Aaaaand we're back

Internet is up and running as of Wednesday. All of our stuff is out of the old apartment and into the new apartment. I've read books and such. Here's a snippet view; expect a fuller review, maybe later today, maybe later this weekend.

First, from the library this week:

Jason Heller - Taft 2012


Heller is doing something interesting here. He suggests that President Taft vanished from the White House during President Wilson's inauguration (which he didn't, incidentally - Taft went on to become Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and his son and grandson were both significant Senators), and that he reappeared in 2012, just in time to influence the 2012 presidential elections. So, Heller is doing a little alt hist (how would the world be different if Taft had vanished) and a lot of political satire (but it's oddly gentle satire - not nearly biting enough). I'm actually reading this now, because I couldn't resist. Taft is, actually, one of my favorite presidents.

Elizabeth Moon - Echoes of Betrayal


The most recent of the Paksanarrion novels.

Second, snippet reviews:

Myke Cole - Shadow Ops: Control Point


Magic and the US military - very interesting premise, and a lot better than it could have been. Fascinating contrast with other "magic training" stories - this is not the Hogwarts model, folks!

Walter Mosley - Devil in a Blue Dress


Pretty good for a first novel, or at least a first novel in a series. I think Mosley falls into a couple of cliches, but I think the book is overall solid, and I really like Easy Rawlins as a character. Side note - some previous reader appended comments throughout, and said previous reader was an ass. And, possibly, an asshole, which isn't quite the same thing.

A. Lee Martinez - Chasing the Moon


A surprisingly delightful novel, much much better than I thought it would be round about the middle of the book. Heavily character driven, not a lot of plot, but a strong and satisfying ending.

And the Lenten book for the week:

Connie Willis - Bellwether

As my wife says, this one is kinda cheating, because it's almost inconceivable that I would willingly part with this book. But I decided to start with an "easy keeper," to establish a benchmark. So. It's a good book, and I'll tell you about it later, but the end result is, I'm keeping the book.