Book Review: The Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis

Reader #476 wrote: I recently finished reading The Dawn Treader by CSLewis, having read Prince Caspian I could not wait to read what happens next in the adventures of Caspian, the Pevensie children, and my favorite mouse Reepicheep. As they set sail to the end of the world, they experience amazing adventure both good and bad. I appreciated how often Aslan appears in this installment as he really plays a huge role in helping us realize that there might be a higher being looking after us, not just in our imaginations but in our reality. A lesson to be learned here is to face all or our fears head on knowing that we would never be given anything that we could not handle. Grade:B.

Book Review: Swan Peak by James Lee Burke

Librarian Tim wrote: Louisiana police detective Dave Robicheaux and his friend, private investigator Clete Purcell need a break from post-Katrina southern Louisiana, so the decamp to a friend's cabin in the Montana wilderness to fish and rest. That rest is short lived however, when Purcell accidentally wades into a trout stream owned by a wealthy family, and stirs up a hornets nest of trouble. When two students from the local college are murdered behind their friends property, Robicheaux and Prucell are pulled even deeper into a story involving a mysterious drifter, a lawman looking for revenge, a crooked preacher and a wealthy family that isn't all it is cracked up to be. It's interesting to read about Robicheaux and Purcell outside of their usual environment of the swamps and bayous of Louisiana. But the story is a familiar one for the series, actually tying up a loose end that has been fluttering since an earlier story. Burke is a natural storyteller whose affinity for the outdoors nearly borders on the poetic, with wonderful descriptions of the mountains and streams of Montana evoking the stories of C.J. Box. Fans of thought provoking crime fiction should enjoy this novel. Grade:B.

Book Review: The Dragon's Nine Sons by Chris Roberson

Reader #82 wrote:THE DRAGON'S NINE SONS by Chris Roberson is set in the same "Celestial Empire" alternate history universe as many of Roberson's other stories (including the Sidewise Award winner, "O One"). This universe supposes that the Chinese did not curtail their exploration in the 15th century, but went on to reach and colonize North America, and eventually expand to control almost the entire world. This story is set after Mexica has successfully broken away from the Han Empire, and during a space race/war between the two. It is sort of a "Dirty Dozen" in space (though with nine rather than twelve soldiers)--a band of misfits under death sentences sent on a suicide mission. As the first novel Roberson has written in the series, THE DRAGON'S NINE SONS suffers from some problems that one would not have in short stories. For example, there is (to my mind) far too much fore-shadowing at the ends of chapters (e.g., "That was the intention, at any rate. As with so many things, though, the reality fell far short of the ideal."). I also have a quibble with the method required to start the Mexic engines. (Without saying too much, let me just say that while it sounds plausible in theory, the exigencies of battle might cause problems if a ship is understaffed.) Given this method, however, the "practical joke" one Han character plays is so clearly stupid that one is reminded of Damon Knight's term, "idiot plot". Indeed, there seems to be a fair amount of coincidence and contrivance in the story. The most egregious, is how the characters justify the killing of women and children in a Mexic stronghold in their plan. Perhaps the idea is that the reader should *not* agree with them and should see it as an example of how the military rationalizes all its actions, however immoral they may seem. (On the other hand, one character explicitly condemns an action that directly copies a decision from World War II that most people accept as necessary--and no, it's not the atomic bomb.) And one final minor complaint: the copy editor at Solaris does not seem to know the difference between "flout" and "flaunt". The story itself has more of straight military science fiction and less of the "Celestial Empire" background than Roberson's short stories, and as such is a reasonably enjoyable read, even if not as "pure" an alternate history. Grade: B.

Book Review: Kissing Babies at the Piggly Wiggly

Reader # 97 wrote: The book is very predictable. It was ok but it is not memorable. I think the characters could be more interesting and the story more interesting. I would not recommend this book. Grade: C

Book Review: Wedding Bell Blues

Reader # 97 wrote: Very enjoyable love story. It delves into a lost love that returns after many years. You discover family secrets and a new found belief in the power of God. I would recommend it for a quick reading book that is uplifting. Grade: A

Book Review: The County Fair

Reader # 97 wrote: Very enjoyable book that shows the small town camaraderie and how everyone pulls together in a crisis. It has an uplifting ending. Grade: A