Title: Lords of the North
 Author: Bernard Cornwell
 Rating: 4 stars out of 5
 Publisher: Harper
 Copyright: 2007
 ISBN: 0061149047
 Pages: 317
 Keywords: historical, fiction
 Reading period: 5-6 April, 2008

Uhtred, a Saxon warrior raised by Danes and the right-hand man of King Alfred the Great, returns home to Northumbria to settle old scores. Settle those scores he eventually does, but not before he is betrayed by a man he trusts and sold into slavery.

Cornwell is best known for his long-running series about Richard Sharpe, an officer promoted from the ranks in the Napoleonic Wars, and for his battle scenes. Here he proves that he can write about 9th century swordsmen as well as he can write about 19th century riflemen. All of his heroes tend to resemble Sharpe: grim-faced loners with their own sense of honor, who are deadly when crossed.

Title: The Unquiet

Author: John Connolly

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Publisher: Pocket Star Books

Copyright: 2007

ISBN: 1416531386

Pages: 515

Keywords: crime, horror

Reading period: 3-5 April, 2008

Maine PI Charlie Parker is asked to warn off Merrick, a father looking for answers, from harassing his client. The case leads him to uncover a decades-old project of sexually abusing children who've fallen through the cracks.

Atmospheric and disturbing, as Connolly's novels tend to be.

Title: Hammerhead Ranch Motel

Author: Tim Dorsey

Rating: 3 stars out of 5

Publisher: Harper Collins

Copyright: 2000

ISBN: 0380732343

Pages: 354

Keywords: crime, humor

Reading period: 28-29 March, 2008

The sequel to Florida Roadkill. The hyperactive serial killer, Serge A. Storms, is still in pursuit of $5 million, as are a new cast of goons.

The action centers around the eponymous Hammerhead Ranch Motel, which houses a wholly improbable set of sleazeballs.

Moderately enjoyable.

Title: Dreams from my Father

Author: Barack Obama

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Publisher: Three Rivers Press

Copyright: 1995

ISBN: 1400082773

Pages: 457

Keywords: autobiography

Reading period: 8-26 March, 2008

This book was originally published, to little acclaim, in 1995 before Obama first ran for public office. His primary claim to fame at that point was that he had been the first black president of the Harvard Law Review. It was reissued in 2004 after his celebrated keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention placed him on the national stage.

Obama is articulate and thoughtful. This excellent memoir tells of his childhood in Hawai'i and Indonesia, his experiences as a community organizer in Chicago, and a formative trip to Kenya.

He was raised by his white mother and her parents. He hardly knew his Kenyan father, a village boy turned Harvard-trained economist. Obama met his father only once when he was ten, after his parents separated when he was two. His ill-formed impressions of his father were significantly changed by his trip to Kenya, where he learned far more from his half-siblings and extended family.

Obama's intelligence and capacity for self-examination shine through. He is frank about his mistakes and his undirected wandering in his high school and undergraduate years. He talks of his struggle to find an identity, part black, part white, feeling an outsider in both worlds.

The contrast with Emperor C-Minus Augustus could hardly be more stark.

Highly recommended.

Title: The Sparrow
Author: Mary Doria Russell
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
Publisher: Ballantine
Copyright: 1996
ISBN: 0449912558
Pages: 408
Keywords: science fiction
Reading period: 25 February-7 March, 2008

Father Emilio Sandoz, S.J., is the sole survivor of the first expedition to an alien planet, an experience that has left him physically maimed, traumatized, and reviled. He doesn't want to talk about it, but the Jesuit order who sponsored the expedition require answers.

Russell's narrative weaves two tales together: the expedition itself and the inquiry afterwards. This is a first contact for which the expedition crew, Jesuits and lay people alike, are not adequately prepared. The two alien races are more alien than they seem at first, operating from fundamentally different axioms. With the best of intentions, the humans' ignorance leads to great tragedy.

This is an astonishing first novel. Accomplished, nuanced, and moving, it deals in deep issues, examining what it is to be human, and the crisis of faith of a priest who believes himself abandoned by God. Bittersweet, yet often very funny. The characters are memorable and complex.

Unreservedly recommended, this is only the second book to which I am awarding 5 stars.

