Tag Archives: Lis Carey

Lis Carey Reviews: FanTaminals Cocker Spaniel Scroll Wood Puzzle

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FanTaminals Cocker Spaniel Scroll Wood Puzzle
Made by Judy Peterson
Rochester, NY

Review by Lis Carey At Boskone for several years, I’ve been seeing Judy Peterson and her wonderful scroll wood puzzles, which feature fantasy creatures, animals well known in our own world, and a really stunning Noah’s Ark puzzle. Mostly, the ones I’ve wanted have been well out of my price range.

And then I saw the cocker spaniel.

When I was in my early twenties, my first dog, a border collie, died. For reasons I’ll skip over, my mother said we could, after a decent mourning period, get another dog, but the new dog had to be small enough for her to pick up on her own. After much thought, we got a cocker spaniel puppy, whom we named Brandy. (Registered name: Lady Emer de Brandanin.)

At Boskone 60, she had this cocker spaniel puzzle, almost exactly the color of my Brandy. I sat and chatted with Judy, took a break to see if the urge would go away, and then came back to buy it. (Of course.) The puzzles are made from very good quality wood, and the craftsmanship is marvelous. They’re fun to put together, and they stand easily on any flat surface.

The cocker spaniel is made from Black Cherry. Its heartwood when first cut is a light pinkish-brown color, that darkens to orange red with exposure to sunlight. The sapwood is cream-colored, and does not darken. It’s the sapwood that you see in the puzzle facing to the right, and that’s the color my Brandy was. The other side, seen in the picture where she’s facing left, is a little darker, and will darken more as she’s exposed to sunlight.

All the pieces feel smooth and very pleasing to hold.

She has taken up residence on one of the wide windowsills in my new apartment.

Since dogs were the second-most popular theme in her puzzles, we talked about dogs, and of course Cider was with me. I mentioned that she didn’t have a Chinese Crested puzzle. I had mentioned this at previous Boskone meetings with her, and she had met Dora.

But it was Cider who inspired her to take pictures, as models for a potential future Chinese Crested puzzle. Cider was very pleased to model for Judy, and only charged pets, not treats, for her service.

I love this puzzle. I love putting together, and I love handling the pieces, and I love looking at it. I hope that next year, Brandy can be joined by a Chinese Crested.

Facebook: FanTaminals

Business Card: Judy Peterson, 256 Dearcop Dr., Rochester NY 14624-1731. (608)609-2013. [email protected] 

Remember, Remember (Sherlock Holmes & Lucy James Mystery #3),

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Lucy wakes, up one cold morning, on the sidewalk outside the British Museum, with a lump on her head, no identification, and no memory of anything before she woke up. As she tries to work out who she is and why she was at the British Museum, she meets both a constable who decides what she can tell him, and a doctor and others with malign intentions. The fact that she loves Dr. Watson’s stories of Sherlock Holmes isn’t a clue, is it?

Remember, Remember (Sherlock Holmes & Lucy James Mystery #3), by Anna Elliott & Charles Veley
Wilton Press, February 2019

Review by Lis Carey: On a cold London morning in 1897, a young woman awakes on the ground outside the British Museum. She has no memory, and nothing that indicates her identity.

She does have a splitting headache, a lump on the back of her head, and a dim memory of having shot someone. She also quickly finds she has a talent for analyzing people’s appearance and behavior for useful information that helps her survive. Unexpectedly, the police constable, John Kelly, who finds her decides that he trusts her. They piece together what they can, and then he’s going off duty, and she’s off to see what she can track down of her identity.

After walking around the outside of the museum, she sits on a bench, and is approached by a man who proceeds to talk seeming nonsense to her, and walks away when she doesn’t respond as expected. Then she finds a card with the name of a doctor on Harley Street, which she puts in her purse for later consideration. Her clothing is not really presentable after her night sleeping on the sidewalk, and she inveigles a way to borrow clean clothing. With no other real clues, she decides to go see the doctor, in the hope that perhaps he can help with her memory.

But the doctor and his minions try to drug and kidnap her, and she barely escapes. Soon she is dodging villains, encountering John Kelly again, and meeting his little sister, Becky, and deciding, finally, to consult the one person in London whose name she remembers for sure–Sherlock Holmes. The conspiracy surrounding the British Museum turns out to relate back to a previous adventure, and as Lucy’s memory gradually returns, she begins to understand the danger she’s been in, and the importance of resolving this case.

