Jessica Strider

Pros: interesting characters, some good fight scenes, great magic system

Cons:

Tara Abernathy never intended to return to the town that ran her out as a teenager. But she can’t miss her father’s funeral. Nor can she turn away the young, untrained woman with craft abilities. Nor can she leave her old hometown at the mercy of Raiders and the curse that drives them.

This is the first book of the Craft Wars series. While it comes after the 6 books of the Craft Sequence, and focuses on Tara Abernathy (who features in several of the Sequence books), it’s designed as a new entry point and gives you all the background you need in order to enjoy this book.

It’s a much smaller book in scope than the Sequence books, dealing with a small cast as it takes place in a small town in the middle of a desert. Tara’s forced to revisit her past, not just the town and its antagonism towards her, but also her time at school to know how to teach and what information to give.

The craft is always a delight, with its mix of occultism and the arguments of law. There are some good fight scenes.

This is a book about coming to terms with your past and deciding who you want to be going forward. If you haven’t read Max Gladstone, this is a good place to start.

Pros: interesting characters, compelling drama

Cons: takes several chapters to learn necessary vocabulary

Centuries ago humanity nearly destroyed earth and made a hash of terraforming Mars. Since then, they’ve been confined to earth while their distant offspring, alloys, exploring the universe. When a human habitable planet is discovered, a vote to decide whether humans should be allowed to expand into the universe again is proposed. Jayanthi wants to be more than a human raised by alloys, confined to earth. When she discovers that her sickle cell disease makes her suitable to live in the higher oxygenated air of Meru, she petitions to be allowed to live there for a year as an experiment. Only a newly graduated alloy pilot agrees to bring her there. But some alloys remember what humans did the last time they were allowed to expand past Earth. And they’ve got plans to make sure this experiment fails and the vote goes their way.

There’s quite a learning curve as the book throws a lot of new vocabulary and concepts at you with no info dumps. It takes a few chapters to get a real grip on this future world and how humans and alloys co-exist. It can feel overwhelming, but once you understand the background and have been introduced to the characters, the plot kicks in and the story moves on to the titular planet. The world-building is astonishing.

The plot centres around the personalities of Jayanthi and Vaha and their developing relationship. It’s a forbidden romance that faces a lot of complications. Though young and full of self-doubt, they’re both delightful and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing them try to solve various problems.

According to the acknowledgements, the story is based on the Indian epic, the Mahabharata. I’ve never read it and so cannot comment on how the author handled the source material, but I did appreciate all of the Indian inspired names, scents and foods used throughout the book. Each chapter is named after a Sanskrit word.

There are variously gendered entities, which can take some getting used to and adds to the alienness of the alloys.

After the first few chapters, I found this a quick, compelling read.

Pros: interesting characters, intriguing family drama, good mystery

Cons: historically accurate slurs

Fired from the police after being found during a raid on a gay bar Andy Mills is prepared to end it all. He’s offered a detective job, to determine if Irene Lamontaine was murdered or if she died in an accidental fall. Lavender House, the family estate, is a haven for the family, all of whom have reasons to love and hate the victim. As the case progresses, Andy is forced to consider his life and choices, and what makes a family.

The book is set in San Francisco during the 1950, when gay acts were criminalized, and makes use of historically accurate slurs and derogatory language, which may be distressing to some readers. It also includes a beating by cops and thoughts of suicide.

The book evokes a lot of strong emotions and there are several affecting scenes. I’m not familiar with the historical period, but the author did an excellent job of making it come to life.

The interpersonal drama of the family was interesting and complex enough to keep me intrigued about the case. It had a satisfying ending.

While not for everyone, this is an interesting historical mystery. I’m hoping it’s the start of a series.

Pros: psychologically astute, lyrical writing

Cons: packs a real emotional punch, may be distressing for some readers

When Antsy ran away from a bad situation at home she opened a Door. The Shop Where the Lost Things Go is a nexus connecting all the worlds and provides a new home for her. Antsy wants to return to her mother someday, but doesn’t realize what her adventure has already cost.

The book begins with a content warning from the author that Antsy runs before she is sexually abused. The first few chapters are difficult to read all the same. While she is a child, you know what’s happening and feel the tension and horror. The book also begins with the death of Antsy’s father. It’s a highly emotional scene that gut punched me harder than expected. This is a standalone story in the Wayward Children series, so if the content will distress you, you can skip it. If you can deal with the content, it’s an emotionally rewarding story.

In feel, the story has the same mixture of lyrical writing and keen psychological observation as the other books in the series, and Down Among the Sticks and Bones in particular.

Antsy’s a surprisingly astute child, who realizes something is wrong with her new stepfather but isn’t quite sure what. She has good instincts and follows them to positive effect in the story. She is a delight to read about.

Seeing through several doors was a lot of fun, as was learning more about the store.

As with most of the series the ending is a little bittersweet, but appropriate based on what happened.

There’s no table of contents. The book starts with a brief introductory prologue. Each chapter deals with a specific country/region and begins with a little introduction. The chapters are: Germany, Austria, & Switzerland (11 recipes, including 2 deserts and a drink); Italy (14); England & Ireland (9); France (12); Belgium (9); Spain (10); and Poland (12).

The chapters vary in number of recipes as well as their variety. The book as a whole includes quite a few seafood recipes, a few meat recipes, a decent number of vegetarian recipes, and deserts from each region. It includes well known regional specialties (Belgian waffles, pierogi, French onion soup) as well as less familiar options. There’s also a good mix of simple recipes to more complex fare.

Each recipe is accompanied by a photograph, mostly of the finished dish though a few have photos at a later stage in the cooking process.

