SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Daughter of the Moon by Effie Calvin

 

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Daughter of the Moon by Effie Calvin: https://t.co/NsGRcRCInM

Short Review: 8.5 out of 10
1/3

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) November 9, 2020

Short Review (cont): This F-F fantasy romance series continues with a new couple: a prior antagonist, a princess exiled for her attempt at a coup, and a young woman desperately searching for answers to her incomplete magical blessing. Short but an utter delight in the end
2/3

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) November 9, 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 November 9, 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.

Daughter of the Moon is the fifth book in Effie Calvin's Tales of Inytha series of F-F queer fantasy romance novels, which began with The Queen of Ieflaria (my review here) back in 2018.  The Tales of Inthya novels feature a fantasy world where mortals - mostly humans, but dragons and other creatures sometimes have significant roles - are often dealing with a group of meddling gods (among other things) as they wind up getting into trouble and romance.  It's a chaste romance series - the most you ever will see on page are kisses - but the books are short and genuinely charming for the most part, which is something I really could use right about now.  

And Daughter of the Moon is a highlight for the series, with a pair of protagonists who rank up near the top of any in the prior books.  The book takes place just a few months after the last book (The Empress of Xytae), and features a surprise character as one half of its protagonists while returning us to the city of Ieflaria.  There once again we have a pair of young women struggling to figure out what they have in life and why things have turned out in a certain way, who despite all odds fall in love with the process: to the consternation and pleasure of some of the goddesses.  You can probably read this book without reading the rest of the series, although you'll probably want to read book 4 at least before this one.  But either way, you'll enjoy this one, even if it continues a trend from book 4 that's a bit awkward.

Fantasy Novelette Review: Frostgilded by Stephanie Burgis

 


Frostgilded by Stephanie Burgis


Frostgilded is a novelette in Stephanie Burgis' "The Harwood Spellbook" series of romantic fantasy/fantasy romance short novels and novellas.  In fact it's billed as an epilogue to the series.  Unsurprisingly, this is not going to be for you if you haven't read the rest of the series - but as someone who read the series in incorrect order and really loved its sweet enjoyable take on fantasy romance, it's an absolute joy to read - which is something I really in 2020.

More after the jump: This will be a short review because this is a shorter story than I usually review.  You can purchase Frostgilded from this universal link in most formats by the way.

Fantasy Novella Review: The Four Profound Weaves by R. B. Lemberg

 


The Four Profound Weaves by R. B. Lemberg:

The Four Profound Weaves is the debut published novella of R. B. Lemberg and a work in her Birdverse, a queer universe with a Bird deity (literally named "Bird") who comes for souls upon their death.  This novella apparently follows up on a Nebula-nominated novelette, but requires no prior knowledge of any of Lemberg's prior work and has been talked up and praised by a ton of authors online, so I was really excited that my own library actually had ordered a copy.  

And the praise was really justified.  The blurb on top of my copy from Annalee Newitz praises this work as "The anti-authoritarian queer mystical fairy tale that we need right now", and honestly I'm not sure I can put it much better (I have to try, otherwise I wouldn't have a review).  This is a story of two queer people - older people in their 60s mind you - on a journey to find their destinies that puts them against those who would confine them to particular roles, who would destroy and lock away all hope, all for the sake of greed and tradition.  And it's so very good at that.  

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Nophek Gloss by Essa Hansen

 

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Nophek Gloss by Essa Hansen: https://t.co/dx5I6dJP51

Short Review: 8 out of 10
1/3

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) November 6, 2020

Short Review (cont): A Space Opera with a plot that features both interesting ideas and characters as a young boy slave finds a crew and strange ship & seeks revenge in a wild but unjust multiverse where love is often not a matter of free will. Some really good stuff here
2/3

— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) November 6, 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 November 17, 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.

Nophek Gloss is the debut novel (and first of a trilogy) by author Essa Hansen.  It's a Space Opera novel (sort of?), a Vengeance tale, a tale of growing up....it's a lot of things.  It's also a novel I'd heard basically nothing about prior to its listing on Netgalley, but I figured I'd give it a shot when I saw it posted.  

