SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Balancing the Scales by Annie Bellet

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Balancing the Scales by Annie Bellet (20 Sided Sorceress #10): https://t.co/ns2kRytcaW Short Review: 6.5 out of 10 (1/3)

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) April 1, 2020

Short Review: The tenth and final novel in the 20 Sided Sorceress series finds Jade in her final confrontation against the First Shifter and an evil Vampire as all her friends' lives hang in the balance. It's fine, but leaves way too much stuff open for a series finale. (2/3)

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) April 1, 2020

Balancing the Scales is the long awaited tenth and final book in Annie Bellet's "Twenty-Sided Sorceress" urban fantasy series.  This is a series that I've greatly enjoyed, filled with short novels/novella-length stories of a geeky heroine and her geek friends trying to deal with powerful magical foes, from shapeshifters, to vampires, to an abusive evil sorcerer ex-boyfriend.  The Ninth Book in the series came out last January after a year and a half wait after book 8, and really spent a good portion of its pages setting up this book as the finale, leaving a lot of open plot threads.  So when this book finally was released the second week of March, I bought it quickly and tore through it that weekend.

Alas, Balancing the Scales is a bit of a disappointment, especially as the finale for this series.  Don't get me wrong, the story keeps going with its fun heroine and her geeky friends, and they have some strong moments in here for sure.  On the other hand, the book essentially doesn't resolve half of the series' open plot points, including one absolutely major one opened here, and isn't particularly satisfying in how it finishes off the plot arc that took center stage last book and has been looming for basically 9 books now.  If this was not the final book in the series, those issues would be easier to deal with, but it is, resulting in a book that can't help but disappoint rather than satisfy.

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Ghost Train to New Orleans by Mur Lafferty

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Ghost Train to New Orleans by Mur Lafferty: https://t.co/K5QETG4otq Short Review: 7.5 out of 10 (1/3)

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) March 31, 2020

Short Review (cont): When Zoe and her team of Coterie (Monsters/Undead/Deities/etc) head off to New Orleans to write a travel guide for Coterie, they have no idea the adventure and dangers they're in for. Witty, fun if a little dark story of monsters & the Big Easy (2/3)

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) March 31, 2020

Ghost Trains to New Orleans is the second book in Mur Lafferty's "Shambling Guides" comedic urban fantasy series, featuring a human main character writing travel guides for monsters - or "coterie", as they like to be called - in various cities.  I skipped the first book since my library didn't have it in audiobook, and you can certainly do that without much detriment: the book contains plenty of information to catch new readers like me up to speed.  So you can begin the series (which is stuck at 2 books for want of a publisher) here without much problems.

And I really enjoyed Ghost Train to New Orleans.  It's a frequently funny - even if not a full on comedy - story with a charming protagonist, a plot that's solid and takes some surprising turns, and a setting of a New Orleans filled with monsters, demons, and gods that is really really enjoyable.  It's not a deep story in any way, which is fine, it's not trying to be, but for what it is, it's really fun and often surprising from beginning to end.  And even if this series is clearly incomplete, the book ends in a satisfying fashion and is well worth your time.

Note:  I read this book as an audiobook, which is narrated by the book's author herself.  As a result, I have mixed feelings on it - Lafferty accentuates the humor of the book well in her voice, but she doesn't really differentiate each characters' voices very well, resulting sometimes in some confusion over who is talking.  I'd probably advise reading this in print instead, honestly.  

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Belle Révolte by Linsey Miller

SciFi/Fantasy Book Reviews: Belle Révolte by Linsey Miller https://t.co/Xc7X9XxL3e Short Review: 8 out of 10 (1/3)

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) March 30, 2020

Short Review (cont): In a kingdom where nobles use the poor's bodies to take the costs of their magic, and use of magic is differentiated by sex, two young women, one common/one noble, will switch places and seek revolution. Really strong setting and lead characters. 2/3

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) March 30, 2020

Belle Révolte is the latest young adult book from author Linsey Miller.  Miller's prior duology, the Mask of Shadows duology, was a series I really enjoyed (see my review of the first book here), and featured an incredible non-binary lead character, so I was really excited when I saw Miller's next book was coming out this year.  My excitement only increased when I saw that this novel features not one but two leading characters, as I was really fascinated to see what Miller would do after her brilliant characterization of her one lead in Mask of Shadows.

Belle Révolte did not disappoint, featuring a fantasy world with the trappings of the French Revolution, in which the use of magic is exploited in a way to only exacerbate class-conflicts, and two strong heroines in the middle of it.  Both heroines are excellent despite their differences, and Miller makes them both shine, even if some of the side characters are a little underdeveloped, and the world is really damn well done.  It's also, in unsurprising fashion after Mask of Shadows, a world featuring a number of LGBTQ characters, where the conflict is not at all about sexuality, even if it is about class.  In short, it's got great lead characters and a plot whose themes resonate strongly even today, making this one a definite winner.

