Merde Actually - Stephen Clarke

    2005; 448 pages.  New Author? : Yes.  Book #2 in the Merde series.  Genre : Fictional Anecdotal Humor.  Overall Rating : 7½*/10.

    There are many things in this world that Paul West doesn't understand.  The entire nation of France, for instance.  Also, women in general and girlfriends in particular.  This is critical because Paul is in the process of setting up an English Tea Shop.  In Paris, and with his French amie as his business partner.

    Will Paul attain financial success?  Will he find true love?  If he doesn't stop his bed-hopping ways, he's more likely to wind up in la merde than in l'amour.

What's To Like...
    Merde Actually is the sequel to Stephen Clarke's debut hit, A Year in the Merde.  I haven't read the latter, and that didn't seem a hindrance.  There are lots of funny parts, with an overall tone similar to the self-deprecating style of David Sedaris.  About 3/4 of the story takes place in France; the other 1/4 in England.  I've visited both countries, and the author nicely captures their essence.  Ask me sometime about my wife ordering ten cups of coffee in Chalons when what she wanted was one cup of de-caf.

    Since I took three years of French, I was delighted with the many French expressions sown throughout the book.  But you can enjoy MA even if you don't know anything in la langue Française; the author is careful to give a translation of any phrases that aren't obvious in meaning.

    There are some cuss words, and there is a ton of sex, so don't read this if you're a prude.  It's all done in a lighthearted style, and what would you expect from a book with "Merde" in its title?  The humor can get a bit repetitive, and the plot is sparse, not really getting going until close to the end.  I was entertained from start to finish, with plenty of smiling and chuckling; and that's all you can ask for from a book of this genre.

Kewlest New Word...
Smeggy : unsavory, horrible, foul-smelling, cheesy.  (a Britishism, I suspect)

Excerpts...
    "Connasse!" he shouted.
    French insults are so wonderfully grammatical, I thought.  Even in the heat of a verbal battle you have to remember to change the rude word for a male idiot, 'connard', to the feminine form.  (pg. 12)

    Back then, I didn't understand something very important about sitting in a café in a non-touristy part of rural France.  The people aren't necessarily unfriendly.  It's just that they're so unused to strangers that they don't notice you.  Or if they do see you, they don't know what to do with you.  The barman knows what every one of his customers drinks at any time of the day, so the arrival of a non-regular doesn't compute.  Why is someone sitting in Marcel's seat when Marcel's been dead for three years?  (pg. 62-63)

"Never trust a philosopher.  Especially an existentialist."  (pg. 371)
    Stephen Clarke is a British writer that lives and works in France.  He self-published the first book in the Merde series, A Year In The Merde, on a lark, and watched as it became enormously popular in both France and England.

    I found Merde Actually in the $1 bargain bin at my local used-book store, bereft and forlorn.  As is true of a whole slew of other witty British writers - Robert Rankin, Tom Holt, Tom Sharpe, just to name a few - we Yanks have yet to discover Stephen Clarke.  More's the pity for our ignorance.

    7½ Stars.  Add 1 star if you're English or French.  Vive les auteurs Européens!

The Tide Mill - Richard Herley

    2008; 352 pages.  New Author? : No.  Genre : Historical Fiction.  Oerall Rating : 8½*/10.

    Life's been rough on young Ralf Grigg.  His father's carpentry business has failed, saddling the family with overwhelming debt, and rendering them FVT (Fishing Village Trash).  They are still freemen, but they're just one step above the lowly serfs.

    Ralf is content with his lot, but Fate throws his life a twist when he saves the (local) baron's son, Godric, from drowning in the saltings.  Despite the difference in their social status, the boys develop a keen friendship, which opens new doors for Ralf.  But not always for the better.

What's To Like...
    The Tide Mill is a fine piece of Historical Fiction, set along the south coast of England in the 1250's AD.  Richard Herley gives vivid and detailed descriptions of the flora and fauna, the homes and furnishings, and the daily lives of everyone from nobility  to serfs.  The segues from story to settings are smoother here than in the other two of the author's books I've read (reviewed here and here).

    Of course, the Fiction is equally important to Historical Fiction, and here the storyline holds its own quite well.  Ralf is gifted in both art and engineering, but Herley also makes him a Shakespearean tragi-hero, smitten with a girl he cannot have.

