Realistic Fantasy. Real Fun.

The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a fun book. I could stop there. 5 star (★★★★★!) fun. That should be enough to make you go get your own copy. But I'll explain.

The book has quirky, interesting, cheer-for-them characters, an amazing, intricate, believable setting, fast-paced action, and even a touch whimsy where I didn't expect it. I was entertained throughout.

I have frequently been encouraged to read Jim Butcher, running onto many positive reviews, and yet somehow never did so until I got this book. (Hardcover at Goodwill--sometimes you find a treasure, you know?) I've heard that he knows how to tell a story, and discovered that is absolutely true. The action scenes are great, too, as advertised, but I was pleased to see that the other parts--the drama, the intrigue, the backstory, and the action setups--were also engaging, entertaining in a different way.

Yes, the action is awesome, though, definitely still the best part of the novel, especially the last 20% of the book. The aerial warfare is as well done as any I've ever seen in fantasy. I love me some Horatio Hornblower and marvel at the fighting scenes there, but Butcher is giving us the same sort of strategy-based action in three dimensions, with ships turning and banking and climbing and diving and firing on each other in very believable and exciting action sequences that feel like they could be real.

Great stuff. Good fun.

And it matters because the characters are people you learn to care about, like Gwen and Benedict and Ferus and Bridget and Rowl and Folly, and they are living lives that matter. What happens to them matters. Even the villains are real, multi-dimensional characters with comprehensible motivations. All of this, taking place in a giant spire rising high into the atmosphere, in a land where they fly airships and blast each other with energy taken from the ether.

Realistic fantasy. I've said it, and I'm standing by it. :)

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How I Learned to Love Randomness and Chance

The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives by Leonard Mlodinow
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book does more in 200 pages than most books could do in a thousand. Interesting information? Check. Told in an engaging and entertaining way? Check. Useful for your life? Yes, most of all.

Some of the images here stay with you, especially the illusions of patterns that fool us. The sharp-shooter fallacy, where you draw a circle around a cluster of hits after the fact as if that was where you were aiming, like the clusters of hits during the blitz, or supposed cancer hot-spots--all generated by the same random process. Brownian motion. The graph (normal distribution) of fund manager success over time. There are so many places in everyday life where we see success or failure and tell ourselves stories about what it means without recognizing just how much random events intervene.

In some non-fiction books of this type, reviewing the history of the discipline is tedious, but not here. I love how this author explained the basics of the discipline a bit at a time, introducing new layers of complexity in his survey by telling the stories of mathematicians and others who first figured these things out. (Sometimes, the details of where they got it wrong helped explain as much as what they got right.) And the stories of Bill Gates and Bruce Willis and others are instructive, reminding us of what we sometimes know but can't always hold on to--chance events bring such people to the fore. It's not that they don't deserve success, but that many similar people might also have been equally successful if things turned out just a little bit differently, if they had met with luck at just the right point. The discussion of a study using chapters from award-winning books--sent back out as if they were unpublished authors, and still getting turned down--looks at success the other way, showing how random success can be, how easily it might have been failure except for luck.

This is not discouraging; it just puts things into perspective. I especially like the quote from IBM's Thomas Watson: "If you want to succeed, double your failure rate." Good ideas and good products and good art don't always catch on. But they still might. Keep going.

This is probably worth reading more than once. In fact, this was my second time through, and more of the math penetrated my skull this time than the last time around. :) (None of it's hard math, but the non-intuitive probability stuff can mess with your head!) The information here can change how we make decisions. It really helps to see why firing that coach is probably a bad idea, why the margin of error in surveys needs to be understood better, why paying big bucks for someone to pick your stocks is probably costing you too much money, and why half the stuff you and I believe is probably based on faulty inferences we've long since rationalized into dogma.

Now if he can help me figure out which half...

Recommended. Good science, good writing. Good cover, too, actually.

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Not for me. I hope that's cool with everybody. Thanks.

Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This won the Booker Prize in 1981. Then it won the prize for the best Booker Prizewinning book out of the first 25. So some people really like this book, and I just don't know why.

I swear, after I gave up on it for a few years, I came back and read the last 300 pages like an anthropologist, trying out a dozen theories as to how someone could enjoy it. (If you like this book, that's awesome. I don't understand, but I'm happy to let you do you.) Everything I look for in a book is subverted here. Like if you wanted to hear music and instead somebody was banging pots and pans instead. Like that.

Pretty language? There's an awful lot of poop and blood and pain and injury and incestuous thought and snot and hairy arms--too much to ever say the language was beautiful.

Story? There were a thousand stories, too many to count, and none of them leading anywhere. It was like a friend showing you a stack of a thousand polaroids, each of something ugly or inconsequential or too close to make out, and he tells you the complete significance of each, and you wonder and wonder why he's telling you these things. Nobody has goals, or if they do, they're so minor (his sister wants white bread) they can't carry a story. None that I cared about.

Love? Hope? Not really. He kinda beat the shit out of those things.

Creativity? Maybe. Like an ADHD fever dream. A jungle of ideas. Near the end, he introduces a character and immediately dismisses him:

Midnight, or thereabouts. A man carrying a folded (and intact) black umbrella walks towards my window from the direction of the railway tracks, stops, squats, shits. Then sees me silhouetted against light and, instead of taking offense at my voyeurism, calls: "Watch this!" and proceeds to extrude the longest turd I have ever seen. "Fifteen inches!" he calls, "How long can you make yours?" Once, when I was more energetic, I would have wanted to tell his life-story; the hour, and his possession of an umbrella, would have been all the connections I needed to begin the process of weaving him into my life, and I have no doubt that I'd have finished by proving his indispensability to anyone who wishes to understand my life and benighted times...

That character, I feel, informs most of the other characters. They are odd and weird and they enter the narrative, participate in the story for a period of time, do strange things, act in strange ways, and then disappear again. Their quirks are described and explained like they're clues to meaning, but in the end they're all red herrings. Or so it seemed to me.

As I read it, I was reminded of Tristram Shandy, a novel that does a lot of the same things. We start the story well before the main character is born; there is a lot of conversation about noses and names; there are body parts that get trimmed in accidents; there is a lot of action that leads nowhere. The joke in Tristram Shandy is the belaboring of the inconsequential. Here, it's different; here, it feels like many things of consequence are occurring, revealed to us in pieces, sort of Forrest Gump-like, but instead of paying attention to it we are concerning ourselves with oddities and billboards and neighbors and minutiae and nonsense.

The promise of the magical children born in the minute India became free was, for me, not met. Nothing happened with them, except to be tortured at the end. I gave up trying to understand them as allegory (which perhaps the author intended; perhaps not) because the action and details were so random that I couldn't connect anything together. Maybe with charts I could do it...

I wanted to like it because other people liked it and because I enjoy the author when he's interviewed. But I didn't like it. I really didn't. (I feel like I can say this about a novel by Salman Rushdie, like saying you don't like the Mona Lisa. Nobody feels bad for the Mona Lisa.) I also didn't solve the mystery of why other people do. I'll just have to go on without knowing.

That's cool. Let it be for them and not for me.

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Almost Everything that Ever Happened

A History of Knowledge: Past, Present, and Future by Charles Van Doren
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There's a lot to enjoy in this book. It is very readable with a suitably broad scope, and it is filled with things I didn't know or only half-knew or looked at a different way before, especially with reference to ancient times. I'll admit, that's what I was looking for most, and so that was the part I enjoyed most.

The discussion of modern times has some interesting twists--the author refers to WWI and WWII as a single war with a pause in the middle, and I found that perspective and the discussion that went with it useful. The closer we get to modern times, the more it looks like topics in cultural history rather than an overview of the progress of knowledge, and looking back over it I think that's really what the author was going for. The description after the title and subtitle would probably be more accurate and could be reworked into a title: "The pivotal events, people, and achievements of world history." I get it that he had to settle for just the pivotal moments. It is, after all, a single volume, not an encyclopedia; he had to choose what he included.

