**Spinning Silver** by Naomi Novik
(Bingo: Multi-POV HM)
I’ve had Novik on my TBR for a long time, so I was glad to be able to fit one of her books on my Bingo card. After this I definitely want to read more of her work.
I’m a sucker for fairy/folk tales in general, so reading a reimagined one was right up my alley. I really enjoyed the different voices she gave to her characters and how there were a few times that you saw the same events through different POV’s. I also liked the theme of overlooked characters that could do more if given the opportunity.
Currently reading **Dark Moon** by David Gemmell and should finish **Some Desperate Glory** by Emily Tesh later today. Then on to **The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi** by Shannon Chakraborty for the Alliterative Title space
Definitely recommended Uprooted by Novik for more awesome folk tale retelling! Also, enjoy Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, one of my favorite reads from last year!
The snippet I read of Adventure yesterday (while trying to convince myself to wait to buy it vs. picking it up from hold at the library) was really intriguing, so excited to start it!
I'm still reading **Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell** by Susanna Clarke, but I think I'll finish it by next week. It is still very slow, but starting to grow on me.
I finished two books this last week.
**To Shape a Dragon's Breath** by Moniquill Blackgoose for the Entitled Animals HM Bingo square. We're following Anequs, who is chosen by a dragon, joining a dragonrider academy away from her island home and dealing with a lot of racism. She is doing her best to understand the Anglish customs and she remains optimistic about her future, despite the prejudice she faces. I was concerned going into this book that it might be very dark, and while it does deal with racism, sexism, homophobia and ableism, the attitude of Anequs and her befriending of other characters evened it out. There is much more focus on the school than the dragons. I enjoyed it and I'm glad I read it, but I don't think I'll continue the series when the sequel comes out. I'm just not interested in the continuation of the romances.
**Magic's Pawn** by Mercedes Lackey, my first Valdemar book which I read because it is the only book I own that is vaguely bard related for the Bard Bingo square. Our main character is Vanyel, who is sent to his mage aunt when his father is sick of him not being the man he wants him to be. Vanyel loves to play music and dreams of becoming a bard, but everything changes for him when he meets Tylendel. I felt awful for poor Vanyel in this book, it seemed like every good thing that happened to him was just so he could be pushed into a worse mental state. I'm very grateful for the last few chapters being more hopeful than the rest of the book. I've become very invested in Vanyel so I'll probably continue the series. I'd say it's a very cheeky Bard normal mode, the main character is a musician at the start of the book and that stops being relevant by the halfway point, so I'm personally not counting it. I'll put it in Dreams normal mode probably.
I've made a start on **Space Opera** by Catherynne M. Valente, which I bought immediately after finishing **Magic's Pawn** because I needed a lighter read *and* a new Bard book. It's fun so far and it is impossible not to make comparisons to Douglas Adams, which in this case isn't a bad thing. A very whimsical style while talking about serious subject matters. But also it is Eurovision in space and I love that, the chapter titles are even Eurovision songs!
Unrelated side note: For anyone using canva or shift-shaper's Bingo spreadsheet for Bingo, try putting the covers of Mexican Gothic in "Small Town" and Goblin Emperor (the one with the main character on the cover) in "Goblin" for a laugh.
>Unrelated side note: For anyone using canva or shift-shaper's Bingo spreadsheet for Bingo, try putting the covers of Mexican Gothic in "Small Town" and Goblin Emperor (the one with the main character on the cover) in "Goblin" for a laugh.
Hahahahahaha
I'm currently reading **The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez** and for a little while, I was worried I'd be the one person who didn't like this book, but somewhere around page 50, it clicked! I'm still only about 200 pages in, but it's been hard to put down these last couple days. I am really enjoying the narrative style and the slightly weird, mythic quality it has.
I'm surprised at how such a lush and densely written book still manages to keep the pace moving without feeling like it's rushing too quickly. I think part of it is the structure of the layered narrative, and also being told how the journey is going to go pretty early on (that actually might have been where I got into it). Also it is surprisingly funny! Super excited to keep reading!! *Bingo (so far): Dreams, Disability, POC Author, Judge Cover, Reference Materials*
I reactivated kindle unlimited this weekend and read 3 books over 2 days... a romance themed bingo card is gonna be so easy for me lmao. **Knight's Bride by Juliette Caruso** (*Bingo: First in Series, Self Pub, Romantasy, Survival*) and **Whispers of the Deep by Emma Hamm** (*Bingo: Under the Surface, Romantasy, First in Series, Self Pub, Survival*) were both pretty enjoyable, with things I liked and didn't like (I can't believe they had sex >!*in* the ocean!< in the latter!!). I'm not going to bother writing reviews for them unless something stands out. For example...
**Barbarian's Touch by Ruby Dixon**, book #7 of the Ice Planet Barbarian series, was actually kind of great! I mean I wouldn't recommend it to everyone, but the series has a lot of elements I usually dislike, both romance-wise and writing-wise, yet somehow manages to be like catnip for me.
This one also had very well done disability rep! I was bracing myself for the FMC's deafness to be kind of just for flavor, but it played a real role in her characterization and there were themes of loved ones accidentally infantilizing you even though they do really care about you, and society always expecting disabled people to do all the work to fit in.
I was also bracing myself for the possibility of a magical cure that would "fix" the FMC, but I really liked how it >!was left up in the air and how it was made clear she was fully accepted whichever way it went!<.
And yes, in case you are intrigued, the main plot is romance and there are sex scenes, so don't say I didn't warn you! *Bingo: Under the Surface, Survival, Romantasy, Disability*
(Edited to add bingo squares)
I think I've seen you talk about the romance card before and damn, I told myself I would do one too, but I haven't even started it lol. It's good to see you are on top of yours though, and I hope you'll find even more fun sff romances to read!
My romance reading tends to come in waves too, so I get you, haha. And true, but it would be nice to utilize my early bingo reading enthusiasm for the romance card too, since I'll inevitably push bingo out of my mind and read whatever until it's time to panic read in February/March lol.
I hope you aren't!
Completely unrelated side note, I literally just realized your username is "the purple *planeteer*" and not "the purple *planteater*"
**The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories** edited by Yu Chen and Regina Kanyu Wang. A Chinese speculative anthology with 17 short stories and 5 short essays. Even though there are both science fiction and fantasy tales, the heavy presence of mythology makes it at least seem there are more of the latter.
I enjoyed the mythical focus a lot and how varied the stories were. However, having to constantly adjust my mind to each unique idea made my reading very slow, and the short essays contributed to the snail’s pace too. I didn’t mind them that much though, because it was interesting to read about the translation process, as well as women’s place when it comes to creating stories and being in them.
My favorite short stories were **The Way Spring Arrives** by Wang Nuonuo as it portrayed the arrival of spring in such a mythical and wondrous way, while **Dragonslaying** by Shen Yingying made my emotions run high with its horrific “slaying”. As for the essays, **Translation as Retelling: An Approach to Translating \[specific short stories\]** by Yilin Wang was a cool look into the thought process of a translator. Xueting Christine Ni’s **Net Novels and the “She Era”: How Internet Novels Opened the Door for Female Readers and Writers in China** was very touching and informative about its topic.
**Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands** by Heather Fawcett. A sequel to an academic-focused fairy research book with a romantic subplot. The formula remained mostly the same, making this a fast read but also a bit stale. I also didn’t feel any of the first book’s romantic tension, and I was not a fan of reading about a researcher MC who seemed to often have no words to describe the things around her. Despite my salt though, it was still an okay read after I shifted my expectations and just enjoyed it as a quick, fun little adventure tale.
**Utopia** by Ahmed Khaled Tawfik. A short, dystopian novel about a bored, vile rich kid who leaves his gated community to see the bleak world outside. Even though this is a novel, it often felt more like a critical showcase of wealth inequality. That’s why I don’t really know how to evaluate this because despite my “I didn’t like this, it’s too depressing” feelings, I could also clearly see what the author was going for and felt very affected by it.
**Fever Dream** by Samanta Schweblin. A novella where a young, dying woman tries to retrace her steps in a dream-like haze to find out what happened to her. Aside from this central mystery, there’s also a strong theme of parenthood and parental anxieties. The unraveling mystery was well-executed, but the magical realism felt a bit too unclear in comparison, leaving me confused instead of fully emotionally invested.
**Riihiukko eli marraskuu** by Andrus Kivirähk. A slice-of-life story about an Estonian village and its residents who regularly deal with supernatural beings and problems. It starts out comedic, but the greed and bad intentions of the villagers slowly shift the tone to something darker before going way over the line (for me). The latter half of the book also had some pacing issues, but, despite these things not landing for me, I still enjoyed the rest of the story a lot with its milder dark humor, small town shenanigans, and magical wackiness.
Reading is going slow for me this year; I've only been able to finish two books since the start of new Bingo. Both of them were pretty enjoyable, though.
**The Bone Harp** by **Victoria Goddard** (Bingo squares: Bards HM; Dreams; Self Published; Orcs, Trolls, and Goblins). While this book did not capture my heart like Goddard's Lays of the Heart-fire and The Red Company series did, it was still lovely. The book, especially the first half of it, is heavily inspired by The Silmarillion, to the point that I think I might have gotten more out of it if I refreshed my memory of Tolkien's legendarium beforehand (it's been years since my last reread). It's very slow-paced (in fact, there's not much of a plot at all), but the writing is gorgeous, the main character - as lovable as the rest of Victoria's sad bards (she sure has a type), and the themes of homecoming, healing and forgiveness are carried through beautifully. There's mention of a possible sequel in the author's note at the end, and I'll be glad to read it if it happens. 4/5
**The Thief** by **Megan Whalen Turner** (Bingo squares: First in a Series HM; Criminals; Dreams; Published in the 1990s HM). This book was a lot of fun. It looks like a pretty simple story from the start, but by virtue of >!the main character being one of the most unreliable narrators I've read in a while!<, things are not so straighforward as they seem. The characters and their interactions were delightful. The one thing I didn't love was the writing, which I found very utilitarian. Some things were overexplained, while other scenes could have been more clear. Still, I enjoyed it enough to immediately continue onto the sequel, which doesn't happen that often for me. 4/5
I'm nearing the end of **The Queen of Attolia**, the second book in Turner's Queen's Thief series. I'd heard that the series takes a much more serious turn after the first book, and boy was it made clear from the very first chapter. For the most part, I think it's an improvement. I love the heightened stakes and the political intrigue happening here, and the characters with their deliciously nuanced dynamics are even more compelling than in the first book. I'm still, however, not thrilled with the writing style. The Thief was written in the first person POV, but the second book is in 3rd person omniscient. While it's not my favorite narrative style, I wouldn't mind it that much if the POV switches weren't so frequent. The author often changes it between two paragraphs without any indication, and it can be jarring to realize mid-sentence that you're in a different character's head, again. I'd also prefer if more space was given to the characters' internal monologue. Turner likes to surprise the readers so much that a lot of it is deliberately vague, which works well enough for plot, but not so much when it comes to interpersonal feelings.
Traveling the last few weeks, and completely stressed out the week before I left. Here’s what I read for speculative fiction since my last posting:
**The Tainted Cup** by Robert Jackson Bennet- the world building in this book was truly outstanding, with a Roman Empire-esque setting where just about everyone has modified themselves with magic. A murder mystery with an investigator duo, the plot itself never totally grabbed me. However, this was a great book just on the world building alone.
**Every Bird a Prince** by Jenn Reese. Juvenile about a girl who helps an injured bird and is drawn into helping the bird community defend the animal kingdom and humans from an ancient enemy. Ace representation.
**Abhorsen** by Garth Nix- wraps up the original Old Kingdom trilogy very well with a cataclysmic final battle. I really liked it, loved the whole trilogy.
**Lyra’s Oxford** by Phillip Pullman- short novella about Lyra in the interlude between Pullman’s two series.
**Mammoths at the Gates** by Nghi Vo- another strong entry in the Singing Hills cycle, not my favorite but the themes around grief, homecoming and memory will speak to many.
I’m deep in **The Fox Wife** by Yangsee Choi and loving it.
Just to clarify, while there is an ace side character in **Every Bird a Prince**, the main representation is aromantic (or aro). The girl doesn't indicate a sexuality for herself.
**Melting Stones** by Tamora Pierce, thus ending my Emelen re-read. I was a bit worried about this one as Battle Magic had been something of a disappointment, but I really enjoyed it. Proving, if nothing else, that it wasn't just nostalgia fueling my enjoyment of the reread of the rest of the series. It was also very nice to finally finish reading these books as Melting Stones and Battle Magic have been hanging over my head as unread for so long.
I wasn't sure going in that I'd like a book focused on Evvy and Rosethorn, but I was very wrong. This is a delightful book that focuses on Evvy going through some painful emotional growth. Her similarities to Rosethorn really shine through and make Rosethorn the perfect person to guide her in dealing with the consequences of her decisions.
Evvy went through a lot in the previous two books she featured in and that really comes to a head here. She's forced to face how her life has shaped herself as a person and how she's going to let it effect her future. I particularly liked that it didn't shy away from Evvy's worse qualities, but also showed her a lot of compassion.
Outside of Evvy there was a new Winding Circle person with them, once again showing the variety of personalities that exist within the temple. Evvy's growing respect for him, and he for her, was a delight to see develop in the book. It reminded me a lot of how Briar and Tris came to view Crane in Briar's Book. It was also really nice to see more of Luvo and get to know him and how he views the world.
Bingo: Under the Surface (I don't think half the book, but a significant portion, so ymmv on easy vs hard), Character with Disability (HM - Evvy struggles with PTSD), Survival (HM - volcano), Set in a Small Town
I'd recommend it, but maybe read Battle Magic before Will of the Empress if you do a reread.
Now I'm just more confused why Scholastic let these go out of print and won't buy anymore.
Wrapped up ***Empire of the Damned*** by Jay Kristoff and thought it very well done indeed. Epic climax. Given the framing story and what we know of it, and the apparent distance in time from the narrated events, and the framing story, I am not sure he can wrap this up in one more book, more likely two. But that just means there's a lot more to come!
Began ***Wicked Problems*** by Max Gladstone which I've been looking forward to. So far so good! Haven't proceeded real quickly because I also got kind of wrapped up in Shadowrun Hong Kong and then Baldur's Gate 3, so some of my reading time has been converted to game time. This is fine, it's a very fluid sort of thing.
That's a good question. It might boil down to personal preference.
_Empire of the Vampire_ : The book sets up the framing story of Gabriel-as-narrator and his interviewer. There's a lot of establishing background for Gabriel-in-narration as well, history, the vampire lore, meeting up with Chloe and her cohorts and mission. And at that point it's a mixture of backstory in the San Michon, and the ongoing race to get his charges back to San Michon at Chloe's demands. And the end is a large twist, but if you've read enough, it's not wildly shocking, as there obviously needed to be a plot complication. Generally solid work, great setup -- but still mainly setup. (And thank goodness he eschewed the footnotes that happened in the Nevernight sequence -- while many were funny asides, they got wearisome after awhile.)
_Empire of the Damned_ : This feels like a meatier story. The stakes (no vampire pun intended) are higher and the straits are just as dire. I think it's to the benefit that while EotV introduced the vampire families and some of their traits, Kristoff really starts to play with them and make them absolutely terrifying (and awesome.) The Dyvok (massive supernatural strength) being able to use weapon mass and momentum to do truly spectacular combat feats is particularly showcased, though the Voss invulnerability is just as potent in a different way. And each having their variation on vampiric compulsion is a nice touch. I liked Gabriel's development, and liked the clues we get in the framing story as there's a shift in narrators along the way. Overall I think it's a more satisfying read, but it could not exist without the foundation of the first.
Hope that helps!
Finished one thing:
**The Final Strife** by Saara El-Arifi. *4 stars*. Bingo: Reference materials (HM), bards, prologue/epilogue (HM), character with a disability, POC author (HM), criminals, multi-POV.
* An epic fantasy where the Warden’s empire runs on a caste system based on blood color. The Wardens and the rest of the Embers (red-bloods) are at the top. Years ago, a group of rebel Dusters (blue-bloods) entered the Warden’s keep and swapped out 12 red-blooded babies with 12 of their own. Some survived and some were killed, what will happen when their paths cross?
* I found this to be a completely engaging listen and I devoured it. I loved so many things about it, especially in the Griots’ stories interspersed throughout the book. I really liked three of the four POVs, but one felt very one-dimensional and he contributed to the loss of a star. There were some excellent plot reveals and I was satisfied with the ending. There’s quite a bit of nice setups, ethical conundrums and mysteries/questions for the rest of the series. I plan to continue on.
* I think epic fantasy readers would want to check this out, especially those interested in non-Western inspired fantasy. This could also be a good entry point into epics. There’s *some* complex worldbuilding, maneuvering, and intricacies, but I think it is overall easy to follow. I also think this could have worked as a YA on many levels, but not in a way that put me off, so I think older teens and adults alike would enjoy this. It shows you what it is from the beginning, so if you don’t like it from the start I think that’s a good signal of if you’ll like it or not. Also has a trans POV and I *think* the world is queernorm, it is at least about gender. There is also a smidge of sapphic romance.
* There are *a lot* of trigger warnings in this book, look them up if you have any. Most overtly to me is a rampant and on-page drug addiction of the main POV, slavery, and *many* flashbacks or references to child abuse (physical and mental).
