Unfortunately, I bought this book based on the glowing reviews which breathlessly promised a shocking story filled with plot twists and revelations, and was disappointed by a morality tale with a twist I saw coming within the first two chapters. Perhaps if my expectations hadn't been so high, I would have been less let down, but as it was I finished the book with a sense of "That's it?"

Out of deference to those who haven't read the book, I won't give the plot away, but savvy readers with even the vaguest hint of the genre will undoubtedly figure it out early on as I did, after which none of the supposed surprises will offer much additional excitement. Faber does show a mastery of written language, but he lays on his moral and metaphor so thick it overshadows any loveliness which might be taken away from the reading. Too much time is spent on the Scottish landscape, not enough on the characters, who remain frustratingly aloof right up to the end.

While certainly not awful or even particularly a chore to read (the 300 pages do fly by pretty quickly, thanks mostly to Faber's writing skill), this book fell flat in my opinion and, having been read once, does not offer much chance for a repeat engagement (a mortal sin in my bookshelves).

As every other reviewer has noted, Nicole, the protagonist in "Household Gods," is a selfish, bitchy, judgmental bore who threatens to suck the life out of the book. That she doesn't is testament to the strength of the story and the ability of the authors to recreate a vivid and enthralling snapshot of life in 180 A.D. Austria. As it is, she's an annoying distraction best dealt with by ignoring her as much as possible.
The story is at its best when it reports, rather than editorializes. Nicole, a 21st-century single mom and lawyer, is whisked back to the days of the Roman Empire after an ill-thought out wish for a "simpler time". Once there, she finds herself on speaking terms with all four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, as Plague is quickly followed by War and then inevitably Famine, with Death practically doing a jig on the sidelines in anticipation. Inhabiting the body of a widowed tavern keeper, Nicole is appallingly ignorant about certain facts of life yet adjusts quickly to others: she has no idea that women had no rights in 180 A.D. or that slavery was common, yet has no problem making change with unfamiliar currency or navigating the marketplace. About the fifth time she admitted that she had no idea who Marcus Aurelias was or when the Roman Empire actually fell (she's half-convinced that every disaster is going to be The End), I started wondering exactly where she went to college.
Fortunately, once you tune out her judgmental rants (Allow me to summarize: "Men suck! Slavery is horrible! These people are all alcoholics! How dare these heathen pagans be mean to Christians! Spanking is child abuse! This place is sexist/filthy/smelly/just plain weird!") the story is actually pretty enjoyable, if somewhat overlong. There's no real climax, it's more a series of events that keep compounding on one another until Nicole finally accepts her life in Carnuntum - at which point she is whisked back to the 21st century and all her problems are solved. In between, we meet a series of likable secondary characters, each with their own foibles and endearing traits, none of whom are immune to the tragedies and dangers of everyday life in the second century. The small pleasures of life that balance the miseries are sprinkled throughout, relieving the dark tone that never quite overwhelms the story.
I doubt anyone who is not already interested in Roman history is going to slog through the whole thing, but for those who are this book offers a slice of life as it existed on the outskirts of the Empire - an slightly unusual, and thus refreshing, story.

Turtledove, the master of alternative history, turns his gaze to the Elizabethan era and asks, what if it were the Isabellian era instead? As "Ruled Britannia" opens, England has been occupied for ten years by the Spanish forces of Phillip II, who holds it in the name of his daughter Isabella. Elizabeth is held in the Tower of London, most of the nobles of the realm have either been exiled or executed, and the weary populace shows little signs of resisting. But as Philip lies on his deathbed, a coup is planned by Elizabeth's faithful councilor William Cecil, who enlists the aid of the popular playwright William Shakespeare in a plot to inspire the English to rise against the occupation.
As with most alternate history, you need to have a good grasp of how things actually went in order for the changes to make much sense. Many characters are familiar: Cecil, Shakespeare, Kit Marlowe, and Francis Bacon among them. Others may not be, such as Lieutenant Lope de Vega, Shakespeare's Spanish counterpart whose interest in his rival's latest work may unravel the whole plot.
Shakespearean gems are scattered throughout, some in contexts guaranteed to elicit a chuckle. And, to Turtledove's credit, all the English dialogue is cast in an Elizabethan dialect. Depending on your familiarity with it, this can either be one of the book's greatest charms or its worst annoyance.
Unfortunately, this is not an action-oriented book, and at almost 600 pages, that can be a real killer. There are scenes where characters are writing, where they are reading, and where they are talking, and scenes where they talk about reading what someone has written. Any actual action is jammed into a somewhat unsatisfying chapter at the end. This is a book about words and ideas, which may not appeal to everybody. Still, it is an original, witty, rich novel that makes for enjoyable, if not always easy, reading.

