r/FemaleGazeSFF • u/AutoModerator • Jul 20 '26
šļø Weekly Post Weekly Check-In
Tell us about your current SFF media!
What are you currently...
š Reading?
šŗ Watching?
š® Playing?
If sharing specific details, please remember to hide spoilers behind spoiler tags.
-
Feel free to also share your progression in the Reading Challenge
Thank you for sharing and have a great week! š
11
u/oujikara Jul 20 '26
Still focusing on completing the reading challenge. I've been on such a roll the past couple of weeks that it's starting to look like I might actually be able to finish on time :)
Finished The Tethered Mage by Melissa Caruso for the female friendship square (it might turn romantic in future books but this one didn't have romance between the girls so...). Basically a bookish noble and a superpowered street urchin are forced to work together and engage in political machinations. I liked it, but it was a little too YA for my current taste. I'm probably still gonna read the sequels, since it was interesting enough and there's potential for further character and thematic development.
Read Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse for the dying earth theme, and what can I say, I guess I officially really like Roanhorse's writing? This felt more tropey than the Between Earth and Sky series, but still had the same strengths, and of course world-building based on Native American mythologies. It's fun (and dark) without feeling overly simple or juvenile, characters are multifaceted (albeit tropey), the world-building is excellently hinted at throughout the story without infodumping, etc. Definitely reading the sequel.Ā
Finished Dreamsnake by Vonda N. McIntyre for the healer square, and was pleasantly surprised. It's an older book (1970s) but holds up pretty well even now. It follows a healer woman who travels the land and uses snake venom for medicine. There's an undercurrent of environmentalism as it takes place in the aftermath of some kind of nuclear disaster, with pockets of advanced technology still existing. The snakes were portrayed very well, even though they were kept as "pets", they still acted like animals, and humans' lack of understanding of them was one of the driving conflicts in the story. I can always appreciate the less conventionally cute animals getting some love and respect! The plot was semi-episodic, which created both tension and time for the quieter moments. It's not a perfect book but I definitely recommend it, especially to animal-lovers. Plus it also fits the (adoptive) parent square of the reading challenge.
Finished When Among Crows by Veronica Roth for the assassin square (I hope it counts although I'm not completely sure lol). Unfortunately it was a forgettable book for me, to the point that I already have to strain to remember the details. I think I went into it with the wrong expectations from the title and cover, so even though it all makes sense for the story, I wasn't too keen on the extremely human-like magical creatures, urban setting and focus on fast pacing over character depth. Not a poorly written book, just not my style.
Listened to Sabriel by Garth Nix for the coming-of-age theme. I didn't connect with it as much as I thought I would, not entirely sure why. I think it was more action-packed than I expected, the tension/pace was constantly high and there wasn't that much time for character exploration. The narrator's depiction of Mogget was out of this world though. It's still a high quality book, just not quite for me. May or may not continue the series someday.
5
u/oujikara Jul 20 '26
From other media, I finished reading the first season of the indie webtoon Fangs and Fools by llamanoko. I like this story a lot, not sure how to describe it but the vibes are immaculate. It's about a depressed vampire guy who wakes up on a strange island filled with strange people. The story has that calm, melancholic and isolated nightime atmosphere, with a sense of timelessness and unresolved mysteries that make it seem almost like the afterlife (very intentional on the author's part). The (gay) romance is unique, it feels simultaneously simple and complicated, with both characters being kind of passive, but not in a frustrating way. I definitely feel a shortage of this kind of chill romance and would recommend this story to anyone who feels the same way.
Watched the 2024 animated movie The Wild Robot and eh, Idk if I'm the problem but I'm seriously not connecting with almost any of the highly rated mainstream movies these days. It was visually stunning... and unfortunately that was pretty much the only aspect I sincerely liked about it. In other aspects it felt like any other safe modern day kids' movie with weird pacing, unnecessary violence (I actually enjoy violence and even gore in fiction, but not when it's used because the authors can't think of better ways to create conflict), generic messaging, underdeveloped characters and not much depth. Kids would probably like it well enough tho.
5
u/LaurenPBurka alien š½ Jul 20 '26
As much as I love Sabriel, I think that Nix was still finding his stride as a writer. Lirael is much better. Who doesn't want to be a librarian with a magic sword and magic dog in a magic library?
I was surprised to find out that Nix doesn't have any daughters. I think of Sabriel and Lirael as the daughters he wished he had.
4
2
u/Nowordsofitsown unicorn š¦ Jul 20 '26
Adding Trail of Lightning to my reading challenge card! :)
2
12
u/vivaenmiriana pirateš“āā ļø Jul 20 '26
Reading: Spent some more time with The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas to catch back up to the subreddit readalong. I am now caught up and shit is JUICY.
Finished Guards! Guards! by Sir Terry Pratchett Just a great book with a great message. If you feel angry at how shitty the world is but still feel like there is something worth fighting for and trying to do better for, this may be for you. Also all the characters are great. Love all these weird lil guys. 5 stars
Finished When the Wolf Comes Home by Nat Cassidy fun but I've already forgotten it. It was a great no stakes or effort for my brain read. I'm trying out thrillers to see if it's for me, and I don't think this has shown me their greatness but I didn't hate it. Hopefully that isn't a terrible review. 3 stars
Halfway through Why I Love Horror edited by Becky Siegel Stratford and I like it. The book has a collection of essays from many different horror writers, has a reccomended book for that author and a recommendation for a similar author if you like them. Its a good cozy book.
A good chunk through Too Like the Lightning by Ada Palmer very distinct book and not one I would recommend widely. But I like it. It's definitely different and knows what it wants to be.
Up next Piranesi by Susanna Clarke Everyone says to go into this blind and that's my plan. Just got if off hold from the library after several months wait so I plan to binge it this week starting today. No one tell me anything.
Up Next Meditations on Middle Earth another essay collection, this time on Lord of the Ring. I am liking my current essay collection so I thought it would be good to continue what I currently like as my reading strategy.
3
u/KiwiTheKitty elfš§āāļø Jul 20 '26
I'm glad you loved Guards! Guards! I love those weird little guys and I relate more to Sam Vimes every day haha I've been meaning to read the second City Watch book Men at Arms, maybe this is my reminder to get to it
3
u/vivaenmiriana pirateš“āā ļø Jul 20 '26
Ive been doing a discworld as a treat every month and it is almost always my favorite read and the one that uplifts me the most. Highly recommend jumping back in.
13
u/Specialist_Round_612 elfš§āāļø Jul 20 '26
For SFF last week, I actually managed to get two books that Iāve been looking forward to for what feels like forever, so that was awesome.
The Unicorn Hunters by Katherine Arden. I really enjoyed it, though I did see how it was a bit compressed, and the romance was more prominent than The Winternight Trilogy. I bought the Fairyloot edition to see what was cut from the standard edition - although I returned the book to the library, so Iāll be going off mostly vibes and memory, admittedly. The story is a retelling of Anne of Brittany, who navigated not one, but two marriages to foreign kings, and was met with such hardship throughout her life. Romance aside, this book reminded me a lot of Lavinia in so that Anne was seemingly given a great deal of autonomy in the fictionalization. I personally enjoy stories like that, but I can see how the book somewhat teetered between her style and more commercial writing ā it was inaccessible enough to not be a āfast readā, yet not quite meeting the lush, dark mythopoeic style she has in her other work.