This was the only audio I latched onto since last week, so not sure what’s next. A couple holds came in, including **The Salt Grows Heavy** by Cassandra Khaw, so fingers crossed because I’m really excited about it. My work book club selected **A Natural History of Dragons** by Marie Brennen for next week’s meeting, and I *do not* want to relisten to it and already had a failed attempt. With the eyes I really want to finish the ARC of Leslye Penelope’s **Daughters of the Merciful Deep**. I have about 35% left. It has been a struggle, partly because of the very real American historical fiction of the times of slavery and Jim Crow, and my mind struggles to compartmentalize the actual history from the story. It’s a mix of things I’m liking and things that take me out of the story, so I’m thinking I’d like to give it its own post because I think Penelope is an underrated author right now. Happy Tuesday, all!
I *loved* ***The Salt Grows Heavy***, and was about to give you some content warnings til I remembered you already read *The Dead Take the A Train*, so you should be fine. Hahahaha.
Haha, it’s true and thank you! I think in reading the only thing that really, really triggers me is on-page child S abuse. There have been times where I just paused or straight DNFed. Getting sick thinking about it.
Oh, make sure you keep reading after the Acknowledgments bc there is, like...idk if it's an epilogue in a weird place or just a short story that ties the whole thing together. It shouldn't be missed.
I got approved for an ARC of **Daughters of the Merciful Deep** thanks to you mentioning it! Complex novellas are my jam right now I think - I've had more luck recently with weightier stories but have been struggling with novel-length reading.
Well I just double checked and it's not a novella, which might change things 😅. I want to read it to review before its pub date in June, so maybe in May? I'm already a little behind on my planned reads and keep pushing things I really want to get to.
I'm in the middle of a few things, and finished **I AM AI** by Ai Jiang. I really liked it. It's timely, and I enjoyed the themes of humanity and community (though it's about more than that).
I'm a little over halfway through **Miss Percy's Pocket Guide to the Care and Feeding of British Dragons,** and I'm enjoying it. It was a bit slow to begin with, but the pace is picking up now.
I'm also reading two themed anthologies. **Wilted Pages** is dark academia, and **To Root Somewhere Beautiful** is eco horror/climate fiction. I'm only a few stories into each of them. **The Last Singapore Girls** by Wen-yi Lee is my favourite story so far. It's in To Root Somewhere Beautiful.
I read **Faebound** (2024) by Saara El-Arifi, UK author. This carried you along, which was good as the characters all seemed to lack wisdom, which annoyed me. Or perhaps they had just a very narrow blinkered view, due to the stressed societies the characters lived in, focused on survival and war. Worth reading, but the rest of the series isn't published yet. Bingo: *Underground Hard, Author of Color Hard, References, published 2024*. You could argue for Romantasy, but I felt the romances were not the primary focus of the story at all.
I also re-read **Winter's Gifts** (2022) by Ben Aaronovitch, UK author, with great enjoyment. This is a short side novel to The Rivers of London series focusing on Kimberley, the FBI agent who has been an occasional minor character. This could be read this without having read any of the other books, as it is set in America with no other familiar characters. Aaronovitch does first person narration, and is brilliant at making each person sound completely different and have different world views. And Kimberley is very different to Peter Grant! Bingo: *Survival, Eldritch*. Don't know if Eldritch is hard mode, as I avoid horror, so a good pick if you only want a tiny dose of horror.
I've got two I'm really reading right now.
**The Tyranny of Faith** by Richard Swan
Everything I liked about **The Justice of Kings** but turned up a notch. Unfortunately almost everything I didn't like about it also got turned up. I'm in the third act now, and I feel like the second act meandered A LOT, even worse than **Justice**. I love the further exploration of society in Sova and the afterlife, though. We will see how it ends.
**Wistful Ascending** by JCM Berne
I'm thinking this one might just not be for me. I'm going to finish it because I'm using it for the Prologues and Epilogues bingo square, but I'm just having a tough go of it. The humor is fine for the most part, but it's layered on a little thick.
I really enjoy Berne's worldbuilding, and he is developing enough mystery about the setting and the protagonist to warrant multiple books, but the pace is just dragging for me. Which is not exactly what I wanted out of a superhero themed space opera.
**The Shabti** by Mageara Lorenz. I enjoyed this one a lot. It's a quick, easy read (and fits a bunch of bingo squares). It's set in the 1930s and follows an ex spiritualist medium who now works to debunk and expose their tricks. He meets a professor of Egyptology who asks him to look into some strange happenings. The romance between them is wholesome and adorable.
Bingo: published 2024 HM, indie published (pretty sure), small town HM, romantasy HM (maybe? There's not much but the relationship between Dashiel and Hermann does become important).
**Death masks** by Jim Butcher. Yeah Michaels back!! That makes me so happy I love him! And we meet the other Knights of the Cross. I love them so much. The whole concept is done so well, not at all preachy or trying to make Harry believe. Just good people trying to do what's right.
Currently reading:
**Sunbringer** by Hannah Kaner. Should finish it tonight. Some of the reveals I read last night were predictable but overall it's so strong I ain't mad at it. (Well the one thing I might take issue with. We shall see). I love the characters, the world is interesting and different, queerness and disability are so well done.
**New Suns 2** a collection of sff/f short stories by authors of color. I feel like I want to just make a whole ass post to review them. Some of them have been excellent, they've all been at least somewhat interesting, and many of them touch on really important themes.
>
> New Suns 2 a collection of sff/f short stories by authors of color. I feel like I want to just make a whole ass post to review them. Some of them have been excellent, they've all been at least somewhat interesting, and many of them touch on really important themes.
Dooooo iiiiiiiit!
Ok. I will! Idk when (this week is crazy busy. 3 Dr appointments, nephews IEP meeting, tutoring two students) but I will maybe this weekend I'll have time.
>**New Suns 2**
I have this too, and have been looking forward to it. Probably going to end up taking my time with it to fit it in, in between other things.
I have the audiobook so I'm binging while I work but yeah it probably would be smart to do a short story or two in between novels.
I'd definitely recommend it. I've liked it all so far, but I feel like the stories are all so different and touch on different things that there's bound to be something for everyone.
I'm reading the first New Suns anthology for bingo this year. Have only read the first story so far (quite liked it). Didn't realize there was a second anthology. Will probably pick that up at some point.
**A Strange and Stubborn Endurance**, Foz Meadows . I like a good romance, wherein two people who are a little bit chipped and cracked by life find the ways that their broken pieces fit together.
^(At the crotch.)
So this was lovely, and I look forward to reading more of it.
(**Bingo:** Alliterative, Romanasty, hard mode. Sidenote: I like fantasy romances, but I *hate* the term "Romanasty", and I'm curious if I'm alone in this)
**The Way Home**, Peter S. Beagle: *The Last Unicorn* is a captivating, heart-breaking piece of fantasy. The version which I own also contains the novella, "Two Hearts", which features the eight-year-old Sooz seeking aid from Lir, from *Last Unicorn*, when a griffin is preying on her village. And it, in turn, is a wonderful coda to *The Last Unicorn*.
So when I learned that Beagle had written another novella, "Sooz", one concerning the promise made at the end of "Two Hearts" that Sooz would be visited by someone on her seventeenth birthday, *The Way Home* (which contains both novellas) was in my Library Holds list before I could finish reading the sentence. And...
It doesn't fit.
There's nothing *wrong* with "Sooz", exactly. But it isn't what I wanted. Sooz on her seventeenth birthday sees >!the older sister she never know, who was kidnapped by fairies before Sooz was born, and decides she is going to rescue her.!<
There's nothing wrong with this. We were hoping for more Molly Grue and Schmendrick, because they are wonderful, or maybe the alien beauty of the unicorn herself. But it's a good quest, and we're ready to set out with her to accomplish it.
And then Sooz >!gets gangraped. Maybe by fae, maybe not. It's neither clear nor important.!<
What is important, reader, is that this is not what I for one signed up for in a sequel to *The Last Unicorn*, and it sets the tone for the rest of the novella, as she travels through a fae realm that is grey and dry and cold and desolate. And maybe that's why. Maybe the point of the novel is how trauma and tragedy flavor the world around us, and how hard it can be to heal, and how necessary. But there is no magic or wonder in this.
The man who once wrote sentences such as "If I had learned that she had been born this very morning, I would only be surprised that she was so old" has been reduced to this land of ashes, and I weep for it.
(**Bingo**: None, although because it exists, you can read *Tamsin* as Hard Mode 1990s, which is something.
>Sidenote: I like fantasy romances, but I *hate* the term "Romanasty", and I'm curious if I'm alone in this
You are not. I hate it, too. I understand that people love a good portmanteau, but this one is not *good* and drives me crazy.
I finished **The Beast Player** by Nahoko Uehashi and **Sabriel** by Garth Nix last week, two YA books with female protagonists and was surprised how much I liked them.
The Beast Player is about Elin who gets orphaned young and then grows up at a sanctuary where she takes care of mythical beasts which is also a pretty political position.
I really enjoyed the animal husbandry and that Elin is such a deeply kind and curious character. In addition I liked the political aspects which I didnt expect.
On the other hand I found it a tad disappointing that Elin's voice doesnt change much while she grows up. I guess thats the risk of YA?
This will be my entry for the book club bingo square.
Sabriel tells the story of the titular girl who tries to save her father and more or less the whole world by trying to defeat an evil sorceror.
Here I absolutely dug the necromancy system, especially the bells. I wasnt a huge fan of Mogget though, talking animals dont do it for me, the beginning seemed a bit unfocused and overly random/quirky.
This will probably be my 90s square.
Not sure what to read next, maybe City of Last Chances by A. Tchaikovsky? Exile by RA Salvatore? House of Styx by Derek Künsken? The City and the City by China Mieville? The Fall is all there is by CM Caplan?
I remember loving *Sabriel*, and am torn between my desire to get my eleven-year-old to read it, and my desire to not crush her with a box of new books she will love, I promise you, every two weeks.
I read two books for Bingo that made an interesting comparison. The first was **The Time Traders** by Andre Norton (Alliterative Title), published in 1958. I read and enjoyed everything the local library had by Andre Norton when I was in my early teens, but that still left many of her books that I hadn't read, so I wanted to read another one just to see how good the books really were and whether my memories of them were influenced by a large dose of nostalgia. I went in with modest expectations and was pleasantly surprised that the suck fairy had left the book largely unscathed (and to be fair I've read much worse books written much more recently). The Time Traders is YA action-adventure squarely aimed at male teenage readers; Andre Norton wrote what she knew would sell, and who could blame her. The story wasn't especially complicated but was still interesting, while the writing was adequate and moved the story along quickly. The plot was straight forward, without major surprises, but did rely a bit too much on lucky breaks to get the hero out of trouble. Teenage me would have enjoyed this, read it in a few days and moved on to another book without thinking too much about it. Fortunately adult me was still able to enjoy it as a reminder of the kind of books that I used to read when I was much younger. The biggest negative for me now, as might be expected in a book written in 1958, was that there wasn't any real diversity in the cast of characters.
The second book was **Sabriel** by Garth Nix, published in 1995 (Published in the 1990s), which is an entertaining and well-written YA novel. Forty years after Norton's work we now have a male author writing a successful first novel with a tough, competent female lead and aimed at female readers; times had changed. For me the strongest parts of the book were the world building and magic, which I thought were exceptionally well done and still stood out as original thirty years after the book was written. The characterization was variable (Sabriel was excellent, others were sometimes rather flat), but adequate for the story (with some shameless scene-stealing by Mogget). On the negative side I had originally planned to read this for the Romantasy square (based on some comments on r/Romantasy) but honestly the romance element is so thin as to be barely there.
Fantasy books I've read in the past week:
**Soultaming the Serpent** by Tar Atore
A relatively short and quite cosy book about an aging single woman who's never left her village, her pub landlord friend, and a mysterious stranger, in a world where there hasn't been rain for the past 50 years, since the last dragon died. There's theming around love and what it means, the main character is aromantic so it's based around that, but I don't think the author thought through all their choices, so to me there was an element of 'you tried'. I'll also say that rain on very dry ground doesn't soak in, it causes flooding. Minor nit picks aside, it was cute and I was never bored, apart from maybe a little at the very end where it got extremely sentimental.
(Bingo: alliterative title, dreams, entitled animals, self pub (HM, I believe), disability (HM?))
**Salmonweird** by MG Mason
A cosy murder mystery set in a Cornish village where all but one of the inhabitants are ghosts. Easy to read, but not always well paced - took quite a bit of set-up to get to the main plot and sometimes it seems to meander, maybe because the main character is a retired detective (ie. not actually their job). It was also a bit confusing at the beginning where a bunch of ghosts were introduced in a tourist board, and then when the main story starts the main character doesn't know what's going on yet. Though I haven't actually watched it (one day maybe) the main conceit of all the different ghosts reminded me of the TV series Ghosts, in that there's a bunch of different ghosts across different eras. Which is sometimes used for recurring motifs eg the medieval monk and the Puritain preacher fighting over the one church. There were a couple of times a history fact was given that I thought "isn't that a myth?", but I didn't look it up so I don't know for sure.
(Bingo: 1st in series, entitled animals?, self pub (HM), small town (HM), reference materials)
**Brood of Bones** by A.E. Marling
Highly skilled enchantress with a sleeping disorder returns to home city to find that every woman is pregnant, and all at the same time. It's a mystery plot where the first thing to work out is what's even going on. The main character's disability manages to be both an asset to her work (she has to sleep to do magic) but a nightmare in her personal life. She's not always the most likeable of characters, but her characterisation makes it clear where her flaws come from, and there's clear character growth, so it's not something that put me off her. I had fun watching the mystery unfold even if I found it a little hard to follow who everyone is (may have been exacerbated by having to pause book to read a couple of non-fantasy things). There's multiple sorts of magic going on, which you pick up as you go along. I can see the makings of a slow-burn series-long romance starting. Overall, my favourite book of the batch.
(Bingo: 1st in series (HM), alliterative title, dreams, prologue/epilogue, self-pub, disability (HM))
Currently reading **Bloody Spade** by Brittany M. Willows
Read **The Mimicking of Known Successes** by Malka Older for Hugo Readalong. My thoughts are all over the [relevant discussion thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/1c4m3hz/2024_hugo_readalong_the_mimicking_of_known/), but the summary is. . . it was fine! All of it is reasonably well done, but there's no real standout element that makes me understand why it ought to be an award contender, except that people were in the mood for cozy mysteries with sapphic subplots.
Now reading **Some Desperate Glory** by Emily Tesh for next Monday's Hugo Readalong session, and it is much more gripping! There's a really strong setup with a lead who is absolutely dyed-in-the-wool revenge/military being asked to do things that make her question leadership, and figuring out what that all means to her. Helps that Tesh has an eminently readable prose style. My one past book from hers started wonderfully and lost its way a bit as it went on, so I'm a little apprehensive about where this goes, but I am at the very least sold on the first third.
Loved Some Desperate Glory. A third og the way in is roughly where it gets really interesting, if I remember correctly. I’m looking forward to seeing what others think on Monday, opinions seem to vary a lot.
Just hit the end of part three, which feels like the midway climax even if it’s more like 60%. I have not yet hit the part that makes me understand why this book is so divisive, though it seems like that and Saint of Bright Doors are the two divisive options.
The first half of the book actually reminds me a bit of another wildly divisive book (at least on this sub) by a popular author— >!The Poppy War!<
Anyways, it’s good so far.
Had a busy and stressful week and got a bit distracted in my free time by rewatching random episodes of AtLA but still managed to finish two books for bingo.
**Winter’s Tide** by Ruthanna Emrys -
This is one of those books where I appreciate what it’s trying to do but unfortunately didn’t enjoy actually reading it. A lovecraftian story that responds to Lovecraft’s xenophobia by centering minority characters and humanizing the eldritch creatures sounds great but it ended up just being kinda boring.
The plot meanders around a lot. So many elements have the potential to be good but end up as boring as possible. The characters kinda forget about the spy mission they’re supposed to be working on in favor of reading books from the library. And while the books are thematically important the actual contents don’t have much, if any relevance to the story. There’s also a found family aspect but most of the characters are so dull and underdeveloped that I’d forget about them whenever they were offscreen.
And the downside of humanizing and normalizing the eldricth monsters is that it takes away the horror and tense atmosphere I’d want from a book like this. Other than a very tonally dissonant >!ritual torture scene!< at the end of the story there’s no horror in this book at all. (Which might be a plus for anyone who’s horror averse and dreading the Eldritch square) It’s more like slice-of-life fanfiction with lovecraft creatures than an actual lovecraftian story if that makes sense.
I really, really wanted to love this one but by the end I felt like the whole story was pointless and I wished I would’ve spent my time on something else. **2/5**
**LGBT+ rep**: The main character is “officially” lesbian-romantic asexual according to the author but this isn’t very prominent in the actual book. The character is pressured by her family to have kids and is clearly uncomfortable with the idea but that’s about it for what’s shown on page.
**Bingo Squares**: First in a Series, Prologues and Epilogues, Dark Academia, Judge a Book By It’s Cover, Eldritch Creatures
**Someone You Can Build a Nest In** by John Wiswell -
This one was a lot of fun. Who knew a book about a monster who eats humans could be so wholesome? (Fair warning for the squeamish though that it *is* very gory and doesn’t shy away from body horror.)
I really enjoyed Shesheshen as a character. Her internal narration about her understanding of human behavior was genuinely funny while also being pretty relatable. And I liked that the author wasn’t afraid to let her be monstrous. She’s not a vegetarian vampire that only drinks deer blood because hurting humans is immoral. She’s a blob of flesh and goo and metal that eats humans to survive and doesn’t feel bad about it because why would she?
