Fantasy and Science Fiction don’t mix. I don’t know why people keep trying to force it. Stop trying to make “fetch” happen.
This is the most bonkers maFantasy and Science Fiction don’t mix. I don’t know why people keep trying to force it. Stop trying to make “fetch” happen.
This is the most bonkers mashup of sci-fi and supernatural I’ve encountered outside of comic books. On the one hand we have a cursed violinist who is charged with delivering seven souls to Hell. On the other we have extraterrestrials masquerading as humans on the run from an evil empire and an encroaching existential catastrophe who are, get this, running a donut shop. The blurb calls this “Good Omens meets The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet”, but that’s inaccurate. It’s actually closer to the Ralph Macchio movie Crossroads cross-bred with the secret aliens of Men In Black. (Although all those books and movies are better than this.) Musicians selling their souls to the devil and aliens like Gary Seven from Star Trek.
I got the impression Aoki is mocking all of these things rather than having fun with them, but who knows. The only thing that doesn’t come across as jejune is the treatment of the trans character Christina. I guess all of the goofy sci-fi demon stuff is meant to be metaphor for something, but it doesn’t hold together, because the actual story devolves into a “have your cake and eat it too” situation.
I did this one in audiobook because that’s what came up in the library first, and I wish I hadn’t. The narrator is borderline monotone, basically doing ASMR, which I can’t stand. I know some people find it soothing but to me it’s aggravating.
The thing that really bugs me about this story is the sense of injustice I get. The violinist who has delivered 6 souls for eternal damnation doesn’t get punished for her actions. The opposite: she is rewarded with a nice relationship with the alien donut maker out in space after everyone assists the spaceship in fighting off the angry demon during a space battle. If you’re going to invoke Star Trek, at least pay attention to how well that show used metaphor. Don’t do the stupidest version of the idea.
I suppose Aoki liked the character too much to punish her for causing so much torment, but there’s enough injustice in the real world that I don’t enjoy it in my literature, too. Getting redeemed because she refused to deliver Katrina to the demon is lame. I want people to pay for their sins, especially sins as egregious as these.
They’re BURNING IN HELL FOR ALL ETERNITY because they wanted to be good at something. Some of them knew what what they were signing up for, sure, but some didn’t.
Please don’t try to justify this nonsense with “well that’s how the real world works”. I will remind people that this is about a demon-cursed violin teacher hooking up with a donut-making space alien. Anything to do with the real world is right out. If George R.R. Martin isn’t allowed to use that excuse for Game of Thrones, then Aoki can’t use it for this. Fair is fair.
I’m not sure this comes across as a good story in support of the trans community, either. Acceptance by way of intervention from a servant of Hell and a renegade sentient hologram, and being a social media influencer due to the support of those other two entities doesn’t actually underscore the very true fact that trans people are just regular people. Invoking demons and aliens as benefactors doesn’t support the cause. It would, in fact, have been better if average, everyday humans accepted her *despite* demons and aliens trying to convince them otherwise.
Actually, I think this story would’ve worked better *without* the SFF elements. Imagine a celebrated 79-year-old violin teacher never allowed to express her true, gay self, encountering a trans prodigy who succeeds despite all the hate thrown at her from her family and the world. The bittersweet tale of a woman who regrets her life still finding it within herself to help someone else with no regard for reward for the first time, seeing that although her world-weary cynicism is justified, she can be a force for change to improve the lives of the next generation. That story would’ve been terrific. No need for the half-baked attempt to mimic The Devil and Daniel Webster and the silly pew-pew sci-fi junk: just an honest exploration of what makes us human and what gives us pleasure.
On the topic of justice/injustice, it's a bit unsatisfying that all the instances of sexual assault and abuse Katrina suffers, all the way up to the competition at the end, go unacknowledged and unpunished.
We know that Shizuka and Lan & fam have the means to deal with people who stand in their way. The guy who misgenders Katrina and refuses to repair her violin promptly drops dead after Shizuka sneers at him (Tamiko even thinks of it as Shizuka killing for her new student). Markus murders that teenage homophobe (along with his innocent bystander of a girlfriend), and Lan and co. do their alien magic and zap all evidence of the crime.
