Outlander

Honestly, I'm rather amazed at the way Outlander themed products are popping up everywhere. There are, of course, the books, short stories, one graphic novel, two seasons of the TV series, soundtracks, and then you find all the other odds and ends. A quick search of Amazon.com results in calendars, dolls, interview videos, a reading order e-book? (I'm blinking at this last item. Why would you pay for something like that?), the colouring book - which I have to say is pretty good, and a fun way to spend some time, T-shirts, photographs, knitting patterns (that might be interesting to try out), and more.

Nonetheless, it's becoming one of my favorite series (both to watch and to read). I can't wait for the third season to air next year - and I'm doing a re-read for the first time in about ten years - maybe more. I'd only read up to the Fiery Cross previously. In my re-reading though, I'll admit to really only picking it up at Voyager - I decided that the TV series version of the first two seasons would stand in very well at refreshing my memory. It's also had one of the best soundtracks I've heard in a while - I'm listening to the first soundtrack cd at least once every couple of weeks or so. More detailed thoughts on some of the books have been posted here in the past:
The Fiery Cross (reviewed in 2009)
Outlander (2012 review)
Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel (2010)

My husband and I got busy over the summer and rather forgot about Outlander for a couple of months. Then last week, we were reminded that we had the second half of the season sitting on the PVR. It only took us a week to finish watching the season - couldn't wait until the next evening to watch the next episode (with hour and a half to two hour episodes finishing the season, we couldn't justify staying up late enough to watch more than one episode at a time).

Now I'm getting sucked back into the book series - it's a great way to tide over the gap until the next season airs, and remembering why it was that the first time I read Outlander I was highly frustrated by discovering that there were sequels, but that I was going to have to wait a month before I could read any of them. I just couldn't wait - but couldn't borrow them from the library right away.

A question for anyone who has the newer version of the Outlandish Companion - first volume. Is there any difference between the new version and the old version for the Outlandish Companion?

Bastion - Mercedes Lackey

Bastion
Mercedes Lackey
Daw Books
Copyright: October 1, 2013
978-0756409449

The amazon.com product description:

Mags returns to the Collegium, but there are mixed feelings--his included--about him actually remaining there. No one doubts that he is and should be a Herald, but he is afraid that his mere presence is going to incite more danger right in the heart of Valdemar. The heads of the Collegia are afraid that coming back to his known haunt is going to give him less protection than if he went into hiding. Everyone decides that going elsewhere is the solution for now. So since he is going elsewhere--why not return to the place he was found in the first place and look for clues? And those who are closest to him, and might provide secondary targets, are going along. With Herald Jadrek, Herald Kylan (the Weaponsmaster's chosen successor), and his friends Bear, Lena, and Amily, they head for the Bastion, the hidden spot in the hills that had once been the headquarters of a powerful band of raiders that had held him and his parents prisoner. But what they find is not what anyone expected.

Bastion is the fifth book in the Collegium Chronicles series about Mags, following on Redoubt. This is also the newest of the Valdemar series, only having been released on the first of the month. I have to say I was really looking forward to reading this, and I wasn't disappointed.

I started the read yesterday evening, and just finished it a couple of hours ago on the ferry. This was one of those books I couldn't put down easily for the most part. When I wasn't reading it over yesterday and today, I was working on the Goldberry Shawl CAL project, but most of the time, I was reading - even reading in the car, something I don't find I can do very easily any more.

The big thing that surprised me with Bastion was just how much it relies on the previous books in the series. Honestly, within pages of starting the read, I was feeling like I needed to go back and re-read Redoubt and the previous books. It was a near constant stream of "wait a minute, when did this happen again?" and "I know what this reference is to from the Last Herald Mage books or from the Mage Winds trilogy, but how did it tie into the Collegium Chronicles books?". Even so, I really enjoyed the read, though I think I know what my next read is going to be.

I don't know if Bastion is the final book in this series or not - I kind of hope not, but at the same time, it seems like the biggest events in Mags' story may have been tied up. I hope not, as the more I read the series, the more I find the characters growing on me.

I definitely recommend the series, but strongly feel that you need to start with the first book, Foundation, just to get a real understanding of the characters and the structures of Valdemar as it is at the time of this story. There are definitely some significant differences between the Valdemar of Mags' time and the same country as it is in the time of Talia or Elspeth, or even of Lavan or of Vanyel.

Steadfast - Mercedes Lackey

Edited to add: This review of Steadfast is also my thousandth post to All Booked Up.

Steadfast
Mercedes Lackey
DAW Books
Copyright: June 4th 2013
978-0756408015

The amazon.com product description:

The new novel in Mercedes Lackey’s bestselling series of an alternative Edwardian Britain, where magic is real—and Elemental Masters are in control.

Lionel Hawkins is a magician whose act is only partially sleight of hand. The rest is real magic. He’s an Elemental Magician with the power to persuade the Elementals of Air to help him create amazing illusions. It doesn’t take long before his assistant, acrobat Katie Langford, notices that he’s no ordinary magician—and for Lionel to discover that she’s no ordinary acrobat, but rather an untrained and unawakened Fire Magician. She’s also on the run from her murderous and vengeful brute of a husband. But can she harness her magic in time to stop her husband from achieving his deadly goal?

Steadfast, the most recent in the Elemental Masters series by Mercedes Lackey is, honestly, somewhat reminiscent of one of the earlier books in the series, Reserved For The Cat, but it's still a very good read in my opinion. Certainly, I raced through it in about two days, enjoying every page of the book. Which has also been true for some of the other books in this series, including Home From The Sea (the last book in the series), The Wizard of London and Unnatural Issue.

I do have a question to throw out there concerning Steadfast, and I don't think it'll be a spoiler in any way. All of the Elemental Masters books to date have been based around fairy-tales. For example, The Fire Rose (not quite set in the same world but close enough that I consider it to be the same) is based around Beauty and the Beast, The Gates of Sleep is Sleeping Beauty etc. I had to ask the same question in my review of Unnatural Issue, by the way and it never got answered. Which fairy-tale influenced Steadfast?

Katie, the main character in this book definitely had my sympathy. She also reminded me just how much things have changed for women in the last century or so since the time Steadfast was set, at least in the Western world. She's definitely one character who really needed a happy ending to her story - which, given the way the rest of this series has turned out, I knew she'd get.

That's one thing about Mercedes Lackey's books so far, generally, I know whether or not to expect a happy ending or not, depending on the series. The Five Hundred Kingdoms books all do, and so far, all of the Elemental Masters series too. Many of the Valdemar books also have that happy ending, but not all of them - and believe it or not, the ones that don't are among some of my all-time favorite stories written by Mercedes Lackey.

Nearly all of her books though, are ones I know I'll read and re-read, even before I've read them the first time - that's why in other reviews I've referred to them as "old friends".

