The Merchants' War by Charles Stross

First sentence:

"The wreckage still smoldered in the wan dawn light, sending a column of grayish-white smoke spiraling into the misty sky above Niejwein."

Description:

"Miriam Beckstein is a young, hip business journalist in Boston. She discovered in The Family Trade and The Hidden Family that her family comes from an alternate reality, that she is very well connected, and that her family is a lot too much like the Mafia for comfort. She found herself caught in a family trap in The Clan Corporate and betrothed to a brain-damaged prince, and then all hell broke loose: a coup against the Clan by the Nobility.

Now, in The Merchants’ War, Miriam has escaped to world three in the turmoil, and remains in hiding from both the Clan and their opponents. She has found her way to her friends, who have a revolution to plan and now must incorporate Miriam to protect her.

There is a nasty shooting war going on in the Gruinmarkt world of the Clan, directed on the Clan side from hideouts in the United States, and we know something that Miriam does not, something that she’s really going to hate when she finds out—if she lives long enough to find out. And the Clan does not know that the United States has discovered them and is Out to destroy them, too.

Nobody is going to stop reading this book, or the Merchant Princes series, before the end. Stay tuned." -- from the inside flap

My thoughts:

This book was a good installment in the Merchant Princes story. I liked the various storyline featuring other characters which intersect at the end. I look forward to finding out what happens next in The Revolution Business.

Date read: 1/13/2009
Book #: 5
Series: Merchant Princes, #4
Challenge: Support Your Local Library Challenge
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: SF

ISBN-10: 0765355892
ISBN-13: 9780765355898
Publisher: Tor
Year: 2008
# of Pages: 384
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Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake

First sentence:

"Gormenghast, that is, the main massing of the original stone, taken by itself would have displayed a certain ponderous architectural quality were it possible to have ignored the cirumfusion of those mean dwellings that swarmed like an epidemic around its Outer Walls."



Description:

"The history of a gigantic castle named Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake's masterwork tells the strange and wonder-filled adventures of Titus, heir to the House of Groan." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

This was a deeply descriptive book that took me into a world with fascinating characters who have their own idiosyncrasies. I look forward to reading what happens next to Titus in Gormenghast.

Date read: 1/7/2009
Book #: 4
Series: Gormenghast Trilogy, #1
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Fantasy

ISBN-10: 0345270967
ISBN-13: 978034527096
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Year: 1967
# of Pages: 543
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly

First sentence:

"Once upon a time—for that is how all stories should begin—there was a boy who lost his mother."

Description:

"High in his attic bedroom, twelve-year-old David mourns the death of his mother. He is angry and alone, with only the books on his shelf for company. But those books have begun to whisper to him in the darkness, and as he takes refuge in the myths and fairytales so beloved of his dead mother he finds that the real world and the fantasy world have begun to meld. The Crooked Man has come, with his mocking smile and his enigmatic words: 'Welcome, your majesty. All hail the new king'

And as war rages across Europe, David is violently propelled into a land that is both a construct of his imagination yet frighteningly real, a strange reflection of his own world composed of myths and stories, populated by wolves and worse-than-wolves, and ruled over by a faded king who keeps his secrets in a mysterious, legendary book... The Book of Lost Things." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

This was a great book about love and loss and facing one's fears. I liked the way David's wishes and fears influenced the kingdom as well as the interesting twists on the familiar fairy tales, myths and nursery stories. I especially liked the extensive section after the main story in which the author describes the origins of these stories, recommends some variations by other authors and then provides the original story.

Date read: 1/6/2009
Challenge: Winter Reading Challenge 2009
Rating: 4*/5 = great
Genre: Fantasy

ISBN-10: 0340899484
ISBN-13: 9780340899489
Publisher: Hodder and Stoughten
Year: 2006
# of pages: 348
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Half Life by Shelley Jackson

First sentence:

"You should have received two copies."

Description:

"Nora and Blanche are conjoined twins. Nora is strong, funny, and deeply independent, thirsting for love and adventure. Blanche, by contrast, has been asleep for twenty years. Sick of carrying her sister's dead weight, Nora wants her other half gone for good—a desire that takes her from San Francisco to London in search of the Unity Foundation, a mysterious organization that promises to make two one. But once in England, Nora's past begins to surface in surprising and disturbing ways, pushing her to the brink of insanity and forcing her to question her own—and Blanche's—grip on the truth." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

This was a very interesting book about identity and sharing. I liked how Blanche gradually woke up and how Nora learned the truth about their past.

Date read: 1/5/2009
Book #: 2
Challenge: Winter Reading Challenge 2008
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Fiction

ISBN-10: 0060882360
ISBN-13: 9780060882365
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Year: 2006
# of Pages: 437
Binding: Trade Paperback
LibraryThing Page

Booking Through Thursday - 1/8/2009

I decided this year I would participate in some weekly topics. Booking Through Thursday asks a weekly question about books and reading. This week's question:

"It’s a week or two later than you’d expect, and it may be almost a trite question, but … what were your favorite books from 2008?"

Here's my answer:

A. A. Attansio. Wyvern.

This was a beautifully written epic story about life, death, love and self-discovery as Jaki Gefjon struggles to unite the teachings of both the jungle and the sea.

Harlan Ellison. Paingod and Other Delusions.

Ellison is one of my favorite authors. I picked up some new favorite short stories in this collection including "The Discarded," "Bright Eyes" and "Wanted in Surgery."

Jonathan Safran Foer. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

This was a very moving and complicated book about a boy trying to make sense of the world in his own unique way. I especially liked the alternating storylines between Oskar's search for the lock and his grandparent's experiences in World War II and afterwards.

ARC Reading Challenge

ARC Reading Challenge

When: January 1 - December 31, 2009
What: Read Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) books. For more information, click on the link above.

My list (so far):

Kim Newman. Anno Dracula
Emily Raboteau. The Professor's Daughter

Little Bear by Else Holmelund Minarik

First sentence:

"It is cold."

Description:

"Enter the world of Little Bear. Children will be entranced by Little Bear's trip to the moon, his birthday party, and his wishes and adventures.

This is the first of the five classic books about Little Bear, introducing the funny and strikingly childlike bear cub and his friends. The combination of Else Holmelund Minarik's simple, yet eloquent, stories and Maurice Sendak's warm, tender illustrations have made this beloved character favorite among beginning readers."

My thoughts:

I read this book for the Childhood Favourites Reading Challenge. When I learned about this challenge, I immediately thought of this book. It was the first book I ever read, so it holds a special place in my heart. I stood in the children's section of our local library today and read it, chuckling to myself as I read the text and enjoyed the pictures, especially of Little Bear and his "space helmet" made from a box and his mother surprising him and his friends with birthday cake!

Date read: 1/2/2009
Book #: 1
Challenge: Childhood Favourites Reading Challenge
Rating: 5*/5 = excellent
Genre: Children's literature

ISBN-10: 006024240X
ISBN-13: 9780060242404)
Publisher: HarperCollins
Year: 1957
# of pages: 63
Binding: Hardcover
LibraryThing page