A terrific alternate history of space with science that felt accurate and a great protagonist. My one or two minor issues didn't diminish my enjoymentA terrific alternate history of space with science that felt accurate and a great protagonist. My one or two minor issues didn't diminish my enjoyment of a book that manages to be both dark and joyful. Now to get my hands on the sequel....more
I rarely read series and I rarely read two books in a row by the same author, but having just read the Calculating Stars, I promptly got hold of a copI rarely read series and I rarely read two books in a row by the same author, but having just read the Calculating Stars, I promptly got hold of a copy of the Fated Sky and devoured it. Stayed up until 1 am reading. I loved the realistic life-in-space details like the shifting locations of foot calluses. ...more
Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. I loved almost everything about this book. The deft imagining of two parallel timelines of the twentieth century, both dGorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. I loved almost everything about this book. The deft imagining of two parallel timelines of the twentieth century, both different from our own, the vivid depictions of every character in both timelines, the ways in which Pat/Trish is different and the same. I basically read the whole book cover to cover yesterday. I had other things to do, but I couldn't put it down. I read the last several chapters with tears pouring down my face. I think it would have been a five star book for me except (view spoiler)[for the last line. I've read reviews that interpreted it differently than I did, and maybe it's meant to be a personal rorshach for the reader as well as for Pat/Trish. But the fact that she thought she had to choose at all upset me. (hide spoiler)] There are other books and movies that have trod this path - I'm particularly thinking of the underrated film Mr. Nobody - but the way this came together, and the particulars of both lives, touched me deeply. ...more
Excellent novella by Vylar Kaftan, set in an alternate Inca empire. I'm impressed with the research and world-building that must have gone into that iExcellent novella by Vylar Kaftan, set in an alternate Inca empire. I'm impressed with the research and world-building that must have gone into that in order to keep those things from distracting from the story at hand. ...more
I think I wasn't in the mood for this. I really, really liked the rest of the series, but I think the best of it was the closed-room horror: the SeattI think I wasn't in the mood for this. I really, really liked the rest of the series, but I think the best of it was the closed-room horror: the Seattle underground in Boneshaker and the Inexplicables, the train in Dreadnaught, etc. Ms. Priest's research is impeccable and there's some fun in seeing famous people show up in this one, but the political focus and multiple narrators diluted some of the energy. Or it just might be my mood right now. In any case, a decent end to an enjoyable series. ...more
This book had some big issues, but I have to admit there was something about the tone and the language and the characters that kept me going. I loved This book had some big issues, but I have to admit there was something about the tone and the language and the characters that kept me going. I loved Saltykov, even if his mysterious syndrome hadn't actually been a specific category of diagnosis at the time this novel is supposed to have taken place, and even if some of his symptoms seemed more like OCD than Asperger's. I loved the narrative voice. I loved the way the action sequences were written. After that? There's pretty much just one woman in the novel, and her personality is a little underdeveloped. There are some speedy recoveries from typically unspeedy injuries. I've seen some criticism of some of the Russian cultural aspects of the book, though I wouldn't have noticed the errors myself. The right book for the day I was reading it, in any case....more
A rollicking steampunk adventure, with all of the trappings of the genre and a great heroine to boot. I thought this one was well paced and focused anA rollicking steampunk adventure, with all of the trappings of the genre and a great heroine to boot. I thought this one was well paced and focused and benefited from Mercy's single point of view. I'm finding it hard to say if I liked this one or the first one better. (view spoiler)[I do think the caboose of the train was not fully addressed at the end of the book. I wanted to know how and if the contents of the train car were disposed of. Also, while I'm hiding in this spoiler, I have to say that zombies on a train are apparently way less terrifying than zombies in a city. Or else perhaps it's just that I didn't have to take these zombies personally. The trope of whoops-one-member-of-the-party-was-secretly-bitten-and-is-slowly-zombifying is definitely one of the creepier parts of the genre to me. (hide spoiler)]...more
Not my favorite in the series - that would be the first or third - but not the weakest either. I love the world that Cherie Priest is creating, and thNot my favorite in the series - that would be the first or third - but not the weakest either. I love the world that Cherie Priest is creating, and the way she is building it slowly, weaving in new characters and new locations while reminding us what the others are up to. (view spoiler)[Not really a spoiler, but just in case someone complains...just wanted to say that this book lacked a bit of the tension of the others, since I was fairly certain everyone I cared about was going to survive. Most of the tension that remained was me waiting for the zombies to return, but their appearance at the end was not the stuff of nightmares. I know, I'm weird. I hate zombie fiction but I also wanted them to be scarier as long as they were there. They were plenty scary at the waterfront at the beginning of the book. (hide spoiler)]...more
Three and a half stars. I'm wavering on four because I gave Who Fears Death four just a few days ago, and I was far more captivated by that book. ThisThree and a half stars. I'm wavering on four because I gave Who Fears Death four just a few days ago, and I was far more captivated by that book. This one had a lot going for it, don't get me wrong. It's a brilliant concept and a vividly described setting. I could feel the grit and soot in my teeth as I read about the mighty Engines. Creedmoor and Liv are both complex and interesting characters, and yet something kept me at arm's length from both of them. It was the world itself that kept my interest through four hundred pages: the land and the Line and the Gun and the Hill Folk and the House Dolorous and the unmade edge. Good stuff. Edit: I just read that this is part one of two, in which case, I'm pretty sure this will go up in my estimation. ...more
After devouring the first two books, I told myself I was going to wait before reading this one. Then I went to the library to pick something else up, After devouring the first two books, I told myself I was going to wait before reading this one. Then I went to the library to pick something else up, and found myself drawn to the shelf. In my defense I can say that it's refreshing to be able to read a series start to finish without having to wait for the end (I'm looking at you, Connie Willis). I guess if the first book was modeled on a British parlor mystery, and the second one was a thriller, this one is a bit of a comedy of manners, though a little light on comedy. It followed the same format as the previous two books, though it is set about a decade later. As such, it allows the reader to see the results of the new laws and societal changes enacted in the first two books. Although the novelty of the premise has worn off, it is no less powerful and scary. I haven't yet decided if I fully approve of the ending, but if it wasn't perfect, it certainly wasn't unsatisfying. The series as a whole is a well crafted examination of uses and abuses of power, personal responsibility, and prejudice; though set in an alternate mid-century England it also has some eerie parallels to modern day. ...more
I tore through this one, and I'm tempted to go straight to the library for the third. This book suffers only a little bit from middleoftrilogyitis, moI tore through this one, and I'm tempted to go straight to the library for the third. This book suffers only a little bit from middleoftrilogyitis, mostly manifest in my desire to find out what happens in the final volume.
