Geist by Phillipa Ballantine

First sentence:

"It was good weather for a riot."

Description:

"Between the living and the dead is the Order of the Deacons, protectors of the Empire, guardians against possession, sentinels enlisted to ward off malevolent hauntings by the geists. . .

Among the most powerful of the Order is Sorcha Faris, now thrust into a partnership with the novice Deacon Merrick Chambers. They have been dispatched to the isolated village of Ulrich to aid a Priory besieged by a surge of violent geist activity. With them is Raed Rossin, Pretender to the throne that Sorcha is sworn to protect, and bearer of a terrible curse.

But what greets them in the strange settlement is something far more predatory and more horrifying than any mere haunting. And as she uncovers a tradition of twisted rituals passed down through the dark reaches of history, Sorcha will be forced to reconsider everything she thinks she knows. Even if she makes it out of Ulrich alive, what in the hell is she returning to?" -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

This is a very good urban fantasy, featuring battles between the living and the dead. I enjoyed the characters and their interactions, especially between Sorcha and Merrick. I look forward to reading the next book in the series, Spectyr.

Date read: 5/30/2014
Book #: 17
Series: Book of the Order, #1
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Fantasy

ISBN-10: 0441019617
ISBN-13: 9780441019618
Publisher: Ace Fantasy
Year: 2010
# of pages: 294
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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The Redgraves: A Family Epic by Donald Spoto

First sentence:

"During the cold afternoon of Friday, March 20, 1908--in a modest, poorly heated room above a newspaper shop on Horfield Road, in Bristol, England--a twenty-three-year-old actress named Daisy Scudamore Redgrave gave birth to a plump, blond-haired boy."

Description:

For more than a century, the Redgraves have defined theater and film while captivating the public eye. Their history is a rich tapestry of singu­larly talented individuals whose influence is felt to this day, yet their story has never before been told. In The Redgraves, bestselling biographer Donald Spoto draws on his close personal relationships with the family and includes both his interviews and unprecedented personal access to them. The result is a groundbreaking account of this extraordinary clan and their circle, including such luminaries as Elizabeth Taylor, Katharine Hepburn, and Sir Laurence Olivier.

The story began in 1907 with the marriage of actress Daisy Scudamore to matinee idol Roy Red­grave and the birth in 1908 of their son, Michael, who became a famous stage actor and movie star. Michael’s family and wide social circle knew that for decades he was insistently bisexual, notwithstanding his marriage to Rachel Kempson, one of England’s most glamorous and admired actresses.

Their daughter Vanessa, a great and revered per­former, is the only British actress ever to win Oscar, Emmy, Tony, Cannes, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Awards—achievements that have been paralleled by a profound humanitarian commitment even as she tackled difficult and controversial roles.

Vanessa’s sister, Lynn Redgrave, led a triumphant and complex life in her own way, too. From her per­formance in the movie Georgy Girl to her prizewin­ning play about her father and her Oscar-nominated performance in Gods and Monsters, Lynn established herself as a very different Redgrave.

Corin Redgrave, their brother, was known for his acclaimed performances onstage and screen—and he was a tireless and outspoken political radical.

The family tradition of distinction continues with the careers of Joely Richardson and Jemma Red­grave and reached a high point in the life and career of Vanessa’s daughter, Natasha Richardson, who earned a Tony Award for her role as Sally Bowles in the revival of Cabaret. Natasha’s sudden death after a skiing les­son in 2009 shocked and saddened admirers of her work and graceful spirit.

The product of more than thirty years of research, The Redgraves recounts the epic saga of a family that has extended the possibilities for actors on stage, screen, and television in Britain, America, and around the world. -- from the inside flap

My thoughts:

This was a very interesting biography of a fascinating family. I enjoyed learning about the Redgraves and their accomplishments and disappointments both in their career and in their personal lives.

Date read: 5/17/2014
Book #: 15
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Biography

ISBN-10: 0307720144
ISBN-13: 9780307720146
Publisher: Crown Publishing
Year: 2012
# of pages: 309
Binding: Hardcover
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Perfect Circle by Sean Stewart

First sentence:

"I woke up sweaty and shaking."

Description:

"William 'Dead' Kennedy has problems.

He's haunted by family, by dead people with unfinished business, and by those perfect pop songs that you can't get out of your head. He's a 32-year-old Texan still in love with his ex-wife. He just lost his job at Petco for eating cat food. His air-conditioning in broken, there's no good music on the radio, and he's been dreaming about ghost roads.

When Will's cousin ('My dad married your Aunt Dot's half-sister') calls in the middle of the night about a dead girl haunting his garage, helping him out seems an easy way to make a thousand dollars.

But nothing is ever that simple, especially when family is involved. Will's mother is planning a family reunion of epic proportions. Will's ex-wife is married to a former Marine who knows Will is bad news. Will's 12-year-old daughter, Megan, thinks he needs someone to look after him.

And recently his dead relatives seem to want something from him.

Sometimes a guy is haunted for a really good reason." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

I enjoyed this book about hauntings both seen and unseen. I especially liked the characters' interactions, notably between Will and his daughter Meghan, and between Will and the ghosts he encounters.