And well, it's a really interesting novel that made me want more, with some clear limitations.  It's an interesting mix of high concept (not my thing) scifi/fantasy and character-focused SF/F (very much my thing), with a main cast that will draw comparisons to many other Sci Fi stories - the book's blurbs reference Firefly, Wayfarers, and Revenger, for instance.  And the character work is really interesting, featuring developments that always remain interesting...except they don't always seem to quite follow from the setup that comes before.  This is in no way a short book, but it almost feels at times like its missing pages, and yet again, I'm really damn interesting in seeing where this goes next.  

Note:  The plot summary of this novel is fine on retailers, but it does spoil a plot development that occurs like halfway through the book, which isn't really ideal.  

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas: https://t.co/E49BZfeZMA

Short Review: 8.5 out of 10
1/3

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

Short Review (cont): A short novel about a troubled girl and a college that isolates its students from the world for 3 years and expects cult like devotion, with strong themes of what colleges try to actually do to their students. Really interesting.

2/3

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

Catherine House is a gothic fiction novel by debut author Elisabeth Thomas.  It's a short but really fascinating novel, featuring as its setting (a key element of gothic fiction) a fictional small "liberal arts" university, in which students spend 3 years in complete isolation from the rest of the world, with no phone, internet, or other media connection to the outside.  Of course, as is the point of gothic fiction, what is really going on at this college is more than first meets the eye.

And again, the result is really interesting, even if I'm not sure how I think about it even after a full day to contemplate it all.  It's a novel that takes the theme of colleges manipulating and abusing the trust of their students and makes it almost literal, and the lead character is incredibly devastating to read - a young woman with nothing left to live for outside going into a place she doesn't quite know what to think of - and doesn't even think she wants - except that she knows it has to be better than what's outside.....

More thoughts after the jump:

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Abaddon's Gate by James S.A. Corey

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Abaddon's Gate by James S.A. Corey: https://t.co/HiKwKxSm4E

Short Review (cont): 7.5 out of 10
1/3

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

Short Review (cont): The 3rd Expanse novel features Holden and the forces of Earth, Mars & The Belt exploring the Protomolecule-built gate...only to be thrown into chaos by a new foe out for vengeance against Holden. Still fun solid space opera, if it peters out a little.
2/3

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

Abaddon's Gate is the third book in James S.A. Corey's "The Expanse" series of space opera novels, following the second novel in the series, Caliban's War.  The series through two novels has always been a ton of fun, with a really enjoyable set of characters (led by the way too earnest James "Jim" Holden), which has made me feel stupid for taking so long to get to it (in my defense at one point I was trying to watch the TV show blind).  It's not a particularly serious series in terms of providing interesting themes and discussions, but it's still very fun to read.

Abaddon's Gate is probably my least favorite of the series so far to be honest, but it's still another strong installment in the series that I had to resist trying to stay up late and finish in a single day.  Following on the sequel hook from the 2nd book, Jim Holden and crew - plus a whole new batch of characters - find themselves once again at the forefront of a conflict that could drastically alter the balance of power for humanity, caused by a new change in the alien protomolecule.  There's little particularly serious here, except perhaps an argument about humanity's reactions to things, but it still works pretty well.

Fantasy Novella Review: Ring Shout by P Djèlí Clark

 



Ring Shout by P Djèlí Clark:

Ring Shout is the latest novella by author P Djèlí Clark, responsible for Hugo/Nebula nominated novellas each of the past two years (The Haunting of Tram Car 015, The Black God's Drums).  And I loved both those novellas, which both take very different perspectives in their fantasy/steampunk tales, which made them both incredibly fresh and fun to read, while also dealing with some strong themes along the way.  And Ring Shout has been incredibly acclaimed well in advance, so I've been waiting for it for what seems like forever.  

And it definitely delivers, featuring a story of prohibition era America, and Black women - aided by other allies - facing off with the "Cosmic Horrors" of the Ku Klux Klan.  As usual with Clark, it's both very fun and yet at the same time, highly poignant, and is well well worth your time.

Note:  This wasn't the first time this thought came through my head, but watching FIYAHCon this past weekend (I'm writing this the week after) reminded me to point out a note of caution: I am a white (although Jewish) cis man reviewer, and stories like this are not necessarily written for me.  This does not mean I can't enjoy or review these works - I did enjoy this one - but it's very likely I'm missing some things because I don't have the background of the audience this is going for and thus can't quite see the full perspective.  I'll do the best I can, for me, but well I felt like I had to issue this disclaimer.