Knife of Dreams by Robert Jordan

This book finally seems to tie up more plot lines than it opens and move towards the Last Battle. I still like the Egwene stories most of all (though I also enjoyed the Mat/Tuon stories). I'm not sold on the Perrin/Faille story, and I wanted to see more of Rand. I'm still a little skeptical we can get through all the story in just three more books.

Train Dreams by Denis Johnson

This novella has a lyrical, haunted quality. It's a patchwork of anecdotes from the life of Robert Grainier, a day laborer in the West, who started life as an orphan and who loses his wife and infant daughter in a massive forest fire while he's away. The stories move back and forth in time, and taken together give something of a portrait of the building of the American West.

Songs of Love and Death edited by Gardner Dozois and George R. R. Martin

This anthology contains a number of stories about love and the supernatural. I liked the Diana Gabaldon story (loosely tied to the Outlander series) and the Jim Butcher story (featuring Harry and Murphy) especially. Most of the stories were easy to get into, but I read this anthology for the Gabaldon and Butcher entries, and the other authors didn't make me feel strongly that I needed to pick up some of their longer work immediately.

The Medusa Plot by Gordon Korman

This book pits Amy and Dan Cahill and their remarkable family against another group, the Vespers, who kidnap a number of Cahills in order to motivate Amy and Dan to steal a painting from the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. I appreciated that Dan's friend, Atticus, pointed out the morally questionable nature of the Cahills' actions. I like all the history that's worked into these stories, although they rely a lot on technology to get them out of tight situations.

Alvin Journeyman by Orson Scott Card

In this book Alvin's attempt to build his Crystal City is slowed down by a number of false accusations (and true, but morally unjust accusations). I enjoyed the story (and finding out more about Taleswapper), but at times it felt like it was all tied up and repetitive instead of actually advancing the plot in a particularly meaningful way. Still, I'm excited to follow Alvin's progress on his journey to build the Crystal City.

Flashback by Dan Simmons

For the most part, I enjoyed this book, which is a noir-style detective story set in the dystopic future. The technology is awesome, the drug flashback (that lets you relive your past) intriguing, and even the family drama is handled pretty well. I also found the mystery really compelling. What was less exciting was the book's political stance--not necessarily its side, but its extremism and its desire for screed instead of thoughtful consideration of the topics. I thought the politics took away from the book as a whole.

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

This book opens after Lena's escape to the Wilds and return to infiltrate the society she left. I liked the way the totalitarian society came more into focus. At times part of the story seemed a bit simplistic or unrealistic, but I'm intrigued to see how things play out in the third volume.