Stacking the Shelves

Posted June 18, 2016 by Nicky in General / 12 Comments

Hey everyone! It’s been a busy week, but finally my wedding plans are looking more sorted and both me and my partner are done with assignments and such (for now). Now I can read more, right? Right?!

Books received to review:

Cover of Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

I wasn’t 100% sold on Signal to Noise, but I’m interested in this one all the same.

Books finished this week:

Cover of Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers Cover of Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury Cover of The Greatest Show on Earth by Richard Dawkins

 Cover of Fever by Mary Beth Keane Cover of A Fall of Moondust by Arthur C. Clarke Cover of Surfeit of Lampreys, by Ngaio Marsh

Reviews posted this week:
The Book of Phoenix, by Nnedi Okorafor. Maybe the strongest of Okorafor’s books I’ve read so far, at least for me. It’s crammed full of stuff and I didn’t feel like it really used it all, but it was a good narrative of how we make myth. 3/5 stars
The Raven and the Reindeer, by T. Kingfisher. A sweet version of The Snow Queen, with a twist. Gerta still rescues Kay, but along the way she meets her real love… 4/5 stars
Spider-Woman: New Duds, by Dennis Hopeless and Javier Rodriguez. A fun redesign for Jessica Drew, and an interesting story… unfortunately cut off by Secret Wars. 3/5 stars
The Other Wind, by Ursula Le Guin. The ending this series deserved, beautifully dealing with some of the issues that might have been nagging at the observant. 4/5 stars
Snobbery With Violence, by M.C. Beaton. Relatively silly and light, with a by-the-numbers mystery, but it entertained me. 3/5 stars
Wylding Hall, by Elizabeth Hand. Has a real sense of the uncanny and an interesting structure (which some people might find annoying, but which I enjoyed). Never pushes into horror for me, but stays solidly unsettlingly. There’s one bone-chilling moment, though… 4/5 stars
Flashback Friday: Prince of Annwn, by Evangeline Walton. Skillful retelling of the First Branch of the Mabinogion. Expands and humanises, but deals very well with the original material and keeps everything in line with it. 3/5 stars

Other posts:
Top Ten Most Anticipated Releases for the Second Half of the Year. What it says on the tin. Gimme!

How’s everyone been?

Tags: , ,

Divider

Review – Prince of Annwn

Posted June 17, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of Prince of Annwn by Evangeline WaltonPrince of Annwn, Evangeline Walton

Originally reviewed May 28th, 2011

Prince of Annwn is the first in a series of retellings of the Four Branches of the Mabinogion. Evangeline Walton wasn’t Welsh, but nonetheless she made herself very familiar with the sources, and while she added to the story, there was nothing that I could see that wasn’t in the spirit of it. She expanded and humanised the stories of the Mabinogion, giving Pwyll more of a journey and an arc of character growth, and adding a conflict between older faiths and new ones. At times there was a bit of endorsement of the ‘Universal Spirit’ idea: “In essence all Gods are the same, and one; but few mortals have glimpsed that Untellable Glory, and no human mind may hold it.” Which, given that I’m a Unitarian Universalist, appeals to me.

Evangeline Walton’s prose is clear and easy to read, and while at times there’s a touch of the archaic about the phrasing and such, it doesn’t get ridiculous or bogged down in it, and sometimes Pwyll’s thoughts are refreshingly modern and direct. There are some beautiful passages, too. I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the tetralogy.

Rating: 3/5

Tags: , , , ,

Divider

Review – Wylding Hall

Posted June 16, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Cover of Wylding Hall by Elizabeth HandWylding Hall, Elizabeth Hand

Wylding Hall is a pretty short novel with an interesting structure. It’s told as if it’s a series of interviews — possibly for radio or just for someone who would later transcribe them for a book, as they’re spontaneous and involve people revealing details they’re not sure of, or don’t want to share too widely. That in itself is fascinating: the range of narrators, the different angles on the same events, the little pieces of the puzzle. And the relationships between them revealed in the way they talk about the other characters. Sometimes it doesn’t quite work for me; some of the character voices are a little too similar. But for the most part, I enjoyed it and it was well-handled.

The pacing was well-handled too, in my opinion; it slowly builds up a sense of unease, then uncanniness, and then lets little moments of horror break through — distanced by time, because of the setting, but nonetheless chilling. It never really goes beyond unsettling for me; the characters are too distant from the events.

