Posted July 30, 2021 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
Comfort Me With Apples, Catherynne M. Valente
Received to review via Netgalley; publication date 26th October 2021
This is a novella which takes a number of different elements and whisks them together — and to explain too much about what exactly goes into the mix might tip you off about what’s going on in Valente’s Arcadia, so I won’t. As you’d expect of Valente, it’s rich language with lots of descriptions, and it’s worth lingering over to let her paint the pictures for you. Even as a very non-visual person, it always works.
I feel like I’m missing a lot about how the story is put together — there’s an obvious level that is quickly apparent, of course, but I think there’s most likely a lot more that I didn’t catch onto at first. I’ll probably at least skim through it again and see what I can spot.
It’s clever, but because of the nature of the story — again, not saying too much — there’s not a lot to grab onto in terms of character, which is often how I get most hooked into a story. So it’s not a favourite, for that reason, but something I did enjoy reading.
Rating: 3/5
Tags: book reviews, books, Catherynne M. Valente, SF/F
Posted July 29, 2021 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
Necropolis, Jordan L. Hawk
I took a bit of a break from the Whyborne and Griffin books, not entirely intentionally (I have a problem with things being out of sight, out of mind) — so it was nice to come back with a bang into a book that goes some different places (literally, geographically) and involves some significant development for Christine, my favourite character. We learn a little more about her, and more about the work she does. I’m a big fan of archaeology, fiction or non-fiction, so I was allll on board for this.
So okay, there wasn’t a lot of digging, because there wasn’t much time — it was all action. Which is not a bad thing. I read this in just a few chunks, tearing through it, and it was great fun.
I had issues before with Whyborne’s low self-esteem, because I just didn’t enjoy the same conflict happening every book with him deciding he’s not good enough for Griffin. It does feel like there’s some progress there, and that both of them are learning, so that kind of puts my worries to rest — though I hope that development continues happening. Slow is fine, as long as it’s happening.
So yeah, really enjoyable, and it’s nice to see Whyborne stepping up and figuring out some important stuff, too.
Rating: 4/5
Tags: book reviews, books, Jordan L. Hawk, queer fiction, romance, SF/F
Posted July 28, 2021 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
The Mystery of the Exploding Teeth and Other Curiosities from the History of Medicine, Thomas Morris
The answer to most of the “mysteries”/”curiosities” here is “someone was mistaken or lying”. I was hoping for some weirder tales, to be honest, and some of this is really just “hur hur people swallow weird things sometimes” and “lololol someone put WHAT up their butt?” I was raised by a doctor, none of this is a shock to me, though I’m gonna provoke an internal wince in anyone in my family by just mysteriously leaving one word here: “lightbulbs”. (It’s probably worse than you’re imagining.)
It’s a fun enough light read, though for me it really harped too much on obvious hoaxes, misunderstandings and just the weird things people do that isn’t particularly interesting except that it’s sex-related and idiotic so it’s a reliable source of humour for some people.
Rating: 2/5
Tags: book reviews, books, history, non-fiction, science, Thomas Morris
Posted July 27, 2021 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
A Poisoned Season, Tasha Alexander
The second Lady Emily book focuses on a mysterious string of incidents in which items that had belonged to Marie Antoinette are being stolen — along with a sideplot of her encounters with a mysterious admirer. Meanwhile, Colin continues to try to persuade her to marry him, and scandal about her bubbles away.
The book features quite a few delights — anonymous flirting in Greek, Emily’s continued interest in her studies and classical art, Colin’s attempts to persuade her of his affections, and Emily’s friendships with other women around her. Even her mother is a delight, in her own overbearing way, because her support for her daughter is solid despite the total lack of understanding between them. She even arranges for Emily to have tea with the Queen!
Like the first book, I found this really enjoyable, and I’m eager to read the third. Which is annoyingly out of print, but ebooks have come to my rescue.
Rating: 4/5
Tags: book reviews, books, historical fiction, mystery, romance, Tasha Alexander
Posted July 26, 2021 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
Walls: A History of Civilization in Blood and Brick, David Frye
This book has one major thesis, which it argues fairly well: walls made civilisation possible. Walls are contrasted against wars, with warmongers living a more day-to-day existence and wall-builders creating culture, politics, philosophy, technology, etc. As you read it, at least, it seems pretty convincing — but of course, Frye chooses his examples carefully, and doesn’t provide any counter-arguments of times and places where people created art without being walled in, had complex social contracts that allowed for safety and self-expression without carefully delineated borders.
I don’t have the historical knowledge to properly argue the point, but I suspect that Frye’s version is pretty lopsided. I don’t want to romanticise unwalled cultures either, but by and large humans are more complicated than simple dichotomies like this.
Still, I found it an entertaining survey of world cultures where this did seem to play out, and it’s certainly a very readable book. I wish he’d gone more into the modern relevance of walls, but I don’t think it much suited his thesis to discuss Trump’s wall — hardly a beacon of culture-creation — at great length.
Rating: 3/5
Tags: book reviews, books, David Frye, history, non-fiction
Posted July 25, 2021 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments
Iron Widow, Xiran Jay Zhao
Received to review; publication date 7th October 2021
Well, this was a heckuva ride! This is a world protected against an invading force by pilots in giant mecha suits which transform according to their particular mental capabilities. Two pilots are required, yin and yang: the stronger male pilot, and the balancing female pilot… who often ends up a sacrifice, drained of her life force by her fellow pilot to power the suit in battle. Wu Zetian has volunteered as a pilot in order to kill the pilot who killed her sister, not in battle but somehow outside of it. Now she’s expected to become his concubine…
Think you know where it’s going? Well, the book has some surprises coming for you, about which I shouldn’t say too much for fear of spoiling them! However, I think it’s worth mentioning the fact that this features not a love triangle but a poly relationship: Zetian ends up with two boyfriends, and her boyfriends are boyfriends, too.
