SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Gnomon by Nick Harkaway

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Gnomon by Nick Harkaway https://t.co/tjQ6gxTe3m Short Review: 9 out of 10 (1/3)

— garik16 (@garik16) May 31, 2018

Short Review (cont): When a woman dies in a routine interrogation in a Future surveillance state London, Inspector Nieth dives into the woman's memories only to find the stories of 4 others inside...& hints of trouble in the outside world. A Fantastic Inception-esque story (2/3)

— garik16 (@garik16) May 31, 2018

Gnomon is......a hell of a book.  It's also one of the most unusual and unique books I've ever read.  The closest comparison I can think of - and I admit to seeing this comparison in another review - is Inception....maybe if it was combined with The Three Body Problem.  And yet those comparisons don't really do Gnomon justice.

Gnomon is a book that features no less than five narratives - all with fantastical or science fiction elements, and it's never quite clear until the end what exactly is really going on.  The main narrative, featuring the character who's going through the other four narratives, is in a near future dystopian London where all of London is watched by a set of cameras and microphones.   Then there are two narratives in what are basically our modern day world, one in Ancient Carthage, and one from a different future.  And yet each of these narratives is developed pretty well, despite having to share the book with the others.

This is not a simple book, if you couldn't figure that out from the prior two paragraphs, and the book enjoys tossing out long diatribes and explanations about the worlds it is describing.  And yet despite all that, the book manages to not only have a gripping and intriguing plot that had me wracking my brains trying to figure it out, it also manages to have a number of fascinating characters who I really liked and wanted to read about, something that usually doesn't happen in books sort of like this (See New York 2140 or Seveneves for example, for other books with long diatribes).  Gnomon is a long mind-twisting puzzle, that somehow manages to have time to develop an interesting cast of "characters" and still works incredibly well.

Why you should become a Hugo Voter this year: The Hugo Voters Packet

If you're even a little bit of a scifi/fantasy fan, you've probably heard of the Hugo Awards.  Even if not, the name might ring a bell.  Essentially the Hugo Awards are one of the most prominent awards in the genre, arguably one of the two most important such awards along with the Nebula Awards.  And unlike the Nebula Awards, which are voted on only by members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), the Hugo Awards are open to voting by anyone who pays a special fee to become a Supporting Member of each year's Worldcon, an annual SF/F Convention.

The fee to register - which you can do at this site - to become a Supporting Member and thus a Hugo Voter, is $50.00 (USD).  That might sound like a lot, especially if you're only a minor genre fan.  But the rewards for doing so are far more than simply obtaining voters rights - you also gain access to The Hugo Voters Packet, which is low-key the item that in and of itself makes becoming a Hugo Voter worth it to anyone with even just a little interest in the genre.

I'm not kidding about this.  I took a quick look at the Hugo Voters Packet last night and it contains:

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: The Defiant Heir by Melissa Caruso

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: The Defiant Heir (Swords & Fire #2) by Melissa Caruso: https://t.co/UtQFEqS8iH Short Review: 9 out of 10 (1/3)

— garik16 (@garik16) May 29, 2018

Short Review (cont): The sequel to The Tethered Mage is a superior 2nd novel in basically every way, actually dealing with the issues of power and freedom, as Amalia and Zaira must enter the territory of the powerful witch-lords. Fun new and old characters & improved plot (2/3)

— garik16 (@garik16) May 29, 2018

The Defiant Heir is the second in a trilogy of fantasy books that began with last year's The Tethered Mage.  I'd liked The Tethered Mage (Review HERE) but was a little disappointed by the fact that the book didn't follow through on some ideas it planted early on in the book - the issues of freedom of people with great, often uncontrollable magical power - in favor of a more standard fantasy conspiracy plot.  I picked up The Defiant Heir from my eLibrary with the hope that the book would pick up those threads in this second book, and to my excitement, this book does indeed do so.

