6 Month Report

So I'm up to twenty-six books so far this year, including these seven.

Tongues of Serpents, Naomi Novik. (This is the "Horatio Hornblower with dragons" series. It is delightful, mainly because of Temeraire, the main character. However, I think the series has suffered moving Temeraire and his rider, William Laurence, away from England and the fascinating ins and outs of a live-dragon aviator corps, although that was an inevitable result of the plot.)

Magic Slays, Ilona Andrews. (This is a world where magic abruptly returns, with horrifying consequences--the main character mentions "5000 planes falling out of the sky" almost as a throwaway line. That would be a world-altering catastrophe if there ever was one. The main character, Kate, and her lion shapeshifter lover, Curran, are finally together. I wish the author would explore the changes magic wrought on the world in greater detail--it seems to me there wouldn't be very much civilization remaining at all.)

 

Tangled Threads, Jennifer Estep. (This series, about assassin Gin Blanco, just keeps getting better. I love the fact that she accepts who she is--she kills people for a living, or used to, and still offs those she thinks deserves to be offed--and doesn't go through any angst about it.)

 

Bill of Wrongs: The Executive Branch's Assault on America's Fundamental Rights, Molly Ivins and Lou Dubose. (This is Ivins' last book--her writing partner Dubose had to finish it after she died. It relates in detail the horror the Patriot Act wrought on this country, all in the name of the dubious assertion of keeping us "safe.")

 

 Infernal Affairs, Jes Battis. (The further adventures of Tess Corday, Occult Special Investigator. Among other things, she discovers--sort of--who her father is: hint, he's not a nice guy. Also, in a bit of a cliffhanger ending, she quits her job.)

 

Deadline, Mira Grant. (The further adventures of Shawn Mason, Zombie Killer. In the first book, Feed, Shawn's sister Georgia died, in the most heart-wrenching first-person death scene I have ever read. This second installment ups the stakes in Grant's world considerably. Georgia is even still present, albeit as a ghostly presence in Shawn's mind. Or maybe not--see the jaw-dropping coda and sneak preview of the final book, Blackout.)

 

Watch You Bleed: The Saga of Guns n'Roses, Stephen Davis. (This is a sad story. At one time, Guns n'Roses was the biggest, baddest, best band in the world. Then, due entirely to one mentally ill, megalomaniac, misogynist, sociopathic asshole named Axl Rose, it all came to an end. Needless to say, after finishing the book I didn't like him very much.)

6 Month Report

So I'm up to twenty-six books so far this year, including these seven.

Tongues of Serpents, Naomi Novik. (This is the "Horatio Hornblower with dragons" series. It is delightful, mainly because of Temeraire, the main character. However, I think the series has suffered moving Temeraire and his rider, William Laurence, away from England and the fascinating ins and outs of a live-dragon aviator corps, although that was an inevitable result of the plot.)

Magic Slays, Ilona Andrews. (This is a world where magic abruptly returns, with horrifying consequences--the main character mentions "5000 planes falling out of the sky" almost as a throwaway line. That would be a world-altering catastrophe if there ever was one. The main character, Kate, and her lion shapeshifter lover, Curran, are finally together. I wish the author would explore the changes magic wrought on the world in greater detail--it seems to me there wouldn't be very much civilization remaining at all.)

 

Tangled Threads, Jennifer Estep. (This series, about assassin Gin Blanco, just keeps getting better. I love the fact that she accepts who she is--she kills people for a living, or used to, and still offs those she thinks deserves to be offed--and doesn't go through any angst about it.)

 

Bill of Wrongs: The Executive Branch's Assault on America's Fundamental Rights, Molly Ivins and Lou Dubose. (This is Ivins' last book--her writing partner Dubose had to finish it after she died. It relates in detail the horror the Patriot Act wrought on this country, all in the name of the dubious assertion of keeping us "safe.")

 

 Infernal Affairs, Jes Battis. (The further adventures of Tess Corday, Occult Special Investigator. Among other things, she discovers--sort of--who her father is: hint, he's not a nice guy. Also, in a bit of a cliffhanger ending, she quits her job.)

 

Deadline, Mira Grant. (The further adventures of Shawn Mason, Zombie Killer. In the first book, Feed, Shawn's sister Georgia died, in the most heart-wrenching first-person death scene I have ever read. This second installment ups the stakes in Grant's world considerably. Georgia is even still present, albeit as a ghostly presence in Shawn's mind. Or maybe not--see the jaw-dropping coda and sneak preview of the final book, Blackout.)

 

Watch You Bleed: The Saga of Guns n'Roses, Stephen Davis. (This is a sad story. At one time, Guns n'Roses was the biggest, baddest, best band in the world. Then, due entirely to one mentally ill, megalomaniac, misogynist, sociopathic asshole named Axl Rose, it all came to an end. Needless to say, after finishing the book I didn't like him very much.)