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Archives for August 2006

A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh: B

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From the back cover:
When Sir Hubert Handesley invited his well-to-do friends to his country estate for an amusing weekend, no one suspected it would turn into a deadly ordeal. But one of the participants in the supposedly playful Murder Game turns up dead… and Scotland Yard’s inimitable Roderick Alleyn must find out who spoiled the fun.

Review:
I’ve seen Ngaio Marsh compared to Agatha Christie a few times, but the writing is much more like Conan Doyle, complete with the occasional disdainful remark about or depiction of foreigners or poor people. Alleyn’s methods of detection are rather Holmesian, and the subplot would not be out of place in a tale of Sherlock’s exploits.

The mystery is decent, and the method of the crime quite unusual. In addition, Alleyn makes some choices that I’ve not seen a detective make before, as they’re very non-standard procedure for the Yard. While the in-character basis for these is suspect, they do at least succeed in keeping a) things lively and b) the closest thing to a protagonist involved in the story.

My major complaint is that I am still left with almost no impression of Alleyn as a person. Perhaps the author has rendered him deliberately enigmatic, as he is primarily seen through the (not too bright) eyes of one of the guests at the estate, but his behavior is so changeable that his real personality cannot be known.

There were enough good things here to warrant a look at the next one in the series, but if they’re all like this, I can see myself tiring of them quickly.

Ouran High School Host Club 4 by Bisco Hatori: B+

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From the back cover:
Curious about Haruhi’s standard of living, the Host Club members barge into her personal life by paying her a visit at home. While the guys do their utmost to be polite, everything they do seems to backfire, especially for poor Tamaki! On top of it all, he trips and lands on top of Haruhi—just in time for her father to catch them in a compromising position….

Review:
That’s a rather poorly done description of this volume, since the tripping incident happened at the end of the last volume and is where this one begins.

This volume was a little hit and miss with me. I liked episode 13, which concludes the visit to Haruhi’s house and has tons of cute Tamaki bits, and episode 16, with some nice Tamaki/Haruhi interaction. Episode 14 is all about a cavity Hunny gets, and is pretty dumb really, and episode 15 puts the cast in Alice in Wonderland. Although it’s better than I expected, it still breaks the fourth wall and doesn’t have much narrative purpose.

Fully one-third of the volume is a side story called “Love Egoist.” While I was a little annoyed at first by how much space it occupied, I ended up really liking it. It’s kind of a continuation of a side story that was in volume 2, though the main characters are different. Hopefully there’ll be more.

All in all, the good stuff was good enough to outweigh any disappointment caused by the not-so-good stuff, which really wasn’t all that bad.

Beat to Quarters by C. S. Forester: A

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From the back cover:
In Beat to Quarters, it’s June 1808 and a still young Hornblower is captain of the 36-gun frigate Lydia. He sets his course for Spain and Nicaragua in his ongoing quest to cut Napoleon’s lines wherever he crosses them.

Review:
There are two ways one might choose to read the Hornblower series. The first is to read them in order of publication, in which case one starts with Beat to Quarters, and the second is to read them in chronological order, in which case one starts with Mr. Midshipman Hornblower. After some consideration, I opted to take the former path, with the notion that the first novel written would contain the most by way of introductory material.

It is, therefore, without reading any of the adventures Hornblower has in his earlier days, that I first encounter him as a thirty-seven year old captain, self-doubting and self-conscious, complex and fascinating. He hides behind a gruff exterior, so aware of how he is seen in the eyes of his crew that he stifles himself on many an occasion. He’s… well, he’s almost Darcy!

Even though I know nothing about naval matters, I had no problems following the action in the book. Forester doesn’t merely focus on battles, though they’re not neglected, but also on more pressing yet unglamorous affairs of sailing life, like obtaining sufficient provisions and making necessary repairs. Moreover, he manages to make all these things interesting. I also loved how all of the crew’s successes are due to experience, training, and a great deal of hard work, not some random deus ex machina.

Lastly, the character of Lady Barbara, while not fully fleshed out in and of herself, is used as a catalyst to challenge some of Hornblower’s preconceived notions about women (he likes “clinging incompetence”), and all the bits concerning their interaction are great. I hope we see her again in future books.

The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie: A

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From the back cover:
Jane Finn is Missing. Where is she? The mere mention of her name produced a very strange reaction all over London. So strange, in fact, that Tommy and Tuppence decided to find this mysterious missing lady. And once those two determined sleuths made up their minds, nothing could stop them—not international espionage, kidnapping—or even murder.

Review:
I haven’t read much Christie yet, and wasn’t prepared for something so… sprightly. The tone of the novel is rather breezy, and it’s quite funny in places, as well. Tommy and Tuppence are both great characters, and I would absolutely adore to see a BBC production of this novel.

Christie delivers plot twists and red herrings aplenty, as well as a very satisfying ending. I found the book to be instantly engaging, and especially liked the unique motivations that started the pair on their sleuthing path. If one had the time, this would be an easy book to read in a single sitting.

Lastly, a note on slang. There’s a good bit of it, including some I’d never heard of. My favorite was when one man casually described another as “pretty cute.” It seems to mean something like clever or capable instead, but it does give one slashy ideas!

The Skull Beneath the Skin by P. D. James: A-

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From the back cover:
An intriguing assignment, Cordelia Gray thought, and not a particularly arduous one. The poison pen messages to Clarissa Lyle were to be stopped—or at least deflected—until after the performance of The Duchess of Malfi at Ambrose Gorringe’s private theatre on Courcy Island. It soon becomes apparent however that Clarissa Lyle’s enemy is on the island with her, and Cordelia finds herself trapped in an atmosphere of fear and violence—a violence that is to culminate in a brutal murder…

Review:
I really liked the vast majority of The Skull Beneath the Skin. The atmosphere is similar to Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, in that a limited number of suspects are staying together on an isolated island, complete with a married pair of somewhat eccentric servants. There were enough creepy or mysterious details to keep the plot moving interestingly, and the characters were well fleshed out, precisely as one would expect from P. D. James. Plus, mysteries with just a few possible killers with whom the protagonist must continue to associate after the act are fun.

Some time after said brutal murder occurs, the narrative focus shifts away from Cordelia to that of the detectives from the town on shore who’ve come to investigate. It’s interesting to learn some details from their interviews, and also to see the way in which they view Cordelia, but I found it a little odd that the protagonist should be absent for such a significant period of time. Eventually, she does regain the spotlight.

I found the whole sequence of events in the conclusion to be somewhat disappointing. A side trip for more nuggets of information bogs down the story, and then some elements of what follows are predictable, though I admit to being surprised by others. It’s not a poor ending, exactly, but for something that started so strongly it’s a bit anticlimactic.