Tak! commented on David Mogo by Suyi Davies Okungbowa
Nigerian God-Punk - a powerful and atmospheric urban fantasy set in Lagos.
Since the Orisha …
Content warning chapter 21 spoiler
My first thought for "the place where iron lives" was a laundromat
Reviews and Comments
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Non-bookposting: @Tak@glitch.taks.garden
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Tak! reviewed Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
An eccentric detective and her long-suffering assistant untangle a web of magic, deceit, and murder …
The Tainted Cup
5 stars
The Tainted Cup is very much a fantasy Holmes novel, where a labyrinthine mystery is being solved by an almost supernaturally skilled investigator and their lovable but hapless assistant, through whose viewpoint the story is being presented.
The setting is delightfully weird, much more like Divine Cities than Founders, with elements of existential/apocalyptic threat and imperialism.
I'm looking forward to more in this universe.
Tak! commented on The Bruising of Qilwa by Naseem Jamnia
In this intricate debut fantasy introducing a queernormative Persian-inspired world, a nonbinary refugee practitioner of …
Content warning big plot spoilers
It's always telling when people make bad-faith arguments and then the mask comes off.
Almost a decade ago, I was moderating an irc channel when one of the regular users dropped a racist dogwhistle into the channel. I publicly cautioned him, and he responded with a bunch of whataboutery and doubled down. So I kicked him.
Within seconds, he was back in the channel spewing screens and screens worth of overtly white supremacist rhetoric, including the phrase "mud people" and lots more along those lines. Of course I banned him permanently, but the next day one of the other mods (who hadn't been present) messaged me saying that the user had messaged them, mask back in place, complaining that I had unfairly banned him over a misunderstanding etc.
Kofi's post-rejection change in attitude immediately reminded me of this exchange, and how so often the smallest pushback causes the mask to slip aside and reveal what's truly underneath.
Tak! reviewed The Bruising of Qilwa by Naseem Jamnia
In this intricate debut fantasy introducing a queernormative Persian-inspired world, a nonbinary refugee practitioner of …
The Bruising of Qilwa
4 stars
A fantasy thriller in a unique setting with nuanced takes on colonialism, gender, and poverty.
I'll be looking forward to upcoming books in this universe or by Naseem Jamnia
Tak! reviewed The Old Goat and the Alien by Veo Corva
Avari keeps to themself. They're a goat-shape cosmoran, a member of the Cleaners' Union, and …
Yet another V banger
5 stars
V is excellent as always.
Going in blindish, I expected a bit more scifi based on the title - instead, I got a wonderful, wholesome space fantasy.
True to form, the characters really shine, and there's a lot for me to identify with in Avari. It was fun to explore a new setting, and although this time the plot didn't have the epic scope of The Beautiful Decay, I was thoroughly invested in the outcome.
Go read The Old Goat and the Alien!
Tak! commented on David Mogo by Suyi Davies Okungbowa
Nigerian God-Punk - a powerful and atmospheric urban fantasy set in Lagos.
Since the Orisha …
The #SFFBookClub pick for May 2024
Tak! commented on The Old Goat and the Alien by Veo Corva
Avari keeps to themself. They're a goat-shape cosmoran, a member of the Cleaners' Union, and …
😃 Love the murderbot reference
I didn't manage to resolve the earlier one, if that was also a real book
Tak! commented on The Old Goat and the Alien by Veo Corva
Avari keeps to themself. They're a goat-shape cosmoran, a member of the Cleaners' Union, and …
Thank you for CWing your spoilers ❤️
Tak! reviewed Siren Queen by Nghi Vo
It was magic. In every world, it was a kind of magic. "No maids, no …
Siren Queen
3 stars
This one just wasn't for me. I feel like it was one of those books that's all setting and no plot - and the setting was great, but I just couldn't engage with it.
Tak! commented on The Old Goat and the Alien by Veo Corva
Avari keeps to themself. They're a goat-shape cosmoran, a member of the Cleaners' Union, and …
aaaaaaaa it's here!
Tak! commented on Non-Player Character by Veo Corva
32-year old Tar feels like a Non-Player Character in their own life. They’ve been utterly …
As a consequence of living under capitalism, I am sometimes forced to tell people about the books I write.
Today, I want to talk about 🎲 Non-Player Character ✨
NPC is a novel about a highly anxious autistic person in their 30s who joins a tabletop role-playing group...and then all of them get transported to the world of their game.
It's cosy, it's queer, it has asexual romance, and it's very much about found family.
You might like it! You can find buy links here.
Tak! commented on Dirt Town by Hayley Scrivenor
When twelve-year-old Esther disappears on the way home from school in a small town in …
You'll never convince me that "Scrivenor" isn't a pseudonym
Tak! reviewed The Water Outlaws by S. L. Huang
In the jianghu, you break the law to make it your own.
Lin Chong is …
The Water Outlaws
4 stars
Content warning I don't have anything interesting to say without spoilers
This could have been titled The Radicalization of Lin Chong.
One thing that was striking to me was how almost all of the actors self-identified as working for the good of The Empire, but for some of them that meant the people in the Empire, and for others that meant this idealized abstract structure.
I appreciate that Lin's superhuman abilities were created/"unlocked" by a random experience she had, rather than heredity/Chosen One/etc.
Tak! reviewed Crossing the Line by Karen Traviss
Shan Frankland forever abandoned the world she knew to come to the rescue of a …
Crossing the Line
4 stars
It kept very much to the themes of the original: genocide, greed, betrayal, and the sheer amount of damage a few bad-faith actors can do in a system not designed to account for them
Finished just in time for #SFFBookClub sequels month 😅
Tak! commented on Siren Queen by Nghi Vo
It was magic. In every world, it was a kind of magic. "No maids, no …
#SFFBookClub pick for April 2024