I wasn't as impressed with Immortal Longings last year as I was with Gong's Secret Shanghai novels, and the GR ratings reflect that a lot of others weI wasn't as impressed with Immortal Longings last year as I was with Gong's Secret Shanghai novels, and the GR ratings reflect that a lot of others were similarly unimpressed. But this book, I do have to say, is a noticeable improvement. By this time, we're a little past the weird not-quite-cyberpunk game aspect of Book 1 and much more into fantasy politicking, with a detailed world map showing how San-Er is located at the peninsular tip of a massive landmass resembling imperial China both past and present. While the protagonists are still eminently dislikable - except for August, the only one I'm really rooting for because Calla and Anton are screwing him over so hard with their endless campaigning against each other - I especially loved how Gong wrote this book as a critique of Chinese imperialism, especially the fact that outlying provinces in the north aren't allowed to follow their traditional religions or speak their native languages. R.F. Kuang would probably approve as well, I'm sure. And, once again, this book ends on a diabolical cliffhanger with no title or release date for the third and final book in sight...yet......more
I wouldn’t be surprised if this book was a stealth sequel to The Expanse. I mean, it’s pretty clear from the fact that the human civilization of AnjiiI wouldn’t be surprised if this book was a stealth sequel to The Expanse. I mean, it’s pretty clear from the fact that the human civilization of Anjiin is pretty strongly implied to have come through the protomolecule portal to colonize that world, only to then be colonized themselves by a fearsome super-Borg hive mind. But coming from the same authors as The Expanse, this book was nothing short of disappointing, and that’s putting it mildly. Whereas Abraham and Franck excelled in their character development and science-fantasy politicking in their signature series, this new series is a huge step back with boring characters I couldn’t care about, poorly detailed world building, and generally being one of the slowest books I’ve ever read. I almost got halfway through before just giving up entirely, and I can’t see myself giving this one another shot anytime soon....more
Once again, I find myself picking up the Hugo winner for Best Novel and come up disappointed. And just like last year with T. Kingfisher's Nettle and Once again, I find myself picking up the Hugo winner for Best Novel and come up disappointed. And just like last year with T. Kingfisher's Nettle and Bone, there wasn't a sudden long line at the library for it - which should've been a sign to me that the book wasn't going to impress me.
I get that this book is trying to be one of those about a character who has to unlearn how horrible her society is when she realizes how corrupt the leadership is, and how racist and sexist and xenophobic and homophobic and all the other bigotries you can think of. But let's be real, if this book was published five or seven or ten years ago, I'd be willing to bet someone would've written a nearly 10k word blog post all about how horribly offensive and racist and homophobic this book is, and then kiss this book's chances of a Hugo award goodbye, eh?
I'll give this one an extra star because it's not entirely full of unlikable characters, but unfortunately this one was a pretty big misfire for me....more
So it turns out that Ruocchio's original contract for this series with DAW was unexpectedly ended after the fifth book, and the only reason he was ablSo it turns out that Ruocchio's original contract for this series with DAW was unexpectedly ended after the fifth book, and the only reason he was able to publish the sixth (and thankfully move past that brutal ending in Ashes of Man) was because his old employer Baen Books came to the rescue. Seems that Baen made the right call, and DAW decided they would get back in the game with this series and soon reissue all the first six books before getting the planned seventh novel, which Ruocchio says will be the conclusion. And in the meantime, there's this fast-paced, wildly epic story setting up the stage for the ending, much like Pierce Brown did with Light Bringer as the Prolonged Prologue to Red God. Now it's just a matter of time to see which of the two young masters, Ruocchio or Brown, finishes his septology first......more
I admit I kinda thought this would be an interesting sci-fi romance, a sort of Red, White, and Royal Blue in space situation (I say having not read RWI admit I kinda thought this would be an interesting sci-fi romance, a sort of Red, White, and Royal Blue in space situation (I say having not read RWRB beyond checking out little snippets of it during my bookstore days when the book was first super popular). Boy oh boy oh boy was I wrong, and when I checked back against the blurb and realized that this was more akin to a romance between an oppressed minority and a racist ruler, I noped out pretty quickly.
