The Darkness Beyond by Alexis Morgan

I really really love Alexis Morgan's Paladins. They're strong silent types (except that they're not so silent with each other -- they yell, throw things, have temper tantrums and brawls...) who protect our world from the crazed Kalithians who attempt to cross over a barrier between their dimension and our own that exists  deep in caves along the faultlines of the Earth. (Not that all the Kalithians are crazed, but the bulk of the ones who try to cross the barrier are.) Kalith is a dying planet. And apparently, the Paladins share some DNA with them. They're warriors, and they're always male. And just to make it *that* much better, they can, for an indefinite period of time, come back to life after being killed -- although each death and resuscitation (resurrection?) takes something out of them, and eventually they go crazy and have to be killed.
D.J. Clayborne is a Paladin and a computer genius/hacker who is *famous* in the cyberworld as the hacker Knightwalker. Regina (Reggie) Morrison works for a company that is hired by other companies to track hackers. She's been tracking Knightwalker anyway because she's curious and can't resist a challenge, but lately, her company was actually hired to find him. Part of her's reluctant to admit that she's found him, because she enjoys their little game of barb-and-prod, cat-and-mouse. But on a side trip while trying to confirm details, she accidentally stumbles into the system of the Regents, who manage and fund the Paladins, and finds, downloads and prints a history of the Paladins. Also, I should mention there's been some internal unrest in the management levels between the Regents and the Paladins (security, finance, medical...all that fun stuff).
I'm gonna stop there because I tend to get all involved in synopsis stuff and don't want to tell the bare bones of the story in under six paragraphs.
Ms. Morgan has managed to write a series that is just as interesting and compelling in the 8th book as it was in the first, or the fourth (which is actually where I first picked up the series and started glomming. Seriously glommable.) We get some time with past characters, and just enough of some new and interesting ones, and some of the bad guys too--but just enough that we know a little about where things are going rather than so much that we begin to wonder just who the series is about. But the primary focus of the book is D.J. and Reggie. They get moments of fear and joy, anger and love. And, of course, the bad guys get got. Spectacularly. AND we get a new Paladin out of the whole thing--Reggie's friend and coworker Cory, who grew up in the foster system and always amazed and freaked out his foster parents with his amazing healing abilities and crazy energy and metabolism.
I just can't wait to see who's next of the Paladins to get his HEA!!

about my eReader...

I feel the need to rant and rave today about my eReader. I have a Sony Touch (PRS-600)--NOT the latest model, but the next-to-latest. Choosing it involved about a year of dithering, researching, comparison shopping, and acknowledging that a Kindle would bleed me dry in a week, as I have a tendency to GLOM backlists. My darling Sony limits that somewhat, in that I have to actually physically hook it up to a computer in order to download books onto it (although it's still ridiculously easy to shop at all my favorite sites: Diesel, All Romance EBooks, Samhain, Torquere...the list goes on.) And just because, I kind of want a Kindle, too. Just because (sorta).

So anyway. Today, my lovely red Reader decided to be a little B*tch today, when I hooked her up to the computer. I kept getting the message that the computer could not read the USB device (or something along those lines, anyway...) so I visited the Sony support webpage for help. I downloaded firmware. I tried uninstalling the device driver. I uninstalled/reinstalled software, I restarted the computer (like, a million times). I poked around on my external hard drive, trying to make sure I'd successfully backed up all my books when the other laptop (MY laptop; I'm currently sharing the DH's) started having issues. As it happens, I didn't. (boo) Luckily, however, I tend to mostly buy direct from small pubs, and was able to re-download everything, so I only lost one book. It was a "free limited time" offer, and now it's regularly priced, so I may one day get busy with the malfunctioning computer and see if it will cooperate long enough to try and rescue that one particular book...

