gilda_elise | Entries tagged with goodreads 2022

Sometimes you have to leave behind everything you know to find the place you truly belong...

Nana the cat is on a road trip. He is not sure where he's going or why, but it means that he gets to sit in the front seat of a silver van with his beloved owner, Satoru. Side by side, they cruise around Japan through the changing seasons, visiting Satoru's old friends. He meets Yoshimine, the brusque and unsentimental farmer for whom cats are just ratters; Sugi and Chikako, the warm-hearted couple who run a pet-friendly B&B; and Kosuke, the mournful husband whose cat-loving wife has just left him. There's even a very special dog who forces Nana to reassess his disdain for the canine species.

But what is the purpose of this road trip? And why is everyone so interested in Nana? Nana does not know and Satoru won't say. But when Nana finally works it out, his small heart will break…

It took a little while for me to get into this book, but once I did I was hooked. Told from Nana’s point of view, it’s an unsentimental telling of his travels. Even his love for his owner is tempered with the way of a cat.

But Nana knows what he wants, and that means staying with Satoru, no matter what he has to do to make that happen. Though he meets people and pets well worth staying with, he must follow his heart.

But why are they on this journey? Why is Satoru trying to get rid of him? It took me a bit to figure that out. The ending broke me heart, just as it did Nana’s, but the book is still very much worth reading. It’s a poignant telling of the love between a pet and his person.

This book was recommended by

severina2001, and I am so happy that she did so. So, thanks so much

severina2001!

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56. Biloxi by Mary Miller
57. Facing the Anthropocene: Fossil Capitalism and the Crisis of the Earth System by Ian Angus
58. The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa, Philip Gabriel (Translator)

Traveling Cat Chronicles

Science tells us that a new and dangerous stage in planetary evolution has begun--the Anthropocene, a time of rising temperatures, extreme weather, rising oceans, and mass species extinctions. Humanity faces not just more pollution or warmer weather, but a crisis of the Earth System. If business as usual continues, this century will be marked by rapid deterioration of our physical, social, and economic environment. Large parts of Earth will become uninhabitable, and civilization itself will be threatened. Facing the Anthropocene shows what has caused this planetary emergency, and what we must do to meet the challenge.

Bridging the gap between Earth System science and ecological Marxism, Ian Angus examines not only the latest scientific findings about the physical causes and consequences of the Anthropocene transition, but also the social and economic trends that underlie the crisis. Cogent and compellingly written, Facing the Anthropocene offers a unique synthesis of natural and social science that illustrates how capitalism's inexorable drive for growth, powered by the rapid burning of fossil fuels that took millions of years to form, has driven our world to the brink of disaster. Survival in the Anthropocene, Angus argues, requires radical social change, replacing fossil capitalism with a new, ecosocialist civilization.

One of the most frightening books I’ve read regarding climate change. Angus pulls no punches when it comes to what lies ahead. And not in fifty years, but maybe less than ten. We’ve left the Holocene behind and are firmly in the Anthropocene; the Great Acceleration is a run-away train.

What I found intriguing was his arguments regarding capitalism. I’ve long thought that the system of constant growth wasn’t sustainable. Angus puts forth valid reasons for its demise. Unfortunately, I didn’t find his solution one that has a chance of succeeding. I think it’s been shown that too many people don’t want to sacrifice, even if it means saving civilization. If they had, we wouldn’t be in the mess we’re in now. We would have already taken the steps needed to stop this catastrophe. We’ve had fifty years, and we’ve done very little.

I didn’t agree with the author’s disclaiming the idea of overpopulation being part of the problem; he uses only those in the developing world as an example, without taking into account that they are developing. What happens when they’re putting out as much greenhouse gases as we are? And the developed world cutting back on their population could only help.

As I said, a frightening book, but maybe one that was required reading.

Mary Miller seizes the mantle of southern literature with this wry tale of middle age and the unexpected turns a life can take.

