Elizabeth Fitzgerald's Blog: Earl Grey Editing, page 16

The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton

Published: February 2018 by Gollancz

Format reviewed: E-book (mobi)

Series: The Belles #1

Genres: Fantasy, YA, horror

Source: NetGalley

Available: Abbey’s ~ Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Book Depository ~ Booktopia ~ Dymocks ~ Kobo

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

Camellia Beauregard is a Belle. In the opulent world of Orleans, Belles are revered, for they control beauty, and beauty is a commodity coveted above all else. In Orleans, the people are born gray, they are born damned, and only with the help of a Belle and her talents can they transform and be made beautiful. But it’s not enough for Camellia to be just a Belle. She wants to be the Favorite–the Belle chosen by the queen of Orleans to live in the royal palace, to tend to the royal family and their court, to be recognized as the most talented Belle in the land. But once Camellia and her Belle sisters arrive at court, it becomes clear that being the Favorite is not everything she always dreamed it would be. Behind the gilded palace walls live dark secrets, and Camellia soon learns that the very essence of her existence is a lie–that her powers are far greater, and could be more dangerous, than she ever imagined. And when the queen asks Camellia to risk her own life and help the ailing princess by using Belle powers in unintended ways, Camellia now faces an impossible decision. With the future of Orleans and its people at stake, Camellia must decide: save herself and her sisters and the way of the Belles or resuscitate the princess, risk her own life, and change the ways of her world forever.

There has been a lot of hype surrounding The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton. Although the book does a great job with evoking a lush, visual setting, there were some key flaws that let it down.

The story is told in first person present tense from Camellia’s perspective. She is not the most likeable of characters, at least at first. She’s competitive and jealous, striving to outdo her sisters and be the best. However, considering the way she was raised, this can perhaps be forgiven, especially since she has a genuine affection for her sisters underneath. And her sisters aren’t without their flaws, either–Amber is an insufferable know-it-all who can’t bear to break a rule, while Edel is headstrong and selfish. The others fade into the background.

A fairytale atmosphere is present at the start; the book opens with a myth that describes how the people of Orleans were cursed to be ugly, with grey skin, red eyes and hair the texture of rotten straw. This sense of fairytale is heightened by the opening scene in which the six Belles arrive in glass carriages to display their transformative powers to the public and to the queen. The world the Belles live in is an extravagant one, with great emphasis placed on beauty. The populace–and the nobility in particular–rely on the Belles to change their colouring, hairstyles and even their body’s shape. New fashions come out every month–such as red hair and green eyes. Laws exist to preserve the health of the population by ensuring noses and waists aren’t too narrow to breathe. Everything is over the top in a way that reminded me of the Capitol in The Hunger Games, and there is that same sense of darkness lingering underneath.

The language enforces this sense of opulence with rich descriptions of fashion, food and furniture. Unfortunately, this serves to slow the pace. It’s compounded by a plot that flags its reveals rather too obviously, making it fairly predictable. It’s not a subtle story and doesn’t delve deeply into cultural critiques of beauty.

The one exception is the way it unmoors beauty from race. Camellia is a woman of colour and one of the most beautiful people in the kingdom. The characters are diverse and come in a range of skin tones–sometimes even changing from one to another. One beauty standard isn’t held up as being above others… though it could have done more work to promote fat positivity.

Unfortunately, the story lets itself down on other fronts of representation. Its treatment of lesbian characters was particularly disappointing.

Readers may also want to tread carefully while reading this book, as it contains a depiction of sexual assault.

All in all, while it has some interesting world-building, The Belles ultimately left me disappointed.

Loose-leaf Links #56

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 Earl Grey from Madura Tea. It’s a stronger tea but balanced nicely with the fragrant bergamot.

Announcements

The preliminary ballot for the Ditmar Awards has been released. I’m honoured to be nominated for Best Fan Writer and Best Fan Publication in Any Medium. Thank you to everyone who nominated me!

I’ve also been working hard for the Skiffy and Fanty Show. My first interview for them is now available. Cody Sisco joins me to talk about alternate history, mental illness and his Resonant Earth series.

Follow Up

Last week I interviewed Marlee Jane Ward, the sole candidate for the Down Under Fan Fund. DUFF is now open for voting, so go and vote to send her to WorldCon!

Awards News

As I mentioned above, the Ditmar shortlists are available. Congratulations to all the nominees! This means that voting is open to anyone who is attending Swancon 43 or who attended Continuum 13. The deadline for voting is 18 March.

