Persephone Is Proud To Protect the Proof
The photo above is of my cat Persephone with the print proof of Wolf’s Search. That proof is one of the things I’ll be reading over the next few days. Fingers crossed but, at a quick look, it seems to be in good shape.
For those of you just discovering this part of my blog, the Friday Fragments lists what I’ve read over the past week. Most of the time I don’t include details of either short fiction (unless part of a book-length collection) or magazines.
The Fragments are not meant to be a recommendation list. If you’re interested in a not-at-all-inclusive recommendation list, you can look on my website under Neat Stuff.
Once again, this is not a book review column. It’s just a list with, maybe, a bit of description or a few opinions tossed in.
I enjoy hearing what you’re reading, by the way…
Recently Completed:
The Spellcoats by Diana Wynne Jones. Third of her Dalemark Quartet. This is a very odd series. This book takes place so far in the past from events in the first two books that it’s not even a prequel. The mood of this one was folktale/mythic, rather than the high fantasy adventure of the prior two books.
In Progress:
The Crown of Dalemark by Diana Wynne Jones. Mitt from Drowned Ammet and Moril from Cart and Cwidder. Then came a girl name Maewen who seems to be from the Twentieth Century? I know I read a couple of these earlier, but I think I missed this one and maybe even The Spellcoats.
Caesar and Christ by Will Durant. Audiobook. We’ve taken a look at the Etruscans, and Rome has just solidified its hold on the Italian peninsula.
Also:
Wolf’s Search in various forms.
July 12, 2019 at 3:28 am |
I finally finished my loooong book, The Naked God by Peter F. Hamilton. In the middle of the book, the author seemed to get distracted by introducing new “xenocs” (aka aliens) and exploring their worlds. Reminded me of the old Star Trek episodes – To boldly go where… Anyway, he finally got back on track and had a rushed conclusion. Not his best work.
I just started There There by Tommy Orange. Seems very intense, so far.
I also just started The Nobody People by Bob Proehl, which I won in a Goodreads Giveaway. It seems to be about people with special powers.
July 12, 2019 at 8:07 am |
There really seems to be a trend these last few years of books about humans with special powers. And w/o the justification of the 1950s when there was more “evidence” to support as SF. Interesting. Not a complaint — my Smoke and Mirrors — goes into this territory, just wondering why now.
July 12, 2019 at 5:26 am |
Completed:
“Collapsing Empire” by John Scalzi – see last week’s reply; my opinion stands; It’s interesting but I don’t think I’m going to read the rest of the series
“Magic for Liars” by Sarah Gailey – I wanted to like this book; I really did. Mundane PI gets called to investigate murder at a prep school for young wizards where her sister teaches? Sounds great. Except … the narrator is very bitter (for good reason) and who really wants to read a book where we’re supposed to root for the miserable, envious, bitter liar? I have other problems with the book, but that’s my main one.
Next:
Not sure. My TBR pile is … excessive … so I’ll look it over and pick something this weekend.
July 12, 2019 at 8:08 am |
Bitter is a hard pill to swallow. I had a similar trouble with Mitt in Drowned Ammet, but I for that one I had faith in the author having a reason. Didn’t make it more fun, though.
July 12, 2019 at 6:45 am |
I’m so excited that Wolf’s Search is approaching the finnish line!
Recently Completed ~ The Big Laguna by Janet Evanovich and Peter Evanovich. As expected, it was a fun read. I love Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series and I’m enjoying the Fox And O’Hare series just as much. She writes such kooky, fun characters in great forehead thumping situations.
Currently Reading ~ The Stiehl Assassin by Terry Brooks. Almost done. I love all the Shannara books.
I need to pick up my reading pace. My TBR pile is about to topple.
July 12, 2019 at 8:09 am |
I’ve only read the Stephanie Plums. Do these other have enough variety? I have road trips in my future and like outrageous for those.
July 12, 2019 at 8:15 am
Fox & O’Hare teams a master thief with an FYI agent to crack difficult cases “off book” The series has Janet Evanovich’s standard cast of offbeat characters. The stories would be great for road trips. Easy, fun reads. Different from Plum but still Evanovich.
July 12, 2019 at 1:48 pm
Thanks! Good to know…
July 13, 2019 at 2:42 am |
I’ve just finished reading Seanan McGuire’s new novel “Middlegame” and it just blew me away. It’s certainly the best thing she’s written to date (and it has one of the most complex plots she’s ever put together). It’s a tour de force, and I cannot recommend it highly enough.
But the reason I mention it here is that a major character is called Asphodel! (Though it has to be admitted that this Asphodel died long before the story begins, and she stays dead throughout the book, but when did that matter in a fantasy story?)
Asphodel rules!
—
-Alan
July 13, 2019 at 12:42 pm |
Thanks for recommending Middlegame. So far, I have enjoyed your suggestions. I am looking forward to reading this one.
July 15, 2019 at 10:02 am |
Hi Alan, Is this one horror? The cover looks as if it is. Just wondering.
July 15, 2019 at 11:36 am |
Sort of. It concerns an all powerful alchemist who wants to take over the world. The cover is an illustration of a “hand of glory” — an alchemical device made from the hand of a person who has been murdered. Hands of glory are used by several characters for various purposes, but mostly to make themselves invisible.
The book is much darker in tone than many of her other works (though it does not lack humour — I don’t think she could stop herself saying funny things, even if she wanted to). There are some gruesome scenes, and some evil motives, so I suppose that it does qualify as a horror story.
But mainly it’s just a very, very good book!
—
-Alan
July 16, 2019 at 10:00 am
Excellent! I’ll put this on my TBR list!
July 15, 2019 at 6:38 pm |
I just found this page, never thought to look before, and am thrilled to discover there will be a new Firekeeper book. That series is my all time favorite series. After it ended I was reluctant to read any of your other books but finally picked up Artemis Awakening and then had to buy Artemis Invaded online because no one else had it. I’m curious why there were only 2 books in that series? It felt like there could have been more.
July 16, 2019 at 9:57 am |
The honest answer is that Tor Books dumped the series. It seems you weren’t the only one who couldn’t find copies and rather than trying to reach readers, they decided no one was interested.
I was set to write more and was very shocked. Eventually, I will return to Adara and Artemis. However, there is only one me to write, and I have a few books in the queue before I get there…
Thanks for asking, and I’m glad you found the page at such a propitious time!