What is Speculative Fiction?

When I think of Speculative Fiction, I think of science fiction and fantasy, and all the genres that fall under those umbrellas. Everything from paranormal romance to dystopias to cyberpunk. Things that don’t fall under the rules of our world. I’ve been asked about the fiction I write recently by a couple of different sources. The novel I’m working on right now is gothic fiction, but the novel I’m querying is epic fantasy. Both fall under speculative fiction, so I thought I’d try to define it; find out what it means to me and maybe what it means to others.

I like the definition I found from Southern New Hampshire University: “With subgenres like fantasy, science fiction, horror, alternate history and more, speculative fiction is an encompassing genre that freely explores possibility and impossibility alike.”

Pretty much what I thought, right?

My question then becomes: is all “fantasy, science fiction, horror, alternate history…” speculative fiction? After some searching on the internet (a very dangerous pastime), I saw that any alternate history, even one without fantastical elements, can be considered speculative. But not all historical fiction is not speculative. Not all science fiction or horror is speculative. All fantasy is, though. As I searched, I came across this simple, yet fantastic diagram by Annie Neugebauer.

Does it answer my question? Yes. I write speculative fiction. Generally speaking, I write fantasy, horror (gothic) and a little sci-fi. They all have some sort of element that is not bound to the rules of our world, whether or not those rules are explicitly stated. There has to be some sort of “world-building”, but not necessarily the epic fantasy, Lord of the Rings style. There should be an explanation (hopefully woven well into the story) about how the story’s world is different from the real world. The definition that Annie Neugebauer comes up with excludes science fiction and horror that doesn’t “speculate”. Basically, science fiction that is based on current technology isn’t speculative, and horror without any supernatural elements isn’t speculative.

This also means that speculative fiction can change over time, as technology and our understanding of the world changes. Genres have been changing for ages. New subgenres are added all the time, (some of which I plan on exploring in my Substack/newsletter – What is Gaslamp?)

Did you know there is a “MasterClass” article on speculative fiction? They call it a “super genre”, which I think is pretty accurate. They cite Margaret Atwood, J. R. R. Tolkien, William Shakespeare, and Euripides as speculative fiction writers.

A few speculative books I’ve enjoyed recently:

• The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy, by Megan Bannen
• Network Effect, by Marta Wells
• Under the Whispering Door, by T.J. Klune
• An Ember in the Ashes, by Sabaa Tahir
• Silver in the Wood, by Emily Tesh
• Wayward Son, by Rainbow Rowell
• Dragons Don’t Eat Meat, by Kim McDougall
• Legends & Lattes, by Travis Baldree

I could go on, but I won’t. Network Effect is very different from Under the Whispering Door, but they were both AMAZING. They were all great books, all with something speculative.

 I hope this helps anyone who was hoping to better understand Speculative Fiction. Do you write/read speculative fiction? Do you have any questions about it?

Resources:

https://www.snhu.edu/about-us/newsroom/liberal-arts/speculative-fiction 

https://annieneugebauer.com/2014/03/24/what-is-speculative-fiction/ 

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-speculative-fiction-defining-and-understanding-the-different-genres-of-speculative-fiction 

https://bookriot.com/what-is-speculative-fiction/ 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speculative_fiction 

My Evolving Affair With Romance Novels

Romance novels have taken over my to-be-read list! I thought I was still sticking to my old reading habits - diving into a fair mix of books. Some literary fiction, some genre. I've started dipping into poetry. But nothing has grabbed my attention lately like Romance. A quick look at recent reads from my Goodreads shelf shows how many of them have been romance.

I've also realized from this screenshot that
I've read a lot of graphic novels lately too.

About two years ago, I blogged about reading romances. I had become a fan of Melissa Foster and a few others. Their typical style: A couple meet. They're attracted to each other. They get together. Something happens to keep them apart. They work past it and live happily ever after. They are still fun reads.

There are two things that have been attracting me to my current choices in the Romance genre. The first is interracial romances. That's my life. My Hubby is white and his experiences with family and culture are different than mine. I'm not looking for romances that exactly mirror my relationship (frankly, there aren't really any that exist). I find any interracial romance interesting. From The Chai Factor, to The Kiss Quotient, to Duke by Default. (Another fun part of Duke by Default, is the American/Scottish dynamic added to the mix.) The other dynamic has been what also makes The Kiss Quotient and Duke by Default compelling. The female lead of The Kiss Quotient has high-functioning autism (Asperger's). Not only does she navigate love, parents, and cultural differences, but she learns to accept her own differences with someone who loves her exactly the way she is. In Duke by Default, the female lead is labeled as "flighty", "a party girl", and "unreliable." What she learns as an adult is that she has a form of ADHD. With this new knowledge, she learns how to better navigate her life. Those are the serious issues that I find reading about in these relationships fascinating.

