Affinity by Sarah Waters

Affinity by Sarah Waters

Riverhead Books, 2000.

Overview: Affinity is a story told through the diaries of  two Victorian women: Margaret Prior, who becomes a "Lady Visitor" at the women's "gaol" at Millbank Prison in Chelsea, and Selina Dawes, a young spirit medium who is one of its prisoners. Two major plotlines unfurl and inform each other, as we wait with bated breath to see where Margaret's clear attraction toward Selina will lead, as well as to discover who--or what--committed the crime for which Selina is imprisoned.

My reaction: This one was a real treat! It was much different in tone than The Night Watch since it was set about 70 years earlier, but it was just as compelling. Waters delicately balances the major story arcs, and finishes with such a stunning ending that I had to sit on it for hours before writing this review. Like The Night Watch, Affinity comes to life as much through historical detail as it does from its complex and enigmatic protagonists. While trying to slog through Foucault's Surveiller et Punir (Discipline and Punish) in a college French class was quite a challenge, I finally reaped the reward here; Millbank has some essential elements of a Panopticon with its main watch tower and radial floor plan, and disciplinary habits designed to create "docile bodies." Waters' descriptions of prison architecture and routines made me feel claustrophobic, and seemed to be an appropriate background for the stories of two women who were constrained by their circumstances. In particular, Margaret's simultaneous revulsion and attraction to prison life made sense given her station as a well-bred lady in Victorian England. She is not free to love whom she will, or even to be very independent. As she is a spinster (her word, not mine!), her mother insists that her place is in the home with her; it is ironic that the greatest freedom Margaret is allowed is to go to a prison of her choosing. 

This is an amazing story to follow, and while it was often a devastating (though beautiful) read, the upside is that it made me feel so lucky to be living in the 21st century!! 

Forged in Fire by J.A. Pitts

Forged in Fire by J.A. Pitts

A Tor Book published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC, 2012.

Overview: Sarah Beauhall continues to deal with the fall-out of the dragon-slaying she accomplished in Black Blade Blues, picking up right where Honeyed Words left off. A bloodthirsty necromancer is on the loose, and while he has taken a distressing interest in killing off Sarah's acquaintances, he is definitely trying to achieve something even more terrible.

My reaction: Forged in Fire thankfully moves much faster and with more direction than Honeyed Words, but it did not quite equal Black Blade Blues for me. Since we jump right into an action sequence in the first pages, I thought it was going to really show off Sarah's skill with a hammer and sword. Unfortunately, a lot of the action remains on the periphery of her life, and it began to irk me. In my book, if some of your favorite acquaintances are brutally slaughtered for the express purpose of finding out more information from you, AND you have the battle skills to do something about it, YOU TRY TO FIND THE EVIL NECROMANCER. On the whole, though, I was mostly engaged as I enjoyed Katie coming into her own as a heroine herself, and speculating at how Sarah's association with a dragon was going to work out. While I didn't see any hint of another installment coming on his website (which was last updated before Forged in Fire was released!), there were some major loose ends that I anticipate will be taken up if there is one. (Based on the interval between the first three, it shouldn't be too much longer.) I have to admit that I hope there is one, despite the mixed bag of its predecessors, as those loose ends have the potential to be a really good story. 

Cemetery Murders by Jean Marcy

Cemetery Murders by Jean Marcy
New Victoria Publishers, 1997

Overview: A serial killer is at large in St. Louis who targets homeless women and stages their bodies in graveyards. When P.I. Meg Darcy's friend finds her own family caught up in the serial murders, Meg agrees to investigate the case, especially since it means she will get to work with her old army flame, police detective Sarah Lindstrom.

My Reaction: At first I thought Cemetery Murders was going to be a hard-boiled detective novel, along the lines of something by Raymond Chandler, just starring a tomboy lesbian PI. Meg Darcy is perhaps not as hard-boiled as the tone of the first chapter suggests (she only pretends to drink a rum and coke and never wakes up with a hangover), but the book was fun anyway. The mystery kept me guessing and I enjoyed Meg's enthusiastic crush on the mostly aloof Lindstrom. I also suspect someone with greater familiarity with St. Louis than I would enjoy the place specific details scattered throughout the story. I certainly plan on checking out later titles in the series.

