Musing Mondays, March 19, 2012

This week’s musing asks…
Would you choose to review a book if its description sounded interesting but the cover was terrible?

While a cover might interest me in a book it is never a turn off if the story sounds like something I would like to read and review.  Some of the ebooks I have loved have had terrible covers.  It did not stop me from reading or reviewing.  Print and ebooks both sometimes have covers that do not match to story inside.  I may comment on the terrible or mismatched cover but it does not stop me from enjoying the book. 

Interstellar Patrol by Christopher Anvil, Edited by Eric Flint

Science Fiction/Space Opera

Interstellar Patrol was the Science Fiction Book Club selection for March.  Christopher Anvil wrote mostly novella and short story length works that were published in several of the Science Fiction magazines during the 1960’s and 70’s.  His works are coincided to be among the classics of that period.  Baen collected and published several different collections of his stories. 

Interstellar Patrol contains the first stories of Roberts, Morrissey, and Hammell as they start on the road to becoming members of the Interstellar Patrol.  Everyone agreed it was a good book and a good way to compare Science Fiction today with Science Fiction during the 60’s and 70’s.

The female members of the club commented on the lack of women in the stories.  There were exactly 3 mentions of women in the first two parts of the book and none were over 3 sentences long.  That was always a problem for me when I first started reading Science Fiction and is one thing that has changed.

This is one of the few times we all liked the book and we all agreed we would like to read Interstellar Patrol II to here more about the adventures of Roberts Morrissey and Hammell as they continue their career in the Interstellar Patrol.

In My Mailbox, March 18, 2012

In My Mail Box is hosted by The Story Siren and is an opportunity to share the books I get each week. 

There was not much in my mailbox this week. It's a good thing.  Spring is here early and I am out gardening not reading so my TBA pile is not going down at all.

eBook From Barnes and Noble:

Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison - the .99 monthly special

eBooks from Amazon:

Divorced, Desperate and Delicious by Christie Craig
Marry Me by Susan Kay Law
Flash Gold by Lindsay Buroker





 

  

Hexed by Kevin Hearne

Paranormal/Fantasy

Hexed is the second in the Iron Druid Chronicles.  Here is what Goodreads says about the book.

Atticus O'Sullivan, last of the Druids, doesn't care much for witches. Still, he’s about to make nice with the local coven by signing a mutually beneficial nonaggression treaty when suddenly the witch population in modern-day Tempe, Arizona, quadruples overnight. And the new girls are not just bad, they're badasses with a dark history on the German side of World War II.

With a fallen angel feasting on local high school students, a horde of Bacchants blowing in from Vegas with their special brand of deadly decadence, and a dangerously sexy Celtic goddess of fire vying for his attention, Atticus is having trouble scheduling the witch hunt. But aided by his magical sword, his neighbor's rocket-propelled grenade launcher, and his vampire attorney, Atticus is ready to sweep the town and show the witchy women they picked the wrong Druid to hex.

Plot:  There is a problem in this book and I enjoyed reading about the solution.  However, I felt that most of the plot and action was put in place to set up the next book.  To get help Atticus ended up promising to do some very difficult jobs for other people.  I am sure that all will show up in the next book.

Characters:  The whole cast is back and the only new characters were the bad witches who did not make it until the end of the book.  There was not that much additional character development in the book.

Writing:  The writing flows along with the story.  Everything is told from Atticus’s point of view.  Kevin Hearne manages to get all the information in while preserving the point of view.

Tension:  I did not feel a much tension in this book as in the last.  Again it seemed much of the action was a set up for book 3.

World Building:  There was some additional world building in the story.  We learn more about Atticus and his gods.  There is a great blend of people who have lived for a long time and life in the modern world.  It is very believable world.

I did not see many surprises in the book.  It is a good filler to keep the Chronicles going.  I have book three in my TBR pile so I will be reading it in a few days.

Ballantine/Del Rey published Hexed by Kevin Hearne in 2011.

Pictures From My Back Yard

In my last Musing Mondays post I said that I loved to read in my swing in my back yard.  It has been very warm here and most of my spring flowers bloomed early and all at once.  I am already dead-heading.  Here are pictures of some that are still blooming.  

