Elizabeth Fitzgerald's Blog: Earl Grey Editing, page 11

Conflux 14 Report

Conflux 14, Canberra’s speculative fiction convention, took place last weekend. Ordinarily, this would be the part where I report in about the amazing people and interesting panels I saw. Unfortunately, I was quite unwell and had to cancel my attendance. I consoled myself with a copy of Joanna Russ’s How to Suppress Women’s Writing and some excellent live-tweeting from Conflux participants.

Fortunately, Donna Maree Hanson wrote about her experiences at the convention.

Mt TBR Report: September 2018

September went a long way towards getting my Mt TBR back under control. I knocked out some shorter bits and pieces in the first half of the month. I was ill for much of the second half and reading proved to be a good distraction.

Mt TBR Status

Mt TBR @ 1 January 2018: 351

Mt TBR @ 31 August 2018: 407

Mt TBR @ 30 September 2018: 401

Books Read

102. Restoration by Angela Slatter. Reviewed here.

103. Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor. First of the Akata Witch series. This YA novel is set in Nigeria and is about a young albino girl comes to terms with her magical heritage. It felt a bit episodic in places, though that fades as things ramp up towards the end. I read the sequel first and was surprised to find this didn’t provide as much set-up as I’d expected. It also felt odd that the villain had so little page space.

104. The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. Self-help book. Some interesting core ideas but the style and the heavily Christian-influenced spirituality really didn’t work for me. There was also some aspects that felt like victim blaming which put me off.

105. No Place Like Home by Seanan McGuire. Short story from the InCryptid series. Jonathan is relieved to finally make it home safely, but Fran is not sure she fits in. Enjoyable enough, but the trope flip didn’t entirely work for me and the ending felt like a joke I wasn’t quite getting.

106. Stingers and Strangers by Seanan McGuire. Short story from the InCryptid series. Jonathan and Fran investigate the disappearance of a hive of giant, psychic wasps… only to discover they have bigger problems. This story was published in an anthology, rather than self-published on the author’s website and I feel that the difference showed. This was a stronger story than many of the others. The tension was excellent and it was nice to see Jonathan and Fran’s relationship move forward.

107. Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers. The third of the Wayfarers series. This is basically a book about a fleet of generation ships who have arrived at their destination and the descendants of those who chose to continue living on board. Told from multiple perspectives, it’s really a story about community. In that sense, it rather reminded me of New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson, albeit with better character work. It was kind, heartbreaking and aware of nuance.

108. Married in Green by Seanan McGuire. Short story from the InCryptid series. The circus comes to visit on the eve of Jonathan and Fran’s wedding. A short and sweet story with some ominous foreshadowing.

109. The Red Magician by Lisa Goldstein. Read for the Lady Vaults book club. A mythopoeic tale of a young Jewish woman who gets caught in a conflict between her village’s rabbi and a mysterious stranger. Set against the background of WWII, it goes to some dark places. The main character seemed a bit passive at times and the characters were often more symbols than people, but I find the latter is often characteristic of mythopoeic work.

110. Whisper by Lynette Noni. Read for the 2018 Aurealis Awards. A young woman is imprisoned in a government facility in an effort to coerce her into using her special abilities.

111. City of Blades by Robert Jackson Bennett. Second in The Divine Cities trilogy. Part mystery, part supernatural fantasy. A retired general gets pulled in for one last job: to investigate the disappearance of a spy who was looking into a potentially divine phenomenon. I’ve been loving this series so much and especially that the first two books have each featured a different woman of colour who is amazing at what she does. General Mulaghesh is delightfully cranky, partially because she has Seen Some Shit. The book has a slow build, but really throws itself into the action once it reaches the tipping point. The worldbuilding continues to enchant me. Highly recommended.

112. Wicked and the Wallflower by Sarah MacLean. First in The Bareknuckle Bastards trilogy. Historical romance. A young noblewoman from a family verging on financial ruin becomes a pawn in a game between a crime boss with a heart of gold and a stone cold nobleman. Fluffy and fun.

113. Palace of Fires by Bill Bennett. Read for the 2018 Aurealis Awards. A young girl inherits her powers and discovers her family broke a pact with the Devil. She must go on the run from the evil forces hunting her.

114. An Artificial Night by Seanan McGuire. Third in the October Daye series. Toby must venture into the realm of the Wild Hunt in order to rescue a group of kidnapped children. Wonderfully atmospheric. I also felt you could see the seeds for McGuire’s more recent Wayward Children series. However, I wasn’t wholly sold on the thread with Toby’s Fetch, May.

