imyril takes on the north face of Mount TBR in 2015

Well, either I've forgotten how to continue a topic or my last thread isn't quite long enough to merit a continue option :) So here's to starting afresh for the new year!

@jillmwo set me some homework recently (working up a list for my Thingaversary) and while I gave it my best efforts, I fell sadly short of thinking up 944 books (as calculated by @pgmcc) to buy. I can only blame sitting on a train with no internet access to help jolt my memory; I'm sure I'll manage. Um. Anyway, I used the remaining time to tear through Discount Armageddon giggling so as to scare the other travellers work up some challenges for my 2015 reading.

On the assumption I'll actually be doing some work this year - which seems a fair assumption ;) - I'm also going to assume I'll read at my pre-2014 rate of about a book a week. However, with 3 long flights in my future this year to go to family gatherings on the far side of the planet, I should be able to improve on 52 a little.

2015 target: 60 books of which 50 off the shelf

...with some minimum targets for a varied diet:

50% female authors

10% non-fiction

20% diversiverse

I'll also complete my Culture survey.

I'm keeping it that simple for now - I'm sure I'll acquire some other goals along the way! The big one is no buying any books before summer (ahem, after my Thingaversary, obviously).

Total read: 41 / 60
Total off the shelf: 32 / 50
Total acquired: 35 (excluding duplicates)
Mount TBR score (off the shelf - acquired): -3

Jan (8 | 1/6/1)
The Girl With All The Gifts - M R Carey (OTS)
Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins (OTS)
John Saturnall's Feast - Lawrence Norfolk (OTS)
For Want of a Nail - Mary Robinette Kowal (OTS, novella)
Silently and Very Fast - Catherynne Valente (OTS, novella)
Blood and Iron - Elizabeth Bear (OTS)
The Explorer - James Smythe (OTS)
The Martian - Andy Weir

Feb (4 - 1/3/0)
Golden Witchbreed - Mary Gentle (OTS)
On a Red Station, Drifting - Aliette de Bodard (OTS, novella)
Scattered Among Strange Worlds - Aliette de Bodard (OTS)
Ajax Penumbra 1969 - Robin Sloan (OTS, novella)

Mar (8 - 3/4/1)
The Invisible Library - Genevieve Cogman (OTS)
Ancient Light - Mary Gentle (OTS)
A Study in Scarlet - Arthur Conan Doyle
The English Monster - Lloyd Shepherd (OTS)
Liza of Lambeth - W. Somerset Maugham (OTS)
Red Planet Run - Dana Stabenow (OTS)
Reading Like a Writer - Francine Prose (OTS)
Midnight Blue-Light Special - Seanan McGuire (OTS)

Apr (8 - 1/7/0)
Lost London - Richard Guard (OTS)
The Guest Cat - Takashi Hiraide (OTS)
London Falling - Paul Cornell (OTS)
The Three-Body Problem - Cixin Liu (OTS)
Shadow Man - Melissa Scott (OTS)
The Signature of All Things - Elizabeth Gilbert (OTS)
The Steerswoman - Rosemary Kirstein (OTS)
The Book of the Unnamed Midwife - Meg Elison (OTS)

May (6 - 1/1/4)
Snare - Katharine Kerr
Station Eleven - Emily St John Mandel (OTS)
Order of the Stick: Start of Darkness - Rich Burlew
Order of the Stick: On the Origin of PCs - Rich Burlew
Order of the Stick: Dungeon Crawlin' Fools - Rich Burlew
The Echo - James Smythe (OTS)

June (5 - 1/1/3)
Matter - Iain M Banks
Dreams of Gods and Monsters - Laini Taylor (OTS)
The Steel Remains - Richard Morgan
The Cold Commands - Richard Morgan
The Dark Defiles - Richard Morgan
(The Night Watch - Sarah Waters abandoned)

July (2 - 0/2/0)
The Godless Boys - Naomi Wood (OTS)
The Mermaid's Sister - Carrie Anne Noble (OTS)

Reading:
The Ultimate Time Traveler's Almanac - Ann Vandermeer

Male / female authors: 20 / 21
Male / female SFF authors: 13 / 18

Culture completeism: 1 / 3
Non-fiction: 2 / 6
Diversiverse: 4 / 12

And tracking a few stats for my interest:
Classic scifi:
Spec fic: 5
Scifi: 15
Fantasy: 10
Urban fantasy: 2

Wishing you the best of luck with hitting your targets.

Good luck and may there be many 5* reads in your future. Good luck also with coming up with the 945 books for your Thingaversary! My house is breathing a huge sigh of relief that I'm not at that point yet as I'm only approaching my 1 year Thingaversary.

I hope 2015 is a good year for you, both in your reading and in life in general!

Thank you :) 2015 is starting well - I kept my habit of a New Year's Day run and I've been completely sucked into The Girl With All The Gifts. A promising beginning!

Looking forward to taking more book bullets from you in 2015 (and lobbing a few back!) :)

The North Face! EEp! Good luck! Expecting many ice shards heading my way as you trek up the mountain. :)

The lowest slopes are the easiest, right? So I'm kicking off with catch up on some recent hits everyone else has already read ;)

>10 imyril: I'm kicking off with catch up on some recent hits everyone else has already read

Based on what I have seen in the different threads your planned, "catch up", could keep you busy right through to November.

;-)

>11 pgmcc: ...of next year ;)

>12 imyril: How right you are.

1) The Girl With All The Gifts - M R Carey


I devoured this in 24 hours, so I clearly enjoyed it (although it didn't make for easy dreams). I had been tipped off to the central conceit before I started reading, but knew very little else - I appreciate why everyone has been so very careful in reviewing it :)

So, *pushes up sleeves*, the spoiler-free review: Melanie is a girl genius behind bars. Her life is governed by strict routine, but consists of little more than a slightly haphazard education, a weekly shower and a carefully controlled diet. The novel slowly reveals her circumstances, then explores how she copes when her routine is disrupted and everything she knows comes under threat.

Melanie is irresistible. She's smart, she's innocent and she's got a sense of humour. I can't imagine not being sucked into her point of view, and by extension taking on her little girl crush on her favourite teacher, Helen Justineau (extra points to this book for the central relationships between women). Her circumstances are unusual and it doesn't take long to figure out what's going on; which makes the second half of the novel in which she comes to terms with the rapidly expanding horizons of her world all the more interesting.

Although for me the novel suffers in places from being just too predictable and discarding some of its ideas too easily - the Mad Max junkers being a case in point; the state of Beacon being another - you have to admire Carey for being single-mindedly focused on Melanie. She only cares about her immediate surroundings and her beloved Miss J - and we have very limited access to the broader worries of the adults. The novel unfolds in terms of how events affect her - and how she develops agency and influences those events.

My main beef though is the handling of Doctor Caldwell. Caldwell's entirely valid arguments are hopelessly undermined by her horrid personality, so instead of being challenged by her point of view and allowing the reader to make their own mind up we get a stock Evil / Amoral Scientist (and one of my pet peeves is the 'science is eeeeevil' trope). That said, given the Melanie-centric narrative and the nature of Caldwell's research, it's tricky to see how she could have been entirely sympathetic - but we do get to see Miss J's demons, so I don't think softening up Caroline Caldwell was out of the question.

So: brilliant book, but could have been even better, so doesn't quite hit 5 stars.

That said, I will admit to being delighted that the question that had been niggling me from the start - where the hell did the children come from 20 years after the Breakdown?! - was in fact the crux of the novel. And Caroline Caldwell is arguably vindicated in answering it, although without any forgiveness for her actions.

>14 imyril: It's a fantastic read. Glad you enjoyed it so much. Mike Carey is also responsible for one of my favourite urban fantasy series with his Felix Castor books that edge towards the darker end of the genre. I'd recommend those if you haven't yet read them though the series is still ongoing.

Holy smokes, we're only two days into the New Year and you've already got your first book read!! It's off your shelf and you've provided a spoiler-free review. You're starting off great.

>16 jillmwo: Thanks! Testament to a gripping read and having no plans for New Year's Day :) I must start more years with a Do Nothing But Read day - it feels wonderful.

>15 AHS-Wolfy: I'll admit I don't read a lot of urban fantasy, but London-based procedurals are generally more tempting. Having enjoyed Girl so much, I'll keep an eye out for Felix Castor.

>18 imyril: I think you might enjoy London Falling if you are into London-based procedurals. It is a very gritty urban fantasy that I would describe as a cross between The Sweeney (original series with John Thaw and Denis Waterman) and Buffy, but a mean buffy. It is very police procedural.

>19 pgmcc: London Falling is sitting on Mount Tooby, and will be part of this infamous catch up notion ;)

>20 imyril: October, 2016?

14: The Girl With All the Gifts holds a significant spot in my TBR as well. Mike Carey has already impressed me (along with his co-writers) with The Steel Seraglio.

I read the first two Felix Castor novels, but stopped. They were ok, just not quite my thing. I think I reviewed them if you want more info.

>21 pgmcc: I might bump this one up to a 2015 slot before Ben Aaronovitch and Daniel O'Malley sneak their next magical policing installments in ahead of it ;)

>22 kceccato: ah, I remember you mentioninggood things about The Steel Seraglio, but hadn't made the connection with Mike Carey.

>23 Bookmarque: I will have a look :)

2) Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins


Mockingjay answered most of my issues with Catching Fire and moved smartly along (although I fail to see any non-commercial reason why they need 2 movies to do it justice). Being the third in a trilogy it really is impossible to review without spoiling the others, so suffice to say Katniss Everdeen has survived 2 Hunger Games and now finds herself the figurehead of a revolution.

The interesting aspects for me were the cynicism - Katniss is very much still a figurehead for the cameras, not a latter-day Che Guevara - and the bleak outlook that pervades the novel. This is not standard fantasy or scifi, where our epic protagonist takes on the system and overcomes great challenges on the way to inevitable glory. As in Catching Fire, Collins doesn't shy away from the nightmares that haunt her heroine - Katniss is increasingly shell-shocked by her experiences, and in Mockingjay further blows come thick and fast. Even her supposed protectors in District 13 are rapidly clear to have their own agenda, being almost as ruthless and perhaps as manipulative as President Snow. Her trademark instincts for disobedience and survival carry her through various setbacks on her way to the final showdown in the Capitol.

By the end, I was shell-shocked out of my fuzzy assumption that in YA there had to be a happy ending; and left wondering how it would end and whether Hollywood would be able to resist a happier, less challenging finale. That said, the post-traumatic ending was far more believable and satisfying in its own right.

So, a fitting if difficult conclusion to this dark, satirical trilogy. I'm glad I've finally got round to reading it.

(I'll stop wolfing down books now. I've had my lazy start to the year - I'll have to actually leave the house and talk to people from here on in ;)

>1 imyril: Your 2014 thread doesn't appear to offer a continuation. I don't know what the required length is--200, maybe? But you can always just post a link.

Anyway, I'm starring you again. You read some interesting things.

>26 Meredy: oops. I thought I had gone back and added a link, but checking back I appear to have had one of my vague interrupted moments and left some gobbledygook instead. Fixed, thank you :)

25> I know a lot of people were angry about a decision Katniss made in Mockingjay - when she voted to continue the Hunger Games with the Capital's children. I thought that killing Coin was her way of undoing the situation, because by suggesting and allowing it Coin had proved to be as bad as the Capital. Anyway, what was your take on it?

>28 pwaites: I think the decision is meant to make the reader angry - we're certainly not meant to agree with it - and it was at odds with her previous position in District 2, but I thought it effectively illustrated just how horribly broken she was by that point. It didn't feel entirely right for character continuity (unless she genuinely thought it was a choice between killing 2 dozen children or killing all the Capitol's citizenry, which was unclear), and I expected the narrative to return to the point after Coin's death and confirm whether they still went ahead with it or not. But it did underline how untraditional the character arc was - especially for YA - it's practically grimdark. Less graphic, but the good guys are (almost) as tarnished as the bad guys (especially Gale!) and the heroine is - if we're harsh - no more than a puppet from start to finish. The berries really are her only true rebellion; at (almost?) every other major decision she's unknowingly playing out someone else's script. Fascinating stuff - it really took me by surprise that Collins chose to be so bleak. I was expecting a rallying cry for hope and humanity (given the audience!), but that wasn't really part of her plan.

30> Excellently said. I think that's what makes it stand out from most of the dystopias that got published in it's wake.

>30 pwaites: Absolutely. I'm very glad I've finally caught up; I'm not in a rush to read any of the others.

Happy New Year! I'm glad your reading year has got off to such a good start, and hope it continues well. I'm sure I'll get hit with a few Book Bullets from you along the way but as I was one of those who got you onto Girl with all the gifts, I'll try not to resent it too much!

>32 Sakerfalcon: all's fair in love and books? :)

Having had 2 such good reads in succession, I'm dithering over what to read next. I seem to be cautiously sampling 3 at once, which isn't my usual style, so we'll see what comes of it.

The Time Traveler's Almanac is another one @sakerfalcon can take some responsibility for, as she bumped me from admiring it to actually owning it ;) The good thing about indecision is that a tome of short stories can always furnish something to fill the gap.

John Saturnall's Feast is off to a promising start. Young John the witch's son - or the healer's son, depending how kind the village is feeling - has a difficult childhood in 17th century god-fearing Buckland. I suspect it's going to go very badly for him, but as witchcraft seems to revolve around an ancient Feast in honour of God (and since there's already been recipes embedded in the tale) I hope he at least gets well fed.

Cobweb has been on Mount TBR for years, so I thought I'd better finally tackle it or lose it. I like early Neal Stephenson, and I enjoyed Interface (the other novel he wrote with his dad), but I'm struggling to get to grips with the style so far. Political thriller sounded like a jaunt, but I'm starting to think it might be more of a slog through midwinter snow.

>34 imyril: If it helps, I wouldn't recommend reading The time traveller's almanac all in one go. I've been dipping into it between other things for the last few months and enjoying it that way. I found when I read a big chuck of it at a time that I started to get a feel for what was going to happen, which lessened the impact of some of the stories.

>35 Sakerfalcon: That's what I thought. I've been using it as a go-to while I try to settle on one of the others, but still only reading a story at a time. I think I might read it out of sequence too - alternate a story from each section, so the themes vary, rather than all the stories from one theme in a row.

Oh, I'll be interested to hear your report on John Saturnall's Feast as I have it on my ereader...

>37 Marissa_Doyle: John Saturnall's Feast has definitely won out over Cobweb. It is unfolding quite slowly - it has taken about a third of the book to get to the point where the story as described on the cover 'starts', but the measured pace of the set-up has been pleasant reading. I like how the earthy characters have come to life, from the nasty little boys to the tortured priest, and especially the long-suffering steward. It sort of puts me in mind of some of Alan Garner's adult works (which often feature English peasants), only more accessible as it doesn't use an impenetrable dialect.

There's a hint of some terribly by-the-numbers subplots (a lack of heirs; a headstrong daughter who cannot inherit), but I'm hoping the pagan Feast will stay centre-stage.

Thank you--it's moving up the TBR queue based on that. I'm fine with a slow burn, so long as I'm having fun on the way--like Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, which is in my top five favorite books ever.

With 2 days to go to my Thingaversary, I spent some quiet Sunday morning time picking up the books that will mark it. I'm afraid I wasn't able to get close to @pgmcc calculation of 944 required to mark my 9 years on LT, but I'm very happy with the little collection I've picked up and there are of course 2 more days in which some more may follow me home...

My first 6 or 8 are full-length novels that have been stalking me or ambushed me when I went shopping:

The Darwath Trilogy - 3 in 1, which seems like an excellent start and finally gets me trying Hambly
Lost London - ambush, because I'm a sucker for books about interesting corners of my city
The Greenhouse - ...and for books about Iceland. I want to go back
The Invisible Library - ambush, but how can I resist world-hopping fantasy librarians?
Lion's Blood - an alt history recommended during SantaThing
The Mirror Empire - I want to try Hurley and I've been resisting this for ages

...and then I got stuck into shorter-form:

The Time Traveler's Almanac - if I count each story separately, this adds 70
Silently and Very Fast - curious to see what Valente does in space
For Want of a Nail - because I loved The Lady Astronaut of Mars, but I don't fancy Robinette Kowal's alt regency long-form novels
On a Red Station, Drifting - I've not read Aliette de Bodard before, but I'm instantly curious (again, her long-form doesn't appeal so much)
Scattered Among Strange Worlds - so curious, I picked up two. And this has 2 novellae in it, so bonus points, right?
Spirits Abroad - last but not least, a SFF collection from a Malaysian lady who happens to be a friend of one of my best friends

So that's somewhere between 98 titles and 12 (the traditional one per year, plus one extra, plus one to get an odd number... plus one oops how did that fall in my basket? Oh well, you better come home with me too) depending on how I keep count :)

@pgmcc - I'll convert the rest into cheese calories over the rest of the year ;)

Save some for wine calories to go with your cheese. Hope you enjoy your new acquisitions.