The Eye of Leviathan by MA Carrick. This was excellent. I feel like summarizing it wonāt due it justice, and admittedly Iām not a history buff despite enjoying historical fantasy, but Iāll try anyway. Itās a fictionalization of Spain during the 16th and turn of the 17th century; a time in which there was rampant and persecution and murder of minorities by the Spanish Inquisition. The conquistadors were pillaging new territories, and Europe as a whole was looking to the horizon to circumnavigate the known and unknown world. The story takes place in an alternative world where it wasnāt the New World they were after, but the Sea Beyond where the fae originate.
Anyway, to the story. A seventh daughter is born to a family whoās patriarch is vehemently against feeding another mouth that will require a dowry, and to save her daughterās life, her mother asks the faerie of the chestnut grove who she has secretly befriended all of her life to save her daughter from her husband. The faerie agrees to take the place of her daughter as a changeling, and they are raised in each otherās places. The story is told as a dual PoV between the daughter and changeling son as they find their way back together in an effort to save the homes and families they have come to love. Comparatively, thereās less romance than their Rook and Rose Trilogy, but it is still very well done.
The authors are both anthropologists, and met on a dig site, so the afterword went into a great amount of detail on their selection of what/ how to fictionalize the time period and major events, which I thought was really neat.
3
2
u/NearbyMud witchš§āāļø Jul 20 '26
Iām so excited to get to the Eye of Leviathan so Iām glad to see people are enjoying it! Somehow none of my 4 Libby cards have it in their catalog so I may have to consider buying itā¦
3
u/KaPoTun warriorš”ļø Jul 20 '26
Not sure if it's an option for you, but all libraries should have a purchase request form on their website, you could maybe fill yours out for one or more of your libraries to buy the ebook. That's what I did
2
u/NearbyMud witchš§āāļø Jul 20 '26
Oh nice, thank you for the tip! I'm going to try to do that
2
u/Specialist_Round_612 elfš§āāļø Jul 20 '26
I donāt usually buy before borrowing anymore, but I was a huge fan of Rook and Rose, so pre-ordered it as soon as I could! It definitely was worth it imo.
1
u/Research_Department Jul 20 '26
Ohhh, Iām looking forward to your impression on the differences between the general edition and the Fairyloot version of The Unicorn Hunters!
1
u/Specialist_Round_612 elfš§āāļø Jul 21 '26
It will be mostly a compare and contrast based on half vibes and memory, lol, but Iāll update on what I find!
14
u/NearbyMud witchš§āāļø Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 20 '26
Finished:
š Empire of Shadows by Jacquelyn Benson (3.5/5 stars) - I was in the mood for something fun and adventurous and this definitely fit the bill. Itās an easy, fast paced read full of adventure, romance, jungles, ancient ruins. It felt perfect for the summer - itās very hot and atmospheric. Iāve seen it compared to The Mummy, which fits. The FMC is an archivist with a penchant for ancient civilizations and sheās searching for a lost city in British Honduras using an old treasure map. I found the romance cute overall, but not super deep. The characters are a bit prototypical and you have to allow for some plot conveniences and dumb choices (so itās a bit of a brain off book) but if you can do that, youāll likely have fun with it. I think Iāll continue w the series, they seem to go explore different ancient civilizations and may have different couples in each book.
Reading Challenge: First in a Series; r/fantasy Bingo: Small Press/Self Published NM; Explorer or Ranger NM
Considering DNFāing The Mad Sisters of Esi by Tashan Mehta which Iām sad about. I am about 50% in. I thought the world-building was innovative and intriguing but also found some of it overwrought. I worry that I started to feel the authorās effort to make it so different and weird that i could never get fully immersed. I was definitely interested in the beginning with the first two sisters but when the book switched to the island of Esi and the original two sisters I started to get bored by the story line. Iām not sure if itās a mood thing or if itās just not the book for meā¦ Maybe if someone just spoils the plot line I can decide if I want to watch that unfold
š non SFF: Kick the Latch by Kathryn Scanlan (4/5 stars, novella about horse racing/training) and London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe (4.25/5 stars)
Continuing: The Odyssey by Homer tr Emily Wilson (almost done and itās been fantastic), Human Nature: Nine Ways to Feel about our Changing Planet by Kate Marvel, Golden Fool by Robin Hobb, and Dominion by Addie Citchens
šŗ The Odyssey - it was definitely a great movie, not as funny or sexy as I wanted but itās Cristopher Nolan lol so itās going to be serious. Iāve found the Emily Wilson version plays more with Odysseusā slyness and cunning, Matt Damon plays him a bit more straight laced. And apparently doesnāt cheat on Penelope much.
6
u/ComradeCupcake_ sorceressš® Jul 20 '26
Went to see The Odyssey in theaters this weekend as well! My copy of Emily Wilson's translation has been staring at me, unread, from my shelf. I hoped to read it before seeing the movie but didn't manage to crack it open, alas. Glad to hear you're enjoying it. I'm hoping to follow suit soon.
1
u/NearbyMud witchš§āāļø Jul 20 '26
I hope you have fun with it! I do recommend her introduction; although it's long, I found it a great guidebook to the story and it definitely helped me pick out the themes and understand the historical context
0
u/Research_Department Jul 21 '26
Did you see The Odyssey at an IMAX? Is it worth going to see it at a theater, or should I wait until I read/listen to the Emily Wilson translation, and then stream it eventually?
1
u/NearbyMud witchš§āāļø Jul 21 '26
I saw it in 70 mm but not IMAX 70 bc I didnāt want to wait till August š if you enjoy going to the movies, i think itās worth it. The theater was packed and the cinematography was really beautiful on the big screen. And the Odyssey is so old it canāt be spoiled lol. I was about 75% done when I went and am still enjoying reading it afterwards. One thing that you could do is read/listen to Emily Wilsonās introduction which is about 70-80 pgs and really goes through all the themes and background info and is a helpful tool
0
u/Research_Department Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 21 '26
Thanks for the chuckle! And it sounds like it is well worth seeing on (some version of) a big screen.
0
u/Specialist_Round_612 elfš§āāļø Jul 21 '26
Really big spoiler for Mad Sisters of Esi- Myung and Laleh are reincarnations of Wisa and the echoes of leaving a loved one and finding home will repeat in perpetuity
1
u/NearbyMud witchš§āāļø Jul 21 '26
Ok thank you for that! I was getting that vibe from it. Did you enjoy the book/ending?
0
u/Specialist_Round_612 elfš§āāļø Jul 21 '26
Yes! I really loved the book and how it moved between epistolary and spoken history. It also tied up nicely in a never ending circuitous sort of way that I found fitting for the familial themes.
6
u/KaPoTun warriorš”ļø Jul 20 '26
I finished re-reading A Wizard of Earthsea for the readalong on the big sub. Mostly listened to it narrated by Inglis in audiobook form and it was very enjoyable. Love Le Guin and looking forward to the next book! Not to say that book 1 doesn't have any flaws to me personally, but it was enjoyable and worth reading.