Awards season is in full swing with shortlists also being released for the Aurealis Awards, the Sir Julius Vogel Awards and the Nebula Awards. File 770 has a round-up of where you can read the Nebula finalists online.

Nominations are also open for the Nommo Awards. These awards are for works of speculative fiction published by African authors anywhere in the world. The deadline is 31 March.

A reminder that nominations for the Australian Shadows Awards close at the end of the month.

After a long wait, the 2017 Hugo Awards ceremony is finally available to watch on YouTube. Due to technical difficulties, it is missing the first 15 minutes and the first category (Best Fan Artist).

Community and Conventions

Christina of Books and Tea is running a series of interviews with members of the Canadian spec-fic publishing industry. This week she spoke to Anathema Magazine about their crowdfunding campaign and the sorts of stories they’re looking for from writers.

Less strictly about SFF, friend of the blog Renay from Lady Business is raising funds to attend Camp Wellstone. The program is designed to develop political skills that attendees can then bring back to their local community. This has been a dream of Renay’s for a long time and it would be amazing to see her attend.

After being pre-emptively banned from WorldCon 76, Jon Del Arroz has threatened to sue.

On Equity

Penguin Young Readers has announced a new imprint that will publish diverse books for children and young adult readers.

Rachel Cordasco has joined the Skiffy and Fanty team and has just aired the first episode of a new segment on SFF in translation. If you’re looking to get across what is coming out from publishers big and small, you’ll definitely want to check this out.

Natalie Luhrs has released her annual look at representation on the Locus Recommended Reading List. She mentions aiming to do a breakdown of non-US representation in the future, which I’m keen to see.

Tired of sexual violence against women in your SFF? Jenn Northington has some recommendations at Book Riot.

Over at Tor.com, Liz Bourke is looking for SFF novels on pregnancy and childrearing (I’d recommend Corpselight by Angela Slatter).

Lynn O’Connacht provides some Own Voices criticism of the perception of asexuality in Seanan McGuire’s Every Heart A Doorway, then follows it up with four of her favourite books featuring asexual characters.

For Writers

A reminder that Uncanny Magazine is open for submissions for their shared universe dinosaur issue from 1-15 March.

Capricious is also taking submissions until the end of the month. Word count 3-5K.

Circlet Press is open for submissions on two very different anthologies: Safe, Sane, Consentacle and Asexual Romance. They close on 31 March and 15 April respectively.

Kameron Hurley discusses her income for 2017.

Over at the Book Smugglers, Marina Berlin suggests five ways to build a more believable futuristic military.

For Readers

Tor.com have announced there will be another five books in Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children series. The next book, titled In an Absent Dream, is due out in January 2019.

Uncanny Magazine have revealed their top five stories from 2017, as voted by their readers. Nebula nominators seem to agree.

The Table of Contents for Ellen Datlow’s Best Horror of the Year is now out.

Charles Payseur of Quick Sip Reviews has a new monthly column on short SFF for the Book Smugglers: X Marks the Story.

Twitter has been going crazy shipping gold medallist ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir. Fortunately, Jessica Avery has your back with five figure skating romances.

Matt Grant has some tips on how to read faster.

And lastly, Laura Sackton has 3 Bullet Journal spreads that have improved her reading life.

 

Unearthed by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

Published: December 2017 by Allen & Unwin

Format reviewed: Paperback, 331 pages

Series: Unearthed #1

Genres: Science fiction, YA romance, action adventure

Source: Harry Hartog

Reading Challenges: Australian Women Writers Challenge 2018, Beat the Backlist

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

When Earth intercepts a message from a long-extinct alien race, it seems like the solution the planet has been waiting for. The Undying’s advanced technology has the potential to undo environmental damage and turn lives around, and Gaia, their former home planet, is a treasure trove waiting to be uncovered.

For Jules Addison and his fellow scholars, the discovery of an alien culture offers unprecedented opportunity for study… as long as scavengers like Amelia Radcliffe don’t loot everything first. Mia and Jules’ different reasons for smuggling themselves onto Gaia put them immediately at odds, but after escaping a dangerous confrontation with other scavvers, they form a fragile alliance.

In order to penetrate the Undying temple and reach the tech and information hidden within, the two must decode the ancient race’s secrets and survive their traps. But the more they learn about the Undying, the more their presence in the temple seems to be part of a grand design that could spell the end of the human race…

Inspired by Lara Croft and Indiana Jones, Unearthed is a fun, action-packed adventure. It takes these adventuring archetypes, turns them into teenagers and puts them on a new planet, then adds a hefty dose of romance.

