Twilight (Stephenie Meyer)

I read good reviews of Twilight on several blogs, but was put off by the fact that it was a teen love story involving a vampire - not really my type of thing. However, I found an audio book of it in the library, and thought I'd give it a listen. I hated the voice of the narrator at first, but got used to it (I think you could get used to anything after listening to it for about 12 hours), and despite my initial irritation with it, really loved the story I was hearing.

Twilight is a super-romantic over the top love story between a teenage girl and one of her classmates, who's a vampire. Naturally, their relationship abounds in tension, mostly because Bella smells so very edible to Edward. I like Meyer's vampires - they're original and attractive creatures - and although some parts of this Romeo & Juliet-like romance made me roll my eyes a little, I still really enjoyed it, and was very involved with the characters. I think if I'd read this while I was a teenager I would have become quite obsessed with it - it's just my sort of thing. Can't wait to read New Moon, the sequel.

Throne of Jade (Naomi Novik)

Just like the book that came before it, Throne of Jade made me sigh, and smile, and wish I had a dragon of my very own. Thankfully, it did not make me cry, much to Prince Valiant's relief. He didn't know he was signing up for a fiance who cried over fictional dragons.

In my defence (I always have something to say in my defence), Naomi Novik's characters - and yes, the dragons are very definite characters of their own - practically tap-dance their way into your brain, they're so real. I think, if anything, I enjoyed Throne of Jade more than Temeraire. We need no introduction into the world of dragons, or the air corps - we can relax and enjoy the many characters and political intrigues that litter Throne of Jade.

In this novel (and I realised when reading an interview with Novik that it's not just a trilogy, but a never-ending series! Well, a very lengthy one, anyway. Joy, happiness, etc), Laurence and Temeraire make their way to China, after a lengthy voyage, where they discover that dragons there lead very different lives to those in Britain. Temeraire meets his mother, and Laurence tries to deal with various plots to entice Temeraire away from him.

I thought Novik's writing really improved in this book - there were no moments of clunkiness, and I didn't feel that I was reading a YA novel, as I occasionally did while reading Temeraire. It's a smoother, cleaner production. I will be reading Black Powder War as soon as I can get my hands on it, and then will be psychically urging Novik to write faster, please, because there are some of us who need a Temeraire fix quite regularly. (There's a short story on the Temeraire website, for those who need more.)

The River Midnight (Lilian Nattel)

The River Midnight is a wonderfully seductive book, set in a Polish shtetl named Blaszka. For about a year, we follow the lives of the men and women within the village, their interlinked histories, and their relationships with the midwife Misha, who is the common thread among many of the stories.

The River Midnight has a faintly magic realist thread - there's a mysterious Traveller who meddles in the lives of the villagers - but the appeal of this novel for me was how strongly it evoked a small Jewish village in Russian-occupied Poland, and the intricate details of everyday life. I felt immersed in this novel, and by the end was immensely fond of many of the characters therein. I knew them intimately, what they thought about in bed at night lying next to their wives, what they thought of when they prayed.

To be honest, my general fascination with Jewish culture (Almonds and Raisins by Maisie Mosco, a Jewish family saga, and Leon Uris's Exodus were two books I passionately adored as a teenager) probably influenced my enjoyment of this book, but not so much that I would hesitate recommending it to others.

Temeraire (Naomi Novik)

I burst into terrific sobs towards the end of this book, so you can be sure that it was a story I enjoyed, or at least was intensely involved in. To distil Temeraire into one sentence - it's a book set in the Napoleonic wars, with one small difference - dragons.

Naomi Novik's dragons are wonderful. What fantastic creations - probably my favourite fictional evocation of dragons, I think. And the way they're used in warfare - I spent a lot of time while reading this book gasping, "Wow, that's just so cool."

I suppose my one quibble with Temeraire would be that I felt at times like I was reading a YA novel (which I don't think it's intended to be). I just felt at times that the dialogue could be more complex - but perhaps its written that way intentionally - it generally fits into the period Novik's trying to evoke. It feels a little "Boys Own", but I think it's meant to - and it's certainly not difficult to let yourself be utterly drawn into Novik's world.

So, despite a few tiny quibbles, I loved and adored it, and can't wait until the sequels arrive at the library. This is a series I'm sure I'll end up buying for myself, as I can tell it's one I'm going to want to re-read many times in the future. Delicious.

Talyn (Holly Lisle)

This was a bloody fantastic book. The first novel I've read by Holly Lisle - I saw a rave review online by the editor, and decided to check it out.

Talyn is set in a world where two neighbouring peoples, the Tonks and the Eastils, have been at war for 300 years. When a peace is brokered by the Feegash, a foreign nation known for their neutrality, Talyn, a Tonk soldier, gradually discovers that the Feegash are not what they seem.

I don't really want to say anything more about the plot - it's much better to read it and watch it unfold before you. The system of magic used in Talyn is detailed, unique, and beautifully described - some of the best use of magic I've read. The characters are heart-breakingly real, to the extent that I began to talk aloud to the book, remonstrating with Talyn over her choices in relationships. This is just an excellent, excellent novel - 5 out of 5.

Now I just have to find myself another novel of Lisle's to devour. I'm thinking of trying Diplomacy of Wolves.

