Author: Nicky

Unstacking the Shelves

Posted December 24, 2016 by Nicky in General / 12 Comments

It’s nearly Christmas! I can’t wait to give my family their presents — and this is my wife’s first Christmas spent with us, too. It’s gonna be awesome. In the meantime, I’ve been reading a ton. Yay!

For those new to the Bibliophibian, Unstacking the Shelves is when I feature the books I’ve read in the past week, because I don’t have any new ones to show off! I know it’s not what people usually do, but I super appreciate it when people leave a relevant comment instead of just copy/pasting a message telling me to enjoy my haul. Thank you!

Finished this week:

The first row of these are rereads, but the others were all new and four were ARCs, so definitely good progress.

Reviews posted this week:
–Cleopatra: Last Queen of Egypt, by Joyce Tyldesley. Informative about a figure who is honestly mostly myth in general knowledge, and also about the time in which she ruled. 4/5 stars
–Terra, by Mitch Benn. It’s cuuute. And fun. 4/5 stars
–This is Your Brain on Music, by David Levitin. I feel like I don’t really understand music enough for this book, though the neurological stuff is interesting. 3/5 stars
–The Sealed Letter, by Emma Donoghue. Eh. Good on historical details, meh on the characters. 2/5 stars
–The Talisman Ring, by Georgette Heyer. Still a very fun adventure/romance. 5/5 stars
–Natural Causes, by James Oswald. This was a weird genre-crossing one, entertaining enough but not something I’m interested in continuing to read. 2/5 stars

Other posts:
–Top Ten Tuesday: A Very Bookish Christmas. Because of course.

Hope you all have a very good Christmas, if you celebrate, and a warm and safe weekend if you don’t!

Tags: books, Stacking the Shelves, weekly roundup

Review – Natural Causes

Posted December 22, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Natural Causes, James Oswald

I’m not entirely sure why I originally picked this up; I think it might have been one of those deals where you can get a book for £2.99 if you buy The Telegraph, or whichever other newspaper. At the time, I was regularly buying the newspaper for my grandmother, and if her choice of paper wasn’t available, I’d pick something else more or less at random. A newspaper that offers a cheap book alongside it is always going to win with me, of course.

Anyway, so I knew little about this book going in. It seems to have caused no little frustration for some people: though marketed as a crime fiction novel, in fact the cause of the murders turns out to be supernatural. The murder can’t be solved unless you assume the presence of a demon which jumps between different people’s bodies, despite the fact that the rest of the story builds up clear chains of evidence, links together cases, etc. I don’t mind that, but I do think there’s a bit of a sense this book was mismarketed — though equally, I don’t think it’d appeal to the more fantastical crowd either. It’s no Rivers of London or Storm Front. The two elements sit oddly side by side here, and to me, it’s not clear where it’s going to go as a series. Is McLean going to become a supernatural investigator? Or was this the one strange case of his career? Presumably not the latter, since this is the first book of a series, but it’s not obvious.

The pacing is relatively sedate: it feels like a police procedural. I think that’s the problem — it’s a police procedural with supernatural trappings, and that just doesn’t seem to wash. It’d have to be more integrated — something like, to harp on it, Rivers of London.

I’m not that interested in reading other books, though it wasn’t a bad experience. Shades of fridging, though: the main murder victim is an innocent young girl whose case consumes the inspector’s thoughts because of her youth and innocence, a young PC dies to protect the main character (presumably mostly for his sense of guilt), and the most important woman in McLean’s life is his comatose grandmother, who dies partway through. Hm.

Rating: 2/5

Tags: book reviews, books, crime, mystery, SF/F

Review – The Talisman Ring

Posted December 21, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

The Talisman Ring, Georgette Heyer

I was feeling a bit stressed, so it felt like the perfect time to revisit The Talisman Ring (and maybe also The Grand Sophy, if I get the chance). Heyer’s books are the perfect light reading to my mind: relatable characters, witty dialogue, entertaining set-ups… In this one, two cousins are supposed to get married, despite being completely unsuited; hijinks (and a few more cousins joining in) ensue.

The joy is really in the exuberance of the two ‘heroic’ characters, as I think of them, Eustacie and Ludovic, coming up against the two ‘sensible’ (ish) characters, Tristram and Sarah. They all end up in absurdly dramatic situations, of course, and it quickly becomes obvious that Eustacie is much more suited to Ludovic than to Tristram. And in the background, unnoticed by Eustacie, Tristram and Sarah begin to have a greater regard for each other — while sniping at each other, of course. (Though less so than in, say, Faro’s Daughter, where the relationship was so adversarial and the male lead so supercilious, it was hard to enjoy.)