John Kelly has his own related adventures, which become more and more entangled with those of Lucy and Holmes. I gather he and his sister, Becky, are going to be regulars going forward, and they are a welcome addition.

This is, in my opinion, a very good, satisfying Holmes pastiche, with Holmes, Watson, and Lucy all well portrayed, excellent characters.

I received this book as a gift.

Lis Carey Review: A Song of Comfortable Chairs

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A Song of Comfortable Chairs (No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency #23), by Alexander McCall Smith (author), Lisette Lecat (narrator)
Recorded Books, ISBN 9781705047989, September 2022

Review by Lis Carey: There are signs of trouble in Mma Ramotswe’s normally peaceful world. Mr. J.L.B.Matekoni made the disturbing suggestion that, with equality between the sexes now, there’s no reason for her detective agency to be called the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. Mma Makutsi has ordered new stationery for the agency, with the letterhead redone in a way that could suggest to some that Mma Makutsi has somewhat higher qualifications than Mma Ramotswe. She also appears to be ordering a new, larger desk.

But Mma Makutsi is her friend, and when she learns of the troubles Grace Makutsi’s husband, Phuti Radiphuti, owner of the Double Comfort Furniture Store, is having business troubles due to a new competitor undercutting him, she can’t help but want to help. Aside from the threat to his business, Phuti is disturbed by the low quality and lack of real comfort offered by the new competitor’s furniture, especially chairs. And, the undercutting is remarkably efficient. They announce lower prices than Phuti’s right before Phuti’s new prices are announced.

There’s also the small matter of an old friend of Mma Makutsi’s, another woman from Bobonong named Patience, who after some major challenges in her life, is now living, along with her 14-year-old son, with a good man who treats her very well. Unfortunately, her son resents him and is extremely rude and disrespectful to him. It’s extreme enough that it’s putting real strain on Patience’s relationship with the man, to the point where he’s suggested that this can’t go on. He’ll have to ask her to leave if things don’t improve.

Patience has asked Mma Makutsi for help, and she and Mma Ramotswe come up with a plan, that Phuti agrees to.

Meanwhile, Charlie, the part-time mechanic in Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni’s garage, and part-time trainee detective, is pushing for more responsibility and recognition of his growing detective skills. He manages to insert himself into a case Mma Ramotswe doesn’t think his help is needed in.

We see both the conflict and the solid friendship between Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi, the conflict and the growing understanding between Mma Makutsi and Charlie, Mma Ramotswe’s own insecurities as well as her wisdom and flexibility, and, along with the strong relationship between Mma Ramotswe and Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, whe see the strong relationship between Mma Makutsi and Phuti Radaphuti. The whole story reflects the values of respect and caring for each other and the community they’re a part of.

We have no murders here, no high-speed chases, and the worst people in the story are the undercutting furniture business people, and Violet Sephoto, Mma Makutsi’s long-time nemesis now intensely disliked by everyone who knows her–everyone who knows Grace Makutsi, and possibly everyone who knows Violet Sephoto. It’s a story, as all the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective series books are, of people who care about doing the right thing, and making the world around them a little better.

I really enjoy this series.

I bought this audiobook.

Lis Carey Reviews: Ancillary Sword

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Breq, formerly the AI controlling the warship Justice of Toren, is now confined to one body, an officer of the Radch, commanding the ship Mercy of Kalr, and has been sent off on the only mission she would have willingly accepted. Her assignment is to control a new outbreak of the spreading crisis in the Radch Empire, caused by the conflict between two perfectly legitimate instances of Anaander Mianaai, Lord of the Radch. Her mission is to right the wrong she did, when she killed Lt. Awn, an excellent officer she greatly valued, in cold blood.

Ancillary Sword (Imperial Radch #2), by Ann Leckie (author), Adjoa Andoh (narrator)
Hachette Audio, October 2014

Review by Lis Carey: This is the second book in the trilogy begun in the 2014 Best Novel Hugo winner, Ancillary Justice. Breq, having survived the confrontation between the two parts of Anaander Mianaai, is now in command of Mercy of Kalr, and off to contain another part of the spreading crisis at Athoek. While there, she hopes to also protect and offer some sort of compensation to the sister of her much-loved Lt. Awn, whom she was forced to kill.

