TBR Challenge 2012!

Time once again for one of my favorite challenges! I selected 12 books plus 12 alternates/extra credit:

Here they are (in no particular order):

• Robert C. Fleet. Last Mountain -- finished 1/31/2012
• John Ramsey Miller. Upside Down -- finished 2/8/2012
• C.J. Cherryh. The Pride of Chanur -- finished 2/8/2012
• Greg Iles. The Footprints of God -- finished 2/28/2012
• Mo Hayder. Pig Island -- finished 3/19/2012 (substitute for Master of Wolves)
• Robert Heinlein. The Green Hills of Earth -- finished 3/21/2012
• Michael Crichton.  Sphere -- finished 3/29/2012
• Patricia Wallace. Lullabye -- finished 3/31/2012
• Judith Tarr. Household Gods -- finished 4/9/2012 (substitute for A Fire Upon the Deep)
• Trish MacDonald Skillman. Someone to Watch Over -- finished 4/25/2012 (substitute for Murder in the White House)
• Dave Duncan. The Gilded Chain -- finished 5/16/2012
• Frederick Forsyth. Icon -- finished 7/2/2012

Alternates/Extra Credit:

• Poul Anderson. Trader to the Stars -- finished 7/23/2012
• Harriet Scott Chessman. Lydia Cassatt Reading the Morning Paper
• Daniel Blythe. The Dimension Riders
• Alice Hoffman. The Probable Future
• Javier Sierra. The Secret Supper
• Terry Bisson. Virtuosity
• Philip Caputo. The Voyage
• LA Banks. Minion
• Madelyn Alt. The Trouble with Magic
  

Trader to the Stars by Poul Anderson

First sentence:

"Captain Bahadur Torrance received the news as befitted a Lodgemaster in the Federated Brotherhood of Spacemen."

Description:

"Their space-yacht, pursued by angry Adderkops thirsting for their blood, has run into serious engine trouble. Picking up the trail of another alien spaceship, they decide to board it and force its crew to take them home. But once aboard, its not so easy to find the crew: they're faced with cages full of bizarre, other-worldly animals: Tiger apes, Elephantoids, Gorilloids, Caterpiggles, Helmet beasts, Tentacle centaurs. One set of these extraordinary creatures must be the crew, in hiding. But which? Survival depends on finding the right answer. . .

And this is just the first of the problems facing Poul Anderson's intrepid space-merchant venturers in this masterly SF book!" -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

I liked this science fiction book of space-faring traders. I especially liked the challenge in the first story of trying to determine who were the crew and the cultural misunderstandings depicted in the last story. I look forward to reading the first book in the series, War of the Wing-Men.

Date read: 7/23/2012
Book #: 27
Series: Polesotechnic League, #2
Challenges: A-Z Challenge 2012, What's in a Name 5 Challenge, Off the Shelf Challenge 2012, TBR Challenge 2012
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: SF

ISBN-10: 0586022147
ISBN-13: 9780586022146
Publisher: Panther
Year: 1965
# of pages: 155
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
LibraryThing page

Icon by Frederick Forsyth

First sentence:

"It was the summer when the price of a small loaf of bread topped a million rubles."

Description:

"Summer 1999. Russia stands on the threshold of anarchy. An interim president sits powerless in Moscow as his nation is wracked by famine and inflation, crime and corruption, and seething hordes of the unemployed roam the streets. For them, only one man holds out hope. The striking voice of Igor Komarov, waiting in the wings for the presidential election of January 2000, rings out over the airwaves, mesmerizing the masses with the promise of law, order, and prosperity--and the return to glory of their once great land.

Then a document falls into the hands of British Intelligence. Quickly dubbed the Black Manifesto, it outlines Komarov's secret plan for the regime as autocratic and evil as Hitler's Third Reich. Officially the West can do nothing, but in secret a group of elder statesmen sends the only person who can expose the truth about Komarov into the heart of the inferno. Ex-CIA agent Jason Monk has a dual mission: to stop Komarov, whatever it takes, and to prepare the way for an icon worthy of the Russian people.  But to do this, Monk must stay alive--and the forces allied against him are ruthless, the time frighteningly short...

Only Frederick Forsyth, the unparalleled master of the novel of international intrigue, could create this riveting thriller, as timely and unsettling as tomorrow's headlines." -- from the first page insert.

My thoughts:

I enjoyed this fast-moving thriller with its mix of real and fictional events. I especially liked the twists and turns with surprises around almost every corner.

