Category: Reviews

Review – Soonish

Posted February 18, 2024 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Review – Soonish

Soonish: Ten Emerging Technologies That'll Improve And/Or Ruin Everything

by Zach Weinersmith, Kelly Weinersmith

Genres: Non-fiction, Science
Pages: 368
Rating: three-stars
Synopsis:

What will the world of tomorrow be like? How does progress happen? And why do we not have a lunar colony already? What is the hold-up?

In this smart and funny book, celebrated cartoonist Zach Weinersmith and noted researcher Dr. Kelly Weinersmith give us a snapshot of what's coming next -- from robot swarms to nuclear fusion powered-toasters. By weaving their own research, interviews with the scientists who are making these advances happen, and Zach's trademark comics, the Weinersmiths investigate why these technologies are needed, how they would work, and what is standing in their way.

New technologies are almost never the work of isolated geniuses with a neat idea. A given future technology may need any number of intermediate technologies to develop first, and many of these critical advances may appear to be irrelevant when they are first discovered. The journey to progress is full of strange detours and blind alleys that tell us so much about the human mind and the march of civilization.

To this end, Soonish investigates ten different emerging fields, from programmable matter to augmented reality, from space elevators to robotic construction, to show us the amazing world we will have, you know, soonish.

I didn’t love Kelly and Zach Weinersmith’s Soonish as much as I liked A City on Mars: I think that’s partly because the latter is much more of a deep dive, whereas the chapters here are necessarily a bit shallower, since they’re looking at multiple different technologies, and don’t have the time to get into the nitty gritty as much. There’s also some information (and even jokes) that feels repetitive if you’ve already read A City on Mars already, as well.

That said, they pick an interesting raft of likely technologies and start picking into why we don’t have them yet, why they feel within reach, and what we need to figure out to make them reality. The tone is fairly light, but they explain things pretty well.

After a certain point the humour does start to grate a bit, I must admit; I didn’t find that in A City on Mars, and of course, your mileage may vary.

Rating: 3/5

Tags: , , , , ,

Divider

Review – Digging Up Britain

Posted February 17, 2024 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Review – Digging Up Britain

Digging Up Britain: Ten Discoveries, A Million Years of History

by Mike Pitts

Genres: History, Non-fiction
Pages: 288
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

Digging Up Britain traces the history of Britain through key discoveries and excavations. With British archaeologist Mike Pitts as a guide, this book covers the most exciting excavations of the past ten years, gathers firsthand stories from the people who dug up the remains, and follows the latest revelations as one twist leads to another.

Britain, a historically crowded place, has been the site of an unprecedented number of discoveries--almost everywhere the ground is broken, archaeologists find evidence that people have been there before. These discoveries illuminate Britain's ever-shifting history that we now know includes an increasingly diverse array of cultures and customs.

Each chapter of the book tells the story of a single excavation or discovery. Some are major digs, conducted by large teams over years, and others are chance finds, leading to revelations out of proportion to the scale of the original project. Every chapter holds extraordinary tales of planning, teamwork, luck, and cutting-edge archaeological science that produces surprising insights into how people lived a thousand to a million years ago.

It took me a while to get through Mike Pitts’ Digging Up Britain, because there’s a lot to take in. Pitts discusses various sites across Britain representing dozens of discoveries each, and tries to analyse what they mean, reimagine their contexts, and also provide the context of the modern excavations, the techniques used, etc

The book is illustrated by maps, black and white images, and two inserts of colour images too — I didn’t always find myself flicking through to look at those, because I was more interested in following the sense of the text, but it does let you get a look at what’s being discussed, and adds a bit more context.

In the end, I wasn’t too surprised by any of the findings discussed: after growing up eagerly awaiting new Time Team episodes, I’ve stayed a little big plugged in to the big archaeological discoveries. That said, sometimes later analysis has discovered fascinating but not newsworthy things, so I learned some new stuff too.

