Hours Gone By

What I Just Finished Reading: Sparrow Hill Road, by Seanan McGuire. I enjoyed this much, much more than Rosemary and Rue. The ending did not disappoint the way R&R did, and I found myself genuinely liking Rose and concerned with what would happen to her. The world, one of the dead, of bean sidhes and roadwitches, and the power of roadside diners, was fascinating and I found myself wishing I could see more of it when the book was done.

Discount Armageddon, by Seanan McGuire. I had high hopes for this after Sparrow Hill Road, and while it wasn't bad the best I can come up with for it is 'eh, 's alright'. I wanted to like it more, it just sort of felt like the protagonist was trying too hard. (Competition ballroom dancer/cocktail waitress/parkour expert/cryptozoologist/priestess. Alright, priestess to sapient mice, but still.) The romance felt tacked on and predictable, and the mice were - weird. I mean, things in a book about cryptids should be weird but not 'reminds me of the space mice from Voltron' weird. I would have liked to see more non-humanoid cryptids as well, though part of that might be because the book takes place in New York City and the really weird stuff might not flourish there. There also wasn't an armageddon, discount or otherwise. Has anyone read more of the series? Is it worth trying to push on?

I did get to introduce the concept of cryptids to my husband, though. He knew about Sasquatch, chupacabra and so on, just not the term.

Butterflies (The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal #2), by K.J. Charles. So having encountered Simon and Robert in Remnant, the crossover with Whyborne & Griffin (link to that entry here) I wanted to know more about them. Butterflies tells the story of their second encounter, but gives you enough information you're not lost. I liked it: it was decently creepy and the plot is very weird. (I like weird horror.) The story is available for free, so you can go ahead and check it out here if you're curious. The #2 comes from it being the second story: if you read The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal it's the 2nd story in the book anyway.

I went ahead and looked up more by Charles, quite surprised to find some of her books available online at the provincial library. (I can borrow books to my ereader, I don't even have to leave the house! I love the future.) I live in one of the more conservative provinces, let's put it that way.

The Magpie Lord (A Charm of Magpies #1), by K.J. Charles. After the deaths of his father and brother, Lucien Vaudrey returns home from China after twenty years to take up the earldom. Inexplicably, he begins to suffer from blackouts during which he makes attempts at suicide. Summoning a practitioner of magic, Stephen Day, after the most recent blackout he learns that he's not only inherited the family title, but a family curse as well. Vaudrey and Day must travel to Vaudrey's family home to unravel the curse and the web of plots surrounding Vaudrey.

I quite liked it, for characters, plot, and atmosphere all. You really feel you're surrounded by the inexplicable in a decaying mansion in the English countryside. Charles also uses the technique, in a few places, of giving just enough description that you can imagine something really horrible.

A Case of Possession (A Charm of Magpies #2), by K.J. Charles. I liked this one better than The Magpie Lord, overall. It gets more into the practice of magic in England, and how that magic is regulated. There's a larger cast and we see more of Stephen's fellow practitioners/coworkers. Unfortunately, events stemming from the first book mean that his fellows have cause to suspect he's turned warlock, and in Victorian England he can't explain why he hasn't without revealing his relationship with Vaudrey. And there's a plague of giant rats closing in on London, endangering Vaudrey's friends and acquantainces as well as his lover.

Interlude with Tattoos (A Charm of Magpies 1.5), by K.J. Charles. A playful, NC-17, short story about Vaudrey and Day, without anything trying to possess or kill them. You'd need to read The Magpie Lord for this to make sense, though. If you have, or if you're OK with a bit of confusion, you can read it free here.

A Case of Spirits (A Charm of Magpies 2.5), by K.J. Charles. The last short story was playful? Yeah, not this one. (Which is also free, but only through Amazon. Kindle software for your computer/tablet/phone is free too, though, which is good because I would certainly never suggest removing the DRM and converting it to epub.) This one is pure horror. You will definitely need to read at least the 2nd book in the series to understand this, or you won't know who 2/3 of the players are.

The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal, by K.J. Charles. As the title suggests, this is a series of short stories, which cover the life of Simon Feximal and Robert Caldwell after their first meeting till the end of WWI. I felt this was more unevenly done than A Charm of Magpies and that at times the story felt rushed, especially when Robert refers to stories we don't see. In-universe they were published in the not-secret casebooks, but we don't have those. The story needed more time and development: it would have worked better as a longer book, or as a series that would let the author flesh out the characters and their stories a little more. So, OK but not great.

