Sarah Chorn's Blog, page 46

Update | The Day that Lasted a Thousand Years

So, my baby, Cora (10 months) has been sick.

Here’s a rundown of events, which I’m basically putting in one place because I have friends and family who want an update and things have been so piece-by-piece on Facebook and etc that it’s nice to just point everyone to one post where it’s all laid out in story form.

The symptoms started up last Friday when she sported a fever of 104. My husband took her to InstaCare, where they (mis)diagnosed her with an ear infection. Well, she started projectile vomiting, and she was refusing to eat, so the on-call pediatrician at her primary care office said to try to get fluids in her. She had us feeding her a mixture of Pedialite and Gatorade, which Cora hated. Her fever kept going up, and she was refusing all of her medication and fluids, so we called back. The doctor put us “on call” for the ER, meaning if her symptoms got worse, we needed to take her to the Emergency Room right away. We (somehow) made it through Saturday night. The doctor had us meet her at the hospital on Sunday, and she looked over Cora and confirmed that she had no ear infection. She thought the symptoms were probably Roseola, and if that was the case, she’d have four(ish) days of fevers and then a rash. No big. We were supposed to call her regular pediatrician on Monday to follow up.

Fevers kept increasing. Monday they actually stabilized a bit, so I didn’t call in until yesterday (Tuesday), when her fevers were upwards of 103 and she was refusing food/formula/medication and was starting to show signs of dehydration. Her doctor saw her first thing yesterday morning, and I had the dubious honor of holding her down while they inserted a catheter to test Cora’s urine for a UTI (it legitimately traumatized both of us. I will NEVER do that again. Period.). I was sent home with the knowledge that it would take two days to get the results. No one had any answers. Her high fevers and refusal to eat were a huge concern. They seemed to think that if it was Roseola, she’d have rashes by now so that was tentatively ruled out.

So I took her home, and shit kind of hit the fan. Her fever was up around 104.7, and I called in to work again because I couldn’t leave my kid like that. We got her to sleep around 9pm. We stayed up, because she was sleeping fitfully. I fell asleep, and had slept for about an hour when my husband woke me up, “Sarah, we have to go to the hospital. Cora’s temperature is up to 106.7.” We took it two more times, and the thermometer said 107.whatever each time. We dressed up our 4 year old, and dropped her off at her grandparents and then made our way to the local children’s hospital and arrived around 1am.

Long story short, it was easily one of the worst days and nights of my life. They gave Cora an IV of some medication which lowered her fever. They took a whole bunch of blood, and some snot to test. They did chest X-rays and a whole bunch of other things. They’ve ruled out just about everything…. which leaves us…. here.

Basically the snot test showed that it’s not a virus. Her red blood cells are enflamed (or something) well above normal range. Other blood tests showed that her body is adequately fighting an infection. Her chest x-rays ruled out pneumonia, but showed that she “has an infection.” The doctor seems to think that she might have Kawasaki Disease. The issue with that diagnoses is that other than the blood test that shows inflammation, and her (extremely) high, persistent fevers, she has no other symptoms. The other issue is, we still don’t have the results of that urine test back, and we won’t until tomorrow.

So here we are. If the urine test comes back tomorrow and shows that she has a UTI/kidney infection, then we’ve already started a (very strong) dose of antibiotics and we’re on the road to recovery. If, however, that test comes back negative, then they want us to check her into children’s hospital tomorrow for an EKG, some other tests, and to start treatment of Kawasaki’s Disease. She will have to stay there for an unspecified amount of time.

Today she’s been a lot better. She’s happier, more active, her temperature’s highest point so far is 100 degrees, and that was a brief spell. Usually things seem to climb at night, so we shall see what tonight brings. and I’m reluctant to hope because I’ve hoped before, and things just got worse when I thought they were getting better. I told my work I will show up tomorrow, barring any more temperature increases. I really hope things start getting better from here. I feel like my whole body is clenched and I break into massive amounts of tears every time I think about any of this. As an added benefit, Cora no longer trusts ANYONE in a uniform. We took her to the grocery store to get us all out of the house and, you know, buy some sustenance, and she just about levitated when she saw the guy behind the meat counter.

That’s where I’m at. That’s what’s been going on. Expect more radio silence because I’m kind of trapped in the middle of a nightmare and I really don’t have the energy or headspace to think about anything but this right now.

An Update: Illness & Stuff

Hey all,

My baby (10 months old) has been incredibly ill recently, with fevers spiking to 105 degrees, and a whole load of other issues. There have been several trips to the hospital and a bunch of sleepless nights and a ton of worry. I think she’s at the tail end of this beast, but until she’s out of the woods, and I get a full night’s sleep, this website is going to be kind of slow. I’m guessing I won’t be writing another review until later this week – and that’ll be the mini-reviews I owe for the next SPFBO group.

The point is, I’m tired. This has been HORRIBLE, and I don’t feel comfortable thinking critically about ANYTHING until I reboot myself and feel like I can stop worrying a bit.

So give me a few more days of silence. I’ll be back later this week. Until then, keep reading.

– Sarah

Too Like the Lightning – Ada Palmer

About the Book

Tor Books is proud to launch the first novel in a new political science fiction series, Too Like The Lightning by debut novelist Ada Palmer. Palmer’s unique vision mixes Enlightenment-era philosophy with traditional science fiction speculation to bring to life the year 2454, not a perfect future, but a utopian one, described by a narrator writing in an antiquated form to catalog the birth of a revolution. The result is The Iliad meets I, Claudius mixed with the enthusiasm of The Stars My Destination and Gene Wolfe style world building.

Mycroft Canner is a convict. For his crimes he is required, as is the custom of the 25th century, to wander the world being as useful as he can to all he meets. Carlyle Foster is a sensayer–a spiritual counselor in a world that has outlawed the public practice of religion, but which also knows that the inner lives of humans cannot be wished away.

