Genre: Fantasy

Review – The Dead Cat Tail Assassins

Posted December 23, 2023 by Nicky in Reviews / 6 Comments

Review – The Dead Cat Tail Assassins

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins

by P. Djèlí Clark

Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 208
Rating: three-stars
Synopsis:

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins are not cats.
Nor do they have tails.
But they are most assuredly dead.

Eveen the Eviscerator is skilled, discreet, professional, and here for your most pressing needs in the ancient city of Tal Abisi. Her guild is strong, her blades are sharp, and her rules are simple. Those sworn to the Matron of Assassins—resurrected, deadly, wiped of their memories—have only three unbreakable vows.

First, the contract must be just. That’s above Eveen’s pay grade.

Second, even the most powerful assassin may only kill the contracted. Eveen’s a professional. She’s never missed her mark.

The third and the simplest: once you accept a job, you must carry it out. And if you stray? A final death would be a mercy. When the Festival of the Clockwork King turns the city upside down, Eveen’s newest mission brings her face-to-face with a past she isn’t supposed to remember and a vow she can’t forget.

I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I was definitely excited by the appearance of P. Djèlí Clark’s new book on Netgalley: the  summary was tantalising, the cover looks awesome, and I was quickly intrigued by the world once I started reading. I don’t know quite why it didn’t work for me — it may be as simple as it being the wrong time, but somehow I just didn’t get properly sucked in, and the pace didn’t feel quite right.

Objectively, because I feel safest there while I can’t put my finger on what’s up, the world-building is really cool. There’s a whole bustling city of which we see glimpses, rather than a city that comes to life only for the characters to run through it; there are characters busy getting on with their lives in ways that aren’t fully explored and thus leave tantalising things to wonder about; there’s the whole concept of Eveen’s unlife, and how she ended up where she is. The ending isn’t too neat: possibilities remain, and the characters’ lives (or unlives) go on.

The climactic scenes are really cool, and I think I’d like to see more of the world, if Clark writes any other books in this setting. I don’t know why I struggled with this one, why I kept stopping and starting; if the premise entices you, I’d give it a go.

Rating: 3/5

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Review – Mirror Lake

Posted December 19, 2023 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – Mirror Lake

Mirror Lake

by Juneau Black

Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Mystery
Pages: 240
Series: Shady Hollow #3
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

A murder to solve. A reporter on the trail. Is this a case of mistaken identity?

Welcome dear reader! You have happened upon the delightful village of Shady Hollow, a place where rabbits and raptors, squirrels and snakes live together in civilised accord...with only the occasional murder to mar the peace of daily life.

Keen journalist Vera Vixen is recovering from the Harvest Festival (and its bounty of local cheeses, cider and pies) when the calm is shattered by a scream from one of the small town's grandes houses. Dorothy Springfield, a rat with a reputation for eccentricity, claims her husband - who is standing right next to her - has been murdered. Has Dorothy finally lost her grip on reality? Or is the rat who claims to be Edward an imposter? Vera's fox nose scents a story. And it's not long before the discovery of a body, minus the read, complicates things further...

Juneau Black’s Shady Hollow books seem to invariably end up being swallowed whole — by me at least. As with the others, I steamed right through it, enjoying myself all the way. As with the others, if you find the situation (the town of woodland creatures living in vegetarian harmony) inherently ridiculous and you’re unable to suspend your disbelief, then it won’t be so much your thing… and, once again, I found the mystery a little obvious. (I blame the fact that I’ve been training my brain on John Dickson Carr and other mystery greats.)

But that’s quibbling, because I personally still enjoyed it a lot. I’m still a little mad that the animals apparently don’t have a sense of smell, not even the creatures who would normally be trackers — it’d add a great extra dimension — but I’m trying not to argue with it, because I’m just having fun.