115. Mercy Point by Anna Snoekstra. Read for the 2018 Aurealis Awards. Five teenagers who suspect they were adopted come together to discover the secrets their parents have kept hidden.

Books Acquired

The Fallen Sun by David R. Grigg

A Curse of Ash and Embers by Jo Spurrier

Cloud Cursed by Becca Lusher

Wicked and the Wallflower by Sarah MacLean

City of Miracles by Robert Jackson Bennett

Online Reading

None.

Restoration by Angela Slatter

Published: August 2018 by Jo Fletcher Books

Format reviewed: Trade Paperback, 400 pages

Series: Verity Fassbinder #3

Genres: Urban fantasy

Source: Dymocks

Reading Challenges: Australian Women Writers Challenge 2018, RIP XIII

Available: Publisher (print only) ~ Abbey’s ~ Amazon (AU, CA, UK, US) ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Book Depository ~ Booktopia ~ Dymocks~ Kobo

Disclaimer:This review contains spoilers for previous volumes/books.

Walking between the worlds has always been dangerous – but this time V’s facing the loss of all she holds dear.

Verity Fassbinder thought no boss could be worse than her perfectionist ex-boyfriend – until she grudgingly agreed to work for a psychotic fallen angel. And dealing with a career change not entirely of her own choosing is doing nothing to improve V’s already fractious temper. The angel is a jealous – and violent– employer, so she’s quit working for the Weyrd Council and sent her family away, for their own safety. Instead of indulging in domestic bliss, she’s got to play BFFs with the angel’s little spy, Joyce the kitsune assassin . . . and Joyce comes with her own murderous problems.

The angel has tasked V with finding two lost treasures, which would be hard enough even without a vengeful Dusana Nadasy on her heels. And Inspector McIntyre won’t stop calling: the bodies of Normal women who disappeared decades before are turning up, apparently subjected to Weyrd magics. Angelic demands or not, this isn’t something she can walk away from.

And the angel is getting impatient for results . . .

The Verity Fassbinder trilogy comes to a successful conclusion with Restoration and remains some of my favourite urban fantasy.

The action picks up about a month after the previous book. Having sent her husband away with their baby girl, Verity is going through a kind of grieving. This book–like the others–is told from Verity’s perspective, so we get the full impact of what that’s like for her, the triggers that bring it all crashing back. Her daughter is still so young and Verity is missing out on watching her reach those development milestones that are one of the gifts of parenthood. Unsurprisingly, then, the series continues to be preoccupied with the relationships between mothers and daughters. This extends beyond Verity to encompass a number of side characters. For instance, my favourite grumpy Inspector Rhonda McIntyre is reluctantly taking the first steps towards children with her lesbian partner. Other characters are dealing with the impending death of their mother or the news that their mother isn’t dead, as they had been previously told.

Another thing I liked is that even though Verity doesn’t get to do much mothering to her own daughter, she nevertheless has a maternal or mentoring relationship with a couple of the younger women around her. It is especially amusing to see her reaction as she comes to realise how she is viewed by these women. Since the book is told in first person, we know what a hot mess Verity is and how far she feels from being a suitable role model. But even though her admirers see first-hand some of that mess, it ends up being part of what they admire about her.

A consequence of this thematic preoccupation is that there are so many female characters! And that means lots of different types of female characters, from elderly housekeepers to militant nuns, from powerful matriarchs to small business owners just trying to find a date.

The style is full of snark and banter, which frequently made me laugh out loud. The pacing is also handled well. Verity might have quit working for the Weyrd Council, but old habits die hard and Verity is an inveterate multitasker. This means there’s quite a few interweaving plot threads and consequently there’s always new developments to keep things moving forward.

One criticism I had of the previous books, and remains a criticism of this book, is the way in which magical healing is handled. While it’s not a matter of clicking one’s fingers and being restored, there is a sense that every injury can be recovered from with sufficient time and magic. I rather felt sorry for Louise, who gets schlepped around Brisbane to heal people. It is especially disappointing because her character is distinctly underdeveloped and she’s treated more as a tool than as a person.

The story did a great job of wrapping up loose ends but has planted a few new seeds. I have got my fingers crossed for more because I’m all about smart, sassy, Australian urban fantasy.

Conflux 14 schedule

 

Conflux, Canberra’s annual convention for speculative fiction writers and fans, begins next week! This year it is taking place from Friday 28 September until Monday 1 October and the theme is Unconventional Heroes. YA author Ambelin Kwaymullina is the Guest of Honour, along with local horror author Rob Hood. As usual, I will be attending and am very much looking forward to making some new friends as well as catching up with some old ones.

