Reviews and Comments

They want sainthood, he wants freedom and belonging, sie wants protection and safety for a loved one, while she simply wants everything to stop going horribly wrong.

A delightful return to the Imperial Raadch universe in which Leckie shows us a small corner of the Raadch Empire during events previously detailed in the original trilogy.

Lots of politicking and Raachai incomprehension in the face of local customs. Plenty of genders, accompanied this time by a variety of religious practices. I took my time with this to savour it, and my only quibble (this is me problem) is that, unusually for a Leckie work, I failed to find a character to glom on to and adore unabashedly.

A disgraced historian who makes a living creating fake provenances discovers an intriguing puzzle.

The Orb of Cairado features a new protagonist, Ulcetha Zhorvena, a disgraced historian, and seems to be set around the time of The Goblin Emperor. A nice story, though short, and definitely in the same vein as the Thara Celehar books. For some reason I didn’t find it as engaging as the books featuring Celehar. I’ll be rereading it because I suspect my lack of engagement had little to do with the book itself.

A young Locke is sent off with strict instructions from Father Chains, and he tries oh, so hard, to follow them.

Novella taking us back to Camorr for a summer of storms, wherein our hero needs to behave himself. I’d forgotten how much I enjoy the world Lynch has built for the Gentleman Bastards series, so this was a lovely, albeit brief, return. I prefer Lynch’s novels, finding the format better suited to his writing. He just doesn’t have the space to do that thing he does so well in such a small space. I’ll not turn down any new story featuring Locke Lamora though!

Murderbot gets stuck shepherding its humans across hostile territory. Best or worst time to have installed a mental health module?

Didn’t find this as enjoyable as previous books in the series. I liked Three being back, and the story was fine and as well written as always, but it just didn’t work for me. In Platform Decay, Murderbot doesn’t quite seem to be my beloved SecUnit any more.

Blah, blah, character development, yes, but I read these stories primarily because I find Murderbot so relatable. Well, as much as a human can find a fictional SecUnit relatable. Looking forward to the next instalment in hopes that my beloved either feels like itself again, or I can have Perihelion as a substitute fixation. Preferably with some Three also, as a treat.

A cast of extremely colourful characters disaster their way across an alternate Europe in an attempt to avoid suffering the consequences of their Papal binding.

I enjoyed this quite a bit. There were some glaringly obvious “twists”, and some rather more subtle ones, but even the ones I could see coming miles off were still pulled off to my satisfaction. There are quite a few characters, and they are all very, clearly distinguishable. Abercrombie also avoids turning them into caricatures, giving hints of depth to even the most single-minded ones. I liked the world-building, particularly the schism. One or two of the combat scenes dragged on a bit, but in general, this was a fast, fun read. Will be reading the sequels.

Duncan Silver, former soldier, now woodsman, has made it his life’s work to return children stolen by the Huldu, and he’s not afraid to slaughter any Forest inhabitant or changeling that is in his way.

This wasn’t for me. I have never much cared for stories involving fae/faeries/the fair folk, nor do I particularly enjoy reading The Great War stories, and that is basically what this book boils down to. I’ve really enjoyed previous Morgan novels, but the themes were more to my taste. The characters were fine, the writing is fine, I just wasn’t interested in any of it. I also found the combat scenes a little tedious, presumably because they involve more gun than swordplay. The ending felt very rushed, and a bit unsatisfactory to me. I’d forego reading a sequel in favour of rereading “The Steel Remains”.

Actor, musician, voice actor, sex symbol—Tim Curry reflects on his life and works.

A sprawling, messy memoir which feels very genuine in the way it’s written. At various points I considered whether this would have been improved by a more involved editor, but after thinking about it, I’ve decided its best as is. It feels recalled, as if Curry was speaking to someone and remembering his life, rather than a perfectly linear, arranged set of happenings that sometimes memoirs can read as.

I was disappointed in how shallow what Curry was willing to share was, though. I don’t want salacious details, but I didn’t come away with much of an appreciation for what type of person Curry is. A few unguarded utterances gave a peek into what a less reticent memoir could have offered, and I’d have loved more of that.

Mary Saunders doesn’t want to eke out a life sewing piecework like her mother. She wants more; a scarlet ribbon, to wear silks every day, her own coach. When circumstance intervenes she has no choice but to grasp fate with both hands and attempt to bend it to her will.

A reread. It surprised me to find how much more I enjoyed this the first time I read it, originally giving it 4 stars back in 2014. While I still admire Donoghue’s writing and storytelling skills, I suppose I’m just less able to handle the particular flavour of sadness running throughout “Slammerkin” now. It remains excellent historical fiction, just a little too grimdark even for my tastes these days.

After being designated “fragile”, our hero is content with his lot. That is, until circumstance, and those in charge, force him back to more challenging work.

It felt like the second half to “Prosper’s Demon”, with both novella’s sharing characters, and, uh, certain predicaments. I liked this one more, purely because it appealed more to my personal tastes. I love me a shifty protagonist, and the turtles all the way down aspect was delicious.

What do you get when a Genius wants to raise the perfect Philosopher-King, but there is the tiniest possibility of a small demonic possession going on? An exorcist, that’s what.

A fascinating addition to Parker’s fantasy world’s lore, this novella expands what we learnt about religion in “Sister Svangerd and the Not Quite Dead”. Not only is there a loyal opposition, there are demons. Naturally this requires exorcists. Enter our.… hero? As usual, the somewhat shifty narrator is much too clever, and convoluted plans are made. Enjoyed it. Started the sequel immediately.

Mattie Ross’ father is dead, and she knows who did it. Now she’s looking for someone with grit to help her avenge his murder.

Didn’t care for this at all. I hoped I was in for another “Lonesome Dove” experience, but absolutely did not get that. The plot was simple and straightforward, lacked compelling characters, had an annoying protagonist, and an ending which felt meaningless. At points where an author like McMurty would break your heart with sparse, compelling language, Portis just.… wastes the opportunity to make the reader feel anything other than tedium. I also found Mattie’s compulsive quirk of putting random words in scare quotes increasingly annoying.

Sir Cameron is a hot, strapping knight with a body that won’t quit. He is also a coward who needs to stop the Sorcerer at all costs. Well, some costs. Maybe.

I somehow stumbled across a small excerpt of this a year or so ago, and was eagerly anticipating the publication, so I could read it the whole thing. While amusing, and different, the full-length novel didn’t quite live up to my expectations.

I found the story pleasingly unpredictable, and while I liked most of the characterisations, I would have enjoyed a little more depth to them. The romance aspect also suffered from being somewhat shallow, and rushed. I didn’t really enjoy the last third of the book very much, and found the ending quite abrupt and unresolved. Still quite fun.

Davi, now poised to fix things, is quickly disabused of the notion that she can predict how the time loop will play out. It almost feels like something, or someone, is countering her every move.

The conclusion to the story which began with “How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying”. Davi attempts personal growth, horde control, peace negotiations, and enjoying a long-term relationship, but a few “surprises” crop up and throw spanners in the works. All in all it was fine, but I didn’t find it as engaging as its predecessor, and didn’t particularly care for the denouement.