The other thing that has been attracting me to Romances is the humour. I've been reading Romantic Comedies. Sometimes, you need a laugh. Man Hands is a good example. Even the title makes me laugh. The next book in the series is Man Card. That's enough to make me want to read it. There are definitely a lot of the same romantic tropes that you're going to find in any romance story, but the quirky situations had me laughing out loud. 

All these books are full of strong women. Most of them are over 30 and very relatable. They're working towards their dreams, being independent, fighting with family, coming together to support other women. They're people I would be friends with. The men too. They learn, grow, are kind, protective without smothering the woman in their life... or if they to do start smothering, they back off and admit they were wrong. They have their own issues, also relatable. Of course, they're also all super studly. 

So, this is me coming to accept the level of Romance in my reading life. Looking at that picture of 30 books, 12 of them fall easily into the Romance category. I always thought I read more Sci-Fi/Fantasy, but not in the last few months. Maybe it's just me looking for a laugh and a happy ending. 

Vacation Reads - Part 1

Summer was busy. There were parties, barbecues, kid-events, family gatherings, and girls and guys nights. It was hot, too rainy, then not rainy enough. Even though summer is technically June 21 to September 23, I always feel like summer doesn't really start until the last weekend in June when school is out. Then something happens, it's like the flick of a switch and suddenly it's fall on September 1 (or August 29 this year).

Like many summers before, there were a lot of long drives, including our family vacation. We visited beautiful Prince Edward Island for the third time. I highly recommend going. PEI is amazing. The people are beyond nice. Everything about the island makes me happy. I plan on continually going. We road-tripped it to PEI from Ontario and it was the beginning of my "summer reading". That involved a lot of Romance of one kind or another. Everything I read this summer was "fun", (except for Faefever's ending and a bunch of Stephen King short stories), and they left me with a smile on my face. I guess I just wanted happy reads in between all the busy days and nights. I picked out a few of the books to share.

Faefever

The ending. Just, whoa. What is going to happen to Mac? I'm very worried about her. I was really hoping that there was going to be a last minute something, but nope. This is probably one of the most major cliffhanger endings I have ever read. It's definitely an ending that comes from a book in the middle of a series. After Mac as the main character, I was left wondering if that would change. I think it's the kind of ending that keeps readers invested in the series.

Bridal Boot Camp

A short story from Meg Cabot. Bridal Boot Camp is essentially a prequel to her upcoming release, No Judgments. It was a cute, fun story, but more than anything, I want to know what happens when the storm hits. It came up in the "Just Added" section of my library's ebooks. An author I like, a readily available short story, a good, fun read, it was an easy selection. 

The Kiss Quotient

Even though I have been reading a lot of love-centred stories, I still like finding stories that are out of the ordinary. That brought me to The Kiss Quotient. Helen Hoang's debut novel is about a single woman finding love, like so many romances. What makes it different is who Stella is. Stella Lane has high-functioning autism/Asperger's. The story follows Stella as she navigates love and life with all her unique qualities. I couldn't put it down. I was a bit surprised at the "steam" level (as I've seen  romance writers/readers call it). The cover and synopsis did not fully describe how hot the book is. Stella and her "love-interest", Michael, were full, complete, complex characters. Michael had his own issues and journey to go on and was just as interesting. I think it's the best Romance I've read this year. It might be one of the best ever.

That's just three of the books I read. Part 2 will be here in [hopefully] a couple days.

Visions

I don't think I could have loved Kelley Armstrong's Visions more. Visions had everything I wanted. I love Olivia. She's just amazing. Her attitude, personality, acceptance, fight, she is a strong character who is taking charge of her destiny. It is Owl versus Raven, with one side telling her to stay close to Gabriel and the other saying stay close to Ricky. Olivia has no plans to give up either. With both relationships, she is going in with eyes open. She knows who Ricky is, at least as much as he knows about himself. She knows who Gabriel is and has accepted a while ago that she is not going to be the woman to "change" Gabriel Walsh. She is happy with their friendship, they both are, and they both don't want to ruin it.

There were so many revelations in Visions. I wondered how both Olivia and Gabriel were going to handle it. Olivia did a very normal, human thing, which I appreciated. I don't want to say sensible, because that sounds boring, but sometimes I really do appreciate when a character makes a sensible decision. Olivia's decision at the end led to something lovely, and then something heartbreaking. It was a fantastic ending for the second book in the Cainsville series. It had me reaching for Deceptions, wanting to make sure that I had it available for when I was ready to read it.

