I thoroughly enjoyed reading Tom Miller's first novel in a series: The Philosopher's Flight (#915). It's partly historical fiction - set against a background of World War I-, part science fiction and part fantasy. It really has everything going for it - a hero to root for in Robert Candarelli Weekes, fighting the stigma of sexism in his desire to serve in the prestigious Rescue and Evacuation Corps in the War against all odds - plus action, adventure, danger, villains, humor and magic.
Robert has inherited his ability to fly from his mother in rural Montana where she works for the county. But boys aren't supposed to fly at all, so how can he be considered for a spot in the military reserved for females? By qualifying for a special spot reserved for males at the all-female Radcliffe College in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It won't be easy, considering that Boston is also the home base of the Trencher movement, vehemently and violently opposed to Philosophical practitioners. Facing opposition both on and off campus, Robert still manages to find loyal friends and a way to make his mark.
Something I read in the reviews about this series compared it to L. Frank Baum for adults, and I think that's a good analogy. There's enough realism to ground it in a world we're familiar with, with enough fantasy to make it somewhat akin to steampunk novels. It's a really addictive blend. I can't wait to read the second book in this series, The Philosopher's War. Highly recommended!
Thursday, July 30, 2020
Wednesday, July 22, 2020
The Bullet
One day you're living an ordinary life - a French professor at Georgetown with boring, but satisfying routines and a close and loving family. The next, an MRI to diagnosis the source of your wrist pain reveals a bullet embedded in your neck. There's no scar, so how did it get there?
Mary Louise Kelly's twisty thriller The Bullet (#914) takes the protagonist, Caroline Cashion, on an unexpected journey with the reader along for the wild ride. Without revealing too much, Caroline's world is turned upside down when she confronts her parents and finds out she's adopted...
I didn't guess the outcome of this book, and the end isn't nicely tied up in with a bow, but the story is stronger for that. I can't wait to go back and read Kelly's first novel. I've always admired her reporting on NPR. It's nice to know she can spin out a longer tale just as skillfully. If you enjoy thrillers, add this book to your list!
Mary Louise Kelly's twisty thriller The Bullet (#914) takes the protagonist, Caroline Cashion, on an unexpected journey with the reader along for the wild ride. Without revealing too much, Caroline's world is turned upside down when she confronts her parents and finds out she's adopted...
I didn't guess the outcome of this book, and the end isn't nicely tied up in with a bow, but the story is stronger for that. I can't wait to go back and read Kelly's first novel. I've always admired her reporting on NPR. It's nice to know she can spin out a longer tale just as skillfully. If you enjoy thrillers, add this book to your list!
Monday, July 20, 2020
The Amber Room
I finally got around to reading one of Steve Berry's early books, The Amber Room (#913). My battered paperback copy has literally been around the world with me, but somehow I never found the time to read it on a plane or in my hotel room during my jaunts. If it had its own passport, the visa stamps in it would be quite impressive!
It still contained an intriguing historical mystery about the room literally lined with inlays in amber stolen during World War II by the Nazis when they invaded Russia. It arrived in Konigsberg, Germany, but then it vanished in 1945. What ever did happen to that room? In Berry's book, old connections to the Nazis set off a hunt for the prized remains, with no expense, or lives, spared in the process.
I admit I was a little surprised when I read it. There was no Cotton Malone or Magellan Billet here. The protagonists were a female judge and her ex-husband corporate lawyer. It's their family connections which draw them deep into the search for the Amber Room themselves. The other thing which surprised me was that this was obviously written prior to Steve Berry having enough author clout to avoid editor's suggestions to "sex things up" because the sex here was quite graphic; enough so to be noticeably different from his best-selling Cotton Malone series where it is considerably toned down.
It was still a good read, and it's interesting to see how things have changed in Berry's writing style since then; and that the historical mysteries that make his novels so enjoyable is still the reason I look forward to his next book!
It still contained an intriguing historical mystery about the room literally lined with inlays in amber stolen during World War II by the Nazis when they invaded Russia. It arrived in Konigsberg, Germany, but then it vanished in 1945. What ever did happen to that room? In Berry's book, old connections to the Nazis set off a hunt for the prized remains, with no expense, or lives, spared in the process.
I admit I was a little surprised when I read it. There was no Cotton Malone or Magellan Billet here. The protagonists were a female judge and her ex-husband corporate lawyer. It's their family connections which draw them deep into the search for the Amber Room themselves. The other thing which surprised me was that this was obviously written prior to Steve Berry having enough author clout to avoid editor's suggestions to "sex things up" because the sex here was quite graphic; enough so to be noticeably different from his best-selling Cotton Malone series where it is considerably toned down.
It was still a good read, and it's interesting to see how things have changed in Berry's writing style since then; and that the historical mysteries that make his novels so enjoyable is still the reason I look forward to his next book!
Monday, July 13, 2020
Fall of Poppies - Stories of Love and the Great War
I only recognized two of the nine authors in Fall of Poppies - Stories of Love and the Great War (#912), but Lauren Willig's name alone was enough to convince me to give this anthology a try.
