Amelia Peabody is well aware that she is not attractive by any objective measure - her figure is too round for modern fashion, her manner too acerbic and her mind too quick. More than resigned, she is comfortable with her status of middle-aged spinster. When her father died, leaving the bulk of his estate to her, Amelia left behind the flood if suddenly-attentive siblings, in-laws, nephews and nieces to achieve a life-long dream - to travel Europe and particularly Egypt. Even in the 1880's it was scandalous for a woman to travel alone, but good fortune not only rid Amelia of her tiresome companion Miss Pritchett but allowed her to retain the services of a gentlewoman seduced by an Italian cad and stranded in Rome. Evelyn Barton-Forbes, a woman who would become a life-long friend.
When Amelia and Evelyn first cross paths with archaeologist Radcliffe Emerson and his brother Walter, Amelia's first reaction is fiery - the man may be intelligent and attractive but he is also arrogant and strong-willed. Walter seems attracted to Evelyn but she is too conscious of her ruined status to besmirch his reputation.
A series of adventures in El Armanah, from fever to mummies that walk the night, serve not only to strengthen Amelia's love of Egypt but to solidify the bond between all four adventurers. From elderly spinster, Amelia becomes a dewy and appreciated partner, and part of a family more welcoming and appreciative than the one she was born to.
This is the first in the Amelia Peabody mysteries, currently some twenty books strong. The hallmarks of the series, including a deep knowledge of and love for Egypt, sparkling humour, self deprecation and glinting intelligence are present throughout. Peters does a masterful job of, like the redoubtable Greenwood in her Phryne Fisher series, presenting a modern feminist sensibility within the constrains of her chosen period. - Alex
Sunday, July 5
Saturday, July 4
This Pen for Hire - Laura Levine
Writer-for-Hire Jaine Austen is more used to helping would-be Romeo's with personal ads and love letters than investigating crime, but when one of her lovelorn losers is the main suspect in a murder she knows he couldn't have committed, Jaine finds herself pretending to be everyone from a police detective to a journalist in her quest for the truth.
Her name should have been my first warning that this was going to be an average chick lit contender. With the merciful exception of a lust for shoes, all the stock elements are present - the possibly gay lust object, the Jewish community ties, the allegedly pithy dialogue... which in this case includes a lot of snappy remarks Jaine thinks about saying but doesn't have the chutzpah to actually voice:
My library has several more in the series. I think I'll pass. - Alex
Her name should have been my first warning that this was going to be an average chick lit contender. With the merciful exception of a lust for shoes, all the stock elements are present - the possibly gay lust object, the Jewish community ties, the allegedly pithy dialogue... which in this case includes a lot of snappy remarks Jaine thinks about saying but doesn't have the chutzpah to actually voice:
So what were you doing with that cop?" he asked, once againt he Grand Inquisitor.
"Having passionate sex on the kitchen floor."
Okay, I didn't really say that. What I said was: "Just once, can't you mind your own business?"
Okay, so I didn't say that either.
"It's a long story, Lance. I'll explain later."
My library has several more in the series. I think I'll pass. - Alex
Thursday, July 2
Testament of Youth - Vera Brittain
In 1914 Vera Brittain was twenty and about planning to study at Oxford, but a chain of events precipitated a war the likes of which the world had never before seen, and four years later the world, and Vera's generation, had changed in ways unimagined and unimaginable less than half a decade earlier.
The first volume of an autobiographical trilogy, Testament of Youth is Brittain's lauded reflection on that period of time. A great and lengthy work, it is not only a classic account of the Great War years but of feminist literature - it not only reflects on her own experiences but follows the impact of that war on a generation.
Or at least that's what the references to Testament of Youth that lead me to seek it out say. However I just couldn't get into it at all. I'm not sure if it was the style, the length, or just that I picked the wrong time to attempt it, but I skipped over much of the laudatory introduction and still couldn't make it to chapter 2 (entitled "Provincial Young-Ladyhood").
A taste, from pp. 27-28:
Not so much interested, but I appreciate the offer. - Alex
The first volume of an autobiographical trilogy, Testament of Youth is Brittain's lauded reflection on that period of time. A great and lengthy work, it is not only a classic account of the Great War years but of feminist literature - it not only reflects on her own experiences but follows the impact of that war on a generation.
Or at least that's what the references to Testament of Youth that lead me to seek it out say. However I just couldn't get into it at all. I'm not sure if it was the style, the length, or just that I picked the wrong time to attempt it, but I skipped over much of the laudatory introduction and still couldn't make it to chapter 2 (entitled "Provincial Young-Ladyhood").
A taste, from pp. 27-28:
It would not, I think, be possible for any present-day girl of the same age to even imagine how abysmally ignorant, how romantically idealistic and how utterly unsophisticated my more sensitive comtemporaries and I were at this time. The naïveties of the diary which I began to write consistently soon after leaving school, and kept up until more than half-way through the War, must be read in order to be believed.
Not so much interested, but I appreciate the offer. - Alex
New Moon - Stephenie Meyer
Bella is dreading her eighteenth birthday - her vampire soul mate Edward is seventeen and this is the first official marker of her aging while he remains timeless, and though he says he'll stay with her forever, Bella has dreams where she's old and wrinkled, though not abandoned by her ever-youthful love. Despite her requests, the Cullen's are determined to mark the occasion, but a small accident results in Bella being significantly hurt and a hairs' breadth away from attack.
Certain that his presence is harmful, Edward breaks up with Bella and the whole family leave Forks, hoping her life will achieve some semblance of normality.
Instead Bella falls into a near-catatonic depression. Eventually able to go through the motions, she feels as though her centre is missing, and is unable to engage with life. Her friends fall away, and her father despairs, until a chance brush with danger brings Edward back to her. Well, not Edward but an aural hallucination of him cautioning her to be careful.
Filled with renewed hope, Bella begins to court danger in the hopes of hearing his voice again, eventually buying a couple of broken down motorcycles. She takes them to Jacob Black, a Quileute Native American she knew as a child. Though a couple of years younger than her, Jacob is attractive and interesting, and he knows what not to say. As they work on the bikes she finds the time she spends with him easing her aching emptiness, and though she's careful not to encourage the interest she senses, Bella relaxes in his company in a way she hasn't since Edward left her. When she discovers he's a werewolf, and then that there's bone-deep enmity between his kind and the cold ones, her trust in him is undiminished.
It's quite difficult summarising New Moon without including significant spoilers. The second half of the book is less interesting to me than the first half at any rate. I found Bella a little unnecessarily dramatic in Twilight, but that's nothing to her moping about here. While I quite liked the way her depression is portrayed early on (with a sequences of pages blank except for the month), she really needed a combination of a slap and medication, plus or minus therapy and electro-convulsion.
The Romeo and Juliet theme is significantly more overt in this installment - Bella and Edward are clearly Juliet and Romeo, with Jacob standing in for the unfortunate Paris. Not only are the characters and play frequently referenced but the suicidality that serves as the plot's dénouement is explicitly mentioned and echoed in Bella's risk taking and depression. Meyers does do a great job conveying the dizzying heights and the depths of adolescent despair that haunt one's teen years, but her relationship with Jacob is far more interesting, and I found his a far more engaging character than Edward.
Once again I'm concerned about the misplaced focus on age. The Cullen's make a big deal of Bella's birthday in part because they no longer celebrate birthdays, and the notion that one's biological age is the only one that counts persists. At no point does anyone observe that, while Edward may look like he's seventeen, the age at which he turned or died, he has existed for the better part of a century since then. Surely experience counts for something.
This is particularly interesting when contrasted with the way Bella and Jacob overcome the age gap between them - adding and subtracting years based on skills, experiences and biology, so that at one point they agree he's effectively thirty not sixteen and she's twenty-seven instead of eighteen. Of course, if Bella and Edward did that then the unpalatable truth of his inappropriate interest in someone more than a fifth his age would have to be acknowledged...
Something about New Moon made me quite uncomfortable, on an I-would-want-my-daughter-reading-it level. I can't quite put my finger on precisely what it is, but it includes normalising extreme behaviour, elevating obsessive romance, and romanticising suicidal depression and risk taking to an audience already sufficiently prone to those directions.
I didn't hate it, and I'll probably read the next in the series, but this is far from the best genre novel I've read, and I still wholly fail to see the magnetic allure this series has. For some idea of the absorption some fans have, take a look at this YouTube clip of a fan's reaction to the trailer for New Moon - I just don't get it. - Alex
Certain that his presence is harmful, Edward breaks up with Bella and the whole family leave Forks, hoping her life will achieve some semblance of normality.
Instead Bella falls into a near-catatonic depression. Eventually able to go through the motions, she feels as though her centre is missing, and is unable to engage with life. Her friends fall away, and her father despairs, until a chance brush with danger brings Edward back to her. Well, not Edward but an aural hallucination of him cautioning her to be careful.
Filled with renewed hope, Bella begins to court danger in the hopes of hearing his voice again, eventually buying a couple of broken down motorcycles. She takes them to Jacob Black, a Quileute Native American she knew as a child. Though a couple of years younger than her, Jacob is attractive and interesting, and he knows what not to say. As they work on the bikes she finds the time she spends with him easing her aching emptiness, and though she's careful not to encourage the interest she senses, Bella relaxes in his company in a way she hasn't since Edward left her. When she discovers he's a werewolf, and then that there's bone-deep enmity between his kind and the cold ones, her trust in him is undiminished.
It's quite difficult summarising New Moon without including significant spoilers. The second half of the book is less interesting to me than the first half at any rate. I found Bella a little unnecessarily dramatic in Twilight, but that's nothing to her moping about here. While I quite liked the way her depression is portrayed early on (with a sequences of pages blank except for the month), she really needed a combination of a slap and medication, plus or minus therapy and electro-convulsion.
The Romeo and Juliet theme is significantly more overt in this installment - Bella and Edward are clearly Juliet and Romeo, with Jacob standing in for the unfortunate Paris. Not only are the characters and play frequently referenced but the suicidality that serves as the plot's dénouement is explicitly mentioned and echoed in Bella's risk taking and depression. Meyers does do a great job conveying the dizzying heights and the depths of adolescent despair that haunt one's teen years, but her relationship with Jacob is far more interesting, and I found his a far more engaging character than Edward.
Once again I'm concerned about the misplaced focus on age. The Cullen's make a big deal of Bella's birthday in part because they no longer celebrate birthdays, and the notion that one's biological age is the only one that counts persists. At no point does anyone observe that, while Edward may look like he's seventeen, the age at which he turned or died, he has existed for the better part of a century since then. Surely experience counts for something.
