Review: Emberclaw

Emberclaw by L.R. Lam
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

L.R. Lam returns to the world of Dragonfall for the concluding entry of their duology. I think they were planning to make a trilogy at first, but for many personal reasons, they decided to conclude the series in this book instead. I don’t blame them - they took it very hard when the first book struggled at first in the face of poor online ratings, especially from people who couldn’t accept that book in its unorthodox, multi-POV, queer-normative glory. Luckily B&N picked the book last year as a monthly fantasy selection, and I’m hoping that helped not only Dragonfall find its audience more than ever, but Emberclaw here as well.

Review: Dear Manny

Dear Manny by Nic Stone
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It’s been quite a while since I read any Nic Stone books, and you can imagine my surprise when I learned that not only was she following up on Dear Martin and Dear Justyce with the promised final novel in the trilogy, but that it would be centered on, of all characters, Jared. Yes, the same entitled white boy who, in the first two books, seemingly could never understand how privileged he was, and how ignorant he was.

Review: The Ragpicker King

The Ragpicker King by Cassandra Clare
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Lately, I've seen a number of Jewish readers criticizing this book's publisher, Del Rey, for having also published another fantasy novel whose storyline is heavily reliant on antisemitic tropes and stereotypes: Homegrown Magic by Jamie Pacton and Becca Podos. It's heavily ironic because Podos is herself Jewish, but also staunchly anti-Zionist, and has accused her critics of only coming after her personally because of her stance on Israel and Palestine - which isn't really off base, as I've seen several Jewish readers criticize her for precisely this reason, but also because they perceive her as being ashamed of her Jewish identity and trafficking in "Jews control the money and the world" canards in an effort to appeal to fellow leftists who play up their own brand of antisemitism.

Not being Jewish, I can only be an observer of this debate. But having read Cassandra Clare's latest novel, I feel that she has captured the nature of this kind of internecine conflict best. Of course it's far from a perfect match to the debate over Homegrown Magic, but that sort of debate might very well exist among the Ashkari people in these Chronicles of Castellane.

Review: Platirius: The Rise of Reve

Platirius: The Rise of Reve by D.L. Hannah
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

D.L. Hannah’s second novella of Platirius (though far from the last book in this universe; she’s planning at least three distinct story arcs that I know of) sheds a lot of light on Revari’s past to further flesh out her complex character. In her time on Earth, using psychic powers eerily reminiscent of Marissa Meyer’s Lunars, she’s got a pedophile businessman to tear down in a way we all wish could happen to a few other sick, twisted corporate demons in real life - and Hannah, today, brought this up as an example of why she wouldn’t abide any defense of the Australian romance novelist who’s now under arrest for distributing CSA material in a now canceled novel. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg, as this book dives more deeply into the fraught (to put it mildly) sexual divide between MaleForms who resent no longer having power on this planet, and WomenForms who have long tired of the ways of the patriarchy. Hannah says this book was her favorite to write in the original trilogy, and I can see why. But still my expectations stay high for the third book, which is looking ready to ship sometime next month…

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Review: Sunrise on the Reaping

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Haymitch novel the fans have been clamoring for for years? Or does Collins have a few curveballs up her sleeve?

As it happens, ¿porqué no los dos?

OLD PINECONE GENERAL'S WARNING: DO NOT READ THIS REVIEW UNTIL YOU HAVE READ THE BOOK FIRST. GO INTO THE BOOK WITH AS LITTLE KNOWLEDGE AS POSSIBLE.

Review: A Dragon of Black Glass

A Dragon of Black Glass by James Rollins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“‘Such are our roles,’ Rami stated with a tired sigh. ‘To be a shining promise during bleak times.’”

Rollins returns to the world of MoonFall after a two year hiatus, during which time the real world has started riding the express elevator to hell in a handbasket once again, and we absolutely need heroes like Nyx and Kanthe and Rami to steer our course right again.

As with the previous book, Nyx continues her explorations of the farthest reaches of the Urth, searching with a loyal crew for artifacts that could resume the world's lost rotation - and along the way, meeting even more creatures worthy of the Sanderson-esque bestiary, as well as moving cities that feel like a cross between Sanderson's own Sunlit Man and The Mortal Engines. Meanwhile, Kanthe continues to play the Game of Thrones in the Southern Klashe, where Rami is really the only friend he's got, that princely bromance for the ages. (If my buddy Koda ever reads this series, he'll love how much Kanthe and Rami could be friends with some of his own characters.)

