Lovely and funny and sad. Jennings makes use of one of my favorite tropes - the person in the know about the fey and crypto, and the person who doesn'Lovely and funny and sad. Jennings makes use of one of my favorite tropes - the person in the know about the fey and crypto, and the person who doesn't know, or doesn't want to. Tori's determination in the face of her own uncertainty and her phone calls with her family are the best things about this story (not to say there are any bad parts at all, everything about it is wonderful)....more
Clean, straightforward incorporation of magic and ghosts into the real world, established through example and storytelling rather than exposition, whiClean, straightforward incorporation of magic and ghosts into the real world, established through example and storytelling rather than exposition, which was very well done and very welcome. Relatable and fun characters at every turn. Overall, the book dragged a little bit for my taste - if it had moved just a little faster I might have considered it a thriller. I did really enjoy all the stories about Elatsoe's sixth-great grandmother. Wonderful escalation, and great payoff on the set up. I'm always inclined to enjoy ghosts, but I'm not a big vampire fan, however, I loved the way Little Badger used both in this book....more
What a disappointment. This book did not deliver anything I wanted from it.
I picked this up on the cover-design-and-market-copy promise that it wouldWhat a disappointment. This book did not deliver anything I wanted from it.
I picked this up on the cover-design-and-market-copy promise that it would contain a lot of things I love in stories: magic in the modern world, the legend of lost Atlantis, a murder mystery in Venice at Carnivale, a smart female lead.
The opening pages fed my expectations. An older detective (something of a gentleman bulldog) to play off of the promised smart female lead. An occult slant to the murders. I was excited to dive into a darkly-atmospheric thrill romp through the labyrinth of Venice in a festival season made sinister by death and joyous by the discovery of magic and an ancient lost city.
Instead, the detective took a backseat to too many magicians that seemed more like vampires from a CW show, and I skimmed pages and pages of lackluster conversations between these shallowly-crafted characters that was clearly supposed to be Buffy-style witty banter. I like a little wish-fulfillment in my fantasy, a little romance, a lot of characters, a healthy dose of wouldn't-it-be-cool-if, but that's all this book was: an over-large cast introduced all at once and a collection of wouldnt-it-be-cool-ifs strung together with uneven banter. Penelope and Alexis didn't get to know each other very well because they were always talking to other people about each other to shortcut the process of gaining insights on their own and forming a real relationship. All of the characters are developed this way: spoken of by other characters instead of revealed through interaction. And forget about Carnivale and the atmosphere of Venice. This story could have taken place anywhere; Venice was not a necessary setting, only an opportunity for Penelope/the author comment on flirty Italians and the availability of great coffee.
The ideas are all intriguing, but they need pruning and focus. The delivery offered me nothing refined or nuanced. I should have stopped and moved this to the did-not-finish shelf, but as I found myself skimming the pages faster and faster, looking for the points where the story threads would come together in some kind of satisfying way, I thought: f*ck it. I'm behind on my reading challenge and I can finish this one quickly. So, I hate-read this for points....more
Given how little I cared for the one Delia Sherman novel I tried to read, I should have been more prepared for how little her taste aligns with mine. Given how little I cared for the one Delia Sherman novel I tried to read, I should have been more prepared for how little her taste aligns with mine. I enjoy Theodora Goss's work, and hoped there would be more of interest to me in this anthology of stories. Alas, that was not the case. I only liked three stories: Christopher Barzak's "What We Know About the Lost Families of ____ House", K. Tempest Bradford's "Black Feather", and Veronica Shanoes's "Rats."
This volume has been on my shelf for over a decade, and I tried starting it three times. never getting more than 4 stories in before it went back on the tbr shelf for another few years. I got really stubborn this time and made myself try every story, but after the midway point of the line-up, I finally stopped making myself finish them. If I wasn't into it by page 2, I skipped it. ...more
3.5 stars. I adore Sarah Gailey, and loved American Hippo. While I enjoyed reading Magic for Liars, it didn't surprise me very much. I think the magic3.5 stars. I adore Sarah Gailey, and loved American Hippo. While I enjoyed reading Magic for Liars, it didn't surprise me very much. I think the magic-school setting overtook the L.A. noir elements, so it didn't feel like the true genre mash-up I was looking for. I will say, the ending is depressing af, and that nailed the noir mood.
