First of the Adam Binder books. I love a gritty urban fantasy, though this one is definitely less than urban, considering that Adam spends quite a bit of time in his aunt’s trailer in the back woods… at least not when he’s not being guilt-tripped into battling dark forces in Denver as a favor to his estranged well-to-do brother. At least he meets a cute guy in the city, though he’s still got unresolved issues with his ex. Poverty, class tensions, and problematic family dynamics for our LGBT warlock lend depth to what otherwise seems like a standard little-guy-against-a-big-magical-evil plotline. This book is mostly setup to what feels like it’ll be a long extended battle, but I’m definitely interested to read more.
Category: quick reaction
The Midnight Lie, by Marie Rutkoski
Born into the lowest caste of her society, Nirrim keeps her head down, follows the rules (mostly), and doesn’t attract attention from the cruel, capricious High Kith… until she meets a sassy, rulebreaking foreigner who slowly makes her question everything about her society and even her own family. Love the slow-burn sapphic romance, which develops as the characters develop more trust in one another; the background of Nirrim’s society provides intrigue and danger by turns. Really interesting reveal at the end; it will be interesting to see whether the author has written herself into a corner.
On Rotation, by Shirlene Obuobi
This was three genres in one book: 1) a coming-of-age story about nerdy med student Angie Appiah and her journey towards defining herself apart from her family’s expectations; 2) a rom-com between her and handsome artist Ricky, culminating in 3) a medical drama that ends up involving them both. The three stories sometimes sit oddly with one another, making Angie’s character arc feel uneven; however, they’re all enjoyable, even if at times things feel a bit too perfect. I liked how Angie’s identity as Ghanaian-American made her more alert to the racial disparities faced by patients at the hospital, but still left her unaware of the history of medical prejudice and suspicion in the Black community. Overall a very sweet and uncomplicated read.
The Seep, by Chana Porter
On the surface, this book is about alien invasion; the Seep is an alien entity that introduces itself into the very bodies and minds of humanity, attempting in its alien way to fix humanity’s problems. In order to stop humans from misusing resources and destroying the world, it gives people the ability to sense the entire life cycle of plants and animals by mere touch, globally increasing empathy and collective responsibility. Humans also become able to enact extreme physical changes on their bodies, and it’s the decision of Trina’s wife Deeba to do so that sends Trina into a spiral of doubt interrogating herself, the Seep, and the utopia it claims to provide. I liked the fact that Trina was trans, which meant that she’d already made her own decisions about her body and her fate long before the Seep showed up, and gave her a good foundation to be cynical about its promises.
The Porcelain Moon, by Janie Chang
Janie Chang’s historical fiction is always delightful on multiple levels; I learn new tidbits about history even as I get to read about star-crossed romances and young people trying to find their own way amid war and upheaval. The love stories and protagonists in this book are perfectly enjoyable to read about, but for me the surprise was the focus on the Chinese Labour Corps, which I had no idea existed. The Chinese Labour Corps (CLC) was composed of thousands of Chinese laborers sent to aid the British and French governments during WWI, performing essential frontline work such as loading and unloading materials, clearing trenches, and repairing roads; after the war, they were required to stay on for cleanup, recovering bodies and refill the trenches. CLC workers were cheap labor and treated as such, and many fell ill. At the conclusion of their terms of service, most were shipped home, but a few thousand stayed in France and seeded what would become later Chinese communities. The events in Chang’s book directly around the protagonists strain belief a bit, but the glimpse that she creates into the role of Chinese on the Western Front was very eye-opening and well done.
Swordheart, by T. Kingfisher
This book actually precedes the Saint of Steel series, but I couldn’t get it off the library hold list until now. Practical housekeeper Halla inherits her great-uncle’s estate and suddenly finds herself at the mercy of her greedy in-laws, who are intent on forcing her into marriage so they can get their hands back on the estate; she stumbles upon an ancient, magical sword containing Sarkis, a warrior sworn (or perhaps cursed) to protect the bearer of the sword. Because this is a Kingfisher fantasy, there is plenty of hilarious miscommunication and misfortune before the two of them manage to figure out a way around their problems. I particularly liked the characterization of Halla, who consciously uses the stereotype of a silly, babbling middle-aged woman to get herself out of sticky situations.
Nyxia, by Scott Reintgen
This is basically the Hunger Games, but in space. A bunch of desperate teenagers are recruited by an unscrupulous corporation to mine nyxia, a magical substance on an alien planet whose properties stretch the limits of credulity; during the space journey over, they are subjected to deadly competition with one another for the limited number of spaces available. I almost put this down quite a few times because the corporate overlords were so evil, the teens so tortured, and the magical nyxia so nonsensical that I couldn’t keep from rolling my eyes at everything. Still, the writing and characterization were just good enough that I made it to the end, where of course even more plot twists left plenty of issues for the sequel.
The Sunken Mall, by K.D. Edwards
I was in withdrawal after finishing book 2 in Edwards’ Tarot Sequence, so I was delighted to find this little novella that slots in between books 1 and 2 in the main storyline. Basically Brand, Rune, and Addam take the teenagers shopping in an abandoned mall that was magically preserved and also, of course, slightly haunted. The 1980s nostalgia is on point, the magic and danger levels are just right, and the characters’ snarky fondness for one another carries through. Very satisfying read.
Arca, by G.R. Macallister
I totally teed this up to provide an emotional balance against Invisible Women. Sequel to Scorpica, which introduced us to the matriarchal society of the Five Queendoms, this book deals with the fallout of the climactic events at the end of the first book, and the various societies’ efforts to find their footing in the new era. Although this book does spend some time with the new young queen of Arca and her fight to secure power, it also spends some time in the queendom of Paxim where efforts were made to raise males to equal the status of females (scoffed at by those who were accustomed to seeing men raised to be servile and submissive), as well as back in Scorpica where the next generation of warriors is rising. Most of the book spends time on various individual storylines, so it is a bit jarring (but quite satisfying) when the various threads abruptly weave together near the end. Lots of interesting plot developments lining for the sequel.
Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men, by Caroline Criado Perez
The author is incredibly (and rightfully) angry about the many ways (and there are oh so many) in which women are disadvantaged in our data-driven world, data which was gleaned from centuries in which men were considered the default data set and women were atypical. Her chapters overflow with examples of how discrimination compounds on discrimination (men, who controlled the historical narrative, left out or covered up the accomplishments of women, thereby creating a biased record used by modern-day men to claim that women historically did little and were therefore not worthy of study, thereby continuing a trend of bias, etc etc). This data bias means that women’s health is neglected when it comes to research, drugs, and treatment; that women’s physiology is overlooked when it comes to designing for things like automobiles and buildings; that AIs trained on male-based datasets will invisibly prioritize men over women during job searches, etc. Unfortunately, the laser focus of this book is also its weakness; Criado Perez’s single-minded effort to blame sexism for every negative aspect of society overlooks or ignores other contributing factors, and her extreme gender binary view of the world feels uncomfortably dated. Still, a pretty decent (and very enraging) compilation of sexism overall.