Tag: Fantasy

“Where the Stars Rise” Review

Jen

The book cover has areas of blue with shades of purple with white lights (stars) scattered around the cover. In the center is a spaceship pointed upwards with a dragon wrapped around it and then extending above facing towards the left. The title of the anthology is at the bottom with the editors names. Full Title: “Where the Stars Rise: Asian Science Fiction and Fantasy”
Edited by Lucas K. Law and Derwin Mak
Published by Laksa Media Groups Inc., October 2017
352 Pages
Completed April 26, 2024

Follow twenty-three science fiction and fantasy authors on their journeys through Asia and beyond. Stories that explore magic and science. Stories about love, revenge, and choices. Stories that challenge ideas about race, belonging, and politics. Stories about where we come from and where we are going.

Each wrestling between ghostly pasts and uncertain future. Each trying to find a voice in history.

Orphans and drug-smuggling in deep space. Mechanical arms in steampunk Vancouver. Djinns and espionage in futuristic Istanbul. Humanoid robot in steamy Kerala. Monsters in the jungles of Cebu. Historic time travel in Gyeongbok Palace. A rocket launch in post-apocalyptic Tokyo. A drunken ghost in Song Dynasty China. A displaced refugee skating on an ice planet. And much more.

Embrace them as you take on their journeys. And don’t look back…

Another great collection of short stories. I enjoyed reading the majority of the stories in the book. There were a couple I wasn’t quite sure what was happening and didn’t enjoy as much but they were worth trying them. All of them had interesting ideas and characters. It was interesting seeing the different Asian cultural contexts for the stories and the ways the science fiction and fantasy elements played out. This would be another anthology where it’s important to read the forward and the afterword for some additional context. As always I’ll be checking out all the authors to see what else they’ve written. I’ve already read a book by at least one of the authors, Meru by S.B. Divya – great book.

“Tell Me How It Ends” Review

Jen

The book cover is a drawing of a person sitting behind a table with a set of 5 tarot cards that are face up on the table. Everything is various shades of purple. Written by Quinton Li
Published by Quinton Li Editorial, April 2023
326 pages
Completed April 7, 2024

Iris Galacia’s tarot cards do more than entertain gamblers. With the flip of her fingers she can predict the future and uncover a person’s secrets. But under the watchful eye of her mother, she is on thin ice for pursuing a passion in the family business, and then cracks start to form until she eventually she falls through. She is given an ultimatum — a test to prove her worth: earn a thousand coins or leave the business, and the family.

Enter Marin Boudreau, a charming young person who can scale buildings and break off door knobs, who comes for her help to rescue a witch who’s been falsely imprisoned in Excava Kingdom. And Marin is willing to pay a high sum for her talents. But saving a prisoner from royal hands isn’t easy, nor is leaving home for the first time in eighteen years.

Now Iris must learn to trust in herself, Marin, and this new magical world, while racing the clock before the royals decide the fate of the witch, and before any secrets catch up to her.

I’m honestly not sure how I feel about this book because a lot of my issues with it can be explained by it being both a “cozy fantasy” and young adult. I did enjoy some things about it – the characters were interesting and all that. However, conflicts that should have been more serious are resolved almost instantly and with more compassion (from villains) than seems reasonable for anyone. Even the ending of the story with Iris making a choice about what to do next was too easy. Without spoiling too much, Marin never really proves themselves to be trust worthy and Iris feels too sheltered and naive to really be reliable in picking what she should do next. There’s a lot of reasons why she should escape her current life but it doesn’t feel like the found family she found is all that safe either. That said – how I feel about the ending of the book might be more about my personality (and age), along with the genres, than the story itself. One thing I did like was the way the Tarot cards were used in the story – there were a lot of good details about how they worked and how they helped Iris figure out what to do next. Not a series I’ll continue, but honestly if you like cozy fantasy with found family where things are resolved easily it might be more your cup of tea than mine.