Book Rambling: Series

Anyone who's been reading my blog in the last couple of weeks will have been inundated in science fiction reviews, most of which are from just one series, David Weber's Honor Harrington books. And, I'm not done yet with the series, so if SF isn't your typical read, I'm sorry. However, these books did spark a couple of thoughts/questions about series.

First of all, is it possible for a series to get to be too big? I like the Honor Harrington series, but I am rather starting to wonder if/when the series is going to end. And not only are there the main books in the series, with a new one coming out next month, Mission of Honor, but there are also the two sets of spin-offs, termed the "Honorverse": the Saganami series, and the Crown of Slaves/Torch of Freedom side of the story as well, co-authored by Eric Flint - all of which are connected to the main story quite closely. And we can't forget about the anthologies of stories either. Although some of those are really good.

The other series that comes to mind as having gotten too big is Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time. We're at The Gathering Storm with no end in sight to the series as far as I can tell. On the other hand, I gave up on the series several books ago. Winter's Heart, I think was the last book I read. I've thought about re-reading the series, but then comes the thought "do I want to start a twelve book series with no end in sight?" followed by "a thousand pages followed only two of the main characters?". In my mind, those two thoughts are signs that a series has definitely gotten too big (at least to easily attract new readers), and may well be rather intimidating. I know I've definitely heard accusations of repetitiveness being leveled at The Wheel of Time. It's been too long since I read any of the books for me to easily say if I agree with that though.

A third thought with longer series when I've thought about reading them is "finding these in any sort of order at the library is going to be fun". Yes, that is heavy sarcasm there, but that little fact has made me think twice about picking up some otherwise promising looking series/books. Especially when trying to read out of order can leave you scratching your head.

And yet, there are some other truly massive series that I don't feel that way about at all, such as Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar books or the Darkover series by Marion Zimmer Bradley. Possibly it's because they're made up of smaller series stretched over the course of the whole world's history, each one focussing on different characters, rather than book after book about the same characters.

What series do you think have gotten to be too big? Or am I completely off-base with my thoughts here?

The other major thing that came to mind as I started reading and reviewing my way through the Honor Harrington books is geared more towards reviewers.

Do you find yourself reviewing the series rather than the book?

To be honest, that's something I'm having to try not to do, and I'm sometimes wondering if I'm succeeding or not. Knowing that something foreshadows something in a later book, or looking at character development not in terms of this book, but in terms of the series to date. I find myself making comments about the series as a whole rather than looking at the specific book I'm trying to review.

If this is a problem for you, I'd love to know how you solve it or work around the issue. Or, do you just give in and more or less review the series as a whole?

Blood Noir - Laurell K. Hamilton

Blood Noir
Laurell K. Hamilton
Berkley Books
Copyright Date: 2008
978-0425222195

According to the jacket of Blood Noir:

Now the old bastard's dying and I wont have time to forgive him before he goes...

Jason Schuyler is a werewolf. He's also one of Anita Blake's best friends, and sometimes her lover. And right now he needs her - not to be a vampire hunter, or a federal marshal, or a necromancer, or even for her rank in the werewolf pack, but because his father is dying. He needs Anita because she's a pretty woman who loves him, who can make him look like an everyday guy, who agrees to go home with him and help him say good-bye to the abusive father he never loved. The fact that Jason is about as much an everyday guy as Anita is a pretty woman is something they figure they can keep under wraps for a couple of days in a small town. How hard can that be?

Really by now, Anita Blake should know better.

Marmee Noir, ancient mother of all vampires, picks this weekend to make a move. Somehow she has cut the connection that binds Anita and Jean-Claude, leaving Jean-Claude unable to sense what is happening. Dangerous even as she sleeps, buried in darkness for a thousand years somewhere beneath the old country of Europe, Marmee Noir reaches out towards power. She has attacked Anita before, but never like this. In Anita she senses what she needs to make her enemies tremble...

Blood Noir ended up being one of the books for the TBR challenge lite, although when I bought it the day it came out last year, I'd fully intended to read it right then. In fact, I got half way through before I put it down. I don't exactly remember why though now. I think it was due to the fact that I kept buying new books I didn't want to wait to read (still a problem).

Anyway, it took the release of the new book Skin Trade, a couple of days ago to get me to pick Blood Noir up again. I'm really glad I did now that I've finished it. I can't wait to read Skin Trade now, either, but I've committed to reading The Strain by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan first.

Blood Noir, the sixteenth book in the Anita Blake series is really Jason's story. A recurring character through the series, he really comes into his own here as he takes Anita to visit his family because his father is dying of cancer. Of course, nothing goes smoothly for them. It ranges from being mistaken for somebody else, to the return of Marmee Noir.

This book is shorter than some of Hamilton's books, but the pacing was fast, so the story didn't seem to suffer any. I will definitely agree with some of the reviews I've read that there is a bit too much sex, but that's been the case in all of the books since Narcissus In Chains. It's just become part of the book style now for me.

I think for readers from the Romance section of the bookstore that the sex isn't going to be a problem either. Perhaps that's one reason I noticed it less this time: because I've been reading more of the paranormal romances where sexual activity is more or less expected. I'm not all that familiar with the expectations of readers of the horror section of the bookstore where the Laurell K. Hamilton books are shelved these days, so I can't really say.

Either way, I did enjoy reading Blood Noir and I found that I couldn't put the book down as it raced towards the climax this afternoon/evening. Still, I don't think it's my new favorite of the series, a position held jointly by Danse Macabre and The Harlequin.

My other reviews of Laurell K. Hamilton's novels:
Swallowing Darkness (Merry Gentry)
A Lick Of Frost (Merry Gentry)
Skin Trade (Anita Blake)

Other vampire-themed novels/series I've reviewed:
Bone Crossed - Patricia Briggs
Dark Lover - J.R. Ward

Other reviews:
Books And Other Thoughts: A Trip Out Of Town Gone Bad

Bone Crossed - Patricia Briggs

Bone Crossed
Patricia Briggs
Berkely Trade
Copyright: 2009
9780441016761

From the cover of the book:

Welcome to Patricia Briggs's world, a place where "witches, vampires, werewolves, and shapeshifters live beside ordinary people" (Booklist). It takes a very unusual woman to call it home - and there's no one quite like Mercy Thompson.

By day, Mercy is a car mechanic in the sprawling Tri-Cities of Eastern Washington. By night, she explores her preternatural side. As a shapeshifter with some unique talents, Mercy has often found herself having to maintain a tenuous harmony between the human and the not so human. This time she may get more than she bargained for.

Marsilia, the local Vampire Queen, has learned that Mercy crossed her by slaying a member of her clan - and she's out for blood. But since Mercy is protected from direct reprisal by the werewolf pack (and her close relations hip with its sexy Alpha), it won't be Mercy's blood Marsilia is after.

It'll be her friends.

Bone Crossed is the fourth, and currently the last book in the Mercy Thompson series. However, I believe that there is another in the line-up for later this year.

