Vintage Sci Fi: Book No.10
10 January 2016
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book Covers, Little Red Reviewer, Vintage Sci Fi
No.10 Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
As part of Vintage Sci Fi month being hosted by Little Red Reviewer I’ve given myself a small challenge to post a vintage book each day – one that I’ve read – and to highlight some of the covers. Today’s choice is Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. I enjoyed this book in fact I think I reread it fairly recently. Gothic and dark, Frankenstein is considered to be one of the first examples of sci fi. It was originally published anonymously in 1818. It was published in 1823 with Mary Shelley’s name:
There are a LOT of covers for Frankenstein, see if one of the following grabs you. I’m sort of drawn to both the Dover books: Ignore the numbering because these images seem to keep jumping about – I’ve given a tiny description for each one:
- Tor 1994 – is the mainly orange cover.
- Prestwick House 2005 – close up face with chains
- L&PM 1985 – yellow background – huge forehead and strange, ransom note type print of name
- Signet classics 1965 -dark cover, bare trees in the foreground
- Dover Publications 1994 – man standing looking out to sea
- Dover Publications 2001 – castle with a blue background
- MacMillan 1961 – the picture with the purple and green, looks like a face being shown during lightning
- Wordsworth Classics 1993 – scary looking guy who looks like a zombie
Kushiel’s Scion by Jacqueline Carey, Readalong week No.2
10 January 2016
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Jacqueline Carey, Kushiel's Scion, Readalong week 2
Today is week two of our readalong for Kushiel’s Scion.
If you’re interested in joining the readalong the details and other participants are below. Feel free to join in and obviously, if you haven’t read this series but are intending to do so please be aware of spoilers – because they’re running amok below
Now, to the Q&A:
1) In this chapter, Katherine and Roshana introduce Imriel to some innocent regional courtship games. What do you think of the differences between the two games? Do you remember anything similar from when you were a teen?
The difference in the two games seemed to be that Roshana’s game was more what you would expect from a member of House Shahrizai with a little bit of spice added in the form of punishment (albeit very gentle) whereas Katherine’s game was quite innocent. I was kind of glad that Imriel didn’t make the choice to be honest – it would have been difficult to choose between the two I think. I don’t think we particularly had any games like this – I think the closest was spin the bottle and whoever the bottle pointed to either chose truth or dare.
2) How do you think Imriel’s ideas of love and sex affected by the model set by Joscelin and Phedre? Do you think they’re doing a good job getting him through these awkward years?
I think they’re doing an excellent job of bringing Imriel up in a very loving and trusting environment. However, their lives are very entangled with a number of people in quite intimate ways and Phedre has definitely led a very interesting life so with Imri coming to that painfully embarrassed age where blushing is almost as common as breathing I guess with such a famous mother it’s probably a little more difficult for him. Not to mention half his friends and acquaintances being attracted to either Phedre or Josceline must also be tough – but that’s got very little to do with how they’re bringing him up and more to do with how he feels about things. Plus, as we’ve seen Imri and his friends are at that age where they can be thoughtless or even cruel and so taunting Imri with Phedre’s past is an easy thing to do. Like I said though, this is to do with Imriel and his feelings and how he comes to terms with things.
3) Imriel is getting a lot happier and easier at court these days. Is there anything that was particularly notable for you in this period, during the apple-picking party or on the Longest Night?
Imri is definitely becoming more comfortable which to me demonstrates he’s starting to feel more at ease with himself and his identity. In fact I would say he’s almost starting to enjoy his time at court enough that he might start to desire being there more often than not. The apple picking party seemed to be a bit of a turnaround for him. He had a really enjoyable time and was actually quite gracious to Ysandre for what seems to be the first time which feels a bit like a turning point. He has his own group of friends now and his friendship with Alais seems to provide them both with a lot of fun. I liked when he took the puppy to court, it made everything less formal. It was really nice that he remembered his promise to Alais and took such a lot of time and effort with making sure the dog would recognise her scent.