The world into which Mycroft and Carlyle have been born is as strange to our 21st-century eyes as ours would be to a native of the 1500s. It is a hard-won utopia built on technologically-generated abundance, and also on complex and mandatory systems of labeling all public writing and speech. What seem to us normal gender distinctions are now distinctly taboo in most social situations. And most of the world’s population is affiliated with globe-girdling clans of the like-minded, whose endless economic and cultural competition is carefully managed by central planners of inestimable subtlety. To us it seems like a mad combination of heaven and hell. To them, it seems like normal life.

And in this world, Mycroft and Carlyle have stumbled on the wild card that may destabilize the system: the boy Bridger, who can effortlessly make his wishes come true. Who can, it would seem, bring inanimate objects to life…

Perfect for fans of Jo Walton, Robert Charles Wilson and Kim Stanley Robinson, Too Like The Lightning is a refreshing change of pace from the current trend of gritty, dystopian novels. Much like Homer telling of heroic deeds and wine dark seas, Mycroft Canner’s narration will draw you into the world of Terra Ignota—a world simmering with gender politics and religious fervor just beneath the surface, on the brink of revolutionary change.

423 pages (hardcover)

Published on May 10, 2016

Published by Tor

Author’s webpage

Buy the book

This book was sent by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

—

I hate to admit it, but I’ve been putting off writing a review for this book for an absolutely ridiculous amount of time. I was so excited to read it, and now that I’ve read it, I honestly still can’t figure out how I feel about any of it. I read a lot, and I read a lot of very diverse books, and this might be the first book I’ve read where I feel like the whole thing might have completely flown over my head.

That makes it seem like I hated the book, and I really didn’t, it’s just a horse of a different color, and I think that could be off putting to some readers. Whatever you expect this to be, it won’t be that. The first thing you’ll notice is the writing. The best way I can describe it is thick. While that sounds weird, it’s true. There are a lot of words, and they mean a lot of different things in different situations. This book is full of layers, and the writing style is sort of archaic (that’s stated up front, so it’s not really a shock). It takes some getting used to. It made me feel like I kind of had to mentally chisel through the surface to get to what is really going on underneath.

Now, that’s not really a big deal. Like I said, the novel is up front about its unique writing style, and it’s absolutely beautifully done. Once I got used to how Palmer wrote, I really enjoyed that. There’s an art to words, and she is a skilled artist, that’s an absolute fact. However, it is unique, and it did serve to make me feel a bit distant from the book overall.

This is one of those books where I can tell the author probably spent years and years and years planning, creating, and writing this novel. This isn’t something that is easy to read, and it certainly wasn’t something that was easy to write. There is a lot here, and the entire process of putting all of this to paper sort of boggles my mind.

Too Like the Lightning is one of those complex sort of novels that is hard to even put into words in this review. So much is going on. It’s political, mysterious, science fiction, and plenty existential. In fact, there were a lot of conversations in this novel that focused on philosophy and various existential topics. This is incredibly deep, very thoughtful, and packed full of so much commentary. It’s a little light on the plot, but that’s made up for on the nature of many of the themes that are being played with. It’s an intensely intelligent novel. This isn’t something you want to read for its light, enjoyable nature. This is the sort of book you want to read when you need to think deep thoughts.

The future world that Palmer has laid out is far different than our own, almost completely unrecognizable. It’s got plenty of SciFi aspects, but it’s also based in a sort of utopian world. It doesn’t take long to realize that not everything is as lovely as you’d think it would be. The characters all illuminate different, but important aspects of this world and the society they inhabit, and really shows some of the benefits and problems of this foreign, haunting world.

The best part of this book, in my humble opinion, is the world building. I really haven’t ever seen it done any better than this, and the possibilities with what Palmer has crafted are endless. But damn, if you’re out there to study some books that have fantastic world building, this one needs to be at the top of your list. It needs to win world building awards (Are there any? If not, we need to create some just so this can win it.) And like I said before, everything about this book has been crafted with tons of thought, and absolute attention to just about every detail you can ever imagine. Political systems, religions, governmental systems, lifestyles… everything. It’s strange, and different and completely memorable.

But this book did leave me a bit confused. It’s so very, very good, but the writing style was hard for me to get used to. The plot was a bit light, but everything else about this book was so heavy, heavy, heavy. I think the best way to enjoy this novel, to really appreciate it, is to read it slowly over a period of quite a few days. Really spread this one out, and savor each word. You’ll appreciate it more. I think my biggest issue was trying to read it so fast that it overwhelmed me.

Too Like the Lightning was stunning, but challenging. This is a very heavy book, but one that, I think, is essential to read. Read it slow. Savor each word. Take your time to absorb it. Some works of art require time to fully appreciate. This is one of them.

 

3/5 stars

The Gilded Hour – Sara Donati

About the Book

The year is 1883, and in New York City, it’s a time of dizzying splendor, crushing poverty, and tremendous change. With the gravity-defying Brooklyn Bridge nearly complete and New York in the grips of anti-vice crusader Anthony Comstock, Anna Savard and her cousin Sophie—both graduates of the Woman’s Medical School—treat the city’s most vulnerable, even if doing so may put everything they’ve strived for in jeopardy.

Anna’s work has placed her in the path of four children who have lost everything, just as she herself once had. Faced with their helplessness, Anna must make an unexpected choice between holding on to the pain of her past and letting love into her life.

For Sophie, an obstetrician and the orphaned daughter of free people of color, helping a desperate young mother forces her to grapple with the oath she took as a doctor—and thrusts her and Anna into the orbit of Anthony Comstock, a dangerous man who considers himself the enemy of everything indecent and of anyone who dares to defy him.

