tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3764159777348916628.post3055217529126369954..comments2024-02-18T00:11:11.490-08:00Comments on Heroines of Fantasy: Summer ReadingHeroines of Fantasyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169664399606524540noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3764159777348916628.post-60231545706781207192015-04-26T02:18:03.991-07:002015-04-26T02:18:03.991-07:00I'm getting into Dorothy Dunnett's House o...I'm getting into Dorothy Dunnett's House of Niccolo series right now and thoroughly enjoying them. Don't get me wrong - her writing is hard work, but in a good way. It's like munching through a wholesome and very nutritious meal. I also read Fatherland by Robert Harris and thought it was quite brilliant. It reminded me of Gorky Park, but set in an alternative history universe...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06614407068699582907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3764159777348916628.post-34137655097001110122015-04-21T12:36:11.040-07:002015-04-21T12:36:11.040-07:00A Land Fit for Heroes sounds like my sort of tale....A Land Fit for Heroes sounds like my sort of tale. I'm going to add it to my list. Thank you!Terri-Lynnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11468004163467894720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3764159777348916628.post-85564453923332413172015-04-21T12:32:04.386-07:002015-04-21T12:32:04.386-07:00Recently, I've loved Richard Morgan's '...Recently, I've loved Richard Morgan's 'A Land Fit for Heroes' trilogy (he's based in Glasgow, I think; certainly some landscapes felt awfully familiar). Very violent, lots of sex but there's a mind at work, it's all to a purpose, and the shout-outs to Malory made me grin (swords from lakes, swords in stones...). 'The Winter Pilgrims' by Toby Clements is something else I recommend over and over: Wars of the Roses, mud, snow, archery, cross-dressing. Grand stuff. 'Station Eleven' and 'The Girl with All the Gifts' are both highly enjoyable but let down by rather weak endings - well worth a look, though. 'The Three Body Problem' is getting lots of love at the moment, and I can see why. It's pretty good - hard sci-fi (heavy on science, light on character development) but the final section changed tone completely and didn't work for me. Also, much of Rosemary Sutcliff's work has been recently released as e-books, including some books which have been out of print for years. Anything she writes is brilliant, but 'Flowers for Adonis' (set in the Peloponnesian War)and 'Blood and Sand' (set in Egypt and what's now Saudi Arabia during the Napoleonic Wars)were new to me and I'm so glad I found them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3764159777348916628.post-39020611767983587942015-04-21T10:07:23.057-07:002015-04-21T10:07:23.057-07:00Renee and Cal--thanks for the recs! More fabulous ...Renee and Cal--thanks for the recs! More fabulous books.Terri-Lynnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11468004163467894720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3764159777348916628.post-36584582761557021432015-04-20T14:34:23.107-07:002015-04-20T14:34:23.107-07:00Well, if I can't pimp my own, I'll pimp Be...Well, if I can't pimp my own, I'll pimp Becca Mills--Nolander, and its sequel, Solatium. They're categorized as Urban Fantasy, but I'd call it, Urban Science Fiction. It's been a long time since I got a genuine feeling of "elsewhere" that I found in these books.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3764159777348916628.post-61453497984384274942015-04-20T14:27:53.071-07:002015-04-20T14:27:53.071-07:00A recent rave book review in the New York Times fo...A recent rave book review in the New York Times for "Man at the Helm" by Nina Stibbe compared it to "I Capture the Castle" by Dodie Smith, set in an idyllic English countryside in the 1940's. I intended to buy "Man at the Helm" but ended up getting "I Capture the Castle," the author of which has been compared to Jane Austen. What could be better than that? I'm enjoying it immensely. I guess I'll look for Stibbe's book when I finish Dodie Smith's. My summer recommendations, or spring recommendations if you can't wait that long. I couldn't.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3764159777348916628.post-47126087780098891072015-04-20T13:15:46.694-07:002015-04-20T13:15:46.694-07:00Thanks, Sharon! That's another "maybe&quo...Thanks, Sharon! That's another "maybe" for my book club this summer.Terri-Lynnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11468004163467894720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3764159777348916628.post-48226677693179320042015-04-20T13:12:36.490-07:002015-04-20T13:12:36.490-07:00I just finished The Girl on the Train. It reminded...I just finished The Girl on the Train. It reminded me of Hitchcock's Rear Window and I would recommend it, but it took a little time to get into it. A few chapters in, though, I couldn't put it down.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3764159777348916628.post-35465833292894765462015-04-20T12:32:16.982-07:002015-04-20T12:32:16.982-07:00Oooh! I like the sound of a 24 hour bookstore. I&#...Oooh! I like the sound of a 24 hour bookstore. I'll have to check that out.<br /><br />AJ Fikry is my book club's pick for June, too, Maura. It's outstanding. Enjoy! And thanks for the recs!Terri-Lynnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11468004163467894720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3764159777348916628.post-153192231463673002015-04-20T12:26:56.553-07:002015-04-20T12:26:56.553-07:00Just finished reading The Humans by Matt Haig. Enj...Just finished reading The Humans by Matt Haig. Enjoyed it very much. It's about an alien who comes to earth to complete a specific assignment, but is sidetracked by his fascination with humans. <br /><br />Also recently read a very good non-fiction book called The Bucolic Plague: How Two Manhattanites Became Gentlemen Farmers by Josh Kilmer-Purcell. Sometimes laugh out loud funny, sometimes a little sad, but always good.<br /><br />Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan is also very good.<br /><br />All of the above were popular with my book club, too.<br /><br />Glad you mentioned the A.J. Fikry book. That's the June selection for my book club and I've heard so many good things about it. Looking forward to reading it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3764159777348916628.post-40989446530520137822015-04-20T11:51:51.229-07:002015-04-20T11:51:51.229-07:00Horror is welcome here, Deb. :) Those both sound g...Horror is welcome here, Deb. :) Those both sound good. I bet Frank would love Mistress of the Art of Death. Sounds very much like his kind of thing.Terri-Lynnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11468004163467894720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3764159777348916628.post-58817323249560329502015-04-20T11:48:19.300-07:002015-04-20T11:48:19.300-07:00I'll by-pass all my horror suggestions :) I g...I'll by-pass all my horror suggestions :) I gave in and bought the book you recommended, The Other Side of Midnight by Simeon St. James'. It's pretty good.<br /><br />But two of my favorite books that I think you would like are :<br /><br />Mistress of the Art of Death - It's like CSI in England in 1171 and the medical examiner is a woman who must hid her identity and her intellect unless she's disguised as a man. Very cool old murder mystery and how they learned about anatomy, etc. Can be a little gruesome, but not in a horror way, just for the reason they had to cut open bodies to see how they worked, etc. There's a romance as well :) <br /><br />The Reliable Wife - 1907 Wisconsin. A man puts an ad in the paper for a 'reliable wife.' She writes back but she's not even close to who or what she says she is. Murder, romance, great read.Debbie Christianahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12949473453277720476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3764159777348916628.post-79623555621040960152015-04-20T11:30:30.353-07:002015-04-20T11:30:30.353-07:00I got your book rec from Goodreads, Karin. I sent ...I got your book rec from Goodreads, Karin. I sent it along to my book club group, hoping someone would pick it. If not, I'll squeeze it in on my own!Terri-Lynnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11468004163467894720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3764159777348916628.post-29348750839985777432015-04-20T08:29:59.751-07:002015-04-20T08:29:59.751-07:00I just finished Mozart's Wife by Juliet Waldro...I just finished Mozart's Wife by Juliet Waldron. Definitely a good option for a summer read. I think you and Constanze would have gotten along very well, Terri. :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com