Elizabeth Fitzgerald's Blog: Earl Grey Editing, page 6

Mt TBR Report: October 2020

October proved to be a pretty average month for my reading. It did involve a little more rereading than usual, as I returned to a couple of series I hadn’t touched in a while.

In a bid to encourage myself to read some of the piles of fanfic I have marked for later, I’ve started including them on my list of things read along with books. This strategy hasn’t been all that successful, but I live in hope. I should also note I don’t include fanfic in my TBR stats because the pile is already intimidating enough.

Mt TBR status

Mt TBR @ 1 January 2020: 427
Mt TBR @ 30 September: 426
Mt TBR @ 30 October: 420

Items Read

137. Indexing: Reflections by Seanan McGuire. Urban fantasy. Second in the Indexing series. Henry and her team are called in when an old enemy breaks out of storybook prison. This was fun and I enjoyed seeing a bit more development for most of the characters. The new addition to the crew was also interesting, though I’m not sure I grasped all the nuances. However, the plot didn’t seem quite as strong as the previous book and included the author’s characteristic, nebulous entity for the purposes of handwaving the set pieces into place.

138. Temeraire by Naomi Novik. Historical fantasy. First in the Temeraire series. Captain William Laurence’s life is upended when his ship captures a French frigate containing a dragon egg. Basically, the Napoleonic War with dragons. I believe this was originally serialised, and the chapters retain a sense of being very contained. The central relationship between Captain Laurence and Temeraire is very sweet. I also enjoyed the worldbuilding.

139. The Duke Who Didn’t by Courtney Milan. Historical f/m romance. First in the Wedgeford Trials series. A duke incognito returns to the village he used to visit yearly in the hopes he can convince the woman he’s in love with to marry him. Courtney Milan proves once again why she is one of my favourite romance authors. The characters were adorable. I found Chloe’s preoccupation with her lists and ambitions very relatable.

140. An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir. YA fantasy. After Laia’s brother is imprisoned and the rest of her family killed, she joins the Resistance and is sent as a slave to the military academy to spy. A darker fantasy with elements that reminded me of The Hunger Games. The threat of sexual violence was tiresome but the characters engaging enough for me to bear with it. I found it perhaps a little overrated.

141. The Astronaut’s Cat by Tohby Riddle. Science fiction. Children’s picture book. A charming story about a cat who lives on the moon. Although it uses simple language, it does a good job of explaining what conditions are like on the moon. It also has a good sense of humour and does a nice job of subverting expectations.

142. The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin. Urban fantasy. First book in the Great Cities series, following immediately on from the short story The City Born Great. New York City has been successfully born into its human avatar, but a fight with its great enemy has left it weakened. It’s up to the five boroughs to come to terms with their own identities as avatars and unite to save the city. Deliciously grounded in place, this was a great book to read so shortly after Kathleen Jennings’ Flyaway; an urban contrast to the rural novella. Jemisin once again shows she has a keen eye for people. She also brings a delightful new take to Lovecraft’s mythos, making it once again relevant for the present day.

143. 26.2 by Siria. Elementary fanfic. Joan Watson takes up running. A delightful gen fic that really nails the voices of the characters. I’ll be looking for more by this author.

144. City of Lies by Sam Hawke. Epic fantasy. First book in The Poison Wars. Reread. Previously reviewed here.

145. Aurora Burning by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. Sci-fi YA. Second book in the Aurora Cycle. Reread for book club.

146. Hollow Empire by Sam Hawke. Epic fantasy. Second book in The Poison Wars. Review forthcoming.

147. Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell. Contemporary YA romance. Graphic novel. Two best friends decide to make the most of their last shift working at a pumpkin patch before they graduate and go off to college. Sweet, light and entirely predictable. It was just what I needed. I love a good order muppet / chaos muppet dynamic and this certainly had that. Fair warning: there’s lots of great seasonal food in this book, so maybe don’t read it on an empty stomach.

148. Unveiled by Courtney Milan. Historical f/m romance. First book in the Turner series. Reread.

149. Unlocked by Courtney Milan. Historical f/m romance. Novella in the Turner series. When her former bully returns to England, Lady Elaine is determined to fight back. While I’m not fond of the commonly-held idea that boys pick on girls to hide their crush, Milan makes it work. Mostly because that part of the story is in the past. Evan genuinely regrets what he did and shows it by making himself vulnerable in a variety of ways. I also appreciated the arc of his relationship with his bullying cousin, Diana.

