A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

 So, you had to know it was going to happen. Once I read the latest Earthsea book, I simply couldn't resist going back to the beginning and reading them through all over again. A Wizard of Earthsea is the first book, most commonly thought of as a young adult fantasy novel, and in relation to most fantasy today, it is definitely G-rated - no sex and minimal violence.

Wizard begins with the tale of a young boy named Cluny who lives in a village on the isle of Gont, working in his father's smithy. Cluny really doesn't care about the smith trade all that much, and he's always off and about playing in the meadows and forests when he can get away with it. Cluny's aunt, a hedge-witch of sorts, discovers that Cluny has some hidden mage talents, and begins to teach him some of the sorcerous arts. When his village is invaded by barbarians of Karego-At one day, Cluny manages to weave together the natural fog of the island with some illusions and lure the invaders away from his village, for the most part, coincidentally nearly killing himself in the process, for the enormous energy the spell required came from the boy, himself.

A master mage, Ogion, hears about the boy and comes to awaken him from his coma, then, when he is old enough, returns to name the boy Ged and take him on as apprentice. But Ged is impatient with Ogion's slow, cautious magery, and longs to soar free, learning all there is to learn about magic - right away. So Ogion sends him off to the isle of Roke, where the Archmage and eight other Masters have an academy for training young wizards.

Before too very long, Ged's foolish pride gets him in trouble, and attempting a spell far too advanced (and a little on the dark side of the Force) ends with him horribly disfigured by some sort of dark spirit he has unwittingly loosed upon the world. He is allowed to return to his studies and complete his apprenticeship on Roke. When he finally ventures back out into the world, he finds that he cannot run from his nemesis, but that it hunts him down and finds him wherever he flees.

Le Guin weaves a wonderful beginning to a saga in this one, written 45 years ago, which stands the test of time, remaining a classic in the genre.

Jhegaala by Steven Brust

 I'm afraid that Jhegaala is probably the least inspired of the Vlad Taltos series, and the only one I've never reviewed here. It takes place shortly after Cawti has left Vlad, and when he has gone into self-exile from Adrilankha, trying to avoid the Jhereg assassins who'd like to collect the bounty on his head. He visits his country estates briefly, spending some time with his grandfather, Noish-Pa, then heads off to the country of the humans, Fenario, where he hopes to connect with his roots, I suppose.

It doesn't take long for Vlad to find trouble, or trouble to find Vlad. When he arrives in a small town near where some of his mother's relatives are supposed to live, he attracts the attention of the three factions in the town; the Coven, the Guild and the Count. Perhaps eighty years before this, the Count's predecessor discovered a process to make high quality paper in bulk, and began to displace the peasants from their traditional lands and practices, to come work in his factory.

In some of the earlier books, Cawti is involved with the Teckla and other workers in the Empire, as they began to chafe against their chains, a retelling of the French or Russian revolutions' allegories, and it feels that Brust, in the midst of trying to tell an interesting Vlad-style mystery, is presenting a microcosm of the stresses of the industrial revolution on feudal society.

None of the factions in town believe that Vlad is simply here to visit his relatives, and they all assume that he has a hidden agenda which would destroy the delicate balance the powers have attained in the town. When Vlad's poking around results in the killing of that family, things begin to get serious for him, and his desire for justice pushes him to stay far longer than he ought to.

The usually witty dialog is mostly missing, and Vlad's depression a bit contagious in this one. You can throw it out of the series and not miss much.

The Willful Princess and the Piebald Prince by Robin Hobb

Robin Hobb really seems to love writing tragedies. I'm normally not into reading something that's going to leave me more depressed than when I started, and I've had to stop reading a couple of Hobb's series over the years, when I just couldn't take it any more. However, she is a fantastic writer, and I've been able to finish several of the series, so I don't dis-recommend her.

This tale is far shorter than most of her books, so it was an easy read, but in true Hobb fashion, grew tragic in a hurry. The Willful Princess is the tale of Queen-in-Waiting for the throne of Buckland, Caution, who definitely does not live up the her name. She grows up horribly spoiled by her otherwise quite wise parents, and is aided and abetted by the character telling the story, her companion from cradle to grave, the low born Felicity (daughter of her wet nurse), who has seen to it that Caution's every whim has been granted, hoping to secure a better future for herself when Caution comes to her throne.

