finally some process on the bookreading front, with twelve books read this month, four finished yesterday, thanks to S. having to have her operation and me therefore hanging around the hospital with nothing to do but read. Gender wise, it’s six male writers (Neal Asher turning up twice) versus four female writers (two Bracketts); not quite fifty-fifty, but looking at just the fantasy and science fiction books, it is three vs three, so gender balance is achieved this month. Go me.
Ground Control — Anne Minton
How the British lost control of their own towns as more and more is under the control of commercial entities.
The Sword of Rhiannon — Leigh Brackett
A classic planetary romance set on a version of Mars drenched with a bittersweet aura of loss and nostalgia
Beyond the Blue Moon — Simon R. Green
Sequel to Blue Moon and the Hawke and Fisher novels, of which I’ve read the former but not the latter. Mindless escapism, but done quite well.
Gridlinked — Neal Asher
My experience with Asher’s novels so far has been confusing, as the ones I’ve read had a lot of assumed backstory from earlier books. But Gridlinked was his first novel, so surely this problem would not exist here? Not quite, as Asher still drops the reader in the middle of a fully realised, but not fully explained universe…
When Bagdhad Ruled the Muslim World — Hugh Kennedy
My interest in Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages led me to needing to read more about the early centuries of Islam, which led me to this, which tells the story of the Abbasid caliphate that ruled most of the Muslim world for almost two centuries. A decent enough history, but hampered by the large number of unfamiliar names and the habit of Kennedy to jump back and forward in his history.
Midnight Riot — Ben Aaronovitch
Ben twittered the shit out of this book a few months ago, which is why I picked it up. A police officer in training tries to interview a ghost as an eyewitness to a particularly senseless murder, which inevitably leads to him drafted for the secret magical unit of the London Met. Much more wittier than it needed to be.
Line of Polity — Neal Asher
Sequel to Gridlinked and like it, I devoured this book in slightly more than a day. Space opera pro forma.
Lightborn — Tricia Sullivan
Excellent coming of age science fiction novel, which teaches that while all adults cannot be trusted, becoming one is inevitable.
Sheepfarmer’s Daughter — Elizabeth Moon
Elizabeth Moon’s first novel, competently written military fantasy in a standard sort of Medievaloid world, more fleshed out than most such worlds. The scale of the military actions and descriptions of mercenary life meshed well with the Peter H. Wilson history of the Thirty Years War I was also reading at the time.
The Halfling and other Stories — Leigh Brackett
A collection of Brackett pulp science fiction stories, filled with strong morally grey heroes, the lithe fierce women who love and captivate them and the alien menaces they have to confront.
The Thirty Years War — Peter H. Wilson
An ambitious and mostly succesful attempt to write the definitive one volume history of this war. Wilson is careful to provide the larger European political context when appropriate, but only when these developments directly influence the struggle in the Holy Roman Empire. His history is somewhat handicapped by the large number of players he — and more importantly, the reader — has to keep track off.
One Fine Day in the Middle of the Night — Christopher Brookmyre
Comedy thriller about a school reunion set on an oil rig being turned into a holiday resort, which is targeted by the world’s most inept gang of terrorist bampots. Quite funny, if you like Brookmyre’s style.
