Return of the Book Review

Daughter of Mystery (Jones): Fantastic.  Fantasy in a quasi-historical setting, but the women are firmly their own people.  A+, would buy again (I paid ACTUAL MONEY for this one, dear readers).

Emperor's Agent (Graham): Pretty good.  A compelling alternate-Napoleonic setting.  Fewer women, but they have an interesting story line.

Death of the Necromancer (Wells): Set in Ile-Rien, story about a group of thieves.  I cannot bear the Raksura series, but this was ace.  (I've read the rest of the Ile-Rien ones, in the distant past.)

Trafalgar& Boone (Cannon, a dude): Steampunk-ish story of women archaeologists in a magical world.  Okay, but nothing to write home about.  Think I got bored and never finished it.

Orffyreus Wheel (Wilson, also a dude): Was in the bundle.  Fanboy conspiracy theory Da Vinci Code wanking.  Boring, did not finish.

Cold Magic & sequels (Elliott): Young women in a vastly different alternate-history.  The very best I have ever seen at doing a believable quasi-historical world that has richness of ethnicity and custom, while not oppressing women, and while giving the female characters agency and power.  (Though they do seem to escape from places with tedious regularity, which continues through all three books.)  Delightful ending. Recommend.

Black as He's Painted (Marsh): Re-read.  Mystery, minimally gory; certain colonialist attitudes of the 1940s are on full display and are partly examined, but also ingrained in the author, which makes it strange.

Assorted Georgette Heyer mysteries: they're okay.  Recommend rereading Grand Sophy instead.

Just City (Walton): Interesting premise: people praying to Athena are kidnapped back though time to a utopian city.  Probably ends badly, but I got bored after the first 50 pages and couldn't tell you.

Thirteenth House (Shinn): re-read.  A mainly gentle and somewhat fluffy fantasy novel with light romance.  Soothing to read. I recommend the whole series if this sort of thing is your cup of tea.  Many interesting, dimensional female characters doing cool stuff.

Unseen Academicals (Pratchett): re-read.  Academia most thoroughly satirized.  Entertaining.

Hat Full of Sky (Pratchett): re-read. I'd forgotten how amazingly dark and depressing this one is.  Oops.


Anything you'd like to recommend to me, dear readers?