Books for January '06

[sebastian_tombs]

Paper:

• Stolen (Kelley Armstrong)
  Book 2 of her "Women of the Underworld" books. The werewolves are still the main characters, but the witches of books 3 and 4 are introduced. A mystery organization seems to be much too interested in supernaturals, and is kidnapping them for reasons unknown. Its up to the "good guys" to figure out what's going on and put a stop to it! Good characters and a fun plot, anyone who doesn't have a bigotry against fantasy should like it. Recommended.
  
• Brother's Price (Wen Spencer / wenspencer)
  A new series (I hope its a series), Brother's Price is in a world where men are scarce, and are treated largely like harem-women are in old Arabian tales. It comes off as a cross between the old west and feudal Europe, only with women in charge. An excellent story with great characters, I high recommended this one (as I do all of her books)
  
• Christmas is Good - Trixie Treats and Holiday Wisdom (Trixie Koontz, dog, edited by Dean Koontz)
  A cute (and very light read), Trixie (Dean Koontz's Golden Retriever). Liberally sprinkled with helpful advice ("shopping is easy - any gift is good if it smells like bacon" "decorate the christmas tree with strings of sausages") and very cute pictures of Trixie, a retired service dog. Recommended? That depends. For someone who loves goldens as much as I do, though, it was very entertaining.
  
• Agatha Raisin and the Case of the Curious Curate (MC Beaton)
  The next in this mystery series, the new, very good looking Curate (who is immensely popular with the women, and less so with the men) is murdered, just after Agatha meets him for dinner. Agatha is not actually a suspect, but the minister (who must be jealous of the Curate's popularity) seems the likely culprit, and Agatha tries to clear his name. A fairly light mystery (like all of Beaton's), but good nonetheless.
  
• The Get Fuzzy Experience (Darby Conley)
  A comic collection. Good stuff.
  
• The Destruction of the Books (Mel Odom)
  The second book in the series. Wick, the halfling librarian I spoke of last time, is now the Grandmagister of the Library of All Known Knowledge. Jugh is the focal character, another halfer librarian. He, for reasons not clear at the beginning, is leaving the library, but finds a mysterious book in the hands of goblins (and a nasty wizard to boot). This was an excellent read, perhaps even better than The Rover. Highly recommended.
  
• Charmed: Haunted By Desire (Cameron Dokey)
  The 6th of the novels based on the Charmed tv series. A double plot - Phoebe is taking a class on Legends and the Supernatural at a local college, and looks into the alleged haunting at the very college, where there was a double murder at a school dance. Meanwhile, a demon is seducing Piper and Prue in the attempt to break up the Charmed Ones and steal their powers. A light, fun read, and better than most of these novels.
  
• The Destroyer #139: Dream Thing (Murphy and Sapir)
  I couldn't ever find #138 (No Contest), and was missing a bit of the plot line at the beginning. Pretty good, but this is one of my guilty pleasures, and I'd never foist it on anyone else.

Audio:

• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (J.K. Rowling) (unabridged)
  First, I love the way Jim Dale reads the Harry Potter books. I know all of you were discussing this book months ago, so I'll just say that, while Harry is a bit of a prat, I am very interested in seeing where Rowling takes the next (and final) book. Highly recommended.
  
• Out of the Silent Planet (CS Lewis) (unabridged)
  One of the classics I read as a kid, and remembered pretty much nothing of. Its an interesting, but not particularly compelling read.
  
• The Long Ball: The Summer of '75 -- Spaceman, Catfish, Charlie Hustle, and the Greatest World Series Ever Played (Tom Adelman) (unabridged)
  Ok, if you are interested in the Red Sox or baseball history in general, this is a very highly recommended book. Lots of interesting side stories, background, texture, and the playoffs in a great deal of detail. For me, this was an outstanding read.
  
• Spring Fever (Dick Francis) (unabridged short stories)
  Three short stories, all based in the UK horse racing community. I didn't find these as interesting as his novels, but that is generally true for me and short stories, so I leave the decision to you.
  
• So You Want To Be a Wizard (Diane Duane) (unabridged)
  Oddly, this story (which I'd never read before) seemed more familiar than Out of the Silent Planet (which I had). I won't get into the plot, which is aimed at YA, I think. It was pretty good, but not as good as the Tamora Pierce stuff.
  
• Talking God (Tony Hillerman) (abridged)
  Another reread, narrated by the author. As Leaphorn describes at the end, (to paraphrase) "Mr. Chee and I are like wolves who have followed two different tracks to the same bush. One of us thinks that there is a chipmunk hiding in there, and the other thinks there is a bobcat." Both trails start in the New Mexico reservation, and end up in Washington DC. Not one of Hillerman's best, but still recommended.

Year to date: Paper: 8 Audio: 6

Now reading:
Callahan's Crosstime Saloon (Spider Robinson)
Curious Notions (Harry Turtledove)
Blue Mars (Kim Robinson)