The Wolf: Under the Northern Sky: Book One

One reviewer called this fantasy novel by Leo Carew--intended to be the first in a series--"a rousing cross between The Magnificent Seven and Game of Thrones" (Paul Hoffman).  I haven't watched the latter but certainly can see the the appropriateness of the former reference although this involves whole armies rather than small bands of do-gooders vs. bad guys. Set in an alternative island realm called Albion that looks reminiscent of England, the north is a wild, uncultivated place inhabited by a giant (7 feet tall) warrior culture called the Anakim. These are the good guys. They are relatively self-sufficient, growing enough food to feed the populace and creating buildings from stone. They live to the ripe old age of 200 years or more if they aren't killed in battle. And they love their land intensely with its massive forests, forbidding mountainous terrain and ferocious wild life. They eschew the accumulation of wealth or colorful ornamentation in their dress or domestic settings.
To the south, across the River Abus, are the Sutherners, ruled by a king in the city of Lundenceaster. They are "soft"-- farmers and towns people--who accumulate wealth and wear jewelry and bright colors. Believe it or not, these are the bad guys. They invade the Anakim--out of fear, out of acquisitiveness, out of curiosity--it's not clear. But led by crafty "upstart" (i.e., not a nobleman) Bellamus, they defeat the Anakim in the initial contact. The Anakim leader, Kynortas, is killed and his young son Roper, recognizing the booby traps that have been laid, calls for retreat in order to save lives. However the Anakim do not retreat, and a brash warrior, Uvoren, makes it his goal to usurp Roper as the heir to the throne. It is this conflict between Roper and Uvoren and their battle for the hearts and minds of the Anakim, as well as the battles fought between armies, that drives the story line. It was well written with interesting characters and a fine job of world building; the Anakim and their world seem to have been influenced by Carew's own lifestyle preferences. I won't be seeking out the sequel, even so, as this just isn't a subject--war-- that engaged me.
However, don't just take my word for it. Kirkus calls this book "A grand-scale historical fantasy set in the frigid wilds of the Black Kingdom, Carew’s stellar debut novel—about a young lord forced into a perilously complex situation after his father is killed in battle—is an action-packed and blood-splattered tour de force."
Publishers Weekly also gave a glowing review as did The Guardian.

The Miniaturist

I have to be honest and say that I read most but not all of the book; however,  I did watch the 3-part BBC series made from this debut novel by Jessie Burton, which was on the best seller list of both The Times (London) and The New York Times.
Set in 17th century Amsterdam, a city of contradictory impulses, 18-year-old Nella is a country gentle woman whose family has fallen on hard times and is married off by her widowed mother to a wealthy Amsterdam merchant 2 decades her senior, Johannes Brandt. When she arrives, not only is Johannes not there to greet her, but his sister, Marin--who has here-to-fore been mistress of the household--makes her feel very unwelcome. Marin also makes it clear to Nella that she is to be a very visible indicator to the community that Johannes has taken a wife. Why that is important, and why Johannes himself never consummates the relationship we learn later on. What Johannes offers to Nella instead is wealth, standing in the community, and a large, exquisitely made "cabinet house" (based on an actual 17th-century dollhouse at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam) that replicates her new home, which she is free to furnish at Johannes' expense. When Nella commissions a miniaturist to create certain items for the house, things begin to get really strange, for the mysterious artisan creates the desired objects but also creates items Nella did not ask for but which are eerily accurate of people, furnishings, and events going on in the Brandt house. Nella chafes under the restrictive life she is expected to lead, and forces herself into Johannes' life, discovering more than she wanted to know. In my usual fashion, I looked for but failed to find a character with whom I could empathize. I appreciated the depiction of life in this amazing city (see my blog on Amsterdam) and of the conflicts between a growing wealthy class and the Calvinist doctrines that were often imposed. As always, the BBC production was first rate. Still, it's not a book I would race to recommend.
More reviews are available from The Guardian, The Washington Post,  and The Chicago Tribune.
 

