maiko

book meme



1. Favorite book from childhood.

Probably The Black Stallion.

2. Best bargain.

The remaindered copies of Dorothy Dunnett hardcovers.

3. One with a blue cover.

I dunno. The White Dragon by Michael Whelan.


4. Least favorite book by favorite author.

Longeye by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller.

5. Doesn't belong to me.

Magician: Apprentice

6. The one I always give as a gift.

I don't usually give books as gifts because everyone's reading tastes are different.

7. Forgot I owned it.

I can't keep straight all the Japanese textbooks I have.


8. Have more than one copy.

Lee & Miller, Martha Wells, Daniel Keys Moran, Diane Duane, Colleen Doran, Donna Barr...


9. Film or TV tie-in.

Star Wars

10. Reminds me of someone I love.

Nevada Barr books (my Dad).

11. Secondhand bookshop gem.

Thorn by Jeff Smith. A collection of strips collected from the Ohio State Lantern. I'd had a copy and sold it during graduate school. When I saw this copy, I caught my breath so strongly that my friend who was down an aisle came over to see what was wrong.


12. I pretend to have read it.

I don't bother to do that.


13. Makes me laugh.

Chanur's Legacy by CJ Cherryh.


14. An old favorite.

A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute.

15. Favorite fictional father.

There aren't that many, are there? Stone, line-grandfather of Indigo Cloud.

16. Can't believe more people haven't read.

Dunnett, Martha Wells.







17. Future classic.

My tastes are idiosyncratic enough that I'm not sure any of my faves will be considered classics.

18. Bought on a recommendation.

Bujold (rec.arts.sf.written denizens, thank you!)

19. Still can't stop talking about it.

Murderbot

20. Favorite cover.

Whelan. Exile's Gate or Invader. I have a print of the first and wish I'd gotten a print of the second when I had a chance.


21. Summer read.

Something set in a cold climate?




22. Out of print.

Jo Clayton's Shadith novels.

23. Made to read at school.

What wasn't I made to read at school? I pretty much hated everything I had to read in high school except The Scarlet Letter (kinda), Main Street (everyone else in the class hated it), some of the Shakespeare. I particularly detested Tess of the d'Urbervilles


24. Hooked me into reading.

No idea. There's a picture of me in a crib literally surrounded by books. I do remember tipping over from horse and dog books into fantasy/SF by reading A Horse and his Boy. Bought it at an airport shop.









25. Never finished it.

Just about every book assigned in high school. Robert Jordan, Eddings, a bunch of others. Life's too short.

26. Should have sold more copies. 

Martha Wells, Fall of Ile-Rien trilogy.

27. Want to be one of the characters.

Diane Duane's Tale of the Five

28. Bought at my fave independent bookshop.

It's been so long since I've bought at an independent bookstore...Oh, I have by mail: Lee & Miller, Wells.


29. The one I have reread most often.

Difficult to determine because I do a lot of rereading. Um, currently, Martha Wells's books. In the past, Lee & Miller, McCaffrey, MZB, Daniel Keys Moran, etc.


30. Would save if my house burned down.

Likely a signed book by either Sharon Lee & Steve Miller or Martha Wells

ghibli house

Mid-June 2018 books

I have several series that I hope to replace with ebooks. I managed to find two series were released relatively recently as ebooks. Sometimes they are available but seem too expensive--more than it would cost to replace my existing copies.

One is a mystery series set in El Paso by Nancy Herndon. I picked up the first one but haven't re-read it yet.

I also found that the Peter and Kori Brichter series by Mary Monica Pulver had been released as ebooks. Prices were okay so I bought the first one to see if the suck fairy had visited. 
The story is about a police detective and a sheltered young woman who becomes his wife.

The first book is Murder at the War AKA Knight Fall. Peter and Kori
 are at the Pennsic War, a Society for Creative Anachronism convention. A man gets killed during a forest battle. Kori finds him just as he’s dying while Peter is roped in to do a parallel investigation with the actual police. Kori and Peter had had a run-in with him earlier and the dead man had made plenty of people unhappy with him. If you want to know what SCA and SF&F conventions were like in the '80s, it'll give you a view into that. Definitely before SJW and #MeToo, etc. There's a lot of exposition on what everyone's wearing, how armor's put together, etc.

The second book, The Unforgiving Minutes, tells how they met. Kori's parents were killed when she was a child and she's been kept in seclusion ever since by her guardian. Peter is friends with her private tutor. 

