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 Madrid, 1868. Don Jaime Astarloa is a fencing master. He is reputed to be the only fencing master in the world to know how to execute a rare, unstoppable thrust move. Don Jaime is approached by a young woman, Adela, who asks him to be her fencing instructor.  It is a highly unusual request - for a woman to learn fencing - and Jaime insists that it would not be proper. But there is something compelling about the woman, who insists that she has had fencing training (in a country that isn't so repressed). He agrees to test her skills and sees that indeed she is well skilled and learned and he promises to teach her all that he can. But what she really wants is to learn the thrust for which there is no counter defense. But why would this attractive young woman (and she is attractive, of course) want or need to learn such a difficult fencing move? The fact that there's a movement afoot to overthrow Queen Isabel II might have something to do with it. Don Jaime gets unexpectantl...

 Willa Marks was raised by conspiracy-theory alarmist parents. As an adult, Willa leaves home but is stuck in a dead-end job. Until, that is, she meets Sylvia Gill, a Harvard professor who studies social movements. Sylvia is everything Willa has been looking for, and the professor has all the right answers for Willa's growing concerns about the earth and environment. Unfortunately, Sylvia winds up betraying Willa and her beliefs, but Willa finds a book on Sylvia's shelf - by someone named Roy Adams - which motivates Willa. The book is practically a guide to mobilizing people to combat climate change.  Adams is gather disciples at his Camp Hope on the island of Eleutheria so Willa packs a few things and heads off, determined to change the world. As Adams delays his plans for massive change, the shine starts to fade away from Camp hope and Willa begins to realize that there's more to Hope and Adams than meets the eye. On the surface this seems like precisely the kind of book ...

 There are only a small handful of authors who were active prior to the 20th century for whom I not only have great respect but I wish to learn as much about them as possible. Lewis Carroll, aka Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, would be high on that list. When I saw this 'new' book by Edward Wakeling, I knew it was a must-read for me. Edward Wakeling is, according to a quick Google search, considered to be one of the premiere Lewis Carroll scholars. One of the things that makes someone like Wakeling stand out is the effort to approach a subject in new ways. This book is definitely a new take on examining Dodgson's life. Many biographies that I've read in the past (and we're talking 30, 40 years ago) asserted that Dodgson had an unhealthy fixation on children, based primarily on a few of his portrait photographs. I think there have been a few biographies since that have dispelled this notion and Wakeling dismisses this rather handily, noting that Dodgson, an amateur photogr...

 Liv Spyer is your (slightly above) average New Yorker ... lives in a tiny apartment, works a relatively mindless job in her grandparents' key shop while trying to make it as a photographer. She will also try solving a murder. Regina Montague is the photographer to the stars in New York - coordinating a team of top-notch shutterbugs to capture the the elite, upper-class socialites at special events.  She happens to be in the key shop where Liv is working, when she gets a call that one of her photographers isn't able to make it to the Holiday Debutante Ball - the socialite event of the season. Liv quickly jumps on the opportunity, pointing out her photos hanging about the shop and offering her services (knowing that putting Regina Montague on her resume would greatly help her career). It's not a an easy decision for Regina, but she needs the photographers to cover the event and she decides to give Liv the chance.  The event mostly goes well, with Liv even getting the oppo...

 Of all of author Seanan McGuire's different series, I think I am enjoying this one the most. The underlying tone that traverses the books is really intoxicating. This book, like most in this series, can be read as an individual book (there's a beginning, middle, and an end ... no cliffhangers to goad you into buying more books [no, the writing will do that]). Those familiar with the series will have some additional background that will prove helpful. This book is particularly dark and a lot of reviewers are using the word 'triggering'. McGuire does give us an author's note at the start, warning readers about what's ahead and that to bear with the story as it will work out.  In other words, fully aware of the potential triggering effect. When you have a story about children which includes grooming, abuse, and exploitation, even though it's not a book for children, some readers are bound to have strong, visceral reactions. Antoinette ("Antsy") witn...

 In a cruel empire, in a different world, there is a caste system at work in which people are sorted by the color of their blood. Red blood ("Embers") is for the elite group, in control of everything. Blue blood ("Dusters") is for the working class. And those with clear blood ("Ghostings") are relegated to being slaves. Three women, Sylah, Anoor, and Hassa, come from different backgrounds but a bond builds between them as they each have the same goal of changing the world. Sylah is an expert at combat but she has an addiction problem that prevents her achieving what she wants. Anoor finds herself in the running for role in society. She will have to compete in a number of categories against other, well-trained, highly-competitive contestants and the winner will be 'the chosen one' and will have the opportunity to change society.  Anoor's weakest area is physical combat, and she seeks Sylah's training to hopefully give her edge. I was reading...

