Book Review - Notorious Nineteen, by Janet Evanovich

Stephanie Plum Novels, by Janet Evanovich
1. One for the Money    10/18/2007
2. Two for the Dough    11/19/2007
3. Three to get Ready    11/24/2007
4. Four to Score           11/25/2007
5. High Five                 11/26/2007
6. Hot Six                    12/6/2007
7. Seven Up                3/10/2008
8. Hard Eight                3/11/2008
9. To the Nines            3/16/2008
10. Visions of Sugar Plums    3/14/2008
11. Ten Big Ones          3/17/2008
12. Eleven on Top         5/2/2008
13. Twelve Sharp          5/12/2008
14. Lean Mean Thirteen        5/13/2008
15. Plum Lovin’                5/14/2008
16. Plum Lucky                5/15/2008
17. Fearles Fourteen        8/18/2008
18. Plum Spooky                TBR
19. Finger Lickin’ Fifteen    9/25/2009
20. Sizzling Sixteen             11/4/2011                   (My Review)
21. Smokin' Seventeen        11/11/2011  * * *      (My Review) 
22. Explosive Eighteen         2/1/2012     * * * *   (My Review)
23. Notorious Nineteen        4/5/2013    * * * *

From Goodreads:
"#1 bestselling author Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum novels are: “irresistible” (Houston Chronicle), “stunning” (Booklist), “outrageous” (Publishers Weekly), “brilliantly evocative” (The Denver Post), and “making trouble and winning hearts” (USA Today).

New Jersey bounty hunter Stephanie Plum is certain of three truths: People don’t just vanish into thin air. Never anger old people. And don’t do what Tiki tells you to do.

After a slow summer of chasing low-level skips for her cousin Vinnie’s bail bonds agency, Stephanie Plum finally lands an assignment that could put her checkbook back in the black. Geoffrey Cubbin, facing trial for embezzling millions from Trenton’s premier assisted-living facility, has mysteriously vanished from the hospital after an emergency appendectomy. Now it’s on Stephanie to track down the con man. Unfortunately, Cubbin has disappeared without a trace, a witness, or his money-hungry wife. Rumors are stirring that he must have had help with the daring escape . . . or that maybe he never made it out of his room alive. Since the hospital staff’s lips seem to be tighter than the security, and it’s hard for Stephanie to blend in to assisted living, Stephanie’s Grandma Mazur goes in undercover. But when a second felon goes missing from the same hospital, Stephanie is forced into working side by side with Trenton’s hottest cop, Joe Morelli, in order to crack the case.

The real problem is, no Cubbin also means no way to pay the rent. Desperate for money—or maybe just desperate—Stephanie accepts a secondary job guarding her secretive and mouthwatering mentor Ranger from a deadly Special Forces adversary. While Stephanie is notorious for finding trouble, she may have found a little more than she bargained for this time around. Then again—a little food poisoning, some threatening notes, and a bridesmaid’s dress with an excess of taffeta never killed anyone . . . or did they? If Stephanie Plum wants to bring in a paycheck, she’ll have to remember: No guts, no glory. . . ."


My Thoughts:
Wow - Number Nineteen!  Who would have thought that this series could go on for so long?

No really, who thought that?  Well, while certain things about the series may be getting a bit long in the tooth, I have to admit that Notorious Nineteen was quite a bit better and definitely more enjoyable than the last two books in the series.  All the expected elements are there where they should be, like comfortable slippers beside the bed - Grandma Mazur is crazy yet oddly helpful, chicken gets eaten, Joe is hot, Ranger is hotter, etc.

But somehow - and I totally can't put my finger on why, exactly - Notorious Nineteen ends up being funnier and much more entertaining than the previous few novels.  Evanovich may have found a new enjoyment and life in her characters, perhaps, but whatever it is, I liked it. 

Overall I continue to enjoy this series, and recommend it to anyone who enjoys light-hearted mystery romps with a touch of romantic comedy.  I still hope the series tops out at 20, but if not, I at least hope that Evanovich continues having a little more fun with the series.

Book Review - The Kingdom of Gods, by N. K. Jemisin

The Inheritance Trilogy, by N. K. Jemisin
1. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (My Review)    12/13/2012    * * * *
2. The Broken Kingdoms                  (My Review)     12/31/2012    * * * *
3. The Kingdom of Gods                                            01/26/2013    * * * *

From Goodreads:

The incredible conclusion to the Inheritance Trilogy, from one of fantasy's most acclaimed stars.

For two thousand years the Arameri family has ruled the world by enslaving the very gods that created mortalkind. Now the gods are free, and the Arameri's ruthless grip is slipping. Yet they are all that stands between peace and world-spanning, unending war.

Shahar, last scion of the family, must choose her loyalties. She yearns to trust Sieh, the godling she loves. Yet her duty as Arameri heir is to uphold the family's interests, even if that means using and destroying everyone she cares for.

As long-suppressed rage and terrible new magics consume the world, the Maelstrom -- which even gods fear -- is summoned forth. Shahar and Sieh: mortal and god, lovers and enemies. Can they stand together against the chaos that threatens?

My Thoughts:
The Kingdom of Gods is the third (and final?) novel in the Inheritance Trilogy, and Jemisin definitely ramps up the action for the conclusion.  While the first two novels were more tightly focused on a specific event and time, The Kingdom of Gods is a bit more sprawling, spanning multiple years and story lines, some of the going back to the beginning of time.  We learn much more about the history of the world first introduced in The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, and even some additional information about the gods themselves.  But the main focus of the story does revolve around one of the godlings who the reader of the first two novels in the series is already familiar with - Sieh.

Sieh becomes interested in the two current heirs of the Arameri family, Shahar and Dekarta, and forms a bond with them that sets off an unexpected chain of events.  The three of them struggle with their various issues, as their world seems to crumble around them, and before long they realize that not only is their world and way of life at risk, but that an unknown entity may be trying to destroy the entire universe by wiping it out of existence.

