The Gunslinger - Stephen King

1978-81 (or 1982); 304 pages.  New Author? : Yes.  Genre : Fantasy (for now).  Overall Rating : 5*/10.

    "The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed."  That's the opening sentence, and pretty much sums up the plot of The Gunslinger.  Along the way, he passes through a town; stops by a way station; matches wits with an oracle; outwits some monsters; and faces an impossible choice given by the man in black.

What's To Like...
    This is really five short stories that Stephen King wrote for The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction over a three-year period.   This is some of his early stuff when he was still developing his writing style.

    Frankly, the first story - the eponymous "The Gunslinger" is ho-hum.  The storyline is weird and vague, and the style is ostentatious.  For example, there's this sentence : "He did not use the flint and steel until the remains of the day were only the fugitive heat in the ground beneath him and a sardonic orange line on the monochrome western horizon."  Yeah.  Or he could've just written, "He built a fire at sunset."

    But if you persist and read further, the storytelling improves and the style becomes more direct.  You can see/read him refining his technique from one story to the next.  This is Book 1 of the 7-volume (soon to be 8) "Dark Tower" series, which Stephen King considers to be his magnum opus.  Lots of people are gaga about it, so I presume the books continue to get better.  They certainly get thicker.

    There are lots of teasers in The Gunslinger ("Hey Jude" is said to be an ancient song); some humor; some food for thought; and a kewl post-apocalyptic setting.  Maybe.  Or perhaps it's a parallel universe.

Kewlest New Word...
Logy : dull and sluggish in motion or thought.

Excerpts...
    "...in the end, someone always has to have his or her neck popped, as you so quaintly put it.  The people demand it.  Sooner or later, if there isn't a turncoat, the people will make one."  (pg .148)

    But the man in black persisted: "Shall there be truth between us, as two men?  Not as friends, but as enemies and equals?  There is an offer you will get rarely, Roland.  Only enemies speak the truth.  Friends and lovers lie endlessly, caught in the web of duty."  (pg. 295)

Beyond the reach of human range
A drop of hell, a touch of strange...  (pg. 179)
    Strangely, The Gunslinger reminded me of Cormac McCarthy's The Road.   A man and a boy (the gunslinger picks him up at the way station) go traipsing around.  You're not sure where they're going and why they're going there; and when the ending shows up, you discover very little is resolved.  It should be remembered that this is just a prelude to the main storyline, and because the chapters were really separate stories in a sci-fi mag, the book inherently has a "segmented" feel.

    In and of itself, this is only a so-so novel.  But it gives some vital background about (what I presume are) several of the major characters in the series, and the surreal world they travel about in.   It's a fast read, and it gets more entertaining as you go along.  We'll give it 5 Stars, but call it a must-read if you intend to do the whole series.

The Man on the Balcony - Maj Sjowall & Per Wahloo

1968; 180 pages.  New Authors? : No.  Book #2 of the Martin Beck detective series (although Wiki says it's #3).  Genre : Murder/Mystery.  Sub-Genre : Police Procedural.  Overall Rating : 8*/10.

    The parks in Stockholm have become dangerous places.  A serial mugger is already prowling them, easily outwitting the police.  Now little girls are being molested and murdered there as well.  Is the mugger broadening his crime portfolio?  If not, perhaps he's crossed paths with the killer.  But he's not going to voluntarily come in for an interview, now is he?

What's To Like...
    This is a Police Procedural, which is my favorite kind of crime novel.  It's fun to watch the detectives try to solve a case with almost no clues.  Long hours and dogged determination are the key here - not thrills, spills, chases, and unbelievable coincidences.

    The Man on the Balcony is set in Stockhom in the 1960's, and things were done differently back then.  The police have no qualms about breaking into a suspect's apartment without a warrant, interrogating a prisoner for hours without giving him access to a lawyer, or simply phoning a person-of-interest up to question him.

    There is a sprinkling of humor, which balances some serious commentary about Sweden's social problems.  The translating seems competently done, and the authors hit a nice balance when dealing with the crimes - not too bland; not too lurid.

Excerpts...
    The knowledge that all this had happened before and was certain to happen again, was a crushing burden.  Since the last crime they had gotten computers and more men and more cars.  Since the last time the lighting in the parks had been improved and most of the bushes had been cleared away.  Next time there would be still more cars and computers and even less shrubbery.  Kollberg wiped his brow at the thought and the handkerchief was wet through.  (pg. 32)

    Stockholm is a city in which many thousands of people sleep out of doors in the summer.  Not only tramps, junkies and alcoholics but also a large number of visitors who cannot get hotel rooms and just as many homeless people who, though fit for work and for the most part capable of holding down a job, cannot find anyplace to live, since bungled community planning has resulted in an acute housing shortage.  (pg. 164)

"No wonder we're short of men in the force.  You have to be crazy to become a cop."  (pg. 27)
    This is a nice follow-up to Roseanna, the first book in this series (reviewed here).  There's a tad bit more "luck" here, but nothing that will make you say, "Oh c'mon now."

    The mystery itself is well-constructed.  I missed the scant clues (as did Martin Beck for a while), and so I was kept guessing along with the detectives.  The solution is neither too obvious nor too arbitrary.  My only beef is the book's brevity, although a number of other mystery authors also seem to think 200 pages per story is just fine.

    Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo blazed the trail of the Swedish noir police procedural genre.  Henning Mankell and Stieg Larsson are worthy followers, but it's always neat to read to originals.  This is my second Martin Beck book, and I'm sure there will be more.  8 Stars.

Practical Demonkeeping - Christopher Moore

1993; 243 pages.  New Author? : No.  Genre : Modern Lit; Humor.  Overall Ratng : 9*/10.

    Practical Demonkeeping is just like that old TV show, I Dream of Jeanie.  Except instead of a cute genie, you have an ugly, scaly, demon named Catch.  Who eats humans, but hey, a fella's gotta eat, right?  His "master" is a youthful-looking 100-year-old named Travis O'Hearn.  Who Catch sometimes obeys, and sometimes doesn't.

    Travis and Catch would both like to sever the relationship.  Which brings them to Pine Cove, a quiet, geezery California hamlet.  Bad luck for yooze, Pine Covians.

What's To Like...
This is Christopher Moore's debut novel, and his writing talent and sense of humor are immediately evident.  The pacing is good and the plethora of plotlines and characters are skillfully tied up at the end of the book.  The final resolution is a bit clichéd, but that feels appropriate here.  The laughs are abundant, and you will catch yourself chortling as you turn the pages.

Kewlest New Word...
Mingy : mean and stingy.

