April 2019 Book Club: Doomsday Book

Doomsday Book by Connie Willis

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy
Content: Pertaining to the 1400s- A couple is caught having sex in the barn, A 50 year old man lears at and gropes a 12 years old girl he is betrothed to.


For Kivrin, preparing an on-site study of one of the deadliest eras in humanity's history was as simple as receiving inoculations against the diseases of the fourteenth century and inventing an alibi for a woman traveling alone. For her instructors in the twenty-first century, it meant painstaking calculations and careful monitoring of the rendezvous location where Kivrin would be received.

But a crisis strangely linking past and future strands Kivrin in a bygone age as her fellows try desperately to rescue her. In a time of superstition and fear, Kivrin - barely of age herself - finds she has become an unlikely angel of hope during one of history's darkest hours.

This was our book club book for April. I'll be honest and say that I went into this book pretty uninterested. I had seen this book before and the blurb didn't sound very exciting. It's weird how my gut instinct on whether or not I will like a book is usually right. This time was no exception. My biggest issue with this book is that it's so incredibly boring. There are pages upon pages of nothing happening, of people trying to get in touch with other people and not being able to - people tied to landlines no less. This was published in 1992. Cell phones existed and were on the cusp of becoming a common thing. You would think that this author would have had the foresight to include some sort of mobile communication in this book. There are also pages upon pages of trying to find a drop spot; trying to get the opportunity to speak with someone in person; wondering what type of illness people are coming down with, and how they got it; and last but not least, wondering if there will be enough toilet paper to last out a quarantine. This all goes on for 400 plus pages until something finally starts to really happen.

This is a time travel book so there are two different time periods represented here. There is the future one where historians have the ability to time travel, and where they sent an inexperienced young woman back to the 1400s. Unfortunately, this part of the book felt like it was getting in the way of the more interesting part, which was the part back in the 1400s, where our time traveler Kivrin is. I also need to say, that although this part of the book is supposed to be set in the future where time travel is possible, it doesn't feel like it's set in the future at all. In fact it barely felt like it was set in the decade the book was written. The part of the book set in the 1400s was slightly more interesting, but unfortunately, other than Kivrin - who I thought was crazy for wanting to go back to the 1400s in the first place - there is no one that I felt attached to. There were maybe three other characters that were mildly likable. Even the children that Kivrin is put in charge of annoyed me. I did develop some sympathy for Rosamund much later in the book, but it was too little too late.

The book does indeed improve greatly after the 400 page mark and I did begin to see how the contrast and also similarities between the past and present were used by the author in the story. The differences in how they dealt with the epidemic in the present and the plague in the past were interesting. The modern day people worrying about toilet paper when they didn't even have clean rags in the 1400s drove the point home. Then there is the point illustrated about how people behave the same way no matter what time period they are from. Just about every character from the future had one that mirrored him or her in the past behavior-wise. As interesting as those things were, the book still was boring, and it was a real slog to get through. I actually ended up feeling kind of depressed after reading it.

In the end I think I can see what the author was trying to do, but the execution was terrible. I don't know why this won the Hugo and Nebula awards. Other than someone traveling back in time, there is no science fiction or fantasy in it. I would say it's more historical fiction with a small fantasy element to it. If you love historical fiction you might like this book, unfortunately it didn't work for me.

 

 

 

Starseers by Lindsay Buroker

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Space Opera
Content: Strong Language


 
The mysterious and powerful Starseers have Captain Alisa Marchenko's daughter, and she will do whatever she must to get her back, even if it means traveling to their stronghold and confronting them personally.

This was another fun ride with the crew of the Nomad. It was interesting to see the Starseers closer up. I enjoyed the character development for Leonidas. I enjoyed the bond that has grown between him and Alisa. I'm totally rooting for them to get together. I enjoyed the banter between the characters. I laughed several times at things the characters did. Whether it was Alisa's jokes, Alejandro's love for his Orb, or Beck's grilling at the most unpredictable of times, it kept me smiling even through the tense moments. If you think you might enjoy a light space opera give this series a try! It's just pure fun.

The Queen and the Cure by Amy Harmon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Content: A mild sex scene without detail 


Kjell of Jeru had always known who he was. He'd never envied his brother or wanted to be king. The ignominy of his birth had never bothered him.

But all that Kjell once knew has shifted and changed. He is no longer simply Kjell of Jeru, a warrior defending the crown. Now he is a healer, one of the Gifted, and a man completely at odds with his power.

Called upon to rid the country of the last vestiges of the Volgar, Kjell stumbles upon a woman who has troubling glimpses of the future and no memory of the past. Armed with his unwanted gift and haunted by regret, Kjell becomes a reluctant savior. With the woman by his side, Kjell embarks upon a journey where the greatest test may be finding the man she believes him to be.

The Bird and the Sword is one of my favorite books so I was looking forward to reading this companion novel. For the most part I really liked this book, just not quite as much as The Bird and the Sword. Although very good, this one had a slightly different feel to me. Although not completely absent, it was lacking a bit in that magical fairy tale feeling that The Bird and the Sword had. However this is a good read all on its own and I'm not disappointed at all. I liked reading about Kjell. He was a complex character and his inner struggle about who and what he was made for a compelling read. I loved that Sasha came into his world and completely turned it upside down. The way their relationship slowly evolved was nice to read and also wildly romantic at times.