The book starts immediately after the end of Iron Kissed, making it seem more like one book in two volumes, and the action starts almost from the first page. Mercy's mother turns up, having read the articles in the paper about the events of Iron Kissed, and then, minutes later, Stefan, the vampire, pops into the room, literally, having been tortured. From there things don't let up for an instant.

As with the previous books, there are some interesting twists which are revealed at the end of the book, but serve to keep the reader guessing. Some things are left to guess, but not revealed entirely, so there are some hints of things to come, and we learn more about the world that Patricia Briggs has created: more about the Walkers, more about the magics of the werewolves, and more about the vampires and their politics.

The last line of the blurb is right, it is Mercy's friends who are under threat the most in this book, although not all of it comes directly from the situation she's found herself in. Much of the story is set outside of the Tri-Cities area in a neighboring city, which is under the control of a seriously scary vampire. One that Mercy is supposed to stay away from...

Patricia Briggs has written up an intriguing world, where legends can be real, but not everything has been revealed yet. Vampires are still hidden from official view, and there are several reminders that there's more to the Fae than has been revealed as yet - at least to the government.

It would be neat to see what kinds of effects the revelations of the supernatural existing and being legalized in the U.SA. are having on other countries. Are they following suit, or taking a wait and see approach?

The one thing I found was that Bone Crossed was too short for a hardcover. The previous books in the series are all mass market paperbacks, and I'm definitely going to wait for this one to come out the same, as I more or less read it in a day.

The other books in the series:
Moon Called
Blood Bound
Iron Kissed

Also reviewed at:
Books and Other Thoughts: Bone Crossed

Edited to add: this book fills one of the categories in the What's In A Name challenge.

Storm From The Shadows - David Weber

Storm From The Shadows
David Weber
Baen Books
Copyright: 2009
978-1416591474

From the Amazon.com website:

Rear Admiral Michelle Henke was commanding one of the ships in a force led by Honor Harrington in an all-out space battle. The odds were against the Star Kingdom forces, and they had to run. But Michelle’s ship was crippled, and had to be destroyed to prevent superior Manticoran technology from falling into Havenite hands, and she and her surviving crew were taken prisoner. Much to her surprise, she was repatriated to Manticore, carrying a request for a summit conference between the leaders of the two sides which might end the war. But a condition of her return was that she gave her parole not to fight against the forces of the Republic of Haven until she had been officially exchanged for a Havenite prisoner of war, so she was given a command far away from the war’s battle lines. What she didn’t realize was that she would find herself on a collision course, not with a hostile government, but with the interstellar syndicate of criminals known as Manpower. And Manpower had its own plans for eliminating Manticore as a possible threat to its lucrative slave trade, deadly plans which remain hidden in the shadows.

This is the sequel of sorts to The Shadow of Saganami. I say 'of sorts' because the story in this book starts before the ending of the previous one, and several of the scenes in the previous book are shown from a different viewpoint here.

Events that began in the previous book, or even in the one before that, At All Costs are finally starting to be made clear, and are beginning to come together into a coherent whole. It turns out that there is somebody else who is manipulating things from behind the scenes, including the war with Haven.

I enjoyed reading Storm of Shadows, but I've got to say, when I came to the end my reaction was "When's the next book coming out?". Weber has left the book screaming for a sequel, which according to the note in the front of the book is going to appear at some point in the future (hopefully sooner than five years from now like this one was from The Shadow of Saganami).

I certainly hope the next book does an overlap with the events of this one, as there are some major events going on in the background - including a major Havenite invasion of Manticore home space that was somehow defeated. I'd like to know how they managed that, although with Honor in charge of the fleet in question, such a victory is almost a forgone conclusion.

As with the previous book, I found the many different viewpoints and locations somewhat confusing. I wish Weber had included a tiny header note with each major viewpoint shift as some other authors have. There were times when I'd be a page or two into a new section and still be trying to figure out who and where the characters were.

Other than that, the characters have their human moments, some grow and gain experience, others die. By the end of the book it looks like Manticore is starting a war with the Solarian League, but there is definitely something else going on at the same time.

Overall, Weber has written to his usual standard: the technology and physical laws all hang together well and the scenes are vividly described, leading to a cliff-hanger of a conclusion.

However, this is not a book to start reading the series at. For a new reader, I'd say start at the beginning with On Basilisk Station (I'm rereading it now as well), or at least Crown of Slaves.

The Shadow of Saganami - David Weber

This book also fills one of the slots for my entry in the TBR Challenge.

The Shadow Of Saganami
David Weber
Baen Books
Copyright: 2004
0-7434-8852-0

From the cover of the book:

The Star Kingdom of Manticore is once again at war with the Republic of Haven after a stunning sneak attack. The graduating class from Saganami Island, the Royal Manticoran Navy's academy, are going straight from the classroom to the blazing reality of all-out war.

Except for the midshipmen assigned to the heavy cruiser HMS Hexapuma, that is. They're being assigned to the Talbott Cluster, an out of the way backwater, far from the battle front. The most they can look forward to is the capture of the occasional pirate cruiser and the boring duty of supporting the Cluster's peaceful integration with the Star Kingdom at the freely expressed will of eighty percent of the Cluster's citizens. With a captain who may have seen too much of war and a station commander who isn't precisely noted for his brilliant and insightful command style, it isn't exactly what the students of Honor Harrington, the "Salamander," expected.

But things aren't as simple -- or tranquil -- as they appear. The "pirates" they encounter aren't what they seem, and the "peaceful integration" they expected turns into something very different. A powerful alliance of corrupt Solarian League bureaucrats and ruthless interstellar corporations is determined to prevent the Cluster's annexation by the Star Kingdom . . . by any means necessary. Pirates, terrorists, genetic slavers, smuggled weapons, long-standing personal hatreds, and a vicious alliance of corporate greed, bureaucratic arrogance, and a corrupt local star nation with a powerful fleet, are all coming together, and only Hexapuma, her war-weary captain, and Honor Harrington's students stand in the path.
They have only one thing to support and guide them: the tradition of Saganami. The tradition that sometimes a Queen's officer's duty is to face impossible odds . . . and die fighting.

Although this is part of the world created for Honor Harrington, like Crown of Slaves, she barely comes into the storyline here. Don't let that put you off the story though. It's still an incredible read, and there are enough of the secondary characters from the main books to keep you connected.

The Honor Harrington books were the series to introduce me to the area of military science-fiction, and this book holds up the genre as well as the first ones, and the world still has lots of areas to explore - it just keeps expanding. The front cover of The Shadow of Saganami calls this the start to a whole new series. If that's the case, it looks to be a good one. The book kept me up past my bedtime again.

My only problem with this story is as much my fault as anything. It's set after/during the events of At All Costs (if my memory is correct), and I haven't read any of the books in the series for at least two years, possibly more, so I don't remember at least half of the references to earlier events. For example, I know that the character of Ginger Lewis is familiar, but who is she, and what happened to her? The same thing for Abigail Hearns. It's less of an issue for events from the earliest books for the most part, as I've read them a few more times.

