At the end of volume ten, the young doctor rushes back to the manor because of a hunch. His hunch proves to be correct, and Ciel and Sebastian are willing to reveal the real secrets of the case. (Or at least a good deal more of it than you would expect.) Sebastian also reveals his real form to the Doctor, which causes him such a fright that he is inspired to continue writing. (Sebastian is the scariest muse ever.)
Next, we discover that Snake very correctly blames Ciel and Sebastian for the disappearance of his friends in the circus.
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It is difficult to say whether The Sword of Winter is more of a fantasy with science fiction elements, or a science fiction novel with fantasy elements. The technology is steam-level, with telegraphs. It’s a book that is strong on character interactions and political intrigue, with some fascinating worldbuilding elements. I first read this book back in junior high, and it has been one of my on again, off again favorites for years. It doesn’t seem to be in print, but it’s a relatively easy book to find.
The story revolves around Gambin, a dying tyrant and his relationship with his personal messenger, a woman named Lyeth.
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The Stepsister Scheme is the first book in Jim C. Hines fairytale princess novels. We open with Cinderella (otherwise known as Danielle Whiteshore nee deGlas) who is trying to adjust to the riches and royal responsibilities of her rags to riches story. Shortly after an assassination attempt by one of her evil stepsisters, she makes the discovery that her royal mother in law has a small espionage service, and two of her lady’s maids are also her agents. One is princess Talia (who is Sleeping Beauty) and the other is Snow White (she prefers her fairy tale moniker to her real name which is Ermillina Curtana).
Her new life is further complicated when her evil stepsisters decide to kidnap her husband and take him into “Fairy Town.”
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Volume ten of Kuroshitsuji continues the murder mystery arc.
After the latest corpse is examined, everyone once again rehashes what happened and provide or fail to provide alibis. The rehashing is interrupted by an unexpected visitor. He is a vicar named Jeremy and he is apparently acquainted with the Phantomhive family. Apparently, he was the person Sebastian was attempting to reach via messenger owl. (Insert Harry Potter joke here.) He is as first considered a possible suspect in the murder, but he is able to provide an alibi.
Jeremy quickly takes over the case and reveals himself to have a nearly preternatural gift for deduction.
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Who Fears Death is a difficult story to write about, because it deals with situations that most people find difficult to understand or deal with, such as genocide and war. It’s a very strong book, with a great deal of depth to it. It’s a fast paced and engrossing read, but I wouldn’t call it entertaining. Who Fears Death is a post-apocalyptic fantasy set in a far future Africa, in the general area of Sudan; it is a story about a conflict between two tribes, the Nuru and the Okeke. The Nuru have enslaved and otherwise marginalized the Okeke in an attempt to wipe them out for centuries. The Okeke in turn have been fighting back but are losing as the violence escalates.
The main character and narrator of this story is Onyesonwu, who is telling the story of her life to someone a few days before her scheduled execution by stoning.
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In volume nine of Kuroshitsuji, Ciel is under a cloud due to the way he handled the circus case. (Dear Queen Victoria, you sent a kid being groomed into an utter monster by a demon on a mission so close to home it’s cohabitating at the rebuilt Phantomhive estate, what did you think was going to happen?) The queen’s two butlers, Charles Grey and Charles Phipps turn up to with a request to provide entertainment for a German VIP. Ciel is reluctant at first, but the queen’s butlers metaphorically twist his arm until he agrees.
Ciel is instructed to invite a number of important business people and entertainers.
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In I Shall Wear Midnight, Tiffany Aching is beginning her career as the witch of the Chalk, the region where she grew up. Acting as a kind of general purpose medic and social worker, she finds herself doing all the jobs that people do not think of doing, like cutting the toe nails of an old woman with arthritis when she cannot do it herself. (People had thought to feed the old woman, and help her in other ways, but it had apparently not occurred to anyone that an old arthritic woman might have trouble clipping her nails.)
This is a lot of work for one girl to do, but she’s helped (or at least, not quite as hindered) in her duties by her friends the Nac Mac Feegles.
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In volume seven of Blue Exorcist, the Impure King arc continues. It turns out that Mamushi Hojo is the traitor, and working with Hojo. She seems to be under the impression that they are taking the eyes to a safer place. Todo’s actual plan is to awaken the Impure King, which Mamushi finds out much too late to do anyone any good. The reason why he wants to seems to be to flush out Tatsuma and steal his familiar Kurakara. He does this successfully and runs off. (Some part of Kurakara stays with Tatsuma, which was slightly confusing.) Tatsuma’s familiar is a demon whose contracts depend on deception and secrecy. (This is why Tatsuma has been so avoidant and secretive.)
We learn more about the connection between Fujimoto and Tatsuma Suguro.
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My general impression of this book for the most part was “maybe it’s the translation, because this book is doing nothing for me.” Another reason why I didn’t have much of a feeling for the book was that the writer has a dyslexic character who plays a pivotal role in the story, but couldn’t be bothered to actually research dyslexia. (The writer seems to believe that dyslexic people are across the board completely unable to learn how to read and need to have magical assistance in order to obtain even *basic comprehension. What was I talking about again? Oh, right; the story and my inability to stay interested in it.)
Our Hero is a young lawyer named Jon Campelli who receives word that his estranged father Luca has died.
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It is occasionally difficult to define why you don’t like a book. It might be otherwise well written and the story might be interesting, but there is something about the book—something in the narration or characterization maybe—that feels a little off. This was largely my reaction to Black Swan Rising. It was a difficult book to start, a difficult book to continue, and I didn’t much care for the ending which is of the “everything goes back to normal wrap-up” variety.
We start with our non-genre-savvy heroine, Garet James, who wanders into one of those stores that turn up and then disappear.
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