Empire of Storms

 

Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas (2016) 689 pages

Sitting at #5 in the Throne of Glass series, I have to say I was disappointed by it. The previous 4 in the series I devoured. The author seems to have switched up her writing style with this one, and I don't think diving into long drawn-out romantic parts quite fits this series. I call it ACOTAR-fied (lol). It was still okay! Still read it, and will contiue the series but cringed through most of it. One thing I've also noticed is a lot of borrowing from other well-known fantasy series which I suppose isn't new to the genre. 

Aelin may have defeated the evil king, and restored magic to the realm, but the goalposts have been moved once again and she must track down a mysterious stone in order to save the world and destroy the Valg...once and for all. More wyverns involved in this one including....sea wyverns. The merry cast of characters fight with each other and their enemies as they track down this key. There are lots of physical romantic scenes in between all of the action. Aelin discovers that she must die in order to seal off the Valg and destroy Erawan for good. The book ends with Aelin being captured by Queen Maeve, and secured with iron chains and a mask to stifle her powers. 

Cahokia Mounds: America's First City

 Cahokia Mounds: America's First City by William Iseminger (2010) 176 pages

I read this in preparation for an honor's project I did for a class before finals. 

William, or Bill Iseminger is the current manager at the Cahokia site and has spent years helping preserve and share the history and archaeology of the mounds and Mississippian Culture. Iseminger details carefully the artifacts found in the Cahokia mound site, and an overview of what the city used to look like and how its people may have spent their days. 

This book is a wonderful read for St. Louisians, as it details not only the historic Cahokia site, but also the mounds of the once great "Mound City". It's pretty sad to read about how most of the mounds were destroyed, and how little preservation went into the ones that remain, but Bill along with the archaeologists, scientists and now the Osage Nation have taken care to preseve the rest. 

Children of Dune

 

Children of Dune by Frank Herbert (1976) 444 pages 

I had to read this one twice to fully understand it. This one is a bit different than the first two, but when read as a trilogy I think it follows the events nicely. This one isn't full of action, but also has themes of philosophy and religion on the desert planet. Paul Muad'dib Atreides, has walked into the desert blind, abandoning his twin children to the care of the Fremen. In Paul's place, his sister Alia has taken over ruling the universe. The twins, Ghanima and Leto II have been born into the world having been awakened in the womb by the spice. They are like Paul in that they both have prescience..they can see visions of future and the genetic information of those who have lived in the past. Arrakis is ecologically changing, the mission which Paul had initially began is working. The Fremen no longer need to live in the sietches and the sand worms are disappearing. Alia, who was also awoken in the womb but did not acquire prescience, becomes "possessed" by the part of the Baron Harkonnen that lives within her memory. Alia goes so far in her possession in that she attempts to have the twins killed, and her own mother in order to secure the power as emperor for herself. The twins survive, but Leto is separated from Ghanima for the first time in their short lives. A stuggle between Alia (the Baron), the spacing guild, the Bene Gesserit, and House Corrino, and the mysterious "preacher" of the desert spirals until in the end Leto II seizes power and declares himself emperor. He declares that he will live for thousands of years, impossible even by ingesting the spice melange. 

There's much that I have left out but ultimately I think this was a great follow-up to Messiah. Sad to see Paul disappear into the desert but excited to see what happens next. 

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow

 

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (2022) 401 pages

 

This might be my favorite read of 2023.  

Bouncing between Sam Masur and Sadie Green, but usually from Sadie's pov, this story tells the tale of how old friends grow and change, together and apart, and back together throughout their life. The nostalgia with how old-school Nintendo and computer games in the late 80s and early 90s were made and played is integral to this, as the two main characters become game programmers. Not only about gaming, this novel goes into depth with themes of grief and loss, love and friendship, grappling with disability, homophobia and the recent culture war issues with mass shootings. Flashing back in time quite often, it is sometimes hard to remember where specifically you are at, but the author does a good job keeping you grounded throughout.

Beach Read

 

Beach Read by Emily Henry (2020) 358 pages

I'll admit, romance novels are not my favorite but this one was so incredibly fun! 

Writer January has recently lost her father and is supposed to be on track to finish her next novel by the end of summer. After her father's death, she discovered a nasty secret. Her beloved father has kept not only a secret beach house, but a secret lover. She moves into this beach house that has been left to her, thinking she can start anew and crank out her novel. She is incredibly reluctant to read the letter her father left her, she would rather not know the excuses he has for betraying her mother. Little does January know, next door lives one of her college rivals: Gus Everett. January purportedly refuses to still believe in love, and therefore is stuck on finishing her next book. Gus and January get to talking and decide to begin a game. The game is writing each other's usual themes: Gus with a typical American dark novel, and January's typical happy romantic story. They go on adventures one weekend after another and soon find not only inspiration, but feelings for each other. 

What I liked most about this was the way it really immerses you in the way it feels to develop a crush on someone! I felt the butterflies! Excellent writing style on that front.

When the Stars Go Dark

 

 When the Stars Go Dark by Paula McLain (2021) 384 pages

Main character Anna Hart is running from tragedy which has struck her immediate family. There are little details except visual bits and pieces in the beginning as to what exactly has happened to her. All we know is that she is running from it, and is feeling deeply guilty by what has happened. Anna returns to northern California, Mendocino specifically, where she spent her time in foster care as a child. She feels that Mendocino is the only place where she can return, not only to grieve what has happened recently, but return to the trauma she experienced before ending up in foster care. She is a detective, taking time off from her official position, but is soon drawn into a missing person's case which has struck the small town of Mendocino. A movie star's daughter, also an adoptee, has gone missing. Anna joins the search with her friend Will, a local sheriff who is investigating the case. This story not only draws on themes of abuse and trauma, but how one can identify these things happening in a young person's life, and what that can look like from the outside. Anna becomes obsessed with the case when not only the movie star's daughter disappears, but multiple from neighboring counties. As the story unfolds, we learn more of what Anna went through herself as a young child, being ripped out of the only family she knows when her mother overdoses on drugs and is placed apart from her siblings. I enjoyed the mystery aspect and uncovering the details in the missing person's case, but also in the healing and grieving process in what is happening in most immediate time setting in Anna's life. Overall a really solid read.