Overall, that's the thing about David Weber's science fiction. He's created very detailed characters, worlds and political systems. Everything holds together very well with not too many "hey! that can't work" moments.

One thing that detracted from the story a bit for me, aside from not remembering some of the background references, is the sheer number of viewpoints Weber is writing from. I know that for a story of this scale, it's nearly impossible to show from just one or two, but still... By my count from memory, there's at least ten different viewpoints. It's something the author has done all through the series though, and part of what makes the world so real and detailed.

The next book is finally out now as well: Storm From The Shadows, and given that I'm only half way through at this point, I'd have to say that it's just as good, if not slightly better.

The Shadow Queen - Anne Bishop

The Shadow Queen
Anne Bishop
New American Library
Copyright: 2008
9780451462541

From the chapters/indigo website:

From the national bestselling authora the new novel set in the adarkly fascinating worlda("SF Site") of the Black Jewels.
Dena Nehele is a land decimated by its past. Once it was ruled by corrupt Queens who were wiped out when the land was cleansed of tainted Blood. Now, only one hundred Warlord Princes standawithout a leader and without hope.
Theran Grayhaven is the last of his line, desperate to find the key that reveals a treasure great enough to restore Dena Nehele. But first he needs to find a Queen who remembers the Bloodas code of honor and lives by the Old Ways. The woman chosen to rule Dena Nehele, Lady Cassidy, is not beautiful and believes she is not strong. But she may be the only one able to convince bitter men to serve once again.

Set after Tangled Webs and the Black Jewels Trilogy, The Shadow Queen connects the events and time of the stand-alone book The Invisible Ring with the later books. All I can say is WOW! This book kept me up two nights running. Frankly, I preferred it to Bishop's last book, Tangled Webs. It had the scope the previous book didn't. On the other hand, unlike the other books set in this world, there was no villain to contend with. Instead, it was a book of rebuilding, learning to trust and going on with life.

We learn a bit more aboute Jared and Lia and their fates, and many old favorite characters reappear: Luciavar, Daemon and Jaenelle, although they aren't the focus of the new book. This time the man character plotline is the rebuilding of Dena Nehele, the land that stood against Dorothea in The Invisible Ring. As a result, several of the viewpoint characters are descendants of Thera and Blaed, not to mention Jared and Lia.

It's rather nice for a change that not all of the characters are of the darker Jewels that are so prevalent in the original books, and we learn a bit more about the Landens and the roles of the various members of the court.

As with the other books by Anne Bishop, the sentences are often short and to the point, but sometimes that just adds to the effect of the story. At other times, it's a bit irritating. Still, it doesn't generally get in the way.

One thing about the entire series is that it tends to the explicit at times, and so, it's not appropriate for all readers. Overall, though it's a series I've enjoyed reading several times, and this latest book meets the standard set by the original books. Actually, I'd almost have to say that it doesn't just meet it, but it exceeds it. I'm already thinking of re-reading it soon.

Other reviews:
Rhinoa's Ramblings: The Shadow Queen

Blood Bound - Patricia Briggs

Blood Bound
Patricia Briggs
Ace Fantasy
Copyright: 2007
9780441014736

From the back of the book:

Under the rule of science, there are no witch burnings allowed, no water trials or public lynchings. In return the average law-abiding solid citizen has little to worry about from the things that go bump in the night. Sometimes I wish I was an average citizen...

Mechanic Mercy Thompson has friends in low places - and in dark ones. And now she owes one of them a favor. Since she can shapeshift at will, she agrees to act as some extra muscle when her vampire friend Stefan goes to deliver a message to another of his kind.

But this new vampire is hardly ordinary - and neither is the demon inside of him...

As with the previous book, Moon Called, Blood Bound has all of the staples of good urban fantasy, along with some new (to me, anyway) twists. I couldn't put the book down.

Just as there was in the first book, there's more to the bad guy of the story than there seems to be at first glance. Every time things seem to be solidly wrapped up, a new wrinkle gets added to keep the reader guessing.

I like that it's not all about the supernatural, that there is some of the ordinary as well, ranging from work at the mechanic's shop to interacting with kids (albeit often in animal form). The other books in this genre that I've read seem to be so tangled with the supernatural/paranormal that there's nothing unconncted.

Some threads, most notably the relationships that Mercy has with the two werewolves, Adam and Samuel, are picked up from the previous book, and, given the blurb for Iron Kissed, the sequel, I think they are going to remain for at least the next book, if not the one after that.

The books are short, but that doesn't get in the way. Rather than being too short, the Mercy Thompson series is 'just right'. They could stand to be longer, but the price fits with the length, and the font size is normal, unlike some of the shorter books I've seen lately.

One thing I'm finding is that, and this could simply be because I am too new to the series at the moment, I enjoy reading the books a lot, but I'm not falling into them in terms of my imagination. It doesn't get in the way of reading and enjoying the stories though.

I'm already reading the next book, Iron Kissed, and looking forward to finding out what's going to happen there.

The other books in this series/world so far are:
Moon Called
Blood Bound
Iron Kissed
Bone Crossed

Cry Wolf

Other Reviews:
Books and Other Thoughts: The Shapeshifting Mechanic Returns

Moon Called - Patricia Briggs

Moon Called
Patricia Briggs
Ace Fantasy
Copyright: 2006
9780441013814

From the back of the book:

Werewolves can be dangerous if you get in their way, but they'll leave you alone if you are careful. They are very good at hiding their natures from the human population, but I'm not human. I know them when I meet them, and they know me too.

Mercy Thompson's sexy next-door neighbor is a werewolf.

She's tinkering with a VW bus at her mechanic shop that happens to belong to a vampire.

But then, Mercedes Thompson is not exactly normal herself... and her connection to the world of things that go bump in the night is about to get her into a whole lot of trouble.

I loved this book as, even though it seems to have all of the staples of the urban fantasy world, it had some unique twists as well and it kept me guessing right to the last page. I'll admit that I'm not overly familiar with the type of book, only really having read a few of the authors, namely Laurell K. Hamilton, Sherrilyn Kenyon and Tanya Huff, but Patricia Briggs is an author I'm enjoying a lot.

In a way, this book reminded me of the early books in the Anita Blake series, where you have the mystery to be solved amid the paranormal, but Briggs has done something different. Where usually there are two extremes in the type, one where the paranormal is known about, and the other where they're trying everything to stay hidden, Briggs has taken the middle route. It's interesting to see the reactions to the news and the approaches the different groups are taking to the discovery of the supernatural as they are coming out of hiding, one at a time. Mercedes reminds me of Anita in her attitude and weapons skills, but not so much. However, I get the feeling that that is a staple of the genre.

At the time the book starts, only the Fae have come out, but the reader soon finds out about the other main groups: the werewolves and the vampires. Nobody has said if magic is openly known about such as that of witches.

