Tag: SF/F

Review – Nettle & Bone

Posted July 2, 2023 by Nicky in Reviews / 1 Comment

Nettle & Bone, T. Kingfisher

I really, really loved Nettle & Bone, and found myself repeatedly picking it up and reading more than I intended. It’s a fairytale of a sort, but one that admits its own darkness, and one which comments on itself and the genre as it goes along. Marra is a fun character: not always very aware of how others are feeling and thinking, not always even particularly quick to understand it herself — but kind, and committed to the course of action she’s chosen.

The supporting characters are great, too — the dust-wife and her chicken in particular, of course, and all the humour that her dialogue brings out — and the world around them. The little details like the saints, and the curse child, and the details of the goblin market.

I wasn’t kidding though about the bits of darkness: check for content warnings, if you think there’s something you might be sensitive about. I’ll keep it to the most obvious one, there’s spousal abuse, miscarriage and the death of a child.

Rating: 5/5

Tags: book reviews, books, SF/F, T. Kingfisher

Review – Scarlet

Posted June 30, 2023 by Nicky in Reviews / 1 Comment

Scarlet, Genevieve Cogman

Genevieve Cogman’s books have all so far been great reads that quickly got me hooked, and Scarlet wasn’t really an exception! The start is a little bit slower, or perhaps just less inherently compelling to me than a book thief, but the world setup is interesting. I might’ve got off the ground faster if I’d read The Scarlet Pimpernel, but the Wikipedia summary seemed to serve me well enough — especially since the vampires are entirely original to the Pimpernel’s story.

The main character, Eleanor, is a servant who happens to greatly resemble a French aristocrat — someone the Scarlet Pimpernel intends to rescue from the Revolution, along with her children. Eleanor is asked if she’s willing to go and do this, for the sake of a woman and her children, in exchange for getting set up in London as a modiste when she gets back. The group kind of undersell the dangers, but she quickly realises them for herself — and enters whole-heartedly upon the quest, learning how to pass herself off as a French aristocrat, and both enjoying and dreading her exposure to the wider world beyond the estate she originally served.

Is it historically accurate? Of course not. Is Eleanor a little too surprisingly capable, a little too eager to leap into a situation beyond her original/expected station? Perhaps, but it’s fun. I’m intrigued to see where certain aspects of it are going, too — there’s clearly plenty more to come.

Rating: 4/5

Tags: book reviews, books, Genevieve Cogman, SF/F

Review – The Book of Gems

Posted June 27, 2023 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

The Book of Gems, Fran Wilde

Received to review via Netgalley

I don’t recall loving The Jewel and Her Lapidary, but what I did remember was intriguing, and this said it’s a stand-alone in the same world so I thought I’d give it another shot. I don’t know whether to blame the world-building and coming in on the third installment barely remembering the first, but this just never felt coherent to me. Why was anything happening, what was happening, who are these people even, and why should I care?

It seems like this might be a me thing, from other reviews, but for me it just didn’t come together. Some stuff felt rushed, other stuff I was ready to stop hearing about yesterday or sooner.

Not a good fit for me, I think.

Rating: 2/5

Tags: book reviews, books, Fran Wilde, SF/F

Review – Starter Villain

Posted June 25, 2023 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Starter Villain, John Scalzi

Received to review via Netgalley

I found Starter Villain a fun, fast read — exactly what I expect from Scalzi’s work. It’s light, it’s a bit quirky, it has his usual sort of narrative voice. The sentient cats are entertaining, and so are some of the other surprises; the dialogue is punchy; the main character is the kind of practical well-I’ll-work-with-what-I’ve-got guy with some wisecracks that you’d expect from Scalzi. And the formula continues to work, for the most part: it kind of sounds like I’m damning with faint praise, but I’m not. I really enjoyed reading Starter Villain.

For me, the thing that let it down was actually at the end. I can’t really say too much about it without spoilers, but I found it very unsatisfying. Maybe appropriate for the character, maybe I should’ve seen it coming, but it felt like a cop-out after all the events of the book. I finished it and I was a little mad about that, because I wanted more of the quirky stuff and not… what I got.

It’s still enjoyable, but probably one I won’t reread or add to my collection.

Rating: 3/5

Tags: book reviews, books, John Scalzi, SF/F

Review – The Mimicking of Known Successes

Posted June 19, 2023 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

The Mimicking of Known Successes, Malka Older

Received to review via Netgalley

This novella has one very Holmes-ian lead, Mossa, who is rather neuroatypical and has her own way of thinking and making decisions, and one Watson-ish character, Pleiti. Back in their university days, the two were dating, and Mossa’s current case brings them back together, both unsure of what exactly they want from it. I could’ve done with just a little more focus on that and how they work together, but in general I think it worked quite well: Pleiti’s feelings all being stirred up again really shows, at least, even if it’s a bit less obvious from Mossa’s side.

As far as the world goes, it’s a fascinating idea — there’s a sense of plenty of world-building in the background, plenty more space in which other characters are living and working. Sometimes that’s the downside of a novella: it feels too constructed, there’s no room to imagine that other characters are out there… or it goes too far and reveals too much complicated machinery, leaving the story feeling secondary. I think Older walks the line quite well here: there’s enough to whet the appetite, without being overwhelming.

The mystery itself unfolds in a rather Holmes-ian way, where the connections Mossa makes aren’t always obvious — though Pleiti is an intelligent Watson, and one who knows her Sherlock, and thus she puts things together to catch up with Mossa just in time.

I enjoyed it, and would definitely read more.

Rating: 4/5

Tags: book reviews, books, Malka Older, SF/F

Review – Bookshops & Bonedust

Posted June 18, 2023 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Bookshops & Bonedust, Travis Baldree

Received to review via Netgalley

This book had a lot to live up to, given my love for Legends & Lattes. It’s a prequel, following Viv when she was a young idiot, running with her first mercenary band and getting a massive injury. There’s a bit more action in this book, as a result, though the stakes are different because they’re not as deeply personal to Viv (though she does care very much).