Like her predecessors Ann Beattie and Raymond Carver, Mary Miller brings an essential voice to her generation. Building on her critically acclaimed novel, The Last Days of California, and her biting collection, Always Happy Hour, Miller slyly transports readers to her unapologetic corner of the South—this time, Biloxi, Mississippi, home to sixty-three-year-old Louis McDonald Jr. His wife of thirty-seven years left him, his father has passed—and he has impulsively retired from his job in anticipation of an inheritance check that may not come. In the meantime, he watches reality television, sips beer, and avoids his ex-wife and daughter. One day, he stops at a house advertising free dogs and meets overweight mixed-breed Layla. Unexpectedly, Louis takes her, and, newly invigorated, begins investigating local dog parks and buying extra bologna. Mining the absurdities of life with her signature “droll minimalist’s-eye view of America” (Joyce Carol Oates), Mary Miller’s Biloxi affirms her place in contemporary literature.

This is an odd book, with an odd main protagonist. I kept waiting for Louis to start learning, changing the way he lives life. Buying more bologna just doesn’t cut it. And I can’t say how many times I thought, Take that dog to the vet!

I suppose more of his actions are a sign of depression, but some of them are just plain stupid. Sometimes I felt sorry for the guy, but often I was mainly exasperated by his seeming inability to think ahead.

There is a change in his thinking, but not until the last couple of pages. As I said, an odd book.

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56. Biloxi by Mary Miller

Biloxi

The year is 2025, and a mysterious virus has broken out in Scotland--a lethal illness that seems to affect only men. When Dr. Amanda MacLean reports this phenomenon, she is dismissed as hysterical. By the time her warning is heeded, it is too late. The virus becomes a global pandemic--and a political one. The victims are all men. The world becomes alien--a women's world.

What follows is the immersive account of the women who have been left to deal with the virus's consequences, told through first-person narratives. Dr. MacLean; Catherine, a social historian determined to document the human stories behind the male plague; intelligence analyst Dawn, tasked with helping the government forge a new society; and Elizabeth, one of many scientists desperately working to develop a vaccine. Through these women and others, we see the uncountable ways the absence of men has changed society, from the personal--the loss of husbands and sons--to the political--the changes in the workforce, fertility and the meaning of family.

In The End of Men, Christina Sweeney-Baird creates an unforgettable tale of loss, resilience and hope.

One of the best apocalyptic novels I’ve read. There’s only the virus; no zombies, no camps of fighters, just what happens when a virus takes hold and takes out a large segment of the population. That is tragedy enough; for those who die, and for those left behind. Their grief is palpable.

What made it more interesting was seeing events just through the eyes of women. How much differently things happen when so many who have been shunted aside are given a voice. Some of the women are extraordinary; some are like so many of us. Going about their daily lives, never dreaming of what will be asked of them.

The work to develop a vaccine gives the reader a similar view to what the world went through with COVID. That things aren’t as simple as much of the population believes. That it’s not a straight line, but many different roads, so many of which are dead ends. For not other reason, this is a book to be read, especially by those who think something is a conspiracy when answers aren’t immediately forthcoming.

I eagerly look forward to reading the author’s next book.

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51. Daughters of Sparta by Claire Heywood
52. The Great God Pan and Other Classic Horror Stories by Arthur Machen
53. He Who Types Between the Rows: A Decade of Horror Drive-In by Mark Sieber
54. Night After Night (The Cold Calling #03) by Phil Rickman
55. The End of Men by Christina Sweeney-Baird

Goodreads 55 Banner

A spooky supernatural thriller by the author of the Merrily Watkins series

Liam Defford doesn't believe in ghosts. As the head of a production company, however, he does believe in high-impact TV. On the lookout for his next idea, he hires journalist Grayle Underhill to research the history of Knap Hall—a Tudor farmhouse turned luxury hotel, abandoned by its owners at the height of its success. The staff has been paid to keep quiet about what happened there, but the stories seep through. They're not conducive to a quick sale, but Defford isn't interested in keeping Knap Hall for more than a few months. Just long enough to make a reality TV show that will run nightly.

A house isolated by its rural situation and its dark reputation; six people—known to the nation but strangers to one another—locked inside; but this time Big Brother is not in control.

I was initially put off by the fact that one of the major characters from the previous books, ex-policeman Bobby Maiden, had been completely written out of this one. I’m not sure why that step was taken; maybe there was no way to fit him into the plot, which seemed sort of weird but whatever. In any event, the book definitely didn’t start off on the right foot.

But as the story progressed, I was able to begin to understand why that step was taken. This time Grayle Underhill is the central focus as the main protagonist. Having someone at her back would have changed the entire dynamic of the story, because whatever is going on, it’s having a real effect on Grayle.