"if I count each story separately, this adds 70". @imyrill, you are an example to us all! I am pretty sure this puts you in the forefront of the class!

I am interested in feedback on For Want of a Nail which is currently untouched on my Kindle and feedback on The Invisible Library because it sounds like fun!

>42 jillmwo: *curtseys* I try my best!

I suspect I'll jump into all the scifi novellae for some quick light reading when I finish John Saturnall's Feast (which I'm still enjoying; John is mastering the kitchen but the Civil War is about to turn everything upside down) so expect For Want of A Nail later this month. I might save The Invisible Library for my birthday next month as it sounds delightful - @sakerfalcon is currently mid-read though, so her enthusiasm may push it up my list.

>40 imyril: A good start. Enjoy the calories. I have never met a calorie I didn't like.

>41 Peace2: wine calories are a favourite - and they go so well with cheese!

>44 pgmcc: I firmly believe that if you don't enjoy it, it doesn't have calories, so you get to have something else.

>45 imyril: And then there's my rule for dieting: no matter what you're eating, if you have a salad with it, it's a diet meal.

>46 Meredy: I think I could happily adopt that one too.

3) John Saturnall's Feast - Lawrence Norfolk


John Sandall the blackamoor's son is born in 17th century Somerset, with a gift for recognizing all the ingredients in a dish by taste or scent. As the country is gripped by increasing religious fervour, he and his goodwife mother are driven out as witches. But John's demon tastebuds make him the perfect cook. Taken in at the local Manor and trained in their kitchens, he must face down old enemies and new challenges as the country slides into Civil War.

It's a leisurely journey of grace notes rather than high action and there's little originality in what passes for the base plot, but what a delightful dish this is: historical food porn with a dash of romance and religion. John is a satisfyingly complex character, and I enjoyed the willful yet dutiful Lady Lucretia. Most of the supporting cast are stereotypes at best, particularly the antagonists (the cowardly drunk chevalier; the lustful lay preacher; the mean kitchen boy), but there is also an array of warm-hearted good folk (I had a particular soft spot for Josh Palewick).

My only beef would be the tired trope of the commoner rescuing the lady from ravishment, and the traumatized lass promptly tumbling him in spite of her initial protestations, although at least the characters and relationships had been thoroughly set up in advance.

Not entirely what I expected, but thoroughly enjoyable and well-served.

4) For Want of a Nail - Mary Robinette Kowal


I'm afraid I didn't enjoy this anywhere near as much as The Lady Astronaut of Mars. There are good ingredients in this Hugo-winning short story (and it is short, so I do feel a bit cheeky claiming it as a book, but the joy of Kindle stand-alone publishing and the knowledge of the Weighty Tomes on my shelf make up for it), but it didn't pack the emotional resonance of Lady Astronaut.

The world is intriguing but sketched (short story!) - a spaceship in flight, carrying people somewhere over generations; the hazards of legacy equipment and a commercial context (a fee for claiming your things from storage); and a hint of a highly-controlled social structure (repro rights, recycling). The story welds all these ideas together with a poignant challenge to a family's AI wrangler who discovers (in the course of repairing it) the AI may be more independent and less honest than she thought.

Bizarrely, this is a story that left me cold on reading, but has acquired resonance as I've tried to write about it and realised I'd missed the point.

The interesting point (and the one that passed me by on reading), is that the AI is the most human character in the tale - if only because it has been programmed to be so. The humans live by a set of rules/standards that are applied ruthlessly; there is no personal or ethical framework to challenge those rules. They behave like machines in order to survive their journey; the AI can be programmed to obey new rules.

All of which is an interesting idea at the core, but doesn't win any extra stars as I don't think the execution is entirely successful. I like my short stories to pack a punch; this one was more like shadow boxing. It's a diverting read, but not a particularly engaging or fulfilling one.

My edition includes the original draft of the story, written years earlier on a writing course. It's also flawed, but I think Kowal is hard on herself - it too has some good ingredients (although some awkward writing and speech, and a pedestrian action climax). It is interesting to see how the story evolved from initial brainstorming notes to first draft to award winning completion.

*thumbs up* Thank you for such an excellent and thorough overview of the piece!

>50 jillmwo: almost longer than the story ;) I must practice brevity one of these days...

5) Silently and Very Fast - Catherynne Valente


Cat Valente has a gift for myth. She is inspired by it, she works with it, she weaves into new and strange configurations and leaves the reader to work out where they've got to and how they feel about it.

Nominally a story about an AI who dreams of communion with its own kind trying to integrate with a new and unwilling operator, this is (as @sandstone78 pointed out) more a coming of age story about innocence and experience. It is barely recognizable as an AI tale at all, couched within a rich and fluid dreamscape and communicated in part through co-opted fairytales.

I loved it, but I can't resist a good bit of myth. I sensed Neva's secret almost from the start, but the journey from the AI's creation to Elefsis's understanding of its future was fulfilling and distracting. Arguably the only missing but highly implicit tale was Pinocchio; but here it is the operators who want a real boy, not the puppet. Elefsis is self defined and alive on its own terms and cannot really understand that the Other is alien and threatening. It just wants someone like it to talk to.

A bit like For Want of a Nail this falls unlike an AI story because Elefsis has no purpose, but I found it a gorgeously imaginative story about the birth of a new intelligence. Appropriately, it's got a lot of heart, albeit with jagged edges.

It feels like spring, although it's only mid-January! I went for a long run this morning (I'm back up to being able to go out for nearly an hour after a month of steady training, although I still need a few walk breaks) and was delighted by the number of jays in the Park. The first one buzzed me as I crested the hill at the Ballet School, and the second was taking a bath in the stream by the road - such a water baby, really enjoying himself (and with his head all fluffed up as they do). Adorable.

...and when I got home I noticed all my daffodils are coming through. Early day green shoots still, but a promise of golden glory on the way.

A lovely early start to the weekend, in spite of a fox digging up one of my planters to bury meat (enterprising thing - our fences are at least 5 foot high! - but a terrible mess; it took so much dirt out of the planter there wasn't enough to bury the prize. So I have dirt everywhere, and a bit of smelly meat lying uncovered as foxes aren't good at scooping dirt back into the thing they've kicked it out of). They've tried to bury things in the planters out the front before, but the wall there is only about 2 foot high. I'm impressed it was determined enough to get into the back garden.

>53 imyril: Great description. I have only seen a Jay once: in Devon.

>53 imyril: Sounds like a lovely day. Your Jays are very much sweeter looking than ours. Ours are aggressive, loud and abundant. Usually what we have in our backyard are Scrub jays, but this last year I saw some Stellar jays, which are prettier, if a bit noisier than the others.

>53 imyril: Jays seem to be doing very well in London; I see one or two from my window most days. MrsLee, our jays are certainly capable of producing an ear piercing screech when they want to! But I think magpies are noisier on the whole.

>52 imyril: You've convinced me to move Silently and very fast up the tbr pile. As well as the copy I printed off from tor.com, it's contained in a short story collection so I might read that with the other stories too.

I fell into an obvious trap this weekend, when I agreed to proofread my cousin's dissertation. She's studying film, so it focused on the art of David Fincher, a great favourite of mine and the director of the recent movie version of Gone Girl (which I haven't seen). I had been planning to watch the movie before reading the book, but somehow it didn't occur to me that an academic paper would have spoilers in it ;)

Go ahead, laugh. I did, ruefully. Some days I'm too dappy for my own good :)

On the up side, I don't think it matters what order I tackle the book and the movie now!

Ooops!

>58 Peace2: it's a bit of a theme for me and Fincher, although I'd never heard of him when my best friend spoiled the end of Alien3 during a lunchtime rant. Took me years to see it after that, but I ended up in the minority who enjoyed it because I knew what was coming ;)

In a little reading update, I'm setting aside Blood and Iron for the time being. There's absolutely nothing wrong with it - it's well-written, it's having fun interweaving all the faerie lore, I don't feel like I'm missing anything in terms of material it references, and the characters are interesting and in an interesting situation.

And in spite of all that, I'm not feeling it. I'm reading a little every day (rather than taking any chance to pick it up), not feeling very engaged, and I think not doing it justice. So I'm going to put it down for now, and hopefully we'll click next time I give it a go. Because it really does seem to tick all the boxes. It's got some good company on that pile, and I'll go try The Martian as I ought to give that back to my uncle and I'm seeing him this weekend!

>60 imyril: Good luck! I finally had to quit reading for about 3 weeks in December. I didn't quit entirely, but I gave myself permission not to read for awhile. Now I seem to love it again.

6) Blood and Iron - Elizabeth Bear


I’ve been meaning to read this for a while, and the combination of @sakerfalcon pulling it from her shelf and the faerie qualities of Catherynne Valente made me decide it was time to get to it. And needless to say it 'clicked' about 5 pages after my comment above about setting it aside. Faeries. They're just attention seekers, really.

It’s a slow ride that is quietly demanding. Bear makes no allowances for her reader’s familiarity with faerie tales or Irish pronunciation, weaving the implicit weight of her chosen myths into her own sharp tale of the war between Faerie and Man. If you don’t know what you’re missing, I suspect there’s plenty here that comes as a surprise or that seems a bit sketchy; if you have long loved Irish myth and the Matter of Britain, you probably get a good deal more out of it.

This is a dark, complex tale of bright bells, brave banners, high magic and bloody betrayals. Bear has done a fine job of sketching the Fae as I’ve always seen them - heartless, soulless and captivating - and understands that the differences between the Seelie and the Unseelie are little more than split hairs if you’re a mere human. Nonetheless, she deftly wins you to the Faerie cause as her human Magi declare war, merciless in her conviction that no side is any better than another.

There were the odd points that raised my hackles (mostly from the werewolves, who I took exception to for most of the same reasons as Elaine, and who felt the least incorporated of all the myths in the weft) but overall this is a fine if occasionally stodgy read. My main beef was with the Kindle formatting, which didn't show breaks in points of view. I suspect these have multiple line breaks in the printed edition - in Kindle, the paragraphs merge together, having suddenly changed time, location and perspective, which kept me on my toes and made it tricky to find handy stopping points!

If you don’t like faeries and Arthurian myth, avoid like the plague. If you do, this is another strong addition with a bittersweet lilt familiar to any reader of GGK.

…all that said, I won’t rush to read the other Promethean novels, although once Mount Tooby is down a foot or two I’ll keep an eye open. However, I will look for more Bear. I fancy some Bear in space - I'm assuming she's space opera rather than hard scifi, and I suspect she does it rather well.

>62 imyril: Great review! I'm glad this ended up being a good read for you eventually. I can't imagine how annoying and confusing that formatting issue must have made it to read.

>63 Sakerfalcon: I think it may have been part of the reason I didn't initially notice when it swapped from third person to first person narration two-thirds of the way through. It was elegantly done - and it was absolutely clear who was narrating - but I found myself 2 chapters later paging back trying to work out when it had swapped!

...I did think that was a marvellously understated way of implicitly passing comment on what Seeker had just done. Clever, clever Bear.

7) The Explorer - James Smythe


The first manned expedition in years will go deeper into space than anyone has gone before. It's a thinly-veiled PR stunt, an attempt to reinvigorate interest in manned space exploration, and of course it all goes wrong. Cormac Easton is the journalist on board and the last survivor, chronicling the disasters and his own mental and emotional deterioration as he faces up to the inevitability of his own death.

This book knowingly embraces well-trodden tropes, and winks to them about two-thirds of the way through when the journalist writes how things could have been: everything going smoothly, returning heroes, a best-selling book - followed by a pulpy scifi novel based on familiar tropes and an attempt at a more human angle. On the nose.

It's also one of those books that kept me turning pages to find out the details of the unfolding past and the ultimate outcome, yet without ever achieving emotional engagement. I was curious to find out what happened to Cormac, but I didn't really care either way. Perhaps it felt a little too much like it was playing for the movie deal itself (and to be fair, it would work well on screen); perhaps Cormac just wasn't very likeable (he isn't, as the second half of the book goes to some lengths to illustrate).

But it's a good enough read. I think it's just a little too knowing, if successfully (and painfully) human.

Inevitably, I've got more to say, but this hinges on a spoiler. So:

My main issue is that Smythe flirts heavily with paradox here without ever making any attempt to resolve it. This turns out to be a time travel novel - it revolves around the trope of watching yourself go through the motions and realising that some events require your intervention to match your recollections - and Cormac inevitably considers (repeatedly) the thorny question of the chicken and the egg. What happened the first time when he wasn't there?

Now, I'm no space scientist (although one of my best friends is, so perhaps I should ask her about this) so the mere mention of an anomaly doesn't suffice as a McGuffin for me. Ultimately, I think the journey is meant to be more important than the destination, but again... that doesn't really suffice for me. I'd have preferred more ambiguity or more clarity.

So while the resolution works just fine, some of the loose ends bothered me.

...although it did make me want to re-watch Moon.

That said, I suspect this novel may grow on me the longer it sits with me. Which may simply be my relatively low exposure to this trope; I'm familiar with it, but not over-exposed. Yet.

I'm finding the cover of The Martian very distracting. Every time I glimpse it, my brain turns it into a young Val Kilmer, back when he had a chiselled jawline.

>66 imyril: Not that I've read the book, but that was what struck me every time I saw that cover.

>67 Peace2: I'm glad it's not just me :)

...and it's not a bad thing, it's just a bit distracting.

8) The Martian - Andy Weir


This is one of those books I'm going to be grateful to for being popular, without having got the same thrill from it myself. It's awesome that a geeky book about a bloke bodging his way across Mars has turned into a massive bestseller - I'm all for stimulating public interest in science and space travel.

Car crash fiction (if it can go wrong, it does) is compelling, and we all loved MacGuyver, right? ..but I didn't love Mark Watney. Yes, he's smart, he's resourceful, he's unflaggingly positive and focused (especially after Cormac in The Explorer, although Cormac didn't have Mark's talents) - but his sense of humour was intermittently like nails down a chalkboard (and that's before we get to the throwaway line near the end about him raping the MAV. Wrong verb, dude. Wrong verb) and didn't always ring true. I am very tired of nerd playground stereotypes, and I don't buy them coming from a mech eng/botanist on Mars and his colleagues in NASA, not least because I've known quite a few space scientists, and they just don't go in for the undermining humour they had to put up with at school.

Anyway, luckily this is a a small (if recurring) feature, and can be tuned out. Mostly, it's the expected catalogue of challenges, mini-disasters, risk-taking and victories for lateral thinking. This is adequately written and sufficiently engaging to keep me going (it had my uncle utterly glued, but then he's an engineer :) without really doing a lot for me - by the end, I simply didn't care how the systems were being hacked together, although I still wanted to find out if Mark survived.

In spite of Mark's occasional sexism fail (see: sense of humour; yes, let's turn 'in space, nobody can hear you scream' to 'in space, nobody can hear you scream like a girl'), I loved that NASA was peppered with women, including astronauts and techs, and that one of them called the director on giving her work that was well below her ability.

Plus it made me laugh for the wrong reasons. Reading Excession (I think), I like the Attitude Adjuster for being a typically barbed Culture Mind name. Now I know it's also a maneuvering jet aboard a spacecraft, I like it even more.

So: The Martian is fine, it's more or less entertaining enough, and it has broad appeal if you can handle high levels of technical tinkering, so it can get non-scifi readers interested in science and space. Yay!

...and having read it, I think more highly of The Explorer (because clearly I'm far more interested in existential personal stories; but then I always knew I preferred space opera to hard scifi). Chalk up my first 'do my star ratings really work' crisis of the year.

Oh, thank you. I started The Martian, desperately wanting to love it because I'm a closet space geek, but put it down after 50 pages because I just couldn't engage for all the reasons you enumerate. I'm glad it wasn't just me.

And yeah, it might have been interesting if the narrator had been female...

I didn't love it either. I kept wondering why Mark hid those antidepressants from us. I mean, how else to remain so darn chipper all the time. And after a while every disaster became just another pratfall. 2 chapters in and I knew no one would get hurt and so it lost a lot of emotional resonance for me. It would have been better if there had been more palpable danger. No one even got a papercut.

>70 Marissa_Doyle: you are not alone :) I liked that Lewis and Johanssen were female, but it would have been a whole different spin if Watney had been!

>71 Bookmarque: I kept wondering why Mark hid those antidepressants from us.
It's amazing what Three's Company will do to the brain. Imagine if he'd had Happy Days.

Or Mork and Mindy!

I might have liked Mark better if he'd been watching Mork and Mindy. ;)

69> I had a lot of the same thoughts as you. Darn it, I need to get around to writing that review.

I'm having a slow start to February, doing things that aren't reading (gasp). Continuing to read a bedtime or commute story from the time travel anthology (so far I liked Ripples in the Sea of Time and What If best, but nothing has been bad) and a chapter every couple of days of Reading Like a Writer.

