The Library of Legends by Janie Chang

May 24, 2020

The Library of Legends by Janie Chang

When the Japanese begin bombing the city of Nanking in China, the faculty at Minghua University organize an evacuation to move the students to China's western province, taking the school's prized Library of Legends with them.  Halfway through the journey, the three main characters (Shao, son of a wealthy family; Lian, a scholarship student; and Sparrow, a maidservant) split off from the student group to travel to Shanghai, each for their own reasons.

Overall, I was disappointed in this book.  Usually I really like historical fiction about lesser known historical events, in this case, the second Sino-Japanese War and China's historic Library of Legends.  But too much time was spent on flirtations and political groups within the students, and too little time was spent on the library itself.  There is also a magical realism factor where one of the characters is actually a character from one of the legends who has been living on earth for thousands of years.  The author also devotes many pages to describing how wealthy and influential Shao's family is, also how elegant and expensive his clothes are, and how much poverty there is in large Chinese cities (yes, we get it, there is a huge gap between rich and poor in China just like there is in the West).  There are also too many pages of walking and bombing and hiding, and spending the night at a temple, then a monastery, then a village, then another temple, then a warehouse, then another village, etc.  A good editor should have whacked out about 100 pages and made this a much better book.  However, the cover art is gorgeous.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in return for a review.

The Queen's Secret by Karen Harper

May 20, 2020

The Queen's Secret by Karen Harper

Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother) was in many ways the strength behind the throne during the reign of King George VI.  She was called a "fixer" for getting things done yet looking effortless.  She, the king, and daughters Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret presented a unified front that symbolized traditional English values during World War II.

Born Elizabeth Bowes Lyon, daughter of a Scottish earl, young Elizabeth seems to have chased after royalty from a young age (sort of like Lady Diana Spenser).  The queen had more than one secret, including her parentage, her flirtation with King Edward VIII before he abdicated the throne, and her attempts to discredit Wallis Simpson.  While I didn't find her secrets particularly compelling or even very secretive (the one about her parentage seemed to be fairly well known), I did enjoy the historical aspects of the novel from the perspective of a character who is usually little more than a minor player.

The story does drag a bit and many readers may get tired of Elizabeth's endless internal turmoil.  But if you enjoy historical fiction set during WWII or centering on the British royal family, you'll want to read this book.  The cover has a photo of Queen Elizabeth doing the royal wave.

Two photos of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in exchange for a review.

Shakespeare for Squirrels by Christopher Moore

May 16, 2020

Shakespeare for Squirrels by Christopher Moore

(Yes, I know, another Shakespeare book.  I read them in the order that they are going to be published and try to stay ahead of the pub date.  The next one will be historical fiction.)

This is the 3rd outing for Christopher Moore's Pocket the fool/jester in this parody of one of Shakespeare's plays..  This time, he finds himself shipwrecked just outside Athens, where he soon encounters Robin Goodfellow (the Puck) and the rest of the cast of "A Midsummer Night's Dream."  Mayhem ensues when Puck is killed by an arrow and Pocket is arrested for the crime (even though he doesn't have a crossbow).  To save himself and his apprentice Drool, Pocket agrees to carry out tasks for the king, the Amazon queen, the night king and the fairy queen (quite a lot of tasks) while trying to unravel who murdered Puck.

After parodying first "King Lear," and then "The Merchant of Venice," Christopher Moore takes on what is probably Shakespeare's best-loved play.  It is fun and witty with lots of references to Shakespeare's plays, good escapist fiction if you're tired of hearing about the pandemic, rising grocery prices, unemployment, etc.  Moore does use the f--- word at least once a paragraph, as well as many sexual references, so be aware in advance if you are offended by obscene language or vulgar references.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in return for a review.

Death by Shakespeare: Snakebites, Stabbings and Broken Hearts by Kathryn Harkup

May 14, 2020

Death by Shakespeare: Snakebites, Stabbings and Broken Hearts by Kathryn Harkup

Certain critics persist in claiming that the historical William Shakespeare could not have been the author of Shakespeare's works, due to his common origins.  Shakespeare was an actor and playwright born in the town of Stratford to a moderately affluent family, educated at the local grammar school, and he never attended Oxford or Cambridge. One of the areas that critics cite as evidence that Shakespeare's plays must have been written by someone else is that Shakespeare could not have had the extensive knowledge of medical science that is displayed in many of his plays.   Author Kathryn Harkup sets out to prove that not only would Shakespeare have had this kind of knowledge, but that the Elizabethan audience that he was writing for would also have had intimate knowledge of disease and the many ways to die in the 16th century.  Most of them would have been aware of poisons like mercury, antimony, and lead (lead poisoning was known even as many Elizabethans were slathering lead on their faces to achieve that stylish white complexion favored by Queen Elizabeth I).  Although not every play includes a death, every Shakespeare play and quite a few of his poems make reference to at least one disease.

