Books of the Month

A good month for series (both new and old)!

The Advocate. Part of the Darcy Cole series of legal thrillers (why they call it mystery in the cover is a mystery to me). A lawyer who seems to have everything fall his way, though I suppose I should be hones enough to say that it only happens because he knows how to take advantage of it.

Proof of Intent. Charlie Sloan series of legal thrillers. Ended way too similarly with his earlier work "Shadow of a Doubt"

Dream Park by Larry niven and Steven Barnes. Just "WOW". Can't believe this was written in 1982.

Relic by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.

Oracle by Mike Resnick.

Reliquary by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.

Kildar by John Ringo. Sigh... I'm officially reading the series backwards with this one.

On Bassilisk Station by David Weber.

The Honor of the Queen by David Weber.

Something from the Nightside by Simon R. Green

Brimstone by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.

Dance of Death by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.

The Short Victorious War by David Weber.

Books of the Week XXVI, XXVII & XXVIII

I'm still averaging 3 books a week despite work (I should really get my priorities rights).

Books Read: 9 (3,3, and 3)

Titles:

Blade Dancer by S.L. Viehl. One of the better Sci-fi books I've read in a long while (I'm more of a fantasy buff anyway). I've seen several of the author's books around (mostly from the Stardoc series) but this is the first I've purchased (mostly because of the cover art and the subject matter: Assassins!)

Blood Lines by William R. Burkett, Jr. Second book in a series (story of my life). The characters are actually interesting, especially "simply ball", a very formidable cybernetic construct/agent. Though, I could do without the poetry competition (meh!)

Dealing with Dragons by Patricia Wrede. First book in the Enchanted Forest Chronicles series (I actually bought this because I kept seeing the other books in the series when I go bookshopping). It didn't dissapoint either, and while it may be considered a children's book (or young adult anyway), I still had fun reading it (laugh out loud moments, too). Maybe I just like seeing fairy tales turned upside down and inside out. Plus, I managed to get my mitts on book 2 as well, hope the series holds up.

Rhapsody by Elizabeth Haydon. I've already seen this book before, but I didn't want to invest in a new series (especially when its in the 600 page+ plus category), but they were selling it for a pittance (P35.00, granted it was a bit dog-eared, yellowing and damaged by water) so I took a chance. And dang, now I'm hooked (I've actually managed to buy book 2, 3 and 5 already). It's been a while since I've encountered epic storytelling, but this book qualifies. Hope I can find the time to read the books I've already bought and find the rest soon.

Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich. I actually liked this book more before I started reading its wikipedia entry. Kinda brought down by the fact, that it took a lot of dramatic license with the original story. And the movie based on the book, 21 took it even further. Weird. Still, I wish I had the kind of card-counting ability displayed in the book ('coz while I don't gamble, save for the occasional lotto ticket, i'd like to try it sometimes). Still, an enjoyable read, I actually tend to like any book with Las Vegas as the setting, or with gambling as the plot.

Justice by Dan Mahoney. I bought this the same time I bought Lazybones by Mark Billingham, two books with the same plot idea: vigilante killings. I actually started Lazybones first but put it aside after the first few chapters (I think it was the English setting that put me off). I enjoyed this one, despite the improbable protagonist (hey! a 70-year vigilante. That's like Punisher level abilities at least) and the redeeming qualities of drug pushers (actually, most of the characters in the novel are likeable, even the bad guys).

Oath of Swords by David Weber.

Never Trust an Elf by Robert N. Charrette. Part of the Shadowrun line of Books.

The Forever Drug by Lisa Smedman. Ditto. Good premise... though the ending is a bit dissapointing (I read books to see the good guys win, after all).

That does it for January, hope I can keep up the pace (I spent a significant portion of my last paycheck to buy a dozen new books to read.)