vol3no5

Volume 3 #5

All books reviewed here are recommended. Please, always keep in mind that the only books that appear on this page are ones that I liked enough to write about. For every book reviewed here I have usually read two that I would not want to inflict on anyone.

Fans of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series should really look at Into the Wilderness by Sara Donati. It not only evokes the same feelings but even mentions Claire and Jamie! Read my review in the July 19, 1998 issue of BookList. Fans of forensic mysteries will enjoy Iris Johansen's The Face of Deception reviewed in the August 19, 1998 issue. Other reviews I have in the August 19th issue are for Sheila Newberry's A Charm of Finches and Lenore Carroll's One Hundred Girls' Mother.

Happy reading,

Romance/Western/Native American
Grey Eagle's Bride
Jessica Wulf
Zebra 0821760041

Diana Murdoch, daughter of a recently deceased doctor is called away from Fort Laramie by a messenger reporting that her friend Jubal Sage is gravely injured. None of her friends at the fort are available to escort her to the secluded cabin so a horrible officer who has made no secret of wanting her for his wife is detailed for the task. Narrowly escaping a rape attempt, Diana is swept away by Grey Eagle, the last unmarried Beaudine brother and taken to his home with the Cheyenne. Cultural courtship differences keep the couple apart for a while but true love and an affinity for eagles on both their parts brings them together.

Wulf writes delightful Western romances treating all her characters with respect. She is particularly good at depicting likeable characters. Diana is strong, nurturing, generous, and kind. Grey Eagle, gorgeously described, is a man of virtues to match hers. One can't help but liking the folks that people her books. The time spent in the Cheyenne encampment has an authentic feel and is full of interesting tidbits. The spiritual aspect of Grey Eagle's visions of a woman who communicates with an eagle and Diana's relationship with an eagle she doctored is also of note. Wulf even gives most of her "bad" characters some positive aspects and rational for acting the way they do. When a reader closes the covers after reading the last page of one of Wulf's books she just feels good. And that, dear readers, is exactly what a romance should do.

This is the third book in the series featuring the three Beaudine brothers following Hunter's Bride and Joseph's Bride.

Young Adult/Contemporary/Coming of Age/Pregnancy
Someone Like You
Sarah Dessen
Viking 0670877786
True to life women's fiction for young women, Someone Like You , is a touching coming of age tale told by Halley, a high school junior. Summoned home from camp by a frantic late night phone call from her best friend, the rather flamboyant, Scarlett, Halley rushes to console her at the loss of her boyfriend who has been killed in a motorcycle accident. Not long after the funeral it is revealed that Scarlett is pregnant. Halley, formerly the quiet sidekick, shows her true reserves of strength as she bolsters Scarlett through the difficult months ahead.

One of the best books of recent years to look at teenage pregnancy, it vividly portrays what being a teenage girl really feels like.

Fantasy/Urban Fantasy/Short Stories
The Essential Bordertown
Terri Windling and Delia Sherman, editors
Tor 0312865937

This most recent Borderland anthology is an essential read for fans of this particular shared world and will undoubtedly make some new converts. As with all story collections the likeability of stories is uneven with some shining gems and a few that just don't catch the reader but which are which depends on the specific individual reading it. For those unfamiliar with this sterling series, it is set in a world where one city lies near a breach in the fabric between our mundane world where the mechanical works and the world of Faerie where magic works. Bordertown is inhabited by folks Human, Faerie, and Halfie. Disaffected youth from both worlds run away to Bordertown where they find mind altering experiences and substances. Gangs defend their territories against anyone who isn't one of their number. Bordertown isn't all grim though. Good folk of all persuasions form families based on friendship and caring.

Young Adult/Mystery/Native American
Twilight Boy
Timothy Green
Rising Moon 0873586700

This amazingly well done mystery set in Hillerman country features two likable teenage sleuths who are on the trail of a "skinwalker" who is terrorizing Jesse Begay's grandfather and may have been responsible for the death of his father, an officer of the Navajo Tribal Police. Jesse, who's respect for tradition and strong moral character is much like a young Jim Chee, is wrongly accused of stealing a horse from Carolyn Manchester who has just arrived at the Standing Rock Trading Post that was recently purchased by her parents. As the two are drawn together they find a deadly evil linked to some ancient Spanish gold coins.

Green is a welcome new voice and not only YA readers will enjoy this but readers of all ages who revel in the Four Corners setting popularized by Tony Hillerman. The engaging characters and enticing plot should make this one a contender for both Mystery and Western awards.

