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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Washington D. C., 1925
Clara Johnson talks to spirits, a gift that saved her during her darkest moments in a …
Content warning mild spoilers about story arc
Oh hah, I realized that Onyebuchi specifically calls out the kind of anti-south smugness I engaged in with the subject. Well I already knew I wasn't the hero of this story.
Halla is a housekeeper who has suddenly inherited her great-uncle's estate... and, unfortunately, his relatives. …
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.
Halla is a housekeeper who has suddenly inherited her great-uncle's estate... and, unfortunately, his relatives. Sarkis is an immortal swordsman …
In the 2050s, Earth has begun to empty. Those with the means and the privilege …
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.
“They'd known the end times were coming but hadn’t known they’d be multiple choice.”
Joey …
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.
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.
“They'd known the end times were coming but hadn’t known they’d be multiple choice.”
Joey is a Reality Controller in …
Washington D. C., 1925
Clara Johnson talks to spirits, a gift that saved her during her darkest moments in a …
He’s a paladin of a dead god, tracking a supernatural killer across a continent. She’s …
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.
He’s a paladin of a dead god, tracking a supernatural killer across a continent. She’s a nun from a secretive …
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.
Washington D. C., 1925
Clara Johnson talks to spirits, a gift that saved her during …
Based on a recommendation from @Annalee@wandering.shop
He’s a paladin of a dead god, tracking a supernatural killer across a continent. She’s a nun from a secretive …
