Nico

A sci-fi horror that took a little bit for me to get into. I mostly enjoyed it, especially the android character, and will keep my eye out for more books from this author.

This is a hard one to rate, since I thought about quitting the first half, but the last quarter was creepy and interesting. It was just so slow and the hooks to keep me interested were lacking.

I could not have guessed how much I would have loved this - which was a lot. It's a meld of short stories of a journalist writing about different beasts of her world combined with a connected time arc. Plot-driven readers might not like this, but those who like fantastical creatures might. Also I would not call this a comfort read, the world is a dark one so much so that it's almost like a dystopia, but there's the heart, emotion and complexity there that I crave from my books.

4.5 stars, rounding down to 4 for now.* Let me start with, did I enjoy it? When a book so masterfully shows: 1) the oppression of one group, justified by those in power for reasons of fear and ignorance; 2) the reinforcement of that oppression by the people you love; 3) the internal struggle of the oppressed person to just survive, to be able to work, feed their family, not be killed or harmed, have shelter, with the aching desire to just have choice and live freely - that makes it a very hard and tense read for me. But did I like it? It is a phenomenal and fast-paced work that kept me at the edge of my seat and it had a great mix of politics, power-dynamics, romance, and characters I now deeply care about. So, yes! Well, what's it about? It's a dual POV story set in Alamaxa, where elemental magic is wielded by “weavers,” a woman's life is dictated by her husband or father, and a women's suffrage movement is underway. Not only is weaving debated and feared, especially when the weaver is a woman, by the elected officials, but also by their war-mongering border neighbors. I think folks who are a fan of “Babel,”not for the pacing or writing style, but for the themes and plot, should check out this one.

TL:DR: I highly recommend. There is little disability representation in SFF. That itself lends to why this is a very special anthology, but also is it simply well done. Why do I think it's such a wonderful collection? Because it made me think, it made me feel, it has awesome SFF and I had fun with it. To learn a little bit about my favorite short stories, scroll way down.

Overview & Context:Soul Jar: Thirty-One Fantastical Tales by Disabled Authors, edited by Annie Carl, was published by Forest Avenue Press in October of 2023. The 31 stories are divided between four sections: Earth in Retrograde, Gone Astray, Wild Space and Creature Feature. Nicola Griffith (author of the novella Spear) wrote the forward and Carl wrote the introduction. To quote Griffith: “Ableism is the story fed to us all, disabled and non-disabled, from birth: that to have intellectual or physical impairments makes us less, Other. It's the only story we get in real life or on page or screen. Ableism is a crap story.” Carl explains that when attending a bookseller trade show, the panel on celebrating diversity did not discuss disabilities. When Carl asked about how to support disabled booksellers and authors, the panel was silent. Afterwards, she was approached by a publisher from Forest Avenue Press and the rest is now history.

Why I picked up this anthology: I was seeking something off the beaten path. I found some good options, but this one grabbed me from the title alone. When I went to Goodreads over a month ago, it only had 23 ratings, now 41, so off the beaten path indeed. I've read two memoirs by authors with disabilities and as a person without disabilities (and at the time not knowing a person with disabilities) these memoirs changed my life. They changed a lot about how I look at the built environment, public events, the workplace, etc., but in my reading they created a new lens to critique through: how people speak about people with disabilities and how language is used in general; where disability representation is present or void; and how I personally perpetuate or reject ableism. My experience watching the SFF-related online communities is that generally: 1) it is a minority of reviewers who talk about diversity or who actively seek diversity in their reading; 2) when speaking about diversity they mostly talk about diversity of author race, author ethnicity, author gender, or LGBTQIA+ authors or characters; and 3) there is a paucity of SFF characters with disability and of SFF books written by authors with disability. So between all of that it was really a no brainer for me to pick it up.

My opinion on this anthology: It is fantastic. I love the organization of the four sections and how it has a little something for everyone. Some stories weren't hits for me, but I could still see how they'd be someone's cup of tea. Yes too, there are weaker stories amongst the strongest. But for a short story collection, it's exactly what I would expect and what I wanted. It has stories that transported me in different ways or had me in awe of an author's creativity and imagination — that is why I read SFF. As a reader, sometimes I explicitly knew what disability was being discussed, other times I made assumptions based on what I know, and there are some that I think are SFF stories without disability themes or representation in them — but I really don't know. There is a Contributor Biographies section, but I wish there was an additional note from each author about their intention and what they hoped the reader would feel or take away from their story. Additionally, there is no explanation of the curation process for each section, my descriptors below are just guesses. Overall, I think this is such a great anthology, because it made me think, it made me feel a variety of emotions, I had a great time with the SFF stories and I thoroughly enjoyed the reading experience.

