February 19, 2014

by | Feb 19, 2014 | 2014

Books of the Week:

  • Up from the Grave, Jeaniene Frost
  • Dead Harvest, Chris F. Holm
  • The Nero Wolfe books, Rex Stout
  • The Girl with all the Gifts, M.R. Carey

Jeaniene Frost ended her hugely popular Cat and Bones series with a great bang. Up from the Grave contains revelation after revelation, a loose end or two, and a satisfyingly happy ending for Catherine, the Red Reaper, and her handsome vampire sire and lover, Bones, who literally sail off into the sunset with . . . but I’m not going to give away any spoilers, here. There are moments of great tension, and of course a lot of bloodshed and explosions, before Cat and Bones make their world as right as they can.

Dead Harvest (Chris F. Holm) has an unusual premise, which is not uncommon for an urban fantasy novel – the protagonist collects souls. That’s his job. He does this in payment for a debt, and he never doubts that what he does is necessary. But when he’s sent to collect the soul of a girl, he believes her to be innocent and the collection a mistake. Sam Thornton defies authority and refuses, and (almost literally) all Hell breaks loose. In a complicated and grim plot, Sam jumps from body to body in his attempt to keep the girl free. This is the first in a series.

Everyone who loves mysteries knows the name Rex Stout. Stout, the son of Quakers and a mathematical genius, turned to writing mysteries at an early age. The character of the eccentric private detective, Nero Wolfe, is iconic. Wolfe, an orchid fancier, never leaves his brownstone unless there’s a terrible crisis, and he’s proud of his quirks and unashamed that he’s fat. His cook, Fritz, and his gardener, Theodore, live in the brownstone, too, along with Archie Goodwin, the younger, active, and brash private eye who does the legwork and interprets women to the misogynistic Wolfe. You can’t read just one Rex Stout – when you begin, they go down like potato chips. I read four in quick succession, and enjoyed every word. I read Three Men Out, The Rubber Band, and The Red Box.

The Girl with all the Gifts will be out here in JUNE. You should pre-order this book. It’s my literary grandchild, and I am bursting with second-hand pride. Toni Kelner and I asked M. R. Carey to contribute a story for the anthology, “An Apple for the Creature.” He sent us “Iphigenia in Aulis,” and I don’t think we changed a word of it. This story was nominated for several awards, and though it didn’t win any, Carey got a movie offer. He wrote a full-length book based on the characters in the story: Melanie, a little girl in a unique internment camp, her school teacher, Miss Justineau, and Sergeant Parks, who is in charge of keeping Melanie and the other pupils restrained. Melanie is a genius. She is also other things. I won’t reveal any of the other surprises about this brilliant book, but I HIGHLY RECOMMEND it.

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After being so indignant about Isabel Allende and bad announcers, I seem to have gotten over being angry for a while. And high time. I went to Boskone last weekend, a long-running science fiction convention held annually in Boston in February. Yes, Boston in February – doesn’t sound logical, does it? And sure enough, I had to fly in a day early to avoid a possible blizzard. So in the Riverfront Westin, I watched a snowfall the likes of which this southern girl has never seen. To add to my entertainment, it also sleeted and rained. I had a wide variety of weather events to choose from.

Boskone itself was very well organized and run by excellent people (and in a very comfortable hotel with a great staff). I had a great time on my several panels, and met some people I’d only heard about before, like Melinda Snodgrass, who knows so much about television writing and so many other mediums that it’s simply incredible. I also got to reconnect with friends, including Dana Cameron, Toni Kelner (Leigh Perry), Brendan DuBois, Seanan McGuire (Mira Grant), and Nancy Holder, as well as talk to my long-time agent, Joshua Bilmes, and my long-time editor, Ginjer Buchanan.

Not completely to my surprise, but to my dismay, Ginjer told me she has plans to retire and that she wants to try to slow down time so that she can enjoy her life. I hope she has great fun creating a new life not built around work. She and husband John Douglas will have a fine time visiting relatives at their own leisure. Retiring can have a really positive effect on people’s life. If you think that it is the right time then you should just do it. On the other hand, if you aren’t ready to retire just yet then you should make sure that you plan ahead of your retirement. You can use something like this free calculator to see how much equity you could release from your house. However, there are plenty of other options that you could look in to.

Since Ginjer told me she has plans to retire – for me, this means change is in the offing. I’ve had Ginjer longer than any other editor. Change is the only thing that’s permanent.

I came home from 22-degree Boston to 72-degree Dallas, and the head cold from Hell. My husband had bought me pink roses for Valentine’s Day, and to my astonishment, a new television set for our room. A combination of the romantic and the practical. What a surprise. I hope all of you had pleasant surprises on Valentine’s Day.

Charlaine Harris

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