An absolute masterclass in storytelling. Ours is a tour de force and one of the best novels I’ve read in ages.
I cannot say enough good things about OuAn absolute masterclass in storytelling. Ours is a tour de force and one of the best novels I’ve read in ages.
I cannot say enough good things about Ours, an epic historical fantasy set in an enchanted town named Ours that serves as a safe haven for freed slaves. Told over four decades, Phillip B. Williams charts the plight of Ours and its inhabitants as they experience the challenges and triumphs of being free and safe amidst a still-hostile world. It’s epic in scope, dense and demanding, but it’s extremely rewarding.
Williams is a poet and that becomes abundantly clear the more time you spend immersed in the book. Each sentence and paragraph is so beautifully crafted and it was a pleasure to luxuriate in his words. Please do not be scared away by the high page count as each and every page is infused with magic, wonder, and heart.
Bertino skillfully dissects the alien nature of growing up and the complexities of human existence with dry wit, deadpan observational comedy, and incBertino skillfully dissects the alien nature of growing up and the complexities of human existence with dry wit, deadpan observational comedy, and incisive insights into life’s little absurdities.
This is a rare book where the concept and execution are both pitch perfect. Even if you dropped the fact that the main character is (oh by the way) an alien, this would still be a wonderful coming of age story. The alien angle is just gravy that Bertino plays with to great (tragi)comedic effect. Her writing is heartfelt, deeply funny, and without a whiff of cynicism about it. I loved this and can’t recommend it highly enough.
My thanks to the public library for providing me with a post-release copy in exchange for a pinky promise that I’ll give it back within 14 days. (I did).
Engrossing, unpredictable, and heart-wrenching through to the final page – Jade Legacy is a worthy capstone to an incredible trilogy. I can confidentlEngrossing, unpredictable, and heart-wrenching through to the final page – Jade Legacy is a worthy capstone to an incredible trilogy. I can confidently say that Fonda Lee’s Green Bone Saga is a modern fantasy classic and I feel lucky to have come across such a special series.
Lee’s writing makes everything compelling, even down to the most esoteric matters of the clans’ business empire. And although we’re very familiar with the main players in the warring clans, Jade Legacy further plumbs the depths of these flawed, but captivating characters with an expanded story timeframe and frequent time jumps. This was a smart choice and made for a supremely satisfying concluding book.
There are new avenues Lee could explore in future stories set in this world, but for now I am happy to sit back and marvel at the brilliant trilogy she has crafted.
What. A. Novel. Simon Jimenez is operating on another level with The Spear Cuts Through Water. This is an evocative tale that beautifully blends fantaWhat. A. Novel. Simon Jimenez is operating on another level with The Spear Cuts Through Water. This is an evocative tale that beautifully blends fantasy, reality, and fable into a perfect package. To summarize the plot here would deprive you of the wonderful journey that awaits you once you crack open the first page.
Jimenez simultaneously (and effectively) tells multiple nested stories, while exploring the nature of identity, love, and intergenerational trauma. The book is unwavering in its commitment to its characters, its story, and its structure. And it’s told with such fierce confidence and love that I was totally mesmerized from start to finish.
If The Vanished Birds (also excellent) didn’t put Jimenez on the map, The Spear Cuts Through Water definitely will. This is a special book.
This is pitch perfect epic fantasy. Everything works so well together — propulsive pacing, exceptional characters, excellent world-building, and a fasThis is pitch perfect epic fantasy. Everything works so well together — propulsive pacing, exceptional characters, excellent world-building, and a fascinating mix of cultures, politics, religion, and lore.
The story builds and builds as each chapter moves us closer to the ill-omened “Convergence” (a solar eclipse). I could not stop turning the pages until the explosive finale, which does not disappoint. It also leaves a tremendous amount open-ended, which makes me excited for the future of this series, as it feels like Roanhorse has barely scratched the surface of where to go with these characters and this world. Altogether, this is one of the best books of 2020.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
I fear that I may never again read such a wonderful series. Robin Hobb has w5.0 out of 5 stars -- see this review and others at The Speculative Shelf.
