Ashes of Candesce by Karl Schroeder

Review by Bowden P. (Trey)

This is the final book in Schroeder’s Virga series (Sun of Suns, The Queen of Candesce, The Pirate Sun and The Sunless Countries) wrapping the series up in a big enjoyable way all the while continuing to wrestle with the questions posed in The Sunless Countries.

So what is it about?

It picks up shortly after the end of The Sunless Countries where Leal and the survivors are trying to escape back the Virga. Along the way, they discover a hidden outpost or colony of rebels against Artificial Nature trying to rediscover science. Among them is one odd young man, Kier Chen, who is getting younger and loosing his memories. With his help, they escape back to to the familiar airs Virga and the story takes off like a rocket.

Hayden Griffin, Antea Argyre, Venera and Chaison Fanning and even Jacoby Sarto all return and have major roles along the viewpoint characters of Leal, Keir Chen and Antea. This band of heroes and villains has a mission worthy of their talents – to save Virgan and Candesce from the terrifying post-human forces outside.

This wouldn’t be the novel of big ideas and interesting characters it is if the plot were that simple. The world beyond Virga is composed of more things than terrifying post-human forces (as to them think of the Vile Offspring from Accelerando who want to turn all matter into computronium). Its more nuanced than that with potential allies and foes – sometimes in the same package. Another problem is, is Virga worth saving as it is? After all, aristocracies, monarchies can be interesting places – and also have little issues, like secret police and a lack of basic human rights. Problems that might be alleviated if the technology suppressing field of Candesce were dialed back or eliminated.

I mentioned a big idea and its a grand one – what happens when you place the tools of intelligence at the disposal of the non-sapient? The possible answer is interesting. It also completely upsets the order of things as we´re  used to it. Imagine an AI partnered with an oak tree, thus giving the tree access to everything from tools, to weapons, to lawyers at its disposal to further its ends – namely some sun, water and dirt, plus to make lots of acorns.

This novel and series are a blast for me. Where eles can you get a load of space opera tropes, married to a logical technology and physics with big questions? That, plus steampunk touches and chrome work.

Overall, 5 stars –

Likes: Setting; Ideas; Tribute to space opera tropes; Characters, particularly Leal and Keir – Keir because he is very human in a post-human world; Antea struggling with what the right decision is; Seeing other characters from previous books; Necklace towns; Colonizing winter zone spaces with mirrors.

Dislikes: Deus ex machina in the form of quantum gravity; Opposition that is occasionally mustache twirlingly bad.

Suggested for: Fans of the Integral Trees and Smoke Ring series; people who were intrigued by the aliens in Peter Watts Blindsight and the implications of Athena from Stross Rule 34; those that like steampunk with a brain; anyone that enjoys transhumanist SF and pondering the implications.

The Lamp from the Warlock’s Tomb by John Bellairs

Review by Rebecca (rocky1)

Long before Harry Potter books were even dreamed up, another author dominated the genre of young people dealing with mysteries, ghosts, horror and the unknown-and his work was not only scary, but enough to captivate adults too! His name was John Bellairs.

The books that Bellairs penned had a common theme: they were set in the 1950s and dealt with young people (usually just starting high school) and their older counterparts (a neighbor, someone they worked with). The crux of the story was the adventures of the two as they uncovered the mysteries they unknowingly stumbled on to, usually something involving the occult, ghosts, or another world.

One such story involves Anthony Monday and his pal, Miss Eels, the local librarian he works with, in The Lamp from the Warlock’s Tomb. Miss Eels purchases an antique oil lamp from weird old Mrs. Grimshaw, who is very secretive about it. On their way back they notice a funny little man covered in cobwebs who nearly causes an accident, but think nothing more of it. After she lights the lamp at home, Miss Eels starts noticing strange things happening. Anthony asks to borrow the lamp for a school project-and shortly thereafter the high school watchman is murdered. Anthony tries to convince Miss Eels to stop using the lamp, but in an effort to prove there is nothing behind his superstitions, she takes it to the library and lights it there-and unwittingly sets free a spirit that should have stayed trapped away. Anthony and Miss Eels set out to return the lamp to Mrs. Grimshaw, who has summoned them for some odd reason, but when they arrive at her store, something weird and mysterious has happened. Can Miss Eels and Anthony solve the puzzle and return the spirit back to the underworld?

I remember my mother reading this to me when I was only seven or eight, and being scared out of my wits. Now, re-reading it again as an adult, I have to say-it is still scary! Although originally aimed at ages 9-12, they can easily capture the imaginations of any child or adult whose inner sleuth is looking for something not quite mainstream, but still exciting with just a hint of danger and lots of mystery involved.