732 pages (hardcover)

Published on September 1, 2015

Published by Berkley

Author’s webpage

Buy the book

—

Typically, I reserve this website for fantasy and science fiction book reviews. Occasionally a different sort of book will strike my hard enough that I’ll find it necessary to veer off the path and talk about something a bit different. Consider this one of those times. This book is not fantasy or science fiction. It’s historical fiction. If that sort of thing doesn’t interest you, then feel free to skip over this review.                   

The Gilded Hour is a historical fiction taking place in the late 1800’s in New York City. This book mostly follows Anna, a female surgeon, though occasionally we get a few other perspectives in there, as well. Most notably is Sophie, Anna’s cousin who is a practicing obstetrician, an orphaned daughter of free people of color. So you see this setup, and you can probably instantly see that this book is a horse of a different color. These are female doctors in an age where female doctors weren’t really a thing. One of these doctors happens to be a woman of color, and both of them are headstrong, opinionated, and educated, and often working with the vulnerable classes of New York City – the poor, destitute, and orphaned.

The Gilded Hour isn’t just a fantastic story with some incredibly strong, insanely memorable protagonists. This book is superbly researched and really gives readers an insight into the time, the social issues that plagued society, and the struggle (often hidden behind closed doors) that women faced, as well as the fallout from various laws that were passed at the time (like the Comstock Laws).

I was completely captivated from the get-go, and I was profoundly moved by this book and everything that it boldly covered. It was a dirty, gritty time where medical science had evolved but due to laws and social mores, much of what was understood couldn’t be acted on without doctors and nurses going to jail for it. It was a time when there were so many orphans that the city really had no idea what to do with them all. It was messy, chaotic, often heartbreaking, and oddly enough, it’s a social commentary that I think is absolutely vital to give many of us a perspective on some of the debates (political and otherwise) that we are facing in our society today.

The writing is superb, and there was never a moment when I doubted anyone’s motivation in regards to anything they did. My one regret was that Sophie didn’t get more limelight, as her story being a woman of color and a doctor besides, was quite fascinating. I would have liked to know more about her. But Anna’s story was incredibly well done, and her narrative wove neatly through New York, tying together all sorts of people that I never expected to really see tied together. She’s a woman of (fairly) upper class means, educated, and spends most of her time working with the poor and destitute. She sees just about everything, and there is no room for her to be timid, because she has to assert herself constantly. She’s a firebrand in an age where fires seemed to be dampened by so many laws and customs.

There are quite a few plots going on in these pages. We have the plight of the orphans, whom Anna and Jack are trying to find and reunite into a family unit. This takes them through just about every poor house and orphan establishment in the city. There’s the baby that Sophie delivers at the start of the novel that spirals into this huge plot involving the Comstock Laws, civil rights, women’s rights, abortion and just about everything else. There’s a whole lot of oppression, and a whole lot of danger, and a lot of silent struggles that I think many of us have forgotten about, but have absolutely shaped much of the social/political landscape that makes up this nation.

Interspersed with all this darkness and deep situations, there is plenty of light. People fall in love. Family units are created. Friendships formed, and people are reunited. That’s probably part of what makes this book work so well. It can be dark and broody and full of worry, but it’s also woven so tightly with so many brilliant, beautiful moments. It’s hard to let any part of this book, or its weighty topics, overwhelm you because Donati seems to know how to strike the perfect balance.

But oh, this novel is poignant for our time. We’ve come so far, but we have so far left to go.

Read this book.

 

5/5 stars

The Fireman – Joe Hill

About the Book

From the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author ofNOS4A2 and Heart-Shaped Box comes a chilling novel about a worldwide pandemic of spontaneous combustion that threatens to reduce civilization to ashes and a band of improbable heroes who battle to save it, led by one powerful and enigmatic man known as the Fireman.

The fireman is coming. Stay cool.

No one knows exactly when it began or where it originated. A terrifying new plague is spreading like wildfire across the country, striking cities one by one: Boston, Detroit, Seattle. The doctors call it Draco Incendia Trychophyton. To everyone else it’s Dragonscale, a highly contagious, deadly spore that marks its hosts with beautiful black and gold marks across their bodies—before causing them to burst into flames. Millions are infected; blazes erupt everywhere. There is no antidote. No one is safe.

Harper Grayson, a compassionate, dedicated nurse as pragmatic as Mary Poppins, treated hundreds of infected patients before her hospital burned to the ground. Now she’s discovered the telltale gold-flecked marks on her skin. When the outbreak first began, she and her husband, Jakob, had made a pact: they would take matters into their own hands if they became infected. To Jakob’s dismay, Harper wants to live—at least until the fetus she is carrying comes to term. At the hospital, she witnessed infected mothers give birth to healthy babies and believes hers will be fine too. . . if she can live long enough to deliver the child.

Convinced that his do-gooding wife has made him sick, Jakob becomes unhinged, and eventually abandons her as their placid New England community collapses in terror. The chaos gives rise to ruthless Cremation Squads—armed, self-appointed posses roaming the streets and woods to exterminate those who they believe carry the spore. But Harper isn’t as alone as she fears: a mysterious and compelling stranger she briefly met at the hospital, a man in a dirty yellow fire fighter’s jacket, carrying a hooked iron bar, straddles the abyss between insanity and death. Known as The Fireman, he strolls the ruins of New Hampshire, a madman afflicted with Dragonscale who has learned to control the fire within himself, using it as a shield to protect the hunted . . . and as a weapon to avenge the wronged.

In the desperate season to come, as the world burns out of control, Harper must learn the Fireman’s secrets before her life—and that of her unborn child—goes up in smoke.

