Author: Nicky

Stacking the Shelves

Posted October 1, 2016 by Nicky in General / 10 Comments

Another week gone! And this one brought me plenty of books. I’d say oops, but we all know I love it.

Books acquired:

All pretty impulsive purchases; my sister bought me the one on HIV for my birthday. (I promise, I find it an interesting topic.) Behind the Throne sounds like a lot of fun.

Books to review:

Thank you, Open Road Media and Dover Publications!

Books finished this week:

Reviews posted this week:
–A History of Ancient Egypt, by John Romer. When I think back to the stuff I knew about Egyptology as a kid, it was mostly about the later Pharaohs, despite the compellingness of the Great Pyramid. This book covers the early part of Egypt’s history, up to the end of the period where the pyramids were built. Very worth it, even though it might not be what people expect from a history of Egypt. 4/5 stars
–Stories of Your Life and Others, by Ted Chiang. I’ve found myself wanting to suggest this collection to several friends since I finished it, and I’m very interested to see what the movie version of the title story does with a very linguistically based plot. The writing impressed me, even when I wasn’t a huge fan of the stories themselves (and mostly I did enjoy them). 4/5 stars
–Off the Map, by Alastair Bonnett. I enjoyed that he referenced fiction, including China Miéville’s work, but in the end this was just too light and not what I wanted from the subject. 2/5 stars
–The Door into Sunset, by Diane Duane. It probably doesn’t say anything positive that I was glad to get to the end of the series, but really, it just kind of… wore out its welcome with me. I still love the casual queerness, and in this book, the shades of grey that were introduced. 3/5 stars
–Chalice, by Robin McKinley. I realised, rereading this again, that this is one of those warm and mostly positive fantasies which I feel so badly in need of sometimes. And if you end it without craving honey, I don’t know what you are. 5/5 stars
–Mortal Engines, by Philip Reeve. If you can read the first line and not be hooked, this might not be your thing. “It was a dark, blustery afternoon in spring, and the city of London was chasing a small mining town across the dried-out bed of the old North Sea.” 4/5 stars
–Flashback Friday: The Moon of Gomrath, by Alan Garner. I apparently enjoyed this more than the first book; I’m kind of curious to reread it now for the mythology. 3/5 stars

Other posts:
–Survey: What’re you here for? For regular readers, a survey on the content you’re interested in around here.
–Classics via daily serial. I’ve started using the app Serial Reader to explore some classics I hadn’t got round to. How am I finding it? [Cheesy promotions voice] You’ll have to click to find out.
–Top Ten Tuesday: Fall TBR. What’s coming up for me? WELL.
–What are you reading Wednesday. Resurrecting a feature I used to do every week, which covers what I’ve just finished reading, what I’m reading now, and what I might read next.
–Totally Should’ve… A meme I picked up all about things some books/series should (or should not have done). Unfortunately, I am mostly predictable and occasionally obscure.

Tags: books, Stacking the Shelves, weekly roundup

Review – The Moon of Gomrath

Posted September 30, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 4 Comments

The Moon of Gomrath, Alan Garner

Flashback Friday review from 12th August, 2009

I liked this book better than the first book, The Weirdstone of Brisingamen. Maybe that’s because I’ve already had some of the world building from the first book and I know kind of what to expect, though. It was weird to me that it was a sequel, but it completely ignored the ending of the last book. There was virtually no reference to it at all, which is amazing considering the total lack of resolution I felt at the end. The only references are in a recurring enemy — the Morrigan — wanting revenge, and the fact that the characters are the same, plus the backstory about the sleepers in the cave.

The mythology in this one was interesting, anyway. I’m amused at how often the concept of the Wild Magic and the Wild Hunt comes up in fantasy books — here, in the Fionavar Tapestry, in The Dark Is Rising… I like it. The descriptions of Susan riding with them, and the way she gets left behind and feels both joy and anguish, are lovely.

Again, I felt a lack of resolution at the end of this book. Both books just end, with no reactions from the characters, nothing. Just. An end. It’s weird, I like things to be rounded off a little better. It’s not that they stop with big plot things left to happen, but they stop without making it feel satisfying.

It also feels like there should be more books in the series — you have all these comparatively little events, dealing with Grimnir and the Brollachan and the Morrigan, but throughout there’s the threat of Nastrond hovering over it, and the idea of the waking of the sleepers, but nothing happens with them. It feels like the focus is on the wrong thing. In one way it’s nice to have a big story hovering in the background, but when you know you’re never going to find out how that story resolves, it’s not so nice. There’s plenty of room for sequels, but I read that Alan Garner never intended for there to be another book. There’s so much that feels unfinished, though…

At least he didn’t write a shoddy page long epilogue in which we find out exactly what happened to everyone in as few words as possible.

