kgbooklog

Michelle Sagara [West], Cast in Fury
Luna (2008) ISBN: 0-373-80269-2
Score: 2

Fourth book of the Chronicles of Elantra, dealing with stories and children. In addition to the usual saving the world, the heroine must also deal with the public reaction to something that happened at the end of the previous book. We also learn more about the fiefs and the Leontine race (so the next book will probably feature the Aerians).

Next Book: Patricia Briggs, Bone Crossed

Michelle Sagara [West], Cast in Secret
Luna (2007) ISBN: 0-373-80280-3
Score: 2

Third book in the (newly named) Elantran series (no connection to Sanderson's Elantris), in which we meet the telepathic race's groupmind and learn a little about others who were marked like the heroine. I'm glad we finally see the heroine trying to do her job (though neither of her cases were entirely official), but upset that heroine was always following her instincts, which were always right (when important; we're told she's a horrible gambler and we see her get lost a couple times).

Next Book: Sarah Monette, The Mirador

Michelle [Sagara] West, Hunter's Oath
DAW (1995) ISBN: 0-88677-681-3
Score: -1

First half of the Sacred Hunt duology (which shares a setting and many characters with the Sun Sword quintology), an epic high fantasy. It has two POV characters, the first is a young boy who is critical to defeating the demons, though this book doesn't even hint why. The second is a woman who is a mage, and a seer, and is being pushed around in time to enable her to arrange for the forces of good to win. There only seem to be two rules to how the time travel works: she never knows when or where she'll end up next, and she (and I think the people she talks to) cannot say anything about things that haven't happened to the other person yet. Unfortunately, both these rules are broken without explanation at the end of the book.

Michelle Sagara [West], Cast in Courtlight
Luna (2006) ISBN: 0-373-80244-7
Score: 2

Second book in the Cast series (at least 3 more novels planned), in which more people notice how special the heroine is. Luna is starting to look like a reliable source of good fluffy fantasy.

Next Book: Carole Nelson Douglas, Cat in a Red Hot Rage

Michelle Sagara [West], Cast in Shadow
Luna (2005) ISBN: 0-373-80236-6
Score: 2

Start of a high fantasy series about a young woman from the slums with unique magic powers. She's not quite a Mary Sue: while she does get away with breaking a lot of laws and rules, she also gets beat up a lot, isn't shown to be very bright, and no one has anything good to say about her appearance. It's structured mainly as a mystery but a lot of information is concealed from the reader (and the heroine), and there were a bunch of tiny inconsistencies that bugged me. Reading this, I realised that all the Luna books I've read (C.E. Murphy, Laura Anne Gilman, and Laura Resnick) have nearly identical prose styles: self-depreciating first-person female.

Next Book: Frances Hardinge, Fly by Night