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Review: Strike the Zither by Joan He
Oh my word, this was so much fun. A YA fantasy of epic proportions. Both the teenage angst with a backdrop of rebellion revolution and much double crossing. Where poetry and playing the zither are far more important than the actual fighting. That strategists are a side’s most important resource. It has everything, yearning, pining, loyalty betrayal found family. Burnt bridges. All told beautifully at a cracking pace where the reader breathlessly wishes to devour the book and see what will happen next. An array of colourful characters. Whose soubriquets are far more important that real names. Where double crossing is standard and all the more enjoyable for it.
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Lost Mojo
It has taken months for the desire to come back and its been a slow and incremental thing. But the habit is back and it is reliable and again I can get some solace by escaping to worlds created by others.
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Review: Soul of the Deep by Natasha Bowen
First thoughts, oh my word such an effective and beautifully written novel. The prose is evocative and emotive and l was drawn into the world that Natasha Bowen has created. It is the second novel in a series and despite the potential drawbacks to a quick immersion into the world, any gaps in my knowledge were filled in deftly. What we have is Simidele our protagonist. A Mami Wata who at the beginning of the novel is trapped in service to a god of the dead. Simi is a wonderful protagonist. She is forever trying to do what is right whether that bodes good or ill for her. Her desire…
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Book Haul
I’ve not been reading that much of late. The pandemic which I was sure I’d breeze through as an introvert has resulted in me hitting the worst reading slump since my mid-twenties. Not that that has stopped me from buying books. My to-be-read pile has continued to increase despite not having enough focus and I’ve felt guilty because I’ve really wanted to be blogging and podcasting and the energy to do any of it has been lacking. I have been on a small break visiting friends and got to meet up with @runalongwomble of RunalongtheShelves the book tempter in chief for a chat and an explore of Liverpool and a…
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Subjective Chaos 2020: the Results
As we all know this has been a funny old year but even with all of that noise we (the agents of Subjective Chaos) have been battling our own demons to get the books read and to argue about our favourites. Congratulations to all of our winners: Fantasy: Realm of Ash by Tasha Suri Science Fiction: A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine Blurred Boundaries: Godhunter by David Mogo Novella: The Deep by Rivers Solomon Short Story: The Migration Suite: A study in C Sharp Minor by Maurice Broaddus Series: Rosewater Trilogy by Tade Thompson
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Rare Unicorn Sighting
I had such plans for this pandemic, I would read, I would blog, I would podcast and I would be a beacon of hope in these trying times. I have managed very little reading, some recording but no editing and a swathe of self-loathing and feeling extremely overwhelmed for weeks at a time. It turns out when the apocalypse comes all I want to do is watch Netflix and Disney + and I have no brain for much else. This has sucked. I have felt guilty, I have felt terrible and I have had no idea how to start again. So let’s put a pin in that because feeling…
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Ep 16
Things that I talked to Juliet about: A Song for a new day By Sarah Pinkster Finna by Nino Cipri Docile by K M Szpara Bring it On The Musical Sex Education Hozier
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Doing stuff
We are living in some interesting times. I’m not sure how to feel at the moment, I’m not sure that anyone is. All I know for sure is that friends of mine are sick and there’s not a lot practically I can do to help them. Its putting me and us all into this ridiculous limbo. I’m working from home but I feel untethered and uneasy. I’ve been trying to work out what I can do to be of use. With Eastercon cancelling and having a podcast one thing I did think about was if you are an author who has had a launch scuppered by the pandemic please contact…
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Review: This is How to Lose the Time War by Amal Al-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
I feel like everyone else that I know has already read this and loved it but I have just absorbed it and I have feelings that I simply must share. Gosh I loved this novella. Its poetic and epic and visceral and it really got to me in a way that I didn’t expect. Red is an operative of the agency she is aware that there is an enemy operative who is trailing her and she feels that she has finally met her match. One encounter Red finds a letter from her opponent, reads it and then decides to continue the correspondance at great risk to both of them.…
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Review: To be Taught if Fortunate by Becky Chambers
This novella is a long slow punch to the gut. I adore Becky Chambers writing I have loved her Wayfarers sequence and whilst this is not part of that universe it shares enough DNA that it feels similar. Ariadne, Chikondi, Elena and Jack are crew members on a mission from Earth to travel to four different envrionments on moons and planets for science! As ever with Chambers work there is a quiet humanity to her work where hope and doing things for the joy of them are celebrated and the work that four people undertake as well as how they interact and manage to get on. The emotional is…
