Nadia Gilani and I have very different backgrounds, but that didn’t stop me from nodding my head energetically as I read this fantastic little book! INadia Gilani and I have very different backgrounds, but that didn’t stop me from nodding my head energetically as I read this fantastic little book! It had been a while since I had last read a yoga book, and I was so thrilled to find one I connected with so strongly. Reading this actually revitalized my daily practice, even if this is not a how-to yoga book. It reminded me of what I love about it, and why it's precious.
Gilani is a long-time yoga practitioner and teacher, based in London. And there are things that she loves about yoga, and things she hates about it. In this book, she talks about her experience of discovering yoga, how it helped her during her struggles with eating disorders and substance abuse, how she tried to make a decent living teaching it, and what she has learnt along the way.
I was very familiar with a lot of what she wrote about: the co-opting of the practice by the fitness industry, the hyper-consumerist side of the industry that churns out endless “essential” props and accessories, the yoga teacher training system’s strange dynamics… All that stuff has kept me from engaging too much in the yoga community, as I find a lot of it weird at best and problematic at worst. It felt refreshing to see someone express similar options, just as it had been a breath of fresh air reading Jessamyn Stanley and “21st Century Yoga: Culture, Politics and Practice”. Just like Gilani, I love my yoga practice and cannot imagine my life without it now, but when I scroll through Instagram or wander into a Lululemon store, I often feel like I have been taking crazy pills. I haven't. The yoga industry is fucked up.
But the practice itself is amazing, and when it gets eclipsed by images that make people feel it's inaccessible, costly to practice and used as a conduit for capitalism, it makes me sad and frustrated - because that's completely missing the point of yoga. Gilani has very doable suggestions on how the community/industry can improve in order to bring itself closer to the goal of practice, and I loved reading what she had to say about it.
Gilani’s honesty and passion on a topic that clearly has profound meaning to her was wonderful and engaging to read: I will be going back to this book, and recommend it to anyone interested in modern yoga practice, whether they come to it as a yogi or simply as someone curious about the topic.
Merged review:
Nadia Gilani and I have very different backgrounds, but that didn’t stop me from nodding my head energetically as I read this fantastic little book! It had been a while since I had last read a yoga book, and I was so thrilled to find one I connected with so strongly. Reading this actually revitalized my daily practice, even if this is not a how-to yoga book. It reminded me of what I love about it, and why it's precious.
Gilani is a long-time yoga practitioner and teacher, based in London. And there are things that she loves about yoga, and things she hates about it. In this book, she talks about her experience of discovering yoga, how it helped her during her struggles with eating disorders and substance abuse, how she tried to make a decent living teaching it, and what she has learnt along the way.
I was very familiar with a lot of what she wrote about: the co-opting of the practice by the fitness industry, the hyper-consumerist side of the industry that churns out endless “essential” props and accessories, the yoga teacher training system’s strange dynamics… All that stuff has kept me from engaging too much in the yoga community, as I find a lot of it weird at best and problematic at worst. It felt refreshing to see someone express similar options, just as it had been a breath of fresh air reading Jessamyn Stanley and “21st Century Yoga: Culture, Politics and Practice”. Just like Gilani, I love my yoga practice and cannot imagine my life without it now, but when I scroll through Instagram or wander into a Lululemon store, I often feel like I have been taking crazy pills. I haven't. The yoga industry is fucked up.
But the practice itself is amazing, and when it gets eclipsed by images that make people feel it's inaccessible, costly to practice and used as a conduit for capitalism, it makes me sad and frustrated - because that's completely missing the point of yoga. Gilani has very doable suggestions on how the community/industry can improve in order to bring itself closer to the goal of practice, and I loved reading what she had to say about it.
