queen is a superb novel and a fine sequel to the first book in the series, and is a better book in many ways for being more adult in orientation than was The Queen of Blood. The end of the novel is obviously setting up the story for the third book in this series, more overtly and less smoothly than the reader might like, especially since it involves suddenly opening up some new issues and conflicts as hooks to that forthcoming story. This is an entertaining, fast-paced fantasy novel with mysteries, murder, royal politics and betrayals, and just the tiniest bit of romance. I highly recommend this novel, with the caveat that the potential reader should read the first book in the series before turning the pages of this novel.
Overall, I managed to read 8 novels, 6 RPGs and RPG products, 2 magazines, 0 comics, and 0 graphic novels in October. This brings the year total in 2024 to a set of numbers that look like this: 61 books, 14 RPGs and RPG products, 14 magazines, 64 comics, and 0 graphic novels.
Anyway, thoughts and comments are always welcome. :)
*****
Books Read in October, 2024
Excession by Iain M. Banks
June, 2024 Locus
The Detail (RPG) (Scenario)
The New God of Finance (RPG) (Scenario)
The Boy Band Bandits (RPG) (Scenario)
Frozen Orbit by Patrick Chiles
Lost River (RPG) (Scenario)
The Ghost of Christmas Presents (RPG) (Scenario)
Doctor Who: The Rescue by Ian Marter
Doctor Who: The Romans by Donald Cotton
The Gutter Prayer by Gareth Hanrahan (r)
Doctor Who and the Zarbi by Bill Strutton
July, 2024 Locus
Rivers of London: The Font of All Evil by Paul Baldowski and Lynne Hardy (RPG) (Scenario)
The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst (r)
The Reluctant Queen by Sarah Beth Durst
*****
And that was my reading for October, 2024. This was a pretty decent month of reading for me, a little above average for what I usually read book-wise in a month, and definitely was above average in terms of the quality of the books read this month. I read a pretty decent amount of books and rpg-related material this month, considering I was still suffering from the effects of the most recent concussion I've had as well as allergies due to an unseasonably warm month. This month held a few re-reads and some fan created Rivers of London: The Roleplaying Game case files, in addition to newer material. As I've always maintained in these monthly book reading reports, it's all about the quality of the books, not the quantity, and this was true of October's reads in spades. Regardless, my bookcases are still stacked with a pretty large To Read Queue (TRQ). The books I enjoyed the most were:
Frozen Orbit by Patrick Chiles
A FROZEN ANSWER AT THE EDGE OF PLANETARY SPACE
Set to embark on NASA's first expedition to the outer planets, the crew of the spacecraft Magellan learns someone else has beaten them by a few decades: a top-secret Soviet project codenamed Arkangel. Now, during their long race to the Kuiper Belt, astronauts Jack Templeton and Traci Keene must unwind a decades-old mystery buried in the pages of a dead cosmonaut's journal. The solution will challenge their beliefs about the nature of humanity, and will force the astronauts to confront the question of existence itself. And the final answer lies at the edge of the Solar System, waiting to change everything.
