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Started Nov, 2006 26. The Well Of Shades by Juliet Marillier. #3 of the Bridei Chronicles. See #14. -(Did Not Finish: DNF) The Passion of Mary Magdalen, Elizabeth Cunningham. I had high hopes for this, something along the lines of The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. Bleah- Chick Lit goes to Ancient Rome, the story of Mary ( Maeve a Celtic Priestess and Esus, who later went on to, you know...) 23, 24, 25. A Falcon Flies, Men of Men, When Angels Weep. Wilbur Smith. Good adventure fiction that follows a fictional family (Ballentyne) through the discovery of diamonds and gold and the settlement of Rhodesia. The historical aspect was interesting enough for me to look up "Cecil Rhodes", "Matabeleland", and "British South Africa Company". The author does a very good job of presenting both the white man's story, and the story of the Matabele people who were crushed by the BSA, but not with out a good fight. 22. Master and Commander, Patrick O'Brien I am sorry, this just doesn't cut it for me.21. Sixty Days and Counting, Kim Stanley Robinson. (#3, starting with Forty Signs of Rain, Fifty Degrees Below) WOW. I wasn't super impressed with the first two, although I think KSR is a real visionary. This one makes up for them, a incredible, thoughtful, hopeful glimpse of a future we could have if we as a world community can just pull our heads out of our collective asses. The setting is a very possible future, just a few years from now. A new administation is in place, with a more promising global vision than the one we've been left holding the bag by. Global crises and extreme climate change are occuring just as predicted, and this series is an exploration of what happens next. KSR handles this with science, politics, Bhuddism ( always a theme in his more recent books) and hope. His science is no doubt real, no need to turn on your implausiblity meter when reading his books. Recommended. 20. Post Captain, Patrick O'Brien. My hubby was reading Master and Commander on our trip, so I had to take #2. One of my favorite authors, Bernard Cornwell, has been likened to POB many times, so I thought I'd give him a try. Hmmm. Not sure yet. It takes a little mind shifting to get into the pseudo-period writing, and there is a tendency to jump from one scene to another without warning that's a little disconcerting. I will try M & C, as it's the first in the series, and then make a final decision. 17,18,19. The Winter King, Enemy of God, Excalibur,Bernard Cornwell. Yet another take on the Arthur tales. I picked these up because I love the author. A little slow to start, and coming from a lover of Mists of Avalon, this was really different. I liked it enough to finish it. Lancelot is a real prick. 16. The Eagle, Jack Whyte. The concluding volume of the Camulod Chronicles #9. Yawn. At 560 pages, this was way too long. Too bad, I really enjoyed the first 3 or 4, which are a great different exploration of the whole Arthur theme. 15. Deliverer, C.J. Cherryh. More politics and interaction of Atevi and Humans on another world. This is yet another fun series. (this book is #3 in the third cycle, or #9 of the whole sequence) 14. Blade of Fortriu, Juliet Marillier #2 in The Bridei Chronicles. No one, and I mean, no one does Celtic-Fantasy like Juliet Marillier. Her stories are the exact perfect blend of romance, Druids and warriors, set in a vividly appropriate Celtic world. All of her tales are wonderful, with just a huge sense of historical basis and great understanding of how people might have lived back then plus Celtic magic thrown in. Whenever back then was. My current favorite for is Son of the Shadows, Book 2 of the Sevenwaters Trilogy. 13. Lords of the North, Bernard Cornwell. #3 in The Saxon Tales. I love Bernard Cornwell's adventure/history. They are always "can't put 'em down and savor every word" kind of books. This is the continuation of the tale of Uthred, a Saxon lord and warrior, raised by Danes, in 9th century England, at the time of Alfred the Great. If guys write books about sardonic, heroic males with attitudes, this is one of them.Totally entertaining, a great story, can't wait for the next one. 12. Hunters of Dune, Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. As much as I have enjoyed the continuation of the Dune world by these authors, this particular book was a real case of "make it stop". The farther into it I got, the worse it got. 11. At Risk, Patricia Cornwell. Bah. Give me Kay Scarpetta any day. 10. The Hounds and The Fury, Rita Mae Brown. Mystery set in Virginia hunt country. Too many characters to keep track of, and not enough mystery. In addition to people, the characters include dogs, horses, foxes and housepets. 9. The Heartless Stone: a journey through the world of diamonds, deceit and desire, Tom Zoellner. (Note: this book was published before the movie "Blood Diamond" made its appearance) Wow. This is an excellent exploration of the world of diamonds. History, lore, mining, advertising, cartels, new discoveries that threaten De Beers... from South Africa to Brazil, India, Japan, Siberia and the Great White North of Canada, the author covers the globe in an compelling and interesting fashion. Recommended. - (Did Not Finish: DNF) Must Love Dragons by Stephanie Rowe. My sister gave me this with the warning that it was really trashy. Trashy? Absolutely horrible and unreadable. A gal trapped in dragon's body, stuck in a Manhattan condo, IM-ing and having cyber sex with her cyber lover who is a hunky, dragon hunter who doesn't know she is a dragon? Puh-leeze. Rarely do I throw a book across a room after less than one chapter, but this is one of them. 8. The Sharing Knife: Beguilement, Lois McMaster Bujold. Fantasy fluff romance. Very predicatable and not terribly interesting. Filler while I am waiting for some of my library orders to come in. 7. The Mission Song, John Le Carre`. Always a grade above spy-type novel. Our hero is a half Congolese, half British interpeter caught up the world of back room politics, coups, and multinationals fronting politicians in the Congo. 6. Black Powder War, Naomi Novik, #3. Laurence and Temeraire and crew head back to Europe flying across Asia, to take two precious dragon eggs back to Britain. Of course they have adventures, and Temeraire the dragon is full of plans to give European dragon the same kind of rights and lifestyle that Chinese dragons have. This is a really enjoyable series, can't wait for the next one. 5. The Jade Throne, Naomi Novik. #2 in the series. Laurence and Temeraire (the dragon) head off to China when it is discovered that Termeraire is a Celestial Dragon, suitable only for emperors. They have lots of adventures, and discover among other things that Chinese dragons read and write. 4. Her Majesty's Dragon, Naomi Novik. Think Richard Sharpe(but a gentleman) fighting the Napoleonic wars with intelligent, articulate dragons. In the first one, our hero, a Navy captain bonds with a dragon egg that was intended for Napoleon, and is inadvertently thrust into the ranks of aviators. 3. A Meeting in Corvallis, S.M. Stirling. It's ten years after all the technology in the world quit working, and what's left of society is something like Mists of Avalon and the SCA meet Braveheart, Rambo and LOTR. This is the final war between the good guys who have settled the Willamette Valley and the bad guys who took over Portland. SM Stirling's alternative histories are fun, rather light- well thought out and detailed, but at the same time filled with lots of tounge-in-cheek pop culture references. This is #3 in the series that began with Dies The Fire, The Protector's War. 2. A Crack in the Edge of the World, Simon Winchester. This is the second book I've read by this author. (Krakatoa was the first, it's very good also) Although the premise is an examination of the quake of 1906, there is so much more. I love how this guy casts a wide net of history, politics, personal stories, bizarre facts, and of course geology and then deftly weaves it all together. 1. Rats: Observations on the History and Habitat of the City's Most Unwanted Residents, Robert Sullivan. This was mostly interesting, the hidden life of rats, with history, observation and contemporary anecdotes thrown in. The ones I couldn't finish... Man O War, Dororthy Ours. Slog. As much as I used to like horses, and as good as I heard Seasbiscuit was, I doubt I'll make it much farther than halfway though this. zzzz. (I didn't.)
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