I have often thought of riffing on The Scarlet Pimpernel, one of the great pulp adventure romances of all time, only to be stymied by my profound disaI have often thought of riffing on The Scarlet Pimpernel, one of the great pulp adventure romances of all time, only to be stymied by my profound disagreement with the heroes' aims. I mean, screw the aristos. This book handles the problem superbly, taking on the class and national issues head on and introducing vampires - literal old families sucking the life blood of the poor - to make the point. Possibly wears its politics a bit much on its sleeve but then that's hard to avoid in such an explicitly political retelling. Which is not to say it's heavy: it's rip roaring historical adventure with PROPER VAMPIRES, none of your sparkly shit. Great fun, and with some chewy moral stuff to boot.
My only slight niggle is that the heroine is described as both 'beautiful' and 'looking like Marie Antoinette', which I struggle to reconcile what with M-A was astonishingly chinless for a Habsburg and looked like a stunned cow BUT HERE WE ARE. ...more
Western based on an absolutely ridiculous pun as per title, played completely straight. (When mathematicians are outlawed, only outlaws will be mathemWestern based on an absolutely ridiculous pun as per title, played completely straight. (When mathematicians are outlawed, only outlaws will be mathematician. Or something.) Daft as a brush but highly entertaining. ...more
Chalking this up as 'good but not for me'. Very heavy on the world building, character and vibes, all of which are done excellently, but as with the fChalking this up as 'good but not for me'. Very heavy on the world building, character and vibes, all of which are done excellently, but as with the first book, I wanted more plot. A matter of readerly taste: if you want to wallow in a vividly created world with queerness and kindness and loads of detail, voila. ...more
So far up my street it could be my house. An English-set contemporary fantasy (rural, as opposed to urban) in which a dryad's son encounters all sortsSo far up my street it could be my house. An English-set contemporary fantasy (rural, as opposed to urban) in which a dryad's son encounters all sorts of creatures from myth including a wodewose (massively creepy) and a proper Lambton type wyrm. Gorgeous feel, very readable, and fantastic use of myth in a grimy modern setting. The plot kind of falls into two halves which I wished had been a bit more integrated in the book, but which definitely sets up a sense of a serial and adventures to come so yay. More please!
Merged review:
So far up my street it could be my house. An English-set contemporary fantasy (rural, as opposed to urban) in which a dryad's son encounters all sorts of creatures from myth including a wodewose (massively creepy) and a proper Lambton type wyrm. Gorgeous feel, very readable, and fantastic use of myth in a grimy modern setting. The plot kind of falls into two halves which I wished had been a bit more integrated in the book, but which definitely sets up a sense of a serial and adventures to come so yay. More please!...more
Fantasy set in late 1700s Africa, with a young woman obliged to marry the chief's son from the warring tribe, but also struggling with a magical gift Fantasy set in late 1700s Africa, with a young woman obliged to marry the chief's son from the warring tribe, but also struggling with a magical gift of vision that could change history.
Loved the idea and wow, the cover, but the writing style isn't doing it for me: it's flat, with little description and a lot of 'as you know' exposition, and the heroine feels a lot younger than 16 in her naivety and behaviour. Wonder if it was written as YA? In any case, IMO it needed a stronger edit to bring out the voice and ground the story, but YMMV here as YA never works for me. ...more
I've read this probably thirty times in all the translations I can get my hands on. This is one of my favoGod this is the greatest book in the world.
I've read this probably thirty times in all the translations I can get my hands on. This is one of my favourites: not as smooth as the Glenny but a lot more accurate, and balances the fantasy, satirical, and political sides well.
Very readable and entertaining fantasy set in modern Lapland, here presented as extremely rural and weird in a small town / folklore / casual monstersVery readable and entertaining fantasy set in modern Lapland, here presented as extremely rural and weird in a small town / folklore / casual monsters sort of way. It's really about acceptance (of oneself and others) and coming to terms with life just not going how you thought it might. Climate change hangs a heavy shadow over the whole book. (As do mosquitoes, wow, never going to Lapland in summer.)
There's a lot to feel bleak about but the story has an indomitability and cooperativeness that ends up making it an exuberant read. Vividly written/translated, rattles along delightfully....more
This is absolutely fantastic. It's about two barely pubescent girls but absolutely not YA: it's very much grappling with growing up in an intensely miThis is absolutely fantastic. It's about two barely pubescent girls but absolutely not YA: it's very much grappling with growing up in an intensely misogynist work where girls are commodified, bullied, disregarded, and seen as sexual objects from a young age. Both the MCs have lost their fathers and are mistreated for it: Treasure's uncles basically raided the house and threw out her and her mother to starve as soon as the father died; Ozoemena's father has left the family for what looks like an episode of mental illness and she is being sneered at.
