Stacking the Shelves

Posted March 11, 2017 by Nicky in General / 16 Comments

I might not be commenting much this weekend, as I’m in London attending a genetics event and hopefully learning a ton. But! I do have some new books to show off, and you can bet I’ll comment back after the weekend.

Received to review:

Cover of Skullsworn by Brian Staveley

After last week, I’ve been pretty restrained in my requesting…

Bought:

Cover of Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel Cover of The Poison Eater by Shanna Germain Cover of Harrowing the Dragon by Patricia A. McKillip Cover of The Dinosaur Lords by Victor Milan

Cover of The Last Days of Magic by Mark Tompkins Cover of Carthage Must Be Destroyed by Richard Miles Cover of The Paper Trail by Alexander Monro Cover of The Brain Supremacy by Kathleen Taylor

Cover of Neanderthal Man by Svante Paabo Cover of Gaia by James Lovelock Cover of Herding Hemingway's Cats by Kat Arney Cover of The Emerald Planet by David Beerling

But there were a couple of books on sale I didn’t want to miss, and also I hit the bookshops in London while I could. Grabbed The Poison Eater because I’ve been playing Torment: Tides of Numenera and I wanted more background to the world. And a lot of non-fic from my wishlist, because my non-fic shelf at my wife’s place is looking a bit thin and sad.

Books read this week:

Cover of In Calabria by Peter S. Beagle Cover of Touch by David J. Linden Cover of Brisk Money by Adam Christopher Cover of Standard Hollywood Depravity by Adam Christopher

Cover of The Vikings by Neil Oliver Cover of Every Heart A Doorway by Seanan McGuire Cover of Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire

Sneak peek at ratings:
Five stars to… Every Heart a Doorway.
Four stars to… In Calabria, Brisk Money, Standard Hollywood Depravity and Down Among the Sticks and Bones.
Three stars to… Vikings and Touch.

Reviews posted this week:

–Foxglove Summer, by Ben Aaronovitch. A step back from the main action of the series, this takes Peter (gasp) outside of London! It’s lacking in some of the support characters we all love, but there’s a fascinating extra bit of lore, and Peter’s still pretty badass. 4/5 stars
–Birthright, by Missouri Vaun. A fun fantasy with lesbian main characters and a happy end. 3/5 stars
–Agents of Dreamland, by Caitlin R. Kiernan. Another riff on Lovecraft, though a less well-known idea. Creepy and bleak, but very effective. 4/5 stars
–The Green Mill Murder, by Kerry Greenwood. Three words: wombat ex machina. 3/5 stars
–The Tyrannosaur Chronicles, by David Hone. Want to know everything currently known about tyrannosaurs? This has got you covered. 5/5 stars
–Brother’s Ruin, by Emma Newman. Intriguing start, but I’m not quite sold yet. 3/5 stars
–Standard Hollywood Depravity, by Adam Christopher. Like the other related works, this is a fun, Chandler-esque romp… with robot. 4/5 stars
–The Buried Book, by David Damrosch. An excellent accompaniment to reading one of the world’s earliest surviving stories, The Epic of Gilgamesh. Lots of context both for the poem and how it was found again after being lost for so long. 4/5 stars

Other posts:

–Top Ten Tuesday: Series I Want to Finish. About what it says on the tin!
–What are you reading Wednesday. My usual update on what I’m reading, what I’ve just read, and what I’m planning to read.

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Review – The Buried Book

Posted March 10, 2017 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of The Buried Book by David DamroschThe Buried Book: The Loss and Rediscovery of the Great Epic of Gilgamesh, David Damrosch

The Epic of Gilgamesh is some of the oldest literature we have access to, so you’d be forgiven for imagining it must have had a huge influence on subsequent mythology. The truth is, it was only rediscovered relatively recently, via archaeology, decipherment and a fair amount of politics. And of course, money. David Damrosch’s book discusses both the epic itself, its themes and context, and the archaeological and political process of bringing it back to light.

Despite the fact that it’s talking about archaeology, political manoeuvring and the long process of decipherment, The Buried Book manages to be entertaining and even gripping. I was certainly hooked, anyway. Damrosch does a great job of making it accessible and interesting, and pulling out facts that are both pertinent and interesting. You’ll learn a fair amount about Mesopotamia from this, not a little about British archaeology and the process of deciphering an ancient language, some interesting titbits about various personalities you’d never heard of before… and of course, about the epic itself — which is well worth reading.

In fact, if you’re thinking about reading The Epic of Gilgamesh, I’d recommend reading something like this first. Get some context on where it came from, where its been, and how people are still using and relating to the story told now. Then grab a translation and settle in.

Rating: 4/5

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Review – Standard Hollywood Depravity

Posted March 9, 2017 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of Standard Hollywood Depravity by Adam ChristopherStandard Hollywood Depravity, Adam Christopher

Received to review via Netgalley, publication date 7th March 2017

Just like Made to Kill and Brisk Money, this is an entertaining story — imagine Chandler’s noir detectives, that kind of world, but add in one robot detective-become-assassin and his profit-orientated handler (actually a computer). It’s full of references and hat-tips to Chandler’s era, and though it doesn’t have Chandler’s flair with words (few people do), it’s well written and goes down easy. It’s also reasonably clear of sexism, racism, and Chandler’s other such vices.

