This week I’m over at the Skiffy and Fanty Show with a review of the Aurealis-Award-winning Catching Teller Crow by Ambelin and Ezekiel Kwaymullina. This is a masterfully-told story about the ghost of an Aboriginal girl who goes with her father to investigate a fatal fire in a small rural town in Australia. It presents dark subjects in a way that allows their impact to be felt while also offering hope and remaining appropriate for a young adult audience.
Mirrored from Earl Grey Editing.
Published: February 2019 by Penguin Teen Australia
Format reviewed: Paperback, 405 pages
Series: Valentine #3
Genres: Fantasy, young adult
Source: Bought from Harry Hartog
Available:Abbey’s ~ Amazon (AU,US) ~Book Depository ~ Booktopia ~ Dymocks~ Kobo
Disclaimer: This review contains spoilers for previous books.
Things that happen sometimes when your boyfriend is a magical fairy prince: he gets kidnapped by his older brother and whisked away to fulfil his destiny in their magical fairy kingdom.
But Pearl Linford is not having that. It’s time for a rescue mission. Pearl told Finn she was coming to get him and she’s not going to let anyone stand in her way.
But will Finn want to be saved? And even if Pearl can work out how to tear a hole in the universe, how many people will die before she can get to him?
Ironheart left off on a terrible cliffhanger. Having been forced by the Seelie Prince to choose between saving her boyfriend, her best friend and her previously-unknown twin sister, Pearl opts to save her best friend. Misrule picks up more or less immediately afterwards. Pearl and Phil make it back to Phil’s place only to discover Phil’s mother has been murdered by the Riders. This sets the tone for what is the darkest book of the trilogy.
The trope of “I didn’t call the cops because I didn’t want them to think it was me” is really not a favourite trope of mine and I wasn’t super sold on it here, either. However, it does play into the exploration of Pearl’s traumatisation and her increasing paranoia. One of the things I liked about Ironheart was that it showed the scars that were left on Pearl. Misrule continues this and even builds on it, showing ways in which Pearl claims her trauma (or parts of it, at least) and turns it into her power.
Also, is it really paranoia if people are actually out to get you? In the previous books, the fae mostly confined their reign of terror to the outdoors. Misrule takes it to the next level by bringing that violence indoors, showing that nowhere is out of their reach. And while the previous books haven’t been shy about blood splatter where it’s warranted, readers can expect a bit more gore this time around.
Once again, the relationships are what really makes the book. Finn is sidelined for much of the book, allowing Pearl’s relationship with Phil to take centre stage. It was very satisfying to see the two reconcile as Phil comes to realise Pearl had good reasons behind her actions in the previous books. However, I also appreciated that this reconciliation wasn’t easy or smooth. Phil has been through trauma of her own–most recently the loss of her mother–and that colours how she interacts with Pearl in a way I found realistic. I also really enjoyed seeing a moment of connection between Pearl and Holly-Anne. Although the two are never going to be besties, it was nice to see them recognise the common ground they share.
Pearl’s relationship with Cardie also shifts in Misrule. As Pearl begins to come into her power, Cardie acts as Pearl’s conscience, voicing some valid concerns about the ways in which she uses that power. I’m a bit of two minds as to this thread of the story. On one hand, I feel that perhaps Pearl isn’t made to feel the consequences of her actions as strongly as perhaps she should. On the other, I was pleased to see that Pearl wasn’t punished for being a woman with power. Having Cardie voice concerns is an acceptable middle ground, but not one I felt entirely satisfying.
Speaking of Cardie, it was also nice to see a connection made between the way faeries abduct children to leave behind changelings and the impact the Stolen Generation had on Cardie’s family. It isn’t delved into deeply, but the acknowledgement of that parallel seemed important. It also tapped into a bit of racism on the part of the fae, as Finn notes Cardie’s counterpart in the fae realm looks nothing like him, barring skin colour.
Overall, I found Misrule to be the weakest book of the trilogy, with elements of the plot a little muddier than its predecessors. I must own that could be down to the circumstances of my reading, as I powered through the entire trilogy in two days and was perhaps not as lucid as I usually am. However, I feel this is a testimony to the trilogy’s ability to hook me in and keep me glued to the page, aided by some excellent pacing. There is space for more stories set in this world and I very much hope to see them at some point in the future.
Mirrored from Earl Grey Editing.
Published: January 2019 by Tor Books
Format reviewed: Trade Paperback, 320 pages
Series: Titan’s Forest #3
Genres: Fantasy
Source: Bought from Dymocks
Available:Abbey’s ~ Amazon (AU, CA, UK, US) ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Book Depository ~ Booktopia ~ Dymocks ~ Indiebound ~ Kobo
Disclaimer: This review contains spoilers for previous volumes/books.
Courtier, explorer, thief: Leaper is a man of many skills, but none of his talents satisfy the yearning in his heart for the Queen of Airakland, the ruler of a thunder-clashed kingdom.
Their affair is cut too short, however, when she is murdered. But who was the assassin? A political rival? The jealous king? Or, perhaps, the god of thunder who oversees them all?
Distraught, Leaper vows revenge, but little does he realize that his mission will lead him away from his forest home, across the vast floodplains, and to the edges of time and myth itself.
Tides of the Titans takes the already epic world of Titan’s Forest and throws it wide open, following Leaper on a far-ranging quest for revenge.
Each book of the series so far has featured a new character. Leaper is the younger brother of Imeris, the protagonist of the second book, and also the reincarnated soul of Unar’s sister from the first book. So, even though there are different characters, they remained tied together by bonds of family. Imeris and Unar both make appearances in Tides of the Titans.
One of the real strengths of the book is the fully developed world. The bulk of the story is set ten years after the previous book and there’s a sense that reoccurring characters like Imeris and Unar haven’t just been sitting around, but have been getting on with their lives, even encountering new problems. Throughout his journey, Leaper encounters many new people and it felt like any one of them could set off on a new quest at any moment, or even that they were already on their own quest which just happened to intersect with Leaper’s.
In keeping with the tradition of the series, Leaper is if not unlikeable, then certainly flawed. He’s a pretty arrogant character, content with his cleverness. He’s also not overly cautious, prone to fits of temper, and not very loyal… although, in fairness, few have been loyal to him when they should have been. And his arrogance has perhaps been somewhat earned, as he is a very competent spy and thief. I particularly enjoyed the way he connects his personas to forest imagery, picturing plants that embody the traits he seeks and using that to fuel the way he moves and behaves.
Like the previous books, Tides of the Titans also continues to be influenced by Greek myth. Leaper is our Odysseus, silver-tongued and too clever for his own good, cursed by a god and just trying to get home. Readers familiar with the Odyssey will notice nods throughout the story, including the Bag of Winds and even a cyclops of sorts. However, this is far from a straight retelling and these elements are always given their own unique twist.
