Defend and Betray - Anne Perry

    1992; 428 pages.  Book #3 (out of 17) in the "William Monk" series.  New Author? : No.  Genre : Crime Fiction.  Overall Rating : 8*/10.

    Oh my!  Someone has pushed General Thaddeus Carlyon over the banister at the top of the stairs and right down onto a suit of armor (see bookcover).  And with that halberd sticking up in the air.  Fortunately, all that did was daze him.  Until the murderer came downstairs, picked up the halberd, and buried it in his chest.

    Who would do such a dastardly deed?  His wife, that's who. She's confessed to the killing, and said she did it because he was having an affair.

    It's all cut and dried.  Why would anyone think otherwise?  That's what Investigator William Monk wants to find out.

What's To Like...
    There are three "stars" here : Investigator Monk, the barrister Oliver Rathbone, and nurse Hester Latterly.  They all share equal billing, and yet they all have their limitations.  Monk is shrewd, but he's impatient and surly when questioning people - not a good way to get them to talk.  Rathbone seems brilliant - until you meet his father.   And Hester is probably the sharpest of the three, but this is 1857 Victorian England, and women are expected to not be sharp.

    Defend and Betray has a "cozy" start - the murder and confession have already taken place as the book opens.  That's means there's little if any action, and a lot of telling-not-showing as first Rathbone, then Monk, and in some cases also Hester, question each suspect.  You may be tempted to put the book down about halfway through.

    That would be a mistake.  The story builds to the stunning climax, Mrs. Carlyon's trial, and confessed murderess or no, Anne Perry chronicles that whole proceeding with a powerful pen.  It may or may not be realistic (I have no idea what would or would not be allowed in a Victorian courtroom), but the ending will move you.

Kewlest New Word...
Discommoded : inconvenienced; put to trouble.

Excerpts...
    He was normally somewhat nervous of women, having spent most of his life in the company of men and having been taught that the gentle sex was different in every respect, requiring treatment incomprehensible to any but the most sensitive of men.  He was delighted to find Hester intelligent, not given to fainting or taking offense where it was not intended, not seeking compliments at every turn, never giggling, and best of all, quite interested in military tactics, a blessing he could hardly believe.  (pg. 11)

    "I am a servant, Mr. Lovat-Smith," she replied with dignity.  "We have a peculiar position - not quite people, not quite furniture.  We are often party to extraordinary scenes because we are ignored in the house, as if we had not eyes or brains.  People do not mind us knowing things, seeing things they would be mortified to have their friends see." (pg. 398)

"Death is often absurd.  People are absurd.  I am!"  (pg. 27)
    D&B is not really a whodunit; it's more of a whydunit.  And on a deeper level, Anne Perry asks an unsettling question - are there times when embarrassing family secrets should be kept secret?  If someone is willing to sacrifice her life to protect innocent victims from public humiliation, is it better to stand back, remain silent, and let her take the fall?

    The last third of the book more than compensates for the rather pedestrian pace of the first part. You will find Defend and Betray to be a riveting read.  But only if you finish it.  8 Stars.

The Wind From Miilark - M. Edward McNally

    2011; 313 pages.  Book #3 in the Norothian Cycle series.  Genre : Epic Fantasy.  New Author? : No.  Overall Rating : 8½*/10.

    House Deskata is no more; John Deskata has arrived too late to lay claim to its throne.  Not that it would have made much difference, since he was banished from Miilark long ago.  He only came back for his Law Sister, Rhianne.  And to swear an Ukumir - a blood vengeance - against House Lokendah, a rival that profited greatly from the seizing of the Deskata assets.

What's To Like...
  The Wind From Miilark introduces several new characters (Rhianne, Yu Pao, Gonderick) and some new species (gnolls, kobolds, a full elf, and 199 Miclantpal).  For a change, there is only one storyline, and its timeline, at least the start of it, parallels that of Book #2.  Basically we find out what John Deskata is up to while the rest of the gang defends Chengdea.

    M. Edward McNally "broadens" the world still more, by bringing a number of new nations into the saga.  And I finally have some idea of where the Miilarkian Isles are located - way the heck west of the Norothian Channel, methinks. 

    For fans of the "old gang", Tilda, Zeb, and Phin show up about halfway through the book, and Brother Heggenauer makes a cameo appearance at the end.  There is enough action sown throughout to keep your attention, which helps when sailing on the boundless main with John and Rhianne.  The ending has a great twist which, in retrospect, I should've seen coming.

Kewlest New Word...
Geas (singular) : an obligation or prohibition magically imposed on someone (Irish folklore).

Excerpts...
    Yu Pao's face clouded.  "What I was actually looking for was something along the lines of a history, but Mr. Beecha'osi's account was far more...narrative."
    "That is typical of a Miilarkian travelogue.  They can provide a wealth of information about a land or culture, though it is generally secondary to the telling of a story."
    "A story of boundless financial and sexual conquest," Yu Pao said with a neutral inflection that nearly made Rhianne chuckle.
    "I am afraid that too is typical of the genre.  Miilarkians rarely travel without a goal in mind."  (loc. 914)

    "And you think that this 'return' of Vod'Adia is the sign of something larger on the way.  Would that be a large good thing, or a large bad thing?"
    "Have you ever heard of a prophecy that foretold something good?" Tilda asked him.  "It's always plague and pestilence and toads raining from the sky.  There is never a prophecy about the coming of a gentle breeze, or a perfect pair of boots."
    "Pair of boots?" Phin asked.
    "Apparently it is a female thing, I don't understand it either," Zeb told him.  (loc.3167)

Kindle Details...
    I bought The Wind From Miilark for $4.99 at Amazon, the same price as Book 2, Death of a Kingdom.  The first book, The Sable City, is only $2.99, and you really ought to read these in order.

"I had lunch today with the man who is going to kill me,"  (loc. 1995)
     For me, TWFM was darker than the first two books, primarily because John's future is quite grim.  House Lokendah is a powerful, energetic, and resourceful enemy.  Cross their path and die.

    Nonetheless, there is still ample wit and humor.  Zeb can always be counted on to lighten the mood, and Phinneas seems to attract absurdity.  The reason for his being expelled (literally) from the Great Library is hilarious.  I enjoyed meeting the librarian, even if he isn't an orangutan.

    The Wind From Millark has the same structure as the earlier books - steadily-building tension, adventure throughout, and a quest that you might still be trying to discern even when halfway through the book.  Not to worry; it's fun to tag along with our plucky heroes, and once again, the main plotline resolves itself nicely.

    Best of all, the final section hints at bigger, better, and badder things to come. Fantasy is nice.  Epic Fantasy is a delight.  8½ Stars.

The Defiant Agents - Andre Norton

1962; 222 pages.  Book #3 of the Time Traders series.  New Author? : No.  Genre : 50's Science Fiction.  Overall Rating : 7½*/10.

    There is something important - something powerful - on the distant planet Topaz, the records of the ancient star-travelers say so.  We need to find it and take possesion of it fast, before the Russians do.  But conditions on Topaz are harsh and geeky scientists and technicians have poor survival skills.  So let's Apachify them before shipping them out.

