melita's booklog - mostly

Yes, I'm still reading the Anita Blake series, although the previous book just about hit my squick/bored buttons. This book, Kiss the Dead, was a refreshing change as it focused more on her work with RPIT (the local police force that deals with paranormal crimes). There wasn't a sex scene until about halfway through the book! And then they seemed minor, and um, boring. Also not too much angst. The angst was mainly about the newest werelion to join who's still a teenager. She does find a new side effect of the ardeur, but it was mainly under control.

So I managed to finish two books within the last few weeks. I stayed up late a few nights for both and I definitely feel it. I kept lying down today while "playing" with one of the babies.

The first book is Necessity's Child by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller. I read this as an electronic advanced reader's copy (eARC) from Baen books. This is not the final state of the book, but the draft send to Baen for copyediting/publishing (it's had any editorial changes done). It's set on Surebleak after Korval takes residence. One of the main characters is Syl Vor, Nova yos'Galan's child. He's somewhere around 8-10 years old and is rather solemn and without any playmates after the events of Plan B/I Dare. It's decided to send him to a new local school for that reason and to show that Korval trusts in the safety of the schools. A young girl called Anna (actually Kezzi) becomes entangled with Syl Vor and ends up adopted temporarily (fostered) with Korval. Kezzi is of the Bedel, a gypsy-like group. They practice the fleez (fleece?) and regularly steal from the gadje (anyone not one of them). A third viewpoint character awakens near one of the entrances to the Bedel's homes and is rescued by one of them. He turns out to be Liaden and a DoI agent. So it's their adventures. I liked it. It's not one of my favorite books by them, but interesting characters and a relatively quick-moving plot, as normal for a Lee/Miller book.

I then got to start The General's Mistress by Jo Graham. It's adapted from the real life person, Ida St. Elme, who was a courtesan and adventuress in Napoleonic France. This book chronicles Ida's life from the age of around 19 to 24. She's leaves her husband and escapes to France, where she ends up the mistress of General Victor Moreau first, and then General Michel Ney. Much of Graham's works fall into her Numinous World where the same people are re-incarnated and meet again. I need to re-read her books again, as I don't have a strong grasp on most of the character and don't always recognize a particular 'soul.' I'd have to call this books a bit racy; definitely adult, with some adult themes. I'm looking forward to the next book which is scheduled for next year sometime.

Wheee! The electronic advanced reader's copy (eARC) for Captain Vorpatril's Alliance was released a few weeks ago. I did manage to finish it within a few days, but then just fell down on getting this blog entry posted. Lois McMaster Bujold has a long-running series that's mostly about Miles Vorkosigan. He's a medically fragile count's son from a planet named Barrayar. He overcomes his physical issues and to have a wildly interesting life. Anyway, some of the books in the series are about other people like his parents but this new book is about his cousin, Ivan Vorpatril. Ivan, while pretty smart and competent (when he needs to be) has tried hard to not have an interesting life and spend as much of it as possible with "wine, women, and song." In this book, he finally gets his own adventure that doesn't include his cousin. An entry on the lighter side like Cetaganda, it has some lovely-to-me, OMG moments like chapters 5 and 6 and 12. Not a great Vorkosigan book (Memory and A Civil Campaign are my favorites), but any Bujold is miles ahead of a ton of books that are available.

Melissa Scott is now writing new books in the Astreiant series. This series was co-written by her partner, Lisa Barnett, who unfortunately died several years ago. Lethe Press is re-releasing the two existing books in the series, Point of Hopes and Point of Dreams, plus a new novella and novel. The city of Astreiant is divided into sections, "points," and policed by pointsmen and -women. It's roughly renaissance era (guns exist) and magic is real. Astrology does work in this world and plays an important role in the Point of Hopes novel. Nicholas Rathe is an unusual pointsman in that he refuses to take money to solve a case that sometimes leads him to unusual cases because he's known to be incorruptible. In Point of Hopes, he meets Philip Eslingen, an out-of-work soldier who ends up helping him solve a case of missing children. In Point of Dreams they end up working together again on a play-related murder. The new novella, Point of Knives, takes place in-between and fills in some of the gap. Philip and Nicholas are on-and-off lovers because Philip has been hired as a bodyguard by a shady trader so there's some angst that neither one's bosses are happy that they're involved at all. Another fun book, and I'm so pleased that she's continuing this series finally.