I made two recipes, tortilla Española (sweet potato omlet) and surówka z marchewki z jabłkiem (carrot salad with apples). The instructions were easy to follow and both tasted very good (I did half yellow and half sweet potatoes for the tortilla).

The chapter introductions often mention the importance of slowing down in life and travel to experience the moment and really savour your food. Always a useful reminder.

It’s a nice cookbook with a good variety of recipes from around Europe.

Pros: thought provoking, great characters, fascinating discussions

Cons: ending gets brutal, tension drags on

When Robin is saved from cholera in Canton and brought to England his life becomes one of study and languages. He’s sent to Oxford’s translation department, where silver bars are inscribed with words that - like magic - power much of Britain’s modernization. The others in his program have also suffered to be a part of it. But they realize their successes are designed to only benefit the British Empire, not the homelands they were torn from and whose languages the silverworking magic is based on.

This is a brilliant book. I found the frequent etymological breakdown of words and the discussions on translation fascinating. The author did an excellent job of showing the fallacies of colonialist thought. It was such a thought provoking story.

The characters were all well fleshed out. Robin is such a conflicted character, not fitting into white society but also no longer Chinese. Told to feel grateful for the opportunities he’s been given but aware that he’s been given no choice regarding his future. I loved Ramy and Victoire and their perspectives on things. I wasn’t as keen on Letty, but she was still an interesting character. I appreciated that we get to see interludes from their perspectives, giving more information about their backgrounds and allowing us to see what led to their convictions.

Towards the end of the book the tension ramps up. It stays high so long though that I found myself needing a break from the book. There is a section of the book towards the end that gets quite brutal, with a lot of people dying in quick succession. It’s not overly graphic, though there is a torture scene. The book also contains period accurate slurs which may be distressing to read.

The book has footnotes, which is great as they give some authorial asides and additional information that’s not essential for the story but fun nonetheless. They also make the book feel more scholarly. They are marked by as star (*) after the text. Clicking the mark is supposed to hyperlink you to the explanatory note at the back of the book. Unfortunately, the first time I tried this is just turned the page, so I didn’t realize it worked (I guess you have to be very careful to hit the star). I ended up using bookmarks to flip between them, but the footnotes aren’t numbered, so I had to be careful to check each one and move my bookmarks so I didn’t lose my place in the 100+ pages of footnotes.

If you like languages and alternate history, though brutal at times, this is a brilliant read you’ll be thinking of for some time after you close the book.

Pros: fascinating period, clever interweaving of magic into history, interesting characters and events

Cons:

After finding their murdered governess’s book of magic, archduchesses Maria Carolina (Charlotte) and Maria Antonia (Marie Antoinette) start teaching themselves spells. They hope this forbidden skill will help them in their upcoming political marriages to King Ferdinand I of Naples and the Dauphin of France respectively. One joins forces with a magical society that wants to control the use of magic, while the other is forced to hide her skill and work with rogues. Dreaming of how they’ll change the world for the better, politics, magic, and the whims of fate propel the sisters into the arms of revolution and a world very different from what they’d hoped to create.

Carefully following the events of history from 1767 to 1798, the author weaves magic into the story, using it to often explain natural disasters, political upheaval, and personal triumphs and defeats in the womens’ lives.

Magic requires 5 sacrifices, including a personal treasure, a memory, and an emotion (the love of a pet, for example). These sacrifices slowly leach the life and vivacity from the girls and the other practitioners around them. Magic itself varies between simple frivolous spells and truly dangerous spells.

It’s sad seeing how circumstances gradually change the sisters’ relationship with each other. Each one tries to do the best for their country, their family, and themselves, but that ultimately causes discord between them.

The author is kinder to Marie Antoinette and her actions and motivations than history has been. I didn’t know much about Naples or Charlotte’s reign, so I found her part of the story utterly fascinating. It’s clear the author did a lot of research on the people and time.

If you like alternate history and fantasy, this is an enjoyable read.

Pros: interesting older protagonist, fun magical creatures

Cons:

After a year of difficult changes, Claire is gifted a pendent for her 60th birthday that unlocks the gate of a witches hut and even more difficult changes.

This is book 1 of the Crone Wars. It’s unusual to find a female protagonist post-menopause, so reading about Claire’s life was kind of a treat and kind of an uncomfortable look at what’s coming for me. She’s an interesting protagonist who took pains to not rock the boat and now finds the boat has sailed without her. What do you do when your life gets upended at her age? Look for a new purpose.

The use of magick is limited as Claire’s being introduced to that part of the world. The creatures she faces were fun takes on myth. Especially the gnomes.

The book moves quickly and has a satisfying arc.

If you like urban fantasy and want something a little different, this is a good read.

Pros: lots of intrigue, interesting fleshed out characters with realistic motivations, multiple forms of magic, good fight scenes

Cons: /

The city of Nexus sits at the crossroads of the realms of the four gods. Since the Sealing 500 years ago they’ve been cut off from the other realms and their world is slowly dying because of it. The four houses are descendants of liaisons between past royals and the gods, and use their magic to help the people as they vie for the throne. Two of the house heirs want to unseal the pathways to save their realm, while the other 2 want political power and the ability to master their gods’ magic. Meanwhile, conjurors, practitioners of forbidden demon magic, have started creating havoc in the city. Godsnight is approaching, when the planets align and with it the heirs’ best hope of breaking the sealing. But what can four humans achieve when the gods have other plans?

There’s a lot going on in this book and you’ll spend the first few chapters trying to get a handle on the heirs, their houses, their various forms of magic, the political intrigues everyone is involved in and the characters various personal goals and problems. There is a handy guide at the start of the book that gives the house name, their god, the family members, and form of magic. Refer to it often until you get to know who’s who.

