Author: Nicky

Stacking the Shelves

Posted March 19, 2016 by Nicky in General / 19 Comments

Well, for the first time in a while I haven’t got any new books this week! I did pick up some print copies of books I already owned for my collection, but I don’t really count those as acquisitions unless I’m going to reread. And there was a library trip, but only a small one!

Yes, honestly, that is a small one. I technically own the Heyer books… somewhere.

Books read:

Reviews this week:

–The Girl Who Raced Fairyland All The Way Home, by Catherynne M. Valente. A worthy final book, though I was disappointed not to see more of a couple of characters. It ends very neatly. 4/5 stars
–Ex Machina: The First Hundred Days, by Brian K. Vaughn. I wanted to like it more, but I wasn’t a huge fan of the art. Made a decent introduction, though. 3/5 stars
–Winter Rose, by Patricia A. McKillip. I normally love McKillip’s work, but this was my third read and I consistently don’t seem to “get” this one. 3/5 stars
–Sorcerer of the Wildeeps, by Kai Ashante Wilson. I wanted to like it, but the pacing was off and there were so many things skimmed over that I really wanted to know. 2/5 stars
–Alex + Ada: Volume One, by Jonathan Luna and Sarah Vaughn. Very very introductory, so it’s hard to say if I’ll like the rest of the series. 3/5 stars
–Ta-Ra-Ra-Boom-De-Ay: The Dodgy Business of Popular Music, by Simon Napier-Bell. Gossipy and light, but uses terms like “Red Indians”. Whaaa? 2/5 stars
–Flashback Friday: The Postman, by David Brin. An interesting concept for a post-apocalyptic story. I wanted more female characters, though. 3/5 stars

Other posts:

–Why reread? Examines why I like to reread — and asks whether you do, too.
–Top Ten Tuesday: Spring TBR. What it says on the tin: some books I hope to read soon.

So how’s your week been? I wish I’d read more, but it hasn’t been a bad week. My only worry is getting together the money for my domain name renewal and such.

Tags: books, Stacking the Shelves, weekly roundup

Review – The Postman

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

The Postman, David Brin

I enjoyed the first two parts of this very much. The first part covers serendipitous discovery of an old uniform by the main character, Gordon Krantz, just when he needs it after his camp has been raided and all the gear he needs for survival taken. The second part involves the way he becomes a symbol, at first without meaning to, and then the way he builds up a movement around himself, making his lies a reality.

The third part is where it falls down a bit for me, where he comes seriously involved in a basically military operation, and themes of scientific manipulation and so on come in. The climax of the novel is a fight between two characters which barely involves the protagonist, though fortunately it returns to being about Gordon for the last part.

The world of The Postman is bleak, post-apocalyptic, both recognising the elements among us who are violent and opportunistic, and the basic decency a lot of people have. There’s hope here as well.

The way the novel deals with female characters… troubled me. The fact that there are few to no women in positions of power — at least among the decent folks, though of course not among the antagonists due to their philosophy — and the one who is ends up proving herself dangerously naive. Many women are strong, and would be capable of a lot better in a post-apocalyptic dystopian situation than the showing they make here.

Rating: 3/5

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

Review – Ta-Ra-Ra-Boom-De-Ay

Posted March 17, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Ta-Ra-Ra-Boom-De-Ay: The Dodgy Business of Popular Music, Simon Napier-Bell

The style of this history of the music industry is casual and gossipy, and it’d be really easy to read… if I didn’t keep running into phrases like “Red Indians” and “sang the verse like a virgin and the chorus like a whore”. You what? Red Indians, really? In this day and age? And really, a bit of straight-up Madonna/whore bullshit?

I took a couple of deep breaths and read on, but that was just the first chapter and there was plenty more where that came from. If you’re looking for something casual and gossipy, and you don’t mind the occasional stunningly offensive line, then you might well enjoy it; for a non-fiction book, it is actually quite well paced, and there’s plenty of scandal in the music industry to entertain you. Just… apparently very much not for me. So full disclosure: I didn’t finish it.

