Re: RI January 2025

On 2/23/25 1:00 AM, Ted Nolan <tednolan> wrote:

A pretty good month.  Godsworn was the weakest book, but not bad,
and I had some qubbiles with the Stirling, but I enjoyed it
nonetheless.
 As usual, the links are Amazon affiliate ones that could, in
theory, earn me something should you enter the store through
one.
 

<snip some>

 Sanctuary (Roman's Chronicles Book 1)
by Ilona Andrews
https://amzn.to/4hP6Bsn
 Roman is a Russian Black Volhv, part of the improbably large Atlanta
area Russian magical community in Andrews' "Kate Daniel" setting.
As you would expect, being the servant of a dark god (not the same
thing, exactly, as an evil god) is no bed of roses, and thus Roman
finds himself, unsurprisingly, alone in his remote cottage for the
holidays once more.  Furthermore, said god is on the outs with his
wife and Roman finds himself (literally) roped into his efforts to
make amends, something that is making his sleep as restive as his
holidays are less than festive...
 To some extent Roman is used to all that and it's his status quo.
What is *not* usual is a teenaged boy showing up on his doorstep
and asking for "Sanctuary", a Christian concept that is not exactly
part of Roman's Volhv tradition.  Nearly dead when Roman takes him
in, the kid is unwilling to say more than his sister is coming
for him.  Who she is, exactly, is a (another) mystery, as is the
identity of the powerful magical posse who come to take the boy.
However, if Sanctuary is not part of Roman's tradition, it is
something that, as he notes, he is very good at, and they aren't
getting the kid without a fight.
 Do I need to say that an Ilona Andrews book is good?  OK, this
book (or novella really) is very good.  We have seen Roman before
(he officiated Kate's wedding), but this is the first really
in-depth look at him we have had, and how he stays a good person
in the complicated life he leads.  And the sister?  That's as
mortifying as anything we could have hoped for.
 At least in the ebook there is also a very short sequel story
developing the same themes as Roman's story, and that is also
good.

Thanks for this - I forgot it was out, and I'm very much looking forward to reading it. On to one more...

Accepting the Lance (Liaden Universe Book 23)
by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
https://amzn.to/3WTWfzk
 As mentioned by, I believe, Tony, some months ago, this volume
brings to an end, or at least to satisfying inflection points, a
number of story-lines which have been brewing for years.

 > > If you will recall, Clan Korval was forced to implement "Plan B"

and abandon Liad in response to an attack from the mysterious
Department of The Interior.  Their long-term response included the
(unfortunately necessary) bombardment of Liad itself, making them
even less popular there, so there is no going back.  Moving hard &
ruthlessly, the seemingly-useless Korval, Pat Rin was forced to
take over the remote and frigid planet of Surebleak in a kind of
"A Piece Of The Action" set-piece.  Now with the whole clan actually
settled there, the time has come to legitimize that expedient action.
Through an odd sequence of events, this comes down to something
almost unknown in Liaden tradition, and apparently almost forgotten
in Terran tradition: An election.  Complicating this story-line is
the fact that the DOI has (apparently) put their backing behind a
shadowy alternate candidate, and that the independent commission
investigating whether Surebleak's space-port should be recommended
or de-listed is on-planet and casting a jaundiced eye at the political
unrest.
 In the meantime, Val Con has assembled a team of 6 ex DOI "Agents
Of Change" to take down the Department itself, something that seems
unlikely to succeed except that pureness of heart is rewarded in
the Laiden Universe (and that Val Con has a kick-ass psionic
sister...).  Of course if the DOI's in-bound armada of Old Tech
destroys Surebleak first it won't really matter what six people do
on the other side of the galaxy.
 And if all *that* is stopped, Surebleak is still fated to collapse
in a few thousand years unless the Clutch Turtles can successfully
intervene (and by-the-by finally get involved with human civilization...)
 And I haven't even mentioned the end of the Bedel's long wait, or
how Daav, Aelliana & Kamele (sort of their wife) all get along after
Aelliana returns to embodiment, what happened to the explorers from
the Old Universe or the story behind the vague menace of General
Support.
 If you have been following the Liaden Universe for years, there's
a lot of payoff here.  If you haven't, why not?

I did indeed think this one was wonderful - a highlight of this excellent series for me. So many threads and plotlines came together here, with so much satisfactory progress and a decent amount of resolution.
Tony