Posted May 26, 2022 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
Dangerous to Know, Tasha Alexander
Dangerous to Know really disappointed me: I picked it up and was finding it really enjoyable, having given the Lady Emily series a bit of a break. However, part of why I love the series is Emily’s independence and free thinking, and Colin’s efforts to stifle her feel out of character in their suddenness (he’s been protective before, several times, but not in the sense of flat-out saying “I’m your husband now and you’ll do as I say”).
It was nice to meet Colin’s mother (who wouldn’t approve at all of what he’s doing, I’ll add), and to have Cécile around for much of the story, and I was happy for the return of Sebastian Capet, of course. The cast and mystery remained pretty much what I would expect… it’s just Colin who was disappointing.
I’m giving him one more book to behave himself, since I own the next book, but if he really hasn’t learned his lesson, then I’m moving on from this series. I’m not looking for realism here, at least not to that extent.
Rating: 3/5
Tags: book reviews, books, historical fiction, mystery, romance, Tasha Alexander
Posted May 25, 2022 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments
The Obelisk Gate, N.K. Jemisin
Holy wow.
The Obelisk Gate is as difficult to review without spoilers as the first book, especially because it follows tightly on the first book, and I’d have to spoiler that as well. Suffice it to say that it remains dark, that the answers we get only make it clear that there are deeper and deeper mysteries, and that Jemisin wants to tear your heart out and stamp on it as it bleeds wetly beneath her foot.
…And if you don’t like that imagery because it makes you cringe, you’ll struggle with this book. Like I said, it’s dark, and twisty, and it goes places. Essun isn’t a great person; Nassun (who becomes another key character) isn’t either. Alabaster is inscrutable and terrible. Hoa’s up to something. Nobody is pure, and the road to hell is paved with good intentions and a lot of dead bodies.
I still love the stuff Jemisin is doing with the narrative point of view, and I’m sure she’s not done using that to surprise and shock. I look forward, with some trepidation, to reading The Stone Sky.
Rating: 4/5
Tags: book reviews, books, N.K. Jemisin, SF/F
Posted May 24, 2022 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
Restless Spirits, Jordan L. Hawk
In Restless Spirits, there’s an appealing cast of main characters: Henry, an inventor, and his assistant and ward, Jo, and then Vincent, a medium, and his friend, Lizzie, also a psychic. They’re all assembled at the site of a haunting as a contest between the mediums and the inventors, to prove who can best dispel a haunting, with money at stake for the winners — which each group badly needs. Needless to say, Henry and Vincent are powerfully attracted to each other, though the humiliations of Henry’s past risk coming between them.
This is very much a first book, with the ending only a “happy for now” — there’s a lot that the characters have to work out. I’m looking forward to reading more, because I completely tore through this. I was worrying that it would feel a bit too much like Whyborne and Griffin’s adventures, but no: there are some similarities, but the characters’ hangups are very different, and the relationship doesn’t have (so far, at least) the desperate insecurity that is the initial cause of rifts between Whyborne and Griffin. Henry and Vincent are made of different stuff.
On a slightly spoilery note, I did see another review complaining about Henry, and I get it, but at the same time… as a boy, he was taken advantage of by someone his family trusted, including sexually. His life was taken apart by the guy, leaving him with deep-seated trust issues. Sure, he doesn’t behave the best (and he’s incredibly naive about what his revelation to the group will do to Lizzie), but it’s partly ignorance, partly because he has a good heart and fails to see the worst of others, and partly due to the betrayal he’s felt.
Rating: 4/5
Tags: book reviews, books, Jordan L. Hawk, mystery, queer fic, SF/F
Posted May 23, 2022 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
Dragon Physician, Joyce Chng
Dragon Physician had some pretty awesome stuff going on: a bunch of trans people choosing to stand up and break gender boundaries, a dragon vet, elements very reminiscent of Anne McCaffrey’s Pern books (come on, Linking vs Impression, these are the same picture).
The problem is mostly the pacing: it’s fairly quick all the way through, but it speeds up to a dead run in the last couple of chapters, covering world-changing events in a couple of pages. Massive social change doesn’t generally happen that quickly, and it felt like there was a lot of detail missing in how that change came about. For one Rookery to change and accept them wouldn’t be too much of a stretch, but the societal change feels odd against the generally personal background of the rest of the book.
