The Bone Shard Daughter, Andrea Stewart

 

The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart is the first book in the Drowning Empire Trilogy

Started: 10/11/2023
Completed: 10/16/2023
Recommendation: Recommended
Recommended By: Nobody

Review:

To me, this seemed like a modern take on Frankenstein.  The world building was quite good and very consistent.  I was fully enmeshed in each new concept as it came and the idea of using life force as a source of magic is a good one.  I look forward to the next book in the series.

The Wicked King, Holly Black

 

The Wicked King by Holly Black is the second book in the Folk of the Air series.

Started: 8/30/2023
Completed: 9/6/2023
Recommendation: Mild Recommendation
Recommended By: Nobody

Review:

This was much more of a young adult novel than the predecessor.  All the same, I am not sure how I would feel about my young adult child reading it.  There are decidedly adult themes and both clever and interesting approaches to feelings of shame and inadequacy.  The plot became transparent and exceedingly predictable.  I'm not sure if I will read the next in the series.

Finna, Nino Cipri

 

Finna by Nino Cipri is a book nominated for a Hugo, so I want to read it before voting.

Started: 9/17/2021
Completed: 9/17/2021
Recommendation: Recommended
Recommended By: Hugo Awards

Review:

This was a good and well written story.  The use of they/them pronouns threw me several times as I thought on some occasions that the reference was to a plurality and not and individual.  When I took the position that the author was going to have to make it clear to me when it was a plurality ("they both" or "they all" or something like that), I had a much easier time.  The way that the metaverses work was coherent and sensible.  It was worth the read.

The Poppy War, R. F. Kuang

 

The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang got a simply wonderful review by a blogger who said that it truly haunted him (in a good way?).  There have been other good reviews.  It was a finalist for both the Nebula and the Locus awards.  I think that I first saw it on the Nebula awards website.  This is the debut novel for Kuang and is the first in The Poppy War Series.

Started: 10/25/2020
Completed: 10/29/2020
Recommendation: Not Recommeneded
Recommended By: Generally good reviews

Words for which I sought help:

immure -- enclose or confine (someone) against their will

Review:

This book has a grand scale with decent character development.  It is well written.  I simply did not like it.  I did not enjoy the scenes of genocide and the relish to have it repeated.  I found the characters off-putting with the lead character particularly off-putting.  It is just not the kind of escape fantasy into which I was comfortable escaping.

Everfair, Nisi Shawl

Everfair by Nisi Shawl was from a book list I found in the Washington Post.

Started: 3/31/2020
Completed: 4/4/2020
Recommendation: Mild Recommendation
Recommended By: The Washington Post

Review:

I have trouble seeing this as fantasy.  I guess, in a sense, it is a steampunk novel, but it seems more like fiction in a historical setting (like Dracula or alternate histories).  Clearly I am in the minority.  The rich collection of ideas that the author has collected are enjoyable and the struggle to create a country from whole cloth is well presented.  The complexities of bringing a heterogeneous group into a homogeneous country are far more than presented in the book, but it would take many books and be quite tedious to pursue this in detail.  I think it was interesting how the book highlighted individuals and tried to tease out how individuals play a role in creating a common society.  This focus also gave the author a chance to humanize the book with personal faults.  Magic played a role, but it was somewhat incidental and was used to suggest that magic provided some of the good leadership that allowed the country to be created and to morph into something that seemed better for all.  Such a thing is done through compromise, compassion, and a fight for understanding.

Who Fears Death, Nnedi Okorafor

Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorator is a fictional story that is getting international recognition.  I cannot remember how I heard about this book.

Started:  5/2/2018

Completed: 5/27/2018

Recommended By:  Nobody

Recommendation: Recommended

Review:

This is a stirring tale in a seemingly post-apocalyptic future.  It feels like an allegory for current conditions particularly given the #MeToo movement.  It is hard to talk about the book without providing spoilers, so bear with me if it seems that I'm not saying much about the plot.  In a sense, this is a coming of age story.  As usual, however, it has implications for all known civilization.  I really liked listening to this book on CD as the dramatist, Anne Flosnik, has a rich and expressive voice.  I happened to have a copy of the book (as I was planning to read it) and when I skimmed it for the spelling of various names, I would never have pronounced them correctly.  Also, Ms. Flosnik brings a sense of "other" with a rich accent that I simply could not place (perhaps that is the intent).  It could also be that I am simply unfamiliar with many African accents.

I cannot say that this book is Earth shattering or that it gave me a new perspective, but it was displacing.  Perceiving the world from the protagonists point of view makes the familiar artificial and the use of Ju-Ju (a form of magic) further takes the world from the familiar.  It is unclear to me, however, whether it is magic in the traditional sense or whether the practitioner is tapping into something else (perhaps some future technology).  Shape changing suggests it is just plain magic, but I still like to leave the opening for something else.

As a fun read, this was fine.  It have enough oomph to make it worth my time and I am glad to have read it.