At first glance, the main characters are pretty stereotypical, but both are given a bit of a twist that brings more dimension to them. Mia is an experienced scavenger who has earned a living through pillaging abandoned cities on an Earth ravaged by climate change. She’s a street rat with limited education… and a passion and talent for mathematics. And while she’s all about the money, it’s really just a means to an unselfish end. Jules is the bookish one. He knows at least half a dozen language and not much about what it takes to survive in a hostile environment. However, he is somewhat athletic and even though he’s not exactly street smart, he’s not an idiot, either.

There is a strong focus on the relationship between these characters. They have competing agendas and aren’t exactly forthright with each other; trust is an issue that crops up multiple times. Some readers may feel their relationship develops a bit quickly, considering the entire book takes place over just a couple of days. However, I found it well paced in terms of the story’s arc. There are things that immediately attract them to each other, but it takes some time to overcome their distrust of each other. The process is helped along by the fact they must rely on each other to survive.

The story has a very visual style that plays out rather like a movie. There are some spectacular landscapes and the temple offers some interesting set pieces as the pair traverse the puzzle chambers.

While the book touches on a few issues–such as climate change, corruption and human greed–it’s not an overly deep book. It’s more of a fun, fast-paced thriller. And while most of the characters (even the minor ones) manage to avoid stereotypes, they don’t exactly surprise. Mia and Jules act pretty much as expected. The villains, both major and minor, are particularly flat. They receive little characterisation and mostly serve to add pressure to the situation.

However, overall I enjoyed Unearthed. Be warned: it ends on a terrible cliffhanger.

DUFF Interview: Marlee Jane Ward

The Down Under Fan Fund is designed to promote connections between fandoms in Australasia and North America. This year DUFF will send one delegate from Australiasia to Worldcon in San Jose in August. Voting is open to all interested fans, regardless of nationality. It closes 31 March.

Marlee Jane Ward is the sole candidate this year and joins me today for an interview.

First and most important: what’s your favourite beverage?

If we’re talking alcoholic, I’m a cider kind of gal. Non-alcoholic – I’m a coffee drinker. It’s lucky I live in Melbourne.

How did you get started in Australian SFF fandom?

I became huge fan of Aussie SFF in my YA days, there was some great stuff coming out in the nineties, so I cut my teeth on Isobelle Carmody, Victor Kelleher, and Gillian Rubinstein. The highlight of my last few years was the Speculative Fiction Festival at the NSW Writers Centre in 2017, getting to spend time with Cat Sparks, John Birmingham, Margo Lanagan, Garth Nix – I was fangirling so hard, I didn’t even care. I started taking writing seriously because I was so inspired by the Aussie SF scene, especially at the NSWWC Spec Fic festival in 2013, where I met so many writers I’d been reading and hearing about for years. I’ve tried to make it to Continuum every year since I’ve lived in Melbourne – it’s a great con and I love being part of the SFF community here.

What Australian speculative fiction have you recently loved?

Ida by Alison Evans. I was so into that beautiful, quiet, evocative story. I liked Cat Sparks’ Lotus Blue, especially the vivid landscapes. I adored Jane Rawson’s From the Wreck, I love how her work integrates genres like it’s nothing. And of course, my partner Corey J White’s novella Killing Gravity, aside from my obvious bias, it’s such a rad story, right up my alley.

You’ve been very open about your journey with mental illness. What are your thoughts on the way mental illness is portrayed in science fiction?

Honestly, I don’t see it much. I could be reading the wrong books, but I don’t know. It seems like a forgotten aspect of life when it comes to SFF. Could that be because of stigma? I guess that’s why I’m so open about it, to normalise it and start on erasing the stigma. I want to see people managing and thriving with mental illness, because that’s my story, and everyone wants to see bits of themselves in fiction.

What’s coming up next for you?

I just finished the third book in my Mirii Mahoney series, I’m working on some short stories, writing a memoir I’m not sure I’ll do anything with, planning my next novel, and generally trying to keep afloat as a writer. When I think of the future, it’s just pacing myself out to write more books, which doesn’t leave room for a lot else!

What are you most looking forward to about WorldCon 76?