It helps that it’s a town of basically nice people. There are petty jealousies, of course, and here and there a murder or other crime (though it’s usually an outsider), but it just sounds like a nice place to be, and that makes it a nice place to read about. Vera and Orville’s romance is mostly sweet (without ever being saccharine), and Lenore is the best raven friend you could ever ask for.

Lovely escapism, and I refuse to overthink it any further!

Rating: 4/5

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Review – The Waking of Angantyr

Posted December 17, 2023 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – The Waking of Angantyr

The Waking of Angantyr

by Marie Brennan

Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 493
Rating: five-stars
Synopsis:

The bondmaid Hervor is used to dead men whispering in her sleep. They’ve been doing it for as long as she can remember; it’s the living she has to watch out for. And when a new arrival at her holding triggers her into a berserker fury, she’s forced to flee the contract that enslaves her and into the arms of an uncertain future.

Unchained from the living, Hervor goes in search of a way to silence the dead, but it will take much more than grit and determination to make that happen. She’ll need the help of a ruthless Viking, an ailing jarl, a mad witch, and more—for the treachery that killed her ghosts isn’t nearly as dead as they are, and the path to peace must first traverse a river of blood.

In The Waking of Angantyr, Marie Brennan brings to life the story of Hervor, a Viking woman who claims her father’s cursed sword (Tyrfing) and seeks to avenge his fall. Around the details of the saga, Brennan embroiders a larger story, giving us the details of Hervor’s experiences, the things that drive her, and the terrible consequences of her heritage and her path to revenge. I was only vaguely familiar with the original details, so it’s not always obvious where Brennan’s embroidery begins; it comes together well to present a satisfying story.

Mostly satisfying, anyway; one can’t help but regret some of Hervor’s choices and mistakes, and think about the what-ifs along the way. I don’t think the book should have ended any other way, to be clear, but at the same time I’m wistful about the could-have-beens and the paths not taken. The dissatisfaction I feel isn’t about Brennan’s storytelling or ability to shape the plot, but rather about Hervor’s lot. I don’t quite know how to describe this, but I hope it comes across: I can think it’s a wonderful story as it is, while at the same time, wishing Hervor had been able to have more.

I ended up reading this alongside my wife, and we both pretty much raced through it, eager for each new step in Hervor’s journey; there’s no point where Brennan really lets the character rest and let out a breath, so I found the same experience as a reader. You want to get to where Hervor’s going and figure out what on earth the next step could possibly be.

I don’t think you need to know Hervor’s story already to appreciate this one (my wife didn’t know it), but if you do, it adds that interesting dimension of seeing how Brennan fleshes out the story, and makes the supporting characters vivid and human, breathing emotion into it. There’s also that sense of inevitability you get with reading Arthurian retellings, where each moment is cast into sharp relief by what you know will come. I’m very tempted to re-familiarise myself with Hervor’s story from the original sources, and then read this again with attention to that.

I originally gave this four stars, but I’m just habitually stingy like that. For the rate at which I read this, and the joy I took in it, it has to be five stars.

Rating: 5/5

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Review – Phantom Pond

Posted December 10, 2023 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – Phantom Pond

Phantom Pond

by Juneau Black

Genres: Fantasy, Mystery
Pages: 57
Series: Shady Hollow #3.6
Rating: three-stars
Synopsis:

In the woodlands around Shady Hollow, there’s a legend about a mysterious creature known as Creeping Juniper. According to local lore, she’s a sort of witch who dwells deep in the woods, casting spells on the shore of Phantom Pond. It’s a harmless old tale, until a prank goes wrong. When a young creature goes missing, all the clues point to Creeping Juniper. But to solve the mystery and rescue an innocent victim, Vera Vixen and her friends need to find a place that doesn’t appear on any maps. Can they discover the location of Phantom Pond before it’s too late?

Phantom Pond sees Juneau Black’s Shady Hollow in the throes of another holiday. It’d have been perhaps more appropriate, seasonally, to read these the other way round, because Phantom Pond is set during Mischief Night, when pranks and scares are all in good fun, and young beasts spend their time costumed and looking for treats.

