Reviews and Comments

Tak!

Tak@reading.taks.garden

Joined 2 years, 9 months ago

I like to read

Non-bookposting: @Tak@gush.taks.garden

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Seth Dickinson: Exordia (2023, Doherty Associates, LLC, Tom)

Anna Sinjari―refugee, survivor of genocide, disaffected office worker―has a close encounter that reveals universe-threatening stakes. …

I'm not sure how many more Anna puns I can withstand

Waubgeshig Rice: Moon of the Crusted Snow (2018)

"A daring post-apocalyptic novel from a powerful rising literary voice. With winter looming, a small …

Moon of the Crusted Snow

Content warning plot discussion

Hwang Bo-reum, Shanna Tan: Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop (2024, Bloomsbury Publishing USA)

Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop

This is not my usual type of read - in fact, I almost put it down early on, but then I identified so hard with the first Minjun chapter that I stuck with it.

It's very much like a version of Bookshops & Bonedust without the fantasy trappings and the larger plot - characters with a variety of personal issues come together around a bookshop.

It's well written (and well translated! which is not a given!) - what I'm really missing is something actually happening. The characters each go through their different journeys of personal discovery and/or growth, but nothing is materially different at the end of the book. 🤷

reviewed Steelflower by Lilith Saintcrow (The Steelflower Chronicles, #1)

Lilith Saintcrow: Steelflower (2008, Samhain Publishing)

Thief, assassin, sellsword—Kaia Steelflower is famous. Well, mostly famous, and mostly for the wrong reasons. …

Steelflower

Steelflower was kind of a rollercoaster for me.

The world-building was nice, and I like that it avoided both the elves/orcs/humans/hobbits and fantasy-china/fantasy-italy/etc. tropes - I particularly enjoy the habit the author has of reconstructing words from their components (e.g. telescope => farseer).

I got really annoyed with the main character's level of melodrama and self-victimization around halfway in - I get that it was probably intentional, but I still found it aggravating. Overall I do enjoy that the characters are complex and that the protagonist isn't a perfect chosen one.

I don't feel like there was a whole lot of conclusion at the end, it kind of just segues into the next book without anything really being resolved. …so I immediately started the next book. 🙂

commented on Steelflower by Lilith Saintcrow (The Steelflower Chronicles, #1)

Lilith Saintcrow: Steelflower (2008, Samhain Publishing)

Thief, assassin, sellsword—Kaia Steelflower is famous. Well, mostly famous, and mostly for the wrong reasons. …

It's not that often I find myself actively disliking a book's protagonist

reviewed Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty (The Midsolar Murders, #1)

Mur Lafferty: Station Eternity (Paperback, 2022, Penguin Publishing Group)

Amateur detective Mallory Viridian’s talent for solving murders ruined her life on Earth and drove …

Station Eternity

I really liked Six Wakes, and Station Eternity makes it clear that it was not a fluke.

I loved the different alien species, the way the plot continually unfolded new dimensions, and the depth and variety of the characters.

I would unreservedly recommend this book to anybody who has any interest in science fiction, mystery thrillers, or just good storytelling.

commented on Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty (The Midsolar Murders, #1)

Mur Lafferty: Station Eternity (Paperback, 2022, Penguin Publishing Group)

Amateur detective Mallory Viridian’s talent for solving murders ruined her life on Earth and drove …

Thanks also to Mary Robinette Kowal, steel goddess of kindhearted patience,

Damn, if someone said something like that about me, I'd make sure it got engraved onto my tombstone

commented on Steelflower by Lilith Saintcrow (The Steelflower Chronicles, #1)

Lilith Saintcrow: Steelflower (2008, Samhain Publishing)

Thief, assassin, sellsword—Kaia Steelflower is famous. Well, mostly famous, and mostly for the wrong reasons. …

The entire Steelflower Chronicles--my hard-drinking, pickpocketing, assassin-thief sellsword--is on sale this weekend! Book 1, STEELFLOWER, is a whopping $.99USD in ebook through these retailers. books2read.com/steelflower

raggedfeathers.com/@lilithsaintcrow/112502933161785573