Rating: 4/5

Tags: , , , ,

Divider

Stacking the Shelves & The Sunday Post

Posted February 17, 2024 by Nicky in Reviews / 22 Comments

Somehow it’s the weekend again already! It caught me by surprise, and yet it’s felt like a very long week, not helped by my own problems with sleeping. Here’s to a restful weekend!

As usual, linking up with Reading Reality’s Stacking the Shelves, Caffeinated Reviewer’s The Sunday Post, and the Sunday Salon over at Readerbuzz.

Books acquired this week:

It was release week for the latest British Library Crime Classic reissue. I have the subscription, so I got my book this week… and because it’s E.C.R. Lorac (under the Carol Carnac pseudonym), I devoured it right away.

Cover of Impact of Evidence by Carol Carnac AKA E.C.R. Lorac

That’s all for now, though yesterday I managed to finish up a first draft of my parasitology class assignment, so I should reward myself with a good book for next week — maybe Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands?

Posts from this week:

As ever, it’s been a busy week: I have to keep up posting one review a day, or I’ll only fall further behind, since I read ~400 books last year and I’m on track to do the same this year! So in case you missed it, here’s the roundup:

And the non-review posts:

What I’m reading:

I did some rereading this week (which I don’t plan to re-review, since I read the book so recently), and read a couple of manga I don’t plan to review. So it looks like kind of a slow week (by my usual standards), but actually I read quite a bit! Here’s a sneak peek of the books I read that I do intend to review:

Cover of Lost in the Moment and Found by Seanan McGuire Cover of Britannia vol 1 by Dave Sharpe et al Cover of Impact of Evidence by Carol Carnac AKA E.C.R. Lorac Cover of Work: A History of How We Spend Our Time, by James Suzman Cover of Breaklands Season One by Justin Jordan

Over the weekend I’m planning to read Seanan McGuire’s Mislaid in Parts Half-Known, which should bring me up to date with that series, and Gina Perry’s The Lost Boys, a non-fiction book about a psychology experiment that pitted groups of boys against each other. I liked Gina Perry’s work on Stanley Milgram’s experiments, Behind the Shock Machine, so this should be good.

Other than that I’m not sure! How about you folks? Any big plans for the weekend?

Tags: , ,

Divider

Review – The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System, vol 3

Posted February 16, 2024 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System, vol 3

The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System, vol 3

by Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù

Genres: Fantasy, Romance
Pages: 408
Series: The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System #3
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

To save his sect from destruction, Shen Qingqiu has at last submitted to Luo Binghe—though he wishes people would stop saying it like that! Unfortunately, they're not wrong.

Luo Binghe has finally made his desire for his old master clear. For all that Shen Qingqiu longs to return to their peaceful days together on Qing Jing Peak, he knows it's impossible now that Luo Binghe has darkened into a true demon lord. But as Shen Qingqiu begins to uncover more of Proud Immortal Demon Way's hidden plot, including his host body's own backstory, he realizes he must learn to see Luo Binghe for who he truly is if either of them is to survive.

Oof, what to say about volume three of MXTX’s The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System? I suppose one thing to address up front, which I didn’t really discuss in my initial reviews, is that this isn’t a straightforward romance novel/series in the way I think some Western readers expect when they see others’ enthusiasm. If you read it because you’re a fan of Western romances, there’s a lot in this series that just won’t make sense, because it’s part of a bigger tradition, and that tradition is required for understanding some of what’s going on. The story does explain a lot of it along the way, as do the extras in the back of the book, but it’s not a straightforward ride… and another thing is that despite this being the last part of the series proper (the fourth volume has extras), the happy ending is fairly understated.