This is particularly interesting when contrasted with the way Bella and Jacob overcome the age gap between them - adding and subtracting years based on skills, experiences and biology, so that at one point they agree he's effectively thirty not sixteen and she's twenty-seven instead of eighteen. Of course, if Bella and Edward did that then the unpalatable truth of his inappropriate interest in someone more than a fifth his age would have to be acknowledged...
Something about New Moon made me quite uncomfortable, on an I-would-want-my-daughter-reading-it level. I can't quite put my finger on precisely what it is, but it includes normalising extreme behaviour, elevating obsessive romance, and romanticising suicidal depression and risk taking to an audience already sufficiently prone to those directions.
I didn't hate it, and I'll probably read the next in the series, but this is far from the best genre novel I've read, and I still wholly fail to see the magnetic allure this series has. For some idea of the absorption some fans have, take a look at this YouTube clip of a fan's reaction to the trailer for New Moon - I just don't get it. - Alex
Wednesday, July 1
The Undercover Mother - Eirin Thompson
When the last of her three children starts school our unnamed protagonist decides the time is ripe to rejoin the workforce. She gets a position at the local mall, as an undercover store detective - as a run-of-the-mill, middle-aged woman she's ideally invisible.
There are work-related mysteries, like why everyone else ignores the blatant theiving of a posh school girl, and the question of vote rigging in a local Boony Babes photo competition. But as shge begins not only an association with local FM star Lindy-May but also a decades-old abandioned baby story, her life begins to ravel around the edges.
More than a typical mid-life chick lit novel, Undercover Mother is also less than both I hoped and less than it could have been. For a start the style is choppy, with entries the length and style of diary extracts and about as interesting. The central mystery, the identity of the mother of the long-ago abandoned baby, is hardly difficult to penetrate.
As a portrait of an average woman with unexpressed fears and concersn this is a workable effort. But I found it difficult to relate or warm to the heroine, and the surprise twist of her ending up in a psychiatric facility changed the tenor of the book without necessarily adding to it.
I suspect this is Thompson's first novel. There's another one in print, but I doubt I'll be rushing to it any tiem soon. - Alex
There are work-related mysteries, like why everyone else ignores the blatant theiving of a posh school girl, and the question of vote rigging in a local Boony Babes photo competition. But as shge begins not only an association with local FM star Lindy-May but also a decades-old abandioned baby story, her life begins to ravel around the edges.
More than a typical mid-life chick lit novel, Undercover Mother is also less than both I hoped and less than it could have been. For a start the style is choppy, with entries the length and style of diary extracts and about as interesting. The central mystery, the identity of the mother of the long-ago abandoned baby, is hardly difficult to penetrate.
As a portrait of an average woman with unexpressed fears and concersn this is a workable effort. But I found it difficult to relate or warm to the heroine, and the surprise twist of her ending up in a psychiatric facility changed the tenor of the book without necessarily adding to it.
I suspect this is Thompson's first novel. There's another one in print, but I doubt I'll be rushing to it any tiem soon. - Alex
The To Do List - Mike Gayle
British author Mike Gayle is married, mortgaged, with a daughter and a child on the way. Yet, on the eve of his 36th birthday he still doesn't feel like a proper adult, at least not in comparison with his new and unquestionably grown up neighbours. He and wife Claire are fairly certain Derek and Jessica don't leave milk spilled under the fridge for weeks on end, or still wear undies over a decade old. Long a list writer, Mike writes an oberlist that ends up being 1,277 items long - it ranges from "eat more salad" to "clean windows" (numbers 1 and 1,277 respectively), and covers aspects of family life ("fly kite with child"), friendship ("have John and Sue over for dinner"; "post Jackie and Mark's unposted Christmas card"), love ("write love letters to wife like I used to"), self improvement ("read something by Freud"; "get to know cheese") and fiddly bits of business ("finish Guardian quick crossword begun in April").
To ensure he stuck to it, Gayle emailed all his friends with his intention to do all of his list within a year, giving them permission to tease him unmercifully if he failed. He inadvertently included his agent in the mass emailing, who approached a publisher, which is not only how Gayle stuck to it but also how The To-Do List became a book.
Gayle's voice is straight-forward, funny and honest. From the first page I found points of reference, from the unread (but once longed-for) DVD box sets to the evil siren call of procrastination and the arduousness of tackling War and Peace.
The book combines his attempts to meet his aims with reflections on his life, and the year he spent between birthdays was more than a pursuit of adulthood - it was an opportunity to reconnect with friends and family, reassess relationships, and take stock of his life. As an inveterate writer of many undone To Do lists I was inspired to create my own, far more modest 250-item version that I similarly hope to achieve by this time next year. One item is writing reviews of books in a more timely manner - Alex
To ensure he stuck to it, Gayle emailed all his friends with his intention to do all of his list within a year, giving them permission to tease him unmercifully if he failed. He inadvertently included his agent in the mass emailing, who approached a publisher, which is not only how Gayle stuck to it but also how The To-Do List became a book.
Gayle's voice is straight-forward, funny and honest. From the first page I found points of reference, from the unread (but once longed-for) DVD box sets to the evil siren call of procrastination and the arduousness of tackling War and Peace.
The book combines his attempts to meet his aims with reflections on his life, and the year he spent between birthdays was more than a pursuit of adulthood - it was an opportunity to reconnect with friends and family, reassess relationships, and take stock of his life. As an inveterate writer of many undone To Do lists I was inspired to create my own, far more modest 250-item version that I similarly hope to achieve by this time next year. One item is writing reviews of books in a more timely manner - Alex
Tuesday, June 23
Cry Wolf – Patricia Briggs
Anna used to be a college student, but after three years at the bottom of a Chicagoan werewolf pack that life seems very far away. The alpha, Leo, subjugated her, forced male pack members to rape her, and forbade any contact with her family. The arrival of Charles Cornick, leader of the North American werewolves, has pushed Anna further off balance – after killing Leo, Charles claimed Anna as his mate and insisted she was a rare and valuable kind of werewolf, an Omega. Though attracted to Charles Anna is fearful and mistrusts her own instincts. With no experience of pack life except as the bottom of a dysfunctional fringe pack she feels lost enough. When a shadow from a pack members’ past threatens the whole pack, though, Anna discovers her value, and reclaims her life.
Cry Wolf opens with Anna travelling toward Montana with Charles and his father, Bram. Set in the same universe as Briggs’s Mercy Thompson series, Cry Wolf both answers a dangling question from the first Mercy book and is also apparently the sequel to a short story, which I haven't read. I imagine the events which lead up to Cry Wolf (Anna's turning from human to were etc) are detailed there, but there's enough suggestion, reference and detail for readers unfamiliar with the novella or new to Brigg’s world. Though self-contained, I suspect the experience as a whole would be more rewarding and make more sense if read in conjunction with the short story and the other series.
The characters are well crafted, and Briggs does a great job of conveying the relative age of some of the senior pack members and the underlying politics with subtlety. The chief plot, of the threat, only crops up late in the book but is convincing and dark, while the whole text is underpinned by Anna’s journey, which is portrayed convincingly and is well integrated with the other plots. These include a strong romance, as Anna’s human side learns to trust and bond with Charles – his wolf chose her, but that doesn’t mean the human aspects are compatible, and we see another relationship within the pack where this is the case.
It’s elements like that which put Briggs above many other writers in the genre – she does a masterful job of showing aspects of the universe she’s created without telling or spotlighting them with a neon arrow. I also liked Anna’s intermittent use of Latin phrases, a habit from her pre-transformation life. Had I thought to look I’m sure I would have been able to find Me transmitte sursum, Caledoni* online but coming across it in passing was infinitely more rewarding. I look forward to the next in what I imagine (based on the subtitle An Alpha and Omega novel) is a series. – Alex
*Beam me up, Scotty
Cry Wolf opens with Anna travelling toward Montana with Charles and his father, Bram. Set in the same universe as Briggs’s Mercy Thompson series, Cry Wolf both answers a dangling question from the first Mercy book and is also apparently the sequel to a short story, which I haven't read. I imagine the events which lead up to Cry Wolf (Anna's turning from human to were etc) are detailed there, but there's enough suggestion, reference and detail for readers unfamiliar with the novella or new to Brigg’s world. Though self-contained, I suspect the experience as a whole would be more rewarding and make more sense if read in conjunction with the short story and the other series.
The characters are well crafted, and Briggs does a great job of conveying the relative age of some of the senior pack members and the underlying politics with subtlety. The chief plot, of the threat, only crops up late in the book but is convincing and dark, while the whole text is underpinned by Anna’s journey, which is portrayed convincingly and is well integrated with the other plots. These include a strong romance, as Anna’s human side learns to trust and bond with Charles – his wolf chose her, but that doesn’t mean the human aspects are compatible, and we see another relationship within the pack where this is the case.
It’s elements like that which put Briggs above many other writers in the genre – she does a masterful job of showing aspects of the universe she’s created without telling or spotlighting them with a neon arrow. I also liked Anna’s intermittent use of Latin phrases, a habit from her pre-transformation life. Had I thought to look I’m sure I would have been able to find Me transmitte sursum, Caledoni* online but coming across it in passing was infinitely more rewarding. I look forward to the next in what I imagine (based on the subtitle An Alpha and Omega novel) is a series. – Alex
*Beam me up, Scotty
Saturday, June 20
Safer - Sean Doolittle
Academic Paul Calloway was a little concerned about moving from the security of Boston to a quiet mid-western town, but it's a career opportunity his wife can't pass by. The night they moved in their house, in a quiet suburban cul-de-sac, was broken into and Paul was injured fending off the intruder. While horrifying, the incident had an up side, as Paul and Sara met their neighbours and Paul joined the local neighbourhood patrol, run by former cop Roger Mallory, who lives directly opposite the Calloways. He strikes up friendships, plays golf with a group of mean from the neighbourhood, and settles into tranquility.
When, in the middle of a faculty party he and Sara are throwing, Paul's arrested by the Clarke Falls Police Department, he's understandably shocked. When he learns the charges he's stunned - producing and promoting pornographic images of a child, specifically the thirteen year old daughter of his neighbour. He knows he's innocent, but the evidence against him is strong, and as the truth emerges nobody will escape unscathed.Safer opens with the arrest, and the rest of the novel alternates between events following and events leading up to the arrest. Narrated in first person, the novel hinges on Paul - his character and his relatability. The nightmare situation he finds himself in is breathtaking, and while the conspiracy ends up being a little far-fetched, the way events unfurl is so breathtaking and suspenseful I only recognised this on later reflection.
