Bring Up the Bodies

Apparently Hilary Mantel is only the 3rd author to ever win two Man Booker prizes and the 1st to win with a sequel, as she has done with her first two books of a projected trilogy about Thomas Cromwell. Apparently she took the criticism about her difficult to follow use of pronouns in Wolf Hall to heart, and has endeavored in the sequel to more clearly indicate when Cromwell is the "he" in question. Maybe for this reason, or maybe it's just greater familiarity with the huge cast of characters, but this book, focused on the downfall of Anne Boleyn, was easier to follow. Given Boleyn's scheming and cold-hearted treatment of those who opposed her rise to power, it's hard to be sympathetic, and yet, Henry is so fickle and so able to rationalize his wandering libido, that one does feel a twinge for her. Cromwell--never at the top of Anne's list of favorite people--is quick to recognize the shifting winds of Henry's affections, and to begin crafting the case that will free Henry to marry Jane Seymour. Cromwell must ally himself with old enemies, and thereby place himself at greater risk to bring down the current queen.  Cromwell emerged as a very complex character in Wolf Hall, capable of tremendous compassion and loyalty as well as ruthlessness. Here, the ruthlessness--admittedly in the service of old loyalties--drives the plot, as he focuses on those who wronged Cardinal Wolsey in determining who shall die and who shall live. The title refers to the call used to retrieve the prisoners for trial in the Tower of London, where the Queen and a selected few of her ostensible lovers are housed. There is a slightly longer Author's Note that alludes to the historical record drawn upon, but it still left me feeling like I wanted to know a lot more about her sources. Cromwell continues to develop as a man you can both admire and view with caution; certainly you would never want to get on his bad side.

Deadlocked

In this most recent of the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris, the focus is definitely shifting towards the fairies. There are still of course plenty of vampires, various were-creatures and assorted other supernatural beings, but the really complex plot has to do with someone making concerted efforts to get at Sookie. The Cluvial Dor, given to her grandmother by her fairy lover, Fintan, plays a key role. Eric is being visited by the King of Louisiana & Nevada, who is pressuring him to honor the marriage arranged for Eric by his creator. Sookie finds Eric feeding on another woman who has been dosed with fairy blood; she later turns up dead on Eric's front lawn. Needless to say, all of this is stressing the "marriage" between Sookie and Eric. Meanwhile, fairy great-grandfather Niall has surfaced again and taken cousin Claude back to Faery with him; Dermot is left in charge of the strip club where all the left-behind fairy types have taken refuge, and they are starting to get restless. Sookie has learned that Sam's girlfriend and Alcide's enforcer, Janalynn, definitely has it in for her, so she is wondering if she might be behind all the things that are going wrong. But the real culprit will surprise you as will Sookie's decision about how to use the magic gift bequeathed to her by her grandmother.  These new twists will fuel the series for a while longer. I personally do NOT like what HBO has done with this series, but I know some friends really like "True Blood." I just felt after watching a couple of episodes that the focus on blood and sex and the changes to some significant characters and relationships diminished the story line. I continue to find the books great fun, though.