On a side note completely unrelated to the quality of the book (but which probably had undue influence over my enjoyment of it), Cemetery Murders was written by the most adorable couple. According to the back:

"Jean Marcy is the combined pen name for Jean Hutchinson [...] and Marcy Jacobs [...]. Partners for nine years, this is the first joint writing endeavor of one who leans towards purple prose and another who sees herself as a minimalist. They live in Illinois"

And here is a picture:

D'awwww

Meg Darcy Mysteries
Cemetery Murders, 1997
Dead and Blonde, 1998
Mommy Deadest, 2000
A Cold Case of Murder, 2003

Honeyed Words by J.A. Pitts (2nd book in the Sarah Beauhall series)

Honeyed Words by J.A. Pitts

Tor Books, 2011. 

Overview: At the beginning of Honeyed Words, Sarah and her friends are only a few months removed from the traumatic battle with a dragon and his minions, and are struggling to forgive themselves and each other for the deaths of their comrades. When an acquaintance is kidnapped by dwarves, Sarah is alerted to the unrest in Vancouver, the former domain of the dragon she slew. While she assesses the new threats to the safety of her circle, Sarah must also find a way to reconcile with friends and enemies alike. 

My reaction: I was really disappointed in this one overall. While the first one had some plot holes, the story was generally moving fast enough for me to not really care; Honeyed Words moved about as fast as molasses until at least halfway in. Part of that was because of  excessive summarization of Black Blade Blues, but I also couldn't really get invested in the kidnapping arc. I didn't miss it when it got dropped (well, as in Sarah wasn't actively trying to rescue him) for most of the book in favor of focusing on a more interesting new character's problems, and the unlikely alliances that Sarah forges to help her. Like Sarah, I was relieved when there was something for her to do about the situation. Unfortunately, that took a little too long for it to be as rewarding as Black Blade Blues.

I wanted to finish the next book, Forged in Fire, to balance out this review, since the 58 pages I've read so far are much better, but I didn't have the time. I hope that it maintains its fast pace, since I'll feel better about sticking with Honeyed Words if there is a payoff in Forged.

(I was tempted by the end to give this a "decent," but I think that's more a reflection on the relative quality of its companions than on its own merits.)

Ghost Motel by Jackie Manthorne

Ghost Motel by Jackie Manthorne

Gynergy Books, 1994

Overview: When Harriet (Harry) stops for the night at a deserted looking motel on her way down Cape Cod, she doesn't expect to be the last to see the enigmatic owner, Gertie, alive. After reading about Gertie's death two days later, Harry feels compelled to return to the motel to discover what really happened.

My Reaction: It's the rare book that makes me say this, but Ghost Motel is bad. Really bad - and not even in the ridiculous way that still might make it enjoyable reading. On top of being one of the most thoroughly un-mysterious mysteries I have ever read and lacking any kind of detection on Harry's part, it has one of the most cliché rocky relationship story arcs imaginable.  At one point, Harry's lover Judy actually says "it's not you, it's me" and "please realize I'm not trying to hurt you" AND "I have to do this for myself" within the space of the same page. One of the cardinal rules of the mystery genre states that while other subplots, such as a love interest, a relationship or a leaky basement can enter into the narrative, none should overshadow the investigation. No such luck here - more than half of this 174 page book passed before Harry even got back to the motel to "investigate" Gertie's death (which consisted of one late-night foray to the scene of the crime; the rest of the mystery was solved by others telling her what happened). And don't even get me started on all the mist-filled dreams that Harry has about Gertie. Leave no cliché unturned, I suppose!

In short, Ghost Motel, it's not me, it's you.

Black Blade Blues by J.A. Pitts

Black Blade Blues by J.A. Pitts

Tor Books, 2010.

No, she does not wear belly shirts in the book!

Overview: Sarah Beauhall, a Seattle blacksmith and part-time prop manager for a low-budget movie, is happy to spend her free time with her friends in the Society for Creative Anachronism (a medieval re-enactment group), going to auctions to pick up antique weapons, and dating her girlfriend of a year, Katie. When she comes into possession of a sword straight out of Norse myth, Sarah is forced to recognize that dragons, giants, and trolls are real, and that she must fight them. 

My reaction: When I found this in the library, I thought it was too good to be true! Tamora Pierce's Daja Kisubo, a female blacksmith who (spoiler alert!) is eventually revealed to be attracted to the ladies, was the beginning of my love for lesbian smiths, and Laurie J. Marks' Karis rekindled it. With Black Blade Blues, I hoped to find another kickass smith to be a fan of. For the most part, Sarah did not disappoint! She is a skilled smith and warrior (she's proficient in tae kwon do as well as sword and hammer), and while she is a skeptic at first, she commits herself to saving the day when her friends are in danger. 

The culminating battle was a thrill to read, and I'm definitely planning to read the other two books in the series, Honeyed Words and Forged in Fire.

