Tag: LGBTQ+ Literature

Bookshops & Bonedust (Legends & Lattes #0) by Travis Baldree

Posted on December 7, 2023 by - Book Review

Our favorite mercenary orc is back! In this prequel to Legends & Lattes we find Viv fighting for Rackam’s Ravens and hunting a powerful necromancer. When she is injured, Rackam leaves Viv in Murk to recuperate. Naturally, Viv gets bored, and finds a good diversion in the form of a local bookshop. There we meet the foul-mouthed ratkin owner Fern and her griffin-dog Potroast.

There is some mystery and intrigue, a bit of romance, and a whole lot of reading.

I very much enjoy the way Mr. Baldree worldbuilds. It’s pretty boilerplate high fantasy, but the attention to detail is great, and the reader really gets to know Murk and it’s passel of occupants. There were a couple of twists in this that I did not expect, and the epilogue was pretty much my favorite part of the entire book. I’m sure this will show up on a mess of “must read” lists for 2023/4. I, for one, cannot wait for the next installment. Baldree’s writing is definitely a marvelous palate cleanser for the amount of grimdark I typically read.

The Fragile Threads of Power (Threads of Power #1) by V.E. Schwab

Posted on November 20, 2023 by - Book Review

Holy crap, it’s a new book in the A Darker Shade of Magic universe! To say that I had great expectations for this novel is an understatement. There was definitely the expectation that we would encounter Lila, Kell, Rhy, and Alucard; but what new shenanigans would be introduced to keep us captivated by another ADSOM series?

OK, here’s the deal: The Fragile Threads of Power is set seven years after then end of A Conjuring of Light, and a whole lot has happened. Rhy is now King of Red London, but there is a growing movement to depose him in order to help save magic, and a mysterious Antari named Kosika has been found in White London and made Queen there.

On top of that, we are introduced to a young tinkerer named Tes who, seemingly, has the ability to see how magic works in items and people, as well as change or fix that magic: a total game-changer that could affect all worlds.

Revisiting an established universe is always a comfortable thing, but Ms. Schwab does not just sit back and rely on the familiar for The Fragile Threads of Power. This world is in a constant state of evolution, and Ms. Schwab is quite deft at drawing the reader into the scenery with a sense of wonder. It’s been seven years, and these Londons have changed drastically: both physically and politically.

This series is going to be as powerful as the prior one, and, I, for one, cannot wait for the next round of adventures. This is definitely one of my favorites of 2023, and I’m sure it’s going to be put on a lot of year-end lists.

A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk and Robot #1) by Becky Chambers

Posted on September 25, 2023 by - Book Review

It’s very rare that I read a book that I know absolutely nothing about and turns out to be so incredibly life changing. This is one of those books.

I cannot say enough about the worldbuilding that Ms. Chambers spins into this incredibly wholesome tale. Dex is a monk unhappy with their role in the world, so they take on the daunting task of becoming a Tea Monk: a caretaker and counselor, traveling the areas of Panga being a regular fixture in the small communities. Dex has no idea what they are doing, but eventually falls into the regular cadence of excelling at their role. The thing is, Dex isn’t happy with where they fit in the world.

On yet another lark, Dex decides they need to go into the wilds and find a hermitage of the old order to seek fulfillment. Enter Mosscap, the robot.

In the times before, centuries ago, robots gained sentience, and humanity gave them the levity to do what they needed to do. As a result, robots went one way, and humanity the other. Humans gathered at Panga and the surrounding towns, while the robots were, ostensibly, out in the protected wilds: never to be disturbed by humans.

In their quest to find the hermitage, Dex comes across Mosscap who is “checking in” on humanity.

Their journey is one of discovery (a primary theme in this book), and an unlikely duo of soulmates is born.

As is my way, I never want to spoil the experience for future readers. That being said, this book changed me profoundly. Mosscap’s life philosophy is atypical, but absolutely relevant for our own modern life. Mosscap’s interactions with Dex change both of them in incredible ways, and it made this bitter old reader smile a lot. As a constantly spiraling anxiety ball, I was comforted by Mosscap’s approach to the “meaning of life” and how we all fit into the cogs.

I absolutely loved this book, and will read it again and again for validation. I can’t wait to start the second.

This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar, Max Gladstone

Posted on May 26, 2023 by - Book Review

Here’s the setup: in the far future of Earth, two factions battle each other for supreme control of the world, the timeline, and, well, everything. Two factions — Commandment and Garden — have their elite agents working clandestine operations throughout the various time threads. Our two characters, Blue and Red are fighting against each other throughout time, while, through a series of secret correspondences, also falling in love with each other. This book has a very heavy Killing Eve meets The Lake House vibe to it.

It does take a bit of time to pull back from how the novel opens — right into the chaos of the aforementioned clandestine operations — and get some bearings on what is actually going on. While this can be off-putting in some situations, it works absolutely perfectly for this tale. The chaos really helps solidify the fantastical uncertainty that forms the foundation of the world we find our two characters dropped into.

I cannot give enough kudos to the creative stylings that Ms. El-Mohtar and Mr. Gladstone throw into this short but masterful piece. Imagine hard science fiction with flowery writings akin to a Victorian romance. But it all works incredibly well!

