Michael Barnes
This was a delightful discovery, its one of the story ideas that just click.
A spaceship AI who love nothing more than traveling Earth and Alpha Centauri B. With a name like Demeter you were bound to carry Dracula on board. Since vampires aren't seen on technology then the death of all the crew and passengers creates a mystery. Next trip its a shapeshifting werewolf, also more death, next trip its passengers are infected with a body transforming Cthulhu cult, subsequently we meet a Frankenstien linked to the first mass deaths, an alien hive that seems consider its self an ancient mummy called Steve.
Its the dialog and back and forths getting to know Demeter, seeing points of view from Steward, Demeter’s on-board medical AI. Steward is practical and sarcastic, with a human-interaction module that helps them see things that Demeter can’t. On another of Demeter’s ill-fated flights, she must find a way to save two children from something on board, something that she can only find reference to in her folklore files. Between Demeter’s highly logical AI and Steward’s human-interaction skills, they work together to achieve their mission objective and save the children.
But after so many unexplained occurrences and catastrophic flights, people are beginning to suspect that the ship is the problem and Demeter is in danger of being scrapped for being a ‘ghost ship’.
This story as I said was a cheerful delight and sometimes that is what you need to read.
From the category of stories can be either Mirrors or Windows this "Ocean's 8 meets Blade Runner in this trail-blazing debut science fiction novel and swashbuckling love letter to Hawai'i about being forced to find a new home and striving to build a better one" is definitely a Windows for me (unsurprisingly given its amazing queer, nonbinary author) and I am all the better for having read it. It’s a science fiction caper/heist and I was resisting the temptation to skip parts which were suggestive of our protagonist Edie being betrayed (again) because I didn't want to read the heartbreak. The protagonist and his family is heartfelt, believable and so worthy that I wanted everything to work out, inspite of all the moving parts to the plan, inspite of the forces arrayed against them, cursing the almost inevitable betrayal, Can't ask for more than that in my caper stories.
I have enjoyed reading Annalee Newitz for years now, (and their monthly podcast Our opinions are correct with Charlie Jane Anders) and this latest in another thoroughly researched and engaging banger.
he book covers the origins of Psychological Warfare in the united states including the American Indian Wars (better characterized as a war on Indigenous peoples); the story of the Coquille tribe's recovery of their "lost map" was a fascinating example of how reclaiming history can empower marginalized communities.
The rise of Psychological Warfare codified by Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger better known as the science fiction writer Cordwainer Smith, whose stories I read growing up. The 'brainwashing scare' that lead the stories like The Manchurian Candidate. Interestingly Linebarger's believed that the ultimate goal of psyops was to end war, not to perpetuate conflict. He advocated for investing in public education, opening national borders, and supporting a robust free press.
The psychology of the authoritarian personality and the f (for fascist) test developed early in the 20 century; the War Department’s launch of a Propaganda Section during World War I; Edward Bernays’s application of his uncle Sigmund Freud’s theories to the field of advertising; the gender politics of early comic books (including censorship campaigns or why the early Wonder Woman comixs were awesome); the role of the Russian state’s Internet Research Agency in the 2016 election.
And loved that in the final chapter one of the tools suggested to resist this nightmare was public libraries, which for me is always a litmus test for what I think of a person is what they think of public libraries.
All leading to the contemporary use of psyops in the United States that see Culture Wars Weaponized Stories Against Each Other and the specific qualities and functions of off-line libraries.
If you enjoyed the first book in this duology ALL OF US VILLAINS, then read this sequel a soon after as you can. The Hunger Gamesesque feel but with magic of curses and spells was only heightened and with the death of a major character revealing how you can choose to be the hero or the villain of your story was heartfelt. The constant threat of betrayal, switching back and forth of allegiances and race against time out due to the curse breaking heightened the tension, and in this story you will find the powers that be and the adults are the real monsters (one of the defining characteristics of the Young Adult genre). This was a satisfying end to this story.
Over on Kirkus there is an excellent spoiler free review "bloody tournament will determine whose family controls the only high magick in the world.