And that was a pleasant surprise. Rickman returns to a more unearthly and chilling story. Are the events taking place supernatural, or the hand of man? Some questions are ultimately answered. Some are not. It’s up to the reader to decide.

The book was delightfully spooky, and perhaps the last like it from the author since there doesn’t seem to be anymore in the Cold Calling series. It’s too bad that Rickman seems to have left horror behind, because he did it so very well.

Night Title - Night After Night (The Cold Calling #03) by Phil Rickman

In January 2006 Mark Sieber created the Horror Drive-In website as a home for his new message board. The site also provided a platform for Sieber to discuss his lifelong passions: books, movies, music, publishing, drive-in theaters, and the horror community. Not merely content to review and comment on the state of the industry, Sieber offered insights and revelations into his own life as a horror devotee.

He Who Types Between the Rows offers a tour of the genre from 2006 to 2017. From King and McCammon to newer writers such as Rio Youers and Caroline Kepnes, from Evil Dead to Nudist Colony of the Dead, Sieber's essays cover the vast spectrum of horror in all its forms. This book gives readers a view of the field from the trenches, written by a true fan. So hurry back with your snacks, make one last bathroom stop, and grab that illicit case of beer from the trunk. Showtime is in one minute. This edition includes a Foreword by Jeff Strand, and an Afterword by Thomas F. Monteleone.

The book wasn’t exactly what I was expecting. I guess I figured that in a decade there would have been some decent horror movies. I certainly was hoping to discover some movies to watch. No such luck.

It was a different story in regards to books. He covers some of my favorite authors, McCammon and Wilson to name two. And I did find over a dozen books, and two authors, that I plan on looking into.

But I skimmed through many of the chapters, not being into slasher movies or books. And I was put off some books and movies just by their titles. So, sort of 50/50, not great, but not bad. I’ve discovered that there’s a second volume. Will I read it? Not sure.

Arthur Machen (1863–1947), Welsh novelist and essayist, is considered one of the most important and influential writers of his time. While displaying a preoccupation with pagan themes and matters of the occult — an interest he shared with his close friend, the distinguished scholar A. E. Waite — his writing transcends the genre of supernatural horror. Oscar Wilde, W. B. Yeats, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, as well as Paul Bowles and Jorge Luis Borges are just a few of the literary notables who are counted among his admirers. Machen is also a key figure in the development of pulp magazine fiction (e.g., Weird Tales), a line of ancestry that leads directly to today's popular graphic novels. Further, Machen's name often crops up in the writings of theorists and practitioners of psychogeography, a school of thought and literature which explores the hidden links between the landscape and the mind.
In "The Great God Pan," Arthur Machen delivers a tense atmospheric story about a string of mysterious suicides. With its suggestive visions of decadent sexuality, the work scandalized Victorian London. This edition also includes "The White People," "The Inmost Light," and "The Shining Pyramid." Taken together, these short stories are considered some of the first works of horror and have inspired generations of subsequent writers and creators.

I suppose there’s some reason these stories have inspired future generations of horror writers; I, for one, didn’t see it.

The stories drag on, with a lot of extraneous verbiage. If one word is needed, ten are used. It’s a short book, only 136 pages. It shouldn’t have taken me more than a couple of days to finish (I only give a book about an hour a day.) Instead, it took me five.

Which is really too bad, because the ideas behind the stories are quite good, especially The Great God Pan. But even there, the lack of real resolution was annoying. What was let loose from a little brain surgery? And, not having done it to himself, how could the “surgeon” know exactly what was happening to the patient?

Obviously, much of the book’s success has to do with his readers’ of the time never having been exposed to this type of story. For someone in this time, it’s old hat.

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51. Daughters of Sparta by Claire Heywood
52. The Great God Pan and Other Classic Horror Stories by Arthur Machen

Goodreads 52

A Gothic horror classic (published 50 or more years ago, published no later than 1972)
1. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
2. The Great God Pan

• AUGUST- Quick Lit. Novellas, Graphic Novels, Poetry Collections, books under 200 pages, one sitting reads.

The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen

Under 200 pages, but not a one sitting read.

For millennia, men have told the legend of the woman whose face launched a thousand ships--but now it's time to hear her side of the story. Daughters of Sparta is a tale of secrets, love, and tragedy from the women behind mythology's most devastating war, the infamous Helen and her sister Klytemnestra.