Making new friends! Seeing old friends. Learning new things and discovering new authors. I’m especially looking forward to the specific creative buzz you get from being around creative people – I think that’s the thing I like the most about cons.

Marlee Jane Ward is a writer, reader and weirdo from Melbourne. She’s a Clarion West alum and her short fiction can be found at Terraform, Aurealis, Apex, Interfictions, and more. Her debut novella, Welcome To Orphancorp won the Viva La Novella Prize and the Victorian Premier’s Award for YA Fiction. She likes cats, babes, and making a spectacle of herself.

Hunger Makes the Wolf and Blood Binds the Pack by Alex Wells

Published: March 2017 & February 2018 by Angry Robot Books

Format reviewed: Paperback & E-book (mobi)

Series: Hob #1 & #2

Genres: Science fiction

Source: Library & NetGalley

Available: Publisher (print and electronic) ~ Abbey’s ~ Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Book Depository ~ Booktopia ~ Dymocks ~ Kobo

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

The strange planet known as Tanegawa’s World is owned by TransRifts Inc, the company with the absolute monopoly on interstellar travel. Hob landed there ten years ago, a penniless orphan left behind by a rift ship. She was taken in by Nick Ravani and quickly became a member of his mercenary biker troop, the Ghost Wolves.

Ten years later, she discovers the body of Nick’s brother out in the dunes. Worse, his daughter is missing, taken by shady beings called the Weathermen. But there are greater mysteries to be discovered both about Hob and the strange planet she calls home.

My reading year has been off to a brilliant start. First The City of Brass, then Ironheart and now Blood Binds the Pack. This book is the sequel to Hunger Makes the Wolf and I devoured them both in no time. I loved this series so much I didn’t even stop to take notes as I read. I’m already making a list of people I can gift it to.

Tanegawa’s World is a desert planet owned by a large corporation called TransRift. The primary industry is mining. It’s a harsh life for the residents, who are at the corporation’s mercy for the necessities of life. The Unions are essential in making sure safety standards are met and workers are properly paid. Even then, it is a desperate kind of power and weak in the face of the corporation’s control. Little is done to aid those blacklisted by the company, some of whom end up joining gangs of bandits and mercenaries.

The Ghost Wolves are one such gang of mercenaries. This tight-knit group of bikers take what jobs they can to eke out a living and stick it to the company wherever possible. Of these reprobates, Hob Ravani is on the bottom rung. Taken in by the head of the Ghost Wolves, she accidentally betrayed the gang and now must prove her worth once more. She is given that chance when she finds Ol’ Nick’s brother shot dead in the desert.

The series has a Western flavour to it, but subverts some of the more problematic tropes and trends of the genre. The cast is diverse, featuring a host of PoC characters. Same-sex relationships are normalised. There’s even some disability representation, with both Hob and Nick Ravani missing an eye each… though I concede the series could have benefited from more representation in this area.

The Lone Gunman is a trope that gets short shrift; everything about the series emphasises collective power. This is particularly the case in Blood Binds the Pack, where the Union comes into more direct opposition with the company. However, it can be seen in numerous other ways. The Ghost Wolves rely on teamwork for survival; bad things happen when a member goes out solo. But it goes beyond survival. There’s a strong found-family vibe to the mercenary gang.

It also plays into Hob’s friendship with Mags, Ol’ Nick’s niece. It was so delightful to see such a strong female friendship on the page. It’s not without its bumps–Hob, particularly, makes mistakes that strain things. But they never give up on each other, and as the women rise in influence their friendship has an impact on the communities around them. It was also a joy to see a friendship between such different women. In many ways, they are opposites, but they hold true to each other.

In addition to the Western genre, science fiction and fantasy are also blended in. There’s something mysterious about Tanegawa’s World that causes electronics to fritz and encourages the development of strange powers in certain members of the community. The elemental magic was one of my favourite parts of the story. Hob’s fire manifests in fairly traditional ways: she lights cigarettes with the snap of her fingers and throws the occasional fireball. However, other powers manifest in some different and creative ways. The Bone Collector is particularly fascinating, turning to stone at will and moving through the sand. His relationship with Hob is fascinating and continuing readers may be delighted to hear he gets more time in the spotlight throughout Blood Binds the Pack. The latter book also has an instance of Air magic that manages to be a fascinating and powerful piece of representation.