Until someone spilled the city of Ilvernath’s dark secret in the anonymously authored book A Tradition of Tragedy, the world thought that the high magick was gone. Instead, seven families are locked into a curse tournament, providing a child every 20 years to fight for exclusive control over it. Rotating third-person narration follows monstrous favorite Alistair (of the sinister and most winningest Lowe family), paparazzi darling and talented spellmaker Isobel (of the Macaslan family, who are viewed as distasteful vultures), brains-and-brawn underdog Gavin (of the Grieve family, a lost cause that’s never produced a winner), and born-for-heroism Briony (of the respected Thorburn family). Prior to the tournament’s starting, exquisite worldbuilding shines as the characters navigate family stories and outsiders trying to influence the tournament and deal with the spellmakers and cursemakers who equip the champions. One cursemaker in particular puts ideas in the aspiring champions’ heads about whether the tournament’s curse can be changed—or broken. The competitors teeter wildly between heroism and villainy, especially once the tournament starts and their preconceived ideas of themselves and each other are challenged in lethal combat. Of the seven champions, Finley has dark skin and curly black hair, while the rest are pale; among background characters there’s ethnic diversity and casual queer inclusion".
I don't recommend starting this first book in the duology unless you have "All of Our Demise" to hand as the end of this book is very cliffhangery.
I think I enjoyed Assassin's Quest even more than the previous two books in the trilogy. Not only are the characters of Fitz, the fool and others more fleshed out with more developed characters (and sufficiently developed to have the foibles that they have had through out the story to be called out by other characters thank you Starling), the return of Queen Kettricken still woefully under utilized for such an interesting person, but the addition of more women such as the traveling minstrel Starling (whose sexual assault was handled in such a more sensitive way as to highlight the distinction between old fantasy writing before the concept of sensitivity readers) and the mysterious woman named Kettle.
The fool's discussion on gender and plumbing are also a welcome addition to fantasy.
An exciting resolution to all the threads Hobbs has worn to date and I look forward to returning to this world in the further books in the Realm of the Elderlings.
Royal Assassin is an excellent second book in Robin Hobb’s FARSEER SAGA. It returns to the setting and characters without a break launching into the political intrigue. The teenager now FitzChivalry in the first book, Assassin’s Apprentice, protected from his ambitious uncle Regal by King Shrewd and Prince Verity, but Shrewd is dying and Verity is gone, leaving Fitz to fend for himself. Hobb hasn’t treated Fitz well up to this point so, even though these events are related in the first person by a future Fitz, the reader feels no assurance that Fitz is going to be okay. And, indeed, he isn’t — the ending is surprising and devastating.
Hobb’s characters are phenomenally well-crafted and the way that she’s able to arouse my heart, my tears, and also my utter hatred of certain players is masterful. A favourite for me was the interplay between Fitz and a wolf that he rescued from captivity, Nighteyes.
Although it does include stunning action, much of Royal Assassin is the quieter times, the thoughts and conversations characters share, beautifully massaging every word, statement, motive, agenda into our mind so then the action scenes hit much harder as we completely understand the consequences from all angles. An average day for Fitz would be a conversation with Burrich, with Patience, meeting the Fool, keeping Kettricken company, talking to Nighteyes, conversing with Verity, being summoned by the King, insulted by Regal, still infatuated with Molly and then meeting Chade is the assassin’s hidden abode. It doesn’t sound the most exciting when spelled out like that but I was hanging on every word and adored the entire reading experience.
Looking forward to leaping into the last in the trilogy but not the tale of FitzChivalry.
One of the aspects of Pillars of the Earth I reveled in was the author's unapologetic geekery over Western (England/France mainly) Cathedral building and holding strong when no doubt editors asked 'do we really need to spend this much time on flying buttresses?
And whilst a long novel (mine clocked in at 1100pages) due to the nature of the narrative centre shifting through characters naturally allowed the story to progress without ever feeling slow or dragging.
My only reservation is that like other English/French medieval historical stories written in the 90s I think these days a sensitivity reader would propose changes to the rape and sexual assaults which seem to me to show the evil of the antagonists such as William (the only villain not to get a redemption arc thankfully).
I began reading Robin Hobb's Debut novel with some concern given the extensive praise and positive reviews and i must say my oly regret is I hadn't read it sooner, its an outstanding fantasy, a good story well told. If you don’t enjoy slow paced fantasy filled with world building this one isn’t for you. I don’t necessarily mind that and the way that Hobb built the world captured my attention. We learned the setting with Fitz. He knew very little about the world he was thrust into and so we essentially grew up with him as he learned the politics and magic systems. There wasn’t any info dumping or clunky unnecessary passages. And though it was slow paced the story moved smoothly along.
Synopsis from Grimdark magazine May 2015
" about a royal bastard named Fitz put to use by his family, and trying to survive and find happiness. Fitz is an outcast by none of his own doing. He’s a bastard. His father, Chivalry, abdicates to escape him. He’s been born with the Wit, an ability to mind meld with animals, a skill that is shunned by the nobility as an abomination which puts him off side with Burrich, his only chance at a father figure. Other members of his family have the Skill, a way to meld minds with other humans, which is a far better accepted form of magic all but restricted to royalty. One of his uncles, Regal, despises his very existence, as do most who considered themselves Chivalry’s or his wife’s Patience’s loyal subjects. Only Burrich puts up with him, reluctantly taking Fitz under his wing, though the man is constantly torn between his own agony at the loss of his lord, Chivalry, and a fatherly want to look after a young boy abandoned by all.
Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb King Shrewd (all nobility are supposedly named after a character trait they have) decides that it’s better the devil you know than to put up with a royal bastard-led uprising down the track, he decides to train Fitz as an assassin to bind the boy’s loyalty to the crown of the Six Duchies. Fitz’s world is opened to not just the sword and dagger, but to a wide range of reasons a king may need for an assassin – an illness to take a noble who may influence another at court out of the picture for a month, an injured horse to keep another at court for a few more days. Fitz is introduced to Chade, the current (though forgotten) Royal Assassin, who teaches him the ways of death and deception.
When the Red Ships begin to invade and Forge people (remove their humanity and leave them as mindless savages) before letting them loose once more in the Six Duchies, Shrewd’s kingdom begins to crumble. Fitz is pushed to do more and more for his king – for he is a King’s man – which challenges his relationships with his mentors, his friend Molly, and his family to its limits. He sees them all, and himself, at their worst and is saved more often that he saves. He goes into secret combat with his half brother, Regal, in order to save himself, his other uncle Verity, and his kingdom from Regal’s greed and ambition during a marriage forced on a weakening Verity by the vicious Skillmaster Galen (Who is with Regal in plotting – somewhat unwillingly as we find out at the end).
When reviewers say this novel is complex, do not mean that it is challenging to follow or understand. I was amazed by how easily I fell into the many branches of this storyline. There is so much intricate detailed poured into every moment—into every event and setting and relationship. Years go by and new knowledge, twists, and turns fill each page and never once does it become muddled or overwhelming. Hobb writes in such a way that effortlessly carries you over every single page, not allowing you to get lost along the way. So many stories and so many characters and so many twists, yet not one bit of it is left unresolved.
So while the narrative is a perfect blend of plot and world building its these marvelous, three-dimensional characters that are the driving force. Fitz is an incredibly strong lead character, someone who is easy to connect and sympathize with. His story is equal parts heart-wrenching and heart-pounding, and it is impossible not to cheer for him all the way. He faces such massive obstacles and stands up to them, persevering in the most unlikely circumstances. Fitz is not one of those flawless heroes—every aspect of his life, every success and failure, is chronicled in these pages. His growth throughout the narrative as he fights to give himself a life is awe-inspiring.
Every single character Robin Hobb creates in this story is multi-dimensional and fully fleshed out. They are all made into a significant element of the overall narrative, contributing in some way, however small, to the unfolding of the plot. I thought Hobb did a brilliant job building each and every one of her characters with care and precision.
In Ashes, an EMP changed a large portion of the population, turning them into what can best be described as what we call zombies. The Changed roam and eat the flesh of those that remain unchanged. At the end of Ashes, our main character Alex found herself in a town called Rule hoping to find help for a fellow survivor named Tom; he was left injured as the two fled for their lives. The town of Rule is populated by survivors that have organized themselves into a survival group that appears almost as a religious cult. All is not what it seems in Rule.
Shadows picks off where Ashes left us, Alex is trying to escape Rule and finds herself in an enclave of zombies. The zombies may be the least of her problems.
Shadows follow several characters and their story lines, they eventually come together. I found it difficult to sort out all of the new characters – and there are a lot – but their paths all cross in a way that is satisfying and leaves you hanging on waiting for the third and final book in this trilogy.
Bick is a psychiatrist and she definitely puts some interesting psychological twists into this tale. There are a group of characters that will eerily remind readers of the Nazi doctors as they engage in some disturbing experiments regarding the nature of the changed. And one of the biggest questions appears to be whether or not the changed are in fact done changing.
Although Shadows is indeed an exciting read, it can at times also be a challenging read. There are many characters to keep track of and sometimes the characters make observations that they just leave dangling that come up a little bit later.
The Ashes trilogy is a unique and complex look at a post apocalyptic world and it takes the zombie genre and tweaks it in all the right ways; each character is thrust into unthinkable situations and is forced to make difficult decisions in order to survive. The characters also cover the spectrum; there are your truly evil characters, but there are also those that are basically good people forced to make unthinkable decisions in order to survive. This is, after all, the post-apocalyptic world so how do the old rules apply in this new world?
Contains spoilers
In Stoker Dracula’s first victim, Lucy’s death and rebirth mostly serves as a lesson to showcase the bloody, vivid reality of Dracula’s hunger. Lucy Undying, White reclaims and empowers her.