@imyril Can I ask you did you read Tigerman by Nick Harkaway and recommend it last year? I have a vague recollection of it as a book bullet and I've seen a copy in the library and was wondering whether to borrow it or not.

>77 Peace2: Excuse my butting in here, but, "borrow it! borrow it! borrow it!"

>77 Peace2: I'm in agreement with >78 pgmcc:

>78 pgmcc: >79 AHS-Wolfy: I was right then it was a book bullet from last year. If it's on the shelf when I go in, I'll grab it next week. :D Definitely enough enthusiasm shown there for me to give it a try.

>77 Peace2: I did.

Also, what @pgmcc said :D

>81 imyril: *grin* I shall hopefully make it down to the library on Monday and with luck it will still be available.

Well it's my birthday today, and Amazon has decided that The Bone Clocks should only be £1.99 on Kindle. As I have £2 promotional credit for opting for slow delivery on some recent orders, that means I get it for free. I'll consider it my birthday present from Amazon :)

Have a great day! And enjoy your gift :D (and any others you might also get!)

>83 imyril: Happy Birthday! I hope you enjoy The Bone Clocks.

Happy Birthday!

Many Happy Returns, imyril!

Happy birthday (a few days late)...

Thank you all for the birthday wishes :) There's no such thing as late birthdays (my Mum's card hasn't even arrived yet), just as there's no such thing as birthday calories.

9) Golden Witchbreed - Mary Gentle


I had no intention of joining this group read, but I'm ever so glad I did - this was an excellent book and a great introduction to Mary Gentle. Earth has mastered FTL travel, and diplomats and xeno-teams are being sent all over the galaxy to establish relations with our neighbours. Lynne Christie - relatively inexperienced, but with 2 primitive planets under her belt already - is sent to Orthe / Carrick V after the previous envoy died in part, she realises, because she is expendable. Close to androgynous, subtle and close enough to human for boundaries to slip, the Ortheans have a deep-seated fear of high technology based on legends of past holocaust under the Golden Witchbreed, but their ruler recognises the opportunities offered by trade with Earth. Sent out to the provinces to convince the tribes that Earth isn't to be feared, Christie soon realises how very little she truly understands about Orthe - and how much danger she is actually in.

I really enjoyed this. It's well-written, with charismatic characters and fabulous world-building - we discover Orthe alongside Christie, and there's enough detail stashed away here for the world to feel convincing and larger than we see (and for this to be tantalising - I want to know what's on the far side of the world, and how the barbarian tribes of the Barrens work, and whether the deserts south of Kel Harantish really are empty).

With an anti-tech population in the Southland, where the main action takes place, this has a strong flavour of fantasy about it - there's no magic, but a mythic past and a violent, Byzantine present with no technology never quite feels like pure SF either. I didn't feel this was a problem, although I would have liked an extra layer to the narrative providing us with more insight into Earth - the clues seeded in the text hint at entirely predictable problems (population explosion; climate change; resource exhaustion) being replaced by an interesting new one - not being able to cope with the rate of (territorial) expansion and change fuelled by FTL travel. There's a whole other set of novels embedded in that context that were never written that I find I'd also love to read.

Instead, we have a near-human race who have a devotion to the land and an all-embracing communal attitude within their tribal structure (the Orthean rural attitudes are properly alien when viewed from the context of when they were written in 1983). Yet they are violent when roused, with a mercenary who fulfils his contracts being due the highest respect, and their politics are intricate and merciless. Orthean society is complex enough that it takes most of the book for the inherent contradictions to begin to come together.

The focus, though, is on Christie and through her on the Orthean fear of techology and the Golden Witchbreed - an Empire that destroyed itself with its own weaponry, releasing its Orthean slaves to inherit Orthe. Christie's travels across the Southland and beyond, driven out by those who fear offworld influence and claim she is Witchbreed, arguably make this an epic exercise in world-building. But the core characters are strongly drawn, and Christie's mental state - from confidence to terror to anguish to determination and back again - is convincing. She both does and doesn't take it all in her stride, and I liked her all the more for it.

There is a side helping of Spot the Traitor to keep the plot moving, which I passed with flying colours (and some regret. I knew that if I were building this society, one of 2 characters would be the traitor; I was right, and I really didn't want to be, leaving me in the bizarre situation of knowing any other answer would have left me feeling emotionally under-served, but feeling sad that it had to work out that way. However, I intuit this may set me up well for dealing with what gets handed out in Ancient Light).

I find myself eager to read the sequel, which I suspect takes this diplomatic travelogue into the realm of more conventional fantasy threat (i.e. world-threatening ancient powers), although I understand it wasn't a popular sequel. In the meantime, gold stars all round for great ingredients, ruthless egalitarianism (no problem spotting strong female characters here, or friendships between women) and a knack for turning things on their head.

Edit I feel I should pop a 'your mileage may vary' on this. There's a reasonably high Slogging Through The Mud quotient (Christie starts on a field tour and ends up on the run; mud actually features in the fens, although it is later replaced by snow and then water), and I've subsequently tripped over a reasonable number of complaints that this is all world building. Err, yes, it largely is. But very good world building ;)

Ok, I'm starting to be convinced that maybe I should join the group read after all...

>91 zjakkelien: it's definitely worth a lookif you can get hold of it. And I've realised it's going to make me reread Snare (this is becoming a theme - last year it was Burning Bright pushing me to read Polar City Blues) to see if it's as similar as I oh so vaguely recall.

>92 imyril: Further belated birthday wishes! Hope you had a good one!

Clearly I really must read Katharine Kerr's science fiction! I've bumped Polar City Blues back up my TBR, and will pick up Snare if I see it too.

>93 sandstone78: thank you :)

I continue to love the way your reading groups push me to reread bits of my library that I otherwise look up at occasionally and think 'I should revisit that' but do nothing about (I'm also amused that Kerr is now a recurring theme). I've only ever read Snare the once, when it first came out. I don't remember much about it at all and I think it was the Kerr book I liked the least (I've read none of her urban fantasy, because urban fantasy isn't typically my bag) - but given how much I liked everything else she wrote to that point, this doesn't say very much - it was a high bar ;)

...to go three for three, I await a future group read that makes me go 'Right, I really am rereading Palace now' :)

>94 imyril: I LOVED Palace, but even though I own the elusive sequel I haven't ever read it. I think I'm afraid of it disappointing me.

>95 Sakerfalcon: not reading the sequel was a very wise choice. As I recall it was dreadful. Katharine Kerr went on record as claiming Palace was fully co-conceived and co-written, but Kreighbaum wrote the sequel alone and OH! It showed.

...that said, mileage clearly varied, as it has nothing but good reviews on Amazon. I actually got rid of my copy I hated it so much, so I can't even promise to go back with an open mind :) The sequel seems to be firmly out of print and worth a few pennies now - you should hang on to it!

>92 imyril: I caved... I bought the ebook this morning...

>97 zjakkelien: I hope you enjoy it as much as I did :)

10) On a Red Station, Drifting - Aliette de Bodard


My brain is sufficiently scrambled (headache is back and biting this week) that the best I can muster is very nearly 'that was interesting' (in a good way).

Ancient Vietnam in space makes for a curious combination and I liked it a lot, although I'm equally sure quite a lot went over my head. Two stubborn and unlikeable women (I kept nearly sympathizing with Quyen, then she'd do or think something horrid again) are forced to confront their issues and insecurities - rather than each other - as the AI controlling Prosper Station begins to fail. The cleverness is in keeping this a claustrophobic family drama, and the little cultural details.

11) Scattered Among Strange Worlds - Aliette de Bodard


Two short stories (I was a little disappointed to discover that a third of the length was actually given over to a preview of de Bodard's Aztec books, which I've always struggled to muster interest in), again well-written and using scifi to explore themes of alienation.

Scattered Along the River of Heaven is set in the same Xuya universe as On a Red Station, Drifting although I'd struggle to tell you the chronological order (they're both loosely set in the 22nd century, apparently). Scattered is set during and after a civil war, in which the underclass of Felicity Station rose up and overthrew their tech-enabled masters, and tackles racial themes, use (and theft) of language as a social weapon, and (hello Golden Witchbreed) fear of technology - which is ironic for any story set in space. However, Wen's fear of anything the bots have touched (her reluctance to accept even a cup of tea) - and her lost opportunity to really get to know her grandmother feels genuine and affecting in spite of this. But ultimately it's the story of a girl going to the funeral of a grandmother she has never known, on a planet her grandmother fought to be free of and was eventually banished to - lots wrapped up in a very delicate package. Again, great worldbuilding for background that is barely explored; de Bodard hangs a lot on very little and gets away with it by focusing on the social and family themes.

Discovering that the Xuya universe is an intricately constructed multi-century alt reality explored through over a dozen short stories makes all sorts of sense. It just made me more sad that there weren't other stories included in this collection, although I'm delighted to see there are lots available for free on de Bodard's website (guess what I'm downloading today..).

Exodus Tides is a stand-alone tale of Emilie, the half-mermaid living in Paris with her human father and mermaid mother after the merfolk are rescued from the sea. This is not about the evils of pollution (although there are hints that this is part of the mer-realm's problem, there's an equally strong hint that it may not be the whole problem), instead it focuses on the alienation of being mixed-race and growing up in a culture that doesn't entirely recognise you; Emilie could and should consider herself French (she's half-French, she was born and raised in France), but she doesn't look French and so she feels first and foremost a mermaid. This is very well executed stuff, and feels like it rings true from friends with similar backgrounds (if not actually half-merpeople ;)

All of which to say: I'll happily explore de Bodard's work further. Her next novel is a murder mystery set in a ruined Paris ruled by fallen angels, which - while not normally my cup of tea, exactly - I'll check out on spec, as I like the angle she approaches her work from. Although bizarrely, I'm still not interested in her Aztecs. Go figure.

Plus she has a page dedicated to recipes on her website. She's rapidly becoming one of my favourite people :)

I asked you a question then saw that you'd already provided the answer above! Nothing to see here ....

12) Ajax Penumbra 1969 - Robin Sloan


Sticking with the short stories and novellae, Ajax Penumbra and Aliette de Bodard have really driven home to me the extent to which I'm enjoying The Ultimate Time Traveler's Almanac (i.e. not as much). The time travel stories are good, they're fine, but I'm not relishing them (stories or characters) or affected by them.

Ajax Penumbra is simply endearing. Here an awkward college-age and college-grad younger self, with the main action focusing on a trip to San Francisco as a Junior Acquisitions Clerk for the Galvanic Library - because there was always room for one more secretive mad book cult - sorry, collector - in the world. Here he first encounters the 24-Hour Bookstore (and its members), currently under the ownership of Mo Al-Asmari, the already intimidating Marcus Corvina, and blithely the ignores the entertaining and more than slightly worrying asides of his employer, Langston Armitage: "Well, you know our saying: "It's not over until you hold the book's ashes in your hands, weeping at the year's you've lost.""

Delightful for those who have already encountered the 24-Hour Bookstore. Probably rather thin as a first point of entry.

A bit of a scare today: I tried to open The Time of the Dark on my Kindle, and it crashed! This has never happened in its 3 years of hard labour, and took me by surprise. I applied the traditional salve to electronic woe, and tried to turn it off and turn it on again. It turned off, and that was that.

After an hour recharging (and fruitlessly trying to turn it back on), Mr B recalled that the off button isn't actually an off button - it just turns the screen off. Cue a holding down of the offending button for 30 seconds with gritted teeth just to be absolutely sure... and a massive sigh of relief as it perked straight back up, ready to go.

Phew.

I might take this as an unnecessarily aggrieved sign that the device doesn't fancy a tilt at Hambly right now, however ;)

I got my kindle for Christmas, and had to do the reset thing after just a couple of weeks. It kind of worried me at the time, but it has behaved perfectly since.

>104 SylviaC: it did make me wonder quite how long it was since I'd turned it off fully. I don't recall seeing the loading screen of the reader under the tree since... well, since I bought it. I turn off most things on a regular basis so they can do sensible things like release memory that they're clinging onto due to inefficient software etc; I should probably be impressed it's gone this long!

Any piece of technology that runs for three years without a blip is definitely impressive!

>106 SylviaC: I have some books that are over 100 years old and have never failed to open.

;-)

>107 pgmcc: Now, that's ideal technology!

>107 pgmcc: Ah, unless their pages are uncut... ;-)

>109 Marissa_Doyle: That would be covered by warranty and would not require a total replacement or reprint, just a sharp knife.

>99 imyril: >100 imyril: I enjoyed On a Red Station, Drifting quite a bit, but was somewhat more lukewarm about Scattered Among Strange Worlds- for some reason neither of those stories worked terribly well for me. Absolutely don't miss her story "Immersion," online here.

I keep wishing for a collection of all of her stories in the Xuya universe- I've read a few here and there, but I feel like I'm missing a bigger picture I would see if I read them all together. Many of them are available online, but I am the worst at actually getting around to reading things that are only posted up online...

>94 imyril: You're most welcome! I'm glad you've enjoyed the books and I've enjoyed discussing with you! :) I find it especially interesting that I'm doing it without knowing more than the barest essentials of Kerr's SF, now what will go with Palace :D

>110 pgmcc: I may have to self-edit my automatic response that 'so many problems can be solved with a sharp knife'. That's open to a little more interpretation than I intended it to be ;) But I do love books with uncut pages. Currently, my problem with these 'classic' models is that the binding has a tendency to disintegrate after a couple of centuries. As you say, opening them is not a problem. Picking up all the pages and putting them back in the right order soon will be.

>111 sandstone78: I also struggle to get round to reading things online. Consequently, I may have gone through the links on her website and downloaded all the freely-available Xuya stories so I can read them together in chronological order. I'm more than happy to email you a copy :)

In reading news, I've been flailing a bit. I really enjoyed the Le Guin entry into The Time Traveler's Almanac, but I've bounced off The Invisible Library and The Moon King (I say that - I bounced off the latter, and am now trying the former again on the rebound and finding it a bit more palatable - it's reminding me a bit of The Affinity Bridge). I have also put Reading Like a Writer aside as I realised I was no longer concentrating on it sufficiently to do it justice, although I have been enjoying many of the chosen example snippets.

Although - sorry @jillmwo - the snippet and description of Middlemarch opened the floodgates. I now recall just how much of a chore I found it and how little I got out of it. I'm mildly amused that I'd blanked that all out, but I don't need to go back. I'd rather revisit some Austen, whose prose and humour I thoroughly enjoy, and sample some classics I've never read. So I'll drop out of that read this year!

I've got through the prologue so far, @imyril. My official start date for the book is tomorrow, March 1, but I dipped into it today just to check whether I still thought this was a good idea. I'm sorry to hear that you're bailing but I think I still want to give it a whirl...

This is so not a book bullet.

Is there a thread, for the Middlemarch read? This month is shaping into a moderately crazy one and I'm still in the throes of Little, Big, but I said I'd like to give Middlemarch a proper chance after all these years.

I will start one up tomorrow, >115 Marissa_Doyle:. Oh come on @pgmcc, book bullets speed along a variety of channels. Perhaps you should drop into the thread that I will be starting and see if something wings your shoulder or something...

>114 pgmcc: no using me as a human shield! ;)

13) The Invisible Library - Genevieve Cogman


I completed The Invisible Library on my second tilt, but I have to admit I didn't enjoy it anywhere near as much as I had hoped to. The pitch was great: a timeless Library sends its intrepid Librarians into worlds scattered across alternate universes to retrieve important books for safekeeping. Sadly, I never really warmed to the delivery.

On the positive side, it's short, fast-paced and features entertaining set pieces in the Natural History Museum and the British Library, along with a smart, determined heroine and a practically mustachio-twirling Fae villain who is at least amusing in his sheer over-the-top arrogance.

Given that alternate realities tend to allow for great fun riffing off well-known tropes, it's unsurprising that many of the ingredients feel borrowed and twisted to new purpose. But I found it all a bit stifling rather than invigorating, as if the whole thing were somewhat forced. I think I'd cheerfully watch it as an over-the-top derring-do movie in the vein of Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes, but I didn't enjoy reading it. At a push, I'd say it felt a bit superficial, which I accept in a movie in a way that I don't in fiction; I'll forgive a lot if a film is shiny and has a great script.

I had a similar reaction to The Affinity Bridge, so I'm prepared to admit that steampunk does absolutely nothing for me in print, even when it involves faeries and books.

All in all - it's fluff and it's fine, but I won't be investigating future instalments.

So without further ado, I'm returning to Orthe. We're off to Australia in 2 weeks time, and I want there to be no risk of me needing to pack Orthe Chronicles of Carrick V given how heavy it is!

>118 imyril: I wad disappointed in The Affinity Bridge too. I felt it tried too hard to be Sherlock Holmes with a female Watson. The steampunk elements were too contrived for me.