Review: Autopsy of an Ex-Teen Heartthrob

Autopsy of an Ex-Teen Heartthrob by Avan Jogia
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As a teenager, I always wished I could be half as cool as Beck Oliver. His rockstar aesthetic, down to his majority black wardrobe (especially the boots) and dear God did he have perfect hair. I tried to grow my hair long then too, but unfortunately it ended up resembling the wrong Canadian, being more Bieber-style. All that would’ve needed to complete the image of perfection was Beck to finally wise up to how shitty a girlfriend Jade was, and that Tori was a better match. (But then again, I shipped them more on the basis of how attractive they both were, than anything else.)

As an adult, though?

I can empathize more with Jogia’s account of his years of trauma and associated coping mechanisms.

Review: The Sacred Datura

The Sacred Datura by J. Evan Ramos
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

J. Evan Ramos’s indie dark fantasy feels like if Stephen Graham Jones wrote an episode of The Twilight Zone, with a dash of Welcome to Night Vale in the DNA as well - seriously, I can only see that Ramos named a character Cecil as a Night Vale reference. Centered on a teenage girl named Sam who drinks her sorrows away, it soon becomes clear that a certain poison prized by Indigenous peoples might be the only conduit to saving her long lost little brother. The blurb describes it as being set at the turn of the millennium, which this book does very subtly, similar to Firekeeper’s Daughter, while the location is ambiguously Southwestern. My first guess would’ve been Arizona, but since Ramos is from San Diego, and my own first association with the name “Datura” is from an early Odd Thomas novel in the Mojave Desert, I can see it being a far Southern Californian location too. This indie thriller is absolutely not to be missed.

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Review: The Dark Mirror

The Dark Mirror by Samantha Shannon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Four years ago, The Mask Falling was the last book I was reading before I left California, which seemed fitting to tie in to Paige having finally left Britain in that book after so many years. But with this book, we're taken even further afield to see how the last great bastion of resistance to Scion in Europe is doing. But first, a little trip into Eastern Europe to meet some pan-Slavic Domino agents before we finally get down to the promised main setting of this book: Italy.

Review: The Medici Return

The Medici Return by Steve Berry
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This week, a doctor I work with told me the story of how allegedly the Catholic Church began its tradition of fish on Friday as part of a past Pope’s involvement in controlling the Italian fishing industry. While it’s an urban legend that proliferated very well without my knowledge, it nevertheless pairs very well with this latest Cotton Malone novel from Steve Berry, in which Malone investigates reports of an unpaid debt from the Vatican to the old Medici family. Naturally, there’s a Cardinal with a bit too much personal involvement, as well as an enterprising modern day Italian who claims descent from the Medici family, and if provable, he could inherit the collection of that debt with centuries’ worth of interest. All in all, a serviceable if slightly dry outing from Berry, but that probably owes more to me reading this one at the sane time as one I’ve truly been waiting for years to read, Samantha Shannon’s The Dark Mirror.

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Review: Mister Magic

Mister Magic by Kiersten White
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I’ll be generous with an extra star on this one, but I’m honestly not sure why. Kiersten White has historically been one of those authors whose books, every time I’ve tried one, I’ve come up disappointed, and this was no exception. I get that she’s using this one to work through breaking away from the Mormon world where she was born and raised (and to think I was one of those who found her attempts at queer rep in past books, particularly And I Darken, to suffer from heavy stereotyping, only to now realize the seeds for her leaving the LDS Church have been growing for years.) I get that she’s hopping onto the analog horror train, in the same “cursed 90s kids show” car where Jane Schoenbrun and Ransom Riggs have been riding lately too, not to mention Edgar Cantero some years ago with his god-awful (if somewhat ahead of its time) grimdark Scooby-Doo riff, Meddling Kids. Unfortunately, what sinks this book is its muddled and increasingly nonsensical plot, and characters who fall flatter than pancakes. I think I’ve finally learned my lesson at this point - no more Kiersten White books for me.

