trigger warning (view spoiler)[ gun violence, gore, trauma, mention of miscarriage, mention of abortion, grief, mention of rape (hide spoiler)]
Rose antrigger warning (view spoiler)[ gun violence, gore, trauma, mention of miscarriage, mention of abortion, grief, mention of rape (hide spoiler)]
Rose and Eli are married and have tried to settle down but it didn't stick. And when Rose's half-sister and her partner arrive, things go pear shaped fast.
There was no single clear-clut plot idea that defined this book, no "this is our job and we're gonna do it". Things meandered a bit which is a fair representation of life, but if I had to guess why this one got "only" four stars from me, it's that.
We meet many characters from previous installments, among them Rose's family and her neighbors, and we learn more about the kind of life people who don't live on the edge lead. It all adds more colour to the world, at least the dusty-poor part.
I am curious where this will lead in the next one. I'd recommend this if you've like the start of the series, because this is no good book to jump in. Too much relies on the reader knowing what went before, and in part five of a series, who can fault the author for that?
In retrospect, the plot flows naturally from book one from book three which I didn't retrigger warning (view spoiler)[ slavery, trauma (hide spoiler)]
In retrospect, the plot flows naturally from book one from book three which I didn't realise as I read it as a pre-teen, and I appreciate it. Re-reading it without a translator in-between was a great decision and I'll see if I can get the prequel second hand as well....more
trigger warning (view spoiler)[ mention of suicide, mention of torture, slavery, xenophobia, mention of "savages", trauma, grief (hide spoiler)]
Book twtrigger warning (view spoiler)[ mention of suicide, mention of torture, slavery, xenophobia, mention of "savages", trauma, grief (hide spoiler)]
Book two! Bartimaeus gets summoned by Nathaniel again because it's hard to find good service, and despite his annoying humor, Bartimaeus gets stuff done. Additional pov belongs to one Kathleen Jones whom we already met in book one.
I've come to the conclusion that this is not YA, it's been written before YA was the thing it is today. It doesn't have the tropes YA has, and it simply doesn't feel like a YA tale.
Additionally, Nathaniel is so centered on his ambition that he didn't have time to figure out his romantic and sexual orientation. He simply devoted no brain space for that exploration that is natural for most people, but then most people grow up in a group of peers, which he didn't have. For me as an aro ace reader, it's very welcome to have neither romantic nor sexual subplot.
The non binary tag is for Bartimaeus, who is neither man nor woman. They use it pronouns for non humans but I am curious about what the author would do today because yes, soon these books will be 20 years old. Holy shit....more
Nathaniel, twelve year old, wizard apprentice,trigger warning (view spoiler)[ familial rejection, slavery, torture, mention of suicide (hide spoiler)]
Nathaniel, twelve year old, wizard apprentice, summons an entity from Ur, not knowing that while you can, maybe you shouldn't.
Very nostalgic re-read. I found books two and three at a flea market cheap and then went and ordered book one second hand, and realised I missed Bartimaeus and his humor so much. Also, this re-read made me realise that Bartimaeus sees himself as neither man nor woman, which makes him non binary in my book. Nearly the only thing that aged badly is that when Nathaniel is taught about magic, the author makes an effort to include everyone, going "men and women" or "he or she" when today, you'd just use they. But hey, language evolves, that's what it does.
A solitary rider assembles a group ftrigger warning (view spoiler)[ trauma, grief, kidnapping, torture, gore, gun violence, alcoholism (hide spoiler)]
A solitary rider assembles a group for a special operation.
Alternate history based on true events: In the US, there was a meat shortage that led to a weird proposal: Import hippos to the bayou and eat their meat. They would also help with certain environmental problems, like the spread of a water hyacinth that is problematic. If you want to know more about this, Joe Scott has a great video about this.
So, imagine a typical western. But all the riders are paired with at least one hippo, and ferals live in the rivers and make life even more dangerous.
Since this is a S. Gailey book, we have queer characters and non-traditional family models. It turns out I really, really like the western genre - if it's not the run of the mill John Wayne story....more
trigger warning (view spoiler)[ slavery, human trafficking, racism, trauma, grief, kidnapping, mention of child death, mention of domestic abuse, animatrigger warning (view spoiler)[ slavery, human trafficking, racism, trauma, grief, kidnapping, mention of child death, mention of domestic abuse, animal death, use of the slur "darkies" (hide spoiler)]
Laura has a dream, and follows it to New York City, but dwindling resources force her to take a drastic step and join the Bureau of the Arcane as an apprentice to another floramancer, where she is desperately needed.
