The Peregrinations of a Wandering Mind

1/21/09 I just finished reading a five-novel mystery series by Anne Perry, which takes place between 1914-18 amidst World War I. The series is less mystery and more character study, following a central cast of characters through the conflict, particularly priest turned professor turned army chaplain Joseph Reavley. The psychological exploration of grief, loss, and faith among such cataclysmic conditions is compelling and multi-faceted and definitely worth the read, however the plotting of the mysteries is uneven and at times sloppy, with multiple contradictions from one novel to the next in the overarching mystery that ties the novels together: the identity of the Peacemaker, who arranged the murder of John and Alys Reavley, and ignited a conspiracy of treachery against Britain’s interests during the war. The first novel is No Graves As Yet. If you aren’t a stickler for the details and can enjoy it for what it does well, I recommend the series.

2/7/09 I am reading Orson Scott Card’s Alvin Maker series. I’d never read Card before and wanted to expand my fantasy reading to see the range of what is out there and picked up Seventh Son for fifty cents in a library book sale. The American post-colonial period is unique, and it reminds me a little of Stephen King’s Dark Tower for its uniquely American roots and themes, but it’s protagonist is more engaging, and its critique harsher. I am only starting book 2, but so far I am glad I stumbled across these novels.