One imperfect letter, one missing page

119. *Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld
Leviathan, book 2
Juvenile, Steampunk/Alternate History, 481p

121. *Pegasus by Robin McKinley
Pegasus, Book 1
Young Adult, Fantasy, 397p

ARC from the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.

Sylvani, king's daughter, is preparing to be magically bonded to a son of the king of the Pegasi, as is required by the treaty between their kingdoms. To everyone's shock, at the ceremony it turns out that Sylvani can mindspeak with her bonded pegasus. Which is impossible. Except it isn't.

I was concerned about how McKinley would be able to put the pegasus - froo-froo fantastical creature to the extreme - into a serious novel. There was no need to worry, though; McKinley's nonhuman characters have always been at least as well developed as the humans. The Pegasi are amazing.

I read this knowing that it was Part 1 of an as-yet-unfinished tale, and McKinley mentioned on her blog that the ending is unsatisfying, so I knew what was coming. But I was still surprised and upset at the cliffhanger where the story stops. I loved the book, but I expect the next time I read it will be right before Book 2 is released, whenever that will be. I can't wait.

121 / 160 books (76%)
59 / 80 *new books (74%)
3 / 7 ^non-fiction (43%)
32402 / 48000 pages. (62%)
Audiobooks: 54h19m

(#120 left out because there are two #64s)

80. *Boneshaker by Cherie Priest
The Clockwork Century, book 1
Adult, Science fiction/Steampunk, 414 pages

Seattle is enclosed behind a 200-foot wall, built to keep in a toxic gas coming up from the ground and the rotters it creates when people breathe it in. Briar goes into the city she thought was deserted to find her son, Zeke, who went in looking for answers.

Boneshaker is the third Priest book I've read and was just as good as I was expecting. Priest skates the edge of horror - zombies are clearly horror-monsters, and frankly I was hesitant to read the book because of that - without going over the edge into the gruesome or overly terrifying. The story is well-plotted, the characters have believable motivations and depth, and the world is intriguing enough that I am excited to read the sequels.

81. The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
Young Adult, Fantasy, 248 pages

82. *Glimmerglass by Jenna Black
Faeriewalker, book 1
Young Adult, Urban Fantasy, 294 pages

ARC from the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.

Dana is half-human and half-Fae teenager and when she can no longer stand living with her drunken (human) mother, she runs away to find her Fae father in Avalon, the city connecting the human and faerie worlds. But as soon as she walks through the gate, everything starts going wrong.

Glimmerglass is an exciting story of a girl caught in a world she knows nothing about, forced to trust people she barely knows and being betrayed at every turn. I was concerned toward the end that too much plot would be worked into the last few pages, but it is the first in a series, so things wrapped up this book's story and set up for the next book.

My only complaint is that I am tired of women falling for men who are nasty to them. None of the boys Dana's age are nice to her, and yet she's drooling over them because they're Fae-gorgeous. Those bits were incredibly boring, unlike the rest of the story.

82 / 160 books (51%)
45 / 80 *new books (56%)
3 / 7 ^non-fiction (43%)
20181 / 48000 pages. (42%)
Audiobooks: 46h29m

49. A Knot in the Grain by Robin McKinley
Young Adult, Fantasy, short stories, 192 pages

One of my favorite short story anthologies. I wrote a review of each story here.

146. *Fire by Kristin Cashore
Young Adult, Fantasy, 461 pages
Companion to Graceling

Fire is a monster - an unnaturally beautiful creature who can control the minds of people and animals around her. Fire is also human. As a human monster, she is mistrusted, hated, feared, and desired. Her father was a monster and also a moster, cruel, controlling, and indiscriminate in the use of his abilities, but Fire was raised with human morals.

It's not easy to describe this book, because the story is less about people running around doing things then about the various characters learning about each other and themselves. And yet the story moves quickly and there is certainly action, since Fire's country is at war. Fire is a wonderful book.

147. *Makers by Cory Doctorow
Adult, Science Fiction, 416 pages

I liked the idea of this book and I would have enjoyed the main story and the geekery of it, but there is an odd obsession with weight and obesity starting on the first page that I found very off-putting. I suppose the idea is not inappropriate in a "near-future fable", given current political and social views, but the way it's handled made me cringe. Frequently. Fat people are (ironically) 2-dimensional characters, called "the obese" or, later "the fatkins", no matter who's talking. Doctorow assumes that all fat people want the same thing (to be thin) and will do any idiotic, untested thing to get it. And to assume that being thin will make people happy is just plain stupid. But of course they get what they deserve in the end, right?

