I found this book on a list of horror novels on Twitter.
It's more of a ghost story than a horror novel. There are chills and suspense, but almost no gI found this book on a list of horror novels on Twitter.
It's more of a ghost story than a horror novel. There are chills and suspense, but almost no gore. It's a GOOD ghost story.
Three people decide to renovate a house in a settlement that's deserted for the winter. Their phones stop working. There are mysterious things left in their house. Strange things are happening.
Elsewhere: there's an instance of vandalism at a local elementary school. A psychiatrist is called in by the police to help give insight into the motives of the vandal. But wait... 60 years ago, almost the same thing happened. Is there a connection.
The psychiatrist: His young son disappeared 3 years ago. He was never found. The psychiatrist lost his marriage due to the trauma, and his wife has never gotten over it. She dreams about the son.
These different threads weave together VERY NICELY in this story. I did NOT figure out what was going to happen ahead of time!
A well-written and engaging ghost story, not TOO creepy, but very effective.
A story about two people who were meant to be together.
One is the heiress of an empire. The other is a nomad of the steppes, daughter of a chieftan, wA story about two people who were meant to be together.
One is the heiress of an empire. The other is a nomad of the steppes, daughter of a chieftan, who, through no fault of her own, becomes a monster. But who is still loved.
It went on a little too long, but it was a good story....more
It was ok. Didn't go quite where I thought it might go. Interesting look at the way this ship of folks ("dregs") copNeeded a SF fix and I picked this.
It was ok. Didn't go quite where I thought it might go. Interesting look at the way this ship of folks ("dregs") coped with finding themselves unexpectedly thrown out of the only world they ever knew.
A pretty enjoyable read. I liked the sorta-Classical world references. And the story is a little twistier than I expected at the beginning, in a GOOD A pretty enjoyable read. I liked the sorta-Classical world references. And the story is a little twistier than I expected at the beginning, in a GOOD way.
Interested to know more about the character(s). ...more
Unpleasant hijinks at an English boy’s school just after WW 1. Warning for a labyrinthine manor house converted to a school with lots of weird twisty Unpleasant hijinks at an English boy’s school just after WW 1. Warning for a labyrinthine manor house converted to a school with lots of weird twisty dark passages. Contains torture, mutilation, & abuse.
I don’t know what I was thinking when I started reading this, because it’s way to dark for me to read at this point in this timeline. But TBH I didn’t expect it to be quite THIS dark.
Little vignettes of lovely flash fiction. Vivid imagery, often with foxes. Reminded me a little of some of Lord Dunsany's short works, though less datLittle vignettes of lovely flash fiction. Vivid imagery, often with foxes. Reminded me a little of some of Lord Dunsany's short works, though less dated in language, obviously. Best read in delicious little bites....more
I don't know exactly what to say about this book. It was ok. I didn't really believe all the world-building as science fiction, but it sorta works if I don't know exactly what to say about this book. It was ok. I didn't really believe all the world-building as science fiction, but it sorta works if you think of it as fantasy.
There are a number of relatively unsympathetic characters. I got a little weary of Sophie's nearly unrelenting devotion to Bianca. And there was a lot of rambling around the planet to no real purpose.
Honestly, toward the end (view spoiler)[ I think there's a case to be made that Sophie was drawn into worship of Cthulu and other Great Old Ones and transformed into one of their followers, and then heads out to convert the world. (hide spoiler)]. But I thought there were also some parallels to Octavia Butler's Lilith's Brood (aka Xenogenesis) trilogy, where humans have to adapt to become something somewhat other than only human in order to survive in the long term.
So, ok. Rambling. Messy society, messy inter-personal relationships. It was ok....more
The framing story is about a sub-light speed generation ship that is finally about to arrive at its destination star. Once there, the ship's colonistsThe framing story is about a sub-light speed generation ship that is finally about to arrive at its destination star. Once there, the ship's colonists have to decide what to do: stay with their aging vehicle, or take their chances on a cold and inhospitable new world.
But it's really and truly the story of the people on the ship, who've lived there for generations and built a society and an ecosystem that works for them. The society is Quaker. They spend time sitting quietly and letting answers come to them as a group.
This is no a linear tale; and though it takes place on a generation ship, the mechanics of it all are not part of the story. There's a bit at the beginning where they're doing maintenance on the sails that have brought the ship to its new "harbor," but that's about it. Honestly, thaAurorat was kind of a relief, because I'm the sort of person who always wonders about the how the plumbing works and who maintains the reactors and stuff like that. I could just let that worry go and assume it all just works. (Cf Aurora) No worries about incompatible proteins here.
