Posted April 15, 2018 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula Le Guin
I read this shortly after Ursula Le Guin’s death was announced, and it was a comfort: “Only in silence the word, only in dark the light, only in dying life.” There are aspects of Le Guin’s world that it takes The Other Wind to truly make satisfying and comforting, but all the same, it’s always a relief to come to Earthsea. It’s beautifully written, and though the women are absent (fixed or at least commented on in later Earthsea books) and one could wish for more dragons, it still works.
I don’t think there’s more I can say, beyond noting that the book saved my life.
Rating: 5/5
Tags: book reviews, books, SF/F, Ursula Le Guin
Posted April 13, 2018 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments
Lost for Words, Stephanie Butland
Received to review via Netgalley
I hadn’t heard anything about Lost for Words before I picked it up, but it’s set in a bookshop — a bookshop which gradually leads Loveday, the main character, towards growth and healing after a troubled childhood. I was sold from the word bookshop, of course; I kind of expected something romance-based with some quirkiness, because, well, bookshop.
There is a certain degree of that, and the romance is quite good — Nathan is sweet and understanding, a sort of undemanding romance that is a joy to read. Loveday’s background is darker than I expected, and sadder; I found it interesting to read about her process of coming to terms with it, but it wasn’t quite what I’d expected. The ending was sadder and more dramatic than I’d expected too.
Even given that, I’d rate this higher if it weren’t for the stalker psycho ex. He’s supposed to have bipolar disorder, but the ‘warning signs’ Loveday mentions are things like his obsession with doing things at a certain time or in a certain way. That’s more like obsessive-compulsive disorder, and it doesn’t make you hurt anyone. For me, it just means laundry has to be done on Fridays (unless it’s bedsheets, which can be done on Saturdays) and I can’t stop reading on an odd-numbered page or chapter. From all these books you’d think you should run screaming the minute someone wants to line things up in a particular order because ooh it’s a warning sign! You should’ve known! But for most people, it’s not a warning sign that they’re ultimately going to hit their partner and set a place on fire with them inside it.
I wish the psycho ex wasn’t used so often to create drama and tension. That character could’ve acted in that way without all those little tags of mental illness which lead some people to assume that any sign of mental illness is only a skip and a jump away from arson and abuse. Being “off your meds” doesn’t automatically mean that you’re going to do something awful; can’t we just drop that trope?
Rating: 2/5
Tags: book reviews, books
Posted April 12, 2018 by Nicky in Reviews / 1 Comment
Daphne du Maurier, Margaret Forster
This is overall a well done and exhaustive biography, pulling out a lot of interesting factors, events and people in Daphne du Maurier’s life and relating them to her work. If you’re interested in Daphne du Maurier it’s definitely worth a read — I’m not a super fan, personally, though I’ve read a couple of her books, and I found it pretty interesting and found myself really wanting to reread her books with some of this in mind (especially Rebecca and My Cousin Rachel).
I didn’t end up actually finishing the book, but that’s a pretty personal thing — Daphne du Maurier is described as being a pretty private person, and hating the very idea of being thought to be a lesbian, and yet this is so frank about her affairs with women. I found it felt too much like prying for me.
Rating: 3/5
Tags: book reviews, books, non-fiction
Posted April 10, 2018 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
The Prince and the Dressmaker, Jen Wang
This story is just adorable. The setting is a little odd — half realistic, set in places like Belgium and Paris, but half invented (at least I don’t think it fits into our timeline), but I really enjoyed the designs and the cute relationship between Sebastian and Frances. I love the fact that Frances is never really bothered by what Sebastian wants: okay, he wants dresses, that’s her job, so she’ll do it. The best bit was maybe her telling the king that Sebastian himself was perfect, and it was the expectations and the fear of disappointing his family that ruined things.
It’s not exactly period appropriate in terms of how easily Sebastian seems to be accepted, but hey, when reality sucks, why not fix it sometimes?
I’m glad I own this. Warm fuzzy feelings ahoy!
Rating: 4/5
Tags: book reviews, books, comics
Posted April 9, 2018 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
Meddling Kids, Edgar Cantero
There’s a lot that I found annoying about this book: the allergy to using the word “said” (in one page: smirked, ranted, argued, retorted, started — and not one ‘said’), some of the made-up words and over-enthusiastic descriptions of Kerri’s hair being alive, the breaking of the fourth wall… On the other hand, it’s all part of the exuberant pastiche, I think. And mostly it does work, for me anyway: I had a lot of fun. It’s goofy, but it’s pretty much Scooby Doo: of course it is.
For that reason, it’s reasonably predictable if you’ve seen a couple of episodes of classic Scooby Doo (plus maybe the movies like Zombie Island where it turns out that some supernatural stuff is real). Well, except for the Latina heroine, the lesbians, and the fact that one of the four is already dead.
It’s not the best thing I’ve read all year, but it was such solid fun I can’t give it less than four stars. I can understand those who find it too annoying, but for me it just about toed the line.
ETA: It was later pointed out to me that this book leans on a weird transphobic trope which I originally missed, and now (even later) I’m coming back to correct the record a bit. I don’t actually remember it well enough to comment; I think I was distracted by how fun the idea of playing around with the Scooby Gang could be. The Book Smugglers‘ review has some detail on this, and on the way the relationship between Andy and Kerri is presented, and these are (as far as I remember) good points. If those things had struck me at the time, I would probably have given a lower rating — though the fact remains that I found it good fun to read.
