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Powell's Staff:
Five Book Friday: In Memoriam
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Every year, the booksellers at Powell’s submit their Top Fives: their five favorite books that were released in 2023. It’s a list that, when put together, shows just how varied and interesting the book tastes of Powell’s booksellers are. I highly recommend digging into the recommendations — we would never lead you astray — but today...
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Brontez Purnell:
Powell’s Q&A: Brontez Purnell, author of ‘Ten Bridges I’ve Burnt’
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Rachael P.:
Starter Pack: Where to Begin with Ursula K. Le Guin
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Customer Comments
Deborah J. Ross has commented on (19) products
Eon 01 Rise of the Dragoneye
by
Alison Goodman
Deborah J. Ross
, February 11, 2013
This is one of those books that young people and some adults will love. It hits many of the emotional tones that are just right, and it's a page-turner. Set in a world that is an amalgam of China and Japan, with a few other Asian influences, it's got dragons, disguises, palace intrigue, and a heroine disguised as a boy and who has extraordinary abilities but must accept who she is in order to use them. In other words, it's a coming-of-age story. In a non-Western world. With dragons. Based on the Chinese zodiac, the dragons rotate in ascendancy, each bonded to and controlled by a "Dragoneye." This is such a demanding, energy-draining relationship that Dragoneyes age prematurely and there's an elaborate system of apprenticeship to make sure the next in line for each dragon is properly trained. Eona, masquerading as the boy Eon, is one such candidate. Girls, of course, are not allowed to become Dragoneyes, so her master has disguised her so that his own fortunes will rise if she becomes the apprentice. If this sounds "familiar but with a difference," it is, and here I think some adult readers may find the book less enjoyable because of its predictability. It's a long book, and if the world and characters are appealing, there's a special delight in spending many pages immersed in it. For me, the most satisfying part of the book was the character of Lady Dela, a transgendered woman in the Imperial court. She's sympathetically portrayed as a person who accepts herself and is self-confident, resourceful, and adept at court politics. More than that, our heroine needs Dela's intelligence and knowledge to prevail.
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Glass Butterfly
by
Louise Marley
Deborah J. Ross
, October 12, 2012
There's a special delight in picking up a new Louise Marley novel, akin to expecting the unexpected. Who else could write about Mozart's musical genius transmitted by a vampire's bite, or time travel to discover the mystery of Clara Schumann's passionate romance with Brahms? Music, as the jaded, time-worn vampires in Mozart's Blood know all too well, is the one joy that transcends the years, perhaps because it cannot exist outside of time. Music, particularly the glorious operas of Puccini, is an abiding love of Victoria Lake, and the one thing she must renounce if her identity is to remain hidden as she goes on the run from a psychopathic killer. But music cannot be extricated from the soul, and Puccini's own life -- as seen through a servant girl -- soon begins unfolding in Victoria's dreams. It's never entirely clear whether this is a purely psychological phenomenon or whether there is some fantastical element, some bond or message across time. Are the lives of the two women parallel in the deadly risks they each face? Does music have the magical power to cross time as well as space? Or is this all happening in the highly-stressed mind of a woman who has already survived one attempted murder? It doesn't matter, because the metaphors and images and emotional responses are real, no matter how them come to us. Bottom line: an extraordinary book by a master storyteller. If you don't already love Puccini's operas, you will.
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Mountains Call White Magic 01
by
Caitlin Brennan
Deborah J. Ross
, October 12, 2012
Under her various pen names, Judith Tarr has long been one of my favorite authors, particularly when she writes about horses. This book is full of horse-magic, the usual kind because they're so marvelous and the special kind created by the "white gods" of Aurelia as they Dance the patterns of the world. One moment they're ordinary "fat white ponies," but don't let that fool you. We all know their wisdom and power run far, far deeper. I especially loved how their motives and values are not always clear -- they truly are mysterious as well as magical. In this world, the stability of the realm is maintained by a meticulously executed equestrian Dance, very much akin to the performances of the Lippizan horses of the Spanish Riding Academy of Vienna. The riders train all their lives for ii, in partnership with the magnificent white stallions. Historically, only boys have been Called (as in the title of the book) to the riding school, so when our heroine Valeria shows up, and then bonds with a young stallion of exceptional power, the reactions range from bewilderment to outright hostility. She then becomes a prime target for recruitment into a plot to usurp the throne and the very fabric of the kingdom. Suffice it to say, divided loyalties, not to mention schemes and betrayals ensue. Because the book appears under the "Luna" imprint of Harlequin Books, there is of course a love story. Actually, depending on how you look at it, more than one. But fantasy readers won't be disappointed, as the story, the first part of three, is anything but formulaic with its independent, earthy heroine, two dashing lovers, and of course the magical white horses. This one definitely belongs on the bookshelf of every fantasy reader and horse lover.
