I started and finished A Sense of Direction in one evening; I couldn't really stop thinking about it, so I couldn't put it down. I found it...
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Mystery lovers and loyal fans of Fowler will enjoy the main character Rima's search for her identity and family history. After the recent death of her father, she moves to Santa Cruz to visit her godmother, the mystery writer A. B. Early, in order to connect with her past and recover from her grief.
Quirky characters, a vivid setting, and light, clever writing made this the perfect reading on a plane trip for me. If the mystery itself had been more prominent, I might have liked this book as much as "Sarah Canary" or even "Jane Austen Book Club;" but even as my least favorite Fowler, "Wit's End" is still a fun, fast read.
Patricia A. McKillip’s trilogy, collected here in one volume and with a new introduction, is quite a voyage. The hero, Morgon, is destined to solve the riddle of the three stars on his forehead. Obviously set apart for a grand destiny, he longs only for a peaceful existence on the simple island where he, as prince, possesses a unique communion with his land. Unfortunately, peace is not in his future.
The first book, The Riddle Master of Hed, tells of how Morgon journeys from Hed in the company of the High One’s harpist, intending to make the long trek to ask the High One himself the meaning of his birthmark. In Heir of Sea and Fire, Raederle, Morgon’s intended, goes searching for him. She learns that she is heir to a different kind of magic, which might be the destructive force that Morgon has been struggling against. In the conclusion to the trilogy, Harpist in the Wind, the great reveal occurs: Morgon finally unravels the riddle of his birthright.
Admirers of Patricia A. McKillip, Patricia C. Wrede, Robin McKinley, Sherwood Smith, and other authors of high fantasy will like this trilogy. Some, like me, might find they prefer McKillip’s more recent work.
Gully Foyle is the Count of Monte Cristo in space. An ignorant brute of a man, he vows revenge when the S.S. Vesta ignores his plea for rescue from the derelict ship on which he is the only survivor. When he returns to Terra, at war with the Outer Satellites, he undertakes a scheme to figure out who is to blame, a plan that takes him to prison, to space, and to high society. Along the way, he runs into some of the richest men of the twenty-fifth century, men who have secrets they want kept, secrets that Gully Foyle doesn’t realize he knows.
This book, serialized in 1956, and sometimes called the greatest SF novel ever written, is a pulp classic. It’s got it all: sex, violence, tattoos, poverty and riches, radioactive hit men, telepathy and teleportation, circuses and freaks, femme fatales, and a tragic hero. (And an introduction by Neil Gaiman.) Though certainly a product of its time in its portrayal of some characters, it definitely merits inclusion on any true SF fan’s shelf. Because, frankly, while Gully Foyle isn’t always a hero to emulate, he does some fantastically cool stuff.
I will read anything written by Ann Patchett because of her beautiful, lucid use of language, her highly realized characters and setting, and the way that the stories she tells lodge so firmly in my mind and memory.
In State of Wonder, her most recent novel, Patchett returns us to South America and the opera, but in a wholly different way than in Bel Canto. Marina travels to the Amazon to check up on the progress of a new developmental drug after her colleague disappears and is presumed dead. In doing so, she confronts her former med school teacher and discovers a hidden truth about the strange fertility of the native people.
Again Patchett has delivered a novel whose character undergoes a journey of truth and tragedy. State of Wonder is a brilliant story that will reward multiple readings and rightly deserves its nominations and awards.
I read the five books of The Dark Is Rising sequence by Susan Cooper when I was about ten years old (and a paperback sold new for $3.95). It’s about an epic struggle between the Dark and the Light: the Dark is trying to win the earth and the Light is trying to keep the earth for mankind. The protagonists are children and each book stands alone (except the last one). I was surprised by how exactly I remembered them, a sign that they were written well enough to have quite an impression on me at the time.
1. Over Sea, Under Stone is about the Drew siblings, Simon, Jane, and Barney, and their holiday at the Grey House with their mysterious Great Uncle Merry, who turns out to be an Old One for the light. They find a treasure map that leads them to a Thing of Power that they must keep away from the Dark.
2. The Dark Is Rising is about Will Stanton, the seventh son of a seventh son and the last Old One to be born. On his eleventh birthday he comes into his powers and with the help of Merriman will find the six Signs and unite them before Midwinter.
3. The Greenwitch sees the Drews and Will together, back at the vacation home, tying up loose ends from the first adventure. Jane is the main character of this one, which might be why I remember liking it best.
4. The Grey King sees Will traveling in Wales, alone on a quest to wake the Sleepers with the help of Bran Davies, a boy with an unusual heritage. Winner of the Newbery Award and the one I like best as an adult.
5. And in Silver on the Tree, the Drews, Will, Bran Davies, and Merriman (or Merriman Lyon, or Merry Lyon, or Merlion, or Merlin) unite to fight the last battle, in Wales and throughout history, to keep the Dark from rising at last.
These books were a delight, and I’m glad some subconscious spontaneity spurred me to pick up the first one again.
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Kelly L has commented on (7) products.