I'm going to need a bit of a break. I had a lot of emotions and Visions sucked up a lot of my time. I could barely put it down. I had to re-read the end, just so I wouldn't be done, so I could spend a little more time with Olivia and Gabriel. Ricky is nice and everything, but I'm all about Gabriel. When  his exterior cracks he's fun and funny. Olivia has managed to get passed it.

I'm a little worried about  the ex-fiancé though. James seems like he's going to be a problem. Olivia is finding out who she really is. She is making new friends and forming new relationships. James is trying to pull her back to who she was. That's just not going to happen. He doesn't seem like he's going to accept that. 

Visions was a complete, wonderful, intriguing story. It has also left me wondering what crazy thing is going to happen to Olivia next.

The Book Of Life

I can barely breathe for how much I loved The Book of Life. I'm suffering from a major book hangover and it is all Diana Bishop and Matthew Clairmont's fault. I just love them. I love Gallowglass, Jack, Sarah, Ysabeau, Father Hubbard, just everyone. Emily and Phillipe! I often talk about endings, something I really think is important, but the beginning. The first chapter is amazing and heartbreaking. You just want them to be able to hug, to touch the ones they love. I won't say anymore, because it might ruin the awesomeness.

I can't get over Diana's confrontation with Peter Knox. It's just amazing. It's perfect to the story. I just want to see it, bloody and crazy! That entire sequence, really leans this installment of All Souls towards the horror side. It was scary and tense, and when Diana was standing there with the arrow, I just wasn't sure what was going to happen next, which made it perfect. I loved the unpredictability.

Diana's confrontation with Satu too, was perfect. Satu just went one step too far. I'm with Diana, she did what she needed to do to protect her family. I wish she could have done more, though I think there's the possiblity for leaving it open in a future novel. (Yes, more novels, please.)

There are a lot of characters in the All Soulstrilogy. Did we need more? Yes, when the character was Janet. She was perfect, exactly what the story needed. I like what she represented. She gives Diana hope for the future. I loved her attitude too. Her all-knowingness, her sarcasm, her confidence. She was a perfect addition to the cast of characters.

Like the first two books, I really liked the history talked about (lived?) in The Book of Life. It wasn't nearly as much as in Shadow of Night and possibly less than in A Discovery of Witches, but Diana (and Deborah Harkness) is a historian, so history just has to come up. I appreaciated that we came out of the Elizabethan age though and were talking about Phillipe's past and World War II. The historical aspects of these novels are a big part of the appeal for me.

The Book of Life is simply amazing. Just wonderful. I don't know what could be made better. Honestly, this might be one of my favourite books now, definitely a favourite series. It has a little bit of everything. It's literary, historical, romantic, with vampires, witches and a splash of demons. I could gush about every little thing in this novel, but I don't want to give anything away. What I think is that more people need to read this novel. I can't wait to read what's next (another book about Diana and Matthew) from Deborah Harkness.

Shadow of Night

I love the All Souls series so much. I don't know what it is about it. It's historical, paranormal, romantic, literary and mature. There's family, love, loss, betrayal and magic. Shadow of Night was everything I wanted in Deborah Harkness's sequel to A Discovery of Witches. It might even be better. There was an amazing flow to the story, it took its time, but had a sense of urgency.

I loved the introduction of the new cast of characters. I loved Gallowglass. I loved Annie and Jack. I really enjoyed the interpretation of historical characters. Elizabeth I was fantastic. Christopher Marlowe was nuts. I wonder if they're going to talk about what happened to them in the next book.

The next book! I can't wait to read Book of Life. Shadow of Night was a perfect second book. Yes, it left me with questions about the overall story that started with A Discovery of Witches, but the story of just this novel completed nicely. Matthew and Diana arrived, then they left. There wasn't a crazy cliffhanger ending, which I appreciate. There's so much left to discover though.

This story had me hooked from the beginning. Every time I opened it up, I read for longer than I intended. Shadow of Night had me up late every night. I just had to know what happened. I'm still itching to know. I could totally stop what I'm doing to dig into the next book right now. I'm in for a serious book hangover. But I should have a break between books, because I can't keep ignoring life for Diana and Matthew's story.

A Discovery Of Witches

Reading A Discovery of Witches was an obsession. It was desperately romantic, historic, literary and full of magic. Deborah Harkness blends paranormal, romance and historical fiction into one amazing novel. I don't know if I can express how much I loved this book. It is not a short novel, well over 500 pages of history and intensity. Harkness is a historian, like Diana, the main character. She also loves wine (and had a wine blog), this trait comes out in Diana's love interest, Matthew. Harkness's love of both history and wine permeates the novel, but it is seamless, as they are easily taken as traits belonging to Diana and Matthew. Harkness makes the pages of alchemical manuscripts come alive through Diana's descriptions of them. Matthew adds depth to history with his "recollections". The way she writes about history is with love. It makes me want to read one of her historical books, maybe The Jewel House: Elizabethan London and the Scientific Revolution? That's how wonderful I am left feeling after a Discovery of Witches, I will read anything Deborah Harkness writes at this point.