Rating: 2/5

Tags: book reviews, books, non-fiction

Review – Alex + Ada Volume One

Posted March 16, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Alex + Ada: Volume One, Jonathan Luna, Sarah Vaughn

I picked up Alex + Ada because I read some pretty positive reviews, and I’ve always been interested in AI/android stories, ever since my first fateful encounter with Asimov’s robots in The Positronic Man. I’m a little irritated now that the library only had volume one, because that barely gets things off the ground: Alex meets his new android companion, names her, and realises that she’s lacking that something that makes her a person. For whatever reason — and this isn’t really covered in depth, which actually kind of makes sense to me — Alex decides that he wants to free her intelligence and make her truly sentience. He hasn’t really thought about it before, even though he’s all wired up to his house, but it just feels right, so he goes through with it.

And that’s… pretty much it. It’s an intriguing enough set-up, but it’s barely the start of a story. I wish the library had the next book; I’d rather just go straight onto that, and hope that it picks up straight away. As it is, I’m not sure when I’ll get to read the second volume.

Rating: 3/5

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

Review – Sorcerer of the Wildeeps

Posted March 15, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Sorcerer of the Wildeeps, Kai Ashante Wilson

I was all braced to love this, based on the reviews that I’d read. I wanted to, especially because the world is interesting, the relationships and the fact that it features a gay love story, and because it’s written half in vernacular, half in something more formal, which keeps it very much alive.

However, I had two problems. One was with the structure of the story. The last fifty pages were frenetic and packed full, exploding with stuff. The first hundred-fifty, however… barely went anywhere, and the story itself seemed to hide all the things that would have hooked me — the aforementioned relationship, more details about Demane and where he comes from… And the other problem is just that: there seems to be fascinating background to how the world was colonised? terraformed? is it Earth? It’s so hard to tell, and I wanted to know. I get that this is a novella and thus limited, but still, I wanted more than just that tantalising sense of what was going on — I wanted it to apply to the story more, I guess.

Something about the narration just bounced off me — it reminded me of Nnedi Okorafor’s writing in Lagoon, actually. I might try rereading it and see if it makes more of an impression, but I’m not in a hurry. Still, I’d be willing to try something else by Wilson.

Rating: 2/5

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

Top Ten Tuesday

Posted March 15, 2016 by Nicky in General / 14 Comments

This week’s prompt from The Broke & The Bookish is about your TBR for spring! I do have a March TBR up already, so this isn’t a binding promise to read these particular things… just a hope.

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, by Becky Chambers. I hear so many good things, I really should check this out. And I’ve had it ages now.
Different Class, by Joanne Harris. I always enjoy Harris’ work, and I got this as an ARC, so I really should get around to it.
False Hearts, by Laura Lam. Again, got it as an ARC. I should also read Pantomime and Shadowplay, but since False Hearts is out soonish, I should read that first.
Lyonesse: Suldrun’s Garden, by Jack Vance. I have had this hanging around on my list for aaaaaaaaaaages.
The King’s Peace, by Jo Walton. I really want to reread this, and soon.
Radiance, by Catherynne M. Valente. I wanted to read this anyway, ’cause Valente, and then I read a bit of the prologue and ohhh, must fit it in soon.
The Copper Promise, by Jen Williams. And the second book, since the third is coming out soon.
Every Heart A Doorway, by Seanan McGuire. I want this so badly, I can’t wait for it to be out.
Revelation Space, by Alastair Reynolds. Doing an epic Reynolds Reread with my sister, and this one is first up.
A Gathering of Shadows, by V.E. Schwab. I am very much converted to the Schwab Supporter Camp or whatever we’re gonna call ourselves. I must get round to reading this noooow.

What’s everyone else itching to get their hands on, or excavating from their TBR Mountain?

Tags: books, Top Ten Tuesday

Why reread?

Posted March 14, 2016 by Nicky in General / 20 Comments

It probably surprises no one to know, if you’ve read my post on spoilers, that one of the reasons I like to reread books is because of that comforting sense you know what’s coming. I just got finished rereading A Natural History of Dragons, and of course I knew what happened — which took the edge off any impatience or tension, and actually means I’m going to be rating the book at least one star higher. It’s just the way I’m wired, I guess; I like to know, and then watch things unfold with that knowledge and put together, instead of the what, the how and sometimes the why.

(On the other hand, I just reread Winter Rose, and knowing how that ends didn’t help a bit with connecting the dots because there’s something about that book I just don’t get.)

As I said in the post on spoilers, it’s also a way of appreciating the skill of the author: even if you know what’s coming, can they keep you absorbed? Can they keep you following the thread of story round each step of the labyrinth, instead of taking a shortcut? Can they lay a trail of clues for the reader?

