kgbooklog

Jim Butcher, Turn Coat
Roc (2009) ISBN: 978-0-451-46256-5
Score: 3

Book 11 of the Dresden Files, dealing with wizard politics and finally making some progress on finding and dealing with the traitor[s]. It does clear up a few things that were bugging me in the previous books, but unfortunately the conflict involves using magic to mess with people's minds (have I mentioned lately how much I hate that?).

Next Book: Dave Sim, Cerebus

Taylor Anderson, Maelstrom
Roc (2009) ISBN: 978-0-451-46253-4
Score: 2

Third book of the Destroyermen series, now with precocious aristocrat girls. This works both as a conclusion to a trilogy and as a transition point in a longer series (the author is already working on another book with these characters).

Next Book: Jim Butcher, Turn Coat

Dylan Meconis, Bite Me!
http://www.bitemecomic.com/
Score: 2

A very silly vampire farce set during the French Revolution ("Liberty. Equality. Eternity."). I read this because of comments implying that her other webcomic Family Man is a prequel, but despite them having two characters with similar names and appearances, they are vastly different in style and tone (and FM doesn't have any overt supernatural elements yet) so it's best not to try to fit them into the same universe.

Next Book: Taylor Anderson, Maelstrom

Kat Richardson, "The Third Death of the Little Clay Dog"
Roc (2009) ISBN: 978-0-451-46249-7
Score: 1.5

Harper Blaine goes to Mexico during the holidays in response to some dead people seeking revenge.

John Meaney, Black Blood
Bantam (2008) ISBN: 978-0-553-80671-7
Score: 2

The second Tristopolis novel (titled Dark Blood in the UK), containing more gritty violence, creepy scenery, and mind control. This time the good cops have to deal with conspiracies, corruption, bigotry, bad cops, and evil telephones. I find it odd the cover says "by the author of Bone Song" instead of "sequel to", since the first scene shows the execution of one the villains of the previous book; there may or may not be more books in the series.

Jim Butcher, "The Warrior"
Roc (2009) ISBN: 978-0-451-46249-7
Score: 1.5

A Harry Dresden novella dealing with the Carpenter family and set about a year after Small Favor. This is the lead story in the anthology Mean Streets, and I suspect the author heard that title and decided to write the sappiest, most moralistic story he could for it.

Next Book: John Meaney, Black Blood

Lawrence Watt-Evans, The Turtle Moves!
BenBella (2008) ISBN: 978-1-933771-46-5
Score: 1.5

This is explicitly one author trying to cash in on another author's success. It's really more of a long essay than a book, giving an overview of the Discworld series (and each sub-series), discussion of how the series changed over time, and speculation about why it's so popular (short answer: it's stories about stories). The author is trying hard not to write a scholarly book, so none of these topics is pursued in much depth and the chapters are generally only about 3 pages long, with most of the book being brief descriptions of each story in the series, including the short stories and Science of books.

Carrie Vaughn, Kitty Raises Hell
Grand Central (2009) ISBN: 0-446-19954-0
Score: 4

The sixth Kitty Norville novel, in which we're formally introduced to the main villain of the series. It's nice to see the mundane authorities trying to deal with the supernatural, but I wish Kitty would use them more (specifically, I wish she would've at least considered telling them that someone she has a restraining order against has come to Denver, called into her show, and practically bragged about being responsible for several recent deaths and arsons).

Next Book: Lawrence Watt-Evans, The Turtle Moves!

Jonathan Stroud, Heroes of the Valley
Hyperion (2009) ISBN: 978-142310966-2
Score: 0

A Scandinavian flavored fantasy novel about a boy who wishes he lived in the old days when men were heroes and spent all their time fighting monsters and each other. When he's not moaning about how boring modern life is, he plays dangerous practical jokes on everyone he doesn't like and generally acts like a spoiled brat (but without actually getting spoiled). The cover blurb says the story is about "the true meaning of heroism", so I assume he eventually Learns Better, but he's not at all likable in the beginning (and there are no other main characters to focus on) so when he decides to poison a bunch of strangers I gave him the Eight Deadly Words.

Next Book: Carrie Vaughn, Kitty Raises Hell

Lois McMaster Bujold, Horizon
Eos (2009) ISBN: 978-0-06-137536-1
Score: 3

Conclusion of the Sharing Knife quartet, in which the characters begin to resolve the main conflict. And yes, it really is the end of the series; the main problem here was that the two races weren't talking to each other, and that's not something that can be quickly solved by killing monsters (though like the previous books, the author threw in some monsters anyway to keep the characters and readers from getting bored).

Next Book: Jonathan Stroud, Heroes of the Valley