I recommend Magic for Liars to those who like character-driven detective stories, magic school settings, sibling relationships, and adult-coming-of-age stories....more
I loved Sparrow Hill Road so much I walked into a bookshop minutes after finishing it to purchase the sequel, Girl in the Green Silk Gown, which I torI loved Sparrow Hill Road so much I walked into a bookshop minutes after finishing it to purchase the sequel, Girl in the Green Silk Gown, which I tore through with gusto. A more traditional novel, Girl in the Green Silk Gown did not begin life as a series of short stories later “fixed-up” into a longer work, like its predecessor. Instead, McGuire set out to tell more of road-ghost Rose’s story in long form. I relished the twists and turns of the tale, as the cat-and-mouse pursuit from book one again stands as the narrative through-line, only darker and more dangerous. Rose’s journey took her many places (a hitcher has to keep moving), echoing the episodic structure of the previous book, and delved deep into themes of trust, identity, coming of age, the burdens of power, and choices. Familiar characters populate the highways and byways of Rose’s quest, and I was on the edge of my seat wondering if she’d defeat Bobby Cross or be destroyed in the attempt, wondering who might betray her and for what price. It’s rare that I genuinely wonder if a main character will make it to the end (it’s almost always obvious they will, no matter how harrowing the writer thinks they’re making the story), but McGuire kept me on tenterhooks and I love her for it....more
I orbited Sparrow Hill Road for years before finally reading it when I got a free copy in my swag bag at the 2018 World Fantasy Convention. It was wo I orbited Sparrow Hill Road for years before finally reading it when I got a free copy in my swag bag at the 2018 World Fantasy Convention. It was worth the wait, and I loved it as much as I hoped I would. I love linked short stories, and this book introduced me to the term “fix-up,” coined by sci-fi writer A.E. van Vogt in the 1950s to describe the trick of linking up previously-written short pieces into a novel with some tweaks and/or the addition of new material to create transitions. I had not read any of the short pieces that comprised Sparrow Hill Road on their own, and I thought it worked really well as an episodic novel. The main character – a hitchhiking road ghost named Rose – and her through-line story – a cat-and-mouse game with the man who killed her – lent themselves well to the format. Also, McGuire has a way of making things work, seemingly through sheer charisma but really because she has a deep understanding of what makes stories approachable and structurally sturdy. I don’t read her for fancy language or post-modern stylistics. She delivers strong character voice and good plain fun every time....more
This book does everything I want a haunting story to do: echoes and parallels; allusions and mash-ups of ancient sinister figures; the blurring of linThis book does everything I want a haunting story to do: echoes and parallels; allusions and mash-ups of ancient sinister figures; the blurring of lines between grief and madness; the uncovering of old family secrets; history recent and ancient repeating itself again and again; shadows and dread and a legacy of darkness.
This is one of the few stories meditating on stories I’ve enjoyed in quite a while, because it focuses on the stories and not the storyteller or the act of telling the story. This focus keeps the story from becoming another self-indulgent meditation on the act of writing, keeps it in the realm of horror as the character realizes he’s just another turn on an inexorable wheel. Such an effective use of the ouroboros motif.
I've been equally fascinated and unsettled by the horned king/erl-king/Cernunnos/Herne since I first read about them years ago. Bailey crafts a wonderfully sublime threat from what little we know of these mythic figures.
I didn’t want this book to end, I enjoyed reading it so much....more
I wish Goodreads had half-stars on reviews, because this issue is a solid 3.5 stars. Intriguing stories and a stark and spooky cover image by A.A. AzaI wish Goodreads had half-stars on reviews, because this issue is a solid 3.5 stars. Intriguing stories and a stark and spooky cover image by A.A. Azariah-Kribbs.
Setsu Uzumé’s “Snapped Dry, Scraped Clean” gives us two vivid and impactful female characters in a unique setting that needs more elaboration and world building. I like brevity and value stories that don’t hold your hand, but this one was stripped too far down to do the ideas full justice. I would have happily spent more time with Hrisa and Yerdra.
In “Two Villains, a Notebook, and a Lump of Coal,” Helen French spins out a jaunty and fun tale of screw-you revenge on the magical upper classes that ends with a friend and a fortune. I want to road trip with Leora and Martin. Who is the mystery arsonist? Will we ever find out? Helen French, please write another story!
A unique time-travel tale, “Five Star Review” by Alyssa N. Vaughn grapples with serious issues of motherhood, marriage, and unhappiness, delivering a perfectly chilling fall-away ending.
M.J. Gardner also explores time travel and do-overs in “The Book of Regrets,” which is my favorite story in this issue, except I wanted the end to punch me the same way as Vaughn’s ending of “Five Star Review.” The softer end Gardner provides fits the story; this is just my personal preference and also my memory of Claire North’s The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August interfering with my enjoyment of the story. Ending aside, “The Book of Regrets” will haunt me for a while....more
A good short addition to the Raven Cycle. Nice to see things from Declan's perspective.A good short addition to the Raven Cycle. Nice to see things from Declan's perspective....more
“ . . . and gives to airy nothing / A local habitation and a name.”
I love the epigraph, and the way the theme carries through the characters in this “ . . . and gives to airy nothing / A local habitation and a name.”
I love the epigraph, and the way the theme carries through the characters in this novel: the employees of ALH trying to form a community, Quentin trying to establish himself as a foster in a House that’s not his own, Toby still feeling the absence of her own comfortable habitation, lost and yet to be re-established; and also how bad ideas and problems and illness can take up residency in a person or a community and sow ruin.
