Purposeful Perversity

The Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance by Trisha Telep

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
I'm extremely surprised by how much I enjoyed this anthology! I picked it up intending to just read the stories by authors I know I likeKelley Armstrong, Ilona Andrews, Carrie Vaughn, Holly Lisle, Jeaniene Frost, Maria V. Snyder. I had never heard of some of the other authors. A few names I remembered seeing in other anthologies and not enjoying their work.

I did, however, deliberately put myself in a tolerant mindset: this is a book of romance stories. It wouldn't be fair to judge them as anything else.

That worked rather better than it has in the past. I still got a little annoyed at having so much of each story dedicated to couples (and all het/mono couples, at that!) rather than some intriguing world ideas, but managed to stay on track.

In the end, I only skipped one storyI just don't like the Weather Wardens stuff at all. I found a couple of others substandard, but all in all, Telep chose very well. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys paranormal romance (maybe even those who usually stick to just romance), and most urban fantasy fans.

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Originally published at Enemy of Entropy.

At Grave's End by Jeaniene Frost

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Cat is definitely coming into her own now, and her relationship with Bones is portrayed far more healthily than most in the paranormal romance category. I love the fact that she demands that he permit her to stand as his equal, rather than treat her like a delicate thing to be protected.

The plot is more interesting than I recall in previous excursions, while building on the earlier books. I know there's another volume either planned or on the shelves, and I plan to read it. I wasn't so sure after the last book, but I'm glad I gave this one a chance.

I still contend that the cover art, no matter how lovely, shows a woman in a position that cannot be obtained by any human who wants to walk again. Cat is supposed to be half-vampire, but that hasn't been said to give her more flexibilityincreased strength, speed, and healing power, yes, but not this sort of oddity. Yes, it's a minor nit to pick, but it has bugged me since the first time I saw the cover.

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Originally published at Enemy of Entropy. » Click here « to leave any comments.

Unusual Suspects: Stories of Mystery & Fantasy by Dana Stabenow

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
Another uneven anthology. I still have it in my hands, so I'll try to hit each story briefly.

"Lucky" by Charlaine Harris - Sookie is much easier to take in short form. I can't help it, the woman grates on me (in the TV show even worse than in the books). The other characters keep me reading.

"Bogieman" by Carole Nelson Douglas - Delilah Street does more than grate on my nerves in long form. She's more palatable in short form, too, but there are reminders of why I don't intend to read more in that series.

"Looks are Deceiving" by Michael A. Stackpole - If I've read any of Stackpole's work before, it's been in anthologies, and I don't remember it. I did wonder if this short story is set in a universe he uses in longer works, though. It wasn't bad at all.

"The House of Seven Spirits" by Sharon Shinn - I loved this story! And how often do you say that about a haunted house tale? I must track down and read some of Shinn's novels. Any suggestions?

"Glamour" by Mike Doogan - The Peasantry Anti-Defamation League might be after Doogan if he isn't careful at least, representatives of the male peasantry). The story was cute, and it did make me laugh.

"Spellbound" by Donna Andrews - This is another author whose books are going on my (groaning) to-read shelf. The story hit a few clich&eaute;s, but was fun enough to get away with them.

"The Duh Vice" by Michael Armstrong - Ugh. A little too preachy, and way too much anti-fat prejudice.

"Weight of the World" by John Straley - Where does Santa Claus go in the off-season? That's the biggest question answered in this piece. The "mystery" was "solved" nearly as soon as it was discovered.

"Illumination" by Laura Anne Gilman - Bonnie's back story! I think a bit of this story is used in the first chapter of Gilman's first PUPI novel, but I'll know more when I get my hands on it. It's a must-read for fans of the Cosa Nostradamus universe, though.

"The House" by Laurie R. King - could we maybe call a hiatus on the abused-kid stories? Maybe I'm hypersensitive, but I'm tired of them.

"Appetite for Murder" by Simon R. Green - another dark Nightside story. I don't think I'll ever need to read more in that universe.

"A Woman's Work" by Dana Stabenow - I'm an unabashed Stabenow fangirl. Despite that, I wasn't sure how she'd do in a fantasy setting. She proved herself, certainly. I can only hope that we'll see longer fantasy works from her in print at some juncture.

