Archive for September, 2008
September 4, 2008 at 2:39 pm · Filed under Books Etc
Last year, Picador published new, trade paperback editions of the first four books of the Mary Russell series. These are some of my all-time favourite books. My paperback editions of the early novels have seen better days–I’ve re-read The Beekeeper’s Apprentice so many times in the last few years that it’s dog-eared, its spine creased, its cover and pages worn (and I’m the kind of reader who, after reading a book two or three times, could probably still return it to the bookstore without raising any eyebrows.)
I have managed to acquire all but the first two books in hardcover, but those are the two that are most in need of replacement. Luckily, the Picador editions are absolutely gorgeous, inside and out, with vibrant covers and elegant, readable type on the inside. Even more luckily, these books, which retail for $16.25 in Canada, became available at BookCloseouts.com, an online bargain book site, for $4.99 apiece. Best deal ever, because I couldn’t justify to myself spending $65+tax on four books I already own in other editions. And believe me–I tried.
I wish Picador would release the later books in the series in the same edition, but I think I read somewhere that they don’t own the rights to publish them which, if true, is a pity. Anyway, enjoy the beautiful cover art and a couple of (slighly blurry) shots of the inside. I’ll be over here, cackling over my loot.
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Tags: Laurie R. King, Mary Russell
September 3, 2008 at 12:21 pm · Filed under Book Reviews, Favourite Books, Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror, Young Adult Literature
Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve (Young adult fantasy)
Although this book has some flaws, it’s an excellent first novel, and a solid introduction to the Hungry City Chronicles. The premise of the quartet is that, in a post-apocalyptic world where resources are scarce, cities have become predators. Built on wheels, treads, or runners, cities and towns hunt each other, devouring smaller prey to use their food, metal, and fuel.
Philip Reeve does a marvellous job with the concept, making it both entertaining and believable. I’m a fan of steampunk, and the technology and gadgetry in Mortal Engines has a wonder and magnificence that kept me glued to the pages. (I think my favourite innovation was the word “urbivore”–an eater of cities. Reeve clearly has a good sense of humour, but he keeps it under control; although the book has its funny moments, its tone is serious.)
It was a dark, blustery afternoon in spring, and the city of London was chasing a small mining town across the dried-out bed of the old North Sea…
The great traction city London is on the move again. It has been lying low, skulking in the hills to avoid the bigger, faster, hungrier cities loose in the Great Hunting Ground. But now, as its great mountain of metal lumbers along in hot pursuit of its quarry, the sinister plans it has harboured for years can finally start to unfold behind its soaring walls…
When Tom Natsworthy saves the life of his hero, Thaddeus Valentine, he doesn’t expect his reward to be being shoved down a waste chute and left for dead while his city roars away without him. Desperate to get back, he makes a temporary alliance with Hester Shaw, the girl whose thirst for revenge against Valentine led to Tom’s predicament in the first place.
The world-building in Mortal Engines is superb. The idea of traction cities is inventive, original, and just plain fun, and Reeve develops it with lots of detail. Unfortunately, characterization suffers a little as a result. The characters are all interesting and vividly-drawn, but none of them achieve the kind of depth I would have liked to see.
Ideally, I think Mortal Engines should have been much longer, with more time to explore all the places Tom and Hester visit, and to get to know them and all the people they encounter. What this book needed was more exploration of London, Airhaven, Shan Guo, and even Tunbridge Wheels, and more time to focus on Tom, Hester, Katherine, Bevis, and especially Anna Fang, who I would have liked to get to know better. Many events in the book would have made a stronger impact.
Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed Mortal Engines, and I look forward to Predator’s Gold, Infernal Devices, and A Darkling Plain.
Tags: 50 Book Challenge 2008, Hungry City Chronicles, Philip Reeve
September 3, 2008 at 11:37 am · Filed under Book Reviews, Favourite Books, Historical Fiction, Mystery and Suspense
Fall of a Philanderer by Carola Dunn (Historical mystery)
It had been a while since I read this, so when I bought a hardcover copy, I re-read it. It was just as much fun as I remembered.
Carola Dunn writes a series of charming mysteries set in England during the 1920’s, one of my favourite historical periods. I love the clothes, I love the manners, and I love reading about the effects of World War I on English life. The books in this series are definitely “cozies”, without the gritty realism that I find so alien and depressing. The main character is the Honourable Miss Daisy Dalrymple, the daughter of a viscount who died in the Influenza pandemic. Daisy’s brother, who was to inherit the title and family estate, and who would have provided for Daisy, died in the trenches. Daisy takes advantage of the loosening of social mores to embark on a writing career that would have been unthinkable for a woman of her breeding a decade earlier.
Fall of a Philanderer is one of the later books in the series, so Daisy has already met, fallen in love with, and married a Scotland Yard detective, Alec Fletcher. While on holiday at the seaside, Alec and Daisy discover the dead body of a serial adulterer, who seems to have been pushed off a cliff. Given his behaviour, the only surprise is that no jealous husband, enraged father, or jilted lover had bashed him over the head long since. Alec, forced to cut short his holiday and take over the case, has only too many suspects to choose from.
I’d recommend starting this series at the beginning, but it’s not necessary, and this book is as a good a place as any.
Tags: 50 Book Challenge 2008, Carola Dunn, Daisy Dalrymple
September 3, 2008 at 11:08 am · Filed under Book Reviews, Historical Fiction, Mystery and Suspense, Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror
Suspense and Sensibility by Carrie Bebris (Gothic mystery)
I can’t say I was very impressed. I enjoyed it even less than Pride and Prescience, because it lacked even the small amound of suspense in that book.
At Mrs. Bennett’s urging, Elizabeth and Darcy agree to sponsor Kitty for the Season, hoping to find her a good husband who won’t mind her small dowry. Kitty is drawn to one of the very first men she meets: Mr. Henry Dashwood of Norland. He seems to feel the same way, but after they become engaged, he changes out of all recognition.
I won’t give away the cause of Henry’s personality change, although it wouldn’t be much of a spoiler, since Bebris makes it perfectly obvious right from the beginning exactly what’s going on. Unfotunately, she doesn’t choose to give Elizabeth and Darcy the same insight she shares with her readers, so they spend most of the book completely unaware of the supernatural reason for Henry’s behaviour.
I really, really hate knowing more than the characters do, and this story gives more away to the reader than just about anything else I’ve ever read. Gothic novels, although not necessarily examples of great literature, are at least supposed to be mysterious. When the sweet, kind hero suddenly starts acting like a jerk, I want to be able to wonder why. Unfortunately, Suspense and Sensibility contained no suspense at all.
To be fair, I actually enjoyed the beginning of the novel. I kind of wish Carrie Bebris would write straight Regency romances instead of gothic mysteries, because I think she’d be much better at it.
Tags: 50 Book Challenge 2008, Carrie Bebris, Mr. and Mrs. Darcy Mysteries