The Bridge

This is the 7th installment in Robert Parker's old west series featuring Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch; the series has been take over by Robert Knott since Parker died a few years ago. I have read Robert Parker for decades, including almost all of his Spenser series. He is a master character builder and uses dialogue to create really interesting and often quirky actors. Virgil is a man of few words--one would call him laconic--but he is smart and very good with a gun. Everett was educated at West Point and talks a bit more than Virgil, who frequently consults Everett when he can't think of the right word he wants. The relationships between characters, as is true in the Spenser novels, are so engaging, that you feel like you could walk into their lives.
After years of various law enforcement gigs in various small towns, they are back in Appaloosa where they started, only now Virgil is the Territorial Marshall and Everett is his deputy. When a traveling theater troupe comes to town, Virgil's significant other, Allie, rolls out the welcome mat. Arriving right behind them is a huge snow storm, which is going to complicate matters. The theater show is postponed due to weather and Everett gets involved with a beautiful woman fortune teller who says she sees mortal danger in his future. A telegram arrives saying the Rio Blanco train bridge--a day's ride from Appaloosa--has been blown up. The local sheriff and his deputies go to investigate but disappear, causing Virgil and Cole to go in search of them, accompanied by the architect of the bridge. Just as they are leaving town, a slovenly group of soldiers or pretenders arrive. With this cast of characters, the trick is for Cole and Hitch to figure out who had the most to gain from destroying the bridge, and leaving a trail of human bodies as an aftermath. Knott has done a commendable job of continuing the development of these characters and the story lines.

One Perfect Lie

I have enjoyed a number of Lisa Scottoline's books, both the stand alone (e.g., Every Fifteen Minutes) and the "Rosato and Associates" series about an all-women law firm (e.g., Accused). I listened to this stand-alone thrillers on a car trip recently and it opens when we meet Chris Brennan, who is applying for a job as a teacher and assistant varsity baseball coach at Central Valley High School in Pennsylvania. Except his name is not Chris Brennan, he is not a teacher, and one begins to suspect that he is working with the baseball team just so he can find the perfect patsy for the job he has in mind. The deadline is getting close and Chris must protect his identity and also find the right candidate. He narrows it down to 3 boys on the team. Raz Sematov's father has died within the last year and although he is the star pitcher, he is teetering on the edge. Jordan Larkin is the shy, quiet rookie on the team, son of a single mom, and he is thus susceptible to a strong father figure that praises him and promotes him to be the new pitcher. And then there's Evan Kostis who appears to have everything, including a new BMW that his parents gave him as a birthday present. In short order, however, the lives of all these families are going to change, and one of these boys in already way in over his head in a plot to bomb a federal building on the anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing. Where Chris fits in, and how this resolves were a surprise. Well written as always with distinctly developed characters.

City of Bones

This was Cassandra Clare's first novel and also the first in her "Mortal Instruments" series for young adults. Clare, nee Judith Rumelt, was born  to American parents in Tehran and had a peripatetic childhood accompanying her parents all over the globe. Our protagonist, 15-year-old Clary Fray, is hanging with her friend Simon at a club in Manhattan that caters to the under 21 crowd when she sees a beautiful young woman being followed by a handsome young man into a storage room inside the club. What worries her though are the two young men dressed in black who follow the couple. What she discovers when she investigates is going to turn her world upside down. She witnesses a murder and then sees the body disappear into thin air...who would believe her if she reported that to the police? She has just seen her first demon and the Shadowhunters who want to drive them from the planet. When Clary returns home, she finds the apartment ransacked and her mother missing; then she is attacked by a horrible giant centipede-like monster.  Clary flees to The Institute, where the Shadowhunters live. Clary is frantic to find her mother and comes to believe that the Shadowhunters are the only way to do that. But her mother has kept a lot of secrets from Clary--ones that put not just her mother's but Clary's life in danger. Her mother's best friend may not be who she thought he was either, and her father may not be dead after all. It might have been better for everyone if he were. A thoroughly entertaining read, not diminished at all by the YA focus. Perfect for fantasy fans of any age. 

