Rest You Merry

Rest You Merry (Peter Shandy Mysteries) Charlotte MacLeod Date: 01 November, 2001   —   Book product page Rating:

Fiction, Mystery

This mystery has one of the greatest opening chapters I have ever read. Professor Peter Shandy, a shy, numerically-obsessed professor, has been hounded for fifteen years about the annual "Illumination", the Christmas light displays that the college neighborhood has put on. Professor Shandy has refused to put up any lights, first from the bother, but later from sheer perversity, because the other residents would not stop pestering him.

One might think of Skipping Christmas, by John Grisham, but this predates that novel by a significant margin.

At any rate, the unassuming biologist finally hears it once too often and snaps, going all-out for a display that will be bright, obnoxious... and noisy. And then he leaves on a trip.

With the power box padlocked.

A nice little story on its own (and it was, in fact, first published as a short story), it is merely the setting for what happens when the good professor comes back to find a body on his floor... and one missing marble from a jar. And soon the bewildered professor is dealing with bored housewives out for a bit on the side, obnoxious co-workers, and a need to find out why someone would kill before he becomes the next target.

Heron Carvic Slam!

Miss Seeton is that quintessentially British maiden auntie type, the sweet little old lady who thinks the best of everyone but nonetheless has some very firm opinions about things such as manners and discretion, with the end result that she manages to end up as the center of criminal storms. But as she thinks of herself as a lady and no lady would end up in the extraordinary situations in which she finds herself, she manages to forget the ruckus that is kicked up and wonders why anyone in the world would be interested in her.

Naturally enough, most of Scotland Yard think she's putting on an act, and just happens to be a modest investigative genius. Those policemen closest to her think she's a catalyst, and possibly psychic, or at the very least extremely perceptive to character. Her neighbors think she's a witch. It all makes for very entertaining and completely implausible reading— and it's written in that detached way that makes you forget how many bodies have piled up by the end, many of them people trying to take out the gently dotty Miss Seeton.

In Picture Miss Seeton, we are introduced to the lady as she pokes a man in the back to stop what she thinks is a discourtesy but is actually a murder. The police who are assigned to guard her from the wrath of a man known for his vengeful nature find out that by following her, they turn up clue after clue after clue, leading to a ring of criminals bigger than they expected.

In Miss Seeton Draws the Line, a series of child murders is the subject. This is where the "psychic" angle starts to get played up, as some of Miss Seeton's drawings turn out to be prescient. It's also mentioned that her conscious, conventional style of drawing is rather mundane, but her "caricatures", which she derides as childish, are beautifully executed. Anyone who knows a bit about psychology can probably figure this one out, but that's not the point.

Witch Miss Seeton deals with two cults, one evangelical and one devilish, which may be linked. Scotland Yard hires Miss Seeton to infiltrate, which she does with her usual aplomb— that is, she hasn't the faintest idea of what's she's doing but her bizarre improvisations inevitably turn out to be the perfect thing. It is, of course, amusing to see theoretically grown people childishly handing over all of their worldly goods to cult leaders who claim to protect them, after deriding the gullibility of others.

Miss Seeton Sings has Miss Seeton travelling abroad, at the behest of Scotland Yard... and against the wishes of those officers who know her true nature. They underestimate her capacity for accidentally doing the perfect thing, and naturally publicity has been spread about her, so when she catches the wrong flight her movements panic the orginization into acting desperately and giving the European police exactly the breaks they're looking for.

Odds On Miss Seeton has the retired art teacher disguised as a gambler, attempting to gain evidence against a crooked operator. Naturally enough, she enrages him to the point of doing murder, and just as naturally all of the bad guys end up killing themselves off while attempting to do her in. Quite silly and most effective.

Marian Babson Slam!

Marian Babson is like popcorn. Her novels are short, fluffy, and not heavy going, and you can't have just one.

In the Teeth of Adversity
Perkins & Tate have a problem when one of their customers, a dentist, appears to have killed a celebrity with an experimental drug. However, when they get to the scene, the celebrity is fine— but the partner is dead, leading to a dangerous series of events that puts the little company into big danger.

Boy, that sounds trite, doesn't it? Well, it probably is. Let;s move on to a more subtle book.