As princesses of Sparta, Helen and Klytemnestra have known nothing but luxury and plenty. With their high birth and unrivaled beauty, they are the envy of all of Greece. But such privilege comes at a cost. While still only girls, the sisters are separated and married to foreign kings of their father's choosing--the powerful Agamemnon, and his brother Menelaos. Yet even as Queens, each is only expected to do two things: birth an heir and embody the meek, demure nature that is expected of women.

But when the weight of their husbands' neglect, cruelty, and ambition becomes too heavy to bear, Helen and Klytemnestra must push against the constraints of their society to carve new lives for themselves, and in doing so, make waves that will ripple throughout the next three thousand years.

Daughters of Sparta is a vivid and illuminating reimagining of the Siege of Troy, told through the perspectives of two women whose voices have been ignored for far too long.

I’ve read many books, both fiction and nonfiction, about Troy. Especially once the city was found, many books have tried to tie the place to the people. Did the Greek and Trojan heroes really exist? Who knows. But in all those books, I don’t think any have made these two woman come so alive.

Considering that Helen’s thought to be the cause of the war, it seems strange that she’s usually given short shrift. Klytemnestra even more so. Not so here. Following the Greek myths, their stories are given depth, and reasons for doing what they did. The reader may not agree with those reasons, but at least there are reasons.

This book sits on the same shelf as David Gemmell’s Troy trilogy. It would seem to be difficult to bring these ancient legends to life; both authors do a splendid job of it.

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51. Daughters of Sparta by Claire Heywood

Goodreads 51

H. P. Lovecraft is widely regarded as one of the greatest writers of modern horror fiction and a pervasive influence on popular culture. His monstrous creations have influenced the look of films such as Alien, Hellboy and even Pirates of the Caribbean, and his most memorable creatures have featured in almost every form of fantasy art. Yet this eccentric and reclusive resident of Providence, Rhode Island, did not have a book published during his lifetime and died at the age of 46 in comparative obscurity, convinced that he had failed to achieve the recognition he deserved.

In this comprehensive new biography, author Paul Roland examines the life and work of the man Stephen King called “the 20th century’s greatest practitioner of the classic horror tale,” and reveals that Lovecraft’s vision was a projection of his inner demons, his recurring nightmares and his inability to live in what he considered a hostile world.

The book is illustrated with rare personal sketches of his creations by Lovecraft himself, images pulp fiction magazines of the period, film stills and posters, comic strip and graphic novel panels, family photographs, as well as facsimiles of private correspondence, original manuscripts and diary extracts in Lovecraft’s own hand.

Curious is a word and a half for the life of Lovecraft. And this book covers it all, from his ideal childhood, to his awkward adolescence, to his troubled adulthood. The reader is given an interesting and highly readable inside look into Lovecraft’s life.

And I appreciated how Lovecraft’s stories were integrated into the biography. There is a synopsis for each, the story fitted into the time and place of its writing, what success each had, as well as the inspiration that help create it.

As much as Lovecraft fairly worshipped Edgar Allen Poe, his own writings would influence the generations of readers and writers who would come after. Though Lovecraft had little success during his lifetime, his work has lived on. It’s been awhile since I’ve read any of his work. I think it’s time to pull out my copy of his stories and let myself be pulled back into the highly imaginative, yet deeply unsettling, world of H. P. Lovecraft.

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46. Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
47. Good Neighbors by Sarah Langan
48. Mean Spirit (The Cold Calling #2) by Phil Rickman
49. The Killing of Richard the Third (Henry Morane #1) by Robert Farrington
50. The Curious Case of H. P. Lovecraft by Paul Roland

Curious Case of HP Lovecraft

1483: King Edward IV dies, leaving two innocent young princes in line to the throne. But when scandal and conspiracy explodes around their claim, Richard of Gloucester is proclaimed king. Shortly after, the princes vanish, and storm clouds begin to gather around the newly crowned King Richard III.

Fighter, philanderer and royal spy Henry Morane is tasked with investigating the princes' disappearance, the attempted kidnap of the exiled Lancastrian leader Henry Tudor and the hunting out of traitors amid Richard's supporters.

And at the bloody battle of Bosworth Field, King Richard and Henry Morane will face a fatal trial that will dictate the path of history.

