A Bad Spell In Yurt by C. Dale Brittainy is the first in a series of books about Daimbert, the Royal Wizard of Yurt. Brittainy's web site is here: http://userpages.bright.net/~bouchard/
The series follows the career of a graduate of the wizards school who takes the position of Royal Wizard of the small western kingdom of Yurt.. By Daimbert's own admission. he doesn't know how he graduated. Especially after that incident with the frogs in transformation class. He didn't quite major in taverns at school but he wasn't the most attentive student either.
He does have a talent for improvising spells, a determination to actually read those text books he never cracked as a student and willingness to learn other forms of magic Most importantly he make friends (some of them unlikely) and never takes himself very seriously.
I own all of these books. I just completed a marathon re-reading if the series. I liked it before and I liked it this time. I'm not going to give you a blow by blow description of each book. If you can find them, read them. You'll enjoy them.
The major problem in the first book involves a demon. This problem is a real killer.
The Wood Nymph and the Cranky Saint
A major sub-theme in this series is magic's uneasy relationship with christianity. And vice versa. Since Daimbert's best friend is a priest this causes both of them some trouble.
Mage Quest
It is off to the exotic and mysterious east on a quest for blue roses, lost princes and a treasure. Daimbert finds that getting there is not half the fun. Once they arrive in the east things go down hill from there.
The Witch & The Cathedral
Religion, magic, demons and trips to the far north, the land of wild magic keep Daimbert hopping. A lovely witch with a rock climbing hobby just complicates things.
Daughter of Magic
One of the complications from the previous book, the love between the witch and the wizard, results in a daughter. At a very precocious five, she's already learning spells. If Daimbert's hair wasn't already white from his first adventure coping with Antonia would turn it over night. This time his child's safety is on the line.
Is this Apocalypse Necessary?
Life with a nearly teen age witch daughter is fraught enough. But Daimbert, who has had suspicions about a fellow wizard's motives before, now finds himself in direct conflict with the best wizard of his generation. Things are going to get so messy Daimbert's going to have to die to solve his problems.
This is being cross posted at Live Journal http://bookmobiler.livejournal.com/
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Dragons, Dogs and (grande) dames
Merlin's Dragon by T A Barron is a YA book. Barron's web site is here: http://www.tabarron.com/.
The viewpoint character in this book is a ?????? Well, he doesn't know himself until the end of the book. He looks like a small green lizard and has a talent for smells and luck.
He needs the latter quite a lot as something always seems to be wanting to eat or squash him. This is your typical magical journey of discovery with a very atypical hero. An interesting book with perhaps a few to many way points on the journey.
This is part of, or rather set in, a magical world the author has already developed. It stands alone as a story.
Divorced, Desperate and Dating by Cristie Craig Her web site is here: http://www.christie-craig.com/
This is the third of her books I've read (see the tags on Live Journal for the others) and the second in her D, D & D series. As usual very funny. One scene with a telephone had me in tears of laughter.
An engaging heroine and hero, a twisty plot and lots of sexy bits. And that not even counting the crotch seeking missile dog.
She's got another book, Gotcha!, scheduled for next June. I'm not quite sure if it's part of this series or not. No matter, I can hardly wait to read it. I do wonder what she'll be counting next though.
Once Upon A Christmas by Diane Farr. A Christmas Regency romance. (And that's the best kind) Diane had a web page, but it has fallen victim to AOL.
This site has some information. http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~awoodley/farr/ At least at this point the homepage link at the bottom still goes to the dead AOL site.
A light and amusing Christmas tale. Just the thing for a cold winters day. I read a lot of Regencies. I have since I fell in love with Georgette Heyer's books. This was true to the period with one of those deliciously interfering grande dames to move the plot along.
This is being cross posted at Live Journal http://bookmobiler.livejournal.com/
The viewpoint character in this book is a ?????? Well, he doesn't know himself until the end of the book. He looks like a small green lizard and has a talent for smells and luck.
He needs the latter quite a lot as something always seems to be wanting to eat or squash him. This is your typical magical journey of discovery with a very atypical hero. An interesting book with perhaps a few to many way points on the journey.
This is part of, or rather set in, a magical world the author has already developed. It stands alone as a story.
Divorced, Desperate and Dating by Cristie Craig Her web site is here: http://www.christie-craig.com/
This is the third of her books I've read (see the tags on Live Journal for the others) and the second in her D, D & D series. As usual very funny. One scene with a telephone had me in tears of laughter.
An engaging heroine and hero, a twisty plot and lots of sexy bits. And that not even counting the crotch seeking missile dog.
She's got another book, Gotcha!, scheduled for next June. I'm not quite sure if it's part of this series or not. No matter, I can hardly wait to read it. I do wonder what she'll be counting next though.
