In a future version of Toronto, where white flight and government neglect have reduced the inner core of the city to lawless violence, a young woman with oracular sight chafes under the eye of her herbalist grandmother. This book, a matrilineal retelling of “Ti-Jean and his Brothers,” mashes together many things: figures from Caribbean folktale, sci-fi dystopia and social commentary, strong female characters, and coming of age/redemption through embracing family culture. I followed the action well enough, but the use of Creole between the characters made me feel like it would have been better as an audiobook; I think I would have gotten the flow of the conversation much more easily.
Author: librarykat
A Conspiracy of Kings, by Megan Whalen Turner
I continue to be stunned by the Queen’s Thief series, which is so good at writing politics that you care, on a deep personal level, about maneuvering between ambassadors and kings. It helps that the character at the center of this book, Sophos of Sounis, has a sweet, open-hearted, earnest nature that somehow makes him uniquely suited to face kidnapping, war, and imperial conquest. Love the interactions between the kings and queens, and how they balance their inner lives with the fact that every action they take will be evaluated for political impact. The language is deceptively simple; the plot is extremely layered and compelling.
The Edge of Worlds, by Martha Wells
4th in the Books of the Raksura. Moon having arrived in an emotionally stable space, this book is less concerned about his journey and more about the society, namely how groundlings as a whole tend to feel about flying shapeshifters like the Raksura. It also lays the groundwork for some really interesting confrontations with the Fell. Does not stand alone well, but a fun read for fans of the series, with plenty of action and sarcastic observations by Moon.
Triad Blood, by ‘Nathan Burgoine
Queer urban fantasy, m/m paranormal action set in Ottawa; totally picked this up because it had the Chateau Laurier on the cover. A nerdy wizard, a prim vampire, and a scruffy incubus (all of whom are smoking hot, obv), have joined together to create a nontraditional “triad” of power, and in doing so became a problem for the shadowy supernatural establishment ruling Ottawa. Smooth writing, snarky dialogue, good handling of suspense, lovely concept of found family; the fun details from various Ottawa neighborhoods was a bonus. Will remember to check out the sequel next time I’m looking for a fun beach read.
Butter Honey Pig Bread, by Francesca Ekwuyasi
An intergenerational diaspora story set in Nigeria and Canada. Featuring Kambirinachi, an ogbanje (a spirit that brings misery to a family by being repeatedly born and dying in childbirth) who rebelled against her nature and defiantly remained alive to love her family; and her twin daughters Taiye and Kehinde, who were close as children but distant as adults. I liked the pace of this story, which moved back and forth in time to explore the trauma behind the characters, and also to let the reader watch their healing, patiently aided by the friends they make along the way. I also liked the role that food played in the story, and the comfort the characters found in both preparing and sharing meals. Great themes in this novel, beautiful writing.
Shards of Earth, by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Space opera is the best opera! Years after the war with the Architects (vast, incomprehensible creatures who sculpt entire spaceships and planets into art-nouveau loops and whirls, without a care to whether or not other life-forms are affected), veterans of the fight have faded into obscurity (some more successfully than others). Idris, one such veteran, stumbles upon a damaged ship with new signs of Architect damage, a discovery that sets off an explosion of interplanetary drama, as well as personal drama for his misfit salvage crew. Definitely more on the fantasy side of sci-fi (interstellar travel is through a haunted hyperspace), and the alien biologies and politics are delightfully inventive. Really fun ride. First in a series.
Wintering: the Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times, by Katherine May
As the author struggles with an emotional “winter” in her life, she finds ways to recover her equilibrium by observing how cold-weather cultures deal with the gray chill of wintertime. I found this book a little hard to get into; as a lifelong fan of wintertime and winter activities, I struggled with equating the season to a down emotional time. However, I can see the benefit of this book for people who a) find it hard to take time for themselves, and b) people who don’t know how to handle winter chill.
