This book is so adorable! The weird little girl who still lives inside my head delighted in following Millie Fleur's adventures in gardening the cutesThis book is so adorable! The weird little girl who still lives inside my head delighted in following Millie Fleur's adventures in gardening the cutest creepy plants! I think I am living proof that this book will delight people of any age if they are fans of the Addams family, but it is sure to make little girls and boys giggle and hopefully, interested in gardening... lethal or non-lethal plants...
Stay weird, kids: you will find your tribe eventually!...more
Obviously, I couldn’t go on vacation without throwing at least one book by T. Kingfisher on my vacation read pile, and since I am a completist at hearObviously, I couldn’t go on vacation without throwing at least one book by T. Kingfisher on my vacation read pile, and since I am a completist at heart, the first one I thought of was the last book from the White Rat universe I still hadn’t gotten around to, “Swordheart”. I had avoided that one because the summary seemed to indicate it leaned further into the romance aspect than the other books she wrote which are set in this universe, but hey, I was going to be chilling by the lake with a glass of wine, a little romantic crap won’t hurt.
Well, first off, the summary mislead me: this is as much a romance as any of the “Saints of Steel” books, so yeah, it’s a central element, but the setting and the characters are so strong an interesting that the romance never feels silly or forced or unrealistic.
Halla was widowed young and has been taking care of her ailing uncle (by marriage) for years, and when he dies, he leaves his estate to her instead of leaving it to his other relatives, who are not too happy about that. They lock Halla up and plan to force her to marry her late husband’s brother in order to keep the house and the money in the family. Finding no solution to this situation, she takes a old sword her late uncle had hung on a wall of her bedroom, with the intention to kill herself, but when she pulls the blade out, a man appears out of thin air. Apparently, the sword was enchanted with a guardian, and the act of wielding the sword means Halla is now the person he must serve and protect…
Halla can certainly be annoying and comes across as dim-witted, but she’s a lot smarter than she lets on, and for very good reason. Kingfisher is very insightful, and I love the way she managed to write about the way women have to develop weird coping mechanisms in order to not be killed and/or rapped – even in a fantasy universe as cozy as hers. Her dynamic with Sarkis, who has the mercenary with a heart of gold thing down to an art, is hilarious and eventually really tender. I know it’s fluffy as fuck, but I did enjoy how they are bette working together than apart because their strengths compliment each other and all that pap.
I was also quite happy to see Brindle the gnole again, and glad he had an ox to take care of (that gnole loves his ox), and Zale is a perfect example of why I love the Temple of the White Rat so much: help people and get things done should be the motto of any religious institution worth it’s salt.
This is a Kingfisher book, so it’s funny and inventive, her characters are awkward and realistic, her world-building is a great riff on the usual fantasy tropes, managing to be both familiar are alien at the same time – and like her other “White Rat” books, reading it felt like drinking a lovely mug of hot chocolate with plenty of marshmallows. Also, I want to go live there: there are jerks, but it seems like a generally great place to live.
Don’t skip this one if you love this woman’s work: it deserves a space on your cozy but smart fantasy shelf!...more
Early this year, I got a nasty cold and spent a couple of days on the couch in a NyQuil haze. This seemed like a good time to my severely addled brainEarly this year, I got a nasty cold and spent a couple of days on the couch in a NyQuil haze. This seemed like a good time to my severely addled brain to watch "Elvis" and "Priscilla" back-to-back. Both are incredible, albeit wildly different works of art. The first is bombastic, loud, glittery, and borderline hallucinogenic (or maybe that was the cold medicine) and the second is quiet, subdued and elegant. I don’t have a favorite, in case you are wondering: I never thought of those movies as competing to tell the same story, that’s really not what’s going on here. But "Priscilla" made me very curious about the book it was based on, Priscilla Beaulieu Prestley’s memoirs of meeting, falling in love with and living with Elvis. I wanted to see what Sofia Coppola had not put on the screen.
I want to clarify that while I really enjoy a lot of his music, I am a very moderate Elvis fan. His musical legacy is massive, but it’s also complicated, so I enjoy his work, but I never really idolized him.
While I read this book, I kept thinking: "poor, sweet little Cilla…"
The term ‘grooming’ is kind of weird, isn’t it? English is not my first language, and the first time I heard it, I thought of the lovely lady who used to trim my long-haired cat’s fur into a lion cut every summer. That’s not what it means, of course: it means to subtly (or overtly, in some cases) manipulate a generally young and inexperienced person into an idealized partner, the implication being that they don’t know any better, which puts them in a position where they are almost always being taken advantage of, if not simply abused. I thought about that term a lot while reading this, because dang! What Elvis did here is kind of textbook…
Priscilla was 14 years old when she first met Elvis. I tried to remember what I was like at 14, and I admit that’s far enough to be quite fuzzy now. I know I would have loved the attention, especially if it came from the biggest heartthrob of my generation. But even at that age, a ten-year difference would have felt like a lot… And while she insists, repeatedly, that Elvis was always nothing but a gentleman to her, that nothing he ever did was weird or perverted and that they didn’t have penetrative sex until they were married… she also often says that he taught her how to dress, how to do her hair and make up, how to keep house, and shared his drugs with her very liberally. I believe her when she says that he would never have hurt her or let anything bad happen to her, but at the same time, what he did was still manipulative and controlling. He didn’t like it when she talked back, when she behaved (in his words) like a man, by being strong and fighting back, he didn’t want her to go to college or get a job. Poor Cilla basically had to divorce him to have the space and the freedom to discover who she was, and I can’t help but find that tragic.
