This is not quite my usual fare - more fairytale than fantasy, more historical lit-fic than genre driven, more slow-churning and introspective. It madThis is not quite my usual fare - more fairytale than fantasy, more historical lit-fic than genre driven, more slow-churning and introspective. It made the reading experience lush and engaging, but occasionally felt less than compelling to me. But I enjoyed the journey, and everything came together very satisfyingly for the characters and themes, delving deep and never taking shortcuts....more
This was a great airships-and-aether-and-faeries-oh-my time. Blair is a crunchy, gold-hearted captain-rogue, and his crew of misfits are all faceted aThis was a great airships-and-aether-and-faeries-oh-my time. Blair is a crunchy, gold-hearted captain-rogue, and his crew of misfits are all faceted and intriguing. The blend of faerie and steampunk is equally full of familiar delights and surprising new twists. And amidst all the derring-do and big explosions, there's also a lot of rumination on empire, religion, and what we're responsible for.
Whether you're here for madcap airship battles and swashbuckling steampunk knights, or the hard and beautiful truths about redemption and second chances, this is a rollicking adventure that satisfies on every level!...more
Delightful, as expected from Atwater. I hesitated on this one for a bit because gothics are often not my thing, but I should have had faith; this has Delightful, as expected from Atwater. I hesitated on this one for a bit because gothics are often not my thing, but I should have had faith; this has all the kindness, sharpness, cleverness and humour that Atwater always brings, and I enjoyed it tremendously. The monsters are real, the gentleness has teeth, and the true victory is standing up to fight....more
Wittily and confidently written, with fun concepts and a charming romance, and honestly it just really didn't work for me. (I think this, the third ofWittily and confidently written, with fun concepts and a charming romance, and honestly it just really didn't work for me. (I think this, the third of Hall's books that I've tried, is also the last I will be attempting. No quality comment, we're just into different things in stories.) This one is almost aggressively whimsical, teetering on the verge of twee far too often for my tastes. (For instance, the part where a supporting character spends half a page explaining the term she's invented for the concept of fandom shipping.) The framing device of Puck's first-person narration was useful in various ways, not least in adding tension and amusement where there was little in the main narrative, though given later uses of Puck I am left wondering why Miss Bickle was even in the story, aside from comic relief (which is a poor reason to include a character). But the narration also brought in an arch distance on the romance unfurling that left me rather underinvested - which was a problem when the pacing and tension of the second half of the book relied solely on that romance. I'm not sure if that's why I'm a little disappointed in the romance, but I think another contributing factor is that it seemed a rather basic pairing; though I liked Maelys, little was really done with the Duke of Annadale being a woman, given that she behaves in every way just like the archetypal Duke-who-eschews-intimacy-but-embraces-carnality-because-trauma character.
So anyway, I didn't hate it, and I had a smooth enough reading experience, if never really a delightful one, but I think we can safely say that the works of Alexis Hall are not for me....more
This is a big story, in a big world, with a whole lot of big concepts embodied in it. But honestly, for the first half of this volume I was almost entThis is a big story, in a big world, with a whole lot of big concepts embodied in it. But honestly, for the first half of this volume I was almost entirely lost. I'm unsure how much is my fault - I'm not a frequent comics reader, so I have trouble vibing with the episodic pacing here, and my visual literacy isn't great (by which I mean I don't always do well at gleaning information from images, especially when there are words as well; I over-emphasise the words) so I might have been missing some stuff that a reader more attuned to the medium would've picked up. But also, this felt like it was coming in hard and fast and in medias res. If it were a novel, I'd have been all over that, but as a graphic novel, I found it much harder to parse.
More importantly for the will-I-read-on question: I'm not big into eldritch horror-y stuff, and this is. No more for me, but I'm glad I had a go at this, it's a fascinating piece of creation.
Merged review:
This is a big story, in a big world, with a whole lot of big concepts embodied in it. But honestly, for the first half of this volume I was almost entirely lost. I'm unsure how much is my fault - I'm not a frequent comics reader, so I have trouble vibing with the episodic pacing here, and my visual literacy isn't great (by which I mean I don't always do well at gleaning information from images, especially when there are words as well; I over-emphasise the words) so I might have been missing some stuff that a reader more attuned to the medium would've picked up. But also, this felt like it was coming in hard and fast and in medias res. If it were a novel, I'd have been all over that, but as a graphic novel, I found it much harder to parse.
