David Bremner wants to read Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Okonkwo is the greatest warrior alive. His fame has spread like a bushfire in West …
Recommendation from @nadinestorying@zirk.us
Reviews and Comments
computer scientist, mathematician, photographer, human. Debian Developer, Notmuch Maintainer, scuba diver
Much of my "reading" these days is actually audiobooks while walking.
FediMain: bremner@mathstodon.xyz
bremner@bookwyrm.social is also me. Trying a smaller instance to see if the delays are less maddening.
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David Bremner wants to read The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz
On sale today for $3 DRM free. I bought mine on ebooks.com; I suspect wherever Tor books are sold has the same deal.
David Bremner reviewed Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope
Washington D. C., 1925
Clara Johnson talks to spirits, a gift that saved her during …
Fascinating view of black DC in the 1920s, along with a decent fantasy novel.
5 stars
First, I really appreciated that this book was not set in NYC, despite the author's initial intentions. NYC is cool and all, but not the only city.
The hero is based on a real young black woman who killed a cop in self defense during the 1919 riots in Washington. That incident is not central to the plot, but it does play an important part in explaining how the protagonist got to be who she is.
The book really centers the black characters, both heroes and villains. In a broader sense it includes a lot of discussion of the divisions of colourism and classism within the black community at that time. The external structural causes (hello white people!) are noted, but people have agency for good and ill.
Politics and history aside, the characters are fun and the plotting solid. If you squint at it the right way it turns …
First, I really appreciated that this book was not set in NYC, despite the author's initial intentions. NYC is cool and all, but not the only city.
The hero is based on a real young black woman who killed a cop in self defense during the 1919 riots in Washington. That incident is not central to the plot, but it does play an important part in explaining how the protagonist got to be who she is.
The book really centers the black characters, both heroes and villains. In a broader sense it includes a lot of discussion of the divisions of colourism and classism within the black community at that time. The external structural causes (hello white people!) are noted, but people have agency for good and ill.
Politics and history aside, the characters are fun and the plotting solid. If you squint at it the right way it turns into "four people with special abilities band together to save the community". The ending is maybe a little conventional, but consistent with the overall "comfort reading" slant of the book.
I liked that dealing with the spirits in the book was very similar to getting in debt to an organized crime group. The notion of debt and deals is crucial.
David Bremner reviewed Swordheart by T. Kingfisher
Halla is a housekeeper who has suddenly inherited her great-uncle's estate... and, unfortunately, his relatives. …
Formulaic, but in a good way
4 stars
I think I read somewhere about a panel on "Comfort Fiction" that included T. Kingfisher, and the describes this very well. I think if you have read the Paladin series some of this will feel suspiciously familiar, but at the time it was just what I needed.
David Bremner reviewed Goliath by Tochi Onyebuchi
In the 2050s, Earth has begun to empty. Those with the means and the privilege …
Sure to be banned in Florida, and probably Tennessee as well.
5 stars
Content warning mild spoilers about story arc
This is not an easy book. I had to take a break in the middle to read a T. Kingfisher comfort novel when I realized that things were just going to get more tragic.
In addition to being both scholarly and raging about issues of racial and environmental justice, the book is narratively ambitious. It wasn't always obvious to me where the various threads were going until they snapped together.
If you are looking for a book where the plucky protagonist triumphs over adversity, this is not the one. It is more a multilayered tragedy, where circumstances triumph over everyone in the end.
David Bremner reviewed The City Inside by Samit Basu
“They'd known the end times were coming but hadn’t known they’d be multiple choice.”
Joey …
If this is optimism, I'm not ready for pessemism.
5 stars
In an afterword the author describes the setting as a best case near-future (paraphrasing). I think that means the present is pretty bad.
Anyway, if you're up for contemporary fascism and ubiquitous surveillance, the book is worth reading just for a kind of "uncanny-valley" flavour of India, which is almost like our own contemporary mess, but not quite.
I found myself re-reading the last chapter or so to make sure I understood the ending. Compared to some of the more dramatic plot threads, the ending is a bit subtle.
David Bremner commented on Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope
Washington D. C., 1925
Clara Johnson talks to spirits, a gift that saved her during …
Started listening to this ebook, then for $reasons, stopped listening to anything on headphones for a few weeks. No disrespect to the book, it starts strong.
David Bremner reviewed Paladin's Strength by T. Kingfisher
He’s a paladin of a dead god, tracking a supernatural killer across a continent. She’s …
Fluffy but clever
4 stars
I thought the first book was a bit fantasy-autobiography with the nerdy heroine a stand-in for the author. That was probably silly (and maybe a bit condescending) of me. The characters in this are quite different, and I doubt that both heroines (or some combination of protagonists from both books) can be autobiographical.
Kingfisher's writing oozes cleverness, but in a fairly undemanding way. The romance tropes occasionally verge on the self parody, but I can't swear that isn't intentional.
As a fantasy (in the non-romantic sense), the world building and characterization are rather good.
David Bremner reviewed Deverry: Books 1-4 by Katherine Kerr
Entertaining, occasionally thought provoking
4 stars
Content warning extremely mild spoilers
This is kind of standard sword and sorcerer epic fantasy.
It has its flaws. I'm not sure if some of the writing around homosexuality has not aged well, or if I am just being oversensitive. The world building occasionally feels derivative (or at least not very innovative). For whatever reason, the language used to describe magic occasionally rubbed me the wrong way.
With the complaints out of the way, it is a good story with some engaging characters. It redeems itself somewhat by choosing not to have the happiest, tidiest possible ending. People have to make some difficult choices, and not everyone gets everything they want.
I listened to this on audiobook, so it kept me company though a lot of washing dishes and walking the dog. I'm not sure how I'd feel about reading that many pages.
David Bremner wants to read Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope
Washington D. C., 1925
Clara Johnson talks to spirits, a gift that saved her during …
Based on a recommendation from @Annalee@wandering.shop
David Bremner wants to read Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh
All her life Kyr has trained for the day she can avenge the murder of …
Based on a review by @RunalongWomble@mastodon.social
David Bremner wants to read There Are No Accidents by Jessie Singer
We hear it all the time: “Sorry, it was just an accident.” And we’ve been …
based on a post from @shauna@social.coop
David Bremner wants to read Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind Box Set by Hayao Miyazaki
Although I don't read much on paper these days, for manga I guess it's the only sensible choice.
David Bremner started reading Deverry: Books 1-4 by Katherine Kerr
I have made to book 4, but too lazy to import that separately at the moment.
Against the passionate sweep of Deverrian history, the powerful wizard Nevyn has lived for centuries, …
the series is growing on me
4 stars
First of all, a warning. If you are sensitive to depictions of sexual assault, this might not be the book for you. It isn't graphic, but it is there for a chapter or so.
With that said I think the series is coming into it's own. The world building is finally stretching a bit with pirate towns and a whole new continent / civilization. I also think the promotion of Salamander to a leading-for-this-book character was clever, as he brings some needed irreverence to the scene.
For better or worse, it really is a cliffhanger, and I kept going from book 3 to book 4 without a pause.