Tough Traveling - It's a Hard Knock Life

Tough Traveling is a fun meme that aims to tour all the tropes big and small, abhorred and loved that are littered across the fantasy landscape. It was conceived of and is hosted by Nathan at Fantasy Review Barn and here's how it's explained on the blog: 

Each Thursday, our copy of ‘The Tough Guide to Fantasyland’ in hand, we shall tour the mystical countryside looking for adventure and fun (and tropes) from all over fantasy.

This week's trope is Orphans:

No one in Fantasyland amounts to anything if they still have both parents.  Rule number one.  Thanks to Stephanie for the suggestion (and let us all be surprised together that it isn’t in the Tough Guide).

So I expected to be drowning in orphans when making this list, and I was able to come up with several pretty quickly but it wasn't quite as all encompassing a trope as I was imagining.  It goes without saying that the first orphan on the list has to be a very famous wizard named Harry who fights dark forces....

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- Harry Dresden from the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher

What?  Were you expecting another Harry perhaps?  Harry's mother was genuinely magical while his father was a performing magician.  By the age of 6 though, Harry loses both parents and guardianship is given to his very shady uncle.  As a teenager, Harry actually kills his uncle with magic (in self defense) thus earning him the eternal mistrust of the White Council and making him an outsider.  For his part, Harry unsurprisingly displays quite a profound amount of disrespect for authority.



- Lirael from the Abhorsen series by Garth Nix

Lirael doesn't know who her father is but her mother was a daughter of the Clayr, a magical race of women who have the ability of foresight.  Except Lirael. Despite living amongst the Clayr she can not see the future and that lack of ability and the fact that she was abandoned and then orphaned by her mother gives her quite the complex and makes her very lonely.  Thankfully she is able to construct a best friend, in the form of a dog, using her powerful magic.  As one does. She is of course sent on a quest and as part of that quest learns more about her parentage and family.

 - Alina and Mal from the Grisha series by Leigh Bardugo

Alina and Mal grow up as orphans and become best friends.  In fact, their connection turns out to be much deeper and their parentage is a major plot point of the last book in the series.  Their status as orphans really shape Mal and Alina and their experiences and ultimately their future.

- Kvothe from The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss

Kvothe is another obvious choice for this list because we actually "meet" his parents before they are killed and their death is a major motivator in Kvothe's life and quest.

- Rossamund from the Monster Blood Tattoo Series by D.M. Cornish

Rossamund is delivered anonymously as a baby to a nautically themed orphanage.  At the tender age of twelve the orphans are sent out to earn their way and learn a trade.  Rossamund is recruited to become part of the Lamplighter corps but many adventures and mishaps and strange happenings get in the way.  His parentage is a major plot point for this series.

- Emily Edwards from the Veneficas Americana series by M.K. Hobson

Emily's mother dies shortly after giving birth to her daughter in a lonely town in pioneer era California.  Emily is raised by the old man healer for the small community and is an accomplished hedge witch when a magical stone becomes embedded in her hand.  She must travel cross country to New York with a snotty professionally trained wizard to see if the stone can be removed and her parentage ends up becoming a very important issue.  Well actually the mystery of her parentage may become more of an issue in book two but it plays a major role in the story somewhere along the line.

- The whole Gentleman Bastards gang in the Gentleman Bastards series by Scott Lynch

It's a whole glorious gang of devious, thieving orphans.  They become each other's family and it's pretty awesome.  Not at all like the gang of thieving orphans working for Fagan in Oliver Twist.  Of course a bunch of the Gentleman Bastards do die horrible deaths.....
 
- Diana Bishop from The All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness

So up to this point I've listed books I love and this last one I'm afraid is a good example of how I hate when the character's status as an orphan is used.  I really didn't like this book, so sorry to those of you who did, but I found Diana to be a too perfect character who was given a "tragic" childhood in order to make her "relatable".  The problem is, though losing her parents is very tragic, she is taken in by her loving aunts and raised in a magical house in a charming small town in New England.  Basically I didn't find her status as an orphan really provided any layers to Diana's character but I know I'm in the minority on this one:).

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These are all books I've read in the last 8-10 years or so and I probably could have included a few more like that other famous wizard named Harry but I thought this was a good representative sample.  See who everybody else include over at the Fantasy Review Barn. 