    Alas, the Russkies got there first, and their crew has been Mongolized.  Spirit of Cochise, meet Spirit of Genghis Khan!

What's To Like...
    The "Apachifying" process is a unique twist, which Andre Norton calls "the Redax".  Basically, it's the imprinting of 1800's Apache knowledge and instincts into  modern-day brains.  You end up a little bit schizophrenic, but you can live off the land and are one heckuva fighter.  Two coyotes are also given the Redax treatment, making them beastmaster kewl.

    It seems Norton did a lot of research in prepping for this book - the Apache gods, phrases, and culture are convincing.  There's space-travel instead of time-travel,  and we get lots of action, an alien planet to explore, some nasty otherworldly fauna, and a good ending.  The characters aren't deep (this is 50's Sci-Fi, after all), but the two opposing sides are complex, with neither one being all-good or all-bad.

Kewlest New Word...
    Kumiss : a drink common among the Mongols, made from fermented mare's milk.

Excerpts...
    (T)he male coyote went into action.  Days ago he had managed to work loose the lower end of the mesh which fronted his cage, but his mind had told him that a sortie inside the ship was valueless.  The odd rapport he'd had with the human brains, unknown to them, had operated to keep him to the old role of cunning deception, which in the past had saved countless of his species from sudden and violent death.  Now with teeth and paws he went diligently to work, urged on by the whines of his mate, that tantalizing smell of an outside world tickling their nostrils - a wild world, lacking the taint of man-places.  (loc. 249)

    They thrust her out into the circle of waiting men and she planted her feet firmly apart, glaring at them all indiscriminately until she sighted Travis.  Then her anger became hotter and more deadly.
    "Pig!  Rooter in the dirt!  Diseased camel -" she shouted at him in English and then reverted to her own tongue, her voice riding up and down the scale.  Her hands were tied behind her back, but there were no bonds on her tongue.
    "This is one who can speak thunders, and shoot lightnings from her mouth," Buck commented in Apache.  "Put her well away from the wood, lest she set it aflame."  (loc. 1934)

Kindle Details...
    You can pay anything from $0.00 to $3.99 for the Kindle version of The Defiant Agents.  Needless to say, I opted for the freebie.  It looks like a number of Andre Norton books are now public domain, although only a few have been Kindle-ized so far.

Was the enemy always on the other side of the world?  Or could he wear the same uniform, even share the same goals?  (loc. 102)
    The Defiant Agents was published in 1962, which is important for two reasons.  First, it means the target audience was young, teen-age boys.  As such, there's no sex, no cussing, a straighforward plotline, and only a hint of romance.  Second, this was at the height of the Cold War.  Russia was The Enemy, and prudent people built fall-out shelters in their backyards.

    Given that mind-set, Andre Norton sneaks some powerful-yet-subtle messages into her story.  First, we may be the good guys, but we're not much different from the bad guys.  Second, our leaders can fool us, just like the Russian leaders fool their people.  Third, you really can't trust anybody with the possession of WMD's.

    7½ Stars.  Because it will entertain young minds while also giving them lots to think about.

Tourist Season - Carl Hiaasen

1986; 378 pages.  Genre : Florida Crime Noir.  New Author? : No.  Overall Rating : 7½*/10.

    Florida is overcrowded.  Too many tourists and convention-goers come every year, to say nothing of the slew of geezers who have retired here permanently for the year-round sunshine.  Thanks to the Chamber of Commerce, swamps are being drained and artificial islands created, all to lure more visitors.

    Someone ought to persuade all the interlopers to stay away or move back north.  The alternative is to simply start killing them off.  Come to think of it, the latter might just bring about the former.

What's To Like...
    Tourist Season was published in 1986, 15 years before 9/11, when terrorists could still be portrayed as something other than utterly evil fanatics.  Here, the group is called Las Noches de Diciembre (The Nights of December) and they are inept, committed, funny, and ruthless.

    The protagonist is Brian Keyes, a PI who used to be a journalist.  He's got strings to pull at both the newspapers and the Miami PD, and he somehow makes women want to go to bed with him.  Besides trying to stop LNdD, he has to bodyguard Kara Lynn Shivers, this year's Orange Bowl Queen.   Kara's a much stronger character than your stereotypical bikini-beauty-bimbo.

    What's really kewl about Tourist Season is the equal treatment Carl Hiaasen gives to both the terrorists and the good guys.  Yes, LNdD are a bunch of psychopathic losers, but at least they have a noble cause.  Kinda.  You might even find yourself pulling for Pavlov, the trained crocodile.  (Do not call him an alligator!).

Kewlest New Word...
Insouciance : having or showing freedom from worries or trouble.

Excerpts...
    It was two years ago that Jenna had dumped him for Wiley - Wiley, of all people!  Why couldn't it have been an artist, or a concert musician, or some anorexic-looking poet from the Grove?  Anyone but Skip Wiley - and right in the bitter worst of the Callie Davenport business.  What a couple: Jenna, who adored Godunov and Bergman; and Wiley, who once launched a write-in campaign to get Marilyn Chambers an Oscar.  (pg. 61)

    The kennel club bomb actually was a small land mine, a rudimentary imitation claymore, which Jesus Bernal had buried on the second turn of the track.  The greyhound that triggered the mine was a speedy dam named Blistered Sister who went off at 20-to-1.  Literally.  One second there were eight lank dogs churning along the rail, and the next they were airborne, inside-out.  It was a mess.  The blast took out a sixty-foot stretch of racetrack and disrupted betting for hours.  Blistered Sister, whose brindle carcass landed closest to the finish wire, was ruled the winner...   (pgs. 177-78)

"Strangled to death is redundant, doesn't he know that?" (pg. 106)
    Tourist Season made me laugh. and that's always a plus.  It was Carl Hiaasen's debut novel, and not surprisingly, it seems a bit uneven.  Some of the deaths are given in gory detail, others are curiously sanitized.  The struggle between the good guys and the bad guys is spotlighted throughout the length of the book, yet the ending itself dangles.

    On a deeper level, though, Tourist Season is Carl Hiaasen's commentary on the state of the State of Florida - the urbanization, the eco-wrecking, and the loss of heritage.  In that regard, the book succeeds nicely.  7½ Stars, and Floridans can add another 1½ stars for topicality.

Death of a Kingdom - M. Edward McNally

2011; 398 pages.  Genre : Epic Fantasy.  Book # 2 of The Norothian Cycle.  New Author? : No.  Overall Rating : 8½*/10.

    Change looms in the Norothian world, perhaps on an unprecedented scale.  It is already touching Tilda's band of adventurers.  Nesha-Tari sails east to do her Master's bidding.  John Deskata rides north to contest the throne of Miilark.  Tilda and Phin have "baggage" issues.  The Duchess Claudja wants to get back to her homeland of Chengdea, where her father's open rebellion will surely lead to war.

    And the dragons have their own agendas.

What's To Like...
   The time is about two weeks after the end of Book 1, and the action starts immediately.  The accompanying map is more inclusive, which is good since M. Edward McNally brings some new lands into the story.

