Thursday, March 31, 2022

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Saint Death's Daughter by C.S.E. Cooney

 



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 12, 2022 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.


Saint Death's Daughter is a new Fantasy novel by author C.S.E. Cooney, and apparently the first in a new trilogy (although this works entirely fine as a stand alone).  It's also sort of a coming of age story, featuring powerful necromancer Miscellaneous "Lanie" Stones, a girl born into a family of legendary necromances, assassins and executioners for their small nation, who is entirely too kind and caring - and whose body seizes up sympathetically at the sight of pain - for her work.  The story is written in a semi-serious fashion, with multiple moments of comedy and humor, both in how the world works and the names of the people within it as well as in the footnotes that occasionally show up in the story and make notations about people and events referenced in the story in ways that are full of dark humor.  

And while the comedic angle of the story never really quite worked for me - it felt very much like the book couldn't decide whether it wanted to be a comedy or a more serious story at times - I still really really enjoyed Saint Death's Daughter, particularly thanks to its lead character Lanie and the characters all around her.  Between the non-binary priest Lanie falls in love with, Lanie's growing niece who is excitable and violent, the zombie housekeeper Goody, the greedy debt-buyers who plague Lanie's family and country and even the evil enemy nation and her powerful wizards, there's just a lot to like here in this imaginative, fun, and often surprising world.  In short I really enjoyed this book, and will be back for the sequels to see more of what happens to Lanie and her friends next. 

Tuesday, March 29, 2022

Fantasy Novella Review: Of Charms, Ghosts, and Grievances by Aliette de Bodard

 


Full Disclosure:  This book was read as an e-ARC (Advance Reader Copy) obtained from the author in advance of the book's updated release on June 28, 2022 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.

Of Charms, Ghosts, and Grievances by Aliette de Bodard 

Of Charms, Ghosts and Grievances is the latest novella in Aliette de Bodard's "Dominion of the Fallen" universe, and more specifically, is the second of her "murderhusband" novellas that feature the heads of House Hawthorn*, lovable and just dragon prince Thuan and the sadistic, sarcastic, assholish but fiercely protective of his own fallen angel Asmodeus.  The first of these novellas was 2020's Of Dragons, Feasts, Murders, which I absolutely loved and still quote on occasion, being both a fun mystery, a fun trip with these great characters, and well, actually poignant and relevant themes about misrule, corruption and change in bureaucracies.  So yeah, I was excited to see another sequel novella come out.  

*As of Book 2, The House of Binding Thorns - this fact is so impossible to talk around that well, I'm not even going to try.  Nothing else about these novellas requires reading of book 2 though, although it is referenced a few ties in this novella.*

And Of Charms, Ghosts, and Grievances features another strong murder mystery as Thuan and Asmodeus are vacationing and well, babysitting, in the dragon kingdom once more.  The story isn't quite as generally politically applicable as its predecessor, but the mystery remains strong, the relationship between Thuan and Asmodeus and their characters remain excellent, as do the two new characters that join them this time.  Oh and this is a book about protecting children and two parental figures with very different mindsets, and oh my god are all the scenes with the kids so damn cute.  It may not be up to the same level as the first novella, but this is still damn fun and adorable at times, even as Thuan and Asmodeus are dealing with ghosts, abusive/murderous exorcists, and a whole lot of danger.  

More specifics after the jump:


Monday, March 28, 2022

Fantasy Novella Review: The Seventh Perfection by Daniel Polansky

 



The Seventh Perfection by Daniel Polansky

The Seventh Perfection is a fantasy novella that is told from an interesting perspective - the story is told near-entirely in a way that gives the reader only one side of a conversation, as the main protagonist spends the pretty much the entire story speaking to various people and attempting to get the truth behind the questions she seeks.  As such, we the reader only hear the words of those speaking to the protagonist, and never see the actions or hear the words spoken by the protagonist herself (sorta). 

Through this perspective, The Seventh Perfection attempts to explore a mystery about what truly happened during a revolution in which a new God King took power, through the sacrifice of his beloved lover/friend, as well as a mystery about who the protagonist is herself.  It's a really interesting ride up until the end, in which the story kind of falls apart, with an answer that is just not really satisfying after a reveal that makes sense but isn't particularly special.  

