Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Catching Up

It took quite a while to finish Mists of Avalon but I am so glad that I re-read it. Every time I read it I find new things I never realized previously in the story. Even though I know what happens the thrill is still there.

I have also ventured in to the world of podiobooks (audio books released in podcast format). I have listened to two books written by Mur Lafferty. Playing for Keeps and Heaven Series great stories that had me hooked and waiting impatiently for each podcast release.

To quote Mur's website (http://www.playingforkeepsnovel.com) for Playing for Keeps, "tells the story of Keepsie Branson, a bar owner in the shining metropolis of Seventh City: birthplace of super powers. Keepsie and her friends live among egotistical heroes and manipulative villains, and manage to fall directly in the middle as people with powers, but who just aren't strong enough to make a difference. Or that's what they've been told. As the city begins to melt down, it's hard to tell who are the good guys and who are the bad." The quirky superpowers of the characters and the sinister agenda that unravels is well worth the listen.

The same can be said for her the series Heaven. I won't butcher the description and again quote her sites..."Heaven is a magical realism audionovel about two friends who wander the afterlife together after their untimely deaths. Kate and Daniel find the Christian Heaven a bit too perfect for their liking and receive metaphysical passports to travel to the afterlives of different mythologies, different religions - even different species. As their travels continue, they discover there may a grander plan to their travels than they previously suspected." (quoted from http://www.murlafferty.com/heavennovel) The trials, tribulations and adventures Kate and Daniel deal with are more addictive than chocolate!

Do check out Mur Lafferty on http://murverse.com/.

The actual book reading I just finished was The Ravens of Avalon which is a "prequel" to the Mists of Avalon. Set in the age when Rome invaded British soil, this novel follows the lives of Druids who are rocked by the power of Rome and the bloody battles that ravaged Britain. I was particularly attached to the story of Boudica and her coming of age as she choices against becoming a priestess and instead opts to make a change through her marriage. Must of the story is a build up with a sharp twisted ending. As with other books Diana Paxson has posthumously published for Marion Zimmer Bradley, the Bradley's ideas feel diluted. Not to say the stories are not interesting, because they are, but only strong glimpses of Bradley shine through. Now that I have (I think) all of the Avalon books I would like to read them sequentially to see how the flow works from one book to the next since I think they were not released in any sort of order.

Next on the night stand is Son of a Witch, the book following Wicked. I am looking forward to revisiting the world of Oz as translated by Gregory Maguire.