The first (?) book in the Eccentric Orbits series. I've never read any books by author Patrick Chiles before, but have to say that my impression of this novel is pretty good. The story centres around two ships that fly out to Pluto: a Soviet vessel built in secret in the 1990s and an American one constructed in the near future. The narrative follows their journeys roughly in parallel even though they took place decades apart, one through the Soviet captain's logs and the other, more conventionally, through the actions of the American astronauts. The story told in this novel is ambitious, casting threads back in history to the end of the Cold War, with a top secret Soviet space project as bonkers as it seems weirdly plausible (see below), making it a fantastic hook for the story. The protagonists are the four crewmembers on the spacecraft Magellan, finely crafted and believable, down to their intelligent and meandering debates on (and with) AI, and regarding the meaning of life. While the four astronauts on Magellan are the focus of the novel, there are also chapters and sections that take place back on Earth at Mission Control (among other places) that shed light on the origins of the mission and some of the political and social climate on Earth. The technical aspects are nicely lacking in logic holes, a must for a novel of this kind. One regret that I have is that some plot elements, such as the expanded use of the hydroponic garden, went from seemingly very important to unresolved later in the book. This left the reader with some disjointedness, though to be clear the overall story was paced very well, with an unexpected but logical ending. One thing that becomes obvious while reading this book is that author Chiles has absolutely done his homework. This novel is a hard science fiction book, and it's clear to me that Chiles has mathematically plotted out the entire book just as assuredly as he narratively plotted it out. Every orbital path, burn period, docking manoeuver, landing, and so on comes with a somewhat meaty and satisfying sense of realism. There isn't a gram of handwaveium to be found in the entire book! That said, if hard science fiction is not to the taste of the potential reader, this book will seem somewhat tedious and perhaps boring. In terms of the two ships, Magellan and Arkangel, the author obviously spent a lot of time designing both. At no point does the technical detail become burdensome to the reader (unless you're bored or not interested in stuff like that). Instead, there's just enough to ground the story with the right amount of realism and immersion without going overboard. The Soviet vessel is particularly interesting, since it utilizes an Orion drive; for those unfamiliar with the concept, it involves dumping nuclear warheads out the back of the ship, detonating them one at a time, and letting the blasts push the ship forward! To paraphrase the author, only the Russians would try something that crazy! If I have any criticism of the story, it's that some of the secondary plot threads weren't as interesting as the main mystery. There are a few asides that dig into topics like religion and the nature of intelligence, and when those came up, I found myself yearning to get back to the main mystery of what the Soviets found on Pluto. Heck, the Magellan doesn't even reach Pluto until two-thirds of the way through the novel! Still, this is a relatively minor complaint, and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the book. And I can't wait to read the sequel to this story. If the potential reader like their science fiction hard, well-researched and well-written, then I think that they'll enjoy Frozen Orbit. That said, I very much recommend this book, with the provisos noted above about various aspects of the book.
Doctor Who: The Rescue by Ian Marter
Having left Susan on Earth, the Doctor, Ian and Barbara land the TARDIS on the planet Dido in the year 2493. From his one previous visit, the Doctor remembers the inhabitants of the planet Dido as a gentle, peace-loving people. But when he returns, things have changed dramatically. It seems that the Didoi have brutally massacred the crew of the crashed spaceliner Astra Nine. Even now they are threatening the lives of the sole survivors, Bennett and the orphan girl Vicki. Why have the Didoi apparently turned against their peaceful natures? Can Bennett and Vicki survive until the rescue ship from Earth arrives? And who is the mysterious Koquillion?
This book is the novelisation of The Rescue, the third serial of the Second Season of Doctor Who and the eleventh serial overall, featuring the First Doctor, as portrayed by William Hartnell, and his original companions Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton - and introducing the first new companion ever, Vicki. This novelisation is penned by Ian Marter, based on the television serial (teleplay) by David Whitaker. The Rescue is the serial of Doctor Who that was a two-part story that served to introduce the first new companion to join the show since its beginning, Vicki - one of two survivors of a spaceship crash on the apparently hostile planet, Dido. This has always been a serial that could have benefited from a good deal of filling out the back story: the Doctor's past relations with the natives of Dido; the story of what had actually happened to the human settlers, among other thing. While the serial introduces new companion Vicki, there's also the interesting mystery on the planet itself for the Doctor to solve - but very little of the Doctor's reaching the solution