    There is action, there is drama, there are several romances, and there is political tension between the Church and the Crown.  The characters are deep and likeable, and I liked the ending.  Through it all, we follow the construction of the ingenious Tide Mill.  Tide mills really exist, although today they are obsolete.  The Wikipedia article on them, including a couple great pics, is here.

Kewlest New Word...
Immured : Enclosed or confined against one's will.

Excerpts...
    A baron was a vassal of the King.  The King was a vassal of God.  The archbishops who had presided at his coronation derived their authority from the Pope.
    The King was sovereign, above all.  His court, his treasury, and his army were the visible symbols of his might; but the wealth and power of the Church, more shrewdly exercised, were no less.  The revenues of the Alincester diocese alone were rumoured to be greater than the King's.  (loc. 524)

    Last night Godric had professed himself fascinated.  He knew little more of mathematics than Ralf himself, whose prior experience had only been of the addition, subtraction, and simple geometry used in bench carpentry.  Linsell's knowledge derived from Master Hampden and the masons who had raised the Cathedral.  Having glimpsed its potential, Ralf now burned to have it for himself, and to go much further, to know what Diccon and Parfett knew.  Mathematics was like Latin, the future Latin, purer and more important, the language of engineering, and Ralf daily badgered his father for lessons.  (loc. 2137)

Kindle Details...
    The Tide Mills sells for $3.99 at Amazon.  Full disclosure : The author generously gifted me a copy of the book for my enjoyment and review.  Thank you, Richard Herley, sir!

"None of us is free.  Only God.  Only God is free."  (loc. 3107)
    For me, the overriding theme in The Tide Mill was that no one in medieval life was truly free.  Not the serfs, not the freemen, not the Baron and his family, not the priests, and not even the King and the Pope.  Everyone has a pre-defined role to play, and woe to anybody, great or small, who tries to shirk his duty or change the system.

    I am a History buff, so I thoroughly relished being immersed in 13th-century English life.  My Kindle's glossary contained most of the medieval words, and it also helped that Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael series (set in England a century earlier) had already introduced me to a lot of these terms.  The design and construction of the tide mill was at times quite technical, but I think engineers would delight in it.

    8½ Stars.  It's nice to see that there still is some fine Historical Fiction being written.

I Am Number Four - Pittacus Lore

    2010; 440 pages.  Genre : Teen Fantasy.  Laurels : New York Times #1 Best Seller, Children's Chapter (7 weeks in a row).  New Author(s)? : Yes.  Overall Rating : 6*/10.

The wicked Mogadorians have destroyed every living thing on the planet Lorien.  Except for 9 "gifted" children, along with their guardians, who have fled to Earth, scattered, and gone into hiding while waiting for their special powers ("Legacies") to develop.

    But the Mogadorians are here as well, hunting down the Loriens in numerical order (don't ask).  Three have already been executed.  I am Number Four.

What's To Like...
    The prologue is riveting.  The climactic ending is over-the-top (which is fine) and 100 pages long.  In between things are kinda mundane, but at least they're fast-paced.  The book has some good messages for YA readers : don't bully; don't smoke; don't drink; don't use drugs (except for Loric pepper-upper pills); take care of the planet; be kind to animals.  The bully eventually turns into a good guy, which is a nice change-of-pace.  And there's a beagle named Bernie Kosar who most of the time steals the show.

    The writing is shallow, either because that's the skill level of Pittacus Lore, or because I Am Number Four is styled for YA readers.  We'll give the author the benefit of the doubt, and we'll ignore his mysterious bio.  Things move along swimmingly until your brain wakes up and says, "wait a minnit!"  Then there are problems - lots of them.  For instance:

a.) why can the kids only be killed in numerical order?  What kind of two-bit magic is that?

b.) how convenient that the planet Lorien was overflowing with diamonds, rubies, etc., and that the fleeing kids/guardians had the presence of mind to bring huge stashes with them to Earth, even as their planet was being blasted to smithereens.  Takes care of all the money problems.

c.) The healing stones only work when the injury was due to evil intent.  How amazing of the stone to instantly determine that!  How un-amazing that it can't fix ordinary injuries, like hitting your finger with a hammer.

d.) How prescient of Henri to teach Number 4 to function while completely engulfed in flames.  Right after learning that, he has to run into a burning house and rescue dogs and GF's.