Wit's End by Karen Joy Fowler
Kelly L, March 17, 2012
Mystery lovers and loyal fans of Fowler will enjoy the main character Rima's search for her identity and family history. After the recent death of her father, she moves to Santa Cruz to visit her godmother, the mystery writer A. B. Early, in order to connect with her past and recover from her grief.Quirky characters, a vivid setting, and light, clever writing made this the perfect reading on a plane trip for me. If the mystery itself had been more prominent, I might have liked this book as much as "Sarah Canary" or even "Jane Austen Book Club;" but even as my least favorite Fowler, "Wit's End" is still a fun, fast read.
Riddle-Master by Patricia A Mckillip
Kelly L, February 24, 2012
Patricia A. McKillip’s trilogy, collected here in one volume and with a new introduction, is quite a voyage. The hero, Morgon, is destined to solve the riddle of the three stars on his forehead. Obviously set apart for a grand destiny, he longs only for a peaceful existence on the simple island where he, as prince, possesses a unique communion with his land. Unfortunately, peace is not in his future.The first book, The Riddle Master of Hed, tells of how Morgon journeys from Hed in the company of the High One’s harpist, intending to make the long trek to ask the High One himself the meaning of his birthmark. In Heir of Sea and Fire, Raederle, Morgon’s intended, goes searching for him. She learns that she is heir to a different kind of magic, which might be the destructive force that Morgon has been struggling against. In the conclusion to the trilogy, Harpist in the Wind, the great reveal occurs: Morgon finally unravels the riddle of his birthright.
Admirers of Patricia A. McKillip, Patricia C. Wrede, Robin McKinley, Sherwood Smith, and other authors of high fantasy will like this trilogy. Some, like me, might find they prefer McKillip’s more recent work.
The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester
Kelly L, February 24, 2012
Gully Foyle is the Count of Monte Cristo in space. An ignorant brute of a man, he vows revenge when the S.S. Vesta ignores his plea for rescue from the derelict ship on which he is the only survivor. When he returns to Terra, at war with the Outer Satellites, he undertakes a scheme to figure out who is to blame, a plan that takes him to prison, to space, and to high society. Along the way, he runs into some of the richest men of the twenty-fifth century, men who have secrets they want kept, secrets that Gully Foyle doesn’t realize he knows.This book, serialized in 1956, and sometimes called the greatest SF novel ever written, is a pulp classic. It’s got it all: sex, violence, tattoos, poverty and riches, radioactive hit men, telepathy and teleportation, circuses and freaks, femme fatales, and a tragic hero. (And an introduction by Neil Gaiman.) Though certainly a product of its time in its portrayal of some characters, it definitely merits inclusion on any true SF fan’s shelf. Because, frankly, while Gully Foyle isn’t always a hero to emulate, he does some fantastically cool stuff.
State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
Kelly L, January 19, 2012
I will read anything written by Ann Patchett because of her beautiful, lucid use of language, her highly realized characters and setting, and the way that the stories she tells lodge so firmly in my mind and memory.In State of Wonder, her most recent novel, Patchett returns us to South America and the opera, but in a wholly different way than in Bel Canto. Marina travels to the Amazon to check up on the progress of a new developmental drug after her colleague disappears and is presumed dead. In doing so, she confronts her former med school teacher and discovers a hidden truth about the strange fertility of the native people.
Again Patchett has delivered a novel whose character undergoes a journey of truth and tragedy. State of Wonder is a brilliant story that will reward multiple readings and rightly deserves its nominations and awards.
The Dark Is Rising: The Complete Sequence (Dark Is Rising Sequence) by Susan Cooper
Kelly L, January 14, 2012
I read the five books of The Dark Is Rising sequence by Susan Cooper when I was about ten years old (and a paperback sold new for $3.95). It’s about an epic struggle between the Dark and the Light: the Dark is trying to win the earth and the Light is trying to keep the earth for mankind. The protagonists are children and each book stands alone (except the last one). I was surprised by how exactly I remembered them, a sign that they were written well enough to have quite an impression on me at the time.1. Over Sea, Under Stone is about the Drew siblings, Simon, Jane, and Barney, and their holiday at the Grey House with their mysterious Great Uncle Merry, who turns out to be an Old One for the light. They find a treasure map that leads them to a Thing of Power that they must keep away from the Dark.
2. The Dark Is Rising is about Will Stanton, the seventh son of a seventh son and the last Old One to be born. On his eleventh birthday he comes into his powers and with the help of Merriman will find the six Signs and unite them before Midwinter.
3. The Greenwitch sees the Drews and Will together, back at the vacation home, tying up loose ends from the first adventure. Jane is the main character of this one, which might be why I remember liking it best.
4. The Grey King sees Will traveling in Wales, alone on a quest to wake the Sleepers with the help of Bran Davies, a boy with an unusual heritage. Winner of the Newbery Award and the one I like best as an adult.
5. And in Silver on the Tree, the Drews, Will, Bran Davies, and Merriman (or Merriman Lyon, or Merry Lyon, or Merlion, or Merlin) unite to fight the last battle, in Wales and throughout history, to keep the Dark from rising at last.
These books were a delight, and I’m glad some subconscious spontaneity spurred me to pick up the first one again.
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