Disability Themes: This collection is rich in themes to dissect. Some stories are about the physical pain a character might manage, while others are about the pain of living in a society that views people with disabilities as being less than, not valued and needing to change. There are some about purposefully being restricted and harmed because of these views. There is anger and rage. There is also joy and love around being a person with disabilities and being loved and valued as they are by others. There's the bravery to take risks and self-acceptance. There are a couple that parallel the willfully ignorant policies and practices that are prevalent today. Most of the stories I read (at least minus one, noted in favorites) are nuanced. They seamlessly weave these themes into the fantastical stories being told or entwine them brilliantly if a character clearly has a disability amongst the fantastical goings-on.

Why I didn't read every story: You'll notice below I didn't read every story. In fact, I only completed 20 out of the 31. I decided to only read the first page of a short story and continue with it if I was feeling it or move on to the next if I wasn't. It had nothing to do with the book, writing or author, it was purely a feeling and mood in the moment. Why? Because that's just what I decided to do. I strongly recommend this method if you struggle with anthologies and want to enjoy them.

The four sections and my favorite stories:

Earth in Retrograde — I read 6 of the 9 stories. Dystopian and post-apocalyptic, two of my least favorite SFF subgenres. I surprisingly enjoyed these three and think they're amongst the strongest of the book:
• There are no Hearing Aid Batteries after the Apocalypse by Carolina Scheina. After the world fell apart, Kesslyn realizes the batteries in her hearing aids are gone and she can no longer hear.
• Survivor's Club by Morgan Beaudry. The air carries a killer virus and the survivors are locked in their homes. We meet our MC, who has a chronic illness, some years after they received a lung transplant. This initially seemed like a pandemic story, and maybe it is, but I think it's more. I was angry, I was sad, I was crying by the end and it is in my top five stories.
• Song of Bullfrogs, Crystal of Geese by Nicolas Griffith (originally published in Interzone and Aboriginal, 1991). While humanity is slowly dying and most have congregated in urban centers, Molly is the last living and remaining resident of her apartment complex, which is surrounded by nature.

Gone Astray — read 5 of 7. This is the hardest section for me to parse what links the stories together. I think they're about succumbing, fate, maybe?:
• The Sorrow Stealer by A.J. Cunder. We meet an entity that takes away people's sorrow and is content with that, until something happens.
• Delbrot, Peace Warrior! by Holly Saiki. I lich is being chased in the forest. Though the pursuer thinks that they are the hero and that the lich should be killed and is unholy, the story is a bit absurd and silly in the best way. One of my top favorites and likely the source of the anthology title.
• The Warp and Weft of a Norse Villainous by El Park. A first-person story about one of the Sisters Three, Skuld, cutter of threads, who lives below the Tree of Life. Lots of anger here and it is one of my top favorites.

Wild Space — read 5 of 6. Science fiction, from space to aliens. Here are my two favorites (which are very high in the favorites list):
• Weightless by Raven Oak (originally published in The Great Beyond, 2020). We follow a passenger with a larger body and persistent pain from an old surgery embarking on space travel, which is never fun. Rage activated, heartstrings pulled with this one.
• The Definitions of Professional Attire by Evergreen Lee (originally published in Factor Four Magazine, 2019). This is about a detective who is directed to conceal their third eye and hooves in order to make their colleagues more comfortable in the workplace. Something happens in this short story where a permanent harm results from the workplace policy. It broke my heart and I have thought about it on and off since reading, and I currently have tears in my eyes just from writing this out.

Creature Feature — read 4 of 7. Fantastical beings or creatures. Clearly all four read stories were favorites since they're all below:
• Lucy by Judy Lunsford. An imaginary friend is assigned to a new kid. Clocking in at a whopping 4 pages, this is one of my top five favorites. If you are a dog or animal lover, it's a must-read.
• A Peril of Being Human by Julie Reeser. This is about a shapeshifter therapist. It begins with her using her shape shifting ability in her therapy sessions, but it is really about her and self-acceptance.
• The Arroyo Fiasco by Dawn Vogel. A geyser pterosaur, who's been nicknamed Fiasco by their community, is just trying to make a real name for themself and be helpful.
• The Rising Currents of Ocean Fire in my Blood by Bethy Wernert. A difficult story about a mermaid locked in an aquarium by her parents and told she has no say and no rights to her life because she has autism. Though it begins fantastical and by the end is a bit on the nose, I was deeply touched and disturbed by this one.

