Tag Archives: ARCs

Double-Review: Lily Adler Mysteries 2-3

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Back in March 2020, right at the beginning of the pandemic, I read an ARC for Katharine Schellman’s debut novel and the first of the Lily Adler Mysteries: The Body in the Garden. I devoured it in 3 days. And it was a revelation for me for a couple reasons. First, I just love a good historical mystery, and this was a very good historical mystery novel. Second, I’d been dealing with an inability to read for going on 5 or 6 years in 2020 due to extremely severe depression. While the cloud had been starting to lift in mid-2019, and my brain was finally starting to reanimate a bit, reading (except for audiobooks, which had literally saved my life from about 2014-onward) was still proving almost-impossible. And then I read The Body in the Garden, and it was like a strong wind blowing the clouds away to reveal clear skies. It was like the floodgates opening wide.

I don’t know if it was just a matter of good timing, and that my brain was just about ready to open up again anyway. I don’t know that another book might not have had the same effect. Frankly, it doesn’t really matter. Lily Adler is forever cemented in my mind as an integral element of my ongoing recovery. (It’s also just a really really good book).

So, of course, when the second installment, Silence in the Library, released in August 2021, I leapt for it. And I read it in a single night, in a single sitting in fact. And then I got my hands on an ARC of the third book about a month ago (and read that book in one sitting as well).

So, I thought I would do a double-review of books two and three as I continue to try and convince everyone I know to buy and read these books. My review for the first book can be found here: “Book Review: The Body in the Garden.”

Title: Silence in the Library
Author: Katharine Schellman
Release Date: August 2021
How I Got It: bought from indie mystery bookstore, Murder by the Book
Rating: Five Stars

Let’s begin with the basic plot premise. Silence in the Library opens a few months after the events of the first novel, with Lily having to face possibly her most difficult challenge: dealing with a visit from her father. When Lily’s father demands that she pay a visit to one of his oldest friends, who has recently re-married, the visit quickly goes to hell when the husband is murdered, leaving the new bride in hysterics and the dead man’s adult son (from a previous marriage) the most likely suspect. Add in a shifty cousin who may or may not have been in need of more money, a maid who is murdered before she can tell Lily something she knew, and Lily’s father hindering her at every turn, things get wildly out of hand.

What the first book did well, the second book built upon beautifully. The writing is crisp, the research and historical context impeccable, the mystery compelling, and the characters charming. The core mystery of the novel is clever and twisty, though I confess I like to make a game of seeing if I can solve the mystery before the characters (my mother and I also compete like this when watching murder mystery tv shows – of which we watch a lot), and I succeeded this time. Clearly, I can’t spell it out here without giving everything away, but I told my mother my theory well in advance and was right.

The main character, Lily Adler, is a brilliant, stubborn, somewhat reckless woman, and I love her. I want to be her when I grow up (yes, I am grown up, I am almost 37, but shush, let me have this). In the first book, we see her shaking off the paralysis of her widowhood, and in the second book we see her really stepping into this role she has chosen for herself.

But, of course, there is also the complication of her emotionally-cold, judgmental, domineering father, who has arrived to disapprove of everything she does. Her father’s awful treatment and verbal lashings seem to shake Lily on a few occasions, and she has to fight off the knee-jerk reaction to revert to her more timid childhood-self. Watching the ways Lily alternately defies and bends to her father’s moods is highly relatable (at least to those of us who have parents with… shall we say, powerful personalities?) and deeply inspiring.

The characters I adored in the first book: Captain Jack Hartley, Ofelia, and the Bowstreet Runner Simon Page are all in attendance for the second book. The Captain is as witty and charming and protective of Lily as he was in the first book (and may possibly be developing less-than-platonic feelings for his best friend’s widow). Ofelia, now happily married, continues to be a supportive both as a friend and as a cohort in Lily’s mystery-solving pursuits. And Simon Page, who started out by resenting Lily, has developed a begrudging respect and appreciate for Lily and her skills.

In the middle of the plot-madness, Lily is faced with several red herrings, and a very handsome and charming former soldier that she must (clumsily) attempt to flirt with for information. We also get a glimpse into Simon Page’s personal life and a few scenes from his perspective — something I had not even realized I needed until I had it. (I already respected Simon Page, now I really love him).

Throughout the novel are several disabled and neurodivergent characters of different backgrounds and abilities who are all written with complexity and empathy, and not painted with broad strokes and stereotypes. There are, of course, instances of these characters being treated with derision and cruelty in sadly-historically-accurate ways, but at no point does the text (or the main characters) excuse or condone this behavior, and the perpetrators face consequences for their bigotry.