P.S. Sorry for the lack of pretty pictures.  Time is a little short this week so everything's spare and ugly.

Saturdays in the Garden - Peas and Bats

 

OUTSIDE

I feel like I spent no time outside this week which is just sad.  I did run an Acoustic Bat Survey on Monday night with a co-worker which was kind of a blast.  You drive around really slowly at night with a microphone (that is attached to special bat echolocation call recording equipment) on the roof of the car.  Every time the equipment chirped (meaning a bat was flying overhead) it was SUPER exciting, we saw two Luna moths fluttering through the headlights and I got to see some parts of my county I hadn't explored before.

Luna Moth by Fritz Flohr Reynolds

In the garden, some of the peas are starting to develop.  I can't wait to chow down...

LIFE

Last weekend? This was me:

I had the most incredibly lazy weekend that I have had in a long time.  Seriously, I did virtually nothing but read (and as you'll see below) watch TV.  I did go out for a beer Friday evening.  I justified all the laziness because last week and next week are crazy busy at work and I suspected I'd have to work some this weekend (which I have).  I figured it was okay for me to lounge shamelessly for one weekend in preparation for what was to come.  But was it really justified?

I have the capacity for an astonishing amount of laziness and it is probably the biggest trait I have conflict with.  I feel like it sometimes unduly influences my decisions and it keeps me from exercising or otherwise pursuing personal goals.  Other times, I just feel like I am just a lower energy person than the average and I should just accept that I need to embrace my innate laziness as long as it isn't actively ruining my life.  Turns out there may be some evidence that laziness is genetic.  And Bill Gates has kind of a fun "different perspective" quote:

So looks like my complicated relationship with my laziness will continue!  Ultimately it's probably not the worst bad habit in the world but I'm also not going to let myself indulge my laziness too frequently.


WATCHING, READING and BLOGGING

So TV watching came back with a vengeance last week during Laze-a-paloosa.  The dam broke thanks to the goofiest, silliest Hallmark TV show produced by Michale Landon, Jr.  Yup.  There is some shame involved with this but I got completely sucked into When Calls the Heart.  It's about an urban society Miss in 1910 Canada who heads to the frontier mining town of Coal Valley to be the teacher.  Yup, it was absolutely as twee and adorable as you think.  There is a "dashing" Mountie, an evil mine owner, and a widow with a heart of gold AND steel.  And the heroine?  Is most definitely plucky.  I was obviously in a very odd mood last weekend.  It was at least based on a book.  That's something...um...right?

Since then I've stuck somewhat with the frontier theme and have been watching Longmire, which is a modern day law enforcement/mystery series that takes place in Wyoming.  The cast is great (including Katee Sackhoff from BSG and Lou Diamond Phillips), there's a lot of interesting complexity between the Cheyenne Nation and non-Cheyenne neighbors, there are some really emotional episodes/scenes that are done really well,and there's a great subtle and interesting relationship between Walt Longmire and his deputy Vic (Katee Sackhoff).  It's amazing.  And also based on a series of books I really, really want to read. 


Speaking of Books...

Finished this week:

- Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry: AMAZING.
- Magic Slays by Ilona Andrews: Stayed good to the end.  I love Curran and Kate so much!  This, Dresden Files and The Peter Grant series are in a contest to the death to be my favorite UF series.
- The Hidden Gallery by Maryrose Wood:  This is the second book in the The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place middle-grade series.  It was just as fun as book one. 

Currently Reading:

- Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman:  Made a lot of progress in this with all the driving I did for work.  I'm loving it!
- Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe: Not much to say here. Moving along.
- Murder on Gramercy Park by Victoria Thompson:  Book 3 in the Gaslight Mystery series that focuses on a turn of the 20th century midwife and police detective in New York.
- The Neverending Story by Michael Ende:  Listening to this classic tale on audio.  Didn't realize it is a work in translation which is fun!  I loved this movie as a child. 

On the BLOG LAST WEEK:

SUNDAY: A Couple of British Mysteries Written by Guys Named Peter - Short reviews of Diamond Solitaire by Peter Lovesey and The Lewis Man by Peter May.
TUESDAY: Top Ten Tuesday: Bringing Books to the Big Screen. 
THURSDAY: Tough Traveling - Disguises. People playing dress up in Fantasy Land.

