Books read so far this year
While walking the other day, I was trying to decide which book was my favourite out of those I'd read last year, only to find that I couldn't really remember what I'd read. (My tentative conclusion, based on what I could remember, was The Aeronaut's Windlass, the first book in Jim Butcher's new series, but I can't be sure.) Anyway, it inspired me to try to keep a record of what I read this year. No idea how long I'll keep it up, but here's a start.
What Angels Fears and When Gods Die by C.S. Harris
These are Regency-set mysteries featuring one Sebastian St Cyr, and are the first two books in a ongoing series. In the first book, our hero stands accused of a murder he didn't do, and has to evade capture, while simultaneously trying to find out who did do it. An innocent person accused of crime is a plot point I have a strong emotional reaction to, so I was quite gripped by the first book, but less so by the second, when the personal stakes were less high. The depiction of Regency society doesn't really ring true and the characters keep on coming out with modern American turns of phrase, but, still, I enjoyed the first book - a Christmas present - enough to buy the next one on Kindle. (It took me two attempts. The paperback of the first book ended with an advert for "the next book," so I bought the book with that title and started reading it, only to find that significant events had happened in the hero's life that I felt sure would not have happened off camera. It turned out that the paperback was a new edition, and "the next book" was the one due to come out just after the new edition's publication date, and was actually book 8 or 9 in the series. Grr!) Anyway, I haven't officially given up on the series, and I might read more, but some library books I'd reserved before Christmas came in, so I moved on to reading free books instead.
Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho
Another Regency story, but this time in an alternative version of Regency England, with magic. Magic is the preserve of educated gentlemen. The lower orders have their own little spells, but like them, it's all a bit common and debased - useful, though, when one's servants use it to improve their work. Well-born ladies are obviously far too frail in body and mind to cope with the rigours of magic, and any ladies unfortunate enough to be born with potential are trained to suppress their gifts - for their own good, of course. Needless to say, the main characters in the story are two magically skilled people who do not match society's prejudices of what a magical person should be. But English magic is under threat, and these two people could be the key to saving it...
I found the first few chapters rather unengaging, but it soon picked up. It reminded me more and more of Diana Wynne Jones with every chapter. There's a lot of humour in this book, and it even has that Diana Wynne Jones style chaotic scene in which all the characters turn up all at once and everyone strides around madly throwing out magic and shouting. I enjoyed it very much indeed. Apparently it's the first of a proposed trilogy, but I only know this because I read it online. Even as I finished the book, I thought I'd read a standalone novel. There's room for more, but it feels complete in itself, too.
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
This is a story about four Londons in four different worlds. Some time ago, one of them, "Black London," was sealed off from the others after some hideous magical apocalypse. This has had a knock-on effect on the other Londons: "White London," a nasty, ruthless place, ruled by villainous tyrants; "Red London," which is shiny and magical; and "Grey London," which is probably our own world in Regency times. The first main character, resident of Red London, is one of the very few remaining people who can travel between the worlds, and the other is a street thief from our London who gets caught up in things. The plot involves a dangerous and very powerful artefact from Black London that causes havoc and corruption wherever it goes and must be returned to the dread place whence it came.
I enjoyed this well enough while reading it, but I doubt it will linger that much in my mind afterwards. Although it works just fine as a standalone, the end is very obviously leaving things open for a sequel. I might read it if I stumble upon it before I've entirely forgotten the first one, but I don't think I'll actively seek it out.
Friends of the Dusk by Phil Rickman
This is the 13th book about Merrily Watkins, a vicar in Herefordshire who gets involved in cases that may or may not have supernatural elements. (The second book was televised last year, but I wasn't that impressed with the adaptation.) Basically, if you like the series, you'll probably like this; if you don't like the series, you won't; and if you've never read the series before, this isn't the one to start with. The series always balances the "monster of the week" standalone plot with ongoing character development on the part of Merrily and the other main characters, and this one is heavier than most on the ongoing stories of the main characters, with several of them facing big changes in their lives. It's probably one of my favourites of the series - although, admittedly, it's over a year since I read all the others, so I'm already forgetting the details of the individual books. Extra interest was provided by the fact that the plot is kicked off by the discovery of an old burial on Castle Green in Hereford, just yards from where we stayed on our holiday last autumn.
