All Systems Red by Martha Wells 9 (Books to Read During a Pandemic, Part 38)

Posted on December 11, 2020 by bseat

One of my friends, a librarian, recommended these books by Wells which are collectively known as The Murderbot Diaries. Somehow I never got around to reading them. Then when the pandemic began and she recommended them again, I listened and I am so glad I did! They are intriguing, thoughtful and thoroughly satisfying and I am looking forward to reading all six of them!

A team of exploratory scientists lands on a planet to do a survey of its features and make an assessment of its scientific value and worth. All such survey and exploratory missions are regulated and approved by the Company who sends its own security androids to monitor and protect the survey teams.

What no one, not even the Company or the survey team realizes is that the SecUnit in charge of security for this team is not all that it seems.

“I could have become a mass murderer after I hacked my governor module, but then I realized I could access the combined feed of entertainment channels carried on the company satellites. It had been well over 35,000 hours or so since then, with still not much murdering….As a heartless killing machine, I was terrible failure.”

Hopelessly addicted to the long running serial drama, Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon, Murderbot, as it calls itself, was going through the motions of its security job.

Then a sudden attack by a an unknown planetary predator occurs during the Survey Team’s outside assessment. With heroic strength and ingenuity Murderbot saves the team members who were attacked and manages to get the whole team to safety. But in its review of the incident later, Murderbot notices buried in the various streamed orders, instructions it had received during the incident, an “abort” order in the HubSystem command feed that controlled, or believed it controlled, it’s governor module.

As other strange anomalies and incidents begin occurring the Survey Team and Murderbot realize that they are under attack from unknown assailants. When the neighboring survey team goes dark, they realize that they must stop whoever or whatever is behind these attacks before it is too late.

Wells has created a wonderful character in Murderbot. It is a bit scornful of humanity, dreadfully shy, and all robotic and focused on the job, and yet there is a stirring of consciousness, and a growing empathy for the people it is protecting and slowly it is changing into someone. Wells also creates a wonderful world landscape, and of life far in the future where space exploration has become routinized and a normal fact of life. Winner of many well deserved awards, The Murderbot Diaries, with most of its volumes at novella sized length are easily accessible and a wonderful escape!

Brenda’s Rating: ****(4 Out of 5 Stars)

Recommend this book to: Lauren, Marian, Keith and Ken

Book Study worthy? Yes

Read in ebook format.

Posted in Adventure, Books to Read During a Pandemic, Existential Sc-Fi Thriller, Fiction, Prize Winner, Science Fiction, Series, Suspense, Thriller, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

North of the Tension Line by J.F. Riordan (Books to Read During a Pandemic, Part 37)

Posted on December 4, 2020 by bseat

I’m not sure how I heard about this series of books by Riordan set in Wisconsin’s Door County, but on a whim I decided to try the first one. I think I was remembering the time, many years ago, when I went with my parents to Door County and crossed on the ferry to Washington Island. I remember it being a magical place, with winding roads through a beautiful forest, rocky beaches and lovely old fashioned homes. Riordan made it all come back again with her descriptions of the beautiful natural landscape and life in a small place where everyone knows everyone’s business.

Fiona, a free lance writer, came to Door County to visit her friend Elisabeth who runs a small art gallery in the town of Ephraim. But she stayed because she loved the natural rhythms of a small town, the intimacy of being known, and the quiet in which to work. She even began playing a “what if” game with herself, looking at the local real estate ads and wondering what it would be like to buy a house and actually live in Door County. It was all a game, until she found a ad for an old house on Washington Island. Across the water from Ephraim and only accessible by ferry, Washington Island was even more remote, but it was also north of the tension line, where things moved more slowly, the seasons still held sway and things seemed more human.

After going to look at the house, which managed to maintain its good bones and exquisite carpentry features, eve if it needed significant repairs, Fiona bought it and moved in. And her adventures began. First there were the leaks in the roof, the need to remove various critters who had taken up residency in the walls and attic of the house, the dog who almost bit her and her neighbor who took an instant and almost pathological dislike to her. And of course there is the goat…but I don’t want to give to much away!

This was such a wonderful character driven book. There is no mystery, no suspense, just a gentle, quiet story about a woman and her house, her friends, and neighbors and  life on a remote island with all its wonder and vicissitudes. It reminded me of Kent Haruf’s Plainsong series, although Riordan has a lighter touch and a stealthy sense of humor. Be prepared to be entranced while you get to know Fiona, Elisabeth, Roger the Coffee shop owner, and of course, Robert, the talking goat!