I like these books a lot, but they are a product of their times. 

The third book, Ashes to Ashes, deals with arson while the fourth book, Original Sin, is a bit of a locked room / country house party. The final book, Showstopper, takes place at an Arabian horse show--Kori is a breeder.

I also managed to get an ARC of the fourth novella in the Murderbot series, Exit Strategy, by Martha Wells. I hope she gets an opportunity to write more stories in this series. Murderbot is a SecBot / Security Robot, made from a mix of artificial and cloned human flesh. This society also has ComfortBots and Combatbots. All are considered nonhuman tools and can even be tortured or otherwise abused or ignored by humans. Murderbot hacked its Governor Module after a massacre occurred at one of its jobs. It never wanted that to happen again. It's been trying to figure out what exactly happened (most of its memories of the incident were wiped). It's on its way back to Dr. Mensah when it finds out that she's disappeared. Murderbot is a wonderfully snarky character just trying to figure what to do with the rest of its life.

While waiting for the novella, I commenced a reread of the first 3 Raksura novels...again.


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A year and a half of books - May 2018

I knew it had been a long time since I posted, but really! The move to dreamwidth derailed me, and I never seem to have the energy to put together even my lackadaisical post on what I've been reading.

I'm not going to bother to really write up stuff now, but just list what I can remember. If anyone wants more information (hollow laughter), feel free to comment and I'll try to remember what I thought of the book. Without further ado, and in roughly latest to oldest order. Peters is interwoven, Wells has been read and read in this time frame...

Martha Wells, Murderbot: All Systems Red, Artificial Condition, Rogue Protocol (ARC)
Martha Wells, Raksura books (Stories of the Raksura volumes 1 and 2, The Cloud Roads, The Serpent Sea, and The Siren Depths, The Edge of Worlds, The Harbors of the Sun, and Fall of Ile Rien (The Wizard Hunters, Ships of Air, Gate of Gods) novels
(of the less than novel length, I adore "The Tale of Indigo and Cloud")
Lois McMaster Bujold, "Penric's Fox", "Mira's Last Dance", "The Prisoner of Limnos", "The Flowers of Vashnoi"
Elizabeth Peters (reread): Crocodile on the Sandbank, The Ape Who Guards the Balance, Children of the Storm, The Snake, the Crocodile, and the Dog, The Hippopotamus Pool, Lord of the Silent, He Shall Thunder in the Sky, The Falcon at the Portal, Lion in the Valley, The Mummy Case, Curse of the Pharaohs
(Now reading The Ape Who and finally hit the scene where the romance became public--so wonderful! I have a soft spot for Ramses)
Elizabeth Peters and Joan Hess, The Painted Queen (posthumously finished, meh)
Cecelia Grant, "A Christmas Gone Perfectly Wrong" (fine, but not enough to make me read her other books)
Melissa Scott, Point of Sighs, Fairs Point
Jessica Day George, The Rose Legacy
Underwater Ballroom Society anthology
Ysabeau Wilce, "The Queen of Life"
Stephanie Burgis, "Spellswept"
Aliette de Bodard, "The Tea-Master and the Detective" (enjoyed it, but so far not enough to read others)
Daniel Keys Moran, "Sideways", "Platformer", "Play Date", The Long Run, Emerald Eyes, The A.I. War (part 1), The Last Dancer, "Leftbehind", "Old Man"
C.S. Pacat, "Pet", The Captive Prince, Kings Rising, "The Summer Palace", Prince's Gambit (still not sure why I found these so compelling--two princes of neighboring kingdoms are fighting for their crowns. One ends up the slave of the other, many shenanigans and it turns out to be a love story in a roughly greek vs persian world)
Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, "Degrees of Separation", Local Custom, Mouse and Dragon, "Heirs to Trouble", Neogenesis, "Cultivar", Scouts Progress, "Due Diligence"
C.J. Cherryh, Emergence, Convergence
Diane Duane, "Lior and the Sea"
Faye Kellerman, Bone Box - I really liked the first few books in the this series. Main characters have since relocated from southern California to upstate NY. Practically anyone who was of note in the series showed up in this book--how conveeenient. I'm not going to try to catch up but will likely reread the early ones at some point)
D.M. Quincy, Murder in Mayfair: An Atlas Catesby Mystery. Eh.
Helen S. Wright, A Matter of Oaths (originally published in 1990, finally released on ebook)
Melissa McShane, Pretender to the Crown, Guardian of the Crown, Abounding Might, Wondering Sight
David Pagel, The Forever Girl - love story of a G.I. who falls in love with a Japanese woman (post WWII)
Charles De Lint, The Wind in His Heart
Ann Leckie, Provenance
F.M. Busby, Renalle Kerguelen (story of Rissa's clone daughter, compelling because I like this series, but ultimately eh, only for completists)
Stephanie Burgis, Snowspelled, "Shadow Duet", "Forbidden Magic", "Flying Magic", "House of Secrets", The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart
P.C. Hodgell, The Gates of Tagmeth
SJ Rozan, "Prosperity Restaurant", "Heartbreak", "Body English" (short stories in the Lydia Chin/Bill Smith series)
Nevil Shute, The Far Country (problematic handling of natives, but I found the love story very compelling and the information that various countries took in refugees from WWII very interesting and surprising)
Megan Whalen Turner, Thick as Thieves (Pretty sure I reread the rest of the series during this period--probably at least twice)
Jo Graham, The Marshal's Lover
Jo Graham and Melissa Scott, Lost Things, Steel Blues, Silver Bullet, Wind Raker, Oath Bound