As I mentioned above, the first two novels were fairly tightly focused, which worked well in terms of plot and pacing.  Unfortunately, The Kingdom of Gods, being much more widely focused, tends to sprawl a bit and feels messy and disorganized.  The narrative is more difficult to follow at times, and some of the characters behave in ways that don't quite feel true, or realistic, and to me this made the pacing feel off at several key points in the story.  Some of the plot points felt weak as well, with events happening off the page and characters behaving oddly.

However, none of this deterred me from reading the story, or from thoroughly enjoying it.  It's probably not the best book in the series - I personally think that honor belongs to The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms - but it finishes the over-all story of the world in a mostly satisfying way, and neatly completes the grand story arc begun with the first book in the series. 

In spite of these few missteps, there is much to love about The Kingdom of Gods, including Sieh's personally journey and revelations, and his relationships with Shahar and her brother.  This is where Jemisin really excels anyway, with the chemistry between her various characters and how they relate to each other.

I gave The Kingdom of Gods four stars, the same as The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms and The Broken Kingdoms, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and highly recommend it, with the caveat that if you try to read them out of order, you do so at your own risk.

Have you read The Kingdom of Gods, or either of the first two novels in the Inheritance Trilogy?  What did you think?  Leave me a comment and let me know - I'd love to hear your thoughts!!

Teaser Tuesday - Gone, by Michael Grant

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just:
* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author, too, so that other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their To Be Read (TBR) Lists if they like your teasers!

----------

"Gone" is the first book in a series of Teen Fiction books written by Michael Grant, centered around the idea that in a single moment everyone over the age of fifteen disappears.  In this scene, Sam faces the moment that might result in his own disappearance.

The Tease:

"The face of their mother wavered.  The tender flesh seemed to break apart in jig-saw-puzzle pieces.  The gently smiling, pleading mouth melted, collapsed inward.  In its place a mouth ringed with needle-sharp teeth.  Eyes filled with green fire.
"I'll have you yet," the monster raged with sudden violence."

 -Gone, by Michael Grant

What's your Tease?

Book Review - The Broken Kingdoms, by N. K. Jemisin

The Inheritance Trilogy, by N. K. Jemisin
1. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (My Review)    12/13/2012    * * * *
2. The Broken Kingdoms                                           12/31/2012    * * * *
3. The Kingdom of Gods                                            01/26/2013    * * * *

From Goodreads:

In the city of Shadow, beneath the World Tree, alleyways shimmer with magic and godlings live hidden among mortalkind. Oree Shoth, a blind artist, takes in a homeless man who glows like a living sun to her strange sight. This act of kindness engulfs Oree in a nightmarish conspiracy. Someone, somehow, is murdering godlings, leaving their desecrated bodies all over the city.

Oree's peculiar guest is at the heart of it, his presence putting her in mortal danger -- but is it him the killers want, or Oree? And is the earthly power of the Arameri king their ultimate goal, or have they set their sights on the Lord of Night himself?
 
My Thoughts:

*** Possible Spoilers for Book 1 in the series, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms.  You've been warned! ***


The Broken Kingdoms continues the saga begun in The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms - sort of.

Ten years have passed, and the world of the Kingdoms has changed in many ways.  The palace of Sky now sits high amid the branches of the World Tree, and the city below has been shattered and divided by the Tree's roots and renamed Shadow.  The gods have been freed from their slavery, and many of the godlings who had previously avoided the Kingdoms have come to live among the humans in the city of Shadow.  The world is a vastly different place for the ruling Arameri family.

But for the common folk, things aren't just different, they're also more difficult.  Surviving from day to day is still a struggle, but the multitudes of godlings inhabiting the city, and the various religious factions warring in the streets, make survival much more complicated.

Oree finds out just how complicated it can become when she accidentally becomes involved in a murder mystery - who is killing the immortal godlings, and how?  Oree tries to survive the power struggle that results from the void left by the missing and dead godlings, while also attempting to survive the riddle of who can kill someone who cannot be killed.  And the truth is beyond anything she could have imagined.

N. K. Jemisin masterfully weaves a delicious story that keeps you at the edge of your seat, with never a dull moment.  The shift of focus from the ruling class to the common citizen allows the reader to view a completely new aspect of the Kingdoms, and nicely fills out the overall story and mythology of the world.  The Broken Kingdoms is a much more tightly focused story, dealing more with the problems of individual people rather than the issues of the gods.

I highly recommend The Broken Kingdoms - it's a great novel and a great story.  I think that it could probably be read alone, but to fully enjoy the story I would recommend starting with The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms before reading The Broken Kingdoms.

Have you read either The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms or The Broken Kingdoms?  What did YOU  think?  Leave a comment below!

Book Review - The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, by N. K. Jemisin

The Inheritance Trilogy, by N. K. Jemisin
1. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms    12/13/2012    * * * *
2. The Broken Kingdoms                      12/31/2012    * * * *
3. The Kingdom of Gods                       01/26/2013    * * * *

From Goodreads:

"Yeine Darr is an outcast from the barbarian north. But when her mother dies under mysterious circumstances, she is summoned to the majestic city of Sky. There, to her shock, Yeine is named an heiress to the king. But the throne of the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is not easily won, and Yeine is thrust into a vicious power struggle with cousins she never knew she had. As she fights for her life, she draws ever closer to the secrets of her mother's death and her family's bloody history.

With the fate of the world hanging in the balance, Yeine will learn how perilous it can be when love and hate - and gods and mortals - are bound inseparably together."

My Thoughts:
The Arameri family rule the world with an iron fist.  Any dissent or heresy is quickly and brutally stamped out of existence.  For you see, the ruling family has an advantage - they control the gods, who must bow to the whim of anyone in the family.

When Yeine arrives at the elevated city of Sky, she is somewhat naive about what awaits her, even though she is used to ruling a country herself.  But the political intrigue, the silent battles fought between her various relatives, and the casual cruelness that she encounters all combine to throw her off balance as she tries to learn how to survive in what seems to be a mad house.

