The Last Castle by Jack Vance

Read For:

What's In A Name Challenge

Synopsis: The novel is about a group of expatriates who have created a set of castles on an otherwise uninhabited world; they pursue an effete aristocratic lifestyle. Their servants inexplicably revolt; what will gentlemen do? This novel shows Vance's verbal style like no other.

My review:

For such a short book (113 pages), The Last Castle provides a scathing commentary and parody on a "gentile" society, who through their enslavement of three other societies, provides the seeds of their own destruction. The main society is filled with intelligence but have stupidly built their society on theory and not practice.

They set up their culture that to do ANYTHING for ones self is demeaning. In turn, they view all others: the strong, alien Meks, the "peasants", the "Nomads, the creatures phanes and the birds, as less than, bestial and without thought or purpose other than to serve them. When, unsurprisingly, the "lesser beings" revolt, the reader witnesses this societies rapid downfall.

My only fault with the book is it's shortness. Mr Vance's grasp of language is amazing and will make some readers, like me, realize just how little of the English language we use in comparison with the plethora of words Vance employs.

3 stars.

Crooked Little Vein by Warren Ellis

Read For:

Ryob Challenge

What's In A Name Challenge

A to Z Challenge

Synopsis:

Michael McGill is a burned-out private detective who suddenly becomes enlisted by an army of presidential goons to retrieve the Constitution of the United States, but not the one we all know about. This would be the real Constitution (the one with invisible amendments) created by some of the Founding Fathers as a fallback for their great experiment. Along the way, McGill gains a polyamorous sidekick named Trix, gets scared to death by what men do with warm salty water, and descends into a world where crime, sex, and madness all seem to be the same thing.

Full of mind-bending style and packed with a wild cast of characters, Crooked Little Vein infuses Robert B. Parker with Kurt Vonnegut and the madness of the graphic-novel world. A surprisingly surreal treat, it will appeal to hardcore comic fans, mystery aficionados, and all readers looking for a riotous summer reading adventure

My review:

How to review this book-hmm. a wild, sick twisted ride-part hard edge mystery, part social satire and scathing parody of our political system. In turns laugh out loud funny and sickening. Not for the feint of heart. Funny but doesn't stick with you. If you like hardboiled or cyberpunk stuff you might like this.

3 stars

Prospero's Daughters by Nancy Butler

Read For:
Summer Challenge
RYOB Challenge
2nds Challenge
What's In A Name Challenge
Themed Reading Challenge
A to Z Reading Challenge


All in all, a very good Regency. Likeable hero and heroine-both are "scarred" in their own way. The hero, mostly emotionally and the heroine physically. Unusual storyline that the heroine cannot walk and has been forced in seclusion by uncaring relatives. The heroine meets the hero quite by accident. I liked this one. Recommended-4 stars

Those Who Hunt The Night by Barbara Hambly

Those Who Hunt The Night
Barbara Hambly
Fantasy
Rating 5 stars
340 pages

Read For:
What's In A Name Challenge
Victorian Challenge
RYOB Challenge
42 Challenge
1st in A Series Challenge
Serial Readers Challenge

Synopsis: Someone - or something - is killing the vampires of London while they sleep during the day. Don Simon Ysidro, the oldest of the London vampires, hires Dr. James Asher, a retired member of the British Secret Service, to find this killer. Asher, who accepts this job for the price of his wife (Lydia)'s life, delves into the shadowy world of the vampires to find a killer that increasingly seems to be one of their number.

My Review: I loved this book. I only wish, A-I would have read this much earlier instead of letting it languish on my TBR shelf, and B-I would not have chosen to read it with my back in an uproar with a pinched nerve as I feel I would have enjoyed it even more:)

This Vampire fantasy slash historical mystery set in late Victorian (or early Edwardian-1906) England is a brilliant thinking man's Vampire novel. The three leads of the story-James Asher, his wife Lydia, and the Vampire Ysidro-are all mental giants, each brilliant in their own specialty. Asher, a former British agent, is sought out by centuries old Ysidro, a Spanish Vampire whose undead roots go back to Queen Elizabeth's time. Ysidro needs Asher's help in discovering who is killing off the vampires of London. To do so, he lets Asher know that not only his life, but Asher's brilliant wife Lydia's life hang in the balance if Asher cannot find the killer. Lydia, an unconventional Victorian Society woman is a great female lead. A woman who chose a career in medicine and Science over an advantageous Society marriage. Will her choice save or destroy her life?

Hambly's writing style is fast paced yet intelligent. Her knowledge of the period shines through and any aficionado of Victorian Fiction should try this book, even if they are not fantasy or Vampire fans.
I'm looking forward to reading the second book in the series, Traveling With The Dead, and Ms. Hambly's website states she's in talks for a third, long awaited book in the series.
Highly recommended-5 stars.

