July Reflections

4:01 PM Nikki

I read a lot of MG fiction in July! Included are some great classics like Heidi, The Light Princess, The Trumpeter of Krakow, and The Story of the Amulet. I also discovered some great new-to-me authors like Anya Seton, George MacDonald, P.D. James, and Bo Caldwell. This month I've read some GREAT books that I've just loved and adored. But it also had some not-so-great books. Still I'm pleased with what I accomplished this month. 

As far as challenges go, I was able to read at least one book for each of these challenges: New Author Challenge, 2011 TBR Challenge, TBR Pile Challenge, Historical Fiction, Victorian Literature Challenge, The Classic Bribe Challenge, Agatha Christie Reading Challenge,  Cruisin' Thru the Cozies.

This month I read 36 books. 

Board books: 2; Picture books: 1; Middle Grade: 13; Young Adult: 4; Adult: 5; Christian Fiction: 6; Christian Nonfiction: 4; Nonfiction: 1.

Review copies: 11; Library books: 18; Books I bought: 7.

My top five six: 

City of Tranquil Light. Bo Caldwell. 2010. Henry Holt. 304 pages.
Trauma Queen. Barbara Dee.
Heidi. Johanna Spyri. 
The Light Princess. George MacDonald.
Withering Tights. Louise Rennison. 
Mine is the Night. Liz Curtis Higgs.

Reviews at Becky's Book Reviews: 

Elephants Can Remember. Agatha Christie. (Hercule Poirot). 1972. 212 pages.
Cover Her Face. P.D. James. 1962. 254 pages.
Sense and Sensibility. Jane Austen. 1811. (The Complete Novels) Random House. p. 3-175.
My Theodosia. Anya Seton. 1941/2007. Chicago Review Press. 432 pages.
Dragonwyck. Anya Seton. 1944/2005. Chicago Review Press. 352 pages.
The Search for Wondla by Tony DiTerlizzi. 2010. Simon & Schuster. 477 pages.
Trauma Queen. Barbara Dee. 2011. Simon & Schuster. 272 pages.
No Passengers Beyond This Point. Gennifer Choldenko. 2011. Penguin. 256 pages.
Smells Like Treasure. Suzanne Selfors. 2011. Little, Brown. 416 pages.
 The Story of the Amulet. E. Nesbit. 1906. 228 pages.
The Hidden Gallery (The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place #2) Maryrose Wood. 2011. HarperCollins. 320 pages.
Heidi. Johanna Spyri. 1880/2009. Puffin Classics/Penguin.  320 pages.
Heidi Grows Up. Charles Tritten. 1938. 190 pages.
Heidi's Children. Charles Tritten. 1939. 255 pages.
The Light Princess. George MacDonald. 1864. 110 pages.
The Trumpeter of Krakow. Eric P. Kelly. 1928. 208 pages.
Swift Rivers. Cornelia Meigs. 1932/2004. Walker. 288 pages.
Alice in Time. Penelope Bush. 2011. Holiday House. 208 pages.
Star-Crossed. Linda Collison. 2006. Random House. 416 pages.
Possession. Elana Johnson. 2011. Simon & Schuster. 416 pages.
Withering Tights. Louise Rennison. 2011. HarperCollins. 288 pages.
Are You Going To Kiss Me Now? Sloane Tanen. 2011. Sourcebooks. 368 pages.
Genrefied Classics: A Guide to Reading Interests in Classic Literature. Tina Frolund. 2007. Libraries Unlimited. 392 pages.

Reviews at Young Readers:

I Like Vegetables. Lorena Siminovich. 2011. Candlewick Press. 10 pages.
I Like Toys. Lorena Siminovich. 2011. Candlewick Press. 10 pages.
Grump. Janet Wong. Illustrated by John Wallace. 2001. Simon & Schuster. 32 pages.

Reviews at Operation Actually Read Bible:

My First Read and Learn: Book of Prayer. Dr. Mary Manz Simon. 2007. Scholastic. 40 pages.
Mine is the Night. Liz Curtis Higgs. 2011. Waterbrook. 464 pages
Read Your Bible One Book At A Time: A Refreshing Way To Read God's Word with New Insight and Meaning. Woodrow Kroll. 2002. Gospel Light Publications. 150 pages.
How to Find God in the Bible: A Personal Plan For the Encounter of Your Life. Woodrow Kroll. 2004. Multnomah. 204 pages.
City of Tranquil Light. Bo Caldwell. 2010. Henry Holt. 304 pages.
Embrace Grace: Welcome to the Forgiven Life. Liz Curtis Higgs. 2006. Waterbrook Press. 160 pages.
To The One Who Conquers: 50 Daily Meditations on the Seven Letters of Revelation 2-3. Sam Storms. 2008. Crossway Books. 240 pages.
Bookends. Liz Curtis Higgs. 2000. Multnomah. 340 pages.
Safely Home. Randy C. Alcorn. 2011. Tyndale. 434 pages.
Mixed Signals. Liz Curtis Higgs. 1999. Multnomah. 384 pages.


© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews


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The Sunday Salon: Week In Review #31

9:42 AM Nikki

What I reviewed at Becky's Book Reviews:

My Theodosia. Anya Seton. 1941/2007. Chicago Review Press. 432 pages.
Dragonwyck. Anya Seton. 1944/2005. Chicago Review Press. 352 pages.
Are You Going To Kiss Me Now? Sloane Tanen. 2011. Sourcebooks. 368 pages.
Alice in Time. Penelope Bush. 2011. Holiday House. 208 pages.

What I reviewed at Operation Actually Read Bible:

Safely Home. Randy C. Alcorn. 2011. Tyndale. 434 pages.
Mixed Signals. Liz Curtis Higgs. 1999. Multnomah. 384 pages.


© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews


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Library Loot: Seventh Trip in July

3:55 PM Nikki

New Loot:

Wrapped by Jennifer Bradbury
The Lovely Shoes by Susan Shreve
My Favorite Band Does Not Exist by Robert T. Jeschonek
Paradise by Jill S. Alexander
Lunch-box Dream by Tony Abbott
My Life Undecided by Jessica Brody
Out of Shadows by Jason Wallace
My Life, The Theater, and Other Tragedies by Allen Zadoff
Human.4 Mike A. Lancaster
The Victory Club by Robin Lee Hatcher

Leftover Loot:

Devil Water by Anya Seton
The Winthrop Woman by Anya Seton
At the Back of the North Wind by George MacDonald
Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne
Twenty-Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
Sarah's Ground by Ann Rinaldi
By His Own Hand? The Mysterious Death of Meriwether Lewis edited by John D.W. Guice
An Artist in Treason: The Extraordinary Double Life of General James Wilkinson by Andro  Linklater
Fallen Founder: The Life of Aaron Burr by Nancy Isenberg
The Story of the Treasure Seekers by E. Nesbit
The Book of Dragons by E. Nesbit
The Railway Children by E. Nesbit
Wet Magic by E. Nesbit
The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene Du Bois
Whittington by Alan Armstrong

 Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire and Marg that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.   