    John Deskata is gone; we won't see him again until Book 3.  As a replacement, we get a Codian princess, Allison.  Be not beguiled by her youth and diminuitive size; you do not want to get into a fight with her, with or without weapons.  We meet some new species - a half-elf and a way-kewl minotaur(ess).  Nesha-Tari's quest is told in a separate storyline, and she picks up some interesting traveling companions.  The arch-fiend, Balan, is back; and he's in a foul mood.

    One of the kewlest things about Death of a Kingdom is the treatment of the heroes themselves.  Their spirits may be noble, but not all their actions are.  Three people die because of one hero's carelessness, there is an unprovoked military excursion, and well... um..., a girl's gotta eat, right?  Personally, I like my characters like this - not all white or all black. "Gray" is fashionable in Epic Fantasy.

Kewlest New Word...
Breeks : a Scottish term for breeches.

Excerpts...
    "You have never really said if you adhere to any Norothian faith in particular.  I am trying to recall, but I believe you have taken each of the Ennead's names in vain, in roughly equal measure."  (...)
    "Faith tends to be fairly malleable in the Rivens, as if you feel too strongly for one-or-another deity, you are probbably going to have to march against someone else's followers at some point.  Or else, they will come for you.  There are not many big churches, either.  Too inviting a target once a war gets rolling.  Most of us pray to anyone we think will listen, depending on circumstance."  (location 989)

    Claudja watched the old Chengdean sergeant sight along the shaft of Zeb's crossbow, test the pull, then salute him.  He said a few polite words in Daulic the Minauan only blinked at, then turned and started to leave, taking Zeb's bow with him.
    "Hey, what the... what was that?" Zeb asked, turning to Claudja.  "I rather need my bow, your Grace."
    Claudja looked at the puzzled man calmly.  "Zebulon, that man is a skilled marksman without a weapon.  I have seen you miss enemies from five paces.  This is simply a more efficient deployment of resources."
    "You wound me, Duchess."
    "And you wound nothing you aim at.  Come with me."  (location 5746)

Kindle Details...
   I paid $4.99 for DoaK at Amazon, which is pretty reasonable for a 400-page book.  But you really should read the first book in the series, The Sable City (500 pages in length, and reviewed here), which you can pick up for $2.99.

"It seems the things we do here are doomed to be of significance."  (location 6360)
    The book's main storyline is well-crafted.  It builds to a climactic battle, and the ending both wraps things up nicely and points to further adventures.  You might get a little tired of Nesha-Tari riding over hill and dale with her bickering companions, but have patience.  You will be well rewarded once they arrive at Ayzantu City.

    Death of a Kingdom is a worthy sequel to The Sable City.  New characters are introduced, existing ones are developed further (especially Nesha-Tari), and the overlying story evolves from a simple quest to the dawning of a New Order.  Isn't that what sequels are supposed to do?  8½ Stars.

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

2008; 374 pages.  New Author? : Yes.  Genre : Dystopian Thriller.  Book #1 of the Hunger Games trilogy.  Overall Rating : 10*/10.

    Woohoo!  Katniss Everdeen has won the lottery.  That means she gets an all-expenses-paid train trip to The Capitol, a whole new wardrobe, and she'll be eating better than she ever has in her whole life.

    The downside is that she has to compete in the Hunger Games.  24 teenagers (a girl and a boy from each of the 12 districts) fight to the death in a huge, artificially-rendered arena.  The event is televised nationally for the entertainment and punishment of the districts.  Be the last one alive, and your district receives extra food and other resources.  Be any of the other 23, and all you are is dead.

What's To Like...
    The Hunger Games will appeal to almost everyone.  It's a YA novel that adults will also enjoy.  It has Action, Drama, Romance, Thrills, and Kills.  Despite the inevitable ending, there are plot twists to keep your interest.  And plenty of Situational Ethics for you to ponder.

    Suzanne Collins handles the dystopian backdrop well.  She gives enough details for you to feel the misery and oppression, but not to the point of where the storyline gets overshadowed.

    The characters are complex and evolve as the story progresses.  There are good guys, bad guys, and a number of "tweeners".  Even the baddies evoke some sympathy, which is a pleasant surprise.  But in the end, only one can survive.

Excerpts...
    (W)e make an effort to keep on good terms with Greasy Sae.  She's the only one who can consistently be counted on to buy wild dog.  We don't hunt them on purpose, but if you're attacked and you take out a dog or two, well, meat is meat.  "Once it's in the soup, I'll call it beef," Greasy Sae says with a wink.  No one in the Seam would turn up their nose at a good leg of wild dog, but the Peacekeepers who come to the Hob can afford to be a little choosier.  (pg. 11)

    Deep in the meadow, hidden far away
    A cloak of leaves, a moonbeam ray
    Forget your woes and let your troubles lay
    And when again it's morning, they'll wash away.

    Here it's safe, here it's warm
    Here the daisies guard you from every harm
    Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true
    Here is the place where I love you.  (pg. 235)

"District Twelve.  Where you can starve to death in safety."  (pg. 6)
    So how good of a story is The Hunger Games?  Well, consider this.  The first third of the book is all about Katniss prepping for the games.  Which means it's all drama.  No killing, no action, no romance.  Yet it will keep you in your chair, turning the pages.  Then the games begin, the excitement kicks in, and you find yourself thoroughly hooked.

    There are a couple deus ex machinas, but they balance out all the "Bruce Willis Die Hard" injuries that Katniss sustains, so they're forgiveable.

    The Hunger Games is easy-to-read (it really is a YA novel), with an ending that's both happy and haunting.  The big challenge is for the other two books of the trilogy to maintain the high standard.  10 Stars.

The Portable Door - Tom Holt

2003; 404 pages.  New Author? : No.  Genre : Contemporary Humor; Fantasy.  Overall Rating : 8½*/10.

    For the first time in his brief working career, Paul Carpenter has a steady, full-time, paying job.  Of course, the work (filing) is boring, the Management Team seems like it just fell out of Tales From The Crypt, and there are strange rules about working late and arriving early.

    Then there's the other newly-hired clerk.  She's a skinny plain-Jane, has a crappy personality, likes artists for boyfriends, and seems to be always irritated with Paul.

   Perhaps Romance is about to walk into Paul's life.  But if so, it will have to step around that giant Arthurian sword-in-the-stone that just appeared in his apartment.

What's To Like...
    The Portable Door has the usual Tom Holt formula.  It starts out normal, then something surreal happens.  Then a second piece of weirdness is added.  And a third; and a fourth.  And so on.  Pretty soon we're up to our necks in strangeness, and wondering whether Holt's capable of juggling, let alone resolving, all the madness.

     Our hero and heroine are more ordinary than heroic, and I like that.  There's some time- and dimension-hopping, which is always a plus for me.  There's wit and surprises, and maybe-just-maybe some romance.  And last-but-not-least, there's the ultra-kewl Portable Door.

Kewlest New Word...
Bedsit : a one-room apartment typically consisting of a combined bedroom and sitting room with cooking facilities.  (Now you know what that Moody Blues line, "bedsitter people look back and lament" is all about).

