It is 1936, and Princess Sophie is living in a decrepit castle on the European island kingdom of Montmaray along with her sister, her cousin, a recalcIt is 1936, and Princess Sophie is living in a decrepit castle on the European island kingdom of Montmaray along with her sister, her cousin, a recalcitrant housekeeper, and her deranged uncle, the king. A Brief History of Montmaray is told through her diary entries, and I loved her earnest teenager's voice, talking about the few inhabitants left in the single village on Montmaray, the inhospitable landscape, and as per the title, a little of the history of the kingdom. I'm making this sound terribly dull, which it's not. The royal family, such as they are, are impoverished and eccentric. While the sporadic news from the mainland is rather alarming, Sophie is more concerned with the prospect of going to London for the season, at least until a couple of Germans arrive on the island, at which point the narrative becomes rather tense and dark. Highly enjoyable light reading, and I want to pick up the sequel....more
I wish that when I was 19 I was writing about my life with as much wit and energy as Joan Wyndham wrote about hers in 1939. "Love Lessons" is peripherI wish that when I was 19 I was writing about my life with as much wit and energy as Joan Wyndham wrote about hers in 1939. "Love Lessons" is peripherally about the experience of living in London during the war - the rationing and air raids - and mostly about her experiences growing up, meeting men, concerns about birth control... and it's all written so marvellously.
I picked up this book after reading a , and she excerpted a passage that I will steal and put here:
"The fact is, I prefer men to be slightly caddish and knock me around, and not to love me too much. I like men who think they are God.
Rupert, of course, has all the self-assurance in the world � never looks foolish or put out, is completely at ease with the universe and thinks himself a lord of it. He belongs to that class of person that is adored by shopkeepers and servants � “Dear master Rupert, such a fine lad he’s grown into!� � and Rupert smiles his gentle smile that means nothing, and strides on in glorious self-absorption, six feet of indolent golden manhood in a spotlessly white unbuttoned shirt, his trousers just a little too big for him. There is a kind of aura about him that suggests green cricket fields and white flannels, though God knows he detests all sports and exercise. He has that irresistible lazy charm that often goes with decadence and overbreeding � just like my father." ...more
A friend lent me this classic SF novel - well, I'm not actually sure whether it's a classic novel, but it's a novel by a classic SF writer, in any casA friend lent me this classic SF novel - well, I'm not actually sure whether it's a classic novel, but it's a novel by a classic SF writer, in any case - so I really wanted to like it. But I found it very hard to get into, for reasons I'm not very clear one - maybe because the prose is a bit dated, maybe because it took me a little while to get a handle on what was actually going on. I've got two other Zelazny novels on loan, and I'm going to give them a try - hopefully I'll enjoy them more....more
I am a little undecided as to what I thought about The Carhullan Army. I quite enjoyed reading it, and following Sister's (the unnamed narrator) journI am a little undecided as to what I thought about The Carhullan Army. I quite enjoyed reading it, and following Sister's (the unnamed narrator) journey from the city of Rith, under the rule of the Authority, to the farm at Carhullan. Carhullan seems almost as repressive a regime as that of the Authority, albeit one run by women. Sister is subjected to such treatment that I tended to think her affection and loyalty towards Carhullan were akin to Stockholm Syndrome - they didn't make sense to me otherwise.
I am not sure of the point of this book. I've read similar stories - The Handmaid's Tale is the obvious comparison - and I think they said more interesting things about gender and society than The Carhullan Army does. While the women of Carhullan maintain the appearance of democratic decisions, they are under the control of one woman. Men are not allowed within the grounds. When the women of Carhullan talk about their opposition to the Authority, it doesn't have a lot of impact - essentially, they don't feel all that different.
And yet, it's a well written book, and I quite liked the conceit of it being recovered records, and the way this allowed the narrative to jump around a bit. I liked it enough to look out for other books by Sarah Hall, but I didn't love it....more
The Toby Daye series is my current favourite fluffy urban fantasy series - and for a bit of a change, I actually enjoy these books more as the series The Toby Daye series is my current favourite fluffy urban fantasy series - and for a bit of a change, I actually enjoy these books more as the series progresses (unlike Carrie Vaughn's Kitty series, or Harris's Sookie Stackhouse series).
Toby has three days to investigate a kidnapping, and there's a war coming which promises to involve everyone she loves. And terrible things happen, and as usual, the ending is not so much happy as grimly satisfactory. Or maybe just grim. I am fond of these books. They're not magnificent or life changing, but they're great, well paced fun reads. ...more
I had read glowing reviews of this YA fantasy, which I think edges into the horror realm. I didn't enjoy it much at all.
The basic plot is that Emily aI had read glowing reviews of this YA fantasy, which I think edges into the horror realm. I didn't enjoy it much at all.
The basic plot is that Emily and Chase have both done bad things (not terribly bad in the scheme of things - teenage naivety and cruelty play a big part). So the Furies, in the guise of three gorgeous girls, have come to wreak revenge. Which... well, why are the Furies so concerned with high school infidelities? Isn't that a fairly minor bad thing, in the scheme of things? And given that the book is called Fury, and there are three mysterious girls in town, it took an unreasonably long time for the book to get around to telling us, and the characters, who they were.