>120 pgmcc: Absolutely. I also found it irritating that the author was unable to introduce Veronica to a scene without commenting on her looks. The romantic setup for later books was all a bit obvious and hamfisted.

>121 imyril: I am just happy that I am not alone on this one.

>116 jillmwo: Perhaps you should drop into the thread that I will be starting and see if something wings your shoulder or something...

My interpretation of this sentence:

Sniper: Excuse me! Excuse me! Target person. Yes, you. Could you please stand out in the open where I can see you so that I can take careful aim and see if I can hit you from here? Thank you!

Target person: Here I am. Out in the open. Just behind @imyril.

(Thanks for the idea, @imyril.)

>123 pgmcc: *windmills arms wildly*

>123 pgmcc:, Please allow me to clarify my clumsy use of metaphor. Because of course when I said "wings your shoulder" I really meant "catches your interest".

And @imyril, you're blocking my line of sight.

>112 imyril: That would be lovely, actually, thank you! I'll PM you my e-mail address :) I'm curious to see what you think of Ancient Light. Is yours the Orthe omnibus with the extra short story included?

>126 sandstone78: Marvellous, I'll pop it over to you. And yes, I picked up the omnibus secondhand, so I get the bonus story :)

I'm still grazing through The Time Traveler's Almanac (it's split into 4 themes, so rather than reading cover to cover, I'm reading a story from each theme to stop them getting samey), and I've finally hit a story that's making me downright uncomfortable.

Forty, Counting Down is my first encounter with Harry Turtledove, so I have no idea whether it's representative. Baby-faced Justin works in software. At 40, he finds the mathematics for the VR software he's working on to take him back in time to 1999. His goal is to find his younger self and ensure he doesn't lose the love of his life, Megan.

So here's where it all gets squicky for me. I assumed Justin would coach himself to avoid the break-up, but in fact he's gone back well before he and Megan get married - let alone divorced - and his plan is to replace himself for a couple of months and ensure 'it all works out'.

Quite apart from the logical non-sequitur (err, however good it is for 2 months, it's surely not going to be enough to ensure a lifetime of bliss; there's presumably a specific pothole he's not talking about that he hopes to avoid, but his logic is still dumb), I find I'm creeped out by the bit where he slides into his younger self's relationship (younger self being relegated to a 'holiday from his life') and into his girlfriend's bed. I can't help it. My consent alarm is just going bonkers.

Which isn't entirely rational. He's the same guy, only older, wiser (and much better in bed, natch). She's very happy to jump her boyfriend's bones, and apparently older Justin really is baby-faced enough that she just thinks he's very tired. But... ewww.

There's another story in this volume that handles similar concepts with much less squick - embracing the immediate consequences of messing with a timeline. As things change, the future changes - so your memories change. Including your memory of why you're trying to do what you're trying to do. Slippery fish, time. You can write notes to yourself (before the memories fade) to try and stay on track, but without the motivation to do so, you can't guarantee the results.

Forty, Counting Down needs to get this sort of clever very very quickly or I may grind my teeth flat.

Okay, so I'm done and I still have teeth, although there was quite a bit more grinding before the end.

I'm happy to say that Older Justin gets his comeuppance - he can't quite hide the personality differences between him and his younger self, and Megan runs away screaming because he's a) an asshat and b) putting too much pressure on her because he wants to tidy his life up before he zooms back to his present to enjoy the happy ever after.

Turtledove did deliver in terms of making it unambiguous that Justin is an asshat (at both ages), but never quite got me past the consent issue - Megan can tell within 24 hours that her boyfriend has become a different person and this doesn't stop her choosing to sleep with him, but... yeah. It's still an edge case. However, ultimately she asserts herself and Justin gets what he deserves.

I am intrigued to read the companion piece which will presumably explore how younger Justin goes on to create a far more successful future - without Megan - in the wake of older Justin's mess-up.

I like that a short story can evoke a strong reaction from me, and I am enjoying this anthology - but then I do enjoy a timey-wimey story with paradox handwaving ;)

Still, I'm glad to be able to go to Orthe for a breather.

Mr B just told me there's a little dribble of redemption left*. He then said I couldn't have it.

...both of which combine to be my favourite ever out of context comment, I think.

* actually a very tasty Australian white wine, hence the dribble. But it took my brain a moment to catch up with that, because I was already laughing too hard.

>130 imyril: Deprived of Redemption and doomed to wander this Earth with the bottle in full view.

>118 imyril:

"I think I'd cheerfully watch it as an over-the-top derring-do movie in the vein of Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes, but I didn't enjoy reading it. At a push, I'd say it felt a bit superficial, which I accept in a movie in a way that I don't in fiction; I'll forgive a lot if a film is shiny and has a great script."

I'm very near to treating whole genres like this. I think the expectations I have of fiction mean that the voice often gets in the way of me enjoying the story. But if the story is solid I will eat it up if it's put into the care of a capable cast and crew.

>131 pgmcc: the bottle in full view and the gatekeeper working late. It's frankly astonishing the dribble is still there ;)

>132 fundevogel: I know what you mean. I have a soft spot for certain films and film makers that could never survive a conversion to the page (such as - yes, I know, I know - Pacific Rim. Indefensible and my inner child didn't care. But my inner child gets less say in our reading ;)

14) Ancient Light - Mary Gentle


Ten years after Golden Witchbreed, Lynne Christie is finally back on Orthe. Now working for a multi corporate in the hope of limiting the damage she fears they'll do to Ortheans society, she is plunged into the intricacies of negotiating access to Witchbreed artifacts.

Again, this is great stuff from Gentle. I thoroughly enjoyed the first half / two-thirds - the final section is a tough sell, and not one for readers seeking happy escapism.

However, my bigger argument (as whinged about on the group read thread) is the bogeymen. I'll buy that the Witchbreed were pretty crazy and had some obsessions that made them dangerous to know; I struggle transferring that wholesale to their Harantish descendants, who get (for my money) far too little page time.

Ultimately, though, Gentle may have set out to puncture a number of comfy assumptions about her created world (taking a hard look at the impact of Hundred Thousand foreign policy on the Coastal Ortheans, for example), but she wasn't really interested in moral ambiguities for her Orthean factions.

So, we get bogeymen. However, as the main thrust of the tale is really the unintended awful consequences of high tech foreigners aliens with avarice and entitlement issues interacting with civilizations they don't really understand, I can forgive her.

I liked that Christie was repeatedly called on her loyalties and logic (which didn't stand up); I admired her tenacity, even when I wanted to shake her.

Overall, v good stuff. Now I need something with a sunnier outlook ;)

>135 sandstone78: Well, not quite sunny, but it was a rather um... bright ending... (I'm so sorry.)

>135 sandstone78: *groan* *applause* I can't resist a pun :)

...speaking of a sunnier outlook, I'm off to Australia tonight to be deafened by the Melbourne Grand Prix and (more importantly) attend a big family birthday party. Hopefully the 47 hours in the air (there and back; plus another 10 or so hanging around airports) will give me some quality time with Mount TBR, although I may get distracted by the excellent movie selection or - shockingly - sleep ;)

>137 imyril:

"I'm off to Australia tonight to be deafened by the Melbourne Grand Prix"

Soooo jealous....

>138 LunaticDruid: we've never been to one before - I'm super excited altho my cynical self suspects it's more interesting on TV when you can follow what's going on ;) I can't believe we got tickets - total lucky impulse when we realised we were flying in on Sunday anyway, so... once in a lifetime, right? :)

Enjoy and have fun - and if you don't get time for Mount TBR, don't worry!

>139 imyril: You might be right that you get a better overview on television, but I think you get a much better sense of the speed they are racing at when watching them live! I hope to get to a race myself sometime.

I'll be stuck with the dreadful Norwegian coverage on TV. It seems like the commentators can't see what is going on half the time. They had a lengthy "how/when did that happen" discusion when two racers suddently had swiched places. Had they been watching their screens they would have witnessed the most exiting multicorner overtake last year.

We've just landed in Australia and seen the quali outcomes. Care to guess how many cars -won't- get lapped by Mercedes?!

Enjoy your excursion to the other side of the world.

So far, great trip! Melbourne has given us sunshine (*cough* although lopsided facial sunburn is a problem - oops), great coffee, better breakfast and its cheek-by-jowl old and new architecture with towering buildings, narrow alleys and dodgy sub-basements creates an oddly Blade Runner effect that I'd forgotten about.

Off to Sydney this morning to settle in with family for the rest of the trip!

>141 LunaticDruid: we were in the stand just down from the pit lane entry, so the cars were accelerating out of the final corner into the straight - the thing that really struck me was just how fast they go behind the safety car: very. Very very.

We got a great air show before the race too, with a display from the Australian equivalent of the Red Arrows and fly-bys from an FA18 jet (with after burners on - ear-bleedingly loud) and a 747 passenger jet (although I wouldn't have fancied being a passenger for those manoeuvres ;)

All in all a great afternoon at the races, although the attrition on the race track before the race even began made it feel like there really weren't many cars out there yesterday!

>144 imyril: It was too bad that only 15 cars made it to the start. (how can two cars break down on the way to the starting grid? :-S). It was good to finally see some better pace in the Ferraries!

Should I count all the bedtime books for my twin nephews in my Read list? ;)

I'm halfway through _my_ bedtime read The English Monster (which I'm hoping will start to tie up its two unrelated storylines sooner rather than later), but I'm very much looking forward to the twins' bedtime read The Tiger That Came To Tea tonight :)

>146 imyril: I love The tiger who came to tea! How to hide a lion by Helen Stephens is another good one :-)

>147 Sakerfalcon: oh that sounds good! I might have to acquire a copy for them :)

We went on a bear hunt instead of taking tea with Tigers, which was more fun than the story of Isaac the hedgehog: an antisocial hedgehog meets an under-socialized donkey and realised he would be happier if he bought affection (with apples). I don't think that's how it's summarised on the back cover mind ;)

15) A Study in Scarlet - Arthur Conan Doyle


The group read and a long flight seemed like good reasons to finally pop my Sherlock cherry. I'm happy to say it the novella exceeded expectations, being accessible and entertaining, although I was a little surprised by the mid-novel swap to villain's back story.

There's little I can add to volumes on the subject, so suffice to say I enjoyed it and would consider reading others, although I'm unlikely to seek them out specially - I like a shot at guessing whodunnit, which is not the Holmesian formula.

16) The English Monster - Lloyd Shepherd


I've had this on my Kindle shelf a long while. It's a curious novel of two stories: in Elizabethan England, young Billy Ablass goes to sea to make his fortune alongside an equally young Francis Drake; and in 1811, London is rocked by the vicious murders of a household in Shadwell (the historical Ratcliff Highway murders).

For much of the novel it is unclear what these tales have to do with one another, but each are engrossing enough. Taking liberties with historical events is always a risk. I think Shepherd largely succeeds in spinning a good yarn with intriguing characters - this is an easy enough read that's well enough written.

However, I found the final collision of the two storylines and the climax of the murder investigation somewhat dissatisfying. Having spent much time with constable Horton and admiring his investigative ambitions, it was a shame he was undermined by the PRS simply handing over the killer's identity on a plate, rendering his efforts meaningless with a satisfying outcome replaced by some fumbling violence in the dark. Similarly, the fate of Billy Ablass was a little underwhelming - the dire warnings of the Florida tribe seemed to imply more than the undead marauding of a gold-greedy pirate with no conscience.

There are other missed opportunities: Francis Drake is an unnecessary bit of flair really, as is Henry Morgan, and the business with the Sheerness mutiny felt like it might have a more philosophical purpose than the rather blunt plot instrument it ultimately became.

I think this last point is my main beef with the book. It's an interesting glimpse into the Elizabethan slave trade and the pre-Peel policing of London, but I felt the author flirted with a more thoughtful piece on humanity, morality and mortality than he served up.

Edit: I didn't have any context when I picked this up, so it seemed to over-promise and under-deliver. Now I know there's a string of slightly paranormal mysteries investigated by Constable Horton and Magistrate Harriott, I find I'm less judgmental. As an example of paranormal potboiler crime, it was entertaining - although my reservations about the climax remain intact and it doesn't gain extra stars. However, I thought I should note that I would consider reading those further instalments :)

17) Liza of Lambeth - W Somerset Maugham


When my best friend's grandmother downsized, I was invited to rescue any books she was shedding from her sizeable collection. This led to a random assortment of older volumes leaping onto my shelves that I would never otherwise have heard of (or acquired) - this is one; others include various early Penguin non-fiction titles of the colonially-incorrect variety, some fringe erotica (cool grandma!) and a much-thumbed copy of Usage and Abusage, which the family couldn't believe I didn't already own. I picked up Liza of Lambeth because I vaguely thought I ought to have read some Maugham and because I used to live in Lambeth.

Liza is a gay young lady of the working class, who lives on Vere Street with her self-absorbed drunk mother, an assortment of cheerful children, and various hard-drinking men and endlessly-pregnant or bruised wives who claim their husbands are gentle when they haven't been drinking. The novel charts Liza's downfall from the well-loved young woman out-dancing the street in her new purple dress to the social outcast pushed into a public fistfight with her rival for the amusement of her neighbours.

Having learnt that it draws heavily on his experiences as a doctor in Lambeth, I take it that Maugham was aiming for a truthful representation of his experiences of the London working class. The picnic sequence lived up to this - I rather enjoyed this glimpse of a day off in the country - but elements such as the dancing in the street to the Italian organ grinder and much of the faux-Cockney language felt like cliches. Perhaps I'm being too harsh (were these tropes already well-trodden by 1897?), but I can't blame anyone but Maugham for the strong whiff of moral and social superiority that accompany them.

Liza is a difficult heroine to root for, being self-absorbed and hard-hearted (perhaps unsurprising, considering her mother); the only likeable character, Tom, is perceived as weak or wet and is rejected repeatedly. Although the narrator never overtly comments on Liza's choices, it's difficult not to read the novel as a cautionary tale. That said, it's even-handed in its disdain for slum life as the men - Tom excepted - are all drunks, braggarts and wife beaters.

However, I found myself most troubled by the start of Liza's affair, largely because I read her first night with Jim Blakeston as out and out rape: she says no, and he punches her in the stomach and pushes her into an alley. Yet in the morning, Liza is full of the joys of love. There's more than a suggestion of no means yes and all girls want it really here, which perhaps shouldn't surprise me in Victorian literature, but was certainly the trope that bothered me the most.

Overall, it's accessible enough in spite of the idiom (I zoomed through it on the plane), but I'm at a bit of a loss as to why it was such a hit on first publication. Having only recently encountered the concept of Victorian slum fiction, I have to conclude this belongs to that popular subgenre. The novel was presumably considered sensational for not shying away from the unpleasantness of working class life - car crash literature, if you will.

It's not terrible, but I have to label it interesting rather than enjoyable.

>151 imyril: Ugh, I hope that story is an exception and not the rule with his writing. I am planning on trying to read some of his works soon, but if I run across many like that, I will quickly set him aside. I hated Sister Carrie by Dreiser. I'm not much into reading about human suffering when the author is trying to drown you in it.

>152 MrsLee: as I understand it this is definitely an immature work - it shares some themes with later works, but at a fairly abstract level. So hopefully whatever you choose will be more appetising!

18) Red Planet Run - Dana Stabenow


I finally completed the Star Svensdotter trilogy. The last installment is more coherent than the second, but still less so than the first, this time eschewing a clear narrative arc in favour of a sort of Martian travelogue with intermittent gunfire.

A reluctant Star is sent to Mars by her Machiavellian boss to investigate the traces of a possible past civilisation. Things go wrong from the start, with sulky twin teenagers her only crew, a botched landing leaving them on the wrong side of the planet, and the unwelcome presence of a vicious enemy from the Belt offering an immediate threat. Can Star fix her relationship with her kids, survive a loony and solve the mystery of the Cydonian ruins? Of course she can. She's Alaskan.

These novels never pretended to be well-written, and their appeal rests heavily on Star's shoulders. I remain entertained by the half-willing competence of a smart, stubborn woman who doesn't have a clue how to be in a relationship (romantic or maternal). The books have moments of brilliance - in this installment, the storyknife ceremonies feel awkward in terms of context, but provide memorable scenes that manage to be moving; and Paddy's outrage at the concept of Intelligent Design rang a chord (although I concede her brother's response) - but it largely feels like Stabenow is writing for her own amusement, and it doesn't always work. Also, her attitude to archaeology and anthropology is dreadful ;)

It's unclear whether Stabenow meant to write more; the trilogy is very open-ended, and leaves big questions unanswered. However, given Star's (also awkward) philosophical meandering at the end, this doesn't seem unreasonable. The point here seems to be that space is exciting and will always pose more questions than we can answer; we just need to embrace the challenge and get out there for a look.