If you like a whirlwind pace, shuffled chronology (a technique that's integral to the plot), unexpected twists, suburban terror and intrigue, Safer is for you. Doolittle's written several other novel that I'll be encouraging my library to purchase. Watch this spot. - Alex
Friday, June 19
The Immortality Factor - Ben Bova
The news that scientist Arthur Marshak is on the verge of being able to create replacement organs is met with both acclamation and condemnation. Unable to continue because of the furore, Arthur agrees to participate in a Congressional "science court" in Washington, D.C. The first of its kind, Arthur expects that the court will focus exclusively on the scientific aspects of his research and leave the messier, irrelevant aspects out.
Alas Arthur is somewhat naïve, both regarding the way the world works and about his younger brother, Jesse. A doctor who's won humanitarian awards for his work with both the urban poor and third world communities, Jesse is also the husband of Arthur's former fiancée Julia.
Though the strong underlying message is about why politics, religion and science should be kept well separated, what I was struck by was the interpersonal relationships, particularly between Arthur and Jesse. Undoubtedly coloured by current issues I'm having with family members, I was really impressed by how well Bova depicted the complex underpinnings and motivations of family dynamics. Told in first person by the main protagonists (the brothers and the bride), the reader sees how past events and perceptions colour action and interpretation, and how they are unable to see events except through these filters. Jesse, for example, views everything Arthur does as an attempt to show him up and to show off. Arthur sees baby brother Jesse, who he supported after the death of their mother, as a natural for whom everything comes effortlessly.
The more obvious plot, about pioneering research, cost, animal ethics, responsibility, foreseeability and progress in conflict with 'traditional values' is interesting, but it really was the portrayal of family that I found compelling.
This was my first Bova book, which I know is appalling for someone as immersed in FSF as I. It won't be my last. - Alex
Alas Arthur is somewhat naïve, both regarding the way the world works and about his younger brother, Jesse. A doctor who's won humanitarian awards for his work with both the urban poor and third world communities, Jesse is also the husband of Arthur's former fiancée Julia.
Though the strong underlying message is about why politics, religion and science should be kept well separated, what I was struck by was the interpersonal relationships, particularly between Arthur and Jesse. Undoubtedly coloured by current issues I'm having with family members, I was really impressed by how well Bova depicted the complex underpinnings and motivations of family dynamics. Told in first person by the main protagonists (the brothers and the bride), the reader sees how past events and perceptions colour action and interpretation, and how they are unable to see events except through these filters. Jesse, for example, views everything Arthur does as an attempt to show him up and to show off. Arthur sees baby brother Jesse, who he supported after the death of their mother, as a natural for whom everything comes effortlessly.
The more obvious plot, about pioneering research, cost, animal ethics, responsibility, foreseeability and progress in conflict with 'traditional values' is interesting, but it really was the portrayal of family that I found compelling.
This was my first Bova book, which I know is appalling for someone as immersed in FSF as I. It won't be my last. - Alex
Look Again – Lisa Scottoline
When reporter Ellen Gleeson encountered an abandoned baby while writing a story of neonatal intensive care she fell in love with the infant recovering from open-heart surgery. Now three, Will is fully recovered and legally hers. With the help of babysitter Connie, Will and Ellen have a harmonious and smoothly-running life, and the biggest clouds on the horizon are lay-offs at work and her forbidden attraction to her boss, Marcelo.
That is until Ellen comes home to a flier about a missing child – age progressed, Timothy Braverman looks enough like Will to be his twin. Though she first puts the similarity out of her mind, Ellen’s instincts won’t let her leave it alone, and she finds herself investigating the missing child’s story and his grieving parents, even to the extent of abandoning her current assignment, a dangerous move with more lay-offs scheduled. The more Ellen discovers the more concerned she becomes that Will and Timothy are the same child, though she can’t work out how. If she’s right then her adoption was fraudulent and her beloved son isn’t hers after all. Torn between truth and love, Ellen has some heart-breakingly difficult decisions to make.
Before I move on to content I have to mention the cover. At first glance it looks as though someone spilled oil over half the hardback cover – the title’s blurred and the red background is stained darker. But when you Look Again the silhouette of an adult looking down at a child looking back up becomes visible – nice tie in!
Most of Scottoline’s novels revolve around a group of women lawyers, so this is something of a departure in that sense. The hallmarks of her other books are present her, though, too – the characters are strong, driven and convincing, and the plot is fresh and gripping.
In other hands this would have been a compelling literary novel – I can see Jodi Picoult, for example, focusing on the competing needs, rights and best interests of the child, his natural parents and his adoptive family. Scottoline’s treatment is compelling in a different way – third person but purely from Ellen’s perspective, she combines the moral aspects with a mystery and a hefty dollop of action, and raises new dilemmas. There are several twists, plenty of suspense, and a little romance to finish it off. This was a satisfying and rewarding experience and I look forward to Scottoline’s next foray. - Alex
That is until Ellen comes home to a flier about a missing child – age progressed, Timothy Braverman looks enough like Will to be his twin. Though she first puts the similarity out of her mind, Ellen’s instincts won’t let her leave it alone, and she finds herself investigating the missing child’s story and his grieving parents, even to the extent of abandoning her current assignment, a dangerous move with more lay-offs scheduled. The more Ellen discovers the more concerned she becomes that Will and Timothy are the same child, though she can’t work out how. If she’s right then her adoption was fraudulent and her beloved son isn’t hers after all. Torn between truth and love, Ellen has some heart-breakingly difficult decisions to make.
Before I move on to content I have to mention the cover. At first glance it looks as though someone spilled oil over half the hardback cover – the title’s blurred and the red background is stained darker. But when you Look Again the silhouette of an adult looking down at a child looking back up becomes visible – nice tie in!
Most of Scottoline’s novels revolve around a group of women lawyers, so this is something of a departure in that sense. The hallmarks of her other books are present her, though, too – the characters are strong, driven and convincing, and the plot is fresh and gripping.
In other hands this would have been a compelling literary novel – I can see Jodi Picoult, for example, focusing on the competing needs, rights and best interests of the child, his natural parents and his adoptive family. Scottoline’s treatment is compelling in a different way – third person but purely from Ellen’s perspective, she combines the moral aspects with a mystery and a hefty dollop of action, and raises new dilemmas. There are several twists, plenty of suspense, and a little romance to finish it off. This was a satisfying and rewarding experience and I look forward to Scottoline’s next foray. - Alex
Tuesday, June 16
Bones of Betrayal – Jefferson Bass
Bill Brockton, head of the world famous Bone Farm, is participating in a terrorism safety drill when he’s called to a death in nearby Oak Ridge, the birth place of nuclear weaponry. A body lies in a motel pool, covered with a foot of green ice. Leonard Novack is frozen solid but it’s when the nuclear scientist’s body begins to defrost that things really take off.
I generally prefer encountering plot twists without too much warning, so though this occurs really early in the novel I don’t want to disclose much more of the plot. I can say that the novel compelling involves both contemporary issues and events from the build up to the end of the Second World War.
Bill is a really satisfying character – a little goofy, intelligent, self-aware and funny, I suspect he incorporates many traits that the authors possess. He (and therefore they) seamlessly incorporates details about forensic anthropology into the narrative, informing and maintaining interest while advancing the fairly intricate plot. The other characters are nuanced and rounded, particularly Bill’s grad assistant Miranda and potential love interest Isabella Morgan, an Oak Ridge librarian who bar a staggering resemblance to Bill’s murdered lover. I really like how her involvement allows Bill’s grief to progress, and how realistically this loss is portrayed.
Perhaps the most interesting character portrayal is the way details of Novak’s life are posthumously revealed, emerging like a negative in a developing bath. The stand out character, though, is Novak’s ex-wife, Beatrice. Now ninety, the former Oak Ridge employee is quirky, interesting, an unreliable but charming narrator who, either directly or through information she imparts, is the source of most of the plot twists. In many ways I hope to be like her at that age – selectively senile, lively, determined, winsome and intelligent to the end.
Bones of Betrayal is the fourth fictional collaboration of forensic anthropologist Bill Bass and journalist/writer Jon Jefferson. There’s no sign of complacency or writing for the sake or either deadline or profit – the writing is crisp and compelling, the plot original and absorbing, and the characters shine. The next Bill Brockton novel will be on my Must Read list. - Alex
Clisk here for a review of the first Bill Brockton book, Carved in Bone
I generally prefer encountering plot twists without too much warning, so though this occurs really early in the novel I don’t want to disclose much more of the plot. I can say that the novel compelling involves both contemporary issues and events from the build up to the end of the Second World War.
Bill is a really satisfying character – a little goofy, intelligent, self-aware and funny, I suspect he incorporates many traits that the authors possess. He (and therefore they) seamlessly incorporates details about forensic anthropology into the narrative, informing and maintaining interest while advancing the fairly intricate plot. The other characters are nuanced and rounded, particularly Bill’s grad assistant Miranda and potential love interest Isabella Morgan, an Oak Ridge librarian who bar a staggering resemblance to Bill’s murdered lover. I really like how her involvement allows Bill’s grief to progress, and how realistically this loss is portrayed.
Perhaps the most interesting character portrayal is the way details of Novak’s life are posthumously revealed, emerging like a negative in a developing bath. The stand out character, though, is Novak’s ex-wife, Beatrice. Now ninety, the former Oak Ridge employee is quirky, interesting, an unreliable but charming narrator who, either directly or through information she imparts, is the source of most of the plot twists. In many ways I hope to be like her at that age – selectively senile, lively, determined, winsome and intelligent to the end.
Bones of Betrayal is the fourth fictional collaboration of forensic anthropologist Bill Bass and journalist/writer Jon Jefferson. There’s no sign of complacency or writing for the sake or either deadline or profit – the writing is crisp and compelling, the plot original and absorbing, and the characters shine. The next Bill Brockton novel will be on my Must Read list. - Alex
Clisk here for a review of the first Bill Brockton book, Carved in Bone
Friday, June 12
The Lost Recipe for Happiness - Barbara O'Neal
When Elena Alvarez fights with Dimitri, her sometimes lover and head chef at Vancouver's Blue Turtle, it's the last straw. When the owner of Blue Turtle, director Julian Liswood, offers her an amazing position she jumps at the opportunity even though it means relocating. Liswood is opening a new restaraunt in Colorado and he wants Elena to be head chef. It's going to be a lot of work - Elena not only needs to create a new menu and redesign the building layout but also negotiate her relationships with the rest of the crew, including former head chef Ivan, a man with a drinking problem and a massive chip on his shoulder but a brilliant cook.
I don't know why I didn't really enjoy The Lost Recipe For Happiness as much as I expected. Maybe it's just that there was too much. There are significant secondary plots about Elena's childhood, including her abandonment by her mother, the death of one grandmother, the transplantation to the Latin side of her family, and her sole survival following a devastating accident many years earlier that has left her with significant scarring and pain. There are recipes scattered through the narrative. There's a romance and the resolution of an old relationship. There's the ending of an old friendship and haunting by long-dead ghosts.
