Sci-Fi Novella Review: Hybrid Heart by Iori Kusano

Full Disclosure: This book was read as an e-ARC (Advance Reader Copy) obtained from the publisher in advance of the book's release on March 28, 2023 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.

Hybrid Heart is the first novella from short fiction author Iori Kusano and is another one of the offerings from Queer Indy SF/F publisher Neon Hemlock. The story features a near future Japan from the perspective of Rei, an idol who used to be part of a two-girl idol group and now finds herself going it on her own after her partner Ririko fled from idol life and disappeared from Rei's life. But, as the story soon makes clear, Rei finds herself depressed and wishing almost that she was the one who had fled Idol life and the demands of her emotionally abusive manager and finds herself constantly looking up and dreaming of a digital idol who is able to perform and sing without having to show themselves or to bend themselves to the whims of such a producer.

The result is a story that deals heavily with the pitfalls and horrors of Japan's idol culture* - and to a similar but not quite the same extent, Western female pop star culture* - as Rei deals with emotional abuse, the memories of her past and the path she's taken and how she sees a new young teen idol following along that same path. It's a really effective and strong novel that, while avoiding going into the sexual and physical abusive elements of idol culture, really uses near future technology to showcase how bad it can be and how one might envision a better version....

There really isn't a Western equivalent to idol culture as it is in Japan - Western female teen/early 20s pop stars are probably the closest, but it's not quite the same. If you're unfamiliar with the idea of idols in Japan, this novella might be confusing to you, but it's beyond the scope of this review to explain it.

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: The Scratch Daughters by H.A. Clarke

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 October 25, 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 Scratch Daughters is the second book in H.A. Clarke's "Scapegracers" trilogy. The series is a queer feminist (or well, anti-patriarchy) young adult urban fantasy series featuring as its protagonist Sideways Pike, a lesbian queer teen witch who was always an outcast growing up in school...until a trio of more popular girls ask her to pull a prank with magic and wind up becoming her friends and coven, the Scapegracers, who are not the group of het girls Sideway first thought they were. But in gaining a coven, Sideways gained enemies as well, such as the witch hunting Chantry Boys (led by their sheriff father) and a girl named Madeline...who wants revenge on the boys so bad she'll leave Sideways in a bad place to do it. Book 1 was a really great start to the series even as it ended on a brutal cliffhanger, so I've been super lucky to get advance copies of Book 2 and Book 3 - even if I've been way slow in actually reading them (I'm a year late on this review, sorry!)

The Scratch Daughters follows book 1's cliffhanger and presents a book that remains incredibly queer and against the patriarchy, even as it throws Sideways for even more of a loop than book 1. In book 1, Sideways was largely dealing with suddenly gaining a bunch of friends who wanted to be with her and learn magic with her, even as her greater magic attracted more deadly trouble (I'm VASTLY oversimplifying). This time around Sideways has to deal with conflicts between those friends' wants, their wants and cares for Sideways, Sideways' own depressed state due to what happened at the end of Book 1, and Sideways' relationship with a new major character. It also magnifies the threat of the witchfinders immensely. It's a book that now can become pretty hard to read because of all the struggles it puts its protagonist through, but it's worth it in the end and I can't wait to follow this up with the trilogy's conclusion.

Spoilers for book 1 are present below, be warned if you haven't read The Scapegracers yet.

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: When it Rains in Color by Denise Crittendon

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 December 6, 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.

Where it Rains in Color is an Afrofuturist novel from author Denise Crittendon. The novel features a galaxy in which melanin and skin color is prized, and the planet Swazembi - settled by people who disputedly have origins in West Africa - features the people with the most melanin and skin color of all. It's a world filled with color and peace and the most prized among them all is the Rare Indigo, a girl who comes along every few decades with the most perfect skin color and beauty in the galaxy and who possesses magical abilities such as the ability to "shimmer". The story follows the most recent Rare Indigo, Lileala, as she's about to be fully confirmed in that role...only for her to be struck with a strange skin affecting disease, strange voices, and a role in a galactic conspiracy.