At Athoek, she finds an already tricky political situation exacerbated by the closing of the gates and the news that there are at least two perfectly legitimate “Lords of the Radch” now in open conflict with each other. It takes longer to discover that underneath the existing and new political conflicts, and ordinary class conflict and exploitation, there’s a truly horrifying corruption hidden here.

Did I mention there’s another ship in the system, Sword of Atagaris, of questionable loyalties? And a little error in judgment by Atagaris‘ Captain results in the death of a translator/representative from the frighteningly powerful aliens, the Presger.

And while juggling all that, Breq is confronting her odd status as an ex-AI, ex-ancillary, now in command of a ship rather than a part of it. It’s a sometimes-unsettling experience for her, and at first her crew, except for old companion Seivarden, do not know what to make of her.

There’s a lot going on here, in character development, revealing more about the history and culture of the Radch, and action as the conflict between the Mianaais and even older tensions in the Radch empire play out.

I’m looking forward to the third volume, Ancillary Mercy.

Recommended.

Lis Carey Review: The Strange Case of the Moderate Extremists

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The Strange Case of the Moderate Extremists (Detective Varg #0.8), by Alexander McCall Smith
Penguin Random House, ISBN 9781984898524, February 2019

Review by Lis Carey: Detective Ulf Varg is the head of the Department of Sensitive Crimes for the Malmö police. It’s important to understand that this is not the Special Victims Unit. The cases they get are…strange. Odd. Possibly a bit weird, sometimes.

The case that comes to them, one fine morning, involves a champion pedigreed cat, a Burmese, belonging to a breeder of Oriental cats. The breeder, with this particular cat, attended a cat show. The cat was bred to a champion male, and the entire expected litter was pre-sold.

When the kittens were born, they were clearly not purebred Burmese, and the breeder has a huge problem.

One aspect of this is a rumor that her champion Burmese female wasn’t really purebred. A story then emerges that a person, never seen clearly enough to be identified, snuck in a big, rangy, street tom, and put him into the Burmese female’s crate. Nature took its course, and the mixed-breed litter was the result. Sabotage, rather than fraud.

Ulf and his partner, Anna, have to figure out the truth.

That’s their official case. Ulf’s brother, Bjorn, is the leader of a political party called the Moderate Extremists. They have great ambitions, but they’re polling at about 1%, as are their main rivals, the Extreme Moderates. Ulf and Bjorn don’t see eye to eye on politics, at all, and maintain their closeness as brothers by not discussing politics, ever. So it’s a real surprise when Bjorn calls Ulf and asks for help with a political problem. Someone is leaking sensitive party information to their rivals, the Extreme Moderates. This could shake Bjorn’s position as the head of the Moderate Extremists.

Very, very reluctantly, Ulf agrees to do a quiet, private investigation.

If you’ve read McCall Smith’s other mysteries, you know hard-hitting crime investigation isn’t the point, here. It’s good people, some more good than others, trying to solve problems and make the world a little better. There are interesting and likable characters here, each with their own problems, and basic decency. It’s enjoyable.

No, I have no idea how McCall Smith’s depiction of at least part of Sweden’s political world will look to Swedes. My provisional assumption is that the specific parties mentioned are detached enough from reality to not cause any great offense,

I bought this story.

Lis Carey Review: Ancillary Justice

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Breq is, when we meet her, the sole surviving segment of the the Radch troop ship Justice of Toren. What it takes a while for us to find out is that she’s the AI formerly in control of all the automated systems and the ancillaries on Justice of Toren. Her ship has been destroyed, and she’s on a very personal mission of revenge, for her ship and for her favorite officer, Lt. Awn. And in her current form, she’s not even supposed to exist.

Ancillary Justice (Imperial Radch #1), by Ann Leckie (author), Celeste Ciulla (narrator)
Recorded Books, November 2013 (original publication January 2013)

Review by Lis Carey: Ancillary Justice was the 2014 Best Novel Hugo winner, and it’s exactly the kind of story, the Sad Puppies say they wanted that year. Action, adventure, space ships, strong characters, and fun to read.

Breq is, when we meet her, the sole surviving segment of the Radch troop carrier Justice of Toren. We don’t realize at first that she used to be the AI operating the entire ship and all its ancillaries. She’s on a very personal mission. In alternating sections we follow her current quest, and the events nineteen years ago that sent her on it.