The characters were all fully fleshed out with varied motivations. Things rarely went in directions I expected and it was a delight seeing what each one would do next. Two of the heirs had overbearing parents and trouble mastering their magic. The other two had easy mastery but other problems to deal with. It was fun watching the various sibling relationships as well, some loving and others confrontational. The different family units felt realistic, including the dysfunctional ones.

The magic was cool. My favourite power was House Vakara’s necromancy, but seeing the light and shadow magics was fun. You don’t see as much of the elemental magic, given Angelica’s difficulties, though you do see others wield the power. The conjuration circles and learning how demon magic worked in this world was also interesting.

The worldbuilding was well done. In addition to the realms and magic, the principle world has several cultures, all represented in Nexus.

The plot is very complex and when the revelations started happening at the end I’d figured out a few twists while others were a complete surprise. There are some great battles, including a massive, multi-chapter one at the end.

If you like dark fantasy with complex characters and multiple plot threads, interesting magic with great worldbuilding, then give this a go. Just be aware that it’s the first of a series and the ending will leave you wanting more.

Pros: light romance, fun magic, interesting world

Cons: some readers might be put off that certain matters are skirted over

Marra’s older sister is married to the prince of their larger neighbouring kingdom. After a death and some unpleasant revelations, Marra is determined to save her sister, like a hero in the stories she read as a child. But how does one become a hero, and how do you kill a prince?

The opening of this book grabbed me by the throat and immediately pulled me into its world. Though the plot has some unpleasant elements the book on the whole is surprisingly upbeat. I loved the subtle humour, especially when the romance thread entered.

Marra doesn’t do politics well, which is a problem for a princess. It was nice seeing her build a group of friends who helped with her quest. They’re a quirky bunch and a lot of fun to read about. I loved Kingfisher’s take on the godmother mythos.

The magic is never explained and appears in various guises. There’s a goblin market, a woman who can talk to the dead, and Marra is able to complete two impossible fairytale quests.

I needed a lighthearted read so I appreciated that the book glossed over the disturbing elements of child death and physical abuse. Some readers might be put off the fact that the author doesn’t show the full fallout of these impactful events. I had the impression Marra was supposed to be neurodivergent, and so she doesn’t pick up on things the way others do. As the point of view character, this colours how the reader sees the world as well.

I found the story quick moving and compelling. This is an uplifting book with an excellent wrap-up that leaves you feeling content with the world.

Pros: thought provoking, fascinating premise, well executed, everyone has plausible motivations for their actions

Cons: ending a little too pat, subject matter's dark for younger teens

For Parents: no swearing, no sexual content, depictions of child abuse (beatings, brainwashing), threats of violence, murder, suicide

Surplus Anna lives in Grange Hall, training to be a Valuable Asset. Her parents ignored the Declaration in order to have her, and it's her duty to repay the world for their selfishness by becoming a servant of Legals. She'll be sixteen soon and her time at Grange Hall is ending.

She's a good Surplus and Knows Her Place. The coming of a new boy, her age, much older than Surpluses are usually found, turns her life upside-down. He claims to know her parents. He claims to know a way to escape Grange Hall. He calls her Anne Covey.

Like the protagonist in 1984, Anne's first act of defiance regarding her life is to start a diary. Her infractions mount quickly.

The premise that in the future humans would learn how to prolong life - to live forever - is interesting, especially given that this book takes it to the next level: with no one dying, there's no room for kids. We're never completely told what the actual Declaration says, which would normally annoy me, but here worked to add tension and horror, at each new revelation. I also liked how Malley gave periodic insights into how the world of the future worked, especially the idea that people, knowing they'd have to deal with climate problems rather than their descendants, finally took steps towards curbing them.

Everyone has a plausible reason for why they act the way they do, including Mrs. Pincent, the House Matron, whose goal at the Hall is to break the children and make them hate their parents.

While there's no swearing or sexual content, there is a fair amount of violence, both verbal and physical abuse of children, murder and suicide. The book shows some of the realities of police states, where rights can be withdrawn on a whim and terror is a means of controlling people.

The ending is a bit contrived, all the plot lines a little too neatly tied up, but that's forgivable given the heavy nature of the book and the audience it's intended for.

Pros: realistic depictions of war, interesting use of genetically engineered soldiers, deals with the aftermath of war as well as the war itself

Cons: character driven, very intense descriptions

War between the Americans and the Russians over minerals in Kazakhstan is big news, and Stars and Stripes reporter Oscar Wendell is the first reporter allowed to visit the front lines. His addiction to drugs, the time he spends at the front and meeting a contingent of genetics irrevocably change him so that when his brief mission is up, he decides to return to the war rather than go home.

I've only read a few military SF books (Starship Troopers and On Basilisk Station are the only ones I can think of), so this was a unique read for me.

Germline is told from a first person perspective that really gets you into the war. And while most SF and fantasy allows you to experience things like violence from a distance, Germline gets you up front and very personal with war. Because though it's set in the future, take away the fancy weapons and genetics and this could be a book about a reporter in Iraq or Afghanistan today.

While the story was fascinating, there were times when I just couldn't handle more descriptions of random deaths and body parts flying through the air and had to put the book down. Not to say that this book is needlessly graphic. It's not like Battle Royale where the point of the story is to shock you with violence. It was just TOO real at times and I needed to put some distance between myself and what Oscar was going through. In fact, some of the more horrifying moments are when people around him die so suddenly that Oscar doesn't have time to react to the deaths, depriving you of the chance to deal with what just happened via his emotional response.

I'm not too keen on character driven stories, and found Oscar difficult to like at times, mainly due to his drug addiction. There are a few jumps in time to speed up the story which was a bit disorienting interposed as they were between the visceral every day experiences. But half way through the book it becomes very linear as the story simply follows the last few months of the war.