Pretty Lady
Denny is a grownup, but only in body. He's about the mental level of an eight-year-old, and he presents a huge problem to his ailing mother, who doesn't want to leave him as a burden to her daughter, Denny's sister. But her plans intersect with those of a bored wife, the pretty lady of the title, who sees in Denny a way out of her marriage and into money. Sure, Denny will lose out in the process, but all she cares about is herself. A neat little tale, where the tension lies not in ignorance of the plans, but in how they will be thwarted.

Past Regret
Amnesia as the result of trauma leaves a study abroad student wandering a foreign country, and her mother frantic. When it turns out that several students are missing, the mother decides to travel and find out for herself what is going on. The fact that a murderer is waiting for the amnesiac to surface only increases the tension, though several too-obvious red herrings detract a bit.

The Twelve Deaths of Christmas
Bizarre murders, apparently senseless killings begin to show a pattern that centers on a boarding house. Which tenant is killing people over trifles, and why? The lead-in to a Christmas dinner is a bit slow, and again, red herrings litter the trail. Babson doesn't give quite enough information for the reader to solve the mystery, but it's intriguing nonetheless.

Murder Sails at Midnight
A midnight cruise is the setting for a contract killing. The only question is which woman is being stalked; Babson leaves it vague enough that it could be one of several. Each woman is courted as a shipboard romance; each woman has something to make the killer pause, because it wasn't mentioned. Could it be the too-successful wife— with small child in tow? The potential heiress who limps? The rich, aging invalid in the wheelchair? Or the faithful nurse, whose last position gave her unexpected wealth? The reader knows that whoever it is, the killer will fail in his commission, but as always, it's the path there that intrigues.

Line Up For Murder
The concept of a queue is not so foreign to Americans as once it was— witness the months-long lines for the Star Wars prequels. But when Babson wrote this tale, lines for big events were more of a British thing, and this oh-so-British queue is lined up for a high-class sale for the New Year. One queue-saavy lady does her best to make it personable, but has difficulty when confronted by a young lady and her surly companion. But meddling in romance leads to surprising results, and shades of Patty Hearst never quite make it to the fore.

The Cruise of a Deathtime
One might have been left behind.
Two might have been suicide.
Three might have been an accident...

On a luxury cruise, an ever-increasing body count leaves the crew scrambling to figure out who is killing people off, and why... especially as the radio's been smashed, the destination country is in revolt, and the medical supplies in the hold are something less than medicinal. This book is an absurdity, yet entertaining for all that. One begins to wonder when they'll figure out the murderer through sheer process of elimination.

Death In Fashion
In the high tension world of fashion, it isn't surprising when pranks are malicious. Pranks don't usually escalate to murder, however, and a strategically-placed wire leads to a beheading. Then a cameraman turns up dead, and the starving models begin to wonder if they're to be next.

I completely missed the homosexual tension the first time I read this, many years ago. It just didn't occur to me that the reason the fashion designer was fawning over the obnoxious twit was that he was besotted. Chalk it up to the understated writing, and a naïvete that I no longer possess.

Guilty Party

Guilty Party Marian Babson Date: December, 1991   —   used   —   Book product page Rating:

Fiction, Mystery

When Leonora rents a gardener's cottage on a large estate, she expects to have peace and quiet with which to work on her art for her upcoming exhibition. She does not expect a whole passel of rich folk with parties and secrets and willingness to cover for one another. She does not expect to be drawn in to a social circle where a murder may casually be covered up... and where she might be theratened with exposure as a liar, though her lies were at others' insistence.

It's a bit silly, really. But there you are.

Murder On a Mystery Tour

Murder On A Mystery Tour Marian Babson Date: 20 May, 1990   —   $2.99   —   Book product page Rating:

Fiction, Mystery

Running a manor in the English countryside is not a lucrative business. Running a murder— a staged production wherein the guests try to solve an acted-out series of deaths— is an interesting option to keep an inn solvent. Reggie and Midge have taken over the management of his father's lodging-house in order to get it out of its financial hole, and when Midge is approached with the concept, she thinks it's a wonderful idea.

And so far, the run has been fun, barring the overbearing, overprotective, and above all, overly annoying mother of one of the guest writers. Except that the final tour is coming through, a blizzard is on its way... and one of the guests has decided to make the scenario of murder all too real.