The last section, about the future, written about 1990, is interesting because of what has come true and what hasn't. He was overly optimistic about the future of communism in China (at least so far as we can see 28 years after) but his discussion of AI sounds like it could have been written this year. He has other hits and misses, looked at with the benefit of hindsight, but it may be that the next few decades will prove him right on a few more things.

Although I was entertained and engaged in some sections, especially the first half, I did not find the entire book compelling. (Is that on me? Maybe.) Nevertheless, I give high marks for erudition and clarity, finding it comprehensible throughout, and recommend it for other non-expert history enthusiasts.

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Where I Discover Sexy-Time Romance in My Fantasy, and I Like It

Arcana by Jessica Leake
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a fun fantasy that hits a lot of the right notes for me. I enjoy stories of female protagonists making their way in the formal society of an earlier England--Regency, or Victorian, or, as here, Edwardian England--and fighting to be their own person despite the restrictions of the age, especially regarding their decisions about marriage. I like settings that mix the historic as well as the fantastic, where a world looks much like ours but includes magic or magical beings. And well-done coming of age stories are always welcome.

Fantasy and romance are two great tastes that taste great together, though this novel leans a little harder toward romance than most fantasies I choose--on the Reese's scale, I think that's a little more chocolate in the peanut butter--but rather than being disappointed, I enjoyed the novel very much. This is an entertaining story with interesting characters, and if it is a bit melodramatic in parts, well... there are reasons why melodrama (of the A Star is Born or Wuthering Heights type) has been so successful for so long. Sometimes you want your heroes heroic, your lovers lovely, your villains villainish, and your nemesis truly nemetical.

(I'm confident these are the right words and I stand by them.)

I accidentally bought the second book first and had to hunt down this first one. I'm glad I did. I liked it, and I think it sets up a series nicely. The actual books are a different size, so that's gonna bug me, looking at them on the shelf, but I'm gonna have to just get over that. ;)

Recommended for those fantasy readers who like a novel of manners and enjoy a bit of sexy romance; recommended for those romance readers who like a bit of literal magic in their love story. Perhaps we can shake hands here in the middle.

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Where Guy Gavriel Kay Sets a Few Stars in the Sky

Lord of Emperors by Guy Gavriel Kay
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is another beautiful piece of fantasy writing by Guy Gavriel Kay.

Set in a sort-of Byzantium, this is the conclusion of the Sarantine Mosaic, his homage to Byzantium and the artists who created enduring mosaic masterpieces from colored tiles. The novel (both novels) has its share of exciting action, but Kay is a master of the small moment, the touching scene, which is what I love most in his books.

Like this moment, where a confident young boy is reunited with is father at the end of a long journey:

Shaski made a sound--a wail, a heart's cry--and ran to his father then, a small bundle of spent force, to be gathered and held. He began to weep, desperately, like the child he still was, despite everything else he was and would be.

This scene is not central to the story--just sweet, and well rendered.

Like this passage as well, from near the end (with slight spoilers, reader, but you'll get over it) when Crispin inspects a space with an artist's eye:

The chapel was at least four hun­dred years old, dating to the beginnings of the sanctioned worship of Jad in Rhodias. The light entering was soft and mild, falling cool as pale wine on stone.

Martinian, seeing his colleague's gaze move from surface to surface, tracking the fall of sunlight through the smeared and broken windows above (windows could be cleaned, panes replaced), began to look about for himself. And then, after a time, in a silence that aspired to simple hap­piness, he just watched Crispin as he turned and turned about.

Look for many such passages, filled with imagery and emotion, twined together.

Both novels (the previous, Sailing to Sarantium, and this one, Lord of Emperors) deal with political events and the interplay of multiple social forces in Sarantium, with a plot which connects the common people of this great city with soldiers, physicians, and the stars of the hippodrome, as well the emperor, empress, and other members of the court, and these disparate characters are presented in a way that is reminiscent, metaphorically, of an ambitious, city-spanning mosaic. Crispin himself is connected to many key figures, standing on the edge of the stories of more important people, and it's mostly his participation in events of historical import (in his world) that allows the reader to observe them, a commoner spying on the great--a fly on the emperor's wall.

I believe this works, for the most part, but I'll admit to losing the thread at some point and setting the book aside. For quite a while. When I came back to it a short time ago (having left the bookmark in its place, thankfully) I found a lot to enjoy, along with more patience for the pacing. So, while I can happily recommend the novel, scrupulous honesty requires me to do so with a tad less enthusiasm than usual.

★★★★ Fine novel, with gorgeous prose. And if the pacing, somewhat slower than some of his other books, did not perfectly suit me, I'm sure there are still many readers who will prefer it.

In the end, you feel the author's love for the original, the Byzantium of history, and those long-forgotten artists. This novel feels like a tribute to them, a window shaped for us in words:

"The heart cannot say, sometimes, but the hand and eye--if steady enough and clear enough--may shape a window for those who come after. Someone might look up one day, when all those awake or asleep in Sarantium tonight are long dead, and know that this woman was fair, and very greatly loved by the unknown man who placed her overhead, the way the ancient Trakesian gods were said to have set their mortal loves in the sky, as stars."

Greatly loved, for certain.

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A slight and unreliable review for a ginormous book

The City Stained Red by Sam Sykes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I am not really the audience for this book, which makes me an unreliable reviewer, but I plow ahead for my own reasons. Continue for entertainment purposes only.

I knew it probably wouldn't work (for me, I must emphasize) before I opened it. This comes out of a sub-genre that I just haven't learned to appreciate (though I keep trying, from time to time). However, I like the author and wanted to support him by buying the book, and since I got it signed I didn't want to leave it unread on the shelf. I'm a fan. SRSLY. However, in terms of my reading enjoyment, I could only give this a 3 or so. I liked some parts, some characters, like Kataria and Lenk, but I didn't care for others.

Maybe this is country and I'm rock 'n roll. Or this is punk and I'm Mongolian throat-singing. That kind of thing.

However, without threading the needle too much, I believe it's an objectively better book than my personal response indicates, so I actually give this a 4. I see that it does some things well, especially creating characters with meaningful motivations who are more complex than most D&D adventuring party sorts of books. For that and a couple other reasons (fairness, justice, a nagging feeling that I missed something, fanboy loyalty) I bumped up my score.

In a slightly clearer version: those who usually enjoy this sub-genre will like this novel. They should get their own copy, though.

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Rediscovering a Fantasy Master

Conqueror's Moon by Julian May
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have not been reading enough Julian May. What was I thinking? I loved the Saga of the Pliocene Exile books when they were new--great characters, great setting, engrossing plot, amazing language--and thought her writing was exceptional. I should have read Conqueror's Moon long ago, because the same characteristics are found in this novel. Of course.

I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I bought this new in 2005 and set it aside. That was about when life and busy-ness intervened, making big fat fantasies time out too often for me, and I just stopped opening them. Now, I'm looking at them again, and pulling this off the shelf, finally, I'm reminded again how much I love her writing. And even as I write this, I discover that she passed away in 2017. Damn. I was just thinking I would try to find her at a convention or something, because I'd love to meet her. Get an autograph. Too late. :( A remarkable writer, incredible talent. Someone to be missed, for certain, though she has left us her books.

My favorite character in this novel is Deveron (Snudge) but there are so many great characters--Ullanoth, Prince Conrig, Ansel, Beynor. Along with each character comes a constellation of well-defined motivations and conflicts, all of them interacting with one another. This creates a dynamic plot where where many plans are made and attempted, yet no one's plans go forward without a hitch. I find the complexity and maturity of the plot, emerging as it does from complex characters, very engaging.

A similar complexity is evident in the prose. It's clear and sharp, with just the right word in just the right place. Since the 80s, when I was reading The Many-Colored Land and its sequels, I've always been amazed at how often that "right word" is new to me, and yet utterly perfect. Thirty years later (30?!) there are fewer such new-to-me words but still more than I find with any other author. I like reading smart language, and that's what she offers.