The story is told in third person, predominantly focused Hob and Mags, though we also hear from certain Wolves and pick up more characters along the way. The changes in voice between perspectives are subtle, but effective. The pacing also works well, interspersing some wonderful moments of connection between the characters in amongst the action. Hunger Makes the Wolf comes to a dramatic and satisfying conclusion. Blood Binds the Pack manages to increase the stakes and the tension through an effective countdown at the start of (and sometimes within) each chapter.

All in all, Hunger Makes the Wolf and Blood Binds the Pack form an addictive duology that has become a new favourite.

Loose-leaf Links #55

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 China Pearls from Indulge Tea. It has a light, grassy flavour and stands up well to multiple brewings.

Announcements

I’m delighted to have a short story of mine appearing on the Love Letters Podcast. Created and hosted by Liz Duck-Chong, the podcast always brings short bursts of beauty into my day.

Awards News

Nominations for the Hugo Awards are now open until 16 March. WorldCon Artist Guest of Honour John Picacio will be hosting the ceremony.

Nominations are also open for the Australian Shadow Awards until 28 February.

And voting is open for the 2018 Locus Awards. Voting is open to non-subscribers, but only those willing to complete a survey. Voting closes 15 April.

Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience by Rebecca Roanhorse was voted Apex Magazine’s Best Story of 2017.

Community and Conventions

The Sad Puppies have been stirring up trouble in Australia, falsely claiming that anti-Puppy blogger Camestros Felapton is Foz Meadow’s husband Toby. Foz gives the background to the situation, then elaborates on the allegations and the impact this harassment has had on them. File 770 reports on the subsequent apology from Lou Antonelli.

In way more awesome news, as N.K Jemisin steps down to focus on her creative work.

Marlee Jane Ward is running as the sole candidate for the Down Under Fan Fund. Please make sure you vote to send her to San Jose for WorldCon 76!

On Equity

John Picacio has started the Mexicanx Initiative, sponsoring WorldCon memberships for Mexicanx professionals and fans. Thanks to several generous donors, there are fifty memberships to be awarded.

Not strictly SFF or romance, but still within genre, The Staunch Prize has been created to honour crime thrillers where no woman is beaten, stalked, sexually exploited, raped or murdered. The shortlist will be announced in September and the winner will be announced on 25 November.

Over at Strange Horizons, Vanessa Rose Phin hosts a round-table on trans and non-binary SFF that goes beyond Gender 101.

For Writers

A reminder that Lightspeed Magazine is open for submissions until 19 February.

PodCastle are also open for submissions until 28 February.

Unsung Stories are open for novel and novella submissions until 26 February.

And it’s not too late to join in the Post-It Note Poetry challenge!

For Readers

Omnium Gatherum will be publishing a new novel from Australian horror writer Kaaron Warren. The Keeper of Truth is scheduled to be released later this year.

CSFG Publishing have released the list of stories and authors to be included in their forthcoming anthology A Hand of Knaves, edited by Chris Large and Leife Shallcross.

The 2017 Locus Recommended Reading List is now out. Particular congratulations to Australians James Bradley, Jack Dann, Greg Egan, Foz Meadows, Garth Nix, Alex Pierce, Jane Rawson, Angela Slatter, Cat Sparks and Jonathan Strahan.

 

Markswoman by Rati Mehrotra

The Skiffy and Fanty Show has resumed its regular schedule. Head on over to check out my review of Markswoman by Rati Mehrotra, a novel about orders of female warriors, psychic daggers and quests for revenge.

Mt TBR report: January 2018

2018 got off to a slow start for me, reading-wise. We were a week into the year before I managed to finish my first book. I put some of it down to the fact I ended up reading some longer books this month, averaging 338 pages per book instead of the 240 of last year.

Yet, despite the slow start, I still managed to read an average number of books for the month. And, better still, I broke even with my acquisitions, as was my goal for the year. Hopefully, I can continue the trend.

At the end of every year, I do an audit on my Mt TBR, adding stuff I’ve missed along the way and getting rid of stuff I’m no longer interested in. This year, inspired by Samantha’s Konmari video at Thoughts on Tomes, I did a bit of a cull and got rid of 16 books. This means that Mt TBR is starting at 351 books instead of 367. I probably wasn’t as ruthless as I could have been, but I’m hoping to keep the ground I’ve gained.

