Highlights and Lowlights - April 2026

Books are rated using a very primitive rating system:
?+? are good, and more ?+? are better
?-? are not good, and more ?-? are worse


No brief descriptions this time - and probably not for the next one.
Very busy times.

But I?m happy to answer questions about anything here.

Highlight: This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me - Andrews [Maggie the Undying #1]

Lowlight: The Black Throne - Zelazny & Saberhagen

April 2026
( ++ 1/2 ) Iron and Magic - Andrews [Kate Daniels universe]
( + - ) The Masquerades of Spring - Aaronovitch [Rivers of London
novella - 2024]
( +++ ) The Apocalypse Door - MacDonald [Re-read Project #8]
AND The Confessions of Peter Crossman [Re-read Project #7]
( ++ ) The Village Library Demon-Hunting Society - Waggoner
( ++ 1/2 ) Dead Man?s Hand - James J Butcher [The Unorthodox Chronicles #1]
( ++ 1/2 - ) Strange New World - Shaw [Dr Greta Helsing #4]
( + - - ) The Black Throne - Zelazny & Saberhagen
( +++ 1/2) This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me - Andrews [Maggie the Undying #1]

Now Reading:
Long work - Bluebeard -Vonnegut
Collection - The Collected Stories of Arthur C Clarke [Segment #2,
stories 27-52 out of 104]

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.15
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On 06/06/2026 08:17, Tony Nance wrote:

Highlights and Lowlights - April 2026

No brief descriptions this time - and probably not for the next one.
Very busy times.

Your decrease in posting has been noticed.

Now Reading:
Long work - Bluebeard -Vonnegut

Many decades ago, Vonnegut was a favourite. I reread Bluebeard in 2013
and do not remember it at all so await your comments with interest.

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.15
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On 6/5/2026 3:17 PM, Tony Nance wrote:

Highlights and Lowlights - April 2026

Books are rated using a very primitive rating system:
?+? are good, and more ?+? are better
?-? are not good, and more ?-? are worse

No brief descriptions this time - and probably not for the next one.
Very busy times.

But I?m happy to answer questions about anything here.

Highlight:ÿ This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me - Andrews [Maggie the Undying #1]

Lowlight:ÿ The Black Throne - Zelazny & Saberhagen

April 2026
( ++ 1/2 ) Iron and Magic - Andrews [Kate Daniels universe]
( + - ) The Masquerades of Spring - Aaronovitch [Rivers of London
novella - 2024]
( +++ ) The Apocalypse Door - MacDonald [Re-read Project #8]
ÿAND The Confessions of Peter Crossmanÿ [Re-read Project #7]
( ++ ) The Village Library Demon-Hunting Society - Waggoner
( ++ 1/2 ) Dead Man?s Hand - James J Butcher [The Unorthodox Chronicles #1]
( ++ 1/2ÿ - ) Strange New World - Shaw [Dr Greta Helsing #4]
( + - - ) The Black Throne - Zelazny & Saberhagen
( +++ 1/2) This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me - Andrews [Maggie the Undying #1]

Now Reading:
Long work - Bluebeard -Vonnegut
Collection - The Collected Stories of Arthur C Clarke [Segment #2,
stories 27-52 out of 104]

I have been trying to decide whether or not to purchase "Iron and
Magic". You may have pushed me over. Oh heck, why not? The wife has
given up trying to regulate my book purchases. But she has put her foot
down on bookshelf #8 in our bedroom.
https://www.amazon.com/Iron-Magic-Covenant-Ilona-Andrews/dp/1641970405

I have been tempted to buy the trade paperback of Maggie the Undying,
due out next March. The story does look awesome even if it is a ripoff
of "Replay" and "All You Need Is Kill" by Hiroshi Sakurazaka.
https://www.amazon.com/This-Kingdom-Will-Maggie-Undying/dp/1250377285

Lynn



--- PyGate Linux v1.5.15
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

The Apocalypse Door is an interesting pick for a reread. MacDonald (Debra Doyle / James D. Macdonald) doesn't get talked about enough - that book does the urban fantasy / secret history thing before it became a genre unto itself, and it does it with actual Catholic theology rather than the vague "spiritual warfare" most books in that space default to.

Curious about the Iron and Magic rating. I've read most of the Kate Daniels universe but bounced off that one when it came out because the protagonist switch felt jarring. Worth pushing through?