Being so strongly influenced by the Odyssey, Leaper encounters a lot of characters in passing. However, most of them don’t stick around for very long, making it hard to form an emotional connection with the story, especially when Leaper’s own behaviour can be a bit erratic at times and he is blown from place to place. The story is much less about the personal journey than about the story of the wider world. As Leaper travels, he uncovers the story behind the gods and Titan’s Forest itself. He quite literally sees the footprints of the gods on the world.
However, while the people don’t stick around, we do see a number of different cultures, and the book continues to explore the colonialist themes of the series. Right from the get-go, the citizens of Floor are shown as being far from a monolith. There’s also some delving into the theft of culturally significant artefacts.
Despite being the potential conclusion of the series, Tides of the Titans doesn’t wrap up into a neat ending. People continue to suffer and there are no happily-ever-afters, just new challenges. It is a segment of history and of people’s lives, not a fairy tale.
All in all, Thoraiya Dyer has produced another nuanced and thoughtful story in Tides of the Titans.
Mirrored from Earl Grey Editing.
This February was my second-best month for reading on record. It was beaten only by January 2017, which was not coincidentally the last time I faced a deadline for Aurealis judging. It seems that deadlines continue to be the best way to motivate me. This month was also helped by a couple of four-hour train rides to and from Sydney, which afforded some wonderfully uninterrupted reading time. Mt TBR has been shrinking at a very satisfying pace.
Mt TBR @ 1 January 2019: 442
Mt TBR @ 31 January 2019: 391
Mt TBR @ 28 February 2019: 368
While February was an excellent reading month, it was still a challenge to make it through the books I’d earmarked as well as the last of the Aurealis judging. I’m pleased that in the end I made through all of them except one, which had to be returned to the library before I got to it.
Descendant of the Craneby Joan He. For review at Skiffy and Fanty–DONE!
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. Book club pick for February–DONE!
The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie. For review at EGE–DONE!
Sherwood by Meagan Spooner. For review at Skiffy and Fanty–DONE!
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler. February pick for the Lady Vaults book club.
28. Hive by A.J Betts. Read for the Aurealis Awards. Dystopian YA. While hunting for a wild bee, a young beekeeper discovers signs there may be a world outside the walls of her compartmentalised community.
29. Edge of Time by Thalia Kalkipsakis. Read for the Aurealis Awards. Science fiction. On the run from the government, Scout skips too far forward in time.
30. The Path of the Lost by Beau Kondos. Read for the Aurealis Awards. Dystopian YA. In a society where creative expression is forbidden, a young woman able to harness magic through art seeks to bring her abilities back into the world.
31. Wraith by Shane and Alex Smithers. Read for the Aurealis Awards. After developing the ability to fly, James crash lands in a city in the sky and must find his way home again.
32. Sympath by Carolyn Denman. Read for the Aurealis Awards. Fantasy. An angel resists the attraction to her fated mate, but is forced to work with him to save her friend’s farm.
33. Columbine’s Tale by Rachel Nightingale. Read for the Aurealis Awards. Fantasy. A storyteller with the ability to manipulate the dream world goes on the run from former friends who wish to use her powers for their own ends.
34. Sherwood by Meagan Spooner. Reviewed here.
35. What the Woods Keep by Katya de Becerra. Read for the Aurealis Awards. Dark fantasy. The past comes back to haunt Hayden when she inherits her childhood home on her eighteenth birthday.
36. Jane Doe and the Cradle of All Worlds by Jeremy Lachlan. Read for the Aurealis Awards. Fantasy adventure. When her father goes missing, it’s up to Jane to find him again. But she’s not the only one looking.
37. Shine Mountain by Julie Hunt. Read for the Aurealis Awards. Fantasy. When her family farm declines and her oma falls ill, Ellie must go on a quest to destroy the musical instrument that cursed them.
38. Iron by Aiki Flinthart. Read for the Aurealis Awards. Fantasy. Alere is a skilled swordswoman who finds herself at the centre of a brewing war over a rare deposit of iron ore.
39. The Ghost Engine by Theresa Fuller. Read for the Aurealis Awards. Steampunk. Lady Lovelace becomes trapped in a machine with a ghost and must solve a series of puzzles to free them both.
40. Lightning Tracks by Alethea Kinsela. Read for the Aurealis Awards. Fantasy. A troubled boy escapes to a fantasy world and becomes caught in a war.
41. The Way Home by Julian Barr. Read for the Aurealis Awards. Historical fantasy. Follows the survivors of the sack of Troy.
42. We Are Omega by Justin Woolley. Read for the Aurealis Awards. Sci-fi. First contact has been made, but two teenagers soon discover the aliens aren’t as benevolent as they appear.
43. Eve of Eridu by Alanah Adams. Read for the Aurealis Awards. Sci-fi. After her brother is culled, Eve finds it increasingly difficult to maintain the emotional control demanded by society and may soon face culling herself.
44. Lifel1k3 by Jay Kristoff. Read for the Aurealis Awards. Sci-fi. Eve uncovers an android boy who seems to have a strange connection to her grandfather.
45. Spark Joy by Marie Kondo. Nonfiction. As with the first book, it doesn’t bring a whole lot that the TV series doesn’t cover, although the illustrations are cute.
46. Romancing the Beat: Story Structure for Romance Novels by Gwen Hayes. Nonfiction, pretty much what it says on the label. Succinct and useful, and written with a nice sense of humour.
47. Little Red Riding Crop by Tiffany Reisz. Erotica novella. Part of The Original Sinners series, which I’ve not yet read. BDSM mistress Nora needs a holiday. Her boss agrees to send her to Europe for a month on the condition she sneaks into a rival club and finds the identity of the owner who has been poaching his staff. Short and fun. I found I didn’t need to be familiar with the characters to enjoy it and I appreciated the little fairy tale touches.
48. Thornbound by Stephanie Burgis. Reviewed here.
49. In An Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire. Fourth book in the Wayward Children series. Lundy is good at following rules and finding loopholes. So when a door opens to the Goblin Market, she finds herself right at home. This book was a bit different to the previous ones, as Lundy was able to go back and forward between the worlds. I really enjoyed the Goblin Market, with its rules and debts. So it is perhaps unsurprising that I found her attachment to the ordinary world somewhat unconvincing and thus the ending didn’t quite land for me.
50. A Midwinter Night’s Dream by Tiffany Reisz. Erotica novella, BDSM elements. Spin off from The Original Sinners series in which the characters are transposed to 1871 England. In order to inherit his father’s estate, Baron Marcus Stearns must marry. It’s probably long past time I picked up the original series, though (again) I found I didn’t need to have a familiarity with it for this story.
51. Shadows Fate by Aiki Flinthart. Read for the Aurealis Awards. Last of the Ruadhan Sidhe trilogy. Urban fantasy. The Ruadhan Sidhe risk being wiped out unless Rowan can prevent information about them from falling into the wrong hands.
