What I Read In January of 2011

To see my rating on any of the books click Goodreads shelf on the right side of the blog.


Mystery:


Busy Body by M. C. Beaton
Deadly Santuary by Sylvia Nobel
The Reeve's Tale by Margaret Frazer
Edge of Evil by J.A. Jance (as an audio book)
Web of Evil by J.A. Jance


Science Fiction:


Echo by Jack McDevitt
The Noise Within by Ian Whates


Fantasy:


The Ruling Sea by Robert V.S. Redick


Steampunk:


Like Clockwork by Bonnie Dee


Time Travel:


A Twist in Time by Susan Squires


Romance:


Rule's Bride by Kate Martin
Against the Wind by Kate Martin
The Surgeon's Lady by Carla Kelly


Paranormal:


The Native Star by M.K. Hobson

What I Purchased in January of 2011

From Sams Club:


The Lady Most Likely by Julia Quinn, Eloisa James, and Connie Brockway


 From Barnes and Noble:


Against the Wind by Kat Martin


I did not buy many books this month.  I am trying to get my TBR pile down before I buy many more books.

The Noise Within by Ian Whates

Science Fiction

The Noise Within is filled with intriguing elements and characters.   The Noise Within is a rogue AI controlled starship turned pirate.  Kaufman Industries developed the starship that reappeared after a 20-year absence.  Mal/Malcolm Kaufman the developer of the starship is a partial, a computer generated presence left after Mal died.  Philip Kaufman is his son who is developing a working AI/Human melding.  Jim Leyton is an eyegee, an augmented human with an intelligent gun.  Then there are the humans The Noise Within recruited as crew, an isolated space station waiting for something to appear and the aliens.  Each and every one has a part in the story.

The Noise Within is great Space Opera that does not go in a straight line. Ian Whates has created an exciting universe overflowing with possibilities.   The scenes in the book jump between places and characters.  Most of the characters and events come together near the end of the book but don’t expect any resolution. The Noise Within is a very good read but be warned the book ends with a lot unresolved and much up in the air.  I was left with more questions than answers.  I went on Ian Whates website to see if there was a sequel in the works.  According to the website The Noise Within has been published with other books in the series still to come but no release date or working titles are mentioned.  However, when I went to Solaris's website I found The Noise Revealed will be out in May of 2011.  I am putting it on the list of books I am looking forward to in 2011.  There are a lot of questions I want answered.

Solaris published The Noise Within by Ian Whates in 2010.

I purchased The Noise Within from Amazon.

 

Tracato; A Trial of Blood and Steel by Joel Shepherd and The Ruling Sea; A Chathrand Voyage Book by Robert Redick

Fantasy

I’m reading both of these fantasy series and have previous posts about both.  (Click on the link for my post on Sasha and my post on The Red Wolf Conspiracy.)  I just finished reading the latest book in both and felt that both warranted another recommendation.  Although the story lines are very different there are some similarities between the two.  Both have intricate and complicated plots with a large and well-developed cast of characters.  Both authors have created an imaginative world with more details added in each book.  To understand what is going on you must read both series from the beginning. I expected one thing at the end of each book but got a resolution that left everything up in the air.  After finishing both I wanted to read the next book in each series but of course neither has been released yet. 

I think anyone who likes larger than life fantasy series should give both of these a try.

 

PYR published Tracato by Joel Shepherd in 2010.

DelRey published The Ruling Sea by Robert Redick in 2010.

I purchased Tracato from Amazon and checked The Ruling Sea out from the Rogers, AR Public Library.

Like Clockwork by Bonnie Dee

Steampunk

As Like Clockwork starts London is filling up with automatons that are taking over many of the jobs that people used to do.  Victoria Waters is one member of a group of scientists who helped develop the automatons.  She is very concerned about the many uses these untested units are being put to.   On her way to voice her concerns to the Commission for Animatronic Affairs she is kidnapped by Dash, a member of a group that opposes the wide spread use of the automatons.  The two are from totally different social classes but find they share similar views about how the automatons are being used.   Add a group of murders by the Southwark Slasher, the secret actions of the Commission for Animatronic Affairs and you have a set up for danger and suspense.  Of course there is also the attraction between Dash and Victoria to add spice to the story.

