Long overdue book update

[kmusser]

What I read over the holidays:

Declare by Tim Powers - A spy thriller with a hefty supernatural element based on the real life events surrounding Kim Philby. Very well done, an interesting scenario with occult reasons being behind much of the Cold War. This was probably my favorite of this batch. Tim Powers continues to impress me as an author, I'll soon be seeking out everything he's written.

Grand Ellipse by Paula Volsky - Another fantasy set in a non-typical time period, this takes the plot from "Around the World in Eighty Days" (or The Amazing Race) and sets it in a fantasy world with a similar tech level - instead of winning a bet, the heroine is trying to win a race around the world, much of which is hostile. I liked this quite a bit, it's as if Volsky heard zammis and I imagining an Amazing Race set in Middle-Earth and decided to write it.

Song in the Silence and The Lesser Kindred by Elizabeth Kerner - Song in the Silence starts off as a fairly ho-hum fantasy about women going off in search of legendary dragons and finding them. Fortunately I already had The Lesser Kindred or I might not have sought it ought as the series really comes to life in the second book with more depth to almost every character and shifting to a breakneck pace in the action. Ends with a cliffhanger, immediately added book 3 to my wishlist.

The Exile Waiting by Vonda McIntyre - Interesting book about a society that ostracizes mutants and one girl's attempt to escape the planet while keeping her power secret and her deadbeat family. Ok, but not nearly as good The Moon and the Sun which is a fantasy set in Louis XIV's court. I haven't read any of her Star Trek novelizations so I don't know how those compare.

Catseye by Andre Norton - I am embarrassed to say I had not read any Andre Norton, in order to start rectifying this obvious defiency I grabbed this at a recent library sale. Very good short sci-fi novel about sentient cats trying to gain their freedom, felt a little dated, but that's to be expected.

Cruel Miracles by Orson Scott Card - a collection of older short stories that touch on religious subjects. Also includes a very interesting essay on religion in sci-fi. The short stories are all very good, it continually amazes me that someone that is so clueless on so many matters can write with such insight about the human condition.

Fool's Errand by Robin Hobb - fairly typical fantasy, set in a world where human and animals can have a psychic connection. I enjoyed it but didn't find it especially gripping, probably would have helped if I had read the previous series. Still it had wolves in it, so that's a plus :-)

Night of the Avenging Blowfish by John Welter - A non fantasy/sci-fi - shocking. This is a quirky love story set in DC about a lovesick Secret Service agent. I liked the quirky bits and it was very funny in places, but I didn't have a whole lot of sympathy for the main character. Also fun for the local connection and many CIA/SS/NSA jokes.

Gloriana by Michael Moorcock - Dubbed as erotica set in an idealized version of Queen Elizabeth's court and the queen's attempts to find "release" and various politics in the court - I think I'll have to write this one off as "I don't get it", it's won various awards and acclaim, but I found the writing awful and certainly not erotic. There's probably a moral in there somewhere - something like "don't let fantasy writers write their own slashfic."

Comments

[sharrainchains.livejournal.com]

Which version of Gloriana did you read? Moorcock supposedly rewrote it to make it less "politically incorrect." I never read the rewrite, but I never found it either offensive - or all that interesting, either.

[kmusser]

Apparently a new one as it actually had the original version of the final scene as an appendix - I thought the sex and violence scenes way too campy to be offensive.

[animadversio.livejournal.com]

Yup. That's the one I read as well.

100% pure unalloyed crapola. Blech.

[selki.livejournal.com]

The Moon and the Sun was very good, but now I feel like I have to brace myself for a lot of unpleasantness any time I consider reading anything else of hers. I didn't like the trapped feeling of much of the book, though I think it was intentional and well-done.

[evcelt.livejournal.com]

Declare by Tim Powers

Fantastic book. Probably my favorite of his, along with Last Call. What of Powers' have you/haven't you read? I can give you some recommendations...

Catseye by Andre Norton - I am embarrassed to say I had not read any Andre Norton

Boy, you have a treat in front of you! I highly recommend:
The Zero Stone
Storm over Warlock
Forerunner
Moon of Three Rings
The Beast Master (very little at all like the crappy movie)
The Stars are Ours!
Witch World
Web of the Witch World
Three Against the Witch World
Warlock of the Witch World
Year of the Unicorn
The Crystal Gryphon
The Jargoon Pard

... just to start with...

Tim Powers

[kmusser]

I've read Last Call and Drawing of the Dark, both of which were awesome, I like him enough that I probably really will go through everything as he doesn't have all that many.

Re: Tim Powers

[evcelt.livejournal.com]

His stuff before Drawing of the Dark is only so-so... Dinner at Deviant's Palace is OK... but everything else he's written is sterling.

Expiration Date and Earthquake Weather happen in the same world as Last Call- ED is almost as good as LC, but EW is not quite up to that standard (while still pretty darned good).

I would recommend reading The Anubis Gates next (as it's another of my favorites).

His most recent one- Three Days to Never- isn't as transcendent as some, but still a ripping good read.