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hawkwing_lbBooks 2013: 27-29
not-27. Rod Rees, The Shadow Wars. (The Demi-Monde: Spring in the UK.) HarperCollins, 2013. ARC via Tor.com.
There were bare breasts. That jiggled charmingly. And then the previous book's kickass character turned into some kind of goddess-demon. And I dunno, man, I JUST COULDN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE.
Verdict: throw this book at your nearest wall. By page eight.
27. Cherie Priest, The Inexplicables. Tor, 2012. Copy courtesy of Tor.com.
I've figured out why I didn't love Dreadnought and Ganymede half so much as Boneshaker. Priest's poisoned Seattle, with its yellow gas and its rotters, its decay and peril and strangeness, is a compelling character in its own right.
Here our viewpoint character is Rector Sherman, petty crook, small-time addict, who enters the city because he's no other place to go. Soon he finds himself in the middle of a struggle for control, and has to pick sides.
There is also a sasquatch. It's really pretty good.
28. Peter Higgins, Wolfhound Century. Orbit, 2013. ARC courtesy of the publisher.
This? This is fluently-written, numinous, complex, promising debut. But ultimately somewhat disappointing: I expected more climactic resolution, even from the first book in a new series.
Still recommend it, though. Higgins makes very pretty sentences.
Longer, more detailed review hopefully forthcoming elseweb.
nonfiction
29. Janet Brennan Croft, ed., Lois McMaster Bujold: Essays on a Modern Master of Science Fiction and Fantasy. McFarland Press, 2013. e-ARC courtesy of the publisher.
Review forthcoming from Strange Horizons. Short version: there are one or two good papers in here, but my overall feeling is that this is a bloody awful mess of a collection. And most of the papers wouldn't pass muster for critical engagement with anyone whose opinions I respect.
I continue to fail sleeping at night and engaging with my thesis. Healthy work habits, I no can has? Sigh.
Also, can my whole extended family just get some fucking therapy, rather than indulging in passive-aggressive relational styles, narcissism, and meanness?
not-27. Rod Rees, The Shadow Wars. (The Demi-Monde: Spring in the UK.) HarperCollins, 2013. ARC via Tor.com.
There were bare breasts. That jiggled charmingly. And then the previous book's kickass character turned into some kind of goddess-demon. And I dunno, man, I JUST COULDN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE.
Verdict: throw this book at your nearest wall. By page eight.
27. Cherie Priest, The Inexplicables. Tor, 2012. Copy courtesy of Tor.com.
I've figured out why I didn't love Dreadnought and Ganymede half so much as Boneshaker. Priest's poisoned Seattle, with its yellow gas and its rotters, its decay and peril and strangeness, is a compelling character in its own right.
Here our viewpoint character is Rector Sherman, petty crook, small-time addict, who enters the city because he's no other place to go. Soon he finds himself in the middle of a struggle for control, and has to pick sides.
There is also a sasquatch. It's really pretty good.
28. Peter Higgins, Wolfhound Century. Orbit, 2013. ARC courtesy of the publisher.
This? This is fluently-written, numinous, complex, promising debut. But ultimately somewhat disappointing: I expected more climactic resolution, even from the first book in a new series.
Still recommend it, though. Higgins makes very pretty sentences.
Longer, more detailed review hopefully forthcoming elseweb.
nonfiction
29. Janet Brennan Croft, ed., Lois McMaster Bujold: Essays on a Modern Master of Science Fiction and Fantasy. McFarland Press, 2013. e-ARC courtesy of the publisher.
Review forthcoming from Strange Horizons. Short version: there are one or two good papers in here, but my overall feeling is that this is a bloody awful mess of a collection. And most of the papers wouldn't pass muster for critical engagement with anyone whose opinions I respect.
I continue to fail sleeping at night and engaging with my thesis. Healthy work habits, I no can has? Sigh.
Also, can my whole extended family just get some fucking therapy, rather than indulging in passive-aggressive relational styles, narcissism, and meanness?
