WWW Wednesday

Posted November 1, 2017 by Nicky in General / 13 Comments

The three ‘W’s are what are you reading now, what have you recently finished reading, and what are you going to read next, and you can find this week’s post at the host’s blog here if you want to check out other posts.

What are you currently reading?

Cover of Camelot's Sword, by Sarah ZettelAbout 15 different books. I know, I’m utterly terrible. However, I am trying to focus on two of them right now: What on Earth Evolved? …in Brief, by Christopher Lloyd is one of them. It’s not very surprising to me, because I do know my biology reasonably well, but there have been one or two titbits I did enjoy (slime moulds can move towards food!) and it is interesting to see what someone else classes as important in its impact on the planet.

Secondly, I’m rereading Camelot’s Sword, the third book of Sarah Zettel’s series of romances about Gawain and his brothers. This one features Gareth and Lynet; not my favourite pairing, but I do adore the supporting characters.

What have you recently finished reading?

Cover of The Other Log of Phileas Fogg by Philip Jose FarmerUhh, I think the last thing I finished was The Other Log of Phileas Fogg, by Philip Jose Farmer. It was okay — I liked the idea of taking Verne’s classic and bolting on a true sci-fi story — but the source material limited it, and the narrative voice didn’t always work for me. It stuck fairly close to Verne’s story, except when it didn’t, so it felt rather fragmented.

What will you read next?

Cover of The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. ValenteI’m trying to alternate finishing two books from my currently reading stack with one new book (whether that be a reread or an actual new-to-me read). At the moment, I’m really tempted to do some rereading and pick up Catherynne Valente’s The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, but I am actually a capricious creature (I know, you’re all shocked), so who knows what will happen.

What are you reading?

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Review – Kitty and the Midnight Hour

Posted October 31, 2017 by Nicky in Reviews / 7 Comments

Cover of Kitty and the Midnight Hour by Carrie VaughnKitty and the Midnight Hour, Carrie Vaughn

I really enjoyed After the Golden Age, and after that planned to try pretty much anything by Carrie Vaughn that I came across. That initial good impression is waning a bit, though; I didn’t love Martians Abroad, and there was unfortunately quite a lot about Kitty and the Midnight Hour that I found made me uncomfortable. The idea — a werewolf is a DJ who ends up running a whole feature in which supernatural creatures can call in for advice and debate — is pretty darn cool.

The pack dynamics, however, are not. I can see that through the book, they’re slowly critiqued more and Kitty realises that she’s essentially in an abusive situation, but at the beginning, it’s presented as totally normal for her to be treated like a child, and yet also used for sexual gratification more or less whenever anyone else wants. I really cringed at her passivity in that situation, and her acceptance that this was okay. It’s not even true of real wolf pack dynamics (the common perception being based on packs in captivity) and it’s really difficult to read when it’s applied to people who are also human. I didn’t love it in other werewolf books like the Mercy Thompson books, but at least Mercy didn’t put up with it the way Kitty does.

The other books might well deal with this better, but I’m kind of burned out on werewolves right now — at least, on werewolves that act like this. Particularly at the start of the book, it’s treated as normal and okay and no one stands up and says hell no, and I really don’t fancy spending more time in that world waiting for Kitty to become the kickass protagonist I assumed she was. (Note: kickass doesn’t mean invulnerable — I just mean I can’t deal with a protagonist who lies back and lets all this happen to her.)

Maybe I’ll come back to Kitty at some point. Maybe not.

Rating: 2/5

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Review – Seven Brief Lessons on Physics

Posted October 30, 2017 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of Seven Brief Lessons on PhysicsSeven Brief Lessons on Physics, Carlo Rovelli

Carlo Rovelli writes simply and clearly about some huge ideas, including quantum and relativity. Each chapter is a mere glimpse at the idea – a way of seeing things that may or may not work for the individual reader, but nonetheless offers a perspective, a window from afar.

The writing is, even in translation as I read it, elegant and well put. I don’t feel like I have improved on my understanding of any of these concepts by reading this book, but then, I already had a basic grasp. It might even be easier to appreciate Rovelli’s work sans prior knowledge.

Rating: 3/5

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Review – Snowdrift and Other Stories

Posted October 29, 2017 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Cover of Snowdrift & Other Stories by Georgette HeyerSnowdrift and Other Stories, Georgette Heyer

Received to review via Netgalley; publication date 3rd October 2017

I’ve been a fan of Heyer’s Regency romances and adventures for a while now, so when I saw this was ‘Read Now’ on Netgalley, I confess I pounced. It’s actually the collection Pistols for Two (which I hadn’t read yet) but with three extra stories from early in Heyer’s career.

While Heyer’s short stories aren’t precisely what I like in a short story — something with a twist, something maybe a little unpredictable, something packed into as small a space as possible — they’re fun little stories, very much like her longer works but compressed. The same types of hero and heroine, the same sorts of love scene and the same sort of happy ending abound, along with Heyer’s usual wit. If you enjoy the banter between her characters and the sparkle of her writing, all of that is in evidence here. If I had to call the collection anything, I might call it Miniatures!