Date read: 7/2/2012
Book #: 25
Challenges: A-Z Challenge 2012, TBR Challenge 2012, Off the Shelf Challenge 2012
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Thriller

ISBN-10: 0553574604
ISBN-13: 9780553574609
Publisher: Bantam Books
Year: 1996
# of pages: 567
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
LibraryThing page

The Gilded Chain by Dave Duncan

First sentence:

"Grand Master looked even older than the Squire, but he had a hard trimness that age had not softened, as if he would still be deadly with that sword he wore."


Description:

As unwanted and rebellious boys, they find refuge in Ironhall....Years later they emerge as the finest swordsmen in the realm—The King's Blades.

A magical ritual of a sword through the heart binds each to his ward—if not the king himself, then to whomever else the monarch designates—with absolute loyalty.And the greatest Blade of them all was—and is—Sir Durendal.

But a lifelong dream of protecting his beloved liege from enemies, traitors, and monsters is dashed to bits when Durendal is bonded till death to an effete noble fop at his king's orders. Yet Destiny has many strange and inscrutable plans for the young knight—for a mission, a contest, and, perhaps, a treasure await him in a faraway land. But he soon finds himself enmeshed in treason and foul intrigues, compelled to betray the king he had hoped to serve. The Blades have ways to protect their own, but death and madness haunt the path to salvation—and few ever return unscathed.-- from the back cover

My thoughts:

I liked this fantasy about loyalty, friendship, and the dark side of immortality. I look forward to reading the next book in the series, The Monster War.

Date read: 5/16/2012
Book #: 20
Series: Tales of the King's Blades #1
Challenges: TBR Challenge 2012, Off the Shelf Challenge 2012, New Author Challenge
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Fantasy

ISBN-10: 0380791269
ISBN-13: 9780380791262
Publisher: Eos
Year: 1999
# of pages: 396
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
LibraryThing page

Someone to Watch Over by Trish MacDonald Skillman

First sentence:

"Cal Jefferies scowled at the red sports car straddling the flattened rose bush beside the driveway."

Description: 

"I will be your guardian angel, and I will never let you go. . . .

In her disheveled little house on a run-down midwestern street she has seen the signs he left her: a repaired step, a clean set of dishes, even a new nightgown on her bed. Someone is watching over her and her two children. . . .

Devastated by the death of her husband, slowly Kate Eldridge begins to live again. Now she has a second chance--at love and at happiness. But Kate doesn't know her guardian angel has plans of his own, or what violent secrets haunt him, or how far he will go to keep her and her children in her sight and in his hands. . . .

It began as an act of kindness. Now it has turned into a dangerous obsession. The man who is watching over her has crossed the line into madness. . .and into terror. . . ." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

This was an intense thriller featuring a man who slowly becomes a madman who creates his own reality.

Date read: 4/25/2012
Book #: 19
Challenges: TBR Challenge 2012, New Author Challenge, Off the Shelf Challenge 2012
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Thriller

ISBN-10: 0440217393
ISBN-13: 9780440217398
Publisher: Dell
Year: 1994
# of pages: 388
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
LibraryThing page

Household Gods by Judith Tarr and Harry Turtledove

First sentence:

"Nicole Gunther-Perrin rolled over to turn off the alarm clock and found herself nose to nose with two Roman gods."


Description:

"Nicole Gunther-Perrin is a modern young professional, proud of her legal skills but weary of the daily grind, of childcare, and of sexist coworkers and her deadbeat ex-husband. Then after one exceptionally awful day, she awakens to find herself in a different life, that of a widowed tavernkeeper on the Roman frontier around A.D. 170.

Delighted at first, she quickly begins to realize that her new world is as complicated as her old one. Violence, dirt, and pain are everywhere; slavery is commonplace, gladiators kill for sport, and drunkenness is taken for granted. Yet, somehow, people manage to face life everyday with humor and goodwill.

No quitter, Nicole manages to adapt, despite endless worry about the fate of her children "back" in the twentieth century. Then plague sweeps through Carnuntum, followed by brutal war. Amidst pain and loss on a level she had never imagined, Nicole must find reserves of the sort of strength she had never known." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

I liked this book about a modern woman finding herself in a different time, but not because of the time travel. Rather, I liked the way Nicole has to confront her assumptions and how she finds the strength she needs in herself.

