Heads up on a giveaway: On about Jan. 14, 2021, one of the commenters on this FanLit thread will get a free copy of this book: http://www.fantasyliterHeads up on a giveaway: On about Jan. 14, 2021, one of the commenters on this FanLit thread will get a free copy of this book: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/give....
Personally I can't recommend this dark urban fantasy but I have a lot of friends who loved it. Review first posted on FantasyLiterature.com:
Galaxy “Alex” Stern (the name courtesy of her hippie mother) seems an obvious misfit at prestigious Yale University. Wealth, athletic talent and academic stardom are nowhere to be found in Alex’s life. Instead she’s a high school dropout with a history of dead-end jobs and drug use, and the survivor of a traumatic multiple homicide. But she has a rare talent that to date has brought her nothing but grief: Alex sees the ghosts of dead people.
As it turns out, that talent is highly useful to Yale’s eight elite secret societies, and they’ve had their eye on Alex for a while. Each of these houses specializes in a different type of black magic — Skull and Bones, for example, performs ritual vivisections of living people, examining their inner organs to predict stock market changes — and these dark rituals attract ghosts. A ninth Yale house, Lethe, polices the magical activities of those other eight houses and is tasked with keeping the ghosts in check, preventing them from causing chaos. Alex gets a full ride scholarship to Yale, provided that she joins Lethe. When a “townie” girl is murdered, Alex feels compelled to investigate it, gradually unearthing a hidden world of corruption, abuse of privilege and evil.
I was warned by a GR friend that Ninth House, Leigh Bardugo’s new contemporary dark fantasy, might be too grim for me, but I was all, I love Leigh Bardugo! I gotta give it a shot! The SIX OF CROWS duology is dark fantasy, so I thought I was prepared.
Silly me.
Ninth House features an onslaught of horrible events, one piling on the next. The trigger list is almost too long to get into, but it includes the aforementioned vivisection, drug abuse, self-neglect, murder … and that’s just in the parts I read or skimmed. I’m reliably informed that its plot also includes child and statutory rape, other types of sexual assault, and forcible eating of human waste. It’s a deeply unpleasant world that Alex Stern lives in, and I realized fairly quickly that I didn’t want to live in it with her, not even for the few days it would take to read this book.
I’m not much of a fan of horror literature in general, and occult horror in particular. You may like Ninth House if you’re a fan of occult horror and are mentally and emotionally up to dealing with the morass of human failings and foul deeds. Ninth House is well-written and detailed, but arguably too detailed and slow-paced. It examines the patriarchy of our society and the unearned privileges of rich white men, who do most (though not all) of the ugly things in this book. Alex herself is a hard-edged survivor, but still struggling to recover from past traumas and to survive the pressures of life at Yale.
This is clearly one of those “your mileage may vary” types of books. Know your reading tastes: if you have major qualms, it's probably not for you....more
2.5 stars. Unpopular opinion time! The first of my two DNFs in the last few weeks. This breezy adventure about a motley crew in an old spaceship was j2.5 stars. Unpopular opinion time! The first of my two DNFs in the last few weeks. This breezy adventure about a motley crew in an old spaceship was just okay for me. It never captured my imagination, and I ended up putting it down about halfway through and just never picking it back up again.
If diversity and acceptance are deeply important to you, this might be a great read for you. Everybody on the crew of the Wayfarer is diverse (mostly in a space alien but also in a sexuality kind of way) but accepting and loving (well, mostly), conflicts are resolved, love is found, and so on. But other than that diversity-positive element, the plot didn't strike me as anything new or unusual in SF, and diversity and social justice by themselves aren't enough to keep me engaged in an otherwise bland book....more
This is the first in a set of (at least for now) four books that collect all of the “Welcome to Night Vale” scripts, along with a couple of pages of cThis is the first in a set of (at least for now) four books that collect all of the “Welcome to Night Vale” scripts, along with a couple of pages of commentary on each episode. I wasn’t previously familiar with Night Vale, but my 21-year-old daughter told me she listened to the podcasts regularly. Night Vale is a town where weird, sometimes spooky, often creepy things happen on a daily basis, and are reported on with equanimity by our radio announcer, Cecil.