Gilani’s honesty and passion on a topic that clearly has profound meaning to her was wonderful and engaging to read: I will be going back to this book, and recommend it to anyone interested in modern yoga practice, whether they come to it as a yogi or simply as someone curious about the topic....more
So, it's only fair to start this review by saying that I love the Dreadnoughts. This book was written the same year I first discovered them, so it doeSo, it's only fair to start this review by saying that I love the Dreadnoughts. This book was written the same year I first discovered them, so it does an amazing job of taking me right back to a cold February night at Foufounes Électriques, where they were opening for local psychobilly act The Brains, totally blew my mind and turned me into a huge and devoted fan. I had read on their MySpace page (yes, that was still a thing back then!) that they sounded like what would have happened if a crew of drunken pirates had taken over the Rancid tour bus - and I still describe them that way to people who have not had the pleasure of experiencing their music. I am still a fan to this day, and I can say confidently that they are one of the best live acts I have ever seen. If they have a show happening in Montreal, you will find me there.
So when I finally managed to secure a copy of this book, I read it immediately, while listening to "Legends Never Die" and "Victory Square" (you can find those records and all their music here: https://thedreadnoughts.bandcamp.com/).
These guys wrote a lot of songs about cider, gin and whiskey, so it was no surprise that a lot of this tour "diary" is about drinking. But mostly, it is about what it's like to be on the road when you are a small musical act with no real label support and have to figure it out as you go. I really enjoy reading about that but having had personal experience with that sort of thing, it might just be a nostalgia wank for me. It helps that I adore this band, of course! And that I was delighted to learn that they are actually pretty nerdy under the punk-pirate veneer - which doesn't surprise me, as a lot of their music is actually much deeper and more sophisticated than one might expect.
This is a serious piece of advice for aspiring musicians: read tour diaries like this one, like Henry Rollins' "Get in the Van", because that is the probable reality you will have to deal with if you get a band together and go on tour independently. It's a massive amount of fun, but an equally massive amount of work, logistics and demands on the body and the mind. Sure, there's a lot of partying that can potentially happen, but there is a lot of very hard work that is required to make that happen.
The photos are amazing! I really wished they had been coloured, but I know that's expensive to pull off on an indie press. What truly matters is that they absolutely capture the mad exuberance that you can expect if you ever decide to go to a Dreadnoughts concert!
If you know the band and love their stuff, you should definitely check it out!...more
A cozy little book about death. I can’t think of a better way of describing this novel.
A rather awful man dies unexpectedly and only understands what A cozy little book about death. I can’t think of a better way of describing this novel.
A rather awful man dies unexpectedly and only understands what has happened to him when a Reaper named Mei comes to escort him to a strange little teashop named Charron’s Crossing, which is actually more of a waiting station between life and crossing over. This sounds relatively straightforward, except our deceased protagonist, Wallace Price, will not go gently into the night: he is furious about being dead and thinks a mistake has been made and demands it be corrected. The “ferryman”, Hugo, who’s role is to help the dead who come through his tea shop make peace with this new stage of their existence before they cross over, gives him plenty of time to adjust and reflect, and with his help and the friendship of a couple of unusual ghosts who have stuck around the teashop, Wallace will eventually learn more about himself than would have been possible while he was alive.
The thing about this book is that it’s sweet, perhaps a bit too much for my taste. The characters are charming, well-intentioned, and their compassion and kindness works magic on the insufferable Wallace, mellowing him into someone who might have been a decent person at some point. The budding romance is sweet, the crochety Nelson made me miss my grandpa so much and Apollo’s story almost broke me (because pets dying wrecks me so bad). And even if I desperately needed something sweet and cozy (my anxiety has been terrible for the past couple of months), this just didn’t hit the spot for me. It should have: I love books that speculate about the process of dying and moving on, I love books that treat it with humor, compassion and humanity. But I wonder if Christopher Moore set the bar too high with “A Dirty Job”.
I think part of what didn’t work for me is that I have known a few people like Wallace Price, and I struggle to buy his transformation from irredeemable twat into the kind and open-minded ghost he eventually becomes. Grief is weird, and maybe grieving your own life makes you have a 180 degree spin and become a better entity. Anything is possible, but I’m squinting a tiny bit.