Excerpts...
    The Breeze could smoke all night, polish off a bottle of tequila, maintain well enough to drive the forty miles back to Pine Cove without arousing the suspicion of a single cop, and be on the beach by nine the next morning acting as if the term hangover were too abstract to be considered.  On Billy Winston's private list of personal heroes The Breeze ranked second only to David Bowie.  (pgs. 3-4)

    "Be quiet.  People are looking."
    "You're trying to be tricky.  What's morality?"
    "It's the difference between what is right and what you can rationalize."
    "Must be a human thing."
    "Exactly."  (pg. 73)

    Gian Hen Gian stepped forward and shook a knotted brown finger in Travis's face.  "Tell us where the Seal of Solomon is hidden or we will have your genitals in a nine-speed reverse action blender with a five-year guarantee before you can say shazam!"
    Brine raised an eyebrow toward the Djinn.  "You found the Sears catalog in the bathroom."
    The Djinn nodded.  "It is filled with many fine instruments of torture."  (pg. 185)

May the IRS find that you deduct your pet sheep as an entertainment expense.  (pg. 40)
    The worst I can say about Practical Demonkeeping is that I wish it was longer.  Christopher Moore immediately took care of that.  His next two books, Coyote Blue (1994) and Bloodsucking Fiends (1995), are 294 and 290 pages long, respectively.

    It can also be said that he got better as an author as he went along, although that's hardly something to hold against Practical Demonkeeping.

    All-in-all, this was a pleasant, light read that was over all too quickly.  But that's okay, cuz there are still three Christopher Moore books sitting on my TBR shelf.  9 Stars.

The Masters of Solitude - Marvin Kaye and Parke Godwin

1977; 404 pages.  New Author(s)? : Yes.  Genre : Sci-Fi.  Overall Rating : 7½*/10.

    The plague is coming.  Every tribe of the Forest people can sense it, and they all know that their holistic and herbal medicines will have no effect.  The City has medical technologies and pharmaceuticals that can fight the disease.  But a Force Field surrounds it, and its inhabitants show no sign of wanting to help.  What can the Forest people do?

What's To Like...
    Set along the eastern seaboard of the US around 4000 AD, this is a nice-but-forgotten piece of post-apocalyptic fiction.  The Forest People have telepathy to aid them, but only medieval industrial technology.

They have a curious mix of religions.  Most of the tribes are "covens" (think Druids or Wicca), but one key city is "Kriss" (40th-century Christians).  There are also the non-religious "Mrikans" (Americans) who are mostly interested in money and commerce.

    The storyline is compelling and the characters interesting.  But don't get too attached to any of them, because there's a lot of dying going on.  The book centers on two half-brothers, Singer and Arin; but there are also some strong women to follow.  The battle scenes are gritty and realistic.  There's little or no magic to be found, and the "lep" (telepathy) has limited effectiveness.

    I enjoyed the underlying theme of how different theological and philosophical systems deal with each other.   It was a thought-provoking and appropriate topic for today's world.

Kewlest New Word...
Slatternly : characteristcs of or befitting a slut.

Excerpts...
    In the silence of the forest, someone thought of him, and he stirred, surprised and disturbed.  The bitter tang of derision burned the runes of his mind.
    Singer.  Misfit.
    Better to be alone than to live among uneasy coveners casting sidelong glances at him as he passed.  (pg. 1, opening lines)

    "So," he mused with a tinge of bitterness, "you live impossibly extended lives stuffing that electric sponge with everything that possibly can be thrown - or at least all that you and it consider important, and to hell with the world outside."
    She started to answer, but the sheer weight of the effort it would take crushed the impulse.  Marian shrugged.  "Something like that, Singer."  (pg. 384)

There is no courage without fear.  ...  And solitude is often the companion of fear.  (pg. 22)
    The pacing seems a bit uneven and there is a Deus ex Machina to deal with the Force Field.  The ending has a "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" feel to it, and that's not a compliment.  But I think there's a sequel, and if that continues the storyline, then The Masters of Solitude ends okay and it stands just fine by itself.

    The opening blurbs aptly mention A Canticle for Liebowitz, Brave New World, and Tolkien's LOTR trilogy, and if you like those books, you'll like The Masters of Solitude.  The plusses outweigh the minuses here, and overall it was an enjoyable read.  7½ Stars.

The Paris Vendetta - Steve Berry

2009; 472 pages.  New Author? : No.  Genre : Action.  Book #5 in Berry's Cotton Malone series.  Overall Rating : 8*/10.

    Cotton Malone's bookshop/home is crowded tonight.  Two hitmen have snuck in since he went to bed.  But they're not here to kill him.  Instead they're after an ex-Secret Service agent, Sam Collins, who also broke into Cotton's place after he went to sleep.

    Ah, but Rule #1 for bad guys is - never ever invade the home of the book's hero.

What's To Like...
    The action starts immediately and doesn't stop.  There are lots of storylines.  To wit : (01) Rommel's gold; (02) Napoleon's gold; (03) Evil finance experts rigging the global economy; (04) Henrik Thorvaldsen's revenge; (05) the world's most ruthless terrorist; (06) taking out the Eiffel Tower.

    Steve Berry does a good job interweaving these disparate plotlines, although at times it feels a bit forced.  Most of the book takes place in Paris, and that's always a plus with me.  He even sprinkles a bit of French dialogue in the book, although one gets the feeling that Berry's vocabulaire français is rather limited.  There are twists and surprises, and a well-crafted ending - precisely what you've come to expect from this author.

Kewlest New Word...
 Marplot : a meddlesome person whose activity interferes with the plans of others.

Excerpts...
    "Here's another reality," she said.  "Wars have always been financed by debt.  The greater the threat, the greater the debt."
    He waved her off.  "And I know the next part, Eliza.  For any nation to involve itself in war, it must have a credible enemy."
    "Of course.  And if they already exist, magnifico."
    He smiled at her use of his native tongue, the first break in his granite demeanor.
    "If enemies exist," she said, "but lack military might, money can be provided to build that might.  If they don't exist-"  She grinned.  "-they can always be created."  (pgs. 28-29)

    History is prophecy, looking backwards.  (pg. 49)

There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact.  (pg. 124)
    For all its action, The Paris Vendetta is more of a "relationship" book.  Thorvaldsen's obsession with avenging his son's death puts a critical strain on his several-books-long friendship with Cotton, who ultimately will have to choose where his loyalty lies - with his friend (who saved his life) or with his country.

    The action itself is a little less exciting than in the previous books in this series.  First, financiers are inherently somewhat boring as villains.  Second, while I'm sure I'd be thrilled to uncover Napoleon's treasure, it pales a bit cri-fi-wise to Alexander the Great's Tomb, the library at Alexandria, and a lost city beneath Antarctica.

    So for me, this wasn't quite as gripping as the previous book, The Charlemagne Pursuit, reviewed here.  Then again, I gave that one 10*/10, and perfection is difficult to maintain.  The Paris Vendetta may not be the best book in this series, but it's still pretty darn good.  8 Stars.

The Wild Machines - Mary Gentle

2000; 391 pages.  Genre : Historical Fantasy.  New Author? : No.  Book #3 in the "Book of Ash" series.  Overall Rating : 8*/10.

   Book 2 in the series closed with half of Ash's mercenaries (a couple hundred all told) journeying to Carthage and rescuing her.  Book 3 opens with them now just outside Dijon, trying to join up with the rest of her force.

    The bad news is that there are 20,000 Visigoths besieging Dijon.  The badder news is Charles, Duke of Burgundy, lies within, mortally wounded.  Upon his death, the city's defense will surely crumble.  The baddest news is the Visigoths are led by Ash's twin half-sister (is that an oxymoron?), The Faris, and she is militarily invincible.