They have a very dry, absurdist type of humor that I enjoyed, and I even listened to two or three episodes on YouTube. But I never really got into them, and it was too easy to set this aside for other more compelling reads.
I think fans of the podcasts will really enjoy these books. They’re probably not the best place to start for newbies, though.
I received a free copy of these books from the publicist for review. Thanks, and sorry they didn’t work out for me!...more
Final comments and a DNF: So after a helpful discussion in the comment thread below, I read the first chapter, in which the heroine Nell, who's been mFinal comments and a DNF: So after a helpful discussion in the comment thread below, I read the first chapter, in which the heroine Nell, who's been married for a year to a nice (and wealthy, handsome and titled) guy, acts like an idiot and annoys me in more ways than I want to count. Okay, actually I will count: She's been wildly extravagant in her spending. She's giving money to her gambling addict brother to get him out of debt after her husband, Cardross, expressly forbade her from giving her brother more of his money. She flat-out lies about it when he asks her if she's done that again. She quivers like a rabbit. And she's decided, based on rumors and innuendos, that her husband doesn't love her, so she doesn't show him any love either. I wanted to smack her upside the head. (It's also clear that they both actually love each other but somehow this is getting lost in translation and their relationship is rocky.)
Anyway, it's clear that things are going to get a lot worse before they get better, so I skipped to the end just to get the HEA. Hah!
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NO REGRETS.
Original post: Maybe I want to read this? I’m a Heyer fan, after all. But I checked this out from the library a couple of weeks ago so I could join this month’s group read of this book in the Georgette Heyer group, and I still haven’t been able to motivate myself to start reading it. Because I detest Big Misunderstandings in romance novels, especially when they’re between a married couple. USE YOUR WORDS PEOPLE.
Can anyone convince me this is worth my time? Because otherwise I think this book is heading back to the library unread ......more
DNF. I read several chapters, started suspecting that it wasn't going to be my type of read, and skimmed about half of the rest of the book, which conDNF. I read several chapters, started suspecting that it wasn't going to be my type of read, and skimmed about half of the rest of the book, which confirmed my suspicions. Review first posted on Fantasy Literature:
Thirteen-year-old Elliot is pulled from his geography class one day, packed into a van with three other students, and driven to a random field in Devon, England, where he watches his French teacher exchanges money with a woman standing next to a high wall.
The woman in odd clothing “tested” him by asking him if he could see a wall standing in the middle of a field. When he told her, “Obviously, because it’s a wall. Walls tend to be obvious,” she had pointed out the other kids blithely walking through the wall as if it was not there, and told him that he was one of the chosen few with the sight.
When the woman asks Elliot to come with her to the magical land on the other side of the wall, he promptly tells her no one will miss him (Elliot’s problematic home life is explored later in the book) and heads over the wall with her. There he finds, somewhat to his disappointment, that he’ll be attending school to be trained as either a warrior or councilor. Elliot, more inclined to using sarcastic words than his fists for fighting, quickly opts for the council course. He equally quickly begins to mock Luke, the handsome blond guy who seems inclined to act as the leader of the group of new students at the Border, and Luke’s smiling sidekick Dale, mentally dubbing them Blondie and Surfer Dude. And Elliot immediately falls in love with an “elvish maiden” warrior who introduces herself as Serene-Heart-in-the-Chaos-of-Battle.
So begins Sarah Rees Brennan’s In Other Lands, which has been nominated for the 2018 World Science Fiction Society award for best Young Adult book ― a new category for the WSFS, which administers the Hugo awards. It’s a magical school set in a magical land peopled with the usual suspects: pointy-eared elves, short dwarves with beards and hammers, unicorns, mermaids. The fantasy worldbuilding is paper-thin; Brennan’s real attention here is focused on teenage relationships and growing pains. We follow Elliot and his friends and classmates over the next four years as they learn to navigate magic school, friendships and romances. There’s lots of sleeping around, and Elliot’s emerging bisexuality is one of the things he explores through several sexual relationships with both sexes. Gay, bi and straight relationships and sexual exploration are all accepted in this magical world with equanimity.