I make no claims for this book’s depth; I just enjoy the characterisations, the dialogue, the wit. It’s vastly fun. Though, Heyer being the person she was, the historical details and such are probably very much in the right places.

Rating: 5/5

Tags: book reviews, books, romance

Review – The Sealed Letter

Posted December 20, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

The Sealed Letter, Emma Donoghue

I have a couple of friends who worship at the altar of Emma Donoghue, and I think I bought this in a sale back when someone was being particularly vocal about Donoghue. As a piece of imaginative reconstruction, as historical fiction, it’s well enough done — I think there are a couple of anachronisms, potentially on purpose for convenience, but for the most part, it evokes the era it’s set in. The main character, Emily Faithfull, is based on a real person who is pretty fascinating: she was a women’s rights activist and publisher, who got entangled in a famous divorce case. This book tries to untangle that and see what part she had to play.

Which is where it falls down for me, because Fido (as she’s called) is clearly head over heels for Helen, and it’s just as clearly pathetic. It’s not going to happen. Take this scene, for example:

Fido winces at the image. She bends over Helen. “Lean on me, my own one. I’ll stand by you.”
“Through everything?”
“Everything!”
“I can stay?”
“For as long as you need.” Forever, Fido’s thinking, though she doesn’t dare say it, not yet.
“Oh Fido, how did I ever manage without you, all those lonely years!”
Her mind is leaping into the future. Why not? Women do live together, sometimes, if they have the means and are free from other obligations. It’s eccentric, but not improper. She’s known several examples in the Reform movement: Miss Power Cobbe and her “partner” Miss Lloyd, for instance. It can be done. It would be a change of life for Helen – but hasn’t her life been utterly changed, without her consent, already? Can’t the caterpillar shrug off its cramped case and emerge with tremulous wings?

Gaaah, no, Helen is lying and manipulating you — as always. It’s Tegan and Sara’s ‘Boyfriend‘; it’s the straight girl relying on her lesbian friend’s feelings for her to get away with anything. It’s not a story I’m interested in, because it is one which is played out with boring regularity.

Frankly, I was bored. Nothing about this sparkled enough to get over the fact that I just was not interested in that central relationship. Been there, done that.

Rating: 2/5

Tags: book reviews, books

Top Ten Tuesday

Posted December 20, 2016 by Nicky in General / 2 Comments

The theme for this week is books or non-book bookish items that I’m hoping to find under the tree. I’m pretty sure of what I’m getting, in general, so I’m not going to guess, just feature some cool stuff I’m getting.

The Infinite Library Kindle Case. My wife is getting me this and I’m so excited.
The Funko Pop Captain Marvel t-shirt. So cute, so badass.
A book on tyrannosaurs. I know my sister’s getting me this, or planned to, but I can’t remember any other details.
I Contain Multitudes, by Ed Yong. Microbes! Yes please.
The Burning Page, by Genevieve Valentine. Gimmmeee. Technically I have an ARC, but hush about technicalities.
The Hanging Tree, by Ben Aaronovitch. Same.
The Death of Caesar, by Barry Strauss. I’ve enjoyed his books before, so Christmas seemed like a good time to ask for more.
She-Hulk Complete Collection vol 2, by Dan Slott. This was ridiculously hard to find for some reason.
The Bloodbound, by Erin Lindsey. Mogsy @ The Bibliosanctum‘s fault entirely.
The Edge of Dark, by Brenda Cooper. Ditto, I believe.

So yeah, plenty of books, I hope. And cool book-related stuff. And whatever other surprises my dad has in store.

Tags: books, Top Ten Tuesday

Review – This Is Your Brain on Music

Posted December 19, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

This Is Your Brain on Music, Daniel Levitin

Despite loving singing, and having been good enough to perform and not have people run away, I know very little about music. Not that Levitin would be a snob about that, from the sound of this book, but it still forms a bit of a barrier to understanding when someone starts talking about semitones. I can sing C on demand, and I know when something is out of tune — what more do you want? (Although unlike most people, I have a bad sense of timing, apparently: I routinely sing slower than the original version of anything I’m performing. Most people apparently preserve the timing of the version they know best. Trivia!)

So anyway, the music side of this passed me by, mostly, despite the primer in the opening chapters. But the neuroscience behind music is fascinating, and Levitin explains it well. There are a few sections which drag as he spends too long explaining things, but on the other hand he references a wide selection of music, applying what he’s talking about to songs people often know. (Which again led me to wishing I knew more music, but this time popular music — I think I got one out of every five references? And my acquaintance with Bowie is pretty darn recent.)