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Love on the Run
by
Katharine Kerr
Deborah J. Ross
, August 04, 2012
Love on the Run is the fourth Nola O'Grady adventure and, as they say, the plot thickens. From the first, these books have stood in my mind above the usual urban fantasy by the complexity of the world building. Nola is a paranormal investigator for the Apocalyse Squad, a branch of a super-secret agency; her sweetheart, Israeli Interpol agent Ari, is by no means mundane, and her large extended family is variously gifted and not always on the right side of the law on this and several other Earths. The multiplicity of parallel worlds remind me strongly of some of my favorite early Andre Norton science fiction novels, particularly the radioactive, gang-ridden version of San Francisco and the wet Venus with a single moon, home to intelligent, psychic squids. With each book, the universe has gotten larger, as new alternate worlds, new characters, species, and tensions have been introduced. Kerr is far too imaginative and thoughtful a writer to ignore the interwoven connections, implications, and nuances of even a "simple" story. As a result, each book elaborates established elements and introduces new ones. Now the threads are coming together, and we see the connections between Nola's eating disorder, Ari's childhood in a seriously warped New Age kibbutz, or why the Peacock Angel is a force of evil in one dimension but a power for good in another. The result kicks the story impact up exponentially. "Love On The Run" is the perfect title because the romance, although present and continuing to develop, has to take place in moments snatched while dealing with one escalating crisis after another.
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Hundred Thousand Kingdoms Inheritance 1
by
N K Jemisin
Deborah J. Ross
, June 22, 2012
Despite all the fuss over this debut fantasy novel, it took me a while to pick it up. I'm not sure what I can usefully add to what has already been said, except to say that the praise is richly deserved. There's a bit of a bobble at the very opening, for me, at least, but that is undoubtedly a matter of taste and it doesn't last long. Very cool stuff about a castle that's a whole city, byzantine schemes and some very unpleasant, ruthless people, a few enslaved and therefore resentful gods, a heroine on the track of her mother's killer, and occasional moments of stunning compassion. Very shortly, I was immersed and looking forward to more by Jemisin
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Firebird Alex Benedict
by
Jack McDevitt
Deborah J. Ross
, April 29, 2012
McDevitt belongs to the cadre of hard science fiction writers in the direct lineage of the grand, sweeping idea-rich novels of a generation or two ago. He's absolutely reliable and delivers on what he sets out at the beginning of the book: lots of cool planets, situations, and gee-whiz technology, all wrapped up in solid story-telling. Firebird offers, among other things, a planet abandoned by humans, where AIs have run amok, "ghost ships" that slip through time, the mystery of the missing physicist (and his cult following), and quite a few amusing jousting matches with talk show hosts. The focus is definitely on the adventure(s) and not the characters. This is big-idea-driven science fiction, and not many do it better.
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Sup with the Devil
by
Barbara Hamilton
Deborah J. Ross
, April 29, 2012
Sup With The Devil by Barbara Hamilton continues the sleuthing adventures of Abigail Adams on the eve of the Revolutionary War. The series just keeps getting better as tensions intensify. Soon, everyone will be forced to choose sides. But not quite yet. Abigail's nephew, a student at rustic Harvard University, enlists her aid in solving a mystery -- on that involves translations from Arabic, hidden pirate treasure, college pranks, the murder of a popular student who happened to be a British Loyalist, and the dire fate of the black servant who is the prime suspect. Desperate for cash, the Sons of Liberty would like nothing better to get their hands on the pirate loot, but there is more at stake here than a few pieces of eight.
