booknook

Uagh what a fantastic book

Ambassador Mahit Dzmare arrives in the center of the multi-system Teixcalaanli Empire only to discover that her predecessor, the previous ambassador from their small but fiercely independent mining Station, has died. But no one will admit that his death wasn't an accident—or that Mahit might be next to die, during a time of political instability in the highest echelons of the imperial court.

Now, Mahit must discover who is behind the murder, rescue herself, and save her Station from Teixcalaan's unceasing expansion—all while navigating an alien culture that is all too seductive, engaging in intrigues of her own, and hiding a deadly technological secret—one that might spell the end of her Station and her way of life—or rescue it from annihilation.

As I mentioned in my own DW post yesterday already, this book plays with language, which is so thoroughly enjoyable when you yourself are at least bilingual. I'm sure it's also an absolute delight when one is not multilingual, but I felt very seen in the worldbuilding aspects of this, where things were just transmitted in concepts. I notice this a lot when I'm translating even between English and German, which are so similar but in the end there are still things that are not a natural fit. (And gets only more complicated with other languages, and that doesn't even take culture into account.)

( some spoilers included )

Overall, thoroughly enjoyable and I'll be reading the sequel soon.

quillpunk

Title Lout of Count's Family, Vol. 1
Author: Yu Ryeo-Han
Genre: Fantasy
Review: So back before the translation left Wuxiaworld, I read something like 600 chapters of this novel; the most I've ever read of any webnovel. I really liked it! But once the translation left I didn't keep up with it, and I haven't read it in years. But then Seven Seas published it? And I kind of regret that I got it as an ebook now, because I adore this so much and I want it on my physical shelf but I'm not sure how to justify that when I've already got it. Decisions, decisions.

Anyway, Lout of Count's Family (I'm never going to get used to the new title, LOL) is a korean webnovel in which an ordinary man who just wants to live a simple, lazy life is transmigrated into a lout of a count's son in a fantasy novel. Luckily, he's read the first five volumes of the novel! Unlucky, doom and despair awaits as the continent will descend into war, and the Real Protagonist will, On The Road To Becoming a Hero run across Cale Henituse, the count's lout of a son. And things don't go that great for Cale, then. Ouch.

So in order to prevent this, Kim Roksu, now Cale, decides to skip passed all the fighting and just drag the protagonist to his future side-kicks so they can set out on their adventure and leave him alone.

Somehow things don't turn out that way. Wonder why. Could it... possibly.. have to do with the fact that Cale keeps saving people? No. No, that can't be why. I'm sure it's just... the natural... wings of a butterfly... and all that...

Hahhahah. Cale didn't do this to himself, did he?

No. Of course not. Haha. Ha.

Anyway, so yeah it's all Cale's fault that things then go way off the rails. Things escalate. They escalate so much. Not in the first volume! (Although things certainly get set in motion.) But things will escalate so much, it's hilarious.

I love this novel. I love all the characters. I love the dichotomy of the way the other characters view Cale and his actions vs. what Cale thinks and why he's doing what he's doing. I think the first volume sets up a lot of relationships and misunderstandings and worldbuilding, and I find the development of the various relationships to be lovely. There's so much friendship going around and so many different dynamics, which is really fun (and also scheming. I like the scheming, too.)

I can't wait for more to be released. I am gritting my teeth against the urge to buy both ebooks + paperbacks. Sigh. My poor budget.

honigfrosch

(cross-posted from my journal in full)

In my previous review I mentioned that I read three horror books this year that dealt with occult music, and that they all disappointed me. This novella was number three. Not only was it not that good, it downright pissed me off.

( What the backcover blurb says )

I was willing to be totally sold on this. Instead I got a misogynist, repetitive mess full of clichéd writing.

Warning: I am going to spoil the shit out of this book that you will not want to read after I'm done. My deepest insincere apologies. By the way, some of the quotes are totally Not Safe For Work. And there is mention of sexual assault.

( 1,278 words of relatively unstructured vitriol )

stonepicnicking_okapi

Title: Five Decembers
Author: James Kestrel
Genre: historical mystery/crime/hardboiled detective/noir fiction
Publication date: 2021
Publisher: Hard Case Crime
Length: 429 pages
Content Warnings: graphic violence and description of gruesome murder scene which involved torture, war and prisoner of war camp conditions, one mention of abortion which was so unexpected, so brief, so indirect, and so casual it felt like a slap from an invisible hand (and was never mentioned again! bizarre!), sexual scenes

( Cover - NSFW - Mild nudity and sexual setting and a gun )

Summary: Police detective Joe McGrady is assigned to investigate a homicide in Honolulu, Hawaii in December 1941. The book follows McGrady for five years as he travels from Hawaii to Hong Kong to Tokyo and back on the trail of a violent killer whose crimes it is revealed are part of a conspiracy. Just after McGrady leaves Honolulu, Pearl Harbor is bombed, and he is cut off from return. He is framed for aggravated rape in Hong Kong and put in prison but escapes and makes his way to Tokyo and hides in the home of a Japanese politician related to the original homicide case. He solves the case and returns home (where he's been declared dead for years) and then makes a final decision about his future.