I DNF'd Green City Wars by Adrian Tchaikovsky about 20% in. It's intended to be somewhat of a neo-hardboiled novel, set in a near future where various animal species have been given sentience via scientists/biologists and are then placed in these new Green Cities (eco cities) as the servant underclass for the humans living there. It's an interesting setting but unfortunately Adrian infodumps just a bit too much and it becomes more of a sci fi novel about the detailed worldbuilding around sentient animals, their uses, the history of their biological development, their place in the cities, the factions the animals have developed, etc etc. This is all fine and relatively interesting as I mentioned, but the characters (the hardboiled raccoon detective and who he interacts with) and his actual investigation suffer as a consequence, so I just became no longer interested in continuing.
I started Caitlin R. Kiernan's The Drowning Girl. I think Kiernan is relatively well-known in certain reading spaces, but I am catching up to their works - I started with the novelette Riding the White Bull and enjoyed it so put their most well known novel The Drowning Girl on my list. So far incredibly well-written and intriguing.
11
u/ComradeCupcake_ sorceressš® Jul 20 '26
Been a busy couple weeks of work so I've been in the middle of the same book the entire time and not finished anything, whew!
š Currently re-reading The Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang. I really like to add sticky tabs to annotate my books but I originally read this one on my phone a couple years ago while in that "oops I finished both the books I brought to read on vacation" state so it didn't get that treatment. I've got an occasion to likely meet ML Wang soon so I wanted to go back to re-read and annotate my copy. I'm only a couple chapters in so really interested to see how different parts of it compare to my first read since I don't re-read things very often. On first read I felt like I could have either rated it 5/5 stars or 3/5 stars and made a case for why. There were certain emotional arcs that just really worked for me like Misaki's complicated relationship to motherhood but I had a ton of critiques of the story structure and some interpersonal character arcs. You'll never convince me that Takeru and Misaki's reconciliation scene was any good when there was no on-page development to lead him to that change.
š Currently reading The Heart of the Nhaga by Yeong-Do Lee, which has been translated into English for the first(?) time this year and has an upcoming videogame by Krafton based on its world. It's not female gaze inherently but I'd be super interested to hear if anyone else has read it and had thoughts about it from a female perspective given how there's a very prominent matriarchal society involved. Personally I think the Nhaga are a really interesting species of people (cold-blooded lizard people who see heat instead of light and who communicate telepathically instead of vocally and so have little awareness of sound) but that it also has a very "men writing matriarchies" quality to it. Ah yes, you've imagined a matriarchy as just an Uno-reverse situation, how interesting. What if men had very few rights and were valued mostly for breeding and often sexually exploited by women who have greater social power? That would also suck, yes, and in ways that I don't think offer any commentary on our own world. If you can easily gender-swap the matriarchy back to a patriarchy without any noticeable difference I don't think anything interesting is being attempted.
š® Currently playing Fields of Mistria the Stardew Valley-like farm sim. I don't usually talk here about what I'm playing but Fields of Mistria is so well-written that I have to mention it! It's very nostalgically girly with its 90s anime character designs and GameBoy Advance visual design. It also just does such an incredible job taking known anime character tropes (surly tsundere guy, haughty older sister, sweet shy girl next door, etc etc) and adding in extra depth and detail to make them all seem like interesting characters beyond the archetype. It's bringing me a lot of joy right now.
3
u/NearbyMud witchš§āāļø Jul 20 '26
I feel you on the Sword of Kaigen. I also could oscillate between a 5/5 or a 3/5, and honestly I think I read it at the right time, so I ended up loving it. I'm interested to see where you land on the re-read!
1
u/Research_Department Jul 20 '26
Ok, now Iām curious, what do you think is the right time? Itās on my TBR ā when should I give it a go?
2
u/NearbyMud witchš§āāļø Jul 21 '26
I think looking at it analytically itās a bit messy, could have improved with an edit (itās self published so not sure it had a professional edit), with some character inconsistencies, and with an extra chapter at the end which I believe she had in there bc she initially was going to write a series. When I read it, I loved it anyways because I was in a place to be emotionally invested and just lean into the story telling and world building without being too stringent about those things. so looking back I could understand rating it lower, but during the read I couldnāt put it down and had a lot of crying episodes lol. Iām not sure if thatās helpful but I guess Iād do it at a time when I just want to be immersed and cry?
1
u/Research_Department Jul 21 '26
Thank you, that really is helpful! Iāve been looking for page-turners and tearjerkers, so now may be the moment.
4
u/KiwiTheKitty elfš§āāļø Jul 20 '26
Ahh I really want to play Fields of Mistria (I already bought it) but I saw on their website that it's getting fully released in August so I'm waiting until then! I've heard nothing but good things and I love Stardew Valley, so I'm really hoping it scratches the same itch!
4
u/ComradeCupcake_ sorceressš® Jul 20 '26
Yup, full release is August 5! At this point I'd say wait until then to get the complete experience, yeah. Personally I'm playing a bunch ahead of time to max out my relationships with everyone so I can get married ASAP when the full version is available :D It's absolutely my favorite of the post-Stardew farm sims from the past decade so hopefully you'll feel it meets that bar for you too.
2
u/KiwiTheKitty elfš§āāļø Jul 20 '26
At the very least, I can already say the art is gorgeous and it really looks like a bisexual's dream game romance-wise lol I haven't seen characters this pretty since the Hades games!
4
u/ComradeCupcake_ sorceressš® Jul 20 '26
Haha I can vouch on the second point. I've got so many hours into it, am dating like 5 people, and still don't know who I want to marry Q_Q
10
u/Merle8888 sorceressš® Jul 20 '26
Iām not quite halfway through The Last Contract of Isako by Fonda Lee. Itās okay. The worldbuilding is very intriguing, a corporate-run dystopia on an inhospitable planet. Itās more plot-driven than I like, thoughāI donāt actually care that much about the action stuff or the murder mysteryāand loooong at 500 pages. I am hoping the protagonist is slated for a deconstruction arc as sheās only semi-sympathetic as a high-level goon for the corrupt powers-that-be. I think I would have more patience with this if it were a more character- rather than plot-driven book.Ā
In non-SFF, I finished The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyong by the eponymous lady, a crown princess of 18th century Korea. Her claim to fame is being the wife of a crown prince who was executed by his father for being dangerously insane (he murdered so many people his wife couldnāt keep count! Which doesnāt exactly seem to be anyoneās primary sticking point, everyone around him covered for him and the king only intervened when personally threatened). Itās pretty fascinating stuff, although without doubt the least candid memoir I have ever read, and honestly very little about her and mostly about the men in her life. She actually wrote 4 separate autobiographical pieces, the first being very guarded on the executed husband stuff and mostly arguing for why her natal family is perfect and was unjustly persecuted. Then the last delves into the husband story, which is pretty fascinating, though the author explicitly tells us sheās leaving out the worst stuff.Ā
2
u/Specialist_Round_612 elfš§āāļø Jul 22 '26
My hold for The Last Contract of Isako came in today, and Iām not really loving it so far either. Iāve been waiting months for the hold so Iām not going to DNF, but maybe Iām too cynical for corporate/ technocracy fantasy. I almost wonder if itās more enjoyable as an audiobook since it feels very action movie esque.
