It's going to take me a few days into March to finish my 28 short novels, but I'm going to declare the February experiment to be a success nonetheless. After all, I didn't start reading short novels until almost mid-February, so it's not surprisingly I've fallen a bit behind (I have five more books to read). Don't take the fact that I haven't written here as any indication of a lack of reading; I have a stack of books to review as long as my arm. I hope to give you the lowdown over the next few days, as well as to write about the rather significant influx of new books into our library during this short but crazy month.

This is the library book edition of my short novels posts, written because I have a number of books on reserve at the library that I need to pick up, and I have so many books checked out that I have to return some in order to get the new ones. Yes, this is thoroughly illogical: I have so many books at home, books I own, that I don't need to supplement them with library books. But I do. It's one of life's many small -- heck, large -- pleasures to stroll through the new books section of a good library and pick up whatever sounds good, and I do it regularly. Being able to reserve books I've read about and want to reserve, and have them ready and waiting for me from libraries spread all over the county is another great pleasure. Because I'm a telecommuter, the library also serves as a great excuse to get out of the house. It always cheers me up.

And so, on to the books.

The Night Battles by M.F. Bloxam. This first novel is -- odd. It is set on Sicily, in the remote village of Valparuta, a town gripped by superstition. The people here believe that those in power are either benandanti, powerful forces for good who leave their bodies on Ember Nights to fight for good harvests, or witches, maga, who fight in the same fights, only for the failure of the harvest. The fights manifest themselves throughout the year in the politics of the village, in small acts of vandalism, in drug use, in marriages. Into this almost medieval setting strides Joan Severance, a scholar who has burned all her academic bridges in America. She has come to work in the archives in Valparute with the librarian and archivist Cosimo Chiesa. She soon learns that Chiesa is a benandante as well as a serious drug addict. And she soon finds herself caught up in the fight between good and evil, both supernatural and in the real world, that is being waged in this strange village. Much goes unsaid in this novel -- to my mind, too much -- and the pieces do not quite fit together, even with Severance's back story of a mother who unwisely but bravely fought the Mafia on this same island during Severance's childhood. Certainly Bloxam creates an almost tangible milieu, being especially adept at invoking scents -- garlic chicken, spoiled wine and milk, old paper. But I kept wanting more from this book than it was giving me. I hope that Bloxam's next book will offer just as much of an atmosphere, and a bit more of a plot.

Ex Machina: The First Hundred Days, written by Brian K. Vaughan, pencils and covers by Tony Harris, inks by Tom Feister. A graphic novel about a superhero who hangs up his uniform in order to become the mayor of New York City, this tale plays interesting changes on the whole idea of what can be accomplished by politics and what by direct action. Mitchell Hundred used to be The Great Machine, and in that capacity he managed to save one of the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001. But he has put away his helmet and his jetpacks, and now he is more occupied with the offensive artwork on display at taxpayers' expense in the Brooklyn Museum of Art. The tension between politics and superpowers is strung tight, and makes for an interesting spin on the superhero mythos. I'm looking forward to seeing how this plays out in further issues -- part of what I'm picking up at the library today.

Softspoken by Lucius Shepard. Lucius Shepard is one of the very best science fiction, fantasy and horror writers working today. He never soft pedals anything, never attempts to make his readers feel good; he just tells his tales, which are almost always disturbing as hell. Softspoken is no exception. Sanie is a woman stuck in a marriage that isn't working for her, but at the opening of this novella we don't know exactly why. Jackson seems a decent enough fellow, even if right now he's surly with the tension of studying for the bar exam, having returned to the broken-down family manse in South Carolina to do so on the cheap. Sanie is trying to make her way with her writing, but doesn't seem to be making much progress; she longs to return to New York, where she and Jackson had a much more lively life. And besides, this old family home seems to be haunted by a ghost that wants Sanie to see her, not to mention by the living presences of Jackson's brother and sister, who are just plain weird. But time drags on and Jackson continues to study. Though Jackson denies the existence of ghosts, they seem to invade his soul, and the marriage disintegrates before our eyes -- aided by the appearance of Frank Dean, who falls for Sanie in no time flat. This haunted house story kept me absolutely enthralled from the opening chapter in which a ghost begs Sanie to "see me." I highly recommend this spooky little tale.

Astonishing X-Men: Gifted, Dangerous, Torn and Unstoppable, written by Joss Whedon, art by John Cassaday. I've read graphic novels since the late 1980's, when the late-lamented The Stars Our Destination, a wonderful science fiction bookshop in Chicago, thrust Neil Gaiman's first collected Sandman into my hands and told me I had to read it. That set me off on DC/Vertigo, and I read nearly everything that "adult" line had to offer. I've never before ventured into the Marvel universe, though; it took Joss Whedon, of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Serenity" fame, to get me there. And it was well worth the trip. While I was lost from time to time, not knowing the continuity or the characters (except for as much as I retained from having seen the first X-Men movie), I found these four graphic novels to be very well-done, with lots of great complications, well-scripted personalities, and a good story arc. The twist and turns of the plot all made sense, and the seeds planted early nearly all came to fruition (with some left for later authors to deal with), and the denouement is wholly satisfying. About all you really need to know of the plot is that another planet, the Breakworld, believes that one of the X-Men is destined to destroy it, and so sets out to destroy all mutants; everything else proceeds from that. And what a story it is! I read most of these four novels in one sitting, on a rainy afternoon, and it was one of the most enjoyable afternoons I've spent reading in some time, just pure fun. Treat yourself!