I think I would have liked this book without that (unnecessary and cringe-inducing) subplot but it was so annoying and distracting that it overwhelmed many of the good aspects. I won't be reading it again and I don't recommend it.

148. *Fire: Tales of Elemental Spirits by Robin McKinley and Peter Dickinson
YA/Adult, Fantasy, Short Stories, 297 pages

Of the five stories in this anthology, I quite liked Phoenix by Peter Dickinson, absolutely loved Hellhound and First Flight by Robin McKinley, and didn't particularly care for Fireworm or Salamander Man by Peter Dickinson.

149. The Android's Dream by John Scalzi
Adult, Science Fiction (humorous), 396 pages

150. *The poison eaters & other stories by Holly Black
YA, Fantasy, short stories, 158 pages
Early Reviewer

It was like reading a book of fables, but I couldn't work out what the morals were supposed to be (which may be a plus, actually). There was a real mixture of stores I liked and stories I didn't care for but regardless, it was a fun little book and a quick read.

150 / 150 books. 100% done!

78 / 75 *new books. 104% done!

5 / 10 ^non-fiction. 50% done!

43383 / 45000 pages. 96% done!

129. *Fledgling by Octavia Butler (320)

I liked this book, the worldbuilding and characterization were very thorough and the plot was captivating. There were some aspectes of the story that were disturbing, though I suppose that is hardly surprising given the author.


130. The Door in the Hedge by Robin McKinley (216)

Anthology of short stories by Robin McKinley. They're all beautifully written and none of the stories are particularly tense (sometimes to the point of being anticlimactic, unfortunately).

The Door in the Hedge
The kingdom borders the fairy land and the occasional infant boy and teenage girl are kidnapped by the faeries. Nobody expects the beautiful, accomplished (though surprisingly not Mary Sueish) princess to be taken, because the faeries have always before been careful not to end families, and she is the only one. But, of course...

The writing, the language of the story is typical fantastic beautiful McKinley. I used to like this story - at least, the first half of it - but this time reading it, I couldn't help but wonder about all the unanswered questions. Why do the faeries have to steal children? Why do the people living in that kingdom stand for it? Neither is adequately, convincingly explained and if you really think about it, it's horrifying.

Even so, there really are no "bad guys" in this story, and it just sort of meanders along from start to finish. Unfortunately, though, the resolution doesn't really make much sense or explain things.

The Princess and the Frog
This story is much better - we're dropped into the middle of a conflict of wills where an evil smiling wizard or mage or what-have-you is slowly, insidiously taking over the kingdom from the inside. The princess is spunky and holds her own as well as she can, and the frog is great. Once again the climax leaves a little to be desired, though.

The Hunting of the Hind
The princess in this story is one of my favorite fairy-tale princesses. She is reminiscent of Aerin from The Hero and the Crown, the all-but-forgotten daughter of a king's second marriage who nonetheless loves her country and her family. For her beloved brother, she embarks on a quest that a dozen men have already failed at.

As with the other stories, I like the first half of the story but the second half doesn't quite live up to it. There is too much love at first sight as a replacement for plot and the climax is wanting. Also, I always thought there was more chemistry between Korah and Sellena than between any other pairing.

The Twelve Dancing Princesses
The twelve princess dance holes through their slippers every night and a retired soldier takes the challenge of finding out how and why.

Definitely the strongest story of the bunch, start to finish. There are a few unexplained bits, but overall it works. This is my favorite story in the book.

130 / 150 books. 87% done!

72 / 75 *new books. 96% done!

5 / 10 ^non-fiction. 50% done!

36846 / 45000 pages. 82% done!
Audiobooks: 26h30m

127. A Knot in the Grain by Robin McKinley (192)
128. Wise Child by Monica Furlong (228)
129. Juniper by Monica Furlong (198)
130. Survivor's Quest by Timothy Zahn (416)

I've been sick and loopy (due to prescription meds) all week, so the idea of reading new books is pretty much beyond me. These are all books I've read before - all except the Zahn are books I've read many, many times before.

130 / 150 books. 87% done!

63 / 75 *new books. 84% done!

5 / 10 ^non-fiction. 50% done!

35204 / 40000 pages. 88% done!

