I'm a big fan of the Lovecraftian mythos; I enjoy the overarching theme of outsiders and ethereal beings and creeping horrors that would consume our planet. But Lovecraft's work is loaded with racism and sexism, so reading his stories can be a revolting experience at times. Enter Winter Tide, a lovely take on the Lovecraftian mythos from the point of view of the "monsters" which tackles that racism and sexism head-on.
Onward, friends! I'm continuing to make my way through the world of The Expanse, and that means I recently finished book three, Abaddon's Gate - a welcome shift toward a larger world.
I last read Tom Holt several years ago, when a few of his novels were published in omnibuses. I enjoyed them, but they didn't strike me as anything exceptional, so he fell off my radar. But when I saw The Management Style of the Supreme Beings in the store and found myself laughing at its ridiculously on-point cover (even before I read the blurb), I knew I had to read it.
The Hugos are almost here! This year for the first time, I made a point of reading all the nominees for Best Novel. They're a pretty impressive bunch, running the gamut from insanely ambitious science fiction to beautiful, nuanced character studies to expansive and detailed worlds.
Normally I wouldn't pick up a book like All the Birds in the Sky. Witches aren't normally my cup of tea, nor are contemporary fantasies. But I was hell-bent on reading all the Hugo Award nominees this year (AND this book won the Nebula and Locus awards already), so I rolled the dice and bought it.
YES I KNOW I'M BEHIND THE TIMES, THANK YOU. But I've been hearing about this book for ages, and I finally decided to pick it up because it's about one of my favorite things: video games.*
After reading (and immensely enjoying) V.E. Schwab's Shades of Magic series, I've begun a tour through her other books. The first one I decided to pick up was Vicious, in part because I have a deep and abiding love of villains (and in part because she's working on the sequel right now). It will shock no one, then, to learn that I'm now harboring a crush on Victor Vale.
Here's another Hugo nominee, and it's better than first book in the series, a feat it somehow manages with even less plot.
Ye gods, guys. I just want to give Yoon Ha Lee a huge hug and thank him profusely for writing this series, because it is one of the best damn things I've read in recent years.
Before we begin, I have a disclaimer: this is the first Brandon Sanderson book I've read.* Yeah, I'm aware he's big in fantasy, and I'm also aware that most Sanderson fans recommend that newcomers read Mistborn first. I laugh in the face of convention, etc.
As I said in my previous review, I've gone on a Hugo nominee kick. I picked up Too Like the Lightning even though I otherwise probably wouldn't (based on the description). And...well, we'll get to that in a minute.
I guess I've kinda decided to read all this year's Hugo Award nominees, since I've already read three of them. A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers was on the list, but it's a sequel to her first novel The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet and I figured I ought to read that one first.
And with this book, thus concludes one of my absolute favorite modern fantasy series. From start to finish, the Divine Cities books are gems of worldbuilding and memorable characters, so let's talk about that finish.
I don't do a lot of movie reviews here, but we need to talk about Wonder Woman, readers.I've been nervous about this movie ever since it was announced.
After I finished reading The Last Mortal Bond a few months back, I was thrilled to discover that Brian Staveley would be releasing a standalone story about Pyrre Lakatur, everyone's favorite death priestess and assassin. So here we are, a few weeks after Skullsworn's release. And let me tell you - it does not disappoint.
Oh. My. God. I have found my new favorite science fiction novel. All right, let's back up. I don't normally read a ton of science fiction (she says, three of her last four reviews being science fiction). I tend to gravitate more toward fantasy in books, sci-fi in TV. So I'd been debating buying Ninefox Gambit for a while.
Full disclosure: after I read (and loved) The Fifth Season and The Obelisk Gate, I bought literally all of N.K. Jemisin's novels. So when they arrived, I went back and forth between the Inheritance trilogy and the Dreamblood Duology.* What decided me? Well, I love Egyptian...everything, so the fact that the Dreamblood books are loosely based on Egypt convinced me to pick those up first.
Sleeping Giants was one of my favorite books of 2016, so you can understand my enthusiasm for Waking Gods. I even timed the other books I was reading so I finished one at lunchtime the day Waking Gods came out, leaving me room to pick it up right away.
I'm a big fan of Peter Clines' Ex-Heroes series, so, given that I'm an author-loyal reader, I decided to pick up Clines' novel The Fold - my first non-Ex-Heroes experience with his writing.
No, I still have not watched The Expanse TV show. But as promised, I picked up Caliban's War pretty quickly after reading (and greatly enjoying) Leviathan Wakes, and I have to say - it was a much better read.