There's no way this can end well, of course, and when Caution buys a piebald stallion and its Witted (able to communicate with animals) handler, Lostler, from a Chalcedean trader one year, it begins to go predictably wrong. Caution begins by obsessing on riding the stallion, whom no one else can tame, and ends by riding the handler - ditto. She becomes pregnant by this commoner, and gives birth to his bastard son. When Felicity deceives her into believing her lover Lostler has been unfaithful to her, he and the stallion are killed in the ensuing struggle to banish them, and Caution pines her way to death, as well.

The Piebald Prince tells the story of how her son goes from being the bastard no one loves, to designated heir to the throne, and on to his own horrible tragedy, as well. Our tale-teller, Felicity, suffers horrible consequences, in the end, for her sad role in this tale.

Compelling writing, as always with Hobb. I can take depression in small doses.

The Other Wind by Ursula K. Leguin

How in the world did I miss this book? It came out in 2001, and of course I was busy raising a family, holding down a job, and all that, but still! I have been a huge LeGuin and Earthsea fan ever since the books first came out, and have eagerly read and re-read them all...except this one. Just wow!

It's just like visiting the old neighborhood when a man debarks from a ship in the harbor of Gont and asks the way to Re Albi, where the Archmage Sparrowhawk has gone to retire, and the entire book simply has that feel of visiting with old friends and family for me.

A minor wizard, Alder, who specializes in mending, has recently begun to dream of his deceased wife calling to him across the wall between the land of the living and that of the dead, the Dry Land, and she has been joined by other spirits entreating him to set them free. He fears to sleep, and has traveled far to take counsel with the former mage, who is one of the only men living to have crossed the Dry Land, emerging on the other side. Sparrowhawk's time of doing has passed, but he sends Alder onwards to visit the young king, Lebannen, in Havnor, where his wife, Tenar, and adopted daughter, Tehanu, are visiting.

Lebannen has been trying to make peace with the warlike Kargs, and has been trapped by their proposed solution, marry their high princess to unite the kingdoms. It wouldn't be as interesting a story if he didn't fight the proposal tooth and nail, so you can bet on the outcome, if you like. And recently, the Archipelago has been undergoing a plague of dragon attacks on property, for which he is trying to determine a cause.

All of these plot threads are woven nicely together into a gripping story which kept me up far later than I should have been. The origins of the conflict between the two races of men and the race of dragons is finally brought to light, as well as the source of the wizards' power. Truly worth the wait, though I wish I'd read it sooner.

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Just to kinda, sorta, halfway make up for lack of posting in a week, here's a link to a great rant by John Scalzi.

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Just for fun, here's a link to an indie publisher in New Zealand you might like to check out - Splashdown Books.

Always bet on the Old Guy

Yesterday, I went to NAPA to get grease seals for my little camp trailer. Now, I know that with non-automotive applications, the guys at the counter are going to have to do some research. Usually there's a cross reference book they can look up the part number etched on the edge of the seal rubber and find an NAPA replacement. The young fellow there was trying quite hard to figure it out, but after inputting several numbers into the computer, he's "if it's not in the computer, it doesn't exist."

He hunted up the old paper version of the books, tried measuring it with a digital micrometer, and still couldn't figure it out, kept mumbling "if it's not in the computer, it doesn't exist."

Finally the old parts geezer who had been on the phone this whole time hung up, walked over and glanced at the seals, asked me "Trailer?" and walked back into the shelves, from where he hollered, "How many?" and emerged with four identical seals, as required.

Always put your money on the old guy.

The Human Division by John Scalzi

 I kept trying to remember what this book reminded me of, and finally it came to me - the Retief books, by Keith Laumer, where Retief of the CDT (Corps Diplomatique Terrestrienne) falls into one odd adventure after another, and constantly solves problems in ways his bosses never expected nor condoned. The novel was originally "serialized" as 99 cent Kindle shorts, then linked together into a broader story, which made it nice to read in small doses when I had ten or fifteen minutes to spare.

It's been so long since I read the Old Man's War series that I'd forgotten where things left off, but if this book takes up from that point, not in a good place for humans. The Colonial Union is estranged from Earth these days, and opposed by the Conclave, an alliance of about four hundred intelligent races from around the galaxy, as well as under attack by some shadowy conspiracy which keeps putting the protagonists of the stories into deep trouble.

