BookWyrm: His Majesty's Dragon, Blood and Gold, Bad Blood, I Will Fear No Evil,

I've had some time this summer to catch up on reading, and I find my Goodreads link is pretty much spamming my blog... SO, in an effort to keep things a little more shipshape I'll be posting my reviews omnibus style under the label Library (or BookWyrm, I haven't decided yet).

I took a 36 hour Greyhound bus trip (one way) to see my parents this summer, and had a LOT of time to read, especially since I had to go home again too!

I finished reading Blood and Gold (Vampire Chronicles 6) *4/5* by Anne Rice. Yes, after all this time, I still haven't finished them. It was exactly what I expected, and love, from the series. I adore that each book is like a little biography that, more and more as the series progresses, tends to draw history in upon itself. I really enjoy it. Historical fiction has always been my favorite, and I love that I get to combine it with the kind of vampire that Anne Rice wrote. I will admit to being slightly guffawed by the viking. Seriously, it seems like a waste of a character. I find myself wondering if he's a symbol, with his seemingly sadomasochistic need to dominated by that which he sought to dominate; conquered by that which threw him away previously. Or, it's just something sloppily tied up. Either way, the rest of the book is wonderful.

Bad Blood (Crimson Moon 01) by L.A. Banks *2/5*. Definitely cheesy and over-raunchy. I liked the attempt to tie in Native American lore to the werewolf mythology, even if they just used stereotypes. I did really like the shadow powers, even if she did use it in some weirdly erotic way. Not a whole lot on the vampires, which was okay since what I did see made them minor races/characters. A few leaps in logic but not the worst penny-dreadful out there. It seemed like it could have been ok, but it was shakily written and tried to make up for it with a lot of sex. Probably won't continue the series.

I Will Fear No Evil, Robert Heinlein *3/5*. There was something that kept me from getting really IN to the book. The characters were interesting, the scenes were cool, the science was neat (though not nearly as present as in other Heinlein I've read). I suppose there's a disconnect for me in how quickly the original mind is absorbed into the mind of the second, when they're supposed to be both totally present. All the focus on her emotion and love etc, while I understand they are important to the story, I suppose it just wasn't what I was looking for. It was not "Stranger" or "Moon is a Harsh Mistress" or anything else.

His Majesty's Dragon (Temeraire #1) by Naomi Novik *5/5*. Honestly, I bought the book because there was both a dragon and a clipper on the cover. My brain screamed "pirates and dragons, WEEEE!" Less ships, more dragons, but still amazing. I loved it. Action kept the story rolling. I cried a little, and definitely grinned a lot. Great story, great writing. Excited to read the next one! Short review, I know, but I didn't dislike anything about it!