"Come to me, and I will try
to heal you. I will try to
heal you, if you but come
back.

Come to me, and I will
give you shelter, I will give
you shelter, if you but come
back.

Come to me, and I will try
to love you. I will try to love
you, if you but come back."

The only thing I wasn't too crazy about in this book was the addition of so many other types of abilities. This is strictly a romantic fantasy, and I think the insertion of so many abilities didn't feel like it fit quite right. I think it was because it just reminded me too much of super heroes with powers. Honestly though, that is such a small thing compared to everything I liked about this book. This is only the second book I've read by this author, but I don't think Amy Harmon is capable of writing a book that wouldn't touch my heart in some way. Her prose is beautiful without being overwrought. I'm interested in reading some of her contemporary stories, even though that isn't my typical genre.

Holy Sister by Mark  Lawrence

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Content: Strong language, Mild torture, References to sex between heterosexual and same sex partners but nothing explicit


The ice is advancing, the Corridor narrowing, and the empire is under siege from the Scithrowl in the east and the Durns in the west. Everywhere, the emperor’s armies are in retreat.

Nona Grey faces the final challenges that must be overcome if she is to become a full sister in the order of her choice. But it seems unlikely that she and her friends will have time to earn a nun’s habit before war is on their doorstep.

A battle in which hearts will be broken, lovers lost, thrones burned.


This was one of my most anticipated reads this year. I loved the first two books in this series and couldn't wait to find out how it all would end. Once again I enjoyed reading about Nona, Sister Apple, Sister Kettle, Ara, and all the others, but I have to say that the first half of this book was not as good as the second half, thus the reason I'm giving this book 3.5 stars instead of 4. Mainly I just thought the first half was a little slow compared to the second half.

Unlike the first two books, this one alternates between two separate time lines throughout the story, one present day, the other three years before. I thought this worked pretty well. I also liked that the chapters were relatively short, which resulted in it feeling like it took less time to get through the book.

One negative for me was the romance. I didn't like the way it was done. If you haven't read the novella that is set before this book then it would feel very sudden and out of the blue. What I didn't like about it was that we were just told about it and never shown how the relationship progressed from a kiss to more. This resulted in there being no emotional connection to the relationship at all. It was just a thing that happened and it was just meh. Maybe that was what the author was going for, but I would have preferred it to have been something more. Even knowing the way that relationship ends, I still would have liked for there to have been more feeling there. Then there is the thing that happens at the very end of the book and we are left wondering what will happen with that relationship. I was ok with the way that was left rather open-ended. The romance in this book reminded me a lot of an animated TV show that I don't want to name because of spoilers[ The Legend of Kora  (hide spoiler)], the ending is almost exactly the same.
Overall I thought this ended in a satisfying way. The second half of the book was full of battles and tension, and also heartbreak. At the end of the previous book I wasn't sure how the author was going to wrap everything up in this one book, but he did a masterful job. I would be interested in reading a prequel to this series if the author ever writes one. I really am curious about how this world came to be the way it is, and about the technology that was lost and how that happened.

Honor's Flight by Lindsay Buroker

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Space Opera
Content: Strong Language



After spending four years fighting for the Alliance, fighter pilot Alisa Marchenko only wants one thing: to reunite with her young daughter. But she may find that more questions await her than answers, and that her late husband kept a startling secret from her, one that could change her life forever. And it doesn’t help that her passengers are stirring up trouble of their own…

This second book in the Fallen Empire series was just as fun to read as the first. I'm loving the action and adventure, plus the characters are fun to read about as well. There were a few times I would have liked a bit more character development, but the rest of the story makes up for it. I like the growing relationship between Alisa and Leonidas and can't wait to see where that goes and how it eventually gets there.

I felt like Mica was a little lacking in this book compared to the last one, but I love the creative ways she and Alisa find to get themselves and their crew out of sticky situations.

If you enjoy light space opera then you should really try this series.

Raven's Strike by Patricia Briggs

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Content: Strong Language


 
Seraph is among the last of the Travelers, those who strive to destroy the dark magic released by their ancestors’ mistakes. Seraph tried to escape her people’s duty and live a quiet life, until evil found her…and her family.

Ok, so I really enjoyed the first book in this duology. I liked that it included a whole family that worked together to defeat evil. I liked the different personalities of the children and their different abilities. I expected to like this one just as much, but this book fell pretty flat for me. Mostly it was just boring. There wasn't enough happening besides a lot of research on how to defeat the Shadowed. There were some good moments and I came to really like the relationships that were built between certain characters, but it wasn't enough to carry the book and make me want to keep reading. Mostly I slogged through this anticipating when it would be over, and I could move onto the next book, which is never a good thing.

I wouldn't say that I regret reading this duology, especially since I really liked the first book, so if you are really into Patricia Briggs and want to read everything she has written, then I would definitely read it. Just keep in mind that this is one of her earlier works and it could have used some improvement.