It's a bit weird when selfish ambition earns Shizuka's students a spot in hell and homophobic language or misgendering someone are the crimes that get repaid with literal death... meanwhile Evan the rapist, Katrina's abusive father, her creepy uncle, and the Chinese businessman who gropes her and clearly intends to take advantage of her all experience zero consequences for their actions and presumably get to go on committing more crimes.
As well as this one from John:
The thing is, even though the students went knowingly, Satomi knew exactly how bad the deal was as she had made it herself. She had firsthand knowledge and witnessed student after student submit to eternal damnation. It is a bit hard to see her not have to atone in some way. I kept expecting her to get off, but to ultimately have to sacrifice her music or both hers and Katrina's music. It's made worse by the portrayal of Tamiko Grohl who is desperate to the point of cutting and potentially suicidal. These damaged people are not worthy of being saved, but Katrina is because... she's a more pure musician? Meh. Lots of good empathy in writing Katrina, but lacking elsewhere. Perhaps that's actually realistic to the way people treat others, but it definitely rubbed me the wrong way.
This suffers from a couple issues, but the primary thing is that there is no “jade war” promised by the title. It doesn’t even have a feeling of Cold This suffers from a couple issues, but the primary thing is that there is no “jade war” promised by the title. It doesn’t even have a feeling of Cold War machinations, despite the spies and double-agents and talk of politics, and I’m not sure what exactly causes that feeling. I suspect it’s because this feels like a few separate stories which are connected but disparate. Anden’s life in Espenia, while ultimately necessary to the plot, feels like an extended side trip from the main story.
That said, there are a number of genuinely cool moments, a few where you go “holy shit!” because of what just happened. I think if they had been closer together or perhaps if there had been a few more of them, I would’ve found the book more compelling.
Still, I’ve preordered the next one, so I’m still on board. I love this alternate universe and the whole idea of jade bestowing superpowers on those who can wear it. I can’t help but think of how cool this would be as a TV series, and I keep imagining how I’d adapt it. Now that I’ve seen Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, I’m convinced the writers of that film have read both of these novels and were influenced by them, as it feels like a couple of the scenes in that film were directly inspired by this tale. So that’s what I keep imagining as I read this.
I called the first book “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon meets The Godfather”, and I would call this “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2 meets The Godfather III”. It’s fine, but not as great as the original....more
The description over-promises while the book under-delivers. The metaphor of consuming gold in order to possess the abilities of the gold’s owner ultiThe description over-promises while the book under-delivers. The metaphor of consuming gold in order to possess the abilities of the gold’s owner ultimately comes across as shallow, which is not a favorable commentary on either the Indian or American cultures, nor on the blended Indian-American immigrant community. Which I guess is the point, but universal condemnation of everyone across the board doesn’t make for pleasant reading.
Humor is a personal thing but I didn’t find a single line in this book to be funny in the slightest. Nearly all the characters are unlikeable, and the main character is genuinely despicable. The story is so relentlessly cynical and mean-spirited that it took me weeks to get through. I certainly don’t need happy feel-good everything-is-rosy storytelling, but Jesus this never lets up. Basically the book tells us that you can never escape who you are. You can’t achieve more , you can’t be a better person, you can’t overcome your problems, you can’t this, you can’t that. Ugh, awful, all the way through.
It’s also barely Fantasy, with the whole “dissolving gold in lemonade to drink others’ gifts” being a minute part of the story, albeit a driving factor of the narrative. I think the thing would’ve been better if that aspect had been written out and it was just a straightforward story about a loser who disappoints his immigrant parents. But even at the end Sathian doesn’t have the courage of her convictions, by not allowing the characters any redemption or condemnation, while still letting them skate through life without any real impacts from their behavior, (view spoiler)[and at the end this loser actually gets rewarded. (hide spoiler)] All in all quite unsatisfying....more
By chapter 3 I got it. No need to keep hitting that same gong over and over. And over and over. Is this pretentiously tedious or tediously pretentiousBy chapter 3 I got it. No need to keep hitting that same gong over and over. And over and over. Is this pretentiously tedious or tediously pretentious?...more
This time around Carriger is channeling Agatha Christie with a story about some mysterious force that turns off supernatural abilities, making werewolThis time around Carriger is channeling Agatha Christie with a story about some mysterious force that turns off supernatural abilities, making werewolves and vampires mortal again, and permanently banishing ghosts. This is a so-so entry because the result of the whodunnit was telegraphed too early, so I just kept waiting and waiting for the other shoe to drop. Why hello Miss Obvious Red Herring, won’t you join our story already in progress? The ending left a lot to be desired, too, as it stops just as two characters start to fight about a thing ((view spoiler)[Alexia is pregnant (hide spoiler)]) that had also been obvious from very early one.
