From award-winning science fiction writer John Scalzi, another adventure in space. This book was originally released as a serialized ebook. It’s good to have a Plan B. For Colonial Union administrators, Plan B is the unarmed courier ship Clarke, with Captain Sophia Coloma, Ambassador Abumwe, her assistant Hart Schmidt, and Lt. Harry Wilson, on loan from the Colonial Defense Force. Unknown to the crew of the Clarke, they are sent on diplomatic missions that have not gone well for various reasons, including the disappearance of one of the ships they’re replacing. The division referred to in the title is the disconnect between the humans on Earth, and the humans in the Colonial Union, a collection of human colonies, which has been using the Earth to staff its Colonial Defense Force, whose recruits have a short life expectancy. The Clarke and its crew have various adventures which include Harry and the secretary of state’s daughter, a doctor, skydiving to Earth from a space station that is under attack. It was entertaining to read, and I look forward to the serialized sequel. For more about the book and sequel, visit the publisher’s website. For more about the author, visit his well-known blog.

Brenda

Necromancy isn’t pretty. That’s probably why we don’t see many characters who practice it. Most of them are villains who are expected to do terrible things. The occasional good guy who uses necromancy usually just talks to the dead with the occasional raising of an individual. In Dead Things by Stephen Blackmoore, the main character shows that necromancy isn’t necessarily evil but it’s not for the squeamish.

 Eric Carter was born with a knack for the dead that set him apart even in his magical family and community. His parents were murdered when he was a young adult and Eric killed their killer. He fled his L.A. home and left his younger sister behind to be taken care of by a friend. He spent the next 15 years learning more about his magic and never setting down roots. He regularly converses ghosts, occasionally visits the dead side of things which is dangerous for humans no matter what their power over the dead, and gets dead things to stop hurting the living. What he hasn’t done is thought much about what he left behind. When his sister is murdered, he’s pulled back to L.A. where he finds out the people he cared about have moved on. Two of his old friends are ready to help him out despite his abandoning them, but it’s not so easy for Eric. Neither is figuring out how to get rid of the man he thought he killed before he left. 

 Dead Things has been recommended to fans of Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files. It has the same noir feel to it (Eric gets beat up just as badly as Harry does) and lots of magic being thrown around. The action is intense. There’s a lot of introspection but Eric sees a lot more grey in the world than Harry does.  

This book gave me two things I’ve been looking for: a protagonist who’s motivated more by justice than strict morals, and necromancy being used to do more than just talk to the dead or raise armies of zombies. It’s not clear if this is the first in a series and I think I’m okay with this. As much as I enjoyed the read, it’s a very intense and dark world that may work better as an occasional side-trip than a regular destination.

Denise

Cassie, 16, is a survivor. Her little brother Sammy, age 5, might be. Cassie’s two prized possession are a rifle and her brother’s teddy bear. She has lived through three attacks on Earth by an orbiting spaceship, and has survived the 4^th wave so far. The 1^st wave was a pulse that knocked out the power grid. The 2^nd wave caused tsunamis, wiping out the coastal cities. The 3^rd wave was plague. The 4^th wave is worse; some humans now have alien minds. After her parents die, Cassie is alone, possibly the only real human left. Her goal is to reunite with her brother. She meets Evan Marshall, who takes care of her when she’s wounded. Distrustful, Cassie is stubbornly independent and resists his help. At a military camp, Cassie’s classmate Ben meets Sammy, now nicknamed Nugget, and befriends him. As Cassie, Evan, and even Ben try to rescue Sammy from the camp, the awful truth of the 5^th wave becomes evident, and Cassie doesn’t know who to trust. Sequels are planned, and movie rights have been sold. 5 book trailers can be viewed on the author’s website. This is yet another dark, post-apocalyptic book written for teens, of which there are many, but the 5^th Wave stands out for the exciting plot and the memorable characters, who manage to be likeable under the most trying circumstances.  

Brenda

Lou Clark lives at home in a small English town with her parents, grandfather, sister, and young nephew. She likes her job at a local café, but drifts aimlessly when it closes. Her steady boyfriend Patrick spends his free time training for triathlons. When she is offered a job as companion to Will Traynor, confined to a wheelchair since a recent accident, she reluctantly accepts. Will is unhappy and bitter, but no-nonsense Lou refuses to pity him and plans adventures that might give him a reason to enjoy life again. Will, meanwhile, tries to get Lou to be more adventurous, and plan for her future. A bit of a tearjerker, this bittersweet novel is memorable, unpredictable, controversial, and occasionally funny.

Brenda

I haven’t read a book of short stories for a long time, and on the suggestion of a patron I read this book.  The nice thing about short stories is if you don’t like the story, it will soon be over and you can go on the next one. Conversely If you like the story it often ends too quickly or abruptly and you are left wondering what happened to the characters. I liked all of these stories set in the Appalachian region of America and spanning a large time period, from the Civil War to present day.

When you start reading each story you have to tease out when it takes place.  But when you come to certain words, like “Vietnam” or “Iraq” or “Shiloh” that gives you a clue as to the time period and maybe the theme of the story.  Underlying all these stories is a glimpse of hidden pain or misfortune that is endemic among the Mountain poor.  As the London Times wrote “This is the great American short story at its best.”

Joel

This novel is set in Wales, a part of the United Kingdom. Donald Gladstone is an archaeologist studying British history by digging up long buried villages and outposts. He has set a daunting task for himself, to prove or disapprove that the Legendary King Arthur and the mythology of Camelot really existed. That said, this story works on a number of levels. First and foremost in my mind it is a glorious paean to the land, language and culture of Wales.  

