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An Irish Country Girl:
AN IRISH COUNTRY GIRL, by Patrick Taylor. Forge (www.tor-forge.com), 2009, 319 pp., $24.99. ISBN 978-0-7653-2071-1
Fans of True Review have probably read my praise for the Jan Karon Mitford Book series. Karon wrote several novels about the life and times of bachelor priest Fr. Timothy Kavanaugh. Then (spoiler alert!!!) Fr. Tim marries, for the first time, in his 60s. Fans of the series are thrilled. But for some reason, the wedding isn’t where you’d expect it to be. Karon chose to leave out the ceremony and events surrounding it in its natural place in the novel series but then devoted the sixth novel to the wedding story. I’m a HUGE fan of Ms. Karon’s and the books, but I never really understood that one. Perhaps the story didn’t really flesh out until later?
An IRISH COUNTRY GIRL reminds me of that same “not when and what you were expecting.” Just when you’re settled in for a long run, the author slips in something totally unexpected. Here, Taylor departs from the format of his previous Irish County books and zeros in on the life and times of Mrs. Kinky Kincaid, known to fans as housekeeper to the Doctors O’Reilly and Laverty. So much so that he begins the book with an Author’s Note section, giving fans and new readers alike a forewarning: hold on -- this won’t be familiar territory with the usual list of suspects. |
Sometimes a story just begs to be told. And Kinky, lively subject that she is, was certainly a good candidate for her own story. The book centers on the fact that Kinky appears to have “the sight,” the gift of a sixth sense for what is and what will be. (Taylor notes that his own grandmother also possessed it. Even as a medical professional in a field that begs for concrete “proof,” Taylor admits he believes.)
Well, I’ll admit I initially had a rough time with this one. Perhaps I’m just not a fairies and Irish mythology kind of gal. Like an old shoe, I was missing the well-worn Ballybucklebo characters I have come to know and love. I started reading and stopped. Then I skimmed. Then I jumped ahead to the closing which reverts back to the tried and true.
In the end, it was interesting to learn more about Kinky. Some holes have been filled in. And Taylor doesn’t disappoint -- it’s still a solid read. But I look forward to the sight of Taylor’s next edition and the return of all my Ballybucklebo buddies!
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WINGS OF FIRE, ed. by Jonathan Strahan and Marianne S. Jablon. Night Shade Books (www.nightshadebooks.com), 2010, 499 pp., $15.95. ISBN 978-1-59780-187-4
Of all these classic tales in the WINGS OF FIRE anthology, it was certainly a lot of fun to read “The Dragon on the Bookshelf” by Harlan Ellison and Robert Silverberg. Also, it was a pleasure to look over and read again many of these classic tales, collected as a treasury of the best dragon fiction of our era.
THE ARK, by Boyd Morrison. Touchstone/Fireside/Simon and Schuster (www.simonandschuster.com), 2010, 420 pp., $24.99. ISBN 978-1-4391-8179-9
An archeologist’s father may have found Noah’s Ark, but is missing, with the only clue about his whereabouts coming from a man who dies at Los Angeles Airport – and the quest to find the truth begins.
NEVERLAND by Douglas Clegg. Vanguard Press (www.vanguardpressbooks.com), 2010, 288 pp., $15.95. ISBN 1-59315-541-4. A woodland shack on an island off the southern U.S. coast becomes a forbidden place, a key to an age-old mystery. Kids, of course, find it and are caught up in its mysterious past.
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INTO THE WORLD OF MIGHT BE, by W.A. Harbinson. BookSurge Publishing (www.booksurge.com), 2002, 2008, 167 pp., $13.99. ISBN 1-4196-7639-3
ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK, by Piper Kerman. Spiegel & Grau (www.spiegelandgrau.com), 2010, 298 pp., $25.00. ISBN 978-0-385-52338-7
RECOVERING APOLLO 8 and Other Stories, by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Golden Gryphon (www.goldengryphon.com), 2010, 316 pp., $24.95. ISBN 1-930846-62-2
THE GREAT LIFE MAKEOVER, by Daniel A. Monti, MD & Anthony J. Bazzan, MD. HarperCollins Publishers (www.harpercollins.com), 2008, 248 pp., $24.99. ISBN 978-0-06-143540-9
THE DERVISH HOUSE, by Ian McDonald. Prometheus Books (www.pyrsf.com), 2010, 359 pp., $16.00. ISBN 978-1-61614-204-9
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