Bookshelf Traveling for Halloween

I am participating in the Bookshelf Traveling For Insane Times meme. It was originated by Judith at Reader in the Wilderness, but Katrina at Pining for the West is now gathering the blogposts.

For Halloween, I am sharing two more of my husband's bookshelves. 

The first shelf has more of his books of ghost stories.  Only three ghost story books are visible, but there are others behind the books facing out. Also on this shelf is a volume of Shakespeare's comedies, several books by Edgar Rice Burroughs, and two volumes of poetry.

The second shelf is a mixed bag of books, and the ornaments on the shelves fit the Halloween theme. Here there are several Arkham House books by H. P. Lovecraft and several books by Sinclair Lewis. 

Several of the books on this shelf have lovely covers. Here are a couple of them.

Prince Zaleski and Cummings King Monk by M. P. Shiel collects seven supernatural detective stories from the late 19th century and the early 20th century. NancyO discusses the Prince Zaleski stories at the Crime Segments blog.

The Best of John Bellairs is comprised of three young adult fantasy novels featuring Lewis Barnevelt, a ten-year-old boy who lives with his Uncle Jonathan. Each novel in this edition is illustrated by a different artist. 

• The House with a Clock in Its Walls (1973) - illustrated by Edward Gorey
• The Figure in the Shadows (1975) - illustrated by Mercer Mayer
• The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring (1976) - illustrated by Richard Egielski

City of the Lost: Kelley Armstrong

I was drawn to this book for several reasons. It is set in a very cold, very isolated area and I like that kind of story. The author is Canadian, and I am always interested in books set in Canada. And it was recommended by Cath at Read-Warbler and Kay at Kay's Reading Life. 

I liked the premise. Casey, a talented policewoman, has a secret in her past and is afraid it will be revealed. She doesn't really want to run away, but her friend Diana has an abusive ex-husband who won't leave her alone, and Diana finds a place that will take them both in. It is a small town in the Yukon wilderness, so isolated that most modern conveniences are lacking. A town council has to approve new inhabitants, and Casey and Diana are accepted.

I loved reading about how the town existed with no internet, cell phones, or email, and with limited access to food. All travel is by horse or all-terrain vehicles. No cars. There is a hierarchy within the town determined by what each person contributes in their job, and how useful it is to the town.

The story was dark, gritty, and violent, but not to an extreme that bothered me. Casey is able to work with the sheriff of the town, as a detective, which gives her some perks that others don't have. The town has had its first murder before she arrived, which is one reason she was allowed in. 

The best aspects of the story are a strong female lead character, a fast-moving plot, and convincing characterizations. The story is told in present tense, but I don't remember that being a problem for me this time. I will be continuing this series, which at this point has four additional books. This is the only book I have read by this author, but she is also well-known for her books in the urban fantasy genre. 

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Publisher:   Minotaur Books, 2017 (orig. publ. 2016).
Length:      403 pages
Format:      Trade Paper
Series:       Rockton, #1
Setting:      Yukon,  Canada
Genre:        Police Procedural
Source:      Purchased in 2019.

Short Story Wednesday: The Fever Tree by Ruth Rendell

This collection contains 10 short stories and one novella. None of them are Inspector Wexford stories. 

All of the stories are excellent.  Usually I avoid Ruth Rendell's standalone novels; they are too intense for me. But I have found these short stories, although they have the same elements, to be good reads. They have just enough suspense. 

The stories are:

• The Fever Tree
• The Dreadful Day of Judgement
• A Glowing Future
• An Outside Interest
• A Case of Coincidence
• Thornapple (novella)
• May and June
• A Needle for the Devil
• Front Seat
• Paintbox Place
• The Wrong Category

Here are some notes on the stories I especially liked:

The Fever Tree

One of the shorter stories. A husband makes a last effort to save his marriage on a visit to an African game preserve, with unexpected results.

A Glowing Future

An unfaithful lover asks his old girlfriend to help pack his belongings for shipping to his new lover in Australia.

An Outside Interest 

First sentence: "Frightening people used to be a hobby of mine."

Thornapple 

This is the longest story in the book. It is told from the viewpoint of a young boy whose hobby is distilling poisons from plants. Very well told, with several unsympathetic characters.

May and June

May is jilted by her rich, handsome boyfriend when he meets her beautiful sister, June. They marry and May obsesses about this for years. 

A Needle for the Devil

My favorite story in the collection. A nurse who loves to knit meets an older retired man who is ready to get married. After marriage, they are both intolerant of the other needs, which leads to some extreme measures. The best part: a friend who is a mystery writer who kept spouting the most ingenious ways to kill people and not be detected.

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Publisher:   Ballantine Books, 1984. Orig. pub. 1982.
Length:      183 pages
Format:      Paperback
Setting:      UK
Genre:       Mystery, short stories
Source:      I purchased my copy.