Just as in the first novel, one of the best parts is the dialogue, which is at turns sharp, warm, and downright hilarious at some points. Lily, Captain Jack Hartley, and Ofelia in particular, all play off each other so well with their differing flavors of sarcasm, dry wit, and gentle teasing. (I continue to adore Jack Hartley.)

And the ending is satisfying while also packing a potent emotional punch.

Title: Death at the Manor
Author: Katharine Schellman
Release Date: 9 August 2022
How I Got It: ARC provided by publisher
Rating: 4.5 Stars

In the third book of the Lily Adler Mysteries series, we go farther afield as Lily Adler leaves London for a few months visiting friends and family in the country. The novel deftly shifts tone in an homage to Regency-era Gothic Literature (think Castle of Otranto or The Woman in White), as Lily must confront a supposedly-haunted country estate in the village where her aunt lives, and attempts to solve a murder that everyone else is content to attribute to a ghost.

In this installment, after Captain Jack Hartley leaves to return to his ship (having been stuck on land for so long due to extended repairs), Lily leaves London to visit her aunt in a small village in the country, bringing her Ofelia and Ofelia’s (ridiculously sweet) husband Ned along with her. Her aunt and her aunt’s friend/companion have been living as two “respectable unmarried women” in a small cottage for decades, and are the only family Lily actually likes. But once there, Lily and her friends accidentally find themselves entangled in yet another murder. While touring a nearby manor to hear about the rumors of a ghost haunting the estate, the Lady of the manor is discovered dead in her locked bedroom, with only her two adult children and four servants (the others having left because of the ghost) as the possible suspects.

At first determined to leave the matter to the authorities, Lily quickly changes her mind when the local authorities admit defeat in the face of the locked door, and accept that the purported ghost must be the cause of death. So Lily and Ofelia, with the grudging assistance of Ned and Lily’s aunt, decide to the solve the murder themselves. An added complication comes from the fact that the charming widowed soldier from the previous book, the ever-attractive Matthew Spencer, happens to live in the same village, and offers his assistance as well, much to Ofelia’s consternation.

The mystery of this installment was especially fun for me because I love a good locked-room mystery, and this one is very well done. The characters run through every possible suspect with increasing confusion and uncertain, and it is a ton of fun to watch the whole thing unfold and try to play along. (I guessed right, again, by the way, but it took me longer than usual and I wasn’t too far ahead of Lily figuring it out lol).

The nods to the gothic genre were also a ton of fun (particularly because as an English Lit grad school I read and studied Regency and Victorian era gothic novels and love them anyway!) I mean, who doesn’t love ghost stories, and creepy dark hallways and billowy white curtains and ominous men standing in shadows and secret passages?

Like Silence in the Library, Death at the Manor gives us an opportunity to see and learn more about different characters. This time we get some concentrated attention paid to Ofelia and her husband Ned, both of whom I adore. We also see a lot more of the charming widower Matthew Spencer. And Lily’s aunt and her aunt’s friend were both delightful as well. (There’s some queer rep in there as well, but spoilers!)

I did, however, feel that the story misses Jack (just as the characters do). When I was starting to read the book, I announced on twitter that if Jack did not make some dramatic mid-book return I was going to be distraught. And reader: I was distraught. For one thing, I simply love that character. For another, he adds so much humor and snark to the dialogue, and does such a good job of keeping Lily on her toes (while Ofelia keeps him on his, lol). That said, I still read the entire book in one setting and loved it and have no real complaints. (The 4.5 stars rating is an only semi-serious, kinda-joking protest on Jack’s behalf.) I also missed Simon Page, who likewise does not make an appearance in this installment.

When I was lamenting the loss of Jack on Twitter, the author, Katharine Schellman, kindly assured me he would return in the next one. Thank goodness. (By the way, Katharine Schellman is an absolute delight on social media as well. She is so kind and generous and friendly with her fans/followers, which is by no means required.) We also know that she has been contracted for a 4th and 5th book (at minimum, I hope), but that they won’t be out for some time.