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Originally published at Enemy of Entropy.

Wicked Game by Jeri Smith-Ready

My review

I give up. I just don't care what happens to anybody in this book. Back to the library with it!

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Originally published at Enemy of Entropy. » Click here « to leave any comments.

Blue Diablo by Ann Aguirre

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
I can't think of a thing that wasn't right in Blue Diablo. I can think of one thing that made it stand head and shoulders above much of what I've read lately: Aguirre knows that sexual tension can be much sexier than explicit sex scenes! That is such a relief!

I'm looking forward to reading more about Corine and Chance. I've been waiting for more of her Grimspace series, so now I'm torn. Just give us more, Ann!

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Originally published at Enemy of Entropy.

The Parable of the Shower by Leah Bobet is an absolutely hilarious short story.

The angel of the LORD cometh upon you in the shower at the worst possible moment: one hand placed upon thy right buttock and the other bearing soap, radio blaring, humming a heathen song of sin.

Thanks to Sarah Monette for the heads-up!

Originally published at Enemy of Entropy. » Click here « to leave any comments.

ETA: This otherwise cryptic post was a response to a Plinky prompt that asked what book I'd take if I were called to jury duty today. I can't imagine why their "share with blog" function doesn't include the prompt!

I wouldn't worry too much, as I can be fairly sure that I'll never be PICKED for jury duty. Last time, they asked, "Does anybody here have any problem with upholding ANY law?" I said yes (there are some really stupid laws on the books!) and was immediately dismissed.


Partners in Necessity is long, and it's good "comfort reading" for me (one of the few books I ever re-read).

If I were ever actually put on a jury, though, I don't think I could possibly carry enough books with me unless I had a Kindle.

Originally published at Enemy of Entropy.

Skin Trade by Laurell K. Hamilton

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
I kept saying I was giving up on Hamilton's books, then giving her just one more chance as each novel came out, hoping that at some point she'd give up the porn and write real novels again. With this volume, the effort is finally vindicated.

Don't get me wrong--there's definitely sex in Skin Trade. Sex with yet more new men, even! But it doesn't start happening 'til well into the book, and when it does occur there's a lot more justification for it than at some times in the past. It's still explicit, and there are still likely to be more than two people in any given bed at a time, but if any of that squicked you, you wouldn't be reading any of her work.

The book nearly earned four stars, but there were a few plot holes that bothered me too much to forget them.

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Originally published at Enemy of Entropy.

Mean Streets by Jim Butcher

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Mean Streets is one of the best anthologies I've read in a while. It only has four different pieces in it, but they're all novellas, and all by strong, experienced writers. I don't think any of them are here riding on someone else's name on the book cover.

Jim Butcher's "Warrior," the first piece, is very good. It follows Harry and the Carpenter family after they experienced some major changes in the last Dresden novel. I could have stood a little more Molly, but Harry and Michael were the focus characters and they worked out some things that really needed to be dealt with. I'm glad I read this before the next Dresden novel, because I feel there's important character development. I seriously recommend this book to all Dresden fans.

I haven't read any of Simon R. Green's novels, though I've heard of the Nightside series and thought about picking one up. If "The Difference a Day Makes" is typical, though, I may not bother. He is a good writer, so I'm not sure what it is that bothered me so much. I know that something framed as one of the nastiest things people could choose to do in this piece isn't even in my top 10, but I feel there's something else that I just can't quite articulate yet.

I've read all three of Kat Richardson's Greywalker novels and enjoyed them enough that I plan to keep reading. "The Third Death of the Little Clay Dog" is my favorite piece of her work, hands down. There's more light, somehow, and that's important to me.

"Noah's Orphans" is my first exposure to Thomas E. Sniegoski, as far as I can recall. It was an interesting piece. I found myself wondering about Remy Chandler's past, about how the character has developed. If there are novels featuring that character, I may give them a read. In any case, it brought up some interesting questions about faith and obedience. I think it would have been more personally relevant to me about 20 years ago, though.

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Originally published at Enemy of Entropy.

