In October, my friends and I went full spooky season and watched a new movie every weekend. By new, I mean, it was a different movie, but it happened to be new to at least one of us every time. Watching movies with friends is nice, don’t you know?
Started a new job this month, so reading has noticeably slowed down. Whoops.
Continue readingRating: 4/5 stars
Genre: Adult Fantasy
Year Release: October 2020
Source: NetGalley eARC
Buy links: Bookshop | Unabridged Books | Barnes and Noble
| Read a NetGalley eARC Content warnings: Gore, torture, bigotry I had no idea what to expect from a Sapkowski book unrelated to The Witcher. Dear readers, I was absolutely delighted. In this long first entry in The Hussite Trilogy, we follow the misadventures of Reynevan Bielawa, an idiot sorcerer who’s also an adulterer trying to win back his lover, escape her spouse, and not get killed by the Inquisition. The prose here reminded much of Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose. There is no separating it from the time period (1400s Central/Eastern Europe) and the text is deeply sarcastic. It takes the time and the war very seriously, shifting to a lecture-esque tone when referring to historical events happening around the main characters. Sapkowski takes every opportunity to roast each charlatan we encounter. No one is necessarily evil, but the entire cast is shitheads. The sarcastic humor is incredible from the prologue. The story’s relationship with magic is also very interesting. It lulls the reader in with a sense of “maybe the Church is just being paranoid in that way it had been in the time period,” but then surprises the reader with real spells, demonic possessions, and alchemy. It’s a truly wild ride, that also features some key figures of medieval history, namely Johannes Guttenberg and Nicolas Copernicus. Sapkowski also does a thing that I greatly enjoy which is having chapter epitaphs starting with “In which (…).” I really helps set the tone and the shape of the narrative. Again, deeply sarcastic, but keeps a close eye to attitudes help by those neck-deep in the shenanigans and those watching from the outside. A series first worthy of comparison to the romances of Chrétien de Troyes with an unexpected time period. |
Rating: 5/5 stars
Genre: Adult Fantasy
Year Release: October 2020
Source: NetGalley eARC
Buy links: Bookshop | Unabridged Books | Barnes and Noble
| Read a NetGalley eARC Trigger warnings: Body horror, Ku Klux Klan, arson, lynching, gore In this historical dark fantasy, the Ku Klux Klan also turns into literal abominations powered by hate. What stands between them and summoning their elder god is a Black girl with a leaf-shaped sword and the power of Shouts. The voice in this novella is incredible. This story could not have been narrated by anyone other than Maryse in Georgia during Prohibition. The setting and prose leap off the page and immerse the reader in rhythm, aesthetic, slang, cuisine, and more. This effect works well during the more uplifting moments centering Maryse and her community, and brings forth terrors when the mouths start appearing on metaphorical monsters in uncanny places. The creature designs fit the Shout motif which repeats throughout the novella. The pacing is great and hits several familiar beats as far as fantasy stories go. To say more would ruin some magical moments and spoil some of the fun, horrific action sequences that span this book. But I found Maryse’s character arc compelling. Moreover, I loved the relationship among Maryse, Chef, and Sadie. One of my favorite things to see in fantasy is the girl Chosen One surrounded and supported by other women in her community. It was joyful and uplifting, despite the tragedy and horror happening around them. This book is intense and horrifying, but ultimately fun as a community of eldritch horror slayers go against a KKK steeped in Lovecraftian designs. |
Rating: 4/5 stars
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Year Release: 2019
Source: Library audiobook
| Listened to the audiobook Content warnings: Teeth, vomiting, blood, attempted murder I’m sorry for having sat on this novel for a little too long. Fie is the chieftain’s daughter of a nomadic caste of mercy killers called Crows which are at the frontlines of protecting the land from a plague. They arrive at a home, thinking that the prince and his guard are dead, when they are very much not. On the run, the trio work together to deceive the Vultures on their trail to get to the prince’s aunts realm of mammoth riders. This book was so fun for a multitude of reasons. The magic system might seem gross at first, but it fits the rituals of the Crows. There is lore and there is an established learning curve that comes with it. Unlike many fantasies where the main character stumbles upon The Magic, Fie had been training for it her whole life. If anything, it felt like she was taking her final exam and needed to use all the tools and cleverness at her side. Moreover, Jas and Tavin provided support but also deference when necessary when Fie’s rage clouded her judgment. The chemistry among the three of them as the central characters really worked for me and helped move the story along in a way that felt organic both for the plot and for each of their development. In addition, the world is very thoughtfully constructed. There is a diversity among the cast (the prince is gay and his guard is pansexual). It is implied to be queernorm, which for me, is always refreshing. This work is another to add to the list of young adult studies which are wonderfully sex positive. Not only are periods addressed, but it is also implied that Fie had partners before the love interest, and consent is on the page. All the tension comes from secrets of an interpersonal nature which nod to some tropes, but ultimately only make sense for this cast. Well-paced, great characters, and a fantastic world I can’t wait to visit in The Faithless Hawk. |
Doing something a little different this month: posting about books I recently acquired or have some kind of deadline on reading.
