MURDER ON ICE by Alina Adams ia a short murder mystery set in the hoopla surrounding the amateur world figure skating championships. I pretty much hated all of the characters, a bunch of selfish and self absorbed drama queens (of both sexes), and sorry to say, I wished all of them could have died. Pretty much every bad impression I have ever had of the sport was confirmed and expanded upon - someone who is a true fan of the sport might even be grossly offended.
SADDLED WITH TROUBLE by Michele Scott was another short mystery, set mostly on horse ranches in the California desert near Indio, and filled with unpleasant and unsympathetic characters. Another book where I ended up hoping most of the characters would die. I think that the main problem was that the author had too many subplots in order to make the mystery harder to solve - and each new one brought a different character into question and suspician. Throw in a main character in the middle of a nasty divorce (and understandably a bit bitter and unhappy about her life), and the only truly likable character in the book was the local Mafia connection man - and what does that tell you right there?
A RING OF ENDLESS LIGHT by Madeleine L'Engle is a young adult book filled with beauty and wisdom. The Austin family is spending the summer on an island off the coast of New England in the home of the wise and gentle grandfather, who is terminally ill. The young and sensitive poet and heroine of the story, Vicky, is destined to learn about death that summer. What could have been maudlin is very life affirming and beautiful - as graceful as the leap of a dolphin swimming free in the sea.
TROUBLING A STAR by Madeleine L'Engle is another lovely young adult novel following the life and learning and adventures of the young poet Vicky Austin. In this, Vicky is given the gift of a lifetime - a trip to Antarctica, where she becomes endangered and has to learn a lot about politics and environmentalism.
THE TROUBLE WITH MAGIC by Madelyn Alt is a short mystery novel set in a small town in Indiana. Maggie has a horrible dead end job and is delighted to get a job in a nice little gift store - but it turns out that her new boss is a practicing witch, which is unusual in a small and very conservative town. While a friendship quickly grows between the two women, and Maggie learns that she has some sort of empathic abilities, Felicity becomes the chief suspect in a murder investigation.
THE KEYS TO THE KINGDOM: LADY FRIDAY by Garth Nix is the fifth book (of a projected seven) in a fantasy series for older children. Arthur Penhaligon is faced with the challenge of a lifetime, when he becomes the legal heir of the Architect, who created a universe. Arthur's task is to gain control of the Will, divided into seven parts, gain the seven keys of power, and gain control of the House, which is the center of the universe. And he is just an average asthmatic kid with glasses.
THE ANDROID'S DREAM by John Scalzi is one of the more quirky and unusual science fiction books I have read in a long time. From the most bizarre (and funny) death I have ever encountered in a book in the first chapter to the quest to find the one sheep of the billions of sheep on Earth who is destined to save the world, this book delighted and entertained me.
THE AGE OF INNOCENCE by Edith Wharton tells of a love triangle among people who have too much money and time on their hands, and not enough meaning in their lives in the Gilded Age of New York City in the late 1800's. Newland Archer is engaged to young May Welland, when he and his fiance's cousin Ellen Olenska fall deeply in love with each other. The two decide to do the honorable thing, and live separate hollow lives as a result. The anti-Anna Karenina, and shows that the other choice (following social conventions rather than being together) can be just as personally devastating.
THE CALL OF THE WILD by Jack London - the classic dog story is every bit as exciting as I remember from my childhood. Buck is a wonderful protagonist and hero, as he goes from pet dog in sunny California to leader of the sled dogs in Alaska to leader of the wild wolves in the wilderness.
WHITE FANG by Jack London is another of his wonderful dog stories set in Alaska and California. Rather than telling of a domestic dog who becomes wild, this one tells of a wild dog who becomes domesticated.
GOD EMPEROR OF DUNE by Frank Herbert is the fourth book in his classic science fiction Dune series. To me this novel is a retelling of the expulsion of humanity from the Garden of Eden on a galactic scale, with one person being both the Creator and Satan - Leto II, who even has the body of a giant worm and the face of a human, just like Satan in the old religious art. He has created a new sort of human through his breeding programs, and has kept humanity safely bottled up for thousands of years on the worlds of the old empire. Now it is time for the new sort of humans to mature and to leave the cradle of the old empire worlds...
HERETICS OF DUNE by Frank Herbert is the fifth book in his classic Dune science fiction series. Set about 1500 years after God Emperor of Dune, mankind has exploded in a great Scattering - and out in the far reaches of space, a lot of changing has been going on. One group, called the Honored Matres, comes fleeing back to the worlds of the old empire leaving a trail of destruction and death in their wake. These fierce and violent women are terrifying and a huge threat to the survival of civilization - but there must be something even worse out there that they are running from!
CHAPTERHOUSE: DUNE by Frank Herbert is the sixth book in his classic Dune series. The Bene Gesserit are facing one of the greatest challenges in thousands of years in surviving the onslaught of the violent Honored Matres. They are preparing a variety of interesting weapons, but time is running out and the fate of all of galactic civilization hangs in the balance. And what is so horrible that these terrifying women are running for their lives away from it?
HUNTERS OF DUNE by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson is the continuation of the classic science fiction Dune series, as written from the notes and outlines left behind by Frank Herbert. Many of the mysteries from the last two novels are answered here - who are the Honored Matres and where did they come from? What in the seven hells is making these women run for their lives in an orgy of violence from world to world? Is the final climactic battle which will decide forever the fate of the universe on hand?
THE ROAD TO DUNE by Frank Herbert, Brian Herbert, and Kevin J. Anderson is a book form of a directors's cut dvd. Here are deleted chapters from Dune and Dune Messiah as well as alternate endings, some history, and some original stories from the younger Herbert and Anderson.
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