Tag: books

Review – Why We Read

Posted May 17, 2022 by Nicky in Reviews / 4 Comments

Cover of Why We Read by Josephine GreywoodeWhy 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

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Review – The Kaiju Preservation Society

Posted May 16, 2022 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Cover of The Kaiju Preservation Society by John ScalziThe 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

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Review – Honeycomb

Posted May 15, 2022 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of Honeycomb by Joanne HarrisHoneycomb, 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

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Review – The Only Good Indians

Posted May 14, 2022 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham JonesThe Only Good Indians, Stephen Graham Jones

Horror is usually not my thing, but I like trying things and broadening my horizons, and the blurb of this made it sound like it had some crossover with fantasy (a genre I do read a lot of). There’s a lot of gore and violence in this, which was a little much for me (though to be honest, not worse than some of the fantasy I’ve read), but the mystery does have a supernatural side.

To me it seems like a fairly predictable plot: four Blackfeet hunters kill elk they’re not supposed to, and years later, strange things start to happen as it seems that they’re each being hunted in their turn. I won’t say too much more about the exact plot — it’s not too surprising, I think, with that basic summary… but still, there are some grey areas and things that you’d want to read through without being prejuced by another reader’s take on them.

The characters are not exactly sympathetic, except in that they’re everyday fuck-ups like the rest of us (some of them more than others). It does a really good job of making them people, for sure: I can believe in Cassidy and Lewis and Gabe Cross Guns and Ricky Boss Ribs.

For those side-eyeing the title or the themes, the author is of the Blackfeet Nation; obviously, being Welsh this isn’t remotely my history or culture, so I can’t comment on how respectful he’s been or how accurately he’s portrayed things, but I think in this case that doesn’t matter — he’s mostly portrayed people and the things individuals believe, and individuals can be wrong.

I found the ending a tiny bit predictable; it wouldn’t have been out of place in any of the genre novels I read, which is probably why.

In the end, it’s still not for me, and I’m wavering about the rating to give it. In terms of personal enjoyment, it’s probably less than this, but that’s probably unfair to the book because I knew what I was getting into, and also despite this really not being my preferred genre, I read the whole book in just a few days. So I’ve split the difference a bit.

Rating: 3/5

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Review – Rosebud

Posted May 13, 2022 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of Rosebud by Paul CornellRosebud, Paul Cornell

Received to review via Netgalley

I didn’t quite know what to make of Rosebud, honestly. It has a slightly weird format with some odd sort-of-ish time travel stuff going on, plus it’s written in a very stream-of-consciousness sort of way with an oddball cast that change how they’re represented a couple of times. I felt like I could do with a dramatis personae or something to help me keep track, and I normally stubbornly ignore those. Like, Bob is a balloon (seriously), but also a tiger… and Huge If True is a whole mess of hands, but then also Bob Ross? Etc, for each character.

It also has this whole subplot about the whole world being awful for queer people, including flashbacks to a trans woman being made to dress as male in public while being sort-of-but-not-really executed and tortured, which… is mentioned somewhat in a content note at the start, so I can’t say I wasn’t warned, but it sits funny because it’s off-hand, somewhere in the background of the story. Partly that’s in the same way that Brexit is in the background of the Lychford books, for instance… and I do get the urge to write about the way the world is right now (especially in the UK) to comment on it, but it didn’t quite work for me.

It didn’t quite come together for me, I guess; I did like the ending, and thought there was a lot of cleverness going on, but I spent too much of it not really engaged with what was going on because I was having trouble keeping track of characters.

Rating: 3/5

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Review – The Missing Page

Posted May 12, 2022 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of The Missing Page by Cat SebastianThe Missing Page, Cat Sebastian

The Missing Page is a lot of fun. As it opens, Leo’s away doing work (still spycraft) and James has been invited to the reading of a will which grants him a small bequest. The will itself turns out to be a surprise: the person who manages to solve an old, old mystery (the disappearance of the daughter of the house) will become the owner of the family home. Those who assemble are people who were present that summer, a time when James was 12 years old.

Leo hears about this setup and thinks instantly of heirs poisoning each other, so he drives up as soon as he gets home to join James and help him unravel the mystery. Unlike many second books, this doesn’t have any walking-back of the relationship in the first book — there are no sudden stumbling blocks, they communicate with each other, they become closer still without first pushing each other away or having any miscommunications. They’re still negotiating their relationship, stepping carefully to avoid setting off any mines, but they’re committed and good to each other and trusting of each other, and it’s lovely.

As for the mystery, I admit, I didn’t expect the actual solution. That was a pretty good moment.

Even better, though, was Leo and James getting away from there at the end and going back to their lives together in Wychcomb St Mary. That’s their real family and home, and it’s lovely to watch Leo accept that.

Rating: 4/5

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Review – The Story of Silence

Posted May 10, 2022 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Cover of The Story of Silence by Alex MyersThe Story of Silence, Alex Myers

The ballad this book is based on is one that I quite enjoyed, but really wasn’t sure how someone would handle as a retelling. There are a bunch of themes — Silence’s Nature vs Nurture, of course, but also the fake rape narrative — that need to be sensitively handled… and broadly speaking, I think Myers handled it and stuck the landing. I’d actually peeked ahead and read the final couple of pages, and was really disappointed (and couldn’t understand) how the original ballad’s ending would fit with the Silence I came to know. Suffice it to say, don’t do that. Myers does make it make sense — and not by denying Silence’s journey through the book.

