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[QUOTE]dustydigger - 2014-07-01  6:23 AM

21. Marissa Meyer - Cress. The third episode in this engaging YA science fictionseries,where each book loosely ties in with fairy tales. Cinder started off the series about a part cyborg girl who gets embroiled in deadly imperial politics,where the wicked Queen on Luna wants to rule the earth .Book two,Scarlet was about a girl involved with a werewolf,and the latest,Cress has a heroine who is imprisoned on a space ship for years monitoring the queen's enemies signals.To preevent her trying to rebel she is not allowed any sharp objects,so no scissors,so long,very long hair.Rapunzel,of course.I hadnt known that cress and rapunzel were synonyms! Good fun,fast paced,sympathetic characters and a wicked villain and a rollercoaster plot all make for a light engaging read.Nice to see sci-fi in a YA book for once,instead of all those vampires or dystopias!
22.L Sprague de Camp - Lest Darkness Fall.  The book started off great.Archaeologist/historian Martin Padway slips back through time whileon holiday in Italy,and finds himself in the turmoil of 6th century Italy at the time of the disintegration of the Roman Empire,where a host of factions - Franks,Goths,Vandals,Greeks etc are fighting for power.Martin sets up some businesses - setting up brandy distilleries,inventing the telegraph and printing presses etc,and this part of the book was great fun,lots of humour. But when Martin decides that he must try to change history enough to prevent the Dark Ages from swallowing up scientific developments in a darkness of ignorance and intolerance, the tone becomes darker as Martin increasingly gets entangled with politics and eventually war.I got a bit overwhelmed with the countless warring factions,and we are left hanging as to whether his inventions will survive if he dies in such turbulent times,though he feels sure the printing press will change the world enough to hold back the darkness.
This was a quick fun read for the most part.The novel was published in 1941,and I wonder if it was partly written as war propaganda,since it shows a good old practical no nonsense American guy going in to prevent the fall of civilisation,where all these European bloodthirsty factions cant keep the peace? 
23. Vonda Macintyre - Dreamsnake. I really enjoyed this book, for all sorts of reasons. The heroine was everything you could want, brave, tenacious, compassionate, loyal, courteous, and long-suffering. Her love for her snakes even mollified me a bit, and I am so not a snakeloving person. I also found the world fascinating, so beautifully described. Unlike others who were disatisfied with the vagueness about what had caused the worldwide catastrophe, what were these alien artifaccts, cratures and fauna, it just added a pleasant sense of mystery and depth. No long historical explanations or expositions on the setting, just fascinating glimpses. (I rarely read historical crime fiction because the tale is slowed down enormously by descriptions of the protagonist's clothing, means of transport, food etc. We wouldnt put up with such masses of detail in a contemporary nove, where such things are taken for grantedl.)
I also liked the touching little romance theme, the interestingly diverse communities with their alternatively set up cultures, from bedouin tribesmen to technologically advanced cities, but again, for the most part descibed only as much as is necessary for the plot. Quirky non stereotypical characters, however lightly sketched, and beautiful depictions of landscape also add to a staisfying read, and I wish McIntye had written more books in this intriguing world[/QUOTE]

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dustydigger

Posted 2014-07-01 6:23 AM (#8039 - in reply to #6198)
Subject: Re: The Pick and Mix Challenge.

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21. Marissa Meyer - Cress. The third episode in this engaging YA science fictionseries,where each book loosely ties in with fairy tales. Cinder started off the series about a part cyborg girl who gets embroiled in deadly imperial politics,where the wicked Queen on Luna wants to rule the earth .Book two,Scarlet was about a girl involved with a werewolf,and the latest,Cress has a heroine who is imprisoned on a space ship for years monitoring the queen's enemies signals.To preevent her trying to rebel she is not allowed any sharp objects,so no scissors,so long,very long hair.Rapunzel,of course.I hadnt known that cress and rapunzel were synonyms! Good fun,fast paced,sympathetic characters and a wicked villain and a rollercoaster plot all make for a light engaging read.Nice to see sci-fi in a YA book for once,instead of all those vampires or dystopias!
22.L Sprague de Camp - Lest Darkness Fall. The book started off great.Archaeologist/historian Martin Padway slips back through time whileon holiday in Italy,and finds himself in the turmoil of 6th century Italy at the time of the disintegration of the Roman Empire,where a host of factions - Franks,Goths,Vandals,Greeks etc are fighting for power.Martin sets up some businesses - setting up brandy distilleries,inventing the telegraph and printing presses etc,and this part of the book was great fun,lots of humour. But when Martin decides that he must try to change history enough to prevent the Dark Ages from swallowing up scientific developments in a darkness of ignorance and intolerance, the tone becomes darker as Martin increasingly gets entangled with politics and eventually war.I got a bit overwhelmed with the countless warring factions,and we are left hanging as to whether his inventions will survive if he dies in such turbulent times,though he feels sure the printing press will change the world enough to hold back the darkness.
This was a quick fun read for the most part.The novel was published in 1941,and I wonder if it was partly written as war propaganda,since it shows a good old practical no nonsense American guy going in to prevent the fall of civilisation,where all these European bloodthirsty factions cant keep the peace?
23. Vonda Macintyre - Dreamsnake. I really enjoyed this book, for all sorts of reasons. The heroine was everything you could want, brave, tenacious, compassionate, loyal, courteous, and long-suffering. Her love for her snakes even mollified me a bit, and I am so not a snakeloving person. I also found the world fascinating, so beautifully described. Unlike others who were disatisfied with the vagueness about what had caused the worldwide catastrophe, what were these alien artifaccts, cratures and fauna, it just added a pleasant sense of mystery and depth. No long historical explanations or expositions on the setting, just fascinating glimpses. (I rarely read historical crime fiction because the tale is slowed down enormously by descriptions of the protagonist's clothing, means of transport, food etc. We wouldnt put up with such masses of detail in a contemporary nove, where such things are taken for grantedl.)
I also liked the touching little romance theme, the interestingly diverse communities with their alternatively set up cultures, from bedouin tribesmen to technologically advanced cities, but again, for the most part descibed only as much as is necessary for the plot. Quirky non stereotypical characters, however lightly sketched, and beautiful depictions of landscape also add to a staisfying read, and I wish McIntye had written more books in this intriguing world

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