It might have also been timing. Two former colleagues I cared for passed away the week I was reading this, and it made the whole thing feel odd. I can only hope that the people we love go to a place as lovely as this tea shop and are surrounded by kindness the way this book describes.
I still enjoyed it, and I’m sure a lot of people will find this funny and moving. I just needed a bit more zest in my particular cup of tea.
A huge thank you for the best aunt in the world for lending me her copy. Love you, Karen!...more
This book caught my eye at the bookstore: with a title and cover art like that, I was intrigued. Obviously, the yogi in me was curious; I also think tThis book caught my eye at the bookstore: with a title and cover art like that, I was intrigued. Obviously, the yogi in me was curious; I also think that it’s really important to demystify and destigmatize sex work, and I was very interested to know what this woman’s journey had been like, so I picked it up.
Short review: this is a lot more about stripping and doing drugs than it is about yoga, and as such, I think the title is a bit mis-leading. Renaud really becomes involved in practicing and teaching yoga late in the second half of this book, and I was a bit disappointed that she didn’t discuss its impact on her life and work in greater depth – which is what I had been hoping for.
What we get instead is the story of woman who has always had an affinity for drugs, who discovered early in life that despite not feeling secure about her appearance, she also had very few inhibitions and could make a fun and profitable living as a stripper. That part of her story is fascinating and very informative: she describes how she got started in that line of work through an agency that would send her to clubs in the more rural regions of Quebec where she could practice her trade until she had reached the caliber expected in the Montreal clubs. She goes through a few romantic relationships and their challenges, her struggle with disordered eating, her drug use and how it eventually got out of control.
One thing that is very interesting is that Renaud is very lucid and unapologetic about her choices and her behaviors, but that is not to say she is defensive: she simply doesn’t think she should apologize for living her life on her own terms, she is well aware that not all her decisions and actions were smart, but she is also not going to feel bad or beat herself up about the past. She owns her actions and their consequences, and I have great respect for that. That is not to say I agree with her 100% of the time, but I get it. Constantly feeling like you should explain or justify your lifestyle is an exhausting waste of time; I would not have done the same thing if I had been in her shows but if she finds joy in her work and figured out how to enjoy getting baked without it becoming a problem in her life, who am I to judge?
As mentioned before, I wish she had dug a little deeper on the effects that yoga had in her life. I found the passages about starting a teacher-training program and shedding some of her own prejudices in the process really great, and her stories about the “guru” who kept all of his students under his thumbs a horrible and all too-common tale. But that was as far as we really went into her yoga journey. I was curious to know how it changed her relationship with her work and her body and her substances consumption, and those aspects felt a little glossed over.
I also felt like the prose was a tad uneven, and could have used a slightly more rigorous editor, just to make it flow more smoothly.
But don’t let that stop you from checking out this book. It is a very interesting story, told in a real down-to-earth way. Flawed but definitely notable....more
(Totally fictional conversation that never happened)
Jonathan Hickman: What would you say if I told you Wall Street is actually an eldritch cult and th(Totally fictional conversation that never happened)
Jonathan Hickman: What would you say if I told you Wall Street is actually an eldritch cult and that the inconceivably rich families at the top of the pyramid are there because they had made pacts with demons and Old Gods that demanded blood sacrifices on a regular basis?
Me: I’d say that makes as much sense as most economic theories I’ve read. Go on…
My friend Skot clearly has my number, because he recommended this graphic novel to me, and I was instantly riveted. I mean, secret societies, Lovecraftian monsters and noir detective stories are some of my favorite things, so it wasn’t a hard sell, but this graphic novel is not only a solid blend of those elements, but a well-written and beautifully illustrated murder mystery. It is unrelentingly dark, bleak and it gets really gory, so be warned that if this isn’t your cup of tea, don’t pick it up. However, if you can stomach that sort of thing (or are as deranged as I am and nod appreciatively at well-staged crime scenes), you will love this story of power, betrayal, occultism and murder.