Title: Cursor's Fury
Author: Jim Butcher
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Publisher: Ace
Copyright: 2006
ISBN: 0441015476
Pages: 544
Keywords: fantasy
Reading period: 23-24 February, 2008

Cursor's Fury is the third book in Jim Butcher's fantasy series, Codex Alera, and the sequel to Academ's Fury.

Tavi is now a cursor, a special agent of the First Lord. Planted undercover in a newly-formed legion, Tavi suddenly becomes its leader when all the other officers are assassinated, just as an invading force of Canim have landed nearby. Meanwhile, his aunt Isana, is trapped in a besieged city, when one of the High Lords, Kalare, attempts a coup. Isana's brother Bernard and his wife Amara lead an attack against Kalare.

Exciting and entertaining, with almost every chapter ending in a cliffhanger for one of the principals.

Title: 1634: The Bavarian Crisis
Author: Eric Flint and Virginia DeMarce
Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
Publisher: Baen
Copyright: 2007
ISBN: 1416542531
Pages: 690
Keywords: alternate history
Reading period: 13-23 February, 2008

Another book from the 1632 series. This one largely develops a new plot. The archduchess Maria Anna of Austria is sent to Bavaria to marry the newly widowed Duke Maximilian, and finds that she'd rather not. She flees Munich in the company of two Grantville women, triggering a major crisis.

The book is entertaining but it's marred by obsessively detailing the enormously complicated realpolitik of Mitteleuropa. Still, it's one of the good books in the 1632 series.

Title: Domino
Author: Ross King
Rating: 3 stars out of 5
Publisher: Penguin
Copyright: 1995
ISBN: 0142003360
Pages: 436
Keywords: fiction, historical
Reading period: 15 January-12 February, 2008

George Cautley, a young gentleman of indifferent background, comes to London in 1770 and attempts to enter society, hoping to make his way as a painter. He becomes obsessed with Lady Beauclair, who sits for her portrait and spins him a tale of a castrato opera singer, who fifty years earlier fled Italy for London.

Lady Beauclair is not what she seems. Indeed, nothing is what it seems in this novel. Everything is a mask. Or a masquerade. Arch whispers. Veiled glances. Layers of face paint hiding blemishes. New portraits daubed on top of old. Deception. Intrigue.

Title: For a Few Demons More
Author: Kim Harrison
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Publisher: Eos Books
Copyright: 2007
ISBN: 0061149810
Pages: 546
Keywords: urban fantasy
Reading period: 12-13 January, 2008

Another urban fantasy featuring the witch, Rachel Morgan, who runs an investigation agency with a vampire, in a world where ordinary humans were decimated by a virus and vampires, Weres, witches, pixies, and more live openly.

Morgan is reckless and addicted to living on the edge, and her friends will pay a heavy price before the end of the book. You'd want Rachel on your side in a fight, but you'd probably be exasperated with her the rest of the time. She battles demons, both metaphorical and literal, before bringing the book to a bittersweet conclusion.

This is the fifth book in an ongoing series. The books are heavily linked together and best read in order.

Enjoyable and fast-paced.

Title: Coronado
Author: Dennis Lehane
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Copyright: 2006
ISBN: 0061139718
Pages: 232
Keywords: fiction
Reading period: 12 January, 2008

A collection of short stories and a play, all characteristically dark. Tales of fucked-up lives, tales of people with shitty pasts and no futures, tales of revenge.

Lehane writes brilliantly. His spare description, his dialogue brings the characters to life on the page.

The play, "Coronado", is adapted from an earlier short story, "Until Gwen" — also part of this collection. The repetition does not feel redundant. The play fleshes out the short story, telling it in a different manner.

Recommended, but depressing.

Title: The Assassin's Cloak
Author: Irene and Alan Taylor (editors)
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Publisher: Canongate Books
Copyright: 2000
ISBN: 1841951722
Pages: 686
Keywords: autobiography
Reading period: 1 January, 2007 — 12 January, 2008

This anthology of diaries contains several entries for every day of the year, drawn from 170 contributors across three-and-a-half centuries. Everyone from Pepys to Goebbels, from Che Guevara to Alec Guinness.

I spent all of last year reading this book, trying to read each day's entries as they occurred. I often failed and would have to read a week or more's entries to catch up. I fell behind towards the end, not finishing my daily devotions until yesterday.