Bookshelf Traveling: Ghost Stories

I am participating in the Bookshelf Traveling For Insane Times meme. It was originated by Judith at Reader in the Wilderness, but Katrina at Pining for the West is now gathering the blogposts.

Since Halloween is coming soon, this time I am sharing a shelf of my husband's ghost story books. 

He has several books by Robert Aickman on this shelf, plus books by Robert Westall, J. Sheridan Le Fanu, and M. R. James. Also on this shelf are collections edited by Roald Dahl, Dashiell Hammett, and Sir Horace Walpole. His favorites are the Robert Aickman stories and Ghost Stories of an Antiquary by M.R. James.

A Trick of the Light: Louise Penny

The books in the Chief Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny often focus on murders and activities in the fictional town of Three Pines in Quebec. Two of the characters in that town are Clara and Peter Morrow, both artists. Penny has focused on their relationship in several of the mysteries prior to this one, and they are the main focus in this one.

In A Trick of the Light, a murder takes place in the Morrow's back yard, while they entertain neighbors and people from the art scene following Clara's show at the Musee d’Art Contemporain in Montreal. In the Morrow family, Peter has always been the prominent artist, well-known and appreciated. Clara has been in his shadow but now she is getting more attention than he is, and he doesn't react well.

The body of a dead woman is found the following day and Inspector Gamache is called in to investigate the death.  He is a friend of the Morrows and many other people in Three Pines, thus working on the murder is a bit awkward for him. Another element of the story, intertwined with the mystery plot, is the increasing strain on Clara's relationship with Peter.  

In previous posts on this series, I have noted that Inspector Gamache is almost too perfect, with no flaws. He is a likable character, a dedicated policeman yet compassionate. As the series progresses we learn more about Gamache; he has had some traumatic experiences to deal with. And he becomes more interesting.

Louise Penny is very good at creating characters we want to read about, and she has some new ones in this book that are very compelling, even if most of them are devious. She also continues to develop the main characters, both in Three Pines and in Inspector Gamache's team. This was a good entry in the series, and I enjoyed returning to Three Pines.

This book is #7 in the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series. There are now 16 books in the series, which means I still have quite a few of them to read. I recommend reading them in order.

See other reviews at Mysteries and More from Saskatchewan and Mysteries in Paradise.

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Publisher:   Minotaur Books, 2012 (orig. publ. 2011)
Length:      351 pages
Format:      Trade paper
Series:        Inspector Gamache, #7
Setting:      Three Pines, Quebec,  Canada
Genre:        Police Procedural
Source:      I purchased this book.

Short Story Wednesday: Clarkesworld Year 5

Clarkesworld Magazine is an online magazine started in 2006 which publishes science fiction and fantasy stories. Neil Clarke is the editor and publisher. 

The stories in Clarkesworld Year 5, ed. by Neil Clarke and Sean Wallace, were published in Clarkesworld Magazine between October 2010 and September 2011. Of the 24 stories in the book, most are science fiction, a few are fantasy, and some I am not sure about. I enjoyed reading almost all of them. 

Rick Robinson at Tip the Wink generously sent me this short story collection to read.

Here are my thoughts on the first three stories in the book, all of which were good reads. 

"Ghostweight" by Yoon Ha Lee

This is the first story in the book and my favorite of the collection. As soon as I finished reading it, I read it again. Partly because the ending confused me, but mostly just because I enjoyed it so much.

At Yoon Ha Lee's website, this story is described as "Fantasy in space: origami, ghosts, and atrocities." A young cadet seeks revenge on the mercenaries that attacked her planet. She has a ghost attached, sewn on by her parents, which was a tradition in her society. The ghost assists her in her quest. Yet she finds out later that nothing is as it seems. Some reviewers noted that the resolution of the story was unclear. True, but not a problem for me.

The story is available online here. More stories by Yoon Ha Lee's stories are available online here.at Free Speculative Fiction Online. 

"Perfect World" by Gwendolyn Clare

Another very interesting story set in space, dealing with interspecies communication. The Mask People are hyper-expressive and hyper-observant, and they wear masks to hide their expressions. Humans want to negotiate an agreement with them. Nora is hired by the UN's Interworld Relations Organization as an ambassador because she can control her expressions and lie successfully to the Mask People.

The story is available online here. 

“Tying Knots” by Ken Liu

This was one of the stories that did not seem like science fiction or fantasy to me. No matter, I liked the story a lot.

There are two main characters, Soe-bo and To-Mu, who each narrate parts of the story. To-Mu is from the US and has traveled from Boston to visit Soe-bo's village in the Burmese mountains. Soe-bo is gifted at knot-writing, used by his people to keep historic records. He is persuaded to come to Boston and share his knot-writing skills with To-mu in exchange for new rice seeds to improve the harvest. 

A thought-provoking story, and very sad. The story is available online here. 

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Publisher:   Wyrm Publishing, 2013 

Length:       287 pages 
Format:       Trade paper
Genre:        Science fiction, Fantasy, Short stories
Source:       A gift.