Myth Alliances by Robert Lynn Asprin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A silly, humorous comedy of mistaken intentions, a race of wusses, or rather, Wuhses, and a serious SPENDING problem.

A VERY light comedy but better than the previous one, becoming a comedy of commerce, weak politics, and great ideas that go very wrong.


I consider it a palate cleanser. Nothing meaty about it. Just light fantasy that pokes holes in a more innocent modern life.

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Something M.Y.T.H. Inc. by Robert Lynn Asprin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

While I don't really hold this series at much of a standard - or any - it still remains light, easy fun that doesn't require any kind of effort. The mob jokes and the hapless wizard who had risen to great heights storyline is *very* lightly amusing.

It's why I keep going. It's cute.

This one is pretty much the same thing, only it shores up some of the behind-the-scenes action that had happened in the previous novel, making me think that both should have been shuffled together as a full novel, but publishing considerations (or whatever) made him split it up.

Not bad, but the two should have stayed together. Alas.

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Over the Woodward Wall by A. Deborah Baker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Stories within stories within stories.

Of course, this book happens to be written by a certain imaginary character, A. Deborah Baker, who wrote an imaginary book within Middlegame about two F/SF children who are bound in inexplicably and impossibly opposite ways only to meet in the center. And this book is about two improbably opposite Fantasy children who couldn't be more different who must meet, eventually, in the center.

Sound complicated? It's just mirroring within mirroring and it gives us, finally, a delightful reflection that displays both Seanan McGuire's Wayward Children and Middlegame, equally.

Mind you, I like both Wayward children and Middlegame better than this particular YA tale, but when I admire the symmetry, I like this much, much more than the ACTUAL tale.

Stories within stories within stories.

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A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Returning to the world of pre-WWI Cairo, Egypt, where Djinn coexist with humans, where there are old Egyptian gods (or at least their followers with a touch of the divine within them), and a host of wonderful crossovers right out of the pages of 1001 Arabian Knights, Steampunk novels, and good, old-fashioned modern UF, I have to say I'm loving every moment.

It took me a moment to get into the series, but it didn't take that long. The fact is, I like Fatma. She's got that Bowler hat and her investigation skills sharpened and the worldbuilding makes every second here worthwhile.

Better, it builds upon itself, staying nicely grounded while evoking a sense of things going completely out of control. Classic conflicts, but with a spin on it that I personally loved. (No spoilers.)

Suffice to say, I'm now officially hooked. I was into it before, but this full-sized novel made it perfect for me.

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The Initial Insult by Mindy McGinnis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What do you get when you mix an angst-ridden Appalachian teen horror with Poe's The Cask of Amontillado?

The Initial Insult.

All told, I really enjoyed this, but then, I was in the mood for extreme cattiness, thousands of miscommunications, and the devolution from love to hate. Fortunately, this YA horror/thriller definitely fits that bill.

I won't say it is the most unique thing in the world since I've personally read something like 7 books very similar to this in the last two years, but if you have an itch you have to scratch and its name is REVENGE, then you probably ought to pick this up. I can see a few of you out there tearing up (for one reason or another) by the end of the tale.



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A Dead Djinn in Cairo by P. Djèlí Clark
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A rich taste of UF set in 1912 Egypt, with all the magical goodies you might expect from that part of the world.

It's a classic mystery with a host of the divine and not-so-divine. I suppose I would be MORE interested in a longer tale or a full series rather than this short taste, but from what I've read, I did enjoy it.

Looking forward to more.

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Random Sh*t Flying Through the Air by Jackson Ford
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Just like the first one in the series, this is a fun and fast SF filled with horrendous amounts of selfishness, cooking, and world-destroying earthquakes.

What? Did you expect the TK to just be something minor like random sh*t flying through the air?

Give the author some credit. When we need to have some slightly unbelievable OP action, it's best not to go comic-book bland. Go big or go home.

I didn't even care that this four-year-old baddie was quite THAT smart or THAT powerful. It was just goofy enough to feel like all kinds of popcorn to me. :)

Expect over-the-top. Expect some nice humor. Expect a very unusual baddie. I think this might have made a rather cool graphic novel.



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