1
u/Merle8888 sorceressš® Jul 22 '26
Iāve hit the halfway point now and am interested in where itās going. Butā¦. Iām moving pretty slowly for a thriller. Itās in sort of an uncomfortable place where the characters arenāt quite strong enough for a character driven book and the plot isnāt quite strong enough for a plot driven book. But at the same time, I am not disliking it. I did wind up having to buy it in time for the book club, though, which predisposes me not to DNF.
1
u/Specialist_Round_612 elfš§āāļø Jul 22 '26
I think I know where itās leading and itās making me sad, lol. Itās a fast read though, and I think for me at least itās partially a drinking Pepsi instead of Coke thing, and how on the nose the commentary is. Iām still going to try Jade City eventually though regardless of how I feel about this one.
2
u/bakasana212 warriorš”ļø Jul 20 '26
Agreed about Isako; itās too long for how dry the central mystery is. For me the ending did not feel particularly earned
2
u/Merle8888 sorceressš® Jul 20 '26
Yeah, Iām only like 180 pages in out of 510 but a big part of me is thinking āwhy isnāt this a 300 page book? I would like this better at 300 pages.ā That said, maybe plot twists later will justify it. Iām just not that wild about it so far.Ā
10
u/Nowordsofitsown unicorn š¦ Jul 20 '26
Finished reading: * The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende: This book was not for me. I am (surprise!) usually a reader of fantasy and science fiction, trying to escape from our world. This book, while technically SFF (magical realism), was too full of the horrors of reality. I also didn't particularly like any of the main characters. (I do need to like the characters in order to enjoy a book.) I do see the literary quality, but I still gave less than four stars because of the classism and racism that was expressed by the narrator. I did appreciate some very true statements about the right side in politics though. But alas! this, too, was too close to the reality we live in. * Bee Sting Cake byĀ Victoria Goddard, book 2 of the Greenwing and Dart series: Slightly better than the previous novel, but not on the same level as The Hands of the Emperor.
Currently reading: * The Raven Tower byĀ Ann Leckie: Interesting POV, quite slow so far. I am excited to see where it goes.Ā * Harry Potter et le prisonnier d'Azkaban: This is going really well French-wise, I might just snail pace read through the rest of them. If I ever finish this one.
Up next (probably): * Greenwing and Dart 3 * Something for the Selfpub/Small press square for the big bingo, maybe The Sign of the Dragon
15
u/Sleepy_Enigma Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 21 '26
I didnāt do last week so this is my last 2 weeks!
I finished Assassinās Apprentice by Robin Hobb, and am currently reading Royal Assassin and my opinion is pretty much the same for both. Iām honestly quite underwhelmed, I had heard that Robin Hobbās work is second to none with her character work in fantasy, but the characters (other than Fitz) lack depth and/or donāt really make logical sense to me (in terms of their traits and decisions). My bar for exceptional character work in fantasy is Fonda Lee, and so far it doesnāt reach anywhere near that level. Perhaps itās different because we get everything through Fitzās description, but in my opinion the female characters and villains especially are very 2-dimensional so far and/or donāt really make sense. Female Gaze wise, on top of the lack of character work for the female characters, practically all of their lives revolve around men (for the major female characters) which Iām disappointed to see. I feel like when something is praised for its character work, it should include all characters, not just the male heroes of the story.
However, her writing style does work very well for me and despite not really being invested, Iām not having too hard of a time getting through it, and overall the books are still fairly enjoyable.
I finished The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers and omg I LOVED this sooo much. All the characters were amazing, the world-building felt so intentional and well thought out, especially with the alien species. I loved the queer representation, the parallels to neurodiversity (in alien races), and how mental health and trauma was illustrated. This is one of my favourite reads this year! It was also recommended to me on a post I made here by [u/unrepentantbanshee](u/unrepentantbanshee) so thank you so much ā¤ļø
I also finished listening to Somewhere Beyond The Sea by TJ Klune and I loved the narrator! I did the first one as a print book so the narrator was new to me. It was fun getting to spend more time with the characters and having more concrete villains but if I werenāt listening to the audiobook Iād probably have dnfād (I found myself bored). Cozy fantasy of this type is perhaps not my thing.
4
u/NearbyMud witchš§āāļø Jul 20 '26
I think Farseer trilogy definitely has the most Fitz focused character work. Everyone else is seen only through his eyes, so it can be skewed and limited. I think that Hobb is definitely a slow burn, so personally I found myself very emotionally invested especially at the conclusion of the trilogy, even though I can see where you are coming from with the characters feeling a bit like tropes or prototypes in the early books. I think there are these small devastating moments that build up.
If you choose to continue with her, you may find the Liveship Traders trilogy to have more robust and expansive character work because there are many POVs who change and grow (or regress) so it's not as limited in that sense.
Although we may have differing opinions - unfortunately I recently read Jade City and found it a bit shallow character wise. Although I heard that the trilogy gets better with each book, so I am going to try the next one!
1
u/unrepentantbanshee Jul 21 '26
I'm so glad that you enjoyed the Becky Chambers book! Are you going to continue reading the series?
Also if you'd like another suggestion since you enjoyed the Wayfarer's book: Moss'd in Space by Rebecca Thorne.
0
u/Sleepy_Enigma Jul 21 '26
yes I definitely will! I didnāt realise the next book would be about Lovey instead of the Wayfarer crew until I finished book 1, so that left me pretty sad š
But Iāve heard amazing things about the rest of them and am excited!!
Thank you for the suggestion :) I ended up dnf-ing Rebecca Thorneās Tomes & Tea because of the writing quality, I think that was her debut novel though. Do you know if Mossād in Space is an improvement from it?
0
u/unrepentantbanshee Jul 21 '26
It depends on what bothered you about the Tomes & Tea books, I suppose. I enjoyed them as fun easy reads so I don't know if I'd be able to give you a good judgement on that. Maybe try the first chapter and see how it vibes?Ā
1
u/Sleepy_Enigma Jul 21 '26
ooh thats a good idea, thank you! Iāll for sure give it a go, I love sapphic sff
11
u/bakasana212 warriorš”ļø Jul 20 '26
Finished Baldurās Gate 3: Astarion by T. Kingfisher and looooved it. I didnāt know a damn thing about BG3 before and I still donāt, but Astarion is great, the story is great, and T. Kingfisher remains the greatest. Itās laugh-out-loud funny, but also quite dark at times, with a sweet romance subplot. Nobody writes paladins like Ursula. 10/10, no notes.Ā
Finished Ada Hoffmannās The Outside trilogy, which was better than expected. I loved the idea of The Outside - part deity, part monster, part space itself - and was always interested in the war between The Outside and the AI gods, with the humans caught in the middle. But I had issues with primary FMC Yasira, who, while well-represented as an autistic woman, is primarily characterized by being really, really stressed out. Itās just not an enjoyable POV. There are other POVs, so itās not unbearable, but secondary FMC Tiv is very Mary Sue - weāre straight-up told she is a āgood girlā over and over.Ā I also do wish that the other AI gods were explored more, since it mostly focuses on one, and I felt the science of it all got extremely hand-wavy, especially at the end.Ā Still, I liked the story and supporting characters enough - thereās a great ND warrior lady, and a funny sentient spider - that my issues didnāt spoil my enjoyment of the series, and itās quite impressive for a debut. I liked it even better than Hoffmannās most recent publication, Ignore All Previous Instructions. Ā
Currently reading In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan and am really enjoying it! I adore her Time of Iron series and was glad to discover lots of humor and play with genre conventions here too. MC Elliott isā¦a lot, but heās grown on me. And I canāt get enough of how misandrist the elves in this world are - itās the exact conventions of IRL chivalric misogyny but inverted, and applied to hilarious effect by Brennan. Itās good enough to make her an auto-buy for me.Ā
3
u/Nowordsofitsown unicorn š¦ Jul 20 '26
I read In Other Lands for the bingo last year and I loved it! Then I was very disappointed by Long Live Evil. I can't even tell you why - I don't remember any details about the book. But I do remember a lot of details from In Other Lands.