Excerpts...
    In the beginning we were a group of nine.
    Three are gone, dead.
    There are six of us left.
    They are hunting us, and they won't stop until they've killed us all.
    I am Number Four.
    I know that I am next.  (pg. 9)

    "We're not leaving."
    "Yes we are."
    "You can if you want, but I'll go live with Sam.  I'm not leaving."
    "This is not your decision to make."
    "It's not?  I thought I was the one being hunted.  I thought I was the one in danger.  You could walk away right now and the Mogadorians would never look for you.  You could live a nice, long, normal life.  You could do whatever you want.  I can't.  They will always be after me.  They will always be trying to find me and kill me.  I'm fifteen years old.  I'm not a kid anymore. It is my decision to make."
    He stares at me for a minute.  "That was a good speech, but it doesn't change anything.  Pack your stuff.  We're leaving."  (pg. 258)

Let them come.  There will be no more running.  (pg. 88)
    It has to be kept in mind who the Target Audience is for IA#4 - the younger end of YA readers, junior high-schoolers. The bulk of the story takes place in high school, with thrills like a hayride, getting one's driver's license, and taking Home-Ec with the girls.

    Paradoxically, Pittacus Lore chose to sprinkle a couple of cuss words into the dialogue.  I guess they figure tweeners hear that vocabulary every day at school.  OTOH, the hot and heavy and hormonal make-out scenes consist of kissing, cuddling, and copping a grope of the young girl's ...um... lower back.  Be still my lustful heart.

    They made a movie out of this, which I haven't seen.  I think that's a better platform for all the book's clichéd, mind-numbing, deux-ex-machinas.  (what's the plural of deux?  dea?  deo? deum?  god, I hate Latin.)

    6 Stars, assuming you're an adult.  Add 1 star if you can keep your brain asleep.  Add 2 stars if you're in grades 6-8, plus 1 more star if you prefer reading Superman comics to Lord Of The Flies.

Devil Town - M. Edward McNally

    2012; 290 pages.  Book #4 of The Norothian Cycle series.  New Author? : No.  Genre : Epic Fantasy.  Overall Rating : 8½/10.

    Turmoil flares across the Norothian continent.  The Old Dragons are manipulating, the Ayzants are assimilating, the Codians are consolidating, and in Devil Town (neé Larbonne) the Demons are deploying.

    Across the channel, in Martas, a new force arises - a pentad of Young Dragons.  They are powerful and ambitious; and cause everybody else to quake in their boots, cloven hooves, and/or scales.

    In order to survive, alliances must be forged.  But with whom?  No one is completely good and no one, not even the Devils, are completely evil.

What's To Like...
    Devil Town focuses on the complex political maneuvering by the various Norothian powers after the nation-shattering fighting in the first three books.  There is still plenty of action though, spread out evenly through the story, and commencing with a superb, scene-setting opening skirmish.

    Devil Town also catches the reader up on almost all the characters encountered thus far.  I counted 21 re-acquaintances, with 20 of them still breathing at the story's end.  Add to this 5 new ones, and you have a busy tale.  M. Edward McNally supplies some helpful back-story, but in truth, this is not a stand-alone novel.

    There are more scene-shifts than usual for this series (which I like), and a kewl Faustian deal that just reinforces why I find Balan to be so diabolically charming.  The pacing is crisp, and the ending, if not quite epic in scope, will have you checking the author's website to see how he's coming along on the next installment.

Kewlest New Word...
Imprimatur : an acceptance or guarantee by someone that something is of a good standard; a personal stamp of approval.

Excerpts...
    She sighed too loud, and the man swung his weapon toward her, calling, "Halt!  Who goes there?"
    "It is I," Nesha-Tari said quietly.
    "I don't know anyone named Eye," the main (sic) said.  (loc. 2177)

        The legionnaires gripped the hilts of their swords though they did not bother to draw them as Zeb was unarmed.  Zeb shouted Tilda's name on the run, then for lack of a better option he tried a slide at the legionnaires' legs.  The old wooden floor was not exactly smooth, with some small cracks and irregularities to the fit of the planks.  Zeb caught a trouser leg, which ripped up to the knee as he went into a banging tumble and barrel roll that left him flat on his back in front (of) the legionnaires, staring down at him wide-eyed.
    "Really?" one of them asked.  "You want to try that again, fellow?"  (loc. 3096)

Kindle Details...
    Devil Town sells for $4.99 at Amazon, the same price as book 2, Death of a Kingdom, and book 3, The Wind from Miilark.  Book 1, The Sable City, is attractively priced at $3.99.  Full Disclosure : The author generously gifted me a copy of this book for my enjoyment and review.  Thank you, M. Edward McNally, sir!

