'The Shining Mountain' by Peter Boardman

 The Shining Mountain, Peter Boardman (3.5)

A riveting story of two hikers in the 70’s who hiked the west wall of Changabang, a treacherous Himalayan mountain. It’s not a long book, but a very detailed account of the mechanics used to climb such a mountain. This was before the Everest glamping (i.e. Sherpa’s doing all the forward ropes and carrying the food and equipment). Except for having porters help to and from the Base Camp, the two climbers did it all themselves. I was shocked how much time it took to do the forward prep – two steps forward then literally one to two back. They did this late in the season (September) and the weather was difficult. I would give it a higher rating, but the writing was average, and the mechanics will be too much for many readers. I had a little flash-back to slipping on the ice patch in the Dolomites, but otherwise was astounded by this account of their journey.

Murderbot #2 & 3; Empyrean #2 & 3

Artificial Condition and Rogue Protocol (Murderbot #2 and #3), Martha Wells (3.5)

Good ole Murderbot is at it again. In trying to find out what really happened on the mining colony, he falls in with some hapless humans whom he helps and, of course, ends up liking. This time he has the help of a very funny AI from the cargo ship he smuggles himself onto. I look forward to this being season 2 of the streaming series. The third book continues his journey to find answers. Overall these are quite formulaic and short. I wish they would be incorporated as sections of a longer book.

 

Iron Flame and Onyx Storm (Empyrean #2, 3), Rebecca Yarros (3.5)

Both of these books continue the journey of Violet and her dragons and friends. It continues the plot with some twists and turns, though the love interaction gets tiresome. Hard to believe they are sooo attracted to each other that they are distracted by that when war is raging around them. One would imagine that is the last thing on your mind when you are about to die. These two books are definitely weaker than the first, but if you like those characters, you will hang-on till the end. ‘Iron Flame’ has quite a cliff hanger, but ‘Onyx Storm’ really just drags it out without a real finish. Guess there are more books in the future.

'Native Nations' by Kathleen DuVal

 Native Nations, Kathleen DuVal (4.0)

It’s a shame that it won’t happen, but this book should be required reading for all High School students. The author has done amazing research to accurately describe the history of the status and interactions of the native people of our continent with the incoming Europeans. She starts with the large ‘cities’ of the 11^th century (i.e. Cahokia) to illustrate how they had societies and a deep civilization prior to the arrival of others. She then spends a lot of time in the 15-19^th centuries as they start to interact, not quite realizing that the incoming people believe they ‘own’ this land that is new to them. I found most interesting the discussion of how the people here had to deal with 3 groups showing up to trade with them (Spanish, English, French) and how that changed after the Revolution when an actual country (US) turned their organized armies towards moving them out. The last few chapters are heart-breaking as you see the ignorance and bigotry wielded by people in power to try to squelch and frankly wipe out those here before them. My biggest complaint is the length of the book. The theme and wisdom sometimes got bogged down in lists of food, crafts, etc.