Analysis: It's a hero's journey story. The identity of the killer and the way the killer is connected to the larger world at war is revealed chapter by chapter. The reader follows Joe across the Pacific Ocean from island to island as he puts the case together and deals with the many dangers that confront him and calamities that befall him (and women who he falls in love with and has sex with).

Recommendation: The major drawback about this story is that it is All About a White Dude. That said, I really enjoyed the case itself. I felt it was compelling and well-crafted with just enough twists and surprises. I enjoyed learning about a part of history and a part of the globe which I know very little about. I read almost exclusively detective fiction, and I liked that part of it. I didn't enjoy so much Joe's relationships with women. And when the case is over, I was rolling my eyes about what Joe decides to do. Spoiler alert: love wins all *wah!* It's a long book, so it is a commitment. And at times, I had the sense that Joe was a kind of Detective Forest Gump, so many bad things happen to him, but he manages to survive and keep going. In the beginning, it's a bit like CSI with a gruesome murder scene, and then it's like every police procedural you've ever read with chain-of-command politics and pressure from above. But, still, I would recommend it if you enjoy the hardboiled detective genre. The setting was novel (to me) and the plotting was good, and Joe is likable guy.

hexmix

The ShortBox Comics Fair runs every October and features dozens of original comics from different artists/authors. There's a still a few days left in the fair, so I wanted to rec (and review) my favorites that I've read this year. There are far more featured comics, however, much much more than I was able to afford/get to, so do take a look if it piques your interest!

For additional preview images, you can click on the title of each comic which will take you directly to the ShortBox page, where you can find a few pages from each comic.

Title: Impasto
Author: SJ Miller
Genre: horror
Content Warnings: (from the ShortBox website) Contains violence, cannibalism and other potentially disturbing imagery. Reader discretion advised.

Edgar hasn't been working as Lord Sharpe's valet for very long, and while the Lord himself seems kind enough, his walls are hung with strange and gruesome paintings that fill most visitors with unease. This on its own might be easy enough to ignore, were it not for an unsettling experience with one particular painting, which leads to equally unsettling changes to Edgar's body. In order to stop what is happening to him, Edgar must appease the paintings, though their appetites seem to be growing ever more voracious.

( review/rec behind the cut )

Title: Home by the Rotting Sea
Author: Otava Heikkilä
Genre: fantasy
Content Warnings: (from the ShortBox website) violence, sexual themes and imagery, miscarriage, SA

After a transgression by their King, Ilta and Laulu are taken from his harem and offered up as tribute to the Väki, a race of giants that the human women initially find both mysterious and fearsome. Life with a fickle and uncaring king has led them to expect little else from the Väki, however the longer the women remain among them, and the more they learn and are allowed to heal, the more this impression changes.

I really can't do this one justice with a summary. It's beautiful and heart-wrenching and hopeful, and I cannot recommend it enough.

( review/rec behind the cut )

Title: Blade of the Fane
Author: Theo Stultz
Genre: fantasy
Content Warnings: n/a

Osric, the heir to a long line of mystics sworn to protect the realm from all manner of evil beasts, is the least suited to take over after his grandmother dies: he has no magic, nor the ability to see the evil he's been charged with fighting; he barely even believes in it. But the Queen has ordered that Osric oversee that year's Culling; rumors abound that a beast more evil than all others prowls the kingdom, and these rumors eerily echo his grandmother's final warning. Fortunately for Osric, the arrival of an old friend means he will not have to face the Culling alone.

( review/rec behind the cut )

anehan

Title: The Egyptian: fifteen books on the life of Sinuhe the physician, c. 1390-1335 BC
Original title: Sinuhe egyptiläinen: viisitoista kirjaa lääkäri Sinuhen elämästä n. 1390-1335 e.Kr.
Author: Mika Waltari
Translator: English translation by Naomi Walford
Year: published in 1945 (Finnish original), 1949 (English translation)
Genre: historical fiction
Content warnings: period-typical slavery; ahistorical racism, racist language (by modern standards); non-graphical depictions of violence

I, Sinuhe, the son of Senmut and of his wife Kipa, write this. I do not write it to the glory of the gods of Kem, for I am weary of gods, nor to the glory of the Pharaohs, for I am weary of their deeds. ... For my own sake only I write this.

