Of Dragons, Feasts and Murders, by Aliette de Bodard

This book takes two characters from the Dominion of the Fallen series, Thuan from the dragon royal family and Asmodeus the main Fallen angel, and puts them in a murder mystery. I haven't fully kept up on the series so I may be missing some context for their relationship. And that's the core of the book. If you're a devoted fan of this series you get a nice helping of story in the space, well written and satisfying. Otherwise it's kind of confusing.

My Goodreads Review

Servant Mage, by Kate Elliot

This is a standalone novella, but in the end it reads more like a first in a series. Not super sure I would return for the second. The basic plot is somewhat familiar--some people are born with magical powers, and the powers that be manage this by heavy handed control.

Fellian (a Lamp mage) becomes more interesting as the book goes on as she is a questioner, pushing back on what she's being told. She does not take it for granted that people who come to rescue her (the Monarchists) are necessarily better than the cruel leadership (the Liberationists) that she has been living under. She says the quiet parts out loud, embarrassing her comrades many times.

Unfortunately I found the book confusing and hard to read. Lots of dangling references and kind of hammy plot points (Fellian ends up involved in a direct confrontation between the leaders of the two groups, which felt a bit contrived). I would say there's potential here (I don't think Unconquerable Sun had these problems) but it wasn't quite ready.

My Goodreads Review

A Mirror Mended, by Alix E. Harrow

I have to say I didn't immediately connect this to the first book in the series--the opening makes more sense now. I actually liked this one better than the first, because I enjoyed the interaction between Zinnia (from Sleeping Beauty) and the Evil Queen in Snow White (I was particularly affected by the fact that the Queen has no name). The derivative nature of the story is a feature, not a problem, which makes it hard to give a raving review for me. But Harrow has enough new and interesting things to say about what it means to make your own story that I can give it 4 stars. There are plenty of fables out there for this treatment and they will make a comfortable living, which I hope Harrow uses to push off into something more ambitious.

My Goodreads Review

Into the Riverlands, by Nghi Vo

This installment is a little different in that our protagonist Chih and her neixin Almost Brilliant are more a part of the legend than a recorder of it, though they are definitely recording. They pick up an unlikely couple (by appearance a princess and a peasant, not true of either) and a likely couple (stern motherly woman and a quiet competent man). They travel to a rough part of the region (the Riverlands) and are sure enough set upon by legendary bandits (the Hollow Hand). Lots of action and good storytelling, so it's a fun read. Nghi Vo has put together a rich setting, the Singing Hills could produce stories for the rest of her career if she can build them carefully.

My Goodreads Review

When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain, by Nghi Vo

A fairly straightforward way to capture an audience that likes stories is to write a book (or series) about collecting stories. The plot drives itself. Nghi Vo continues a very old tradition (One Thousand and One Nights) of telling a story for one's life. I especially liked the tiger characters. Vo makes them very engaging characters, utterly confident of their power and rights as apex predators. Except they're not, quite--intelligent mammoths are part of this tale and a lone small mammoth can take a tiger. And there are big ones. I hope she does more with the mammoths in Into the Riverlands. All in all it's a good read, exciting without too much bite. Enough to make we want to read more.

My Goodreads Review

Ogres, by Adrian Tchaikovsky

"Ogres" is a cracking good story, one actually worth award nominations. Yes it's told in the second person but for good reason. The setting is a dystopian future where humans are ruled by massive beings who lord over all and keep technology to themselves due to their sheer size. It's an exciting story and moves right along--I am good about putting books down, but really struggled to stop reading this one at bedtime. There's a good cautionary tale here--even though society has advanced considerably, and you don't have to be physically strong to succeed in politics, we still defer to the large and strong--in the person of men. It really helps to be tall to succeed in politics. Attacking this issue at its root may be a key to resolving oppression.

There's a series notation attached here, but don't worry about it--it was applied after the fact to three of Tchaikovsky's novellas.

My Goodreads Review

High Times In the Low Parliament, by Kelly Robson

I'm more generous that some in rating this novella, though I agree with more of the negative reviews. I too found the protagonist somewhat unlikeable--making her a lesbian does not make her approach to sexual relations OK. Lana belongs in the "dudes in drag" category of LGBTQ+ fiction. There appear to be no men anywhere so it's not clear how they procreate (budding?). And the plot has holes, a rather gaping one being the motivations of the faction of parliament that wants everyone to drown.

I get the metaphor. Democracies everywhere are struggling with significant factions that don't believe in democracy and will "drown everyone" to bring the house down. So maybe it got award nominations as catharsis? There are cute parts, and places where Lana's likeability improves--she is attuned to the unloved and oppressed--but it's not enough to really make the story work.

My Goodreads Review

Even Though I Knew the End, by C. L. Polk

So if you've read a few thousand books as I have, the basic flow of this short book is not super original. Lots of fiction out there with embodied angels and demons walking the earth (Aliette de Bodard most prominently). But this is a satisfyingly good read. It goes beyond mere substitution of genders for the romantic interest into some discussion of what it was like to be a lesbian at that time. Kept me hooked to the conclusion.

My Goodreads Review

Bishop's Opening, by R. S. A. Garcia

It's a decent story. It should be read as a speculative fiction romance piece, the romance being between the title character (the Bishop, part of a very regimented, advanced and competitive wing of humanity) and Sebastian (happy-go-lucky but honorable member of a tightly knit crew of an independent cargo carrier). It's decent filler for a SF magazine but I'm not sure about all the award nominations. Definitely good enough to encourage Garcia to keep going and deepen his craft. We need writers to try and stay ahead of the machines.

My Yelp Review