Alternate history: We have magic, and the old ways of coloured folk are especially targeted by the prohibition. The ruling people want to have magic sorted by discipline, and people sticking to one discipline, regardless of what a person might be able to do. Slavery was initiated by necromancers who simply took the life force of enslaved people to use and build things they'd rather have than fellow human beings. But the new way of things is threatening itself and unraveling, with nobody sure what to do. And who has to clean up the mess? You guessed it. Laura, the protagonist, calls herself a janitor.
Laura is interested in women but no desire to follow up on this is shown. Now, this might mean one of two things: She falls on the ace spectrum, or she is too busy fighting for her life and the author simply decided against inserting an unneccessary plotline diving into physical intimacy. I honestly don't care which one of those it is.
We have a genderfluid shapeshifter, which is always a plus.
While this story stands on its own, it could be the first in series of adventures either about these people or set in this world, which feels so big that there is plenty more to explore.
So far, I've liked everything I read by this author, and I'd recommend their writings and want to read more in the future. The arc was provided by the publisher....more
A physicist gets drafted for trigger warning (view spoiler)[ rape, eugenics, trauma, grief, mutilation, gore, homophobia, brain washing (hide spoiler)]
A physicist gets drafted for war, knowing that either he won't make it back alive, or due to time dilation, so much time will have passed that all his friends and relatives will be dead. He does not have a choice.
We start with the basic training. Nobody has fought in space yet, and the trainers are vets from the Vietnam War.
Sex is used as a way to show differences between the setting and the reality. I was reminded quite a bit of the amount of sex going on in Brave New World - the recruits have a roster which changes daily to determined who will be their bed partner. As time passes, our protagonist is shocked to see that homosexuality has become the norm. He's very homophobic about it, and we're told this was implemented as a means of birth control to prevent overpopulation. Apparently, hypnosis is enough to forcibly change your sexuality, and there is either homosexuality or heterosexuality. Nothing more. It reads like a hetero feeling very smug about their ideas and diversity without having done some research about possibilities.
I had no fun with this. If it hadn't been an easy read I probably would have quit, and im seriously doubting my plans to read sci fi classics. At least, now the algorithm will stop recommending me this book....more
trigger warning (view spoiler)[ rape, rape attempt, trauma, grief, gun violence, gore, kidnapping, mind control (hide spoiler)]
A gunnie is a person whtrigger warning (view spoiler)[ rape, rape attempt, trauma, grief, gun violence, gore, kidnapping, mind control (hide spoiler)]
A gunnie is a person who lives with gun in her hands, and Gunnie Rose, though young, might be considered the best. Which is why the two grigoris come to her for a complicated job.
Alternate version of the US. It's splintered, and after the Russian revolution, the tsar grabbed a piece and now lives in HRE - the Holy Russian Empire on what for us would be American soil. The HRE is the place wizards go, which is why grigoris is the common name for them, coming from Grigori Rasputin, whom you probably have heard of.
Her employers keep Gunnie in the dark in regards to the true nature of the job, which is why she has no scruple about sharing important information with them.
This is mainly a road trip, because that's what people hire our protagonist for: Keeping them safe while travelling, either on foot, horseback or in a car.
It's full of action and it's bloody consequences, while you try to figure out what the grigoris want. I am going to read on for sure and am glad I started with the first book instead of just reading the third, which I have an arc for....more
Alternate history fantasy western. Ttrigger warning (view spoiler)[ gun violence, racism, slavery, lynching, domestic violence, trauma (hide spoiler)]
Alternate history fantasy western. The USA somehow didn't survive the civil war, is now splittered in tiny fractions. The Russian royal family survived the Russian revolution in parts and is now found in America, while Rasputin founded an order of Christian magic users. They're called grigoris, because they're his people. Kinda like how British policepeople were known as bobbies after their founder Robert Peel.
Protagonist is a bisexual gunwoman who takes no shit from anyone. It comes with her line of work that things go wrong, people die, questions have to be asked.
This is the second installment in the series, and we meet a character from book one, which is nice. I would be excited for the next and last one if I were not really, really tired today....more
trigger warning (view spoiler)[ gun violence, gore, trauma, assault, mention of rape, mention of suicide, grief (hide spoiler)]
Gunnie Rose recieves a trigger warning (view spoiler)[ gun violence, gore, trauma, assault, mention of rape, mention of suicide, grief (hide spoiler)]
Gunnie Rose recieves a letter from her half sister, telling her that Eli, Rose's partner, is in jail. So Rose packs up her stuff and goes where she never tread before: The Holy Russian Empire, to see what's up, not even hoping she might survive.
This is the third installment in this alternate history western fantasy series. The Americas fractured, and California is now the place where the Russian tsar resides. Since the HRE is nearly the only place where magic users are respected, that's where they all are going, and wizards in the Russian tradition are called Grigoris, because of Rasputin.