The narrative tries to create a creeping atmosphere of tension and horror, but I didn't buy into it and spent the last part of the book speed reading to get to the end. Disappointing....more
The blurb describes August as part philisophical thriller, part love story - I think I'd categorise it more as a philisophical exploration of, mostly,The blurb describes August as part philisophical thriller, part love story - I think I'd categorise it more as a philisophical exploration of, mostly, free will. And as such, I think a fair bit of it probably went over my head. And I think it wouldn't appeal to some people. But I really like Bernard Beckett's writing, and so I enjoyed this....more
Oh so terribly trashy novel - and why would I expect anything else from Jodi Picoult, I don't know - with her pet topics for this one being amnesia, dOh so terribly trashy novel - and why would I expect anything else from Jodi Picoult, I don't know - with her pet topics for this one being amnesia, domestic violence and Native Americans....more
Amy and her parents are frozen cargo on a ship heading deep into space to a new planet. Elder is one of the generations living and working on the shipAmy and her parents are frozen cargo on a ship heading deep into space to a new planet. Elder is one of the generations living and working on the ship, and is destined to become the next leader of those people after the current leader, Eldest. When Amy is woken up early, she is a catalyst for Elder to start questioning the tightly controlled society Eldest runs.
The narrative alternates between Amy and Elder's voices, and centres around several mysteries - who is unfreezing the passengers, why the working population on the ship are so calm and compliant, what Eldest is hiding from Elder. Some of the answers to these questions are fairly obvious, and you wonder why it's taking Amy and Elder quite so long to figure them out - others are more of a surprise.
I quite enjoyed this, I liked the way that Revis makes a generational ship work, but I felt it was a bit slow at times, and I wanted Amy and Elder to just think about things more and get it all moving along. ...more
Slice of Cherry is a seriously twisted horror novel that was a really creepy read. I am not generally a horror reader, and I found some of the detailsSlice of Cherry is a seriously twisted horror novel that was a really creepy read. I am not generally a horror reader, and I found some of the details in this a little graphic to be really enjoyable.
The protagonists of Slice of Cherry are sisters, Kit and Fancy, who are both psychopaths (to different degrees). And I think Dia Reeves does an excellent job of making two girls who take great pleasure in torture and killing to be intriguing protragonists. I didn't like either of them - in fact, I really disliked Fancy and kept hoping for terrible things to happen to her - but I wanted to keep reading about them. I did find the mostly positive way the townspeople end up responding to Kit and Fancy rather odd.
The world of Slice of Cherry is opaque - monsters exist, Fancy can open doors to another world, and no-one seems particularly surprised by this ability. And yet other parts of the world are contemporary (Kit and Fancy go to a normal school). Because there was no sense about the "rules" of the world, this took away from the story I thought - there was no outlying structure supporting the plot.
I think I'd try something else written by Dia Reeves - she has a distinctive and humourous writing style - but Slice of Cherry just wasn't really my thing....more
Frank Mackay, a detective we have encountered in French's previous books, is drawn reluctantly back to the family and past he left behind after a phonFrank Mackay, a detective we have encountered in French's previous books, is drawn reluctantly back to the family and past he left behind after a phone call from his sister. They have found a suitcase which belonged to his childhood sweetheart, a woman he thought had left him when she disappeared many years ago. Frank starts to look into her disappearance, and is forced to confront the disfunctional family he left behind and his own feelings about the past.
Tana French is such a fantastic writer, I always get completely caught up in her stories, even when they have slightly unbelievable premises as some of her earlier novels have had. But Faithful Place is grittily realistic - some of Frank's discoveries feel like a kick in the gut, they're so intense. And thankfully we have a resolution at the end of this novel, which I was a bit nervous about after French's debut novel (which is left very much up in the air)....more
I am rather sad that this series is getting a bit tired, because I really loved some of the earlier books. But this is starting to read like CharlaineI am rather sad that this series is getting a bit tired, because I really loved some of the earlier books. But this is starting to read like Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse series - too many plot threads throughout this book, and it reads like filler - nothing feels like it has any weight. I am sick of this Roman plot point dragging through multiple books, I'm sick of everything advancing at a snail's pace, and the "everything's real, man" thing in this book just annoyed me. It feels like giving up on any attempt at world building....more
Mind Games is very different from your average urban fantasy (despite the very cliched cover - the novel is anything but cliched) - Carolyn Crane writMind Games is very different from your average urban fantasy (despite the very cliched cover - the novel is anything but cliched) - Carolyn Crane writes dark, slyly humourous fantasy set in Midcity, a comic-book style city filled with superhero criminals.
Justine, a hypochondriac, is recruited by the charismatic Packard to join his team of crime fighters, working on behalf of victims of crime to get revenge against unconvicted criminals. Midcity is fraught with crime - violent highcap mutants (people with superhuman powers) mean that people are afraid to walk the streets, and Justine wants to work to change that. But Packard is hiding things from her - secrets about his past, and secrets about Justine's future.
All of Packard's team have problems (that's what makes them effective), and Justine is no exception - she is crippled by her hypochondria, and beset with doubts about her own decisions and actions, but she doesn't hold back from making hard choices. I loved this book, it really surprised me - I expected a bit of urban fantasy fluff, and it was so much more....more
Crazed poisoner with a vendetta against Eve goes nuts killing random men. Peabody's family come to visit. Eve does some serious confrontation stuff wiCrazed poisoner with a vendetta against Eve goes nuts killing random men. Peabody's family come to visit. Eve does some serious confrontation stuff with her childhood years. Everything ends fairly happily ever after, as per usual. I've had enough J D Robb for the moment though - Eve gets a bit wearing in large doses. I'll move onto some other mysteries....more
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