Weekly Roundup

Posted April 18, 2020 by Nicky in General / 19 Comments

Well, it’s been another whole week. Time is flying! I’m reading a little more, though I’m tending towards short books I can read in one sitting!

Linked up with The Sunday Post @ The Caffeinated Reviewer and Stacking the Shelves @ Reading Reality & Tynga’s Reviews.

Received to review:

Cover of Mesopotamia ed Ariane Thomas and Timothy Potts Cover of The Angel of the Crows by Katherine Addison Cover of The Heirs of Locksley by Carrie Vaughn

Yaaay a new book by Katherine Addison!

Bought:

Cover of Bonds of Brass by Emily Skrutskie

I had a lot of fun with the Reckoners series by Skrutskie, so looking forward to this one!

Books read this week:

Cover of Knit One Girl Two by Shira Glassman Cover of The Rules of Contagion by Adam Kucharski Cover of Your Favorite Band Cannot Save You by Scotto Moore Cover of Cinnamon Blade: Knife in Shining Armor by Shira Glassman Cover of Miranda in Milan by Katharine Duckett

Reviews posted this week:

–Knit One, Girl Two, by Shira Glassman. Sweet and low-stakes romance. 3/5 stars
–The Rules of Contagion, by Adam Kucharski. Not as much about disease as you’d think: it actually applies an understanding of infectious disease to other situations, with some interesting results. 3/5 stars
–Your Favorite Band Cannot Save You, by Scotto Moore. Not quite my thing, despite a fascinating start. 2/5 stars
–Cinnamon Blade, by Shira Glassman. Rather too much sex for my tastes, light on plot or development. 2/5 stars
–Miranda in Milan, by Katharine Duckett. I liked this quite a lot; it’s not a hugely complex sequel to The Tempest, but it worked for me. 4/5 stars

Other posts:

–WWW Wednesday. Talking about The Steerswoman, The Ten Thousand Doors of January, and Digging Up Armageddon. 

How are you guys doing?

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Review – Miranda in Milan

Posted April 17, 2020 by Nicky in Reviews / 4 Comments

Cover of Miranda in Milan by Katharine DuckettMiranda in Milan, Katharine Duckett

I liked Miranda in Milan more than I expected from the reviews I saw around before I read it — I was curious, but not wildly interested, and mostly just picked it up now because I’m reading a lot of short fiction because that’s what’s working for my brain. And it turns out… I really liked it. I started reading it and figured I’d have to stop halfway through for work; halfway through, I damned work and carried on until I was finished.

It’s a semi-retelling, semi-sequel to The Tempest; a retelling because it plays with some of the facts and embellishes them, a sequel because it’s set after the play. It follows Miranda after she and Prospero return to Milan. The servants whisper about her, and she’s forced to wear a black veil to hide her face, but luckily a young Moroccan servant is happy to talk to her and explain things to her. They quickly become close, and this develops (fairly quickly) into a romantic relationship. I’m a little nonplussed by reviews feeling it came out of nowhere; I didn’t actually remember this was f/f, and was hoping for the romance to happen from the first hints of it.

It’s probably a good thing I read Jacqueline Carey’s Miranda and Caliban quite a while now, because the prose would suffer in comparison! As it is, I found it worked well for me: I wouldn’t say it’s going to stick in my head for beauty, but it succeeded in conjuring an atmosphere for me.

It all resolves a little simply and in the way I kind of expected, and I do appreciate the criticism that Prospero has no complexity and is basically a big evil bogeyman — though I also appreciated the way Miranda had to go over her memories and figure out where the lies and gaps were. It’s a little realistic hint of an abusive relationship that rang very true. Agata could have been just completely horrible, too, so I enjoyed that we got to see another side of her and understand a little of her bitterness and fear.

All in all, it worked really well for me; I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Rating: 4/5

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Review – Cinnamon Blade

Posted April 16, 2020 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of Cinnamon Blade: Knife in Shining Armor by Shira GlassmanCinnamon Blade, Shira Glassman

There’s a lot to like about Cinnamon Blade: Cinnamon Blade herself is a cat burglar turned superhero who also happens to be Jewish and bisexual, and her background — and that of her more religiously observant best friend — are baked into the story in little ways. Her relationship with Soledad, a woman she has ended up rescuing again and again, is passionate and at the same time dorky and cute.

Unfortunately, I think maybe I just don’t quite get on with Shira Glassman’s writing, which just doesn’t do much for me… and I definitely didn’t work well with the jump-start the romance got, heading straight off into mildly kinky (public) sex and more or less staying there, with superhero interludes. I wanted more of the other stuff — Blade’s relationship with the team, for instance, because the little we got to see of Captain Werewolf (the aforementioned more religiously observant best friend) was pretty cool.

It has its moments, and it wasn’t a bad way to beguile a half hour, but not quite my thing either.

Rating: 2/5

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WWW Wednesday

Posted April 15, 2020 by Nicky in General / 14 Comments

Here’s the usual Wednesday check-in, as hosted by Taking on a World of Words!

Cover of The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. HarrowWhat are you currently reading?