Date read: 4/9/2012
Book #: 16
Challenges: TBR Challenge 2012, Off the Shelf Challenge 2012, A-Z Challenge 2012
Rating: 4*/5 = great
Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction

ISBN-10: 0812564669
ISBN-13: 9780812564662
Publisher: Tor Fantasy
Year: 1999
# of pages: 664
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
LibraryThing page

Lullabye by Patricia Wallace

First sentence:

"Wyatt English had been a doctor long enough to know that bad things happened even on the most beautiful of spring days, but until today the bad things had always happened to someone else."

Description:

"Eight year old Bronwyn knew she wasn't like other girls. She didn't have a mother. At least not a real one. Her mother had been in a coma at the hospital for as long as Bronwyn could remember. She couldn't feel any pain, her father said, it was just like sleeping - only she never woke up.

But on visiting days, when Bronwyn sat with her mother, she knew it wasn't true that she couldn't feel anything. Her mother was angry. Angry at the nurses and doctors for the way they treated her. Angry at her own helplessness.

But soon, very soon, she would be helpless no longer. And then she would show them all the true meaning of suffering." -- from the back cover


My thoughts:

This was a good book about revenge, grief, and moving on. I liked the relationship between Wyatt and his daughter Bronwyn. 

Date read: 3/31/2012
Book #: 15
Challenges: TBR Challenge 2012, Off the Shelf Challenge 2012, New Author Challenge 2012
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Horror

ISBN-10: 0821729179
ISBN-13: 9780821729175
Publisher: Zebra Books
Year: 1990
# of pages: 287
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
LibraryThing page

Sphere by Michael Crichton

First sentence:

"For a long time the horizon had been a monotonous flat blue line separating the Pacific Ocean from the sky."

Description:

"In the South Pacific, 1,000 feet beneath the surface, a spaceship rests on the ocean floor -- a spaceship at least 300 years old.

Rushed to the scene are four scientists: an astrophysicist, a biologist, a mathematician and a psychologist. Together they descend into the depths of the sea to investigate this astonishing find, to search for answers.

Has it come from an alien culture? From a different universe? From the future? What happened to the crew and what is the giant silver sphere of alien construction that they find inside the ship?

The riddle seems unsolvable. Then someone or something begins to transmit messages onto their computer screen: messages that grow increasingly hostile, hinting at a terrifying power that threatens to destroy their underwater habitat and their very lives. . ." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

This was a very good thriller with many twists and turns. I like the way it was hard to distinguish what's real and what's not.

Date read: 3/29/2012
Book #: 14
Challenges: TBR Challenge 2012, Off the Shelf Challenge 2012, A to Z Challenge 2012
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Thriller

ISBN-10: 0330301276
ISBN-13: 9780330310275
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Year: 1987
# of pages: 385
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
LibraryThing page

The Green Hills of Earth by Robert A. Heinlein

First sentence: 

"Sure, we had trouble building Space Ship One -- but the trouble was people."

Description:

"The arching sky is calling

Spaceman back to their trade.

All hands! Stand by! Free falling!

And the lights below us fade

Out ride the sons of Terra,

Far drives the thundering jet,

Up leaps the race of Earthman,

Out, far, and onward yet --

We've tried each spinning space mote

And reckoned its true worth:

Take us back again to the homes of men

On the cool green hills of Earth.

We pray for one last landing

On the globe that gave us birth

Let us rest our eyes on fleecy skies,

And the cool green hills of Earth!" 

-- from the back cover

My thoughts:

I enjoyed these short stories about the Earth and the Moon. Two of my favorites were "'It's Great to Be Back'" about a couple who learns where their home is, and "--We Also Walk Dogs" about a new kind of concierge company.

Date read: 3/21/2012

Book #: 12

Challenges: Off the Shelf Challenge, TBR Challenge 2012
Rating: 3*/5
Genre: SF

ISBN-10: 0671578357
ISBN-13: 9780671578534
Publisher: Baen Books
Year: 1951
# of pages: 270
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
LibraryThing page

Pig Island by Mo Hayder

First sentence: 

"The alarms first went off in my head when the landlord and the lobsterman showed me what had been washed up on the beach."

Description:

"SEE EVIL

Journalist Joe Oakes makes a living exposing supernatural hoaxes. But what he sees when he visits a secretive religious community on a remote Scottish island forces him to question everything he thought he knew.

HEAR EVIL

Why have the islanders been accused of Satanism? What has happened to their leader? And why will no one discuss the strange creature seen wandering the lonely beaches of Pig Island?

