Send Lawyers Guns and Money: Do Unto Others

Some books have themes, some have messages, and sometimes the difference is stark. I'd say that Michael Z Williamson's Do Unto Others has some strong messages (weapon safety is important, professionals do it better, don't trust penny pinchers) but no real theme. What it does have is characters doing their jobs while Williamson shows them at work. And since they work for a galactic security company, that's often fun for me.

This is the second book about Alex's elite team, and I've finally gotten all the players sorted out. They don't spend much time on introspection, other than young Aramis's occasional contemplation of the sexual charms of his employer or any other female type in the vicinity, but their actions manage to define them. I'm actually surprised at how unsophisticated they seem sometimes, but then I have experience with many galactic civilizations and they only know their own. None of them seem to be big readers, other than arms manuals. But the writing is crisp and the people fun, especially Elke (I think that is her on the cover), who always gets the biggest booms. I'll keep picking up Williamson's books, although I admit it's a bit of a guilty pleasure.  B

Feminist Fun: Alien Tango

Gini Koch's science fiction romances have too much fun to take themselves seriously.  Kitty, the protagonist, probably realized that life was too short to stress the small stuff when she first noticed that her name, Katherine Katt, was a poor pun that her parents would pretend never to notice.  This attitude suited her well in the first book, Touched By an Alien, when Koch delighted in throwing ridiculous twists her way, and Kitty handled them with aplomb.

In the second book, Alien Tango, Kitty continues to enjoy herself on her own terms, which I find a strong and feminist place to be.  She likes her big purse, and can find stuff in it.  She knows some martial arts, but prefers to let the people with superpowers fight it out against the big trucks.  She enjoys great sex, but doesn't expect it to always lead to marriage.  True love is great, but if she's not treated well, she'll walk out.  Emotional cluelessness is not a male preserve, and neither are blinding flashes of brilliance.  And confidence in them.

This was a great book to read on lines at Disneyland, because the tone is light, there is something happening every few pages, and I'm not going to be tempted to share it with my kids (see the "great sex" reference above).  Although there are lots of complications, I didn't have to concentrate hard; it was easy to slide back in whenever I pulled it out of my bag.  And now I will always associate it with Space Mountain.

Short a Letter: Crave

J.R. Ward writes the popular Bhlackh Dhaggher Bhrotherhhood books, about brand-conscious tough-guy vampires and their devoted womenfolk and the extra letter "h" in everyone's name. They are page-turning fun and awesomely goofy, so when I saw this new book (Crave (Fallen Angels, Book 2)) I grabbed it. Turns out it's the second book in a different series, about a wager between good guys and bad guys for the fate of the world (I think) with ex-commando angels working with select humans (including some of their non-deceased ex-commando buddies) to see if their souls turn nicey-whitey or baddy-blacky.

I spent a lot of time trying to insert new letters into the commando's names, of course. "J" works well, since it can always be silent.

Perhaps because I came in late (what is the deal with series books refusing to identify themselves?), I didn't find the over-arching plot about the earth-destroying wager interesting at all. I liked the angsty hero, Isaac (aka Isajac) Rothe, who was all "woe is me, I'm an ex-assassin and unworthy" with the heroine, Grier (a "j" would help me pronounce that name, I think), who was all "nobody loved my ghostly drug addict brother like me. Also, my dad never told me he worked for a top-secret evil government agency." I finished the book, although I never had any trouble putting it down, but I have no impulse to seek out the others in the series. I have no idea why this one has the title "Crave" -- I mean, yes, the sexy lovers crave each other, but that hardly distinguishes it from any other paranormal romance book by anyone, let alone the other books in the series (I'm guessing).  C+.

Second Time More Lucky: Archangel's Kiss

Nalini Singh writes a popular paranormal series about Psy-Changelings, all about emotion-denying telepaths and shape shifters, which I can't get into.  She kept getting recommended to me, so I tried her new series, Archangel's Blood, which I thought was OK.  So when I saw the second book in the "Pick me" display at the library I picked it up.