Luckily she has some help.  One of the captive gods has taken an interest in her, and seems to have plans that involve her participation - whether she wants to or not.  And the world will pay for her choice, no matter what decision she makes.

N. K. Jemisin has created an amazingly beautiful and unique world filled with interesting and colorful characters.  The prose is dreamy, and often surreal.  The story moves quickly and there is never a dull moment as Yeine is thrust from one impossible situation to another, until she at last begins to understand her situation and takes control of her own life and future.  Yet the story never feels rushed.  Fantasy, action, politics, family, and a small amount of romance all collide and create a whole that is greater than the sum of its' parts.

I truly enjoyed reading The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, and highly recommend it to anyone.  I gave it four stars.  This is the first books in a trilogy, but at the same time is a complete story in itself, making it easy to try out.  But I'm willing to bet that if you try The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, you'll be instantly hooked, as I was.

If you've read The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, leave a comment below and let me know what you thought!  If you haven't read it yet - well, what are you waiting for?

Book News - The Republic of Thieves, by Scott Lynch

In case you missed it yesterday, according to the Gollancz Blog a publication date has been set for The Republic of Thieves, by Scott Lynch.

The Republic of Thieves is the third book in the Gentlemen Bastards sequence, which began with The Lies of Locke Lamora, published in 2006, and followed by Red Seas Under Red Skies in 2007.  Since then fans around the world have eagerly awaited the continuation of the critically acclaimed fantasy series, and later this year we will finally get to find out what happened to Locke and his trusty companion Jean.

The Republic of Thieves is scheduled to be released October 8, 2013 in the United States, and October 10, 2013 in the UK and Commonwealth.  Simon Spanton of Gollancz has confirmed that Scott Lynch has delivered the finished manuscript to the publishing house, and the author himself Tweeted his pleasure at finally having a firm publication date.

If you haven't tried this series, I highly recommend it, and you've got plenty of time to read Books 1 and 2 before Book 3 arrives in October. 

My review of The Lies of Locke Lamora.

My review of Red Seas Under Red Skies.

Book Review - The Casual Vacancy, by J.K. Rowling

The Casual Vacancy   J.K. Rowling     11/25/2012   * * * *

From Goodreads:
"A BIG NOVEL ABOUT A SMALL TOWN ...

When Barry Fairbrother dies in his early forties, the town of Pagford is left in shock.

Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war.

Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils ... Pagford is not what it first seems.

And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations?

My Thoughts:
I want to start right away by saying that I quite enjoyed The Casual Vacancy, even though it's been months since I read it and I've been so very slow in writing a review.  The delay is not because the novel was bad.  But it has been difficult for me to sort out my thoughts about this novel.  And sometimes it was a difficult novel to read.

The story revolves around a group of residents of the small town of Pagford, some adults, some teenagers.  On the surface, the town seems idyllic and perfect, simple and peaceful.  But simmering just below the surface are tensions and hatreds and hurts and loves and desires and secrets; all things that people try to hide from their friends, neighbors, and acquaintances.  Barry Fairbrother's death in a parking lot acts as a catalyst, bringing all the hidden emotions and feelings to the surface, and leads to a devastating turn of events that no one could have foreseen.

While that description is correct, and sounds exciting, The Casual Vacancy is not a past-paced exciting novel.  It is, instead, a very quiet, character driven story of regular, ordinary, everyday people living their lives and dealing with the regular, ordinary, everyday things that happen in life.  Adults worry about their jobs, and what their neighbors might be saying about them, and what their kids are getting up to in school, and wonder how to make their lives better, happier, and more tolerable.  The teenagers go to school and worry about whether they will survive the day, or what form of bullying will affect them today, or how to continue without their favorite teacher.  They steal smokes, have sex in in the cemetery, try to keep their mother from overdosing, and cut themselves in the middle of the night because that's the only thing they have control over.

This is where J.K. Rowling really shines - her teenagers are brilliant, and were easily my favorite characters in the story.  A great deal of the drama in the novel revolves around the younger characters, and they are affected by it more strongly, partly, in my opinion, because they have less control of their own lives, and are left at the mercy of the adults around them.

The Casual Vacancy deals, or touches on, quite a few very serious subjects.  Drug use, rape, child neglect, teen sex, cutting, bullying, and domestic violence are all among the things that various characters deal with in their daily lives, and J.K. Rowing handles these very serious subjects with a grace and delicacy that is astonishing, while at the same time forcing the reader to look head-on at the horror of these situations and truly feel the pain and anguish the characters feel.

All of this is described with the authors very familiar style of prose, or at least, familiar to those of us who have spent years reading the Harry Potter series.  When I first began the novel, that sense of familiarity, the sing-song style of her writing lulled me into such a feeling of comfort and security that the first time a character swore or lit a cigarette it was as if a glass of cold water had been tossed in my face.  Shocking!  But I personally became used to this new adult J.K Rowling.  Used to, perhaps, but never quite comfortable with.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed The Casual Vacancy.  I don't know if I would ever choose to re-read it, but it's a good solid novel that I would recommend to any adult or older teenager.  I gave it four stars, and feel that it is a solid Adult Fiction debut for J.K. Rowling.  I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

Have you read The Casual Vacancy? What are your thoughts?

What I Found - The Black Prism, by Brent Weeks

This past weekend I was visiting the local mall, and decided to duck into Barnes & Noble for a quick moment.  As I approached the entrance to the store I passed the Bargain Rack that usually sits just outside the entrance, which I usually ignore.  But for some reason this time I stopped to take a look, and what to my wondering eyes should appear?

This:

The Black Prism, by Brent Weeks.

I've been intending to read this series "eventually" but wasn't in a hurry to start it.  I figured I'd just download it to my Nook at some point when I could devour the whole series at once.  But when I realized that the Hardback version of the book was on sale, I really couldn't pass it by.  I mean, really - a hardback novel for under five dollars?!  That's CRAZY!!!

