Darlene's Digest

London Falling by Paul Cornell My rating: 4 of 5 stars Excellent urban fantasy/police procedural. The city of London itself is a character in Paul Cornell's take on police work in the heart of England. I hope it's the start of a new series, because I hated to say goodbye to these characters. View all my reviews

This Case Is Gonna Kill Me by Phillipa Bornikova My rating: 4 of 5 stars A delightful new urban fantasy series that's a mash-up of John Grisham, Carrie Vaughn and Julie James. Linnet Ellery is fresh out of Yale Law and working at a "White Fang" firm in NYC, thanks to her vampire foster family connections. Linnet's human in a world where werewolves, vampires and elves have come out, and working with the supernatural beings makes her life that much more complicated. Being targeted for death because of the estates & probate case she's handling is not what she anticipated, but the more she digs into the mystery of why this case has hung around so long, the more dangerous it gets. The urban fantasy field is still alive and kicking, and a new, fresh voice that keeps readers turning pages late into the night is welcome. In addition to a knowledge of the legal profession in 21st C. America, the author brings a love of riding and horses that'll thrill anyone who...

     “Avast, ye scurvy dog! Strike your colors or I’ll…I’ll…what will I do, Mr. Turnbull?” “Say, ‘I’ll scupper your ship and use your guts for garters, ye lily-livered—oh. Captain, sir!” Turnbull knuckled his forehead and said, “Um, I have to be off now, Mattie,” before scurrying below. Mattie looked up then and spotted the governess, her face lighting up. She ran over and Lydia Burke squatted down on the deck to open her arms to Mattie’s embrace. “Miss Burke! Miss Burke! I am so happy to see you again!” “I am happy to see you too, Mathilde. I missed you,” she said fiercely, hugging the child to her chest. Mattie drew back her head and looked at her. “I am not Mathilde any more, Miss Burke. Now I’m Marauding Mattie, the terror of the West Indies!” “Are you indeed, miss?” She said in a voice that might have left icicles on the rigging as she looked up at Marauding Mattie’s father, who devoutly wished he was somewhere else at the moment. The governess stood, still ...

The Mad Scientist's Daughter by Cassandra Rose Clarke My rating: 4 of 5 stars This was a lovely novel that built over the time spent reading it, and I'd recommend it, not as a romance, but as women's fiction. At the core of the story it's what the title says: it's about the Mad Scientist's Daughter, Cat. Cat's world is more futuristic than dystopian, what we might encounter with climate change. Nonetheless, people go shopping, go to school, get jobs, create art and fall in love. Cat's father, far from being the typical "There are some things man was not meant to know!" mad scientist is one of the more sympathetic characters in the novel. Cat's mother is a woman who puts her own career on hold to raise her daughter--parents very much like many of us or our peers. If anything, Finn is the weakest character, which makes sense. He's a machine. It's her life, and how Finn contributes to it, that make the story truly interesting. Her r...

This was my first visit to San Antonio, since I'd had to miss LoneStarCon 2 in 1997, but it was worth the wait. While everyone was complaining about the 100F temperatures, my response was, "Ahhhh...dry heat!" When you live in North Florida, almost anyplace is a better place to be in August. Most of my time was spent at the convention, and I enjoyed it immensely. After picking up my program participant materials and checking my schedule, I tracked down the crew for the Hugo Award Ceremonies and the Green Room, both areas where I'd volunteered. I added rehearsals and Green Room shifts to my schedule, then dropped off books at Old Earth Books in the Dealers Room. They've always given me table space and sold my novels for me at con, which makes my life much easier. For those who've never been to the World SF Convention, it's important to note that unlike other major SF & Fantasy events (Dragon*Con, SDCC), Worldcon runs entirely on volunteer help, from ...