I liked more; I didn't giggle as much in the wrong places.  With Archangel's Kiss (Guild Hunter, Book 2) Singh figures we all remember the complicated political and chemical connections between archangels, angels, vampires, hunters, and regular people, which I either do remember or don't care about, so the text is much lighter without heavy exposition.  Elena has just woken up as an angel, and most of the plot involves her avoiding assassination by anyone trying to impress the world with how tough they are.  So we learn about life as an angel with Elena, and we also get lots of fun fight scenes with Elena and her tough friends and enemies.  Uber-archangel Raphael gets to skulk about protecting himself and Elena (his new huge weak spot), with bonus UST as he waits for her to get strong enough to move onto actual ST.  There are still blue feathers and sexy wing dandruff.  Then we get a battle with a superpower trying to destroy the world (as one must), and it's all fun and games and popcorn.  B+

Jumping Jellybeans: Jack of Clubs

Barbara Metzger loves to play with words, making jokes and twists with almost every sentence.  It's fun to read her books, which are mostly historical romances playing in the Regency.  But the setting in Jack of Clubs is so fragile that it's hard to keep the gossamer plot alive.  Even the characters don't seem to believe in their world, so their problems aren't big enough even to giggle at.

It's a fun book at the sentence level, but doesn't work at any scale bigger than that.  C-

Two Silly Books

Help, I'm falling behind again! I've read two books this week, and pieces of many others.

Another for my second-in-a-series challenge is Elaine Levine's Audrey and the Maverick. I had read her first book and thought it went OK, except for some severe silliness on the protagonist's part. Unfortunately, the minor problem in this one was that there was no problem. Audrey spends the entire book terrified, but I have no idea why. Every time she panics and does something silly, I'm left confused, because either there is no threat, or she could have walked away from the problem. And the delicate way the hero confesses to being partly black left me with a bad taste -- it felt less like a historically accurate issue than one expected to shock and titillate modern readers. And why is Julian a maverick? Because he's a sheep farmer? 

Bullet (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter), by Laurell K Hamilton, has a lot of very detailed multiplayer sex scenes, made more shocking by the players' tendency to stop and talk at odd moments. Very odd moments. On the other hand, there was some plot development; something is going to happen so Anita and her friends have started preparing for it. Mostly by sleeping with various people so that more people can "join the team." Which is fine, but honestly I'd rather just take it as given and use the pages to actually do something about the problem. The story line progresses along, novelette by novelette, with a few hundred extra pages per book for descriptions of hair, clothes, and loins, both still life and in action.

Careful Prose: Never Less Than a Lady

Although I enjoy Mary Jo Putney's books and seek them out rather quickly, there is always a considerable distance between me and the characters. Her newest book, Never Less Than A Lady (Lost Lords), was no exception. I liked the characters -- Julia, who has been hiding from her life as high-ranking but abused lady of society, and Alexander, a romantic lover of chivalry who is ready to quit the army and settle down, if he can find a cause that is just. I liked the plot -- they meet, decide to marry to help each other (and because they have a lot of mutual friends), and then they confront their fears of a permanent relationship and their scars from previous bad times, as well as trusting in their growing affection.

The book follows Loving a Lost Lord (where their friends met), but I don't think you need to read that one to enjoy this one. What kept me from fully investing in the characters? For one thing, their attitudes and assumptions seemed very modern. While they understood the expectations of their Regency environment, they always seemed to find it antiquated, almost quaint. They talk seriously about psychological issues in ways that didn't really ring true, although it kept the plot moving along. And the sexual problems melted away amazingly quickly -- when they marry, Julia isn't sure she can ever touch a man again, after her brutal treatment by her first husband. But in a week or so she is ready to show off the sophisticated skills she learned from him. Admittedly this made the book much more readable (what kind of romance keeps the main couple from coupling for hundreds of pages?) but it was at a loss of credibility.

Still, I got what I expected -- those are known issues with most Putney books, which is one reason I prefer her books with a touch of magic -- if it's obviously an alternative universe, the transplanted modern people don't seem so out of place. I'll still read her next book in this series. I'm probably more enthusiastic than I sound -- I find my ratings go down a lot when I stay up too late to review things. B-

Better than Chocolate: Demon's Covenant

My favorite YA book last year was Sarah Rees Brennan's The Demon's Lexicon, so I've been eagerly waiting ever since I found out it was part of a trilogy. I seem to have a very different sense of closure than most people, so that I'm often happy with a book when all the reviews say it's just a set-up for the next book, or I finish a book and figure it's the first half of the real thing only to find that's all she wrote. Anyway, I was glad there would be more, and I had just enough time to anticipate the second book, The Demon's Covenant.