Turns out what had to happen was a hard reset of the Reader--which means, dumping *everything* and restoring it to fresh-outta-tha-box factory settings. Like I said, I still have everything I wanted to keep, minus the one book, and now (for now, anyway) everything works fine. I need to get on to getting everything on memory card, though. That's why I picked this particular reader--it has memory card slots, so I can categorize my books, and hide the "Inappropriate Content" from the Ravening Barbarian Horde, and have an extra backup of everything  (without having DRM hissy fits) if this ever happens again. The downside to the memory cards? They can slow down certain functions, like deleting individual books from the reader/card itself, and it can be slow catching up when you first insert or remove the memory card. But I haven't noticed any real difference in, for example, battery life. Which is less than I was led to believe but I hear around the internet that those guidelines for battery charge are based on the "average" reader, and, let's face it, I am well above average in terms of the amount of time I spend reading on a weekly basis.

Also, regarding the sucktastic-ness of my old computer--it's the second HP I've had problems with in a year's time. It's supposed to be still under warranty, but it's been dinged a bit so they won't fix it under warranty. I can't afford a new one right now, so for the foreseeable future, I will be using the DH's. And come tax refund time, when I can get a new one? I'm SO getting a Mac. (That's right, I'm going over to the Dark Side.)

Saturday 9--meme time!

Saturday 9: Against All Odds

1. Have you ever tried to rekindle a past relationship against the odds? Not exactly, but I have rekindled friendships with several exes!

2. Do you like your job, or daily routine?  Sorta, sometimes. I'm a SAHM; sometimes it's a bit much, but most of the time it's nice being able to pretty much do what I like. I would like a bit more adult interaction, however.

3. Do you find time to 'smell the flowers' so to speak?  I try to. That's one of the nice things about doing things at my own speed.

4. Do you have any problems thinking of things to write about in my blog?  In your blog? Not so much, no. In my own...occasionally. When that happens, I usually go with a book review (or just avoid it altogether--I should be better about that.)

5. Do others consider you well organized?  I really have no idea. It would be nice, but I know I'm really not.

6. Do you always have a “Plan B” just in case? No, I just kind of got good at going with the flow. I can adapt plan A on the run.

7. How do you find yourself adjusting to new situations?  Usually pretty well--as long as I have access to a method of communicating with friends and family, and plenty of escapist reading material, it's all good...

8. Are you happy with where you are in this point of your life?  For the most part. I also accept that the things I'm not happy with, it's up to me to change. And the things I can't change? Maybe I just need to alter my expectations of myself.

9. Do you find the aging process we all go through easy or difficult?  Honestly, my brain doesn't feel like it's changed that much. It's my body that's having problems...

Sometimes, it's hard.

Sometimes, it's hard to be a mom. Summer break, especially. While I love my kids (hereafter known as the Ravening Barbarian Horde), I'm also one of those people who needs solitude. I just need, on occasion, to take a step--or 12--away from the everyday, and focus myself internally (books, TV, a movie--whatever; just as long as it's all about me, Me, ME). And that can be really hard to do when you have kids, especially when at least one of those kids is always needing contact and reassurance. Yes, it's cute when my 6YO comes up to me, cuddles close, and says, "Mommy, I love you!" But it's less cute when it's happened approximately every 15 minutes of every waking moment of every day for the last week. And wait till we hit a month of it! The bickering starts within an hour of waking up, and the whining for more TV time/video games/I wanna go here, do this, buy that! in three. And then the dogs think, Let's join in! and start rough-housing. And the cats find the catnap mice, or decide the laptop where I'm typing or browsing or whatever would be a *perfect* place for a nap (convenient for me to pet them, y'know...) and next thing I know, I'm all but climbing the walls.

And, as much as I love my husband as well, he doesn't exactly help. He usually manages to come home at least once during the day (sometimes as many as 3 times!) and usually manages to interrupt something (sorry, love, but it's the truth!) which throws whatever crazy schedule I've managed to cobble together all to pieces. And he turns on the TV, which just makes the kids *worse* when he's gone, and unless we're watching DVR'ed episodes of NCIS or Castle or The Big Bang Theory, he's watching stuff that I either find revolting (can't handle fishing or horror) or just inappropriate for the kids (true crime) or just plain unappealing (Man vs. Food). And after the Ravening Barbarian Horde is in bed, I want to spend one-on-one time with the Man of the House--but I'd prefer it not be in front of the TV--but that means I have to put me off till after he goes to bed, which means I end up staying up till 2 a.m. And the kids are still getting up at 7. And fighting.

