Fiction
Kristine Smith, Code of Conduct: Jani Kilian is a former military officer, now in hiding because she killed her commanding officer when he ordered her to kill a bunch of innocents; she was presumed dead in an explosion from which she was rescued by scientists who gave her augmentations that improved her strength but left her unable to feel with the reconstructed limbs and vulnerable to hallucinations and other problems if she doesn’t get regular “takedowns.” Also, she used to be the protegee of an alien ambassador who still thinks she’ll be useful to his plans. And that’s all backstory; her former lover finds her in hiding and brings her back to Earth to investigate the suspicious death of his wife, which is about to be used to depose him in classic palace politics style. There’s a lot of worldbuilding, though much about the alien idomeni remains to be explained. I ended up not engaged with any of the characters enough to want to continue, but those who like elaborate political sf might well differ.
Naomi Novik, League of Dragons: The final book of Temeraire needs to get a lot done, and it does, sometimes by skipping past battles and skirmishes that we didn’t necessarily need to read about (though battle fans will probably miss them) and just having Laurence and Temeraire discuss the outcome. With Napoleon bolstered by the Chinese Imperial Tien and an alliance with the Empress of the Incas, one key question is whether even the great Russian generals January and February can prevent his ultimate conquest of Europe. Another is whether dragons should help or hinder him, since his treatment of dragons is far better than other European nations’, a fact of which Temeraire is increasingly sensible. The happy ending is a little contrived, but given what it took to get there, it’s hard to begrudge either Laurence or Temeraire their laurels, and the coincidences are certainly no worse than that found in Austen or a Hornblower book.
Brandon Sanderson, White Sand: Graphic novel. OK, so there’s a planet with one side permanently in sun and the other permanently in dark. The Sand Mages live in the sun and they are all pasty white and blond, even the one who’s despised because his mother was a Darksider. Darksiders are dark-skinned even though they live permanently in darkness; they also have pistols, putting them technologically ahead of the Sunsiders, who have only arrows. The Sand Mages, though, can perform magic with sand (thus the name), except when they are all killed by religious fanatics (also from Sunside) the only survivor is the despised, not-very-good young man, who fortunately is good with a sword. There’s some other politics too, and clever uses of sand powers as is Sanderson’s specialty. But I didn’t feel it.
M.R. Carey, Fellside: Jess Moulson got high and set a fire that killed a young boy. Or that’s what the trial said, anyway. Sent to a women’s prison run by a PR-shy private company, she’s visited by the boy’s ghost, and her attempt to help him intersects with her attempt to survive contact with the vicious drug lord who runs the prison. Basically, this feels like British Stephen King: a lot of interior detail for all the characters, including the peripheral ones, and details of daily life intermixed with the supernatural, plus attempts at basic decency from a number of key characters.
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Naomi Novik, League of Dragons: The final book of Temeraire needs to get a lot done, and it does, sometimes by skipping past battles and skirmishes that we didn’t necessarily need to read about (though battle fans will probably miss them) and just having Laurence and Temeraire discuss the outcome. With Napoleon bolstered by the Chinese Imperial Tien and an alliance with the Empress of the Incas, one key question is whether even the great Russian generals January and February can prevent his ultimate conquest of Europe. Another is whether dragons should help or hinder him, since his treatment of dragons is far better than other European nations’, a fact of which Temeraire is increasingly sensible. The happy ending is a little contrived, but given what it took to get there, it’s hard to begrudge either Laurence or Temeraire their laurels, and the coincidences are certainly no worse than that found in Austen or a Hornblower book.
Brandon Sanderson, White Sand: Graphic novel. OK, so there’s a planet with one side permanently in sun and the other permanently in dark. The Sand Mages live in the sun and they are all pasty white and blond, even the one who’s despised because his mother was a Darksider. Darksiders are dark-skinned even though they live permanently in darkness; they also have pistols, putting them technologically ahead of the Sunsiders, who have only arrows. The Sand Mages, though, can perform magic with sand (thus the name), except when they are all killed by religious fanatics (also from Sunside) the only survivor is the despised, not-very-good young man, who fortunately is good with a sword. There’s some other politics too, and clever uses of sand powers as is Sanderson’s specialty. But I didn’t feel it.
M.R. Carey, Fellside: Jess Moulson got high and set a fire that killed a young boy. Or that’s what the trial said, anyway. Sent to a women’s prison run by a PR-shy private company, she’s visited by the boy’s ghost, and her attempt to help him intersects with her attempt to survive contact with the vicious drug lord who runs the prison. Basically, this feels like British Stephen King: a lot of interior detail for all the characters, including the peripheral ones, and details of daily life intermixed with the supernatural, plus attempts at basic decency from a number of key characters.
comments on DW | reply there. I have invites or you can use OpenID.