Skin Trade by Laurell K. Hamilton

Skin Trade is, uh... interesting. On the one hand, some fairly large things happen here, but on the other... lots of long, drawn-out feeling exposition and cop drama. Oh, and Olaf being around. Skin Trade just honestly doesn't tickle my fancy like other Anita Blake books do.

Don’t really like the male vs female, cop vs civilian dick measuring contest Anita always has to go through, so I’m glad that’s mostly outta the way early. Would be very nice if it wasn't a continuing thing through Shaw and Morgan. I was honestly wanting someone to drop Shaw down a deep, dark hole fairly early on... but no.

I like that we get some “in the weeds” on Anita’s equipment, even though (not being a gun girlie) I don’t understand half of it. I also enjoyed the "in the weeds" bits about the psychics, witches, and such in terms of learning about their powers. I very much like the highlighting of psychics in policing and the consequences of shutting out anything more metaphysical in that profession. By not having anyone in the police force who can even hope to combat vampires and wereanimals, you’re basically kneecapping the force and people wind up dead. The Marshals are, at best, a stop-gap measure, especially if you want to get info out of your wereanimal suspect and not just kill em. There is a lot of introspection about this, both in Anita's head and through various characters straight up calling out the hypocrisy of both calling vampires and such citizens but not giving them any room for trials.

Okay, so here’s the part in the Olaf storyline where everything could have just been nipped in the bud. Tell him “no.” Not only “no,” but “hell no, never.” Whether or not that would have bumped Anita straight to his victims list is irrelevant. The fact that he offers to “try” vanilla for her should have resulted in a “hell no.” Ugh. I hate him and his storyline so, so much and part of it could have been taken care of right here by telling him “no.” But we don’t. For no apparent reason. “I’m flattered and creeped out” but can’t utter the word “no.” Wtf even. I honestly don't understand the "why" part of this. Are we supposed to believe that possible sex with Anita is the only thing keeping Olaf in check or something? Just... no. I'm so, so tired of it. Tired of Olaf now and later.

Third Act antagonist drop. Bleh. At this point, the plot is feeling really stretched and distracted, if I’m honest. Clearly it was important to go on the High Priestess side quest, but it also feels like it’s further muddying already muddied waters. I do understand it leads to the trump card for later, but still... It honestly felt that way as soon as we added Wicked to the mix. Like his character, but… the situation is already complicated enough.

Even though it can slow the story’s pace, I do kind of appreciate the side-bits between characters. It gives the stories a closer-to-life feel than these types of things normally get. Also leads to some good world building, if only to keep the world feeling more lived-in.

The last thing I wanted to make a note of is a reread thing. I was under the impression that I liked Max and Bibiana. This reread has proven that to be untrue. Max is barely even around here and Bibiana really just makes me wanna smack her. Victor, however, I definitely did like. Kind of wish he was around more, but do completely understand why he's not, in the long run.

But yeah... Skin Trade is definitely not my favorite. It's not one I think back on a lot. I feel like it's a necessary stepping-stone book, but it otherwise doesn't feel very consequential. 

Favorite Line

(And yes, I am very aware the irony of hating Olaf and having him have the best line in this book)

"If you fear nothing," Olaf said, "then you are not brave; you are merely too foolish to be afraid." 

Whispers Underground by Ben Aaronovitch

I really should have taken notes while I was reading. My brain’s a bit frazzled. That said, I did enjoy Whispers Underground. It was interesting.

I did find it somewhat amusing that I was reading this one while experiencing one of the now-yearly Texas ice storms. Got the real-life version of trudging through snow and ice at the same time Peter was.

I like that Lesley’s officially Folly now. The continued looks at her recovery make me happy. I also enjoyed the further looks at the Fae and adjacent world. Love me some expanding world-building. Still not entirely sure what Tyburn’s up to, but it definitely seems concerning.

The London rail system being involved here was fun. I think it’s neat to see how they dealt with the expanding rail and wanting to keep London “pretty” or whatever.

So yeah, Whispers Underground, another solid entry in the Rivers of London series. 

Favorite Line

"But this was a murder inquiry and woe betide any officer who breaks the chain of evidence, for they will be sat down and have what went wrong with the OJ Simpson murder trial explained to them at great length. With PowerPoint slides." - Pete Grant 

Blood Noir by Laurell K. Hamilton

I honestly found Blood Noir to be forgettable. There were a couple of over-arching plot-relevances, but otherwise... forgettable. As this is a reread, as well, I will double down on that. I did not remember a single damn thing from this book going into it again.