On the BLOG NEXT WEEK:

This will probably be a loosey goosey week because I'll be on the road for work.  If I can get a review or two published as well as the Tough Traveling post, I'll feel good about things.  And not lazy.   THURSDAY: The Tough Traveling topic this week is orphans which are INSANELY ubiquitous in Fantasyland so the difficulty will be which orphans to list.  Hosted by Fantasy Review Barn.

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HAVE FUN TENDING YOUR CORNER OF THE GARDEN THIS WEEK!

Tough Traveling - Disguises

Tough Traveling is a fun meme that aims to tour all the tropes big and small, abhorred and loved that are littered across the fantasy landscape. It was conceived of and is hosted by Nathan at Fantasy Review Barn and here's how it's explained on the blog: 

Each Thursday, our copy of ‘The Tough Guide to Fantasyland’ in hand, we shall tour the mystical countryside looking for adventure and fun (and tropes) from all over fantasy.

This week's trope is Disguises:

Hiding in plain site?  Put on a disguise.  Often used to sneak into the evil lair.  For best results brain a guard and steal his; no one is tracking these things.

Let's see how many Sneaky McSneakersons are running around disguised in fantasyland.


- Ron and Harry in Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
With the help of the Polyjuice potion, Ron and Harry disguise themselves as Crabb and Goyle in order to ferret out Malfoy's secrets.  Hermione was supposed to go as well but she runs into a...complication and turns into a cat instead of Millicent.

- Alanna from the first two books of Song of the Lioness by Tamora Pierce

Alanna passes herself off as a himself for the duration of her training to be a knight.   Pretty impressive since it lasts for years and she finishes her training as the top knight in her cohort.

- Rossamund from the Monster Blood Tattoo Series by D.M. Cornish

This is an interesting one and I kind of don't want to reveal how Rossamund is in disguise as it is one of the biggest questions of this three book series.  Which is an awesome series by the way.  It's middle-grade and has an elaborately developed Dickensian world where humans and monsters are at war though the situation is nowhere near so black and white. 

- Ani and her Lady's Maid in The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

If you are familiar with The Goose Girl fairy tale at all you will know that it is about an evil Lady's Maid who usurps her mistress' place by disguising herself as a princess.  It forces the Princess to pass herself off as the goose girl while she figures out how to expose the imposter.

- Locke Lamora in the The Gentleman Bastards series by Scott Lynch

Is it bad to use The Gentleman Bastards series in every list?  I don't have a clear memory of the particulars but I know in the first book Locke disguises himself as a wealthy merchant in order to swindle some rich noble folk.  And he probably disguised himself several more times than that in the pursuit of crime because that's the kind of sneaky fellow he is, but my memory is too poor to detail more specifics.

- Wesley from The Princess Bride by William Goldman

Calling his Dread Pirate Roberts personae a disguise might be stretching it but it does hide his identity from Buttercup for a while and I just really like writing Dread Pirate Roberts.

- Some dragons (like Uncle Alma) in Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

Undoubtedly Hartman has some cool made up word to describe dragons who have folded themselves into human form but don't mark themselves to announce the fact as they are supposed to but I, as aforementioned, have a horrible memory.  A dragon masquerading as a human is virtually indistinguishable except that they generally have a more abrupt and less emotional manner than most humans. 

That's it for me!  Go check out other's lists on Fantasy Review Barn!

Top Ten Tuesday: Bringing Books to the Big Screen

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme for bloggers who like books and lists. It's awesome and is graciously hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This weeks topic are the books we'd most like to see made into a movie or a TV show.  I know this can kind of be a controversial development but I always live in hope of a good adaptation being done.  Here are some of the books I'd like to see adapted:

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1) Dresden Files by Jim Butcher

So they actually tried to make this book series into a TV show but it didn't take and I'm not sure why.  I liked the casting but do have to admit the few episodes there are were a little slow going which is odd considering the books are anything but slow.  It's a series that seems tailor made for dramatization. For casting Harry I liked Paul Blackthorne who played him in the short lived TV show but also maybe Guy Pearce with long hair...

