July Book List
As always not including various comics trades, game books or magazines...
July 1st: Lynn Abbey - Sanctuary: The relaunch for the Thieves' World series. Takes place decades after the original series, with a nearly total change of characters and set-up...
July 2nd: Anne McCaffrey - The Skies of Pern: A post-AIVAS book with the dragonriders (especially F'lessan the son of F'lar and Lessa) looking into what they'll be doing once the Final Pass ends. At the same time a Luddite cult makes trouble for those making the most of the technological advancements...
July 4th: Robert Parker - Edenville Owls: A Young Adult book by Parker, set just post-WWII. Pretty good, especially since Parker isn't normally a YA writer...
Faye Kellerman - Street Dreams: I borrowed this one from my grandfather's collection and ended up hooked by it. Like I needed another writer to start collecting. And yes I know about libraries, but I actually prefer to own my books. I just need more bookshelves is all...
July 6th: Harry Turtledove (ed) - Alternate Generals: Rereading this anthology about alt history military battles I realized it no longer passed my 50% rule. So now its in the trade-in box...
July 9th: Elizabeth Moon - Against the Odds: The finale to Moon's Familas Regnant scifi series. A good ending, though at least one of the sub-plots feels like it would have fit better as a separate short story...
July 11th: Terri Windling/Mark Alan Arnold (ed) - Borderland: First anthology in a shared world series about a city on the edge of Faerie and the "regular" world...
July 13th: Windling (ed) - The Essential Bordertown: My favorite part from this anthology are the Travel Guide for Runaways bits between the stories. Though the stories aren't too shabby either...
July 14th: Tamora Pierce - Bloodhound: Is it too soon to start harassing Mrs. Pierce for the 3rd Beka Cooper book?
July 15th: Kim Harrison - White Witch, Black Curse: I'd have to say this latest Rachel Morgan book feels much stronger than some of the last few. Though, as seems to be the case for the previous one as well, there are characters introduced who make me wonder if I missed a book. Which probably means Harrison involves her short story work more heavily in her canon than most other Modern Fantasy writers...
July 17th: J.R.R. Tolkien - The Hobbit: Just had an urge to reread this one...
July 21st: Kat Richardson - Poltergeist: 2nd Greywalker book. PI (and medium) Harper Blaine is hired to audit an experiment in creating a "ghost" by a university research group. Then when one of the group members is murdered in a bizarre manner she has to find out how real and possibly dangerous the experiment might be...
A. Lee Martinez - Monster: Martinez' most recent book is about a version of Animal Control that deals with catching monsters. Some of it feels like a parody of the Modern Fantasy genre and the climax also reminds me a bit of In the Company of Ogres. But, as always, Martinez' strength is they're well-realized characters...
July 22nd: Esther Friesner - Temping Fate: A cute and funny, if a bit too short, book about a Temp Agency for assistants to Divine Powers. The lead character is a teen girl whose summer job ends up being working for the Greek version of the Three Fates...
John Grisham - The Broker: I grabbed this from the Lost & Found books at work when I finished the last book way early in my shift. Its been a while since I read any Grisham, but were his books always this padded out?
July 24th: Janni Lee Simner - Bones of Faerie: An excellent YA book with a post magical Apocalypse setting. One where the U.S. (and probably the world) has been knocked back to the Dark Ages by a disasterous war with Faerie. And in young Liza's village anyone who shows the taint of magic is banished. No matter how young. And so after her newborn daughter is left out in the woods to die Liza's mother leaves the village. And then when Liza starts having visions of the past, present and future, she flees into the deadly woods as well...
July 26th: McCaffrey - The Dolphins of Pern: Another post-AIVAS book, this one dealing with the restarting of the partnership between the descendants of the dolphin and human colonists...
July 27th-30th: Janet Evanovich - One For the Money, Two For the Dough, Three to Get Deadly, Four to Score, High Five, Hot Six, Seven Up, Hard Eight, To the Nines, Ten Big Ones, Eleven on Top, Twelve Sharp, Lean Mean Thirteen, Fearless Fourteen: The Stephanie Plum series is like popcorn for me. Its light and quick to read. The books are enjoyable and fun. And I can't stop reading them once I start. Which is how I plowed thru 14 of them in 4 days...