Some more specifics after the jump:

Thursday, March 24, 2022

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: The Isle of Glass by Judith Tarr

 




The Isle of Glass is the first book in Judith Tarr's "The Hound and the Falcon" historical fantasy trilogy.  Tarr is a name I've known for a while - in part from her Tor.com column on horses in fiction and reality, and in part based upon her name popping up on lists of classic authors to check out, but I hadn't ever gotten a chance to try any of her fiction out before.  So when I saw this trilogy praised on twitter, I looked it up and found this first book available via inter-library loan, and here we are.  

And well, The Isle of Glass is a perfectly enjoyable historical fantasy novel set during the 12th century and the Crusades (or well in between them), featuring a Fae/Elf/Changeling devout monk, who is forced to confront what he is when he's sent to King Richard (yes that Richard) from his monastery in an attempt to stop a war.  It's well done for what it is - its hero's self-hate and martyr complex are very understandable in light of the religious/personal conflicts the hero has over his very being, and the side characters are very enjoyable as they support/antagonize him - although what it is, to be honest, has limited appeal to me.  But if you're more interested in fantasy set amongst middle ages/crusades-era Christianity, I suspect The Isle of Glass and its sequels will very much appeal to you.  

Tuesday, March 22, 2022

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Redwood and Wildfire by Andrea Hairston

 


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Redwood and Wildfire was the second book published by author Andrea Hairston.  The book originally was published by a small press in 2011, where it won a bunch of awards, but soon fell out of print.  Which was a shame, because I only became aware of Hairston in 2020 when Tor released her terrific epic fantasy "Master of Poisons" (Reviewed Here) and found that I could only obtain one of her old out of print books - the great Will Do Magic For Small Change* (Reviewed Here) - via Inter-Library Loan.  In frustration, I asked my library to try to purchase Hairston's backlog, and when Tor announced they were going to rerelease Hairston's entire backlog, my library actually took advantage to give this one a buy (Libraries are great folks).  

*Technically Will Do Magic For Small Change is a sequel to this book, although it's a distant sequel and features distant descendants of these characters so as to be wholly stand-alone with its own themes*

But enough about me, let's talk this book, which is a really strong Historical Fantasy taking place around the turn of the 20th century, featuring African American hoodoo conjuring girl Redwood and half-Seminole half-Irish man Aiden (Wildfire) as they struggle first in Georgia and then in Chicago with traumas and oppressions that come from nothing but their own backgrounds (as a Black girl and half-Native man in America).  Hairston features the two interacting with a number of characters, all of whom are trying to survive and thrive in their own ways - even if those ways aren't entirely good - in a world that tries to punish people for striving for their dreams.  Its a tale that does not go in the directions I expected, and can at times be difficult to read because of how each of the characters struggle and are imperfect, with some very magically real/surreal moments at times, but it works in the end pretty damn well.  

Trigger Warnings:  Rape, Animal Cruelty, Lynching; none of this is gratuitous and Hairston treats these events with the gravitas they deserve.  

Monday, March 21, 2022

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Star Wars: Queen's Hope by E.K. Johnston

 




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 5, 2022 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.


Star Wars: Queen's Hope is the third book in E.K. Johnston's trilogy of Star Wars novels featuring Padme Amidala and her handmaidens during the times of the prequels (after Queen's Shadow and Queen's Peril).  I've actually never read either of those novels, but I know a friend has raved about them, and others I trust have raved about Johnston's work in general.  And well my own prior encounter with Johnston, in her book "The Aftermath", was pretty positive, as it featured some really great character work.  So I was excited to try this novel out when I got an advance copy, even without having read the prior novels.

And boy do I now want to go back and read those prior two novels, because Queen's Hope is a terrific character-focused novel.  The story focuses on Padme and her Handmaidens, many of whom now have gone different ways, right after Attack of the Clones as Padme and her companions try to figure out who they are now with the war, Padme's secret marriage, and all they have gone through.  And it's just so easy to care for each of these characters, even the ones I didn't know from the movies, as the story jumps between them frequently - even despite how short the novel is.  And the story ends up being one that is surprisingly hopeful, especially given all we know is to come in the third movie after this one.  Just a lot to love here.  

Note:  As you can tell from this review, this novel can be read entirely stand-alone - it certainly seems like some of the handmaiden's characters developed in the prior novels, but you will not be lost if you lack that foreknowledge like I did, and you should really enjoy this novel anyway like I did.  

Thursday, March 17, 2022

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: After the Dragons by Cynthia Zhang

 



After the Dragons is a SciFi/Fantasy Romance novel* by author Cynthia Zhang. The story takes place in alternate world - specifically in China - where dragons are real, although the only ones living these days are small ones in China/East-Asian Countries, where dragons are generally smallish and treated like pets for better or worse.  

