Author: Nicky

Review – The Hawley Book of the Dead

Posted June 24, 2015 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of The Hawley Book of the DeadThe Hawley Book of the Dead, Chrysler Szarlan
Received to review via Netgalley

This sounded great when I originally requested it; I’d forgotten most of that by the time I picked it up, but I was still interested. The set-up is great: the creepy/historic house and village, the magic in the family, the magic tricks on the stage, the mysterious Fetch coming after the family. The setting is great; I could easily picture both the theatre for the performance at the beginning of the story, and the little abandoned town in New England.

But. The family. There were details that seemed meant to be vivid — the black/white clothes of the twins, the red hair, the string Caleigh uses… it felt flat to me, and so did the described emotion. If the numbness after a loss was what I was meant to feel vicariously, then that would have worked, but there was also fear, a desire for vengeance, anger, and those didn’t come across to me.

Perhaps worst of all, this reminded me too much of Joanne Harris’ Chocolat (the woman fleeing bad magic with her children, the magic running in the family), The Night Circus (the magic, but here without the enchantment), and something else I can’t quite put my finger on. It didn’t feel “rich”, as the blurb on Goodreads had it. I can’t say it was terrible, but it was just so… flat.

Rating: 2/5

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Review – Homo Britannicus

Posted June 23, 2015 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of Homo Britannicus by Chris StringerHomo Britannicus, Chris Stringer

I only had the chance to skim through this, because the library was tired of renewing it for me (not really, they’re excellent to me), but it’s an amazing resource. Limited, of course, in that it examines the development of humans in Britain, which doesn’t allow for taking into account other parts of the story. And indeed, it was written in 2008, so I’m not sure if some of the vital parts of the human story were available then — when were the Denisovan caves discovered and published about? It’s also pretty obviously for the layman (which would normally include me! but I’ve done so much reading on the subject, going over the basics again doesn’t work for me).

It’s a well-presented book, with plenty of photography, illustrations, etc. It links in the story of humans in Britain with the issue of climate change, which is on the one hand understandable — occupation of Britain fluctuated over and over again as Ice Ages came and went, and once hippos lived in the wild in Britain! — and a little disingenuous. Obviously, I’m not looking for a lecture on climate change when I want to read about humans.

(Not to mention: the choir? You’re preaching to it. I’m well aware of the cycles of climate change on Earth, and their potential effects on all species and countries. And to me, it doesn’t matter whether we’re driving climate change or not. We’re using an unsustainable fuel supply to do so, and in many other ways it measurably damages our world. Let’s fix that and then wrangle about whether or not it’s fixed the climate too.)

Rating: 3/5

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Top Ten Tuesday

Posted June 23, 2015 by Nicky in General / 4 Comments

This week’s TTT topic is a bit meta — it’s a top ten list of favourite Top Ten Tuesday topics! I haven’t done all of these, I just browsed through the list of past challenges to look for fun ones. If I haven’t done them, I may well do them next time we get a freebie week!

  1. Books I’d want on a desert island. It’s a classic, after all.
  2. Books I just had to buy… but are still sitting on my bookshelf. Er. I’m not a major perpetrator of this one. Nope.
  3. Books I’m so happy were recommended to me. Because you’ve got to appreciate the people in your life who just get it right.
  4. Books I wish I could read again for the first time. I did this one recently, with Guy Gavriel Kay’s “if I’m found with amnesia…” twist.
  5. Books I’d quickly save if my house were about to be abducted by aliens. Because let’s face it, the theme made me laugh, and it’s a valid question.
  6. Most frustrating characters ever. Come on, who doesn’t have a fictional character or two they just want to smack?
  7. Characters I’d never want to switch places with. FitzChivalry Farseer is probably topping that list.
  8. Popular authors I’ve never read. It’s always nice to know I’m not the only one.
  9. Characters you want to check in on after ‘the end’. I thought this one was an interesting one, and we all have characters/worlds we wonder about, right?
  10. Heroines. Because yay girl power!

What about you? Is there any you’d like to do next time there’s a freebie, or anything you’d like me to do?

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No Book Buying Challenge: Best So Far

Posted June 22, 2015 by Nicky in General / 6 Comments

Well, the theme for this month’s #ShelfLove update is to do a mid-year review, which I’ve already done. So I will do July’s theme already: to share the best book so far this year that counted toward this challenge. Let me dash to my Goodreads shelves and take a look… Seems like the winner is Marie Brennan’s Tropic of Serpents. You can read my review here!