Elliot is a deeply insecure protagonist who gets along by being relentlessly antagonistic, hurling sarcastic insults at others at every opportunity. Many readers may enjoy his constant snark; it got old for me fast because there was so much anger and meanness underlying it. It takes Elliot years, not to mention way too many pages of this book, to grow up emotionally. Elliot’s dedication to obnoxiousness, combined with the superficial, chatty writing style Brennan uses in this book (one review I read compared it to fanfiction) and the lack of any originality or depth in the fantasy aspects of In Other Lands, were enough to make me abandon the book. I wasn’t ever able to lose myself in the story.
In Other Lands wasn’t my type of YA book, but if bisexual characters, gender-bent societies (the elves have a firmly matriarchal society where the women are the warriors and the men keep house), and a primary focus on teen relationships are particularly interesting to you, give it a shot.
Content notes: lots of teen sex, but nothing beyond the kisses is explicit....more
This DNF is from way back in the day when I was in high school or college (you know, when dinosaurs stalked the earth). I tried to read my dad's paperThis DNF is from way back in the day when I was in high school or college (you know, when dinosaurs stalked the earth). I tried to read my dad's paperback copy of this book and crashed and burned. It was complicated and wordy and I just couldn't engage with it ... so it bored me. I need to give it another shot sometime now that I'm older and smarter, or at least more well-read. :)...more
Middle grade magic school type of fantasy. This is a magical adventure for younger middle grade readers, without a lot of depth or complexity. The wriMiddle grade magic school type of fantasy. This is a magical adventure for younger middle grade readers, without a lot of depth or complexity. The writing is pretty amateurish. I dnf’d it after a few chapters....more
DNF at 25%. This 1915 semi-autobiographical novel by W. Somerset Maugham just isn’t working for me. Of Human Bondage meanders slowly through the childDNF at 25%. This 1915 semi-autobiographical novel by W. Somerset Maugham just isn’t working for me. Of Human Bondage meanders slowly through the childhood and young adult life and times of Philip Carey, an orphaned young man with a rather tough life and a LOT of hang ups.
It’s insightful but prosy and very long-winded, with characters who aren’t particularly appealing making lots of poor decisions (and I didn't even get to the biggest one! Thank you, Wikipedia plot summary).
I know this is generally considered Maugham’s masterpiece and my literary GR friends pretty much all gave it 5 stars, but I just can’t with it right now. Maybe later some day....more
DNF for this new stand-alone fantasy; it's a matter of taste. Final review first posted on Fantasy Literature:
Magic is an elusive and dangerous thing DNF for this new stand-alone fantasy; it's a matter of taste. Final review first posted on Fantasy Literature:
Magic is an elusive and dangerous thing in the kingdom of Quandis, forbidden to all except a few select priests who spend their lives preparing to handle the ancient magic, and even then inhale only a few smoky tendrils of the powerful magic. Princess Phela thrives on sneaking through hidden passages of the castle, seeking to overhear others’ information and secrets. When Phela hears her mother, the queen, confessing (in a drug-induced haze) to her lover Linos Kallistrate that she, the queen, has been exploring the far depths of the castle seeking out the magic of the Four, who are the gods of Quandis, she’s appalled at the heresy, but eager to find a way to use this secret to further her own ambitions.
Meanwhile, among the Bajumen ― the hereditary slaves of Quandis marked by their deep blue eyes and serpentine brands ― Blane is seeking the only way out of slavery by becoming a novice in the priesthood of the Four … where he promptly begins seeking out the forbidden magic for his own purpose of freeing the Bajumen people from their oppression. His sister Daria, long thought murdered by her master, actually survived the attempt and, her telltale blue eyes somehow fortuitously changed to grey by her near-drowning and her brand hidden by coral scars, is now a powerful naval admiral. And Demos Kallistrate, a young nobleman engaged to Phela’s younger sister, experiences his family’s horrendous downfall. Is it due to his father’s illicit relationship with the queen?