2) Zenn Scarlett by Christian Schoon

I actually did not love this book but I thought it had potential and I think it would lend itself really well to a visual medium.  It's about a girl training to be a exo-veterinarian aka a veterinarian for huge alien creatures.  It would have to have a huge budget and LOTS of tweaks to the story and action but I'd be interested to see the world presented in the book on screen.

3) The Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger

Steam punk doesn't seem to translate terribly well to the screen for some reason.  The only movie that comes to mind that was good and had vague steampunk elements were the Sherlock Holmes movies featureing Robert Downey, Jr.  Anyway, if the curse of steampunk could be corrected somehow I think Gail Carriger's series would make a nice TV series with Alexia and her werewolf husband investigating crime and engaging in espionage for the British crown.  Maybe Minnie Driver for Alexia (though she's a little old)?

4)  Peter Grant Series by Ben Aaronovitch

It's maybe not surprising that this series seems almost made for being a TV series because as Aaronovitch wrote for TV before becoming a novelist.  It's an Urban fantasy series featuring a young London policeman investigating all manner of supernatural crimes.  It's funny and clever and has plenty of adventure to carry a show. A younger Chiwetel Ejiofar is how I envision him...

5) 11/22/63 by Stephen King

So many of Stephen King's books have been made into movies that it's not surprising that this book also cries out for dramatization.  In fact there has been an announcement in late 2014 that this would be made into a TV mini-series by Hulu.  It's a very long story so a mini-series is probably the best format for it.  It follows the time travel adventures of Jake Epping as he tries to stop the assassination of John F. Kennedy.  James Franco is rumored to be cast as Jake Epping in the TV show...

6) The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

I would love to see a movie of this book directed perhaps by Tim Burton?  It would be a hard book to adapt well for sure so it makes me nervous to suggest it but if it was done well I would love to see that. I envision Marco and Celia little like Lee Pace (also suggested by the author) and Katie McGrath.

7) Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear.

The BBC does such a great job making mystery series and period pieces and this is both so....  She's a little too famous for this type of series but I could see Carey Mulligan as Maisie.

8) The Mary Russell series by Laurie R. King

Similar to the above, I think a BBC produced TV show of this historical mystery series would be fantastic.  They've already done numerous versions of Sherlock Holmes and this would certainly be a unique take as it focuses on Holmes' female protege in his retirement.  I could maybe see Emma Watson playing Mary? Maybe?

9) The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

With this series' blend of science fiction and fairy tale, wouldn't it make a fantastic 4 movie series?  I am too overwhelmed to cast this one.  What do y'all think?

Source

10) Flavia De Luce series by Alan Bradley

So apparently I can't get enough mystery series because this is another period mystery series.  I would love to see Flavia De Luce brought to life.  I'm not sure who would be the perfect fit to play her because I'm not that up on 12 year old actresses.  I think Abigail Breslin or Dakota Fanning at age twelve had the right look though they are not British and no longer 12. 

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It's your turn!  Which books would you most like to see adapted to the screen and would you prefer the big or small screen?  Or would you like the movie makers to keep their filthy paws of your books, thank you very much?

A Couple of British Mysteries Written by Guys Named Peter

These are very different books but both are solid British mysteries and I don't have too much to say about either except that they are excellent reads so check 'em out!

Diamond Solitaire by Peter Lovesey
Publication Year: 1992
Genre: Mystery
Series:Peter Diamond #2
Awards: NA
Format: Audio (from Library)
Narrator: Simon Prebble

In book one of the series, Peter Diamond quit his job as a Detective Superintendent with the Bath police.  Practically the first thing that happens in book two is Diamond getting fired as a security guard from Harrods.  He is fired because on his rounds he missed that a young mute Japanese girl was hiding in the furniture goods department.  No one knows where she came from and a month's worth of searching don't turn up a parent or guardian for the child who turns out to be autistic.  Diamond, now unemployed, can't get the little girl out of his head so he starts to investigate and is eventually hired by a sumo wrestler who has also been moved by the girl's plight.  The investigation has international scope and takes Diamond to New York and Japan before everything is sorted out.