The result is an excellent fantasy story that's a lot more interesting than its predecessor and makes me really interested in the trilogy's finale (which I believe will be out next year).  The Book expands the world by taking us into the land of the trilogy's overarching villain, the evil Ruven, and his people the Witch Lords of Vaskandar - a land, unlike our heroine's home Empire, where mages rule, and the individual Witch Lords have tremendous power over all of their domains.  It also introduces a bunch of more interesting secondary characters, leaves some interesting sequel hooks for the finale, and further develops our leads from book 1.

Note: As if it wasn't obvious from the above, this is absolutely not a stand-alone book - while the prior book didn't end on a cliffhanger really, you really SHOULD read that book first or you'll probably be a bit lost.  

More after the Jump:

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: The Fall of the Kings by Ellen Kushner and Delia Sherman

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: https://t.co/VoT4HI0DBF The Fall of the Kings by Ellen Kushner and Delia Sherman. Short Review: 6 out of 10 (1/3)

— garik16 (@garik16) May 28, 2018

Short Review (cont): The 3rd stand-alone Riverside book, The Fall of the Kings attempts to add actual magic to the series' usual "fantasy of manners" and romantic elements, but the magic is distracting and I didn't feel the two leads had much chemistry. (2/3)

— garik16 (@garik16) May 28, 2018

The Fall of the Kings is the third book (chronologically, it's actually the second book published) in Ellen Kushner's Swordspoint/Riverside series.  Like its predecessor, it is essentially a stand alone novel, although you'll have some extra understanding of the world and the characters if you've read the prior two novels.*  Still it takes place 60 years after Swordspoint and 45 years after The Privilege of the Sword and its main characters are all brand new (though some minor characters are from the prior books).

*Although, as I will say below, you might have some issues if you've read TPoTS before this book.  

More importantly, The Fall of the Kings is the first book in the series to actually be clearly a part of the fantasy genre, featuring actual magic.  The book is very much still in part like the prior two books in how it is in large part based upon the central romance between its two leading men, but the magical element and greater scope of conflict differentiates it from its predecessors.  And well...I don't think this switch-up really worked that well, making it my least favorite of the three books. To add to that, I didn't quite feel as attached to the new main characters and their relationship as I did in the prior books.

More after the Jump:

Solo: A Star Wars Story: A Quick Review and Comparison to other Star Wars Prequel Works [SPOILERS]

So I saw Solo: A Star Wars Story today, and wanted to make a quick little post about it.  This post isn't fully a review - I'll write a few paragraphs with my thoughts of it as a general movie in a bit - but I want to talk instead about how a prequel movie like Solo has to work - the benefits and downsides of those things - and compare it to previous works in the old (now out of continuity and branded as "Legends") Expanded Universe.  This post will go into spoilers for Solo, so if you want to be unspoiled as to the movie, see it first then come back here. 

In short, Solo is fine....but just that.  The movie hits all the expected beats, features a few scenes that are referenced in prior Star Wars movies, but never really surprises.  Again, the movie is never really bad, although its very last twist, which I'll spoil after the jump, is entirely laughable (and seems meant to tease a future movie that is unlikely to happen due to this movie's box office).  But the movie never really feels willing to take chances - Han Solo must be a good guy, wanting to help do the right thing, even as he's supposedly a scoundrel trying to pull a theft, so he is. 

More in depth and a comparison to some other Star Wars works, after the Jump:

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden https://t.co/iAanFrlcBG Short Review: 6.5 out of 10 (1/3)

— garik16 (@garik16) May 24, 2018

Short Review (cont): A fantasy novel based in Russian folklore, The Bear and the Nightingale does a great job setting up a vivid world with excellent characters (mainly) but fizzles out with an ending that doesn't payoff all the setup. (2/3)

— garik16 (@garik16) May 24, 2018

The Bear and the Nightingale is the first in a trilogy that essentially tries to modernize Russian Fairy Tales/Folklore.  The book's obvious comparison is Naomi Novik's Nebula winner Uprooted (and Novik blurbed the book, so yeah).  But while the book shares similarities to Uprooted in its setup and tone - and also feels to me a bit like Robin McKinley's "The Hero and the Crown" - it fails to put together a resolution comparable to either of those novels and as a result, its ending feels abrupt and isn't quite satisfying.  This is the first of a trilogy, and while the book doesn't end on a major cliffhanger, it didn't feel like a complete novel to me either.