768 pages (hardcover)

Published on May 17, 2016

Published by William Morrow

Author’s webpage

Buy the book

—

NOS4A2 was the first Joe Hill novel I read, and hot damn I loved it. When I heard about The Fireman, I was there with bells on. Then I learned that Kate Mulgrew narrated the audiobook and wow, you couldn’t keep me away. She’s one of my favorite narrators, and before I go any further in this review, if you haven’t experienced Kate Mulgrew reading a novel to you, you need to. Stop what you’re doing, and give her a listen. The woman is amazing.

The Fireman takes place in our world, in a time that is very similar to ours, perhaps near future, but it doesn’t really matter. A virus (fungus, really) goes wild, decimating humanity, and breaking apart governments, families, infrastructure, and what have you. There is a lot of mystery surrounding Dragonscale (its nickname), and there is a ton of fear. Black and gold marks cover the skin of the infected, and then they suddenly combust and burn. As you can imagine, this causes a huge amount of fear for just about everyone. No one wants to burn to death. No one wants to get infected. No one really knows how it’s spread, and there is no cure.

So basically we have this spore that is killing out humanity. There’s a lot of panic, a lot of fire, and no real answers. It’s a dark, stark world, and the terror people feel in that situation is absolutely understandable. And oh, wow, Joe Hill really knows how to create a memorable, forbidding, terrifying atmosphere. I felt that throughout the novel, keenly.

Juxtaposed with all that darkness is our protagonist, Harper Grayson, who is obsessed with Mary Poppins, works as a nurse in an elementary school, and has a real way with children. She’s compassionate to a fault, and hardworking, and just about the happiest character I’ve ever read about in a novel. The world is falling apart, and Harper Grayson is singing children’s songs and comforting people while most are panicking. I couldn’t help but admire her, but I also couldn’t help but be annoyed by her. I mean, who in the hell is that happy naturally?

Harper took a lot of time for me to get used to. I’m sorry to say, she really drove me crazy throughout almost the novel. I grew to respect her immensely, but if she was a real person, I can absolutely promise you she’d be one of the last people I’d actually want to interact with (sorry, but it’s the truth). However, toward the last half of the book I really started to appreciate her skills, her ability to keep calm in dark, tense situations often allowed her to see the heart of the matter when most people would miss it for one reason or another.

She also is spending much of the novel getting to know herself, so it takes that amount of time for her to figure out that she’s not just a one-note wonder, but there’s more to her than all of that Mary Poppins stuff. She has some dark moods. She’s got some depth, and a whole lot of pain and admireable determination, but she was also a bright note in a very dark novel, and while she drove me crazy, I really can’t imagine a more perfect protagonist for a novel like this.

On the flip side is the Fireman, who was funny, and quirky, and I really had a lot of fun with him, despite the obvious pain of his past that’s hanging around his neck like a noose. He’s part of the group, and apart from the group, and his interesting perspective due to his educational background and that dark history he can’t quite deal with, gives him a really unique view into things, and how to deal with them. He’s mysterious and absolutely charming. In some ways, he and Harper are a lot alike – they are both part of the group, and apart from it, and their unique educational backgrounds give them interesting insights into what is happening with the spore. But the Fireman is darker, and a bit more brooding, and while he’s charming, he’s also evasive and mysterious.

A lot of this novel focuses on group dynamic, which is always interesting. When you get a bunch of people infected with a spore, all of which have lost everything, you have a perfect setup for a dramatic, emotional, unpredictable stew. Stir a few times, add some unexpected twists, some strained personal and interpersonal relationships, as well as a world that is burning all around them and you’ve got The Fireman. In the middle of all this are two characters who both stand apart for various reasons.

The Fireman was a lot of things, but it was absolutely infuriating in the best sort of ways. So much happened, and so much of this novel hinged on how people handle horrible situations, group think, and the power of communication. This novel kept me hanging on. Right when I thought I knew what would happen next, Hill would turn the other way. The novel more or less ended how I expected it to end (which had me almost crying at work, by the way) – but I didn’t figure out how I expected it to end until I was just about there at the end. Until then, I was satisfied not really predicting anything, and just enjoying the infuriating dynamics of this twisted group of people who were trying to weather this storm.

This novel, however, wasn’t perfect. There was a romance that appeared, and while I expected it to happen, it just happened with very little warning. All the sudden these two people were in love and I was trying to figure out when in the hell that happened. Like I said above, Harper annoyed the living daylights out of me throughout much of the novel. While I understand why she was the way she was, and I appreciate it, she really frustrated me and I couldn’t help but think that there had to be a way to portray a happy, dedicated, determined nurse in a less annoying way. The culmination of the drama between Harper and her ex-husband felt a bit paint-by-numbers, and a few other side plots felt that way as they met their end, as well.

Despite that, I really enjoyed this novel. It was very well thought out, and very thought provoking. It’s really rare that a novel can infuriate me and frustrate me as much as this one did, and that really says something good about the book itself. This book is supposed to frustrate you, and it did. In spades. The atmosphere was fantastic. The characterization was well done on all fronts. The writing was amazing.

And Kate Mulgrew was a spectacular narrator.

 

4/5 stars

SPFBO2: Round 2 Mini Reviews

Well, here we are again. First off, huge apologies for being a few days late for my mini-reviews this week. I had some health problems waylay me a bit, and I had to spend a few days just dealing/recovering/existing. I don’t like to write reviews when I’m like that, so I tend to delay them.

But, here we are. Here (finally) are my second round of mini-reviews, in no particular order.

