investment?

The Rhesus Chart

Charles Stross

Bob Howard discovers that Vampires are a real thing through data analysis. Identifying an active cell he infiltrates a bank only to discover that leader of the cell is his former girlfriend.
Forced to bring her and her colleagues into the Laundry fold he gets caught in the middle of a tactical battle between two old and powerful vampires.
I was working my way through the Laundry Files as audiobooks and reached this one and had to switch to read the ebook instead. The banking vampires were just too annoying to listen to!
This is a pretty good Laundry book and probably the last before the Stross’ taste for bleak shit gets too much for me.

Rating: B

starter?

Accidentally Engaged

Farah Heron

Reena is a great baker with a loving but interfering family.
Desperate to enter a couples’ cooking competition she persuades her next door neighbour to pretend to be engaged.
This a sweet little ‘fake engaged’ story with some interesting insight into a particular segment of American Muslim society.
It’s an engaging read but it’s not much more than that.

Rating: B

phil?

The Bookish Life of Nina Hill

Abbi Waxman

Nina Hill is happily working in bookshop when event arounds her conspire to change her life forever.
This is a pleasant read with enjoyable turns in the plot.

Rating: B+

psongstress?

Grave Reservations

Cherie Priest

First book in a new series from the very talented Priest.
This one features a Seattle based travel agent with psychic gifts helping a homicide detective with an investigation.
It’s a very charming read. I’ve heard there will be a sequel and I’m looking forward to reading that when it comes out.

Rating: B+

system?

Ancillary Mercy

Ann Leckie

A well written and enjoyable novel.
For all that it was a tiny bit of a disappointing end.
I was listening to the (excellent) audiobooks of this series and got so drawn in that that I needed the speed of reading it myself.
I highly recommend this series to anyone who likes science fiction. The first book in particular is of the highest calibre and the other two still very good.

Rating: A-

phyle?

The Truth of the Divine

Lindsay Ellis

This is the sequel to Axiom’s End.
It’s an even better book than the first but by god is this one bleak.
I’m interested to see where the series goes from here. I hope there’s some uplift at some point though.

Rating: A-

fates?

The Belgariad

David Eddings

pawn of prophecyThis five volume series is an expertly and cynically constructed slice of epic fantasy.
Nearly every clichéd trope of the genre is trotted at one point or another but the sheer pace of storytelling stops it from becoming boring.
I’ve read this series many times but even after now I find myself enjoying some of the characters and rooting for the (inevitable) happy ending.
It’s outdated, generic as all hell but it’s one of my comfort reads.
If you’re looking for a quick, easy-to-read fantasy fix then this is an acceptable option.

Rating: C+

Continue reading “fates?”