More after the Jump:

Scifi/Fantasy Book Review: Memory (Vorkosigan Saga) by Lois McMaster Bujold

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Memory (Vorkosigan Saga) by Lois McMaster Bujold: https://t.co/zvLhZYTMoH Short Review: 9.5 out of 10 (1/4)

— garik16 (@garik16) May 23, 2018

Short Review (cont): When Miles is fired from ImpSec, he faces a troubling question: Who is Miles Vorkosigan if not Admiral Naismith? But when ImpSec Chief Simon Ilyan faces a mysterious memory failure, Miles will have to figure himself out long enough to find the cause (2/4)

— garik16 (@garik16) May 23, 2018

Short Review (cont): Memory is the midpoint of the Vorkosigan Saga and a culmination of all that came before, and is a fantastic mix of amazing dialogue, character moments, and plot which results in the pinnacle of the series up to this point. The Series at its best (3/4)

— garik16 (@garik16) May 23, 2018

Memory is the seventh book in the Vorkosigan Saga to follow Miles Vorkosigan and the conclusion of what is essentially a trilogy of sorts that began with Brothers in Arms (and continued in Mirror Dance).  This the halfway point in the series, but more importantly, it's maybe the high point of the series up to this point.

Memory is a book that shows off all of the best parts of the series: the series' trademark wit?  It has that in spades.  Characters who are fantastic and who you care about, even when they're being assholes (and our protagonist is an amazing asshole to start this book).  And yet this is also a book with a serious tone - like its predecessors in this trilogy, this is a book about identity, starring a main character who is torn between two of them, and facing the loss of one of them for good.  It's also a pretty fun if dark mystery novel, one that works even if you can guess the culprit (I got spoiled to it,so I can tell)

Basically Memory is everything this series does at its best, featuring great characters and dialogue, a mix of light and dark, and an exploration of a different genre (in this case mystery) as well as a slice of life in a brilliantly deep SciFi world.  It's the Vorkosigan Saga at its best:

Note as usual for this series, I listened to this as an audiobook, and the reader is as usual excellent except as usual the reader has AGAIN switched the pronunciation of one of the series' signature groups (we're back to den-dare-ee-eye here) to my bafflement.  

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Mirror Dance (Vorkosigan Saga) by Lois McMaster Bujold

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Mirror Dance (Vorkosigan Saga) by Lois McMaster Bujold https://t.co/mMbH7f6AK7 Short Review: 7 out of 10 (1/3)

— garik16 (@garik16) May 22, 2018

Short Review (cont): Mirror Dance continues the excellent story of Miles Vorkosigan as Miles winds up dead trying to rescue his clone brother Mark and Mark has to find himself to rescue him. Some major issues of Sexual Misconduct mar what would be an excellent book. TW (2/3)

— garik16 (@garik16) May 22, 2018

Mirror Dance is the fifth (chronologically) novel in Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan Saga to star Miles Naismith Vorkosigan.  It is essentially a sequel to "Brothers in Arms" (Review Here) even though it was published 5 years and 2 books later and so it's not an appropriate place to start the series.  It's a first for the series, as far as I can recall, in that it is the first book in the Saga to alternate between point of view characters - we spend as much time if not more time in this book following Miles' clone brother Mark as we do Miles and this is very much Mark's story.  And it works really well for it - helped along by the amazing dialogue that I think of as Bujold's signature, the amount of moments that caused me to crack up while listening in the car or on a jog were way too numerous to list.