The book starts a bit slow, and a little confusing because it's split between Treasure's narrative ('then'), Ozoemena 'then', and Ozoemena 'now', and it's unclear at first how far apart the stories are and how they intersect. Stick with it. Everything ratchets into place absolutely perfectly, I felt genuinely awed as I realised how it was unfolding.
Plus the voices are great, the descriptions vivid, the emotions chokingly relatable. A really powerful piece of writing and a compellingly told story. Highly recommended. ...more
Right, so this world is a sort of alt-ancient world, primarily Mediterranean, with lots of direct analogies including quotes. In the first two books iRight, so this world is a sort of alt-ancient world, primarily Mediterranean, with lots of direct analogies including quotes. In the first two books it's established that the warring nations have different skin colours. This felt fairly awkward in the first books, and this installment basically just...made it worse. (The people are mostly referred to as 'milkfaces' and 'blueskins' rather than white and black/brown in the earlier books; here the generally hated and awful Robur people are directly called black--though NB that most people in the book are generally hated and awful, this is KJ Parker.)
I don't know what the point of this was, when the one thing you can say about the ancient Mediterranean was that you didn't need to bring skin colour into it: people were perfectly happy to kill one another on the basis of nationality or religion. (Also, I don't think mixed-race people were mentioned, which seemed implausible because if you're close enough to fight you're close enough to bonk.)
At best this was massively awkward and discomfiting for no gain I could see. Which is regrettable because it's an otherwise really interesting series that looks at classic war situations including sieges and religious cults and spins them through. I loved the way this shows the rise of a religion entirely based on lies and has you end up kind of believing. Lots of clever stuff. I also noticed the introduction of people bidding for battlefield salvage rights, which was clearly the germ of the superior Saevus Corax trilogy.
Basically I feel like the racial aspect either needed proper digging into or leaving alone. Because you can't write a book that explicitly draws analogies with the modern world along all sorts of axes and then introduce race stuff and not expect readers to draw analogies with the modern world and ask what point you're trying to make. And if you're not trying to make a point, then why do it? ...more
I have glommed this trilogy in Parker's vaguely alt-ancient Mediterraneanish world. Saevus makes for an intriguing narrator, not so much a flawed man I have glommed this trilogy in Parker's vaguely alt-ancient Mediterraneanish world. Saevus makes for an intriguing narrator, not so much a flawed man as a man-shaped assembly of flaws, but with enough self-knowledge and a little tiny thread of hope. This last instalment gallops along and ends very much as it should, ie classic Parker. ...more
Loved this fantasy/cyberpunk take on the Arab Spring. Profoundly human, hugely readable, brutally political, bursting with hope even when people reallLoved this fantasy/cyberpunk take on the Arab Spring. Profoundly human, hugely readable, brutally political, bursting with hope even when people really suck. Which they do. Alif starts off a really fairly exasperating, self-pitying young man but his character growth is fantastic. the deployment of Middle Eastern myth is terrific, and the cultural elements, atmosphere and setting all sing. Don't know why I've never read this before. ...more
Magnificent. An alt Middle Eastern/Persian/Jewish fantasy novel, with all the wonder and magic and complexity of the best fantasy. Families, secrets, Magnificent. An alt Middle Eastern/Persian/Jewish fantasy novel, with all the wonder and magic and complexity of the best fantasy. Families, secrets, the politics of a djinn type realm, and the historical pogroms and persecutions of our world make for a really terrific whole. I absolutely inhaled this: the characters are so compelling, the story paced just right, and I am desperate for the next part. Excellent, immersive, richly detailed, terrific....more
Excellent book 2 for the trilogy, confirming for me that KJ Parker and Tom Holt have finally made common cause. At once bleak and warm, humane and bruExcellent book 2 for the trilogy, confirming for me that KJ Parker and Tom Holt have finally made common cause. At once bleak and warm, humane and brutal, harsh and loving, and with humour that's always dark but shows a glimmer of light. Highly readable adventure fun. ...more
This was fun. Feels a bit like KJ Parker and Tom Holt finding an accommodation between their two personalities: it's got some quite bleak stuff as SaeThis was fun. Feels a bit like KJ Parker and Tom Holt finding an accommodation between their two personalities: it's got some quite bleak stuff as Saevus is a professional battlefield scavenger and on the face of it quite a shitty person, but he's kind of better than he realises and there's lots of dark humour but also a touch of lightness to it that really gave it a lift. Bought the next one immediately. ...more
This is a deeply beloved comfort read for many, a character study/court intrigue book with a lot of detail and not, really, a lot of plot. The peril pThis is a deeply beloved comfort read for many, a character study/court intrigue book with a lot of detail and not, really, a lot of plot. The peril points are short, sharp, and rapidly dealt with in favour of a lengthy consideration on how to treat defeated enemies/traitors. Maia comes to the throne and has to make friends and supporters, and survive the intriguers, and learn to do emperoring. Which he does, flawlessly. I don't think he makes a single mistake that isn't 'slight etiquette fail because he is too kind and considerate'; despite being brought up in a remote hamlet with a hateful relative, his judgement of character is as impeccable as his innate sense of justice, kindness, decency, and humility. In fact this is a Mirrors of Princes text, I just realised: it's depicting how the ideal ruler should be.
