When comes the wind that billows our words' sails?

The Amityville Horror
by Jay Anson

This book claims to be the true story of a demonic haunting experienced by the Lutz family, the new owners of a house on Long Island. The malevolence of the haunting drives them to abandon the house after living in it for only 28 days. The only part of this book that is definitely true is that the adult son of the previous owners, the DeFeos, murdered his parents and four siblings one night about a year before the Lutz's bought the house. That having been said, The Amityville Horror is a pretty good haunted house story. It's reasonably scary and does a good job of incorporating several classic tropes: the rocking chair that rocks by itself, children acting creepy, cold spots, insect infestations, doors opening and slamming, and objects moving. Anson is not a great writer, sticking to straight reporting of the various incidents without generating any sense of dread or tension. Luckily, the story itself supplies that once things get going.
While I enjoyed the story, I really think that the Lutzes made it up. My theory is that there was something wrong with the house that they could not afford to fix and they needed an out that would also help with the financial hit of getting out of the mortgage and finding somewhere else to live. My guess is that it was something wrong with the heating system that was causing something to be released into the air that made everyone sick. Some of the things in the story could be based on real-life symptoms and signs of such a problem - the cold, the flies, the behavioral changes. None of the subsequent owners of the house reported having any strange experiences, and an old, failing heating system is something that a new owner with deeper pockets would likely replace before moving in.

Fool's Fate
by Robin Hobb

This is the final book in the Tawny Man Trilogy, where everything comes to a head. Fitz is a member of the expedition to fulfill the quest that the Out Islander Narcheska has placed on Prince Dutiful as a condition of their marriage: journey to the glacier-bound island Aslevjal and bring back the head of Icefyre, an ancient dragon encased in the ice there. This seemingly simple quest turns out to be anything but, as there are evil forces and dark conspiracies at work, as well as several more benign mysteries at play. Fitz is faced with some difficult choices and the prospect of the Fool, his closest and dearest friend, dying there as the result of the quest.
This book was a marvelous end to the trilogy - so much happens but Hobb paces it perfectly. It never felt either rushed or bogged down. I enjoyed the reveals of the villain and the intrigue. Like the other books, the real core of the book is Fitz's character development and his relationships with the other characters. There are a lot of deep feelings involved. I especially loved how Hobb handled Fitz's healing from past traumas and what she is saying about that process. The ending is extremely satisfying in that Fitz finally deals with his past and is able to re-establish old bonds and assume the life he wants.

Fool's Errand
by Robin Hobb

This is the beginning of a sequel trilogy to the Farseer trilogy that I read years and years ago. It begins about 10 or 15 years after the events of the first series. Fitz has been living in a remote homestead with his bondmate wolf Nighteyes, and an orphan boy, Hap. He has entirely left his old life behind, until two of his old associates visit one spring. His old mentor, Chade, and his old friend the Fool, now Lord golden, draw him back to his former world and the weighty matters of the kingdom. When Prince Dutiful, the heir, goes missing, the Fool enlists Fitz to help find him. Thus Fitz is drawn into a treacherous adventure of rescue, and rebellious conspiracy. For Dutiful turns out to possess both the Wit that allows a human to bond with an animal, an ability that puts him iin danger.
I found this book very absorbing. Hobb's world-building is very good, as is her characterization. I really loved the way she spends a lot of time showing Fitz's life as an isolated homesteader, letting it function as both a recap of the Farseer trilogy and a setting of the stakes for Fitz and Nighteyes. I loved the depth and complexity of Fitz's relationships with the Fool, Chade, and Nighteyes. I love Fitz himself - he's so realistic and complicated and full of pain and love. His character arc and development continues to be very compelling. The plot itself is fairly straightforward - it is those relationships and Fitz himself that make it into something more. There's also a beautiful exploration of loneliness, solitude, and true companionship woven throughout.

The Saint of Bright Doors
by Vajra Chandrasekera

This fantasy novel takes place largely in the city of Luriat, which is modeled on South Asian cities. It follows Fetter, who was raised by his mother to be a master assassin so that he could kill the religious leader known as the Perfect and Kind, who also happens to be Fetter's absent father. Fetter abandons this mission and thus falls in a group of fellow "unchosen" who enable him to study the mysterious locked portals known as bright doors and to return to pursuing his father's death.
This was a really interesting book. The plot is fairly loose and almost episodic in some ways. The characters and the world-building are all really good. Luriat feels as real and alive as any modern city. Even most of the minor characters were written such that I felt like they had full lives outside of their appearances in the story or their relationship to Fetter. The book is more about what you learn about Fetter, his fellow unchosen, and the world they live than about the plot. The themes are subtly woven through and are about what constrains us and how we are freed from those constraints.

