![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dolorosa_12Now is not the greatest time in the world to be relying on the US postal service to deliver time-sensitive documents, sent internationally, in a timely manner. I've been watching a tracked parcel sit in Chicago's international mail sorting centre for the past twelve days, and quietly panicking, without being able to do anything to rectify the situation.
Books, as always have been a distraction. My reading has slowed a bit this month, but I have read a mixture of comforting old favourites and some great (and not so great) new works.
The high point so far has definitely been S.A. Chakraborty's concluding book in her Daevabad trilogy, The Empire of Gold, which I reviewed in a longer post over the weekend.
I also thoroughly enjoyed The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave. This is historical fiction set in a remote fishing community in Norway in the seventeenth century. It draws on real-world events: the wreck of a fishing fleet which saw almost every male inhabitant of this community die (leaving an isolated handful of women and children who tried to find various ways to (re)build their community), followed by the arrival of a witch-hunter determined to make a name for himself by identifying and condemning as many supposed 'witches' to death as possible. The story is in many ways very grim — Millwood Hargrave is to a certain extent hemmed in by the historical realities of the various real-world events she's working with — but also a celebration of resilience and small acts of resistance on the margins. It's probably not a story you want to read if you're seeking comfort in fiction, though.
My slow progress through Barbara Hambly's Benjamin January series continues: most recently I've read Ran Away, which interweaves the mystery taking place in the book's present in New Orleans with Ben's memories of his time in Paris. I enjoyed it a lot, as I have enjoyed every book in this series so far.
Finally, I just finished Luanne G. Smith's fantasy novel The Glamourist, which is a sequel to her book The Vine Witch. These are urban fantasy stories of witches in fin de siècle France (the first took place in rural vineyards, while this book moves the action to Paris), loosely linked (in the sense that they contain common characters), but each focusing on a different young woman. Elena, the titular 'vine witch', used her magic in the vineyard in which she grew up, but found herself entangled in witch politics that threatened her livelihood and life. This second book focuses on Yvette, another witch who crossed paths with Elena, who has returned to Paris seeking answers about her past. She's also a fugitive from justice, accused of murder, and trying to fly under the radar. To be honest, I would have preferred another story which focused on Elena, who does make an appearance here, but mainly to move Yvette's story forward. This series is fairly by-the-numbers urban fantasy, competent rather than groundbreaking, although the setting is at least a change from the usual contemporary USian ones.
What have you all been reading?
Books, as always have been a distraction. My reading has slowed a bit this month, but I have read a mixture of comforting old favourites and some great (and not so great) new works.
The high point so far has definitely been S.A. Chakraborty's concluding book in her Daevabad trilogy, The Empire of Gold, which I reviewed in a longer post over the weekend.
I also thoroughly enjoyed The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave. This is historical fiction set in a remote fishing community in Norway in the seventeenth century. It draws on real-world events: the wreck of a fishing fleet which saw almost every male inhabitant of this community die (leaving an isolated handful of women and children who tried to find various ways to (re)build their community), followed by the arrival of a witch-hunter determined to make a name for himself by identifying and condemning as many supposed 'witches' to death as possible. The story is in many ways very grim — Millwood Hargrave is to a certain extent hemmed in by the historical realities of the various real-world events she's working with — but also a celebration of resilience and small acts of resistance on the margins. It's probably not a story you want to read if you're seeking comfort in fiction, though.
My slow progress through Barbara Hambly's Benjamin January series continues: most recently I've read Ran Away, which interweaves the mystery taking place in the book's present in New Orleans with Ben's memories of his time in Paris. I enjoyed it a lot, as I have enjoyed every book in this series so far.
Finally, I just finished Luanne G. Smith's fantasy novel The Glamourist, which is a sequel to her book The Vine Witch. These are urban fantasy stories of witches in fin de siècle France (the first took place in rural vineyards, while this book moves the action to Paris), loosely linked (in the sense that they contain common characters), but each focusing on a different young woman. Elena, the titular 'vine witch', used her magic in the vineyard in which she grew up, but found herself entangled in witch politics that threatened her livelihood and life. This second book focuses on Yvette, another witch who crossed paths with Elena, who has returned to Paris seeking answers about her past. She's also a fugitive from justice, accused of murder, and trying to fly under the radar. To be honest, I would have preferred another story which focused on Elena, who does make an appearance here, but mainly to move Yvette's story forward. This series is fairly by-the-numbers urban fantasy, competent rather than groundbreaking, although the setting is at least a change from the usual contemporary USian ones.
What have you all been reading?
no subject
Date: 2020-06-17 06:40 pm (UTC)I read Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender because it crossed my Twitter in the "things you can read by trans and nb writers" discussion. It was very sweet and well written and very YA. Now I'm back to going through a fan-translated chinese novel about eSports. It's over 8000 pages long and what's happening is that someone is good at playing an online game and they're slowly recruiting a ragtag team that will take on the pro league. It is relevant to my interests in many ways but it's also 100% comfort reading. Nothing bad will ever happen (the worst possible outcome is losing a game) and I get to spend all this time with characters I'm fond of and I don't have to choose anything new to read in a very long time.
no subject
Date: 2020-06-17 08:13 pm (UTC)Both of those books that you've read/are reading sound really lovely. I love everything about the eSports novel: ragtag teams of misfit friends and sports is a really fun combination. Although 8000 pages is ... wow. That's the very definition of a doorstopper!
no subject
Date: 2020-06-18 10:00 am (UTC)8617, no matter how I change the page layout (I think the size kind of broke my Kobo's ability to process page numbers). And someone translated that! For free!! I honestly can't believe it. That's some dedication and generosity. <3
no subject
Date: 2020-06-18 03:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-06-18 11:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-06-18 03:54 pm (UTC)But yes, The Mercies is not one to read if you're wanting an unambiguously happy ending.
no subject
Date: 2020-06-19 08:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-06-20 10:07 am (UTC)