Travel Reading: BC Summer

It is far too difficult to write up proper reviews when I've been away from regular internet access for extended periods of time. Thus I started this Travel Reading series, where I simply write a couple sentences about each book read, and leave it at that. So from a trip home to my family and friends in BC comes the following:

"Owl in Love" by Patrice Kindl
Grade: 3 stars
Strange little book, which seems to be Kindl's style. I like her best in fairy tale land, where strangeness doesn't seem unusual (Goose Chase made me very happy). But this one was surprisingly entertaining. The strangeness was less disconcerting than in The Woman in the Wall. Owl's voice is unique, even from Kindl's other heroines; her inhuman-ness was treated well. And I still want to read every one of the rest of her books, if only for curiosity's sake. 2 1/2 stars because I think it was a little young for me, but then an extra 1/2 star for the fact that I couldn't really stop reading it.



"A Coalition of Lions" by Elizabeth Wein
Grade: 3 stars
A sequel to the Arthurian retelling The Winter Prince, but not nearly as heart-wrenching and impactful. I still enjoyed it, especially in the enormous potential for a favourite new character that was young Telemakos (the future books follow him as a protagonist). The setting and politics were cool as well. But it felt too short, and like some of the relationships (especially Priamos and Goewin) and characters needed more background and build up.





"Port Eternity" by C. J. Cherryh
Grade: 2 1/2 stars
Not as good as the other Cherryh I read (Cuckoo's Egg) but that was expected. I'd read reviews beforehand that indicated this. I only read it as my next Cherryh because it was an Arthurian retelling of sorts, and I've been on a bit of an Arthurian kick recently (see A Coalition of Lions above and the Top Ten (Or So): Arthurian Retellings list). I think I would have preferred even more character development, though maybe that wouldn't be possible with the kind of characters these "people" were. Or maybe what I wanted was more action... It happened at the end, but there seemed to be a big, slow build up to some large character explosion, and that never happened as much as I expected. The mythic, idyllic ending seemd to suit more conflict and events than actually happened.



"The Curse of Chalion" by Lois McMaster Bujold
Grade: 3 1/2 stars
It was a little slow to start out with, but once I got far enough through, the Bujold-ness showed up, especially with the main character, Cazaril. The interaction between gods and men was great. There are certain elements of theism that Bujold seems to understand much better than most people (this also showed up in the Vorkosigan saga with Cordelia's beliefs).
Note: everything about this edition (the back cover text, the inside cover picture) indicates there's a cliched main romance, which there isn't. Just putting that out there because it turned me off for a while.



"Tomorrow When the War Began" by John Marsden
Grade: 3 1/2 stars
I appreciated the realism of this YA post-apocalyptic Australian survival story. The teens seemed to me to act and think much like real teens. There was even a religious (not just "spiritual") girl who wasn't stupid or puritanical! That was hugely refreshing. The Australian element also gave it a bit of exciting exoticism for me as a Canadian. I think I'd like to read the sequels, once I come back from my travels and adventures and start a normal life again. It won't be that high on my list, since I didn't become passionate about any particular element. But it was a great and exciting and highly readable start to a series, and I'd recommend it to people who were mature enough for the small amount of sexual content.

The Sand-Reckoner

by Gillian Bradshaw

Story summary: Archimedes, genius 2,000 years ahead of his time, returns reluctantly home from the knowledge-heaven of Alexandria to his family home, just in time for the Roman siege of Syracuse.

Why You Will Like This Book:

• It makes one fascinated by a particular era and historical figure
• And unlike many novels that do the above, this one seems pretty historically accurate (I got this from reviews, I am completely ignorant myself)
• It brings to life the everyday of another time and place, making it both familiar and foreign.

And Why You Might Not:

• There is more romance than expected. I mostly enjoyed it (it made it a cozy book, which I always love), but somehow it also made it less impactful to me. I talk about it a little more below, but don't manage to really figure out why.

Kingdom of Summer

by Gillian Bradshaw

Story summary: Sequel to Hawk of May. "Armed with his magical sword and otherwordly horse, Gwalchmai [Sir Gawain] proves himself the most feared and faithful warrior of Arthur's noble followers. But while defending the kingdom, he commits a grave offense against the woman he loves, leading her to disappear from his life and haunt his memories." (From the back cover.)

Why You Will Like This Book:

• A tale of a quest for redemption and forgiveness
• Deep character study
• Historical accuracy
• Inspiring Christianity (without being a "Christian book")

And Why You Might Not:

• It was pretty sad. Well, more bittersweet than anything else, I suppose. I don't want to spoil too much, so I won't be specific.

Hawk of May

by Gillian Bradshaw

Story summary: A retelling of  some of the Arthurian legends from Sir Gawain's point of view (called Gwalchmai here), and with historical accuracy.

Why You Will Like This Book:

• Epic, personal, inspiring, gripping.
• Though it's not a Christian book, I found this very inspiring in a specifically Christian way.

And Why You Might Not:

• It's yet another Arthurian retelling, and there are so many of them. Really I think that shouldn't matter. If it's fabulous, it's fabulous. But it might turn you off if you're tired of so much Arthur.