Regardless of the cause of his rage, Richard will not be forgiven for how he acted or has been acting because of it. I've been done with Richard for a while (which you will know if you've read my previous Anita Blake reviews) and this... other than Anita figuring out she could eat anger and Richard's version of the ardeur surfacing, he had zero reason to be there. Pretty much just an on-screen conflict generator that I would very much just like to punch in the face. Richard's ardeur scene was just icing on the "Richard's not a great person actually" cake. No, not icing, decorative, inedible detailing on the cake. He just made me so, so mad.

I did enjoy the "little" lore drop we got about the clan tigers and in-universe Chinese history regarding lycanthropes. Those little in-universe history touches really flesh out Anita's world in the best ways.

The bit where Anita ate Richard's rage/took back her rage reminded me very much of the scene in Disney's She-Hulk where Jennifer tells Bruce about her experience with rage. Women are just so full of rage and so good at keeping a lid on it and men just cannot handle the barest hint. We are scary and that makes us powerful.

But yeah... other than that, I will probably completely forget this book existed again. I am otherwise happy to be jumping back into the Anita Blake universe. 

Favorite Lines

"Obsession isn't love, Jason. It's possession." - Anita Blake

"Sometimes, if people forget you're there, you learn more. Silence can be a greater asset than any question." - Anita Blake 

In Other News

I have finished my Chuumon project for my Child Digimon Project Line over on OviPets. Chuumon took me 7 months to complete.

Acorna's People by Anne McCaffrey & Elizabeth Ann Scarborough

Honestly, right off the top, the vibe of this book is different. Something in the way things a described… so different from the first two in a good way. This, unfortunately, does not last. There are literally parts of this book that just rush past or just seem to get utterly bored with what's going on and both draw out but rush at the same time. I did very much enjoy parts of this book, while others left me wishing for those parts. I think the story overall hangs together well enough, but... I doubt I'll be rereading this series again.

I found the antagonist characters both extremely boring and annoying. Every. Single. One. Of. Them. Count Edacki was the boring, in the background, capitalistic asshole out for literally just making money. Captain or Admiral (I literally don't care about his title) Ikwaskwan was apparently in it for revenge against Nadhari... still not entirely sure what that was about, but it was gross. And then there's Kisla and Yasmin, who were both mentally ill and exploited by Edacki for his own ends. They were also incredibly boring and predictable. Thanks, I hate it.

I was really far more interested in Acorna's plot-line trying to learn and fit into the Linyaari society than I was in the plot-line involving her "rescue." While I was reading that part, I was desperate to get away from Hafiz et. al. and back to Acorna. Even the book itself seemed to be utterly bored with itself at that point. I considered skipping chapters... which turned out not to be needed. Once I was able to push through and get into the meat of the story, it was better.

I believe I either went on a bit of rant about in Linyaari and their inability to do ambassador-ing correctly in my review of Acorna's Quest. Well, apparently the species they have treated with in the past also have this problem. Just gonna up an believe a species they just met instead of trying to get some explanation from long-time trading partners about the allegations. Nope, everyone in that sector of space is stupid. There is such thing as too much trust and too much ethics and a severe lack of questions. Thanks for enabling the capture and torture of your supposed allies, guys. Real helpful. Ugh. I was just so, so frustrated with this.

Although I don't think the ending of the book really needed to be drawn out, I did find it kind of rushed. I will concede that it was very clever of Acorna and crew to lure the antagonists into Federation space instead of trying to fight them. I was expecting a fight, really. They were certainly out-gunned. But everything just unfolded quickly and smoothly and the bed guys were apparently punished, so yay.

I'm clearly not overly enthralled with this series. This one felt better than the last, but I think it might be time to call it quits. We'll see. 

Favorite Line

"Some people can hear nothing but their own inner voices shouting at them so loudly that they come to believe the shouting at them so loudly that they come to believe the shouting is coming from others." - Neeva 

The Raven Song by Luanne G. Smith

It’s been 3 years and some change since I read the first of this duology ( The Raven Spell ). I remember very little from it, so The Raven Song may as well have been a standalone novel. I honestly found it very middling.