The author's precision (preciseness?) extends to the action, where scenes of men and women sailing ships, operating machinery, doing battle, climbing mountains, riding horses, doing magic, or engaging in any other action are rendered with unusual clarity. The mechanics of movement, of the interaction of humans and the physical world--or the supernatural world, for that matter--are impressively accurate in detail and well-imagined, and I believe that the author's glittering vision reaches the reader's mind remarkably intact.

That is my experience, anyway. The description of a group of boys tasked with sabotaging a bridge mechanism, for instance, is told with such confidence on the author's part, with such a comprehensive understanding of what must happen, that I marvel at it. It's like she saw it as it occurred and just wrote it down.

One more note regarding the author's mastery of subjects in the novel--the magic system is impressive. I rarely care about this topic, though I see it often discussed by other readers and writers. However, it was so well done here that it deserves special mention. The way magic works in this world, which includes the sources of it (unusual), the cost to the users (painfully high), and the difficulty and danger in managing it (frightening!), adds a wonderful extra dimension to both setting and plot. It is important to the plot, but also used to inform characters, making it integral to the story in a way that is especially effective.

This is a solid novel, with a satisfying arc leading into its sequels, and it was a pleasure to read. Julian May is gone, but I'm grateful she left her art for us, including books I have yet to look into. I look forward to them, even as I hope many new readers discover these treasures.

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Where I confess my preference for fun books

Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read the original "Little Fuzzy" back in the 70s when I was a kid, and I remember that I liked a lot. Cute, quick read, fun. I'm pretty sure I read the second book, but I don't remember much about it, so who knows... But I was totally up for the reboot by one of my favorite authors as soon as I saw it, and I should have known about it years before. How'd I miss it? It's cool, everybody, I finally found it. Even if I'm late to the party, I enjoyed it, and Imma tell you why.

This is a fun book, and I put a lot of stock in that. I was reading five other books (you know, a piece of each every day, like a well-balanced diet) when I grabbed this, and it shouldered all the other books aside. Some of those are very good books, too, but this one was more fun. "I'll read just to page 150 and turn out the light," became, "Wow, I'm way past that now. Well, ten more pages."

Sometimes you read for moral improvement, and sometimes you read for fun, because you remember life is short and boring is long. It's okay to read something that entertains you. Seriously.

So, fun how? First of all, it's funny, which is practically a given with a John Scalzi book. Although the main character, Holloway, is likable and sympathetic and has the best lines, he is kind of an ass. In a brief exchange in court where he is discussed, secondary characters are given a few good lines:

"What's your general opinion of Mr. Holloway?" Meyer asked.
"Am I allowed to use profanity?" Bourne asked.
..."Just hit the highlights," Meyer said.
...[Bourne lists his shortcomings]...
"Any positive qualities?" Meyer asked, slightly bemused.
"I like his dog," Bourne said.

All accurate. He pisses people off, and he does have a good dog.

Besides being funny--it's a good story. It's straightforward in both the original and the reboot: humans are extracting mineral wealth from the planet Zarathustra with the belief that there is no sapient race on the planet, and the Fuzzys' existence, if they can be shown to be sapient, undermines the corporate claims to the planet's resources. It's not a complex plot and doesn't need to be, although it still addresses a lot of themes in an entertaining way. The original book was quite sweet and cute for science fiction (and loved in part because of this). While this version has more grit and conflict than the original, giving the reader a little more to chew on, it does so without doing violence to the source material. It achieves this mainly by roughing up the main character and his backstory rather than by introducing anything scandalous or salacious. (Mind you, I like scandalous and salacious fine. But it wouldn't fit this book.) He was a good steward of the Fuzzy tradition.

And, like all of this author's books, it is cinematic. It is easy to imagine this being filmed with a nicely glib smart-ass actor like Harrison Ford/Jamie Foxx/Robert Downey--or someone younger than that whose name I probably don't know yet. (Mindy Kaling? Out-of-the-box casting!) The book has that cool flow, quick read, action-with-humor vibe that makes a good book and a good movie, and even though it's not heavy, dramatically or thematically, (well, spoiler, this book does contain all the emotions, somewhere) it's not flyaway light; there's an effective and satisfying combination of character and plot driving the novel.

When readers say, "I like to read but I'm between books," or "Lately, I've been in a reading dry patch," what they mean is that they're choosing dull and dreary books that sound better than they are. Quit punishing yourself, people! Remind yourself what made you into a reader all those years ago. Read a good book. A fun book.

Hey! Here's one!

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Debunking Donald Duck--The Mysteries of Phi Φ

The Golden Ratio: The Story of Phi, the World's Most Astonishing Number by Mario Livio
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The first time I heard of the "Golden Ratio," or the "Golden Rectangle," (the constant known as phi, Φ) it was in a Disney cartoon. Donald Duck in Mathmagic Land (https://youtu.be/U_ZHsk0-eF0) was actually a pretty fun video, with lots of cool math. Elementary school me didn't really understand what the ratio was, but it was amazing to see it in so many places, and many of the images stuck with me.

Mario Livio is here to destroy that memory. ;)

[Phi, if you don't know, is the relationship between two line segments, one longer and one shorter, where the ratio between the two (longer/shorter) equals the ratio you would get if you compared their sum to the longer line (longer + shorter/longer). The number is about 1.618.]

One of the things he does best here is debunk many of the supposed uses of the golden ratio in the ancient world up through modern times. Most of the oft-repeated examples of phi in architecture (like the pyramids or the Parthenon) or music or Renaissance art turns out to have very little evidence to support it, and sometimes is just plain wrong. Often, the ratios are merely close to phi, but not close enough to impress; other times, perfect golden rectangles are imposed on buildings or elements of paintings by arbitrarily deciding to include or exclude this edge or that top bit, jiggering it until it fits. Without evidence that the artist intended to use the ratio, such evidence is flimsy at best.

The author looks for evidence that the creators of art and architecture have intentionally used the golden ratio, and have said so in writing or to some other person, and does find some examples in the 19th and 20th Century, but little at any other time. He also debunks the notion of it creating the most beautiful rectangles, or I should say that he reports on researchers who have done so. When given an option, asked to pick the best rectangle, subjects don't choose this shape any more than any other.

I found this debunking (much more thorough than I've shown here) a useful contribution to knowledge but the least interesting part of the book. The careful evaluation of paintings and songs (counting measures or inspecting note sequences) that turn out NOT to be examples of anything is a bit of a dead end, dramatically speaking. Good scholarship sometimes leads to dull reading, alas. (3 nerdy stars for this impatient reader. My bad.)

The best part is showing the cool stuff about the number and related math: how it emerges in geometry as well as nature; how it can be calculated by a recursive square root or a recursive fraction; how it is useful in certain calculations; and so on. The most interesting thing for me, a non-math person IRL (though I was good at math things in school long long ago) is how it is related to the Fibonacci series (of "The Da Vinci Code" fame). Refresher:

1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 etc.

You keep adding the last two numbers of the series to create the next number, and that is how the series continues infinitely. Whatever. (That's not the cool part. Hold on.) Now, if you take any two numbers and divide the larger by the smaller, you get an approximation of phi. The farther along in the series you go to pick your two numbers, the closer the approximation is. Why? Just cuz. And there are many more amazing connections between phi and Fibonacci, well worth checking out here. That's the part that gets a 5 star review. Good math fun.

Livio finishes with a sort of essay about what is truly beautiful in math, which he defines as whatever is surprising. I rather agree. I think this part would have made a better introduction, but I enjoyed the discussion. For example, the explanation, or more like the description, of Benford's Law (how have I never heard of this? Or did I only forget?) is amazing stuff. If you don't know what that is, you gotta google it. It's crazy. Anyway, yes, surprising stuff. And yes, beautiful. For reals. And I still don't get it.

Overall, an interesting read. And if you run on to it at Goodwill, like I did (don't judge me) it costs less than your morning coffee. The surprising beauty of the universe, yours for only $2.99......

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Mary Bennet's Story--The Austening

The Unexpected Miss Bennet by Patrice Sarath
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I recall with fondness the time one of my ESL students--now an English teacher herself!--smiled through her tears at the end of a rather romantic teen movie I showed in class. "That was a pretty movie, Mister," she told me as she exited, still wiping her eyes. :) It was a pretty movie. (Mary Stuart Masterson and Eric Stoltz in Some Kind of Wonderful? "You look good wearing my future." Anyone? C'mon! Classic.)