The Hiding Place

This psychological thriller/ mystery--with a hint of the paranormal --rom C.J. Tudor comes on the heels of having listened to One Perfect Lie by Lisa Scottoline, which shares one of the opening moves of this book. Joe Thorne takes a teaching job in his home town of Arnhill, a former coal mining district, under false pretenses. He really is a teacher, but he's come back for another reason altogether. After his younger sister Annie went missing and then returned as a very different person, Joe was traumatized. When she died in a car accident, it was almost a relief. But things went from bad to worse when one of his schoolmates allegedly committed suicide. As an adult, Joe was a reasonably successful teacher, but then became addicted to gambling, tried to steal money from the school where he worked and has not only lost everything, but owes a ridiculous sum to The Fat Man, who has sent someone to break his bones and eventually kill him if he does not pay. People who were involved in his sister's initial disappearance and its cover up are not happy to see Joe back in town, so he is being threatened from all sides. But Joe received an anonymous email, "I know what happened to your sister. It's happening again."  Joe feels he has to stop it. Eventually the back story of Annie's disappearance is revealed as are the roots of Joe's strange behavior and even weirder imaginings. But the circumstances of her reappearance are shrouded in a sort of magical or cursed idea of eternal life for children who have died. Although Joe does eventually resolve his monetary issues and goes back to his "normal" life, it does not feel like a clear resolution. People are portrayed as largely cruel and manipulative with some exceptions. This is a dark book about a dark place. Positive review from Kirkus, and from Publishers Weekly.

Thin Air

This book is about as far from that in my previous post as is possible. This hard-core, gritty, cyber-punk science fiction tome from Richard K. Morgan --apparently best known for his award winning book, Altered Carbon, which has been made into a Netflix series)--had me going from the very beginning. I was so engrossed that I got into one of my obsessive reading moods and finished all 528 pages in two days. The plot is complicated so I won't try to sum it up (see the lengthier reviews linked at the end of my post). The setting is a future Mars settlement --a large urban sprawl, now almost two centuries old, called Bradbury and some distant, more frontier-like towns, especially Cradle City. The setting is as compelling a character as any of the people and is exquisitely rendered so you feel you are there. Even after all the human modifications, the air is still arid and cold, the blowing dust is relentless, and the sky beyond the lamina is an ever-changing array of un-sky-like colors. The sun is just a toy replica of what we see from Earth, and Earth itself is just a distant dot in the overhead. Many humans have become stranded on Mars, longing to return to Earth, after having sought their fortune through indentured labor contracts and then not had the money to pay the return fare. Other generations have been born on Mars. Their physiology has evolved and their body structure is less bulky due to the decreased gravity of Mars. Society on earth has changed of course and now single mothers who can't afford to care for their kids can option them out to become bio-tech hybrids who serve the large corporations doing interplanetary business. Such a one is our protagonist, Hakan Veil, who served as a trouble shooter on interplanetary flights for years until he was decommissioned and essentially black listed. So he gets part-time work as an enforcer and body guard for 8 months of the year (Earth years) and then goes into hibernation for 4 months. It makes for a precarious lifestyle. The Guardian describes Hakan as "essentially a robotically enhanced Jack Reacher: wisecracking, irresistible to women, nearly invincible in a fight." When he does a contract kill for a corporation trying to take over business in Bradbury, he gets arrested and then suddenly released with a request from the the Bradbury PD to bodyguard a member of an audit team that has come from Earth. It seems like a pretty low-risk assignment, but nothing is as it seems nor is anybody who they seem. Not only are corporations and crooks fighting for the power and money on Mars, but others think they have the right to call the shots, as well, and Hakan and everyone who knows him get thoroughly tangled up in the mess. This is such a well done job of world-building that the book would be worth reading for that alone. But at least some of the characters are also complexly robust and the plot is so twisty that you won't know until the end who is going to come out on top. There is a fair amount of grisly violence and explicit sex, but it does not dominate the storyline. If you are a fan of sci-fi, put this on your list. In tone and mood, it reminds me of  Blade Runner or Leviathan Wakes. Publishers Weekly did not have as glowing a review as did The Guardian or the LATimes.