Human Croquet (Kate Atkinson)

This is another absolutely wonderful novel by Atkinson, who is rapidly becoming one of my favourite authors. The way she uses language astounds me. I love the way her characters just come alive in my mind.

Human Croquet (I really hate this book's American cover, by the way - the one I read is much better) is the story of Isobel Fairfax, and her brother Charles. Their mother is missing, although small clues of her existence keep appearing, their father won't tell them anything about her, and their stepmother seems to be rapidly descending into insanity. The story skips around in time, so it has a fairly large ensemble of characters. Enormously funny in parts, full of rather beautiful despair in others - its a truly wonderful novel. 5 out of 5.

Passage (Connie Willis)

Another wonderful Connie Willis book - this one is barely speculative fiction at all. Well, only a little bit.

Joanne is a psychiatrist researching Near Death Experiences (NDEs) who teams up with Richard, a scientist who can chemically induce NDEs in volunteers. Due to a series of failures with volunteers, Joanne herself experiences an induced NDE, and her discoveries stemming from this experience form the remainder of the story.

Passage is an astonishing story about life, death and the intricate machinery of our bodies. While it's not, of itself, a depressing story, I felt rather depressed after reading it all in one go. Reading about death for 8 hours straight will do that to you. Regardless, it's a brilliant novel, and highly recommended - 5 out of 5.

To Say Nothing of the Dog (Connie Willis)

Connie Willis is a brilliant writer that I reluctantly classify as science or speculative fiction (reluctantly because that seems discourage some readers). I previously read and loved Doomsday Book, and I enjoyed To Say Nothing of the Dog almost as much.

To Say Nothing of the Dog employs the same time-travel technology that is used in Doomsday Book, and is set in around the same time. It's a lighter story, set mostly in Victorian England, about the dreaded Lady Schrapnell who has sent Ned to retrieve the Bishop's bird stump from Coventry Cathedral.

It is a somewhat confusing story - there's romance, adventure, temporal incongruities and a beautifully realised Victorian society, all muddled up together. It's very lighthearted and lots of fun however, although I became somewhat confused towards the end when they're slowly figuring out the incongruity. It's a 4 out of 5, due to its lack of a strong linear storyline.

Doomsday Book (Connie Willis)

This was a bloody good book. The sort of book you put down, and sigh, and simultaniously wish there was more of it and feel satisfied at the whole of it. (That was a convoluted sentence. One day I'm going to become more sophisticated at saying exactly why I enjoy things.)

This is technically a novel about time travel, but involves much more than that. The narrative is split fairly equally between a student sent back to the Middle Ages, and one of her professors in the future, dealing with an epidemic. The story set in the Middle Ages is utterly engrossing, and wonderfully done. Not having a very great knowledge of the Middle Ages, I'm assuming that most of the historical details were accurate, but in the end, it doesn't really matter. It feels convincingly realistic, which is more important.

This is a ridiculously short review for such a wonderful book. Let me recap. It's a great read. The parts set in the Middle Ages are amazing. The characterisation is fantastic. It made me cry. I'm kind of low on iron this week, so that may have contributed, but, irregardless, read it.

Specimen Days (Michael Cunningham)

Michael Cunningham is the author of The Hours, a novel I really enjoyed, so I was expecting great things of this story. As The Hours was inspired by Virginia Woolf, Cunningham's muse for Speciman Days was Walt Whitman, whose poetry is quoted by characters, often involuntarily, throughout the book.

Speciman Days is three separate but interlinked stories in different time periods - the first during the industrial revolution, the second in the present day, and the third at sometime in the future. They all contain a boy, Luke, a woman, Catherine, and a man, Simon, but they all play different roles in each story and in each time.

Speciman Days is quite different to anything I've read before - reviews desribe it with words such as "different", "bold", and "daring", and so it is. I also found it to be a rather chilling story, despite its emphasis on beauty and humanity. The stories have a sense of immensity and foreboding, and I was rather alarmed to find myself in a house alone after dark after finishing the second story, The Children's Crusade.

Cunningham's writing is immensely beautiful, and I think he captures Whiteman's sense of ecstasy in life well. After breathlessly finishing reading it on the train this morning, the imagery of the stories remain in my mind, and I think they'll do so for some time. This is a wonderful book - a 5/5.

Never Let Me Go (Kazuo Ishiguro)

I've never read any of Ishiguro's work before, and knew him vaguely as the author of Remains of the Day. This is his latest book, and I'd read several excellent reviews of it before getting it out of the library. It has a slightly futuristic, dystopian theme which attracted me to it.

Reading the reviews spoiled the story a little for me, as while you're reading the voice of Kathy H., you're slowly let in to the world that Ishiguro has created. I would have liked to have that suspense, so I'm not going to reveal any details of the storyline here, as they're easy enough to find elsewhere.

Suffice to say, while it is set in a dystopian future, it's not a completely dark tale, although it's certainly depressing enough. But Kathy H.'s naive, hopeful voice carries you through the story with a lightness that relieves the despair that tends to crush down upon you as you race towards the end.

Ishiguro's characters are very real, but there's also an element of distance from them in his writing I found, although it was a vague disatisfaction that I can't really describe further. Other than that, I very much enjoyed this - a quiet, dark story, with a feeling of clinical calm to it.