The writing here is very fine and a little dense. It's quietly intelligent. The characters are complex and interesting. The story is ultimately hopeful. It takes a little work to read, but I'm glad I read it. ...more
Folks on the plain that have special powers aren't welcome. They're put outside the gates, with the monsters Oh my goodness, I loved this little book.
Folks on the plain that have special powers aren't welcome. They're put outside the gates, with the monsters and the shadow men.
Vren makes friends with animals. The way he does it isn't allowed. He gets put outside the gates, and expects to die. Instead, he's found by Rusche, who looks rough and terrifying. But looks aren't everything. And Rushe and Vren take care of each other.
In a world where it seems like any encounter between a young man and an older man so often seems to fall into abuse and exploitation, it's refreshing to see a relationship that isn't like that. Sometimes a friendship is just a friendship, and loyalty and caring don't have to be declared out loud all the time.
This is another story that's really mostly hopeful. I really need those right now.
I read it in one session in the middle of the night....more
Well, this was a nice surprise! Although I'm not sure WHY I was surprised. I know that Martha Wells writes well. But this book was intriguingly unusuaWell, this was a nice surprise! Although I'm not sure WHY I was surprised. I know that Martha Wells writes well. But this book was intriguingly unusual to me. The setting was a bit exotic. I kept thinking of Angkor Wat in her descriptions of the city. The protagonist was a strong female character. She had a love interest, but she rescued him about as often as he rescued her.
The bit about the world basically being something that was recreated in a small scale but which affected the large scale was pretty interesting to me.
The ending did get tied up a little quickly, I thought, but it was fine, mostly.
Interesting characters, intriguing ideas, unusual setting, competent woman. Yup, that's what I like....more
Alternating between ebook and audio, because audio narrator is kinda hard for me to understand. ------------------- ETA: finished listening to this todaAlternating between ebook and audio, because audio narrator is kinda hard for me to understand. ------------------- ETA: finished listening to this today while I was sewing masks for COVID19. I really liked it! It's a nice good hard SF story with an interesting female heroine. I liked all the spaceship stuff and the epic galaxy-spanning adventure.
I know I've bounced off some of Elizabeth Bear's work in the past. (Note: I bounce off a LOT of books. I'm insanely picky in my old age.) But this was pretty perfect for me. It was also mostly optimistic, which I NEEDED right now like a fish needs water. So thank you for that, Ms. Bear!
I did have some trouble understanding the narrator of the audiobook. There are some voices and accents that I have to work to understand, and hers was one of them.
+1, would read again, and I rarely do that....more
I found the protagonist annoying. I don’t love unreliable narrators. I didn’t appreciate all the clever reI am not the target audience for this book.
I found the protagonist annoying. I don’t love unreliable narrators. I didn’t appreciate all the clever references to other mysteries.
If you like these things, though, you’ll probably find this book clever and interesting....more
Plain Kate is the daughter of a woodcarver and a talented woodcarver in her own right. When her father dies, she's left to eke out a living selling chPlain Kate is the daughter of a woodcarver and a talented woodcarver in her own right. When her father dies, she's left to eke out a living selling charms and minor woodwork to the people of the village. People who make charms are sometimes looked at askance as witches or as having special powers - maybe DANGEROUS powers. But Kate's only power is excellence in woodcarving. But in a world where witches are burned, even SUSPICION of witchcraft is a dangerous thing.
People who are afraid of witchcraft can have their fears inflamed by bad actors. This is what happens to Kate. She essentially gets blackmailed by Linay, a REAL witch, into giving up her shadow to help Linay's sister, who was killed as a witch. After that, there are Complications.
This is a moderately dark story, enlivened by a talking cat named Taggle. But neither of them have an easy time. Kate and Taggle suffer many losses. Happiness is never assured.
I've run across a number of stories inspired by Russian tales in the past few years. This is another. One big difference here: no stoves big enough for people to sleep on. :D But there's a rusalka, and Kate is actually Katerina Svetlana. And to people who love her, she's Katerina, star of my heart.
There's love and loss here. Nothing is quite perfect, much is bittersweet. Like life.
Adrian Tchaikovsky has managed to put together a novella that combines an adventure story, a war story, a mecha story, and a commentary on Holy carp.