Queen By Right by Anne Easter Smith

Review by Bruce

In “Queen By Right” author Anne Easter Smith relates the under-appreciated story of Cecily Neville, wife of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York and mother of two British monarchs, Edward IV and Richard III. As Smith points out, Lady Cecily is the ancestor of all subsequent British monarchs from Henry VIII to the present Elizabeth II.  The duchess, known to her contemporaries as the Rose of Raby and Proud Cis, was an outspoken, brash, intelligent woman who asserted herself into her husband’s confidence, often earning the respect and sometimes scorn of her peers.

The novel begins with 9 year old Cecily’s betrothal to her father’s 13 yr old ward, Richard Plantagenet. This was a risky arrangement as Richard’s father had been executed as a traitor for asserting his legitimate right to the crown and the slightest political misstep could condemn both Richard and Cecily.  But as it turns out, the two children are instantly smitten with one another and thus begins Smith’s epic love story. Make no mistake, this novel is a love story first but Smith remains faithful to telling the full account of Cecily’s life and keeps the historic narrative moving at a brisk pace.

It is the history that drew me to this story. In my opinion, the Hundred Years War and the War of the Roses is the most interesting time in British history. “Queen By Right” begins during the Hundred Years War and ends with the War of the Roses so it was the perfect opportunity for me as a fan of British monarch history to immerse myself in my favorite literary genre and my favorite time period to boot. Smith didn’t disappoint. While her novel is “chick lit” there was enough history to keep me hooked.

I entered the novel with some trepidation however. As a pro-Yorkist, I was somewhat leery that Smith would not portray the Lancasters as the dirty dogs that they were or that she might illustrate some of my favorite White Roses in less than flattering fashion. Let me assure you that the White Rose blooms bright in “Queen By Right”. I recommend this novel to those who would like to learn about this episode in British history and “Queen By Right” serves as an excellent complement or segue into Sharon Kay Penman’s “The Sunne in Slendour” which is an even better novel that focuses primarily on Cecily Neville’s sons.  Grab a copy of both novels, you’ll be glad you did.

Unholy Dying by R. T. Campbell

Review by Matt B. (BuffaloSavage)

The twist in this 1945 murder mystery is that no suspect has an alibi. When geneticist Ian Porter, disliked by fellow scientists and research assistants alike, is found murdered most foul at a learned convention, plant physiologist John Stubbs is determined to find the perp and clear his nephew, Andrew Blake.

The star is Professor Stubbs. He frequently quaffs beer lest he become dehydrated, eats with no regard to caloric intake, smokes a disgusting pipe, and speaks like a character out of Dickens. His high spirits, eccentricity, and flowery way with words are mostly amusing and engaging. But in the last quarter or so of the book, the reader is reminded of the New Yorker cartoon in which the wife takes the husband aside at a party and advises, “Would you please stop being so ‘larger than life.’”

Author Campbell was a poet, but he has realistic insight into the rivalries and enmities among scientists, who are ever mindful that credit for generating knowledge be assigned to the correct expert, especially if they are the expert.  The university setting and atmosphere of competitiveness and adversarial challenge ring true, especially for readers who are experienced with principle investigators who are determined to generate knowledge, establish reputations, and attract grants.

Campbell’s next book was Bodies in a Bookshop. It starred Stubbs too, and the narrator was another young associate, Max Boyle. In Unholy Dying, the young narrator Andrew Blake tells the story in the first person in parts one and three.

Whodunnit writers have a long tradition of poking fun at their own genre. Affectionate jibes are sent the way of John Dickson Carr, with Stubbs reading Carr’s “impossible murder” mysteries to clear out his brain. Readers that like Edmund Crispin and Rex Stout’s beer-drinking amateur detectives will like Stubbs too. Readers that enjoy careful, literate, and entertaining  use of language will be reminded of Nicholas Blake, Michael Innes , and Patricia Wentworth.

Bodies in a Bookshop is pretty easy to find at PBS, but Unholy Dying will have to go on your Wish List. Good luck.

You can read Matt’s review of  Bodies in a Bookshop here: LINK

Love Letters From Cell 92: The Correspondence Between Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Maria Von Wedemeyer 1943-45 by  Ruth-Alice Von Bismarck & Ulrich Itz

Review by Dianne (gardngal)

The letters in this book were written by Maria von Wedemeyer to and from her fiance’ Dietrich Bonhoeffer during his imprisonment in 1943-45.

It is interesting to realize that they didn’t know each other very well when they became engaged, but that their love grew through the letters themselves.  These love letters of more than 70 years ago are powerful and passionate.

Their frustration with their situation is obvious, yet they maintained a highly positive attitude and belief in God.    Excellent history of the times and the secret attempt for a coup d’etat against Hitler, of which she knew nothing.  It was gratifying to read that more than a few people in power were trying to overthrow the dictator.

But the highlight for me was the letters themselves.  No one is capable of writing such letters today, with their detail and deep feelings of longing for each other.