If you don’t love Heyer’s work, well, this won’t be for you. It’s very much typical of her, and she doesn’t have the space to make her heroes and heroines distinctive. And if you’ve never tried Heyer, well, I’d start with The Talisman Ring instead, if I were you.

Rating: 4/5

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Review – Caliban’s War

Posted October 28, 2017 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Cover of Caliban's War by James S.A. CoreyCaliban’s War, James S.A. Corey

After reading the first book, I was still intrigued, I liked the series, and I wanted some more women to actually take an active part in the plot (and not be fridged like Jim Holden’s girlfriend at the beginning, whose name I can’t even remember). Naomi doesn’t quite get to shine, though she does at least keep Holden and the Roci on the right moral track, but we get Bobbie Draper and Avasarala, both of whom are awesome and kick butt in so many ways. And Avasarala is a grandmother, so it’s not like she’s a nubile young beauty.

In terms of the emotional heart, it’s still Jim Holden and his crew, but the new characters do help to make the rest of the action riveting. I kind of hope I’ll see more of them, but having glanced through the chapter headings for Abaddon’s Gate, I haven’t seen Avasarala or Bobbie there…

In terms of the plot, it mostly ticks along at a good pace, mostly driven for me by curiosity about the protomolecule and what it’s doing, what it’s done, and what’s going to happen next. Holden’s crew just sort of bounce around as always, while Avasarala does politics and Bobbie waits to shoot things. So far so good, for a space opera. Just… one major quibble, which is a bit spoilery. So some kids are abducted and that provides the impetus for Holden and the Roci to bounce around the solar system a bit more, helping Prax, a botanist, get his daughter back. Yet nobody seems to ask why the kids were adopted until about 500 pages into a 600 page book, where the biologist — who mentioned having dissected bodies, etc, so he’s not just a botanist — finally realises that hey, they’ve abducted his kid who doesn’t have an immune system because she’ll make a good incubator for the protomolecule: her body won’t fight it.

Guys, I was there 400 pages ago at least (and I’m just an undergrad biologist, not some kind of professional). As soon as you know Mei’s condition, the reason she’s been abducted makes perfect sense. And it makes no sense for people to keep bouncing around without actually stopping to figure that out.

Nonetheless, I just kind of… chew it up like popcorn for my brain. Works for me.

Rating: 4/5

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Stacking the Shelves

Posted October 28, 2017 by Nicky in General / 24 Comments

Hey all! It’s been a fairly quiet week, seeing my family, playing video games, reading… Hurrah for exactly that kind of week. And here’s Breakfast relaxing to go with it…

Received to review:

Cover of The Sisters of the Crescent Empress

Just last week I read the first one and complained I didn’t have the sequel right away. Hurrah, now I do!

Bought: 

Cover of How to Survive A Plague by David France

I probably love reading about diseases a little too much.

I also got a whole suitcase full of books from Bastian’s Book Reviews, but while they’re all awesome, I’m not adding them to my cataloguing right now.

Read this week:

Cover of The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch Cover of Trouble and Her Friends by Melissa Scott Cover of The Hidden Life of Trees Cover of The Great Influenza by John M. Barry Cover of Spin by Nina Allan

Reviews posted this week:

The Naming of the Shrew, by John Wright. Amusing at first, but starts to drag because it becomes too much of a list. 2/5 stars
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry, by Neil DeGrasse Tyson. Pretty much just a taster, so it genuinely is for people who aren’t fans of astrophysics already. 3/5 stars
The Language of Thorns, by Leigh Bardugo. Interesting invented fairytales, some of them retellings, and it doesn’t matter if you already know Bardugo’s Grisha world. 4/5 stars
The Tiger’s Daughter, by K. Arsenault Rivera. I wanted to love this for the queerness and the elegant writing, but I was turned off by the depiction of the cultures borrowed from here. 2/5 stars
The Gods of Olympus, by Barbara Graziosi. Not much of a surprise for me, but a good survey of the Olympian gods and what people have believed about them over the centuries. 3/5 stars
Damn Fine Story, by Chuck Wendig. Good advice on how to tell stories, though there’s quite a lot of filler padding it out. 3/5 stars
Under the Pendulum Sun, by Jeannette Ng. It’s hard to know what to say about this one — it’s fascinating and twisted, playing with stories about the Fae and bringing Victorian realism to it. 4/5 stars

Other posts:

WWW Wednesday. What’s hot and what’s not on my reading pile.

So how is everyone? Let me know and I’ll try and swing by and comment back ASAP, though I’m quite busy today!