While in the first two books, stuff happened because someone hired Lizbeth, now she sets out on her own, despite knowing she'll be far out of her depth. She arrives pretty quick at her destination and sets out to investigate, but somehow no one seems to know what Eli was charged with, which is kinda against the law. As if that were not worse enough, in the HRE it's not done to carry open firearms, which results in Lizbeth feeling strangely naked, no matter how many knives she manages to hide on her person.
We learn a lot more about the world, about Eli's family, and while prospects are looking quite grim, there are funny instances of our protagonist having to doll up to get stuff done - she does not like it, but she does it. And proceeds to fight in her new finery, because people keep attacking.
I like this series a lot, and would love to continue. Gunnie Rose is a cool character, and an excellent example of a flawed person, and while bad things happen to her and the people around her, it is fun to see her react to various different circumstances - or, to be more clear, to see her thrown into situations she has no clue how to deal with, and trying her best to muddle through.
The arc was provided by the publisher. Sorry for the delay....more
trigger warning (not a complete list since I dnf'ed this!) (view spoiler)[ kidnapping, control of body through magic, trauma (hide spoiler)]
In an altetrigger warning (not a complete list since I dnf'ed this!) (view spoiler)[ kidnapping, control of body through magic, trauma (hide spoiler)]
In an alternate history version of our earth, the French revolution was - at least in part - about the freedom to use magic if you were born with the ability. Magic is used on slaves. The Knights Templar control magic use. You can't even use it to save your loved ones in an attack - things need to change.
I didn't get far in this one. If you look up different reviews, there seem to be two kinds of experiences: You either love it or are very, very bored for a few hundred pages. Since I realised pretty early that I fall in the latter camp, I gave up. Because there are books like this, and the only thing I can do is come back later, maybe in a few years, and give it a go - but as this is an arc, and they want me to write something now, I want to urge you to give it a try. Maybe go and find an excerp, simply try it out and see in which camp you belong.
Be warned that the content matter is pretty gruesome in places and that, even if you like it, it's more of a slow burn.
I recieved a copy of this book in exchange for a honest review....more
An ambassador arrives at Teixcalaan, not kntrigger warning (view spoiler)[ colonialism, suicide, grief, mutilation, gun violence, gore (hide spoiler)]
An ambassador arrives at Teixcalaan, not knowing what happened to her predecessor and how the political moods are, as all her information is 15 years outdated. Well, all apart from: They requested a replacement, so they want something from her, and if possible, she'd like to remain her home autarc and not folded into the empire.
Imagine a world where the Aztecs not only flourished but their empire grew first across continents, and then across planets. Now further imagine that the empire has not seen war at it's core for 80 years, and the man responsible for this now appears to be old, frail and ill. And while you're at it, imagine you're being thrown into this, with the mission of defending your home so it can remain as it is, but being torn between admiration for the colonisers and patriotism.
I liked this a lot, but it's probably not for everyone. I know a few people I'd recommend this to, but they need to be okay with this being characterdriven and not really have a solidly lined out plot. You need to be drawn in and then just roll with it, or it won't work.
Hard to believe this is a debut, am excited for book two. Huge but: You could read this as a standalone as the questions we set out with are all answered within these pages and problems come to a conclusion. Just not necessarily the one you wanted to have. ...more
trigger warning (view spoiler)[ trauma, mention of genocide, child abuse, child neglect, domestic violence, grief, being cursed, mention of slavery, metrigger warning (view spoiler)[ trauma, mention of genocide, child abuse, child neglect, domestic violence, grief, being cursed, mention of slavery, mention of homophobia (hide spoiler)]
When a new guy arrives in town and Tala and her family belong to the few who know his real identity, Tala is excited but does not foresee the adventure that's waiting for her.
For me, there were things that worked and things that clearly didn't. So I can end on a high note, let me start with what I disliked: The worldbuilding is a mess. There is some alternative universe thing going on, in which not only does magic exist, but mythical realms do, too. In theory, I like that, but in this execution it meant that Avalon is somehow in Russia, and the heir to the throne is the tsarevitch. The USA are the Royal United States of America, Wunderland fell, the Snow Queen is the biggest threat.
It felt like there were some great ideas, but overall consistency was sacrificed for them. It feels especially jarring if you have an author of colour who just takes things from other cultures and mushes them together. Especially if you take a place like Avalon, that is hugely distorted nine times out of ten.
What appealed to me were the characters. Our protagonist has a Scottish father and a Filippino mother, which is the one odd combination that did not feel jarring to me. As in, those two fit together, I can see how they wound up together, and it makes sense, in contrast to the whole worldbuilding. We have a non binary character and while we could argue that Loki is not the most original name choice for an enby, and again, that names from all cultures are just mushed in together, at this point I am still glad for positive rep of any kind and Loki was one of my favourite characters in this.
