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annieb123's review against another edition
5.0
Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.
Lady of Perdition is the 17th (!!) Benjamin January novel by Barbara Hambly. Due out 7th Jan 2020 from Severn House, it's 256 pages and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats (ebook available now).
These books are superbly well written. The author manages to convey the very real peril of living as a person of color in the southern USA in the 1840s. Despite being a European trained physician and gifted musician, Dr. January is continually at risk of being kidnapped and forced into slavery. In this installment, January, along with his loyal friends Abishag Shaw and Hannibal Sefton venture deep into Texas to try to rescue a young kidnapped girl, a student of his wife's girls' school.
This book works well as a standalone, the mystery (less of a murder mystery and more of a 'how will they get out of this alive') and parallel plots work very well without previous familiarity with the series. I do recommend reading the series, however, for the consistently high quality of the plotting and characterizations as well as the meticulous historical research. The books are full of the casual racist and sexist violence which was endemic to that part of the world, and they could have been relentlessly depressing. The author manages to imbue the characters with nobility, grit, purpose, honesty, and even a touch of humor and whimsy (especially Hannibal and Rose, whom I adore).
I love these books and truly look forward to every installment with anticipation.
Five stars for this one, and five stars for the series.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
Lady of Perdition is the 17th (!!) Benjamin January novel by Barbara Hambly. Due out 7th Jan 2020 from Severn House, it's 256 pages and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats (ebook available now).
These books are superbly well written. The author manages to convey the very real peril of living as a person of color in the southern USA in the 1840s. Despite being a European trained physician and gifted musician, Dr. January is continually at risk of being kidnapped and forced into slavery. In this installment, January, along with his loyal friends Abishag Shaw and Hannibal Sefton venture deep into Texas to try to rescue a young kidnapped girl, a student of his wife's girls' school.
This book works well as a standalone, the mystery (less of a murder mystery and more of a 'how will they get out of this alive') and parallel plots work very well without previous familiarity with the series. I do recommend reading the series, however, for the consistently high quality of the plotting and characterizations as well as the meticulous historical research. The books are full of the casual racist and sexist violence which was endemic to that part of the world, and they could have been relentlessly depressing. The author manages to imbue the characters with nobility, grit, purpose, honesty, and even a touch of humor and whimsy (especially Hannibal and Rose, whom I adore).
I love these books and truly look forward to every installment with anticipation.
Five stars for this one, and five stars for the series.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
miraclemarg's review
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
snowdrowsey's review against another edition
5.0
This story seemed to be composed of two stories in one and the synopsis of the book indicated that which was good thinking for the publisher, editor, or author. The one criticism I have of the story was that there was no closure of the first story line that brought Benjamin out to Texas in the first place and it would have been nice from the reader's perspective to have had the reassurance that it was resolved. Who knows maybe Barbara is saving that for the next book and wanted to leave that open in case she wanted to add a new character to the series. The other story line involved a character from a previous book that I'd tried to read long ago, but just had trouble following it and keeping up with what was happening. From what I remember reading about that story, other readers faced the same challenge. This returning character caused me to order that previously unfinished read from Amazon because no library in the area had a copy. I desperately want to read the next book in the series, but want to pace out my reading of the Benjamin Bunny books as David calls them. Sometimes I feel that January's life can be a downer if taken in too large a dose at one time and I doubt that the character ever would live to see the Civil War come and go and all of the good things that have happened for his people since then, but then knowing what I know of the character's personality, it wouldn't be enough for him. He would still tell me there was systemic racism in the US, and I'm beginning to see it too and it's disturbing that I've been so blind to it all this time.
annarella's review against another edition
4.0
I like Barbara Hambly and I like this series. This is an excellent instalment and it kept me hooked till the last page.
I love the world building, the character development and the well crafted plot.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to Severn House and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
I love the world building, the character development and the well crafted plot.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to Severn House and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
kikiandarrowsfishshelf's review against another edition
4.0
Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley.
Do not let the blurb on the back cover deter, you do not have to have read the other books in the series to understand what is going on in the book. While there are two non-central characters from other books in the series, a detailed back story is not given nor needed. Therefore, if you are new to the adventures of Ben January, you can start here and not be lost.