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
This advertises itself as "A Grisha novel," referring to the author's previous "Grisha trilogy." I haven't read that trilogy (yet), but this story worked perfectly well without having read it, since it's set elsewhere in the same world, and with a new cast of characters. It's basically a heist story, set in a world with magic and guns (and tanks!) It starts in the slums of a city that's clearly inspired by Amsterdam, and is about a teenage criminal mastermind who's offered a fortune to break into an impregnable fortress and break out a prisoner who holds a dangerous secret that could transform magic. To undertake the impossible task, he gathers together a band of dysfunctional misfits, each with their own skills, each with their own motivations, each with their own angsty backstory. Needless to say, the dysfunctional band slowly bonds over the course of the job, as they face setbacks, near-disasters, betrayals and numerous near-death situations.
I enjoyed this story a lot, and am going to go straight on to read the original trilogy. The main thing that annoyed me about it was that the cover merely said "a Grisha novel," and there was nothing on the title page or blurb to suggest that it wasn't a standalone. However, it's clearly the first in a series, and while the ending felt like a proper ending, there was a very definite "to be continued" dangling over things, with lots of unresolved plot lines.
I also read a couple of contemporary teenage novels, which I grabbed when I forgot to take my "real" book to work. Finding Audrey, by Sophie Kinsella, is about a girl who can't leave the house due to an anxiety disorder, result of bullying. Despite its subject matter, it's a light, easy read, with a lot of humour, mostly due to the mother, who's waging a ridiculously excessive war on the heroine's brother's gaming habit. I read it in a couple of hours, and will probably forget it in as many months. I also read Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell, since it seems to be a big thing in the young adult book world. It's a love story set in the 80s, told by the two protagonists in alternating chapters, sometimes even in alternating scenes. Eleanor is overweight, bullied, neglected and abused, but she and Park gradually draw closer to each other, brought together by comic books and mix tapes. It seemed like fairly standard comtemporary teenage novel stuff to me, and the cynical part of me wonders how much of the buzz about it comes from the deliberate ambiguity of its final line.
Gosh, that's quite a lot of reading for just over three weeks.
What Angels Fears and When Gods Die by C.S. Harris
These are Regency-set mysteries featuring one Sebastian St Cyr, and are the first two books in a ongoing series. In the first book, our hero stands accused of a murder he didn't do, and has to evade capture, while simultaneously trying to find out who did do it. An innocent person accused of crime is a plot point I have a strong emotional reaction to, so I was quite gripped by the first book, but less so by the second, when the personal stakes were less high. The depiction of Regency society doesn't really ring true and the characters keep on coming out with modern American turns of phrase, but, still, I enjoyed the first book - a Christmas present - enough to buy the next one on Kindle. (It took me two attempts. The paperback of the first book ended with an advert for "the next book," so I bought the book with that title and started reading it, only to find that significant events had happened in the hero's life that I felt sure would not have happened off camera. It turned out that the paperback was a new edition, and "the next book" was the one due to come out just after the new edition's publication date, and was actually book 8 or 9 in the series. Grr!) Anyway, I haven't officially given up on the series, and I might read more, but some library books I'd reserved before Christmas came in, so I moved on to reading free books instead.
Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho
Another Regency story, but this time in an alternative version of Regency England, with magic. Magic is the preserve of educated gentlemen. The lower orders have their own little spells, but like them, it's all a bit common and debased - useful, though, when one's servants use it to improve their work. Well-born ladies are obviously far too frail in body and mind to cope with the rigours of magic, and any ladies unfortunate enough to be born with potential are trained to suppress their gifts - for their own good, of course. Needless to say, the main characters in the story are two magically skilled people who do not match society's prejudices of what a magical person should be. But English magic is under threat, and these two people could be the key to saving it...