A Pale Light In The Black (by KB Wagers) Reread - Chapters 4 and 5

Welcome back to my reread of K.B. Wagers' "A Pale Light in the Black!"  You can find the other posts in this reread here.  For the last time since I started this reread, let me once again make the case that if you haven't already, you should pick up this book for reading since we're in the middle of a pandemic keeping everyone home.  It features an optimistic world, recovered from a dim global catastrophe, as well as a group of people come together as family (with people of all genders and sexual orientations totally welcome), and - as might be important for many of you who follow me - features at its heart what's really a sporting competition - and I know I'm missing those a ton already.  It's a hell of a lot of fun, so I think many of you would enjoy following along with me for the ride.

Last time, we saw the crew of Zuma's Ghost in action, with Nika and Jenks leading a boarding action of a mysterious "system jumper", a hundred years out of date, hanging where it was not supposed to be, and took down 5 sketchy characters they found onboard - one of whom even tried to bribe Jenks.  It did not turn out well for him.

This time, we meet the last of our main characters, Lieutenant Maxine "Max" Carmichael.  She's fantastic.....

SciFI/Fantasy Book Review: Daughter from the Dark by Sergey and Marina Dyachenko (Translated by Julia Hersey)

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Daughter from the Dark by Marina & Sergey Dyachenko (translated by Julia Hersey): https://t.co/p8UhMQphbq Short Review: 5.5 out of 10 (1/3)

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) March 27, 2020

Short Review (cont): When a Russian DJ finds a small girl w/a stuffed bear in an alley at midnight, he takes her home to get her away from outside. But the girl won't leave, & the bear may be alive and murderous and little is as it seems. Intriguing but didn't work for me. (2/3)

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) March 27, 2020

Daughter from the Dark is the latest translated novel from Ukrainian authors Sergey and Marina Dyachenko.  The Dyachenkos were responsible for one of my favorite books of the last few years in Vita Nostra (review here), which even was translated from Russian by the same translator as this novel (Julia Hersey), so I was really excited to hear that this book was coming out this year.  For those who haven't read Vita Nostra, it's an incredibly weird book, filled with seemingly inexplicable events all in the purpose of a plot that ends in glorious triumphant fashion, and so I was not surprised to find Daughter from the Dark to feature similar inexplicable weirdness at its core.

I was surprised however to find that Daughter from the Dark didn't particularly lead to anywhere interesting, unlike Vita Nostra. The story focuses around a main character who begins the story somewhat of an ass, remains an ass mostly throughout despite some moments, and whose growth is....questionable?  Moreover, the questions posed by the weirdness are never really answered in any fashion, at least not in any satisfying way, making the whole thing seem kind of pointless.  Perhaps it works better in the original language, but I suspect not, and just that this one didn't work for me.

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Woven in Moonlight by Isabel Ibañez

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Woven in Moonlight by Isabel Ibañez: https://t.co/mWWLVUAMXr Short Review: 7.5 out of 10 (1/3)

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) March 26, 2020

Short Review (cont): In a Bolivian-culture-inspired YA fantasy, Ximena, the decoy to the Condessa of her people, has to infiltrate the people who overthrew her own, with only minor magic to help her, but only to find things arent what they seem. Solid but unexceptional. (2/3)

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) March 26, 2020

Woven in Moonlight is a Young Adult fantasy novel from Bolivian-American author Isabel Ibañez.  It's a not that long novel, featuring a world based in some part upon the history of Spanish conquering of the Incas, and featuring solid themes of oppression and discovering one's identity.  It's not a particularly unique novel in terms of how things go and the themes discussed, but with a very good main character and a setting that isn't your typical European or United States-based world, it's certainly a young adult novel worth a shot for a reader in the age group.

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: The Iron Will of Genie Lo by FC Yee

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: The Iron Will of Genie Lo by F.C. Yee https://t.co/MN8lcUvR6X Short Review: 9.5 out of 10 (1/4)

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) March 25, 2020

Short Review (cont): The 2nd in this series follows Genie Lo as she deals with the prospect of graduating high school, attending college, her mom's health issues, and oh yeah supernatural threats caused by the Jade Emperor disappearing that require her to save Earth. (2/4)

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) March 25, 2020

Short Review (cont): The book follows its predecessor in being an incredibly fun and witty YA Fantasy featuring Chinese Mythology & Journey to the West while dealing with an Asian American teen experience, with an absolutely charmingly perfect ending. (3/4)

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) March 25, 2020

The Iron Will of Genie Lo is the sequel to 2017's "The Epic Crush of Genie Lo", which was one of my first reviews here on this blog (here).  I really enjoyed The Epic Crush, a YA Fantasy story featuring a Chinese-American high school girl trying to manager her way through high school (and her demanding parents) who finds herself caught in an urban fantasy-esque story based in large part upon Journey to the West.  It was a classic spin on the "young teen has to balance high school life with duties as a newfound superhero", only Genie's superhero powers are based upon being the reincarnation of the Monkey King's staff (the Ruyi Jingu Bang) and her supernatural foes are based upon Chinese mythology/Journey-to-the-West and her high school life is based upon Asian-American culture.  And it worked really well, in a really fun package, so I was excited to hear the sequel was out this year.