In the end, it’s entirely inconclusive, which is something I really like in uncanny fiction. Was there a girl? Was she real or a ghost, what exactly happened? Were the experiences real or drug-fuelled? What exactly even caused the haunting — the barrow? It seems like it, and yet. And yet.

If you’re interested in folk music (I was thinking of Fairport Convention the whole time), then that aspect also adds some interest. I wish the band were real, because the music sounds awesome.

For all that it’s short and inconclusive, I found it satisfying: it leaves me with just the right amount of uncertainty, just the right amount of mystery, without feeling like it’s unfinished. It’s, in the end, a recounting of one of those senseless events that changes everything, random and wrenching, and that you then look back on and wonder how exactly it even happened. It doesn’t always have to be a ghost story — there’s unexplained events in real life too, after all — but it works well this way.

Rating: 4/5

Tags: , ,

Divider

Review – Snobbery With Violence

Posted June 15, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of Snobbery With Violence by M.C. BeatonSnobbery With Violence, M.C. Beaton

I wasn’t a fan of M.C. Beaton’s Agatha Raisin series at all, so I was quite prepared to dislike Snobbery With Violence intensely. That might have been better for my TBR list, but it turned out that Snobbery With Violence hits the spot for me. It’s not Sayers, of course; it’s lacking in that incisiveness and depth of characters. But it is a fun quick read with characters you can more or less get along with: sometimes Rose is too spoilt, and Harry Cathcart too… blandly typical. I actually liked the side characters of Beckett and Daisy more; I like their relationship to each other and to their bosses.

Lady Rose’s family, well, they’re pretty colourless and despicable in a hands-off, self-absorbed way that is neither engaging nor particularly original. In general, the characters around the main four feel like props. The mystery, too, felt like that. It’s all relatively by-the-numbers. Sometimes the things which happen are just too silly — the example I can think of is from the second book, but at times there’s a cascade of events like a comedy of errors which just… makes the book feel like it’s intended to be a comedy somehow.

All of this is essentially damning with faint praise: I wouldn’t particularly recommend these books to someone specific, but since I have them, I’m reading them all and enjoying them. If you’re looking for something light with a bit of historical romance and a bit of mystery, this might be your thing. Objectively, it should probably be a two-star rating, but subjectively, I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Rating: 3/5

Tags: , , ,

Divider

Review – The Other Wind

Posted June 14, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 4 Comments

Cover of The Other Wind by Ursula Le GuinThe Other Wind, Ursula Le Guin

The Other Wind ends the Earthsea Cycle by resolving an issue which, for attentive readers, has been present since the very first book. Despite all the joys of wizardry and the great things the wizards can do, the world of death looms from the very first, and it doesn’t sound like a great place. In the second book, Tenar’s background reveals that her people believe their souls are reborn, but that wizards’ souls are not. In the third book, we see the world of death: a dead, dry, empty place, surrounded only by pain, where lovers can pass each other on the street and not recognise one another.

That’s not a world we want to see Ged or Lebannen condemned to, and so The Other Wind is a fitting end in that it dismantles that — and brings in another female character who is Kargish, makes Lebannen examine some of his issues, makes Tehanu grow up, and ties in the thread of Irian from the novella ‘Dragonfly’. Other themes that’ve been a big part of the books previously (the role of women, for example) are still here, now integral to the world where perhaps they weren’t in time for A Wizard of Earthsea and Yarrow.

It wasn’t my favourite of the series when I first read it — I think I have to concede I love the first two books most and always will, though Tehanu and The Other Wind are growing on me — but reading it this time, it seems like a very fitting ending point. I think I’m right in saying that Le Guin isn’t writing novels anymore, so it’s likely this really is Earthsea’s end, and it’s a good way to finish, with Ged and Tenar in their house and the dragons flying on the other wind.

Rating: 4/5

Tags: , , ,

Divider

Top Ten Tuesday

Posted June 14, 2016 by Nicky in General / 9 Comments

This week’s theme is “Top Ten Most Anticipated Releases for the Second Half of the Year”, which is always a difficult topic for me as I have no real clue what’s upcoming. I know, I’m rubbish. So here’s a bunch of books that I don’t think are out yet, which I want to get.