Blood from Stone by Laura Anne Gilman

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
It feels like a spoiler, but since Gilman says this at the front of the book, I suppose it isn't: Blood From Stone is the last Retrievers novel, at least for a time. She's moving on to focus on other characters in the Cosa Nostradamus universe. I wasn't happy to read that, but after reading the book, I'm okay with it.

Blood From Stone definitely isn't a book to start with if you're new to Gilman's work. The Retrievers series really does need to be read sequentially. If you have read the rest, you know that Gilman has developed a very interesting universe and some very well-developed characters in the series. Book 6 doesn't disappoint at all, and brings the major plot threads to a very satisfactory close. I can't be more specific without real spoilers, though!

I'm definitely looking forward to reading the next novel in the universe, which will focus on Bonnie and the PUPIs (Private, Unaffiliated, Paranormal Investigators). I adore CSI, Bones, NCIS and the like, so I'm curious as to how forensics will work in urban fantasy settings. Jes Battis' A Flash of Hex is supposed to be waiting for me at the library, so by the time I get to Hard Magic I'll have something else to compare it to.

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Originally published at Enemy of Entropy.

We were fairly sure of this right after I finally had my Social Security hearing last month based on the very positive statements from the judge, but I didn't want to jinx anything. We got the official letter in the mail today, saying that the decision was "fully favorable!" SQUEE!

It will still take some time for that decision to bounce around the bureaucracy and get monthly payments started, much less get the back pay from the SSA. Because the onset date was years ago, I should be eligible for Medicare right away, but I'll need to talk to the attorney about that on Monday.

I really needed some good news, so the timing is marvelous.

This process has been an insane endurance contest. The fact that the SSA has been absolutely obstructionist throughout (and I know my experience is far from unique!) is ridiculous. The system demands that people who are most in need of help are least likely to get it in any timely fashion, because it takes so much persistence, jargon, and inside knowledge to get anywhere. If you can do all those forms and gather all the records and so on by yourself, I don't know that you should count as disabled! Even people with good support in other ways don't always have someone willing, able, and persistent who can and will spend the hours and hours of time to push a claim through.

I started the filing process for one reason: I needed stable access to healthcare so that I could get well enough to go back to work. Five years down the line, I'm not at all sure that I will be able to return to work, because my health has deteriorated so much that it may not be possible to get back to an "abled" state. How many years of productive lives are being in the U.S. wasted for lack access to healthcare?

I get annoyed every time I hear a talking head refer to plans to "insure" everyone. That isn't what we need! Plenty of people have health insurance and still don't get the actual health care they need because they can't afford the co-pays, or the insurer won't cover a particular drug or therapy, or there are pre-existing condition problems, or…

We need health care. Not divided up by age (this for kids, that for seniors, something else for working age people, oh, right, the disabled here) by universal car, the same care for everyone, for the whole body, cradle to grave. (Who ever decided that eyes and teeth should be separated out, anyway? That's stupid.)

I read an artcle about San Francisco's health program last week--if I can find a link I'll add it later. It does just what I described, from what that article says. I don't know how much it costs to join, but apparently there's a lot of outreach to people who are otherwise uninsured. There are no pre-existing conditions.

Does anyone know of programs like San Francisco's elsewhere in the U.S.?

Originally published at Enemy of Entropy.

Via the inestimable ideageek: Teaching girls to program
"Kids learning to storyboard, brainstorm, critique, design, pitch ideas, psuedocode, actually code, and make toys do things."

Originally published at Enemy of Entropy.

Do any of you maybe record Dollhouse? We don't do cable, so Katie and I have been watching it streaming on Hulu. This coming Friday's episode isn't going to be streamed, though, and we don't want to miss it. Any chance of some help? Pretty please?

It's fairly amazing how much you can find to watch online now. Legally! I used to get the CSI DVDs from Netflix when they were released each year, and watch the whole season in a marathon. Now we watch all three CSI shows on the CBS web site. The same goes for NCIS and Numb3rs. While the site says you can see full episodes of The Mentalist, I haven't found a way to do it. ABC has The Unusuals and Castle streaming. Burn Notice, Chuck, Bones, and Lie to Me are all on Hulu.