And honestly, the Iron Will of Genie Lo is a really damn good sequel, aging up the characters a year, and thus giving Genie a whole new bunch of worries in her normal life - becoming captain of Volleyball! Graduating High School!  College! - as well as throwing a new supernatural conflict in front of her and Quentin.   It's a short novel even for YA, filled with great humor and a fun great lead, and a surprisingly great ending, which seems to conclude this series at two books.  For fun YA Fantasy from a culture that isn't the typical White American culture, you could easily do worse and may not do a lot better - this is a truly fantastic piece of the genre and I devoured it as soon as I started.

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Aurora Blazing by Jessie Mihalik

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Aurora Blazing by Jessie Mihalik: https://t.co/WnvAvRrips Short Review: 8 out of 10 (1/3)

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) March 25, 2020

Short Review (cont): The 2nd in this Space Opera Romance series is more of a slow burn, as aristocrat Bianca, secretly an ace intelligence agent and hacking skills, tries to find her kidnapped brother and deal with her father's sexy head of security Ian. Trashy but very fun 2/3

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) March 25, 2020

Aurora Blazing is the second novel in Jessie Mihalik's "Corsortium Rebellion" trilogy, her trilogy of romantic space opera novels begun with "Polaris Rising" (Review Here).  I really enjoyed Polaris Rising, which was an absolute fun romp of a SF romance, even if the novel rarely decided to deal with any of the interesting themes the setting presents.  But for fun, occasionally steamy romance, it was great, and well, sometimes that's what I really need to read at any given moment, and Polaris Rising had that in spades.

Aurora Blazing shifts the protagonist to our former heroine's sister Bianca, and gives us a new space opera adventure and romance, and does so in a book that's in some ways even more fun than the first book.  Rather than featuring a kickass heroine, physically capable of escapes and dangerous rescues, this book features in Bianca a heroine who specializes in information gathering and manipulation.  This leads to a much different type of plot, with action sequences less common but still well done, and a romance that's a lot more of a slow burn (still not quite) than in the first book...but that works just about as well.  Again, it's a fun book, not a serious one in any way, but I still devoured it as quick as I do any audiobook.

Note: I read this book as an audiobook, and the reader is very well done, so I definitely recommend reading the book in this format.

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: A Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: A Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker: https://t.co/Rk1udHZtCF

Short Review: 8.5 out of 10 (1/3)

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) March 24, 2020

Short Review (cont): After a combination of terrorism and a global pandemic causes the US to a near-entirely inside and VR culture, a young woman and an old rocker have to discover the joy of live music and other events despite the corporate entities trying to stop them. (2/3)

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) March 24, 2020

A Song for a New Day is a near future dystopian (sort-of) SciFi novel by author Sarah Pinsker, a multiple time Nebula (including one win) and Hugo Award nominee for her short fiction.  It's also her first novel and managed to also snag a Nebula Nomination for best novel.  The ostensible subject of this book - the fight over the restoration of live music instead of just listening to prerecorded works - wasn't of major interest to me so I skipped it at first, but with the Nebula nom, I picked it up to see how it would work.

And what I found was a book about more than just music, and one that is really interesting and well done and worthy of the nomination.  While its major topic in general is about music, the book portrays a world in which America has responded to terror/plague with laws banning congregating in groups for any reason, which extends the theme beyond just entertainment/music to the very topic of safety vs freedom, to go along with corporate greed/individualism.  And given the coronavirus epidemic and panic, the setting of this story is very believable, to go along with its very real and well done characters.

More after the Jump:

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: The Ranger of Marzanna by Jon Skovron

SciFi/Fantasy Advance Review: The Ranger of Marzanna by Jon Skovron: https://t.co/GrC5La6pw1 Short Review: 8 out of 10 (1/3)

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) March 23, 2020

Short Review (cont): In a Polish inspired epic fantasy, a pair of siblings with dangerous magical abilities find themselves on opposite sides of a fight for freedom from an Empire. Some really strong characters, but I couldn't get into the plot as much as Id hoped (2/3)

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) March 23, 2020

Full Disclosure:  This book was read as an e-ARC (Advance Reader Copy) obtained via Netgalley from the publisher in advance of the book's release on April 21, 2020 in exchange for a potential review.  I give my word that this did not affect my review in any way - if I felt conflicted in any way, I would simply have declined to review the book.