Brenda’s Rating: **** (4 Out of 5 Stars)

Recommend this book to: Marian, Lauren and Keith

Book Study worthy? Yes

Read in ebook format 

Posted in Books to Read During a Pandemic, Fiction, Literary Fiction, Prize Winner, Romance, Series, Spiritual | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman (Books to Read During a Pandemic, Part 36)

Posted on November 27, 2020 by bseat

In the middle of colder days and longer nights, this book was a ray of sunshine and delight.

Osman’s septuagenarian sleuths who meet every Thursday in the Jigsaw Room of their retirement community (hence the name “The Thursday Murder Club’) have become quite adept and tenacious at investigating unsolved murder cases. The members of the group rely on their wide ranging experience; a police officer, a psychiatrist, a nurse, a scientist, a union agitator and one who seems to have many friends in many high places in government, to help untangle these unsolved mysteries.

But when a local developer and his partner are killed under suspicious circumstances, The Thursday Murder Club decides that they will investigate. While their methods are unorthodox and the police are skeptical, this brilliant group begins to make some headway into solving the murders, until another body is discovered.

Osman hits all the right notes. He is witty but never patronizing. His characters are three-dimensional who carry the accumulation of both joy and regret which comes from living long, full lives, but instead of wallowing in the past they are living life to its fullest and finding ways to be both relevant and helpful.

This was a delightful read. I hope we hear more from the Thursday Murder Club!

Brenda’s Rating: ****(4 out of 5 Stars)

Recommend this book to: Sharon, Marian, Lauren and Keith.

Book Study Worthy? Yes!

Read in ebook format.

Posted in Books to Read During a Pandemic, Detective novel, Fiction, Mystery, Suspense | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Half-Drowned King by Linnea Hartsuyker (Books To Read During a Pandemic, Part 35)

Posted on November 20, 2020 by bseat

On my father’s side I am supposedly a little bit Norwegian, which seemed very exotic to me as the rest of my gene pool is mostly German. I have had Norway on my bucket list since I was in fourth grade when I did a report on Norway. I still remember the pictures from the National Geographic of the fjords and the lush green landscapes of summer and the snow-covered trees of winter. Even now, some fifty years later, it seems like a magical and special place!

Hartsuyker feeds into that sense of magic with this book based on Norse and Scandinavian legends; retelling the saga of Ragnvald and his sister Svanhild and the young man, Harald of Vestvold, who may be the prophesied king of all the Norse. With great care for historical accuracy she has created a sense of realism to the setting and characters while still maintaining a sense of the mystical past.

Ragnvald, a young man descended from kings, is returning from Ireland with a viking raiding party. With his father gone, his family has fallen on hard times and he is just another warrior with neither his own boat or land to his name. It is rumored that his uncle, Olaf, killed Ragnvald’s father and stole the property, and it is Ragnvald’s hope to make a name for himself as a warrior and eventually challenge his uncle and retake his birthright. But on the return journey, Solvi, the leader of the raiding party who has been paid by Olaf to kill his nephew, betrays Ragnvald and leaves him to drown.

Rescued by a fisherman, Ragnvald is now even more determined than ever to exact his revenge on Olaf and Solvi, reclaim his birthright, and rescue his sister who is now little more than a thrall in his uncle’s keeping. To do that he must align himself with the right people, but there is a change blowing through the political landscape. A new warrior named Harald, is upsetting the tradional feudal structure and trying to unite all the fiefdoms in a larger confederacy over which he will rule. In this treacherous time, Ragnvald must tread carefully and choose wisely, for one false move might earn him an enmity he can ill afford and keep him from ever achieving his goals.

Meanwhile Svanhild must figure out how to leave her uncle in the most advantageous way possible. Usually, for a woman, that means marriage, but Svanhild longs for more than babies and a hearth. She wants to see the exotic places described in the songs sung by the skalds. and ride the waves on a dragon boat. Once news of Ragnvald’s attempted murder comes to her uncle’s holding, Svanhild realizes that she must try to achieve her own freedom. So on the morning of her wedding, to a man she cannot abide, Svanhild escapes and in the process is helped by the very man who tried to kill her brother. With limited choices before her, and with a newly aroused sense of adventure, Svanhild must now face a much more difficult choice: family or freedom.