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A New Plague – Benny Hinrichs

The whole idea behind this novelette is unique, and interested me right away. We have two main characters whose jobs are to start plagues. This is a rather dark story, but that darkness is balanced with a nice dose of humor. It’s also short, weighing in at 70 pages, so it’s a fast read. While I enjoyed the humor, the dark story being told, and the captivating writing style, I did have questions about whether this could have worked better as a longer book, which would have allowed the author to spend a bit more attention on some character, dialogue, and world building (which I did feel was lacking a bit). My only other real complaint was that this book is extremely dialogue heavy, and while much of it was entertaining, sometimes it didn’t really feel natural. All in all, a great romp, and a strong start.

3/5  stars

Award: Best Dark Humor

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The Way Knight – Alexander Wallis

The Way Knight is a sprawling epic really focused on one girl as she moves through her rather dark life. It’s interesting, and there are some points that are very well done. The world building is pretty good, with some interesting cultural nuances, and religions thrown in here and there. The character Daimonia is very well developed. The issue that I ran into is an issue I run into with a lot of books that dub themselves as dark fantasy – it gets so locked into trying to be so dark that it loses focus of everything else that is going on around it. Daimonia eventually just comes off as impulsive and incredibly depressed. There’s a ton of killing, which doesn’t really bug be but yes, at points it felt gratuitous. Some plot points never really have reasons as to why they happen. It’s epic, dark, and I really enjoyed the vision that the author was working toward, but I do feel like this book could have used a bit more freedom to be something other than dark and moody.

2/5 stars

Award: Best Dark Fantasy

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The SatNav of Doom – Will MacMillan Jones

I’m having a hard time reviewing this one. It’s the fifth book in a series, but each book stands alone. I agree with that, in some respects. I think if I’ve read the other four books before this one, I’d understand the characters/motivations a bit more than I currently do. I should also note, I’m not good with slapstick humor. In fact, it tends to bounce off me completely. And this book is slapstick humor, so it largely bounced off of me. It’s funny, but convoluted with a rambling plot. It’s fast paced, full of quirky characters, and more geek references than it actually needed. I did have an issue with the editing – it could have used more. In the end, I don’t really think this book was a good fit for me personally.

2/5 stars

Award: Most Heart

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The Mages of Bennamore – Pauline M. Ross

There is a time and a place for those light, fluffy fantasy reads. Those comforting books you can kind of fall into and enjoy despite its predictability and lack of extreme depth. I know that sounds horrible, but really, sometimes that’s what a person really needs. This is one of those books. There really isn’t a ton of depth in the way of characters or world building, and there is a bit of romance, which is both predictable and sweet, but despite that, this book was kind of enchanting. It did have some editing issues, like words used wrong at certain points, and it isn’t really anything incredibly new, but if you need a comfort read, then this might be one you look at. If you’re looking for new, deep, full of profound thoughts and tons of surprises, look elsewhere.

3/5 stars

Award: Best Comfort Read

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For the Love of their Children – Jason Dias

This book takes some time to get into. The world is rich and intricate, and so is the writing. While I do think the prose could have been a little tighter, I was quite surprised by how quickly I was pulled into the book, and all of those details that I love so much. Sometimes it got a little overwhelming, and some of the editing felt a little off, but otherwise, this was a book that really surprised me. It’s a sort of East meets West (kind of) mash up, with gods, magic, religion, complex characters and whatever else you can imagine. Yes, it takes time to get going, and it takes time to sort it all out and define this detailed world Dias has crafted, but things get going pretty quickly after that.

4/5 stars

Award: Best Epic Fantasy

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Honor Among Orcs – Amalia Dillin

This book was pitched as a Lord of the Rings meets Beauty and the Beast mashup. Okay, I can see that. And I can see where a lot of people would really love this novel. However, my issues really rested in framework, so to speak. The plot took a loooong time to get going. I had a hard time believing some character motivations, and some of the descriptions got repetitive. That being said, it’s an interesting story, and a successful effort to mash together two very well-known stories. In the end, I’m just not sure it worked all that well for me. Good story, good writing, good vision, but the execution left a little to be desired.

3/5 stars

Award: Best fantasy mashup

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The winner of group 2 is….

For the Love of their Children by Jason Dias

Congratulations!

What I’m reading

Today I’m deciding to do something a little bit different. Instead of writing a review, I’m going to talk about the books I’m reading right now, my impressions as of the point I am at with them, and whatever else springs to mind.

I tend to read about 3-5 books at a time. I am a mood reader, so I keep various books going that are keyed into whatever main moods I am tending to feel at this point in time, which is probably strange, but that’s how I roll, and that’s why I usually keep a handful of books going at the same time.

So here are the books I’m reading right now. What books are you reading? What other books should I be reading?

(Clicking on the book covers will take you to their Goodreads page.)

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The Fireman – Joe Hill

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I’m listening to the audiobook of this one and it is fantastic. Kate Mulgrew is one of my favorite narrators. I have six hours left in this one and I’m just loving it. I’m guessing that a lot of people will compare this novel to Stephen King’s The Stand, which is true in the way that both are dealing with viruses/bacteria that end the world as we know it, and group dynamic, but really the similarities end there. Joe Hill is his own man, and The Fireman, so far, has been absolutely incredible. The main character took some time for me to get used to. She seemed far too unbelievably, unrealistically, naively happy for my taste, but like the rest of the book, she gained depth and became interesting as things progressed. Now, at this point, I really like her. I don’t think I could ever be her friend, but she’s an interesting character and there’s a lot of things about her that are quite surprising. I’m in the final stretch of this novel, and things have been gearing up for a while now. I’m predicting a BANG ending. We shall see.