4) Imriel comes of age in this section, and spends his first night in the Night Court, at Balm House. What do you think about his experience with Emmeline?
It was a very touching scene and perfect for Imri in that it was a very gentle introduction. I must say I would have been overcome with embarrassment at his age to even contemplate such a thing! I think Phedre made a very wise choice with Balm House and Imriel maybe won’t be as concerned about future trysts.
5) Imriel has also made a new close friend, Eamonn mac Grainne! What did you think of their fight? How do you think their closeness will affect his image at court?
I thought the fight scene was so well done and I was just really pleased that one of them didn’t have to lose! Eamonn is a great character. I really like his directness and I also like the fact that he’s not all puffed up with self importance and swagger. I hadn’t really considered whether Eamonn’s friendship would affect Imriel’s court image to be honest. I suppose some of the more underhand characters could use it as a tool to undermine him.
Here is the current schedule:
And here is the current list of participators:
Allie at Tethyan Books
Lisa at Over the Effing Rainbow
Lynn at Lynn’s Book Blog
Emily at Emma Wolf
Susan at Dab of Darkness
Vintage Sci Fi: Book No.9
No.9 The Shrinking Man by Richard Matheson
As part of Vintage Sci Fi month being hosted by Little Red Reviewer I’ve given myself a small challenge to post a vintage book each day – one that I’ve read – and to highlight some of the covers. Today’s choice is The Shrinking Man by Richard Matheson. I read this book so long ago that I can barely remember it. I do recall that it wasn’t a favourite but I’m not entirely sure why now other than a dim sense of not liking the main guy. Also, my interpretation of the ending I think was slightly off! Anyway – covers:
First Edition 1956, Gold Medal Books
Another by Gold Medal Books from 1962 – still using elements from the first cover but check out the different font – I actually like the font here, dramatic and a bit more chilling:
1962 Gold Medal
Not that keen on the next – I like the web and the spider in one respect but for some reason it makes me think it’s more of a ghost story. I don’t really like the colours or font to be honest:
1979 Berkeley
Not really keen on this next one either and for some reason it makes me think more along the lines of ‘The Land That Time Forgot’
1988 Sphere
I do like the next cover though – I like the attention to detail such as the plug sockets. That spider looks mechanical doesn’t it! And, it has the feel of a movie poster:
Tor 2001
Rosemary and Rue October Daye #1, by Seanan McGuire, readalong week 1
9 January 2016
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: readalong week 1, Rosemary and Rue, Seanan McGuire
Today is week one of our Rosemary and Rue readalong arranged by Lisa from Over the Effing Rainbow. I’ve been looking forward to reading this and I’m hoping it’s going to become one of my new favourite urban fantasy series.
The schedule is as follows and it’s definitely not too late to join in so go and grab a copy – or if you’re already read it dive in with the comments:
Week 1: Saturday 9th January, Chapters 1-6, hosted by Lisa at Over the Effing Rainbow
Week 2: Saturday 16th January, Chapters 7-14, hosted by moi at Lynn’s Books
Week 3: Saturday 23rd January, Chapters 15-20, hosted by Anya at On Starships and Dragonwings
Week 4: Saturday 30th January, Chapters 21-End, hosted by Over the Effing Rainbow (still me!)
All are welcome to join in and there’s a discussion page over on Goodreads if that makes it easier to join. Without further ado here are the questions and answers with a word of warning that spoilers will be lurking below:
1. So, first impressions time! What do you think of the book setup, first of all? Setting, magic system, Faerie in general?
I’m really enjoying it so far. There’s no messing about but straight in with that very interesting prologue and then fairly quickly into the fray. I’m not new to urban fantasy so it’s pretty easy to fall into this world which has a lot of characters and magic that already feel familiar and yet also seem to stand on it’s own two feet. This is my first Seanan McGuire book and I’m finding her writing very easy to get on with and the pages are turning with great ease. I do enjoy reading books with fae and so it feels like a welcome revisit. I’m particularly fascinated by Tybalt, King of the Cats and his sparkly emerald eyes! Not sure he’s entirely trustworthy – maybe that’s the appeal huh! The whole fae world here feels full of hierarchy, politics and prejudices, which isn’t necessarily a new theme but is nonetheless interesting to fall into again and I must say that Toby’s narration is very compelling.
