The latest in the Isabel Dalhousie series was a real joy to read. McCall Smith is back in his best thoughtful form as he chronicles Isabel's efforts to cope with new motherhood, internal politics at the applied ethics journal she edits, and the distance of her niece Kat.
The best thing about this series is the very low-key mystery that is gently incorporated into each book, and I particularly enjoyed the one in here about a suspected forged painting by a Scottish artist.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Section 31: Abyss by David Weddle and Jeffrey Lang
I've suddenly woken up to the fact that 2007 will be over in a few months and I haven't yet made even a tiny dent in the stack of books waiting to be read on my bookshelf. I decided that since I'm reading so fast and prolifically these days, I had better take advantage of it and start working on my new year's resolution to read at least half of those books. Of course, it really doesn't help that I've acquired yet MORE books instead of whittling down my to-read pile.
So here's my first selection in my renewed effort to work my way through some of these dusty books: a Star Trek novel. I'm not sure if it has been revealed on this blog before now, but I have a guilty secret -- I actually read Star Trek novels! And in many cases, I even like them. This is probably no surprise to anyone who's seen the Starfleet Academy sticker on the back of our family minivan. Laugh all you like - to a trekkie who is starved for new episodes to watch, the licensed novels are a treasure. A well-written Trek novel is pure brain candy for me. It's like watching an episode in my head.
Section 31: Abyss is one of the books based on the Deep Space Nine series, after the events in the final episode. The premise is that once again, Dr. Bashir receives an unwelcome visit from a agent in Section 31, the mysterious rogue spy organization that nobody in Starfleet will admit the existence of. Instead of his planned vacation on Earth with Ezri Dax, he finds himself in a runabout on his way to a planet in the Badlands where a crazed madman is trying to breed himself an army of Jem Hadar. It's up to Bashir, along with Dax, Ro Laren (yeah, she has mysteriously reappeared as a DS9 crew member in the novels) and Taran'atar, a Jem Hadar who is bound to help them as much as he can, although he may not like it very much.
Like I said - brain candy. A fun story, nothing more or less; a way to feed my Star Trek addiction without turning on the TV. If you liked DS9, you would probably enjoy it; if not, you probably aren't even reading this post any more.
So here's my first selection in my renewed effort to work my way through some of these dusty books: a Star Trek novel. I'm not sure if it has been revealed on this blog before now, but I have a guilty secret -- I actually read Star Trek novels! And in many cases, I even like them. This is probably no surprise to anyone who's seen the Starfleet Academy sticker on the back of our family minivan. Laugh all you like - to a trekkie who is starved for new episodes to watch, the licensed novels are a treasure. A well-written Trek novel is pure brain candy for me. It's like watching an episode in my head.
Section 31: Abyss is one of the books based on the Deep Space Nine series, after the events in the final episode. The premise is that once again, Dr. Bashir receives an unwelcome visit from a agent in Section 31, the mysterious rogue spy organization that nobody in Starfleet will admit the existence of. Instead of his planned vacation on Earth with Ezri Dax, he finds himself in a runabout on his way to a planet in the Badlands where a crazed madman is trying to breed himself an army of Jem Hadar. It's up to Bashir, along with Dax, Ro Laren (yeah, she has mysteriously reappeared as a DS9 crew member in the novels) and Taran'atar, a Jem Hadar who is bound to help them as much as he can, although he may not like it very much.
Like I said - brain candy. A fun story, nothing more or less; a way to feed my Star Trek addiction without turning on the TV. If you liked DS9, you would probably enjoy it; if not, you probably aren't even reading this post any more.
The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan
Percy Jackson is back, and this time he's got friends. A good thing, too, because things aren't going too well over at Camp Half-Blood. The new activities director is a bit of a sadist, and someone has poisoned the protective shield that keeps monsters away from the camp. Meanwhile, everyone is making fun of Percy because of his newly discovered half-brother. What else can a guy do in that situation except to go on a life-threatening quest to save the world from evil?