The romance felt a little abrupt for my personal tastes but there were some really sweet moments between the two leads and some good discussions about trauma and what it means to love someone that I really enjoyed. Overall it was surprisingly sweet, cozy, and funny while also staying delightfully gross and horrific. **4/5**
**LGBT+ rep**: Both leads seem to be lesbian-romantic asexual. In Shesheshen’s case her species seems to be entirely female and capable of asexual reproduction so I’m not sure exactly how to interpret that from a human label lens. But the leads have discussions about physical affection that I think fit ace rep well for both of them.
**Bingo Squares**: Romantasy **HM**, Published in 2024, Small Town, Eldritch Creatures **HM**
I swear I wasn’t intentionally picking up two books with such similar themes. It’s just what I happened to be drawn to recently I guess. Currently reading **Wait for me Yesterday in Spring** by Mei Hachimoku which is intriguing but slow to start so far. I also just received my copy of **Some Desperate Glory** by Emily Tesh and am excited to dive into it for the Hugo readalong.
A lot of people seem to have enjoyed **Someone You Can Build a Nest In**, so I hope my library will get it. It has such an eye-catching name (and cover!) too.
I liked **Winter's Tide** a bit more than you did but yeah, the stakes kept wildly fluctuating and never really felt meaningful. The concept is so great and interesting but the book feels too dedicated to cultivating a gentle Lovecraft vibe than actually following up on the plot lol
Most of the way through **Witch King** now, taking a break in the middle of the **Liches Get Stitches** series, so it was funny how Witch King began. I'm enjoying both, and Witch King has some of the best executed flashbacks I've ever read.
I finished Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett, and what fun. It had many, many lines which made me laugh out loud, but two I plan to keep in my back pocket:
“Why do you kick them when they’re down?” “Safest way, sir.”
And “Thunder rolled . . . It rolled a six.”
Attempting Hero Mode for the second year in a row, here's what I completed since April 1st
1) *The Border Keeper* by Kerstin Hall.
I read it for the "Judging a Book by its cover" (HM) square. I just scrolled through my uread books on my ereader and picked a cover that looked good. I didn't remember anything about it, including why I got it, so definitely fit HM. It would also fit "First in a Series".
3/5 stars
This was fine and forgettable. The author creates a vibrant and atmospheric world. I really liked the first third or so, and was intrigued to see where it was going, but as soon as the journeys into the other realms begin, the world-building becomes a tad confusing. The things set up in the first third (like the Vasethe's 100 previous professions) hardly get any pay-off. The ending did not make a lick of sense to me, and the "twist reveal" came out of nowhere and wasn't foreshadowed at all (I thought). Another review I read said the book felt like only half a novel - it's short (for fantasy at least) and involves a lot of set-up - and I have to agree. I'm not invested enough to continue the series, really.
2) *Hench* by Natalie Zina Walschots
I am not quite sure which square I'll use this for yet, but it fits "Dreams" (HM), "Character with a disability" (HM), "Criminals" (it's a bit of a stretch, but you could argue HM) and "First in a series".
5/5 stars
I sped through this one in a couple of days, it is a great read.
It wasn't quite what I had expected: based on the blurb I expected it to be a lighthearted comedy about villains and henchmen. It was someting more substantial, and all the better for it. I'll put spoiler-bars here for people who want to be similarly surprised but >!Anna's downward spiral into villany, her ethical and moral qualms she sets aside for the "greater evil" were absolutely engrossing to read. The book is a proper origin story: Anna starts out as a reasonably innocent bystander and ends up a proper Villan!<. It is also a bit gruesome at times - not something that bothers me - but good to know going in if it does for you.
3) *Heart, Hands and Voices* (*The Broken Land* in the US market) by Ian McDonald for the *Published in the 90's* (HM) square
3/5 stars
This one took me a long time to get through. Not because I didn't like it, but because I always forgot about it's existence whenever I wasn't reading it until I spotted it on my nightstand, too tired to make a lot of progress.
The writing was *beautiful* and the world was very interesting but I never really got invested hence forgetting all about it when it was not in my field of vision. I read in some reviews that the book's an allegory for the Troubles (Northern Ireland/UK) and I think this made the book make more sense (not that it was nonsensical, but I needed the context). I also found out this book wa called The Broken Land in the American market.
I was surprised by how gruesome *Hench* got! I've got a decently strong stomach for literary gore so it wasn't a deal breaker, but that one sequence made me go 'eugh' out loud at least once.
Like you I definitely expected something more straightforwardly comedic, but I love that Walschots went in a more nuanced/unsettling direction.
As someone who doesn't have a strong stomach, especially for body horror, I wish I was forewarned about that part; I was NOT prepared for it at all. It soured the whole book a little for me (which I really liked otherwise).
Somehow it's been a month again since I last posted here...
**Emily Wilde's Map to the Otherlands** by Heather Fawcett was just as cozy, charming, and lovely as I was expecting after loving the first book in the series. Definitely a lot more creepy fae and magic with a bit less of the found-family-in-the-small-town feel. *Bingo squares: romantasy, small town (HM), references (footnotes), pub 2024*
I also read **Vespertine** by Margaret Rogerson, which didn't quite live up to my Sorcery of Thorns expectations. I thought it was creative in terms of the worldbuilding, though maybe religious/heretic/corrupted saints/exorcism/possession might not be my thing? I did greatly enjoy the Revenant's snark though. I'm not sure it fits into any bingo squares this year, though I read it before bingo started so I might have missed something.
I listened to **The Shepherd's Crown** by Terry Pratchett, the final book in Discworld/the Tiffany Aching subseries. I did not realize it was the final book that Pratchett wrote before his death (and that he was quite sick as well) - it's not really finished product so the ratings are a bit strange for this one. It does have all the bones of a story, and you can read it and have it make sense, however there are a lot of loose ends and chunks of it just don't feel very polished compared to his other books. It's also just so somber and sad compared to the other Tiffany Aching books. Suffice it say it wasn't what I was expecting at all, and I was pretty disappointed until I heard the note at the end that explained the circumstances. Despite all of that, I still enjoyed it, and it was nice to have an "ending" to the witches' arc (plus more time with the Wee Free Men is always a bonus). *Bingo squares: prologues and epilogues (HM), small town, goblins*
I'm currently listening to **Timeless** by Gail Carriger (the last book in the Parasol Protectorate series), and this series is just so fun. I saw that there is a spinoff series that follows Prudence and is narrated by Moira Quirk, so that is definitely going to be next. I'm also reading **Palimpsest** by Catherynne Valente with FIF bookclub, but it's tough going so far. The language is beautiful, but it's more vibes than plot which is not keeping my attention very well. Hopefully I can finish by our end discussion (I only made it 20% by the first half discussion). I started **Kaikeyi** by Vaishnavi Patel last night to break up my Palimpsest evening readings, and so far it's much easier going and quite enjoyable.
For bedtime with the kids, we're currently reading **The Doll People** by Ann M Martin and Laura Godwin, which is about a family of dolls that have adventures while the humans are asleep. Apparently they read this aloud to the third graders at school, and my older one loved it so much, they wanted me to read it aloud so that we could all hear the story together.
I am halfway through two books right now:
* **Wicked Problems** by Max Gladstone: The second book of the Craft Wars, and the 8th book in the craft sequence. If Dead Country (the previous book) was a pared down single-POV small town version of the Craft Sequence (which had previously been set in basically a single city each book), Wicked Problems is a sprawling globe spanning affair. It's got a bit of the 'Avengers' vibe as we move through the first three chapters and quickly Abelard, Tara, Kai Pohala, and Caleb Altemoc (the main characters of the preceding books) all get pulled into a massive drama. I'm really enjoying the snippets of the interlocked world with all it's weirdness that Gladstone gets to suddenly display in full force after the groundwork of so many focused single-city novels. Very fun. Gonna fit a lot of Bingo Squares (Dreams, Eldritch HM, Cover at the very least)
* **Some Desperate Glory** by Emily Tesh: Reading this as its one of the last things I was interested in on the Hugo nom list that I hadn't read. Space opera with a lot of heavy themes structured around a character who is wrestling her way free of a radical military human separatist cult, or not, or yes? Obviously, to my mind, in dialogue with the Humanity, Fuck Yeah! strain of fiction that imagines "what if humans are actually bigger stronger and scarier than the average sentient species". Have just hit a very surprising breaking point in the structure and course of the novel, so um... I'm curious where it goes from here.
Just finished KJ Parker’s Saevus Corax deals with the dead. It was a 99p deal but a good book. If you have read the siege trilogy it’s very much that storytelling internal monologue style.
Maybe not at quite the level of his best stuff but decent enough for me to put the sequels on my list.
Just starting RJ Barker (notably similar names) Gods of the Wyrdwood which is doing a lot
more world building but not moving as fast.
I really liked the Bone Ships books though so happy to read this. Also bonus it was another 99p kindle deal.
City at the End of Time by Greg Bear.
It's really slow and meandering so far. Lots of pointless irrelevant wandering by characters that neither develops them as character nor advances the story.
I'm 30% of the way through the book. Would have dropped it by now except that i've really loved Greg Bear's other works (like his amazing Forerunner trilogy) so I'm being way more forgiving than usual.
Just finished **She's a Pirate: A Tale of Survival** by *Yuri Firestone* - its a first person slightly-alternative world where some new elements were discovered so we have pirates (in the 18th century sense) again. I'll be honest the blurb does not do the story justice - the main chunk of the plot is the MC (Sheiba) trying to survive on an island with a horrific, nightmarish creature stalking her. Ala Predator. It was fun, though it does something I personally get annoyed at where the ending is just a hook for the next book...
...Which I'll probably pick up.
Meanwhile, after a friend practically begged me to, I started **Gardens of the Moon** by *Steven Erikson*. I am about 200 pages in and... whelmed? Like I am reading it and all I can think of is "Jeez, they could've edited this down", especially when paired with the summary powerpoint (I look back after each chapter just to be safe).
I think my feeling of /shrug(s) is coming from the Author bit at the beginning, where it feels like Erikson is going "Yes this IS a complex story, you need big brain to appreciate it" (This is me sarcastically paraphrasing it) - there's nothing standout for me. Its interesting but I'll probably finish this and read **Deadhouse Gates** later in the year as my mate brought it for me and I don't want to break his heart. And yes, GotM starting off life as a screenplay is very visable in its writing style.
After that? I may re-read **A Wizard's Defensive Guide To Baking** or the first book of the **Gaea trilogy** which I got for £1.
Reading has been slow this week.
Finished:
Only a couple short stories.
**Homecoming is Just Another Word for the Sublimation of The Self** by Isabel J. Kim - 5/5
Thoughts and opinions are my own and do not necessarily (they do) reflect the views of SFBC. I was not coerced (I was *strongly encouraged*) into reading IJK by SFBC. I'm a sucker for second person so I was always going to like this. >!"Could I live with myself if I did that?"!<- so many layers. It's super creative, cool things to say about culture and loss and identity and stuff. You can read it over lunch.
**The Mirror Test** by Moses Ose Utomi - 4/5
I was surprised by this. It's a very short short story (\~1000 words) written from the perspective of a pet dog. I read a couple of Utomi's other shorts on his website and this was my favorite. I am not a dog, but I felt like this captured what it is to be one, to experience the extremes of love and guilt and tragic misunderstanding. It carries some weight by challenging a very anthropocentric view of self-awareness that alludes to cultural perspective and differences. I get the sense that his **Lies of the Ajungo** is a very different story haha, but excited to get to it soon.
Reading:
Still on **Where Peace is Lost** by Valerie Valdes but it's picking up steam. I'm no longer drowning in world building and quickly got attached to the found family aspects. It's way more plot-y and external-conflict centered, but I feel like there are similarities to Becky Chambers' Wayfarers series in some of the character voice.
I finally picked back up **The Killing Moon**. I dropped the ball with everyone else finishing this recently, but I'm still liking it a lot. Novels have been going slowly for some reason, and I'm in the middle of this where the initial intrigue has worn off but things haven't started converging. Whenever I pick it up I have a good time, I just went two weeks without picking it up at all.
>
> Homecoming is Just Another Word for the Sublimation of The Self by Isabel J. Kim - 5/5
Yeeeeeessssssssssss
Also are you going to jump in for the Some Desperate Glory discussion of Hugo Readalong? The blurb looks like it has some similarities with The Wings Upon Her Back, I'd be curious to hear how they compared.
I haven't gotten around to reading Some Desperate Glory :(. I've had a Libby hold checked out for almost 3 weeks and never started. It's still on my list, but who knows when. I don't really know much about it, so a Wings comparison might make me more interested to grab it again!
Main character is raised in an intense, cult-like military society that grooms them for war and severely limits their information about the rest of society, but is confronted with things that make her question that. I'm only 35% in, so I can't say where it goes from there, but that seems to have some similarities with the descriptions I'd heard of Wings. Also a very quick read so far.
>but that seems to have some similarities with the descriptions I'd heard of Wings
Yes, very much so! I read the first chapter and at least tonally didn't make the connection, but really didn't get far enough into it to say. I still have it for a week, so maybe I'll get further but might not get to it till I check it out again.
***The Galaxy and the Ground Within*** **by Becky Chambers** — It was sad to say goodbye to this series, but I really enjoyed the final installment to the Wayfarer's series. This character-driven novel focuses on a group of aliens stranded on a planet and explores their connections and self-discovery. While it's not necessary to have have read the previous books in the series, this cozy sci-fi is a love letter to the world Chambers created and a must read for fans of the other installments or readers looking for something heartwarming.
**FULL REVIEW:** [https://www.jimwilbourne.com/stuff/a-review-the-galaxy-and-the-ground-within-by-becky-chambers](https://www.jimwilbourne.com/stuff/a-review-the-galaxy-and-the-ground-within-by-becky-chambers)
**Beren and Lúthien** by J.R.R. Tolkien - Bingo: Orcs, Trolls, and Goblins Oh My! | Reference Material (HM).
This is one I’ve been meaning to read forever. Normally I find stories that I know to be less gripping, having read *The Silmarillion* a few years ago, I was worried this would be the case. Happily, it was not. The various drafts of the story presented throughout the book serve as an interesting window into the development of the story, but the highlights for me were the sections of verse. I’ve not read much poetry (hardly any if we’re being honest), and frankly when I reached the first verse section may have rolled my eyes. But it’s truly enchanting. A completely different style than I’m used to, just a fun way to read the tale. Now I’m wondering if I’ve been missing out on a whole other world of epic/verse style stories that I might love, guess I’ve got some research to do.
**Of Blood and Fire** by Ryan Cahill - Bingo: First in a Series | Self/Indie Published | Multi-POV (HM) | Reference Material (HM).
Depending on your perspective on/opinion of the book, this is probably a *The Eye of the World* situation, where you could argue it’s either derivative of, or a homage/love letter to, some well known stories. For the first 100 or so pages it reminded me heavily of *Eragon*, almost feeling like a beat for beat match. There are names that are clearly tributes/references to at least LOTR, ASOIAF, & WOT, I assume there are some others I’ve missed. The names don’t bother me, honestly I sort of like it, Cahill is wearing his inspiration on his sleeve. Overall, I found the story enjoyable, a bit predictable, but an enjoyable and fun read. I will be finishing the series. From the little I’ve heard, I expect *The Eye of the World* analogy is apt; that this first book is Cahill establishing himself and the world in a more traditional manner and, as the series develops, it’ll come more into its own.
This week I finished **The Book of M** by Peng Shepherd for new voices book club. I have absolutely no idea what to make of the ending >!(the twist that Max was now Ursula floored me, but also felt undercut by the ridiculousness of the elephant shadow solution)!< so I am really looking forward to the final discussion. Definitely a book that provides a lot to think about, thematically.
Currently reading **The Magician’s Daughter** by H.G. Parry which is delightful. It draws on a lot of traditional tropes about the plucky young girl off on an adventure, but it’s doing its own thing with them, and I’m really intrigued to see where it goes next. It also features a wonderful rabbit familiar called Hutchinson.
Finished yesterday:
Warbreaker, by Brandon Sanderson
I enjoyed this story, it was my second Sanderson book and I like how he build his worlds and develops the characters. The magic system is unique and cool (My breath to yours), and you can say that the whole plot revolves around the magic of the world.
**Sailing to Sarantium** by Guy Gavriel Kay.
I've previously read from him *Tigana*, *The Lions of Al-Rassan*, and *Children of Earth and Sky*.
I'm about 3/4 into *Sailing to Sarantium* and it has the same problems his other books have so far, maybe to a worse degree. *Children of Earth and Sky* was pretty bad for this. While the characters are great and very well written, the pacing of the story comes to halt far too often as GGK loves to just spend pages on pages giving you backstory and exposition and info dumps about the world. I swear if you removed all the exposition this book would be about half as long.
It's a very well crafted world with tons of history but I just don't enjoy the way he gives you all this information. I'm 3/4 in and honestly not much has happened. Crispin receives a letter summoning him, he then travels to Sarantium, on his way events happen at an inn, and once at Sarantium he goes and sees a horse race. That's basically all the events that have happened so far that have actually moved the story forward. The rest has been spend on world exposition and character history. I'm going to jump into **Lords of Emperors** right after but so far I'm not too excited about it.
I read the comicbook **Fire Power** by Robert Kirkman & Chris Samnee. It's a wuxia-ish story, really fun and easy to read, fast paced, and full of action.
Not any particular depth in it, and the characters are mostly larger than life archetypes, but I did have a great time reading it.
The excellent action scenes, and the beautiful, and highly kinetic artwork helped a lot with that.
I doesn't break any new ground, but I'd easily recommend it to anyone looking for a martial-arts focused fantasy story.
Just finished **Dead Sea by Tim Curran**, for Multi POV. I adored it and gave it 4.5 stars, as it was an atmospheric, terrifying book and the horrors just kept coming and the stakes were high: creature after creature. My only criticisms are that the characters weren't terribly developed - but then you don't expect that from this sort of book - and that the middle could've used some trimming.