  • 30/51+ already owned books read (last one recorded: Ancillary Justice, 21/06)
  • Spent: £21 out of ~£30 budget (budget is 10% of my income) for January
  • Spent: £20 out of ~£25 budget for February
  • Spent: £22 out of ~£25 budget for March
  • Spent: £15 out of ~£16 budget for April
  • Spent: £45 out of ~£30 budget for May
  • Spent: £18 out of ~£40 budget for June

Can you tell I’ve been earning some more money this month? Such a relief. It’s going to be a bit difficult to keep track of the rest of this month, given that I’m in Belgium, Canada and the US, so dealing with various different currencies. It will basically go green if I manage to keep to my main budgets, and I won’t worry too much about the exact total.

Here’s my more general progress on resolutions:

  • No books impulse-bought (despite a recent spree, that was still books I considered for at least a day first!)
  • Read every day (I had problems with this because of an assignment, so I’m giving myself half a pass on this one!)
  • Bed before midnight (nearly every night now)
  • Up before ten every day
  • Only bought one book from a series at a time
  • Posted to the blog every day
  • Commented on at least one other blog every day (I should have made time for this despite my assignment, it’s not like it takes long)
  • Tithed 10% in January, February, March, April, May & June
  • Done 55 hours volunteering total
  • Reading/reviewing books from NG/etc (60% ratio; massive progress in the last month!)

Obviously this month I added some colour-coding. That red line for May will give me extra determination not to have more! Green is for good progress or sticking to a target; orange is for marginal or in progress things.

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Review – Roadside Picnic

Posted June 22, 2015 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Cover of Roadside Picnic by Boris & Arkady StrugatskyRoadside Picnic, Boris & Arkady Strugatsky

I suggested this book for the Cardiff SF/F bookclub.

Reading this again after finishing Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach trilogy (Annihilation, Authority, Acceptance), the debt is obvious. If VanderMeer hasn’t read Roadside Picnic, there’s a whole bunch of similarities: the central idea, that maybe humans and aliens won’t/can’t understand each other, the mysterious and unknowable purpose behind the alien presence, the transformations of people in and around the Zone, even the revenant people who come back (in the Southern Reach trilogy, as doubles which mysteriously and quickly die; here, as actual corpses).The introduction by Ursula Le Guin mentions other stories which tackle similar themes re: human/alien interaction, which I’m going to have to check out.

As a bit of classic SF, this stands up pretty well, although of course it has its problems too. The only women with speaking lines are Guta and Dina, and both are objects of desire, motivators for the men. Monkey, Red’s daughter, barely even gets chance to speak, and she isn’t really treated as human. But I still find the set-up compelling, and even though none of the characters are really awesome people or fleshed out, they’re human, with the usual mix of good and bad aspects. Enough that they feel more or less real, though there’s a definite Russian flavour to it — one I can’t quite put my finger on, a sort of absurdity through precise descriptions of movements, actions, dialogue.

The ending… is inconclusive. It’s like they got to the culmination of the idea and character, and didn’t want to show the aftermath — maybe didn’t even know what it would be. That’s for us to wonder.

Rating: 4/5

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Review – Joan of Arc

Posted June 21, 2015 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of Joan of Arc, by Helen CastorJoan of Arc, Helen Castor

I originally requested this as an ARC from Netgalley, because I enjoyed Helen Castor’s She-Wolves, but I never got round to it in time and ended up buying the book recently. This is a bit too dry to be a story, but Castor certainly “pick[ed her] way through the evidence, choosing what to weave into a seamless story”. It doesn’t spend much time in the narrative on talking about conflicting testimony, apocryphal stories, etc — I’m left not quite sure how sure Castor is about some of the events she describes. The notes are pretty extensive though, with plenty of references for anyone with the patience to follow up on it.

As with She-Wolves, this is a pretty readable book, and Castor manages to bring across Joan’s indomitable spirit, her conviction, and, yeah, her sassiness. From the records we have, it seems that we have a pretty consistent picture of Joan as a pious girl who believed wholly in what she was doing, and that she was heaven-sent to fulfil her mission.

One thing I wondered, though — would we treat her any better today? People talk about how badly she was treated, particularly when in Anglo-French custody but also in the endless requests to prove herself and her virginity. But we’d treat her as mad today, not venerate her. Mind you don’t take Joan the hero and act ‘holier than thou’ about the medieval people who condemned her. You likely would too, though for different reasons, however pretty and sassy and self-confident she was.

Rating: 4/5

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Review – Crown of Midnight

Posted June 20, 2015 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. MaasCrown of Midnight, Sarah J. Maas

Aaah! This book ups the stakes a lot in terms of emotional involvement and the political backstory. Celaena may have become the King’s Champion, but her troubles aren’t nearly over yet. I drew parallels to Graceling when I did my first review (or in my review of Graceling), and they remain: the reluctant/ethical assassin, trying to find ways to take power back from the corrupt king who commands her.