Art from The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System, vol 3. A curly-haired young man with an uncertain expression grasps the hand of a smiling, elegant older man who is looking at him with acceptance and love.In addition, the relationship between Shen Qingqui and Luo Binghe is extremely problematic: SQQ is older and knew LBH as a child, and is also his teacher/master. SQQ could do a lot of harm to LBH due to that childhood crush turned obsessive love (and does, albeit against his will and by refusing to have a relationship with LBH). Consent is also a massive problem, in both directions (SQQ has sex with LBH while LBH is out of his mind, to save him; the sex is painful and awful for SQQ, who sees it as the only way to save LBH). So if anyone got this far to volume three thinking it was going to change, or has been curious because of my reviews and is now getting tempted to dip a toe in, be very very aware that this isn’t a romance novel and there are a lot of tropes and cultural things that would never be OK in Western romance. The whole dynamic is a mess.

All the same, there’s also a lot to enjoy here, when you take it in its context. There’s a fair bit of action and swordplay, which is all a lot of fun. The art pages are beautiful, and SQQ’s stupid inner narrative makes me giggle a lot (though, trigger warning for his internalised homophobia). SQQ’s slow acceptance of LBH’s love, and his slow steps toward trusting him and loving him in return, produce some genuinely lovely moments. I absolutely love the last piece of art (shown on the right):

“This time, no matter where you wish to go, this master will accompany you.”

I really want to read the last volume now, from what I’ve heard about it.

[And indeed, I’ve read it since I wrote this review, and loved it… but that’s a story for another day.]

Rating: 4/5

Tags: , , , , ,

Divider

Review – Eorzea Academy

Posted February 15, 2024 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – Eorzea Academy

Final Fantasy XIV: Eorzea Academy

by Esora Amaichi

Genres: Fantasy, Game, Graphic Novels
Pages: 192
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

Join all your favorite Final Fantasy XIV characters in this rollicking, modern-day high school comedy!

Alisaie is a student attending Eorzea Academy, an exclusive institution created by the merger of former rival schools the Academy of Light and the Academy of Darkness. However, frequent quarrels between the students prove that a bitter divide remains between the Class of Light and the Class of Darkness. Worried about the ongoing conflict, headmistress Tataru decides it's time for some bold solutions to raise morale. Let the school games begin!

Eorzea Academy is a fun manga placing Final Fantasy XIV’s Scions of the Seventh Dawn in a school setting as the Class of Light, alongside the Class of Darkness, after a recent merger between two schools. Headmistress Tataru has a plan to get people to cooperate and forge a friendly rivalry between the two classes, which (of course) leads to plenty of hijinks.

If you don’t yet know the characters of Final Fantasy XIV, this probably isn’t for you. If you do… well, then you get to see them all running around in an alternative universe as students, with lots of funny moments that reference their canon appearances. Estinien never does his homework, G’raha seems to have a crush on him, Alphinaud’s a goodie-goodie, Y’shtola’s secretly nicknamed “mommy”… If you know the characters, then it’s worth a smile.

Obviously it’s pretty light stuff, and even Zenos, Yotsuyu and Asahi aren’t so bad here (fans of any of them as villains might be disappointed). I found it fun to see the references to the game, and the art is cute.

Rating: 4/5

Tags: , , , ,

Divider

Review – Someone from the Past

Posted February 14, 2024 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – Someone from the Past

Someone from the Past

by Margot Bennett

Genres: Crime, Mystery
Pages: 256
Series: British Library Crime Classics
Rating: one-star
Synopsis:

Sarah has been receiving threatening anonymous letters, seemingly from a former lover. Just one day after revealing this information to her co-worker Nancy, Sarah is found shot in her bedroom by one of her past flames, Donald. Hearing the news and desperate to clear any evidence of Donald’s presence at the scene due to her own infatuations, Nancy finds herself as the key suspect when she is discovered in the apartment.

As the real killer uses the situation to their advantage, Bennett crafts a tense and nuanced story through flashbacks to Sarah’s life and loves in this Gold-Dagger-award-winning, Hitchcockian story of deceit and murder.

It’s rare that I give a British Library Crime Classic a really low rating, but Margot Bennett is one of those writers I don’t really get on with… and Someone from the Past got on my last nerve. The introduction is all about what a fine book it was thought and how amazing it is, but I found it really tiresome.