The result is a novel with a lot of really interesting ideas - ideas about remembering the past vs being ashamed and hiding it, ideas about beauty and power, ideas about ambition and collective decisions vs individuals striving to help make things better, and more. Lileala is a very strong main character and the world is beautifully illustrated, with the main planet of Swazembi being filled with color, even if everything isn't perfect under the surface, while the world of the antagonists, the Kclabs, is completely lacking such color, just like their skin, and the contrast and afrofuturist ideas are done pretty well. At the same time however, the story relies upon occasionally switching point of view characters and that results in some very unsatisfying results, such as one prominent major character who is revealed to be hiding some major things in the ending which are not at all hinted at (or done so poorly) in the chapters from their perspective. The book also relies upon worldbuilding that doesn't sketch everything out and leaves it to the reader to figure out how it works, and that has some occasionally ineffective results (especially after the reveal). All in all, it's an interesting novel that doesn't quite meet up with its potential.

Fantasy Novella Review: Finding Echoes by Foz Meadows

Full Disclosure: This book was read as an e-ARC (Advance Reader Copy) obtained from the publisher in advance of the book's release on January 30, 2024 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.

Finding Echoes is a new novella from queer small press Neon Hemlock (whose stuff is nearly always great) by queer fantasy author Foz Meadows (whose stuff is also pretty much always great or at least interesting). So yeah, you can imagine my excitement to get my hands on their latest novella, Finding Echoes.

The novella features a city filled with class and wealth divisions, drug use, uprisings, and politicians and nobles who stand above it all, not caring about or doing anything about certain walled in parts of the city where the lower classes live. Into this setting comes Snow, a protagonist defined by Snow's white hair (marking their being born to a person addicted to a dangerous drug) and Snow's ability to see the umbra (echoes/spirits) of the recent dead and to hear the truths they tell. The result is a story dealing with class, with truths and realities between classes, and of love and hope for the better as Snow's past love Gem returns and asks Snow to help him on a dangerous mission. It's pretty good.

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Momo Arashima Steals the Sword of the Wind by Misa Sugiura

 

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 February 28, 2023 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.

Momo Arashima Steals the Sword of the Wind is the first in a new middle grade modern fantasy series inspired by Japanese mythology.  The book is not part of the Rick Riordan Presents imprint but very much feels like a book from that line - a middle grade fantasy that feels like Percy Jackson except featuring a different type of mythology at its core (in this case, Japanese).  And well it's an obviously reliable formula and I've liked a lot of the RR Presents books, so I was definitely intrigued by this book's cover and description when it showed up on NetGalley.  And well I've definitely enjoyed a bunch of YA and other books based upon Japanese Mythology, so while it's not my culture, I was very hopeful.  

And Momo Arashima largely delivers a very fun middle grade story that deals with some real serious issues even as it has its protagonist Momo going through a very entertaining adventure through its take on Japanese mythology.  The story follows a bunch of standard tropes for a book like this - a protagonist with a half mythological heritage she knows nothing about, an adventure that keeps running her into various creatures and beings from that mythology that represent new allies, foes or other challenges, etc. - but these tropes are done well and there's enough kind of originalish here to stand out.  Most notably, the story deals with Momo not just being an outcast from her middle grade compatriots, but also her being forced on an adventure with a boy who is seemingly one of those callous jocks even as he was once her friend, an Asian boy adopted by White parents who has seemingly joined the group ostracizing Momo even as he doesn't seem to realize that's what he's doing.  And so we have ideas here about rage, about conformity and white privilege, and more alongside the usual middle school protagonist tropes, and it works pretty well...even as it leaves a lot open for future sequels (a second book will be released soon this year).  

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Godkiller by Hannah Kaner

Godkiller is a fantasy novel written by Hannah Kaner which was originally released overseas to apparent great acclaim by both readers and some critics/authors I trust and like a lot.  The story came to my radar when one of my favorite critics, Liz Bourke, posted a review on the Tor.com blog, in which she offered it pretty strong praise.  It's also the first in a longer series - I think a trilogy - but, to the book's credit, while it's not a stand alone novel it does have a complete plot arc so readers who aren't sure if they can get invested in a trilogy might want to give this a try.  

And what the novel is about is a world where gods are multiple throughout the world, small, wild and large, and demand tribute and sacrifices for their help...and for their holding off cursing their followers and those who come across their path.  After a war between humans and harmful gods, the King of Middren waged war even on those gods who had helped the kingdom and outlawed their worship, with certified godkillers - known as Veiga - helping to hunt down what gods remain and rise up in the country.  And in this context we get a group of four travelers to a city now forbidden from access due to its ties to the gods - a Veiga named Kissen, a young noble woman named Inara, Inara's little god of white lies Skedi, and the King's former chief Knight Elogast - as they each for their own secret reasons heads to the city to seek help from the gods who remain there.  