“Light from Uncommon Stars” Review

Jen

The majority of the cover is a view of space with stars and patches of nebulas in lighter blue. there's a spaceship flying across the top of the cover and the title of the book is written in large font across the middle of the cover with the authors name at the bottomWritten by Ryka Aoki
Published by Tor Books, September 2021
372 pages
Completed March 29, 2024

Shizuka Satomi made a deal with the devil: to escape damnation, she must entice seven other violin prodigies to trade their souls for success. She has already delivered six.

When Katrina Nguyen, a young transgender runaway, catches Shizuka’s ear with her wild talent, Shizuka can almost feel the curse lifting. She’s found her final candidate.

But in a donut shop off a bustling highway in the San Gabriel Valley, Shizuka meets Lan Tran, retired starship captain, interstellar refugee, and mother of four. Shizuka doesn’t have time for crushes or coffee dates, what with her very soul on the line, but Lan’s kind smile and eyes like stars might just redefine a soul’s worth. And maybe something as small as a warm donut is powerful enough to break a curse as vast as the California coastline.

As the lives of these three women become entangled by chance and fate, a story of magic, identity, curses, and hope begins, and a family worth crossing the universe for is found.

This was a very cool and very strange story. Other reviews have said it felt like multiple stories being told at once and that’s sort of true. But really it feels like multiple lives intersecting in a time and place in various complicated ways and we’re just going along for the ride. Which is how life works. Books usually focus on one story but this one was a bit more realistic to life with multiple people and their stories connecting. It’s also multi-genre in that it’s a bit science fiction and a bit fantasy and a bit coming of age general fiction for one of the characters. And I really enjoyed getting to know all of the characters – even Shizuka Satomi and her complicated history. Some would say she’s evil but it feels more complicated than that. There’s a couple places where I think things could have been explained a little more bot overall everything was great about the book. Hopefully all continues to go well for everyone!

“The Eternal Ones” Review

Jen

The cover is blue. There is a young dark skinned woman on the cover facing towards the left with her head facing forwards. She has log black hair tied in braids with several gold claps holding it. She is also wearing a short sleeved gold and green tunic and necklaces in various colors. She has gold designs on her cheek and a gold earring. The title is near the bottom of the cover across the woman.Written by Namina Forna
Published by Delacorte Press, February 2024
480 pages
Completed March 13, 2024

Mere weeks after confronting the Gilded Ones—the false beings she once believed to be her family—Deka is on the hunt. In order to kill the gods, whose ravenous competition for power is bleeding Otera dry, she must uncover the source of her divinity. But with her mortal body on the verge of ruin, Deka is running out of time—to save herself and an empire that’s tearing itself apart at its seams.

When Deka’s search leads her and her friends to the edge of the world as they know it, they discover an astonishing new realm, one which holds the key to Deka’s past. Yet it also illuminates a devastating decision she must soon make…

Choose to be reborn as a god, losing everyone she loves in the process. Or bring about the end of the world.

I really enjoyed the this book and the resolution to the series. While I don’t love everything about how it turned out I felt like it was realistic for the story being told. As with the previous novels I enjoyed the character development and relationships Deka continued to develop with the other characters, new and previously met. Throughout the series the world building was interesting with the different gods and how they ended up doing what they did which influenced how humans developed.

“The Merciless Ones” Review

Jen

The cover is red. There is a young dark skinned woman on the cover facing forwards holding a sword up in the area with log black hair tied in braids with several gold claps holding it. She is also wearing a short sleeved gold and green tunic and necklaces in various colors. She has gold designs on her cheek and a gold earring. The title is near the bottom of the cover across the woman.Written by Namina Forna
Published by Delacorte Press, May 2022
432 pages
Completed March 10, 2024

It’s been six months since Deka has freed the goddesses and discovered who she really is. There are now wars waging across the kingdom. Otereans now think jatu are traitors to the nation. Deka is called a monster.

But the real battle has only just begun and Deka must lead the charge. Deka is tasked with freeing the rest of the goddesses. Only as she begins to free them, she begins to see a strange symbol everywhere in places of worship and worn on armor. There’s something unnatural about that symbol; just looking at it makes Deka lose her senses. Even worse, it seems to repel her powers. She can’t command or communicate with the new deathshrieks. In fact, she can’t even understand them when they speak.

