Books Read Nov 08

You didn't think I hadn't been reading, did you? It's a much shorter list than usual because of working. At least I'm not whining about my feet in this post (okay, maybe a little). Anyhoo--

Author, Title, Genre, Rating, Read All of It?, Comment
BROCKMANN, Suzanne, Kiss and Tell, romance, medium, yes, too ""romance-y"" -- early work"
-----, No Ordinary Man, romance, medium, no, formulaic and fairly slow; an early work.
CLARE, Pamela, Ride the Fire, romance, medium, yes, Amer. West historical.
GRIFFIN* W.E.B., Corps X: Retreat, Hell!, fiction, good, yes, Korean war cont.
----- Corps IX: Under Fire, fiction, good, yes, Korean war start.
HEINLEIN* Robert, Past Through Tomorrow, sf, medium, yes, Spider Robinson be damned, RAH is a closet misogynist and male chauvinist pig, and his later stuff doesn't change that.
-----, Expanded Universe, sf, medium, yes, lots of trademark polemics and early works.
JANCE, J.A., Hand of Evil, mystery, good, yes, Ali Reynolds series, new to me.
JOSS, Morag, Fruitful Bodies, mystery, medium, no, Sara Selkirk series. Too slow, too complicated w/messy people. Professional cellist said of main character, who's a prof. cellist, "when does she practice??!!"
LACKEY, Mercedes, Valdemar Companion, fantasy, good, yes, Reference book by Helfers & Little eds.
LOWELL, Elizabeth, Shadow and Silk, thriller/romance, good, yes, she's had a winning formula for some time: alpha men battling age-old natures to work with alpha women, instead of leaving them at home.
MASSEY, Sujata, Zen Attitude, mystery, good, no, Rei Shimura series; contemporary Japan. Realized had read it years ago.
MONING, Karen Marie, Bloodfever, pararomance, good, yes, complex but still full of alpha males who give the heroine nothing but orders.
ROBB* J.D., #30 Ritual in Death, cop/sf/romance, good, yes, in Suite 606 anthology
-----, #31 Salvation in Death, cop/sf/romance, good, yes, lots of stuff about faith/religion.
ROBERTS* Nora, Seven #3: Pagan Stone, pararomance, medium, yes, Sign of Seven 3/3. Tried & true formula, everything neatly tidied up.
ROSS, Kate, Devil in Music, mystery, good, no, Julian Kestrel series. Just a trifle too precious.
SALA, Sharon, Bad Penny, thriller/romance, good, yes, Cat Dupree
TEPPER, Sherri, Margarets, sf, good, yes, Excellent, more romantic than usual for her, high-flown philosophy, indictment of current Earth psychology and politics.
WAMBAUGH, Joseph, Hollywood Crows, mystery, good, yes, welcome back! funny and wry and grim.