Thus begins Mika Waltari's The Egyptian, one of the most beloved novels in the history of Finnish literature. The Egyptian is an autobiography by a fictional physician called Sinuhe. Sinuhe was born during the reign of Pharaoh Amehotep III, in the same year as Amenhotep's son, who would later become Pharaoh Ekhnaton. He writes his memoir in exile, during the reign of Pharaoh Horemheb, the last of the 18th dynasty Pharaohs.

( Mild spoilers )

The Egyptian is a pessimistic novel. Waltari wrote it in the span of a few months just after the end of the Second World War, and the effect of the events of the preceding decades are clear in it. Waltari has admitted to using places and events in the novel as allegories for places and events in modern Europe. The novel is a smorgasbord of corruption, religious zealotry, mob rule, and war crimes. It's full of cruelty, though it never gets very explicit in its depictions.

However, The Egyptian is also merciful in its depiction of human nature. It's true that no one is a hero in it, not even Sinuhe himself. Everyone, from the pacifist Ekhnaton to the slaves and poor labourers, is capable of great cruelty. Often, the people with good intentions are even worse than the selfish ones. And yet, the novel, through the character of Sinuhe, also shows understanding and sympathy for these people, even when they act in deplorable ways.

The Egyptian has been translated into many languages. However, many of the translations have apparently used the English edition as their source, rather than the original Finnish, which is a shame. The English translation was based on the abridged Swedish edition and was actually even further abridged. Not all of the editions have been translated from English, though. The German edition, for example, has been translated from Finnish and is unabridged.

I myself read the original Finnish edition, so I can't offer any in-depth comments on any translations, though at first glance Walford's English translation seems good (aside from the abridging). There is also a full English translation available online, though I presume it's an unlicensed one. A commenter on Reddit called it an improvement in general, but said that it felt clunkier than Walford's translation.

In my opinion, The Egyptian is fully deserving of its fame. It's a vivid portrayal of life in Ancient Egypt and the Near East -- Waltari definitely did his research, though he also took artistic liberties with historical facts -- and though it's pessimistic, that's part of its appeal. It's a brick of a book, sure, but it's a rewarding and surprisingly easy read. If you can read it unabridged, I recommend that, but I think even the abridged editions are most likely worth reading.

(Mod! Could we have a genre tag for historical fiction, please?)

apachefirecat

Title: Bloody Fool for Love
Author: William Ritter
Genre: Supernatural/Fantasy/TV
Review:

( Read more... )

phantomtomato

Title: A Glass of Blessings
Author: Barbara Pym
Year: 1958

Our delightful first-person narrator is Wilmet Forsyth, a 1950s middle-class London housewife in her thirties. Pym takes the basic premise of boredom with one’s marriage amidst a backdrop of neighborhood gossip and makes it a compelling piece of character work as we’re exposed to each player and their dramas through Wilmet’s judgmental eyes.

I want to be clear: Wilmet is more enjoyable for her pettishness. Pym threads the needle between her narrator expressing biases and the narrative recognizing those biases—you’re never really expected to agree with Wilmet’s verdict on any of her acquaintances in order to proceed with the story. What I think helps, though, is that you probably will—while Wilmet is not a terribly accurate judge of character, she is a funny one and has sharp insights, and some critiques (of a minister’s spending or a man’s obsession with his car) will probably land. She’s like a friend who always brings good gossip, but who you know will gossip about you in turn. These are not unpleasant relationships, if you mind your expectations!

We meet Wilmet when she is looking for some occupation. Not employment, she happily scorns that, but she is bored and wants to fill her days with more than shopping. This leads her to become involved with her parish community (she attends a church called St. Luke’s, and the majority of the extended cast are here) and, at the same time, she connects with her best friend’s brother, Piers. Piers and the St. Luke’s crowd end up connecting in unexpected ways, especially as Wilmet introduces more people to the St. Luke’s network—she recommends a housekeeper for the rectory, which cements her ties to the three clergymen who serve the church.