I fear that I may never again read such a wonderful series. Robin Hobb has written 16 books that are immersive, heartbreaking, and brilliantly realized. There is quite a bit of fantasy that I have yet to read, and don’t profess to be an expert in the genre by any means, but I can’t imagine finding another series that I will be as emotionally invested in as this one.
As a singular book, Assassin’s Fate functions as a proper conclusion to The Fitz & The Fool trilogy, the Liveship Traders trilogy, the Rain Wild Chronicles tetralogy, AND the Realms of the Elderlings series as a whole. There is a tremendous amount of story to tie off and Hobb does so masterfully. SO much happens in this book. It features tremendous buildup, non-stop action, and a conclusion that left me emotionally spent. This was a story of movement, progress, and rising tension. Our two POV characters set out on a collision course; the results of which were completely unpredictable. I was left guessing the entire way, with Hobb delivering surprises and her signature gut-punches to the very end.
This is a supremely satisfying finale to a series that will stick with me for my entire reading life. I hope Hobb continues with the threads of the story that she did not tie off. I would gleefully return to the world that she’s created whenever she wants to have me again.
Some extraneous thoughts on my Realms of the Elderlings reading experience:
I read Assassin’s Apprentice in 2014, liked the book well enough, but decided not to read on in the series. When I saw that the (potentially) final book in the series was to be released in 2017, I picked up book #2, suspecting that it wouldn’t grab me enough to make it beyond the first few chapters. I…was…wrong. I burned through the remaining 15 books in a span of 237 days — each book my constant companion at home, on the subway, during lunch breaks at work, and even on my honeymoon in Iceland!
Thank you to the New York Public Library for providing ebooks of the entire series and thank you to Robin Hobb for writing such wonderful books that I will cherish forever. I understand if this is the end of the tale, but I will jump right back in if ever you decide to add to your masterpiece....more
More often than not, I’m left feeling that a book with a cool/intriguing concept fails to properly deliver on said concept. Childre4.75 out of 5 stars
More often than not, I’m left feeling that a book with a cool/intriguing concept fails to properly deliver on said concept. Children of Time is an exception to this trend. I was blown away by how masterfully Tchaikovsky executes this evolutionary tale.
I was immediately hooked on the story, which builds and builds as a spider species on an alien planet evolves across millennia, while the last remnants of the human race exist in a sort of suspended stagnation just trying to survive in deep space. The narrative is told in a very straightforward way, with propulsive pacing and a tremendous amount of momentum. It’s engrossing from start to finish with few lulls along the way. It easily joins the ranks of my favorite science fiction novels. Read this!
“Why should we be made thus, to improve and improve, unless it is to aspire?”
4.5 out of 5 stars -- see this review and others here.
I was completely taken with Senlin Ascends right from the outset. Author Josiah Bancroft’s words4.5 out of 5 stars -- see this review and others here.
I was completely taken with Senlin Ascends right from the outset. Author Josiah Bancroft’s words paint a vivid picture of a peculiar world where nothing is as it seems. It’s Tim Burton meets Wes Anderson meets something completely its own.
The story follows Thomas Senlin as he climbs the massive Tower of Babel in search of his missing wife. Senlin encounters a compelling cavalcade of characters who he uses as stepping stones to reach his ultimate goal, while they use him to further their (often) nefarious aims. These symbiotic relationships teach Senlin about the true nature of the tower and about the man he must become in order to succeed.
Bancroft’s prose is lyrical and conveys a sense of grand adventure that I rarely find in my reading life. I am perplexed about the lack of mainstream attention Senlin Ascends has received since its release several years ago, but I plan to keep the positive word-of-mouth going as much as I can.
The mindless Forged ones gain in number, roaming the Six Duchies like a zombi4.5 out of 5 stars -- see this review and others at The Speculative Shelf
The mindless Forged ones gain in number, roaming the Six Duchies like a zombie horde. Within Buckkeep, FitzChivalry Farseer hones his skills as a covert assassin and takes on a greater role in the kingdom, while thwarting plays for the throne from Prince Regal, his scheming uncle.
I have circled back to this series after three years away, having enjoyed the first book well enough, but never having a burning passion to continue beyond that. Dipping my toe into book two quickly brought me back to the world of the Six Duchies and brought me an enjoyment level I never quite found with Assassin’s Apprentice. I am not sure if the quality has improved tremendously from the first book to the next, or if I just have a firmer grasp on what strong fantasy writing looks like.
