Belated, unnecessary Yuletide reveal and fiction
My Yuletide story was the completely obvious Restrike, a Mildred Ames - Anna to the Infinite Power story (Rowan/Anna). It was a delight to be asked to write, in essence, idfic because 
hesychasm’s requests tracked my preferences so exactly.
Scott Hawkins, The Library at Mount Char: Free review copy. I enjoyed this fantasy a great deal. It’s something like John Dies at the End crossed with the Epic of Gilgamesh, if Gilgamesh were a thirtysomething woman named Carolyn who, along with her adopted siblings, was trying to figure out what happened to their Father. Father tortured them into learning vast amounts of mystical things, from healing to languages to the art of war; but with his disappearance, worse things are stirring. Carolyn, the least poorly socialized of them, goes out into the normal world (among “Americans,” as they call everyone outside) to try to figure out what happened and secure assistance. But there’s a lot more to the story. I suspect that the first paragraph lets you know whether this is a book for you: “Carolyn, blood-drenched and barefoot, walked alone down the two-lane stretch of blacktop that the Americans called Highway 78. Most of the librarians, Carolyn included, had come to think of this road as the Path of Tacos, so-called in order of a Mexican joint they snuck out to sometimes…. Oak leaves, reddish-orange and delightfully crunchy, crackled underfoot as she walked. Her breath puffed white in the predawn air. The obsidian knife she had used to murder Detective Miner lay nestled in the small of her back, sharp and secret.” Recommended (though obviously there are plenty of awful things that happen).
Sarah Rees Brennan, Unmade: Third book in the Lynburn Legacy series: Everything is going very badly for Kami, Jared, Ash, and the others in Kami’s friends and family; the evil sorceror controls most of the town and only the fact that he’s Jared’s father holds him back from doing even worse. As usual, there’s plenty of Buffy-sharp banter during tense situations-Kami lampshades it as her method of coping-and missed connections with somebody longing for someone else (but thankfully not allowing it to interfere with the business of saving the town). Ultimately I think I liked the Demon’s Lexicon books better, but this was certainly an engaging read.
Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter, The Long Mars: Book 3 of the Long Earth, and even more pointless as far as I can tell. I love Pratchett, but this book is a bunch of random ideas (what if there were infinite parallel Marses, a few of which had life/intelligent life?; what if going to parallel Earths created a new posthuman species a lot more intelligent than we are?; what if humans really screwed up an intervention into the lives of a different intelligent species descended from canids?; etc.). Stuff happens, but that doesn’t mean there’s a plot. Most of the characters are mechanisms for stuff to happen, but not interesting or pleasant on their own. If we’re lucky, this is the end of the series, but I suspect I won’t be reading more either way.
comments on DW | reply there. I have invites or you can use OpenID.
hesychasm’s requests tracked my preferences so exactly.
Scott Hawkins, The Library at Mount Char: Free review copy. I enjoyed this fantasy a great deal. It’s something like John Dies at the End crossed with the Epic of Gilgamesh, if Gilgamesh were a thirtysomething woman named Carolyn who, along with her adopted siblings, was trying to figure out what happened to their Father. Father tortured them into learning vast amounts of mystical things, from healing to languages to the art of war; but with his disappearance, worse things are stirring. Carolyn, the least poorly socialized of them, goes out into the normal world (among “Americans,” as they call everyone outside) to try to figure out what happened and secure assistance. But there’s a lot more to the story. I suspect that the first paragraph lets you know whether this is a book for you: “Carolyn, blood-drenched and barefoot, walked alone down the two-lane stretch of blacktop that the Americans called Highway 78. Most of the librarians, Carolyn included, had come to think of this road as the Path of Tacos, so-called in order of a Mexican joint they snuck out to sometimes…. Oak leaves, reddish-orange and delightfully crunchy, crackled underfoot as she walked. Her breath puffed white in the predawn air. The obsidian knife she had used to murder Detective Miner lay nestled in the small of her back, sharp and secret.” Recommended (though obviously there are plenty of awful things that happen).
Sarah Rees Brennan, Unmade: Third book in the Lynburn Legacy series: Everything is going very badly for Kami, Jared, Ash, and the others in Kami’s friends and family; the evil sorceror controls most of the town and only the fact that he’s Jared’s father holds him back from doing even worse. As usual, there’s plenty of Buffy-sharp banter during tense situations-Kami lampshades it as her method of coping-and missed connections with somebody longing for someone else (but thankfully not allowing it to interfere with the business of saving the town). Ultimately I think I liked the Demon’s Lexicon books better, but this was certainly an engaging read.
Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter, The Long Mars: Book 3 of the Long Earth, and even more pointless as far as I can tell. I love Pratchett, but this book is a bunch of random ideas (what if there were infinite parallel Marses, a few of which had life/intelligent life?; what if going to parallel Earths created a new posthuman species a lot more intelligent than we are?; what if humans really screwed up an intervention into the lives of a different intelligent species descended from canids?; etc.). Stuff happens, but that doesn’t mean there’s a plot. Most of the characters are mechanisms for stuff to happen, but not interesting or pleasant on their own. If we’re lucky, this is the end of the series, but I suspect I won’t be reading more either way.
comments on DW | reply there. I have invites or you can use OpenID.