The Map of Love

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The Map of Love : A Novel

by Ahdaf Soueif

Ahdaf Soueif’s The Map of Love is a multi-generational story that takes place in both New York and Cairo.

A woman named Isabel meets a famous Egyptian conductor at a party in Manhattan, and he offers to give her names of friends in Cairo, knowing she’s headed there to research a project. She’s found some old letters from her grandmother, and wants to trace them, and learn her family’s story.

The conductor sends her to his sister, and together the woman piece together the story of Lady Winterbourne, and her romance with Sharif Pasha al Barudi in turn-of-the-century (19th to 20th) Egypt.

It’s a great love story, as well as an interesting portrait of modern Egypt.

STTNG: Immortal Coil

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Star Trek: The Next Generation #64: Immortal Coil

Jeffrey Lang

I bought the eBook version of this because I was desperate for instant-gratification in the form of mind-candy, and Trek books always qualify. This one is the only novel that features EmotionChip!Data, and it’s also the only full-fledged Data-romance.

A fanfic author I respect once said that she didn’t think it was possible to write a credible romance for Data. I disagreed at the time, but after reading this, and finding that many of the scenarios were more than a bit contrived, I’ve changed my mind.

Still, it was enjoyable, in a guilty-pleasure sort of way.

Storm Front

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Storm Front (The Dresden Files, Book 1)

Storm Front

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Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden is a detective named after three magicians, which is appropriate, since he’s a wizard. Storm Front, the first novel in The Dresden Files, introduces us to Harry, who is a little bit snarky, a little bit romantic, and more than a little bit of a gentleman, despite his lack of finances.

The mystery is interesting, with a good balance of action and exposition, and the world – an alternative Chicago – is just enough like our own that it’s believable.

The overall tone? Sara Paretsky meets the Supernatural. I’m eager to read the rest of the series.

Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art

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Walking on Water : Reflections on Faith and Art (Wheaton Literary)

Madeleine L’Engle

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I picked this up a couple months ago, but put it aside, because I’d been reading so much religious/spiritual stuff that my head was getting clogged. I’m glad I waited, because this book, really a series of essays, was refreshing and inspiring.

L’Engle’s been a favorite author of mine since I first read A Wrinkle in Time when I was seven or eight, and I’ve read much of her fiction (both fantasy and not) over the years, as well as her Crosswicks Journals. It seems I always find a L’Engle work in my hands just when I most need one.

THIS book included the author’s reflections on what makes a Christian book, or a children’s book, and included some interesting etymology on words like “whole” and “holy.”

I wouldn’t recommend it to everyone, but if you’re inclined to this sort of reading, definitely add it to your list.

Industrial Magic

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Industrial Magic

Kelley Armstrong

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The fourth installment in the Women of the Otherworld series picks up just a few months after Dime Store Magic, and continues the story of Page and Savannah, this time throwing in a series of murders of young Cabal relatives as the mystery plot. Paige and her sorcerer boyfriend Lucas must track down the murderer while protecting their young ward, and maintaining their new relationship.

As with the previous novels, it’s a fast-paced, entertaining read.

Dime Store Magic

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Dime Store Magic : Women of the Otherworld

Kelley Armstrong

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Dime Store Magic the third installment in Ms. Armstrong’s Women of the Otherworld series changes its focus from Elena the werewolf to Paige the witch and foster-mother. It’s as much a tale about mother-daughter relationships as it is about witchcraft and sorcery, with not a little romance thrown in. A delightful read, and consistant with the world Armstrong has introduced to us in the previous two novels.

STTNG: A Time for War, A Time for Peace

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A Time for War, A Time for Peace (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

Keith R. A. DeCandido

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This last installment in the A Time To… series is my favorite. Not only does it wrap up all the lose ends in the series itself, but it also ties in nicely with Nemesis.

Even better, it shows us that the Federation isn’t limited to Starfleet, by showing us the politics of the presidency.

To describe the plot would be to spoil it – just go read it.

STTNG: A Time to Kill & A Time to Heal

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A Time to Kill (Star Trek The Next Generation) A Time to Heal (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

David Mack

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The seventh and eighth books in this series bring in more and more political intrigue, giving a minor taste of TNG meets The West Wing, with the Tezwa and their illegal Federation-supplied defense system, and rumblings from the Klingons.

Worf is part of the action once more, acting as the Klingon ambassador, and Riker and Troi are finally engaged. There could be more Data – but then I always think that – and most of his best moments are overshadowed by other things – but it’s interesting that Riker uses Data’s position as one of his reasons for accepting command of the Titan.

The more I read of this series, the more I loved it, and I really have to go back and re-read a lot of it.

STTNG: A Time to Love & A Time to Hate

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Star Trek: The Next Generation #5: A Time to Love A Time to Hate (Star Trek The Next Generation)

Robert Greenberger

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The fifth and sixth volumes in the A Time to… series re-introduce us to Kyle Riker, and the flawed relationship he has with his son Will.

It also involves a dispute between rival factions who mysteriously became peaceful when they colonized a specific planet, never realizing that the environment itself was drugging them – interesting questions of medical ethics are brought up, as Beverly Crusher tries to find a cure that doesn’t end in a brutal war.

And of course, the set-up of Nemesis continues….

A Stroke of Midnight

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A Stroke of Midnight (Meredith Gentry Novel)
Laurell K. Hamilton

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I’m beginning to think that I need to start keeping a scorecard while reading the books in Laurell K. Hamilton’s Merry Gentry series, because I’ve lost count of which men she’s bedded and how many times, and where. It’s a good thing Meredith is a fictional character, because otherwise I’d have to hate someone who has more good sex in a single DAY than most of us have over the course of a lifetime.

At any rate, stepping back into the world of beautiful sidhe men, and Princess Meredith was just as much fun the fourth time around as it was the first time. Perhaps more so, because by now I expect it to be almost PWP.

A Stroke of Midnight takes place in a single day, picking up pretty much immediately after the previous book, and also takes place entirely within the sithen. There is a murder mystery – someone’s killed a reporter and a member of the court – but mostly it’s about the different men that Meredith encounters, and their individual magical talents. Mostly. There’s some political intrigue in it, of course, and the next novel should be pivotal, if the setup is to be believed.

Faerie porn: gotta love it.