*The book's publishing blurbs refer to this book as a "novel", although I suspect its length is short enough to qualify it for awards as a novella instead.  But as is my general policy, I am deferring to the publisher and referring to as a novel 

The story uses this setting, as well as issues with pollution and climate change, to tell a really strong M-M romance between Eli, a half-black half-Chinese American researcher, and Kai, a Chinese college student with a fatal disease and a desperate desire to take care of and find a home of Beijing's suffering abandoned dragon population.  It's a really sweet and well done romance using major real issues, plus dragons, as a backdrop and I definitely recommend it.  

Tuesday, March 15, 2022

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Blood Heir by Amélie Wen Zhao

 




Blood Heir is the first in an young adult epic fantasy trilogy by Amélie Wen Zhao, who second book came out last year and whose conclusion is scheduled to come out later this year.  It's a story with a setup that is pretty classic at this point: an Empire in which those with magical powers over the world around them are reviled and oppressed with a princess who discovers she has such powers and finds out that her ideal country isn't quite so ideal.  It also features the classic YA trope of two protagonists of different genders and backgrounds, one of which means to betray the other at the start, who come together and possibly start feeling something for one another in the end.  

That said, while it features all of the above classical plot elements, Blood Heir works well enough to still be worth your time, with its lead characters being quite strong, and the story being very unafraid to go into some dark places.  The result is a very solid trilogy opener, with a satisfying ending that also leaves things uncertain enough to wind up going in some very interesting places.  I will be trying out the second book to see where it goes from here.  

Monday, March 14, 2022

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Savage City by L. Penelope

 




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 March 31, 2022 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.


Savage City is the start of a new series of fantasy romance series by author L. Penelope, who I've previously encountered for her "Earthsinger Chronicles", another fantasy romance/epic fantasy series, which just finished with 4 novels a little while back (and 3 novellas).  I kind of grew to really really like Earthsinger, whose first book had a solid pair of main characters but little else, but grew more and more complicated and filled with good characters, till it became really interesting, which characters and romances I really liked and cared about.  Still, the series seemed to grow too complicated for Penelope to finish it with a truly satisfying conclusion to its many themes and ideas, which were really interesting as they were built up.  

And Savage City reminds me a bit of the first Earthsinger novel (Song of Blood & Stone) - it's got some very solid interesting characters from different sides of a conflict, some interesting themes, and is just too short to really explore it all.  The central romance features Talia, a girl from our own world, who upon death finds herself in a fantasy world as the missing daughter of an oppressive but loving father, and Ryin, a member of an oppressed people acting as a prisoner of war as he attempts to plot a revolution.  The setup is familiar in some ways but well done, and the characters are generally pretty enjoyable, but certain conflicts (the forbidden nature of their love, the comfort of having a loving parent vs the fear such a parent is wrong, etc.) just don't have enough time to make an impact.  

Still there's enough here - when combined with Penelope's past history with her Earthsinger Chronicles - for me to be interested in going forward, and others may like this a bit more.  


Saturday, March 12, 2022

A Chorus of Dragons (by Jenn Lyons) Reread: Book Four: The House of Always

 


Welcome to Part 3 of my reread of Jenn Lyons' A Chorus of Dragons, with this post featuring book 4 in the series, 2021's The House of Always.  You can find all my posts in this Reread - 1 post per book - by clicking this link here.

The House of Always is in some ways an odd book, as half of its plot (and the framing device) arguably feels unnecessary - as it deals not with the ramifications of the cliffhanger from book 3 (which will really be felt in the series' finale in book 5) but instead with the process of making those ramifications possible.  As I put in my initial review of this book, it could very much have felt like the series was stalling if done poorly, as well....I and presumably most readers surely wanted to see how the cliffhanger of book 3 would play out here, so it's a hell of a credit to the writing here that this book does not feel like much of a disappointment.  

The way it does so is through a second plotline featuring a number of side characters from books 1-2, many of whom we hadn't seen since book 1, that develops them into really great characters in their own right - and through examining the core relationships between the main trio in a way to finish the development that went on in The Memory of Souls.  And it works really well, even if not quite everything works.

Okay that's about as much as I can say without spoilers, so MAJOR Spoilers and more thoughts after my reread after the jump:

Thursday, March 10, 2022

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: The Ivory Key by Akshaya Raman

 




The Ivory Key is the first in a Indian inspired YA Fantasy duology by debut author Akshaya Raman.  The story features a country known for its ability to excavate physical magic from its mines, a country that is falling apart due to foreign pressure, internal poverty, and the secret decline in magic.  In that country the story follows a family of four royal siblings, children of a father who once dreamed of a long lost artifact that could unlock other sources of magic but of course never found it - leading the protagonists to believe it just a myth, until their own individual goals lead them to go on a desperate quest to find it themselves.  