It’s mostly a new cast, aside from Viv, though one particular character from Legends & Lattes gets a chance to shine. I didn’t latch onto them in quite the same way, except perhaps for one — about whom I shouldn’t say too much, except that I was deeply relieved they got what they wanted out of life. I wonder if I’d latch on more on reread, knowing what to expect.

Like Legends & Lattes, there are some very profoundly cosy aspects (such as discussion of books they all like! and how to sell more books!), and it’s very enjoyable to see the seeds of where Viv gets to later. I’d definitely recommend having read Legends & Lattes first, so that you can appreciate that, despite the fact that this is a prequel — plus, the epilogue of this book is spoilery for the original novel.

To call either this book or Legends & Lattes “low-stakes” is a bit misleading, I think. Life and limb are on the line in both, and loss of someone’s livelihood — not to mention a place full of memories of their family, for example — is not “low-stakes”, emotionally speaking. Sure, the world isn’t going to end, but there are things on the line here. I didn’t care quite as much as I did for Legends & Lattes, perhaps, but I did very much care about what was happening.

Rating: 4/5

Tags: book reviews, books, SF/F, Travis Baldree

Review – Pulling the Wings Off Angels

Posted June 17, 2023 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Pulling the Wings Off Angels, K.J. Parker

Received to review via Netgalley

When I saw this up for request, I clicked pretty much right away: I’ve enjoyed K.J. Parker’s narrative voice in the past, and found the ideas interesting — and novellas are always fun!

Depending on your point of view, it might be fortunate or unfortunate to hear that the narrative voice of this novella is much the same as in a handful of Parker’s other works (I’m not sure if it’s the same as all of them). Irreverent, a little anachronistic, self-serving, just-an-ordinary-dude… all of it rang so familiar from other books I’ve read by Parker, and that kind of spoiled my enjoyment. If you love it, or if you’re not already familiar with it, it might work great for you! I don’t mind the irreverence in the least, though some might; it’s just much less fresh when you’ve read it before.

The plot was, well, it feels like a bunch of different philosophical hypothetical scenarios thrown together to see what shakes out, which is interesting as an intellectual exercise, but didn’t quite work for me as a plot. Novellas may not need to have much of a plot, and your mileage may vary as always, but for me I felt it all hung on that narrative voice and a couple of “what ifs” about God and beliefs.

It was okay, but… shrug?

Rating: 2/5

Tags: book reviews, books, K.J. Parker, SF/F

Review – The Scourge Between Stars

Posted June 16, 2023 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

The Scourge Between Stars, Ness Brown

Received to review via Netgalley

I’m told this owes a lot to Alien and similar stories, but I’m not familiar (I know, I live under a rock), so I’m less qualified to comment on the originality than some other reviewers. For me it was fairly new — not entirely, because I’ve read plenty of sci-fi, and watched some sci-fi TV shows… and even without that, not too narratively surprising.

The thing that was genuinely creepy (for me) was mostly the human aspect — the people who treat other people callously, who decide “me and mine first, and to hell with others”, or “I have the right”. That creepiness definitely adds something here, even though it’s the creepiness of people.

The elements of it are all enjoyable enough, though I feel like maybe it would’ve been a bit better as a novel, with more room to build things up before the deaths start rolling in. Especially since there are essentially two attacks on the ship from different origin (within and without), and one of them is dealt with so glancingly I almost forgot about it in writing this review.

Rating: 3/5

Tags: book reviews, books, Ness Brown, SF/F

Review – And Put Away Childish Things

Posted June 14, 2023 by Nicky in Reviews / 1 Comment

And Put Away Childish Things, Adrian Tchaikovsky

Received to review via Netgalley

In the end, And Put Away Childish Things didn’t really work for me. In part, probably because I’m not actually that cynical and I still like the idea of Narnia and don’t want to think about a Narnia-like world getting all gross and run down. And sure, the main character isn’t actually meant to be likeable, as far as I can tell, but all the same, I don’t like him and I don’t like reading about him.

As a result, I was only mildly engaged with the story, and thus it never came together for me at all. I think there are some neat ideas — Tchaikovsky usually has those! It’s just all a bit grim, and the unpleasant main character never appreciably wises up, and the most interesting characters are all kind of on the side.

Not for me, though I’m confident others will love it.

Rating: 2/5

Tags: Adrian Tchaikovsky, book reviews, books, SF/F

Review – Emergent Properties

Posted June 7, 2023 by Nicky in Reviews / 1 Comment

Emergent Properties, Aimee Ogden

Received to review via Netgalley

I quite enjoyed Emergent Properties while I was reading it, but I don’t think it quite came together for me — I’m reviewing this a few days after finishing, and I confess, I’m not entirely sure what to say. I wouldn’t compare it too much to the Murderbot books, which have a very distinctive voice and attitude — this book has some similar themes, and even some similarities of voice, but is a little less… mature-feeling, I guess?

I did enjoy the setup of the mystery, and having to try and figure out what exactly is going on, without giving the game away. However, I kind of lost the thread of it between the body swaps and the random (-seeming) attacks on Scorn, and also the interlude in the black box bar.

There’s a lot of interesting stuff going on — the part in the black box bar actually intrigued me a lot since it imagined how AIs and others might interact, and how something akin to the internet (but older) might be. I think the Aura thing felt cribbed from Black Mirror, though (or at least, that’s where I know that whole social score thing from — even though I don’t myself watch Black Mirror!).

All in all, I had fun, it just didn’t quite come together for me. I’d read more by the author, and even more with this character or this world.