Lucy Undying flits between her's and 21 century Iris who discovers Lucy's journals which reveal what happened to her after becoming a vampire, told via excerpts from her diary as she travels from 1890s Whitby across the world up until the modern day.
These entries, filled with female rage, loss, grief and queer longing, neatly intertwine with the narrative of the other main protagonist, Iris. Heir to a ghoulish (quite literally) health empire where “blood is life”, she is desperate to escape her bloodsucking family and reclaim her own path as she moves to London to deal with clearing out her old family estate.
I loved the transition between historical reassessment of the literary Lucy to 21 century medical conspiracy and I delighted in the reveal that the greatest monster was Mina.
When Lucy and Iris eventually meet when Lucy shows up to help Iris ‘catalogue’ the mansion she has inherited in London, uncovering all manner of mysteries about the house and each other. Both are women trying to escape controlling figures and come to terms with their trauma and – as is revealed as the narrative progresses – it turns out that Dracula really does cast a long, horrid shadow.
The story chips away at the mystery behind Dracula, leaving you guessing about his fate and lingering, traumatic influence on Lucy at every twist and turn. There are slightly gruesome scenes too, peppered throughout the book. Haunting scenes that include animals, stalking, creaky gothic mansions and Dracula call backs aplenty for those seeking the darker thread in the story. I also liked it was at least three quarters of the book before Dracula entered the chat.
The slow-burn romance between Lucy and Iris is a nice touch. Not only does she make Lucy become a more fleshed out protagonist, it adds a beautiful twist of hope and melancholy throughout.
“We are clairvoyants, Dr Nygård. We are the keepers of truth, the guardians of the future; the bridge between the living and the dead, the mundane and the divine.”
“The Bone Season” is set in London, the year 2059. It follows Paige Mahoney, not only is she high ranking in the criminal underworld but she is also a rare clairvoyant – might I mention that both of these are treasonous under Scion Law! She is then arrested for murder and held captive in Oxford where she has to decide if she should trust her enemy in order to escape…
“If your hope is alive, so are you.”
This book has a bit of everything! The rebellion and revolution of a dystopian novel, supernatural creatures from another world, and a magical deep dive into the different kinds of clairvoyancy.
The characters were unique and the focus on character development for Paige was an excellent narrative choice allowing us to understand this future alternative earth without clunky exposition. Equally crafted was the mysterious Arcturus.
Shannon’s world-building was detailed and intriguing. One of my favourite things about this book was that there was a constant flow of information – never a slow moment!
“I want to remind them that if you leave one spark aglow, it can still burn everything down.”
An enchanting tale spun from the mythology of the fae inspired by Christina Rossetti's poem Goblin Market (though one of their names are changed and roles are swapped from the poem) where the title of the novel also appears and references to Scarborough Fair.
“I didn’t say it was pleasant.” She swallowed hard, looking down at the mug in her hands. May wondered if it was still warm. “Our love stories rarely are.”
Lou never believed in superstitions or magic–until her teenage aunt Neela is kidnapped to the goblin market. The market is a place Lou has only read about–twisted streets, offerings of sweet fruits and incredible jewels. Everything–from the food and wares, to the goblins themselves–is a haunting temptation for any human who manages to find their way in. Determined to save Neela, Lou learns songs and spells and tricks that will help her navigate this dangerous world and slip past a goblin’s defenses–but she only has three days to find Neela before the market disappears and her aunt becomes one of them forever. If she isn’t careful, the market might just end up claiming her too.
I loved this novel of two generations of Wickett women and their strong relationships. The story alternates between the contemporary setting and 18 years earlier which reveals what drew May to the market and what Laura did to see them banished. Lou is every bit the resourceful protagonist learning about herself that I love in these stories and the resolution is consistent and satisfying for such a rule bound place at the market.
Ilana at Unbridged Adventures observed "There is representation for many different aspects of the queer community. May is a bisexual woman coming to terms with her sexuality in late ’90s, early 2000s York, England. Lou is ace and Neela is pan, both girls are comfortable in their identities and supportive of each other. It seems to be the queer women that are most drawn to the market, maybe because they are more able to recognize unconventional forms of beauty and attraction. I absolutely loved how Lou’s asexuality works to her benefit when dealing with creatures who use physical pleasure and desire as the basics of their tricks".
I also appreciated Chekhov's gun but in this case Chekhov's Goblin Ice introduced until chapter 26.
