Tag Archives: books

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Posted by melydia on February 1, 2013 None comments

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld (unabridged audiobook read by Alan Cumming; 8.5 hrs on 7 discs): What we know as World War I is about to begin, but in this world the two factions are the Clankers and the Darwinists. The Clankers have huge mechanical contraptions, sort of a steampunk AT-AT. The Darwinist’s giant war machines are actually carefully designed animals created through grafting genes. Alek is the son of the recently assassinated Archduke Ferdinand, now on the run from his own allies; Deryn is a Scottish girl pretending to be a boy so she can join the military. It’s a fun story, but unquestionably part of a series – the ending leads into the next stage of the plot, leaving you wishing for just one more chapter. I’m so glad I’m reading it now, after the whole trilogy has been released, so I don’t have to wait. I also appreciated the “this is real and this is made up” afterword. Definitely recommended if you like steampunk or WWI alternate history.

A note on the audio: Alan Cumming is fantastic. No, seriously, amazing. To the point where I want to watch every movie he’s ever used an accent in ever.

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Posted by melydia on January 29, 2013 None comments

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (unabridged audiobook read by Jesse Bernstein; 10 hrs on 8 discs): 12-year-old Percy Jackson is a troubled child. He has dyslexia and ADHD, and he’s been kicked out of six schools in six years. To make matters worse, one day during a field trip his math teacher turns into a horrible beast. It turns out Percy is a half-blood, that is, his mother is mortal and his father is a Greek god. I had a great time picking up on all the various mythological references. Though it’s a modern update – Olympus is no longer in Greece, for example – it’s still a pretty good introduction to these old stories. It is, however, definitely a children’s book. Percy meets a monster every single chapter, and much of the plot is moved forward by people withholding extremely important information for no particular reason. I don’t know if I’ll read the rest of the series, but I imagine I would have devoured these books had they been around when I was 12. I was obsessed with mythology at that age.

A note on the audio: Bernstein was fine for all the children, but for some reason all the adults – especially the gods – spoke extra slowly. It was kind of annoying, but not a huge deal. Not enough to keep me from listening on.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Eighty Days by Matthew Goodman

Posted by melydia on January 25, 2013 None comments

Eighty Days by Matthew Goodman: In November of 1889, World journalist Nellie Bly set off for a trip around the world with the intent of beating Jules Verne’s fictional record of eighty days. On the same day, The Cosmopolitan journalist Elizabeth Bisland set off in the opposite direction, and the race was on. I find this to be a fascinating period in American history to begin with, but even more compelling were the stark differences between Bisland and Bly, one a genteel Southerner and the other a born urbanite. Their reactions to their foreign surroundings covered the ends of the spectrum of popular opinion. I especially appreciated the sheer thoroughness of the narrative: this book also covered Bly’s exposure of a local asylum by getting herself committed undercover, Joseph Pulitzer’s strange quirks, and the working conditions aboard the steamships of the time, among other things. This is truly nonfiction that reads like fiction, and I simply loved it. Definitely recommended.

A note on this edition: I read an advance reader’s copy, which is an uncorrected proof. Most of the time these books are nearly identical to the final publication, but in this case there were a number of placeholder images and the index was completely blank. I’ll have to pick up a copy when it’s released to see what that map of Ceylon at the beginning of every chapter is really supposed to be.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

The Darlings by Cristina Alger

Posted by melydia on January 22, 2013 None comments

The Darlings by Cristina Alger: This is the story of financial royalty, of insanely wealthy families made up entirely of lawyers, investors, bankers, and their quasi-philanthropic spouses. When a family friend of the Darlings commits suicide, all sorts of dirty laundry is unearthed, turning everyone’s world on its head. This was a fascinating introduction to a world completely foreign to me. I found Merrill and Paul quite sympathetic, and while the ending fell flat, the rest of it was a good time. My only real complaint was how much difficulty I had keeping track of all the characters. I could have used an extra sentence or two at the beginning of each chapter to remind me how this person relates to the other people. But it was a decent piece of fiction all the same.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

Posted by melydia on January 18, 2013 None comments

City of Glass by Cassandra Clare (unabridged audiobook read by Natalie Moore; 15 hrs on 13 discs): Most of this tale takes place in Idris, which is a nice change of scenery. Otherwise it’s more or less more of the same: Valentine is evil, Jace and Clary are conflicted, Simon is awesome. I did have a couple of “noooo don’t die” moments, even during those times when I knew that particular character could never in a million years get killed off, so that was refreshing. All in all, I really enjoyed this world and these characters. I know there are more books in this series, but this ended in a satisfying place.