The main reason was that the main character does some completely daft stuff, lies badly, tries to be witty and fails, and then tries to run away to Ireland like the police don’t know all the tricks and all the ways you might try to skip the country. She has these long dialogues with people that Martin Edwards (the editor of the British Library Crime Classics series) thinks are great, and which to me just end up being set pieces for the sake of showing off how oh-so-wittily Bennett thinks she writes dialogue.

One or two scenes like that might be okay, but I just don’t believe this character has a braincell in her head, and I’m not interested in her sparring with people. And then the book goes and ends with a get together where the man in question literally spends the whole book manipulating her “for her own good”, and sometimes being physically threatening to the point of terror for her. And I’m supposed to believe that’s a happy end?

Maybe not: maybe the point is to look at Nancy getting back on the merry-go-round of stupid and think “oh boy”. But it felt more like an attempt to tidy up loose ends, to let the reader feel like things are going to be okay now — and either way, I just didn’t enjoy it.

Rating: 1/5

Tags: , , , , ,

Divider

Review – Glitter

Posted February 13, 2024 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – Glitter

Glitter

by Nicole Seymour

Genres: History, Non-fiction
Pages: 184
Series: Object Lessons
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things.

Glitter reveals the complexity of an object often dismissed as frivolous. Nicole Seymour describes how glitter's consumption and status have shifted across centuries-from ancient cosmetic to queer activist tool, environmental pollutant to biodegradable accessory-along with its composition, which has variously included insects, glass, rocks, salt, sugar, plastic, and cellulose. Through a variety of examples, from glitterbombing to glitter beer, Seymour shows how this substance reflects the entanglements of consumerism, emotion, environmentalism, and gender/sexual identity.

Broadly speaking, I really liked Nicole Seymour’s Glitter. Love it or hate it, glitter is everywhere — and some of the hatred of glitter sometimes seems more like an “ew, I’m not gay!” or a performative “ugh, I’m like those other girls”, “I’m not a child”, etc. Seymour makes this clear, regularly referencing how important glitter is to members of the queer community, for various reasons.

I’d have liked a little more detail on one or two points — there are lots of references to what glitter is made of, the effort to make it biodegradable, etc, but I’d have loved a little more detail on the options, what people are using, etc — but overall I found it pretty good.

It did also make me think. I must admit to not being a great fan of glitter myself, but I couldn’t honestly say why. It’s relatively harmless (Seymour points out that the impact on the environment of the plastic variety is fairly tiny, and of course not all glitter is made from plastic), and a little bit of sparkle does people no harm. I suppose I find it a little bit cringe when people attribute absolutely magical things to it, which at times I think Seymour’s at risk of doing.

Rating: 4/5

Tags: , , , , ,

Divider

Top Ten Tuesday: All About Love

Posted February 13, 2024 by Nicky in Reviews / 24 Comments

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday prompt is a love-themed freebie.

There are some relationships in books which live in my head rent-free, so this list is about all of those. The books aren’t necessarily romances (though some of them are) — just books where a central relationship has well and truly taken up a place in my own heart. I stuck to romantic relationships, in the spirit of Valentine’s Day, though platonic relationships are the beating heart of many stories, and I love them too!

Cover of The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System vol 4 by MXTX Cover of The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison Cover of Heartstopper by Alice Oseman Cover of Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews Cover of Band Sinister by K.J. Charles

