Top Ten Tuesday

Posted March 29, 2016 by Nicky in General / 4 Comments

This week’s Top Ten via The Broke and the Bookish is “recent five star books”. Annoyingly, I don’t enter my ratings on Goodreads immediately, so this was more fiddly than I expected!

A Natural History of Dragons, Marie Brennan. No surprise here, really; the first time I read it, admittedly I gave it three stars, but I appreciated it far, far more this time.
Carry On, Rainbow Rowell. Simon and Baz and Penelope, ’nuff said.
Vicious, V.E. Schwab. Possibly my favourite of Schwab’s books so far (I found ADSOM enjoyable, but not perfect). Must make my partner read this one…
The Perilous Gard, Elizabeth Marie Pope. Another reread; I liked this even more than I did originally. It tweaks the ballad of ‘Tam Lin’ and makes a new story — one I really enjoyed.
City of Blades, Robert Jackson Bennett. Pretty much perfect, and possibly even stronger than the first book… Apparently I didn’t read anything worth five stars between City of Stairs and this sequel, because that’s actually the next one as I go back! Though I’m seeing a lot of fours.
The Grey King, Susan Cooper. No surprises there: I normally do a reread around Christmas every year or two, and this was an on-year. Let’s just take it as read that The Dark is Rising and Greenwitch would make the list too…
The Color Purple, Alice Walker. From vague reviews and such, I figured this would be really depressing and not my thing. I was wrong.
A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula Le Guin. Another reread — and you wouldn’t be surprised to note that The Tombs of Atuan would make the list too.
The Mirror World of Melody Black, Gavin Extence. Gets some stuff very right about mental illness.
The Wicked + The Divine: Fandemonium, Kieron Gillen & Jamie McKelvie. The final couple of pages were just evilly good, and the art was beautiful throughout.

Should be interesting to see what other people have! I had to go back to September 2015 to get ten. What about you? Do you give out five stars often?

Tags: books, Top Ten Tuesday

Review – A Natural History of Dragons

Posted March 28, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 4 Comments

A Natural History of Dragons, Marie Brennan

Reread this ready for the release of the fourth book in April (which I am very excited about and argh, can’t I just have it already?!). I didn’t love this the first time I read it, and now I’m not entirely sure why; I think I found it slow, but this time I tore through it. I guess it helps that I’m already acquainted with Isabella and I know what’s coming, and how straight-up awesome it all is. I described the series in a recommendation as “pseudo-Victorian lady becomes a scholar and takes on the patriarchy”, and that’s a pretty good summary, though it misses out on a lot of the extra stuff — the fine writing, the world-building, the attention to detail.

The thing I loved particularly, reading it this time, was Isabella’s relationship with her father and then later, with her husband. The way her father tries to find a way for her to be happy; the way Jacob slowly learns about her and learns to support her, learns to give her what she needs. The portrayal of Isabella’s periods of depression is great, too; the point isn’t belaboured, but it’s there.

And, you know, dragons. Dragons being studied, for science — the history/archaeology of an older civilisation that seemed to worship them — the glimpses of draconic intelligence and social life.

And despite the Victorian-ish tone of the memoir writing, it’s never boring; Brennan manages to capture the flavour of it without sacrificing fun. I really need to get my own copy of this.

Rating: 5/5

Tags: book reviews, books, Marie Brennan, SF/F

Review – A Stranger in Olondria

Posted March 27, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

A Stranger in Olondria, Sofia Samatar

Sofia Samatar’s first novel has been on my radar for a long time, though I can’t remember quite how I first came across it. Possibly just on Weightless Books! It is very beautifully written, sometimes verging on too much, rather like Catherynne Valente’s work at times. There’s the same sense of poetry-within-prose, and dense layers of imagery and meaning. The writing almost carries its own scent: spices, incense, the acrid desert wind…

The plot is rather a lot slower, and feels a little disjointed to me — the first part is fairly rational and focused on the love of books, without supernatural elements. Then suddenly there are ghosts and angels and religious politics. The transition actually works reasonably well, now I think about it, but thinking about the two different parts of the book, I don’t feel like I was quite prepared for the world Jevick found himself in. From a rational world to a world where he’s, well, hag-ridden.