This story in particular involves Raymond getting tangled up in the antics of various criminal cartels, and all that sort of thing implies. Bullets and assumptions fly, garnering a possibility of some grudges being held against Raymond and Ada, his handler — and we end the story with Ada and Raymond in a pretty good position. All ready for the next novel, since this is marked as 1.5 in the series on Goodreads?

In any case, this is readable whether or not you’ve read Made to Kill and the short story Brisk Money, but it is worth reading those for extra background and a better understanding of Raymond, his capabilities, and his limitations. The ARC version I read bundled in Brisk Money, so you could comfortable skip to that and read it first before going back to read Standard Hollywood Depravity.

Meanwhile, I never seem to have reviewed Brisk Money itself, and the release of this novella seems like a prime opportunity to do so — so watch out for that review coming sometime soon as well.

Rating: 4/5

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Review – Brother’s Ruin

Posted March 9, 2017 by Nicky in Reviews / 6 Comments

Cover of Brother's Ruin by Emma NewmanBrother’s Ruin, Emma Newman

Received to review via Netgalley; publication date 14th March 2017

Brother’s Ruin is another of the Tor.com novella series, though this one is very obviously just the beginning of a series of novellas, rather than standing alone (as, for example, Passing Strange does). So it mostly seems to function as a way of setting up the world: there is a story here as well, but more important is the alternate reality being created. It’s sort of vaguely Victorian, but with magic as a relatively commonplace event, and some steampunky elements. There’s some politics around magic and its practitioners that is obviously going to become more important as the novellas go on.

The main character, Charlotte, is pretty cool. She’s part of a family and has a fiancé, but she also earns her own money through illustration work and hides her own strong magic. She’s prepared to take risks to take care of her family, and she’s fine with supporting them from her own funds. She has her weaknesses — a pretty face, apparently, as well as her strong and almost uncontrollable magic — but she also has great strengths.

The reason I’m not rating this more highly is that it does feel very much like an introduction, and it only grazes the surface of the male character who is presumably going to become a much bigger part of Charlotte’s life. I don’t know what motivates him and why he’s interested, and nor do I understand why Charlotte finds him so fascinating. The scenes where she’s suddenly finding him amazingly attractive don’t quite ring true to me, given her otherwise practical nature.

There’s a lot of potential here, but I’m not 100% sold — yet.

Rating: 3/5

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What are you reading Wednesday

Posted March 8, 2017 by Nicky in General / 9 Comments

What have you recently finished reading?

The last thing I finished reading waaaaas… Neil Oliver’s Vikings, which was interesting and kind of contradicted what I was reading in Francis Pryor’s books! More research necessary to see if the two views can be reconciled? Anyway, a pretty easy read for non-fiction, with a bit of a tendency to veer off into fictional imaginings of individual Vikings.

What are you currently reading?

Most of the books I was reading last week, because I suck. But also Britain After Rome, by Robin Fleming (also contradicts Pryor) and a reread of Every Heart A Doorway.

What are you planning to read next?

Down Among the Sticks and Bones, obviously!

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Review – The Tyrannosaur Chronicles

Posted March 8, 2017 by Nicky in Reviews / 6 Comments

Cover of The Tyrannosaur Chronicles by David HoneThe Tyrannosaur Chronicles, David Hone

The Tyrannosaur Chronicles is a pretty entertaining survey of everything we currently know about tyrannosaurs — not just T. rex, but the related tyrannosaurs. That means it includes dinosaurs we don’t always think of as tyrannosaurs, but which are classified as types of tyrannosaur because of their close relationship to T. rex. The book is upfront about the fact that the information in it is going to be out of date before long — though not, I think, from the perspective of a layperson.

A lot of the info is stuff you may well already know, like the fact that T. rex was most likely feathered. But this book discusses it in detail, going into parts that were likely to be feathered, where the tyrannosaurs might have been scaled as traditionally depicted, etc. There are various different cases where there are theories about the tyrannosaurs that can’t be proven one way or another, and this book goes into them in detail. It discusses the evidence and findings, bringing them together into an entertaining and informative package of pure tyrannosaur-related awesomeness. It never got too dry or anything; I found all of it interesting and relevant.

Like all the best dinosaur books, it made me want to run out and become a palaeontologist, somehow. And it also made me crave overviews of other dinosaurs — can I have a book like this about the sauropods, now? Please?

Rating: 5/5

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Review – The Green Mill Murder

Posted March 7, 2017 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of Green Mill Murder by Kerry GreenwoodThe Green Mill Murder, Kerry Greenwood

This book wins for the wombat ex machina alone.

Other than that, on a reread this felt a bit all over the place. There are two overlapping mysteries: one a murder, and one a disappearance. There’s two romances, one of which actually makes me feel kind of squicky inside now I think about it — it’s not often Phryne makes a judgement about who to sleep with that I really disagree with (heck, that’s the point of Phryne; she makes her own decisions)… but one of the two is certainly twisted in his morality, and Phryne does suspect that from the start. I don’t really get the appeal of him, either.

