The Potter's Field (Brother Cadfael #17) ★★★☆☆

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Title: The Potter's Field
Series: Brother Cadfael #17
Author: Ellis Peters
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 248
Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

Cadfael's Abbey trades a field with another Abbey and in the process of plowing it, turn up the remains of a woman.

A newly minted monk at Shrewsbury took the vows against his wife's wishes and she disappeared, thought to have run off to Wales with a lover. Now the suspicion is on him. Until a novitiate turns up with a story about seeing the woman just a couple of weeks ago, with her ring to prove it. Then another woman is shown to have disappeared and her lover is arrested. The same novitiate proves that the woman is alive and sets the scoundrel free.

It all turns out that the woman was the monk's wife but she died due to the novitiates father and mother. It wasn't murder and there was no foul play. It was complicated enough that even Hugh Beringar says that God will sort out everyone's motives.

My Thoughts:

I found this to be one of the more complicated mysteries, mainly because of the various motivations and lack of malice aforethought. And yet I certainly can't agree with the author's thoughts, presented through Cadfael, Hugh and the Father Abbot, that everything was ok in the end. There was no justice. The mother of the novitiate did cause the death of the wife of the monk, even if hatred wasn't involved.

These last couple of Cadfael books I have found myself disagreeing with the author more and more about how justice gets carried out and just what is the law. If you cause someone else's death, even if they agree to it, that is still killing someone. The price of a life is the life of the one who took it or, if there was no forethought and hatred, banishment for life. Someone who pre-meditates and then carries out a killing is not someone who deserves to live. That is a cancer that must be cut out, not a cold that gets treated with soft tissues and extra fluids.

Mercy misplaced or misapplied is as bad as no mercy at all.

★★★☆☆ 

• Previous Brother Cadfael Reviews

Reap the East Wind (Last Chronicle of the Dread Empire #1) ★★★☆½

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Reap the East Wind
Series: Last Chronicle of the Dread Empire #1
Author: Glen Cook
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 259
Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

Mocker and Nepanthe's son was held against Mocker's attempt in killing Bragi Ragnarson. When Mocker failed, Ethrian was thrown into a torture cell. He escaped and came to a desert. There he meets a sleeping god and it's servant Sahmanan. The god wants a conduit and Ethrian wants revenge against the Dread Empire. They form an alliance and using undead, begin to attack the Empire.

Lady Mist has used her time in Ragnarson's court to play political games back home in Shinsan. With Ragnarson's help, she sets in motion a coup to regain the throne of the Dread Empire. She plans on double crossing Ragnarson and destroying the upstarts who stopped the Empire before but Ragnarson wasn't born yesterday and realizes this. His plan is to get Mist to be queen but with enough instability to keep the Empire from his door for a generation.

Nepanthe, now married to the sorcerer Varthlokkur, is pregnant with their child but can't let go of the idea that Ethrian is still alive. Varthlokkur won't try to find his grandson (Mocker was Varthlokkur's son) and when the issue is forced, it causes a split between Varthlokkur and both Nepanthe AND Ragnarson.

Ethrian is taken over by the god due to his hatred and despair but is destroyed through the combined efforts of both Varthlokkur and the Empire's magicians. He dies in Nepanthe's arms.

The book ends with Mist and Ragnarson in control of their respective kingdoms but both are weakened and more fighting is on the horizon. This trilogy is truly the Last Chronicle of the Dread Empire.

My Thoughts:

I was introduced to Ethrian in All Darkness Met back in July '17 but then I completely forgot who he was due to the prequel duology that I read next. So it took me some time to work out just who this boy was that was so important.

This book felt a LOT darker than the previous Dread Empire books. Part of it was Nepanthe's giving in to despair and Varthlokkur's refusal to look for Ethrian. Throw in Lady Mist's complete acknowledgment that she will destroy the kingdom that Ragnarson rules even though he gave her sanctuary from her enemies and you just end up with a lot of nobodies that you can root for. Ethrian's slide to the darkside was depressing as all get-out too.