"Loyalty and love must fade with time.  ... Coins can always take a polish."  (loc. 3295)
    The novel's title is both catchy and a bit misleading, since we pass through there only once and that's fairly early in the book.  Overall, Devil Town felt like an intermezzo between the national upheavals of the first three books, and what appear to be even grander clashes on the horizon.

    But this doesn't make it quiet or boring; it just means you have a chance to catch your breath, count noses, and attend to political details (some of them quite nasty) before another tidal wave of epic events comes crashimg ashore.

    8½ Stars.  An excellent series continues.  Subtract 1 star if you take it upon yourself to make this your first Norothian Cycle book.

Poland - James Michener

    1983; 616 pages.  Genre : Epic Historical Fiction.  Laurels : New York Times #1 Best Seller.  New Author? : Yes.  Overall Rating : 8*/10.

    Three families.  7½ centuries.  There are the aristocratic Lubonskis, striving to preserve the power of the Polish magnates.  There are the Bukowskis, petty gentry.  Forever striving to move up the social/political ladder.  And there are the Buks.  Eternal peasants, trying mostly to keep from starving.

    The three clans are tied together.  They are bound by the land itself around the (fictional) village of Bukowo; by the need to resist the hordes of foreign invaders that come in from every direction, and most of all, by a deep-rooted love of the Polish nation.

What's To Like...
    Poland is actually nine separate stories, each from a trying time in Polish history.  The oldest one starts with the Tatars storming through ca. 1240 AD.  They are followed by Teutonic Knights, Swedes, Turks, Austrians, Nazis and Russians, all invaders, all more-or-less successful.  Throughout it all, Poland endures.

    The characters, who change from one story to the next, are deeply developed and complex.  They are always heroes, but rarely saints.  The Lubonskis and Bukowskis depend on peasants like the Buks to ride with them in defense of the nation, then afterwards often hang them for minor offenses.

    The nation of Poland is both internally and externally cursed.  It has no natural barriers (mountains, lakes, seas, etc.) to slow down the hordes of conquerors.  And its magnates fear the centralized power of a king, so they elect weak ones, usually foreigners, and allow him to have no standing national army.

    Michener pulls no punches.  He paints gruesome scenes, with the Nazi occupation being particularly harrowing.  But he also pens touching moments, and you will end up fervently pro-Polish, even if you have no such blood in your veins.

Kewlest New Word...
Orotund (adj.) : pompous; pretentious; bombastic.  Here, an "orotund name" (the "Teutonic Knights").

Excerpts...
    (The Tatars) brought with them from the steppes no new ways of doing things, no inventions, no concepts which would revolutionize life within the lands they conquered.  And they took back with them no tangible artifacts which they could use to make their own life better: no process for weaving cloth or putting ideas into written words or building a better wooden plow.  They brought nothing and they took nothing.
    Yet in exactly this same year Crusaders from Europe were fighting in the Holy Land about Jerusalem, and from that experience they would bring back ideas and artifacts which would revolutionize Europe, and the Saracens among whom they lived and fought would borrow from them concepts innumerable.  It was Poland's grief that her visitors were Tatars and not Saracens, that her intercourse was not with cultivated Arabs but with explosive barbarians from the vast Asian deserts.  (pg. 55)

   Since the year 830 the men and women of the Buk line had belongd to other men and women of the Bukowski line, who in turn had been subservient to the men and women of the Lubonski line, who were subservient, by God, to no one, except that they had mismanaged things so sorely that they were now subservient to the Emperor Franz Josef, and you better keep that firmly in mind.  Things changed for the Lubonskis and to a lesser degree for the Bukowskis, but for the Buks they never changed.  (pg. 353)

 "A Pole is a man born with a sword in his right hand , a brick in his left.  When the battle is over, he starts to rebuild."  (pg. 149)
     James Michener started writing Poland in 1979, finished it in 1981, and it was published in 1983.  It coincided with the unimaginable rise of Lech Walesa's Solidarity Trade Unions, which reached the zenith of their vigor and membership in 1981, with 9½ million members.  Michener works this into his "present day" story, but without a resolution, since no one in 1981 could predict whether the Solidarity movement would be victorious, or whether Russian tanks would yet again brutally stamp out the flames of reform.

