This is the post for 2/11 through 2/17, which means that I’m caught up. I managed to get in a lot more reading this week because my husband & I took a short beach vacation with his side of the family, which made for some extra reading time.
The Last Smile in Sunder Cityby Luke Arnold
Rating: ★★★★
Series: Fetch Phllips #1
Publication Date: February 6, 2020
Genre: urban fantasy
Pages: 352
ReRead?: No
A former soldier turned PI tries to help the fantasy creatures whose lives he ruined in a world that's lost its magic in a compelling debut fantasy by Black Sails actor Luke Arnold.
Welcome to Sunder City. The magic is gone but the monsters remain.
I'm Fetch Phillips, just like it says on the window. There are a few things you should know before you hire me:
1. Sobriety costs extra.
2. My services are confidential.
3. I don't work for humans.It's nothing personal—I'm human myself. But after what happened, to the magic, it's not the humans who need my help.
This was a fun little urban fantasy that I checked out of the public library after running across it somewhere. If I had to pick my most underrated but enjoyable genre, UF would probably be it. I don’t read it often, but when I do, I always really enjoy it. It did remind me – a bit – of Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files but without Harry’s sometimes creepy attitude towards women.
This series has an interesting premise – a world that used to have magic, but doesn’t anymore (because human beings are assholes, of course), where all of the magical creatures are slowly falling apart.
Unlike Dying is My Business from last week, this is one where I will definitely continue the series. There are two more that have been published, which are available at my library.
Still Midnightby Denise Mina
Rating: ★★★
Series: Alex Morrow #1
Publication Date: January 1, 2009
Genre: mystery: modern (1980-present)
Pages: 363
ReRead?: No
The first book in the acclaimed Alex Morrow series of crime novels set in Glasgow, Scotland, from the author of national bestseller Conviction.
Alex Morrow is not new to the police force -- or to crime -- but there is nothing familiar about the call she has just received. On a still night in a quiet suburb of Glasgow, Scotland, three armed men have slipped from a van into a house, demanding a man who is not, and has never been, inside the front door. In the confusion that ensues, one family member is shot and another kidnapped, the assailants demanding an impossible ransom. Is this the amateur crime gone horribly wrong that it seems, or something much more unexpected?
"As Alex falls further into the most challenging case of her career, Denise Mina proves why "if you don't read crime novels, Mina is your reason to change"-Rocky Mountain News
Do I like Denise Mina? Do I like Tartan Noir? I don’t know. I can’t really answer that question. I know that I’ve read at least one other book by her, but I can’t remember anything about it.
I did not love this book, though. I gave it 3 stars, and that was probably generous given that there were basically zero characters that I liked, and there was a bit of a romantic subplot that left me feeling like I needed to go take a shower. One thing that was true to life is that the criminals and thugs in this book were dumber than dirt.
Alex frustrated me a lot, but there was a reveal at the end that put things into a different perspective. This was a library check out, so I’m going to give the next book a chance to redeem the series for me.
La Belle Sauvageby Phillip Pullman
Rating: ★★★★½
Series: The Book of Dust #1
Publication Date: October 19, 2017
Genre: fantasy, YA
Pages: 449
ReRead?: No
Project: 2024 read my hoard
Malcolm Polstead is the kind of boy who notices everything but is not much noticed himself. And so perhaps it was inevitable that he would become a spy...
Malcolm's father runs an inn called the Trout, on the banks of the river Thames, and all of Oxford passes through its doors. Malcolm and his dæmon, Asta, routinely overhear news and gossip, and the occasional scandal, but during a winter of unceasing rain, Malcolm catches wind of something new: intrigue.
He finds a secret message inquiring about a dangerous substance called Dust--and the spy it was intended for finds him.
When she asks Malcolm to keep his eyes open, Malcolm sees suspicious characters everywhere; Lord Asriel, clearly on the run; enforcement agents from the Magisterium; an Egyptian named Coram with warnings just for Malcolm; and a beautiful woman with an evil monkey for a dæmon. All are asking about the same thing: a girl--just a baby--named Lyra.
Lyra is the kind of person who draws people in like magnets. And Malcolm will brave any danger, and make shocking sacrifices, to bring her safely through the storm.
This was the clear stand-out of the week. After languishing on my digital TBR since 10/11/2017, it came up in a lucky spin at the beginning of February. I’ve read Pullman’s His Dark Materials previously, and enjoyed the series a lot.
La Belle Sauvage is a prequel to His Dark Materials, and involves the fate of baby Lyra. I loved the characters, especially Malcolm Polstead and his daemon Asta. Returning to the alternate England, and getting glimpses of Oxford and the increasing monstrousness of the Magisterium (OMG, the League of St. Anthony that encourages children to inform on their families if they don’t demonstrate sufficient adherence to religious rules was absolutely horrifying) and the coming fight centered around Lyra is fascinating.
The next book is called The Secret Commonwealth and was published in 2019. The events of that book evidently occur 20 years after La Belle Sauvage, and 7 years after the end of The Amber Spyglass. I don’t yet own that book, so I’m going to hold off for a reread of His Dark Materials, and then plunge in straight-away.
There is also – supposedly – a third book, but it hasn’t been published and there is no information about when that is likely to occur. There is conjecture that it could be this year, but no definitive information has been provided.
In addition to those 3, I finished:
- Centennial by James Michener
- They Came to Baghdad by Agatha Christie
- All Systems Red by Martha Wells
- Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells
I plan to write up individual posts for Centennial and They Came to Baghdad, and I’m rereading Artificial Condition & will do a series post of the first 3 Murderbot Diaries once I finish that reread. I’ll also be finishing Beloved this week – yay!