Yrsa Sigurdarsdottir: the Thora Gudmundsdottir mystery novels

I don't quite remember how Sigurdarsdottir's novels came to my attention earlier in the year, but before I was even half-way through the first of her mystery/detective/thriller novels featuring lawyer and single mother Thora Gudmundsdottir, I was already searching for anything else by her that I couod find in translation. I managed to find the next three Gudmundsdottir novels quite quickly, and devoured them one after another in delighted gulps. There are two more novels so far in this series, both avaikable in Engkish translation. Sigurdarsdottir has also written several stand-alone thrillers and has just released the first novel in a new series, but not all of these have been translated.

What captured me in these novels is not just the delight of a well-written and tightly-plotted mystery featuring a strong and competent and female protagonist - though that would have been enough. The four novels i've read to date also have a significant lean toward the horror end of the detective thriller genre, which appeals to me. At the same time, they are lightened by Thora's wit, making for a very enjoyable combination of suspense and humour. And they have all been strongly grounded in both place and history, which I have found quite fascinating in terms of the way it illuminates Icelandic (and in one instance, Greenlander) culture. It's fun to read books that aren't from your home culture.


Last Rituals

This was a wonderful introduction to Thora Gudmundsdottir. I was quite intrigued by the background to the murder mystery, which drew on historical aspects of witchcraft practice and persecution in Germany and Iceland, in solving a gruesome modern death. The novel begins with the murder of university student Harald Guntlieb, who appears to have been doing research into the history of witchcraft in medieval Iceland. Guntlieb is the scion of a wealthy German family, who hire a German investigator, Matthew Reich, and Icelandic lawyer Thora Gudmundsdottir to conduct a fuller investigation than the police have been inclined to - having found a seemingly credible suspect already. Digging into Guntlieb's associates, research and family history, Thora and Matthew uncover new directions and long-hidden secrets - and the real murderer.


My Soul to Take

Another good murder mystery, with some (apparently) supernatural elements and a connection between present crimes and past events. This time, Thora is drawn into the mystery at a health spa/resort which may be haunted - but whether by spirits or by tragedies going back to the Second World War is something that Thora must determine in order to solve two murders. It may be a "formula" but I'm enjoying it quite a bit. I'm also enjoying the glimpses into the protagonist's personal life - her relationship with her former husband, her teen-aged son, his pregnant girlfriend, and her six year-old daughter, to say nothing of the German paramour she acquired in the previous novel - which certainly add to the flavour and make the protagonist a well-rounded character.


Ashes to Dust

Another engrossing murder mystery from Yrsa Sigurdardottir. Again, the author links a modern crime both to events in Iceland's history and to secrets from the past. This time, the historical context is the volcanic eruption in Iceland’s Westmann Islands in 1973, which precipitated a massive and chaotic evacuation. Now, an archeological project has dug up several of the long-buried homes, long-buried murder victims have been unearthed, and one of Thora's clients is suspected of the decades-old crimes. There is nothing here of the supernatural element that played a role in the two previous novels about of this series, but lots of twists and surprises as the truth slowly surfaces under Gudmundsdottir's determined investigation.


The Day is Dark

Another solid mystery novel, this time set in a remote mining station on the inhospitable east coast of Greenland. Things look bad - interpersonal relations at the station have soured, one woman has gone missing, performance is behind schedule, the employees on Winter furlough refuse to return, and the two people remaining at the station have stopped communication with the outside world. The Icelandic bank that underwrote the venture sends in a team of specialists to find out what happened, and Thora Gudmundsdottir is one of them. Of less interest to the European miners but of great significance to the truths underlying the mysterious occurrances is the firm belief of the aboriginal inhabitants of the nearby village that the station has been built on a place that is cursed and forbidden to the living.