I adored every character. Diana and Matthew were brilliant. It just wasn't there relationship that was wonderful, it was how they existed apart from each other before coming together.  They had careers, pasts, goals for the future. I loved Diana's need to understand the past and Matthew's scientific inquiry. For a minute there, early on in the story, when Matthew is watching Diana sleep, I wondered if I'd end up with grown up Bella and Edward, but thankfully nope. Still, guys, it was creepy. Harkness seemed to "address" the creep factor, showing that it was wrong within the story, not some romantic gesture.

I loved Marcus, Matthew's vampire son. He was young and full of energy. I loved his context within Matthew's family. I loved Matthew's family. Diana's family, just wonderful.

I enjoyed the relationships that developed between the witches, vampires and demons in the house. Marcus and Em seemed to have a special connection. Marcus and Nathaniel too. I wonder if they'll get up to trouble in one of the future books. Sarah and Matthew also developed some kind of respect and understanding. The growth of Diana and Ysabeau's relationship was interesting. I am excited to see them all under one roof.

I loved all the places they went too. Oxford, a castle in France, a small town in New York. They were each so different from each other, but Harkness made them all feel real.

I'm not going to be satisfied until I get my hands on Shadow of Night and see what Harkness has in store for her star-crossed lovers.

Overbite

Overbite was a race to the finish. I just had to know what was happening. I did not expect the twist with Father Henrique and his guards. It was a nice surprise in a story where my main focus was finding out who Meena was going to end up with. I just needed to know. Lucien? Alaric? The end, it was great. I would have liked a little more romance, especially at the end, especially with Insatiable as a precedent, but I still enjoyed Overbite.

I appreciated again that though Meena was in love with a vampire, she didn't get all swoony every time he was around. She valued her friends, her family and her job. She didn't want to be turned, she wanted to live. Meena wasn't desperate to be with any man. She desired one (or two), but she that wasn't the focus of her life (though it was a big part of the novel). She wanted to save people. She wanted to figure out the mystery. 

Acording to Goodreads, Meg Cabot is working on a third Insatiable book. They cite Cabot's website, but when I look, I see no mention of it. I hope it's true though. I want to read it. I want to read more of Cabot's books. Overbite, was an entertaining read and I looked forward to more fun stories.

Undead and Underwater

Undead and Underwater is a collection of three novellas by MaryJanice Davidson.  In it, Davidson has included a crossover story with Queen Betsy and Fred the Mermaid, a grown-up Lara Wyndham, and a character I've never read about before, Hailey Derry.  While I love Queen Betsy and the Undead books, I've been interested in reading something different by Davidson and more about the world of the Wyndham werewolves and Fred the Mermaid.

Super, Girl

Hailey is great (aka It Girl - a name she hates) and has an unusual power. She doesn't wear a cape or have a crafted persona. She just does what's right, what needs to be done.  I love where Hailey works; her office has its own personality. If Davidson ever writes more about Hailey, I feel like she'll need to flush out that company and its CEO a little more. Even with the unanswered questions, I really enjoyed the story.  I felt like we were getting a peak into Hailey's life. I appreciated that Hailey wasn't just a copy of Betsy.  She talked "a mile a minute", but before Linus, she felt like she had no one to talk to.  Unlike Betsy, from the beginning, she puts others first. She has no life except for her Human Resources job and saving people.  She owns her gifts.  She makes excuses at work, but the end is no surprise.  I wish I could know more about Hailey's minions, who love her and want her to be happy.  For a novella, it was good, with just enough mystery that will make readers want more.

Undead and Underwater

Will there be more Betsy and Fred crossover? Because I think I would enjoy that. Betsy has changed the way Fred thinks about the world. With both of these characters, having them change in any way affects how they deal with the problems that come up in their stories. It is Betsy that has kept me reading the Undead series and who influenced me to pick up a trilogy about mermaids. I think Fred is seeing Betsy the way her friends and other strangers don't, maybe because of her unique perspective.

In Undead and Underwater, Betsy and Fred accidentally come together because they were asked to help the same person. At first Fred can't stand Betsy, which is understandable for anyone who's read any of the Undead books, but she sees the way that Betsy is willing to help Madeline, a human and someone she doesn't know. Fred reluctantly gets to know Betsy. You can feel a lot of different things towards the reluctant vampire Queen, she's ditzy but likable, self-centered but fierce. Betsy is often perfectly put together, but in a flash, she can also be covered with someone else's blood. Fred knows that Betsy is someone she never wants to piss off and never wants to lose track of. Those final lines of the Undead and Underwater novella make me think that Fred and Betsy will come together again. There are Undead novels I have yet to read and one or two more yet to be published and I am excited to see what Davidson has in store for them.

