June Books, Part 2
Jul. 3rd, 2006 07:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ellarienCut text may contain (not very specific) spoilers.
Dudley Pope, Ramage and the Guillotine
Our hero goes undercover in France, trying to ascertain Napoleon's readiness to invade. Most of the actual work is done by an ex-burglar seaman and a band of smugglers, and there's little maritime action except right at the end. The research was no doubt meticulous, but I couldn't help wondering how much of the feel of police-state France was based on cold-war Eastern Europe.
Charles Stross, The Clan Corporate
I've seen complaints that this one suffers from middle-book syndrome, but though the heroine's personal arc isn't very satisfying the book introduces a couple of nasty new twists into the transdimensional setup, and it will be interesting to see where those go in future installments.
Tim Powers, On Stranger Tides
Long before Pirates of the Caribbean there was this tale of derring-do, voodoo and necromancy on the high seas. Highly entertaining, though probably not to be taken seriously as a work of historical fiction.
Naomi Novik, Black Powder War
Temeraire and crew make their way homeward from China by the overland route, having been ordered to collect some dragon eggs from Turkey. They end up embroiled in the European war against the French -- a side of the wars that doesn't get much coverage in English-language fiction, possibly because of the shortage of English-speaking participants, so it was interesting to see it depicted here. Temeraire is still hankering after dragon emancipation, which causes some tension with Lawrence. The feral dragons were interesting, and I liked the firebreathing baby a lot.
The worst thing about this book is that now we have to wait a year or so for the next one.
Martha Wells, The Death of the Necromancer
In a fantasy analogue of nineteenth-century Paris, gentleman-crimimal Nicolas Valiarde is distracted from his elaborate quest for vengeance on a dastardly noble when he tangles with a necromancer. (Actually, Nicolas is more complicated than that, but it would be too spoilerish to say much more.) The plot ranges from the royal palace to ancient crypts accessible only via the sewers, and everywhere in between. It also explains quite a lot about Tremaine, the protagonist of the recently-completed trilogy in the same world, who is Nicolas's daughter. Arisilde Damal, Nic's sorcerer friend, is rather remiscent of some of Barbara Hambly's daffy mage characters.
Dudley Pope, Ramage and the Guillotine
Our hero goes undercover in France, trying to ascertain Napoleon's readiness to invade. Most of the actual work is done by an ex-burglar seaman and a band of smugglers, and there's little maritime action except right at the end. The research was no doubt meticulous, but I couldn't help wondering how much of the feel of police-state France was based on cold-war Eastern Europe.
Charles Stross, The Clan Corporate
I've seen complaints that this one suffers from middle-book syndrome, but though the heroine's personal arc isn't very satisfying the book introduces a couple of nasty new twists into the transdimensional setup, and it will be interesting to see where those go in future installments.
Tim Powers, On Stranger Tides
Long before Pirates of the Caribbean there was this tale of derring-do, voodoo and necromancy on the high seas. Highly entertaining, though probably not to be taken seriously as a work of historical fiction.
Naomi Novik, Black Powder War
Temeraire and crew make their way homeward from China by the overland route, having been ordered to collect some dragon eggs from Turkey. They end up embroiled in the European war against the French -- a side of the wars that doesn't get much coverage in English-language fiction, possibly because of the shortage of English-speaking participants, so it was interesting to see it depicted here. Temeraire is still hankering after dragon emancipation, which causes some tension with Lawrence. The feral dragons were interesting, and I liked the firebreathing baby a lot.
The worst thing about this book is that now we have to wait a year or so for the next one.
Martha Wells, The Death of the Necromancer
In a fantasy analogue of nineteenth-century Paris, gentleman-crimimal Nicolas Valiarde is distracted from his elaborate quest for vengeance on a dastardly noble when he tangles with a necromancer. (Actually, Nicolas is more complicated than that, but it would be too spoilerish to say much more.) The plot ranges from the royal palace to ancient crypts accessible only via the sewers, and everywhere in between. It also explains quite a lot about Tremaine, the protagonist of the recently-completed trilogy in the same world, who is Nicolas's daughter. Arisilde Damal, Nic's sorcerer friend, is rather remiscent of some of Barbara Hambly's daffy mage characters.