Raphael
by R.A. MacAvoy

This final volume of the Damiano trilogy is primarily concerned with Damiano's lute teacher and friend, the archangel Raphael. Using Saara and Gaspare as bait, Lucifer manages to diminish and trap Raphael into human form and then sell him into slavery in Spain. Saara and Gaspare set off to rescue Raphael, with a little help from Damiano's ghost and a black dragon.
This book had more shape and direction than its predecessor. I liked the dual storylines of Raphael dealing with his new condition and Saara and Gaspare's adventure as they come to his rescue. They worked well together and kept the pacing on point. I liked Saara even more here, as she is resourceful, tough, clever, and a bit cantankerous.

Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk
by Kathleen Hanna

This is Hanna's memoir and it is glorious. She is honest, funny, and real. She covers her childhood, adolescence, and career,as well as a good portion of her adult personal life. I liked how she acknowledges and discusses the failings of riot grrl and her own feminism when she was younger. She's not afraid to be reflective and to accept critiques. She's honest about her pain, and the pain her actions caused others. Yet she is also rightfully proud of the things she has done and the life she has built. Plus, her writing is a joy to read.

The Austen Playbook
by Lucy Parker

This is another contemporary romance set in the London theatre world. Freddy Carlton is a good actress, latest scion of a storied theatre family. She has recently won a leading role in a live broadcast of a play where the viewers get to vote on how the plot works out. THis production has put her in closer contact with James "Griff" Ford-Griffin, a theatre critic who has been critical of her recent performances. Unexpectedly, they can't take their eyes (or eventually their hands) off each other, and they embark on a relationship. However, they soon find that their families are linked not just by a theatre affair of the past, but also by a much more explosive secret. Luckily, they find their feelings for each other to be deep and real enough to survive the upheaval.
I enjoyed this one quite a bit. Griff and Freddy turn out to be a surprisingly good couple, and good for each other. Despite his critical reviews, Griff is very supportive of Freddy, and I like the way he is straight and honest with her as well as deeply caring and protective. They communicate with each other well, and even when things go a bit sideways, they actually talk to each other rather than letting things fester. Their relationship was so positive. The family secret plot was pretty interesting and provided some conflict and crisis without introducing a third-act breakup.

A Wicked Game
by Kate Bateman

This historical romance was pretty light and fluffy, but just what I needed for a long plane ride. Harriet Montgomery is a mapmaker alongside her father. She's been sparring and flirting with Morgan Davies since they were teenagers. Morgan, an officer in the navy, has just returned from serving in the Napoleonic Wars. They had made a daring and scandalous bargain that if he came back alive, Harriet would grant him three kisses. Now that Morgan is back, they make good on this deal and that leads each of them to realize their true feelings for each other.
This was a fun romance. Both Harriet and Morgan are engaging characters, and their mutual teasing and goading of each other never gets mean. The trajectory of their emotional realization was really well-paced. The addition of a light intrigue plot concerning some deliberately misleading maps added excitement to the plot and avoided the need for a third act break-up.

The Empress of Salt and Fortune
by Nghi Vo

This very short novel is set in a kingdom resembling ancient China. Chih, a young cleric, arrives at the estate where the late empress In-Yo lived during her six years of exile from the court. Chich is there to catalog the contents of the house and to record the memories of Rabbit, In-Yo's maidservant. Through Rabbit's stories, we see how In-Yo brought down an emperor and his regime. It is a subtle and clever tale. Each story from Rabbit's life is predicated on a set of objects that Chih catalogs. So we see In-Yo's story from a double remove. Yet the tale is no less effective for it.

The Mountain in the Sea
by Ray Nayler

This novel is set in a near future where the seas are nearly fished out and there is a lot of advanced technology, but also a lot of squalor. Marine biologist Dr. Ha Nguyen travels to the remote Con Dao Archipelago to investigate reports of potentially intelligent octopi. She joins Altantsetseg, a security expert, and Evrim, the world's first and so far only android. They soon discover that the octopi have a language and a culture. We also get glimpses of Rustem, a hacker working to crack an intricate artificial intelligence, and Eiko, a slave on a fishing boat, as they grapple with their own situations. The way these threads connect is really effective.
I enjoyed this novel, although it was not so much about the octopi and the discovery of their language and culture. It's a lot less like Arrival than I was expecting. But what the book is, is very good. It's an examination of the nature of consciousness and what that means for communication, connection, and empathy. He also looks at issues of perspective - are we always the main character? How would a truly alien culture see us? Nayler looks at what these things require of us, especially regarding our choices about how to relate to others.