Well, this is a pretty book, and I hope the author will forgive me for saying so. There is some badassery here, but for the most part the novel is low-key and sweet, and I thought it was great.

It is the quiet story of Elizabeth Bennet's younger sister. No, not the one that ran away. Not the other one that was too much like her, either. And no, not Jane--she's older. Right, the other one. The one at the piano. Mary. There you go!

Lydia and Kitty are here. And Jane, sort of. And quite a bit of Lizzy and Darcy and Georgiana. And Lady frickin' Catherine de Bourgh with her wan and unfortunate and over-protected daughter. And Mr. Collins, paying his elegant little compliments and warning young ladies that they must be humble and they won't go far wrong. And Mrs. Bennet with her nerves.

It is all nicely done, beautifully following up on the characters and character dynamics as they existed at the end of Pride and Prejudice. The author has allowed the characters to grow and to show more than they did in the original Jane Austen novel, but she has not fundamentally altered anyone. Time has passed; the characters are living new lives; they have new preoccupations. And in this new present, everyone wonders what to do with artless, somewhat embarrassing Mary, a young woman who is too serious, too fond of quoting aphorisms, too plain, too poor, and too socially awkward to have much of a future.

The author allows Mary to learn a little from her mistakes and embarrassments as well as from her reading and reflection. She lets her put her foot down, a little, and learn to show a little spirit and wit. Not jarring developments; this is growth, and it is reasonable. Throughout the course of her story, I found Mary easy to root for, to care about, to see as a hero in her own light. It is something of a revelation to discover that the mousy, nerdy girl has thoughts and feelings and hopes that matter as much as anyone else's. When, because of circumstances, she starts attracting the attention of men, you feel both her pleasure and her apprehension, and when she (spoiler? maybe a little...) puts her foot down some, you want to high five her. Or something.

This novel is a lot like an Austen novel, obviously, but it isn't trying to be a copy. The story is an original, and comparatively scaled down. The plot is (intentionally) narrower, more to the point, with a smaller cast of characters inhabiting fewer scenes. I like how that scale works. The tone and diction also only approximate Austen's prose, incorporating enough of that period's cadences and peculiarities to put the reader in the Regency mindset without, in my opinion, drawing too much attention away from Mary's story. The characters are the point, along with their growth and change and development, and the language is just part of what gets you there.

Without summarizing the plot, I'll just say I enjoyed it, and I liked the ending. I liked Mary, too, and I'm glad to discover that. Well done.

So, yes, it's a pretty book. :) And any Austen-type people who haven't read it already should get on it.

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Chaucer in prose is entirely adequate to the purpose

The Canterbury Tales: A Retelling by Peter Ackroyd
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I liked reading this version of the Canterbury tales. I was looking for a prose translation, not just modern English, and this fit the bill. It is, of course, instantly comprehensible for a modern reader, and untangles some knots for me that I had left over from other versions, so I'm grateful the adapter went to the trouble.

I can't say it made me like the Canterbury Tales, which I thought it might. I had hoped that the language would sound more natural, maybe kinda funny, even, but it still sounds like rephrased poetry, coming at you in short, staccato sentences that retain too many of Chaucer's tics. (The phrases "What else is there to say?" and "There is nothing more to say" are used so often it becomes annoying.) I would have preferred if the author had taken more liberties with the text, maybe smooth it out, maybe give it more style. He did, at least, leave it pleasantly crude. F-bombs galore.

For readers who want to read Chaucer's stories without fighting the language or scowling through contrived modern rhyme, this is a nice choice, my disappointments notwithstanding. It's accessible and clear and non-sanitized, and Chaucer's dialogue and stories still offers nice insights into the lives of people in that time.

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If Robert Louis Stevenson Wrote Sense and Sensibility

The Sisters Mederos by Patrice Sarath
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

[Since I wrote this review, I looked at other reviews, and found that many clever people think like I do, but not everyone. I was shocked to learn that some elements of the novel that I considered highlights were things that other reviewers didn't like. Clearly, they are bastards. Or it may be that different people like different things. I guess it is what it is, caveat emptor, YMMV, IMO, etc., world without end.]

[Back to the raving. TL;DR: I liked this book a lot!]

I love finding a book like this. In addition to this series starter, I see the author already has a completed series and a stand-alone novel. All of it sounds great. I'm sold.

I knew I liked this book and the author in the first 40 pages. In an alternate world that is well-developed but not over-explained, with a pair of main characters that read like determined and adventurous Jane Austen characters (which made sense when I saw that the author's stand-alone novel was a sequel of sorts to Pride and Prejudice), with a mystery adventure plot on the knife's edge between Austen and Robert Louis Stevenson, I couldn't have been more engaged. The author's clear language, matching a proper tone to lively narration, is a nice compromise between regency language and modern sensibilities. It is a strength of the novel, being well suited to the story, and is what sold me the most.

Tesara and Yvienne Mederos are both engaging and enterprising characters, sympathetic and round, who use every tool they have to fight back against the Merchant Guild and the system which destroyed their family and took them from the heights of society to the depths of near poverty and humiliation. In a city that reads like a sort of early modern Bruges-meets-London, where merchant families are like nobility, with a rigid class system, there is little either can do to improve their lot through normal means. So they both become rogues of a sort (nicely foreshadowed by the beautiful cover), acting outside of approved gender or class roles--but they do so believably. The "believable" part includes Tesara's uncertain power which might or might not control winds and waves, the only overtly fantasy-type element of the story. (The alternate-world setting is the other significant fantastic element.) I liked both characters, and though Yvienne was probably a bit more daring, I found myself more partial to Tesara. I'd like to see what happens with both, of course, as both have promise.

The conclusion is satisfying and works well, IMO, but also leaves a lot of room for (planned, it seems) sequels. That's good, because I feel like the author has barely scratched the surface with this setting and these characters. I'd like very much to see what happens after this.

Meanwhile, I'm investigating the author's back catalog. :)

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A Brief Look at a Silkpunk World

The Black Tides of Heaven by J.Y. Yang
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This novel features elegant prose, complex characters, and elaborate, thought-provoking world-building, especially the sort-of science of the tensors and "slack-craft" and the politics of the Protectorate. It's a slim volume, so even though there are some wonderful scenes, most of the action happens offstage. As a result, for me, the years glided by too quickly. That was a choice, of course. It could have been turned into a big fat fantasy, which probably would have been more to my taste, but the author was doing something else here, focusing on the conflicts inherent in identity, ambition, and family dynamics, and the drama and emotions which emerge from that.

I find that approach more interesting than engaging, so my appreciation is not as warm as it might have been. However, I liked it, and I mean to recommend the novel, not criticize it. Some readers will make a stronger connection than I did, and I think the book achieves more with other audiences, especially non-binary readers, POC, and other groups that have historically been marginalized in real life and literature. (Probably those with a more literary bent, as well.)

I hope such readers find it and love it.

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Maggie Hoskie, Diné Monster Hunter, Is the Coolest

Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a fast-moving, exciting novel, and it points to a fun series. I'm glad to give it all the stars.

The best thing, even more than the action, is the main character, Maggie. She is a damaged hero, a bristling mess with skills and a heart, someone to turn to when you have trouble even though she mostly wants to be left alone. The author invests her with genuine emotion and a deep humanity that transcends the fantasy elements of the novel, and I like the fantasy elements. It's impossible not to love Maggie in a reader-crush kind of way, overlooking her spikiness and self-destructive side, rooting for her as if she were a real person.

(The last character I felt that way about, that I had such a strong sympathetic reaction to, was Elphaba, in the novel version of Wicked. Very different characters--I'm not sure what connects them in my head. Imma sit and think about that.)

