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text 2019-08-05 19:16
Halloween Bingo Preparty Supernatural Series
Bitten - Kelley Armstrong
The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien
The Wine of Angels - Phil Rickman
The Palace - Chelsea Quinn Yarbro

In general, it would have to LOTR.  Because I've read one copy into the ground.

 

 

But this year, my top three Halloween fitting titles would be:

 

The Women of the Otherworld series. - I believe this was Armstrong's first series.  At times it shows, but you can see her developing as a writer (and she works with her editor).  What I really love about this series is not only does feature women, but each woman is strong in her own way.  And I say this as someone who didn't like all the women in the series.  Additionally, the women are friends with each other.  

 

Merrily Watkins - I've developed a love for series, mostly because of the characters and the use of English folklore.

 

Count St. Germain Series (counting the Olivia books) - world's greatest vampire.

 

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text 2019-08-02 15:00
Halloween Bingo Pre-Party: Vampires, Werewolves, Zombies or other?
Glass Houses - Rachel Caine
Vampire Academy - Richelle Mead
Hotel Transylvania - Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
Anno Dracula - Kim Newman
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War - Max Brooks
The Girl with All the Gifts - M.R. Carey

This is a tough one for me, since I have, at various times, enjoyed each of them, but, also, each of these tropes became oversaturated at some point or another! If I had to choose, right now, I would choose werewolf by elimination, because I overdosed on vampires and I never really liked zombies, although there a couple of zombie books I liked a lot.

 

I was never a fan of Twilight. My YA vampire romance catnip were the Morganville Vampires and Vampire Academy - those were the ones that my daughter read, and that I read along with her. Oh, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, on television, of course.

 

Now that I've put some distance between myself and far too much sexy vampire fiction, there are a few series that I'm interested in again, though! The Chelsea Quinn Yarbro St. Germaine series has been recommended by several of my friends here - including Linda Hilton, whose bookish taste is impeccable. The first book, Hotel Transylvania, is on my list of possibles for this years game of Halloween Bingo, unless someone who knows the series recommends a different starting point! I also have a copy of Anno Dracula on my kindle that has been there for years, and that looks like something I would love!

 

Moving on to zombies, they just didn't appeal to me. Sexy vampires are silly, but there is nothing sexy about a zombie. On the other hand, World War Z is worth reading, and The Girl With All the Gifts is excellent, with a great ending. Too many authors blow the ending, and Carey nailed it.

 

There are exactly zero is one possible zombie books that I am sufficiently interested in to plan to read for Halloween bingo at this point, although I'll keep my eyes on the posts for something that might interest me. No, wait, there's Feed by Mira Grant. I might read that one!

 

So, that brings me to werewolves, which brings me to urban fantasy. Urban fantasy is replete with shifters of all sorts, and I pretty much lump werewolves with shifters. My favorite shifter has to be Mercy Thompson, who is actually a skin walker (shifts into coyote form), not a werewolf. I read the hell out of Mercy Thompson and keep meaning to do a reread! And I can't mention shifters without pointing to Kate Daniels, which may be the actual best UF series ever written. 

 

 

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text 2019-07-01 19:04
Historical Fiction Top 25
Tempting Fate - Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
The Sunne in Splendour - Sharon Kay Penman
The King's Man - Pauline Gedge
The Poisoned Crown (The Accursed Kings, Book 3) - Maurice Druon
The True Story of Hansel and Gretel: A Novel of War and Survival - Louise Murphy
The Hound and the Falcon - Judith Tarr

Here is my top 25.  In no particular order (though most of them are series).

 

1. The Count St. Germain Series by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro

 

Yarbro's series is about the Count St Germain, who in her series is a vampire, and his adventures throughout history.  The original five are Hotel Transylvania, The Place, Blood Games, Path of the Eclipse, and Tempting Fate.  Other stand outs in the series, imo, include Blood Roses, Better in the Dark,  and the three Olivia novels.  The series can be read out of order, and the historical period tends to be different per book.

 

2. The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman

 

Moonight is completely right about Penman, and this is book is just great.  If you have read Daughter of Time and not this one, something is wrong with you.

 

3. The Egyptian historical books by Pauline Gedge 

 

 

Gedge has written other historical than her ancient Egypt books, but they are the best.  There are two trilogies' (The King's Man and Lord of Two Lands), a duology (House of) and three stand alones.  She has a book about the Roman conquest of Britain.

