Month: April 2023

book collage, April 2023

Plenty of light fantasy for this month. Expect to see some sequels next month…

book cover collage, April 2023

Ithaca, by Claire North
The Burning Sky, by Sherry Thomas
A Taste of Gold and Iron, by Alexandra Rowland
How to Sell a Haunted House, by Grady Hendrix
Paladin’s Grace, by T. Kingfisher
Lost in the Moment and Found, by Seanan McGuire
The Last Sun, by K.D. Edwards
The Lincoln Highway, by Amor Towles
The Warrior of the Third Veil, by Victoria Goddard
Paladin’s Strength, by T. Kingfisher
The Perilous Sea, by Sherry Thomas
The Return of Fitzroy Angursell, by Victoria Goddard
The Land Before Avocado, by Richard Glover
Fire Boy, by Sami Shah
The Tower at the Edge of the World, by Victoria Goddard
Stay True, by Hua Hsu
Home Fire, by Kamila Shamsie

Home Fire, by Kamila Shamsie

This book felt like it took several turns; spoilers ahead. It begins with Isma, a British girl trying to enter the US on a student visa, getting profiled for her Pakistani heritage; once in Boston she is delighted to meet Eamonn, another Londoner, but realizes to her dismay that he’s the son of a prominent UK politician whose advice to fellow Muslims is to assimilate as smoothly as possible. Just when you think this might going to be a story about young love finding a way to build tolerance, the story abruptly pivots away from Isma and focuses on Aneeka, her prettier sister back in the UK, whose photo had caught Eamonn’s eye to the point that he goes back to the UK to hit on her, after which they begin a hugely problematic relationship. BUT THEN the story pivots once more to Aneeka’s twin brother Parvaiz, and we get flashbacks to how he was groomed to follow in their dead father’s footsteps towards terrorism. Everything comes to a massively dramatic conclusion. The story has some really poignant things to say about holding true to one’s culture and religion, and how hard Western society bullies Muslims when they don’t conform to cultural norms, but it all gets somewhat lost in the weird structure of the story.

Stay True, by Hua Hsu

Part coming-of-age memoir, part elegy for a lost friend, this account by Hsu focuses mainly on his college years at Berkeley and how they formed his personality. The son of Taiwanese immigrants in search of an identity, Hsu aligned himself with the alternative to anything that was mainstream, creating zines and looking for undiscovered gems at record shops; when he meets Japanese-American Ken, a fraternity member clad in Abercrombie & Fitch and a fan of Dave Matthews, Hsu initially writes him off. They end up being friends though, teaching one another to love things neither would have chosen, sharing extremely Gen X formative experiences, and growing close in the way that only happens for college kids thrown together for long stretches at a time. However, when Ken becomes the victim of a senseless murder, Hsu is set adrift and must figure out how he wants to define himself once more. The moments in which he muses about all the adult experiences which he was unable to share with Ken are especially poignant.

The Tower at the Edge of the World, by Victoria Goddard

Prequel of sorts to The Hands of the Emperor, though it makes more sense if you read Hands first. This novella details Artorin’s time as the Marwn, the “spare” heir to the throne, and how he dealt with the mental and magical burden of that enforced loneliness. It’s an challenging viewpoint from which to write, since as the Marwn he is robbed of anything like a personal identity; however, it’s neat to watch as his essential mischief and curiosity manages to penetrate the smothering magic around him.

Fire Boy, by Sami Shah

For a novel marketed as YA, this was super violent. I found it jarring to alternate between scenes of graphic sex and torture and the main character’s stammering shyness when attempting to ask out his crush. Set in Pakistan, this novel features teenager Wahid, who just wants to play D&D with his mates and get up the courage to talk to the pretty girl in his class; he doesn’t know why he can see djinn and would rather not think about that part of his life. Unfortunately, supernatural forces come after him anyway, threatening his friends, and he finds himself navigating many of Karachi’s darker and more magical elements in an attempt to save them. Many, many loose ends left dangling for the sequel.

The Land Before Avocado, by Richard Glover

Written as a riposte to people who claim that Australia of the 1960s and 70s was a better time, Glover’s book takes you back to the decade of his childhood in Canberra with witty, biting detail. He amazes his son with facts like the scarcity of avocado and coffee (unrecognizable in the Canberra of today, where sushi rolls and toast come with generous helpings of avocado, and even the tiniest restaurants boast a gleaming espresso machine), and racism, sexism, and corporal punishment are the norm. He mines his own memories as well as those of his radio listeners, and also cites fascinating snippets of the historical record in order to paint a picture of the era. He makes it very clear that he’d take being in the present over the past any day, warts and all, and makes the reader grateful for progress as well.

The Return of Fitzroy Angursell, by Victoria Goddard

This novella takes place between The Hands of the Emperor and At the Feet of the Sun, and I wish I’d read it before the latter, since it does a lot to establish the character of Artorin. He does experience a significant change at the end of the first book, and the contrast that it created in his character between the first and second books was quite jarring to me as a reader. This novella is written from his point of view and details his immediate experiences after the conclusion of the first book, and sets him on the path to becoming who he is in the second; he also meets up with a few of the Red Company. It honestly felt a bit unfinished, as there were more of the Red Company left to meet, and more stories of their meetings yet to tell; however, Artorin does make enough of a peace with his new self to make the ending acceptable. Certain chapters will make a ton more sense to anyone who’s also read Goddard’s Greenwing & Dart series.

The Perilous Sea, by Sherry Thomas

This sequel to The Burning Sky opens with both protagonists awakening in the middle of the desert, without memories. They come together and cooperate for survival, their impromptu alliance helped by the fact that an entire army seems to be after them. The narration then swings back and forth between past and present, as events catch up to how they got there. Although the desert interludes were thrilling, I don’t think they added much to the story; most of the meat of the book were the “past” bits, which were tense and engaging enough on their own. The second book does a little more interrogation of the logic behind Titus’ unswerving dedication to his mother’s book of prophecies, and the pitfalls therein, which I particularly enjoyed.

Paladin’s Strength, by T. Kingfisher

Second in the Saint of Steel trilogy, this one follows good-natured Istvhan as he is forced to detour from his investigation of supernatural killings to aid Clara, a nun, in her rescue of her sisters from slavers. Antics ensue! As befits Kingfisher heroes, both paladin Istvhan and secretive nun Clara are both terrifyingly practical but also terrible at talking about their feelings for one another, leading to much hilarious self-flagellation and misunderstanding before they get it together and pursue both Istvhan’s murderer and Clara’s kidnappers. Super cute romance, engaging adventure story.

The Warrior of the Third Veil, by Victoria Goddard

This novella, book 2 of the Sisters Avramapul, is about the return home of the warrior Pali Avramapul and her sister Sardeet, the widow of a god. It details with their unorthodox return to their roots and how they must define their new roles, having left under different circumstances and as very different people. Not actually a lot of action compared to the prequel, but plenty of soul-searching, character growth, and consequential decisions. I didn’t actually much like Pali from her appearances in the other books, and this account warmed me to her.