58. The Maid of the White Hands

by Rosalind Miles (312 pgs)

This is a second book in a trilogy about Tristan and Isolde. Having not read the first in the series, it's hard to judge the book in relation to it's predecessor. I did, however, have a hard time getting into this book. After the first 3 or 4 chapters I started to get hooked though and from then on I found it to be a good read.

57. The Lady In the Lake

by Raymond Chandler (222 pgs)

Raymond Chandler is somewhat famous for his novel The Big Sleep which was later turned into a movie with Humphrey Bogart. I found this a little slow getting into it but it's intricacies eventually drew me in. A woman disappears, another is found dead in a lake, soon a man is shot in his bath tub and the police are breathing down the enigmatic Private investigator Philip Marlow's neck. It's fun and suspenseful. I liked The Big Sleep better but that's nothing to be ashamed of.

56. The Game-Players of Titan

by Philip K. Dick (215 pgs)

The earth has been conquered by the enigmatic Vugs. Mass sterility caused by a Chinese bomb is causing the rapid diminishment of the human species. The Vugs introduced a game to increase the chances of survival by random matings. A complicated seen becomes even more complicated and disbelief becomes harder and harder to suspend. I enjoyed this book but it was a little hard to take at points.

55. The Pearl Diver

by Sujata Massey (335 pgs)

This is a part of a fun little series about a hafu (or half Japanese) American who is enamored of her Japanese roots. Unfortunately for her, her curiosity gets her thrown out Japan and her new life in D.C. is not going well. Not going well at all. Between kidnappings and cultural mysteries, our protagonist loses something very dear to her and she needs to trust in those she loves to heal. Trust is not an easy thing for her.

54. This Bitter Earth

by Bernice L. McFadden (276 pgs)

Set in the rural south in the 1940's and 50's and told from the point of view of a series of African American women and a couple of African American men. This is the sequel to a book I haven't read and I felt that I was missing something because of that. All the same, the plot is exceptionally convoluted and it doesn't become absolutely clear what's going on until the end. The characters are rich and memorable. The only complaint I have is that the shifts in point of view are often unmarked and that can be confusing at times. It's a hard book, but an enjoyable one.

53. City of Illusions

by Ursula K. Le Guin (149 pgs)

Yet another Hainish Novel. This is convoluted story worthy of Philip K. Dick. It begins with an alien on earth. Lost, alone, and with no memory. He's soon taken in by a small human outpost in the woods. The humans believe that their planet has been conquered and dominated by the mysterious Shin, an alien species. So, is our new protagonist a Shin? Not even he knows.

It took me a while to warm up to this and it is a little slow starting but I enjoyed it thoroughly.

52. Planet of Exile

by Ursula K Le Guin (98 pgs)

Another Hainish novel, this one is about a stranded colony on a very hostile world with seasons the length of several of our years. The social structure is quite detailed and mostly believable, it seems to be based partly on nomadic tribal societies in the real world. The romance is unlikely and the end bogs down just a tad, but all in all, an enjoyable read.

50. Artemis Fowl : The Arctic Incident

By Eoin Colfer (277 pgs)

Just as delightful as the first book but with a greatly changed tone. Fowl works with the Fairy people to try and rescue his father. However, things get quite complicated in the Fairy world about that time. The only downside to the book is a rather bludgeoning moral at the end that could have been left unstated. But oh well...the rest of the book is fun.

51. Rocannon's World

by Ursula K. Le Guin (112 pgs)

One of the quicker reads I've had with Le Guin, Rocannon's World is about one of the Hainnish ethnographers who gets stranded on the world he's studying by an enemy force to the League of Worlds. The world features 5 different intelligent species and makes work with elaborate social structures. And as detailed as this all is, Le Guin manages to put it appropriately in the background so that the story never drags. One of the better Hainish novels I've read.

49. Artemis Fowl

by Eoin Colfer (280 pgs)

I'm not sure if Artemis Fowl is meant to be competition for Harry Potter or not. I've heard it both ways. I rather expected a watery version of the Potter books. However, Artemis Fowl is a fun and distinct series all of it's own. Fowl is a rich heir to a criminal family. The father's gone missing and the mother's gone crazy. What's a boy to do? Well hold the fairy world hostage...Obviously.

I thought it was fun.

48. So Long and Thanks For All the Fish

by Douglas Adams (204 pgs)

The earth has returned, and Arthur Dent to it. This is the forth book in this classic series written by Adams. Unfortunately they begin to lose something at this point. Still enjoyable but a little off the good. In any case, I enjoyed reading it and I liked the plot line...Even if it were a little esoteric.