The book is at first a basic search and rescue Western as Ben, Hannibal, and Shaw struggle to save a young woman. This part of the novel is told with a great deal of vigor, and highlights the need for someone to produce a television series based on this excellent series. Hambly’s know ledge of history serves her in good stead, and the details of Texas before Union as well as the reactions of the characters. Things get complicated quickly and Ben and Hannibal find themselves at a center of a mystery involving an old acquittance and the death of her husband.
What makes the series so good is that Hambly captures the confront that Ben undoubtedly feels. He is an educated man who must pretend, time and again to be something other than what he is because he risks death. But it makes him more sympathetic to the nuances that exist in relationships, in particular to how those play out with women.
And that is what at the heart of the novel. It isn’t just Valentina who finds herself accused of murder, but also her in-laws and the young woman who is the original target of Ben’s quest. While the book addresses the lack of option available to women in the 1840s, much of the subject matter is also closely related to women of today and highlights aspects of the MeToo Movement. The plot directly addresses how different people, let alone genders, respond to and see rape. It is those different responses to sexual assaults -both on men and women (though the men get shorter shift in the book) as well as the long-lasting damage that such assaults can cause.
The book also works very well as a thriller western and is particularly gripping when it comes to the pursuits. The plot also makes good use of the historical Texas political situation, with the conflict of total independence or joining the United States. The use of historical detail and the humanness of the characters is a hallmark of this series.
Do not let the blurb on the back cover deter, you do not have to have read the other books in the series to understand what is going on in the book. While there are two non-central characters from other books in the series, a detailed back story is not given nor needed. Therefore, if you are new to the adventures of Ben January, you can start here and not be lost.
The book is at first a basic search and rescue Western as Ben, Hannibal, and Shaw struggle to save a young woman. This part of the novel is told with a great deal of vigor, and highlights the need for someone to produce a television series based on this excellent series. Hambly’s know ledge of history serves her in good stead, and the details of Texas before Union as well as the reactions of the characters. Things get complicated quickly and Ben and Hannibal find themselves at a center of a mystery involving an old acquittance and the death of her husband.
What makes the series so good is that Hambly captures the confront that Ben undoubtedly feels. He is an educated man who must pretend, time and again to be something other than what he is because he risks death. But it makes him more sympathetic to the nuances that exist in relationships, in particular to how those play out with women.
And that is what at the heart of the novel. It isn’t just Valentina who finds herself accused of murder, but also her in-laws and the young woman who is the original target of Ben’s quest. While the book addresses the lack of option available to women in the 1840s, much of the subject matter is also closely related to women of today and highlights aspects of the MeToo Movement. The plot directly addresses how different people, let alone genders, respond to and see rape. It is those different responses to sexual assaults -both on men and women (though the men get shorter shift in the book) as well as the long-lasting damage that such assaults can cause.
The book also works very well as a thriller western and is particularly gripping when it comes to the pursuits. The plot also makes good use of the historical Texas political situation, with the conflict of total independence or joining the United States. The use of historical detail and the humanness of the characters is a hallmark of this series.
archytas's review against another edition
2.5
I think I am slowly falling out of love with this series, which is a shame given how much I used to love it. Hambly continues to tell her stories in one of history's most interesting periods, with a highly engaging protagonist. Here, Benjamin travels to Texas, newly rebelling against Mexico. The puzzle at the heart of the plot drew together a wide array of elements - sexist inheritance laws, the various Texian factions of the time, the culture of ranch owning and contested land laws. I found my concentration frequently drifting - an issue with the last couple of installments in the series. The human stories at the heart of the world don't seem to singing to me, reducing the series more to a whodunnit with (increasingly thin) side lashings of history. I'm not going to stop reading the books (in the time this has been sitting on my to-read, another has been published) but my anticipatory enthusiasm is waning.
annarella's review
4.0
I like Barbara Hambly and I like this series. This is an excellent instalment and it kept me hooked till the last page.
I love the world building, the character development and the well crafted plot.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to Severn House and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
I love the world building, the character development and the well crafted plot.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to Severn House and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
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