The Ranger of Marzanna is the first in a new epic fantasy series from author Jon Skovron.  Skovron previously wrote the Empire of Storms trilogy, an incredibly fun series of pirates, biological magicians, and more, that was filled with fantastic characters and tremendous wit, even as the story sometimes moved into some incredibly dark areas.  I loved that series so much and would recommend it to almost anyone, so when I saw Skovron had a new book listed on Netgalley, I requested it immediately and hoped I'd get chosen for a review.

And well, The Ranger of Marzanna is a very different kind of book, significantly less into fun adventure and more into classical epic fantasy, with a powerful goddess, mages, empires, rangers, etc.  The book still features some strong characters, and more than a little element of wit, but whereas the Empire of Storms leaned towards comedy even in its darkness, this book definitely leans towards tragedy as events move on.  And while I can't put my finger on anything in particular I disliked, the book never quite grabbed me as much as I would have hoped.  So I may not be continuing with this series, even with all I did like.

A Pale Light In The Black (by KB Wagers) Reread - Chapters 2 and 3

Welcome back to my reread of K.B. Wagers' "A Pale Light in the Black!"  You can find the other posts in this reread here.  Again, since we're just getting started, let me once again make the case that if you haven't already, you should pick up this book for reading now that we're in the middle of a pandemic keeping everyone home.  It features an optimistic world, recovered from a dim global catastrophe, as well as a group of people come together as family (with people of all genders and sexual orientations totally welcome), and - as might be important for many of you who follow me - features at its heart what's really a sporting competition.  It's a hell of a lot of fun, so I think many of you would enjoy following along with me for the ride.

Anyhow, when we last left off, the NeoG Interceptor team of Zuma's Ghost had just barely lost the last edition of the Boarding Games to the navy team, and heartbroken they left the area to go back to their normal jobs of protecting the space around Earth and beyond.  This time around, we fast forward a few months to see them doing just that!

Fantasy Novella Review: Dead Like March by Daniel Jose Older

Dead Like March by Daniel Jose Older

Dead Like March is a novella set in the Shadowshaper Cypher universe of Daniel Jose Older and more specifically a prequel to the series' 2nd book, Shadowhouse Fall.  I'd just read the second book as an audiobook when I discovered this novella's existence, and having enjoyed the series I picked it up from the library on a whim.  And the novella is ideal for just that type of reader: someone who is enjoying the Shadowshaper series and wants more, but will be totally lost on anyone who hasn't read at least the first book of the series (whether you want to read the 2nd book before this one as I have could probably go either way).  It's a solid novella for that purpose, but little more.

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Shadowhouse Fall by Daniel Jose Older

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Shadowhouse Fall by Daniel Jose Older: https://t.co/UQl3ndZSLJ Short Review: 8.5 out of 10 (1/3)

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) March 18, 2020

Short Review (cont): The sequel to Shadowshaper continues the story of Sierra and her friends in Brooklyn as they & their new magical powers find themselves facing new threats combining the "mundane" of police violence w/magical assaults. Really strong themes & characters (2/3)

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) March 18, 2020

Shadowhouse Fall is the second in Daniel Jose Older's Shadowshaper Cypher trilogy and the sequel to Shadowshaper (Reviewed Here).  Shadowshaper was a YA Urban Fantasy series set in modern day Brooklyn and was truly great at featuring a cast of POC teenagers dealing with modern day issues such as gentrification and racism and those attempting to appropriate minorities' cultural histories, through both their regular and fantastical lives.  It also featured a strong cast of characters who were easy to root for, particularly, in its lead Sierra.  Add in the fact that it had one of the better audiobook readers I've experienced, and I was always interested in seeing how the sequel would turn out.

And Shadowhouse Fall is a strong follow-up, again using both its fantastical elements and real world portrayal of Brooklyn to deal with real world issues as it continues to build up its world and characters.  This time around, police violence against minority communities and the oppressive atmosphere of the security state towards anyone who isn't a white man is a major part of the book, and the book showcases this severe problem with our current world very effectively.  And the actual fantastical elements are done well, even if the plot contains similar issues to those of the first book in its choppiness.  I'll be back for the series' conclusion, and soon.

Note: As I noted above, I've been reading this series in audiobook format, and the audiobook reader is extremely good, so I definitely recommend this book in that format.  If I misspell any names though, that's the reason for it in this review.

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: We Unleash the Merciless Storm by Tehlor Kay Mejia

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: We Unleash the Merciless Storm by Tehlor Kay Mejia: https://t.co/UEHPXVVqVN Short Review: 6.5 out of 10 (1/3)

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) March 17, 2020

Short Review(cont): The sequel to We Set the Dark On Fire follows the revolutionary Carmen returning to her rebel group & trying to balance her dreams of a better world & the chance the girl she loves may be endangering it. Good romance, but revolutionary themes fall flat. (2/3)

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) March 17, 2020

We Unleash the Merciless Storm is the sequel to last year's YA "We Set the Dark on Fire" (Reviewed by me here).  I loved We Set the Dark On Fire, which featured a story with a really well done F-F romance, a setting ruled by an upper class through classist and racist oppression and a rebellion that was not above stooping to immoral means to get its way.  Add to those themes a really great protagonist and a heartbreaking cliffhanger ending, and I couldn't wait to get my hands on the sequel - literally: I reserved in 3 different ways through my libraries, and picked it up and read it completely on its day of release.