The fun of this novel is in the confusion, as the guests are a little too far into the story to be overly disturbed by the real death in their midst. They're willing to keep on solving the fictional crime, undisturbed that the phone lines have been cut and the snowplows haven't been by...

Bejewelled Death

Bejewelled Death Marian Babson Date: March, 1982   —   Book product page Rating:

Fiction, Mystery

This is the classic tale of the little black bag, where a number of travelers carrying identical handbags somehow end up carrying the wrong luggage. It's been a comic staple for years, and runs from the movie Oscar to the children's book Babar. In this case, the "handbag" is a hatbox, and the heist is a fortune in jewelry, secreted away because the insurance would be too costly for a small museum to afford.

The jewels are secret, that is, until an inquisitive little girl opens the hatbox in front of all and sundry, including a potential thief... and a mixup at customs means that the search is on... a search that could turn out to be deadly.

Short but fun, and ridiculous in many respects, but that's what this sort of novel is for.

Murder, Murder Little Star

Murder, Murder, Little Star Marian Babson Date: 1977   —   Book product page Rating:

Fiction, Mystery

Twinkle is an obnoxious child star. In fact, she has gone far beyond the realms of "brat" into the category of "potential victim." At least, that's how it seems to Frances, who has been hired as a chaperone for the little dear. Someone is trying to kill the child, but there are far too many suspects, and it all seems to be related to the fact that child stars have an extremely limited shelf life, and Twinkle's is just about up.

This book was written in the days when no child star had made a truly successful transition to adult roles, and when the opportunities for intermediate roles— such as the teen roles in Harry Potter— were all but non-existant. While this novel could still be understood today, it is not likely that the thought of growing up would induce the same level of panic for a child star today as it did then.

The Stalking Lamb

The Stalking Lamb Marian Babson Date: 01 February, 1990   —   Book product page Rating:

Fiction, Mystery

Marian Babson's taglilne is "Murder Most British" and in this early novel, she lives up to that promise. Amy and Ginny are young sisters whose excursion to England in the company of a friend turns to disaster after Amy is befriended by a charming young man who turns out to be a dangerously self-centered thief. Now she is recuperating n a nursing home after the final violent confrontation, knowing that he will come to torment her, though the police assure her he's dead.

What's more, she knows that she is being used as bait, though for what purpose, she has no clue. She is the stalking lamb, the young animal staked out as a trap for the wolf.

And in this case, the wolf is going to get far more than he bargained for, though not as much as he deserves.

Babson's novels are short and fun, while not being overly gruesome. They are best described as the opposite of hardboiled, and feature ordinary people caught up in dangerous events. They are fun short reading, though only sporadically in print.

Second Foundation

Second Foundation Isaac Asimov Date: 01 October, 1991   —   $7.99   —   Book product page Rating:

Fiction, Science Fiction

The Mule has exposed the concept of a Second Foundation to the Foundation, and the implications are strong: while the first Foundation represented technology, the second represented psychology. And it is inevitable that the Second would be the true rulers of the galaxy, whether the First were theoretically in charge or not.

This, naturally enough, is intolerable to members of the Foundation who have thought it through. But they dare not think too loud, lest the emotion-manipulating Seconds change their minds for them. So the stories of the book are dedicated to the process of ridding themselves of the Second Foundation... while the reader's sympathies are squarely with those Second Foundationers, who, after all, are trying to create the new Empire as a bulwark against barbarism.

Foundation and Empire

Foundation and Empire Isaac Asimov Date: 01 October, 1991   —   $7.99   —   Book product page Rating:

Fiction, Science Fiction

This second novel in the Foundation series (Prelude to Foundation and Forward the Fondation are actually prequels) is where Asimov begins to play with the idea. The first bit is in the style of the first series of stories, where a problem is met and measured, and the Fouundation comes out on top. But then he begins the tale of the Mule, one personality so powerful that he alone is able to throw the Seldon Plan off track.

And it is then that you learn of the Second Foundation, the other mysterious group that Seldon supposedly founded... and that nobody has heard of since. Because they, too, have a stake in the future of humanity, and nobody knows quite what that is...