Excerpts...
    "Who would you rather be, Lloyd George or Gary Rhodes?"
    "Sorry," Paul said.  "Who's Lloyd George?"
    "What do you most admire about the works of Chekhov?"
    Paul frowned.  "I don't know," he said.  "The way he says, Course laid in, keptin, is pretty cool, but mostly he doesn't get to do much."  (pg. 11)

    She smiled.  "You know," she said, "you've put me in mind of something a kid like you said to me once, not long after we'd had a chat pretty much on the lines of this one, where I'd told him to watch his back, and he said, Yeah, sure.  Always stuck in my mind, it has, what he said then."
    "Really?  What was that, then?"
    "Aaaaargh," Mr. Tanner's mum replied.  "Be seeing you."  (pg. 262)

Do gerbils love?  (pg. 379)
   I worried at the start of The Portable Door.  Clerical work is boring, and it takes a little time for the wackiness to start permeating the storyline.  This was my third Tom Holt book.  (the other two are here and here).  Was it going to turn out to be the first dud?

    Silly me.  Tom Holt is a masterful writer.  He was just building up the tension via unresolved bizarreness.  Halfway through the book, he starts giving us some answers, and it's a fantastic read from there on.  The myriad of loose ends are ably attended to in a very nice ending.

    The humor had me chuckling, and TPD could serve as a textbook for how to effectively use the "show-don't-tell" precept.  8½ Stars.

The Sable City - M. Edward McNally

2011; 475 pages.  New Author? : Yes.  Genre : Epic Fantasy.  Book #1 of "The Norothian Cycle".  Overall Rating : 8*/10.

    Tilda Lanai and Captain Block are hunting the rogue legionnaire, John Deskata.  Zebulon Baj Nif has been "borrowed" for his translating skills by a Samurai, a Healer, and their reclusive employer.  Phinneas Phoarty, a mage with the skills somewhere between Gandalf and Rincewind (probably closer to Rincewind) also gets coaxed into that group.  The Duchess Claudja Perforce and her bodyguard, Sir Lucas Towsan, are on their way to a Jobian temple.

    Everyone has hidden agendas.  All three bands (with a couple additions and subtractions) will cross paths in the muddy streets of Camp Town.  In the shadow of the Sable City.  All agendas, hidden or open, will be changed.

What's To Like...
    The Sable City pays heavy tribute to AD&D quests, along with a couple nods to LOTR (doesn't anyone go over mountains anymore?).  There are dragons and goblins, clerics and mages, devils and armies; and although elves and halflings don't show up, they are cited as if they exist.

    We follow Tilda and Block's travels exclusively for the first 8 chapters.  It's a bit of a challenge, as they're "off" the book's map (to the north).  The story has some slow spots as the author introduces you to his world and its characters, but this is all for a good cause.  Once that's out of the way, things pick up sharply, and the action flows full force the rest of the way.

    There are an adequate number of plot twists, some token romance, and enough humor to keep the overall mood from getting too dark.  The characters aren't particularly deep, but they are endearing.  Even the evil ones are fun to follow.  The ending is quite satisfying, despite this being Book One of a series.

Kewlest New Word...
Poniard (adj.) : dagger-like (here, "poniard teeth")

Excerpts...
    Zeb laid prostrate and bled, managing to do no more than slowly move his left arm across his chest to grip his right hard above the ruined elbow.  Even the slight motion of his arm against the ground sent a new wave of blaring pain over him, swimming the sky and making air hiss out between his teeth like a kettle.
    After moments that seemed much longer, Zeb's leftenant appeared over him.  He shouted for a tourniquet, then knelt and clamped both hands around Zeb's arm.
    "It could be worse," the leftenant said.  Zeb looked at him with the one eye he still had open.
    "How do you figure, sir?"
    "Well... they could have shot me."  (12% Kindle; location 1142)

    Nesha-tari had not learned her magic in the manner of an Imperial Wizard.  No Circle had neutered her mind, forcing false obstructions between her will and her power.  To release in invocation like the lightning that was the attack form favored by her Master, she did not have to memorize spells and bind their release to meaningless words, gestures, and material components.  If Nesha-tari wanted to throw lightning, she would bring it into being in her hands.  If she wanted a shield against scrying magic, it formed unseen in the air around her.  (76% Kindle; location 7127)

Kindle Details...
  I downloaded TSC for free at Amazon, but it's $2.99 now.  Death of a Kingdom (Book 2) and The Wind from Miilark (Book 3) are both $4.99.  I'm not sure if this is a trilogy or a continuing series.

Good luck wears off, the Tulls had said.  Bad luck lasts forever.  (location 400)
    The Sable City has some weaknesses, but they're minor.  M. Edward McNally goes overboard with descriptions at the outset, but this tapers off nicely once the action gets going.  The map is sucky, but perhaps it's better on the Kindle Fire than on my Kindle.

    At its core, TSC reminds me less of LOTR, and more of a Margaret Weis/Tracy Hickman series.  Some of us think that's still pretty freakin' kewl.  8 Stars.

The Stone Arrow - Richard Herley

1978; 224 pages.  New Author? : Yes.  Genre : Action Adventure.  Book #1 of "The Pagans" trilogy.  Laurels : winner of the Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize.  Overall Rating : 8*/10.

    The time is ca. 3000 BC.  In southern Britain, a scourge is sweeping the land, uprooting fauna and flora, and displacing the local hunter-gatherers.  The scourge has a name.  It is called Farming.

    One farming village decides to speed up the displacement of a neighboring clan of hunter-gatherers.  They raid the encampment at night, killing everyone there down to the last man.  But they miss that last man, Tagart.  So what?  What can one angry man do against a fortified village of 170 people?

    Bad mistake, farmers.  Very bad mistake.

What's To Like...
    The Stone Arrow is literally non-stop action.  Tagart is resolved to avenge his tribe by killing as many of the villagers as he can.  Anyone else getting in the way will suffer the same fate.  There will be no mercy, so there is a lot of gruesome violence.  You have rape, dismemberment, torture, and cold-blooded murder of men, women, and children.  This is not a book for the squeamish.

    Richard Herley does a nice job of recreating neolithic England at this critical time in civilization.  Things like the towns, animals, and landscape are described in vivid detail, maybe a bit too much so at times.  There's some romance, and even a little humor.  At one point Tagart's ambush fails because he drops his bundle of arrows while perched in a tree.  How droll!  The pacing is frenetic, and the ending is satisfying, despite being used to set up the next book in the series.

Kewlest New Word...
Periapt : an item worn as a charm or amulet.  (archaic).

Excerpts...
    Hernou was afraid.  The savages were killers.  It was the way they lived, by hunting and killing.  They thought no more of blood and murder than did the farmers of soil and harvest.  The harsh forest life streamlined their tribes and made them strong and ruthless, like the animals they sought for their prey.  Their discipline, their life, were impossible to understand.  For them to swim free in the seasons, not to have precise tasks for each week and day, but to wander the land by whim: this alone thrust the savages far beyond comprehension.  (39%, location 1296)

    He waited, as if he were waiting for deer, exploring his thoughts.  The water-bottle lay at his side.  No mistake.  Fifty miles to Burh.  He could not risk using the Valdoe roads.  A forest route, then.  Twenty miles a day, his usual speed, would be too much for him in his present state.  Fifteen.  Allow three days.  Four at most.  Burh in four days.  Four back to Valdoe.  That left two spare days before Crale Day.
    It could be done.  He could get the girl out somehow.  (67%; location 2181)

Kindle Details...
    This was, and still is, a free download at Amazon.  The next two books in the series, The Flint Lord and The Earth Goddess, are reasonably priced at $2.99 each.