I loved how Oscar takes time to appreciate how the war has changed him and the world around him, questioning the cost vs benefit of what they've done. It's the first book I've read in a long time that had me highlighting passages. Like this one:

“Almaty had once been a city like any other, with people who had dreams of doing something other than being invaded and killed, and I doubted that many of them even knew the current market price for rhenium or selenium or lanthanum; they probably didn't even know what the metals were used for. But we did. The Russians did. At the moment word got out that Kaz had something everyone wanted, someone at the Pentagon dusted off the abacus and did the math, a simple equation that estimated the cost of deployment, engagement, and retreat, to be balanced against the estimated reserves of rhenium and someone's wild-ass guess at how much we could get out - a kind of lottery that the locals hadn't even known they'd played until they were notified of winning the grand prize: us. ... Now it was like seeing a trillion one-dollar bills in person versus hearing it described; if you saw the cost of getting our share, it was indescribable, and you'd realize that there had been no words for all this until now. The cost was a hotel in the middle of an empty rubble field, surrounded by the dead.”

I also liked that the novel ends by showing how war changes people. Oscar suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, having flashbacks and startling at every loud noise. This is a part of war that most people tend to ignore, how to reintegrate with society after suffering through so many MANY horrors. It reminded me of stories I've heard about what happened to Vietnam veterans when they returned to the US.

This is a well written novel that makes you consider the costs of war in very personal terms.

Pros: political intrigue, action, middle eastern setting, fantastic world building

Cons: abrupt ending

The Emperor's Knife follows many threads as a disease that tattoos its victims, and then takes over their minds, becomes more prevalent in the Cerani Empire. Lord High Vizier Tuvaini has learned that the childless Emperor Beyon has been touched by the disease, a death sentence by his own law. Beyon's younger brother, and heir, locked in a tower for 15 years, has gone mad, talking to himself and able to see patterns in the marks on his brother's skin. He has discovered two things: that he is able to use magic and that there is a master behind the plague.

Tuvaini sends the Emperor's Knife, Eyul, the only assassin permitted to shed royal blood, to a wise hermit in the desert, several days' ride away, to see what must be done. But Tuvaini is not a patient man, and has his own plans for the throne. Meanwhile, the emperor's mother has sent for a plainswoman to marry her younger son, in hopes of maintaining the royal lineage.

This is a fast paced novel with a lot of political intrigue and action. There's a little something for everyone: assassination, magic, romance. The world building is superb, focused on the desert Empire, but mentioning things beyond the desert, lands with people who have different skin tones, religions and cultural practices. We see this directly in the religion of the Yrkmen and their one god and with Mesema and the people of the Felt.

The characters are all complex, with desires, regrets and fears. From the assassin Eyul, who was forced to kill children at the start of the book, to Tuvaini, who wants to see the empire thrive and expand.

For the start of a trilogy this book is surprisingly self-contained. The ending is abrupt, but closes off many story threads, creating a book that could easily stand alone.

If you liked Daniel Abraham's The Dragon's Path this is the debut for you.

Pros: all recipes are gluten free, quick glance reference for preparation times and meat inclusion, book includes recipes for normally store bought sauces/dressings

Cons: many recipes require advanced preparations (like homemade sauces, whey, etc.) in order to make them

The book has comprehensive sections on what makes food ‘naked' and what tools/techniques you need to have a ‘naked kitchen' (like sprouting and culturing foods).

The authors break the recipes up into three groups based on the time they take to make (in a rush, everyday and impress the neighbours), though even the faster recipes require some advanced planning with regards to ingredients that need preparation to make them naked. These ingredients are mentioned in the headlines, so they're easy to spot and if you're planning your meals ahead of time, they're easy to incorporate. However, if you're like me and tend to plan dinner on the fly, you'll encounter some problems using this book. The authors also mention if the recipes are vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian or omnivore in the headlines.

There's a broad mix of recipes from sauces and pre-made soup stocks to breakfasts, sides and entrees. With 168 recipes, there are a lot of great foods to try. Of the 12 recipes I tried (including making whey and the Kitchen Scrap Veggie Stock), there was only one recipe I wouldn't do again (the Vegan Hollandaise sauce, which was too lemony for my taste, though the Portabello Eggs Benedict, upon which I ate it, I will definitely make again). In a few cases I would substitute ingredients in the future (like using almonds rather than cashews in the Orange Creamsicle Smoothie and taking out the kale in the Sweet Potato Breakfast Hash). All of which are a matter of personal taste. Other recipes were perfect as presented and I highly recommend both the Roasted Herb Red Potatoes (which tasted fantastic both times I made them) and the super easy and surprisingly flavourful Sauteed Chicken with Lemon and Herbs.

If you're trying to eat healthier and go for more natural foods in your diet, this is a great cookbook.

Pros: good pacing, tense moments, intricate plot, hot romance

Cons: limited worldbuilding, stereotypical characters

Vynessa Somerton grew up in N-District, a privileged member of society, who fell from grace for selling illegal glamor. Now she lives in S-District and struggles to survive. When the government starts vanishing other highly skilled programmers, she discovers she has a protector, an incredibly handsome man, who wants her to save his brother, who vanished and was replaced 7 years earlier, in return for saving her life.

As a novella Synthetic Dreams is necessarily fast paced. Once the action starts, it doesn't let up. The romance is also fast, but doesn't feel forced, getting hot at times and maintaining a nice simmer throughout the action.

The plot is intricate, with a series of revelations at the end you won't predict. It's necessarily linear, with no deviations. Even the romance serves to heighten the action rather than as a plot device itself.

