Unread Authors Challenge

I decided to participate in the Unread Authors Challenge which runs from September 2007 to February 2008. The challenge is to read six (or more!) books by authors I haven't read before.

Here's my list:

• Patrick Suskind. Perfume -- finished 9/9/2007
• David Sinclair. Sir Gregor MacGregor and the Land That Never Was -- finished 9/21/2007
  
• Gena Showalter. Awaken Me Darkly -- finished 9/22/2007
• Emma Bull. War for the Oaks -- finished 9/29/2007
  
• Keri Arthur. Full Moon Rising -- finished 10/5/2007
• China Mieville. Perdido Street Station
  -- finished 12/20/2007

Perdido Street Station by China Miéville

First sentence:

"Veldt to scrub to fields to farms to these first tumbling houses that rise from the earth."

Description:

"Beneath the towering bleached ribs of a dead, ancient beast lies New Crobuzon, a squalid city where humans, Re-mades, and arcane races live in perpetual fear of Parliament and its brutal militia. The air and rivers are thick with factory pollutants and the strange effluents of alchemy, and the ghettos contain a vast mix of workers, artists, spies, junkies, and whores. In New Crobuzon, the unsavory deal is stranger to none -- not even to Isaac, a brilliant scientist with a penchant for Crisis Theory.

Isaac has spent a lifetime quietly carrying out his unique research. But when a half-bird, half-human creature known as the Garuda comes to him from afar, Isaac is faced with challenges he has never before fathomed. Though the Garuda's request is scientifically daunting, Isaac is sparked by his own curiosity and an uncanny reverence for this curious stranger.

While Isaac's experiments for the Garuda turn into an obsession, one of his lab specimens demands attention: a brilliantly colored caterpillar that feeds on nothing but a hallucinatory drug and grows larger -- and more consuming -- by the day. What finally emerges from the silken cocoon will permeate every fiber of New Crobuzon -- and not even the Ambassador of Hell will challenge the malignant terror it invokes..."

My thoughts:

I have to admit I was nervous about approaching this book again. I had started reading it years ago, but didn't get far. This time, I kept going, and I'm glad I did. Perdido Street Station is a intensely descriptive book filled with so much detail about New Crobuzon and its inhabitants. Woven throughout is the story of Isaac and his quest to help Yagharek fly and what that quest ultimately leads to. It'll be a while before the images of this book leave me and I look forward to reading the next book in the series, The Scar.

Date read: 12/20/2007
Book #: 109
Challenges: Unread Authors Challenge; Fall into Reading Challenge; Book Awards Challenge
Series: New Crobuzon, #1
Awards: Arthur C. Clark Award (2001); British Fantasy Society (2001)
Rating: 4* = great
Genre: Urban Fantasy

ISBN-10: 0345459407
ISBN-13: 9780345459404
Publisher: Del Rey
Year: 2003
# of Pages: 623
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
LibraryThing Page

Full Moon Rising by Keri Arthur

First sentence:

"The night was quiet."

Description:

"In this exciting debut, author Keri Arthur explodes onto the supernatural scene with a sexy, sensuous tale of intrigue and suspense set in a world where legends walk and the shady paths of the underworld are far more sinister than anyone envisioned.

A rare hybrid of vampire and werewolf, Riley Jenson and her twin brother, Rhoan, work for Melbourne’s Directorate of Other Races, an organization created to police the supernatural races–and protect humans from their depredations. While Rhoan is an exalted guardian, a.k.a. assassin, Riley is merely an office worker–until her brother goes missing on one of his missions. The timing couldn’t be worse. More werewolf than vampire, Riley is vulnerable to the moon heat, the weeklong period before the full moon, when her need to mate becomes all-consuming.…

Luckily Riley has two willing partners to satisfy her every need. But she will have to control her urges if she’s going to find her brother….Easier said than done as the city pulses with frenzied desire, and Riley is confronted with a very powerful–and delectably naked–vamp who raises her temperature like never before.

In matters carnal, Riley has met her match. But in matters criminal, she must follow her instincts not only to find her brother but to stop an unholy harvest. For someone is doing some shifty cloning in an attempt to produce the ultimate warrior–by tapping into the genome of nonhumans like Rhoan. Now Riley knows just how dangerous the world is for her kind–and just how much it needs her."

My thoughts:

This was a good mix of paranormal mystery and romance. At times I worried that Riley's urges would hinder her, but she was able to use them to her advantage or resist them when she needed to. I also liked many of the characters, specifically Riley, Quinn, Rhoan, Jack and Liander. I look forward to reading the next book in the series, Kissing Sin.

Date read: 10/5/2007
Book #: 89
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Series: Riley Jenson, Guardian, #1
Genre: Paranormal Romance

ISBN-10: 0553588451
ISBN-13: 9780553588453
Publisher: Dell
Year: 2006
# of Pages: 372
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
LibraryThing Page

War for the Oaks by Emma Bull

First sentence:

"By day, the Nicollet Mall winds through Minneapolis like a paved canal."

Description:

"Eddi McCandry sings rock and roll. But her boyfriend just dumped her, her band just broke up, and life could hardly be worse. Then, walking home through downtown Minneapolis on a dark night, she finds herself drafted into an invisible war between the faerie folk. Now, more than her own survival is at risk—and her own preferences, musical and personal, are very much beside the point.