This is a very harsh unforgiving horror novel and I cannot recommend it without knowing the person who wants to read it if I would suggest it. It’s a powerful and compelling piece of literature and I can see why Alison Rumfitt deserves all the praise for this her debut novel.
Tell Me I’m Worthless tells the story of two friends, Alice and Ila, in the aftermath of a night spent together in a haunted house. Alice is transgender, and Ila is a ‘gender critical’ feminist. That in itself provides a novel worth of complexity and social culture. The haunted house, Albion, is the core or the rising shadow of the particular brand of British fascism which is infecting the social fabric of the United Kingdom today.
Tell Me I’m Worthless is bleak, but the ending proves cathartic and even hopeful, reminding us that resistance to fascism is always possible.
If books can be described as windows or mirrors then for me this book falls into the windows category as I would have never chosen to read this book if it wasn't selected by the bookclub. I am pleased it was as I think its a brilliant work of literary fiction. I am happy to categorize it as that because of the literary touches such as some characters are referred to but are never given names: the colleague, the girlfriend (and before I could think its a gender thing0 the guy in the black Saab). The focus on a sports team but without encountering a game until a quarter of the way through the story.
I loved how all the book is all about the small town and hockey and how its all a matter of clichés: its all about the team, were are a hockey town, etc but also interrogates what those trite basis for your life end up meaning. The story focuses on the relationships to each other, some helpful, some negative (making your your son walk miles home through snow because he got lost at a market and was 5 minutes late returning to the car is a dick move Kevin's Dad) and how these can change. Also kudos for choosing to show just how shit the legal/police system is when it comes to rape. Author could have chosen to put a spin on it but no one I know or respect believes the police/legal system are anything but shit when it comes to this.
As I mentioned its a bookclub book so I won't record much here but it was a suprisingly engaging worthwhile read for me.
I leap into Bea Fitzgerald's next retelling of the Greek myths after finishing her telling of Hades and Persephone in GIRL, GODDESS, QUEEN. Her craft has developed further in the story of Helen (yes that Helen) and Cassandra during the war for Troy.
The joy I have in Bea Fitzgerald's work is the attention to the mythology which our culture draws on and her refocus on the women in these stories. Most of these myths are focus on the heroics of the males, almost like they are either created from hegemonic masculinity or to reinforce it.
The points of the narrative are those from them myth. Cassandra’s patron god, Apollo, offers to bestow upon her the gift of prophecy, plus all the power that comes with it, she gratefully accepts this wonderful opportunity. However, when she neglects to maintain her side of the agreement, she soon discovers just how far she has to fall! No one believes her visions, which are, strangely, only of a certain girl. An immensely beautiful girl, who is going to start a war!! Helen fled Sparta in the age old pursuit of love, which is proving to be much more – although that’s proving to be more evasive than she’d hoped! Leaving her home and family far behind, Helen now finds herself manoeuvring a rocky road through the politics and backstabbings of the Trojan court.
The return of the lost prince Paris, the golden apple, Aphrodite's gift of Helen, the war on troy, death of Achilles, the prophecies of Cassandra, the wooden horse and the fall of Troy are all there and I the different types of love described in the Greek myths (including the growing love between Cassandra and Helen) it was with a growing sense of dread as I know how this story ends. Fortunately this ending was much more satisfying than the mythology would permit.
Just as GIRL, GODDESS, QUEEN served a side discussion about gender roles (Hades as an artist/craftsman) THE END CROWNS ALL provides a welcome discussion about consent.
When Girl, Goddess, Queen was released there was another Hades & Persephone retelling published. A Touch of Darkness by Scarlett St. Clair, so clearly it’s the zeitgeist. This was also Bea Fitzgerald's debut and a glorious find it was.
My partner is a fan of the Chthonic myths and I was only halfway through my library copy before I went out and bought her a paper copy, I also purchased Bea Fitzgerald's The End Crowns All her retelling the myth of Cassandra.
Girl, Goddess, Queen follows Kore, later known as Persephone (a name meaning chaos bringer). The young girl escapes her fate of marriage by jumping into the Underworld, ruled by Hades. Hades and Persephone become relatable, witty young people trying to find their place in the world. We find out that there’s much more to Hades than the harsh way he portrays himself and that Persephone is no longer the helpless damsel we know her.
The YA story does not shy from portraying the culture of the Greek gods as misogynist, with the threat of violent rape a possibility which whilst not graphically portrayed in honestly conveyed necessary in any faithful reading of the Greek myths.
Similar to Jennifer Saint’s novels, you don’t have to have any knowledge of Greek mythology to enjoy this read. I had no idea what the original story was meant to be until I Googled it. However, I’d say there are definitely ways the author nods to the original story.