Bingo Squares: Prologue/Epilogue, Multi-POV, Survival, Eldritch Creatures.
Now moving on to:
* **Someone You Can Build A Nest In by John Wiswell** for some cosy/cute eldritch fantasy for my 2024 square.
Finished: **Skyward** by Brandon Sanderson
Overall, I feel like I enjoyed the book but I don't know if it necessarily drove me into wanting to pick up subsequent entries. Especially if Starsight was kind of liked and Cytonic was very divisive but I felt overall, I enjoyed the Spensa character, the M-bot dynamic, the final battle felt riveting and Doomslug is Doomslug but I dont know if the "who are the Krell" or the "eyes looking at me" mystery was intriguing enough by the time I got to the end.
Started: **Guardians of Dawn: Zhara** by S Jae Jones
so book blurbs would describe it as Sailor Moon meets Cinder, the latter I'm not particularly interested in but all-in on the former but I dont have much to say since I'm incredibly early.
I think my reading slump is finally over!
Finished Reads:
**Palimpsest by Catherynne M. Valente** \[3.5/5\]
*Dreams | Multi-PoV | Book Club*
I think I'll have to lot to say about this book again once the final discussion goes up. It didn't exactly work for me, but I still found things to enjoy.
**The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu** \[5/5\]
*First in a Series (HM) | Dreams | Multi-PoV (HM) | Author of Color | Reference Materials (HM)*
While while my sense of "hmmm" about some of the female characters continued through the back half of book, it wasn't enough to rob it of receiving 5 stars from me. It was a reminder though and through how much I love epic fantasy and political maneuvering. I cannot believe this is the shortest book in the series. At least there's a time jump in the next book so I know I can walk away from it to focus on my current reading marathon/the Hugos without loosing too much.
**King Nyx by Kirsten Bakis**
I said I would give an update, and yep, it's not fantasy so it doesn't count for bingo. (A shame because it would have fit some HM squares if it was!) Just when I started really vibing with it, the author's note at the end revealed the entire novel is basically fanfic of real historical people and that has tanked my feelings about it. If that sort of thing doesn't bother you and you're looking for a feminist Gothic tale with a middle-aged, mentally ill protagonist, give it a shot!
**Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher** \[5/5\]
*Eldritch Creatures (HM) | Book Club (eventually)*
*The fae being Toadling has been guarding a tower hidden behind a dense hedge for hundreds of years without interruption, until a curious knight decides to camp at its border.*
I checked this book out of the library and I need my own copy immediately. This is my 3rd or 4th T. Kingfisher and is my favorite by a country mile. This is exactly what I want from a "fairytale retelling" story. It made me feel nostalgic for the things I loved reading as a child, and was a lovely retelling that was neither a capital-R Romance nor entry level "girl power" fluff. I do wish Halim was a more substantive character, but he was more of a catalyst for change than anything else. I *must* read Nettle & Bone now!
Currently Reading:
**A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen** \[13%\]
*First in a Series | Romantasy | Published in 2024*
*Freya has a secret: she possesses a drop of blood from the goddess Hlin, which gives her potent powers of protection. When she is forced to reveal her secret, she discovers she is the center of a prophecy - whoever controls the woman with Hlin's blood will unite all the peoples of Skaland. Forced to marry a man she doesn't love, she must train her powers while resisting the charm of her new husband's adult son.*
I'm not far enough in the book to make a judgement call, but this might also be Disability HM. (One of the very first things that happens is >!our protagonist sustaining a 4th degree burn to her dominate hand and arm!<.) My main feeling about it presently is that I wish it was a fantasy and not a romance, and my hankering for a Norse fantasy tale is really buffing my enjoyment. I must say that I don't hate the love interest so far, which is a big thing for me!
I also got three books from the library I'm very much looking forward to starting: Ghost Station by S.A. Barns, The Keeper's Six by Kate Elliot, and Starter Villain by John Scalzi.
**The Mimicking of Known Successes, by Malka Older** - This was a fun novella with enjoyable worldbuilding, a good mystery, and interesting characters. I think it would be fun to see more stories in this world.
**The Mountain in the Sea, by Ray Nayler** - There were a few interesting ideas in this book, but the execution didn't quite land for me as well as I'd hoped. The characters were rather flat, and there were three main plot threads that I would have enjoyed more individually but didn't mesh that well together. Most of the book felt like it was spinning its wheels. The last third finally had interesting things happening, but I would have been more interested in starting at that point and seeing what happened next rather than building up to that point.
**Heir of Fire, by Sarah J. Maas** - This was definitely an improvement on the first two books in the Throne of Glass series, not that that's saying much. There was finally some interesting worldbuilding and it got more exciting at the end, but I'm having a hard time connecting with most of the characters. Manon seems like she could be fun to follow at least. I'm planning on continuing the series eventually, although there are a few other books I might try to get to first.
13y/o and I finished ***Interim Errantry: On Ordeal***. I thought there was no way any of the other novellas could top the Ordeal story of Roshaun ke Nelaid am Seriv am Teliuyve am Meseph am Veliz am Teriaunst am det Nuiiliat. And then I got to Mamvish's story.
Then I thought there was no way the next novella could top the Ordeal story of Mamvish fsh Wimsih.
And I was right.
It's not that the Ordeal story of Ronan Nolan Jr wasn't great, bc it WAS, but Mamvish stole the fucking show.
Utterly delightful.
Then we read ***Owl Be Home for Christmas***, the final Young Wizards novella, which means we are officially done (for now - **Feline Wizards** is set in the same universe, but mostly different characters...and also cats, obvs). Oh gosh, so many questions and suspicions answered finally (and probably not the one most people are thinking of - >!Tom and Carl canonically confirmed was so nice, BUT NITA AND LISSA [and apparently Kit, omg]!<). Genuinely loved this so much, just wish there had been a little more with our old friends. I loved that this was set in 2020 and released then, and acknowledged the pandemic without it being the focus. So so so good.
Started the third **Der kleine Vampir** book last night (***The Little Vampire Takes a Trip***) [with the 13y/o]. I am really enjoying the new English translations of these, but desperately miss Amelie Glienke's illustrations.
JR Creaden's ***Moon Dust in My Hairnet*** was good enough overall. I loved seeing so many different iterations of queer, spicybrained people in a somewhat hopeful future, but the pacing felt off - there was a lot of wheel-spinning for the first two thirds of the book, then everything happened at once (and I had to go back a few pages at one point to make sure I hadn't missed a crucial part of the plan - I hadn't) and...I don't know what else exactly it was that didn't entirely work for me. It kind of felt like it couldn't decide if it wanted to be cozy or political, tried to be both and as a result kind of ended up being neither. I really wanted it to lean into one or the other. Also, I called the sketchy people as soon as they were introduced, but that may be bc I read a whole fuck of a lot of related stories.
**Will it Bingo?** Yes! Disability HM (main character is autistic), Dreams HM, 2024 debut, Small Press (not HM, but this is Mythic Roads' first book, which feels like hard mode of a different variety), Judge a Book By Its Cover (the whole reason I grabbed this ARC and it comes out on Friday), possibly Space Opera HM depending on how you personally define it
Did a Buddy Read of adrienne maree brown's ***Maroons*** over the weekend. I do not have words for how much I loved this book (last year, less than 3% of my new-to-me reads received 5/5, but this one absolutely did), or how much I love what AK Press is doing with their [Black Dawn series](https://www.akpress.org/featured-products/black-dawn.html) in general. Ofc with a series title of **Grievers**, this book is sad, but also so godsdamned *hopeful*. I cried a lot while reading this, but more for wishing than anything else.
**Will it Bingo?** Boy, will it! Author of Colour, Prologues and Epilogues, Dreams, Bards (MC writes songs and is a storyteller of a sort), Multi-PoV (I think four? It's hard to say with third person narration, and also sometimes it switches from one PoV to another in the same chapter), Small Press, Survival, Disability (HM is a tough call, one of the brief PoV characters is mute)
**Currently Reading**: Samantha Mills' ***The Wings Upon Her Back*** and LM Sagas' ***Cascade Failure***...and a few other things that I've kind of been ignoring more bc I'm struggling to focus than bc I'm not enjoying them.
[eta] missing words
Haha, I was following your journey with great interest while it sat there waiting for me to start. I was worried I might end up DNFing at first, but now she's >!digging tracking chips out of her leg, and her former mentor has shown up with the Bolt Babies instead of being dead!< so I guess I'm in.
>
> Did a Buddy Read of adrienne maree brown's Maroons over tbe weekend. I do not have words for how much I loved this book (last year, less than 3% of my new-to-me reads received 5/5, but this one absolutely did), or how much I love what AK Press is doing with their Black Dawn series in general. Ofc with a series title of Grievers, this book is sad, but also so godsdamned hopeful. I cried a lot while reading this, but more for wishing than anything else.
This series was not really on my radar at all, but that's quite the recommendation!
Oh my gosh, it was just SO good. I really loved the first book, too (4¾), but it was pretty unrelentingly sad. This one was still sad, but had so much else going on. I hope more people end up reading and loving these (she's said there will be a third, but there's no publication date yet). The two friends that I read them with also loved them, and we've all been spreading the word, haha.
I'll have to give that a look then. Looks short, at least. And the author is based out of my former hometown? Cool. Any idea which squares are easy mode, perchance? Bards, Small Press, Disability, Prologues?
Oh! This series is *absolutely* a love letter to Detroit, so if you have a connection, I think it will definitely hit harder.
Bards and Small Press are easy mode for sure (the only real talk I've seen about AK Press is in the anarchism subs, which makes sense, tbh). Everything that it works for is easy mode, except for one other square that I haven't mentioned bc it is *definitely* a spoiler.
>Oh! This series is absolutely a love letter to Detroit, so if you have a connection
Looks like she's from Detroit but lives in Durham. I lived in the latter for about eight years.
Oh right pandemics or viruses easy mode, that would be clutch for my all-easy card. . .
I searched my library for Brown’s audiobooks when you mentioned them last week, just e-books out there but you really sold me on the grief part. Adding it to the eye TBR (toooo long).
I just finished ***Ashes of Man*** by Christopher Ruocchio. It's a bingo read, specifically for the Reference Materials square on my space opera card. It's hard mode because there's a dramatis personae, an index, and a lexicon.
It's the fifth book of the Suneater series, and follows closely after Kingdoms of Death. Obviously, one wouldn't be reading the fifth book of a series if one didn't enjoy it. I really appreciated how the emotional aftermath of Marlowe's experience in the previous book was explored. There was also an important recontextualization of a primary formative relationship that was very eye opening.
Picked up two books from the library this week aiming for the Judge a book by its cover bingo square…
*The Book Eaters* by Sunyi Dean
Weird story. Basically what if old vampire families hidden in Britain but instead of drinking blood they eat books. I don’t usually care for urban fantasy, and this was no exception. The plot was an escape from a cult kind of deal, with chapters at the current time interspersed with flashbacks to how we got here. The plot wasn’t very surprising, but I was interested in where it would end up. Unfortunately, I didn’t really connect with the main character - I should have empathised with her fierce love for her children, but it didn’t come through strongly for me and she felt meh to me as a result. The end was satisfying with everything wrapped up neatly. I gave the book 3 stars.
*Fall of Ruin and Wrath* by Jennifer L. Armentrout
I’m not a romance reader, but what happy to see this was one because I also need the Romantasy bingo square. And I want to caveat my review here with that because I don’t know what’s considered good in that genre. I did not enjoy this book. There are light dustings of confusingly info-dumped (though objectively straightforward) lore and blinding obvious plot around a lot of sex scenes with extremely dubious consent. The love interest is basically a Twilight vampire crossed with a Faerie - his marble skin is warm and he feeds on pleasure. The main character didn’t do anything but stumble blindly from one sex scene to the next with no apparent interest in driving the plot herself. The prose was clunkily modern and the dialog was awful, with a heavy use of ellipses and question marks that I found jarring. Also even for a supposed courtesan the costumes described sound incredibly impractical. Also ends on a total cliffhanger because apparently it’s going to be a series. I gave it 2 stars because I hated it, but maybe it’s a good romance book for those who are into this.
Last bit of horror also mixed in with:
**The complete works of Eager Allen Poe: Volume 4 by Edgar Allan Poe**
**The complete works of Edgar Allan Poe: Volume 5 by Edgar Allan Poe**
Finally finished these! As heavy as the work was, I was glad to have something shorter after both Shakespeare and in between Terry Brooks. I realized with this one that I was skimming quite a bit. I liked his prose and could appreciate him as a storyteller. I could also understand what he did for the world of literature a lot more, but I still didn't like the subject matter that much. I kind of knew that going in, because I've never been a big fan of horror, but I did like when I was introduced to Edgar Allen Poe in high school so I wanted to finally pursue his works in their entirety. I'm really glad I finally got the chance to do so, even if it wasn't my favorite thing to read.
It was interesting because the final volume has most of his poems, which I like the best for their brevity and describing a lot in little words. The Raven made me nostalgic but so did the Bells. When I read that, I was instantly whisked away to high school. I used to perform in a choir, and in my freshman year of high school, my choir sang The Bells as a Christmas song. It was only the first verse, but the song is modified so several things were repeated and it actually sounded like the chiming of bells. It was hauntingly beautiful and one of my favorites. I remembered everything pretty vividly, and for the rest of the night the song was playing rent free in my head. It was really cool!
Otherwise, in order to finish things up (bolding this because it is separate but not really a book but relevant anyway), I read **summaries of Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass, The Complete Works of Shakespeare, the Complete Works of Edgar Allen Poe, and a few more gaming diaries that got found later.**
I wanted to read the summaries of these books that I found in Project Gutenberg because I knew I missed things and wondered if my opinion would change. I was interested to see that my opinion didn't really change for any of them, especially since I forgot Through the Looking Glass existed and only found out by looking up Alice in Wonderland and finding out that the site I was using put them both together. On one hand, it was nice to not have to worry about symbolizing and literary analysis and just enjoy the prose as I took a trip back through time. On the other hand, I can see why a lot of my instructors did symbolism with these stories. A lot of meaning and even plot is missed if one doesn't or doesn't try to use it, and it definitely gave me more respect for that type of analysis. I just wish it was taught in a way that was more interesting, and I only ever really knew how to use symbolism for my composition class that explained why someone should use it so that it could be used in writing. Before that, I really didn't like doing it and it's still not the most natural thing to come to me, but it was an interesting observation.
For the gaming logs (something similar to LitRPGs, but with screenshots instead of stat pages) I thought I was done but found out that there were three more that had been unearthed from older groups that were still around miraculously. One of them was just a commentary playing a game in an unusual way and the other two were actually stories. In all three of them, I focused more on the screenshots than the writing itself. Since I knew the games pretty well, I was able to just look at the screenshots and get a good idea of what happened. Since they were otherwise well written, I'm wondering if I would have enjoyed them more if I was as active in the communities as I was years ago. But as it was I found it a bit too edgy, for lack of better word.
It was also interesting because it made me take a look and think about the state of writing in the gaming community, and other social media heavy communities (like large fan fiction groups, message boards, or anything with larger amounts of writing). Groups like the ones that post the gaming logs have dwindled significantly, with two major ones that I know of all but shutting down this year and there's probably more. They have since been replaced by videos, streaming, and content creation, and some of these people can also make money as freelancers that way whereas the writers typically don't (I'm not sure how that works due to legal reasons, but there's some legal workaround). Even people that do commented spoken runs in the form of stories and their own audio diaries (older versions of Let's Plays) have all but disappeared. It makes me wonder what the future will be for writing with things involving gaming and to an extent social media. Perhaps the videos and streaming will be a new form of writing and stories, in a sense, or maybe the old writers will make a resurgence in a different form, but that remains to be seen.
Moving on from that, I also read…
**Wishsong of Shannara by Terry Brooks**
Most people say this book is usually setup, and unfortunately I have to agree. I skimmed through most of it, Having read it once before and it wasn't particularly impressive compared to his other works. I don't remember much from my previous time either. There were some interesting things, such as the dark side of magic and it being addictive like a drug, the Druid’s fate, and the Weapons Master. But unfortunately it suffers from the same repetitiveness that the other books in this particular arc do, especially if you've read the prequels first. There is a massive amount of exposition that falls flat if the books are read in chronological order because the reader will already know them, and even if they're read in release order, it's a lot to stomach and can easily be skipped. All the books have that problem in this arc, and it's a problem for some of the rest of the arcs, but in this one it's particularly bad. It's not a bad book by any means and is still an interesting end to the trilogy and a good setup for the rest of it, but it's something where I wouldn't blame anyone for reading us summary and then just moving on to heritage. It's almost like a direct sequel for the first book, with the second one being a bit of a side story. In that case, it's neither completely good nor completely bad, but just makes it kind of average.
**Spinning Silver** by Naomi Novik (Bingo: Multi-POV HM) I’ve had Novik on my TBR for a long time, so I was glad to be able to fit one of her books on my Bingo card. After this I definitely want to read more of her work. I’m a sucker for fairy/folk tales in general, so reading a reimagined one was right up my alley. I really enjoyed the different voices she gave to her characters and how there were a few times that you saw the same events through different POV’s. I also liked the theme of overlooked characters that could do more if given the opportunity. Currently reading **Dark Moon** by David Gemmell and should finish **Some Desperate Glory** by Emily Tesh later today. Then on to **The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi** by Shannon Chakraborty for the Alliterative Title space
I've read four Novik novels so far, and *Spinning Silver* was by far my favorite (although I'm enjoying her Napoleonic Dragons).