The story takes a slightly more serious turn than some of the other books — murder is dire, of course, but the disappearance of a child (apparently kidnapped) is a bit harder to take. This remains a cosy story (I’ll say now that the child comes to no lasting harm), but it feels a bit more serious for a while there.

I felt like it wrapped up a little quickly, after the slow patch in the middle of ratcheting tension as the searchers fail to find any sign of the missing squirrel. But it was fun, and expanded the horizons of Shady Hollow just a little, just enough to see some of the creatures who might live on its edges.

Rating: 3/5

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Review – The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England

Posted December 9, 2023 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England

The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England

by Brandon Sanderson

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction
Pages: 366
Rating: two-stars
Synopsis:

A man awakens in a clearing in what appears to be medieval England with no memory of who he is, where he came from, or why he is there. Chased by a group from his own time, his sole hope for survival lies in regaining his missing memories, making allies among the locals, and perhaps even trusting in their superstitious boasts. His only help from the “real world” should have been a guidebook entitled "The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England", except his copy exploded during transit. The few fragments he managed to save provide clues to his situation, but can he figure them out in time to survive?

I wanted to have more fun with Brandon Sanderon’s The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England. I went into it already primed for the fact that it’s a bit silly, for a certain kind of humour, which isn’t always my thing — but I was prepared to go along with it and have a good time anyway. In the end, there was just a bit too much of it for me: too many cutesy inserts of the handbook, too many stabs at corporatespeak that were just a touch too predictable.

It might’ve been alright for me if the characters had really grabbed onto me, but they didn’t. The protagonist is a fuckup, in part because he’s been told he’s a fuckup and he’s just gone along with it because it seems obvious, but also because he’s not as clever as he sometimes seems to think he is when he’s not being down on himself. I didn’t appreciate one of the twists very much, and I was eyebrow-raisy about the love interest, and the ex-friend, and… gah, a bit too much of it, as you see.

I think there’s a lot of fun here for someone who is more into the humour of it, and it was certainly very readable… just a bit too silly for me. I had to put it down for a bit when the protagonist used the word “Nintendo” as part of fooling people into believing he was doing a magic spell. Just, ack, not for me.

Rating: 2/5

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Review – Evergreen Chase

Posted December 5, 2023 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – Evergreen Chase

Evergreen Chase

by Juneau Black

Genres: Fantasy, Mystery, Short Stories
Pages: 32
Series: Shady Hollow #3.5
Rating: three-stars
Synopsis:

It’s the winter solstice in Shady Hollow, that magical time of year when creatures of all shapes and sizes come together to honor the season and eat as much pie as possible. Reporter Vera Vixen is eager to experience her first holiday in town and is especially looking forward to the unveiling of the solstice tree. But then disaster strikes. The year’s tree—the tallest in the forest—has disappeared without a trace. Can Vera, her best friend, Lenore, and Deputy Orville Braun find the tree and save the season? Or will this year’s solstice be especially dark?

Evergreen Chase is a short story in Juneau Black’s Shady Hollow mystery series, with a slightly lower-stakes mystery that’s appropriate for the winter season. The creatures of Shady Hollow are due to celebrate the winter solstice with the proper pomp and circumstance — traditions many look forward to all year — when the tree ear-marked to stand in the centre of town is… stolen?! How do you steal a tree?

As ever with this series, the culprit is fairly easy to guess, and even more so because of the length of the story. It’s still a good chance to check in on some lovely characters, and to experience the cosy charm of Shady Hollow for a little longer. The denouement is predictably satisfying: needless to say, the world is set to rights.

I think one of my favourite things is actually the characterisation of Lefty, a raccoon who’s always up to no good… but tries not to do too much bad either. Petty larceny is about the size of it, and when someone’s spoiling the season, Lefty’s doing his best to help. Quietly. Sneakily. And don’t tell anyone!