That said, Mirror Dance is almost certainly the darkest Vorkosigan novel yet, featuring some disturbing issues.  One of our two heroes has a moment where he essentially attempts the cosmic equivalent of statutory rape (there's consent and he never goes through with it due to medical issues, but he is aware that the girl, who is in the body of a 20 year old, has the mental state of a 10 year old) and one of the villains engages in sexual torture of one of the protagonists.  The former is not considered by the characters in the book to be acceptable by any means, but your mileage may vary about how the book treats the subject - I'll talk more in depth about this with some spoilers after the jump.

With those major issues aside - to the extent that's possible - Mirror Dance is yet another excellent addition to the Vorkosigan Saga, which is a joy to read absent those issues, due to its hilarious dialogue, great guile heroes, and well built scifi world.

Trigger Warnings:  Rape and Sexual Abuse is present in this novel (as mentioned above).  It's not gratuitous, although whether it's a problem is another question, which I'll try to tackle after the jump.  If you like the series and these things are a problem, skip Mirror Dance and wikipedia it to know what happens and move on to the next book, Memory, which doesn't feature anything of the sort.  

Note:  Again, I listened to this book as an audiobook, and the audiobook reader is again excellent, particularly at differentiating between the voices of the characters.  For some reason, the pronunciation of Dendarii reverts back to how it was before the last audiobook ("Den-Dare-ee") which is annoying, but otherwise it's an excellent way to read the series.  

More after the jump:

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Sins of Empire by Brian McClellan

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Sins of Empire by Brian McClellan https://t.co/EfoFqbTTVB Short Review: 7 out of 10 (1/3)

— garik16 (@garik16) May 21, 2018

Short Review (cont): The first in a new flintlock fantasy trilogy w/ interesting characters - a spy, a gunpowder using mage, and a berserker - and decent plot but one that never gets above "solid." Prior knowledge of McClellan's earlier trilogy may help but isnt needed. (2/3)

— garik16 (@garik16) May 21, 2018

Sins of Empire is the first in a new flintlock fantasy* trilogy by Brian McClellan.  It's actually set in the same world as McClellan's prior trilogy, The Powder Mage Trilogy, and features some of the same characters seemingly, based upon the synopses of those novels I see on Amazon - I haven't read the earlier trilogy, so this is my first McClellan book.  And therefore I can truthfully say that no prior knowledge of this universe is needed to enjoy Sins of Empire (except for one minor point) , though prior knowledge will very likely increase your enjoyment as old characters and plots are referenced.

*"Flintlock fantasy" is a name sometimes given for magic-filled fantasy series that involve guns - usually muskets - as much if not more than swords.  For other examples of the genre, see Stina Leicht's "Cold Iron" and "Blackthorne"*

As for this novel, Sins of Empire is a solid start to a trilogy, and one that ends on a satisfying note while setting up hooks for the inevitable sequel. All of its main characters are interesting, and the plot frequently surprises without being unfair.  Still, it never really transcends to a level above "solid" - so if you're looking for the start of a new epic fantasy trilogy, particularly a flintlock fantasy trilogy, this is a fairly fine book to read, but if you're not looking for this specific genre, it might not be that appealing to you.

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Under the Pendulum Sun by Jeannette Ng

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Under the Pendulum Sun by Jeannette Ng https://t.co/egWvN5pVvi Short Review: 9 out of 10 (1/3)

— garik16 (@garik16) May 18, 2018

Short Review (cont): When Catherine Helstone follows her Anglican Missionary brother to the Fae World of Arcadia, she finds not only an unconverted world, but one whose secrets will change everything she knows. Fantastic Gothic Fantasy Fiction with incredible twists. (2/3)

— garik16 (@garik16) May 18, 2018

  Under the Pendulum Sun is essentially a combination of the Fae Fantasy and Gothic Fiction Genres, taking place in a mysterious Fae world inside a mysterious and creepy mansion with untold secrets.  To say any more about its genre might be a spoiler, but the end result is a fantastic story filled with twists and turns that threw me for a loop multiple times, and a group of characters who make those twists truly impactful.