Date read: 5/3/2014
Book #: 15
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Urban Fantasy

ISBN-10: 1931520119
ISBN-13: 9781931520119
Publisher: Small Beer Press
Year: 2004
# of pages: 243
Binding: Trade Paperback
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The Book of Dave by Will Self

First sentence:

"Carl Devush, spindle-shanked, bleach blond, lampburnt, twelve years old, kicked up bluff puffs of sand with his bare feet as he scampered along the path from the manor."

Description:

"When East End cabdriver Dave Rudman's wife takes from him his ownly son, Dave pens a gripping text--a compilation about everything from the environment, Arabs, and American tourists to sex, Prozac and cabby lore--that captures all his frustrations and anxieties about his contemporary world. Dave buries the book in his ex-wife's Hampstead backyard, intending it for his son, Carl when he comes of age.

Five hundred years later, Dave's book is found by the inhabitants of Ham, a primitive archipelago in post-apocalyptic London, where it becomes a sacred text of biblical proportions and the template for a new civilization. Only one islander, Symum, remains incredulous. But, after he is imprisoned for heresy, his son Carl must journey through the Forbidden Zone and into the terrifying heart of New London to find the only thing that will reveal the truth once and for all: a second Book of Dave that repudiates the first.

Equal parts dystopian fantasy, religious allegory, detective story, and tribute to the sometimes fraught relations between fathers and sons, The Book of Dave is a profound meditation upon the nature of religion and a caustic satire of contemporary life." -- from the inside flap

My thoughts:

This was a complex and gripping book about family, madness, love and religion, with a new vocabulary to get used to from the beginning. At first, I wasn't sure I liked the book, but the story soon caught my interest and I wanted to learn more about Dave and the future inhabitants of Ham.

Date read: 4/25/2014
Book #: 14
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Fiction

ISBN-10: 1596911239
ISBN-13: 9781596911239
Publisher: Bloomsbury, USA
Year: 2006
# of pages: 416
Binding: Hardcover
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The Stranger by Albert Camus

First sentence:

"Maman died today."

Description:

"Since it was first published in English, in 1946, Albert Camus's first novel, The Stranger (L'Etranger), has had a profound impact on millions of American readers. Through this story of an ordinary man who unwittingly gets drawn into a senseless murder on a sundrenched Algerian beach, Camus explored what he termed 'the nakedness of man faced with the absurd.'

Now, in an illuminating new American translation, extraordinary for its exactitude and clarity, the original intent of The Stranger is made more immediate. This haunting novel has been given a new life for generations to come." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

I liked this book set in 1940s Algeria. Mersault's isolation and indifference to others and his own fate was creepy and thought-provoking.

Book #: 13
Date read: 4/15/2014
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Fiction

ISBN-10: 0679720200
ISBN-13: 9780679720201
Publisher: Vintage Books
Year: 1942; 1988 (this edition)
# of pages: 123
Binding: Trade Paperback
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The Dog Stars by Peter Heller

First sentence:

"I keep the Beast running."

Description:

"Hig survived the flu that killed everyone he knows. His wife is gone, his friends are dead, he lives in the hangar of a small abandoned airport with his dog, his only neighbor a gun-toting misanthrope. In his 1956 Cessna, Hig flies the perimeter of the airfield or sneaks off to the mountains to fish and pretend that things are the way they used to be. But when a random transmission somehow beams through his radio, the voice ignites a hope deep inside him that a better life–something like his old life–exists beyond the airport. Risking everything, he flies past his point of no return–not enough fuel to get him home–following the trail of the static-broken voice on the radio. But what he encounters and what he must face–in the people he meets, and in himself–is both better and worse than anything he could have hoped for." -- from peterheller.net

My thoughts:

I loved this story about starting again in a new world. There's joy and heartbreak, excitement and serenity. I liked Hig's interactions with Bangley and especially with his dog Jasper.

Date read: 4/13/2014
Book #: 12
Rating: 4*/5 = great
Genre: Fiction

ISBN-10: 0307950476
ISBN-13: 9780307950475
Publisher: Vintage
Year: 2013
# of pages: 336
Binding: Trade Paperback
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Nine Tomorrows by Isaac Asimov

First sentence:

"George Planten could not conceal the longing in his voice."

Description:

"These unusual short stories, written by a master of science fiction, are nine uncanny glimpses into the not too distant future of earth people.

I'm in Marsport Without Hilda is a hilarious lesson in outer-space hipster slang conducted by three gangsters suspected of smuggling a vital tranquilizer drug from earth while their frantic interrogator longs for his rendezvous with Marsport's fanciest lady. All the Troubles of the World is the chilling tale of Multivac, the amazing machine that could solve every problem fed into it but the problems of its own humanity. The Ugly Little Boy, the final and longest story in this fine collection, is a subtle, brilliantly conceived study in terror -- as a young child is suddenly catapulted out of the dim reaches of the past to become the subject of a brutal scientific experiment.

Whatever their mood -- wryly humorous or grimly realistic -- these nine stories all reflect Isaac Asimov's masterful ability to combine scientific fact with the unpredictable, 'unscientific' actions of mankind. The collection is spiced with two superb stories in verse (an Asimov specialty) entitled I Just Make Them Up, See! and Rejection Slips." -- from the inside flap

My thoughts:

I enjoyed this early collection of Asimov stories. I especially liked the stories about the supercomputer Multivac and the story "The Ugly Little Boy" about a lost boy far from home.

Date read: 4/1/2014
Book #: 11
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: SF

Publisher: Doubleday & Co
Year: 1959
# of pages:  236
Binding: Hardcover
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