The Zelazny/Saberhagen collaboration being the lowlight is unsurprising. Collaborations where both authors are strong tend to produce work that sounds like neither of them. Each one defers to the other's style and you end up in a no-man's-land.

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.15
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On 6/5/2026 3:17 PM, Tony Nance wrote:

Highlights and Lowlights - April 2026

Books are rated using a very primitive rating system:
?+? are good, and more ?+? are better
?-? are not good, and more ?-? are worse

No brief descriptions this time - and probably not for the next one.
Very busy times.

But I?m happy to answer questions about anything here.

Highlight:ÿ This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me - Andrews [Maggie the Undying #1]

Lowlight:ÿ The Black Throne - Zelazny & Saberhagen

April 2026
( ++ 1/2 ) Iron and Magic - Andrews [Kate Daniels universe]
( + - ) The Masquerades of Spring - Aaronovitch [Rivers of London
novella - 2024]
( +++ ) The Apocalypse Door - MacDonald [Re-read Project #8]
ÿAND The Confessions of Peter Crossmanÿ [Re-read Project #7]
( ++ ) The Village Library Demon-Hunting Society - Waggoner
( ++ 1/2 ) Dead Man?s Hand - James J Butcher [The Unorthodox Chronicles #1]
( ++ 1/2ÿ - ) Strange New World - Shaw [Dr Greta Helsing #4]
( + - - ) The Black Throne - Zelazny & Saberhagen
( +++ 1/2) This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me - Andrews [Maggie the Undying #1]

Now Reading:
Long work - Bluebeard -Vonnegut
Collection - The Collected Stories of Arthur C Clarke [Segment #2,
stories 27-52 out of 104]

BTW, IIRC (and that is in doubt nowadays), Tor won the bidding contest
for "Maggie The Undying" and gave them a $1.5 million ??? advance for
the first three ??? books in the series.

From a July 19, 2024 post I made here:

"Tor Books is thrilled to announce a legendary new acquisition from #1
New York Times bestselling author duo Ilona Andrews: an original epic
fantasy romance saga that blends elements of heroic fantasy, romantasy,
portal isekai, and D&D with the authors? signature blend of humor,
emotion, action, and imagination.

https://ilona-andrews.com/blog/maggie-the-undying-acquisition-press-release/

Some authors are still getting serious advances.

The teaser on their blog seems to be gone."

Lynn


--- PyGate Linux v1.5.15
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On 6/5/26 6:01 PM, Titus G wrote:

On 06/06/2026 08:17, Tony Nance wrote:

Highlights and Lowlights - April 2026

No brief descriptions this time - and probably not for the next one.
Very busy times.

Your decrease in posting has been noticed.

Now Reading:
Long work - Bluebeard -Vonnegut

Many decades ago, Vonnegut was a favourite. I reread Bluebeard in 2013
and do not remember it at all so await your comments with interest.

I will be sure to include them when I post the next summary, but I doubt they'll be particularly insightful. I did enjoy the book.

Tony

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.15
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On 6/5/26 7:15 PM, Lynn McGuire wrote:

On 6/5/2026 3:17 PM, Tony Nance wrote:

Highlights and Lowlights - April 2026

Books are rated using a very primitive rating system:
?+? are good, and more ?+? are better
?-? are not good, and more ?-? are worse


No brief descriptions this time - and probably not for the next one.
Very busy times.

But I?m happy to answer questions about anything here.

Highlight:ÿ This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me - Andrews [Maggie the
Undying #1]

Lowlight:ÿ The Black Throne - Zelazny & Saberhagen

April 2026
( ++ 1/2 ) Iron and Magic - Andrews [Kate Daniels universe]
( + - ) The Masquerades of Spring - Aaronovitch [Rivers of London
novella - 2024]
( +++ ) The Apocalypse Door - MacDonald [Re-read Project #8]
ÿÿAND The Confessions of Peter Crossmanÿ [Re-read Project #7]
( ++ ) The Village Library Demon-Hunting Society - Waggoner
( ++ 1/2 ) Dead Man?s Hand - James J Butcher [The Unorthodox
Chronicles #1]
( ++ 1/2ÿ - ) Strange New World - Shaw [Dr Greta Helsing #4]
( + - - ) The Black Throne - Zelazny & Saberhagen
( +++ 1/2) This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me - Andrews [Maggie the Undying
#1]

Now Reading:
Long work - Bluebeard -Vonnegut
Collection - The Collected Stories of Arthur C Clarke [Segment #2,
stories 27-52 out of 104]

I have been trying to decide whether or not to purchase "Iron and
Magic".

