The Gray Wolf Throne, by Cinda Williams Chima

2011, Hyperion

I am still enjoying this series very much.  Chima has managed to continue the characters in the Seven Realms series and added to the depth of most of them.  The plot developments continue to engage the reader.

In The Gray Wolf Throne, the action picks up as Raisa ana'Marianna is hiding in Fetters Ford trying to stay hidden from her various enemies and survive long enough to return home.  She hope to return to the capital city, Fellsmarch, and reunite with her mother, the queen.  Raisa has reached the understanding that she and her mother together may have the combined skills necessary for a successful reign.

The rest of the book is an exciting quest as Raisa, Han, and Amon work together and separately trying to return to Fellsmarch and return Raisa to the line of accession to the Gray Wolf Throne.  As always there is a wonderful combination of wizardry, woodsman-ship, military, and street-smarts.  Every moment of reading is a pleasure and in many parts thrilling enough to get the reader's blood racing.

I am adding "gaming" as a tag for this book.  I believe that students (and adults) who enjoy the role playing games will enjoy this book.  It is one that I would recommend to any reader who enjoys quest based games.

I'm just beginning my semester so life is about to get busy.  I am number eight on the wait list for the next, and final book in the series, The Crimson Crown.  I will need to work hard the next few weeks so that when my name comes up I can put work aside to read.

Bone Bed, by Patricia Cornwell

2012

I am a devoted Cornwell reader, but was concerned by early reviews of her book.  Consequently I used my Nook "read for free" option for this book.  I'm afraid that I agree with the early reviews.

This began as a typical (and enjoyable) Scarpetta book.  I was enjoying exploring her new offices and catching up with the other characters' lives in this repertoire series.  Unfortunately the ending of the book was very unsatisfying.  I think all the pieces were in place to have a typical race-to-the-finish ending, but it wasn't delivered.  Cornwell finished the book most abruptly.  It almost feels as if she had hit her publisher's deadline and tied it all up as quickly as possible.

I hope that the next Scarpetta book is finished a little more carefully.  I will look for early reviews before I decide whether or not to purchase it.

Have you read this?  I'd love to hear from my followers to see if I was alone in my disappointment.  Leave a comment!

Wicked Business, by Janet Evanovich

In the middle of all the murder/violence of the reading I'm doing right now, this was a relief!  Evanovich's lighter touch is greatly appreciated.  As with many of her books, I found myself laughing aloud through descriptions of characters, plot twists, and conversations.

This, the second book in the Lizzy and Diesel series, picks up where Evanovich left off.  Lizzy, who inherited her aunt's home in Salem, is a pastry chef in a local bakery.  Diesel (also from Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series) needs Lizzy's help as he attempts to save the world from his cousin Wolf's attempts to collect seven stones representing the deadly sins. 

In addition to some light-hearted entertainment, readers will also have the opportunity to explore Salem, Massachusetts and the surrounding area as Lizzy, Diesel, Wolf and their minions race to find the stones. 

Although the book is written for an adult audience, I would recommend it to mature teens.  (It is not more explicit than many of the supernatural/paranormal romance books and I value the humorous take on the topic.)

Gideon's Corpse, by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

I have been a fan of Preston and Child's Pendergast series.  I think as their popularity as writers grows, the quality of their writing is diminishing.  Even in their most recent Pendergast book, I felt they had shortchanged their readers.  I am guessing that publisher pressures to turn out books quickly are forcing them to release books that are incomplete and not polished as much is they had been before they became best selling writers. I have had a similar experience with reading Dean Koontz's Frankenstein series. I felt the last couple books have ended prematurely.  They feel almost more like chapters that should be part of a longer book.

The plot of this book focuses on terrorism and dirty nuclear weapons.  I think the plot had great potential but the characters, plot and settings were not as well developed as in the earlier books by this writing team. Much of this book is set in New Mexico, a state with which I am very familiar.  I couldn't help but compare the visualizations of New Mexico in earlier books by this writing duo.  I felt that they shortchanged the descriptions of setting and culture of New Mexico.  Particularly, Los Alamos, one of America's nuclear research facilities, deserved a little more detailed description.

