Books and comics read in November 2022
Thursday, 15 December 2022 16:16![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
usuallyhatsThe Heretic's Guide to Homecoming: Book Two: Practice - Sienna Tristen
Monstrous Regiment - Terry Pratchett
Dracula - Bram Stoker
Ocean's Echo - Everina Maxwell
The Virgin in the Ice - Ellis Peters
A Restless Truth - Freya Marske
Agrippina: Empress, Exile, Hustler, Whore - Emma Southon
The Complete Debarkle: Saga of a Culture War - Camestros Felapton
Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor - Xiran Jay Zhao
The River of Silver - Shannon Chakraborty
The Scapegracers - HA Clarke
The Red Scholar's Wake - Aliette de Bodard
Rivers of London: Action at a Distance
The Old Guard, Book One: Opening Fire
Empress of Forever - Max Gladstone
Matrix - Lauren Groff
I wrote this all up forever ago and then just... didn't post it for some reason.
I almost don't know how to talk about this and the previous half of the duology, I loved them so much. They're a very in depth exploration of anxiety, of friendship, of trust and of trying to be a good person and to be yourself in the face of a complex web of other people's situations, opinions and expectations, and they're so quietly intense and powerful. I don't know that they're for everyone, but they had a profound effect on me.
Ocean's Echo/A Restless Truth/The Red Scholar's Wake
Lumping these together because I have quite similar opinions about all three. As we know romance is not my fave, but these three still really worked for me, I think largely because there was also a lot of other stuff going on? All three had for me what was a really good balance between the romance plot and the sf (for Ocean's Echo and The Red Scholar's Wake) or fantasy (for A Restless Truth) plots, not just in terms of page time, but in terms of how all the different elements worked together, and as a result the romances worked for me when they otherwise might not have. I highly recommend all three.
The Scapegracers
Really excellent YA novel about four teenage witches figuring themselves out. It does a great job at capturing the intensity of teenagerhood, when everything is so important and so fragile and so much. I also really liked that it managed to have some good adults, who might not quite get the teen characters' concerns or priorities, but are at least trying - I know terrible adults are a YA/children's literature trope for very good reasons, but it's also nice to see something that bucks the trend every now and then.
(I have since also read the sequel, which is a) even better and b) even queerer than this, excellent stuff.)
Empress of Forever
Wow I loved this. Big, sprawling sf novel that's ultimately about how caring about other people is the most important thing you can do. Fantastic.
Monstrous Regiment - Terry Pratchett
Dracula - Bram Stoker
Ocean's Echo - Everina Maxwell
The Virgin in the Ice - Ellis Peters
A Restless Truth - Freya Marske
Agrippina: Empress, Exile, Hustler, Whore - Emma Southon
The Complete Debarkle: Saga of a Culture War - Camestros Felapton
Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor - Xiran Jay Zhao
The River of Silver - Shannon Chakraborty
The Scapegracers - HA Clarke
The Red Scholar's Wake - Aliette de Bodard
Rivers of London: Action at a Distance
The Old Guard, Book One: Opening Fire
Empress of Forever - Max Gladstone
Matrix - Lauren Groff
I wrote this all up forever ago and then just... didn't post it for some reason.
The Heretic's Guide to Homecoming: Book Two: Practice (five stars), Ocean's Echo (five stars)/A Restless Truth (four stars)/The Red Scholar's Wake (four stars), The Scapegracers (four stars), Empress of Forever (five stars)
The Heretic's Guide to Homecoming: Book Two: PracticeI almost don't know how to talk about this and the previous half of the duology, I loved them so much. They're a very in depth exploration of anxiety, of friendship, of trust and of trying to be a good person and to be yourself in the face of a complex web of other people's situations, opinions and expectations, and they're so quietly intense and powerful. I don't know that they're for everyone, but they had a profound effect on me.
Ocean's Echo/A Restless Truth/The Red Scholar's Wake
Lumping these together because I have quite similar opinions about all three. As we know romance is not my fave, but these three still really worked for me, I think largely because there was also a lot of other stuff going on? All three had for me what was a really good balance between the romance plot and the sf (for Ocean's Echo and The Red Scholar's Wake) or fantasy (for A Restless Truth) plots, not just in terms of page time, but in terms of how all the different elements worked together, and as a result the romances worked for me when they otherwise might not have. I highly recommend all three.
The Scapegracers
Really excellent YA novel about four teenage witches figuring themselves out. It does a great job at capturing the intensity of teenagerhood, when everything is so important and so fragile and so much. I also really liked that it managed to have some good adults, who might not quite get the teen characters' concerns or priorities, but are at least trying - I know terrible adults are a YA/children's literature trope for very good reasons, but it's also nice to see something that bucks the trend every now and then.
(I have since also read the sequel, which is a) even better and b) even queerer than this, excellent stuff.)
Empress of Forever
Wow I loved this. Big, sprawling sf novel that's ultimately about how caring about other people is the most important thing you can do. Fantastic.
no subject
Date: 15 Jan 2023 20:36 (UTC)no subject
Date: 17 Jan 2023 19:47 (UTC)