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews


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Alice in Time (MG)

9:40 AM Nikki

Alice in Time. Penelope Bush. 2011. Holiday House. 208 pages.

"I'm not wearing it."
"Yes you are."
"No, I'm not." 
Repeat those last two sentences about fifty times and you'll get some idea of what I'm up against. I'm trying to get my little brother into his page-boy outfit so that we won't be late for Dad's wedding, but I've been trying for the last hour without success.

I picked up Alice in Time because I was interested in the time travel premise. Alice, our heroine, is fourteen and miserable. She thinks her life is ruined, and it just happens that everyone else is to blame for all her woes. Her parents are divorced. Her relationship with her dad and his new wife, a bit awkward. And her brother, well, he's a bother and then some. Her mom is the worst of all. Even Imogen, her best friend, doesn't understand her. It seems the whole world is against her...

One late night in the park, a spin on the merry go round, a little accident ends up changing Alice's life forever. She wakes up from the accident as a seven year old. Her teenage memories are intact, but she's now seven again. She's forgotten how to be a kid, though, which makes this transition a bit tricky. Her mom definitely does NOT like the new Alice, who has turned mean and disrespectful and disobedient. What happened to her little angel that loves playing with Barbie and needed help brushing her hair and braiding it?

Alice soon decides that she'll try to "fix" all the problems of her life. She'll try to stop her cat from getting run over by a car. She'll try to warn her Grandma about the cancer. She'll try to warn anyone and everyone about her mom's postpartum depression. She'll try to stop her mom from throwing her dad out of the house, etc. The question becomes what should she do with her classmates? Should she make the same decisions? Should she choose Imogen over Sasha? Or Sasha over Imogen? Or should she choose a new path altogether? What if she could change her life for the better by choosing a whole new set of friends?

Of course, Alice doesn't really know what the consequences of any of her actions will be... One thing is for sure, this new-new Alice will be a different girl.

I liked Alice in Time. I didn't love it; I didn't hate it. I thought it took a little too long to get to the merry go round. Though that could be just me, since the time travel element is what I was most interested in. And Alice wasn't very likable. She was a brat. A full-time brat. But as she began to grow up a little (by growing down), I began to like her more and more.

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews


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2011 Hugo Ballot

7:01 AM Nikki

Well, this Sunday (the 31st of July) is the deadline for Hugo voting. We cast our individual ballots (well, those of us eligible anyway), but we figured we should let you all know what we picked, why we picked them, and where there were differences of opinion if there were any. If you don't see a category on here, it's because we didn't vote in that category.

Here we go!

BEST NOVEL

Steve's Pick: FEED by Mira Grant
This was the only Hugo Nominated novel that I enjoyed from beginning to end. This is one of the best zombie novels out there right now, and I loved how self-aware the the world within the book is. Do I think this book is going to win? I kinda doubt it. I think Connie Willis is kind of an auto-win, which is a disappointment to me personally. I'm a tad bothered that BOTH of Willis' novels are lumped together. It seems a bit unfair to the other nominees. It isn't that Willis (or any of the other authors for that matter) aren't deserving, it's just that Mira Grant was able to create a single novel that was self contained (mostly), and that was so incredibly fun.

Differing Opinions? Shawn's Pick - Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willis


BEST NOVELLA

Steve's Pick: "Troika" by Alastair Reynolds
I think Shawn's Novella post pretty much explains why "Troika" was so awesome. This was such a tough category, and really any of them could win. This was my personal favorite.

Differing Opinions? Shawn's Pick - "The Lifecycle of Software Objects" by Ted Chiang


BEST NOVELETTE

Steve's Pick: “That Leviathan, Whom Thou Hast Made” by Eric James Stone
Eric James Stone is one of the best short fiction writers out there, and this is one of his best works. Religion in the future that doesn't just say, "Ah, well, religion is stupid and so is everyone that follows it." Completely awesome.

Differing Opinions? Nope. We ALL liked this one the best.


BEST SHORT STORY

Steve's Pick: “The Things” by Peter Watts
This story was fantastic all the way around. One of the most fun short stories I have read in a long time. I did vote for Mary Robinette Kowal for 2nd place here...you know, for those keeping score.

Differing Opinions? Nope. I have them all brainwashed!


BEST RELATED WORK

Steve's Pick: Writing Excuses
If you are a hopeful author, there is a ton of really good information on this podcast. Run by Dan Wells, Howard Tayler, Brandon Sanderson and (now) Mary Robinette Kowal, this is pretty much a go-to resource.

Differing Opinions? Nope. Considering we all want to be authors, this is an easy choice for us. And we're all still upset Elitist Book Reviews wasn't nominated...


BEST GRAPHIC STORY

Steve's Pick: Schlock Mercenary: Massively Parallel
This web-comic just does it for us. It's reliably funny and well thought out. Not much else to say...

Differing Opinions? Nope.


BEST DRAMATIC PRESENTATION, LONG FORM

Steve's Pick: Inception
Yay for movies!! This is where I get to turn off the critical part of my brain and just relax. I could vote for any of the nominated works except Harry Potter and feel good about it. But I just love Christopher Nolan's films. All of them. Seriously though, the rest are all awesome too (except Potter. I'm just not anywhere close to being a fan).

Differing Opinions? None.


BEST EDITOR, LONG FORM

Steve's Pick: Lou Anders
In just a few short years, Lou Anders has taken Pyr to one of the best publishing houses for SF&F. not to mention he's a pretty good Art Director too. Lou Anders is a stud, and deserves this freaking award.

Differing Opinions? No, I didn't allow any on this one.


BEST EDITOR, SHORT FORM

Steve's Pick: Jonathan Strahan
Strahan and Anders edited SWORDS & DARK MAGIC, one of the best short fiction anthologies EVER. I wasn't about to pick anyone else.

Differing Opinions? Nope.


BEST PROFESSIONAL ARTIST

Steve's Pick: Stephan Martiniere
I like every artist on this list. Every single one. This was my second hardest category to make a decision in. I'll be honest here, I'll be stoked for whomever wins.

Differing Opinions? No one else had an opinion in this category.


JOHN W. CAMPBELL AWARD FOR BEST NEW WRITER

Steve's Pick: I'm not telling.
No, seriously. I will never tell anyone my pick here. I either voted for Larry Correia or Dan Wells. One was first, one was second. Why won't I just tell? Because I am very good friends with both of them. It just wouldn't be right for me to spill the details of my vote here. I wish I could vote for them both at #1, but the system doesn't allow it. I hope one of these two wins.