So of course I brought it home, and now it lives in my bookcase.  I'm so excited!

What bargain books have you found lately?

Book Review - Shadow of Night, by Deborah Harkness

All Soul's Trilogy, by Deborah Harkness
1. A Discovery of Witches    12/01/2011  * * * * * (My Review)
2. Shadow of Night              10/21/2012  * * * *

From Goodreads:

"Together we lifted our feet and stepped into the unknown"—the thrilling sequel to the New York Times bestseller A Discovery of Witches

Deborah Harkness exploded onto the literary scene with her debut novel, A Discovery of Witches, Book One of the magical All Souls Trilogy and an international publishing phenomenon. The novel introduced Diana Bishop, Oxford scholar and reluctant witch, and the handsome geneticist and vampire Matthew Clairmont; together they found themselves at the center of a supernatural battle over an enchanted manuscript known as Ashmole 782.

Now, picking up from A Discovery of Witches’ cliffhanger ending, Shadow of Night plunges Diana and Matthew into Elizabethan London, a world of spies, subterfuge, and a coterie of Matthew’s old friends, the mysterious School of Night that includes Christopher Marlowe and Walter Raleigh. Here, Diana must locate a witch to tutor her in magic, Matthew is forced to confront a past he thought he had put to rest, and the mystery of Ashmole 782 deepens.

Deborah Harkness has crafted a gripping journey through a world of alchemy, time travel, and magical discoveries, delivering one of the most hotly anticipated novels of the season.

My Thoughts:
Shadow of Night is indeed a gripping novel in many ways.  The author, Deborah Harkness, has definitely done the required research of the historical period and characters involved in this portion of the story, and manages to make England and Western Europe come alive.  From the moment Diana and Matthew arrive in England, and as they travel to London, France, and beyond, the reader is steeped in fascinating and colorful historical detail.

Unfortunately, as wonderful as the setting is, the story itself suffers from middle book syndrome.  The couple join up with Matthew's  friends - the School of Night - and seem to just wander aimlessly from place to place, reliving events that Matthew has already experienced, and is unable to change the outcome of those events.

Additionally, occasional forward-flashes to the current time are interspersed throughout the story, many of which don't seem to connect to anything that it happening in the story, and these tend to be a little confusing.

Overall though, it's a good story, if a bit slow, and sets the characters up for the events to come in the third novel, which I am anticipating reading.  I give Shadow of Night four stars, one less than A Discovery of Witches, due to the dragging plot lines and confusing flash-forwards.

Have you read Shadow of Night?  What did you think??

Covering the Cover - Curtsies & Conspiracies, by Gail Carriger

Yesterday, the always fabulous Gail Carriger revealed the cover art for the second book in her new four-book Young Adult series set in the Parasol Protectorate universe - Finishing School - Book the Second: Curtsies & Conspiracies!

The series is set 25 years before Soulless, and follows young Sophronia as she attends a rather unique finishing school, where she and her school mates learn the proper methods for finishing anything - and anyone - as needed.

I think the cover art is amazing, as always, and the detail is incredible.  I'm very excited to read this new series.

Curtsies & Conspiracies is due near the end of 2013, probably in November.  The first book in the series, Etiquette & Espionage, will be released next week, February 5, 2013!

2012 Reading Recap

I'm a little late getting to the recap this year, and to my disappointment, I find that my reading total has dropped yet again, from 26 books in 2011, down to 21 books in 2012.  Once again there were several novels with higher-page counts, including A Dance With Dragons (1016 pages), 2312 (444 pages), The Casual Vacancy (503 pages), and Blue Remembered Earth (512 pages).

So, for your viewing pleasure, here's the list of books that I finished in 2012, with the date I finished reading the book, and links to reviews.

A Dance with Dragons	George R R Martin	1/28/2012
Explosive Eighteen	Janet Evanovich	2/1/2012
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children	Ransom Riggs	2/7/2012
The Mephisto Club (Rizzoli & Isles #6)	Tess Gerritsen	2/16/2012
The Hunger Games	Suzanne Collins	2/20/2012
Ender's Game	Orson Scott Card	2/27/2012
Timeless	Gail Carriger	3/6/2012
A Princess of Mars	Edgar Rice Burroughs	3/13/2012
The Gods of Mars	Edgar Rice Burroughs	3/26/2012
Warlord of Mars	Edgar Rice Burroughs	4/1/2012
Thuvia, Maid of Mars	Edgar Rice Burroughs	4/9/2012
The Chessmen of Mars	Edgar Rice Burroughs	4/24/2012
The Watchers of Ur: Cradle	Lamonte Fowler	5/11/2012
The Desert of Souls	Howard Andrew Jones	5/27/2012
The Seventh Scroll	Wilbur Smith	7/8/2012
2312	Kim Stanley Robinson	8/12/2012
Blue Remembered Earth	Alastair Reynolds	9/11/2012
Shadow of Night	Deborah Harkness	10/21/2012
The Casual Vacancy	J. K. Rowling	11/25/2012
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms	N. K. Jemisin	12/13/2012
The Broken Kingdoms	N. K. Jemisin	12/31/2012

Not a bad list, eh?  Although I'm reminded again just how far behind I am with writing reviews. Something to work on in the new year, I guess!
What did you read in 2012?