It wasn't bad, everything hung together alright, the writing was fine and the characters were fairly well developed, though everything wrapped up a little more neatly than I found believable. I just didn't find the experience as rewarding as I'd hoped, and it's really irritating me that I can't pinpoint why. - Alex
I don't know why I didn't really enjoy The Lost Recipe For Happiness as much as I expected. Maybe it's just that there was too much. There are significant secondary plots about Elena's childhood, including her abandonment by her mother, the death of one grandmother, the transplantation to the Latin side of her family, and her sole survival following a devastating accident many years earlier that has left her with significant scarring and pain. There are recipes scattered through the narrative. There's a romance and the resolution of an old relationship. There's the ending of an old friendship and haunting by long-dead ghosts.
It wasn't bad, everything hung together alright, the writing was fine and the characters were fairly well developed, though everything wrapped up a little more neatly than I found believable. I just didn't find the experience as rewarding as I'd hoped, and it's really irritating me that I can't pinpoint why. - Alex
Wednesday, June 10
Old Bones - Aaron Elkins
Forensic anthropologist Gideon Oliver is mostly enjoying his conference in France, which is more than can be said for his friend FBI agent John Lau. He was hoping while in the country to catch up with Guillame du Rocher, whom he'd met previously and whose company he'd enjoyed. When Oliver is asked to assist with identifying some bones found in an old cellar he's initially delighted to learn that it's du Rocher's home, then saddened to learn that the old man had died only days earlier, caught in quick sand and drowning in the lightening fast tide off the coast.
The age of the bones indicates they belonged to a man who died during the Second World War, information that causes many of the involved French locals to try to shut down the investigation. As Oliver continues to pursue the partial skeleton's identity secrets from the past come to life, their effects rippling through du Rocher's tragic death and endangering Oliver's life.
This is the second Oliver novel I've read, though not the second in the series. Unlike my first encounter with the "famous American Bone Detective" I was not really aware of the time lag between publication (1987) and my reading, except in regards to the WW2 timing. Oliver is engaging and interesting, the Normandy setting was a refreshing change from the more usual locales, and I caught shades of Christie's style in both the country house/family setting and the time table detailing (which will make sense if you read the book).
There are notes of humour (I particularly liked Oliver's statement that the bones could be human or perhaps those of a polydactylous pig), and an interesting albeit brief discussion about the erosion of grammar and spelling ("Wither Man" - hilarious) was particularly illuminating given the age of the population he's discussing - the university students of the mid-eighties are not only my peers but also the people criticising this in today's students.
I love learning new things in unexpected places. One here was the existence of the apparently spectacular Mont St Michel, which I now have to add to places I want to see (and which reminds me of the Rock of Gibraltar), and a long-held question I had was answered - while bones retain information about musculature (because of the depth and strength of insertion points), they don't give any information about non-muscle weight. The subsidiary question, why reconstructions on TV shows therefore always create 'normal weight' people, was sadly unanswered but this is a start.
None of this detracted from the overall involving mystery. The characterisation was a little thin, with some reliance on stereotype - I particularly noted the gluttonous son whose furious devouring of sweet treats, pushed into his pink mouth with a finger tip, is mirrored by his avarice. The lead character, however, is well drawn, and the pace of the novel prevented the drawbacks from overshadowing the book as a whole. Though I won't be rushing out to read the next one, when another Elkins novel crosses my path I will read it. - Alex
The age of the bones indicates they belonged to a man who died during the Second World War, information that causes many of the involved French locals to try to shut down the investigation. As Oliver continues to pursue the partial skeleton's identity secrets from the past come to life, their effects rippling through du Rocher's tragic death and endangering Oliver's life.
This is the second Oliver novel I've read, though not the second in the series. Unlike my first encounter with the "famous American Bone Detective" I was not really aware of the time lag between publication (1987) and my reading, except in regards to the WW2 timing. Oliver is engaging and interesting, the Normandy setting was a refreshing change from the more usual locales, and I caught shades of Christie's style in both the country house/family setting and the time table detailing (which will make sense if you read the book).
There are notes of humour (I particularly liked Oliver's statement that the bones could be human or perhaps those of a polydactylous pig), and an interesting albeit brief discussion about the erosion of grammar and spelling ("Wither Man" - hilarious) was particularly illuminating given the age of the population he's discussing - the university students of the mid-eighties are not only my peers but also the people criticising this in today's students.
I love learning new things in unexpected places. One here was the existence of the apparently spectacular Mont St Michel, which I now have to add to places I want to see (and which reminds me of the Rock of Gibraltar), and a long-held question I had was answered - while bones retain information about musculature (because of the depth and strength of insertion points), they don't give any information about non-muscle weight. The subsidiary question, why reconstructions on TV shows therefore always create 'normal weight' people, was sadly unanswered but this is a start.
None of this detracted from the overall involving mystery. The characterisation was a little thin, with some reliance on stereotype - I particularly noted the gluttonous son whose furious devouring of sweet treats, pushed into his pink mouth with a finger tip, is mirrored by his avarice. The lead character, however, is well drawn, and the pace of the novel prevented the drawbacks from overshadowing the book as a whole. Though I won't be rushing out to read the next one, when another Elkins novel crosses my path I will read it. - Alex
Tuesday, June 9
Runner - Thomas Perry
Jane Whitefield gave away helping people escape their pursuers when she married her New York surgeon husband, and she embraced her new life of fund-raising and support gladly. The habits of a lifetime are a little harder to lose, though, and despite herself Jane notices suspicious behaviour from the kitchen staff at a charity night hosted by Carey’s hospital. Before she can investigate a bomb explodes, creating confusion and chaos. In the midst of the aftermath a desperate, pregnant young girl seeking assistance approaches Jane. Despite her promise Jane is compelled to help her, in a world where forging a new identity is harder than ever, and with a foe who is not only determined to track down his quarry but who has the resources to back it up.
Jane is one of my all-time favourite characters and it’s a delight to have return from retirement. As with the rest of the series, Perry combines a fast-paced plot with strong characterisation and convincing detail. Jane’s character is rooted in her Native American culture - the lore and traditions of both her tribe and those of other Native American cultures are threaded through the plot.
Christine, the runner, is flawed but determined, and I became sufficiently involved with her story that I actually spoke aloud (“no, no!”) when she did something stupid but plot-necessary. The behaviour that triggered my outburst was understandable and I liked that she took action instead of waiting passively for rescue.
I also liked that, despite the potential cost to Jane’s marriage and family life, Perry finishes Runner with the possibility of another Jane Whitefield novel. Bring it on! – Alex
Click here for a review of the first Jane Whitefield novel, Vanishing Act
Jane is one of my all-time favourite characters and it’s a delight to have return from retirement. As with the rest of the series, Perry combines a fast-paced plot with strong characterisation and convincing detail. Jane’s character is rooted in her Native American culture - the lore and traditions of both her tribe and those of other Native American cultures are threaded through the plot.
Christine, the runner, is flawed but determined, and I became sufficiently involved with her story that I actually spoke aloud (“no, no!”) when she did something stupid but plot-necessary. The behaviour that triggered my outburst was understandable and I liked that she took action instead of waiting passively for rescue.
I also liked that, despite the potential cost to Jane’s marriage and family life, Perry finishes Runner with the possibility of another Jane Whitefield novel. Bring it on! – Alex
Click here for a review of the first Jane Whitefield novel, Vanishing Act
Monday, June 8
Twilight - Stephenie Meyers
Bella Swan has returned to her childhood home in the small town of Forks, Washington, and the father her mother left when she was an infant. Though Bella has spent a little time with her sheriff father, they aren't close, but her flighty mother has remarried and Bella's giving them some space. Never popular in Phoenix, Bella's surprised to be something of the centre of attention in her new school.
She is immediately attracted to her new seatmate, Edward - gorgeous and enigmatic, Bella is dismayed to find him treating her with hostility every time their paths intersect, at least until he saves her from being mown down in a car accident. She would swear he moved as fast as lightening, and the dents in the van's fender are hand shaped...
Bella is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery. A chance conversation with childhood friend Jacob, who tells her about local Native American mythology, leads Bella to conclude that Edward and his family are vampires. His adoptive father, Carlisle, has a non-human policy and all the members of the group drink animal blood, unlike the vast majority of vampires. Bella's scent is intoxicating to Edward, which is why he avoided her, and she is strangely immune to his ability to read thoughts.
Twilight is the first in a massively successful quartet that I've avoided until now. Lynn reviewed this first installment a few months ago and was less than impressed, which was good enough for me, but in the space of less than a week I've had three people tell me I have to read it, and I succumbed to the pressure.
I can certainly see why Twilight is popular with its' adolescent readership. It is, to the best of my knowledge, the first vampire series aimed squarely at teen girl, and that's certainly a factor. Bella is an archetypal Every Girl - unappreciated, lonely, distanced from her parents and unpopular until she discovers an environment where she blossoms. Edward is the ideal boyfriend - courteous and devoted, attracted but limit setting, gorgeous and faithful. There's a strong tension between desire and restraint, they have a secret that binds them from the outside world, and from the beginning Bella is concerned about the age difference between them.
Of course, like all vampire romance novels there's no concern about the fact that her apparently seventeen-year-old paramour is really a century or so old. Why does no-one ever find this disturbing? Instead the concern is that he will never age while she will continue to grow older and more withered. Bella desperately wants to join Edward as an immortal, a move he resists because of his belief that the turning will damn or lose her soul. With all the passion of young love Bella is deaf to any objections, and there's a strong Romeo and Juliet-type atmosphere, though more in terms of heedless, blind passion than suicidality and death.
Though pleasant and absorbing enough, I have certainly read more captivating and absorbing novels, even in this sub-genre. However, the pace is brisk, the large cast of characters introduced in a measured tempo and well differentiated, and I enjoyed the novel enough that I've reserved the next to read as well. I must say, though, that I still don't understand the strength of the passion this novel has inspired, particularly in middle-aged readers like myself . It's been suggested to me that at least some of this is down to the novel bringing back memories of their own disenfranchised teen years, and I suppose I can see that. However my adolescence wasn't all flowers and adoration and I seem to have moved past that in the intervening twenty years. - Alex
For Lynn's review of Twilight click here
She is immediately attracted to her new seatmate, Edward - gorgeous and enigmatic, Bella is dismayed to find him treating her with hostility every time their paths intersect, at least until he saves her from being mown down in a car accident. She would swear he moved as fast as lightening, and the dents in the van's fender are hand shaped...
