The Saint of Bright Doors, Vajra Chandrasekera

 

Started: May 31, 2024
Completed: June 2, 2024
Recommendation: Recommended
Recommended By: Nobody

Review:

This was an odd book.  The reader is clearly brought into a fairy tale world, but it is remarkably immersive.  The characters are interesting largely because of different perspectives and I have to admit that I really liked it when one character looses his shadow and then cannot shadow his eyes from the sun with his hand.  I have to admit that I am left wanting, so I have a sneaking suspicion that there is a sequel in the offing.

Gideon the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir

 

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir is the first book of the Locked Tombs Trilogy.  I have some concerns about this book because I'm not into horror and this has the potential to have plenty of horror in it, but reviews also mentioned the humor.  I believe I noticed it on the Locus Award list.

Started: 5/13/2021
Completed: 5/15/2021
Recommendation: Recommended
Recommended By: Locus Award

Review:

This is a good book.  You are taken to a far different world and despite the constant presence of bones and some degree of reanimation, this is not a horror novel.  At no point was I worried about being scared; it did not keep me up at night (in fact, I fell asleep while listening at one point when I was listening just before what turned out to be a nap).  The subplot characters are a little flat, but the major characters are quite rich and they explore their relationship well.  The whole of the concepts behind the science fiction parts are quite believable (although it seems magic, not science, is the order of the day).  The use of swords is explained nicely.  The quest portion of the book was fairly good although there were sections that I simply would not have been able to figure out without the author describing events I did not see or relationships that were simply not described.  All-in-all, a pretty enjoyable book and I'm looking forward to the next in the trilogy.

The Obelisk Gate, N.K. Jemisin

The Obelisk Gate by N. K. Jemisin is the second book in the Broken Earth series.

Started: 4/4/2020
Completed: 4/6/2020
Recommendation: Highly Recommended
Recommended By: Nobody

Review:

Wow.  This book tears apart relationships and defines the nature of relationships over and over.  This feels like a world that could really live.  It could really exist.  What a wonderful book.  A certain degree of horrifying, but a very interesting idea and a wonderfully well developed concept.

The idea of a sentient planet is interesting (I once read a book by Hoyle that had a sentient cloud that devoured stars).  The effect of the Moon on the world reminds me of The Three Body Problem and also the Helliconia series.

To Say Nothing of the Dog, Connie Willis

To Say Nothing of the Dog: Or, how we found the Bishop's bird stump at last by Connie Willis is a book that I picked up in the Labor Day sale thinking that it would be good to have something funny on the shelves.

Started: 3/25/2020
Completed: 3/30/2020
Recommendation: Mild Recommendation
Recommended By: Nobody

Words for which I sought help:

Aspidistra -- a genus of flowing plants native to eastern and southeastern Asia

jumble sale -- a sale of miscellaneous secondhand articles, typically held in order to raise money for a charity or a special event; a rummage sale

MacGuffin -- an object, device, or event that is necessary to the plot and the motivation of the characters, but insignificant, unimportant, or irrelevant in itself.

Review:

Completely disoriented again.  Of course, so is the protagonist.  Still mostly confusing.  This reminds me of Jonathon Strange & Mr. Norrell which I started 3 times, but could never get through.

I did not find this book funny.  It is several layers of love story facilitated by time travel, which is truly just a mechanism to tell the story and allow most of the story to occur as though it were a historical novel.  The mechanism of time travel also allows for both confusion and for the protagonists to reveal their hearts to one another (as the "time lag" causes them to say things they would otherwise not).

The Bishop's bird stump is a MacGuffin, so one needn't really focus on it.  It could be that the book is a mystery, although I didn't really feel it was. It sort of defies a clear catalog.

The Fifth Season, N. K. Jemison

The Fifth Season: Every age must come to an end by N. K. Jemisin was recommended on a list of good books.  This is the first book in the Broken Earth series and have enjoyed other books by Jemisin.

Started: 10/7/2019
Completed: 10/12/2019
Recommendation: Highly Recommended
Recommended By: Nobody

Words for which I sought help:

redolent -- fragrant or sweet-smelling

spavined -- suffering from or affected by spavin.  Being of or marked by a decrepit or being broken-down condition.

Review:

Jemisin builds worlds that are starkly different from our current world, but introduces them so gradually with a pinch of this odd thing or a snippet of that alien concept that one does not even realize how unfamiliar this should all be.  Through this gradual introduction Jemisin has the reader buying into the world and its constructs without even having to think about how odd it is.  This ability to create a consistent and coherent world and then introduce it as though it were a familiar environment is an incredible execution of craft.

The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood is a book that I have chosen after much soul searching.  Several friends encouraged me to watch the mini-series and I resisted for a long time.  I have now watched that series.  I understand that the book is different (as a book can rarely be captured in a cinematic format) and I have finally gotten up the gumption to read it.

Started: 7/27/2019
Completed: 7/30/2019
Recommendation: Not Recommended
Recommended By: Lots of my friends

Words for which I sought help:

prurience -- an encouraging or excessive interest in sexual matters

susurration -- a rustling sound

waif -- a homeless and helpless person, esp. a neglected or abandoned child

Review:

I like learning new things.  This book has many new things to say, but sometimes it is the simple things that catch my eye quickly.  In the book there is a discussion on the source of the phrase "mayday."  As the discussion began, I slipped inside my own head and imagined a Jerry Seinfeld style rant:

Why do they call it "mayday" when you need help?  Is May such a hopeless month, what with the flowers and everything?  Did someone start with "marchday" and decide that March was too ambiguous--in like a lamb, out like a lion?  No, we couldn't use March, March doesn't give a sense  of urgency.  Not like May.  May demands attention!  There are flowers popping up everywhere after the April showers.  And flowers just scream help.  "I need to make seeds," "No pick me over here!"  Now, "mayday," that is a cry for help.

The book taught me, however, that "mayday" is derived from the French, m'aidez.  I love it when stuff like that happens when I am just sitting and reading a book.  It's like my brain just got a nice piece of candy.

Having said all of these good things about the book, it is worth knowing that this book is very different from the Hulu television show.  I found the book confusing and only through references common between the book and the show was I able to piece together the broader nature of the society.  The epilogue helped also.  I think that if I had read this book without the show, I would have stopped part way through.  One can only tolerate so much horror.