The book is strangely paced: they only get married in the second half of the book, and while they weren’t married very long, it still feels uneven. Priscilla loved Elvis with her whole heart (and probably still does) and she clearly wants to keep all her memories of him good, and that’s the way she spins – consciously or not. I don’t not get it; it must be difficult to think of such a major part of your life having been abusive. But from an outsider’s perspective, there is something off about what she thinks of as a great love story.
That said, her writing is sweet, if not terribly sophisticated, and while I often felt sad for how isolated she was during her years in Graceland, I also enjoyed learning what it was like living at the heart of this almost legendary place. It’s a shame that Elvis kept her so sheltered, because I think he might have been impressed with the woman she became....more
I’m not sure how this novella by Kealan Patrick Burke slipped under my radar, but ‘better late than never’ will be my epitaph, as I am constantly catcI’m not sure how this novella by Kealan Patrick Burke slipped under my radar, but ‘better late than never’ will be my epitaph, as I am constantly catching up! I have been a fan of Burke’s work for a long time; he is an amazing storyteller, he really knows how to find the horror in the mundane and grief is a theme he has explored often, with chilling results.
Mark’s grandmother passed away, and between this lost and the realization that the girl he loves will never love him back, he decides he is done with this small town and needs to move on. He decides that spending the evening alone at home after his grandmother’s funeral is a bad call, so he decides to go into work, as a bartender at a seaside resort past his prime. An epic snowstorm rolls into town, and while the guests and staff start going home, those who stay behind are surprised to welcome a last-minute group reservation…
Sure, Burke spends some time setting up the story, and maybe a few details could have been dropped, but once it gets going… If you’ve read other works by Burke before, you know he cranks up tension and horror elements very skillfully. I think he is also especially good a shorter form stories, and this novella is perfectly sized for an evening – though I would recommend reading it in summer…
As is often the case with him, Burke wraps up his story with a strange and unsettling twist. While this novella may not be his best work, it would be a wonderful introduction if you’ve never read his stories before, and if you have enjoyed his twisted imagination in the past, don’t miss this one!...more
I’m going to start this review with a PSA: if you are going to read the “Clocktaur War” books, do yourself a favor and just read them back-to-back: thI’m going to start this review with a PSA: if you are going to read the “Clocktaur War” books, do yourself a favor and just read them back-to-back: they are both pretty short, and feel more like a novel cleaved in half than like two separate books.
“The Wonder Engines” picks up immediately where “The Clockwork Boys” left off, so I am going to be very brief here, as I don’t want to give away too much. Sufficed to say, our little bunch of miscreants is back and ready to try and fight the clocktaurs! This book is where the action really ramps up, which is another great reason to read both books from this duology as close together as possible.
Our bunch of misfit adventurers finally arrive at Anuket City, after a rather harrowing journey, but they don’t really get much of a break before they have to face the real enemy they have been sent to defeat.
The relationship between Slate and Caliban is, in trademark Kingfisher fashion, a sweet and awkward courtship dance between two damaged people who don’t think of themselves as someone anyone would want to be with but find comfort in each other. I have never been great at noticing it when people flirt with me, but even I know that when a guy consistently has hankies for you when you have allergies, he definitely cares. A lot.
I would say that I liked this book a tiny bit more than the first simply because I was now familiar enough with the characters and the set-up that I could really just kick back and enjoy. Even Learned Edmund, despite his many, many faults, was now someone I looked forward to reading about every time I picked up the book. Their dynamic is great, complex and engaging - and Kingfisher doesn't rely on the easy or cliché to define them, which is wonderful.
Kingfisher has become my go-to when I need something fun and comforting, and I get the feeling that I will be revisiting her “World of the White Rat” novels when I need something warm and fuzzy and smart to read. I must say I prefer the “Saint of Steel” books because they are longer and have more breathing room for plot and character development. These books were fun, but they would have been even better with an extra hundred page each, to flesh out the story even more. All the elements that make the “World of the White Rat” universe wonderful are here, these just feel a bit rushed. If she sees fit to write more books set in this universe, I will cheerfully throw money at her.
Not to be missed if you want something cozy and clever....more
A friend encouraged me to watch the tv series “The Boys”, knowing my love for the darker type of superhero comics, like “Watchmen” and “Doom Patrol” .A friend encouraged me to watch the tv series “The Boys”, knowing my love for the darker type of superhero comics, like “Watchmen” and “Doom Patrol” . I was about two episodes in when I clocked that this just had to have been a graphic novel before it was a tv show, and a few clicks confirmed that my suspicions were correct. Of course it’s a Garth Ennis graphic novel, too! With the gore and the language, I feel like I should have expected that! I got a copy of the first volume after wrapping up the first season (I am now officially all caught up!).
In a situation like this, it’s very difficult to not automatically compare the graphic novel and the tv show, and I might be voicing an unpopular opinion here, but I have a slight preference for the show. Part of that is because I very excited by the amazing cast: so many alumni from all my favorite nerdy franchises! Jack Quaid, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg!! And that’s just in season 1! But seriously, the cast is great, the show very well shot and the first season’s arch, which establishes the world, the main characters and the ideas, was gripping and smart.
I feel like this is a very contemporary, late-stage capitalist nightmare spin on Alan Moore’s idea of ‘who’s watching the Watchmen’ and in this case of course, it’s a CIA black ops team – the titular Boys. The ‘supes’ have organized themselves in a massive corporation that more or less loans them to cities in need of superhuman crime fighters, merchandizes the shit out of them, uses them as spokespeople for various brands looking for endorsements, makes terrible movies based on stories of their various exploits… while the so-called heroes rake in the cash and indulge in, well, whatever they want, really, since they are not really accountable to anyone. The Boys are a small team that tries their best to keep them in line when they can and expose their abhorrent behavior when all else fails, but how do you control people with insane super-human powers and broken moral barometers with a huge PR team behind them?
