Sorcerers of Majipoor by Robert Silverberg

First sentence:

There had been omens all year, a rain of blood over Nimoya and sleek hailstones shaped like tears falling on three of the cities of Castle Mount and then a true nightmare vision, a giant four-legged black beast with fiery ruby eyes and a single spiraling horn in its forehead, swimming through the air above the port city of Alaisor at twilight.

Description:

The Long-Awaited Prequel!

A thousand years before Lord Valentine, the destiny of kings is hostage to sorcery and deceit.

On the planet Majipoor, it is a time of great change. The aged Pontifex Prankipin, who brought sorcery (and prosperity) to the Fifty Cities of Castle Mount, is dying. The Coronal Lord Confalume, who will become replacement is chosen. It is no secret that the next Coronal will be prince Prestimion. By law and custom, the blood son of the present Coronal--has a secret quarry--the Starburst Crown. Visited by an oracle, Korsibar has heard a prophecy that will plunge the planet into a fearsome conflagration and alter destiny itself: "You will shake the world!"

My thoughts:

A good epic political battle set on a distant planet. Silverberg describes the settings and characters well. Some of the themes I got was how it's dangerous to assume the future and how prophecies can be ambiguous. I look forward to reading the sequel, Lord Prestimion.

Date read: 6/21/2007
Book #: 49
Series: Lord Prestimion #1
Rating: 3* = good
Genre: SF

ISBN-10: 0061057800
ISBN-13: 978-0061057809
Publisher: Eos
Year: 1998
# of pages: 624
Binding: Paperback
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The Angel of Darkness by Caleb Carr

First sentence:

"There's likely some polished way of starting a story like this, a clever bit of gaming that'd sucker people in surer than the best banco feeler in town. "

Description:

"In The Angel of Darkness, Caleb Carr brings back the vivid world of his bestselling The Alienist but with a twist: this story is told by the former street urchin Stevie Taggert, whose rough life has given him wisdom beyond his years. Thus New York City, and the groundbreaking alienist Dr. Kreizler himself, are seen anew.

It is June 1897. A year has passed since Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, a pioneer in forensic psychiatry, tracked down the brutal serial killer John Beecham with the help of a team of trusted companions and a revolutionary application of the principles of his discipline. Kreizler and his friends--high-living crime reporter John Schuyler Moore; indomitable, derringer-toting Sara Howard; the brilliant (and bickering) detective brothers Marcus and Lucius Isaacson; powerful and compassionate Cyrus Montrose; and Stevie Taggert, the boy Kreizler saved from a life of street crime--have returned to their former pursuits and tried to forget the horror of the Beecham case. But when the distraught wife of a Spanish diplomat begs Sara's aid, the team reunites to help find her kidnapped infant daughter. It is a case fraught with danger, since Spain and the United States are on the verge of war. Their investigation leads the team to a shocking suspect: a woman who appears to the world to be a heroic nurse and a loving mother, but who may in reality be a ruthless murderer of children."

My thoughts:

I enjoyed this historical mystery set in late 19th century New York City and the Saratoga Springs area. Told from Stevie's point of view, this case of a murdering woman was riveting to read.

Date read: 6/13/2007
Book #: 48
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 3* = good

ISBN-10: 0345427637
ISBN-13: 9780345427632
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Year: 1998
# of Pages: 768
Binding: Paperback
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A Perfect Spy by John Le Carre

Description:

"John le Carré's classic novels deftly navigate readers through the intricate shadow worlds of international espionage with unsurpassed skill and knowledge, and have earned him unprecedented worldwide acclaim.

Immersing readers in two parallel dramas -- one about the making of a spy, the other chronicling his seemingly imminent demise -- le Carré offers one of his richest and most morally resonant novels.

Magnus Pym -- son of Rick, father of Tom, and a successful career officer of British Intelligence -- has vanished, to the dismay of his friends, enemies, and wife. Who is he? Who was he? Who owns him? Who trained him? Secrets of state are at risk. As the truth about Pym gradually emerges, the reader joins Pym's pursuers to explore the unsettling life and motives of a man who fought the wars he inherited with the only weapons he knew, and so became a perfect spy."