What's To Like...
    As always, Mary Gentle paints a realistic picture of a soldier's life in 15th-Century Europe.  It's gritty; it's bleak; and the best you can hope for is to die quickly and cleanly.  The characters are well-developed and interesting; and the Alternate History is believable.

    The first 300 pages focus on the siege, with Ash and company trapped inside Dijon.  There are occasional assaults by the Visigoths, but mostly we sit around waiting, and discussing all the equally bleak options.  That's probably how it is during a siege, and it can be a bit tedious.

    The last 100 pages are all action, and there's a neat and unexpected ending to The Wild Machines, despite the fact that this is actually one humongous book chopped up into quarters for us attention-span-challenged US readers.

Kewlest New Word...
Meretricious : apparently attractive but having in reality no value.  Here, a meretricious proverb.

Excerpts...
    "Everything they ever said about mercenaries is true!  We're nothing but a bunch of horse thieves!"
    "Takes talent to be a good horse thief," Euen Huw remarked professionally, and flushed.  "Not that I'd know, see."  (pg. 144)

    "We'll get you another warhorse," Anselm said, appearing at a loss when she did not speak.  "Shouldn't have to lay out more than a couple of pounds.  There's been enough dead knights won't need 'em anymore."
    "Jeez, Roberto, you're an ever-present trouble in time of help..."  (pg. 165)

    "How long it is, since last you spoke to me?"
    "Minutes... Not even an hour."
    "I cannot tell, child.  Time is nothing where I am.  I read once in Aquinas that the duration of the soul in Hell may only be a heartbeat, but to the damned it is eternity."  (pg. 260)

"You can't hide anything from the washerwoman.  Courage is brown." (pg. 297)
    The total time elapsed in The Wild Machines is three days.  Given that it's a quarter of the total opus, one certainly hopes that some it contains some significant events, but we won't know until we read Book 4.

    Mary Gentle is a skilled writer who kept my interest throughout the long siege in this book.  The storyline is complex, and there are enough characters and subplots to make me look forward to reading the next (sub)-book, Lost Burgindy, to see how she's going to tie everything up.  Stay tuned.  8 Stars.

Little People - Tom Holt

2002; 374 pages.  New Author? : Yes.  Genre : Comedic Fantasy.  Overall Rating : 7½*/10.

    Mike Higgins keeps seeing elves.  Not that he wants to; they just seem to keep running into him.  Very strange.  Even stranger is the fact that his girl friend, Cruella Watson, believes him and is okay with it.  Which is better than his stepdad, who also believes him and is most definitely not okay with it.

What's To Like...
    The wit will have you chuckling and the metaphors (eg : "she looked up at me, bewildered as a chameleon on a paisley scarf") will have you groaning.   It's written in British, not American, so you have to figure out 'foreign' words, such as Sellotape, kip, biro, etc.  There also are some obscure references to track down, such as Isambard Brunel, Peter Tatchell, and Occam's Razor.

    There is adventure for the guys; romance for the gals.  There is mystery for the inquisitive, and parallel universes for us dimension-hoppers.  And there are elves.  Lots of them.

Kewlest New Word...
Stroppy : easily offended or annoyed; ill-tempered.

Excerpts...
    She was sullen, razor-tongued and miserable as sin, having a father who lived behind a desk in a solicitors' office and a mother who despised her because her hair didn't go with the curtains.  I saw elves.  Who in God's name else would want either one of us?  (pg. 10)

    When you can't solve the whole problem, my aunt Sheila once told me, nibble off the simplest bit of it and try solving that;  it probably won't get you anywhere much, but at least you won't feel such a total dead loss.  (pg. 80)

    "I mean, Nobel Prizes, they're all very fine and splendid but at the end of that day it's just another bit of clutter on the mantelpiece every time you dust.  The money, on the other hand..."  (pg. 182)

"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a pointy ear for a pointy ear"  (pg. 321)
    For whatever reason, I find British humorists much funnier that American humorists.  Tom Holt has been compared to Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett, but I find him more akin to Robert Rankin, and that's a great big plus.

    There are some weaknesses in Little People.  At times, there's too much telling and not enough showing.  For all the verbiage devoted to them, I really expected Mike's parents to be more than bit players in the book.  The ending stutter-steps and is a bit clunky.

    Still, this is a light, entertaining read, which also gives some intriguing insight on the two meanings of "little people".  Thoughtful humor has to be difficult to write, but it's a joy to read when it's done well.  7½ Stars.

Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Alliance - Larry Millett

2001; 401 pages (plus 32 pages of notes).  New Author? : Yes.  Book #4 in Millett's Sherlock Holmes series.  Genre : Murder/Mystery.  Overall Rating : 6*/10.

    What on earth are Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson doing in Minnesota in 1899?  Helping their friends and fellow sleuths - Shadwell Rafferty and George Washington Thomas - solve a murder/mystery.  A labor activist has been killed, stripped, and then hanged.  Just to make sure the message is clear, a sign in hung around the victim's neck, reading "The Secret Alliance Has Spoken".  But was it really done by them?  Can our fact-finding foursome get to the bottom of this?  What do you think?

What's To Like...
    The action starts immediately.  We have a body by page 4; and Rafferty is on the case by page 13.  The murder/mystery is nicely constructed.  The solution is neither too obvious, nor too arbitrary.

    Larry Millett lives in the Twin Cities, and takes pains to give you a detailed "feel" for life there at the dawn of the 20th century.  But if historical details aren't your shtick, be of good cheer - most of the minutiae are in notes in the back of the book.  The subject of labor unions vs. industry management is given an even-handed treatment.  Greed has its counter in Extremism; and in 1899, any and all foes are conveniently labeled anarchists, just like today we conveniently call them all terrorists.

    Alas, this isn't the Sherlock Holmes I know.  This one is troubled by his dreams and gets guidance from his premonitions.  Arthur Conan Doyle's Holmes would never do anything that subjective.  Also, Holmes and Watson don't arrive on the scene until almost halfway through the book (page 186, to be exact), and there are very few brilliant Holmesian deductions that we all look forward to.

    Finally, there are way too many back-reference plugs for earlier books in this series.  And Rafferty drops his g's with annoying  frequency.  Sharin'; tryin'; doin'; etc.

Kewlest New Word...
Flaneur : an idler; a loafer.

Excerpts...
    "Ah yes, Miss Addie O'Donnell, the outspoken friend of the workingman.  Have you gone through her place yet with your usual destructive thoroughness?"
    "No.  We do that and she'll raise a big stink in the newspapers."
    "True.  The First Amendment is a constant bother, isn't it, Dolph?  If the Founding Fathers had only started with the Second, our lives would be immeasurably easier."  (pgs. 32-33)

    "Am I callous?  Perhaps, but the reality is that I can do nothing about the accident any more.  Nothing.  I can only accept that what happened was part of God's plan."
    Rafferty had found that when people spoke of "God's plan" they were usually referring to someone else's misfortune, thereby confirming their own lofty status before the Almighty.  (pg. 230)

"Spite, you see, can be a form of idealism."  (pg. 77)
    Larry Millett's Sherlock Holmes will not supplant the original.  Ditto for the mystery itself, and the investigative techniques used to solve it.

