Very short reviews

I got a bit behind and now I have five books to review so I'm just going to do a sentence or so for each.

First up is The Sorrow of Empire by David Mack - a Star Trek TOS novel of the Mirror universe.

It's a solid novel - entertaining and 100% Star Trek with Spock fighting to bring down the Empire from within. I read Star Trek novels sometimes when I need some true escapism, although I haven't read a TOS novel before. It was an easy and interesting read.

Next is Still Foolin 'Em by Billy Crystal, which is part autobiography, part musing, and part reflecting on againg. It's very much Crystal's voice, full of self-deprecating humour and wry observations about life and love. It's a quick read, enjoyable, light-hearted and funny.

And we're up to The Gospel of Loki by Joanne Harris. (Women's Challenge read). The Trickster God has a few scores to settle with the Norse gods - with Odin, especially and of course, Thor. Most of what I know of Loki comes from the movies and Tom Hiddleston, but Harris's Loki is hilarious - he feels hard done by and put upon and by all of the Norse gods, if he's going down then he's taking them all with them. Bring on Ragnarok.

The Wild Things by David Eggers (TBR Pile challenge) is the novelisation of Spike Jonze's Where the Wild Things Are movie. I have to say, I liked it a lot. You have to suspend logic, and roll with it, but once you do that, and you go with Max to where the wild things are, then it works on the levels that it needs to work.

Lastly, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black. (Women's Challenge read). From the time Tana wakes up after a party in a bathtub, to the time she ends up in Coldtown, it's a pretty wild ride. I have to admit, it took me a bit to grasp hold of Black's worldbuilding with the Cold references, but once I got stuck in, I was there all the way, and Tana is a great central character - she's brave and spirited, but she also screws up and makes mistakes. Good times.