Once Upon A Christmas by Diane Farr. A Christmas Regency romance. (And that's the best kind) Diane had a web page, but it has fallen victim to AOL.
This site has some information. http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~awoodley/farr/ At least at this point the homepage link at the bottom still goes to the dead AOL site.
A light and amusing Christmas tale. Just the thing for a cold winters day. I read a lot of Regencies. I have since I fell in love with Georgette Heyer's books. This was true to the period with one of those deliciously interfering grande dames to move the plot along.
This is being cross posted at Live Journal http://bookmobiler.livejournal.com/
Friday, November 21, 2008
A yacht is a hole in the water...when its been stolen
A Rather Curious Engagement by C A Belmond is the first sequel (I hope) to A Rather Lovely Inheritance. The web site is here: http://www.cabelmond.com/
Penny and Jeremy are buying a yacht and taking a gap summer. Everything would be fine if people would stop stealing the yacht, the plumbing in the villa didn't burst and people would stop tempting them to find lost treasure.
And if Jeremy's ex would get lost. Another good read with characters that just seem to get better and better.
Hope there's another book in the works.
This is being cross posted at Live Journal: http://bookmobiler.livejournal.com/
Penny and Jeremy are buying a yacht and taking a gap summer. Everything would be fine if people would stop stealing the yacht, the plumbing in the villa didn't burst and people would stop tempting them to find lost treasure.
And if Jeremy's ex would get lost. Another good read with characters that just seem to get better and better.
Hope there's another book in the works.
This is being cross posted at Live Journal: http://bookmobiler.livejournal.com/
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
McKillip Rings the Bell with this book.
Patricia A McKillip's The Bell At Sealey Head was my next book. She doesn't seem to have her own web site. This links to a fan site: http://www.patriciamckillip.com/ and this to a bibliography site: http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?Patricia_A._McKillip
I've read and enjoyed most of her work since the days of her Riddle Master series. This book is about the search for a bell that rings exactly at sunset. Almost everybody in town can hear it, although for some it is so much a part of the background it is unnoticeable. Because no one knows where it actually is, theories abound.
The story takes us on a search for the bell, while life goes on in the town of Sealy Head. The answer lies in a Great House with a dying mistress and a maid who sometimes opens doors to elsewhere. The book is a good one, but the atmosphere is definitely country, slow paced and rather casual.
This has been cross posted at Live Journal http://bookmobiler.livejournal.com/
I've read and enjoyed most of her work since the days of her Riddle Master series. This book is about the search for a bell that rings exactly at sunset. Almost everybody in town can hear it, although for some it is so much a part of the background it is unnoticeable. Because no one knows where it actually is, theories abound.
The story takes us on a search for the bell, while life goes on in the town of Sealy Head. The answer lies in a Great House with a dying mistress and a maid who sometimes opens doors to elsewhere. The book is a good one, but the atmosphere is definitely country, slow paced and rather casual.
This has been cross posted at Live Journal http://bookmobiler.livejournal.com/
Sunday, November 16, 2008
But Mom, why can't you be more like....
Odd Mom Out by Jane Porter. Her web site is here: http://www.janeporter.com/
Do you know the story about the parents who desperately want their kids to be normal?
Well this isn't it. Marta is a single mom by choice, to the extreme of having her child by artificial insemination with a donor picked from a catalog.
It's now nine years later and she has a daughter. A daughter who desperately wants her mom to be normal.
Marta loves the daughter, but it ain't going to happen.
She's a single mom. rides a Harley, operates her own ad agency and definitely doesn't fit in with the PTA crowd. Despite her daughters best efforts.
The whole is complicated by an interesting man in her life, literally the first in ten years.
There's a lot of story here , and generally its very well told.
There was one plot device that I think didn't work. But that's probably just me.
This is being cross posted on Live Journal http://bookmobiler.livejournal.com/
Do you know the story about the parents who desperately want their kids to be normal?
Well this isn't it. Marta is a single mom by choice, to the extreme of having her child by artificial insemination with a donor picked from a catalog.
It's now nine years later and she has a daughter. A daughter who desperately wants her mom to be normal.
Marta loves the daughter, but it ain't going to happen.
She's a single mom. rides a Harley, operates her own ad agency and definitely doesn't fit in with the PTA crowd. Despite her daughters best efforts.
The whole is complicated by an interesting man in her life, literally the first in ten years.
There's a lot of story here , and generally its very well told.
There was one plot device that I think didn't work. But that's probably just me.
This is being cross posted on Live Journal http://bookmobiler.livejournal.com/
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Breaking News! Calamity Jayne sets sail. Amazingly the ship doesn't sink!