    Poland is an epic novel, masterfully written and carefully structured to keep you from getting bored.  At 600+ pages, it is not a quick read.  Ironically it is one of Michener's shorter novels.  Many of his books weigh in at 900-1,000 pages.  If you're looking for "pure" historical fiction and want to delve into some fascinating history. this book's for you.  8 Stars, and add two more if you happen to be Polish.

Alice's Adventures in Steamland - Wol-vriey

    2012; 233 pages.  New Author? : Yes.  Full Title : Alice's Adventures in Steamland: The Clockwork Goddess.  Genre : Bizarre Hybrid.  Overall Rating : 6*/10.

    Start by thoroughly mixing equal parts of Alice In Wonderland and Steampunk.  Next add some finely-diced Jack-The-Ripper.  Dump in a cup-and-a-half of sex scenes.  Bring to a simmer, and garnish with an Alternate Universe, where 1867 "Victorian America" is split into two queendoms - the North ("New York") ruled by the Red Queen, and the South ("Texas") ruled by her sister, Mech-Anna.

    Bake for 200+ pages, and Voila!, you have Alice's Adventures in Steamland.

What's To Like...
    AAiS is both original and ambitious.   This Alice is an ex-hooker and present paid assassin.  The March Hare(s), Cheshire Cat(s), Mad Hatter, and hookah-smoking Caterpillar are all altered in like manner.

    Steampunk gets a similar treatment.  There are huge mechanical spiders, bionic Indians, 40-meter-high mech rustlers, and a toothy reproductive organ.  Especially humorous are the steam-powered firearms.  It isn't easy shooting a rifle when you have to wait for the charcoal to heat the water into steam before the bullet can be discharged.

    The action is non-stop.  I found the sex scenes and foul-langauge to be somewhat excessive, but that's just me.  15-year-old hormonally-plagued boys may disagree.  These are all "straight" sex scenes.  I get the impression Wol-vriey is somewhat uncomfortable with the idea of gay sex.

    Alice is a strong, female lead character; as are the two queens.  The male main characters are weaker, but the rabbits are a hoot.

Excerpts...
   Victorian America, 1867 
   The train billowed as it chugged into New York.
    Catching a glimpse of a Goodyear blimp advertising the new four-speed bicycle, Alice Sin heaved a sigh of relief.  She'd made it to the capital without any air strikes.  Back in Chicago, she'd heard endless horror stories of travelers being blown to bits by bombs dropped from Texan military airships.  (loc. 84; opening paragraphs of the book)

    "Leave him - he's mine!" the badger said, sliding back the rifle's bolt to chamber another round.  "How dare you kill our mistress, human?"
    Jackson let go his thigh, realizing he'd inadvertently disarmed himself.  He ducked down and frantically felt beneath the bed for the revolver.  His fingers settled upon something hard but slippery.  Relieved to have found the pistol butt, he pulled it out to discover that it was only one of Aunt Marie's kidneys.
    Kidney in hand, Jackson stood and faced the servants.
    It's over, he thought.   (loc. 3893)

Kindle Details...
    I downloaded this for free at Amazon, but it is now $2.99.  Wol-vriey has a scond book available for Kindle, The Bizarro Story of I, also $2.99.

"What use is it being a wealthy twenty-two year old corpse?"  (loc. 4781)
    The book reads like a stream-of-consciousness panorama from Wol-vriey's mind.  Every other page brings something new and exciting, but when you take a step back, you find that the story-telling is shallow and lacks continuity.

    For example, the Jack-The-Ripper subplot is underdeveloped and unnecessary.  Finding and capturing him is too conveniently spur-of-the-moment.  Ditto for Alice's trek to meet and kill Mech-Anna.  After traipsing around all over Texas and getting nowhere, Alice opens a door and, well-glory-be, guess who's there?