Total Books: 31
July 1st: Lynn Abbey - Sanctuary: The relaunch for the Thieves' World series. Takes place decades after the original series, with a nearly total change of characters and set-up...
July 2nd: Anne McCaffrey - The Skies of Pern: A post-AIVAS book with the dragonriders (especially F'lessan the son of F'lar and Lessa) looking into what they'll be doing once the Final Pass ends. At the same time a Luddite cult makes trouble for those making the most of the technological advancements...
July 4th: Robert Parker - Edenville Owls: A Young Adult book by Parker, set just post-WWII. Pretty good, especially since Parker isn't normally a YA writer...
Faye Kellerman - Street Dreams: I borrowed this one from my grandfather's collection and ended up hooked by it. Like I needed another writer to start collecting. And yes I know about libraries, but I actually prefer to own my books. I just need more bookshelves is all...
July 6th: Harry Turtledove (ed) - Alternate Generals: Rereading this anthology about alt history military battles I realized it no longer passed my 50% rule. So now its in the trade-in box...
July 9th: Elizabeth Moon - Against the Odds: The finale to Moon's Familas Regnant scifi series. A good ending, though at least one of the sub-plots feels like it would have fit better as a separate short story...
July 11th: Terri Windling/Mark Alan Arnold (ed) - Borderland: First anthology in a shared world series about a city on the edge of Faerie and the "regular" world...
July 13th: Windling (ed) - The Essential Bordertown: My favorite part from this anthology are the Travel Guide for Runaways bits between the stories. Though the stories aren't too shabby either...
July 14th: Tamora Pierce - Bloodhound: Is it too soon to start harassing Mrs. Pierce for the 3rd Beka Cooper book?
July 15th: Kim Harrison - White Witch, Black Curse: I'd have to say this latest Rachel Morgan book feels much stronger than some of the last few. Though, as seems to be the case for the previous one as well, there are characters introduced who make me wonder if I missed a book. Which probably means Harrison involves her short story work more heavily in her canon than most other Modern Fantasy writers...
July 17th: J.R.R. Tolkien - The Hobbit: Just had an urge to reread this one...
July 21st: Kat Richardson - Poltergeist: 2nd Greywalker book. PI (and medium) Harper Blaine is hired to audit an experiment in creating a "ghost" by a university research group. Then when one of the group members is murdered in a bizarre manner she has to find out how real and possibly dangerous the experiment might be...
A. Lee Martinez - Monster: Martinez' most recent book is about a version of Animal Control that deals with catching monsters. Some of it feels like a parody of the Modern Fantasy genre and the climax also reminds me a bit of In the Company of Ogres. But, as always, Martinez' strength is they're well-realized characters...
July 22nd: Esther Friesner - Temping Fate: A cute and funny, if a bit too short, book about a Temp Agency for assistants to Divine Powers. The lead character is a teen girl whose summer job ends up being working for the Greek version of the Three Fates...
John Grisham - The Broker: I grabbed this from the Lost & Found books at work when I finished the last book way early in my shift. Its been a while since I read any Grisham, but were his books always this padded out?
July 24th: Janni Lee Simner - Bones of Faerie: An excellent YA book with a post magical Apocalypse setting. One where the U.S. (and probably the world) has been knocked back to the Dark Ages by a disasterous war with Faerie. And in young Liza's village anyone who shows the taint of magic is banished. No matter how young. And so after her newborn daughter is left out in the woods to die Liza's mother leaves the village. And then when Liza starts having visions of the past, present and future, she flees into the deadly woods as well...
July 26th: McCaffrey - The Dolphins of Pern: Another post-AIVAS book, this one dealing with the restarting of the partnership between the descendants of the dolphin and human colonists...
July 27th-30th: Janet Evanovich - One For the Money, Two For the Dough, Three to Get Deadly, Four to Score, High Five, Hot Six, Seven Up, Hard Eight, To the Nines, Ten Big Ones, Eleven on Top, Twelve Sharp, Lean Mean Thirteen, Fearless Fourteen: The Stephanie Plum series is like popcorn for me. Its light and quick to read. The books are enjoyable and fun. And I can't stop reading them once I start. Which is how I plowed thru 14 of them in 4 days...
Total Books: 31