REVIEW: History

A History of Europe by J.M. Roberts
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Long audio book, beautifully written but terribly narrated, alas. Best listened to in small bits as the reader has the most a-NOY-ing accent I've ever heard in an audiobook reader! I eventually got accustomed to him - there are over thirty hours worth of book - but for a while there, geesh...!

Otherwise this is actually a comparatively quick/short history of the entire continent; must admit, Mr. Roberts wasn't shy about tackling big subjects, was he? Enjoyed the fast pace and his rather sly writing - there's definitely humor here, both deliberate and otherwise (thanks to the narrator). The narrator uses an incredibly "posh" voice that cannot be real, simply must be affected in this day and age - he generally sounds as if he's auditioning for a Noel Coward play circa 1932 - that stilted sort of overly-"plummy" emphasis that the earliest sound actors in films used - it was terribly popular then as a shorthand for "upper class" but not now.The funny thing is I usually enjoy that sort of accent, just not one so, um, lavishly laid on, as it were... YMMV. I certainly hope he was just "having us on"...

2017 reread:
seem to have acclimated to narrator, enjoyed very much!

Mortal Stakes by Robert B. Parker

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


BOTTOM LINE: This third Spenser story is a tidy PI tale centered around baseball, porno movies, and blackmail, mixed with a good deal of information about what makes Spenser "tick". A bit old-fashioned seeming now, but still powerful - and entertaining. Three-and-one-half stars, but I don't know how to give a rating of a half-star.

Marty Rabb is a terrific pitcher, and with him on the mound it looks like Spenser's (and my) beloved Red Sox are going places. Plus he seems to be, PR-wise, one of the original good guys, a kindly, not too bright jock, with all the best components of that sort of man, including a high sense of personal honor, and a joy of "playing the game" that's very old-style honorable. (and seems rather innocent now). But now there's a nasty rumor going around that somebody on the team is throwing games, and it might be good-guy Marty; the PR department hires Spenser to find out the origin of the rumor, and if there's any truth to it.

Spenser turns up lots of creepy-crawly stuff by turning over lots of rocks, and meeting with some extremely questionable folks, and we come along with him every step of the way. It's mostly first-person narration/description throughout, and it's smoothly done, in the best PI tradition. And the tone of this nicely written, old-fashioned novel does seem rather innocent when compared with mores of the current day, but I enjoyed tripping back to a time (and place) when I, too, wanted to believe in The Good Guys and their ways.

There's a good deal of examination of Spenser's rules for living and his code-of-honor and, indeed, he certainly fits the stereotype of White Knight PI to a T. And we love him for it. Plus the plot is tidily resolved, and not too sweetly neither. And, as an extra nice little bit, we get to watch Spenser and Susan's relationship developing - it's early days as yet, and she hasn't yet developed many of the quirks that make her so annoying in some of the later novels. Here she's still funny, sharp-witted (and sharp-tongued), and a nice foil to and for Spenser. All-in-all, this third Spenser novel is quietly forceful, rather like Spenser himself.





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A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


BOTTOM LINE: Thoroughly old-fashioned "good read!", with an aristo-detective, all the suspects gathered in A Great House for a weekend house party, a peculiar murder method, wild Bolsheviks complicating everything, family intrigues galore, an affable-but-dim Watson - what's not to like? First mystery novel (1934) from a now-classic author isn't challenging, brilliant, or particularly special, but is still entertaining, giving a hint of her good books yet to come and, as is usual with Marsh, there are nicely pointed sly digs here'n'there.



Nigel Bathgate's cousin Charles is a bit of a dog - loving the pursuit of ladies rather too much, he enjoys playing with fire, and gets burned, in many ways. He loses a girlfriend/possible wife (who truly loves him) while in pursuit of an already-married woman, whose current husband isn't much pleased. And while remaining rather likable (at least in callow Nigel's eyes) his superscilliousness and air of "I know better/all!" gets on not a few raw nerves during an extended house party. And not many are surprised when, in the course of A Murder Game, he winds up truly dead - and in a spectacular (how like Charles!!) fashion.



Enter Inspector Alleyn - obviously refined, very well-educated, extremely likable, his smooth demeanor hides a mildly tormented psyche, as he finds he must expose Nice People to the machinations of the police force and its subsequent events, some not at all well-mannered. With these attributes Alleyn, in Marsh's first novel, is quite ordinary, an oft-used character in popular novels of the time, and although in future novels he becomes a rather interesting personality with a fascinating backstory, in this his first recorded case he is quite traditional, and rather stodgy. And while in subsequent novels Marsh builds up the cast of regulars around Alleyn (especially the wonderful Mr. Fox), here he's pretty much the entire show, except for a funny local policeman named Bunce - yet another character that often shows up in mysteries from the 1920s and early 1930s.