Like Clockwork is a novella of 90 pages but Bonnie Dee has used each page to great advantage producing a well-rounded and complete story.  Dash and Victoria are well thought out fully developed characters.  The story has a great pace and moves smoothly from start to finish.   Like Clockwork is a very good short read and I hope Bonnie Dee writes more of the same. 

Carina Press published Like Clockwork by Bonnie Dee in 2010.

For a limited time Carina Press offered Like Clockwork as a free ebook and I downloaded it during that time. 

Deadly Sanctuary by Sylvia Nobel

Mystery

Deadly Sanctuary was the free ebook at Barnes and Noble on the first Friday in January.  It is also the first book in the Kendall O’Dell Series.  Giving away the first book in a series is a good way to hook readers and it worked on me.  

After losing her job at the Philadelphia Inquirer and being dumped by her fiancée, Kendall O’Dell takes a job in Castle Valley, AZ.   She is looking for not only a job but also a change to a drier climate to help her asthma. 

The Castle Valley Sun is a small paper and Kendal is taking the place of a reporter who disappeared several months ago and has not been heard of since.  Her new boss thinks that the disappearance is linked to a story the reporter was working on and he wants Kendall to look into what really happened.  The Arizona setting is great and the descriptions are wonderful.  There are enough interesting characters to keep the story going and the clues to the mystery surrounding the reporter’s disappearance are subtle enough to hold the readers attention and keep the plot moving.   All in all this is a great introduction the Kendall O’Dell Series.  

  

Nite Owl Book published Deadly Sanctuary by Sylvia Nobel in 1998, The eBook was released in 2009.

I got Deadly Sanctuary free from Barnes and Noble.

Scoundrel by Zoe Archer

Paranormal Romance

Scoundrel is the second book in the Blade of the Rose series, Because Zoe Archer did not have to include as much world building in Scoundrel I think it is even better than the Warrior, the first book.  (Follow the link to see my post on Warrior.)

Bennett Day is a love them and leave them guy.  He is also a Blade of The Rose, a group sworn to keep ancient magical relics out of the hand of the Heirs who will use them for world domination. London Harcourt is the daughter of one of the leaders of the Heirs.  She knows nothing of the Heirs or their mission but because she is the only one who can read a dialect of ancient Greek that will lead to a relic her Father brings her to Greece to help with the mission.

Bennett and London meet by chance on the streets of Athens and feel an instant attraction.   Even though they should be on different sides they join forces and are pulled into a quest full of adventure and danger.   The Greek Islands lend a great background for the story.   Like Warrior, Scoundrel is filled with wonderful fully developed characters and a plot that keeps you reading.  Bennett and London make a great team and both find something very unexpected as they work together.

There are four books in the series;   Rebel and Stranger have been published and are the last two.

Zebra published Scoundrel by Zoe Archer in 2010.

I purchased Scoundrel from Borders.

Busy Body: An Agatha Raisin Mystery by M.C. Beaton

Mystery

I still love Agatha Raisin.  (See my previous posts about the series.) In Busy Body, the latest in the Agatha Raisin series, it takes over a year to solve the mystery.  I don’t want to give anything away so here are some teaser questions.

1.  What new romance is Agatha working to     break up?

     2.  What do Christmas lights have to do with murder?  

     3.  Why does Toni feel guilty

     4.  Is James Lacey having second thought about Agatha?

     5.  What backfires on Charles?

     6.  What does Roy Silver try that almost gets him killed?

These and other question can be answered by reading Busy Body.  While Busy Body can be read as a standalone it is more fun if you have read the series starting with book one, The Quiche of Death.

Minotaur Books published Busy Body; An Agatha Raisin Mystery by M.C. Beaton in 2010.

I checked Busy Body out from the Rogers, AR Public Library.