Bitter was another one of my most anticipated releases this year and it's everything I was hoping for. I think it's a must read for anyone in any activist space too since it talks about the burdens carried and debate around what is the “right” approach to activism and change. I want to reread Pet now since I know more about the angels and monsters.

Chef's kiss. If you like dark fantasy, western - and maybe even quests - you will likely want to check this one out. The writing style reminded me of Kings of the Wyld, without any of the humor and instead with multi-POVs and ghouls, witches, werewolves, and much more. It is very gruesome so if you pay attention to trigger warnings, look those up first.

Though good, this was a bit of a let down and I think I can explain why. The first three novellas hit an itch for me personally around storytelling, meaning they don't feel like books and Vo isn't an author, they're a storyteller and had me entranced with each tale. You follow Cleric Chih around the landscape as they find and collect stories from the people they meet. This one broke a bit of the magic for me though, I think that is my issue. You're at their monastery and it felt like a book with plot, etc. On the positive side, I am always a sucker for a book that covers grief really well and this one had a glint of that and I've seen some reviewers I follow say it's their favorite of the series.

Old review - I don't remember too many of my thoughts about this book to be honest. Forgettable I guess, but at the same time I remember liking many aspects about it.

A review here had me at, “Ghibli fantasy fans, listen up.” It's a Japanese-influenced YA fantasy adventure where you meet a young girl from the countryside who feels she has no say in her life as a female in her patriarchal society. Our protagonist Miuko is immediately cursed and starts to transform into a demon. By the first third I thought it would be a simple quest story with friendships similar to “Shadow of the Fox” by Julie Kagawa. Well, in some ways it was, but the twists and turns, darkness and depth of themes wonderful for a teen to explore bump it up beyond a simple quest. My personal enjoyment was probably a 3-4 stars, but based on my two main parameters for rating YA/teen books (page-turner and thematically strong) I'll rate this on here as 5 stars.

This is an urban fantasy family drama about what happens to superheroes decades after their prime. This is a story about when the years have long gone by and your priorities are still backwards, and your present is tied to history.

72-year-old Johnny Ribkins has a looming threat on his mind. When he goes on a treasure hunt of sorts, he meets his 13-year-old niece, the daughter of his younger, deceased brother. He recalls his time as a member of the Justice Committee, family with special abilities who assembled and lended their talents to the Civil Rights Movement.

For readers who enjoy character studies, intergenerational stories, or dramas this could be for you. I liked it, the relationship between Johnny and his niece was my favorite part.

It's been well over two decades since I read the Odyssey, but this reminded me of the grand epic feel of Homer's work and I absolutely loved that. It was brilliant to me for so many reasons, but I was particularly in awe of the blending of three different mythologies/religions. And just wow, it turned into quite a ride. Single-POVs usually aren't my favorites and it did take me a minute to be enraptured by the tale, but what a frikken tale it turned out to be. As for content warnings if you pay attention, on-page rape does happen and is revisited and slavery is shown as well. To the former, it was definitely not there randomly to “villianize” someone, it was more of an exploration of harm, grief and processing on an individual level and social commentary on complacency of harm as well. Overall, this seems to be an underrated book and I highly recommend.

Quit at 30%. So much set up (felt like I was reading contemporary fiction, it was okay for what it was) and wasn't at the tea shop yet. I wanted the tea shop.

This was sold to me as a cozy mystery featuring a cast of forest folk. I thought this was fine for what it was and I did like the writing, but I am left feeling indifferent to it. The residents of Shady Hollow live a peaceful life, no one locks their doors and they might enjoy a pick-me-up from Joe's Mug, run by a moose, or seek out local raven and book shop owner, Lenore, to find their next thriller or romance. The town is shocked when Otto, a toad and grump, is murdered. Who could have done it? I would recommend this to anyone looking for a short, laid-back read. There are many more in the series, so this could offer many respite opportunities between tomes or heavier content.

Hopefully a temporary quit - I just couldn't get into the story after two attempts. But sounds like something up my alley.