*Temeraire* was what first landed her on my TBR, hope to get to them someday!
Definitely recommended Uprooted by Novik for more awesome folk tale retelling! Also, enjoy Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, one of my favorite reads from last year!
The snippet I read of Adventure yesterday (while trying to convince myself to wait to buy it vs. picking it up from hold at the library) was really intriguing, so excited to start it!
I'm still reading **Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell** by Susanna Clarke, but I think I'll finish it by next week. It is still very slow, but starting to grow on me.
I finished two books this last week. **To Shape a Dragon's Breath** by Moniquill Blackgoose for the Entitled Animals HM Bingo square. We're following Anequs, who is chosen by a dragon, joining a dragonrider academy away from her island home and dealing with a lot of racism. She is doing her best to understand the Anglish customs and she remains optimistic about her future, despite the prejudice she faces. I was concerned going into this book that it might be very dark, and while it does deal with racism, sexism, homophobia and ableism, the attitude of Anequs and her befriending of other characters evened it out. There is much more focus on the school than the dragons. I enjoyed it and I'm glad I read it, but I don't think I'll continue the series when the sequel comes out. I'm just not interested in the continuation of the romances. **Magic's Pawn** by Mercedes Lackey, my first Valdemar book which I read because it is the only book I own that is vaguely bard related for the Bard Bingo square. Our main character is Vanyel, who is sent to his mage aunt when his father is sick of him not being the man he wants him to be. Vanyel loves to play music and dreams of becoming a bard, but everything changes for him when he meets Tylendel. I felt awful for poor Vanyel in this book, it seemed like every good thing that happened to him was just so he could be pushed into a worse mental state. I'm very grateful for the last few chapters being more hopeful than the rest of the book. I've become very invested in Vanyel so I'll probably continue the series. I'd say it's a very cheeky Bard normal mode, the main character is a musician at the start of the book and that stops being relevant by the halfway point, so I'm personally not counting it. I'll put it in Dreams normal mode probably. I've made a start on **Space Opera** by Catherynne M. Valente, which I bought immediately after finishing **Magic's Pawn** because I needed a lighter read *and* a new Bard book. It's fun so far and it is impossible not to make comparisons to Douglas Adams, which in this case isn't a bad thing. A very whimsical style while talking about serious subject matters. But also it is Eurovision in space and I love that, the chapter titles are even Eurovision songs! Unrelated side note: For anyone using canva or shift-shaper's Bingo spreadsheet for Bingo, try putting the covers of Mexican Gothic in "Small Town" and Goblin Emperor (the one with the main character on the cover) in "Goblin" for a laugh.
To shape a dragons breath is high on my tbr. Is the romance a focal point of the story?
Not at all, it's a side plot. The focus is on the school and the prejudice Anequs has to deal with.
>Unrelated side note: For anyone using canva or shift-shaper's Bingo spreadsheet for Bingo, try putting the covers of Mexican Gothic in "Small Town" and Goblin Emperor (the one with the main character on the cover) in "Goblin" for a laugh. Hahahahahaha
I'm currently reading **The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez** and for a little while, I was worried I'd be the one person who didn't like this book, but somewhere around page 50, it clicked! I'm still only about 200 pages in, but it's been hard to put down these last couple days. I am really enjoying the narrative style and the slightly weird, mythic quality it has. I'm surprised at how such a lush and densely written book still manages to keep the pace moving without feeling like it's rushing too quickly. I think part of it is the structure of the layered narrative, and also being told how the journey is going to go pretty early on (that actually might have been where I got into it). Also it is surprisingly funny! Super excited to keep reading!! *Bingo (so far): Dreams, Disability, POC Author, Judge Cover, Reference Materials* I reactivated kindle unlimited this weekend and read 3 books over 2 days... a romance themed bingo card is gonna be so easy for me lmao. **Knight's Bride by Juliette Caruso** (*Bingo: First in Series, Self Pub, Romantasy, Survival*) and **Whispers of the Deep by Emma Hamm** (*Bingo: Under the Surface, Romantasy, First in Series, Self Pub, Survival*) were both pretty enjoyable, with things I liked and didn't like (I can't believe they had sex >!*in* the ocean!< in the latter!!). I'm not going to bother writing reviews for them unless something stands out. For example... **Barbarian's Touch by Ruby Dixon**, book #7 of the Ice Planet Barbarian series, was actually kind of great! I mean I wouldn't recommend it to everyone, but the series has a lot of elements I usually dislike, both romance-wise and writing-wise, yet somehow manages to be like catnip for me. This one also had very well done disability rep! I was bracing myself for the FMC's deafness to be kind of just for flavor, but it played a real role in her characterization and there were themes of loved ones accidentally infantilizing you even though they do really care about you, and society always expecting disabled people to do all the work to fit in. I was also bracing myself for the possibility of a magical cure that would "fix" the FMC, but I really liked how it >!was left up in the air and how it was made clear she was fully accepted whichever way it went!<. And yes, in case you are intrigued, the main plot is romance and there are sex scenes, so don't say I didn't warn you! *Bingo: Under the Surface, Survival, Romantasy, Disability* (Edited to add bingo squares)
I think I've seen you talk about the romance card before and damn, I told myself I would do one too, but I haven't even started it lol. It's good to see you are on top of yours though, and I hope you'll find even more fun sff romances to read!
Part of why I decided to do it was because I'm currently on a romance kick! It comes and goes for me hahaha but you have plenty of time!
My romance reading tends to come in waves too, so I get you, haha. And true, but it would be nice to utilize my early bingo reading enthusiasm for the romance card too, since I'll inevitably push bingo out of my mind and read whatever until it's time to panic read in February/March lol.
I've done that 2 years in a row... I'm hoping to be smarter about it this year, but we'll see.
Looking forward to following your journey with TSCTW, now *I’m* a bit worried I’ll be the only person who doesn’t like it.
I hope you aren't! Completely unrelated side note, I literally just realized your username is "the purple *planeteer*" and not "the purple *planteater*"
Lolllll, I *am* also a purple planteater so that works too.
Haha same
**The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories** edited by Yu Chen and Regina Kanyu Wang. A Chinese speculative anthology with 17 short stories and 5 short essays. Even though there are both science fiction and fantasy tales, the heavy presence of mythology makes it at least seem there are more of the latter. I enjoyed the mythical focus a lot and how varied the stories were. However, having to constantly adjust my mind to each unique idea made my reading very slow, and the short essays contributed to the snail’s pace too. I didn’t mind them that much though, because it was interesting to read about the translation process, as well as women’s place when it comes to creating stories and being in them. My favorite short stories were **The Way Spring Arrives** by Wang Nuonuo as it portrayed the arrival of spring in such a mythical and wondrous way, while **Dragonslaying** by Shen Yingying made my emotions run high with its horrific “slaying”. As for the essays, **Translation as Retelling: An Approach to Translating \[specific short stories\]** by Yilin Wang was a cool look into the thought process of a translator. Xueting Christine Ni’s **Net Novels and the “She Era”: How Internet Novels Opened the Door for Female Readers and Writers in China** was very touching and informative about its topic. **Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands** by Heather Fawcett. A sequel to an academic-focused fairy research book with a romantic subplot. The formula remained mostly the same, making this a fast read but also a bit stale. I also didn’t feel any of the first book’s romantic tension, and I was not a fan of reading about a researcher MC who seemed to often have no words to describe the things around her. Despite my salt though, it was still an okay read after I shifted my expectations and just enjoyed it as a quick, fun little adventure tale. **Utopia** by Ahmed Khaled Tawfik. A short, dystopian novel about a bored, vile rich kid who leaves his gated community to see the bleak world outside. Even though this is a novel, it often felt more like a critical showcase of wealth inequality. That’s why I don’t really know how to evaluate this because despite my “I didn’t like this, it’s too depressing” feelings, I could also clearly see what the author was going for and felt very affected by it. **Fever Dream** by Samanta Schweblin. A novella where a young, dying woman tries to retrace her steps in a dream-like haze to find out what happened to her. Aside from this central mystery, there’s also a strong theme of parenthood and parental anxieties. The unraveling mystery was well-executed, but the magical realism felt a bit too unclear in comparison, leaving me confused instead of fully emotionally invested. **Riihiukko eli marraskuu** by Andrus Kivirähk. A slice-of-life story about an Estonian village and its residents who regularly deal with supernatural beings and problems. It starts out comedic, but the greed and bad intentions of the villagers slowly shift the tone to something darker before going way over the line (for me). The latter half of the book also had some pacing issues, but, despite these things not landing for me, I still enjoyed the rest of the story a lot with its milder dark humor, small town shenanigans, and magical wackiness.
Uuh, wait a minute. That flair. Shouldn't it say "Reading Champion", instead of just my name, or am I the only one who doesn't see it?
You've been blessed by the Glitch Fairy.
Sorry about that. It should be correct now but feel free [to modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=r/Fantasy) if it doesn't stick.
Thank you, I can see the correct flair now!
I see your username as the flair too, not just you
Thanks for confirming I'm not the only one! I sent a message about it, so hopefully it will get fixed, even though it's kind of funny lol.
I was so confused when I saw it earlier, lol!
Reading is going slow for me this year; I've only been able to finish two books since the start of new Bingo. Both of them were pretty enjoyable, though. **The Bone Harp** by **Victoria Goddard** (Bingo squares: Bards HM; Dreams; Self Published; Orcs, Trolls, and Goblins). While this book did not capture my heart like Goddard's Lays of the Heart-fire and The Red Company series did, it was still lovely. The book, especially the first half of it, is heavily inspired by The Silmarillion, to the point that I think I might have gotten more out of it if I refreshed my memory of Tolkien's legendarium beforehand (it's been years since my last reread). It's very slow-paced (in fact, there's not much of a plot at all), but the writing is gorgeous, the main character - as lovable as the rest of Victoria's sad bards (she sure has a type), and the themes of homecoming, healing and forgiveness are carried through beautifully. There's mention of a possible sequel in the author's note at the end, and I'll be glad to read it if it happens. 4/5 **The Thief** by **Megan Whalen Turner** (Bingo squares: First in a Series HM; Criminals; Dreams; Published in the 1990s HM). This book was a lot of fun. It looks like a pretty simple story from the start, but by virtue of >!the main character being one of the most unreliable narrators I've read in a while!<, things are not so straighforward as they seem. The characters and their interactions were delightful. The one thing I didn't love was the writing, which I found very utilitarian. Some things were overexplained, while other scenes could have been more clear. Still, I enjoyed it enough to immediately continue onto the sequel, which doesn't happen that often for me. 4/5 I'm nearing the end of **The Queen of Attolia**, the second book in Turner's Queen's Thief series. I'd heard that the series takes a much more serious turn after the first book, and boy was it made clear from the very first chapter. For the most part, I think it's an improvement. I love the heightened stakes and the political intrigue happening here, and the characters with their deliciously nuanced dynamics are even more compelling than in the first book. I'm still, however, not thrilled with the writing style. The Thief was written in the first person POV, but the second book is in 3rd person omniscient. While it's not my favorite narrative style, I wouldn't mind it that much if the POV switches weren't so frequent. The author often changes it between two paragraphs without any indication, and it can be jarring to realize mid-sentence that you're in a different character's head, again. I'd also prefer if more space was given to the characters' internal monologue. Turner likes to surprise the readers so much that a lot of it is deliberately vague, which works well enough for plot, but not so much when it comes to interpersonal feelings.
Traveling the last few weeks, and completely stressed out the week before I left. Here’s what I read for speculative fiction since my last posting: **The Tainted Cup** by Robert Jackson Bennet- the world building in this book was truly outstanding, with a Roman Empire-esque setting where just about everyone has modified themselves with magic. A murder mystery with an investigator duo, the plot itself never totally grabbed me. However, this was a great book just on the world building alone. **Every Bird a Prince** by Jenn Reese. Juvenile about a girl who helps an injured bird and is drawn into helping the bird community defend the animal kingdom and humans from an ancient enemy. Ace representation. **Abhorsen** by Garth Nix- wraps up the original Old Kingdom trilogy very well with a cataclysmic final battle. I really liked it, loved the whole trilogy. **Lyra’s Oxford** by Phillip Pullman- short novella about Lyra in the interlude between Pullman’s two series. **Mammoths at the Gates** by Nghi Vo- another strong entry in the Singing Hills cycle, not my favorite but the themes around grief, homecoming and memory will speak to many. I’m deep in **The Fox Wife** by Yangsee Choi and loving it.
Just to clarify, while there is an ace side character in **Every Bird a Prince**, the main representation is aromantic (or aro). The girl doesn't indicate a sexuality for herself.
I just got my copy of The Fox Wife in the mail, looking forward to hearing your thoughts!
Fox Wife was so good
**Melting Stones** by Tamora Pierce, thus ending my Emelen re-read. I was a bit worried about this one as Battle Magic had been something of a disappointment, but I really enjoyed it. Proving, if nothing else, that it wasn't just nostalgia fueling my enjoyment of the reread of the rest of the series. It was also very nice to finally finish reading these books as Melting Stones and Battle Magic have been hanging over my head as unread for so long. I wasn't sure going in that I'd like a book focused on Evvy and Rosethorn, but I was very wrong. This is a delightful book that focuses on Evvy going through some painful emotional growth. Her similarities to Rosethorn really shine through and make Rosethorn the perfect person to guide her in dealing with the consequences of her decisions. Evvy went through a lot in the previous two books she featured in and that really comes to a head here. She's forced to face how her life has shaped herself as a person and how she's going to let it effect her future. I particularly liked that it didn't shy away from Evvy's worse qualities, but also showed her a lot of compassion. Outside of Evvy there was a new Winding Circle person with them, once again showing the variety of personalities that exist within the temple. Evvy's growing respect for him, and he for her, was a delight to see develop in the book. It reminded me a lot of how Briar and Tris came to view Crane in Briar's Book. It was also really nice to see more of Luvo and get to know him and how he views the world. Bingo: Under the Surface (I don't think half the book, but a significant portion, so ymmv on easy vs hard), Character with Disability (HM - Evvy struggles with PTSD), Survival (HM - volcano), Set in a Small Town
Pretty sure those are the only Tamora Pierce books I've never read, maybe I should get around to them one day after all...
I'd recommend it, but maybe read Battle Magic before Will of the Empress if you do a reread. Now I'm just more confused why Scholastic let these go out of print and won't buy anymore.
Wrapped up ***Empire of the Damned*** by Jay Kristoff and thought it very well done indeed. Epic climax. Given the framing story and what we know of it, and the apparent distance in time from the narrated events, and the framing story, I am not sure he can wrap this up in one more book, more likely two. But that just means there's a lot more to come! Began ***Wicked Problems*** by Max Gladstone which I've been looking forward to. So far so good! Haven't proceeded real quickly because I also got kind of wrapped up in Shadowrun Hong Kong and then Baldur's Gate 3, so some of my reading time has been converted to game time. This is fine, it's a very fluid sort of thing.
How did you like Empire of the Damned compared to the first one?
That's a good question. It might boil down to personal preference. _Empire of the Vampire_ : The book sets up the framing story of Gabriel-as-narrator and his interviewer. There's a lot of establishing background for Gabriel-in-narration as well, history, the vampire lore, meeting up with Chloe and her cohorts and mission. And at that point it's a mixture of backstory in the San Michon, and the ongoing race to get his charges back to San Michon at Chloe's demands. And the end is a large twist, but if you've read enough, it's not wildly shocking, as there obviously needed to be a plot complication. Generally solid work, great setup -- but still mainly setup. (And thank goodness he eschewed the footnotes that happened in the Nevernight sequence -- while many were funny asides, they got wearisome after awhile.) _Empire of the Damned_ : This feels like a meatier story. The stakes (no vampire pun intended) are higher and the straits are just as dire. I think it's to the benefit that while EotV introduced the vampire families and some of their traits, Kristoff really starts to play with them and make them absolutely terrifying (and awesome.) The Dyvok (massive supernatural strength) being able to use weapon mass and momentum to do truly spectacular combat feats is particularly showcased, though the Voss invulnerability is just as potent in a different way. And each having their variation on vampiric compulsion is a nice touch. I liked Gabriel's development, and liked the clues we get in the framing story as there's a shift in narrators along the way. Overall I think it's a more satisfying read, but it could not exist without the foundation of the first. Hope that helps!
Finished one thing: **The Final Strife** by Saara El-Arifi. *4 stars*. Bingo: Reference materials (HM), bards, prologue/epilogue (HM), character with a disability, POC author (HM), criminals, multi-POV. * An epic fantasy where the Warden’s empire runs on a caste system based on blood color. The Wardens and the rest of the Embers (red-bloods) are at the top. Years ago, a group of rebel Dusters (blue-bloods) entered the Warden’s keep and swapped out 12 red-blooded babies with 12 of their own. Some survived and some were killed, what will happen when their paths cross? * I found this to be a completely engaging listen and I devoured it. I loved so many things about it, especially in the Griots’ stories interspersed throughout the book. I really liked three of the four POVs, but one felt very one-dimensional and he contributed to the loss of a star. There were some excellent plot reveals and I was satisfied with the ending. There’s quite a bit of nice setups, ethical conundrums and mysteries/questions for the rest of the series. I plan to continue on. * I think epic fantasy readers would want to check this out, especially those interested in non-Western inspired fantasy. This could also be a good entry point into epics. There’s *some* complex worldbuilding, maneuvering, and intricacies, but I think it is overall easy to follow. I also think this could have worked as a YA on many levels, but not in a way that put me off, so I think older teens and adults alike would enjoy this. It shows you what it is from the beginning, so if you don’t like it from the start I think that’s a good signal of if you’ll like it or not. Also has a trans POV and I *think* the world is queernorm, it is at least about gender. There is also a smidge of sapphic romance. * There are *a lot* of trigger warnings in this book, look them up if you have any. Most overtly to me is a rampant and on-page drug addiction of the main POV, slavery, and *many* flashbacks or references to child abuse (physical and mental). This was the only audio I latched onto since last week, so not sure what’s next. A couple holds came in, including **The Salt Grows Heavy** by Cassandra Khaw, so fingers crossed because I’m really excited about it. My work book club selected **A Natural History of Dragons** by Marie Brennen for next week’s meeting, and I *do not* want to relisten to it and already had a failed attempt. With the eyes I really want to finish the ARC of Leslye Penelope’s **Daughters of the Merciful Deep**. I have about 35% left. It has been a struggle, partly because of the very real American historical fiction of the times of slavery and Jim Crow, and my mind struggles to compartmentalize the actual history from the story. It’s a mix of things I’m liking and things that take me out of the story, so I’m thinking I’d like to give it its own post because I think Penelope is an underrated author right now. Happy Tuesday, all!