Unfortunately, while the novel's setup was certainly interesting and I liked the ideas of the characters, the development of the characters and their relationships kind of didn't work for me, which made me not love this book as much as I'd hoped.  In particular, as I'll explain further below, the story midway through seems to feature a bunch of relationships and bonds that grow between certain characters and those bonds never really felt earned or natural in the context of the story....as if there was another 40 pages of happenings and character interaction that was originally in there but had been excised before publication.  The result is that the book's ending didn't quite work as well as it should have and it made it so I was more nonplussed by the resolution than really invested in the characters.  

More specifics after the jump: 

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler

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 May 21, 2024 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.

How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying is the latest book (and first in a new series) from fantasy author Django Wexler.  Much of Wexler's prior work that I've read features witty sardonic characters, but this book (as you might imagine from its title) is almost a pure on comedy: the novel takes a groundhog's day-esque setup with its protagonist always resurrecting after dying trying to stop a dark lord from arising in a portal fantasy world....and flips it on its head by having the heroine then decide she's going to become the Dark Lord instead of trying any further and caps it all off by having the book narrated by its witty, sardonic, and genre-savvy/nerdy heroine.  It's also delightfully profane at times.  

The result is a novel that is in general pretty damn amusing and fun to read, even when some of its humor and concepts can occasionally get grating (especially with the book's use of footnotes).  Wexler does a great job with his cast of main characters in making them interesting and fun to follow, and that's definitely the case here with Dark Lord-to-be Davi, and the cast of orcs/wilders/etc.  The book is definitely not for younger readers, as Davi is VERY sex-obsessed at times (which might bother some readers but worked for me) although Wexler tends to cut away before describing full on any sex scenes for better or worse.  All in all, a very good start to a new series for anyone looking for a pretty damn fun novel.  

Trigger Warning: Self-Harm, discussion of Sexual Assault (none actually occurs on page).  

Note: This book is very sex focused and profane and the review below will use some words reflecting that, so be warned.  

Fantasy Novella Review: Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher

 Thornhedge is the latest fantasy novella by prolific author (and personal favorite) T Kingfisher (aka children's author Ursula Vernon). It's yet another one of Kingfisher's takes on classic fairy tales (one of the many subgenres of fantasy she has explored) and this time it's a take on Sleeping Beauty where the protagonist is the fae spirit Toadling who is responsible for putting the princess to sleep in the tower and in making sure that she stays that way. Yet unlike typical takes like this which flip the protagonist to the evil witch and explore the roots of the witch's evil, Kingfisher makes Toadling not evil at all but instead a Fae spirit who is just trying to do her best and who wishes the responsibility for containing an evil didn't fall to her, so that she could enjoy time with her fae family once more. Until of course years later a knight comes to her tower...

The result is a novella that is incredibly charming and whimsical, as one expects from a T Kingfisher work, and while it's not long, the novella tells a very complete and enjoyable story. Both Toadling and her knight Halim are endowed with tremendous personality, especially Toadling, and the story that results both in flashbacks and in present works really well. There's nothing here that's truly mind blowing or completely unique, but there's plenty of charm and fun to make this an easy recommend for someone looking for a light fairy tale subversion.

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Lady Eve's Last Con by Rebecca Fraimow

 

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 June 4, 2024 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.

Lady Eve's Last Con is a science fiction romance novel by Rebecca Fraimow. The novel is a F/F romance inspired by a very old rom-com movie, The Lady Eve, which I have not seen and hadn't heard of prior to reading this book. But when an author I trust, Stephanie Burgis, recommended this book as a "sparkly, witty SF screwball comedy romance", well I had to give it a try. And boy was I glad I did.

For Lady Eve's Last Con is an absolute delight. The story features Ruthi, a con artist who used to work with her sister to con and perform small time jobs to make money off rich jerks, as she tries to pull off a con on the rich guy Esteban who broke her sister's heart and left her pregnant and alone. Of course what she doesn't count on, as she attempts to get Esteban to fall in love with her, is Esteban's smooth-talking always-flirting sister Sol who take an immediate interest in Ruthi. The result is a rom-com that is incredibly charming, with an excellent main character and love interest, as both Ruthi and Sol find themselves caught up in the con and their own private interests...and of course their mutual attraction. It's not laugh out loud funny, but it's still always highly entertaining and it reads really well. It also doesn't hurt that the book is at times incredibly Jewish, which just makes it feel like it was written to target me particularly, although I would highly recommend this book for non-Jewish readers as well.