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Review – Under the Pendulum Sun

Posted October 27, 2017 by Nicky in Reviews / 4 Comments

Cover of Under the Pendulum Sun by Jeannette NgUnder the Pendulum Sun, Jeannette Ng

Received to review via Netgalley; publication date 3rd October 2017

I didn’t really know what to expect going into this book. Fairyland, with missionaries? Hm. And then it kept sounding like a Gothic novel, too. Really, it delightfully combines all of that stuff: deep philosophical ponderings about the nature of fairies, fairies which are cruel and truth-telling and difficult to understand, and Gothic atmosphere and twists. The pace can be a little slow at times, and I’ll admit I called both of the twists regarding a certain character… but I enjoyed the atmosphere and the way the various puzzles built up and came to a conclusion.

If you’re not interested in something dark and twisted, step away. And if you’re really allergic to theological stuff, bear in mind that the main character is really pious, and the other main character is actually clergy. The fact that Jeannette Ng knows her stuff re: medieval and missionary theology is really clear, and the characters wonder about it and struggle with it to an extent that you might find boring. I was a little lost by it, honestly, but interested enough in the overall puzzle of it to keep going. And I really love the way the Fae are portrayed: confusing and cruel and capricious and, yes, beautiful but alien.

Overall, it does a lot right and I’m pretty intrigued by the world. The pacing is sometimes a little off, but that’s pretty much part and parcel of the Gothic atmosphere.

Rating: 4/5

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Review – Damn Fine Story

Posted October 26, 2017 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Cover of Damn Fine Story by Chuck WendigDamn Fine Story, Chuck Wendig

Received to review via Netgalley; publication date 18th October 2017

If you want writing advice, this isn’t a bad place to stop. If you want advice on how to put a story together, this is a great place to stop. It has all sorts of anecdotes and examples about how good stories are put together, and sometimes about how well-known stories fail (think The Phantom Menace et al). It works just the same whether you’re talking writing a book, a screenplay, or sometimes even a good joke. Oral storytellers would benefit too — Wendig gives examples from his father’s oral stories too.

If you’re easily offended, though, maybe you want to avoid it. Wendig swears freely and relates stories his kid thinks are awesome, often scatalogical. He’s irreverent and sometimes he spoilers stories like Star Wars, or doesn’t but doesn’t in a way that takes aim at them, and… Yeah, just, if you have any sacred cows, you might want to avoid.

My main criticism is that sometimes the jokey asides just felt like filler. I enjoy Chuck Wendig’s humour and randomness at times on Twitter… it felt out of place in the middle of a chatty seminar on storytelling. Time and place, dude. Time and place.

Rating: 3/5

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Review – The Gods of Olympus

Posted October 25, 2017 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of The Gods of Olympus by Barbara GraziosiThe Gods of Olympus, Barbara Graziosi

For me, there weren’t many surprises here in Barbara Graziosi’s analysis of the Greek pantheon and their afterlife. I already knew how they translated into the Roman world (thank you, Mrs Wilson, for many fascinating lessons in classics!) and I had some idea of how they translated into the medieval and Renaissance world as well (I believe thanks there must go to Richard Wilson, Martin Coyle and Rob Gossedge – I can’t untangle in my mind quite who was responsible for this, but I blame my degree all the same).

Nonetheless, it’s a good survey of the Greek pantheon and the enormous influence they had on religious thought and, in the end, literature. I could wish for a bit on modern paganism, since I have friends who have revived the worship of the Olympians, but that’s probably a little much to ask.

It’s an enjoyable read, though not a particularly enlightening one, for me.

Rating: 3/5

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WWW Wednesday

Posted October 25, 2017 by Nicky in General / 8 Comments

The three ‘W’s are what are you reading now, what have you recently finished reading, and what are you going to read next, and you can find this week’s post at the host’s blog here if you want to check out other posts.

What are you currently reading?

Cover of The Great Influenza by John M. BarryFar too much, as ever, but most actively I’m back to Abaddon’s Gate and making some progress. I don’t necessarily always feel like reading these books, but once I pick one up it’s sure hard to put it down! I’m also reading a book on the 1918 ‘flu pandemic, The Great Influenza, by John M. Barry. Interesting so far, though I’m going quite slowly with it. Not the most enticing prose, somehow.

I’m also reading The Gracekeepers, which I’m about half of the way through. Still not sure what to make of it, though!

What have you recently finished reading?

Cover of The Hidden Life of TreesTrouble and Her Friends! It’s rather old school cyberpunk in terms of the technology levels, but I enjoyed the interplay between the characters, and the fact that it didn’t rush. The worry about regulating the internet seems rather prescient now…

I also finished The Hidden Life of Trees, which was fascinating, although sometimes I felt things were presented too simply. The fact that trees can sense chemicals in the air does not mean that they taste them in the way we do, for example. Still, a lot I didn’t know.

What will you read next?

Cover of Regency Buck by Georgette HeyerI’m feeling kind of like reading some Georgette Heyer — I kind of want to reread The Grand Sophy, but I do have Heyer books I haven’t read before which are on my backlog… I have Regency Buck and Friday’s Child with me in paperback, and a few others on my ereader. We’ll see! I just realised Regency Buck is part of a series, so I’m not sure how readable it is on its own. Darn.

What are you reading?

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