 

4. Benjamin January Series by Barbara Hambly

 

Hambly's long lasting mystery series follows Ben, a freed slave who has trained as a doctor in Paris.  He returns to New Orleans shortly after the purchase where he is only seen as a piano player.

 

5.The Accursed Kings by Maurice Droun (at least 1-3)

 

Apparently this series inspired George R R Martin.  It traces the fall of the Valois dynasty.

 

6.The True Story of Hansel and Gretel by Louise Murphy

 

It isn't really the true Hansel and Gretel, but the fairy tale set in WWII Poland.  The best part is what Murphy does with the Stepmother and witch characters.

 

7. Robert Lawson's Ben and Me as well as Mr Revere and I

 

Lawson wrote quite a few children's books about animals.  Ben and Me is about Ben Franklin told by a mouse, and Mr Revere and I is the famous ride retold by the mare that Revere rode.

 

8. The Eleanor of Aquitane novels by Elizabeth Chidwick

 

It's true that Chadwick seems a bit centered on William the Marshall, but her books about Eleanor are superior.

 

9. Joplin's Ghost  by Tananrive Due

 

 

This is one of those alternate time novels.  Part of the novel concerns Scott Joplin, the other part the girl who has his cursed piano.  Its really, really good.

 

10. A  Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel

 

This doorstopper is set during the French Revolution/Terror.  You can smell Paris.

 

11. Wildflowers of Terezin by Robert Elmer

 

This book is set in Nazi occupied Copenhagen and is about a pastor and a Jewish woman making it though the war and falling in over.

 

12. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

 

Wein's book is told by two young women who are part of the British SOE group sent into occupied France.  

 

13. The Three Musketeers by Dumas

 

I mean, is there a book that has been filmed more?

 

14. The Light Bearer by Donna Gillespie

 

The story of a girl from the Germanic tribes as they resist Rome.  The ending fight in  the arena is kick ass.

 

15. The Collaborators by Reginald Hill

 

This novel follows the lives of several people in Occupied Paris.

 

16. An Instance at the Fingerpost by Iain Pear

 

A mystery told in four different points of view.  

 

17. Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

 

Takes the gothic, adds the history and lesbians.

 

18. The Hound and the Falcon by Judith Tarr

 

Tarr's series is set during the Crusades and follows a young priest who may be able to do magic.

 

19. The Terror by Dan Simmons

 

The basis for the AMC series.  The novel reveals what really happened to the Franklin expedition to find the Northwest passage.  It is a slow book, but that's part of the point.

 

20. The Lambs of London by Peter Ackroyd

 

Ackroyd's book imagines what might have happened if Charles and Mary Lamb (she killed their mother in a fit of maddness) had met William-Henry Ireland (the men behind the Shakespeare fraud).

 

21. Cassandra Princess of Troy by Hilary Bailey

 

Epic retelling of Troy.

 

22. Segu by Maryse Conde

 

Set in Africa as Islam and transatlantic slavery invade, the novel chronciles the lives of a family.

 

23. Autobiography of Henry VIII by Margaret George

 

George's novel set some critics off because she has Henry contend that Kat of A was lying.  But it is told in Henry's pov, so well, duh.  If anyone captured his voice, she did.  I just people would stop putting the book in the history section.

 

24. The Memory Man by Lisa Appignanesi

 

One of the best books about WW II.

 

25. David Ashton's McLevy

 

This series started as series on BBC radio.  It is based on the real McLevy who patrolled Edinburgh during the reign of Queen Victoria and published his memoirs.  In addition to the radio programs, there are a series of books.  Well worth a read.

 

 

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review 2018-09-23 21:12
Modern Masters of Horror Square
Hyacinths - Chelsea Quinn Yarbro

This is a rather interesting dystopia novel. The characters are not likable, and they are not really meant to be. It is more of a character study about what sexism and out of control capitalism can make people be as well as how it can affect creatively. 

Despite its age, the themes of the book can still be applied to today, especially with the use of social media and the entertainment industry.

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review 2016-02-13 01:32
Four Horses for Tishtry - Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
Despite the brief appearance of St. Germain at the end of this short novel, it is really straight historical fiction. Tishtry, a character from Blood Games, is the center of this novel. The book details her journey via performance in the Roman games.

The plot is pretty basic, but Yarbro steers clear of the standard over used cliches. She captures the time pretty way, and while making the horses stand out from each other, doesn't turn them into huge dogs. It is more of an adventure story than anything else, but it is, at times, a thrilling read.
 

 

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