"Look what the savages have done."  (5%; location 189)
    I do have a couple quibbles with some of the historical details.  In particular, using bolas as weapons, the sport of falconry, and the wearing of (presumably metal) armor and helmets.  Were any of these really present 5,000 years ago in Britain?

    But The Stone Arrow is primarily an action tale, and only secondarily a piece of historical fiction.  So we'll forgive a few anachronisms, and be happy that Richard Herley made the effort to set the story in such a fascinating time.  8 Stars.  This is as good of a freebie download of contemporary fiction as I've found yet at Amazon.  Quite likely I'll be reading the sequels in the next couple of months.

The Princess Bride - William Goldman

1973; 398 pages.  New Author? : Yes.  Genre : Fantasy.  Full Title : "S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure, The Princess Bride".  Overall Rating : 7*/10.

    The full title doesn't mislead; The Princess Bride truly is a tale of love and adventure.  It features Buttercup and Westley; pirates and swordplay; six-fingered villains and R.O.U.S.s; Fezzik and...

    ...oh, come on now.  We've all seen the movie; most of us have watched it several times.  Do I really need to do a plot synopsis?

What's To Like...
    All your favorite quips and one-liners are here.  But the book (which came first) has a lot more depth and a bunch of scenes that the movie just couldn't cover due to time constraints.  Fezzik in particular is fleshed out.  We learn about his childhood, are privy to his thoughts, and enjoy a rhyming game that he and Inigo play.  More details about Buttercup are given, sometimes to her detriment.  And there is a kewl fight through the Zoo of Death that I don't recall being in the movie.

    There is an extra "story layer" in the book.  The movie has the main tale plus Peter Falk reading the story to the little boy.  Now Goldman's fictitious editing of Morgenstern's manuscript overlays both those plotlines.

    The "extras" are a mixed bag.  There is a neat map, and the epilogue, Buttercup's Baby, gives some alluring teasers for a possible sequel, plus some answers about what happens after the film ended.  The introduction, where Goldman gives details about the making of the movie, is skippable.  And his pseudo-criticisms of Morgenstern's manuscript get irksome.

Excerpts...
    Buttercup ran to her bedroom mirror.  "Oh, Westley," she said, "I must never disappoint you," and she hurried downstairs to where her parents were squabbling.  ...  "I need your advice," she interrupted.  "What can I do to improve my personal appearance."
    "Start by bathing," her father said.
    "And do something with your hair while you're at it," her mother said.
    "Unearth the territory behind your ears."
    "Neglect not your knees."  (pg. 56)

    Did they make it?  Was the pirate ship there?  You can answer it for yourself, but, for me, I say yes it was.  And yes, they got away.  And got their strength back and had lots of adventures and more than their share of laughs.
    But that doesn't mean I think they had a happy ending either.  Because, in my opinion anyway, they squabbled a lot, and Buttercup lost her looks eventually, and one day Fezzik lost a fight and some hotshot kid whipped Inigo with a sword and Westley was never able to really sleep sound because of Humperdinck maybe being on the trail.
    I'm not trying to make this a downer, understand.  I mean, I really do think that love is the best thing in the world, except for cough drops.  But I also have to say, for the umpty-umpth time, that life isn't fair.  It's just fairer than death, that's all.  (pg. 315)

"Inconceivable."  (pg. 100)
    There are some slow spots in The Princess Bride, particularly between when Humperdinck captures Westley and the wedding day.  This is probably unavoidable for those who have watched the movie a couple times.  You know what's going to happen, and you've memorized all the verbal zingers coming up.  When the action slows, one's interest lags.

    Nonetheless, I found this overall a fun read, simply because I could take my time to savor the good parts.  And the movie, excellent though it is, does leave a lot of unanswered questions, which Buttercup's Baby addresses.  Sadly, I don't think it will ever be developed into a full-fledged sequel.  William Goldman is 80+ years old, and seems to have settled in to doing screenplays, not novels.

    7 Stars, maybe more if you're one of the 17 people in the world who haven't seen the movie.

Madmen at the Tombs - Ilow Martin Roque

2012; 378 pages.  New Author? : Yes.  Genre : Catholic Polemic.  Overall Rating : 3*/10.

    Jia Chen is going to Montreal.  Ostensibly, she will be working with the brilliant scientist, Dr. Lanning Balcourt.  But in truth, she is a spy for the Chinese government.  Ah, such intrigue!  It's a pity that her cover's been blown before she even sets foot in Canada.

What's To Like...
    The story takes place in 2165 AD, and Ilow Martin Roque does a nice job of creating a believable world set 1½ centuries in the future.  Most of the changes are technological.  Which, when you think about it, is also true of the present compared to 150 years in the past.  Global travel is faster, and there are some nifty techno-geeky gadgets for one's daily life.

   There are also sociological differences.  China now sits at the top of the economic, politicial, cultural, and technological pyramids, which is a pleasant change of pace.  The US doesn't even make it into the book.  The story opens in Hangzhou and Shanghai, China; which just happen to be the only two cities that I've visited there.  How kewl is that?!

    The storyline has a promising start.  There's a neat bit of brain surgery at 22% (Kindle).  Alas, just when you expect Madmen at the Tombs to kick it up a notch, it degenerates into a piece of Roman Catholic evangelism, and it's all downhill from there.

Kewlest New Word...
Encomium : a speech or piece of writing that bestows high praise on something or someone.

Kindle Details...
   I bought Madmen At The Tombs for $2.99 at Amazon.  It is also available in paperback for $15.33.  Amazon Prime members can read it for free, but frankly Amazon Prime seems like a royal rip-off to me.

When a necessary evil has lost its necessity, what are you left with?   (47%)
    MatT is in dire need of a good editor.   There is too much telling, and not enough showing.  There are run-on sentences and overly-descriptive paragraphs that serve no purpose.  There's too little action, and some of what is there seems unconnected to the storyline.  Even the boffo ending is diluted somewhat by Jia being unconscious when the shooting starts.  I've forgotten too much of my Mandarin to critique those passages, but the French ones are atrocious.  "Je n'est c'est pas"??  Ouch.

    All this is fixable.  What isn't is the motif of the book - Catholic doctrinism disguised as Science Fantasy.  We learn that abortion clinics promote Satanism, the evil ones use sex and drugs to further their nefarious plans, Science is a false god, cloning will herald in Armageddon, the Pope can speak and do no wrong, and China unfairly imposes their will on the local Catholic churches.  The only thing missing is the Sun revolving around the Earth.

