Poltergeist, by Kat Richardson
pros: good writer, good series; interesting premise, well handled; same group of characters as before, but with different emphases; noirish detective novel feel; only a hint of romance; really works in the city and its quirks and personality; coffee addiction worked in as small detail, including Starbucks
cons: not a lot gets resolved; love interest was there as a plot device; Harper’s personality and circumstances could have used more details; too long since I read first book in series
misc: Greywalker Book 2; Harper Blaine; Seattle; psychokinesis; research project; fake experiment
ISBN 0451461509; 352pp; pub. 2007
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Red Seas Under Red Skies, by Scott Lynch
pros: continuation with good, interesting characters; fast moving; complex plot; interesting new cities/states/societies; pirates; rapelling test; creepy scene in the Night Gallery; twist at the end
cons: mysterious enemies are a bit too conveniently mysterious; the Bondsmagi are more a plot device than a specific element; I liked Jean a whole lot more than Locke; jumping around from time and place didn’t work as well this time; weak plot elements – if Jean and Ezri are discussing Jean’s problems in Ezri’s room, it could easily be overheard; cliffhanger ending
misc: pirate stronghold; Zamira; Port Prodigal; Ghostways; Tal Verrar; Requin; Sinspire; Gentleman Bastards; Carousel Hazard; card cheating; Archon; Leocanto Kosta and Jerome de Ferra; Selendri; brass arm with knives; tricky chairs
ISBN 0553804685; 576pp; pub. 2007
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Alpha, by Catherine Asaro
pros: interesting story idea; interesting characters, especially Alpha; dogfight; Jamie (grandaughter); future technologies, esp. nanomedicine
cons: sometimes stilted writing style; contrived plot at times, esp. attacks on the general’s life and Charon’s return; doubt about Sunrise Alley; ending was coy; androids and machine intelligences are more interesting than people or plot; doesn’t discuss what seems like an obvious problem – if you get your neural pathways transferred to an android’s body, don’t you still die? The immortal android is just a copy of the original. If you don’t die, which one is the real you?
misc: General; prodigy; self-determination; self-programming; love; courage; F-42; Banshee; fighter pilot; mesh; nanotechnology; android; robot army; nanomedicines; cardiac arrest; angina; aging; evolution of artificial intelligence; sequel to Sunrise Alley
ISBN 1416520813; 288pp; pub. 2006
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One Hex of a Wedding, by Yasmine Galenorn
pros: likable characters; believable plot; believable family issues; the way Em uses her abilities to track down the stalker; Murray and White Deer; Jimbo and his dog
cons: predictable; reads like any romantic suspense with magic thrown in; the business with the ex at the party didn’t really add to the story; the myriad of family strife details, everyday life issues, etc., don’t add to the story
misc: Chintz n’ China mystery; Emerald O’Brien mystery; crystal necklace; redheaded stalker; bustier; wedding-dress fiasco; Irish faerie and magic
ISBN 0425211177; 272pp; pub. 2006
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When True Night Falls, by C.S. Friedman
pros: good series; question of good vs. evil and if evil can ever be justified when used to combat evil and the question of redemption; the great endeavor started by the prophet shows signs of fruition; more is revealed about Tarrant’s motivation; Hesseth; Jenseny; the sea voyage; Jenseny’s solution
cons: Damien’s angst gets old fast; not enough details about the Iezu and the evil that fuels Tarrant’s magic; Hesseth’s fate and the timing of her fate; the Matria’s stranglehold on power was a little unbelievable; the troubled future, especially for the Rakh; what was the fate of the merchants?
