This book, alas, just dragged. Its plot and conceit were perfectly serviceable, and I think the characters were well developed, with believable personalities. The structural tensions were all there. Thinking back on the shape of the story, I can see it's actually perfectly well developed: Maeve, a nun responsible for dispelling ghosts and ensuring the … Continue reading The Untimely Death of Imogen Madrigal (2023), by Grayson Daly
Tag: fantasy
The Curator (2023), by Owen King
This book is a slow burn that ends up being utterly enthralling. On its surface it feels like a literary exploration of the dangers and follies of an unripe proletariat revolution, with the cruelties and brutalities that such actions let loose without proper leadership. It is not quite secondary world fantasy--there are references to Rome … Continue reading The Curator (2023), by Owen King
Chapel of Ease (2016), by Alex Bledsoe
In true Alex Bledsoe manner, the strength of this book lies in the depiction of the Tufa, with the uncanny combination of their human-facing squalid, impoverished existence in rural Appalachia, alongside their otherworldly magic and music. Each part is equally real, both the mundane and inhuman. And both components have their good and bad elements; … Continue reading Chapel of Ease (2016), by Alex Bledsoe
Of One Blood (1903), by Pauline Thompson
'Yes, but is it good?' This response is one of those ear-grating reactions that you tend to hear a lot when you mention a book that is notable for something related to wokery (aka the radical idea that people who are not like you are, nevertheless, also still people, and entitled to the same rights and respect you accord people who are like you). Any book can be notable for any characteristic that is itself neutral with respect to quality of execution. Any book can have hooks or conceits that can be well or poorly executed, but you don't tend to hear people follow up with 'Yes, but is it any good?' It's taken for granted that these books are as likely to be good as any other book that is recommended for its plot or conceit or foundational premise. 'Woke' books are not granted this assumption.
Babel (2022), by R. F. Kuang
In the end this was disappointing. It started out really well, and indeed, seemed to be written exactly for me: nineteenth century alternate history academic novel about using the power of meanings lost in translation to run a nation's magic system? How could I not preorder it and gobble it down when it arrives? The … Continue reading Babel (2022), by R. F. Kuang
Tune in Tomorrow (2022), by Randee Dawn
This was an entertaining romp about a struggling young actress (Starr Weatherby) who lands a role on a long-running soap opera for mythic creatures (fawns, centaurs, brownies, etc.). These 'mythics' love the show, because they find the petty mundanities of human existence utterly engrossing. As a conceit, it reminds me a bit of Diana Wynne … Continue reading Tune in Tomorrow (2022), by Randee Dawn
Equinox (2022) by David Towsey
As an SFF connoisseur, I have often been faced with the following paradox: Although it is usually the conceit of a book that draws me in, books that succeed rarely do so because of the conceit alone. No matter how grand 'lesbian necromancers in space' might sound, Gideon the Ninth is a masterpiece because of … Continue reading Equinox (2022) by David Towsey
Half a Soul (2020), by Olivia Atwater
Some books just work. They set out to do a thing, and they accomplish the thing they set out to do so simply and completely that--even if you might find yourself inclined to pick nits in the assignment itself--you cannot find it in yourself to object to anything in the book's fulfillment of the assignment. … Continue reading Half a Soul (2020), by Olivia Atwater
The Grace of Kings (2015), by Ken Liu
So, in summary: too many battles and too much sexism waste the ingenious world-building, and make me unlikely to continue with this series. It may be called silk-punk, but it does not belong to or define any subgenre that I can see. It is just another bog-standard over-testicled excessively enswordened doorstopper fantasy tome.
Sixteen ways to defend a walled city (2019), by K. J. Parker
But the racial and gender issues still stand, and the condescension towards human foolishness felt like an attempt to channel Terry Pratchett's worldview without also channeling Pratchett's empathy. And so, despite all the cleverness, I felt repelled and disappointed, and I don't see myself reading other books by K. J. Parker.
Damp Skunk 