Cheng Bogdani’s Reviews > The Book of Witches > Status Update
Cheng Bogdani
is 57% done
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.
— Jun 12, 2024 07:24AM
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.
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Cheng’s Previous Updates
Cheng Bogdani
is finished
John Hollowback and the Witch - Amal El-Mohtar
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
They saved one of the best stories for last. Very strong "monkey's paw" vibes - be careful what you ask for, you might not like what you think you want. With a heaping dose of revenge in the mix, too. Brilliantly executed, this is what I was hoping to find when I picked up the anthology.
— Aug 20, 2024 02:09PM
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
They saved one of the best stories for last. Very strong "monkey's paw" vibes - be careful what you ask for, you might not like what you think you want. With a heaping dose of revenge in the mix, too. Brilliantly executed, this is what I was hoping to find when I picked up the anthology.
Cheng Bogdani
is 92% done
The Cost of Doing Business - Emily Y. Teng
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Hell is unfettered capitalism. It's the little acts of solidarity that make it bearable.
— Aug 20, 2024 02:06PM
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Hell is unfettered capitalism. It's the little acts of solidarity that make it bearable.
Cheng Bogdani
is 88% done
The Academy of Oracular Magic - Miyuki Jane Pinckard
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ritual is all fine and good, but real power comes from shaping the world with the power of your words.
— Aug 20, 2024 02:05PM
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ritual is all fine and good, but real power comes from shaping the world with the power of your words.
Cheng Bogdani
is 86% done
Witchfires - E. Lily Yu
Revenge of the women in a world that borrowed heavily from The Handmaid's tale tv series version of Gilead. I liked it.
— Aug 20, 2024 02:01PM
Revenge of the women in a world that borrowed heavily from The Handmaid's tale tv series version of Gilead. I liked it.
Cheng Bogdani
is 83% done
Night Riding - Usman T. Malik
⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is a straightforward story with some interesting setting and mechanics. Modern science interfered with Ancient Forces Beyond Understanding and heartache and pain ensues.
— Aug 20, 2024 01:59PM
⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is a straightforward story with some interesting setting and mechanics. Modern science interfered with Ancient Forces Beyond Understanding and heartache and pain ensues.
Cheng Bogdani
is 80% done
Mask of the Nautilus - Sheree Renée Thomas
2 stars ⭐️⭐️
So, it was 2AM and I couldn't sleep when I tried to tread this. This story demands a lot from the reader; it immerses you in an unfamiliar world and expects you to figure it out right away. I didn't have the energy for it, and the bits I could glean weren't especially interesting.
— Aug 20, 2024 01:55PM
2 stars ⭐️⭐️
So, it was 2AM and I couldn't sleep when I tried to tread this. This story demands a lot from the reader; it immerses you in an unfamiliar world and expects you to figure it out right away. I didn't have the energy for it, and the bits I could glean weren't especially interesting.
Cheng Bogdani
is 78% done
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.
— Jun 18, 2024 10:16AM
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.
Cheng Bogdani
is 76% done
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.
— Jun 18, 2024 10:14AM
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.
Cheng Bogdani
is 73% done
BOTANICA: A Song in Four Movements by Sheree Renée Thomas
I skipped the poem, not my thing.
— Jun 13, 2024 08:47AM
I skipped the poem, not my thing.
Cheng Bogdani
is 72% done
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.
— Jun 13, 2024 08:46AM
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.
