Book Reviews. Sort Of.

Garment of Shadows - Laurie R. King  

. . . And the series continues . . .

There seems to be less and less to like about these characters, and I find myself just not caring about them or their problems.

It is far too hot for seemingly endless hours wandering through middle eastern deserts with tedious people.

Excuse me while I get some lemonade. 

BOOK REVIEWS. Sort Of.

The Pirate King - Laurie R. King - Review Part II

I finally finished the book. It took longer than usual and I had to talk myself into it each time I picked it up.

Don't you just hate that?

Ms King manages wonderful descriptions of exotic places tucked in her narrative, but unfortunately this narrative wasn't at all compelling for me.

I've enjoyed the series until this one, all 10 of them; I just didn't like this one.

Make of that what you will.

Beekeeping for Beginners - Laurie R. King      

This one was kind of cute.

It retells the story of Ms Russell's and Mr. Holmes' first meeting and budding friendship/partnership from Holmes' perspective, introducing a new dynamic as well as another storyline.

It was short at just over 150 pages, but I enjoyed it.

BOOK REVIEWS. Sort Of.

The Pirate King - Laurie R. King - Review Part I    

Great premise: a book about a cast making a movie about the making of a move, that ends up living out the plot of the movie. Follow?

But I just want it to end. 

Ms King has taken up a different style of storytelling this time. And quite frankly, I am not enjoying it. 

These are mysteries, adventures; and so far I have endured 170 (out of 369) pages of Mary Russell's description of her situation, with little more than a few mentions that there might be a mystery in it somewhere.

I shall forge onward. So far in my life I have only ever put one book down without finishing it, and this will not be the second.

To be continued . . .

BOOK REVIEWS. Sort Of.

The Language of Bees - Laurie R. King      

This book is the first of two parts.

It started a bit slow but picked up speed. And it was thoroughly crammed with surprises and new information about the Holmses (all of them!)

You've probably noticed a slightly determined effort to make my way through this series and finally catch up with its author. I am not obsessive.

Well, not much anyway.

The God of the Hive - Laurie R. King      

This second part was as packed as the first one (The Language of Bees) and I enjoyed it just as much. 

King's choices occasionally make me uncomfortable, simply because I am an old school Sherlock Holmes fan. But not being a purist, I can step back and see how they play out. So far, so good.

One more to go and I will be current. And you know, I think that after 11 books, I'll be ready for a break. Nothing against Ms King. I think I just need to see other authors.

BOOK REVIEWS. Sort Of.

The Game - Laurie R. King     

OK, now this was good. Mary Russell meets Rudyard Kipling's Kim . . . then . . .

A fictional character (Mary) contemplates the realization that another fictional character (Kim) is, in fact, real. But then realizes that yet another character (Holmes), though real, is thought to be fictional also.

I think we're sliding into Philip K. Dick territory, here. Fun.

Locked Rooms - Laurie R. King     

In Mary Russell's latest outing we meet - are you ready - Dashiell Hammett. 

I have always loved Hammett and own everything he wrote, which really isn't much. I despise the witch hunting of the McCarthy era. It robbed the world of so much talent, not just Hammett's . . . Sorry. Off topic, I know.

I had an issue with this book which alternated sections told from Russell's and Holmes' perspectives. This entailed retelling of substantial portions of the story and I've never cared much for the device. Other than that, I enjoyed the book

BOOK REVIEWS. Sort Of.

The Drawing of the Three - Stephen King      

You'd think that with a book this long I would have a lot to say. No. Not much.

I do find that reading it for the second time gave me more of a chance to appreciate the type of detail that has kept King at the top of the heap all these years.

I'm glad I took the challenge to read the entire series this year.

O Jerusalem - Laurie R. King     

So this one is a chronological back step. It continues an episode which was only eluded to earlier, so it begins before the time of the last few books. 

It took a chapter or two to get used to the change in time with its reversal of character development, but then I was fine.

The story itself did not seen to be as strong as the others, but I still enjoyed it.

On to the next one . . .