Robertgreaves is ROOTing again in 2020 (Part 1 continued)
Esto es una continuación del tema Robertgreaves is ROOTing again in 2020.
Charlas2020 ROOT CHALLENGE
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1Robertgreaves
My review of Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett:
The Auditors want to bring the world to an end but they have reckoned without one thing - chocolate.
Not so many parallells with our world in this one but it was still a great story, though I wish the ebooks were better formatted so that changes from one scene to another were more obvious.
The Auditors want to bring the world to an end but they have reckoned without one thing - chocolate.
Not so many parallells with our world in this one but it was still a great story, though I wish the ebooks were better formatted so that changes from one scene to another were more obvious.
2Robertgreaves
A reminder of what's coming in August (maybe):
3Robertgreaves
Starting my No.137, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. This ebook is not a ROOT.
4Robertgreaves
Well, that was a bit of a shock about Mary Lamb. I read Tales from Shakespeare when I was about 12 and nobody mentioned it -- although to be honest I don't think I was even aware they were brother and sister rather than husband and wife.
5rabbitprincess
>4 Robertgreaves: I definitely also thought they were married rather than siblings!
6Robertgreaves
Starting my No. 138, Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín. This ebook is not a ROOT but I am reading it now for my book club.
My review of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society:
At the beginning of 1946, Juliet Ashton, a newspaper columnist, receives a letter from Dawsey Adams, a member of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society who found her name and address in a second hand copy of Charles Lamb's essays. Now he wants to read more Lamb and contacts her asking for help getting hold of his writings. A correspondence develops between Juliet and her friends on the one hand and the members of the society on the other.
I'm not a great one for epistolary novels but this was quite charming -- it reminded me of 84 Charing Cross Road, although rather darker in places given how recent the German occupation was.
My review of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society:
At the beginning of 1946, Juliet Ashton, a newspaper columnist, receives a letter from Dawsey Adams, a member of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society who found her name and address in a second hand copy of Charles Lamb's essays. Now he wants to read more Lamb and contacts her asking for help getting hold of his writings. A correspondence develops between Juliet and her friends on the one hand and the members of the society on the other.
I'm not a great one for epistolary novels but this was quite charming -- it reminded me of 84 Charing Cross Road, although rather darker in places given how recent the German occupation was.
7Robertgreaves
Starting my No. 139, Petir by Dee Lestari. This is my seventy-fourth ROOT for 2020 and brings the treebook TBR shelf down to 43. It fits the GeoCAT and possibly the SFFKIT (the author is a woman, but I'm not sure whether it really counts as SFF).
8Robertgreaves
Starting my No. 140, Out by Natsuo Kirino. This ebook is my seventy-fifth ROOT for 2020. It fits the GeoCAT, the MysteryKIT, and the AlphaKIT.
My review of Brooklyn:
Eilis is sponsored as an immigrant to Brooklyn from a small town in Ireland in 1950.
An interesting portrait of a time and place, though there were times I felt it was too sloooooowww and I was desperate for something to happen.
The final part was suspenseful but I thought the ending was a bit of a cop-out in that the main character didn't actually make her choice, it was made for her by Miss Kelly's knowledge of the truth.
My review of Petir:
As usual with this series, this was a bit of a struggle because it is written in Indonesian and uses a lot of vocabulary from semantic fields I don't really come across much at work. A colleague did mention that the author is well-known for her "experimental" language, so no doubt that was part of it. I will continue with the rest of the series, but I think I deserve a simpler read next.
My review of Brooklyn:
Eilis is sponsored as an immigrant to Brooklyn from a small town in Ireland in 1950.
An interesting portrait of a time and place, though there were times I felt it was too sloooooowww and I was desperate for something to happen.
The final part was suspenseful but I thought the ending was a bit of a cop-out in that the main character didn't actually make her choice, it was made for her by Miss Kelly's knowledge of the truth.
My review of Petir:
As usual with this series, this was a bit of a struggle because it is written in Indonesian and uses a lot of vocabulary from semantic fields I don't really come across much at work. A colleague did mention that the author is well-known for her "experimental" language, so no doubt that was part of it. I will continue with the rest of the series, but I think I deserve a simpler read next.
9Robertgreaves
Starting my No. 141 Vermilion by Nathan Aldyne. This ebook is not a ROOT.