Abandonded books:

Alcatraz vs the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson

I tried. I really, really wanted to like this book. I think the characters and the story and the humor have a lot of potential, and I generally think Sanderson is a great writer, but something about this book just rubbed me the wrong way. Perhaps it was the way that Alcatraz kept talking to the reader, which I tend to find uncomfortable. I think I would have liked it a lot better if it had just been a straight fantasy book rather than one of those books that insists that it's not actually a fantasy book, it's really actually true!

101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived by Dan Karlan, Allan Lazar, and Jeremy Salter

The idea of this book is fantastic. The excecution? Not so much. I was expecting a book by people who had researched how various characters had influenced Western society. With, you know, actual research and credentials and stuff. Not a couple guys sitting around trying to think up who they thought were the most influential fictional characters. I was extremely disappointed by this book.

115. *How to Ditch your Fairy by Justine Larbalestier (300)

I really enjoyed this book. It is fairly light and playful and has a refreshingly new premise. The characters act believably - incredibly stupidly at times, but believably, especially for high school students - and I love the universe that it envisions.

116. *Chalice by Robin McKinley (263)

I'll have to read it a couple more times to form a full opinion, but having read it once, I can say that I definitely liked it and I look forward to reading it again. The feel of Chalice is much more like McKinley's earlier books, such as The Blue Sword, rather than her more recent (and modern) ones. It is a lovely book.

116 / 150 books. 77% done!

57 / 75 *new books. 76% done!

4 / 10 ^non-fiction. 40% done!

32040 / 33000 pages. 97% done!

Final books of May:

58. The Outlaws of Sherwood by Robin McKinley (278)

A fun story that is, as McKinley puts it in the afterword, "historically unembarrassing". I enjoy reading about the doubtful Robin, a Robin who worries more about keeping his people fed than tormenting the Sherrif of Nottingham. The second half of the book concentrates on another member of Robin's band, and so we see a different perspective of Robin and, at the end, of the sherrif and the king - a slightly less dire view, since that member has no price on their head.

It's a new take on an old story, the characters are interesting and fun to read about, and the writing is McKinley's typical good storytelling.

59. *Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr (328)

Aislinn was born with the Sight, the ability to see the fey who usually walk around invisible to humans. It runs in her family, so she is taught as she grows up to ignore them, to pretend she can't see them, because if they know she can, who knows what they'll do?

But how can she keep ignoring them when two of them start following her around?

This is an excellent book, well-written and a very enjoyable take on the fey-among-us trope.

60. *Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr 325

I like this, it is well-written and a fun read, but it is pretty much exactly the same plot as Wicked Lovely. Not the details mentioned in my review of Wicked Lovely; it's the underlying structure of the story that is the same.

61. Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede (212)

Cimorene hates being a 'proper' princess, so she runs away and volunteers to be princess for a dragon. This is an old favorite, a sort of fantasy/fairy tale parody or whatever you want to call it. It's a wonderful little book, a quick read with great characters and a fun story.

62. *Princess Ben by Catherine Murdock (344)

This is a nice little Sleeping Beauty retelling. Not my favorite fairy tale-retelling ever, but Ben (Benevolence) is a fun voice to read and there are other interesting characters as well. I would have loved this book when I was younger.

62 / 110 books. 56% done!

26 / 75 *new books. 35% done!

3 / 10 ^non-fiction. 30% done!

18 758 / 33000 pages. 57% done!

5. *Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer (337)

Wow.

It's taken me this long to review this book for two reasons: 1) because I'm tired all the time from my new job and 2) because this was a very stressful book and it took me a while to get past it. Anyway.

This is the journal of a girl - 16 years old, something like that? - at the end of life as we know it. At the beginning of the book, everyone is excited about a meteor that is going to hit the moon, big enough to see the impact from Earth, during the day. Everyone (well, most everyone on the right side of the planet to see it, presumably) goes out to watch it happen, and...somehow the astronomers got it wrong and the impact doesn't happen quite how they predicted. Because of what does happen, the climate starts to change, all sorts of natural disasters, basically the end of the world. It's apocalyptic fiction; those aren't spoilers, it's expected. The story is about how the girl and her family - and the people around them - deal with it.

As I said, it's in journal format. It is just at the cusp of being too neatly written to be a diary - whole conversations transcribed word for word, that sort of thing, but it wasn't that big an issue because the writing in general, and the story and characters, were so strong. Overall, it made me want to go out and buy lots of bottled water and canned goods, just to be on the safe side...

