SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Hunting by Stars by Cherie Dimaline

 

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Hunting by Stars by Cherie Dimaline: https://t.co/ofhfhCoMYD

Short Review: 8.5 out of 10
1/3

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) December 1, 2021

Short Review (cont): Follow Up to the Marrow Thieves, in which the group finds themselves split apart when French is captured by a Residential School, which forces him to consider how far he'll go for freedom. Terrifyingly Brutal, a worthy successor to the first book.

2/3

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) December 1, 2021

Hunting by Stars is the sequel to indigenous Canadian author Cherie Dimaline's 2017 young adult novel, The Marrow Thieves.  The Marrow Thieves was a really strong young adult novel, featuring a dystopian post global warming world where nearly all of humanity has lost their ability to dream...with the exception of those of indigenous descent.  And so the story focused on a group of indigenous adults and teens on the run from a world seeking to harvest them for their marrow, as they form a found family and search for peace all the while keeping their old stories and cultures alive.  It was a really interesting if tough to read, especially as it showed little interest in obeying classical plot conventions of character development - with main character French wavering quite often as he and his group tries to figure out what to do next.  So I was really surprised and pleased to see this sequel pop up after it seemed Dimaline had moved on from this world.  

And well, Hunting by Stars is just as strong as its predecessor, and incredibly more brutal with what it portrays - that same found family torn apart when prior main character French finds himself taken to one of the new Residential Schools, where he's given the choice of either having his marrow stolen....or to turn traitor.  It splits the narrative into three, following three groups of characters instead of just one, and showcases some brutal treatment of indigenous peoples in ways that will ring very familiar to those aware of both the past and the current present.  It's very hard to read at times, but its characters and themes are really well done, making this a worthy successor to the first novel.  

Trigger Warning: A significant part of the story takes place in a Residential School, so starvation, torture, brainwashing are all major elements of this story, along with serious racism, just as you should expect after the first book.  

Mild Spoilers for The Marrow Thieves, although nothing that will spoil anything that would ruin your enjoyment of that book, is below.

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: A Queen of Gilded Horns by Amanda Joy

 

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: A Queen of Gilded Horns by Amanda Joy: https://t.co/9eJQiDJrt0

Short Review: 7 out of 10
1/3

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) November 30, 2021

Short Review (cont): The 2nd in the A River of Royal Blood duology features sisters Eva & Isa, supposed to kill each other for the throne, on the run as Eva seeks to free the oppressed Khimaer people she is suddenly a part of. Solid potential here that isnt fully realized.
2/3

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) November 30, 2021

A Queen of Gilded Horns is the second half of a YA Fantasy duology by author Amanda Joy, following up on last year's "A River of Royal Blood" (My review here).  I liked some of the things A River of Royal Blood did - the setting featuring a fantasy people who used to rule who are now oppressed, the other fantasy races who mixed in, the deadly human magic, and the way the main protagonist seemed to understand how difficult things would be to change - but the book had some issues.  Namely the book failed to develop the secondary characters - especially its protagonist Eva's sister of Isa, who Eva is supposed to kill in order to grab the throne, and is meant to be somewhat tragic....but instead just comes off as evil.  Still, I was interested enough to grab this book from my e-library, since it was short enough as a read to finish. 

And well, A Queen of Gilded Horns is another good installment that frustratingly had the potential to be more than that, albeit in very different ways than its predecessor.  The book splits its narrative to include the points of view of various other characters, and works all the better for it mainly, and its protagonists Eva and Isa are really strong as they try to figure out what to do going forward in an unjust world where only they can kill one another.  The book particularly manages to redeem Isa in a way that I wished would've been done sooner, and the setting's themes of oppression and fighting back work decently well.  On the other hand, the book isn't long enough to contain all its plot threads, with one major plot thread early going absolutely nowhere, and this duology really could've been a trilogy to explore all of those ideas.  

Fantasy/Horror Novella Review: Nothing but Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw

 



Nothing but Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw

Nothing but Blackened Teeth is the latest horror novella by author Cassandra Khaw (author of two prior lovecraftian subversion horror novellas).  I've had mixed feelings in my reading of Khaw's works - on one hand, their works are very much driven by descriptions and a style of prose that I haven't loved, often finding it unnatural and stilted - on the other hand, I really really loved the themes and characters in their last work, The All-Consuming World (see my review here).  So when many writers I really respect were praising this new horror release, I decided to give it a try, despite it likely not going to be in my wheelhouse.  

And well, the result was very much what I expected, with this story being a short horror novella that very much relies on descriptions to set the atmosphere (not really my thing) for its horrors - horrors that are mostly a group of friends with substantial issues between them - jealousy, privilege, depression, and abandonment - when pressed by the supernatural....in this case a supernatural built from Japanese mythology.  The relationships are done really well, and so if you like atmospheric horror a bit more than me, this will really work for you.  

Trigger Warning:  Depression.  

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Wings of Ebony by J. Elle

 

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Wings of Ebony by J. Elle: https://t.co/1I6iJoe1IE

Short Review: 8.5 out of 10
1/3

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) November 26, 2021

Short Review (cont): In an unsubtle but very well done YA Fantasy, a black girl finds herself caught between her need to help her sister from gangs on the streets of Houston and the oppressive magic island her father comes from. Really satisfying first part of a duology.
2/3

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) November 26, 2021

Wings of Ebony is a young adult modern fantasy novel written by author J. Elle, and as is fairly typical of YA SF/F these days, is the first part of a duology (the second part comes out next year).  The story features a black girl named Rue caught between two worlds - our human world, where she and her sister live on the streets of Houston, where Black lives aren't cared for, and a gang of drug dealers haunts the streets & a magical fantasy land called Ghizon, where her father apparently came from, and where a rule-dictating leader gifts magic to his followers....all of whom show gray skin and look little like Rue.  As you can guess from just this setup, Wings of Ebony is in no way subtle about its own themes, like a lot of young adult novels, and like a lot of these YA duologies, it of course leaves part of the story unfinished at its conclusion.  

