Uprooted--I've read more, but this is the latest I've reviewed

I don't give many 5-stars, but even trying not to blithely inflate my ratings, this book has to be one. Action, strong women characters without trying to be men in women skins, and both good and bad main characters are more complicated than you think.

Okay, I don't find the characters more complicated than  those in The Once and Future King, but very close.
I paid for this book, so even if you think I might be a review toady, it wasn't even a possible event. I just was taken over by the story, the pacing, and the characters.
I will now seek out other of Novik's writing.

Been Awhile since the Last time I reviewed a book.

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad.
There's so much going on in this short novel / story. The horror of European pillaging in Africa. The petty concerns of selfish functionaries whose only talent, only virtue, only superpower is to stay physically healthy in a place that routinely kills other Europeans through indigenous people's attacks, through disease, and through technology break downs.
As you no doubt know, the movie Apocalypse Now is based on Heart of Darkness with some exact quotes but moved around. The phrase "for my sins" is much later in the book, and the movie uses it differently, for example.
   But the questions of Truth and of moral responsibilities are posed in both the book and the movie. It's a short enough read, so give it a go and see what you think.
  In these times where persons of color are writing their own view and voice of some Western Civ stories and tropes, I wonder how someone of that culture(-al) background might re-tell a similar story?

x

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stievfater

****_
I Listened to the audio book. I enjoyed this book. Even though there's obviously a sequel, there's not the sense that you're left hanging. This novel has its own arc and I find that most satisfying.
I love the character development. There's much more depth to discover, but I felt like these were real people, not just cardboard stand-ups.
The action was thrilling. I regret my review isn't as good as the book. But ignore that part and go read The Raven Boys. (Will Patton is great as the Narrator as well.)

Random Harvest by James Hilton; pub by Books You Hear

As the introduction to this audio version points out, although historical fiction today, it was contemporary fiction when published.  It has that contemporary immediacy even now.

I first read Random Harvest in high school, on the bus ride home (it was boarding school, so it wasn't just an hour read). I've read it many times since then. My love of this book meant an audio book needed to be great to augment the text or at least good not to detract from it.

I'm pleased to say that this multi-voiced cast production augments the text.

Hilton has some striking quotable lines (which you may find for yourself). But rest assured I think you will find some of your own.

My only regret about this book is the same one people have about any great books they have read: I can never read it for the first time ever again. But maybe you can read it for the first time. You'll be glad to share my regret if you do.

x

The Body in Griffith Park by Jennifer Kincheloe

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I listened to the audio book, and Moira Quirk is the perfect narrator for the story. The Body... is nearly amazing and I wish they'd let me give 4.5, not just 4 or 5 here.

This is the third book in the Anna Blanc mystery series. You could start here, and it would be a good experience, but I recommend starting with The Secret Life of Anna Blanc.

Anna is the disinherited daughter of a conservative banker in the early 1900s. She had been raised sheltered and isolated to her own class.

Her energy and intelligence, although untrained and trained wrong in so many ways, won't let her take the expected path. She became an L. A. police matron.

The eponymous body in Griffith Park draws her in, turning up, as it does, almost at her feet. In this outing Anna, again, has to fight against societal strictures as well as her own inexperience. She has learned from past experiences, so she has grown. Still, her focus on solving the murder leads to both humorous and dangerous events.

I don't want to do spoilers, but I'm not showing how good The Body in Griffith Park is. Anna will charm and sometimes frustrate you just as she does with the people around her. Yet you will find the experience exhilarating, as Detective Joe does.

Read this book. If you start here first, it will make you want to go back. If you've read Anna's adventures before, it will light off in you all those series satisfactions that attend a really good series!



View all my reviews

Answer Hazy, Ask Again!

Will
by

Christine Bernard (Goodreads Author)

Yorick's review

Oct 09, 2019  ·  edit

liked it

bookshelves: audiobooks, fantasy, thriller

I was given a free Audible audiobook copy of this title for an honest review.

This book according to the stars, is pretty good. It reads like a Twilight Zone episode, and I really like Twilight Zone. Will, the title character finds a Magic Eight Ball in a hole-in-the-wall used bookstore/novelty shop. He buys it for nostalgic reasons and races out of the store because the clerk creeps him out.

At first it seems like a normal kids' toy, but soon, its answers start having more direct impact / connection with Will's world. After that, things get weird and ominous. It drew me into the story. Like watching a horror movie, I found myself thinking the equivalent of, "Don't open that door!"

It's an entertaining read. I can't really say more about the story without leaving spoilers. If you like stories that were in The Twilight Zone, you'll like this book. If you really don't know anything about The Twilight Zone, let me say that the book is mysterious, eerie, and is a look at what a normal person might do under unexplainable circumstances. You might not want to read it alone at night. Or maybe that's the best time for a shiver!

Where Loyaties (and various characters) Lie

I was given a copy of this audiobook for free for an honest review.

Where Loyaties Lie by Rob J. Hayes, narrated by Matthew Jackson.

Pros: Exciting story with gripping (and grasping!!!!) characters. The sea is salty, the battles are brash and bashing. The characters are conflicted. The sex is part of the plot, not merely gratuitous.The actions moves from plans to battles and negotiations. The protagonist Drake is mixed in his actions, yet he is following a prophecy that was passed along by his brother. His brother also sends a woman with magical powers to watch his back. Keelin Stillwater didn't really want to follow Drake, but the circumstances seem to give him no other choice. So he does. They are pirates, so they both do exciting piratical deeds, but they both try to live with themselves. So like many a contemporary situation, "it's complicated"--which is definitely good.

Cons: I'm not really over-joyed at the Narrator. Matthew Jackson's voice keeps taking me out of the story into noticing his accents and projecting volume. There is graphic sex. I think it manages to stay outside porn, but it's close. Imagine scenes from the movie Flesh and Blood with Rutger Hauer and Jennifer Jason Leigh, except fewer minutes in the acts themselves. This will be off-putting for some listeners, and a feature for some listeners. The last negative to mention is that this is book one of a two book series. It ends with two and possibly three cliff hangers. While the book is very good, it is not stand alone. Not even a little bit.

Still, this reader / listener will be getting book two to continue the story.