52. Undying by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner. Read for the Aurealis Awards. Second of the Unearthed series. Sci-fi adventure. Trapped aboard a spaceship of invading aliens, Mia and Jules must somehow warn Earth of what’s coming.
53. Impostors by Scott Westerfeld. Read for the Aurealis Awards. Sci-fi. Frey is a trained killer who serves as her sister’s body double. When she’s sent to her father’s rival as collateral, she must somehow prevent her true identity from being discovered.
54. The Wicked King by Holly Black. Second in The Folk of the Air series. After a successful coup that made her the power behind the Faerie throne, Jude should be safe. However, it is one thing to gain power and another thing entirely to hold onto it. There was more political manouevering and less romance than in some of Black’s other books, but it maintained a nice tension. Cardan’s feelings were deftly shown between the lines. The map and chapter illustrations from Kathleen Jennings were a beautiful touch.
55. Descendant of the Crane by Joan He. Review forthcoming.
56. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. First book in the Six of Crows duology. Kaz Brekker has clawed his way up from the slums of Ketterdam to become a formidable gang leader. Now he is offered a job that will make or break him. As I have said before, I love me a fantasy heist and this had an epic scale that I really enjoyed. There was a wonderfully diverse cast of characters and I could see why the book was listed among media touchstones for the Blades in the Dark RPG. I was not prepared for the cliffhanger ending (though I probably should have been).
57. Reawakening by Amy Rae Durreson. First book in the Reawakening series. M/M fantasy romance. After sleeping for a thousand years, the Dragon King Tarnamell wakes up to find his human companions have long since passed away. In search of friends, he tries to claim a sassy desert spirit, but the spirit ends up falling victim to Tarn’s old enemy. It is up to Tarn to save him… and this time the Dragon King is on his own. I found this book had a very interesting take on dragon hoards and all the relationships were charming. However, the style was a little rough in a few places and I’m not sure the possessive angle quite worked for me even with the justifications.
58. The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie. Review forthcoming.
Dragon’s Keeper by Robin Hobb
Thornbound by Stephanie Burgis
In An Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire
The Wicked King by Holly Black
Romancing the Beat: Story Structure for Romance Novels by Gwen HayesLate in the Day: Poems 2010-2014 by Ursula K. Le Guin
Sea Foam and Silence by Lynn O’Connacht
Half-Resurrection Blues by Daniel Jose Older
The Tea Master and the Detective by Aliette de Bodard
Any Duchess Will Do by Tessa Dare
The True Queen by Zen Cho
The coming month’s plans are surprisingly light. If I get through the books listed below, I’ll probably look at tackling Black Wolves by Kate Elliot. It’s a giant book and I’d like to have it read before I see her as the Guest of Honour at Continuum.
Dragonclaw by Kate Forsyth. March pick for the Lady Vaults book club
The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern. Buddy read with Belle of There Are Ink Spots On My Page, Tam of The Fantasy Inn and Travis of The Coffee Archives.
Grounded by Narrelle M. Harris. For review at EGE.
Mirrored from Earl Grey Editing.
Since the launch of The Belles earlier this year, Dhonielle Clayton has been very open about taking inspiration from Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. Today I’m over at the Skiffy and Fanty Show, taking a look at the way these two books form an interesting dialogue, with The Belles building on the foundation formed by Uglies while bringing a somewhat more nuanced and feminine perspective.
Mirrored from Earl Grey Editing.
Happy Halloween! I admit I don’t really celebrate, but it is a wonderful excuse to wear some awesome manicures.
Of course, the arrival of Halloween means that the 13th Readers Imbibing Peril reading challenge is coming to a close. In case you have forgotten, this is basically an excuse to read as much as possible of anything that fits into horror, dark fantasy, the supernatural, Gothic, thriller or crime and mystery. I was pretty pleased to get through a bunch of great stuff this year:
Twice Dead by Caitlin Seal. Supernatural fantasy. Reviewed here.
Restoration by Angela Slatter. Last of the Verity Fassbinder trilogy. Urban fantasy with supernatural and thriller/mystery elements. Reviewed here.
Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor. This YA novel is set in Nigeria and is about a young albino girl comes to terms with her magical heritage. It felt a bit episodic in places, though that fades as things ramp up towards the end. I read the sequel first and was surprised to find this didn’t provide as much set-up as I’d expected. It also felt odd that the villain had so little page space… although I can also see the appeal of that.
The Red Magician by Lisa Goldstein. A mythopoeic tale of a young Jewish woman who gets caught in a conflict between her village’s rabbi and a mysterious stranger. Set against the background of WWII, it goes to some dark places. The main character seemed a bit passive at times and the characters were often more symbols than people, but I find the latter is often characteristic of mythopoeic work.
Whisper by Lynette Noni. A young woman is imprisoned in a government facility in an effort to coerce her into using her special abilities. Read for the 2018 Aurealis Awards, so I won’t be offering an opinion on this one.
City of Blades by Robert Jackson Bennett. Part mystery, part supernatural fantasy. A retired general gets pulled in for one last job: to investigate the disappearance of a spy who was looking into a potentially divine phenomenon. I’ve been loving this series so much and especially that the first two books have each featured a different woman of colour who is amazing at what she does. General Mulaghesh is delightfully cranky, partially because she has Seen Some Shit. The book has a slow build, but really throws itself into the action once it reaches the tipping point. The worldbuilding continues to enchant me. Highly recommended.
Palace of Fires by Bill Bennett. A young girl inherits her powers and discovers her family broke a pact with the Devil. She must go on the run from the evil forces hunting her. Again, read for the 2018 Aurealis Awards.
An Artificial Night by Seanan McGuire. Toby must venture into the realm of the Wild Hunt in order to rescue a group of kidnapped children. Wonderfully atmospheric. I also felt you could see the seeds for McGuire’s more recent Wayward Children series. However, I wasn’t wholly sold on the thread with Toby’s Fetch, May.
Mercy Point by Anna Snoekstra. Thriller. Five teenagers who suspect they were adopted come together to discover the secrets their parents have kept hidden. Also read for the 2018 Aurealis Awards.
City of Miracles by Robert Jackson Bennett. Sigrud, a former spy and thug, comes out of hiding after thirteen years when he hears a good friend has been assassinated. A brilliant conclusion to the series, though it has a little more of an actiony, James Bond feel than the others. I enjoyed the reincorporation of a previously minor character and the way the story showed the impact of previous events on her. Right to the end, the series has been thoughtful in its worldbuilding and exploration of themes. Highly recommended.
A Curse of Ash and Embers by Jo Spurrier. Dark fantasy with Gothic vibes. A young woman receives a letter to say she’s been hired as a cleaner. When she travels up to the mountains to her new workplace, she finds she’ll be working for a witch. Another read for the 2018 Aurealis Awards.