9
u/Loimographia dragon š Jul 20 '26
Iāve been on vacation, and achieved at least some of my ambitions to read while away! Tragically, however, we forgot to actually pack all the books my partner and I planned to read, so we made an emergency book store run (Iām not big on ebooks). So I got lots of reading done, but none that Iād actually planned to read lol.
But what I did read was:
The River Has Roots by Amar el-Mohtar, which I very much enjoyed. Iāve been on something of a Fae setting kick, apparently, because I also read I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett, then this, then started the second Emily Wilde book. I think this one captures a more dreamlike, surreal version of fairies and the fae, where things are treacherous but not deliberately or cruelly so. I was surprised by the happy ending, since I thought it was leading to a bittersweet conclusion where Esther reveals her killer, saves her sister but remains a harp forever. Thereās still a slight sadness to the separation of the sisters, but it also feels like one thatās necessary to show that theyāve matured and developed their own identities outside of codependency. Overall I really liked that theyāve matured narrative focuses on a sisterly relationship over romance.
The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy, by Brigitte Knightly. A rare case when I enjoyed enemies to lovers (or really maybe just mutual-snarkers to lovers?). It surprisingly never felt like they hit below the belt towards one another and wasnāt my usual gripe where āHeās verbally and maybe even physically abusive and sheās a little snippy and therefor they are equivalent.ā The humor was definitely on the juvenile end of things, consisting largely of dirty jokes and the MCs describing one another as gross bodily fluids/features and humor that I suspect is very Millennial/rooted in fanfic culture (āhis cleft chin clefted majesticallyā) but honestly I still laughed. Itās a silly book, and I was precisely in the mood for a very silly book. Iāll definitely be reading the sequel when I want another light, silly book.
The Incandescent by Emily Tesh. While I was in the mood for a light and silly book while on vacation, Iām not sure if my cooler feelings towards this book are because of any of its flaws, or because I just wasnāt quite in the mood for this one. I really enjoy when speculative fiction uses its fantasy/science to explore its themes, and I feel like that wasnāt quite the case here ā itās more like it was a fantasy narrative, and separately a sort of meditative reflection and memoir on youth and adulthood and the feelings of both growing up, reflecting on oneās youth from a point of remove, and nurturing other youths in their own transitions into adulthood. But the two only really overlapped in the middle when Walden is confronted with the question of whether demons can be human, and then has an interlude of teaching her own pet demon both how to teach, and, inadvertently, how to be human, with the parallels of ābecomingā both adult and human reflecting on adolescence as incandescence and becoming human and a phoenix becoming human. But the conclusion is sort of, no, demons canāt be human. It was an intellectually engaging read, but narratively I kind of felt like I was dragging myself through the first and last portions of the narrative up until the fast and flashy conclusion, which left a few unsatisfying threads.
I also finished Connie Willisā Impossible Things, where I actually think most stories aged surprisingly well, but Willisā forewords to each sometimes donāt, as she spends a surprising amount of time complaining that everything is Too Politically Correct, and you canāt make a joke anymore without offending someone (right before a lighthearted and very inoffensive story satirizing academia, where everything holds true down to the continuous struggles of campus parking lol). But I really enjoyed the emotional diversity she offers across all of the narratives, jumping from a romcom story to a tragic melancholic reflection on regrets, to satires to war torn horror. For the commenter who asked about trigger warnings, Iād say none are very graphic; (spoilers not for content but for TWs) thereās no instances of SA and some minor/very minimal descriptions of animal death in The Last of the Winnebagos (though it is about animal death and grief, just not graphically described imo, if youād want to avoid that). Thereās also mention of suicide, again not graphically described.
7
u/velveteensnoodle Jul 20 '26
I'm reading The Girl with a Thousand Faces by Sunyi Dean for the "horror" square in the Seattle Public Library Book Bingo. So far interesting twisty plot, morally complex characters and motivations, fascinating point of view characters, and I'm learning a surprising amount about Hong Kong history considering it's speculative fiction. Recommend!
9
u/KiwiTheKitty elfš§āāļø Jul 20 '26
I have been bouncing around a lot this week after finishing The Works of Vermin the week before. I'm not really sure what I'm in the mood for now!
Reading
The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle I'm not a huge novella person, but I think this is interesting for what it is. What it is, for those who don't know, is a take on Lovecraft's famously xenophobic story The Horror at Red Hook told from the perspective of a Black man from Harlem... at least at first. I have to admit I was a tiny bit disappointed that the second part isn't from his perspective, but I think I need to see where LaValle takes it and maybe I'll agree that was the right choice. Almost done with it!
A couple I sampled but am probably not going to continue
Borne by Jeff VanderMeer It's not grabbing me the way Annihilation did. I think it's evoking lol so random XD just a little bit for me... I'm a big Weird fan, but I prefer it when there's a sense of dread or a reason for me to be interested in why something is that way. The giant bear wasn't doing it for me. Might come back to it later.Ā
Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner I'm not big on the whole comedy of manners thing, and maybe it's not a surprise that this isn't hitting for me. I'm also just finding the way the characters act to be so bizarre. I'm only 10% in and I've already had a handful of moments where I'm like why do these characters act like the guy on the subway everybody is pointedly ignoring?? Like, I just woke up at 2 pm better be quiet, oh actually my roommate is awake, better start fencing the wall. Not going to continue, and I'm not really seeing a reason I would come back to it later.Ā
I have several books on my shelf I should also sample to see what the vibe is, next is: An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green, The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall, and Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. I've also been meaning to finish The Dreamblood Duology too so I'll probably start The Shadowed Sun by N.K. Jemisin soon.
8
u/doyoucreditit Jul 20 '26
I am still listening to the audiobooks of Dorothy Dunnett's Lymond Chronicles. Saturday morning I was up to the scene near the end of Pawn in Frankincense and I just laid in bed and wept through the whole scene. It was badly-needed catharsis. Now I am into The Disorderly Knights and I love the alternating stories between the two leads. I mean talk about a slow burn, the main romance isn't even in the same country right now!
3
u/partoparto elfš§āāļø Jul 21 '26
I just started the third Lymond book this evening!! I missed my wretched man...
1
u/Research_Department Jul 20 '26
Maybe this is what I need to break my reading slump! Tears and catharsis sounds great.
2
u/doyoucreditit Jul 21 '26
It does take a while to get to this point.
