Vacation Reading 2007

I fell far short of the dozen books I hoped to read on vacation, but I did finish these:

Powers of Detection: Stories of Mystery & Fantasy
edited by Dana Stabenow
This was a nice collection of easy-read short stories of murder and/or mayhem in a variety of settings. The authors in this collection are: Donna Andrews, Simon R. Green, John Straley, Anne Bishop, Charlaine Harris, Anne Perry, Sharon Shinn, Michael Armstrong, Laura Anne Gilman, Mike Doogan, Jay Caselberg, and Dana Stabenow. Nothing earth-shattering, but who needs that for summer reading?


The Serpent's Shadow
by Mercedes Lackey
First in the Elemental Masters series.
The story was cute enough and the main characters were likable but I had a lot of trouble getting through the book. The novel is semi-historical, and instead of letting the story naturally give a flavor to the time and place, the author forced it. She spent pages of great detail lecturing about the suffragette movement and its implications, about early medicine, and about how unfair and even dangerous life was for those with little or no money. I picked this book because I had another and thought I would start at the beginning of the series. I will now jump to the book I have and will hope that it is more about the story and less about trying to "educate" me.


Blood Bound
by Patricia Briggs
sequel to Moon Called
The continuing story of Mercy Thompson, a single woman with her own auto mechanic shop. Oh, and she can become a coyote at will. She's a walker. She was raised by wolves - werewolves. Her next door neighbor and her roommate are werewolves. Not to mention that she has a friend who is a vampire. As much as she tries to stay out of werewolf and vampire business, she nonetheless gets drawn in (again) when her vampire friend asks her for a favor. She tries to juggle helping her friends, staying alive, staying solvent, and figuring out where her heart lies. She's smart and tough and this was another fun read. I'll definitely read more by this author.


Voice of the Gods
by Trudi Canavan
Age of the Five: Book Three
A satisfying end to this trilogy, wrapping up a number of various plot-lines and character development. All three books in the series are long, but they don't drag. This book really doesn't stand alone, I strongly recommend reading them in order. (Priestess of the White is 1st, Last of the Wilds is 2nd.)


Windfall
by Rachel Caine
Weather Warden: Book Four
Joanne Baldwin's crazy life (or this version of it) continues in this fast read. I enjoyed this entry as Jo copes with loss and with unexpected family, not to mention a life without the salary (and information and protections) that come with being a Weather Warden. Her horrible low-paying job crashes headlong into her desires for designer shoes and her sister doesn't understand the meaning of the word budget. And with 3 or 4 different entities out to kill her, she's got a lot on her plate this time.


I'm still working through the vacation stack, and I'm part-way through a book of poetry that my wife's aunt gave us at Christmas (though I can't remember if it was in 2006 or 2005, but I am enjoying it now). I'll let you know what I think about those later.