Much of the conflict comes from miscommunication between Hades and Persephone and in this case the trope is used well without it feeling silly. Hades and Persephone constantly avoid opening up about their feelings to each other, for fear that they’ll break the friendship they have.
The resolution is tried to the myth and provides a satisfying conclusion.
This authorized retelling of Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House (1959). A Haunting on the Hill (HOTH) by Elizabeth Hand is a startlingly contemporary and frighteningly vivid take on one of the most well-known haunted house novels of the twentieth century. The Haunting of Hill House (THOHH) begins " No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream. Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, walls continued upright, bricks met nearly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone".
Hill House is still not sane.
Kirus Reviews summaries thus "Looking to escape New York City in the wake of the pandemic, Holly Sherwin and her partner, Nisa Macari, enjoy exploring charming “little towns long since colonized by self-styled artists and artisans.” Holly, once a promising playwright, is now teaching English at a private school but has recently won a grant to produce the witchy play that may just revive her career. When she stumbles upon a creepy old mansion on an isolated hill, she knows she’s found the perfect place to hole up with the small cast for two weeks of intensive rehearsals. Never mind that the owner is shady; never mind that the one neighbor threatens her with a knife as she drives by; never mind that the caretakers refuse to spend the night, ever, in the house—Holly knows it’s going to galvanize her cast into the performances of their lives. When they all gather for a run-through of the script, she can feel the magic, the electricity in the air. But maybe the house’s energy reflects more than the power of her words; there are also unexplained bloodstains on a tablecloth, an unearthly field of cold by the nursery, and mysterious voices at night. Not to mention the horrible black hares that keep popping up. Are they real or imaginary? Yes, and yes. While the novel doesn’t draw any kind of straight line between Jackson’s characters and Hand’s, other than some “echoing” voices on a recording, clearly this novel is shaped around Jackson’s legacy, not only in the setting, but also in the characters, specifically the relationship between Holly and Nisa. What she offers, then, is not merely retelling or update, but almost palimpsest".
I confess I had to go back a reread some of THOHH while reading HOTH to appreciate what an outstanding achievement Hand has in, as it describes on the front of the novel 'return to the world of Shirley Jackson' her propulsive writing style with a clever ability to immerse the reader in her worlds. The short chapters and intense scenes were genuinely chilling. With retellings, the original always casts a long shadow—especially with a book like this—but not only was this compulsively readable, but it felt unique and appealing as its own novel, which is a challenging balance to strike.
Holly is a playwright turned private school teacher who has refused to give up on her ambitions of writing a standout drama. After she receives a grant to develop Witching Night her latest play. I was entranced by the play within the story based on a feminist retelling of an old play in which a woman was accused of being a witch and consequently murdered for it, has a lot of potential. The novel is scattered with the songs composed and in the novel hauntingly sung by her partner Nisa a singer-songwriter who has been adapting classic murder ballads for the play.
The propelling force of this text is the horror elements, which were genuinely disturbing and frightening. A Haunting on the Hill is the perfect blend of horror and literary fiction without being overlong or drawn out. The characters—one of which is inevitably Hill House—were perfectly complicated and their shifting allegiances/motivations made the novel that much more interesting.
Kylie Lee Baker’s a novelist whose Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng and The Scarlet Alchemist duology have been on my to be read tower for a while so I picked up her young adult fantasy debut novel as it was available in my local library.
Though the story is set in the 1890s, it has very little to do with the human world of the time: it follows a non-human protagonist dealing with the two supernatural worlds she inhabits due to her Reaper father and Shinigami mother, starting in England and then moving to Japan.
With inspiration from Japanese folklore and Shinto mythology, it’s largely about protagonist Ren’s quest to destroy three Yokai so that Izanami, the Goddess of Death, will accept her as a Shinigami. It’s also about her relationship with her younger brother—a Reaper who didn’t fit in well because of his unusually gentle soul—and a stranger she meets in Japan—a former Shinigami with a deformed foot, cast out for being physically imperfect. But most of all, The Keeper of Night is about Ren’s desire to belong, and what she’s willing to do to earn a place among the Shinigami after being rejected by the Reapers.
A engaging and well-paced tale that expresses much about this mythology and I am keen to read the conclusion in The Empress of Time.
It’s the wedding of the wifetime and if that pun was worthy of a heartfelt groan then this third and second last book in the Tomes & Tea series is probably just what you need. Whilst I think you could read this one alone I would recommend reading the earlier novels Can't Spell Treason Without Tea and A Pirate's Life for Tea as most of these characters have been introduced in these earlier novels.