Foundation

Foundation Isaac Asimov Date: 01 October, 1991   —   $7.99   —   Book product page Rating:

Fiction, Science Fiction

Isaac Asimov confessed himself baffled by the enduring popularity of his Foundation "trilogy", which was actually a compilation of a series of short stories that he had written up about the interregnum between the fall of the Galactic Empire and the rise of a new Empire. In fact, the Foundation series won the Hugo for best science-fiction series of all time, the only time such an award has been noted.

And it's easy to understand his bafflement. By the standards of the time— and, to a certain extent, today— the stories seem to be overwhelmingly dull, with no battles described, no heroics, no enduring love stories... just people finding a way out of difficulties.

And therein lies the key. Foundation is popular because it is thoughtful. There are thousands of stories featuring the dim-brain hero, and all too few about the saavy thinkers, the ones who see the crisis coming and avert it with minimal effort.

The premise is fairly simple: Hari Seldon was a brilliant mathematician who figured out a means of accurately measuring and predicting mass human behavior, and figured out that the Empire was doomed to fail. Unfortunately, his predictions also included thirty thousand years of debased life as all the knowledge of humanity was lost and had to be rediscovered. In order to avert this fate, he managed to wrangle a foundation of encyclopædists, to conserve that knowledge.

Unbeknownst to them, he'd set them up so that conditions would create a new Empire from their seed in a mere thousand years. And by his predictions, he'd wangled conditions so that they'd be forced onto that path one way or another.

It's good stuff, in nicely manageable bits. Go. Read.

Forward the Foundation

Forward the Foundation Isaac Asimov Date: 31 August, 2004   —   $7.99   —   Book product page Rating:

Fiction, Science Fiction

This second direct prequel to Foundation is about the later years of Hari Seldon. Each segment is set about a decade later than the prior one, and includes a new challenge that Hari has to overcome in developing his psychohistory. The main difficulty lies in the fact that as one man, he is extremely vunerable in a degrading Empire, but his capabilities are all-important.

As his math gets more sophisticated, he is able to use it to help predict behavior, but his reputation goes sour as everyone believes he is trying to start the downfall that he is merely observing. And as time goes by, his associates, friends and family start to leave his side, leading directly to the Seldon of the Foundation series, the old man in a wheelchair.

It's a fascinating book, feeling like a series of short vignettes while being written as a novel. But hey, it's Asimov, who has long been popular for good cause.

The Road to Oz

Road to Oz, The (Books of Wonder) L. Frank Baum   —   $16.49   —   Book product page Rating:

Fiction, Fantasy, Children's

Some things don't wear well with age. This particular travelogue, with Dorothy walking down a road and ending up in various Fairylands, is fairly obnoxious as an adult. I mean, the climax of the book is a party, for cryin' out loud. A pages-long description of a party with frills and exciting guests and far too many sweets. Your little girl may well love that part, but even as a child it galled me a bit.

I give this book an adult's three stars for two reasons:

1. It introduces several wonderful characters, like Polychrome, the Shaggy Man, and Button Bright. The John R. Neil illustrations of the boy always throw me— he looks too old to be that dumb— but if you put his age at about five or so, it all works out.

2. The Noodlers and their reaction to the Love Magnet. "I have the Love Magnet, you have to love me!" "We love you in SOUP!"

I can see that being the new catchphrase for my friends. "I love you... in SOUP!"

Prelude to Foundation

Prelude to Foundation Isaac Asimov   —   Book product page Rating:

Ficiton, Science Fiction

Foundation fans are wild about Harry. Harry Seldon, the creator of psychohistory— a word which, unfortunately, is ineptly drummed into the reader's skull in this Foundation prequel. I liked the book quite well except for its harping on that one word. I would have much preferred it to have remained unnamed until some later point in its history, as this book is the story of how psychohistory went from being a possibility to a plausible exercise, and it grates on me to hear such a term bandied about before its capabilities are fully defined.

Besides, how often do you have to say that word before you realize that that's too darned long to say? "I'm not sure if I'll ever make psychohistory a reality" is fine the first dozen times, but after that you've either got to stop whining or come up with something new to call it. Even initialling it might help.

