Maelstrom

Ahhhh. The final chapter in this excellent trilogy is out. Taylor Anderson's MAELSTROM is a fine conclusion to his Destroyermen series. Our heroes from USS WALKER and USS MAHAN are still trapped in an alternate earth but they are making plans to survive. Anderson allows characters to evolve and keeps the writing tight. The result is a great read.

Yes, he does leave some bits hanging, but they are not relevant to conclude for the story. And there could be a follow-on series but I hope not (or at least not right away), because this ended on just the right note of hope with a smidgen of foreboding. This is a clear ending and the story can move on in our own minds - just as it has with many other open-ended series (Scalzi's Old Man's War, John Birmingham's World War 2.0, and Paul Westerfeld's Midnighters are great examples) . Or to quote a cliched phrase, "Always leave them wanting more."

I can see the many ways I would pilot this series to a conclusion, but I was wrong in a few of my guesses based on previous foreshadowing. Anderson does not telegraph all of his intentions and the book is the better read for it. I've already recommended this series to two others and probably at least a few more who saw me reading it around the halls of work. Mr. Anderson will definitely be on my must-look list in the future.

And let me just add that I still love that this trilogy appeared over 6-8 months rather than three years. The above mentioned series were released on the one-per-year schedule (and to be fair to Mr. Scalzi, his books are interconnected and direct sequels but it is not necessary to read the first to read the last (but not the other way around). Whereas the other two and Destroyermen are chapters in a longer story and each book is integral to the overall story.) But then again, if the series had taken longer to publish, I would have had more time to read other books because I would have been waiting for them all to appear before I started.

Florence of Arabia

Finally. I've been reading this book off and on since Christmas. Once I finished with classes, I thought I'd take the time to catch up with Christopher Buckley and his oeuvre. At the time I hadn't read his most recent three novels and thought this would be a good time to catch up. However, library holds kept cropping up and in fact two more just arrived today. But I was able to squeeze this one in just in time to finish it.

FLORENCE OF ARABIA is probably the closest thing Buckley has written to a thriller or adventure novel. It is still a witty satire, but the action picks up in the latter third and does not let up. Buckley has a je ne sais quoi quality that makes his writing attractive and smooth flowing - almost like a nice tumbler of John Powers over ice. His mannered approach and cultural bon mots make even the sharpest satire a wonder to read. I almost think I learn more French from his writings than I do from the Rosetta Stone CDs I checked out. I don't know when I'll be able to pick up Boomsday or Supreme Discourtship, but I hope to read them before the seasons change or at least before Memorial Day. But first those library holds await.

The Stepsister Scheme

Darn that John Scalzi!! Here I am needing to weed down my books by actually reading them before I am forced to sell them and he goes and highlights interesting authors on his website. This in turn compelled me to place the book on my library hold list and to put all other books on hold when it arrived. And thus I read THE STEPSISTER SCHEME by Jim Hines. This is a fun little read and despite the fact that I was probably not the target demographic, I enjoyed it. The story moves along well and keeps the characters believable. All in all much fun.