The plotting, while good, is also quite ordinary for the period - a stilted setting, a twisted murder mystery with overlapping elements of several crimes, a bit of spy-thriller nonsense, some slight omnipotence from the police, and a thoroughly ludicrous bit of play-acting-cum-reconstruction of the crime at the end. But it's all very smoothly written, and while now a curiosity, at the time "this sort of thing" was quite popular.



Now considered one of the Queens of Crime of the period (along with Christie and Allingham), Marsh's first mystery is still enjoyable, if not special or especially thrilling.



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Ghost Story by Jim Butcher



BOTTOM LINE: Unlucky #13 for Butcher/Dresden Files? This was the first novel of the series that hasn't completely grabbed me by the throat from the get-go and MADE me read desperately to the end. Or, perhaps, it's just that the author has slowly become more subtle in his effects....? I'm of at least two minds about this novel.

True, I couldn't easily put it down until I'd finished, but my feeling for, terror for, Harry Dresden's plight (and the fates of those he loves) was strangely muted all through this book, and that made me uncomfortable. See, Harry has changed a great deal along the way of this long series, and I'm not so sure I like the way things are progressing. He started out a brash, young adult, (but adolescent in behavior) a lippy wanna-be-hard-nosed-detective with an infectious sense of humor, a ton of guts, and a sense of honor that I appreciated and understood. And I fell in love, completely and utterly in love with the character, the fantastical setting/universe as it grew up around him, and the people/creatures who inhabited it. And, yes, those characteristics are still present in this novel, but somehow things/his plight didn't seem as acutely desperate to me as it has in the earlier novels. I guess his death in the previous book changed him AND me in many subtle ways...


Butcher is still being coy about whether or not Harry has actually, *finally*, completely died and can never come back to "our" world, leaving devoted readers in a very complicated emotional situation. He's been slowly growing Harry up, making him more and more admirable, and now seems to have deliberately disconnected him - and us - from many of the human connections that used to make this series so compelling. Gawd, I'm so confused about this novel! When I finished it I was angry - angry at Harry's ending situation, and not a little because I'd known that was where the plot was heading, and dismayed as things unfolded that way. I wanted Harry to be OK! at the end of this novel; the previous novel had ended on a superb cliffhanger that was expertly gauged and calibrated, and I wanted A Resolution!! in this one. And didn't get it.


Aha!. *That*'s what's been bothering me. This is a place-holder of a novel, an in-depth examination of a few, very particular aspects of Dresden's universe. And as such, it's superbly done, detailed, interesting, well-paced, and with a really neat plot. Harry's dilemma (he's a ghost) is amusing at times, annoying much of the time, and scary sometimes. But. I absolutely HATE being strung along like Butcher has been doing lately. The earlier novels were complete in and of themselves, and while the interactions of the plot lines always left lots of unfinished bits, the main thrust of each story was complete within that novel, thus satisfying and completely entertaining. And as Butcher slowly developed that universe each book became richer and deeper and more complex - and I loved that! But along with that, each story seemed to leave more and more tendrils reaching into the next story, although his touch used to be very subtle, pulling the reader along gently.


Novel #12, CHANGES, sledgehammered this reader into finishing - it was a simply glorious thrill-ride with a stunner of an ending. But with that ending Butcher not only changed many of the rules afficionados of the series have enjoyed, including Harry's persona, he also seems to have changed his own connection to/with the readers, distancing not only Harry, but himself, from those fans. Number 13, GHOST STORY, takes us further along that road. Like many series readers, I hate big changes in a beloved character! And while Harry's final predicament in this novel and the hook at the end is nicely, gently foreshadowed in several earlier books (and *is* interesting), it is just not satisfying.


So. Why such a reaction from me? Obviously, Butcher has become a superb writer - he's played on my (and likely most of his fans') heartstrings perfectly, and kept our interest, nay, our affection, for many years. And with these latest novels he's extended the reach of Harry and his universe, and shows promise of doing even more in the future (we're likely going to see a lot more Faerie...). And I've loved watching Harry's friends deal with everything that's been happening, plus even the painful bits (and the potentially sappy ones as well) were very carefully, beautifully written. So, why am I dissatisfied?

I WANTED A RESOLUTION, DAMMIT!!!!

According to things he's written and other folks supposedly in-the-know, Butcher had a difficult time working his way though this book. Making such a major change in your main character's world-view must be as wrenching for the author as for the character(s) and readers, and I wasn't at all surprised to learn that he'd had problems with making this novel go where he wanted it to go. But I sincerely hope that the next book won't be many years in the coming. I want/NEED to know what happens next... and that's the true bottom line, ain't it?

Damn, The Man can *write*!

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HELLO?? Anybody Home?

