So, it’s been a whole year since I wrote about any books. Don’t think that means I haven’t been reading.
I read several Darkover Novels. All good, nothing exceptional.
I read, by MZB, in this order: Firebrand, Fall of Atlantis, Ghostlight, Witchlight, Gravelight, Heartlight. I highly recommend that order. The books are all excellent, and they all start fitting in with each other. I’m very excited for Ancestors of Avalon, which Ethan has waiting for me…
Recently, I reread the Mists of Avalon. It’s such an amazing book every time I read it. This is one book I think everyone I know should read. It’s an entertaining, intellegent, and completely enchanting book.
I recently discovered the author Bernard Cornwell. He has a series of three books about the Arthurian legend- The Winter King, Enemy of God, and Excalibur. I also read a novel of his called Stormchild, which is very good. It’s kind of a mysterious thriller…I guess. Anyway, he’s written a whole bunch of stuff, and I was surprised I had never heard of him before I saw the Arthur series on the book-on-tape shelves in the library…
Right now, I’m rereading The Fifth Sacred Thing, by Starhawk. I had to read it for my senior sociology seminar in college. It is a ecofeminist utopian novel. It has some very strong ideas that appeal to my ecofeminist sense, but I don’t think it would necessarily sway someone who’s not already inclined in that direction. But it is an entertaining work as a fictional story…and has some interesting perspectives on our current culture.
I’m sure I read some other things, but I don’t know what right now…

This is going to be one of those important books for every person to read someday. It will be required reading. After every person who reads it tells every other person they know how great it is. I was told by a friend (thank you Kerri!) that Chris and I would enjoy it. Wow, I wish I would have read it sooner.
The book is a series of letters by Charlie, an incredibly intelligent ninth grader who just needs someone to talk to. The letters are to a person who Charlie doesn’t know, but whom he heard about in a conversation to which he probably shouldn’t have listened. Charlie just tells what is going on, what he thinks about, what experiences he has, and he is totally and completely honest in his letters. This is something I’m sure everyone had problems with when starting high school– being honest, not only to yourself, but to someone else. We may know who we are, or what we think. The question is, do we have the courage to tell someone else.
As Charlie finds friends and love, and becomes closer to his family, he shares experiences and thoughts so many of us had, and makes us remember how alone we felt. (Okay, I have been informed before that not everyone felt like a reject during high school, but I think she must have been the one person in the last century.) But read it! READ IT!
Another incredible thing is that this is the author’s first novel. He has had several screenplays produced (all Sundance films), and he has a serious future as a writer.

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I’m going to skip those books listed as ‘reading now’ in the last few weeks. Or, at least, I’m just going to comment on them minimally, because I just finished an amazing book.
So here it is:
Shroud for the Archbishop by Peter Tremayne. Peter Tremayne writes non-fiction under the name Peter Berresford Ellis. He is a very well respected authority on the ancient Celts. This is the second book in his series about an Irish nun named Sister Fidelma. The first book, which I read last summer, was pretty good (Absolution by Murder). This second book wasn’t. It was still a good mystery, but the writing was hardley intriguing. I couldn’t wait for it to be over.
Star of Danger, by Marion Zimmer Bradley. Another Darkover novel. One worth reading, as it fills in some of the underlying questions about the First Age (Against the Terrans).
Ghostlight, by Marion Zimmer Bradley. This is the first book in a series of ‘lights’. It was mostly about experiencing life and accepting the actions of those people you have no control over, all within the facade of being a book about magick. I am very excited to read the other books in the series, which include Witchlight and Heartlight.
I also read Journey to America, Fiona McGilray’s Story, A Voyage from Ireland in 1849 by Clare Pastore. It is fairly accurate, but very stereotypical. It is a book that I would give a younger girl to teach her about Ireland and immigration to America (any daughter I have will be learning about it anyway). But as someone interested in Irish immigration (I wrote several History papers on it in college), I did find the book worth reading.

I almost feel like I should read it again. I don’t have the knowledge to comment on it. The Lost World is the sequel to Jurassic Park, and it is about as good as most sequels.
The interesting part of the book takes place on Isla Sorna, ‘Site B’ as it was called by the InGen folks. Ian Malcolm is back with a mostly new cast of incredible characters. The genius kids who sneak along, the incredible engineer who makes dinosaur proof equipment, and the other ‘perfect’ characters make it a very readable book. You don’t spend much time thinking about how stupid the characters are, like you do in many book/movies.
Once again, it is a battle to get off the island alive, except this time, there are no fences, and there are people interested in not disturbing the dinosaur environment. Impossible, right? Right. But once again, there is a lot of good theory. And, it is so different and so much better than the movie, that comparison is pretty much impossible. Crichton could have been a philosopher…though he probably wouldn’t have made as much money. While this is a book worth reading, unlike Jurassic Park, increased vocabulary and maturity didn’t make it any better.

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Excuse my lateness. I finished this book almost a month ago. But a lot has happened! Like…I got a new computer, so my blog actually generates properly in my browser…
So The Fall of Neskaya is longer than most of the Darkover books. It is the story of Coryn, a gifted telepath, and a son of one of the smaller kingdoms. He is given the opportunity to Tower-train, and in trying to save his family and kingdom, battles an evil leroni. While I don’t mind love stories in MZB books, at the end of this book the love that is described between Taniquel and Coryn is sickeningly perfect (but still made me wish my sweetheart was home when I finished the book).
Deborah Ross finished this book after MZB’s death. They had written together previously, and had been working on this book. The Fall of Neskaya is very long compared to most of the Darkover novels, especially the early novels. It took me quite a bit longer to finish it than I thought it would. But a very interesting addition to the Darkover series, and it completes its goal of filing in part of the gap in the Age of Chaos.

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