There's another show we watch once every few weeks, um, Legend? Legends? Something about a Seeker. I can't handle more of it than that, because the plots rely heavily on stupidity. That's too annoying, and while there are pretty people running around in nice scenery, it isn't enough to make up for the stup.

Comcast keeps sending more and more plaintive offers, trying to get us to subscribe to their cable TV and telephone service. When we did subscribe to cable, we didn't get around to watching much. We don't channel surf or just leavve the set on for noise, so it was wasted money. I suppose if we'd also gotten a Tivo or something similar, we would have recorded the shows we watch. But we didn't, so we still watched them online when we did watch them.

We can still use the television to view shows, thnks to a nifty cable Sam procured. That's better than watching on a computer monitor, and we can watch together. (It isn't much fun watching alone.)

Originally published at Enemy of Entropy. » Click here « to leave any comments.

I used to get so annoyed when my mother would say, "Twenty years from now, nobody will know the difference." She was wrong in a sense—I certainly still know the difference, about so very many things.

On the other hand, I do understand the longer view much better now. Twenty years seemed like such a long time then, and now? It's so very short.

In any case, Katie did get home from her trip to the great northwest. She had a marvelous time and thinks she has found her school.

I'm really proud of her. She planned this trip, to a place neither she nor any of us had ever been before, all by herself. She went without a qualm, had a marvelous time, managed her money marvelously, and made some great new friends.

Since then she also went to her first LARP. Again, she had a marvelous adventure, lots of fun, and found a new thing she enjoys. I think we need to acquire camping equipment.

Sam has started playing Burning Wheel with a group of local people. He really enjoys the game. I'm glad to see him getting out and having some social time with others.

I had a big thing happen, but I'm going to stay quiet about it a little longer, 'til it's also a sure thing.

In the meantime, I've found a nice outlet for my OCD urges as a "librarian" at Good Reads.

Originally published at Enemy of Entropy.

Georgia Senate threatens dismantling of USA
They really did, by a vote of 43-1. On April 1, but it wasn't an April Fool's joke.

The resolution goes on to endorse the theory that states have the right to abridge constitutional freedoms of religion, press and speech. According to the resolution, it is up to the states to decide how far the licentiousness of speech and of the press may be abridged.
(snip)
Finally, the resolution states that if Congress, the president or federal courts take any action that exceeds their constitutional powers, the Constitution is rendered null and void and the United States of America is officially disbanded. As an example, the resolution specifically states that if the federal government enacts prohibitions of type or quantity of arms or ammunition, the country is disbanded.

You better believe that I'm writing to our state senator right away. Yes, this nonsense was slipped in on day 39 of the 40 day legislative session, but that is absolutely no excuse. Our representatives have no business voting for anything they haven't thoroughly read, understood, and debated. That's their job!

Yet another reason I don't want to live in Georgia any more. I seriously think this is a backlash against our election of a black Democrat to the presidency. I'm looking at blue states now.

Originally published at Enemy of Entropy.

Suite 606 by J.D. Robb

My review

rating: 1 of 5 stars
I only read the story by J.D. Robb. I glanced at the other three, but they're primarily romance stories, which do NOT interest me.

The whole point of these little anthologies is to introduce readers who enjoy an established author's work to other, similar authors, right?

I know that J.D. Robb is a pen name for Nora Roberts. I know that the stories she publishes as NR are romances. If I saw an anthology anchored by an NR story, I'd expect it to be full of romances.

However, I don't read the NR stuff. I only read her JDR books, which have a little romantic spice about the main character, Eve Dallas, and her husband Roarke, with occasional glimpses into Eve's partner, Peabody's, relationship with her guy, McNab. That's it, though. Neither of those sets of relationships are the focal point of the plots. The mystery/crime is the main thing, and while they're set in the future with the advantages of technology we don't yet have, they're essentially police procedurals. (I don't consider them SF, quite, because all the tech seems to be extrapolated from what we have now, and quite plausible. And, of course, the tech isn't the point of the stories, either.)

So why not put similar stories in an anthology anchored by a JDR story? Why why why? Misleading and disappointing readers is NOT the way to garner any positive buzz for the lesser-known authors, and the backlash can lead to less enthusiasm from established readers (like me) for the established author's work.