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Triptych
by
J M Frey
Deborah J. Ross
, March 21, 2012
J.M. Frey's impressive debut is part queer love story, part alien first encounter story, part time travel adventure, part mystery, part exploration of polyamory, all laced with skillfully woven dramatic tension and a sure understanding of the needs of the human heart. When aliens come to Earth, they come not as ambassadors or conquerors but as refugees. They have lost their families and culture as well as their world. Their species evolved around families of threes -- one to bear children, one to work, one to nurture and protect the others. When a pair of Earth scientists, also a romantic couple, begin working with one of the aliens, their own relationship changes. But Earth, for all its claims of tolerance, is not ready for a marriage that consists of a man, a woman, and an alien. Not by a long shot.
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First Day on Earth
by
Cecil Castellucci
Deborah J. Ross
, October 19, 2011
I've long thought that one reason we love stories about aliens (or sentient nonhuman creatures) is that at one time or another, we've all felt like aliens ourselves. I know I have, and I'll bet that just about everyone who's survived adolescence has, too. (The "just about" is a hedge in case there are, somewhere in the world, people who just sailed through; I'm willing to allow for the possibility, even if I don't know any of them.) Cecil Castellucci takes that experience and whirls it around in a blender with the mythos of alien abduction and a protagonist who's not only smart but has to face a whole lot more than many of us. Mal's the kid with the greasy hair, slumped in the last row of seats in class, the kid you're afraid to talk to. He's got secrets, too. Years ago, he disappeared, but whether those missing three days were a "breakdown" or an alien abduction, even Mal isn't sure. His alcoholic mom lives right on the edge. How far away from here is far enough? Mal asks. How far away would I be willing to go? Light-years. The characters are uncompromising, the prose cuts right to the core, and I devoured the book in one sitting. Not just for teens, First Day on Earth is both gritty and lyrical, subtle and over-the-top. It shows with poignant eloquence how the symbols and tropes of speculative fiction can convey our deepest human experiences.
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Cold Magic Spiritwalker Trilogy Book 1
by
Kate Elliott
Deborah J. Ross
, October 19, 2011
I love it when a book (or in this case, a series) is such a whopping good story, with a world so vivid and characters so engaging that the distinctions between adult and juvenile readerships disappear. In praising this book, I feel as if I'm adding my voice to multitudes or preaching to the choir. Anyone who's read Kate Elliott's other work has experienced her superb world-building. Now we've got a not-quite-Europe, a zesty melange of Phoenicians and Africans -- not the abused, exploited slaves of our world but the worthy inheritors of proud traditions -- a mid-19th Century ice age, magic woven into ice and "cold steel," and people and powers that not even the denizens of this world can guess. Oh, and dirigibles for the steampunk fans. And trolls. Kind, scholarly attorney trolls. From America. Where trolls come from. Delicious! I have to admit that I found Elliott's last few books too dark and violent for me, but only a few pages into Cold Magic, I knew I was in for a treat. There's action and danger and Things That Go Bump In The Night, but the whole tone is softer and brighter. Much of this is due to the heroine, a smart and resourceful teen daughter of one of the aforementioned contemporary Phoenician families who, without any warning or preparation, finds herself summarily married to a "cold magic" wizard. So, as they say, the adventure begins. The result is captivating and rousing, action and mystery and romance and intrigue. Oh, and sabertooth cats. What more can a reader want?
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Buckingham Palace Gardens
by
Anne Perry
Deborah J. Ross
, October 19, 2011
One of the challenges of a long-running series is how to make each book complete and independent, so that a new reader lacks nothing, without boring established readers with repetition of everything that has gone before. I was struck by Perry's craft in handling this, as Thomas Pitt, a detective on loan to Special Services, investigates a murder in Buckingham Palace. His own character and those of the returning personages are deftly and seamlessly woven into the plot. A group of gentlemen -- organizers, engineers, accountants, diplomats -- attend a party at Buckingham Palace in the hopes of enlisting the support of the Prince of Wales for a trans-African railroad. Part of the evening's entertainment, after the wives have tactfully withdrawn for the night, includes a trio of prostitutes, one of whom is found dead, wrapped in the Queen's own sheets, in the linen cupboard. This isn't quite the "locked room" type of mystery because the African connection proves to be critical. Throughout, Perry introduces an element of compassion for her characters; I love the dignity and intelligence she bestows upon even the lowliest of them. If you haven't read her Victorian mysteries, this one is a good place to start.