I ordered the second volume as soon as I had finished the first, if that tells you anything about how eager I am to see what happens next!
Merged review:
(Totally fictional conversation that never happened)
Jonathan Hickman: What would you say if I told you Wall Street is actually an eldritch cult and that the inconceivably rich families at the top of the pyramid are there because they had made pacts with demons and Old Gods that demanded blood sacrifices on a regular basis?
Me: I’d say that makes as much sense as most economic theories I’ve read. Go on…
My friend Skot clearly has my number, because he recommended this graphic novel to me, and I was instantly riveted. I mean, secret societies, Lovecraftian monsters and noir detective stories are some of my favorite things, so it wasn’t a hard sell, but this graphic novel is not only a solid blend of those elements, but a well-written and beautifully illustrated murder mystery. It is unrelentingly dark, bleak and it gets really gory, so be warned that if this isn’t your cup of tea, don’t pick it up. However, if you can stomach that sort of thing (or are as deranged as I am and nod appreciatively at well-staged crime scenes), you will love this story of power, betrayal, occultism and murder.
I ordered the second volume as soon as I had finished the first, if that tells you anything about how eager I am to see what happens next!...more
This was a no brainer pick: books and cats are two things I love, so a story that combines those elements with a touch of magical realism is absolute This was a no brainer pick: books and cats are two things I love, so a story that combines those elements with a touch of magical realism is absolute catnip (ha!) for me. And frankly, life has not really been giving me much of a break lately, so I was definitely on the lookout for gentle escapist reads.
When his grandfather dies, Rintaro inherits his used bookstore, which feels to him like a burden: he is still in high school, and while he loves the place so much, this seems like too much to take on. But then Tiger shows up. Tiger is a talking ginger tabby who enlists Rintaro to help on his mission to… save books? Sure enough, Rintaro follows the little cat in a corner of the store he had never noticed before, and off they are on a strange and wonderous adventure.
I lost count of how many times I must have mentioned in one of my reviews that books are such a crucial part of my life, that they are one of the things that keep me sane and strong, and that I almost consider them to be living things that hang out on my shelves and keep me company. So obviously, a book like that is aimed at the kind of book maniac that I am, and I knew from the get-go that there was no way I wouldn’t enjoy my time with “The Cat Who Saved Books”.
Sentimental? Idealistic? Sure. But it was a much-needed light and hopeful read during a really anxious time, a great reminder that books are a refuge, but that we need to step out of them every once in a while.
If you need a shot of quiet loveliness, this is it! ...more
I had seen this graphic novel on my Goodreads feed for ages, and I came across a copy while browsing at my local used bookstore: I figured this was asI had seen this graphic novel on my Goodreads feed for ages, and I came across a copy while browsing at my local used bookstore: I figured this was as good an occasion as any to check it out, and I was very pleasantly surprised.
My main gripes with graphic novels in general, is that they seem to fall in one of two categories: amazing art and meh story, or uninteresting art and fantastic story. The “Monstress” series might be that elusive unicorn of a graphic novel where the art is fantastic and the story riveting.
As other readers have mentioned, the story can be confusing to get into: we don’t get much exposition, and are thrown in the deep end of a weird and very violent world without much information. But it is absolutely worth pushing through the cloud of question marks, because things start coming together and solidifying the world, making “Awakening” a rich and rewarding reading experience. I am being purposefully vague about the story because I think that going in as blind as possible is the way to go with this book: really let it confuse and shock you, trust me, you’re in for an amazing ride!
The used bookstore sadly doesn’t have the rest of the series on their shelf, but I enjoyed this so much, that I am happy to look for new copies! Definitely recommended for fans of fantasy and steampunk, but beware: you need a strong stomach for this one, as you will not be spare the goriest details.
Merged review:
I had seen this graphic novel on my Goodreads feed for ages, and I came across a copy while browsing at my local used bookstore: I figured this was as good an occasion as any to check it out, and I was very pleasantly surprised.
