Trio of Sorcery by Mercedes Lackey

I don't know why I haven't read Mercedes Lackey's books lately.  Maybe I just saturated myself at one time with the Valdemar books.  But, I always liked her talented, courageous heroines.  Trio of Sorcery gives us three of them in an enjoyable urban fantasy collection.

Lackey's stories combine magic and contemporary life, and these stories show the progress in both.  The first story, "Arcanum 101" takes readers back to the origins of the Diana Tregarde stories.  It's set in the early 1970s, before personal computers, cell phones, and even MTV.  Diana herself is young, just a freshman at Harvard.  Her beloved Memaw, grandmother, wise woman, and teacher, is dead, and Diana is feeling lonely and lost.  But, she's a Guardian, and when a cop shows up at her door, needing help with a missing child case, she knows she's supposed to help him.  That case, along with a young college student messing with magic when he shouldn't, helps Diana Tregarde find a new place for herself.

Time has moved on a little in the second story, "Drums."  Cell phones are still the size of bricks, satellite dishes are enormous, sitting in front yards, and computers are still dial-up.  Private investigator and Medicine Woman, Jennifer Talldeer has one foot in the present, and one in the past, where she deals with Native American traditions and history.  That knowledge will be invaluable when she has to deal with the ghost of an Osage warrior.

In "Ghost in the Machine," Ellen McBride is a techno-shaman, an expert in computers who also knows that "Magic is a real form."  When a new computer game is inhabited by a monster from Ojibwa stories, Ellen is the only one with the skills to recognize what is happening to the out-of-control world.  But, does she have the skills to stop a Wendigo?

These three novellas don't give Lackey enough time to fully develop the characters.  But, she's skillful enough to create fascinating women and stories that draw us into their worlds.  In fact, I've already placed my holds at the library on the first Diana Tregarde and Jennifer Talldeer books.  And, I'm hoping Ellen McBride will get her own book someday.  Lackey's Trio of Sorcery sold me on all three characters and their knowledge.  Although I've been reading Jim Butcher's Dresden Files, I'd forgotten how much I appreciate the worlds created by the best of the urban fantasy writers.  Mercedes Lackey's latest book reminded me.

Mercedes Lackey's website is http://www.mercedeslackey.com/

Trio of Sorcery by Mercedes Lackey.  Tor, ©2010. ISBN 9780765328519 (hardcover), 352p.

*****
FTC Full Disclosure - The publisher sent my copy of the book, in hopes I would review it.

Side Jobs: Stories from the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher

Is there any more appropriate book to discuss on Halloween than Jim Butcher's Side Jobs: Stories from the Dresden Files?  Harry Dresden, the only wizard listed in Chicago's yellow pages, bumps into more things that go bump in the night than any other character I've read about.  If it's weird and nasty in Chicago, Harry's dealt with it.

Butcher's latest book is a collection of stories about Dresden.  Most of the stories were written for one anthology or another, and Butcher explains why he wrote each story, and where they fall in the course of the actual novels.  For instance, "Something Borrowed" was written for an anthology called My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding, edited by P.N. Elrod.  It "Takes place between Dead Beat and Proven Guilty," focusing on the Alphas, Harry's werewolf friends.

As a fan of Harry Dresden, I love finding new stories about him.  But, it's also a pleasure to read the stories here because they feature so many of the friends we've grown to love in the course of the series.  "A Restoration of Faith" may seem a little weak since it was Butcher's first attempt at a Harry Dresden story, but it also shows the first meeting of Harry and Murphy.  Bob, Mouse, Michael and Molly all have major roles in one story or another.  Thomas even gets to tell his own story in "Backup."  And, for those of us who were shocked at the end of Changes, Murphy narrates an original story, "Aftermath," that takes place an hour or two after that novel ended. 

I never thought the TV show ever did justice to Harry Dresden.  But, no matter what happens after Changes, Jim Butcher brings my favorite wizard back to life in these stories from the Dresden Files, Side Jobs. 

Jim Butcher's website is http://www.jim-butcher.com/

Side Jobs: Stories from the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher.  Penguin Group (USA), ©2010. ISBN 9780451463654 (hardcover), 432p.

How Not to Survive a Vacation by Desert Sleuths Sisters in Crime

The final event of the the Desert Sleuths chapter of Sisters in Crime's Write Now! 2010 Conference was the launch of their new anthology, How Not to Survive a Vacation.  I won't be doing a formal review of the book.  It wouldn't be fair, since I was just named Fan Guest of Honor at their conference.  However, I don't actually review other crime fiction anthologies, either.  How do you properly review a collection with various authors?  In the past. when I discussed an anthology, I've highlighted those stories that were memorable.   So, I'll mention the stories that popped for me.

How Not to Survive a Vacation is a collection of crime fiction short stories written around the theme of vacation.  The stories fit in three categories, "Marine Getaways," "Mountain Getaways," and "Desert Getaways."  The landscapes are integral parts of the stories in which, unfortunately, very few people actually get to enjoy their vacations.   

JoAnne Zeterberg launches the collection with a fun police procedural, "Death on the Intergalactic Sea."  It comes as a shock to Echo McClelland to discover her fantasy cruise is actually a science fiction/fantasy cruise, complete with costumed characters.  So, it doesn't make it any easier to find a killer.  Merle McCann's historical mystery, "The Bride Wore Black," takes us back to Seattle in 1909 for the story of a bride whose wedding plans ended in tragedy.  Or did they?  Susan Budavari's "Sins of the Father" might have the most unexpected twist at the end of the story.  Or, maybe it's Deborah J. Ledford's "Loose End," a story that really leaves the reader dangling.  And, I want to highlight Judy Starbuck's "Cowgirls Don't Cry" for the realistic depiction of Arizona, essential to this vacation mystery.

I can't highlight all eighteen stories in How Not to Survive a Vacation.  Everyone will discover a favorite, and it might be based on your own favorite vacation spots, seaside, mountains, or desert.  However, I can say the reader will be very glad they're not on some of these trips. If you think you're had the vacation from hell, check out a few of these stories. It's enough to make you want to tuck in safely at home, and NOT go anywhere.

The Desert Sleuths' website is http://www.desertsleuths.com/

How Not to Survive a Vacation by Desert Sleuths Chapter of Sisters in Crime.  DS Publishing, ©2010. ISBN 9780982877401 (paperback), 206p.

*****
FTC Full Disclosure - I bought a copy of this book, although I was later given an autographed copy as well.