Thursday

Warm and humid. Finished Jo Walton's Farthing, and yes, I'd recommend it, with the qualification that it's the first volume in a trilogy. On the other hand, the two other books (Ha'penny and Half a Crown) are already out so readers don't have to wait. As I said before, Walton is pretty good at worldbuilding, and every now and then she throws out an absolute gem of a line -- like when two characters are wondering how a "Jewish star" (the mass-produced patches Jews must wear at all times on the Nazi-occupied Continent) might have gotten to England, and someone suggests it could have been purchased (by a non-Jewish tourist) as a souvenir. A souvenir. That's the kind of alternate world this is, and a deeply chilling one it is too. I'll also warn that this first volume has somewhat of an ambiguous ending, which I wasn't expecting, but it fits. So, yes. Maybe not two thumbs up, because only two of the characters are really developed in depth, but definitely one thumb up.

Also have been talking through another possible Riververse story with writing partners, so we'll see about that. :-)