For some reason I am less enamored of Gideon as a main character than I am of Pendergast. I can't really explain it, they're both larger than life and surrounded by mystery. Perhaps because Pendergast's history is more complex and revealed more slowly he becomes a more engaging protagonist than  Gideon.  It may also be that Gideon is very much a loner.  Although this could be said of Pendergast as well, he also has a collection of friends and supporters that add texture and depth to Pendergast as a character.

City of Lost Souls, by Cassandra Clare

Up to this book I have enjoyed the Mortal Instruments series. This particular title ended up being too much like romance fiction for me to enjoy it in the way that I had the other titles in the series.

We still have vampires, elves, werewolves, and other supernatural beings working within the mundane world. As in her other books, most of the main characters are well developed and help adolescents understand the strengths and weaknesses inherent in every individual. Unfortunately, for this reader, too much of the book was captured by romantic interludes involving several pairs of the series continuing characters. One of the things I appreciate about this series is the degree to which Clare explores friendship and family ties and responsibilities. Even in this title, with its increased amount of romance,Clare still helps teenagers explore the boundaries of these various groups in their lives.

There will be a sixth book in the series and the first book is being made into a movie. Although I was disappointed in this particular title, I will probably go ahead and read the next book as well just to see how Clare pulls it all together.

The Black Angel, by John Connolly

I managed to get out of order in my Charlie Parker series books.  Consequently, reading this book helped fill in some gaps in my knowledge. This book is more supernatural than most of the other books in the Parker series. In some ways the role of the angels and demons in the book remind me of some of Anne Rice's novels.

The book introduced me to be Sedlec monastery and Ossuary. It prompted me to do some research about the Cistercian order and this monastery in the Czech Republic. I am traveling to Paris later this summer and need to see if I can talk my friend into visiting the catacombs (including some ossuaries) which have played it important role in the plot of the Michael Scott books (The Immortal Nicholas Flamel series-for younger adolescent readers) and some of the Anne Rice's novels. An ossuary is connected to the storage or display of skeletal remains. The church at the center of this book is famous for having most of the interior decorated an ornament in with human skeleton parts. Connolly weaves this historical, religious, and artistic information throughout the book.

In The Black Angel, Connolly explorers the fallen angels and their agents on earth. Consequently, readers of James Lee Burke and Anne Rice will feel a resonance with the works of these authors. They are among the few authors, exploring the concept of evil and its work in the world, who end up simultaneously having to explore religion, angels, and demons.

As always, Connolly writes in a literary style and as a result can be challenging to readers.  Taking the time to do the background research on topics introduced and the geographical connections will enrich the reading. The book is also accompanied by a CD of music either mentioned in the book or connected to the plot and characters.  This is the first time I have played an accompanying soundtrack. It was an interesting and enjoyable collection of works.  As our writers become more technologically engaged I anticipate more media connections and additions to their works.

The Demon King, by Cinda Williams Chima

A student (thanks Stephanie!) recommended this to me.  I'm hooked!  In fact, I had to exert a great deal of self-discipine to drive past the library this morning.  I badly wanted to pick up the next book in the series, but have four other library books stacked up that I need to read first.  (As well as mountains of papers/projects to read.)

I figured out much of the plot as I was reading, but Chima's story telling skills got me through to the end.  I now want to know what happens next as the two main characters, Han Alister, and Raisa ana'Marianna are drawn together toward what appears to be a disastrous attempt to escape the dangers facing them.  The characters in the book are given enough depth to move this book beyond the simple popular series format into something substantial that can be read as a parallel or entry level book into more classic books.  It will appeal to readers who like the Lord of the Rings.  I would use it as a companion piece to The Odyssey.

I think I had best wait until the end of the semester to pick up the next title in the series.  

The Wise Man's Fear, by Patrick Rothfuss

The second book of in the Kingkiller Chronicles is almost as compelling as the first.  We get two stories in one--the current tale of Kote, the inn keeper at the Waystone Inn, his assistant Bast, and the Chronicler who has come through looking for good tales.  In this "real time" story the world is a dangerous place with some sort of impending doom.  Kote and Bast have what appears to be some secret roll in fighting off the forces of evil.