This is the first in a trilogy called the Golden Wolf Saga and I am looking forward to reading what comes next. Hartsuyker has carefully balanced the historical and factual with the legend and romance of these sagas. She has also been able to lift her characters out of the the limits of legend and gives them doubts, fears and feelings that allows them to become three dimensional. If you like historical fiction, I know you will enjoy this book, just as I did!

Brenda’s Rating: ****(4 Out Of 5 Stars)

Recommend this Book to? Sharon, Marian and Keith

Book Study Worthy? Yes

Read in ebook format.

Posted in Adventure, Books to Read During a Pandemic, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Series | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The King Of Lies by John Hart (Books to Read During a Pandemic, Part 34)

Posted on November 13, 2020 by bseat

John Hart keeps on surprising me! I recently read one of his books and now, here I am again reviewing another novel he wrote!

Although The King of Lies initially seems like a straight forward murder mystery, Hart somehow manages to convert it into a story of redemption and self discovery. Hart’s ability to embody his characters and dissect their secrets, their shame and their pain, allows the reader to gain insights into their motivations and reactions to their situation. I think this is why Hart has become one of my ‘go to’ authors.

Workman Pickens is a southern country lawyer. His father was a successful lawyer and Work, as he is known to all his friends, carried on the tradition because it was what his father and his wife, Barbara expected of him, but his heart isn’t in it.

Then a year ago, Work’s mother died in a tragic accident. His sister, Jean, who along with Work witnessed their mother’s death, became even more distant and angry, and his father, who left the scene of the accident after receiving a phone call, went missing and was never seen again. In the wake of his mother’s death and his father’s disappearance Work has tried to maintain his father’s practice but he is losing clients and the practice has become just shell of what it once was. His wife, Barbara, continues to try and maintain pretenses and to climb the social ladder but Work’s disinterest in these activities is causing major rifts in their relationship.

Then the District Attorney calls Work to tell him that his father’s body has been found at an old abandoned mall. Although Work expected that his father was dead, he is shocked to find that his father had been killed with two shots to the head and chest.

Although Work knew that his father had been well to do, it comes as a complete surprise that the estate is valued at over fifteen million dollars. Soon the police are circling ever closer to Work, suspecting that he killed his father for his money. As he tries to fend off the ever increasing police scrutiny, Work begins to worry that his sister or her lover might have been somehow involved in their father’s death. As the investigation continues, Work must confront the realities of that fateful day when is mother died, find a way to mend the broken relationship with his sister and face into his dysfunctional relationship with his father, while he tries to find his father’s killer.

Brenda’s Rating: ****(4 Out of 5 Stars)

Recommend this Book to: Sharon and Marian

Book Study worthy? Sure

Read in ebook format

Posted in Books to Read During a Pandemic, Fiction, Legal Procedural, Mystery, Psychological Mystery, Suspense, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 1 Comment

A Dangerous Man by Robert Crais (Books to Read During the Pandemic, Part 33)

Posted on November 6, 2020 by bseat

Joe Pike and Elvis Cole are some of my favorite characters. As private detectives and investigators they are tough, thorough and have an innate sense of justice that kicks in when they see something going wrong.

Pike is in the parking lot of his bank after completing a business transaction when he sees the teller, Isabel, who helped him, come out of the bank on her break. As she walks down the sidewalk, a van stops beside her and two men forcibly abduct her and drive away. Without thinking Pike follows the van, calling for back up from the police, and rescues Isabel.

That should have been the end of the story, but shortly after posting bail the abductors are murdered and Isabel disappears.

Believing that not everything is at it seems, Pike asks Elvis Cole, his partner, to check into Isabel and the men who were murdered. What Cole discovers is a complicated story of corporate whistle blowing gone wrong, a dysfunctional family, lies deceit and betrayal and a lot of cash at stake. Isabel seems to be right in the middle of it all, but Pike can’t tell whether she is a victim or a perpetrator. As Pike and Cole follow the trail of deceit and lies, they find that someone is dogging their every step, determined to keep the secrets they are trying to expose, no matter what the cost.

Crais has written another satisfying and intriguing novel. Like Michael Connelly, Crais has created a great series with nuanced yet interesting characters and interesting plot lines. His books never fail to satisfy!

Brenda’s Rating: ****(4 Out of 5 Stars)

Recommend this Book to: Sharon and Marian

Book Study Worthy? Just Enjoy!

Reading ebook format.