My thoughts:

I liked the two parallel stories of Pym writing his life story to his son and of his wife Mary and his handler Jack trying to figure out where he went and why. I also liked the relationship between Pym and his friend Axel as well as the espionage details. It's a long book, but a good one.

Date read: 5/4/2007
Book #: 37
Rating: 3* = good
Genre: Fiction

ISBN-10: 0340393130
ISBN-13: 978-0340393130
Publisher: Coronet Books (New Ed Edition)
Year: 1994
# of Pages: 576
Binding: Paperback

An Audience of Chairs by Joan Clark

Description:

"Ever since her baby daughters were taken from her thirty years ago, Moranna 'Mad Mory' MacKenzie has lived alone, battling mental illness, in a Cape Breton farmhouse. But when Moranna learns that one of her long-lost daughters is to be married in Halifax, she is determined to attend. Will either of the daughters recognize her? Will they be happy to see her? And will Moranna stay sane enough not to cause a scene?"

My thoughts:

A moving story about a woman whose mental problems both enhance her life and inhibit it. I identified with Moranna's love for music and nature and wished that I could comfort her when her daughters were taken away - though I understood the reason. I cheered her progress in understanding herself and getting her life together.

Date read: 5/4/07
Book #: 36
Rating: 3* = good
Genre: Fiction

ISBN-10: 0676976565
ISBN-13: 978-0676976564
Publisher: Vintage Canada
Year: 2006
# of Pages: 368
Binding: Paperback

Tea from an Empty Cup by Pat Cadigan

Description:

"'How can you drink tea from an empty cup?' That ancient Zen riddle holds the key to a baffling mystery: a young man found with his throat slashed while locked alone in a virtual reality parlor. The secret of this enigmatic death lies in an apocalyptic cyberspace shadow-world where nothing is certain, and even one's own identity can change in an instant."

My thoughts:

This is the first book in the Artificial Reality Division series. I have already read the sequel, Dervish is Digital, which I liked better than this one. While this was a good cyberpunk sf-mystery, complete with questions of online identity and full body-suit sensations, it wasn't the easiest plot to follow. I did like how it set up Dore Konstantin as the head of the new Artificial Reality Division.

Date read: 4/18/2007
Book #: 34
Rating: 3* = good
Series: Artificial Reality Division #1
Genre: SF

ISBN-10: 0812541979
ISBN-13: 978-0812541977
Publisher: Tor
Year: 1999
# of pages: 256
Binding: Paperback

Dead Silent by Robert Ferrigno

Description:

"There are two people in Nick's hot tub. One is Nick's wife. The other is his former best friend. They are very naked-and very dead. Some of the cops think the killer is someone very close to Nick. The others are sure the killer is Nick. Where's a good alibi when you need it?"

My thoughts:

This was a good crime noir book set in southern California. It took me a while to realize that the cover was a close-up of an audio cassette. I especially liked the way Nick heard clues in the audio such as the first two numbers of a phone number based on the tones.

Date read: 4/18/2007
Book #: 33
Rating: 3* = good
Genre: Mystery

ISBN-10: 0425161498
ISBN-13: 978-0425161494
Publisher: Berkeley
Year: 1998
# of pages: 302
Binding: Paperback

The Visitor by Sheri S. Tepper

Description:

"The "magic" that once was America died horribly along with most of the Earth's inhabitants when an asteroid crashed into the planet sometime during the twenty-first century. Hundreds of years have passed, and all that remains of the time before are fragmented memories distorted by superstition -- as a tragically reduced populace suffers greatly under the tyranny of a repressive ruling order. But destiny has chosen Dismé Latimer to lead a wasted world out of the darkness ... with a book. Written by a courageous scientist ancestor, it is a sacred, unsettling tome rife with disturbing ideas and revelations ... and an impossible hope that compels a gentle, troubled young woman to abandon her abusive home in search of truth and her true self. But common "wisdom" and lore warn of grave dangers out in the world. Evil is there, a malevolence beyond imagining. And in the depths of the Earth, a gargantuan beast asleep for centuries has begun to stir..."

My thoughts:

An interesting mix of religion and science in a post-apocalyptic America. I liked the characters Disme, Michael and Jens and how they and others found out the truth about the alien "visitor" which had destroyed the planet centuries ago. I also liked the character Nell who was one of the "sleepers".

