Dark Sky, Mike Brooks

In the first book, sometimes I found myself doubting that the Firefly references were intentional because they just felt misplaced (“I am a leaf on the wind”… during a successful flight?! why would you do that to me?!). In this book, the references just… I don’t know it couldn’t be heavily inspired by Firefly, when there’s a scene in which one character wonders if “bi zui” (shut up) is the only Mandarin the captain knows. Hmmm… sounds so familiar… And if this is like Firefly, I think I know exactly what the next book is going to be like based on a tiny scrap of the summary. Two words (well, a name): Adelai Niska.

It’s not a bad thing that it’s reminiscent of Firefly, but it can be distracting. Still, it has a lot of features which aren’t like Firefly, like the Maori bruiser Apirana (who would actually prefer not to beat people up for a living). There’s sweet relationships between various members of the crew, and everything trucks along fast enough to keep me interested. It’s derivative, yeah, but it’s entertaining, and I’m along for at least one more book.

Rating: 3/5

Raven Stratagem, Yoon Ha Lee

I’ve been struggling to think of how to review this book, because it was a total whirlwind of stuff I really enjoyed, from the machinations of Cheris/Jedao to the characters to the countermeasures people try to employ. I really want to know more about the deeper plot between Jedao and a character who has mostly been conspicuous by their absence so far. I found it easier, this book, to concentrate on the plot and ignore the magical-science stuff surrounding the calendar, math, etc. I just took it as read and focused on the characters.

Perhaps it’s best I don’t try and say too much about it. It’s hard to describe, and all I can really say is that I enjoyed the characters (perhaps more so in this book than the last) and how things worked out. I enjoyed the twists of the narrative. And most of all, I stayed up all night to finish it.

Rating: 4/5

The Godless, Ben Peek

This is another case where there’s some really cool world building, but I really didn’t get into the story/characters. It was interesting enough to follow them right to the end, and I did want to know more about some of the characters — okay, I admit it, particularly Zaifyr/Qian — and what brought them to where they are at the point of the story… but I’m not planning on reading more in the series. For me, characters are the major thing, and sometimes I felt like the narrative didn’t give enough time to their motivations and plans. Sometimes I just did not get what the connections between actions or scenes were; probably partly my fault, but also a feature of Peek’s style.

I wouldn’t say that I’d avoid Peek’s work in future, because there was a lot of interesting stuff in the world that he created. It’s just that it didn’t quite cater to my interests in terms of people to root for. That’s not always important for everyone, so if the idea of the dying gods and the power manifesting in individuals and the military campaign all appeal, I’d definitely recommend giving this a go.

Rating: 3/5

Strange Practice, Vivian Shaw

If you’re looking at the cover and expecting some sort of Victoriana setting, that’s actually misleading. It’s set in modern London, and modern technology actually plays a significant role in all of this. It’s also utilised sensibly in that people pick up the phone and call each other rather than running around helplessly after being attacked — the characters do get separated at times, but not in situations where just pick up your phone would be the answer, something I find irritating in some urban fantasy when it isn’t dealt with.

So the plot: Dr Greta Helsing is the heir to a medical practice for supernatural creatures, treating everything from decaying limbs for mummies to sore throats in Banshees. There’s a whole community of supernatural creatures living among humans, and Greta happens to be one of the people they’d consider allies. Surprise, surprise, someone doesn’t like that, and so she gets entangled in a larger plot against supernatural creatures of all sorts.

I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed her drive to help people, and I enjoyed the characters around her — including Lord Ruthven and Varney the Vampyre, a demon who is not actually evil, ghouls who might have odd eating habits but are really pretty harmless… I enjoyed the group dynamics, too. In the end, I just had fun reading it, and immediately wanted the sequel (which isn’t out yet, alas). It was a lot of fun, from the concept (the monsters’ doctor) to the characters (Ruthven in particular) to the epic note during the ending (featuring a particularly important mythological character).

Rating: 4/5