I feel like, although a main character of this book, Edwina wasn’t super present in it. She’s not given any time to properly grieve and any time she’s alone is pretty much skipped over. Her entire story is centered around pining for Ian and being kidnapped for fairy reasons. Even her frustration at Mary is short-lived and then explained away rather randomly in the end, in my opinion. I don’t remember how I felt about Edwina in The Raven Spell but I don’t feel like I know her well enough to have much of an opinion now.

I am definitely well over the “man intimidates and kidnaps women for power” thing. I found Carlin incredibly dull as an antagonist. Even keeping his name a secret felt incredibly contrived. There was just no reason for it.

I’m not sure how I feel about the info-dump ending. Sure, everything was tied up neatly, but that was a lot of information just thrown at us and Edwina, for that matter. I do believe she is very right about the new Prophetess needing things explained sooner than tradition dictates. It’s clear the secrecy around it doesn’t actually keep the secret very well. After all, Carlin managed to hear rumors and he’s not even connected to anything.

So yeah… The Raven Song was entirely middling. Entertaining enough, but with quite flat characters. 

Through Gates of Garnet and Gold by Seanan McGuire

I’m really not sure what to say about this one. I really enjoyed it. Was a nice respite from the world we live in. It was neat to see more about the Land of the Dead and learn how the statues came to be.

I knew, even before she was revealed, that Jill was going to be the antagonist. Just had that feeling as Nancy told the others what was happening… Jill’s revelation was completely unsurprising.

I’m always sad these are so short, but at the same time, I’m very glad things aren’t drawn out too much. Through Gates of Garnet and Gold was a solid entry into the Wayward Children series… also felt a little like an ending, given the very end I won’t be spoiling. It’s fine if that’s the case, too. 

Favorite Lines

"A child is a vessel for wanting—and snot. Lots of snot in you average kid." - Sumi

"Toddlers have to wear coats in the winter, children need to get enough vitamin C to skip scurvy, and teenagers sometimes need to talk about our feelings. It’s the medicinal part of being a person." -  Sumi

"No one gets to decide for you what living looks like," snapped Nancy. "Life is supposed to be made up of the choices you make for yourself."

Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch

While not exactly super surprising, I did very much enjoy Moon Over Soho. I thought it was nice to see consequences from the last book carry over into this one. It's always nice when we aren't just reset back to "normal" immediately. I know that's a little weird to say for a sequel, as I think the consequences should always stick... but yeah.

As usual, I very much enjoyed the world-building. Got a few answers to a couple of questions I had from Rivers of London, The Masquerades of Spring, and some of the short stories preceding Moon Over Soho chronologically. It was also fairly well done. Not a giant info dump, just Nightingale organically telling Peter stuff when appropriate.

I also enjoyed the progression of the characters. Getting to know Peter better and learning about Lesley through her family and recovery. Dr. Walid amused me, in line with several coroner types from CSI-like shows. I even quite like Ash and hope we see more of him in future.

I was kind of amused at the notion of Nightingale assuming his former colleagues would just not teach anyone else magic just because there was some sort of Agreement. It does (from short story readings) seem like other government types in other countries assumed the same. It seemed completely silly to me for some surviving wizards to keep that knowledge to themselves. Of course the knowledge is going to be passed on. It's so obvious to me. Heck, Peter's pretty much got two apprentices of his own in Lesley and Abigail (one assumes Abigail, anyway) and he's not even a "proper" wizard yet. I kind of assume Lesley's going to come under Nightingale's tutelage, but one never knows.

I thought Simone being super connected to Peter's case was also fairly obvious. He fell too fast, too hard for her to not be involved somehow. I actually though she might be a shapeshifter of some kind. I was definitely wrong on that count, but that's where my head was originally at.

Anyway, I thought Moon Over Soho was a solid follow up to Rivers of London. Built out more of the world nicely and was just solid over all. 

Favorite Lines

"He was calling it an atonic seizure because, even if he didn’t know why it had happened, it was important to give it a cool name." - Peter Grant

"For a terrifying moment I thought he was going to hug me, but fortunately we both remembered we were English just in time. Still, it was a close call." - Peter Grant  

In Other News

I finished my Moosemon Project, part of my Armor Digimon Project Line over on OviPets. Took me just about a year to complete.