    Which is a shame, because based on its own merits, this story is quite good.  If you edit out the two Englishmen (they aren't really necessary except for name-dropping), and rename the book "Shadwell Rafferty and the Secret Alliance", you avoid the inevitable comparison to Conan Doyle, and have yourself a very good historical murder-mystery.  This story rates 8* without Holmes, but only 4* with him.  That averages out to 6 Stars, so we'll go with that.

The Neutronium Alchemist - Peter F. Hamilton

1997; 1137 pages.  New Author? : No.  Book #2 of the Night's Dawn Trilogy.  Genre : Space Opera.  Overall Rating : 8½*/10.

    The battle between the Possessed and the Unpossessed rages throughout the galaxy.  The Possessed hasten to infect as many habitats as they can; the Unpossessed struggle with immense logistical issues while learning ways to repel the menace.

    In the midst of all the chaos, a new danger emerges.  Dr. Alkad Mzu has escaped her 30-year house asrrest on the habitat Tranquility and seeks to reclaim the Doomsday device she developed, called the Neutronium Alchemist.  And while it is a threat to all, it is also a prize.  If either side manages to seize the Neutronium Alchemist, or even just capture Dr. Mzu, they gain the upper hand in the cosmic warfare.

What's To Like...
    This is epic Space Opera - a multitude of detailed worlds, races, gadgets and characters to explore and get acquainted with.  There is despair and brutality, but there is also hope and goodness.  The sex has been toned down in this second book, and a bit of comic relief has been added. most notably through a flower child possessor with a magic bus, who's helping to save a bunch of unpossessed children.  Hamilton even brings back two historical figures, Al Capone and Fletcher Christian, and both occupy important roles in the drama.

    There are very few purely Good or Evil characters.  Indeed, there are a lot of what we old AD&Ders call "chaotic evil" and "chaotic good" players, who often hinder their causes more than they help it.  It's fun to watch "lawful evil" Al Capone as he gets frustrated with his chaotic minions.

    There is a "Cast of Characters" at the back of the book, which is very helpful because there are a zillion storylines and people to keep track of.  It is hard to see how everything will be tidily resolved in one more book, but that's the "hook" to keep reading.  Oh yeah, there are also a couple "super agents" who act as observers in the action, and their presence offers tantalizing possibilities of this whole crisis being manipulated by higher powers.

Kewlest New Word...
Orrery : a mechanical model of the solar system.

Excerpts...
    "I'm sorry, Ralph, but as I said, you simply cannot threaten me.  Have you worked out why yet?  Have you worked out the real reason I will win?  It is because you will ultimately join me.  You are going to die, Ralph.  Today.  Tomorrow.  A year from now.  If you're lucky, in fifty years time.  It doesn't matter when.  It is entropy, it is fate, it is the way the universe works.  Death, not love, conquers all in the end.  And when you die, you will find yourself in the beyond.  That is when you and I will become brother and sister in the same fellowship.  United against the living.  Coveting the living."  (pg. 165)

    Al knew all about kilometres; they were what the French called miles.  (pg. 93)

    "Wait!  What are you observing us for?"
    "To see what happens, of course."
    "Happens?  You mean when the Kingdom attacks?"
    "No, that's not really important.  I want to see what the outcome is for your entire race now that the beyond has been revealed to you.  I must say, I'm becoming quite excited by the prospect.  After all, I have been waiting for this for a very long time.  It's my designated goal function."
    Moyo simply stared at him, astonishment and indignation taking the place of fear.  "How long?" was all he managed to whisper.
    "Eighteen centuries."  Rosler raised an arm in a cheery wave and walked away into the shadows...  (pg. 909)

"And what is the purpose of life?"  "To experience."  (pg. 388)
    For all its entertaining Space Opera theatrics, Peter F. Hamilton's The Neutronium Alchemist also gives you some fascinating spiritual what-if's to ponder.  What if all your soul does when you die is fall into a giant repository of other souls?  If that was your eternal fate, what would you do if, say after 600 years,  you were given the opportunity of coming back, albeit at the expense of taking over someone else's body and life?  And if you were among the living when such a "beyond" was revealed, how would it affect your actions and spiritual beliefs?

    The Neutronium Alchemist, like any Book 2 in a trilogy, is neither the beginning or the end of the tale.  It is action-packed from page one; but I can't say whether the Doomsday device plays a vital part in the story, or is just a tangent whose only purpose is to tide you over until Book 3.  The Neutronium Alchemist is not a stand-alone book, so you commit to reading 3600 pages when you take up this trilogy.  So far, I'd say it's worth it.  8½ Stars. 

Earthman's Burden - Poul Anderson and Gordon R. Dickson

1957; 189 pages.  Genre : 50's Science Fiction; Humor.  New Author(s)? : No.  Overall Rating : 5*/10.

    Earthman's Burden consists of six short stories (each about 30 pages long) about the Hokas, a race of Teddy Bear-like creatures on an alien planet.  You also meet their human plenipotentiary, Alexander Jones, and his wife, Tanni.  All but one of the stories originally appeared in various Sci-Fi magazines in between 1951 and 1955.  A couple "interplanetary memos" were later inserted to try to give some cohesion to the tales, but frankly, it wasn't necessary.

What's To Like...
      Hokas love everything about earth - our movies, our books, our history, our radio transmissions.  They take everything as absolute truth, so if they see a movie, say, about ancient Rome, they immediately try to build a settlement on their planet Toka to mimic it.

   Each of the stories in Earthman's Burden is set in one of these mimicries.  Specifically, the settings are (in order) : (1) the Wild West; (2) Don Juan; (3) Space Travel; (4) Sherlock Holmes; (5) Pirates; and (6) the French Foreign Legion.

    The stories all have a similar template.  Alex awakes to find the Hokas embracing a new bit of terra-culture; he gets embroiled in their antics; some sort of crisis arises; mayhem ensues, Alex devises an ingenious solution by going "in character", and all turns out well because of (or in spite of) the best-laid plans of the Hokas/Alex.

Kewlest New Word...
Tussock : an area of raised solid ground in a marsh or bog that is bound together by roots of low vegetation.

Excerpts...
    "Great jumping rockets!" exclaimed the other Hoka.  "Don't tell me the Coordinator didn't recognize you?"
    "It's the moonlight, probably," said the first Hoka.  "All clear and on green now, Coordinator?"
    "I- I-," stammered Alex.
    "Aye, aye!" repeated Jax Bennison crisply.  (pg. 68)

    Alex discovered the consensus among them was that the captain was becoming too obsessed with his navigation to pay proper attention to the running of the ship.  No one had been hanged for several weeks, and there hadn't been a keelhauling for over a month.  Many a Hoka standing on the sun-blistered deck cast longing glances at the cool water overside and wished he would be keelhauled (which was merely fun on a planet without barnacles).  There was much fo'c'sle talk about what act could be committed dastardly enough to rate the punishment.  (pg. 135)

"Damn the tiddlywinks!  Full speed ahead!"  (pg. 186)
    The stories are cute but formulaic and shallow.  This was my second Hoka book, and chronologically precedes the other one, which is reviewed here.  Frankly, I didn't find Earthman's Burden as entertaining as Hoka!.