Fiction: I’m still in the midst of rereading The Steerswoman (Rosemary Kirstein) for Wife Book Club. (Which is literally just me and my wife, but Wife Book Club sounds cute and funny.) I’ve also recently started The Ten Thousand Doors of January (Alix E. Harrow), which so far is lovely and keeping my attention quite well for something that I know will take me time.

I’m also partway through Laura Lam’s Goldilocks, which I should pick up for a few more chapters today. It’s on my Kindle, though, so I mostly read it on bath days.

Non-fiction: I’ve started reading Digging up Armageddon (Eric H. Cline), which is about archaeological work at the site of Megiddo. So far he’s going into all the drama about the dig headed by James Henry Breasted. It’s not uninteresting, but… I want the archaeology, not the drama about the archaeology.

Cover of Your Favorite Band Cannot Save You by Scotto MooreWhat have you recently finished reading?

Fiction: Your Favorite Band Cannot Save You (Scotto Moore), which had a concept that interested me and just didn’t really reach me. It felt like it went all-out too soon and I didn’t get the tasty build-up I’d got on board for. I know it’s a novella, but still. The full review is on my blog already!

Non-fiction: The Rules of Contagion (Adam Kucharski), which was written at a rather opportune moment but is not really all about diseases — more about how disease-modelling can be used to shed light on other things that spread, like behaviours and computer viruses. Again, full review already up!

Cover of The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy L. SayersWhat will you be reading next?

I really don’t know. I’m really picky at the moment, even though I’m overall feeling better. As ever, I follow the Wimsey family motto: As my Whimsy takes me. I might even finish my reread of The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club, the better to reach Strong Poison et al.

What are you currently reading?

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Review – Your Favorite Band Cannot Save You

Posted April 14, 2020 by Nicky in Reviews / 4 Comments

Cover of Your Favorite Band Cannot Save You by Scotto MooreYour Favorite Band Cannot Save You, Scotto Moore

This book started out promisingly for me: a music blogger finds a new track on Bandcamp by a band that seems to have come out of nowhere. Once he listens to it, it’s life-changing: it’s the best song he’s ever heard, a full-body experience of bliss. And there’s going to be 10 more tracks, one released each day…

It’s likely that it’s best to know as little as possible about this one before going in, but to some extent I found that people saying that made me expect more of a mystery than there actually was. I was hoping for more buildup, more mystery; instead, this book is way more in your face than that. And that’s where it kind of lost me: I didn’t want it to come straight out and tell me what it was going to be so soon. I felt like the concept of this music was good enough it needed to be strung out for a good long while, teasing the reader.

The places it goes are fun, but it wasn’t what I thought I was settling in for, and it felt a bit too… well, like I said: it felt in-your-face. It said the quiet bit out loud. Consequently, it kind of lost me and I didn’t buy in for the rest of the ride.

Rating: 2/5

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Review – The Rules of Contagion

Posted April 13, 2020 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of The Rules of Contagion by Adam KucharskiThe Rules of Contagion, Adam Kucharski

The Rules of Contagion is slightly out of my wheelhouse, being less about infectious disease and more about the principles underlying all kinds of contagion. Certainly, there are many examples taken from infectious disease, and it’s a rather on-the-nose choice to read in the current climate (for posterity: I write this review in the midst of the UK’s lockdown to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2)… but a good amount of it is discussing other ways of “going viral”: computer viruses, internet memes, and even failure in the financial sector.

I found it reasonably clear and easy to understand, and luckily the math content is pretty light and more theoretical than anything. I did feel sort of like it got stranded in the weeds, though: I wasn’t sure where it was going, and as a consequence, I wasn’t sure whether we got there or not.

In the end, it sort of felt like I was being told a series of cool anecdotes and snippets from research, without them being entirely related to each other. There’s no ur-theory of contagion here, just a ramble connecting some various strands of contagion theory together. That’s not uninteresting, but it feels a little unsatisfying!

Rating: 3/5

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Review – Knit One, Girl Two

Posted April 12, 2020 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of Knit One Girl Two by Shira GlassmanKnit One, Girl Two, Shira Glassman

Knit One, Girl Two is a short, low-stakes f/f romance. Clara’s into dyeing yarn, but she’s looking for inspiration for a new set of colours. She finds that inspiration in paintings by Danielle, a fellow Jewish woman, and Danielle is just as excited as she is by the chance to collaborate. They bond through the shared endeavour, which goes big time thanks to Danielle’s famous uncle, and a shared fandom. The only conflict in the novella is something that’s going on for Danielle, leaving her unable to paint and unhappy.

One thing I enjoyed a lot was how Clara dealt with hearing that something was going on for Danielle, via a rumour. She knows she can look it up… but she doesn’t, and instead sends a message to Danielle explaining that she knows something is happening, but she doesn’t want to pry. It’s a really cool and respectful way to go about it, which helped smooth over something I’d have found rather awkward.

The writing is fairly simple and matter-of-fact; the dialogue and descriptions didn’t really take off for me. It’s a cute story, and I’m so glad it’s out there providing f/f representation, Jewish romance, and low-stakes happiness… but I’m afraid it probably won’t stick with me. It’s a good companion for half an hour of reading, especially because it is low-stakes: things happen which you can care about, in the way you care about your friend’s latest drama or your sister’s work issues… but it tugs lightly on the heartstrings, rather than playing one of Paganini’s Caprices.