Breq, formerly troop carrier Justice of Toren, seeks revenge for the destruction of the main part of herself, and the murder of a favorite lieutenant, Lieutenant Awn, whose failing was not to be inefficient, unreliable, or disloyal, but to be very capable and completely loyal, in the midst of a hidden power struggle within the ruler she was loyal to.

Radch culture is fascinating, complex, and has both delightful and horrifying features. They do not consider gender significant at all; their pronouns do not distinguish gender. Breq has problems in other cultures, needing to use correct, gendered pronouns, and being confused and frustrated by the way gender signals vary so much from place to place. In the absence of a need to conform to the customs of foreigners, the default pronouns Breq uses are the feminine ones.

On the other hand, we have the ancillaries. As the Radch Empire has expanded through human space, large numbers of captured prisoners have gone into suspension tanks, to be taken out as needed to become ancillaries: bodies whose own identities have been suppressed or destroyed, and who become pieces of ship or station AI. As long as the Radch Empire is expanding, ancillaries are cheap, efficient, and utterly disposable. And most of the Radch can’t begin to see the screaming horror of it.

This is a great story, with Breq in pursuit of justice, along with wonderful world-building, and real character development–not limited to Breq, but in her case starting from a state of being intelligent software in multiple constructed and human bodies. It’s fun, it’s exciting, and it thoroughly deserved its Hugo win.

Highly recommended.

I bought this audiobook.

Lis Carey Review: The Wilhelm Conspiracy

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Holmes and Watson are summoned to Dover, and eventually to Germany, to recover a stolen part of a possible superweapon, an electrical cannon partially developed by Nikola Tesla. Lucy James of course becomes involved, initially against Holmes’s instructions. We also meet her friend, Harriet Radnar; a violinist named Adrian Arkwright, a couple of German thugs who have difficulty with the fact that Holmes and Watson don’t bend easily; and Kaiser Wihelm and the Prince of Wales. Action, contradictory clues, and good mystery.

The Wilhelm Conspiracy (Sherlock Holmes & Lucy James Mysteries #2), by Charles Veley
Thomas & Mercer, October 2016

Review by Lis Carey: Months after the events in The Last Moriarty, a prominent banker is found dead in compromising circumstances, and Inspector Lestrade appears at 221B Baker Street, having just been beaten up and given a message virtually on the doorstep.

The dead banker is the one who was involved in the transfer of German Imperial funds to its agents in the conspiracy against the British government. Lestrade was sent by the Commissioner to ask Holmes to get involved in the investigation of the theft of a new British super weapon. The men who beat him up gave him a message for Holmes — stay out of it.

Nothing could be more certain to secure Holmes’ commitment to the case.

Lucy James, having seen the newspaper report of the banker’s death and realizing it’s connected to the previous case, arrives before Holmes and Watson have departed for Dover, where they are asked to meet Lord Lansdowne, the Secretary of War. Lucy is firmly told that this case is too dangerous, and she won’t be coming with them. Well, you can’t really blame Holmes for not knowing his own daughter, since they’ve met so recently.

In Dover, they find a completely charred human body on the beach, and a device at  Kerren House which is claimed to be an electrical cannon invented by Nikola Tesla, who — also present — says it’s the work of Lord Kerren, while strongly implying that Kerren may have stolen his own notes when visiting Tesla in New York. Kerren is currently away, in Germany, while his brother-in-law, Lord Radnar is in Colorado.

Since it’s the Germans who are hinting they have Kerren’s plans, it seems a little odd that he’s in Germany.

Also on the scene, no surprise to the discerning reader, is Lucy James. Turns out her friend, Harriet Radnar, is the daughter of Lord Radnar, as well as being a fellow singer with the D’Oyly Carte Opera. And, we soon learn, one of Lansdowne’s agents, assigned to listening carefully to the conversation among the elites of Europe wherever she travels with the Opera.

Over the next few days, there’s another death, several attacks, an apparent demonstration in a public park of the German version of the electrical cannon, attacks on Holmes and Watson, as well as messages making demands and offers related to the electrical cannon. There are missing parts to Kerren’s version, which need to be recovered, but which may already be in the hands of the Germans.

Clues point in all directions, and Kaiser Wilhelm, who is not on wonderful terms with his uncle, Prince Albert Edward, the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII), may or may not be aware of what his ministers and staff are up to. They are definitely up to something, however. The Prince of Wales, not many years off from becoming King, is only superficially at the spa for recreational purposes. He’s fully aware of the threat Lansdowne, Holmes, and others are working to stop, and is called upon to make some critical decisions along the way.

There’s also clearly a traitor within Britain’s War Department. Lansdowne would prefer to focus on recovering the stolen parts, while Holmes is adamant that they can’t resolve the threat if they don’t find the traitor.

Holmes and Watson are both attacked, separately and together, threats are received, and at one point Watson, while reluctantly accepting the Kaiser’s “gift” of a visit to the same spa favored by the Prince of Wales, is hypnotized, and when he eventually emerges, can’t be sure what information he’s divulged.

Harriet Radnar is an interesting character in her own right, and should really be kept an eye on.

It’s fast-paced, interesting, and fun.

I received this book as a gift.

Lis Carey Review: A House with Good Bones

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Archaeoentomologist Sam (Samantha) Montgomery, during an interruption in work at a dig site, heads home for the first extended visit to her mother in a while. She’s not taking too seriously her brother’s warning that “Mom seems off,” and isn’t expecting anything other than an enjoyable visit with her mother. The first hint that her brother could be right might be that her mother has redecorated in Gran Mae’s style, including the Confederate wedding painting. Or, it might be the vulture perched outside.

A House with Good Bones, by T. Kingfisher (author), Mary Robinette Kowal  (narrator)
Macmillan Audio, ISBN 9781250886361, March 2023

Review by Lis Carey: Samantha (Sam) Montgomery is an archaeoentomologist, returned for a rare extended visit to her mother’s home in North Carolina. She’s been looking forward to it, is excited as she approaches the house, and initially not that worried by her brother’s warning that “Mom seems off.”

Then she walks inside, and the cozy clutter and lively colors of her mother’s house are gone. Most of the walls are various shades of white (Sam is especially horrified by the ecru), while her own old room is rose. Her mother seems oddly timid, and has reimposed her own mother’s, Gran Mae’s, rules, of no swearing, grace before meals, and suggesting more modest clothing. What is she afraid of?

Other oddities soon become apparent. Although Mrs. Montgomery does no gardening, and has no gardener — just a neighbor she pays for mowing and handyman-type tasks — her mother, Sam’s grandmother’s, roses are thriving. Stranger than that, there are no insects in the garden, or anywhere on the property. Gardens need insects to thrive.

Sam starts reconnecting with other neighbors, including the woman her grandmother called “an evil old witch.” The one with the “witch’s garden,” or perhaps, just a garden of native plants in a more natural layout.

There’s something definitely strange about those roses. Some very disturbing features of Gran Mae’s decorating, such as the picture of a Confederate wedding, have reappeared. And Sam is starting to hear voices, in her dreams and in a state called “sleep paralysis,” which is all too familiar to me. You wake up, but not entirely. Not enough to turn off the protective immobilization of the voluntary muscles that keeps us from sleepwalking. There’s often a sense of a threatening presence. Sam is experiencing this, or thinks she is.

Sometimes she hears the voices while awake, elsewhere in the house. They’re telling her to leave. Her brother reminds her of the “underground children” Gran Mae told them stories of.

Sam starts digging for an explanation, behind what’s going on, though everyone is telling her not to. That not all questions need answers. That some questions are better not answered.

Sam is a smart, funny, sarcastic woman, easy to like and care about. Other characters grow in depth and complexity as Sam gets to know them.

I haven’t even mentioned either the ladybugs or the vultures.

The story told in Sam’s funny, sarcastic voice builds toward a genuine horror ending.

Altogether enjoyable, and well-narrated by Mary Robinette Kowal.

I bought this audiobook.

Cider Reviews Sockeye Salmon Dog Treats

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Introduction: Did you know that dogs can’t eat tuna? Well they can’t but they certainly can eat salmon. (No, I don’t know why one fish is good and one isn’t.) And that brings us to Cider’s review of Max and Neo Sockeye Salmon, a treat that the companion of Lis likes quite a bit. Well she liked that quite a lot after her companion got the package open… Read her review complete with photos and a video to boot.

Max and Neo Freeze Dried Wild Caught Sockeye Salmon Dog Treats – Single Ingredient, Wild Caught Pacific Northwest Sockeye Salmon, Human Grade

    Review by Cider. I, Cider, received this package of Max and Neo Sockeye Salmon Treats, from a friend. Lis says the package is a pretty blue color. Me, I don’t get much beyond, “it’s blue,” because dogs don’t have all the same stuff in our eyes.

    I carefully checked out the packaging.

    Next, I asked Lis to open it. That proved to be a challenge for her! Why? Pro tip! Don’t cut where it tells you to cut! You’ll still have a sealed bag! Turns out, Lis found, you have to cut just barely above the spot where you can feel the thingy that makes it resealable. Finally, she got it, though.

    Then she got me a small piece.

    And I started right away, eating it. As you can see, it was unexpectedly chewy, but it was really tasty.

    I put it down for a few seconds several times, but I didn’t stop!

    When I was done, what I had was this little piece, that was small and thin — Lis calls it “paper thin.”

    Lis asked me a couple times if I wanted to eat that last bit, but I thought it had a wrong texture, and Lis wondered if it was like the rind on an orange — not there to be eaten!

    Overall, I found it really tasty, and it gave really good chew quality. There are lots of different size pieces, too, so you can take different size pieces depending on how long you want to keep busy with it. Just tell your humans you want they need to pay extra attention opening it the first time, and that they’ll probably need to pick up that rind piece when you’re done.

    As I said at the beginning, this was a gift from a friend.

    Lis Carey Review: Bitter Medicine

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    Elle is a descendant of a Chinese medicine god, living in hiding from her family, as a person of much lower magical power, turning out magical glyphs needed by agents of the agency that runs the magical side of our world. Luc is a half-elf, and one of the highest-ranking of those agents, working directly for the head of that agency. He’s figured out that her real magical power is higher than her official rating, and wants her to do all his future glyphs. There’s also the small matter of their mutual attraction, which Luc wants to keep casual, and Elle wants to pretend doesn’t exist at all. It’s too bad they both have dangerous secrets that are about to come closing in on them.

    Bitter Medicine, by Mia Tsai
    Tachyon Press, ISBN 9781616963842, March 2023

    Review by Lis Carey: Chinese traditional magic, European fae magic, and the magic of other cultures exists alongside the non-magical world.

    Elle is a descendant of a Chinese medicine god. She’s got considerable magical talent, and was supposed to be a doctor.

    Instead, she’s working in a magical calligraphy shop, masquerading as a person of relatively modest power and careful to do nothing that would expose the truth, making magical glyphs for agents working for the agency that runs the magical side of this world. She has a regular client, Luc, whom she tells herself she regards as only a “business friend.” It’s just impossible for her to have any deeper feelings for him, because she can’t risk exposing who she really is.

    Luc is a half-elf who works directly for the head of that magical agency, as an elite enforcer, and he’s had to do some very ugly things. He also has secrets to keep, but he’s more willing than Elle to explore the attraction between them.

    He has also noticed that recent work she’s done for him is better than her official magical rating says it should be, and he wants her and only her doing any future glyphs for him. He also has some special items he wants to commission from her, for a big job he has coming up.

    We slowly learn that Elle is in hiding from her family, but especially from her younger brother, and hiding her older brother, who was supposed to be heir to the family’s most important magical legacy. He’s supposed to be dead. The why of this is complicated and understandably riddled with emotion, but Elle takes all the guilt on herself.

    Luc is very, very good at what he does, but he’s starting to hate it. But he’s trapped, and sees no way out. He’s also terrifyingly dangerous, and at times it results in levels of violence and blood some may find uncomfortable.

    But when he’s not on a job, he’s a different man. He notices a lot about Elle that she doesn’t recognize about herself. She feels responsible for taking care of everyone around her, and feels guilty and ashamed that she can’t make everything work right for everyone she feels responsible for. She doesn’t acknowledge the ways those people have contributed to the problems she’s struggling with.

    Elle is stretching herself far too thin, and not taking any care of herself.

    Luc is coming to a breaking point, too, though it’s a very different one.

    The language here is beautiful, and the characters and the world they live in is unfolded with exquisite care. By the time we learn Luc’s secrets, we’re ready to understand them.

    Other characters are also well-done. Luc’s boss, Oberon, is monstrous, but very believable. Elle’s older brother, Tony (no more his real name than Elle is hers), is utterly likable and charming, even when we recognize his role in creating the situation that may kill all of them.

    All the cultures involved are treated with respect, and scattered through the book are works or phrases in the characters’ respective languages and scripts. It’s little bits, never enough to frustrate–just lending some reality to the fact that these people really do come from a variety of cultural backgrounds.

    I thoroughly enjoyed this.

    I received an electronic galley of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.