Unfortunately, the result is very meh, and not particularly interesting, even if it's done competently enough.  The book is not very long, and tries to feature four main characters with their own points of view, along with a country and geopolitical situation and long lost myths and well....books that try to do all that generally can work by focusing on certain elements, like 1-2 specific characters, and to develop them well while leaving the rest underdeveloped.  Instead, The Ivory Key tries to develop all four characters, as well as the world to some extent, and as a result they all feel underdeveloped, like stock characters, and the plot really doesn't hit any surprising or truly interesting plot beats to make carrying on further with these characters feel worth it.  It's not bad in any way, it's just meh, which makes this hard to recommend with so much else great out there.  

Wednesday, March 9, 2022

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: The Blood Trials by N.E. Davenport

 




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 5, 2022 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 Blood Trials is the debut novel of author N.E. Davenport, and the first half of a new YA SciFi/Fantasy Duology.  The story features a young woman, Ikenna, who is the granddaughter of a famous soldier who saved his Republic from the armies of a powerful conquering Empire...even despite that Republic's racist prejudice against his mixed blood heritage....and who suddenly and mysteriously died three months prior to the story's beginning.  And of course when Ikenna gets the word that he might have been murdered, she enlists herself in the dangerous trials that determine who becomes the Republic's elite soldiers in order to discover who killed him and to get her revenge.  

It's a pretty classic setup, but Davenport tells it in ways that are both brutal and often surprising in how it shows the brash Ikenna trying to get her revenge amongst horrifying odds and tremendous racial prejudice, with a setting that features honestly too many interesting parts for the book to really get into.  As a protagonist Ikenna is highly enjoyable in her impulsive good hearted but unabashedly brutal at times behavior and is easy to care for, and several other major characters are really well done side characters.  Still, the final act of the book introduces a part of this world only hinted at previously, such that it feels really really rushed, as the book rushes towards a cliffhanger ending to end before book 2.  But there's enough compelling and different here to keep me interested to try out the sequel.

Tuesday, March 8, 2022

SciFi/Fantasy Novella: Ogres by Adrian Tchaikovsky

 


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 March 15, 2022 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.


Ogres by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Ogres is the latest novella by prolific British author Adrian Tchaikovsky, whose novellas I have really enjoyed (much more so than his novels) in the past.  Tchaikovsky has a tendency in his novellas to do fun or interesting things with his writing and the plot concepts involved, from a story dealing with perspectives of people from very two different technological worlds who see the same story as a fantasy vs SciFi story (Elder Race) to a comedic story featuring a man living at the end of time who tries to destroy anyone else who builds a time machine to get to him (One Day All This Will Be Yours).  The results have always been highly interesting and entertaining....and Ogres similarly tries to do something different as well.

In Ogres case, that something different is a story told in the second person (not that uncommon these days) featuring a man in a world ruled by Ogres - giant people - in what seems at first to be a feudalistic fantasy society and soon becomes apparent is something more.  The story plays with the concept of what builds a hero, of horrors rich and powerful people inflict upon others, the power of knowledge and common interest to rise up, and more.  And the result, especially its ending, is rather strong and very well done.  Not sure this rises up to the level of some of his other (and more award worthy in my opinion) novella work, but it's definitely worth a read.

Saturday, March 5, 2022

A Chorus of Dragons (by Jenn Lyons) Reread: Book Three: The Memory of Souls

 


Welcome to Part 3 of my reread of Jenn Lyons' A Chorus of Dragons, with this post featuring book 3 in the series, 2020's The Memory of Souls - probably my favorite of the series.  You can find all my posts in this Reread - 1 post per book - by clicking this link here.

The Memory of Souls is where A Chorus of Dragons, with the groundwork underlying the series being largely laid, finally spreads its wings and really goes all out.  Book 1 told the story pretty much entirely from Kihrin's perspective - yeah we had bits told from other perspectives all over the place, but it was Kihrin's story, which generally hindered the narrative.  Book 2 told the story half from Janel's perspective and half from Qown's (with Kihrin in the framing device).  

