"Brown Girl In the Ring" First Impressions *No Spoilers*

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Nalo is finally on our shelves! Woohoo! This is our Afrocentric fantasy selection.

What do you think of it so far? Please hang on to any specifics about plot, characters or reality vs. expectations for the full spoiler thread out on the 7th!

Please note there are a few content warnings: (view spoiler)[drug addiction, mild body horror, animal abuse, extreme violence and torture. (hide spoiler)]

[Travis]

I read this over the summer and really loved the Toronto setting and characters. Can't wait to hear everyone's thoughts.

[Kay]

I just finished this. Loved the Caribbean mythology/fantasy mashup with light science fiction.

[Trike]

Is this based on the song?

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Trike wrote: "Is this based on the song?"

I believe it is in reference to the song, yes :)

[Gabi]

I always like diving into pidgin dialogues (as long as they are not as difficult to understand as Okorafor's example in "Lagoon" ;) ). I also like the Caribbean mythology approach.

[Christopher]

So far this feels more like horror(which I generally avoid) to me than fantasy. I’m enjoying the mythology which is all new to me.

[Tina]

This one has been on my to read list for ages. Glad to have the nudge from this read-a-long to finally pick it up.

First impressions: The prologue was dark and I have been totally sucked into this world. This book is going to be a hard one to put down.

[Shomeret]

Christopher wrote: "So far this feels more like horror(which I generally avoid) to me than fantasy. I’m enjoying the mythology which is all new to me."

I read it a number of years ago when it was first released and I saw it as horror. I really didn't care for it. I've discovered since then that I'm not compatible with Nalo Hopkinson even when she doesn't write horror. I do generally avoid horror, but I've liked some by Tanaanarive Due.

[Anna]

It certainly has horror elements, and if anyone needs more specific content warnings, let us know!

[Ariana]

Anna wrote: "It certainly has horror elements, and if anyone needs more specific content warnings, let us know!"

Umm, probably me. I'll just be happier if I know what terrible things are coming.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

The content warnings are posted! If you need more though, Anna's read the book and gives me good heads up all the time.

[Anna]

Ariana I'll send you a message.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Just finished the prologue, and as expected, I am hooked. She writes openings that just envelop me. I know so much about this world and it's been 8 pages of mostly dialogue. Brilliant.

[Dave]

Not for me. One of the rare books that I'm just not going to continue reading.

[Paul]

Nalo was able to build some intriguing characters in the first two chapters. I'm hooked early.

[Oleksandr]

Not exactly what I've expected (I assumed it will be more 'generic' fantasy, not a local post-apoc with some voodoo), but seems interesting

[Liane]

Really enjoying this story. It’s got a Neil Gailman feel to it, with its own style. Can’t wait to read more!!

[Phil]

I started it yesterday. It's mostly just okay. I'd say the characters are the best part so far.

[Paul]

Good start, I'm only 20 pages in but it is very interesting so far.

[Peggy]

This was a very pleasant surprise! Great characters and world-building. It took a bit to get into the rhythm of the dialect, but once I did, the language just flowed. I will be picking up more books by this author.

[Bonnie]

I've wanted to read this for many years. IIRC Nalo Hopkinson, Nisi Shawl and Tananarive Due made quite a splash in the late 1990s/early 2000s as People of Color in the SF world: novels, short stories, awards, the Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora anthology, and convention appearances.

Don't care for it so far: tiring to read the dialog in dialect, and it seems like horror so far (the visions remind me of Dan Simmons or Stephen King), and I don't like Ti-Jeanne or Tony (yet?). I will keep reading though -- glad to have had a nudge from the group.

[Jacqueline]

I decided to check out the February picks and since this one was shorter I went with it for today. 42 pages in and it’s not bad so far.

[Valerie]

Finally got around to this one. First impression, the cover art was a turn off. Glad I got past that, once I started, I was hooked.

[Dawn F]

Ooooh glad you like it, Valerie! It’s definitely a different story from most anything I’ve read, I personally loved it. Do share what you think as you go along!

[Anthony]

I’m late to this particular party but glad to be reading another Nalo Hopkinson book. She writes with an incredible amount of confidence, and a very enjoyable mixture of humor and dread. I’m three chapters in.

[Kaia]

I'm reading this for the August 2023 re-reads. This one has been on my to-read list for a long time, so I'm glad to have an incentive to finally read it. I'm about half-way through and completely sucked in at this point.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Yay! I really liked this one :)

[a.g.e. montagner]

Happy to be joining for the re-read.
... and also happy to approach Hopkinson chronologically (even though she's only written standalone novels and not cycles).

I've just finished chapter 3 (that's 25% of the novel).
I'm not sure how much I can say without spoilers...
The premise is interesting (and reminded me of In the Country of Last Things, which incidentally would be a great addition to the group shelf) but I might have an issue with the characters so far, so I'm waiting to see whether they'll be given more depth and agency further in.

[CBRetriever]

once I got used to the dialect, this one flew.

[Lau]

I'm starting this one and I'm on chapter 3. I don't think this is for me, I'm not engaged and I'm struggling with the dialect. I'm reading a bit more in hopes of something grabbing my attention