This book is fun enough to just read, but I didn’t really get emotionally invested in it. Characters can die and I don’t really care. Not good!

Rating: 3/5

Tags: book reviews, books, Flashback Friday, SF/F

Totally Should’ve…

Posted September 29, 2016 by Nicky in General / 4 Comments

Well, Cait @ Paper Fury did it, so how can I resist?

1. A book that totally should’ve… gotten a sequel.

Are you kidding? You know the answer, right? The Goblin Emperor, of course. I mean, I know there’s another book in the same world due, but I want more of Maia and Csevet and Cala and…

2. A book that totally should’ve… had a spin-off series.

Impulsively, I’m going to go with The Lord of the Rings, because you know the epic adventures of Eowyn and Faramir would’ve been amazing. Or just Eowyn.

Or, I know! Marie Brennan’s A Natural History of Dragons series — spinoff with Tom Wilker’s adventures in polite society, being confronted with Lady Trent’s eccentricities. And losing his temper, because how is he meant to control that woman?

3. An author who should totally… write more books.

Katherine Addison? Is that predictable? Oh dear. Most authors I love have written plenty, but I always want more. And I’d say Tolkien, but I don’t want Christopher Tolkien to get more ideas about dragging out old unfinished manuscripts, and nor do I want some kind of zombie situation.

4. A character who totally should’ve… ended up with someone else.

I have this reaction in a lot of Guy Gavriel Kay’s books, so I can’t help but frustratedly yelp about Kim and Aileron in The Fionavar Tapestry books.

5. A book that totally should’ve… ended differently.

The first one that jumps to mind is The Fionavar Tapestry again, because I don’t understand why Paul stayed in Fionavar with Jaelle, with whom I never felt he had a genuine connection. Also, anything Arthurian where Gawain dies at the end. And though I acknowledge the beauty of the plot and the sense it makes, the end of Ursula Le Guin’s The Furthest Shore (and, uh, consequently large aspects of the following books) can definitely go away. I prefer Ged with his mage powers, sorry.

6. A book that totally should’ve… had a movie franchise.

The Hobbit. Isn’t it a shame that after they did such a great job with The Lord of the Rings, adapting it so faithfully (but adjusting for the demands of the screen), that they never did the same with such a children’s classic? It would be hard to make the tone match the book and the LotR films, but hey, J.R.R. did it, so it must be possible.

Ssh, I can’t hear you. Who is Martin Freeman?

7. A book that totally should’ve… had just one point of view.

More or less anything with multiple first person segments, I’m afraid. I’m not a fan of switching between character perspectives like that, most of the time. It’d be easier for me to think of books that didn’t mess that up. Like Guy Gavriel Kay’s Tigana — okay, that’s third person limited, but it gives such differing and powerful views on the same conflict. That’s multiple POVs done right.

8. A book that totally should’ve… had a cover change.

Ummm. I’m not a visual person, so for this I actually have to go look at my shelves… Nope, nothing’s jumping out at me. Is there something which should be leaping to mind?

9. A book that totally should’ve… kept the same cover.

Kushiel’s Dart and sequels. I mean, just look. One has gorgeous art that fits the world and looks sensual. The other looks like a vampire novel. And if that is Phèdre on the cover of Kushiel’s Chosen, where is her marque?

vs.

10. A series that totally should’ve… stopped at book one.

Uh. Tongue in cheek, I declare Seanan McGuire’s October Daye books — because then I wouldn’t have so much to catch up on.

Well, I’m not tagging anyone in particular, but what about you guys? Any books that totally should’ve [x] that leap to mind?

Tags: books, reading memes

Review – Mortal Engines

Posted September 29, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Mortal Engines, Philip Reeve

The first line of this book is just… how can you not want to read it? “It was a dark, blustery afternoon in spring, and the city of London was chasing a small mining town across the dried-out bed of the old North Sea.”

I tried not to concentrate too much on how this city-eat-city world would actually work — to what degree the cities were alive or just mechanised, the actual practicalities of Municipal Darwinism, etc. It’s a fun idea, and it’s more fun to just roll with it and enjoy the adventure. It is aimed at younger readers, but there’s a surprising amount of emotional impact here — not to mention some actual gore. People don’t survive, it’s messy, and there are shades of grey — Valentine’s done something despicable, but he loves his daughter, and is inspired by her to maybe change his mind… Hester’s driven by revenge, unpleasant to everyone, but she slowly develops.

