Okay, based on the first novella this was not at all what I was expecting, but I really liked it. The Fire Opal Mechanism is set m4.5 stars rounded up
Okay, based on the first novella this was not at all what I was expecting, but I really liked it. The Fire Opal Mechanism is set many years after The Jewel and Her Lapidary and has more of a steampunk, sci-fantasy vibe to it. Thematically it's a story about access to knowledge and book-banning. Which is certainly timely to be reading now. There's also a very low key sapphic relationship!
Jewels once held great magic, but now they're little more than myth. Ania is a librarian scholar trying to save some of her books from the activists taking over universities and feeding every book they can find into a press that spits out a compendium of all the knowledge in the world, supposedly available to everyone, but flattened from lack of discourse. Jorit is a broke thief trying to escape to a better life, but when she happens upon Ania at the worst possible moment, they end up on an unexpected journey together. One that will take them through time and offer the slim chance of saving the world from the worst possible outcome.
The pacing in this novella was great and it had more room to breathe (unlike the first one) which was to its benefit. The three perspectives work nicely together, the writing is great, the world is interesting, and I think the thematic aims work. Some readers might find it to be a bit on the nose, but I didn't mind. And even the time travel elements were done well. Better than a lot of official sci-fi time travel stories to be honest. The mechanics involve magic, but have limitations that make sense. I look forward to the next novella in the series! I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher, all opinions are my own....more
While this could certainly stand to be longer, it's a compelling little novelette with a lot going on. The Jewel and Her Lapidary 3.5 stars rounded up
While this could certainly stand to be longer, it's a compelling little novelette with a lot going on. The Jewel and Her Lapidary throws us into the action with little to no lead-in as a violent coup is beginning. The only people to survive are one of the royal Jewels and her lapidary (basically a sworn servant with magic abilities involving gems). They are left to deal with invading forces and the stakes are life and death. For how short the story is, it achieves quite a lot of character development and world-building that had me invested and intrigued. As a lead-in to a longer series I think it's fairly effective, but I wish it was longer and offered a bit more context. I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher, all opinions are my own....more
The Lies of the Ajungo is a fantasy novella that really reads more like a fable than anything else. It follows the journey of a bo3.5 stars rounded up
The Lies of the Ajungo is a fantasy novella that really reads more like a fable than anything else. It follows the journey of a boy on a quest to bring back water for his city and save his mother, but along the way becomes a man and learns a lot more than he had bargained for.
In the acknowledgements, the author talks about how this came out of his experiences being an immigrant from Nigeria to America but feeling like an outsider in both cultures. It's interesting, because in many ways this is a story about how the best way to see the truth and see how things fit together is as an outsider. Being stuck in one place can make you blind to the larger world and what is possible, but at the same time you lose something in going away from the place you were raised, something that you can't really get back.
Part fantasy fable, part coming of age story this is a very strong debut and I look forward to seeing more from Utomi in the future. It is admittedly on the short side and I might have wanted a bit more, but I did like it. I received a copy of this book for review via NetGalley, all opinions are my own....more
Dark magic, a child stealing cult, and secrets long-hidden....
The Cage of Dark Hours is a solid follow up to The Helm of Midnight, though it definitelDark magic, a child stealing cult, and secrets long-hidden....
The Cage of Dark Hours is a solid follow up to The Helm of Midnight, though it definitely feels like the middle book in a series and I didn't enjoy it quite as much as the first. I was expecting something with more of a full story arc like we got in book 1, but instead this is more the first half of what is to come in book 3.
We follow some familiar characters from book one, but expand to new ones as well. Most notably, one of the perspectives is a child growing up in an abusive magical cult that steals babies to raise as their own. We slowly learn more about the world, the magic, and lies that have been told for generations. It's certainly not a light book, but the world is genuinely interesting and I want to see what happens in the next installment. I was most invested in the cult child perspective, but it was also difficult to read about how the children were treated.