As in the other books I've read by this author, sense of place and past history are inextricably tied up with the modern mystery being investigated. The tinge of the supernatural found in some of Sigurdarsdottir's previous novels is present here, as well as an underpinning of horror - isolation, and a classic if highly modified "haunted house" setting in which some peoole have gone missing and strange things are happening ensure it. Add to this an ultimately sympathetic portrait of the damage arising from the cultural clash between colonising Europeans and the eastern Greenland Inuit peoples, some of whom followed traditional ways well into the 20th century. Another excellent read.

C. W. Gortner: The Tudor Conspiracy

Second in a series of novels by Gortner set in Tudor England. The protagonist is a completely invented character, Brendan Prescott, an unlikely (but just barely plausible) bastard son of Mary, duchess of Suffolk and younger sister of Henry VIII. Prescott, raised in ignorance of his pedigree, becomes a protegee of William Cecil in the first volume, The Tudor Secret, in which he plays a significant if behind-the-scenes role in Mary Tudor's ascension to the throne. In this installment, he has become the sworn man of Elizabeth Tudor, who is unaware of the fact that he is her cousin - a secret which he has uncovered.

The novel is set just prior to Mary's marriage to Philip of Spain. The country is in a state of unrest, sparked by Mary's restoration of the Roman Catholic faith and fear of the consequences of marriage to a foreign prince. Plots abound. Tasked by Cecil to help protect Elizabeth from Mary's suspicions of his mistress' involvement in conspiracies against her, Prescott insinuates himself into Mary's court and finds himself seving multiple masters while investigating the designs of Edward Courtenay, another Tudor cousin, on Mary's throne and life.

A fun read, and the events of the novel are compatible with what is known about Courtenay's plots.

Catching Up with Temeraire

I avidly read the first five volumes of Naomi Novik's wonderful alternate Earth/historical fantasy series featuring the unforgettable Imperial dragon Temeraire, but for some reason (possibly a combination of illness and the "too many books, too little tine" syndrome, I did not continue reading the rest of Novik's Temeraire books as they were published - an oversight I now wish to remedy. So since the events were a bit clouded in my memory, I decided to reread the last volume I had completed - Victory of Eagles, which I read when it was published in 2008 - before continuing.

The storyline of Victory of Eagles - of the defense of England against the invading French and their eventual expulsion from that scepter'd isle - was a good read, of course, but what continues to interest me most about the series is the growth of both Laurence and Temeraire as characters. Maturing both emotionally and ethically, Laurence is more and more becoming his own moral compass, and questioning the assumptions of his culture, while Temeraire learns empathy and understanding of the complexities of living with humans and dragons in a complex society. With my memory refreshed, and my curiosity about the next developments revived, I dove into the next three books of the series.

Sadly, I gather from reading Novik's website that there is only one book remaining in the Temeraire series, to be published sometime next year. It's going to be interesting to see how she ends the Napoleonic Wars... And also to see just where Laurence and Temeraire end up after all their journeys.


Tongues of Serpents

The ethical education of Laurence continues apace - and we as readers are seeing more and more of the ugliest side of colonialism and imperialism as Temeraire and Laurence, exiled to New South Wales as punishment for foiling the British plan to infect all continental European dragons with plague, undertake an exploration of the Australian interior, where they discover diverse difficulties from bunyips, wildfires and thunderstorms to smugglers who steal one of the dragon eggs intended to be the foundation of a colonial dragon-borne military corps. Following the trail of the stolen egg, they cross the continent and arrive on the north coast, where they find a thriving seaport where Chinese merchants, working harmoniously with the indigenous people of the region, are conducting trade via ship and accommodating sea serpents with just about anyone with a presence in the Indian Ocean or China Sea - to the considerable annoyance of the British, who want to control trade in every corner of the earth. There's also mention of an arrangement between Napoleon and the dragon-led empires of Africa to invade the New World and end the slave trade, repatriating all Africans kidnapped and taken overseas.