I enjoyed it a lot, perhaps especially because it didn’t treat kids like idiots who can’t handle death and destruction. We know they can and do; just turn on the international news, if you’re in doubt. The end is not exactly a happy one, though it is one with hope for a future, and things aren’t neatly tied up. Disasters aren’t averted entirely. It’s also a fun world, and the pacing means it just races past.

Rating: 4/5

Tags: book reviews, books, SF/F, YA

What are you reading Wednesday

Posted September 28, 2016 by Nicky in General / 0 Comments

It’s been a while since I did this feature round here! I’ve been meaning to resurrect it for a while. I think it started on Dreamwidth, but it seems worth having a weekly reflection on what I’m reading right now.

What have you recently finished reading?
I just finished In the Forests of Serre, last night. It’s not exactly a retelling of Russian fairytales like Baba Yaga and Ivan and the Firebird, but those character types are in the story. I think it might be one of my favourites of McKillip’s books so far; while the prose is lyrical as ever, the story is a little less dream-like and follows quite logically. At least, most of it — I wasn’t as sure about Unciel and Gyre’s part of the story.

What are you currently reading?
I just finally started on the next of Tanya Huff’s Blood Books, which is Blood Pact. So far it’s okay; I’m sick to death of Celluci and Henry bickering over Vicky, but I’m intrigued by the zombie plot. I think it’s a little too obvious where it’s all going, but it’s an interesting take on it — almost more Frankenstein than zombies, and with a scientific background.

What are you planning to read next?
I’m not sure. I’m still behind on my backlog reading goal, so it’ll be something from the backlog. I’ve been very tempted to reread The Lord of the Rings, but that’s definitely not from my backlog. That said, I’ve got some X-Men comics on the backlog, so I might read those for that and dig into LotR — it’ll save me from taking my boxset of the books back to my wife’s, because goodness knows I have enough I want to pack without those too.

Tags: books, J.R.R. Tolkien, Patricia A. McKillip, reading memes, Tanya Huff

Review – Chalice

Posted September 28, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Chalice, Robin McKinley

I don’t know why I keep coming back to this book — one I originally gave just three stars — but I think this is probably the fourth time I’ve read it. This time, because I saw a copy for three euros in Dublin and just had to, had to, had to; up to now, I didn’t actually have my own copy, which you can imagine was annoying and of course I had to rectify it.

I think the thing is, it’s such a warm story. Mirasol and the Master’s relationship is so tentative, so careful; their attempts to reach out to the land they’re bound to and heal the things that have happened are so conscientious, untutored, sometimes even desperate, and yet they never give up. And I love all the domestic details: the honey, the woodrights, all the sensory stuff that comes with the honey… And the idea of the Chalice, both the office and the object, her duty to bind the Circle and all the little details of how to do that.

I also think it’s a very hopeful book, in the same sort of way as The Goblin Emperor or Uprooted, other books I’ve liked more recently. Okay, there is a conflict, but the outcome is almost totally positive, and the main characters seek as much as they can to avoid conflict. It’s gentle, calm, and thus calming.

I imagine I’ll reread it again sometime in the future.

Rating: 5/5

Tags: book reviews, books, Robin McKinley, SF/F

Review – The Door into Sunset

Posted September 27, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

The Door into Sunset, Diane Duane

I really like that this series is out there, full of characters outside the traditional fantasy mold, full of female characters, in a world created by a goddess. And it helps that there’s dragons and that the most important relationship through the books published is that of Freelorn and Herewiss. And again, that they have a realistic struggle to adjust to new things, to find their feet in their relationship and keep it ticking over without letting it stagnate, to find room for each other. There are some really great scenes, like the section in Lionhall or some of the battle scenes.

One thing I really, really liked was the characterisation of Cillmod, and even Rian. They’ve been boogeymen for so long, and this book finally expands them a little. Cillmod turned out to be especially interesting. It was great to see some ambiguity, some signs of another side of the story.

But. I don’t know. For me, it just doesn’t quite click. Sometimes I feel like the issue of the Goddess is hammered home too hard, too frequently; sometimes I want the characters to stop thinking so much about getting into bed with each other, because hey, there’s actually a war going on; sometimes the tone just feels pompous or… or something I can’t quite put my finger on, but in any case find offputting. It’s not that I don’t enjoy it — I wouldn’t have finished the three books which have been written if I didn’t — but I’m not sure it needs the fourth unwritten book, and I’m glad enough to leave it here.