My review of Out:
When Yayoi Yamamoto kills her abusive husband, her coworkers somewhat grudgingly help her dispose of the body. But can they avoid the attentions of the police, loan sharks, yakuza, and somebody rather scarier than all the others?
It sounds like the plot of a black comedy, but the very graphic descriptions of rape, necrophilia, and dismemberment soon put paid to that idea. There were definitely times I had to put it aside and get some snacks or a drink before I could continue. But having said that, if you've got the stomach for it, it's a great, tense thriller which leaves you alternatively appalled by and rooting for the main character, Masako Katori.
My review of Out:
When Yayoi Yamamoto kills her abusive husband, her coworkers somewhat grudgingly help her dispose of the body. But can they avoid the attentions of the police, loan sharks, yakuza, and somebody rather scarier than all the others?
It sounds like the plot of a black comedy, but the very graphic descriptions of rape, necrophilia, and dismemberment soon put paid to that idea. There were definitely times I had to put it aside and get some snacks or a drink before I could continue. But having said that, if you've got the stomach for it, it's a great, tense thriller which leaves you alternatively appalled by and rooting for the main character, Masako Katori.
10Robertgreaves
My No. 142 is the next in the colour series, Cobalt.
My review of Vermilion:
A rent boy's body is dumped in the grounds of a homophobic Boston politician's home. Under pressure from the politico, the police seem determined to pin the murder on someone, anyone, from the local gay community. Bartender Valentine and his BFF Clarisse Lovelace decide to find the real killer.
Fun piece of froth from 1980, so set in a very different world in so many ways.
My review of Vermilion:
A rent boy's body is dumped in the grounds of a homophobic Boston politician's home. Under pressure from the politico, the police seem determined to pin the murder on someone, anyone, from the local gay community. Bartender Valentine and his BFF Clarisse Lovelace decide to find the real killer.
Fun piece of froth from 1980, so set in a very different world in so many ways.
11Robertgreaves
My No. 143 is Viriconium by M. John Harrison. This is my seventy-sixth ROOT for 2020 and brings the treebook TBR total down to 43. It fits the AlphaKIT.
My review of Cobalt:
Valentine and Lovelace go on working holidays to Provincetown. Coming home from an all-night party, Clarisse finds a body on the beach, the body of a young man who the previous day had tried to persuade her to provide him with somewhere to stay in the resort.
Just as light and fluffy as its predecessor (though the less said about the fancy-dress party the better), but despite being something of a binge-reader of series I found two in a row too much.
My review of Cobalt:
Valentine and Lovelace go on working holidays to Provincetown. Coming home from an all-night party, Clarisse finds a body on the beach, the body of a young man who the previous day had tried to persuade her to provide him with somewhere to stay in the resort.
Just as light and fluffy as its predecessor (though the less said about the fancy-dress party the better), but despite being something of a binge-reader of series I found two in a row too much.
12Robertgreaves
Starting my No. 144, Intelligence: A Very Short Introduction by Ian J. Deary. This is my seventy-seventh ROOT for 2020 and brings the treebook TBR shelf down to 41.
My review of Viriconium:
This one-volume collection contains 3 short novels and half a dozen short stories set in a distant future Earth where people live in an empire ruled by the city of Viriconium at a technological level far below that of their ancestors.
I read the first novel ("The Pastel City"), and about half the short stories. I got about thirty pages into the second novel ("A Storm of Wings") and realised I just couldn't take any more of the author's style. It takes minimalist worldbuilding to an extreme with lots of allusions that are left unexplained and is much more interested in creating a series of emotional moods rather than telling a story. I might come back to it one day, but I doubt it.
My review of Viriconium:
This one-volume collection contains 3 short novels and half a dozen short stories set in a distant future Earth where people live in an empire ruled by the city of Viriconium at a technological level far below that of their ancestors.
I read the first novel ("The Pastel City"), and about half the short stories. I got about thirty pages into the second novel ("A Storm of Wings") and realised I just couldn't take any more of the author's style. It takes minimalist worldbuilding to an extreme with lots of allusions that are left unexplained and is much more interested in creating a series of emotional moods rather than telling a story. I might come back to it one day, but I doubt it.
13Robertgreaves
Starting my No. 145, The Inspector Chen Collection. This ebook is not a ROOT. It fits the GeoCAT and the AlphaKIT. As this omnibus does not exist as a single treebook, I will count each novel, the first of which is Death of a Red Heroine, separately in my running total of books.