Judging from other one star reviews for this book, I sure as hell dodged a bullet. A lot of those reviews go into serious detail about how the book is actually massively racist against Asians, especially Chinese people, and very clumsy in its attempt to depict a post-gender society, so much so that it actually manages to cause offense on that level as well. It's definitely not the first modern sci-fi novel to try to pay lip service to progressive ideals on gender - I still think about some others I've read, like Mary Robinette Kowal's The Spare Man where every character is addressed with gender neutral honorifics regardless of their actual gender, which I thought was a strange choice at best.
But a lot of one star reviews on this book say that these issues appear to be pretty common to Pulley's work in general, suggesting that she's got a habit of fetishizing gay men and Asians in particular, and that she has a lot of internalized misogyny because her female characters are almost always negative stereotypes. In this book, these same points present with an achillean romance (where the love interest is nonbinary because their culture insists on it), an attempted antiracist allegory that manages to come off like a parody of the reverse racism that leftists always say doesn't exist, and a general dearth of women characters (again, due to the strict anti-gender post-gender nature of Martian society, leading to criticism that the book is not only misogynistic but also bioessentialist and therefore transphobic.)
Like I said. Bullet dodged. Time to move on to other, better material....more
Ruocchio's fifth novel of the Sun Eater would have been a three star comedown for me based on the first 400 pages or so, where the plot really slows dRuocchio's fifth novel of the Sun Eater would have been a three star comedown for me based on the first 400 pages or so, where the plot really slows down and grinds its gears while setting up the next match on the 4-D chess board. This book does bring great promise of the villains behind the villains, the Cielcin gods who want to truly lay waste to everything and everyone in the known universe, but it takes forever for the story to really advance.
But when it does...
That ending.
Damn you, Ruocchio.
That's why this book earns that fourth star in the end....more
I guess Pawley is making some steady progress on getting the revamped Generation Icarus series reissued in this new format - I don't think the third bI guess Pawley is making some steady progress on getting the revamped Generation Icarus series reissued in this new format - I don't think the third book is out yet? But hopefully by the end of this year at least. In the meantime, though, it was great to once again get a throwback to the old Wattpad days with one of the best angel books you're not reading, now in a new form, with a hell of a lot more focus on Tui than I remember (but that's only a good thing, because she's really become one of my favorites in the Flight over the years.) And dear God, did I ever forget how strong the "post dramatic Jess disorder" was with these books...but I should be ready to see how Pawley wraps things up in the newly minted third and final book soon enough......more
I think Ruocchio was originally planning a trilogy for this series, but much like his fellow hella young science-fantastist Pierce Brown, his work reaI think Ruocchio was originally planning a trilogy for this series, but much like his fellow hella young science-fantastist Pierce Brown, his work really grew far beyond its original scope, and very quickly too. So it was first extended, as I remember, to five books, then six, and I believe a seventh is on the way as well. But for now, here's what looks to be the middle of the Sun Eater saga, a noticeably shorter book than its predecessors, but no less full of action. Especially when the series goes back to its gladiating roots, with the twist of the Cielcin (now more developed beyond being just a monoculture - as Hadrian is surprised to learn, there's more than one Cielcin language, for one thing) being far more involved in the process as their villainy grows ever more repulsive. Seriously, this book gets surprisingly gruesome, but it also has a surprisingly soft and uplifting ending, all things considered. That said, I'm ready to keep going into Book 5, already on order at the library....more
Wattpad has this complete book for free, but only this one - not its sequel, which is available only in a five-chapter sample. This one, however, is qWattpad has this complete book for free, but only this one - not its sequel, which is available only in a five-chapter sample. This one, however, is quite entertaining on its own, being less of a typical "superhero" story. You won't get too many Marvel-style stories here. Nope, it's a little closer to I Am Number Four in style, or perhaps Heroes - darker, edgier, characters on the run, government agencies involved, that sort of thing. Oh, and they have to stop the apocalypse, of course. It doesn't really bring anything new to the table, but it's still a good story.
The only trouble is that the book ends on a mild cliffhanger. Mild, but still annoying because I have all but no chance of buying the complete sequel anytime soon. :(
Merged review:
Wattpad has this complete book for free, but only this one - not its sequel, which is available only in a five-chapter sample. This one, however, is quite entertaining on its own, being less of a typical "superhero" story. You won't get too many Marvel-style stories here. Nope, it's a little closer to I Am Number Four in style, or perhaps Heroes - darker, edgier, characters on the run, government agencies involved, that sort of thing. Oh, and they have to stop the apocalypse, of course. It doesn't really bring anything new to the table, but it's still a good story.