Where to find me

I will be sitting on two panels this year. Exact details are subject to change.

Play to Write: what tabletop and video games can teach writers of fiction

When: Sunday, 30 September 1:30 PM

Where: CBR1

Hotel Vibe

1 Rogan Street, Canberra

Panellists: Elizabeth Fitzgerald, Alis Franklin, Rik Lagarto and Rivqa Rafael

 

The Art of the Short Story

When:Monday, 1 October, 2:30 PM

Where: CDG

Panellists: Elizabeth Fitzgerald, Maureen Flynn, Claire McKenna, and Tim Napper

 

If you have an interest in speculative fiction and can make it along, please stop by and say hi! I love getting to know new people. However, if Canberra is a little too far away for you or attending conventions is not your sort of thing, there’s no need for you to miss out entirely. I shall be posting a convention report once the excitement is over (and I’ve had the chance for a few restorative cups of tea).

Twice Dead by Caitlin Seal

Published: September 2018 by Charlesbridge Teen

Format reviewed: E-book (mobi)

Series: The Necromancer’s Song #1

Genres: YA Fantasy

Source: NetGalley

Reading Challenges: RIP XIII

Available: Publisher (print) ~ Abbey’s ~ Amazon (AU, CA, UK, US) ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Book Depository ~ Booktopia ~ Dymocks ~ Indiebound ~ Kobo

Disclaimer: I was provided with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Naya, the daughter of a sea merchant captain, nervously undertakes her first solo trading mission in the necromancer-friendly country bordering her homeland of Talmir. Unfortunately, she never even makes it to the meeting. She’s struck down in the streets of Ceramor. Murdered.

But death is not the end for Naya. She awakens to realize she’s become an abomination–a wraith, a ghostly creature bound by runes to the bones of her former corpse. She’s been resurrected in order to become a spy for her country. Reluctantly, she assumes the face and persona of a servant girl named Blue.

She never intended to become embroiled in political plots, kidnapping, and murder. Or to fall in love with the young man and former necromancer she is destined to betray.

Twice Dead has a fascinating premise that it ultimately fails to live up to.

There are some issues around consent with this book. Naya is raised against her will, which is already not great, though I was willing to go along with it as part of the story. However, Naya is also a young woman of colour. Having been turned into a wraith without her permission, she’s then basically coerced into being a spy. Her cover is as an indentured servant to a necromancer. This seems remarkably tone deaf to issues of race. I may have perhaps forgiven it if the story had dug into these issues. Instead, it is presented as mere window dressing for a story about politics and romance.

It didn’t help that I also wasn’t fond of the main character. Naya is naive and bigoted. Even when this is shown to her, she is slow to let go of her assumptions, instead clinging to loyalty towards people she has little reason to trust. She second-guesses the more experienced characters trying to help her, even though she’s an utter beginner. There’s plenty of angst here for those that enjoy it.

The romance is weak. The romantic interest was two-dimensional and I found it difficult to understand what he saw in Naya. There were some sweet moments between them, but it just wasn’t enough to pull it together for me.

The worldbuilding was the most interesting part of the book. The story presented a balanced view of necromancy, showing how it could be a positive force while also highlighting how it could be misused. I also enjoyed seeing how Naya came to terms with no longer being human and the full extent of what that means. This was used to particularly good effect in the last quarter of the book, making for some wonderfully dramatic scenes.

The pacing was a bit uneven. The beginning contains a number of flashbacks, which slow things down. It gets particularly slow around two-thirds of the way through, where the main characters are basically sitting around waiting for news. However, as mentioned, things pick up in the last quarter of the book, coming to an action-packed ending. The figure chosen for the final confrontation was an interesting one, if a little unexpected, but ultimately fitting.

All in all, Twice Dead wasn’t really my cup of tea. For interesting depictions of necromancy, I’d instead recommend Sabriel by Garth Nix.

Loose-leaf Links #67

Loose-leaf Links is a feature where I gather together the interesting bits and pieces on sci-fi, fantasy and romance I’ve come across and share them with you over tea. Today’s tea is Summer Passion Fruit by The 1872 Clipper Tea Co. It smells as tropical as it sounds and will appeal to anyone who loves French Earl Grey.