There is a lot more to love about this book, and I will make a list for you before I start talking about the things that didn’t work for me. Awesome things in A Local Habitation: humor, discussions about consent, Toby and Quentin as buddy cops (more please!), loads of faerie, and Tybalt.
I enjoy mystery stories, but locked room mysteries are hard, because the reader either knows they’ve already met the killer or is expecting that trope to be subverted in an interesting way. While McGuire plays her hand well by keeping us guessing about the extent of April’s involvement (which also serves as a distraction from identifying the culprit), in the end I wanted the subversion, not the killer I’d already met. I wanted the big surprise, and I didn’t get it. While locked-room mysteries are often lauded for how they master the genre under the constraints of a closed system, the closed system is often what I like least about them. I like stories that move around. McGuire does a lot with the form, and subverts it by having a huge “locked room” for the characters to move around in, but in the end, they ran in circles and the futility of it became oppressive.
A Local Habitation is the second book of the series, but feels like the middle, with familiar characters even though so many of them were new. Reading it felt like a new season of a favorite show. On the other hand, the book was less satisfying than Rosemary and Rue. When I finished this book and put it down, I did not remember positive things. I remember Toby’s constant state of pain and injury and hopelessness. The shadow of loss and grief hangs heavy over this book. If it is a new season of a show, it is the season where everyone goes through the wringer and triumphs feel small. I can only hope things look a little brighter as I read further into the series. I’ve given up on shows that became joyless slogs, but I’m not giving up on Toby Daye just yet.
Wisp of a Thing draws us into a tableau populated by very different characters with very different troubles than its predecessor The Hum and the ShiveWisp of a Thing draws us into a tableau populated by very different characters with very different troubles than its predecessor The Hum and the Shiver. Ron Quillen has not lost his connection to his music as Bronwyn Hyatt had in book one, and Rob is not a Tufa (although he is alternately mistaken for one or accused of being an inauthentic hanger-on to the Tufa's history and community throughout the story), but he is in Cloud County for a reason: to find a powerful and magical song to heal his broken heart. I admit to some very slight eye-rolling as I started reading, until, as always, Bledsoe cut to the heart of the story and I realized that Rob's heart wasn't broken in the ways he was willing to admit to himself and others. He had more serious wounds to treat.
Book two of a series can often suffer under the weight of reinvention or a lack thereof, but Bledsoe neatly sidesteps this by making Rob the ultimate outsider, and yet his status as an outsider is not entirely a stand-in for the reader. It can be, if you missed book one and jumped right into this one, but rather than an unfolding of the Tufa's secrets, Rob barges in and demands knowledge at every turn, while the natives treat us to a very different flavor of "don't tell the outsider" than the previous book.
Rob is a wonderful parallel and foil to Rockhouse Hicks, as their tales of ambition and destructive pride echo over the mountains surrounding Cloud County. My one gripe is that Bliss Overbay was positioned as such an important character with a lot of attention in the story, but she didn't have as strong of an arc, and what we got wasn't really resolved. Bledsoe didn't tie her to Curnen as elegantly as he tied Rob to Rockhouse. I actually felt she functioned better as a secondary parallel/foil to Rockhouse, but that wasn't fully fleshed out or resolved either.
Regardless of these flaws, Bledsoe's writing is a delight, even when it veers into slightly purple prose or stumbles over a slightly awkward phrase. His stories are compelling because they're so human, populated by flawed characters who, while sometimes not human at all, still ground us in authentic and passionate feelings and troubles....more
I liked The Wild Wood, but I didn't love it. It has everything you want from a Charles de Lint story--down-to-earth characters, deep friendships, slowI liked The Wild Wood, but I didn't love it. It has everything you want from a Charles de Lint story--down-to-earth characters, deep friendships, slow and subtle romance, art and poetry and music--plus a set of amazing illustrations by Brian Froud, but the end of the story left me dissatisfied (entirely for reasons of personal preference, not because it didn't fit the story). I also didn't enjoy the switches between third and first person; I didn't find it successful. Ah well. I won't love everything I read, and won't let it stop me from picking up other de Lint books in the future....more
This book reminds me of reading Michael Crichton novels in the 90s, and I love it! It has everything I want in a science-disaster thriller: ensemble cThis book reminds me of reading Michael Crichton novels in the 90s, and I love it! It has everything I want in a science-disaster thriller: ensemble cast versus predatory crypto-creatures in a closed environment, a few characters who have no idea what they're in for balanced by a few who know *exactly* how messed up everything is about to get, people sciencing the shit out of things, a little romance and a lot of interpersonal relationships, and being treated like a smart person by the author, who explains the science without dumbing it down too much. Also every single reference to Jurassic Park (book and movie). So excited that more books are coming. ...more
What a wonderful and beautiful little gem. It perfectly expresses things I've felt about certain moments being perfect, and wanting the future to be aWhat a wonderful and beautiful little gem. It perfectly expresses things I've felt about certain moments being perfect, and wanting the future to be a mystery I will discover. Also a piece I will return to when I need guidance on how to write a short story....more
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