Sookie's got a new boyfriend and he's a real tiger.  No, really.  He's a tiger.  A were-tiger. If you don't know Sookie Stackhouse by now, the Louisiana bayou waitress who can read the minds of other humans, but can't read the minds of the dead (like her ex-boyfriend, vampire Bill Compton, and her ex-boyfriend, vampire Eric Northman) then there's really no point in picking up this, the sixth book in the Sookie Stackhouse series.  Also ... where the heck have you been?   In this volume in the series, Sookie learns that her cousin Hadley has passed away.  Hadley has left everything to Sookie and she is encouraged, by the Queen of Louisiana ... well, the vampire Queen of Lousiana ... to come and get her inheritance.  Hadley, it seems, was the secret lover of the vampire queen. But why the urgency?  The queen once gave Hadley a gift, a gift that had been given to her by the king, and if she doesn't display that gift soon, all hell will break out...

 At Foxham Prep, the very ritzy private school for the children of Washington, DC's elite, students are groomed to become the next generation of socialite elites and giants of industry. But they're still students - partying, dating, fighting, and making up rumors about one another. But harmful rumors here could have such a lasting effect as to potentially alter career options. This all comes to the fore for some of the girls currently at Foxham. Cora is the captain of the cheer squad. She's the 'it' girl at Foxham. Bryn used to have it all. With Cora as her best friend and the perfect boyfriend and an all-but-guaranteed path into politics. But one mistake on Bryn's part starts a scandal that spirals beyond her control. The talk of the school, though, is Georgie. An overweight Geek a year ago, Georgie has had a complete makeover and now heads are turning when she's around. Her popularity rises quickly and now even Cora's popularity is in danger of being e...

 Not too long ago (in the book, Suburban Dicks ), Andie Stern, soccer-mom mother of five and former FBI profiler, now living in West Windsor, New Jersey, solved a decades-old murder and conspiracy. Andie's husband (as well as the local police) is hoping she'll go back to being a quiet suburban mother and to that end she has a group of mom-friends she affectionately refers to as the Cellulitists. But when the husband of one of her new friends is found dead and her friend, Molly Goode, is the focus of attention, Andie can't help but get involved, along with journalist Kenny Lee once again. Andie's investigation won't win her any new friends and will likely endanger the friendships she's made, but that won't stop her. But those protecting secrets, affairs, and a whole lot of money might stop her. I had a lot of fun reading Suburban Dicks and really looked forward to this. Author Fabian Nicieza (co-creator of the character of Deadpool) has done a really nice j...

This is the story of one of the most famous Vikings, Harald Sigurdharson (aka Harald Sigurdsson, aka Harald Hardråde) who will become Norway's King Harald III. We begin with teenage Harald, fighting alongside his brother, King Olaf II, known as Olaf the Stout. There is an uprising against King Olaf due to his devotion and support of Christianity and Olaf is killed in the skirmish. Harald escapes to Russia and finds work as a mercenary. Harald finds success, makes many friends in his rough life, and he'll call upon them as he works his way back to Norway to claim his rightful place on the throne. Although author Poul Anderson is a noted science fiction/fantasy author, I have not read many works by him, and those I did read were back in the 1970's.  His writing didn't make a big (or positive) impression on me and so I've mostly ignored his rather large body of work. This reprint caught my eye due to the Viking theme. I was not aware that it was very much historical fi...

Whoa!  Strap yourself in and hold on because Grady Hendrix has another tightly strung, gut-wrenching horror novel that will keep you up at night. Siblings Louise and Mark Joyner are absolutely devasted at the death of their parents at the end of the coronavirus pandemic. Mark and Louise haven't gotten along for years and would rather not be in each others' company but the circumstances have forced them to work together to clear the family home and put it on the market.  But upon arriving they notice how strange their parents' final days must have been as mirrors are covered by newspapers and the attic door has been nailed shut. There isn't much up there other than some old family puppets. But when worn, one particular puppet won't come off and it controls the movements of the wearer.  Louise is forced to cut off her own brother's arm to save him. But she can't do the same when her daughter puts the puppet on her hand. I am not generally a fan of horror stori...

 Philip Francis Nowlan's Armageddon 2419 A.D. is a sci-fi classic, a book I've long wanted to read and I finally got around to it. For those who think you've never heard of this book, chances are you know of it by the name of the central figure ... Buck Rogers. It's 1927 and WWI vet Anthony Rogers, working for American Radioactive Gas Corporation, is trapped in a cave-in with some radioactive gas which puts Rogers into suspended animation. It is nearly 500 years before he wakes up. He does so just in time to save a beautiful woman, Wilma Deering, and he learns that some awful things have happened in 500 years. The United States is in chaos, having been conquered by Asian powers. Small bands of rebels fight against their oppressors with limited success. With Deering's help to connect with the rebels, Rogers shows them how to work together, giving them hope and spurring a revolution. Although this was my first time reading the book, I've been familiar with the ch...