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Originally published at Enemy of Entropy. » Click here « to leave any comments.

Yes, yes--I promise this is the last post for now. Probably for the weekend, but at least for a few hours!

I continue to hope to find some kind of work that I can do from home despite my uncooperative body. Of course, most listings for "work at home" and "telecommute" jobs are complete rip-offs. I don't really have the energy to go the full self-employment route, which involves doing all the marketing and billing and collections and such (if you do, check out Nol Figart's very cool series of ongoing posts, How to Make a Living From Home: A Free Course). More precisely, if I do all that stuff, I worry that I won't have any energy left to do the actual income-generating tasks.

I don't remember how, precisely, but I ran across Virtual Vocations a while back, and have looked around the site a few times. I've yet to actually pony up the fee to get access to the contact information for the job listings, but the fact that they allow anybody to see the rest of the listings without paying is pretty nice.

The only genuinely-negative thing I've come across about them anywhere is a person who claimed that they contact Craigslist posters who have stated that they do NOT want to be contacted by third parties. I don't like that at all, but it isn't quite a killing blow. The only "it's a ripoff" complaints I've seen are anonymous comments left on any blog that posts a VV review. I give those all the seriousness of the commenter's willingness to back up his words--meaning none.

BUT--people I actually know are more credible. So have any of you used the site, or do you know someone who has? What do you think of them?

Originally published at Enemy of Entropy.

Um, I'm wanting something to read, and the libraries are being very slow about fulfilling my hold requests, so I'm looking for old stuff that's good and probably on the library shelf just waiting to be loved. I think I might try some Jane Austen, as I recently realized that I never have, but the excerpts I've seen are wittier than I expected. I'm not fond of romances or "chick lit" or such things, which is where I've place her books.I think to some extent I got her all mixed up with the Bronts when I was a teen, and damned if I wanted more of that nonsense.

If I'm going to try them, where should I start? Any other authors/books you think I should try?

I don't care to read doom-filled, depressing stories. There's enough of that in the real world, and I can always go look at the news. I want to read about smart, likeable people doing interesting things while bantering wittily. Humor is important, but goofy slapstick nonsense looses me. I HATE HATE HATE "do something obviously stupid, try to get out of the resulting mess" plots.

I've read Lois McMaster Bujold, thanks :-) Well, all the Vorkosigan universe stuff, anyway. Her fantasy books have never interested me, for some odd reason.

Thank you :-)

Originally published at Enemy of Entropy.

In much lighter news, The Girl is in the Pacific Northwest! For three weeks! She's scouting colleges and seeing friends and so on. She's already in geo-love after just a few days, saying she'd like to live there. Her hosts seem like Very Good People, and I hope to meet them when they come to town for Dragon*Con.

Kyoshi is utterly unconsolable, though. He wanders through the house looking for her, returning frequently to her door (still closed, and no, I won't open it to let him in), the front door, every single window—hoping in vain to catch sight of her. I've never known such a one-person kitty! He does come to me and Sam (a lot), frantically at times, and he lets us pet him. But he won't settle in our laps long at all. He has to dash to the front windows every time a car goes by, just hoping it might stop and disgorge the girl. I hope he gets more attached to us by the time she returns. Wherever she goes to school, though, I think she's going to have to take the cat with her!

I'm less demonstrative than the cat, but I do miss her. I know she's with good people, and she's having a great time, and she's a smart young woman with a good head on her shoulders. But she's my baby and she's way far away and we've never been apart for more than two weeks in her whole life!!!

Ok. I'll try to rein that back a bit.

Originally published at Enemy of Entropy.

Uncle J was buried yesterday. He hung on for weeks, and they'd finally moved him to home hospice care just a few days before he passed. At least he wasn't in pain at the end, and the family did get to say whatever they needed to say.

Mom is taking this really hard. She says it's concern for Aunt B, and I'm sure that's part of it. I can't being to imagine the agony of losing your spouse of 48 years. I have to think, though, that some of it is Mom's fear that it may be Daddy next time. I'm worried about her.

Originally published at Enemy of Entropy.