Tag: SF/F

Review – The Absolute Book

Posted January 30, 2022 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of The Absolute Book by Elizabeth KnoxThe Absolute Book, Elizabeth Knox

I don’t really know what to say about this book. I finished it, because there were many things that intrigued me, and which I wanted to see through to the end. The mixture of mythology — which includes an interesting use of the Arthurian legends — was interesting, but at the same time it meant I was never quite sure of which rules we were following. In fairytales, there are always rules that govern the story, but the rules which govern this story aren’t clear (even though they are present).

Partly that’s because one of the key characters is a guy called Shift. He loses his memory every few hundred years so he doesn’t know all about his past, he’s hiding things about himself, he’s not human, and he’s being hidden by a spell that makes it hard to really look at him. The whole story feels like that, to be honest, and it makes sense for it to be like that… but I didn’t enjoy it so much.

I do like Shift, actually, and Jacob and Taryn as well — perhaps that’s what I stuck around for, really, to know what happens to them.

The weird thing that other readers should be aware of is the fact that the first 50-70 pages or so read like it’s going to be a thriller. When it takes a left turn into fairyland. Also, though you’d think the love of books should permeate the book, there’s very little time spent actually reading. Taryn’s an author and talks about her book… but if you’re looking for vicarious enjoyment of musty libraries and big old tomes, I don’t think the books end up being that important to the plot.

Rating: 2/5

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Review – Strange Beasts of China

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

Cover of Strange Beasts of China by Yan GeStrange Beasts of China, Yan Ge, trans. Jeremy Tiang

I was intrigued by the sound of this book when I read that it was based on a bestiary. In a way, I can see why that’s the description — the opening paragraph and closing paragraph of each chapter sound like that, though mostly it sounds like a series of articles/stories (which is actually what the frame story is: the narrator is a novelist, researching and writing stories about beasts for a column). I was also intrigued by the mention of the main character being a zoologist… but she’s mostly a novelist, and the book doesn’t really have much of a scientific outlook toward the beasts and their stories.

I’m kind of torn on what to think about it and how to rate it, honestly. I feel like I might’ve enjoyed it more if I’d had more of a sense of what it would really be like — though I also felt like it was needlessly opaque sometimes, like I’d need a diagram to understand exactly how everything was related and why the outcomes were the way they were. I don’t know if that was the translation (the “opaque” feeling is something I get with work in translation sometimes), the story itself, or me being slow-witted today, but it just didn’t quite come together for me.

I guess the final bit also felt a bit heavy-handed, like… the stuff that I didn’t need to be spelled out to me about the themes was, while I was still mentally drawing diagrams about how the different characters were related!

All that said, it was an interesting experience — one of the early comparisons to come to my mind was Ursula Le Guin’s Changing Planes; there’s something of the same tone and intent there, I think, the same consciousness that a point is being made. I loved Changing Planes, so that’s not a diss on this book, it’s just that it didn’t quite work for me here.

Rating: 2/5

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Review – The Darkness Outside Us

Posted January 7, 2022 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot SchreferThe Darkness Outside Us, Eliot Schrefer

This is a very claustrophobic book, with a very tight group of characters. In the “present” of the book, there are three: the operating system running the ship, the spacefarer from Federation, and the spacefarer from Demokratia. There are some glimpses of other characters in the past, but the action takes place on a spaceship, with just those three, stuck together.

It’s a book that I think most people would prefer to read blind, so I’m not going to say too much — most of my comments about the book as a whole would give too much away. I will say, though, that I expected it to be more about the romance and less about the sci-fi/mystery, and instead I’d say that the sci-fi/mystery is the primary thread, with the romance… not quite taken for granted, but definitely not the primary story being told here.

I found it really readable, and actually finished big chunks at a time, though some of the tense bits triggered my anxiety for a bit and I had to put it down. There were things I found predictable, but I was curious about less the “what” or even “why” than the “how”. That paid off for me, especially from part two onwards; in part one I was kinda wondering if I’d stick with it because of that.

Rating: 4/5

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Review – A Psalm for the Wild-Built

Posted December 29, 2021 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky ChambersA Psalm for the Wild-Built, Becky Chambers

Received to review via Netgalley

I was surprised to find that A Psalm for the Wild-Built didn’t get under my skin the way every other book of Chambers’ has: I enjoyed it, and enjoyed the discussion of figuring out your purpose (and whether that’s important or not). I enjoyed the idea of Dex’s work as a tea monk, helping people relax and unburden themselves — and I totally sympathised with the fact that Dex learned a whole profession, got good at it, and then found themselves wanting to start over and learn anew. All the same, it didn’t quite get the emotional reaction from me that I expected.

The world Chambers builds here is interesting too: utopian, and yet not without people who are dissatisfied, people who don’t know what to do with themselves, the everyday hurts and troubles that are going to be inevitable amongst people. As ever, there’s something profoundly hopeful about this story.