It sort of lacks resolution, to me: it seems to trail off into something bittersweet, thoughtful, but unsatisfying. That’s probably my own preference as a reader, though; others might find that ending works perfectly.

Rating: 4/5

Tags: book reviews, books, SF/F

Review – Stormy Petrel

Posted March 26, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Stormy Petrel, Mary Stewart

Stormy Petrel isn’t my favourite of Mary Stewart’s romance/suspense stories, though I do love that the main character is a science fiction writer, a poet, and a don at Cambridge. Her relatively self-sufficiency is great, and there aren’t too many damsel-in-distress moments. The romance is relatively light, and doesn’t treat us to the ridiculousness of marrying a guy you’ve only just met — sometimes it works for me, in Stewart’s writing, but all the same, I prefer a lighter touch. Especially when it means that the romance isn’t forced, which this would’ve been; kind of like in Rose Cottage, where the romance seemed to come in at the end to round things off.

As usual, the sense of place is great and makes me almost want to visit this area off the coast of Scotland. On the other hand, the midges sound like a pretty solid deterrent.

Rating: 3/5

Tags: book reviews, books, Mary Stewart, mystery, romance

Stacking the Shelves

Posted March 26, 2016 by Nicky in General / 10 Comments

Hello everyone! It’s been a busy week, particularly as I’m now trying to tackle my library books and get them down to zero, in preparation for a long trip to stay with my partner. I have a month, and 36 books to go… and some of them are the second book in a series where I own the first book but haven’t read it yet. Uh, wish me luck?!

Received to review:

So excited about all three of these!

Books finished this week:

Reviews this week:
–Clean Sweep, by Ilona Andrews. Lots of fun, and funny too. Ilona Andrews’ books are always fun, I think. 4/5 stars
–Junk DNA, by Nessa Carey. Spoiler: there’s probably no such thing as junk DNA. At least not in the amounts previously thought. Nessa Carey writes clearly and concisely, and I think the book should work for laypeople. 4/5 stars
–The Winner’s Crime, by Marie Rutkoski. I’m not sure if my writing might be too generous — the plot relied heavily on miscommunication/lack of communication, which always drives me bananas. 4/5 stars
–Solstice Wood, by Patricia A. McKillip. More accessible than the other book, Winter Rose, but less enchanting. 3/5 stars
–Carry On, by Rainbow Rowell. Love, love, love. Might read it again before long. 5/5 stars
–The Winner’s Kiss, by Marie Rutkoski. Got over most of my quibbles from the second book, and ended things well. 4/5 stars
–Flashback Friday: Helen of Troy, by Bettany Hughes. Enjoyable take on the myth of Helen and the way it has developed, though probably dry if this isn’t an area of interest for you. 4/5 stars

Other posts:
–Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Books I Really Love But Feel Like I Haven’t Talked About Enough/In A While. What it says on the tin!

How’s everyone? Anything exciting going on?

Tags: books, Stacking the Shelves, weekly roundup

Review – Helen of Troy: Goddess, Princess, Whore

Posted March 25, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Helen of Troy: Goddess, Princess, Whore, Bettany Hughes

Originally reviewed 11th October, 2012

Bettany Hughes was made an honorary Fellow of my university in the same ceremony as I became a graduate, so I’ve been planning to read this ever since. That, and the story of Troy has always been fascinating to me. There’s definitely something very compelling about Bettany Hughes’ writing, which though very detailed isn’t dry — or maybe I just have a weakness for descriptions of “sumptuous palaces” and so on trained into me by my early love of a book (by Christine Desroches-Noblecourt) describing the treasures of Tutankhamen’s tomb in detail. She makes the book colourful, anyway. And from whatever I know of Greek history and myths, she chooses her material well and does wonders in digging through the evidence of millennia to look at the idea of Helen of Troy, where she came from and what she has meant to generations of people.

I think my favourite section was actually the discussion of what the fabled Helen had to do with Eleanor of Aquitaine: the interaction of real queens with figures of legend like Helen of Troy, Queen Guinevere and female Christian saints fascinates me…

I’m not sure how well I think the information was organised, though. Admittedly, Helen is hard to pin down, but I’m not sure I can pinpoint how Hughes wanted to present her ideas. For me, reading cover to cover and for pleasure, it worked fine, but if I were to come back and try to refer to some specific point, I think I’d have trouble finding it.There are extensive notes and a long list of references to other works, so all in all I think this book is very well organised and researched. And — to me, more importantly — I really enjoyed reading it.