Crucible of Gold

With this novel, Novik continues to expand the geopolitical borders of her variation on the high period of European imperialism, and prepares us for further examinations of the ways that two sentient peoples can live together. The international relationships of Temeraire's world are getting increasingly interesting, and Laurence and Temeraire are becoming increasingly important to what shape the global alliances will take. Equally important is the moral development of the main characters, as Temeraire's sense of justice becomes more clearly defined and Laurence becomes more and more the owner of his own conscience.

The action in this novel is driven by the declaration of war by the Tswana - supported by Napoleon - against the Portuguese in South America in a bid to liberate Africans stolen from their homelands and sold into slavery. Laurence is offered full reinstatement of rank if he agrees to travel from Australia to Rio to negotiate in the conflict.

A mutiny on the ship carrying them to Rio leaves Laurence, Temeraire and their companions cast off on an island near the west coast of South America; making their way to the continent, they encounter an isolationist Incan Empire which was able to resist early Spanish adventurers and maintain its sovereignty. Here we encounter yet another form of relationship between human and dragon - among the Inca, dragons are the property owners and humans live for the most part as serfs in the fiefdoms of their dragon masters. The situations in both the Inca lands and the portuguese colonies on the eastern part of the continent bring the on-going themes of freedom and equality which have been woven into the story of Temeraire from the beginning into greater prominence.



Blood of Tyrants

Their mission to South America completed, Temeraire and Laurence are on their way to China when Laurence is swept overboard during a storm off the coast of Japan. Despite all evidence to the contrary, Temeraire refuses to believe that Laurence is dead, and demands that the British dragon transport they were travelling on make port in make enquiries in Nagasaki - the only city in Japan currently open to foreigners - to start inquiries into Laurence's fate. While in the harbour, he meets an American dragon - a merchant trader in his own right - who gives us - and the British dragons - a glimpse of another society where dragons are integrated into society and enjoy the rewards of engaging in free enterprise. As it turns out, Laurence is alive, but is on the run through enemy territory, as it is forbidden for any foreigner to set foot in any part of Japan outside of the controlled trade port, and his life has been judged forfeit by the local dragon aristocracy. Worse, he has lost his memory and has no idea how he came to Japan. Worst of all, he no longer remembers Temeraire or any of what he has learned since becoming Temeraire's captain.

In an interview found on the Suduvu website, Novik says:

As the book opens with it, I won’t be spoiling too much to say that at the opening of the book, Laurence has been separated from Temeraire, shipwrecked in a hostile country, and to make matters worse has suffered amnesia. I am always looking for ways to make my characters struggle, as I think that’s what makes them fun to read about. But also, this is the second to last volume in the series, and I really wanted to have a moment where I looked back at the distance Laurence has traveled. He’s come a long way from the person he was when the series began, not just in a practical but in an emotional sense, but it’s been a journey of a thousand small steps, not any single moment. I also am conscious that it’s a long series, and I wanted to give new and old readers both a place to refresh their memory and rejoin the story before we head down the final blaze of the rollercoaster to the end of the Napoleonic Wars. (http://sf-fantasy.suvudu.com/2013/08/new-release-interview-blood-of-tyrants-by-naomi-novik.html)

Reunited, and with Laurence very slowly regaining his memories (to the great distress of Temeraire), their next port-of-call is China. There, they become involved in palace politics thanks to Laurence's position as an adopted son of the Imperial family, and hear that news that Napoleon is invading Russia. The Emperor offers military aid, and the small British contingent set off across Asia, escorted by several companies of the highly disciplined and organised Chinese military force.

With part of this book set in Japan and China - both countries where dragons are fully integrated into society along with humans - and the rest in Russia, where dragons are treated as slaves, with those who will not serve hobbled by cruel hooks and chains embedded in their flesh that prevent them from flying, we see in one volume the best and the worst of relations between humans and dragonkind - but we see as well the beginning of an end to that treatment.

