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Pseudoscience and the Paranormal by Terence Hines
A thick book looking at the nature of the paranormal, pseudoscience, and science and then going through topics in more depth, from spiritualism to the shroud of Turin.
An interesting read. Recommended for those who are interested in such things, but I suspect that those who most need to read it will not.
Sword in the Storm by David Gemmell
I've been reading Gemmell for a long time now, but for some reason I always avoided his Rigante series. Finally decided to give this one a try, as it's first in the series.
It isn't bad. Once again Gemmell gives us a version of Celtic Britain; in fact for a while I thought I had read it before until I remembered what I was remembering was in fact the Hawk Queen books. This time, he throws in Rome as an adversary, though it's the "City of Stone"--ie--"Stone" is the name of the city, which strikes me as unlikely.
This is the story of Connavar, who is one of the tribe called the Rigante (Connavar as a name means "the sword in the storm", in case you were wondering). Connavar grows up, becomes aware of the threat of the armies of Stone, travels widely, and prepares himself to become King in order to defeat those self-same armies.
It's really hard to say more without spoiling it. There is magic, and the Morrigan makes several appearances. If you like Gemmell, you'll probably like this. If not, then not.
Banquets of the Black Widowers by Isaac Asimov
I used to think that I didn't like Isaac Asimov. I read the Foundation Trilogy (this was back when there was only a trilogy), and hated it. So I went around thinking, "Asimov? Don't like him." But then I realised I liked all the Robot stories (this was before the foundation stories ate the robot stories [or vice versa?]), and the Lucky Starr stories, and the mysteries, and the Azazel stories . . . finally, I realised that I actually liked Asimov. It was just Foundation I couldn't stand.
Alas, while it's fairly easy to find his SF, it's harder to find the mysteries. This is a collection of 12 of his "Black Widower" mysteries (short stories featuring a group of men who meet for dinner once a month--only men, no women allowed, hence the name of the club--and, if there is a guest, grill him for details of his life and philosophy, et al. Inevitably, the guest has a problem that intrigues the Widowers and, after they try to solve it and fail, their waiter, Henry, comes up with the solution), each with a short afterword to explain, well, anything interesting about the creation of the story--including the time he dreamed the twist of the story, then in the dream said, "This would make a great Black Widowers story!", and was fortunate enough to remember it when he awoke.
Recommended, but probably on available in used bookstores.
Aftermath by Peter Robinson
Another Alan Banks mystery. This time, two police officers respond to a report of a domestic disturbance. Entering the house in question, they find a woman unconscious in the front hall, and, after making her secure and calling for an ambulance, investigate further. In the basement, they find a young woman tied to a mattress and obviously strangled; they are then attacked by a man with a machete who kills one officer and is then beaten into insensibility by the other. It seems that the man is the serial killer Banks has been seeking (as part of a task force) for the last few months, killing local teenage girls who seem to just vanish. Most of them are buried in his cellar.
The story is complicated by the neighbour who called in the domestic; herself a victim of domestic violence, she sees the wife (the woman found unconscious in the hall) of the killer as an obvious innocent victim. Banks is not so sure; but the neighbour involves the press and public opinion. Also, the surviving officer from the original call is required to be investigated for possible police brutality, as the killer lapses into a coma from which he may never recover. And, as the investigation goes on, Banks is led to wonder if, in fact, he has found the last resting place of all the missing girls . . .
Obviously there was some influence from the Bernardo/Homolka case on the writing of this story. It's a great, gritty, dark mystery with a lot of twists. Recommended.
So, that finally ends May. Total is 14 books, 5 of them non-fiction, for a year total of 66 books, 19 nonfiction.