Posted in Books to Read During a Pandemic, Detective novel, Fiction, Series, Suspense, Thriller | Tagged , | 1 Comment

The Ten thousand Doors of January by Alix L. Harrow (Books to Read During a Pandemic, Part 32)

Posted on October 30, 2020 by bseat

I have always loved doors. Whenever I travel, I end up taking pictures of doors and doorways. For me they are evocative, mysterious, and inviting. So a book about doors was a fascinating concept to me and this book quickly drew me in.

January is the ward of John Locke, a man of some wealth and position and collector of unique and wonderful things. January’s father, Julian, works for Mr. Locke, traveling the world to find and collect these unique artifacts. While her father travels, January remains with Mr. Locke, who values tradition and structure and who makes sure she is educated and looked after by a string of governesses who try to shape and mold January into a respectable, pliant girl. But January is different. Not just because she has copper brown skin or curly hair or unique silver gray eyes, but because she has a strong will and a deep and abiding curiosity. Then, unexpectedly, her father sends Jane, a well travelled woman of formidable intellect and strength to be her governess, and January is freed from her previous restrictive expectations.

Perhaps life would have gone on in some kind of normal fashion, but soon after Jane’s arrival January discovers a book. Thinking that it might be a present from her guardian, she finds a collection of stories about doors–doors that lead to other worlds. She is enthralled by the stories, until at some point she begins to realize that the stories overlap with events in her own life.

Just as January begins to understand the book and its relationship to her past, she receives devastating news that impacts her whole life. Determined to understand the message in the book and her place in the stories it tells, January embarks on a remarkable journey of self discovery that helps her find her place in this world.

This was such a unique and interesting story. By interspersing excerpts from the book that January reads as well as the stories that January hears from the people that she meets along the way. Harrow has caught the lively curiosity of January which makes all her adventures all the more believable. This was such a fun read, and a great escape from our current daily realities!

Brenda’s Rating: ***1/2 (3 1/2 out of 5 Stars)

Recommend this book to: Lauren and Marian

Book Study Worthy? Yes

Read in ebook format.

Posted in Adventure, Books to Read During a Pandemic, Fantasy, Fiction, Mystery, YA | Tagged | 3 Comments

Braiding Sweetgrass By Robin Wall Kimmerer (Books to Read During a Pandemic, Part 31)

Posted on October 23, 2020 by bseat

I’m not sure I would have ever picked this book up on my own but a friend told me that it was as important to her as the Bible and had changed her life. With a recommendation like that it was hard not to be intrigued! Luckily this same friend was leading a book study so I was able to read it with a group of people which made the reading experience even more enriching!

Kimmerer is a botanist, a Professor of Environmental Biology at SUNY, and a Citizen of the Potawatami Nation and integrates all of these diverse understandings of the world of plants, the environment and the wisdom of indigenous peoples into a cohesive whole that is much more than its parts. It is an ode to the abundance and resilience of plants, a warning to humanity that we must not abuse Mother Earth, but to interact with her with wonder and gratitude and a call to look to our past and the wisdom of the indigenous peoples to guide us to a new understanding and relationship with the natural world.

Kimmerer begins with this understanding:

In the Western tradition there is a recognized hierarchy of beings, with, of course, the human being on top– the pinnacle of evolution , the darling of Creation–and the plants on the bottom. But in Native ways of knowing, human people are often referred to as “the younger brothers of Creation.” We say that humans have the least experience with how to live and thus the most to learn–we must look to our teachers among the other speeches for guidance. Their wisdom is apparent in the way they live. They teach by example. They’ve been on the earth for far longer than we have been, and have had time to figure things out.”

From there Kimmerer leads us on a journey to understand the genius of of Native planting of the the Three Sisters–Corn, beans and squash together in one mound, the importance of an allegiance to gratitude, the Rules of the Honorable Harvest which helps maintain both habitat and ecosystem. She encourages us to look closely at how the plants regenerate themselves when the land has been misused and contaminated and learn from them how Mother Earth heals herself.

Kimmerer’s writing is lyrical and poignant. She tells stories of her family, of the students she has taught, of the wise counsel she has received from Native elders and the unexpected insights she has learned in her research and in her own backyard. As someone said, this book is “a hymn of love to the world” and Kimmerer extends an invitation for all of us to join in with three part harmony!

Brenda’s Rating:*****(5 Out of 5 Stars)

Recommend this book to: Marian, Lauren and Sharon

Book Study Worthy? YES

Read in paperback format.

