Infinity Beach

3 1/2 Stars

Have you ever noticed that the Mystery and Science Fiction sections are always together, way at the end of the fiction books? That makes sense to me because Sci-Fi books usually have some type of mystery in them. Not necessarily a whodunit sort of story, but a what’s-really-going-on-here type of thing. All the Jack McDevitt books I have read feature this element, Infinity Beach more so than most. Kim Brandywine sets out to discover what really happened thirty years ago when her clone sister disapeared amid interesting circumstances. The book is very good until the end, where is really slows down.

This is a common complaint I have with a lot of books and movies, where they will be very interesting and exciting almost right until the climax or big reveal or whatever, and then go pfft. Sometimes this comes from writers not really having a good explanation for all the weirdness that has been going on (the TV show Lost, for example), but often it seems as it they just get tired of telling the story and give up. It’s disappointing.

ben

Interesting Times

4 Stars

So my Discworld kick of the last couple months (it’s over now) all started because I got this book from the library. It is the fifth Rincewind story, and made some references to his previous exploits, so I thought I ought to freshen up on his earlier adventures. It turns out that was not necessary. Except for the familiar characters, Interesting Times is its own book entirely. Rincewind gets sent to the counterweight continent, the Discword’s version of Asia, where he gets caught up in a variety of ridiculous and hilarious predicaments. This is the best of the Rincewind books so far.

ben

In the Forrests of Serre

3 1/2 Stars

This was my first real fantasy book in a long time. In this story, the princess of a kingdom is betrothed to the crazy prince of a neighboring kingdom. She must travel through magical forests to her wedding and has various adventures along the way. Magicians, talking animals and visions abound.

–Adrienne

Isn’t It Romantic

3 Stars

I was doing my best to read as many books as possible this month, so I kept choosing really short ones. This little story runs along the lines of the movie Amelie. A young woman goes on a trek through middle America with her Parisian fiancee close on her heels. Midwestern cuteness ensues with everyone finding true love in the end. A nice, light read.

–Adrienne