Rating: 3/5

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Review – Across the Green Grass Fields

Posted December 4, 2023 by Nicky in Reviews / 4 Comments

Review – Across the Green Grass Fields

Across the Green Grass Fields

by Seanan McGuire

Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 174
Series: Wayward Children #6
Rating: three-stars
Synopsis:

"Welcome to the Hooflands. We're happy to have you, even if you being here means something's coming."

Regan loves, and is loved, though her school-friend situation has become complicated, of late.

When she suddenly finds herself thrust through a doorway that asks her to Be Sure before swallowing her whole, Regan must learn to live in a world filled with centaurs, kelpies, and other magical equines--a world that expects its human visitors to step up and be heroes.

But after embracing her time with the herd, Regan discovers that not all forms of heroism are equal, and not all quests are as they seem...

This instalment of Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children novellas is a step back from the rest, which are developing a sort of formula (former student of the school needs help in some way, the others all team up to solve their problems). In fact, I don’t think any of the other kids we’ve seen in the other books are even mentioned: Regan kind of stands alone, and I don’t think we’ve heard any reference to the Hooflands elsewhere before.

As such, it’s a point where someone unused to these books might be able to start — but I don’t know that I’d recommend it as a starting point, to be honest. It’s rather skippable, actually, except for the fact that it showcases an intersex protagonist.

Overall, it didn’t stand out a lot to me: it felt like it was a lot of leadup for very little payoff, and I wasn’t surprised by the conclusion at all. (Which one doesn’t necessarily need to be, especially in a series as metafictional as this one is, but it still didn’t feel fresh to me, which is perhaps a better descriptor of what I was hoping for.)

Not unenjoyable, but not a favourite, and one I may not return to in future rereads.

Rating: 3/5

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Review – Exodus 20:3

Posted December 1, 2023 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – Exodus 20:3

Exodus 20:3

by Freydís Moon

Genres: Fantasy, Romance
Pages: 92
Rating: three-stars
Synopsis:

Religious eroticism and queer emancipation meet in a claustrophobic monster-romance about divinity, sexuality, and freedom.

When Diego López is guilted by his mother into taking a low-key construction job in New Mexico, he doesn’t expect to be the only helping hand at Catedral de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe. But the church is abandoned, decrepit, and off the beaten path, and the only other person for miles is its handsome caretaker, Ariel Azevedo.

Together, Diego and Ariel refurbish the old church, sharing stories of their heritage, experiences, and desires. But as the long days turn into longer nights, Diego begins to see past Ariel’s human mirage and finds himself falling into lust—and maybe something else—with one of God’s first creations.

Like the other book by Freydís Moon that I’ve read, this features a trans masc protagonist, who is infinitely more messed up and unsupported, and stumbles into a strange situation he doesn’t fully understand in order to try and pay back his debts to his family after some big mess-ups. Diego’s supposed to be restoring a church, but he quickly suspects there’s something very unusual about Ariel and he’s both drawn to him and scared of him — and scared of what he may offer.

Spoilers ahead, now: I suspect that there are readers who would be completely repelled by the spirituality of this book, since it features an angel who is determined to show Diego God’s love through sex and physicality. And seems to succeed, to a large degree.

Sex is a big focus of the story here, and Diego’s more personal level of connection to Ariel isn’t really explored as much — only his lunge at the forgiveness offered, at the grace he can be shown. As a novella, it doesn’t have room to do a lot, and the intensity of those scenes is definitely well done — I’d just hoped for a bit more understanding of Ariel, as well.

Rating: 3/5

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Review – Cold Clay

Posted November 28, 2023 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – Cold Clay

Cold Clay

by Juneau Black

Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Mystery
Pages: 208
Series: Shady Hollow #2
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

It's autumn in Shady Hollow, and residents are looking forward to harvest feasts. But then a rabbit discovers a grisly crop: the bones of a moose.

