Olio

This is the final of the big catch up posts and then it's back to semi-regular postings.

To refresh your memory (and mine), here's the list of the titles that were neither Romance nor Kids, with commentary:

'All Men of Genius' by Lev AC Rosen--a smart and engaging steampunkish mash-up of Shakespeare and Oscar Wilde, which sounds like it would be impossible to pull off, but Rosen made it work.

'Awakenings' by Edward Lazellari
'The Potter's Field' by Andrea Camellari--The most recent installment in one of my favorite mystery series. Excellent, as always.

'One Grave at a Time' by Jeanine Frost
'Ink Flamingos' by Karen E. Olson
'Magic Slays' by Ilona Andrews
'Eye of the Tempest' by Nicole Peeler--All four also installments in series that I love.

'Cut to the Quick' and 'A Broken Vessel' by Kate Ross--19th Century set mysteries that appeal to both the historical romance and mystery lover in me. Ms.Ross only published three (or maybe it was four) titles in the series before she died and they've been unavailable for quite a while. Thankfully, Felony & Mayhem are bringing them all back into print. I highly recommend giving them a try.

'Hexed' and 'Hammered' by Kevin Hearne--This might very well be my new favorite Urban Fantasy series. The first three titles were pubbed back-to-back, all leading up to a climactic battle with the Norse gods. I can't wait to see where the series goes now that its whole world has changed.

'A Fire Upon the Deep' and 'Children of the Sky' by Vernor Vinge--I re-read 'Fire' in preparation for 'Children'. This is the kind of smart, intense Science Fiction that I don't read often, but always enjoy when I do. These are the kinds of books that I read in stages because my brain needs a break every now and again. So very, very, very good. With everything that happened in 'Children', though, I just hope another sequel isn't  as long in the making as this first one was.

'Damned' by Chuck Palahniuk--The most enjoyable Palahniuk I've read in years.

'The Sacred Band' by David Anthony Durham--The final installment in an epic fantasy trilogy that I recommend most highly.

'Been There, Done That' by Carol Snow

'Ganymede' by Cherie Priest--The third of Ms. Priest's "Clockwork Century" novels. Each successive novel has built upon the mythology established in the first while telling a story that could stand alone. I would recommend reading the series in order to watch the subtle weaving and layering of characters and stories to build toward what promises to be an explosive series conclusion.

'Aloha From Hell' by Richard Kadrey--The third and final (?) Sandman Slim novel and the perfect way to tie the story up. In fact, it couldn't have ended any other way.

'Lost Memory of Skin' by Russell Banks--There's an iguana on the cover, but the iguana dies early in the book, and quite brutally, which pissed me off and kind of summed up the whole reading experience. It's brutal and a bit heartbreaking and if it doesn't piss you off at least once, you aren't paying attention. Though, honestly, I would probably have appreciated it much more were I in possession of a Y chromosome.

And, hey, now I'm all caught up and can get back to some kind of semi-regular posting schedule. Yay, me!