This book is not an easy read, primarily due to the German text in places, some of which is not translated. In spite of that, I enjoyed it very much due to the letters.  They are beautiful to read, and are quite exquisite.

Kraken by China Mieville

Review by Bowden P. (Trey)

I picked this up on a whim. I’m glad I did because it has the three W’s (weird, wonder filled and whimsical) in spades. I’ve read Mieville before and found his books full of neat ideas (this is no excpetion) but hard to finish. Sometimes because they lose the thread, other times because of unsympathetic characters. Not this time. Kraken wasn’t hard to finish and entertained me through to the end.

Kraken is about the impossible theft of a giant squid. The immersion of Billy Harrow, a museum curator, in the occult underworld of London, which is weird with its angels of memory, familiars union, gun farmers, angels of memory, monster herds, a crime lord that’s a tattoo, a pair of unaging thugs by the name of Goss and Subby, bizarre cults and cult focused police squad (The Fundamentalist and Sect-Related Crime Unit) trying to keep a lid on all of this. And oh yes, a kraken worshipping church.

My attempted summary does not do it justice, but in my defense, Kraken is bursting with ideas that could be the basis for other books in the hands of other authors. Here, they’re set dressing and the chorus.  I was particularly taken with the familiar’s union and how pop culture influenced magic (particularly how a certain series influenced a magician that a key part of the plot hangs on).

It reads like it started as a fever dream by Neil Gaiman, that was then polished and carefully edited to make it make more sense. And while it has similarities to Gaiman’s work, it has a flavor all its own. Goss and Subby resemble the Old Firm from Neverwhere, but they’re different. They are much more on screen with their violence, intimidation and torture.

Is it worth it? Yes. I give it ½

Likes: Pop culture influenced magic – why can’t other urban fantasy novels do this? Occasional meta-awareness influenced by that (the nicknames of the occult police academy); the sense of dynamic shifting aliveness of the occult underworld; How the occult underworld shades into the criminal underworld; The weirdness of it all.

Dislikes: The threat from left field – its logical and makes sense, but it doesn’t get much development.

Suggested for: Urban fantasy fans, especially those that enjoy something other than elves, werewolves and vampires (they may exist there, but they are far from center stage); Mieville fans; those that enjoyed American Gods and Neverwhere.

Agatha H and the Airship City by Phil & Kaja Foglio

Review by Bowden P. (Trey)

This was a very fun book. Partly because I’m a fan of the Foglio’s gaslamp fantasy web series, Girl Genius. I also think it would be a fun one for steampunk fans, and for anyone who enjoys a light hearted fantasy. Don’t get me wrong – there are some dark parts – but by and large this is as lighthearted as the comic.

So … what’s it about? It is about Agatha Clay, a marginal student at Transylvania Polygnostic University, set in a vaguely familiar alternate Europe. One where the Industrial Revolution came early and turned it into an all out war. Mad geniuses, sparks in the vernacular, madboys and girls in the even more vernacular, created various ultimate weapons and, well, either conquered with them, or were destroyed by them. Or some combination thereof. Needless to say, being an innocent bystander in this setting is not for the faint of heart. Or slow of feet. The setting is alternately fun, absurd and very dark. Well worth it as part of the show.

Back to Agatha. She’s not a spark in a world where all the significant advances have been made by sparks (they’ve literally changed the world – you can’t reach the Americas any more and most of the British Isles is under water). Once beyond the prologue (that helps set the scene), it starts with Agatha having a bad day, that rapidly gets worse as she is mugged and arrives at the university late. There, Baron Klaus Wulfenbach (ruler of most of Europe, enforcer of the Pax Wulfenbach and of the motto “Behave. Or else.”) makes a snap inspection of the University with his son and heir Gilgamesh Wulfenbach in tow.

Before the inspection is over, Agatha got expelled, the head of the university and town is dead and her world is completely turned upside down. And by the time the book is done, her life has had so many changes and gyrations that you’d need n-dimensional math to fully describe them all. So I’m not even going to try.

Again, this is a fun book. And a good one too. It does retell the early parts of the series, adding more details (fans like me may get more out of that than others coming into it cold), alternate views, scenes that didn’t make it into the comic and off camera takes on the events of the comics. It also makes things clearer.

And, oh yes, it is funny. If you’re looking for the broad, rapid paced hero of Illegal Aliens and the Bureau 13 books with Polletta, you’ll be disappointed. But its still funny. Not as broad, fairly nuanced, but funny. Its also touching. There is a scene with Krosp and his creator (we learn who it is in the Agatha H and the Airship City) that I found touching.

The verdict:

Likes: Additional details, alternate views on the events of the comics; Character development (Moloch gets fleshed out) and richer characterization; More world details and world building; Strong female lead (by the end – I’m looking forward to the sequel).

Dislikes: Mostly seems aimed at the fans of the series.