This is the second book I’ve read by this author, having enjoyed the first book of his new series I thought I should check out some of his older stuff while I wait for new material.

This fantasy book introduces a new world with interesting magic systems – with clearly defined rules. The writing style and magic systems remind me a lot of Brandon Sanderson’s. One difference is that this series seems to be aimed more at adults – there is swearing, sex, slavery and savagery.

The characters in this book are written well – they are interesting and have things going happening on a deeper level. One of my favorite elements of the story was the characters’ ability to converse with inanimate objects – and to convince them to change the instructions that they have. These parts were pretty hilarious.

The only downsides I found were that the world described here is pretty small, actually. I hoped for a sense of what everyone else who lives in this city was doing. What’s beyond this city and the horizon? Also the magical system is sometimes over-explained, and although the author is trying hard to make sure that things are done fairly I would be inclined to just trust that the physics of this magical situation are on the up and up.

So this was a pretty good fantasy book with some surprises and I’ll probably continue the series down the line.

Next I am reading Burn Book by Kara Swisher.

Thrills? Check. Fast-paced? Check. Checking in with characters from previous novels and the requisite visit to Italy? Check.

Despite all these, I still had some reservations after finishing this book, a sort of sequel to The Firm which may have been the first book I read by John Grisham. I’ve really enjoyed his books over the years, and this one was similarly enjoyable.

There is a lot of international intrigue here. Visits to Morocco, Libya, Italy, London. There is a tense countdown as our heroes rush to try to save a hostage’s life. And there are mysterious people watching their movements as well.

Despite the book ending with a resolution to the main story, I was left wondering how this mysterious group kept tabs on the situation. How did they know about their histories from the first book?

Certainly it is possible that these things will be answered in a future book, but I felt like if that were the case then there’d be some indications near the end of this book.

Still, if you don’t mind knowing the other side of the story I’m sure you’ll enjoy this book.

Next I am reading Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett.

I was putting the pluses and minuses of this book together and after five minuses I had come up with only one plus – giant carnivorous chickens.

There are more pluses, however. I liked this book’s approach of commenting on the current capitalism/environmental balance and how it might tip too far in the wrong direction. I liked how it portrayed the culty vibe of the residents of this “company town” and how many people tend to go along with things because it is in (what they think are) their best interests.

But the recurring theme in this book is that you should listen to your wife/mother. The main character is sort of a super mom who takes on the challenge of keeping her family together during this very unique situation. The men in the family are drinking the Kool-aid while only the wife and daughter smell a rat.

The way the author relates the events is sort of simple, and things are pretty predictable. She even gives us a big foreshadowing of the aforementioned giant carnivorous chickens early on.

A lot of this could be edited down to a shorter book that still accomplishes the same goals – maybe less telling about things and show us more from the characters’ actions.

Next I am reading The Exchange by John Grisham.

Not an especially impressive sequel, in the end it delivers what I was hoping for. I just wish you didn’t have to read two thirds of the way through the book to get to it.

I like that the author went ambitious here, and tried to show more of the world than what we saw in the previous book. There are some new characters introduced, we even meet God, and we learn more about their motivations and what is happening in the world. The storyline is pretty unusual, which could be good or bad – I’m not exactly sure.

A large portion of the book is written in the second person, which starts to feel a little gimmicky after a while. Many of the characters speak like teenagers (even though they are thousands of years old). There are some big mysteries and shared initials and hidden identities and sometimes it felt like we’d need a PowerPoint presentation to untangle it all.

But finally it felt like the author pulled it off at the end, averting disaster. Maybe I was hoping for safer choices, but I suppose the author’s job is to push boundaries and try new things. That mission was – in the end – accomplished.

Next I am reading A Better World by Sarah Langan.

This spy novel was written by the same guy who did the writing for the movie Spy Game with Robert Redford and Brad Pitt. I really enjoyed the movie, and this book serves as a prequel for what we saw play out during the movie.

Although the book does contain a few surprises and provides some detailed backstory for the events of the movie, the writing style and some other issues kept me from really enjoying it.

Most of the book is filled with characters explaining the past, and relating episodes to other characters. You have character #1 explaining a conversation between character #3 and #4 to character #2, with plenty of pithy comments interspersed. These dialogs were confusing to read, especially with the author’s habit of making in-sentence diversions to show how clever the speaker is.

I thought there were few likable characters in this book. Most were showing how clever they were or measuring their dicks against each other with drinking contests and smartass comments. The majority of the main events are related after the fact, and so the events we actually witness are just a couple of guys drinking whiskey and talking, which is boring even in real life.

Apparently there are two more books in the series, but I don’t think I’ll be reading them.

