Second in the Monk and Robot series: Tea monk Dex and their robot buddy Mosscap continue their journeys together, both through human villages and through their internal motivations. The first book was about the characters but also worldbuilding; with the worldbuilding established, the second book concentrates almost entirely on the characters. Mosscap’s quest is to ask what humans want, but begins to ask itself: what information is it really looking for? And what role can Dex find for themselves along the way?
Author: librarykat
Shades in Shadow and The Awakened Kingdom, by N.K. Jemisin
These short works expand on Jemisin’s Inheritance Trilogy, and should definitely not be read by those unfamiliar with the series. Shades in Shadow is a triptych of short stories, each exploring the origin story of a specific character: who they are, and who they decide to be. The Awakened Kingdom takes the same theme but goes much more into detail, from the point of view of a newborn godling. Even though there’s sometimes a lot of action in the stories, the feel of them is very quiet and meditative; most of the actual change takes place inside the characters.
Dark Arts and a Daiquiri, by Annette Marie, read by Cris Dukehart
Second in the Guild Codex “Spellbound” series, human bartender Tori quickly gets over her head when she goes off-script and gets herself kidnapped by a notorious magical criminal; snark and action ensue. I like how her actions grew out of her past trauma, and how her friends are understanding but still call her out when she’s behaving badly. Fun and satisfying, and Dukehart does a great Tori: perky, indignant, and brave.
Nona the Ninth, by Tamsyn Muir
This is the third book of Muir’s amazing Locked Tomb series, which is actually kind of impossible to summarize… I was waiting on this forever, and I was almost afraid to open it lest it let me down, but thankfully it was a breath of fresh air after the incredibly angsty and dense second book. Narrator Nona presents everything matter-of-factly, no matter how weird (and with this series, everything is inevitably weird). Her narration is interspersed with monologues from John Gaius that revealed the crazy birth of their universe, and as an extra bonus John’s New Zealand turns of phrase felt super familiar to me now that I’ve been Down Under for a couple of months. Nona’s self-absorbed ignorance actually echoes Gideon’s from the first book, which works really well. I absolutely loved Nona’s conversations with her chosen family, and her very innocent yet piercingly insightful observations about them; like other books in the series, this one begs to be read again immediately once the many mysteries reveal themselves. Definitely curious where the series goes next.
book collage, October 2022
The Return of the Thief, by Megan Whalen Turner
The Harbors of the Sun, by Martha Wells
Seasonal Fears, by Seanan McGuire
Blackfish City, by Sam J. Miller
The Island of Missing Trees, by Elif Shafak
Babel, by R.F. Kuang
A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir of Lady Trent, by Marie Brennan
Eyes of the Void, by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Three Mages and a Margarita, by Annette Marie
The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter, by Theodora Goss
The Premonitions Bureau: A True Account of Death Foretold, by Sam Knight
A Damsel and a Demigod, by Annette Marie, read by Nelson Hobbs
Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee, by Casey Cep
Birds, Beasts, and Relatives, by Gerald Durrell
Warping Minds and Other Misdemeanors, by Annette Marie, read by Iggy Toma
The Penelopiad, by Margaret Atwood
We Set the Dark on Fire, by Tehlor Kay Mejia
Dark Arts and a Daiquiri, by Annette Marie, read by Cris Dukehart
We Set the Dark on Fire, by Tehlor Kay Mejia
Dystopian YA fiction, nicely done in that it’s not in-your-face preachy. Daniela Vargas is one of the top graduates in an elite school that trains women for service to powerful men – but in an important role, either as his powerful social and household counterpart, or as the mother of his future children. Daniela, however, has a secret past; her documents were forged by her family, who were desperate that their child escape a future in the abused lower classes. Naturally Daniela’s secret becomes a cudgel, as forces in the rebellion force her to work with them or lose everything. I really liked how this book was executed; the dystopia was subtly done, as was Daniela’s internal conflict between clinging to privilege and risking everything. Warning: cliffhanger ending.
The Penelopiad, by Margaret Atwood
Novella, the Odyssey story told alternately by Penelope and by a Greek chorus of maids (Odysseus and his son hanged twelve maids upon their return, for “disloyalty”). I loved the alternate perspectives and how each narrator defended their own versions of the tales, as well as the biting calling-out of double standards as relating to sex and class. Really great read.
Warping Minds and Other Misdemeanors, by Annette Marie, read by Iggy Toma
The main character is one of my favorite tropes, the snarky criminal with a good heart, who is forced to work with the police to stop an even worse crime. Great one-liners and snappy comebacks, good handling of tension throughout. Toma’s voice was perfect for the character, though I’m not a huge fan of using falsetto to voice the very strong female characters.
Birds, Beasts, and Relatives, by Gerald Durrell
Second in the Corfu trilogy, which explores Durrell’s idyllic childhood on the Greek island of Corfu. For those who loved the first book (and who wouldn’t?) it’s more of the same: more zany and semi-fictionalized family antics, and more hilarious and wonderful gushing over the animal life of the island. The portraits of islander culture are a little problematic from a PC point of view, but it’s of a piece with the time. The ending note is bittersweet, though, and hints at the eventual loss of paradise with the coming of war.
Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee, by Casey Cep
Began as a true-crime story of an Alabama minister suspected of causing multiple deaths for insurance payouts in the 1970s, and segued into Harper Lee, her investigation of this trial, and her fraught writing journey. I really enjoyed this book, which did a beautiful job of patiently sketching out the environment and ambience of the small-town South, as well as pulling together an incredibly sympathetic and emotional portrait of Lee.