My review of Intelligence: A Very Short Introduction:
What it says on the tin.
One of the clearest and easiest to understand of the ones I've read from this series.
My review of Intelligence: A Very Short Introduction:
What it says on the tin.
One of the clearest and easiest to understand of the ones I've read from this series.
14Robertgreaves
Starting the second in the collection, A Loyal Character Dancer as my No. 146.
My review of the first one, Death of a Red Heroine:
Chief Inspector Chen Cao, the newly appointed head of the special crimes division of the Shanghai police, and his squad, mainly Detective Yu Guangming, are called upon to investigate the murder of a young woman whose naked body was found dumped in a canal.
It took me a while to get used to the style, especially the dialogue, which struck me as overly formal and rather stilted, but then maybe that reflects Chinese speech patterns of the time. It was interesting seeing how a fairly run-of-the-mill whodunnit played out against a Chinese background. I will definitely continue reading.
My review of the first one, Death of a Red Heroine:
Chief Inspector Chen Cao, the newly appointed head of the special crimes division of the Shanghai police, and his squad, mainly Detective Yu Guangming, are called upon to investigate the murder of a young woman whose naked body was found dumped in a canal.
It took me a while to get used to the style, especially the dialogue, which struck me as overly formal and rather stilted, but then maybe that reflects Chinese speech patterns of the time. It was interesting seeing how a fairly run-of-the-mill whodunnit played out against a Chinese background. I will definitely continue reading.
15Robertgreaves
Third in the collection, When Red Is Black is my No. 147.
My review of A Loyal Character Dancer:
The body of a man wearing Valentino silk pyjamas is found in a public park and the wife of a witness in an American trial of people traffickers has disappeared. Chen works with an American marshal to find the missing woman but is not so sure the other case is unrelated.
Although there is less day-to-day life, it was still the Chinese background and the constraints Chen works under which made this interesting - and of course the food.
My review of A Loyal Character Dancer:
The body of a man wearing Valentino silk pyjamas is found in a public park and the wife of a witness in an American trial of people traffickers has disappeared. Chen works with an American marshal to find the missing woman but is not so sure the other case is unrelated.
Although there is less day-to-day life, it was still the Chinese background and the constraints Chen works under which made this interesting - and of course the food.
16HannahGibson
Este usuario ha sido eliminado por spam.
17Robertgreaves
Starting my No. 148, Ten Caesars by Barry Strauss. This ebook is not a ROOT. I am reading it now for my reading group. It fits the NonFictionCAT.
My review of the third book from The Inspector Chen Collection, When Red Is Black:
Inspector Chen is taking vacation time to work on a translation and so takes something of a back seat in this story of the murder of a dissident writer, with most of the investigation being undertaken by Detective Yu.
It is still the picture of Chinese life during the transition from communism to a mixed economy under Deng Xiaoping that fascinates me, though the mystery element gets better with each installment.
My review of the third book from The Inspector Chen Collection, When Red Is Black:
Inspector Chen is taking vacation time to work on a translation and so takes something of a back seat in this story of the murder of a dissident writer, with most of the investigation being undertaken by Detective Yu.
It is still the picture of Chinese life during the transition from communism to a mixed economy under Deng Xiaoping that fascinates me, though the mystery element gets better with each installment.
18Robertgreaves
Possible reading for September:
20Robertgreaves
Thank you, Connie. Thanks for dropping by
21Robertgreaves
Starting my No. 149, A Cold Blooded Business by Dana Stabenow. This ebook is not a ROOT but it fits GeoCAT and MysteryKIT.
22Robertgreaves
Starting my No. 150, the next in the series, Play With Fire.
My review of A Cold Blooded Business:
Kate Shugak is hired to go undecover to find out who is supplying illicit drugs to the workers at an oil company's base at Prudhoe Bay on the North Slope.
We find out who the bad guys are about 2/3 of the way through the book, up to which point the author is just immersing us in life up past the Arctic Circle, and she does a very good job of it, too. The obligatory scenes of danger and violence followed by the wrap-up and epilogue were competently done but didn't really provide as much of a thrill or emotional satisfaction as they could have.
My review of A Cold Blooded Business:
Kate Shugak is hired to go undecover to find out who is supplying illicit drugs to the workers at an oil company's base at Prudhoe Bay on the North Slope.
