Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Androgynous Murder House Party


By Steven Rigolosi
Tales From the Back Page #3

You will either love or loath Robin Anders, the narrator of the story. A self absorbed New Yorker, an upper crust snob, well heeled and pampered, eccentric and out spoken. Whose overblown narrative will either entertain you immensely or drive you crazy.

I admit more to the “drive-you-crazy” side of the coin, especially when Robin absolutely refuses to see the series of bizarre accidents during a weekend house party as murder attempts. But no one could possibly attack such a beloved and saint-like personage as Robin.

After returning to New York, one of the house guests, Lee, a long time ex-lover and bitter rival, dies and Robin sets out to investigate the situation and recover a tortoise shell hairbrush that was the only thing that Lee bequeathed Robin in the will. But strange things keep happening.

For example as Robin waits to meet a friend on the Observation Deck of the Empire State Building

“And it was here that my sixth sense–that oracular ability that has sometimes descended upon me when I least expect it–kicked into overdrive. The air got thick and time froze as I sensed imminent danger. My adrenaline surged as I watched a tall masked personage pushing through the crowd toward me and Alex. Nothing about the scenario felt right; my very pores were tingling with dread. And as I caught my breath the masked marauder pulled out what appeared to be a small knife, which was then plunged into the back of the unsuspecting Alex as I used every bit of my catlike physical prowess to twist out of the way.”


Robin avoiding the questions and the lustful stares of New York’s finest, proceeds to leave the scene of the crime and repairs herself to a nearby restaurant and treats herself to a culinary repast prepared especially for her by a devoted chef and lubricated by several pomegranate margaritas.

Androgynous Murder House Party is a very convoluted mystery, with lots happening. It is one that you have to read every word, to the very end to figure out what is going on. Another element is the task the author has set for himself, not to reveal the gender of the characters. Deliberately using names that could be both female or male, Steven Rigolosi never uses a he or a she and that is very difficult as I discovered just trying to write this review to leave it ambiguous. I have my suspicions but I’m not 100% sure. It is up to each reader to decide if it is Ms Robin Anders or Mr..

I have never read a mystery quite like this one. Androgynous Murder House Party is uniquely different. While rather slow beginning, it culminates in a heap of cross and double cross. Justice is served but Robin Anders’ style. Like I said, I’ve never read a mystery like this one.

Reviewed by Linda Suzane June 24, 2009 www.midnightblood.com



Androgynous Murder House Party
Tales From the Back Page #3
By Steven Rigolosi

Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Ransom Note Press (June 15, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0977378764
ISBN-13: 978-0977378760

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

What Kind of Fantasy Author Am I?

Your result for Which fantasy writer are you?...

Susan Cooper (b. 1935)

9 High-Brow, -23 Violent, -11 Experimental and -17 Cynical!


Congratulations! You are High-Brow, Peaceful, Traditional and Romantic! These concepts are defined below.


Though born in England, Susan Cooper currently lives in the United States. She is most well-known for her The Dark Is Rising sequence, which has received substantial critical acclaim, the second book (also called The Dark Is Rising) in the series winning a Newbury Honor and the fourth book (The Grey King) being awarded the Newbury Medal, one of the world's most prestigious awards for children's literature. The series is one of the finest examples of contemporary fantasy: the kind of fantasy where magic happens in an actually existing place. The Dark Is Rising is set in Britain, where two common themes of fantasy are combined; that of a magic world parallel to ours, which later became so popular with the Harry Potter books and that of ordinary British school-children playing a role in the struggle between Good and Evil, which had earlier been explored by C S Lewis.


Cooper manages to use the idiom of traditional children books to tell a tale of epic proportions, as evil beings from Celtic legends appear on Earth to do battle with the Old Ones, a secret society of people with magic powers. She is also able to combine this rather romantic vision with important messages, the compassion of one of the children being vital to the cause of Good at one point in the story. In Cooper's world, what you think and do matters on a grand scale, a message children and adults alike should take to their hearts.


You are also a lot like Ursula K Le Guin.


If you want some action, try China MiƩville.


If you'd like a challenge, try your exact opposite, Lian Hearn.



Your score



This is how to interpret your score: Your attitudes have been measured on four different scales, called 1) High-Brow vs. Low-Brow, 2) Violent vs. Peaceful, 3) Experimental vs. Traditional and 4) Cynical vs. Romantic. Imagine that when you were born, you were in a state of innocence, a tabula rasa who would have scored zero on each scale. Since then, a number of circumstances (including genetical, cultural and environmental factors) have pushed you towards either end of these scales. If you're at 45 or -45 you would be almost entirely cynical, low-brow or whatever. The closer to zero you are, the less extreme your attitude. However, you should always be more of either (eg more romantic than cynical). Please note that even though High-Brow, Violent, Experimental and Cynical have positive numbers (1 through 45) and their opposites negative numbers (-1 through -45), this doesn't mean that either quality is better. All attitudes have their positive and negative sides, as explained below.