Ambassador Abumwe and her aides are definitely not the A-Team, perhaps not even the C-Team, so they draw the assignments that either no one else wants or which are doomed to failure from the start. Her technical geek, Harry Wilson, is on detached assignment from the Colonial Defense Force, and has a tendency to take a skewed perspective on problems. Her assistant undersecretary gopher flunky, Hart Schmidt, comes from a very powerful family on the colonial world of Phoenix, but prefers to toil in obscurity, where at least he feels like he's making a difference. The captain of the Clarke, the starship they all get around the galaxy in, when they're not getting it destroyed, Sophia Coloma, takes it all in stride.

Fun little vignettes, good dialog, mysterious plots afoot - no happy endings, but it made me smile.

May Winds Down

Things continue to be slow as far as reading and reviewing books goes. I spent the long weekend in the mountains, for the most part, and had only taken one book along, Kitty Rocks the House, which I finished the first night. I rummaged through the shelves at the cabin, and found a collection of Frank Herbert's short stories and essays from the early 80s, called Eye, which was interesting, but dated, being populated with Cold War spy stories and other paranoia. Had to reluctantly put that one back on the shelf when I left, so didn't finish it - maybe on my next visit.

Next, I overnighted at my parents' house, and found a collection of Essays, On Stories, by C.S. Lewis. I was minded once again of just how brilliant the man was - it's not the sort of thing one simply breezes through cheerily and without deep contemplation. Again, I had to leave my bookmark a couple of dozen pages in, and hope to return someday.

I leave you with a link to a book review by Andrew Klavan and some book-sparked meditations by J. Chrisian Adams.

I may have something new to say by Monday. Have a wonderful weekend!

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A book review on Lagniappe's Lair.

And some book commentary at New Jovian Thunderbolt.

Kitty Rocks the House by Carrie Vaughn

 Dear Lord, is is just that I've read far too much of this stuff, are are there only a limited number of writer's methods to set up certain situations. This installment of Kitty's adventures just seemed really predictable to me, for some reason.

After a meeting with a powerful vampire who is considering an alliance with Rick (the Master of Denver) and Kitty (who may possibly be the Regina Luparum), a lone werewolf, Darren (Any relation to Samantha's husband from Bewitched?...sorry, my brain goes off on odd tangents once in a while) shows up in Denver and tells Kitty he's tired of being lonely and wants to join her pack, though he's not very submissive about it. Anyone with half a brain can tell this is just going to be trouble, and she should boot him right back out of town, but instead she decides to give him a chance, ignores all the early warning signs, and ends up in a battle for control of the pack, before sending him...ahem...packing.

One of the themes/conflicts in the novel was about how Kitty wasn't spending enough time with the members of her pack, perhaps taking too much of a hands-off approach instead of being involved in their lives, what with her recent history of traveling all over the place either doing publicity for her show, or dealing with supernatural community issues in other cities, plus being involved in the whole Long Game conflict against the followers of Dux Bellorum, or Roman, the millennia-old vampire who wants to rule the world, with humans merely fodder, and werewolves merely servants. Hmm, seems like a recurring theme there with the last novel I reviewed - humans as food. I wonder if the whole scenario wasn't suggested to Vaughn by some feedback from a fan who just wondered what in the world is going on with the pack back home while Kitty is traveling, or how things might begin to fall apart when the alpha is absent.

The other odd thing that happens starts out in a surprising manner (at least I don't recall reading about the idea before), when a powerful yet mild-mannered vampire shows up in Denver, and asks Kitty to be introduced to Rick. Rick's original name was Ricardo, and he was one of the Spanish conquistadors who came to the New World five hundred years ago, a loyal son of the Catholic Church. When it turns out that the vampire, Columban, is actually an undead priest, known to the Vatican, it rocks his world. While he has tried to keep his faith through the centuries, despite the common consensus that vampires and werewolves are spawn of the devil, and damned to Hell for all eternity, it has been very hard for him, trying in an almost Hippocratic sense to "do no harm". Columban wants Rick to join him and his brethren - there are more vampire priests? - which would probably be a bad thing, leaving Kitty without her strongest ally in the city, and the vampires in Denver master-less.

The oddly obvious thing to me in this plotline is that while Columban is holed up in a deconsecrated (though why it had to be deconsecrated, given that the Vatican sanctions his existence, I couldn't say) cathedral, he has written symbols and runes on the outside of the church, and cast a circle of protection (my M:TG history comes through) around the building. Kitty and Ben's friend, the ex-bounty hunter possessed by the spirit of a witch, Cormac, tries to lure the vampire out of hiding by messing around with the wards. They all spend a lot of time wondering what in the world Columban could be afraid of that he would have to ward so powerfully against it. When they finally find out, catastrophically, it's like "well, duh." I'll leave it unstated, no need for true spoilers here.