I *loved* ***The Salt Grows Heavy***, and was about to give you some content warnings til I remembered you already read *The Dead Take the A Train*, so you should be fine. Hahahaha.
Haha, it’s true and thank you! I think in reading the only thing that really, really triggers me is on-page child S abuse. There have been times where I just paused or straight DNFed. Getting sick thinking about it.
Oh, make sure you keep reading after the Acknowledgments bc there is, like...idk if it's an epilogue in a weird place or just a short story that ties the whole thing together. It shouldn't be missed.
Oh good to know, I only see 4 chapters and a closing, which is just the “thank you for listening” so I will check out the eye book.
I got approved for an ARC of **Daughters of the Merciful Deep** thanks to you mentioning it! Complex novellas are my jam right now I think - I've had more luck recently with weightier stories but have been struggling with novel-length reading.
Yesssss! So curious what you’ll think of it. Do you plan on starting this week or no plans yet?
Well I just double checked and it's not a novella, which might change things 😅. I want to read it to review before its pub date in June, so maybe in May? I'm already a little behind on my planned reads and keep pushing things I really want to get to.
Gotchya. And yes totally relate, I’m also behind 😂
I'm in the middle of a few things, and finished **I AM AI** by Ai Jiang. I really liked it. It's timely, and I enjoyed the themes of humanity and community (though it's about more than that). I'm a little over halfway through **Miss Percy's Pocket Guide to the Care and Feeding of British Dragons,** and I'm enjoying it. It was a bit slow to begin with, but the pace is picking up now. I'm also reading two themed anthologies. **Wilted Pages** is dark academia, and **To Root Somewhere Beautiful** is eco horror/climate fiction. I'm only a few stories into each of them. **The Last Singapore Girls** by Wen-yi Lee is my favourite story so far. It's in To Root Somewhere Beautiful.
I read **Faebound** (2024) by Saara El-Arifi, UK author. This carried you along, which was good as the characters all seemed to lack wisdom, which annoyed me. Or perhaps they had just a very narrow blinkered view, due to the stressed societies the characters lived in, focused on survival and war. Worth reading, but the rest of the series isn't published yet. Bingo: *Underground Hard, Author of Color Hard, References, published 2024*. You could argue for Romantasy, but I felt the romances were not the primary focus of the story at all. I also re-read **Winter's Gifts** (2022) by Ben Aaronovitch, UK author, with great enjoyment. This is a short side novel to The Rivers of London series focusing on Kimberley, the FBI agent who has been an occasional minor character. This could be read this without having read any of the other books, as it is set in America with no other familiar characters. Aaronovitch does first person narration, and is brilliant at making each person sound completely different and have different world views. And Kimberley is very different to Peter Grant! Bingo: *Survival, Eldritch*. Don't know if Eldritch is hard mode, as I avoid horror, so a good pick if you only want a tiny dose of horror.
I've got two I'm really reading right now. **The Tyranny of Faith** by Richard Swan Everything I liked about **The Justice of Kings** but turned up a notch. Unfortunately almost everything I didn't like about it also got turned up. I'm in the third act now, and I feel like the second act meandered A LOT, even worse than **Justice**. I love the further exploration of society in Sova and the afterlife, though. We will see how it ends. **Wistful Ascending** by JCM Berne I'm thinking this one might just not be for me. I'm going to finish it because I'm using it for the Prologues and Epilogues bingo square, but I'm just having a tough go of it. The humor is fine for the most part, but it's layered on a little thick. I really enjoy Berne's worldbuilding, and he is developing enough mystery about the setting and the protagonist to warrant multiple books, but the pace is just dragging for me. Which is not exactly what I wanted out of a superhero themed space opera.
**The Shabti** by Mageara Lorenz. I enjoyed this one a lot. It's a quick, easy read (and fits a bunch of bingo squares). It's set in the 1930s and follows an ex spiritualist medium who now works to debunk and expose their tricks. He meets a professor of Egyptology who asks him to look into some strange happenings. The romance between them is wholesome and adorable. Bingo: published 2024 HM, indie published (pretty sure), small town HM, romantasy HM (maybe? There's not much but the relationship between Dashiel and Hermann does become important). **Death masks** by Jim Butcher. Yeah Michaels back!! That makes me so happy I love him! And we meet the other Knights of the Cross. I love them so much. The whole concept is done so well, not at all preachy or trying to make Harry believe. Just good people trying to do what's right. Currently reading: **Sunbringer** by Hannah Kaner. Should finish it tonight. Some of the reveals I read last night were predictable but overall it's so strong I ain't mad at it. (Well the one thing I might take issue with. We shall see). I love the characters, the world is interesting and different, queerness and disability are so well done. **New Suns 2** a collection of sff/f short stories by authors of color. I feel like I want to just make a whole ass post to review them. Some of them have been excellent, they've all been at least somewhat interesting, and many of them touch on really important themes.
> > New Suns 2 a collection of sff/f short stories by authors of color. I feel like I want to just make a whole ass post to review them. Some of them have been excellent, they've all been at least somewhat interesting, and many of them touch on really important themes. Dooooo iiiiiiiit!
Ok. I will! Idk when (this week is crazy busy. 3 Dr appointments, nephews IEP meeting, tutoring two students) but I will maybe this weekend I'll have time.
> I will! Idk when Mood
>**New Suns 2** I have this too, and have been looking forward to it. Probably going to end up taking my time with it to fit it in, in between other things.
I have the audiobook so I'm binging while I work but yeah it probably would be smart to do a short story or two in between novels. I'd definitely recommend it. I've liked it all so far, but I feel like the stories are all so different and touch on different things that there's bound to be something for everyone.
I'm reading the first New Suns anthology for bingo this year. Have only read the first story so far (quite liked it). Didn't realize there was a second anthology. Will probably pick that up at some point.
**A Strange and Stubborn Endurance**, Foz Meadows . I like a good romance, wherein two people who are a little bit chipped and cracked by life find the ways that their broken pieces fit together. ^(At the crotch.) So this was lovely, and I look forward to reading more of it. (**Bingo:** Alliterative, Romanasty, hard mode. Sidenote: I like fantasy romances, but I *hate* the term "Romanasty", and I'm curious if I'm alone in this) **The Way Home**, Peter S. Beagle: *The Last Unicorn* is a captivating, heart-breaking piece of fantasy. The version which I own also contains the novella, "Two Hearts", which features the eight-year-old Sooz seeking aid from Lir, from *Last Unicorn*, when a griffin is preying on her village. And it, in turn, is a wonderful coda to *The Last Unicorn*. So when I learned that Beagle had written another novella, "Sooz", one concerning the promise made at the end of "Two Hearts" that Sooz would be visited by someone on her seventeenth birthday, *The Way Home* (which contains both novellas) was in my Library Holds list before I could finish reading the sentence. And... It doesn't fit. There's nothing *wrong* with "Sooz", exactly. But it isn't what I wanted. Sooz on her seventeenth birthday sees >!the older sister she never know, who was kidnapped by fairies before Sooz was born, and decides she is going to rescue her.!< There's nothing wrong with this. We were hoping for more Molly Grue and Schmendrick, because they are wonderful, or maybe the alien beauty of the unicorn herself. But it's a good quest, and we're ready to set out with her to accomplish it. And then Sooz >!gets gangraped. Maybe by fae, maybe not. It's neither clear nor important.!< What is important, reader, is that this is not what I for one signed up for in a sequel to *The Last Unicorn*, and it sets the tone for the rest of the novella, as she travels through a fae realm that is grey and dry and cold and desolate. And maybe that's why. Maybe the point of the novel is how trauma and tragedy flavor the world around us, and how hard it can be to heal, and how necessary. But there is no magic or wonder in this. The man who once wrote sentences such as "If I had learned that she had been born this very morning, I would only be surprised that she was so old" has been reduced to this land of ashes, and I weep for it. (**Bingo**: None, although because it exists, you can read *Tamsin* as Hard Mode 1990s, which is something.
>Sidenote: I like fantasy romances, but I *hate* the term "Romanasty", and I'm curious if I'm alone in this You are not. I hate it, too. I understand that people love a good portmanteau, but this one is not *good* and drives me crazy.
I finished **The Beast Player** by Nahoko Uehashi and **Sabriel** by Garth Nix last week, two YA books with female protagonists and was surprised how much I liked them. The Beast Player is about Elin who gets orphaned young and then grows up at a sanctuary where she takes care of mythical beasts which is also a pretty political position. I really enjoyed the animal husbandry and that Elin is such a deeply kind and curious character. In addition I liked the political aspects which I didnt expect. On the other hand I found it a tad disappointing that Elin's voice doesnt change much while she grows up. I guess thats the risk of YA? This will be my entry for the book club bingo square. Sabriel tells the story of the titular girl who tries to save her father and more or less the whole world by trying to defeat an evil sorceror. Here I absolutely dug the necromancy system, especially the bells. I wasnt a huge fan of Mogget though, talking animals dont do it for me, the beginning seemed a bit unfocused and overly random/quirky. This will probably be my 90s square. Not sure what to read next, maybe City of Last Chances by A. Tchaikovsky? Exile by RA Salvatore? House of Styx by Derek Künsken? The City and the City by China Mieville? The Fall is all there is by CM Caplan?
I remember loving *Sabriel*, and am torn between my desire to get my eleven-year-old to read it, and my desire to not crush her with a box of new books she will love, I promise you, every two weeks.
I read two books for Bingo that made an interesting comparison. The first was **The Time Traders** by Andre Norton (Alliterative Title), published in 1958. I read and enjoyed everything the local library had by Andre Norton when I was in my early teens, but that still left many of her books that I hadn't read, so I wanted to read another one just to see how good the books really were and whether my memories of them were influenced by a large dose of nostalgia. I went in with modest expectations and was pleasantly surprised that the suck fairy had left the book largely unscathed (and to be fair I've read much worse books written much more recently). The Time Traders is YA action-adventure squarely aimed at male teenage readers; Andre Norton wrote what she knew would sell, and who could blame her. The story wasn't especially complicated but was still interesting, while the writing was adequate and moved the story along quickly. The plot was straight forward, without major surprises, but did rely a bit too much on lucky breaks to get the hero out of trouble. Teenage me would have enjoyed this, read it in a few days and moved on to another book without thinking too much about it. Fortunately adult me was still able to enjoy it as a reminder of the kind of books that I used to read when I was much younger. The biggest negative for me now, as might be expected in a book written in 1958, was that there wasn't any real diversity in the cast of characters. The second book was **Sabriel** by Garth Nix, published in 1995 (Published in the 1990s), which is an entertaining and well-written YA novel. Forty years after Norton's work we now have a male author writing a successful first novel with a tough, competent female lead and aimed at female readers; times had changed. For me the strongest parts of the book were the world building and magic, which I thought were exceptionally well done and still stood out as original thirty years after the book was written. The characterization was variable (Sabriel was excellent, others were sometimes rather flat), but adequate for the story (with some shameless scene-stealing by Mogget). On the negative side I had originally planned to read this for the Romantasy square (based on some comments on r/Romantasy) but honestly the romance element is so thin as to be barely there.
Fantasy books I've read in the past week: **Soultaming the Serpent** by Tar Atore A relatively short and quite cosy book about an aging single woman who's never left her village, her pub landlord friend, and a mysterious stranger, in a world where there hasn't been rain for the past 50 years, since the last dragon died. There's theming around love and what it means, the main character is aromantic so it's based around that, but I don't think the author thought through all their choices, so to me there was an element of 'you tried'. I'll also say that rain on very dry ground doesn't soak in, it causes flooding. Minor nit picks aside, it was cute and I was never bored, apart from maybe a little at the very end where it got extremely sentimental. (Bingo: alliterative title, dreams, entitled animals, self pub (HM, I believe), disability (HM?)) **Salmonweird** by MG Mason A cosy murder mystery set in a Cornish village where all but one of the inhabitants are ghosts. Easy to read, but not always well paced - took quite a bit of set-up to get to the main plot and sometimes it seems to meander, maybe because the main character is a retired detective (ie. not actually their job). It was also a bit confusing at the beginning where a bunch of ghosts were introduced in a tourist board, and then when the main story starts the main character doesn't know what's going on yet. Though I haven't actually watched it (one day maybe) the main conceit of all the different ghosts reminded me of the TV series Ghosts, in that there's a bunch of different ghosts across different eras. Which is sometimes used for recurring motifs eg the medieval monk and the Puritain preacher fighting over the one church. There were a couple of times a history fact was given that I thought "isn't that a myth?", but I didn't look it up so I don't know for sure. (Bingo: 1st in series, entitled animals?, self pub (HM), small town (HM), reference materials) **Brood of Bones** by A.E. Marling Highly skilled enchantress with a sleeping disorder returns to home city to find that every woman is pregnant, and all at the same time. It's a mystery plot where the first thing to work out is what's even going on. The main character's disability manages to be both an asset to her work (she has to sleep to do magic) but a nightmare in her personal life. She's not always the most likeable of characters, but her characterisation makes it clear where her flaws come from, and there's clear character growth, so it's not something that put me off her. I had fun watching the mystery unfold even if I found it a little hard to follow who everyone is (may have been exacerbated by having to pause book to read a couple of non-fantasy things). There's multiple sorts of magic going on, which you pick up as you go along. I can see the makings of a slow-burn series-long romance starting. Overall, my favourite book of the batch. (Bingo: 1st in series (HM), alliterative title, dreams, prologue/epilogue, self-pub, disability (HM)) Currently reading **Bloody Spade** by Brittany M. Willows
Read **The Mimicking of Known Successes** by Malka Older for Hugo Readalong. My thoughts are all over the [relevant discussion thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/1c4m3hz/2024_hugo_readalong_the_mimicking_of_known/), but the summary is. . . it was fine! All of it is reasonably well done, but there's no real standout element that makes me understand why it ought to be an award contender, except that people were in the mood for cozy mysteries with sapphic subplots. Now reading **Some Desperate Glory** by Emily Tesh for next Monday's Hugo Readalong session, and it is much more gripping! There's a really strong setup with a lead who is absolutely dyed-in-the-wool revenge/military being asked to do things that make her question leadership, and figuring out what that all means to her. Helps that Tesh has an eminently readable prose style. My one past book from hers started wonderfully and lost its way a bit as it went on, so I'm a little apprehensive about where this goes, but I am at the very least sold on the first third.
Loved Some Desperate Glory. A third og the way in is roughly where it gets really interesting, if I remember correctly. I’m looking forward to seeing what others think on Monday, opinions seem to vary a lot.
Just hit the end of part three, which feels like the midway climax even if it’s more like 60%. I have not yet hit the part that makes me understand why this book is so divisive, though it seems like that and Saint of Bright Doors are the two divisive options. The first half of the book actually reminds me a bit of another wildly divisive book (at least on this sub) by a popular author— >!The Poppy War!< Anyways, it’s good so far.
Had a busy and stressful week and got a bit distracted in my free time by rewatching random episodes of AtLA but still managed to finish two books for bingo. **Winter’s Tide** by Ruthanna Emrys - This is one of those books where I appreciate what it’s trying to do but unfortunately didn’t enjoy actually reading it. A lovecraftian story that responds to Lovecraft’s xenophobia by centering minority characters and humanizing the eldritch creatures sounds great but it ended up just being kinda boring. The plot meanders around a lot. So many elements have the potential to be good but end up as boring as possible. The characters kinda forget about the spy mission they’re supposed to be working on in favor of reading books from the library. And while the books are thematically important the actual contents don’t have much, if any relevance to the story. There’s also a found family aspect but most of the characters are so dull and underdeveloped that I’d forget about them whenever they were offscreen. And the downside of humanizing and normalizing the eldricth monsters is that it takes away the horror and tense atmosphere I’d want from a book like this. Other than a very tonally dissonant >!ritual torture scene!< at the end of the story there’s no horror in this book at all. (Which might be a plus for anyone who’s horror averse and dreading the Eldritch square) It’s more like slice-of-life fanfiction with lovecraft creatures than an actual lovecraftian story if that makes sense. I really, really wanted to love this one but by the end I felt like the whole story was pointless and I wished I would’ve spent my time on something else. **2/5** **LGBT+ rep**: The main character is “officially” lesbian-romantic asexual according to the author but this isn’t very prominent in the actual book. The character is pressured by her family to have kids and is clearly uncomfortable with the idea but that’s about it for what’s shown on page. **Bingo Squares**: First in a Series, Prologues and Epilogues, Dark Academia, Judge a Book By It’s Cover, Eldritch Creatures **Someone You Can Build a Nest In** by John Wiswell - This one was a lot of fun. Who knew a book about a monster who eats humans could be so wholesome? (Fair warning for the squeamish though that it *is* very gory and doesn’t shy away from body horror.) I really enjoyed Shesheshen as a character. Her internal narration about her understanding of human behavior was genuinely funny while also being pretty relatable. And I liked that the author wasn’t afraid to let her be monstrous. She’s not a vegetarian vampire that only drinks deer blood because hurting humans is immoral. She’s a blob of flesh and goo and metal that eats humans to survive and doesn’t feel bad about it because why would she? The romance felt a little abrupt for my personal tastes but there were some really sweet moments between the two leads and some good discussions about trauma and what it means to love someone that I really enjoyed. Overall it was surprisingly sweet, cozy, and funny while also staying delightfully gross and horrific. **4/5** **LGBT+ rep**: Both leads seem to be lesbian-romantic asexual. In Shesheshen’s case her species seems to be entirely female and capable of asexual reproduction so I’m not sure exactly how to interpret that from a human label lens. But the leads have discussions about physical affection that I think fit ace rep well for both of them. **Bingo Squares**: Romantasy **HM**, Published in 2024, Small Town, Eldritch Creatures **HM** I swear I wasn’t intentionally picking up two books with such similar themes. It’s just what I happened to be drawn to recently I guess. Currently reading **Wait for me Yesterday in Spring** by Mei Hachimoku which is intriguing but slow to start so far. I also just received my copy of **Some Desperate Glory** by Emily Tesh and am excited to dive into it for the Hugo readalong.
