Books that I've Read and Liked Post #1
I was looking over my book reviews recently and I realized that all the ones that have their own entries tend to be negative and that this could give a negative impression. I actually read far more books that I like than I don't like and these authors could always use some good publicity. So, without further ado, here is a book that I like:
"Nyx had already been to hell. One prayer more or less wouldn't make any difference...
On a ravaged, contaminated world, a centuries-old holy war rages, fought by a bloody mix of mercenaries, magicians, and conscripted soldiers. Though the origins of the war are shady and complex, there's one thing everybody agrees on--
There's not a chance in hell of ending it.
Nyx is a former government assassin who makes a living cutting off heads for cash. But when a dubious deal between her government and an alien gene pirate goes bad, Nyx's ugly past makes her the top pick for a covert recovery. The head they want her to bring home could end the war--but at what price?
The world is about to find out."
-Blurb taken from Amazon
I read this for calico_reaction's book club and I came to love it. The setting is unique and not like any other fantasy I've read recently. The setting has a Middle-Eastern feel to it, but it's definitely not Ye Olde Exotic Arabia that Western writers tend to conjure out of stereotypes whenever they write fantasy about that part of the world. Hurley sets her world in the far future on the planet Umayma and shows how three thousand years of history have changed the cultures there. It's a world that feels more like fantasy than science fiction to me because it's a world built on strongly on magic with science more in the background, but it uses tropes from both genres and is stronger for it.
The aspect I found most fascinating was the conflict between Nasheen, the matriarchal country, and Chenja, the patriarchal one. Both cultures are aggressive and harsh, but their attitudes towards gender represent the biggest split between the cultures. Women rule and dominate men in Nasheen and for them it's as natural as breathing. Women in this world are not nicer and more peaceful than men when they have power and I'm a happy reader for it. Some readers have had trouble with the violence of her worldbuilding and that's a fair complaint. If you do not want to read about a violent and dystopian future, this book is not for you. If you do though, definitely try this book.
There were also a fair number of little details that I liked, too. I enjoyed reading about how magicians summoned bugs and used them to power vehicles and heal people. the details about genetic manipulation and organ-selling were fascinating, but thinly sketched so I hope that Hurley expands upon them in her next books. I loved reading the mentions of other countries outside of Nasheen and Chenja such as how Tirhan supplies most of their weapons and the conflicts between shapeshifters and other humans in Ras-Tiegan. It really helped to flesh out the world and show that there was a whole world outside Nasheen and Chenja and their never-ending war. The alien women from Kitaan were somewhat interesting, too, but served mostly as a plot device and were not so interesting as Umayma and the people there. However, that's the only complaint that I have about the worldbuilding, which was wonderful and definitely makes me want to pick up the sequel.
Another aspect I enjoyed was the primary viewpoint characters, Nyx, a Nasheenian Bel Dame gone bad, and Rhys, a magician and refugee from Chenja. Nyx definitely falls into the hardass character type and Hurley does not hesitate to show the reader just how screwed up and unpleasant she can be without trying to make the reader love her. I really enjoyed this because I don't mind reading about unpleasant when it's deliberate on the part of the author and I love a good portrayal of a fucked-up woman, but other reviewers have found her hard to take for good reason. It depends on your personal tolerance for asshole characters. Rhys is less abrasive, but very much a product of his patriarchal culture and he never completely lets go of that. In fact, every character in this book is a product of their culture. There are no special sparkly 21st century implants in this book and it's far better for it. The characters feed into the plot and plot feeds into them, crating a series of twists and turns that feed each other and make my head hurt in a good way.
In short, I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a unique fantasy that isn't afraid to straddle the boundary between fantasy and science fiction and push its characters and plot to the limit. It may not work for everybody, but it's well worth trying.
"Nyx had already been to hell. One prayer more or less wouldn't make any difference...
On a ravaged, contaminated world, a centuries-old holy war rages, fought by a bloody mix of mercenaries, magicians, and conscripted soldiers. Though the origins of the war are shady and complex, there's one thing everybody agrees on--
There's not a chance in hell of ending it.
Nyx is a former government assassin who makes a living cutting off heads for cash. But when a dubious deal between her government and an alien gene pirate goes bad, Nyx's ugly past makes her the top pick for a covert recovery. The head they want her to bring home could end the war--but at what price?
The world is about to find out."
-Blurb taken from Amazon
I read this for calico_reaction's book club and I came to love it. The setting is unique and not like any other fantasy I've read recently. The setting has a Middle-Eastern feel to it, but it's definitely not Ye Olde Exotic Arabia that Western writers tend to conjure out of stereotypes whenever they write fantasy about that part of the world. Hurley sets her world in the far future on the planet Umayma and shows how three thousand years of history have changed the cultures there. It's a world that feels more like fantasy than science fiction to me because it's a world built on strongly on magic with science more in the background, but it uses tropes from both genres and is stronger for it.
The aspect I found most fascinating was the conflict between Nasheen, the matriarchal country, and Chenja, the patriarchal one. Both cultures are aggressive and harsh, but their attitudes towards gender represent the biggest split between the cultures. Women rule and dominate men in Nasheen and for them it's as natural as breathing. Women in this world are not nicer and more peaceful than men when they have power and I'm a happy reader for it. Some readers have had trouble with the violence of her worldbuilding and that's a fair complaint. If you do not want to read about a violent and dystopian future, this book is not for you. If you do though, definitely try this book.
There were also a fair number of little details that I liked, too. I enjoyed reading about how magicians summoned bugs and used them to power vehicles and heal people. the details about genetic manipulation and organ-selling were fascinating, but thinly sketched so I hope that Hurley expands upon them in her next books. I loved reading the mentions of other countries outside of Nasheen and Chenja such as how Tirhan supplies most of their weapons and the conflicts between shapeshifters and other humans in Ras-Tiegan. It really helped to flesh out the world and show that there was a whole world outside Nasheen and Chenja and their never-ending war. The alien women from Kitaan were somewhat interesting, too, but served mostly as a plot device and were not so interesting as Umayma and the people there. However, that's the only complaint that I have about the worldbuilding, which was wonderful and definitely makes me want to pick up the sequel.
Another aspect I enjoyed was the primary viewpoint characters, Nyx, a Nasheenian Bel Dame gone bad, and Rhys, a magician and refugee from Chenja. Nyx definitely falls into the hardass character type and Hurley does not hesitate to show the reader just how screwed up and unpleasant she can be without trying to make the reader love her. I really enjoyed this because I don't mind reading about unpleasant when it's deliberate on the part of the author and I love a good portrayal of a fucked-up woman, but other reviewers have found her hard to take for good reason. It depends on your personal tolerance for asshole characters. Rhys is less abrasive, but very much a product of his patriarchal culture and he never completely lets go of that. In fact, every character in this book is a product of their culture. There are no special sparkly 21st century implants in this book and it's far better for it. The characters feed into the plot and plot feeds into them, crating a series of twists and turns that feed each other and make my head hurt in a good way.
In short, I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a unique fantasy that isn't afraid to straddle the boundary between fantasy and science fiction and push its characters and plot to the limit. It may not work for everybody, but it's well worth trying.