My main gripes with graphic novels in general, is that they seem to fall in one of two categories: amazing art and meh story, or uninteresting art and fantastic story. The “Monstress” series might be that elusive unicorn of a graphic novel where the art is fantastic and the story riveting.
As other readers have mentioned, the story can be confusing to get into: we don’t get much exposition, and are thrown in the deep end of a weird and very violent world without much information. But it is absolutely worth pushing through the cloud of question marks, because things start coming together and solidifying the world, making “Awakening” a rich and rewarding reading experience. I am being purposefully vague about the story because I think that going in as blind as possible is the way to go with this book: really let it confuse and shock you, trust me, you’re in for an amazing ride!
The used bookstore sadly doesn’t have the rest of the series on their shelf, but I enjoyed this so much, that I am happy to look for new copies! Definitely recommended for fans of fantasy and steampunk, but beware: you need a strong stomach for this one, as you will not be spare the goriest details....more
I had been meaning to read a book by Constance Debré for a while: I was intrigued by her choice of topics and by the rather radical transformation sheI had been meaning to read a book by Constance Debré for a while: I was intrigued by her choice of topics and by the rather radical transformation she went through, so I was pleased to find a copy of “Nom” at my favorite used book store.
I understand that Debré is a controversial writer, who is often accused of being a terrible person and a hypocrite, because she writes about rejecting privilege and slumming it – as her family is quite illustrious. While I can see that point of view, reading this raw and angry book makes me think that her rejection of family name and influence, conventional marriage and lifestyle is actually genuine.
Now granted, I don’t know her or the particularities of her circumstances – I only know what I read in a book she wrote, in which she controlled the narrative. But her family stories, that she uses as an example to validate her stance to reject the patrimony that comes with a name and family ties makes sense to me. My experience was not as brutal as hers: both her parents were addicts, they had an abusive relationship, came from great wealth and privilege and often acted in despicable ways – to the point where she wants no association with the weight of their names, possibly in an attempt to shake off the trauma they saddled her with. But I do understand the feeling of complete disassociation from blood relatives when differences and rifts become impossible to bridge, I get linking a family name to pain (as opposed to the feeling of belonging a family name should, in theory, be bringing to a person). I understand her anger, her desire to want nothing to do with a clan she feels she has no common ground with at best, and rejected from, at worse. I am now curious to read her book “Love Me Tender”, about her relationship to motherhood – because I think that not all parent-child bonds are the special and sacred thing most people would like us to believe it is.
Of course, my views on her book are colored by my own negative experience with family, and I am well-aware that I will not be in the majority in that regards. But I found her writing quite compelling, I enjoy the muscular prose she uses and will look for her other works.
This might be the type of book that benefits from multiple readings… We’ll see!...more
I have to start pacing myself with these books: I originally meant to save them for vacation reading, but there I went and gobbled one up during a worI have to start pacing myself with these books: I originally meant to save them for vacation reading, but there I went and gobbled one up during a work week. Oups. Back to 17th century Bavaria I go!
In the third book of Oliver Potzsch’s amazingly entertaining and well-written series of historical murder-mysteries, we follow Jakob Kuisl away from his home in the small town of Schongau to the city of Regensburg: he is summoned there by a letter from his brother-in-law, explaining that his sister is dying, and would like to see him before she passes. But when he gets to the city gate, he is arrested and help overnight by the guards. When they finally let him go, he arrives at his sister’s house only to find her and her husband murdered, their throats slashed open – and of course, he is immediately arrested for the crime. Meanwhile, his daughter Magdalena gets fed up with the laws that won’t allow her to marry Simon, her long-time suitor, and they decide to run away together to the city… of Regensburg. Of course, when they get there, they soon find out that Jakob has been imprisoned for a crime Magdalena cannot believe him to have committed, and decide to find out who really is behind this set-up before her father is tortured and executed.