to the mystery comes across. Ian Marter has the freedom to expand on the setting and to answer some of the questions raised in the serial when it comes to the novelisation, and he does an excellent job of it, also adding a real sense of menace to the planet Dido and the locations that the Doctor, Ian and Barbara encounter and visit. Author Marter's style tends to make the novelisations of the stories darker and grittier than their televised counterparts, and Doctor Who: The Rescue is no exception to this. However, this works for the novelisation, turning the story into a much more scary, more exciting tale than it actually was on television. Author Marter gives the reader several additional sequences which expand on the televised episodes. The new material helps the pacing and flow of the story, most of it connecting scenes, but also expanding the role of the natives of the planet Dido and gives us a view of the subterranean city of Dido. There are also some scenes on board the rescue ship Seeker, with the crew discussing the rescue of the Astra Nine crew. These additions make for an improved version of the story. Furthermore, the twenty-something Maureen O'Brien could never really pass as the young teenager that Vicki was meant to be; Marter is not restricted by the actor's appearance. The monsters of the planet were among the least compelling aspects of the original TV serial, and again, author Marter can just make them up and does indeed bring in at least one more. The reader gets loads more banter between the Doctor and Ian, with Marter for once putting comic dialogue in rather than taking it out. And the entire story is topped and tailed by the rescue ship which is supposed to be coming for Vicki and her fellow survivor, so that one feels that this planet is one that fits into a wider history. Because the novelisation takes a two-episode serial and fits it into 139 pages, there are some sequences that go on for a little too long, and the story actually feels concluded long before the final page. Sadly, this is the last Doctor Who novelisation that Ian Marter wrote, as he died shortly after writing the first draft of this novel. The novel was completed by novelisation series editor Nigel Robinson, as I recall, but I could be mistaken in this. Overall, Doctor Who: The Rescue is a wonderful novel and an excellent novelisation of a serial that served to introduce a new companion, but is so much more than that in book form. The tv serial itself wasn't as exciting as the novelisation is, but it also fleshes out some of the characters a bit more than could be done on television and offers some good insights into the various characters, while allowing Vicki's personality to come out a bit more than it did in the serial. The story marked the turning point of the television series, introducing the first new companion to the First Doctor's run, and Ian Marter's novelisation is a book well worth reading, even with the dark turn things take at the end. I highly recommend this novelisation of The Rescue.
Doctor Who: The Romans by Donald Cotton
The TARDIS crew members have taken a break from their adventures and are enjoying a well-deserved rest in a luxury villa on the outskirts of Imperial Rome. But in the gory grandeur that is Rome, things don't stay quiet for long. If the time travellers can save themselves from being sold as slaves, assassinated by classical hit-men, poisoned by the evil Locusta, thrown to the lions, maimed in the arena and drowned in a shipwreck, they still have to face the diabolical might of the mad Emperor Nero. As if that isn't enough, they also discover that, although Rome wasn't built in a day, it was burnt down in considerably less time...
This book is the novelisation of The Romans, the fourth serial of the Second Season of Doctor Who and the twelfth serial overall, featuring the First Doctor, as portrayed by William Hartnell, and his companions Barbara Wright, Ian Chesterton, and Vicki. This novelisation is penned by Donald Cotton, based on the television serial (teleplay) by Dennis Spooner. The Romans is one of my favourite serials of the First Doctor, if not my favourite serial from that time, so it's no surprise that I was looking forward to reading the novelisation of the story. Imagine my surprise to find that the novelisation is not written in a standard format, but written as a series of diary entries, notes, and letters from the various main characters' points of view (except for one, see below). While this style of novel may not appeal to all potential readers of the novelisation, it makes for an intriguing take on the serial itself, and is probably one of the few Doctor Who serial novelisations that could get away with this. A sort of comedy of errors on screen, the TARDIS crew are separated early on - the Doctor takes Vicki to Rome on an educational visit, Barbara is taken by slavers, as is Ian, who ends up shackled to a galley rowing bench. Eventually they reach Rome - where Nero is smitten with Barbara, the Doctor is assumed to be the famous musician/lyrist Maximus Petullian, despite his lack of accomplishment on that instrument, Ian is shipwrecked and then ends up in the arena, Vicki briefly apprentices with the Palace poisoner... And so it goes. The Romans is the first serial in which the viewer sees the Doctor get just a tiny bit complacent (it won't be the last!). He coasts on public goodwill (in his role being mistaken for the minstrel Maximus Petullian) and the charm and chemistry of the story's regular cast. This is the series' first attempt at a historical comedy, that