More importantly for the will-I-read-on question: I'm not big into eldritch horror-y stuff, and this is. No more for me, but I'm glad I had a go at this, it's a fascinating piece of creation....more
So much fun! So weird! So twisty but all tangled together! I enjoyed it so much, from the society-party shenanigans to the weird-sideways-reality scraSo much fun! So weird! So twisty but all tangled together! I enjoyed it so much, from the society-party shenanigans to the weird-sideways-reality scrambling, and especially the magnificent duelling, both serious (if with a magical twist) and show-off performative. But the bedrock that provides an solid base for all of the high-speed narrative sleight-of-hand is the characters and their world, each a product of the other, intrinsic and synergistic. Kembral's journey into the depths of unreality that underpin the "real" is all the more compelling for happening alongside her uncertainty about who she even is now, as a new mother with so many relationships in flux. And the way so many sidelong details circled back around to become essential underpinnings of the later plot was just... chef's kiss delicious. This book left me contentedly replete in all the best ways!...more
A fun little adventure! This one resonated more for me than the German-based one, though possibly that's because I know more about American cultural nA fun little adventure! This one resonated more for me than the German-based one, though possibly that's because I know more about American cultural norms / policing methods through media osmosis, and thus the differences in Kimberley's approach to policing procedures compared to Peter's were more readily apparent. But I enjoyed the characters, Billy Boyd was charming, and I really hope we get to see more of the wider American context in future add-ons....more
Setting this aside circa 120-odd pages. I resisted trying this one for a long time because it has a couple of central elements that just Aren't For MeSetting this aside circa 120-odd pages. I resisted trying this one for a long time because it has a couple of central elements that just Aren't For Me, but there was so much acclaim - and so many people suggested I might enjoy it - that I gave it a go. And it is, indeed, charmingly and cannily written, with intricate characters, and a rich and real setting. It's just as good as everyone says! But for me, those central not-for-me things remain a problem, and I discovered a couple more not-for-me elements as well.
Known problems for me: - faeries. I overdosed on them as a teenager, and these days I can only stomach so much. I seem to have more tolerance for the "high" fae than the low, and this book starts out very much with the low, and folk tales. - epistolary format. I am extremely judgey about this. I wish I wasn't, but I just am. It's a magnificent opportunity, but also a very stern restriction, carrying all the questions of first-person (why is this person telling me this? what are they leaving out or twisting?) but also issues of the format. (When are they writing? How are they writing? Where are the tension lines in the scene related, given that they obviously survived to write it down?) So, for instance, when this book ends a scene with the characters rushing out the door to investigate something, that's a great place for a scene to end, but a ridiculous place for a character to stop a journal entry. And this stuff niggles at me. That's a me-problem.
Additional problems I had: - the niggles of real life. In the first quarter of this, there's a fair amount of dealing with the basics of living in a near-arctic setting - heating and eating. And wow, did I get antsy about this. I hadn't realised this was a problem for me, but it clearly was: every time it happened, I tensed up and wanted to put the book down. Is this because I personally hate being uncomfortable in that way and get really stressed about it? Is it because these very real concerns prod at me that I should be doing something more sensible and conducive to the support of regular life than reading? I don't know, but wow, I hate it. - Bambleby. I passionately hated him and his idle exploitation of everyone around him, and did not want to have anything to do with a romance line involving him.
So anyway, excellently written, but extremely not for me! Onwards....more
Setting this one aside at 90-odd pages as just not for me. But for another reader, this might well be the goods. It's got pacey YA-emotional-happeningSetting this one aside at 90-odd pages as just not for me. But for another reader, this might well be the goods. It's got pacey YA-emotional-happenings movement, strong dark fairytale vibes, twisty worldbuilding, and a heroine with fears and strengths and potential....more
The style of this book is so fascinating, managing to be both stark and lush, an absolute masterclass in how you absolutely do not need to swamp your The style of this book is so fascinating, managing to be both stark and lush, an absolute masterclass in how you absolutely do not need to swamp your readers with details, just make sure you lean hard on the important details that you do include. It keeps the setting so cold and grey and claustrophobic without any belaboured descriptions, keeps everything moving at an intense pace, makes the romance absolutely sizzle and the horror sharp and visceral. It's dramatic as heck.