While there are no info dumps, there is some stilted conversation as important information that the characters should already know is dealt to readers. It's mostly unobtrusive, as the author does a good job of keeping these to one lines at a time. The worldbuilding is unfortunately limited and makes the ending a little confusing, as the nature of the Halls and Tiers of the Mind are never fully explained. Still, it's surprising how vividly Knox paints her world, given the limited description.

The characters don't have time to develop from stereotypes into three dimensional characters. Vynessa has physical scars and low self-esteem when it comes to her attractiveness. And while she's good with tech, she quickly realizes she needs Paul's help to survive what's coming for her. Paul, meanwhile, is tall, dark and handsome with a perfect physique and the need to rescue his lady in distress.

Negatives aside, given the length of the story you don't really notice the problems until after you're done. Though the ending could have been slowed a bit so as to explain a few things more thoroughly, it was a quick, intelligent read.

Pros: lots of action, character development, dry humour, satisfying series conclusion

Cons: Konowa recovers from serious injuries remarkably fast, there is little downtime in the middle third of the book causing reader exhaustion, Konowa and Visyna's romance isn't very convincing

A second star has returned but not without cost. As a poisoned metallic snow begins to fall in the desert, heralding more of the Shadow Monarch's nightmares, the Iron Elves must decide their route. With Yimt's company missing, including Visyna and Konowa's parents, the Iron Elves head for the coast by way of Suhundam's Hill, last outpost of the original Iron Elves. There they face new dangers that make wiping out the Shadow Monarch more important than ever.

This book introduces new monsters again, including evolved sarka har, a once more transformed Emissary and the Shadow Monarch herself. It also explains the fate of the original Iron Elves Konowa is so eager to find.

There is a lot of character development, both with established characters and newly introduced soldiers. Often fantasy books dealing with the military or feudal hierarchies will constrain themselves to a small group of people, eventually causing a gap in characters as previous ones die or retire. So it was nice to see Evans bring forth a new batch of soldiers in this book and continue promoting them within the military ranks. It gave the series a realistic feel that the world continues, even as characters move on.

The action is fast and furious, with occasional downtime when the characters laugh and learn, though there was a section in the middle where it seemed everyone should have been collapsing from exhaustion. Konowa himself managed to recover remarkably fast from several serious accidents throughout the book. Readers may find themselves requiring a short break from the relentless action.

The romance between Konowa and Visyna seemed a little forced. Though it was hinted at through all three books there was little time for the characters to really get to know each other after the first book. It was nice seeing Visyna come to understand Konowa better in this installment, but there was no scene where she conveyed her new understanding to him.

The series came to a highly satisfying conclusion. If you like elves but want something different, give this series a try.

This is a short story collection dealing with two things: overweight women and fantastical locations. Aside from those criteria, the collection is quite diverse. The stories are a mix of fantasy and science fiction, in some the women are comfortable with their weight, in others they aren't. The stories that take place on earth are situated all over (Guatamala, Australia, New York City), and though most of the authors are American, there are several from other countries as well. The quality of stories is quite high, and in all cases the women are sympathetic protagonists. Ultimately this collection showcases a great variety of plus sized women.

*** “La Gorda and the City of Silver” by Sabrina Vourvoulias - La Gorda, The Fat One, was born into a wrestling family but told she could never enter the ring. She makes the Guatamalan streets of City of Silver her ring, wearing a mask and making the streets safe for women and girls until a masked menace comes.This is a touching story of wanting to be more than you are, and more than society allows you to be. It's about heroes and sacrifice. It's not really a science fiction story (as no one has superpowers), but it is a well written story. ** “The Tradeoff” by Lauren C. Teffeau - Commander Clarinda Hilliard is on a mission to begin the terraforming process on Caldwell, an ice planet. In order to work long hours in the cold, her and the other members of her team must bulk up. She's left very uncomfortable in her new body.

The examination of a woman who's become fat, if on purpose, is interesting. Many women are uncomfortable with their bodies, so it's a story with realistic underpinings and an interesting look at food rationing in the future.

* “Cartography, and the Death of Shoes” by A. J. Fitzwater - A city woman whose size belies how much walking she does and how many shoes she goes through, tries to find the cobbler shop she remembers as a child where she got a perfect, lasting pair of shoes.The author puts a fun spin on an old trope though I wasn't a fan of the rather unusal second person singular the story was written in.** “Survivor” by Josh Roseman - Overweight Wen Irons is the only survivor when her graduation party shuttle crash lands on Sidqiel. She's told by a Sergeant on the nearest space station that she must walk 35 kilometers to an old research substation on the planet before sunrise 7 hours away or she will be killed by the radiation.

A great story about persevering under pressure, both physical and mental.

** “The Right Stuffed” by Brian Jungwiwattanaporn - Two large women are hired for what they're told will be secretarial positions, but turn out to be something else.This story deals with a digital world and utilizes its protagonists in an interesting way.* “Tangwystl the Unwanted” by Katherine Elmer - It begins with a princess stuck in a tower, but if you think this is a retelling of Repunzel, think again. Elmer combines several fairy tale motifs to create a new story, about a young woman fed daily fairy cakes with no room to exercise.This is a fun story that has the dependence on 3s so prevalent in fairy tales. Tanny's a great character who never learned that being large is a problem and so merely considers it objectively as her situation changes.** “Flesh Of My Flesh” by Bonnie Ferrante - Alina's not thrilled to learn her fiancee is en route to the distant alien planet where she provides translation He's controlling and she's learned to love her new home.

Creepy story and quite short.

