Review: The Shadow of What Was Lost

The Shadow of What Was Lost by James Islington
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

So this is where Islington got his start. I knew about the later books of Licanius from them being on the shelves at the Stanford Bookstore when I worked there, but for some reason the first book was never on sale there and I don't think my library in California had it at the time either. Now that I've picked this book up after reading my first Islington book with The Will of the Many, it's nice to see how he first came onto the scene, but this book definitely isn't as classic and cool as his second series starter. Maybe it's because I was never much of a Wheel of Time fan, but this book definitely has a strong Wheel of Time vibe, though thankfully with little to no reliance on strict gender binaries the way Robert Jordan's books did. Though the characters and the setting do keep my interest with its "ruins of a great age" style, this book is just very long and meandering and not as great for me as I hoped. Kinda mid, yes, but I'll still stick with the rest of the trilogy and hope it gets better. I've already got Book 2 on order at the library in Vancouver as we speak.

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Review: Children of Anguish and Anarchy

Children of Anguish and Anarchy by Tomi Adeyemi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"It's been 84 years..."

And it's been worth one of the longest waits in YA history for this, the end of the Legacy of Orïsha, picking up on the dreadful and horrifying cliffhanger of Children of Virtue and Vengeance four and a half years ago.

Review: Howling Dark

Howling Dark by Christopher Ruocchio
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

On to the second book of Ruocchio’s Sun Eater series, now with a little less gladiating and a lot more interstellar intrigue, with dashes of interesting action and promises of more of the reason behind Hadrian Marlowe’s massive in universe infamy. Sadly this one is a definite step down from the first book, because much of this one is a whole lot of words that don’t say much, with relatively little plot progression over its great length - nearly 700 pages this time around. Still, though, Ruocchio’s detailed world building keeps my attention more than anything else, and I’ve already got Book 3 on order to keep the journey going.

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Review: Red Side Story

Red Side Story by Jasper Fforde
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I've been waiting for about a decade now for Jasper Fforde to finally give us the sequel to Shades of Grey, and while he's been dabbling in some really oddball experiments the last few years - most of which have never worked out for me as a reader - I'm happy to report that his long-delayed return to Chromatacia is also the return to form, reminding me of exactly why Fforde became one of my favorite writers in my college years.

Review: The Last Devil to Die

The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Osman comes to a natural stopping point of sorts with this latest entry in the Thursday Murder Club series, promising that while there will be more stories to come, he'll be taking a brief hiatus and concentrating on another kind of mystery project in the meantime. For now, though, this book starts with some lighthearted Boxing Day dramedy - the club is trying to make a new friend in the community, but Mervyn is so utterly besotted with a lovely Lithuanian that he's never met and stubbornly refuses to accept that she's a scammer - but slowly builds up to the reveal that, no, there will be no murder-free year coming up for the club, because an antiques dealer and old friend is dead. Interspersed in are some interludes in Afghanistan and Pakistan, dealing with the ceaseless wars and drug trades that region has had to endure for so long, and also the real drama of the book - Elizabeth having to accept that her dear husband Stephen is not long for this world, not when he's in the grip of dementia. For Osman, this storyline was quite personal, inspired by the experiences of his late grandparents, and it shows. I don't blame him for taking a break from this series for a bit - he's definitely earned it.

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Review: The Bullet That Missed

The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Now for the third mystery of the Thursday Murder Club, which I was able to read pretty quickly after finishing the second book in the series. Unfortunately, this one is definitely a step down from its two predecessors, because while I really loved the personal aspects of the individual club members' stories in those books, they just didn't shine as much in this one. (Instead, we get Donna and Chris really dominating the book this time around, and frankly I'm not here for them - they just don't interest me like Elizabeth or especially Ibrahim.) Curiously, while the book really begins with a focus on some old long lost mystery from Elizabeth's old classified days, the cold case aspect captures my interest most of all, especially when it's finally resolved in a way that makes me wonder if Osman is trying to poke a professional rival in the eye, however subtly. (It's giving me Silkworm flashbacks if you know what I mean...) Hopefully Book 4, which I'm starting next, will be back to the same four-star realms as the first two books for me.

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Review: Empire of Silence

Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruocchio
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've been kinda sleeping on these books by Christopher Ruocchio for a while, even though they're very frequently recommended, especially for Red Rising fans. I can also see why it gets a blurb from James S.A. Corey, because in a lot of ways, these books are cut from similar cloth to The Expanse - sprawling, epic visions of diverse humanity vs. a weird, sinister alien species, with the author being prolific enough to publish six big books in almost as many years (and working solo, unlike the two dudes behind the Corey pen name.) This book starts out with a lot of promise about how grand and dark the story of our protagonist Hadrian will get - lauded by many and hated by just as many in universe, but this book is more of a tease about what's to come. Hadrian starts out the presumptive heir to a family fortune, but loses his family and his fortune in a few twists of fate that strand him in one of the most backwater systems of the empire, and he's got to use his well taught wits (including multilingual skills) to survive and claw his way back up to power. Naturally, I'll be picking up Book 2 this weekend on my next library visit, so hopefully I'll get to read it soon...

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Review: The Man Who Died Twice

The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

For this second novel of the Thursday Murder Club, it’s a 3.5 rounded up to a 4 almost entirely on the basis of Ibrahim’s story arc. While I’m pretty salty with Mr. Osman for sidelining my favorite character so soon in this book with a violent mugging, I’m also very happy that Ibrahim’s friends rallied around him like they did, and that the book explored his odd friendship with Ron - as well as Ron’s grandson Kendrick, who calls him Uncle Ibrahim and is adorably precocious. And while I disliked Ron in the first book for being a pretty basic aging leftist and lowkey racist to boot, here he gets his time to shine as a much more pleasant person. It’s odd to say, but Ibrahim’s story was so well written that it actually overshadowed the mystery aspect, though even that had a few good surprises to spare as well. I’m just glad I was able to get Books 3 and 4 alongside this one at the library, so I’ll be able to read those pretty soon too…

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Review: James

James by Percival Everett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's been a while since I read Huck Finn in high school - about the only Mark Twain I've actually read, as a matter of fact. But this reimagining from the point of view of James, the enslaved Black man whom Twain had Huck only know as Jim, very much stands on its own. I've still not yet read much of Percival Everett's work besides Erasure - the source material for American Fiction - but this seems like a perfect addition to Everett's bibliography, expertly challenging preconceived notions about Black people.

Review: The Cartographers

The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I really wanted to like this book, but I guess this - plus that one climate fiction magical realist type book I read last year, I need to look back to remember which one - is a sign that maybe I shouldn't take book recommendations from a certain coworker. (Okay, that, plus that Louise Penny series - I could barely make it through one or one and a half books of that one.) But this book, which should've been right up my alley with its Pendergast-like NYC brain trust atmosphere and peculiar blend of mystery and magic, was as much of a flop for me as its relatively low GR rating should have portended. The preponderance of obnoxious - and obnoxiously indistinguishable - side characters, a muddled and half baked magic system, and the fact that the book bases one of its big twists on the same fictional (except not really) town that inspired the John Green novel Paper Towns...well, I never read that book or watched the movie because I never cared for John Green, but still, as a millennial of a certain age, I knew exactly where the name Agloe had come into pop cultural prominence before. Somehow, I didn't DNF this one, but it's still getting a one star rating, I'm afraid.

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