The Other Votes:
Dan Smyth: Dan Wells
Vanessa: Dan Wells
Shawn: Dan Wells
Nick: Can't say for the same reason's as Steve


And there you have it. I look forward to attending the Hugo Awards Ceremony at WorldCon next month.

List your votes in the comments section.


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Never Knew Another

7:00 AM Nikki

When you read a lot of novels, there comes a time when you need something...different. No farmboys who are destined to become the savior of the land. No elves or dwarves. No schools of wizards. No epic stories that plod along for 82 bajillion pages. Typically when the menu calls for something like this, Subterranean Press is the best place to go. But lately, it seems like Night Shade Books has the kind of story that is needed.

NEVER KNEW ANOTHER, by J.M. McDermott, is a fascinating story that centers on the themes of identity and prejudice. The city Dogsland, where the novel takes place, is a sprawling hovel, really, where the citizens hold extreme hatred and fear towards any person that has even a shred of demon-blood in them. The story follows two Walkers—odd, religious, wolf-like bounty hunter types—as they try to track down demons that have been running around the city.

The thing is, this novel is mainly a character study. One of the Walkers has an ability to look into people’s memories, and then leap into the memories of others from that memory. So what we end up with is a novel told in 1st Person, but relating the memories of the people she (the Walker) is tracking to us in a 3rd Person Omniscient narrative style. At first it was a little jarring, but as the novel progressed the style became completely awesome in its execution.

The novel jumps from the memories of several people. Rachel Nolander, a half-demon; Rachel’s brother Djoss; Corporal Joni, also a demon; and a thief named Salvatore. Each of the view points is unique, and through them you get a great feeling for how squalid Dogsland is, and just how prejudiced the normal human citizens are. On the flip side, you also get a good feeling for why people fear the demons so much. It all makes for a fantastic dynamic.

When reading, if it seems like you are just getting character back-story, you are. That’s the way this novel is. NEVER KNEW ANOTHER is light on a major story, and about average on setting, but is solid gold on character and social development. What’s the reason for pointing this out? Simply put, a lot of people may get turned off from this story if they don’t understand the way the book is told right from the get-go. From McDermott's blog: "Literary Walkabout is a good thing."

Apart from the characters and unique story-telling technique, the other thing McDermott’s novel has going for it are a few very cool ideas that will stick with you until the sequel is released. The way a demon’s physiology differs from humans (and how they hide it), and the harm they can cause just by touching another person. The way the Walkers can see into memories (which was already mentioned earlier). The methods for cleaning and purifying places where the demons have been. There are some seriously awesome nuggets here.

The main problem most people will have is thinking the story is underdeveloped, or having trouble with the narrative style. Here at EBR, our main issue was that the book just kind of stops. It makes the novel lack some of the emotion impact a character-study novel should.

But whatever. This novel was solid. The characters acted in very different yet completely believable ways. The description was terrific. Need something new and fresh? Something very uniquely written? Give J.M. McDermott’s NEVER KNEW ANOTHER a try. Now we just have to wait for the sequel…

Recommended Age: 16 and up.
Language: Some, and it can get strong.
Violence: A little, but nothing shock value. Remember, the main thing here is the characters.
Sex: Nothing super graphic. A few scenes of sensuality.

Note from Steve: As an aside, this is easily one of my favorite covers this year. I just think it is absolutely beautiful. It was done by Julien Alday. Completely awesome.


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Are You Going To Kiss Me Now? (YA)

2:01 PM Nikki

Are You Going To Kiss Me Now? Sloane Tanen. 2011. Sourcebooks. 368 pages.

I should start at the beginning, four months ago, on the night of the senior prom. I wasn't a senior, or a prom person, so the fact that I hadn't been invited wasn't bothering me...much. I mean, I didn't want to go, but it would have been nice to be invited.

I picked up Are You Going To Kiss Me Now? because I wanted to see how it compared with Libba Bray's Beauty Queens. Each book has strengths, of course, and each has its own weaknesses.

The premise of this one is simple. What if a private plane carrying five celebrities, one contest winner, and one semi-famous blogger went down in the ocean near a small African island. Could these people ever learn to get along and work as a team? Would anyone know what to do? What are their chances of surviving it all?

The heroine, Francesca, is the contest winner. She wrote a little essay all about loss for Seventeen magazine. Her sob story about losing her dad in a car accident? So not true! She's just REALLY, REALLY angry that he's getting remarried. She never expected to win--never expected it to be published--so now she may just have to face the consequences.

The good news is that after the plane goes down, well, the people in her life might be so happy to see her again that they'll forgive her for her lies...

The other people on the island are Joe Baronstein, a middle-aged actor who supposedly got his start starring in Small Secrets, a sitcom about a psychic family living in Texas, and it was a musical too; Jonah Baron, the illegitimate son of Joe, a famous singer in a Christian boy-band; Milan Amberson and Eve Larkin, two actresses that hate, hate, hate one another, of course, each has flaws; Cisco Parker, the oh-so-dreamy actor who isn't as perfect as he appears. And then there's Chaz the gay blogger who is obsessed with all things celebrity. His site is all about publishing gossip, gossip, more gossip.

The good news is that Sloane Tanen did a good job with her characters; they are all developed. Especially when comparing them to the more stereotypical characters found in Beauty Queens. I can't say that I particularly loved--or even liked--any of the characters. They are all--in their own way, perhaps--so deeply flawed. Their personal lives are so messy--hate, anger, bitterness, pain, confusion, doubt, frustration, shame, etc. What Francesca learns is that everyone has issues, that no one is perfect. That celebrities are no better or no worse than anyone else.

Francesca (and to a certain extent Chaz) are good at mocking people. And both, I think, take a little enjoyment out of seeing the world in this way. How can I make a joke out of this or that. How can I get my one line in. And even when the person being mocked doesn't really mind at all, it can grow annoying after a while.

The story isn't as over-the-top as Beauty Queens. Yes, there were places I found it a stretch--the person who discovered them, his using Francesca--or trying to use Francesca, all the big "reveals" as they laugh about having all their deepest darkest secrets out of the closet now because of their time together on the island. And the ending, well, it felt a little too happy. But it still wasn't as crazy, over-the-top as Beauty Queens.

I didn't love the story. I have to be honest. I didn't really like--at all--or appreciate may be the better word, the way that Christianity was presented, discussed, mocked, etc. It's not completely unexpected. This book won't be the first or last to present Christianity in a false way and to depict Christians as evil or crazy or liars. So I was disappointed with this one because of that, because of the lack of respect, because of the insults and jokes and such, it was hard to like the characters.

I think there are plenty of readers out there who will appreciate this one--humor and all. It just wasn't for me.