The book wasn’t as bad as I feared it might be, but not as good as I had hoped. The plot is good, and Henry Morane is an interesting character. But the inclusion of Matilda (no last name, if you will) turned the story into too much of a farce. Matilda isn’t the brightest lightbulb in the box, and often does things to the detriment of Henry’s livelihood. When not jeopardizing Henry’s job, she’s flouncing off in a huff over some trivial (though not all trivial,) matter. It’s sort of insulting that the writer would write the dominant female character in such a way.

Though mostly about Henry’s adventures, Richard III does make a few appearances. So does Francis, Viscount Lovell, but as a decidedly unpleasant fellow. So, Richard will die, and Henry will live. Yet Farrington does manage to add a bit of tension to the story.

This is the first book in a trilogy. I’ll probably give the second a try, in hopes that things get a little better.

PS: I scanned through the second book. No way.

Suddenly a victim of her own remarkable gifts, Seffi Callard, the world's best known spiritual medium, has been forced to back away from the glamour and the glow of public adulation, becoming a paranoid recluse at her father's home in the Cotswolds. Who is stalking Seffi Callard—and from which side of the grave?

Mean Spirit sees the return of the cast of characters established in The Cold Calling : Bobby Maiden, police detective and survivor of a near-death experience; ‘Holy’ Grayle Underhill, New Age writer originally from New York, now working for Marcus Bacton, irascible editor of a journal of the paranormal; and Cindy Mars-Lewis, who... well, once you've read The Cold Calling, you already know all about Cindy.

Things were going along great. The gang was all back: Grayle, Bobby, Cindy and Marcus. There was a great plot, plenty of murder and mayhem. Even a little what you might call horror with the inclusion of Seffi Callard, a woman who may, or may not, be able to contact the dead. Not the most likable of characters, though.

We got to read more of what the main characters were feeling, how they thought their lives should go on, though at times it seems as if their relationships with each other were taking a backseat. Even so, I was rooting for a little romance. And even though this was more a crime thriller than a horror story, I still found myself enjoying it.

But then came the ending. Or, at least I think it was the ending. At first, I went back and forth on my kindle. Did the end of the book not download? The mystery is solved, but what about the characters? Where do they go from here? It fairly ruined the book for me. Which means that I’m not sure I’ll read the last book in the trilogy. We’ll see.

Celeste Ng’s enthralling dissection of suburbia meets Shirley Jackson’s creeping dread in this propulsive literary noir, when a sudden tragedy exposes the depths of deception and damage in a Long Island suburb—pitting neighbor against neighbor and putting one family in terrible danger.

Welcome to Maple Street, a picture-perfect slice of suburban Long Island, its residents bound by their children, their work, and their illusion of safety in a rapidly changing world.

Arlo Wilde, a gruff has-been rock star who’s got nothing to show for his fame but track marks, is always two steps behind the other dads. His wife, beautiful ex-pageant queen Gertie, feels socially ostracized and adrift. Spunky preteen Julie curses like a sailor and her kid brother Larry is called “Robot Boy” by the kids on the block.

Their next-door neighbor and Maple Street’s Queen Bee, Rhea Schroeder—a lonely community college professor repressing her own dark past—welcomes Gertie and family into the fold. Then, during one spritzer-fueled summer evening, the new best friends share too much, too soon.

As tensions mount, a sinkhole opens in a nearby park, and Rhea’s daughter Shelly falls inside. The search for Shelly brings a shocking accusation against the Wildes that spins out of control. Suddenly, it is one mom’s word against the other’s in a court of public opinion that can end only in blood.

A riveting and ruthless portrayal of American suburbia, Good Neighbors excavates the perils and betrayals of motherhood and friendships and the dangerous clash between social hierarchy, childhood trauma, and fear.

It’s hard to imagine a book that more unearths the deadly undercurrents of hate and classism that can erupt from one incident. With little effort rumor becomes truth, and the people of the neighborhood start to believe without proof. Differences become exaggerated, and sides are drawn. Violence quickly follows.

On another level are the effects of climate change, the cause of the sinkhole. Though referenced almost in passing, its symptoms are everywhere though no one speaks of it, the reader is aware that it’s a major reason that the people of the neighborhood are having their lives changed. It’s a slow-moving tragedy that’s exacerbated by one woman’s hate.