A Wizard Abroad and The Wizard’s Dilemma, by Diane Duane
Catching up on the Young Wizards series; I read the first three as a tween and always meant to go back. Now that the little ones are reading them, I’m joining in! #4, A Wizard Abroad, sends Nita to Ireland. The book gushes a bit over how magical everything is in the Emerald Isle, but is still a fun ride. #5, A Wizard’s Dilemma, has a much more sober theme: when Nita’s mother falls ill with cancer, she finds herself looking to her wizardry for a cure.
book collage, August 2022
The Nameless City trilogy, by Faith Erin Hicks: Good for kids, also for adults. Themes of war, friendship, and preservation of what’s important.
A Hero Born, by Jin Yong, translated by Anna Holmwood: It’s like a wuxia serial, but in novel form. 90% discussion of honor and extreme martial arts; 10% plot.
Null Set, by S.L. Huang: Sequel to Zero Sum Game; math supergenius assassin may be going crazy but is she going to ask for help? Never.
The Old Woman With the Knife, by Gu Byeong-mo, translated by Chi-Young Kim: a grandma assassin! Contemplative but still stabby.
Allow Me to Retort: A Black Guy’s Guide to the Constitution, by Elie Mystal: Mystal’s take on the Constitution of the United States is essentially this: it was written by white male supremacists interested in codifying white male supremacy; any subsequent attempts to undo this have been undercut by more supremacists; the fight goes on.
Dandelion, by Jamie Chai Yun Liew: Really interesting exploration of citizenship, family, and both social and private pressures.
The Secret History, by Donna Tartt: Ridiculously lush and gothic “creepy academia” novel. Come for the language, stay despite the fact that every single character is annoying.
The Siren Depths, by Martha Wells: Book 3 of the Raksura novels would not have been able to hit its emotional notes so perfectly without the grounding of the first 2 books. Absolutely stuck the landing.
Golden Age and Other Stories, by Naomi Novik: Essentially this is Temeraire fan fiction, except it’s by the author, so it’s naturally very good and possibly even canon.
The King of Attolia, by Megan Whalen Turner: The most amazing thing about the way Turner writes about Eugenides, former Queen’s Thief and newly crowned King, is how he constantly fools everyone into underestimating him, including readers who should know better considering this is the third book. Absolutely stunning.
The Galaxy, and the Ground Within, by Becky Chambers: Follows A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, but only insofar as one of the characters is reused, and the other characters are briefly referenced. A group of misfits come together in support and friendship. It’s like a warm sci-fi hug.
Love-in-a-Mist, by Victoria Goddard: Book 5 of the Greenwing and Dart series finds our heroes forced to take shelter from the storm in a creepy old mansion, where the family of the local lord have gathered to compete for the inheritance, excuse me, I mean, prove their affection for their aging relative, except there’s also magic and class differences and a murder. Very cute.
Stay and Fight, by Madeline ffitch: A modern, queer take on an unconventional Appalachian family. Touches on politics, pipelines, class tensions, materialism, and how the government punishes poverty, but at its heart is about how what makes a family is one’s desire to stay and fight for it.
Siren Queen, by Nghi Vo: In the gilded age of cinema, as beautiful men and women make sacrifices to the occult powers that control Hollywood in a bid for literal stardom, a young Chinese-American girl yearns for fame, but on her own terms. Creepy and beautiful.
Counting Descent, by Clint Smith: A beautiful, biting collection of poems reflecting Smith’s experience as a black man growing up in a society determined to distrust black men.
A Study in Scarlet Women, by Sherry Thomas: Feminist take on the Sherlock story in which a brilliant woman has to use a male persona to get any respect. Despite that brilliant start, though, the plot felt very contrived.
Word by Word: the Secret Life of Dictionaries, by Kory Stamper: A linguistics nerd takes you behind the scenes of dictionary creation. Super fun.
Word by Word: the Secret Life of Dictionaries, by Kory Stamper
Lexicographers, says the author firmly, are the neutral reporters of how language is used, not the arbiters of what correct language entails. Stamper goes into extreme detail about how dictionary definitions come about, from word origins to parts of speech to pronunciation, punctuated by sparkling humor and amusing behind-the-scenes anecdotes of dictionary creation at Merriam-Webster. The heart of this book is Stamper’s deep love of the English language, and her constant nerdy delight keeps everything moving.