The only trouble is that the book ends on a mild cliffhanger. Mild, but still annoying because I have all but no chance of buying the complete sequel anytime soon. :(...more
The second sprawling story of the world of Wildwood also demands a Laika-produced claymation film adaptation, so here's really hoping that the WildwooThe second sprawling story of the world of Wildwood also demands a Laika-produced claymation film adaptation, so here's really hoping that the Wildwood movie next year does well enough to merit a franchise. For this book, we get a brief glimpse of Prue in the real world of slushy wintertime in St. Johns - if I'd been able to read this book when I was younger, I would be a lot more aware of Portland actually possibly getting snow in the winter before I moved up to Oregon. Then, after a brief visit to the office of some quirky Ukrainians (whose dialogue is pretty damn accurate, based on my brief conversation with a Ukrainian food seller at the Vancouver Mall last weekend), off we go to the Wildwood again, though now with a lot of emphasis on the industrial wastes separating Oregon's Narnia from Oregon's biggest city. That part alone is what demands the Laika adaptation quickest of all, because it'd be something to see how well they capture that industrial vibe - and how well it compares to, say, Chicken Run or Fantastic Mr. Fox....more
Yoon Ha Lee brings his signature style of gender diverse Korean space opera to YA, and it surprises me greatly that this book doesn't have a higher GoYoon Ha Lee brings his signature style of gender diverse Korean space opera to YA, and it surprises me greatly that this book doesn't have a higher Goodreads average, because it deserves one. Well, maybe my review will help bring it up a couple points or so. Sure, it's a bit predictable in its story beats, being a mecha story with a protagonist infiltrating the ranks to take down the empire that subjugated her people. And a lot of other reviews inevitably compare it to the popular YA mecha drama Iron Widow, albeit steeped in Korean culture as opposed to Chinese. But there's definitely one thing that Lee does right that Xiran Jay Zhao does wrong - Lee writes a gripping story with characters you can actually root for. Which is why I was able to read this book in one sitting, and will happily come back for more in the planned second and third books of this trilogy. And for a film adaptation if ever we're lucky enough to get one....more
I almost was worried that this book, at nearly 800 pages, would prove too bloated to make me want to continue with this series. How wrong I was. Even I almost was worried that this book, at nearly 800 pages, would prove too bloated to make me want to continue with this series. How wrong I was. Even with this great size of a book, Ruocchio is really hitting his storytelling stride again. With all sorts of lavish detail to bolster this series’ ever excellent world building…but by far my favorite scenes were in the library with the revelation of the history of the Mericanii lords. From George Washington on down, 77 presidents in all, though the last one was a technocrat under whose rule I’m not surprised Mericanii leadership in civilization ended…consider this a warning from Ruocchio to preserve democracy, especially since this book was written in the tail end of the Trump years....more
On to the second book of Ruocchio’s Sun Eater series, now with a little less gladiating and a lot more interstellar intrigue, with dashes of interestiOn to the second book of Ruocchio’s Sun Eater series, now with a little less gladiating and a lot more interstellar intrigue, with dashes of interesting action and promises of more of the reason behind Hadrian Marlowe’s massive in universe infamy. Sadly this one is a definite step down from the first book, because much of this one is a whole lot of words that don’t say much, with relatively little plot progression over its great length - nearly 700 pages this time around. Still, though, Ruocchio’s detailed world building keeps my attention more than anything else, and I’ve already got Book 3 on order to keep the journey going....more
I've been waiting for about a decade now for Jasper Fforde to finally give us the sequel to Shades of Grey, and while he's been dabbling in some reallI've been waiting for about a decade now for Jasper Fforde to finally give us the sequel to Shades of Grey, and while he's been dabbling in some really oddball experiments the last few years - most of which have never worked out for me as a reader - I'm happy to report that his long-delayed return to Chromatacia is also the return to form, reminding me of exactly why Fforde became one of my favorite writers in my college years.