Incomer

I really enjoyed Incomer it might be my favorite of the three stories. Incomer is about Lara the daughter of Michael Wyndham and new Pack leader. The story takes place in near the future, when Lara assumes leadership of the Pack. Incomer is about her first day, her first challenge and becoming an adult. I loved her brother, Sean and I loved Jack. It was nice to know what happened to Derik and Sara after Derik's Bane. I appreciate that there wasn't the typical werewolf fight to the death.  Laura, after taking on her father's mantle, is also continuing Michael's new tradition of excepting change. When Lara addresses the challenge in an unusual way, the result is unexpected.  I appreciate the unexpected, especially when using familiar stories, like werewolf fight to the death or challenge for leadership.

I also really liked Davidson's vision of technology in the future.  It's only about 20 years, but foldable iPads sound awesome, though even if our homes get wired to the Cloud, I think some of the young folk will know what iPhones are, because their parents had one. I loved the glimpses of future Queen Betsy and future Fred.  They're the same, but older. They might give Lara a hard time, but they are loyal and seem to have genuine concern for her well-being.  Betsy seems to be at home, still with Sinclair, living life, trying not to turn evil.  Fred is in the Caspian Sea, the seat of power for the Undersea Folk, with kids. How did she end up in the Caspian Sea when she loved Boston?  I think more than Betsy, I have questions about Fred.

I enjoyed getting to be in the Pack and experiencing it through their perspective.  There have only been two Wyndam Werewolves novels, the rest have been short stories, most of which I don't think I've read.  Neither of the novels took place in Cape Cod, where the Wyndhams live.  What is it like there, what has Michael Wyndham had to deal with? What were his children like as teenagers?  How did humans fit into their world?  What was the fallout after Queen Betsy's visit?  Incomer gave me some of that, some of what I've been wanting to read.  But I'd like more.

In the end...

It was a great threesome of novellas.  I enjoyed each story, each character accepting their positions of power, their responsibilities.  It has reminded me how much I enjoy Davidson's writing and I look forward to the next book of hers I pluck off the shelf.

Insatiable

I thought I did not want to read anymore vampire books. I did, however, want to read something by Meg Cabot, who I kept hearing all kinds of wonderful things about.  I see her books everywhere, but for some reason, had never read one.  Then there was that sad thing that happened to a local bookstore.  I found one of her books there and I had to have it.  I knew it was a vampire book when I bought it.  Just look at the cover, there's a stake on it. Insatiable is a vampire book that makes fun of other vampire books though. The main character, Meena, hates vampires in fiction.  She makes fun of the girls that get all swoony, but guess what happens to her? Also, Meena...Meena Harper! Has anyone read Dracula or seen the movie?  Mina Harker is the name of the leading lady in Bram Stoker's classic. Her husband is John Harker.... Insatiable also has a Jon Harper.  Meena's brother. When I realized this, I had a tiny "eww" moment.  But I got over it. Insatiable has a few of the vampire "conventions", but the book is so entertaining

Meena, oh Meena.  She's not just an ordinary girl, or even a girl.  She's a twenty-something woman with a career.  She can also predict people's deaths. Meena had me reading the book, the way that she behaved like a twenty-something, the way she accepted her gift, that she tried, but didn't want people to think she was crazy.  Meena, especially in the end, did not do what was expected.  Lucien, the prince of darkness, he was kind of typical, but when he is perceived by Meena, it makes him different.  I appreciated a lot of the characters.  Alaric did have an annoying side though.  I liked that he wasn't a talker, he was all about business, but he was also very narrow-minded. He learned something and changed. The Señor Sticky thing though, seemed a little out of place for a guy who liked the finer things.

I was hooked by Insatiable.  I love that it is the name of a soap opera series.  The vampires story-line thing was so funny.  I like that people text in this book too.  I was out all night, better text my brother and my friend.  I just haven't noticed it a lot with stories lately, the use of modern technology beyond email.

I am also hooked on Meg Cabot now.  I've already sought out the sequel to Insatiable, Overbite.  She has written so many books though, I feel like it might be my desire to read all of Stephen King's books, it'll either take forever or never happen.  I'll be keeping her in mind though, whenever I head out to a bookstore.

Fish Out Of Water

I couldn't wait to finish the final book in MaryJanice Davidson's Fred the Mermaid trilogy.  Fish Out Of Water was everything I wanted it to be.  I loved the ending.  Finally!  An ending I was satisfied with.  It wasn't a super happily-ever-after type ending, which I like, but happy enough. Some of the story was a bit predictable, but it was so entertaining, that it doesn't matter.  I wouldn't have expected anything else.