Bella is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery. A chance conversation with childhood friend Jacob, who tells her about local Native American mythology, leads Bella to conclude that Edward and his family are vampires. His adoptive father, Carlisle, has a non-human policy and all the members of the group drink animal blood, unlike the vast majority of vampires. Bella's scent is intoxicating to Edward, which is why he avoided her, and she is strangely immune to his ability to read thoughts.
Twilight is the first in a massively successful quartet that I've avoided until now. Lynn reviewed this first installment a few months ago and was less than impressed, which was good enough for me, but in the space of less than a week I've had three people tell me I have to read it, and I succumbed to the pressure.
I can certainly see why Twilight is popular with its' adolescent readership. It is, to the best of my knowledge, the first vampire series aimed squarely at teen girl, and that's certainly a factor. Bella is an archetypal Every Girl - unappreciated, lonely, distanced from her parents and unpopular until she discovers an environment where she blossoms. Edward is the ideal boyfriend - courteous and devoted, attracted but limit setting, gorgeous and faithful. There's a strong tension between desire and restraint, they have a secret that binds them from the outside world, and from the beginning Bella is concerned about the age difference between them.
Of course, like all vampire romance novels there's no concern about the fact that her apparently seventeen-year-old paramour is really a century or so old. Why does no-one ever find this disturbing? Instead the concern is that he will never age while she will continue to grow older and more withered. Bella desperately wants to join Edward as an immortal, a move he resists because of his belief that the turning will damn or lose her soul. With all the passion of young love Bella is deaf to any objections, and there's a strong Romeo and Juliet-type atmosphere, though more in terms of heedless, blind passion than suicidality and death.
Though pleasant and absorbing enough, I have certainly read more captivating and absorbing novels, even in this sub-genre. However, the pace is brisk, the large cast of characters introduced in a measured tempo and well differentiated, and I enjoyed the novel enough that I've reserved the next to read as well. I must say, though, that I still don't understand the strength of the passion this novel has inspired, particularly in middle-aged readers like myself . It's been suggested to me that at least some of this is down to the novel bringing back memories of their own disenfranchised teen years, and I suppose I can see that. However my adolescence wasn't all flowers and adoration and I seem to have moved past that in the intervening twenty years. - Alex
For Lynn's review of Twilight click here
The Book of God - Walter Wangerin
From the dustjacket:
I'm not sure what I was expecting from this thick tome, subtitled The Bible as a Novel. I think the claim that it "add[s] flesh and bones to biblical characters - exploring their motives, their feelings, their relationships" was what intrigued me.
Unfortunately I didn't find any of that in the small section of The Book of God that I was able to make my way through. Instead it read very much like the Bible, which I have read all the way though three times, albeit many years ago. For example, there's no indication of what was in Lot's mind when he told the inflammed men of Sodom that they could have his two virgin daughters instead of the travellers he was housing. The angels of the Lord might well have declaimed the sin of the city, but I've never seen how Lot was worthy enough of being spared, and this rendition gives no insight.
Similarly I'd have liked some interpretation of Abraham's thoughts when commanded to sacrifice Issac, or at least relief when his piety and love of God over his child was rewarded, but The Book of God sweeps right over it and on to the next event.
Had I been more aptient it would have been interesting to see how Wnagerin dealt with the conflicting reports in the gospels about Christ's crusifiction and resurrection, because there's no way to conflate all four versions into a streamlines whole - he'd have to pick certain elelments unique to some gospels and omit details from others. But I was disenchanted with the project before I got past Esau and Jacob.
If you haven't read the Bible and want to know the stories of the testaments, old and new, then the Book of God is probably a better bet than actually reading the Bible itself. If you're looking for something more, though, you'll be disappointed. I was. - Alex
Here is the Bible's story as it has never been told before.
The Bible as an epic novel, with all its sweeping action, its larger than
life characters, its universal themes of good and enil, and always, above everything else, its enduring story of a love that staggers the imagination: the love of God for his people.
The Book of God unfolds the Bible's story in a clean, continuous thread, free of repitiitions, lists of laws and genealogies.
I'm not sure what I was expecting from this thick tome, subtitled The Bible as a Novel. I think the claim that it "add[s] flesh and bones to biblical characters - exploring their motives, their feelings, their relationships" was what intrigued me.
Unfortunately I didn't find any of that in the small section of The Book of God that I was able to make my way through. Instead it read very much like the Bible, which I have read all the way though three times, albeit many years ago. For example, there's no indication of what was in Lot's mind when he told the inflammed men of Sodom that they could have his two virgin daughters instead of the travellers he was housing. The angels of the Lord might well have declaimed the sin of the city, but I've never seen how Lot was worthy enough of being spared, and this rendition gives no insight.
Similarly I'd have liked some interpretation of Abraham's thoughts when commanded to sacrifice Issac, or at least relief when his piety and love of God over his child was rewarded, but The Book of God sweeps right over it and on to the next event.
Had I been more aptient it would have been interesting to see how Wnagerin dealt with the conflicting reports in the gospels about Christ's crusifiction and resurrection, because there's no way to conflate all four versions into a streamlines whole - he'd have to pick certain elelments unique to some gospels and omit details from others. But I was disenchanted with the project before I got past Esau and Jacob.
If you haven't read the Bible and want to know the stories of the testaments, old and new, then the Book of God is probably a better bet than actually reading the Bible itself. If you're looking for something more, though, you'll be disappointed. I was. - Alex
Friday, May 29
The Protector's War - SM Stirling
Eight years after the Change that removed technology and much of civilisation from the face of the earth, life is slowly achieving some normalcy, at least in Oregon's Willamette Valley. The alliance of the Clan Mackenzie, led by Wiccan Juniper, with Mike Havel's (aka the Bear Lord)Bearkillers has been advantageous for both groups. The only fly in the ointment is the Portland Protective Association, a dictatorship headed by former history professor Norman Arminger, a man who has turned the events of the Change to his advantage. The PPA ignore treaties, make raids, and extort small communities. Juniper and Mike know that war is inevitable but hope to forestall it as long as possible.
In England the Change has been devastating - though better off than most of Europe, the population has been massively diminished, few animals capable of pulling ploughs have survived, and the shock of it has affected the mental state of King Charles the Third. Now married Queen Hallgerda of Iceland, a woman with plans of her own, Charles has become increasingly eccentric to the point of instability. Once loyal followers Sir Nigel Loring, his son Alleyne and former SAS soldier John Hordle flee England, now enemies of the crown.
The first half of The Protector's War is complex, skipping not only between continents but not strictly chronological. The pace and writing, however, more than make up for any confusion, and the comparisons between the two communities highlight the effects of the Change. There's also an unusual presence of Australians (Tasmanians, in fact) in the UK - fortunately they're now portrayed as broadly ocker as the profoundly irritating Aussie in the first of this Emberverse trilogy, Dies the Fire. Common to that novel, though, are the strong Tolkien presence, clever integration of practical with spiritual, loving descriptions of food (this is not a book to read when hungry), well-researched detail over a wide variety of areas, and strongly drawn fight scenes. This sequel is as compelling as its predecessor - so much so that, having just finished it I'm at the library ready to borrow the final in the trilogy. - Alex
In England the Change has been devastating - though better off than most of Europe, the population has been massively diminished, few animals capable of pulling ploughs have survived, and the shock of it has affected the mental state of King Charles the Third. Now married Queen Hallgerda of Iceland, a woman with plans of her own, Charles has become increasingly eccentric to the point of instability. Once loyal followers Sir Nigel Loring, his son Alleyne and former SAS soldier John Hordle flee England, now enemies of the crown.
The first half of The Protector's War is complex, skipping not only between continents but not strictly chronological. The pace and writing, however, more than make up for any confusion, and the comparisons between the two communities highlight the effects of the Change. There's also an unusual presence of Australians (Tasmanians, in fact) in the UK - fortunately they're now portrayed as broadly ocker as the profoundly irritating Aussie in the first of this Emberverse trilogy, Dies the Fire. Common to that novel, though, are the strong Tolkien presence, clever integration of practical with spiritual, loving descriptions of food (this is not a book to read when hungry), well-researched detail over a wide variety of areas, and strongly drawn fight scenes. This sequel is as compelling as its predecessor - so much so that, having just finished it I'm at the library ready to borrow the final in the trilogy. - Alex
Wednesday, May 27
Ice Station Zebra - Alaistair MacLean
When a fuel oil fire destroys Drift Ice Station Zebra, a UK meteorological research facility in the Arctic, killing many of the crew and stranding the remainder, the US Navy submarine Dolphin is sent to save the survivors. Much to the commander's displeasure Dr Carpenter, a Brit with expert knowledge of frostbite and other deep cold medical conditions, is thrust upon him. Despite an order for the Chief of Naval Operations instructing him to offer Carpenter every assistance, Captain Swanson is suspicious, and Carpenter reveals that Zebra is a listening post, the first line in detecting a missile attack from Russia.
The remaining plot is convoluted, and detailing it is impossible without revealing key plot points. The first-person narration allows the reader access to knowledge the crew are unaware of, including Carpenter's relationship with the Zebra leader, and the fact that the fire was deliberate. He does not, however, disclose all and the true role he plays, as well as the nature of the ice station, are not revealed until the end.
MacLean is far better known than my favourite action author, Desmond Bagley. This is only the second of his works that I've read, and I can't tell how much of my diminished involvement with this (in comparison to my depth of involvement with the Bagley oeuvre) is because Bagley's better and how much is because my enjoyment is coloured by fond and prolonged previous exposure.
I found the journey to the Arctic unnecessarily drawn out, primarily showcasing MacLean's naval experience rather than substantially advancing the plot. The station is variously referred to as "drift ice station," "ice station" and "drift station," for no reason I could see bnut that may be unnecessarily petty, as is my observation that alcohol is usually contraindicated for both cold exposure and shock (a fact Carpenter doesn't seem aware of).
Published in 1963, the novel is necessarily dated - not just because of technological changes and Cold War mentality but also because of changes in word use like "to-day" and "damn'" (to indicate that it's a contraction of 'damned').
This may make it sounds as though I didn't enjoy Ice Station Zebra; despite these flaws, and though I suspected the villain from the start, the twists and turns kept my iunterest, the plot was involving, and the narrator was enigmatic and engaging. I doubt I've found an adequate replacement for the redoubtable Bagley but I'll give MacLean another go. - Alex
The remaining plot is convoluted, and detailing it is impossible without revealing key plot points. The first-person narration allows the reader access to knowledge the crew are unaware of, including Carpenter's relationship with the Zebra leader, and the fact that the fire was deliberate. He does not, however, disclose all and the true role he plays, as well as the nature of the ice station, are not revealed until the end.