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Blackout
by
Connie Willis
Deborah J. Ross
, October 19, 2011
The way to study history, in 2060 at any rate, is to go there yourself, and that's what the historians at Oxford University are doing. But the department is in chaos, and various researchers find themselves stranded in England during World War II. Although it isn't supposed to be possible to alter history in any significant way, the old rules start breaking down. Fragmented knowledge based on incomplete records -- or records that had been deliberately falsified in order to mislead the Germans -- only makes matters worse, for in trying to avoid one paradox, our characters may have created a worse one. I loved the sense of people stumbling around in the dark, acting from wrong assumptions and the best intentions, and read this not as actual time travel but as alternate history. That is, this is not the London Blitz of our world, but of some other that has been pushed and shoved and niggled by wayward historians into a subtly different form.
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Uncertain Places
by
Lisa Goldstein
Deborah J. Ross
, September 10, 2011
This is contemporary fantasy of the sort that revolves around the intersection of the ordinary world and Faerie. That in itself is pretty ho-hum. It's all too easy to create fae/fairies/elves who are humans with pointy ears and magical powers. Very pretty humans, but still humans. That said, Goldstein is no ordinary writer, so her treatment is subtle and edgy. Her fae are not nice people at all, and sane people truly do not want to have dealings with them. She tumbles us into the story as a college student, Will, falls in love with Livvy, an enigmatic chemistry major and brilliant chef. Through Will's eyes and the lens of 1970s Berkeley, we get to know Livvy's family, a family of extraordinary women, a family that is still in thrall to a bargain made centuries ago by their ancestor. In every generation, a child is put to sleep for seven years, during which time his or her spirit fights in eternal battle, in exchange for which, the family enjoys extraordinary good luck. No one has ever been able to get free of the cycle. I think that's the true menace of Faerie -- that once a bargain is struck, even if it wasn't by you, there's no outwitting or tricking or appealing to compassion. And the reward -- what you get from the bargain -- is as addictive as heroin. But Will's essential decency, not to mention his devotion to Livvy, won't let him walk away. We experience the journey through his eyes as he delves progressively deeper into the world only hinted at in the darkest fairy tales. The Brothers Grimm were hiding something . . . for good reason. It's a complex, absorbing, beautifully written tale that stands head and shoulders above the rest of its kind.
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Water to Burn Nola OGrady
by
Katharine Kerr
Deborah J. Ross
, August 04, 2011
I'm loving Katharine Kerr's "Nola O'Grady" series. The second book, Water To Burn, is just out. In this urban fantasy, the heroine works for a supernatural Agency "so secret, the CIA doesn't know it exists". This takes place in an alternate San Francisco, one in which magic and the clandestine agencies to regulate it are real. This world is not the only one; there are alternate, weirdly dystopic worlds (and a gateway in the attic of Nola's aunt's house). Not only do the Agency and its people hide in plain sight, Nola's family, Irish illegal immigrants with past ties to the IRA, live with secrets, low on the radar. Nola herself may or may not have an eating disorder. And Nola's lover, Israeli agent Ari Nathan, does not always see the world the way she does, and I don't mean just his inability to sense supernatural elements. At one point, he says, "That's what we've got on our hands, a war..." Nola asks, "We? You mean Israel, right?" His response, "Of course. I always mean Israel," perfectly demonstrates that although he may cherish Nola, although their goals may be complementary at times, and although they make excellent team mates, he is the hero of his own parallel story. (I love the implication that there might come a time when he has to choose, and I'm eagerly looking forward to seeing how Kerr develops this potential conflict.) Everything in the book does not revolve around Nola's Agency assignments, or her family's immigration worries, or her brother trying to rescue his girlfriend from radioactive-wasteland San Francisco; the book is more like an orrery, plotting the orbits of many planetary systems. That complexity is one of the things I love in a good yarn, and nobody does it better than Kerr.