I was delighted to find this book every bit as hilarious and smart as its predecessor. Riordan has completely won me over to his unique brand of humor, mixing modern America with ancient Greece in a ridiculous and yet strangely believable way.
I was delighted to find this book every bit as hilarious and smart as its predecessor. Riordan has completely won me over to his unique brand of humor, mixing modern America with ancient Greece in a ridiculous and yet strangely believable way.
The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman
It turns out that Philip Pullman has a whole other series to his name aside from the deservedly-hyped His Dark Materials trilogy. This is the first title in that series, and it's billed as "A gripping mystery from the depths of Victorian London".
For the most part, it lives up to this description. The book has a decidedly Victorian feel to it - a sort of semi-Gothic creepiness, sinister thieves, young street urchins. Sally Lockhart, the heroine, is a smart and savvy young girl who, having just lost her father, is determined to sort out the mystery surrounding his death and find her own way in the world (despite the machinations of the grouchy old maid of an aunt whom Sally finds herself living with).
While enjoyable, this book didn't quite have the unputdownability I was hoping for, based on other Pullman novels I've read. However, I am still looking forward to reading the other three books in this series, so watch this space to see if the stories get any more absorbing after this.
For the most part, it lives up to this description. The book has a decidedly Victorian feel to it - a sort of semi-Gothic creepiness, sinister thieves, young street urchins. Sally Lockhart, the heroine, is a smart and savvy young girl who, having just lost her father, is determined to sort out the mystery surrounding his death and find her own way in the world (despite the machinations of the grouchy old maid of an aunt whom Sally finds herself living with).
While enjoyable, this book didn't quite have the unputdownability I was hoping for, based on other Pullman novels I've read. However, I am still looking forward to reading the other three books in this series, so watch this space to see if the stories get any more absorbing after this.
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Wow - I can't believe how many months this gem sat on a bookshelf in Megan's room, collecting dust, before she finally decided to pick it up and then finally decided to recommend it to me.
Our hero is Percy Jackson, a kid who's always had slightly odd things happen to him, a kid who has ADD and dyslexia and has been kicked out of way too many schools because of all those inconvenient accidents that happen near him. (Here, the similarities to Harry Potter end.) One day Percy finally twigs to the fact that he's more than a little bit different from his peers, when his math teacher suddenly turns into a horrible creature with bat-like wings and he's forced to wield a ballpoint pen that turns into a sword to defeat her. Soon the truth comes out - Percy is actually the son of a Greek god. In fact, the entire ancient Greek pantheon (along with an assortment of minor creatures and characters) is alive and well and living in twenty-first-century America. And even more remarkably, there are lots of other kids like Percy - in fact, he soon discovers that he's been admitted to a summer camp for half-bloods. (Honestly, it's really not like Harry Potter, even though it sounds like it... just trust me here.)
Hilariously and cleverly written, this is a very promising start to a series that pits modern kids against ancient sources of evil.
Our hero is Percy Jackson, a kid who's always had slightly odd things happen to him, a kid who has ADD and dyslexia and has been kicked out of way too many schools because of all those inconvenient accidents that happen near him. (Here, the similarities to Harry Potter end.) One day Percy finally twigs to the fact that he's more than a little bit different from his peers, when his math teacher suddenly turns into a horrible creature with bat-like wings and he's forced to wield a ballpoint pen that turns into a sword to defeat her. Soon the truth comes out - Percy is actually the son of a Greek god. In fact, the entire ancient Greek pantheon (along with an assortment of minor creatures and characters) is alive and well and living in twenty-first-century America. And even more remarkably, there are lots of other kids like Percy - in fact, he soon discovers that he's been admitted to a summer camp for half-bloods. (Honestly, it's really not like Harry Potter, even though it sounds like it... just trust me here.)
Hilariously and cleverly written, this is a very promising start to a series that pits modern kids against ancient sources of evil.
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