Deka knows freeing the goddesses is just the beginning. She can tell whatever dark force out is powerful and there is something sinister out there threatening the kingdom connected to that symbol–something merciless–that her army will need to stop before humanity crumbles. But Deka’s powers are only getting stronger…and her strongest weapon could be herself.

This was a great sequel to the first book. A lot of things were happening and Deka and her friends were learning a lot of truths about their world. I really enjoyed how everything played out and the way the relationships developed. There was a lot of information dumping but it felt necessary for the plot and everything that was going on. Plus it is also the middle book in a trilogy and that’s what usually happens. Overall it was a great book and I’m excited to read the conclusion.

“The Gilded Ones” Review

Jen

The cover is mostly green with yellow gold glow in the top right corner. There is a young dark skinned woman on the cover facing towards the right with log black hair tied in braids with several gold claps holding it. She is also wearing a short sleeved gold and green tunic and necklaces in various colors. She has gold designs on her cheek and a gold earring. The title is near the bottom of the cover across the woman.Written by Namina Forna
Published By Delacorte Press, February 2021
418 pages
Completed February 25, 2024

Sixteen-year-old Deka lives in fear and anticipation of the blood ceremony that will determine whether she will become a member of her village. Already different from everyone else because of her unnatural intuition, Deka prays for red blood so she can finally feel like she belongs.

But on the day of the ceremony, her blood runs gold, the color of impurity–and Deka knows she will face a consequence worse than death.

Then a mysterious woman comes to her with a choice: stay in the village and submit to her fate, or leave to fight for the emperor in an army of girls just like her. They are called alaki–near-immortals with rare gifts. And they are the only ones who can stop the empire’s greatest threat.

Knowing the dangers that lie ahead yet yearning for acceptance, Deka decides to leave the only life she’s ever known. But as she journeys to the capital to train for the biggest battle of her life, she will discover that the great walled city holds many surprises. Nothing and no one are quite what they seem to be–not even Deka herself.

This was a really cool story with a lot of interesting twists and turns in the reality of what was going on and why it was happening. I really enjoyed how it played out and how everything was revealed. I liked the relationships Deka developed with the other characters as they learned how to fight and more about what was going on as the story progressed. This is the first book in a trilogy and I’m excited to read what happens next.

“Ring Shout” Review

Jen

The cover of the book is read with a hooded KKK member in in the center the eye holes are ruined with teeth at the top and bottom. Black hands are held up in front of the figure. The authors name is near the top of the hood while the title is under the eye holes. Written by P. Djèlí Clark
Published by Tordotcom, October 2020
185 pages
Completed February 20, 2024

In 1915, The Birth of a Nation cast a spell across America, swelling the Klan’s ranks and drinking deep from the darkest thoughts of white folk. All across the nation they ride, spreading fear and violence among the vulnerable. They plan to bring Hell to Earth. But even Ku Kluxes can die.

Standing in their way is Maryse Boudreaux and her fellow resistance fighters, a foul-mouthed sharpshooter and a Harlem Hellfighter. Armed with blade, bullet, and bomb, they hunt their hunters and send the Klan’s demons straight to Hell. But something awful’s brewing in Macon, and the war on Hell is about to heat up.

Can Maryse stop the Klan before it ends the world?

This was a very cool short story. I really enjoyed the characters and the way everything played out. Maryse is a great character and I liked the development of her character as she learned more about what was going on and the resolution of everything. I liked that the story has a good resolution while still living things open for more. The fight isn’t over – because things never really end that way but this story has an ending that serves the purpose of the story.

“The Lost Dreamer” Review

Jen

The cover has an image of a young woman with light brown skin and long black hair wearing a head band across her forehead in red and blue and a beaded necklace with multiple rows of beads in several different colors. There is a hummingbird on the cover along with flowers and other mostly transparent shapes over the woman's chest. The title is written on the top and the author's name on the bottom. Written by Lizz Huerta
Publisher by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), March 2022
384 pages
Completed January 31, 2024

Indir is a Dreamer, descended from a long line of seers; able to see beyond reality, she carries the rare gift of Dreaming truth. But when the beloved king dies, his son has no respect for this time-honored tradition. King Alcan wants an opportunity to bring the Dreamers to a permanent end—an opportunity Indir will give him if he discovers the two secrets she is struggling to keep. As violent change shakes Indir’s world to its core, she is forced to make an impossible choice: fight for her home or fight to survive.