Snow, a fox, is looking for someone who escaped her long ago. Bao, a private investigator in his retirement years, is hired to learn the name of a woman whose body was found at the steps of restaurant. Obsessed with foxes, he's lured into the larger mystery when he realizes foxes are at every turn of his investigation.

This is a dual POV (one 1st person, the other 3rd) historical fiction fantasy that drew me in for the fox mythology. Both POVs are looking for something, but it's Bao's POV I was wholly invested in. The mystery was great, he as a character was interesting and layered, and the fox mythology from the view of non-foxes was fascinating and always present. I struggled with Snow's POV until a third of the way, but still Bao carried me through. I can see how some might be invested in Snow, who slyly navigates the patriarchal norms and dangers around her. I did like Snow, especially in the last quarter, which was a gratifying closing overall.

For those interested in the historical fiction, this takes place at the time of anti-imperial sentiments and revolutionary movement against the Qing government in the early 1900's. Through both POVs we see the low attitudes towards and poor treatment of women, including accepted imprisonment.

Content warnings for repeated mentions of grief around loss of child, sexual harassment, mentions of imprisonment.

4.5 stars. I really loved this book, particularly because of the creativity of the monsters and world. I really liked the main character of this book, but there was one side character that really bothered me once they were introduced. The gore didn't bother me, when sometimes it can. This was my first Khaw and now I'm interested in reading more.

3.5 stars. This was a cozy rec and is described by many others as heartwarming, wholesome, cute, fun, funny, etc. I would not personally use any of those descriptors for the vibe of the book and it did not at all satisfy the cozy craving. There were touching moments, yes, but I just think it's simply a different kind of book.

A spinster, Miss Mildred Percy (who is 40

DNF @ 44%. If someone is looking for an easy to read, action, space crew sci-fi, I will maybe recommend this. Jal finds himself on a ship he doesn't want to be on and with a crew he doesn't want to be with. This is compared in the blurb to Becky Chambers and Firefly, the latter I can see, the premise is pretty similar. But the book didn't manage the charm and heart you have with found-families, which the blurb claims this has. I could see the attempts, but there was no magic there. Two characters were interesting, but Jal was very lackluster as the star. I didn't particularly care for the writing (I also downloaded the sneak peek on Kindle to see if the narration was skewing my opinion, it wasn't the audiobook), so I was hoping the story would be fine enough (it wasn't). Last, I was largely not a fan of the narrator's narration. So between everything, I thought it was time to accept this is not a book for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the arc.

DNF @ 18%. By this point there's not enough to interest me at all, from the MC to the mystery. No side characters are holding my attention either.

A YA standalone in the Discworld series. A human boy, a sentient cat and a sentient crew of rats arrive in a new town. What they expect to be an easy job turns out to be something unexpected. While I didn't get as much of the humor and heart I expect from a Discworld book throughout, it was like a flood at the end. Still has great themes for teens and can be easily enjoyed by adults too.

TL;DR: Phantasmal world and mysterious characters. The strongest elements are the world building and main character, weakest are plot and all the character things overall. Not a perfect book for me, but I can see it blowing someone's socks off.

ARC REVIEW
I received an audio ARC from NetGalley. Thank you NetGalley and publisher. These thoughts and opinions are my own. I did switch to purchased e-book after release at about 60%. I reread the first 5% and selected chapters, then continued either doing a blended read, e-read or audio read.

WHO THIS COULD APPEAL TO
If you prefer rich world building, this book has it. Set in an unusual world with its own uniquely constructed history and lore, the characters are as mysterious as the world phantasmal. If eldritch meets swashbuckling sounds appealing to you or you like single-POV stories, then I recommend.

WHAT'S IT ABOUT?
Cady, a long-retired boat captain, reluctantly takes on a dangerous ferrying job across the river Nysis, home of Feyner, ghost of the fallen dragon Haakenur whose skeleton lines the entirety of the river. A threat is looming that none on the journey foresee.

CHARACTERS
We follow Cady as the single-POV character. I found Cady to be enjoyable to follow and fully realized. There are other characters on this river voyage, none human, and everyone is shrouded in mystery. While we have many different non-human characters, there are two main side characters who I couldn't distinguish from humans aside from their physical characterics.