The setting, a post-apocalyptic Navajo nation--Dinétah--which combines traditional elements of Diné life with the consequences of a future broken world, works well; the economy and technology and social order all feel possible, even realistic. The introduction of mythical creatures and gods in this world works, too, fitting the tone and sensibility of the rest of the novel. I like the way that nothing is idealized, and nothing is wholly scorned, neither people nor traditions nor physical culture, which makes everything feel raw and alive and real and immersive.

Upon finishing, I'm left with a few "Wait--what?" questions, and I'm not sure if that was intentional or if I missed something. Could well be the latter. But I'm eager for the second book to see if I'm up to speed and to find out how Maggie fares after this.

A fresh setting, sympathetic characters (Kai is interesting, too, and Tah, and Grace), fun action, scary monsters--it makes a terrific novel. I recommend it for all fantasy readers, from YA-types up to retired old English teachers (for example), but it will be especially welcome for those looking for #ownvoices writing with a sharp perspective. You will be rewarded by a visit to this world.

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Where Alexandre Dumas writes everybody under the table

Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It was many years ago that I read The Three Musketeers, and was surprised that I liked it so much. Then years later I read The Count of Monte Cristo, and was surprised that I liked it so much. Now it's been several more years, and following the rule of three... you know where this is going.

The copy I read was an old hardcover my wife found for me for Christmas, and she insisted she didn't spend much at all (which is perfect). Turns out, it was a beautiful edition, with a handful of pictures, from probably 1896 (hard to be sure) and it's in great shape. What a pleasure to read such a novel in such a nice edition!

Dumas can tell an adventure story, and I am not the first to say so. He sketches main characters with a few words, hardly bothers with introducing the minor characters beyond a name, and gets right to the action, which carries the reader for about 900 breezy pages. Many authors aren't half as engaging over a fraction as many pages, and you just have to applaud Dumas. It doesn't matter much if you know the history or the issues; the story reads fine without bothering too much about exactly who is who or why they're fighting. (Well, I did look up Mazarin and Charles I and other historical figures you find here, but I don't think it made any real difference in understanding or pleasure in reading. Didn't hurt, anyway.)

The endlessly inventive D'Artagnan is a wonderful character, and so is the highly ethical Athos, and the simple but loyal Porthos. I found Aramis less sympathetic, but still enjoyed the interplay between the four men, along with a few of their allies. They are reunited, and you cheer, and hope they have a great adventure; then they find themselves on different sides of events, and it's a worry; but of course they find a way to become brothers again, and the reader cheers once more. If I accidentally learned a little about France and European events of the 17th Century, that's a bonus, because this is an action novel, and it just keeps moving.

I recommend Dumas's novels to those who are interested in historical fiction but haven't taken the plunge. Ebooks are free to try, but I find holding the novel, especially an old copy, feels better, and makes the experience richer. Like so much, though, including every word here, that is just my opinion, and others may disagree.

As for me--I'm looking for the third book. It's supposed to be much larger, and always published in separate volumes, one of which is The Man in the Iron Mask.

Sounds perfect.

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I make a case for humans reading this and other novels

The Tiger's Daughter by K. Arsenault Rivera
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed a signed copy of this novel, and I'm glad both to have met the author and to have read her book. There's a lot to like here, for any lover of fantasy, and I'm happy to offer my recommendation.

I come to the book as a fan of East Asian-themed fantasies, and I like the setting she has created. This world has a sort of a continental Japanese empire (Hokkaro) that has confronted the steppe tribes and defeated them. The sort of China here (Xian) is smaller and also subdued by the empire. There are other nations that feel like corollaries for Persia and others. However, even though many things in this world are inspired by these real places and people, their history and customs are unique, and not meant to be taken too literally as this nation or that. That element of the author's world-building is complex and satisfying, demonstrating a sensitivity for the source cultures, and she has created a unique world that nevertheless resonates with those who have an affinity for the real-world inspirations.

The language here is beautiful throughout. Lovely prose, elegant language, with the character's voices coming through. The parts in 2nd person (as in a letter, reminding you what you did) I got hung up on, sometimes needing to read bits twice, and I can't even explain why it confused me at times, but it did. In all other ways, I thought the language was one of the high points of this novel.

More than anything, this is a character-driven novel, and the two main characters are wonderful. They are both extraordinary and impressive while still round, with genuine flaws and weaknesses. They are both sympathetic, which I am happy about--I've been disappointed by other highly-regarded books recently that had only unlikeable characters, even despicable characters, and feared I had gotten out of step with the genre. Here, both Shizuka and Shefali are realistic characters (well, you know, realistic for fantasy) who I cared about and rooted for and actually liked.

As a long-time English teacher, reading proponent, and straight dude, I believe the fact that they are sympathetic is key. A lot of electronic ink is spilled discussing whether or not boys and men can or will read books with female protagonists; and if they do, whether they can ever relate to those characters. Some angry dudes find it impossible. Beyond that, also much discussed, is whether straight readers can enjoy a story that focuses on gay characters. (I am not marking that as a spoiler--this is everywhere noted as a "queer romance," even if it isn't mentioned in the blurb.) Again, some angry voices say it doesn't work for those other audiences. Supporters say it should. From my perspective--of course it works! I like these characters, I enjoyed the story of their romance as well as the story of their duels and adventures, and I had no difficulty connecting with them. I am quite certain that does not make me exceptional--I believe it means the author has written a beautiful story about humans that other humans may very well like. This is why novels are written, and why they are read. And if finding Shizuka and Shefali sympathetic helps make some of us more sympathetic in real life toward others, I count that as one of the unintentional benefits of reading, and one of the reasons I have always been a proponent of novels, both in the classroom and IRL.

There is one area that, from my perspective, the author could have done more to draw me in, and I will readily admit that this is a personal preference. (Of course. This is a personal review. I speak for me only.) The arc of the story is basically biographical (even autobiographical) which means there are conflicts, many of them, but there isn't a single conflict driving the action. The novel is not about fighting for the throne like GoT, nor defeating Sauron like in LotR, nor even pulling one huge con like in Locke Lamora, nor any other unitary purpose, which I kept trying and failing to discern. Lots of conflicts; lots of movement; lots of action; just no single, main conflict. That is, except for the conflict centered on the relationship of the two characters, and how they must fight for their right to be happy. I think that was the author's intention all along, and it works in its own way, but it was not quite my expectation. I continued to look for something that was never going to be there--fighting the demons, maybe?--and I would have liked to find it.

Who was it that said that the story of anyone's life, boiled down to its essence, is a love story? That is the case here. It's fine--just not my most favorite. ;)

I still liked it, of course.

In sum--this is a well-written, thoughtful, enjoyable, touching, romantic fantasy novel. I recommend it for all humans.

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Epic Black Powder Fantasy. Again. Truly.

Sins of Empire by Brian McClellan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I am an unabashed fan of Brian McClellan and his novels--and his novellas too, actually--and I am thrilled that he has produced another gem. This is fantasy at its most entertaining and most exciting, with everything working.

Some characters from the previous trilogy return, along with new characters, in a setting only seen in the novellas, and it takes off right away. From the first page, we have exciting, gripping action with high stakes focused on characters it's easy to care about. Vlora and Olem and Michel and Ben Styke and many others are hit with conflict on every level--personal, ideological, political, physical, emotional--and the author manages to wind the plot, conflicts, and action through every slice and level of society. McClellan is not as prone to wiping out his characters as, say, G.R.R. Martin, but no one is safe; the characters suffer and pay a price for every decision they make, with victory not assured. It's both tense and thrilling, but satisfying and ultimately fair to the reader.

For those who haven't read any of his novels, this is a black powder fantasy, meaning the technology is similar to our 18th Century, but it takes place in a world with magic and living gods. There are sorcerers of different types, including powder mages who can harness the power of gunpowder when they fight. The author makes the magic and the technology and the invented world absolutely believable, with the politics of colonization, oppression, and revolution looking like our own world. (It is original, though; this is not allegory.) On a new continent, with a colony on the edge of a frontier, natives and immigrants sometimes live alongside each other peacefully and sometimes fight for justice and power and wealth and personal freedom. This conflict, which gets placed inside a larger one, definitely has an epic feel, with plenty of room for additional books.

