In Calabria, by Peter S. Beagle

In Calabria by Peter S. Beagle

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Like a lot of people, I liked this book but didn't love it. The writing is beautiful, and Calabria is a fun setting for a story, but it feels just a slight bit remote and I'm not sure I came away feeling more intensely about the setting. As for the unicorn, and the relationship to Bianchi--also beautiful, also a little remote, perhaps intentionally so. I remember reading reading The Last Unicorn more than 40 years ago, and while it also felt that way at the start, it got more intense as it went along and I still remember its ending very well. I'm glad I read it, equally glad I get to return it to the library. It has a good home there.



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City of Blades, by Robert Jackson Bennett

City of Blades by Robert Jackson Bennett

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This series is a rare combination--great world building and great characterization. Really rare to get both. General Turyin Mulaghesh is both a war criminal and a hero, and RJB actually manages to fit all of this into one skin in the book. Similar with Sigrud Je Harkvaaldsen, they are two peas in a pod as far as their history goes but very dissimilar in personality.

The world building goes forward here but it takes more of a back seat to characterization. I very much appreciated how hard Jackson worked to make war a human reality--that it is fought by humans and those humans who are soldiers pay a terrible cost even if they are victorious.

I was a little sad when this book ended, which is exactly as it should be. You know you've enjoyed a book when you find you will miss the characters. I hope to pick up City of Miracles soon, to see how this all ends.



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Cloudbound, by Fran Wilde

Cloudbound by Fran Wilde

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


In this installment of The Bone Universe we get a change of POV (from Kirit to her brother Nate), and of perspective. Nate is a more reflective and big-picture thinker than Kirit, which shows in his attraction to politics and able players. The book centers on how he and Kirit will try to save their home from his perspective.

We get a nice expansion of the Bone Universe, in an expected but interesting way. (view spoiler)[They literally do live on the back of something you could legitimately call a giant turtle. Wryly funny. (hide spoiler)] We get a more thorough introduction to the ecosystem, and Wilde does a good job of showing how delicately balanced their environment is.

But I have to say I didn't like it as much as the first one, since the world is now familiar. Others have said the plot is not quite dramatic enough for YA, nor intricate enough for adult SF, and I agree. Many like the writing style, but it is wearing on me. Very short sentences that don't flow make it a more challenging read than it needs to be. This one falls victim to the "middle of the trilogy" syndrome, where it's just difficult to keep the momentum going.

The third book is nominated for awards, so I'm looking forward to that one.



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Spoonbenders, by Daryl Gregory

Spoonbenders by Daryl Gregory

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I have read one other book by Daryl Gregory, "We Are All Completely Fine". That one was more revelatory for me as I had not read a book with a character with borderline personality disorder. The characters here are a bit more stock--Teddy, a con artist/mobster and his family of psychics. The children (as adults in the book) are kind of stock mob kids (wanting to distance themselves, but not really able to), but the real good stuff is in the details. You really got to know all the characters as the book goes on (except for the mother and most powerful psychic Maureen McKinnon, who remained an enigma throughout). Some other reviewers think he's played a bit safe here, and I would have to agree, but it didn't detract from the enjoyment. Reading this book is like getting to spend time with family--people who irritate and let you down, but in the end stick by you and support you with love. Good stuff.



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The Hermit of Houston, by Samuel R. Delany

Reading this story reminded me of when I read "Dhalgren", I think around 1972.  I was confused most of the time, but managed to hang on and follow it.  Delany has not changed that much.  Lots of sex, and many references to familiar things, but in a very unfamiliar setting that might or might not be post-apocalyptic.  In this case I'm leaning toward post-apocalyptic.  It's good to see him writing again, but hard to get into it unless you're a fan from way back.

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The Stone In the Skull, by Elizabeth Bear

The Stone in the Skull by Elizabeth Bear

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I'm only giving this book 3 stars, but it's a strong 3 stars. As others have said, this is pretty much stage setting for the next couple of books in the trilogy. The characters are all pretty thoroughly fascinating and have a lot of range. The Gage is a sort of classic "gentle giant" type, and it will be interesting to see where Bear takes him. The Dead Man is also a classic type, more the stolid samurai. Both have outlived their original purpose. Their search and their dialogues about it can get a bit self-conscious at times, but overall they are worth reading. We have two women rulers, very similar in their solid devotion to duty, but one is on the way to a drug addiction and the other is transgender. Lots of possibilities here.

I usually don't read books in a universe out of order, even if they are supposedly independent, and think I should have done so here as well. The characters are supposedly mostly new, but I think the setting would make more sense with the earlier trilogy behind it.



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Raven Stratagem, by Yoon Ha Lee

Raven Stratagem by Yoon Ha Lee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I am with many others in liking Raven Stratagem much better than Ninefox Gambit. It could be that I'm just a bit more used to his highly tongue-in-cheek style, but this book is just a lot more focused and less hinky. Granted, the ideas are still a stretch and it is challenging to read in places, but really it is better all the way through. I especially loved the ending, there's a definite sense of progress but he's got a lot of possible directions to take the series. Shuos Jedao is a character he can wring a lot of side stories out of. Calendrical technologies are still central to the story and not very clear, so I'm hoping he can do more with how calendar observances enable advanced technology. But this time he really centers the experiences of people in high places and lower ones trying to get by in an empire that is becoming increasingly dysfunctional. I was only mildly enthused about reading this one after Ninefox Gambit, but I'm definitely looking forward to the next one.


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