The Weight of Ink is a fascinating work of historical fiction set in London of the 17th century and 2000-2001. It is brimming with compelling characters and interwoven plots related to scholarship, feminism, academia, anti-semitism, love, guilt and atonement. Throughout the novel, across time, the question that torments our main characters has to do with how one lives one’s life and supports one’s beliefs: is it better to die for what you believe or to live at all costs? And what do you do if […]
A Classic Game, if not a Classic Mystery
As an avid reader of both cozy mysteries and Agatha Christie, I am ashamed to admit that I only discovered Ngaio Marsh because of Benedict Cumberbatch. Three of her novels have been made into audiobooks read by BC, and because I had listened to, and enjoyed, them I went ahead and picked up A Man Lay Dead, the first of the Roderick Alleyn mysteries.
Black and White (and Red) all over
So…This book wasn’t what I expected, not really. And that’s not a bad thing at all.
Murder, British History, and Unreliable Narrators
I’m a pretty big fan of historical fiction, and I love a good mystery, so when I get my hands on a historical mystery, well watch out. And this one also employs one of my favorite techniques, the unreliable narrator. Wait, what’s that you say, multiple unreliable narrators? Stop it, you’re killing me! The main action of An Instance of the Fingerpost takes place in 1660s Oxford, after the Restoration of Charles II to the throne. I say “main action,” because the story is told […]
You know, for kids!
About a year ago, the Marvel Comic Moon Girl got a lot of positive press because its heroine is a young girl of color and because it was revealed that Lunella Lafayette, aka Moon Girl, is perhaps the smartest character in the Marvel Universe, outshining intellects such as Tony Stark and Reed Richards. Lunella is a science/math/engineering wunderkind and a fourth grader. She is also bored at school, friendless, and, in her opinion, deeply misunderstood by most of the people in her life, including but […]
“Every Age Must Come to an End” is an ominous beginning
A few years ago I came across an excellent review of N.K. Jemisin’s The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, book one of the Inheritance trilogy, and was instantly intrigued. It was put on my “in case of birthday or Christmas, please buy me” list and fortunately I received it later that year. I was blown away by Jemisin’s incredibly creative world building and could not put the book down. The third book in the Inheritance trilogy did not hold up as well as the first two, but the […]
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