Breaking the Devil’s Heart by H.A. Goodman

Posted by melydia on August 14, 2012 No comment

Breaking The Devil’s Heart by H.A. Goodman: When you die, the very good people become angels and the very bad people become demons, but if you’re just mostly good you may be given the option of becoming an Observer. Contrary to their title, Observers are more like hands-on angels in the battle between good and evil. Stewart and Layla are two such Observers, on a mission to discover the secret behind the Formula, some sort of evil-making product demons peddle to conflicted humans. After touring parts of both heaven and hell and receiving rather puzzling answers to their queries, Stewart and Layla come upon what may be the answer they seek. And you know, I really enjoyed the story up to this point (save the intensely gooey relationship between Stewart and Layla, which often left me gagging). I love heaven versus hell stories in general, I like the concept of Observers, and the role of Time/Fate was intriguing as well. But then there was this strange twist ending. I really did not understand what happened. I’m willing to accept that maybe I just missed something obvious, because the lead-up was pretty good. Either way, I’ll be curious to see what else Goodman cooks up for this universe. It certainly has a lot of potential.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

ATC Sunday

Posted by melydia on August 12, 2012 1 comment


“Postage Due”

Hey Canada! by Vivian Bowers and Milan Pavlovic

Posted by melydia on August 10, 2012 No comment

Hey Canada! by Vivian Bowers and Milan Pavlovic: Alice, Cal, and Gran are taking a road trip across Canada, visiting every province. Their journey is documented primarily by Alice (“reporting from the backseat”) with tweets, poems, and other interjections from Cal and Gran interspersed. I loved the often subtle humor (especially Gran’s selective deafness) and I found the brief overview of each province both informative and enticing. Aside from a quick trip to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls almost two decades ago, I’ve never visited our northern neighbors, and this book made me want to. I don’t know how much a Canadian child would get out of this text, but this ignorant American thought it was just delightful.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

The Best of Shrdlu by Denys Parsons

Posted by melydia on August 7, 2012 No comment

The Best of Shrdlu by Denys Parsons: Though I thought this was going to be a book about unfortunate typographical errors, it’s more than that. These are excerpts from books, magazines, and even short stories where the author’s intended meaning has somehow gone awry, whether due to misprint, mixed metaphors, unfortunate word choice, or subject matter. That last took me a while to get, because there are indeed a number of stories that appear to be exactly as printed, and are just so unusual as to be amusing. I will admit that I did not find the humor in all of them, and at times I was frankly puzzled before deciding to write it off to some unintentional double entendre that only makes sense if you’re familiar with the most obscure British slang. All the same, it was good for the occasional giggle.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

ATC Sunday

Posted by melydia on August 5, 2012 1 comment

In the Company of the Courtesan by Sarah Dunant

Posted by melydia on August 3, 2012 No comment

In the Company of the Courtesan by Sarah Dunant (unabridged audiobook read by Stephen Hoye; 14 hrs on 12 discs): Our story begins with the 1527 sack of Rome, and famous courtesan Fiammetta Bianchini is readying her household for the soldiers’ arrival. She and her dwarf companion Bucino, who narrates this tale, flee to Venice to start their lives over again. The description pulls no punches, as it were, laying it all bare without nary a euphemism in sight. But it’s not just crudeness and filth that is described this way, but great beauty and purity is as well. All in all, a sumptuous presentation of Renaissance Italy as told through the eyes of a cranky dwarf. I wish there had been more plot – I would have liked to know more about what happened to the Jew and the Turk, for example, and that more ends had been tied up by the end – but I suppose that isn’t always possible with first-person narration, and the looseness of the story did make it feel more realistic. I especially appreciated the historical notes at the end, explaining which characters were based on real people and where things deviated from fact. It appears there’s nearly as much history as fiction in this historical novel. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for more by Dunant.

A note on the audio: Hoye was just okay. He didn’t really do any distinct character voices, which is fine, but he also didn’t pause enough between speakers so sometimes dialogue ran together and I lost track of who was speaking. And while I roll my eyes at people who insist on British accents for any English-language film not taking place in America, this book probably would have sounded better read by an Englishman. It seems to have been written with that cadence in mind.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

Posted by melydia on July 31, 2012 No comment

The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson (unabridged audiobook read by Simon Vance; 18.5 hrs on 15 discs): Oh Lisbeth, how I’ve missed you. This second installment of the Millennium Trilogy finds two of Mikael Blomkvist’s friends murdered and Lisbeth’s fingerprints on the gun. Thus begins a complicated story of Lisbeth’s past, prostitution, and Swedish government secrets. Meanwhile, we’re introduced to the various people Lisbeth has touched and who line up to be in her corner during this her darkest hour. When I think of “strong female characters” I don’t think about Buffy the Vampire Slayer; I think of people like Lisbeth. She’s fascinating and flawed and wonderful to read about. I doubt she’d be all that impressed with me were we to meet, but I’ve enjoyed witnessing her adventures so far. In fact, the very last couple lines of the book had me laughing with joy. Can’t wait to read the third book, but part of me is a little reluctant because I don’t want to say goodbye.

A note on the audio: Something about Vance’s voice makes me picture Liam Neeson as Mikael Blomkvist, as opposed to Daniel Craig. Also, I sometime confuse Daniel Craig with Christopher Eccleston. My brain does not work.

ATC Sunday

Posted by melydia on July 29, 2012 1 comment

Snarfari Map Tutorial

Posted by melydia on July 27, 2012 No comment

I have become moderately famous among my fellow Markeroons for my snarf maps. So for their (and your) edification and entertainment, I have created a complete, step-by-step tutorial of how I make them. This is very probably not the smartest/fastest/bestest way of doing things, but it’s the way I do them, and that’s really all I know. Click here for the tutorial and happy snarfing!

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

Posted by melydia on July 24, 2012 3 comments

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (unabridged audiobook read by Roy Dotrice; 33.5 hrs on 28 discs): Eleventy-billion characters and the only truly interesting one is the dwarf. Sure, there were a few decently intertwined stories, but I really only paid attention when it was focused on Tyrion Lannister. His cynicism was refreshing amidst all the obsession over who gets to be king next. I liked this book far more than I’d expected, given that I tend not to favor political intrigue of any genre, but I don’t feel any particular desire to read more of the series.

A note on the audio: Dotrice’s voice is rather…um…moist. It was more noticeable with some voices than others, and at times I felt like I was listening to a grandfather with loose dentures. It didn’t help that I was listening to this book on headphones rather than in my car, where that sort of sound would probably be lost in the background. It wasn’t a problem most of the time, but it made certain words (like “breasts”) pretty jarring.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

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