I think your response to this book will depend entirely on how the preceding paragraph hits you. The story of the humble man elevated, earning love and respect through humility and kindness, is always appealing; the fantasy of a truly good ruler is one I imagine most of us are having right now. And I think we'd all like to believe that mot people are basically decent.
I just...I think I'm too old to take comfort in that sort of fantasy. (Or too cynical? Or I find my comfort in the redemption of the flawed, not the ideal of the flawless?) As such I found myself wanting to see Maia lose his temper for more than one line of dialogue, or abuse his power out of spite, or do *some* sort of flawed-person thing from which he has to learn and redeem himself, rather than never putting a foot wrong. And part of the reason I wanted that, I think, is the book does an excellent job of showing that an autocrat who doesn't respect the law or justice is a tyrant, but I don't think the answer to that is "let's make sure the autocrats are really nice people". I wanted to see a lot more engagement with the Leveller-type character fighting for change via terrorism, because he was about the only person in the book questioning the horrible system, but that was the point where Maia's otherwise insatiable curiosity shut down, leaving a huge amount dangling, at least for me.
This is a terrifically written, fluent, excellently worldbuilt book with fantastic character work, which mostly carried me, a plot driven reader, along, but ultimately, I think this is the point where I part company with the 'all vibes / people are basically decent' strand in current fantasy. I'm glad it's there because a lot of people clearly need it, but it's not for me. ...more
What an absolutely marvellous book. An alt medieval fantasy in which Byzantium is an evil empire that hasn't been slowed down by the Ottomans. We haveWhat an absolutely marvellous book. An alt medieval fantasy in which Byzantium is an evil empire that hasn't been slowed down by the Ottomans. We have a Byzantine mercenary, a Welsh sorceror, an Italian doctor and a German engineer/vampire, all getting snarled up in the Wars of the Roses.
As with all alt history I imagine a lot of the effect will depend on how much of the history you know (it was a trifle hard to follow at points anyway with a lot of politics, ime jumps and things left to the reader's inference). Those of us who spent lockdown obsessively reading Plantagenet history have an advantage, which is not a sentence often written.
It's huge and complex and weary and I loved it. A modern classic of SF that really deserves the name. (and may I note that it was written in the 80s but manages to have meaningful female characters who aren't just there to be raped I'M JUST SAYING). ...more
Epistolary novel set in a super-queer magical alt-Regency when only birth order matters, not gender, and sexuality is not an issue. I absolutely lovedEpistolary novel set in a super-queer magical alt-Regency when only birth order matters, not gender, and sexuality is not an issue. I absolutely loved there was a third title for nonbinary aristos (Dukex) and how the order of 'Lord and Lady X' was inverted if she was the more highborn: that's the kind of attention to detail that shows a really talented worldbuilder.
It's a very sweet story about a man about town courting an innocent young gentleman of low self esteen and retiring nature. It's super low stakes, very much at the cosy end, with not a lot of plot, so everything depends on enjoying the characters and the world, which I did very much. ...more
Ooof my God this book is basically an ongoing anxiety attack. It's a masterclass in steadily building sickening fear and tension, which uses the twistOoof my God this book is basically an ongoing anxiety attack. It's a masterclass in steadily building sickening fear and tension, which uses the twisted fairytale setting to present a horrifying story of domestic abuse and coercive control.
Which is not to say it's gloomy: it's just UNBELIEVABLY TENSE. In fact, there are a lot of excellent jokes, and the slow building of the anti-sorceress aliance is fantastic, including the most wonderful clutch of 50yo women who are not going gently into that menopausal night. The way the building alliance counters the airless oppression is just terrific, and the ending is stand-up-and-cheer. A fantastic horrific fantasy, grounded in a very horrific reality.
I will add that I read the author's note, and if T Kingfisher could get therapy for her horse issues, the rest of us might not need to get therapy for the horse issues she's giving us, because WOW the horse in this book. ...more
Time travel space opera. Exuberant lively stuff but just too YA for me, especially in the historical sections; if you like YA/NA SFF, this is one to gTime travel space opera. Exuberant lively stuff but just too YA for me, especially in the historical sections; if you like YA/NA SFF, this is one to grab. ...more
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