50 in '17: #13-21
Nov. 2nd, 2017 05:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sakon76Been busy doing a great many things, among which is reading books. Mt. Toberead is still way too tall....
Title: Seeds of Blood
Author: C. chancy
Length: 386 pages
A sequel to A Net of Dawn and Bones, this suffers from Vathara's usual denseness of text. I spent the whole first quarter of the book wondering if I needed to go back and reread the first one just to find my starting footing. Fortunately, after that it got a bit smoother. Overall, a good read though there were a few themes I felt didn't get paid off enough. And there were a couple moments where I figured out who her characters were based on. (Also one moment where I stopped and stared and said "This line is borrowed from Bujold. Well, if you're going to steal steal from the masters.") The epilogue scene feels like she's closed the door on this world. Kind of a pity. But on the other hand, I'm not sure where else she can go with it.
Verdict: If you liked the first one, you'll probably like this one too.
Title: The Shape of Ideas
Author: Grant Snider
Length: 144 pages
I love the author's webcomic, Incidental Comics, and was jazzed when I was given this book. It does not disappoint. On one hand, I devoured it. On the other, I want to go back through and read it again, savor it and muse on inspiration.
Verdict: Highly Recommended.
Title: A Study in Sable
Author: Mercedes Lackey
Length: 312 pages
Another book in the Elemental Masters series, this one focuses on Nan and Sarah. And Sherlock Holmes and the Watsons. Which is a bit of an oddity - they had previously been mentioned as being fictional, but now it appears it's the Watson using Doyle as a pen name thing. Regardless, despite wanting to smack Sarah a good portion of the time, I enjoyed the book and the new elements (heh) it brought into this universe.
Verdict: A good addition to the series. Recommended if you've read the others.
Title: Caught Dead Handed
Author: Carol J. Perry
Length: 393 pages
Borrowed from my mother, this one's a seasonally appropriate witch-themed murder mystery. Which was well enough done, except for (1) the murderer is "othered", a trend which always bugs me. In this case, she's trans. And (2) there was a moment in the climax where the main character threw away an important magical and historical book. For no reason. Beyond Titanic levels of throwing away the necklace. Whyyyyyy?
Verdict: Despite my reservations, not badly written. Recommended, with aforementioned reservations.
Title: A Taste of the Nightlife
Author: Sarah Zettel
Length: 296 pages
Another seasonally appropriate murder mystery, this time with the conceits of haut cuisine and vampires. Overall well written; I did not peg the murderer until the reveal.
Verdict: Recommended
Title: Let Them Eat Stake
Author: Sarah Zettel
Length: 308 pages
The sequel to A Taste of the Nightlife, this one flowed even smoother. My only complaint is that it ends with a very obvious hook for book three, and despite the author's website saying she and her publisher would love another one, well, it's been five years. Not going to hold my breath.
Verdict: Recommended.
Title: Trigger Warning
Author: Neil Gaiman
Length: 308 pages
Despite the title, I found the short stories in this collection to be less problematic than his last collection that I read. I thoroughly enjoyed most of them! Though I don't quite like his conclusion in the author's notes that (paraphrased) though he likes the idea of trigger warnings, he thinks we should all just be adults and pull up our big boy pants. Sorry, no. Just because we can't trigger warn for everything doesn't mean we should trigger warn on fiction for some major things. Like listing allergens on processed food.
Verdict: Recommended.
Title: Norse Mythology
Author: Neil Gaiman
Length: 281 pages
A retelling of the surviving Norse myths. I quite liked this. I learned a few things I hadn't known, and several times read and reread bits, thinking referentially of either the MCU or of American Gods. The ending seems a bit writerly, but I'll give it a pass.
Verdict: Recommended.
Title: Seeds of Blood
Author: C. chancy
Length: 386 pages
A sequel to A Net of Dawn and Bones, this suffers from Vathara's usual denseness of text. I spent the whole first quarter of the book wondering if I needed to go back and reread the first one just to find my starting footing. Fortunately, after that it got a bit smoother. Overall, a good read though there were a few themes I felt didn't get paid off enough. And there were a couple moments where I figured out who her characters were based on. (Also one moment where I stopped and stared and said "This line is borrowed from Bujold. Well, if you're going to steal steal from the masters.") The epilogue scene feels like she's closed the door on this world. Kind of a pity. But on the other hand, I'm not sure where else she can go with it.
Verdict: If you liked the first one, you'll probably like this one too.
Title: The Shape of Ideas
Author: Grant Snider
Length: 144 pages
I love the author's webcomic, Incidental Comics, and was jazzed when I was given this book. It does not disappoint. On one hand, I devoured it. On the other, I want to go back through and read it again, savor it and muse on inspiration.
Verdict: Highly Recommended.
Title: A Study in Sable
Author: Mercedes Lackey
Length: 312 pages
Another book in the Elemental Masters series, this one focuses on Nan and Sarah. And Sherlock Holmes and the Watsons. Which is a bit of an oddity - they had previously been mentioned as being fictional, but now it appears it's the Watson using Doyle as a pen name thing. Regardless, despite wanting to smack Sarah a good portion of the time, I enjoyed the book and the new elements (heh) it brought into this universe.
Verdict: A good addition to the series. Recommended if you've read the others.
Title: Caught Dead Handed
Author: Carol J. Perry
Length: 393 pages
Borrowed from my mother, this one's a seasonally appropriate witch-themed murder mystery. Which was well enough done, except for (1) the murderer is "othered", a trend which always bugs me. In this case, she's trans. And (2) there was a moment in the climax where the main character threw away an important magical and historical book. For no reason. Beyond Titanic levels of throwing away the necklace. Whyyyyyy?
Verdict: Despite my reservations, not badly written. Recommended, with aforementioned reservations.
Title: A Taste of the Nightlife
Author: Sarah Zettel
Length: 296 pages
Another seasonally appropriate murder mystery, this time with the conceits of haut cuisine and vampires. Overall well written; I did not peg the murderer until the reveal.
Verdict: Recommended
Title: Let Them Eat Stake
Author: Sarah Zettel
Length: 308 pages
The sequel to A Taste of the Nightlife, this one flowed even smoother. My only complaint is that it ends with a very obvious hook for book three, and despite the author's website saying she and her publisher would love another one, well, it's been five years. Not going to hold my breath.
Verdict: Recommended.
Title: Trigger Warning
Author: Neil Gaiman
Length: 308 pages
Despite the title, I found the short stories in this collection to be less problematic than his last collection that I read. I thoroughly enjoyed most of them! Though I don't quite like his conclusion in the author's notes that (paraphrased) though he likes the idea of trigger warnings, he thinks we should all just be adults and pull up our big boy pants. Sorry, no. Just because we can't trigger warn for everything doesn't mean we should trigger warn on fiction for some major things. Like listing allergens on processed food.
Verdict: Recommended.
Title: Norse Mythology
Author: Neil Gaiman
Length: 281 pages
A retelling of the surviving Norse myths. I quite liked this. I learned a few things I hadn't known, and several times read and reread bits, thinking referentially of either the MCU or of American Gods. The ending seems a bit writerly, but I'll give it a pass.
Verdict: Recommended.