We find out who the bad guys are about 2/3 of the way through the book, up to which point the author is just immersing us in life up past the Arctic Circle, and she does a very good job of it, too. The obligatory scenes of danger and violence followed by the wrap-up and epilogue were competently done but didn't really provide as much of a thrill or emotional satisfaction as they could have.
23Robertgreaves
Starting my No. 151, the next in the series, Blood Will Tell:
My review of Play With Fire:
Picking mushrooms near the site of the previous year's forest fire, Kate Shugak finds a man's naked body - but he didn't die in the fire, he died of anaphylactic shock. Who was he and how did he come to be there?
Good mystery marred by the discussions of religion - with the arguments of those for and against both refusing to recognise any nuances.
My review of Play With Fire:
Picking mushrooms near the site of the previous year's forest fire, Kate Shugak finds a man's naked body - but he didn't die in the fire, he died of anaphylactic shock. Who was he and how did he come to be there?
Good mystery marred by the discussions of religion - with the arguments of those for and against both refusing to recognise any nuances.
24Robertgreaves
Starting my No. 152, Venus in Copper by Lindsey Davis, which is a re-read, making it my seventy-eighth ROOT for 2020.
My review of Blood Will Tell:
With a crucial vote coming up on whether to have a tract of land made part of the national park or left open for exploitation by natural resources companies, including oil companies, members of the tribal council are dropping like flies, and emaa asks Kate to investigate.
Lots of Alaskan history in this one. The ending gives off an end-of-an-era vibe, so it feels like a good place to break. I will be coming back to the series though.
My review of Blood Will Tell:
With a crucial vote coming up on whether to have a tract of land made part of the national park or left open for exploitation by natural resources companies, including oil companies, members of the tribal council are dropping like flies, and emaa asks Kate to investigate.
Lots of Alaskan history in this one. The ending gives off an end-of-an-era vibe, so it feels like a good place to break. I will be coming back to the series though.
25Robertgreaves
Starting my No. 153, Paul: A Very Short Introduction by E. P. Sanders. This is my seventy-ninth ROOT for 2020 and brings the treebook TBR pile down to 40. I am reading it now for the NonFictionCAT.
26Robertgreaves
Starting my No. 154, When God Spoke Greek by Timothy Michael Law. This ebook is my eightieth ROOT for 2020. It fits the NonFictionCAT and the AlphaKIT.
My review of Paul: A Very Short Introduction:
A good introduction. It covers the basics, but doesn't shy away from the difficulties.
My review of Paul: A Very Short Introduction:
A good introduction. It covers the basics, but doesn't shy away from the difficulties.
27Robertgreaves
Starting my No. 155, A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. This ebook is not a ROOT. It fits the AlphaKIT but I am reading it now for my bookclub.
The books I ordered from The Book Depository at the beginning of July have arrived so the treebook TBR shelf now stands at 43.
My review of When God Spoke Greek:
The Septuagint is a translation of the Jewish scriptures into Greek, made in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC.
This book looks at the differences between the Septuagint and the Hebrew text the Western churches use as the basis for the Old Testament. Not only does the Septuagint include books the Protestant Bible does not, but there are differences in wording in the books both include. These differences aren't because the Septuagint weren't good translators but because as shown by the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Hebrew text they were working from was different from the later accepted text we now know.
The book goes on to describe how the New Testament writers used the Septuagint and how the Septuagint gradually fell out of favour in the Western churches.
The book raises fascinating questions of what counts as scripture and how the canon was formed. I think it could have done with more side-by-side examples of English translations of the Septuagint and the Hebrew text and the Septuagint before and after Origen's Hexapla to make the differences clearer.
I must admit I nearly stopped reading when the author remarked in passing that the Greeks won at Thermopylae, but I'm very glad I persevered.
The books I ordered from The Book Depository at the beginning of July have arrived so the treebook TBR shelf now stands at 43.
My review of When God Spoke Greek:
The Septuagint is a translation of the Jewish scriptures into Greek, made in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC.
This book looks at the differences between the Septuagint and the Hebrew text the Western churches use as the basis for the Old Testament. Not only does the Septuagint include books the Protestant Bible does not, but there are differences in wording in the books both include. These differences aren't because the Septuagint weren't good translators but because as shown by the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Hebrew text they were working from was different from the later accepted text we now know.