Death Most Definite by Trent Jamieson. Urban fantasy with supernatural and thriller/mystery elements. Someone is killing off Australia’s Pomps–the people responsible for sending spirits on and keeping the zombie-like Stirrers from taking over the world. Steven has never taken the family business all that seriously, but he’s going to have to start if he wants to survive. Some great action and pacing. But the romance really didn’t work for me and rather put me off the rest of the series.
A Small Charred Face by Kazuki Sakuraba, translated by Jocelyne Allen. A young boy is adopted by a pair of vampires after his family is murdered. A poignant meditation on the desperation and hope inherent in life. The book was actually three interconnected stories and I enjoyed the different perspectives they brought and the way they filled out the life cycle and history of the vampires. Comes with trigger warnings for sexual assault and animal death.
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black. Dark fantasy YA. After a fae general kills her parents, Jude and her sisters are raised by him in the fae world. As a human, she’s at the mercy of the fae and their glamours, and vows to do everything she can to gain power. I love Holly Black’s work and I appreciated the way this one touched on what it’s like to live under oppression. However, I found it a little predictable in places.
I also read Halloween Is Not a Verb by Tansy Rayner Roberts, which is not in any way dark, but the Halloween theme made it feel like it fit in.
With all this, I made it pretty much through everything I had on my list, except Feedback by Mira Grant. I also didn’t quite get as far as pulling out Angela Carter’s The Magic Toyshop. However, the challenge was such a success for me that I have already signed up for a similar challenge for next month, as you’ve probably seen. I’d forgotten how much I love these themed challenges!
If you participated, I’d love to hear how you went. If not, what dark fantasy, Gothic horror or thriller would you recommend for next year?
Mirrored from Earl Grey Editing.
This week I’m over at the Skiffy and Fanty Show with a review of Ignite the Stars by Maura Milan. This sci-fi YA is a fun, action-packed adventure, but one which could have dug a bit deeper. (Hard to go past that cover, though!)
Mirrored from Earl Grey Editing.
This week I’m over at the Skiffy and Fanty Show with a review of Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik. Originally appearing as a novella in The Starlit Wood edited by Dominik Parisien and Navah Wolfe, it has been expanded into a novel that will delight lovers of fairytale retellings.
Mirrored from Earl Grey Editing.
This week I’m over at the Skiffy and Fanty Show with a review of Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi. If you are looking for an Afrofuturistic spin on Avatar: The Last Airbender, this book is for you.
Mirrored from Earl Grey Editing.
Published: April 2018 by Angry Robot Books
Format reviewed: E-book (mobi)
Series: Tales of Port Saint Frey #1
Genres: Fantasy
Source: NetGalley
Available: Publisher (electronic) ~ Abbey’s ~ Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Book Depository ~ Booktopia ~ Dymocks
Disclaimer: I was provided with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Two sisters fight with manners, magic, and mayhem to reclaim their family’s name, in this captivating historical fantasy adventure.
House Mederos was once the wealthiest merchant family in Port Saint Frey. Now the family is disgraced, impoverished, and humbled by the powerful Merchants Guild. Daughters Yvienne and Tesara Mederos are determined to uncover who was behind their family’s downfall and get revenge. But Tesara has a secret – could it have been her wild magic that caused the storm that destroyed the family’s merchant fleet? The sisters’ schemes quickly get out of hand – gambling is one thing, but robbing people is another…
Together the sisters must trust each another to keep their secrets and save their family.
There are a lot of exciting elements in The Sisters Mederos: a game of cat-and-mouse with a shadowy enemy, wild parties, double lives and a good old-fashioned dose of revenge. Unfortunately, these elements don’t manage to blend into a solid story.
The story opens with the girls being packed off to boarding school as the Merchants’ Guild break into the family’s home to charge them with trumped up crimes. We then flash forward to the girls’ return home. Thanks to persecution from the Guild, they now live in greatly reduced circumstances and are struggling to put food on the table. While their parents and uncle struggle to cope, the girls each privately vow to discover the truth of who’s responsible for their situation and make them pay.
They go about this in very different ways. Yvienne, the oldest, takes to writing anonymous and inflammatory opinion pieces for one of the local newspapers while using her position as a governess to investigate the paper trail surrounding her House’s downfall. She also discovers she makes quite a successful robber and starts holding up the city’s nobility under the cover of night. Being the quiet, responsible one of the sisters, her family never suspects her and even her sister is surprised by the icy depths of her resolve. She is a person who gets things done and I enjoyed that about her.
In contrast, Tesara has a reputation as the naughty and mischievous sister. Strange things have a way of happening around her–sudden squalls of wind when she’s upset, the tablecloth ripping itself off the table. However, her family refuses to acknowledge any possibility of magic but instead blames Tesara for what is not entirely in her control. Resentful, Tesara sneaks out one night to a party with an old friend… and rediscovers her talent for counting cards. She puts these skills and her flighty reputation to good use by fleecing the nobility of their wealth. It was immensely satisfying to watch her turn the stereotype to her advantage.
Although the sisters are compelling characters, they are let down by their family. Their mother is a bitter woman, turning her sharp tongue on the rest of the family at the slightest provocation. Their father has become a vague and anxious man, aged too quickly by the family’s travails. And their Uncle is an unpleasant sort of man, desperate to be part of the old boys club again and prone to sexually harassing the help. Such an unlikable cast of characters makes it difficult to root for the family’s restoration. However, I also recognise it’s a difficult line to walk because without their self-absorption it would be hard to justify their obliviousness to the activities of the sisters.
The unlikeability of the family undermines any chance of making “family before all else” a convincing theme. It also never quite manages to create a sense of the sisters binding together against the world. They’re too busy keeping secrets from each other; even at the very end they’re still not wholly transparent with each other. So, despite their obvious affection for each other, there’s still a sense that their alliance is only temporary.
This wasn’t the only part of the plot and world-building that felt weak. The villain’s motivation in targeting House Mederos was insufficiently convincing and they didn’t have much of a presence throughout most of the story. Tesara’s magic also never had much of an impact on the plot and I was never quite clear on if there was supposed to be some mystery over whether she actually possessed any power. The ending wrapped up quite quickly, dropping elements left and right. Being the first book in a series, it’s possible that some of these elements will receive some more attention in subsequent books. But by and large, it felt like the Mederos tale had been intended to stand on its own and had reached its natural conclusion. I would therefore be surprised to see future books focus on the family.
I’m hesitant to describe the story as a historical fantasy. Not only does it appear to be set in a secondary world, the time period it’s based on seemed to shift around. The majority of the story has a Regency influence, shown in the fashion and social conventions. However, the parties Tesara attends had more of a 1920s vibe in terms of the extravagance and fashion. While I quite enjoyed this blending of periods, it’s not going to be to everyone’s taste.
All in all, The Sisters Mederos was a book that promised a lot but ultimately failed to satisfy.
Mirrored from Earl Grey Editing.