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Review: The Adventures of Tim & Fluff

The Adventures of Tim & Fluff by Firdaus Ahmed
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This one is for the kids, and for the animal lovers of all ages. Another reviewer compared it to Studio Ghibli, but I’d say if another animation studio could adapt this book, it’d be Aardman. (I may or may not have just gotten around to watching the new Wallace and Gromit movie last weekend in honor of its Oscar nomination…) But this book of animals learning to work together in the face of adversity in common would also pair well with the recent hit Flow, as well as The Wild Robot due to its high number of characters who read as neurodivergent in some way. Particularly Tim, the bouncy dog with the uniquely bunny-like locomotion, and Fluff, who embodies all the hauteur for which cats are known, but it’s all a façade even if he’s not ready to admit it. And both adorable pets have such a strong sense of justice, and know when to do the right thing even at risk of their friendships and their health. I hope to see more of their adventures someday, and to recommend this book to as many kids as I can, especially the kids who come to my workplace for doctor’s appointments.

P.S. Love how this book shouts out the best Chris of them all. Evans and Pine and Pratt and Hemsworth are all cool, but none beat the man whose name went to Luna's dad: Christopher Charles Wood.

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Review: The Sicilian Inheritance

The Sicilian Inheritance by Jo Piazza
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It’s a tale of two Sicilian ladies, one a modern day American visiting her ancestral homeland, while the other is one of her ancestors, who found herself in a serious series of unfortunate events. Teen pregnancy, a patriarchy that flat out disrespected her, and a mafia murder whose truths are only now about to come to light…truth is stranger than fiction, and to hear Piazza say it, this book was inspired a lot by her own family history. It’s a surprisingly lighter read than I expected, in part because of the first person POV’s (though one is much more snarky than the other, as befits her status as a modern Sicilian American.) At some point maybe I should pick up more of Piazza’s books, especially if they’ve got more connections to such a fascinating place as Sicily.

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Review: Play On: Now, Then, And Fleetwood Mac

Play On: Now, Then, And Fleetwood Mac by Mick Fleetwood
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

To hear Mick Fleetwood tell it in his memoir, the first of the many Fleetwood Mac biographies that I've found to be in the first person, if there was one unifying theme about the band and its many members, it's that none of them were classically trained...but especially not the blockbuster Buckingham Nicks incarnation of the band. Even Fleetwood himself, being dyslexic, came to learn the drums almost entirely by ear, and by his own admission, he would never play the song the exact same way twice. Any song. Which of course, caused no small irritation to a productionary perfectionist like Lindsey Buckingham. But what surprises me the most is learning that Fleetwood, far from the wild-eyed English giant we all know him to be, began as a shrinking violet of a boy before he matured into the rockstar we all know him as today.

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Review: All Better Now

All Better Now by Neal Shusterman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Neal Shusterman returns with his latest thought-provoking YA SFF thriller, this one a standalone piece set in a near future with a new pandemic, a bit deadlier than Covid at a 4% mortality rate, one in twenty-five...but those who recover from the Crown Royale virus lose all negative emotion and live in a state of blissful contentment. Happiness might be the perfect antidote to the endless negativity and division in the world today, but this is a Shusterman novel we're talking about, so there's going to be a catch to all the happiness.

Review: Death of the Author

Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It somehow escaped my notice all these years that Nnedi Okorafor is disabled, in a similar way to Zelu, the protagonist of her latest novel. With that in mind, however, it makes this book feel like not only a reflection of Okorafor herself, but also an exercise in how to make a protagonist who is in so many ways not her creator.

Review: Platirius: Infiltration

Platirius: Infiltration by D.L. Hannah
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The first of a planned trilogy of indie sci fi novellas, with the second and third books coming out in April and July of this year (and I preordered them already at the same time as when I ordered the first book in paperback.) I’ve been attempting to get back into Apple TV’s Foundation lately, helped by the fact that I wasn’t nearly as impressed as I was hoping for with Dune: Prophecy. I have to say, this bite sized book, chock full as it is of tense imperial and family drama alike, is the Prophecy that Dune deserved. The ending takes a sharp left turn I wasn’t expecting at all, reminiscent of the ending of the last season of Silo, but I’m very curious to see how Hannah weaves these disparate story threads together in the sequels. Yes, my preorders will stay on, and hopefully there won’t be any weather related delays on the shipping when those warmer months come along.