As our own lives are further disrupted by climate change, it isn’t hard to imagine something like this happening in almost any neighborhood in America.

Psych Thriller - Good Neighbors by Sarah Langan

No one’s ever told Eleanor that life should be better than fine

Meet Eleanor Oliphant: she struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she’s thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully timetabled life of avoiding unnecessary human contact, where weekends are punctuated by frozen pizza, vodka, and phone chats with Mummy.

But everything changes when Eleanor meets Raymond, the bumbling and deeply unhygienic IT guy from her office. When she and Raymond together save Sammy, an elderly gentleman who has fallen, the three rescue one another from the lives of isolation that they had been living. Ultimately, it is Raymond’s big heart that will help Eleanor find the way to repair her own profoundly damaged one. If she does, she'll learn that she, too, is capable of finding friendship—and even love—after all.

Smart, warm, uplifting, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine is the story of an out-of-the-ordinary heroine whose deadpan weirdness and unconscious wit make for an irresistible journey as she realizes. . .

the only way to survive is to open your heart.

Eleanor wasn’t an easy character to warm up to. She says whatever comes to mind, with no idea as to how her words can hurt. No social skills whatsoever. She has no friends, and seems to be okay with that.

But seems is the operative word. After she’s drawn into the lives of her coworker, Raymond, and Sammy, the old man’s they help, everything changes. And so does the way that the reader sees Eleanor. Slowly, Eleanor learns that her life is nothing as she has seen it. And though her journey isn’t always smooth, it’s a wonder to behold.

I suspected part of her story, but hoped for a bit more regarding her future. Hers is a terrible, though ultimately uplifting story. I would have loved more.

Is it a love story? I very much believe so.

• JULY- Summer Lovin’ – Having a Blast. This month it’s all about the beach reads, rom coms, and/or love stories. Pick something fun and light-hearted.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Welcome to Wayward Pines, population 461. Nestled amidst picture-perfect mountains, the idyllic town is a modern-day Eden...except for the electrified fence and razor wire, snipers scoping everything 24/7, and the relentless surveillance tracking each word and gesture.
None of the residents know how they got here. They are told where to work, how to live, and who to marry. Some believe they are dead. Others think they’re trapped in an unfathomable experiment. Everyone secretly dreams of leaving, but those who dare face a terrifying surprise.

Ethan Burke has seen the world beyond. He’s sheriff, and one of the few who knows the truth—Wayward Pines isn’t just a town. And what lies on the other side of the fence is a nightmare beyond anyone’s imagining.

I definitely liked this book more than I did its predecessor. There’s more character development, but without taking anything from the fast moving plot. There’s also more of the other characters’ backgrounds. Who they were, where they came from. There’s more depth to them.

And we finally learn the truth behind Wayward Pines. Is its creator thinking about what’s best for the residents, or is there something sinister going on? It’s pretty easy to figure the answer to that question, but it’s still a wild ride.

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41. The X Factor by Andre Norton
42. The Last Wild Horses (Climate Quartet #3) by Maja Lunde, Diane Oatley (Translator)
43. The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner
44. Double Threat by F. Paul Wilson
45. Wayward (Wayward Pines #2) by Blake Crouch

Wayward

Popular - Wayward (Wayward Pines 2) by Blake Crouch

Daley has a problem. Her 26-year life so far has been unconventional, to say the least, but now she's got this voice in her head. It claims to be a separate entity that's going to be sharing her body from now on. At first she thinks she's gone schizophrenic, then considers the possibility that maybe she really has been invaded - but by what? Medical tests turn up nothing, yet the voice persists... and won't stop talking!

When she finally accepts the reality that she has a symbiont, she discovers that together they can cure people of the incurable.

Maybe hosting a symbiont isn't such a bad thing.

She retreats to a remote town in the southwest desert to hone her healing skills. But there she runs afoul of the Pendry clan, leaders of an obscure cult that worships the Visitors who inhabited the area millions of years ago. They plan to bring them back but believe Daley is the prophesied "Duad" who will undo all the cult's efforts. She must be eliminated.

You know things are bad when the voice in your head is the only one you can trust.

Wilson has created a couple of great characters. Daley and Pard, the name she gives to the symbiont, effortlessly play off of each other. While Daley gives Pard a body, he gives her a fresh outlook on her life. Not to mention that of the people they’re able to cure of various diseases.