It's almost annoying how realistic Ennis’ conceit is, in the sense that if superheroes did exist, at this stage, yep, I would expect them to incorporate and run mostly on PR, running shoe endorsements and action figures. Of course, it would all get dysfunctional and gross really fast (like making female superheroes wear extremely revealing kits for no good reason, going around assaulting anyone they don’t like because who is going to stop them and so on), and of course people who would give the supes money would expect them to take their sides and espouse their views, because that’s how sponsorship works… The premise in and of itself is a fascinating speculative rabbit hole. It’s also a clear jab at the big franchises (the Seven are basically a looking-glass world version of the Justice League) and intellectual property right owners who aggressively merchandize other people’s art for an easy cash grab (*cough* Disney *cough*)– and my understanding is that Ennis has plenty of experience dealing with the corporate overlords and their desire to control creative output. I am very much on board with the criticism of all those things, which I believe makes me his target audience.
I understand the criticism about the crudeness, the often-gross violence, the deep unlikability of the Boys, which make this series a superhero comic with… no actual heroes because everyone… kind of sucks. I think that in this regard, the tv show does a better job of bringing a certain nuance to the characters: Hughie clearly struggles with his anger and the violent impulses brought on by his grief, he abuses Starlight’s trust but obviously hates doing it, he takes pleasure in his first kill, but also feels deeply uncomfortable that he did… It’s a lot to process for a character, and that might be easier to illustrate through a good actor than through drawing. I also think that while the illustrations of Homelander are wonderfully sinister, Anthony Starr brings the character’s dead-eyed insanity to another level that isn’t quite captured on the page; it’s not easy to be menacing while you smile, but he pulls it off (not to mention the fact that he ruined milk for me for ever)!
I will probably read the rest of the series, but more out a curiosity to see how both versions differ from each other than out of enthusiasm for the books. Eric Kripke took the spirit of Ennis’ story and ran with it, and that makes the comic undeniably good. I just happen to enjoy the show more – still totally worth reading if you find the ideas intriguing....more
Last year, my husband read "The Infinite Jest" and he has been a little bit obsessed with David Foster Wallace since then: we had a little road trip pLast year, my husband read "The Infinite Jest" and he has been a little bit obsessed with David Foster Wallace since then: we had a little road trip planned to visit his family and we spent a significant amount of that drive listening to DFW’s surprisingly warm and soft voice as he read some of his short stories and essays. This audiobook also has a few interviews he gave to various platforms, as well as his famous Kenyon College commencement speech.
I haven’t read any of his work, though I am about to correct that, because I found myself enjoying this collection a lot more than I anticipated – even if I can’t really figure out why some of these pieces were selected for it, as they are kind of all over the place. Due to the fuzziness that I associate with listening to audiobooks on the road, I would be hard-pressed to give very specific examples of what drew me in, but I found the intricacies of his thoughts, his dedication to making the reader feel the setting he had drawn and the tragic yet hilarious humanity of his characters really fascinating.
The very insightful and erudite way he explores the topics of the various short pieces of this collection were really fascinating, and while I am well-aware that those words were strung together 30 years ago (in some cases), there was a freshness to them that really engaged me. A lot of the work explored here was really dark, often getting squarely into bleakness, and I know enough about DFW to see the battle with mental illness behind the words. But mostly, what strikes me is the nuanced thinking and intellectual rigor and honesty that informs his writing.
I think Jason was hoping to get me excited about reading "The Infinite Jest" myself after listening to this, and while I have been meaning to do it for a long time, I am definitely more excited about it now than I was before, though I will start with some of DFW’s slightly lighter work first. A very good little amuse-bouche to pique one’s curiosity about a man who cast a rather imposing shadow on modern literature. I am not sure this is the ideal way to dip your toes in his work if you’ve never read it before; the collection might be too dark for some palates, but I enjoyed it a lot, and would definitely recommend it to fans who haven’t gotten around to it yet....more
Henry James can be a bit of a tough nut to crack. I’ll be very honest; I prefer Edith Wharton, who was his protégée. I just find her funnier and sharpHenry James can be a bit of a tough nut to crack. I’ll be very honest; I prefer Edith Wharton, who was his protégée. I just find her funnier and sharper. But that doesn’t mean I don’t love and appreciate Mr. James' very interesting insights into his society, the upper crust on the American East Coast during the Gilded Age.
I find characters like Daisy Miller truly fascinating, and I love that while he doesn’t explore the events from her point of view, James still managed to write a fairly nuanced female character who isn’t a typical heroine of the age. Daisy is smart, stubborn and well-intentioned. She thinks that if people know her, they will understand that she acts in transparency and innocence. But that’s not how society works. For her, gentleman friends and suitors are pleasant to know and spend time with, but do not really mean anything beyond that. But other people make assumptions about the true nature of her acquaintances, her suitors’ intent, the implications of time spent together… You know, all that junk that may mean nothing but that reputations are built and destroyed on.
I think the central question of this book is book is: is Daisy simply an innocent girl, unaware of the potential ramifications of her actions, or is she too stupid to truly understand them? Is she being toyed with or is she simply enjoying herself? James never really settles that question, and while that may be frustrating, I appreciate it. I think he wanted the readers to decide who they thought Daisy was. I’d like to think she wanted to just be herself, and that the society gossips were more annoyances than meaningful critics to her, that she wanted to live a life she got to define, regardless of what they have to say.