largely succeeds on the basis of its humourous moments, some stellar dialogue, the almost Keystone cops/Carry On elements of the story, the slapstick nature of some of the scenes (particularly those between Barbara and Emperor Nero), but still retains some serious elements as well. When it comes to the novelisation, Doctor Who: The Romans shows author Cotton's love of language and a gift for voice, as seen in his earlier novelisations of the serials The Myth Makers and The Gunfighters, being being written as a Homeric eye witness account and a parody of American Western fiction, respectively. With Doctor Who: The Romans, Cotton goes full David Mitchell and tells the story through a series of different eye witness accounts, finding every bit of comic potential in journal entries and letters by a colourful array of characters, and transforming Dennis Spooner's rather heavy-handed farce into genuine wit. The Doctor himself is represented by a journal that perfectly captures (and only ever-so-slightly heightens) the blinkered self-assurance of Hartnell's incarnation - in fact there's something very pure and back-to-basics in portraying the Doctor not as a hero but as a guileless explorer, innocently blundering his way from one near-death incident to another. The amoral enthusiasm at experiencing all aspects of history, however unpleasant, is perfectly in keeping with the character we first encountered, and his innocent surprise at the attempts on his life combined with mild irritation at every interruption provide the book with some genuinely laugh-out-loud moments. It becomes even funnier that the Doctor thinks Ian and Barbara are safe in their villa this whole time - even ignoring the entreaties of a slave at an auction who looks uncannily like Barbara! - and heightens the moral greyness of the character at that time when he, for example, accidentally lets a lot of lions loose in a colosseum, but isn't that bothered because his would-be assassin is still in there. The same can be said about the letters that Ian Chesterton writes to the Headmaster of Coal Hill School as a continuing attempt to explain his absence, or the 'jottings from Nero's scrapbook', or the extracts from Nero's wife, Poppaea's Commonplace Book ("even to bring this little note book up to date requires more time than I can really spare from keeping my wits about me, and ensuring that I am not imposed upon or murdered in some way") - each chapter snaps instantly into a recognisable "voice" that gains comic momentum with every return (the sadistic centurion, Ascaris, who writes to his mother about his adventures has a perfectly formed journey of his own). Furthermore, the absurdity of each of these characters even finding the time to write down what is happening to them becomes a very funny motif in its own right, as the unlikely coincidences of the main characters almost crossing paths and just missing each other stack up. The ideas here (and the story's conflagratory climax) are Spooner's, but it takes Cotton's brilliance to realise them properly, with a linguistic verve that I honestly think bears comparisons with Kingsley Amis or Michael Frayn. The problem here is that the two female companions, Barbara Wright and Vicki, get short shifted here in this book. There is one entry from Barbara, a letter to Nero telling him to cease and desist, and nothing at all from Vicki's point of view; even the poisoner Locusta gets a couple of entries, which give us a bit of insight into Vicki! Does this unapologetically humourous approach lose some of the story's dramatic tension? Perhaps so. However, as I've mentioned earlier, there wasn't a huge amount of that to start with. The jeopardy of Ian's situation in particular is exchanged for the amusingly matter-of-fact way that he takes it in his stride, and the reader is denied the small moment of pathos when Tavius is revealed to be a Christian with progressive views towards slavery (though again, Cotton doesn't miss the opportunity for a joke acknowledging this). Perhaps Cotton's novelisations of his own scripts remain more successfully rounded for this reason (but you'll have to wait for my (re-)reading of those books for when they occur and I review them), though as an exercise in delivering Doctor Who as out and out comedy this is his tour-de-force. When it comes down to it, the only real negative of the story, in both serial and novelisation form, is that everyone seems to be completely irritated by everyone else, but since the misunderstandings of the plot have lead to a constant dance of life and death one can sort of forgive bad tempers. While it's a shame that Vicki and Barbara aren't in that much of the book, and when they do appear it's (with one exception) recounted by some other character so the reader only gets a heavily biased view, it stands to reason that it would have been too many voices if the reader had to switch between the journal entries of *EVERY* character; Ian and the Doctor were probably the right choices from the TARDIS team. Of the non-TARDIS characters, I particularly enjoyed the entries of Ascaris, the unsuccessful centurion and assassin. They were short and made nice interludes between the rest of the plot. Overall, Doctor Who: The Romans is a somewhat short, rather engaging read that is epistolary in form, and written in a style that is unconventional for the line of Doctor Who novelisations. Quite engrossing. I recommend this novelisation for it's style and it's readability, but wouldn't say that it's a stand out novel. But it's certainly different and entertaining.