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Review: Breath of the Dragon

Breath of the Dragon by Shannon Lee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Shannon Lee and Fonda Lee (no relation) team up to make an action packed new YA fantasy series, meant to honor the ways of Shannon Lee’s father, the late Bruce Lee. And Fonda Lee, while it’s been quite some time since she wrote a fighting boy in YA (her debut Zeroboxer being a sci fi take on MMA), it’s like riding a bike. She never forgot. And on this book, set in a fantasy world modeled on China with sharp political and class divisions, not to mention some interesting takes on tropes about almost everyone in the world having superpowers while our protagonist doesn’t, he knows very well how to make a name for himself in a world that otherwise wouldn’t accept him. Jun wears the clear influences of Tavi, Mirabel, and especially Deku on his heart - not really his sleeve, since it’s a martial arts kind of story and even on the cover he’s got bare arms. It’s only the first half of his story, though, so by next year we’ll be ready to witness how it all ends.

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Review: The Dagger and the Flame

The Dagger and the Flame by Catherine Doyle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I can see why this one had a fairly long wait list at the library - it was almost two months after I ordered it there that I finally got to read it. Though this French inspired fantasy is marketed as YA, it definitely aims for more of an NA readership, with its dark tone (particularly when Ransom takes in more Shade, it’s very opium-like in nature), and especially its spicy moments. Not to the level of Rebecca Yarros or Thea Guanzon or SJM, but this book, like Guanzon’s Reylo-inspired books, is a great example of enemies to lovers actually done right, tense and engaging because it’s so hard to tell which side of that particular trope spectrum this book will fall on in the end. Except it’s not the end, not when Doyle is already about to publish a sequel by the end of this year…

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Review: The Whispering Night

The Whispering Night by Susan Dennard
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

In which a less brooding Wednesday than Addams goes to the Rave’N…sorry, the Nightmare Masquerade. I said I wasn’t likely to continue this series after The Hunting Moon, but after more cover love with this gloriously creepy image, Dennard suckered me in for one last visit to Winnie Wednesday’s hometown…or is it? For being the end of a trilogy, it feels like there’s a lot of loose plot threads left hanging. Unfortunately that’s more or less to be expected from a series that, for me, defines “missed potential.” Maybe this one should’ve stayed in the Twitter and Instagram polls, because it just never came to life for me as a book or three. That, plus Dennard bizarrely prioritized this over the Witchlands with only one book left in that series - did she sign a contract she couldn’t get out of? Thankfully, her true flagship series is finally expected later this year, along with a new standalone fantasy mystery of a similar vibe to this series, The Executioners Three. In spite of myself, I’m still looking forward to Executioners, if only because I’m hoping Dennard can get right with that one, what she wasn’t able to do for The Luminaries.

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Review: Goddess of the River

Goddess of the River by Vaishnavi Patel
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A couple of years after her first foray into Hindu legendary fantasy with Kaikeyi, Vaishnavi Patel returns to retell aspects of the Mahabharata from another woman’s perspective. In this case, it’s the goddess of the river that she focuses on, a goddess after whom India’s greatest river took its name. Granted, I ought to read the old stories at some point, especially if I’m to truly understand where Patel is coming from in her work - although I certainly wouldn’t be smart enough to read it in the original Sanskrit as Oppenheimer would’ve attempted circa a century ago. What I do understand best about this book, though, is how it teaches the importance of restoration, one stone at a time. Restoration of nature, or justice, or balance? Why not all of the above? Heaven knows we need it.

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Review: Onyx Storm

Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The long awaited third book of Rebecca Yarros's smash hit Empyrean series may be the very middle point of the planned five book saga, and the point where every bookstore of every size is doing midnight release parties probably for the first time since the original Hunger Games trilogy ended, if not the original Twilight Saga, but it's definitely at a point where Yarros can absolutely afford to throw all the chaotic dragon shit at the wall and see what sticks, and it's never been more clear than now with how much of a magnificent mess we've gotten.