Werewolves may be a secret to the general public, but it's soon made clear that there are select groups that know about them, and that adds tension to the story. Is it the government that's causing the problems, or is it somebody else. I was kept guessing until quite late in the book as to who exactly the villain was. And, even once the villain is discovered, the motivations aren't revealed until the very end.

The characters are vibrant and full of life, as is the descriptions Patricia Briggs has created, ranging from weather, to rooms to clothing. Not to mention the details of werewolf behavior she has put together. She's taken things a bit farther than Hamilton has, I think, but it only adds to the story, especially with Mercedes' interactions with the wolves.

I liked Moon Called a lot, and I'm already half way through the sequel, Blood Bound. I recommend this series to any reader of Hamilton or Huff's Blood Ties series.

The other books in this series/world so far are:
Moon Called
Blood Bound
Iron Kissed
Bone Crossed

Cry Wolf

Other reviews:
Ceridwen's Book Lounge - Moon Called by Patricia Briggs
Tomes of Eldritch Power - Moon Called by Patricia Briggs
Calico Reaction - Moon Called
Reader : Superhero Prose Fiction: Mercy Thompson - 1 Moon Called
Kill Anything That Giggles
Tales Of A Web Goddess - Moon Called - Patricia Briggs
Books And Other Thoughts: A Murder Mystery In A Dark Fantasy World

Black Powder War - Naomi Novik

Black Powder War
Naomi Novik
Ballantine Books
Copyright: 2006
9780345481306

From the back of the book:

After their fateful adventure in China, Capt. Will Laurence of His Majesty’s Aerial Corps and his extraordinary dragon, Temeraire, are waylaid by a mysterious envoy bearing urgent new orders from Britain. Three valuable dragon eggs have been purchased from the Ottoman Empire, and Laurence and Temeraire must detour to Istanbul to escort the precious cargo back to England. Time is of the essence if the eggs are to be borne home before hatching.

Yet disaster threatens the mission at every turn–thanks to the diabolical machinations of the Chinese dragon Lien, who blames Temeraire for her master’s death and vows to ally herself with Napoleon and take vengeance. Then, faced with shattering betrayal in an unexpected place, Laurence, Temeraire, and their squad must launch a daring offensive. But what chance do they have against the massed forces of Bonaparte’s implacable army?

Black Powder War is definitely a good sequel to Throne Of Jade, but this has become a series where you need to have read the previous books, starting with His Majesty's Dragon, in order to get all of the details, as this book starts almost immediately after the previous book ended.

With this third book in the Temeraire series, we return from China to the Napoleonic war in Europe. Along the way of the return, as this is mostly a traveling book, there are some fascinating descriptions of landscapes and cultures, along with some very ambiguous characters, such as the guide, Tharkay. Actually, I found his background, for all there are no details given, to be fascinating. Of course, I am rather partial to books set in Imperial India, such as The Far Pavilions and Shadows of the Moon, so that would catch my attention.

Naomi Novik has proven herself adept at writing scenes of desolation and abandonment. I could almost hear the wind whistling as I was reading this book, or feel the cold and thirst.

On the other hand, this was the most depressing of the Temeraire series so far. New enemies, betrayals, you name it. Nothing seemed to go right for the characters at all until almost the end of the book, and even then, it really is a matter of degree.

Temeraire himself is still fascinating, curious about everything around him, intelligent, determined (sometimes to the detriment and frustration of Will Laurence, which can be amusing as he tries to distract the dragon with little success).

Feral dragons have been mentioned time and again in the earlier books, but little is said about them. Now, in Black Powder War, we finally get to see a bit of what they are like, which is likely to have implications far beyond the ending of this book. At the same time, we learn more about dragons minds and emotions.

Unlike the first two books, the ending of Black Powder War doesn't really end the story as there are still a number of unresolved points, and the war is still going on. Both His Majesty's Dragon and Throne Of Jade, although they were part of series, had the feeling of an ending when I turned the last page. This one didn't, and the ending snippet only heightened that feeling. Instead of an excerpt from a book on dragons, this book ended with a letter from an English priest, which I suspect might have implications for the events (and Temeraire's hopes and plans) in the next book.

Overall, I really liked the book, and if you're a fantasy fan or simply like stories with dragons I have to recommend this series.

So far, the books in the series are:
His Majesty's Dragon
Throne Of Jade
Black Powder War
Empire Of Ivory
Victory Of Eagles

Other reviews of this book:
Strategist's Personal Library: Black Powder War by Naomi Novik
Cerebrate Contemplations: Throne Of Jade, Black Powder War, Empire Of Ivory

Throne Of Jade - Naomi Novik

Throne Of Jade
Naomi Novik
Ballantine Books
Copyright: 2006
9780345481290

From the back of the book:

When Britain intercepted a French ship and its precious cargo - an unhatched Dragon's Eg - Capt. Will Laurence of HMS Reliant unexpectedly became master and commander of the noble dragon Temeraire. As new recruits in Britain's Aerial Corps, man and drgon soon proved their mettle in daring combat against Bonaparte's invading forces.

Now China has discovered that its rare gift, intended for Napoleon, has fallen into British hands - and an angry Chinese delegation vows to reclaim the remarkable beast. But Laurence refuses to cooperate. Facing the gallows for his defiance, Laurence has no choice but to accompany Temeraire back to the Far East - a long voyage fraught with peril, intrigue, and the untold terrors of the deep. Yet once the pair reaches the court of the Chinese emperor, even more shocking discoveries and darker dangers await.

As with the last book in the series, His Majesty's Dragon, I found that I couldn't put this book down. I started it in the evening, and had the book half finished before bed, finishing the book yesterday afternoon.

Temeraire and the Chinese dragons in this book remind me of the two dragons in Mercedes Lackey's book One Good Knight from the Five Hundred Kingdoms series. Temeraire has, through the course of the book, learned to read and write, although in Chinese. However, I expect he's also either learned, or is going to learn, to do the same in English.

Will Laurence's attitudes certainly have changed throughout the previous book, too. Clearly it's not just duty that holds him to Temeraire by now, but also affection. Still, his honor and attention to duty continues to get him into situations, just as it did in the first book. He wouldn't be as interesting a character without it though.

The differences in attitudes towards dragons in the British and other western countries and in China is one of the main focuses of the book, and it clearly sets up one of the threads of the plot for the books that come after. It should be interesting to see how Temeraire reacts on his return to Britain (not a spoiler, I should hope, given that there are three more books already out after this one), having been exposed to the differences.

Throne of Jade isn't strictly an adventure/war story the way His Majesty's Dragon is, there is also somewhat of a mystery going on, which adds to the tension, and the complexity of the plot. Not to mention the politics and maneuverings of the various characters. Capt. Laurence's attitudes to politicians seem to be well justified given some of the other characters in Throne of Jade.