I love that this series is set in a queer norm society and we get casual gender and sexual diversity throughout. Overall, a solid second book and I look forward to more! The audio narration is well done. I received an audio review copy via NetGalley, all opinions are my own....more
Okay, this novella is weird but it unexpectedly really worked for me. It's a horror novella but at its core I think it's about how many of us seek conOkay, this novella is weird but it unexpectedly really worked for me. It's a horror novella but at its core I think it's about how many of us seek connection and depth of feeling by immersing ourselves in a virtual world in hopes of finding a sense of purpose and freedom from existential loneliness. All the while, neglecting the relationships we already have and compounding the problem. Feed Them Silence imagines a move toward a more extreme version of this while things go terribly wrong.
In the near future Dr. Sean Kell-Luddon and her wife are middle-aged lesbians with marriage problems. But even as that relationship erodes, Sean throws herself into her research studying neurological connections between humans and animals as a way to create empathy. Sean is herself the test subject, being neurologically connected via surgery to a wolf. While the study is supposed to be clinical, Sean finds herself reacting physically and emotionally to the experience of sessions being bonded with this wolf as she interacts with her pack. Finding comfort and connection that she struggles with in real life.
I really connected with this novella and the horror felt horrific to me. Is it because I have experience sustaining a relationship for well over a decade? Very probably. While the wolf stuff is weird, this touches on very real struggles that are common to long term couples. Taking someone for granted, not communicating, workaholic tendencies, getting too comfortable, losing yourself in media, neglecting to show care, or even (as in this novella with a cross-cultural relationship) failing to recognize where you've fallen into harmful patterns with racial or gendered ramifications. All of these are things you have to actively work to combat in a successful long-term relationship and this very effectively navigates the horror and trauma of a relationship falling apart. And of course creepy brain patterns from being connected to a wolf.
While I suspect this will be a miss for a cross-section of readers it was definitely a hit for me. And I think there's something about Mandelo's writing that just works for my brain. And fantastic audio narration! I received a copy of this book for review via NetGalley, all opinions are my own....more
When I saw negative reviews saying this book was too heavy on the social commentary, I knew it would be exactly the kind of horror I like. And I wasn'When I saw negative reviews saying this book was too heavy on the social commentary, I knew it would be exactly the kind of horror I like. And I wasn't wrong.
Tell Me I'm Worthless is a haunted house story about anti-trans rhetoric and fascism. It's dark and unflinching, with a slew of content warnings and a lot of references to literature and online discourse from the past few years. It is particularly concerned with the state of anti-trans and fascist idealogy in the UK, but has wider application.
On one level, it's about a trans woman and and a cis lesbian who were friends before visiting a haunted house where each claims the other sexually assaulted them. The house becomes a physical manifestation of racism, xenophobia, transphobia, antisemitism, homophobia, fascism, and colonial ideology. The book is a deeply uncomfortable melange of the overlapping and complex relationships between these things and how they are tied to fear, trauma, and fetishization.
It taps into the concept of the "oppression olympics"- how do you compute who is more oppressed? The white trans woman forced into sex work to survive? Or the brown Jewish lesbian used as the face of a mostly white TERF movement? And speaking of TERFs, what does it mean to be a woman? Is being trans "mutilation" or is surgically changing ones body a common element of womanhood? And in all the uproar about trans women in bathrooms, who is truly in danger? Also there is the literalization of the threat to blonde white women being used as a symbol, the fetishization of Blackness, and the violence of internalized transphobia.
This should give you an idea of what the book is about, although it's also very much a gruesome horror novel as well. And I'm sure I'm missing some of what it's doing, but the conversations it's having are important ones. The reviews saying this is a lot of social commentary aren't wrong, I just happen to like horror being used as a vehicle for that. The audio narration is also great and occasional audio effects are used chillingly. I received an audio review copy of this book via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Content warnings include graphic r*ape, mutilation, slurs, deadnaming, homophobia, transphobia, racism, graphic fetishization of trans people and of violating trans people, depictions of blood, violence, death, body horror, murder, medical experimentation, antisemitism etc....more
This was both beautiful and gut-wrenching. And I completely understand why the reviews of it are so mixed.
Alone With You in the Ether is a very persoThis was both beautiful and gut-wrenching. And I completely understand why the reviews of it are so mixed.
Alone With You in the Ether is a very personal book about finding love while struggling with mental illness, and about trying to find equilibrium as a creative person who struggles to feel like themself while on medication. Blake's author's note at the end is illuminating and I think underscores what she was trying to explore. Like Blake herself, the heroine has bi-polar disorder and that plays a big part in the book.
