Setting aside around page 60. I simply did not vibe with this, which is unfortunate because I had been looking forward to it as potentially very much Setting aside around page 60. I simply did not vibe with this, which is unfortunate because I had been looking forward to it as potentially very much my thing - I do like a queer-friendly urban heist type fantasy! But this had all the grit and grime of a Locke Lamora without any of the sparkle (for me), the prose a little too simple, the action a little too laboured, the banter a little too glib, the characters a little too opaque and same-y. I didn't particularly like spending time with any of them, so I stopped....more
There were so many things that I really liked about this. The world is absolutely wondrous, full of interlocking big damn ideas--tall ships sailing prThere were so many things that I really liked about this. The world is absolutely wondrous, full of interlocking big damn ideas--tall ships sailing prairie-grass seas, buoyed up by musically and magically manipulated fires burning bone, and the dark deeps beneath. And the characters are big and bold, and our main viewpoint character has a magnificent arc of self-awareness and (very relatable) despair with the state of the world.
However, in so many niggly little ways, I didn't quite vibe with it. The pace was measured, with lots of description that sometimes dragged for me, and the plot was demanding, with every single thing Kindred did seeming to turn things worse - it got rather draining at times. The story moved ever onwards through the world, not lingering to dig deeper, though it did circle back into some interesting closure in the last gasp. But it never really built a sense of momentum, just plodding along until it ended. That ending was satisfying, but still not quite enough in ways I can't quite grasp - possibly it's that it feels more like the big twist midpoint than an ending, which given that this is the first of at least two, may be so.
Anyway, WOW ideas, complex characters, perfectly charming in the telling, definitely worth a try!...more
To be honest, I hoped for more from this, which is probably on me. This book does exactly what it says on the tin: it's a collection of excerpts from To be honest, I hoped for more from this, which is probably on me. This book does exactly what it says on the tin: it's a collection of excerpts from visitors to various great cities throughout history. There is no analysis, and quite minimal context given on the cities (about 2-3 paragraphs of overall history) and the visitor authors (dates, plus a few sentences of information). Cities are included in alphabetical order, and the excerpts in chronological order.
All of these things make sense, but give me no extra insight. I found myself yearning for greater analysis and discussion, or even cannier curation. (For instance, put the Grand Tour cities/excerpts together and give me a sense of the wild privilege but also discovery of these travellers.) Give me a little discussion on overall trends in travelling / publishing / thinking about the rest of the world. (There's a little bit of this in the introduction, but that's a long way away from most of the text.)
As a final gracenote of grumpy, while there are certainly non-Western excerpts included, the vast majority are Western Europe, especially British, or American authors. So there's a bit of exoticism-ick in the overall vibe of breathless wonders or unthinking colonial superiority. (The editor flags this, overall in the intro, and in the notes on the excerpts, but it's still... unfortunate.) I particularly found this wearying for the entries on Sydney - three Brits and an American, despite modern Australia being a country built on huge waves of diverse immigration. No immigrant memoirs? None?
So in the end, while there were lots of interesting little bits and pieces here and there, I found myself asking often - and certainly asking at the end - what is the point of this book?...more
I've been off non-fiction for a while, unable to find a way to fit it into my schedule, but this book was a solid reminder of how fascinating and inviI've been off non-fiction for a while, unable to find a way to fit it into my schedule, but this book was a solid reminder of how fascinating and invigorating it is to read great non-fiction. Centrally about the black women who assisted the war- and space-race-driven rise of American aeronautics, the book was also an amazing snapshot of the incredible social stresses in the US - especially in Virginia - in the middle of the twentieth century. That's the stuff I found most fascinating - the myriad overlaid tensions of legality and social acceptability and compromise and challenge around things like segregation, "talent", and opportunity (equal or otherwise)....more
Setting aside circa 80 pages in. There's nothing really wrong with it, but I'm increasingly finding that YA fantasy prefers pace over depth (in characSetting aside circa 80 pages in. There's nothing really wrong with it, but I'm increasingly finding that YA fantasy prefers pace over depth (in character, in worldbuilding, in prose and description) and I am the reverse, so... just not for me....more
This is really very good (let's call it 4.5 stars rounded up). I am a hard sell on Viking-esque worlds, and sometimes this one teetered on the too-mucThis is really very good (let's call it 4.5 stars rounded up). I am a hard sell on Viking-esque worlds, and sometimes this one teetered on the too-much-Viking (too-little-urban-culture) for me, but the author made it so rich and lived-in, and the characters were great, and there was just enough hope and light in the grim struggle. But mostly, what kept me avidly turning the pages and enthralled in the world was the backing tapestry of gods and power and faith and duty and what is owed by whom and why. There's a lot of consideration on the problems of religion, and also historical reflection of comparative religions, without getting tedious about any of it. Very satisfying!