    People who are tired of the Vatican always getting portrayed badly in books and movies (I'm thinking Angels and Demons here) might enjoy Madmen at the Tombs.  Everyone else, especially those looking for science fiction or action-adventure, should give it a pass.  3 Stars.
 

Sky Coyote - Kage Baker

1999; 310 pages.  New Author? : No.  Book #2 (of 9) in "The Company" series.  Genre : Historical Fiction; Fantasy.  Overall Rating : 6*/10.

    It's 1699 AD.  Joseph is a Facilitator, an Immortal, a Time-Traveler, and a Cyborg.  Also he's been a dedicated agent for a 24th-century group called "The Company" for, oh, 10,000 years or so.

    His latest assignment is simple - persuade a village of the Chumash (a California Indian tribe) to abandon their settlement before the Spanish arrive and wipe them out.  Which will happen eventually.

    But there's a ulterior motive.  The Company wants the village - lock, stock, and pottery bowls (but not the people; just their DNA) to add to their cultural antiquities collection.

   To help him in his quest, Joseph will be surgically modified (there are certain advantages to being a cyborg) to look like Sky Coyote, the local trickster god.  The Chumash are overjoyed.  It's not every day a deity comes down and visits them.

What's To Like...
  It's been a while since I read the first book (reviewed here).  Sky Coyote seems a bit "lighter" than that one; with a lot less romance (yay!) and a lot more wit.  For those who haven't read Book 1, Kage Baker provides a brief-yet-adequate backstory near the beginning.  And the prologue - set in post-Mayan Guatemala, is a hoot.

    There really was a tribe of Indians called the Chumash, but Baker opts to imbue them with modern traits.  They have trade unions, they are into astrological fortune-telling, and they tend to speak like Valley Girls.  I assume the point is to spoof the absurdity that is modern California, but it falls flat.

    Joseph is the main character, and consequently gets fleshed out a lot more than in In The Garden of Iden.  But Mendoza is along for the quest too, and she's always a draw.

Kewlest New Word...
Epergne : a type of table centerpiece, typically with a bowl that holds fruit or flowers.

Excerpts...
    "It was time for you to move on anyway," I told Mendoza consolingly.  "It was stuffy.  Decadent.  Nothing should be decadent and dull."
    "Your father was a Moorish groom and your mother performed circumcisions on soldiers," she informed me.
    "Hey, that's okay.  I know you're not really sore.  You're going to love it in California."
    "I won't be able to get a cocktail there for at least a hundred years," she brooded.  "And longer, for a Ghirardelli's hot fudge sundae."
    "Well, you hated parties, anyway."  (pg. 64)

    When a guy in a Cro-Magnon hunting party fell into a bear den, his friends would step away from the edge and wring their hands.  They'd compose sorrowful elegies about him afterward, or maybe horror stories about bears; but no way would they endanger themselves to get him out.  When a guy from a Neanderthal tribe fell into a den, though, his friends wouldn't even stop to think: they'd jump right in after him and lay about them with their fists, if they had nothing else, until the bears stopped biting or their friend managed to scramble out.
    Of course, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that eventually there were a lot fewer Neanderthals than Cro-Magnons...  (pg. 189-190)

We are the bright ascending bubbles in the black wine of mortality.  (pg. 50)
    Sky Coyote has humor, alt-history, and some incisive social commentary.  Alas, it has zero tension, and very little action.  Joseph carries out his task (this is easy when the natives think you're a god) without any delays or hitches.

    I suspect Kage Bakers's purpose in penning Sky Coyote was to advance the bigger tale.  We are introduced to several new cyborg operatives, and the first seeds of doubt about The Company's motives/benevolence are planted in Joseph's brain circuits.

    This might pay off down the line, but for now, it would've been nice to have a more compelling storyline.  The Chinigchinix might have posed more of a menace, the Chumash might have balked at moving, and/or the Spanish might have shown up ahead of schedule.  Instead, it's simply Metro - Boulot- Dodo.  6 Stars, cuz it's kinda meh, but it cooda been a lot worse.

Fact. Fact. Bullsh*t! - Neil Patrick Stewart

2011; 354 pages.  New Author? : Yes.  Genre : Non-Fiction; Trivia.  Overall Rating : 8*/10.

    Do you like Trivial Pursuit?  Is there something appealing about cluttering up your mind with obscure bits of information?  More importantly, can you tell a true statement from a bunch of baloney?

    If you answered 'yes' to these three questions, then you will probably enjoy Fact. Fact.  Bullsh*t!

What's To Like...
   Neil Patrick Stewart uses a kewl template to present the trivia :  three assertions; two of which are factual, the third of which is bullsh*t.  The phony answers are well-crafted.  I kept looking for a pattern that would give them away, and didn't find any.

    There are seven chapters : Animals, Pop Culture, Food, Dead People ("History"), Science, Sports & Games, and Miscellaneous.  Using chapters lends a nice order to the book.  I liked it better than just random entries.  They were just the right length, as was the book as a whole.

    The writing is witty; the author usually adds some more bits of trivia while giving you the answer.  And there's a couple pictures to break up the monotony of the text.

Excerpt... (a sample question; spot the BS; answer in comments)

LOL!

1. Expressions such as "LOL" (an acronym for "laughing out loud") has (sic) been proven to be beneficial for e-communication: A study at the University of Tasmania found that using Internet shorthand is twice as efficient for both sender and reader.

2. LOL is an airport in Nevada.  Lol is a place in France.  Lolol is a town in Chile.  "Lol" Tolhurst was the first drummer for the English band The Cure.

3. The French equivelent of "LOL" is "MDR."  Coincidentally, lol is a real word in both Welsh and Dutch, meaning "nonsense" and "fun," respectively.

Kindle Details...
    I got the book as a limited-time free-download at Amazon.  It is now selling for $8.93, and is #4/#5 in various "paid" categories there.  It's also available as a paperback for $11.16

Everyone's an Expert...
   There are a few typos and errors.  The Fact/Bullsh*t answer designations on the Marie Curie question were reversed.  And the Thomas Jefferson one was both wrong and spurious.  It almost seemed like it was a red herring, but I can't see a purpose for that.

   The only suggestion I can make is for the author to list his sources.  But, instead of at the rear of the book, how about online somewhere?  It would be a convenient resource.  Most of us, of course, wouldn't use it.  But the nit-pickers could have a field day.

    8 Stars.  Fact. Fact. Bullsh*t! is a fun, light, easy-to-read book.  I read it as I would an anthology - a few nibbles at a time. It never got tedious.

Humans - Donald Westlake

1992; 355 pages.  New Author? : No.  Genre : Apocalyptic Fiction.  Rating : 8½*/10.

    The end of the world is at hand; God has decreed it.  And to carry it out, He's summoned one of his angels, Ananayel.  Like any angel (except for those who fell with Lucifer, and we don't talk about them), Ananayel is a faithful servant, eager and resolved to do His will.

    The plan is clear, at least to Ananayel.  It's just a matter of selecting a team of humans to carry it out, since the Man Upstairs has ordained that supernatural means are not to be used.  Ah, but if it's God's plan, then we can expect the Arch-Fiend and his minions to oppose it.  Which means, funnily enough, that they will be trying to save the world.

