Sharp Words

Should have posted this yesterday, but I was too caught up in the excitement of NaNoWriMo! Here are my October reads anyway.

The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters, G W Dahlquist. Library book, first read.
A rollickingly good steam-punk adventure, even if at times it got a bit convoluted and very confusing. Looking forward to reading the sequel. It would’ve got an 8/10 if I’d been reviewing it (I was tempted to, but alas, too busy.)

Bold as Love and Castles Made of Sand, Gwyneth Jones. Own copies.
I wanted to read these again before putting them up for BookMooch. They’re intriguing speculative fiction novels set in the not-too-distant future where the Counter-Culture rules England (following the UK’s break-up), with a good blend of magic and technology and some very attractive characters.

The Unlikely Ones, Mary Brown. Own copy.
My review

The Law of Becoming, Kate Elliott. Own copy (BookMooched), first read.
I was disappointed by this fourth and final book in the Jaran series – not particularly by the story itself or the writing or the characters (although there wasn’t enough of my favourite ones), but because it felt very unfinished, as if there was a lot more that could and should yet happen. Oh well.

Magic Bites, Ilona Andrews. Borrowed from Marion, first read + re-read.
Great supernatural fantasy, with a good heroine who has a really fun & twisted sense of humour. And hurray for them being light on the romance and sex (even if it does simmer in the background) unlike some in this genre.

Temeraire, Throne of Jade, Black Powder War and Empire of Ivory, Naomi Novik. Own copies, first reads (apart from Temeraire).
I love this series – it really has a good flavour of the Napoleonic wars as well as having interesting ideas about dragons. It’s getting more adventure-style and less about character as the series goes on, but that to me seems mostly because the characters are well established.

Hitler and Mars Bars, Dianne Ascroft. First read.
Guest post by the author. Again, I haven’t had time yet to review this, but will hopefully be doing so sometime soon.

Enigma, Robert Harris. Own copy (BookMooched).
I’d forgotten the ending to this very good historical novel, and was delighted to be surprised by it all over again! I wouldn’t mind seeing the film.

The Princess Bride, William Goldman. Own copy.
I haven’t watched the film in years, alas, but I do enjoy the book and ’see’ the characters as the film ones (especially the albino = British comedian Mel Smith!). The conceit that the novel was written by someone else, and the version I’m reading is an abridgement, can get a bit annoying though – the film dealt with that so much better.

The Last Camel Died at Noon, Elizabeth Peters. Library book, first read.
More Amelia Peabody – this one paid a lot of homage (and very blatantly) to Rider Haggard. I loved King Solomon’s Mines as a kid, so this was good for me!

The Line of Beauty, Alan Hollinghurst. Library book, first read.
The first book in my attempt to read a lot of Bookers. I picked this one because I knew quite a lot about it, and I wasn’t disappointed. Lovely prose with a very good reflection of Thatcher’s Britain.

The Affinity Bridge, George Mann. Library book, first read.
More steam-punk! Not as good as The Glass Books, and could have benefitted from a better editor. (Stupid errors, like talking about ‘pale winter sun’ in London when the month is supposed to be August.) I did want to write a proper review but didn’t have time. I’m interested in reading the next in the series though (when it comes out) and might review any subsequent books.

Sandstorm, James Rollins. Own copy.
Bath-time escapism – a thriller plot mixed with a dollop of sci-fantasy. Ignore the stereotypes & cliches.

Magic Burns, Ilona Andrews. Borrowed from Marion, first read + re-read.
See Magic Bites above. This sequel is just as good, if not better.

First Among Sequels, Jasper Fforde. Own copy.
Not my favourite in the Thursday Next novels, but still very very good.

Pigs Don’t Fly and Master of Many Treasures, Mary Brown. Own copies, first reads.
I bought these after realising that if I love The Unlikely Ones so much, I really should read something else by this author. I did enjoy this pair of novels (Master is a direct sequel of Pigs) but not as much as The Unlikely Ones – in fact, Pigs in particular seemed to be very derivative, although it turns out that there is a reason for that.

The Boy in Striped Pyjamas, John Boyne. Library book, first read.
Simply written but very powerful. And heart-wrenchingly sad. Would like to see the new film of this.

The Ghost Road, Pat Barker. Own copy, first read.
My second Booker winner in a month. Really very good indeed, although I didn’t realise it was the last in the trilogy. I have to go back to the charity bookshop where I bought this and get the others now!

Total for October 2008: 23 + 2 re-reads
Ongoing total for 2008: 169 + 11 re-reads