Posted in Books to Read During a Pandemic, Non Fiction | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (Books To Read During a Pandemic, Part 30)

Posted on October 16, 2020 by bseat

I first met Leigh Bardugo when I read her Grisha trilogy beginning with Shadow and Bone. She is clearly a new and exciting voice in the fantasy genre, so when I saw that she had written another novel set in the same Grisha world, I was curious. Needless to say I was not disappointed! Although Six of Crows is set in the same universe as Shadow and Bone, the story is completely different. As someone said, it is Game of Thrones meets Oceans Eleven, which in a very strange but apt description!

Kaz Becker, is a notorious thief and con man in the city of Ketterdam, which is saying a lot since the city is famous for its criminal elements. Kaz, runs the Barrel, a small area within a largely unregulated zone of criminal activity within the city. There he and his cohorts operate various criminal enterprises, dreaming of the one big score that will allow them to break free from the lives they live.

So when Kaz is offered an exorbitant amount of money for an extremely dangerous heist, that just might also save the world, he is all in. But first he must persuade “a convict with a thirst for revenge, a sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager, a runaway with a privileged past, a spy known as the Wraith, a Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums and a thief with a gift for unlikely escapes” to join him in this impossible endeavor.

Told from each participants point of view, the alternating story lines brings you close to each character and their complicated pasts. Suspenseful, with witty, sharp dialogue, this is an engrossing and fun read and I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series-Crooked Kingdom!

Brenda’s Rating: ***1/2 (3 1/2 Out of 5 Stars)

Rcommend this Book to: Lauren and Marian

Book Study Worthy? Yes

Read in ebook format.  

Posted in Adventure, Books to Read During a Pandemic, Fantasy, Series, Suspense, YA | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Testimony by Scott Turow (Books To Reading During a Pandemic, Part 29)

Posted on October 9, 2020 by bseat

You cannot think of Scott Turow without thinking of his book Presumed Innocent and the movie starring Harrison Ford. Scott Turow is a master of the the legal procedural, by both making the law relevant and exposing its limitations. His novels raise interesting questions about law and justice, mercy and retribution, and the complicated relationships between those that enforce the law and those that defend people charged with breaking the law.

In Testimony, Turow explores international justice at The Hague where crimes against humanity are prosecuted. Even here, the themes of law and justice, mercy and retribution are relevant and exposes even more clearly the law’s limitations.

During the Bosnian war an entire refugee camp of four hundred Roma people disappeared. Now almost ten years later an eye witness claims that the Roma people were taken to a remote mine, packed into a cave and buried alive when explosives were used to cover the entry way with tons of dirt. These allegations have now been filed at the International Court of Justice at The Hague, who must investigate and bring to justice those who commit crimes against humanity.

Bill Ten Boom, a former prosecutor in Kindle County is recruited by a former classmate to become a prosecutor at The International Court of Justice at The Hague. Now fifty -five, newly divorced and having just resigned as a partner in a large law firm, Bill was wondering what might come next and is intrigued by this interesting possibility and is soon settling into his office at The Hague.

As Bill begins his investigations he realizes there are many possible suspects ranging from Bosnian paramilitary groups, organized crime and even the US military itself who had a base not too far from where the alleged massacre took place. The witness, Ferko Rincic, is not much help in trying to identify the soldiers who came to the refugee camp, and his lawyer, Esma Czarni, a barrister who represents Roma people, seems more interested in Bill than in helping to clear up contradictory statements Ferko has made. The US major general of the US base nearby who might be able to shed some light on these events, was Layton Merriwell, whose reputation and career are now in jeopardy after a messy public disclosure of his affair with a subordinate, giving him every incentive not to cooperate with this investigation. Additionally, Laza Kajevic, the leader of the brutal Bosnian Serb paramilitary, is known to have blamed the Roma for betraying his location to the US forces and sent him into hiding.

As the investigation progresses and Bill must be wary of contradicting evidence, the politics and pressure of a high profile case and the competing alliances and motives that seem to be threatening the investigation and his life.

This was such a pleasure to read! The characters were interesting, complicated and multi dimensional. The plot line was intriguing and unexpected and the pacing was superb! All in all a great read!

Brenda’s Rating: ****(4 Out of % Stars)

Recommend this book to: Marian, Keith and Sharon

Book Study Worthy? Yes

Read in ebook format from Libby.

Posted in Fiction, Legal Procedural, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller | Tagged , , | Leave a comment