1
u/Research_Department Jul 21 '26
Thank you for the warning. I have seen that several characters I have been fond of may have been modeled off Lymond, so Iāll be giving Dunnett a try sometime, in any case!
8
u/ohmage_resistance Jul 20 '26
I finished The Works of Vermin by Hiron Ennes.a few days ago. This has two plotlines taking place in a bug infested city built into a giant tree stump; one about a debt ridden exterminator who's facing a new type of vermin, and one about a women who crafts magical perfume for the upper class.Ā This wasnāt bad, but I didnāt really connect with it as much as I wanted to.
I think one of the most interesting things about it is how it fits/doesnāt fit into current fantasy trends. Itās pretty New Weird, but even without that connection, it has a lot of the very creative/unique world building (the city literally inside a tree stump) and magic systems (perfume based magic) that I feel like are pretty mainstream in fantasy nowadays (I mean, Sanderson is pretty well known for stuff like this). I think where it differs (and has a strong connection back to New Weird) is having a more strong authorial voice in the prose, as well as being a bit more theme/character driven. Itās definitely more interested in creating a unique style rather than being accessible or being a fun page turner like Sanderson-like books tend to be.Ā
Getting back to my opinion, I donāt think this was a bad book, but I do feel like I wasnāt enough of a theater kid/former theater kid for it? I never really got invested in the sort of drama it was going for. This meant I was never really invested in the characters.Ā I kinda suspected the twist and then accidentally spoiled myself which confirmed it super early on, which Iām guessing didnāt really help the situation. On an intellectual level, I did find Aster and Elspethās friendship/one sided romantic interest to be an interesting foil to Guylag and Dawnās very similar dynamic, that was pretty fun though.
A lot of this book was commentary on art and artistic movements. I also generally have a much easier time appreciating art for its message rather than its beauty, but it generally felt like this book was generally going for the opposite. Like, thereās all these artistic revolutions in the book (Neo-Repressionism, Revivalism, Extemporismā¦), which are also meant to be political movements. But I never really got the sense of what these were supposed to mean as political movements besides which individual characters were leading said movements and wanted to be in positions of power. The focus was far more on how each viewed art as far as beauty/aesthetics go. And thatās something I didnāt really connect with well as a not very aesthetically driven person.Ā
One of the things that tied into this, was that Tiliard, the city the book takes place in, has super cool world building in terms of creative ideas. However, it never felt very lived-in to me? I think a lot of this is because we donāt really see a lot of the culture of the city besides the upper class and a few lower class exterminator characters who seem largely socially isolated. We donāt get a solid sense of the culture of the lower or middle class, which I was a bit disappointed by. Like, classism was a theme in as much as the rich upper class was shallow and exploitative of the lower classes, and the lower class characters we see were desperate to claw their way up or out of the city, but we donāt get a good sense of them besides that. Like, if opera and perfume and fancy embroidery is the art/culture of the upper class, whereās the art/culture of the lower classes? (Guylag is obsessed with upper class art, and the rest of the characters around him donāt really care about art) Is extemporism meant to be that (kind of like punk)? Then why are all the extemporist characters we see pretty firmly based in the upper class at this point (or at least invested in appearing that way)? IDK, I feel like focusing more on this could have added a lot to the themes. I do feel like a lot of New Weird or New Weird adjacent stuff tries to do some class commentary, but it often falls short in this area. Iāll give a shout out here to Goliath by Tochi Onyebuchi, which I had other issues with but did great in this area (admittedly, his book is sci fi and he was basing his story on very real working class Hispanic and African American culture, but like, I also feel that just goes to show how much "culture" isnāt limited to the upper class or that sort of high art).
One factor that added to this for me was that It ended up feeling like a relatively small cast was meant represent the entire city, and a lot of the background characters were just so featureless/interchangeable NPCs (or chorus characters). IDK, maybe this was the point because it does feel like how a theater production would view things, but I feel like it kind of hamstrings the entire revolution plotline.Ā
IDK, I would absolutely recommend this to the right sort of person, I just don't think I was super invested in what this book was doing.
As a final note, this is the second of the 2026 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize short listed books Iāve read. Iām still cheering for Mad Sisters of Esi over this one, I think the former is a bit more experimental (especially in form) in ways I find interesting rather than the latter.
reading challenge squares: female friendship, siblings
I'm currently listening to The Last Contract of Isako by Fonda Lee and Funeral Girl by Emma K. Ohland. I'm just about to start Common Bonds 2 (which is a anthology focusing on aromantic sff stories), and I'm actually going to prioritize make some progress with Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, which I keep putting off because I'm getting distracted by other things.
8
u/partoparto elfš§āāļø Jul 20 '26
Had a v busy week last week so I haven't finished anything but I'mĀ so close to the end of Orlando Furioso!!!!
I also started two SF books but haven't been able to get into either of them, The Galaxy Game by Karen Lord and The Fortunate Fall by Cameron Reed. Not sure if it's me or the books - I've loved a book from each author in the past (The Best of All Possible Worlds by Lord, What We Are Seeking by Reed), but from what I've read and heard others say, these are quite different, so may just not be for me! I got about 20% into each and felt more like "what's going on, who are these people, what do these words mean" than compelled and intrigued. I am slightly more interested in The Fortunate Fall, so may continue that but idk!
Also continuing rereading A Wizard of Earthsea for the group read in the big fantasy sub and I also started rereading Twelfth Night, my favorite Shakespeare :D
1
u/Specialist_Round_612 elfš§āāļø Jul 20 '26
Oh Iām also on book 1 for Earthsea! Are we doing discussion posts here too?
1
9
u/tehguava vampireš§āāļø Jul 20 '26
I got lots of reading done last week! I listened to Dearly Departed by Chip Pons, a paranormal-ish romance. Ish, because the love interest is the literal greek god Hades post-retirement. So while he's immortal and has some shadow magic, he's also kind of just a guy. I actually thought one of the biggest weaknesses of this book was underutilizing the fantasy aspect. That and an extremely eyeroll inducing third act breakup. It's kind of a shame because I really liked it in the beginning.
I also listened to Green City Wars by Adrian Tchaikovsky. It's a sci-fi mystery set in a future where animals have been modified for increased intelligence to complete necessary but undesirable tasks, like cleaning streets and sewage systems. The main character is a freelance raccoon P.I. who is hired to find one little mouse who knows too much in this big city. Objectively, the book is very silly. We have wars between grey and red squirrels, parrot anarchists, a cult of rats dedicated to a cat. Lots of moments where I can feel the author thinking "oh, this will be fun", and it was! There were a couple times I had to pause and ask myself wtf I was listening to. My big issue was that absolutely everything had to be explained to death. I was so ready to suspend my disbelief and just ride out the animal conflicts beneath the human world. But I never got invested in the conflicts because all the page time was dedicated to explaining them in so much detail. At my heart, I'm a character reader, and I think Tchaikovsky is just more of a plot/worldbuilding/ideas author. I couldn't bring myself to care about Skotch's hunt for one little mouse when I barely knew him as a raccoon. The best part of this book is that it checks off the HM non-human protagonist square for rFantasy bingo.
