By coincidence, I usually post these midmonth on rec.art.sf.written, but these two were worth noting here.
Recently Read - Nov. 2009
Baker, Kage, "The Hotel Under the Sand" p *****
This is the delightful story of Emma Rose, who survives a storm (of some kind), and winds up alone on a beach, near the Dunes. She discovers a ghost, named Winston, who's a Bell Captain for the Grand Wenlocke Hotel, lost many years ago nearby in a Storm of the Equinox. Another, more common sort of storm, uncovers the Grand Wenlocke. With Winston, Mrs. Beet, the Cook who was held frozen in time in the buried hotel, and a growing list of guests and interlopers, Emma Rose makes a place for herself, to take the place of what she lost in the storm.
Henderson, Zenna, "Ingathering" p ****
This is NESFA's collection of all of Henderson's "The People" stories. I loved these stories when I was a teenager. I still like them a lot. I also recommend NESFA's excellent series of collections and volumes of significant sf works.
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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
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