    Maybe it was because Poul Anderson and Gordon R. Dickson were still feeling their way around in the series.  Maybe it was because the attempt to string these six stories into a coherent overall novel was ill-advised.  Maybe it was because of the horrid printing job - each page was set on about a 10-degree angle.

    In any event, all six tales are still amusing to read, and a pleasant break if you're plodding through a 1200-page Space Opera like I am.  It's uninspiring fluff, but that's okay at times.  Anderson and Dickson would subsequently  tweak and refine their style, and their efforts would pay off when Hoka! came out.  And I do appreciate it when authors evolve and improve with each work they put out.  5 Stars (out of 10).

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich - Alexander Solzhenitsyn

1962 (Russian); 1963 (English).  139 pages.  Genre : Russian Lit.  New Author? : Yes.  Overall Rating : 9½*/10.

    The title says it all - the story is simply a single day in the life of a Russian prisoner serving a 10-year sentence at a Stalinist gulag in Siberia.  His crime?  Escaping from the Germans as a POW during World War 2.  The Russians suspect he is a spy for the Nazis.

What's To Like...
     The day is an ordinary one. There is no daring escape or dramatic confrontation.  The greatest excitement consists of smuggling a stub of a hacksaw blade into the campground.  Yet this is a powerful story (and probably more so in its original Russian) that will open your eyes to man's inhumanity to man.

  You will spend about 18 hours total with Ivan Denisovich Shukhov.  You will feel his hunger and his exhaustion.  You will rejoice over a pittance of food; you will freeze to the bone in the Siberian winter; you will ache from back-breaking labor.  But you will survive.  Because if you can survive one day, you can survive 3,650 days (his 10-year sentence).  Plus three more days for leap years.

    Not every prisoner makes it.  You must learn when to grovel, who to kiss up to, how to fool the guards, how to get extra food, when to share, and when to hoard.  Most of all, you must learn how to psychologically deal with your fate.  These lessons must be re-learned every day.

Excerpts...
    Work was like a stick.  It had two ends.  When you worked for the knowing you gave them quality; when you worked for a fool you simply gave him eyewash.
    Otherwise, everybody would have croaked long ago.  They all knew that.  (pg. 12)

    They sat in the cold mess hall, most of them eating with their hats on, eating slowly, picking out putrid little fish from under the leaves of boiled black cabbage and spitting the bones out on the table.  When the bones formed a heap and it was the turn of another squad, someone would sweep them off and they'd be trodden into a mush on the floor.  But it was considered bad manners to spit the fishbones straight out on the floor.  (pg. 13)

    Who is the zek's main enemy?  Another zek.  If only they weren't at odds with one another - ah, what a difference that'd make!  (pg. 101.  "Zek" is an abbreviation of Russian for prisoner.)

Scrape through today somehow and hope for tomorrow.  (pg. 69)
   One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich is a riveting story, made all the more believable because it is such an ordinary day.  But its importance extends beyond the literary world - its publication was a milestone in Soviet history as well.  Alexander Solzhenitsyn was a gulag survivor, and this book was the first one dealing with the gulags that the Soviet government (specifically Nikita Khrushchev) allowed to be printed in the USSR.

    Overnight, it changed the psyche of the Russian people.  Stalinist repression was dealt a mortal blow.  To quote Khrushchev :
    "It is our duty to gain a thorough  and comprehensive understanding of the nature of the matters related to the abuse of power.  Time will pass and we shall die, we are all mortal, but so long as we work we can and must clear up many points and tell the truth to the Party and to the people. ...  This we must do so that such things never happen again."

    ODITLOID is a short, powerful, sometimes painful piece of Russian literature that just might touch your very soul.  At 139 pages, what have you got to lose?  9½ Stars.

Gods Behaving Badly - Marie Phillips

2007; 292 pages.  New Author? : Yes.  Genre : Fiction; Humor.  Overall Rating : 6½*/10.

    You won't find any Greek gods on Mt. Olympus anymore.  Most of them now live in a house in London that they purchased way back in the 1600's.  Artemis is a professional dog-walker.  Aphrodite is doing phone sex.  And Apollo just shot the pilot for a phony clairvoyant TV show.

    They're all lousy housekeepers, so they've hired a (mortal) cleaner.  Who by a strange coincidence is...

What's To Like...
    This is a light-hearted read that also asks some weighty questions.  Why should we assume the Greek gods aren't around nowadays?  What do we really know about the afterlife?   If we could live forever here on earth, would we get bored?  How would we act if we were immortal?

    The two human protagonists are a cleaning lady and a nerdy engineer.  How kewl is that?  There's Romance and Sex; yet strangely, they never appear together.  Any book that showcases Greek mythology is a plus for me.  And the whole Underworld portion of the tale is fascinating.

Kewlest New Word...
Derisory : ridiculously small or inadequate.  (Get your mind out of the gutter; here it refers to a paycheck).

Excerpts...
    "You did what?" said Aphrodite, rising to her feet...
    "I...," said Apollo.  "I..."
    "You wouldn't heat up so much as a cupful of water for me, and yet you were willing to waste gallons of your power on transmogrifying some stupid mortal slut?"
    "She wasn't a slut," said Artemis.  "Not with him anyway.  I think that was the problem."  (pg. 16)

    In the kind of novels that Neil sometimes read in secret, this would be the moment when the hero took the heroine in his arms, pressed his lips roughly to hers, and then ravaged her.
    "I've got Scrabble on my Palm Pilot," he said.  "Multiplayer."  (pg. 23)

    "We haven't got the sun, we haven't got Apollo, and if we don't work together to keep the earth going, the world is going to end."
    "And then all the mortals will die?" said Hades.
    "Yes."
    "And this is a bad thing?"  (pg. 261)

"That isn't a lady.  That's a goddess."  (pg. 248)
    The underlying premise in Gods Behaving Badly - that of old deities still hanging around - is neat but not original.  This is Gaiman's 'American Gods' done a bit more lightly; or Pratchett's 'Pyramids' done a bit more raunchily.  There was even an old episode from the original (black & white!) Star Trek series that explored this theme.  But it's always nice to see a fresh take on it.

    There are some weaknesses.  The original conflict (which we won't detail here; this is a no-spoilers blog) is never resolved.  The R-rated language and situations serve no purpose.  The ending is somewhat prosaic.  The pacing felt choppy.  If you aren't versed in Greek mythology, you may find the gods to be 2-D.

    Still, it was an entertaining read, and I don't think Marie Phillips intended to write an epic.  Gods Behaving Badly is her debut book, and ANAICT, she hasn't penned any more.  Which is a shame because this had a "diamond in the rough" feel to it.  Once her style is polished up, her creative imagination will undoubtedly shine through.  6½ Stars.

The Hyde Park Headsman - Anne Perry

1994; 343 pages.  Genre : Murder Mystery.  New Author? : Yes.  Book #14 (out of 27) in the "Charlotte & Thomas Pitt" series.  Overall Rating : 7½*/10.

    With the unsolved Jack-the-Ripper murders still fresh in their minds, Londoners now face a new terror.  Someone keeps dumping decapitated bodies in Hyde Park at night.  The public and the elected officials want newly-promoted Police Superintendent Thomas Pitt to catch the murderer, and pronto.  Pitt has one thing going for him - at least the perpetrator has the decency to deposit the severed heads beside their torsos.