I'm not sure I'll read any further in the series - and this stands alone quite handily - but I am now extremely excited about reading Long's newest (Dark Water Daughter) which looks like much more my sort of thing....more
I'm having a complicated emotional reaction. These are so good. Murderbot is so tenderly and subtly rendered, the telling just perfect, and so entertaI'm having a complicated emotional reaction. These are so good. Murderbot is so tenderly and subtly rendered, the telling just perfect, and so entertaining. Just wonderful....more
I really enjoyed this book a lot. It is teenage-girl-hell, bare-your-bloody-teeth-in-feral-victory, The Craft-loving good time.
Do I think it's objectiI really enjoyed this book a lot. It is teenage-girl-hell, bare-your-bloody-teeth-in-feral-victory, The Craft-loving good time.
Do I think it's objectively high quality? Hmm, maybe not. The style is stark and vivid but sometimes awkward and repetitive. The logistics are sometimes fanciful and the scenarios implausible. The pace is frenetic but the plot is loosey-goosey, though the vibes are impeccable. There's a fever dream element to the whole thing. And your mileage may vary on whether all of those are features or bugs. It also ends on a massive cliffhanger.
And I don't care. I had a GREAT time, and I particularly loved the explicit fuck-off to "not like other girls" misogyny-in-disguise....more
This was a really interesting read, almost more for the exploration of how we investigate, relate to and think about cities and the past than for the This was a really interesting read, almost more for the exploration of how we investigate, relate to and think about cities and the past than for the exploration of the history itself. I enjoyed Newitz's writing style (especially one memorable sentence that included both "sinecure" and "goofing off", which is entirely my jam in juxtaposition) and while it was sometimes overly involved with the specifics of Newitz's personal exploration, that did layer in nicely with gritty archeology, written history and more meta ideas....more
Gosh these are great little books. This one felt like a particularly good one, judging by the speed at which I smashed through it, even though I had tGosh these are great little books. This one felt like a particularly good one, judging by the speed at which I smashed through it, even though I had to keep stopping to laugh helplessly. Outrageously readable, genuinely moving, with fantastic action. (Perhaps slightly predictable in conclusion, but at the speed with which it was coming at me, there was no time to be bothered by it at all.)...more
I enjoyed this one a lot. Urban fantasy isn't often my favourite thing, but this opens up experiences and myths underexplored in the subgenre offeringI enjoyed this one a lot. Urban fantasy isn't often my favourite thing, but this opens up experiences and myths underexplored in the subgenre offerings I've previously had access to, and does it with a whole lot of fascinating rumination on modernity, generational experience (and trauma), and the diaspora experience. It was fun, it was crunchy, it entertained and moved me....more
A sharp and satisfying but very slender little piece. I really liked the world, and Thanh's journey, but I also wished there was more to it. Some of tA sharp and satisfying but very slender little piece. I really liked the world, and Thanh's journey, but I also wished there was more to it. Some of the emotional developments, in particular, I felt didn't have the weight behind them that they could if more space and depth had been given to them. Perhaps my brain has just been trained to the pacing of traditional novel length, but here I am, with that brain....more
Hot damn, this was great and I had a wonderful time reading it. There are so many Big Fantasy trappings, and even flavourings of grimdark (the RaidersHot damn, this was great and I had a wonderful time reading it. There are so many Big Fantasy trappings, and even flavourings of grimdark (the Raiders have a feel much like Abercrombie's Northmen, and I mean that in the best way) and this is a big epic fantasy with much of the grit of life in it. But it's also a story of the difficult details of trying to make a better life, and to make life better, and the way that people can fight evil with small acts of goodness and kindness and fairness... and in that regard, this book is pretty damn hopepunk. It's also compelling as heck, and hats off to the author for making a book of such intricacy and focus an absolute emotional rollercoaster. (Sure, there are dragon-riding samurai, but the cultural differences actually are more interesting in this book and that's a damn achievement.)...more
A cunning polished gem of a book. I was very impressed with the economy hidden behind the stark style; every word is doing strenuous duty in building A cunning polished gem of a book. I was very impressed with the economy hidden behind the stark style; every word is doing strenuous duty in building world, character, intrigue, and yet somehow despite the concise nature it manages a lot very casually. While the plot seems quite gentle, there is always something happening, something being revealed, something turning just a little to show the edge of a question whose answers do not fit. A magnificent piece of style, of stage-magic, of art... and because of all those things (and its brevity) it was able to glide past my general resistance to its overall genre/subject-matter. (Then again, this is less those things than of those things.)...more
A beautiful and brutal little fable, wrapped up in a lot of ruminations on bias in storytelling that are so cannily shaped you barely notice them slipA beautiful and brutal little fable, wrapped up in a lot of ruminations on bias in storytelling that are so cannily shaped you barely notice them slipping down. Charming to read, offering plenty of fodder for thoughtful chewing-over. I just wish there were more! (So I'm very looking forward to Vo's novel-length works...)...more
Setting aside around page 50; I'm just not settling into the style. There's a lot of description, a lot of introspection, a lot of narrative, interspeSetting aside around page 50; I'm just not settling into the style. There's a lot of description, a lot of introspection, a lot of narrative, interspersed with little bits of doing and talking. Turns out I like a lot more doing and talking! Or maybe I just want a more striking voice, if it's going to be heavy on narrative. There's also a tendency to use as scene hook (the question that's supposed to be pulling a reader through the scene) the very thing that I need to get invested in a scene, leaving me wading through pages wondering why I should care. It all adds up to: just not for me!...more
This is big, bold space opera with lots of tricksy politics (which I loved) and lots of exciting action sequences (which I really didn't). There's alsThis is big, bold space opera with lots of tricksy politics (which I loved) and lots of exciting action sequences (which I really didn't). There's also a fantastic cast of complex ladies, all sorts of space mysteries, and a skilled and honourable supersoldier with problems and the same name as my cat (hi Zizou!)