In the other story, Kote is narrating his history as Kvothe to the Chronicler.  In this book we take up his story after his first years at the University (a school for magicians).  During this portion of the story we learn more about his education, the political intrigues at he University and in the world at large, and travel with him through various adventures.  The story told is indeed worthy of an epic.  There is one rather lengthy episode that I might have edited for "mature" content.  As it stands I will hesitate to recommend the series to high schoolers--at least not in an official capacity.  I might recommend it to students outside of school who I know are mature enough to handle some mature content.  Rothfuss' decision to include this is unfortunate.  I don't think it was necessary for the story.  (I worry that I'm becoming a prude--or just old, but I become impatient when a good story is spoiled by unnecessarily explicit sex/romance.)  Sometimes it feels as if authors believe they need to include it to get market share.  It could also be that I'm underestimating the importance of sex/romance to the average reader.  I'd love feedback on this.

That aside, the book kept me reading devotedly--missing sleep and neglecting other duties.  I should know better than to pick up a 1,000 page book at the beginning of a semester.  There is a twist at the end that would have me going out for the next book, but Rothfuss hasn't published it yet.  I'll have to be patient and fill in the time with other books.  If it were available I would be buying it.

Fablehaven: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary, by Brandon Mull

I have enjoyed the Fablehaven series and am delighted the Mull can continue the series with continued high quality. In this book Kendra is sent with a team to get a key to the next artifact (this is important in the overall series). The plot takes us outside of the New York sanctuary that is cared for by her grandparents.

If you are unfamiliar with the Fablehaven series, the important plot device is that there are magical creatures still living in the world, but they are primarily kept in "invisible" sanctuaries around the world. Kendra and Seth Sorenson (brother and sister) appear to be the likely successors as caretakers of the Fablehaven sanctuary currently managed by their grandparents. Of course, the forces of evil are trying to upset the balance of this arrangement. Kendra, Seth and others at Fablehaven are instrumental in fighting these forces of evil.

Back to Dragon Sanctuary... Of course, as per the title we are looking at a sanctuary for dragons in this book. Mull continues to engage the reader with plot and character twists that surprise the reader and will motivate almost all to continue reading.

Vampirates:Tide of Terror, by Justin Somper

I enjoyed the first book in this series greatly. This second book was somewhat disappointing. At first I thought I was, perhaps, less engaged with the book because I listened to it on CD. But once I turned to the reviews I saw that I am not the only reader who was disappointed. The first book in the series was exciting and pulled you easily into the world of vampire/pirates who were generally good. This book sort of lost its direction by having too many threads to the plot.

I expect there will be some devoted readers of the series--Somper is now up to book number in the series. It's a series I would recommend only to readers who are obsessed with either pirates or vampires--but even so I would be cautious. I try to recommend books that I think are quality literature, even within a fantasy genre. I don't think this really fits.

Somper has tried to work in a mystery--who the Vampirate Captain actually is. I think I know the answer--but am tempted to read the rest of the series to discover the truth. Somper is from the UK and some readers may be able to detect the language and cultural differences. The series appears to be quite popular with kids.

Vampire Academy, by Richelle Mead

I can blame one of my teacher friends for this! (Yes Pam, that's you!) She recommended this series as one worth reading in the genre. I had been expressing some hesitation about Dawn of the Dreadfuls and Pam said this series was good.

Mead had be from the beginning. There is a new sub-culture of vampires explored in this book--the living vampire--essentially good guys. There still exist the "bad vampires" that kill people and they are set as the antagonists in the series. Added to the mix are the guardians--human/vampire hybrids who serve to protect the good vampires from the bad.

What engages me more in this series is the portrayal of teen cliques and social pressures. The main character, Rose, is a guardian in training and has a mystical bond with her vampire, princess, bff, Vasilisa (Lissa). I don't want to say much more about the plot--no spoiler here. However, the ebb and flow of teen culture and the way teens have to figure out the adult world rang pretty true with my experiences.

This is a three stars book for me. I bought the "boxed set" of the first three, so I'll let you know if the next two are able to uphold the general quality of the characterizations and plot. I' recommend this for about 8-10 graders. It's probably more of a girls' book, but some boys might enjoy it.