  It should be noted, as should be apparently from the plot description (but I missed anyhow until I got into the book), that the book references Christian Theology quite a bit.  As someone who isn't Christian, it's very likely that I therefore missed a bunch of the references, although much of it is explained for the layman/non-Christian like myself.  That said, the book worked really really well for me despite my lack of knowledge, so don't let that stop you from reading this book.

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Fire Dance by Ilana C. Myer

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Fire Dance By Ilana C Myer, https://t.co/jsop5BB5vm Short Review: 4.5 out of 10 (1/3)

— garik16 (@garik16) May 17, 2018

Short Review (cont): A supposedly stand-alone sequel to Last Song Before Night, Fire Dance is beautifully written, but its plot attempts to do too much in too little space, leaving a plot that doesn't satisfy, despite major promise in multiple areas/characters. (2/3)

— garik16 (@garik16) May 17, 2018

Fire Dance is the sequel to Ilana C Myer's first novel, Last Song Before Night (which I reviewed a long time ago back on twitter here and actually did a spoiler filled review on my blog HERE).  I've seen it advertised as a "stand-alone" sequel not requiring prior knowledge, but I would strongly advise against starting the series with this book - i suspect a reader doing so will be incredibly lost.*  Fire Dance follows up with what comes next for the main heroine of LSBN in addition to introducing a number of new protagonists to follow, and as a result half of the book relies quite a lot of background introduced in the first book.

*Obviously, having read LSBN, I can't judge this perfectly well, but really I can't imagine trying to start this book before LSBN.

The other reason you should start with Last Song Before Night is that it's a much better book than Fire Dance, which frankly disappointed me quite a bit.  I loved Last Song Before Night, as an epic fantasy story with beautiful writing, excellent characters, and a dark (often REALLY dark) plot that was haunting at times yet satisfying.  Myer's prose remains excellent and the story is beautifully written, but while Fire Dance introduces many intriguing new characters it doesn't spend enough time with any of them to have them really make an impact, unlike its predecessor, and its plot is an utter mess.  The book is shorter than its predecessor but seemingly tries to pack in twice as many plots, and ends in a way that just doesn't satisfy (and leaves some massive cliffhangers).

More after the Jump:

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: The Wheel of the Infinite by Martha Wells

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: The Wheel of the Infinite by Martha Wells https://t.co/gVWkjOCzx1 Short Review: 8.5 out of 10 (1/3)

— garik16 (@garik16) May 17, 2018

Short Review (cont): A Priestess/Sorceress, assisted by a foreign swordsman, having been exiled for treason, is forced to return home when a rite that maintains reality is threatened. A fascinating world & characters- particularly its middle aged sassy woman of color lead (2/3)

— garik16 (@garik16) May 17, 2018

The Wheel of the Infinite is one of two novels written by Martha Wells that don't belong to one of her few shared universes (Raksura, Ile-Rien, or Murderbot).  I am a huge fan of Martha Wells' work, and I've yet to be disappointed by a work of hers.  After reading The Wheel of the Infinite...that's still the case: this is still a really good book.

What makes the Wheel of the Infinite are its unusual heroes: the Middle Aged - and trending more towards being elderly than being young - woman Maskelle and its similarly aged (maybe slightly younger) sarcastic ronin (this is a fantasy world, but well, he's clearly a Ronin/ex-samurai) Rian.   This is not a story about young people - both our heroes not only have had children, but Maskelle is a widow three times over already - and yet our older heroes are still people of great power and intelligence.  It's also a world filled with people of color (Maskelle and the people of the Empire are described as dark-skinned), as opposed to yet another White fantasy world.  The end result is a pretty great story with excellent characters and an unpredictable plot that is well worth your time.

Note:  I read this as an audiobook.  The reader is generally good, except she's not particularly great at differentiating between comments that are spoken aloud or simply thought by our point of view characters, which was confusing at times.  But otherwise it's a fine way to read this book, with characters' voices nicely differentiated without being distracting.