The Traveling Cat Chronicles

This book by Hiro Arikawa has been translated from Japanese by Philip Gabriel and is a best seller in Japan. Our primary narrator is Nana, the Japanese word for "seven" because his owner, Satoru, thinks his crooked tail resembles that number. Satoru had for some time been feeding this stray white cat with a crooked black tail and calico patches on his ears when one day he hears him yowling outside  with a broken leg. Although it's a "no pet" apartment building, Satoru is allowed to keep Nana until he heals. But by then, they are attached. The traveling part of the story takes off a few years later and involves visiting old friends of Satoru's from different periods of his life, each of whom he asks to take his beloved cat. But each of them is found wanting by either Nana or Satoru or both, because the truth is, they want to be together. Nana isn't sure why Satoru is now trying to find him another home, but then a dog at one place they visit notices that Satoru smells like he's very sick. As Satoru and Nana travel throughout Japan, we learn of Satoru's history, becoming orphaned as a young boy when his parents were killed in a car crash, and then being adopted by a young unmarried maternal aunt, Noriko, who moves frequently. So Satoru's life has clear stages, and with each comes different interests and new friends. When finally, no satisfactory home is found, Satoru and Nana go to live with Noriko and we learn that Satoru has incurable cancer. The last couple of chapters are tear jerkers, although we are told by Nana that he dreams of meeting up with Satoru when he dies. There is some lovely description of the Japanese countryside, but I struggled to stay with the book early on because the prose felt a bit stilted. Whether that is due to translation or a different writing style, I'm not sure. Nana's commentary is occasionally amusing, supposedly giving us insight into how cats view humans, other animals, and the world around them. This is a book about rescues, friendships, loyalty, and choosing to be happy.
There is a lot more detail in this lovely and lengthy review in the Washington Post, and this from NPR.

Ink and Bone

In Rachel Caine's alternative version of history, rather than being destroyed by wars, fire, and other human-made and natural disasters, the great libraries banded together to preserve--and ultimately control--all written knowledge. If knowledge is power, and power corrupts, you can guess the logical outcome. The Library, now headquartered in Alexandria but with branches in every major city, is no longer a force for good, even though they have the technology and magic to provide any book they choose to people anywhere they choose. As a result, a robust pirate economy in original print books has flourished, and Jess Brightwell's family is one of the most successful players. Jess has been a "runner" carrying smuggled books, while avoiding the Library's Garda, through the streets of London to the highest bidders.  His brother was hanged when he was caught, and because he refused to give up his family's name, he is admired. For Jess' father, like the Library, values books above human life. As a young man, Jess is groomed by his family to become a candidate for the Library's harrowing training program in Alexandria, to serve as a spy for his family. Although the competition is fierce, Jess forms strong bonds with several fellow trainees and it is this bond, and his family history, that finally bring Jess fully under the Library's control. This is the first of a series, followed by Paper and Fire and Ash and Quill and soon to be released Smoke and Iron. There is a multi-media set of web pages with lots of information about The Great Library.
A short review from Publishers Weekly and a lengthy one from Christian Science Monitor.

Death at La Fenice

This is the first (1992) in a substantial series of Guido Brunetti mysteries by Donna Leon. Commissario Brunetti is a savvy and hard-working detective supervised by an incompetent, interfering, and take-all-the-credit boss, Vice-Questore Patta, and burdened with lazy, and frequently bungling subordinates. Hal and I have become big fans of the Inspector Montalbano series made for Italian TV (based on the books of Andrea Camilleri) which are set in Sicily. This series is set in Venice and, unlike Montalbano, Bruno is married to school teacher Paola and has two children. You get a terrific sense of this aging beauty of a city as Leon, American by birth, lived there for 30 years.
This initial outing revolves around the death of world-reknowned conductor, Helmut Wellauer, who dies in his dressing room during an intermission of La Traviata--apparently from cyanide in his coffee. Bruno interviews all the usual suspects even though no fingerprints are found on the coffee cup except the maestro's. Maestro Wellauer was married to a woman several decades younger, his third wife, who is also a doctor. The maestro was also seen arguing with the lead singer, Flavia Petrelli, a star in her own right, who is having an affair with an esteemed women archaeologist, thereby putting her at odds with the homophobic Wellauer. Then there is the conductor, to whom Wellauer promised but failed to deliver a job recommendation for a singing protege. And as Bruno digs deeper he finds that Wellauer's rumored Nazi sympathies during WWII may be the least of his morally questionable behaviors, giving even more people a reason to kill him. In addition to detailed setting and interesting characters, Leon is a masterful writer (she has a PhD in literature) and I love her use of language, e.g. when describing a conversation between Bruno and wife, Paola, she "graced him with with the look she usually reserved for brutal infelicities of language." Wow!
Reviews from Publishers Weekly and Kirkus.
For an in-depth look at Leon and her Brunetti mysteries, see this interview in The Telegraph.

