[Jack Tingle]

Recently Read - May 2011

Long sf

Strahan, Jonathan, ed., "Engineering Infinity" *** e
This is a hard sf anthology with a good cast of characters. The stories are all readable or better. Rating anthologies is difficult, so take my 3 stars with a grain of salt.

Shepherd, Joel, "Haven" *** p
It's hard to review the fourth and final book in a series without spoilers. Some live, some die, some live happily ever after, some less so. I don't think that spoils anything.

Graham, Jo & Scott, Melissa, "Homecoming" ** p
On the one hand, you have two excellent authors. On the other hand, you have a Stargate Atlantis novel. It's better than the TV series. It's not as good as "The Black Ships" or "Trouble and Her Friends." It sucks less than a Star Trek or Star Wars novel (Karen Traviss excepted). God (or the Ancients) knows what it all means in a cosmic sense.

Brothers, Marilee, "Moonstone" ** e
Teenage girl wish fulfilment; competing secret societies (G v. E); prophecy; cute guy; mysterious moonstone pendant; gradually intensifying mystical powers. Slightly above average for this below average sub-genre. DISCLAIMER: I am not now, nor have I ever been a lower-class, teen-aged girl from the NW US. Nor have I played one on TV, radio or films.

Banks, Iain M., "Transition" ** p
I was very disappointed in this book. The architecture is obscure (intentional) and difficult (?), while the story is juvenile. It reads like too much beer, Lovecraft, high-concept-literature, and Kafka combined to make a not very good fantasy. There's a parallel worlds story, with an apotheosis or two, wrapped up with a villianess who would twirl her moustaches if she had any. The prose was OK, although it bordered on the purple here and there. I'm not sure it deserved the two stars. Call it a gentleman's D- for past good work.
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Short sf
None of note this month
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Non sf

Todd, Charles, "A Duty to the Dead" *** and "An Impartial Witness" *** e
I've never cared for Todd's "Inspector Rutledge" novels, but this set with a female WW I nurse sleuth is a pair of interesting reads. The mysteries are all that mysterious, but they aren't push-overs either. The action is somewhat realistic, since Bess Crawford isn't any kind of super-sleuth, just a caring person who gets dragged into helping some people out. If you like historical mysteries, these will do. There is apparently a third coming soon. I'll probably read it.

Gordon-Smith, Dolores, "Frankie's Letter" *** e
This WW I spy novel follows the hunt for a high-class traitor who collects bits and pieces of information from the good-old-boy network in Britain and sends it to the Germans. Even when you know how it was done, who-dunnit and why is slow to come. There's also quite a bit of side-action as clues lead to other concerns.

Brashear, Jean, "The Goddess of Fried Okra" *** e
This is a surprisingly good woman-in-crisis novel. Not quite a romance, except perhaps implied in the end. Eudora "Pea" O'brian has lost everything. Her mother, her sister (who raised her) and her self-respect. She seizes on a manic road trip to find the reincarnation of her beloved sister, who died of cancer shortly after Pea argued with her, and before she could apologize. Along the way, she picks up strays.

Upson, Nicola, "An Expert in Murder" ** e
From WW I and fictional people, to post-WW I and a fictionalized real person. 'Josephine Tey' was the nom-de-plume of a real mystery writer, who also wrote plays. This one is about a series of fictional murders centered on a real play, written by a nom-de-plume, solved by another nom-de-plume of the same author. Amazon's low-ranked reviews complained about liberties taken with historical persons, or inversely, about not enough historical information included in the fictional action. WTF? It's a decent mystery, a little slow at first, but readable.
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My stars:
***** A classic, read it immediately.
**** Very good, you might even buy it in hardback.
*** Good, well worth your time.
** Readable, but I'd wait for a cheap copy.
* A book with at least one redeeming value, even if it's nice cover art.
Not rated - noted, but not rated because it's an anthology, or I couldn't finish it, or it's obviously good but not to my taste.
No stars (zero, zip, zilch, nada, none, goose-egg) - don't read this book.

e: electronic book; p: paper book

YMMV - seek other opinions, and don't blame me.

Happy Reading,
Jack Tingle