Book Review - The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry

Cotton Malone Series, by Steve Berry
1. The Templar Legacy     06/09/2009     * * * *

From Goodreads:
"The ancient order of the Knights Templar possessed untold wealth and absolute power over kings and popes . . . until the Inquisition, when they were wiped from the face of the earth, their hidden riches lost. But now two forces vying for the treasure have learned that it is not at all what they thought it was-and its true nature could change the modern world.
Cotton Malone, one-time top operative for the U.S. Justice Department, is enjoying his quiet new life as an antiquarian book dealer in Copenhagen when an unexpected call to action reawakens his hair-trigger instincts-and plunges him back into the cloak-and-dagger world he thought he'd left behind.
It begins with a violent robbery attempt on Cotton's former supervisor, Stephanie Nelle, who's far from home on a mission that has nothing to do with national security. Armed with vital clues to a series of centuries-old puzzles scattered across Europe, she means to crack a mystery that has tantalized scholars and fortune-hunters through the ages by finding the legendary cache of wealth and forbidden knowledge thought to have been lost forever when the order of the Knights Templar was exterminated in the fourteenth century. But she's not alone. Competing for the historic prize-and desperate for the crucial information Stephanie possesses-is Raymond de Roquefort, a shadowy zealot with an army of assassins at his command.
Welcome or not, Cotton seeks to even the odds in the perilous race. But the more he learns about the ancient conspiracy surrounding the Knights Templar, the more he realizes that even more than lives are at stake. At the end of a lethal game of conquest, rife with intrigue, treachery, and craven lust for power, lies a shattering discovery that could rock the civilized world-and, in the wrong hands, bring it to its knees."

My Thoughts:
Cotton Malone is a retired CIA agent who has retired to Copenhagen to open a bookstore, and is, for the most part, living quite happily in his new home.  But that all changes when his old boss blows into town for a visit, and suddenly Malone finds himself swept up in a desperate chase across the city and eventually across Europe, as he deciphers secret clues to try to stop the plans of a crazy man who also happens to be the Grand Master of a new secret Templar cult. 

The pace moves at breakneck speed, for the most part, although as so often happens, there is a section in the middle that I felt got a little bogged down.  Full of murder and mayhem, blackmail, kidnapping, betrayal and seemingly impossible escapes, The Templar Legacy is quite good, considering that the first novel in a series usually leaves a bit to be desired.  Characterization is a bit weak, I suppose, as it's a little difficult to get to know a character while he's running for his life, but that's a small quibble and something that does get better as the series continues.  The subject matter feels impeccably researched, and the reader may accidentally find themselves learning quite a bit of early Christian and European history without even noticing.

Similar in tone to Dan Brown's Angels & Demons and The Da Vinci Code, but smarter, with a heavy dose of James Bond thrown into the mix, many will find this novel to be controversial in scope and subject matter in terms of religion and Christianity.  Nonetheless, I highly recommend The Templar Legacy.  It's a fast, fun, fact-filled, fascinating, and fulfilling novel.  If you like Dan Brown's novels, and aren't afraid of controversial ideas in your fiction novels, then I think you'll enjoy The Templar Legacy.

Have you read The Templar Legacy?  What did you think?  Did you find the ideas regarding Christianity too controversial?

Book Review - The Third Secret, by Steve Berry

The Third Secret, Steve Berry  10/18/2005  * * * *

From Goodreads:
"Explosive in both its pace and its revelations, The Third Secret is a remarkable international thriller. Bestselling author Steve Berry tackles some of the most controversial ideas of our time in a breakneck journey through the history of the Church and the future of religion.

Fatima, Portugal, 1917: The Virgin Mary appears to three peasant children, sharing with them three secrets, two of which are soon revealed to the world. The third secret is sealed away in the Vatican, read only by popes, and not disclosed until the year 2000. When revealed, its quizzical tone and anticlimactic nature leave many faithful wondering if the Church has truly unveiled all of the Virgin Mary’s words–or if a message far more important has been left in the shadows.

Vatican City, present day: Papal secretary Father Colin Michener is concerned for the Pope. Night after restless night, Pope Clement XV enters the Vatican’s Riserva, the special archive open only to popes, where the Church’s most clandestine and controversial documents are stored. Though unsure of the details, Michener knows that the Pope’s distress stems from the revelations of Fatima.

Equally concerned, but not out of any sense of compassion, is Alberto Cardinal Valendrea, the Vatican’s Secretary of State. Valendrea desperately covets the papacy, having narrowly lost out to Clement at the last conclave. Now the Pope’s interest in Fatima threatens to uncover a shocking ancient truth that Valendrea has kept to himself for many years.

When Pope Clement sends Michener to the Romanian highlands, then to a Bosnian holy site, in search of a priest–possibly one of the last people on Earth who knows Mary’s true message–a perilous set of events unfolds. Michener finds himself embroiled in murder, suspicion, suicide, deceit, and his forbidden passion for a beloved woman. In a desperate search for answers, he travels to Pope Clement’s birthplace in Germany, where he learns that the third secret of Fatima may dictate the very fate of the Church–a fate now lying in Michener’s own hands."

My Thoughts:
So, it's been awhile since I read this novel, but I still remember how much I liked reading it.  It isn't my favorite of Steve Berry's novels - I much prefer his Cotton Malone series - but reading The Third Secret was fascinating and enjoyable.  As usual Mr. Berry has done what I can only imagine was a massive amount of research, which makes the story feel complete and authentic, and also manages to be informative about the history and workings of the Vatican without ever feeling boring or educational.

Suspenseful and exciting, the story is full of political intrigue, action, murder, with a little of the supernatural thrown in for good measure.  The writing is solid and the pacing is good, though there is a bit in the middle where it bogged down a bit, for me at least.  But overall, even though this isn't my favorite of his novels, I do strongly recommend it as an enjoyable read.

Have you read The Third Secret by Steve Berry?  What did you think?