A Quick Note:  This is a fantasy story solely in the sense that it takes place in an alternate world, with an alternate history and culture to our own - there are basically no fantastical elements at play, although some may be suggested in the ending sequence.  

Alas, We Unleash the Merciless Storm doesn't quite fit the promise of its predecessor.  The story flips its perspective to Carmen, the love interest from the last book, and goes inside the revolutionary organization La Voz, which seeks to overturn the classist and racist government that literally walls off the people on the outside of the island country.  But while the romantic elements are mostly still effective, and the story begins in a way to setup an interesting conflict within the revolution, the book winds up copping out on trying to answer some of its more interesting questions, settling instead for a resolution that is quick, easy and conclusive.  Again I wonder if this series may have been better served as a trilogy instead of a duology, because the result here just seems a miss given the potential shown.

Note: Spoilers for We Set The Dark on Fire below are inevitable, not that much of that book was unpredictable.

SciFi Novella Review: Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey

Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey

Sarah Gailey is one of the more interesting newer writers of SciFi/Fantasy to emerge since I returned to reading 4 years ago.  I haven't always loved what I've read of their work - their Hippo novella River of Teeth and their Harry Potter-esque noir "Magic for Liars" were both left me with some bad tastes, while their short story STET was my pick for the Hugo last year - but it has always been extremely well crafted and dealt with interesting themes.

Upright Women Wanted is their latest work, a dystopian SciFi Western, in a future US in which morality is heavily regulated, with books and other materials needing to be approved, and queerness not accepted.  In between its Western trappings, its a story of self discovery, as its protagonist Esther discovers its okay to be queer and to fight for her right to love who she wants.  It's pretty well done, if a bit predictable in some ways and honestly pretty simple in its themes.

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: The Wolf of Oren-Yaro by K.S. Villoso

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: The Wolf of Oren-Yaro by K.S. Villoso https://t.co/IEdAMU2P6n Short Review: 9 out of 10 (1/3)

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) March 16, 2020

Short Review (cont): When Talyien, the so-called Bitch Queen of Jin-Sayeng heads into a foreign city to convince her exiled husband to return, she finds truths that threaten everything she knows. A fascinating epic fantasy dealing with class, imperialism, & gender dynamics (2/3)

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) March 16, 2020

The Wolf of Oren-Yaro is the first in a series/trilogy by author KS Villoso amusingly titled "Chronicles of the Bitch Queen".  The book seems to have been published a while ago, with a different publisher, but is now being reprinted by major SF/F publisher Orbit, along with its sequel later this year.  The story features an Filipino-inspired Epic Fantasy World, but told from the perspective of a single character, with a story that is far more personal than epic in consequence.

The result is a story that is really well done, with a really interesting main character, and some really strong themes throughout: especially of class, imperialism, and of gender.  A note: despite the series title and the cover, this is not a book about a badass woman just kicking ass and taking names - while the protagonist is a badass at times, the story is more about her dealing with her own personal and royal struggles, as she attempts to deal with the consequences of her husband abandoning her, assassins coming after her, and an Empire of people who think of her as dirt.  And despite some flaws, it's a story that really really works and makes me very interested to see where it goes from here.

A Pale Light In The Black (by KB Wagers) Reread - Introduction and Chapter 1

Welcome to the A Pale Light in the Black reread!  I'll be taking a break from reviews on Saturdays to try something different - a multi-part reread of a recent SciFi book I really enjoyed, KB Wagers' A Pale Light in the Black (which I reviewed here).  The idea here, as demonstrated on many other blogs with many other books across the internet, is to reread the book a few chapters at a time, going over my thoughts on what's going on at each point in time.  Hopefully a few of you will buy the book and read along with me, and put forth your own responses in the comments.

So a question I suspect a lot of you would be asking is this: Why this book? It's certainly not a high profile title, and even if I enjoyed it a lot, it's not one of the books I've rated with a perfect score demonstrating it as an absolute must read.  But well, in an world that has rightfully seen all sporting events canceled for the foreseeable future, to say nothing of a global pandemic and a botched response from incompetent and/or malevolent government leaders, I wanted a book with two particular characteristics:

1.  It includes some form of sporting events; and
2.  It's optimistic, featuring people coming together as family and friends to do good in the world.