What I'm Reading Now: Accidentally rereading Hunter of Demons, by Jordan L. Hawk. I say accidentally because my ereader has a habit of taking longer to move from the last page of a book back to the home screen, and I forget this, tap twice, and end up opening whatever it's showing/suggesting where my thumb lands. So I just went with it. Hunter of Demons takes place in a version of our world where the paranormal isn't hiding behind a masquerade and there's a government branch (SPECTR) in charge of hunting down demons etc. and watching over normal humans with paranormal talents. (Think Mutant Registration Act, here.) Sadly my library has no books by Hawk available, so, while I'll probably pick up the omnibus of this series sometime, learning more about the conspiracy theory that promises to weave through the series will have to wait.

What I'm Reading Next: Flight of Magpies, by K.J. Charles. The library alerted me that the copy I'd put on hold was now available. (How this works with ebooks I'm not sure - there must be a limit on how often a copy can be checked out simultaneously, or maybe they do have to purchase multiple copies as with paper books?) I like to read series in sequence, as I'm quite sure everyone's noticed by now. ^_~ Then, I think I shall take a day, put on a pot of tea, curl up in a quilt, and reread The Watchmaker of Filigree Street. <3

What I Just Finished Reading: The Last Wish, by Andrej Sapkowski. I thought it got a little bit awkward and stretched with what it was trying to do near the end, but I also liked Geralt a lot better at the end of the book than the beginning. You could see more of his personality beyond 'silent deadly merc sorceror'. I'm interested in seeing what the other two books are like.

Magic's Pawn, by Mercedes Lackey. I got partway through this and thought, "okay, so it's a coming-of-age story, about a kid escaping from his family that doesn't understand him and finding out who he really is." It certainly is that, but the crisis of it was a lot more dramatic and shocking than I expected it to be. I didn't really get into it until about halfway through, and it picked up after that. I did get a little impatient with the teenage drama and Vanyel sulking like, well, a teenager, and yet another fantasy land with anti-LGBT+ prejudice - though I recognize that that may not have been such a trope when the book was written and there are people who can use a fictional character with their problems to identify with. I would have adored this when I was a teenager, and god knows I still empathize with Vanyel on the 'not having a name for what you are' front even though those days are thankfully long past. Still, it interested me enough to read the 2nd book in the trilogy which so far seems to be a lot less teen drama and angst.

The Goblin Emperor, by Katherine Addison. I meant to read the above trilogy all in a row and not be a literary magpie this time, really I did, but my ereader ran out of battery power and shut itself off, so I had to go to physical books and this will always be one of my immediate fallbacks. :) Maia's such a good character, and so kind. I'd hug him, but while Kiru might just haul me off by my ear, Beshelar would gut me first and say it was his job immediately after. (Anyway, a glance at TGE fanfic gives one the impression Maia goes on to have impressive amounts of sex with pretty much everyone, so I'd say he's OK on the physical contact front. :P)

What I'm Reading Now: Magic's Promise (Valdemar: The Last Herald-Mage #2), by Mercedes Lackey. This takes place well after the first book, which I found a little jarring. I see from Goodreads that it's The Last Herald-Mage #2 but Valdemar #5, chronologically, which accounts for it, though that sort of thing is something I associate with comics rather than novels. It's not that events aren't referenced, but they're referenced sort of offhandedly and while the characters understand what's going on, the readers could have used a bit more explanation. Vanyel's much older, and calmer, and less prone to drama (so far, I have a feeling drama is incoming) and it talks more about magic and creatures, which I like.

What I'm Reading Next: Magic's Price (Valdemar: The Last Herald-Mage #3), by Mercedes Lackey. Apparently we're saving the world?

Academ's Fury (Codex Alera #2) by Jim Butcher. Well, it took me a couple of books to get into The Dresden Files too, so I'll give Codex Alera another shot or two. Thank goodness for libraries.

The Resurrectionist: The Lost Work of Dr. Spencer Black, by E.B. Hudspeth. I can't remember who recommended this to me, or if it was recommended to me, or if I just happened to like the cover. I borrowed the ebook from the library so it could even be a recommendation algorithm tossed it my way. I'm really hoping the illustrations show up well in my ereader.

Here's the blurb from Goodreads: Philadelphia, the late 1870s. A city of gas lamps, cobblestone streets, and horse-drawn carriages—and home to the controversial surgeon Dr. Spencer Black. The son of a grave robber, young Dr. Black studies at Philadelphia’s esteemed Academy of Medicine, where he develops an unconventional hypothesis: What if the world’s most celebrated mythological beasts—mermaids, minotaurs, and satyrs—were in fact the evolutionary ancestors of humankind?

Right, so this year I set my Goodreads reading challenge at 50 books again, and hopefully will manage to meet it this year. So far we're 8 towards fifty, but to be fair it's counting a few short stories in there.