I may be mislabeled some novellas as novels and vice versa. List also omits a bunch of stuff started but not finished.
raven

Strictly to complain about the wait for Thick as Thieves!

Actually, compared to the wait between The Queen of Attolia and The King of Attolia (6 years), the wait between A Conspiracy of Kings and Thick as Thieves (7 years) doesn't seem as long. Probably because my life is quite different now. During the previous wait, I was single in a job that I love and had just started a relationship the year before KoA was released. In other words, plenty of time to read!

This time, I'm still in a job that I love, am still in the same relationship mentioned earlier, but now have two boys who were born in 2012. Time flies when you're having fun!! I've just about giving up reading hard copies because a chunk of my reading time is on my phone while waiting for the terrors to go to sleep. I will make an exception for an ARC though!

So, cannot recommend these book enough. An unreliable narrator, red herrings, toss-aways that become meaningful later, wonderful, fully drawn characters, smart characters. If you like Miles Vorkosigan, you'll likely like Gen, or even if you don't like Miles, you'll still likely like Gen. Please give them a try.
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September, October up to mid-November 2016 books: McShane, King, Chambers, Shinn, Bujold, Burgis

First off is Melissa McShane's Burning Bright, set at approximate Napoleonic level of technology and culture. Elinor can control fire. Rather than be stuck in a marriage where her spouse only cares about her breeding potential, Elinor volunteers to join the Royal Navy. Assigned to the Athena, she find camaraderie with other Extraordinary Talents assigned to the ship, including the Captain. Faced with political maneuvering, the wonderful feelings she has when manipulating fire, the horror at killing, there's a good bit going on in this story. The descriptions of Extraordinary talents are well done, and I became quite involved in the story by the end. I'll continue to hunt out new work by McShane.

I then read a book and some short stories by Laurie R. King in her Russell/Holmes series. A Letter of Mary is early in the series and involves a gift from a archaeologist working in Palestine. After delivering the gift, she is killed in London leaving Russell and Holmes to first figure out whether it was an accident or not, and when it's proved to be deliberate, whodunit? Not my favorite of the series but still entertaining. A collection, Mary Russell's War was also published this fall. I'd read a few of the stories but some were new for the book. I'd say for completists only.

Finally, finally, Becky Chambers new book, A Closed and Common Orbit, was released. It starts off directly after A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet where the AI that used to be Lovey (Lovelace) has now been installed in a body kit. Unable to stay on board her ship, she decides to go with Pepper, an engineer. Part of the book details Pepper's back story (as a young girl named Jane), switching between the past and the present story of Sidra. Sidra is having problems adjusting to life outside of a ship as her software/impulses are very unsuited for living in a crowded, lively city. Jane's story is more fraught as she was born to be a junk sorter, looking for recyclables and scrap metal. Once a certain age, the older cohorts disappear. Through a chain of circumstances, Jane ends up outside the factory and takes up residence within a shuttle that still has a working AI aboard. I really loved this book. Maybe a smidgeon less than the prior book, but only a smidgeon. Some people say not much happens in these books. Yeah, they're not slam-bang, go-go-go, but instead focus on the smaller stories, in some ways, the every day stories of life. More, more, more!