So, yeah. I'm thinking about re-instituting the afternoon nap, even though we're all supposed to be at a stage in our lives where we don't need such a thing. And OMG it's going to be rough when my alarm starts going off at 6 a.m. to get the boys up and out the door for the school bus...

The Lion of Kent by Aleksandr Voinov

The blurb (from Goodreads):

Squire William Raven has only one goal—to finally receive his spurs and become a knight. When his lord, Sir Robert de Cantilou, returns from a five-year crusade in the Holy Land, William wants nothing more than to impress him.

After Sir Robert's return, noble guests arrive from France, bringing intrigue to the castle. William is oblivious to the politics, as he's distracted by nightly visits from a faceless lover—a man who pleasures him in the dark and then leaves—a man he soon discovers is none other than his master, Sir Robert.

But William can't ignore the scheming around him when he overhears a plot to murder Robert. He becomes intent on saving his lord and lover from those who would see him killed...

I have something of a weakness for medieval settings, so I was predisposed to enjoy this, even before I started reading, and it was the first book by this author I've read (date of this review not withstanding--this was a re-read, and this time around I Took Notes!) Having a reasonable background in the history of the way Western religion changed throughout the Dark and Middle Ages (or Middle and Dark Ages? I forget which way 'round it goes sometimes), I particularly enjoyed the comme...moreI have something of a weakness for medieval settings, so I was predisposed to enjoy this, even before I started reading, and it was the first book by this author I've read (date of this review not withstanding--this was a re-read, and this time around I Took Notes!) Having a reasonable background in the history of the way Western religion changed throughout the Dark and Middle Ages (or Middle and Dark Ages? I forget which way 'round it goes sometimes), I particularly enjoyed the commentary relating to the Church, particularly in regards to William's Lord Robert's brother Stephen, who aims for an archbishopric when *his* king, Young Henry, ascends to the throne. I may need to poke my nose back round a few history books and refamiliarize myself with the politics of the time. One standout jibe: "Too much risk and not enough gain. Only a churchman would see the world in such mercenary terms." (Robert, speaking of his brother Stephen's unwillingness to join him on Crusade.) In the beginning of the story, William seems to have a lot of self-doubt; his impulsiveness leads him to speak out-of-turn and to overreact to jibes from fellow squires. His desire to please and to gain his spurs leads him to challenge the visiting Frenchmen to a knife fight at dinner their first night there. (He does manage to win, but almost more by luck than by skill, I thought.) He overhears a plan to murder someone, and thinking the target is his lord, and being unable to determine the conspirators, he keeps silent and decides to figure it out and protect his lord all on his lonesome--I can understand his motivation; it would surely earn him his spurs if he doesn't lose his life in the process. And honestly, how easy would it be to go to someone and say "I overheard some people; they're planning on killing someone and I heard your name, but I don't know who is planning it, and to be perfectly honest, I don't know for absolutely sure that it's you they plan to kill."? I would want more certain information myself. Also, William is being slowly "courted" by Lord Robert at this time; as Robert has spent the last several years while on Crusade learning about the "Greek ways of Love" in Constantinople and Damascus. William is aware that he prefers boy-bits to girl-bits, but struggles some against the church strictures against sinning in this way. Making it even more difficult, he wants to please his lord (in more ways than just one!) but Robert is trying to not take advantage of hero-worship combined with loyalty, and doesn't want to force anything due to the inequity of the Lord/squire dynamic. Cue Big Dramatic Hunt Scene in which William saves a life and kills a boar, and learns valuable lessons about human frailty. After which he is lauded, and eventually led to the chapel to meditate on his vows as a knight. He considers his worthiness to take those vows, and muses that the knightly virtues (courage, loyalty, obedience, faith) are not inborn qualities, but rather something that you must strive for, and that to live up to them you must always be aware of how fleeting they can be in moments of emotional stress. Not only that, but you cannot know till you're in the middle of one of those moments whether you'll be able to uphold those virtues. Next comes big Dubbing of the Knight ceremony (for some reason, that word--dubbing--always makes me think of gum. Completely random, but there you are.) after which, the visiting viscomte offers him a place in his retinue. William is encouraged by Robert to spend the night in his (Robert's) bed where Robert finally meets him as an equal and they both get their jollies. I enjoyed this story a lot, but I think I would have liked it better if it were longer. On my reader, it came in at around 80 pages, with 7 pages alloted to cover, author bios, etc. I enjoyed the characters but didn't wholly connect with any of them in the way I would have liked to. I came close with William a couple of times, but I don't feel any of them had quite enough room to really spread their personalities. Ulric, in particular, I think could have been more well-developed, so that I could have felt the same sense of betrayal William did. And I still feel there's a distinct inequality between William and Robert. All in all, though, I'm really looking forward to the upcoming sequel.