I feel like the best people to appreciate this have a bit more music theory and a bit less neuroscience in their background, but nonetheless, I found it an intriguing read.

Rating: 3/5

Tags: book reviews, books, non-fiction, science

Review – Terra

Posted December 18, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Terra, Mitch Benn

This was the perfect read for me at the point when I got hold of it. It’s funny, sometimes silly, but it also has a lot of heart. It’s sceptical about humanity and the way we behave, but hopeful too. There’s all kinds of fun glimpses at the alien culture Terra becomes part of, with its different norms and expectations. And goodness knows, if my dad weren’t pretty awesome and probably a space alien anyway, I’d want Lbbp to be my father-figure.

It’s relatively simplistic and light, written more for a young adult audience, but it was exactly what I needed at the moment I read it. It’s well written, well paced, and has a refreshingly nice take on human (and alien) nature.

I don’t know what to say about it, except that I found it a delight, and my wife had better read it soon.

Rating: 4/5

Tags: book reviews, books, SF/F

Review – Cleopatra: Last Queen of Egypt

Posted December 17, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 4 Comments

Cleopatra: Last Queen of Egypt, Joyce Tyldesley

This book is a solid biography of Cleopatra, appreciating her cleverness and ability as a politician, and examining how the world at the time reacted to her. It’s perhaps a little drier than people would hope — how could you make Cleopatra so academic, when she’s such a colourful figure? Well, I don’t mind that at all, and I enjoyed the way it contextualised her achievements and dissected the myths surrounding her. It delves into the background of her rule and her city, as well, giving a picture of Egypt under the Ptolemies.

I’ve enjoyed other books by Tyldesley before, and though it’s not one of my areas of expertise, I have found her books well-written, referenced and clear. That’s more than I can say for some other Egyptologists who write for the pop-history crowd. Other than that, I don’t have much basis to make a judgement, but I found this one enjoyable.

Rating: 4/5

Tags: book reviews, books, history, non-fiction

Stacking the Shelves

Posted December 17, 2016 by Nicky in General / 12 Comments

Happy Saturday! It was going to be an Unstacking, and then people on Netgalley decided to be generous… Also, I have read a lot this week, and it makes me happy. I might actually end up hitting my yearly goals by accident.

Received to review:

New Scalzi! Kameron Hurley! Excited!

Finished this week:

Quite a few of these (Narnia, Throne of Glass) were rereads, but all the same, what a week! Whew.

Reviews posted this week:
–She-Hulk: The Complete Collection vol 1, by Dan Slott et al. Fun, though I think it lost momentum somewhat. 3/5 stars
–Gut, by Giulia Enders. Irreverent and definitely aimed at the layman, and therefore quite a lot of fun. 3/5 stars
–Emma, by Jane Austen. I hate Emma, as a character. ’nuff said. 2/5 stars
–The Boys from Brazil, by Ira Levin. Not a fan, let’s say. 2/5 stars
–The Man Everybody Was Afraid Of, by Joseph Hansen. There’s a lot of red herrings and such here, but it’s still a solid story. 3/5 stars
–Moon Tiger, by Penelope Lively. This is also a book I wasn’t a fan of. Very consciously literary, and unlikeable characters to boot. 1/5 stars
–Flashback Friday: Cold Night Lullaby, by Colin MacKay. Do you want to make yourself cry in the most undignified way you can imagine? This might help. 5/5 stars

Other posts:
–Top Ten Tuesday: Books in First Half of 2017. Whoa, there’s a lot to look forward to.
–What are you reading Wednesday. The weekly update.

Got something to look forward to in the next week? Share!

Tags: books, Stacking the Shelves, weekly roundup

Review – Cold Night Lullaby

Posted December 16, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cold Night Lullaby, Colin MacKay

Flashback Friday from 25th December, 2009

I asked for Colin Mackay’s Cold Night Lullaby for Christmas 2009 because of Karine Polwart’s song, ‘Waterlily’. It’s a beautiful song, and one that has been known to make me cry — based on Colin Mackay’s writing about his experiences in Bosnia, about the woman he loved, Svetlana. I couldn’t tell you about the really technical merits of the poetry right now, but the images are so vivid, searing. I doubt I can ever, ever listen to ‘Waterlily’ again without crying. Especially when I know what Colin Mackay went on to do — how he killed himself, so very, very methodically.

Reading around a little, I can see that there are some questions about geography/chronology in these poems. I wouldn’t be surprised by some fictionality, or inaccuracy due to how confusing and bewildering living through something like that can be, how destroying, but I think that Colin Mackay probably believed every word he wrote — and that’s what matters.

Rating: 5/5

Tags: book reviews, books, Flashback Friday, poetry