I stumbled a bit getting into this, because it's been a hot minute since I read the first one, but once I settled in and the book really launched its plots in earnest (always a problem with a cliffhangy ending: having to do the rounding-off work in the next one simultaneously with the re-establishment work) I had a great time....more
Delightful, frothy but sharp, as with the rest of the trilogy. I didn't enjoy this quite as much as the other two--I yearned particularly for more depDelightful, frothy but sharp, as with the rest of the trilogy. I didn't enjoy this quite as much as the other two--I yearned particularly for more depth in this one, to see more of the society, more of the comparative lives of young gentlewomen, more of the before and not merely the after--but it was still wonderful. Abigail is a wonderful character, so sensible and so competent and so heartbreaking in her pragmatism, and Mercy was the perfect foil, brimful of righteous kindness and imagination and yet missing just that little something. Thoroughly satisfying!...more
This was as delightful and as keenly thought-provoking as Half a Soul, with an extra sharp edge for taking on the classist underpinnings of CinderellaThis was as delightful and as keenly thought-provoking as Half a Soul, with an extra sharp edge for taking on the classist underpinnings of Cinderella. Effie was a wonderful (and wonderfully, justly, kindly angry) heroine, and her growth was so extremely satisfying. And the problems of good intentions and bad outcomes were explored in such nuance for such a slender and sparkling book....more
Well, that was delightful. Both a fun Regency romance with faeries curses and magic, and a keen, unflinching look at the terribly human evils of the pWell, that was delightful. Both a fun Regency romance with faeries curses and magic, and a keen, unflinching look at the terribly human evils of the period that lurk just beneath all the mannered glamour. Dora is a marvellous heroine, both a wonderful figure of magical intervention, and a genuinely poignant look at how the neuro-divergent are badly treated. Indeed, all of this was so wonderful that really my only disgruntlement is that it is not longer, but I am pleased that there are two more related stories....more
I'm always uncertain about fairytale-based fantasy; I just don't love fairytales the way a lot of people seem to! But this was less that, and more a sI'm always uncertain about fairytale-based fantasy; I just don't love fairytales the way a lot of people seem to! But this was less that, and more a slow and thorough dig into the historical and cultural underpinnings of the period of much fairytale creation. (The book at one point pins itself very solidly in geography and history by including Hildegard of Bingen.) It's a look at the narrative of "the light of Christ against the pagan darkness" via the women (and others) getting shoved into the corners, using this as a canvas upon which to paint with various shades familiar from fairytales, and in turn casting them in a new (for me, at least) and interesting light. I didn't always love it in the reading, but it's left me with so many lingering thoughts on the place of women - especially "complicated" women (but aren't we all?) - in stories and life....more
This has so much to recommend it. It's really nicely written, the characters zing, the politics are bloody and the battles cunning, and the twistinessThis has so much to recommend it. It's really nicely written, the characters zing, the politics are bloody and the battles cunning, and the twistiness of good and bad, actions and intentions, self-preservation and self-aggrandisement... it all works really nicely. The mesh of history and magic feels absolutely intrinsic (which, as the author notes, is also pretty much historically accurate).
However, there's a scene about halfway through (with Gormflaith facing off with Olaf) and it's just electrifyingly magnificent, just absolutely riveting. And unfortunately none of the rest of the book was at that level. Without that scene, I might have been far more whelmed with the whole piece. As it was, I was itching through the whole second half for more of that. Which feels unfair, and almost laughable, but there it is.
Anyway, great historical fantasy, not as grimdark as I was expecting (while still having plenty of grit)....more
McDonald's debut work was a bit too gritty and action-oriented for my tastes, but with enough style that I came back to see what he could offer here. McDonald's debut work was a bit too gritty and action-oriented for my tastes, but with enough style that I came back to see what he could offer here. And I'm glad I did, because I enjoyed this so much! Still gritty, rather dark, set in a cold and grim Scottish-inspired setting, spattered with mud and blood. But from the very start, our first-person protagonist is a gleaming beacon. Strong and vulnerable, she's already been through a lot, and she's still fighting. Once the book gets out of the grim churn of its blockbuster opening, events languish a little, loosing any sort of real plot drive, but the questions of Raine - who she is, what she can do, what she can be - kept me absolutely hooked. (There are strong aspects of the Anakin Skywalker about her, but for my money made so much more compelling by the strength of her voice and the elements McDonald included in the story.) And everything twists really nicely into a magnificent finale sequence.
Extra shoutout to the author's work in crafting an absolute fedora-wearing hashtag-nice-guy of a supporting character who is believable and annoying and sympathetic and incredibly punchable....more
A dark fairytale fantasy, full of the claustrophobia of mist, blood, consequences and enemies closing in. Bitterly romantic and twistily built. I enjoA dark fairytale fantasy, full of the claustrophobia of mist, blood, consequences and enemies closing in. Bitterly romantic and twistily built. I enjoyed it!...more
SO GREAT. A magnificent continuation and deepening from the first. In Little Thieves, the trick is getting to know Vanja. In this, her layers are beinSO GREAT. A magnificent continuation and deepening from the first. In Little Thieves, the trick is getting to know Vanja. In this, her layers are being peeled back, much like an onion - it's tasty, but it also makes you cry. There are also the obligatory heists and shenanigans, but all of them feed back into the overarching plot, and the deeper arc of Vanja herself. I laughed out loud (not least at the Ever Given reference; I'm sad, given everything, that there was no "jail for mother" reference) and I teared up and I basically wallowed in this book for four days - and it only took that long because I forced myself to slow down and savour it when I wanted to just blitz through and swallow it whole....more
There were good things about this - a clear but pretty writing style, some really sharp story choices, a more distance and clever flirtation with fairThere were good things about this - a clear but pretty writing style, some really sharp story choices, a more distance and clever flirtation with fairytale elements than I'm used to seeing - but overall, I didn't really vibe with it. The world was quite generic-fantasy-setting - the fantasy kingdom, the palace, the dark-magic forest - with gracenotes of interesting, but no real meat. I really liked both Red and Neve as characters, but I couldn't shake the feeling that the more interesting and complex story was actually going on with Neve all this time. Partly, I think, because Red's line never really sang for me emotionally, though it picked up a little more zing in the second half of the book.
Anyway, I don't think I'm going to bother with the sequel on this, but I'm very curious to see more from this author otherwise....more