But anyway, this is an interesting tour of Trantor, hub of the Empire. Asimov fans will meet cultural descendents they will recognize, and perhaps even a few remnants of Asimov's Empire novels. (Some of his earliest works, including those set on a decaying Earth, are considered "Empire" novels.) It's not quite in the style of his original Foundation novels, which followed a fairly predictable course of problem solved by unconventional and fairly intelligent solution which was predicted but not too specifically by Seldon playing the laws of averages. This is little more than a travelogue, with the tension lessened by the fact that we know Seldon's going to figure it out sooner or later. Oh, well, nothing's perfect, and it's obvious that Asimov enjoyed writing these.

Come to think of it, he enjoyed writing everything. On every subject. Did you know the man published things in every Dewey Decimal category?

Robots and Empire

Robots and Empire Isaac Asimov   —   Book product page Rating:

Fiction, Fantasy

Asimov is really drawing the threads together in this novel. He is taking his immensely popular Robots series and tying it to his immensely popular Foundation series. For my money, he pulls it off, if not precisely gracefully, but then Asimov's writing is not best described as graceful. (And it's not described as klunky, either... just simple and to the point.)

Two centuries after the events of Robots of Dawn, the planet Solaria has been abruptly abandoned, or so it seems. Settlers— people of Earth who have moved to space— have lost several ships in attempting to determine exactly what has happened, and they've come to the one woman who can help, the Solarian woman who left the planet for Aurora.

But that's not what the story is about. The story is about Daneel Olivaw and Giskard, another robot with some surprising talents, and their attempts to go beyond their limitations in order to do what is right. Daneel in particular, because he has been made to mimic humanity so closely, tries to bring morality to the table in a means of superceding the First Law, "No robot shall harm, or allow to come to harm, a human being." This is actually dangerous as straying too close to the limits of their programming might cause them to permanently shut down, but they feel the threat is important enough to risk it.

Oh, the threat? Simply a very smart man with a long-standing grudge against Elijah Baley— and, by extension, all the people of Earth. And in his associate, a man who has the means to do great damage to Earth... even though he wants to spread it out over time, so as to not harm too many.

And because the robots cannot harm them, they cannot stop them... or so they think.

But c'mon, it's Asimov, so you know the good guys will win (as long as it's Robots or Foundation. I give no guarantees in regards to Nightfall.)

The Robots of Dawn

The Robots of Dawn Isaac Asimov   —   $7.99   —   Book product page Rating:

Fiction, Science Fiction

After The Naked Sun, Asimov set out to write another robot novel. Inspiration failed to strike and he set it aside. This is not that book; instead, he started from scratch. (Alas, the promised update in the next book's foreword goes unread as we have a different edition.) It is probably just as well since he stated that when he went back to the original start, he found he did not recognize it.

Robots of Dawn is set on Aurora, the premeire planet of the Spacer worlds, the first settled from Earth and the first among the elite. This is where Daneel was built, and this is where the only other humanoid robot has been shut down, in such a way that only one person could have done it. That one person is among the few Spacer friends of Earth, and if Lije Baley fails to solve this case, Earth might be permanently blocked from ever settling space.

Asimov shows a fine knowledge of the problems of publicity in this novel, as a dramatisation of the events of The Naked Sun is making Baley's life rather difficult, especially in regards to the lovely lady who figured largely in that case. (Baley's wife is unamused.) He also references other works of his, especially in regards to his roboticist Susan Calvin, who figures largely in the stories of I, Robot.

And if you ever refer to the movie version I will kill you.

Baley is operating under impossible expectations, a drastically shortened timeline, and the hostility of nearly every Spacer on Aurora. Of course he's going to win, but it's the getting there that is interesting.

As this book is written much later than the preceding novels, you can see Asimov gradually deciding that all of his stories are interrelated, and how he is starting to draw the threads together to make a unified whole. Some people complain when an author does this, but I think that Asimov does an okay job, if occasionally too cute.

The Naked Sun

The Naked Sun Isaac Asimov   —   $7.19   —   Book product page Rating:

Fiction, Science Fiction

Detective Elijah Baley is back, and with his robot partner, he's fighting crime! well... actually, it's not that silly, I'm just being flippant.

For reasons unknown to Lije Baley, he's been called to the planet of Solaria to help solve a confusing crime. He's the first Earthling off the planet in a long time, as Spacers largely want to quarantine the teeming hives of Earth. He's trying to solve a crime in a completely foreign culture that eschews personal contact, and he really doesn't want to prove the person who must be responsible for the crime actually guilty, as that could mean both personal and planet-wide repercussions.