2. Now let’s take Toby Daye herself. We get to see some of how she’s grown up and how she fits in, or doesn’t, in the modern world as it is post-fish. What are your initial thoughts on her?
What an opening! I was totally dismayed – I mean of all things – turned into a fish! She missed so much, lost her family, her job, her home. It was so cruel. I was thinking about her family and in particular her daughter. I wonder why Toby opted for this human existence in the first place and I’m hoping that’s going to be explored further. Plus, I wonder how she thought she would keep up the facade for ever anyway? She’s not a pureblood but she does still live longer than regular humans doesn’t she? Now, presumably her daughter is a changeling – I wonder if she had a visitation from the fae at a certain time/age? It opens up a lot of train of thoughts along a similar vein and I’m hoping to discover more.
3. We have yet to properly meet certain characters (Devin and Sylvester), though we’ve gotten brief intros to others (Tybalt and the Queen of the Mists)… Who stands out for you among these secondary characters, and why?
Well, I think Tybalt is very interesting in a sort of mysteriously sexy and dangerous type of way. He feels like he’s going to be one of these characters who pops up and tries to woo Toby – or maybe he’ll pop out of thin air when she’s in need and assist her after which she’ll owe him. I don’t really know but I strongly suspect we’ll see more.
The Queen of the Mists was sort of how I would expect a fae queen – all imposing and almost horribly beautiful. I was very curious as to why she wouldn’t help Toby. It seemed that she shared a special connection with Evening after all. I found that puzzling and was trying to think what was going on in her head at that particular point. Maybe she’s too full of grief and not helping or talking about it is like denial – but I doubt it and it makes me a little bit suspicious. Not that she had a hand in the murder but maybe that there’s more going on here – and clearly I haven’t a clue what! And what is this key??
Evening is also a puzzle to me – I couldn’t help thinking that in her hour of need she seemed to sit in her home making calls to a changling who supposedly has less power than her? That was a bit of a mystery. I wonder how much help she thought Toby could be exactly or whether she wanted to share some information with her. Curiouser and curiouser.
I definitely think Toby is going to be one of the characters with a lot of development throughout the series and a lot of revealed secrets maybe.
4. Toby has a murder mystery to solve. Any initial thoughts on the whodunit?
Like I said above – I have no clue and it just feels too early for even me to start making wild guesses. Although I do wonder if the two critters from the prologue will enter the story again – they both seemed like rather nasty pieces of work. Plus I wonder what they had to gain by tricking and transforming Toby? They didn’t kill her – so maybe they had instruction not to do so and this was the best way of taking her out of the picture for a while. Surely she’s missed quite a lot in the world of fae over the past 14 years.
Looking forward to next week already!
Vintage Sci Fi: Book No.8
8 January 2016
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book Covers, Little Red Reviewer, Vintage Sci Fi
No.8 Second Foundation by Issac Asimov (No.3)
As part of Vintage Sci Fi month being hosted by Little Red Reviewer I’ve given myself a small challenge to post a vintage book each day – one that I’ve read – and to highlight some of the covers. Today’s choice is Second Foundation by Issac Asimov. This was also read as part of a readalong with Stainless Steel Droppings. Now. I must say that this particular book has one of my favourite covers. Anyways:
First Edition 1953
I kind of like the next one – the words ‘beam me up’ just spring to mind!
Grafton 1988
I love this next cover by Michael Whelan, there are probably better higher res pictures out there which really show the colours – but this is my favourite of all three books:
Del Rey 1989
That’s all my Foundation books! A good series to look at covers for sure.