Rating: 3/5

Tags: book reviews, books, Diane Duane, queer fic, SF/F

Top Ten Tuesday

Posted September 27, 2016 by Nicky in General / 8 Comments

It’s time for Top Ten Tuesday, and this week the theme is our fall TBRs! I’m about to come up with my list for October, so hopefully this shouldn’t be too hard. On the other hand, I know that I’m a fickle creature, and I might well still be listing these same books when it comes round to January…

Magic Binds, by Ilona Andrews. I had the ARC and I haven’t got round to it?! What is wrong with me?
The Family Plot, by Cherie Priest. I haven’t loved any of Priest’s books as much as Bloodshot and Hellbent, but I’m totally ready to try. And this is kind of thematically appropriate for October, with Halloween coming up…
Certain Dark Things, by Sylvia Moreno-Garcia. Signal to Noise wasn’t 100% my thing, but imyril’s review sold me on this so much, if the vampires and that gorgeous cover hadn’t already.
Kushiel’s Dart, by Jacqueline Carey. This is a reread, but it’s been so long since I read it, I can’t wait to dive back in. Here’s hoping I still love it just as much.
The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien. For some reason I’ve been craving a reread, and I’m not going to argue. I’m just vacillating between listening to the audiobook (well, the BBC radioplay adaptation) or reading it. Or both.
The Ghost Brigades, by John Scalzi. Again, a reread, but not the first book of the series, so if I want to read them as a series and keep them all fresh in my mind, I’d better get to it. I read Old Man’s War a while ago already.
The Child Eater, by Rachel Pollack. I both own a copy (in the UK) and have a copy out of the library (in Belgium), so, you know, I should get round to it.
The Impostor Queen, by Sarah Fine. I’ve had it a while and I’m still seeing good things about it, so why not?
Deadline, by Mira Grant. I just got Blackout, so it’s definitely time to get on with this trilogy.
Time and Again, by Jack Finney. I’m partway through it, so I need to pick it back up. It’s a bit slow, though.

What about everyone else? Any big plans?

Tags: books, TBR, Top Ten Tuesday

Classics via daily serial

Posted September 26, 2016 by Nicky in General, Reviews / 0 Comments

Seeing Maximum Pop!‘s review of trying out the app Serial Reader gave me an idea for a discussion post, since it looks like that’s one of the things people are looking for around here! Serial Reader, if you hadn’t heard of it, is an app which breaks up various classic books into chunks of about 10-15 minutes reading time, and delivers them to your phone at a set time each day. I started using it a couple of weeks ago, and have already read Ayn Rand’s Anthem, and got almost halfway through Austen’s Emma.

Do I like the experience? Yes, actually. My problem with some books has been that I don’t really want to sit down with them and spend any appreciable time with them. Like Anthem, for example. Whereas reading just an extract a day — which takes me rather less than 10-15 minutes, usually — is easy. The divisions usually come in reasonably sensible places, like the end of a chapter or poem, and because I get a notification every day, I find myself reading classics very coherently by installments. I don’t think it’d work for me if I just tried to read the book a chapter at a time or something: it’s the little nudge that makes it easier.

My best experience is perhaps with reading Emily Dickinson’s poetry; I’ve never particularly enjoyed it, but with a very short selection every day, there’s no harm in focusing on what you do get. And while I haven’t suddenly been converted, I’ve enjoyed it more than I expected.

There’s quite a good range of books available on the app, too. One of my next up is On the Origin of Species, because it’s really high time I read that. But there’s also Sherlock Holmes stories, Gothic novels, American classics, H.G. Wells…

I’m not so sure about paying the (admittedly small) onetime fee to get access to the ‘read later’ and ‘read ahead’ features — after all, most if not all of these books are public domain, and you can get them free and read ahead as much as you like — but they’re not really essential to the basic idea, which I plan to stick with. I just keep my list of books to try later in my BulletJournal!

Tags: books, classics, discussion, non-book review

Review – Off The Map

Posted September 26, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Off The Map, Alastair Bonnett

This was something of an impulsive purchase, and it turned out to be lighter reading than I expected. Each section is very short, sometimes just three pages long, and it leaves you wondering why he included such-and-such a place if there was so little to say about it. After all, the point of this book is to highlight interesting stuff about places that don’t exist (that either never have, or no longer do, or can’t officially, or…), so surely it’s worth spending some time on each one. Instead, a lot of the sections come across as perfunctory, included more out of a sense that they fit the theme than because they’re interesting.

There are some interesting facts in here, and I do enjoy the way Bonnett cross-references with fiction — when he talks about St Petersburg/Leningrad, he mentions China Miéville’s The City & The City, for example. But it was too much of a grab bag of not-always-interesting facts, and sometimes it also came across as rather preachy. Not that I disagree with Bonnett on many of these things, but still, the tone is offputting.

Rating: 2/5

Tags: book reviews, books, non-fiction