There are some hints that maybe this is yet another arm of the “Secret History of the World” world. To start with, it’s an update of Wilson’s novel Healer, though the original book is part of his “LaNague Federation series.” But there’s something going on in this book that’s based on Nikola Tesla’s work, so that ties the story to Wardenclyffe. Checking Wilson’s website, it appears that this book is in “Year Zero” of the “Secret History.”

The book end with a cliffhanger, without any mention of this being the first book in a series. Wilson doesn’t make a habit of leaving things up in the air, so I’m hopeful. But he does lose a star because of it. Not cool. Not cool at all.

April 18, 1906: A massive earthquake rocks San Francisco just before daybreak, igniting a devouring inferno. Lives are lost, lives are shattered, but some rise from the ashes forever changed.

Sophie Whalen is a young Irish immigrant so desperate to get out of a New York tenement that she answers a mail-order bride ad and agrees to marry a man she knows nothing about. San Francisco widower Martin Hocking proves to be as aloof as he is mesmerizingly handsome. Sophie quickly develops deep affection for Kat, Martin's silent five-year-old daughter, but Martin's odd behavior leaves her with the uneasy feeling that something about her newfound situation isn't right.

Then one early-spring evening, a stranger at the door sets in motion a transforming chain of events. Sophie discovers hidden ties to two other women. The first, pretty and pregnant, is standing on her doorstep. The second is hundreds of miles away in the American Southwest, grieving the loss of everything she once loved.

The fates of these three women intertwine on the eve of the devastating earthquake, thrusting them onto a perilous journey that will test their resiliency and resolve and, ultimately, their belief that love can overcome fear.

I love this book. The characters are compelling and the plot riveting. I didn’t want to put it down. The background of the San Francisco earthquake takes nothing from these women’s stories. How they come together, and how they deal with their lot are only enhanced by nature’s catastrophe.

It’s a beautiful story, not withstanding the trauma each woman must deal with. The power of their love, their stamina, and their courage, makes for an unforgettable book.

This is the first book by Meissner that I’ve read. I will certainly not be the last.

Translated into 36 languages, winner of the Norwegian Bookseller’s Prize, and the most successful Norwegian author of her generation, Maja Lunde returns with a heart-wrenching tale, set in the distant past and the dystopian future, about extinction and survival, family and hope.

Mikhail lives in Russia in 1881. When a skeleton of a rare wild horse is brought to him, the zoologist plans an expedition to Mongolia to find the fabled Przewalski horse, a journey that tests not only his physicality, but his heart.

In 1992, Karin, alongside her troubled son Mathias and several Przewalski horses, travels to Mongolia to re-introduce the magnificent horses to their native land. The veterinarian has dedicated her life to saving the breed from extinction, prioritizing the wild horses, even over her own son.

Europe’s future is uncertain in 2064, but Eva is willing to sacrifice nearly everything to hold onto her family’s farm. Her teenage daughter implores Eva to leave the farm and Norway, but a pregnant wild mare Eva is tending is about to foal. Then, a young woman named Louise unexpectedly arrives on the farm, with mysterious intentions that will either bring them all together, or devastate them one by one.

Spanning continents and centuries, The Last Wild Horses is a powerful tale of survival and connection—of humans, animals, and the indestructible bonds that unite us all.

This was a hard book to read, While each of the major protagonists had good intentions, they all were either carrying baggage that needed to be dealt with, or they were in over their head. And the horses are what paid the price.

Nothing is sugar coated. There has been an end to civilization, so that, no matter the outcome in 1881 and 1992, the reader knows that their work may all be for naught.

Yet it was also a good book to read, mostly because the writer is so outstanding. But also because nothing is sugar coated. There are no last minute deliverance. Climate change has taken its toll, and there’s no going back. Eva must deal with what is, no matter how she might wish it to be.

Is there hope at the end? I think that’s up to the reader.

Mount TBR 2022 Book Links

Links are to more information regarding each book or author, not to the review.

( TBR Book Links 1-40 )

41. The X Factor by Andre Norton
42. The Last Wild Horses (Climate Quartet #3) by Maja Lunde, Diane Oatley (Translator)

Note: I thought about using authors' names to fill the card, but I too often read books by the same author, so I'm going with titles once again.