My main issue was Sarah's trouble dealing with a really homophobic upbringing. It wasn't her shit-ton of internalized homophobia going on that grated as much as the fact that she recognized it, and hadn't taken constructive steps to deal with it even as it sabotaged her relationship with the woman of her dreams. When it got too much, I'd skim just slow enough to comprehend, but fast enough that my annoyance was minimized. 

Since this was my first urban fantasy read featuring a lesbian blacksmith in the Pacific Northwest, and I was really enjoying my reintroduction to the genre after a long time spent reading mysteries, I brushed aside any number of plot holes without caring too much. It actually wasn't until I was looking up the publishing information for the book on Goodreads--and subsequently gave into the temptation to read negative reviews--that I realized just how thoroughly I had glossed  them over by the end because DRAGONS and HARROWING ENCOUNTERS and oh, yeah, a LESBIAN BLACKSMITH. Sure, there are things that don't make sense, but you know what? I enjoyed it anyway. Yell at the characters a little if you have to (I'm sure you will--I did!), skim a little if you have to, but because my overall enjoyment factor was so high, I'm recommending this one!

The Annunciate by Severna Park

The Annunciate by Severna Park

Avon Books, 1999. 

Overview: In The Annunciate, the reader is thrown into the worlds, plural, of ThreeSys, a system of three suns and their planets. "Propagats," which are some sort of bioform, are the basis for a class system. The Meshed, of which our protagonist, Eve, is a member, have a one-time injection so they can access all the knowledge about their physical environment AND create a personalized virtual environment in which to spend time and use for self defense. The Jacked are able to access the Mesh with the help of a port in their wrist, and the unlucky Jackless can't access it at all. While the Meshed were nearly wiped out for being elitist douchecanoes, the few remaining survivors addicted a gigantic percentage of the Jacked and Jackless to Staze, a drug that sends people to a pretty and calm virtual environment for  12 hours a day, and conveniently makes them dependent on the few Meshed they didn't massacre. Add to that a bit of mythology that is basically Genesis with spaceships and no God, and you've got the beginnings of an interstellar trip.

My reaction: First thing I did when I finished the book was drop it (lightly!) to the ground and say, "That was weird!" While it was largely an enjoyable read, I grew frustrated with the fact that my disbelief had not been completely suspended. I couldn't figure out why just anyone couldn't find a syringe and shoot themselves up with propagats, and while it was eventually hinted that that wouldn't work, I didn't see why it wouldn't. Maybe I missed something. Anyway, I also couldn't get super invested in the liaison between Eve and the Jacked, Staze-addicted Naverdi. That was particularly disappointing, since Eve is recalling sex they had in the first line of the book.  Sadly, that was not foreshadowing for lots of sex, or even a real romantic relationship--any chance of that was poisoned by Naverdi's addiction. There is some pretty interesting virtual world collision that goes on, and I also enjoyed how the mythology played out in the struggle for survival on "Paradise," a planet that was the analogue of the Garden of Eden in Park's version, but I couldn't quite give it a "decent"  since I couldn't stop questioning some of the fundamentals of the story. (Come on, Eve, you're 21--maybe be a little more repentant that you're partially responsible for addicting all those people to a really bad drug?) 

Nora and Liz by Nancy Garden

Nora and Liz by Nancy Garden

Bella Books, 2002

Overview: Nora is reasonably happy with her quiet life in rural Rhode Island, until city girl Liz shows up at her front door with a flat tire and she begins to see the possibilities outside her limited country existence.

My Reaction: I had high hopes for this book, since it's by the famed Nancy Garden, author of Annie on My Mind, one of the most influential (and frequently banned) LGBT young adult novels written in the 20th century. Nora and Liz is Garden's first adult romance, and for me, it fell flat. Before I go into the many issues I had with it, I'll admit that the sappy part of me enjoyed rooting for Liz and Nora to live happily ever after. If you want a sweet, gentle romance (the kind of gentle where the lovebirds take hands, walk up the stairs, and close the bedroom door behind them), I think you'll enjoy this book, despite its flaws.

The critical part of me had difficultly suspending enough disbelief to get into the story. I found Nora especially hard to understand. She is nearly forty, lives in a house with no electricity, running water or phone, and doesn't even drive because her misogynistic dad doesn't think women are capable. Maybe I could understand her lack of rebellion if she lived in isolation, but she is surrounded by women who drive, and has never once thought to question her father's judgement until Liz comes along. I am all for the transformative power of love, but I have a hard time believing that a forty-year-old woman doesn't have the ovaries to stand up to her ageing father for probably twenty years, then suddenly gets the nerve to completely change her life over the course of one summer. Actually, I had a hard time believing that either character was forty - they just didn't seem mature enough. I often felt they had the over-emotional quality found in so many young adult novels that I identified with so well as a teenager, but that now seems a like a little too much to handle. Garden IS primarily a YA author, after all, and I think it shows.