The book goes on to describe how the New Testament writers used the Septuagint and how the Septuagint gradually fell out of favour in the Western churches.
The book raises fascinating questions of what counts as scripture and how the canon was formed. I think it could have done with more side-by-side examples of English translations of the Septuagint and the Hebrew text and the Septuagint before and after Origen's Hexapla to make the differences clearer.
I must admit I nearly stopped reading when the author remarked in passing that the Greeks won at Thermopylae, but I'm very glad I persevered.
28Robertgreaves
Starting my No. 156, Melmoth by Sarah Perry. This is my eighty-first ROOT for 2020 and brings the treebook TBR shelf down to 42.
My review of A Gentleman in Moscow:
After the Russian Revolution Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov is sentenced to life imprisonment in a luxury hotel.
Reading this was like luxuriating in a hot bath while I was actually reading it. I loved the language and atmosphere of it.
It was only afterwards that the sheer improbability of it all struck me. The tribunal sentencing him didn't know about his stash, so how did it imagine this was going to be financed? Who was supposed to be paying for it all? And everybody in the hotel loves our hero, except for the "Bishop", who was bitter and twisted and so doesn't count (I guess that probably makes me bitter and twisted as well).
I was sorry when it was all over. I wanted to know about what happened next, not only for the Count but also for the other characters.
My review of A Gentleman in Moscow:
After the Russian Revolution Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov is sentenced to life imprisonment in a luxury hotel.
Reading this was like luxuriating in a hot bath while I was actually reading it. I loved the language and atmosphere of it.
It was only afterwards that the sheer improbability of it all struck me. The tribunal sentencing him didn't know about his stash, so how did it imagine this was going to be financed? Who was supposed to be paying for it all? And everybody in the hotel loves our hero, except for the "Bishop", who was bitter and twisted and so doesn't count (I guess that probably makes me bitter and twisted as well).
I was sorry when it was all over. I wanted to know about what happened next, not only for the Count but also for the other characters.
29Robertgreaves
Starting my No. 157, Nine for the Devil by M. E. Mayer. This ebook is my eighty-second ROOT for 2020. I'm reading it now for the AlphaKIT and the MysteryKIT.
My review of Melmoth:
An English woman living in Prague and her two friends become convinced they are being followed by the legendary figure of Melmoth, one of the women who witnessed Christ's resurrection but then retracted her testimony and ever since has wandered the Earth on bleeding feet bearing witness to people's sins.
A peculiar book. It took me a while to get used to the style and I'm still not sure whether Melmoth was supposed to be real or just how the characters intepreted a guilty conscience, but then maybe that uncertainty is what the author was aiming for. I will read more of this author.
My review of Melmoth:
An English woman living in Prague and her two friends become convinced they are being followed by the legendary figure of Melmoth, one of the women who witnessed Christ's resurrection but then retracted her testimony and ever since has wandered the Earth on bleeding feet bearing witness to people's sins.
A peculiar book. It took me a while to get used to the style and I'm still not sure whether Melmoth was supposed to be real or just how the characters intepreted a guilty conscience, but then maybe that uncertainty is what the author was aiming for. I will read more of this author.
30Robertgreaves
Starting my No. 158, A Cursed Inheritance by Kate Ellis. This ebook is my eighty-third ROOT for 2020. I'm reading it now for the AlphaKIT and the MysteryKIT.
My review of Nine for the Devil:
The emperor Justinian orders John to find out who killed the empress Theodora even though everybody else believes she died of cancer.
Everybody is paranoid - but is it paranoia if the emperor may really be out to get you? The ending makes it sound like the end of the series, but apparently there are more out there.
My review of Nine for the Devil:
The emperor Justinian orders John to find out who killed the empress Theodora even though everybody else believes she died of cancer.
Everybody is paranoid - but is it paranoia if the emperor may really be out to get you? The ending makes it sound like the end of the series, but apparently there are more out there.
31Robertgreaves
Starting my No. 159, the next in the series, The Marriage Hearse. This ebook is not a ROOT but fits the AlphaKIT and MysteryKIT.
My review of A Cursed Inheritance:
Wesley investigates the death of a true crime writer investigating the case of a family apparently murdered by their housekeeper in the 1980s while Neil is on a dig in America, and running a rather awkward errand for his grandmother while he's over there.