The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace & Babbage

by Sydney Padua

Why You Will Like This Book:

• What if Lovelace and Babbage, inventors of the first computer, didn't die young and disappointed respectively? What if they actually built their computer, and when on to have thrilling adventures with it after that?
• This is the subtitle (and how could you not like a book with a subtitle like this?): "With Interesting & Curious Anecdotes of Celebrated and Distinguished Characters Fully Illustrating A Variety of Instructive and Amusing Scenes; as Performed Within and Without the Remarkable Difference Engine"
• It's a graphic novel! But with so many footnotes and endnotes that it's basically a normal book! But the footnotes are way better than a normal book cause they're so funny and interesting!* Cause history is weird, man.

And Why You Might Not:

• It purposefully goes off into an alternate universe, with historical inaccuracy. I love this aspect, but it's one of the only possible things I could think of that you might not like.

The Lie Tree

by Frances Hardinge

Story summary: A family whisked off to a tiny, grey island followed by whispers of scandal and deception. A father found dead under mysterious circumstances, his secrets lost and his family poverty-stricken. A girl struggling with faith in her father, religion, and own goodness. A tree that lives in darkness and feeds off lies to give truths the heart desires above all else.

Why You Will Like This Book:

• Very creepy, but in a good way (i.e. the creepiness makes you horrified at Evil in a way that is quite reasonable and healthy, imho)
• Realistically and complexly drawn characters.
• And of course, Hardinge's typical originality is present as always.

And Why You Might Not:

• As a Catholic, it gets rather annoying how Evolution--very compatible with the Faith--is treated as something which pretty much inevitably leads to atheism.
• It's a bit bleak. Faith (the main character) is treated rather badly by her family, and people are extremely condescending to her because she's female. I discuss this more below, but it definitely turned me off this book.

The Case of the Missing Moonstone

by Jordan Stratford

Story summary: Lady Ada Byron (Lovelace), 11-year-old mathematical genius, and Mary Godwin (Shelley), romantic and clever 14-year-old, decide to start a clandestine detective agency. Their first case seems open and shut--the criminal has already confessed! But there's something fishy going on, and Ada and Mary must use their not-inconsiderable wits to save the day.
Also features such memorable people as Percy Shelley, Charles Babbage, and Charles Dickens.

Why You Might Like This Book:

• Ada Lovelace!
• And Mary Shelley!
• Being detectives!

And Why You Might Not:

• It's purposefully historically inaccurate (e.g. Mary Shelley and Ada Lovelace being close in age). I liked this alt-history aspect, but I suppose it could be annoying to some. (There's an appendix with all the real facts at the end, so no one gets too mixed up.)

The Uninvited Guests

by Sadie Jones

Story summary: There's an eccentric family in their old, grand, and in-need-of-repairs house. There's a mysterious train crash with even more mysterious survivors. There's the charming surprise visitor with possible menacing intent. And there's a very non-house-trained pony.

Why You Will Like This Book:

• It's funny, short, strange, sweet, creepy, quaint.
• I actually found the romances rather sweet, though not exactly deep. (I mostly only mention this because romance is often offputting for me, and so when it isn't, I take note.)

And Why You Might Not:

• It's a strange book. Not completely coherent in plot or theme.

Casting the Gods Adrift

by Geraldine McCaughrean

Story summary: In Ancient Egypt, a young boy and his brother are taken under the wing of the new Pharaoh Akhenaten. But his father, devoted to the old gods, is not at all happy with this new pharaoh's new single god. Young Tutmose has to choose between family and his experience of the new pharaoh's new Faith.

Why You Should Read This:

• Interesting look at what it would have been like to live in such a time of drastic change in Ancient Egypt.
• Awesome illustrations.
• Surprising depth in the familial relations for a book for such young readers.

And Why You Shouldn't:

• It really is for children. I almost didn't count it on my reading count, because it's so short.
• You could possibly read a pro-relative-truth stance into it.

The Pirates! In an Adventure With Napoleon

by Gideon Defoe

Grade: 3 stars (or maybe 2 1/2 stars?)
Story summary: When the Pirate Captain loses his longed-for prize of Pirate of the Year, he is so devastated that he retires to an island to keep bees. An island which just so happens to be St. Helena, of Napoleon fame. The bee plans don't last long.
Sequel to The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists, The Pirates! In an Adventure with Whaling, and The Pirates! In an Adventure with Communists.

Thoughts: I didn't find this quite as enjoyable as the previous instalments. Perhaps it was the circumstances I was reading this under (it was basically the only thing I could read during a rather bad period), or perhaps I've simply got used to the style and don't find it quite as funny anymore. There were still parts I found immensely funny: the fake index in the back, the dedication (the joke in which was built up over all four books), and any time bees were mentioned, for example.

There is now a fifth book in this series, which I'm still planning to read. I've read some reviews saying it was better than this one, plus I enjoyed this one enough as light reading and I'm assuming the next one will be the same.

The Pirates! In an Adventure with Communists

by Gideon Defoe

Grade: 3 1/2 stars
Story summary: I try not to do this very often, but I'm going to refer you to the Goodreads summary, for the same reasons described in my review below.
Sequel to The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists and The Pirates! In an Adventure with Whaling.