Scorpion by Aleksandr Voinov

The blurb:

You learn your wisest lessons from your enemies. Assuming, of course, you survive the encounter. Kendras is a casualty of war: injured, penniless, and quite possibly the last surviving member of the only family he's ever known—the elite fighting force known as the Scorpions. When a steel-eyed stranger offers him medicine and shelter in exchange for submission and a secret task, Kendras has no choice but to accept. He is a Scorpion; he’ll do whatever it takes to survive.

But his true goal is to rebuild the Scorpions. Neither Steel’s possessive nature nor Kendras’s shattered foot can keep him from finding the last of his brothers... or the mysterious leader of the Scorpions, a man who held Kendras’s heart long before Steel tried to take it for himself. The goal is simple, the situation anything but. To rescue his leader and escape from Steel for good, Kendras must fight through a morass of politics and intrigue, where enemies are allies and even allies have hidden agendas.



This is my review from Goodreads:

"I was really resentful of things that took me away from this book when I was reading--little things like food, sleep, children...The world that was built here feels like it could easily lend itself to many more stories; its history seems rich enough, certainly, as does its present. And there are several support characters and relationships I'd love to know more about (although I suppose the M/F ones are out of the question? *sigh*)

I will admit, I have a thing for a (well-done) Sekrit Baby, and I really really want Kendras's personal history (whatever led up to his becoming an orphaned street-urchin) to be something nice and dramatic (prophecies are always fun, too...) And I remain intrigued by the dichotomy of Kendras's emotions as directed toward his officer and the anonymity of that officer through a good portion of the book; as well as the differing reactions he has to being saved from certain death by the officer as a boy, and being saved from whatever fate might have befallen him after his battlefield injury by Steel.

I would have liked to see more of the hinted-at history between Andrastes (and apparently a number of Dalmanye kings) and Steel. However, I admit that, as tightly-written as the story was, that probably would have been too much. I would love to see the high priest get what's coming to him.

(Final note: Can I just say thank you for not alerting my inner English teacher? No misused homophones, no horrible glaring grammatical issues, no random weird italics/punctuation--SO refreshing!!)

Loved loved *loved* it!"

And I have no quibbles with what I wrote there, but there are a few things I'd like to get into a bit more in depth now.  And I'm gonna have to figure out how to hide it... (Spoilers, no doubt, ahoy!)

a few words I like...

(obviously, an incomplete list. Hopefully something I'll remember to add to...)

arcade
aerie
aventurine
archipalego
artistry
avuncular
absolve
obfuscate
eradicate
ethereal
tumescent
translucent
turgid
pellucid
flutter
undulate
soar
torrential
obelisk
septuagenarian
liquidity
viscous
onomatopoeia
derelict
hovel
unravel
diorama
diaspore
dismal
riposte