Cover of Ghost Talkers by Mary Robinette Kowal Cover of This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab Cover of Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor Cover of The Reader by Traci Chee Cover of Den of Wolves by Juliet Marillier

  1. Ghost Talkers, by Mary Robinette Kowal. I’ve been in love with the cover since it was announced, and I’ve enjoyed Kowal’s previous books.
  2. This Savage Song, by Victoria Schwab. I’ve actually read this already, but I love it and I want more people to read it. You can check out my review here!
  3. Strange the Dreamer, by Laini Taylor. I might not have got round to reading Dreams of Gods and Monsters yet, but that’s definitely not Taylor’s fault. I’m excited for her next book!
  4. The Reader, by Traci Chee. I can’t remember where I first saw this, but I know it’s been in my mind as something to check out for a while now.
  5. Den of Wolves, by Juliet Marillier. I haven’t actually read the second book yet, but I enjoyed Dreamer’s Pool a lot, so I’m looking forward to this.
  6. The Burning Page, by Genevieve Cogman. I found the second book really entertaining and better than I expected, so I’m actually quite impatient for this one!
  7. Necessity, by Jo Walton. It’s Jo, ’nuff said.
  8. The Obelisk Gate, by N.K. Jemisin. Hopefully it’ll give me the kick in the butt to read The Fifth Season, ahaha…
  9. City of Miracles, by Robert Jackson Bennett. Okay, technically I think it’s January of 2017, but shush, I want it noooow.
  10. Ruined, by Amy Tintera. Because Cait @ Paper Fury made it sound awesome.

Cover of The Burning Page by Genevieve Cogman Cover of Necessity by Jo Walton Cover of The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin Cover of City of Miracles by Robert Jackson Bennett Cover of Ruined by Amy Tintera

I’m surprised — quite a few of these actually leaped to mind! What’s everyone else looking forward to? Have I forgotten something obvious?

Tags: ,

Divider

Review – Spider-Woman: New Duds

Posted June 13, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Cover of Spider-woman: New DudsSpider-Woman: New Duds, Dennis Hopeless, Javier Rodriguez

I liked the redesign for Jessica Drew in this volume, and I do prefer Rodriguez’ art to Greg Land’s (even though I don’t quite get the antipathy some people had towards it). This volume feels a lot more fun than the first one, in line with Jessica’s decision to get away from the Avengers and be an ordinary person (ish) for a while. Ben Urich also has a key role, which is fun too. Unfortunately, it feels somewhat truncated because just as the first volume took Jessica Drew out of one Marvel event (Spider-verse), the last part of this volume pulls her off her detective agency job and back into the Avengers for Secret Wars. Yay.

I don’t know what Marvel thinks they’re doing, constantly crippling the solo comics with these ensemble events that a lot of people don’t even like. It’s alright when they’re a novelty, but when one TPB is bookended by two big universe-wide events, ugh, it’s far too much. Jessica Drew’s little detective story is fun enough but very light, and one could wish we get to see a bit more of her. It’s an interesting plotline, though perhaps somewhat predictable — or I dunno, I felt like I’d read something like it before, anyway.

Still not groundbreaking, but Jessica is still awesome.

Rating: 3/5

Tags: , , ,

Divider

Review – The Raven and the Reindeer

Posted June 12, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 4 Comments

Cover of The Raven and the Reindeer by T. KingfisherThe Raven and the Reindeer, T. Kingfisher

Sometimes surprisingly sweet, sometimes surprisingly dark, this retelling of The Snow Queen turns things upside-down in quiet ways. It’s fairly traditional in the set-up, and you can recognise each incident as you go along… until you meet Mousebones, the raven. He adds a lot of life to the story with his snarky comments and unique perspective. And then there’s Janna, the robber princess, who has rather more of a role in this version than I remember from Hans Christian Anderson’s — one he probably would not have thought of, really.

This is actually, though it isn’t immediately clear, a lesbian retelling of The Snow Queen — one that isn’t too surprising when you think about the robber princess’ fondness for Gerta in the original (or at least, the version I remember reading). It works really well, and the addition of the reindeer skin magic and the… weirdness when Janna has to slit Gerta’s reindeer-throat to bring her back to normal — that little bit of darkness works really well and brings some more colour and warmth into The Snow Queen; something I think is lacking in the original, rather pious and obvious story.

I don’t love it as much as Bryony and Roses, for example, but it is a well done retelling.