The character development here lacks for me quite a bit. Perhaps this is the nature of single POV stories, but still I wanted more from the side characters. More importantly for me in my reading preferences is character connection or complicated character dynamics. It's not that books need to have this, but I get the sense that Noon and Beard were aiming for this, at least the former. Cady is sweet and caring (and no-nonsense, tough and critical) and there are sweet moments between characters, but I never really felt it. Specifically, I felt Cady's care to others but I never felt it genuinely reciprocated. An example is an adoptive mother and son relationship in the book. They clearly like each other, maybe love, but I never got the warmth or sparkle I would expect (and want as a reader) from a child-parent relationship that is a positive one. The son was my least favorite character, purely because I was uninterested.

WORLD BUILDING
This is the best part of the book and was the most gripping. The primary lore revolves around a dragon, a starship, a magic sword and a ghost. It's weird, it's its own, it's vivid — and I adored these aspects of it. In the same breath, I was thrown at times with the choice to add a war with fighter planes and factories in this very otherworldly setting that to me was unnecessary to the plot. My favorite components of the world are the critters, creatures, magical and unearthly beings, and even the plants. My favorite scenes are the ones where Cady or the crew interact with them, from pffting never-nevers to dancing xilliths or from slimy syqod to monstrous voor.

PLOT
The book of course is ultimately about a river voyage, to bring its passengers to the city of Ludwich. Like any such quest story there are unforeseen obstacles along the way. It could have been great or fine, but there are chapter transitions and character actions that were abrupt to me. For example, something about the substantial threat that is revealed felt sudden. Another example is when a side character randomly kisses someone and I was baffled by that part. The beginning chapters and climax were the strongest, but the middle too clunky. The closing was rushed with more focus on set up for the next book. It was another example of abruptness for me and ruined any possible satisfying conclusion to the book's arc.

MY SUMMARIZED THOUGHTS
This is one of those books I didn't love, but respect. My ideal book has a balance of excellent world building, an engaging and satisfying plot, character development and character connection. It clearly checked only on box entirely. I can adore a book that lacks one or more of these elements, but I really have to be blown away by everything else. Despite the parts I liked, I wasn't satisfied enough by the story as a whole. I became disconnected by the aforementioned war mentions, somewhat choppy plot, and by abrupt character actions and scenes. I will recommend this book in the future, but I do not plan to continue on with the duology.

NOTE ON AUDIOBOOK
If you are considering purchasing the audiobook, I suggest sampling first. I personally do not recommend the audiobook, particularly because there is a huge volume discrepancy between the narration and character voices, which are often whispered, though parts of the narrators voice are whispered too. Most of the time I couldn't hear when the narration was perfect the characters were too soft, or too painful when the characters were perfect the narration was too loud. The only way to listen comfortably was with my headphones when there was absolutely no sound around me. I'm noting this because this was a rare experience for me as an avid audiobook listener.

A high-octane sci-fi mystery sequel that is just as fun (and imperfect) as the first in the series. If you haven't read book one, I highly recommend for the pretty cool take on first-contact alone.

It's a new murder mystery with the aliens on Station Eternity trying to hold everything together. Seems just as flawed in some things, but fun-chaos too that makes any annoyance inconsequential.

Recommend this for anyone looking for a fun, light-ish sci-fi. Don't go into this with expectations of the perfect book, just expect a good time, the series is kind of like the book form of rollercoasters. Readers who enjoyed book one will no doubt enjoy this too.

This was a cozy rec and turned out to be a Phe.Nom.En.Al. listen. I'd call this cozy-found-home, cozy rating 5-stars and I just had a good ol' time with it. It had cute moments, awkward yet silly moments that made me chuckle, lots of burgeoning friendships, a romance, and individual growth.

A cook begins his new role in the castle's kitchen and shenanigans of sorts ensue. The curmudgeony young cook can't seem to stop pissing everyone off and he might not be great at keeping his magic a secret either. Fin is one of those seems like an a-hole, but is actually a great person and those close see it characters, with reasons as to why he keeps everyone at a distance.

If any of the above speaks to you or you want to drool while Fin is cooking or watch people be pacified and satiated by his food, this would be very good for foodie people too.

So, to start with the positive, I did really like the multiverse premise and plot overall. However, the writing style was one I really, really did not enjoy. It was train-of-thought writing that I did not find interesting combined with descriptions that felt very mundane (which is something I've seen other writers execute really well) and grating to follow, and the characters all felt like they spoke and reacted the same way. Beukes is just not an author for me.