6. The Door in the Hedge by Robin McKinley (216)

I generally read this when I'm stressed (reading the previous book is a good example of that) and need to calm down considerably. They're all beautifully written and none of the stories are particularly tense (sometimes to the point of being anticlimactic, unfortunately).

The Door in the Hedge
The kingdom borders the fairy land and the occasional infant boy and teenage girl are kidnapped by the faeries. Nobody expects the beautiful, accomplished (though surprisingly not Mary Sueish) princess to be taken, because the faeries have always before been careful not to end families, and she is the only one. But, of course...

The writing, the language of the story is standard fantastic beautiful McKinley. The first half of this story is wonderful and I always tear up when, well, what happens happens. But the resolution doesn't really make much sense or explain things, unfortunately.

The Princess and the Frog
I like this story much better - we're dropped into the middle of a story where an evil smiling wizard or mage or what-have-you is slowly, insidiously taking over the kingdom from the inside. The princess is spunky and holds her own as well as she can, and the frog is great. Once again the climax leaves a little to be desired, though.

The Hunting of the Hind
The princess in this story is one of my favorite fairy-tale princesses. She is reminiscent of Aerin from The Hero and the Crown, the all-but-forgotten daughter of a king's second marriage who nonetheless loves her country and her family. For her beloved brother, she embarks on a quest that a dozen men have failed at before her. As with the others, I like the first half of the story but the second half doesn't quite live up to it.

The Twelve Dancing Princesses
The twelve princess dance holes through their slippers every night and an aging soldier goes to find out how and why.

Definitely the strongest story of the bunch, start to finish. There are a few unexplained bits, but overall it works regardless. This is my favorite story in the book.

6 / 110 books. 5% done!

3 / 75 *new books. 4% done!

1716 / 33000 pages. 5% done!

Originally posted in November of 2007 in fiveforsilver:

138. *Smoke and Mirrors by Tanya Huff (404)

Second book in the Smoke Trilogy, sequel to the Blood books. I liked this, although it was definitely one of the creepiest books I've ever read. I don't usually read horror (at all) and while this probably isn't as scary as as "real" horror books, it was scary enough in the middle that I had to put it down and read something else before I went to bed.

Tony, Henry, and the various other characters were strong enough in themselves that I didn't find myself missing Vicki and Mike much as I read it.

139. *Smoke and Ashes by Tanya Huff (407)

Third and final book in the Smoke Trilogy. This book was actually...hilarious. There were so many pop-culture references - and Tony was dealing two old-beyond-measure people who didn't pay attention to that sort of thing - that it made me laugh out loud about every third page. I also enjoyed the story, and the characters. Leah was a well-written character and Tony really came into his own.

140. *The Sagan Diary by John Scalzi (100)

I'm counting this as a new read because listening to the audio version and reading the actual book are two very different experiences. I love the audio version, but there are things I got out of the book that I didn't catch or understand in the audio. It's a wonderful novelette.

141. Squire by Tamora Pierce (380)

I'd misplaced this before when I really wanted to read it, and when I found it I used it as my "I must read something else now" book while I was reading Smoke and Mirrors. This is possibly my favorite Tamora Pierce book - Kel is my favorite, the most realistic, the least Mary Sue, of her heroines, and Squire is my favorite of the PotS books.

I read more than one book at once, and my reading speed drops dramatically:

142. *The Pinhoe Egg by Diana Wynne Jones (480)

Loved it, absolutely loved it. I love the old Chrestomanci books like Charmed Life and The Lives of Christopher Chant but the latest ones are, if possible, even better. This one starts out just a little bit slow with some necessary build-up, but once it gets going, it gets going and is a cracking good story the rest of the way through.

143. Twelve Sharp by Janet Evanovich (352)

I forgot I'd already read this until I was halfway through, but these books don't take long to read. And I couldn't remember what happened, so I finished it anyway. They're brain candy, light, (mostly) fluffy, fun books. Hilarious, too, I kept laughing out loud at things that happened or bits of dialog (and I was sitting in the bookstore cafe, so I was trying to be quiet).

144. Sunshine by Robin McKinley (416)

Still up there as my favorite book.

144 / 150 books (96.0%)
70 / 70 *new books (100.0%)
47,314 / 50,000 pages (94.6%)

Currently reading:
*Tough Guide to Fantasyland by Diana Wynne Jones