Mt TBR Status

Mt TBR @ 1 January 2018: 351

Mt TBR @ 31 January 2018: 343

Books Read

1. The Undercurrent by Paula Weston. Picked up on recommendation from Shaheen of Speculating on Spec Fic. It’s a YA sci-fi thriller about a young woman with the ability to generate electricity. She forms a connection with one of the soldiers who has been hired to protect her and he ends up taking her back to the farm where he grew up. I enjoyed their relationship and the Australian-ness of the setting. There were some interesting themes around climate change, genetic modification and activism.

2. Hunger Makes the Wolf by Alex Wells. Review forthcoming.

3. The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty. Reviewed here.

4. Ironheart by Jodi McAlister. Reviewed here.

5. The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau. Some basic and interesting advice on starting microbusinesses. Also a lot of hype and anecdote.

6. Markswoman by Rati Mehrotra. Review forthcoming.

7. Dungeon World Guide by Eon Fontes-May, Sean M. Dunstan and Alex Leal. A quick guide to playing Dungeon World. It’s mostly aimed at people who are having trouble switching to the Powered by the Apocalypse system, but I found a few useful pieces of advice.

8. Dungeon World by Sage LaTorra and Adam Koebel. Reread. Refreshing my memory before running a game. Still a great introduction for new roleplayers or for people who want to focus on the story rather than the rules and numbers.

9. Blood Binds the Pack by Alex Wells. Review forthcoming. Sequel to Hunger Makes the Wolf.

10. Nexus by Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan and Deborah Biancotti. The conclusion to the Zeroes trilogy, a sci-fi YA about teens with superpowers. I definitely recommend rereading the previous two if it has been a while because there are a lot of names to keep track of. The style was generally good, but the plot felt weak in a few areas.

11. Betrayed by Amanda Pillar. A fantasy romance novelette set in the Graced world. A werebear is rescued from her kidnappers by a weretiger, who helps her take revenge. A bit too short to really work for me.

Books Acquired

An Artificial Night by Seanan McGuire

Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal

Uncanny Magazine, Issue 20

Ironheart by Jodi McAlistair

Betrayed by Amanda Pillar

The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton

The Threads We Weave by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

Markswoman by Rati Mehorotra

Dungeon World Guide by Eon Fontes-May, Sean M. Dunstan and Alex Leal

Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman

Online Reading

Jay and Maria by Courtney Milan. Deleted scenes from Hold Me.

Ironheart by Jodi McAlister

Published: January 2018 by Penguin Teen Australia

Format reviewed: Paperback, 389 pages

Series: Valentine #2

Genres: Young adult, contemporary fantasy

Source: Publisher

Reading Challenges: Australian Women Writers Challenge 2018

Available: Abbey’s ~ Amazon ~ Book Depository ~ Booktopia ~ Dymocks ~ Kobo

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

This review contains spoilers for previous volumes/books.

Pearl Linford is stuck. Her best friend won’t talk to her. The internet thinks she is a murderer. And she’s waiting for the right moment to forgive Finn Blacklin, but it never seems to come.

On top of this, the Unseelie fairies have infiltrated her town, and they’ve unleashed a new horror – a bunch of wild, uncontrollable, angry supernatural hunters who’ve made Finn number one on their hitlist.

And you know what? This is a lot for one seventeen-year-old girl to handle. No wonder Pearl is so full of rage all the time. A rage that might be drawing the attention of some very dangerous people.

As awards season comes up, I’ve been talking about Valentine a lot. So, I was delighted to get my hands on Ironheart and even more thrilled to find it lives up to the standard set by its predecessor.

From the very first scene, it deals with the consequences of the previous book. Pearl has experienced some trauma and has understandably developed a phobia of bodies of water as a result. Which makes her job as a lifeguard at the local pool untenable. She also has some difficulty coming to terms with being rescued by Finn in the previous book. Being a helpless victim is not something that sits well with Pearl and it makes her double down on trying to do things herself, even when it clearly isn’t the best way forward. And this is shown in different spheres, from dealing with her trauma to discovering the identity of the new Rider preparing to hunt down Finn. It was fascinating to watch Pearl come to realise that being rescued is not the same as relying on your friends.

This was just one of the ways in which the book advocates for healthy relationships. At the end of Valentine, we see Pearl step away from committing herself to a relationship with Finn because they haven’t had the chance to get to know each other as friends first. It was one of the things that delighted me most about the book. Ironheart continues to push back against the idea that romantic love is the be-all and end-all. Pearl is very clear that living a life where Finn is the sole and central relationship isn’t one that’s going to be fulfilling to her–her relationships with her friends and family are no less important. It was a refreshing perspective.