Published: March 2018 by HarperCollins
Format reviewed: ARC Paperback, 335 pages
Series: Elementals #1
Genres: Fantasy, middle grade
Source: Publisher
Reading Challenges: Australian Women Writers Challenge 2018
Available: Abbey’s ~ Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Book Depository ~ Booktopia ~ Dymocks ~ Kobo
Disclaimer: I was provided with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Everyone in Vallen knows that ice wolves and scorch dragons are sworn enemies who live deeply separate lives.
So when twelve-year-old orphan Anders takes one elemental form and his twin sister, Rayna, takes another, he wonders whether they are even related. Still, whether or not they’re family, Rayna is Anders’s only true friend. She’s nothing like the brutal, cruel dragons who claimed her as one of their own and stole her away.
In order to rescue her, Anders must enlist at the foreboding Ulfar Academy, a school for young wolves that values loyalty to the pack above all else. But for Anders, loyalty is more complicated than obedience, and friendship is the most powerful shapeshifting force of all.
Amie Kaufman is well known for co-authoring some of the most highly regarded series in YA, notably The Illuminae Files with Jay Kristoff and Starbound with Meagan Spooner.Ice Wolves marks her first solo novel and she shakes things up further by aiming it at a middle grade audience.
The story is told in close third person, focusing on Anders. He lives on the street with his sister Rayna and they steal in an effort to keep themselves alive and fed. Anders is a sweet boy whose conscience leaves him uneasy about the way in which he and Rayna make ends meet. He’s also not very good at it, relying on his more headstrong and capable twin to do much of the heavy lifting. So, when she accidentally transforms into a scorch dragon and is abducted by other dragons, he feels lost.
However, he quickly finds himself swept up by other companions. Having himself turned into an ice wolf–the shapeshifters that enforce law and order in Holbard and defend it from the dragons–he is taken into Ulfar Academy to be trained. I feel that any post-Hogwarts magical academy has to work hard to get away from those associations and, for the most part, I feel like Ulfar Academy accomplishes that. However, it is made more difficult by Lisbet, the Hermione Granger of Ulfar Academy. She is one of the first ice wolves Anders meets and forms part of the small pack he joins. Throughout the story, she shows herself to be a loyal friend. Being an intelligent girl, she’s quick to figure out the adults aren’t telling them everything and, as a consequence, spends a lot of time in the library and snooping around.
The representation throughout the book is reasonably well handled. Despite the medieval-ish, slightly Norse feeling of the setting, the cast is reasonably diverse. Anders and Rayna are both people of colour and there are a variety of skin tones among the rest of the cast. Same-sex relationships are casually mentioned among the adults. And the gender balance remains relatively even, with women included in positions of power. There’s also some discussion of class issues. It takes Anders some time to get used to having all his basic needs met by the academy and I enjoyed seeing him adjust. Life at the academy has also required some adjustment for his pack member Viktoria, who came from a wealthy family and now has to learn to do things for herself.
Although it was a competent story, it was also fairly predictable. There’s nothing ground-breaking or surprising here. However, this is perhaps a forgivable flaw given the target audience.
Overall, I found Ice Wolves an entertaining but ultimately forgettable book.
Mirrored from Earl Grey Editing.
Published: March 2018 by Tor
Format reviewed: Trade paperback, 350 pages
Series: Titan’s Forest #2
Genres: Fantasy
Source: Publisher
Reading Challenges: Australian Women Writers Challenge 2018
Available: Abbey’s ~ Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Book Depository ~ Booktopia ~ Dymocks ~ Kobo
Disclaimer: I was provided with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The author is a friend. I have done my best to give an unbiased review.
This review contains spoilers for the previous book.
Great deeds are expected of Imeris.
Raised by accomplished warriors and skilled healers, and being the sister to a goddess, Imeris always felt pressured to be the best fighter in Understorey. Yet during a mission to capture the body-snatching sorceress Kirrik, Imeris fails disastrously. With death on her conscience and in hiding from her peers, Imeris climbs up to the sun-kissed world of Canopy to learn new ways to defeat Kirrik. What she doesn’t expect is to be recruited in a Hunt for the Ages, against a terrifying divine monster that will take all of her skills to stop.
Crossroads of Canopy was one of the most thought-provoking books I read last year, so I was delighted to get my hands on a copy of the sequel, Echoes of Understorey. The new instalment skillfully adds to the worldbuilding that was a strength of the first book, opening up the way for new characters and themes.
Not having paid any attention to the blurb, I was surprised to discover the main character was not the same one as in the previous book. Imeris was a minor character in the previous book, a foundling baby being looked after by three Understorian brothers who also offered refuge to our previous protagonist, Unar. Now, Imeris is a young woman and a fierce warrior. She has spent most of her life training in different styles of combat, determined to take revenge on the body-hopping witch Kirrik for killing her best friend.
Imeris makes for an interesting contrast to Unar. At 21, she’s older than Unar was in Crossroads. However, where Unar had a place in the world and rejected it, Imeris is still finding her niche. As a Canopian brought up in Understorey, she doesn’t quite belong in either world. One ongoing theme throughout the book is about unification of fragments and the way it plays out for Imeris put me in mind of Binti, Nnedi Okorafor’s series of novellas. Having grown up in Understorey, and being the only woman in traditionally male-dominated spaces, makes Imeris both less privileged and more conscious of the privilege she does have. Where Unar would blindly barrel ahead, thinking she knew best, Imeris is less self-centred. She takes her duties toward others very seriously and thus becomes bound by their demands of her.
While most readers will find her more likeable than Unar was, Imeris is not without her flaws. At times she resents the burdens others have placed on her, longing only to fulfil her mission–which she imagines will bring about the unification of her different identities. She also makes mistakes, sometimes fatal ones. However, these flaws are also a big part of what makes her relatable.
I admit the book took me a bit for me to get into. The last book had a reasonably big cast and I floundered a bit in trying to remember who was who. This was compounded by the way time had passed–both since I’d read the first book and in the story itself. I found a quick review of Crossroads of Canopy was necessary in order to orient me. However, other reviewers have approached Echoes as a standalone book and had no trouble with it.
Speaking of cast size, Echoes of Understorey has an even bigger cast. As well as a large number of new characters, many of the significant characters from Crossroads make cameos. Indeed, I was quite delighted that we got to see Unar settled into her new life.
The story also continues to build on the world. We get to learn a bit more about the communities in Understorey and are introduced to the warrior school Loftfol. Each level of Titan’s Forest has an interesting and unique naming system, and in Imeris’ brief trip to Floor we get to learn theirs. One minor quibble I had was that we didn’t get to spend more time on that level (although I imagine there will be plenty in the next book).
One of my criticisms of Crossroads was that it was a bit slow-paced with few action sequences. Echoes remedies that; being a warrior, Imeris is often required to battle with her enemies. One of the things I liked most about her was the way she does that with cunning equally as much as with physical prowess.
The writing style remains a bit dense, particularly at first. I also wasn’t sold on some of the emotional connections between and motivations of the characters. Imeris’s relationship with Anahah in particular felt a bit brief and tenuous for what follows.