Robin Hobb creates such a clear picture of human nature and emotion with her writing. It may be long-winded at times, but each scene, no matter how subtle, has a purpose (building characters, setting up a mystery, or unraveling one). I appreciate the time she takes with character development, as it makes me care more about each individual character. Relationships feel more meaningful, betrayals more devastating. The focus on one royal family line makes this possible, as stories like Game of Thrones have such massive casts that you can only really know each player and family in a limited sense.
I enjoyed Royal Assassin immensely and burned through it just wanting to know what would become of our dear protagonist. I deem my re-entry into the series a great success and am going to attempt to work my way through the remaining 15 books of Hobb’s Realm of the Elderlings series. Only ~10,000 pages to go until the new book is out in May!...more
4.5 out of 5 stars -- see this review and others here.
This has been sitting on my TBR shelf for quite some time. I had it in my head that it was a gen4.5 out of 5 stars -- see this review and others here.
This has been sitting on my TBR shelf for quite some time. I had it in my head that it was a generic time-travel novel, but I was pleasantly surprised to find David Mitchell’s signature interwoven narratives, beautiful prose, and a time-travel undercurrent that slowly unraveled as the book came to a head.
David Mitchell’s use of language to immerse the reader in a setting is unlike any other author I’ve read. He deftly moves between genres, narrators, and time periods, while always presenting something that feels simultaneously literary and engrossing. The sextet story structure would translate extremely well to a 6-episode limited television series on Netflix or HBO.
The plot moves forward at such a slow pace, but then the conclusion in the penultimate chapter ends up feeling rushed and gratuitous. Fortunately, Mitchell brings the novel to an end in a quiet, satisfying way that is both hopeful and bittersweet.
★★★★½ out of 5
Other David Mitchell ratings: Cloud Atlas (2004) – 5 stars The Bone Clocks (2014) – 4.5 stars Black Swan Green (2006) – 4 stars Ghostwritten (1999) – 3 stars Slade House (2015) – 2 stars...more
In an alternate history, the Dutch have become a world superpower after creating an army of mechanical servants and soldiers named Clakkers, bound to carry out the whims of their masters through an alchemically induced compulsion to serve. The novel alternates between the points of view of three separate characters: a Clakker in the employ of a prominent Dutch family, a Pastor in the Netherlands operating as the last remaining member of a Papist spy ring, and a French spy master looking for ways to bring down the Dutch empire. Tregillis presents their varying motivations while exploring deeper issues related to free will.
This work is a perfect blend of sometimes disparate genres (steampunk, alternate history, science fiction, fantasy). The tale Tregillis weaves and the world that he has created is so fully realized and fresh that I could not put this down. Every small detail of this alternate history is considered and presented to the reader and the events of the novel seem absolutely realistic had the technology/alchemy described existed at the time. While I enjoyed each character’s storyline, I was especially excited to read the chapters featuring Jax the Clakker. Seeing the world from his perspective and experiencing his transition from slave to free Clakker was truly fascinating. Tregillis manages to create an abundance of memorable scenes while utilizing both challenging and surprising readable prose. I often had to look up definitions of words I was unfamiliar with, but that did nothing to diminish my reading flow and further served to give me a deeper understanding of world in which I was living. I am exciting to read the remaining two books of this trilogy, as the rise of the Clakkers over their oppressive masters will likely be brutal, but oh so sweet. ...more
In anticipation of Jeff VanderMeer’s 2024 return to Area X with Absolution, I decided to journey back to the book that started it all. I credit AnnihiIn anticipation of Jeff VanderMeer’s 2024 return to Area X with Absolution, I decided to journey back to the book that started it all. I credit Annihilation with reigniting my love for speculative fiction as an adult, after seeing its bright green, tendrilled cover on an end table at Barnes & Noble a decade ago.
This time, I listened to the audiobook, beautifully narrated by Carolyn McCormick. The book is just as creepy and mysterious as I remember, and McCormick’s mellifluous voice adds another layer of intrigue to the plot.
I’ve yet to encounter another book that captivates the imagination quite like Annihilation does – a compelling mystery, a brilliant setting, and vivid descriptions of nature in its most unsettled form.
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