Book review: The Blood of Four Gods and Other Stories, by Jamie Lackey
The adjectives that come to mind when I start describing the stories in Jamie Lackey’s latest collection — “graceful”, “elegant”, “accomplished”, “economical”, “beautiful” — all trouble me a bit, because they all come straight out of the 19th century’s idealization of Womanhood, but I just can’t help it. They all apply, and to every one of these tales.
Book Review: Red Waters Rising by Laura Anne Gilman
The Devil’s West trilogy comes to its concluding volume in Laura Anne Gilman’s Red Waters Rising, sequel to Silver on the Road and The Cold Eye. The novel finishes, at least in this trilogy the stories of Izzy and Gabriel, bringing their adventures to the furthermost southeastern portion of the Devil’s Territory, and a glimpse at the limits of the future of the entirety of the Territory, as well. The plotting of the novel follows a similar pattern to the first two volumes in this concluding volume, in the broadest of senses. Izzy and Gabriel head toward the town of Red Branch (in our world’s position and location of Baton Rouge), along the way getting intimations that this region of the boundary of the the Territory is under some sort of unknown, vague threat. Izzy and Gabriel have been on the Road for a while now, Izzy growing into her role as the Devil’s Hand. They come to the Red Branch area to find that the local Native residents and the town’s residents alike are uneasy, tensions are high, and the Americans on the other side of the river loom as a threat. The Americans have threatened the Territory before, and perhaps they are game for another try. The Red Waters may indeed, rise, whether Izzy and Gabriel will or no.
Book Review: Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
Spinning Silver first appeared as a novella in The Starlit Wood edited by Dominik Parisien and Navah Wolfe. It has been expanded into a novel that will delight lovers of fairytale retellings. The story is based on Rumplestiltskin. Miryem comes from a family of moneylenders, some more successful than others. Her father’s generous nature makes him one of the less successful. When Miryem’s mother grows sick from their impoverished conditions, Miryem takes over the family business. She finds she’s good at it. So much so that when her grandfather gives her a pouch of silver to help grow her business, she’s able to return the pouch to him full of gold. Unfortunately for Miryem, the snowy fae Staryk who haunts the woods hears her boasts. Craving gold above all else, the Staryk threatens Miryem: change his silver into gold or risk being turned to ice.
Book Review: The Only Harmless Great Thing by Brooke Bolander
Brooke Bolander jumps from stories to novellas with The Only Harmless Great Thing, her #Tordotcompublishing novella. The novella is a strongly affecting and moving story that proves that her emotional strengths in reaching an audience do translate from her short stories to novella length. Brooke Bolander first came to my literary attention with “Our Talons can crush Galaxies”, her Nebula and Hugo nominated story in Uncanny magazine that mixed Gods, revenge and a very sharp, short package. When I heard that Bolander was writing a novella that was an alternate history that involved the radium girls, a part of history I only had the vaguest notions about, I was thus intrigued. What could and would the author do at novella length in an alternate history? I was not sure, but I wanted to find out.
Book review: Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman
Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman is a deeply affecting young adult novel that is part coming-of-age and part episodic road trip. It focuses on the eponymous Tess, a young woman who runs away from home to escape the restrictive life that is slowly smothering her. Rachel Hartman is best known for her Seraphina duology. Tess of the Road is not only set in the same world, but Tess is Seraphina’s half sister. New readers don’t need to have read the previous series in order to read this book; it makes clear how the world works. However, Tess of the Road takes place after the events of Seraphina and Shadow Scale. Several of the characters from these books make cameos and I highly recommend reading them first if you are adverse to spoilers.
Retro Childhood Review: Justice and Her Brothers
Justice flicked her eyes this way and that. All else around the parlor appeared ordinary. The light of sun set the room aglow in corners and on walls. It was an eerie effect, but not something she hadn’t seen before. The house was stifling, as it had been for weeks. But there was nothing odd about sunlight, about heat, at this early hour. Yet, since the summer started, she’d got the notion at times that something deadly strange was going on. When I was considering what book to read for Black History Month, I was once again struck with how inadequate my small library of childhood favorites is in representing any perspective that is not white. Thank goodness for Google. I’m upset with the system that existed in my small, very white town. A system that seems to have excluded voices of color and, indeed, made attempts on numerous occasions to explicitly do so. All of this means that I was never introduced to the exceedingly talented Newbery Medalist author, Virginia Hamilton. I suspect this is not JUST because she is a black woman, but because, at least when it comes to Justice and Her Brothers, one could easily mistake her work for “Not Sci-fi.” This is a mistake that needs immediate rectification because nothing could be further from the truth.