Dune: The Graphic Novel, Book 1

 Dune: The Graphic Novel by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, (2020) 163 pages

 Brian Herbert, the son of the great Frank Herbert, has created a fairly beautiful graphic novel adaptation of his father's masterpiece and very beloved science fiction series Dune. It is sometimes difficult to not only get the whole story into graphic novel form, but I believe this was done very well. The facial expressions of young Paul Atreides match the horror and emotions of reading about his unraveling destiny. The terrifying Baron Harkonnen is equally captured within the images. As a Dune lover, I really enjoyed reading the story in a different light next to the newest film adaptation. Now not the whole story made it within these pages, but I believe the most important parts were done carefully and thoughtfully. This one is a bit different than the film adaptation, as it does go into more detail regarding the background characters on the other planets, such as the guild navigators and those involved with seeing the Harkonnen's back in power on Arrakis.

Paul Atreides, heir to House Atreides is discovering he was meant for much more than just heading his father's great House. As his family is uprooted from the lush planet Caladan, Paul is awakened by vivid dreams of their future home: Dune, or Arrakis, the desert planet. Paul's mother, Jessica, is a Bene Gesserit,an order of women who have gone through thousands of years of mental and physical training to achieve superhuman capabilities. Jessica has taught Paul the ways of the Bene Gesserit. The Bene Gesserit have a secret breeding program that has been carefully planned for 10,000 years which they hope to someday create the "Kwisatz Haderach", or a male Bene Gesserit who will not only have access to the memories of all female but male counterparts as well as capabilities beyond space and time. Paul is tested by the Reverened Mother, who decides that he indeed could potentially become the one they have been waiting for. Through corruption between the Bene Gesserit and the Baron Harkonnen, Paul's father Leto is killed due to a betrayal within the Atreides house, and Paul's path to becoming who he was meant to be is ignited. The main idea behind the Harkonnen's corruption is to regain control of Arrakis, the main source of the spice melange in the universe. As Jessica and Paul flee the capital successfully hidden, the Baron Harkhonnen eventually believe them to be killed. This is where the book 1 adaptation ends.

Fevered Star

 

Fevered Star by Rebecca Roanhorse (2022) 384 pages

I've been excited to continue this fantasy series, which Ms. Roanhorse calls Between Earth and Sky. The land, the Meridian, and the people and magic are based on Mesoamerican culture before Europeans arrived. It has been two years since I read the first book of the planned trilogy, so it took a little while to reacquaint myself with the main characters and where the first book left off. I love the world building and exploring it with the old and new characters. I love that even though there is a cosmic battle between the dark and the light most characters are not one-dimensionally evil or good. There are faults and heroic aspects of all the main characters. The author expertly builds tension through the suspense of courtly intrigue with multiple tribes of people vying for power. Several storylines are left open-ended to be resolved in the third book. However, this one still feels satisfying as the protagonists have grown and changed, and recommitted themselves to new goals that will change the order of the Meridian.

Murder Your Employer

Murder Your Employer by Rupert Holmes, 388 pages

In what is intended to be the first of several volumes in the McMasters Guide to Homicide*, the dean of a secretive finishing school for those wishing to finish the life of someone in particular presents three case studies of McMasters students working on and attempting to present their final thesis: the murder of their deserving employer. The case studies are Cliff, an aeronautical engineer whose ex-boss ignored safety measures and ruined Cliff's reputation when he dared draw attention to the hazards; Doria, a Hollywood starlet whose sleazy producer is threatening to end her career because she resists his "charms"; and Gemma, a nurse who is being blackmailed by her boss.

This clever book manages to skewer both bad bosses and academia, while serving up plenty of wordplay and humor. It's fun in the same way a heist is fun: you're rooting for someone who you know is planning something illegal, and even when you think you have it all figured out, you're wrong in the best possible way. I absolutely loved this book, and if there are more volumes in the McMasters Guide, I'll happily read them.

*While the dean is obviously a proponent of this series, others on the school's guiding committee may put the kibosh on this. Only time will tell.

Travelers to Unimaginable Lands

Travelers to Unimaginable Lands: Stories of Dementia, the Caregiver and the Human Brain by Dasha Kiper (2023) 233 pages

Dasha Kiper has a background in clinical psychology and has worked with dementia patients and their caregivers for over ten years, including a year she lived with and cared for an Alzheimer's patient. Her book offers much discussion about the difficulties caring for a patient with dementia. Part of the problem is that patients don't always seem irrational, so we find ourselves thinking that they may not have dementia, and that they still have self-awareness and the ability to remember, which unfortunately isn't the case. In fact, Kiper tells us that the caretaker often begins to act irrational as well, forgetting that the dementia patient has forgotten so much. There are several case histories, which help show how difficult life is for both the patients and their caregivers. This book is well-written and well-documented, and it deserves a second reading. 

I first heard of this book when Kiper was interviewed on NPR's program The Takeaway. I highly recommend this book for those who have a dementia patient in their life.