The trilogy's apparent structure is clever. This book, like the first one, has a split narrative; also like the first it alternates between a first person protagonist and a third person protagonist. The third person narrator, a Scotland Yard detective named Carmichael, is the same as in the first book, and his section blends seamlessly with that in Farthing. Carmichael is a remarkable character, with complex choices and complex motivations, and I look forward to reading the continuation of his story.
I was momentarily disappointed when the first person section didn't continue where Farthing had left off, but Walton managed to create another interesting character to hang this one on. As in that book, the first person character is a young woman who has rebelled against her family. She is less fluttery than Lucy but is still relatively naive politically, and Walton is thus able to use her ignorance and inquisitiveness as an expository tool.
I think this volume lacks a little of the horrific novelty of the first, but it is still a powerful exploration of a world that might have been, and of the choices people make in difficult situations. Many of the themes resonate with today's political climate as well.
*Side note: in my review of Farthing, I mentioned that it was shelved in different sections in different libraries. I have now noticed that in my own branch, Farthing is shelved in Mystery, Ha'Penny is shelved in Fiction, and the third book is shelved in Science Fiction. I guess this one was not really a mystery in the traditional sense, but it still seems odd to me to break up a series so comprehensively. ...more
I have a rule that I avoid zombies at all costs. No zombie movies, no zombie books. Every time I break that rule somebody else has to do the laundry fI have a rule that I avoid zombies at all costs. No zombie movies, no zombie books. Every time I break that rule somebody else has to do the laundry for a while until I'm willing to go in the basement again. That said, I'm glad I didn't know there were zombies (or "rotters") in this book, since I would have avoided it and missed a great read. I really, really enjoyed it. Four and a half stars. I loved the premise, even if she did destroy my beloved Seattle before it even got a chance. I loved the compact storyline, in which everything took place in the span of less than a week but the reader was still given a rich and rewarding backstory, deftly revealed. I loved the steampunk toys. I loved the vivid characters, particularly Lucy and Briar; it's nice to see strong female characters in an action-adventure context. I loved the cinematic style of the book, though I'm pretty sure the rotters would be too much for me in movie form.
Finally, I'd like to commend Tor on the great feel and look of this trade paperback. I love the cover painting, the font, even the color of the print. ...more
My local library system has three copies of this book, at three different branches. One branch files it under science fiction, one branch files it undMy local library system has three copies of this book, at three different branches. One branch files it under science fiction, one branch files it under fiction. At my library I tracked it down in the mystery section. What is it, then? Like Jasper Fforde's Tuesday Next books, it is set in an alternate England in which certain wars went another way than in real life. Also like Tuesday Next, the protagonist's brother was killed at war, and she married his best friend. That's where the similarity ends. Where those books are exercises in absurdity, this one feels gut-wrenchingly real. Jo Walton has created a world in which Hitler's march on Europe went unchecked. A group of politicians known as the Farthing Set brokered an agreement with Germany that allowed England to remain autonomous. The US, under President Lindbergh, is increasingly isolationist, and has closed its doors to Jews. Europe's Jews live with yellow stars and ration books and ghettos and camps. England's Jewish population is free, but faces strong prejudice. This alternate history is the only SF aspect of the book, which otherwise reads as political mystery and social commentary (on the British class system, justice, anti-Semitism, and homophobia). A few months ago a friend suggested that I try reading Dorothy Sayers, but warned me that her books could be read as somewhat anti-Semitic. I found that in those cases I could dismiss it as a product of the time; not so with this book. I found the treatment of the Jewish characters in this system of casual ingrained bigotry to be absolutely gutting. The author really managed to make me feel that things could have as easily gone this way as the way they did. Walton is an excellent writer: I found it hard to put the book down. Her style feels breezy and effortless in a way that takes an enormous amount of work to achieve. The main characters feel real, and the split narrative (alternated first and third person chapters) works in a way that such things often do not. The only reason I'm rating this book four stars instead of five is the somewhat "to be continued" ending. Luckily, the second book is at my library (filed under literary fiction). ...more
I usually read a on a fairly holistic level: character, plot, and language all melt together to form my experience of a book that I am reading for pleI usually read a on a fairly holistic level: character, plot, and language all melt together to form my experience of a book that I am reading for pleasure, and I don't tend notice one over the other. This book made that impossible. I just loved Chabon's choice of words, even his smallest turns of phrase. I savored them and rolled them around my mouth and read them out loud. I loved how fully he realized the little world of Sitka, Alaska. I loved the characters. I love Chabon's quest to marry genre and mainstream fiction, his compulsion to hammer at calcified categories until bits of them crumble off to mingle with each other. I love that he won a Hugo for a detective story. ...more
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