When Darkness Falls

by Mercedes Lackey

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I've only given this 4 stars (which may be unfair) because I was disappointed by the too tidy ending, but otherwise I would have given this a glowing 5 star rating. As it is, I can only give it a four--but that four has brilliant glowing stars, and its own fireworks display.

When Darkness Falls is the third book in the Obsidian Mountain Trilogy, and all of the disaster, despair, and danger of the first two volumes does come to a head here, in mostly satisfying ways. The characters continue to develop and grow, the secondary characters become essential parts of the fabric of the world, the strong and beautiful begin to crumble. At times the mood and tone rival Donaldson's Thomas Covenant books for sheer hopelessness, and the Battle for Armethalieh rivals, even exceeds, the Battle at Pelennor Fields for sheer devastation of what is good and true.

Since there is a trilogy set after this one I don't believe I give much away when I say that our heroes triumph at a terrible cost. And that was satisfying. But the cost is very high.

The book has some profound flaws. Lacey and Mallory are not particularly good at sustained battle sequences (a problem when so much of the volume is about, well, battles, both massed and single combat). They are much better at the magic--making it feel real, in all its varied forms. And they are good at putting us inside the consciousness of very different characters. There, nuance and detail abound, which makes the paucity of those same elements even more conspicuous in the battle scenes.

Still, this trilogy is one of the best fantasy sets I've read in a very long time. When I look around after I have been reading these for awhile I'm a little startled that I'm not in The Wild Lands, or the streets of the City of a Thousand Bells, or the Flower Forest of Sentarshadeen. I want to be back there, in the story. I keep reaching for the book, only to remember I've finished it, and that provokes a sense of loss. I want to go back, and be with Kellen, and Cilarnen, and Jermayan, and Idalia. I miss them already.

Thank Leaf and Star for bringing these books into the world. They gave me joy.



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I want a helicopter, too!

The Shooters by W.E.B. Griffin

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I enjoy The Presidential Agent series by Griffin, for all its flaws. It has many of the same characteristics I don't like in Tom Clancy novels (too much throwing away of names and specifications of various hardware), and the agency infighting can get a bit tedious in both. However, I enjoy them both for some of the same reasons--active story lines and interesting characters.

I could have done without the soap opera sub-text in this one, and all of the city hopping struck me as...not helpful in achieving the goal (i.e. it took way too much time to mount a rescue). But, even with its flaws, I'll pick up the next one and see what kind of fallout there is from this that Lt. Col. C. G. Castillo will have to make right now.



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Life Itself by Roger Ebert

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Since I read this for free, and now intend to buy it, I suppose that's a strong endorsement.

The book itself is uneven, and as is true of memoirs, occasionally comes across as self-absorbed, but Ebert writes well, and his memories come across with strong senses of place, and at times you can almost hear the voices of the various, very diverse personalities whose lives have intersected, or run beside, his. Martin Scorsese jumps off the page, the wonderful woman who helped his get sober, the friends who stayed with him through the years.

If you love films, read this book for the insights on how to watch films and the people who make them. If you love babyboomers read this for a snapshot of life at the beginning of that group.

(Oh, and how did I read this for free? In one hour increments at Barnes and Noble on my Nook. I never would have borrowed it from a library, or bought it, but being able to open it up and read it over lunch or tea, a bit at a time, I found a book to treasure that would have slipped past me unremarked. Thank you, Barnes and Noble.)



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Familiar Stars

Star Wars: Jedi Search by Kevin J. Anderson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Familiar characters, doing familiar things.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it was exactly what I wanted.

And I got my first introduction to Admiral Daala, which explains some things from later books.

Still like Han better than Luke. Is he ever going to grow out of being a moody teenager? *sigh*



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I'd Rather Some Tommy and Tuppence

The Modigliani Scandal by Ken Follett

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


For a long time I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was about this book that was so...familiar. And then I figured it out.

It reminds me of a Georgette Heyer London mystery (as opposed to one of her "cosy" mysteries, or Regency romances)--except Heyer does it much, much better.

Two days of reading out of my life that I'll never get back.



(And, yes, I know T&T are Christie, not Heyer.)



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When Worlds Collide

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I know many people who love this book.

Me, not so much. For instance, I was 2/3 of the way through it several years ago, lost it, and didn't really care.

But I found it again, and after a dear friend mentioned Hiro Protagonist the other day I thought, "Oh, what the heck. Let's finish it." Well. That's done.

Maybe I read it too far after it was published to find it very "cutting edge." Maybe I don't know enough/too much about computers and cyberspace to really get engaged by the central conceits. All I know is Uncle Enzo rocks, YT reminds me far too much of how Lisbeth Salander might have been had she grown up with a loving mother in Southern California, and I'm having a terrible time not merging Hiro Protagonist and Hiro Nakamura in my mind--though, frankly, I definitely prefer the latter.

What did I most take away from this book? The impulse to look at everyone I know and wonder what phrase I'd tattoo on their foreheads. Alas, there a many who, like Raven, should have the words "Poor Impulse Control" written in large friendly letters for everyone to see.

Now, where did I leave my towel?



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The real _Wrath of the Titans_?

I went to see Ridley Scott's Prometheus on Thursday.

Some of my friends loathed it, some loved it. I waited until the last possible moment to see it, and saw it in 2D, and don't think I missed much by the choice.

I'm going to write something coherent at some point, but since it's now out of the theaters, I'm not going to worry about spoilers. These are just impressions, not fully fleshed out thoughts.

1) Nice juxtaposition between image and action for the "founders" (big, round, friendly eyes--not-so-friendly behavior)

2) Michael Fassbender continues to impress. But, wow, he's short.

3) Charlize Theron was wasted in her role.

4) Idris Elba. :-)

5) I don't understand the David/O'Toole's T. E. Lawrence connection. I'm sure it was supposed to "reveal" something, but I didn't catch it/didn't understand it. And I've seen Lawrence of Arabia multiple times. And read about the real Lawrence. Need to think about it.

6) The critic's lampooning of the Jurassic Parkness of it was well-grounded, but sort of missed the point.

7) Nope. Still don't like horror movies. Had to keep my eyes shut--a lot.

8) Clearly, they're hoping for a sequel (Sara and David Visit Othrys?), but, really, haven't we seen that already? Isn't that the Terminator films?

9) What is it with Ridley Scott and heroines? I'm sure his psychiatrist wonders, too.

10) Should have gone to Magic Mike. Soderburgh also makes my head hurt, but in a totally different way.