Picking up roughly where the first book left off, Eddie Russett (soon to be renamed deMauve as part of a highly unwanted marriage - and while we're on the subject, what a delicious irony it always was, that the upper-crust Purples had no choice but to intermarry with lower-class Reds in order to maintain their status) and Jane Grey (now renamed Brunswick after her Ishihara results revealed her to be a very light Green) have to fend off the pernicious Gamboge family's attempts to put them to death and avenge Cortland Gamboge's death in Book 1, while also figuring out a way to overturn the color-based dictatorship of this world, before Eddie's father (who isn't really his father) gets all of East Carmine punished for his refusal to go along with the powers that be and their sinister use of the Mildew. Along the way, they'll have to scrounge up all the remaining spoons in another lost village, plan around the Jollity Fair, and make sure they've topped off on their Gordini protocols.
The book takes its time to get to its ending, but then when that ending arrives, it's a race to the finish. And even then, while many secrets (particularly about the origins of the Colortocracy) are revealed, there's still clearly so much more story to tell. I sincerely hope Fforde doesn't take another 10-15 years to write the third book in the series, though I'll understand if he still takes another year or two to give us another long-awaited book next - another adventure for Thursday Next....more
I've been kinda sleeping on these books by Christopher Ruocchio for a while, even though they're very frequently recommended, especially for Red RisinI've been kinda sleeping on these books by Christopher Ruocchio for a while, even though they're very frequently recommended, especially for Red Rising fans. I can also see why it gets a blurb from James S.A. Corey, because in a lot of ways, these books are cut from similar cloth to The Expanse - sprawling, epic visions of diverse humanity vs. a weird, sinister alien species, with the author being prolific enough to publish six big books in almost as many years (and working solo, unlike the two dudes behind the Corey pen name.) This book starts out with a lot of promise about how grand and dark the story of our protagonist Hadrian will get - lauded by many and hated by just as many in universe, but this book is more of a tease about what's to come. Hadrian starts out the presumptive heir to a family fortune, but loses his family and his fortune in a few twists of fate that strand him in one of the most backwater systems of the empire, and he's got to use his well taught wits (including multilingual skills) to survive and claw his way back up to power. Naturally, I'll be picking up Book 2 this weekend on my next library visit, so hopefully I'll get to read it soon......more
Sadly, I can see why this series overall didn't make much of a splash on the fantasy scene these last few years, despite the glowing recommendations iSadly, I can see why this series overall didn't make much of a splash on the fantasy scene these last few years, despite the glowing recommendations in the blurbs from the likes of Brandon Sanderson. As interesting as this series always has been, and as unique, it's a classic example of diminishing returns - even this book, with its biggest plot shake ups yet, just falls kinda flat. Honestly, having gone through the whole trilogy, I really think it would've worked a hell of a lot better with Isabelle as the sole protagonist. Jean-Claude, unfortunately, manages to be quite boring in comparison, probably because he just doesn't have such a strong conflict in universe the way Isabelle always does. But it's worth it to get to the end of this one because of how well woven the in universe religious aspects get, especially in the last few pages. To this series, I now declare ave atque vale....more
This mind-bending satire of race in Hollywood from an Asian-American perspective has been on my radar for a while, in part because of a lot of differeThis mind-bending satire of race in Hollywood from an Asian-American perspective has been on my radar for a while, in part because of a lot of different updates about planned movie and/or streaming adaptations. As I remember it, stars like Jimmy O. Yang, Simu Liu, and Chloe Bennet have been attached to the project at different times, and I'd really love to see how the adaptation pulls it off. It helps that much of the book is written in screenplay format already, which makes it a much quicker read than you might think since there's less text per page. But the text that's on the page is a massively on point commentary on numerous levels. It addresses not only the various stereotypes of Asians in media, but also the model minority myth, relations between Asian and Black people, and also some past horrors in Asian history (though most Westerners would know that Communist China under Mao committed so many atrocities, many wouldn't know about the atrocities carried out under Chiang Kai-Shek and the Nationalist Party.) And some of the meta-humor - since the book takes place largely in relation to a fictional police procedural, deliberately written to be as obnoxiously clichéd as possible - very clearly draws on Yu's experience as a Westworld writer, with the various Asian Background Characters having to abide by a lot of similar rules to Westworld hosts. The library up the street from my work had this one on a special display for AAPI Heritage Month, and I'm glad I finally got around to reading it - it's fast, it's smart, and it needs that adaptation yesterday. Especially if, as expected, Yang plays the lead role and Yu writes the scripts....more
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