This book was just as much fun as the previous two: Potzsch is a talented story-teller, and has created brilliant characters with the Kuisl (though created might be the wrong word, and his actual ancestor was a Jakob Kuisl who was the executioner in the small town of Schongau in the late 1600s) and their friends and allies. In the second book, Magdalena was the one who experienced fierce jealously when Simon befriended a woman, and in this one, the tables have turned; I personally really enjoy that these two lovebirds have a complicated relationship and wrestle with insecurities even if they have strong feelings for each other.
I think I can be good and wait for my next vacation to crack open the 4th book. I think. Very recommended for fans of pre-forensic science mysteries!...more
I devoured “The Hangman’s Daughter” over a couple of days during a week off, and I had to get the second book of this series almost as soon as I finisI devoured “The Hangman’s Daughter” over a couple of days during a week off, and I had to get the second book of this series almost as soon as I finished the first one. Oliver Potzsch historical murder mysteries are absolute catnip to me, and the second book of this series is just as fun as the first!
The priest of a quiet village dies of poisoning, leaving a strange and cryptic clue behind in his last moment. Jakob Kuisl, the Schongau hangman, tries to figure out what the priest meant for people to find out, aided by his daughter, her suitor and the priest’s sister. As they realize that they may be after a fabled Knights Templar treasure, they also realize that they are not the only ones looking for it, and that the others in pursuit of this treasure are leaving a trail of bodies behind.
Those books are difficult to summarize further without giving anything away, and the plot twists are simply too much fun to spoil. This book might bring to mind a certain mediocre best-seller about following weird cryptic clues leading to a treasure, but believe me, this is infinitely better written and more interesting! I am amazed with how fascinated we still are with the Templars and all the rumors surrounding the organization. I made a special detour the first time I went to Paris to visit the spot where Jacques de Molay was executed, so yeah, give me all the Templar stories, thank you!
Potzsch continues to use the character of Magdalena as the center of his stories, and she definitely becomes more active in his installment, though that also means she gets into a lot of trouble. She is stubborn, smart but also much too impulsive and emotional, and I enjoyed her character development as a strong but flawed woman trying to find a place for herself in a society that doesn’t accommodate people like her well.
These are super fun, historical page-turners, and I had to read the third one very soon after I wrapped this one up. Consider me hooked!...more
I appear to be an outlier with my rating of this book… I should mention that I don’t recall why I downloaded a copy of it on my Kindle: this is not usI appear to be an outlier with my rating of this book… I should mention that I don’t recall why I downloaded a copy of it on my Kindle: this is not usually the sort of books I read, but I imagine I must have been curious. The subtitle “A stunning exploration of relationships and sexuality in the modern world” is certainly catchy! And as I read it, I soon realized what bothered me about it: it’s too perfect.
Let me explain.
Sophie Valentine is in her early 30s, she lives just outside of London with her husband Paul, who travels a lot for work. She works as a receptionist at the gym she frequents, which is not what she wanted to do for a living, but her career had a lot of false-starts and she ended up settling in her stop-gap gig. Her and Paul are happy, but they are stuck in a rut, has becomes evident when he points out that their sex life has become predictable. This sends Sophie into a spin, but when she cools off, she begins to reflect on her life, particularly the fact that she feels she has not really explored her sexuality in a way that would lead her to a fulfilling sex life. She discusses this with Paul, who is very supportive of her decision to figure out what her fantasies are and to explore them, and see if she can make them a reality. Along the way, the new-found confidence leads her to a great job interview and trial event in the industry she has always wanted to work in.
So.
In theory, all of that is amazing. I love sex, I read and write a ton of smut, I strongly believe there is no age limit to sexual exploration and experimentation. It is, of course, all about communication, and Sophie and Paul’s conversations, that pick apart her curiosity and her interests, are the textbook example of how these things should be discussed with a partner. And this is where my brain went “wait a minute”. Those conversations. Go. So. Well. Surreally well. Paul is so chill with Sophie deciding to take nude selfies and post them online, to hop on dating sites and meet men. As long as he gets pictures of it all, he’s happy as a clam. I’m not saying that’s impossible, I’m saying that’s awfully convenient (it must also be noted that as the story is told entirely from Sophie’s perspective, we never really get to see how Paul feels about any of this beyond what he tells her).