The worst part about reading arcs far ahead of release date, especially for books in a series, is that you have ALL THAT MUCH LONGER to wait for the next one. Le Sigh. I suppose I’ll probably just re-read all three books at some point this summer…

Book Review: Nettle & Bone

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Title: Nettle & Bone
Author: T. Kingfisher
Release Date: 26 April 2022
How I Got It: received an ARC from publisher
Stars: 5 out of 5 (maybe 6 out of 5, I can do that, right? I mean, it’s my blog)

Today’s book review is for a book that is a currently the top contender for my favorite new release book of the year (obviously, its plenty early still, but…). Ursula Vernon, publishing under the pen name T. Kingfisher, has written quite a few very popular, well-received, and award-winning novels (her recent middle-grade novel A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking won several awards including the Locus, the Nebula, and the Mythopoeic Awards), so I knew she would be good. But I hadn’t yet read any of her works before I received the ARC for this one, Nettle & Bone.

Nettle & Bone is a dark fairy tale for adults, that borrows heavily from a myriad of fairy tale traditions and features many of the elements we would expect such as: princesses, damsels-in-distress, princes, knights, witches, fairy godmothers, curses, impossible tasks, and plenty of magic. Yet Kingfisher takes these familiar well-worn tropes, and twists them into new shapes and puts them to new purposes. The result is a story that feels both familiar and brand new, both magical and horrific.

The main character is Marra, a princess and third daughter of the royal family. When Marra is a child, her eldest sister is married off to a prince in a political marriage meant to protect their tiny harbor kingdom from the two much larger, more powerful kingdoms on either border. Then, when that eldest sister dies during an accident only a year later, Marra’s second sister is married to the same prince, for the same goals. At that point, Marra is shipped off to a convent — ostensibly for her protection, but really because the prince fears she may marry and have an heir before HE does. There, Marra is raised as an “almost-not-quite” nun for the next fifteen years, learning embroidery, gardening, and midwifery and living a peaceful if isolated life.

Everything Marra thinks she knows about life comes crashing down around her ears when, at the age of thirty, she finally comes to understand the truth about her sisters: the prince is evil and abusive and brutal,Marra’s eldest sister was beaten to death in a rage, and the middle sister, Kania, is in danger of the same fate. The only thing that has saved Kania’s life so far is her constant pregnancies, which keep ending in miscarriage, but during which the prince controls his more violent tendencies in hopes of producing an heir. When Marra finally understands the full extent of her sister’s predicament, she comes to a decision: the prince must die.

Thus begins an epic quest, during which Marra finds a wise and powerful grave-witch called the dust-wife (who’s familiar is a chicken possessed by a demon) who gives her three impossible tasks. In her quest, she also collects the loyalest and bestest of dogs, a disgraced knight, and her mediocre fairy godmother. Together, they set out to defy the roles prescribed to them, face a powerful magic that protects the prince, and endeavor to do the truly impossible: kill an evil prince and come out the other side alive.

Lyrical, dream-like, and sharp as a razor, this novel will cut through you with its heartbreak, beauty, wisdom, and hope. It asks the reader to consider how far one is willing to go for family and duty, what the difference is between justice and revenge, and what to do when the thing you hate most about yourself is precisely the thing that is needed. 

Marra is one of those characters that will stick with you long after you finish reading. She considers herself simple and not particularly intelligent or useful, and yet she is resourceful and brave and stubborn. Her determination and her rage are palpable. I simply adored her. I also really loved the other members of her ragtag team of ersatz assassins, particularly the dust-wife and her demon chicken.

The novel also features some of the best sentences I’ve read in quite a long time, including an opening-line that shot through me like an arrow. When I started reading this ARC, I opened the ebook, read the first line and STOPPED. And just sat there for a minute. And then I texted the first line to my best friend in a frenzy. Here, let me show you:

“The trees were full of crows and the woods were full of madmen. The pit was full of bones and her hands were full of wires.”

If that doesn’t stop you in your tracks like a lightning bolt, I just don’t know what to say to you.

Here are a couple of other lines that struck me like lightning as well:

“He isn’t my prince,” Marra said acidly.
“If you plan to kill him, he is. Your victim. Your prince. All the same. You sink a knife in someone’s guts, you’re bound to them in that moment. Watch a murderer go through the world and you’ll see all his victims trailing behind him on black cords, shades of ghosts waiting for their chance.”

And:

“Lots of people deserve to die,” said the dust-wife finally, “not everybody deserves to be a killer.”

I mean, OOF! Here’s another:

“She had the ruined fragment of the godmother’s tapestry, but unless it started glowing or talking, it didn’t seem like it was going to do any good. Another of life’s little intelligence tests, and as usual, Marra had failed to even learn the question.”

And just one more (sorry, these just PIERCE ME):

“Agnes wiped her eyes. “Dammit,” she whispered. “I have to go be impressive. I have to go be the wicked godmother. I can’t cry.”
“She’s at peace now,” said Fenris.
Agnes gave him an ironic glance. “She’s been at peace for centuries, I think. I still get to cry about it.”