So, while no real progress is made in the Long Game war, there's a few new alliances made, old alliances perhaps lost, and potential allies still unswayed. Sounds like the next novel will be out fairly soon.

Shadows of Falling Night by S. M. Stirling

 This third installment in the Shadowspawn series doesn't seem to quite have the (pardon the expression) bite of the first one. It's as if Stirling has gotten everyone hooked on the series, and now can settle in to make it as long as possible, selling more books along the way. I remember something similar happening with the Left Behind series towards the end, when one day's worth of events would fill and entire volume, putting us no closer to the resolution of Revelations.

The Shadow Council is on the move, coalescing to a gathering in Tblisi, where they will vote on which option to take with regards to "thinning the herd" of humans; EMP to destroy technology, or plague to kill the masses without spoiling the fruits of industry. Harvey Ledbetter, of the Brotherhood, is also moving towards that dark reunion, with a nuclear weapon in his back pocket, figuratively speaking. He hopes to detonate it near the conference, killing a large portion of the Shadowspawn and making the Brotherhood's overall mission of defeating the remainder much simpler.

Adrienne Breze wants Harvey to succeed in his plot for her own reasons. If the old discorporeal leaders are killed by the radiation from the nuclear blast, she can assume leadership of the council and have her own reign of terror when she releases the plague. Adrian Breze and his wife, Ellen, are trying to foil both Harvey and Adrienne's schemes, while behaving reasonably politely towards the rest of his relatives. Adrienne's minions attempt to kidnap back hers and Adrian's children, which prompts a nightmare flight by Eric (the former detective), Peter (former renfield and physicist who has discovered a way to mask humans from the power wielded by the Shadowspawn), and Chiba (peasant girl who wants vengeance on Adrienne) across the face of Europe, trying to reunite the children with their father before another assassin gets to them first.

Some good twisty plot elements and a very surprising ending which should twist things in an interesting direction in the next book, which I trust will be forthcoming when Stirling needs some more money.

Take the Star Road

Peter Grant, of Bayou Renaissance Man, has written his first science fiction novel, and I must admit I was pleasantly surprised by it. Sarah Hoyt's blurb says, "evocative of Heinlein" and I have to agree that it reminds me a bit of some of his earlier young adult novels, both in theme and execution, such as Between Planets, The Star Beast, or Starman Jones, perhaps, but also is full of technical details in a manner reminiscent of Allen Steele's Clarke County, Space or Orbital Decay.

Steve Maxwell, the young protagonist, seems to be one of those folks who can fall in a pile of crap and come out smelling like a rose. The story begins when he and his employer are attacked by several members of a criminal tong, and Steve disables several of them quickly with his martial arts skills, which he acquired while defending himself from bullies in the orphanage where he was left after the death of his parents. Though he has only been doing temp work, his employer is grateful enough for Steve's help that he gives him a full time job as a server in his tavern, and sets him up with a meeting with the bosun's mate of a space ship when the opportunity arises, so that Steve can fulfill his dream of being a spacer, himself.

From that point, things proceed somewhat inexorably, given Steve's good character and strong work ethic, as he learns new skills and is rapidly promoted. Grant uses Steve's innocent eager questions as springboards for a metric ton of exposition about everything from the way space ships make their way through hyperspace to the traditions of the space navy and the history of Earth and its colonies. It works, but occasionally I was left wishing for a little less explanation and a touch more action.

It wasn't a page-turner, which kept me up past my bedtime, but it was a good solid read for a couple evenings' entertainment, and I'd certainly pick up the sequel, when Grant gets around to publishing it. Any and all sex and violence were strictly PG rated, and the lessons that Steve and readers of the book will learn are those of the traditional American mom and apple pie variety.

You can get a second opinion on the book from Brigid at Home on the Range, if you like.

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A book review on Financial Ducks in a Row.

Written in Red by Anne Bishop

 The mind is the first thing to go, I guess. I cannot for the life of me remember where I found a review of this book that intrigued me so much I had to put it on hold at the library. Thanks, whomever. This is the most completely fresh take on the whole vampires, werewolves and things that go bump in the night that I've seen in ages.