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews


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Book Review: Pegasus by Robin McKinley

10:16 AM mixagrip

Pegasus by Robin McKinley
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Publication date: November 2010
ISBN: 9780399246777
Source: Library

Pegasus


When Princess Sylvi is bound to her pegasus Ebon, she is shocked to discover they can communicate with each other with their thoughts.  Through all the years of the alliance between Sylvi's people and the pegasi, there has never been record of such a bond before.  And such a close bond makes the wizards, not to mention the general population, nervous.  Will their new friendship be able to withstand the difficulties that arise or are they destined to destroy the peace of the alliance?

Things I Liked:
This has much of what I love about a Robin McKinley fantasy.  There is so much depth and history associated with the story she's created that you can almost become overwhelmed thinking about it!  McKinley spends most of the book developing the characters and relationship between Ebon and Sylvi.  Undoubtedly, that is one of the strengths of the book - that complex and deep relationship.  The other obvious one being the developed mythos of their world.  Reading it, you get the impression there are so many stories populating the past that there is no way we'll ever be able to hear them all.  Some favorite parts:

None of them were as beautiful - or as exciting - or as shocking - as this dark-blurred, wing-nicked scene, with the wind streaking past, tangling her hair and chilling her back and her bare feet; but her hands were buried snugly in his mane, and Ebon himself was as warm as a hearth. p 86
Although Ebon was the only black, the pegasi were variously coloured, from white to cream to gold to copper-red to dark, fresh-ploughed-loam brown and deep shadow or silver gray, and the three groups that made the three circles, six or eight spokes around each central boss, seemed to be creating some pattern with some meaning beyond the simple fact of preparation for the flight to come. p 201
Things I Didn't Like:
With all that being said in its favor, I have to agree with many that the book lacks action.  The whole thing (and it isn't a short thing) is spent on those two characters and how they're friends.  They don't do much of anything until the very end and it can be very slow reading up to then.  Also, the ending is very abrupt and leaves you really hanging - not knowing what happens next.  I certainly was entertained and kept reading, but I can see why many would be frustrated and stop.  I'm very interested in what happens next.

Read-alikes:
The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley

BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: none
that I can remember

mrg-factor: X
maybe some passing references, nothing descriptive at all

v-factor: ->->
a bit here and there with some fighting scenes

Overall rating: ****

What's your favorite McKinley book?

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage


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Dragonwyck

2:25 PM Nikki

Dragonwyck. Anya Seton. 1944/2005. Chicago Review Press. 352 pages.

It was on an afternoon in May of 1844 that the letter came from Dragonwyck. 

Miranda Wells is the foolish heroine of Anya Seton's Dragonwyck. This farm girl has much to learn, and her trusting nature combined with her restlessness is just asking for trouble. The novel opens with Miranda being invited to visit her cousin, Nicholas, and his wife, Johanna, and their daughter, Katrine, in their home, Dragonwyck. Though cousins, the two have never met. For the Van Ryn's are quite wealthy, and the Wells are at best poor relations. But the couple appears--at first--to be looking for a companion for their daughter. Someone not quite a servant, but not quite a real guest either. The wealth and luxury of their lifestyle--especially in comparison to the only lifestyle she's ever known--life on a farm has Miranda thoroughly charmed. Everything that Nicholas says and does just wows her. He seems to be so perfectly, perfect. She just can't help herself, she finds herself falling for him. On her part, I do feel it's just silliness, with more innocence to it than real intent to break up a marriage. But the wife, well, she is unhappy and uncomfortable with Miranda being there. She didn't expect her to be so young, so beautiful, so ready to be charmed by her husband.

How does Nicholas feel about Miranda? How does Nicholas feel about his wife? his daughter? How does Nicholas feel about anyone else? Well. Readers can draw their own conclusions, perhaps. But needless to say, this reader was NOT charmed by Nicholas. He didn't seem all that swoon-worthy to me. And AFTER his wife's oh-so-convenient-death, well, my impressions changed even more--but not in his favor. A true romantic hero, in my opinion, would NEVER EVER propose marriage to a young woman while his dead wife was still in the room.

So do you think Miranda lives happily ever after with Nicholas?!

It's true I was never bored with Dragonwyck. But I also never found true satisfaction with it. Miranda was a frustrating heroine, to me, because she was just too stupid immature. She wasn't all that smart, and she wasn't all that good. (With goodness being a virtue.) There was very little to love in Miranda. That being said, I definitely felt something for her. I pitied her. Miranda's choices weren't all that smart. But NO WOMAN deserves to be treated the way she was treated. And I definitely wanted Miranda to be saved--to either save herself or to be rescued by some good soul. Nicholas. Well, what can I really say about him?! I didn't find him appealing at all. It was just so easy for me to hate him. His flaws are too many to even begin to list. And his strengths? Well, I can't think of any!

Have you read Dragonwyck? What did you think of it? Did you like it? love it? hate it? Do you think it's fair to compare it to Jane Eyre and Rebecca? I definitely see how Dragonwyck is a gothic romance.

Here's how Philippa Gregory's afterword begins, "At the very opening of this far-fetched, romantic novel, Anya Seton takes a great risk with her readers: she shows a foolish young woman reading a far-fetched, romantic novel and gently mocks both the genre and the readers."

Here's the part where I disagree with her:
Johanna is a wonderful thumbnail portrait of a woman whose death we are not going to mourn. Her greed, illustrated in the first moment we meet her when she demands to know if her husband has brought her pastries from town, is wonderfully described. Seeing Johanna, with crumbs on her gown and half-eaten dishes in her room, puts us neatly on the side of Nicholas and the guilty lovers. We are prepared for Johanna's death, and we don't mind when it happens.
By the time Nicholas comes to marry Miranda, Seton has so arranged our sympathies that we are as keen for the marriage to proceed as is Miranda. And so we forgive Nicholas for our suspicion of murder and Miranda for her desire for Nicholas and cupidity for his life. In addition, we agree with Miranda that the farm is a poor place. We forgive both Nicholas and Miranda because we are as bad as they. We don't mind that Johanna is dead, and we want to see Miranda live the high life. (339-340)
It is Nicholas who dominates the book, of course, and it is he who lingers in the mind after the book is finished. What a wonderfully gothic, nightmarish hero-villain he is! He is handsome and beautifully dressed; he is stylish and wealthy. He is absolutely exceptional, and we know this before he even enters the pages of the novel because Seton has the crowd murmur his name before he arrives. He delights us at once. He circumvents Miranda's father, which pleases us since we want to see her freed. He sweeps her away to his home, and his home is a wonder. We think, like Miranda, that he could be saved by true love. We despise his fat wife; we have hopes for his future. (341)
I don't only disagree with her a little, I disagree a LOT. (I might have exchanged a few words with the book.)

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews


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2011 Hugo Novellas

7:00 AM Nikki

Here we are with the Hugo novellas. In case you are wondering, a novella ranges from around 17,500 words and measures up to 40,000 words in length. There’s some beautiful stuff in this set of nominated works—in fact, it was a little hard to choose which was the best. In the end, this category will vary a lot from reader to reader. Anyway, let’s jump in.