While some depictions of the characters felt off, especially the "oh I did not grow up in a modern world and have to constantly ask questions, but only when it annoys people and not every single time I should not understand something", they work nicely together as a group and as the real adventure started, and the overall world did not really matter because they had to deal with the here and now, I got into it.
Since I already have book two as an arc I am going to read that, too. But I have to confess that I was surprised that an author I felt was hyped a lot delivered this mediocre a book. In the afterword, the author writes that this was their first completed book, so I am just going to assume that some growth happened, and this makes me interested in book two.
A dead djinn is found in Cairo, drained of blood. While the victim is not human, the procedure trigger warning (view spoiler)[ suicide (hide spoiler)]
A dead djinn is found in Cairo, drained of blood. While the victim is not human, the procedure remains the same: Who did it? Why was it done? Does the murderer need to be stopped so they won't kill again?
Since the narrator for The Haunting of Tram Car 015 was so awesome, I was afraid that listening to this one directly after would mean that I won't like the narrator. I was mistaken. I instantly fell in love with the voice of this female narrator and will look up what else she has done, just to be able to listen to her mesmerizing voice again.
In this short story, we get the world building that the novella lacked, and for that alone I am glad I listened to this one. Also, it was fun. Now it seems I have to look up everything this author did. Give me more....more
trigger warning (view spoiler)[ racism, mention of slavery, being experimented upon, grief, gore, torture, ptsd (hide spoiler)]
If you're liked part ontrigger warning (view spoiler)[ racism, mention of slavery, being experimented upon, grief, gore, torture, ptsd (hide spoiler)]
If you're liked part one you'll like part two.
Regarding the audiobook, we have two narrators, each narrating a different PoV. I had trouble getting into it, as I am not a native speaker and need a bit of time to get into accents, but both did an awesome job and fitted very well to their respective characters. Also, no sound effects. Yay!...more
trigger warning (view spoiler)[ animal neglect, animal death, mention of sexual harrassment, gore, gun violence (hide spoiler)]
Naval Capitain Laurencetrigger warning (view spoiler)[ animal neglect, animal death, mention of sexual harrassment, gore, gun violence (hide spoiler)]
Naval Capitain Laurence is forced to change his profession as he and his crew win in battle a dragon egg that is about to hatch - and the young dragonet accepts him as a handler.
I am so glad I finally got round to starting this series I have heard so much about. Only knowing that this is about dragons, I did not expect the setting, the Napoleonic Wars, and some scenes were very hard to read. I am not here to argue about the ethics of involving animals in your wars, because if we were living in a world with dragons, something akin to the contents of this book would have happened.
Most of the time I was really excited about what I was reading, something that does not happen very often if you have chronic depression. Temeraire hatches aboard a ship and so it takes a while till he and his handler/best friend Laurence meet other dragons, and it is so interesting to see how they integrate themselves into the group once they are put into the aviator's training. Having hatched on the sea, Temeraire likes water, because you know, either love it or hate it. The other dragons, who never even considered getting their talons wet for fun, consider that and... aaw it leads to a very fun scene I enjoyed so much.
These scenes are the reason why I will continue this series. ...more
Kairo, 1912. Agents Hamed and Onsi are called to investigattrigger warning (view spoiler)[attack on pregnant women, killing of newborns (hide spoiler)]
Kairo, 1912. Agents Hamed and Onsi are called to investigate and clear up the Haunting of Tram Car 015, which at first appears to be a routine case. Until it doesn't.
I knew nothing about this but the title, it having convinced me I wanted to give it a try since I can't resist a story about a haunting and never read about a haunted tram car. I might at some point read the blurp and known it's set in Egypt, but I forgot and was pleasantly surprised. You see, I study Egyptology, and I've been meaning to pick up some more recent literature set there, and as always, I prefer my reading to be fantasy if possible. This novella is a pleasant mix of alternate history, steampunk and horror, including Arabic and Eastern folklore and some hints to ancient Egypt mythology.
We have a genderfluid character, a person - a djinn - whom I'd like to know more about, and I am sure I'll look into gender representation and djinns in the future.
Aside from the main plot, there is a secondary plot going on, that the main characters have no influence about but which influences what they do, about women suffrage in Egypt. Another thing I should look up, is this the alternate history part? My grasp on modern history in Egypt is as bad as it is on most other nations in the world.
The characters are three dimensional, the setting is very interesting, atmospheric. I even liked the narrator. Also, for everyone who has, like me, hearing problems: This audiobook is narration only and does not include sound effects. As fun as those might be, they often make it impossible for me to listen to the story.
I will look up other works by the same author, especially the other story that's set in the same universe....more
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