DNF

The Hidden Queen by Alma Alexander. A fairly standard epic fantasy that simply failed to hold my interest.

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M Valente. I dislike Alice in Wonderland and whimsy for the sake of whimsy, so this book really wasn’t for me.

Acquisitions

Travelogues by Kathleen Jennings
The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin
Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell
Daughter of Lies and Ruin by Jo Spurrier
Network Effect by Martha Wells
Tymon’s Flight by Mary Victoria
The Other Side of the Sky by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
Good Neighbours by Stephanie Burgis

The post Mt TBR Report: October 2020 first appeared on Earl Grey Editing.

Second Pour

A little over eighteen months ago, I wrapped up the blog here on Earl Grey Editing, saying:

Change is a constant, so I hope that at some point in the future, circumstances will shift again and I will be able to return to blogging at EGE.

Very few of us could have predicted 2020. Circumstances have indeed shifted.

Thus, I am delighted to announce that I am returning to blogging here.

Some of the particular challenges I’ve been dealing with this year have been in relation to my health. So, my schedule going forward will be a bit more modest than it has in the past. I will be aiming to post fortnightly, offering one or two reviews a month in addition to a wrap-up of my monthly reading. I hope you’ll bear with me if my posts end up being a bit more erratic than in the past.

Reviewing has always brought me a great deal of joy, so I’m very excited to be starting again. I hope you’ll join me on this adventure.

The post Second Pour first appeared on Earl Grey Editing.

2020 Ditmar Award

It’s not deja vu, it’s last year’s trophy.

On Saturday 19 September, the Ditmar Awards were presented. These would ordinarily have been presented at the National Australian Speculative Fiction convention, but since no conventions took place this year, the ceremony was conducted online.

I was honoured to receive an award for Best Fan Writer. Thank you so much to everyone who voted for me. It was a delightful surprise in an otherwise difficult year.

This was my acceptance speech:

First, I’d like to thank the Down Under Fan Fund. Fan funds do such important work in connecting people and without DUFF I would not have met Paul Weimer, who was the delegate sent over from North America in 2017.

Paul introduced me to the Skiffy and Fanty Show, and was a fantastic role model through his own prolific reviews and sheer enthusiasm for SFF in all its forms. He, too, does a fantastic job of connecting people.

Thank you to Jen Zink for welcoming me as part of the Skiffy and Fanty team and for teaching me so much. Thanks also goes to Shaun Duke, whose insightful edits always invited me to think a little more deeply.

Lastly, thanks to everyone who voted for me. It’s an honour.

Congratulations to all the nominees and winners!

The post 2020 Ditmar Award first appeared on Earl Grey Editing.

2019 Ditmar Award

On Saturday 8 June, the Ditmar Awards were presented at Continuum 15 in Melbourne. I was honoured to receive an award for Best Fan Publication in Any Medium. Thank you so much to everyone who voted for me.

This was my acceptance speech:

It turns out it really is third time lucky.

Running the Earl Grey Editing blog involved a steep learning curve and I am very grateful to the people who have helped me along the way. Thanks go to Melissa Hartfiel of Fine Lime Designs for building my website and suggesting the blog in the first place. Lynn O’Connacht was very generous with her time and advice, fielding my sometimes-panicked questions with grace. Becca Lusher helped me navigate the strange world of NetGalley and Shaheen of Speculating on Speculative Fiction had some useful advice on review books.

Thanks to the Canberra Speculative Fiction Guild for being my first doorway into the Australian spec-fic community. My writing buddies Rivqa Rafael and Nicky Rowlands get a shout-out for keeping me on track. And thanks to my partner Ian for putting up with the stress, constant deadlines and the giant piles of books around the house.

As many of you know, I have wound up the blog for the time being. So, thank you to everyone who voted for me and allowed me to go out on a high note.

The photo below is of this year’s winners. I admit I’m a little bit astonished to be included among this group of fantastic women, many of whom I look up to.

The photo was taken by Kat Clay, who did a wonderful job of hosting the awards this year with Devin Jeyathurai and wore the most amazing Space Vikings costume for the occasion (and the Maskobolo afterwards).