The whole zombie/undead thing was pretty nifty but Ethrian just didn't have the military experience to make full use of it. The Empire's general was simply able to outmaneuver him. Shows why the Dread Empire has lasted as long as it has.

Once again there were what I term “skips” where a lot happens in the background but I the reader am apprised of it through a one sentence mention of the fact even while it has big implications for what is going on. That type of thing has to catch me in the right mood for it to work. This time it did. But next time? I might end up savaging Cook for being a complete jackass for using such a plot device. Even being aware that he uses it doesn't help.

I found the writing to be better than the previous duology. That helped keep my interest, as well as not having those wretched characters, El Murid & Haroun, involved. I'm just waiting for them to stick their nose in in the next book and ruin it for me. I just don't like those guys.

★★★☆½

• Dread Empire: A Cruel Wind 1-3
• Dread Empire: A Fortress in Shadow 1-2

Ghosts of Tomorrow ★★★☆½

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Ghosts of Tomorrow
Series: ----------
Author: Michael Fletcher
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 396
Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

Mark Lokner has scanned himself and gone online while the world thinks he is dead. Just to be safe, Lokner1.0 has copied the scan and put Lokner2.0 into a secure digital space.

88, the scan of a young girl, gains her freedom and begins manipulating the real world so she will never be in danger again. This brings her into direct confict with Lokner1.0 AND Lokner2.0.

Agent Griffin Dickinson, with the military scan of Abdul Giordano, a 17 year old marine who died, is on the track of a group who illegally scan children. Scanning is a one way ticket and the head and brain are pureed after the fact. When 2 operations in a row go disastrously wrong for Dickinson, he's about to quit. Then he gets a tip from 88 that sets him on the trail of the Lokners as the source behind all the illegal scans and children farms.

With the help of Abdul and an assassin scan loyal to 88, Dickinson must confront Lokner while the world around him is falling apart. It doesn't help that 88 has her own plans for humanity and 88 has no mercy.

The book ends 1000 years in the future with scans as the de facto life form.

My Thoughts:

From a purely entertainment factor, this book was pure awesomesauce. Child assassins in suped up killer robot bodies, digital minds going insane, epic battles where scans take over electronics, massive and humongous acts of devastation, this had it all in spades.

Fletcher doesn't shy away from brutality. Whether in thought or action, I as the reader was not spared. From the horror of how children are kept as livestock to be harvested for their brains and sold into slavery to the idea of corporations “selling” the idea of scans as a way to cheat death, for a mere 20year term of servitude, with all the attending small print we as citizens of the 21^st century know to fear.

There was no hope. Griffin, the human who wants to be a hero and save the world, ends up being broken and then the woman he loved, who is now a scan, plots to have him killed so he can be scan'ed and join her. How soul destroying is that? Then the end where 88 turns all Skynet was so telegraphed that it didn't really come as a surprise.

I thought Fletcher did an excellent job of portraying just how something like “scans” would work out in our world. How it might be used, abused, misused, etc. It was very eye opening. However, it was all predicated on the fact that a human brain could be digitized. If you think something like that could actually happen, then this was a very scary dystopean prophecy. If you don't, then it's just another prediction about a future by someone who has lost hope themselves.

While I enjoyed my time spent on this, I have to admit, I didn't have any desire to seek out other books by this guy. I don't enjoy wallowing in hopelessness and despair. It also didn't help that I'm convinced that to you have to have a mind, body and will to be alive and to be human. Remove one and the other two are just ingredients, not something viably alive.

I did have one confusing issue. Most of this takes place in 2046 but right near the end things jump to 3052 but it feels like it should be 2152. It didn't come across as a jump of 1000 years but just a generation. I might have mis-read though, as I don't pay attention to dates real well in books.

If I see another Fletcher book really praised AND it has super cool over like this one, then I might seek it out. But if not, I'm good with having read just this one. Fletcher's worldview is just too depressing for me.