As far as blog posts go, later this month, I’ll be posting about my second bout of burn-out. Riveting.
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September marked the beginning of autumn, of Revision Season, I celebrated my eight year anniversary with my boyfriend, and made a lot of progress as far as job hunting goes. With that came exhaustion, however, so this month’s recap is a bit lighter than normally. Also Hades dropped and that’s been really good for my creative well.
There were two interviews this month:
Rating: 4/5 stars
Genre: Adult Fantasy
Year Release: September 2020
Source: NetGalley eARC
Buy links: Bookshop | Unabridged Books | Barnes and Noble
| Read a NetGalley eARC
Fairy tales from the East and West come together in this brisk tale of regret, forgiveness, and closure told in flashbacks while two legends—Hou Yi and Rosa (Red Riding Hood)—hunt sunbirds to save their countryside. I love how the present-day story serves as a book-end to having the two characters recount to each other their great tragedies. As readers, we get to watch that past unfold on page. Huang expertly balances nostalgia and regret, while also having the characters be open about feelings that made past decisions seem like a good idea in the first place. Both main characters are honest with each other in a way that’s compelling both as people who need to work together to solve an immediate problem and as people who need to make room for healing from the past. In addition, how many retellings appeared in one novella impressed me. We got the fairy tales of our main characters, but Goldilocks and Beauty and the Beast also make an appearance. The world-building isn’t heavy in this one, but the subtle way Huang highlights the difference in Hou Yi and Rosa’s languages was a very nice addition. Two older queer women (one of whom is trans) embark on a retelling that suggests that there other ways to make things last than quests for immortality. |
Rating: 4/5 stars
Genre: Adult Fantasy
Year Release: September 2020
Source: NetGalley eARC
Buy links: Bookshop | Unabridged Books | Barnes and Noble
| Read a NetGalley eARC Content warnings: Cutting off a finger, removal of an eye The structure of this novella is absolutely fascinating. Manet, Amanuensis to the God King, is trying to solve the riddle of her origin and the secret of the king himself. She also has the seventh perfection, a condition which grants her perfect memory. Which leads seamlessly explains why and how each chapter of this book is told via dialogue from an intriguing character. It reads to me like the dialogue from an RPG, except we don’t have the visuals and interiority of the main character to ground us in a story. It’s all told from the perspectives of essentially NPCs. But the tone, pacing, and sense of a larger world are all there. The history and aesthetics of the land simply shines. It’s a magic-techno world where a discussion unfolds about mythology and the veracity of epic tales that become more legend than historical account, even if contemporaries still exist in the present. The journey to having the curtains pulled on god’s truths is a wild ride, and The Seventh Perfection is highly recommended for those wanting to read experimental novels or novellas. |
Rating: 5/5 stars
Genre: Adult Fantasy
Year Release: September 2020
Source: NetGalley eARC
Buy links: Bookshop | Unabridged Books | Barnes and Noble
| Read a NetGalley eARC Content warnings: Water and drowning, cult activity Piranesi is a book that takes place in an impossibly labyrinthine mansion where the basement is flooding. It is told from the journal of a narrator who may or may not be named Piranesi. The plot centers on Piranesi cataloguing all the locations and the ways he spends his days. There are two other characters, the Prophet and the Other, who exist in the world of the House. Having the story be presented in the form of diary entries really worked for the intrigue. The narrator knows about as much as the reader does, and the pace which both reader and narrator learn the truth of this strange locale works really well. There is also an examination of identity and freedom, which come together seamlessly by the very end. To speak more specifically is spoiler-territory. The prose and presentation read like a dream diary. The decision to capitalize most proper nouns and giving enough detail to get the sense of shape, but keeping the aesthetic overly vague really added to dream-like quality of this work. There is a sense of time being all sorts of broken, and it all works to unsettle but entrance the reader. Creepy but entrancing, a whimsical novel with all the trappings of dream gothic. |
Happy release day to The Scapegracers by Hannah Abigail Clarke from Erewhon Books. This book is perfect for people who want to read about lesbian witches who are gay written by a queer author. In this young adult debut, Sideways Pike, an outcast, casts a spell at a Halloween party and accidentally forms a coven with three popular girls. Clarke hops by the blog to talk inspiration, craft, friendship, and a multitude of music recs.
Buy links: Bookshop | Unabridged Books | Barnes and Noble
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