Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips is a comedic adventure involving London, Greek Gods, the underworld, and an unlikely hero.
Having lost the vast majority of their powers, the Greek gods are now forced to spend their lives in a run-down house in London, taking small odd jobs to make ends meet (Artemis walks dogs, Aphrodite is a phone-sex operator, Dionysus runs a rave club etc). Into this mix is dropped Alice a unassuming house cleaner, and Neil, an engineer who is in love with Alice.
The book is really good. Funny without being slapstick, Good characterization of both Down-on-their-luck gods and the mortals involved with them. They story arc is interesting, but this is at its heart a character piece, the plot more a way to show amusing vignettes of how the different gods act and how the mortals react to the situations.
I recomend this book to anyone who wants a fun, romantic-ish comedy/adventure, with a touch of classical greek mythology.
Unclean and Undead by Richard Lee Byars are books one and two of the Haunted Lands trilogy. Both deal with a Civil war in the wizard dominated country of Thay, set in the world of the Forgotten Realms.
Well, read these two books and now I have to wait until March 2009 for the third one, so you might want to wait to read these until the trilogy is completed.
The stories of these books are decent, but they are not going to go down in history as genre-defining or great works of our civilization. But if you like wizards, vampires, the occasional wizard-vampire and combat give these books a try.
The writing is, again, decent. Byers creates characters that escape being two-dimensional, but not by much. The villains ( a relative term in this book, as even the "good guys" are pretty bad) are more interesting than the heroes, with deeper motivations. The fight scenes are evocative, and avoid being repetitive. The overall arc of the books is also intriguing, with more secrets to be revealed in the final book.
In my opinion, the best part of these books is Byers willingness to kill characters, both minor and major. It lends to the gritty feel of a war that involves demons and undead on both sides.
I recommend these books for those looking for something to read on the bus, that doesn't require a lot of thought.
Well, I have recently finished reading The Lies of Locke Lamora, book one of The Gentleman Bastard Sequence by Scott Lynch and I really enjoyed it.
The plot of the books is fairly straightforward: Lies, swindles and betrayal in a fantasy version of Venice called Camorr. The thief and priest of the 13th,the crooked warden, unnamed god of thieves and scoundrels, Locke Lamora (aka, the Thorn of Camorr) is in the middle of a caper to trick a Nobleman out of his fortune when he is drawn into the plot of the Gray King to unseat the crime lord of of Camorr. There is magic and mayhem and crooked dealings all around.
The book shines not in its plot, but in its characterization, setting, and use of language. Lynch successfully gives each of his characters a distinct voice and mannerisms that make them unique from one another. His descriptions of Camorr flesh out the city and make it feel like a real place, with a long history and all the baggage that comes with that history. These descriptions are even more effective as they do not cause the story to drag under masses of descriptive text, being inserted naturally into the flow of the plot.
If you enjoy reading about the exploits of a charming rogue and anti-hero, then try this book.
Christopher Moore writes some pretty fun books. I am unfortunately reading them out of order, but So far I have polished off The stupidest Angel and Practical Demonkeeping and I am working on The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove After that I think I will move on to his Vampire books.
These books are comedies, with a big helping of science-fiction or fantasy thrown in. Sometimes Zombies attack the small town of Pine Cove, sometimes it is an invisible demon, and other times a Godzilla-like sea-monster. The point is the small, quiet tourist town of pine cove has a lot of bad things happen there.
The books take a look at how the varied citizens of the town deal with these happenings, mostly dealing with the problem in their own skewed way.
These books are at the heart character pieces, Moore having populated the town with a large rouges gallery of oddballs (for example Howard, owner of H.P's Cafe, that serves such dishes as Shub-Nigguraths Dark Yolks of the Wood, or eggs benedict up to normal people).
The books are a fun light read, perfect for a road trip or day on the beach.
I just finished reading Manxome Foe, the third book in John Ringo's Looking Glass trilogy. The trilogy, which begins with Into the Looking Glass and continued in Vorpal Blade is a military science fiction series dealing with the results of an experiment gone wrong that opens portals to other planets in the galaxy, some of which lead to the worlds of the ravenous Dreen, who wish to overrun Earth and devour or enslave all of humanity.
Premise sounds kind of cheezy, but the stories are solid page turners, that have kept me up until 4am with the dreaded "one more chapter" disease. The characters are interesting for the most part, and there is plenty of action against gribbly space monsters to be exciting.
The big difference in this series is it does insert quite a bit of actual scientific theory into the narrative. The insertion flows naturally, without seeming as if it were "tacked on" to the overarching story.
If you are looking for a series of action books with a little more depth than just monsters being shot in the face, check out this series.
Rhet Butler's People
McCaig, Donald
New York : St. Martin's Press, 2007.
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Was it strictly necessary to our understanding of Gone With the Wind's dashing hero to flesh out his backstory, replay famous GWTW scenes from his perspective, and crank the plot past the original's astringent denouement? Perhaps not, but it's still a fun ride. In this authorized reimagining, Rhett, disowned son of a cruel South Carolina planter, is still a jauntily worldwise charmer, roguish but kind; Scarlett is still feisty, manipulative and neurotic; and the air of besieged decorum is slightly racier. (Rhett: "My dear, you have jam at the corner of your mouth." Scarlett: "Lick it off.") But it says much about the author's sure feel for Margaret Mitchell's magnetic protagonists that they still beguile us. McCaig (Jacob's Ladder) broadens the canvas, giving Rhett new dueling and blockade-running adventures and adding intriguing characters like Confederate cavalier-turned-Klansman Andrew Ravanel, a rancid version of Ashley Wilkes who romances Rhett's sister Rosemary. He paints a richer, darker panorama of a Civil War-era South where poor whites seethe with resentment and slavery and racism are brutal facts of life that an instinctive gentleman like Rhett can work around but not openly challenge. McCaig thus imparts a Faulknerian tone to the saga that sharpens Mitchell's critique of Southern nostalgia without losing the epic sweep and romantic pathos. The result is an engrossing update of GWTW that fans of the original will definitely give a damn about. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review from Publishers Weekly Review
The Remains of the Day.