Add to that the fact that Sophie is a beautiful blonde with big boobs, who works out a lot, so she has a great body. That’s awesome, except that I have never met someone who had zero insecurities about their bodies. I also noted the numerous mentions of her perfectly smooth… ahem, lady parts. It’s hard for me to think of her very realistically when she is constantly (self) described as so flawless. Not really relatable!
Speaking of perfection, every man she meets is handsome, fit, well-hung and perfectly happy to be photographed and filmed in the act. She has one bad date, which is not really that bad, it’s just a close encounter with a cad.
Maybe it’s just me, but I like my erotica a bit more realistic and gritty. I like the psychological aspect of human sexuality to be explored a bit more in depths. Sure, it’s feminist as hell that she decides that she is going to take control of her body and sex-life, it’s awesome that she has the opportunity and support of a loving spouse, but there no conflict or resistance at all on Sophie’s journey, and that doesn’t really make for a compelling story, in my humble opinion. I would have loved this if it had explored her hang-ups, her trauma, her insecurities, if it had described bad experiences, stumbling blocks along the way of her sexual awakening. But this was basically a smooth-sailing fantasy fulfillment.
On the plus side, the smut was fun! Sophie's fantasies are actually quite common, and it's nice to see them discussed honestly - and shamelessly!...more
I may have discovered my perfect vacation read with this series! I remember it being on sale for Kindle, and thinking that a murder mystery set in 17tI may have discovered my perfect vacation read with this series! I remember it being on sale for Kindle, and thinking that a murder mystery set in 17th century Bavaria sounded cool… and then not really giving it a second thought for ages. When we left for a week by the lake, I decided to try and read everything still unread on my Kindle and I was reminded of “The Hangman’s Daughter”. As soon as I was done, I immediately downloaded the second book and devoured that one, too!
In the village of Schongau, the hangman, Jakob Kuisl, leads an interesting life: his work keeps him on the fringe of society, but people discreetly visit him and his daughter Magdalena, as they are better healers than the town’s physician. When a small child is fished out of the river, beaten to death, with a strange mark inked on his skin, people immediately suspect the local midwife. Kuisl know she had nothing to do with it, but he is charged with torturing her until she confesses. When more similarly marked children are found dead and the villagers’ paranoia increases, the hangman, his daughter, and Magdalena’s suitor (ironically, the son of the useless local physician) realize they have very little time to find the actual murderer and bring him to justice to save the midwife’s life.
If I had to review it in four words, I would just say: this was so cool. The description of life in a small German town in 1659 was fascinating, the characters are well-drawn out and the pacing kept me completely hooked. I was so excited when I realized that the author based this entirely fictional story on his ancestor – who was actually a hangman named Jakob Kuisl! So flipping rad! I knew little about this historical period, and was fascinated to learn about the social status of executioners and how their trade actually works. Of course, Potzsch has no idea what his ancestor was actually like, but he made Kuisl into an interesting and layered man, haunted by his past, living his life as honestly as he can, with a strong moral compass. And of course, the spirited Magdalena is just as clever as him - a strong female character that nevertheless remains perfectly believable for the time period.
Obviously, I had so much fun reading this, and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical murder-mysteries; you will not be disappointed with “The Hangman’s Daughter”!...more
I have a soft spot for Jonathan Howard. His Johannes Cabal series is an absolute delight, and his irreverent humor and obvious deep love of LovecraftiI have a soft spot for Jonathan Howard. His Johannes Cabal series is an absolute delight, and his irreverent humor and obvious deep love of Lovecraftiana makes him very endearing to me. But Howard knows that good old H.P.’s legacy is complicated – to put it mildly. Which is why the way he had handled it in the first book of the “Carter & Lovecraft” series was so great: he found ways to subvert the unsavory elements of Lovecraft’s work and place them in a great story.