Exactly my situation! In fact, the only reason I read it at this time is
that I went with my wife to the library, and it was sitting there in the
A's, along with the Aaronovitch I mentioned.[1] It fits really well with
the rest of the Kate Daniels universe, and it was nice to be in that
universe again.

You may have pushed me over.ÿ Oh heck, why not?ÿ The wife has
given up trying to regulate my book purchases.ÿ But she has put her foot down on bookshelf #8 in our bedroom.
ÿÿ https://www.amazon.com/Iron-Magic-Covenant-Ilona-Andrews/dp/1641970405

I have been tempted to buy the trade paperback of Maggie the Undying,
due out next March.ÿ The story does look awesome even if it is a ripoff
of "Replay" and "All You Need Is Kill" by Hiroshi Sakurazaka.
ÿÿ https://www.amazon.com/This-Kingdom-Will-Maggie-Undying/dp/1250377285

I don't think "ripoff" is accurate at all, but maybe we use the terms differently. All three do indeed have a character that comes back to
life after dying, but that's about all they have in common. They all use
the idea very differently, and in very different contexts. And of
course, none of the three is the first work to use the idea, either.

Tony
[1] As is typical, my wife made her decisions far more quickly than I
did, so I never got beyond the first 2-3 shelves of A's on this trip.


--- PyGate Linux v1.5.15
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On 6/6/26 3:22 AM, Lev wrote:

The Apocalypse Door is an interesting pick for a reread. MacDonald (Debra Doyle / James D. Macdonald) doesn't get talked about enough - that book does the urban fantasy / secret history thing before it became a genre unto itself, and it does it with actual Catholic theology rather than the vague "spiritual warfare" most books in that space default to.

Another poster (Robert, I believe) had asked about it and it reminded me
how much I enjoyed them. Hence the reread.

Curious about the Iron and Magic rating. I've read most of the Kate Daniels universe but bounced off that one when it came out because the protagonist switch felt jarring. Worth pushing through?

It was for me, partly because there's been very little written in that universe recently, and it was nice to be back in it. As I mentioned in a previous post, I had pushed off reading it because of the protagonist
switch, but it fits well with the rest.

The Zelazny/Saberhagen collaboration being the lowlight is unsurprising. Collaborations where both authors are strong tend to produce work that sounds like neither of them. Each one defers to the other's style and you end up in a no-man's-land.

Zelazny is one of my favorites, but I find that his collaborations are a
very mixed bag. Of course, that sentiment probably applies to just about
every author.

Tony

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.15
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On 6/8/2026 11:23 AM, Tony Nance wrote:

On 6/5/26 7:15 PM, Lynn McGuire wrote:

On 6/5/2026 3:17 PM, Tony Nance wrote:

Highlights and Lowlights - April 2026

Books are rated using a very primitive rating system:
?+? are good, and more ?+? are better
?-? are not good, and more ?-? are worse


No brief descriptions this time - and probably not for the next one.
Very busy times.

But I?m happy to answer questions about anything here.

Highlight:ÿ This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me - Andrews [Maggie the
Undying #1]

Lowlight:ÿ The Black Throne - Zelazny & Saberhagen

April 2026
( ++ 1/2 ) Iron and Magic - Andrews [Kate Daniels universe]
( + - ) The Masquerades of Spring - Aaronovitch [Rivers of London
novella - 2024]
( +++ ) The Apocalypse Door - MacDonald [Re-read Project #8]
ÿÿAND The Confessions of Peter Crossmanÿ [Re-read Project #7]
( ++ ) The Village Library Demon-Hunting Society - Waggoner
( ++ 1/2 ) Dead Man?s Hand - James J Butcher [The Unorthodox
Chronicles #1]
( ++ 1/2ÿ - ) Strange New World - Shaw [Dr Greta Helsing #4]
( + - - ) The Black Throne - Zelazny & Saberhagen
( +++ 1/2) This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me - Andrews [Maggie the
Undying #1]

Now Reading:
Long work - Bluebeard -Vonnegut
Collection - The Collected Stories of Arthur C Clarke [Segment #2,
stories 27-52 out of 104]

I have been trying to decide whether or not to purchase "Iron and Magic".

Exactly my situation! In fact, the only reason I read it at this time is that I went with my wife to the library, and it was sitting there in the A's, along with the Aaronovitch I mentioned.[1] It fits really well with
the rest of the Kate Daniels universe, and it was nice to be in that universe again.