* “How Do You Want To Die?” by Rick Silva - A group of captured soldiers escape the desert city of Ahman and run into a sand storm. Their leader, Donna Stone, contemplates how she'd like to die. This is an atmospheric story. The author packs a lot of character detail into Donna, considering the setting and length.* “Nemesis” by Nicole Prestin - When Flux, a size 14 soccor mom who can manipulate molecules (think Kitty Pride of the X-Men), joins Liberty Force, she's dismayed by the attitude of one of her teammates and the press about her size. She quickly proves that intelligence and skill are what make a superhero.This is the only story in the collection to have typos. Most notably, the team is called Liberty Force five times and Omega Force three. That aside, it's a brilliant story, the type that makes you want to cheer for the heroine who's completely comfortable with who she is and won't take grief from anyone or change herself to meet others' standards.* “Davy” by Anna Dickinson - The unnamed narrator of the story suffers from post-partem depression and excessive weight gain. In an attempt to help his despondent wife, her husband buys a painting. All is not well when the wife starts seeing grey, elf like figures emerge from it.Another creepy story with antecedents in old folk and fairytales.* “Sharks & Seals” by Jennifer Brozek - Corelli, a member of the First Circle of the Order of the Sacred Eye, is asked to a meeting with the leader of the Children of Anu.

This story felt like a prologue or first chapter to a novel. While it was self-contained, as I reader I was left wanting more.

* “Marilee and the S.O.B” by Barbara Kransoff - Marilee's hobby when depressed is to follow interesting looking people and see where she ends up. Her latest target is an overly good looking boy on the subway.An interesting premise, with a classical ending.** “Blueprints” by Anna Caro - The unnamed narrator of this dying earth story wants desperately to travel to Terra Nova, a beautiful, unpoluted planet. But people above a certain weight are denied transport on the grounds of health.

An interesting look at getting what you wish for versus knowing what you want.

***** “Lift” by Pete Alberti - Teenaged Mary Beth determines to build her own spaceship after friends tell her she's too fat to ride in theirs.

A great story about hard work and effort paying off in the end. And that some friends aren't worth keeping.

Ultimately I was happy with this collection. I would have liked more stories where the protagonists were not bullied/teased about their weight or where they were content with their weight despite outside criticism. However, the collection does pack a lot of realistic emotions into its stories, exploring a number of different personalities and situations.

Want some great stories with a character set that's usually ignored (as far as being the protagonist is concerned)? Then pick this collection up.

Pros: very interesting characters, good pacing, fair amount of suspense and action, compelling

Cons: story jumps between heads a lot, actions seem sped up at times

For Parents: some violence and deaths, no language or sexual content

The school bus 14 year old twins James and Samantha Blake are on is bombed, while returning from a field trip. The survivors are taken to Brent Valley General Hospital where strange things start happening. The twins discover they have somehow developed super powers and that someone is after them.

Despite the media blackout surrounding the hospital, Jasmin Sharma of 24/7 Interactive News is going for a big story and she doesn't care what laws she has to break or who she has to cozy up to in order to get it.

The twins are interesting protagonists, and Mr. Henning does a good job of showing their good and bad sides (how Sam is bullied but won't fight back, how James is popular but feels like he should do more to protect his less popular sister). Even more interesting - mostly due to her duplitious nature - is Jasmin. She's beautiful, intelligent and ruthless. Minor characters are also fairly well fleshed out, giving the story nice depth.

In many ways this reminded me of the X-Men storyline that introduced Kitty Pride (the Dark Phoenix Saga). The kids doubt their sanity when odd things happen and only slowly realize that they now have special abilities.

The pacing is good, with time for the characters to question what's going on in the hospital and for action packed scenes, making the book hard to put down. The climax itself is pulse pounding if a bit over the top.

While jumping between heads to know what everyone is thinking was common in the past, most writing advice guides now recommend page breaks if you're going to change heads, in order to maintain clarity. I had no problem following the jumps but other readers may find the technique confusing.

There were a few scenes where the action seemed sped up. For example there's a scene where Sam is trying to put out a fire. The implication is that she's trying hard to do this for several minutes, and yet she manages to successfully put it out in the same sentence that explains how hard this is for her.

In the end it was a quick, fun read. And while the book ties up one plot arc, there is definitely more to the story.

Pros: intense writing, three dimensional teen protagonists, fascinating video game, minor romance that develops naturally

Cons: told friendships exist where there's no evidence of them in the book, some readers may dislike the switch between the author's use of past tense in the real world and present tense in the game world

For Parents: minor violence (mostly in game), minor swearing (multiple uses of the word sh*t), no sex

There are three rules for playing Erebos. 1. You only get one chance. 2. You must play alone. 3. The content of the game is secret. When Nick Dunmore finally gets his hands on one of the mysterious square packages circulating around his high school he's determined to play - and win - the game. But Erebos is unlike any game he's played before. It knows when he lies about his name. It asks him to do tasks outside the game. Bizarre tasks like photographing a man in a parking garage. When the tasks become dangerous, he wonders if the game, as amazing as it is, is worth the real world risks he's taking.

Judith Pattinson deserves a lot of credit for her translation of this book. It's readable, intense and clever. The author has peppered the book with references to Greek mythology and created a plot that ties together neatly at the end.

The characters are all three dimensional. Nick is a jock at his school, friendly with most people but rude to the ‘freaks' in his class. He starts the novel wanting to know why people around him are changing, becoming secretive, creating friendships with those they never liked before. When he finally starts playing, he himself changes dramatically, dissing his best friend, skipping basketball practice and playing at all hours.

There was a bit of disconnect here where the reader is told that Nick is friends with Colin and others, but it's never shown in the book. Colin is already a player and distanced from Nick when the book begins. But all of the students react in different ways to the presence of the game - some want in, others don't care, and when someone gets kicked out they often cause a scene, trying to find someone willing to break the rules and give them a second chance. Even the teachers react differently to the mass absences, though only two of them are mentioned with any regularity, the English teacher who's convinced the game is dangerous and the basketball coach.