I read the first two books, Sleeping With The Fishes and Swimming Without A Net in the last couple weeks.  I've already talked about how I enjoy the grumpy mermaid and how much I like Davidson's writing.  So here are a few quick, but hopefully not spoilery things I liked about Fish Out Of Water.

- Fred's Dad. Sad, but good... and violent.

- Bad behaviour can make even the most beautiful person ugly.

- Be yourself, not who others want you to be, you'll be happier that way.

- Thomas always saw the real Fred.

- I still love Tennian.

Fish Out Of Water ended the series so well.... but wait!  Here's the main reason I picked up this trilogy in the first place.  The next book I plan on reading in Davidson's Undead series has a crossover story with Fred!  Undead and Underwater is on my to-read list.  I'm glad that Fish Out Of Water isn't the last I'm going to see of Fred.

Sleeping With The Fishes

With a title like Sleeping With The Fishes, you wonder if the mob is going to be involved.  You'll have to read the book to find out....

I loved Fred. The tone of the writing very much reminded me of MaryJanice Davidson's Undead series, but Fred is not Betsy. Fred doesn't care about clothes or men. Fred is a scientist, a marine biologist. She is tough, assertive, and blunt. There are a lot of similarities between her and Betsy too.  She is self-centred. She's also very tall. Fred lacks compassion; it's a decision she has to make rather than instinct. I like that she's not a damsel. She does not fall all over herself for the water fellow or the handsome prince. 

I like that in the novel, the issue of how we "bipeds" treat the environment is the centre of their investigation. People dump into the water, they are more concerned with money. The novel makes it seem as though there are only a few people like Thomas who really care. I hope that's not true. I like that a fun, mermaid novel has a bit of a serious thread running through it. 

 

I read recently that Davidson will only be writing two more Undead books and then the series will be over.  It's a sad thought for me, since I've been reading about Queen Betsy for years and years.  It's nice to know that when I want something light and fun to read, Davidson will provide with one of her other books.

 

So, my copy of Sleeping With The Fishes is part of an omnibus with all three Fred the Mermaid books.  Do I read all three since they're in the same "book"? Or do I put other novels in between series books, like I usually do?  I think the latter, but maybe not.  Let's see what I do when I take a bit of time to read tonight.

Undead and Unstable

Undead and Unstable is the 11th book in MaryJanice Davidson's Undead series. Undead and Unstable ends Davidson's series within a series. Queen Betsy Taylor "fixes" some of the issues she had with the timeline. The ongoing battle with Laura's mother is over. The major storyline for the last few books gets tied up. That doesn't mean that it's all over. There have been three more since this one was published. I'm guessing that they will deal with Laura's reaction to what Betsy has done. Also, what is up with Jessica's pregnancy? What will happen to Marc? During the books, there will probably be more fights between Betsy and Sinclair, but they always make up. Also, there are merfolk in the next book.

Though I enjoyed Undead and Unstable, I found the middle chunk of the book to be a lot of talking and not a lot of action. It's times like this I wonder if the author has some kind of minimum word count to reach. I like that Betsy is ditzy, but eventually works it out. I like her babbling. I even like her obsession with shoes. But I think the novel could have easily been shorter. Even with the extra words, I still enjoyed the story. I like Queen Betsy and her "minions". Davidson's books are fun and a great distraction from life. I'm excited to read those three books I don't own yet.

Wolf At The Door

Wolf At The Door is MaryJanice Davidson's first Wyndham Werewolves novel since Derik's Bane.  All other Wyndham Werewolves stories have been short stories or novellas. I've read some of the stories, when they were in Davidson's own collections, but not in collections that have multiple authors, so I haven't read all the "background" info. Honestly, you don't need the Werewolf info, though it might be entertaining. The more important information is from the Undead series. Wolf at the Door is a crossover book that features Betsy Taylor, queen of the vampires.

I really enjoyed seeing Betsy from an outsider's perspective. When Rachel and Edward meet Betsy and the gang for the first time, they are nothing like the couple expected. The smoothies and shoes are enough to confuse anyone. Add in the pregnant human and the cop, it all becomes a little unbelievable.   Everyone expects Betsy to be some kind of dark, evil she-demon and she's just not.

Okay, enough about the vampires, let's talk about werewolves.  Specifically, female werewolves who don't find their "mate" in their twenties.  This is the second Wyndham Werewolves story I've read that has a super hot werewolf woman down on herself. Listen lady wolves, maybe not everyone finds the right person right away. It's okay. There are hundreds of thousands of werewolves out there, and billions of human men.  One of them will be right for you.  Also, who needs a man?  Rachel was getting along great.  Edward was just a bonus to her Minnesota trip.  Rachel was a great character.  She was confident and intelligent.  Edward was an adorable geek.  He was even more down on himself than Rachel.  He seemed like the kind of geek I'd love to talk to.  I smiled at all the super geeky references that Edward made throughout the story; they gave the novel a little something extra that appealed to me.