I thought the fleshing out of the ballad was well done. It’s been quite a while since I read it, so I couldn’t spot the embroidering as well as I might have liked; obviously I knew that much of it was, since a ballad wouldn’t go into that kind of emotional detail, but I think I’d have enjoyed watching Myers reference the ballad while making a modern story work.

I did also find the pronoun switch a little jarring, when it happens — it’s basically mid-scene, and without much introspection about it first… it just switches over. Makes sense in the context of the conversation Silence is having at the time, but, I don’t know, it felt odd. It felt like the real moment of making that switch in identity was later, to me, and until then the pronoun sat oddly.

The pacing felt maybe a little off at times; Silence spends certain periods in holding patterns, waiting for the right push to hurry up and move on, and that was a touch frustrating at times. Also, Silence is waaay too perfect, which works for the hero of a ballad but less so for a novel: Silence is kind, Silence is attentive to people below them in rank, Silence figures out how to be good at jousting despite their disadvantages, Silence sings beautifully, Silence fights wonderfully, Silence is good and honest and true, etc, etc.

For the most part, though, the retelling works — it’s a worthwhile update to bring the story of Silence to new readers.

Rating: 4/5

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Review – Witchmark

Posted May 9, 2022 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of Witchmark by C.L. PolkWitchmark, C.L. Polk

I liked Witchmark more on a reread than I did originally, I think, though at the time of writing this review I can’t access my previous review. At the time, I definitely wasn’t super eager to continue the series… though that might be partly the same reason as I’m reluctant now, that I know the second book focuses on Grace, and I think she’s despicable. Perhaps it’ll be a good redemption arc, given the start she makes at the end of the book, but her multiple betrayals of Miles — and her pathetic excuses for doing so — I’ll find it pretty difficult to forgive her.

Tristan and Miles’ relationship is cute, but for me it suffered for me reading A Marvellous Light at the same time: Edwin and Robin from that book have a more difficult bond which is built up a bit more. It felt like Witchmark has three plots: Tristan and Miles’ relationship, Miles’ investigation into what’s wrong with the returning soldiers, and Miles’ relationship with his family… and the latter two are the best handled, leaving Tristan and Miles a little short-changed. I don’t think it’d have taken much more for me to be all on board, but it felt like there was a crucial scene or two missing — but there weren’t any gaps when such a thing could’ve even happened.

There are some cool side characters like Robin, and I understand that the third book features her as a main character… so that should be interesting, assuming I can stomach Stormsong. Either way, I did enjoy revisiting this and giving it another chance.

Rating: 4/5

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Review – The Sugared Game

Posted May 8, 2022 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of The Sugared Game by K.J. CharlesThe Sugared Game, K.J. Charles

The problem I have with Will and Kim is that I want to scream at them to communicate properly, but the fact that they have difficulty with that is relevant to the plot, and thus you can’t be too mad at them because it totally makes sense… but also, stop hurting each other for stupid reasons (mostly looking at you, Kim) and figure yourselves out.

It seems like the end of this book puts them in a place where that’s somewhat more possible, which I’m glad about — and the ride to get there is one hell of a thing. I can’t talk about it too much: just as Kim can’t tell Will much at all without revealing way too much, I think to say too much here would spoil the plot a little.

The climax of the book is pretty hair-raising and dramatic (in a way that works perfectly). It leaves me wondering where they’ll go next… and eager to find out. I wonder what fresh complications they’ll manage to throw in each others’ way, how they’ll cope with Zodiac now, and whether Phoebe and Maisie will be part of it (and what part they’ll play, exactly).

I didn’t spot the cameo until I saw a review mentioning it, which just proves it’s been too long since I read some of Charles’ books. Clearly I’ll have to fix that with some rereading.

Rating: 4/5

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Review – A Marvellous Light

Posted May 1, 2022 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Cover of A Marvellous Light by Freya MarskeA Marvellous Light, Freya Marske

A Marvellous Light is really enjoyable, both the characters and their slow journey to trust and being willing to depend on each other, and the magic and worldbuilding. Sometimes in romantic fantasy the world seems sketched in to provide the backdrop for the relationship, but both are important here, and I’m just as fascinated to see more of the world and how magic works as I am to see Edwin and Robin deepen their relationship. (A sudden thought — I hope we do keep following them and don’t switch to another character’s related journey, as sometimes happens.)

Edwin is not trusting, too burned by his family and his status and his past relationships to really open himself up. Robin is perhaps a little too good to be true: loyal and loving and cheerful despite everything that’s happening to him and his own scars from his parents. It’s not hard to see how they’ll get together for a while, very early on, but it takes time to make it seem like they’re building something that will last. I thought it was beautifully done.

There are lots of fascinating glimpses of side characters, too, and I’d love to see more of Maud and especially more of Adelaide and Kitty.

But mostly I really want to get on with it and find out more about the contract, and the fae, and all that stuff that we barely understand in this book (because Edwin and Robin know nothing about it, except that they must figure out what the heck’s going on).

Rating: 4/5

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