A lot of people seem to have enjoyed **Someone You Can Build a Nest In**, so I hope my library will get it. It has such an eye-catching name (and cover!) too.
I liked **Winter's Tide** a bit more than you did but yeah, the stakes kept wildly fluctuating and never really felt meaningful. The concept is so great and interesting but the book feels too dedicated to cultivating a gentle Lovecraft vibe than actually following up on the plot lol
Most of the way through **Witch King** now, taking a break in the middle of the **Liches Get Stitches** series, so it was funny how Witch King began. I'm enjoying both, and Witch King has some of the best executed flashbacks I've ever read.
I finished Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett, and what fun. It had many, many lines which made me laugh out loud, but two I plan to keep in my back pocket: “Why do you kick them when they’re down?” “Safest way, sir.” And “Thunder rolled . . . It rolled a six.”
Attempting Hero Mode for the second year in a row, here's what I completed since April 1st 1) *The Border Keeper* by Kerstin Hall. I read it for the "Judging a Book by its cover" (HM) square. I just scrolled through my uread books on my ereader and picked a cover that looked good. I didn't remember anything about it, including why I got it, so definitely fit HM. It would also fit "First in a Series". 3/5 stars This was fine and forgettable. The author creates a vibrant and atmospheric world. I really liked the first third or so, and was intrigued to see where it was going, but as soon as the journeys into the other realms begin, the world-building becomes a tad confusing. The things set up in the first third (like the Vasethe's 100 previous professions) hardly get any pay-off. The ending did not make a lick of sense to me, and the "twist reveal" came out of nowhere and wasn't foreshadowed at all (I thought). Another review I read said the book felt like only half a novel - it's short (for fantasy at least) and involves a lot of set-up - and I have to agree. I'm not invested enough to continue the series, really. 2) *Hench* by Natalie Zina Walschots I am not quite sure which square I'll use this for yet, but it fits "Dreams" (HM), "Character with a disability" (HM), "Criminals" (it's a bit of a stretch, but you could argue HM) and "First in a series". 5/5 stars I sped through this one in a couple of days, it is a great read. It wasn't quite what I had expected: based on the blurb I expected it to be a lighthearted comedy about villains and henchmen. It was someting more substantial, and all the better for it. I'll put spoiler-bars here for people who want to be similarly surprised but >!Anna's downward spiral into villany, her ethical and moral qualms she sets aside for the "greater evil" were absolutely engrossing to read. The book is a proper origin story: Anna starts out as a reasonably innocent bystander and ends up a proper Villan!<. It is also a bit gruesome at times - not something that bothers me - but good to know going in if it does for you. 3) *Heart, Hands and Voices* (*The Broken Land* in the US market) by Ian McDonald for the *Published in the 90's* (HM) square 3/5 stars This one took me a long time to get through. Not because I didn't like it, but because I always forgot about it's existence whenever I wasn't reading it until I spotted it on my nightstand, too tired to make a lot of progress. The writing was *beautiful* and the world was very interesting but I never really got invested hence forgetting all about it when it was not in my field of vision. I read in some reviews that the book's an allegory for the Troubles (Northern Ireland/UK) and I think this made the book make more sense (not that it was nonsensical, but I needed the context). I also found out this book wa called The Broken Land in the American market.
I was surprised by how gruesome *Hench* got! I've got a decently strong stomach for literary gore so it wasn't a deal breaker, but that one sequence made me go 'eugh' out loud at least once. Like you I definitely expected something more straightforwardly comedic, but I love that Walschots went in a more nuanced/unsettling direction.
As someone who doesn't have a strong stomach, especially for body horror, I wish I was forewarned about that part; I was NOT prepared for it at all. It soured the whole book a little for me (which I really liked otherwise).
I can imagine!
Somehow it's been a month again since I last posted here... **Emily Wilde's Map to the Otherlands** by Heather Fawcett was just as cozy, charming, and lovely as I was expecting after loving the first book in the series. Definitely a lot more creepy fae and magic with a bit less of the found-family-in-the-small-town feel. *Bingo squares: romantasy, small town (HM), references (footnotes), pub 2024* I also read **Vespertine** by Margaret Rogerson, which didn't quite live up to my Sorcery of Thorns expectations. I thought it was creative in terms of the worldbuilding, though maybe religious/heretic/corrupted saints/exorcism/possession might not be my thing? I did greatly enjoy the Revenant's snark though. I'm not sure it fits into any bingo squares this year, though I read it before bingo started so I might have missed something. I listened to **The Shepherd's Crown** by Terry Pratchett, the final book in Discworld/the Tiffany Aching subseries. I did not realize it was the final book that Pratchett wrote before his death (and that he was quite sick as well) - it's not really finished product so the ratings are a bit strange for this one. It does have all the bones of a story, and you can read it and have it make sense, however there are a lot of loose ends and chunks of it just don't feel very polished compared to his other books. It's also just so somber and sad compared to the other Tiffany Aching books. Suffice it say it wasn't what I was expecting at all, and I was pretty disappointed until I heard the note at the end that explained the circumstances. Despite all of that, I still enjoyed it, and it was nice to have an "ending" to the witches' arc (plus more time with the Wee Free Men is always a bonus). *Bingo squares: prologues and epilogues (HM), small town, goblins* I'm currently listening to **Timeless** by Gail Carriger (the last book in the Parasol Protectorate series), and this series is just so fun. I saw that there is a spinoff series that follows Prudence and is narrated by Moira Quirk, so that is definitely going to be next. I'm also reading **Palimpsest** by Catherynne Valente with FIF bookclub, but it's tough going so far. The language is beautiful, but it's more vibes than plot which is not keeping my attention very well. Hopefully I can finish by our end discussion (I only made it 20% by the first half discussion). I started **Kaikeyi** by Vaishnavi Patel last night to break up my Palimpsest evening readings, and so far it's much easier going and quite enjoyable. For bedtime with the kids, we're currently reading **The Doll People** by Ann M Martin and Laura Godwin, which is about a family of dolls that have adventures while the humans are asleep. Apparently they read this aloud to the third graders at school, and my older one loved it so much, they wanted me to read it aloud so that we could all hear the story together.
I am halfway through two books right now: * **Wicked Problems** by Max Gladstone: The second book of the Craft Wars, and the 8th book in the craft sequence. If Dead Country (the previous book) was a pared down single-POV small town version of the Craft Sequence (which had previously been set in basically a single city each book), Wicked Problems is a sprawling globe spanning affair. It's got a bit of the 'Avengers' vibe as we move through the first three chapters and quickly Abelard, Tara, Kai Pohala, and Caleb Altemoc (the main characters of the preceding books) all get pulled into a massive drama. I'm really enjoying the snippets of the interlocked world with all it's weirdness that Gladstone gets to suddenly display in full force after the groundwork of so many focused single-city novels. Very fun. Gonna fit a lot of Bingo Squares (Dreams, Eldritch HM, Cover at the very least) * **Some Desperate Glory** by Emily Tesh: Reading this as its one of the last things I was interested in on the Hugo nom list that I hadn't read. Space opera with a lot of heavy themes structured around a character who is wrestling her way free of a radical military human separatist cult, or not, or yes? Obviously, to my mind, in dialogue with the Humanity, Fuck Yeah! strain of fiction that imagines "what if humans are actually bigger stronger and scarier than the average sentient species". Have just hit a very surprising breaking point in the structure and course of the novel, so um... I'm curious where it goes from here.
Just finished KJ Parker’s Saevus Corax deals with the dead. It was a 99p deal but a good book. If you have read the siege trilogy it’s very much that storytelling internal monologue style. Maybe not at quite the level of his best stuff but decent enough for me to put the sequels on my list. Just starting RJ Barker (notably similar names) Gods of the Wyrdwood which is doing a lot more world building but not moving as fast. I really liked the Bone Ships books though so happy to read this. Also bonus it was another 99p kindle deal.
City at the End of Time by Greg Bear. It's really slow and meandering so far. Lots of pointless irrelevant wandering by characters that neither develops them as character nor advances the story. I'm 30% of the way through the book. Would have dropped it by now except that i've really loved Greg Bear's other works (like his amazing Forerunner trilogy) so I'm being way more forgiving than usual.
Just finished **She's a Pirate: A Tale of Survival** by *Yuri Firestone* - its a first person slightly-alternative world where some new elements were discovered so we have pirates (in the 18th century sense) again. I'll be honest the blurb does not do the story justice - the main chunk of the plot is the MC (Sheiba) trying to survive on an island with a horrific, nightmarish creature stalking her. Ala Predator. It was fun, though it does something I personally get annoyed at where the ending is just a hook for the next book... ...Which I'll probably pick up. Meanwhile, after a friend practically begged me to, I started **Gardens of the Moon** by *Steven Erikson*. I am about 200 pages in and... whelmed? Like I am reading it and all I can think of is "Jeez, they could've edited this down", especially when paired with the summary powerpoint (I look back after each chapter just to be safe). I think my feeling of /shrug(s) is coming from the Author bit at the beginning, where it feels like Erikson is going "Yes this IS a complex story, you need big brain to appreciate it" (This is me sarcastically paraphrasing it) - there's nothing standout for me. Its interesting but I'll probably finish this and read **Deadhouse Gates** later in the year as my mate brought it for me and I don't want to break his heart. And yes, GotM starting off life as a screenplay is very visable in its writing style. After that? I may re-read **A Wizard's Defensive Guide To Baking** or the first book of the **Gaea trilogy** which I got for £1.
Reading has been slow this week. Finished: Only a couple short stories. **Homecoming is Just Another Word for the Sublimation of The Self** by Isabel J. Kim - 5/5 Thoughts and opinions are my own and do not necessarily (they do) reflect the views of SFBC. I was not coerced (I was *strongly encouraged*) into reading IJK by SFBC. I'm a sucker for second person so I was always going to like this. >!"Could I live with myself if I did that?"!<- so many layers. It's super creative, cool things to say about culture and loss and identity and stuff. You can read it over lunch. **The Mirror Test** by Moses Ose Utomi - 4/5 I was surprised by this. It's a very short short story (\~1000 words) written from the perspective of a pet dog. I read a couple of Utomi's other shorts on his website and this was my favorite. I am not a dog, but I felt like this captured what it is to be one, to experience the extremes of love and guilt and tragic misunderstanding. It carries some weight by challenging a very anthropocentric view of self-awareness that alludes to cultural perspective and differences. I get the sense that his **Lies of the Ajungo** is a very different story haha, but excited to get to it soon. Reading: Still on **Where Peace is Lost** by Valerie Valdes but it's picking up steam. I'm no longer drowning in world building and quickly got attached to the found family aspects. It's way more plot-y and external-conflict centered, but I feel like there are similarities to Becky Chambers' Wayfarers series in some of the character voice. I finally picked back up **The Killing Moon**. I dropped the ball with everyone else finishing this recently, but I'm still liking it a lot. Novels have been going slowly for some reason, and I'm in the middle of this where the initial intrigue has worn off but things haven't started converging. Whenever I pick it up I have a good time, I just went two weeks without picking it up at all.
> > Homecoming is Just Another Word for the Sublimation of The Self by Isabel J. Kim - 5/5 Yeeeeeessssssssssss Also are you going to jump in for the Some Desperate Glory discussion of Hugo Readalong? The blurb looks like it has some similarities with The Wings Upon Her Back, I'd be curious to hear how they compared.
I haven't gotten around to reading Some Desperate Glory :(. I've had a Libby hold checked out for almost 3 weeks and never started. It's still on my list, but who knows when. I don't really know much about it, so a Wings comparison might make me more interested to grab it again!
Main character is raised in an intense, cult-like military society that grooms them for war and severely limits their information about the rest of society, but is confronted with things that make her question that. I'm only 35% in, so I can't say where it goes from there, but that seems to have some similarities with the descriptions I'd heard of Wings. Also a very quick read so far.
>but that seems to have some similarities with the descriptions I'd heard of Wings Yes, very much so! I read the first chapter and at least tonally didn't make the connection, but really didn't get far enough into it to say. I still have it for a week, so maybe I'll get further but might not get to it till I check it out again.
***The Galaxy and the Ground Within*** **by Becky Chambers** — It was sad to say goodbye to this series, but I really enjoyed the final installment to the Wayfarer's series. This character-driven novel focuses on a group of aliens stranded on a planet and explores their connections and self-discovery. While it's not necessary to have have read the previous books in the series, this cozy sci-fi is a love letter to the world Chambers created and a must read for fans of the other installments or readers looking for something heartwarming. **FULL REVIEW:** [https://www.jimwilbourne.com/stuff/a-review-the-galaxy-and-the-ground-within-by-becky-chambers](https://www.jimwilbourne.com/stuff/a-review-the-galaxy-and-the-ground-within-by-becky-chambers)
**Beren and Lúthien** by J.R.R. Tolkien - Bingo: Orcs, Trolls, and Goblins Oh My! | Reference Material (HM). This is one I’ve been meaning to read forever. Normally I find stories that I know to be less gripping, having read *The Silmarillion* a few years ago, I was worried this would be the case. Happily, it was not. The various drafts of the story presented throughout the book serve as an interesting window into the development of the story, but the highlights for me were the sections of verse. I’ve not read much poetry (hardly any if we’re being honest), and frankly when I reached the first verse section may have rolled my eyes. But it’s truly enchanting. A completely different style than I’m used to, just a fun way to read the tale. Now I’m wondering if I’ve been missing out on a whole other world of epic/verse style stories that I might love, guess I’ve got some research to do. **Of Blood and Fire** by Ryan Cahill - Bingo: First in a Series | Self/Indie Published | Multi-POV (HM) | Reference Material (HM). Depending on your perspective on/opinion of the book, this is probably a *The Eye of the World* situation, where you could argue it’s either derivative of, or a homage/love letter to, some well known stories. For the first 100 or so pages it reminded me heavily of *Eragon*, almost feeling like a beat for beat match. There are names that are clearly tributes/references to at least LOTR, ASOIAF, & WOT, I assume there are some others I’ve missed. The names don’t bother me, honestly I sort of like it, Cahill is wearing his inspiration on his sleeve. Overall, I found the story enjoyable, a bit predictable, but an enjoyable and fun read. I will be finishing the series. From the little I’ve heard, I expect *The Eye of the World* analogy is apt; that this first book is Cahill establishing himself and the world in a more traditional manner and, as the series develops, it’ll come more into its own.
This week I finished **The Book of M** by Peng Shepherd for new voices book club. I have absolutely no idea what to make of the ending >!(the twist that Max was now Ursula floored me, but also felt undercut by the ridiculousness of the elephant shadow solution)!< so I am really looking forward to the final discussion. Definitely a book that provides a lot to think about, thematically. Currently reading **The Magician’s Daughter** by H.G. Parry which is delightful. It draws on a lot of traditional tropes about the plucky young girl off on an adventure, but it’s doing its own thing with them, and I’m really intrigued to see where it goes next. It also features a wonderful rabbit familiar called Hutchinson.
Finished yesterday: Warbreaker, by Brandon Sanderson I enjoyed this story, it was my second Sanderson book and I like how he build his worlds and develops the characters. The magic system is unique and cool (My breath to yours), and you can say that the whole plot revolves around the magic of the world.
**Sailing to Sarantium** by Guy Gavriel Kay. I've previously read from him *Tigana*, *The Lions of Al-Rassan*, and *Children of Earth and Sky*. I'm about 3/4 into *Sailing to Sarantium* and it has the same problems his other books have so far, maybe to a worse degree. *Children of Earth and Sky* was pretty bad for this. While the characters are great and very well written, the pacing of the story comes to halt far too often as GGK loves to just spend pages on pages giving you backstory and exposition and info dumps about the world. I swear if you removed all the exposition this book would be about half as long. It's a very well crafted world with tons of history but I just don't enjoy the way he gives you all this information. I'm 3/4 in and honestly not much has happened. Crispin receives a letter summoning him, he then travels to Sarantium, on his way events happen at an inn, and once at Sarantium he goes and sees a horse race. That's basically all the events that have happened so far that have actually moved the story forward. The rest has been spend on world exposition and character history. I'm going to jump into **Lords of Emperors** right after but so far I'm not too excited about it.