Saya is a seer, but not a Dreamer—she has never been formally trained. Her mother exploits her daughter’s gift, passing it off as her own as they travel from village to village, never staying in one place too long. Almost as if they’re running from something. Almost as if they’re being hunted. When Saya loses the necklace she’s worn since birth, she discovers that seeing isn’t her only gift—and begins to suspect that everything she knows about her life has been a carefully-constructed lie. As she comes to distrust the only family she’s ever known, Saya will do what she’s never done before, go where she’s never been, and risk it all in the search of answers.

With a detailed, supernaturally-charged setting and topical themes of patriarchal power and female strength, Lizz Huerta’s The Lost Dreamer brings an ancient world to life, mirroring the challenges of our modern one.

This was a really good book. I really liked learning the stories of the two characters and finding out how they intersect. I don’t want to spoil anything but I did think the reveal of what was going on worked well. Saya’s story was a bit more interesting but only because of what she needs to learn about who she actually is. The last couple chapters did feel a little rushed but it made sense given the context and the explanation of things. It also sets up the plot of the next book rather nicely. I’m looking forward to reading it when it comes out.

2023 in Review

Jen

Reading Stats

61 Books

20,992 Pages Read

Average length 346 pages

Average reading time 4 days

50 Fiction / 11 Non-Fiction

18 Fiction Anthologies

41 Novels

2 Non-Fiction Anthologies

5 Memoirs

4 Essay Collections

Top Ten Books in No Particular Order with links to my reviews

“Being Ace: An Anthology of Queer, Trans, Femme, and Disabled Stories of Asexual Love and Connection”
Edited by Madeline Dyer
Type: Fiction Anthology
“We Have Always Been Here: A Queer Muslim Memoir”
Written by Samra Habib
Type: Memoir
“The Thirty Names of Night”
Written by Zeyn Joukhadar
Type: Novel
“A Master of Djinn”
Written by P. Djèlí Clark
Type: Novel
“The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey Into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred”
Written by Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
Type: Essay Collection
“We Don’t Swim Here”
Written by Vincent Tirado
Type: Novel
“Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019”
Edited by Ibram X. Kendi with Keisha N. Blain
Type: Non-Fiction Anthology
“Invisible Son”
Written by Kim Johnson
Type: Novel
“To Shape a Dragon’s Breath”
Written by Moniquill Blackgoose
Type: Novel
“The Free People’s Village”
Written by Sim Kern
Type: Novel

“A Snake Falls To Earth” Review

Jen

The green book cover has a drawing of a young brown-skinned woman with black hair wearing yellow headphones, a yellow tank top and long dark red skirt. She's holding a book in one had and a player of some sort in the other. At her feet is a black snake. The title of the book is in her skirt and the authors name is at the bottom.Written by Darcie Little Badger
Published by Levine Querido, August 2021
352 pages
Completed December 7, 2023

Nina is a Lipan girl in our world. She’s always felt there was something more out there. She still believes in the old stories.

Oli is a cottonmouth kid, from the land of spirits and monsters. Like all cottonmouths, he’s been cast from home. He’s found a new one on the banks of the bottomless lake.

Nina and Oli have no idea the other exists. But a catastrophic event on Earth, and a strange sickness that befalls Oli’s best friend, will drive their worlds together in ways they haven’t been in centuries.

And there are some who will kill to keep them apart.

This was an interesting read, though the description of the book is a bit misleading, as the meeting of the characters doesn’t take place until a little more than halfway through the book. They also know about the existence of each other’s worlds; they just don’t know who’s in each world. In any case, the characters are great, and I had a good time reading their separate stories and then their eventual meeting. I did end up feeling as though the resolution was a little rushed, but it did make sense and worked for the story as it was.