WORDS OF WISDOM MY FRIENDS.

Ok, I won’t bombard you with anymore quotes, I think you all get the point. This book is filled with such amazing lines at turn poetic, pithy, and fucking brilliant. I absolutely devoured this book. It is very likely going to stay at the top of my fave reads of the year list for quite awhile at least. Everyone needs to buy and read it and be likewise amazed and flummoxed.

[CW: domestic/spousal abuse, violence, a semi-graphic description of magical teeth-pulling, and vague mentions of cannibalism; also, for those who need to know about the pets: the dog survives]

Book Review: A River Enchanted

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Title: A River Enchanted
Author: Rebecca Ross
Release Date: 2 February 2022
How I Got It: received an ARC through work
Stars: 5 out of 5

Let me just say that the somewhat lackluster cover does not do justice to the story it contains…

Rebecca Ross, author of several popular YA novels such as Sisters of Sword & Song, and Dreams Lie Beneath (among others), gives us her first adult fantasy novel here with A River Enchanted. This novel is the first in a duology (no word yet on when precisely the sequel will be released but to be fair, this did JUST come out), and is inspired by Gaelic/Scottish folklore. It is a beautiful, lyrical novel set on a magical island (that I imagine looks a little like the Hebrides, or the Isle of Skye) that reads like a grown-up fairy tale.

The Hebrides, an archipelago of Scotland

In this story, a young man named Jack Tamerlaine, who was banished from the island a decade before and stayed on the mainland to train as a bard, is summoned home from his position teaching at a university. Despite his resentments and misgivings, he answers the call because his Laird (leader of his clan) claims to need him. However, when he arrives home, on the magical island called Cadence, he discovers two things: the first is that despite the deep hurts the island’s people had caused him, it still feels irrevocably like HOME, and the second is that things are far more dire than he could have guessed.

The daughter and heiress of the clan Laird, Adaira, is actually the one who secretly called Jack home. A fact that infuriates Jack, as Adaira was his rival and tormentor as a child. But Jack is forced to listen when she explains that young girls are disappearing from their families without trace or explanation, and she has called him home to fulfill his role as bard and help her uncover the mysteries of the island that might help them recover the missing girls. In their clan, the bard of the clan is a both a political and magical role, and only he has the skill to do what is required — calling up the magical spirits of the island to demand answers. To complicate matters, no one is sure of the missing girls are the result of spirits gone violent, or the clan on the other side of the island, with whom the Tamerlaine’s have had a deadly feud for generations.

Over the course of their investigation, Jack and Adaira must confront their past history together. As they face down the powerful spirits of the island, they unravel secrets buried deep in their pasts — secrets that will change everything they thought they knew about their clan and themselves. And in the process they will also confront their own feelings, and develop a bond neither of them could have ever predicted.

Beyond the two (very interesting and entertaining) main characters, there are a handful of other characters who receive a lot of “screen time” and attention, and whose complexities bring so much depth to the story as a whole. There is Adaira’s cousin, the captain of the guard, who is burdened by hate and shame. And there is the captain’s second wife, who loves him but is afraid he only married her as a caretaker for his daughter from his first marriage. And there is Jack’s little sister, who he did not know existed until his return to the island, and who immediately becomes his greatest source of love and anxiety (for fear that she will vanish like the other girls have). And Jack’s mother, who possesses a magic that allows her to weave secrets into cloth, and who possesses a dire secret of her own.

There’s a lot to love about this book. It will be a treat for anyone who enjoys Scottish-infused fantasy, and loves a fast-paced adventure story. It also features a compelling rivals-to-lovers romance subplot, which is always a delight. Particularly because Ross does such a great job conveying the hidden depths of emotion in both Jack and Adaira long before either one of them are willing to admit to themselves. Both characters are intelligent and stubborn and loyal, and when they finally start getting on the same page it is an absolute joy to read/witness.

Perhaps even more than the love story, however, I appreciated the underlying themes about the power of music — as something that binds communities, and both hides and speaks truths, and as a kind of magic all to itself. Anyone who is a musician, or really loves music, will feel these ideas deeply.

At its heart of hearts, though, this is a story about secrets: secrets that bind people together, and tear them apart; secrets that weigh down a soul and a community. And about sacrifices: the sacrifices one is willing to make for power, and the sacrifices one is willing to make for love, all kinds of love that can save not only individuals but whole communities.

Just be prepared for a less-than-happy ending, which will hopefully (*fingers crossed*) come out alright in the sequel.