The Companion by Ann Granger

The Companion
Ann Granger
320 pages
rating 4 stars

Read For:
RYOB Challenge
Victorian Challenge
Historical Fiction Challenge
What's In A Name Challenge
1st In A Series Challenge
New Author Challenge


My Amazon Review:

Synopsis:

“In the corners of the room the shadows cast velvety veils. It would not be too difficult to imagine someone stood there and watched. I thought of Madeleine Hexham.... I glanced around me. It was likely that I'd been given my predecessor's room and that it was here she had planned her flight into the arms of her mysterious lover.”

When Lizzie Martin arrives in London in 1864 to become a lady’s companion, her first impressions are disturbing. She’s barely out of the station when her cab encounters a wagon carrying the remains of a young woman recently dead.

At her new home, Lizzie learns that her predecessor, Madeleine Hexham, disappeared without a word of warning. Despite rumors of immoral behavior surrounding the girl’s departure, Lizzie is soon persuaded that there’s a deeper mystery here. Her suspicions are tragically confirmed when Inspector Benjamin Ross delivers shocking tidings.

Lizzie is determined to unravel the truth about the lost Miss Hexham. As, too, is Ben Ross: a man who cares about justice, whatever the class of victim. But they must tread carefully, as a cornered killer is the most dangerous of all...

My Review:
The companion was a well written, accurate and intriguing historical mystery. Set in Victorian England, the story is told through Lizzie Martin, a country doctor's daughter, left penniless by his death, and Benjamin Ross, a young Scotland yard detective who is tied to Lizzie through a past association. Lizzie must now be a Lady's companion, after living her entire life of more affluent means, and has problems with not speaking her mind, much to Lady Parry's dismay. Lizzie and Benjamin are both calm, thoughtful and resourceful characters. The mystery was a good one, and solved very much as a crime would have been solved in that time period.

The mystery surrounding the former companion points out the moral judgements and flaws of the times-that more condemnation is placed on the female victim than her cold hearted murderer, just because she was naive and trusting.

A good solid Victorian mystery-4 stars.

Duel of Hearts by Elizabeth Mansfield

Duel of Hearts Elizabeth Mansfield Regency Romance 219 pages Rating 1.5 stars.

Read for:
RYOB Challenge
Winter 08 Challenge
A to Z Challenge
Chick Porn Challenge
What's In A Name Challenge


My Amazon Review:
cliched, cloying and annoying Regency Romance...., January 31, 2009
Synopsis:
LOVE'S DARING GAMBIT . . .
"There's No Time To Explain!" Sarah said. "Come and sit down beside me. Quickly!" She pulled him to the sofa. The door had been left open so that anyone passing would be bound to see them.

Sarah placed his arms firmly around her waist. "Now Edward, try not to be too shocked. I want you to kiss me."

"What?" Edward gaped at her. "You can't mean."

"Yes, I do!" She threw her arms around him and lifted her face to his. "Kiss me . . . as if you really mean it!"

My review:

Duel of Hearts is based on that tried and true storyline of the shy heroine, secretly in love with the hero, but he loves another. The heroine, as a selfless act, pretends to be lovers with the hero to help him ensnare his "true love", the heroine's twenty year old cousin.
While I've seen the story done before, this particular telling was one of the worst. The book spends more time on the hero's love interest-the heroine's vain, stupid and mean cousin, than on the heroine. The heroine is a door mat, and gladly allows herself to be a door mat to everyone including the hero. In modern terms, she's a complete wuss, never standing up for herself or her love.

The hero is not much better, liking the hero one minute, than berating and belittling her the next. Any "love" in this romance literally happens the last five pages of the book. No kidding!
The only beautiful thing in this novel is the beautiful cover art.

Totally skipworthy-1.5 stars. ”

What's In A Name Challenge

FINISHED!
join HERE:

*This is a challenge that anyone can join, no matter what types of books they like to read. You should be able to find books from any genre that will work.

*Dates: January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2009

*The Challenge: Choose one book from each of the following categories.

1. A book with a "profession" in its title. Examples might include: The Book Thief, The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Historian

2. A book with a "time of day" in its title. Examples might include: Twilight, Four Past Midnight, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

3. A book with a "relative" in its title. Examples might include: Eight Cousins, My Father's Dragon, The Daughter of Time

4. A book with a "body part" in its title. Examples might include: The Bluest Eye, Bag of Bones, The Heart of Darkness

5. A book with a "building" in its title. Examples might include: Uncle Tom's Cabin, Little House on the Prairie, The Looming Tower

6. A book with a "medical condition" in its title. Examples might include: Insomnia, Coma, The Plague

*You may overlap books with other challenges, but please don't use the same book for more than one category.

My List

1. profession-The Companion by Ann Granger-DONE-4 stars.
   
2. time of day-Those Who Hunt The Night by Barbara Hambly-DONE-5 stars
   
3. relative- Prospero's Daughter by Nancy Butler-DONE-4 stars
   
4. body part-DONE-Duel of Hearts by Elizabeth Mansfield-1.5 stars.
   
5. building-DONE-The Last Castle by Jack Vance-3 stars
6. medical condition-Crooked Little Vein by Warren Ellis-DONE-3 stars