As with the previous book, at the end of this one, there is an excerpt from Edward Howe's (the expert whom Will Laurence has consulted a couple of times concerning Temeraire) works on dragons, this time focusing on the abilities of the Eastern dragons. These extracts add to the story without slowing it down I find, and being tucked away at the end, it means that anyone disagreeing can easily skip over them without missing much.

I should have noted this in the review for His Majesty's Dragon, but so far anyway, the series is equally friendly to older readers of the young adult section as it is to adult readers. It's books like this that make me consider the fantasy section of the bookstore a good stepping stone from the Teen section.

Anyway, I'm now half-way through Black Powder War and enjoying it nearly as much.

So far, the books in the series are:
His Majesty's Dragon
Throne Of Jade
Black Powder War
Empire Of Ivory
Victory Of Eagles

Other reviews of this book:
Mikko Reads: Naomi Novik: Throne Of Jade
No Middle Name: Throne Of Jade
Strategist's Personal Library: Throne Of Jade by Naomi Novik
Medieval Bookworm: Throne of Jade

His Majesty's Dragon - Naomi Novik

His Majesty's Dragon
Naomi Novik
Ballantine Books
Copyright: 2006
9780345481283

From the back of the book:

Aerial combat brings a thrilling new dimension to the Napoleonic Wars as valiant warriors rise to Britain's defense by taking to the skies...not aboard aircraft but atop the mighty backs of fighting dragons.

When HMS Reliant captures a French frigate and seizes its precious cargo, an unhatched dragon egg, fate sweeps Capt. Will Laurence from his seafaring life into an uncertain future - and an unexpected kinship with a most extraordinary creature. Thrust into the rarefied world of the Aerial Corps as master of the dragon Termeraire, he will face a crash course in the daring tactics of airborne battle. For as France's own dragon-borne forces rally to breach British soil in Bonaparte's boldest gambit, Laurence and Temeraire must soar into their own baptism of fire.

This is an incredible book. I started reading it two days ago, intending to only read the first chapter before I went to bed. One chapter ended up being the first third of the book. Same thing last night as well, letting me finish the book this evening. His Majesty's Dragon is rather a quick read (at least in comparison with the books I've been reading recently), but that doesn't impair the story in the slightest.

Dragons are a popular (and long lasting) theme in fantasy, fiction and myth, ranging from the dragon in Beowulf to Tolkien's Smaug, to more recent stories such as the Pern books and the Aerie series by Mercedes Lackey. On first thought, when I glanced at the series I thought it would be something like the last of the above list, but I was completely wrong. It reminded me more of the part of the one Patrick O'Brien book I read last summer. I think it's set at about the same time so the similarity is not unexpected.

Where I found the former book to be jargon-heavy to the point where it interfered in the story for me, that was certainly not the case here. This is an original concept and well done. The fighting, for all it's done in the air, seems to resemble more the naval action of the period (although I'm no expert in the subject), and makes sense with the way the dragons are described.

For once, the hero character isn't a teen or one new-come to adult-hood, he's an older man swept from a desired and stable career into something completely new, making this a change from so many contemporary fantasy stories, and the maturity of the characters makes for variety.

Although the dragons reminded me, at least at first, of the Pern books, I soon found them to be completely different, able to speak aloud, for one thing. Although this seems to be a common dragon-trait in fantasy, I've only seen it in the evil dragons such as Glaurung, Smaug and Maur (from The Hero And The Crown, by Robin McKinley). It was also different to see the way the dragons had such different capabilities from each other, breed to breed and individually.

His Majesty's Dragon may be the first in the series, but the plot isn't left trailing off for the next book to resolve, although as I'm finding, there is plenty of story to be picked up in Throne Of Jade from the hints in this book.

Before I finished reading the book, I was wishing the author had included more of the information and history of the dragons, but there is a big chunk at the end of the book, in the form of excerpts from existing books (in the world of Temeraire) on the breeding and character of the dragons.

In terms of the story, there's a bit of everything, from battle, to society, to politics and beyond. The pacing seems to be well done, and this is a book where all the positive hype on LibraryThing and elsewhere seems to be correct.

So far, the books in the series are:
His Majesty's Dragon
Throne Of Jade
Black Powder War
Empire Of Ivory
Victory Of Eagles

Other reviews can be found at:
Books And Other Thoughts:The Extraordinary Temeraire
Libritouches: His Majesty's Dragon: Temeraire
Naomi Novik: Temeraire / His Majesty's Dragon
Strategist's Personal Library: His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novak
Cerebrate's Contemplations: His Majesty's Dragon
Confessions of a Bibliovore
Outside of a Dog: Kate Nepveu's Book Log: His Majesty's Dragon
Tamaranth's Non-Ephemera: Temeraire
ReadingAdventures: Temeraire (His Majesty's Dragon) by Naomi Novik

A Meeting At Corvallis - S. M. Stirling

A Meeting At Corvallis
S. M. Stirling
Roc
Copyright: 2006
9780451461667

From the back of the book:

In the tenth year of the Change, the survivors in western Oregon live in a world without technology. Michael Havel's Bearkillers hold the lands west of Salem in peace and order. To the east, the Clan Mackenzie flourishes under the leadership of Juniper Mackenzie, bard and High Priestess.

Together they have held Norman Arminger - the warlord of Portland - at bay. With his dark fantasies of a neofeudal empire, Arminger rules much of the Pacific Northwest, spreading fear with his knights, castles and holy inquisition. Even more dangerous, and perhaps Arminger's most powerful weapon of all, is his ruthlessly cunning consort, Lady Sandra.

These factions haven't met in battle because Arminger's daughter has fallen into Clan Mackenzie's hands. But Lady Sandra has a plan to retriever her - even if it means plunging the entire region into open warfare....

One of the reviews on the back of the book calls A Meeting At Corvallis "a rousing finale to a strong trilogy" (Alternative Worlds) and although there are now two more books in the series, The Sunrise Lands, and Scourge Of God, there is definitely a sense that this book is the ending of one phase of the story. Where this book picks up almost immediately after the end of The Protector's War, I suspect that there will be a gap of several years before The Sunrise Lands starts.

The research Stirling has done for this book and series is impressive: medieval history and warfare, different weapons and the like, but also the Society for Creative Anacronism terminology and Sindarin. The books and authors mentioned in this series are, to the best of my knowledge, also all existing ones. That is just one example of the levels of detail Stirling has included, which I've enjoyed greatly. The author has included not just sights and sounds in his descriptions, but touch, taste and scent as well.

As with The Protector's War, Stirling has made mention of real, living people and people who only died recently as well. In this book it was Pope John Paul II and Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict (I think), as well as Prince Charles. I'm not exactly sure how I feel about authors doing that. I don't know how frequently it happens, but I don't think I've seen any other authors doing so.

I've enjoyed reading the series to this point, and I'm looking forward to starting The Sunrise Lands, but I think I'm going to take a bit of a break first. A Meeting At Corvallis was over six hundred dense pages, and took the better part of the last several weeks to read. Some of the other books on my Unread Books List are calling my name, such as His Majesty's Dragon and Moon Called.