It's hard to summarize “After the end of the world” without spoiling its predecessor, but I’m going to do my best. After the rather spectacular conclusion of their investigation, Daniel Carter and Emily Lovecraft find themselves in the Unfolded World, a place that is very much like our world, but also absolutely isn’t. WWII’s outcome was quite different, for starters, which makes things very awkward. Providence is now a town called Arkham, the Misktaonic University is a real place, and a lot of other things that were straight out of Howard Philip Lovecraft’s imagination are actually real now. Dan and Emily do their best to carry on with their lives in this strange new world, but a new mystery – involving Nazi scientists and a machine that can produce infinite power – lands on Dan’s PI desk. He takes a job as a security guard at the university that houses the machine, and will soon find himself (and Emily) hopelessly tangled in a weird plot that will take them to the remotest spot on Earth and pit them against creatures that should not exist.
The general consensus seems to be that this volume is weaker than the first book of the series. I agree: the first one was so much fun, and set a very high bar. Howard’s humor is still very present, and the speculative exercise is really interesting. There are so many alt-WWII histories out there, and this one struck me as a very unique take on that trope. I think that what disappointed readers was that the style went from horror/mystery to spy/action/mystery. Some horror elements remain; this is still based on Lovecraft’s work, after all, but it’s less prevalent, and changes the atmosphere of the story.
I still really enjoyed it, as I love those characters, and I would love it if Howard pushed this series into a third book....more
After the “Books of Babel” series, to say that I was excited about a new Josiah Bancroft book coming out would be quite an understatement. I pre-orderAfter the “Books of Babel” series, to say that I was excited about a new Josiah Bancroft book coming out would be quite an understatement. I pre-ordered it as soon as possible, and when it showed up in my mailbox, I dropped everything else I was reading in favor of diving head-first in this man’s work. There is, of course, always a certain trepidation reading a new series by a beloved author, but I was sure Bancroft would deliver, and he did!
“The Hexologists” is a glorious little urban fantasy/mystery, so I will not summarize the plot in too much details to keep you safe from spoilers, but here is what you need to know: Isolde and Warren Wilby are Hexologists, a type of magician practicing one of the few still-legal forms of magic. Isolde uses it specifically as a tool to help her in investigations. The story begins when the couple is approached by the King’s secretary: the monarch is undergoing what one might call a crisis of identity bordering on the psychotic meltdown, and no medical professional has been able to help, so they are now being tapped for help. Isolde doesn’t like working for the royals, but when they are attacked in their own home and realize that part of the problem may be someone trying to claim to be the King’s illegitimate child, things get complicated and dangerous fast.
Bancroft writes amazing prose, that I have to stop and admire often as I read his books, and that absolutely delights me. That he chose to write up a character like Isolde, basically a Sherlock Holmes-type with a complex family history and the loveliest marriage I have seen in fantasy novel in ages, combined with his gift for beautiful writing… well you can imagine how thrilled I was as I read “The Hexologists”, and I was quite sad to see it end.
The whodunnit aspect of this novel was fun and twisty. The world-building is fairly classic steampunk style, but never falls into clichés of that genre, it’s detailed and richly described, and contains the sort of whimsy that made his Tower of Babel so enchanting and unique. For instance, the bag that is actually a portal to a warehouse where a dragon ended up making itself at home had me squeaking with glee. And so had the relationship between Iz and Warren: seriously, so many books use dysfunctional relationships to push plot points and character development, but rarely do you see a happy, loving and supportive couple on the page. Well, the Wilbys are one such couple, on top of being pretty atypical characters in their own rights, and it warmed my heart to read about them.
If you liked Bancroft’s previous work, you can pick this one up with no hesitation – and if you are new to his books but you enjoy magical Victoriana, well-drawn out characters and royal mysteries, you will find something to love in “The Hexologists”! Highly recommended!...more
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