A Myth Retold without Fantasy or Magic

 

Three women figured prominently in the tale of Perseus: Danae, his mother, Medusa, the Gorgon he slew, and Andromeda, his wife. In Greek mythology, Perseus, descended from Zeus, is a perfect hero. However, the experiences of the three women in his life paint a different picture. In this book Perseus comes across as cruel angrily trying to prove his descent from Zeus.

Instead of the magic and fantasy of the Greek myth, this book is relentlessly realistic. The story is told from the point of view of each of the three women in turn. I liked that each woman had a section of the book to tell her story. It kept the flow going. I often find that a story becomes choppy when the author moves back and forth from chapter to chapter among characters.

While I found the book interesting, I am not a big fan of retelling myths in all the grim reality of the period. I enjoyed seeing how the author envisages the historical settings. However, for me the myths have their own beauty. It is the way people at the time looked on their gods and heroes and the magic and fantasy play a major role.

I received this book from Dutton for this review.

A Town Divided: A Family-Divided

 

The small town of Wesleyan, Georgia is bitterly divided over whether to remove the statue of a Confederate general. Marietta, whose husband Harry has recently died, is on one side; her brother, a well-known trial attorney is on on the other. When an ice store paralyzes the town during Harry’s funeral, people are thrown together for shelter. Marietta finds herself marooned with three others all coming to grips with their feelings.

The ice storm precipitates a crisis when the town emerges from the ice storm to find the statue gone. Things rapidly swing out of control as feelings run high about the vandalism. Some people support the action, others are ready to fight, including Marietta’s broth, Macon.

Although the statue of a Confederate general is at the center of the controversy, this is not a book about racial problems. It is the story of people coming to terms with their inner demons and growing because of it. In the beginning of the book, I didn’t like Marietta. She seemed rigid and had turned away from friends because her ideas differed from theirs. This included her brother and her former best friend, Butter. As the story progressed, I liked her better because she tried to see others point of view. She didn’t want to lose her friends and family.

The book is beautifully written. The setting and life of a small southern town is brought to life. It‘s a delight to read about the setting and the characters. I also liked the fact that the story was told from multiple points of view. It showed that everyone has their own problems and can grow.

I received this book from Penguin Random House for this review.

Nordic Noir Police Procedural

 A severed body is found in a suitcase in a park in Copenhagen. Annette Werner from the Violent Crimes Unit is given the lead on the investigation. In this novel, she’s working alone because her partner Jeppe Karner is on leave living on the Danish Island of Bornholm where he is working at the local sawmill as a lumberjack. His friend Ester di Laurenti is also on the island researching the life of a female anthropologist for a biography she’s writing.

Annette discovers a connection between the island and the crime. She’s working with the local police, but with her partner, Jeppe, there she feels comfortable asking him to look around for a missing person who may be the body. Ester is also engaged when reading the anthropologist’s letters it appears that the past secrets in the letters may relate to the present crime.

This is the fifth book in the series, but is easy to read as a standalone. The author makes her characters come alive through details of their personal lives which helps the reader understand the interactions between them. I thought the characterization was one of the main pluses in the book.

The book is a somewhat gruesome police procedural due to the nature of the crime. If you find that objectionable this may not be your book. However, the plot, although moving at a moderate pace, is well done with plenty of clues and twists to keep you reading. The ending is somewhat of a surprise, but is well foreshadowed by the action.

I received this book from Gallery Books for this review.

 

A Dystopian Murder Mystery

 

Under the shadow of a deadly virus, society is breaking down. Three groups are seeking shelter at the Retreat, but are forestalled by accidents. Hannah and her classmates are on a bus heading for the Retreat when the bus goes off the road in a snowstorm. The bus is on it’s side with the unbreakable windows on the exposed side. Meg is trapped with strangers in a gondola swinging a thousand feet above the mountainside. Carter is already at the Retreat where he works, but the generator is going out and getting more supplies would be difficult at best.

The three threads of the story seem seem disconnected at first, but as the novel progresses the author cleverly pulls the strands together for a surprising conclusion. Although the book with multiple narrators and numerous characters seems difficult to follow at first, it’s worth sticking with it to get to the ending.

The writing is atmospheric and the difficulties faced by the three groups will have you on the edge of your seat. There is rather a lot of horror and blood. If it makes you uncomfortable, this may not be the book for you. However, the murder mystery and the interacting strands make for plenty of twists. I couldn’t figure out the trick at the end until well into the second half of the book.

I received this book from Random House for this review.

Scientific Techno-Thriller

 

The world is suffering with climate change. A group of entrepreneurs decide to undertake a risky mining venture on an asteroid. When things go wrong three of the astronauts escape to Earth leaving two of their comrades behind. This book centers on how the three make substantial engineering strides to build equipment to return to the asteroid.

The tension is not only working against time to accomplish the rescue mission, but international tensions are created by devastating climate change. In the circumstances, the government doesn’t want to back the rescue mission, so the three crew members are on their own.

The opening chapters are rather slow focusing on the lives of the main characters. They are reasonably well drawn. I found James the most interesting. He is the driving force behind accomplishing the rescue. Once the author gets into the technical details of preparing for the mission, the book gets more interesting. However, the science can be heavy. I enjoyed it, but it can be overwhelming if you only dabble in technical matters.

This is the second book in the series. The first book Delta-V does not have to be read first, but it can be helpful from the standpoint of getting into the technology. If you enjoy sci-fi with plenty of technical detail, this is a book you should check out.

I received this book from Dutton for this review.

Making Life Changes

 

The pandemic gave many people an impetus to think about their lives, and whether they were satisfied or wanted to make changes. Jill Schlesinger tackles the issue of making life changes through financial decisions. Making changes in the end is not just about what you want to do, but how you can arrange your finances to make the changes possible.

The book has ten chapters addressing issues such as: allocating your resources so you can make a change, taking advantage of the tax code, and more. The author illustrates the principles with anecdotes from people’s lives. My only criticism of the anecdotes is that most of them were about people who already were quite well set up.

The book is easy to read. The financial principles are fairly elementary and explained clearly. Whether you’re contemplating a career changes, getting more education, or planning for retirement, this is book that can give you good advice for making these changes.

I received this book from St. Martin’s Press for this review.

When the Doctor Becomes the Patient

 

Harry Marsh, a retired neurosurgeon, believed like many physicians that doctors don’t get sick, especially not terminally ill. They ignore their symptoms and then are shocked by the diagnosis. Harry Marsh had two shocks. He participated in a study requiring a brain scan. At seventy, he thought his brain was in excellent shape, but was surprised to see the withered, aging brain he possessed.

Marsh’s second shock came when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Now he was facing the prospect of his mortality. He reacted as most patients with a terminal diagnosis do going through the classical stages of grief. The book is almost written as a journal. The author expresses his deepest thought and fears, but often in a somewhat disjointed way that jumps around.

For me, one of the most interesting parts of the book was the discussion of the doctor-patient relationship seen from the perspective of someone who is experiencing both and can express his ideas and feelings in an open way. This book also looks at medical care and aging. It’s not a comprehensive look, but it does highlight many of the problems with elder care.

The book is relatively short and easy to read. I recommend it, particularly if you or a loved one is dealing with serious life-threatening illness.

I received this book from St. Martin’s Press for this review.