The strength of this novel is in having so many interesting characters for Wilmet to observe. Objectively, Wilmet does very little. She goes places and talks to people, but the romances and deaths and controversies really belong to the wider cast. She manages a crush on Piers, but her giddiness shows largely in her telling of her own feelings, not in any dramatic actions to express that. Pym handles a dozen overlapping plotlines beautifully, and they all feel like authentic experiences for people in those roles during that era. If you enjoy careful observations of behavior and personality, or you like comedies of manners, this book is a great option.

quillpunk

Title: Crimson Halo
Author: Daniel May
Genre: Paranormal Romance
CW: The main character has an unnamed mental illness, which includes graphic descriptions/depictions of hallucinations and withdrawal from the meds he needs but has run out of due to the pharmacy not having them in stock.
Review: I didn't expect to like this book nearly as much as I did. *Crimson Halo* is a paranormal M/M vampire romance, with insta-romance and a vampire that's right up my alley. I haven't been into the vampire genre in a long time, and the last few tries I made at reading MM vampire romance did not pan out at all; I think I DNF'd both, and I just really didn't have any expectations picking this up—but I was really pleasantly surprised. The writing style works incredibly well for me, and the portrayal of vampires is a nice break from the angsty, brooding vampires I remember.

I just adore the side characters in this, in particular the relationship the vampire has with his familiar, and the relationship he has with his former familiar. It becomes clear during the course of the book that the reason for his emotional changes—going from a cold, distant vampire to a person aching for companionship and love—is in large part because of his former familiar, with whom he had a familial relationship. He’s a little emotionally constipated about it! But honestly, without her laying the groundwork, the vampire never would have been in a place where he would fall in insta-love.

(Yes, it’s been a minute since I read this and I’ve forgotten everybody’s names.)

In addition to the romance, there’s a mystery. Someone’s killing humans, and in a city with vampires that are more or less under control, who could it be? I clocked it. I figured it out. It wasn’t super hard, the clues were there—but honestly, I like this a lot more than mysteries that don’t give clues at all. (Tossing shade.) And I think the resolution to the mystery makes sense.

The romance is lovely, and the ending feels sound. I like the various friendships that are in the book; I think this succeeded very well at making it clear there exists something in this world beyond just the main characters’ relationship, which is cool!

Overall, I had a really good time with this book, and I definitely recommend it! :D

jajalala

Title: Endurance
Author: Elaine Burns
Genre: Science fiction

What if you were stranded. On a spaceship. Four light years from Earth. With a hundred tourists. And you are the captain. Then things start to go wrong. Welcome aboard the Endurance. It’ll be the trip of a lifetime.

Full blurb here for those who like to read the blurb:

For five years, Captain Lyn Randall of the Endurance has ferried tourists around the solar system for Omara Tours. Now, as she takes in the rings of Saturn for the last time, she’s looking forward to indulging in simpler pleasures like flying antique airplanes over her childhood home in Montana.

The routine tour becomes anything but when a mysterious phenomenon flings Endurance and two other ships into the Rigil Kentaurus system, four light years from Earth. Stranded, with no way to get back.

Lyn’s first duty is to rescue survivors from the other ships before she faces the most daunting task of her life, much less her career. She has to control her fears and grief to lead an untested crew and panicked guests on a quest for a new home planet or risk a return to their solar system that could kill them all. Unfortunately, Lyn’s past with a clandestine military mission gone wrong doesn’t sit well with some guests and crew members, and they don’t quite trust her.

Diana Squires, rescued from another stranded vessel, grudgingly reveals her identity as the daughter of scientists who researched traversable wormholes. To complicate everything, Lyn develops an affection for Diana, something at odds with her responsibilities as captain and her unhealed grief over her own lost loved ones.

Feelings aside, suspicions aside, her own doubts about her ability to lead aside, Lyn has to fight to protect her passengers, her ship, and her heart.

If you like the sound of sci-fi disaster/survival scenarios focused on community-building, leadership, and hope, you may want to check this out

My main emotion while reading this novel was STRESS. Captain Lyn Randall of the spaceship Endurance ends up mysteriously flung through space into an isolated area light years away from any help, effectively trapped in a potentially life-long spaceship survival scenario with her crew and the group of tourists who were onboard. As they were a tourist spaceship intended to dock in a matter of months, they did NOT plan for this kind of long-term survival.

The tech
Luckily, it's the future, so there is tech that makes their survival feasible. However, the story effectively balances the boons and strengths of these new technologies that make a reader feel like "okay, this is how they can survive" while also imposing limitations and costs that keep the tension strong. For example, the ship runs on a Recyc-All system, which takes in mass and reformats the molecules into whatever you need. Super nifty and great in a closed loop system! However, there is inevitable loss in mass as time goes on, and so they have to find a way to harvest raw physical materials from planets they pass by... meaning risky missions trying to pilot tiny ships on and off of a planet surface. Additionally, the Recyc-All is a piece of technology... and sometimes technology fails. In other words, though there's all sorts of advanced technology (even beyond the Recyc-All which I used as an example), the stakes stay high.

