Monster - A. Lee Martinez

Monster is a crytobiological containment specialist, that is, he's a bounty catcher of odd creatures. He meets Judy, a supermarket cashier, while answering a call regarding a Yeti that is cleaning out the ice cream aisle. Judy is an incog, one that can not remember magic, but a rune on her forehead helps just a bit. Monster is called back when trolls run through Judy's apartment, and after Monster's own apartment is overrun with goat-headed men, he begins to suspect that something bigger is going on. It turns out that an old lady with a thing for turning people into cats is manipulating the universe with the help of a stone, and Judy is a threat to her success. Sound a bt stretched? Perhaps, but this was a fun, quick read!

Coraline - Neil Gaiman

Even though this is billed as a pre-teen book, I've been a Neil Gaiman fan for many years when I first discovered him with his work on the comic Sandman. I picked this one up to read in between other novels and as something I could read through quickly over the holiday weekend. I enjoyed this one greatly. It did start out a bit slow, but about midway it picked up nicely and carried through to the end nicely.

Would a pre-teen enjoy this? I'm sure they would though it may start out a bit too slow to hold their interest. Would an adult enjoy this? I sure did and so would any Gaiman fan. Now I'm looking forward to seeing the film. Recommend this for a quick enjoyable read. 9/10

Storm Front - Jim Butcher

Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden is a wizard - the sign on his office door says so. The Chicago Police Department brings him in as a consultant to solve a double murder, a man and a woman caught in a delicate situation, made more so by the mere fact that both of their hearts have exploded from their chests. The man turns out to be the bodyguard of a local mob boss, the woman is an escort from a vampire-managed service, and somehow Dresden winds up both a suspect and a target. This was a quick airplane read, but very entertaining - I'll definitely be picking up the rest of the series!

Well of Darkness - Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman - Sovereign Stone Trilogy

The Sovereign Stone Trilogy from the masters of fantasy and creators of the Dragonlance world starts off with this first novel, Well of Darkness. Tells the story of a whipping boy and his prince as they grow up and grow into the evil that is called the Void. This trilogy is really very well self-contained. There is no real cliffhanger, most all the themes have a clear resolution and the conclusion actually leaves you in doubt of where the next book in the trilogy will continue on.

This is much darker than Dragonlance and in fact feels to be more adult and less of the the young adult type of fantasy. And it is refreshing to see the elves in the story as siding more with the evil than is typical (except of course the Drow in the Forgotten Realms world).

While not a novel that I would consider in the running for my read of the year, it was enjoyable and I look forward to seeing where the next book leads. 7/10

The Pale Blue Eye - Louis Bayard

Fantastic! Gus Ladnor is pulled from his retirement from being a New York City detective to help solve the murder of a cadet at 1830 West Point. To get closer to the closed community, Landor requests the aid of a cadet to serve as his spy in in the ranks and he is assigned none other than the young Edgar Allen Poe, who in turn spends equal time writing poetry, falling for the primary suspect's sister, and learning the art of deduction from Landor. As a second cadet is found, minus its heart, the commander of the academy grows impatient, and Landor is pressed to find the murderer. The ending of this book is quite phenomenal - I did not see it coming!

The Last Testament - Sam Bourne

First, let me say, I am FINALLY done with this book. It wasn't a bad book, really, but I just didn't find myself wanting to read more than a few pages at a time. Maybe I'm just weary of this type of mystery/thriller - religious artifact, factions that want to hide or expose it, et cetera. In this case, the artifact is the last will of Abraham, discovered just as the Peace Talks are growing more difficult. So who "owns" Israel, and can Abraham's will actually solve the problem or just make it worse? Maggie Costello, a negotiator, is looking for the answer in an environment where she can't trust anyone, except the handsome Israeli. Ergh.