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Lisa Grissom lisagrissom — A Star Shall Fall picks up the storyline very nicely where Ashes Fall left off, even though there is a bit of a time gap - but because of the continuation, it makes more sense to review the two together. In Ashes Fall, Lune's court is dealing with both problems internal and external; internally, Lune has power struggles for her court taking up much of her time. Externally, London above is being attacked by one of its greatest enemies of all - The Great Fire of London is raging. And with horror, the fae realize that the two attacks are intertwined - the Great Fire of London is being fueled by a Dragon, unlike anything seen by the faerie in their lifetime. In order to save themselves, they must save London above as well as find out who is behind the attack. A Star Shall Fall opens decades after Ashes Fall, and is told mostly through Irriana's eyes, a wild sprite, who somewhat an outsider a court. In the decades between the two books, Lune fought down an internal fight for power in the court from her own courtiers (in which Irriana played an unwilling part), and the fae have discovered that the Dragon was neither killed or defeated -- but their last attempt to save London (and themselves) was not as permanent as they hoped. Instead, the brightest minds in England have discovered that its' prison - Halleys' comet - is going to come back to Earth, bringing the Dragon back to Earth. Lune is also once again facing more battles - the London Wall is being chipped away in London Above, and as it disappears, so does the size of her court. And the Onyx Court has grown to increasingly distrust her ability to hold her court together in the face of this loss, with the danger of the dragon, and her own physical power waning. To make matters worse, her new Prince of Stone in young and untested. Brennan mixes in these books - as she did in her fist book - a well balanced blend of historical research and fantasy; and especially in A Star Shall Fall the mix of Victorian-age science blended in with the world of the fae and was very nicely done. All over all, the Onyx Court trilogy is a real pleasure to read, blending historical fantasy, fae and intrigue into a great series spanning three hundred years.

Mike Mike mikeportfoc8d3 — Kind of a "kiss & tell" for the political set. Lots of name-dropping of world leaders (which is kind of interesting). Offers great insights into the wild world of political fundraising. If you're not a Dem, don't bother.

Frank Ozmun _rank_zmun — Drawing a Blank or How I Tried to Solve a Mystery, End a Feud, and Land the Girl of My Dreams has a lot going for it. In addition to having a very straightforward, no holds barred, title Drawing a Blank also includes illustrations by Trevor Ristow. More surprising (to me) was that I was already familiar with the book's author, Daniel Ehrenhaft. In 2002 Ehrenhaft, writing under the pseudonym Daniel Parker, published the Wessex Papers trilogy. The three books (Trust Falls, Fallout, Outsmart) won the Edgar Award in 2003 for Best Young Adult Mystery. I didn't know any of that while reading the Wessex Papers (or this book), but am inclined to agree with the hype. Like the Wessex Papers the writing here is smart both in the sense that it is clever and that it leaves readers thinking. The story (as the full title explains) follows Carlton Dunne IV as he tries to rescue his father who is embroiled in an age-old family feud with another Scottish clan. In the process, Carlton runs away from his boarding school, visits the comic con from hell, meets a crazy girl who wants to be on "Cops" and continues working on his comic strip that runs in a local paper (thus the illustrations and the comic con debacle). As you might have guessed, Carlton wears many hats. Carlton is also a really fun character, likably neurotic he brings to mind the protagonist of the Wessex Papers. A fact that makes sense when you realize the novels were written by the same person. Although the book is a significant length, the chapters are short--averaging about three pages at a run. This is good because you can read them quickly. On the other hand, Ehrenhaft's preference to end chapters on a cliff hanger becomes redundant after the eightieth time. The story takes a while to get to the action, a fact Carlton himself acknowledges early on in a note at the front of the book. The time, however, is well-spent introducing memorable characters and explaining Carlton's personal history. Most of the book understandably takes place in Scotland, but the scenes at Carnegie Mansion--Carlton's boarding school--are a lot of fun even if they do more to set up the plot than actively set it in motion. I'd recommend Drawing a Blank for reluctant readers who don't read for lack of interest (even though the chapters are short with a fairly large font, the presence of footnotes and an involved plot might be daunting for readers who might read below level). Although this book is a bit more zany than any of the Wessex Papers, I'd also recommend it for fans of that series.