The robots are perhaps the most interesting part, and I’ll look forward to reading more about Mosscap and its opinions about humanity, as it begins to journey and meet people and ask questions. The story feels complete and satisfying on its own, in a way, but I won’t argue with getting more of it!

Rating: 4/5

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Review – Flowers for the Sea

Posted December 29, 2021 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Cover of Flowers for the Sea by Zin E. RocklynFlowers for the Sea, Zin E. Rocklyn

Received to review via Netgalley

I’m not certain why I originally requested this on Netgalley, because it is very much not my thing. It’s set on an ark, in a world where water has swallowed the land, and the main character is pregnant when others on board have all lost babies, died in childbirth, etc. Slowly, we get some details about the world before the ark, while it becomes obvious that it’s no ordinary pregnancy.

It’s a very visceral book, ripe with details about scents (most of them awful) and sensations (again, most of them awful). Much of it is body horror, which is extra specially not my thing.

It’s beautifully written, which is most of what kept me turning the pages. I sometimes felt that the dreamlike narrative got in the way of me understanding quite what was happening — mostly in the memory sections, and in the relationships between the characters. It probably didn’t help that it was so very much not my thing, as well: I can’t say I was paying my best attention to the details while cringing!

Rating: 2/5

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Review – Comeuppance Served Cold

Posted December 27, 2021 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Cover of Comeuppance Served Cold by Marion DeedsComeuppance Served Cold, Marion Deeds

Received to review via Netgalley; release date 22nd March 2022

I think this was first described to me as “Phryne Fisher with magic”. It’s not quite, since it’s not a detective story, but I can see why the comparison: there’s something very Phryne-like in Dolly’s matter of fact certainty about things. But don’t downplay the magic element when you’re thinking about this book: there’s a whole rich world outside the novella, happening before and after it, and giving it a context. There’s stuff going on that isn’t really explained, that just stands there as background, and it makes me hope there are going to be more books following Dolly/Comeuppance.

Everything about this is remarkably well-handled: telling a non-linear story in such a way that everything comes together with a snap at the end is a pretty good trick. You get just enough information to not quite trust everything, but not to put all of it together at once.

I enjoyed the characters a lot, in the end — even Fiona, to my surprise. I feel like there are two or even three strands of the story I’d like to follow in future books: I’d love to see more of Gabe, Philippe and Violet, as well as more of Dolly, or of her associates.

It comes together really well, tells a complete story, and leaves me wanting more. What more can you ask?

Rating: 5/5

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Review – I Only Killed Him Once

Posted December 27, 2021 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of I Only Killed Him Once by Adam ChristopherI Only Killed Him Once, Adam Christopher

And just like that, I’ve finished the last Raymond Electromatic book. I feel a bit sad now, though there’s no doubt I’ll come back: it’s a fun idea, and Christopher does a good job at a pastiche of Chandler’s style. I was quicker to the final answer here than Raymond, in several ways, but that only makes sense: he’s limited by a 24-hour memory, allowing Christopher to sprinkle in clues and deductions by him that he can’t remember, but which the reader can.

It could feel just annoying and obvious when Raymond finally arrives at the answer, but things speed along quickly enough — Raymond is aware of the limitations of his memory, so sometimes he’ll go along with something that’s happening in a way that both makes sense for the character and his limitations and prevents the reader from hopping up and down with frustration.

This last book brings a few things together and gives us some much-needed answers, in a way that’s pretty satisfying, while maintaining that pastiche feel and being a pretty slick read. For me at least, it brings it home triumphantly.

Rating: 4/5

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Review – The Untold Story

Posted December 27, 2021 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of The Untold Story by Genevieve CogmanThe Untold Story, Genevieve Cogman

Here we are, at the end of Irene’s story! At least for now. And what a finale it is, digging into the secrets of the Library, wrapping up questions that we’ve had all along, putting paid to enemies, seeing old friends, and answering some things that seemed like inconsistencies. I’ll try not to say too much, since it’s only been out for a few days, and instead keep my comments relatively spoiler-free, though you can expect to see me mention characters who are involved (or not) and stuff on that level.

Speaking of which, it feels a little odd to me that Lord Silver’s involvement is so very small. It makes sense in the context of the story — I didn’t question it at all — and he does have a part to play twice in the course of the story… but after we’ve been thrown together with him in book after book, his absence at a few key points rings oddly. Though, in the context, his presence wouldn’t make sense, so this is more of a meta-comment on my expectations.

Anyway, those who haven’t read the previous books in this series technically get some hints along the way of the history and how things work, but I really wouldn’t recommend starting here. It’s the eighth book of a series which has had a few recurring themes, a lot of recurring characters, and where a lot of detail has been sketched in to support the plot. There’s enough here to remind someone who hasn’t read the other books recently of what’s going on, but not enough for a total beginner. (I don’t understand why people start a series of this sort in the middle anyway, but seemingly they do.) You won’t care about the characters if you don’t know how they got here.