I am also aware that this might say more about me than about Daisy, or Henry James, and that’s OK. Some books are Rorschach tests, and if this is well done, no one will interpret it the same way. I think this is one such book. It’s also a very quick read, if you are intimidated by James’ longer works. Recommended....more
I am all out of “Saints of Steel” books, but I am not yet ready to leave T. Kingfisher’s world (not to mention that I needed a book that would chill mI am all out of “Saints of Steel” books, but I am not yet ready to leave T. Kingfisher’s world (not to mention that I needed a book that would chill me out a bit after reading a very anxiety-inducing work of sci-fi), so I made sure to get my hands on “Clockwork Boys” and “The Wonder Engines” as soon as I could. It’s not like those books were a hard sell for me: same universe as the paladin stories I’ve been enjoying so much this year, written by a woman who manages to blend wit, horror, tenderness and laugh-out-loud humor like a freaking wizard, and who always whips up characters that feel very real and that I want to hang out with. Of course I’ll read it.
The titular Clockwork Boys are an army of automatons soldiers/creatures that could mean the ruin of an entire city-state. Fighting against these beings is extremely dangerous, as they are nearly impossible to stop and can destroy anything that stands in their path. So, obviously, a rag-tag team of brilliant but criminally inclined misfits is assembled in the hopes that their combined expertise can find the key to defeating the Clockwork Boys.
Insert obvious joke about heist montage here.
But seriously, Kingfisher made me fall hook, line and sinker for her romantasy (which I didn’t think was possible), so if anyone can make me love a “Suicide Squad” kind of story, it would be her. The compassions to Terry Pratchett don’t feel quite right to me: I love Sir Terry, but he wrote satire in a fantasy setting, and Kingfisher isn’t writing satire, she’s just hilarious and happens to write fantasy stories. And just like in her paladin books, she succeeds at writing flawed and wonderful characters I was rooting for immediately. Also, carnivorous tattoos, yikes!
It must be noted that these books were published before the “Saint of Steel” series, but as usual, I read everything backwards: Caliban is mentioned a few times in the other series, but here, he is one of the main characters, and I was very excited to finally get his story, which is hinted at in the other books.
I love the way Kingfisher writes her characters: one of my biggest pet peeves about a lot of fantasy is the emphasis placed on how beautiful and perfect everyone is, and it’s obviously something Kingfisher also loathes, as she makes a point to write characters that look and sound like normal people, with physical flaws, psychological baggage, weird quirks and weirder senses of humor – and I love it. Take note, other fantasy writers: ordinary people can be criminals, ordinary people can be sexy and fall in love, ordinary people can do awesome stuff. There, rant over. And yes, I loved Slate immediately. Awkward, smart, well-aware of what her strengths and flaws are, and I do love her relationship with Caliban. There is a weird bond that’s created between people who need to look after each other, and this was very well captured on the page. I also really appreciate how honest Kingfisher is about women being horny a lot. Even the great-grandmothers are flirty, and this makes me very happy.
I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because I really just wish it had been a bit longer, a bit more fleshed out – the way the ‘Saints of Steel’ books are… Perhaps the second book will round up the story!...more
After giving us the ‘how we got here’ in “Shift”, Howey brings his readers back to Juliette’s timeline from “Wool”, so that we may see how her story eAfter giving us the ‘how we got here’ in “Shift”, Howey brings his readers back to Juliette’s timeline from “Wool”, so that we may see how her story ends. I was so excited to get to this book, but also kind of annoyed that it would be the end of this fantastic trilogy. Once again, big thanks to Aunt Karen for sharing my enthusiasm for sci-fi and for enabling my book hoarding!
I am going to keep this brief for the sake of keeping things as spoiler-free as humanly possible, but it must be noted that the trilogy absolutely should be read in order of publication, as this is where the story lines from books 1 and 2 finally collide, and the ultimate fate of the silo(s) is finally decided. It’s very difficult to discuss without giving anything from the previous books away, but I was amazed at how Howey manages to crank up the tension in an already incredibly tense situation. I cursed every time I had to put the book down because oh look, a curve ball I never saw coming was just thrown my way! Somehow, mysteries are still getting unravelled, so many lives hang in the balance and the existential threats keep piling up!
It's a lot.
Juliette is a fantastic character, who is thrown in a much more complicated situation than she was prepared for at the beginning of “Wool” but who stepped up to the challenges that were thrown at her in a remarkable way. I was very excited to be reunited with this reluctant hero, and I am always amazed at the way she deals with situation. She is smart, strong and terribly stubborn, but really, I can’t blame her for reacting the way she does after everything she has been through. Her determination to save her people is incredible, and while her temper often gets her into more trouble than she needs, she persists. She’s not perfect, but frankly, I wouldn’t want to get on Juliette’s bad side!
One of the strengths of these books is the pacing: the plot is structured in such a way that makes it very difficult not to go ‘just one more chapter!’ several times in a row, and the next thing you know, a hundred pages have gone by – and this remains the case with “Dust” until the very end. The vivid (if kind of terrifying) world-building is also one of the remarkable aspects of these books: the way Howey fleshed out his universe is so detailed and palpable that I am not tired of reading about it! I get the feeling that these books will still be really fun on a second read, and while the story Howey set out to tell is finished, I would happily read spin-offs set in the same world.