It is worth noting as well that this isn’t a nice world, and Zetian isn’t a nice girl. It’s a world loosely based on ancient China, meaning that Zetian has had her feet bound to become “lotus feet”, and the effects of that aren’t shied away from. And of course, our heroine starts the book planning a murder, and has few hesitations throughout the book about making life and death decisions for other people. We root for her because we also see the helpless position she’s put into, but we also know she’s not someone we want to know. There’s a line in one of Thea Gilmore’s live albums where she describes the personality of someone she wrote a song about: “She has the kind of personality that’s a nice place to visit, but you wouldn’t want to live there.”
Well, Zetian’s personality is an entertaining place to visit, but you definitely, definitely don’t want to live there. That you can root for her at all works because you can sympathise with her motives and reasons.
On a final note, oof! That ending! I’m guessing there’s more to come from Wu Zetian, and I intend to read it if so.
Rating: 4/5
Tags: book reviews, books, queer fiction, SF/F, Xiran Jay Zhao
Posted July 24, 2021 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
The Wychford Poisoning Case, Anthony Berkeley
Well, that was an unexpected displeasure.
I remember quite enjoying one of Berkeley’s other books, but in this one he got the weirdest bee in his bonnet about a particular young female character needing to be spanked, because she tried to act cool and sophisticated in front of a somewhat-famous author. I’m talking a girl old enough to be socialising with grown women and giving them an introduction, so probably an adult or almost an adult… and Berkeley has her older, married male cousin give her a spanking once, and empower his author-friend to give her a second spanking as well.
I was mildly interested in the mystery, and there’s some witty chat between various characters that sometimes reminded me a bit of Lord Peter, but it just isn’t worth the sheer weirdness of the male characters continually being ready to spank a female character. It’s just… weird. So yeah, DNF.
Rating: 1/5
Tags: Anthony Berkeley, book reviews, books, crime, mystery
Posted July 23, 2021 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
Magic Burns, Ilona Andrews
I always forget how many books it takes for this series to really become a romance — I expect it straight away, somehow, and yet it’s really taking its time in that regard. Instead, this book’s emotional heart centres around Julie, a young girl whose mother is missing and who comes under Kate’s protection. Having read the later books, there’s also more information about Kate and foreshadowing for things in books to come — but you don’t know it yet!
Really, the books are an amazing mishmash of all sorts of mythology, and that would normally bother me, but it feels natural in the chaotic world of oscillating magic and technology that the characters inhabit. The chaos is the rule that means it’s not weird that you’ve got the Morrigan right beside birds with metal feathers from Greek legend.
There are also more glimpses into the workings of the Pack and the Order, which is fun. But the best parts are Kate and her interactions with Andrea, Curran, Julie and Bran; we get to see more of her heart, more of her hurt, and more of what she needs, wants, and thinks she needs and wants.
It’s a hecking lot of fun, basically.
Rating: 4/5
Tags: book reviews, books, Ilona Andrews, romance, SF/F
Posted July 22, 2021 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
Two-Way Murder, E.C.R. Lorac
Unusually for the British Library Crime Classics series, this is a book that was never published before, lightly edited and prepared for publication now given the popularity of Lorac’s books within the series of reissues. It features not one of her usual detectives, but a new group of characters — and on the detection side of things, I have to say I prefer her actually-published books. This felt like it was missing a bit of the warmth and humanity that you feel (however muted) from her usual solid and decent detectives.
I do wonder if I’d have preferred it if Lorac had actually prepared it for publication herself, rather than it being pulled out of the archives and published for the first time. I think she’s likely to have had some changes to make, at least.
That said, it works as a story, shuffling the puzzle pieces around until — click! You’ve completed the puzzle. You have most of the info you need to solve it, but there are a few surprises lurking. I suspect I was partially surprised because this is Lorac, and I’d expected certain things of her characters, too.
I can’t say it’s one of my favourites, but it was enjoyable, and features her usual attention to place and how a place can affect a crime and those all around it.
Rating: 4/5
Tags: book reviews, books, British Library Crime Classics, crime, E.C.R. Lorac, mystery
Posted July 21, 2021 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
The Gentle Art of Fortune-Hunting, K.J. Charles
Yaaaay, a stand-alone Regency romance with attempted cunning scams, falling in love with the wrong people, and improbably yanking at the tangle and sorting it all out at the end. It’s funny, the communication between the characters is as sexy as I ever find anything (ace, remember), and it’s good for the happy wriggle and toe-curls of “yaaay, a proper romance-novel happy ending”. And of course, it’s K.J. Charles, so you count on the fact that the sex advances character and plot, consent is properly obtained, and she knows the contract with the reader when it comes to happy ends.
I don’t understand how allegedly intelligent people don’t figure Robin out waaaay sooner than they do, given the abundant clues, but I do love the slow reveal of Robin’s past and motives, and the way the plot builds up toward the pairing.
And the funniness. And the heart.
Band Sinister is still my favourite, but this one is definitely on my ‘reread when things are shit’ list, too.
Rating: 4/5
Tags: book reviews, books, historical fiction, K.J. Charles, romance