The Thousand Names – Django Wexler

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This is a reread for me, but to be honest, I read this during a whole bunch of cancer drama and it’s completely fallen into the abyss. I remember absolutely nothing about it, so this might as well be the first time I’ve read it. I’m currently on page 178, and just digging it. I love the nonwestern setting. I am usually not big on military fantasy, but Wexler has a way with making campaigns, battles, and soldier dynamics incredibly interesting, even to someone who usually doesn’t care much about that sort of thing. Winter is an interesting character with a past that is shadowed, and I really want to know more about her. Marcus is a man that seems kind of jailed by his obligations. He seems pretty much a soldier to the bone, but things are starting to happen that are leading me to believe that both Winter and Marcus are going to be tested pretty intensely on very personal levels soon and I’m really anxious to see how Wexler and push and strain his characters. Marcus especially seems like the kind of guy that simmers under the surface until he boils, and when he boils, I’m pretty sure it will be epic. Winter and Marcus two storylines haven’t merged much (yet), but I think it would be interesting if they were smashed together a bit more to see what happens. I’m interested in learning more about this military occupation/governmental issue/religious whatever from the perspective of the natives, as well. I’m not sure if I’ll read more chapters from their viewpoint, but I hope I do. This book is addicting, and really accessible for those (like me) who aren’t that into military fantasy. Wexler might just change your mind about that.

Wolf’s Empire: Gladiator – Claudia Christian

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I’m only 16% into this one, and I was just informed today that Tor is sending me the actual book, which is exciting. To be honest, this one didn’t really interest me much when I read about it. I figured I’d give it a try, but probably put it down pretty quickly and not care much. What’s surprised me so far is how much I’m enjoying it. The writing is fantastic, and the far-future Roman Empire is beyond fascinating and shockingly well-realizing. What I’m really enjoying, however, is the main character, and her plight to be recognized as an equal, a powerful person in the face of a society that disregards much of her capabilities based on the fact that she’s a woman. She’s an incredibl gladiator, but has to fight twice as hard for her recognition and position in the arena. Furthermore, she’s in the middle of this civil war between two powerful houses, and both of them are pulling her in uncomfortable directions. A lot is riding on this woman, but she’s a fascinating beating heart, and very human. She’s navigating through a lot of pressures, and the entire Empire is watching her, but in her heart, she really just wants an equal shot at doing what she wants, and not be thrust into specific roles based on her gender. So yes, this one has captivated me early on, and I’m really excited to get cracking on it.

The Gilded Hour – Sara Donati

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I got this book from the library today, based on a recommendation from Delilah S. Dawson, and I’m so glad I did. It’s historical fiction, and so far it seems like if you like the show Call the Midwife, you should probably check this book out. It features strong women doctors in New York City in the 1800’s, one of whom is a free person of color. The writing is… wow. The story (I’m only 78 pages in) has kept me captivated and glued to this book all night. New York City comes to blazing life, and it’s obviously well researched. The story is really just in the introduction period right now, but if that’s anything to go by, this will easily be one of the best books I’ve read this year, if not the best.

Aftermath – Chuck Wendig

About the Book

Journey to The Force Awakens.

The second Death Star is destroyed. The Emperor and his powerful enforcer, Darth Vader, are rumored to be dead. The Galactic Empire is in chaos.

Across the galaxy, some systems celebrate, while in others Imperial factions tighten their grip. Optimism and fear reign side by side.

And while the Rebel Alliance engages the fractured forces of the Empire, a lone Rebel scout uncovers a secret Imperial meeting…

418 pages (hardcover)

Published on September 4, 2015

Published by Del Rey Books

Author’s webpage

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—

First, you need to know that I am not a Star Wars aficionado. I am brand new to the Star Wars universe, and so I don’t know what “should be” and what “has been” and I am completely ignorant as to any standards or whatever else most people probably know about. If you want someone to review a Star Wars book who knows anything about Star Wars, look elsewhere. If, however, you’re looking for a review from a place of almost complete ignorance, then you’ve hit gold. Welcome to Bookworm Blues.

So, Star Wars. I just got into the series, and I’m absolutely loving exploring it. I watched Episodes IV, V, VI (by “watch” I mean, I had the movies on while I was watching my kids, so I saw a few minutes here and a few minutes there, and really just pieced together the story from what I saw.). Anyway, I wanted to know what happened after Episode VI, and Chuck Wendig told me to read Aftermath. So I did.

I will admit that I was a little nervous about reading Aftermath, mostly because Wendig’s writing is so suited to the gritty, darker urban fantasy books like Miriam Black. However, I really like it when authors take a quick turn a different, unexpected direction. I like to see them break out a bit, see what else they can do after they’ve done something they are obviously so good at. But this was quite a change from Miriam Black, that gritty, foul mouthed protagonist that I love so much. I wasn’t sure how all of Wendig’s snark would translate to something more mainstream like Star Wars.

It is different than the other things I’ve read by Wendig, but that’s okay. Wendig isn’t a one-trick pony. His writing translates well into easily accessible books like Star Wars. I do think that some readers will get hung up on that, because it is different, and I can see where some would prefer his Miram Black style over his Star Wars style, but regardless, the guy has chops and there really isn’t any reason to box him into one style of writing or another.

Aftermath starts after The Big War that we all probably know about (which I recently learned about). If you’re expecting Luke and Leia, then you’re barking up the wrong tree. This book focuses on different, new characters, and a different, but related conflict. I’m not sure if this focus on different characters is typical for Star Wars books, but I actually enjoyed learning about other people, other landscapes, and I absolutely adored the interludes, which gave readers an insight (sometimes rather heartbreaking) into how people and cultures are dealing with the fallout from The Big War. It helped take a story that seemed pretty streamlined onto one family’s drama, and expanded it to show how one family’s drama can impact an entire solar system.