"The Lady Who Plucked Red Flowers Beneath the Queen's Window" by Rachel Swirsky

Wow! If there were an award for just plain coolness, of breathtakingly beautiful scenes and weird and wonderful magic, then this novella would win hands down. It’s the story of a female magician—males aren’t allowed to be magicians—who is betrayed and killed and subsequently recalled to life to help various rulers and magicians and teachers throughout the ages. Each scene is gorgeous, interesting, and wonderful. There was enough magic here to last through a couple of novels (at least) and I ate through it ravenously. Sadly, the ending kind of fell apart for me. The story just didn’t tie together very well. Some of the scenes that I had earlier hoped would come into play in the end turned out to be pretty useless, other than being cool. It was such a bummer, because if it had come together at the end a bit better, this would have been my favorite.

"The Lifecycle of Software Objects" by Ted Chiang

This is a novella that puts a different twist on the emergence of Artificial Intelligence. The book posits that intelligence requires the time and experience that humans get by learning and growing and interacting to emerge. Thus the AI's in this novella are raised from infancy and we see their development over the years. I have a strange love/hate relationship with this novella. I actually read it first a year ago when it was published by Subterranean Press. I mean come on, this is a Ted Chiang story, which is reason enough to rejoice. I read it completely in a day and I was actually very disappointed. Chiang’s work is brilliant, and while I was reading this one I saw glimpses of brilliance. I saw pathways that I sorely wanted Chiang to explore, and then he never did. I was pretty bummed out. Then I started discussing it with my dad who loved it to death. He saw it as an allegory for God and his creations and thought it was brilliant. I realized that I had committed one of the cardinal sins for reviewers: I judged the work not based on what it was, but what I wanted it to be. Shame on me. I’m happy to report that I reread "Lifecycle" and found it wonderful. I still wish he had expounded upon some of the ideas introduced here, but it was still quite good. Was it my favorite of Chiang's work? Probably not. But even a middling work from Chiang is enough for a Hugo nomination in my opinion.

"The Maiden Flight of McCauley’s Bellerophon" by Elizabeth Hand
Here is a weird story about a motley group of characters striving to recreate footage of McCauley’s Bellerophon that has been sadly destroyed by a fire. The characters were interesting, the plot was OK, and then at the end it had a chance to be great. I thought I saw where the ending was going and I was excited about it. Then the story stopped short, tied up none of its loose ends, and sputtered out into nothing. Just like with "The Lady" this one would have been great if it had been a tad more solid in the end.

"The Sultan of the Clouds" by Geoffrey A. Landis

Here we have some good old-fashioned fun space opera. We have cities floating around Venus’ acidic clouds, weird alien family relationships, action, gadgets, and intrigue. It was a fun story with big fun ideas and I really enjoyed reading it. I'd say more, but short fiction gets completely ruined if you get more than a few details. It's awesome, enough said.

"Troika" by Alastair Reynolds

Can Alastair Reynolds write anything but top-notch Science Fiction? How is it that his short work can be singled out for the Hugos and yet his novels never seem to be nominated? We need to rectify this. STAT. "Troika" is a great first contact story that is told as a flashback as the main character is searching for a woman to tell his story to. I'm dying to tell you why it’s really more than that, but I won't let you all pull it out of me. We'll just leave it at that, and say that the first contact stuff is top notch. There are images here that are still in my head because they were so cool.

All in all I think the novellas were my favorite of the categories to go through (novels included). There’s enough time and space to really tell a top-notch story with cool ideas, but not so much as to get bogged down. If you read only one category, make it the novellas. There’s some amazing work being done.

My order? Man, picking the top three was tough. He's what I voted:
1. The Lifecycle of Software Objects
2. The Sultan of the Clouds
3. Troika (Steve informs me that this was his pick)
4. The Lady Who Plucked Flowers from Beneath the Queen's Window
5. The Maiden Flight of McCauley’s Bellerophon


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Book Review: The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens

9:34 AM mixagrip

Posted as part of Tween Tuesday, hosted by GreenBeanTeenQueen.
The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication date: April 2011
ISBN: 9780375868702
Source: ARC provided by publisher

The Emerald Atlas (Books of Beginning) 

Kate, Michael, and Emma have been passed from one orphanage to another.  But the latest one, located on a remote crumbled old manor, is the strangest yet.  Besides being the only children there, they meet the mysterious Dr. Pym and find an old book with magic powers.  When the children discover that the book has the ability to send them through time, they become embroiled in a centuries-old battle to protect the books from evil forces.  But can they protect the book and each other too?

Things I Liked:
This was a fun and unique fantasy story that kind of stole into my heart.  I really liked the world that Stephens created, though I had a hard time getting into it.  The atlas and the history of it was the most intriguing part of the world, though we didn't get much about it early in the book.  I fell in love with the three kids, though not right away.  I was especially fond of Emma, who is such a spitfire that it's fun to read about her.  A fantastic new fantasy series for those aching for a new world and new adventures.

Things I Didn't Like:
As I mentioned, it was hard to get into it.  I think maybe it was too slow in the beginning.  It didn't really pick up in action until about halfway through for me.  I wanted more details about the magical aspects of the world than we got and I look forward to more from the next books.  True fantasy tween fans will likely devour this series.

Read-alikes:
I agree it's kind of like a MG Lord of the Rings by Tolkien
Beyonders: A World Without Heroes by Brandon Mull
The Shadows by Jacqueline West

BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: none
though I could have missed a few

mrg-factor: none

v-factor: ->->
some, though not described in detail

Overall rating: ****

What fantasy series did you love as a tween?

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage


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What's On My Nightstand (July)

7:10 AM Nikki

The list is long this time! 

Mixed Signals by Liz Curtis Higgs. I am liking this one. I don't always love contemporary romance novels, I tend to prefer historical romance. But I'm glad I made an exception for Liz Curtis Higgs. This one is set in a small Southern town, and the heroine is a DJ at an oldies station. And the music references alone makes it a bit fun!

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. I am NOT liking this one. I don't even know if this should surprise me. While I have loved three or four of the Steinbeck I've read--I'd easily say that should be LOVED, LOVED, LOVED-- this isn't my first or second or even third attempt to read The Grapes of Wrath. There is a crudeness to this one that isn't exactly typical of the Steinbeck that I've loved. Maybe it's the additional vulgarity and crudeness, maybe it's the lack of humor? Who knows. All I know is that I don't really like the language of this one at all.

