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melita66Oy. Well, I'm finishing about a book a month. I guess kids'll do that to you. In mid-September, I finished Melissa Scott and Jo Graham's Lost Things. It's the start of a new series, set after WWI. The main characters work or are associated with Gilchrist Aviation. Alma Gilchrist is the owner and widow of its founder. She's a pilot herself and employs two other pilots: Lewis Segura and Mitch Sorley. An old friend of Alma and Mitch (and Gil, the founder), Dr. Jerry Ballard, an ex-archaeologist, is also connected. While all are veterans of the Great War, Lewis finds out the others have a deeper connection which becomes important when they're faced with trying to defeat a creature released from a dig in Italy.
In this world, magic is real and supernatural creatures exist. I wanted to like this book more than I did. I can't tell how much life stuff may be interfering. It's very difficult to get more than an hour's reading time so I'm not getting into the story as deeply as I used to. I do like the characters, but a lot of the book felt like set-up, just introducing the characters and their lives. Now that that's been done, I look forward to the next book. The world-building/setting is believable. There are some issues with Alma sharing a room with Lewis--they're lovers, but you can't just check into a respectable hotel in the 20s, in the same way you can today. The aviation is loads of fun, beyond the planes of Gilchrist Aviation, we also get to see a dirigible and its workings on a trans-Atlantic journey. Consequences are also dealt with well--what do you have to do after abandoning your luggage which includes your passports and money? Some authors would skimp on this, but Scott and Graham have it take time, just as it would in real life. If you like either author, or (recent) historical fantasy, give it a try.
It then took me most of another month to read Laurie R. King's Garment of Shadows, the latest book in her Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series. Set in Morocco at the time of Rif Rebellion, Russell wakes up with a bandaged head, and most of her memory gone. She soon manages to be reunited with Holmes who have to solve the disappearance of a government agent as well as deal with the political shenanigans going on in Morocco at this time. Much better than the previous book, it occurs directly after it, although the movie company is thankfully, off stage. (The previous book contains a movie company filming The Pirates of Penzance. Russell went undercover, and then stayed to participate) This is not one of my favorite novels of the series and I wouldn't suggest someone start here.
In this world, magic is real and supernatural creatures exist. I wanted to like this book more than I did. I can't tell how much life stuff may be interfering. It's very difficult to get more than an hour's reading time so I'm not getting into the story as deeply as I used to. I do like the characters, but a lot of the book felt like set-up, just introducing the characters and their lives. Now that that's been done, I look forward to the next book. The world-building/setting is believable. There are some issues with Alma sharing a room with Lewis--they're lovers, but you can't just check into a respectable hotel in the 20s, in the same way you can today. The aviation is loads of fun, beyond the planes of Gilchrist Aviation, we also get to see a dirigible and its workings on a trans-Atlantic journey. Consequences are also dealt with well--what do you have to do after abandoning your luggage which includes your passports and money? Some authors would skimp on this, but Scott and Graham have it take time, just as it would in real life. If you like either author, or (recent) historical fantasy, give it a try.
It then took me most of another month to read Laurie R. King's Garment of Shadows, the latest book in her Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series. Set in Morocco at the time of Rif Rebellion, Russell wakes up with a bandaged head, and most of her memory gone. She soon manages to be reunited with Holmes who have to solve the disappearance of a government agent as well as deal with the political shenanigans going on in Morocco at this time. Much better than the previous book, it occurs directly after it, although the movie company is thankfully, off stage. (The previous book contains a movie company filming The Pirates of Penzance. Russell went undercover, and then stayed to participate) This is not one of my favorite novels of the series and I wouldn't suggest someone start here.