Rating: 4/5
Tags: book reviews, books, mystery, queer fic, SF/F
Posted April 8, 2018 by Nicky in Reviews / 5 Comments
The Hazel Wood, Melissa Albert
It took me a while to get a handle on where this would fall exactly in terms of genre and audience; part of it really strongly reminded me of Joanne Harris’ Chocolat, though I think it’s more intended for the YA market than that book was. Once I got into it, I really enjoyed it: some lovely writing, some very creepy scenes, and lovely use of fairytale tropes — the original sort of brutal, horrible fairytales, not the sanitised versions. I think the pacing was a bit jerky at times. Given the fairytale setting, I don’t think I can really complain about some of the rules not seeming clear/consistent at times… Fairytales are like that, and it spills into the book as a whole.
I enjoyed the fact that the ending didn’t go with anything too easy… though I’ve learnt that this is a series, or at least that there’s going to be another book. I’m somewhat reluctant to read it, actually, in case it changes Finch’s ending — that just seemed so apropos after what we see through the rest of the book.
Rating: 4/5
Tags: book reviews, books, SF/F
Posted April 6, 2018 by Nicky in Reviews / 4 Comments
Improbable Destinies, Jonathan Losos
The question Losos asks, and tries to answer, is this: can we predict evolution? Are certain things inevitable in development — birds, humans, antibiotic resistance, etc, etc? He writes engagingly about field work, experiments, thought experiments, the various theories and people who have supported them… I definitely want to do more reading on this.
Am I convinced? Well, I’m not sure Losos is convinced that evolution can be predicted in detail; he presents some good evidence that suggests that you can predict the sorts of changes in gene function that will be beneficial in a certain environment, but that you can’t predict exactly how those changes will come about. Sometimes one gene might be altered, sometimes another. The phenotype is predictable (unsurprisingly: look for what would benefit the species in breeding successfully) but the genotype is not, unless it’s a fairly simple case of one particular molecular switch needing to be flipped on or off. There is a great deal of contingency in the process of evolution: Gould was (at least to some extent) correct in suggesting that we can’t “rewind the tape of life” and then see things proceed in exactly the same way.
As with determinism in any sense, I generally believe that if all factors were known, we would also know the result. I’m just not sure we can know those factors (and I dislike and squirm away from applying it to human ethics — our actions may be caused by previous events, but we don’t experience the process that way, so it’s irrelevant in how to be moral) — especially given events on a quantum level.
Rating: /5
Tags: book reviews, books, non-fiction, science
Posted April 5, 2018 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
The Genius of Birds, Jennifer Ackerman
If you’ve read much about animal intelligence, most of the stuff in this book won’t be all that surprising, though of course since it’s entirely about birds, it includes a lot more anecdotes and bird-focused studies. As a whole, the book definitely makes a case for birds as specialised, well adapted, and very intelligent in their own spheres. We won’t be having philosophical discussions with them any time soon, though, if that’s what you thought ‘genius’ meant. And I think honestly that Ackerman makes less of a case for bower birds’ displays being art than others I’ve read.
It’s an easy read, and good for some ‘huh, cool’ moments, but not the most rigorous or unmissable popular science book out there.
Rating: 3/5
Tags: book reviews, books, non-fiction, science
Posted April 3, 2018 by Nicky in Reviews / 6 Comments
A Matter of Oaths, Helen S. Wright
Throughout reading this, there were basically two major thoughts in my mind: one, why didn’t I read this sooner? And two: fans of Ann Leckie and Becky Chambers are probably the ideal audience (and maybe fans of Yoon Ha Lee, as well). And hurrah! It’s been republished recently, so it’s out there and ready to be picked up by just those people. I can’t quite put my finger on all of the things that reminded me of those authors, but nonetheless, remind me it did (without them being in any way derivative — that’s not what I’m saying).
Worldbuilding? Got it in spades. A unique way of interfacing between ship and crew, two warring empires, a mystery plot that turns out to reflect on the politics quite significantly, overt and perfectly matter of fact queerness… I loved the characters, even though they have their flaws (and I think I’d have liked to see more of Vidar, who kept fading in and out). I loved the way things came together, one question raising other questions while answering things you wouldn’t expect it to answer. And I read it really fast, too: I’d look up and I’d be 50 pages down the line with no real sense of time having passed.
And the ending. So much potential, without the need for more but just… telling you that more is there: the world goes on after you’ve left, as it began before you arrived. I’d love more time with Rafe and Joshim and Rallya; I’ll probably eventually reread this to get that. But the ending in itself is satisfactory and doesn’t, to my mind, leave anything hanging in a bad way.
I’m trying to think if I have criticisms, and really, I don’t. What the hey: I’m going for five stars here.
Rating: 5/5
Tags: book reviews, books, queer fic, SF/F
Posted April 2, 2018 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
Murder in the Museum, John Rowland
I’ll admit that I was hoping for more of the Museum atmosphere from this, and that I was a little sad that the academic rivalry subplot peters out. But it’s still entertaining: nothing too solid, fairly stereotyped cast of characters for a Golden Age crime novel, quick to read… I wasn’t expecting anything revolutionary (and indeed, don’t remember Martin Edwards mentioning this author at all in The Golden Age of Murder, which talked about some of the more interesting members of the Golden Age crime fiction movement and particularly the Detection Club), but this was the sort of undemanding, mild fun I imagined. Despite involving murder, it’s pretty darn cosy. The only uncomfortable bit is the abduction of the female character.
So not an enormously high rating, but it deserves at least a three. I had fun. Not recommended if you don’t like Golden Age tropes, though!
Rating: 3/5
Tags: book reviews, books, crime, mystery