    Ultimately, Alice's Adventure In Steamland screams to converted into a graphic novel.  The writing weakness would be subsumed by the images emanating from Wol-vriey's wondrous imagination.  A good artist would be able to soften the language, gore, and sex scenes down to at least R-rated panels.  We don't expect depth or scrupulous continuity in comic books, just dazzling artwork and entertaining action.

    My eyes drool (deliberate mixed metaphor) in anticipation of what the imaginative Wol-vriey and a gifted artist coud do with this story.  6 Stars.  Add two stars if you're a teenage boy, or if this gets converted into a graphic novel.

The Flint Lord - Richard Herley

    1981; 224 pages.  Genre : Action - Adventure.  Book #2 in The Pagans trilogy.  New Author? : No.  Overall Rating : 8*/10.

    Brennis Gehan Fifth needs more land.  For farms.  To feed his flint mining operation.  Southern England in 3000 BC has plenty of acreage.  But it's being used by its original inhabitants, the Hunter-Gatherers.

    There are quite a few of the latter, but they're spread out among a number of tribes.  It is time to annihilate them and take their land.  Brennis will need lots of mercaneries, imported from the mainland.  They will cost lots of money and lots of food.  But in the long run, it will be worth it.  And after all, he is The Flint Lord.

What's To Like...
    Tagart is back from the first book, The Stone Arrow (reviewed here).  He has first-hand experience as to how dangerous Lord Brennis is, but before he can convince others of that he needs to get assimilated into his new tribe (his old clan is no more), and resolve some serious woman issues.

    The action starts immediately and doesn't let up.  But here it is more complex than in The Stone Arrow, and more believable.  Brennis Gehan is a worthy adversary - cunning, ruthless, determined, and resourceful.  The Hunter-Gatherers' counter-plan to his invasion goes badly awry, and that's unusual but pleasant change-of-pace.

    The rest of the characters are somewhat thinner.  Rald and Ika seem to exist only to set the standard for civilized depravity.  Klay has the misfortune to be Tagart's rival.  And don't trust any of the women.

    The ending is well thought-out, and has a kewl twist.  It resolves the main issues and leaves some loose ends for a sequel.  But ANAICT, Book 3, The Earth Goddess, starts a generation later, which would seem to leave those loose ends (e.g., Rald and Ika) dangling.  We shall see.

Kewlest New Word...
Eyot : a small island in the middle of a river (a Britishism)

Excerpts...
    "Who is the man?"
    "Just a slave."
    "Why is he being beaten?"
    "The overseers say he tried to escape."
    "And did he?"
    "He will not work.  In the mines he causes only trouble.  It is salutary to the others to provide an escapee now and then."  (loc. 35)

    There were over a hundred villages, stretching seventy miles along the coast and up to twenty miles inland.  Some were prosperous, with palisaded compounds, wood and stone houses, granaries; most were squalid collections of huts whose inhabitants lived in constant fear of starvation.  Over the centuries these people had come to the island country to escape oppression in the homelands: it was important to ensure that things did not get so bad that any were tempted to return.  It was important, too, to allow them a measure of hope, for this was a most effective stimulant to hard work.  (loc. 1195)

Kindle Details...
    Amazon sells The Flint Lord for $2.99; same price for The Earth Goddess.  The first book, The Stone Arrow, is a freebie, which is how I got hooked into reading this series.  I consider this a most effective marketing ploy.

"Who is there with strength to carry the mace?"  (loc. 642)
    Story-wise, The Stone Arrow is good; but The Flint Lord is better.  Historical Fiction-wise, the opposite is true.  There are a signficant number of anachronisms in this book - maps, charts, longbows (!), catapults (!!), paper cones (think megaphones), dog sleds, etc.  At least there were no candles.

    I suspect Richard Herley consciously sacrified historical accuracy for the sake of stoty-telling.  I doubt there were a lot of variations in 3000 BC when it came to weaponry, furnishings, tools, etc.

    So enjoy The Flint Lord as a fine action-adventure story, replete with brutality, bloodshed, and a bit of kinky sex.  All the forces involved have difficulties to face, and you will be challenged to guess their outcomes.  8 Stars; a bit less if you're a Historical Fiction purist.

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.