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Here is some of what I've been reading since my last post on this thread...
The Man Who Killed His Brother by Stephen Donaldson (writing as Reed Stephens, the first of four in a series). I am a big fan of Donaldson's fantasy and sci-fi, but I am not a big fan of "hard-boiled" crime fiction - which is what this felt like to me. It was an okay read, say a 3/5. Nothing too surprising in it, but it was entertaining enough for me to see it through to the end. I'll probably only read the others in the series if they come out on special.
The Silent Wife by Kerry Fisher. This was a recommendation from Kobo. It's not something I'd normally choose, but it was cheap so I tried it out. I'd describe this as "Domestic" genre: telling a story of second wives coming into a strong family circle. Told in alternating first-person narratives, it makes a reasonable attempt at showing how differently situations appear from the inside versus the outside, but this is slightly spoiled by the fact that the two voices were too similar. I didn't find it boring but I do think it was too long for what was in it. For me personally I'd say 2/5, but if the genre is more your thing I'd suggest it might be worth a 3/5.
Then back to my catch up with Stephen Donaldson, I got two novellas in one e-book...
The King's Justice This was okay, say 3/5. The foreshadowing was heavy-handed, so little came as a surprise, but otherwise well told. It is fully self-contained but felt too short - too much just a piece of something much larger - to be really satisfying. There was a dark American wild-west feeling to the setting, and some aspects of horror, that made me think of Stephen King's The Gunslinger.
Augur's Gamit This one I liked very much, 4/5. A very distinctive first person narrative - one that fits Donaldson's eloquence very well. I might complain that there was little surprise (more heavy handed foreshadowing), but it fits better here. The richly described setting helped to keep the story contained without feeling small. A short but satisfying read.
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