Setting up a mystery is easy, you just present an amount of threads, leaving it to the reader to guess the pattern before, in the end, all the threads are woven neatly together. But this weaving is, of course, the hard part, because the reader has followed all the threads with you and guessed at so many more patterns than the actual book can hold. Mr. penumbra’s 24 hour bookstore was a book with plenty of interesting threads; an old bookstore, mysterious google-stuff, new tech, […]
Winter’s Champion and the Outcast Outcast
The Beasts of Tabat by Cat Rambo (2017) – This fantasy tale is a nice, comfortable story with some great world-building and a shared billing with two heroes. The world, northerly and cold, consists of Humans, Beasts, and Shifters. Humans rule the land and Beasts, mythical creatures such as minotaurs, griffins, and mermaids, are slaves to the humans. Shifters are shape-shifters and hunted by Humans and Beasts. Teo, our first hero, is a Shifter in a small village to the far north where his people […]
Is a Western fantasy set in a Middle Eastern environment an Eastern?
Amani Al-Hiza is poor orphan, raised by uncaring relatives in a small desert town where most inhabitants work in the local mine. She knows that if she doesn’t collect enough money to get out soon, she’ll end up as third wife to her unpleasant uncle, a fate she would rather die than accept. One night, she disguises herself as a boy and enters a shooting competition at the local watering hole, trying to win enough money to finally leave. She’s an excellent shot, and sure […]
I expect another Hugo coming N.K. Jemisin’s way
The Stone Sky is N.K. Jemisin’s stunning conclusion to “The Broken Earth” trilogy. Books one: The Fifth Season and two: The Obelisk Gate both were awarded the Hugo Award and I expect that The Stone Sky will complete a hat trick for Jemisin by earning her a third Hugo. “The Broken Earth” trilogy examines familial bonds, both created by birth and those we choose to create. They are a cautionary tale about what can happen when a society chooses to treat people as lesser and then takes away the […]
A Very British Armageddon
A fabulous collaboration between Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman in a very British, comedic take on The Omen, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve now read this book, always finding something new to laugh at. So when I found myself recuperating from a very nasty illness, there was no other choice for me as to who I should spend my reading time with – as well as it serving as a timely refresh and reminder now that a TV adaptation is in the […]
The one with the horror convention.
Most of this book is muchly good, but I do have one substantial complaint. But more on that later. As I re-read this series, I continue to enjoy it much more than I did the first time through. I’m not going to rehash why (combo of knowing all the characters now and where they end up, along with catching things I didn’t the first time through). Just assume the same things I’ve said for books four through seven also apply here. Most of this book […]
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