When Red is Black – Qiu Xiaolong

With When Red Is Black the series comes together a lot better. About half the perspective is different from the first two, and that adds a lot of spice to the mix. A fair amount of weak writing remains, but the tapestry is much richer than before, and Chen’s lieutenant and family are much better fleshed out.

Feast of Fools – Rachel Caine

Feast of Fools is a real page turner….in that practically nothing happens, but it doesnt take long – read the whole thing in a sitting. Perhaps Rachel was challenged to see just how little she could put into a book? A big disappointment, after the third, which I liked much better.

A Loyal Character Dancer – Qiu Xiaolong

Still love the setting. In A Loyal Character Dancer the detective actually does some detecting, which is a nice change from the first book. There is a visiting American, who had unfulfilled promise, but made for a different foil anyway. Love all the food and appreciate the poetry/history. Will try #3 as well.

When the Tide Rises – David Drake

The near-perfect characters continue to be near-perfect, the only mistake I recall from this book was one of “you cant be in 2 places at one time”, duh. Mostly cardboard characters still, and vexing in the continuous repetition of interior monologues. Plus in-world third parties are presented as having too much insight into said monologues. David seems to be on autopilot in When the Tide Rises.

Thirteen – Richard K. Morgan

Wow, Morgan continues to impress. Thirteen was hard to start, but once it got going, was sweet. Excellent worldbuilding, interesting characters, good plotting and the occasional surprise. I even appreciated the ending, tho I found the setup for it unbelievable. Interesting, if unpleasant, ideas to consider in this book. Recommended.

Touch of Madness – C. T. Adams and Cathy Clamp

How’s “not as bad as the first one” for a summary? It sort of had to be, else I wouldn’t have finished Touch of Madness. I’m tired of the refrain of complaints already – it’s all money money money, which in-story doesn’t make a lot of sense (she lost the huge monthly payment, got reimbursed for several things, has more renters, etc); complaints of doomed relationship, and being bad about it as well. The oddities of the world are about all there is to save this series, though there is a cool “baddie,” that I did like.

Dead to the World – Charlaine Harris

The saga continues in Dead to the World. The nice twist in this book is that Sookie decides she’s fed up with it all, instead of leaping to the fore, as so many other modern fantasy protagonists do. However she does act a little silly when events have their way with her. There’s some world expansion and an odd unresolved element (a fairy?!?!) but it’s mostly fun. I’d say I’m waning a bit on the series, but still it’s ok.

A Touch of Evil – C.T. Adams and Cathy Clamp

Touch of Evil is the first book of a series about the Thrall, a fancy name for increasing stages of vampire addition (sort of). Another modern fantasy, this one much more painfully written than most. Like the ideas, the stage settings and the characters, sometimes, but my are there some painful passages in this book. Recommended for addicts, there certainly may be something to the series, but you have to hope that if it catches on, someone revises book one…

Magic Burns – Ilona Andrews

Magic Burns, the sequel to Magic Bites picks up right where the first left off (ok some wounds have healed, but…). The wacky entangled world is nearing a crisis, and is revealed in much more depth this time. The overall arc is hinted at some more, and progress on the obvious love story is made. The action and thought are good, but the whole thing lacks believability at times (are their really neighborhoods that dangerous (as the honeycomb), can the hacking that goes on really have so severe consequences? And cant someone write books where the female protagonist is a powerful person without a stick up her butt? Enjoying it nonetheless.

Small Favor – Jim Butcher

Jim can’t write fast enough for me. Ok, he’s been distracted with the TV thing, I imagine, and the series he ‘really wanted to write’ (I’m reading it too — the fantasy series but the Dresden Files is better) but someone should sneak him some Ritalin or something to up his output. Anyway Small Favor is another brilliant addition to the fold. He even manages to fake out the reader in a couple of ways. Lots of butt kicking and clever dialog as usual. Recommended.