Next I am reading Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir – the second book in the series of Space Necromancer Lesbians. Hopefully it will be as good as the previous book in the series.

This was a beautifully written book – dominated by a character who we never meet and see only through other people’s memories and impressions. The story is remarkably suspenseful, and kept me turning those pages.

Written in the 1930’s, it feels fresh and not dated at all. The book captures the lifestyle of British aristocrats and shows how much stock people put into appearances and (outward) behavior.

The first two chapters drop us into the story through the main character’s memories, and so there is definitely some confusion at first. Once I finished the book I went back and re-read it, and it made a lot more sense. But it is important to persevere and get through the beginning stages in order to get caught up in it.

I was really impressed with the writing style of the author. She takes her time and adds little descriptors to minor elements of the scene, drawing us in without overdoing the tension. The ending was harrowing, and I wasn’t surprised later to find that the book was adapted into a Hitchcock movie (that won an Academy Award!)

I’m glad I stumbled on this book – one of the better reads of the year for me.

Next I am reading Muir’s Gambit by Michael Frost Beckner.

This book was a well-researched look at a con man who managed to keep a long con going for most of his life – fooling greedy people who hoped to make a profit on an imaginary stash of gold that was supposedly spirited out of Ghana. The story was incredibly complex – layers and layers of lies and all of it exacerbated by the formidable power of greed.

I can’t imagine how much work went into the research for this book – from the 1950’s to the 2000’s. There are a lot of reasons why many people wouldn’t want this stuff coming out, and even if only half of the stories in this non-fiction book are true, it is still a pretty incredible tale.

In this book we also learn about this particular scam and others that prey on people’s greed. I had no idea they had been around so long (since Sir Francis Drake’s time) and that there were so effective. People stayed in the scam long after they should have known better. After being promised a hundred-fold return in a few months they were still throwing money in ten years later with no return in sight.

This was an educational book for me. There is some insight into other cultish leaders that are selling lies these days, especially when we wonder how people could ever fall for this stuff. Plenty of people did – and have been falling for it for hundreds of years.

It was particularly interesting to go back and watch some of the YouTube clips of 60 minutes and other news stories about this scam. Just watching the raw greed on everyone’s face was pretty eye-opening.

Next I am reading Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier.

A very unique reading experience – following the progression of the changes in the main character’s intelligence. At first it felt like a bit of a gimmick, but finally I could understand why the writer did it as it brought forth a lot of emotion as we could start to predict the curve.

This book contains a lot of thoughts on intelligence and its role in personality and what makes a person. The way the story progresses allows the reader to make their own judgements rather than listening to someone preaching an idea.

I did feel like the book was a little dated, and there is a sort of odd preoccupation with sex that was eventually resolved in a weird way. But I can imagine that in its time the book was pretty groundbreaking. But I’m glad I read this (literally) thought-provoking book.

Next I am reading Anansi’s Gold by Yepoka Yeebo.

I am always curious about cuisines from other countries, and we are mixing it up on the weekends and trying new dishes and flavor combinations to see what we like. Every time we travel we try new dishes, and so it is a struggle to manage our pantry with so many different ingredients.

This book puts together some of those ingredients and introduces them to an American audience. I think it is pretty easy to get these things (especially using the web) and there are plenty of recipes in the book to try these (perhaps) new ingredients out.

I like the idea behind the book and we already had most of these ingredients already, or else local substitutes that play the same role. The real value of this book to me was trying out some non-traditional ways to use them, and so I was happy to get some new ideas from the book.

I haven’t cooked any of these recipes yet but just having looked them over it seems like they are aiming to really hit the tastebuds hard with bold flavors, which seems to be popular in the USA these days (e.g. Flavortown). So if you’re considering this cookbook be prepared for it.

Over the next few months I’ll try to work in the recipes and see how they turn out. Next I am reading Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes.

This book is the latest in the Murderbot series. It gives the reader more of the same – that is, if you liked the previous books you’ll find that this book is a satisfying read. Since it has been a while since I read the previous book some of the characters were a little hard to remember, but the story starts off gradually.

I heard that they want to make a TV series or movie based on these books, but I can tell you right now that it won’t be able to capture the magic of the books. The attraction of this series is that most of the big events and excitement happen as the robots and AI are hacking each other, working out how to get out of tight situations, and using multiple drone points of view to ascertain their situation. I think that wouldn’t translate well to the screen.

But it is fun to read, and I hope that sooner or later the author will push a little bit harder to expand the scope of the series.

Next I am reading The Global Pantry Cookbook by Scott Mowbray and Ann Taylor Pittman.

Here’s a book that I liked a lot – at the end I was sort of surprised how much I enjoyed it. Because books about lesbian space necromancers seems to be a pretty narrow niche.