Our protagonists Kianthe and Reyna are working on making their wedding memorable and its not just the whole town that they have befriended, but the pirates, dragons, Queensguard, a lost heir, family and old friends.
Can it still be considered cosy fantasy when the story will involve dethroning a queen? Also I hope the idea of a wedding sword catches on.
Thoroughly enjoyable if you enjoyed the two books but it ends on a cliff hanger and the final novel in the series Alchemy and a Cup of Tea due to be published later this year.
This was an outstanding recommendation that led me to Xueting Christine Ni work. On my engagement with Sinophagia I immediately bought Sinopticon her anthology Celebration of Chinese Science Fiction.
As with the best anthologies Sinophagia provides an introduction and content warnings for each story, then offers fourteen stories ranging greatly in length and theme. The stories span from the earliest 2002 (“Immortal Beauty” by Chu Xidao), to (“Night Climb” by Chi Hui). At the end of each piece, Ni has included thoughtful notes about both story and author and track the different sub genre's of horror covered in these stories, some common to western horror and others more unique to Chinese and Asian stories.
I have picked a few stories that really stuck with me, but I really could have chosen any of these stories and their excellent supporting notes by Ni.
The collection begins with The Girl in the Rain” by Hong Niangzi feeling like a western urban legend horror surrounding a university campus, and then getting into a blood-soaked narrative. Central is the three-person friendship between Jiang Ruohan, Luo Xi, and Shen Jie. Two of the three are in a romantic relationship, and things eventually take horrific turns—those turns being tied closely to the legends established at the outset. The notes describe it as Xiaoyuan Jingson (college horror) and it clearly reflects the stresses of university life, including the social elements.
“The Waking Dream” by Fan Zhou is a science fiction horror story in which technology has been developed to allow people to perform as part of a workforce in a virtual workplace while their bodies are sleeping. Shen Yue is one such worker, but in her case, the shared virtual workplace is littered with what seem to me very Chinese/Asian style monsters. As the story progresses, we learn more about the cost these work practices take and the what or more how she is seeing these. In the notes I discovered the author Fan Zhou writes under pseudonym and keeps her identity behind avatars which makes the story she tells even more impactful.
And due to my love of spicy food I couldn't neglect the Chuan Ge's the Ying Yang pot with its focus on hot pot and traditional magic which is used to trap a thoughtless male who wanted to take advantage. How one can find themselves “locked” in marriage to the dead through the very act of dining – which food is consumed and how – leading to an unplanned ghost wedding inside a hotpot restaurant ensconced in a dimly lit street. Our protagonist discovers a dish that breaks the boundaries between the living and dead in a story full of food culture and twists. Try to read this one when you are about to go to lunch, preferably Sichuan hotpot.
“The Shanxiao” by Goodnight, Xiaoqing. In this odd story, it’s the damsel who saves the young man in distress, but all is not as it seems in this metafictional story with its readerly address: “What? You’re laughing at this tired old plot… yes, a lot of books tell this sort of story.” It disentangles embedded stories in reimagined tales.
Another enjoyable albeit haunting story is Zhou Dedong’s “Have You Heard of Ancient Glory”, which is a social horror about a haunted suburb. In varied perspectives, the narrative cleverly explores the shifting burial practices in a crowded landscape.
She Cong Ge’s “Those Who Walk at Night, Walk with Ghosts” offers stories-within-a-story in a novelette-length tale that captures folklore and haunting across night walks in remote villages. Yimei Tangguo’s “The Ghost Wedding” spotlights the tragic custom of stolen brides and draws attention to sexual abuse, imprisonment and poverty, while Su Min’s “Ti’Naang” is a Frankenstein-type story with a twist.
Cai Jun’s “Huangcun” is another novella that unfolds a pleasant yet ominous tale. It’s immersive in first-person voice, where an encounter with a strange girl on a cold, Shanghai night leads to a visit to her hometown in an ancient house haunted with familial spectres associated with a ghostly flute.
I was also gratified to realise that Ni had chosen a more female authors than many anthologies and a wide spread of writers with those early in the their careers and well established. Also writers with different experiences in publishing some traditionally based, some purely web based.
The book follows a group of six teens living in the same neighborhood since childhood: Leila, a would-be artist; Gael, a horror lover who has already directed a short film; Malachi, a black queer boy; Devon, twin sister to genius Drew; Drew, the skeptic, who attends private school, and Yaya, Devon’s longtime crush. Most of the friends are Black, with the exception of Leila.
Ever since the Scream franchise began subverting the tropes of horror films many contemporary YA horror choose to also subvert these obvious tropes. In this story which sees a demon (seemingly following the rules from a very poorly received movie 'Read Your Rites' (Box office revenues 10 million on a 12 million cost) stalking the teens.