Follow Up

I might have mentioned a few times that I have a story in the Mother of Invention anthology, edited by Tansy Rayner Roberts and Rivqa Rafael. Obviously, I think it’s an awesome anthology, but if you’re looking for a more objective perspective, Liz Bourke has reviewed the anthology over at Tor.com.

Awards News

If you missed seeing this year’s Hugo Awards, the video is now up on YouTube.

Nicholas Whyte breaks down some of the stats on this year’s Hugos, while Alis Franklin takes a look at the nationalities of Campbell Award nominees and winners (spoiler alert: good luck if you’re not from the US).

For those already gearing up for next year’s Hugo Awards, JJ has a page on works eligible for Best Series over at File 770.

The Romantic Book of the Year (RUBY) Awards were presented by the Romance Writers of Australia.

The Children’s Book Council of the Year Awards were also presented. I was especially delighted to see In the Dark Spaces by Cally Black (which I’ve previously reviewed for The Skiffy and Fanty Show) receive an honourable mention in the Older Readers category. Cally Black also writes as Bren McDibble and her environmentally dystopic book How to Bee won the category for Younger Readers.

Community and Conventions

Foz Meadows shares some reflections on WorldCon and fannish entitlement.

Danielle Binks criticises the lack of YA and genre programming at the Melbourne Writers Festival.

Canberra locals will have the opportunity to attend a launch of Alan Baxter’s new supernatural thriller Devouring Dark on 17 November at Harry Hartogs.

Sydneysiders can expect to see Sam Hawke at Galaxy Bookshop on 14 October. She’ll be chatting with Annie McCann about City of Lies.

On Equity

Speaking of Sam, she has a guest article over at SFFWorld on inclusivity and diversity in speculative fiction.

At Bustle, Kristian Wilson reports that male authors are four times more likely to recommend books by men than by women. Stats are taken from the most recent 100 of the New York Times’ By the Books column.

Marlee Jane Ward writes about her experiences of being both ignored and sexually harassed at WorldCon.

After examining the Campbell Award, Alis Franklin posits that everything wrong with science fiction is John W. Campbell’s fault.

Ann Leckie takes aim at the people claiming no one likes N.K. Jemisin’s work for anything other than identity politics brownie points.

Ann is joined by Foz Meadows, Jennifer Foehner Wells, and Judith Tarr for a round-table on domesticity in space opera hosted by Joyce Chng at Strange Horizons.

For Writers

coeur de lion is open to submissions up to 40K for the month of October.

KJ Charles discusses the intersection of research and inspiration in historical romance.

Chuck Wendig talks about why writing a series is hard.

Kathleen Jennings, Kim Wilkins and Namila Benson discuss whether the distraction of modern technology is stifling our creativity.

For Readers

Tiamat’s Wrath, the next book in James S.A. Corey’s series The Expanse, has been delayed until March 2019.

The Table of Contents for the Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2018, edited by John Joseph Adams and N.K. Jemisin, has been announced.

Donna Maree Hanson has released a small collection of her short stories called Through These Eyes.

Romance writer Alyssa Cole has announced she has a new novella coming out with Audible Originals. The sci-fi romance will be called The AI Next Door and will be out in 2019.

Elizabeth at the YouTube channel Books and Pieces is starting up a new online book club. Called Lady Vaults, it will focus on SFF from beyond the last decade written by women. In her introduction, she announced she’ll be starting with The Red Magician by Lisa Goldstein. If you’re interested in participating, you can join the Goodreads group or check out #LadyVaults on Twitter.

Liberry is a new customisable app to track reading. It’s currently in development and they’re keen to get an idea of what readers are interested in tracking. If you’d like to help out, consider filling out their short survey.

Over at BookRiot, Nikki Vanry takes a look at the 15 most commonly DNFed books on Goodreads for August 2018.

Crossed Genres are currently crowdfunding their anthology Resist Fascism: An SF call to action.

Mt TBR Report: August 2018

 

My Mt TBR cracked 400 books this month; I may have a problem. I can’t even blame it on the Aurealis judging this time. Instead, I found myself picking up a lot of romance novels… even though it’s going to take me a while to get to them.

Mt TBR Status

Mt TBR @ 1 January 2018: 351

Mt TBR @ 31 July 2018: 387

Mt TBR @ 31 August 2018: 407

Books Read

93. One Hell of a Ride by Seanan McGuire. A short story in the InCryptid series. Jonathan Healy is returning home with the lovely Frances Brown in tow. However, their journey proves a bit more eventful than expected when their train drives through a portal to Hell. An enjoyable story with some classic train fighting sequences. However, I ultimately found it lacked tension.