  1. Shen Qingqiu and Luo Binghe (The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System, by Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù). Let’s start with an obvious and recent one. Sure, it took until the third book for me to be really swept away, and the fourth book (which contains short stories from various parts of the story’s timeline) to really cement it… but now I’m actually rereading the series (already!) to better understand these characters, what makes them tick, and especially Luo Binghe’s thoughts during certain parts of the plot. I’m not saying this is an exemplary relationship or something: these guys are messed up. But I love them.
  2. Maia Drazhar and Csethiro Ceredin (The Goblin Emperor, by Katherine Addison). I love The Goblin Emperor so much, though I’d be delighted to get a little more “screen time” for Csethiro. I love that she’s clever, that she’s not willing to just do anything to marry an emperor, and that she genuinely comes to care for Maia. Her scenes are some of my favourites in the book, and I’d love to have seen a lot more of her.
  3. Nick Nelson and Charlie Spring (Heartstopper, by Alice Oseman). These two are just so cute, and come of age together in a way that… yeah, maybe I’m a bit envious of. Like Charlie, I was outed at school, but it didn’t go as well for me (and it didn’t go great for Charlie, at least at first). They’re just solid and wholesome and maybe a little too ideal at times, but it’s nice to be reminded that that genuinely happens for some people.
  4. Kate Daniels and Curran Lennart (Magic Bites, by Ilona Andrews). I had so much fun reading this series, and part of it is the bond that gets forged between these two. They’re both strong, stubborn, and in need of one another — and they can only really win by leaning on each other, trusting each other, and trusting that the other won’t break. It takes time for them to get there, but once they do, they’re unstoppable.
  5. Philip Rookwood and Guy Frisby (Band Sinister, by KJ Charles). This is one of my favourite of KJ Charles’ books. I was originally going to pick a different couple of hers, Kim Secretan and Will Darling from Slippery Creatures… but Philip and Guy are the ones I first really fell in love with, in Charles’ work. I enjoyed her work before, but the way this relationship works — the communication and care that Philip teaches Guy — sticks in my head more than anything.
  6. Griffin Moss and Sabine Strohem (Griffin & Sabine, by Nick Bantock). Part of the attraction here is the mystery of it, it must be said: why are they connected? How? And let’s be fair, the novelty of the presentation of this book is a huge part of my fondness for it. But even still, I find myself thinking about these two sometimes. I’d love to read the sequel trilogy, though the books tend to be pretty expensive.
  7. Tobias Finch and Henry Silver (Silver in the Wood, by Emily Tesh). It’s funny remembering how mad I was about the start of Drowned Country when these two were clearly not together anymore, ha. The duology handles this relationship in a lovely way, and it’s one thousand percent worth reading Drowned Country as well… but it didn’t start with them in the position I really wanted to see them in: secure and safe with one another. Drowned Country develops their relationship and their individual characters beautifully, though.
  8. Harriet Vane and Lord Peter Wimsey (Strong Poison, by Dorothy L. Sayers). In a way, these two should probably have been first on my list. In the end, I think Sayers’ books became much more about illuminating the relationship between these two characters (and what it says about each of them, singly and together), more than the mystery plots they were wrapped around. The mysteries were intrinsic to Peter Wimsey’s life, but once Harriet came along, she quickly became the guiding star (both for him, and for me as the reader).
  9. Sir Gawain and Rhian (Camelot’s Shadow, by Sarah Zettel). I love Sir Gawain as a character, though I’m often picky about how he’s deployed. Zettel understands the dream of Camelot very well, and handles a bunch of disparate myths and stories fascinatingly to create her world where the sons of Lot of Orkney are central to that dream. Gawain and Rhian in particular stick in my mind, though I love all four of the novels. To be honest, it’s probably part of why I’m so fascinated by Gawain.
  10. Charlotte Neville and Karl von Wultendorf (A Taste of Blood Wine, by Freda Warrington). It’s been a long time since I read these books, but I keep thinking about reading them again, because I loved the way they handled the vampires — frightening, amoral, intense, and alluring all the same. Warrington went to town with her vampire romance, fully cognisant of what she was doing, and it makes for a lush story. You can’t say Charlotte and Karl have a healthy relationship, but it’s a powerful one that sticks in the mind, and there’s no doubt of their love.

