The premise of Angels of Music is cool: the Phantom of the Opera runs a secret detective service and employs ladies of the opera house as “Angels”. The set up reminiscent of Charlie’s Angels is pretty deliberate. There are several actual characters from the original novella by Gaston Leroux but in different forms. Christine Daee is one of the original Angels, and there is also a Raoul, but no Philippe, and a Count de Chagny. Where things get a little weird is that mix of […]
Another ‘gifted teenage misfit destined to save the world’ story, but with a few original bits
I had seen Sanderson’s name on Cannonball multiple times, but I wasn’t sure where to start. A friend recommended Mistborn, so I figured a double recommendation (meatspace friend and CBR folks) was a pretty sure thing. And I really enjoyed it, even though I can’t tell which book in the series this is (there’s a snippet of ‘the concluding volume of the Mistborn trilogy’ in the back of the book, though Amazon tells me this is the first one). Teenage thief Vin lives in a […]
British Mythology Redux
My experience with Kazuo Ishiguro has only been Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go. The more I’ve read of Mr. Ishiguro’s, the more I enjoy his style. He begins his narratives very subtly developing conflicts and characters and builds towards endings that pack a punch. The Buried Giant departs from his usual content, while he tackles re-imagining British mythology. The world of the story is post-Arthurian where the Britons and the Saxons are living amongst each other, slowly building the cultural milieu we […]
Ending the L’Engle fantasy adventure
This is the last of the Austin family series, and I was excited to conclude, but also regretful that my journey had ended. I was glad to see that Adam Eddington had returned and—more importantly—that Zachary had not. I was interested to see how Vicky’s questions about life would be continued in this book. I delve into the spoiler-free review on my blog and wrap up with a few thoughts on the Austin family series.
A L’Engle favorite
My Madeleine L’Engle re-read brought me to a reward: this book, which is one of my absolute favorites in her canon. Because I’ve had a lot of twists and turns in my L’Engle journey, I’ve wanted to revisit this book. I read it and *loved* it in college, in no small part due to the dolphin action that takes place. I am pleased that for me, the re-read helped me re-enjoy the story to its fullest. I delve into the love with my full review.
No mourners, no funerals
Spoiler warning! There will be some spoilers for Six of Crows and Ruin and Rising, the final book in Bardugo’s Grisha trilogy in this review. There will also be some spoilers about the ending of this book, which means it’s best to avoid this whole review until you’ve read both these excellent books (and possibly the Grisha trilogy as well.) Kaz Brekker and his crew have just pulled off a heist so daring even they didn’t think they’d survive. But instead of divvying up a […]