As usual, nice and twisty as past and present are reflected in each other. The ending hints at soap opera-ish goings-on in the offing. I hope not.
My review of A Cursed Inheritance:
Wesley investigates the death of a true crime writer investigating the case of a family apparently murdered by their housekeeper in the 1980s while Neil is on a dig in America, and running a rather awkward errand for his grandmother while he's over there.
As usual, nice and twisty as past and present are reflected in each other. The ending hints at soap opera-ish goings-on in the offing. I hope not.
32Robertgreaves
Starting my No. 160, the next in the series, The Shining Skull. This ebook is not a ROOT but fits the AlphaKIT and MysteryKIT.
My review of The Marriage Hearse:
When her father comes to pick the bride up to take her to the church, he finds her naked body on the bed, with a cable wrapped round her neck. Was it random sexual violence or was it just posed to look that way? It turns out there were plenty of people who wished Kristen ill.
The author managed to lead me down the garden path in several different directions, just when I thought I was being clever and had worked things out.
My review of The Marriage Hearse:
When her father comes to pick the bride up to take her to the church, he finds her naked body on the bed, with a cable wrapped round her neck. Was it random sexual violence or was it just posed to look that way? It turns out there were plenty of people who wished Kristen ill.
The author managed to lead me down the garden path in several different directions, just when I thought I was being clever and had worked things out.
33Robertgreaves
Starting my No. 161, If Walls Could Talk by Lucy Worsley. This ebook is my eighty-fourth ROOT for 2020.
My review of The Shining Skull:
The kidnapping of a teenaged pop sensation bears uncanny resemblance to the kidnapping of a 7-year-old 30 years ago, and the victim in that case appears to have reappeared -- or is it an imposter? A fake taxi driver is cutting off women's hair - will he escalate to something worse? Meanwhile Neil has found an extra body in a Regency coffin. Is it related to the cult of the prophetess Joan Shiner?
The best of the series so far. Lots of suspense and unexpected twists. I certainly didn't see the solution to the main mystery coming at all. However, since it's taken this long for it to click that Neil is more formally called Dr. Watson, it may not be all that surprising.
My review of The Shining Skull:
The kidnapping of a teenaged pop sensation bears uncanny resemblance to the kidnapping of a 7-year-old 30 years ago, and the victim in that case appears to have reappeared -- or is it an imposter? A fake taxi driver is cutting off women's hair - will he escalate to something worse? Meanwhile Neil has found an extra body in a Regency coffin. Is it related to the cult of the prophetess Joan Shiner?
The best of the series so far. Lots of suspense and unexpected twists. I certainly didn't see the solution to the main mystery coming at all. However, since it's taken this long for it to click that Neil is more formally called Dr. Watson, it may not be all that surprising.
34Robertgreaves
Starting my No. 162, Jamie Fessenden's Greatest Hits, a collection of four short novels. As this ebook doesn't seem to have a treebook incarnation, I'm going to count it as four separate items, all of which will count as ROOTs. The first one is Billy's Bones, which will be my eighty-fifth ROOT.
My review of If Walls Could Talk:
Fascinating social history of British domestic life as seen through rooms and the activities that went on in them. Almost every page has something that tempts you to read it aloud to anyone who will stay long enough.
My review of If Walls Could Talk:
Fascinating social history of British domestic life as seen through rooms and the activities that went on in them. Almost every page has something that tempts you to read it aloud to anyone who will stay long enough.
35Jackie_K
>34 Robertgreaves: I think I'm going to add If Walls Could Talk to my wishlist.
37Robertgreaves
Moving on to the second in the collection, Screwups. This is my No. 163 and my eighty-sixth ROOT for 2020.
My review of Billy's Bones:
Hurt/comfort romance with a mystery lurking in the background.
Not marvellous, but not bad either. I found the language unadventurous not to say over-simple at first, but got used to it eventually.
My review of Billy's Bones:
Hurt/comfort romance with a mystery lurking in the background.
Not marvellous, but not bad either. I found the language unadventurous not to say over-simple at first, but got used to it eventually.
38Robertgreaves
Third in the collection is Murder on the Mountain. This is my No. 164 and my eighty-seventh ROOT for 2020. It fits the AlphaKIT.
My review of Screwups:
Another hurt/comfort romance involving a character from the past of one of the characters in the first novel.