Cover of Griffin & Sabine by Nick Bantock Cover of Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh Cover of Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers Cover of Camelot's Shadow by Sarah Zettel Cover of A Taste of Blood Wine by Freda Warrington

Are there any literary couples that stick in your mind? I feel like I could go on and on, especially with KJ Charles’ characters… and I didn’t mention Jordan L. Hawk, or Cat Sebastian!

Very curious to see where other people have taken this freebie week!

Tags: ,

Divider

Review – Memoria

Posted February 12, 2024 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – Memoria

Memoria

by Curt Pires, Sunando C, Mark Dale, Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou

Genres: Crime, Graphic Novels, Mystery
Pages: 132
Rating: three-stars
Synopsis:

When an aged terminally ill detective and a young burnout are partnered up and saddled with an unsolvable case, they begin to unravel a sprawling conspiracy that points to one thing: The most prolific serial killer in american history. As they further investigate the case they make discoveries that will force them to question everything and everyone they know.

Memoria is a gritty crime story in graphic novel form, from a team of four. It’s pretty short, with a structure that makes it clear some dark stuff is coming later on, and it won’t be a terribly happy ending — it’s just not quite clear how unhappy the ending will be. It relies on a couple of coincidences, though to be honest it wasn’t clear to me how much those were engineered by a particular character in order to bring the truth out.

The story wasn’t too surprising to me: it felt like watching a cop show, like I was watching actors run through the usual stereotyped parts. Tough talk, roughing up a witness, the department’s gonna dump a case on the fuckups in order to have them take the fall, etc, etc.

In the end I was just curious enough to finish, and I think my rating reflects the fact that it just isn’t a genre I enjoy (I’m a fan of classic crime/mystery, which is usually a lot less gritty). The art suited it, even if I didn’t love it, and I did appreciate it being a standalone and crafted to work as such.

Rating: 3/5

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Divider

Review – The Iron Children

Posted February 11, 2024 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – The Iron Children

The Iron Children

by Rebecca Fraimow

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction
Pages: 159
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

Asher has been training her entire life to become a Sor-Commander. One day she’ll give her soul to the gilded, mechanical body and fully ascend. She’ll be a master of the Celesti faith, and the commander to a whole battalion of Dedicates. These soldiers, human bodies encased in exoskeletons, with extra arms, and telepathic subordination to the Sor-Commanders, are the only thing that’s kept the much larger Levastani army of conquest at bay for decades.

But while on a training journey, Asher and her party are attacked, and her commander is incapacitated, leaving her alone to lead the unit across a bitterly cold, unstable mountain.

It should be fine. She has the terrain memorised, and Sergeant Barghest is exceptional at their job. But one of the Dedicates is not what they seem: a spy for the enemy, with their own reasons to hate their mechanical body and the people who put them in it.

To get off the mountain alive, Asher and her unit will need to decide how much they’re willing to sacrifice—and what for.

Rebecca Fraimow’s The Iron Children packs a lot into quite a small space. The basics are easy: there are two nations at war, and one of the tools used by one side against the other is the ability to turn people (Dedicates) into mechs, who are deployed under a fully mechanical commander who can take control of their bodies when needed (or wanted).

We get just a glimpse of how things are supposed to work, before things go south and Asher — a young training officer, still human for now — has to take charge of the situation. It’s all pretty claustrophobic as we follow the unit through an avalanche and into a cave system, and we know that one member of the group is a traitor. It’s not immediately obvious who, because their sections are written in first person. The switching between first and third is a little odd sometimes, but it makes sense for telling this particular story.

There’s a heck of a lot of potential to the world, but mostly the story stays focused on this particular group and the frictions between them, which helps it feel very immediate and urgent. Like I said, claustrophobic, as well.

The ending feels slightly unsatisfactory; it’s not clear to me exactly what Asher intends to do, or how she and Barghest are going to conceal the fallout of what happened — if they are. Won’t people work it out quickly? I don’t always need my stories wrapped up in a tidy bow, but I could’ve used a little more here at the end. Otherwise, though, I found this one pretty compelling.

Rating: 4/5

Tags: , , ,

Divider