Hmmm...the premise...The Others were on the Earth long before humans came on the scene, and for the most part humans were merely prey, but their rapid breeding and technology kept them around long enough to colonize the new world, where they found a whole new batch. The telling of the tale of the colonization and negotiations sounds very similar to what happened with the native Americans here, except that in this case the indians were not overwhelmed by the invaders, and turned out to be very shrewd negotiators, as well as having supernatural powers. I'm not quite sure, given the dynamics of the situation, how we got from point A to the setting of the story, which has telephones and automobiles and modern weaponry in the cities, while still being threatened constantly by what might happen if the humans irritate The Others, who actually include elementals capable of drowning a city or burying your civilization under a glacier, but if we just wave a magic wand over the whole history and logic thing and accept the situation as presented, it gets pretty cool.

Meg Corbyn (not her real name, she really only has a number designation) is a cassandra sangue - blood prophet. She, and other girls like her, are kept as property of very wealthy patrons who ration out their prophecies to those who can pay for them. Every prophecy is created by cutting a portion of the cassandra's skin somewhere, and eventually when all the untouched skin is used up, so is the prophetess. The public believes they are pampered servants, but they are actually abused slaves, and Meg risks her life one day by escaping from her compound and running away into a snowstorm. As her strength and hope begin to flag, she arrives at Lakeside Courtyard, a colony of The Others, and is rescued from the storm by their Wolf leader, Simon Wolfgard, and given the job of Liason between the nearby humans and the supernatural community, mostly to spite the other applicant for the job, Asia, who has been trying to worm her way into Simon's bedroom, and whom he just doesn't quite trust for some unknown reason.

Though her only knowledge of the world outside of the compound comes from books and other lessons she has been taught - just enough to let her interpret what she sees in her visions - Meg turns out to be a very conscientious and thorough Liason. Her primary duty is to receive shipments from human suppliers, and mail from the outside world, sort it, and make sure it gets to the right "people" within the Courtyard.

At the same time, there's a new sheriff in town. Lieutenant James Crispin "Monty" Montgomery has been run out of his last job for allowing a young Wolf girl to kill and eat the pedophile who had been holding her captive, after Monty handcuffed the pervert. The Humans First folks made life difficult for him, his fiancee broke up with him, and kept custody of their daughter. It did, however, make him nearly perfect for a job that opened up in Lakeside Courtyard, enforcing laws on the human side, and making sure the humans don't run afoul of The Others more immediate methods of justice.

In addition to getting used to their new surroundings, developing relationships and understanding their place among the Others, and learning new jobs, Meg and Monty must also deal with outside forces that threaten to destroy what they have. Meg's controller has hired mercenaries to recover his "property", Humans First fanatics are scheming to start a war between the races, and others with merely mercantile motives are snooping about for more information on the Others. Good, semi-twisty intrigue, the threat of violence and mayhem, and some slightly different protagonists make this a really good read. Hope Bishop writes a few more in this world.

Imperial Stars by E.E. "Doc" Smith and Stephen Goldin

A fair amount of time ago (pre-Amazon), I was reading and collecting the Family d'Alembert series written by "Doc" Smith (edited and finished by Goldin and published by his wife after his passing, I believe), and eventually just lost track of the progress of the series, so I missed the last few, which I didn't find out until I was playing around on Goodreads a month or so ago. I got lucky and found a source for a bunch of old SF ebooks, and all of the series was there, as well as his Lensman and Galactic Patrol stuff, which I've had in paperback for years. So, after so much time has passed, one can't just jump in at the end of the series and read the last ones, and I had to start at the beginning, with Imperial Stars.

It's difficult to say, at this point, so far removed from the time in which it was written, but there may be a bit more than just a bit of satire in this story, containing elements of the Bond mythos, some very broad space opera, and a pair of heroes who are trapeze artists from a long line of circus folks. Here in book 1, the Empire is threatened by the plotting of a pretender to the throne, the bastard cousin of the current Emperor Stanley. The bastard has possession of a patent acknowledging his parentage and nobility, and many good secret agents in the SOTE (Service of the Empire) have died trying to recover the document. At last, the Head of SOTE is down to his ultimate weapon, Jules and Yvette d'Alembert, performers in galaxy-renowned Circus of the Galaxy, where for generations the top agents of SOTE have trained in secret.

Jules and Yvette and their family come from the triple-gravity planet of DesPlaines, so they are far faster and stronger than ordinary humans, and their training has made them the most deadly creatures in the galaxy. They go undercover on several worlds to uncover the conspiracy and to foil the plots of the evil bastard, far too handily for serious fiction, but in an amusing and overblown and heroic fashion all the same. A fun little mindless tale that broke me out of my slump at last.

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A book review from Carteach.