I like books with deep worldbuilding, and the author handles this admirably. Things aren’t over-explained. Take the basic idea of a necromancer – raise the dead, magic, whatever – you’ve got enough to follow the story. And then the writer gives you more information as you need it.

The plot itself is filled with stuff that I enjoy – a group of people totally isolated, a competition, hidden doors and missing keys and tests and betrayals. There is lots of backstory that we get in fragments (again, as needed) and this never feels like an information dump.

The writing of the characters is for the most part well done. The main character of this book, Gideon, talks like a smart-ass teenager in contemporary, decidedly not like a member of this world the author has introduced. Because of this she gets some great lines and funny scenes but it does break the suspension of disbelief quite often. If you can get past this, the book is well worth the read.

I’m looking forward to the next book in the series. For my next book I am reading System Collapse by Martha Wells.

This is my first book by this author, and it was good to head back to Boston to meet a new private investigator. Since I like the Spenser books so much, it was inevitable that I’d be comparing with Robert B. Parker’s mystery books in that series.

While Spenser (basically) works alone, this book introduced the private eye pair of Kenzie and Gennaro. The point of view is from Kenzie, and he shares the same smart-ass and occasionally self-deprecating humor with Spenser. The level of humor is a little more simple here – sometimes it felt a bit like dad jokes.

This book contains a lot of racial issues that are boiling in Boston at the time, and rather than joke about it from the side they take it head on, which is kind of refreshing but also a little oversimplified to fit into the genre.

Unlike Spenser, Kenzie is a fallible guy who has a hard time getting the drop on his pursuers and can’t shoot very well. He has friends to bail him out but there is only so much they can do.

All in all it was an entertaining read, but it felt a little too ham-fisted sometimes – certainly not up to the task of analyzing race relations. But I understand there are more books in the series, so I may try some more and see if they have aged better.

Next I am reading Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir.

Every once in a while I run across a pretty weird book. That isn’t necessarily good or bad – I like variation in my reading – and this book had some good weird and some bad weird.

It is certainly an ambitious work. It tells several stories in layers, written in a mocking academic style, and it is a pretty big reading project to get through it. A lot of the content is meant as an effect to show some of the characters’ mental health state at the time, so it isn’t necessary (or advisable) to follow every footnote and reference (some of which are fake – again to show characters’ mental health state at the time).

For me the more interesting part of the book was the story within the story – the exploration of a spooky house full of empty spaces in the dark that change and expand and have the effect of driving people mad. There is allusion to the labyrinth and Minotaur, and large sections are dedicated to considering what this might mean.

In the end after about 20 hours of reading time I got through the book – I liked the creativity of the novel, and the spookiness of the house made it worth the read. But it can be a tough one to get through and it falls pretty far off the mainstream.

Next I am reading A Drink Before the War by Dennis LeHane.

To me this is the ultimate locked room mystery – ten people isolated on an island, all of them murdered – who did it? How did they pull it off? Agatha Christie apparently wrote this book as a challenge to herself.

As a reader you know that you are being fooled somehow, but how to identify when it happens? And is it the trick fair? In this book I was pleased that the result seemed fair to me. Without giving away the story I was only a little unsatisfied with the fate of the murderer,and wondered if the explanation would truly be so simple to bring about.

The book contains an epilogue that explains how everything worked, similar to the end of a Scooby-Do episode. Without this I never would have figured it out – all my theories proved incorrect.

The book was sometimes hard to follow – there are ten people and ten backstories and we peek into each person’s head now and then in seemingly random order, so I was sometimes re-reading to figure out who was thinking what. Luckily as they are murdered things get easier to keep track of.

Next I am reading House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski.

This cookbook is centered around Caribbean cuisine, specifically the West Indies. This is an area I haven’t really had much experience with, and so I wanted to get an idea of what to expect in their local foods.

As usual I ran across a lot of recipes that sounded good, so over the next month or so I’ll try to cook a few and see how they go. The use of coconut, turmeric and ginger is in line with our usual weekday meals, so it should be a good fit for us. Also these are all vegetarian recipes – another good fit.

Besides the recipes there is a lot of historical background on the role of women and the slave trade in the development of some of these dishes and ingredients. While somewhat interesting I felt like I wanted to read more about the food than the history, and it was easy enough to skip ahead.

In addition, some of the recipes were a little more modern, incorporating flavors and ingredients from the author’s vacations to other parts of the world. While I am sure they are delicious I was aiming for dishes reflecting the cuisine of the area. These sort of hybrid dishes weren’t so helpful.

I’m looking forward to cooking some Caribbean dishes soon! Next I am reading And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie.