The first chapter of the historical romance It Takes a Scandal is akin to seminar on how to successfully create a sympathetic hero. Sebastian Vane has been stripped of everything he held dear and that will help him make his way in the world. Seriously injured fighting Napoleon (not personally), his mentally ill father is sinking daily into greater and more unmanageable derangement, but not before selling portions of the family estate for a pittance. Sebastian loses everything except his dignity and even that he […]
Why should a woman be more like a man?
The Greeks knew that the mask in the theater was not a disguise but a means of revelation. This is a mind blowing novel about a woman who decides to have three men exhibit her art as their own creations as part of a larger art project she calls “Maskings.” Our protagonist Harriet “Harry” Burden wants to expose how perceptions influence the way the public views art. She believes that, had she shown her works as herself, as artist Harriet Burden, she would have been […]
Crotchety John Rebus at his best
I’ve been a big fan of Ian Rankin for a while. How could I not be, when he’s been dubbed “the tartan James Ellroy”? In particular, I love the Inspector Rebus books (there must be 20 of them by now). In particular, I’ve liked the Rebus books when he’s been a bit older and a bit more bitter about life (which, all things considered, is pretty bitter.). As Rebus has aged, he’s become a more sympathetic character, even though he’s still the same guy, doing […]
The City and the Abcity
Target: China Miéville’s Un Lun Dun Profile: Young Adult, Fantasy, Weird Fantasy ‘China Miéville’ and ‘children’s book’ are not, at first glance, two things that would appear to mesh. Miéville, who I have described in previous reviews as being macabre, dense and sometimes overwhelmingly complicated (in an enjoyable way), is hardly the first person I’d pick to write a book for older kids and young adults. Nevertheless, Un Lun Dun is a triumphant piece of fiction. It taps into the fundamental truths of adventure stories, […]