READ EVIL

In Pig Island, Mo Hayder dares you to face your fears head on and to look at what lurks beneath the surface of everyday normality. It's about the unspeakable things people do to each other." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

This was a very good thriller with lots of twists and turns. I liked the ways the characters interacted and I definitely did not expect the ending.

Date read: 3/19/2012
Book #: 11
Challenges: New Author Challenge 2012, Off the Shelf Challenge 2012, TBR Challenge 2012
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Thriller

ISBN-10: 0055381463X
ISBN-13: 97800553814637
Publisher: Bantam Books
Year: 2006
# of pages: 494
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
LibraryThing page

The Pride of Chanur by C.J. Cherryh

First sentence:

"There had been something loose about the station dock all morning, skulking in amongst the gantries and the lines and the canisters which were waiting to be moved, lurking wherever shadows fell among the rampway accesses of the many dock at Meetpoint."

Description:

"No one at Meetpoint Station had ever seen a creature like Outsider. Naked-hided, blunt-toothed and blunt-figured, Tully was the sole surviving member of his company -- a communicative, spacefaring species hitherto unknown -- and he was a prisoner of his discoverer/captors the sadistic, treacherous kif, and until his escape onto the hani ship THE PRIDE OF CHANUR.

Little did he know when he threw himself upon the mercy of THE PRIDE and her crew that he put the entire hani species in jeopardy and imperiled the peace of the Compact itself. For the information this fugitive held could be the ruin or glory of any of the species at Meetpoint Station.  -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

I liked this first book of the Chanur series. I especially liked the way Pyanfar figured out how to deal with the kif and how knowing Tully can be useful. I look forward to reading the next book, Chanur's Venture.

Date read: 2/8/2012
Book #: 7
Series: Chanur, #1
Challenges: TBR Challenge 2012, Off the Shelf Challenge 2012
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: SF

Publisher: Daw Books
Year: 1981
# of pages: 224
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
LibraryThing page

Upside Down by John Ramsey Miller

First sentence:


"From ground level, the automobile graveyard looked groundless."


Description:

"In the rain-slick streets of New Orleans, a twelve-year-old girl is running out of time. Hours before, Faith Ann Porter hid under a desk while her attorney mother was murdered for photographs that could rock the city. Now Faith Ann is being hunted by a pair of killers with a very powerful boss. Because she has the negatives of the photos her mother died for, Faith Ann has only hours to live--and only one person can save her. . .

Winter Massey is an ex-U.S. marshal whose career pitted him against some of the world's most ruthless criminals. Now Massey is drawn by horrifying cycle of murder--and the plea of one terrified young girl. But awaiting Massey is a chilling surprise. . .and an assassin with a secret mission, a secret motive, and the perfect plan. . . ."-- from the back cover

My thoughts:

This was a very good thriller. I liked how Faith Ann figured out how to survive and how she and Winter worked together later. I look forward to reading the first book in the series, Inside Out.

Date read: 2/8/2012
Book #: 6
Series: Winter Massey, #2
Challenges: TBR Challenge 2012, A-Z Challenge 2012, Off the Shelf Challenge 2012, New Author Challenge
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Thriller

ISBN-10: 0553583409
ISBN-13: 9780553583403
Publisher: Bantam Dell
Year: 2005
# of pages: 337
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
LibraryThing page

Last Mountain by Robert C. Fleet

First sentence:

"How long it has since sunset he did not know."

Description:

Real World

Nancy del Rio is a teenager struggling to grow up in the gang-ridden streets of Los Angeles. But Immigration wants to send her away from the only home she's ever known.

Real Magic

For centuries the Unicorn has been hunted for the magic of his horn, but the call of beauty can still draw him from hiding. Now the chase is on for both Nancy and the Unicorn. They are each other's only hope. And only together can they hope to reach...

Last Mountain

My thoughts:

This was a good fantasy book. I liked the account of Cortes in Mexico from the Unicorn's point of view. I also liked Nancy's interactions with her family and Karus, the Rider.

Date read: 1/31/2012
Book #: 3
Challenges: TBR Challenge 2012; New Author Challenge, Whats in a Name 5 Challenge, Off the Shelf Challenge, A-Z Challenge 2012
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Fantasy

ISBN-10: 0441000622
ISBN-13: 9780441000623
Publisher: Ace Books
Year: 1994
# of pages: 288
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
LibraryThing page