It also felt like it needed some more work editing-wise. Sometimes it was just sentences that were missing words, and sometimes it was an odd word choice that felt more like confusion than innovation (you can move “gingerly”, but movement can’t typically be “gingerly movement” and definitely not “gingery movement”; the word “gingerly” is not related to “ginger”, so it feels like confusion about how that word should be used). It’s possible that it was on purpose, but given the word “gingerly” exists and almost fits, using the word “gingery” instead felt odd.
I think it’s a fun world and a fun read, but I was left wanting a bit more. I’d definitely have given it more stars if the pace and detail of the first chapters had been maintained; loved the stuff about treating the dragons and taking care of them.
Rating: 2/5
Tags: book reviews, books, Joyce Chng, queer fic, SF/F
Posted May 22, 2022 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
The Bone Way, Holly J. Underhill
The Bone Way is a sweet novella, which is basically a Sapphic Orpheus and Eurydice story: Teagan has been poisoned by a creature belonging to the Shadow Princess, a sort of underworld figure. Her wife Cress is determined to find her a cure by travelling the Bone Way to reach the Shadow Princess and make a deal with her. They originally plan to set out together, but Teagan has doubts, fearing that Cress will lose her life for nothing if the deal doesn’t work or they don’t make it to the end… so Cress sets out alone, and Teagan has to follow.
It’s a short book, and slips by quickly; there are a few flashbacks to help build the picture of their relationship and what they do, and which help provide a little worldbuilding, and then there’s the description of Teagan’s journey. It reads so fast that I didn’t quite get the passage of time out of it; the time limit on their return to their normal world felt easy (three days), although the journey did actually take them almost all of that.
The story is sweet and fairytale-like; it’s not a thick satisfying novel that fleshes out the whole world, but a glimpse of a couple’s story within that world. Behind it lurks a story I was perhaps a little more interested in: the story of the Shadow Princess and why she turned to dark magic, why she brought all her people with her, and exactly how those people live and what they feel about it. I’m especially curious about the little girl who helps Teagan, because she seemed more switched on and alive, and it felt like there was a story there as well…
The love between Cress and Teagan comes across as strong, but also realistic: they screw things up, they get angry with each other, they have mismatched priorities. The whole thing ends well and sweetly, and despite the Shadow Princess’ dire pronouncements (which say more about her untold story than anything), you get the feeling that Cress and Teagan can figure things out, together.
Rating: 3/5
Tags: book reviews, books, fairytale, Holly J. Underhill, queer fic, romance
Posted May 21, 2022 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
Subtle Blood, K.J. Charles
Subtle Blood brings an end to the adventures of Will Darling and Kim Secretan — at least for the reader, though it’s fairly clear they’re going to go off and get into trouble together again, as soon as possible. It beautifully resolves much of their issues with Zodiac, and features Kim being much more open, less willing to lie (at least to Will), and totally committed to the future he’s realised he can have. It’s adorable and satisfying, as adorable as anything can be when it involves this pair.
It was pretty much everything I wanted from the finale of this series, and everything I wanted for these characters. What more can I say?
Don’t forget to read the coda free on Charles’ website — particularly if you know who Daniel da Silva is. (If you don’t, hie thee to a purveyor of books and grab Think of England first.)
Rating: 4/5
Tags: book reviews, books, K.J. Charles, mystery, queer fic, romance
Posted May 18, 2022 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
In the Watchful City, S. Qiouyi Lu
Received to review via Netgalley
Anima watches over the city. Ae is one of the “nodes”, people who are connected in a sort of biomagicmechanical way to all the life of the city. Ae is confined to a room, limited by the length of the cord that connects aer, but ae sees the whole city from that place, riding on the lives of rats and part-mechanical birds and stray dogs. Then Vessel comes and starts to tell aer stories of other lives, making Anima’s story a frame around several other stories which are set in the same world, letting Anima understand lives outside aer city. Slowly, we get a picture of the wider world, and a better picture of who Anima is, inasfar as she has an individual identity apart from the city.
I didn’t love the parts that aren’t in standard prose, because that’s not usually my thing, but it’s undeniable that those quick handfuls of images added up to a background for Anima that might not have been a straightforward narrative, but made ae’s life clear enough — more like looking at a painting than reading a book, in a sense. A quick intuitive grasp of it.