Though I have a long way to go, and many many books to read between now and the end of the year, I wouldn’t be surprised if this book ends up in my Top 5 favorite reads for 2022. Just saying.

Book Review: The Councillor

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Title: The Councillor
Author: E.J. Beaton
Release Date: 2 March 2021
Source: ARC provided by publisher
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I had meant to get this review written and posted nearly a week ago, but alas, life… But anyway, here we go, and OH BOY, folks! I am so excited about this new release novel! It is already a strong contender for my favorite book of the year! (Yes, I know, it’s only January and I have a lot of books to read this year, but it’ll definitely be making the shortlist at least!) The Councillor is from debut author E.J. Beaton. It’s being marketed by the publisher as “machiavellian fantasy” which is a very good description actually. It is political intrigue fantasy at its best; it gives Game of Thrones a run for its money. This debut author is arriving on the science fiction/fantasy with a bang, and we love to see it! They pack more world-building and suspense into this book than you could possibly hope for, and it’s fantastic!

So here’s the basic premise: the story takes place in a country that seems somewhat vaguely inspired by medieval Italy called Elira, where Queen Sarelin Bray rules over a country that is separated into five city-states (Axium, Rhime, Valderos, Pyrrha, and Lyria), each with its own city-ruler. The country is in a state of uneasy peace, some twenty years after an enormous war against the White Queen, leader of a group of people with magical abilities called Elementals. Having defeated the White Queen, Sarelin made Elementals illegal and routinely executes them; people are not even allowed to speak of them. Our main character is Lysande, an orphan, a scholar, and the handpicked protege of the warrior-queen Sarelin. When Sarelin is assassinated leaving no heirs, an ancient tradition dictates that the queen’s appointed Councillor choose a new king or queen from among the city-rulers.  When Lysande, a commoner rather than nobility, is shockingly assigned the role of Councillor, and given the task of choosing a new ruler from among the nobility of the surrounding city-states, she is thrust into a world of political machinations, alliances, betrayals, and death she feels woefully unprepared for. Add in the fact that the White Queen, long-thought dead, may be returning to conquer the realm, and Lysande’s secret drug addiction, and it seems things could not get more complicated. Until they do. 

This novel delights in thwarting reader expectations, seeming to be one kind of story before transforming into another about a third of the way through. You go in thinking the whole plot will be about Lysande trying to decide who is the best ruler from among the city-rulers, but then it flips on its head and becomes another thing entirely. There is a large cast of characters, each with distinct developed and fascinating personalities and motives. The various city-rulers are all amazing in different ways, and the various people who support Lysande throughout the story are complex and fantastic! 

Lysander herself is wonderfully complex and flawed. She worships the memory of Sarelin and must struggle with the fact that her glorious queen’s treatment of Elementals was oppressive, cruel, and unjust. She has developed a growing addiction to an illegal drug made from chimera scales, a drug that keeps her calm and numb and helps her deal with the stress (and downright terror) of being the Councillor, but is having increasingly painful side-effects. She, like the readers, cannot determine who is to be trusted in the labyrinthine machinations of court politics and continuously trips up as she tries to navigate the diplomacy necessary. She also begins to grow a taste for the power that comes with her new position. At the same time, however, she is brilliant and studious and brave, and desperately wants to do the right thing both for herself and for the entire population of the country she loves. In addition to all of this, Lysande is like the DEFINITION of “disaster bi,” and she harbors long suppressed BDSM leanings that slowly emerge in various relationships throughout the novel. She has several different possible love-interests over the course of the novel, and there are a handful of sex scenes, though they are not explicit (in case you’re the kind of person who is concerned about that kind of thing).

 It is so full of well-plotted, but shocking plot twists that you will not be able to catch your breath from beginning to end. I was routinely completely shocked by various developments and revelations, in the best way possible. I am trying to talk around several absolutely STUNNING revelations because I really don’t want to ruin them for potential readers. The whole last third of the novel, in particular, had me breathlessly sitting on the edge of my seat, trying to figure out who was betraying who and how the hell it was going to end! While the ending was satisfying, it absolutely left plenty of room for a sequel, and I really need everyone to go buy this book (pre-order it even!) so that the author and publishers feel compelled to give me a sequel as quickly as humanly possible, please and thanks!

So, get thee hence! Go order a copy! You can find it at all the usual places: indiebound.org, bookshop.org, barnesandnoble.com, and your local indie bookstore!