Blood of the Four (2018), an epic stand-alone fantasy novel by Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon, focuses on the highest and lowest inhabitants of the realm of Quandis, telling the tale of the turbulence that hits this kingdom from multiple points of view. The story has several interesting elements, including power struggles in the royal family, slaves fighting for freedom, and conspiracies galore. It’s distinctly reminiscent of A Game of Thrones in some ways.
Unfortunately this fantasy novel is a DNF (Did Not Finish) for me, though I did do some skimming through the rest of the book to satisfy my curiosity about the plot. Blood of the Four is, if not grimdark, then standing within spitting distance of it. With near-unrelenting brutality, detailed violence, explicit sex (including group sex), multiple gruesome murders and assassinations, plenty of F-bombs, and magic with a seriously nasty edge to it, it’s aggressively not my thing. To be fair, there are some threads of hope, and some sympathetic characters to offset the many unpleasant ones. And the violence arguably isn’t as gratuitous as it is in A Game of Thrones, but there was certainly more than enough of it for my taste.
Judging from that amount I read, my sense is that if I hadn’t found the storytelling too off-putting for my taste, I would have rated it 3.5 to 4 stars, but I don’t feel like I read enough of it to give it an official rating. Epic fantasy fans who aren’t put off by hard R-rated novels may enjoy Blood of the Four.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher, Harper Voyager, for review. ...more
2.5 stars. Handsome but uptight and straitlaced Lord Vandover suddenly decides he needs to get married, because of Grandmama's pleas, and maybe becaus2.5 stars. Handsome but uptight and straitlaced Lord Vandover suddenly decides he needs to get married, because of Grandmama's pleas, and maybe because his brother isn't such a great heir to the estate. Holly Paxton is having a belated first season in London. His stepmother tries to turf his plans. Her sister is jealous and tries to get in the way of her prospects. Do either of these nasty women succeed in their plans? (view spoiler)[Not even to the SLIGHTEST degree. (hide spoiler)]
While I'm not a fan of unnecessary drama, this whole story needed a little more spice to it. The novella (how the couple meets and weds) is as bland as pudding, and by the time I got to the end of it and read the first couple of chapters of the novel that followed, I was utterly unable to drum up any interest in the spying/misunderstanding plot of the novel. I skipped to the end just to see how it all would work out, so it's a dnf for me.
Regency romances either need a strong romance with lots of sexual tension or (if they're of the more traditional sort) lots of witty dialogue. Or both. :) This one had neither.
Not recommended unless you're a diehard Regency fan ... even if it's free.
Initial post: Kindle freebie, November 20, 2017. Regency romantic suspense Christmas fluff, YAY! This is a twofer: a novella and a novel about the same couple....more
I've been trying to read all of the 2015 Nebula short fiction nominees, but I'm going to give this one a pass. In the first four paragraphs there wereI've been trying to read all of the 2015 Nebula short fiction nominees, but I'm going to give this one a pass. In the first four paragraphs there were about a dozen F-bombs, which is too much even by my somewhat relaxed standards. Also a shootout and brains getting blown out.
DNF after 4 paragraphs.
If you don't mind tons of profanity and want to go check out this novelette, it's free online at Lightspeed Magazine....more
Kindle freebie, a squeaky clean romance set in the Old West. This one was too silly and superficial for me to even finish. I gave up on it about the tKindle freebie, a squeaky clean romance set in the Old West. This one was too silly and superficial for me to even finish. I gave up on it about the time the kind, plucky British heroine helped save the manly, brooding hero from a cornered coyote. For non-critical sweet romance readers only....more
Here's the second DNF for this week (I checked these books out from the library so my motivation to finish them is maybe not the highest, with severalHere's the second DNF for this week (I checked these books out from the library so my motivation to finish them is maybe not the highest, with several other books waiting on the shelf).