Book Review - Blue Remembered Earth by Alastair Reynolds

Poseidon's Children:
1. Blue Remembered Earth, 09/11/2012 * * * * *

From Goodreads:
"With his critically acclaimed Revelation Space novels, Alastair Reynolds confirmed “his place among the leaders of the hard-science space opera renaissance.” (Publishers Weekly) With Blue Remembered Earth, the award-winning author begins a new epic, tracing generations of one family across more than ten thousand years of future history—into interstellar space and the dawn of galactic society…

One hundred and fifty years from now, Africa has become the world’s dominant technological and economic power. Crime, war, disease and poverty have been eliminated. The Moon and Mars are settled, and colonies stretch all the way out to the edge of the solar system. And Ocular, the largest scientific instrument in history, is about to make an epochal discovery…

Geoffrey Akinya wants only one thing: to be left in peace, so that he can continue his long-running studies into the elephants of the Amboseli basin. But Geoffrey’s family, who control the vast Akinya business empire, has other plans for him. After the death of his grandmother Eunice—the erstwhile space explorer and entrepreneur—something awkward has come to light on the Moon, so Geoffrey is dispatched there to ensure the family name remains untarnished. But the secrets Eunice died with are about to be revealed—secrets that could change everything...or tear this near utopia apart."

My Thoughts:
Blue Remembered Earth opens a window into a future history that feels very believable.  The story traces the events in the lives of two siblings who are part of a vastly wealthy family with business ventures spanning the solar system.  Though both Sunday and Geoffrey have each turned their backs on the family business in their own ways, they remain close to each other, and when their grandmother Eunice dies, they are each drawn into the mystery of her life and death, and the clues she left behind to carefully guide her descendants to a nearly unimaginable discovery.

I haven't read much by Alastair Reynolds, but after finishing Blue Remembered Earth, I think that is something that I need to change.  Reynolds seems to have a limitless imagination and his vision of the future of humanity and its' passage into space is intriguing, fascinating, and above all, positive.

I began reading Blue Remembered Earth immediately after finishing 2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson (my review here), and it was impossible not to compare the two novels in my mind as I read.  Both novels have a similar scale of where the story takes place (all across the solar system), both take place in the not-too-distant future, and both authors make use of interesting, fantastic, and yet believable technology.  I gave 2312 only three stars, which was a little disappointing to me, as I had expected so much more from it.  So if the two novels seem so similar on the surface, why am I giving Blue Remembered Earth five stars?

Blue Remembered Earth feels like a very intimate story, for one thing.  The characters feel real, and have understandable reactions and feelings that I as the reader can identify with, and I felt that I was living the story with them, rather than having their stories relayed to me by a third party.  And this is something that Reynolds seem to excel at - showing and making the read feel what is happening.

You hear it all the time, if you read anything about writing, or have taken classes or workshops.  One of the cardinal rules of writing is "Show, don't Tell."  Reynolds seems to be a master at this, showing us his version of this future Earth through the eyes of his characters, rather than telling or instructing the reader.  This doesn't always work perfectly of course - characters in the story "voked an aug" several times before I finally realized what this meant, but really this just made me more curious about his world and this future, and the realization of the possibilities of these different types of neural "augmentations" was fascinating in and of itself.

Another major difference between Blue Remembered Earth and 2312 was the subtle yet powerful way that Reynolds made me care about and identify with the main characters, Geoffrey and Sunday, and even several of the lesser characters, to the extent that I found myself quite upset when Memphis---Ah! But that would be a spoiler!  Suffice it to say that the characters are real and likable, and even the unlikeable characters are still engaging.

Again, Reynolds' talent of showing the reader not only what is happening to or around his characters, but also how they feel and think is masterful to the point that I believed I could see the landscape of Mars with Sunday, or feel the loneliness that Geoffrey imagined when looking back at the tiny blue marble of Earth.

Overall, Blue Remembered Earth is well paced story of a plausible future, and a family's search for the truth.  Told with a sense of awe and wonder, and set in a series of fantastic locales, it is never preachy, and always intriguing.  As I stated above, I believe this novel deserves 5 stars, and I cannot wait to read book two!

Have you read Blue Remembered Earth by Alastair Reynolds yet?  Do you plan to?  What are your thoughts?  As always, feel free to leave a comment below and let me know what you think!

Book Review - Elantris, by Brandon Sanderson

Elantris, Brandon Sanderson  09/16/2005  * * * * *

From Goodreads:
"Elantris was the capital of Arelon: gigantic, beautiful, literally radiant, filled with benevolent beings who used their powerful magical abilities for the benefit of all. Yet each of these demigods was once an ordinary person until touched by the mysterious transforming power of the Shaod.

Ten years ago, without warning, the magic failed. Elantrians became wizened, leper-like, powerless creatures, and Elantris itself dark, filthy, and crumbling. Arelon's new capital, Kae, crouches in the shadow of Elantris.

Princess Sarene of Teod arrives for a marriage of state with Crown Prince Raoden, hoping -- based on their correspondence -- to also find love. She finds instead that Raoden has died and she is considered his widow. Both Teod and Arelon are under threat as the last remaining holdouts against the imperial ambitions of the ruthless religious fanatics of Fjordell. So Sarene decides to use her new status to counter the machinations of Hrathen, a Fjordell high priest who has come to Kae to convert Arelon and claim it for his emperor and his god.

But neither Sarene nor Hrathen suspect the truth about Prince Raoden. Stricken by the same curse that ruined Elantris, Raoden was secretly exiled by his father to the dark city. His struggle to help the wretches trapped there begins a series of events that will bring hope to Arelon, and perhaps reveal the secret of Elantris itself.

A rare epic fantasy that doesn't recycle the classics and that is a complete and satisfying story in one volume, Elantris is fleet and fun, full of surprises and characters to care about. It's also the wonderful debut of a welcome new star in the constellation of fantasy."

My Thoughts:
Wow - it has been almost seven years since I first read Elantris, the debut fantasy novel written by Brandon Sanderson, and I still count it as one of the best Fantasy novels I've ever read.  This is where Sanderson showed the world for the first time his amazing ability to create new and exciting worlds and characters, an ability that has only gotten better with time.  The magic system in this novel is unique and creative, and the story balances nicely between action and political intrigue.

Princess Sarene herself is a fascinating character.  Sanderson writes strong female leads quite well; Sarene is sharp, quick-witted, and not afraid to get her hands dirty when the need arises.  I thoroughly enjoyed discovering Elantris through her eyes as she and Prince Raoden search for the truth and try to save their kingdoms.