Yes, most of his characters are not terribly well-developed, I have no issues admitting that. It’s not his strength, and he tends to tell more than he shows when it comes to how his characters feel, but I also think that his intent had a different focus. This book (and the whole series, really) is about resilience, survival and fighting for the truth, so there isn’t much focus on the more personal emotions of the characters – yet he still wants to impress on his readers that they are motivated by love. A sheriff following his wife into a deadly wasteland, a man fighting to figure out what happened to the woman he loved (and in the tv series, a woman doing everything in her power to figure out why the man she loved died); that stuff is obviously a big deal to him, he just writes it a little too dry.
(As a sidenote, I know I am a bit emotional these days, but I can’t really deal with even tiny story lines about missing or dead pets lately. It really sets me off, and while this isn’t a big part of this book, one short chapter was hard to get through, and even if everyone, animals included, were fine by then end of it, I wasn’t. In my current mood, I think I’m going to need a book just about puppies living happy lives, hit me if you have any recommendations.)
Those books deserve all the praise that they get and are important works in the contemporary sci-fi cannon. Howey’s note at the end of this book mentions that a theme he cares a lot about is ‘not letting the cruelty of the world change who you are’, and I think that not only is that a very important and relevant theme, but I think that he did a good job of making that a core value of this series. Very highly recommended. ...more
I basically devoured “Wool” earlier this year, and then I got busy with a lot of other books, but I really couldn’t wait to get my hands on “Shift”. OI basically devoured “Wool” earlier this year, and then I got busy with a lot of other books, but I really couldn’t wait to get my hands on “Shift”. One of the biggest unanswered questions of the first book is: how did this strange underground society come to be? Who built the silo? What cataclysm forced humanity to hide underground to survive all these years?
“Shift” is more of a prequel than a sequel, because it turns the clocks back so that we, the readers, may see how things got from life as we currently know it to the strange, claustrophobic world we have come to know in “Wool”, but it doesn’t disconnect us from the people we met in the silo completely. Of course, trying to write about this without spoiling this book or the first tome of the series is basically impossible, so I will keep things simple, because those books are probably best read for the first time with as little information as possible: discovering the world is a big part of the fun with this series, and if you are as curious as I am after the first one, you will want to gobble this one up very quickly. And yes, they should definitely be read in order of publication.
One timeline is set in a fictional mid 2000s in the United-States, and follows a young congressman named Donald (no, not that Donald), who is shocked to learnt that his old architectural designs are being used for a secret government project based in Georgia. The most surprising aspect is that the powers that be want to take his design of a towering cylindrical building and put it… underground… As he begins to work on the project, believing it to be about making nuclear shelters that will never be used, he begins to notice some odd changes being made to his designs by people way above his pay grade. Another timeline forwards to the 2100s, where a man named Troy is being awakened from a cryogenic sleep and treated with a memory-altering drug, as he prepares for a 6-month ‘shift’ working in a strange place from which he can see a ravaged landscape readers of the previous book will feel familiar with…
Yeah, that’s about as much as I can tell you without spoiling stuff, but if you liked the first book, you will enjoy exploring the world further. Howey has crafted a very immersive environment, and I found myself completely sucked in very quickly. Donald and Troy are not as interesting as Juliette is, but as protagonists go, watching them trying to figure out what mess they got themselves into and discovering what’s going on along with them is very interesting. There are a few tropes (scheming double-crossing politicians, oh my!), but they are used intelligently to send the reader on a near-future sci-fi trip that isn’t that hard to imagine. Unfortunately.
I love (in a ‘purely as a theoretical concept’ kind of way) the idea of a pill that erases traumatic memories because most people are so desperate to put bad things behind and act like they have never happened. Pardon the segway, but recent reports show upticks in covid cases pretty much everywhere and when I mention this to people, a lot of them act as if the pandemic had never even happened or was a thing from such a distant past that worrying about it now makes no sense to them – which flabbergasts me. This might be a natural response from people who simply desire to move forward and leave the past and their suffering behind, but Howey uses this as a clear metaphor for the age-old aphorism, that those who forget history are doomed to repeat it… Add to that the fact that no one gobbling down those pills is dealing with their collective trauma adequately, something which has a way of biting people in the ass… and you get this claustrophobic and bizarre society we discovered in “Wool”. My point is, this is a brilliant idea and is a sure-fire recipe for disaster, especially when it becomes a thing at the same time as when humanity finds a way to blow itself back into the stone age, and I loved the way it was used in the story of the silo.
I was reminded a bit of “A Canticle for Leibowitz”, which was a fascinating speculation on a post-nuclear disaster Earth when the destruction has been so complete that even the knowledge of how to recreate the cataclysm was lost, and people could only vaguely speculate on what life had been like before based on whatever random artefact they could get their hands on. The “Silo” series obviously doesn’t have the religious element “Canticle” did, but there are still interesting parallels to be drawn between the two books.
Not unlike “Wool”, this is the kind of book that quickly becomes very difficult to put down, as the short chapters and rapid pacing become very addictive very quickly, and the 600 or so pages went by in a flash. In fact, I think I found this book even more tense and hard to put away than the first. I had a few days of growling at anyone who tried to pull me away from the book for silly things like eating and working – feh! Howey definitely has a knack for writing things in a very cinematic way, and hopefully, the wonderful Apple+ tv show keeps going long enough that we can have the pleasure of seeing this part of the silo’s story on the screen, because it is perfect material for adaptation.
