Good in Bed

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Good in Bed
Jennifer Weiner
There’s chick-lit that is as formulaic as a Silhouette romance novel, and then, just when you think the whole genre is the Malibu Barbie of literature, along comes a book like Good in Bed.

In this novel (which was apparently the author’s first), protagonist Cannie Shapiro isn’t a lolly-pop headed stick-figure of a lead – instead, she’s overweight, underconfident, and totaly real – even to the way she deals with her divorced, and recently out of the closet, mother and her mother’s anti-social partner.

To describe the plot would be to ruin the story, but don’t let the superficial similarities to How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days fool you – it’s a great read.

Stardust

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Stardust

Neill Gaiman
I was in the mood for light fantasy, and I always love classic fairy tales, so Neil Gaiman’s Stardust was perfect for my mood. Unlike American Gods, which I’ve set aside until I can deal with it again, it’a gently whimsical story, about growing up and finding your heart’s desire.

Thorougly enjoyable, and just enough creepy to not be childish.

Metamorphosis

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Metamorphosis (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

Jean Lorrah
Metamorphosis takes place in the second season of Star Trek: The Next Generation, but it’s a direct sequel to Jean Lorrah’s first TNG novel, Survivors.

In this novel, we see what Data might be like if his fondest wish was granted, and he became human, literally. Watching him adapt to being a “real boy” is both comic and poignant; watching him react to lost love is a bit disturbing. Someone said (probably in another TNG novel) that hurting Data is sort of like kicking a puppy, and it’s totally true.

In any case, at least they’ve fixed the errors with contractions – Data doesn’t use any in this novel, and it was still fun.

Survivors

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Survivors (Star Trek The Next Generation, No 4)

Jean Lorrah
I’ve been a Star Trek fan since birth, practically, to the point where, when I was a kid, the only television I was allowed to watch before 5:00 PM was reruns of classic Trek.

I was in junior high, or high school, when I started reading the novel tie-ins, and by the time I married Fuzzy, I had almost all the TOS novels, and a good portion of the TNG ones. At that point, I hadn’t begun to collect DS9, and Voyager didn’t exist.

When we left South Dakota, I gave my collection to Fuzzy’s brother, who also collected them. I think his collection is now complete, but I still like to revisit the series from time to time, and have contemplated beginning my collection anew.

In any case, my favorite TNG character is Picard, but I’ve always had a soft spot for Data, so when I saw the TNG novel Survivors, by Jean Lorrah, who had also written some of my favorite TOS novels, I had to have it.

It’s an episode expansion, of a sort, dealing with some of the events in the episode Skin of Evil (the one where Tasha is killed by the sentient oil slick), and also expanding the relationship between Data and Tasha, and talking about Tasha’s background. It’s also very EARLY TNG-fic, because Data is using contractions all over the place, and at one point Deanna Troi tells Tasha that Data has feelings.

Still, as fluff reading goes, it’s fun, and the insight into Tasha rounds out a character we never really got to know.

Incubus Dreams

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Incubus Dreams: The Anita Blake Vampire Hunter Series

Laurell K. Hamilton

I’ve been a fan of Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series since 1998, when I spied a copy of The Lunatic Cafe on the shelf at the Barnes and Noble in Sioux Falls. Of course, I immediately had to go back and read the rest of the novels in the series, which was, at the time, only four books long.

Now, eight books later, I’m still addicted to Hamilton’s cast of characters and soft-porn storytelling, but I wish there was a little bit more story in this offering, Incubus Dreams.

To be fair, it is a transitional novel, and it does that job well. Anita, in this incarnation, is finally beginning to make peace with who and what she is. In fact, for the first time, she’s beginning to show real signs of maturity.

The plot, what there is of it, isn’t very obvious – there’s a string of murders, of course, but there are vast stretches of the novel where they’re not even mentioned, and the solution, when it comes, is sort of a throwaway, but the character development is much more interesting – Nathaniel is becoming three-dimensional, and Richard is ‘back’ in a sense.

I’m looking forward to finding out what happens next.

The Reef

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The Reef
Nora Roberts
I picked up this novel, The Reef, by Nora Roberts, at the Half Price Books in Lewisville, TX when we were still in the apartment, began it there, got distracted, and didn’t finish it until the first weekend we were here in the house, when I literally had nothing else to read.

As romance novels go, it’s fairly predictable, though the fact that it’s a Nora Roberts novel means that at least it’s well-written predictability.

It’s also relatively early Roberts – it feels a bit dated to me.

Still, as bathroom reading, it was quiet enjoyable.

Typhoon

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Typhoon
Robin White

People are generally surprised when I share this, but I have a ‘thing’ for submarine stories. I’m not sure what it is – maybe it’s because the isolation of a submarine is so much akin to the isolation of a starship, and I’m a big science fiction geek. But there you have it. I like submarine stories.

Unfortunately, I tend to compare every submarine story to Tom Clancy’s The Hunt for Red October, and most come up short. Still, Robin White’s Typhoon was an enjoyable, if predictable, read, and it had me dreaming about diving and navigating in three dimensions for two days in a row.

Sanctuary

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Sanctuary

Nora Roberts

I’ve always considered Nora Roberts to be my guilty pleasure author, partly because her books are as much mystery/suspense as they are romance, and educated readers don’t read romance novels…do they?

But the truth is, when you want to curl up in bed with something that is total entertainment, Roberts is one of the best authors to choose. I picked up Sanctuary, not realizing I’d read it years ago, because I was stuck in the apartment, and wanted to soak in the tub and escape. And even though it was an unintentional retro-read, I enjoyed the story.

It’s pretty simple. A young photographer who doesn’t get along with her family is being stalked, but the stalker keeps removing the proof of his existence, and she finally retreats to the family inn, SANCTUARY, to rest and regroup. Since this is a Nora Roberts novel, the rest of the tale is equal parts relationship (with her father, brother, sister, friends), romance (with a man she’d met years before, when both were children), and suspense (the stalker has followed her home).

It’s not the most intellectual fare, but it’s fun, and the detail Ms. Roberts gives to settings and people makes even the most predictable tale come alive.

Stormqueen, and others

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Darkover: First Contact (Darkover Omnibus)

Marion Zimmer Bradley

After a break during which I read some more modern novels, I went back to Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Darkover series, and read all the books that had been missing from my own collection, largely thanks to the folks at Half Price Books.

I’m not going to list every title, but I am going to mention that my favorite of the second batch of books was Stormqueen, though I’m certain this had to do with the weather outside the apartment matching the weather in the book.

Small things like that influence me far too greatly.

Still, it’s a great series, especially if you really want to immerse yourself in another world.

Traitor’s Sun (and others)

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Traitor's Sun: A Novel of Darkover (Darkover)

Marion Zimmer Bradley

During the months of August and September, I was under a self-imposed book-buying moratorium, while we packed the house, and moved from California to Texas. However, I was still engaged in retro-reading, and, because I hadn’t read the series in a long time, I indulged in re-reading the entire Darkover series, by Marion Zimmer Bradley.

Darkover is one of my favorite fictional worlds, partly because there are so many novels in the series, and partly because the culture is believable. Rather than listing every novel in an independent entry, I offer the list (in series order, not publication order) of the novels I read before arriving in Texas.

Darkover Landfall
Hawkmistress
Two to Conquer
The Shattered Chain
Thendara House
Rediscovery
The Spell Sword
The Forbidden Tower
Star of Danger
Winds of Darkover
Heritage of Hastur
Sharra’s Exile
Exile’s Song
The Shadow Matrix
Traitor’s Sun