So we have new characters to get used to, and new settings for this new conflict to take place on. Some of the characters will be more compelling than others. Some stories take some time to get into, but things move quickly once they get going and it’s a lot of fun as it rolls along. We have Wedge, the pilot who basically stumbles into a situation that really starts this whole book rolling. There’s the mother-son duo of Norra and Temin, who are rather heartbreaking, but are really a beating heart of the novel in the way that their relationship gives a window for readers to see how this conflict has impacted so many people. Jas Emari, a bounty hunter who is recognized by a former member of the imperial army, and on the list goes. There are a lot of characters in this novel to wrap your head around, and while they are all interesting, I can see where the amount of new names and faces might get confusing and overwhelming to some readers.

Wendig does a great job at evening out the playing field. He makes it clear from the start that the Empire, Storm Troopers, etc. are people just trying to get along, fight for a cause, make some money, whatever, just like those who fought for the “New Republic.” I loved how he humanized these characters, so they stopped being faceless robots and started being actual people, giving a rather human, emotional face to the side of the conflict that has always seemed so cold and distant to me.

This is the first book of a series, and it felt more like an action packed setup than a fully realized story, as it should. The door is open for the second book, and I’m pretty excited to see what happens next. There are a lot of different directions Wendig can take this. He tends to surprise me, and I like being surprised, so color me excited.

Aftermath isn’t perfect, but it was far from terrible. I’ve seen a lot of horrible reviews, and Wendig has received a metric ton of drama from his writing this novel. The thing is, I’m not ensconced in the Star Wars universe enough to nitpick so many of the details that seem to have enflamed many others. Maybe if I wasn’t so Star Wars ignorant, this novel wouldn’t have been as enjoyable as it was. As it is, I had an absolute blast reading this novel. I loved just about everything about Aftermath, and I’m really anxious to read the next installment of this trilogy.

Aftermath humanized a story that seemed far from human to me, and that’s a big reason why I enjoyed it so much. Suddenly this big, strange drama was relatable, and there was real fallout that real people had to deal with in real ways. Aftermath was fun, entertaining, fast moving, new, and rather thought provoking in some surprising ways.

Bring on the next book!

 

4/5 stars

 

 

Defying Doomsday – Edited by Tsana Dolichva and Holly Kench

Note: This review is originally posted on Our Words.

—

About the Book

Teens form an all-girl band in the face of an impending comet.

A woman faces giant spiders to collect silk and protect her family.

New friends take their radio show on the road in search of plague survivors.

A man seeks love in a fading world.

How would  you  survive the apocalypse?

Defying Doomsday is an anthology of apocalypse fiction featuring disabled and chronically ill protagonists, proving it’s not always the “fittest” who survive – it’s the most tenacious, stubborn, enduring and innovative characters who have the best chance of adapting when everything is lost.

In stories of fear, hope and survival, this anthology gives new perspectives on the end of the world, from authors Corinne Duyvis, Janet Edwards, Seanan McGuire, Tansy Rayner Roberts, Stephanie Gunn, Elinor Caiman Sands, Rivqa Rafael, Bogi Takács, John Chu, Maree Kimberley, Octavia Cade, Lauren E Mitchell, Thoraiya Dyer, Samantha Rich, and K Evangelista.

432 pages (paperback)

Published on May 31, 2016

Published by Twelfth Planet Press

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This book was sent by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

It’s always hard for me to review anthologies, because I want to talk about each story, but in the end I think the most productive thing is to talk about the work as a whole, with some mentions here and there. Well, in reality, I’m just going to feel my way through this and you, dear reader, will just have to deal with it.

Defying Doomsday has been on my radar for a while. The idea is fascinating – a bunch of stories where the central characters are disabled in some way, or suffer from chronic illness or something along those lines. Each character is facing the end of the world. These various world-ending scenarios happen in numerous, varied ways, and the settings are just as varied.

The cohesive center of this anthology is disabilities + the end of the world. On the surface, this is interesting. I mean, how many anthologies have you read that have tackled both subjects in one volume? But as soon as you start this book, you realize that this one is going to be something different.

The introduction (written by Robert Hoge) kind of lays out the foundation for why this anthology is going to be so wonderfully different. Here’s a quote:

So much of our world is not a made-for-us-space that disaster might as well have already struck. And that’s exactly what makes the stories in this anthology so crunchy and interesting – we are already fighting and thriving in interesting and diverse ways. When the apocalypse comes, we’ve got a head start.

You see, while this anthology focuses on disabilities, none of these disabled or chronically ill characters are even close to helpless. In so many ways, we do have a leg up on other people because, like Hoge says, we’re already living in a world that’s not made for us. This idea that he presents in that paragraph is felt in each story, where the disabilities tend to make things a little more difficult, but that’s balanced out by the fact that these disabilities also make the characters stronger, more determined, more creative, in these apocalypse scenarios. And while the disabilities do exist, they aren’t the focus of the stories. What I mean is, the stories aren’t really about disabilities, but about characters, who happen to be disabled, navigating through the end of the world in very different, very interesting ways.

And it’s real. They are all real, whether the stories are set in California, Australia, or the moon. It was quite wonderful to see how the authors so flawlessly worked in such a diverse cast of characters, facing so many different apocalypses, in so many different ways. Every story in this anthology featured a shockingly human protagonist, with shockingly human motivations. The writing was fantastic, and the character building, to a story, was superb.

This anthology really is incredible, and not just for the disabilities and how they are portrayed, but it’s obvious that the editors spend so much time really getting this thing perfect. The stories flow together well. The writing is all superb. No two stories are even close to similar in any real respect. It spans the gamut of humanity, disaster, style, interpretation, and really whatever else you can think of. Each story is powerful; some are haunting – Seanan McGuire’s stands out in that regard, it was haunting, and lonely, but so well done. Some are empowering, like Corinne Duyvis, where a disabled girl rallies just about everyone in the face of an impending comet. You have stories about close relationships and taking chances, like “To Take into the Air My Quiet Breath.” And there’s a bit of romance in, “Did We Break the End of the World?”