Soon, the owner of Joe's Mug is dragged out of the coffeeshop and questioned by the police about the night his wife walked out of his life—and Shady Hollow—forever. It seems like an open-and-shut case, but dogged reporter Vera Vixen doesn't believe gentle Joe is a killer. She'll do anything to prove his innocence ... even if it means digging into secrets her neighbors would rather leave buried.

Juneau Black’s Cold Clay is another reasonably cosy mystery in the same vein as the first book: if you didn’t enjoy that, then you won’t find yourself charmed by this one, and if you did enjoy the first one, it’s likely your thing unless the conceit is wearing thin for you already. For me, it wasn’t: I was ready to suspend my disbelief once more, readily engage with the world in which a raven runs a bookshop and a moose a café, and get mildly outraged that the police bear would arrest a hard-working honest moose.

If that all sounds ridiculous, it may not be for you, but the book treats it as obvious (aside from a brief introductory page in which it advises not to get caught up on the how of it all), and it doesn’t get played as ridiculous. Really it’s just about people, except they happen to have some animal traits. Here and there I was annoyed that they didn’t use their animal traits a bit more (flying’s all very well, but some of you have noses, why did nobody ever hunt down a quarry by scent?), but mostly I just suspended my disbelief and settled in to enjoy.

I say it’s a “reasonably” cosy mystery because… I’m never entirely sure where the boundaries are on this one. Murder seems, by definition, pretty uncosy — but a lot of mystery fiction is really about that closure at the end, and saying “everything is going to be okay now”, which is profoundly cosy. Your mileage may vary, but I think this one qualifies.

As far as the actual plot goes, once again I was a bit ahead of the game and identified the culprit quickly, but watching Vera get there was entertaining as far as it goes. I could’ve done without the relationship drama between Orville and Vera — really, kids, just communicate! But all in all, I enjoyed myself once more, and quickly grabbed the next book in the series, the short stories, and the fourth book as well for good measure. I’m having fun.

Rating: 4/5

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Review – Shady Hollow

Posted November 23, 2023 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Review – Shady Hollow

Shady Hollow

by Juneau Black

Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Mystery
Pages: 208
Series: Shady Hollow #1
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

The first book in the Shady Hollow series, in which we are introduced to the village of Shady Hollow, a place where woodland creatures live together in harmony — until a curmudgeonly toad turns up dead and the local reporter has to solve the case.

Reporter Vera Vixen is a relative newcomer to Shady Hollow. The fox has a nose for news, so when she catches wind that the death might be a murder, she resolves to get to the bottom of the case, no matter where it leads. As she stirs up still waters, the fox exposes more than one mystery, and discovers that additional lives are in jeopardy.

Vera finds more to this town than she ever suspected. It seems someone in the Hollow will do anything to keep her from solving the murder, and soon it will take all of Vera’s cunning and quickness to crack the case.

Juneau Black’s Shady Hollow fell into my hands right when I needed something to restore my faith that I actually enjoy reading and don’t just do it because I always have. In theory I was still fascinated by books, but in practice everything seemed a bit tedious — and then I came across Shady Hollow from someone’s Top Ten Tuesday blog post, and decided… I’ll just give it a chance.

In the end, it’s basically a mystery story like so many others… except that the characters are all animals. Our heroine is a fox, the police detective is a bear, the medical examiner is a snake, and the guy who sells everyone coffee is a moose. If you stop too long to wonder about it, you’ll get jolted out of the story — how does a raven turn the pages of a book, or a moose serve coffee? But you can just settle in and enjoy what there is, and the way the animals’ abilities occasionally give things a bit of flavour (like Lenore’s ability to fly), and the way the various different animals interact.

(And of course, of course, a beaver runs the sawmill. Of course.)

In the end, the mystery didn’t surprise me much, and I was a bit disappointed that while abilities like flight are used, it doesn’t mention scent at all. Vera’s a fox! There’s surely some degree of ability to track there — and Orville too!

But mostly I just had fun, and breezed straight through the book, and felt immensely grateful it fell into my paws — sorry, hands — right now.

Rating: 4/5

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