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

Posted by melydia on January 15, 2013 None comments

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare (unabridged audiobook read by Natalie Moore; 13 hrs on 11 discs): It’s difficult to give a synopsis of this second book of the Mortal Instruments series without completely giving away the first one, but suffice it to say that Clary remains conflicted about Simon and Jace, Magnus remains fabulous, adults still are generally not to be trusted (gah the Inquisitor made me so angry), and Valentine continues to be awful. The plot is once again very easy to follow and predict, but like the first book, I enjoyed the world and its characters enough that I had a marvelous time all the same. Looking forward to the third installment. I understand the series began as a trilogy, so it should have a good solid ending.

A note on the audio: I have no idea why they changed narrators, but it’s not too jarring, as Moore’s voice and inflection are actually pretty similar to Graynor’s. I imagine they switched because Graynor is a Hollywood actress and had other commitments. That’s fine. Moore is quite good, and in fact I prefer her version of Magnus.

Servant of the Jackal God by Keith Taylor

Posted by melydia on January 11, 2013 None comments

Servant of the Jackal God by Keith Taylor: A collection of interconnected short stories about Kamose, archpriest of the Egyptian funerary god Anubis. They more or less follow Kamose’s attempts to discover who tried to frame him in the first story, but if he solves the mystery I missed it. All the same, the stories are interesting and a nice blend of Egyptian history and mythology. My favorite stories involved Si-hotep. His tales strayed a little bit from the main story arc, but the creatures and magic involved were great. If you love ancient Egypt, this is probably a good book for you.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Godspeed by Dan Chabot

Posted by melydia on January 8, 2013 None comments

Godspeed by Dan Chabot: The structure of this novel is quite unusual: most of it is the unbelievably saccharine tale of Derry and Amedee’s storybook romance, interspersed with the occasional chapter describing the funeral of some random person. The plot shows up about halfway through, adding quite a bit of interest to the characters’ journeys. This reads a bit like the author took a bunch of anecdotes about real people, embellished them a little bit, and strung them together into a story. There’s no villain or even much conflict to speak of, but the characters are reasonably memorable and the funeral bit is an interesting touch. If you’re in the mood for a quiet, pleasant read that won’t bring you down, give this a try. If you’re looking for a piece of hard-boiled drama, look elsewhere.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

The Laughing Corpse by Laurell K. Hamilton

Posted by melydia on January 4, 2013 None comments

The Laughing Corpse by Laurell K. Hamilton (unabridged audiobook read by Kimberly Alexis; 10 hrs on 8 discs): In this second installment of the adventures of Anita Blake, she spends much of her time not wanting to know things. To be fair, there’s a child-killing zombie on the loose, she’s gotten on the bad side of a powerful voodoo priestess, and the master vampire of the city insists that she be his human servant. So there’s a lot on her plate. Luckily, she’s always ready with a clever comment or snide remark. The ending introduces some darker themes, leading me to believe perhaps the series takes a turn for the serious after this, but this particular story was still a lot of fun. Brutally violent at times, but still a fun bit of horror-comedy.

A note on the audio: My husband happened to listen to an hour or two of this and was mightily entertained. He said that Alexis’s voice made it sound like a film noir, and he often laughed aloud at some of the offhand comments Anita makes. I think he felt bad until I assured him that it’s supposed to be funny.

Jenny Kidd by Laury A. Egan

Posted by melydia on January 1, 2013 None comments

Jenny Kidd by Laury A. Egan: American artist Jenny Kidd travels to Venice to pursue painting and escape her tyrannical parents. Shortly after arriving she meets eccentric Britishwoman Randi, who invites her to a masked party at the home of the Barbons. There she meets the alluring Caterina and her brother Sebastiano. Jenny spends much of her time in various kinds of confusion, unsure who she loves and who she can trust. The descriptions of paintings and the Venetian scenery are lovely, and while the amount of sex is somewhat surprising to a prude like myself, it doesn’t detract from the story. I finished this far more quickly than I was expecting, having no problem convincing myself to read “just one more chapter” before turning out the light. Perhaps not everyone’s cup of tea, but I enjoyed myself.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

P.S. – Happy New Year! :D

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