Wolf at the Door could maybe be read on it's own, but I don't recommend it.  I think a reader needs to have a little background on Queen Betsy, though not necessarily on any of the Pack.  Derik, from Derik's Bane is only mentioned once in passing, so reading the last Wyndam Werewolves novel is perhaps unnecessary. Davidson gave me everything I wanted from Wolf at the Door.  It was light, fun and entertaining.

Undead and Undermined

***Spoilers if you haven't read the previous nine books - though I'll try to be vague.***

Though I want to throw all kinds of love at the book, typing the the title of the post has me thinking... How is Betsy undermined in Undead and Undermined? By Laura?  Certainly not by Sinclair or Tina (not since the beginning of the series.)  Maybe by Marc?  By Garrett? Okay, maybe now I get the undermined. Sometimes it helps to see my thoughts in writing.

I'm really enjoying the way that the Undead series is going.  I know there are a lot of people who are not, but I think they're in the minority. If Betsy stayed the same ditz she was in Undead and Unwed the series would get stale.  Betsy is growing.  She's learning more about herself and what she's capable of. Asking for the shoes, the final confrontation with the Marc-Thing, her realization at the end about Laura, they are not the thoughts of Betsy in Undead and Unwed or even Betsy in Undead and Uneasy.  I was started to get annoyed with Betsy's behaviour too, how could she remain the same airhead for so long? That's probably why there is such a big gap between me reading book 7 and book 8. I know not everyone feels this way, but I'm glad MaryJanice Davidson is allowing Betsy to change. Betsy (and Davidson) still loves shoes, but I think Betsy is finally taking being the vampire queen seriously.

Undead and Unfinished

Half the time, I love time travel stories; half the time I hate them.* Going back into the past or forward into the future can be very revealing. You can learn more about a character's motives and personality.  We certainly learned a lot about Tina's loyalty and Sinclair's persistence with Betsy in Undead and Unfinished. When MaryJanice Davidson first wrote Undead and Unwed, she probably didn't think nine books later she would write a time travel story to explain more about Sinclair and Tina.  I wonder if nine books ago, Davidson knew where the Book of the Dead had come from or if time travel inspired her.  The glimpse into the future was very intriguing. One thousand years is a long time and clearly a lot can happen. I wonder if Davidson is planning on more time travel. I know that Book 10, Undead and Underminded is related to Betsy and Laura's time travelling escapade, but will there be more messing about the time line?

Here's where I'm a little more sketchy when it comes to time traveling in Undead and Unfinished.  It wasn't consistent.  This may get vaguely spoilery, so be warned...  Betsy and Laura go to several different times periods in which they are directly affecting Betsy's timeline (and Laura's indirectly, as she is Betsy's sister).  In three of these ventures into the past, Betsy needed to be there.  If she wasn't, things wouldn't have worked out the way they were supposed to, she was there, because she was always there; it was predetermined.  In one instance, however, Betsy goes back to a time when she merely regrets her actions.  She stops herself from doing something bad, which is great, but has surprising consequences when she returns to the present.  Her return home is part, "Thank goodness we can tell you the truth: we met you in the past." and "How did that happen?/This is different."  I don't mind that Betsy changed her past in itself, what I'm not a hundred percent happy with is that there was one trip different from the others.  I suppose that when she went into the future, it confirmed that events were not fixed and things could be changed... but I don't know.  I was happy with the result to the story, at least.

The end of the book, the epilogue, is really what made the story for me. I really enjoyed the entire novel, but those last pages, bam! So good. Very unexpected. I don't think I can wait very long before I read Book 10. 

*Examples...

Hate: Due to time travel, the last season of Fringe is not remembered by any of the characters. So frustrating. 

Love: The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells, time travel used as a social commentary in the class system of Wells's era.

Undead and Unwelcome

Undead and Unwelcome is the 8th book in MaryJanice Davidson's Undead series.  If there are SPOILERS for the first 7 books, it can't be helped.

I'm glad that I've continued with the very light Undead books. Undead and Unwelcome was such an easy and entertaining read. It's just what I've been needing lately. I have to admit, I was worried in the beginning. The first fifty pages in and I was a little miffed at Betsy.  Normally, I enjoy her sarcastic, snarky, I-don't-care attitude, but not right then. Her friend was dead.  They were discussing the funeral.  I understand that she was noticing some weird paranormal phenomena at the same time, but multi-task.  At least pretend to pay attention.  She's in the home of the werewolf king, I'd like to think that she'd know to show a bit more respect.  Maybe her bad behaviour is getting worse with age.  I was hoping that it didn't get worse, because I could only handle so much of this attitude.  It did not get worse, Becky became better and I think learned a thing or two from Michael Wyndham about being a leader.