What I Just Finished Reading: Corambis, by Sarah Monette. I'd taken it out to verify something and found myself reading it instead of researching and reshelving. Oops.

Red Seas Under Red Skies (Gentleman Bastard, #2), by Scott Lynch. Man, now I don't know which I like better, this or The Lies of Locke Lamora! Now I want to read the rest of the series not only because it's wonderful and gorgeously written, but to find out if there's a Gentleman Bastard book that doesn't rip my heart out and stomp on it at some point.

Eidolon (Whyborne & Griffin #1.5), by Jordan L. Hawk. Dammit, I am a sucker for couples being sweet at each other while overcoming odds. Toss in some horror on top of that and it's like dangling a string for a kitten, I swear. This is one of the short stories, just a few thousand words long. You can read the rest of the series without having read this, but why would you?

Carousel: A Whyborne & Griffin Short Story, #3.4, by Jordan L. Hawk. Everything in Widdershins has underlying horror. Everything.

Necropolis (Whyborne & Griffin #4), by Jordan L. Hawk. (Are we sensing a theme yet?) Lovecraftian cosmic horror in Egypt! Lots and lots and lots of Christine, too, which makes me happy because I'd just been feeling in Stormhaven that we weren't getting to see enough of her.

Bloodline (Whyborne & Griffin #5), by Jordan L. Hawk. Or, Whyborne & Griffin: The Wham Novel. I was annoyed with Whyborne for much of the book, then the realization of the underlying reasons for his attitude and behaviour set in and I began to understand the reasons. Not excuse, mind, but you begin to get even more of a sense of just how lonely and rejected he's always felt, everywhere. This probably has the strongest and most obvious Lovecraft influence, and if you're familiar with his more famous works you'll probably see where it's going, though it does swerve sharply in tone and message regarding certain characters, and thank god for that.

Hoarfrost, Whyborne & Griffin #6, by Jordan L. Hawk. Whyborne, Griffin, Christine, and Iskander go to Alaska! Whyborne is not pleased - and as it's freaking cold here right now, too, I am in complete sympathy, especially once you get to the decriptions of frontier inns in the early 20th century. This ties back to events in Necropolis and Bloodline, though it's not nearly as intense and heavy in tone as the latter. It's still dark, mind, but you get a bit of a breather.

Maelstrom, Whyborne & Griffin #7, by Jordan L. Hawk. Murderous cults! Mind control! Niles trying very hard to be less of a bastard! I actually thought this was going to be another breather (comparatively) until about 2/3 of the way through then the real crisis of the novel hit. Jesus. I mean, I sort of saw it coming, I just didn't realize it was going to be as intense as it was.

What I'm Reading Now: Last one, I swear: Remnant: A Caldwell & Feximal/Whyborne & Griffin Mystery (The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal, #3; Whyborne & Griffin, #3.5), by K.J. Charles and Jordan L. Hawk. I have no idea who Caldwell & Feximal are, and am just going to admit right up front I'm reading it for Whyborne & Griffin. The bright young things of London are being murdured by magic, and the only clues available are written in Egyptian hieratic. This takes place during W&G's London stopover on their way to Egypt in Necropolis. Poor Whyborne: bad enough he hates travel he keeps getting yanked into mysteries. 's what happens when you're marked by occult powers I guess.

The Chrome Borne, by Mercedes Lackey. It's an omnibus edition of the 1st and 4th books in the SERRAted Edge series, which I've never read. Actually, I haven't read a whole lot by Lackey: I can't recall them being in my local public libraries and my school libraries sure as hell weren't going to stock them. Plus, I didn't have any other fantasy fans near me who could rec the books or lend them to me. *settles in rocking chair* You kids today, with your Internet, don't know how good you have it! *gets up* I finally got around to it and oh man, do I love this! Please, are there any more series with elves driving race cars I should know about?

What I'm Reading Next: A lot of fanfic that I've been alerted to but haven't had a chance to read, plus the Star Trek fics runpunkrun recced to me for Day 2 of the Snowflake Challenge. Then, The Watchmaker of Filigree Street and perhaps the 2nd and 3rd novels in The Inheritance Trilogy.

What I Just Finished Reading: The Privilege of the Sword, by Ellen Kushner. I think I enjoy this book more every time I read it. :)

A Brother's Price by Wen Spencer. Okay, first, that cover has next to nothing to do with the book. (There's a carrying scene. It's brief, and practical and not nearly as dramatic as the cover makes it seem.) The book takes place in a world where men are exceedingly rare, to the point that one man marries an entire family of sisters, and selling and trading of brothers rather than dating and romance is pretty much the only way to find someone(s) to marry. Men are considered property.