Anchors Aweigh by Kathleen Bacus is billed as the last (?) Tressa Jayne (AKA Calamity Jayne) book. Bacus' web site is here: http://www.kathybacus.com/ she is also one of the bloggers at Killer Fiction which is here: http://www.killerfictionwriters.blogspot.com/ .
The book was great.
If you haven't read the others in the series I suggest you do so before reading this book. All of them are very good, fast paced and very funny. As in, make sure your mouth is empty of food or drink while reading any of them. You have been warned.
Tressa is a bit situation prone. Nah, let's be honest here. She's a disaster that never waits to happen.
In this "talent" she is ably assisted by wacky family members and acquaintances. This time she and her family, including a newly married grammy and step-grandfather are on a cruise ship. So it seems is a potential murderer.
Tressa manages get herself moved up to target number one as she tries to figure out who the murderer is. Bacus doesn't quite kill Tressa off, but she comes close a couple of times.
A minor spoiler. I guessed the why fairly early, but I really thought that candy was poisoned.
There is a reason for the ? after the "last" in the first sentence. Bacus has said in Killer Fiction that she wants to pursue other story lines. But she has also indicated a future return of Calamity Jayne is possible.
Let's hope so!
Incidentally, that other story line includes Fiance at her Fingertips which is not a Calamity Jayne book, but is also very good. Read it too.
This has been cross posted on Live Journal http://bookmobiler.livejournal.com/
The book was great.
If you haven't read the others in the series I suggest you do so before reading this book. All of them are very good, fast paced and very funny. As in, make sure your mouth is empty of food or drink while reading any of them. You have been warned.
Tressa is a bit situation prone. Nah, let's be honest here. She's a disaster that never waits to happen.
In this "talent" she is ably assisted by wacky family members and acquaintances. This time she and her family, including a newly married grammy and step-grandfather are on a cruise ship. So it seems is a potential murderer.
Tressa manages get herself moved up to target number one as she tries to figure out who the murderer is. Bacus doesn't quite kill Tressa off, but she comes close a couple of times.
A minor spoiler. I guessed the why fairly early, but I really thought that candy was poisoned.
There is a reason for the ? after the "last" in the first sentence. Bacus has said in Killer Fiction that she wants to pursue other story lines. But she has also indicated a future return of Calamity Jayne is possible.
Let's hope so!
Incidentally, that other story line includes Fiance at her Fingertips which is not a Calamity Jayne book, but is also very good. Read it too.
This has been cross posted on Live Journal http://bookmobiler.livejournal.com/
Monday, November 10, 2008
A rather lovely reading binge
Because I was working backstage at a community theatre production of Seussical in a job that left me with a lot of free time on my hands I read a bit more than unusual. Even for me!
The first was A Rather Lovely Inheritance by C. A. Belmond. The web site is here: http://www.cabelmond.com/. An unexpected inheritance, some unsuspected branches on the family tree, a mystery and a treasure hunt are all delivered in a rather mellow style. An good read never the less. I'll be looking for the sequel.
Next was science fiction, Kris Longknife: Intrepid by Mile Shepherd. His web site is here: http://www.maryfreemanrosenblum.com/moscoe/mikeshepherd/index.html This doesn't seem to have been updated recently.
This series is space opera, complete with super high tech, including a precocious AI. an assortment of villains and a princess. In this series its the princess who rides to the rescue.
Mercedes Lackey's Foundation was next. Her web site is here: http://www.mercedeslackey.com/
Its back to the early days of Valdemar. Back to the time of the founding of the Heralds Colleguim.. It makes for fascinating reading if you been following the Valdemar universe.
This book is definitely the first of several. It ends at what is obviously a pause rather than a finish. Its still a good read.
The Sassy One by Susan Mallery is the second of a series of at least four, but probably five books about the Marcelli siblings. Mallery's web site is here: http://www.susanmallery.com/ A not quite typical romance, but the the family isn't very typical.
I read the first and enjoyed it. This one was good too. This series is several years old at this point so all of the books in the series may be available. I'll have to look.
If the Kris Longknife books are hard science fiction, A. Lee Martinez's The Automatic Detective is definably pulp science Fiction. His web site is here: http://www.aleemartinez.com/. Being pulp fiction doesn't make it bad, just rather strange. A good read though.
This will be cross posted at Live Journal. Click the title to go there.
The first was A Rather Lovely Inheritance by C. A. Belmond. The web site is here: http://www.cabelmond.com/. An unexpected inheritance, some unsuspected branches on the family tree, a mystery and a treasure hunt are all delivered in a rather mellow style. An good read never the less. I'll be looking for the sequel.
Next was science fiction, Kris Longknife: Intrepid by Mile Shepherd. His web site is here: http://www.maryfreemanrosenblum.com/moscoe/mikeshepherd/index.html This doesn't seem to have been updated recently.
