My life in books

In 2012 I started several series that were either new to me, or in one case, a re-read of a series I last enjoyed as a child.


C. J. Cherryh, Pride of Chanur
C. J. Cherryh, Chanur’s Venture
C. J. Cherryh, The Kif Strike Back

i'm not sure why, but I found this series hard to get into, and while I'll probably finish reading it someday, it's not on the top at my list. The first volume was my favourite, I enjoyed getting to know the characters, especially the protagonist, Pyanfar Chanur, and the culture of the hani. The universe of the hani, their allies and other races, is one that Cherryh has used for other novels, and it is interesting and complex and full of the kinds of things that Cherryh does well, like interspecies communication (or lack of same). The next two volumes, I have gathered, are essentiallythe first two-thirds of a second complete story arc, and the fifth volune is a standalone sequel. Well, I really tried, but I couldn't get through all three volumes of the middle arc in a single go. The story seemed to be just an elaborated recapitulation of the first novel in the series - the same things happen, only more so, the same interspecies differences cause problems, the same people trust, betray, or come through for eachother in a pinch, and if there was a different ending in sight, I just didn't have the enthusiasm to keep pushing to the end.


Edgar Rice Burroughs, A Princess of Mars
Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Gods of Mars
Edgar Rice Burroughs, Warlord of Mars

The movie John Carter of Mars (or whatever its title ends up as) came out in 2012, so I found it only appropriate to re-read the first three closely linked volumes of the series so I could properly play the game of 'spot the inaccuracies and plot changes.'


Glenda Larke, The Last Stormlord
Glenda Larke, Stormlord Rising
Glenda Larke, Stormlord’s Exile

Larke is a brilliant writer. I raved over the first series I read, The Isles of Glory, and I am going to rave over this series as well. Complex worldbuilding, multi-dimensional characters with motivations that are very real, and compelling narratives are only part of what makes Larke's work so very, very good. Her situations are always original - there may be a limited number of themes available to writers, but even a well-used theme is fresh and fascinating when the story is clothed in new and exciting elements. The other aspect of Larke's writing that I love is that her characters live in, are influenced by, and affect in turn the natural world around them. Her books are not just fantasy worlds, they are ecologies made up of land, water, plants, animals and humanbeings, all interconnected.

This particular series is overtly about ecology and politics, scarcity, greed and control of resources - but it's also a tale of two people struggling to find who and what they are, to fully become themselves, and in so doing change their world. In short, I loved this series.


Glenda Larke, Heart of the Mirage

I'd been waiting for a very long time to read this series, as it appears not to be available in print in North America. I eventually found a copy of the first volume, and ordered the remaining two volumes from an English bookseller (they arrived just before Christmas). As mentioned above, I am a great fan of Larke's work, the intricacy, the originality, the awareness of the connectedness of things - people, power, emotion, the natural environment. She brings all of these things to yet another compelling narrative in this novel, and I am eager to read the next two volumes now that they are finally at hand.