He is assisted in his endeavors by Daneel Olivaw, the humanoid robot who helped him solve a crime in Caves of Steel. He is, however, severely hampered by his agoraphobia, common to Earthfolk who have never been outdoors. He's also hampered by the fact that as a robot, Daneel is overwhelmed by the need to protect Baley, even when his efforts could harm the investigation. But most of all, he is hampered by the difficulty of trying to work past the blind spots of an unfamiliar culture, one that may know his blind spots all too well.

The Caves of Steel

The Caves of Steel Isaac Asimov Date: 1953   —   $7.99   —   Book product page Rating:

Fiction, Science Fiction/Mystery

This is part of a larger Asimov universe where the Outer Planets were colonized, then refused further colonization, leaving Earth to find new ways to deal with its rapidly increasing population. Enter the Cities, highly functional masses where people live in hive-like situations, with everyone and everything in its place. All of Earth's eight billion people live in there. (Amusing sidenote: Asimov, who generally had a good grasp of the possibilities for the future, writes in this book that even five billion people could live on Earth as it was, with proper rationing. We have 6.1 billion people as of 2000, and even though many of them live in hunger, it is estimated that with proper distribution of resources, it would be possible to feed everyone comfortably. Asimov did not forsee the agricultural improvements in his mechanized futures.)

The Spacers have reported a murder, and found that it could be tied to one of the City residents, and Elijah Baley has been given the nod to try to uncover it. He has been partnered with a Spacer robot, R. Daneel Olivaw, who looks and acts so realistically human that he is a far cry from the mechanicals who are, unfortunately, replacing the functions of many City workers. So Lije Baley not only has to find the murderer in an increasingly touchy situation, he has to cope with anti-robot feeling and the possibility of losing his own job.

Asmiov's book was a form of writing exercise; the feeling at the time was that it would be impossible to write a mystery novel in a science fiction setting, where a simple brain scan might tell the truth. He rose to the challenge admirably, including a form of brain scan, and coming up with a beloved tale that only gets larger in subsequent novels.

Dragon Fantastic!

Dragon Fantastic! : The Most Beloved Creature in Fantasy in Stories by Fantasy Masters Rosalinid and Martin Greenberg, eds. Date: 29 June, 2004   —   $11.95   —   Book product page Rating:

Fiction, Fantasy, Short Stories

All of these stories are about dragons, naturally enough. Some are very good and some are not so good, and all of them were a little short, in my opinion. I guess I am a little more geared toward longer stories, though in this case, I think it is because many of the stories had more developing in them than could be covered in a short story. "Dragon Skin," for example, seemed to leave a lot unsaid. While a deep backstory is good, too much means that you want to learn more than is presented. In media res— within a story that is already underway— is a great technique to apply, as is the short story that needs no further information.

My particular favorites were "Phobiac," which dealt with the proprieter of an antiques shop, and "Between Tomatoes and Snapdragons," which focuses on an unexpected egg. As for the rest, they're good enough for a quick read.

Little Women

Little Women Louisa May Alcott Date: 1869   —   $3.95   —   Book product page Rating:

Fiction, Children's

This long-beloved book it set around the time of the Civil War, contemporaneous with its writing, and deals with the growing pains of four sisters. The eldest, Meg, longs for luxury, and sometimes finds it hard to live in the straitened circumstances the family lives in, as she is the one old enough to remember when they had money. Josephine— universally Jo— struggles with her temper and tomboyish ways. The sweet Beth finds it hard to overcome her shyness, and the doll-like Amy has an inflated ego (though the term was decades away from being invented, that's what she has.)

The girls, whose father is serving as a chaplain in the Union Army, have to deal with their own spiritual struggle and their endeavor to become better people. That alone sets this book apart from more modern fare; the girls' Christianity and reference to upstanding moral principles is taken as a given, a laudable goal, whereas a modern novel would tend to either denigrate such a choice or defend it. Easy acceptance makes it part of the smooth flow of the novel, and one might hand this book over to little girls without fearing that the book would be too preachy. (Little girls, like most small children, can sense an overly preachy tone and it bothers them.)