Continuum 15 Schedule

Winter starts this weekend, which means Continuum is just around the corner! Continuum 15 also happens to be Australia’s Natcon this year. It will be held in Melbourne on 7-10 June and the Guests of Honour are Kate Elliott and Ken Liu. I’m super excited to be attending!

I’m also delighted to be scheduled on some fantastic panels this year:

Roll of the Dice

When: Friday, 7 June, 6 PM

Panelists: Elizabeth Fitzgerald (moderator), David McGorlick, Lauren Mitchell

Roleplaying games seem to increase in popularity every year and more and more media is produced off the back of our love of them. Podcasts, videos, novelisations and more. What attracts us to these worlds and this way of gaming and how much bigger will this industry grow?

Recommendations Panel

When: Monday, 10 June, 11 AM

Panelists: Elizabeth Fitzgerald (moderator), Sam Hawke, Tam

Get ready to blow up your TBR pile!

Evil cackle? What evil cackle? I don’t hear anything.

In between panels, GoH talks and awards ceremonies, I plan to fit in a tea expedition to Lupicia and a game of Monster of the Week with the usual suspects.

If you’re along this year, please say hi!

TTFN

Having come to the end of my reviewing commitments here at Earl Grey Editing, this is the last post you’ll see from me for a little while. As I mentioned when I first posted about winding up, there will be the occasional announcement post–such as my schedule for Continuum. But I expect things will largely stay quiet.

If you’re interested in continuing to follow my reviews, I will still be writing (and recording and filming) for the Skiffy and Fanty Show. You can also find me on Goodreads and Twitter, so please feel free to say hi. And there’s always the possibility that I will come back further down the track.

But for the time being it’s ta ta for now.

Thank you all once again for your enthusiasm and support.

 

Catching Teller Crow by Ambelin and Ezekiel Kwaymullina

This week I’m over at the Skiffy and Fanty Show with a review of the Aurealis-Award-winning Catching Teller Crow by Ambelin and Ezekiel Kwaymullina. This is a masterfully-told story about the ghost of an Aboriginal girl who goes with her father to investigate a fatal fire in a small rural town in Australia. It presents dark subjects in a way that allows their impact to be felt while also offering hope and remaining appropriate for a young adult audience.

Mt TBR Report: April 2019

April generally sees a spike in my reading, in part due to Dewey’s Readathon (there’s a corresponding spike in October, when the readathon also runs). This year’s spike is a bit bigger than usual, as I never quite slowed down after the readathon was over.

Mt TBR Status

Mt TBR @ 1 January 2019: 442

Mt TBR @ 31 March 2019: 362

Mt TBR @ 30 April 2019: 360

April Reading Plans

Wireless by Alex Acks–For review at EGE. DONE!

Tides of the Titans by Thoraiya Dyer–For review at EGE. DONE!

Kalpa Imperial by Angelica Gorodischer–For the Lady Vaults book club. DONE!

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo–For LDUH book club. DONE!

As expected, the Hugo shortlists were announced just a couple of days into the month. I was pleased to have already read most of the Best Novel category, half of the Best Novella and Best Series categories, and most of the Lodestar nominees. The remainder became a priority as I got my hands on them.

Books Read

74. Wireless and More Steam-Powered Adventures by Alex Acks. Reviewed here.

75. The Tea Master and the Detective by Aliette de Bodard. Science fiction novella, 2019 Hugo nominee. An eccentric scholar hires a semi-organic spaceship to retrieve a corpse for scientific study, only to discover the corpse was a victim of foul play. This Sherlock-Holmes-inspired tale does a wonderful job of walking the line between being faithful to its source material while still managing to bring a fresh spin to it. However, the mystery and the world-building elements sit a little uneasily together.

76. A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab. Fantasy. A magician with the ability to walk between alternate worlds teams up with a thief to prevent their worlds from being destroyed. While I very much enjoyed the book–particularly the alternate versions of London–overall I found it more style than substance.

77. Deacon by Kit Rocha. Dystopian romance. Second in the Gideon’s Riders series. Ana is the first woman to be part of the Riders and she’s aware she carries the hopes and dreams of a generation of young girls. There’s no way she wants people to think she only got there because she slept with the boss. However, her attraction to Deacon is hard to resist. I really loved how this book delved into the pressure put on trailblazing women. Ana is a wonderful mix of fierceness and kindness.

