Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

Archives for October 2006

A Stitch in Time by Andrew J. Robinson: B

by

From the back cover:
For nearly a decade Garak has longed for just one thing—to go home. Exiled on a space station, surrounded by aliens who loathe and distrust him, going back to Cardassia has been Garak’s one dream. Now, finally, he is home. But home is a world whose landscape is filled with death and destruction. Desperation and dust are constant companions and luxury is a glass of clean water and a warm place to sleep.

Ironically, it is a letter from one of the aliens on that space station, Dr. Julian Bashir, that inspires Garak to look at the fabric of his life. Elim Garak has been a student, a gardener, a spy, an exile, a tailor, even a liberator. It is a life that was charted by the forces of Cardassian society with very little understanding of the person, and even less compassion.

But it is the tailor that understands who Elim Garak was, and what he could be. It is the tailor who sees the ruined fabric of Cardassia, and who knows how to bring this ravaged society back together. This is strange, because a tailor is the one thing Garak never wanted to be. But it is the tailor whom both Cardassia and Elim Garak need. It is the tailor who can put the pieces together, who can take a stitch in time.

Review:
I haven’t much experience in the realm of Star Trek novels, but this strikes me as a particularly ambitious one. It succeeds in some areas, not so much in others, but ultimately offers a generally plausible background for Garak, filling in some of the questions about his past, his character, and his outlook. Some of the subplots were a little clunky; I think one existed only so Garak could give another story about a shuttle incident discussed on the show.

I liked best the parts about his school and the eventual consequences of relationships forged there. The author avoided having Garak meet characters from the series while in school, giving him original characters as important influences and factors in his life, which I appreciated. How all these things tie in with his position as DS9’s “plain and simple tailor” was also pretty neat.

The not so great… Some of Garak’s school exploits are a little bit twinky, such as learning valuable Wilderness (always capitalized) skills from a lizard. No, really. Also, sometimes the writing got to be rather repetitive, like Robinson found a favorite word to describe something and kept reusing it over and over (example: sartorial).

All things considered, I waffle regarding actually giving it a recommendation. To a select audience, perhaps, and one who has recently seen all of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and is therefore more likely to understand/remember the various references.

Sweet Sixteen Princess by Meg Cabot: B+

by

From the inside flap:
Mia doesn’t always have the best luck with parties, so even though it’s her sweet sixteenth, she doesn’t want a birthday bash. As usual, Grandmere has other ideas, and thinks a reality TV special is just the thing in order to celebrate royally. The whole scheme smacks of Lilly’s doing—Lilly, whose own TV show is still only limited to local cable viewers.

Will Mia be able to stop Grandmere’s plan? Will her friends ever forgive her if she does stop it, since it involves all of them taking the royal jet to Genovia for an extravaganza the likes of which would turn even Paris Hilton green with envy? Why can’t Mia get what she really wants: an evening alone with Michael?

With a little luck, this sweet sixteen princess might just get her wish—a birthday that’s royally romantic.

Review:
What a crazy long description for a book this dinky!

This book was really cute. It’s a small little episode in their lives, and really makes me see the potential for this as a TV show (in which Disney plays no part). Mia continues to display maturity, particularly regarding some of her actions towards Lilly, so yay for that. I really liked the last few pages, especially a possible romantic pairing that is hinted at. I’d love to see that come to fruition in the next installment. Not that either of the characters involved are particularly well-developed, but still.

My one very nitpicky gripe is that Mia twice mentions that Malfoy and Snape wear capes. The only mention of capes I could find is that fur ones are part of the Durmstrang uniform.

If you like the series, you’ll like this.

A Certain Justice by P. D. James: A

by

Book description:
Venetia Aldridge is a criminal lawyer of large talents and small personal charm, working at a venerable London firm. As she tries to save a young lower-class tough who is accused of murdering his prostitute aunt, it is revealed that she is in a position to ruin a number of professional lives, and is of precisely the temperament to do it. When she is found dead—discovered in her locked chambers in a particularly gruesome tableau—Dalgliesh guides his staff through the interviews that unweave the tangled web of multiple deceit and mixed motive.

Review:
This was the best P. D. James I have read in a long time. I’m actually kind of hard-pressed to think of which was last this good. A Taste for Death, perhaps? It had a flawed but admirable victim, just the right amount of small little clues that one forgets until the end when they suddenly make sense, a mystery that one didn’t even know was a mystery ’til it was solved, much more Dalgliesh point-of-view than her last effort, and some new character types that reminded me a lot of Ruth Rendell’s A Sight for Sore Eyes (in a good way). On top of that, there’s thoughtful commentary on the English justice system and the burden of proof.

I would even consider giving the book an A+ were it not for the fact that there are a few obvious similarities to Original Sin, the book immediately preceding this one in the series. Some peculiarities about the condition of the body, the speculation it provokes, the method to narrow time of death, and one character’s possible motive all have parallels in the earlier work. They are used to much better effect here, however, and are not so crucial as to render the entire novel in any way derivative.

Although there are references to some backstory with Dalgliesh and his team, I think this would do alright as a stand-alone, and exhibits some of James’ finest storytelling.

The Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie: B

by

From the back cover:
“For God’s sake, come!” Unfortunately, by the time Hercule Poirot received Monsieur Renauld’s urgent plea, the millionaire was already dead—stabbed in the back, lying in a freshly dug grave on the golf course of his adjoining Merlinville estate. There’s no lack of suspects: his wife, whose dagger served as the weapon; his embittered son, who would have killed for independence; and his mistress, who refused to be ignored—and each felt deserving of the dead man’s fortune. The police think they’ve found the culprit. Poirot has his doubts. A second murder proves him right.

Review:
The most applicable adjective I seem to be able to apply to this book is—diverting. It’s clever, certainly, but it lacked depth to me. Perhaps I’ve been spoiled by too much James, and a mere difference in style becomes almost a disappointment.

There were a few points in the tale that I found to be obvious, one that was telegraphed from the start, and another that I began to put together about ten pages before Poirot finally bludgeoned Hastings over the head with it. Hastings himself is a little smackworthy at times, and I wonder if the reader is really supposed to be misled into believing his theories, when he so clearly neglects to factor in crucial bits.

I did not, however, work out all the details, nor the actual perpetrator of the crime. Fans of twists and turns galore will appreciate the conclusion. All in all, the mystery is decent, Poirot is fastidious and both irritating and ingenious, and Hastings needs to take multiple cold showers.