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Demon High: Young Adult Urban Fantasy
by
Lori Devoti
Deborah J. Ross
, April 07, 2011
We all know the scenario: character (in this case, a teenaged girl) decides to summon a demon: disaster ensues. The adventure lies in how this demon-summoning-disaster tale is different from all other demon-summoning-disaster tales, and Devoti delivers in wonderful and unexpected ways. From the very first, she weaves in details that add depth: for example, our heroine's mother was also a demon-caller but got addicted to it; much of adolescence is about risk, so the lure and danger of demon-calling itself, apart from how treacherous and vile the demons themselves are, becomes a recurrent theme on many levels. Devoti's characters are no cardboard cut-outs, neither the humans nor the demons. Some of them grow, often painfully, and others fall into the "more will be revealed" category. All in all, the sensitivity and thoughtfulness, plus more than a few fascinating twists, make this a satisfying reading experience for adults as well as teens.
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Carousel Tides
by
Sharon Lee
Deborah J. Ross
, April 07, 2011
Every once in a while, I come across a fantasy that is immensely satisfying on many different levels. This wonderfully-wrought book by Sharon Lee was one such treat. It falls comfortably within a number of genres: it's contemporary, romantic and in first person; it's got a flawed but passionate and courageous protagonist; the locale is a small town on the Maine coast, drenched in color; it's got some interesting twists on the lands of Faerie, a council of "the Wise," evil magicians, the corrupting influences of power, naiads and selkies and elemental spirits; best of all, it's got the spookiest carousel since Ray Bradbury, complete with a fanged, batwinged horse that's really an imprisoned criminal spirit. Lee weaves together all these elements with a sure and skillful touch.
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Enchanted Glass
by
Diana Wynne Jones
Deborah J. Ross
, April 07, 2011
Any new book by Jones is a delicious treat, a reason to put down whatever else I'm doing and curl up with a cup of tea. This one, however, came with special poignancy because I received it just after I learned of her death. So I opened the pages with a kind of sadness, not wanting to admit that in many ways, this was farewell. (If there is another book to be published posthumously, I don't know of it.) And found magic. Within a few paragraphs, her clear prose and unaffectedly direct storytelling had drawn me into a world in which magicians bequeath not only fine old houses but fields-of-care as well. Only in this case, the old magician left it "rather too late," meaning without personal instruction as to exactly what a field-of-care is and how one cares for it. A few pages later, Andrew Hope is struggling not only with his magical inheritance but with the two classically-Jones abrasive and recalcitrant retainers, Mr. Stock (who expresses his disapproval in the form of boxes of gigantic and inedible vegetables) and Mrs. Stock (no relation to Mr. Stock, who expresses hers by waging war as to the positioning of the piano in the living room). By the time young Aidan (the boy on the rainbow-hued cover) arrived, I had become part of the household as well.
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Jade Man's Skin
by
Daniel Fox
Deborah J. Ross
, March 26, 2011
It's hard to describe this book, second in "Moshui, The Books of Stone and Water" in anything less than superlatives. It's a rare second book (the first being Dragon in Chains) that stands so well on its own. There's no trace of "middle book syndrome," the let-down of a volume that is essentially all development. Jade Man's Skin has its own integrity, gorgeous prose, action that ranges from subtle to gritty to expansive. The ending was so perfect, so satisfying, that if the story ends there (which it does not), I would have been completely satisfied.
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License to Ensorcell Nola O Grady
by
Katharine Kerr
Deborah J. Ross
, March 26, 2011
Forget the cover that makes this book look just like umpteen other urban fantasies; you're in for a real treat. Kerr is a seasoned pro who handles the genre of noir psychic detective stories with consummate skill, pitch-perfect balance of humor and depth, and a level of respect for the reader's intelligence that puts most others in the shade. Even minor characters are vividly depicted and every story element is placed with precise care. Kerr brings complexity and depth to the expected tropes, from Ari Nathan's struggle to believe in Nola O'Grady's psychic abilities when they are thrown into partnership to solve the serial murders of werewolves, to the dynamics and relationships in a family with unusual mental talents, to the geography of San Francisco, to a foray into a parallel and very much less savory reality. I'm eagerly anticipating the next adventure!
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