But here's the thing: Wings of Ebony does the YA SF/F duology format right - the book may not be subtle, but its characters are extremely well done, its themes are well brought out and powerful and very relevant to today's era, no matter how cringy they might be done this unsubtly.  The book's handling of the essential White "ally" character is particularly well done, in showing how flawed such characters can be when they're called on their bullshit, and all of Rue's conflicts in both worlds feels entirely real.  An unlike most duologies, this ends on a very satisfactory note, with one area of conflict complete, and what's left open being a clear tease for a new stage in Rue's story.  The book isn't perfect, and certain elements didn't quite work for me at times (the romantic subplot possibilities, one part of the resolution), but well, it's very good.  

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Rising Like a Storm by Tanaz Bhathena

 

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Rising Like a Storm by Tanaz Bhathena: https://t.co/RklIy1a8Gb

Short Review: 7.5 out of 10
1/3

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) November 23, 2021

Short Review (cont): 2nd Half of the duology started by Hunted by the Sky features Gul and Cavas figuring out their love, their powers, and their responsibilities as leaders to overthrow the usurper Queen Shayla, who is going mad. Solid Indian-based YA fantasy.
2/3

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) November 23, 2021

Rising by the Storm is the second half of a young adult fantasy duology written by Tanaz Bhathena, after last year's Hunted by the Sky (my Review Here).  The fantasy world in the duology is inspired by Medieval India, both in the language used and some of the mythological creatures who show up.  That said, the first book in the duology also featured a pretty classic fantasy YA setup of two point of view characters - a boy and girl from different backgrounds - who fall in love as they get thrown together by fate....although it did so pretty well, as the two fought to survive/get-revenge.  There's also a fairly common but well done theme of discrimination against people without magic by those with it.  

Still, while I liked Hunted by the Sky, It wasn't particularly memorable (especially given all I read evevry year), so I wasn't really sure how much I'd be able to enjoy the sequel, although I wanted to try it.  So fair warning - this review is one of a reader who read the first book, but didn't refresh his recollection of it beforehand.  

Even with that handicap, Rising Like a Storm is a solid and enjoyable second half to this duology, featuring our protagonists Gul and Cavas dealing with their newfound relationship, the fact that an entire resistance is depending upon them, and an enemy that is far more reckless and ruthless than before.  I know in my review of the predecessor I didn't quite buy the pair's growing relationship, but it works fairly well here, and the antagonist - though despicable - cuts a really interesting contrast as she winds up more and more out of control (and we see events from her point of view).  The story still isn't incredibly memorable, but it works well, features a few interesting twists and ends satisfyingly, so if you're looking for solid YA from a non-Western perspective, this will definitely do.  

Spoilers for book 1 below are inevitable:

Trigger Warning: Torture.  

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Rogue Heart by Axie Oh

 

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Rogue Heart by Axie Oh: https://t.co/CtIZLOXbtJ

Short Review: 8 out of 10
1/3

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) November 23, 2021

Short Review (cont): Sequel to Rebel Seoul follows telepathic girl Ama, at first on the run from the Neo States, as she joins the resistance to spy on the boy she loves. Not quite as good as its predecessor but still enjoyable SciFi YA.

2/3

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) November 23, 2021

Rogue Heart is the sequel to Axie Oh's YA Science Fiction novel Rebel Seoul (my review here).  That book was a dystopian YA story set in a future version of Korea, in which a conglomerate of governments, the Neo States, have taken power in the world, in a supposed attempt to end all war (which of course is a lie), creating a two tiered Korea of inequality and injustice among other things.  I really liked Rebel Seoul, especially for how its hero Jaewon didn't fit the typical mold for a hero in such a setting - he wasn't a rebel, and didn't want to be even as he saw how shitty things were, but rather just wanted to survive in a world where he felt all those close to him (his dead father and alive best friend) had betrayed him...even as he fell for the artificially enhanced woman he was supposed to mind.  Oh and there were also giant mecha too, but really that was beyond the point.  So after finishing it, I reserved this sequel from the library.  

And I enjoyed Rogue Heart, although it's not quite as interesting as Rebel Seoul.  The story switches to following Ama, the other artificially enhanced human from the last book (with the power of Telepathy), as she first attempts to hide from the government that created her, and then joins the Resistance only to wind up spying upon the man she once fell in love with.  It's a well told story with a solid lead character, but the story feels a bit more predictable, and the love interest doesn't quite get handled as well as I'd like.  Still, it's well done, so if you liked Rebel Seoul, you will probably be interested in the sequel.  

Spoilers for book 1 are inevitable here:

Fantasy Novella Review: Flowers for the Sea by Zin E. Rocklyn

 



Flowers for the Sea by Zin E Rocklyn

Flowers for the Sea is the debut novella from author Zin E Rocklyn (who has done other short fiction before), and its described as "Rosemary's Baby by way of Octavia Butler" in its publishing blurb.  It's another story I saw get a lot of advance praise from authors I trust, so I reserved it early from the library despite horror not being my thing.  

And well, Flowers for the Sea still wasn't really my thing, but it's definitely interesting horror, one filled with righteous anger at injustice.  It's the story of a pregnant woman from an outcast people, whose baby might be something worse than human, as she tries to survive in a flooded world on a ship filled with people who hated and distrusted her own kind.  It's a really short novella, but it packs a lot of punch nonetheless.  

Note: If you have issues with pregnancy horror, this will not be for you.