The relationships/people
I adored Captain Lyn--she's upstanding, stoic, a bit awkward, but has a core strength that carries her crew and passengers through the harrowing journey. She is forced to make difficult decisions, and although she relies on others in fields she's less well-versed in, ultimately she is the person who has to grapple with and decide the direction they go... without causing mutiny.

One of the things I loved about this book was the focus on the overall community of the spaceship, and how important and valuable it was to consider it as a factor. Obviously the tech and resources sides are intense, but as this is a crew of PEOPLE they have a lot of people's problems... clashing personalities, distrust, but also people reaching out and supporting each other in unique ways. There was a large cast of characters, but I had a strong sense of most of them because they were all unique and adding something specific to the overall tapestry that was this spaceship community. Characters had traits that could be detriments or strengths, and one of Captain Lyn's abilities is to navigate and deploy their talents in a way that allows their strengths to shine.

That's not to say there isn't acknowledgement of how dark humanity can get when in this kind of scenario, but the Endurance is fortunate to have Lyn and most of their ship intact and the ability to spend some time keeping everyone on board happy and hopeful. Tensions grow as time passes and it's clear there is no rescue coming--crew and passengers disagree, distrust festers, and there are relationship/community crises that are just as nail-bitingly tense and high-stakes as the tech crises... but overall by the end it was a book that gave me a hopeful feeling about humanity and its ability to band together.

TL;DR
This book was a rich, delicious sci-fi crisis survival story that particularly focuses on the value of community and teamwork. Though the tech is advanced, strong tension is maintained--as soon as I felt like "Whew, things are stable!" there would be something new that threw things out of balance and required Captain Lyn to pivot and manage a new crisis. Basically, I had to churn through the last fourth of the book or so in one day because I was desperate to see what happened next. A page-turner with a hopeful center!

luvbarryfefe

Title: Party Games (Fear Street Relaunch #2)

Author: R.L. Stine

Genre(s): Young Adult, Horror, Thriller

Content Warnings: Mentions of animal death (taxidermy)

There’s an adage that says: “You can’t go home again.” That’s certainly the case with this Relaunch (AKA reboot) of the original “Fear Street” series by R.L. Stine. Let me tell you, as a teenager, I devoured Stine books by the barrel full. (After I randomly picked up a copy of The Knife at a Scholastic book fair - I’m showing my age here, aren’t I? - I was hooked!) As an adult, I still collect copies of his 90’s novels.

R.L. Stine's books are special to me because they helped develop my imagination and discover the love of reading. When I was a lonely, misunderstood teenager they kept me company and gave me something to wile away the hours I wasn’t in school.

So, I almost feel bad - okay, I do feel bad - saying this book was not good, but I can’t lie. It wasn’t. While Stine’s books have never exactly been Shakespeare, they had an addictive quality to them that kept you wanting to turn the pages to find out how it was all going to end. The only reason I kept turning the pages of Party Games? I wanted it to end so I could be done with it. That’s a huge distinction.

What made this book so unlikeable?

( A few spoilers under the cut )

As a loyal R.L. Stine fan, I have to advise you not to bother with this novel and instead seek out his original series of Fear Street books. Some of his best ones include The Overnight, The Knife, The Wrong Number, Haunted, The Stepsister, The First Evil (Fear Street Cheerleaders), and Fear Hall: The Beginning & Fear Hall: The Conclusion. Enjoy!

honigfrosch

(cross-posted from my journal in full)

Not to take the wind out of my own sails, but I am starting this review with the backcover blurb in part because I have already forgotten the characters' names. Besides, we all know blurbs are often marketing lies, but as a horror fan, I find this instance particularly annoying. If you call Leeds "a powerful new voice in horror" and marvel at "how thoroughly [the debut novel] thrums with life", my suspicion is that you are also afraid of brewing your tea too strongly. Somehow, this year I read three (three!) horror novels that dealt with occult music, and all of them were disappointments.

So here's the official synopsis, followed by my thoughts on this book. (Minor spoilers, but you'll probably thank me for dodging this bullet anyway.)

( Read more... )

mozaikmage

I Hope This Doesn't Find You

Author: Ann Liang

Genre: YA Romantic Comedy
(Sorry for the delay I thought I posted yesterday but I forgot to hit the button)

I read This Time It's Real by Ann Liang last year and it floored me. For a YA fake dating romcom to be that genuinely funny and inventive seemed like a miracle. A few months ago I read her debut, If You Could See The Sun (a title I only later realized is a silly pun) and loved that too, and now I just finished reading her third book, about a people-pleasing high achiever whose senior year is almost ruined by all of her mean email drafts getting sent out at once.