When you have a main character whose abilities negates supernatural powers in individuals and a powerful force that does the same over a large area, you can’t complain that something is impossible due to the fact one of the participants is a supernatural being. You’ve just spent half the book NOT being supernatural, ya git, so why would you freak out over something that doesn’t apply in this situation?
It’s a shame, because the writing in the first book is so good, but mysteries tend to expose an author’s flaws, particularly lapses in consistency and plotting, which happens here....more
I’ve had this in my TBR for 12 years, so I guess it was about time I got around to it. I kept pushing it back because of the romance novel vibe but I I’ve had this in my TBR for 12 years, so I guess it was about time I got around to it. I kept pushing it back because of the romance novel vibe but I needn’t have worried, as that’s only a small portion of the book.
There are a couple minor little things that kind of temporarily break the spell of the book, such as when Carriger uses modern idioms like “she could see where he was coming from” for understanding someone else’s point of view, or when she used that “let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding” line that’s in every third book, but they’re minor hiccups in an otherwise delightful story.
There is a bit of Jane Austen here, but what I was really put in the mind of was P.G. Wodehouse’s Jeeves & Wooster stories. The tone is so light and frothy despite the typical Urban Fantasy tropes of dating a werewolf and having a vampire bestie leading to kidnapping, torture and murder that those latter three hardly register as significant impediments to the lives of the characters.
This line early on captures the essence of it: “Miss Tarabotti was a proper English young lady, aside from not having a soul and being half Italian.” Heh.
Another point in its favor is that Carriger also managed to find a slight new twist on the genre, namely that main character Alexia is preternatural — aka soulless — which simultaneously makes her something of an outcast amongst the gentry while giving her a certain cachet with the supernatural set. Being soulless is a secret she keeps from society but it becomes very important to everyone later on. Insert your own take on that metaphor.
The romance aspect doesn’t intrude too terribly much, and while it is far bawdier than anything of that era, it never swerves into the pornographic nor does it overstay its welcome. Sex scenes in books and films are usually boring affairs 99% of the time because they advance neither plot nor character and mostly serve just to titillate, but here at least there is some character work going on among the smooching.
I listened to the audiobook for this one and I’m glad I did. Emily Gray does a bang-up job, shifting voices and accents as needed.
All in all an excellent debut novel and palate cleanser....more
Two excellent Fantasy novels in a row. First The Hidden Palace, now this.
This is an archetypal travelogue medievalish Fantasy where our main characterTwo excellent Fantasy novels in a row. First The Hidden Palace, now this.
This is an archetypal travelogue medievalish Fantasy where our main characters go on a quest and do the road trip thing, but as Kings of the Wyld also demonstrated, you can wring fresh fun out of well-trod trips.
As with all good books, it’s not just what the author says, it’s how they say it. Buehlman strikes the right mix of heroic fantasy and smart-ass quips, balancing the adventure with the snark. I can see a little of Tolkien here, a dash of Abercrombie, a soupçon of Hearne. There are twists and turns aplenty, plus excellent character work amid all the action with goblins, giants and krakens, oh my. (A little hint of Pirates of the Caribbean never hurt anyone.) Yet with all of this, the book is its own thing.
I suspect Buehlman must also be a polyglot, because the invented languages here feel *real* somehow. You know how when you watch a French movie versus hearing someone spout French-sounding gibberish, the former sounds authentic? That’s how it seems here, too. Heck, maybe this is a version of French; I’m not multilingual.