★★★☆½

Conventions of War (Dread Empires Fall #3) ★★☆☆½

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Title: Conventions of War
Series: Dread Empires Fall #3
Author: Walter Jon Williams
Rating: 2.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 688
Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

Caroline Sula survives the destruction of the secret government and the Naxid takeover. She begins the counter-insurgency which leads to her becoming planetary governor of the former Capital World of the Praxis Empire. She leverages that to get a promotion and to get her own spaceship command. She uses the new tactics and does well in battle. She still has feelings for Gareth but in the end loses out to Gareth's new wife, who has given birth to his son. She decides that the military life is the life for her.

Gareth Martinez does “fights in space” and wins and stuff. The Naxid's end up unconditionally surrendering. Gareth doesn't so much choose his wife and son over Sula as much as he is ambushed by the family and given no choice. Really pulls at the heart strings /sarcasm.

The Empire is at peace but everybody knows that it is only a matter of time before another war breaks out as each species tries to figure out where it stands now.

My Thoughts:

This book was almost 700 pages and it shouldn't have been a jot over 300. It was simply too long without enough real story to fill it up. I found myself skipping whole pages of descriptions of almost everything and I didn't miss one part of the essential plot. So much of the writing just felt unneccessary and almost filler-like.

The fighting, whether with Sula planet side or Gareth in space, was good stuff. However, there was zero tension and you knew they were going to win in one way or another. When you read about their second battle and you're only on page 300, you KNOW they win. Instead of the Batman roller coaster from Six Flags (where you go upside down multiple times and do all sorts of twisty turny, stomach churning twists), this was much more akin to the Pirates of the Caribbean kiddie ride at Disneyworld. Slow and sedate and enjoyable. But not thrilling by any stretch of the imagination.

There is a whole murder mystery sub-plot that occupies most of Gareth's time and once again, it felt like padding. You have a whole Space Empire in turmoil and we get a murder mystery? It made the Naxids seems like caricature bad guys since Gareth was able to spend so much focusing on a mystery rather than fighting against them. Once again, it totally destroyed the tension.

The whole Gareth/Sula thing. That really bugged me. I mean, really bugged me. Gareth made his vows to Terza, his new wife and she is now pregnant. Tricked or not, Gareth said the vows and made the decision. Then when Sula decides to pursue him and it appears that he might divorce his wife to be with her and the whole Family ambush right at the end of the book where he decides to stay, it felt like I had eaten one of Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler's Mystery Sausages (Discworld reference there btw).

Each book in this trilogy dropped a half star for me. I think the quality and style of the writing was exactly the same for the whole thing whereas I was expecting improvement. So it's not that each book gets worse, it's that each book doesn't improve in any way or live up to the premise held forth in the first book.

The cover is the best part of the book and that is a damning indictment no matter how you look at it.

* very sad face *

★★☆☆½

• The Sundering (Book 2)
• The Praxis (Book 1)

All's Well that Ends Well ★★★☆☆

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: All's Well that Ends Well
Series: ----------
Author: William Shakespeare
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Play
Pages: 226
Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

A young woman, Helena, the daughter of a famous doctor now deceased, has been taken under wing by the noble family Rousillon. She falls in love with the family heir, Bertram but knows her commoner status will prevent her from ever marrying Bertram. Helena remembers a secret formula that her father gave to her and uses it to cure the King of France (Boo!) who in turn pretty much grants her one wish. She chooses to marry Bertram and the King makes it so.

Bertram chooses to go to war to avoid his bride and falls in lust with a young lady where he is stationed. Helena tracks him down and tells her tale to the young lady. Shenanigans ensue and Bertram woos and beds his wife thinking it's his paramour.

The young lady, under the direction of Helena, goes to the king to get justice and Bertram acts like a complete loser and denies everything. Helena jumps out of the closet with a secret ring and pregnant and claims Bertram as her own. Bertram is so overcome by his wife's cleverness and determination that he falls in love with her.

The End.