At the same time, it was also sweet to see her relationship with Finn develop, even amid the chaos. It doesn’t always go well–Pearl’s desire for her own agency means that she’s not always forthright with Finn, which backfires. It plays into a wider theme of trust and honesty, which also crop up in several of Pearl’s other relationships.

If I had one quibble, it was with the revelation of the identity of the Rider. While it came as a surprise, I felt it was just a little underplayed and perhaps relied a little too heavily on info that came in the first book.

However, overall, I found Ironheart a delightful read and a great continuation of the series.

Loose-leaf Links #54

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 Arabian Mint from Mrs Oldbucks Pantry. It has a fresh strong flavour that does equally well iced or hot.

Awards News

The BookTubeSFF Awards are open for nominations from all members of SFF fandom. This is the fourth year they have been running and there have been some rule changes, so be sure to check those out. Nominations close 4 February.

The shadow jury for the Arthur C. Clarke Award will be reconvening this year.

Community and Conventions

The news came earlier this week that Ursula Le Guin had passed away at age 88. She was a giant in the field and will be sorely missed.

Conservative science fiction writer Jon Del Arroz has been making waves for all the wrong reasons. He has been pre-emptively banned from WorldCon 76 and his application for membership to the Science Fiction Writers of America was declined. File 770 has some of the reactions to the latter. Jim C. Hines details some of Del Arroz’s history of trolling and harassment.

In more positive news, the recipients of the Tiptree Fellowships have been announced. Congratulations to H. Pueyo and Ineke Chen-Meyer!

The Science Fiction Writers of America have declared Peter S. Beagle as their newest Grand Master. Beagle is best known for The Last Unicorn.

The WorldCon committee have officially accepted a bid from New Zealand to host the WorldCon in 2020. LISTEN UP, AUSSIES! Voting on site selection for WorldCon 2020 happens this year. In order to vote, you need to be a member (attending or supporting) of WorldCon 76. So get to it! Especially if you’d like to also get in on voting for this year’s Hugo Awards as well.

On Equity

In my last links post, I reported on Roxane Gay’s callout of Midwest Writers Workshop for fatphobia and their appalling treatment of volunteer Sarah Hollowell. Despite their apology, MWW have doubled down, firing Summer Heacock, the board member responsible for telling Hollowell of the situation in the first place.

Strange Horizons have also issued an apology for the review they ran of Star Wars: The Last Jedi which included some incredibly sexist commentary about Carrie Fisher. The review has since been edited, but the original is available here.

Over at Tor.com, James Davis Nicholl is fighting erasure by listing women SF writers of the 1970s. It will be a multi-part article with A-F currently listed.

Elsa Sjunneson-Henry discusses the portrayal of disability in Guillermo Del Toro’s movie The Shape of Water.

For Writers

Submissions are now open for Uncanny Magazine’s Disabled People Destroy Science Fiction issue. Deadline is 15 February and maximum word count is 6K.

Galli Books also has a call out for fiction, non-fiction and poetry for a new anthology called Speculative Masculinities. Deadline is 15 April.

The Superheroes Beyond conference has a call out for papers. The conference takes place in Melbourne from 30 November until 2 December. The proposal deadline is 25 May.

Applications are open for scholarships to the Writing Excuses retreat.

Aidan Doyle shares the preparation put into the Sword and Sonnet anthology’s Kickstarter campaign.

For Readers

IFWG Publishing have announced they have acquired a new novel from Gillian Polack called The Year of the Fruitcake.

The novel tells of the Earth-based life of a mostly-mindwiped alien anthropologist inhabiting a human perimenopausal body instead of her own more rational body with its capacity to change gender. Polack describes her novel as “Bleak. It’s political. It’s angry. It’s also sarcastic, cynical and funny.”

The book will be released early in 2019.

Kathleen Jennings has a story forthcoming from Tor.com and it is being illustrated–by someone else. She couldn’t be more delighted.

Over at Book Riot, Jess Carbert unconvincingly claims she doesn’t know how her TBR became a mountain. I’m sure I’m not the only one who can sympathise. The inclusion of City on Fire particularly made me laugh and think of Whisky Jenny from the Reading the End podcast.

 

Lastly, I couldn’t resist including this: Alex Pierce (of Galactic Suburbia fame) is running a year-long series about Earl Grey tea on her blog Acts of Kitchen. For the Year of Earl, she plans to try as many different versions as she can get her hands on. I am really looking forward to reading along.