78. The Cybernetic Tea Shop by Meredith Katz. A gentle love story between an AI technician and a 300-year-old robot who runs a tea shop. It delves into violence against the marginalised, but remains a very sweet tale.

79. Tides of the Titans by Thoraiya Dyer. Reviewed here.

80. Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo. Read for the LDUH book club. Fantasy YA. Second in the Six of Crows duology. Kaz Brekker and his crew fight to rescue one of their own and enact revenge. The first book gave me all the Blades in the Dark feels and this one even more so. I really enjoyed seeing more of Ketterdam and the crew in their native habitat. However, I had a few quibbles about some of the relationship dynamics and was disappointed that the female characters remained so significantly outnumbered.

81. Artificial Condition by Martha Wells. Science fiction novella, 2019 Hugo nominee. Second in The Murderbot Diaries. Murderbot returns to the site of the massacre it doesn’t remember committing. I continue to love the voice of Murderbot and was delighted to see it team up with ART–who, despite not having a good grasp of emotions, makes a remarkably deft psychologist.

82. Catching Teller Crow by Ambelin and Ezekiel Kwaymullina. Reread. Review forthcoming.

83. Repeat by Kylie Scott. Contemporary romance. After a vicious attack leaves Clementine with amnesia, she reconnects with her ex, Ed, in the hopes of discovering more about her life. While Kylie Scott’s earlier work was fun, her more recent stuff (such as Trust) has delved into some meatier issues in a way that is very satisfying. Although I’m not the best judge, it seemed to me the amnesia angle was handled in a way that was sensitive and thoughtful, exploring the ways in which it may lead to someone becoming a different person.

84. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater. First book in The Raven Cycle. Contemporary fantasy. A teenage girl foretold to bring death to her true love falls in with a group of rich boys on a quest to discover the final burial place of a Welsh king. This has a wonderfully tense and creepy atmosphere at times, but it was the relationships that made it for me.

85. Kalpa Imperial: The greatest empire that never was by Angelica Gorodischer, translated by Ursula K. Le Guin. Read for the Lady Vaults book club. A series of short stories about the emperors of a mythic kingdom. Although well-written, it wasn’t really for me. I kept expecting to see connections between the stories but never really did, and there was no real sense of a chronology. There was also a bit of distance in the telling that kept me at arms’ length from the characters. The women were generally prostitutes or empresses, or both.

86. Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse. Dystopian fantasy, 2019 Hugo nominee. First in The Sixth World series. A monster-hunter teams up with a medicine-man-in-training to uncover the truth behind a series of attacks. Pretty standard urban fantasy, though the Native American setting and cast brought a new spin to the genre. It was also good to see some advocation for healthy relationships.

87. The Rebirth of Rapunzel: A mythic biography of the Maiden in the Tower by Kate Forsyth. The first section of this nonfiction book is a PhD thesis which traces the origin and evolution of the famous fairy tale as well as the influences on Forsyth’s own retelling Bitter Greens. The second section is a translation of one of the versions Forsyth found most influential. And the last section is a collection of related articles and essays by Forsyth. This last section suffered a bit from a repetition of material, as is often the case in such collections of nonfiction essays. However, on the whole, the book was quite interesting and does a wonderful job of unpacking some of the symbolism connected with the fairy tale.

88. White Cat by Holly Black. Contemporary fantasy. First in the Curse Workers trilogy. Cassel Sharpe comes from a family of curse-workers and con artists. Being the only non-curse-worker, he’s done his best to go straight, attending a prestigious private school. However, his careful life starts to unravel when he wakes up one night to find he’s sleepwalked onto the roof of his school. I quite enjoyed the world-building in the story and the association between magic and the Mob. Unfortunately, the story didn’t do much for me. Holly Black doesn’t really do purely likeable characters, but I found Cassel rather dull. For all his nous as a con artist, he was remarkably slow on the uptake at times. I usually love the author’s work, but I won’t be continuing this series.

89. Starfarers by Vonda M. McIntyre. Science fiction. First in the Starfarers Quartet. Victoria Fraser Mackenzie is set to lead the first expedition into another solar system in the hopes of making alien contact. However, political opposition means the expedition may not even get off the ground. It was wonderful to see a cast with so many women. It rather highlights how much we’ve backslid since 1989. I also enjoyed the sea-space connection. Given the strong focus on politics, some readers are going to find it a slow story. However, I found it had some pertinent parallels to current political situations.