My conspiracy theory is that this book, while published third, was actually written before either TTIR or IYCSTS, because it's noticeably weaker than either of those in multiple ways.

The thing that bothered me the most about it was the setting, but I'm inclined to chalk this one up to editorial meddling: I'm willing to believe that an editor thought American high schoolers would not be able to relate to a story about Asian immigrant kids in Australia and thus mandated any Australian-ness be toned down, but I think the level of vagueness made the whole story needlessly confusing. Melbourne is mentioned as the setting all of two times, and I managed to skip over it the first time and was then left wondering for half the book where it was happening. Australia's school years start in January and end in December, unlike the American school year, they have different weather and scenery, neither of which are very described or can be described if we're trying to pretend the story is not set in Australia. But this lack of description makes the location feel vague, and makes it harder to visualize. Both of Liang's other books had very strong senses of place, and that's something I would've appreciated more of in this book.

The other thing that felt weaker to me was the character writing, which is usually a strength for Liang as well. Sadie keeps going in circles and repeating herself in regards to Julius, which might be realistic teenage behavior but gets annoying to read about fast. Although their relationship dynamic is something I would've latched on hard to at age 13, and I understand her people-pleaser thing really well, I think Julius is a less interesting love interest than those of her other two books. The school also feels smaller, though Abigail is a very fun best friend character.

I Hope This Doesn't Find You is not unfunny, but less funny than Liang's two previous books. The plot hook is fun, but less fun than her previous two books. If it was anyone else writing this, I'd probably think it was a pretty okay YA romcom. Unfortunately, I know she can do better, because I've seen her do it. I hope her next book outshines them all.

quillpunk

Title: Skeletons in the Closet
Author: Nicky James
Genres: Romance, Mystery
Content Warnings: Domestic Abuse (I don't quite remember; I think it was mostly off-screen and in references, but it was definitely on-screen as well, and it has left Diem with lots of trauma, especially because he still has to be around his dad, who's still abusive, when Diem goes to visit his grandmother who lives with Diem's dad, because she can't live on her own anymore)
Review: *Skeletons in the Closet* is an MM romance mystery novel and the first in a series. The romance doesn't necessarily develop a lot in this book; I think it's setting up to be a multi-book series romance with a slow burn development, but it's definitely the star of the show. Diem and Tallus' relationship is the highlight of the book (well, *Diem* is the highlight of the book and Tallus is kind of dragged along. I'll get into it soon) while the mystery part is a little bit unsatisfactory on my part.

Diem is a private investigator who just got a new job; Faye, a woman who thinks her dead husband was cheating on her and wants proof. For information, Diem reluctantly goes to a police records clerk, Tallus, whom he had an unsatisfactory sexual encounter with some months ago. It's fair to say this encounter has further scarred (emotionally) Diem, who already has plenty of them (both physical and emotional) and it's difficult for Diem to work up the courage to approach Tallus. But he eventually succeeds, and Tallus, who craves adventure and finds his job boring, promptly inserts himself into the case. To be fair, he *is* helpful; unlike Diem, Tallus isn't big and scarred and intimidating and is pretty good at communication, which Diem is decidedly not.

But personally I can't say I ever really warmed up much to Tallus. It just felt a little bit like he was walking all over Diem's boundaries a little too much to me, and his irreverent attitude about Diem's issues bothered me a lot. He took a lot of liberties, and while Diem definitely wanted Tallus to take liberties, it also wasn't easy for Diem and I feel like Tallus doesn't understand how not easy it really is.

He does get better about it and more respectful of Diem's boundaries and learns to recognize that Diem really is trying over the course of the book, so they're on the right track. The progression of their relationship really is the focal point of the story, I think, and it makes sense that the story ended before they've officially gotten together—they definitely still have a ways to go!

On the mystery side, I'm not sure if this was that good a book? Personally I was lost the entire story, and I felt like the characters were, too; there were a lot of pieces but I couldn't see how they connected and neither could the characters until like the 90% point. I at no point clocked who the actual perpetrator actually was, and it felt like it came out of thin air when it was revealed.

Like, I don't know, I just feel like part of the joy of a mystery story is trying to figure out whodunnit but this novel provided no clues and didn't point me in any one direction, so I just didn't feel involved in that whatsoever, and when it did finally came up with a theory, it did that annoying thing where it didn't *tell* the reader the theory. It just glossed over it and moved on until they got the deets and then somebody else confirmed it all 'tell no show' for me. It just kind of felt a bit like an afterthought.