19) Reading Like a Writer - Francine Prose


I thought I picked this up after a mention here on LT, but I'm afraid I can't remember who mentioned it. Regardless, it's an interesting read that reminded me why I didn't pursue English Lit beyond A-level. A little bit like physics, whilst I'm capable, I don't particularly enjoy it ;)

Unlike physics, I firmly believe that much lit crit and indeed literary appreciation is purely subjective - Prose's examples did nothing to dissuade me of this as I frequently disagreed with her, i.e. I didn't find the qualities she enjoys in the passages cited or I felt that her analysis relied heavily on the broader context of the novel (and/or her own context) rather than being implicit in the example.

Unlike Prose, I'm not a huge fan of Literature with a capital L - I enjoy storytelling - and I do believe good writing can be found outside its hallowed halls. I would have enjoyed this more without the whiff of snobbery (at one point a work is 'at risk' of appearing to be magical realism - *gasp* how awful for it - rather than a Work of Art). And for my sins, I have no intention of reading Chekhov.

However, Prose is an engaging writer and her passion for literature is infectious. Her basic points are sensible and well-made for readers seeking to get under the skin of their books and for writers aspiring to make their words work a little harder - even if, as she is at pains to point out in the closing chapter, great literature largely shows us that all rules are made to be broken as long as you're good enough to get away with it.

>155 imyril: Interesting to see your comments on this one - it is a long term resident on my TBR pile, that I've picked up and started a couple of times before abandoning due to distractions. I really should get around to trying it again.

>156 Peace2: I read this in stop/start fashion rather than straight through and I don't think it did any harm. A chapter here, a couple of chapters there - each focuses on a different aspect of writing, so you can dip in and out. It also stopped me grinding my teeth too much ;)

>157 imyril: Perfect! That's what I needed to know - I think it may be part of the reason I've never stuck with it - too many distractions and so just assuming it was one I 'needed to concentrate on' meant I popped it back on the shelf rather than managing it a chapter or two at a time

>155 imyril: Thank you for your post on this book.

I too recall its being mentioned on LT and I too felt drawn to it. Your post has given me the strength to say, "No!"...for the moment. :-)

I share your not being a huge fan of Literature with a capital L and am reminded of a conversation I had with a would-be writer at what was called The Caerleon Writers' Holiday (now moved to Fishguard and simply called The Writers' Holiday?) in 2003. We were discussing authors and got onto the topic of the mainstream books of Iain Banks. At the end of the conversation, and I think this exchange was the cause of the conversation ending, I asked her what she hoped to write. She said she was working on a novel. I asked if it would be something along the lines of an Iain Banks novel and her reply was, "Oh no! I want to write something Literary."

I am making up for all that Literary Consideration by jumping into the second volume of the Incryptid series, Midnight Blue-Light Special. I am amused to report that it has no literary merit whatsoever, and I am enjoying it enormously.

I still don't think the location marker at the start of each chapter is necessary, but I do love the quotes.

"The best thing I ever did was figure out how to conceal a pistol in my brassiere. The second best thing I ever did was let Thomas figure out how to find it."

20) Midnight Blue-Light Special - Seanan McGuire


Another Incryptid romp featuring Verity Price, would-be ballroom dancer and full-time monster saviour, in her quest to keep New York City safe from her boyfriend and his intense gang of monster hunters. I'll admit to not enjoying this quite as much as the first instalment, but it was still solidly entertaining.

A few minor quibbles:

- the sudden obsession with informing us of monster dress sizes - in Book 1 they were drop-dead gorgeous; in Book 2 we need to know that doesn't mean size 2 - which I can only assume reflects an online spat about the book covers (both of which feature dinky Verity exposing her midriff and/or legs). I love the touch that big is beautiful, but it wasn't subtle, so it felt like a pointed aside rather than an integral part of the narrative.

- the orchestrated snark levels reached a point where most of the conversations stopped feeling real - Istas in particular is awfully scripted, and the effect doesn't really gel with the Gothic Lolita Inuit shapeshifting carnivore.

- the lack of a shift in tone of voice when we briefly acquired a new narrator. Sarah may have been raised by the Bakers, but she's a profoundly different person to Verity. Not that you can tell from her inner voice. She's also fascinating in her own right, but we get a better view of this through Verity's eyes than through her own, which is a bit weird, frankly.

None of these distracted too much though - this is silly fun pulp, and I'm not going to be too exacting about literary prowess - so the overall package was just what I was after.

Abandoning Poison Study - I've given it half a dozen chapters or more, and the prose style is annoying me - it's too simple (as opposed to spare - no elegance here). The narrative is equally simple, and as nothing has caught my interest I'm going to bounce off in search of something more satisfying. Unlike other recent bounces, I don't plan to give it another whirl in future.

Taking a quick look back over the first three months of the year, and I feel I've done rather well, with 20 books read - of which 4 were 4.5 star reads and a further 7 were 4 star reads. Only one (Liza of Lambeth) got under 3 stars, so no wonder I feel like it's all been good :)

I'm blazing ahead of my targets, but I won't adjust them - who knows what the second half of the year will bring!

Top 3 reads in no particular order (all of which got 4.5 stars):

Orthe: Chronicles of Carrick V - yes, I'm cheating by counting this as one book here and 2 books (and thick books at that!) in my Completed Reads :)

The Girl With All The Gifts

Mockingjay

I've indulged in lots of fantasy/scifi this first quarter, so I might dip out of genre for a the next few books. Maybe. I do love my SFF :)

162> I'd agree with you about Poison Study. I tried it at the beginning of the year, but I didn't find it anything other than a mediocre YA novel.

>161 imyril: Pretty accurate assessment there! Unfortunately, there's also no change in narrative voice in the next book, which features Verity's brother what's-his-name as the narrator, which jars even more than Sarah. Which is why I put it down after forty pages or so. YMMV.

>165 Marissa_Doyle: I did wonder about that. I was already in two minds about whether to continue; this may be where I now out and hold out for the next Myfanwy Thomas book in the summer instead.

>165 Marissa_Doyle:, >166 imyril: Despite the narrative voice I found myself really enjoying Half-off Ragnarok. Alex does manage to come over as a different kind of person to Verity and his adventures are just as interesting. But I get the impression that I've generally enjoyed the books more than you have.

21) Lost London - Richard Guard


A great loo book, which improved markedly in the second half when I stopped trying to read it cover to cover.

An A-Z of buildings, professions and other aspects of London that haven't survived to the modern day, from Roman times through to the earliest twentieth century.

Its weakness is the author's attention span, which means he sometimes forgets to tell us why a certain building is no longer with us. Its strong point is the wealth of curiosities in London's past, which means there's at least one curious or funny entry for every dull one.

>167 Sakerfalcon: I have enjoyed the ride, so I may give Alex a chance. I do try not to dwell on the shortcomings - it is what it is and I've largely been entertained :)

>168 imyril: That sounds perfectly delicious. If there were the remotest chance of ever seeing that one here, I'd take a book bullet.

>170 hfglen: it is charming, and I'm always delighted to learn a few new things about my hometown! For example, I somehow didn't know that there used to be waterwheels under old London Bridge that pumped water up to the city, which is awfully sensible (and predictably designed and built by a German ;)

>171 imyril: Oddly enough, I did know about the waterwheels. Apparently they were very noisy, but not more so than most of that part of London at that time.

22) The Guest Cat - Takashi Hiraide


To be honest, I don't quite know what to do with this one. It wasn't quite what I expected, instead falling into the slightly opaque, meandering reflection that makes me think Japanese literature may be a cultural bridge too far for me. There's a deft touch in the prose, but I couldn't relate to the obsessive attachment the couple developed to their neighbours' cat. Maybe it has just been too long since I last lived with a cat (Mr B is violently allergic).

Having read reviews praising its understanding of cats, yes, I recognise that Chibi is well observed and charming - but the human element and latter part of the tale didn't affect me, and I'm left thinking a certain amount of cultural context is lost in translation (above and beyond the translator's notes!)

PSA: there's a bit of a sale going on on Amazon UK (SFF titles not necessarily publicised in the spring sale, but my wishlist seems to have halved in cost ;) So much for me feeling proud at taking as many books off the shelf as I added to it so far!

I've just 'had' to weaken and pick up Old Man's War (99p today), The Three-Body Problem (£1.79). Err, and The Echo because I do still seem to be curious about the narrative set up in The Explorer after all).

Then Judging a Book by its Lover (touchstone temperamental - should be Lauren Leto, but keeps trying to revert to Lady Chatterley!) just threw itself into my basket as a foil to Reading Like A Writer, although this is a proper paperback.

I've got another long flight coming up. I know I've got Shadow Man to read, but I'll need something else for the way back, right? :)

*grumble* You sent me off to look on Amazon.... *sigh* Thankfully neither my wishlist nor my basket had reduced by more than 50p so I was able to resist - that would so not have been a good start to April...

Instead I shall live vicariously through your buying *grin*

>174 imyril: I've been dithering over The three-body problem; it's had such good reviews but the prose excerpt I've read was so clunky that I'm not sure I could stick with it for the length of the book. I'll look forward to seeing what you think of it when you get around to reading it.

>176 Sakerfalcon: I've been dithering for exactly the same reasons. I'll take a dip before the end of the month and let you know what I find :)

Aaand another one leaps on the shelf, having been pointed at happy and interesting award nominations and winners. The Book of the Unnamed Midwife - a post-apocalyptic tale that sounds right up my street. I, uh, better instate an Amazon ban until I catch up again ;)

23) London Falling - Paul Cornell


I went into this with skewed expectations, based on a vague memory of someone liking it more than The Rook and speaking highly of the female characters (in retrospect, I think those comments must have actually applied to The Rook).

London Falling sets up the Shadow Police - an unlikely squad assembled to investigate an inexplicable death that go on to be London's guard against supernatural crime. Unlike favourites Rivers of London and The Rook, it's played straight and quite dark (to the extent the climax made me quite uncomfortable; as with Losley's magic, her death seems to revel in the grue), with far more police procedural. This made for a dry start, not least because none of the 4 main characters are particularly accessible.

I always give a nod to inclusivity and the squad score well here, but I liked that this wasn't a particular plot point; it's just the London melting pot. Gender, skin colour and sexual preference just aren't as important as a crazy old witch killing children to avenge hat tricks against her football club. Oh yes, it's very London. Or perhaps English. Anyway.

I found myself warming to the characters and the story as it gathered pace, but I can take or leave picking up the sequel. No rush. I'd rather revisit Myfanwy or PC Grant, altho I'm curious about Lofthouse - even if she is the poorest 'twist' I've seen in a while. Telegraphed doesn't come close.

>179 imyril: That one's been on my wishlist for a while now. I really should get around to picking it up one of these days.

>180 AHS-Wolfy: it's a decent read. It does manage to carve out a new spot for itself with tone and the deliberate choice of the squad to stick to standard police procedure as best they can, which was entertaining in places and awkward in others. I found the writing a bit uneven, but not quite to the point it threw me out of the story. Cornell is a screenwriter, and the opening chapter in particular felt like a bad screen to page conversion. It improves if you stick with it.

Time to take another long flight back down to Australia tomorrow (don't ask why we're doing this twice in a month. Reasons, m'kay? And an uncomfortable relationship with our credit cards ;) so whilst I'm very excited to read Judging a Book by its Lover it will have to wait until my return as I don't have room to pack it!

Instead, I'm diving into The Three-Body Problem on the basis that there's nothing like 20 hours sitting still to help you make progress in a book that may take a bit more effort than usual. And we're on a daytime flight for once, so I don't actually have to try and sleep at all.

This trip is all parties and pleasure. I live in hope of acquiring some of the elusive sun tan I hear so much about.

>179 imyril: I didn't like London falling as much as I did The rook, but I preferred it to Rivers of London. I just couldn't like PC Grant as much as I wanted to.

Hope you have a good trip down under. I'm very envious!

>179 imyril: I liked London Falling more than I expected to. I think it was the gritty approach Cornell used. It made it more acceptable to me. I felt it was like a cross between The Sweeney and Buffy the Vampire slayer. I have the sequel and will read it some time but I have other books between it and my current read.

>182 imyril: Hope you have a wonderful trip!

24) The Three-Body Problem - Cixin Liu


Ok, I've taken the hit so you don't have to. The rumors about it being oh-so dry? They aren't lying.

This started well, with a fascinating glimpse into the crimes against science committed during the Cultural Revolution. It continued well, setting up a mysterious 'why are our top scientists committing suicide?' thriller set in the modern day. It's an interesting cross-cultural experience with the seeds of good characters and interesting stories.

But. Oh, but.

I think the prose style is partly an artefact of culture, not just translation, but I found it awkward in places - simplistic and blunt. Then there's the tell don't show narrative (ironic, bouncing from The Guest Cat to this - opposite extremes of the spectrum), which culminates in a full-on cat-stroking, moustache-twirling villain's monologue at the end.

In between, the interesting characters exhibit some unlikely motivation and behaviour and the storytelling sloooooooows right down as it gets less and less likely. I acknowledge my scientist friends are all Westerners, not Chinese, but I simply don't buy that any scientist would cheerfully elect to deify some unknown aliens and try to hand over the planet to them. Ye Wenjie has evidence that it's a bad idea - that first message! - yet proceeds anyway. The bit where she casually murders her husband also seemed less than likely, but top marks for commitment to a cause. Suspension of disbelief warred with concentration lapses as I struggled to the finish.

I do wonder how/if it reflects Chinese impressions of and attitudes to America before the borders opened. Especially the weird assumptions of a benevolent superpower vs the reality of a threatening hegemony (and the reasons the Trisolaran princeps finds Earth threatening - because they are numerous and learn quickly). Liu has said he writes fiction not parables, but there are some parallels that make you wonder.

I think this could be a good book club / group read - there's plenty to discuss on and off the page, and moral support would help (as would perspectives from people with more knowledge of (astro)physics) and Chinese literature).

Do: read for curiosity value (for which it gains an extra half star - it's an interesting cross cultural experience, and not all bad), but keep some strong coffee on hand to avoid nodding off. Don't: read jet lagged. Oops.

>186 imyril: Thanks for reading this and giving your opinion. In terms of the style what you say is what I expected based on the sample I read. I did give in and get it for my kindle as it's cheap, but at least I know to keep my expectations low. Did you see it's picked up a Hugo nomination as one of the original nominees stood down.

>187 Sakerfalcon: I've been out of the loop, so I'd missed that news! I don't honestly think it's one of the best pieces of scifi out there, but I do think it has an important role to play in opening the door for Chinese scifi, so I'm glad to hear it. And lovers of hard scifi may well get a lot more out of it. It's a big bold mad idea, but I like people stories and I couldn't hold my belief in all of them.

Just finished Shadow Man for the group read, and predictably loved it. Melissa Scott certainly does people!

25) Shadow Man - Melissa Scott


This year's GD Scott group read was a welcome refresher after Three Body Problem: sf that is people focused not science focused ;) In an unspecified future, drugs for coping with FTL travel have caused mutations resulting in 5 stable, recognized genders. But on planetary backwater Hara, society recognizes only two and frowns on the wrangwys (those with sexual attributes not belonging to their claimed gender) and wry-abed (typically wrangwys who don't mind taking advantage of all their sexual attributes for pleasure and/or prostitution).

Recent commerce with other human worlds has thrown the problem into sharp relief. Scott focuses on the political and commercial wrangling as the wrangwys struggle to gain a voice and demand recognition as gendered humans in their own right.

This is great stuff, tightly focused on the interpersonal to explain the gender situation, the surrounding issues, and the unpleasant implications and prejudices as expressed at an individual level. It's not hard to spot the parallels, but there's no preaching - just an examination of what prejudice means for those it affects.

I really enjoyed the telling and the outcome. More commentary on the group thread.

We're having a lovely time in the West Australian winter - a chilly 27C yesterday, and advertised at a shivering 30C tomorrow when we head up the coast to visit Geraldton. These West Coast Aussies really have it tough, don't they? The various birthday celebrations we came over for are now all observed, so a quiet few days until the big ANZAC celebrations on Saturday.

I'm taking the opportunity of a quiet few days to get stuck into The Signature of All Things, which I picked up on a whim and a special offer at the start of last year. If I'd twigged who Elizabeth Gilbert was, I might never have bought it, but I'm glad I did - I'm really enjoying it so far. While it is heavily narrated (no showing here, thank you very much) it is a very entertaining narration - shades of Jane Austen in places, even - and a character has just flitted on stage whose non-stop madcap utterances are almost Anne Shirley. Combined with an array of elements that seem just hand-picked for my enjoyment (a rascal from Kew, a Dutch lady botanist, the virtues and evils of broad reading) and I think I may be in for a treat.

I'm reading Mark Twain's traveling adventures right now and he is in Australia making some very dry and witty remarks about their winter temperatures. :) I don't know if he went to West Australia though, so far he has only spoken of being in Sydney and Melbourne.

>191 MrsLee: The advantage of being here in 'winter' is that it occasionally rains. Thankfully, it did so the week before we got here, so not only have we enjoyed (European) summery temperatures, but everything is unusually green. Driving around the countryside it has barely felt Australian at all - the raw red dirt concealed beneath riotous yellow autumn wildflowers and rich green grass.