Dragonwyck by Anya Seton. I am not hating this one exactly. I am just not liking it as much as I had hoped. I can say this. It definitely reminds me of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. The "hero" has not shown ANY heroic qualities at all. I think you'd have to be a silly type of fifteen or sixteen year old girl to have a crush on him, to find him irresistibly charismatic. (And he's the heroine's cousin). Taking the creep factor up, it's got an afterword by Philippa Gregory. Gregory gushes on and on and on about how Nicholas Van Ryn, the hero-villain, is so dreamy and swoon-worthy, and how readers see the attraction immediately. And how readers automatically want Miranda, the heroine, to win him away from his oh-so-fat wife, whom readers automatically hate because they find her fat disgusting. I was like, WHAT IS SHE TALKING ABOUT? I'm supposed to want this immature little baby-of-a-girl without any brains at all to tear this marriage apart? I am supposed to cheer while this marriage falls apart? Granted, I haven't gotten *that* far in the book yet. She's not even admitting to herself how much she wants her cousin. But the way Gregory talks about this one--well, it's just CREEPY! I'm supposed to hate the wife because she's fat?! I'm supposed to find this jerk of a guy swoon-worthy?! After reading this:
"I believe that death is inherent in our lives, that we get the kind of death which our natures attract. The mediocre die in bed where they began; the brave die adventurously."
"And those who are murdered deserved to be murdered?" asked the Count, amused.
Nicholas' eyes lingered a second on the other's face. "Perhaps," he said. "There's a vast amount of twaddle and sentimentality in the commonplace mind about death. It would be far better for the race if the ugly and useless ones were eliminated."
"But monsieur!" expostulated the Count, laughing. "This is barbaric. Who is to decide which one is ugly or useless enough for death? Who would dare?"
Nicholas lifted his glass and took a delicate sip. "I would dare--if the occasion arose." (62)
Does Nicholas sound swoon-worthy to you?! Shouldn't any reader have more judgment sense than that?

Fallen Founder: The Life of Aaron Burr by Nancy Isenberg. So. I read My Theodosia by Anya Seton. And this historical novel (that may or may not have any truth in it) has inspired me to pick up a couple of nonfiction books about the time period. Including this biography of Aaron Burr. I'm three chapters into it so far and I'm really enjoying it! Much more than some of the fiction I've been reading (The Grapes of Wrath, Dragonwyck).

By His Own Hand? The Mysterious Death of Meriwether Lewis edited by John D.W. Guice. This is another nonfiction book inspired by the oh-so-fictional My Theodosia. In the novel, Seton imagines Theodosia madly, deeply, in love with Meriwether Lewis--but she's already married, and so this love--though requited--can never, ever have a happy ending. Despite Seton claiming that the romance had three sources, I don't think that is exactly the case. Anyway, this book presents a couple of sides. One person arguing for a case of suicide, another person arguing for a case of murder, and another person assessing the strengths and weaknesses of both sides of the issue. I certainly didn't know about this mystery...at all. So I am finding the book fascinating!

Let God Change Your Life: How To Know and Follow Jesus by Greg Laurie. I hope to finish this one soon for review at Operation Actually Read Bible.

Safely Home by Randy C. Alcorn. Another one I hope to finish soon for Operation Actually Read Bible. It's an interesting book. I'm not absolutely loving it. I find myself wanting to yell at one of the narrators. The book is definitely issue-driven. And the dialogue, at times, seems a little too purposeful, if that makes sense. I wouldn't say that it always feels forced, like the reader is the audience of a debate. But it can feel that way in places. Still, it's an interesting book about Christians being persecuted in China.

What's On Your Nightstand is hosted by 5 Minutes for Books. 

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews


Bookish Images Monday (Pierre-Auguste Renoir)

5:35 PM Nikki

I've got two images for you this week. Both found using wikimedia commons. The picture on the left is "Gabrielle lisant" (1906). The picture on the right is "Liseuse à la Vénus (Gabrielle avec une sculpture)" (1913-1915).

A few of you may remember my old, old header--the mosaic of different women reading. If I'd found these images a few years ago, I would have LOVED to have them on the blog. I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the colors!


Bookish Images Monday is hosted by Cindy's Book Club.

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews


Name That Book, Episode 16, and a Giveaway!

9:48 AM mixagrip

Name that Book is a biweekly game where you get to guess a book title from the photo clues.

In celebration of having posted 400 book reviews (Friday's review of Secondhand Charm was #402), I decided I needed to do a giveaway!  And what better way than making you guess for my Name That Book game?  I tried to be as creative and fun as possible for this episode (though you guys are so good at this that they will probably be totally easy) and I included four titles instead of the usual two.  Here's how the contest will work:


I'll choose two winners.  The first person to get them all right will win their choice of a book from the pile pictured above.  Then I'll randomly select another winner from the group of people who got them all correct and they will choose a book from the pile too.  It's open only in the US, to those 13 and older, and you can enter until Sunday, August 6th, and I'll announce winners the next day.  Good luck!  (And remember not to leave any guesses in the comments :)
 
Book 1:



Book 2:



Book 3:





Book 4:




Contest closed. Here are the answers to the Name That Book puzzles.


If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage


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My Theodosia

9:10 AM Nikki

My Theodosia. Anya Seton. 1941/2007. Chicago Review Press. 432 pages.

At six o'clock on the morning of Midsummer Day, 1800, Aaron Burr's estate, Richmond Hill, was already well into the day's bustle of preparation for the gala dinner to be given that evening in honor of Theodosia's birthday.

My Theodosia was Anya Seton's first novel. When possible I like to begin at the beginning with a new-to-me author. Saving the first book for the end, well, it can end in disappointment. Because if an author keeps improving, then each book will show it.

The heroine, Theodosia Burr, is the daughter of Aaron Burr. At his greatest, her father was Vice President of the United States of America. At his worst, he was a wanted man accused of murder and treason, etc. His greatest fan, by far, was always his daughter. I think he could have done anything, said anything, and she still would have been there standing by him, supporting him with every breath in her body.

I think it is important for readers to know exactly what to expect from My Theodosia. It is NOT historical romance. That is while the novel focuses on Theodosia and the men in her life--her first kiss which came from Washington Irving on her seventeenth birthday, her husband, Joseph Alston, her 'true love', Meriweather Lewis, the novel isn't love and romance and passion. And it most certainly is not about happily ever afters.

My Theodosia is historical fiction. Some who have read it might even call it "historical" FICTION. I'm not one to judge the historical accuracy--or historical inaccuracy--of a novel when I haven't read any nonfiction at all about the subject. I don't have a clue if Anya Seton's characters resemble the people they're supposed to faithfully represent. I do know that in the author's note she claims that the novel is "historically accurate in every detail." And she claims to have read all the Burr biographies, and the published letters of Aaron Burr, and some of the unpublished letters of Aaron Burr. And she claims to have had three sources for the romance between Meriwether Lewis. There are certainly plenty of reviews that say differently. That claim this novel is 100% fiction with no truth in it at all.