Rating: 4/5

Tags: book reviews, books, Flashback Friday, non-fiction

Review – The Winner’s Kiss

Posted March 24, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

The Winner’s Kiss, Marie Rutkoski

Received to review via Netgalley

After The Winner’s Crime, I was a little nervous I wouldn’t like this. After all, while I rated it highly in the end, the second book in the series relied heavily on one of my least favourite tropes: miscommunication, misunderstanding, a refusal to see. Mostly on Arin’s part, but Kestrel contributed plenty: her strategies might be good if they don’t involve Arin, but when he’s involved, she loses her cool and doesn’t know quite what to do. At least in The Winner’s Crime. In The Winner’s Kiss, well: things change. The plot moves pretty swiftly, and though there was a brief part where Arin’s ignorance was so contrived I wanted to scream (the narrative flagging up “there’s a messenger and oh, Arin forgets to see him!” just made me want to bash my head against something, I’m afraid), eventually he gets the message and things get back on track.

I read The Winner’s Kiss in one day; in many respects, it makes a very satisfying ending. Kestrel and Arin both find out more about themselves, and each other; things aren’t easy, but they find their way. When an opportunity for all-too-easy revenge rears its head, Rutkoski went for a more complex and more effective way of dealing with the aftermath of betrayal, with the aftermath of a wrecked relationship. There’s no easy resolution to what Kestrel’s father is and has done, but there’s no easy refusal to deal with those issues either.

Things I wanted more of: Sarsine. Jess, and resolution with her. Roshar and his friendship with Arin. Arin the tiger. Risha.

I find that, at the moment, I don’t want to pick this apart any further. I enjoyed it, and I think people will find it a worthy final book in the series. After the tortuous miscommunications of the middle book, this final book gave me more of the feeling I had from the first.

Rating: 4/5

Tags: book reviews, books, romance, SF/F

Review – Carry On

Posted March 23, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 6 Comments

Carry On, Rainbow Rowell

Ever since I heard Rowell was actually going to write this, I’ve really wanted it. I mean, it explicitly features two boys being idiots in love, in exactly the same way as Rowell’s other books portray heterosexual couples being stupid (and sweet, and impossible, and teenage). And people were so excited about it — it seemed pretty mainstream. So that was cool. And then of course it takes an adversarial relationship a la Harry and Draco and develops it into love, which is one of my things.

Did it live up to my hopes? Hell yes. I was worried about a couple of things: in Fangirl, the world of Carry On was basically created to take the place of Harry Potter. I don’t actually like Harry Potter (sorry), and I was also worried that this would just turn out to be a serial-numbers-filed-off version. That didn’t happen: I was actually impressed with the way Rowell constructed her fantasy world, especially the power of words — and the way that pervaded the whole narrative: the worst thing to do to a mage is to steal their words, and at one point Simon says something trying to make it true. Perfect.

Another concern was, well, I didn’t like Draco. I thought he was slimy and cowardly. Now, Baz isn’t perfect — but he’s a worthy lead, flaws and all. He doesn’t always do the right thing, and he has opinions that we might not 100% endorse, but he’s in a difficult position and he works with what he’s got.

Finally, I was worried that Simon and Baz being gay (or bisexual, or demisexual as some people suggest, in Simon’s case) would be a Big Thing. Actually, it shockingly isn’t. There are a few points where Simon isn’t sure about it, but it isn’t a Big Angsty Issue. And Rowell writes them well; I love the way Baz only calls Simon by name when they’re “being soft with each other”. It all feels pretty boyish.

As for the rest, well — Penelope Bunce, guys. She’s all the great things about Hermione and Ron in one, without the annoying pettiness. And she has an amazing friendship with Simon — yes, a boy and a girl being friends in YA without complications, without romance. Hurrah!

Despite the fact that Agatha got to have a voice, I didn’t feel like it was quite fair to her. She seemed fickle and cowardly, when wanting to have a life of her own was a perfectly reasonable wish, and wanting to be loved now and for herself, not as the Happy Ever After In Waiting. Still, the way it examines the tropes of the Chosen One and the Happily Ever After are welcome and interesting.