Date read: 4/14/2007
Book #: 32
Rating: 3* = good
Genre: SF

ISBN-10: 0380821001
ISBN-13: 978-0380821006
Publisher: Eos
Year: 2003
# of Pages: 512
Binding: Paperback

Jackdaws by Ken Follett

Description:

"D-Day is approaching. They don't know where or when, but the Germans know it'll be soon, and for Felicity "Flick" Clariet, the stakes have never been higher.

A senior agent in the ranks of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) responsible for sabotage, Flick has survived to become of Britain's most effective operatives in Northern France. She knows that the Germans' ability to thwart the Allied attack depends upon their lines of communications, and in the days before the invasion no target is of greater strategic importance than the largest telephone exchange in Europe.

But when Flick and her Resistance-leader husband try a direct, head-on assault that goes horribly wrong, her world turns upside down. Her group destroyed, her husband missing, her superiors unsure of her, her own confidence badly shaken, she has one last chance at the target, but the challenge, once daunting, is now near-impossible. The new plan requires an all-woman team, none of them professionals, to be assembled and trained within days. Code-named the Jackdaws, they will attempt to infiltrate the exchange under the noses of the Germans-but the Germans are waiting for them now and have plans of their own. There are secrets Flick does not know-secrets within the German ranks, secrets among her hastily recruited team, secrets among those she trusts the most. And as the hours tick down to the point of no return, most daunting of all, there are secrets within herself....

Filled with the powerful storytelling, unforgettable characters, and authentic detail that have become his hallmarks, Jackdaws is Ken Follett writing at the height of his powers."

My thoughts:

A gripping espionage thriller set in the days before the D-Day invasion. Both the Nazi and French Resistance characters are well-voiced and the espionage tricks used on both sides make an exciting story.

Date read: 4/13/2007
Book #: 31
Rating: 3* = good
Genre: Thriller

ISBN-10: 0525946284
ISBN-13: 978-0525946281
Publisher: Dutton Adult
Year: 2001
# of Pages: 451
Binding: Hardover

Sleep Toward Heaven by Amanda Eyre Ward

Description:

"Amanda Eyre Ward's debut novel is an intimate portrait of three women whose lives collide during a brutal Texas summer.

In Gatestown, Texas, twenty-nine-year-old Karen Lowens awaits her execution with a host of convicted serial killers on death row. In Manhattan, Dr. Franny Wren, also twenty-nine, tends to a young cancer patient, and resists the urge to run from her fiancé and her carefully crafted life. In Austin, Texas, brassy Celia Mills, a once-vibrant librarian, mourns her murdered husband.

Over the course of the summer, fate pushes these eerily recognizable women together, culminating in a revelation of the possibility of faith, the responsibility of friendship, and the value of life. Sleep Toward Heaven is a luminous story of murder and desire, solitude and grace -- a rare literary page-turner where redemption seems perpetually within arm's reach."

My thoughts:

I liked this book about three women who normally wouldn't cross paths, but who find themselves both confronting and helping each other.

Date read: 4/5/2007
Book #: 30
Rating: 3* = good
Genre: Fiction

ISBN-10: 0060582294
ISBN-13: 978-0060582296
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Year: 2004
# of Pages: 304
Binding: Paperback

The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break by Steven Sherrill

Description:

"Five thousand years out of the Labyrinth, the Minotaur finds himself in the American South, living in a trailer park and working as a line cook at a steakhouse. No longer a devourer of human flesh, the Minotaur is a socially inept, lonely creature with very human needs. But over a two-week period, as his life dissolves into chaos, this broken and alienated immortal awakens to the possibility for happiness and to the capacity for love."

My thoughts:

While it was slow at times, I enjoyed this look at the life of the Minotaur as a line cook in the American South. I suppose being immortal he has learned over the years how to cook, sew, repair car engines and fix holes in walls that he accidentally gored with his horns! One of my favorite scenes is when he slices the beef at the tables and the customers don't quite know how to respond!

Date read: 4/4/2007
Book #: 29
Rating: 3* = good
Genre: Fiction

ISBN-10: 0312308922
ISBN-13: 978-0312308926
Publisher: Picador
Year: 2002
# of Pages: 320
Binding: Paperback