The novel spent so long on the *misdirection* of the mystery that I kind of feel like it never deigned to point in the right direction, if that makes sense. And so I never felt like I had a grip on the mystery or who could have done it.

All in all, Diem is definitely the best part of this novel. He's a delightful character, a lovely person. He's damaged and he tries so hard to be good, and it shows so much. I just love him. (I think he deserves better than Tallus, but I guess I'm not the one deciding that, sigh…) I’ll probably pick up the sequel at some point, if only for Diem, but while this wasn’t bad by any means and was overall enjoyable, it’s not my favorite read. I do recommend it though, if it appeals to you!

apachefirecat

Title: Here Abide Monsters
Author: Andre Norton (Definitely recommend reading this woman's history/GoodReads biography!
Genre: Science fantasy
Review:

( Read more... )

petrea_mitchell

Full title: 1 Dead in Attic: After Katrina
Author: Chris Rose
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2007

Note: I planned for this to be one of my reviews all the way back in August when I signed up for the review-a-thon. The fact that it is now timely is just serendipity, I swear.

1 Dead in Attic is a collection of columns written by Chris Rose for the New Orleans Times-Picayune, starting from just after Hurricane Katrina and continuing until more than a year afterward.

It reads like a post-apocalyptic epistolary novel, but covering the messy middle time that few post-apocalyptic novels deal with, between the event itself and the distant future when the society has healed itself. The New Orleans of 1 Dead in Attic is a city in progress-- favorite businesses now sitting abandoned, damaged homes waiting on insurance checks, vanished acquaintances who might be dead or might just have moved away. Even several months after The Thing, as he calls it, as the world's attention has turned away and the big local events have been resurrected, Rose is able to give some friends a look at still-wrecked neighborhoods, and they encounter a jazz funeral for someone who passed away in the storm, just now being buried. Column after column notes the still-visible brown mark left by the height of the flood.

There are some light notes, particularly early on. There are tales of petty revenge over improper fridge disposal, and the magical moments when the toilets work again and Rose first encounters a working traffic light. But rebuilding is a long, grim slog.

Rose counts himself lucky because he and his family were able to evacuate to Vicksburg for the actual storm, their house was hardly damaged, and his wife and kids are able to stay with relatives in Maryland so the kids can go to school in a normal environment. But in the final act of the book, he is forced to admit that he too is a victim of Katrina, as the separation from his family and the constant focus on the aftermath of the storm take their psychological toll.

1 Dead in Attic is a powerful book, and a very informative book if you want to understand what parts of North Carolina will be going through in the months ahead, but it is not a happy book. Don't read this if you're already feeling down.

hexmix

Title: Blood Music
Author: Greg Bear
Genre: sci-fi
Content Warnings: body horror

Blood Music explores the quiet, almost dreamlike apocalyptic results of an experiment in genetic engineering gone awry: Vergil I. Ulam, in a panicked and exceedingly rash action, injects himself with blood cells engineered to be "intelligent" in order to attempt to save his research, heedless of the danger to himself and others.

At times haunting and horrific, and at others a slow meditation on individuality and the nature of reality itself, Blood Music creates one of the more interesting apocalypses I've seen, with Bear managing to balance perfectly both the grotesque and the seductive aspects of the "Frankenstein's monster" at the center of his novel.

( review continues; some mild spoilers )

Overall, it was a very engaging and interesting read, possibly a little dated in terms of the science (it was published in 1985), but I'd honestly recommend it solely based on the descriptions of the changing landscape. I do feel that if you liked Annihilation, this one will be similarly up your alley.

cornerofmadness

(I think today was my day. Here have two reviews at once)

Title You Have Gone Too Far
Author Carlene O'Connor
Genre - Mystery

( The review )

Title Stitches
Author Junji Ito & Hirokatsu Kihara
Genre horror (illustrated short stories with bonus manga)

The blurb says it all. In this slender volume of nine 'stitches' (i.e. short stories) you have two power houses the horror manga great Junji Ito teaming up with author Hirokatsu Kihara. These little stitches are treasure boxes of a short story, theoretically true, but definitely with an urban legend feel to them and each are lushy illustrated in Junji's typical style which has become iconic in horror. There is also a bonus manga by Junji at the end.

We have tumors with a face, little girls haunting libraries, frightening lights, dead neighbors, unphotographable beauties, puppets with phantom puppeteers (which is the one that got me as puppets freak me out) haunt kimonos, barefoot girls in the snow and disembodied lips (which was the only one I didn't care for) and then Junji's bathhouse bonus manga.