This anthology is incredibly important, and I think it is absolutely essential reading for anyone in the genre. It’s important for people to see the disabled as capable, powerful people who have the ability to manipulate events, save others, save themselves, and have the same pitfalls and strengths as anyone else. It’s important because these aren’t stories about people with disabilities, these are stories about the end of the world, where people with disabilities happen to be taking refreshingly broad, important leading roles.

It was important to me, as a disabled person helplessly watching her body degrade and degenerate, to see people I could relate to in many different ways, doing these powerful things. Some stories were lonely, some were full of people, but in every single one of them, there were strong lead characters who shined bright, and did incredible, normal, powerful, human things and never really let their disabilities hold them back. It was nice, for a change, to see stories where the disabled person isn’t pushed to the sidelines early on, or where they don’t only play a supporting or token role.

I’ve been trying to think of how to portray an idea the whole time I’ve been writing this review, and I’m still not sure if I’ve got the words down right, but I’ll give it a try. This book is important, because it shows that disabled people are actually people. While our disabilities absolutely impact what we can and can’t do, this anthology never once defines any of the characters by their disabilities. They are people, who happen to have disabilities and/or chronic conditions. It changes how they do things, but it doesn’t change the fact that they can do things. I feel like a lot of books and stories with disabled characters turn into narratives about a wheelchair with a person in it, rather than a person who uses and wheelchair (for example). This anthology blows that out of the water, turns it on its head, and shows what we are capable of.

This is how disabilities should be portrayed in our literature.

Read this anthology.

Standing ovation for the editors. Bravo.

 

5/5 stars

Stiletto – Daniel O’Malley

About the Book

In this spirited sequel, The Rook returns to clinch an alliance between deadly rivals and avert epic—and slimy—supernatural war.

When secret organizations are forced to merge after years of enmity and bloodshed, only one person has the fearsome powers—and the bureaucratic finesse—to get the job done. Facing her greatest challenge yet, Rook Myfanwy Thomas must broker a deal between two bitter adversaries:

The Checquy—the centuries-old covert British organization that protects society from supernatural

threats, and…

The Grafters—a centuries-old supernatural threat.

But as bizarre attacks sweep London, threatening to sabotage negotiations, old hatreds flare. Surrounded by spies, only the Rook and two women, who absolutely hate each other, can seek out the culprits before they trigger a devastating otherworldly war.

STILETTO is a novel of preternatural diplomacy, paranoia, and snide remarks, from an author who “adroitly straddles the thin line between fantasy, thriller, and spoof”

582 pages  (hardcover)

Published on June 14, 2016

Published by Little, Brown and Company

Author’s webpage

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This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

—

When Stiletto came for me in the mail, I just about died from happiness. I had just finished the audiobook of The Rook, and it was just about the best book I’ve ever read in my entire life. I laughed the entire way through it (O’Malley has a fantastic sense of humor), and the plot kept me absolutely riveted. It was, hands down, one of the best audiobooks I’ve ever listened to.

So Stiletto came in the mail, and about ten seconds later I was reading it.

Stiletto has a few differences that will be noticed right off the bat. Rook Thomas is all over the book, but she’s not a main perspective character. I think that was a really wise decision for the author to make. Rook Thomas is important. She set the stage in the previous book, but allowing in some other viewpoints allows the world to build and widen a bit more, and it was absolutely essential for the plot itself.

Not to mention interesting, as one of the perspective characters is a woman in The Grafters who is sent to England to work with The Checquy. Another is a pawn for the Checquy and a few others drop in and out on occasion. The Grafters add an interesting viewpoint, because of the divide between the two organizations, so much of what happens in England, and in The Checquy is completely surreal and unusual to them. This sort of innocence and foreign lens really makes so much of what Rook Thomas accepted as fact, more…strange.

On the other hand, you have a run of the mill pawn, who gets to see and experience some of these really strange happenings on eye level, which make everything that happens a lot more intimate and important feeling than it probably otherwise would have.

So yes, numerous new perspectives were a smart move.

The plot itself is just as fantastic as the plot in The Rook, and it takes off with quite a bang. It quickly becomes obvious that the weird happenings aren’t just standard weird, but something quite special. There are political issues, personal issues, and quite a bit of adjusting as everyone gets to know each other and learns how to work together. The antagonists are just as fantastic as everyone else, and the plot is full of twists and a ton of moments that had me laughing out loud.

Part of what makes this novel so wonderful is the interaction between The Checquy and The Grafters. O’Malley takes the obvious discomfort between the two groups, and makes it not only uncomfortable for the readers, but also lends the book itself to some absolutely hilarious moments. That’s what I love so much about this author. Not only is the book well written, and an absolute riot, but it’s also laugh-out-loud funny, and takes awkward and tense diplomacy to a whole new level. It’s really delightful how easily this book pokes fun at just about everything, diplomacy included. In a serious world, it’s a breath of fresh air.

There are plenty of side plots, most of which add to the book itself, but a few felt kind of frivolous and lacking in any real point, and occasionally felt like they distracted from the overall flow of the book. Regardless, it was hard to fault them when they were so well written and entertaining, and for my one complaint, it’s a pretty minor one that is incredibly easy to overlook.

The Rook blew me away, but Stiletto was probably one of the best sequels I’ve ever read. It takes everything that was so incredible about The Rook, and builds on it. The plot is tight. The characters are fantastic. I absolutely loved to hate the antagonists, and the twists and turns throughout the novel kept me guessing without ever really predicting any of them. I was really, really sad it was over and I regret that I won’t have another chance to read either of these books for the first time all over again.

This book drops on June 14. My suggestion is to get your hands on it right away, and if you haven’t read The Rook yet, you have two weeks to do so. You’re really missing out.

 

5/5 stars