Bowdrie

by Louis L’Amour

Confession: I read a Louis L’Amour novel. Does that make me a bad person?

The summary from Amazon.com pretty much sums the book up:

“It was a name that caused the most hardened gunmen to break out in a cold sweat. Chick Bowdrie. He could have ridden the outlaw trail, but the Texas Rangers recruited him because they didn’t want to have to fight against him. Pursuing the most wanted men in the Southwest he knew all too well the dusty trails, the bitter cattle feuds, the desperate killers and the quiet, weather-beaten, wind-blasted towns that could explode into actions with the wrong word. He had sworn to carry out the law, but there were times when he had to apply justice with his fists and his guns. They called in the Rangers to handle the tough ones and there was never a Ranger tougher or smarter than Bowdrie.”

Confession: Actually, it was…enjoyable.

Song for the Basilisk

by Patricia McKillip

I’m going to be honest: for the first two chapters, I had absolutely no idea what was going on. I was so frustrated after rereading the beginning three times that I actually looked up a summary online. Of course, I didn’t look at what happened later in the book, but it was unbelievably helpful to have a clue where the story was starting.

After that I loved the book. I mostly read it on my break at work, and it was hard to switch back to employee mode every time: not because I was so interested in what would happen next (although I was), but because I felt so involved in the story. Involved to the point where I was exhausted, completely drained, by the time I finished reading. I don’t think I’ve ever read something that took up all of my emotions like that.

For that reason, I probably won’t read it again for a while. Not until I’ve recovered.

Stormblade

by Nancy Varian Berberick<

Yeah…read the post about The Legend of Huma. I really don’t have anything else to say about this book, except the writing was better.