More after the Jump:

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Torn by Rowenna Miller

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Torn by Rowenna Miller https://t.co/VyotTd5ZCL Short Review: 6 out of 10 (1/3)

— garik16 (@garik16) May 15, 2018

Short Review (cont): A fantasy story about a woman who can create charms/curses via stitches in fabric who gets caught up in a conflict between workers & the nobility, Torn hits all the usual beats but not much more & after a promising start has a weirdly backwards message (2/3)

— garik16 (@garik16) May 15, 2018

Torn is a tricky book to review, because the end result is very much not what the book seems to be going for in the beginning - where the book seems to be making a story based upon class conflict and those caught in between (women and people of color).  Instead, Torn is a book that feels kind of like a throwback to an older kind of fantasy novel - complete with common woman heroine and noble prince love interest amongst civic unrest.  I was really hoping that Torn would've been more of the former type of story than the latter, but it's bad form to review a book based upon the story you were hoping to read instead of the book that the author intended for it to be.

As for the book that Torn actually is? It's perfectly solid, well paced and thought out, but kind otherwise unremarkable.  And by planting the seeds of that other book early on, it does kind of send a weird message in how the story plays out which I doubt the author intended (though of course I could still be wrong).

More after the jump:

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Beasts Made of Night by Tochi Onyebuchi

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Beasts Made of Night by Tochi Onyebuchi https://t.co/doyIKYhnMy Short Review: 6.5 out of 10 (1/3)

— garik16 (@garik16) May 12, 2018

Short Review (cont): The first in a Nigerian-culture/mythology inspired fantasy duology, Beasts Made of Night still blends together its heritage with a bunch of classic fantasy tropes but doesn't slow down at any point to really do anything interesting with them. (2/3)

— garik16 (@garik16) May 12, 2018

Beasts Made of Night is the first in a YA duology based upon Nigerian culture/mythology.  That said, while readers - such as myself - may not be familiar with the Nigerian culture that influences this book, the book relies very heavily on plot tropes that will be pretty familiar to typical fantasy readers.  This isn't necessarily a problem - tropes are common because they work, as I've written here in the past - but Beasts Made of Night fails to really utilize these familiar elements effectively, forming a story that until the end feels relatively rote.  And then the ending, which sets up the second book, didn't really feel set-up well enough to work for me.  The book is fine, but I was hoping for more at many points only to be disappointed.

More specifics after the jump:

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Shadow Scale (Seraphina #2) by Rachel Hartman https://t.co/tIxNNjGjlV Short Review: 7.5 out of 10 (1/3)

— garik16 (@garik16) May 12, 2018

Short Review (cont): Shadow Scale continues the Seraphina's story as she attempts to unite the world's half-dragons in light of the dragon civil war- only to find one half-dragon has dark motives & a darker power. Again, a fascinating world, but the ending is rushed (2/3)

— garik16 (@garik16) May 12, 2018

Shadow Scale is the follow up to Rachel Hartman's "Seraphina" (Review Here), and the conclusion of the Seraphina duology.  It continues the story of Seraphina Dombegh and follows up on all of the untied plot threads from that book (so yeah, don't start here - this is not a stand-alone in any way shape or form, despite oddly being marketed on Amazon "A Companion to Seraphina").  It's also a longer book by about a hundred pages - and Seraphina wasn't exactly short.

I enjoyed Shadow Scale, but not nearly as much as I did "Seraphina" - like its predecessor, the book is enthralling and easy to get lost in, but unlike the first book, the ending didn't quite work out for me - it was a bit too abrupt, as if the book could've used another 50-100 pages to set it all up but the author felt it was too long already.  It's still worth a read to find out what happens to our fantastic heroine, and does some really interesting things, but it's not quite the same brilliant piece of work as the other two Hartman novels I've read.

Note:  As I read "Tess of the Road" before either Seraphina book, I'd been spoiled to some extent as to the events that happened here - including an event that would be a major part of the ending of this book, so it's possible my negativity is colored by that.  