Overall I've given Elantris five stars, which might seem like a lot for a debut novel, but it's just that good.  If you haven't read anything by Brandon Sanderson, there's no better place to start than with Elantris.

If you have read Elantris, or plan to, leave a comment below and let me know what you think!

Tomorrow is National Buy A Book Day!

I just found this little gem via http://onlythebestscifi.blogspot.com.  It appears that tomorrow, September 7, is THE day to go buy a book!

According to their website:

"The National Buy a Book Day Foundation's primary activity is educating the American people on the importance of books to our culture and community by encouraging citizens to go to any bookstore on September 7th of each year, which we hope to establish as National Buy a Book Day, and buy a book. By buying a book, as a community, every year on the same day, we come together in support of books, booksellers, authors, and publishers alike. This is the exclusive goal of the organization, and it is funded entirely from public and corporate donations."

 I think this sounds like a fabulous idea, and I already know what book I'm going to buy!  Will you join in?  It doesn't matter if it is a new book, a used book, (or even an e-book)!  It can be a gift for someone else, but it's also the perfect excuse to buy that one guilty pleasure you've been wanting to read but haven't taken the time to purchase.  Big or small, expensive or cheap it doesn't matter - just buy a book!

And help spread the word!!

Book Review - Threshold by Sara Douglas

Threshold, January 2004, * * * *

From Goodreads:

Over the hot southern land of Ashdod looms the shadow of Threshold, a massive pyramid which the Magi of Ashdod are building to propel themselves into Infinity, a plane of existence that holds the promise of technological magics and supposedly unimaginable power. For decades, thousands of slaves have lost their lives in the construction of this edifice. Now that this construction is almost complete, the Magi need only to add the finishing touches, and they will let nothing stand in the way of achieving their desire.

The Master of the Magi, a young and ambitious man, ready to do anything for power, sees the glassworker slave Tirzah as a plaything, a trifle to relieve the tensions of the day. He senses that under her placid façade Tirzah is hiding something, but try as he may to see beneath her surface, she remains an enigma.

What he does not know is that her secret is the knowledge of forbidden magic. That she senses the inherent power in glass and can communicate with it-and that the glass in Threshold screams to her in pain.

For it knows what neither Tirzah nor any of the Magi suspect. That something waits in Infinity, watching, biding its time, and when the final glass plate is laid and the capstone cemented in blood, it plans to use Threshold to step from Infinity into Ashdod...

My Thoughts:
Threshold is probably my favorite of all of Sara Douglass' novels.  It's a some-what stand-alone novel - it can be read on it's own, but the story and characters also tie into the Darkglass Mountain series which Sara Douglass wrote much later.

Set in an unusual fantasy realm reminiscent of ancient Egypt, Threshold tells the story of Tirzah, a young slave woman who works with glass, who comes to the attention of Boaz, one of the Magi who have designed Threshold, a giant glass pyramid that they hope will connect them with Infinity, granting them unlimited magical powers over all creation.  The unlikely pair don't realize how their fates are intertwined at first, and even though they begin as enemies they soon begin to work together against a force of unimaginable power and evil.

The novel itself has a good plot, and Sara Douglass is an amazing story teller.  The pacing of the novel is good for the most part, although there is a section in the middle where things bog down a bit before it picks back up again for the ending.

I recommend Threshold to anyone who likes fantasy in general, and the desert setting makes a nice change from the traditional Euro-centric landscape.  Interesting characters and an innovative plot make this novel very enjoyable and well worth the time.  I give it four stars - if you haven't read it give it a try and let me know what you think!

Have you read Threshold by Sara Douglass, or is it on your To Be Read List?  Leave me a comment and tell me if you agree or disagree with my review, or if you plan to read it in the future.

Book Review - Beyond the Hanging Wall by Sara Douglass

Beyond the Hanging Wall, 09/30/2003 * * * *

From Goodreads:

Like his physician father, Garth Baxtor is gifted with The Touch. By laying his hands upon a person, Garth can sense what dwells within: pain, illness, joy, or sorrow. It is through the application of The Touch that the gifted minister helps the sick of Escator by diagnosing ills and promoting healing.

By decree of the royal treasury, for a period of three weeks each year, physicians of Escator - in lieu of taxes - are required to attend to the needs of the criminals who labor endlessly in the Veins, the labyrinth of mines carved deep into the earth and from which they harvest the gloam-a priceless commodity upon which the fortunes of Escator depend.

It is during one such period of mandatory service that Joseph Baxtor decides his son is old enough to accompany him to the Veins as his apprentice. Garth is delighted. It's a chance to escape the dull and dreary surroundings of his quiet village for the delights of the capital city of Ruen. Joseph has been ordered to attend King Cavor himself. Garth will actually meet the king in person!

As he discovers all too soon, however, the task at hand is a grim one. Descending into the mines for the first time, Garth could hardly be less prepared for what he encounters: thousands of men laboring like animals in dreadful conditions deep below the earth's surface.

Applying his hands to the wound of one prisoner known only as Lot No. 859, Garth is stunned by what he discovers. This man is no common criminal. But then, who is he? Could it be? After all these years?

The answer to the riddle will involve Garth in a harrowing journey out of the Veins and into the Land of Dreams as he tries to resolve the question of the identity of Lot No 859. In the process, Garth will solve a centuries-old mystery-a mystery that will pit one king against another and shake the Kingdom of Escator to its foundations.

My Thoughts:
Beyond the Hanging Wall is one of Sara Douglass' stand-alone novels, along with Threshold, but it also ties into her Darkglass Mountain series, which itself is an extension of her Wayfarer Redemption series.  It's a well written novel and and entertaining fantasy story.

Sara Douglass has been one of favorite authors for quite awhile, although I did get a bit tired of the Wayfarer Redemption series by the time we got to the end.  But Beyond the Hanging Wall was quite refreshing, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Great pacing along with a decent if somewhat predictable (at times) plot, and interesting characters.

