The Faded Sun Trilogy: CJ Cherryh
will never be listed among the absolute greats of the science fiction genre, but it does bring a touch of originality and intelligence, enough to be well worth reading. The story, as you can read on the back cover, follows a race of alien warriors known as the Kel, who hire out as mercenaries on space going missions for other species. While they have long been viewed as the greatest soldiers in the galaxy, they are losing a war against humanity, who they view as fighting without honor.

However, the war between humans and the Kel is not the main focus of this book. The majority of the story focuses on the journey undertaken by surviving Kel to find their forgotten homeworld, and in a larger sense on their species' struggle to find purpose and meaning in a world that no longer seems to value them. The portions of the trilogy that are written from an alien perspective are the best parts, a fascinating exploration of a society built on completely different assumptions than our own.

Writing throughout the trilogy is first-rate. Cherryh provides good, spare, efficient descriptions of landscapes and scenery, and she makes good use of dialogue in a huge variety of situations. The total amount of storytelling that's covered in just three short books is rather remarkable. Also, the thought-provoking, philosophical portions of the books are worked well into a story that also has plenty of entertainment value. While it's true that there isn't non-stop action, each novel does have a stirring conclusion, and there are some surprising twists and turns that will keep you reading. (unknown reviewer)
The Kesrith 1978
The Shon'Jir 1978
The Kuthath 1979

I liked it. I will probably read it again. I hate that I have read the best of her works and have nothing left.




Enclave: Kit Reed
In this gripping dystopian satire, ex-marine Sargent Whitmore has a plan to make millions while protecting children from the self-destructing modern world. He turns an old Mediterranean monastery into a combined impenetrable fortress and school, and enrolls 100 filthy-rich children, most of them already well-known for legal troubles, drug problems and paparazzi run-ins. Once there, everyone is cut off from the outside world, fed only canned news stories about wars and natural disasters. When things inevitably go horribly wrong, young hacker "Killer" Stade, physician assistant Cassie, drug and sex-crazed Sylvie and monastery-raised orphan Benny all attempt heroics, but remain deeply flawed. Reed (The Baby Merchant) displays unflinching willingness to explore all the facets of all of the characters, and her refusal to paint anyone as a simple villain makes this far more than a typical disaster novel.

Pure luck pick from the library shelf. Different enough to keep me turning pages.


The Mystery of Grace: Charles De Lint
On the Day of the Dead, the Solona Music Hall is jumping. That's where Altagracia Quintero meets John Burns, just two weeks too late. Altagracia – her friends call her Grace – has a tattoo of Nuestra Señora de Altagracia on her shoulder, she's got a Ford Motor Company tattoo running down her leg, and she has grease worked so deep into her hands that it'll never wash out. Grace works at Sanchez Motorworks, customizing hot rods. Finding the line in a classic car is her calling. Now Grace has to find the line in her own life. A few blocks around the Alverson Arms is all her world -- from the little grocery store where she buys beans, tamales, and cigarettes (“cigarettes can kill you,” they tell her, but she smokes them anyway) to the record shop, to the library where Henry, a black man confined to a wheelchair, researches the mystery of life in death – but she’s got unfinished business keeping her close to home. Grace loves John, and John loves her, and that would be wonderful, except that John, like Grace, has unfinished business – he’s haunted by the childhood death of his younger brother. He's never stopped feeling responsible. Like Grace in her way, John is an artist, and before their relationship can find its resolution, the two of them will have to teach each other about life and love, about hot rods and Elvis Presley, and about why it's necessary to let some things go.

The ending got a little heavy in belief systems but wrapped up the story well. Not bad, not great.


Undress Me In The Temple Of Heaven: Susan Jane Gilmore (non fiction)
While this memoir from Gilman appears to be a saucy account of international sexcapades, it quickly reveals its whip-smarts, sucking you into a story that brilliantly captures the "ecstatic terror" of gleefully leaping from your comfort zone--and finding yourself in freefall. It's 1986, and newly minted ivy league grads Susy and her friend Claire have never left the U.S. when (inspired by a "Pancakes of Many Nations" promotion during a drunken night at IHOP) they hatch a plan to circle the world, starting in China, which has just opened to tourists. From the moment of arrival, they're out of their depth, perpetually hungry, foolish, and paranoid from relentless observation. Claire, who carries the complete works of Nietzsche "like a Gideon Bible," seems more capable than Susy until encounters with military police, hallucinatory fevers, and a frantic escape from a squalid hospital expose cracks in her psyche that utterly derail their plans. Rich with insight, dead-on dialogue, and canny characterization, Gilman's personal tale nails that cataclysmic collision of idealism and reality that so often characterizes young adulthood. Be prepared to wolf down the final hundred pages in one sitting. --Mari Malcolm

I enjoyed this and it pinpoints all the reasons I prefer good hotels and preset travel arrangements.


Wings of Wrath" C.S. Friedman
Product Description
Wings of Wrath is the second novel in C. S. Friedman's Magister trilogy— a true high fantasy replete with vampire-style magic, erotic action, war, treachery, sorcerous danger, and one of the most terrifying dragon-like creatures in fantasy. Against a backdrop of knife-edged politics and fearsome prophecies, those who are sworn to protect the human lands must discover the truth that lies at the heart of ancient legends, and find a way to defeat an enemy that once brought mankind to the very brink of destruction.


Vampire?? only in the broadest sense. Guess the V word is a drawing card these days. This is the book I won at Pat's Fantasy site along with a copy of the first book...Feast of Souls.
I am looking forward to the continuation of this series

7 books