Anathem by Neal Stephenson

The first reviews of this book I read were rather odd, and can be summarized as “This is an admirable book but will anybody love it?” Now that I’ve read it I think the ambivalence was due to the great wads of philosophy and theory in the book, as well as the length. I loved Anathem myself, but I did have to stop reading occasionally to digest the theory.

I also loved the idea of the monastery like setting where the inhabitants concentrate on the life of the mind (not the spirit or soul, though it rates the occasional fleeting mention). And current events outside are only filtered inside occasionally, so everyone automatically has a very long view of events and history. I especially liked the history branch, who went around pointing out when this idea or theory had come up before, an essential group when you have 7000 years of recorded history - this book is not set on Earth, by the way.

I liked Stephenson’s The Diamond Age also, though the lack of any denouement in it was a bit surprising. Anathem however has lots of denouement, and a plot that is quite easy to follow, and better characterisation than The Diamond Age also. An admirable book, but set aside some serious time to read it! And don't read any reviews before you do, they mostly give away too much plot. When I had finished I missed reading it and getting lost in another world.

Anathem first published 2008

A Cavern of Black Ice by J.V. Jones

Don’t bother reading this book. There is too much torture and death, all described in unnecessary detail, and always from the POV (point of view) of the dying or being tortured person. Ages is spent on situations that have little to do with the overall plot, but are there to set a character in motion, unfortunately in immense detail and length. The teaser incident described on the back cover blurb happens on page 348! A sure sign of a bloated book.

It also has lots of my pet hate, the current POV character’s emotions and attitudes mentioned in detail very often. I gave up on reading the whole book and started skipping madly, but nothing much happened in terms of plot. There was lots of travel and deaths, and also many mentions of ravens, flagged early in the book as significant. The cover perfoms the astonishing feat of being worse than the book.

A Cavern of Black Ice first published 1999

A Pound of Paper by John Baxter

I purchased this at the Cathedral fete, which is always notable for the plant, book and jam stalls. I was very amused reading it. Baxter's concentration on one part of his life, book collecting and the people he met through it, makes this far more interesting than the usual autobiography. The glimpses of the rest of his life were interesting, too. I know autobiographical works are filed with non-fiction in libraries, but at home I always file them with fiction. Usually the style is much more like fiction than non-fiction, as it is here.

It seems in the world of rare and collectable books, it is far more Seller Beware than Buyer Beware. Personally I don't care about books signed by the author or first editions, it is the words that are important to me, but I can see the attraction to other people. Definitely an enjoyable read.

A Pound of Paper first published 2002

Gods and Pawns by Kage Baker

This is another excellent collection of seven short stories in the Company series. Lewis and Mendoza, my favourite characters, turn up frequently. I liked nearly all the stories, even if I feel the operatives spend too much time in Hollywood!

Boundary by Eric Flint & Ryk E. Spore

This was quite fun, though there were a few info dump paragraphs. This was an Aliens Visited our Solar System, (so lets send a space ship to Mars to look at the base our sensors found) story. Entertaining enough, and the characters were fun too, though too many of the women were beautiful. The engineers were happy to use low tech solutions when they were most appropriate, to the horror of the IT people, whose motto was always newer is better.

The Clan Corporate by Charles Stross

This is the third in The Merchant Princes series, which has quite a fascinating and well thought out premise. A very small number of people (with 2 copies of a recessive gene) can travel with difficulty and pain from one parallel world to another, with what they can carry. The Families that can do this are powerful in the other world and unknown, rich and drug smugglers in our world. The worlds have had quite different histories, even coast lines are different.

Miriam has this ability, and was raised in our world and is now trying to live in the other. Unfortunately she behaves like a stereotypical American, ie with complete disregard for different cultural values and norms and lines of power, so things go rather pear shaped.

The American Government also finds out about the other world, and their smuggling and general skulduggery, and behaves as the American Government always does in near future SF books, ie by setting up yet another security agency which behaves as though the immoral means justifies the imperial ends, the ends being them winning at all costs, and laws (especially habeas corpus) only applying to other people.