This is a great series! Follows Paksenarrion Dorthansdotter, a young provincial woman who joins a mercenary company at 18 and goes on to become a famous knight. Book One is about her days as a mercenary soldier. I was amazed at how detailed Moon's accounts of military life are. In some ways, this book is a little like "By the Sword" by Mercedes Lackey, but I would rate this by far as the better of the two. Paks is good, but not cocky, like Lackey's Kerowyn tends to be. She enjoys just being a common soldier, although her superiors notice something special about her from the first. Eventually, Paks becomes a key player in the main battle of the story, as several mercenary armies ally together to bring down Count Siniava, the bad guy.
At times, "rich in detail" can become just "confusing", especially since (at least in the version I own) Moon spends a great deal of time on the importance of geography, but doesn't include a map. But if you enjoy more sword than sorcery, with likable (and perhaps even more important, believable!) characters, this is a great book.

Unfortunately, the "middle child" syndrome continues its time-honored tradition here. Although there is some action, for the most part "Ruby Knight" is a place-keeper, marking the time between when Sparhawk figures out what he has to do and finally does it.
At the end of "Diamond Throne", it was revealed that the only thing that would save Queen Ehlana was the Bhelliom, a legendary sapphire of enormous power. Once it was a part of the Royal Crown of Thalesia, but was lost during the monumental Zemoch War several centuries earlier. Now Sparhawk has to track it down, dig it up, learn how to control it, and get it back to Ehlana, before the spell preserving her life fails, and those of his friends who are supporting the spell die with it.
So Sparhawk and Co. trek across the continent, fighting a few battles, meeting a few characters (some of whom will become important later, so pay attention), avoiding the Bad Guys (as led by Annias, the churchman who's seized control of Ehlana's kingdom and is looking to take over the Church as well, and Martel, Sparhawk's nemesis) and learning much more than they planned about the REAL history of their world. We finally find out what the heck is the deal with Flute, the Styric orphan Sephrenia adopts, but as I said, this book mostly exists to keep Books 1 and 3 from bumping into each other.

I hate false advertising. I went into this book expecting (justifiably, from various reviews and blurbs) a story about a woman who faces the terrifying prospect of "total assimilation" into an alien species.
Not. Juna's desertion on the alien planet isn't even permanent, only a 4 year period between when her ship leaves and when the next one is scheduled to return. She is never completely assimilated into the native Tendu culture, only enough to survive in the harsh environment, and she always remains an outsider. The Tendu are barely even alien, aside from their physical appearance (the Tendu talk with their skin, flashing colors and patterns on their own bodies, hence the reference in the title).
That said, it is a good story, and Juna's transformation, while never separating her entirely from humanity, is intriguing. The Tendu as a whole aren't particularly likable, but that's OK - are aliens really supposed to be charming? There's a lot of description - of the ecology, of the Tendu, of their culture, etc - but it's interesting stuff, nonetheless, although the "alien" jungles sound more like the Amazon rainforest on acid than anything truly unique.
Lighter fare than most first contact stories, OK but not particularly thought-provoking.

The "Sapphire Rose", of course, is the Bhelliom, an object of such enormous power that worlds literally revolve around it and Gods have fought wars for it. All Sparhawk cares about, though, is that it is the one thing that can save the life of his poisoned Queen, Ehlana.
Ehlana's healed pretty early in, which leaves the rest of the book for Sparhawk to vanquish evil, destroy the Bad Guys, etc etc. See, once the Bhelliom resurfaces, Azash, the evil God of the Zemochs, knows who's got it. Since Bhelliom is the one thing Azash needs to free himself from his prison and take over the world, he's a little interested in getting Sparhawk to give it to him - or wresting it from his cold, dead hands, whichever's easiest. To that extent, there's a long, protracted section of the book devoted to the election of the Archprelate (the equivalent of the Pope) in the Holy City. If Annias, who secretly worships Azash, can buy enough votes, he wins, and Azash gets Bhelliom. So before Sparhawk can go off and kick immortal butt, he and his buddies have to head off this impending disaster first. It's political, it's complicated, and there are long sections where nothing happens but debate and voting. But it's also intelligent, witty, and gives several characters (including Ehlana) a chance to shine. Put it this way - if you think the political stuff in "Star Wars" is too complicated, you'll hate this part of the book. But if you enjoy that stuff, as I do, and seeing how wars are won by more than sword-waving, this book is fantastic.
Of course, there's real action, too - Sparhawk does face down Azash, with some help (of course). Ehlana and Sparhawk get married - their love story is both awkward and romantic, and quite cute. And someone dies - I can't say who, but I cried when I read it. (And there's no "Man-with-two-lives" business as in the Belgariad.)
The best book in a great series!