Some readers may dislike the shift between past tense usage to depict actions in the real world vs present tense usage to describe the game world. This reviewer only noticed the change a few times and it never pushed her out of the book as has happened with other novels that tried similar tricks. The present tense creates a sense of immediacy with the game play. It's easy to see why the kids get hooked so quickly and why it's hard for them to tear themselves away from it. It's also easy to see why they're so willing to perform the tasks asked of them by the game - who wouldn't want to play a game that caters to your interests and rewards you in the real world?

The game is set in a medieval world, with orcs, trolls and other familiar and unfamiliar monsters. Players create their characters and then fight monsters as training to help Erebos defeat Ortolan. Levelling up is done in two ways - winning levels from other players in Tournaments and performing a task in the real world. The game world is detailed and highly interactive, with players trying to find wish crystals and join the inner circle (that gets specialized training in order to complete their mission).

This section of the book became so intense this reviewer nearly got reader fatigue, but it stopped and moved to a new focus at just the right time. The novel is well paced that way, switching focus a few times to keep the action moving towards the game, and novel's, climax.

Nick does find romance towards the end of the book. It's fairly low key and develops naturally as the characters react to what's happening.

The ending adds depth to all the events that have been mentioned throughout the book. The characters face real consequences for their decisions along the way and the origins of the game are explained. If you like video games and aren't afraid of reading ‘YA', definitely pick this book up.

Fourteen year old twins Sam and James are living with their mom at their Grandparent's farm after their hosptial stay in London. Their dad's censure on using powers doesn't hold up under his absence and the twin's boredom, and so Sam uses her superpowers to run into town. She witnesses a pair of men rob the post office and can't let them get away. Her decision puts her in the path of Sir Michael Rosewood, millionnaire and CEO of G-Netik, a local genetics laboratory. He's also the father of a creepy young woman named Lolly, whom the kids saw in London in connection to their bombed school bus.

Meanwhile, the woods outside their house plays host to various ghost hunters, looking for the ghost of their dead aunt. A girl who looks a lot like Sam.

Told in a series of very short chapters, this book hooks you and never lets you go. Jumping between viewpoints allows you to know what everyone's doing and thinking while making the plot speed by.

The characters were interesting. A few times I wished the twins would figure something out faster, but then I would remind myself that they're 14 and wouldn't necessarily see the connects the way an adult would. And they solved Katie's mystery before me, so...

I was amazed by the complexity of Sir Michael's opperation and how quickly he arranges things with the twins. His powers were creepy, and make it understandable why those without powers would fear those with them.

There's a decent amount of violence in the book, mostly dealing with superpowers (people being beaten up, fire, telepathy). While there are accounts of death, the death scene itself is always off page.

My only major complaint with the book was that Detective Inspector Stannard keeps asking other people to do dangerous and illegal things to further her investigation. Considering she's supposed to be on the side of justice, her putting other people's lives on the line for evidence she can't even use (at least not in court) was surprising, and made me question her motives.

While tying up most of the loose ends, the book did leave a few things open for a third volume.

Pros: old style fantasy quest, interesting magic system, high tension, surprising willingness to kill off main characters

Cons: minor inconsistencies in characters and events add up and bump you out of the story

While doing a routine mercenary job, the Raven loses a member and follows an enemy Xetesk mage into another dimension. After these experiences the remaining members of the Raven realize two things: they're getting old and the world is a stranger place than they thought.

The mage, Denser, later hires them for an extremely important and dangerous mission, to find a spell that can defeat the newly escaped Wytch Lords, mages that almost destroyed the world in the past and are more powerful than the combined might of the 4 mage colleges put together.

Meanwhile, a Dordovan research mage, Erienne, and her children are kidnapped and pumped for information about the same spell Denser is looking for: Dawnthief. It is a spell that can destroy the world in the wrong hands.

This is a book with a lot of action. It's brutal and realistic, much of the tension due to Barclay's willingness to kill off members of his team - starting with all the characters I liked.

It's an old style fantasy quest, with a decent amount of character development and an interesting magic system. The politics between the mage colleges and that for the Korina Trade Alliance are interesting too, fleshing out the world.

Reading Dawnthief I noticed a lot of minor inconsistencies, characters acting bizarrely given recent circumstances - nothing major, and quite possibly nothing others would notice (reviewing makes you EXTREMELY picky about details). If it only happened a few times it wouldn't have bothered me, but they popped up enough that they periodically pushed me out of the story. Things like a shape changed wolf picking up an object in its mouth and then attacking someone by biting the person's throat (what happened to the object? Is it under the wolf's tongue? Did the wolf swallow it or drop it?) and wondering where ‘the Barbarian' was from, and what made him a barbarian with regards to the other characters. As I said, they were generally nit picky things that most people wouldn't notice but which made this book a fairly slow read for me.

If you like the idea of Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy mating with Terry Brooks' Sword of Shannara, this is the book for you.

Pros: designed to be read by anyone (not just scholars), wide variety of examples, good introduction

Cons: little commentary on the different poems/examples, no conclusion, no easy way to see the original poems he translates

Nicholas Orme has put together a short book of poetry that would have been told to or written/spoken by children in the Middle Ages. He's done so using full English translations so the book is accessible to those without a background in the field or a knowledge of Latin or middle English. The downside to this is that if you do know the languages there's no checking his translations to see what (if any) liberties he's taken to get the meaning across or to force the rhythm and rhymes of the poems. He did keep some old words, to help with the rhymes and maintain flavour, and here he helpfully added translations/modernisations at the bottom of the page.

