The Kronos Condition by Emily Devenport
Sally and her friends are gifted with powers in this 1997 novel. But their mentors are evil. This was densely plotted and fairly enjoyable.
~
Eggheads by Emily Devenport
An searches for the long vanished race known as the Earlies. To decipher the glyphs they left behind is the ultimate prize. There are setbacks, betrayals, body horror, aliens, oppression and destiny in this excellent 1996 novel.
~
Larissa by Emily Devenport
The sequel to ‘Shade’ reveals more about the Q’rin, Lyrri and the enigmatic Aesopians. This 1993 novel is excellent.
~
Godheads by Emily Devenport
This 1998 novel is the sequel to ‘Eggheads’. An has become a legend and transformed the galaxy. Edna must find herself and her place in it. Excellent.
~
Belarus by Lee Hogan
A rich man recreates Imperial Russia on the colony world Belarus with himself as Tsar. He overlooks the microwars in the Republic and the orbiting derelicts from an ancient civilization. Enemies lurk deep beneath the surface of the planet and darkness is coming. This 2002 novel from Emily Devenport using a pen-name is wonderful.
Best Line:
“Something is in there. Something hiding. Something dreadful.”
~
Enemies by Lee Hogan
This 2003 novel is the sequel to ‘Belarus’. It is set 1000 years later and the planet has regressed to a pre-technological age due to the war. The Republic has fallen but the Union has arisen in its place and it is seeking out lost colonies. Belarus has been ‘rediscovered’ but what does that mean for a woman named Serina? Gripping.
~
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
This is a disturbing tale about cruel amoral college kids who are into snobby elitism, pompous intellectualism and murder. Their ’inspirational’ teacher is nothing of the sort and this was complex, dark and good.
~
To The High Redoubt by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
From the author of the Saint-Germain series and ‘A Mortal Glamour’ comes this clichéd fantasy mush. A shamed Knight and a magic woman tramp around the ‘east’ talking and talking and talking. This was dumb, boring and had an excessive amount of italics.
Best Lines:
“Grain food.”
“Fruit food.”
~
Night School: Resistance by C.J Daugherty
The 4th in the series is dull, boring and plodding. Allie is torn between two equally boring boys in a triangle of doom. Nathaniel and his mysterious end game does vague stuff. More secrets and lies are uncovered and this book ends on a cliffhanger. This was daft, irritating, unconvincing, ropey and spirit sappingly derivative.
Best Line:
“I’m not setting anything on fire.”