Last Book Review of 2020: The Arrest

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Hello and welcome to my final book review for the year 2020! I finally finished this book at nearly the last possible minute. I started it in October, got about halfway through it, and then one thing led to another and it kept getting pushed to the back of the line, and I didn’t finally pick it up to finish it until two days ago. This completes my reading for the year. I officially read 46 books this year. My goal was 50, but I’m still very happy with what I managed. And so, without further ado, my last book review of 2020!

Title: The Arrest
Author: Jonathan Lethem
Release Date: 10 Nov 2020
Source: ARC provided by publisher
Rating: 3.5 stars

Well let me start by saying I’m still unsure about the rating. I keep going back and forth between 3.5 and 4 stars. I LIKED this book. I generally love Jonathan Lethem. This book is WEIRD, and I can’t decide how I feel about it. I went in kind of knowing what to expect, having read plenty of other Lethem books. His first two books – Gun, With Occasional Music and Amnesia Moon – are still my favorites, and lord knows THOSE are weird-as-shit books. And yet… this book did not go in any direction I was prepared for and I’m just not sure how I feel.

So, here’s the rundown: The Arrest is a genre-defying post-apocalyptic novel of a kind only Jonathan Lethem could write. It takes us to a United States we would almost, but not quite, recognize, where Sandy Duplessis, aka “Journeyman,” and his sister, Maddie, have become stranded in a sleepy New England town after an unknown catastrophic event causes all technology to fail. With cars dead, communication evaporated, and roads disintegrating, cities and towns across America have become separate isolated city-states. Maddie has adapted, becoming a farmer and respected town citizen. Journeyman has floundered, once a prominent tv writer, now an ersatz delivery man. And then something even stranger than the initial catastrophe happens: a charismatic man named Peter Todbaum from Journeyman’s past appears from nowhere, with seemingly the only car left in the world that actually works. He claims to have driven from California to the East Coast across an America gone wild and savage. And the changes he brings with him could upend the fragile peace the town has built.

Todbaum was a producer before the cataclysmic event they call “The Arrest.” Friends from college, Journeyman and Todbaum had worked together on many scripts for tv and movies, but Todbaum’s main obsession was a dystopian/post-apocalyptic film he could never finish or get into production. In addition, he has remained obsessed with Journeyman’s sister after a brief encounter more than 10 years previously, though she hates him and refuses to speak to him. In his giant nuclear-powered former-drilling-machine vehicle, Todbaum brings unrest and violence into the sleepy New England town, along with the first espresso any has seen in three years, and his increasingly grandiose, fragmented far-fetched stories of driving across America.

Meanwhile, Journeyman is a frankly, spineless man who walks through the whole story nearly mindless and asleep. He does whatever any tells him to do, including the increasingly deranged Todbaum. He never asks questions, objects to anything happening to or around him, or tries to act on anything he thinks or feels. He was frustrating as hell, honestly. I’m pretty sure that was part of the point, but what do I know?

The prose, as anything Lethem writes, is wry and sharp and funny in an unsettling kind of way. Lethem creates colorful images of this world gone insane with spare well placed detail. The main characters are complex and the large cast of side characters are painted with careful brush strokes that highlight the oddities that help them live in the face of this new version of the world. 

This novel is strange, oddly-funny, and dream-like: a cross between post-apocalyptic tale and magical realism, with a healthy dose of philosophical rumination and a treatise on the inherent weirdness of the human condition. There are no straight answers here. Lethem loves his non-ending endings, and this one is right up there with the best of them! You will get little closure or resolution from this novel. But the questions will leave you thinking, often grumbling and occasionally laughing, far past the final page.

Book Review: Hall of Smoke

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Title: Hall of Smoke
Author: H.M. Long
Release Date: 19 January 2021
Source: ARC provided by publisher
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I had the pleasure of receiving an ARC of this book from the publisher, through my work, and WOW am I glad I got to read this! Hall of Smoke, from Titan Books, is the debut release for author H.M. Long. This standalone novel is epic fantasy vaguely inspired by Norse/Germanic cultures, featuring a kickass heroine and gods who literally walk the earth. The basic premise is this:

The world has fallen into chaos as gods wage war against each other, using their human followers and acolytes as pawns and weapons. In the distant past, the new gods had emerged and defeated the old gods, caging them away. These new gods walked the earth, calling their chosen peoples to follow them. But now the old gods have escaped, and all people may perish in the wake of their rage. Caught in the middle is Hessa, a priestess for the goddess of war Eang. When she is exiled by her goddess for disobedience, Hessa unwittingly becomes the only surviving member of her order, her home temple having been attacked and ravaged by invaders from the mountains. Now she is on a quest to fulfill the orders of her goddess and kill a man she has already failed to kill twice. On the path of this quest, she will encounter people from an empire with armies more numerous than the stars in the sky, face down gods old and new, and learn to question everything she has ever been taught about the gods and her place in the world.