There are a few moments that caught me by surprise in how they were handled — notably Irene’s interactions with her birth parents. It felt very right for Irene, in fact, but I guess if I’d expected a misstep in how Irene’s relationships with those around her were handled, it would be here. But no, Cogman handled the moments well, balancing just enough curiosity and feeling with Irene’s affection and admiration for the people who raised her.

I was a bit nonplussed to find other reviews complaining that everything turns out perfectly at the end. It feels like they missed some of the losses along the way: sure, there are good things about the ending, but it’s not quite the status quo, either. I guess I too would’ve expected a more fundamental shift at the end… but I wouldn’t say that the ending is unalloyed joy, either.

And with that, I’ll leave others to find out for themselves…

Rating: 4/5

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Review – Spear

Posted December 6, 2021 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Cover of Spear by Nicola GriffithSpear, Nicola Griffith

Received to review via Netgalley; publication date 19th April 2022

I don’t know how I skipped reading the summary, or if I just blanked it, but I hadn’t actually realised this was an Arthurian retelling. It was kind of interesting to come to the story that way, and see the clues emerge so that I suddenly went, oh, right, and knew a little more about where I was and where I was about to go. Spear is a gender-bent retelling of the story of Perceval/Peredur, which fortunately skips the Welsh jokes and “lol he’s a clown” that got played out in the tradition at one point (and which put me off Perceval as a character).

Griffith plays with the legend and with a sort of etymology for the name to create a story that hits some of the same notes, but in a different key. Her version of Kay is interesting, halfway between the Welsh version and the French, and her footnote about him in the author’s note gets him (as far as I’m concerned) spot on. Bedwyr’s around, too, though no sign at all of Gwalchmai that I can recall — despite the Dyfed setting, it’s not the most Welsh of retellings in that sense.

Honestly, I don’t want to say too much; it would get to sound nitpicky, given my academic background and all the little tiny features I was interested in and had thoughts about, rather than enthusiastic. Suffice it to say that I enjoyed it, greatly enjoyed certain touches surrounding the usual triad (Arthur, Lancelot and Guinevere), and definitely don’t mind a queerification of Arthuriana. In fact, let’s have a lot more of it!

I do have a few concerns, like: does Griffith realise how that changes the pronunciation? It’s nothing at all like “Lancelot”, a double L in Welsh is a completely different sound. The natural nickname wouldn’t be “Lance”, as far as I can tell — I’m not a Welsh speaker, but I have doubts here. Mind you, the Welsh alphabet doesn’t have “Z” either, so if “Llanza” is an attempt to make the name fit, then it’s an awkward one.

And my other concern might seem ridiculous, but… in the author’s note, to refer to “the Red Knight of Troyes’ Perceval” is painfully wrong. It’s referring to Chrétien de Troyes, obviously… and the way you do so is by referring to him by his full name initially, and then abbreviating to “Chrétien”. Troyes is a city, not a name. It’s like you said “Monmouth’s work”, meaning to refer to the work of Geoffrey of Monmouth. It should be “Chrétien’s work” — “de Troyes” is not actually a surname, and “Troyes” super definitely isn’t. It should be “the Red Knight of Chrétien’s Perceval“.

It’s something that was hammered into me at university, that we’d look ridiculous if we made this mistake, so obviously I noticed it right away! Maybe it’s a weird pet peeve to have, but here we are.

That said, the story itself works really well for me, and I enjoyed it a lot, both as an avid consumer of Arthurian retellings and for itself.

Rating: 4/5

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Review – Fugitive Telemetry

Posted December 6, 2021 by Nicky in Reviews / 3 Comments

Cover of Fugitive Telemetry by Martha WellsFugitive Telemetry, Martha Wells

And here I am at last, caught up! And it didn’t even take me as long this time (I think)! It turned out that Murderbot was the ideal (mostly) bite-size companion for the stressful month of November, and the novellas in particular were eaten up in the space of a day in most cases. Fugitive Telemetry took me a bit longer, but it wasn’t the book’s fault. It’s a very fun detective story, with Murderbot getting to use its skills in ways much more like it was designed for, and it gives us a glimpse of how Preservation works, how people (and free bots) behave there, and how Murderbot is beginning to find its place.

It is set before Network Effect, and I think for some people that made it a touch disappointing, since Network Effect was a step up in scope. For me, though, I was relieved to sink back into a monster-of-the-week type adventure — I couldn’t take a season finale in every book! And I think Murderbot shines here, grumpy and yet unable to help caring, and unable to help forming attachments despite its best efforts.

There is also a great line where Murderbot calls Ratthi and Gurathin when it needs witnesses/accomplices, on the grounds that Ratthi will help them do a thing and Gurathin will come along in order to tell them they’re doing it wrong. (This is a paraphrase so as not to ruin the context or the moment, but those who’ve read the book will know.) I’d happily read a lot more of Murderbot hanging out with Ratthi and Gurathin!

Actually, there are a bunch of great lines, of course, but that one really struck me.

Rating: 4/5

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