More after the Jump:

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: The Cruel Prince by Holly Black https://t.co/SZn3GfptrL Short Review: 8 out of 10 (1/3)

— garik16 (@garik16) May 10, 2018

Short Review (cont): The Cruel Prince is an excellent start to a new dark YA fae fantasy trilogy following a human girl (Jude) willing to do whatever it takes to find a place in the Fae Court and willing to pay any cost to win at the deadly games of the Fae. (2/3)

— garik16 (@garik16) May 10, 2018

  The Cruel Prince is a YA take on a fantasy sub-genre that has contained some of my favorite works over the past few years: Fae fantasy.  Fae fantasy tends to come in two tones in my experience - stories involving Fae characters interacting with each other and the mortal world, where Fae society is different (in classic ways) but not necessarily much crueler than human society....and stories where the Fae are indeed the cruel Fair Folk of legends, and who are likely to cause misery for humans they run across.  The Cruel Prince, if you couldn't tell from the title, is an example of the latter - the Fae here are very much not human, and are not nice in any way shape or form. 

   It's also an exceptionally good start to a new trilogy, with an excellent mix of interesting characters (particularly its protagonist Jude) and an oft unpredictable plot, filled with intrigue and dark drama.  Again,this is not a light story (the prologue opens with the protagonist's parents being murdered), but it does an excellent job at keeping the reader interested  from start to finish, with the final 12 chapters (the final 2 of part 1 and the entirety of part 2 of this book) being particularly explosive.

More after the jump:

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: The Privilege of the Sword by Ellen Kushner

SciFi/Fantasy Review: The Privilege of the Sword by Ellen Kushner https://t.co/nzMDjvOTmR Short Review: 9.5 out of 10 (1/3)

— garik16 (@garik16) May 8, 2018

Short Review (cont): TPotS is an absolutely fantastic blend of a coming of age story, a self-discovery story, and a story about people other than rich men having honor & the right to choose their own destinies. Featuring Sword Fights, Voyeurism, Hedonism, & Love (2/3)

— garik16 (@garik16) May 8, 2018

The Privilege of the Sword is the stand-alone successor to Swordspoint, which I liked a lot when I reviewed it earlier this past month.  Honestly, I liked The Privilege of the Sword even more than Swordspoint, to the point where I toyed with the idea of giving it a perfect score.  It's that good, filled with wonderful new and old characters, a plot that teases and surprises, to form perhaps the best a "fantasy of manners" can possibly be.  It continues Swordspoint's theme of questioning just who has honor that is worth defending and tells a story in which all of the characters and plots tend to center around the right of everyone to make their own decisions about their own destinies.

Set 15 years after Swordspoint, TPotS does not require you to have read its predecessor (a few reviews I've seen of it from people who have started with this novel have not had any problems), but readers of Swordspoint will have greater enjoyment from seeing the return of several of the classic characters from the first book.  And since the first book is so good, I'd recommend you start there.  But even if you decide to start here instead, you'll be treated to a truly excellent story - a story about justice, about love, about honor, and more - that I absolutely loved.

Trigger Warning: Rape.  Again, like the last book I included such a warning in, this is not used gratuitously and in fact, the book directly addresses problematic attitudes toward victim blaming in the main plot, so it is very justified, but again, if you prefer to avoid books with the subject, you'll want to avoid this one.  

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Space Opera by Catherynne M Valente https://t.co/cQlieg5U1K Short Review: 4 out of 10 (1/3)

— garik16 (@garik16) May 4, 2018

Short Review (cont): Space Opera is a book that is clearly trying to channel a Douglas Adams-ian type of humor on steroids, but, for me at least, is somehow both too over the top and at the same time somehow too predictable to work beyond a few laughs. (2/3)

— garik16 (@garik16) May 4, 2018

Catherynne M. Valente's "Space Opera" is a pretty crazy novel.  I've read two of Valente's prior works before - her novella Six-Gun Snow White and her short story "A Fall Counts Anywhere" (from the Robots vs Fairies Anthology) - and Space Opera follows seemingly both works (especially "A Fall Counts Anywhere") in one key way: in each of these works, when Valente commits to a bit/idea, she REALLY commits to it.  In Space Opera's case, the bit is a Douglas Adams-esque galaxy run based upon an absolutely absurd idea - that the survival of species and universal precedence depends upon performance in an intergalactic version of Eurovision, and that two completely out of place has-beens are humanity's only hope.