By turns tough and lyrical, fabulous and down-to-earth, War for the Oaks is a fantasy novel that’s as much about this world as about the other one. It’s about real love and loyalty, about real music and musicians, about false glamour and true art. It will change the way you hear and see your own daily life."

My thoughts:

This is a beautifully written book that is both poetical and fantastical. liked the mix of music and magic. All the characters are well defined, and I especially liked Eddi, Willy and the phouka.

Date read: 9/29/2007
Book #: 87
Rating: 4* = great
Genre: Urban Fantasy

ISBN-10: 0765300346
ISBN-13: 9780765300348
Publisher: Orb Books
Year: 2001
# of Pages: 336
Binding: Trade Paperback
LibraryThing Page

Awaken Me Darkly by Gena Showalter

First sentence:

"Midnight."

Description:

"RIDDING THE WORLD OF EVIL, ONE ALIEN AT A TIME: THAT'S MIA SNOW'S MISSION.

Snow is in the forecast.

In a time and place not too far away, Mia Snow is an alien huntress for the New Chicago Police Department. Heading up her expert team of Alien Investigation and Removal agents, Mia's unmatched at battling the elusive enemy among us, and she's the perfect girl for the job. She's seen her brother die at the hands of aliens. She's earned each of her scars. And she'll die before she cries. Now, a series of killings have Mia and her partner Dallas tracking alien suspects -- but a sudden blast of violence leaves Dallas fighting for his life.

They are ice and fire.

The chance to save Dallas appears in the form of a tall, erotic stranger. An alien. A murder suspect. Kyrin en Arr, of the deadly Arcadian species, holds the power to heal the injured agent but not without a price. For Mia Snow, that price is surrendering to Kyrin's forbidden seduction...and embracing their electric attraction. She's walking a knife's edge, risking her badge and even her life. The closer she gets to Kyrin, the more Mia learns about her own heart, her human needs -- and the shocking secret that will shatter everything she's ever believed."

My thoughts:

This book was a good mix of police procedural and science fiction. It had a futuristic setting featuring aliens alongside humans with a nice dash of romance. I liked learning Mia's history along with her as her powers are gradually revealed.

Date read: 9/22/2007
Book #: 86
Series: Alien Huntress, #1
Rating: 3* = good
Genre: SF

ISBN-10: 074349749X
ISBN-13: 9780743497497
Publisher: Downtown Press
Year: 2005
# of Pages: 336
Binding: Trade Paperback
LibraryThing Page

Sir Gregor MacGregor and the Land That Never Was by David Sinclair

First sentence:

"The new year of 1823 announced itself in violent fashion with a vicious storm that battered the east coast of Britain for a fortnight."

Description:

"Once upon a time, in the heart of Central America, there was a country called Poyais. It was exceptionally rich in natural resources, civilization and culture and it was ruled by a brave and enlightened Scottish soldier, General Sir Gregor MacGregor, who had been made its cazique, or prince, of Poyais, after his many heroic exploits in the cause of South America's struggle to liberate itself from the Spanish empire.

In 1821, the Cazique of Poyais and his beautiful princess arrived in Britain to promote the virtues of their country and encourage immigration and investment. They rapidly became celebrities, honoured with an official welcome from the Lord Mayor of London, feted in the press, and enthusiastically sought after in the best social circles. Within a year, Sir Gregor MacGregor had persuaded thousands of people to subscribe to a £200,000 development loan he floated on the London stock market. More importantly, he had succeeded in attracting hundreds of would-be settlers, many from his native Scotland, who set off on the long and perilous journey to this promised land -- a journey from which the majority would never return.

It was not until some time later that the truth about Poyais and its prince began to emerge..."

My thoughts:

This was an informative account showing how one persuasive man with a well-written, descriptive document exploited people's greed and gullibility. Other major topics include the independence movements in Central and South America in the early 19th century and the eagerness of Europeans to help militarily and financially. Sinclair wraps up the book nicely in his analysis of how MacGregor started becoming caught up in his own fantasy towards the end.

Date read: 9/21/2007
Book #: 85
Rating: 3* = good
Genre: Nonfiction - History/Biography

ISBN-10: 0755310799
ISBN-13: 9780755310791
Publisher: Headline Review
Year: 2003
# of Pages: 384
Binding: Hardcover
LibraryThing Page

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind

First sentence:

"In eighteenth-century France there lived a man who was one of the most gifted and abominable personages in an era that knew no lack of gifted and abominable personages."

Description:

"Once upon a time, in eighteenth-century France, there lived a human monster unlike anything mankind has ever known. Enter the world of an evil genius, a murderer so depraved that only the most hideous of crimes could satisfy his lust...a killer who lives to possess the essence of young virgins...a vampire of scent, whose bloody insane quest takes him beyond the boundaries of love...and death."

My thoughts:

Jean-Baptiste Grenouille - human or monster? Both? Just when I found myself feeling sympathetic to this young man who grew up without human kindness, the monster side of him would emerge and I could sense his scorn for people he fooled with his pretense of humanity. This was a beautifully written book about the importance of smell that we all take for granted and how one man with an incredible gift took advantage of people.

Date read: 9/9/2007
Book #: 82
Rating: 3* = good
Genre: Historical Fiction/Thriller

ISBN-10: 0671749609
ISBN-13: 9780671749606
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Year: 1991
# of Pages: 310
Binding: Trade Paperback
LibraryThing Page