Technology, Books and Other Neat Stuff

Mary Janice Davidson's Undead and Unappreciated brings back Betsy, Queen of The Vampires. Betsy's in a bit of a slump. Her hated stepmother is pregnant, and her father has suddenly revealed that she's got a half sister. Oh, and her half-sister is the daughter of the devil and is destined to rule the Earth. And she's not been invited to the baby shower (even if it is in daylight).

Interestingly this volume reads rather like a Jennifer Cruisie novel. Betsy gets snark (and a dose of evil), bonds with her devilish kid-sister and finally realises she's in love with the aloof vampire king. All very predictable, of course, but liberally dosed with humour and fun incidents from the life of a vampire who doesn't believe in the rules.

And the Devil? Well, she's got very good taste in shoes.

A fast read (two tube journeys), but fun.

Other recent reading:

The Two Space War, Dave Grossman and Leo Frankowski - Heinleinesque homage to Patrick O'Brien's Jack Aubrey novels. Swashbuckling wooden starships sail 2D space in a retro-future straight out of a collectible card game. Oh, and it's got elves. And dwarves.
Protectorate, Mick Farren - a reread of a tale of alien invasion. Like William Tenn's "The Liberation OF Earth", this one doesn't work out for humanity. An enjoyable inversion of a common trope from an under-rated writer.
Pioneers, Philip Mann - rather depressing eco-catastrophe story set in New Zealand, where a failed starflight programme is the only hope for a sterile humanity.
Stars In My Pocket Like Grains Of Sand, Samuel R. Delany - a regular re-read of a wonderful book that I can quite happily say changed my life. If only he'd written the sequel...