Thoughts: Basically see the reviews for the previous books. I don't have much to say about this one individually. Partly because it's very similar in entertainment value and general hilariousness to the two before it. But mostly because I started reading this during my great crash into sickness and laziness after my two month European trip, and then continued reading it during the eight-day-long (and very intense) wilderness hike I went on right afterwards. These two things are not really conducive towards remembering details or taking notes or general comprehension or any such helpful things.

Stolen Magic

by Stephanie Burgis

Grade: 4 stars
Story summary: The Stephenson family is preparing for Angeline's wedding, and Angeline's new in-laws are doing everything they can to politely make things very unpleasant for her. Fortunately for us, she has a little sister named Kat, and Kat's plans to help her family always turn into mayhem, adventure, and lots of (illegal) magic.
Sequel to Kat, Incorrigible and Renegade Magic.

Thoughts: Yay! So fun! Kat is just... brilliant. I would love it if Burgis continued writing about her; she's one of those people that things just happen around. She's actually reminding me slightly, in that way, of Miles Vorkosigan, whose exploits and adventures I am reading right now and loving. They both come into situations which for normal people would simply end up mildly unpleasant. But somehow when they are there, the only thing that seems to be a possible solution is something completely audacious, involving disguise, manipulation, and great cleverness.

Her brother Charles also played a much more significant role in this book, which I was quite happy about. I always love it when all the individual members of a fictional family get enough time and attention to be interesting. (One of my favourite things about the Harry Potter series is how awesome the families and more minor characters are.) I'd felt a lack of him in the first two books, as he mostly just lay around all day and slept. Now, he's sort of pulled his life together, and like all people who have the misfortune of being close to Kat, is hurled into adventures he doesn't want to be a part of.

If I had a Top Ten (Or So) list of Clever and Audacious Characters, Kat would definitely be on it. I sincerely hope I some day get to read about her further adventures as she grows up--because one such as her could obviously not have a calm and normal life for long.

Retro Friday Review: The Masqueraders

by Georgette Heyer

Retro Friday introduction: This great book blog called Angieville started a meme called "Retro Friday", where one reviews old favourites. I thought this would be a great chance to talk about books that I read before starting this blog and am now re-reading, and perhaps to redo old blog posts that are sadly lacking in quality. Without further ado, here is Angie's regular Retro Friday intro followed by my thoughts on "The Masqueraders", which I recently re-read.

Retro Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Angie @ Angieville and focuses on reviewing books from the past. This can be a favourite, an under the radar book you think deserves more attention, something woefully out of print etc.

Grade: 5 stars
Story summary: Two adventuring siblings on the run from their involvement in the Jacobite rebellion cross-dress in order to avoid detection. Then follows adventures! escapades! duels at midnight! love and romance! shenanigans!

Thoughts: This is one of my favourite Heyers, along with Cotillion, A Civil Contract, The Grand Sophy, and Friday's Child. And as with the rest, it surprised me how much I liked it. Romance (and Historical Romance) is not generally my "thing". But Heyer manages, with those five at least, to make it so fun and interesting that I actually rather love it. Cotillion and A Civil Contract because they are so unusual for Romances, The Grand Sophy because Sophy is indeed one of the Grandest things there is, and Friday's Child because I have rarely read a romp so innocent and fun and lovely.
With the The Masqueraders, my love is for the relationship between the brother and sister, Robin and Prudence. I love good, strong sibling relationships in fiction--there are FAR too few of them. And together these two dazzle and deceive the upper-class with their wit and consummate acting skills.

Really, it's just so darned fun. There are tons of stories out there with girls masquerading as boys (from Shakespeare to many a modern YA book), but rarely any with boys masquerading as girls. And usually if that does happen, it's because the male in question is particularly feminine in some way. But here, though both siblings are much better than normal at passing for the opposite sex, they truly shine as their own. Plus, did I mention the duels at midnight? And shenanigans?  And last but not least, Robin and Prudence's father. He. is. amazing. I think it would have been awesome to have a book about all three of them having adventures together before the events of this book.

One unfortunate downside is that it can be pretty darn confusing at the beginning, before everyone is revealed to be who they actually are. I know people who have stopped reading it right near the beginning because of this. But once you get past that, or once you're at the re-reading stage, it's alllll good.

P.S. Robin and Prudence are so awesome that they made it onto my list of Top Ten (Or So): Conmen.

Ripper

by Stefan Petrucha

Grade: Unfinished
Read: To Chapter 18, page 90.

Thoughts: One of those books that just seem a little too young for me. This one wasn't so bad, and I still might finish it someday. But for the time being, it was due at the library. And it wasn't going into as much depth as I'd like. Maybe I'm just spoiled by my favourite child genius books. I thought the main boy (I can't remember his name...) would be just that much more clever, and that much more agonized by his past. I also expected a little more depth of character for some of the side characters (though Hawking was pretty awesome), but maybe that was coming and I just didn't read far enough? It didn't seem like it, but as I mentioned above, I still might give it another go someday.