This is understandably going to be controversial and I see several reviewers say they think this is romanticizing mental instability, though I disagree. (again, I really recommend reading the author's note) The story isn't anti-therapy (I would argue that genuinely engaging in therapy for the first time is part of the character growth at the end), but it does suggest that medication might not be the only answer. And in fact, while medication can be a life saver for a lot of people, I think this conversation about side effects is an important one to have as well. I also see a lot of criticism of a scene late in the book that is unsettling, but I would argue doing something really important for mental health representation. We get a graphic depiction of the main character experiencing violent intrusive thoughts in the wake of heartbreak BUT we also see her appropriately manage those thoughts and find better ways of coping. Yeah, intrusive thoughts can be really disturbing, but they are also manageable for most people and there's something powerful about having that represented.
Ultimately this is a story about two very broken people finding each other, falling in love, and slowly moving toward healing. This is the beginning of their story, not the end of it but I found the growth at the end to be really beautiful and encouraging. I completely understand that this book will not be for everyone- whether because the content is too intense, or because it's SUCH a character driven story, but it really struck a chord with me. Life is messy and so are people, but everyone is deserving of love. The audio narration is good, but it took me awhile to get into it because there are different narrators for the "narrator" of the story which is a little weird and unusual. But I ended up liking it. I received an audio review copy of this book via NetGalley, all opinions are my own....more
This was disappointing. Not terrible, but very lackluster in comparison with what it could have been. Arch-Conspirator is a dystopian sci-fi retelling of Antigone attempting to say something about women's bodily autonomy. I see what it was trying to do, but the execution was just okay. This hews too close to the original, while having plot holes in some of the added material. And while I've read some incredible Antigone retellings, this feels comparatively uninspired and lacks the emotional punch it should have. Which is unfortunate because I think the idea of using Antigone to talk about women's rights and bodily autonomy is a good one. This just didn't give me what I was hoping for. I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher, all opinions are my own....more
A strong debut from a new voice in southern gothic horror! The Spite House is a haunted house story, but it's also a novel about grief, anger, retribuA strong debut from a new voice in southern gothic horror! The Spite House is a haunted house story, but it's also a novel about grief, anger, retribution, and fear of death.
Eric Ross and his two daughters are on the run, carrying a secret. But money is running out so he agrees to take a job staying in a haunted house to gather proof of the supernatural for the old woman who owns it. But this house will be more than they bargained for and will bring their own secrets to the surface, along with history long left buried.
I really liked this as a narrative-driven southern gothic with layers of thematic commentary that aren't the primary focus. There are some tense, creepy scenes and the house gives off an air of menace from the beginning. I do think this would have been a stronger book with more sustained tension if we got fewer perspectives. The heart of the story is Eric and his kids, and I would have liked to see the narrative remain more tightly focused on them. The other perspectives are interesting at times, but there were too many of them and the amount of page space they took up detracted from the tension and sense of dread that could have been kept at a heightened level.
That said, I think this is an exciting debut novel and I look forward to seeing more from Compton in the future. The audio narration is excellent. I received an audio review copy of this book via NetGalley, all opinions are my own....more
I somehow missed this last year, but it's SO good! The Helm of Midnights is a really inventive fantasy novel about a serial killer and a possible copyI somehow missed this last year, but it's SO good! The Helm of Midnights is a really inventive fantasy novel about a serial killer and a possible copycat.
There are multiple timelines and perspectives that seem really unrelated at first, but eventually they all weave together in a really satisfying way. The magic system is different- people can have their special abilities imbued in these masks after they die and something of their personality is left behind as well. The death masks can be worn by people wanting to tap into those abilities. Also gemstones can be imbued with different emotions and worn. It's pretty cool.