Review: Among Serpents

Among Serpents by Marc J. Gregson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The second book of Marc J. Gregson’s dystopian throwback trilogy is not only a fast paced and bleak Empire Strikes Back, but also reminiscent of Thunderhead and Wind and Truth in its sobering reminder of how deeply fascists can entrench their insurmountability. Amping up the family drama between Conrad and Ella and Uncle (dear God but Uncle is a bastard and birdshit artist par excellence), this book sets the stage for what promises to be an epic conclusion in next year’s third novel, Downfall. And yet, somehow, I get the strange feeling that after all the setbacks Conrad has to endure in this book, it’ll take a miracle for it to all be wrapped up in one more book…

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Review: Gold Dust Woman: The Biography of Stevie Nicks

Gold Dust Woman: The Biography of Stevie Nicks by Stephen Davis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book came out when I used to work at the Stanford Bookstore, but for some reason, I never properly read it till now. Having seen it used as a source for the recent Christine McVie biography Songbird, however, I had to pick it up at last. Diving deep into the majesty of Stevie’s best songs, including her solo career, it’s a wonder to see just how many of hers lay dormant on the shelf for years. Not just the obvious like “Silver Springs” or “Smile At You,” but also an obscure fave of mine: “Freedom,” eventually recorded for the album Behind the Mask. It’s clear now that despite his pretensions of awesomeness, Lindsey’s best role in the band was to be the inspiration for some of Stevie’s most biting and most awesome songs, and she’ll always be the queen while he’ll never be the king. If only I could meet Stevie someday. But if we’re lucky, she’s got many years left in her to see how well the culture may carry on in her eventual absence.

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Review: A Monsoon Rising

A Monsoon Rising by Thea Guanzon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thea Guanzon returns with the second part of her projected trilogy of some of the best romantasy in the business, earning her status once again for me as the genre’s true queen. Not SJM, not Yarros - I said what I said, Guanzon gets right what so many others haven’t. Inspired by both Southeast Asia and Reylo (and hell, there’s even a few characters who resemble other First Order villains, namely a rat-faced Hux analogue), Guanzon’s love story is a master class of sexual tension that transcends all the other enemies-to-lovers trend hoppers by light years. Goodreads has yet to include the third book in its listings yet, but rest assured, I will be reading. 100%.

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Review: Voyage of the Damned

Voyage of the Damned by Frances White
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Sorry to say that this book, after all its immense hype from the BookTok machine among others, was a very quick DNF for me. I could only get about 30-40 pages in before I figured out I wasn’t gonna vibe with it, especially thanks to Ganymedes as the protagonist. I get that this is a society full of privileged little shits, and he’s the least privileged, from the least of the twelve lands, dealing wuth a father who hates everything about him from his weight on down, with no actual Blessing (because everyone’s doing the Encanto thing these days), but still, he’s so bloody obnoxious with his attempts at being a First Person Smartass that it makes it impossible for me to care about him. I will give him credit where it’s due and compliment his use of bisexual finger guns on the very first page, but that’s about as much grace as I can extend this book, because after that it was too much of a misfire for me to continue.

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Review: Spell of the Sinister: A Fairy Godmother Novel

Spell of the Sinister: A Fairy Godmother Novel by Danielle Paige
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Though the fairytale retelling trend in YA has largely died out since its 2010s heyday, leave it to Danielle Paige to keep it alive. And it'll probably have a resurgence in the coming years thanks to the success of Wicked (though let's be real, Dorothy Must Die should've had a movie adaptation first.) But here, Paige brings her latest fairytale retelling to its conclusion with a fast-paced dual-POV-rivals story that, while not specifically Ozian, nevertheless wears its Wicked influences on its sleeve as proudly as one can expect from Paige. She's stuck to her stylistic guns pretty well over the years, and I'd really love to see where she goes next after this, because she's one of the few YA authors I'm still regularly keeping up with these days for many reasons.

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Review: Gardens of the Moon

Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A coworker at my new job recommended this one after he saw me reading some Brandon Sanderson. I'd heard of Steven Erikson before, but never really paid attention to his work up till now. Here, I can see that he's sort of the missing link between Guy Gavriel Kay's parallel worlds, inspired by real history, and the diverse but grimdark fantasy settings of the new millennium. Thankfully, this book isn't really all that grimdark, but I can sort of see where it serves as a blueprint for the likes of Mark Lawrence or Joe Abercrombie, even more so than the obvious GRRM influences. It is decidedly...mid, overall, but the worldbuilding (helped by Erikson's professional experience in anthropology) is very interesting, with the different regions in this empire paralleling real world history but not exactly on a one-t0-one basis. I've already got the second book on order at the library in Vancouver, so we'll see how much further I get in this series in this new year.

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