Fantasy/Literary/Hard Fantasy
Dogland
Will Shetterly
Tor 0312851715

The fantasy elements are so subtle in this tale of young Chris Nix's life in a Florida theme attraction featuring every dog breed run by his atheist liberal dad and quiet mom that they could be missed by those unfamiliar with mythology and history. But for those in the know this is a rich multi-layered tale of magic and human relationships against the scary backdrop of the battle for integration in the South.

Non fantasy readers or lovers of literary fiction just may be lured into the genre by this finely crafted tale with its exquisitely developed characters that is far different than Shetterly's other fantasy fiction but just as appealing. Other contemporary literary fantasy titles include Terri Windling's The Wood Wife, Charles deLint's Someplace to be Flying and Terry Bisson's Talking Man.

Crime/Amateur Investigator/Woman Detective
Death of a Dust Bunny
Christine T. Jorgensen
Walker 0802733158

In the fourth Stella the Stargazer mystery, Stella/Jane fills in as a nanny to the little boy her literacy student had been taking care of. Certain that Elena would not have abandoned her charge and knowing that she could not have left the note claimed to have been left behind, she investigates the disappearance.

Stella is a charming slight wacky sleuth. The Denver setting is right on down to the scents of different neighborhoods.

Crime/Private Investigator/Woman Detective
Vampire Bytes
Linda Grant
Scribner 0684826755

Catherine Sayler is called in by a new game software company to locate a brilliant young programer who has run off with all the source code for a new game that is to launch the business. She is also working on the case of a missing teen at the request of her sister. When the missing programer is found dead, drained of blood and with two puncture marks in his neck the two cases come together as Catherine and her partners discover that both subjects were involved in a vampire fantasy role playing game. As niece Molly steps in to help, Catherine comes under attack from a preacher and a cop who decide that she is a Satanist.

Grant has an incredible grasp on the reality of today's young people. She plays fair with her readers laying out the mystery and plays fair with her characters painting them in all shades of gray. This compelling read establishes Grant firmly on my short list of favorite mystery writers. The details of LARPs and computer game development are fascinating.

Young Adult/Historical/19th Century/Romance
North by Night
Katherine Ayres

A young woman goes into seclusion to ostensibly nurse an ailing local widow and discovers much about herself and her heart not to mention her strengths as she helps a party of women and children escape slavery on the Underground Railroad.

Young Adult/Historical
Fire, Bed & Bone
Henrietta Branford

In the time of King Richard serfs are taxed unmercifully but when they turn to rebellion horrible things happen. This captivating tale is told from the viewpoint of a dog who loves her family and saves the children, losing two of her own pups, when her humans are captured and imprisoned. Not since Wayne Smith's wonderful book Thor has a tale told from a dog's perspective been so realistic and emotionally gripping.

Crime/Suspense
You Belong to Me
Mary Higgins Clark

A radio advice show psychologist becomes the target of a serial killer after a caller telephones the show saying she has information about what may have happened to a woman who disappeared off a cruise ship. Clark can always spin a pageturner of a story. While this is not her best it is a good beach book.

Horror/Medical
Toxin
Robin Cook

This tale of the E-Coli caused death of a talented child skater and her surgeon father's vendetta against all involved in her hideous demise is enough to make one a vegetarian (and I'm the product of many many generations reared in cattle country). Like Clark, Cook also writes pageturners but this is not one you would want to read over a cheeseburger or while enjoying a helping of beefy nachos. In fact it is the best case I've seen for fasting.

Young Adult/Fantasy/Time Travel
Prisoner of Time
Caroline B. Cooney
BDD

Devonny wishes she could follow her older brother Strat through time to escape being forced to marry a stuffy English lord by her father. Drawn into the 1990s by Annie's brother Tod, Devonny discovers she can't escape all her problems.

Young Adult/Historical/Suspense
Heroes
Robert Cormier
Delacorte.

Francis has returned home to Frenchtown after World War II without his face. He has come home to kill his former idol and try to discover what happened to his first love.

Young Adult/ Science Fiction/ Time Travel
The Transall Saga
Gary Paulsen
Delacorte

On a solo camping trip, Mark sees a strange light that sucks him in and disgorges him on a world with red foliage, yellow skies, and strange critters. As he spends many months learning alien survival skills he discovers his own strengths and inner resourcefulness. Joining a band of humanoids he is eventually captured by another race and becomes a slave. But even in captivity his bravery, strength, and intelligence lead him into heroics, freedom, and leadership. This pulp-like sf adventure breaks no new ground but is an entertaining diversion.

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