What's To Like...
    Ananayel's team is scattered around the globe and have one thing in common - the world has royally dumped on them all.  There's a Kenyan prostitute who has AIDS; a Russian firefighter dying from Chernobyl radiation; a Chinese democracy activist forced into hiding and running from the authorities; a washed-up Brazilian singer now futilely trying to save the rainforest; and an American ex-con petty thief whose only future is to get caught yet again and sent back to jail.

    Ananayel makes for a fascinating study as he interacts with his team and painstakingly tries to herd them towards New York.  He's a shape-shifter and can summon objects (such as a wad of cash or a car), but he is limited by having to make everything appear to be a natural occurrence.  It's fun to watch his "shepherding" as he endeavors to carry out his plan.

Kewlest New Word...
Bruit (v.) : to spread (a rumor or some news) around.

Excerpts...
    "You'll have your day in court, Kwan.  That's the name, right?  Li Kwan?  Your last name's Kwan?"
    "My family name is Li," Kwan answered.  My given name is Kwan."
    "Oh."  The man frowned some more at the papers.  "They got it backward here."
    "Li Kwan.  That's correct."
    The man smiled in sudden understanding.  "I get it!  You do it backward!  Is that a Chinese thing, or is it just you?"  (pg. 212)

    Why were they so cheerful?  By now, bitterness and sorrow should have made those five much more silent and introspective.  It must be their companionship that was raising their spirits, but unfortunately I couldn't give them a properly disheartening solitude; they had to work together.  Would they do the right thing when the time came?  Yes, they would, they would, there was no real question.  I would turn the screw until they did what I wanted.  Of their free will, of course.  (pg. 273)

Don't be afraid, you wretched vermin.  We will save you.  (pg. 117)
    The underlying theme in Humans is Free Will.  Humans theoretically have it, but Ananayel deftly maneuvers them towards his desired goal.  Angels theoretically don't have it, but unforseen counterplans call for improvisation.  And spending time in the world of humans can't help but have unscripted consequences.

    Donald Westlake's primary genre is Crime, not apocalyptic fiction.  He puts out both serious novels and the captivating and hilarous Dortmunder series.  By penning Humans, he demonstrates that a gifted author can excel in any genre.  8½ Stars.

Right Ho, Jeeves - P.G. Wodehouse

1934; 234 pages.  Genre : Humor; Classical Fiction.  New Author? : no.  Overall Rating : 7½*10.

    Bertie Wooster has a problem.  Aunt Dahlia wants him to hand out prizes to the little nippers at the upcoming Market Snodsbury Grammar School awards ceremony, and he finds the prospect frightful.

    But Bertie is also a problem-solver.  He finagles shy, newt-obsessed chum, Gussie Fink-Nottle to go visit Aunt Dahlia at her home at Brinkley Court; then coaxes her into choosing Gussie instead.

    Unfortunately, Bertie's solutions are always worse than the original problems.  Two budding romances at Brinkley Court are rapidly ruined, as is Aunt Dahlia's ploy to get her husband to cough up money for propping up her failing newspaper.

    And everyone is blaming Bertie.  There's only one thing for him to do.  Journey to Brinkley Court and solve all those problems.

What's To Like...
    Right Ho, Jeeves has the standard P.G. Wodehouse template.  It starts with a madcap escapade that quickly spins off more sideplots.  Everything keeps getting more out-of-control, and at 25 pages to go, you wonder how Wodehouse is going to tie it all up.  The twist here is that Jeeves (Bertie's valet) is forbidden to meddle in any of this, and it is Jeeves who normally wins the day.

    RH,J is told in the first-person by Bertie, and his skewed rationalizations are what drive the humor.  The wit is good, the pacing is great, and if you're already a fan of the series, you'll find a lot of old friends here.

Kewlest New Word...
    C3 : an adj. meaning inferior or worthless (as compared to "A1").

Excerpts...
    "If you knew Brinkley Court, you would not ask that question.  In those romantic surroundings you can't miss.  Great lovers through the ages have fixed up the preliminaries at Brinkley.  The place is simply ill with atmosphere.  You will stroll with the girl in the shady walks.  You will sit with her on the shady lawns.  You will row on the lake with her.  And gradually you will find yourself working up to a point where -"
    "By Jove, I believe you're right!"
    "Of course, I'm right.  I've got engaged three times at Brinkley."   (pg. 38; Kindle 15%)

    "Angela," I said, and if my voice was stern, well, whose wouldn't have been, "this is all perfect drivel."
    She seemed to come out of a reverie.  She looked at me inquiringly.
    "I'm sorry, Bertie, I didn't hear.  What were you talking drivel about?"
    "I was not talking drivel."
    "Oh, sorry, I thought you said you were."
    "Is it likely that I would come out here in order to talk drivel?"
    "Very likely."  (pg. 175; Kindle 76%)

Kindle Details...
    This is a free download at both Amazon and my local library.  And since it is now "public domain" it should stay free and always be available.

"Bertie, do you read Tennyson?"  "Not if I can help."  (pg. 220)
    This was my fourth Jeeves book, and I enjoyed it despite it following the same plot structure as the other three.  Mayhem, more mayhem, even more mayhem, Jeeves saves the day - with dry, British humor that'll make you chuckle flowing throughout.

   We'll give Right Ho, Jeeves 7½ Stars, mostly cuz there's nothing new here.  But who cares when the pattern is good and the writing  is Wodehousian witty.

Duma Key - Stephen King

2008; 609 pages.  New Author? : No.  Genre : Contemporary Horror.  Overall Rating : 9*/10.

    Edgar Freemantle is a broken man.  A construction site accident took away one of his arms, crushed a leg, and scrambled up the insides of his brain.  His wife has divorced him, and he's contemplating suicide.

    At his therapist's suggestion, he's moved from Minnesota to a small island just off the west coast of Florida ("Duma Key"), and has taken up drawing and painting.  Seascapes mostly, cuz that's what he sees out his upstairs window.

    Edgar discovers he has a flair for painting.  His works are moving.  And powerful.  In fact, they're becoming too powerful.

What's To Like...
    Duma Key opens as if it's going to be a straight-up person-finding-himself drama.  Then the tension creeps in, with Stephen King oh-so-gradually ramping it up a notch with each chapter.  The drama segues into mystery; the mystery segues into horror.  And in case the tension-increase is too subtle for you, he puts a "hook" at the end of almost every section.

    The characters are fascinating, complex, and develop nicely as the story progresses.  Wireman is a hoot.  So is Elizabeth Eastlake.  There are unexpected twists and an exciting and satisfying ending.  No "to be continued" hogwash here.

Kewlest New Word...
Expatiate : to speak or write at length or in detail.

