Monday Musings: Midnight Habits, More Vampires & Steampunk Flashbacks
My Monday postings seem to have fallen off lately and I've found myself watching the clock on my desktop click its' way towards midnight while I drum aimlessly on the keyboard thinking of what to type.
The past week wasn't as full of literary adventure as I feel it could have been. It seems to me that not only are there times when life just doesn't seem to want to give me the time to read, but there are also times when I experience what could be termed a drought of literature. I'll walk through the library, click through online booklists, and find little to inspire me - though I know that there must be hundreds of wonderful books waiting for me to discover the worlds between their covers.
It is sometimes in these literary droughts that I stray from my normal genres in search of something new. Sometimes the journey is successful and I stumble upon a gem that I didn't know to look for, but fall in love with anyway. More rarely however, I realize that I'm in a reading slump, that my usual book-finding sense is on the temporary fritz. Or perhaps the books I find are simply not suited to me at this particular moment. It is this last that I had happen to me this past week.
That's not to say that I read nothing.
Bad Blood by Kristen Painter
Continuing the series I began the week before last, I was quite gleeful to be able to pick up the book Bad Blood by Kristen Painter, the third book in the House of Comarre series. Kristen continues to amaze me with her plotlines and her refusal to slide down the liberally greased slope into the common plot holes of urban fantasy romance. Chrysabelle and the rest of the main characters who populate the story continue to grow and change. While I never was truly shocked by any of the plot twists or reveals, at the same time I didn't find them tiresome or predictable.
I did feel a bit sad at the end of the book. I do so love to come to the end of the story - and unlike the first two books of the series, I feel as though the story-arc in Bad Blood merely pulls the reader on towards the next book - without holding a story arc of its' own with a resolution at the end that contributes to the larger story arc. That being said, it did hold my attention well and left me wanting more. The next book in the series is due to be released in 2012 and as before, I am eager to find out what happens next!
And now for a flashback:
I intended to review at least one steampunk title last week, but ran out of . . .um . . . steam. (I'm sorry, it was the word that came to mind, and I'm sleeeeepy). So here's the book that should have made it into my last post - had I not been so long-winded on the topic of vampires!
The Falling Machine by Andrew Mayer
Steampunk superheroes in Industrial Revolution-Era New York.
There is something ridiculously believable about the world of The Falling Machine. A fun story full of shadowy figures and all-too-imaginable machinery, The Falling Machine is an easy and worthwhile read. Expect to be reminded somewhat of I,Robot - with that very special steampunk twist.
Though I thoroughly enjoy the costuming and the artwork that are associated with the world of steampunk, I confess that I cannot consider myself a true aficionado of the genre, since I've not read much of it. With books like this one to ease me gently into the genre however, I think it may quickly become a favorite.
The book itself - at least the printing I read - is the size of a hardcover novel, but is actually in paperback, and the illustration style on the cover is interesting to me as I don't think it's one I've seen used often in book art. Although almost cartoonish in nature, it also reminds me of watercolor and it's muted colors - apart from the blues, certainly added to the tone of the story as the artwork lingered in my head as I was reading. The seeming simplicity of the illustration coupled with the flourishes and more fanciful typography of the series and book titles seem to be a new trend. Thus far I like it, though I have a feeling it may become overused and tired quickly if not held in check.
The past week wasn't as full of literary adventure as I feel it could have been. It seems to me that not only are there times when life just doesn't seem to want to give me the time to read, but there are also times when I experience what could be termed a drought of literature. I'll walk through the library, click through online booklists, and find little to inspire me - though I know that there must be hundreds of wonderful books waiting for me to discover the worlds between their covers.
It is sometimes in these literary droughts that I stray from my normal genres in search of something new. Sometimes the journey is successful and I stumble upon a gem that I didn't know to look for, but fall in love with anyway. More rarely however, I realize that I'm in a reading slump, that my usual book-finding sense is on the temporary fritz. Or perhaps the books I find are simply not suited to me at this particular moment. It is this last that I had happen to me this past week.
That's not to say that I read nothing.
Bad Blood by Kristen PainterContinuing the series I began the week before last, I was quite gleeful to be able to pick up the book Bad Blood by Kristen Painter, the third book in the House of Comarre series. Kristen continues to amaze me with her plotlines and her refusal to slide down the liberally greased slope into the common plot holes of urban fantasy romance. Chrysabelle and the rest of the main characters who populate the story continue to grow and change. While I never was truly shocked by any of the plot twists or reveals, at the same time I didn't find them tiresome or predictable.
I did feel a bit sad at the end of the book. I do so love to come to the end of the story - and unlike the first two books of the series, I feel as though the story-arc in Bad Blood merely pulls the reader on towards the next book - without holding a story arc of its' own with a resolution at the end that contributes to the larger story arc. That being said, it did hold my attention well and left me wanting more. The next book in the series is due to be released in 2012 and as before, I am eager to find out what happens next!
And now for a flashback:
I intended to review at least one steampunk title last week, but ran out of . . .um . . . steam. (I'm sorry, it was the word that came to mind, and I'm sleeeeepy). So here's the book that should have made it into my last post - had I not been so long-winded on the topic of vampires!
The Falling Machine by Andrew MayerSteampunk superheroes in Industrial Revolution-Era New York.
There is something ridiculously believable about the world of The Falling Machine. A fun story full of shadowy figures and all-too-imaginable machinery, The Falling Machine is an easy and worthwhile read. Expect to be reminded somewhat of I,Robot - with that very special steampunk twist.
Though I thoroughly enjoy the costuming and the artwork that are associated with the world of steampunk, I confess that I cannot consider myself a true aficionado of the genre, since I've not read much of it. With books like this one to ease me gently into the genre however, I think it may quickly become a favorite.
The book itself - at least the printing I read - is the size of a hardcover novel, but is actually in paperback, and the illustration style on the cover is interesting to me as I don't think it's one I've seen used often in book art. Although almost cartoonish in nature, it also reminds me of watercolor and it's muted colors - apart from the blues, certainly added to the tone of the story as the artwork lingered in my head as I was reading. The seeming simplicity of the illustration coupled with the flourishes and more fanciful typography of the series and book titles seem to be a new trend. Thus far I like it, though I have a feeling it may become overused and tired quickly if not held in check.
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