What's To Like...
   The action gets going immediately; by page 2 we have a victim (in two parts), and a hysterical populace.  The backstory was confusing for a while, especially trying to keep the women straight.  There's Charlotte and Caroline, Vespasia and Gracie, Emily and Grandmomma.  But once you get the cast squared away, things chug along nicely.

    The series takes place in Victorian (1890's) London, and I'm partial to murder/mysteries set in historical times.  The setting is for the most part handled well.  There are lots of bodies, lots of heads, lots of suspects, and lots of secrets.  Not all the pleasant characters are innocent, and not all of the unpleasant ones are guilty.  Pitt's assistant, Tellman, is a particularly interesting study - he's initially jealous and surly, but gradually he and Pitt learn to work together.

Kewlest New Word...
Consanguinity : related by blood.  (I guess I cooda figured that one out)

Excerpts...
    "What else do you know about it?" Pitt asked, looking up at Grover and leaning back in his chair...
    "Sir?"  Grover raised his eyebrows.
    "What did the medical officer say?" Pitt prompted.
    "Died of 'avin' 'is 'ead cut orf," Grover replied, lifting his chin a little.  (page 3)

    "Good God, man!  What is the world coming to when such an act can be perpetrated in a public place in London, and men see it and do nothing!  What is happening to us?"  His face was growing darker as the blood suffused his cheeks.  "One expects barbarity in heathen countries, outposts of the Empire, but not here in the heart and soul of a civilized land!"  (pg. 45)

"With a twisted cue and a cloth untrue, and elliptical billiard balls,
My object all sublime, I shall achieve in time..."  (pg. 246)
     The Hyde Park Headsman has the curious distinction at Amazon of having all the reviewers giving it one to three stars.  No 4* and no 5* ratings.  Wow.

    I'll grant this isn't a masterpiece.  Pitt questions lots of people, the bodies pile up, but you don't get the feeling that the story is progressing.  The key break is what I call a "Cold Case Moment" (*).  The ending has a nice twist or two, but still feels arbitrary.  Worst of all, it never is answered why the killer keeps transporting the bodies to Hyde Park; they aren't killed there.

    Still, it was captivating enough to keep me turning the pages.  Thomas Pitt won't supplant Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes as my favorite Victorian sleuth, but who will?  I'll probably buy a couple more of Anne Perry's novels the next time I'm at the used-book store.  7½ Stars.

(*) : Cold Case Moment.  Named because it got to where every Cold Case episode had one.  The detectives would be questioning someone, and it would go like this :
Detective :  "Yadda yadda.  Blah blah.  Hey, why are you wearing that odd pin on your jacket?"
Suspect (staring wistfully at the sky) : "It brings back memories, man."
Detective : "Oh. Yadda yadda.  Blah blah."

    See, the problem is - that would never be part of the dialogue unless it was the key break.  So even though Cold Case could go on another 40 minutes, you always knew they'd get back to this eventually, and use it to solve the murder.  Good murder-mysteries use this device to introduce red herrings.  Not-as-good murder mysteries use it to point straight to the perp.

Threshold - Caitlin R. Kiernan

2001; 312 pages.  Genre : Cozy Horror.  New Author? : Yes.  Overall Rating : 7*/10.

"I can see monsters," says Dancy Flammarion, the mysterious albino girl who wanders into Chance Matthews' life to solicit her help in dealing with them.  And a couple of Chance's Goth friends as well.

But are the monsters just in Dancy's head?  She's been in institutions, you know.  And if they are real, why the heck would they hang out in Birmingham, Alabama of all places?

What's To Like... 
Caitlin R. Kiernan has a distinctive writing style - in the present tense, and with lots of compound adjectives - about one per paragraph.  Some examples : velvetsoft, shoescuffed, housesifted, syrupslow, dustysafe, birdnervous.

The main cast of characters are fun-to-get-to-know anti-heroes, who for the most part don't have their sh*t together.  They drink, smoke, get stoned, and break into places they shouldn't enter just for the fun of it.  Though interestingly, Chance eschews the tobacco.

Hey, the book has lots of Paleontology in it; how kewl is that?!  And if you don't know much about Paleontology, there's a helpful appendix at the back.  If you don't care about Paleontology, there's still some good news.  The enjoyment of Threshold doesn't really hinge on it.

Kewlest New Word...
Travertine : a form of limestone deposited by mineral springs, especially hot springs.  (Wiki it for some kewl images).

Excerpts...
    "Why are you a drunkard?" Dancy asks, finally turning away from the window, swiveling around to face him.  "Because you don't like hearing what the angels say, what they show you?"
    "There are no g*dd*mn angels!"
    "It doesnt matter what you call them," she says so calm, so confident.  "My momma said they usually don't care."  (pgs. 110-111)

    "We can't have people sleeping on the grass," the old woman says, and now she sounds as bewildered as she sounds indignant.  "This is a House of God.  We can't have people sleeping on the grass."
    "I'm sorry," Dancy says, and the sprinkler sweeps back over her, a few seconds of rain, and then it's gone again.  "I didn't mean to fall asleep."
   ""Well, okay," the old woman mumbles.  "Okay I guess, but you understand that we can't have people sleeping here,"  (pg. 151)

"Some stories don't have endings ... in some stories, there arent't even answers."  (pg. 259)
This is what I can only call a "Cozy Horror" story - most of the killing is done off-stage or recounted via flashback.  While that's certainly novel, I found it to be kind of an oxymoron.  If you want to scare me, I need some in-my-face action and violence.

    A lot of people hated the ending, but I found it to be non-trite and unforeseen.   It did feel "rushed" however, particularly with regard to our clique of anti-heroes.  It's also possible that their fate is taken up in some sequel that I'm unaware of.

   There are a lot of things - the present tense, the adjectives, the Gothiness, the science, the cozy horror, the ending - that will be hit-or-miss for the reader.  This was only Caitlin Kiernan's second novel, so her writing may well have evolved with time.  For me, the "likes" outpaced the "meh".  I'd give the Style a "9", and the Story a "5".  That averages out to 7 Stars.

A Bloody Field By Shrewsbury - Edith Pargeter

1972; 378 pages.  Genre : Historical Fiction.  New Author? : No.  Overall Rating : 8*/10.

    It's 1399 AD, and uneasy rests the head that wears the English crown.  King Henry IV has deposed his cousin, Richard II.  Henry's son, Hal, is now the Prince of Wales.  But Hal's only 14 years old, so the king sends a close friend and ally, Harry Percy (aka "Hotspur") to Shrewsbury with Hal, to be his mentor.

    But the Royal Treasury is broke, Richard II dies under suspicious circumstances, the French are hostile, and Wales and Scotland are revolting.  What more could possilby go wrong for the King?

What's To Like...
    Edith Pargeter (who uses the pen-name Ellis Peters when she writes Brother Cadfael stories) is a fine historical fiction author.  All the characters are 3-dimensional and evolving; and none of them is all-white or all-black.  Like a Shakespearean tragedy, our main hero (Hotspur), although noble, has some far-reaching character flaws.