Sydney, by contrast, has been hit by some awful storms this week, so we are counting ourselves doubly luckily!

26) The Signature of All Things - Elizabeth Gilbert


Henry Whittaker is a 'useful little fingerstink'. Born to a gifted Kew gardener in the reign of George III, his ambition and determination drive him across the world and to the heady heights of Philadelphia society, reinventing himself as one of America's richest men. His daughter Alma is a marvel: intellectually gifted and impeccably educated, if socially awkward. The novel is a majestic epic weaving historical facts into a fictional tapestry as she struggles to understand the mechanisms of creation and alteration in the age of Darwin.

There's so much to like here - the characters are vivid and likeable (even confrontational Henry), not to mention believably human. I found the pages whizzed by in spite of an arguably slow narrative - Alma studies mosses and rarely leaves the Philadelphia estate she was born on, so this in an epic on an almost geological scale (or as Alma herself would say: it takes place in Moss Time, somewhere between Human Time and Geological Time). However, I loved that her adventures only really start in her 50s, and that she is a vital force to the very end. I also liked her utterly rational approach to the world, and her slow recognition that the mystical was a mystery she could never fathom.

My only reservation, really, is the almost surreal interlude in Tahiti, about which perhaps the less said the better. I will have to reflect a little more before I can make my mind up about it.

In execution, I stand by earlier comments - this is very much a narrated tale; we watch Henry and Alma, rather than seeing through their eyes for at least the first half of the novel - but I found myself sucked in nevertheless. The narration is playful and the prose inviting. Overall, a beautiful tale of one woman's efforts to understand humanity through the natural world.

Time to head home and face the UK weather and try to ignore the election coverage by focusing on the snooker world championship ;) (nb I will be voting - just avoiding all the mudslinging in the run up to the big day)

Australia has been lovely if tiring, and I get to add pelicans, emus and straw-necked ibis to the list of natives I've finally got to see in the wild! (It took me 10 years to see a wild kangaroo - we spend too much time in urban areas visiting family)

I am galloping through The Steerswoman on my third attempt, so I shall finish that in flight and then figure out what to tackle next!

>194 imyril: Nice, so I take it that you like The steerswoman this time around?

>195 zjakkelien: yes, we got on much better this time :) There's a lot to like, and I'll try to do my review this week. I followed up with The Book of the Unnamed Midwife, which I also enjoyed.

Back in the UK after a good trip; now trying to kick the jetlag and an unexpected stomach bug.

27) The Steerswoman - Rosemary Kirstein


Third time lucky. I had no problems engaging with The Steerswoman on this attempt and enjoyed it as a quick read at the end of my holiday. There's a lot to like here - a very egalitarian society, an intriguingly small world with close horizons (this struck me as soon as I saw the map, and I enjoyed the slow reveal of why this was the case), and of course the interesting set up of knowledge and conflict between the steerswomen/steersmen and the wizards.

I decided early on that this was not traditional fantasy, in spite of the dragons, as upheld by Rowan's increasing reliance on physical and mathematical principles to understand her world (not to mention Willam's 'magic' and its more obvious interpretation). But I'm happy to read a fantasy that embraces the question of whether sufficiently advanced science is distinguishable from magic and explores the evolution of magic into science, and I think Kirstein handles it well here - along with sufficient finer touches that still feel magical (it took me far longer than it should have to figure out why Rowan would be immune to guard charms).

I didn't particularly enjoy the prose style, which I think is what I bounced off the first couple of reads - the writing is quite sparse and sometimes choppy, so didn't suck me in on its own merits. However, I enjoyed the characters (although I found the POV swap to Willam very jarring) and the overall tale. I'm in no rush to continue the series, but I do think this is one that's going to grow on me over time and I will pick up the next installment in due course.

38) The Book of the Unnamed Midwife - Meg Elison


I picked this up in the wake of links highlighting award nominees beyond this year's poisonous Hugo debate. Winner of this year's Philip K Dick award, it is a brutal apocalyptic novel set in a nearly-now. The world has been ravaged by a flu-like sickness that has spread like wildfire, killing 98% of infected men - and higher in women.

The midwife recovers in a hospital full of the dead, and must make her way in a dangerous new world where women have become prized commodities and men are willing to stop at nothing. Aware that her medical skills are now rarer than hen's teeth, and rapidly apprised of the situation most women find themselves in, she disguises herself as a man and sets off in search of a refuge, swearing to help as many women as she can to at least avoid pregnancy (an almost-certain death sentence as the plague has claimed every newborn since it first appeared, as well as most mothers) even if she can't free them from their immediate predicament.

This is not a cheerful post-apocalypse. While it's not entirely clear how long it is since the main die-off (i.e. how long it has taken her to recover), the world is practically empty and the midwife must come to terms with the immediate difficulties of survival - including the threat posed by other humans - and the more insidious threat of loneliness and despair. Elison takes the harshest lines here; civilisation is non-existent, and social contracts have expired. Where pockets of human goodness survive, they are constantly under threat.

I do think it's flawed - I repeatedly tripped over the narrative structure: it is introduced as the midwife's diaries, but is predominantly third person - whuh? - and sometimes swaps briefly to an omniscient third person to detail what happens to characters after the midwife has moved on, or to outline events elsewhere in the world that the midwife is ignorant of - none of which makes sense given the set-up. I honestly think Elison would have done better to leave this broader world-building for her own reference and cut it out of the final draft. This is an intimate tale of one woman's survival in a world gone to hell in a handbasket - and for my money would have worked even better if she had kept it in tight focus.

Elison also re-uses a few tropes that are too well-trodden for my liking: waking in a hospital and unlikely radio messages promising salvation both recall 28 Days Later (although the hospital waking is an older and more tired trope), and her depiction of a small Mormon enclave in Utah suffered from my recent read of A Study in Scarlet. Are the Mormons really still that close to 19th century attitudes? Perhaps they are - they're not a community I know much about, beyond a couple of terribly normal blokes I've worked with.

There is apparently a sequel in the works, which also feels extraneous (but then I do tend to like my apocalypse as a one-off thought provoker - although if she moves on to how society is rebuilt, that could be interesting).

Overall, not one to read lightly or if you're feeling down on humanity, but worth picking up if you have a particular interest in (post)apocalypse downers and notable for focusing on the mental/emotional aspects of survival as well as showcasing a strong female protagonist.

>198 imyril: This sounds good, but I may wait to read it, having just finished one post-apocalyptic novel and half-way through another!

>199 Sakerfalcon: it's a good read, and oddly has finally become the post-apocalypse novel that has succeeded in making me feel guilty that I haven't read The Road.

Now for something comforting - I've picked up Snare :)

>200 imyril: I look forward to seeing what you think - I know it's a reread for you. I wasn't at all impressed when I read it, finding the characters clichéd and the story predictable. But maybe I was just disgruntled because it wasn't the next Deverry book!

>201 Sakerfalcon: it's been nearly 10 years since I read it, so I'm curious to see how we get on. I do recall being disgruntled because it wasn't Deverry, and not liking it as much as Polar City Blues, but I don't recall much else!

>197 imyril: I'm due for a reread of The Steerswoman soon so I can finally read the third and fourth books of the series. I was kind of so-so on the first book (in particular the torture didn't really work for me and it was kinda jarring, but I think also partially because I'd been spoiled on the "not really fantasy" conceit of the series) but I really liked the second book, The Outskirter's Secret- I thought it was a huge step up.

>203 sandstone78: that's good to know. The first instalment struck me as competent, full of interesting things and a decent read, but not entirely charming. I shall look forward to how it develops.

>201 Sakerfalcon: ooph. I think I might be finding out why I don't recall Snare and you don't recall it fondly. I'm sure it's great if you haven't read Deverry, but if you have the Tribes are an awful lot like like the Westfolk and even the speech patterns (of Tribes and Kazraki) feel Deverrian.

I'm also struggling to see why a future spacefaring Arabic nation would revert to a mediaeval fantasy Arabic society, rather than evolving from the point they had reached when they went to the stars. It's the Caliphate in space! But why?

I'll stick with it a while longer until I get the full complement of characters / plots in place, but I may put this aside and leave it as the one that wasn't a Deverry book ;)

>205 imyril: - the ending makes it really, so it's worth sticking with. But I wasn't that impressed either, it is a much slower book than anything else she's written. As you say the importation of the religion across time and space that unchanged is massively unlikely, or too obvious for a brilliant SF novel.

>206 reading_fox: it is slowly picking up, but gosh the characters seem very thin compared to her other work! I'll stick with it - it's not dreadful - it's just not very good or original so far (or rather: it would be a very by the numbers fantasy; the twist that it's a post-technological future isn't enough to make it stand out - especially having read The Steerswoman recently).

39) Snare - Katharine Kerr


The short version: some good character work (especially on the lead women), clear definition of 4 cultures on an alien world (1 alien) including different takes on gender and sexuality, and interesting ideas (cultural isolation, culture exchange, managing the impact of high tech on low tech society, and re-casting science as magic). On the down side, it's flabby, I couldn't help but feel it was lazy in the world-building, and overly simplistic in its conclusions. Ultimately entertaining but not stellar.

For those who can bear it: the TL;DR version ;)

This was a challenging read for the wrong reasons: I am too familiar with Kerr's more-famous Deverry books, and one weakness of Snare is where it leans heavily on the same underpinnings. This was particularly noticeable to me in the speech patterns, which - as ever with Kerr's work - are used (successfully) to distinguish different cultures and races, but are here very close to the Deverry equivalents. It is likewise a little too easy to equate the Kazraki with the Deverrians (a strict patriarchy with a warlike bent), the Tribes with the Westfolk (a mystic-led horse folk who are nominally egalitarian but actually have quite strict gender roles) and the Chof with the Horsekin (an alien matriarchy currently struggling with internal religious and political divisions).

Scratch beneath the surface of what feels like paint-by-numbers world-building, and there are significant differences here to the Deverry books. This is science fiction masquerading as fantasy - an alien world settled by a lost fleet of human starships, whose descendants have (deliberately) forgotten their origins. Ancient tech has been re-cast as magic (or demonic sorcery), and ancient racial divisions have been preserved with carefully constructed isolationist policies.

The interesting bits explore the same ideas as The Steerswoman (science as magic) and Golden Witchbreed (culture clash and the impact of high technology on simple societies), and while it succeeds in the first, it doesn't do justice to the second. The novel slowly unpicks the concepts of magic with much of the novel's arc focusing on the impact this has on a Tribal mystic (Ammadin) who begins with a crisis of faith and learns enough of the truth to realise how great a spiritual challenge she truly faces. As noted for The Steerswoman, I do enjoy science-as-magic settings, and I quite enjoyed how this played out.

Intertwined with it is the question of how what we know helps us define ourselves. Both Ammadin and Kazraki assassin Zayn must confront the fact that they are the products of genetic engineering. Ammadin helps Zayn realise that his people's beliefs in demon-spawn may not be entirely accurate; his response and personal growth is fascinating (if perhaps a little simplistic in terms of the psychology; but Kerr has always been big on forgiveness and redemption, as evidenced by her near-total rewrite of the villains in Darkspell for the author's preferred edition). But intriguingly, both share a fury at the fact that their innate superhuman abilities are the product of human engineering, which I find interesting food for thought (as - not being religious, and not living in a pre-scientific society - I'm not sure why it's better to be 'cursed' or 'blessed' with an ability by a god - especially if that then damns you in your own eyes - rather than being tinkered with by other people).

All this loosely takes place within the framework of a run-of-the-mill hero's quest in which an evil Emperor has murdered his close kin and instituted a reign of terror. A Kazraki cavalry officer seeks to find an escaped heir to lead a civil war and be a better ruler; Zayn completes the triangle by being the assassin set on their trail - but who has no idea he is tracking down his two oldest friends. It's interesting only because the heir, Jezro, is one of the more interesting characters in the novel: deeply changed by a life on the run, highly intelligent, and almost the most moral character in the book (although he still fails to consider asking Zayn and Stronghunter Man to capture fleeing 'sorceror' and rapist Soutan rather than killing him).

The aliens, on the other hand, slowly emerge as a fascinating society. Highly gendered (in spite of their ungendered adolescence), both intelligent and warlike, we eventually gain insight into their politics and religion. Water Woman in particular is an interesting blend of emotion (her guilt at holding back information from Ammadin) and cunning (her interest in Kazraki religion); it is a shame that Herbgather Woman is so under-drawn as to be almost a side-show and that Stronghunter Man becomes a hairy-chested male stereotype ('There are two types of people in the world: those who kill, and those who eat' - err, right).

The novel ends up feeling very long, each section (and especially the middle) being a bit flabby, with a few too many meanders. While each twist contributes to our understanding of present and past, and helps shape Zayn or prod reluctant heir Jezro towards his destiny, it would have worked better for me if it had been trimmed down. Perhaps I've become too big a fan of Melissa Scott's economical flair in defining complex societies and politics - and delivering a fine adventure on the back of them - in a surprisingly short number of pages. In spite of the length, Snare ultimately takes the simplistic line that if we'd just all talk to each other, we'd probably get along - which is a lovely sentiment, and one I'd love to agree with, but is a little harder to swallow now than in my idealistic 20s.

On the up side, I enjoyed the core characters - particularly no-nonsense Ammadin, feisty Loy Millou and introspective Jezro Khan. I also liked that they didn't share a point of view on each other - Loy (and, unexpectedly, Soutan) shows us the brutality of the Kazrakis, rather than just presenting Zayn as a conflicted hero. Loy rightly reflects - repeatedly - that he is terrifying, and continually questions Ammadin's attraction to him. Loy's own desire to punish her daughter's rapist is a counterpoint to her otherwise high ideals; she too has a line past which she embraces violence. There's a fine balance here, as often in Kerr's character work. She makes it easy to accept what should be a troubling point of view, and then reminds us just how uncivilised it is (see also: Rhodry in the Deverry books).

As @reading_fox says, the pay-off is all in the second half, and it is worth the wait (belatedly grabbing an extra half star from me; even pedestrian Katharine Kerr easily merits 3 stars for enjoyable prose and characters and once I got into it it was harder to put down). But this will be enjoyed far more by those who haven't read (and won't be distracted by) the Deverry books, and who read this before tackling more nuanced and challenging views on culture exchange such as Golden Witchbreed.

>208 imyril: Ahem, last thought: much much much travelling. Slogging through the grasslands quotient is high; if they're not travelling, they're stopping off briefly before they get back on the road.

30) Station Eleven - Emily St John Mandel


Oh my. I'd heard a lot of good things about Station Eleven, but I was still bowled over by the understated elegance and resonance of the text itself. It strikes me as one of those stories that underwhelms in synopsis (and in retrospect, the cover blurb is slightly misleading in this sense, as it tries to intimate action that never really takes place). 20 years after the Georgia Flu ends the world, a young woman travels Michigan with an itinerant group of actors and musicians. Her encounters on the road in Year Twenty are contrasted with flashbacks to the lives of a small group of others connected by a dead actor in the years before the Flu, providing a beautiful, stark reflection on modern life and what meaning we can find in it.

This is literary apocalypse, and it leaves me on the edge of tears. Easily the best and most satisfying novel of the year to date, for me. Those seeking high-action post-apocalyptic adventure will be disappointed. Those who love a good book on humanity and human relationships need not be put off by it's post-apocalyptic premise.

>210 imyril:
No! That bullet did not hit me. No, it did not. Definitely did not.

Ouch!

...actually, two minor asides. Firstly, I made the mistake of reading the Afterword (which I typically do), and was promptly spoiled for another book on Mount TBR (oops) as the author is good about noting her references.

So if you don't recognise the reference to the post-apocalyptic vampire novel mentioned in the text and you enjoy that sort of thing, don't read the Afterword. I guess I've put off reading The Passage (touchstone deliberately omitted to avoid a touchstone spoiler!) for so long it's my own fault really.

On a broader apocalypse note, I note that flu is now probably the most common (and let's face it, most plausible) cause of the end of the world on my bookshelf. Aliens and nuclear holocaust are starting to look quite dated, although I'm sure this is largely my own selection bias.

It did get me thinking though: if you accept that rapid-onset / high-mortality flu contagion can rip through densely settled areas (add modern globalisation for a good apocalypse), where in the world might dodge the bullet because there is a sizeable population living in remote areas with relatively little and/or more easily regulated contact with urban centres? I'm not sure I've read any stories that use this premise; if any leap to mind, I'd love to.

I'm specifically not thinking remote US / survivalist stories - more the possibilities for Africa and the Pacific islands, although there's probably an argument for any desert / seriously (continental-collision) mountainous / Arctic regions. A Brief History of the Dead made the case for the Antarctic, but that's not the easiest place to get home or survive long-term!