Excerpts...
    What I remember most clearly about that visit is how embarrassed and ill-at-ease Tom seemed.
    I offered him a beer and he took me up on it.  When I came back from the kitchen, he was looking at a pen-and-ink I'd done - three palm trees silhouetted against an expanse of water, a bit of screened-in porch jutting into the left foreground.  "This is pretty good," he said.  "You do this?"
    "Nah, the elves.  They come in the night.  Cobble my shoes, draw the occasional picture."  (pg. 17)

    I smiled.  I tried to put the champagne bottle back and missed the bucket.  Hell, I missed the table.  The bottle hit the carpet and rolled.  Once the Daughter of the Godfather had been a child, holding out her picture of a smiling horse for a photographer's camera, the photographer probably some jazzy guy wearing a straw hat and arm garters.  Then she had been an old woman jittering away the last of her life in a wheelchair while her snood came loose and flailed from one final hairpin under the fluorescent lights of an art gallery office.  And the time in between?  It probably seemed like no more than a nod or a wave of the hand to the clear blue sky.  In the end we all go smash to the floor.  (pg. 405)

"Abyssus abyssum invocat."  "Hell invokes Hell."  (pg. 590)
    Stephen King has proven over and over that he's a masterful story-teller, and here he delivers yet again.  Think it's easy?  Consider this.  He takes 600 pages to tell you about a geezer that paints beachfront sunsets.  And somehow turns that into a horror story.  And keeps you ravenously turning the pages the whole way.  Do you think any other author could pull that off?

    9 Stars.  Yeah, a good editor could've shortened Duma Key by 150 pages or so.  But telling Stephen King to be short-winded is like telling Allen Ginsberg to keep it clean.  It might be possible, but why would you want to?

Dead Man's Ransom - Ellis Peters

1984; 275 pages.  New Author? : No.  Book #9 in the Brother Cadfael series.  Genres : Murder-Mystery; Cozy.  Overall Rating : 8½*/10.

    A recent border skirmish (Shrewsbury lies only a few miles from the border with Wales) has resulted in prisoners being taken by both sides.  The local sheriff, Gilbert Prestcote, has been captured by the Welsh.  And Elis, a young lad from a noble Welsh clan, has fallen into English hands.

    Brother Cadfael is sent across the border to propose a prisoner swap.  It is accepted, honorably; "a life for a life" so to speak.  Unfortunately, in the course of the exchange, one of the prisoners is murdered.  And "a life for a corpse" just doesn't quite cut it.

What's To Like...
    Dead Man's Ransom stays true to Ellis Peters' standard formula for a Brother Cadfael tale.  A cozy whodunit is intertwined with a romance.  Love becomes strained due to the crime; but wins out in the end after the case is solved.

    There's nothing wrong with that, provided the murder-mystery is well-crafted.  And once again Ms. Peters comes through.  There are enticing clues, red herrings, and a half-dozen suspects, all equally suspicious.  If you're alert enough, you can solve the case alongside Brother Cadfael, but I didn't.

    There are a few non-typical things about this particular book in the series (this is my fifth one).  First, Brother Cadfael journeys further out than usual - going twice into Wales itself (there's a useful map to help you keep track of who's heading where).  Second, there are actually two romances in the story.  And third, there is a key battle, involving hundreds of fighters, that Ellis Peters somehow handles "cozily".

Kewlest New Word...
Brychan : a woolen quilt or comforter.

Excerpts...
    Those who go forth to the battle never return without holes in their ranks, like gaping wounds.  Pity of all pities that those who lead never learn, and the few wise men among those who follow never quite avail to teach.  But faith given and allegiance pledged are stronger than fear, thought Cadfael, and that, perhaps, is virtue, even  in the teeth of death.  Death, after all, is the common expectation from birth.  Neither heroes nor cowards can escape it.  (pg. 4)

    "Which of us," said Owain sombrely, "has never been guilty of some unworthiness that sorts very ill with what our friends know of us?  Even with what we know, or think we know of ourselves!  I would not rule out any man from being capable once in his life of a gross infamy."  (pg. 195)

"The wisest man in his cups may step too large and fall on his face."  (pg. 157)
    This is vintage Ellis Peters.  It's a combination of a masterful murder-mystery, some heartwarming romance, and a brilliant piece of historical fiction.  There's also a smattering of humor (Brother Cadfael chafes at the thought that he might be old at the age of 61), and a thoughtful look at dementia through 12th-century eyes.

    Dead Man's Ransom may be formulaic, but that's not a problem when the template is great.  8½ Stars.

Strega Muirne - William Deen

2011; <100 pages.  New Author? : Yes.  Genre : Historical Fantasy; Horror.  Overall Rating : 6*/10.

    Italy.  760 AD (give or take a decade).  The Dark Ages are in full swing, and for Strega Muirne, a follower of "the old ways", it is a dangerous time.  Some in the Roman Catholic church have adopted a "Convert or Die" attitude, and she has been driven out of the city of Orvieto and into a cave.

    But worse things are about to happen, and via an unexpected source.

What's To Like...
    Strega Muirne is a novella, which means it would only be around 60-100 pages in length if it was in a printed book.  That shortness doesn't allow for much character depth/development.  The focus is on the core issue - how to stay true to your god(s) in the face of open persecution.  This is nicely done - the black-hats aren't all on one side or the other (ditto for the white-hats), and the story moves at a nice clip.

    The first half of the Strega Muirne is historical fiction.  Paganism certainly existed back then, (the wiki link to Stegheria is here) and the Christian church was aggressively stamping out all rival religions.  William Deen presents a plausible hypothesis - that 8th-Century stegheria is a holdover of the worshipping of the "classical" Roman gods and goddesses.

    The second half veers into the supernatural, presumably setting the tone for the rest of the series.  The ending is really nothing more than a teaser for the next novella, Stregone Alberich, which is as yet unpublished.

Excerpts...
    "I have dealt with your kind before.  Your beliefs are of the Devil and I will see them destroyed!"  In God's name he feared nothing and no one.  Except in this case.  The possibility a female conjurer was in league with the Devil frightened him.  For a moment, his faith faltered.  (3% Kindle)

    "They provided no herbs, no medicine?"  The ongoing discovery of the Christian ways and methods continued to confound Muirne.  She struggled to understand their approach, or lack thereof, when providing care to the sick.
    "No, Strega Muirne," the woman said.
    Nothing!  They offer nothing!  A few prayers then they trace a cross in the air and walk away.  (36% Kindle)

Kindle Details...
    I got this as a free download, which was a limited-time offer at Amazon.  It is now selling for $0.99.  I don't think it's available thru any of my local libraries.

"How could we let these pompous bastards gain authority over us?"  (15% Kindle)
    I enjoyed the first half of the book, because I wanted to see how Mr. Deen would handle what is historically "the losing side" of this religious struggle.  Three ways come to mind.

   First, there is the noble vanquished route as Morgan Llywelyn took in her "Druid" duology  (see here and here).  Second, you can delve into Alternate History, a la S.M. Stirling or Harry Turtledove.  And third, you can step into the horror genre, which of course is popular right now.

    The latter appears to be the path chosen, but I personally don't read much Horror.  Plus, I prefer novels to novellas.  There's a wonderful setting in Strega Muirne, as well as a challenging and fascinating conflict to explore.  Alas, I fear the inherent limitations of novellas (novellae?) will preclude the author from giving this the depth and complexity it deserves.

    6 Stars. although you might rate it higher it you like the Undead stomping through the plotline.