Posted August 6, 2023 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
Peter Darling, Austin Chant
Peter Darling takes the story of Peter Pan and imagines what might be the reasons behind Peter’s insistence that he’ll never grow up, his wildness and casual cruelty. What if Peter comes back to Neverland — how have things been without him?
I don’t want to say too much about it, because I think this exploration of Neverland is best taken as it comes, allowing the story to make it clear what exactly it wants to explore in its own time. I found it really enjoyable, though, and loved that the nature of the relationship between Hook and Peter was explored, developed and deepened.
I think their time alone together — and the way their relationship changes as a result — is nicely done, and the only reason I’m not sure about the ending is that it doesn’t entirely feel right that Peter “has to” grow up and accept — well, you’ll see. At the same time, the novel never denies Peter’s assertion that he is not Wendy, and not a girl, so it was more of a slightly off note for me than something which spoiled it.
Rating: 4/5
Tags: Austin Chant, book reviews, books, SF/F
Posted August 2, 2023 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
Wild, Wild Hex, Jordan L. Hawk
Wild Wild Hex is a short story that takes us quite different places than the main series. Instead of following the MWP, it follows the fortunes of a “Hexas Ranger” (and yep, he hates the pun plenty) as he chases down a notorious bandit, and discovers that he has a chance to do a lot more than that.
The emotional connection between the two leads is quick, as rendered necessary by the shortness of the story, but it doesn’t feel totally rushed — instead it feels pretty natural for these particular people, thrown together in this particular situation. It’s not quite the same level of attachment as I feel about, say, Cicero and Tom, but it’s enough to make this little story satisfying.
Rating: 4/5
Tags: book reviews, books, Jordan L. Hawk, romance, SF/F
Posted July 31, 2023 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
The Good Virus, Tom Ireland
This is one of those popular science books that got me excited by teaching me new things — something that you wouldn’t think is easy when it comes to things like viruses, which I’m studying during my MSc at LSHTM. The “good viruses” of the title are bacteriophages, though: viruses that specifically target bacteria as their natural hosts, and surprisingly little is sad about those when you’re studying viruses in general, despite the fact that — as Ireland makes clear — they’re absolutely ubiquitous. If anything rules the world by sheer numbers, it’s bacteriophages, and they’re absolutely everywhere, from the icecaps to the deep ocean to the human body.
It’s likely that Ireland is a little hyperbolic at times here about the potentials of bacteriophages, though he does sound a note of caution here and there about his own enthusiasm. But it’s also true that bacteriophages offer us some answers to knotty problems, like antimicrobial resistance, and we’d be stupid to keep turning away. I had no idea that bacteriophages were being used to treat bacterial infections in clinics in places like Georgia, and I had no idea that “the West” was so pathetically behind and completely unable to legislate in ways that would make clinical trials possible. It’s exciting, and vital, and I have so many questions about why we’re not in a hurry to do more.
If you’re in my position, where you study this stuff, then obviously this book — absolutely riveting as I found it — isn’t the end: you’ll need to read papers, ask further questions, and maybe get in the lab. But as a starting point, it’s a good read, informative and enthusiastic, and full of titbits I couldn’t wait to share with… well. More or less everyone who stayed within earshot for long enough, actually.
This is the best kind of popular science, shining a light on something that is wrongly obscure, and it has plenty of resources in the footnotes to guide you to where the info comes from. (That said, more footnotes would’ve been good. I wasn’t always happy with statements that didn’t have references.)
So glad I picked this up.
Rating: 5/5
Tags: book reviews, books, non-fiction, science, Tom Ireland
Posted July 29, 2023 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
Hexhunter, Jordan L. Hawk
Hexhunter breaks the mould of this series a little bit, which was a relief: the couple didn’t have a mid-book miscommunication-and-break-up, which was a feature of each of the others. Not that Isaac and Bill’s story is entirely smooth-sailing: there’s a whole jealousy subplot (sigh) and, of course, Isaac’s trauma and self-hatred. If you might have triggers around that and about a victim blaming themself for what happened to them, be careful with this one (though Bill is entirely supportive of Isaac).
The relationship between them is sweet, though in the relatively short space of the book you don’t have time to entirely feel the weight of the pining Bill’s been doing for quite some time. Isaac’s road to some kind of recovery is pretty satisfying, given we’ve been seeing his pain since book one.
This book doesn’t draw the series to a close, either, despite the fact there’s been nothing new since that one — the overarching plot that ran through the four main stories isn’t solved, though each couple has had a happy-ever-after. So that’s worth noting, too.
Not my favourite of the series, I think, but enjoyable as ever!
Rating: 4/5
Tags: book reviews, books, Jordan L. Hawk, mystery, romance, SF/F
Posted July 27, 2023 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
Remote Control, Nnedi Okorafor
Received to review via Netgalley
I keep trying out Nnedi Okorafor’s work, because there’s so much about her work that appeals, but it’s never quite clicked with me. (I’ll admit here that I interacted with her a couple of times on social media and found her unpleasant, for reasons that are not really relevant to reviewing her books but do mean I’d never call myself a fan of hers. So take my opinions with a grain of salt.) This is… honestly maybe the closest to a hit for me? I was intrigued by the way the story was told, the stuff that was held back, the little sensory details like the scent of shia butter.
Plus, Movenpick is a pretty awesome sidekick.