However, overall I found Echoes of Understorey an excellent instalment in what continues to prove an innovative fantasy series.
Mirrored from Earl Grey Editing.
This week I’m over at the Skiffy and Fanty Show with a review of Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman. This is a powerful young adult novel that deals with some serious issues and wears its feminist heart on its sleeve.
Mirrored from Earl Grey Editing.
Published: February 2018 by Gollancz
Format reviewed: E-book (mobi)
Series: The Belles #1
Genres: Fantasy, YA, horror
Source: NetGalley
Available: Abbey’s ~ Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Book Depository ~ Booktopia ~ Dymocks ~ Kobo
Disclaimer: I was provided with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Camellia Beauregard is a Belle. In the opulent world of Orleans, Belles are revered, for they control beauty, and beauty is a commodity coveted above all else. In Orleans, the people are born gray, they are born damned, and only with the help of a Belle and her talents can they transform and be made beautiful. But it’s not enough for Camellia to be just a Belle. She wants to be the Favorite–the Belle chosen by the queen of Orleans to live in the royal palace, to tend to the royal family and their court, to be recognized as the most talented Belle in the land. But once Camellia and her Belle sisters arrive at court, it becomes clear that being the Favorite is not everything she always dreamed it would be. Behind the gilded palace walls live dark secrets, and Camellia soon learns that the very essence of her existence is a lie–that her powers are far greater, and could be more dangerous, than she ever imagined. And when the queen asks Camellia to risk her own life and help the ailing princess by using Belle powers in unintended ways, Camellia now faces an impossible decision. With the future of Orleans and its people at stake, Camellia must decide: save herself and her sisters and the way of the Belles or resuscitate the princess, risk her own life, and change the ways of her world forever.
There has been a lot of hype surrounding The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton. Although the book does a great job with evoking a lush, visual setting, there were some key flaws that let it down.
The story is told in first person present tense from Camellia’s perspective. She is not the most likeable of characters, at least at first. She’s competitive and jealous, striving to outdo her sisters and be the best. However, considering the way she was raised, this can perhaps be forgiven, especially since she has a genuine affection for her sisters underneath. And her sisters aren’t without their flaws, either–Amber is an insufferable know-it-all who can’t bear to break a rule, while Edel is headstrong and selfish. The others fade into the background.
A fairytale atmosphere is present at the start; the book opens with a myth that describes how the people of Orleans were cursed to be ugly, with grey skin, red eyes and hair the texture of rotten straw. This sense of fairytale is heightened by the opening scene in which the six Belles arrive in glass carriages to display their transformative powers to the public and to the queen. The world the Belles live in is an extravagant one, with great emphasis placed on beauty. The populace–and the nobility in particular–rely on the Belles to change their colouring, hairstyles and even their body’s shape. New fashions come out every month–such as red hair and green eyes. Laws exist to preserve the health of the population by ensuring noses and waists aren’t too narrow to breathe. Everything is over the top in a way that reminded me of the Capitol in The Hunger Games, and there is that same sense of darkness lingering underneath.
The language enforces this sense of opulence with rich descriptions of fashion, food and furniture. Unfortunately, this serves to slow the pace. It’s compounded by a plot that flags its reveals rather too obviously, making it fairly predictable. It’s not a subtle story and doesn’t delve deeply into cultural critiques of beauty.
The one exception is the way it unmoors beauty from race. Camellia is a woman of colour and one of the most beautiful people in the kingdom. The characters are diverse and come in a range of skin tones–sometimes even changing from one to another. One beauty standard isn’t held up as being above others… though it could have done more work to promote fat positivity.
Unfortunately, the story lets itself down on other fronts of representation. Its treatment of lesbian characters was particularly disappointing.
Readers may also want to tread carefully while reading this book, as it contains a depiction of sexual assault.
All in all, while it has some interesting world-building, The Belles ultimately left me disappointed.
Mirrored from Earl Grey Editing.
Published: December 2017 by Allen & Unwin
Format reviewed: Paperback, 331 pages
Series: Unearthed #1
Genres: Science fiction, YA romance, action adventure
Source: Harry Hartog
Reading Challenges: Australian Women Writers Challenge 2018, Beat the Backlist
Available: Publisher (print only) ~ Abbey’s ~ Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Book Depository ~ Booktopia ~ Dymocks ~ Kobo
When Earth intercepts a message from a long-extinct alien race, it seems like the solution the planet has been waiting for. The Undying’s advanced technology has the potential to undo environmental damage and turn lives around, and Gaia, their former home planet, is a treasure trove waiting to be uncovered.
For Jules Addison and his fellow scholars, the discovery of an alien culture offers unprecedented opportunity for study… as long as scavengers like Amelia Radcliffe don’t loot everything first. Mia and Jules’ different reasons for smuggling themselves onto Gaia put them immediately at odds, but after escaping a dangerous confrontation with other scavvers, they form a fragile alliance.
In order to penetrate the Undying temple and reach the tech and information hidden within, the two must decode the ancient race’s secrets and survive their traps. But the more they learn about the Undying, the more their presence in the temple seems to be part of a grand design that could spell the end of the human race…
Inspired by Lara Croft and Indiana Jones, Unearthed is a fun, action-packed adventure. It takes these adventuring archetypes, turns them into teenagers and puts them on a new planet, then adds a hefty dose of romance.
At first glance, the main characters are pretty stereotypical, but both are given a bit of a twist that brings more dimension to them. Mia is an experienced scavenger who has earned a living through pillaging abandoned cities on an Earth ravaged by climate change. She’s a street rat with limited education… and a passion and talent for mathematics. And while she’s all about the money, it’s really just a means to an unselfish end. Jules is the bookish one. He knows at least half a dozen language and not much about what it takes to survive in a hostile environment. However, he is somewhat athletic and even though he’s not exactly street smart, he’s not an idiot, either.
There is a strong focus on the relationship between these characters. They have competing agendas and aren’t exactly forthright with each other; trust is an issue that crops up multiple times. Some readers may feel their relationship develops a bit quickly, considering the entire book takes place over just a couple of days. However, I found it well paced in terms of the story’s arc. There are things that immediately attract them to each other, but it takes some time to overcome their distrust of each other. The process is helped along by the fact they must rely on each other to survive.
The story has a very visual style that plays out rather like a movie. There are some spectacular landscapes and the temple offers some interesting set pieces as the pair traverse the puzzle chambers.
While the book touches on a few issues–such as climate change, corruption and human greed–it’s not an overly deep book. It’s more of a fun, fast-paced thriller. And while most of the characters (even the minor ones) manage to avoid stereotypes, they don’t exactly surprise. Mia and Jules act pretty much as expected. The villains, both major and minor, are particularly flat. They receive little characterisation and mostly serve to add pressure to the situation.
However, overall I enjoyed Unearthed. Be warned: it ends on a terrible cliffhanger.