MacLean is far better known than my favourite action author, Desmond Bagley. This is only the second of his works that I've read, and I can't tell how much of my diminished involvement with this (in comparison to my depth of involvement with the Bagley oeuvre) is because Bagley's better and how much is because my enjoyment is coloured by fond and prolonged previous exposure.
I found the journey to the Arctic unnecessarily drawn out, primarily showcasing MacLean's naval experience rather than substantially advancing the plot. The station is variously referred to as "drift ice station," "ice station" and "drift station," for no reason I could see bnut that may be unnecessarily petty, as is my observation that alcohol is usually contraindicated for both cold exposure and shock (a fact Carpenter doesn't seem aware of).
Published in 1963, the novel is necessarily dated - not just because of technological changes and Cold War mentality but also because of changes in word use like "to-day" and "damn'" (to indicate that it's a contraction of 'damned').
This may make it sounds as though I didn't enjoy Ice Station Zebra; despite these flaws, and though I suspected the villain from the start, the twists and turns kept my iunterest, the plot was involving, and the narrator was enigmatic and engaging. I doubt I've found an adequate replacement for the redoubtable Bagley but I'll give MacLean another go. - Alex
Sunday, May 24
Sandra Schwab: Castle of the Wolf
Rather than accept the status of poor relation in her brother’s house and tolerate the whims of his shrewish wife, a young woman decides to accept the terms of her father’s will that enable her to escape this dreaded fate. He has left her a castle in the Black Forest but in order to become its mistress she must marry the son of its former owner.
The man in question, wounded physically by war and spiritually by love, has no idea the castle no longer belongs to his family and doesn’t accept the news that his future is dependant on a woman very well.
Naturally, two such spirited individuals clash constantly but for the sake of both their futures they do the logical thing and marry. It is not until they face an attempt on their lives that they realise just how much they have come to mean to each other.
True love triumphs and they, in the best of traditions, live happily ever after.
Being a huge fan of the, sadly rare, old style Gothic Romance I really enjoyed this spin on the old beauty and the beast story with its strong gothic leanings.
The characterization was great; this pair danced right off the page. The heroine was strong and determined and the hero brooding enough to be enigmatic but not so much as to be off-putting.
At times the plot became a little transparent (I found it quite obvious who was behind the ‘accidents’) but in all fairness to the author, I think that may have been done deliberately.
I am delighted to discover somebody reinvigorating the dark romance, and am please that this work is more polished than her debut novel. I begin to expect big things from Ms Schwab and won’t leave it so long before I read her again.-Lynn
The man in question, wounded physically by war and spiritually by love, has no idea the castle no longer belongs to his family and doesn’t accept the news that his future is dependant on a woman very well.
Naturally, two such spirited individuals clash constantly but for the sake of both their futures they do the logical thing and marry. It is not until they face an attempt on their lives that they realise just how much they have come to mean to each other.
True love triumphs and they, in the best of traditions, live happily ever after.
Being a huge fan of the, sadly rare, old style Gothic Romance I really enjoyed this spin on the old beauty and the beast story with its strong gothic leanings.
The characterization was great; this pair danced right off the page. The heroine was strong and determined and the hero brooding enough to be enigmatic but not so much as to be off-putting.
At times the plot became a little transparent (I found it quite obvious who was behind the ‘accidents’) but in all fairness to the author, I think that may have been done deliberately.
I am delighted to discover somebody reinvigorating the dark romance, and am please that this work is more polished than her debut novel. I begin to expect big things from Ms Schwab and won’t leave it so long before I read her again.-Lynn
Friday, May 22
Love in a Cold Climate - Nancy Mitford
Love in a Cold Climate returns to the decade between the First and Second World Wars. Like its forerunner, The Pursuit of Love, it is narrated by Fanny. This time the emphasis is less strongly on her Radlett cousins, though they and the other members of the family certainly appear. We learn more about Fanny's adult life, and the beginnings of her marriage to Alfred, an academic at Oxford. But the main focus is on the Lord and Lady Montdore, neighbours of Uncle Matthew and Aunt Sadie. Their beautiful and only daughter Polly creates an unthinkable scandal shortly after the death of her aunt, resulting in her outraged and jilted mother cutting off all contact.
The property is entailed, and though the heir (an American) has never expressed an interest in the stately home, the Montdore's contact him. In no time Cedric replaces Polly in Lady Montdore's affections - articulate, aesthetic and effete, Cedric manages to revamp her image and brighten her life.
A longer and more rounded novel than its' predecessor, Love in a Cold Climate is justifiably better known, but reading the Pursuit of Love first does enhance ones' enjoyment. As in the first novel misconceptions that some things are modern inventions, from children's awareness of sex to promiscuity and homosexuality, are disabused. This is a joyous, absorbing and fascinating novel, deserving of its status as a literary classic. - Alex
The property is entailed, and though the heir (an American) has never expressed an interest in the stately home, the Montdore's contact him. In no time Cedric replaces Polly in Lady Montdore's affections - articulate, aesthetic and effete, Cedric manages to revamp her image and brighten her life.
A longer and more rounded novel than its' predecessor, Love in a Cold Climate is justifiably better known, but reading the Pursuit of Love first does enhance ones' enjoyment. As in the first novel misconceptions that some things are modern inventions, from children's awareness of sex to promiscuity and homosexuality, are disabused. This is a joyous, absorbing and fascinating novel, deserving of its status as a literary classic. - Alex
Thursday, May 21
Kerry Greenwood: Trick or Treat
Baker and amateur sleuth, Corinna Chapman is under a lot of pressure. Her livelihood is threatened by a franchise bakery opening at the end of her street. Her love life is threatened by a tall, gorgeous blonde who has just moved in with her boyfriend and has obvious designs on him. The neighbourhood is playing host to a dodgy coven of treasure hunting witches. And a new drug on the streets has crazy people regularly turning up on her doorstep.
Dealing with all of these challenges isn’t easy but Corinna is a strong and determined woman who will not let her world fall apart without a fight. She soon discovers that all of these events are tied up together in a very tangled web and with the help of her friends and the police she manages to unravel it and settle back into the comfortable life she has worked so hard to achieve.
This is the fourth book in this series and builds on earlier works. The cast remains basically the same, and though the story focuses on different secondary characters, we are given updates on our old friends from previous stories.
It is no secret that I am a huge fan of Greenwood’s work but this novel left me a little flat. The writing, as always, was superlative. (Let’s be honest, Kerry Greenwood at her worst would rival many an author at their best.) It was particular elements of the plot that I felt a little disappointed in.
Without spoilers I can’t give details but suffice to say as soon as the flour sack appeared it was obvious what was about to happen. (And if you just guessed sorry but the twist really is that obvious). I have seen this particular plot point used half a dozen times in the last decade in a number of different contexts. Perhaps it just made a strong impression on me but as soon as I mentioned it to Alex her mind went in the exactly the same direction. I had hoped that the point in question was going to be a red herring but sadly that wasn’t the case. And while its impact on the story was minor it was enough to take the shine off.
Still a reliably good read from a consistently good author-just not one of her best.-Lynn
For Alex's review of Trick or Treat click here
Dealing with all of these challenges isn’t easy but Corinna is a strong and determined woman who will not let her world fall apart without a fight. She soon discovers that all of these events are tied up together in a very tangled web and with the help of her friends and the police she manages to unravel it and settle back into the comfortable life she has worked so hard to achieve.
This is the fourth book in this series and builds on earlier works. The cast remains basically the same, and though the story focuses on different secondary characters, we are given updates on our old friends from previous stories.
It is no secret that I am a huge fan of Greenwood’s work but this novel left me a little flat. The writing, as always, was superlative. (Let’s be honest, Kerry Greenwood at her worst would rival many an author at their best.) It was particular elements of the plot that I felt a little disappointed in.
Without spoilers I can’t give details but suffice to say as soon as the flour sack appeared it was obvious what was about to happen. (And if you just guessed sorry but the twist really is that obvious). I have seen this particular plot point used half a dozen times in the last decade in a number of different contexts. Perhaps it just made a strong impression on me but as soon as I mentioned it to Alex her mind went in the exactly the same direction. I had hoped that the point in question was going to be a red herring but sadly that wasn’t the case. And while its impact on the story was minor it was enough to take the shine off.
Still a reliably good read from a consistently good author-just not one of her best.-Lynn
For Alex's review of Trick or Treat click here
Monday, May 18
The Pursuit of Love - Nancy Mitford
Fanny is the daughter of feckless parents - her father was never interested and her mother abandoned her shortly after her birth, in pursuit of another man. Though the children aren't supposed to know it, society refers to her as 'the Bolter.' Fanny was raised by her mother's sister, the gentle and loving Aunt Emily. Life with Aunt Emily was nurturing and supportive, but considerably less exciting than her visits to Alconleigh, the home of her Aunt Sadie, terrifying Uncle Matthew, and her eccentric cousins. Fanny and romantically dramatic Linda are the same age, Louisa is older and relatively well behaved, and close knit Jassy (who saves every penny to run away from home) and Matt add colour. Less prominent are their siblings, Bob, Robin and baby Victoria.
Opening between the Wars, The Pursuit of Love recounts the Radlett children's unique upbringing, which eschews education (particularly for girls) over a good seat and love of the hunt. It offers a fascinating insight into a long-gone era, and introduces some fascinating characters, eccentric, unmistakable and singular. Events then unfurl into the Spanish and Second World wars, ending in 1945. A reminder that nothing really changes, The Pursuit of Love has references to abortion (the Bolter may have bolted often but Fanny's an only child), hunt sabotage, hypochondriasis and dietary fads.
I loved this book and its sequel, Love in a Cold Climate, when I was an adolescent, and fondly remember the mini-series of the same number. This enjoyment was shared by my mother, long a Mitford fan, and still serves as a bond between us. So closely are these elements intertwined with the books themselves that I cannot tell how much of my enjoyment and comprehension comes from these experiences and how much is due to the texts alone.
Fanny is a superb narrator, observing the eccentricities of a very British family from her own conventional (but superficially unconventional) position, alternately admiring and outraged. In the second half of the novel Fanny's focus shifts from the Radlett's as a whole toward the love-oriented Linda, who lurches from one doomed marriage to another. From her own happy marriage to an Oxford don, Fanny thrills and despairs for Linda by turn, each adventure making her more grateful for the stability of her own life. When Fanny sadly tells the Bolter that Linda's last, and also doomed, relationship was with the great love of her life, the novel closes:
A melancholy-tinged joy. - Alex
Opening between the Wars, The Pursuit of Love recounts the Radlett children's unique upbringing, which eschews education (particularly for girls) over a good seat and love of the hunt. It offers a fascinating insight into a long-gone era, and introduces some fascinating characters, eccentric, unmistakable and singular. Events then unfurl into the Spanish and Second World wars, ending in 1945. A reminder that nothing really changes, The Pursuit of Love has references to abortion (the Bolter may have bolted often but Fanny's an only child), hunt sabotage, hypochondriasis and dietary fads.