So here's the deal with The Bone Clocks: It's well written, and I could have kept plugging away at it. Maybe I would have liked it in the end, but it felt like a chore to me. I wasn't terribly interested in what was happening in the story, and I didn't care about the characters in the slightest. The thought of trying to plow through 600 pages of this made me cringe.
Reading shouldn't be a chore, at least if you're not in school....more
Sometimes you just have to say, this is not the book for me. I could plow through it for the sake of my book club, but why put myself through 3 or 4 hSometimes you just have to say, this is not the book for me. I could plow through it for the sake of my book club, but why put myself through 3 or 4 hours of angst and misery, reading about a wildly dysfunctional family trying to create their own utopia in the jungles of the Honduras?
In an intellectual way I appreciate that the father, Allie Fox, is an amazing character, but he's just painful for me to read about. It was like fingernails on a chalkboard. He pursues one scheme after another, with his family deep in poverty. He thinks society and technology are degenerate (unless it's something he himself has invented). He's brilliant, loud-mouthed, rude, abusive to his family, mentally unbalanced, a know-it-all, and doesn't listen to anyone. It's a combination guaranteed to drive me nuts in real life, and I just can't enjoy reading about him, or what he puts his poor wife and kids through.
So I skipped to the end and read the last few pages. Don't tell my husband -- he hates when I do that. #sorrynotsorry
DNF at maybe 25%? I'm not sure why this retelling of A Thousand and One Arabian Nights wasn't appealing to me; maybe I'd just read too many YA fantasiDNF at maybe 25%? I'm not sure why this retelling of A Thousand and One Arabian Nights wasn't appealing to me; maybe I'd just read too many YA fantasies lately, or maybe my head was still too full of A Thousand Nights, which I really loved. I might give this one another shot sometime....more
That dress. That dress! How can this not be a fun romantic read? And so I dived into 1899 New York City high society, with its whirl of dances and socThat dress. That dress! How can this not be a fun romantic read? And so I dived into 1899 New York City high society, with its whirl of dances and social calls and hidden agendas. And came to a stuttering halt very quickly.
I can do shallow and superficial for a hundred pages or so (Exhibit A: The Bookshop on the Corner), but over 400 pages* of banal gossip and backstabbing and jostling for social position? Ugh. Even the secret romances weren't very interesting. I was ready to slit my wrists after a few chapters.
Lesson learned: Don't get sucked in by lovely cover art.
*Not to mention that you have to read the three sequels to get the whole story, which, judging from the reviews of book #4 that I've read, doesn't end particularly well and has justifiably made a lot of readers very unhappy and angry. Glad I passed....more
I lost interest in this sci fi action/adventure about halfway through, when the relationship angst got added to all the other stress and problems thatI lost interest in this sci fi action/adventure about halfway through, when the relationship angst got added to all the other stress and problems that were going on. A peek at the end (I know, I'm sorry, mea culpa) let me know that pretty much all of Jax's problems continue past the end of this volume in the series. The first book was a fun romp, but this one just didn't do it for me.
This zombie apocalypse/superhero mashup isn't bad, but it just isn't grabbing me. I could power through and finish it but I don't really see the pointThis zombie apocalypse/superhero mashup isn't bad, but it just isn't grabbing me. I could power through and finish it but I don't really see the point. Maybe if I were more into zombie tales ...
DNF at about 20%. I read a few chapters of this book last night, and I just wasn't feeling it at all. First person present tense didn't help, nor did DNF at about 20%. I read a few chapters of this book last night, and I just wasn't feeling it at all. First person present tense didn't help, nor did naming the kingdoms after seasons and having the racial makeup of each kingdom fit its season, which just seemed juvenile and gimmicky. Not only are the main kingdoms called Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring, but their capital cities are named--wait for it--Juli, Oktuber, Jannuari, Abril. Add in a love triangle, and I'm moving on.
A lot of my YA fantasy lovin' friends really like this one, so if you like the genre, don't let my opinion stop you. I'm an outlier on this one....more
Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽
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