I'm unsure as to whether or not anyone would still want to read my rantings and ravings, as I've not submitted a new post for almost a year now, but I'm going to try and post one a week in 2012. Likely to be about books, what I'm reading or discussing at Goodreads or 4MysteryAddicts or DorothyL, or maybe crafts or cats or spiritual matters...!

It's bitterly cold around here (Boston) today, and I'm pretty much inside for the duration - my cranky old body does NOT like weather extremes any more. I'll hopefully be back later today with a post that will

1. Make more sense. (yeah, "as if" *that* is likely to happen any time soon...)
2. Contains something somebody might actually want to read
3. and has actually been thought out and organized!

Here's Hoping! that 2012 will prove to be an entertaining, interesting, happy year for us all.


affectionately, Abbey

Library Loot: "The Rich Get Richer":

What's going on in your neck of the woods re. library funding and usage these days? I've just heard that my local library branch is coming extremely close to the ol' guillotine,

its small size having likely condemned it to extinction due to budget cuts. Most folks in Boston have known that city and state funding to libraries will be a lot less this year, but to hear that my local library is definitely "being considered" for closure is terrifying for a book junkie like me.

But this sort of behavior has been going on 
in Boston's neighborhoods for decades,

as hours and services available at many branches
have been reduced and staff "let go",

so why am I so upset by this latest increase
in "cost cutting measures"?

After all, everybody needs to cut back 
"a bit" these days, right? Agreed.

BUT - compared with many other major city library systems the Boston Public Library system has fairly generous and stable funding, with both private and tax monies to help in its upkeep. The problems mainly arise regarding the dispersal of said monies and their tendency to flow to "friends". For decades the scuttlebutt has been that when push-comes-to-shove re. money, the folks at the BPL will always fund the main branch at Copley quite well, and pretty much let the outer branches wither on the vine - if there's "extra" then the branches might get some. And this folklore appears to be true, at least in my admittedly limited experience - whenever cuts need to be made, it always seems as though it's the branches that get whacked, while Copley gets at least level funding, and often a great deal more besides.

Now, don't get me wrong - the Copley (main branch) is a gorgeous thing, a Landmark site, and justifiably "worthy!". Its upkeep must be enormous - its two connected buildings (particularly the elderly flagship McKim) must cost a fortune to heat, and the many collections are quite fabulous and need - and deserve! - extremely expensive care to keep them in their best shape. Not only do I not begrudge them funding for those purposes, I encourage it - that's money well-spent IMO.

The joker in all this, however, is that the BPL has an unsavoury history of cronyism, at least by my memory (while long, it's admittedly faulty and quite perverse at times). Boston can be a mares nest politically, and if you're IN, you get lots of perqs - and funding. And if you're out, well...


In the last couple of decades it has appeared to many patrons as though the folks who run the Boston library system positively adore their flagship location of beautiful Copley and don't seem to care what happens to the peons who utilize the branch libraries' services. This may be my skewed impression as a library user in only the poorest neighborhoods of the city, but I have heard similar complaints from folks all around the city (and librarians!), not just in my local area. And the future does not bode well for many local branches, as service cuts at, and elimination of entire branches are becoming more prevalent across the USA as more and more drastic measures get proposed, purportedly to "eliminate waste". And while I will not use any other toilet jokes herein, I will segue into dumpster diving: one man's trash can be another one's dinner, and it often seems to this personally cash-strapped (and thus very aware of finances) library patron that the branch libraries get the barest sliver of the funding pie already, with likely worse prospects on the horizon given these tight fiscal times.


The Boston Public Library was once famous for its system of "branch libraries", and very (and justifiably) proud of them, but that ethos has gone the way of the dodo over the last twenty or thirty years. The branch library system ought to be receiving increased funding, and a higher profile, not being chopped to bits. BECAUSE:

Most library branches in major cities (including Boston) are reporting increased levels of activity as many out-of-work folks use their computer and networking facilities to search for jobs or just occupy their time, and the boomers are retiring in droves (or being forced to retire, but that's a rant for another day) and thus likely in need of increased library services to help with their increased "leisure time" (oh, gawd, that's another rant in itself!). 
So: 

Isn't it counter-productive for library systems to cut back on getting library resources out to the people who most need them - the poorer and/or older folks in the local neighborhoods?

And in Boston, so very proud of

her library history and cultured associations, 

it's downright despicable.

We could, and should, do better. 

There. Bet you thought I'd never actually get to my point, now, did you?  Affectionately, Abbey

What's going on in your neck of the woods re. library funding and usage these days?

AND THUS, WE BEGIN:

ALL right.

as you may have already suspected, I haven't a clue as to what I'm doing here, but wanted to claim the name for myself since I can't think of anything better and, well, "you know".

Despite many urgings by my overwhelmed email correspondents over the years I have resisted starting my own blog but have finally decided to give 'em a break.