I love following the story of heroes that are limited but awesome. I enjoy the spectacle of them using their gifts and skills and grit to gain an advantage and keep going against all odds, while meeting up with other awesome characters, other heroes, whose storylines cross theirs. To me, that's where the fun is, and this one has it in abundance. It's a big book, so some of the payoffs are longer in coming, but they're better for it. (And it's the start of a trilogy, so not everything is settled by a long shot, but there is a satisfying conclusion.) He gives you characters to root for, and gives you reasons to care. Well done.

Great action, excellent characters, terrific plotting and pacing, fantastic imagination--this feels like fantasy is supposed to: a world of wonder filled with amazing people and exciting adventure.

Highly recommended. :)

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Nautical Fantasy, Apparently, Is a Thing. I Like it.

Sails & Sorcery: Tales of Nautical Fantasy by W.H. Horner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is exactly the kind of book you can judge by its cover, and I think that's good. If you like the idea of fantasy stories on the sea, with pirates and magic and such, and enjoy short stories as a format, you're gonna find a lot to like in this book.

Sails and Sorcery is about as on-the-nose as any title you'll ever find. And the subtitle, "Tales of Nautical Fantasy," spells it out more if you somehow missed the point. With a cover image of a castle guarding a port, an airborne sailing ship, and mermaids in the foreground, you can be pretty sure of what you're going to get in this book. It tells you what to expect, and, thankfully, it delivers. It's a fun collection.

Really, I thought the stories were very even in quality and entertainment value, which is surprising, as there are 28 in the book. I didn't dislike any, and several I liked quite a bit. All of the stories--truly, all, in my opinion, without exaggeration--have good action and varied characters and interesting settings and exciting plots and satisfying conclusions. At 15-20 pages a story, they can each be read in a single sitting, short enough not to grow tiresome but long enough to entertain. Pretty much what you look for in a short story collection, right?

Often, short stories are aimed at a literary audience, even in science fiction and fantasy, but that is not the case here. I'm glad--those stories leave me cold. These are closer to the pulp end of the literary spectrum, which is to say that they're primarily about action and plot, with a focus on entertainment, though many have a lot of emotion and offer food for thought. Some stories develop the characters more than others, and some spend more time on world-building, creating some amazing settings, but all are peopled by interesting characters and are set in exotic and exciting worlds (though a few are recognizably our own world). Several could lead to good novels, in my opinion.

I liked it, and I recommend it, and so that I don't appear to be overselling it, I gave it four stars. Solid collection, plenty of good stories. And if I'm wrong anywhere, it may be that you'll think I should have gone to five.

And that's cool.

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A Historical Murder Mystery Education. It's That Good.

A Murderous Procession by Ariana Franklin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a wonderful job the author has done with this novel. I'm as impressed as I am entertained.

Set in the time of Henry II, during the procession escorting his daughter Joan to Sicily to marry King William II, this is a historical murder mystery adventure that succeeds on every level. The science and the history are carefully researched and adhered to; the setting, in terms of both landscape and society, is well-drawn and richly developed; the characters are interesting, round, and believable, with motivations that matter; and the plot is complex, realistic, and engaging. I enjoyed the thematic elements, too. The main character's reflection on the misogyny and the anti-scientific effects of religion are on point, but they are also realistic for the setting, coming from a woman raised in a pluralistic Sicily that was accepting of multiple faiths and open to female physicians. When she saw the door closing on such liberal attitudes, from Cathar southern France to increasingly-Catholic Sicily, it is genuinely affecting. We are made spectators to a loss of freedom that endured for hundreds of years.

I was most impressed with the pacing, which is not something I necessarily pay attention to. In fact, I usually only notice pacing if it's uneven or if the novel has long dry patches. That is not what I saw here. Not a chapter, not a scene, not a single conversation dragged or made itself unwelcome. There is no second-act flagging, no filler. Nor did any part feel rushed or abrupt. The reader is tugged along with the action and dialogue so smoothly, so effortlessly, with every passage so expertly crafted to engage the reader, that any pacing flaws are conspicuous by their absence. Excellent writing, and perhaps more to the point, excellent editing.

Very nice. I cared about the characters, I enjoyed the story, I liked learning about the time period, and I connected with the themes. Great job. Excellent novel.

Recommended, of course.

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Opened a fantasy novel--poetry jumped out

A Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"From the balcony of my hotel room I looked down on garden parties, women in brilliant clothing laying tables among the oleanders, stout grandfathers bellowing for more wine, and children everywhere shrieking, trampling the marigolds, chasing one another. All the children held flexible wooden wands with tissue-paper birds attached to the ends, their gauzy feathers strengthened with copper wire; when the children played, these magical creatures trembled as if about to take flight for the trees, and at night they lay discarded on the lamplit grass."

I chose that page at random to demonstrate 2 things of which I am sure:

1) This books deserves to reach a much wider audience; and
2) I am not that audience.

Read any review of the book--read all of them, because they all say the same thing--and you'll know that the language of this book is beautiful. It is. Absolutely. (Not surprisingly, the author writes poetry as well.)

Here--another random passage: "The air was cold, the sea restless; the boat danced at the end of her tether like a foal. I breathed in great gulps of salt and darkness, and remembered buying a ticket to Ethendria long ago, in Bain. The memory lightened my heart; I was moving eastward at last, toward the angel's body. My path was a knot, full of loops and barriers, but freedom lay at the end of it, I was sure."

If that sells you on the book, you're the right audience. If you're thinking, yes, but what happens?--you're the wrong audience.

The path--a knot, full of loops and barriers--could describe the plot. It feels like he's going somewhere, and you feel you have a grip on things, but then it turns around and loops back, after pages of gorgeous description, in a knot of inaction. Something does happen, actually, but it's like watching a shadow puppet version of it, because so little is clear. The dreamlike, random, inexplicable events are paired with an almost complete lack of exposition. He does this; he experiences that; he eats a meal; he travels; he meets some people, who talk about certain matters; he is lost; he feels and remembers and dreams and fears.

What Jevick never does is make plans and try to carry them out with a purpose that makes sense to the reader--and it's told in first person. We have access to his thoughts. They're pure poetry, but they conceal more than they reveal. Everything must be inferred. (There are, of course, a few exceptions, such as when he carries his injured friend to safety, and the story the ghost tells. There are a few other moments in the story where you feel on safe ground. They don't really last.) He might be a bug crawling through the garden that you watch for a while, waiting to see if it does anything, or a bobber on a fishing line, swaying with the current, fooling you for a time into thinking something is happening.

Well, that's how I felt. I quit reading for about 2 years, and then decided I should try again. Maybe I was reading it wrong. I pushed through, so many pages a day, until I was done, and I thought, "That was very unsatisfying--but I think some people will like it."

If you are the type of reader that can be enchanted by language, and enjoy that aspect of literature more than plot or action, this is the fantasy novel you must read. For you I give this 5 stars. Make it 10. Why not?

If that's not you, you're not the audience for this book. And if you see the map at the front of the book, don't be tricked. It's not that kind of fantasy. For you, and me, I give it about 2 stars.

My imperfect math gives it 4 overall. It doesn't matter--either it's for you, or it isn't. But I genuinely hope this books finds its audience, because they will be very happy together. Truly.

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480 B.C.E.? No one was alive then!

Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West by Tom Holland
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book tells the history of the Persian Empire from its origins through to Xerxes, and then recounts the histories of Athens and Sparta. Once we're up to speed, it focuses on Persia's relationship with the Greeks, from the Ionian islands to the Hellespont, from Macedonia to Athens and Sparta. I am no judge of its accuracy, but it's very readable, unfolding almost like a novel, and is shockingly detailed. In a good, family way, I mean.

Events from 10 or 20 years ago in real life seem pretty fuzzy to me, so learning not just the names but the personalities and little details of individuals from 2500 years ago seems amazing. Frankly, the amount of information here surprised me. I had no idea that history had recorded in such detail the politics of rich families, the scheming, the lying, the court cases and ostracisms, the clever responses, the brutal betrayals, the spies and bribes and dirty tricks. This is not just about the leaders of cities, faceless names of kings or emperors, but the story of dozens of important people and secondary characters and their interactions. So much is known with certainty, and recorded here! For the details where the author could not find a contemporary authority, he supplied the most compelling theories and guesses, letting the reader judge, but there is much less of that than I thought I'd find.