One of the underlying themes of the series so far is corruption, and the consequences of hoarding knowledge and restricting access to information and technology – even when it’s allegedly for the greater good. I had noted in the first book that I kept thinking about Soviet Russia as I read about the way labor is organized, compartmentalized, and staggered; I also thought about the USSR reading this one, but more about the realpolitik and truth manipulation aspect of the Soviet Union. I have a pet theory that the USA is way more like the USSR (albeit in sneaky ways, though shit like Project 2025 is making it seem less and less sneaky) that they will ever admit – much more so now than when Howey wrote those books, but he may simply be very smart and prescient. There was also an echo of my readings about the Chernobyl disaster because of a team of workers who have to proceed with extremely dangerous work that they don’t want to do but must, because someone has to.
While Howey is better at plotting than he is at character development, he also brings a very practical human element to the genre of post-apocalyptic sci-fi, and I really appreciate that line of speculation and find it much more interesting than “Hunger Games”-type of dystopian pageantry. That might be because I am more the type to worry about what I would do should the shit hit the fan in my lifetime (I was recently reminded that I once put together a go-bag when I was 9 years old, so obviously, I have issues to deal with there) than the type to imagine what things would be like a hundred years after that (I won’t be there!).
If you enjoyed the first book of this series, or are simply curious as to how it all came to be, this is a great, if stressful and claustrophobic ride. Very recommended!...more
I think that at this point, even if those books weren’t great (which they are), I would just keep reading them, because I am so invested in the ideas I think that at this point, even if those books weren’t great (which they are), I would just keep reading them, because I am so invested in the ideas T. Kingfisher has decided to put on the page, and so excited about the way she has structured this series – taking a supporting character from the previous book and promoting them to main character in the next – and so attached to her characters that I will just read as many of these “Saints of Steel” books as she sees fit to publish. If I may place a request, Ms. Kingfisher: twelve more, please.
This fourth foray into this lovely series brings back Marguerite, Grace’s spy bestie from “Paladin’s Grace”, who had pulled a disappearing act at the end of the first book. Marguerite has been away for a few years, but she is forced to come back and ask the Order of the White Rat for help when she uncovers a secret: a former employer of hers has identified a new technique for harvesting salt which might upend the entire economic system across several cities and make them lose a lot of money, so their plan is to destroy it and neutralize the person who invented it; and now that Marguerite has acquired this knowledge, she is also in their crosshair. In order to survive long enough to stop the nefarious plan, she asks Bishop Beartongue to help by providing her with paladin bodyguards to keep her safe while she does… whatever it is spies do. She ends up with Wren and Shane, both of whom have lurked around the corners of the pages of the previous books without ever getting too much spotlight.
So yeah, if your thing is sexy bodyguard, this is the “Saint of Steel” book for you (but you should still read the whole series)! As with the previous books, there is a good deal of tension between two people who fall for each other but are both convinced that they will be a danger and/or not good enough for the object of their affections before they inevitably give in, but Kingfisher knows just how to make this fun and endearing, and how to draw up characters dealing with trauma and damage so none of that angst feels exaggerated or gratuitous. And yes, this is deliciously female gaze-y (though only moderately spicy, by my admittedly filthy standards) and it’s awesome!
Marguerite is a wonderful character to follow around, and I am sure that she would be a nightmare to actually protect; spies, after all, rarely stay put or in safe situations. And the Saint’s paladins are dealing with their own rather hardcore PTSD, an element that I had been/keep hoping would be explored more deeply through the series, and we dig into it a bit here through Shane’s experience of his god dying and the empty space it created in his life. A clear pattern that has been established through the series so far is that a person who cares for someone accepts them as they are, flaws and damage and all, and there’s something perennially lovely about seeing these traumatized characters find solace and support with someone (“I’m less broken when I’m around you”… Jesus, Kingfisher, my heart!!!). Maybe that’s truly what keeps me so happy and excited about these books: they are so full of hope in how much healing a person can do when they feel loved, and that’s wonderful.
Even if Wren is not as central to this book as Marguerite and Shane, I was really glad that we got to be more familiar with one of the women paladins; her character, a skilled warrior who has essentially lived with half a dozen older brothers for years, is both funny and very touching, especially in contrast with Marguerite’s more experienced and worldly personality. I totally understand why Shane would want to beat up anyone who hurts her feelings, and I hope we see more of her in future books.
I think I have mentioned this in previous reviews of books from this series, but I love the Order of the White Rat, and if there is anything from this world-building I wish was real, it’s them. Bishop Beartongue is an awesome character, but their entire organization is the stuff of my dreams: their dedication to help and heal people warms my heart every time. I also never tire of Kingfisher’s tone, which is light, wry, conversational, and clever, without ever becoming pretentious or silly. Her dialogues are sharp and sound perfectly real. It’s nearly impossible for me not to read these books with gluttony, because she combines that really great writing style with good pacing and awesome characters. I may have missed my metro stop and cursed loudly a few times while reading this one during my daily commute…
When I got my copy of this book, I was under the impression that this would be the last one, but apparently, there have been rumors of a fifth and sixth book! This makes me absurdly happy (though outraged that I have to wait for them to be published, gawd!), and someone should tell Amanda, who will also be thrilled. Thanks a whole heap to Erika, who convinced me to check out these books knowing I would pretend to vomit as she explained that they were romantasy novels but that I would, somehow, still like them. You have excellent instincts, my friend/we really are peas in a pod, regardless of the distance. I am going to be hunting down the “Clocktaur War” books to make the time pass until we have a publication date for book 5!...more
As soon as I managed to get my hands on a copy of “Paladin’s Hope”, it immediately went to the top of the book pile. If you had told me last year thatAs soon as I managed to get my hands on a copy of “Paladin’s Hope”, it immediately went to the top of the book pile. If you had told me last year that I would be squeaking in excitement about this sort of book, I might have laughed in your face, but I guess T. Kingfisher is the one laughing now, because as soon as I realized book 4 was available in paperback, guess what I did?