Books Acquired

Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse

Artificial Protocol by Martha Wells

Repeat by Kylie Scott

Any Old Diamonds by KJ Charles

A Right Honourable Gentleman by Courtney Milan

The Atrocity Archives by Charles Stross

Natural Enemies by Roan Parrish

Burning Sky by Becca Lusher

2019 Tor.com Debut sampler

Online Reading

Galentine by Jodi McAlister. A prequel to the Valentine series. It’s tough sharing a birthday with three other people, but fortunately for Pearl her best friend Phil has got her back.

 

May Reading Plans

This post will be the last TBR report I make at EGE for the foreseeable future. But while the blog may be wrapping up, my reading plans certainly aren’t. Definitely on the agenda for May:

Metropolis by Thea von Harbou. For the Lady Vaults book club.

Black Wolves by Kate Elliot. I’d like to get through this before seeing the author as GoH at Continuum in June.

Masks: A New Generation by Brendan Conway. This is a tabletop roleplaying game about superheroes that my local group is set to start this month. It would be useful to have read the rules first.

The Ditmar shortlists have also been announced, so I’ll be aiming to get through as much of that as possible in order to vote. Between this and the Hugo shortlists, I’ll have my hands full.

 

Misrule by Jodi McAlister

Published: February 2019 by Penguin Teen Australia

Format reviewed: Paperback, 405 pages

Series: Valentine #3

Genres: Fantasy, young adult

Source: Bought from Harry Hartog

Available:Abbey’s ~ Amazon (AU,US) ~Book Depository ~ Booktopia ~ Dymocks~ Kobo

Disclaimer: This review contains spoilers for previous books.

Things that happen sometimes when your boyfriend is a magical fairy prince: he gets kidnapped by his older brother and whisked away to fulfil his destiny in their magical fairy kingdom.

But Pearl Linford is not having that. It’s time for a rescue mission. Pearl told Finn she was coming to get him and she’s not going to let anyone stand in her way.

But will Finn want to be saved? And even if Pearl can work out how to tear a hole in the universe, how many people will die before she can get to him?

Ironheart left off on a terrible cliffhanger. Having been forced by the Seelie Prince to choose between saving her boyfriend, her best friend and her previously-unknown twin sister, Pearl opts to save her best friend. Misrule picks up more or less immediately afterwards. Pearl and Phil make it back to Phil’s place only to discover Phil’s mother has been murdered by the Riders. This sets the tone for what is the darkest book of the trilogy.

The trope of “I didn’t call the cops because I didn’t want them to think it was me” is really not a favourite trope of mine and I wasn’t super sold on it here, either. However, it does play into the exploration of Pearl’s traumatisation and her increasing paranoia. One of the things I liked about Ironheart was that it showed the scars that were left on Pearl. Misrule continues this and even builds on it, showing ways in which Pearl claims her trauma (or parts of it, at least) and turns it into her power.

Also, is it really paranoia if people are actually out to get you? In the previous books, the fae mostly confined their reign of terror to the outdoors. Misrule takes it to the next level by bringing that violence indoors, showing that nowhere is out of their reach. And while the previous books haven’t been shy about blood splatter where it’s warranted, readers can expect a bit more gore this time around.

Once again, the relationships are what really makes the book. Finn is sidelined for much of the book, allowing Pearl’s relationship with Phil to take centre stage. It was very satisfying to see the two reconcile as Phil comes to realise Pearl had good reasons behind her actions in the previous books. However, I also appreciated that this reconciliation wasn’t easy or smooth. Phil has been through trauma of her own–most recently the loss of her mother–and that colours how she interacts with Pearl in a way I found realistic. I also really enjoyed seeing a moment of connection between Pearl and Holly-Anne. Although the two are never going to be besties, it was nice to see them recognise the common ground they share.

Pearl’s relationship with Cardie also shifts in Misrule. As Pearl begins to come into her power, Cardie acts as Pearl’s conscience, voicing some valid concerns about the ways in which she uses that power. I’m a bit of two minds as to this thread of the story. On one hand, I feel that perhaps Pearl isn’t made to feel the consequences of her actions as strongly as perhaps she should. On the other, I was pleased to see that Pearl wasn’t punished for being a woman with power. Having Cardie voice concerns is an acceptable middle ground, but not one I felt entirely satisfying.