Book Beginnings on Friday March 16, 2012

Book Beginnings on Friday is a meme hosted by Katy from A Few More Pages. Anyone can participate; just share the opening sentence of your current read, making sure that you include  include the title and author so others know what you're reading.

My book beginning today is from Angels' Flight by Nalini Singh.  This is a series of four novella length stories set in her Guild Hunter Universe.  Two have been published before but all but one are new to me.  Here is the opening line from the first story in the book Angels's Pawn.

"This is a surprise, Cher," Janavier said in that lazy drawl of his, one hand braced on the doorjamb of his Louisiana apartment.   "far as I know, I don't have a hit out on me."


Here is what Goodreads has to say about each story:


In Angel’s Wolf a vampire becomes fascinated with the seductive angel who rules Louisiana. But all is not what it appears to be in her court.

In Angels’ Judgment a hunter must track one of her own gone bad, while surviving the deadly tests placed in her way by the archangels themselves. Unexpected backup comes from a stranger who might just be the most lethal threat of all...

Plus FIRST TIME IN PRINT

In Angels' Pawn a vampire hunter faces off against two rival factions and the angel manipulating them both, and a vampire whose help is not entirely selfless...

And NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED

In Angels’ Dance an angel trapped in the mountain stronghold of the Refuge finds herself under siege by a warrior angel from a martial court.

Against the Light by Dave Duncan

Fantasy

I have seen books by Dave Duncan before but Against the Light is the first book of his I have read.  I got Against the Light from Amazon Vine.  Here is what Goodreads says about the book:

The Hierarchy, high priests of the religious order the Light, has installed King Ethan as the monarchical figurehead, ruling both the magical kingdom of Albi and its predominant religion. Scattered throughout the land, worshipers in the old ways of the Earth Mother are persecuted as heretics. And when young missionary student Rollo Woodbridge returns home to Albi, he is immediately arrested for heresy and treason, setting off a chain of events that plunges the land into utter chaos

Plot:  There is much more to the plot than you see in the above description.  There is religion vs. politics.  Not everyone is who he or she seems.  There are twist and turns, actions that seem right but only make thing worse, characters who act without thought and just when things look like they will work out everything falls apart.  This is the first book in a new series so not all is settled

World Building:  Dave Duncan has put together a complex world.  The rules that govern that world fit together and allow the story to develop in a smooth fashion.  Because this is the first book in the series there has to be quite a bit of world building but it is skillfully woven into the story and does not impede the action.

Characters:  Against the Light has a full cast of characters.  The main characters are better developed than the secondary but even so some seem one-dimensional.  I would not call any character well rounded but they do fit with their role in the book.

Action:  Against the Light starts with action, ends with action and is action filled in-between.   The characters act and react in ways that keep the action flowing smoothly and story moving in a believable direction.

Writing:  Dave Duncan can write.  Everything balanced.  There was just enough of everything to keep me reading.  I did not see wasted words or useless facts,  Back-story was so skillfully woven in that it flowed without interfering in the story.  All and all a very well written book.

I am more of a Science Fiction fan than a Fantasy fan but I enjoyed Against the Light and will look for future books in the series.  If my TBR pile does not get to big I might try another of Dave Duncan’s series. 

47 North published Against the Light by Dave Duncan in 2011.

Waiting on Wednesday (WOW) March 14 2012

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

I am waiting on Devil's Punch, A Corine Solomon Novel by Ann Aguire due out April 3, 2012.  I have it on pre-order at Amazon.  This is the fourth book in the Corine Solomon series and the fifth book is already scheduled.  Here is what the authors web site has to say about the book:

The power swelled inside me, burning, hurting, but I let it center me. Pain means I’m still here, fighting. I envisioned it swelling in my hand in a seething rush, gathering, gathering, and then I sent it out on my resolve like a dark and winged thing riding the magickal wind.

As a handler, Corine Solomon can touch any object and learn its history. Her power is a gift, but one that’s thrown her life off track. The magical inheritance she received from her mother is dangerously powerful, and Corine has managed to mark herself as a black witch by dealing with demons to solve her problems.

Back home, Corine is trying to rebuild her pawnshop and her life with her ex Chance, despite the target on her back. But when the demons she provoked kidnap her best friend in retaliation, Corine puts everything on hold to save her. It’s undoubtedly a trap, but Corine would do anything to save those she loves, even if it means sacrificing herself…