By contrast the Memory of Souls jumps all over the place.  Kihrin still probably gets half the chapters, but you have parts from Janel's perspective, from Tereath's perspective (finally), from Senera's perspective, from Talea's, from Grizzst's perspective, from Therin's, etc. etc.  In book 1, the wide spread of the plot was a problem, as the story couldn't focus upon a single story arc, leaving large parts feeling unsatisfyingly unresolved or pointless.  But here the wide spread of perspectives all come together in one epic end that massively changes the status quo of the series, to the point where we'll need a whole next book to come to grips with that new status quo (but we'll deal with that next week).  And well, not only do these perspectives give us an interesting story, they build the side and main characters up tremendously, build relationships to the point where I loved so many people here, and well....it's just generally great.  

More specifics after the jump, going heavily into spoilers of course:

Thursday, March 3, 2022

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi

 




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 March 15, 2022 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.    


John Scalzi is one of the most successful modern SciFi/Fantasy authors out there, at least from the subset of writers who haven't had major works made into major TV shows or motion pictures (Yet).  At one point in 2015-2016, I went on a big kick of reading Scalzi novels, from his entire Old Man's War series to his Hugo Award winning Redshirts to some of his other works, and I've now read 11 Scalzi books prior to this one.  And well, outside of Redshirts and maybe the Old Man's War series, I've kind of come down in my opinion on Scalzi - his works are always enjoyable and entertaining, and often have really relevant underlying themes (the dangers of capitalism, overlooking dangerous environmental disasters for short term gain, etc.) but they rarely go more than skin deep into those themes and I never really find myself blown away anymore.  

And The Kaiju Preservation Society is pretty much another great example of that.  To be fair, Scalzi admits in his acknowledgements in the end that he intended this to be a light enjoyable book because that was all he could manage during the pandemic, and well he's certainly done that here: a book featuring a bunch of scientists (and its protagonist dropout) going to a parallel world to help protect the nuclear powered Kaiju found there from each other....and from rich and powerful humans with dumb ambitions.  It's a short novel again, and it's stand alone, and again it's highly enjoyable and fun at times.  On the other hand again there really isn't anything spectacular about it, even from the standpoint of being a light humorous and enjoyable ride, so yeah

Wednesday, March 2, 2022

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Arkhangelsk by Elizabeth H. Bonesteel

 




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 March 8, 2022 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.


Arkhangelsk is an upcoming scifi novel from author Elizabeth H. Bonesteel.  Prior to me starting this blog, back in 2016, I read the first in Bonesteel's space opera "Central Corps" series, which I didn't quite love (and thus didn't continue).  Still it had enjoyable prose, so I was curious to see how her other work would turn out when this popped up on NetGalley, 

And Arkhanelsk is a pretty interesting novel, even with a premise that will be very familiar to those who read a bunch of scifi: a long lost space colony, struggling to survive on a harsh world while thinking they're the last humans in the universe...only to be found by a new starship from Earth, who left a very different planet than their ancestors.  Add in some noirish elements - colonists who go missing, parts that are breaking down and/or sabotaged - and two protagonists: a well meaning colony security chief and an unwilling ship captain, and well there's plenty here that's familiar.  But it's done rather well, as its two protagonists are quite strong in their perspectives, troubles, and relationships - and even some of the setup is slightly different than usual, as it tells a story of the tough choices peoples make when desperate, and the costs they are willing to pay.....

Tuesday, March 1, 2022

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: The Circus Infinite by Khan Wong

 


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 March 8, 2022 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 Circus Infinite is a SciFi novel by author Khan Wong, featuring a universe where a bunch of different species are connected to a single force that unites them, and provides certain members of each with their own special powers when they are on their own worlds.  It's a setup that isn't quite as ideal as it sounds, with various prejudices hindering the unity of all, such as a prejudice against the children of mixed-race parentage.  So naturally this story follows one such hybrid, Jes, a Human/Rijala hybrid on the run from those who would torture him for his special powers, as he discovers a circus made up of many different species and finds a family he never expected.  

This is hardly a unique setup, but the found family story is prominent for a reason, and it works very well here.  The characters are very well done, and the combination of Jes' powerset - not just gravity powers, but also empathic feeling of emotions - with his asexuality causes him mental stresses and difficulties in ways that I haven't seen done before, and it works pretty well.  On the other hand, most of the conflict plotline faced by Jes, featuring a gangster kingpin blackmailing him and more, is a bit generic and is resolved in a way that is a bit too easy and abrupt.  Still, the result is highly enjoyable and different enough to be well worth your time, even if its last act doesn't quite live up to the rest of it.