Speaking of Cardie, it was also nice to see a connection made between the way faeries abduct children to leave behind changelings and the impact the Stolen Generation had on Cardie’s family. It isn’t delved into deeply, but the acknowledgement of that parallel seemed important. It also tapped into a bit of racism on the part of the fae, as Finn notes Cardie’s counterpart in the fae realm looks nothing like him, barring skin colour.

Overall, I found Misrule to be the weakest book of the trilogy, with elements of the plot a little muddier than its predecessors. I must own that could be down to the circumstances of my reading, as I powered through the entire trilogy in two days and was perhaps not as lucid as I usually am. However, I feel this is a testimony to the trilogy’s ability to hook me in and keep me glued to the page, aided by some excellent pacing. There is space for more stories set in this world and I very much hope to see them at some point in the future.

Tides of the Titans by Thoraiya Dyer

Published: January 2019 by Tor Books

Format reviewed: Trade Paperback, 320 pages

Series: Titan’s Forest #3

Genres: Fantasy

Source: Bought from Dymocks

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

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

Courtier, explorer, thief: Leaper is a man of many skills, but none of his talents satisfy the yearning in his heart for the Queen of Airakland, the ruler of a thunder-clashed kingdom.

Their affair is cut too short, however, when she is murdered. But who was the assassin? A political rival? The jealous king? Or, perhaps, the god of thunder who oversees them all?

Distraught, Leaper vows revenge, but little does he realize that his mission will lead him away from his forest home, across the vast floodplains, and to the edges of time and myth itself.

Tides of the Titans takes the already epic world of Titan’s Forest and throws it wide open, following Leaper on a far-ranging quest for revenge.

Each book of the series so far has featured a new character. Leaper is the younger brother of Imeris, the protagonist of the second book, and also the reincarnated soul of Unar’s sister from the first book. So, even though there are different characters, they remained tied together by bonds of family. Imeris and Unar both make appearances in Tides of the Titans.

One of the real strengths of the book is the fully developed world. The bulk of the story is set ten years after the previous book and there’s a sense that reoccurring characters like Imeris and Unar haven’t just been sitting around, but have been getting on with their lives, even encountering new problems. Throughout his journey, Leaper encounters many new people and it felt like any one of them could set off on a new quest at any moment, or even that they were already on their own quest which just happened to intersect with Leaper’s.

In keeping with the tradition of the series, Leaper is if not unlikeable, then certainly flawed. He’s a pretty arrogant character, content with his cleverness. He’s also not overly cautious, prone to fits of temper, and not very loyal… although, in fairness, few have been loyal to him when they should have been. And his arrogance has perhaps been somewhat earned, as he is a very competent spy and thief. I particularly enjoyed the way he connects his personas to forest imagery, picturing plants that embody the traits he seeks and using that to fuel the way he moves and behaves.

Like the previous books, Tides of the Titans also continues to be influenced by Greek myth. Leaper is our Odysseus, silver-tongued and too clever for his own good, cursed by a god and just trying to get home. Readers familiar with the Odyssey will notice nods throughout the story, including the Bag of Winds and even a cyclops of sorts. However, this is far from a straight retelling and these elements are always given their own unique twist.

Being so strongly influenced by the Odyssey, Leaper encounters a lot of characters in passing. However, most of them don’t stick around for very long, making it hard to form an emotional connection with the story, especially when Leaper’s own behaviour can be a bit erratic at times and he is blown from place to place. The story is much less about the personal journey than about the story of the wider world. As Leaper travels, he uncovers the story behind the gods and Titan’s Forest itself. He quite literally sees the footprints of the gods on the world.

However, while the people don’t stick around, we do see a number of different cultures, and the book continues to explore the colonialist themes of the series. Right from the get-go, the citizens of Floor are shown as being far from a monolith. There’s also some delving into the theft of culturally significant artefacts.

Despite being the potential conclusion of the series, Tides of the Titans doesn’t wrap up into a neat ending. People continue to suffer and there are no happily-ever-afters, just new challenges. It is a segment of history and of people’s lives, not a fairy tale.

All in all, Thoraiya Dyer has produced another nuanced and thoughtful story in Tides of the Titans.