This is an older mystery series I've recently discovered and which I like very much probably because it reminds me of all the BBC Mystery! series I watched as a teenager like A Touch of Frost and Inspector Morse.  Like the protagonists of those series, Diamond is not particularly charming but he's dogged, confident, and smart which help him solve the mysteries he is drawn into.  He also seems to get along with shockingly few people besides his incredibly tolerant wife, Stephanie.

The mystery presented here is convoluted in mostly a good way and ends up making surprising connections.  Like the first book some time is spent in other people's perspective rather than just sitting in Diamond's head which gives the story more interest if less forward momentum than your average mystery. The book dives rather deeply into the subject of Autism and the pharmaceutical industry.  I found myself being more intrigued by the brief glimpse that is given of the world of sumo wrestling and spent some time looking things up about it (did you know sumo wrestlers live in "stables"  - i.e. a group that all train and live together in a house and have a strict hierarchy and lots of rules about what they can and cannot do?).   The ultimate role the sumo wrestler plays is a bit far fetched but awesome.

FINAL VERDICT:  An intriguingly complex if workaday early '90's British mystery series for folks who like their detectives curmudgeonly.  3 out of 5 Stars

The Lewis Man by Peter May
Publication Year: 2011
Genre: Mystery
Series: Lewis Trilogy #2
Awards: NA
Format: Hardback (from Library)
Narrator: NA

This is the second book in a series featuring Fin MacLeod, a product of Lewis Island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland who has just quit his job as a police detective in Edinburgh to move back to the Island.  In The Blackhouse, Fin was sent to the island to help investigate a murder while he is still struggling with the repercussions of his son being killed by a hit and run driver.  The Lewis Man starts a few months later as Fin is signing his divorce papers and quitting his job with the police, to move back home where an old love and a newly discovered son await him.  He is drawn into the investigation of a body found buried and preserved in the peat bogs when it is discovered that the body is related to his friend's elderly father.  Since the father is suffering from a severe case of dementia, it is not as simple as asking him what happened.  Fin is racing to discover the truth before the mainland cops descend upon the investigation.

As with the first book in the series, half of this book is told as flashbacks to the past - in this case the elderly father's - and the present.  The flashbacks sometimes supersede, sometimes answer the questions that arise in the modern investigation.  It's an effective way to tell the story though I do have to say that I liked the present timeline more than the past. The past is grim and steeped with a sense of foreboding.  The past storyline mostly focuses on orphans and the way these children were treated, even as late as the 1950s when most of the past action takes place, is particularly horrifying.  The orphaned children don't seem to meet a single adult that shows them even an ounce of compassion and they are more frequently treated with dislike and disgust.  It was hard to read.

The present storyline circles the investigation but also explores further Fin and Marsaili's (the old love) complicated relationship as well as that with his newly discovered teenaged son.   In addition to learning that her father is not what he has always said he is, Marsaili must also deal with his dementia and her mother's complete abandonment of him because she can't deal with his illness.

It all comes together to make an incredibly rich story set against the backdrop of the Hebrides islands' history and legacy.  I did guess the solution to the murder but only just before it is revealed and the reveal and conclusion is sufficiently dramatic and satisfying to wipe away any disappointment in knowing what happened.  The whole book was a page turner.

FINAL VERDICT:  An atmospheric mystery series which successfully intertwines setting, personal stories and a mystery to create a complex and totally satisfying read!  I'm sorry I only have one book left to go in this trilogy.  3.5 out of 5 Stars.

 

Saturdays in the Garden - Clotted Cream and Garden Euphoria

OUTSIDE

It's that blissful time in the garden when lots of exciting things are beginning to happen and it hasn't all gone horribly wrong...yet.  This is usually how my gardening season goes:
February/March: Chomping at the bit for the ground to become workable so I can plant my cool season veggies (this year - carrots, peas, Asian greens, radishes).
April: Planting the cool season veggies and waiting very impatiently for SOMETHING to happen.
May:  Everything's green and verdant and healthy.  Sprouts, flowers and buds appear, salad greens are lush, and I'm high on dirt.  It's going to be a great gardening summer!
June:  Everything goes horribly wrong.  Flowers wilt and fall off unfertilized so no fruit, fruits that appeared to be developing don't or perhaps fall off before ripe, sprouts die inexplicably, the greens bolt suddenly and are ruined.
It's like this...every. damn. year.  In pictorial form it looks something like this...