Doctor Who and the Zarbi by Bill Strutton
Doctor Who lands his space-time machine Tardis on the cold, craggy planet of Vortis. The Doctor and his companions, Ian and Vicki, are soon captured by the Zarbi, huge ant-like creatures with metallic bodies and pincer claws; meanwhile Barbara falls into the hands of the friendly butterfly-like Menoptera, who have come to rid Vortis of the malevolent power of the Zarbi. Doctor Who and the Tardis crew finally encounter the power which controls both the Zarbi and the living Web City. How can they defeat this strange bladder of blazing light which draws in and absorbs all who come into its presence?
This book is the novelisation of The Web Planet, the fifth serial of the Second Season of Doctor Who and the thirteenth serial overall, featuring the First Doctor, as portrayed by William Hartnell, and his companions Barbara Wright, Ian Chesterton, and Vicki. This novelisation is penned by Bill Strutton, based on the television serial (teleplay) by Bill Strutton. The Web Planet is another serial from William Hartnell's run that fans either like or hate. Many fans seem to think that this serial was/is boring, but nothing could be further from te truth. The TARDIS gets pulled to the planet Vortis, where the Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Vicki quickly find themselves in the middle of a giant insect war. The Animus is basically a giant spider that's using the ant-like Zarbi as mindless slaves, while slowly infecting and taking over the entire planet. The butterfly-like Menoptra once inhabited Vortis, but the Animus forced them to flee to another planet. Now the Menoptra finally have the technology to fight the Animus and they've come back to reclaim their planet. The serial is in fact a really ambitious, imaginative and creative story. It has some very fascinating world building and a strong plot. It's also very experimental, which is usually either a hit or a miss. And if there's one thing Doctor Who has been known for it's its ability to experiment and even to reinvent itself; that's the reason why Doctor Who is still going strong after all these years. The Web Planet was the second Doctor Who serial to be novelised, and this was way before the Target series of books was launched. And it is very noticeable in the novelisation from Bill Strutton. The most obvious difference is the constant referencing to The Doctor as 'Doctor Who' except in the narrative lines in the book. While the Doctor's TARDIS is referred to be name, as in it's not called "the Ship", it is called Tardis in the book. With a higher page count and the six-part serial spread across just six chapters, the novelisation is somewhat different than the television serial. When watching The Web Planet, the gulf between the actual storytelling scope of the adventure as written and the limited, small budgets of 1960s Doctor Who becomes glaringly obvious. For all that though, i>The Web Planet, bless it, really, truly tries, and absolutely succeeds in both looking and sounding like nothing else in the history of the television series. When it comes to the novelisation, Doctor Who and the Zarbi is penned by the writer of the television serial, and Bill Strutton was able to describe the insect planet of Vortis and its inhabitants as he had originally envisaged them, which was a plus due to budgetary restraints in the special effects area. The book is divided into six chapters and follow the pace and structure of the six episodes of the serial closely, but I am of the opinion it could have been shortened a bit to good effect. The gold bracelet that Barbara obtained from Emperor Nero in The Romans plays something of a role here, but there is definitely some sexism in the story, and Barbara and Vicki get the short end of the stick in terms of the story...which is so strange, as Barbara is by far the main character who shines the most in this story. On the positive side, Target did keep the masterful John Wood illustrations in the paperback edition, and these are just marvellous, lending the written word some extra oomph! (even if they got Vicki's hair and look somewhat wrong). Doctor Who and the Zarbi> improves upon the pacing. The story feels like it is progressing faster, making it less of a chore for the reader to get through the first half. The motivations of certain characters are explored in a bit more detail, and some added subtle details bring a little bit more clarity to the plot. The larvae guns are defined much better and are made more threatening here than in the serial; they're essentially venomous grubs used like weapons by the Zarbi. The Animus is better described here as a parasite or a even a disease, spreading and