3.28.2011

 

The Secrets of Vesuvius


by Caroline Lawrence, 165pgs, paperback
Series: The Roman Mysteries  2

Overall Grade: A-
Another quick read. Another juvenile mystery set in the early Roman Empire. Following the events of the last book, Flavia and her friends are shipped off to her Uncle, who lives near Pompeii. Shortly before, they save Pliny and befriend the admiral/naturalist. At Flavia's uncle's, the troublesome quartet of Flavia, Nubia, Jonathan and Lupus quickly involve themselves in trying to find a mysterious blacksmith that Pliny described to them, and generally meddling in the family affairs of everyone around them. Then Vesuvius erupts and we spend most of the book hoping that the main characters will get the heck away from the volcano. I actually enjoyed that part because I like imagining what it would be like to be in the middle of a natural disaster.

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# posted by Cptn. Suz @ 7:14 PM
 

The First Man in Rome


by Colleen McCullough, 978pgs, paperback
Overall Grade: A
Series: Masters of Rome book 1

Fantabulous! This monstrous novel begin the generation before Julius Caesar the Dictator is born, so his parents are coming of age and getting married. But that's really a side-story because the protagonists of this tome are Marius and Sulla. Marius and Sulla are constantly being referenced by later Romans so this book greatly helped whet my desire to find out what made them so important. Protagonist #1: Gaius Marius, a rich military man, he wants to get into politics, but has no clout because he's from Puteoli (read: a citizen but not a Roman). So he marries into the well-respected, but poor patrician Julians. Spends most of the rest of the novel, being a general first in Numidia then in Northern Italy.
Protagonist #2: Lucius Cornelius Sulla, from a patrician family, has unsavory (to a Roman) sexual inclinations. As the story begins he's under the thumb of his step-mother and Greek mistress, but once Sulla gets ambitous that situation soon changes and Sulla ends up the recipient of both their wills. Now flush with money, he belatedly sets about building a political career (the ONLY career worth having for a well off Roman man). He also marries into the Julian family, and follows Marius on his military campaigns, eventually becoming his second-in-command.

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# posted by Cptn. Suz @ 6:58 PM

3.16.2011

 

Blameless: The Parasol Protectorate [book 3]


by Gail Carriger, 355 pgs, paperback
Overall Grade: A-
Series: The Parasol Protectorate

Prequel: Changeless
Sequel: Heartless (to be released July 2011)

After her husband's stunning rejection at the end of the last book, Alexia is struggling to find a good place to stay. The queen has dismissed her from her post on the Shadow Council, her family doesn't want the scandalous daughter under their roof, and her vampire friend has mysteriously left town. Why, it must be a perfect time to travel Europe! So Alexia, Madame Lefoux, and Mr. Floote hop aboard a dirigible for the continent, and after many harrowing journeys end up in the tender care of the Florentine Templars. The Templars, whom we've heard about in the previous books, are finally illuminated a bit more. And the explanation of Alexia's miraculous pregnancy is slowly revealed.

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# posted by Cptn. Suz @ 3:23 AM
 

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Demigod Files [book 4.5]


by Rick Riordan, 151 pgs, hardcover
Overall Grade: B
Series: Percy Jackson & the Olympians
Prequel: The Battle of the Labyrinth
Sequel: The Last Olympian

Set between the 4th & final books in the Percy Jackson series, 'Demigod Files' was basically released as a holdover until the final book came out, hence, it's "sneak peak" at 'The Last Olympian'. Still, aside from the dull bios, summaries, and character interviews, which teach us nothing new, there are 3 new short stories of Percy's adventures. The last one (about Hades' sword) is relevant to the final book in the series, and the middle one (about the metal dragon) is backstory for Riordan's sequel series, 'Heroes of Olympus'.

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# posted by Cptn. Suz @ 3:13 AM

3.04.2011

 

Changeless: The Parasol Protectorate [book 2]


by Gail Carriger, 374pgs, paperback
Overall Grade: A
Series: The Parasol Protectorate

Prequel: Soulless
It's not often that the sequel is as enjoyable as its predecessor.
This book finds Alexia recently married to Conall Maccon, Lord Woolsey, and Alpha of the London werewolf pack. Her new home is inundated with the returned regimental members of said pack, and there is a mysterious zone of "humanization" in the middle of London, exorcising ghosts, and depriving werewolves and vampires of their supernatural powers and traits. Eyes turn to Alexia, who as a preternatural is the only creature known to possess similar "humanization" powers. And as if that weren't enough, her husband's former pack up in Scotland suddenly finds itself Alpha-less, and Alexia finds herself following after him, accompanied by her hat-obsessed friend Ivy, her embittered step-sister Felicity, one of her husband's clavigers and her French chambermaid. If that sounds like an riotous bunch, I assure you they are.

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# posted by Cptn. Suz @ 12:44 PM

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