Next up was Unquiet Land by Sharon Shinn. It's a direct sequel (but following a secondary character) to Jeweled Fire. Leah has returned to Chialto to try to connect with her daughter that she abandoned years before. Darien, the spymaster and soon-to-be king, decides to make use of her talents. Leah left a man behind, and slowly discovers that she wants to see him again. He has some terrible secrets (of course). I enjoyed it a lot, as I've liked all the Elementary Blessings books.

Then I read two shorter works while deciding what to read next. Lois McMaster Bujold released another novella about Penric and his demon Desdemona, Penric's Mission. Becoming unhappy under a new bishop, the local duke (count?) sends him on a mission to try to entice a disgraced general from a neighboring land. Wheels within wheels, Penric is uncovered upon arrival and has to save himself and the general (and his pretty sister). I liked it much better than the previous novella, Penric's Shaman. Something about the Weald (also in The Hallowed Hunt) just doesn't appeal to me. I don't mind the Hallowed Hunt, but I have a hard time remembering anything about it, and it's not one of the books that I reread very often. Anyway, Penric et al. are in good form and it's a lot of fun.

Lastly, I read a short work by Stephanie Burgis, "The Art of Deception". Set in a fantasy world, a down-and-out swordsman is tricked into accompanying his landlady back to her home. She's a possible successor to the position of head librarian at the White Library, a repository of all knowledge, including magic. Deceptions abound with some nice twists along the way.
ghibli house

July and August 2016 books: Bujold, Lee and Miller, Smith (5 times)

Lois McMaster Bujold released a novella, a sequel of "Penric and the Demon", called "Penric and the Shaman". Penric is now past his training and has settled down into an interesting life with Desdemona (the demon). They are assigned to chase a Welce man accused of murder. The man is trying to find someone to help him while dealing with some magic gone bad and emotional trauma. I thought it was a little slow in the middle, and picked up near the end. Recommended if you liked "Penric and the Demon" (although I'd like to see more of Penric's training!)

Sharon Lee and Steve Miller also released the new e-chapbook, Sleeping with the Enemy, which contains two stories: "Chimera" and "Friend of a Friend". Both are set of Surebleak and fill in some side stories within the main sequence. Both are good, solid work--recommended.

I then went on a re-read spree of Kristine Smith's Jani Kilian series: Code of Conduct, Rules of Conflict, Law of Survival, Contact Imminent, and Endgame. Jani is a colony girl in a time when being of a Family is vastly important. Jani becomes one of the first enrollees at the idomeni Academy. One of the idomeni high religious leaders believes the only way forward for idomeni and humans is to blend via hybridization. After graduating, she's joins the military and is stationed there. A civil war breaks out among the idomeni. After the war, Jani ends up on the run from...everyone. The first book begins when she is tracked down after 20 years by a former lover--who's now in trouble and wants her tenacity and smarts. Of course, it's helpful that she's a fugitive and will have to depend on him to keep her safe.

Probably the only series where the main character is a forensic accountant.
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More June 2016 books: McKinley, Wagner, Whalen Turner

I went on a spending spree both series of Mage (The Hero Discovered and The Hero Defined) by Matt Wagner as ebooks. Not so fun reading them on a phone, but I managed. Matt Wagner does a Arthur Pendragon reincarnated series, although we're not sure about that immediately. It was a lovely, atmospheric series when it was released. In parts, it's wordy, but Wagner does well with facial expressions, body position so that words aren't always needed. His Grendel series (particularly Hunter Rose, the first part) is more accomplished, but I never liked it as much as this one. Highly recommended.

I reread about half of The Blue Sword now that it's out as an ebook. The Wagners beckoned so I haven't finished it.

Led on by blog posts (she made a statement that there'll be 2 more books in the series, and that book 5 is close to finished!!!!) and reviews, I decided to re-read Megan Whalen Turner's Thief/Attolia series. I ripped through The Thief, Queen of Attolia, and King of Attolia. I've currently just started Conspiracy of Kings but expect that I'll finish it by the end of the week. They're set in an alternative Mediterranean setting, possibly 1500/1600s time frame (there are some guns and watches). Eugenides is the Thief of Eddis, a tiny mountain country that controls a strategic pass between the countries of Attolia and Sounis. All the countries have fought with each other, but they also face an external enemy, the Mede, a rich and powerful country that has its eyes on expansion. The twists and turns in these book are amazing and wonderful. The author creates really cool characters and the books are extremely tightly plotted. All the clues are there...also highly recommended. Seriously!
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June 2016 books: Burgis and Shirow