To go off tangent for a second, My brother is a huge Seinfeld fan, but he will often tell people he can't watch "Curb Your Enthusiasm" because the humor is too much, how it's basically a too unfiltered version of Seinfeld that is too painful for him to watch.  That's basically how I felt about "Space Opera" - like "A Fall Counts Anywhere," it takes it's absurd premise up to an extreme level, but whereas that work was a short story, this is a 300 page book, and it's so over the top that it largely lost it for me.

More after the Jump:

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: League of Dragons (Temeraire #9) by Naomi Novik

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: League of Dragons (Temeraire #9) by Naomi Novik: https://t.co/b0P3vTDroV Short Review: 9 out of 10 (1/3)

— garik16 (@garik16) May 3, 2018

Short Review (cont): In this series finale, Napoleon tries to win over the dragons of the world to his cause - and Laurence/Temeraire must stop him and win over the dragons themselves in order to finally end the war. An Excellent Finale, maybe the best in the series. (2/3)

— garik16 (@garik16) May 3, 2018

League of Dragons is the ninth and final book in Naomi Novik's Temeraire series (So no, do not start the series with this book).  It is the culmination of all of the books so far, with events going back as far as book 4 (Empire of Ivory) being referenced repeatedly, as Napoleon attempts to make one final stand against the Allied forces of Europe, as both he and our main characters attempt to recruit dragons from all over the world to their side for the final battle (hence the title).

And after a slow start, League of Dragons easily becomes one of the best three books in the series, up there with the opener (His Majesty's Dragon) and midway point ("Victory of Eagles").  The characters are excellent, both new and old, with the dialogue and interactions between the same being frequently hilarious and amazing, and the story wraps up in a believable satisfying manner.  This book exemplifies pretty much all of what made the Temeraire series able to capture my attention for 9 books over a single year - and earn a Hugo Nod for Best Series last year to boot - it's really good.

Note: Again, I read this book as an audiobook, and the format remains an excellent way to get into the series,with the characters having nice distinct voices and the reader going at a nice pace.   

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Blood of Tyrants (Temeraire #8) by Naomi Novik

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Blood of Tyrants (Temeraire #8) by Naomi Novik: https://t.co/38VG74Ijai Short Review: 8 out of 10 (1/3)

— garik16 (@garik16) May 1, 2018

Short Review (cont): Naomi Novik's story of the Napoleonic Wars but with Dragons reaches its penultimate book, as Laurence & Temeraire deal w/the Dragons of Japan, a Chinese conspiracy, & Napoleon's march into Russia. New Dragon Cultures make this another excellent entry (2/3)

— garik16 (@garik16) May 1, 2018

Blood of Tyrants is the eighth and penultimate book in Naomi Novik's "Temeraire" series, which, for those of you unfamiliar with it, is basically a series based upon "what if the Napoleonic Wars involved sentient dragons?"  Like previous books in the series, Blood of Tyrants features series protagonists Captain Will Laurence and his dragon Temeraire visiting new parts of the world and discovering new cultures - both human and dragon - in their ongoing quest to help defeat Napoleon.  In this book, in particular, we discover the dragons of Japan and Russia and get a better look of the military dragons of China (last seen in Book 2, Throne of Jade).

The end result is a book that's one of the better ones in the series - mainly because it does the thing the series does best: feature abundant dragon-dragon interactions.  They're so great (more on this below).  The book doesn't quite match the series' high point due to reliance on an annoying amnesia subplot, but it's just below that point and remains extremely fun to read.

*Note: I Listened to this in audiobook format, which was well done, except that somehow between book 6 and book 8, the audiobook changed the pronunciation of Demane, which is really annoying.  Worth the listen in this format.