I enjoy Tom Holland's clear voice in this history, and find little fault in him as writer. I rank clarity the highest virtue of prose, and he does, in my opinion, make himself understood very well. However, I have to admit that his diction, elevated and educated throughout--properly so--does sometimes stray into Oxford don-like territory, occasionally more than a little pretentious. Without meaning to at first, I found myself reading those bits in David Attenborough's voice, imagining as plummy an accent as I could. And related to that, my personal pet peeve is when an English book is sprinkled with clever sayings in French or other languages, as he has done here several times. I could figure them out, and I'm sure most other people can, too, but it does rather take one out of the narrative, to stop and note how clever the author is... That said, I'll reiterate that the book is, on the whole, clear and comprehensible and a brisk read, and that's on top of being wonderfully informative.

The real pleasure that comes from reading this history of the Persian Wars is to be able to finally see clearly what happened in this remote time and place, to understand who was at Marathon, and what happened there, and who actually was at the Hot Gates, and to understand how the ships on both sides maneuvered and ended up where they ended up, and all the related bits of the story. So much of that has always been gray and fuzzy in my mind, and this clears up so much and answers so many questions. And on the Persian end, I can understand now how the Medes took power, and how that was taken in turn by the Persians, and how their culture was perceived in Babylon, and how the many different peoples in the empire fit together. The author's extensive scholarship, filling the book with innumerable details, does not make this harder to understand; rather, the complexity makes the story comprehensible in a way that brief, simple summaries never could. Or never have, for me.

Highly recommended to those with an interest in history. Obviously.

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Where I Mostly Praise but with Faint Damning

Imager by L.E. Modesitt Jr.
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm not really sure how other people rate the books they read, whether they try to predict how other readers will find it, or base it on character development, or world-building, or some other criterion, but I just want people to know how much fun I had reading it. Or not. That means that I will give lower scores to well-crafted, highly-acclaimed books that are a drag than to a flawed book that was fun to read.

That was this book. Some flaws, perhaps, but it was fun. So, 5 stars. (I've seen reviews for this books that said it was the opposite of fun. I guess that just means I'm the right audience, then.)

Yeah, sure, I feel like the conversations about government got long. And it felt like we sneaked up on a main conflict somewhere in the middle, maybe kinda toward the end, after wandering a bit, looking for one. The mentor withholding information à la Dumbledore is annoying. And maybe the characters aren't as round as they might be. Fair enough. All cons.

However, in the "pro" pile: I enjoyed reading it. I was entertained. I liked the characters, and I wanted to see what was going to happen to them. I was rooting for the main character and his cool girlfriend. I liked seeing Rhenn grow in strength and knowledge and skill. Slight spoiler: I liked seeing him win over Seliora's family over time, and I enjoyed seeing her win over his. I liked seeing him figure out his enemies. I liked the commentary on the fight for women's rights in a sort-of 18th or 19th Century Europe. I liked the danger, and I liked the failures followed by successes. It worked.

Those are pretty much the reasons I want to open a book in the first place.

L.E. Modesitt, Jr., has a pleasant, easy writing style. Natural is not perhaps the precise word, but fluent, flowing, maybe even glib--in a good way--would describe it. Easy to read. Easy to keep going. He's written tons of big fat fantasies, so he knows how to bang out a draft, but there's no sign of the roughness that you often find with prolific authors. (I feel the same about Dumas, but I've often wondered if that was a quality he had or one that his translators had.) The action moves along, the prose moves along with it, and I enjoyed following the current.

I received this book from the hand of the author after he signed it for me, so maybe that gives it something extra. It also helps that he comes across as a pleasant person in a convention setting, because I'm rooting for him, too. That's not cheating or anything.

I'm glad to say he sold me the right book.

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What's So Funny about Progress, Science, and Reason?

Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress by Steven Pinker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Buy this book. Or borrow it. But then read it.

This is an interesting, informative, optimistic book, written in a clear way, as always. Steven Pinker is known for careful scholarship and reasoned pronouncements, and you will find that in the book, along with hope for a better future. That's a good deal, even in hardcover.

Pinker tells us the world is getting better in a lot of ways, and your first impulse will be to doubt his conclusions and look for examples that you are certain he's overlooked, evidence that he hasn't considered. You'll want to poke holes in his evidence. That's fine. Gives you something to do while you read. But he has anticipated you; every example you can think of to disprove him has its chapter with data. Probably a chart, too. Like a good scientist, he doesn't make a claim he can't support. He doesn't go beyond what the data proves. Every way that he might be misreading the data is discussed, with explanations for why that isn't the case. Try it and see.

Here are some of the highlights of the progress he's talking about, but it's not a complete list:

People are living longer, all over the world. Diseases are being eradicated. Poverty, especially extreme poverty, is being defeated. More people around the world have more of the sorts of rights Americans expect to have--work, drive, vote. More countries have fairer economic systems, and fairer governments. War is down. Accidental death is down. Crime and violence are down across the world. Courts and penal systems are getting fairer. Executions are down. People work less. Housework is getting easier. IQ's are going up.

In almost every way, we're getting better at being humans.

Global warming? Nuclear war? Still worries, of course, but he gives reason for hope. (And like everywhere else, he encourages continued effort--he doesn't support or propose "progress" as an inevitability. To do better, we need more of what got us this far.)

If any of that sounds unlikely, don't worry--he knows what you think. He's heard it everywhere, and if you find the right chapter, you'll see what data supports his position. Argue with the data. :)

The reason behind all of this improvement, according to Pinker, is science, based in humanism. We make the world a better place by using what we know to gradually lift us up higher, a bit at a time. He explains it better than that--it's a big book--but that's the gist. After the chapters about all the types of improvement, with all the data, (which is my favorite part of the book), he offers a long argument in favor of humanism, and against competing ideologies and philosophies. I found it persuasive.

If your brain is hungry for information, this is a good book for you. And if you want to think that the world is not too bad, after all, this is also the book for you. If you think fascism is great, or a theocracy might be all right, don't read the book. Everybody else--good stuff.

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Underdogs and Dragons and Back-Stabbing Sorcerers

Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

For those who like 19th Century English novels and fantasy, this book is a must read. It has the setting and tone of a regency novel, along with the parties and politics and manners of that era, and the action of Harry Potter novel, with both the whimsy and sudden danger you find there.

My favorite aspect of the novel is the prose. Zen Cho writes some beautiful English. I enjoy the sound of it, the rightness of it, the way it takes an indirect route towards precise communication, and I was amazed at the perfection of so many passages. I would often think, "I wish I could write like that!" (having tried and failed) or, "I would not have thought of putting it that way--but it's right." The author has apparently absorbed the models of English literature (you know, in a good way), particularly 19th Century novelists, and reproduces their diction and phrasing and tone in a way that goes beyond emulation. It reads as genuine, and immersive.

The main characters are interesting and engaging--Zacharias, the African-born sorcerer royal in a court that despises him, and Prunella, an orphan and gifted magic user in a society that has little use for orphans and none at all for women who use magic. It's easy to root for them right from the start. To be honest, though, they both disappoint by the middle of the book, and are only a little rehabilitated at the very end, IMO.

Zacharias, who is studious, high-minded, calm, and ethical to a fault, feels for the first half of the novel to be the "I've-got-this" character. You wait for him to act, like a sleeping lion finally waking to take notice of those who've been poking him and baiting him before dispensing some righteous justice. I kept waiting for that, looking forward to it, eagerly reading. But then he doesn't act. And then he still doesn't act. In almost every scene, he ignores dangers crowding around him, or reacts to something if forced to it, and then carries on like nothing is happening around him. He doesn't solve anything. He confronts almost nothing head-on. I wanted to shake him.