Adrian Tchaikovsky has managed to put together a novella that combines an adventure story, a war story, a mecha story, and a commentary on the future of war and of corporations. And of wars BETWEEN corporations. And it's GOOD.
A team of hard-bitten soldiers is sent to rescue a Scion. Scions are the offspring of powerful corporations. Because of the perceived values of these offspring, they go around in super-fancy giant mechanical suits that inspire awe and respect among the grunts.
But one of the Scions has just... disappeared. This team was sent out to find him.
It's a wild ride, with a good bit of sly commentary in the If-This-Goes-On-Holy-Shit category.
And the real badasses are the Finns.
I liked it. It was a quick listen, and the narrator was fine. +1, would read at least a bit more set in this world with these characters. Especially the Finns. ...more
This is book 2 of a series, but I got enough of the gist of book 1 from context that I didn't feel MUCH loss by not having read it.
This was a light anThis is book 2 of a series, but I got enough of the gist of book 1 from context that I didn't feel MUCH loss by not having read it.
This was a light and pleasant read. Dina, the Innkeeper of the series name, hosts a peace summit with 3 mutually hostile groups. It's a chance for her to get her Inn a little more visibility. But it will be really dangerous because two of the groups are really and truly warriors at each other's throats. (Think orcs vs vampires a little, but the orcs are more human, but BIG AND SCARY, the the vampires are less about hiding from the sun and sucking blood than about baring their fangs in threat displays and being BIG AND SCARY.) The third party, the Merchants, look like adorable blue foxes, but they're known for their cutthroat dealings.
And Dina has to keep them all from killing each other AND working to broker peace on a valuable planet.
I quite liked the Inn as a place of magic that follows the Innkeeper's will. Earth is apparently a sort of way station for the galaxy, with the Inns as places they can pass through. There's a lot of magic, or technology that's functionally indistinguishable from magic. There's instantaneous transportation and invulnerable suits of armor.
In my old age I've sometimes rolled my eyes at stories like these as being a little easy and simplistic, but cripes, we're still in a pandemic and the world is insane, and I was really pretty okay with this all around. There wasn't even much romance, always a plus for me. (Nothing against romance, just not my thing.)
I liked this book. It posits a society where a sentient energy (the Deep) has decided that humans are pretty ok, and if it can help them move through I liked this book. It posits a society where a sentient energy (the Deep) has decided that humans are pretty ok, and if it can help them move through various things and people through space pretty much instantaneously, it would be happy to do that.
The people who "control" the Deep are the Witches. It takes many years of training to get to even a tiny little level of "control," because the Deep is a bit capricious and doesn't really speak in words or understand words.
A certain amount of lore has built up among the Witches about the best ways to approach the Deep, but there's disagreement about that. Is the deep just a sentient energy field, or is it more like a big friendly dog that just wants to help without really understanding what's going on? Is it a tool, or is it a friend?
And it's possible that if the Witches consider changes in their relationship to the Deep , they might end up threatening the supply chains that keep dispersed humanity alive among the stars. That's not even counting changes brought about by wars. This book is solidly on the bridge between fantasy and sf. There's a school for Witches, a plucky heroine and her plucky friends, and a way of transporting oneself instantly across the galaxy. There are also nanobots and Medkits that heal broken skulls in moments and FTL travel. But the FTL travel is still too slow to supply humanity-as-it-is.
Not sure that I'll read the sequels, but I might. I just have some other books I want to get through first. ...more
I could have sworn I'd already written about this book. Oh well.
Anyway, pretty good fare from Mr. King here.
The first story, "Mr. Harrigan's Phone" iI could have sworn I'd already written about this book. Oh well.
Anyway, pretty good fare from Mr. King here.
The first story, "Mr. Harrigan's Phone" is basically an old-fashioned creepy story. It's pretty effective for what it is, I think.
"The Life of Chuck" really impressed me. It's told from back to front in a pretty interesting way. It's more poetic (elegaic?) than what I see in a lot of King's work. I liked it. And there's a Whitman poem I won't ever look at in the same way again.
"If It Bleeds" is a Holly Gibney story. If you watched The Outsider on HBO (or, presumably read the novel), you'll know who Holly is. (Note: I read the book, and somehow she didn't stick in my mind. I am sure this is just me though. She was a VERY memorable character in the HBO series.)
I don't think it covers much new ground than the other book did though. Kind of a rehash, really.
The last novella, "Rat" about an author who has one last chance to write a novel, and what he goes through to get there, didn't catch in my mind like the others did.
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