I had a hard time deciding which rating to give Nora and Liz , since my reactions to it were so mixed. I decided on a "meh," not because it's poorly written on a technical level, but because I couldn't identify with the characters. Yes, I wanted them to be happy, but I couldn't see myself in them, and isn't that what reading a romance should be all about?

Seven Moves by Carol Anshaw

Seven Moves by Carol Anshaw

Mariner Books, 1997

Overview: Chris and her lover Taylor have built a comfortable life for themselves, with a dog, a house, and a mostly solid four-year relationship. Chris works as a psychologist, Taylor as a photographer who is often abroad completing a series of feminist travel guides. But after a seemingly inconsequential argument, Taylor disappears, forcing Chris to reexamine her own life and the picture she has constructed of the woman she loves.

My Reaction: If you are looking for a feel-good, happy-go-lucky love story, this book is not for you. I'll be the first to admit that I struggled at points, trying not to get bogged down in Chris' dark, emotional journey. Sometimes, reading felt like a fast-paced slog through a swamp, like I had to wade through the story as quickly as possible to find some relief on the other side, even if I still ended covered with mud. I think this is exactly what Anshaw, master of the beautifully-written downer, wanted the reader to experience.

Reading Seven Moves was also a little like eavesdropping on someone else's therapy session. Chris is a psychologist, goes to see a psychologist, and does a lot of self- examination. Her moods, up and down, felt real and wholly described, continuously evolving as the novel progressed. Anshaw has a talent for making the most mundane occurrences, like cleaning a flooded basement and taking a shower, significant and interesting, pieces of a larger puzzle. Maybe because I recently read it and it's fresh in my mind, I think Seven Moves has many of the same appeals as Gone Girl by Gilliam Flynn; a person goes missing, and the story draws the reader along by slowly revealing the characters until we are left with a completely transformed picture of them at the novel's conclusion (though Chris and Taylor are certainly not sociopaths along the lines of Nick and Amy, and I felt the author chose the narrative style not so much to trick the reader, but to show the way in which the characters trick themselves). The novel left me feeling emotionally drained, but not in a way that made me regret reading it - a kind of cleansing catharsis.

I have a hard time saying that I liked Seven Moves, but if you feel up to an emotional read, you would be hard-pressed to find a psychological suspense novel that deals with difficult feelings more authentically and compassionately.

Deaths of Jocasta and The Intersection of Law and Desire: Micky Knight mysteries by J.M. Redmann

Deaths of Jocasta by J.M. Redmann

New Victoria Publishers Inc, 1992. Second printing.

Overview: A few months after the events of Death by the Riverside, Dr. Cordelia James hires Micky to investigate some truly ugly hatemail sent to her clinic for women's health. Before too long, Cordelia is implicated in several murders, and Micky has to do her best to prove that her love interest was framed when the police are content to finger the sexy and smart philanthropist for heinous malpractice. Micky perseveres as she is distracted with rocky personal relationships that are complicated by her trust issues stemming from yet more personal trauma in her past.

My reaction: This one was a real thriller, although I almost sped through it just because I had to see the end of the extremely brutal murders. While it was a page-turner for sure, and Micky got herself and others out of several nearly-fatal situations, some of the satisfaction of catching the criminals was taken away by the fact that it was a series of accidents (i.e., they were stupid enough to keep coming after Micky instead of melting away to somewhere she couldn't find them). On the other hand, her tenacity (and the fact that she has nine lives) was impressive, and saved the lives of who knows how many people, and that's always a good ending!

The Intersection of Law and Desire by J.M. Redmann

W.W. Norton & Company, 1995.

Overview: Micky takes on two cases at the beginning of the novel from characters introduced to us in Death by the Riverside. One client is willing to pay her lucratively to get out of a financial entanglement that was increasingly feeling like blackmail, and the other (which she does pro bono) is just a kid who is worried about his younger sister, Cissy. As Micky gets in deeper with both cases, she alienates her friends and lover, but is compelled to address her past by exposing criminals in the present.

My reaction:  Like Deaths of Jocasta, this was not an easy read in terms of subject matter, but I thought it was pretty well done otherwise. Micky falls into extremely high-stakes undercover work, and it is at once impressive and depressing: she successfully gains criminals' trust while losing all the trust of her friends. Of course, I wished this wasn't necessary, but I could see the motivations behind it, and it definitely heightened the drama! This was definitely a strong installment, and I'd like to read more of Micky's adventures.