Prunella, meanwhile, is sympathetic as the overlooked young woman of talent, but through her lies, carelessness, and selfishness she wears out her welcome. She's an exciting character with her magic gifts, her independent spirit, her fearlessness, but she's not a considerate friend for most of the novel.

SPOILER
[Strangely, her only truly selfless action was simultaneously an act of brutal betrayal. That action was so out of keeping with the tone of the rest of the novel I found myself wishing for a correction, an "it was all a dream" explanation, but nope. Everything about familiars I thought was off-putting and wished it could have been handled a different way. That whimsy got dark.]

However, Zacharias and Prunella are somewhat rehabilitated at the end (as always, IMO), a bit more like heroes, and I was more sympathetic to both than I had felt 50 pages earlier. I wanted them to drive the plot more than they did in this story, but I still enjoyed following them around, which is why I give this 4 ("I enjoyed it quite a bit") stars. I like where we leave them, both showing signs of growing and changing for the better, and so I have high hopes for sequels. My wish for book 2, though, is simple: I want them to use their awesomeness to be awesome.

Like heroes.

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Romantic Gothic Detective Adventure--with Tea and Watercress Sandwiches

The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter by Theodora Goss
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I thought this book was a lot of fun and a real pleasure to read in a genre, or combination of genres, that I admire. It's not just a creative story in an interesting setting; it's Victorian and Romantic characters, like Sherlock Holmes and Mary Jekyll and Justine Frankenstein, come to life and having an adventure together, solving a sort of Gothic mystery. Dr. Moreau's creations mix with the stories of Dracula and Jack the Ripper, while the daughter of Dr. Jekyll tries to uncover the truth behind her father's experimentations. So the novel is a blend of Gothic and Romantic and Steampunk and Detective and Pastiche.

With tea and feminism.

That's right up my alley. If the author could manage to get Emma or one of the Bennet girls in the story (despite the fact they'd be 100 or so) that would be great...

Mary Jekyll, a young woman who is somewhat modern but respectable, is trying to get on with life after her mother's death. Going through her mother's papers she encounters an expense she can't understand, and looking into it leads to new details about her long-missing father. Once she starts pulling that thread, she is drawn deeper into her father's world, discovering something called the Alchemists' Society and the terrifying scientific experiments being performed by its surviving members. Her investigation brings danger, new allies, and irregular meals, but also some exciting and entertaining adventure. The mostly female cast of characters get to defy expectations and act for themselves, and though Sherlock and Watson play their parts, they do not take over the action. The combination works nicely. The women are confident and capable suffragettes who namedrop Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, and they are struggling to get along in a society that discourages feminism (just imagine!) while trying to live their own lives. Though the novel is filled with elements of the fantastic, the setting is clearly Nineteenth Century London, and they have to deal with expectations as much as strange science.

I enjoy stories that reimagine characters from older novels, and the author here does a nice job of incorporating backstories and connections and making them fit together. The story is written as if it were a collaborative effort of the characters, and they sometimes insert themselves into the narrative, breaking the fourth wall rather like the grandfather and his sick grandson in Princess Bride. I liked how this worked, and found it comic in most cases, though I suspect others might react differently. In a novel that is already quite meta, I thought the intrusions fit with the tone and style. YMMV.

Book two is already out, and I want to know what happens with these women, as we're only just getting to know them in book one. And here's the title of the second: European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman (The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club Book 2). Who could turn away from a novel with such a title?

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Seeing the World Through Zélie's Eyes

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is an excellent fantasy novel, written for a YA audience but appealing to old teacher guys as well, and I highly recommend it.

The author stated her purpose in writing this novel, saying plainly that it is intended to deal with modern American society, with oppression and state violence, and the novel works on that level. But it also works very well as a straightforward YA fantasy.

The novel has an Afro-centric setting, which is cool but has until recently been relatively uncommon. Though this gives the novel a unique flavor and a welcome change of pace, the novel nevertheless feels familiar and reads quick, taking advantage of traditional fantasy tropes. A main character coming of age is on the run; she finds unlikely allies; she must overcome obstacles on a quest across mountains and deserts and through jungles; she must learn how to handle her growing magical abilities while she discoveries who she is, all while she tries to overthrow a tyrant. Every bit of that is traditional fantasy, and it is nicely done. The love entanglements are handled in a very YA way, and though I found it entertaining, I suspect another (younger) audience will love it more and respond to it in a deeper way. In all of this, I thought the young author did a good job of handling plot and character and conflict and setting in a genre-savvy way that keeps it tense and fun.

There are some plot holes and implausibilities that were distracting. Like many YA novels, the actual distance between two points seems to vary depending on the needs of the action at that moment. Also, the world building, which was overall one of the successes of the novel, seemed insufficiently thought out in some places, especially in the apparently empty spaces between cities, which feel like misty gray spaces in the story. Other distractions were the Rome-like scale of the gladiatorial games in the "meager settlement" in the desert and the gold-coin-per-cup-of-water rule in that town. Suspension of disbelief makes the magic and the giant cats seem really cool, but money still needs to make sense. However, other elements of the novel overcome these objections.

The action is intense and entertaining, but the real draw is the characters and their gradual development throughout the novel. The author doesn't cheat by simply making good guys and bad guys; these are round characters, with positive and negative attributes, and they each have an arc worth paying attention to. Knowing that Tomi Adeyemi wrote this with a political purpose in mind, you might look for allegory in every action, for a simplistic narrative, but she doesn't give us that. (Not much, anyway! You probably can make every moment represent something if you're really trying.) Even the brutal king, the least sympathetic and least developed character, is treated fairly; he has his moments of looking like a father, even a caring father, not just a murderous ruler.

Complex character motivations and interactions and feelings are where the novel comes closest to realism, and where it is most affecting. Seeing the world from Zélie's eyes--remembering her mother's murder, facing daily humiliations and oppression, confronting soul-crushing hate and injustice--is painful and necessary. This is where the power of the novel comes from, and the reason why it is highly recommended.

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Supernatural Elizabethan Spy Horror. Ish.

The Scar-Crow Men by Mark Chadbourn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a well-written fantasy novel that weaves history, literature, mythology, and invention into a dark Elizabethan spy story. This second in the series was an improvement on the first, IMO, and I liked the first one.

I imagine this filmed entirely at night. I'm sure there are scenes that take place in the daytime--I half-remember a few--but it is such a dark story, with so much shadow, so much darkness, so much that is hidden and only glimpsed, that it feels like it is must be night all the time. The action plays like a spy story, but the tone is dark, closer to horror in feel.

The darkness here works, though, setting a somber, threatening tone. I like it, the same way you can enjoy a heavy rain that keeps you indoors; but just as the rain eventually makes you long for a break in the clouds, I was wishing for a little light. A little more openness and honesty between characters. A little hope for better days. It would have been welcome. Maybe we got a tiny flash from Launceston recognizing friendship, and a bit from Henri of Navarre's good cheer, but those were fleeting. Some revelry or banter or friendly carrying-on wouldn't go amiss. Is nobody happy anywhere?

I quibble, though. The prose is tight, the plot is well-constructed, and the characters are nicely developed, even if their arcs progress slowly. That just means I have to look for the next book to see if Will catches a break or Nathaniel chills out or if anybody else settles down and raises flowers or something. Anyway, I hope there is another book...

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Purchase, Enjoy, Demand a Sequel. Nicely, of Course.

Kingsway West by Greg Pak
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is an imagination-wide-open fantasy western, and I loved it. The weird West setting, with a Chinese empire and Mexican republic and Native city-states farther east, is stimulating and has nothing but room for any number of stories. The characters are also varied, giving the Old West a fresh look and feel, and the fantasy action multiplies that. It reads fast--I don't find that to be true of all comics and graphic novels--and I like that, but the brilliant art is worth lingering over. Or reading multiple times, of course. The only real flaw with the comic, IMO, is the lack of a sequel.

(I found this creator by accident, when he pledged to donate 100% of the purchase price to a couple of non-profits helping families separated by the current border policy. That made me look.)

I'm glad to be introduced to this artist, and will look for more of his work in the future.

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