'Ready Player Two' by Ernest Cline, 'Fourth Wing' by Rebecca Yarros, and 'Is a River Alive' by Robert MacFarlane

 Ready Player Two, Ernest Cline (3.5)

Enjoyable – but completely derivative of ‘Ready Player One’. Really not much newly creative, which made the first book so unique. I did appreciate that he was able to do a round two using the same characters but with a new plot. Unfortunately, the main character had to go through a very unlikeable stage as part of his arc in order to make this book work. Cline predictably lies heavily on 80’s trivia, which works for many of his fans. There is a feeling of inclusion similar to finding Easter eggs in games. The ending seemed a bit abrupt and set things up for a possible third book, though given it’s Sci-Fi bent, he’s going to have to drop the 80’s schtick. 

 

Fourth Wing, Rebecca Yarros (4.5)

I enjoyed so many things about this book – but particularly the interactions between dragons and their riders. The author has taken the classic plot of a seemingly weak protagonist who is put in a precarious situation and has to continually battle the system and bad guys, and made it feel fresh with twists (some more obvious than others), interesting characters and dragons! My biggest concern with the book is that it seems to be written for YA (many accurately call it a blend of Harry Potter and Hunger Games), but it comes across as an R-rated book for language, violence and sex. There is a bit of a warning in the front, but that will just urge many YA readers on! 

 

Is a River Alive?, Robert MacFarlane (4.0)

The author has a nice way of going to places and writing as ‘doing, not telling’, which I appreciate. I also liked how he started with the small creak near his home that he has known all his life and returned to it after each journey. I loved the author’s young son’s comment to the subject of this book: ‘Of course a river is alive, this will be a short book’. Rather than arguing this point, MacFarlane journeys to three very different rivers and describes how some special people are working hard to protect and/or revitalize them. I was worried that it would be a sad tale of how we are ruining our environment, but he manages to highlight the positive work being done. My only complaint is that the poetic words sometimes were a bit over the top for me and made it feel fictional at times. 

'The Mad Crush' by Sean C. Weir

The Mad Crush, Sean C. Weir (3.0)

This book was interesting to me as it describes the history of a winery and area we very much enjoy in our area of the Central Coast of California. The author spent a couple of crush seasons in the 1990’s working at Saucelito Canyon Winery, a family run winery known for their delicious Zinfandels. It is a simple story that walks through the harvest season illustrating the random nature of growing grapes and making good wine told from the point of view of a somewhat rootless young man. I particularly enjoyed hearing about people I’ve met and places that haven’t changed much in all this time. The winery out in the canyon is still very rural and lovely.

'The Rose Code' by Kate Quinn

The Rose Code, Kate Quinn (4.0)

Once again Ms. Quinn has brought to life female protagonists fighting in obscurity during a war. This time the three women (two based on real women) worked at Bletchley House, the famous English location that housed many men and women who worked to break the German and Italian codes during WWII, Enigma being the most famous. As with her other novels, she throws in a few real people (e.g. Alan Turing, Dilly Knox, Prince Philip) but the story revolves around 3 very different women who found themselves doing important work during the war. Much of the intrigue of the story has to do with not being able to discuss their work and the small and large impacts that has on their lives. Even though we know what happened with Enigma and the war, the drama she deals with here was more individualistic and riveting. A few character arcs were predictable, but that didn’t take away from the enjoyment of reading a good, fast paced story.

'Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow' by Gabrielle Zevin

Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, Gabrielle Zevin (3.5)

While I generally enjoyed this book, I give it a 3.5 as I found the ending underwhelming. The plot and protagonists were interesting and unique. We follow two people who meet as children in a hospital (one visiting a sister with cancer, the other having multiple surgeries to repair a bad foot). They bond playing video games. As they grow up, they meet again and start developing games together. The personal dynamic is well written, and I found the descriptions of the games fascinating and not too technical – for those less interested in such things. I don’t need a Hollywood ending, but I thought it petered out towards the end.

'Dawn' by Octavia Butler

 Dawn (Xenogenesis #1), Octavia Butler (3.5)

I enjoyed this book as something very different, which is hard to do in Sci-fi while not breaking the laws of physics. A woman wakes up to find out humans have managed to ruin the earth and annihilate almost everyone. She is on an apparent spacecraft where unseen, presumable benevolent aliens have saved her. As she learns more, the aliens are ‘traders’ and she tries to find out what they want in return for her safety. Most of the book is a page turner as we -along with the main character- are introduced to the aliens and learn more about them and what her future entails. My main disappointment is with the last 25%. The author shows some inconsistencies in character treatment (don’t rape a woman, but you can a man?) and some parts just seem purposefully suggestive, which was distracting. I do plan to read the other two books in the series and hope there are more unique ideas and less salaciousness.

'Fire in the Canyon' by Daniel Gumbiner

 Fire in the Canyon, Daniel Gumbiner (2.5)

While this book spoke to me as a person in California familiar with the scare of wildfires, the writing was a bit off for me to fully enjoy it. I liked the descriptions of the animals and farm life of a small grape grower in the foothills. I love that area and life. I was distracted by details that didn’t seem necessary and brought me out of the story. Words should be intentional or not included – I often thought ‘why is he telling me this?’ and expected things to happen that didn’t. Many of these side stories go nowhere.  I also found inconsistencies such as the main character mentions several times that he can’t afford to take his wife out to dinner but eats lunch out all the time.  The descriptions of living in an area of drought that is threatened by fire are good and realistic, though maybe not something most of us need to read. The writing is not good enough for me to recommend this to those who have not experienced it. 

'The Honourable Schoolboy' by John Le Carre

 The Honourable Schoolboy, John Le Carre (4)

This book begins with George Smiley and his crew in the dog-house after it’s been discovered that the famous Soviet agent, Karla (yes, love that), had a high placed mole in their midst. As most Smiley stories, it’s more about the suspense than action and difficult to follow due to British spy jargon and an extremely complicated story. Information comes to Smiley’s group that there is a Chinese mole in Hong Kong working with the Soviets. Obviously written pre-reintegration with China, Hong Kong is still a British colony and China and USSR are not ‘friends’. Smiley cautiously investigates hoping that a discovery would thwart Karla and bring glory back to the group. While I enjoyed the detail, this is not a spy novel for everyone. Major plot points can come across as an aside, so one must pay close attention. Also, for such a long book, it oddly ended very abruptly.  I believe this book is lesser known as it is a bit less approachable.