The good news is that currently it's the season of euphoria so might as well revel in it and forget that disappointment is to come.  A tour:

Empress Green Beans

Pea Blossoms

Cucumber sprouts

Zucchini

Baby Blueberries

Basil

Carrots, Asian Greens, Garlic

Sugar Snap Peas

Green Onions (Fukagawa)

Lettuce

LIFE

I seem to like to do things outside of the normal schedule.  Lately, at the immature age of 42 I've started to embark upon adventures in Home Economics.   Mostly this is related to learning how to cook from scratch and eat healthier.  On Memorial Day I decided to exercise my freedom to cook things poorly (I don't mean to make light of Memorial Day - my deep gratitude goes out to all the men and women who have sacrificed their lives for our country and my heart goes out to those who have lost someone).

The biggest adventure for the day was trying to make clotted cream and scones.  I have a fondness for most things British including a lovely cream tea featuring of course clotted cream, scones, jam and tea. It actually worked pretty well which is shocking - I always screw things like this up.  These are the directions I was following.  I'm not hugely fond of these scones - they have a slightly odd taste (I think related to the beaten egg brushed on top -probably something I did wrong) and scones in my book should just be a tad sweet. Just a hint of sweetness and these have none.  They are basically biscuits.  Very easy to make so that's a bonus.  The clotted cream has been GLORIOUS though.

 

I also made one of my favorite discoveries on this journey to being a more responsible eater - Focaccia Bread.  It's from this recipe on Budget Bytes.  To make a batch takes some forethought as the dough must sit overnight but it is way lower maintenance than most bread, its delicious and it freezes beautifully.  I eat half of the loaf within a few days of making it and then slice the rest and freeze it in such a way that I can pull out a couple pieces at a time.  To eat it I just put the frozen bread with a small pat of butter on top of it in a 350 degree oven for a few minutes. Yum.

WATCHING, READING and BLOGGING

My recent trend of no TV watching has continued.  *shrugs* I'm usually an addict so not sure what's up except for the fact that I've been reading some very good books lately.

Speaking of Books...

Finished this week:

- One Good Earl Deserves a Lover by Sarah Maclean:  So freaking good.  I've had to work at restraining myself from immediately diving into the next book in the series.

Currently Reading:

- Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman:  Listening to in the car so it is going somewhat slowly.  I have a bunch of driving to do this week for work so I can spend more time with this one. This book is picking up after a slow start.
- Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry: I'm almost done with this one and it is killing me.  The worst thing ever just happened and it makes me want to rail against Larry McMurtry like a 2 year old throwing a temper tantrum.  How dare he break my heart with his ruthless and wonderful writing.
- Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe: Not much to say here. Moving along.
- Magic Slays by Ilona Andrews: Why did it take me a year and half to pick up this series again? It is so so good.  I think I was so blown away by book 4 that I was afraid the rest of the books wouldn't stand up but book 5 is doing just fine, thank you.

On the BLOG LAST WEEK:

SUNDAY: Thoughts on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl.
MONDAY: Review of The Likelihood of Lucy by Jenny Holiday  - A unique Regency romance.
TUESDAY: Top Ten Tuesday: Beach Reads.  I mostly listed books I am hoping to take to the beach with me this summer.  Because I do get to go.  To the Beach.  I'm a little excited.
THURSDAY: Review of Mister Slaughter by Robert McCammon.  SO good.  This is a colonial era mystery/thriller series and it is amazingly good.

On the BLOG NEXT WEEK:

SUNDAY:  Review of Diamond Solitaire by Peter Lovesey AND The Lewis Man by Peter May
TUESDAY: Top Ten Tuesday Books that Should be Movies.  Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.
WEDNESDAY: Regency Romance Reviews: Sarah MacLean Edition
THURSDAY: The Tough Traveling topic this week is disguises.  I have been woefully terribly at making these lists lately.  Hopefully I can get back in gear with this one.  Hosted by Fantasy Review Barn.

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HAVE FUN TENDING YOUR CORNER OF THE GARDEN THIS WEEK!

