It took me forever to read this, because the first one was so good and sequels to really good books are always difficult for me to approach (what if IIt took me forever to read this, because the first one was so good and sequels to really good books are always difficult for me to approach (what if I don't like it as much?), and because this book was purposefully difficult to approach. Harrow is not in a good place mentally, has forgotten a period of time and left herself mysterious letters to occasionally reveal things she should know, and is struggling with the events of the first book so much that she's refusing to acknowledge them and spends a lot of time re-writing them in her head. I'm not a fan of unreliable narrators, and the oblique angle from which Harrow is viewing her fellow Lyctors and Undying Emperor also pushed the boundaries of my tolerance for context-less conversations. I started to worry that this book wasn't going to deliver what I wanted. and I considered giving up several times.
Then the final 150 pages happened.
Everything got paid off. Everything. The All My Lyctors family soap opera Harrow found herself in blew up spectacularly and all the sideways conversations scattered throughout the book lined up for the big reveals. The thing Harrow refused to face from the first book came back in an extremely satisfying way. All the stuff introduced in this book that appeared to be merely smoke and mirrors actually mattered and drove the plot. Plus, ghosts. So many wonderful ghosts. I'm so glad I read the first 350 pages so I could get to the last 150.
I do hope that Alecto the Ninth isn't quite so hard to read, though....more
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
Cass Neary #4 was worth the wait! In the first 50 pages it hit all my buttons for "ancient occult book thriller" and didn't let up on the thriller forCass Neary #4 was worth the wait! In the first 50 pages it hit all my buttons for "ancient occult book thriller" and didn't let up on the thriller for a moment. I was surprised by the challenges and unexpected changes of location Cass experienced along the way, which made for a really exciting and fresh read. I was not surprised that Cass was hitting bottom in this book, and I was rooting for her the whole time, not only to find the book but to decide to take care of instead of destroy herself. Hand uses the titular book to both introduce the is it/isn't it supernatural element of the story and to dig out Cass's trauma and force her to confront it and the ruin it's wrought over decades of her life. The ending perfectly straddles that line between confronting the harsh reality of the present and being hopeful about the future....more
Disturbing for what is made explicit and what is left implicit, for the physical monstrosities and the monstrosity that this was all knowingly allowedDisturbing for what is made explicit and what is left implicit, for the physical monstrosities and the monstrosity that this was all knowingly allowed to happened, a conspiracy and complicity of silence. Chilling on so many levels, the best kind of horror. ...more
Carlie St. George's "Spider Season, Fire Season" is the stand-out story of this issue for me - the intersection of domestic violence, ghosts, spiders,Carlie St. George's "Spider Season, Fire Season" is the stand-out story of this issue for me - the intersection of domestic violence, ghosts, spiders, and setting operated together in some serious spooky action. Adam R. Shannon's "We Came Home from Hunting Mushrooms" is a tight slice of tragedy. I've never really read Joe R. Lansdale before, and was surprised how much I liked the creepy thrill of the classic horror chase in "The Folding Man," when I usually avoid stories about inexhaustible relentless pursuit. Ama Patterson's "Hussy Strutt" was too real to read, and oh so important for the same reason. I'm glad it ended with empowerment, and I'm sad that Patterson is gone....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
Quick and easy, very good-in-a-difficult-time experience of skimming along a fast-paced story that didn't feel like work to read, because I didn't carQuick and easy, very good-in-a-difficult-time experience of skimming along a fast-paced story that didn't feel like work to read, because I didn't care if I caught every detail. I didn't want to take my time and savor this book and learn from it and invest in the characters and have lots of feelings.
It had some great ideas and character beats, but overall not in my sweet spot for urban fantasy. Too much of the stuff I don't care as much about in prose (everything is gritty-sexy and over-the-top! were-beasts and hell-monsters! near-constant gore and blood!), not quite enough of the things I love (complex heady mystery with a slower burn, the fey, deeper dive on the magic, subtle-sexy) to balance it out. ...more
This book could have been a hundred pages shorter: leaner storytelling to amp up the horror. Drop the narrative device of the manuscript-within-a-manuThis book could have been a hundred pages shorter: leaner storytelling to amp up the horror. Drop the narrative device of the manuscript-within-a-manuscript (the first person narrator's telling of the story didn't need to be justified with the "I'm writing all this down," especially because that wasn't really relevant at the end.). If the narrator hadn't spent so much time trying to assure herself and the reader that she wasn't crazy or misunderstanding what she was seeing, the steady pressure of unsettling creepiness morphing into outright horror would have been more impactful.
I'm just not the ideal reader for this book - I didn't like the framing device and I struggled to emotionally connect with the protagonist. All the great beats that should have had me chewing my nails or cheering just left me cold, because they'd been so undercut by a sense of "why is this even happening?" or "why didn't this happen earlier?" The deer effigy appearing fully in the window and then trying to get into the house was the high point for me; it was so deliciously creepy it kept me reading when I was about to dnf this book.
I wanted it to make me feel the way Elizabeth Hand's Wylding Hall, Dale Bailey's In the Night Wood, and Helen Marshall's "Ship House" made me feel. Instead I pushed through to the end and closed the cover disappointed....more
Riveting, crazy good, couldn't put it down, especially when I hit the final section. Spooky and haunting and heart-breaking.Riveting, crazy good, couldn't put it down, especially when I hit the final section. Spooky and haunting and heart-breaking....more
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