The demon books are about family, and how far to go to protect your family, even at a risk to other people. Would you kill someone to save your brother's life? Would you kill a murderer to save his life? The two families making these decisions are a pair of brothers who live by themselves and hide from or hunt the demon-calling magicians, and a sister-brother combination who run afoul of those magicians. They become friends, but loyalties shift because family always comes first. And because they are all teenagers, the conversations are full of snark and sarcasm, just the way I like it. The dialogue doesn't ring quite true, but it's so much fun I don't care. I like how carefully detailed each character is, and how the connections between all four play out. It's the kind of book where I turn back to the first page after reading so I can savor it again, knowing how all the pieces fit together. I hope the third book is as much fun. A-

Hey, this book is second in a series! Go me!

2nd Challenge: Local Habitation

I'm signing up for another challenge, although I think I'll backdate some books. I read them planning this challenge, so I think that's fair. This is The 2nd Challenge, which is for reading the 2nd book in a series. Or by an author, hmm, maybe my last book also counts. I'm going to try for a lot of books where it's the first book by an author, but the 2nd in a series. Because I'm a rebel, that's why!

I've heard a lot about Seanan McGuire urban fantasy, Rosemary and Rue, so when I saw the 2nd book, A Local Habitation on the library enticement shelves, I grabbed it. October Day is a half-fairy private detective, commissioned to check up on a small company that also happens to be a small fairy kingdom. And the scene of some recent murders. I was not impressed by the detection skills of October, since by the time she solved the mystery just about the only person left standing was the culprit, but there were some fun scenes with her apprentice and her possible love interest. Not something I'll seek for, but I'll probably eventually read something else in the series. B-

Challenged Again: 2nd Challenge

Well, I found this draft with an official start to the 2nd Challenge, so I think I'll belatedly post it so I can keep all the books together more easily.

Kristen of BookNAround led me to this challenge, which also happened to wink at several books I was about to read/review. And I like challenges. Never mind that I never seem to finish them...

The Queen of Happy Endings is hosting the 2nd Challenge. These are books that are either the 2nd in a series or the 2nd you've read by that author.

So far I've got:

*Fire (Graceling) by Karen Cashore (2nd in Series & 2nd I've read)

*Enigma, C.F. Bentley (2nd in Series, although first I've read)

* Deader Still, by Anton Strout (2nd in Series)

* the next Dooley book by Norah McClintock, assuming it comes out this year

* The Demon's Covenant, by Sarah Rees Brennan (ditto)

and something else, that I'll figure out later. I guess this puts me at the Fascinated Level.

I've read:

1. Fire (Graceling) by Karen Cashore (2nd in Series & 2nd I've read)
2. Enigma, C.F. Bentley (2nd in Series, although first I've read)
3. Never Less Than a Lady, (Lost Lords series), Mary Jo Putney (extra book I was hoping f0r), 2nd in series {Curious Level Complete!}
4. The Demon's Covenant, by Sarah Rees Brennan, 2nd in series, 2nd I've read
5. A Local Habitation, Seanan McQuire

Fiercely Recommended: Fire & Fire

This is a two-fer review, for the Take a Chance Challenge #9: Same word, two books. I managed to find two books that I'm eager to read and that conveniently share a title:

Fire by Kristen Cashore AND Fire by Robin McKinley & Peter Dickinson

Cashore's book is about people fiercely determined to do the right thing, even when it is costly. Her first book, Graceling, won acclaim and glory and I really liked it, so I put down my name at the library for this one. While not quite as great as Graceling, this book also delivered a powerful and honest story. I like book with the characters want to do good, where they sometimes don't live up to their expectations but they do have high ideals for themselves. I guess that's one reason I like YA and kids books; they aren't as full of unpleasant people. Books about people fiercely determined to do the right thing. Fire is a fantasy about a land plagued by monsters, fiercely attractive versions of animals that are supremely dangerous. Fire is one of the few human monsters, and she fears herself almost more than others fear her. There's lots of action as well as characters you can care deeply about. Highly recommended.

Also, this is the second in a series, so it will be the first post in that challenge. Yay! A.

Peter Dickinson and Robin McKinley are two of my favorite fantasy kidlit authors, and I find it highly appropriate that they met and married after writing some

great stuff. Years ago they collaborated on Water, a book of short stories themed around that element, and they finally came out with Fire. Apparently they want to do a series of these anthologies, but McKinley keeps accidentally writing novels instead of stories, which is how we got the books Dragonhaven and Chalice. I only wish Dickinson had the same problem. (Her new book, Pegasus, indicates they are working on the Air book.) The stories are vivid and rich, including salamanders and dragons and the phoenix and other fiery things. Dickinson definitely writes for a more intellectual audience; some stories are more about tone and language than action, but I like that. McKinley's stories again have solidly competent people in them, a trait that was discussed at our last book club meeting, which featured all things McKinley. A.