I very much enjoyed this. I was a little torn about the hard cover though it wasn't much more than most manga volumes these days because of it (but is much less pages).

Current Mood: busy
Current Music: Svengoolie

luvbarryfefe

Title: Kiss of Darkness (Charmed #2)

Author: Brandon Alexander

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, TV

Content Warnings: N/A

Note: I’m super sorry this is almost a week late going up. I was in a serious reading slump. That rarely ever happens where I just can’t get motivated to read, but of course, it happens when people are depending on me to do a review. That’s the irony of my life for you. Anyway, thank you for your patience.

It might be considered taboo - perhaps even downright tacky - to start a book review quoting another person’s book review, but I feel I must. As apachefirecat says in their wonderful review of the Sabrina, the Teenage Witch novel, All You Need is a Love Spell, “It seems almost to be a rule that books based off of movies and/or TV shows are never as good as their predecessors, and vice versa.” And that is the truth. The novel writers are paid but yet never seem to know the characters, their quirks, or their histories, as well as we, the fans, do. I have found an abundance of fan fiction stories that are far superior to any of the TV companion novels based on Charmed, Buffy, Angel, you name it. But - yes, there’s a but - I still find myself seeking out these books out of devotion to the shows I love. Even if they’re sometimes disappointing. And hey, sometimes you find a gem in the lot. Was Kiss of Darkness one of those gems? Well…

( Some spoilers... )

Overall, I’d give this book a 3.5/5 stars. Maybe that’s too generous but nostalgia is a powerful thing. I collected these books as a teenager. The Charmed series is still a huge part of my life. I remember watching the live premiere episode and being instantly hooked. I will always love this franchise, even the parts that aren’t exactly a perfect fit.

honigfrosch

(cross-posted from my journal in full)

Here I am, fighting a cold on a Sunday, trying to review a book that haunted me for decades. I'm not sure I can do it justice, but at the least you should come away with an understanding of why this early nineties horror novel infected the minds of so many readers, and how it got its claws into mine. It's probably more of an exorcism than a review.

( Part One: Context. )
~*~
( Part Two: The Plot. )
~*~
( Strengths, Weaknesses, Themes, and a Conclusion. )

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rekishi - [Review] A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine
quillpunk - [Review] Lout of Count's Family, Vol. 1 by Yu Ryeo-Han
honigfrosch - [Review] "The Final Reconciliation", by Todd Keisling (2017)
stonepicnicking_okapi - [Review] Five Decembers by James Kestrel
hexmix - [Rec/Review] ShortBox Comics 2024
anehan - [Review] The Egyptian by Mika Waltari
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phantomtomato - [Review] A Glass of Blessings - Barbara Pym
quillpunk - [Review] Crimson Halo by Daniel May
jajalala - [Review] Endurance by Elaine Burns
luvbarryfefe - [Review] Party Games (Fear Street Relaunch #1) by R.L. Stine
honigfrosch - [Review] "Schrader's Chord", by Scott Leeds (2023)
mozaikmage - October review a thon day 19: I Hope This Doesn't Find You
quillpunk - [Review] Skeletons in the Closet by Nicky James
apachefirecat - [REVIEW] Here Abide Monsters by Dame Andre Norton
petrea_mitchell - [Review] 1 Dead in Attic by Chris Rose
hexmix - [Review] Blood Music by Greg Bear
cornerofmadness - [Review] You Have Gone Too Far and Stitches
luvbarryfefe - [Review] Kiss of Darkness (Charmed #2)
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Entries tagged with type: review

[Review] A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine

[Review] Lout of Count's Family, Vol. 1 by Yu Ryeo-Han

[Review] "The Final Reconciliation", by Todd Keisling (2017)

[Review] Five Decembers by James Kestrel

[Rec/Review] ShortBox Comics 2024

[Review] The Egyptian by Mika Waltari

[REVIEW] Bloody Fool for Love

[Review] A Glass of Blessings - Barbara Pym

[Review] Crimson Halo by Daniel May

[Review] Endurance by Elaine Burns

[Review] Party Games (Fear Street Relaunch #1) by R.L. Stine

[Review] "Schrader's Chord", by Scott Leeds (2023)

October review a thon day 19: I Hope This Doesn't Find You

[Review] Skeletons in the Closet by Nicky James

[REVIEW] Here Abide Monsters by Dame Andre Norton

[Review] 1 Dead in Attic by Chris Rose

[Review] Blood Music by Greg Bear

[Review] You Have Gone Too Far and Stitches

[Review] Kiss of Darkness (Charmed #2)

[Review] The Cipher, by Kathe Koja (1991)

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