Gaius Ruso mystery #3: Persona Non Grata by Ruth Downie

Read: 4 October, 2009

When Gaius Petreius Ruso receives a strange letter from his brother, he has no choice but to return to Gaul. Once there, however, he discovers that he has been tricked and he's about to find out just how dangerous "civilization" can be.

We've seen quite a bit of Roman-occupied Britain, but now we get a glimpse of Ruso in his own environment; and this presents its own whole set of dangers. Once again, Downie is able to stay faithful to everything I love about the series without making it seem like just another replica.

I was a bit concerned when Christianity was introduced to the story, as Tilla spends time with Christian slaves. Books with Christian subplots so often devolve into apologetics either for or against the religion. I was practically holding my breath through the whole novel! But Downie manages to handle it with great finesse, simply including it as she does other historical details, and remains blessedly non-partisan.

Gaius Ruso mystery #2: Terra Incognita by Ruth Downie

Read: 2 July, 2009

Britannia's Twentieth Legion is heading north, to the very edges of civilization, and taking Gaius Petreius Ruso and his slave, Tilla, along with it. As in Medicus, he soon finds himself pulled into a murder investigation. Only this time, Tilla may be connected.

Terra Incognita is a wonderful sequel, capturing much of what made Medicus such a great novel while simultaneously finding its own unique value. As with the first book in the series, the murder comes almost secondary to the comedy and drama of the characters as Ruso and Tilla explore their growing relationship.

One of my favourite things about this series is how well Downie is able to balance making the characters true to life and yet also ridiculous. It's that subtle, deadpan British humour - and Ruso certainly does come off as the proto-typical old school Brit!

Funny, interesting, and  suspenseful, all at the same time!

Red Dragon by Thomas Harris

Read: 20 December, 2009

Will Graham is tracking down the Red Dragon killer, but he needs a little help to get into the mind of the beast. It is Hannibal Lecter, a serial killer, who provides Graham with the dues he needs to solve the case. But Lecter has his own motivations, and Graham must outwit him if he's ever to catch the Red Dragon.

This was an interesting story with some pretty good suspense. However, after having seen the movie, I found the character of Hannibal Lecter to be somewhat lacking. Anthony Hopkins was able to give Lecter an almost god-like presence, and to appear simultaneously enticing and frightening. His dialogue, his expression, everything about movie-Lecter made him the perfect monster. By comparison, book-Lecter seemed only half-developed. It was really quite disappointing, especially since the book format offers so much more opportunity for character development.

But the book was quite good, and it's certainly an easy read. Certainly, a great choice for beach reading now that the summer is here.

Don't Look Now and Other Stories by Daphne du Maurier

Read: 17 November, 2009

The thing that struck me the most about this collection of stories is that it could have been classed as travel narratives just as easily as horror. I found it so interesting to read about exotic locations while at the same time getting a wonderfully-crafted suspense story!

Don't Look Now

I wanted to read this story after seeing the excellent movie with Donald Sutherland, and it certainly didn't disappoint! The pacing is delightfully slow with great suspense-building, and the story has one of the most fabulous final lines I've ever read.

Not After Midnight

A schoolmaster holidays in Crete, hoping to work on his painting. But while there, he notices strange things starting to happen... An interesting story about madness and paranoia as the schoolmaster becomes obsessed with fellow vacationers.

A Border-Line Case

Shelagh's father dies, his final words some kind of plea, or perhaps an accusation. Confused and racked by guilt, she decides to find Nick, the estranged best man at her parents' wedding, to learn more about her father's past. This story was excellent, a crazy psychological "mindfuck" with a great twist ending.

The Way of the Cross

A group of pilgrims visiting Jerusalem meet with disaster. This is possibly the most character-focused story in the collection, but also the least interesting.

The Breakthrough

This is a story of science gone awry. The main character gets a new job with a team of scientists trying to find a new energy source. He quickly realizes that something far more sinister is going on. An interesting story with some really great lines, though not the best treatment of scientific ethics.

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

Read: 6 April, 2010

True love is incredibly rare, but Buttercup and Westley have found it. When Westley is killed by the Dread Pirate Roberts, Buttercup agrees to marry Prince Humperdink. She's kidnapped just before her wedding, and is followed by a mysterious stranger. Who is he? Has he come to rescue her?

This was a fantastic book. I was pretty sure it would be after knowing and loving the movie for many years, but there was so much more to the novel form. The movie follows the story of Buttercup and Westley pretty accurately, but that's only half the book. The other half describes the narrator's relationship with S. Morgenstern's novel, the way it impacted his relationship with his father and with himself, and the way he hopes it will impact his relationship with his son.

The Buttercup portions of the novel are greatly entertaining for readers of all ages. The adventure is exciting and fast-paced, and it never takes itself too seriously. But the addition of the narrator's story is what promotes The Princess Bride from great novel to masterpiece. The novel could pass for a treatise on the value of books and literacy, and for the deeply personal and emotional ties we can have to our books.

Choose to read this superficially and be entertained. Or, choose to read it deeply and be challenged. Goldman pulls both facets off with rare skill. This book should be on everyone's reading list!

Bridget Jones' Diary 2: The Edge of Reason by Helen Fielding

Read: 2005

I am often typecast by friends and family as "the one who likes books." To non-readers, a book is a book is a book, so I often end up getting some really weird books that I would never pick up for myself. This is how I ended up in possession of The Edge of Reason, Helen Fielding's second Bridget Jones novel.

In this novel, Bridget stumbles through her day-to-day life, surviving one ridiculous mishap after another, until she is finally reunited with her love.

The writing is designed to imitate a form of shorthand that might be used to keep a diary. It reminded be somewhat of Flowers for Algernon in the sense that the form was an important part of the content (something that we (should) see often in poetry, but that is quite a bit rarer in novels). It was interesting and it gave the story quite a bit of verisimilitude. The short sentences kept me reading at a faster pace than I do normally, which was rather interesting. And even though I read this about four years ago, I still use the "v." (or "vee," if I'm speaking) as a shorthand for "very."

Bridget Jones herself is a hilariously inept character, bouncing from one situation to another with little agency of her own. I have a soft spot for such characters, so long as they aren't annoying about it, so I rather enjoyed her as well. The situations themselves were so ridiculous (particularly the one involving a naked boy and a bunny - yes, really) that they had me laughing quite a bit as I read through.

This is the ice-cream of the reading world - it's enjoyable, not particularly nutritious, but it won't rot your brain out either (provided it's consumed only sparingly and interspersed with meatier fare).

Sand Daughter by Sarah Bryant

Read: 3 December, 2009

Part historical fiction and part fantasy, Sand Daughter is the story of Khalidah, born of a Djinn mother and a Bedu father.

I had just picked it up without knowing what it was about, and the first portion read like a standard historical fiction, so I was taken rather by surprise when the story veered off into fantasy territory. That's not to say that it was unpleasant. Bryant managed to combine the two in a way that worked, inserting magic into real history while still keeping a good hold on the novel's verisimilitude.

The storytelling was quite good, making the book very readable. This is always a plus, especially in longer works!

Another aspect that I quite enjoyed was the inclusion of a homosexual romance as one of the subplots. It's lovely to see homosexuality dropped into a story without it being the story, normalizing it as just another possible pairing, undeserving of freakshow attention.

I enjoyed this novel quite a bit. There are aspects of the history that I could argue with, but that seems unimportant in the face of a good story. Recommended for fans of both historical fiction and fantasy, but not for purists in either genre.