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Those Beyond the Wall by Micaiah Johnson

 

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 12, 2024 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.

Those Beyond the Wall is a "stand-alone" sequel to Micaiah Johnson's "The Space Between Worlds". I say "stand-alone" in quotes because to be honest, this book relies too heavily on the character and background setup of TSBW for me to really believe that a reader could skip TSBW and not be very confused here. But well The Space Between Worlds is one of my favorite books of the last five years as it used its story of multiversal travel to tell a story about class, race, family and love, and even included a F/F romantic subplot. So a sequel was something I really was excited for, although I was a bit nervous due to how perfect I found that book's ending.

Those Beyond the Wall warns the reader however that this is a very different kind of book from the start (via an author's note) and that while this is still in some ways a story about love, it is very much also a story about righteous rage. It uses the multiversal-rules of the first book, along with its setup of a rich city with walls and tech that keeps out the poor and undesirable who are thus forced to live in a Mad Max-esque desert land, to tell a story of inequality and rage against injustice, with our main character Mr. Scales meaning well at heart but more and more willing to channel violence towards solving the injustice she and those around her suffer. And the story deals well with issues of love, self-hate, abuse, and more, for what should be a pretty powerful tale. And yet, my feelings towards this book were complicated by how it sort of took apart The Space Between Worlds' happy ending, reinterpreted certain characters from that book in ways that didn't quite make sense to me, and sort of made it hard for me to concentrate on this book's ideas and message.

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: The Blue is Where God Lives by Sharon Sochil Washington

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 18, 2023 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 Blue is Where God Lives is a novel of historical fantasy/magical realism* written by cultural anthropologist Sharon Sochil Washington. The story features a Black American woman named Blue who goes through incredible tragedy at the start - the incoherent axe murdering of her daughter and grandaughter - and who then retreats to a ranch retreat in Texas to try to recover and understand how her life has gotten so miserable, with her feeling not just depressed and miserable from the death but unfulfilled from where life has taken her in general. But the ranch is a special place where timelines intersect and the story has Blue beginning to have visions of her ancestors from the 1800s, who wield strange magical abilities as they attempt to come out on top in a prejudiced world that has allowed them a moment of freedom, and who have their own plans for Blue.

It's a story clearly influenced by its author's own research and backstory - Blue goes to the same colleges as the author and there's an anthropologist character (and Blue winds up interested in it as well) - and to be honest, it's one that's written in a way that can be very confusing in its narrative, as the story's prologue is written from the perspective of an unclear narrator (who becomes eventually revealed near the end) and even past that the intersection of past and present timelines can be kind of funky. The result is one that feels a lot more at times like research than a coherent story - although its interesting research shown through its magical and just somehow real characters as they deal with the horrors of slavery even to those who have some privileges allowing them to get out of it as well as the horrors of poverty and oppression that follow families that come from it. And then it concludes with a conclusion that's again kind of unclear but very much seems to be a message about salvation coming from moving beyond the generational trauma of the past and into a new world where one can find fulfillmenet despite the chains of capitalism and poverty. It's an interesting book for sure, although I'm not sure how hard I'd recommend it.

Disclaimer: As you can tell from the above and below, this is a book dealing heavily with the Black Experience in America (as well as in smaller glimpses elsewhere around the world). It is also a book that relies upon Christian Themes and concepts, although it notes how the Black Christian experience was born in part out of the traditions that were left behind (and which White Slaveholders tried to stamp out) in Africa. As a White Jewish American, I don't have the same perspective or knowledge of this perspective as the author, and as such it's very likely I've missed or misunderstood parts of this work; at the same time, I feel it benefits me and other readers like me to try to hear such perspectives and thus feel this review has merit. But potential readers of this book may want to seek out reviewers from the Black Christian Perspective as well.

Trigger Warning: Rape, Incest, Sexual Assault, Slavery, etc. The book deals with struggles of poverty and racism in the present and struggles dealing with the transatlantic slave trade and beyond in the past timelines. All of the horrifying parts of those real life horrors are present here, although nothing is gratuitous and it is all used for a valid point.