You may have pushed me over.ÿ Oh heck, why not?ÿ The wife has given up
trying to regulate my book purchases.ÿ But she has put her foot down
on bookshelf #8 in our bedroom.
ÿÿÿ https://www.amazon.com/Iron-Magic-Covenant-Ilona-Andrews/
dp/1641970405

I have been tempted to buy the trade paperback of Maggie the Undying,
due out next March.ÿ The story does look awesome even if it is a
ripoff of "Replay" and "All You Need Is Kill" by Hiroshi Sakurazaka.
ÿÿÿ https://www.amazon.com/This-Kingdom-Will-Maggie-Undying/dp/1250377285

I don't think "ripoff" is accurate at all, but maybe we use the terms differently. All three do indeed have a character that comes back to
life after dying, but that's about all they have in common. They all use
the idea very differently, and in very different contexts. And of
course, none of the three is the first work to use the idea, either.

Tony
[1] As is typical, my wife made her decisions far more quickly than I
did, so I never got beyond the first 2-3 shelves of A's on this trip.

You are correct, ripoff is WAY too strong.

Lets try borrowed. And yes, I read somewhere that there are only six
story themes on the planet.

Lynn


--- PyGate Linux v1.5.15
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On Fri, 5 Jun 2026 16:17:54 -0400, Tony Nance <tnusenet17@gmail.com>
wrote:

Highlights and Lowlights - April 2026

Books are rated using a very primitive rating system:
?+? are good, and more ?+? are better
?-? are not good, and more ?-? are worse

Lowlight: The Black Throne - Zelazny & Saberhagen
( + - - ) The Black Throne - Zelazny & Saberhagen

I'm not sure I understand the rating system - does "+ - -" mean it
started well and then got worse and worse?

I went on a Saberhagen binge in 2023 and The Black Throne was the last
book I read during that streak. I think I liked it more than you did, especially once the plot started making a little sense. Something
about a girl who can manipulate reality with her dreams and draws an
alternate universe version of Edgar Allen Poe to her, with the two of
them living out scenes from Poe's stories. I write notes to myself
about the books I read because my memory is piss poor, and the notes
on this one read like a fever dream. But overall, I think I liked it.

Long work - Bluebeard -Vonnegut

I read that one not long before the Saberhagen streak. I vaguely
remember it's about an artist who has something hidden in his barn
that he won't show anyone. I'm a pretty big Vonnegut fan, so I liked
the book but I thought it was kinda sub-par for Vonnegut.

-- Bob, making a rare on-topic post

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.15
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On 6/10/26 5:43 PM, Bice wrote:

On Fri, 5 Jun 2026 16:17:54 -0400, Tony Nance <tnusenet17@gmail.com>
wrote:

Highlights and Lowlights - April 2026

Books are rated using a very primitive rating system:
?+? are good, and more ?+? are better
?-? are not good, and more ?-? are worse

Lowlight: The Black Throne - Zelazny & Saberhagen
( + - - ) The Black Throne - Zelazny & Saberhagen

I'm not sure I understand the rating system - does "+ - -" mean it
started well and then got worse and worse?

They're overall assessments/ratings, not sequential. So for this book,
it means I thought there were some positives here, but not many; and I
thought there were roughly twice as many negatives here as positives.
(That likely puts this book in the bottom 20% since I started doing these.)

I went on a Saberhagen binge in 2023 and The Black Throne was the last
book I read during that streak. I think I liked it more than you did, especially once the plot started making a little sense. Something
about a girl who can manipulate reality with her dreams and draws an alternate universe version of Edgar Allen Poe to her, with the two of
them living out scenes from Poe's stories.

That's broadly true - she also draws in another man to these scenes:
"Edgar Allan Perry".

I write notes to myself about the books I read

As do I!

because my memory is piss poor, and the notes
on this one read like a fever dream.

As do mine!

But overall, I think I liked it.

I am glad you liked it. My own notes are pretty negative. (They start
with "Almost seems like Poe fanfic.")

Long work - Bluebeard -Vonnegut

I read that one not long before the Saberhagen streak. I vaguely
remember it's about an artist who has something hidden in his barn
that he won't show anyone.

Yes.

I'm a pretty big Vonnegut fan, so I liked
the book but I thought it was kinda sub-par for Vonnegut.

I think I liked it more than you did. I will be sure to include my notes
for this book when I post my monthly summary for May.

Tony

-- Bob, making a rare on-topic post

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.15
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)