The book was drawn from several years of entries in two Scottish newspapers, and most of the diairists are British. The 20th century is well represented, particularly the two World Wars. Some of the entries from a particular diairist tell a story; others are unrelated snapshots of their lives. Some entries tell of momentous events, such as the birth of a child, the death of a loved one, or victory in war. Others are banal records of an ordinary day, noteworthy only because they give us an insight into a lifestyle that no longer exists. Many of the diarists were famous, at least in their own lifetimes; some live quiet, unremarked, but not unobserved lives.

I wonder how many diaries are written now, in the age of blogging. Will a future anthology have to dig into the Wayback Machine and Google's cache to mine entries from blogs?

Recommended.

Title: Dancing with the Virgins
Author: Stephen Booth
Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
Publisher: Pocket
Copyright: 2001
ISBN: 0743431006
Pages: 528
Keywords: mystery
Reading period: 6-11 January, 2008

One woman has been mutilated and another murdered on the bleak moors of Derbyshire. Detective Constable Ben Cooper and Detective Sergeant Diane Fry investigate.

The novel is at least as much about the tense relationship between Cooper and Fry as it is about the mystery itself. This is the second in a series of Cooper-Fry books. Cooper is a local boy, deeply rooted in the rural community, pleasant and trusting. Fry is a bitter loner, who transferred in from a distant city. Quickly promoted over Cooper, she can't understand his easygoing nature.

The mystery is effective, with enough twists to keep you guessing. The characters feel real and human, not authorial puppets.

Title: Defensive Design for the Web
Author: 37 Signals
Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
Publisher: New Riders
Copyright: 2004
ISBN: 073571410X
Pages: 246
Keywords: programming, web
Reading period: 23 December, 2007 - 9 January, 2008

This book contains 40 usability guidelines for websites, ranging from Eliminate the Reset button and disable the Submit button after it's clicked to Give an error message that's noticeable at a glance to Be upfront about item unavailabiity. The topics include error messages, clear instructions, friendly forms, overcoming missing pages, helpful help, obstacles to conversion, and search.

When I state them that baldly, they sound obvious. But they're not. The 37 Signals guys have amply illustrated each guideline with examples of sites that violated the guideline, and sites that exemplify the guideline. The examples are well chosen and bolster their points.

The book feels padded, however. They could easily have reduced the page count by two-thirds. Indeed, an earlier version of this book is available as a 17-page whitepaper. It was certainly worth the $6 that I paid for it at Half-Price Books, but I think I'd feel cheated if I had spent $25 on it.

The book refers to a companion website, DesignNotFound.com. This site is no longer available, which I find unforgivable. It's such a complete contradiction of the principles they advocate. The Wayback Machine reveals the original site.

Title: Iron Council
Author: China Miéville
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Publisher: Del Rey
Copyright: 2004
ISBN: 0345464028
Pages: 564
Keywords: fantasy
Reading period: 23 December, 2007 - 5 January, 2008

Iron Council is Miéville's third novel set in the world of Bas-Lag, where thaumaturgy (magic) works along with steampunk technology and humans live alongside other sentient species.

Two decades ago, the city-state of New Crobuzon started building a railroad across an enormous desert. The workers are humans, cactacae (cactus people), and Remade (criminals grotesquely modified by thaumaturgy, with animal or mechanical parts grafted on). Eventually, they rebel against the heavy-handed overseers, and flee far into the badlands. Known as the Iron Council, their legend lives on in New Crobuzon.

By now, New Crobuzon is at war with the distant state of Tesh, but also wants to punish the Iron Council. Judah Low, a golemetrist who was part of the Iron Council, sets out from New Crobuzon to warn the Council. He is followed by his occasional lover, Cutter. Back in the city, Ori is a young radical fed up with endless talk who joins a revolutionary group that assassinates the city's ruler.

Miéville writes a very different kind of fantasy from the Tolkien-derived swords-and-sorcery that constitutes so much of the genre. His is a grim world where oppressive oligarchies use militias and sadistic thaumaturges to keep the masses under control. They live in Dickensian squalor in a city that sounds a little like London, with locations such as Dog Fenn, Kelltree, Brock Marsh, Sobex Croix, Petty Coil, Griss Twist, and Lich Sitting Station. Miéville is a Marxist and it shows. His writing is also marvelously evocative.

Recommended.