I found the first few chapters rather unengaging, but it soon picked up. It reminded me more and more of Diana Wynne Jones with every chapter. There's a lot of humour in this book, and it even has that Diana Wynne Jones style chaotic scene in which all the characters turn up all at once and everyone strides around madly throwing out magic and shouting. I enjoyed it very much indeed. Apparently it's the first of a proposed trilogy, but I only know this because I read it online. Even as I finished the book, I thought I'd read a standalone novel. There's room for more, but it feels complete in itself, too.
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
This is a story about four Londons in four different worlds. Some time ago, one of them, "Black London," was sealed off from the others after some hideous magical apocalypse. This has had a knock-on effect on the other Londons: "White London," a nasty, ruthless place, ruled by villainous tyrants; "Red London," which is shiny and magical; and "Grey London," which is probably our own world in Regency times. The first main character, resident of Red London, is one of the very few remaining people who can travel between the worlds, and the other is a street thief from our London who gets caught up in things. The plot involves a dangerous and very powerful artefact from Black London that causes havoc and corruption wherever it goes and must be returned to the dread place whence it came.
I enjoyed this well enough while reading it, but I doubt it will linger that much in my mind afterwards. Although it works just fine as a standalone, the end is very obviously leaving things open for a sequel. I might read it if I stumble upon it before I've entirely forgotten the first one, but I don't think I'll actively seek it out.
Friends of the Dusk by Phil Rickman
This is the 13th book about Merrily Watkins, a vicar in Herefordshire who gets involved in cases that may or may not have supernatural elements. (The second book was televised last year, but I wasn't that impressed with the adaptation.) Basically, if you like the series, you'll probably like this; if you don't like the series, you won't; and if you've never read the series before, this isn't the one to start with. The series always balances the "monster of the week" standalone plot with ongoing character development on the part of Merrily and the other main characters, and this one is heavier than most on the ongoing stories of the main characters, with several of them facing big changes in their lives. It's probably one of my favourites of the series - although, admittedly, it's over a year since I read all the others, so I'm already forgetting the details of the individual books. Extra interest was provided by the fact that the plot is kicked off by the discovery of an old burial on Castle Green in Hereford, just yards from where we stayed on our holiday last autumn.
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
This advertises itself as "A Grisha novel," referring to the author's previous "Grisha trilogy." I haven't read that trilogy (yet), but this story worked perfectly well without having read it, since it's set elsewhere in the same world, and with a new cast of characters. It's basically a heist story, set in a world with magic and guns (and tanks!) It starts in the slums of a city that's clearly inspired by Amsterdam, and is about a teenage criminal mastermind who's offered a fortune to break into an impregnable fortress and break out a prisoner who holds a dangerous secret that could transform magic. To undertake the impossible task, he gathers together a band of dysfunctional misfits, each with their own skills, each with their own motivations, each with their own angsty backstory. Needless to say, the dysfunctional band slowly bonds over the course of the job, as they face setbacks, near-disasters, betrayals and numerous near-death situations.
I enjoyed this story a lot, and am going to go straight on to read the original trilogy. The main thing that annoyed me about it was that the cover merely said "a Grisha novel," and there was nothing on the title page or blurb to suggest that it wasn't a standalone. However, it's clearly the first in a series, and while the ending felt like a proper ending, there was a very definite "to be continued" dangling over things, with lots of unresolved plot lines.
I also read a couple of contemporary teenage novels, which I grabbed when I forgot to take my "real" book to work. Finding Audrey, by Sophie Kinsella, is about a girl who can't leave the house due to an anxiety disorder, result of bullying. Despite its subject matter, it's a light, easy read, with a lot of humour, mostly due to the mother, who's waging a ridiculously excessive war on the heroine's brother's gaming habit. I read it in a couple of hours, and will probably forget it in as many months. I also read Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell, since it seems to be a big thing in the young adult book world. It's a love story set in the 80s, told by the two protagonists in alternating chapters, sometimes even in alternating scenes. Eleanor is overweight, bullied, neglected and abused, but she and Park gradually draw closer to each other, brought together by comic books and mix tapes. It seemed like fairly standard comtemporary teenage novel stuff to me, and the cynical part of me wonders how much of the buzz about it comes from the deliberate ambiguity of its final line.
Gosh, that's quite a lot of reading for just over three weeks.