Mirrored from Earl Grey Editing.
The Skiffy and Fanty Show has resumed its regular schedule. Head on over to check out my review of Markswoman by Rati Mehrotra, a novel about orders of female warriors, psychic daggers and quests for revenge.
Mirrored from Earl Grey Editing.
Published: January 2018 by Harper Voyager
Format reviewed: Trade paperback, 544 pages
Series: The Daevabad Trilogy #1
Genres: Epic fantasy
Source: Publisher
Available: Publisher (print and electronic) ~ Abbey’s ~ Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Book Depository ~ Booktopia ~ Dymocks ~ Kobo
Disclaimer: I was provided with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Nahri has never believed in magic. Certainly, she has power; on the streets of 18th century Cairo, shes a con woman of unsurpassed talent. But she knows better than anyone that the trade she uses to get by–palm readings, zars, healings–are all tricks, sleights of hand, learned skills; a means to the delightful end of swindling Ottoman nobles.
But when Nahri accidentally summons an equally sly, darkly mysterious djinn warrior to her side during one of her cons, shes forced to accept that the magical world she thought only existed in childhood stories is real. For the warrior tells her a new tale: across hot, windswept sands teeming with creatures of fire, and rivers where the mythical marid sleep; past ruins of once-magnificent human metropolises, and mountains where the circling hawks are not what they seem, lies Daevabad, the legendary city of brass–a city to which Nahri is irrevocably bound.
In that city, behind gilded brass walls laced with enchantments, behind the six gates of the six djinn tribes, old resentments are simmering. And when Nahri decides to enter this world, she learns that true power is fierce and brutal. That magic cannot shield her from the dangerous web of court politics. That even the cleverest of schemes can have deadly consequences.
After all, there is a reason they say be careful what you wish for . . .
When I picked up The City of Brass, I was a little intimidated. 500+ pages of historical fiction is a big ask when I’m reading to a deadline. However, my worries turned out to be unfounded. The City of Brass was a delight from beginning to end and I tore through it in no time.
The story is told in close third person from two points of view. The first three chapters come from Nahri, a young woman with a magical talent for healing. As an orphan, she uses this talent to help swindle the rich. She is first and foremost a survivor, looking to get by and perhaps one day leave Cairo to train as a doctor. After one of her fake rituals goes wrong, she flees the city in the company of a djinn she accidentally summoned. He convinces her to travel to the mysterious city of Daevabad to learn the truth of her heritage.
Which is where the second POV character comes in. Alizayd al Qahtani is the second-born prince of Daevabad. He’s a man of rigid convictions who finds himself sympathising with a rebel faction within the city. This puts him in a precarious position when his father places him in command of the city guard. It also places him at odds with Nahri.
This is a novel of shifting alliances and shades of grey, which is one of the reasons I loved it so much. None of the factions are shown as uniformly right, but engage in manipulation to further their ends. Even the faction advocating for the middle way arose from a history of violence, use dubious methods, and are mostly in it for their own power. The story also recognises that there are multiple factors at play–unlikely friendships form, despite political and religious differences.
Speaking of religious differences, it was refreshing to see an epic fantasy where the characters are predominantly Muslim. Nor is it made a big deal, though Ali’s strict adherence to abstaining from alcohol is a source of friction between him and his brother. Being Own Voices allowed the story to include elements that I may have otherwise found dubious. Any story written by a white, non-Muslim author featuring a Prince Ali and a magic carpet would have had to do a lot of work to convince me it wasn’t a stereotyped joke.
Despite starting out as historical fantasy, the historical elements don’t play a large part. Once Nahri leaves Cairo, the story comes across more like a secondary world fantasy. It will be interesting to see if this shifts in later books.
The style was very readable and the pacing was faster than I was expecting, at least at first. It slows down in the middle of the book to concentrate on developing relationships between characters and factions, then picks up again at the end. I found the shifts in the status quo gave enough resolution to be satisfying while simultaneously opening up whole new issues to be dealt with in the next book.
The City of Brass was a brilliant start to a new series and to my reading year.
Mirrored from Earl Grey Editing.
Published: July 2017 by Macmillan Children’s Books
Format reviewed: Paperback, 336 pages
Series: Queen of Dreams #3
Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade
Source: Publisher
Available:Abbey’s ~ Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Book Depository ~ Booktopia ~ Dymocks ~ Kobo
Disclaimer: I was provided with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This review contains spoilers for previous books.
War is coming–and every leader of every realm has sided with the War Emperor and pledged to fight the Karrak invaders–apart from Taggie, the teenage Queen of Dreams-to-be. Aided by an unusual band of allies, including a Karrak Lord, an elf and a feisty skyfolk captain, Taggie knows that the only way to stop the war is to find the long-lost gateway between our universe and the dark universe: the home of the Karrak people. But how much is Taggie willing to lose in her desperate quest for peace?
A Voyage Through Air is the final book in the Queen of Dreams series and is a suitably epic conclusion.
It’s not a book that stands on its own, particularly since it carries on more or less immediately after the previous book. There’s a bit of recap, but it’s hard to say how effective it is. By the time A Voyage Through Air starts, there’s a reasonably large cast, containing both ongoing characters and some new faces, and it could be a lot to process for younger readers. I’d definitely recommend starting from the beginning of the series and enjoying all the fun.
Taggie and Jemima, two sisters from the ordinary world, are in fact royalty in another realm. Upon taking up her rightful throne, Taggie faces an assassination attempt by a previously-unknown cousin. This was part of a large-scale plot to assassinate the princes and princesses of all the magical realms. The Kings and Queens blame the Karrak Lords, denizens of a dark universe who were trapped in our light universe a thousand years ago. They decide to go to war, but Taggie is determined to find a peaceful solution. A Voyage Through Air centres on her quest to accomplish this by locating the hidden gateway between the universes.
The worldbuilding is more whimsical than realistic. The First Realm, where Taggie rules as the Queen of Dreams, is an inverted sphere with land around the outside and the sun in the middle. While it’s nice to see an imaginative new take, sometimes I felt that differences existed just for the sake of being different. This was particularly the case with the elves and the dragons of the world. For example, the dragons found in the Realm of Air look significantly different to the popular conception of dragons (being described as more like giant manta rays with two tails) and refer to themselves by a completely different name. It therefore seems strange to tie them to dragons at all–which the narrative does by presenting them to the sisters as dragons and repeatedly affirming how much the creatures hate being called that.
The changes to the elves make a little more sense, pushing back at the traditional uptight, milk-white portrayals. However, this is undermined somewhat by a lack of diversity in the remainder of the cast. Captain Rebecca is introduced in A Voyage Through Air as a dark-skinned skymaiden–the first the reader has seen. In fact, she’s the first dark-skinned character at all, apart from the elves, making it feel tokenistic. It really is too little, too late.