Second, it is a love triangle between Donald, Julia Llewellyn, and Hugh Mortimer. Julia married Hugh when she was young and impressionable, smitten by the scion of the storied Welsh Mortimers, a prominent family that traces its ancestry far back into the history of Wales. Their marriage which started as a star crossed love affair has fallen on hard times, with Hugh guarding a black secret from his past. Julia happens to run into Donald at a local pub and is instantly entranced by his studies into the Arthurian legends. As events progress, Julia falls further into Donald’s orbit, with Hugh lurking at the ancestral farm seething with jealousy. 

Thirdly, this is a well-researched induction into the Arthurian legends and the lore of Camelot. I was pleasantly surprised when reading this book and its many Welsh words how much it reminded me of Tolkien.  In fact there is a book out entitled “Tolkien and Wales: Language Literature and Identity” by Carl Phelpstead. Indeed Tolkien himself had done research and writing on the Arthurian milieu. There is a book just published called “The Fall of Arthur” by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Christopher Tolkien.

Joel

Honor Bright travels from England to Ohio in 1850 with her sister Grace. Grace is engaged to marry Adam Cox, a dry-goods merchant from their hometown and a fellow Quaker. After an arduous journey where Honor is constantly seasick, Grace dies suddenly just before they reach Faithwell, Ohio. Honor is befriended by Belle, an outspoken milliner, who has Honor help sew bonnets. When she reaches Faithwell, Honor must depend on the kindness of strangers, and is very lonely. Even Quaker meeting feels different in Ohio, and her sewing and quilting skills are not as valuable, as applique quilts are preferred to elaborate patchwork. Honor must marry and learn new skills, and finds herself caught up in the Underground Railroad, helping runaway slaves traveling north. Ultimately, Honor must decide what is more important; her principles or her new family.

Brenda

Does the title have you picturing Julie Andrews, the singing nanny in The Sound of Music? Try listening to the audiobook; the narrator sounds like her. Brenda Ashford, age 92, looks back at her happy childhood, her very long career as a British nanny, and her training at the famed Norland Institute, whose motto is “love never faileth” and which banned spanking. Brenda learned to love babies when her little brother David was born. Not as quick at book learning as her sister Kathleen, who became a midwife, Brenda was thrilled to be admitted to the Norland Institute in 1939. From learning nursery management, cooking, laundry, storytelling, sewing, and working in a hospital’s children’s ward, the teen received a thorough education. Then war disrupted life, with the students taking care of children evacuated from London’s East End and living on a country estate. All of her evaluations are included, along with tidbits of nanny’s wisdom, a daily schedule at each job, and several recipes for “puddings”. Her first several families are described, with the focus on the day and night nurseries and the children. Her heart is broken along the way, she learns to manage an early daycare, called a war nursery, and to care for and cuddle many, many babies. Her work schedule sounds exhausting, with very little time off. Her relief when electric irons become available is evident. Eventually she finds a family to belong to, and later even cares for their grandbabies when she’s 80! A charming read for Anglophiles.

Brenda

Kate Moore leaves her State Department job when her techie husband Dexter gets a job offer from a private bank in Luxembourg. Now an expat American, she takes their two young sons, Jake and Ben, to private school, hangs out with the other expat moms, and waits for Dexter to come home from the office or yet another business trip. They do enjoy occasional weekend trips with the boys to other cities in Europe. Kate is bored and lonely, and becomes suspicious of their new American friends, Bill and Julia. Guiltily, Kate contacts a former colleague to make inquiries, and learns that her husband is under suspicion of stealing millions of Euros. Kate has her own secrets: she worked for the CIA, not the State Department, and was an operative in Mexico and Central America until shortly after Jake was born. Will Kate’s or Dexter’s pasts catch up with them, what secrets will be uncovered, and will love or money win the day? A building unease and suspense keep the pages turning, with the reader trying to figure out who’s telling the truth. But underneath is still a couple who love their sons and enjoy living in Europe. The author is a former cookbook editor who spent some time living in Luxembourg with his wife and twin sons, so the settings and scenes of family life ring true. A first novel, Expats was just awarded an Edgar Allan Poe award for best first mystery by an American author.

Brenda

Alex Lomax is the only private detective in New Klondike, a domed town on the Mars frontier. 40 years ago priceless fossils were found nearby, but the explorers’ spacecraft crashed after a prospecting trip. This is a unique combination of noir mystery and science fiction, where humans can transfer their consciousness into an android body. Then they don’t need to eat, and can work in comfort outside the dome. The transfers are also very hard to kill. Alex is approached by an owner of the transfer company to find her missing husband. With a small town, there shouldn’t be that many places to look. The police reluctantly help Alex, but are happy to have him do the detecting. Then it turns out that the diary of one of the prospectors has made it back to Mars with his granddaughter. Can Alex trust her, or the beautiful new writer in residence? There are some exciting scenes outside the dome, where Alex’s life is endangered more than once. Other scenes are in Alex’s favorite bar, where his girlfriend Diana works. Fast-paced and exciting, this book may appeal to readers of noir mysteries. Readalikes include The Disappeared by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, first in the Retrieval Artist mystery series set on the Moon. Another suggestion is A Talent for War, by Jack McDevitt, the first book featuring Alex Benedict, an interstellar antiquities dealer. I’m hoping for more Alex Lomax books from Sawyer, an award-winning science fiction writer.

Brenda