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A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. A children's fantasy. I liked the start of this, it introduced some interesting characters, but it lost with me with the intrusive religious/spiritual messaging, and it seemed to get more condescending as it progressed. But it was short and quite sweet in its own way, just targeted at a rather more innocent (naïve?) audience than many children's tales, with not much in there for the adult reader. 2/5.
Wakenhyrst by Michelle Paver. Some describe this as Gothic Horror but I'd go along with those that call it Historic Fiction - real history can be horrific enough. It has an odd sort of beginning and a little slow in parts but intriguing enough to keep me reading. I particularly liked that how the story trod a fine line between historical fiction and fantasy. It is an intimate recital and you feel quite strongly for the main protagonist. A strong 4/5.
Mammoth by John Varley. Contemporary made-for-TV science fiction. The idea was cute: take the old cliché of the anachronistic wristwatch and make it real. Pull in a grab bag from other popular fiction: Jurassic Park, Ice Age, Batman and probably more that I missed, and stir. It should have been fun, but someone forgot to hire an editor. Long soliloquies highlighting the weaknesses of the story, and lengthy expositions about character background (the characters were not that deep). But I did finish it. 2/5.
Genesis, Equinox and Dark Star, which make up The Rosie Black Chronicles by Lara Morgan. Young Adult science fiction set mostly in Western Australia. I thought the first book showed promise so kept reading but it didn't really pick up. The young protagonists do show all the annoying traits you expect of the age group, so arguably more realistic than some YA, but this doesn't make them endearing. Some of it felt a bit cheesy, and many aspects felt like they could have been better explored, but I was kept entertained enough to finish, so giving it a 3/5 (for the series and for each book).
Given the underwhelming last few books I think I'll head off to something completely different for a while ... probably some non-fiction.
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