Anyway, Kate Elliott knows her business, and if space battles and military sequences are your thing, gosh, is this book going to be a treat! (I mean, it's Alexander the Great. The battles are compulsory, right? Which is why, on balance, I won't be reading further in this series. Not my cuppa.)...more
This is absolutely beautifully written, and I really struggled with it.
Partly that was because it's so true to its source material, and I struggle witThis is absolutely beautifully written, and I really struggled with it.
Partly that was because it's so true to its source material, and I struggle with The Great Gatsby too - with its distance and lack of drive and how awful all the characters are. My exception to hating all the characters has always been Jordan Baker, which is why I picked this retelling up at all, but upon reflection, part of what I liked about Jordan in the original is that she seems set apart from the drama. She's here, she's watching, but it's not the main events of her life. Unfortunately, in this retelling, she's brought much closer to the centre of it all, in the thick of it, and that... took away part of what I like about her.
In general, I felt this wasn't enough her story; it was still way too much about Daisy and Gatsby who I more or less hate. Now, that is also in keeping with the style of the original - which isn't really Nick's story at all - but I really wanted more out of this. Jordan was so fascinating, and the magic of the world was so fascinating, and the way the two interact in Jordan's particular gifts was amazing, but it really only becomes central and driving right at the end of the story.
So in the end, this book is overall very accomplished and does what it does really well... but I guess I'm in some sort of frustrated mourning for what it could have been. What I wanted it to be. And that's more a me problem than a book problem, but this is my personal review, so here we are....more
I just don't know how I feel about this. It mostly kept all the strengths of the first one - complex characters in complex situations, a quick pace buI just don't know how I feel about this. It mostly kept all the strengths of the first one - complex characters in complex situations, a quick pace but a thorough world, no easy answers and lots of intriguing magic. But this started to feel less fun and more a slog for me. Partly it was that it's just damn long. Partly it was that the two thrusts of the story were in such opposition that it was obvious there was going to be a cataclysmic conflict, and absolutely no one was going to be happy. Reading toward that was less anticipation and more dread.
Upon the stories colliding, cataclysm occurring, and no one ending up happy, the epic finale sequence was full of adventure and action and big face-offs, and I just... didn't really care about the physical peril. Not in the midst of the massive emotional stuff. I found myself skimming. So that's... not great either. And then the story twisted into a wild new configuration that makes a fascinating setup for a third book, but I just... don't know. I suppose I will finish the series sometime, but I'm not really filled with enthusiasm right now....more
Setting this one aside about 140 pages in, because it's nicely written, in a vivid and fascinating setting, but just not my cuppa tea.
Which has cast iSetting this one aside about 140 pages in, because it's nicely written, in a vivid and fascinating setting, but just not my cuppa tea.
Which has cast into clarity a few things about what I like in stories. I think this one falls afoul of two of my strong predilections. 1) Character over plot. At the point I set this aside, our main character had absolutely no personal drive in the story, no skin in the game; it was just business, an agent solving a mystery. I found myself with nothing really pulling me through the action and activities. 2) Words over visuals. I am one of those people who just doesn't "see" things, and this was (so far) a very visual story - lavish descriptions of Fatma's suits, or her lady-friend's outfits, or the setting; and action sequences full of stuff. All that sort of stuff sort of blurs before my eyes, and I find myself skimming to something that has weight and meaning beyond the visual.
Between these two things, I just wasn't enjoying reading this book, which is probably very good at what it's doing!...more