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Books
Gate
of Ivory by Doris Egan
Description
- Science Fiction, far future, fantasy (sort of). Theodora, a stranded
myth and folklore student, is hired by the head of a merchant household
to read tarot cards. Adventure ensues.
The title refers to the ancient
Greek legend that true prophetic dreams come through Gates of Horn, while
false dreams come through Gates of Ivory. Ok, so I'm a geek, I love details
like that. The story is told in the first person from Theodora's point
of view. Theodora, named after the Byzantine Empress, is a hoot. She sounds
just like a Literature/geek/myth archetype student ought to sound like.
She's competent without being annoyingly over capable. She isn't beautiful.
She's short. She gets cranky. She learns by study and by months of practice.
She gets the job done. Ran Cormallon, her employer, comes off both attractive
and acerbic. I love banter in my books. Doris Egan does an excellent job
of creating a world culture that makes sense and isn't just retread history.
A good solid read. Try with some Popcorn, a Gewurtraminer, a comfy couch,
and a blanket.
Lost
and Found by Jayne Ann Krentz
 Description:
Fiction, Romance, Contemporary. Cady and Mack pose as lovers and investigate
the death of her great-aunt.
Lost and Found is a welcome
return to the quality of books I expect from Krentz. Her last two contemporary
romances disappointed me, but I'm happy I trudged ahead because her latest
is as light, fun, and sexy as I could wish. The protagonists, Cady and
Mack, are business acquaintances in the world of lost and stolen antiquities.
They get a chance to become much better acquainted when Cady's great-aunt
dies and leaves her in control of the family business. Cady suspects foul
play and enlists Mack to help her investigate. Of course, they need to
pose as lovers so her family will accept him and hijinks ensue. This is
exactly the lazy-afternoon-in-front-of-the-fire type of book I love from
Krentz. The mystery is fast-paced, the romance sizzles, and it wraps up
neatly at the end of the book. Okay, this one wrapped up a bit too quickly
for me, but that may be because I wanted to prolong my lazy afternoon feeling.
I'd recommend this book as superior fluff - four out of five stars.
Tarzan
of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs
 Description:
Fiction, Adventure, Historical. Tarzan is orphaned as an infant and raised
by gorillas in the African jungle.
Odd as it may seem, this
is one of those books that should be on everyone's must read list. In fact,
I'd recommend reading the first 5 at least and picking and choosing from
the other 19 as whimsy strikes. Tarzan may be viewed as just a simple ape
man, but Burroughs was definitely over-educated. His use of multitudinous
polysyllabic verbalizations to describe "man kills lion with knife" is
truly breathtaking. His portrayal of the perfection of the human form that
is Tarzan in an itty bitty loin cloth will leave you panting for more.
This is one of the quintessential adventure novels with action and suspense
on every page. Everyone already knows the story of Tarzan orphaned on the
shores of Africa and raised by gorillas, but no adaptation can come close
to the amazing vividness and complete lack of political correctness of
the original. Besides which, the first eight books are out of copyright
and therefore available free in a variety of formats on the internet.
Book one follows Tarzan's adventures through birth, childhood among the
apes, first contact with the white man (and the love of his life, Jane),
and introduction to civilization. How he and Jane get together and many,
many other adventures are covered in the other books. So go right now and
get it if you haven't already - five out of five stars.
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