Another big point in its favor: although this is billed as #1 in a series, it is a complete story in its entirety, and can be read as a standalone. He leaves plenty to explore in further installments, though, and I hope he does....more
This was a little slow to get going, but once I was dialed in to the characters and I realized they were continuations of the ones from The Golem and This was a little slow to get going, but once I was dialed in to the characters and I realized they were continuations of the ones from The Golem and the Jinni I was once again enthralled. At first I was worried that Wecker was setting up this story to be the antithesis of the first one, but I needn’t have worried. There’s no refutation of the first book’s themes here, nor is there a sophomore slump. (view spoiler)[It seemed as if she were going against the “melting pot” ideal of GoJi by introducing a second golem and second jinni who each entice our protagonists from GoJi, setting up a whole “it’s better to stay with your own kind” scenario, but thankfully that doesn’t happen. The fact I even entertained that notion means that this was written so well I genuinely thought our immortal couple would reject the lessons they learned the first time around. Good storytelling. (hide spoiler)]...more
Badass black women monster hunters dealing with the Ku Klux Klan who are actual monsters rather than just the pathetic human variety. The metaphor is Badass black women monster hunters dealing with the Ku Klux Klan who are actual monsters rather than just the pathetic human variety. The metaphor is obvious but really well executed....more
The story is standard YA superpowered stuff — one brother wants powers, the other doesn’t, guess who gets ‘em. Fine, whatever. The writing struggles tThe story is standard YA superpowered stuff — one brother wants powers, the other doesn’t, guess who gets ‘em. Fine, whatever. The writing struggles to be average. Nothing witty or insightful to be had here. Worst of all, it just stops. Literally no resolution whatsoever. Not quite in the middle of a sentence, but not far off, either. It’s too vanilla to hate, so 2 stars....more
The interestingly odd spins on words are silly yet delightful, really giving the sense that Dellaria Wells, a self-described gutterwitch, really is trThe interestingly odd spins on words are silly yet delightful, really giving the sense that Dellaria Wells, a self-described gutterwitch, really is trying too hard to sound intelligent.
This feels like the Cliffs Notes version of the story, or more accurately an illustrated outline. Characters are undeveloped, there are no answers to This feels like the Cliffs Notes version of the story, or more accurately an illustrated outline. Characters are undeveloped, there are no answers to any of the questions raised, and there are multiple pointless subplots which have no affect on the story. It’s a first draft featuring a couple scenes but no connective tissue.
Which is a shame, because the first issue is solid. It sets up a mystery, has a couple astonishing reveals one after the other, and then… fizzles out. Terribly disappointing....more
Six months ago I was determined to tackle my TBR this year, and I haven’t. I don’t feel the time pressure to read owned books the way I do library booSix months ago I was determined to tackle my TBR this year, and I haven’t. I don’t feel the time pressure to read owned books the way I do library books, so they just sit there, forlorn and dusty. This has been sitting here so long that I had no recollection why I have it, so I just jumped in. It was not what I was expecting.
For one, it’s way more grimdark than I thought it would be. Kids are enslaved and murdered right from the get-go, which was a bit of a shock. I expected a more “French Foreign Legion meets Harry Potter” vibe from the description of “orphans go to warrior nun school”, not this depressing world that’s unrelentingly nasty and brutal. But okay, I can readjust my expectations, no problem.
It leans a little hard on the Chosen One idea without fully committing to the trope or completely subverting it, so I don’t know quite what to make of that, and the main character, Nona, tends to be too overpowered for my taste, taking punishment that would kill most adults, nevermind a preteen girl. This is basically that scene from Game of Thrones where Arya Stark takes on Brienne of Tarth, over and over again. She’s a badass but gets her ass kicked repeatedly by giants and superior fighters.
Some of those superior fighters are literally 8 feet tall and have superstrength. Basically the Hulk from Thor: Ragnarok (taken from The Incredible Hulk: Planet Hulk). Others have superspeed, and some are like Jedi. Some have the combo platter, including Nona, apparently, but her skills are unreliable.
There’s also this world where they’re hemmed in by encroaching ice and resources are scarce, but it kind of doesn’t feel that way. I think the only clear area is a 50-mile-wide strip, which isn’t very much. Again, the whole “winter is coming” deal from GoT.