The book covers a wide variety of poems, from games to manners, stories, and grammar school exercises. This allows for a nice window into the lives of children, at work and at play, increasing our knowledge of how people lived. It shows that children were not thought of as ‘little adults', that they were allowed to play and were catered to in many ways, according to their age and abilities.

I would have liked more commentary on the individual pieces and a conclusion showing some of the things these poems show us about how children were treated in the middle ages. But again, Orme wanted this book to be less scholarly and more easily accessible and so kept commentary to a minimum.

An interesting glimpse of an aspect of the middle ages that is not well understood.

Pros: lots of intrigue, complex characters, fantastic world building

Cons: characters make disappointing choices

Otah Machi, sixth son of the Khai Machi, gives up his chance to become a poet and leaves the training school he was sent to without a brand, in order to make his own way in life. Years later, one of Otah's pupils, Maati, comes to Saraykeht to apprentice with its poet. Poets keep Andat, spirits made flesh who perform particular tasks. Saraykeht's Andat, Seedless, helps with the cotton trade. The Andat does not wish to be a slave and has plotted to bring his poet down.

Otah has built a new life for himself in Saraykeht, with a powerful trading house and a woman he loves. But everything changes when the overseer of the house finds out about Seedless's plot.

This is a very complex book. There are plots within plots and it's hard to know what will happen next. I loved all of the characters. Each one felt like a real person, with problems and strengths. In fact, when Maati makes a decision that would normally have angered me, in this book, it worked. I felt sorry for the characters involved and understood their complicated emotions when things went wrong.

The world also felt real. Abraham created a complex vocabulary of hand gestures meant to explain one person's rank in relation to another's, to ask questions, to give thanks. There's a flourishing bath culture for escaping the heat of the day as well as for doing business and learning gossip. The court ceremony and trade bureaucracy are intricate and time intensive. Though the greater politics between nations is only touched on in this volume, I expect it to show up more in later books.

Seeing the characters as real people made the ending difficult as I didn't like some of the choices they ultimately made. The good thing about having a two in one volume is that it's natural to keep reading, where I might otherwise have stopped, having enjoyed the book but not being sure I want to learn what happens next (as I suspect it will be bad).

The American Science Fiction collection, volume one, consists of 4 classic novels written from 1953 to 1956:

The Space Merchants by Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth
More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon
The Long Tomorrow by Leigh Brackett
The Shrinking Man by Richard Matheson

Pros: original book versions of the stories; biographical information, note on the texts and end notes for each story, diverse sub-genres represented, influencial stories and authors

Cons: some of the novels contain parts that modern readers may find boring

This is the first of a two book American Science Fiction collection. It's a hard bound book set of books that match others in the series. The four novels reprinted here are all by authors who have greatly impacted science fiction as we know it today. The novels themselves represent different subgenres: dystopic, evolutionary, post-apocalyptic and fantastical. [OK, I'm making some of these categories up, but each novel here has a different feel and used science fiction in a different way.]

The back of the collection has a number of good, short resources. There are biographical notes on each author, a note on the texts (what versions are printed here (as most of them first appeared in magazines)), and end notes. In addition to textual notes, the end notes also print an additional 3 chapters of Gravy Planet (renamed The Space Merchants) for its syndication in Galaxy magazine. They come after the events of The Space Merchants as printed in book form. There is also an introduction to The Shrinking Man writen by Richard Matheson for a 2001 printing of the book that explains where he got the idea for the story, where he wrote it and how it was turned into a movie.

If you're interested in the history of science fiction, this is a good collection, even if parts of the stories may be boring to those with modern sensibilities.

Also, check out the collection's website: loa.org/sciencefiction for commentary on all of the stories by modern SF writers, a cover gallery, an explanation of SF in the 50s and more.

Pros: brilliantly intricate plot, fantastic finish, compelling, interesting characters

Cons: some disturbing imagery, some gross imagery, complicated plot was sometimes hard to follow

David Neff hasn't written since his wife's suicide 4 years ago, on the day they were to bring their new baby home from the hospital. So when his agent suggests he try his hand at solving the murder of the Man from Primrose Lane, he baulks. But his naturally obsessive nature takes over and he soon discovers that the case is connected to that of his wife, whose twin sister was kidnapped in front of her eyes when they were ten.

The first 231 pages of this novel are straight up crime fiction. The author, James Renner, has written two true crime books, and so knows what's required to investigate the kinds of cases David Neff faces. This section of the novel tells about David's present and two parts of his past: his meeting and marriage to Elizabeth and the murder case he solves (and subsequently writes a book about). This case, something he obsesses over for many years, requires crime scene descriptions of rape and murder victims, most of whom are children. The imagery, while not gratuitous, caused this reviewer some unease, as did some of the gross descriptions found in the book. While hearing that someone vomits is fine, knowing WHAT they've vomited up... isn't something this reviewer was prepared to learn. One scene in particular caused this reviewer some concern for the contents of her own stomach.

The last third of the novel is pure science fiction. The SF is fundamental to the story and complicates the already complicated plot. In many ways this segment of the book reminded me of the movie Primer. It would have been incredibly helpful to have a flowchart of what happened to whom and when. Even before this segment, keeping characters straight was a bit of a challenge. And unlike most books, where you can flip back through the linear narrative to refresh your memory, trying to find earlier passages - with the way the book jumps through time - was tough.

The mystery was very compelling and David's character fascinating. And once I learned the twist I couldn't put the book down. There were a few things that appeared to be plot holes but the author meticulously dealt with each one before finishing the book. Indeed, the ending was absolutely brilliant.

The Man from Primrose Lane is not for the faint of heart but is ultimately rewarding for those who finish the book.