I will admit, there were sections that I had to read multiple times because I was distracted by my surroundings, and This is How You Lose the Time War is a novel that demands full attention. If your brain wanders, you will get lost.

This book is getting a lot of buzz right now, and I’ll admit I picked it up because it seemed to take over my Twitter feed almost overnight. I was not disappointed in the slightest.

Nona the Ninth (The Locked Tomb #3) by Tamsyn Muir

Posted on October 26, 2022 by - Book Review

After three books and much experimentation, I believe I have figured out the secret to full comprehension of The Locked Tomb series: just let it flow over you. Enjoy the ride and do be sure to keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times.

OK, here we go with the story of Nona.

First we had Gideon, and then we got to ride the roller-coaster with Harrowhark. Now we have a much harsher world with a much softer protagonist: Nona.

Nona’s life is relatively simple. She loves her family, longs for an elaborate birthday party full of dogs, and loves her job as teacher’s assistant at the local school. Did I mention her love of dogs?

The thing is, Nona is about six months old, and doesn’t belong in the body she is inhabiting. In addition, Nona doesn’t really like to eat (unless you consider the mild case of pica she constantly conceals), and doesn’t really know much about dealing with things on her own. I’d say Nona was simple, but she is oh so far from that.

If you are familiar with the works of Ms. Muir (and you bloody well should be if you are reading Nona the Ninth), you are familiar with the cool ride through chaos that seems to be her specialty. While focusing on a passel of semi-shifted main characters throughout the series (maybe), Ms. Muir takes every opportunity to absolutely explode each world she elaborately builds up. I find it masterful.

Like I said in the beginning, the best way to enjoy these books is to just lean back and embrace the chaos.

What struck me as most amazing in my jaunt through Nona the Ninth is how normal Nona’s life tries to be. Zombies are coming back, there is a giant blue sphere hanging on the horizon, the city is in shambles, and Nona wants to go swimming.

Running along side the primary story is the story of John: the reason everything is the way it is now. I’d go into that, but it’s much more fun to watch it reveal itself without explanation.

The single thing that I did not like was something that was totally on me and not Ms. Muir. I did not realize that this series had been stretched to four books, so I was getting very very confused as I approached what I perceived as the end of the series, with so much left unresolved. My brain spent a good amount of time spinning possible conclusions as the page count dwindled, only to learn, elsewhere, that a fourth book was incoming. You can imagine my relief.

Now the waiting begins (again).

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

Posted on October 4, 2022 by - Book Review

Typically I meander about a review before letting you know that it’s a good read or something worth passing. With Legends & Lattes, however, I’m just going to come straight out and tell you to put down whatever you are reading and pick this one up. Yes, you heard me, and do so immediately.

This tale mixes bits of High Fantasy with an amalgamation of fanciful engineering, slow-burn romance, self-discovery, and the building of a family-like community. All of that together makes for one of the most refreshing and fun books I’ve read in a very long time.

Viv is an orc barbarian who is tired of the warrior life and what it entails. Having fallen in love with the mystery of coffee (widely unknown), she decides to cash in her fortunes and open a coffee shop in Thune. Bolstered by almost supernatural luck, Viv quickly begins to pull new friends into her business, and life, and her dreams begin to become reality.

There is a lot more that transpires in this relatively short gem of a novel, but I do so hate spoiling things for potential readers.

What strikes me the most about Legends & Lattes is the absolute ease with which Mr. Baldree slides us all into Viv’s world and the mechanics of Thune. There are wonderful aspects of discovery since Viv is, herself, new to town, and that is leveraged in my favorite way to progress the worldbuilding. While there are just a few very serious moments in this novel, it is the lightness and humor that pulls the reader along. Every character introduced provides their own little brand of sparkle, and the wide variety of personalities are what really bring the brightest shine to the story.

Like I said at the beginning, this is an absolute must read for me. Pouring through this made me realize that I have a very heavy diet of gritty High Fantasy, Space Opera, and Grimdark; and not enough light fare in my library. All of those are very relevant, and a delight to dive deep into, but sometimes something light and poppy fits the bill perfectly. Legends & Lattes is definitely that pop.

The City of Dusk (The Dark Gods #1) by Tara Sim

Posted on January 24, 2022 by - Book Review

** This book was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review **

The City of Dusk (The Dark Gods Book 1) by [Tara Sim]

Sometimes you stumble on a book that hits all the right buttons at just the right time. Boy howdy, The City of Dusk sure did.

Set in the realm of Nexus (a very telling name, no?) in the city of Vaega, The City of Dusk is the story of four noble houses: each with their own divine magic affiliation and abilities. Well, really it’s about the heirs of these houses and their interaction with each other, their deities, and with the impending doom they sense coming.

The gods these houses descended from have shut off the realm that contains Nexus from the other realms of magic. To add a special twist, the Holy King may announce one of the heirs the heir to the crown at any moment.

Yeah, all the makings of some serious grimdark tomfoolery.

