The Ships of Air by Martha Wells

Title: The Ships of Air
Author: Martha Wells
Series: Fall of Ile-Rien #2
Genre: Fantasy, alternate history
Pages: 408
Copyright Date: 2004
Cover: A boy and girl stand on a promotory. The boy is brandishing a weapon; the girl is leaning out over a railing. Behind them are pearlescent buildings. The sea is throwing itself against the cliff they stand on. There is a dirigible in the background but they don't see it.
Favorite quote: "The magazine stories and plays she had written had all been desperate adventures but the characters moved through them effortlessly, unaffected. In reality what you got was tiresome arguments and distraction and people pulling you in a dozen different directions and demanding you stop for a godforsaken lifeboat drill when you had to stalk the spy/sorcerer/creature who has tried to get your stupid worthless prisoners." (p 182)
Best part: The writing is great; very witty.
Worst part: It doesn't feel like the end of the series - it feels like the second book in a trilogy - but there is no third book.
Grade: B-
Recommended for: Anyone who likes Wells or fantasy with a WW2 aesthetic.
Related Reads: Death of the Necromancer and The Wizard-Hunters, which precede it in the series. Also, Dark of the Gods by PC Hodgell (her heroine is very like Tremaine) and Bloody Red Baron by Kim Newman (set more explicitly in an alternate WW2).

Tremaine, along with her new friends, has forged military order and stolen a cruise ship. Her goal is to rescue the men and women who have been kept as slaves by the Gardier, the enemy of her people. You'd think it would be smooth sailing from now on. Oh, no. The first problem is how to convince the refugees to get on the ship. The second problem is how to convince the Syprians to ally with the Rienish (and the answer will knock your socks off). The third problem? Not getting killed or enslaved.

Again, this would make a satisfying second book to the trilogy. As the conclusion to a duology, I felt it was a little lacking. Only a few elements of the plot get resolved by the end of the book, though the characters certainly have learned and grown a great deal. Still, it was a great read. B-.

Windows reinstall

So, I spent most of yesterday reinstalling Windows on my desktop. I was starting from Windows XP 2002, so the updates were endless. Service Pack One... Service Pack Two... Service Pack Three, and then at least thirty-five Security Updates... It just went on, and on, and on. And then reinstalling the virus software and other programs I need...

The first part went pretty well, and I do now have a backup of the clean install. The part that did not go as well? So far, I have neither been able to install drivers from the handy driver install disk that came with the computer, nor from the manufacturers website. Which I suppose is not a huge problem, except that the audio is not working. The manufacturer's website also says "Do not install drivers unless you have to, because they may make the problem worse!" Encouraging, huh? I wonder if I should have installed the drivers before I started to update the Windows. I hope that's not true, since it would mean I would have to start over. :P

I decided around four o'clock to give myself a rest and re-visit the problem today. Or maybe later than today. We'll see. In theory, I should be getting my new laptop tomorrow, which I'm sure will bring its own set of blessings and complications.



ETA: Yeah, the drivers thing... seems to be out of my league. The thing that is first on the list for the "very important order in which to install things which you must respect or things will not work" is not listed on the other important list of "appropriate drivers for your particular computer model." I really wish someone else would take over here. I am not a geek and I have already spent so much time on the darned thing.

( Things to still do to the desktop. )

The Saint-Germain Chronicles by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro

Title: The Saint-Germain Chronicles
Author: Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
Series: Saint-Germain
Genre: Historical vampire fiction
Pages: 206
Copyright Date: 1983
Cover: Painting style. A pale man gazes at the reader, a trail of blood at the corner of his mouth, a sad expression on his face. He holds in his arms a young and beautiful blond woman - she appears to be drugged or dead. Behind them is a tapestry of a unicorn.
First line: "My dearest Madelaine: I read your name and my mind is filled with you, my heart."
Best part: The two good stories are very good indeed.
Worst part: A really mixed collection. I wasn't interested in the essay on the Count St-Germain as a historical figure, and I hated the first story.
Grade: C
Recommended for: Those who really want the complete Saint-Germain story. This anthology would not be a good place for those who have not read of him before.
Related Reads: Tempting Fate and Hotel Transylvania by the same author.

My favorite stories were Renewal and Cabin 33. The rest didn't do much for me.

Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher

Title: Wishful Drinking
Author: Carrie Fisher
Genre: Memoir, non-fiction
Pages: 176
Copyright Date: 2008
Cover: Princess Leia is slumped over a bar, pills and an empty martini glass close to end.
First line: "So, I am fifty-two years old. (Apparently.)"
Best part: It's hilarious.
Worst part: The Hollywood gossip. It's not really something I follow.
Grade: C+
Recommended for: Anyone who suffers from similar challenges (addiction, mental illness, dysfunctional families, or fame!) and wants a good laugh. Fans of the author as a performer.
Related Reads: Seducing the Demon: Writing My Life by Erica Jong

( Favorite quote. )

Carrie Fisher has had an unusual life, to say the least. Her parents are celebrities, and she herself played Princess Leia in Star Wars at the tender age of 19. She is also famous for being bi-polar. Now this interesting woman bares it all - from Leia Pez to popping pills to what you should do if you have divorced someone and then have fond memories of them. (Date! Don't remarry!)

This book is not what I was expecting - she actually doesn't talk all that much about drinking - but it was very, very funny. C+.