    The main battle only starts on page 332, so until then you have to be entertained by a couple of skirmishes and a lot of history, politics, and personal drama.  The book succeeds at this nicely.  There's even a little bit of romance for the ladies, but it's (seemingly) hopelessly doomed so guys can tolerate it.

Kewlst New Word(s)...
Two of them, just for a change.  Shriving : hearing the confession of, and assigning penance to (someone).  Sikker : certain; safe; secure.

Excerpts...
    "Doubts?  Ay, have I, and many and grievous, too!  Do you think there's one of us that is not looking back now in torment of mind, questioning at every move what we did well, and what was ill-done?  Death makes every man turn his head and re-examine his conscience."  (pg. 24)

    As what would she remember him?  She was not dependent upon love and lovers as women are wont to be.  She had married, and sickened of marriage, and chosen of her own will to look towards other satisfactions, this being soiled and spoiled for her, though not, please God, eternally.  You cannot die of disillusion at twenty, not with such a spirit in you.  (pg. 328)

"Every man's death is treading hard on his heels every day of his life. ... Yet it will not overtake until he flags."  (pg. 329)
    As with her Brother Cadfael series, Pargeter/Peters gives you a feel for everyday life in medieval England.  The people are real, their actions are believable, and their surroundings vividly detailed.

    If you aren't a history buff, A Bloody Field By Shrewsbury may not be for you, as Pargeter takes very little literary license with the historical facts.  But if you like knights and kings, and castles and calamities, then you will probably enjoy this book.

    The history recounted here will most likely be new to most American readers.  But Shakespeare found it important enough to write a tetralogy of plays about it : Richard II, Henry IV - Part 1, Henry IV - Part Two, and Henry V.   If it's good enough for the Bard, it's good enough for me.  8 Stars.

Against A Dark Background - Iain M. Banks

1993; 613 pages.  New Author? : Yes.  Genre : Science Fiction.  Overall Rating : 6*/10.

    Everyone is after Lady Sharrow.  The Sad Brethren of the Sea House want her to steal something called the Lazy Gun as ransom for her half-sister.  The Huhsz (how would you pronounce that?) want to kill her so that one of their end-time prophecies might come to pass.  And two twin bald-headed dudes just like to torture her with a voodoo doll. 

    What can Sharrow do?  Assemble her elite combat team, go on a quest, run when outnumbered, and kick butt when not.

What's To Like...
Iain M. Banks (aka, "Iain Banks") is a master of words.  The description of the alien worlds (which are within a single solar system) and the civilizations thereon are compelling and vivid.  Sharrow is a fascinating character study, and there is a subtle ribbon of humor running throughout.

The Lazy Gun is one awesomely surreal weapon.  Shoot it at a person, and who knows what will happen to him?  An anchor might appear above him and drop down.  Giant electrodes might pop up on both sides and electrocute him.  Some wild animal might tear his throat out.  But you can also aim it at something like a tank, or even a whole city; and similarly bizarre dooms will unfold.

The ending (the last third of the book) is superb.  Along the way, Banks has some key things to say about religion, fate, governments, and android rights.  Finally, this is a stand-alone novel; a pleasant change from most sci-fi books nowadays.

Alas, there are some serious weaknesses.  Flashback scenes abound, but there is no signal when the present ends and the past commences.  The Lazy Gun, albeit kewl, turns out to be little more than a macguffin.  And if the ending is great, the storyline leading up to it is head-scratchingly illogical.

The Lazy Gun is well-guarded, but hardly hidden.  Lord knows why it takes Sharrow so long to find it.  She despises her half-sister, so that's a poor choice for a hostage.  The voodoo doll dilemma is never resolved; the Huhsz are never dealt with.  And don't try to solve the quest riddles with Sharrow; the answers are arbitrary and unfathomable.

Kewlest New Word...
Coprolite : Fossilized dung.  Used here as  an epithet.  I've got to try that one out.

Excerpts...
    "Get ...your...filthy...female foot out of my d-" he said, raising his gaze to find that he was lookng down the barrel of a large hand gun.  She pressed his nose with it.  His eyes crossed, focusing on the stubby silencer.
    He swung the door open slowly, his chain rattling.  "Come in," he croaked.
    The silencer muzzle left a little white circle imprinted on the gray flesh at the tip of his nose.  (pg. 44)

    "Indeed, your gracious Majesty," the monk said, looking down modestly at the carpet.  His voice sounded respectful.  "Our Belief - perhaps not so dissimilar from your own, more venerable and more widely followed creed - is that God is a Mad Scientist and we His experimental subjects, doomed forever to run the Maze of Life through apparently random and unjust punishments for meaningless and paltry rewards and no discernible good reason save His evil pleasure."  (pg. 289)

    "I must say," the one on the beach said.  "You don't seem terribly surprised to find us here, Lady Sharrow."  He sounded disappointed.  He accepted a tall glass from his twin, then drank and smiled up at her.  "We'd rather hoped you might be."
    She shrugged.
    "Typical, isn't it?" said the one in the chair to his twin.  "Women only go quiet when you'd actually quite like to hear what they have to say."  (pg. 366)

"We live in the dust of our forebears; insects crawling in their dung.  Splendid, isn't it?"  (pg. 80)
The Wikipedia article on Against A Dark Background indicates this was an early, unpublished story by Banks which he later reworked into a full-length novel.  That may explain why the storyline has so little cohesion.  It really should've stayed a short story or a novella.

The great ending and Banks' writing skills make up for the plot weaknesses, albeit just barely.  It seems Banks is better known for his sci-fi "Culture" series, and I have one from that set on my TBR shelf.  I have a feeling it's going to be a better read.  6 Stars.

Interesting Times - Terry Pratchett

1994; 368 pages.  Book #17 in the Discworld series.  Genre : Comedic Fantasy.  New Author? : No.  Overall Rating : 9*/10.

    When the inscrutable Agatean Empire on the faraway Counterweight Continent sends a message tio Ankh-Morpork requesting "the great Wizzard", they can only mean one person.  That would be Rincewind, who is so thoroughly incompetent that even the one word on his hat is misspelled : "Wizzard".  Why would the Agateans want such a schlep?  That's inscrutable.

What's To Like...
    It has Rincewind, who's probably my favorite Discworld character.  It has The Luggage.  It has Cohen the Barbarian and his Silver Horde.  DEATH makes a cameo appearance.  And we meet up again with Twoflower, whom we hadn't seen since Book #2.

    The Agatean Empire is an obvious embodiment of China, so that's a big plus for me.  There are lots of references to Chinese culture and history, as well as the Mandarin language itself.  It verges on stereotyping, but I'll give Pratchett the benefit of the doubt, and assume it's all tongue-in-cheek. 

    This is mostly a light-hearted tale, but woven within is some subtle commentary about revolutions ("Meet the new boss; same as the old boss") and lessons that geriatric geezers can still teach young 'uns.

Kewlest New Word...
Leylines : Alleged alignments of a number of places of geographical or metaphysical interest.  (Who knew there was such a term?)