An Easy Death

I just happened to see this title on the display at the Albuquerque public library and was so excited about a new series from Charlaine Harris. In spite of the dreadfully pulpy, gorey and over-sexed translations of two of her series (Sookie Stackhouse and Midnight, Texas) into TV serials, I think she is a really good writer who creates atmospheric settings, complex characters, and engaging story lines. This book was no exception and I raced through it in a day. In an alternate version of history, Franklin Roosevelt has been assassinated and many others have succumbed to the influenza outbreak, and the United States as we know it no longer exists.  Other powers have rushed in to fill the void. Mexico has annexed portions of the south, Canada has invaded from the north, the original 13 colonies have re-aligned with Great Britain, and the Tsar in exile from Russia has claimed large parts of the west. There are a cluster of new independent countries including Dixie, New America (the upper plains), and Texoma, the setting where the book opens.
Gunnie Lizbeth Rose, our 19-year-old protagonist is a hired gun, daughter of a woman who was raped by a grigori (wizard); Lizbeth has since hunted down said wizard and killed him. Now she is part of a crew that protects people who want to move away from what was formerly Texas to new homes further north or east. But on this fateful day, they are ambushed by an overwhelming force of bandits; her 3 crew members--including her best friends and her lover--are killed and Gunnie is left for dead. The migrants have been kidnapped but since they are hauling all their belongings and their children, she eventually catches up and kills the bandits. After delivering her "clients" to their new home, she returns to Segundo to recover. However, her respite is cut short by two wizards who have come to hire her to help find a descendant of Rasputin, Oleg Karkarov, whose blood may be able to save their ailing Tsar. Gunnie Rose tells them she knows for a fact that the man is dead, but neglects to mention that she is the one who killed him (her father). She agrees to help them find his brother or even possibly his rumored child. But opponents of the Tsar are determined that they shall not find anyone who can potentially keep the Tsar alive and in power, and they send an interesting stream of other wizards and enchanted creatures out to kill Gunnie Rose and her two client wizards. Suffice it to say that Lizbeth survives and even gets a new refrigerator out of the whole deal, but not without paying a price. I hope this is the beginning of a new series because this is a wonderful character and plot line. Glowing reviews from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly.

File M for Murder

This is the 3rd installment in Miranda James' "Cat in the Stacks" mystery series, and obviously I like them since I have been on a bit of a binge, starting with Murder Past Due and then on to Classified as Murder. Our protagonists are Charlie Harris, a rare books cataloger at tiny Athena College in Athena, Mississippi, and his 30 pound Maine Coon cat, Diesel. But along the way we have accumulated several other recurring characters who enrich Charlie's life and the stories. Characters from both of the first two books, Justin and Stewart, have now become boarders in Charlie's big historical house, inherited from his departed aunt Dottie. Then there are Charlie's children. First his son Sean quit the high-powered law firm in Houston and returned home (in Classified as Murder), and in this book, his daughter Laura, a budding actress, moves home temporarily to take a teaching position in the theater department at the college. Unfortunately, Laura got the position with the help of former paramour and Athena native son Connor Lawton, a brilliant but also drunken and abusive playwright who is the current writer-in-residence at the college. When he is murdered, Laura becomes the prime suspect initially. That is, until threats start being made against her. As before, Charlie feels that Deputy Sheriff Kanesha Berry could be moving a bit faster finding the culprit with a little help. Start with the first book and enjoy the evolving relationships between these interesting characters. Great cozy read for lovers of books and cats!