Eulalia!

Welcome, members of my children's lit circle. I apologize for the layout, but I'm still trying to get used to using this stuff.

Title: Eulalia!
Author: Brian Jacques
Set: Redwall
My take: Dark for a Redwall book, slightly more subtle characterization than expected, growing to one of my favorites from the series

Spoiler-free synopsis: Maudie is a quick-tempered hare working the mess hall at Salamandastron. Orkwil Prink is a hedgehog with a habit of "borrowing" (read - stealing) items from the creatures of Redwall Abbey. Gorath is a badger taken forcibly from his farm and the life he had with his grandparents. As their paths cross, fate sets them and the rest of the woodland creatures against not one but two groups of vermin.

Guards! Guards!

So, I was thinking about what to use this for and decided to use this as a repository for reviews of stuff I read, so I don't have to clutter my LJ and can link easily to them from my reading/gaming/etc. communities. So, where to start? With a new book I got for Christmas and read over the long weekend:

Title: Guards! Guards!
Author: Terry Pratchett
Set: Discworld
My take: Snappy writing, a fun look at some typical tropes and with engaging ideas, but hindered by a flat plot and characters who were more caricature than substance

Spoiler-free synopsis: In Ankh-Morpork, crime is regulated, life is unpredictable and the night watch is free of anything like responsibility or requirement. Enter Carrot, a very tall dwarf (he was adopted) who brings a sense of staid duty and a mistaken impression about what would be required of him when he joined up with the night watch to learn about humans.

As he's settling in (and unsettling residents) a completely unrelated group is in the middle of using a stolen book to summon a creature that the city hasn't seen for hundreds of year - and which, once it arrives, will change everything.