The murders are disturbing, but the way everything comes together is very layered. One of the main characters is investigating a theft and these new murders, while also dealing with her fear of these very creepy person-eating monsters. This blends horror, fantasy, and murder mystery pretty seamlessly. AND it's a queer-norm society both in terms of sexuality and gender identity. I had a surprisingly great time with this book and would love to continue with the series! Thank you to Tor for sending me a copy for review, all opinions are my own....more
The Crane Husband blends fantasy and horror in a novella about a teen girl trying to keep her little brother safe while her artist4.5 stars rounded up
The Crane Husband blends fantasy and horror in a novella about a teen girl trying to keep her little brother safe while her artistic mother becomes a victim of domestic violence at the hands of her new bird lover. It's disturbing but really well-executed and offers a different take on the story of The Crane Wife. It is about the impact of domestic violence, about child neglect and abandonment, and about having to grow up long before you have to. All couched within a fantastical framework. While I wanted a little bit more from the ending, I thought this was a very strong novella and the prose is very evocative. I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher, all opinions are my own....more
I always love this series, but this was a rough one to get through at times. Not because it’s bad, but because the topics are really heavy.
The story I always love this series, but this was a rough one to get through at times. Not because it’s bad, but because the topics are really heavy.
The story begins with Antsy witnessing the death of her father, and then deals with grooming and gaslighting. While she runs away (into another world of course) before anything serious can happen, it’s still disturbing to read. But I also think this is an important story to tell and I thought it was handled with the care it deserves. The author has been candid about her own experience with grooming and child sex abuse and it’s clear this was a story that meant a lot to her.
While this is a fantastical story with doors to other worlds, it’s really about how abuse and trauma can force kids to grow up long before they are ready and steals their childhood from them. It’s a short book but it packs a punch. I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher, all opinions are my own....more
I was curious to see how I would do with this because I want to love Fonda Lee the way so many people do. Jade City was just okay 2.5 stars rounded up
I was curious to see how I would do with this because I want to love Fonda Lee the way so many people do. Jade City was just okay for me though I can see why people love it. I felt similarly about Untethered Sky- objectively I think it's good, just not the story or writing style I find all that engaging or interesting. Which tells me that unfortunately Lee just might not be the author for me.
That said, I think a lot of people will really enjoy this novella and it is something quite different from what she has written before. This is very much a case of "it's not you, it's me"
Untethered Sky follows a woman who dedicates her life to training and hunting with Rocs (enormous birds of prey) after a Manticore kills her entire family. Rocs are the only predators able to take down a Manticore and Ester has joined the King's Royal Mews where she is matched with Zahra, a fledgeling Roc who will be hers to train.
Things happen but that is really the story. Ester training Zahra, Ester hunting with Zahra, and her relationships with colleagues ranging from friendship to romance. Ester is kind of awkward, introverted, and plain but fiercely determined to avenge her family.
I think it's a well-paced story with a fleshed out world and characters, and feels like a complete story. It just didn't quite do it for me. There were parts of it I was engaged, but those weren't the things Lee seemed most interested in exploring. Which is fine, I just think I'm not quite the right audience for it. I received an advance copy for review via NetGalley, all opinions are my own....more
A Restless Truth has it all. In this followup to A Marvellous Light, we follow the sister of one of the Sapphic romance, magic, and shipboard murder!
A Restless Truth has it all. In this followup to A Marvellous Light, we follow the sister of one of the main characters on board a ship. But shortly into the voyage, the old woman Maude was accompanying dies under mysterious circumstances. Enter Violet- the notorious heiress who ruined herself on the American stage. Sparks will fly and danger abounds as they try to track down the killer and a magical artifact.
This was fun, and definitely steamy at times (much like book 1). Violet and Maude have a fun dynamic- Maude is inexperienced but doesn't lack a backbone. Violet has been hurt and has walls a mile high. And there is lots of magical danger! I didn't love this quite as much as book 1. I felt it dragged on a bit too long for the amount of plot, but also shipboard stories aren't my go to. If you enjoyed A Marvelous Light this is definitely worth the read and if we get more in the series I will certainly read those as well. They are a good time! The audio narrator is good, but I would have liked clearer distinction in voices between Maude and Violet's perspectives. I received an audio review copy via NetGalley, all opinions are my own....more
2023 re-read: I liked this even more the second time. There's so much richness to this novella and when you know the end (lol), you can see how Polk l2023 re-read: I liked this even more the second time. There's so much richness to this novella and when you know the end (lol), you can see how Polk lays the foundation for all the revelations to come. This is an excellent novella.
Even Though I Knew the End is a lesbian fantasy noir with a serial killer, set in an alternate (1930's?) magical Chicago with ALL the vibes of the time. I mean, what else do I really need to say??? If that sounds like your thing, definitely pick it up.