A rather weak ending. It left me wanting to know more about how things worked out going forward, especially how the dynamics with Jake's family developed.
My review of Screwups:
Another hurt/comfort romance involving a character from the past of one of the characters in the first novel.
A rather weak ending. It left me wanting to know more about how things worked out going forward, especially how the dynamics with Jake's family developed.
39connie53
>38 Robertgreaves: I hate it when you are left with unanswered things.
40Robertgreaves
Fourth in the collection is Violated. This is my No. 165 and my eighty-eighth ROOT.
My review of Murder on the Mountain:
Good combination of detective story and romance, in which a volunteer at a mountaintop meteorological observatory finds the dead body of a missing tourist and then falls for one of the investigating detectives. Both the mystery and the romance were well done and kept me turning the pages.
My review of Murder on the Mountain:
Good combination of detective story and romance, in which a volunteer at a mountaintop meteorological observatory finds the dead body of a missing tourist and then falls for one of the investigating detectives. Both the mystery and the romance were well done and kept me turning the pages.
41Robertgreaves
Starting my No. 166, Slan by A. E. Van Vogt. This ebook is my eighty-ninth ROOT. It fits the SFFKIT.
My review of Violated:
Sensitively-done romance featuring a male victim of sexual assault. Difficult to read at times, as it should be, but worth pushing on with.
My review of Violated:
Sensitively-done romance featuring a male victim of sexual assault. Difficult to read at times, as it should be, but worth pushing on with.
42Robertgreaves
Starting my No. 167, The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison. This brings the treebook shelf down to 42. It is my ninetieth ROOT for 2020, which means I have reached my goal. I am reading it now for the AlphaKIT.
My review of Slan:
Jommy Cross is a slan, a telepathic mutant with tendrils in his hair which function as the telepathic organ. Slans are considered a threat by ordinary humans and are exterminated wherever they are found. Jommy's late father invented a weapon which may help the slans and now it is up to Jommy to find it and help his people.
I loved A. E. Van Vogt's work as a teen, though I don't remember having read this one before. But now although I kept reading, I just wasn't much interested in any of it.
My review of Slan:
Jommy Cross is a slan, a telepathic mutant with tendrils in his hair which function as the telepathic organ. Slans are considered a threat by ordinary humans and are exterminated wherever they are found. Jommy's late father invented a weapon which may help the slans and now it is up to Jommy to find it and help his people.
I loved A. E. Van Vogt's work as a teen, though I don't remember having read this one before. But now although I kept reading, I just wasn't much interested in any of it.
43MissWatson
>42 Robertgreaves: Congrats on reaching your goal!
44rabbitprincess
>42 Robertgreaves: Hurray, congratulations on reaching your goal!
45clue
>42 Robertgreaves: With three months to spare, congrats!
46Robertgreaves
Starting my No. 168, Blood in the Cotswoldsby Rebecca Tope. This ebook is not a ROOT.
I DNF-ed The Goblin Emperor. I read the first part and couldn't be bothered to go any further. It was passed on to me by a friend and I have no compunction about passing it on to somebody else.
I DNF-ed The Goblin Emperor. I read the first part and couldn't be bothered to go any further. It was passed on to me by a friend and I have no compunction about passing it on to somebody else.
47Robertgreaves
Starting the next in the series, my No. 169 Slaughter in the Cotswolds. This ebook is not a ROOT.
My review of Blood in the Cotswolds:
An old tree near the house where Thea is house-sitting collapses. Phil finds a skeleton which had been buried underneath the tree.
There were lots of references to earlier books in the series which I read long enough ago to have forgotten what happened while the references weren't explicit enough to prompt my memory. Phil puts his back out in this one, and the descriptions of the physical and mental effects of that rang very true to my own experience. The actual mystery was well done. I did get glimmerings of the solution at one point, but foolishly didn't follow them up.
My review of Blood in the Cotswolds:
An old tree near the house where Thea is house-sitting collapses. Phil finds a skeleton which had been buried underneath the tree.
There were lots of references to earlier books in the series which I read long enough ago to have forgotten what happened while the references weren't explicit enough to prompt my memory. Phil puts his back out in this one, and the descriptions of the physical and mental effects of that rang very true to my own experience. The actual mystery was well done. I did get glimmerings of the solution at one point, but foolishly didn't follow them up.
48Robertgreaves
Continued in Part 2
