Roadsouls, by Betsy James

Roadsouls by Betsy James

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Roadsouls is a fascinating and wonderfully different kind of fantasy novel. As Suzy McKee Charnas noted, it's not about royalty, war, and magic as a weapon. This book is character driven, and works as deeply with the characters as any I have read. The protagonists, Duuni and Raim, are both highly capable and deeply flawed. Duuni is an artist channeling her work as though from elsewhere, and this is where the book is the most "fantastic". Raim is a highly capable man, but blind, caused when he became reckless through his pride. His anger at this fate never left him. Raim in particular suffers trials that make Job look weak. Duuni's struggles are more interior. It's a fine description of differing cultures, told very strictly through how Duuni and Raim experience them. Also plenty of excitement, with suitably villainous people as foils. A very good read indeed.



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Death's End, by Cixin Liu

Death's End by Liu Cixin

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The is the last entry in the Remembrance of Earth's Past series, and my final read for the Hugos for 2016.  I can say that this last entry in the trilogy is better than the previous one. In fact, it is probably my favorite in the series, on the strength of a more artful translation and the sheer breadth of ideas Liu explores. The scope is the entire universe, which is something I enjoy. In the end, though, the writing is still a bit stiff for me, and the ideas being thrown out there feel scattered. I'm not sure what enthralls people so. Other than that he's an old fashioned chauvinist. I guess I am glad to have experienced the series through to the end and have seen what he is about, but I have seen plenty now.  My favorite for the Hugos this year was probably All The Birds In the Sky.



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