Back?

  So, I'm feeling the urge to write a bit again; I might even have the glimmer of some ideas about a book on running a small restaurant, but that will probably be on hold till I retire.

However, regarding other folks' books, I've been reading some books by Catherine Asaro, the Major Bhaajan series, lately. I recall having read one of Asaro's books in the Skolian Empire series a long time ago, but for some reason I just couldn't get into it, probably a bit too romance-y for me. Hmmm...this brings to mind the thought that there's a ton of PNR genre, which everyone knows, but lesser known is the SFR genre, which actually dates back pretty far...some of the old Marion Zimmer Bradley and Andre Norton springs to mind...can't recall who wrote the Rissa and Tregare series (F.M. Busby), but that would certainly fall into it, as well as some of Tanya Huff's books. Guys who wrote SFR? Not so many, but if I give it enough time it will come to me.

Anyway, this series is about a retired major who is now a private investigator, hired by powerful people to find and return one of their family who has been kidnapped or perhaps simply run away from home. It's set on a desolate and dying planet with a sharply divided population; the dust rats who live in the Undercity (coincidentally the title of the first book) and the middle and upper classes who live in the city of Cries, itself. The second and third novels are titled The Bronze Skies and The Vanished Seas.

Bhaajan was born and raised (metaphorically by wolves) in the Undercity, and fought prejudice and poverty by enlisting in the military and working twice as hard as those of higher social class in order to become an officer. I wonder if there's some Asaro novels about that story. Off to Goodreads!

Her background makes her uniquely qualified to search the labyrinth of the Undercity for the missing person, and along the way she begins to become an influencer for change in her world's culture.

Rich background, colorful characters, and an intriguing mystery to follow in each of the books so far have made these an enjoyable read.