I got exactly what I wanted from the funeral scene. Betsy did what I was imagining and hoping she would do. Antonia deserved to be mourned by people who actually cared about her and wanted to see her happy. Betsy showed them the truth, even at risk to her own safety.  She showed them again at the Council.  It was great to get these real, raw emotions out of her.

"Why can't we all just get along."  Seriously Davidson, I love these books. But not only is that line eye-roll inducing, if a twenty-year-old read that, I'm not sure they would understand the reference. 

Marc's journal was a fantastic addition. The Undead series is told in first person, from Betsy's point of view, but Davidson changed things up. Marc wrote a diary. From this diary do we get to see what Laura was up to while her sister was away. That young lady is super crazy and in some serious denial. I'm wondering where Davidson is going to take this. Is Laura going to swing for her sister or her mother? And what will happen to the baby?

As much as I have questions, Undead and Unwecome does pretty well as a story on it's own. It is the middle book in what Davidson calls her "trilogy within a series," but for someone who read Undead and Unworthy a while a go, I didn't feel I was missing anything. There was a bit of catch up at the beginning of the book, which was nice, but what mattered immediately was the story taking place in this novel. It's something I appreciate from books in series. 

I really enjoyed the 8th Undead book and I'm glad I have the 9th close at hand.

Dead Over Heels

I decided to continue reading MaryJanice Davidson's Undead series; I've been wanting lighter fair recently. Dead Over Heels is another collection of novellas.  If I had read things in the right order (oops!), I wouldn't have been reading two collections back to back.  Oh well, I enjoyed it. Again, I'll be commenting as I read each story.

Undead and Wed

Undead and Wed is the story of Queen Betsy's honeymoon. It's also a great play on the title of Davidson's first Undead book, Undead and Unwed.  You know what you probably DON'T want on your honeymoon?  You're friend tagging along.  Not just your friend, but your friend and her boyfriend who hates you (and all vampire kind).  It's not really what I expected from the story of Betsy's honeymoon.

Unlike the first story in her last collection, though their was some sex, it wasn't all sexed up.  There was a real story.  There was a plot and a mystery to solve. I really enjoyed the story, the characters.  It's what I was looking for in the last collection. Undead and Wed reminded me why I started following Betsy in the first place.

Survivor

Survivor is a mermaid tale.  It takes place after the second Fred the Mermaid book.  I've never read this series of Davidson's, but now I think I want to.  This story doesn't involve Fred, but more reflects the results of her actions.  Survivor is about Ree and Con, a mermaid and a human man.  I really enjoyed them.  They were in a situation that I have not seen with Davidson's vampire and werewolf characters.  If a vampire was in Con's situation, he probably would have died no matter what Ree did.  What Survivor did more than anything was make me interested in Davidson's Mermaid world.  It is different from the Undead world.  I want to know what led Ree to the point where she made the decision to help Con.

I've also noticed that Davidson is a fan of the antagonistic love/hate relationships.  Her fictional couples bicker a lot.  Some more than others, but there's always some kind of argument happening.  Do couples in real life bicker/argue as much as her characters?  Sometimes, it's friendly couple bantering, oftentimes it's real arguments.  It's making me think, which if a paranormal romance story can make me think, I guess it's a good one.

Speed Dating, Werewolf Style; Or Ow, I Think You Broke The Bone

Werewolves are weird. Mating is a weird werewolf compulsion. Cain has to find a mate before her thirtieth birthday or... what? She'll be shunned? Go crazy? Drive Saul crazy? What? It's not a male/female thing either. They're all crazy about mating/marrying. Bur maybe that's how Davidson likes them. 

I thought for a minute that my assessment after reading Survivor was wrong.  For half the story, the couple were being so nice to each other.  There were kind words and meals shared. It was really sweet.  Then Blam! Antique end tables are being thrown across the room. I have come to the conclusion that Davidson writes antagonistic couples. But that's cool. I still really enjoyed this story. I can't really say much more about it without giving the plot away. 

In Conclusion...

I really enjoyed Dead Over Heels, though there were only dead people in the first story. It was a fun collection. I definitely liked it better than Dead And Loving It, I think because there was more plot in the novellas. There was character development, which made me invested in their outcome. Though I was quite happy with Undead and Wed, I think Survivor was my favourite out of the three. I might end up reading Fred the Mermaid one day. Dead Over Heels is a must for any Davidson fan. I'm glad I decided to read all these entertaining stories.