It follows a magical investigator asked to look into a murder with cult ties, and things get very complicated very quickly. When all she wants is spend time with her very Catholic girlfriend at an underground lesbian bar. There is a serial killer, paranormal things, and a touching love story in the background. Lots happens very quickly! I received a copy of this book for review via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.
Content warning for homophobia, misogyny, and references to having women committed for related reasons, references to electroshock therapy, murder, gore, possession....more
The Scourge Between Stars is an entertaining scifi/horror novella following the acting captain of a large spaceship trying to retu3.5 stars rounded up
The Scourge Between Stars is an entertaining scifi/horror novella following the acting captain of a large spaceship trying to return to Earth when things begin to go very wrong. Jacklyn is a queer Black woman willing to do whatever it takes to protect the people in her care from the unknown threat stalking them from inside the ship. It's action-packed and creepy, but without being outright terrifying. There is casual queer representation and over all I really enjoyed it. Some elements of the ending are a bit convenient and not super believable, but it offers high entertainment value and a complete story in not too many pages. The audio narration is well-executed. I received an audio review copy via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.
Content warnings include gore, death, bug-like aliens, a character sexually abusing an android (not on page or explicit), killing a loved one...more
This was...definitely not what I was expecting! It's hard to talk much about this novella without spoiling tReading Vlog: https://youtu.be/1awY-IHwbWI
This was...definitely not what I was expecting! It's hard to talk much about this novella without spoiling things but it plays with readers expectations. Night of the Mannequins features a group of teenage friends, a prank gone wrong, a mannequin, and bodies dropping. I rarely have a bad time reading SGJ and even though this isn't my favorite piece of horror from him, I still ended up liking it....more
I love a badass mom, and this is giving us a badass grandma!
I'm living for it. I also just love the way Kate Elliott does these novellas. They're short, but so rich in world-building, character development, and plot. I'm not sure how she manages to do so much in only 200 pages but The Keeper's Six is a delightful companion to The Servant Mage.
I will say, the beginning took me by surprise. While Servant Mage begins in a very different magical world, this book begins in Hawaii. But you pretty quickly come to realize how they are connected and this story is about a woman doing whatever it takes to save her son, and also protect his non-human husband from people who want him for their own purposes. It's action-packed, with new and interesting tidbits about an expansive world that I hope we continue to explore in future books.
Our main character is Esther- grandma to adorable hybrid babies and a force to be reckoned with. I really liked her as a character, and I loved how the story integrated her Jewish identity in specific ways through the story as well. This is a short book so I won't say too much more, but I am LOVING this micro-trend of getting older heroines in fantasy. I received a copy of this book for review, all opinions are my own....more
The Mimicking of Known Successes is a sapphic sci-fi murder mystery set on Jupiter with a bit of Western flair. The two main characters are women withThe Mimicking of Known Successes is a sapphic sci-fi murder mystery set on Jupiter with a bit of Western flair. The two main characters are women with a similar vibe to Sherlock and Watson, but with more overt romantic tension and neurodivergence. The writing style took me a bit to get into, but I ended up quite enjoying this.
The world-building is pretty cool- how might a human colony on a gas planet like Jupiter function? Well, everything is built suspended in the air and the weather patterns are specific to the gas giant. At the same time, this is a rather cozy story with investigator Mossa and academic Pleiti investigating a mysterious death and its connections to the university. I won't spoil anything but I am pleased to see this is intended to be the start of a series. I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher, all opinions are my own....more
This was fun. I totally get why this was the book Scalzi wrote during the pandemic. Not a standout necessarily- middle-of-the-road characters, and a nThis was fun. I totally get why this was the book Scalzi wrote during the pandemic. Not a standout necessarily- middle-of-the-road characters, and a narrative that can get too in the weeds describing these godzilla-like creatures. But it's lighthearted and escapist- kind of a snack of a book.
When the COVID-19 pandemic shuts everything down in New York City, Jamie loses his job and ends up working as a food delivery person before getting an unexpected and highly secretive job offer. He will be working in an alternate dimension for the Kaiju Preservation Society- tending to godzilla-like creatures with nuclear capabilities.
If you're looking for something escapist and zippy with very large monsters and a strong dose of humor, this is it....more
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