I loved this book and its sequel, Love in a Cold Climate, when I was an adolescent, and fondly remember the mini-series of the same number. This enjoyment was shared by my mother, long a Mitford fan, and still serves as a bond between us. So closely are these elements intertwined with the books themselves that I cannot tell how much of my enjoyment and comprehension comes from these experiences and how much is due to the texts alone.
Fanny is a superb narrator, observing the eccentricities of a very British family from her own conventional (but superficially unconventional) position, alternately admiring and outraged. In the second half of the novel Fanny's focus shifts from the Radlett's as a whole toward the love-oriented Linda, who lurches from one doomed marriage to another. From her own happy marriage to an Oxford don, Fanny thrills and despairs for Linda by turn, each adventure making her more grateful for the stability of her own life. When Fanny sadly tells the Bolter that Linda's last, and also doomed, relationship was with the great love of her life, the novel closes:
"Oh dulling," said my mother sadly. "One always thinks that. Every, every time."
A melancholy-tinged joy. - Alex
Saturday, May 16
Make No Bones - Aaron Elkins
A new exhibition at Oregon's Natural History Museum coincides with an anniversary of the Western Association of Forensic Anthropologists. It's been twelve years since the first biennial conference, and a decade since Albert Evan Jasper, the innovative 'dean' of the discipline, died in a bus crash. The charred remains of his bones are being mounted in a display case as part of the exhibit - when the case is stolen forensic anthropologist Gideon Oliver's interest in piqued. The only member absent from the fatal gathering ten years earlier, his suspicions are roused and then confirmed. Jasper was murdered, and the killer is a member of the Association, a fellow academic.
Though this is clearly not the first in the series, I had no trouble catching up. Novels and series about forensic investigation have come a long way since Make No Bones was published in 1991, as has technology, but the lack of gadgets and computer simulations does not detract from the novel. The mystery is delicately played out, the protagonist is engaging, and I'm seriously thinking I'll sample at least the next book a long. - Alex
Though this is clearly not the first in the series, I had no trouble catching up. Novels and series about forensic investigation have come a long way since Make No Bones was published in 1991, as has technology, but the lack of gadgets and computer simulations does not detract from the novel. The mystery is delicately played out, the protagonist is engaging, and I'm seriously thinking I'll sample at least the next book a long. - Alex
Thursday, May 14
Halting State - Charles Stross
When police are called in to investigate a robbery they discover something completely out of their experience - not only in the theft significant, it's virtual. Orcs broke into an Avalon Four bank, backed by a dragon for "fire support" and stealing thousands of dollars worth of virtual prestige items.
Underlying the robbery is information that could not only destroy the creators and financiers of Avalon Four, a massively multiplayer online role -playing game, and virtual gaming as a whole but for the whole European Union. Someone has compromised the cryptographic keys that form the backbone of all electronic information. In 2018 that means almost everything.
I'm not usually a big fan of cyberpunk novels, but Halting State was mesmerising - even as I glossed over the tech I read on. To give you a taste:
The novel is structured in three sequential internal trilogies, from the points of view of Sue (an Edinburgh detective), Elaine (an insurance investigator) and Jack (a recently fired programmer). What makes Halting State's style particularly interesting is that it's written in third person throughout, with the exception of internal monologues which are first person. This is amazingly difficult to carry off and Stross has managed seamlessly through the whole, lengthy novel. The writing is dense but compelling and there's an abundance of information not only about the plot and character development but also about the world in which it occurs. Only a decade ahead from the present, virtual reality has infiltrated every aspect of life, in ways both fascinating and (no the less technical, like me) frightening. Combined with the futuristic aspects are a truly Scottish sensibility, rich with local idiom and tradition. My previous experience with Scots and Scottish literature meant I found this added a layer of richness tot he already substantial presentation, but it could be confusing for some readers, particularly - I suspect - Americans.
In summary - very different from my usual fodder but interesting. I'll definitely try another of Stross' works in the near future. - Alex
Underlying the robbery is information that could not only destroy the creators and financiers of Avalon Four, a massively multiplayer online role -playing game, and virtual gaming as a whole but for the whole European Union. Someone has compromised the cryptographic keys that form the backbone of all electronic information. In 2018 that means almost everything.
I'm not usually a big fan of cyberpunk novels, but Halting State was mesmerising - even as I glossed over the tech I read on. To give you a taste:
Most modern multiplayer games run on a couple of distributed-processing platforms - Zone runs on Symbian/GDF and Microsoft Arena runs on.NETSpace - and they've standardized on a common client engine... So, you've got out-of-band merchant sites like IGE and eBay's Gameboard, and a whole bunch of coyotes who make their living by providing tools to migrate avatars from one environment to another, using the exit game assets as arbitrage against a position in the entry game.
The novel is structured in three sequential internal trilogies, from the points of view of Sue (an Edinburgh detective), Elaine (an insurance investigator) and Jack (a recently fired programmer). What makes Halting State's style particularly interesting is that it's written in third person throughout, with the exception of internal monologues which are first person. This is amazingly difficult to carry off and Stross has managed seamlessly through the whole, lengthy novel. The writing is dense but compelling and there's an abundance of information not only about the plot and character development but also about the world in which it occurs. Only a decade ahead from the present, virtual reality has infiltrated every aspect of life, in ways both fascinating and (no the less technical, like me) frightening. Combined with the futuristic aspects are a truly Scottish sensibility, rich with local idiom and tradition. My previous experience with Scots and Scottish literature meant I found this added a layer of richness tot he already substantial presentation, but it could be confusing for some readers, particularly - I suspect - Americans.
In summary - very different from my usual fodder but interesting. I'll definitely try another of Stross' works in the near future. - Alex
Tuesday, May 12
Nigel Cawthorne: Witches - History of a Persecution
From the back of the book:
Instead it contains a number of court reports, torture records, letters and other written material from the time to present the general mood of the period and to examine a few specific cases.
Details of how the system worked from accusation through to conviction were interesting but they are presented with only the most superficial examination. It’s all facts and figures with no real attempt to answer the question of why this happened when it did. And that is where I think this book falls down.
There is nothing wrong with straight factual accounts, I understand their importance for the historical record, but my reading of the blurb had me expecting deeper insight into the time. This wasn’t delivered and the result was a book that I found rather too dry for my tastes, dare I say dull.
While this book does provide an overview of the witch hunts during a three hundred year period, it was not quite what I expected. A good starting place for an investigation of the witch hunting phenomena but only a starting place.-Lynn
Between 1450 and 1750, more than 100,000 people-mainly women-in Europe and colonial America were prosecuted for practising harmful magic and worshipping the devil. Tens of thousands were executed, often after being subjected to bestial tortures.From this blurb I expected to read a book that examined the religious-political foundations of the witch hunting craze and perhaps even speculated on the social psychology that would allow such a movement to flourish. But this book did not take that path.
Witches examines this persecution and the religious hysteria which inspired it, tracing its root back to the savage suppression of the heretical Waldensian sect by the Catholic Church. With the creation of the Inquistion, and the publication of the book Malleus Maleficarum, the ‘Witchfinders’ Bible’, the craze soon spread across Europe and reached as far as the United States where, despite the infamy of the Salem Witch Trials, it was soon dismissed by a more rational population.
Although witch trial continued in Scotland until 1727, Norway until 1760 and Hungary until 1777, the growth of scientific reason gradually gained ground from the witch hunters.
Instead it contains a number of court reports, torture records, letters and other written material from the time to present the general mood of the period and to examine a few specific cases.
Details of how the system worked from accusation through to conviction were interesting but they are presented with only the most superficial examination. It’s all facts and figures with no real attempt to answer the question of why this happened when it did. And that is where I think this book falls down.
There is nothing wrong with straight factual accounts, I understand their importance for the historical record, but my reading of the blurb had me expecting deeper insight into the time. This wasn’t delivered and the result was a book that I found rather too dry for my tastes, dare I say dull.
While this book does provide an overview of the witch hunts during a three hundred year period, it was not quite what I expected. A good starting place for an investigation of the witch hunting phenomena but only a starting place.-Lynn
Monday, May 11
A Puzzle in a Pear Tree - Parnell Hall
Cora Felton, the tippling front for America's real Puzzle Lady, neice Sherry Carter is back in another mystery revolving around word puzzles, this time acrostics, set in the midst of a Nativity play.
Sadly it's been a while between reading and reviewing, so all I can remember is that I enjoyed the novel for what it was - fluffy and light - but was annoyed by the toodle-pipness of a British character. There's more in the series and when I next need something that will distract me from more serious endeavours I'll check out book number five. - Alex
Sadly it's been a while between reading and reviewing, so all I can remember is that I enjoyed the novel for what it was - fluffy and light - but was annoyed by the toodle-pipness of a British character. There's more in the series and when I next need something that will distract me from more serious endeavours I'll check out book number five. - Alex
Saturday, May 9
A Place of Safety - Natasha Cooper
Barrister Trish Maguire has been asked by Sir Henry Buxford to discretely investigate the Gregory Bequest, his art trust that manages a French collection gathered during the First World War and brought to London. Sir Henry suspects something fishy but it's vital no word of his concerns leaks out until there's proof of wrong doing.
Trish's priority is well-being of her half-brother David, whose existence she has only recently discovered and who has come to live with her. On the other hand Sir Henry is influential and powerful, and she's still at the beginning of her career. She agrees to take on the case and is rapidly thrust into a complex world of dealing, valuation and fraud that stretches back almost eighty years.
Woven through the current text is the story of Helen, an English nurse stationed in France in 1917, her lover Jean-Pierre Gregoire, and their child. The historical section spans 1917 to 1925 and adds details to the main story as well as an interesting texture to the narrative as a whole.
Cooper's style is deft and light, seamlessly integrating atmosphere, character and plot with the odd light note ("She remembered the old joke about the extrovert actuary being the one who looked at your shoes rather than of his own"). Though not my usual approach, and born of disorganisation rather than intent, reading this series out of order has added another layer to my experience. The seeds for her relationships with David and partner George, as well as they with each other, are present at the beginning, and I am more aware of her transition as a character than I believe would have been the case had I read the series chronologically. That said, I'm not planning on deliberately reading any series out of order in the future, but it's given me an interesting perspective. - Alex
Trish's priority is well-being of her half-brother David, whose existence she has only recently discovered and who has come to live with her. On the other hand Sir Henry is influential and powerful, and she's still at the beginning of her career. She agrees to take on the case and is rapidly thrust into a complex world of dealing, valuation and fraud that stretches back almost eighty years.
