Blood Oath by Christopher Farnsworth

This book, first in a series, introduces us to the president's vampire, Nathaniel Cade, just as he gets a new liaison with the White House, an ambitious young staffer named Zach Barrows. They're immediately called to duty as a group of terrorists, working with the man known to popular culture as Frankenstein (who, obviously, has discovered the secret to immortal life), conspires to attack the president with Zombies. There's also an out-of-control secret government agency that clogs up the works, and an early cameo by a pack of werewolves. I found the plot intriguing, but not particularly deft, and the writing acceptable. I'll probably read the other books as they come out, as a form of relaxation, but this is definitely the type of book that you can get from the library or wait for the paperback.

The Passage by Justin Cronin

This book starts out like a Michael Crichton thriller: secret government experiments gone awry let loose a disaster of unheard-of proportions on the people of the United States, at a date in the not-too-distant future. Although the novel is definitely of the post-apocalyptic genre, I think its real strength is actually the ensemble cast, who, after a fair amount of scene setting, leave their isolated outpost to try and confront their problems head-on. The disease/vampires/infection themes are nothing new, but in some ways these vampires seems to offer a critique of the Twilight vampires (they glow in the dark instead of sparkling in the sunlight--and like all good [which is to say, bad] vampires, burn when they go out in the sunlight, and their skin changes to become as tough as kevlar)---and there's nothing sentimental or romanticized about these creatures. I was interested, too, in the themes of political critique (the U.S. faces draconian laws imposed by anti-terrorism forces [which blame the vampires on terrorist nations, despite the fact that, as readers quickly learn, the US Army itself conducted the experiments that lead to the original twelve vampires--in a misguided attempt to develop a new super-weapon], and New Orleans has been destroyed by another hurricane, and is now a wasteland of oil drilling) and of the relationship between the vampires and the Global South (the virus is found by a Harvard researcher in Bolivia, where he goes [funded by the US Army] to investigate reports of a virus that cures diseases like cancer). At any rate, the journeys of the characters make this novel intriguing. The dynamics of the plot remind me of Stephen King's Dark Tower series, or The Lord of the Rings. I'm sorry we'll have to wait two years (at least) for the sequel.

Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett

In this book Granny Weatherwax returns to see to affairs of succession in the kingdom of Lancre after its king is murdered in cold blood. This book was funnier than previous Discworld novels, although I might attribute that to the fact that much of its parody is based on Shakespeare (with whom I'm familiar enough to find it hilarious). Altogether one of the better Discworld novels so far.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson

This book is a thrilling conclusion to the Millenium trilogy. Larsson, as in the previous books, does a great job mixing the adventure of a brilliant plot with characters that are unforgettable. But when Mikael Blomkvist sums up the book's climactic trial, he puts his finger on why I find the series so remarkable: "When it comes down to it, this story is not primarily about spies and secret government agencies; it's about violence against women, and the men who enable it" (514). The book makes a very strong case in favor of human rights, and the excellent story and characters and the strong moral stand it takes are what makes it unforgettable.

Exile by Aaron Allston

I loved the parts of this book that felt like an old-school Star Wars reunion (the Jag-Jaina-Zekk team and Leia, Han, and Lando going joyriding across the galaxy and running into Wedge and Corran and then later Luke and Mara) and I thought Ben, who's sent on a special mission by Jacen (really, a test to see if Ben qualifies to become Jacen's Sith apprentice), developed a lot over the course of the book. Really, the part of this book that was a problem, is the part of the series that's a problem. I don't buy the plot line of Jacen falling to the Dark Side. Jaina would actually make more sense, in some regards. This civil war seems more contrived than most, and because it's the fear of war that seems to drive Jacen down a dark path, it makes the whole thing sillier.

The Man Who Loved Children by Christina Stead

This sprawling account of a family falling apart works much in the same vein as Anna Karenina or A Doll's House. The story is both touchingly intimate (a lot of it is told in the private language that springs up out of the father's nonsense words) and remarkably withdrawn (it felt like lots of secrets were revealed only as things fell more and more apart). This story is definitely of the type where people may live together without ever really knowing each other. Although this story was set in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and Annapolis, and all the place names and professions and things were right, it also felt, in a way, as if it could have been set anywhere.

Tempest by Troy Denning

This book worked really well for me. Of all the characters, Luke comes off as the most annoying. I still think the overall political premises (of Corellia's desire for the benefits of membership in the Galactic Alliance without fully participation in the responsibilities) are a bit overworked, but the politics worked better on the level of plot in this book. As much as I hate things about this series and New Jedi Order (i.e. willingness to kill off major characters, and willingness to send Jacen to the Dark Side), I do appreciate that the stakes feel more real in these books.