Cheng Bogdani > Recent Status Updates

The Prince has entered the enchanted land and everything is breaking apart.

Oh, and also our handsome prince from a far away land showed up

I can't identify exactly why, but I'm getting strong "The Crying of Lot 49" vibes. Maybe because LA is given prominence as a character?

We've got a princess, her maid, and the frozen (wicked) witch so far.

Is this going to be one of those "whisked away into a bubble outside time and space where Mary Sue gets convinced to save the day"?

I'm ready for the sidequesting to be over.

July read for Splatterpunk group

Oops, supposed to PERCENT rather than pages heh

NGL, setting up for the Big Conflict is dragging a little. Looking forward to getting back into the action.

July SciFi selection for Beyond Reality group

Nameless Here for Evermore by Fonda Lee
3 stars
I really wanted to like this more - bigoted, uptight christian woman gets a needed lesson in morality - but the execution of the story kind of fell apart for me. We really need to know a lot more about the daughter for the emotional impact to hit hard enough.

Through the Woods, Due West by Angela Slatter
3 stars
A well written story, even if it trods well worn ground. TBF, the MC in this incarnation of the 'metaphorical journey to literal death' trope makes a couple of surprising decisions. I found myself not caring about the MC nearly as much as the antagonist, though.

I've barely even started and I'm hooked. So far, expectations are living up to the reviews.

BOTANICA: A Song in Four Movements by Sheree Renée Thomas
I skipped the poem, not my thing.

Déjà Vue by Tochi Onyebuchi
3 stars
Could've been four stars, but skirts a little too close to (Pompous) Literary Fiction for me. The premise and world building is exceptional, but the characterization... the MC was the only dynamic character, she was like putty being squeezed between other characters made of tectonic plates. The story itself could have been interesting if it weren't trying so hard to be allegorical.

Her Ravenous Waters by Andrea Stewart
4 stars
One of the standouts in this anthology. A vivid, richly imagined world and a multilayered conflict created a story that feels like a lush tapestry. I see why the author is so popular, I'm adding her books to my TBR.

Just a Nudge by Maureen McHugh
3 stars
Sometimes, we keep people alive who are ready to go. Sometimes, we have to unalive people who don't realize they should be ready to go. Also, don't threaten a witch's family.

Not a Perfect Book, but I'm really surprised by how engaging it is. It's not the characterization - they're pretty shallow - but the tension between them. I'm not emotionally invested in the characters, but I am invested in how this plays out.

This is a really quick read, too, I banged out 70% in one sitting last night.

So Spake the Mirrorwitch by Premee Mohamed
4 stars
Self righteous men get more than they deserve - a chance to learn from the error of their ways. Will they both take advantage of what's offered? Interesting premise, great world building and deep characterization. This one will occupy space in my head for a while.

The Unexpected Excursion of the Murder Mystery Writing Witches by Garth Nix
3 stars
It's just so COZY! Seriously, this has the emotional and intellectual intensity of a Midsommar Murders episode, if it took place in WW2 and featured painfully traditional renditions of witches with a fat heaping dose of JKRowling-isms. The characterization and dialogues were well above par even if the story was awfully predictable.

Orphanage of the Last Breath by Saad Z. Hossain
3 stars
Righteous, uptight guy gets caught up in forces he doesn't understand and becomes the thing he fears. Interesting world building is what saved this from a two star review.

The Legacy of the Fantastique, a Defunct Genre Not So dead by Alex Valdiers
2 stars
A scifi story that had a germ of an idea, but failed to fully realize it before coming to the inevitable conclusion. I feel like I've read this story in various incarnations several times already.

The Limits of My Language by Yudhanjaya Wijeratne
5 stars
A lavish, richly imagined fantasy story dealing with the nature of power and the proper use of it.

As Wayward Sisters, Hand in Hand by Indrapramit Das
2 stars
Gloriously m/m with bi and questioning characters, this should have been a home run for me. But it felt like literary fiction wrapped in YA romance; there wasn't the sort of tension and conflict and action and adult themes that hold my interest. No action to speak of. Barely even -quote- Witchy -unquote-.

What Dreams May Come by C. L. Clark
I didn't read the poem. Not my thing, sorry not sorry.

In a Cabin, In a Wood by Kelly Robson
3 Stars
A bit heavy handed at showing the triune aspect of the goddess, and then the allegory got stretched so far the story started to fall apart. It was too literal to be magically realist, and too magically realist to work for me as a literal allegory. YMMV.

The Nine Jars of Nukulu by Tobi Ogundiran
4 stars
A fairy tale set a long time ago in a far away land, and our hero metes out justice. Would make a great introductory chapter to a novel set in this world.

Met Swallow by Cassandra Khaw
3 Stars
This story had all the right ideas, but then relied on the reader to make some sudden leaps into magical realism -and back out- to make it work. I feel like the author knows what she wanted the characters to do and say, but had a lot of problems conveying how they felt.