I always appreciated that World War Z gave thought to shipping (not that it was a happy thought in the end), and props to Mandel for likewise considering the Air Gradia flight.

>211 pgmcc: This is what you get for hiding behind me when @Meredy, @Sakerfalcon, @SylviaC and others were firing the same bullet in your direction :)

>210 imyril: It's on the TBR pile, somehow I can sense that those above it are teetering and when I have to reset the pile, it might find itself nearer the top!

>213 imyril: Are you aware it won the Arthur C. Clarke Award this year? I saw an interview in the paper in which the author expressed that she had written Science Fiction.

It struck me as incongruous as J.K. Rowling denying that she wrote Fantasy.

>215 pgmcc: I saw the announcement earlier this week :) Worthy, I think. Regarding the interview, I saw one where she said she didn't consider it spec fic, but she didn't mind if every one else did - and I must say I think it's a little disingenuous to write about a world in which 99% of the population have died of flu and suggest it's not speculative ;)

I think when she says it though, she's talking about her intent. She seems very much to want to write Literature, and I get the impression she feels she's missed the mark when it's described as something else. That irritates me very slightly, in much the same way as Francine Prose did - it's the old snobbery that genre can't be literary.

Humbug, I say.

(I also say 'best spec fic I've read this year' and 'best book I've read this year', and she can call it whatever she likes ;)

>212 imyril: The Air Gradia bit was chilling, wasn't it?

>217 SylviaC: absolutely hair on the back of the neck. And yet utterly understated. I think that's what I liked best - her power of suggestion.

I'm so glad to hear your praise for Station eleven. It was really was an excellent book. I loved seeing all the puzzle pieces come together as I progressed through the story.

And thanks for your detailed response to Snare. I get the impression that you got more out of the book than I did, but your comments don't inspire me to reread it. I remember finding the characters rather shallow and both they and the plot to be predictable. And yes, all the travelling ...

>219 Sakerfalcon: it would be very easy to just dismiss Snare (and it wouldn't be wrong to do so - other works do a far better job of tackling the same ideas). The characters don't really grow or change, and the outlook is rather simplistic.

Station Eleven, on the other hand, takes familiar ground and manages to shine in execution. I thought it was interesting that Mandel apparently chose her editor (err, or publisher) on the grounds that they were also responsible for The Dog Stars, which was too simplistic and masculine for my taste (and I don't recall thinking the prose was all that either).

Having dithered about what to pick up next (which - if nothing else - let me rapidly reconfirm that a teenage enjoyment of Piers Anthony books is a condition you can recover fully from as an adult, so that's a heap of books from Mum's basement that can now disappear off my shelf), I've finally returned to my Culture read-through. After almost a year of procrastination, I've picked up Matter, which was the Culture book I liked least on first reading (original review over here).

...and I must admit, it starts quite well - not least for the gleefully over-the-top Shakespearean language through the first section. I'm not sure I picked up on it (or indeed any of the comedy) on my first read, but it's glaringly obvious in the introduction to Sarl. Tyl Loesp might have walked straight out of a performance of Henry V, he's trying so hard in his public speeches, and Oramen calling out that he's going to shamelessly steal lines from plays in order to reply in kind had me in stitches.

That said, it was never the beginning that annoyed me. So here's hoping I continue to get more out of it than I did last time.

@pgmcc - I'll understand if you dive for cover now, rather than risk another knife missile Banksian book bullet :)

My recovery from teenage enjoyment of Piers Anthony books was sudden and complete. At some point in my early 20s I thought, "What a load of misogynistic garbage," and quit cold turkey.

>222 SylviaC: yep, that basically covers it :) only I skipped my 20s (because the books were in Mum's basement) so I'm a slightly late bloomer ;)

>221 imyril: I could sense your focusing the sights on the back of my head as I read through your post. Your last paragraph only confirmed my suspicions.

As it happens, only yesterday evening I was looking at my shelf and a half of Banks books and thinking that with his second anniverssry only a matter of weeks away I should read another Banks novel. You may have selected that novel for me.

I hope you continue to get more out of Matter.

>224 pgmcc: *cough* I don't know what you mean...

But yes, it's definitely time you read another Banks' novel :)

31-32) Order of the Stick prequels - Start of Darkness / On the Origin of PCs - Rich Burlew
/

For those new (I'm not) to the Order of the Stick, the prequels are not the place to start. They fill in almost entirely unnecessary backstory, and - like Star Wars Episodes I-III - include spoilers for the main sequence. With the possible exception of Redcloak, the characters are less engaging and less likeable than they become once the action starts. Overall, the graphic novels are better read in order of publication than chronological order.

That said, I enjoy these - particularly Start of Darkness, which focuses on the villains - as extra colour (sorry). At the time of publication, Start of Darkness provided entirely new perspective on Redcloak the goblin cleric, and confirmed everyone's suspicions that archvillain Xykon the undead sorceror was really just a jackass. Redcloak, on the other hand, gains extra dimensions previously unimagined in two-dimensional stick figure form ;)

Literature it most certainly isn't, and I find some of the gaming humour / cultural references go over my head these days, but there's enough here to put a smile on my face. I'll continue my read through of the main collection alongside Matter as light relief.

226> Oh, I need to get around to writing up my review of those!

I'd say Start of Darkness is the better of the two. On the Origin of PCs didn't really add anything new.

>227 pwaites: I agree. Although I just remembered that reading Dungeon Crawlin' Fools gives you a warmer fuzzier take on Haley when you read the prequel - her motivation turns out to be rather more personal than her cutesy avarice initially suggests. It still doesn't elevate On the Origin of PCs mind!

33) Dungeon Crawlin' Fools - Rich Burlew


Ah, the original Order of the Stick. Gaming gags, sight gags, puns, and a lot of humour at the expense of its roleplaying audience. Also the now-embarrassing role-playing sexism, which Burlew has latterly tried to recover from (in this first brief adventure, women are antagonists, cheats or the sexy rogue).

It remains light-hearted entertainment, and it's a fun reread - especially when you re-visit it with the full knowledge of how it went on to develop. These are the early comedy-led baby steps of a troupe of thoroughly two-dimensional characters who will (over the course of the second volume and beyond) go on to realise that you shouldn't let a little thing like format and stick figures stop you exploring character and having epic adventures and tragedies.

Everything here feels quite slight as a result, but it's still a lot of fun. Not least for its ongoing flirtation with the 4th wall - the invasion of lawyers to arrest a menacing monster for being a copyright violation and the panel in which Elan deliberately waits for something to blow up so he can have a heroic leap to safety against a cinematic backdrop of FIRE remain particular favourites (yelling 'eat your heart out Vin Diesel' no less).

The gag-within-the-gag of whether Elan has more dimensions than a Vin Diesel character may only exist in my head, of course ;)

Uh, I forgot my Kindle yesterday and got sidetracked into The Echo. I know I was initially lukewarm on The Explorer, but it grew on me after the fact / by comparison with other reads (not least The Martian) and I do like James Smythe's prose.

Isolated blokes get haunted (psychologically, not actual ghosts) in space. I just automatically assume it's going to end badly. I think Alien set me up for a lifetime of enjoying that sort of thing (done well).

I seem to have a few of this type on TBR. I'll get back to Matter next week when I've got (yet) another long haul flight - off to the US for my best friend's wedding!

>230 imyril:

my best friend's wedding!

Isn't there a film of that name?

>231 pgmcc: I think it might have been a Julia Roberts comedy?

>232 imyril: I take it you know the plot.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119738/

>233 pgmcc: heh. I didn't, but @dizzykj and I are very close ;) Sisters by another mother.

34) The Echo - James Smythe


The ill-fated Ishiguro mission set space exploration back decades. Years later, the Hyvonen twins (students of Guy Singer, the only 'real' scientist aboard Ishiguro) achieve the funding and the mandate to retrace the failed mission's footsteps in order to discover the nature of the Anomaly that Singer wanted to study - and which appears to be moving closer to Earth.

If The Explorer was framed as a disaster novel from the start, The Echo is framed as research. Mira Hyvonen, our narrator, is highly critical of the previous mission and proud of the scientific rigour and efficiency he and his brother have brought to the new project. They will Do Science and change our understanding of the universe.

I couldn't help but read this as hubris; while I wasn't sure this too was a disaster novel, I found myself looking for the (flashing neon) signs. The clue is in the title: the book inevitably retreads some of the same ground as The Explorer.

Regardless, if The Explorer was a study of Cormac Easton, The Echo is a study of Mirakel Hyvonen and his fractured relationship with his shadow self Tomas. Tomas runs ground control as Mira and the crew head deep into space. He can spy on everything on board and override any system (Smythe waves an undefined Magic Engineering wand).

Perched on the edge of the Anomaly, the Ishiguro drifting in front of them, are they right to trust Tomas and his motives when he is sat safe at home? Is Mira an echo of Tomas or a clearly-defined strong man in his own right?

I enjoyed this more than The Explorer, although it shares some of the same flaws (and still evokes Moon, although there are more shades of Source Code). It has a larger cast, including two strong women in the crew of six, and this helps lend momentum and weight beyond the single survivor scenario Cornac is found in.

The larger implications of what the Anomaly would mean if it reached Earth are properly daunting, as are the ethical dilemmas faced by the Hyvonens. There can be no closure here - there will be two more Anomaly books - just a further look into what the Anomaly does, and a flirtation with what that may mean.

However, I can't help but feel the third novel will need to break some (significant) new ground to keep this going.

Safely back from a great trip to DC. The wedding was delightful, although support duties ahead of the big day kept me busy / tired enough that I got no sightseeing (or reading) done. That's okay - I'll be back for visits!

I have returned to a little red letter asking me to report for jury duty, which comes at the perfect time as I've been considering head back to university to do a diploma in law.

Back to work tomorrow, and back to the Culture to finish following Djan Seriy, Ferbin and Oramen around Sursamen.

>236 imyril: "a little red letter "

Is this the origin of / inspiration for the Howlers in Harry Potter?

>237 hfglen: Sadly my Potter-fu is based purely on the movies, so I really couldn't say. Perhaps someone here can enlighten us both! :)

35) Matter - Iain M Banks


Matter didn't annoy me half as much this time as it did first time round, but it follows the trend of later Culture novels of suffering from uneven pacing. A rapid start is followed by sloooow journeys across space and perception before it all picks up with a bang and hurries to a messy climax.

Sursamen is a Shell-world, an enormous constructed world of concentric levels built by a long-dormant race and latterly inhabited by less evolved species. The Sarl of the Eighth level are a low-tech war-faring race determined to conquer their longtime adversaries and distant cousins the Deldeyn of the Ninth.

When the Sarlian King is secretly murdered by his right-hand man Mertis tyl Loesp, his children are scattered: his heir Ferbin (incorrectly) described as dead and his reputation rapidly traduced, and his youngest son Oramen proclaimed the ward of his murderer. His daughter Djan Seriy - long-since claimed by the Culture and trained by Special Circumstances - hears the news and heads home to try and understand what's going on.

Meanwhile Ferbin and his down-to-earth manservant flee Sursamen in search of external aid from a galactic power, and Oramen proceeds to enjoy his late teens with a deliberate naivete that becomes increasingly unbelievable given the number of not-even-veiled warnings that he is in danger he receives.

In Matter we glimpse the pecking order of civilisational evolution. The Sarl are mentored by the Oct (a space-faring race of almost incomprehensible mumblings), in turn mentored by the Nariscene (low-level Involved who have turned their back on a history of warfare just enough to stop going to war - but still enjoy it as a spectator sport), who are mentored by the Morthanveld (high-level Involved equivalent to the Culture, but who believe in maintaining a leash over their AI, which seems to be the only real reason the Minds have to be wary of them).

The interplay of cascading civilisations is more than a little Cold War, especially the conflict between the Aultridia and the Oct as played out between the Deldeyn and the Sarl. As with the Cold War, there are voices quick to defend the use of proxies (or Matter) - and the spilling of proxy blood - as the only way to settle affairs. This seems pretty indefensible in an age of virtual experiences indistinguishable from the real thing, but perhaps I'm as naive as Oramen.

It still comes down to Matter in the end because there are greater forces at work, which cut through all the inter-civilisational byplay and play out purely in meatspace. The (literal) deus ex machina climax is an obvious narrative pay-off in spite of Banks' masterful distraction techniques, although I found myself less dis-satisfied with it all on my reread than on first contact as I enjoyed the journey more. Still, there's a lot of character herding here with little character development or freedom - the authorial hand is hard to ignore - and nobody should be surprised that the book doesn't so much conclude as crash-stop in its hurried final act.

That said, I delighted in having a fully SC POV in the person of Djan Seriy - fangs and all - and enjoyed her oscillation between competence porn and Culture-class hedonism (also: a female protagonist in the Culture! Yay!). Being non-Culture by birth, she is far more relatable and dynamic than the Culture protagonists of Excession and is thankfully less demon-ridden than Cheradinine Zakalwe in Use of Weapons.

I also honestly liked Oramen, which made his naivete all the more frustrating. I would have liked a bit more of a drone/Mind presence, but this is probably a sign of just how little enjoyment I derived from the Ferbin / Holse narrative, nominally the backbone of the novel, which I would have happily skipped.

Overall, I'd say Matter is an entertaining exercise (special mention goes to the Sarl court's Shakespearean tendencies) that suffers from poor pacing and inconsistencies and is perhaps too taken with its central conceit of cascading civilisations and concealed motives.

Morning after note - did I suggest that any of the Culture novels are evey paced? Because I'm really not sure I can back that up ;)

There's a theme of 'best laid plans' that recurs as events accelerate book to book, and a notable slice of 'be careful what you wish for'. It's always going to go wrong in a hurry at some point ;)

>240 imyril: I really noticed the pacing issues on my reread. Everyone takes sooooo long to get where they are going! Maybe it was deliberate to suggest the distances travelled, but still. It didn't really add to the plot. In addition to the things you mention enjoying about the book, I really liked the Jeeves and Wooster-type dynamic between Ferbin and Holse.

>241 Sakerfalcon: I didn't enjoy that aspect so much - I remember enjoying Holse more on my first read, but Holse/Ferbin were more miss than hit for me this time around. I wonder if this is a bit like Excession, which I've swung like a pendulum over in terms of appreciation - all boiling down to what mood I'm in at the time, I suppose!

>241 Sakerfalcon: &>242 imyril:
Ok! Ok! I will reread Matter.

Oh my. They appear to have made a movie of Z for Zachariah, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor (a longtime favourite of mine). I'm sure they'll have changed lots (as it's pitched at adults), but... ooooh.

36) Dreams of Gods and Monsters - Laini Taylor


A satisfying conclusion to the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy, Dreams of Gods and Monsters follows hard on the heels of Days of Blood and Starlight in embracing the themes of war and redemption over the overwrought romance, although this inevitably features too. I think I'd have loved this if I had met it in my early/mid teens.

I'm a bit too cynical and crusty to get excited about YA romance tropes and narrative arcs now, but the finale - as the rest of the trilogy - is diverting and entertaining. Laini Taylor writes good fluff and if quite a lot still feels like wish-fulfilment, I remain amused that she turned this in on itself in Daughter of Smoke and Bone by making it clear that even within the bounds of her own tale - where wishes are possible - it is rampant wish fulfilment, and one disapproved of by the wish-granter at that.

Points for introducing angels of all colours, a whiff of a suggestion that angels are not all heterosexual (introduced if not explored) and for strong women outnumbering the strong men, with romantic relationships that make them happier rather than more capable. Further points for tackling some of the difficulties of forging an alliance between mortal enemies, given what past acts must be over-looked or forgiven and what behaviours must be changed for the future; points lost for this feeling more than a little simplified (but hey, this is firmly YA fiction; I'll cut it some slack).

That said, I was mildly irritated to have a dea ex machina almost literally hand-wave away the war (both Akiva's initial cutting through of angel/chimaera hostility and Scarab's apparently single-handed defusing of the Dominion), and leaving Razgut as a dangling thread wasn't entirely satisfactory for a book that otherwise is very quick to punish its villains, reward its heroes and avoid heartbreak (after a quick and unnecessary ladle of 'Oh noes! A long-distance relationship can't be an option! We will be separated 4EVAH' angst). I did like that after a trilogy focused on Akiva and Karou, they're not the new King and Queen of Everything, although they hold revered spots in their cultures.

The ending is clearly open for a follow-up volume or further trilogy to tackle the tale of the godstars and the nithilam, although her latest book news makes it clear that her next efforts will be in a new direction. No rush, but if she returns to Eretz, I'll probably come back for the ride.

37) The Steel Remains - Richard Morgan


A re-read for me, and my first dip into grimdark for quite some time. I have an abiding attachment to Richard Morgan novels, largely for the cynical, bared-teeth rage that blasts off the page. His unexpected turn from scifi to fantasy took me by surprise, but is entirely successful - if not to everyone's taste.