The story itself is an epic adventure, as the sisters and their friends attempt to retrace the course their ancestors took a millennium ago. There are air ships, monsters and battles on the land and in the sky. The narrative occasionally gets bogged down in description, but the style is nicely visual and is aided by a few illustrations scattered throughout the book. The language may be a bit of a challenge to younger or more inexperienced readers, but I’m not a good judge of that.
It is a good book for readers who aren’t fond of romance. There’s some in the background for Taggie, but it’s generally downplayed. Instead, the focus is on friendship and adventure.
All in all, I found A Voyage Through Air a light and reasonably entertaining read.
Mirrored from Earl Grey Editing.
Published: Self-published in January 2017
Format reviewed: E-book (mobi)
Series: Graced #2
Genres: Urban fantasy, paranormal romance
Source: Publisher
Reading Challenges: Australian Women Writers Challenge 2017
Available:Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Kobo
Disclaimer: I was provided with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The city of Pinton has never been safe–and now a serial killer is on the loose.
Doctor Alice Reive is the city’s coroner, and she’s determined to help find the murderer. Enlisting the assistance of the Honorable Dante Kipling and city guard Elle Brown, they race to track down the killer, before another victim dies.
Hannah Romanov–Dante’s missing twin sister–has spent hundreds of years living on an isolated mountain. But her quiet life is thrown into chaos after she discovers a baby left in the wilds to die. Hannah will do anything to ensure the infant’s survival, even if it means travelling to the worst place in the world for her: Pinton.
Bitten is a new novel in Amanda Pillar’s Graced universe. It features some returning characters, but the focus is mostly on new characters or incidental characters from the previous novel. As such, it stands alone reasonably well and should be accessible to new readers.
There were so many potential ships in this novel. The blurb had me half expecting a f/f romance. However, it soon became clear this was unlikely. Like Graced, this was a novel that kept me on my toes; readers going into it expecting a pure paranormal romance are likely to be disappointed. The pairings happen quite a way into the story, with one getting started almost at the end. Instead, romance is balanced out with a hefty dose of crime and fantasy road trip.
The development of non-romantic relationships make it equally satisfying. I enjoyed seeing the strong friendship between two of the main male characters and to learn a bit more of how that came to be. There were also some great family dynamics, especially within Hannah’s family. And I appreciated that we got to spend some time with characters from Graced and to see how their adopted family dynamic is developing.
The story does make use of the fated mate trope, which is one I really don’t get along with. However, I was really impressed with how the trope was handled. It makes it clear the attraction the characters feel is instinctual lust and that it’s just one step along the path, with the next being getting to know each other better.
Diversity was a key part of Graced and remains strong in Bitten. The characters have a wide variety of skin tones. Hannah has something akin to a touch phobia and Alice has some mild OCD tendencies. I wasn’t wholly sold on the latter, but I have no experience with it, so your mileage may vary.
I found the ending of the crime plot a little weak but it’s difficult to say more on this without spoilers.
However, I can say that the characters and world-building make it well worth the read. The novel also finishes with a revelation that will have some very interesting implications for the world and I’m really looking forward to finding out what happens next.
Mirrored from Earl Grey Editing.
Published: October 2016 byHodder & Stoughton
Format reviewed: E-book (mobi)
Series: Wayfarers #2
Genres: Science fiction
Source: NetGalley
Available: Publisher (print) ~ Abbey’s ~ Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Book Depository ~ Booktopia ~ Dymocks ~ Kobo
Disclaimer: I was provided with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This review contains spoilers for previous books.
Lovelace was once merely a ship’s artificial intelligence. When she wakes up in an new body, following a total system shut-down and reboot, she has no memory of what came before. As Lovelace learns to negotiate the universe and discover who she is, she makes friends with Pepper, an excitable engineer, who’s determined to help her learn and grow.
Together, Pepper and Lovey will discover that no matter how vast space is, two people can fill it together.
I hadn’t read The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet when I picked up this review copy of A Closed and Common Orbit, though I’d heard a lot about it. Although the blurb claimed A Closed and Common Orbit was a stand-alone sequel, I’m pretty particular about spoilers. I side-eyed the statement, then went and borrowed a copy of The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet from the library. I promptly devoured it, shoved it into the arms of my sci-fi-newbie sweetheart, then dove into this sequel.
It was equally as awesome but in a different way.
I will admit it does stand alone very well. It takes two minor characters from the previous book and tells their stories. The premise of A Closed and Common Orbit involves a spoiler for The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, so if you care about that sort of thing I’d highly recommend starting with the first book (actually, I’d recommend that anyway). I also feel the major alien species involved in this universe get a clearer and more gradual introduction in the first book. However, by and large, it works as a starting point.
Lovelace used to be The Wayfarer‘s AI. At the end of the previous book, her memory is damaged and she has to be rebooted. She wakes up with no recollection of who she once was. To mitigate the grief of the crew, a visiting mechanic, Pepper, invites Lovelace to inhabit an artificial body she has on hand. The two then return to the planet where Pepper has made a life.
A Closed and Common Orbit offers a number of contrasts to the previous book. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet followed an ensemble cast on their journey through space. While it dealt to some extent with identity, the focus was more on cultural differences and how they play out on both the macro and micro scales. A Closed and Common Orbit is a much more intimate book. The cast is smaller, the majority of the action takes place on the surface of two planets, and the focus is on personal identity.
AIs in humanoid bodies are banned, placing great pressure on Lovelace to pass as human or risk destruction. One of the first things she needs to do is choose a name. The significance of names to identity is reinforced by the story’s structure. Each chapter is headed up with the name of the focus character. When Lovelace decides her name is Sindra, the narrative respects this and refers to her by that name rather than continuing to call her by the old one. In this way, the story models good behaviour.
Passing as human is no easy thing for Sindra. There are similarities here to Breq from Ancillary Justice: both have difficulty getting used to being in a singular body and keep reaching for connections that are no longer there. However, Breq was somewhat used to being in a humanoid body through her ancillaries, whereas the experience is completely alien to Sindra. Her difficulties were well thought out and I felt they were portrayed in a convincing way.
While there are a number of differences between the Wayfarer books, there are also a number of similarities. The multipleclose third-person perspectives are supplemented by fictional documents, though to a lesser extent than the previous book. There are also paragraphs where characters offer philosophical views. While I found these interesting, they didn’t sit quite as comfortably with me as in the first book, perhaps because their repeated use began to give a sense of it being more of an intrusion from the author than arising naturally from the character.
The books also share a theme of found family. Indeed, the theme is stronger in A Closed and Common Orbit as we watch Pepper effectively raise Sindra while we simultaneously read Pepper’s story of being raised by AIs. And the diversity that helped make The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet such an awesome book continues. This manifested in ways big and small. I particularly appreciated Blue’s stutter and the way an explanation was neither offered nor necessary.
Overall, A Closed and Common Orbit was just as excellent as its predecessor, albeit in a different way. I’ll certainly be buying my own copy of both books.
Mirrored from Earl Grey Editing.
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