High-Brow vs. Low-Brow



You received 9 points, making you more High-Brow than Low-Brow. Being high-browed in this context refers to being more fascinated with the sort of art that critics and scholars tend to favour, rather than the best-selling kind. At their best, high-brows are cultured, able to appreciate the finer nuances of literature and not content with simplifications. At their worst they are, well, snobs.



Violent vs. Peaceful



You received -23 points, making you more Peaceful than Violent. This scale is a measurement of a) if you are tolerant to violence in fiction and b) whether you see violence as a means that can be used to achieve a good end. If you aren't, and you don't, then you are peaceful as defined here. At their best, peaceful people are the ones who encourage dialogue and understanding as a means of solving conflicts. At their worst, they are standing passively by as they or third parties are hurt by less scrupulous individuals.



Experimental vs. Traditional



You received -11 points, making you more Traditional than Experimental. Your position on this scale indicates if you're more likely to seek out the new and unexpected or if you are more comfortable with the familiar, especially in regards to culture. Note that traditional as defined here does not equal conservative, in the political sense. At their best, traditional people don't change winning concepts, favouring storytelling over empty poses. At their worst, they are somewhat narrow-minded.



Cynical vs. Romantic



You received -17 points, making you more Romantic than Cynical. Your position on this scale indicates if you are more likely to be wary, suspicious and skeptical to people around you and the world at large, or if you are more likely to believe in grand schemes, happy endings and the basic goodness of humankind. It is by far the most vaguely defined scale, which is why you'll find the sentence "you are also a lot like x" above. If you feel that your position on this scale is wrong, then you are probably more like author x. At their best, romantic people are optimistic, willing to work for a good cause and an inspiration to their peers. At their worst, they are easily fooled and too easily lead.



Take Which fantasy writer are you?
at HelloQuizzy

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

The Language of Bees

by Laurie R. King


WARNING: Do Not Read This Book, until you can read #10. This book has a real cliff hanging ending, leaving you craving another serving, and unfortunately it will be some time before THE GREEN MAN appears. According to the Laurie R. King website
http://www.laurierking.com/ Sometime in 2010.

But what about THE LANGUAGE OF BEES? It has been quite awhile since I read any Mary Russell. The last book LOCKED ROOMS was published in 2005. That is one thing that amazes me. How she can continue with such long breaks between stories, the problems of continuity are overwhelming. I am amazed that the story continues on so strongly, pulling you in, and wrapping you in the familiar.

Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes return home after almost a year away. They have traveled around the world solving crimes, some devastating to themselves personally and to their relationship. They come home rather wounded, to discover not the peace and haven they thought, but that Sherlock Holmes has a grown son, whose wife and daughter have gone missing. Their search for Yolanda and Estelle leaves them following a trail of bloody sacrifices and a religious madman. Can they decipher the clues and reach the trail’s end in time to save an innocent child from the sacrificial knife?

This book pulled me in. I couldn’t put it down, reading all day Sunday. Still not finished I did the unthinkable and skipped to the end. But it did allow me to go to bed and return to reading the next day. This time I read more slowly because I didn’t want to abandoned that world. I want to keep reading. Laurie R. King is such a great writer and her portrayals of Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes brilliant. But LANGUAGE OF BEES was like Star War’s “Empire Strikes Back”. While it comes to a satisfactory end, there is so much is left unanswered that I’m impatient for the next in the series. Probably to satisfy my hunger, I will have to go back and read the whole series from the beginning. Now that’s a good idea, each book is well worth reading again, and maybe by then the next book will be out.

Reviewed by Linda Suzane www.midnightblood.com June 16, 2009

The Language of Bees
by Laurie R. King
Publisher: Bantam Books
Pub. Date: April 2009
ISBN-13: 9780553804546
Series: Mary Russell Series, #9

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Justice Hall

By Laurie R. King

JUSTICE HALL is the sixth book in the series about Sherlock Holmes and his wife Mary Russell. Yes, a much older Sherlock Holmes, now in his fifties, has taken on an apprentice and a wife, in the much younger Mary Russell. The stories are told from Mary's viewpoint, as she and Sherlock work together to solve cases.