I didn’t want it to be over, and I am definitely reading it again in future.

“It’s okay,” Baz says. “It’s all okay now.” One arm is tight around Simon’s back, and the other is smoothing his hair out of his face. “You did it, didn’t you?” Baz whispers. “You defeated the Humdrum. You saved the day, you courageous fuck. You absolute nightmare.”

Rating: 5/5

Tags: book reviews, books, queer fic, Rainbow Rowell, romance, SF/F

Review – Solstice Wood

Posted March 22, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Solstice Wood, Patricia A. McKillip

Solstice Wood is a loose sequel to Winter Rose, set a few generations later in the same place. That gives it a really weird feel, because it’s very much rooted in place and time, while Winter Rose could be almost anywhere, anywhen. I don’t really remember the same concrete sense of place about Winter Rose at all; perhaps because half of it was spent in the other world, but still. That felt untethered in time, and this really isn’t — planes, phones, worrying about reception. It feels realistic, and that’s odd compared to the narrator of Winter Rose and her unconcern for the barriers between what’s real and what isn’t.

Oddly enough, although I understood it better, I think I liked it less than Winter Rose. Some of the beauty and mystery was missing — which in a way was part of the point, but still. And the main character’s grandmother is just stunningly unable to see what’s going on under her nose for someone who is meant to be stubborn and shrewd. Love blinds us all, I guess, but it still felt odd.

The fae stuff in this book is perhaps more attractive than in Winter Rose, though; we get to see the gentler side, the enticing side, and more nuance. Still, I’m not greatly enamoured.

Rating: 3/5

Tags: book reviews, books, Patricia A. McKillip, SF/F

Top Ten Tuesday

Posted March 22, 2016 by Nicky in General / 18 Comments

This week’s theme is “Ten Books I Really Love But Feel Like I Haven’t Talked About Enough/In A While”. I can do that, right? Right!

The Goblin Emperor, Katherine Addison. I’m never going to be over this book, or feel like I’ve said enough about it. It probably dethroned my previous fairly longterm favourite. I would rather reread it right now than reread The Lord of the Rings, and believe me, nobody expects me to say that.
Carry On, Rainbow Rowell. Okay, I haven’t talked about it enough because my review hasn’t gone up yet. But STILL. I loved it and I loved what Rowell did with the starting material and I can’t get over Simon and Baz.
Seaward, Susan Cooper. It’s like The Dark is Rising grew up and discovered sex. Except not in any crude way, it’s just that attraction is a thing for the main characters and it shapes what they grow through. A magical journey for a different stage of adolescence.
Century Rain, Alastair Reynolds. I haven’t talked about this much because it’s been so long since I read it, but I’m rereading it right now, so there’s that. It’s actually the book that made my sister into a reader after she totally lost interest.
Sunshine, Robin McKinley. I have to confess, I’m actually a little scared to reread it in case it isn’t as awesome as I remember.
My Real Children, Jo Walton. I feel like I didn’t talk about this enough when it came out, though I loved it. I might even love it more than Among Others, in that it might have more to say to an adult version of me, whereas Among Others talks to the teen I was.
Vicious, V.E. Schwab. I don’t anyone in my day to day life who has read it, and my partner hasn’t read it (yet). CAPSLOCK WITH ME.
The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern. I love this book and I want to read it again. It’s just so magical. And people often say “but I don’t like circuses”, and guys, it doesn’t matter.
Kushiel’s Dart, Jacqueline Carey. I always tack disclaimers on this one because of the sex and BDSM, which often makes people look at me like “what weird things are you into?” But I love these books for the politics and the world and Joscelin, who is not at all kinky unless paladins who are meant to be celibate but fall in love are your fetish. (More power to you, if so.)
Bloodshot, Cherie Priest. I haven’t fallen for any of Priest’s other books as much as the duology this kicks off. And there’s no series I can think of that I want more of so powerfully. Must reread soon. (My partner tried and was bored. Aaah.)

I could probably think of a ton more books to flail about. This is a good topic!

Tags: books, Top Ten Tuesday