This series is space opera, complete with super high tech, including a precocious AI. an assortment of villains and a princess. In this series its the princess who rides to the rescue.
Mercedes Lackey's Foundation was next. Her web site is here: http://www.mercedeslackey.com/
Its back to the early days of Valdemar. Back to the time of the founding of the Heralds Colleguim.. It makes for fascinating reading if you been following the Valdemar universe.
This book is definitely the first of several. It ends at what is obviously a pause rather than a finish. Its still a good read.
The Sassy One by Susan Mallery is the second of a series of at least four, but probably five books about the Marcelli siblings. Mallery's web site is here: http://www.susanmallery.com/ A not quite typical romance, but the the family isn't very typical.
I read the first and enjoyed it. This one was good too. This series is several years old at this point so all of the books in the series may be available. I'll have to look.
If the Kris Longknife books are hard science fiction, A. Lee Martinez's The Automatic Detective is definably pulp science Fiction. His web site is here: http://www.aleemartinez.com/. Being pulp fiction doesn't make it bad, just rather strange. A good read though.
This will be cross posted at Live Journal. Click the title to go there.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Santa's Goose Was Cooked!
Six Geese A-Slaying by Donna Andrews (her web site is here: http://donnaandrews.com/ ) was a three fold treat. First its a very good book. Second its the second book by this author released this year. And it it has a Christmas (sorry Meg, I meant holiday) theme.
Meg, and her wacky relatives and are back in funny form as Meg copes with organizing a holiday parade with a 12 Days of Christmas theme.
The weathers threatening lots of snow in rural Virginia
She has to ride herd on politically correct protesting geese (who don't want to stop at 6).
The Virgin Mary is about to literally re-enact the birth in a manger on the Nativity float, and somebody has just driven a stake of holly through Santa.
Probably because the victim would have been better cast as Scrooge.
This has been cross posted on Live Journal http://bookmobiler.livejournal.com/
Meg, and her wacky relatives and are back in funny form as Meg copes with organizing a holiday parade with a 12 Days of Christmas theme.
The weathers threatening lots of snow in rural Virginia
She has to ride herd on politically correct protesting geese (who don't want to stop at 6).
The Virgin Mary is about to literally re-enact the birth in a manger on the Nativity float, and somebody has just driven a stake of holly through Santa.
Probably because the victim would have been better cast as Scrooge.
This has been cross posted on Live Journal http://bookmobiler.livejournal.com/
Sunday, November 2, 2008
January Dancing is not Fowl Play
The January Dancer by Michael Flynn is hard science fiction with a moral twist. Not to mention enough plot twist to keep you guessing.
Flynn has a Live Journal page here: http://m-francis.livejournal.com/.
He doesn't appear to have a web site himself but thisweb site http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/f/michael-f-flynn/january-dancer.htm has a lot of information about his books.
This was a good book by an author I had some how missed before. I'll have to check out some of his others.
I'm not sure that I'd call The January Dancer sublime, but Janet Evanovich's Foul Play is certainly ridiculous. Ridiculous in a fun and enjoyable way.
The web site is here: http://www.evanovich.com/.
One of Evanovich's earlier works before the numerous Plum books. This is practically the definition of light reading. If you need to relax, read it.
This item has been cross posted at Live Journal.
Use the title link if you want to go there.
Flynn has a Live Journal page here: http://m-francis.livejournal.com/.
He doesn't appear to have a web site himself but thisweb site http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/f/michael-f-flynn/january-dancer.htm has a lot of information about his books.
This was a good book by an author I had some how missed before. I'll have to check out some of his others.
I'm not sure that I'd call The January Dancer sublime, but Janet Evanovich's Foul Play is certainly ridiculous. Ridiculous in a fun and enjoyable way.
The web site is here: http://www.evanovich.com/.
One of Evanovich's earlier works before the numerous Plum books. This is practically the definition of light reading. If you need to relax, read it.
This item has been cross posted at Live Journal.
Use the title link if you want to go there.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
How I got here.
I'm actually blogging over at LiveJournal (see the link above) but I regularly follow a blog over here called Killer Fiction.
This is a fun blog involving some really witty romance authors. Most of whose books I have read and enjoyed.
For some reason I was no longer able to log in and post with OpenID.
Since I couldn't cure the problem one way, I tried another.
Hence this blog I am going to mostly mirror the LJ postings here.
This is a fun blog involving some really witty romance authors. Most of whose books I have read and enjoyed.
For some reason I was no longer able to log in and post with OpenID.
Since I couldn't cure the problem one way, I tried another.
Hence this blog I am going to mostly mirror the LJ postings here.
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