The Change series is (so far):
Dies The Fire
The Protector's War
A Meeting At Corvallis
The Sunrise Lands
Scourge Of God

A series of series

These are most of the series that I'm following (some more avidly than others I'll admit).

Mercedes Lackey:
Valdemar:
The Mage Wars
Black Gryphon
White Gryphon
Silver Gryphon

The Last Herald Mage
Magic's Pawn
Magic's Promise
Magic's Price

The Collegium Chronicles
Foundation
Intrigues
Changes

Brightly Burning

Vows and Honor
Oathbound
Oathbreaker
Oathblood

By The Sword

Exile's Honor
Exile's Valor

Take A Thief

Heralds of Valdemar
Arrows of the Queen
Arrow's Flight
Arrow's Fall

The Mage Winds
Winds of Fate
Winds of Change
Winds of Fury

The Mage Storms
Storm Warning
Storm Rising
Storm Breaking

Darian
Owlsight
Owlflight
Owlknight

Anthologies
Sword of Ice
Sun In Glory
Crossroads
Moving Targets
Changing The World

Five Hundred Kingdoms
The Fairy Godmother
One Good Knight
Fortune's Fool
The Snow Queen
The Sleeping Beauty 
Beauty and the Werewolf

The Elemental Masters
The Fire Rose
The Serpent's Shadow
The Gates of Sleep
Phoenix And Ashes
Reserved For The Cat
The Wizard of London

The Dragon Jousters
Joust
Alta
Sanctuary
Aerie

Laurell K. Hamilton
Anita Blake
Guilty Pleasures
The Laughing Corpse
Circus of the Damned
The Lunatic Cafe
Bloody Bones
The Killing Dance
Burnt Offerings
Blue Moon
Obsidian Butterfly
Narcissus in Chains
Cerulean Sins
Incubus Dreams
Micah
Danse Macabre
The Harlequin
Blood Noir
Skin Trade
Flirt
Bullet

Merry Gentry
A Kiss of Shadows
A Caress of Twilight
Seduced by Moonlight
A Stroke of Midnight
Mistral's Kiss
A Lick of Frost
Swallowing Darkness
Divine Misdemeanors

Sherrilyn Kenyon (Not including various short stories in different anthologies)
Fantasy Lover
Night Pleasures
Night Embrace
Dance with the Devil
Kiss of the Night
Night Play
Seize the Night
Sins of the Night
Unleash the Night
Dark Side of the Moon
Fear the Darkness, free e-book
The Dream-Hunter
Devil May Cry
Upon the Midnight Clear
Dream Chaser
Acheron
One Silent Night
Dream Warrior
Bad Moon Rising

Katherine Kurtz and Deborah Turner Harris
The Adept Series (completed)
The Adept
The Adept: Lodge of the Lynx
The Adept: The Templar Treasure
Dagger Magic
Death of the Adept

Diana Gabaldon
Outlander
Dragonfly In Amber
Voyageur
Drums of Autumn
The Fiery Cross
Breath of Snow And Ashes
An Echo In The Bone

Tanya Huff
Blood Ties One
Blood Ties Two
Blood Ties Three

Tamora Pierce
The Immortals
Wild Magic
Wolfspeaker
Emperor Mage
The Realm Of The Gods

Protector of the Small
The First Test
Page
Squire
Lady Knight

Trickster's Choice
Trickster's Queen

Becka Cooper
Terrier
Bloodhound

S. M. Stirling
The Change
Dies The Fire
The Protector's War
A Meeting At Corvallis
The Sunrise Lands
Scourge Of God
Sword Of The Lady

The Nantucket Trilogy
Island In The Sea Of Time
Against The Tide Of Years
On The Ocean Of Eternity

Marion Zimmer Bradley
Darkover (Out of reading order, I'll admit)
Darkover Landfall
Two To Conquer
The Bloody Sun
The Winds of Darkover
Star Of Danger
The Spell Sword
The Forbidden Tower
The Shattered Chain
Thendara House
City Of Sorcery
Stormqueen!
Hawkmistress!
The Heritage Of Hastur
Sharra's Exile
The Fall of Neskaya (With Deborah J. Ross)
Zandru's Forge (With Debroah J. Ross)
A Flame In Hali (With Deborah J. Ross)
Exile's Song
The Shadow Matrix
Traitor's Sun
The Alton Gift (With Deborah J. Ross)
The Hastur Lord (With Deborah J. Ross)

David Weber
Honor Harrington
On Basilisk Station
The Honor Of The Queen
The Short Victorious War
Field Of Dishonor
Flag In Exile
Honor Among Enemies
In Enemy Hands
Echoes Of Honor
Ashes Of Victory
War Of Honor
At All Costs

A Beautiful Friendship

Anthologies
More Than Honor
Worlds Of Honor
Changer Of Worlds
The Service Of The Sword
In Fire Forged

Honorverse
Crown of Slaves (With Eric Flint)
The Shadow Of Saganami
Storm From The Shadows
Torch Of Freedom (With Eric Flint)

Safehold
Off Armageddon Reef
By Schism Rent Asunder
By Heresies Distressed

Naomi Novik
Temeraire
His Majesty's Dragon
Throne Of Jade
Black Powder War
Empire Of Ivory
Victory Of Eagles

Anne Bishop
The Black Jewels
The Invisible Ring
Daughter Of The Blood
Heir To The Shadows
Queen Of The Darkness
Dreams Made Flesh
Tangled Webs
The Shadow Queen
Shalador's Lady 
Twilight's Dawn

Patricia Briggs
Mercy Thompson
Moon Called
Blood Bound
Iron Kissed
Bone Crossed
Silver Borne 
River Marked

Alpha And Omega
Cry Wolf
Hunting Ground

J.R. Ward
The Black Dagger Brotherhood
Dark Lover
Lover Eternal
Lover Awakened
Lover Revealed
Lover Unbound
Lover Enshrined
Lover Avenged
Lover Mine 
Lover Unleashed

Anna Elliott
The Avalon Trilogy
Twilight of Avalon
Dark Moon Of Avalon
Sunrise Of Avalon

Upon The Midnight Clear - Sherrilyn Kenyon

Upon The Midnight Clear
Sherrilyn Kenyon
St. Martin's Press
Copyright: 2007
9780312947057

From the back of the book:

Ever think Scrooge had it right before the ghosts ruined his life? Meet Aidan O'Conner.

At one time he was a world-renowned celebrity who gave freely of himself and his money without wanting anything in return...until those around him took without asking. Now Aidan wants nothing to do with the world - or anyone who's a part of it.

When a stranger appears on his doorstep, Aidan knows he's seen her before...in his dreams.