My Thoughts:

I am guessing this was supposed to be one of Shakespeare's comedies. Lots of clever wordplay where people make fun of each other and ham it up to the audience. However, I hated Bertram so half the play was a bust for me. He was just a jerk. The ending was as much a hollywood blockbuster ending as you could wish for, ie, everything gets resolved even if it makes no sense whatsoever.

It did take me a little while to get into the cadence of the reading this as a play and not as a novel. I also had to really slow down and think about what I was reading because how it was presented was not what I am used to. It is always a good thing to slow the reading down and not devour it like I am in a hotdog eating contest.

Overall, I am pleased at this start to my reading of the Complete Shakespeare.

★★★☆☆ 

Blood and Bone (Malazan Empire #5) ★★★★½

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Title: Blood and Bone
Series: Malazan Empire #5
Author: Ian Esslemont
Rating: 4.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 850
Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

Prince K'azz, leader of the Crimson Guard, takes his remaining forces to Himatan, a jungle ruled by Ardata, Queen of Witches. He makes the journey to prevent Skinner and the Disavowed from recovering a fragment of the Broken God. Skinner has a history with Ardata and ended up using her and leaving her. She is now considering K'azz as his replacement. K'azz must also reassure his remaining Guardsmen that he has a plan and isn't simply swinging in the wind.

A mixed group of rogue Malazan soldiers and wizards are also seeking the shattered fragment simply to deny it to the Broken God. They end up working with the Crimson Guard just to survive and in the end the fragment becomes its own being and goes off and becomes a new god. The Malazans and the Guard go their separate ways and the Disavowed are returned to the fold while Skinner is consumed by Ardata for spurning her.

A nation state of Thaumaturgs begins the invasion of Himatan as well. They pretty much empty their country of talent in a bid to recover the fragment. They end up losing their army through attrition to the natural forces of Himatan and the leader of the army chooses to go home at the end and rebuild his country.

A loose coalition of tribal forces are gathered together by an enigmatic Warleader and promised riches beyond belief in an invasion of the Thaumaturg capital. The Warleader turns out to be Kellor and his goal is to get more of the magic ingredients that he makes his life extending candles out of. The tribal armies are slaughtered while delivering slaughter and the survivors must make peace with the survivors of the Thaumaturg's army if they are to have any chance of keeping their conquest. A melding of cultures is about to begin.

My Thoughts:

I enjoyed this quite a bit more this time around than I did back in '13. I hardly noticed the soapbox philosophizing, but that was more because I simply glossed over it and paid it no attention.

I do have to admit, I wonder why these are called Novels of the Malazan Empire when they seem to be more about the Crimson Guard than anything. The Malazan Empire is touched upon and is kind of the “behind the scenes” force that drives the Guard on, but really, these should be called the The Chronicles of the Crimson Guard or something.

I thought about giving this a 4star rating just like I did in '13 but decided to up it that valuable half-star because I enjoyed this more than I did last time. Re-reading things can be truly fulfilling sometimes. After I read the next Malazan Empire novel, and if I like it as much as the previous ones, I'll probably end up buying them in hardcover. While I doubt I'll re-read the Malazan Book of the Fallen again after my current re-read of the series, I can definitely see reading this series yet again in a few years.

★★★★½

• Blood and Bone (2013 Review)
  
• All "Malazan Empire" Reviews
• All "Malazan Book of the Fallen" Reviews
  

Curse of the Wendigo (The Monstrumologist #2) ☆☆☆☆½ DNF'd@64%

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Curse of the Wendigo
Series: The Monstrumologist #2
Author: Rick Yancey
Rating: 0.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Horror
Pages: 464/DNF'd at 64%
Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

Will Henry and his master rescue a friend of the Monstrumologist's at the man's wife's behest. Upon their return, they attend the annual Monstrumologist meeting in New York. The man is not better and the wife is an ex-fiance of the Monstrumologist.

I abandoned this at the 64% mark.

My Thoughts:

Warthrop the monstrumologist had a fiance who then married his best friend. The woman reveals that she is still in love with Warthrop and they commit adultery while the best friend lays dying in a hospital. Ouch, right?