infecting the planet, and comes across much more menacingly than it does in the television serial. (I actually wondered way back when whether the Animus was meant to be the Great Intelligence the Second Doctor first encountered in Tibet.) The sacrifice made towards the end also feels a lot more impactful and memorable in the novelisation. While the novelisation doesn't really feature that many detailed descriptions of the fascinating alien world of Vortis and leaves a lot to the reader's imagination, this is both a good and a bad thing. The alien setting from the tv series is, simply put, stunning and shockingly beautiful, especially considering the limited technology and budget that was available at the time. Although it might look a bit cheap by today's standards, this was experimentation and technical ingenuity at its finest and is a perfect example of the ambition this story had during its inception. While it's one of the greatest strengths of The Web Planet, it would have been nice to get more descriptions in Doctor Who and the Zarbi so the reader could explore this alien world further. Overall, Doctor Who and the Zarbi is a very good novelisation of one of the tv series' most inventive, creative serials that comes across a little bit better than the serial itself, if one can get past some of the obvious flaws of the book. Definitely recommend this novelisation from the series.
The Reluctant Queen by Sarah Beth Durst
Not long ago, Daleina used her strength and skill to survive the malevolent nature spirits of Renthia and claim the crown. Since then, she has kept the peace and protected the humans of her land. But now for all her power, she is hiding a terrible secret: she is dying. And if she leaves the world before a new heir is ready, the spirits that inhabit her beloved realm will once again run wild, destroying her cities and slaughtering her people. Naelin has the raw power necessary to become an heir, but she couldn't be further removed from the Queen - and she wouldn't have it any other way. Her world is her two children, her husband, and the remote village tucked deep in the forest that is her home. But when Ven, the Queen's Champion, passes through the village, Naelin's ambitious husband proudly tells him of his wife's ability to control spirits - magic that Naelin fervently denies. She knows that embracing her power will bring only separation from those she loves and even death. But Ven has a single task: to find the best possible candidate to protect the people of Aratay. And as the queen's power begins to wane and the spirits become emboldened - even as ominous rumours trickle down from the north - Naelin realizes that the only way to keep her son and daughter safe is to risk everything.
This is the second book in The Queens of Renthia series, begun in The Queen of Blood. I will say right off the bat that this novel is not a stand alone book, and the potential reader really should read the first novel before picking up this book and getting into it. One thing I really like is when book series, fantasy or science fiction, evolve, and there is no question in this reader's mind that The Queens of Renthia series is doing just that - maturing in more ways than one. First of all, the story grows richer with the addition of a new protagonist character in this book; I have to say Naelin is one of the more interesting characters, and certainly one of the most conflicted characters, I've encountered in a fantasy novel in quite some time. Much like how Daleina started off and developed in the first novel, Naelin is not your typical 'Chosen One'; she's a middle-aged woman and a mother, whose only desire is to provide a safe, stable home for her children. She loves the simple yet rewarding life she has built, and is content with the way things are. Furthermore, unlike The Queen of Blood which at times had the feel of a young adult novel because of the age of its protagonist as well as some of its adolescent "magic school" themes, The Reluctant Queen shines the light on topics which are more oriented towards adulthood (such as parenting and marital issues), imbuing the series with a certain weightiness that certainly wasn't there before. This also makes the novel's conflicts seem more significant somehow, because Naelin has so much more to lose. Her charming, adorable children are her entire world, and author Sarah Beth Durst should be applauded for doing such an excellent job getting readers to engage and sympathize with this little family. (Even if the two children in question, Erian and Llor, are a bit annoying at times for my taste.) They wanted nothing more than to live their lives in obscurity and peace, but instead they are thrust