94. Wanted, A Writer by KJ Charles. An epilogue to the m/m romance novel Wanted, A Gentleman. After waking up with a hangover, Theo is offered a dream job… but one that poses a risk to the happy life he shares with Martin. Sweet, and the ties to a historical event were a fantastic touch. But once again I found it ultimately didn’t add much to the wider story.

95. Accelerants by Lena Wilson. Reviewed here.

96. Ignite the Stars by Maura Milan. Reviewed here.

97. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Technically a reread, but this particular version was a genderswapped version read by Tansy Rayner Roberts. It made me a lot more aware of my assumptions around gender.

98. The Butterfly Stone by Laurie Bell. Read for the Aurealis Awards.

99. A Glimmer of Silver by Juliet Kemp. Review forthcoming.

100. The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf by Ambelin Kwaymullina. Reread. Previously reviewed here and new review forthcoming.

101. Revenant Gun by Yoon Ha Lee. Last book in the Machineries of Empire series. Hexarch Nerai Kujen revives a young version of Shuos Jedao to pit him against the older version. I admit I was a little lost at times, which perhaps explained why I didn’t feel it had quite the emotional punch it should have.

 

Books Acquired

Sword and Sonnet edited by Aidan Doyle, Rachael K. Jones & E. Catherine Tobler

Revenant Gun by Yoon Ha Lee

Wanted, An Author by KJ Charles

Accelerants by Lena Wilson

A Glimmer of Silver by Juliet Kemp

How to Fracture A Fairy Tale by Jane Yolen

Gentlewomen of the Press by Tansy Rayner Roberts

Girls Who Read Austen by Tansy Rayner Roberts

Sherwood by Meagan Spooner

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor

Shadows Fate by Aiki Flintheart

Edge of Time by Thalia Kalkipsakis

The Path of the Lost by Beau Kondos

Decon by Kit Rocha

Ivan by Kit Rocha

The Southern Arcana Series by Moira Rogers

Restoration by Angela Slatter

Disabled People Destroy Science Fiction edited by Dominik Parisen and Elsa Sjunneson-Henry

The Heiress Effect by Courtney Milan

The Countess Conspiracy by Courtney Milan

The Suffragette Scandal by Courtney Milan

The Red Magician by Lisa Goldstein

Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers

Online Reading

The Spoils of the Spoiled, Chapters 1-11 by not_poignant. A contemporary AU of not_poignant’s Fae Tales. Gwyn and Augus are students at a boarding school. As the scholarship kid, Augus resents Gwyn, whose family pretty much owns the academy and half the town. However, he soon comes to realise the golden boy isn’t exactly leading a charmed life. Comes with some heavy trigger warnings for explicit content, domestic abuse and dubcon.

As Green as the Ragged Grass, Chapters 1-2 by not_poignant. Another contemporary AU in which Gwyn is a young arborist employed to tend the grounds belonging to the stately, older Augus. Again, a warning for explicit content.

The rest of this is pretty much all Spiderman: Homecoming fanfic featuring Peter Parker/Michelle Jones.

The Cosmic Conspiracy Parts 1-4 by nire. A series of soul bond AU one-shots. I’m not generally into soul bonds… but neither is MJ. I also enjoyed the friendship between MJ and Liz.

your quiet afternoon crush by penelopes. Peter brings MJ tea and struggles to deal with his crush. No superhero antics, just high school fluff.

the only falling i want to do is for you by AppleJuiz. The Green Goblin kidnaps MJ but she doesn’t come quietly. Kind of merges Spiderman: Homecoming with Tobey Maguire’s Spider-man, but with added sass from MJ.

there’s nothing fake about the look in your eyes by AppleJuiz. Peter asks MJ to be his fake date to one of Tony’s functions.

the only room with a view by AppleJuiz. Peter commissions MJ to paint the view of his third favourite skyline. Beautiful fluff.

any universe with you can’t be the darkest timeline by AppleJuiz. Peter accidentally finds himself in the wrong timeline. Contains spoilers for The Avengers: Infinity War.

Ignite the Stars by Maura Milan

This week I’m over at the Skiffy and Fanty Show with a review of Ignite the Stars by Maura Milan. This sci-fi YA is a fun, action-packed adventure, but one which could have dug a bit deeper. (Hard to go past that cover, though!)

RIP 13 sign-up

It has been a few years since I last participated in the Readers Imbibing Peril reading challenge. For those unfamiliar with it:

The purpose of the R.I.P. Challenge is to enjoy books that could be classified as:

Mystery.