Then there is this wonderful piece of narration about it from Will Henry:

'Some would judge them. I do not.

If it was a sin, it was sanctified-

the trespass consecrated by the act itself.

He met himself in the purity of her eyes

and obtained absolution upon her altar.'

~Page 215

All I could think of was the verse from Isaiah:

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil,

who put darkness for light and light for darkness,

who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

Isaiah 5:20

What kind of messed up thinking is Yancey putting into his book? I want NO part of something so abhorrent. I DNF'd this book and I'm abandoning the series and I'm now going to avoid Yancey.

☆☆☆☆½

• The Monstrumologist (Book 1)

Bookburners: Season One Volume One ☆☆☆☆½

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Bookburners: Season One Volume One
Series: Bookburners
Author: Max Gladstone
Rating: 0.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 295
Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

New York Police Detective Sal gets sucked into the world of the Bookburners when her brother opens a magical book and ends up in a coma after a demon possesses him.

Now under the auspices of the Catholic church with Father Menchu, with Presbyterian layman and former demon possessed Liam, super duper fighter secret keeper Grace and Archivist Asanti, Sal is out to capture dangerous magical books that could have a huge negative impact on the human race.

My Thoughts:

This is the first half, 8 short stories, of the first volume of the Bookburners. It is a collection of short stories that tell an overall bigger story. Things were flying along right up until the last story. Then I had 2 serious issues.

A transgender character is one of the main side characters and everybody in the group is perfectly fine with it, including the Catholic Priest and the layman Presbyter. The one character who does have a problem with the whole transgender issue is literally demonized by the author. Not going to be reading more of that!

Then you have the relationship between Sal and Liam. They end up sleeping together once and then wonder where things are going. By the end of this volume, Liam has decided since he was damned for being demon possessed, what's a little fornication on the side? It was horrible to read and yet shows the mind set of most 21^st century people in this day and age. There is no mention of Jesus Christ, just the Catholic Church's traditions. There was no power towards Salvation.

So no more of this for me.

☆☆☆☆½

Stranger of Tempest (The God Fragments #1) ★★★★☆

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Stranger of Tempest
Series: The God Fragments #1
Author: Tom Lloyd
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 481
Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

Lynx fought in the war. But when his leader's charisma wasn't enough to overcome his children's greed, the war machine imploded and now any soldier who fought on the leader's side is looked down upon and distrusted by all the surrounding countries. Lynx just wants to retire but without money, he can't do that.

So he hires on with a mercenary group, the Cards. In the process of going to an assignment, Lynx rescues a fellow countryman, a young girl who is a mage, from the clutches of one of the religious orders. The current assignment puts them into direct conflict with said religious order, so the Cards are doubly screwed.

Then their contact publicly kills their mark and forces the group to use their most powerful mage bullets to escape the city. The whole Militia of the Order is now after them and the only way to escape is to go underground through Duegar ruins, which are filled with traps and other such creepy crawlies as has driven men mad. Quadruply screwed.

In the process of fleeing through the underground ruins, they run into the local scary things, then they run into the Order and then everbody runs into The Big Bad Thing. Yeah, that thing on the cover. It eats magic. 7 times screwed over.

The Cards barely survive, make it out and deliver their contact to an out of the way town. She is involved in some nasty politics and after having seen how they conduct themselves, wants to hire the Cards on her master's behalf without them knowing it. Welcome to the new war boys and girls!

Totally Screwed.

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed this. The thing I enjoyed most was the magical bullets that the specially built mage-guns could shoot. With names like “icers”, “sparkers”, “burners”, “earthers”, it reminded me exactly of the Moranth munitions from the Malazan Book of the Fallen series. I love those munitions and the kinds of guys who use them, These god fragment bullets (hence the name of the series) had the same vibe as the moranth and I loved every second of it.