As one character in this volume notes, Temeraire and Laurence are, as a result of their own changes, changing things the world over, catalysts for shifting alliances between nations and changing relationships between dragon and human. Given that there is only one remaining volume in this series, I hope that Novik gives us at least some glimpses into the future of her alternate Earth - or perhaps comes back to it some day to tell new stories about dragons and the humans they share their world with.

D. L. Bogdan: The Forgotten Queen

A reasonably good interpretation of the life of the oft-forgotten elder sister of Henry VIII - Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scotland (in fact, she was completely excised from the recent TV series based on the Tudors). A pivotal woman in the royal dynasties of two countries, she was the grandmother (by different husbands) of both Mary Queen of Scots and her second husband Henry Lord Darnley, twice over the great-grandmother of James, king of England and Scotland, closest heir to Elizabeth of England.

Sent to marry a Scottish king in an attempt to make peace between the two countries, she was often torn between her loyalty to her father and brother (Henrys VII and VIII) and to her husband (James V), especially when the hoped-for peace failed to materialise. Indeed, Scotland and England would be at odds until united as one kingdom in the person of her great-grandson, James I of England.

I found it enjoyable reading. I also appreciated the prominence given to her lady in waiting, "black Ellen" - one of at least two free women of African heritage known to be in the courts of Scotland around this time.

Three Novellas

The Space Between, Diana Gabaldon

Interesting novella, set in France and featuring Joan MacKimmie, Jamie Fraser's step-daughter (daughter of his second wife, Laoghaire MacKenzie), and Michael Murray, his nephew. Michael is taking Joan to join a French nunnery as a postulant, and in the process they encounter the Compte Saint Germain - who has his own plans for the young woman he believes to be the daughter of Claire Fraser. What intrigued me the most about the novella was its portrayal of Le Compte (a character whose historical and literary appearances I have some interest in) as not just a magician and alchemist (or a con man of some notoriety) but a time traveller much like Claire and the others so far encountered in the Outlander saga.'



After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall, by Nancy Kress

It's very easy to see why this won the Nebula for Best Novella. The story is intense and compelling, the prose lean and yet visceral, and the characters - after, before and during the fall - are so very human in their fears and choices.

The story unfolds in three time - 2035 (after the fall), 2013 (before the fall) and 2014 (during the fall), but characters from after and before connect in various ways, and all three merge at the climax of the fall - a convergence of natural disasters on a massive scale that sparks nuclear devastation and the end of almost all life on earth. But in that climax, the message that one woman from before the fall manages to pass on to the handful of humans surviving after the fall is one that may save the future.


In the House of the Seven Librarians, Ellen Klages

A simple fantasy about a closed and forgotten library, seven librarians who stay there after it closes, keeping order and eating tea and biscuits (the new library that has replaced their beloved home is too modern and soulless for these librarians) and the baby left in the book return chute. I suppose it's technically a children's book, but I loved it. Beautifully illustrated and published by Aqueduct Press.

Margaret George: Mary, Called Magdalen

Unlike the other of George's biographical novels i've reaf, which are grounded in historical fact, well preserved in existing documents, this treatment of Mary of Magdala draws equally on what is known of the times from secular documents, and on Biblical and other religious sources, without any questions concerning the historicity of the latter. George tells a compelling story about the most well-known of Jesus' female disciples, but writes of prophetic dreams and visions, miracles, driving out demons and the death and resurrection of Jesus as literal truths, without the devices that, in her novel of Henry VIII for instance, allowed us to see where the subject of the novel may be an unreliable narrator with respect to their own motivations and beliefs.

I enjoyed the book, but as a non-Christian, I read it more as historical fantasy than straight historical fiction. It was much like reading a novel of King Arthur where the writer has done detailed research into the historical period and presents that faithfully, but includes all of the supernatural tales of Merlin and Morgana's magic, the tale of the Green Knight who, beheaded, returns to life, and other such elements of the mythos as if they too were undisputed historical fact.