Stephanie Burgis, of Kat, Incorrigible fame, has published an adult novel, Masks and Shadows. It's set in Hungary at the Eszterhaza palace which was built by Prince Nikolaus Esterhazy. The main character, Charlotte, is newly widowed, and has come to visit her sister, Sophie, who is the prince's mistress. Sophie is the heedless, fun-loving younger sister while Sophie had married for duty, but had come to appreciate her husband. Meanwhile three visitors arrive--Carlo Morelli, an acclaimed castrato, a probable Austrian spy, and a famous alchemist. Sophie finds Carlo disturbing but strangely appealing as she gets to know him. Meanwhile, Carlo appears to be disarmed by a relatively straightforward aristocrat who's calm and intelligent and an excellent musician. Both become aware of strange doings and have to work together to uncover what's happening. It's set in 1779, and I'm complete unfamiliar with the setting. For instance, I didn't know that Haydn worked for the prince for over 30 years. I enjoyed it a lot and look forward to the next, unrelated *as far as I know) book that's out this fall: Congress of Secrets, set in Vienna in 1814.

While checking around for backlist books to buy as ebooks, I realized that some graphic novels are available. While I was good and put some on my wishlist, I did buy the four volumes of Appleseed by Shirow Masamune. I had read these when they were originally released and were probably the first manga that I'd read. Appleseed is set in post-apocalyptic world. Deunan Knute is the daughter of a special ops man and had been raised with in-depth training. She ends up teaming up with a colleague of her father, Briareos Hecatonchires, a cyborg (I have a memory that he was human and became cyborg after an injury, but it wasn't in the manga that I reread. Wiki does agree though). Surviving in the badlands, they're recruited to go to the half-mythical Olympus, a near-utopian society run by bioroids (cyborgs/androids) although with a substantial human population as well. Deunan and Briareos take jobs doing what they're good at--police and later SWAT work. While there's definitely a focus on police work with hand-to-hand combat, car chases, bombs, giant robots, etc., there are also philosophical discussions on whether bioroids and humans can get along, how to stabilize society, and so on. Written in the early 80s, it's somewhat dated with references to a successor to Russia and other 80s preoccupations. There's even a global warming reference which surprised me. I really do love this series even though I can see more faults now.
ghibli house

Books 2016, April-May: Wells, King, Bull, Cherryh, Scott, Kay

I got a bit behind there.

Martha Wells had a new book out, The Edge of Worlds, which is the start of a duology in her Raksura series. Indigo Cloud experiences some prophetic dreams that hint at disaster. It turns out that other courts have experienced the same thing. Moon and Jade decide that they need to investigate before the disaster strikes. It turns out that some groundlings are investigating a city that may be a Raksura/Fell Forerunner city. If so, is there some horrible creature imprisoned there like the one in The Siren Depths? Moon is really settling in to role as consort, and quite happy now that there's a clutch. Some old friends show up for the journey--if you've read the books, you can likely guess that one is Delin. More good fun, but there's a definitely cliff-hanger for the next book, The Harbors of the Sun, which is supposed to be turned into the publisher by next month.

I then read The Murder of Mary Russell by Laurie R. King. After a brief start with Mary facing down an angry man with a gun, we spend a good chunk of the book with Sherlock as he tries to track down what happened to Mary. The angry man claims to be Mrs. Hudson's son and good portion of the book is her story.

While waiting for other books to be released, I decided to reread Emma Bull's War for the Oaks. It's set in Minneapolis and is full of the 1980's music vibe. Prince had died recently and I thought it would be a good tribute. The main character is Eddi McCandry, a singer song-writer and guitarist. She quits her current band (which is falling apart) and her relationship with the band's leader. Her best friend (and drummer), Carla, tells Eddi to put together her own band. Meanwhile, Eddi is recruited to provide a link to the mortal world for the local fey folk who plan to war with the unseelie. Linking to mortals means that the fey can be killed and make the war more meaningful. Some lovely descriptions of music-making and how a group of musicians becomes a "band." The Phooka (woof!) is a great character too.

The latest entry in the Foreigner series by Cherryh, Visitor, is out. Not a place to start the series. The kyo finally show up and Bren has to try to not get into a war with them, and keep the peace. The kyo have a big surprise for Bren. I thought, 'oh, she's not going to go *there*. Oh, yes, she is' which disappointed me a bit, but the consequences and what Bren decides to do were very surprising for me.

