Robert Charles Wilson

Just finished Gypsies by Robert Charles Wilson and "A Bridge of Years," and am now reading The Chronoliths. "The Chronoliths is set in the near future (about 2020) where a giant monument appears mysteriously in the middle of a jungle. Examination of the object show that it is a monument to an unknown military leader celebrating a military victory - 20 years in the future. More of these objects begin to appear, some with catastrophics results when they land on cities and kill hundreds of thousands of people. As the date on the monuments draws closer, people try to ignore their appearance or desperately try to figure out their meaning. Julian Comstock, set in a post-appocalyptic North America, follows a charismatic young military hero who is deemed a threat to the status quo by his uncle - president of the country.

Curse of the Blue Tattoo: being an account of the misadventures of Jacky Faber, midshipman and fine lady By L.A. Meyer

Disguised as a boy, Jacky Faber has been having a grand time as a midshipman aboard H.M.S. Dolphin. Now the masquerade is over, and she has been packed off to a private school to learn to be a lady. But Jacky is not the type of girl to sit quietly learning to embroider. Soon she is embroiled in adventures such a horseracing (to win a bet and save her the estate of her best friend's father), sneaking out at night to sing at a local tavern (to earn money to get back to England) and solve the mystery of a maid who died in suspicious circumstances.

Jacky is a great character - plucky, a bit crude, energetic, and also underneath her streetwise exterior - vulnerable.

There is adventure, humour, mystery, and a bit of romance in this energetic novel that keeps zipping along to the last page.