Of course, if you have a really great memory, then only the very best of books will stand up to that, or it has to be something else that draws you — the characters? the writing? the nostalgia?

There’s a whole lot of reasons why I reread, but nostalgia and comfort are a big part. I can get the same thing with books that follow a formula — like Georgette Heyer’s Regency novels or Mary Stewart’s suspenseful romances — because I sort of know what’s coming, and I can just settle into it, watching where it takes me.

What about you? Do you reread? Why/why not?

Tags: books, discussion

Review – Winter Rose

Posted March 14, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Winter Rose, Patricia A. McKillip

I’ve actually reviewed this here before, and in fact read it twice before. I wanted to give it another go, because I’ve been reading a couple of other Tam Lin based stories (The Perilous Gard; An Earthly Knight; just starting Pamela Dean’s Tam Lin) and because I want to read the sequel to this, Solstice Wood. And because I’m stubborn as heck and I didn’t ‘get it’, and I don’t like that feeling.

Well, I still didn’t really ‘get’ it, though I was more content to go with the dreamlike logic and just enjoy the lyrical writing and the scent-touch-taste of the way McKillip writes. It still reminds me of ‘Goblin Market’ as much as ‘Tam Lin’, given the inclusion of the character of Laurel, who wastes away waiting for Tam Lin. There’s so much to love in this book — the way Perrin is portrayed, solid and real and true; Laurel and Rois’ love for each other and their father, and his for them; the beautiful, beautiful writing.

But I still don’t get it. I feel like I should be rating it more highly, liking it better, and obviously there’s something that keeps me trying to come back to it. But nope. Still not the right time, perhaps?

Rating: 3/5

Tags: book reviews, books, Patricia A. McKillip, SF/F

Review – Ex Machina: The First Hundred Days

Posted March 13, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 6 Comments

Ex Machina: The First Hundred Days, Brian K. Vaughan, Tony Harris, Tom Feister, JD Mettler

This is an interesting take on the superhero genre, with a man randomly granted powers and first attempting to use them as a superhero, ‘The Great Machine’, before giving up on that and turning to politics in order to make a real difference. I’m not a huge fan of the art, but it’s not bad or distracting; there’s just something about it I don’t quite get on with, especially when it comes to faces.

There’s really a lot more to this story than can be packed into one volume, and in a way I wanted to skip the preliminaries and learn more. The last section was more engaging, because it really brought feelings into it — the Three Musketeers, split apart by not believing in the same things anymore — whereas the rest I didn’t feel that engaged with.

I’m intrigued by the story, but not enough to rush to get the next volume. Maybe if the library has it.

Rating: 3/5

Tags: book reviews, books, comics

Review – The Girl Who Raced Fairyland All The Way Home

Posted March 12, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

The Girl Who Raced Fairyland All the Way Home, Catherynne M. Valente

Nooo, I don’t want it to be the end! That said, it isn’t as bad as I’d feared: it doesn’t end like Narnia, with all the magic going away in favour of allegory. Fairyland remains as real and wild and strange, and the ending as bitter-and-sweetly magical as the other books. I was a little disappointed not to see more of Hawthorn and Tam’s adventures; The Boy Who Lost Fairyland is really a one-off in going so far from September, and I’m not sure I like that I never got my answers to questions about Hawthorn and Tam and how they feel about leaving behind their human families.

The weird wonders of Fairyland continue, as beautiful and strangely perfect as ever. I want to meet most of the characters (or hide from the nastier ones). And sometimes I can’t help but feel that the narrator looks into my heart just as much as she does September’s. Especially when the hippos named after bottles from the liquor cabinet come in (if you know me, you probably know about Helen, and if you know Helen, you know my heart).

Also, Blunderbuss! I love that at least we get Blunderbuss in this one, and A-Through-L being awesome and the whole bit with the main library and the book bears and…

No, I’m probably not capable of writing a coherent review of these books. This one is just as charming as the rest, though perhaps a bit sadder, because you know it’s the last, and because various things that happen during the race to be ruler of Fairyland make you worry about the characters and whether things can ever be the same.

Oh, and some things that some characters have been waiting for since the first book finally come to pass. So all in all, it’s a very satisfying end to the series, except for the fact that nobody wants it to end. The whole series might be marketed as young adult, but I think perhaps it has more for the adult who can still dream.

Rating: 4/5

Tags: book reviews, books, Catherynne M. Valente, SF/F