The second thing I really enjoyed was the balance of worldbuilding and character information with the action. I found that tightrope walked perfectly. I was fed just enough info to keep me satisfied without feeling like Lloyd was info-dumping on me. The action was pretty good too. Mages, magic, mercenaries and whole lot of super creepy, underground, scary creatures that want to, and can, eat you whole. That balrog looking thing on the cover (I've included a larger picture you can click if you so desire) is the main “boss” creature but there are plenty of other things too. It's all good.

Thirdly, I liked the characters. Lynx is a great main character. The older I get, the more life experience I have, the more I want the characters I read about to keep pace with me. Lynx is a scarred and broken man and seeing him struggle is encouraging. He can keep on and he hasn't given up hope. He's not expecting rainbows and unicorns, but just waking up in the morning to some hot coffee is an anchor point. The rest of the Cards have real potential. One or two of them are already traitors and I suspect their storyline will end in the next book. Hopefully with some appropriately vicious and brutal ending.

Finally, the Cards. This whole card scheme once again reminded me of the Malazan Master of the Deck and the Houses and Aspects. You have your suites and then your cards within the suite. So you have the Stranger card. It is in the Tempest suite. Hence the title of the book. In many ways Lloyd got some really cool things without all the existential drama so prevalent in the Malazan books. I LIKE that.

The reason I gave this 4 Stars instead of 5 Stars is because of the following two things. First, the profanity. These guys are hardened mercenaries and talk as such. It's not something I want to overlook though and anyone going into it should be aware. It crossed my radar enough that it became an issue. Second, for whatever reason, when the whole group moved from the town to the underground scene (roughly 40'sh percent of the book), I just didn't feel the tension the same way. The circumstances were worse, but I never felt like the group as whole was in danger like I did when they were escaping the town and the Religious Order earlier. I can't put my finger on why exactly and it really makes no sense, but I was able to pin it down to that point.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this read. It gave me all the magical fantasy adventure I wanted and was a good standalone story but with the rest of the series taking shape in the background. A lot of potential without overwhelming me with details I didn't need for this story. Added my “Favorite” tag to this one!

★★★★☆ 

My Antonia ★★★★☆

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: My Antonia
Series: ----------
Author: Willa Cather
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages: 272
Format: Paperback

Synopsis:

Young Jim is orphaned and sent to live with his Grandparents in Nebraska, or one of those big flat states. He meets the Shimerda family, the eldest daughter's name being Antonia.

Jim grows up with Antonia being just a part of his life and the book ends with him returning 20 years later to meet her family and kids and grandkids.

My Thoughts:

This was a great book of growing up but without all the drama that we expect from young people nowadays. Not that there wasn't drama, but it wasn't the focus.

This was small vignettes of Jim growing up. Jim meeting his grandparents and Antonia. Jim's first big snowstorm. Going into town. Playing on the praire. Going to school. Summer vacation. Mr Shimerda committing suicide.Moving from a farm to town. Growing up but as seen through Jim's eyes as Antonia grows up. Then things begin to speed up as Jim grows older. His college years consist of only 2-3 stories, then bam, 20 years later and going back to his little town and meeting Antonia and her little clan.

Part of what I liked was that there was no romantic drama between Jim and Antonia. He gets jealous a couple of times and she warns off some of her older friends from pursuing Jim, but in both cases it is for the good of the other person, not because they wanted the other. It was a calming influence even when tempestuous occurences happened.

I'm sure this would make a great book to discuss in a book club, as there is a lot of material to make hay with. Even back in highschool, I probably would have enjoyed this quiet book and been glad to write a book report about it. Now though, I simply enjoyed it. Jim at the end of the book is just a little bit older than me now and I was realizing it has been 21 years since I first attended Bibleschool. Jim's life didn't turn out how he planned and neither did mine. Jim was never more than friends with Antonia and I was never more than a friend to a little redheaded girl. And yet we're both solidly content. I like that, I like that a lot in fact.

I would recommend this book if you're looking to see what the American West was like after the cowboys from Louis L'Amour passed on through. I thoroughly enjoyed my read of this.

★★★★☆