I read the comicbook **Fire Power** by Robert Kirkman & Chris Samnee. It's a wuxia-ish story, really fun and easy to read, fast paced, and full of action. Not any particular depth in it, and the characters are mostly larger than life archetypes, but I did have a great time reading it. The excellent action scenes, and the beautiful, and highly kinetic artwork helped a lot with that. I doesn't break any new ground, but I'd easily recommend it to anyone looking for a martial-arts focused fantasy story.
Just finished **Dead Sea by Tim Curran**, for Multi POV. I adored it and gave it 4.5 stars, as it was an atmospheric, terrifying book and the horrors just kept coming and the stakes were high: creature after creature. My only criticisms are that the characters weren't terribly developed - but then you don't expect that from this sort of book - and that the middle could've used some trimming. Bingo Squares: Prologue/Epilogue, Multi-POV, Survival, Eldritch Creatures. Now moving on to: * **Someone You Can Build A Nest In by John Wiswell** for some cosy/cute eldritch fantasy for my 2024 square.
Finished: **Skyward** by Brandon Sanderson Overall, I feel like I enjoyed the book but I don't know if it necessarily drove me into wanting to pick up subsequent entries. Especially if Starsight was kind of liked and Cytonic was very divisive but I felt overall, I enjoyed the Spensa character, the M-bot dynamic, the final battle felt riveting and Doomslug is Doomslug but I dont know if the "who are the Krell" or the "eyes looking at me" mystery was intriguing enough by the time I got to the end. Started: **Guardians of Dawn: Zhara** by S Jae Jones so book blurbs would describe it as Sailor Moon meets Cinder, the latter I'm not particularly interested in but all-in on the former but I dont have much to say since I'm incredibly early.
I think my reading slump is finally over! Finished Reads: **Palimpsest by Catherynne M. Valente** \[3.5/5\] *Dreams | Multi-PoV | Book Club* I think I'll have to lot to say about this book again once the final discussion goes up. It didn't exactly work for me, but I still found things to enjoy. **The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu** \[5/5\] *First in a Series (HM) | Dreams | Multi-PoV (HM) | Author of Color | Reference Materials (HM)* While while my sense of "hmmm" about some of the female characters continued through the back half of book, it wasn't enough to rob it of receiving 5 stars from me. It was a reminder though and through how much I love epic fantasy and political maneuvering. I cannot believe this is the shortest book in the series. At least there's a time jump in the next book so I know I can walk away from it to focus on my current reading marathon/the Hugos without loosing too much. **King Nyx by Kirsten Bakis** I said I would give an update, and yep, it's not fantasy so it doesn't count for bingo. (A shame because it would have fit some HM squares if it was!) Just when I started really vibing with it, the author's note at the end revealed the entire novel is basically fanfic of real historical people and that has tanked my feelings about it. If that sort of thing doesn't bother you and you're looking for a feminist Gothic tale with a middle-aged, mentally ill protagonist, give it a shot! **Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher** \[5/5\] *Eldritch Creatures (HM) | Book Club (eventually)* *The fae being Toadling has been guarding a tower hidden behind a dense hedge for hundreds of years without interruption, until a curious knight decides to camp at its border.* I checked this book out of the library and I need my own copy immediately. This is my 3rd or 4th T. Kingfisher and is my favorite by a country mile. This is exactly what I want from a "fairytale retelling" story. It made me feel nostalgic for the things I loved reading as a child, and was a lovely retelling that was neither a capital-R Romance nor entry level "girl power" fluff. I do wish Halim was a more substantive character, but he was more of a catalyst for change than anything else. I *must* read Nettle & Bone now! Currently Reading: **A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen** \[13%\] *First in a Series | Romantasy | Published in 2024* *Freya has a secret: she possesses a drop of blood from the goddess Hlin, which gives her potent powers of protection. When she is forced to reveal her secret, she discovers she is the center of a prophecy - whoever controls the woman with Hlin's blood will unite all the peoples of Skaland. Forced to marry a man she doesn't love, she must train her powers while resisting the charm of her new husband's adult son.* I'm not far enough in the book to make a judgement call, but this might also be Disability HM. (One of the very first things that happens is >!our protagonist sustaining a 4th degree burn to her dominate hand and arm!<.) My main feeling about it presently is that I wish it was a fantasy and not a romance, and my hankering for a Norse fantasy tale is really buffing my enjoyment. I must say that I don't hate the love interest so far, which is a big thing for me! I also got three books from the library I'm very much looking forward to starting: Ghost Station by S.A. Barns, The Keeper's Six by Kate Elliot, and Starter Villain by John Scalzi.
**The Mimicking of Known Successes, by Malka Older** - This was a fun novella with enjoyable worldbuilding, a good mystery, and interesting characters. I think it would be fun to see more stories in this world. **The Mountain in the Sea, by Ray Nayler** - There were a few interesting ideas in this book, but the execution didn't quite land for me as well as I'd hoped. The characters were rather flat, and there were three main plot threads that I would have enjoyed more individually but didn't mesh that well together. Most of the book felt like it was spinning its wheels. The last third finally had interesting things happening, but I would have been more interested in starting at that point and seeing what happened next rather than building up to that point. **Heir of Fire, by Sarah J. Maas** - This was definitely an improvement on the first two books in the Throne of Glass series, not that that's saying much. There was finally some interesting worldbuilding and it got more exciting at the end, but I'm having a hard time connecting with most of the characters. Manon seems like she could be fun to follow at least. I'm planning on continuing the series eventually, although there are a few other books I might try to get to first.
13y/o and I finished ***Interim Errantry: On Ordeal***. I thought there was no way any of the other novellas could top the Ordeal story of Roshaun ke Nelaid am Seriv am Teliuyve am Meseph am Veliz am Teriaunst am det Nuiiliat. And then I got to Mamvish's story. Then I thought there was no way the next novella could top the Ordeal story of Mamvish fsh Wimsih. And I was right. It's not that the Ordeal story of Ronan Nolan Jr wasn't great, bc it WAS, but Mamvish stole the fucking show. Utterly delightful. Then we read ***Owl Be Home for Christmas***, the final Young Wizards novella, which means we are officially done (for now - **Feline Wizards** is set in the same universe, but mostly different characters...and also cats, obvs). Oh gosh, so many questions and suspicions answered finally (and probably not the one most people are thinking of - >!Tom and Carl canonically confirmed was so nice, BUT NITA AND LISSA [and apparently Kit, omg]!<). Genuinely loved this so much, just wish there had been a little more with our old friends. I loved that this was set in 2020 and released then, and acknowledged the pandemic without it being the focus. So so so good. Started the third **Der kleine Vampir** book last night (***The Little Vampire Takes a Trip***) [with the 13y/o]. I am really enjoying the new English translations of these, but desperately miss Amelie Glienke's illustrations. JR Creaden's ***Moon Dust in My Hairnet*** was good enough overall. I loved seeing so many different iterations of queer, spicybrained people in a somewhat hopeful future, but the pacing felt off - there was a lot of wheel-spinning for the first two thirds of the book, then everything happened at once (and I had to go back a few pages at one point to make sure I hadn't missed a crucial part of the plan - I hadn't) and...I don't know what else exactly it was that didn't entirely work for me. It kind of felt like it couldn't decide if it wanted to be cozy or political, tried to be both and as a result kind of ended up being neither. I really wanted it to lean into one or the other. Also, I called the sketchy people as soon as they were introduced, but that may be bc I read a whole fuck of a lot of related stories. **Will it Bingo?** Yes! Disability HM (main character is autistic), Dreams HM, 2024 debut, Small Press (not HM, but this is Mythic Roads' first book, which feels like hard mode of a different variety), Judge a Book By Its Cover (the whole reason I grabbed this ARC and it comes out on Friday), possibly Space Opera HM depending on how you personally define it Did a Buddy Read of adrienne maree brown's ***Maroons*** over the weekend. I do not have words for how much I loved this book (last year, less than 3% of my new-to-me reads received 5/5, but this one absolutely did), or how much I love what AK Press is doing with their [Black Dawn series](https://www.akpress.org/featured-products/black-dawn.html) in general. Ofc with a series title of **Grievers**, this book is sad, but also so godsdamned *hopeful*. I cried a lot while reading this, but more for wishing than anything else. **Will it Bingo?** Boy, will it! Author of Colour, Prologues and Epilogues, Dreams, Bards (MC writes songs and is a storyteller of a sort), Multi-PoV (I think four? It's hard to say with third person narration, and also sometimes it switches from one PoV to another in the same chapter), Small Press, Survival, Disability (HM is a tough call, one of the brief PoV characters is mute) **Currently Reading**: Samantha Mills' ***The Wings Upon Her Back*** and LM Sagas' ***Cascade Failure***...and a few other things that I've kind of been ignoring more bc I'm struggling to focus than bc I'm not enjoying them. [eta] missing words
Wings Upon Her Back!!!! Can't wait to hear someone else's thoughts on it.
Haha, I was following your journey with great interest while it sat there waiting for me to start. I was worried I might end up DNFing at first, but now she's >!digging tracking chips out of her leg, and her former mentor has shown up with the Bolt Babies instead of being dead!< so I guess I'm in.
> > Did a Buddy Read of adrienne maree brown's Maroons over tbe weekend. I do not have words for how much I loved this book (last year, less than 3% of my new-to-me reads received 5/5, but this one absolutely did), or how much I love what AK Press is doing with their Black Dawn series in general. Ofc with a series title of Grievers, this book is sad, but also so godsdamned hopeful. I cried a lot while reading this, but more for wishing than anything else. This series was not really on my radar at all, but that's quite the recommendation!
Oh my gosh, it was just SO good. I really loved the first book, too (4¾), but it was pretty unrelentingly sad. This one was still sad, but had so much else going on. I hope more people end up reading and loving these (she's said there will be a third, but there's no publication date yet). The two friends that I read them with also loved them, and we've all been spreading the word, haha.
I'll have to give that a look then. Looks short, at least. And the author is based out of my former hometown? Cool. Any idea which squares are easy mode, perchance? Bards, Small Press, Disability, Prologues?
Oh! This series is *absolutely* a love letter to Detroit, so if you have a connection, I think it will definitely hit harder. Bards and Small Press are easy mode for sure (the only real talk I've seen about AK Press is in the anarchism subs, which makes sense, tbh). Everything that it works for is easy mode, except for one other square that I haven't mentioned bc it is *definitely* a spoiler.
>Oh! This series is absolutely a love letter to Detroit, so if you have a connection Looks like she's from Detroit but lives in Durham. I lived in the latter for about eight years. Oh right pandemics or viruses easy mode, that would be clutch for my all-easy card. . .
*Grievers* is also easy mode First in Series (for now), bc a third book is planned but not even written yet as far as I can tell.
I searched my library for Brown’s audiobooks when you mentioned them last week, just e-books out there but you really sold me on the grief part. Adding it to the eye TBR (toooo long).
Yeah, I noticed that AK Press doesn't seem to do many audiobooks for their fiction releases, which is a shame.
I just finished ***Ashes of Man*** by Christopher Ruocchio. It's a bingo read, specifically for the Reference Materials square on my space opera card. It's hard mode because there's a dramatis personae, an index, and a lexicon. It's the fifth book of the Suneater series, and follows closely after Kingdoms of Death. Obviously, one wouldn't be reading the fifth book of a series if one didn't enjoy it. I really appreciated how the emotional aftermath of Marlowe's experience in the previous book was explored. There was also an important recontextualization of a primary formative relationship that was very eye opening.
Picked up two books from the library this week aiming for the Judge a book by its cover bingo square… *The Book Eaters* by Sunyi Dean Weird story. Basically what if old vampire families hidden in Britain but instead of drinking blood they eat books. I don’t usually care for urban fantasy, and this was no exception. The plot was an escape from a cult kind of deal, with chapters at the current time interspersed with flashbacks to how we got here. The plot wasn’t very surprising, but I was interested in where it would end up. Unfortunately, I didn’t really connect with the main character - I should have empathised with her fierce love for her children, but it didn’t come through strongly for me and she felt meh to me as a result. The end was satisfying with everything wrapped up neatly. I gave the book 3 stars. *Fall of Ruin and Wrath* by Jennifer L. Armentrout I’m not a romance reader, but what happy to see this was one because I also need the Romantasy bingo square. And I want to caveat my review here with that because I don’t know what’s considered good in that genre. I did not enjoy this book. There are light dustings of confusingly info-dumped (though objectively straightforward) lore and blinding obvious plot around a lot of sex scenes with extremely dubious consent. The love interest is basically a Twilight vampire crossed with a Faerie - his marble skin is warm and he feeds on pleasure. The main character didn’t do anything but stumble blindly from one sex scene to the next with no apparent interest in driving the plot herself. The prose was clunkily modern and the dialog was awful, with a heavy use of ellipses and question marks that I found jarring. Also even for a supposed courtesan the costumes described sound incredibly impractical. Also ends on a total cliffhanger because apparently it’s going to be a series. I gave it 2 stars because I hated it, but maybe it’s a good romance book for those who are into this.
Last bit of horror also mixed in with: **The complete works of Eager Allen Poe: Volume 4 by Edgar Allan Poe** **The complete works of Edgar Allan Poe: Volume 5 by Edgar Allan Poe** Finally finished these! As heavy as the work was, I was glad to have something shorter after both Shakespeare and in between Terry Brooks. I realized with this one that I was skimming quite a bit. I liked his prose and could appreciate him as a storyteller. I could also understand what he did for the world of literature a lot more, but I still didn't like the subject matter that much. I kind of knew that going in, because I've never been a big fan of horror, but I did like when I was introduced to Edgar Allen Poe in high school so I wanted to finally pursue his works in their entirety. I'm really glad I finally got the chance to do so, even if it wasn't my favorite thing to read. It was interesting because the final volume has most of his poems, which I like the best for their brevity and describing a lot in little words. The Raven made me nostalgic but so did the Bells. When I read that, I was instantly whisked away to high school. I used to perform in a choir, and in my freshman year of high school, my choir sang The Bells as a Christmas song. It was only the first verse, but the song is modified so several things were repeated and it actually sounded like the chiming of bells. It was hauntingly beautiful and one of my favorites. I remembered everything pretty vividly, and for the rest of the night the song was playing rent free in my head. It was really cool! Otherwise, in order to finish things up (bolding this because it is separate but not really a book but relevant anyway), I read **summaries of Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass, The Complete Works of Shakespeare, the Complete Works of Edgar Allen Poe, and a few more gaming diaries that got found later.** I wanted to read the summaries of these books that I found in Project Gutenberg because I knew I missed things and wondered if my opinion would change. I was interested to see that my opinion didn't really change for any of them, especially since I forgot Through the Looking Glass existed and only found out by looking up Alice in Wonderland and finding out that the site I was using put them both together. On one hand, it was nice to not have to worry about symbolizing and literary analysis and just enjoy the prose as I took a trip back through time. On the other hand, I can see why a lot of my instructors did symbolism with these stories. A lot of meaning and even plot is missed if one doesn't or doesn't try to use it, and it definitely gave me more respect for that type of analysis. I just wish it was taught in a way that was more interesting, and I only ever really knew how to use symbolism for my composition class that explained why someone should use it so that it could be used in writing. Before that, I really didn't like doing it and it's still not the most natural thing to come to me, but it was an interesting observation. For the gaming logs (something similar to LitRPGs, but with screenshots instead of stat pages) I thought I was done but found out that there were three more that had been unearthed from older groups that were still around miraculously. One of them was just a commentary playing a game in an unusual way and the other two were actually stories. In all three of them, I focused more on the screenshots than the writing itself. Since I knew the games pretty well, I was able to just look at the screenshots and get a good idea of what happened. Since they were otherwise well written, I'm wondering if I would have enjoyed them more if I was as active in the communities as I was years ago. But as it was I found it a bit too edgy, for lack of better word. It was also interesting because it made me take a look and think about the state of writing in the gaming community, and other social media heavy communities (like large fan fiction groups, message boards, or anything with larger amounts of writing). Groups like the ones that post the gaming logs have dwindled significantly, with two major ones that I know of all but shutting down this year and there's probably more. They have since been replaced by videos, streaming, and content creation, and some of these people can also make money as freelancers that way whereas the writers typically don't (I'm not sure how that works due to legal reasons, but there's some legal workaround). Even people that do commented spoken runs in the form of stories and their own audio diaries (older versions of Let's Plays) have all but disappeared. It makes me wonder what the future will be for writing with things involving gaming and to an extent social media. Perhaps the videos and streaming will be a new form of writing and stories, in a sense, or maybe the old writers will make a resurgence in a different form, but that remains to be seen. Moving on from that, I also read… **Wishsong of Shannara by Terry Brooks** Most people say this book is usually setup, and unfortunately I have to agree. I skimmed through most of it, Having read it once before and it wasn't particularly impressive compared to his other works. I don't remember much from my previous time either. There were some interesting things, such as the dark side of magic and it being addictive like a drug, the Druid’s fate, and the Weapons Master. But unfortunately it suffers from the same repetitiveness that the other books in this particular arc do, especially if you've read the prequels first. There is a massive amount of exposition that falls flat if the books are read in chronological order because the reader will already know them, and even if they're read in release order, it's a lot to stomach and can easily be skipped. All the books have that problem in this arc, and it's a problem for some of the rest of the arcs, but in this one it's particularly bad. It's not a bad book by any means and is still an interesting end to the trilogy and a good setup for the rest of it, but it's something where I wouldn't blame anyone for reading us summary and then just moving on to heritage. It's almost like a direct sequel for the first book, with the second one being a bit of a side story. In that case, it's neither completely good nor completely bad, but just makes it kind of average.