Wilson, Robert Charles: Darwinia

Darwinia (1998)
Written by: Robert Charles Wilson
Genre: Science Fiction/Alternate History
Pages: 320 (Hardcover)
Rating: 6 – Worth Reading, with Reservations

Why I Read It: A friend of mine was cleaning out his apartment back in 2005-2006, saw this book, and thought of me. Given the premise of it, and remembering what he’d read of my own writing, he thought I’d be interested. Of course, back then, any free book was a book I was interested in, so I was happy to take the book off of his hands. Of course, it languished in the TBR pile until now, when the Mount TBR challenge gave me a reason to unearth it.

Andrews, Ilona: Magic Gifts

Magic Gifts (2011)
Written by: Ilona Andrews
Genre: Novella/Urban Fantasy
Pages: Kindle
Series: Book 5.4 (or something) (Kate Daniels)
Rating: 6 – Worth Reading, with Reservations

Why I Read It: So on Christmas Eve, I was somehow alerted that Ilona Andrews was offering a free e-book on their website for Christmas (I use “their” since Ilona Andrews is the pen name for a husband/wife writing team). I immediately downloaded it to my Kindle, but didn’t get around to reading it until now. As a fan of the Kate Daniels series, I was definitely looking forward to seeing what the novella had to offer!

Cooper, Susan: Silver on the Tree

Silver on the Tree (1977)
Written by: Susan Cooper
Genre: YA/Fantasy
Pages: 275 (Mass Market Paperback)
Series: Book Five (The Dark is Rising)
Rating: 6 – Worth Reading, with Reservations

Why I Read It: At last, the fifth and final book in Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising series, and I can at last return the books to their rightful owner! It’s a funny thing, because I borrowed the series as a whole at my friend’s insistence, and didn’t mind only because I knew I’d be able to have some interesting discussions with him about the series as a whole (we’ve been comparing this to other childrens’ serials, like Harry Potter, Narnia, and while it’s not children’s, it’s still classic fantasy: The Lord of the Rings). It’s funny because if left to my own devices, I’m not sure whether or not I’d continue the series (especially if I was reading them as installments versus the omnibus), but I’m glad I was put in a situation where not reading the whole series wasn’t an option. If that makes sense.

Hanover, M.L.N.: Killing Rites

Killing Rites (2011)
Written by: M.L.N. Hanover
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 367 (Mass Market Paperback)
Series: Book Four (The Black Sun’s Daughter)
Rating: 7 – Good Read

Why I Read It: I’ve been thrilled with Hanover’s The Black Sun’s Daughter series to date, and the only reason I waited to get this book was on the off-chance I’d get it for Christmas. Since I didn’t, I grabbed it up right after the new year, and read it almost immediately.

Note: premise contains spoilers for the third book in the series, Vicious Grace.

Scott, Melissa: Shadow Man

Shadow Man (1995)
Written by: Melissa Scott
Genre: Feminist Science Fiction
Pages: 308 (Trade Paperback)
Rating: 6 – Worth Reading, with Reservations

Why I Read It: This book was recommended to me once upon a time ago by Nica Berry, who I went to grad school with. Gender issues fascinated the both of us but for different reasons, but when she told me about this feminist SF novel where not two, but five different sexes were the norm, I knew I had to read it. Of course, it just took me forever to get around to it once I finally got my paws on it (which wasn’t as easy as you’d think… I got this back before Kindles were ever out, and since it was out of print, had to surf used-book channels!).