Woven through the current text is the story of Helen, an English nurse stationed in France in 1917, her lover Jean-Pierre Gregoire, and their child. The historical section spans 1917 to 1925 and adds details to the main story as well as an interesting texture to the narrative as a whole.
Cooper's style is deft and light, seamlessly integrating atmosphere, character and plot with the odd light note ("She remembered the old joke about the extrovert actuary being the one who looked at your shoes rather than of his own"). Though not my usual approach, and born of disorganisation rather than intent, reading this series out of order has added another layer to my experience. The seeds for her relationships with David and partner George, as well as they with each other, are present at the beginning, and I am more aware of her transition as a character than I believe would have been the case had I read the series chronologically. That said, I'm not planning on deliberately reading any series out of order in the future, but it's given me an interesting perspective. - Alex
Thursday, May 7
Perfect Match - Jane Moore
Though some couples would have drifted apart under the strain, Karen and Joe Eastman's bond has deepened since learning that their young son has a rare kind of anemia that requires frequent painful treatments. Their only hope of a cure is a bone marrow transplant from a compatible donor, but neither parent is a match - the only answer is having another child through genetic screening and implanting, who will be compatible. It is when they're tested that Karen learns Joe is not Ben's father - as she feared, he is the result of a drunken one-night stand with her best friend's boss, MP Nick Bright. Ben's only chance at a normal life is for Bright to agree to donate sperm for another baby, but the cost to his career and his own marriage is high.
This all seems like Jodi Picoult territory, but the cover of Perfect Match looks more like chick lit, complete with the tag line "for better, for worse... or just for now?" which has nothing to do with the plot. The main story revolves around the affect of Karen's disclosure on her husband, who himself had an affair, with secondary plots about Bright and his relationship, and Karen's best friend Tania.
I'm a little conflicted about how I feel - the basic idea is interesting, and there's token acknowledgement that the hypothetical created sibling may be distressed to learn he was born as a means. The main characters are well fleshed out, and there's no shortage of tension, as well as impulse and destructive behaviour. I was profoundly irritated by Joe, which may have marred my enjoyment of the novel somewhat, but even beyond that I had an anticlimactic feeling about the whole thing. For no good reason, eh. - Alex
This all seems like Jodi Picoult territory, but the cover of Perfect Match looks more like chick lit, complete with the tag line "for better, for worse... or just for now?" which has nothing to do with the plot. The main story revolves around the affect of Karen's disclosure on her husband, who himself had an affair, with secondary plots about Bright and his relationship, and Karen's best friend Tania.
I'm a little conflicted about how I feel - the basic idea is interesting, and there's token acknowledgement that the hypothetical created sibling may be distressed to learn he was born as a means. The main characters are well fleshed out, and there's no shortage of tension, as well as impulse and destructive behaviour. I was profoundly irritated by Joe, which may have marred my enjoyment of the novel somewhat, but even beyond that I had an anticlimactic feeling about the whole thing. For no good reason, eh. - Alex
Wednesday, May 6
Piggy in the Middle - Catherine Jinks
Dallas shoots feral pigs for a living - she has to send a specimen from each one to the biotech company that employs her as proof of death, and is paid per pig. When she sent in a sample of her own skin as a test she wasn't paid, so the company must do some kind of analysis, but Dallas isn't too fussed about that. She is, however, concerned that there are fewer feral pigs about and an increasing number of diseased, dying pigs - she'll soon be out of a job and has few prospects.
Ron lives with his blind grandfather and looks after the pigs at Agricultural Biomedical Research Industries. The modified animals, with fingers growing out of their backs and ears out of their sides, discomfort him, but not as much as Jibby does - she has oddly human grey eyes and malformed trotters. More important, though, is the loss of his license - he can't marry his girlfriend until he gets his wheels back.
Felix is a sixteen year old genius, working in a limited capacity at ABR. When a call from Dallas is put through to him over summer, when most of the other desks are empty, he encourages her to come to ABR and ask for compensation for the results of the ABR-designed virus that has killed off most of Australia's northern feral pig population. He befriends Ron in the cafeteria and inserts himself into his new best friend's life.
This is a deceptively complex novel about genetic research, gene ownership and xeno-transplantation that involves naive and young protagonists. Perhaps because of my background in ethics, I would really have liked to see more about the former aspects of the novel, but the impact of this is to a degree let down by the latter, as most of the issues around these topics are not explored. Instead much of the focus is on relationships - Ron's with his girlfriend and his grandfather, Dallas with her odd and distant family, and Felix's with both his very remote parents and his intense feelings for Ron.
Piggy in the Middle felt undeveloped or incomplete for me, and I was left with my unresolved questions about the plot and the characters, and particularly the projected fate of Jibby. I have found Jinks's contemporary novels less compelling that her historical ones, and that pattern continues. I'm glad I read Piggy in the Middle, and certainly didn't not enjoy it, but I'd rather have read another book about Pagan. - Alex
Ron lives with his blind grandfather and looks after the pigs at Agricultural Biomedical Research Industries. The modified animals, with fingers growing out of their backs and ears out of their sides, discomfort him, but not as much as Jibby does - she has oddly human grey eyes and malformed trotters. More important, though, is the loss of his license - he can't marry his girlfriend until he gets his wheels back.
Felix is a sixteen year old genius, working in a limited capacity at ABR. When a call from Dallas is put through to him over summer, when most of the other desks are empty, he encourages her to come to ABR and ask for compensation for the results of the ABR-designed virus that has killed off most of Australia's northern feral pig population. He befriends Ron in the cafeteria and inserts himself into his new best friend's life.
This is a deceptively complex novel about genetic research, gene ownership and xeno-transplantation that involves naive and young protagonists. Perhaps because of my background in ethics, I would really have liked to see more about the former aspects of the novel, but the impact of this is to a degree let down by the latter, as most of the issues around these topics are not explored. Instead much of the focus is on relationships - Ron's with his girlfriend and his grandfather, Dallas with her odd and distant family, and Felix's with both his very remote parents and his intense feelings for Ron.
Piggy in the Middle felt undeveloped or incomplete for me, and I was left with my unresolved questions about the plot and the characters, and particularly the projected fate of Jibby. I have found Jinks's contemporary novels less compelling that her historical ones, and that pattern continues. I'm glad I read Piggy in the Middle, and certainly didn't not enjoy it, but I'd rather have read another book about Pagan. - Alex
Tuesday, May 5
The Pagama Game - Eugenie Seifer Olson
Burned out by only a year of teaching science to middle school students, Moxie Brecker has moved to Boston and works in the less demanding career of lingerie sales. Her closest friend, Gerard, also works at the mall, selling men's cologne and waiting for Boston native James Spader to wander in and fall in love (even though Spader's married with children); her downstairs neighbour, Steve Tyler, keeps odd hours and receives fan gifts from those odd individuals who think a high profile musician would have his number in the phone book. Steve shares some of his deliveries with Moxie, but is very secretive about his own life and she suspects he's a drug dealer.
Moxie's life is uneventful, punctuated only by the g-string thief who steals huge quantities of underwear, and her regular therapy sessions. That is until a gorgeous man enters her world - unlike most men he manages to neither perv at the lingerie-clad mannequins nor ostentatiously avert his eyes, and though he clearly has someone for whom he's buying lingerie, each time she sees him Moxie's heart lifts a little. This is a highlight - every day Moxie feels tireder, less energetic, and even the simplest things exhaust her. Despite her therapists' assertions that these are symptoms of depression, Moxie harangues her HMO until she gets blood taken, but everything's normal.
Ostensibly a romance, Moxie's condition is the heart of The Pajama Game - it permeates every aspect of her life, affecting her performance and interactions. Olson, who was inspired to write this novel by her own experiences, beautifully captures the day to day life of someone living with a condition I won't reveal (for the sake of spoiler-avoidance) but diagnosed early on. Moxie's friendships, dead end and uninspiring job, and the romantic elements are all window dressing to this primary plot.
I am not sure if my lack of enthusiasm for Moxie is the result of her own lacklustre affect or because she seemed half-formed - there's a brief mention of friends from college who've all moved away, but otherwise she seems adrift in the world, anchored only by an obligatory gay best friend and an interest in marine life (Boston's aquarium plays a minor by pivotal role in the novel). The novel is also quite clearly dated by the references to Boston Public, now long off the air.
That said, there was much about The Pajama Game that I enjoyed, from the naked James Spader worship (the worship being naked, though naked Spader's not bad) and Bostonian setting (of particular interest as I'm going there later this year) to the interesting Tyler gifts and the descriptions of truly tacky underwear. Most of all I felt frustration with the state of the US health care system, and my opinion that all else is ignored once someone has a psych diagnosis was reinforced. I haven't read anything else by Olson thus far, but suspect I will in future, provided something falls in my path. - Alex
Moxie's life is uneventful, punctuated only by the g-string thief who steals huge quantities of underwear, and her regular therapy sessions. That is until a gorgeous man enters her world - unlike most men he manages to neither perv at the lingerie-clad mannequins nor ostentatiously avert his eyes, and though he clearly has someone for whom he's buying lingerie, each time she sees him Moxie's heart lifts a little. This is a highlight - every day Moxie feels tireder, less energetic, and even the simplest things exhaust her. Despite her therapists' assertions that these are symptoms of depression, Moxie harangues her HMO until she gets blood taken, but everything's normal.
Ostensibly a romance, Moxie's condition is the heart of The Pajama Game - it permeates every aspect of her life, affecting her performance and interactions. Olson, who was inspired to write this novel by her own experiences, beautifully captures the day to day life of someone living with a condition I won't reveal (for the sake of spoiler-avoidance) but diagnosed early on. Moxie's friendships, dead end and uninspiring job, and the romantic elements are all window dressing to this primary plot.
I am not sure if my lack of enthusiasm for Moxie is the result of her own lacklustre affect or because she seemed half-formed - there's a brief mention of friends from college who've all moved away, but otherwise she seems adrift in the world, anchored only by an obligatory gay best friend and an interest in marine life (Boston's aquarium plays a minor by pivotal role in the novel). The novel is also quite clearly dated by the references to Boston Public, now long off the air.
That said, there was much about The Pajama Game that I enjoyed, from the naked James Spader worship (the worship being naked, though naked Spader's not bad) and Bostonian setting (of particular interest as I'm going there later this year) to the interesting Tyler gifts and the descriptions of truly tacky underwear. Most of all I felt frustration with the state of the US health care system, and my opinion that all else is ignored once someone has a psych diagnosis was reinforced. I haven't read anything else by Olson thus far, but suspect I will in future, provided something falls in my path. - Alex
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