Excerpts...
    Cohen smiled proprietorially.
    "Truckle used to be reckoned one of the biggest badasses in the world," he said.
    "Really?  Him?"
    "But it's amazing what you can do with a herbal suppository."
    "Up yours, mister," said Truckle.  (pg. 84)

    Agatean was a language of few basic syllables.  It was really all in the tone, inflection, and context.  Otherwise, the word for military leader was also the word for long-tailed marmot, male sexual organ, and ancient chicken coop.  (pg. 92; and very true of Mandarin)

    "How about Organdy Sloggo?  Still going strong down in Howondaland, last I heard."
    "Dead.  Metal poisoning."
    "How?"
    "Three swords through the stomach."  (pg. 333)

"When many expect a mighty stallion they will find hooves on an ant."  (pg. 118)
    At  book #17, Interesting Times is a "tweener" in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series.  The early books were pure tale-telling; and the later ones deal with heavier themes, such as hooliganism and bigotry.  This is a nice blend of those two motifs.

    The storyline moves along nicely, and builds to an exciting and unexpected (unless you're Rincewind) climax.  The only things it's missing are the complex and divergent subplots that are typically present and which Pratchett always deftly weaves into a coherent conclusion.  I am of course in awe of his ability to do this, but their absence here seems to allow Interesting Times to stay more focused than usual throughout.  9 Stars.

The Girl Who Played With Fire - Stieg Larsson

2006 (Swedish); 2009 (English).  724 pages.  New Author? : No.  Genre : Murder Mystery.  Book #2 of the "Millennium Trilogy".  Overall Rating : 8½*/10.

Three people are gunned down execution-style, and there's forensic evidence that links Lisbeth Salander (and only her) to each one.  Mikael Blomkvist believes she is innocent.  Even if she is mentally unstable.  With violent tendencies.  And never wants to see him again.  And despite the fact that one of the victims is...

What's To Like...
    This is a fine sequel to The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.  Blomkvist is no longer bedding every biped he meets, and the storyline is a lot more focused.  Larsson still gets detail-obsessed at times (such as describing every last thing the Lisbeth buys for her apartment), but he keeps it more under control.

Fermat's Last Theorem is in the book (Wiki it), which is always kewl.  And there's some chess too.  The book does start a bit slow (the first murder doesn't occur until page 245), but from there on in, it's a real page-turner.  The ending leaves a couple frayed ends, but I presume this is so it can segue right into the third book, The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest.

Once again, the characters created by Larsson are wonderful studies - even the baddies.  And he is a master at writing a good murder-mystery.

Kewlest New Word...
None really.  I think that's because it's a translation.

Excerpts... 
    She would have considered staying longer had she not made an enemy of a slow-witted young hoodlum who haunted the bar of her backstreet hotel.  Finally she lost patience and whacked him on the head with a brick, checked out of the hotel, and took a ferry to St. George's, the capital of Grenada.  (pg. 14.  I told you she has violent tendencies.)

    It was a one-bedroom apartment in Enskede.  Svensson and Johansson had been going out for a few years, but had finally taken the plunge and moved in together a year ago.  (pg. 114.  Swedes apparently have a different view of what "commitment" entails.)

    There are no innocents.  There are, however, different degrees of responsibility.
    Bjurman was dead because he had chosen not to play by the rules she had stipulated.  He had had every chance, but still he had hired some f**king alpha male to do her harm.  That was not her responsibility.  (pg. 462)

Lisbeth was first.  Camilla was beautiful.  (pg. 109)
    I liked The Girl Who Played With Fire better than TGWTDT.  Lisbeth is now the central character, and she's much more interesting than Blomkvist. 

    Larsson's writing seems to have gotten more polished, although perhaps that's just a matter of a better translator.  The identity of the perpetrator(s) will keep you guessing, as will the motive(s).

    The ending will strain your believability tendon once or twice, but it wraps up the plotline nicely and lays the foundation for Book 3.  It is best if you read these in order, which means you commit to 2100 pages or so when you decide to take up Larsson.  It's well worth it.  8½ Stars.

Fuzzy Sapiens - H. Beam Piper

1964; 235 pages.  Genre : Classic Science Fiction.  New Author? : No.  Overall Rating : 7*/10.
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Fuzzy Sapiens is the sequel to Little Fuzzy (which is reviewed here).  The Fuzzies have been declared sentient, which means you can't kill them, skin them, and/or eat them.  They now have certain rights to their planet, even if all they want to do is snuggle up to the humans and eat their Extee-3 rations.
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But a planetary governemnt has to be established, the Fuzzies need to be protected, and a stable economic system needs to be implemented.  Who knew that these mundane issues would turn out to be so complex?
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What's To Like...
This is "hard" science fiction (meaning 'realistic') from before there was such a sub-genre.  What little thrills-&-spills action there is comes late in the book, and half of it is off-stage.
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Instead you get to help solve a number of real-world issues.  The Fuzzies' Infant Mortality Rate is excessive to where they will be extinxt in a couple generations.  They only eat land prawns and Extee-3 and the planetary supplies of those is such that they'll starve to death before they become extinct.
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The Fuzzies are amenable to be "adopted" by humans, but the demand outstrips the supply.  Will a black market spring up?  Their homeland is ripe for mineral exploitation, and sentient or not, humans are coming by the thousands to colonize the planet.
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For a change, chemists - and even large corporations - are given a fair shake.  Some of the Bad Guys from Little Fuzzy become Good Guys,  and some of the Good Guys from Little Fuzzy develop character faults.
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Kewlest New Word(s)...
I'm tempted to go with Nifflheim, which Piper uses as a euphemism for 'Hell', except that towards the end he just up and uses the h-word anyway.  So instead, we'll go with : Mumchance (adj.) : mute, not speaking.
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Excerpts...
And this red upholstered swivel chair; he hated that worst of all.  Forty years ago, he'd left Terra to get the seat of his pants off the seat of a chair like that, and here he was in the evening of life - well, late afternoon, call it around second cocktail time - trapped in one.  (pg. 8)
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Titanium, he thought disgustedly.  It would be something like that.  What is it they called the stuff?  Oh, yes; the nymphomaniac metal; when it gets hot it combines with anything.  (pg. 153)
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    "Miss Tresca, can't you keep your bench in better order than this?" he scolded.  "Keep things in their places.  What are you working on?"
    "Oh, a hunch I had about this hokfusine."
    Hunch!  That was the trouble, all through Science Center; too many hunches and not enough sound theory.  (pg. 158)
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"Last war's enemies; next war's allies."  (pg. 127)
To a certain degree, H. Beam Piper ignores the greater issues of humans colonizing an already-inhabited planet.  The Fuzzies are migrating, and in droves, but nobody bothers to ask why.  The full impact of overwhelming hordes of humans descending on the Fuzzies habitat is not assessed.  Nobody asks what the Fuzzies ate before they got hooked on Terran Extee-3.
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But I think this misses the point of Fuzzy Sapiens.  There may be some significant issues to be faced, but the target audience is still Young Readers.  To fully address "the big picture" would mean perhaps a 1000-page opus.  Instead, Piper presents only a slice of it, and takes less than 250 pages to do so.  He thereby subtly entices Young Readers to consider becoming chemists, and to explore what we call the Scientific Method.  I think that's kinda kewl.  7 Stars.