Finished The Night of the Solstice

It was pleasant reading and, though mild, was entertaining.  It kind of seemed like a children's journey similar to what Chris Golden did for adults in The Veil series:  a trip into the land of the world's myths and fantasies.  I always enjoy the excursion and look forward to the next book in the series.

                 

As snow covers the ground in Lake Dallas, I embark on the my next adventure with George R. R. Martin, A Feast For Crows.  This will take me awhile (1050 pages), but I know it will be worth the time...and, it's snowing.  I have nothing better to do...

Finished Voices From the Holocaust

I think I might have changed the format and read each story as a whole--it was divided into before Germany took over their home country, during the holocaust, and then after the holocaust, their impressions of life in America.  Of course, I can see pros and cons for both.  There were many insights to be drawn from these stories, one of which is that most of them became very active in their community after the war in an extremely charitable way.  They were, for the most part, not materialistic (though their families may have been before.)  Even those who had a very hard time adjusting to American life (those who did not speak a word of English when they came AND came at an older established age) went out of their way to reiterate how much they were enjoying their lives now and were happy.  I would hope it does not really take such an horrible trauma in our lives to make us come to this...

I have now started The Night of the Solstice by L. J. Smith.  It starts definitely for children with a vixen who can speak and who needs the help of four children to save the world.  A fun departure from what I have been reading.

Finished The Shelters of Stone

I have no idea why I love these slow-moving, informative books.  In this one, Ayla and Jondalar reach Jondalar's home.  She becomes acquainted with his people, marries him, and has her daughter.  And I loved every minute of it...it reads like the chronicle of a very long camping trip in which the characters adore roaming their world, learning new things....  Homecoming did not end the journey, it just continued it...

So, I have now started Voices From the Holocaust by Sylvia Rothchild.  I am still reading the first part in which people remember their lives prior to Hitler.  Mostly, they were very young, many still children when he came to power wherever they were.  As pointed out in the Preface, what stands out is how optimistic their parents were--they did not believe anything bad would happen to them and therefore they stayed.  That is pretty much true of all of us, I think...none of us like to think that major change is necessary.

Finished Robin Cook's INVASION

Well, it was obviously inspired by Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and was at least as scary.  The ending was much more satisfying, though.  And, true to Robin Cook, it was medically plausible.  Which, of course, made it more scary.  Loved it...LOL
Have now started Jeanne Auel's The Shelters of Stone.  This is based in what is now southern France, at some of the famous sites where wonderful cave paintings were found.  She imagines what the people who made those paintings were like, based on a huge amount of research.  After that very tense book I just finished, this is literally "a walk in the park."

Finished Dark and Stormy Knights

This books of short stories was pretty good.  Several of my favorite authors and, I guess, always a favorite topic.  I greatly enjoyed P. N. Elrod's story, set much further into the Jack Flemming Vampire Files series than I have read so far and Vicki Petterson's "Shifting Star", told through the eyes of the Tulpa, Skamar's eyes.

I have now started Robin Cook's Invasion, only the second of his science fiction books that I have encountered.  The invaders are from outer space, but are quite different from any invaders I have encountered in any story I have read before.

Finished Doomsday World

First, I must say that I found the remaining three books of the Gap series by Stephen Donaldson.  They were used, but I got them from Amazon!  Hurray.

Finished the book that was written by committee.  At times it was pretty obvious...a few loose ends unconnected...  But, for the most part, it was a very enjoyable and easy reading book.  Again, relationships between Star Trek principals were explored, but at least as interesting was the relationship between the two ambassadors (from competing federations) who started as aging friends on a world that didn't count for much and are assaulted by unforeseen conflicts.

I have now started a book of short stories edited by P. N. Elrod entitled Dark and Stormy Knights.  Stories by my favorites (Jim Butcher and P. N. Elrod) have been very satisfying.  And I may also be adding a favorite or two--especially Ilona Andrews.

Finished People of the Earth

This novel, based on the archeology of authors W. Michael Gear and Kathleen O'Neal Gear as well as others, explores the mythology and relationships between native peoples living 5000 years ago in what is now Montana and Wyoming.  I was thoroughly engrossed.  It has taken me longer to read it than most, partially because it is long and somewhat leisurely, but also because I was interrupted by an operation (half thyroid removal--biopsy negative) and an election (worked election day and slept the next.)

I then thought I'd start Chaos and Order by Stephen Donaldson, but it turned out to be the fourth book in the Gap series and I have read only the first.  An exploration of the Internet shows that only the book I've read and the one I tried to start are actually available in paperback.  The entire series is available in a Kindle book, but I'm not into that.  So, I guess I'll start haunting Half Price Books...

The next book in the pile was another in Clark's 2001 series, but I read 2010 in the last pass across that pile, so I went another down to Doomsday World by Carmen Carter, Peter David, Michael Jan Friedman and Robert Greenberger--it is a Star Trek, The Next Generation book.