into the limelight, and Naelin is given the most difficult choice of all, which made this reader appreciate the author's exploration into the many different roles of women by featuring a predominantly female cast. On the surface, this book offers Daleina, whose duty is to provide safety to her people, as well as Naelin, who is a mother fully devoted to her children, but nothing is ever so clear cut or simple. Whether it's queen, protector, wife, mother, daughter, sister - some characters must bear the burden of a great number of responsibilities and take on multiple roles. The timeless themes of family and sacrifice woven through this story are very powerful and touching. The novel features a variety of returning characters, including Champion Ven, Hamon the healer, and others, but the two new primary characters in The Reluctant Queen, Naelin and Garnah, are a welcome addition to the series. While both are intriguing and well-rounded characters, they vividly contrast with each other in their outlooks on life and treatment of others. Naelin has a deep concern for others and a protective instinct, while Garnah uses others cold bloodedly to advance her own purposes. I can't say that Garnah is one of my favourite characters in the book, but she surprised me by being a more intelligent, multi-faceted, character whose motivations were somewhat obscure for large portions of the text, but more enjoyable than I had expected. Daleina remains a presence in this second novel, having visibly matured from the untried girl she was in The Queen of Blood. However, Naelin is a rarity for a main character in fantasy literature: a mature woman with children. It was fascinating to see her point of view as an older person with more life experience, contrasting in almost every way with Daleina. Naelin has a strong "mama bear" streak, and gets understandably impatient when Champion Ven tries to forcibly push her through training without explaining things to her or taking her opinion into account. Though The Reluctant Queen shares a similar "train a magical heir as queen" storyline with the first book as a primary plot element, the differences between the two women who are the subject of the training in each book, along with other elements of the plot, are dissimilar enough that it made for an interesting "retelling" of the story, and I was never bored while reading this book. Merecot, a memorably gifted and ruthlessly ambitious young woman from Daleina's days at the Academy, also makes a welcome reappearance. The world of Renthia is one where everything in nature ― air, trees, water, earth, fire and more ― has a spirit that lives, moves... and maliciously attacks humans, unprovoked. It is part of their nature. These wild, chaotic spirits can be killed, but then their corresponding bit of nature (a tree, a field, etc.) dies and becomes barren as well. Thus, people generally try not to kill the spirits, and the magically gifted women of Renthia, particularly the queens, are charged with keeping the spirits under control with their powers. Author Sarah Beth Durst continues the superb world building that she started in The Queen of Blood with this novel, as the reader learns new things about the various spirits of the world, and something of some of the nations of Renthia that lie around Aratay, notably Semo. The introduction of Naelin and her family, including her husband, Renet, provides the reader with more insight into the world of the villages of Aratay, rather than life in the capital Mittriel, and how the villagers survive the incursions of spirits and how they deal with them when necessary. Overall, The Reluctant Queen is a superb novel and a fine sequel to the first book in the series, and is a better book in many ways for being more adult in orientation than was The Queen of Blood. The end of the novel is obviously setting up the story for the third book in this series, more overtly and less smoothly than the reader might like, especially since it involves suddenly opening up some new issues and conflicts as hooks to that forthcoming story. This is an entertaining, fast-paced fantasy novel with mysteries, murder, royal politics and betrayals, and just the tiniest bit of romance. I highly recommend this novel, with the caveat that the potential reader should read the first book in the series before turning the pages of this novel.
Overall, I managed to read 8 novels, 6 RPGs and RPG products, 2 magazines, 0 comics, and 0 graphic novels in October. This brings the year total in 2024 to a set of numbers that look like this: 61 books, 14 RPGs and RPG products, 14 magazines, 64 comics, and 0 graphic novels.
Anyway, thoughts and comments are always welcome. :)