These teens are trope savvy enough (especially Gael) to bait the demon and recognise the need for the 'final girl' to end the threat. But with the required third act twist and a satisfying reveal of who was the real monster it was a Karen sorry Kendra. I found it a breezy, satisfying addition to the genre.
Given I am reading the fourth book in the Dr. Greta Helsing series by Vivian Shaw then I must be enjoying the series and as much as I revelled in the first three this book only extends the pleasure as it continues the previous world building which saw the good doctor narrowly avoiding the end of the world in book three Grave Importance, the leaders of Heaven and Hell are struggling to collaborate according to the terms of their new treaty—especially because angels and demons are, quite literally, allergic to each other. Seeking a solution, the powers that be decide to see if the allergy persists on Earth by sending an angel and demon on a research trip, first stop: New York City. And what better chaperone than Dr. Greta Helsing, who happens to owe Hell a few favours of her own?
But there’s unrest in New York’s monster underworld and Greta and her team are about to land in the middle of it. Something is off in Heaven and on Earth, and Greta will have to figure out just what that is if she hopes to protect those she loves most.
The usual cast of characters from previous books, including Lord Ruthven, Sir Francis Varney, and Abraham Van Helsing, numerous supernaturals such as mummies, bog monsters, werewolves etc the Angels, archangels, lords of hell such as Samuel, and support from Dr Faust it is identifying these literary refences which make these books so much fun for me. Reminiscent of The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club series by Theodora Goss.
I hope Vivian Shaw returns to this world in future works.
I first encountered August Clarke's writing as H.A. Clarke in their young adult contemporary witches Scapegracers trilogy described as The Craft meets Mean Girls—except more heartwarming and queer a found family trope, but with teen witches funnelling their angst into reckless magic.
So I was excited to read Metal from Heaven and it didn't disappoint.
I am unapologetic communist and this book carries revolutionary theory and action in full. It begins with an organized labor strike and protest during a surge of unionization efforts by workers in this nation. Told at that time from the point of view of a young (around 12/13) factory worker Marney Honeycutt. The eponymous metal from heaven – ichorite – is part of Marney’s body from in-utero exposure to the substance making her lustertouched and interacting with the metal on a primal level (handling it can induce violent attaches like an allergic reaction, but it also gives her a measure of control over it. Those calling for a better world, Marney’s family and community, are all murdered at the orders of Chauncey, the man who discovered how to utilise ichorite. Like all capitalists didn’t care about his workers; they protested; he had them killed. After escaping Marney embraced by bandits known as 'the Highwayman’s Choir' and their community of Fingerbluffs. We follow Marney as grows up; and eventually masquerades as a noble to get close to Chauncey’s daughter, with the goal of killing Chauncey. And – because where would the story be if they didn’t? – things get complicated.
The author in an interview said they had never seen stone butches in genre fiction, given that they are one, or was at the time when I wrote this book so they explored what lesbianism means in terms of class and how messy and gender-transgressive lesbian masculinity is and has been and will continue to be.
And make no mistake this book is full of dynamic fierce and masc/femme queer women and what a joy, it is glorious. Cailen at the Lesbrary describes it as thus 'Metal From Heaven is gender-fuckery and untamed queerness, labour politics and workers’ rights, anti-capitalist and gloriously anarchist. What the fuck is femininity weaves through the story, a bright, hot pink ribbon with razored edges. Pink, pink is everywhere: pink is the colour of gender-fuckery, as we see when Amon paints his face not blue for men or black for women, but pink; pink is what Marney sees when she uses her magic, the world smearing and shining around her. This is political fantasy – fiercely, unabashedly political – where there’s nothing on the menu but the rich, the rich and those who’ll betray everyone else to serve them'.
In that same interview I referenced above the author went on to talk about the Ichorite which is a major narrative point. The author said "… comes from my anxiety that fossil fuels are like corpses, a very literal dinosaur body. Imagine plastic and oil and everything we derive from said corpses being haunted, and how immense and profound the scale of that haunting would be. Simultaneously, I’m a Marx nerd. Marx writes about the commodity fetish as this capitalist delusion where we think we’re having relationships with objects instead of with each other. What would it mean if there was a substance that, in interacting with it, it becomes immediately clear that this is not the case? There’s a lot of goofy Marx interpolation in my worldbuilding. I think other Marx-heads will recognize what I’m playing with".
One Marx head to another all I can say I bravo.
The final fifth of the book speaks of the revolution in detail but from an omniscient but third person point of view but still in Marney's voice and it’s a glorious conclusion in the sweet hereafter.