Rating: 4/5

Tags: , , ,

Divider

Review – The Book of Phoenix

Posted June 11, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of The Book of Phoenix by Nnedi OkoraforThe Book of Phoenix, Nnedi Okorafor

This is technically a prequel to a book I haven’t yet read, Who Fears Death, but it stands alone just fine. I actually think this might be the first book of Okorafor’s I’ve enjoyed this much — it shares themes with Lagoon and with what I know of Who Fears Death, shares the same anger at and examination of colonialism, racial issues, etc, but somehow Phoenix came alive for me more than any of the characters of Lagoon or Binti.

There were some aspects of this that I didn’t quite get — it just seemed so crammed full of stuff: the alien seed, the mutants, the modifications that could be done to normal humans, the political situation, the frame story… But I agree with another review I read earlier that said that this is about myth-making: that’s really the thing to remember with this one, the core of the story. Phoenix mythologises herself, and makes new mythology around her. Everything she does feels like part of a myth, so you don’t really have to question the archetypal Big Brother Government, the mad scientists, etc.

It’s a pretty easy/fast read, though not always emotionally easy; the scene with Phoenix’s mother is really effective, for example.

I think it’s not going to stick with me that much, but it was enjoyable.

Rating: 3/5

Tags: , ,

Divider

Unstacking the Shelves

Posted June 11, 2016 by Nicky in General / 16 Comments

No books bought this week! Wow. And this week started off quite slow, reading-wise, but I got quite a bit packed into the last couple of days and have plenty to show off in my fourth Unstacking post ever! We did briefly have the excitement of having a wedding date, but now we’re having to change it… ah well, at least now we have the paperwork all sorted?!

Books finished this week:

Cover of The Ancient Paths by Graham Robb Cover of Murder and Mendelssohn by Kerry Greenwood Saga vol 1 Cover of Talking Hands by Margalit Fox

Cover of Saga vol 2 by Brian Vaughan Cover of Blood Lines by Tanya Huff Cover of Airs Above the Ground by Mary Stewart Cover of Saga vol 3 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

Reviews posted this week:
Finn Fancy Necromancy, by Randy Henderson. I wasn’t really won over by this. I thought it was trying too hard to be the fantasy version of Ready Player One, in terms of references, and the characters didn’t strike me as being particularly mature or interesting. 2/5 stars
Ashoka: The Search for India’s Lost Emperor, by Charles Allen. This really is more about the search, and the searchers, than the lost Emperor himself. There’s a lot of interest, though if you’re sensitive to colonial issues you might not be comfortable with the fairly uncritical praise Allen has for the people who ruled colonial India and, coincidentally, did some work on Sanskrit and excavating Indian temples. 4/5 stars
Rosemary and Rue, by Seanan McGuire. This is perhaps the best answer to Jim Butcher’s urban fantasy I’ve found: female driven, complex mythology, and it’s not all about who sleeps with whom. The main character isn’t always smart, but she is at least sympathetic. 4/5 stars
Spider-Gwen: Most Wanted? by Jason Latour and Robbi Rodriguez. This is very much a getting-up-to-speed issue, and it’s a bit goofy at times, but I do enjoy that someone has made Gwen Stacey the hero. Not so keen on the treatment of MJ, though. 3/5 stars
Dreamer’s Pool, by Juliet Marillier. Solidly entertaining, although with some themes people might find themselves very uncomfortable with. The side characters are engaging enough to carry a lot of the book, while the main characters’ story is set up for the future. I’m looking forward to reading more. 4/5 stars
A Companion to Wolves, by Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear. Deals seriously with the issues of soul-bonding to animals a la the dragons of Pern, except there’s also a solid fantasy story with wolves and trolls as well. It’s mostly about the interactions of the wolfheall, and the difficulties the main character has in adjusting to his role, but there’s an intriguing world in the background too. 4/5 stars
Flashback Friday: Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline. Fun and nostalgic, though a bit gimmicky in execution with all those pop-culture references. The main character can be a bit of a creep at times, but then, he is meant to be a teenage boy. 4/5 stars

Other posts:

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Reasons I Love Fairytales. A somewhat lyrical celebration of these really old, really new, endlessly adaptable stories.

How’s everyone been? Anything exciting? Anything I just have to read?

Tags: , ,

Divider