Suspense.

Thriller.

Dark Fantasy.

Gothic.

Horror.

Supernatural.

The emphasis is never on the word challenge, instead it is about coming together as a community and embracing the autumnal mood, whether the weather is cooperative where you live or not.

The goals are simple.

1. Have fun reading.

2. Share that fun with others.

The challenge starts on 1 September and runs until 31 October. There are several different levels at which you can participate, depending on how much time you have and your preferred medium. For example, there are challenges available for short stories and TV or film productions. I’ll be going with the following:

Peril the First:

Read four books, any length, that you feel fit our (very broad) definitions of R.I.P. literature. It could be Stephen King or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Shirley Jackson or Tananarive Dueor anyone in between.

I already have a couple of reviews lined up for the challenge. In addition, I hope to tackle some combination of the books below.

These include Death Most Definite by Trent Jamieson, Feedback by Mira Grant, Palace of Fires by Bill Bennett, Mercy Point by Anna Snoekstra, and The Cruel Prince by Holly Black. I may even finally dig out my copy of The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter.

If you’d like to join in, it’s not too late to sign up! You can also jump in at any point throughout September or October.

In the meantime, I’d love to hear about your favourite spooky reads.

Accelerants by Lena Wilson

Published: July 2018 by Book Smugglers Publishing

Format reviewed: E-book (mobi)

Genres: Science fiction, LGBTQIA

Source: Publisher

Available: Amazon (AU, CA, UK, US) ~ Barnes & Noble ~Kobo ~ Smashwords

Disclaimer: I was provided with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Spring, before

When Lucy is six years old she finds two things that will change her life forever: she is an Omni that can control fire, and her power is deadly. Under the sharp watch of her secretive father, Lucy is confronted with the consequences of the worst mistake of her life every day. On the eve of her eighteenth birthday, things finally seem like they are getting better–with the promise of freedom at college on the horizon, and the dream that Jessa, the girl of Lucy’s dreams, might reciprocate Lucy’s feelings. But in an instant, everything changes.

Winter, now

Incarcerated and stripped of her rights, Lucy’s new world is behind locked gates and antiseptic interrogation rooms. Like other Omnis, Lucy is separated from her family, seen as a criminal for trying to live with other humans, and locked away–possibly forever. But Lucy and her fellow Omnis aren’t going quietly into submission.

Accelerantsis a novella about first love, cold-hearted betrayal, and the implacable truth that sometimes you have to burn it all down.

It’s a hard line to walk between facing the terrible things of the world and the need for hope. Accelerants manages it with style.

The story is told from Lucy’s point of view in first person present tense. This gives it a very immediate feeling, even though the chapters alternate between the relatively normality of Lucy’s past and her present incarceration and torture. Lucy’s relationship with Jessa is allowed to unfold very naturally, bringing some sweetness to an otherwise tense story.

On the surface, it looks like a story about anger. Take that gorgeous cover, for one thing. However, I found it far more driven by fear. The prologue includes a (non-graphic) scene of domestic abuse, so right away there is a sense of urgency as we see Lucy desperate to protect her mother and to hide herself. The scenes of Lucy’s past show her phobia of fire, which is so bad it leads to panic attacks. We see her constant fear of losing control. There’s even her belief that Jessa could never reciprocate her feelings and her low-key fear that she might destroy their friendship. This younger Lucy tends to freeze when she’s in trouble, slow to accept betrayal, despite the clear signs. Even the present Lucy never quite comes across as truly angry. Instead, she makes calculated decisions designed to ensure her survival.

Now, I love my angry girls and feel strongly about depictions of feminine anger. However, I find this kind of story equally important and relished the way it pushes back at the idea of women as weak and emotional creatures. It shows how sometimes it is necessary to fight back. In that sense, it reminded me a lot of Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi.

Another similarity between these two stories is the way they feature PoC casts. However, there are some key differences on that front. The cast of Children of Blood and Bone are entirely black, whereas Accelerants has a bit more variety. Lucy is half Korean. Jessa, her best friend and crush, is African American. Lucy’s friend in prison, Fatima, is Latina. There is even a white person, Lucy’s father, who is positioned as the key source of her suffering. In this way, Accelerants is doing something extra interesting by looking at how the abilities of the Omnis can be used to further marginalise minorities. There are explicit parallels between Lucy’s incarceration for being Omni and the conversion camps for LGBT youths.

Overall, I found Accelerants was a deeply thoughtful novella that dug into some heavy issues while managing to retain a strong thread of sweetness and hope.