This sequel to "The Color of Distance" is even weaker than the first. Juna returns to Earth, bringing her adopted son, Moki, and the elder Ukatonen, as ambassadors from the Tendu. It's supposed to be a reverse first-contact story, as the two Tendu learn to live among humans. Instead, it's a preachy discourse on how much humans as a race suck.
What struck me was how, when Juna was marooned among the Tendu, they made her life hell and forced her to conform to their lifestyle. On Earth, everyone bends over backward to accommodate the Tendu, and they still complain. (At least, Ukatonen does. Moki just does a lot of things "exuberantly".) We're made to feel guilty that the Tendu don't have any trees to play in. Well, cry me a river. Less guilt, more story!
Much of the book is also focused on Juna's unexpected pregnancy by Bruce, the nice, sensitive, easy-going, Tendu-liking guy she met at the end of "Distance". Except Bruce goes through a bizarre personality change that is completely unexplained, seemingly only for the purpose of creating an antagonist.
If you like self-flagellation with your science fiction, go ahead and read it, but even as nature-is-so-much-better-than-technology stories go, this one is lacking.

The first book by Flewelling I read was "The Bone Doll's Twin", a much darker start to a second fantasy series that is actually a prequel to her Nightrunner series. Got that? So, having finished that book, I turned back to Flewelling's first series, a much lighter, more contemporary set.

"Luck in the Shadows" tells the story of a young country bumpkin, Alec, who gets mixed up with a thief and spy named Seregil. They save each other's lives, and Seregil agrees to take Alec on as an apprentice. He brings Alec to Rhiminee, the capital city of Skala, a peaceful kingdom that, by decree of an ancient prophecy, is always ruled by a Queen. (Nice touch.) Seregil is distantly related to the current Queen and is part of a secret society of spies and sorcerers that help protect Skala from her enemies.

A lot of this first book is given over to Alec's training as a beginning spy. The subplot, which sets up action for Book 2, is actually more interesting than the main plot, which is thrown in about 2/3 in and feels both rough and rushed. It involves a secret conspiracy against the Queen, forged documents, stolen gold - basic fare, dealt with matter-of-factly and with few surprises. The subplot, concluded in Book 2, is also pretty standard - evil artifact which will destroy the world - but as it places our heroes in much more personal and immediate danger, we end up caring about it more.

Flewelling can't seem to decide whether Alec should be a prodigy or a victim of his own helplessness; he's breaking and entering like an expert within a week, but he still can't find his way around the big, bad city. I wish there were more female characters; aside from the Queen (a very minor character at best) and the daughters of Seregil's friend Micum, almost everyone in this book is a man. The fact that Seregil is gay helps a little, but still. Oh, well, you can't have anything. The series does improve down the pike, so if you're looking for light, fun fantasy, this is worth the investment.

Finally, a fantasy novel where the world described is actually a literal fantasy of mine! A world where novels have replaced sports, movies, and television as the most popular form of entertainment: where proselytizers knock on your door and ask if you've found Sir Francis Bacon, schoolchildren trade Austen and Bronte playing cards, and "Richard III" is staged weekly as an audience-participation cult favorite a la "Rocky Horror". I LOVE this world, and all its quirks: 1980s England, in the midst of a 131-year war with Russia, where time-travel, vampirism, and jumping in and out of books are all commonplace.

Thursday Next is the name of the reluctant heroine of this book, dragged into a first-class mess when it's discovered that she once rebuffed the future villain Acheron Hades in college. After he's turned to a life of crime, *no one* can resist Hades (who has several other supernatural powers), so when it's suspected he's stolen a first edition Dickens manuscript with the intent of causing harm to its characters, Thursday is brought in to help stop him.

A host of secondary characters make appearances, from Thursday's mad-scientist Uncle Mycroft, to the wickedly delightful Acheron Hades, to the helpful and mysterious Edward Rochester from the eponymous book (also in peril) himself. The witty use of names and puns is always lighthearted, rarely dragging (as similar Douglas Adams jokes tend to be) and they never obscure the main plot. The in-jokes are numerous, but if you haven't read the books they're based on you won't really miss anything.

If you love literature, you MUST read this book - at the very least to escape to a world where everyone shares your passion.