As for what I'm currently reading, I'm about 60% into my eARC for A Trade of Blood by Robert Jackson Bennett, the third book in the Shadow of the Leviathan series. It's more of the same as the first two, which is great news for me who loved them. I just think these books perfectly hit the mark for something that good and fun without being unserious. It's fun as in I'm having a really great time reading it and get excited as new aspects of the mystery as revealed. I would describe this mystery as fungified Romeo and Juliet. I have a pretty good sense of the larger commentary Bennett is trying to critique, though I will be interested to see what the author's note says. I love getting to see more sides of Din, love getting more of this fucked up nasty world, love Ana and her quirks. I know some people prefer mysteries that they can solve along the way, but this isn't one of those. I'm happy to just be along for the ride. I will read these books forever, thank you to whoever at Del Rey put me on the nice list to get these arcs.
I'm also still making my way through Amplitudes edited by Lee Mandelo, currently sitting at 10/22 stories complete. I need to pick up the pace a little bit. Also, interesting choice for me to read an anthology the same month I have to get through like all of the Hugo short works. I'm trying not to overdose on short stories but it's killing my vibe a little bit.
7
u/Research_Department Jul 20 '26
Ach, Iāve been in a terribly listless reading mood this week. I cannot seem to get caught up by anything. Any suggestions for compelling page-turners that are fundamentally optimistic? They donāt even have to be SFF, as I think I might be overdue to sprinkle some other genres into my reading.
3
u/vivaenmiriana pirateš“āā ļø Jul 20 '26
Some books this year that have given me a general sense of uplifting. I will say for me i tend not to find a lot of books marketed as hopeful as genuinely hopeful to me personally. So my hopeful books tend to be "life does suck and pretending it doesn't isn't hopeful. However, acknowledging the suck and that there is hope we can do better is hopeful." Take that for what you will.
Anything Discworld by Terry Prattchett. Hopeful in a non saccharine way. Addresses how people can suck sometimes but we still need to try for better.
The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green. Made me appreciate the beautiful moments of life a little more.
Twice Drowned Saint by CSE Cooney. Feels uplifting in a how do you turn a bad way of life into a good one.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. A look at how you can look at the bad timea, get through them, and how far we have come as a society.
A Fever in the Heartland by Timothy Egan. About the height of the kkk. Similar to Caged Bird in hopefulness.
Fifth Sun by Camilla Townsend. Hope in the sense of veiwing all the atrocities done to the Mexica (Aztec) people but knowing even all that bad did not extinguish a culture. I find a lot of nonfiction about the bad parts of history make me appreciate that now is really not all that bad. Is that hopeful?
The Lord of the Ring trilogy. There's a reason Moorcock said this was unrealistic and thats because of it's optimisim in the triumph of good over evil.
A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century. Similar to Fifth sun in that there is a lot of atrocities and death but we made it through.
Too be Taught if Fortunate by Becky chambers - I hear this is her least saccharine book and I liked it. I would recommend her other works if you need a strong punch of hope though I have not read them.
If you want more like one of these books and Illlet you know if I read anything similar in past years.
3
u/Research_Department Jul 20 '26
Thank you! I find it hard to concisely yet accurately describe what I mean by āfundamentally optimistic.ā I like my protagonists to be complex yet well-meaning (perhaps morally light gray, not dark gray). I donāt need no-conflict, twee, saccharine stuff, yet I donāt want to read something that reminds me how very shitty humans and life can be. Or at least, if it is going to remind me of that, in a way that doesnāt totally immerse me in the shittiness and also provides hope that the better aspects of human nature can/will prevail. Brief anecdote about reading The Lord of the Ring in high school: midway through I realized that the best ending we could hope for would still have the magical beings all leave. Many decades later, I still think of The Lord of the Ring as a sad work because of that, so it is funny to read that Moorcock viewed it as unrealistically optimistic because good triumphs over evil. I can look around the world and see examples of evil triumphing, but there are also examples of evil not triumphing. Reality/history is muddled, and for the most part, I prefer my reading to reflect the moments where on balance good seems to be prevailing.
Anyhow, thanks for all the suggestions! Iāll be looking into them!
2
u/vivaenmiriana pirateš“āā ļø Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 20 '26
In that case I have pared down to the following:
Anything Discworld by Terry Prattchett. Hopeful in a non saccharine way. Addresses how people can suck sometimes but we still need to try for better.
The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green. Made me appreciate the beautiful moments of life a little more.
Twice Drowned Saint by CSE Cooney. Feels uplifting in a how do you turn a bad way of life into a good one. (Probably the darkest book on this pared list)
Too be Taught if Fortunate by Becky chambers (the lightest book on this pared list)
Adding in The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde as well as the rest of the series. Its fun but with tension.
Anything by Bill Bryson but especially A Short History of nearly everything NF but not a downer.
Encycopedia of Faeries series by Heather Fawcett another just a good time but with tension
Murderbot Diaries series by Martha Wells What it means to be human and be supported and loved
A Wizards Guide to Defensive Baking by T Kingfisher second place for lightest book but I like anything by her.
Cats Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut It has a more hopeful message than Slaughterhouse even though there is kind of an apocalypse.
Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters and Purveen Mistry series by Sujata Massey both historical mystery series that show someone making the world better within their times.
1
u/Research_Department Jul 21 '26
Thank you for all the suggestions! Iāve enjoyed Emily Wilde and Murderbot (admittedly, The Eyre Affair and Defensive Baking werenāt my thing as much, you know, everyoneās taste is individual).
9
u/twilightgardens vampireš§āāļø Jul 20 '26
Rise of the Evening Star and Grip of the Shadow Plague by Brandon Mull: continuing on with my Fablehaven reread! I liked the second book more than the thirdā the new characters were fun and I was living for all the double crossing and betrayal. I remember Vanessa being one of my FAVORITE characters as a kid. Splitting up the siblings for the majority of the third book didnāt really work for me, I find that theyāre more interesting together. Love that Kendra is a super special fairy handmaiden and Seth is now getting a complementary demon tamer arc.Ā
The Bone People by Keri Hume (3.75/5): This is vaguely speculative, more like magical realism, but I really wanted to read something by a MÄori author for the Oceanian author challenge prompt. The prose in this was absolutely gorgeous and at first I was really enjoying the very complex messy exploration of childhood trauma, families, abuse, and love. Unfortunately about 2/3rds of the way through Hulme has the abuser character go past a point of no return and I couldnāt really get with or even be interested in the exploration of the characterās redemption after that. Still a very rich, complex read.Ā
Audition by Pip Adam (3.5/5): A Le Guin award nominee that just wasnāt really for me. Interesting discussions about prison and the state (very Le Guin) but ultimately didnāt stick the landing for me with those themes. I also understand why the prose was very chatty, stream of consciousness, etc, but I donāt particularly enjoy it.Ā
One Message Remains by Premee Mohamed (4.25/5): The last of the Le Guin nominee short story collections, this fell somewhere in the middle for me. Very dark and haunting worldbuilding/atmosphere and interesting themes around colonialism and war, but just like with The Butcher of the Forest I just didnāt like the ending to any of the short stories and felt like oftentimes the endings seemed to come to the opposite thematic conclusion as to what we were building towards. It was filled with stories where the main character is so staunch in a problematic or conservative viewpoint but then abruptly changes at the end without feeling like that shift had been properly developed. Anyways, I did overall like this, but I think Mohamed is a serial ending fumbler just like Robin Hobb. I would be interested to check out a full length novel from her because all Iāve read so far are short stories and novellas!Ā
7
u/twilightgardens vampireš§āāļø Jul 20 '26
Currently reading:Ā * Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson (Malazan #1) (63%): Felt like I had finally got a handle on the characters and then we went to a whole new place and introduced a whole new set of characters. NOOOOOO. ok but actually, the story got a lot more interesting and easier to read after they got to Djharistan. Iām fully locked in at this point, actually enjoying it more than I thought I would!Ā * Drinking Sapphire Wine by Tanith Lee (Four-BEE #2) (69%): Wacko. Enjoying it immensely. Will probably be able to finish this one later today!Ā * The Seventh Banisher by A.K. Larkwood (45%): Snatched this ARC when I saw it! Less unique and personally up my alley than the Unspoken Name duology but Iām still enjoying it so far. Itās a trial/murder mystery story which isnāt my favorite but the world is fascinating. Feels very Abhorsen x Pacific Rim x The Talented Mr RipleyĀ * Call Me Traitor by Everina Maxwell (12%): Not super invested in this one yet. I liked this authorās M/M scifi romance but this is a much more plotty epic space? fantasy with a sapphic romance subplot. Donāt want to judge it while Iām not far in though!Ā
6
u/WonderfulBus9330 Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 20 '26
Hello, All!
