kgbooklog

Larry Gonick, The Cartoon History of the Modern World part 1
Collins (2006) ISBN: 0-06-076004-4
Score: 3

This is a direct sequel to The Cartoon History of the Universe III (and contains several cross-references to that volume), with more history, religion, politics, and science. One thing bothered me a little: the author blatantly doesn't like GWB. That in itself is fine (neither do I, and for many of the same reasons), and I don't have any problem with him mentioning previous times these policies were tried and failed, but Bush himself is outside the scope of the book, and so the (unlabeled) references and cameos were rather jarring. And they will likely confuse readers 30 years from now (yes, I think this series will still be useful and popular then).

Next Book: Patricia Briggs, Raven's Strike

Kelley Armstrong, Broken
Bantam (2006) ISBN: 0-553-58818-4
Score: -1

Third Otherworld novel narrated by Elena (sixth overall), in which she's pregnant and tries to steal Jack the Ripper's "From Hell" letter. I don't think I'll be reading any more of this series.

Next Book: Brian Selznick, The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Joshua Palmatier, The Cracked Throne
Daw (2006) ISBN: 0-7564-0403-7
Score: 1

Second book about Varis (the series doesn't seem to have a name), in which she has to defend the city against evil invaders. It's nice that she stays true to her ignoble roots, but the other characters were a bit too simplistic for my tastes. And I didn't like how every bit of information she picks up turns out to be critically important. I'll probably read the next book to see how the ending of this one affects the structure of the government.

Next Book: Michelle Sagara, Cast in Shadow

Tobias S. Buckell, Crystal Rain
Tor (2006) ISBN: 0-765-31227-1
Score: 2

Start of a science fiction series where two groups of aliens manipulate humans on a colony world to fight their war. The hero has amnesia and the high tech doesn't show up (much) until the end because most of it was destroyed when the wormholes were closed to prevent more aliens from arriving. Good but not remarkable plot and characters, but the dialect used by nearly every character was annoying (instead of altering spelling, the author altered grammar, but it's still non-trivial to figure out what is being said). And I can't help thinking that the bad aliens could have found an Earth culture more useful for their empire than the Aztecs.

Next Book: Joshua Palmatier, Cracked Throne

Alan Campbell, Scar Night
Bantam (2006) ISBN: 978-0-553-38416-1
Score: 0

Start of the dark high fantasy series The Deepgate Codex. The main character is a teenaged angel (the last of his race) who acts half his age.

Next Book: Christopher Moore, You Suck: a Love Story

C.E. Murphy, Thunderbird Falls
Luna (2006) ISBN: 0-373-80235-8
Score: 1.5

The third Walker Papers story (second was the novella "Banshee Cries" from Winter Moon), in which she decides to stop pretending she isn't a shaman. The characterization is still decent, while the worldbuilding and plot are still pretty weak; but the snarky narration keeps me reading the series.

Next Book: Kelley Armstrong, Haunted

Carol Hughes, Dirty Magic
Random House (2006) ISBN: 0-375-83187-8
Score: 2

A juvenile fantasy of the type where faeries kidnap human children for their wars, except instead of ethereally beautiful elves this time its grubby soldiers fighting a trench war against unmanned tanks. It had several rather predictable twists plus a couple that I didn't expect. The biggest flaw I saw was the pacing: the chapter breaks seemed to be completely random, and the first page is in media res but without any action and very little information and it doesn't really fit anyplace in the story.

Next Book: Kelley Armstrong, Haunted

Tim Eldred, Grease Monkey
Tor (2006) ISBN: 0-765-31325-1
Score: 1

The start of a YA science fiction graphic novel series, though only the last quarter really feels like a novel; the earlier chapters feel more like a series of short stories due to the author's intention to publish them separately as 12 page comics (only the first 6 actually were). The backstory has bad aliens who came and killed 60% of humanity, followed by good aliens who gave us technology and uplifted gorillas so we could help them fight the bad aliens right away. All of which is just an excuse for having the young hero work for a gorilla on a city-sized spaceship; the stories themselves are just standard YA plots.

Next Book: Joe Hill, Heart-Shaped Box

Joshua Palmatier, The Skewed Throne
Daw (2006) ISBN: 0-7564-0331-6
Score: 2

Start of a high fantasy series about a young woman who survives by stealing food in the slums of a city ruled by a highly magical but insane woman. She attracts the attention of some people outside the slums, which makes her life very interesting, but not much better (worry about her next meal is replaced by lots of other worries). The magic system is quite original (and almost exclusively informative rather than active), and I like the fact that there aren't any hints (is this book at least) that the heroine is descended from anyone special (other than her having a rare magical talent).

Next Book: Tim Eldred, Grease Monkey

Katharine McMahon, The Alchemist's Daughter
Crown (2006) ISBN: 0-307-23851-2
Score: 1

A stand alone historical novel set in the England in the 1720's. An alchemist and natural philosopher (trans: an experimental scientist) raises his daughter to be perfectly rational and immune to emotion, etc (just like him); it has the predictable results. The ending left some plot threads hanging oddly in favor of symmetry.

Next Book: Joshua Palmatier, The Skewed Throne