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Polaris Rising by Jessie Mihalik

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Polaris Rising by Jessie Mihalik: https://t.co/S42kPyqaw9 Short Review: 7.5 out of 10 (1/3)

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) March 13, 2020

Short Review (cont): Polaris Rising is the best type of "trashy" SF/F, a fun space opera romance with enjoyable characters - essentially a space princess and an outlaw soldier - and action plotting to make it all work. If you just want fun, this will do nicely. (2/3)

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) March 13, 2020

Polaris Rising is the first book in Jessie Mihalik's "Consortium Rebellion", a series of stand-alone space opera novels with a heavy romance bent.  In the latter sense - it very much fits what I sometimes call a "trashy" novel, filled with a protagonist and love interest just barely trying to keep it in their pants.  But as I've said before in other SF/F "trashy" novels, that's not a bad thing - and when done well, these novels can be a lot of fun to read.

Polaris Rising is definitely fun to read.  The book has a setup that in other hands could lead to a lot of discussion of interesting and perhaps serious themes - but it never has any interest in doing so.  Instead it uses that background setup to create a universe in which our fun cast of characters, particularly the heroine and her love interest, can get repeatedly into trouble, requiring quick thinking and quick shooting to get out of it all....and helping get the two of them closer in the process.  It's a book of fun space opera action and lust filled moments, and if that's what you're looking for, you could do a lot worse.

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: The Unspoken Name by A. K. Larkwood https://t.co/LipWKNTPyL Short Review: 9 out of 10 (1/3)

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) March 12, 2020

Short Review (cont): An epic fantasy story following the growth an orc girl as she leaves behind a death cult to serve a powerful mage, only to find not just a dangerous artifact, but a person she cares for. Really great characters and world, definitely recommended. (2/3)

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) March 12, 2020

The Unspoken Name is the first in a new epic fantasy series by debut author A.K. Larkwood, and one that has gotten a lot of hype from authors and sources I trust.  Believe it or not, I don't usually search out Epic Fantasy as a subgenre - it requires often a ton of commitment, and when done poorly can leave you very unsatisfied as a result (especially since the subgenre is rarely done in less than a three book series).  And if I feel mixed on the first book in an epic fantasy series, it's hard for me to decide to give the series another book to win me over due to the usual length and complications involved.  So I have a high bar for epic fantasy.....but fortunately, The Unspoken Name definitely met that bar.

The Unspoken Name's tagline is a pretty easy sell - the story of an Orc "Priestess" turned into a Wizard's "Assassin".....but it doesn't do justice to what we have here, the story of what is essentially an Orc girl, taken from a destiny of being sacrificed to one of becoming the agent of a mysterious and ambitious wizard, all the while finding out more about herself and what there is for her in this strange universe.  It's a setting that may be similar to other epic fantasies - there are cults, empires, gods of death and dangerous religions! - but it's executed so well that I found myself incredibly drawn in, with a tremendous lead character and excellent surrounding cast.  Oh and there's some slow burn queer romance here too, I shouldn't forget to mention.  I'll definitely be back for the second book in this series, whether it features the same main character or not.

Fantasy Novella Review: Throne of Eldraine: The Wildered Quest by Kate Elliott

Throne of Eldraine: The Wildered Quest by Kate Elliott

Throne of Eldraine: The Wildered Quest is a novella/short-novel (word count puts in in the Hugo definition of a novel, but it was meant as a novella, so I'm going with novella) set in the world of Magic the Gathering: particularly the world of this past year's fall expansion, Throne of Eldraine.  I'm not exactly up to touch on MTG - I last played back in Lorwyn (and barely) which wikipedia tells me is 12 years ago now, and am only a little familiar with the old Magic storyline.  But Elliott is one of my favorite writers, so I was interested to see how she would do in this shared universe, so I placed this on reserve when it showed up in my library.

The result is a very solid story, which I suspect does a pretty strong job of interesting the characters and setting dynamics for the Throne of Eldraine set.  But other than that, the story is never particularly special, and if you have no familiarity with Magic the Gathering, you're likely to be confused about certain events and terms that are never explained.*  If you're an avid MTG player interested in the story, you could do a lot worse than The Wildered Quest, but if you're anyone else, there's a lot else more worth your time.

*For example, Planeswalkers are naturally a part of this novella, but you'll be very confused if you come in totally fresh since the concept is never explained.  

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Memory by Linda Nagata

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Memory by Linda Nagata https://t.co/9qfsmBLDtL Short Review: 7 out of 10 (1/3)

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) March 10, 2020

Short Review (cont): A SF/F story following a teenage girl growing up in a strange world left behind by a lost goddess and its mysterious all consuming silver as she tries to protect her loved ones and figure out the world. Very Solid, but unexceptional imo. (2/3)

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) March 10, 2020

Memory is a SF/F novel from genre author Linda Nagata, a well established writer in the genre.  I've generally liked Nagata's work, with her solid MilSci trilogy "The Red" being one of the first things I read after I got back into reading the genre a few years back.  More recently I've been enjoying her more high concept SF novels in her Nanotech Succession/Inverted Frontier series (see my review of Edges here), even though those types of novels aren't usually my thing.  The most recent of those novels, Silver, serves as as sequel to both its predecessor Edges and to Memory, and as I liked Silver a lot, I was interested to see how events started back in Memory.