The Clan Corporate first published 2006

Lots of other books I've read

Cybele's Secret by Juliet Marillier, 2007, YA- very good, interesting setting.
Betwixt by Tara Bray Smith, 2007, YA - takes ages for anything to happen, full of angst ridden teenagers - pity, the idea was interesting, but the execution really overblown.
Black Projects, White Knights by Kage Baker, 2002, SF short stories - very good.
Death of an Effendi by Michael Pearce, 2000, mystery detective set in Egypt in 1909, very amusing, one of Pearce's best efforts.
Higher Education by Charles Sheffield and Jerry Pournelle, 1996, SF extrapolation of certain trends in society (especially education) and mining in space, interesting.
Latter End by Patricia Wentworth, 1949, mystery detective, good, especially characterisation and post WWII troubles.
Miss Silver Intervenes by Patricia Wentworth, 1944, mystery detective, good though I don't think she researched memory loss very well. But the people living in the block of flats during WWII were all interesting.
The Case is Closed by Patricia Wentworth, 1937, mystery detective. good. More action than usual in a Wentworth and I liked the couple, who were both worried about being bossed around by the other.

Also lots of New Scientist magazines.

Princess Academy by Shannon Hale

This story is excellent, particularly the people and families. The characterisation is excellent, and I liked the way Hale made Miri (and the reader) think again about people's motivations and character. The title is both extremely accurate and rather misleading.

I thought Hale's first book, The Goose Girl, showed a lot of promise, ans it is good to see that promise fulfilled in this delightful story about the power of knowledge. Watching characters working out what they really want in life, and seeing a community working together was also interesting.

Princess Academy first published 2005

Short Stories by Robin McKinley and Peter Dickinson

A Knot in the Grain is five fantasy stories by Robin McKinley, I liked them all. I enjoyed the title story most, as it surprised me most. Buttercups was also excellent, as the characters break the rules then try to fix their mistakes.

Elementals: Water is six fantasy stories by McKinley and Peter Dickinson. Dickinson's first story, Mermaid Song, is my favourite, though I found his Kraken boringly unreadable. McKinley's Pool in the Desert and The Sea King's Son were interesting chiefly for the characters and the family relationships, in very different ways.

Both books are well worth reading.
A Knot in the Grain first published 1994, 3 stories first published 1982- 85; Elementals Water first published 2003

His Master's Voice by Ivy Litvinov

This is a detective novel set in Russia in 1926. Ivy Litvinov nee Low was an Englishwoman, who was then living in Russia and married to a Russian. The writing and plot is passable, the main interest is the contemporary view of 1920's Russia. Russia after the Revolution but before Stalin seems very different than post Stalin, the society is not so controlled; the author goes off on little polemics occasionally about the new society cleaning up the debris of the revolution and wars.

His Master's Voice first published 1930

Summers at Castle Auburn by Sharon Shinn

This book is fun to read, Shinn does people you care about and a decent plot line. Her conception of the sidhe/elves was unusual and interesting. There were a few plot holes however - only three days journey from Corrie's home to the castle and yet a useful medical drug is rarely used in the castle? And another is practically unknown in Corrie's home? Hasn't any travelling merchant heard that healers want these drugs? Why doesn't Corrie start bartering the two every summer as she travels back and forth?

However Corrie's growth in understanding and changes in perception as she grows are handled well; she is reluctant to see the imperfections in people she loves, as most of us are. Shinn is not afraid to have large imperfections and the problems of hereditary rulers with power is also shown. Some parts of the ending were a little over the top (not who the murderer was, however). Recommended if you like fantasy romances.

Summers at Castle Auburn first published 2001

Wildwood Dancing By Juliet Marillier

This is a good enjoyable book. You will find yourself a bit confused as to which fairy tale you are in at times, but this does not detract from the book or make the plot confusing in the least. I liked Jena and her sisters, I thought the Other Kingdom was very well done, and I thought everyones decisions were understandable, even most of those of the Other Kingdom - thought not till the end.

This is a YA/ Adult crossover, not for children. Highly recommended.

Wildwood Dancing first published 2006

The Children of the Company by Kage Baker

This book has a lot of the horrible Labienus in it, as he is the viewpoint character for all the linking bits between the short stories/reports. This book is fascinating but a lot less humorous than the other Baker books I've read, except for my favourite story, about Latif and the delightful van Drouten. I liked the story about Lewis in the Irish monastery too.

There is quite a lot about the little people in The Children of the Company, which is full of information we will obviously need to know to enjoy the rest of the series to the full, but shows the dark side of the company, and the corruptness of some of the immortals. Some of the stories are pretty sad, but I am happy to have read this book.

The Children of the Company first published 2005, some parts of it previously published 1999-2001