It is difficult to discuss why this book is fantastic without getting too spoilery, but I shall attempt it. The main character, Hessa, is powerful and intelligent, complex and flawed, pious and full of doubt. She makes mistakes. She contemplates giving up. She is forced to question and reconsider everything she has ever believed. The entire novel moves with breathless, relentless intensity as Hessa encounters setback after setback. I swear she could NOT catch a single break. The people she encounters are by turns compassionate, brutal, and cunning. The people who tried to help her usually failed or died, or ended up betraying her. And yet she never gives up. She keeps pushing forward. And it was so amazing to witness.

The world-building is rich and textured, with an enormous pantheon of petty, violent, vengeful gods. As I mentioned, the cultures are at least vaguely inspired by Norse/Germanic tribes, filled with blonde and red-head, axe-wielding warriors, and mountain men, and earth-worshipping nomadic tribes. One of the main antagonizing forces (one of several) also appears to be based on the Roman Empire: they are invading from an outside land, with an empire that is far more vast and powerful than Hessa had been able to imagine (bigger even than she had assumed the WHOLE WORLD to be), they have an all-powerful emperor under a uniting government, with a highly skilled and regimented military. So yeah, very Roman. But that is not to say that H.M. Long just plopped a carbon copy of these cultures into her book with different names. She has clearly done her research (I believe she is a historian who specializes in Norse culture?) but she also gives it all her own spin, her own creative world-building twists. And it works very very well.

On top of all that, the intensely-driven plot packs all the excitement, drama, and bloody fight scenes you could possibly hope for. The fight scenes are extremely well written, with all the visceral edge-of-your-seat brutality you might expect from the finest of action films.

I really enjoyed this book. I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good epic fantasy in the vein of Brandon Sanderson or Robert Jordan, and especially if you want a good epic fantasy but need a break from the giant sprawling series that won’t be complete for another ten or fifteen years. And I cannot wait to see what H.M. Long writes next!

You can pre-order the book at all the usual places, including: Indiebound, Bookshop.org

It is also (spoiler alert!) the January adult book option for the Fox & Wit book subscription box service (which is where I work, fyi). We might have a few copies left for pre-order here: Fox & Wit Adult Book Subscription.

Book Review: The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water

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Book: The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water
Author: Zen Cho
Release Date: 23 June 2020
Source: ARC borrowed from employer
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The novella The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water by Zen Cho, published by Tor.com publishing, packs a surprisingly emotional punch in its little body. It has been marketed as wuxia-inspired, and it is definitely that (though there are far fewer martial arts fight scenes and flying about than one might expect if you are at all familiar with Chinese wuxia books or films). Instead this slim book is about inner battles and emotional landscapes.

In a vaguely Asian-inspired country under oppressive rule, Guet Imm, a former nun of the respected monastic order called The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water, teams up with a group of bandits who are more than they appear. These bandits are not merely criminals, but political outcasts and rebels, trying to earn money for their cause. The bandits begrudgingly concede to their new companion (when Guet Imm gives them little choice), and accept her help in protecting a priceless religious relic.

Over the course of their journey through forests and mountains, the nun becomes a part of their found family, and inspires one bandit to reconsider the faith he had thought dead forever. And just to keep things interesting, they also have to fight for their lives.

This book is a wonderful meditation on what it means to choose your family and your path, deciding for yourself who and what is important no matter what society has to say on the subject.  It is also a beautiful examination of the joys, pains, and contradictions of religious faith – what means to have faith, to lose it, and to regain it. As a lapsed Catholic with a very complicated and ambivalent relationship to religion, I really appreciated and resonated with this facet of the story.

It is full of fun martial arts film tropes, and also features a gay man and a trans man – and neither of these identities is in anyway questioned or rebuked by any of the characters in the book, which is refreshing.

I gave this novella a 4 out of 5 because I genuinely enjoyed it and I look forward to what this author does next, but it didn’t totally WOW me. It didn’t knock my socks off. (And honestly, I would have enjoyed a bit more of that great wuxia staple: impossible flying-about martial arts fights.) Still, I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a short fun novella, stories about found families, and/or people who like an Asian aesthetic in their fantasy.

Here is the link to the Goodreads page for this book. And if you would like to pre-order I would recommend either IndieBound or the new online store Bookshop.org (as amazon has been delaying new book releases lately in order to deal with increased shopping for the quarantine situation).