As to the events of the novel, there are anough funny events to make it comedic, and enough sad events to make it true, much like real life. Though modern parents might have to explain why disease was so fearful. (Did you know scarlet fever is still around? I had no idea.)

The Children's War

The Children's War : A Novel J.N. Stroyar Date: 22 May, 2001   —   Book product page Rating:

Fiction

One of the most hoary old clichés for alternate history scenarios is the question, "What if Hitler won World War II?" It's generally considered to be a sign of lack of imagination on the part of the writer, as most efforts are pretty trite.

Stroyar does a really good job with it, though. In her novel, the focus is not on the fact that Hitler won, but on the lives of the people in the Third Reich, and how a country built on hatred affects its populace over time. It is a novel of multi-generational oppression, and how the people fighting it have grown up knowing no other reality. They are the children of the title, though most of them are adults.

Two parallel stories are going on here: that of the Polish Home Army, a resistance group that is almost all that remains of the original Polish population, and that of a man known as Peter, who was born English but through a series of events has ended up as a slave, an Untermench, in Germany. Stroyar makes it obvious that sooner or later their paths are going to cross, and though the crossing occurs quite soon, the true meeting does not happen until a goodly chunk of time and abuse have passed Peter by. I was a little annoyed at the clear telegraphing of intention but it all worked out okay.

Most of the rest of the book deals with the fight for freedom, both that of the Home Army and of Peter in his own mind. It is hard to break free from a legacy of torture and Peter has to do just that; moreover, it takes him quite some time to realize it. Thankfully, the book does not end with full success on the part of the resistance, because the institutions of the Reich are too ingrained and a total win would seem like a cop-out. Instead, the book ends mid-struggle, but with a note of hope on many points.

It is not a small novel. At over 1000 pages hardbound, it should not be attempted unless you have a thing for bricks as books. Moreover, there are a number of graphic descriptions of torture within the book. I'm not sure yet if I'm up to reading it again as it is a bit brutal. The afternote was a bt disappointing to me, mostly being a number of assertions that certain early events of the Reich and styles of torture were indeed true; one would hope that anyone with any sense at all would know enough to seek out such information.

Incidentally, Stroyar never does get into why Hitler won, though it is specifically mentioned that he didn't invade Russia, and there is a hint that Churchill never came to power and that American isolationism won out. Who knows. She very wisely decided it was unimportant to the thrust of his novel, which is the story of life under oppression, not just life under a victorious Third Reich.

Elsewhere

Elsewhere Terri Windling, Mark Alan Arnold, eds. Date: 01 April, 1984   —   Book product page Rating:

Fiction, Fantasy, Short Stories

Something tells me that modern fantasy writing has improved much with practice. Perhaps it is this utterly dull early collection of tales, tales told as close as possible to the style of folk tales, but with none of the verve that comes from oral retelling. In fact, one suspects that the style of the majority of these writers came not from the original fairy tales but of the Little Golden Book retellings of them, with flat prose and little dynamics.

There are even a few translations of tales from other cultures that suffer from the prosaic recounting of events, and one doesn't know whether to blame untranslateable sense of magic or translators who work from school lesson books. I slogged through this collection, unwilling to believe it could all be this unmagical— you'd think that fantasy would never be so prosaic.

Luckily, near the end I came across one gem of a story, "Ku Mei Li: A Chinese Ghost Tale" by M. Lucie Chin, a wonderful little story of post-mortem revenge (fully earned.) And some of the stories were not quite so bad, especially those by authors whose names we know now as established masters, such as C.J. Cherryh and Jane Yolen. But so many of these stories were a slog, a seeming attempt to create new fantasy while ignoring the best parts of the old.

Yes, fantasy tales have gotten much better with practice.

Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears

Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears Terri Windling, Ellen Datlow, eds. Date: December, 1996   —   Book product page Rating:

Fiction, Fantasy/Horror, Short Stories

This third collection of retold fairytales features several tales of women changing their lives, including a fascinating rendition of Hans Christen Anderson's "Match Girl" where the title character has more to fear than simply cold. (Her full name, Phoenix, is beautifully appropriate to the visions she sees in the flames.) The author even manages to pull of a happy ending that does not betray the original ending— quite a feat when the ending originally features the death of the title character.