The whole Chaol or Dorian stuff… I’m not really into that. The will-she-won’t-she doesn’t do much for me, and the whole anger and jealousy thing in this book… eh. I don’t want to see Chaol and Dorian’s friendship broken over this, so I’m really not enthralled with the opposition and discomfort between the two.

The end of the book is a game-changer, telling us who Celaena really is and what she is. The hints have been there all along, of course, little bits and pieces that we could piece together to figure it out ahead of time. So, not so much a surprise to me. There’s more background into other stuff, too: witches, the source of the magic loss in the world, Elena’s presence.

The writing is maturing here. I read that Throne of Glass was written when Maas was sixteen, and it still shows. Crown of Midnight is steadier, more mature, and more emotional too. I’m excited for the third book now, rather than just curious. Hope the library gets it in soon, or my sister takes pity and lends me her copy.

Rating: 4/5

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Stacking the Shelves

Posted June 20, 2015 by Nicky in General / 16 Comments

This week, I got some major goals done — the book I was ghostwriting was finished (well, one of them), I got a lot of transcription work done, and I got an assignment done. So I was allowed some books, and much deserved they were. Also, one of them was bought with a voucher my mother gave me a few weeks(!) ago. Aaand then was Support Tor Day (warning: link to Vox Day’s blog; no, he isn’t supporting Tor, he’s calling for a boycott, which to me is tantamount to asking all reasonable people to support them).

Plus, Susanna Kearsley sent me an Amazon voucher to make up for me getting smacked with a customs charge for a book she sent me. I don’t have that book in my hands yet, but I do have a couple of her others. I had some of these from the library, but…

Cover of Uprooted by Naomi Novik Cover of Across the Wall by Garth Nix 23213811

Cover of Mariana by Susanna Kearsley Cover of The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas Cover of Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

Cover of Hammered by Elizabeth Bear Cover of The Seventh Bride by T. Kingfisher Cover of The Sin Eater's Daughter by Melinda Salisbury

Cover of The Shadowy Horses by Susanna Kearsley Cover of Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang Cover of A Companion to Wolves by Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette

Excite!

Comics

Ms Marvel

I’m not sure how I feel about this event, but still. Ms Marvel. Yay.

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48 Hour Book Challenge

Posted June 19, 2015 by Nicky in General / 4 Comments

Well, thanks to Ryan (SpecFic Junkie), looks like I’m joining in with MotherReader’s 48 Hour Book Challenge. My 48 hours will run from 6pm Belgian time 11pm on Friday to 6pm 11pm Belgian time on Sunday, and I’m not aiming too high in terms of participation — I know I’ve got a chemistry assignment to finish, prep for a trip to Canada, and also, you know, time to spend with my partner. And sleep. And the bunny. Obviously 12 hours is the minimum bracket, so I’m aiming for at least that.

Watch this space for updates! I have no particular stack, but the books will come from my June TBR, or fill one of my three remaining wildcard spots.

Blogging stuff: 4 hours.
Talking about books: 2 hours.
Reading:
6 hours. Finished Ancillary Justice; started The Philosopher Kings; read a couple of short stories.
Reading for assignment: pretty much 12 hours, no kidding. So much science.

I am hesitant to count the blogging stuff because yeesh, self, that is a lot of time noodling around on blogs. And the assignment stuff also includes doing math and rearranging equations, so it doesn’t count really.

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Review – A Taste of the Nightlife

Posted June 19, 2015 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of A Taste of the NightlifeA Taste of the Nightlife, Sarah Zettel
Review from April 1st, 2012

I liked Sarah Zettel’s Camelot quartet a lot on first reading, but it didn’t stand up very well to me writing an essay on it. This… I felt the whole way through how she was manipulating the readers’ thoughts and feelings. I could feel it, and it annoyed the heck out of me… but I still couldn’t put it down. So I’m wavering between two and three stars here. I don’t know if I can explain how ambivalent I feel about it. (I’ve changed the star rating three times so far in typing this paragraph.)

I wasn’t in love with the characters. I was reminded constantly of other books — Robin McKinley’s Sunshine, for one, with the first person female narrator who loves to cook, isn’t conventionally brave, and gets messed up with vampires, and has two men with whom she has sexual attraction, one of whom is a vampire and the other of whom is a warlock… (I don’t remember exactly the details of Mel in Sunshine, but I seem to recall some details which pointed in that direction.) And of other urban fantasy books. The tone really didn’t come across as anything new, and sorry, but I don’t think Zettel is that skilled at writing mysteries. She doesn’t give you the tools to solve it yourself, which makes it confusing and that bit boring.

And yet. I wanted to know which guy she picked. I wanted to know her brother’d be okay and she’d reopen her restaurant. There was enough there to keep me turning the pages. I even think I’ll probably read the sequel, though I’m in no hurry. I’m just… disappointed.

Rating: 2/5

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