All the same, the book features Phryne being the delight she always is. She protects a queer friend-of-a-friend from the attentions of the vice squad, flies a plane solo to find someone, makes her own decisions and puts her foot down when she has to. The found family are more in the background in this one, given that the high point (ha) of the book is Phryne’s solo flight and her time with a man who has made himself almost a hermit — but of course, they do feature.

I’m left a bit befuddled by the way that the nastiness of people and their squiggly morality seems to be somewhat justified by the fact that it gives Nerine, a blues singer, some real blues to sing about. But I would like to hear her singing, from the descriptions…

Rating: 3/5

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Top Ten Tuesday

Posted March 7, 2017 by Nicky in General / 12 Comments

Looks like Top Ten Tuesday isn’t back yet, so here’s another theme of my own. Cribbing from someone else’s choice last week, here are some series I want to finish (or at least continue, in the case of series which haven’t finished yet)!

Cover of A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan Cover of Once Broken Faith by Seanan McGuire Cover of Feedback by Mira Grant Cover of Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas Cover of Dreadnought by Cherie Priest

  1. Lady Isabella Trent, by Marie Brennan. The last book is out soon. Okay, this is sad and depressing and I don’t want it, also, but I can’t wait to have the last book.
  2. October Daye, by Seanan McGuire. I don’t know if this actually has a projected end, at this point? But nonetheless, I’d like to get there someday.
  3. Newsflesh, by Mira Grant. I keep stalling on reading the other books, having read the first, but I definitely want to.
  4. Throne of Glass, by Sarah J. Maas. I see plenty of people who don’t like the way the series has gone, and I haven’t read the latest three books (I think) yet, so I might change my mind. But for now, I’m definitely interested.
  5. Clockwork Century, by Cherie Priest. I didn’t love the first book, Boneshaker, but I do remember enjoying it and there’s a lot that intrigues me about the later books.
  6. Phryne Fisher, by Kerry Greenwood. …Again.
  7. Temeraire, by Naomi Novik. Someday! I’ve read the first book again recently, and I would like to read them all this time.
  8. The Invisible Library, by Genevieve Cogman. There should be more books in the future, from what I hear, so gimme, gimme, gimme!
  9. Blackthorn and Grim, by Juliet Marillier. Even though I’m being terrible about getting round to it, even with a copy right here…
  10. Peter Grant, by Ben Aaronovitch. Someday! Not soon, I hope…

Cover of Murder and Mendelssohn by Kerry Greenwood Cover of Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik Cover of The Burning Page by Genevieve Cogman Cover of Tower of Thorns by Juliet Marillier Cover of The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch

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Review – Agents of Dreamland

Posted March 6, 2017 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Cover of Agents of Dreamland by Caitlin R. KiernanAgents of Dreamland, Caitlin R. Kiernan

Received to review via Netgalley; publication date 28th February 2017

Once again, not knowing my Lovecraft tripped me up. Yep, this is yet another Lovecraft-based story, although in this case it’s a rather less well-known one: the Fungi from Yuggoth. Not one I’d have known anything about even if I’d known in advance, but perhaps I might have been better prepared for the sheer bleakness and darkness of this story had I known it was based on Lovecraft’s mythos in any way.

It’s an intriguing little novella; self-contained, though it hints at a world before and after it through one character who is, to some extent, ‘unstuck in time’. The flesh-crawling horror of the fungi, a kind of invasion we’re helpless to fight, is done really well. There’s one phrase which just made me shudder, because of all the different implications stacked together: “the fruiting corpse”. Gah. Gaaah.

It’s very effective writing, and because I don’t know to what extent it takes any of the detail from Lovecraft, I can say that it’s definitely something that can stand on its own. It doesn’t rely on me realising exactly what’s going on through familiarity with Lovecraft; the creeping unease works as well or better if you’re ignorant of where things are going.

Rating: 4/5

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Review – Birthright

Posted March 5, 2017 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of Birthright by Missouri ValinBirthright, Missouri Vaun

Received to review via Netgalley; publication date 14th February 2017

Birthright is a fun, fast-moving story of a sort typical in fantasy: the lost heir to a throne taken by a tyrant. And this version is a fun example of the genre, with strong female characters coming out of your ears — and falling in love with each other, too. The love story is at least as important to the plot as the lost heir, which is worth keeping in mind; it motivates the way the end of the story shakes out, and takes up a good amount of the narration. I enjoyed that though Aiden is boyish and Kathryn more feminine, there’s no stereotyping — both can fight, both can rule, both know what they’re doing.

There are a couple of moments where I felt things rushed by a little too fast — the connection between the two characters grows very quickly in just a couple of scenes — and where I’d have liked a bit more depth, like the characters of Frost and of Gareth, or even Rowan. Without more background, for example, Kathryn’s jealous moment made little sense, especially since how we got to that moment felt a little contrived.

Nonetheless, it’s fun and has a happy ever after, and I’d definitely recommend it to people looking for lesbian fantasy.

Rating: 3/5

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