Read Recently -- November -- The Time of the Sequels!
Some spoilers are inevitable. Be warned.
Empire of Ivory: Temeraire book 4 by Naomi Novik
In the wake of the events of the last book, our heroes return to an England bereft of dragons. A flu-like plague is infecting all of them, and many are dying. Temeraire and his flilght of bandits are practically the only fighting dragons left and they are kept very busy fighting off French scouts and preventing them from learning about England's weakness. But then, unexpectedly, Temeraire is exposed to the disease and doesn't get it. He's immune somehow! It's quickly determined that something he was exposed to or ate during their brief stopover in Africa on their way to China has done the trick, so our heroes are off to the Cape to try and find it. And what they find is going to, with no hyperbole, change the world forever.
Novik continues the series full-bore and damn-the-torpedoes, and it continues to work. I've no idea where she's going next (if I had to bet, I'd say North America), and she's got me both anticipating the next book and dreading what will happen to our heroes next.
Recommended.
Wolf Who Rules by Wen Spencer
Sequel to Tinker.
In the wake of the events of that book, Pittsburgh is stuck in Elfland. Tinker, feeling responsible for this problem (as she should, since she is), is trying to fix this. She's also dealing with the weird, dimensional effect in a nearby valley, now called "the Ghostlands". It's while she's investigating there that she and her bodyguards are attacked by a dragon. Meanwhile, Windwolf is dealing with human politics, trying to convince the humans of Pittsburgh that they must adapt to their new world and take on Elvish customs. But among the problems is that Elvish justice and Human justice often conflict. And agents of other clans are coming, and they will want to take control of Pittsburgh from him (and are less likely to be friendly to humans than Windwolf is). And there's the problem of the Oni agents still hidden among the human population. And then Tinker starts having really weird dreams . . .
I like this book, but it's hard to talk about without spoiling things. Tinker's still a great character (y'all have noticed how I like strong female heroes, right?), and we get more of Windwolf this time. He's charming and just alien enough to get across a sense that he's not really human while still allowing the reader to understand him. I don't think he's really understanding when he does wrong, though.
Anyway, recommended.
Empire of Ivory: Temeraire book 4 by Naomi Novik
In the wake of the events of the last book, our heroes return to an England bereft of dragons. A flu-like plague is infecting all of them, and many are dying. Temeraire and his flilght of bandits are practically the only fighting dragons left and they are kept very busy fighting off French scouts and preventing them from learning about England's weakness. But then, unexpectedly, Temeraire is exposed to the disease and doesn't get it. He's immune somehow! It's quickly determined that something he was exposed to or ate during their brief stopover in Africa on their way to China has done the trick, so our heroes are off to the Cape to try and find it. And what they find is going to, with no hyperbole, change the world forever.
Novik continues the series full-bore and damn-the-torpedoes, and it continues to work. I've no idea where she's going next (if I had to bet, I'd say North America), and she's got me both anticipating the next book and dreading what will happen to our heroes next.
Recommended.
Wolf Who Rules by Wen Spencer
Sequel to Tinker.
In the wake of the events of that book, Pittsburgh is stuck in Elfland. Tinker, feeling responsible for this problem (as she should, since she is), is trying to fix this. She's also dealing with the weird, dimensional effect in a nearby valley, now called "the Ghostlands". It's while she's investigating there that she and her bodyguards are attacked by a dragon. Meanwhile, Windwolf is dealing with human politics, trying to convince the humans of Pittsburgh that they must adapt to their new world and take on Elvish customs. But among the problems is that Elvish justice and Human justice often conflict. And agents of other clans are coming, and they will want to take control of Pittsburgh from him (and are less likely to be friendly to humans than Windwolf is). And there's the problem of the Oni agents still hidden among the human population. And then Tinker starts having really weird dreams . . .
I like this book, but it's hard to talk about without spoiling things. Tinker's still a great character (y'all have noticed how I like strong female heroes, right?), and we get more of Windwolf this time. He's charming and just alien enough to get across a sense that he's not really human while still allowing the reader to understand him. I don't think he's really understanding when he does wrong, though.
Anyway, recommended.