Last Wild Horses, The

Note: This completes my Book Bingo card. Some people have started again, either with titles or authors' names. Not sure which way I'll go.

The X Factor

Diskan Fentress, mutant son of an interstellar explorer, felt himself out of place on the luxury worlds of civilized space. It was not until he stole a spaceship and a travel key to the unexplored planet Mimir that he first felt his latent powers to be of some worth.

For Mimir was a world of strange relics, of beasts that were more than beasts, and of a ruined city whose shadows bespoke a higher and weirder civilization than any the galaxy had yet discovered. It was to fall to Diskan's lot to meet head-on that ancient world's "X Factor," and to settle the fate of a planet with his reaction.

I was sort of afraid to read this book. It’s one of the few Andre Norton book that I hadn’t read before, or it’s been so many years that I’ve forgotten it. She brought me into science fiction as a young girl, so going back can always be fraught with danger. I shouldn’t have worried.

While I wouldn’t say it was one of her best, I had no trouble getting into the story. A great deal of it is Fentress’ point of view, as he’s the only character involved in almost half the book, yet it wasn’t boring. Which is something that I find often happens when there’s a lot of telling, rather than showing.

I’ve never cared for ambiguous ending, but there was enough there that I could go with what I thought would happen and be happy with that. The novel is part of the Game of Stars and Comets series, but the only commonality is the universe they’re set in, so no chance of a set ending.

Mount TBR 2022 Book Links

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( TBR Book Links 1-40 )

41. The X Factor by Andre Norton

X Factor, The

Imprisoned for 'inflammatory writings' by the totalitarian, Theocracy, shy intellectual Ashleigh Trine figures his story's over. But when he meets Kieran Trevarde, a hard-hearted gunslinger with a dark magic lurking in his blood, Ash finds that necessity makes strange heroes... and love can change the world.

A friend of mine commented that this read like fanfiction to her. Perhaps it does, but, if it is, it’s very good fanfiction.

I thoroughly enjoyed how the readers slowly gets to know the two protagonists, Ashleigh and Kieran. Both have parts to themselves that don’t necessarily make them hero material. Even they don’t understand all that they are, or why they act the way they do. But as the story unfolds those parts are brought forward and we discover how integral they are to Ash and Kieran’s futures.

And I loved the world building, the magical world where Ash and Kieran reside. It’s close enough to a “wild west,” with some magic thrown in. A truly satisfying read.

For anyone interested, the online book can be found here.

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( TBR Book Links 1-35 )

36. Malorie (Bird Box #2) by Josh Malerman
37. Where We Come From by Oscar Cásares
38. The Unconquered Sun by Ralph Dulin
39. The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman
40. The God Eaters by Jesse Hajicek

Goodreads 40

JUNE- Supporting PRIDE through books. Read a book by an author who is a member of the LGBTQIA+ community or a book featuring LGBTQIA+ character(s).

The God Eaters by Jesse Hajicek

When Germany invaded Poland, Stuka bombers devastated Warsaw—and the city's zoo along with it. With most of their animals dead, zookeepers Jan and Antonina Zabinski began smuggling Jews into empty cages. Another dozen "guests" hid inside the Zabinskis' villa, emerging after dark for dinner, socializing, and, during rare moments of calm, piano concerts. Jan, active in the Polish resistance, kept ammunition buried in the elephant enclosure and stashed explosives in the animal hospital. Meanwhile, Antonina kept her unusual household afloat, caring for both its human and its animal inhabitants—otters, a badger, hyena pups, lynxes.With her exuberant prose and exquisite sensitivity to the natural world, Diane Ackerman engages us viscerally in the lives of the zoo animals, their keepers, and their hidden visitors. She shows us how Antonina refused to give in to the penetrating fear of discovery, keeping alive an atmosphere of play and innocence even as Europe crumbled around her.

I assumed there would be some account as to what happened to the animals, but I didn’t think that the reader would be constantly bombarded with their fate. Hearing that yet one more animals was cruelly killed by the German soldiers got to be a bit much.

What was strange was that, when the book turns to the people’s story, the book takes a step back, creating a certainly distance. It was hard to connect with their story, as their experiences come across as flat.

There’s much unnecessary history told, too, especially that of people who don’t add to the story. The skipping around in time didn’t help, either.

I think what could have been an intriguing and interesting story got lost in all that confusion.