But where it really lost me is the fact that the key to the superpowers is the spaceship they arrived in generations ago, now buried under the convent. Or nearby, or something-something tunnels. At that point I was kinda like, “Did he really just do a mashup of A Song of Ice and Fire with X-Men and Pern and Safehold?” Holy Crazy Venn Diagram, Batman!
I want to like this more than I do, because I quite like many of the characters, and the writing is rock solid, but the bonkers video game worldbuilding is a hard sell for me....more
A Fantasy version of Sherlock Holmes, with an angel named Crow standing in for the Holmes character and Dr. J.H. Doyle playing the Dr. Watson part. MoA Fantasy version of Sherlock Holmes, with an angel named Crow standing in for the Holmes character and Dr. J.H. Doyle playing the Dr. Watson part. Moriarty is a vampire, and the overarching story concerns Jack the Ripper, but Addison hits all the Holmes highlights along the way, including the Hound of the Baskervilles.
It’s a solid pastiche, and Addison mixes things up just enough that knowledge of the original stories doesn’t tip you off, and she cunningly plays with your expectations if you are familiar with Doyle’s work. She throws in some interesting twists for the characters as well, including the fact that (view spoiler)[Doyle is a woman masquerading as a man (hide spoiler)], and these twists are integral to the tale.
I did this one in audiobook, and the narration by Imogen Church is excellent....more
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. As the title implies, it’s lightweight comedy-horror, but it’s also more than that. There are plenty of surprise twistI thoroughly enjoyed this book. As the title implies, it’s lightweight comedy-horror, but it’s also more than that. There are plenty of surprise twists and cool action scenes, all underpinned by delightful characters. Hayes comes at the whole supernatural creatures genre in fun new ways. The meek accountant vampire, the badass girl who happens to be Fred’s former high school classmate, the menagerie of other characters which run the gamut of fantasy character tropes.
Also a were-pony.
I also liked how this is constructed like a series of short stories. You can practically see the TV series that could be derived from this.
One extremely cool thing that I’ve never seen in a story of this type is the twist on vampires, with Hayes neatly accounting for all their disparate forms in various media over the years. (view spoiler)[To account for versions of vamps who can turn into mist, or wolves, or bats, or who are allergic to garlic or can’t cross moving water, and all the other numerous variations we’ve seen in myth, movies and books, is that vampires take on the abilities of different types of magical creatures by drinking their blood. Turn into a wolf? Drink werewolf blood. So simple, so elegant, and definitely one of those “damn, I wish I’d thought of that!” moments. (hide spoiler)]...more
“Oh my god. I survive a hideous otherworld and then I had to talk to my mother. I could sleep for a week.”
That quote, which comes somewhere around the“Oh my god. I survive a hideous otherworld and then I had to talk to my mother. I could sleep for a week.”
That quote, which comes somewhere around the halfway point, sums up the sensibilities of this book. It’s humorous, well-written, and moves right along. It’s not terribly original, but then what is? I was reminded primarily of the 1980s horror-comedy movie House II: The Second Story, where a couple guys find a portal to a monster-filled universe in their house and then monsters follow them into this world. This book is pretty much that story, with a little bit of the Night at the Museum trilogy, because the main character Kara goes to live with her uncle in his collection of curiosities called The Wonder Museum.
Monsters of all kinds inhabit this other world, which is an interesting place if not terribly groundbreaking. No answers are given, but it’s a semi-scary thriller.
Here’s another, longer quote I liked about the place:
The Wonder Museum does okay. Uncle Earl bought the building dirt cheap decades ago, so while it’s not a cash cow, it doesn’t have many expenses. It’s sandwiched between a coffee shop and a boutique clothing store. The boutique clothing store goes out of business approximately once a year, whereupon someone buys it, changes out the name and the scented candles, and proceeds to gently lose money for another year.
When I drove my aged Subaru up, the boutique was named Glad Rags and had a mannequin dressed as a flapper. Judging by the signs advertising 30% off everything, I expected the shop to soon be changing scented candles again.
It’s not exactly a “cozy horror story” because there is an entire other universe, but it’s pretty close, as most of the action in the mundane world is restricted to the museum and next door coffee shop....more
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