misc: Coldfire Trilogy; Undying prince; Karril; Calesta; Siza; black lands; crystal; trees that suck the life out of you with their roots; horses; body kept alive in vat; deep dungeon in lava caverns; the “light” that Jenseny can see; “invisible” dagger
ISBN 0756403162; 560pp; pub. 2005
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Tithe, by Holly Black
pros: original heroine and viewpoint; realistic characters; good core dilemma; good question about what constitutes good or evil individually and in context; Roiben; the plot; Lutie
cons: very dark; Kaye’s life is a mess; Kaye’s family; Corny’s situation; general desperate, hopeless feel; the betrayal by the solitary fey
misc: acorn note; kelpie/puka; carousel horse; changelings; cigarettes; samhain; sacrifice; pixie: Spike; Gristle; Thistlewitch
ISBN 0689867042; 336pp; pub. 2004
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Ghost of a Chance, by Yasmine Galenorn
pros: likable charcters; well-presented “paranormal” situations; family life details; love interest; Murray; Grandmother; multicutural elements without being patronizing or using stereotypes
cons: way too many cute tea details; Em’s actions at end are just stupid, and thus situation is contrived
misc: Chintz ‘N China Mystery; Emerald O’Brien mystery
ISBN 0425191281; 272pp; pub. 2003
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Circle of the Moon, by Barbara Hambly
pros: author; great characters and interesting world and problems; as story develops it gets better and more interesting; Shaldis gets more attention, as does Jethan; Oryn’s relationship with his servants and lords is developed more; the Teyn; the island Sisters; the status of the genies(Djinn); Pontifer the pig; Foxfire girl
cons: characters that were self-centered and unlikable suddenly become reliable and reasonable; Mohrvine is a convenient bad guy in terms of driving the plot; Red Silk Woman
misc: glass; Dream Eater; green gas; obsidian; moon; sea; islands; jennies
ISBN 0446618179; 544pp; pub. 2006
Bloodsucking Fiends, by Christopher Moore
pros: fast-paced; silly fun; adult viewpoint; quirky characters; the cliché of the small-town gullible hero twisted with the aspiring young author, in a different situation; the Wongs/flower gag; laundromat scene and witness accounts; the night crew at Safeway; the Emperor; Tommy’s actions at the end
cons: what happens to the turtles; Jody isn’t very likable; more dark and sarcastic than fun; Jody’s mother was just a sad stereotype
misc: turkey bowling; graveyard shift; yacht; San Francisco; laundromat; Elijah Ben Sapir; redhead; Indiana; C. Thomas Flood; SOMA; South of Market; loft; metalworkers
ISBN 0060735414; 304pp; pub. 2004
Shapechangers, by Jennifer Roberson
pros: interesting idea; female lead stands up for herself; Carillon matures; the animal lir
cons: female lead is more headstrong and stubborn than strong; reads too much like an old gothic romance; council-sanctioned rape and forcing pregnancy on captives to increase a race is disgusting and ruined the whole book and series for me
misc: Cheysuli; hawk; wolf; crofter’s daughter; half-breed; Old Ones
ISBN 0886771404; 224pp; pub. 1984
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Sisters of the Raven, by Barbara Hambly
pros: author; interesting world and dilemma; twist on genies; great characters, especially Peacock King and Summer Concubine; women’s names; the imaginary pig; romance, love interests, implied sexuality without giving step-by-step descriptions of encounters
cons: brutality of world and circumstances; blood mages and related scenes were too graphic for me; it’s not a standalone story; women’s situation in society
misc: desert setting in drought; geisha-type training for concubines or “peach blossom” women; lots of plotting and court intrigue
ISBN 0446615366; 512pp; pub. 2005
The Novels of Tiger and Del, Vol. I, by Jennifer Roberson
pros: fast paced; interesting characters; lots of action; interesting world; good entertainment; the bay stud
cons: some of the fights and trials felt contrived and just to give the characters something to do; the role of women in the south was stifling even to a reader; Del seemed a little unworthy of Tiger – I’ll have to see how the rest of the stories work out; Bellin the Cat was a little to cute; the villians were formulaic; the pathos of Del’s situation wasn’t so immediate when related through Tiger’s eyes
ISBN 0756403197; 640pp; 2006 (Vol. I)
Messiah Node, by Lyda Morehouse
pros: continuation of an excellent series; tends to tie previous 2 stories together; threat of impending apocaplyse feels real and drives plot very well; AI as a messiah; Maizombies; angel characters; dragon AI developments; good ending; more of Mouse and Page
cons: not many; Michael is still annoying; would have liked to see more of angel Gabriel and Dee; ended too soon
ISBN 0451459296; 352pp; pub. 2003
Fallen Host, by Lyda Morehouse
pros: continuation of an excellent series; AI is one of the main characters; different spin on Lucifer as a fallen angel and his relationship with God; different spin on Inquisitors; consistent development on idea of organized, established religions as goverment; great heroine; angel characters; Mai and her polka band, Yakuza, the mob; street society in general
cons: characters from previous story are only bit players; Lucifer is a little overdone; I’d like to have seen more of the other angels and Mecca; certain characters die; Page and the dragon AI tend to upstage everyone else
ISBN 045145879; 352 pp; pub. 2002
Archangel Protocol, by Lyda Morehouse
pros: fast-paced, exciting story; unusual spin on familiar angel idea; likable characters; interesting world and premise (Medusa bomb, glass city, mutated humans); Mouse’s AI; use of AI as a character; virtual angels; LINK society and unLINKed computing and people; excellent, unusual series; each title in series has different viewpoint
cons: Michael was a little annoying; didn’t like the ending; religions as evil or bad guy; unsatisfying resolution to virtual angels threat; Out of print
ISBN 0451458273; 352 pp; 2001
Bloodring, by Faith Hunter
pros: fast-paced; likable characters; interesting premise; well-visualized; good blend of fantasy and science (more fantasy than hard science)
cons: obviously a set-up for a series; relationships are established but not developed very well; cliff-hanger ending; heroine’s dilemma/danger seemed weakly developed, there was a lot undefined or possibly inconsistent details; mage heat idea seemed silly and contrived to me
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