Above all The City of Dusk massively excels at a pervasive inner conflict that roils through each and every one of the main characters. Attitudes, allegiances and even relationships sway back and forth, caroming off of every obstacle imaginable. Just when things begin to even out a little bit, some new bit of madness drops in out of the ether and everything is upended. As a plot device, however, it really really adds to the sense of uncertainty that is practically a character in its own right. Ms. Sims deftly weaves together impossible and improbable situations that each of the heirs has to traverse, and, in some cases, there doesn’t seem to be a plausible “right answer” that can be achieved. It’s absolutely delicious.

This is a series that is going to pain me greatly to have to wait for. This first book isn’t even officially “out in the wild,” and I’m craving the second. This book is definitely bound to be on several of the “best of” lists for 2022. On March 22, make sure you have your copy.

Aurora’s End (The Aurora Cycle #3) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Posted on January 13, 2022 by - Book Review

Ms. Kaufman and Mr. Kristoff are deities at creating perfect YA science fiction trilogies. The Illuminae Files was just an incredible experience of whirlwind storytelling piled on with some crazy space action, and The Aurora Cycle follows suit without even being the least bit derivative.

It’s almost sickening how deft these two are and cranking these literary Skittles out.

So, Aurora’s End. It’s hard to believe, with the amount of crap Squad 312 has gone through, that this is only the third book in the series. Worst of all, they’ve committed the mortal tabletop gaming sin of splitting the party.

Now, each group isn’t sure if the other is alive, and there is a whole lot of shenanigans going on to prevent this gigantic hive-mind galactic threat that has pretty much thwarted our protagonists (and even a couple of the anti-heroes and one supreme baddie) in the previous books.

Seeing that this is the wrap-up of a trilogy, I’m going to say exactly squat about what transpires in Aurora’s End. Instead, I strongly suggest you, gentle reader, grab up this fully formed — and now finished — trilogy to consume, like Power Pellets on a Pac-Man board, for yourself.

All of the characters are so well developed, and really take on so many more incredible traits and personalities as the trilogy progresses. There are so many “No effing way!” moments in all three books, especially Aurora’s End, that, as a reader, you just start to expect the most incredibly insane things to happen.

Great books, great authors. This series is an absolute no-brainer for spacey sci-fi folks.

The Circus Infinite by Khan Wong

Posted on December 29, 2021 by - Book Review

** This book was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review **

Here’s the setup. Our protagonist, Jes, is a “fugitive” on the lam from a sinister institute that was basically torturing him as a method of studying his gravitational powers. At the start of The Circus Infinite, Jes has escaped pursuit and gotten passage to Persephone-9, a pleasure moon covered in pleasure palaces, entertainment, and casinos.

Purely by chance, Jes manages to get involved with a circus troupe as well as getting mixed up with Niko Dax, Persephone-9’s resident crime lord.

Throughout the book, we learn more and more about Jes. He’s mixed-species (which is often shunned), he’s asexual, and his powers are very very atypical for anyone.

Jes finds friendship, and a bit of romance; all the while increasing his role in the circus, but also being tasked with doing more and more horrible things for Niko Dax.

There were aspects to the worldbuilding that I found very creative. The terminology as well as the detailed explanations of the alien species, the history of federation of worlds that unites all of these species, as well as great details on the encountered technology made for an enjoyable read. I do wish that I had discovered the included glossary before I finished the book, but that’s on me.

All-in-all, The Circus Infinite was a very enjoyable read. I do hope that Mr. Wong continues in this universe because I feel like there is so much more to explore in it.

Birthright (The Impavidus Cycle #1) by M.A. Vice

Posted on November 4, 2021 by - Book Review

Birthright (The Impavidus Cycle Book 1) by [M. A. Vice]

Here’s the setting. A young daemon gets inhabited and taken over by his father and proceeds to go on a Duke Nukem-style bloodbath to help raise power for and spread the corruption of his father. His sole driving force was to just ambush and kill and kill and kill.

Then the oddest of things happens. The young daemon, who we learn is named Albtraum, is captured, taken in, and, in the first of many twists, given the opportunity to fight against his father and maybe make the world a better place.

Ms. Vice opens this one with an absolutely master-crafted bloodbath and then deftly slides into a very involved story of political intrigue and a broad exploration of political relationships, interpersonal relationships, trust, and growth.

The fantasy presented in Birthright is top-notch. Having Albtraum constantly at odds with his father, and the uncertainty of how he can and does act in situations added a nice tension to this read while progressing the story nicely. In the shadows of spreading corruption, the reader never really knows when Albtraum will be infected by his father’s nefarious spirit and begin resorting back to his ways of violence.

I really enjoyed the variety of terrains that our characters are taken through. This world was very well adapted, and does help lend to a fair amount of character development. Through the worldbuilding, the reader can see the roots of many of the characters, and a lot of it is reflected back in personality.

Birthright is chock full of twists: some seen from a mile away, and some that just smack you in the face as they are happening. The final book in the series comes out in December 2021, and I really can’t wait to see how the story progresses considering the way things were left at the end of Birthright (no spoilers).

I’d really suggest picking this novel up. It’s independently published, and it’s always good to support those creators who take it upon themselves to push their works out in the world.