This one reunites Mary and Sherlock with two former friends, but times find them much changed. When Mary and Sherlock knew them, they knew them as Ali and Muhammad, two Beduins who helped them travel through Palestine on a secret mission for Mycroft. At the time Sherlock had his suspicions that the two brothers were not originally Arab as they appeared. And indeed they were not. Now, Ali turns up on the door begging help for Muhammad and looking and sounding like a very proper English gentleman. The problem that Ali needs help with so desperately is the fact that circumstances have demanded that Muhammad resume his old life as Marsh Hughenfort and the death of the heir to the title has made him the seventh Duke. Mary and Sherlock travel to Justice Hall and find a very unhappy man determined to do his duty, even though being away from his beloved desert is killing him. When it becomes clear that they will not be able to change his mind, Sherlock and Mary set out to help by providing Marsh with support during the difficult time and begin investigating the rather suspicious death of the young heir, executed for cowardice during World War I, and the set out to prove whether or not Marsh's heir, the son of his brother, is actually his son. More and more mysteries enter and then someone tries to kill Marsh. And the game is afoot.

Laurie E. King has written another great addition to her rather improbable mystery series that takes a very much different look at Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock is still the Sherlock we know and love and yet different. Mary is charming and a very unique modern woman, a true heroine. JUSTICE HALL is very worth reading.

Reviewed by Linda Suzane, June 5, 2002.

Justice Hall
By Laurie R. King
Bantam Books
Copyright April 2002
ISBN 0-556-11113-2
Series: Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes
Genre: Suspense
Justice Hall by Laurie R. King

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

DARK OF THE SUN

By Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
Published by Tom Doherty Associates
Copyright 2004
ISBN#: 0-765-31102-X
Series: “Saint-Germain #17"
Genre: Historical Vampire

Fans of Saint-Germain will be absolutely delighted at this addition to the saga of the legendary vampire. It is the year 535 AD and Saint-Germain, aka Zangi-Ragozh, is a successful merchant in China. Called to wait upon the Chinese Emperor, Zangi-Rogozh starts to cross China with a small caravan and his faithful servant, Rojeh, when distant Krakatoa erupts in a mighty volcanic explosion that is even heard in distant Peking. Following the eruption, tsunamis destroy coastal towns and much of the shipping. (Shades of what recently happened in that area.) Tons of ash and sulfur are thrown into the atmosphere, ringing the world and causing severe weather changes. The sun dims. Burning sulfur rain and yellow snow fall. There is no spring, no summer, crops fail, famine and fevers plague not just some of the world, but everywhere. Many people believe that the end of the world is coming. Zangi-Ragozh decides to return to his homeland, the book covers his long and perilous journey.

Those who know the series will find the glimpse afforded into Saint Germain’s beginnings fascinating and the trials and tribulations that the hero must overcome interesting reading. Those new to the series may be surprised, for this series certainly is not like any other. Be prepared for a rich historical novel where the hero just happens to be a vampire rather than a vampire novel. There are no bloody animalistic feeding frenzies. While Saint-Germain does enjoy sex with his food, the heightening of emotions increases the power of the blood to sustain him, the stories lack the elaborate sexual fantasies of the typical vampire romance. And while Saint-Germain has his past anguishes, he is no brooding hero living in the throws of despair. In fact, having lived 2500 years has made him rather cautious and conservative. He tends to plan for the worse and believes in taking extra precautions. Still, he is very much a hero for the kindness and generosity that he displays, especially towards women, making him much more human than the humans around him. Nor have his vampire powers made him something of a super hero battling evil. No extraordinary powers such as an ability to change form or control minds. He possess the usual strengths, imperviousness to cold, excellent night vision, and an amazing ability to heal himself. But he is not dead to the world during the day nor does he burst into flames when touched by sunlight. He is weakened by running water and sunlight, but that can be countered to some extent by his native soil, which he keeps in the heel of his boots, stuffed into his saddle, and in a crate to sleep on. But Saint-Germain is more than a mere vampire. He is an intellectual, an Alchemist capable of changing lead into gold and making precious jewels, and a healer, who makes what he calls the sovereign remedy out of moldy bread. While we care about Saint-Germain, the author tells more than just his story as she blends letters from various ship captains, merchants, and friends to tell the story of the people he comes in contact with and the world in general during this time of crisis. This is not a fast read, but it is an interesting read, giving the reader a feel for a time and place from long ago. It is a worthy addition to what may possibly be the longest vampire series.

Reviewed by Linda Suzane March 20, 2005

First published Vampire Books and Authors at Suite101.com

For more information about the series.

Dark of the Sun
By Chelsea Quinn Yarbro

Published by Tom Doherty Associates
Copyright 2004
ISBN#: 0-765-31102-X
Series: “Saint-Germain #17"
Genre: Historical Vampire