I was again waiting a new release, and decided to re-read Fairs' Point by Melissa Scott. It's set in a matriarchal, quasi-Low Countries Renaissance setting. People are disappearing in Astreiant and money is being stolen out of locked boxes near the time of the yearly dog (terriers) races. Law enforcement is doing by Pointsmen. Nico Rathe is trying to investigate the crimes but hampered because they're not in his jurisdiction and there's a bit of a feud going on between him and his counterpoint at another station. Meanwhile, his leman, Philip Eslingen, is given a basket-terrier pup as payment of a debt. Philip ends up doing a good chunk of the investigation since he's thick in the middle of the issues. Another great installment.

Finally, Children of Earth and Sky by Guy Gavriel Kay came out in mid-May. It set in the world of two moons and 900 years after Sarantine Mosaic. Sarantium was conquered 25 years before by the Asharites and is now called Astarias. The story mainly follows 5 people and is set in the eastern Mediterranean. Pero Villani is an Seressini (Veneto) artist sent to paint a portrait of the khalif of Astarias. Leonora Valeri, recently disgraced by childbirth out-of-wedlock, is also recruited to accompany a Seressini doctor to Dubrava (Dubrovnik) as a spy. They travel on a Dubravaen ship contracted to the Djivo family. The younger son, Marin, is on board. The fourth viewpoint character, Danica Gradek from Senjan, is part of a raiding party looking for Asharite or Kindath goods. The Senjanis are pirates to many in the Med, but also staunch supporters of the Jaddite emperors. The last "main" character is Damaz, a djanni (Janissary), who was taken as a young boy from a settlement near Senjan. He was born Neven Gradek and is Danica's sister. Kay has the ability to make you gasp with wonder or sadness or amazement at times. There were a few of those, but I find some of his other books to have more of that numinous quality. I also wish the copy editor (or regular editor) had nixed the use of 'sometimes.' I thought it was very overused. The Lions of al-Rassan is still my favorite but there are wondrous parts in the Sarantine Mosaic, Under Heaven and River of Stars. And, of course, the Fionavar Tapestry.

Edited on 30 May 2016 to add a bit to the GGK paragraph.
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Books 2016, February/March: McShane, King, Lee and Miller

Have not read a bunch since the last post. I checked a sample of the novelization of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny but the writing style did NOT prompt me to buy the book. I also sampled C.E. Murphy's Magic & Manners but it's SO close to Pride and Prejudice (even the names, I mean really?) that I was bored, bored I tell you. I've seen comments that it diverges and picks up, but I'm just not that interested right now. I also sampled and bought Maggie Stiefvater's The Raven Boys, but have bogged down about 1/3 to 1/5 in. I'll probably try to finish it, but there's several books coming out next week that'll likely delay me picking it back up again.

I did manage to finish Agent of the Crown by Melissa McShane. It was enjoyable but I didn't like it as much as the first book in the series. I also found that the pace slowed down for me between 1/3 and 3/4. Then everything fell apart and I found myself compulsively reading to finish it. I wouldn't read it without having read at least the first book, Servant of the Crown. A young princess was recruited to act as a spy. Her public persona is flittery, social darling, but she's actually a deviser (magic/inventor). Her current job sends her undercover as a deviser to a small town on the edge of the kingdom and right into several mysteries. All the books have significant romances in them.

I then read the electronic advance reader copy of Alliance of Equals, the latest Liaden novel from Sharon Lee and Steve Miller. This book focuses on Padi yos'Galan (Shan's daughter), Shan yos'Galan, Priscilla Mendoza y Delacroix, Hazenthull, with some visits to Daav yos'Phelium and Aelliana Caylon.

I also read The Marriage of Mary Russell by Laurie R. King. It's a short story (maybe longer) about her and Holmes actual marriage. It ends up taking place in his ancestral home's chapel--the problem is that the property is currently in the hands of estranged relatives. There's a sample from the new novel (out in early April) at the end.

I'm now sampling Simon Morden's The Petrovich Trilogy based on a review of book 4. Writing style seems a bit simplistic, but that may cure itself. Discussion of book 4 made me think of Samuil Petrovich as a Miles-gone-bad, so I'll likely buy it ($9.99 for the 3 books) and give it a serious go.

Next week, the new C.J. Cherryh book is out (Visitor), Martha Wells (already read in ARC form, Edge of Worlds) and The Murder of Mary Russell by Laurie R. King. Yea!!!
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