Memory isn't high concept scifi - indeed, if you hadn't read Silver to note the technology basis for this world, you'd might feel this world is far more fantastical than science fiction - and is a lot more of a character story than the inverted frontier novels.  And I liked it, although not nearly as much as I did the story on this same world in Silver - it's a fun story of a young teenage woman in a strange broken world trying to figure out who she is and who she wants to be while questing for her family, but never really leapt out into true greatness for me.

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Stormsong by C.L. Polk

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Stormsong by CL Polk: https://t.co/nDyc82z8V6 Short Review 8.5 out of 10 (1/3)

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) March 10, 2020

Short Review: The sequel to Witchmark switches protagonists to Miles' sister Grace, as she attempts to lead the devastated country of Aeland forward from its horrid past ways....and deal with a remarkable journalist who sets her heart aflutter. Nice F-F romance and plot. 2/3

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) March 10, 2020

Stormsong is the second book in C.L. Polk's "Kingston Cycle", which began with 2018's "Witchmark" (which I reviewed here).  I didn't quite love Witchmark as much as other reviewers did, due to me not quite buying the chemistry between the protagonist and his love interest, which was a major part of the story.  Still, I thought the world was setup really well, enjoyed how the main conspiracy thriller plot worked out, and was intrigued at the setup the book left us off with.  So I was definitely curious to see how the sequel, Stormsong would play out.

And Stormsong is definitely better for the most part - particularly in the romance, which switches from focusing on a M-M pair to a F-F one, and worked much better for me.  The progression of the world after the events of the last book is once again fascinating, with interesting issues and themes - of freedom and power, incrementalism vs revolution, and of the blindness of privilege in particular.  But oddly the thriller parts of this book are far more predictable than in the first book, to its detriment, and the book ends extremely abruptly, with little warning, and is thus a bit unsatisfying as a single volume.  But I'll be back for book 3 to see how this continues or concludes, for sure.

Note: Minor Spoilers for Witchmark are present below. 

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Thornbound by Stephanie Burgis

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Thornbound by Stephanie Burgis: https://t.co/UzWobIwvaX Short Review: 7.5 out of 10 (1/3)

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) March 7, 2020

Short Review (cont): Burgis' romantic fantasy series with genderflipped roles continues as Cassandra Harwood tries to open up her magic school for women only to contend with gov't inspectors & deadly fae bargains. Well done with a strong main character & very enjoyable. (2/3)

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) March 7, 2020

Thornbound is the second book in Stephanie Burgis' "Harwood Spellbook", her romantic fantasy series.  I really enjoyed the rest of the series - I naturally started with the novella that follows this book first (Moontangled) and then the prequel novella and then finally the first book in the series, so I've gotten the order all jumbled up but I've enjoyed it all nonetheless.  The result of my weird reading order is that I was a decent amount spoiled as to what was going to happen in Thornbound going in, but I still had good hopes I'd enjoy it.

And Thornbound is enjoyable, but it suffers from the recurrence of a really annoying trope to diminish my enjoyment a good bit (and that trope is made far more obvious if you're already spoiled).  Our lead character remains excellent except for that trope, and Burgis does a great job with the plot subverting the usual gender roles while also bringing in classic concerns at the same time, so it's still a very solid short novel.  Still I look forward to Burgis continuing in this series, where I have no more opportunity to have my enjoyment lessened by spoilers.

SciFi Novella Review: Sea Change by Nancy Kress

Full Disclosure:  This novella was read as an e-ARC (Advance Reader Copy) obtained via Netgalley from the publisher in advance of the book's release on April 24, 2020 in exchange for a potential review.  I give my word that this did not affect my review in any way - if I felt conflicted in any way, I would simply have declined to review the book.



Sea Change by Nancy Kress


Sea Change is the latest novella from author Nancy Kress, whose work I've heard about but never previously read.  It's another in an unsurprisingly growing genre - works that showcase dark sorta-dystopian futures based upon potential developments based upon our current trajectory.  In this case, it deals with a potential backlash to GMO-based food due to an unfortunate disaster and the results such a backlash would have.

Still, Sea Change is a bit more than that, as it also tries to showcase a protagonist who is bent on helping others through various causes, and one who is also trying to recover from tragedy of her own.  It's lead character is very believable, as are its side characters, and you can easily see such a person in the modern world today.  The novella has some issues, but it's well worth your time.