I thought each story was used to shape the plot, but not clumsily so: it’d take a while to say exactly what each story might’ve meant to Anima, how it shapes aer later decision, rather than being able to say simply “this story about rebellion taught Anima that ae should rebel too”. It’s more complicated than that, shaping Anima’s reactions and casting light on them, rather than directly causing them.
I enjoyed it quite a bit, and suspect that there’s a lot that I missed.
Rating: 4/5
Tags: book reviews, books, S. Qiouyi Lu, SF/F
Posted May 17, 2022 by Nicky in Reviews / 4 Comments
Why We Read, ed. Josephine Greywoode
Received to review via Netgalley
This is a collection of 70 pieces of writing on the topic of reading non-fiction. Many of the writers chosen speak about reading quite broadly, and some seem outright confused about the assignment, talking largely about fiction. In retrospect, I shouldn’t be surprised that the responses are largely predictable, with some authors discussing their personal need to read (often sounding ridiculously pretentious as they do so) and others talking about how reading elevates people, or even the entire human race. Some make sure to add a soupçon of contempt for those who don’t read, or at least hasten to make it clear that the illiterate are utterly impoverished, morally deficient, and overall doomed.
Why do I read non-fiction? I’m curious. That’s it. I don’t expect enlightenment, and I’m not seeking it. I just want to know things, and crave the moment where I can excitedly turn to someone else and share what I just read in tones of unbelief.
I suppose I also seek out non-fiction in specific moods, when I’m anxious or restless and I can’t bear to live in other people’s emotions too much. So I read non-fiction in much the same way as I read fiction, just in a different mood: to escape.
There. Now I’ve contributed.
Rating: 2/5
Tags: book reviews, books, non-fiction
Posted May 16, 2022 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments
The Kaiju Preservation Society, John Scalzi
Received to review via Netgalley
The Kaiju Preservation Society is a lot of fun. I expect it probably doesn’t hold together if you try to inquire too deeply into how the science works, but it’s perfectly fine for a bit of fun that’s much more interested in imagining what could be. How can we make kaiju work despite the square-cube law? Why might kaiju have appeared for real on our planet? What if, what if, what if…
It’s a romp, as most of Scalzi’s books are, and it’s pretty cheery about everything except death and billionaires. Imagine being a biologist who gets to go to another world and study kaiju; imagine if while you’re there, you live in basically a socialist utopia where everyone’s needs are met, and everyone is as keen as you on the work you need to do. Not everything is a joy (someone has to test the reeking kaiju pheromone spray), and it’s hard work, and it’s good, you know what you’re contributing to… It’s an appealing idea (and an escapist one), and the little group of newbies that join KPS alongside Jamie throw themselves into it much as I would.
You don’t get a ton of a sense of personality from the group, because the characters aren’t really the point — to my mind, that escapist fantasy is much more prominent… combined with, y’know, kaiju. (But really, for me, the socialist paradise part where each scientist gets to do real groundbreaking work? That’s the fantasy.)
I ripped through this book, giggling and going “Oh shit!” at all the right moments. It’s not incredibly surprising, but it’s a lot of fun.
Rating: 4/5
Tags: book reviews, books, John Scalzi, SF/F
Posted May 15, 2022 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
Honeycomb, Joanne Harris
Honeycomb is a collection of short stories which mostly connect, although some don’t (the farmyard ones only seem to connect to each other and not to the overarching story, and they are the ones with the heaviest moral/social commentary, which makes them stick out a bit).
There are some lovely stories in this collection, and the overall arc of it is quite satisfying, but it does take a while to see how it all comes together (and the farmyard stuff never does, to my knowledge). I enjoyed it, and found very compulsive reading; I’m sure some of the stories will stick in my head for a long time.
I’d say, though, that it’s not a book for people who don’t enjoy fairytales and fairytale-style narratives. There is an overarching story to which many of the chapters are relevant… but it takes a while to see it emerging and understand that it is really going to lead to changes and developments in the characters. Often it’s much more like a fairy story, where you don’t necessarily think that the character will have changed or grown when they recur.
The illustrations by Charles Vess are of course absolutely lovely, and very fitting for the stories.
Rating: 4/5
Tags: book reviews, books, Joanne Harris, SF/F