Rating: 3/5

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Weekly Roundup

Posted April 12, 2020 by Nicky in General / 14 Comments

Well folks, it’s the weekend again! How’s everyone doing? I’ve had a few more review copies (are publicists going mad with power, just giving everyone books to make them stay home?!) and I’ve done a bit of reading, but not much. Still, feels like I’m getting back to normal a bit.

Linked up with The Sunday Post @ The Caffeinated Reviewer & Stacking the Shelves @ Reading Reality and Tynga’s Reviews.

Books received to review:

Cover of The Constant Rabbit by Jasper Fforde Cover of Descendant of the Crane by Joan He Cover of Shorefall by Robert Jackson Bennet Cover of Little Bookshop of Murder by Maggie Blackburn

Like I said, publicists going mad with power…

Books acquired:

Cover of The Secret Lives of Colour by Kassia St Clair Cover of Mutants by Armand Marie Leroi Cover of Deadliest Enemy by Michael T. Osterhold PhD, MPH and Mark Olshaker Cover of Getting to Zero by Sinead Walsh and Oliver Johnson

Cover of Strange Magic by Syd Moore Cover of Your Favorite Band Cannot Save You by Scotto Moore Cover of Knit One Girl Two by Shira Glassman Cover of Miranda in Milan by Katharine Duckett

I got some book vouchers to help cheer me up, which both did the trick and flooded my shelves! This is just a selection — I might share the others next week!

Books finished this week:

Cover of Walking to Aldebaran by Adrian Tchaikovsky Cover of Castle Skull by John Dickson Carr

Reviews posted this week:

–Provenance, by Ann Leckie. Review from my reread last year. Unsurprisingly, I still loved it. 5/5 stars
–The Masked City, by Genevieve Cogman. Another reread review from last year. Probably my favourite of the series so far. 4/5 stars
–Walking to Aldebaran, by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Sort of not my thing, but very satisfying in other ways all the same. 4/5 stars
–Castle Skull, by John Dickson Carr. I… should stop trying to read John Dickson Carr. 1/5 stars
–The Nine Lands, by Marie Brennan. Belated review. It’s a group of well-structured short stories that really work for me, but I maybe had some qualms about some of the borrowings from real history. 4/5 stars

Other posts: 

–WWW Wednesday. In which I circled back to reading The Rules of Contagion, which was a bit too on the nose for me a couple weeks ago.

So that’s it. How’re you guys doing?

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Review – The Nine Lands

Posted April 9, 2020 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of The Nine Lands by Marie BrennanThe Nine Lands, Marie Brennan

The Nine Lands is an anthology of stories linked by the fact that they’re set in the same secondary world. Some of these I’ve read before, I think; there’s something very familiar about several of them, at least. The stories aren’t really otherwise linked, with different themes and characters in each one. Each works well as a short story, giving a little glimpse of the world around whatever plot or character is at the centre.

I do have some… qualms, I guess; I know Brennan is an anthropologist, and I do trust her to be generally respectful, but it feels a little weird to see shamanism and other religious practices and cultural traditions in what feels like a fairly typical fantasy setting in other ways. I don’t really know enough or come from the right background to know how well it’s done and whether it feels right, so I can’t really comment any further on this, but it is worth knowing that it’s definitely in play in these stories.

Rating: 4/5

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WWW Wednesday

Posted April 8, 2020 by Nicky in General / 2 Comments

Aaaand it’s Wednesday again, for a little while longer. Here’s the usual check-in!

Cover of The Rules of Contagion by Adam KucharskiWhat are you currently reading?​

Non-fiction: I’ve circled back to The Rules of Contagion, by Adam Kurcharski. For a few weeks, it was too topical for me. Right now it’s just about topical enough to engage my brain with being curious instead of anxious. (As ever, all hail whoever once told me that curiosity is the opposite of anxiety; it often works, for me. If you think about it, anxiety is a protective thing that is keeping you from new/dangerous experiences, but on overdrive. Curiosity is all about finding out new things. Not very compatible!)

Fiction: I don’t appear to have much truly active right now. I’m still reading The Steerswoman with my wife (Wife Book Club!) but I haven’t really been making much progress. I’m holding her back! It’s a reread for me, but I really should try to catch up.

Cover of Castle Skull by John Dickson CarrWhat have you recently finished reading?

I finally polished off Castle Skull last night, and I probably should have just DNFed it. I’m just not a John Dickson Carr fan, and his solutions tend to annoy me more than they satisfy. I really do not love his detectives one bit.

Cover of Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuistonWhat will you be reading next?​

Who knows? I did get my last book order from Portal Bookshop through, though: I now have Red, White and Royal Blue, by Casey McQuiston, and that sounds really, really fun right now. (Concept: the son of a fictional female US president falls in love with a fictional British prince. Shenanigans ensue as they try not to sabotage anyone’s presidential campaign. Sign me up for this reality.)

What are you reading?

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