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Paladin's Grace by T Kingfisher

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Paladin's Grace by T Kingfisher (aka Ursula Vernon): https://t.co/262nisefRH Short Review: 9 out of 10 (1/3)

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) March 5, 2020

Short Review (cont): Wonderful, Charming, and often very funny romantic fantasy featuring a paladin of a dead god and a perfumer, two awkward introverts, who fall for each other in a city featuring assassination plots and severed heads. Really damn good. (2/3)

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) March 5, 2020

Paladin's Grace is the latest fantasy novel by prolific writer T Kingfisher (also known as chidren's fantasy writer Ursula Vernon) and the latest novel in her fantasy universe filled with paladins, assassins, lawyers, and more that began in The Clockwork Boys.  It's the second stand alone romantic fantasy novel in this universe for Kingfisher 2018's Swordheart so no foreknowledge of this universe is needed.  But as I've enjoyed nearly everything written by Kingfisher I've read - with her vibrant characters and incredibly witty dialogue - and loved Swordheart, I was excited to read Paladin's Grace as soon as it came out.

And Paladin's Grace is fantastic fun, a romantic fantasy between a broken Paladin and a Perfumer in a city dealing with a case of mysterious severed heads, a overzealous prosecuting priesthood, and an oddly incompetent assassin.  It contains a number of great characters, a really nice romance, and a really fun fantasy setting.  I don't think I love it quite as much as Swordheart, but I've reread parts repeatedly since finishing it, so yeah, this one's another winner.

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review Vagabonds by Hao Jingfang (Translated by Ken Liu)

SciFi/Fantasy Advanced Review: Vagabonds by Hao Jingfang (translated by Ken Liu): https://t.co/0O6NIQaomx Short Review: 8 out of 10 (1/4)

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) March 4, 2020

Short Review (cont): The first translated novel from Chinese Hugo Award winning author Hao Jingfang features a future in following a group of teens from socialist technologically advanced Mars who spent 5 years on an uber capitalist but free Earth and find themselves (2/4)

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) March 4, 2020

Short Review (cont): questioning everything they think about freedom and what it means to fight for it...and whether it's worth it. A fascinating story with themes of freedom from a Chinese POV that I don't quite agree with, but is well worth reading. (3/4)

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) March 4, 2020

Full Disclosure:  This book was read as an e-ARC (Advance Reader Copy) obtained via Netgalley from the publisher in advance of the book's release on April 14, 2020 in exchange for a potential review.  I give my word that this did not affect my review in any way - if I felt conflicted in any way, I would simply have declined to review the book.

Reading Science Fiction or Fantasy originating in other countries is something I highly recommend, as it shows you fiction of ideas from people whose backgrounds and worldviews are very different from one's own (the same of course is true for domestic authors from different backgrounds as well).  Given that most of the genre is based on the use of future and different worlds to discuss and explore ideas reflecting our own world, the fact that these different backgrounds result in different ways of exploring ideas makes them especially interesting.  This is almost more true of translated SF/F, if only because only the most interesting and promising such works tend to get translated and published over here, for obvious reasons.

All of which is to say Vagabonds, written by Chinese Author Hao Jingfang and translated by Ken Liu, is an incredibly fascinating piece of work and like few other works I've read.  It's a book set in a future in which Mars has been colonized, revolted against the Earth in a harsh long war, and now the two planets live in an uneasy peace with very different political systems - an ultra-capitalist but disorganized Earth and a fully socialist oligarch ruled Mars.  The results is a piece of SciFi with heavy thoughts and questions about the meaning of freedom, the meaning of home, and the worth of revolution, and very few clear answers.

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Snowspelled by Stephanie Burgis

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Snowspelled by Stephanie Burgis: https://t.co/Dkq9AsjY5H Short Review: 8 out of 10 (1/3)

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) March 2, 2020

Short Review (cont): A romantic fantasy following Cassandra Harwood, Angland's first female mage, now stripped of her magic, forced to deal with a malicious elf lord...w/no one to help but her ex-fiance. Great characters & fun dialogue in an interesting genderflipped world. 2/3

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) March 3, 2020

Snowspelled is a short romantic fantasy novel (bordering on novella in length) by author Stephanie Burgis, and the first published work in her Harwood Spellbook series.  I kind of came to the series backwards - reading the last published novella first, before moving on to the the prequel novella Spellswept and finally onto this book, the first in the series.  I really enjoyed the other two novellas, both in the fantasy world they portrayed - a world where England (known here as "Angland") triumphed over the Romans and established a government by women, with men being given the role of mages as the more "emotional" sex - and the romances involved.  So I was interested to see how the longer works in the series would read. 

Snowspelled is very much like the two novellas I've read, except a bit more expansive in its ambitions, and is nearly as enjoyable as the novellas.  Like the novellas, the reader should figure out very quickly where certain plot elements are heading - the romance, the mystery villain - but Burgis mostly manages to execute those expected plot turns excellently, so it's always enjoyable to read.  More than that, she resolves things in a slightly different way than I expected, even with me having been spoiled by the other novellas, which was a nice touch.  The central antagonist's plot is the weakest part of the whole thing, but otherwise the book is very enjoyable and I will be moving on to the next in the series.

Note: I read this in audiobook, which comes along with the prequel novella Spellswept.  The reader is very good, so I would recommend the book in this format.