As with the previous books in this series, this is a fantasy/romance (gag) involving one of the surviving paladins of the Saint of Steel. This time, the story focuses of Galen, who is known in the series so far for being a ginger and not really into women, if you catch my very obvious drift. The story begins when a body washes up on the shore of the river, dead from a large wound that seemed to have punctured his back, but there is no clear way to determine what could have caused such a wound, even for Piper, the lich-doctor the paladins have worked with before. Earstripe, a gnole belonging to the city guards seems to think, however, that this death is connected to other dead bodies that were discovered recently, but his captain won’t let him investigate further. But Galen and Piper agree that something seems odd, and they decide to go with Earstripe to see if they can’t solve this mystery, and proceed to get stuck in a strange place that makes the cave at the end of “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” look like a cake walk.
I am quite excited about Piper the pathologist (that’s not really what they call him, but I love an alliteration) being brought front and center in this story because I always find that line of work fascinating, and it is not often written about in fantasy settings. He also has a fantastic gallows’ humour that I really enjoyed – as one might expect from someone in his line of work. The budding romance with Galen is just sweet enough for me, and I really appreciate that Kingfisher created a fantasy world where no one freaks out at queerness and just lets people be who they are. The idea that as a society, they decided that they had bigger problems to worry about than who sleeps with who is so refreshingly sane! Alas, just like the White Rat being an order of kind and efficient bureaucrats, that’s how you know this is fantasy… The point is, those two are cute together, and even people who have shrivelled husks where their hearts should be would be mollified by the way they behave around each other. More than with the previous two books, this one addresses gnoles and their place in society on a deeper level, with Earstripe being such an integral part of the story. That seemed a bit forced to me at first, but as the world expands and the stories involve the little guys more and more, it actually makes sense to expand our view of their society and their relationship to humans at the same time.
As with the previous books of the series, the humor – dry, a little dirty, very witty - shines on almost every page and makes it a delight to read. Kingfisher also has such a charming and quirky way with words (like when she describes Galen has having cheekbones you could slice cheese with, or when Galen wonders if Piper got toned lugging dead bodies around, because those are heavy!), and I am really enjoying the way she broadens the world with each book. I know these technically belong to a larger series set in this universe, and I might get around to them some day, but until then, I am loving the way she introduces the reader to new elements of world-building with each book, which keeps the series fresh because there is always something new to discover. The mysteries of the Ancients and their machines is awesome, though I suspect it has been explored in some of her other books…
I have so much more fun than I expected with this series, these books are my new favorite treats, and I can’t wait for the fourth book to arrive!...more
So… I loved "Paladin’s Grace". So much. And this was somehow better. I’m just got the third book in the mail and can I just tell you right now that I So… I loved "Paladin’s Grace". So much. And this was somehow better. I’m just got the third book in the mail and can I just tell you right now that I dropped everything else I was reading to get to it ASAP?
Just like the first book of the "Saints of Steel" series, this is technically a romantacy (I almost threw up in my mouth a little just writing it: sorry, I am a cynical old punk and I generally hate romance with a white hot intensity) but the characters are about the same age as me, they are traumatized, fucked up, terrified of getting hurt and constantly trying to do the right thing – which makes them, as far as I am concerned anyway, endearing and relatable.
We have met Istvhan in the first book: he is a paladin of the now-defunct Saint of Steel, who does muscle work for the Order of the White Rat. As he is escorting a shipment of very fancy barrels to a sea-side city, he meets Clara, a nun of St. Ursa. She is remarkable because she is almost as strong and as tall as him, but also because she now… belongs to him, after he defeats in single combat the man who owned her as a sort of slave. Istvhan is obviously not comfortable with that and quickly relinquishes his ownership, but he agrees that she should accompany his little caravan. Clara’s convent was raided, and her fellow nuns captured and taken to an unknown place, and she is determined to find them and save them, but obviously, that will not work very well if she simply wanders the wilderness on her own. So she joins Istvhan and his caravan, trying to find clues that indicate where her sisters were taken. As they make their way through the countryside, they will also come across bodies that have been mutilated in a way Istvhan has seen before…
Let’s get this out of the way: just like in the first book, the romance is just sweet enough, with plenty of realistic and understandable concerns that keep our two heroes in a ‘will they, won’t they’ holding pattern. Falling in love in your middle age is not the same as it is when you are twenty, and things like trauma and knee pain definitely impact spontaneity, and I really love the way Kingfisher writes Istvhan and Clara’s inner thoughts, their longing and their hesitations. If all romance was this steeped into real-world concerns, I might enjoy the genre a lot more than I do. Also, I can really appreciate when women write male characters who are not terrified of or grossed out by periods. Seriously.
I was also very happy that we revisit the unsolved mystery of the smooth men, which was a deliciously creepy element of the first book. The way their reappearance is weaved into the main narrative is very well executed and meets the story of Clara’s quest for her sisters perfectly. The book is also action packed, and the pacing is quick: those books are so hard to put down!