I must admit, I was really disappointed in most of the stories here. The only thing these novellas seem to have in common was Armistice Day, a much narrower focus. The end result for me was an entirely forgettable collection of tales vaguely related to World War I. I just should have re-read Helen Simonson's The Summer Before the War. (See my post of 4/13/16.)
I must admit, I was really disappointed in most of the stories here. The only thing these novellas seem to have in common was Armistice Day, a much narrower focus. The end result for me was an entirely forgettable collection of tales vaguely related to World War I. I just should have re-read Helen Simonson's The Summer Before the War. (See my post of 4/13/16.)
Saturday, July 11, 2020
Leave Only Footprints
If you've ever been to a National Park, Conor Knighton's book Leave Only Footprints - My Acadia-to-Zion Journey Through Every National Park (#911) will bring back fond memories and comparisons of your own visit to his time spent there. If you've never been to even one (!) this entertaining memoir may inspire you to start planning your trips when we all can travel safely again.
As Mr. Knighton points out, there are only fifty nine officially designated National Parks. Most of the more four hundred units which the National Park Service manages are national monuments (like Mount Rushmore) or national battlefields, seashores, preserves, recreational areas and the like. He spent exactly one year roaming the country to visit each and every National Park. But if you're looking for a guidebook to start planning, this is not that book. Instead, he groups the National Parks according to characteristics they have in common to his way of thinking - Trees, Water, Ice - to name a few. And it works wonderfully well. The experiences and anecdotes which make each park memorable to him may bring a chuckle or a tear to the reader's eye, but Knighton makes the parks come alive in a unique way.
Since some of the parks are so inaccessible, most of us could never duplicate his year of incessant travel, but his book may spur many of us to get off our couches and get out there. If you go, don't forget your National Parks Passport, so you can record your own visits to some of the most awe-inspiring places our country preserves for us to visit. After all, they're OUR parks! Thanks for reminding us, Conor Knighton.
As Mr. Knighton points out, there are only fifty nine officially designated National Parks. Most of the more four hundred units which the National Park Service manages are national monuments (like Mount Rushmore) or national battlefields, seashores, preserves, recreational areas and the like. He spent exactly one year roaming the country to visit each and every National Park. But if you're looking for a guidebook to start planning, this is not that book. Instead, he groups the National Parks according to characteristics they have in common to his way of thinking - Trees, Water, Ice - to name a few. And it works wonderfully well. The experiences and anecdotes which make each park memorable to him may bring a chuckle or a tear to the reader's eye, but Knighton makes the parks come alive in a unique way.
Since some of the parks are so inaccessible, most of us could never duplicate his year of incessant travel, but his book may spur many of us to get off our couches and get out there. If you go, don't forget your National Parks Passport, so you can record your own visits to some of the most awe-inspiring places our country preserves for us to visit. After all, they're OUR parks! Thanks for reminding us, Conor Knighton.
Sunday, July 5, 2020
The Last Hours
Minette Walters' medieval novel The Last Hours (#910) might just as well be named The Lost Hours because that's how I feel about the time I wasted on this Black Death book. It made the rare list for me of "Books I Did Not Bother to Finish".
The plot as sketched on the cover concerns an English manor house which learns from the Bishop's messenger that a deadly plague is consuming the area all around. The lord of the manor is away arranging for his daughter's dowry to be paid, so his wife herds some of the animals and the serfs onto the man-made island the manor stands on, tears up the bridge across the moat and sits tight with her steward and her daughter, isolated against the disease.
Sounds kind of like the pandemic we're going through now, doesn't it? That's what I thought, but this is 1348, so why does Lady Anne sound like a twenty-first century feminist and cultural iconoclast? She teaches her serfs to read (Her own daughter can't because she's too willful to bother.) and introduces hygiene practices unheard of at the time. Oh, and did I mention that she does not believe in organized religion, which makes her a heretic in this time period? All this from a convent-educated teen married off because of her dowry to the first available suitor. I don't think so. The handsome, muscular serf with exotic parentage who she relies on to help her run the estate just pushes it all over the top. I got so tired of mentally rolling my eyes I finally gave up. I just didn't care what happened to all these people. I'm sure she probably survived in triumph, but if you're interested enough to find out, you'll have to read it on your own.
The plot as sketched on the cover concerns an English manor house which learns from the Bishop's messenger that a deadly plague is consuming the area all around. The lord of the manor is away arranging for his daughter's dowry to be paid, so his wife herds some of the animals and the serfs onto the man-made island the manor stands on, tears up the bridge across the moat and sits tight with her steward and her daughter, isolated against the disease.
Sounds kind of like the pandemic we're going through now, doesn't it? That's what I thought, but this is 1348, so why does Lady Anne sound like a twenty-first century feminist and cultural iconoclast? She teaches her serfs to read (Her own daughter can't because she's too willful to bother.) and introduces hygiene practices unheard of at the time. Oh, and did I mention that she does not believe in organized religion, which makes her a heretic in this time period? All this from a convent-educated teen married off because of her dowry to the first available suitor. I don't think so. The handsome, muscular serf with exotic parentage who she relies on to help her run the estate just pushes it all over the top. I got so tired of mentally rolling my eyes I finally gave up. I just didn't care what happened to all these people. I'm sure she probably survived in triumph, but if you're interested enough to find out, you'll have to read it on your own.
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