Book Review: The Daughters of Ys

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Photo by me

Book: The Daughters of Ys
Author: M.T. Anderson (writer)/Jo Rioux (artist)
Release Date: May 2020
Source: ARC provided by publisher (obtained through my work)
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

The Daughters of Ys is a graphic novel written by M.T. Anderson, with art by Jo Rioux, that is based on an old Breton folktale. “Breton” refers to the area of France called Brittany, which actually originally had a Briton/Celtic population, before it was colonized by the Roman Empire, and then was eventually subsumed into France. So the folktales of the area are a very fascinating mix of cultures.

This graphic novel contains beautiful full-color art with a soft color palette and a sweeping style, that tells a sad, foreboding far-reaching story in a surprisingly small, tightly-narrated package. 

The Daughters of Ys are two sisters, Rozenn and Dahut, the daughters of King Gradlon of the kingdom of Kerne, who live in the capital city of Ys. The sisters drift apart after the death of their magical (possibly faerie) mother, and follow divergent paths that bring them into conflict with each other. Rozenn, the eldest and heir to the throne, goes to live in the wilds, to be among the plants and animals and away from the riotous parties and debauchery of the capital city. Dahut, the younger, takes on the task of maintaining the kingdom for her increasingly broken and useless father, the king, and revels in the parties and the young men who come to court her. But Dahut has a dark secret. A secret that makes their kingdom the richest and most powerful of all, but at a steep cost. When Dahut and Rozenn come into conflict, one sister betrays the other, and their choices have the potential to ruin the entire kingdom.

This story is a dark lesson in obligation, desire, and what happens when debts finally come due. It is also about the ways that family can fall apart and even destroy each other in the face of competing needs and motivations.

When I first saw the cover, I didn’t care for the art style, but as I got into the story I decided that the style – somewhat loose and soft with a kind of colored pencil texture to it – actually fit the folktale-nature and tone of the narrative. Also, by the end of the story I was very fascinated by the original folktale, and had to go look it up on Wikipedia later. I’m now wondering if there’s a full collection of Breton folktales somewhere, because that would be cool. AND I went in search to see if anyone had written a full novel adaptation of the story, and lo and behold! There is, in fact, a whole 4 book series based on the folktale written by respected SF/Fantasy writer Poul Anderson and his wife/sometimes-coauthor Karen Anderson! So I’ll be looking for those later…

I gave this graphic novel a 4 out of 5 stars. I’m not going to singing its praises to the rafters for weeks, but I did really enjoy it. And I highly recommend it.

For the curious, here is the Wikipedia page about the legendary city of Ys.

And the Wikipedia page about Brittany, where this folktale originates from.

Finally, here is the goodreads page for Poul & Karen Anderson’s book series: The King of Ys.

A Quick Note on Reading Progress

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This will be a short post for now, because I’ve been sick all week. I came home from work on last Thursday evening feeling pretty crappy and by Friday morning I was completely miserable and bedridden. I didn’t start feeling even semi-ok until this Wednesday afternoon. So I’m a bit behind on things, including drafting the next couple blog posts.

Still I thought I would drop a quick note, at least, to share a few reading updates.

For my 2020 “Storm the Castle” Reading Challenge, I have completed four books (Solaris, Lawrence in Arabia, Monster of Elendhaven, and Binti: Home). I am close to finishing two more books (Middlegame and Disney’s Land), which will put me close to ⅓ of the way through my 21 book challenge.

In addition, I have made some small progress on the 2020 “Finishing the Series” Challenge by completing books 1-4 of the Artemis Fowl series. Still, I have not made as much progress as I would have hoped in the first two months of the year (partly because I was sick, and partly because a couple of the books I chose – Lawrence in Arabia and Middlegame – are VERY long).

Next on my reading radar I have a few books lined up. First is The Queens of Animation by Nathalia Holt, which, like Disney’s Land, is a history/biography of those involved in the development of Disney, this time the women who worked in animation with little recognition. Second, is The Body in the Garden, an ARC I received from work (being released in April), which is a mystery set in 1815 and featuring a woman who takes it upon herself to investigate a murder (in other words this book was pretty much made for me). I also have an ARC for The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water (being released in June), that I’m going to try to get to. I may also jump into the next Artemis Fowl book – they are short enough and fun enough to get through while also working on longer books, and I’d like to say I finished at least ONE of the many series’ I hoped to for that reading challenge.

So that’s it from me for now! How are your reading goals coming along for the year? What books are on your radar for March?