In short, if you like the first one, definitely read this one. Now if you’ll excuse me, I am off to go hide in a corner with the third book....more
This might be a cliché, but “The Last Unicorn” is one of my favorite books. I have watched the beautiful movie more times than I can count, I have theThis might be a cliché, but “The Last Unicorn” is one of my favorite books. I have watched the beautiful movie more times than I can count, I have the gorgeous graphic novel adaptation and I even have, yep you guessed it, a tattoo of the unicorn leaving her forest to try and find others like her on my right arm. It’s a very special story for me, obviously, and when I heard that Peter S. Beagle had written a book about dragons, I lost my mind with excitement. Quick confession: I like dragons more than unicorns. Not that unicorns aren’t badass, but… dragons are badass-er…
Beagle has a wonderful gift for subverting fantasy tropes (his middle-aged - unmarried! - damsel and incompetent magician are nothing if not iconoclastic) and his dragons are not the menacing beasts knights must vanquish in order to win favors from fair ladies. No, his dragons are house pests, basically like big, annoying rats that breathe fire and lay eggs in your walls. And his main character here is not a fearless hero, but a dragon exterminator with strong views about compassionate killing. He is hired by a princess who wants to rid her castle of a dragon infestation before a prince she means to woo comes to visit. As you can expect from Beagle, none of them quite fit the mold that they are meant to conform to, and it is a pleasure to watch them grow into themselves.
This book was at the very top of my vacation read pile, and I gobbled it up greedily. Robert, Cerise and Reginald were so lovely to spend time with and watch grow, and I loved every minute spent in their company. Not unlike “The Last Unicorn”, this book is a lot about transformation, about figuring out who you are and what you want your life to be. Beagle understands what makes fairy tales universal and manages to distill that quality into his stories through lovely prose and unique characters. He has a definite old-fashioned edge to him, though, so this would be best for people who love his unicorn stories, but also for the kind of people who still love “The Princess Bride” even if they are now solidly middle-aged.
It only lost a star because it was over too soon, and I would have loved to explore that world a bit more fully, spend more time with the dragons Robert rescues, and to see what Cerise will accomplish. A sweet and cozy fantasy from a master, not to be missed!
I have a tiny bone to pick with the publishers: a paperback version of this book was supposed to come out, with a lovely cover illustration, and I had pre-ordered it and then the edition got cancelled. What gives, Simon & Schuster? I’ll manage with the Kindle version for now, but it would be great if we could get a paperback eventually!...more
I feel like this book might be a case of “it’s not you, it’s me”, or I should read it in French…
I read the translated version because my husband receiI feel like this book might be a case of “it’s not you, it’s me”, or I should read it in French…
I read the translated version because my husband received a copy for his birthday earlier this year, and after he was done with it, he had a lot of thoughts, so I wanted to check it out, and it felt silly to go find a copy of the same book in another language for the sake of linguistic purity (I am not a good Québecoise, according to some…), so I just read his copy.
But the fact is, there is a reason I usually prefer reading books in the language they were written in: even the best translation can only ever capture so much of what the writer meant to convey, and that’s an unavoidable flaw in the process. So yeah, maybe the issue is that I need to eventually re-read this in French.
However, it is also possible that it was just a weird timing situation. This book is well written, extremely clever and erudite, and surreally bizarre. That makes it a unique and fun romp. There is something detached about the prose that also made it easy for me to leave on my bedside table for a couple of days at the time. I had to remind myself to pick it up, and I find that a bit disappointing: from everything I had heard about it, I was really expecting to be engaged, and I just wasn’t…
Linguist and philosopher Roland Barthes is hit by a truck after having had lunch with the President. Is this a simple road accident, or a nefarious plan to eliminate him in order to acquire a discovery he has made that could change the world? A cop and a philosophy student end up teaming up to resolve this strange mystery, which involved Bulgarian hit-men and a strange, high-stakes debate club.
I don’t know if any of you are familiar with the Existential Comics series (https://www.existentialcomics.com/), but when I saw this book described as “hilarious” and featuring plenty of famous philosophers, that was sort of what I had in mind. But it’s not really what the book is. While Binet does give you enough information to understand the work of the people he inserts in his story so that you don’t need to have read their works to get it, I found that he didn’t quite push the envelope far enough with this idea. I think there was a missed opportunity here, to make the various philosophical and intellectual ideas he features into a stronger part of the narrative. He is obviously well-read and very clever, but I just felt like his ideas were a touch too shallow.
I will keep an eye open for a used copy in French; perhaps the original will manage what the translation didn’t?...more
"Gogmagog" is the type of urban fantasy that I love: gritty, weird and full of colorful and unique characters! Some of the influences are fairly obvio"Gogmagog" is the type of urban fantasy that I love: gritty, weird and full of colorful and unique characters! Some of the influences are fairly obvious, but it’s a safe bet to say that if you like Mervyn Peake and China Mieville’s New Crobuzon novels, this might be your cup of muddy tea. Did I mention there is a haunted river? And that it’s haunted by the ghost of a freaking dragon?!
Cady is captain of a ship that used to ferry people up and down the river leading to the city of Ludwich, but things have changed and now she mostly drinks. And she would have just kept doing that if not for a young girl and her automaton companion who need to get to the city for an important ceremony, and hire her to steer them safely to port. She is reluctant at first, but soon finds herself on a wonderous and dangerous journey, visiting the treacherous lands that border the great river and unravelling the mystery of the cataclysm that turned this once peaceful river into perilous waters.
The action in this book is fast paced, as it should be, since it technically takes place over a single day’s journey. But what an eventful and emotional day that it! The world contained in those pages is rich with wild ideas, unique and strange species and an often unsettling atmosphere. It’s a pleasure to explore this imaginary world, but I also don’t want to give anything away: it really has to be experienced first-hand.
The book lost a star on the simple basis that I wanted more. More world-building, more zany stops along the way to Ludwich, more strange characters! The book ends on a bit of a cliff-hanger, and I can’t wait to read the second book (due for publication in December!) because it might make me reconsider my rating, depending on how the story continues. I can’t wait to catch up with Cady and see how things go for her and her crew!...more
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