(no subject)
#51: Heir to Stone
S.L. Farrell
Library book. This book is the last in the Cloudmages trilogy, and everything pretty much goes to hell in this book. Meaning, events do, but the book is fun. That is, if you like things going from bad to worse. I did, and Farrell is very good at making his characters suffer in satisfying ways. :>)
#52: Woman who Rides Like a Man
Tamora Pierce
Audiobook. This was part III in a series. Dunno which one. This was fun; Alanna the female knight goes out to find herself (in a way) and ends up becoming a shaman of a desert tribe. Read by a female narrator, and the way she did voices took a bit of getting used to, but I did.
Only quibble was that the book wasn't stand-alone. It filled in the blanks of what happened in the past just fine, but there were some unfinished plot lines that presumably carry over into the next book. I do like Pierce's characters. They have very real emotions and seem very human. I want to hear (or read) more, but, alas, the library doesn't seem to have more.
#53: By George
Wesley Stace
Library book. This is an odd, amusing tale tracing the life of a ventriloquist's dummy from its original owner to his grandson. About half is told from the POV of the dummy. His name is George. So is the grandson's.
Anyway. I read another book by Stace, MISFORTUNE, and was quite happy to see another book by him. BY GEORGE is just as witty and weird and family-driven as the other one. The family business is show business, and the book shows the impact it has on four different generations. The whole format is quite clever in the way the stories are intertwined.
And Stace seems to have a thing for cross-dressers. MISFORTUNE had one as the main character; this one has a background character as one.
#54: Wolf Brother
Michelle Palaver
Audio book. Read by Ian McKellan! (Which I didn't notice when I picked it up, but, WOOHOO!)
This is a primitive YA tale about a boy who goes on a quest to slay the unnatural bear that killed his father and is accompanied by a wolf cub. I enjoyed this one (Ian McKellan notwithstanding) because it was a good adventure and coming-of-age tale. The setting is great, from forest to plains to glaciers, along with lots of animals and plant life and details of how clothing and food was made. Fun book.
#55: I feel like the Morning Star
Gregory Maguire
Library book. This is the same guy that went on to write WICKED, and, well, he's learned a lot since writing this YA book. I read it because someone recommended it that it was one of the rare examples of YA LGBT SF, but there were only a few vague references that a character might be gay, nothing overt.
Basically, this is a tale of a post-apocalyptic earth where a motley colony of people live in an underground compound. They were told that they'd only be there for a few months, but months turned into years, and there are still guards for reasons that the child protagonists don't know, and the Elders seem to have no inclination or rush to leave.
So, it was a bit odd. Big metaphor about freedom, though. But there were a lot of unanswered questions for me, so, overall, the book was unfulfilling. Oh well.
S.L. Farrell
Library book. This book is the last in the Cloudmages trilogy, and everything pretty much goes to hell in this book. Meaning, events do, but the book is fun. That is, if you like things going from bad to worse. I did, and Farrell is very good at making his characters suffer in satisfying ways. :>)
#52: Woman who Rides Like a Man
Tamora Pierce
Audiobook. This was part III in a series. Dunno which one. This was fun; Alanna the female knight goes out to find herself (in a way) and ends up becoming a shaman of a desert tribe. Read by a female narrator, and the way she did voices took a bit of getting used to, but I did.
Only quibble was that the book wasn't stand-alone. It filled in the blanks of what happened in the past just fine, but there were some unfinished plot lines that presumably carry over into the next book. I do like Pierce's characters. They have very real emotions and seem very human. I want to hear (or read) more, but, alas, the library doesn't seem to have more.
#53: By George
Wesley Stace
Library book. This is an odd, amusing tale tracing the life of a ventriloquist's dummy from its original owner to his grandson. About half is told from the POV of the dummy. His name is George. So is the grandson's.
Anyway. I read another book by Stace, MISFORTUNE, and was quite happy to see another book by him. BY GEORGE is just as witty and weird and family-driven as the other one. The family business is show business, and the book shows the impact it has on four different generations. The whole format is quite clever in the way the stories are intertwined.
And Stace seems to have a thing for cross-dressers. MISFORTUNE had one as the main character; this one has a background character as one.
#54: Wolf Brother
Michelle Palaver
Audio book. Read by Ian McKellan! (Which I didn't notice when I picked it up, but, WOOHOO!)
This is a primitive YA tale about a boy who goes on a quest to slay the unnatural bear that killed his father and is accompanied by a wolf cub. I enjoyed this one (Ian McKellan notwithstanding) because it was a good adventure and coming-of-age tale. The setting is great, from forest to plains to glaciers, along with lots of animals and plant life and details of how clothing and food was made. Fun book.
#55: I feel like the Morning Star
Gregory Maguire
Library book. This is the same guy that went on to write WICKED, and, well, he's learned a lot since writing this YA book. I read it because someone recommended it that it was one of the rare examples of YA LGBT SF, but there were only a few vague references that a character might be gay, nothing overt.
Basically, this is a tale of a post-apocalyptic earth where a motley colony of people live in an underground compound. They were told that they'd only be there for a few months, but months turned into years, and there are still guards for reasons that the child protagonists don't know, and the Elders seem to have no inclination or rush to leave.
So, it was a bit odd. Big metaphor about freedom, though. But there were a lot of unanswered questions for me, so, overall, the book was unfulfilling. Oh well.