I give Beyond the Hanging Wall four stars, and I think that this is an excellent novel for someone who wants to give Sara Douglass a try but isn't sure if they are ready for one of her longer series.  It's a perfect place to dip a toe in and test the waters!

Have you read Beyond the Hanging Wall?  What did you think?

Teaser Tuesday - Blue Remembered Earth, by Alastair Reynolds

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just:
* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author, too, so that other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their To Be Read (TBR) Lists if they like your teasers!

----------

Still very much enjoying this novel.  In this scene, Geoffrey and his sister Sunday, along with some friends, are contemplating the wisdom of following the clues that their grandmother left before she died, and their own ability to do so.

The Tease:

 "Jitendra was recharging their glasses. "It could be called Happy Smiley Fun Moon and it wouldn't make it any easier to get to.  Look, it's a nice idea, all this adventuring, but we need to be realistic.  We can't afford Mars.""

 -Blue Remembered Earth, by Alastair Reynolds

What's your Tease?

Book Review - 2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson

2312, Kim Stanley Robinson, 08/12/2012 * * *

From Goodreads:

The year is 2312. Scientific and technological advances have opened gateways to an extraordinary future. Earth is no longer humanity's only home; new habitats have been created throughout the solar system on moons, planets, and in between. But in this year, 2312, a sequence of events will force humanity to confront its past, its present, and its future.

The first event takes place on Mercury, on the city of Terminator, itself a miracle of engineering on an unprecedented scale. It is an unexpected death, but one that might have been foreseen. For Swan Er Hong, it is an event that will change her life. Swan was once a woman who designed worlds. Now she will be led into a plot to destroy them.

My Thoughts:
I have an odd relationship with Kim Stanley Robinson.  I remember reading the Mars Trilogy, years ago, and liking it quite a bit.  Based on that memory, I often pick up his books, read them, and then sort of vaguely wonder why did I read that, and what was it about anyway?

"2312" kind of falls into this same category.  I've been looking forward to reading it for months.  The general idea sounded amazing.  Robinson has an awesome imagination, and his world-building is off the charts, so I knew there would be lots of fantastic stuff to read about.

In this, Robinson doesn't disappoint at all.  He has imagined a future solar system where humans have spread out from the Earth and inhabit many planets, moons, and asteroids.  Mars is terraformed, Venus is in the process, and an enormous city glides across the surface of Mercury on huge rails, always staying just ahead of the fatally destructive sunrise.  While Earth still suffers under the weight of failed political systems, insufficient resources, and crushing poverty, the Spacers have formed innovative governmental systems based on survival and cooperation, with Artificial Intelligences known as Qubes that help run things and keep track of everything that needs to be known.  Longevity treatments, physical and mental augmentations, all these and more are available to this futuristic society.  Exploring Robinson's creation is awe-inspiring, amazing, and often thought-provoking as he speculates about social and cultural evolutions.

Unfortunately, it is difficult to define what the story is actually "about."  First of all, the publisher's "back of the book" blurb is extremely misleading:  There is an unexpected death before the narrative begins, but I didn't see anything to lead me to believe that the death could have been foreseen.  True, Swan spent years of her life designing worlds, but she isn't led into a plot to destroy worlds, although she does become part of an investigation to find out who might want to destroy worlds.  And to my recollection, at no point was "humanity" forced to confront it's past, present and future.

The plot is nebulous and scattered, and dozens of pages will pass without anything actually "happening."  People think about stuff, and talk about things, and there are large sections of info-dumps.  When things do happen, they are exciting and amazing and mind blowing, but they just don't happen very often.  The story is part mystery & part love story, both of which seem to take a back-seat to the travelogue & history lessons, and ultimately the mystery and love story both felt somewhat unsatisfactory.  Most of the characters are either unlikable, or incompletely formed, with the exception of one side character whose storyline ultimately seems to go nowhere.  And personally, I cannot for the life of me figure out why the love story happened at all, as the neither character was more than passably interesting and in some cases were downright annoyingly awful.

And yet there are scenes here and there, tucked into unexpected places, that are so incredibly amazing and wonderful.  Animals drifting down through the sky in protective bubbles, surfing on the rings Saturn, the landscape of Mercury transformed into amazing works of art.  Some of the ideas and imagery that Robinson evokes are so stunning as to be almost indescribable. 

There's a heavy theme of created intelligences gaining some sort of sentience and becoming indistinguishable from humans, which leads to what I felt was an amazing plot twist near the end, but this plot twist is so subtle that most reviewers seem to have missed it completely, and the narrative doesn't actively confirm the readers' suspicions about what may or may not have just happened.  Certainly the characters don't seem to realize anything, which leads back to the vague feeling of dissatisfaction that I had upon finishing.

One point that many other reviewers, both positive and negative, have touched on, is the formatting of the story itself - the chapters are interspersed with short sections of "lists" and "extracts" almost as if someone was gathering information from the (future) historical contexts and filing the information for future use.  Most people seemed to strongly dislike these brief interruptions in the narrative, but they didn't really bother me much, although they can get dry and dull, as info-dumps tend to do.  But as I got closer to the final chapter I began to think that these "lists" and "extracts" may have had something to do with the plot twist and the revelation near the end, but again it was so subtle that I'm just not sure if the connection was really there or if I merely imagined it in an attempt to make the narrative more interesting.

My final verdict?  I'm unsure.  Despite all the cons, "2312" really is an amazing novel.  And despite all the pros, it's really an awfully unsatisfying story.  I think I'm going to split the difference and give "2312" three stars - I liked it, but as with many of his previous novels, I'm left wondering what it was really about, if I missed something, and why did I read it in the first place?

Have you read "2312" yet?  Do you plan to read it?  Do you agree or disagree with my thoughts about the novel?  Please leave a comment below and tell my YOUR thoughts!!