More reading accomplished:
The She by Terry Grimwood
A free copy from LTER in exchange for an honest review. A collection of horror-adjacent short fiction from Terry Grimwood. As with many anthologies, it's a mixed bag; I thought the WWII stories the strongest. The other stories were less memorable. As the WWII stories were first and seemed thematically linked, I initially thought that would be the anthology's premise, but sadly the other stories didn't follow on. I would have liked to see more in that line. Recommended for the WWII stories.
Starter Villain byJohn Scalzi
A free eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Charlie Fitzer, after a divorce returns to his hometown to care for his father. Staying in the family home after his father's death, he is being pressured to move out by his half-siblings so the house can be sold. He'd like to stay on, buy them out and take over a tavern; but this will take a couple of million dollars and Charlie is penniless.
The story starts when Charlie is asked to officiate at his uncle's funeral. Starting with the viewing, the funeral becomes surreal when various heavies don't quite believe Charlie's uncle is dead - apparently, he had faked his death before. After the funeral, Charlie is saved by his cat when his house blows up; the cat then inducts Charlie into his uncle's business: villainry, James Bond style, complete with a Caribbean lair on a volcanic island. Hijinks ensue as Charlie gets his head around the lifestyle before ultimately deciding that the life of a villain is not for him.
Fun, but light. Recommended.
LimeKiller! by Avram Davidson
Fun historical fantasy/magical realism anthology set in a version of British Honduras where Davidson lived in the 1960s.
Jack Limekiller is a Canadian fleeing the snowy north to the balmy Caribbean settling in British Hidalgo, where he becomes something of a beach bum and the owner of a charter boat.
The 6 stories document his life there from shortly after his arrival as he settles into the local way of life, meeting various people and encountering what may (or may not) be the local supernatural. An elegy to a lost way of life, the stories have a great deal of charm and are unmistakably written by Davidson, mixing the real and the unreal to form a seamless whole.
Recommended.
Talonsister by Jen Williams
An eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
An alternate European setting with a strong feel of 2000AD and Warhammer FRP. The book covered 3 storylines: that of the eponymous eponymous Talonsister, a child raised by griffins in the equivalent of Scotland, a former Imperial supersoldier sent to one of the last independent areas (the equivalent to Wales and England), and an Imperial assassin and his protegee escorting an alchemist to investigate a forbidden ruin.
The 3 storylines are linked; the Empire's conquests are powered by titan bones: griffins and the great bear in the England equivalent are the last remaining titans, and the Empire is running out of titanbone to create their supersoldiers.
I quite liked the story, although I thought perhaps the 3 linked stories in one book might have been a bit too much. The ending seemed a bit abrupt too - I presume the story will be continued.
OK - I'll probably read any sequel when it comes out.
Children of Earth and Sky by Guy Gavriel Kay
A slow burn story set in a Renaissance-Italy equivalent in the same world as The Lions of Al-Rassan and The Sarentine Mosaic. The story actually references The Sarentine Mosaic at points. Broad in scope, the action travels from the equivalent of Venice to post-Asharite conquest Sarentium, crossing the equivalent of the Balkans, and covers the guerilla fighting of a Skanderbeg-equivalent. Part of the story features the painting of a portrait of the Sultan by a Western painter - which actually happened in our world when Gentile Bellini was sent by Venice to paint Sultan Mehmet II.
It was interesting to see the real-world parallels, but the writing was somewhat introspective being often focussing on the characters' internal thoughts rather than their external actions.
Recommended.
All the Seas of the World by Guy Gavriel Kay
Another story set in and around Batiara.
Still very introspective, the story focusses on a Kindath and Jaddite captain and co-owners of a corsair ship. Commissioned by the equivalent of our world's Redbeard to assassinate the ruler of a 'Magrebi' city, the story follows their subsequent careers.
I did feel the story featured rather too much introspection, but it was still a good read.
Recommended.
The
Dominion of the Fallen series by Aliette de Bodard
The 3 novels of the Dominion of the Fallen series:
- The House of Shattered Wings
- The House of Binding Thorns
- The House of Sundering Flames
Plus the short stories:
Of Books, and Earth, and Courtship
In Morningstar's Shadow
Court of Birth, Court of Strength
Children of Thorns, Children of Water
The series is set in an alternate universe where the fallen angels have fallen to Earth not to Hell - although it could be construed that by landing on Earth, Earth is now Hell. It certainly seems that way to the mortal inhabitants. All the novels and short stories are set in Paris which is ruled by various Fallen Houses; we see House Silverspires ruled initially by Morningstar then Selene, House Hawthorn ruled by Asmoedeus, House Harrier ruled by Guy and his consort Andrea, and various minor houses. Additionally, unbeknownst to the houses initially, there is a dragon kingdom beneath the Seine, and various gangs and Houseless areas, plus other Immortals.
The thread throughout the series is the appalling suffering inflicted by the Fallen on humanity; not necessarily through sadism and direct action, but most frequently the wars between the Fallen affect humanity as fallout - humans can't stand up to the Fallen directly, and Fallen magic has turned Paris (and the world) into a toxic wasteland, scarred by the fighting and poisoned by magic. So in a way, the series is also about surviving the unthinkable and what choices have to be made to ensure survival - if possible.
The Fallen themselves are depicted as human monsters: rarely do they show empathy to their human subjects, seeing them more as resources to be used. This conflicts with their overriding desire to return to the Heavenly City where they once dwelt. If they have been cast out to seek redemption, they are thus doomed to fail.
Humans do their best to survive in a ruined and toxic world; if they are lucky (in some respects) they become part of a House, serving the Fallen. Unhoused humans often end up in the gangs hunting the newly Fallen to murder them and strip their corpses to sell as alchemical ingredients. Alternatively, they become part of a human enclave like the Annamite (Vietnamese) enclave which also includes Maghrebi and Senegalese. The French colonies were used for troops in the Great War and the few survivors remained in Paris. This why there is an isolationist dragon kingdom in the Seine along with some Immortals living in Paris.
Overall, the series is about colonialism: the Fallen are in effect colonisers with little or no desire to understand the colonised. The colonised variously survive, cooperate with, ignore or strike back at the colonisers. Love does bloom in the stories; rarely though does it redeem.
So, what did I think of the books and stories? Well written, thought-provoking and something to read slowly not devour. The slow reading is partly because of the large cast and partly because of the non-Western background of many characters. What may help is a character list noting House affiliation for the Fallen and humans, titles, honourifics and nicknames for the Annanmese and dragon kingdom characters, and a map of Paris showing the House territories.
Recommended, but take your time over reading them.
The Inaccessibility of Heaven by Aliette de Bodard
At first glance, this is part of the Dominion of the Fallen series, but actually isn't. It's probably set in the same world, but appears to be very much further in the future, featuring skyscrapers and computers. It does not share the Parisian setting either.
A witch teams with a human and a Fallen to investigate a series of murders.
I thought it a bit weak, especially on the world-building - if the world has been comprehensively trashed by the Fallen and their wars over several centuries, how did humanity develop a technological society? The post-Edwardian apocalyptic setting of the main series works better in that respect as it suggests the Fall was more recent.
The Dragon and the Unicorn by AA Attanasio
Did not finish.
An appallingly badly written book complete with purple prose with very odd styling.
It seem to be a retelling of the Matter of Britain but I couldn't stomach it.
Avoid.