47. A Series of Unfortunate Events : The Hostile Hospital

by Lemoney Snicket (255 pgs)

This being eighth book in the series and it shows no signs of stopping. The little orphans find themselves on their own after the unfortunate experience with the Vile Village and so, following the unlikely number of leads with the initials V.F.D., they find themselves scrounging around in the records department of the Heimlich Hospital. As usual, things go from bad to worse and the orphans find themselves in a very cramped and unlikely hiding place by the end of the book.

This was a quick read even for the series. The secondary Snicket plot arc is beginning to come out more, as well as the connection between Snicket and the Baudelaire children.

46. The Cat Who Talked Turkey

by Lilian Jackson Braun (181 pgs)

I remember liking this series when I was a child. My grandfather had several of them and I would read them when I was sick. This particular specimen doesn't seem to match my recollection of the series.

The book, while essentially well written, was sorely lacking focus. The mystery was a little less than a side plot. It was rather a shock when it was resolved in the last two chapters and that was the apparent end of the book. I don't recommend this particular book in the series and I'll have to read around a bit more before I can decide if my childhood fondness was based on anything of substance.

45. A Series of Unfortunate Events : The Vile Village

by Lemony Snicket (256 pgs)

The Baudelaire siblings find themselves taken in by an entire village this time. Not a very nice village either. Or rather, not a village full of exceptionally bright people. On the upside the individual caretaker seems like a blessing from the powers that be.

Not bad for this series. I enjoyed it and the pace wasn't too bogged down by needless and spurious definitions of words and phrases.

44. Abarat

by Clive Barker (387 pgs)

Barker's attempt at young adult fiction is none too bad. I actually rather enjoyed it. The point of warning here is that it takes about 50-75 pages to draw the reader into the action. This is my impression at least. The introductory material about the main character, Candy, was too long and too devoid of action. The illustrations are fantastic. Even if the story had been a load of crap, the book would have been worth the effort for the sake of the illustrations.

All in all, I recommend it and I plan on buying a copy for the illustrations more than anything else.

43. A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Ersatz Elevator

by Lemony Snickett (259 pgs)

The 6th book in the series, in this volume the Baudelaires are confronted with the impossibly 'in' crowd. A betrayal, a kidnapping, a dusty tunnel leading to familiar surroundings. All in all, an eventful book.

I enjoyed this more, perhaps, than some of the others because the story arc seemed to take something of a leap forward. And I'll never forget the meaning of ersatz ever again. Never. Ever. Ever.

42. The Word for World is Forest

by Ursula K. Le Guin (169 pgs)

Social science fiction is a branch of science fiction that doesn't often seem to be recognized. In social-science fiction, the patterns of people and their behavior is what makes the fiction interesting rather than dreamed up gizmos and imaginings. Le Guin is a master of social science fiction.

While unpolished, I found The Word for World is Forest to be a fascinating statement about human nature when confronted by a non-aggressive and, seemingly, weaker group of beings. I felt there were tinges of British colonialism backlash in the work and was fascinated by the plot even though the events were inevitable from the beginning.

41. Juniper

by Monica Furlong (198 pgs)

This is young adult fiction and the prequel to Wise Child which I reviewed in February. Like Wise Child, I found Juniper a wonderful story. There is something comforting about this series of books. I'm sure part of it is the sense of natural magic, which I've always found relaxing and...well...natural. In any case, it's another beautiful book and I think I'm going to try to get a hold of the entire series for my collection.

May List

It appears that I miscalculated last month, at this point I only need to read 20 books a month to stay on goal.Since I'm about to start school again, I've loaded up the list with young adult fiction and quick reads. I'm hoping I can gain ground on the back log that I've been accumulating.

1. Juniper by Monica Furlong
2. The Word for World is Forest by Ursula K. Le Guin
3. The Ersatz Elevator by Lemony Snicket
4. The Vile Village by Lemony Snicket
5. The Hostile Hospital by Lemony Snicket
6. The Carnivorous Carnival by Lemony Snicket
7. The Slippery Slope by Lemony Snicket
8. Abarat by Clive Barker
9. The Cat Who Talked Turkey by Lilian Jackson Braun
10. The Maid of the White Hands by Rosalind Miles
11. This Bitter Earth by Bernice L. McFadden
12. The Pearl Diver by Sujata Massey
13. The Flower Master by Sujata Massey
14. Tales From Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
15. Rocannon's World by Ursula K. LeGuin
16. Planet of Exile by Ursula K. Le Guin
17. City of Illusions by Ursula K. Le Guin
18. The Game Players of Titian by Philip K. Dick
19. So Long, and Thanks For All the Fish by Douglas Adams
20. The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul by Douglas Adams
21. Monkey Bridge by Lan Cao