The historical time period covered is 1800 to 1812. And for those interested in this period in American history, the novel may prove interesting. I certainly found it fascinating. I read it in two days. And I wasn't bored at any point during the narrative. I can't say that I loved the characters exactly--they were too flawed for that. Aaron Burr being very charismatic and manipulative. But I can say that I found the story compelling and tragic. Maybe I found it fascinating because I didn't know that much. Yes, I knew about the duel. But I didn't know much else. And I certainly didn't know about Mexico. So it definitely held my attention.

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews


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Hellhole

7:00 AM Nikki

Everyone has prejudices. I don’t care who you are or what your background is, we all have things that just irk us to no end. As a reviewer it can be difficult sometimes to put those prejudices aside, to try and read a work based on it’s merit alone and ignore everything else. I have a secret for you readers. I’m not a fan of the latest Dune books put out by Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson. I haven’t read them, but I have read the original Dune and it’s one of my favorite books ever. I don’t like the new books because it feels like they are trampling on something sacred to me. Who are they to tell me what else happened in the Dune universe. Only one person has that right. Frank Herbert. And since he is dead we are just going to have to content ourselves on what he left for us. Now I know, Brian Herbert is Frank’s son and maybe they even have some old notes and things. I don’t care. It still feels wrong and I don’t like it (plus the other reviewers here at EBR all assure me that the new Dune novels are freaking terrible).

So when I received HELLHOLE by Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson, I thought it was a cruel joke being played upon me (and who knows, it may have been), but I decided to put aside my prejudices and read the book and judge it on it’s own merits. And then something funny happened, something strange and utterly unexpected.

I started to like it.

I know, weird right? But I did. I was having fun reading it. And despite the cast of characters that appeared to include hundreds of viewpoints, I was able to easily keep track of the story and enjoy it. The story takes place on a backwater planet named Halholme (nicknamed Hellhole by it’s citizens) where a defeated General Tiber Adolphus is exiled. He there attempts to undermine the core planets, start a rebellion and organize a new government of deep zone planets. Really it’s more than that, but the rest of the characters and story all hang off of that basic framework. I was surprised how all of those stories interwove and brought out new and interesting details.

And then aliens showed up.

Now, I’m an SF nerd, no apologies. If there’s an SF book to be read and reviewed here at EBR, I’m usually the guy to do it. I love aliens, I really do. I love weird planets and alien cultures and all of that, but these aliens killed this story for me. They put a gun to the novel's head and blew it to messy chunks of confetti. The aliens felt forced, unimaginative and all-powerful/wise in that Yoda way, yet cryptic in that zen master way. It all felt so over-done that I wanted to throw up. Which is a bummer, cause I was enjoying it up to that point.

So all in all, the book was a surprising roller-coaster of a read. I just wish that it had ended on an upswing instead of a down. There’s good stuff to be had here, but I don’t think I’ll be rushing to pick up the next book in the series. In the end, the total package was mediocre.

P.S. Can you believe I made it through this whole review without making a reference to reading a book entitled HELLHOLE and being forced to review it. SO MANY JOKES!

Age Recommendation: 16+
Language: Not much
Violence: Nothing remarkable
Sex: Alluded to but never shown


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The Sunday Salon: Week In Review #30

12:18 PM Nikki


What I reviewed at Becky's Book Reviews:

The Hidden Gallery (The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place #2) Maryrose Wood. 2011. HarperCollins. 320 pages.
Heidi. Johanna Spyri. 1880/2009. Puffin Classics/Penguin.  320 pages.
Heidi Grows Up. Charles Tritten. 1938. 190 pages.
Heidi's Children. Charles Tritten. 1939. 255 pages.
The Light Princess. George MacDonald. 1864. 110 pages.
The Trumpeter of Krakow. Eric P. Kelly. 1928. 208 pages.
Swift Rivers. Cornelia Meigs. 1932/2004. Walker. 288 pages.

What I reviewed at Operation Actually Read Bible:

Bookends. Liz Curtis Higgs. 2000. Multnomah. 340 pages.


© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews


Posted in

Library Loot: Sixth Trip in July

11:49 AM Nikki

New Loot:

Devil Water by Anya Seton
At the Back of the North Wind by George MacDonald
The Adventures of Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne
Twenty-Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
Sarah's Ground by Ann Rinaldi
Four Summers Waiting by Mary Fremont Schoenecker
The Lady and the Poet by Maeve Haran
Adverbs by Daniel Handler
The Exile of Sara Stevenson by Darci Hannah
Katherine by Anya Seton
Patriot Hearts: A Novel of the Founding Mothers by Barbara Hambly
By His Own Hand? The Mysterious Death of Meriwether Lewis edited by John D.W. Guice
An Artist in Treason: The Extraordinary Double Life of General James Wilkinson by Andro  Linklater
Fallen Founder: The Life of Aaron Burr by Nancy Isenberg

Leftover Loot:

The Winthrop Woman by Anya Seton
Dragonwyck by Anya Seton
Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow
The Story of the Treasure Seekers by E. Nesbit
The Book of Dragons by E. Nesbit
The Railway Children by E. Nesbit
Wet Magic by E. Nesbit
Miracles on Maple Hill by Virginia Sorensen  
The View from Saturday by E. L. Konigsburg
Gone-Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright
Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff
The Family Under the Bridge by Natalie Savage Carlson
Swift Rivers by Cornelia Meigs
The Trumpeter of Krakow by Eric P. Kelly
The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene Du Bois
Whittington by Alan Armstrong
Alice in Time by Penelope Bush
Are You Going To Kiss me now? Sloane Tanen
Mixed Signals by Liz Curtis Higgs

 Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire and Marg that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.  

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews


Posted in

Swift Rivers (MG)

8:02 AM Nikki

Swift Rivers. Cornelia Meigs. 1932/2004. Walker. 288 pages.

It was the summer that Chris Dahlberg was seventeen that he mowed the high meadow alone for the first time.

I can't say that I LOVED Swift Rivers. But I can say that I did enjoy it--most of it at least. I checked it out from the library not really knowing what to expect. My plan was to give it a chapter or two to see if it was even something I wanted to read. And it was. Chris Dahlberg is a great hero for an adventure story. After his parents' death, his Uncle became responsible for him. But this responsibility didn't include love and respect. Chris works hard day after day after day with no one to really appreciate him. Since the Uncle absolutely HATES his father--Chris' grandfather--when Chris decides to leave home for four days to check on his grandfather, the Uncle forbids him, warning him that if he leaves he shouldn't bother coming back. For he'll never, ever, ever welcome him back into his home. Knowing that the grandfather is getting older, knowing that there must be a reason why he didn't come to help the mowing this year--like he has every year since he can remember--he makes his decision. He just has to see if his grandfather needs help. He needs to see if grandfather is ready to make it through the winter. The uncle is true to his word, but that doesn't turn out to be such a bad thing. For Chris and his grandfather and a helpful neighbor or two come up with an idea. It's a bit of a risk, it's not really been done before, but if it succeeds, it will be the start of something big. Chris and his grandfather are determined to enter the logging business, to cut down trees, and float the logs down the river, etc.

