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.

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.

Ysabel, Guy Gavriel Kay

Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay is a winner of the World Fantasy Award and something I picked up to hear during my commute. 

Started:  6/9/2013

Completed: 6/18/2013

Recommendation: Mild recommendation

Recommended By:  Nobody

Review:

A coming of age story.  I listened to the story and the manner in which the reader read it effected my enjoyment negatively.  I don't know why, but it just seemed like she was doing the whole book "tongue-in-cheek."  Having said that, the writing was pretty good, the characters were fairly well developed and the whole concept of coming of age in a hurry was well handled.  The drama and indecision seemed mildly forced a couple of times, but that did not really detract from the story.  The book was engaging and suspension of disbelief was easy.  A mild critique would be that the whole concept driving the main plot (how two of the characters are each madly in love with a third) unraveled at the end where the argument that she was the air they breathed fell apart.  It seemed to me like the author had backed himself into a horrible hole and used the old "something you could have never figured out" angle to try and step out.  It was a fun book, but not really an adult's book in my opinion.

Bridge of Birds, Barry Hughart

Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart is written in the style of ancient Chinese literature.  It is an imaginary story that takes place in an imaginary China circa 600.  I've had this book on my reading list for 15 years and finally got a copy.

Started:  3/26/2011
Completed: 4/4/2011
Recommendation: EXCELLENT, fun, read!
Recommended By:  I think I read about this book in the Washington Post Book Review
Words I looked up:


bonze -- a Buddhist priest in Japan

Review:  What a fun book!  From references like a story that one of the characters gives of his life that beings with:  "It was a dark and stormy night..."  There is clear humor and there is subtle humor and there is the humor that you get three pages later.  This is the kind of book where you have to share a passage with someone else!  If you read only one book in 15 years, this would not be it, but if you need a good beach read or you want an exciting chuckle (it is an adventure novel) then run out to a used book store (it is out of print) and grab a copy.  You will not regret it.