Death in today's world has been largely sanitized, but in the 16th century, a family member or close friend would have been nursed at home, with family members caring for them all the way up to preparing the body for burial.  Professional medical care was limited at best, with doctors available only for the rich and aristocratic. The lower classes had to make do with a barber-surgeon or local woman healer.  Even with a trained doctor, the patient's chances of survival were poor.  The average Londoner in the 16th century would have seen public executions, plague victims, and horribly wounded soldiers returning from war.  Shakespeare would have had the same experiences, and if he didn't have personal knowledge, Harkup points out that London was a cosmopolitan city and he certainly could have found someone to tell him about wounds sustained during a sword fight or when to suspect murder.

This turned out to be an interesting choice to read during the COVID-19 pandemic, since there were many parallels between the current preventative measures and the restrictions that were put in place during the 15th and 16th century plague outbreaks.  During the plague, theaters were closed, festivals and public processions were cancelled, and even the king's coronation was held without an audience.  With the theaters closed, Shakespeare turned to writing sonnets and narrative poems to earn money.  Pamphlets published the latest plague news and proclaimed cures or preventatives for the plague (much like the Internet articles today claiming that all you need to do to avoid COVID-19 is fill-in-the-blank).  One difference is that churches remained open.  The author notes that after the plague outbreak of 1582-1583, it took two years for life to return to normal.  Aargh.

Overall, this is an interesting and different look at Shakespeare and the 16th century that will appeal to anyone interested in Elizabethan history as reflected in Shakespeare's plays.  Harkup's style is intended for the general reader than for a scholarly audience.  

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in return for a review.

Hard Cash Valley by Brian Panowich

May 11, 2020

Hard Cash Valley by Brian Panowich

Dane Kirby has been drifting through life since the death of his wife and daughter ten years earlier.  A former fire chief, now part-time investigator for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Dane has a girlfriend who loves him and friends who care deeply but he can't seem to connect with them and spends more time talking to his dead wife than he does with the living.  He is unexpectedly called in by the FBI when a small-time hoodlum from Georgia is found horribly murdered in a Florida motel.  The murdered man recently won $1.2 million on cockfighting but both the money and the man's younger brother are missing.  Kirby teams up with an agent who is less than thrilled to be working with him, and they follow the money and the kid back to Kirby's home grounds in Georgia near Bull Mountain.

Brian Panowich returns to the Georgia mountains from his first two thrillers.  A few characters recur but this is largely a new cast and the focus is not on the Burroughs clan.  This is a fast-paced quick thriller that keeps the reader turning pages.  Panowich's characters are what make the story notable, despite their dumb mistakes and decisions (as I've told fellow librarians, if characters didn't make dumb choices, there wouldn't be a novel).  The ending is a little sappy but if you like a feel-good or hopeful ending, you'll be okay with it.

Many thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing a review copy in exchange for a review.

Network Effect: A Murderbot Novel by Martha Wells

May 8, 2020

Network Effect: A Murderbot Novel by Martha Wells

Part machine, part human, Murderbot is a Security Unit (SecUnit) responsible for protecting stupid humans who insist on doing things likely to get them killed.  SecUnit is on what should be a routine mission from Preservation Sector that its team leader, Dr. Mensah, has sent it on in order to protect some of her family members including her daughter Amena.  But an unexpected twist occurs when SecUnit encounters its old friend ART (short for Asshole Research Transport), and SecUnit finds it must cooperate with ART if it wants to brings its humans home alive.

This is the first full-length Murderbot novel after four novellas (if you haven't read the novellas, go back and do that immediately - the first one is  All Systems Red).  Murderbot (its private name for itself) is a wonderful creation, who really just wants to watch its favorite shows on its media feed all day.  Filled with constant action, adventure and world building, Murderbot's internal dialog and snarky comments make this a delight even for readers who don't normally enjoy science fiction.  Illinois is still under the shelter-in-place order, and this was some great escapist fiction to pass the time.  Highly recommended!

Many thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing an eARC in return for a review.

A Royal Affair by Allison Montclair

May 1, 2020

 A Royal Affair by Allison Montclair

The Right Sort Marriage Bureau is enjoying a modest success resulting from the publicity when proprietors Iris Sparks and Gwen Bainbridge solved the murder of one of their clients.  But they are completely unprepared for one of their new clients:  Princess Elizabeth has her heart set on marrying a Greek prince, and the Palace wants Sparks and Bainbridge to look into some questionable rumors involving the prince's family.

If you have been watching The Crown on Netflix (and if you haven't, I strongly suggest that you do), you'll know from the first season that Prince Philip of Greece wasn't everybody's first choice to marry the heir to the British throne.  But Princess Elizabeth was a headstrong young woman who had her heart set on Philip from the time she was 13.  The plot of this historical mystery centers around a rumor that Philip's mother Princess Alice had an affair and that Philip was not the son of her husband Prince Andrea of Greece.

Unfortunately the murder doesn't happen until about halfway through the novel, and the victim is an unknown character who plays no part in the story.  So the mystery is pretty uninteresting.  It was nice to revisit some of the quirkier characters from the first book in the series (like Sally and Archie).  Gwen doesn't cry as much as she did in the first book (although she still does a fair amount of crying) and Iris has a visit with a psychiatrist, but I would have liked to see more character development.  It was a quick read and provided some escapism during the pandemic.

Many thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing an e-ARC in exchange for a review.  A Royal Affair will be published in late June 2020.