Born on Olympus as a goddess, Leta knows nothing of the human world. But a ruthless enemy has driven her from the world of dreams and into the home of the only man who can help her: Aidan. Her immortal powers are derived from human emotions - and his anger is just the fuel she needs to defend herself...

One cold winter's night will change their lives forever...

Trapped together in a brutal winter storm, Aidan and Leta must turn to the only power capable of saving them - or destroying them both: trust.

This is one of the two Dark-Hunter books so far that especially irritates me, thought I still like the story a lot. The other is Dark Side of the Moon. The reason for this one has nothing to do with the story though. It's more that I feel cheated: $8.99 for a book I can easily read in three hours or less. I know I'm a fast reader, but still... In this case the font is about twice normal size (I think to expand the book and make it look like more).

Upon the Midnight Clear is more or less the book version of the Christmas episode of so many T.V. shows: Short, set at Christmas and full of fun.

This is also a bit of a different story as the woman isn't a mere human as compared to the male Dark-Hunter, Were-Hunter and the other Dream-Hunter heroes. Instead the story is somewhat reversed, with a human male and a goddess of a woman/heroine. Also, there are none of the other familiar characters in even a walk on role in this book.

The pattern for the story is typical of the Dark-Hunter series/romance.

I did like the short stories in the back of the book a lot though. All three of them are Christmas stories with the old familiar characters: Nick, Fang, Fury and the like. Also Stryker, Acheron and Simi.

Dream Warrior - Sherrilyn Kenyon

Dream Warrior
Sherrilyn Kenyon
St. Martin's Press
Copyright: 2009
9780312938833

From the back of the book:

We are the Dolophoni. Diligent. Vigilant. Fierce and inescapable. Servants of the Furies, we are the right hand of justice and no one stands before us...

The son of Warcraft and Hate, Cratus spent eternity battling for the ancient gods who birthed him. He was death to any who crossed him. Until the day he laid down his arms and walked into self-imposed exile. Now an ancient enemy has been unleashed and our dreams are his chosen battlefield. The only hope we have is the one god who swears he will never fight again.

Dream Warrior

As a Dream-Hunter, Delphine has spent eternity protecting mankind from the predators who prey on our unconscious state. But now that her allies have been turned, she knows that in order to survive, the Dream-Hunters need a new leader. Someone who can train them to fight their new enemies. Cratus is her only hope. But she is a bitter reminder of why he chose to lay down his arms.

Time is running out and if she can't win him to her cause, mankind will be slaughtered and the world we know will soon cease to exist.

Dream Warrior, the latest of the Sherrilyn Kenyon novels and the sequel to One Silent Night is the most recent book set in the Dark-Hunter world. It is also the third in what I'm calling the 'new' series, where the events of the previous books play a serious role in the current one. Previously (up to about Acheron), it was easily possible to read the books in any order and not get too confused. Now, half of the characters have been introduced in previous books and the events certainly have been. I'm starting to feel like I need a chart of who's who for the characters, both good and evil.

I enjoyed the read, even though it was over a bit sooner than I'd have liked: the font size in Sherrilyn Kenyon's latest two has been a bit larger than normal, although not as bad as in Upon The Midnight Clear, which is more like a large-print book. I'm also waiting for the next book as, other than the obligatory happy ending, none of the issues raised in this book were resolved. Certainly not the victory against the current evil!

Nick, the Squire turned Dark-Hunter back in the earliest books is starting to reappear in the most recent couple of books, which is neat. Now, if only we'd get some updates on how the other characters from the early books, such as Fang and family are doing. There've been some hints in the early books that there's quite a story there, and I for one am waiting to read it. For now, though it seems as though Kenyon's focus has shifted from the Dark-Hunters and the Were-Hunters to the Dream-Hunters.

One thing I've got to say about this world is it's always growing. Each book opens some new aspect for our reading pleasure (and most of the time it is a reading pleasure with this series). It's interesting to see the characters of the Greek pantheon as they were characterized in myth in the modern day. They certainly don't seem to have changed much!

Honestly, I can't wait for the next book in the series, and this seems to be a series that isn't going to be ending soon. There's always another character Kenyon can focus on and come up with a new story. Sure the characters follow a particular pattern, but this is a romance series after all. It doesn't get in the way of the story.

The Protector's War - S. M. Stirling

The Protector's War
S. M. Stirling
ROC
Copyright: 2006
9780451460776

According to the back of the book:

It's been eight years since the Change rendered technology inoperable across the globe. Rising from the ashes fo the computer and industrial ages is a brave new world. Survivors have banded together in tribal communities, committed to rebuilding society. In Oregon's Willamette Valley, former pilot Michael Havel's Bearkillers are warriors of renown. Their closest ally, the mystical Clan Mackenzie, is lead by Wiccan folksinger Juniper Makenzie. Their leadership has saved countless lives.

But not every leader has altruistic aspirations. Norman Arminger, medieval scholar, rules the Protectorate. He has enslaved civilians, built an army, and spread his forces from Portland through most of western Washington State. Now he wants the Willamette Valley farmland, and he's willing to wage war to conquer it.

And unknown to both factions is the imminent arrival of a ship from Tasmania bearing British soldiers...

Some of my recollections on this book are a bit sketchy, as I put it down in the middle for a couple of weeks while I finished reading the Adept series. However, I did enjoy reading it a lot none the less. I still wouldn't exactly class this series as science fiction, either, even less so now than in the first book. It's kind of heading towards fantasy instead.

The Protector's War is the second of five books in this series (so far). The first was Dies The Fire, and the next book is A Meeting At Corvallis, followed by The Sunrise Lands and The Scourge of God (currently still in hardcover only). Some people say that the three books: Island In The Sea Of Time, Against The Tide Of Years, and On The Oceans Of Eternity are also part of this world. Not having read them yet, I can't say either way.

The jump from the end of Dies The Fire, the first book in this series to this one was probably a good idea, but I'd have liked to know more about how they made out in those first couple of years, for example the first winter, watching the survivors among Havel's people and the Mackenizies rediscover the ancient crafts.

I can't think of another novel in which real people alive today play a role, but the British Prince Charles is a figure lurking in the background of The Protector's War, although we never actually see him. I'm not too sure I'm comfortable with that, partly because it's not a very favorable portrayal.

Not all of the issues from this book or the previous one are resolved by the end, leaving plenty for A Meeting At Corvallis, not to mention all of the new problems that can be brought up in that one and the next ones after that.

There's still the familiarity with Tolkien and other fantasy novels running through this book. I like that, being a Tolkien fan myself. On the other hand, the number of signed first edition copies of The Lord of the Rings wandering around in the world is a bit much. In fact, that was my reaction when the first set was brought out in Dies The Fire. The set described was just a bit too perfect, if you know what I mean.

Reading this book made me even more certain that this is a world that I probably wouldn't have survived long in. Perhaps now that things are improving, but I wouldn't have made it long enough to get to that point.

If you like books by Turtledove or any other alternate historian, I'd recommend giving these books a try.