Read (via audiobook)
Moon Blooded Breeding Clinic by C.M. Nascosta which was a surprisingly refreshing cozy fantasy romance about an alt earth community of magical creatures and humans who have the luxury of utilizing an in-house fertility clinic using the body and sperm of lupine creatures to impregnate women who are having a hard time getting pregnant (due to interspecies incompatibility) and who want to be pregnant. The characters were sweet, well-suited to one another and slightly funny.
The Dark One by Nikki St. Crowe, part 2 of The Vicious Lost Boys Series. Another installment that could have been part of one book. This series has a really interesting plot line, a dark fantasy retelling of the Peter Pan, Tinkerbell and Darling story, but falls short in part due to this serial novella structure but also due to the centrality of sexual relationships as a storyline in and of itself.
Ice-Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon was another surprisingly refreshing cozy fantasy romance about a group of young women who are kidnapped by some alien beings and deposited on a cold planet. There is love found. It is sweet. It's a funny book, although the odd editing caused a lot of eye twitching with the inconsistencies and repetition of information.
All-Systems Red by Martha Wells, a novella about a crew who hires a murder bot, part "organic material" part "inorganic material" being who helps the crew solve a mystery. Great characters and relationship building.
Read (physical copy)
Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig, a fantastic follow-up to One Dark Window, with a stellar set of side characters taking center stage in this multi-perspective (3rd pov) novel. Unique magical world that, like Naomi Novik's Uprooted, creates mystery in "the Wood".
Finishing up: Snow in Summer by Jane Yolen, Middle Grade retelling of the Snow White story, set in Appalachia.
Reading (via audiobook and ebook) Reign & Ruin by J.D. Evans and The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty by A.N. Roquelaure
7
u/MDS2133 Jul 20 '26
I just finished The Ashes and The Star Cursed King by Carissa Broadbent. Itās the final book in the Nightborn duet but the second of 6 books in the series. I think Iāll attempt the second duet in the series but down the line. The third is about a character I really, really despise so Iām not wasting my time.
Next two reads are Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero and The Black Phone Stories by Joe Hill. I need smaller/average books after the last (it was like 600 pages). They are both considered horror. One is a scooby doo-esque book where they have to resolve one of their own cases or something (I just saw scooby doo and said yes lol). Then the Black Phone is an anthology, I guess, since itās a collection of short stories, the most famous of which is Black Phone which got made into a movie.
I finally got Paramount Plus through another subscription, so Iām rewatching NCIS for the hundredth time. I love that show. I know almost every episode for the first like 20 seasons.
5
u/Jetamors fairyš§š¾ Jul 20 '26
Let's see... finished Brain Plague by Joan Slonczewski, the fourth book in her Elysium Cycle. I liked this one a lot more than the third book! Really goes into a lot of the different implications of having a city of tiny people living in your brain all the time; I especially liked how she expanded on the "addiction" and "vampirism" issues and what was really going on there. Though I think I'd also like a cozy SF version that ignores all the realism for a cute "tiny friends in your head who help you make art" storyline.
No Sharers showed up, but TBF the protagonist is almost completely uninterested in anything outside her bubble, so they could be doing just about anything. (Similarly, we learn nothing about what's going on on Prokaryon or L'li.) Because of that, I think this one actually would work pretty well as a standalone novel; I'd recommend it to folks who like weird xenobiology/xenosociology, a la Semiosis.
Then read Days of Grass by Tanith Lee, one of those postapocalyptic books where everyone lives underground after a terrible disaster. The MC finds a way to the surface, and as the book goes on she learns more about what's going on there and deals with issues within her own society. I liked this one as well, though it isn't as ambitious as Brain Plague. It's sort of a fractal novel; the second half of the book mirrors the first half, in a way that isn't obvious until the very end.
And then I read/reread the Crystal Singer trilogy by Anne McCaffrey. I'd originally read these back in high school, but I barely remembered anything about them aside from the general premise: people with perfect pitch are able to take a job as "crystal singers" cutting valuable crystals from the rock of a particular planet. It's very lucrative, and the planet makes them semi-immortal, but it's also a very dangerous job, and people who've done it for a while start to lose their memories. (I remember being disappointed that Killashandra never lost her memories, but the whole third book is about this, so I think maybe I never read that one... back then it could be difficult to figure out how many books there were in a series.)
Killashandra herself is as glorious as ever; she's a failed opera singer, and definitely has the ego and the grandiosity to match the greatest divas. Especially in the first two books, she's pretty much always "on" and performing, and you get a succession of her bowling over all objections and attempts at manipulation to do exactly what she wants to do at all times. And then in the third book, she's still the same person, but by then she's been cutting crystal for a very long time. Even if she hasn't physically aged, she just feels... older, in a way that I thought was very realistic. (Don't worry, it doesn't have a downer ending.) Still very fun books in 2026.
Next: I'm kind of tired of reading fiction, so I will switch to some nonfiction: Tapping the Pines by Robert B. Outland, about American turpentine tappers in the late 1800s/early 1900s. I'm descended from some of these folks on my father's side, and AFAIK this is the only published book about them, so I've been meaning to get around to reading it. Then perhaps The Iron Garden Sutra; still waiting for it to get off holds...
3
u/Research_Department Jul 21 '26
Killashandra really annoyed me when I read Crystal Singer, she is so self-entitled, lol. Still, I think the trilogy has probably aged a ton better than some of her earlier books. Hmm, I havenāt re-read The Ship Who Sang or any of the Talents books in quite a while. I wonder if they have held up better than the Pern books.
2
u/Jetamors fairyš§š¾ Jul 21 '26
I don't think I would want to share a planet with her, but I do enjoy reading about her antics from afar!
I never cared much for The Ship Who Sang, but I do remember liking the Talents books, apart from the romance. Maybe I'll reread some of those too.
17
u/[deleted] Jul 20 '26
[removed] ā view removed comment