Grimdark is typically a brutal tapestry of antiheroes fighting the odds in deeply divided environments - often committing reprehensible acts along the way. The Steel Remains is different only in that Morgan attempts to subvert (some) grimdark as well as fantasy tropes. Don't expect much in the way of untarnished victories, however.

Three friends survived the war with the Scaled Folk. Outcast hero Ringil Eskiath is summoned home by his mother to find a cousin sold into a newly-legal slave trade, with family and old friends surprisingly unwilling to help. Skaranak clanmaster Egar Dragonbane is dissatisfied with his simple post-war life on the plains, his longing for the civilities of the southern Empire fomenting discord amongst his tribe. Half-breed Archeth, abandoned by her Kiriath kin, cautiously navigates the politics of the imperial court and the whims of a dissolute Emperor. But ancient powers are returning, and human politics will need to be set aside if they are to remain free.

The Steel Remains embraces ultraviolence and swearing (oh so very much swearing), takes place in harsh societies that place no value on the lives of the poor and is powered by jaded heroes (anti-heroes only in the context of the societies they live in, and in which they are all to some extent outsiders). It's unusual in that 2 of 3 leads are gay, and the sex scene(s) and only (on-page) rape are between men.

This isn't to say women are well-treated here: far from it - they are the victims of much of the casual violence along the way. Ringil's investigation into the League slave trade makes it clear what women can expect; an early scene on the plains involves an assault on a prostitute; and the Yheltethi Emperor spends much of his day in his slave harem (so any consent is highly questionable). The misogynistic grimdark underpinnings are all in place, and reinforced with much of the language throughout.

In spite of Ringil and Archeth's preferences, the setting is also intensely homophobic. The only people not to punish homosexuality are the enemy dwenda (also the only egalitarian society) although it seems likely that Archeth's Kiriath kin would have been similarly open-minded. The message seems to be that humanity sucks (which is pretty much why the pure-blooded Kiriath left), and the often bitter POV we get from our heroes backs this up. Again - so far, so grimdark.

And I've generally run dry on grimdark (I failed to re-read The Blade Itself recently, which I enjoyed on first publication), but I still really enjoy this. I think what wins me over - aside from the biting humour - is that while the setting is oh so typical, the main characters' attitudes and actions consistently reject it. Consent - and the right to it (sexually and otherwise) - is implicit in their ethical framework, as is a rejection of warfare for political purposes. Our heroes (and the author) are conscious of the physical and psychological cost of violence - and who pays it, Morgan's regular anti-authority theme a constant bass note underpinning the narrative.

In a nutshell then, I think Morgan successfully plays with the tropes he adopts and delivers self-aware grimdark and concise, effective world-building on the back of it, rather than fiction that simply revels in the awfulness of it all. It's not entirely successful - Egar's narrative is rather slow with little pay-off for the mileage - but I still enjoyed revisiting it and will bound straight on to the sequel, The Cold Commands. Not least in the hope that there will be more time spent on the non-human dwenda and Kiriath world-building, which is simply fascinating.

As an aside - Slogging through the Mud quotient: doesn't apply. The mileage is covered through the mists of alternate realities, which are brilliantly disturbing.

38) The Cold Commands - Richard Morgan


Picking up a year after The Steel Remains left off, our heroes have moved on, sort of. Ringil, now disinherited and branded a terrorist, is single-handedly waging war on the northern slave trade and has acquired troubling abilities, including entering the alternate realities of the Grey Margins more or less at will; Egar has moved in as Archeth's bodyguard and discovered that hot baths, close shaves and good sex aren't enough to stop him getting boreds; and a newly-sober Archeth is trying to make sense of the almost-lucid pronouncements of the Helmsmen (whose nature is unclear, but possibly some sort of organic Kiriath AI). In the background, mysterious ancient forces - the dwenda, the Helmsmen, and the grim northern gods - are manipulating events, but to what end?

If The Steel Remains was self-aware grimdark with a flicker of conscience, The Cold Commands starts by snuffing that conscience out with Ringil's considered assault on Poppy Snarl's slave caravan. Ringil is fighting for a good cause here, but his retribution crosses a line and is difficult to swallow in terms of character motivation (he sanctions a gang rape). While Snarl's self-possessed, defiant response turns the tables somewhat in terms of who has the upper hand, it remains highly uncomfortable reading in trying for a vanishingly thin line between exploitation and black mirror commentary, and there's a reason many people will walk away at this point (although it is not graphic and largely happens more or less off-page - Morgan is making several points here, and one of them is that this is not titillating - the scene remains focused on Ringil, who cannot ultimately cope with what he has done) .

I was appalled the first time I read it and the shock hasn't diminished. But Morgan is setting up his tent early on: this will be darker and more disturbing than the first novel (which is saying something). What he doesn't necessarily deliver is a well-paced novel that stands alone. The Cold Commands - even more so than The Steel Remains - feels like a lot of set-up and a heap of new possibilities, with a slightly engineered climax rather than closure as such (unless you still think the dwenda are the true threat, which seems increasingly unlikely), and requires the final novel in the trilogy to balance it out.

If you can stomach the increasingly grimdark trappings, there's still a lot of dry humour and entertainment here along with some pointed side-swipes (my favourite probably Archeth's acid retort "I'm getting a little fucking tired of hearing men explain to me what my real motivations are"), although the final act ditches humour in the interests of moving events along and spilling a lot of blood.

I will move straight on to the final book in the trilogy, which I've never read. I'll set out my predictions here - I think this is an inverted hero's journey; instead of a humble farmboy elevated to prominence and destiny (and there's an entertaining swipe at this within the alternate realities of the Grey Margins explored in The Cold Commands), we have a noble hero who has successfully defended his people against invading dragons and whose god-touched journey will subvert him into a Dark Lord with dubious moral framework and an appalling mastery of death-bringing. His choices may be justified in terms of self-preservation or even the greater good, but this is a fall from (albeit questionable) grace, not a redemption or vindication.

For the record, once I got past Poppy Snarl, I enjoyed this a lot. It doesn't glorify what it does, and it does it with panache. If Ringil is increasingly hard to sympathise with, I can't help but enjoy Archeth, the Helmsmen, Lady Quilien - and, unexpectedly, the dissolute Emperor Jhiral.

Slogging through the mud: well, the alternate worlds of the Grey Margins are largely swamps this time, but we don't spend that much time there ;)

>247 imyril: I still have to get to this one although it's sitting on the tbr shelves. Really enjoyed the first and it's difficult to envisage that the second is markedly darker in tone than that one. I do need to read more of his other work too.

>248 AHS-Wolfy: It's good in much the same way. I don't think it's much darker than the first, but it's definitely shading towards damnation ;)

...this isn't unusual in Morgan's books. I've loved all of them. I'd like to reread Thirteen, which I enjoyed least, but Market Forces is a blast (Wall Street meets Death Race) and the Takeshi Kovacs novels (Altered Carbon and sequels) are amongst my favourite books. Well worth a look.

...whereas book 3 is starting out as a blood-soaked romp, gleefully back to hacking away at fantasy conventions. The 'quote' adorning the first section cover page is entirely tongue-in-cheek (complete with Random Capitalisation in case the point could be missed):

Once there was a High Quest to Northern Lands, a Bright Fellowship led out in Sunlit Glory by three Heroes from the Great War, companied with the Finest Warriors and Wise Men of Empire, and guided by an Angel fallen from On High...

Sure, that's one way of looking at it.

Sounds like a Bulwer-Lytton contest winner to me.

>251 Meredy: doesn't it just :)

39) The Dark Defiles - Richard Morgan


Another year down the line, and our so-called heroes are flailing around the far north failing to find King Arthur's grave the grave of a long-dead Dark Lord fated to return, or the Kiriath fortress that supposedly guards it to ensure he doesn't. When war erupts along the border, their carefully-negotiated terms of passage are ripped up and Ringil's status as the most wanted man in Trelayne comes back to haunt him. As his mastery of the ikinri ska matures, has he become the new Dark Lord prophecied or do the dwenda, the Helmsmen and the Dark Court have a few tricks left up their sleeves?

I found this less challenging than the previous volume, which is to say whilst still soaked in bloody violence, I was less appalled - although it's worth noting that Morgan has form for subverting ethical sensibilities (see Takeshi Kovacs in Woken Furies) and Ringil's return to Trelayne is monstrous in terms of collateral damage. Perhaps appropriately then, this volume is also less funny (Bulwer-Lytton court bard versions of the story aside - thanks @meredy) as the trilogy gets down to epic confrontations and (un)just desserts.

The split narrative slows things down again here - while Egar and Archeth remain together, their story becomes so divorced from Ringil facing down the threat to the world that it's almost on par with Brienne's wanderings in A Feast For Crows (thankfully it's more interesting). While Ringil has the core narrative, Archeth gets all the character progression - it's an odd split, however realistic it may feel (or familiar to those who have ever annoyed their storyteller by splitting the party).

However, it remains gripping entertainment if somewhat drawn-out and the tale is heavily laced with mythic back story for the reader that worries about background detail. Morgan has subsequently come out and said he doesn't have all the answers, which if true makes some of this world-building a little lazy - although I suspect trolling, as he has also ranted elsewhere about the death of nuance much as his gods rant about their worshippers wanting all the answers. Whether you can join all the dots and come up with a satisfying narrative is up to you as reader.

This bears most on the deliberately suggestive relationship between Ringil, dark god Takavach, and wandering minstrel Hjel, although some readers have also spotted the similarity between the names of the Dark Court and their name for themselves (An Foi) to ask just how far in Takeshi Kovacs' future A Land Fit For Heroes takes place. I'm happy to go with authorial coincidence for his own entertainment or echoes a la GGK's Fionavar across his other novels, but I'll accept that most readings make some sort of twisted sense. This makes the rather meta Book-Keepers offering Ringil a choice of heroic outcomes (and how these are later worked into the narrative) either the ironic commentary on authorial hand I took them for or back up various theories about virtual realities... It's all good for pub and forum debate, but ultimately - Ringil/Takavach/Hjel aside - has little bearing on the outcome.

All in all, good stuff, but arguably less interested in challenging grimdark tropes than adopting them as the focus shifts to resolution. Expect blood, guts, swearing and mixed feelings about representation.

Uh oh. I started reading The Night Watch as OLOB, and 50 pages in I'm struggling to find a hook. Finding myself without the book to hand yesterday, I read the first few pages of The Godless Boys.

*snap*

*gobble*

Must remember I have Things To Do this weekend.

The Night Watch - Sarah Waters (abandoned)

No, it's no good. 100 pages in, I'm giving it up as just not my cup of tea.

To be clear - this is not a bad book. It is feeling a little contrived that - 100 pages in - it's clear everyone has secrets and certain scenes (Viv and Duncan in particular) are so very carefully portrayed to shout 'HEY! I'VE GOT STUFF IN MY PAST THAT IS MESSING UP MY LIFE!' without revealing what that stuff may be (there's enough to make educated guesses, but these could easily turn out to be red herrings). Yes, it's all very clever, but it also feels a little pleased with itself. It's also not really how memory and correlation work.

Nonetheless, I'd probably be admiring it as a literary device - if I had connected with any of the characters. As it is, I think I'll just accept that I loved Waters's Victorian melodramas because they were flamboyant and colourful, and that she set out to do something very different here. She also chose a period I do struggle to read about (non-fiction about the war is fascinating; fiction I rarely enjoy, The Book Thief being a notable exception).

So it's not you, it's me.

>255 imyril: I tried The Night Watch the year before last and really didn't get on with it. It wasn't aided by the fact that I was listening to the audio version and really didn't like the narrator's voice, but I couldn't engage sufficiently with the characters either to make me want to go and track down a paper copy of the book. I came across a lot of things saying how good it was at the time, but it was just one of those books that really didn't work for me.

>256 Peace2: there's lots of people who seem to be really enjoying it for the One LibraryThing One Book read, but I'm with you. I had intended to read the first section (1947), but when I realised I'd covered 100 pages I thought I'd cut my losses. Life is too short and Mount TBR too high :)

Boooooooooooo! I just had a little look at Stiletto as I realised it was nearly July... and Amazon UK has updated the release date to July 2020. Waterstones are claiming 2016, as is Barnes & Noble (although B&N say January 2016).

Perhaps it's best to assume nobody knows when it's going to hit the shelves.

258> That's really disappointing. I'm looking forward to Stiletto.

>258 imyril: Oh man :( Makes me kind of glad I didn't discover The Rook when it first came out. My wait for book 2 is slightly less lol

>258 imyril: It is!

>258 imyril: Me too :) The first draft was apparently done a couple of years ago, but the author has a day job to juggle with life and revisions so I guess we'll all have to be very patient.

In better news (for me, at least), the sequel to Bodies of Light (one of my favourite reads last year) will apparently be published tomorrow, although a couple of months ago I couldn't even find an announcement of what it would be called let alone when it would come out. Signs for Lost Children picks up Ally's struggle to be accepted as a female doctor, now living in Cornwall and working in an asylum.

It has been blisteringly hot in the UK today - apparently our hottest July day on record at over 36C. Even my Mum will admit that counts as hot (hell, even I will; I don't mind 36C in West Australia, but London is rather torrid). I love it anyway, although I am regretting my lack of sandals.

Also, we seem to have reached half way through the year.

I have failed miserably at my goal of not buying any more books with nearly 3 dozen acquired (although that's not too bad, honestly), but am comfortably ahead of my reading goals with nearly 40 books complete. I have managed to keep a fairly close balance between male/female authors except in SFF, where I have mostly read female authors. And overall, it's been a really good reading year with very few disappointments - and those largely of the 'not quite as good as I hoped' variety, with only one read scoring under 3 stars.

Station Eleven wins read of the year so far hands down, with The Girl With All The Gifts a solid runner up.

So I'm looking forward to the second half of the year. I've got plenty to read and if I'm lucky I'll acquire some sandals.

>262 imyril: As I recall from being there in the 1976 heatwave, London has the problem of being built to keep the heat in (so no open breezeways), and all that brickwork soaks up the heat all day and radiates it all night, so there's no respite!

>263 hfglen: that's about the size of it. Soho isn't smelling any better these days either ;)

This hot summer weather has called for the English remedy: gin and tonic. Delightfully, Pret has recently started selling a cucumber seltzer (I understand you progressive Americans have had this gorgeous stuff for years?) which takes a G&T from lovely to sublime. Today we are experimenting with an elderflower tonic, which I'm pleased to report also works rather well.

Also - happy July 4th all of you lovely people across the pond!

>265 imyril: Thank you! I know we have a gin with cucumber and rose essence (Hendrick's), but I haven't heard of other flavors of tonic. Now I will be on the look out!

40) The Godless Boys - Naomi Wood


This sat on my wishlist for a long time before I picked it up, having caught my eye when it first came out. It's an impressive debut novel and an uncomfortable read: I realised half-way through that I wasn't in the mood for watching the inevitable car crash, but respected the writing too much to put it down.

In an alternate present, England turned to God after the war and the fierce resurgence of Christianity was met by flaming resistance from the Secular Movement. Churches burned and those with the wrong papers were beaten in the streets, until a newly-elected religious government had the confidence to banish the dissenting minority to the Island.

30 years later, the Island depends on English charity to survive. Sarah Wicks slips aboard the second-last boat of the year in search of her mother, who vanished during a second purge 10 years ago and who she has only lately discovered did not, in fact, run off with a man from York. Eliza Michalka is Island-born, working in the brothel to earn her keep after her mother's death left her with nothing, dreams of a better, easier life in England. And Nathaniel Malraux, a shaven-headed youth who fancies himself keeper of the Island's purity, leads his gang of Malades to 'crab' anyone suspected of English or Godly sentiments. When their stories converge, it can't end well.

It's the little details that stand out. The novel is weakest in the heavily-borrowed brush strokes used to paint the context of sectarian division and fascist control in the 50s and 70s. It has its strength in the vignettes of the Islanders such as Mrs Page's secular funeral, the secret words Eliza writes beneath her fringe each morning, and the rather literary love letters Nathaniel's dead father wrote to his wife.

As events inevitably build, Wood walks a fine line, never straying into outright brutality. She is interested in the inner landscapes rather than the outer acts as she paints the early aggressions of a gang who are acquiring a taste for violence. Their fire contrasts with the apathy and loneliness of their parents' generation, many of whom quietly regret the acts that had them banished.

The core of the plot is far from original, but the well-drawn setting and accomplished character work make it better than perhaps it should be. While the loose ending left me somewhat dissatisfied (I wanted closure for Nathaniel - his character arc remains horribly incomplete without some clue as to how he will respond to Jake's betrayal - and indeed whether Jake will give him a chance, or will rally the Malades against him), this remains worth a look. Just make sure you're in a resilient mood when you pick it up.

The World Fantasy Award nominees have been announced and I'm delighted to see it looks like a good reading list *cough* i.e. on Mount TBR or my wishlist, so hurray! I haven't been hit by a new book bullet!