Half of the novel is the adventure of the logs-down-the-river. How this journey changes Chris. So it's a coming-of-age adventure story set in the 1830s. It's an industrious novel--one that focuses on men hard at work. It's a dangerous job that requires focus and skill and determination.

I liked this one because I liked Chris. I didn't necessarily love all the descriptions of river rafting. But even though I wasn't loving each and every page, I still enjoyed it for the most part. 


© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews


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Book Review: Secondhand Charm by Julie Berry

12:57 PM mixagrip

Secondhand Charm by Julie Berry
Publisher: Bloomsbury Childrens
Publication date: October 2010
ISBN: 9781599905112
Source: Library

Secondhand Charm

Evie is the talented young healer in her small village. But she longs for more than just a village life.  When chance brings her an opportunity to go to the university in the city, she jumps at it.  But the journey along the way is unexpectedly filled with danger.  It is also filled with opportunities for her to discover just where her healing skills came from.

Things I Liked:
I loved the voice from this book!  I felt like I was listening to a friend and talented storyteller recount the story - and I was reliving it with her.  Not only did it have a charming voice, the story was definitely not what I expected.  It went everywhere but where I thought it would, and that is a good thing.  It was interesting and unique and I loved Evie for her spunk and sparkle.  A fantastic fantasy fairy tale that isn't predictable or silly.  Here are some favorite parts:
A ripple went through the crowd, starting with Mayor Snow's great girth.  A royal visit!  Such a thing hadn't happened since Widow Sprottley's uncle's cow birthed a calf with two udders.  We'd heard the tale often enough to know.  What news! p 3
Water churned in the wake of the ship's stern.  It spread two blades of white-capped spray from either corner of the ship.  The black water stretched forever, except where the dark shore blotted out the stars to our left.  Hanging low over the horizon, painting a shimmering silver ribbon all the way to The White Dragon, was the moon.  p 90
Things I Didn't Like:
There were a few awkward phrases that threw me off.  It was like the wording was a bit off and I had to read it again to figure out what it meant.  But, there weren't too many of those.  I remember also thinking how strange it was that all these things kept happening to Evie in such a very short period of time.  They were all explained, but some of them felt just a touch random or out of nowhere.  Then again, that is what kept it from being predictable.

Read-alikes:
Shannon Hale's Books of Bayern and Princess Academy
Jessica Day George's Dragon Slippers series
The False Princess by Eilis O'Neal
The Amaranth Enchantment by Julie Berry

BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: none

mrg-factor: none

v-factor: ->
some fighting and action, but not much

Overall rating: ****

I'm wondering, for those who read The Amaranth Enchantment, how you think this one compares? I remember thinking the first one was ok, but I like this one better.

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage


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2011 Hugo Novelletes

7:01 AM Nikki

It’s been a while since I read these novelettes, but I wanted to sit on them for a bit to see which ones stuck with me, which ones disappeared from memory and just see when I came back to it, which ones were the best compared to the others. The question I hear a lot is, "What the heck is a novelette?" Simply put, it's a work of fiction ranging from 7500 words to around 18,000 words in length. It is that piece of fiction that takes up the space between the short story and the novella.

There were some pretty good pieces of of fiction in this year's Hugo nominated batch of novelettes. So here we go:

"Eight Miles" by Sean McMullen — The basic premise of this story follows a balloonist living in Victorian times who is hired by an eccentric scientist to fashion a balloon that will take him up eight miles into the air. The scientist is in possession of a strange creature that becomes lucid and coherent only in thinner atmospheres. What started out (in my mind at least) as a steampunkish fantasy tale actually turns into a weird first encounter story set a hundred years ago. That turnaround really drew me in and made me smile. I loved realizing that I was reading a different story than I had thought and that discovery made the story great. It was weird, it was different and it surprised me.

"Plus or Minus" by James Patrick Kelly — A bunch of young kids are on a space ship heading home. Something goes wrong with the space ship and they need to figure out how to survive the long trip. Great premise. The characters were well thought out and interesting. The situation was great. Overall it was a great story. I just wish it wasn’t so open to “Why didn’t they just __________?” I won’t fill in the blank, but in the end I thought there were several more obvious solutions than the one that happened. Other than that, it was a lot of fun.

"That Leviathan Whom Thou Hast Made" by Eric James Stone — Wow! What can I say but Wow! I actually read this story on a recommendation from a friend a few weeks before Hugo nominations were due and I was blown away by this story. I was happy to see it on the Hugo ballot when it was released.This is a great story guys. It’s the story of a man living on a space station near a star who has a theological dilemma involving one of the members of his church. The problem is that member of the church is an alien life form (and not just a Star Trek alien, who are mostly human with weird bumps on their head—this is a weird and strange and almost impossible to comprehend type of creature). The story goes through the man’s attempt to solve the theological debate and answer some difficult questions. The great thing about this story is its take on religion in the future. Most SF that I’ve read (and I’ve read a lot) portray religion in SF as either gone--because in the future we’ve totally proven that religious is bogus for some reason--or else they portray religious folk as imbeciles and zealots who just don’t know better. Not this story. Here we see real religion in my opinion, full of people looking for truth and doing the best they can. They don’t have all the answers and are willing to take some things on faith. They are flawed but trying. I loved the implications of religion in an alien context. I loved the struggles and the questions. This is a great story. I nominated it and after everything else, I think it’s still my favorite, and there's a reason why Eric James Stone won a freaking Nebula.

"The Emperor of Mars" by Allen Steele — This was a story that right from the get-go really sucked me in. There’s a guy talking to you about going crazy in space. (Side note, the whole going crazy in space theme hasn’t been used near enough for me in books movies whatever. It’s just cool.) The guy then proceeds to tell of a specific incident that happened on Mars when one of the workers goes completely bananas. It was fun, it was cool, it was intriguing, and then it just kind of fizzled out in the end. If it had built to something really big and cool I would have loved it. The ending was OK, but I was expecting more. Still a "good" story, I was just hoping for "great".

"The Jaguar House, in Shadow" by Aliette de Bodard — This is the story of a break-in to a temple complex in a future where (for some reason) everything has been modeled with Aztec names and sensibilities in mind. There are flashbacks to the past to kind of reveal why the break-in is happening in the first place and then a resolution where the villains' motives are explained. It didn’t really stick with me. The names and Aztec stuff, for me at least, instead of being really cool and adding depth to the story, just muddled it up and made it confusing. Sorry. Didn’t do it for me

In the end I’m going to go with:
1. "That Leviathan Whom Thou Hast Made" (Steve informed me this was his pick as well)
2. "Eight Miles"
3. "The Emperor of Mars"
4. "Plus or Minus"
5. "The Jaguar House, in Shadow"

So which ones are you all voting for? Enjoy.


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