REVIEW: Mister Slaughter by Robert McCammon

Mister Slaughter by Robert McCammon
Publication Year: 2010
Genre: Mystery, Historical (Colonial America)
Series: Matthew Corbett #3
Awards: NA
Format: Audio (from Audible.com)
Narrator: Eduardo Ballerini

I'm going to start this review with a plea.  A plea to pick up this really fantastic historical mystery series by Robert McCammon.  It's one of my favorites and it most certainly does not get enough love.  If you don't trust me (I mean, why would you:), trust the good people of goodreads that have collectively given this book a 4.24 rating.  I can hear you arguing that ratings for books 3 deep in a series don't count - by then you've got an audience that is invested and more disposed towards enjoying the book - BUT I counter book one, Speaks the Nightbird, has an average rating of 4.10 out of 5.   The point is this series is incredibly good so if you like historical fiction and/or mysteries, I urge you to check it out.  And no I am not in any way related to Robert McCammon; I just really like the series and wish it got more love.  My one warning would be that they are quite visceral and gruesome - McCammon has also written horror and it shows. 

Now with the shameless begging over with, I can move on to gushing about the third book in the series, Mister Slaughter.  It is 1702, in the fast growing city of New York, and the young protagonist, Matthew Corbett is settling into his new(ish) position as an agent with a Pinkerton type agency, Colonial America style.  He and his partner Greathouse can be hired to do almost anything from solving a problem through detective work to escorting violent prisoners from one jail to the next.  In this instance they have been hired to transfer Mister Tyranthus Slaughter (best name ever?  possibly so) from a madhouse in the country outside of New York to the city where he will be placed upon a ship for England to be tried for murder.   Things don't go according to plan.

At the start of the book, Matthew has become a bit of a local celebrity.  His landlord, a printer, has published accounts of Matthew's adventure in book two (The Queen of Bedlam) and all the attention has gone to his head a bit.  He is in debt because he has become a bit of dandy and he is resentful that Greathouse, older, more experienced but less intellectual, feels like he can order Matthew around.  This attitude leads Matthew into making some very poor decisions which have disastrous consequences. 

Matthew's journey and growth in this book is one of the more important parts of the story and it enriches what is otherwise a plain old man hunt.  I have to admit that I was initially very peeved at how Matthew 's character was portrayed in the early parts of the book - I felt it was inconsistent with the Matthew from books one and two.  I still think his foolishness and self-involvement was a bit overdone but the payoff in the end was worth it, in my opinion, and McCammon does his best to explain why Matthew would be acting the way he does.

While I'm going on about characters, let's talk about Tyranthus Slaughter.  He is a brilliant character that is evil in a way that borders on the supernatural but human enough to remain disturbing.  He is mesmerizing  - the type of villain that can charm and bluff his way into anyone's trust, a master actor who can outsmart anyone he chooses.  The author's descriptions of him are incredibly vivid, almost tactile and the character is provided more depth by the narration in the audiobook - I loved how the narrator voiced him.  I actually was a little disappointed in how he voiced Matthew (he sounded a little too prissy) but his Slaughter made up for it one hundred fold. 

One of the strengths of all the books in this series is the depiction of Colonial America and this book is no exception.  McCammon has a way of bringing that time and place to life in a very matter fact kind of way.  There is little to no evidence of glaring "look at all this research I did about this historic artifact or custom."  The Colonial America being presented is a very lived in one that feels real and gives me a sense of what it might have been like to actually live at that time. It is very skillfully done.  In this book in particular, the wilderness of New York state is explored and Native Americans are encountered for the first time in the series (I think). 

The book wasn't perfect of course.  Besides the above mentioned too deviant behavior of Matthew, McCammon uses a couple of literary devices or tricks a little too frequently.  He ends a couple chapters with big fake out cliff hangers which came across as a little pulpy and out of the tone of the book as a whole.  Also he really likes to start chapters, having skipped a big chunk of time since the previous chapter and then back tracks explaining all that leads up to the current state of events.  This is a fine way of storytelling of course but it happens a little too often and is a little jarring - making me notice it when things should just flow. 

FINAL VERDICT:  I think this may be my favorite book yet in this atmospheric and realistic historical mystery/adventure series.  I was riveted the whole way through and a particularly interesting villain as well as the journey the protagonist goes on make this installment particularly worthwhile.  4 out of 5 Stars.