Ishiguro Kazuo.
New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 1990, c1989.
Greeted with high praise in England, where it seems certain to be shortlisted for the Booker Prize, Ishiguro's third novel (after An Artist of the Floating World ) is a tour de force-- both a compelling psychological study and a portrait of a vanished social order. Stevens, an elderly butler who has spent 30 years in the service of Lord Darlington, ruminates on the past and inadvertently slackens his rigid grip on his emotions to confront the central issues of his life. Glacially reserved, snobbish and humorless, Stevens has devoted his life to his concept of duty and responsibility, hoping to reach the pinnacle of his profession through totally selfless dedication and a ruthless suppression of sentiment. Having made a virtue of stoic dignity, he is proud of his impassive response to his father's death and his ``correct'' behavior with the spunky former housekeeper, Miss Kenton. Ishiguro builds Stevens's character with precisely controlled details, creating irony as the butler unwittingly reveals his pathetic self-deception. In the poignant denouement, Stevens belatedly realizes that he has wasted his life in blind service to a foolish man and that he has never discovered ``the key to human warmth.'' While it is not likely to provoke the same shocks of recognition as it did in Britain, this insightful, often humorous and moving novel should significantly enhance Ishiguro's reputation here
Review from Publisher Weekly Review
We also have the DVD available.
Nightwatch
Lukyanenko, Sergei.
New York : Miramax Books/Hyperion, c2006.
This bestselling Russian novel contains three separate, but interlinked stories featuring Anton Gorodetsky of the Nightwatch. Told mostly in a first person perspective, we learn of the world of the Others; people gifted, or cursed, with extraordinary powers. Anton works for the Nightwatch, which monitors those Others who have gone to the side of the Dark. Their counterparts are the Daywatch, that monitor the activities of those who are on the side of the Light. Neither side can directly interfere with the lives of mortals, and the stories involve the intrigues, and plots by both sides to do just that.
The stories are well written, with complex narratives and interesting characters. The underlying theme of the work is that of morality, and how far one should go to do good. The translator has done a good job of making the story flow well in English, but keeping the hints of the original Russian "voice" that makes this story different and exotic.
The first of the three stories serves as the basis for the film, which you can find my review of here.
Barefoot Contessa At Home : Everyday Recipes You'll Make Over And Over Again.
Garten, Ina.
New York : Clarkson Potter, c2006.
Garten's fifth cookbook (after Barefoot in Paris) follows her surefire formula: uncomplicated but elegant recipes for the home cook whose priority is spending time with friends and family, not in the kitchen. From breakfast to dessert, the Food Network star organizes this volume by meal, with an easy-to-navigate recipe list at the top of each section. Many entries provide a creative alternative to the basics: the Summer Borscht—which calls for fresh beets, cucumber and chicken stock—will make a cool, flavorful substitute for the predictable bowl of gazpacho, and the mayonnaise-based Jon Snow's Fish Salad—freshly roasted white fish filets (e.g., halibut) distinguished by the addition of diced fennel—will supersede tuna salad. But some of Garten's "feel-good" foods barely warrant inclusion—her recipe for Sunday Morning Oatmeal barely elevates the instructions on the Quaker canister. If not always inventive, these recipes (e.g., Cornish Hens with Cornbread Stuffing) should be reliable for seasoned but time-pressed or ambitious but inexperienced cooks. Striking a warm, personal tone, Garten also includes advice on designing a kitchen, making a grocery list, planning a menu and where to shop and dine in the Hamptons.
Review from Publisher Weekly
I Shouldn't Even Be Doing This: And Other Things That Strike Me As Funny.
Newhart, Bob.
New York : Hyperion, c2006.
Beginning with his 1960 Grammy-winning album, The Button Down Mind of Bob Newhart, the comedian's 46-year career has included nightclub standup, TV series (The Bob Newhart Show), animation voices (The Simpsons), feature films (Catch-22, Elf)—and now his first book. At age 77, Newhart is clearly in his anecdotage, with mirthful memories of his successes and failures. Treating the reader almost as a personal friend, Newhart covers everything in this guided tour through his button-down brain, from his 43-year marriage and fear of flying to fatherhood, Vegas, sitcoms, golf and assorted antics with celebrity pals. Aware that digression is the better part of valor, he interrupts the low-key autobiographical flow with amusing asides, and this rambling look at "the absurdist side of life" is just as effective in print as on TV, adding depth and dimension to the familiar image of Newhart as a frustrated, flawed everyman. In the tradition of Max Eastman's Enjoyment of Laughter (1936) and Steve Allen's The Funny Men (1956), he analyzes and compares comedy styles. The hilarity is heightened as he reveals how he created his best satirical sketches. Influenced by H. Allen Smith, Robert Benchley, James Thurber and Max Shulman, Newhart himself has now joined that lofty pantheon
Review from Publisher Weekly