The book never goes into detail but I rather get the impression that there was a catrastrophe sometime in the past that resulted in heavy depopulation and fewer boys being born. This results in huge families - the protagonist, Jerin, has nearly three dozen siblings - with one father and multiple mothers. Women having intimitate relationships with other women isn't seen as unsual, and at least one character doesn't see women dressing as men (for sex work anyway) as anything odd, but there's no mention of what life's like for men who are anything other than straight and cis. This isn't unusual in speculative fiction, but the fact that it's addressed for women and no one else is one of the things that really helped drive home the fact that men are property in this world. It's not just gender-flipped for the sake of having a Lady Land, either, a lot of this is actually discussed by the characters.

The book also averts the STD Immunity trope: syphilis is a big big problem, so much so that whole families have been wiped out and if there's even the slightest rumour one member of the family might have it, you're off the marriage market. All of you, since all sisters share one husband, meaning everyone can be infected before the disease is discovered.

The world in question seems to be at about a mid-1800s technology level: rifling for cannons has just been invented, there are steam powered boats and the microscope is a recent discovery. It's kind of like a matriarchal Old West, with a monarchy and a little bit of Jane Austin thrown in for good measure. If you're curious, an excerpt is available here.

Oh, did I mention all the men have long hair? Because all the men have long hair.

What I'm Currently Reading: Celts by Martin J. Dougherty. I think this is the only non-fiction book I've mentioned here? I picked it up initially because it was cheap and I needed to buy something to read while I was waiting to meet someone at the Starbucks in my local Chapters.

What I'm Reading Next: Of Bone and Thunder: A Novel, by Chris Evans, the author of The Iron Elves trilogy. From the Goodreads page, since I haven't read the novel itself yet:

Channeling the turbulent period of the Vietnam War and its ruthless pitting of ideologies, cultures, generations, and races against each other, military historian and acclaimed fantasy writer Chris Evans takes a daring new approach to the traditional world of sword and sorcery by thrusting it into a maelstrom of racial animus, drug use, rebellion, and a growing war that seems at once unwinnable and with no end in sight. In this thrilling epic, right and wrong, country and honor, freedom and sacrifice are all put to the ultimate test in the heart of a dark, bloody, otherworldly jungle.

In this strange, new world deep among the shadows under a triple-canopy jungle and plagued by dangers real and imagined, soldiers strive to fulfill a mission they don’t understand and are ill-equipped to carry out. And high above them, the heavy rush of wings slashing through the humid air herald a coming wave of death and destruction, and just possibly, salvation.

I'll have to let you know if it lives up to this or not.

What I Just Finished Reading: The Lies of Locke Lamora. So much love for this book. It's lush, engrossing, clever, and heartbreaking. I had to walk away and calm down a bit at a couple of points because the events actually affected me. This is definitely one I'm going to go back to again and again.

What I'm Currently Reading: Villains by Necessity by Eve Forward. Light vs. dark is a standard fantasy trope, and so is the idea of the balance between them. I think we normally see the idea of dark conquering and light having to fight back. This novel explores the idea of what would happen after light wins the war and banishes everything 'dark' - thieves, assassins, sorcerors, unhappy thoughts, lack of conformity - from the world.

The world's name is Chiaroscuro. Guess how well that goes.

Fortunately for the world, a thief, an assassin, and a Druid walk into a bar - sorry are on a quest to make things right again.

What I'm Reading Next: No idea. Maybe The Way of Kings, maybe The Doctrine of Labyrinths again. Not sure yet.

What I Just Finished Reading: Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner. Wow. Just...wow! And who knew reference to fish could be so romantic?

No, I'm not explaining that. If you don't know you'll have to read it and see.

What I'm Currently Reading: Swordspoint again. The first time through I found the beginning a bit rocky, and I think it will make a difference knowing how to read the rhythm of the piece and the personalities of the characters. (Alec, Alec. I feel like I ought not to like you, and yet I do.)

What I'm Reading Next: Not sure. Possibly Kushner's The Priveledge of the Sword. Perhaps The Lies of Locke Lamora. I may make one of them my upstairs and the other my downstairs book. (Because I will forget to bring my book with me from one place to another. Except when I do. This is why, no matter how intent I am on keeping my bookshelves organized and tidy, it doesn't happen.They wind up upstairs, downstairs, and in stacks. I will eventually try to organize them, get part way through, and find a book I haven't touched in ages, like meeting an old friend by chance, and it will all start again. I will grow old, and sit among my stacks of books, drink my tea, and read.)