Jane Yolen chimes in with a delightfully wicked rendition of "Hansel and Grettel," and there are versions of several royalty tales, such as "The Goose Girl" and "The Real Princess." There's even the ruby slippers of the title in a hybrid of "The Red Shoes" and Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, a cautionary tale about the peril of fame.

Quite enjoyable, and well worth the tracking down.

Black Thorn, White Rose

Black Thorn, White Rose Terri Windling, Ellen Datlow, eds. Date: October, 1995   —   Book product page Rating:

Fiction, Fantasy/Horror, Short Stories

This second book of retold fairy tales has authors who are a little more comfortable with the subject than before. Many of the stories are not horror, such as "Tattercoats," a tale wherein a wife learns what it is to fall back in love with her husband. There's even a fascinating little version of the Frog Prince where the story is told twice, once forward and once with the same sentences in reverse order— and the tale works in both directions.

Again, track this one down if you like fairy tales with a dash of horror. They are a lot of fun.

Snow White, Blood Red

Snow White, Blood Red (Avonova Book) Terri Windling, Ellen Datlow, eds. Date: January, 1993   —   Book product page Rating:

Fiction, Fantasy/Horror, Short Stories

Terri Windling is fascinated by fairy tales, as is evidenced by her long career of promoting the rewriting of them. This is the first of the collections of horror fairytales that has become a near-annual occurrence. The only reason that I rate it as low as I do is the strident messaging on the parts of some of the authors; it is evident that some of them really have an agenda to push and push it hard.

For the most part, however, there are a number of lovely and dark tales in here, and it is well worth seeking out a copy is dark fairy tales are your thing.

Jack of Kinrowan

Jack of Kinrowan Charles de Lint Date: 02 July, 1999   —   $10.85   —   Book product page Rating:

Fiction, Fantasy

Have I mentioned that I love Charles de Lint? This book, a compilation of Jack the Giant-Killer (the original submission for Terri Windling's Fairy Tale series) and Drink Down the Moon, is yet another example of his setting of fairy tales in an urban setting. In this case, Jacky Rowan lives in the same Ottawa of Tamson House, the central location in de Lint's books Moonheart and Spiritwalk. She has recently broken up with a boyfriend who thinks she is too tame, and in response she walks home very drunk and manages to see into Faerie, long enough to start a series of events that leads her into serious trouble in the battle between the Seelie and Unseelie courts. And the side that wins will affect the feel of the city for years to come, so if the Unseelie hags and sluaghs and goblins and yes, giants win out, Ottawa will become a place of depression, terror, and hate.

But nothing is quite that easy. They have stolen the Laird's daughter, who is the Seelie court's only hope for vistory in the upcoming battle, and they own the Horn of the Hunt, whom they can send out to harrass and slaughter the helpless folk. And into the middle of it all bumbles Jacky, who has the luck of her name and a tie to the court of Kinrowan, and upon whom all the hopes of the Kinrowan folk are suddenly pinned. And the Unseelie Court knows who she is as well.

It's a great little tale, and the bonus of the second novel fleshes it out to a goodly length for those of us who appreciate the modern fantasy bricks when we need a good read.

Swordspoint

Swordspoint Ellen Kushner Date: 1987   —   $6.99   —   Book product page Rating:

Fiction, Fantasy

This is an utterly incomprehensible novel of beautiful prose. It took me several chapters to understand what was going on, as the passionless nobles bitterly scrabble for position. The saving grace is the relationship between St. Vier and Alec, a scholar who has given up privilege for a seeming death wish. But St. Vier is the best swordsman in the city, a man who is hired to take place in duels that the nobles are unwilling to fight themselves, and he protects Alec. (Yes, there is a lot of homoerotic imagery in this book; You Have Been Warned.)

Another interesting side plot is the tale of Michael, a nobleman who decides to actually train in the use of the sword and discovers he has a talent for it. Part of my disenchantment with this novel is in how abruptly this developing plot point is dropped in order to clear the way for the more central tale of St. Vier and Alec. It still had a lot to be explained but was waved off with a few paragraphs.

There are a number of fans of this novel who are drawn to its tale of manners and consequence. However, it just falls flat on so many levels for me, which is a pity as Alec, in particular, is so very intriguing (though his origins are easy to guess.)