Books, Bites, Jaunts, and More

I originally intended to review the books that I have read in this blog.  However, many of the books I have read recently have been by authors that I have met through Carrie.  If I don’t love the books, I am having a hard time reviewing them when I have talked to the authors and know how much of themselves they have put into the books.  I seem to be of the old school “if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything”.  Here are a couple that I can talk about at least a little.

The Fuller Memorandum by Charles Stross is the latest in the Laundry Files series.  I have enjoyed all the Laundry Files books and stories.  They are more accessible than some of the books that Stross writes since they have less computerese in them.  This one again is well written.  The story is not as light and humorous as the earlier ones.  The plot is scarier and more edge of the seat.  If you haven’t read any Laundry Files stories, I would start with some of the earlier ones.

The Urban Fantasy Anthology edited by Peter S. Beagle and Joe R. Lansdale.  The stories in this anthology are uniformly dark and many are just weird.  The editors include essays on the growth and development of Urban Fantasy which are interesting, although many current writers of Urban Fantasy may disagree with their conclusions.  I did like some of the stories, but they were on the whole pretty depressing.

Carrie has a story in the anthology which is probably one of the darkest Kitty stories she has ever written, Kitty’s Zombie New Year. The editors also classified it as Paranormal Romance, which doesn’t seem quite right.

A Bird That Whistles by Emma Bull is a very sweet story and less depressing than most in the book.  She writes about the  70’s and brings elves into our world.

The Goldfish Pool and Other Stories by Neil Gaiman was an interesting story about life as a writer and the movies with just a touch of fantasy.

Seeing Eye by Patricia Briggs is really creepy, but well written.

Have a Wonderful New Year!