My only disappointment is that we didn’t really learn the why of it — it was more on the level of a fable, from the narrative to the repeated line about her sandals slapping her feet as she walks, so it makes sense… but darn it, I was curious.
Rating: 3/5
Tags: book reviews, books, Nnedi Okorafor, SF/F
Posted July 25, 2023 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
Hexslayer, Jordan L. Hawk
I wasn’t sure how to feel about a book where Nick was one of the romantic leads, since he’s stubborn as a (yes, yes) horse, and it felt like it was going to be a pretty big barrier to a romance. I feel like it was shockingly easy, actually, and while it made sense… I don’t know, I could’ve used a little more time for it to develop, or something.
Which is not to say I didn’t have fun with this book, and with the development of Jamie’s character as he begins to understand he’s been privileged and blinkered — and with Nick’s slow acceptance that some people can be depended on.
I didn’t love the scene where Nick decided to let Jamie ride him in his horse form, despite his initial refusal to ever countenance it, I must admit. It felt like Nick saw that as servitude, as degrading, and then decided… what? He’d be okay with that because the case was more important? Jamie was more important? His motives weren’t entirely clear to me there, and I didn’t feel comfortable with it being fairly glossed over, and then repeatedly happening again. There’s a whole intersection there with Jamie’s disability and Nick being accommodating of that, but still, not wholly comfortable.
Overall, not a favourite of the series, but I’m definitely curious what it’s all building up to — does the fourth book finish things up?
Rating: 4/5
Tags: book reviews, books, Jordan L. Hawk, mystery, romance, SF/F
Posted July 23, 2023 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
Fans: A Journey into the Psychology of Belonging, Michael Bond
Michael Bond discusses fandom with an amount of sympathy that I found a little surprising, since (as a member of multiple fandoms) I’ve experienced a fair bit of hostility to that type/level of nerdery. Even when it comes to furries and otherkin, the tone is sympathetic, and he honours their identities by referring to them in the way they want to be referred to.
Nothing in this book was terribly surprising to me, nor did it really constitute a description of rigorous research — it comes out more like a collection of fandom-related anecdotes and explanations, highlighting the experiences of some fans and describing what fandom can be like (e.g. Jane Austen fandom, or Michael Jackson fandom). It touches on some dark stuff, like being a fan of Michael Jackson despite the accusations made against him, and especially the stuff about fans of serial killers and mass murderers… but it maintains a pretty light, non-judgemental tone.
It basically mildly puts across the message that fandom is enriching for many people, even restorative, and can help you find your “people”. I think most fans could tell you that!
Rating: 3/5
Tags: book reviews, books, Michael Bond, non-fiction
Posted July 21, 2023 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
A Christmas Hex, Jordan L. Hawk
It’s probably the wrong time of year to read A Christmas Hex, but I was curious about this one and decided to go ahead anyway. Unlike the other Hexworld books, this one doesn’t concern the police and their familiars, but a private detective, Gus. Roland realises that Gus is his witch and quickly becomes fascinated, but he’s terrified to admit that his animal form is that of a wolf, since people normally fear wolves.
It’s a fun set-up, but the relationship between the two feels more than a little rushed by the amount of space available in such a short narrative, and I didn’t get the usual sense of two people figuring out how to match up their experiences and come to some kind of accord. It all feels like it’s a bit too easy, but not in the sort of way where it makes total sense — like there’s some important scenes of negotiation or reaction or something skipped.
It was a fun short read, but definitely not a favourite.
Rating: 3/5
Tags: book reviews, books, Jordan L. Hawk, mystery, romance, SF/F
Posted July 19, 2023 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
A History of Reading, Steven Roger Fischer
A History of Reading is an interesting look at reading throughout history. It’s not just the history of books, or stories, but about the place that literacy has generally in society, and a bit of what that meant for society — e.g. how it affects things as reading spreads away from the elite.
Some of the suggestions it has about ereading are very of its time: in reality, our ebooks have been very like our pbooks, without the wild branching of possibilities and jumping around in texts that the author suggests may come next. Likewise, pbooks don’t seem to be going away at the rate people expected back then: we’re all still very fond of our codices.
Still, on the historical stuff it’s fascinating, if a bit slow.
Rating: 3/5
Tags: book reviews, books, history, non-fiction, Steven Roger Fischer
Posted July 17, 2023 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
Spectr Volume 2, Jordan L. Hawk
Summoner of Storms concludes volume 2 of these books, so it’s a good point to step back and think about the story so far as a whole. A lot has changed in the last three books, and the status quo is well and truly shattered: things and people aren’t as we thought they were, and Caleb, Gray and John’s relationship has grown.
There’s a lot of good development in these three books, looked at from the end — each individual book might feel pretty short, but together it really builds up. A certain betrayal, and the aftermath of that for several key relationships; the wider plot with SPECTR and what they’re up to; what Gray is and what he can do. I enjoyed that the betrayal wasn’t all someone being an asshole: it makes sense for the characters and their motivations, and all the things they’ve experienced.
The only thing I didn’t enjoy much was the jealousy subplot in the first book of this volume (so book four of the series). I feel like Hawk has leaned on this a bit too much in a bunch of books; it’s very human, but it’s not of interest to me personally.
I’m pretty happy with where the series gets to by this point: each book within this volume advanced things and changed things, and now Caleb, Gray and John are in a whole new world. I’ll be fascinated to see where it goes.
Rating: 4/5
Tags: book reviews, books, Jordan L. Hawk, romance, SF/F
