As part of my Hugo reading this year, I have been reading the first two books of The Broken Earth series by N. K. Jemisin, as the second one, The Obelisk Gate is nominated for a Hugo this year.
It is one of the most powerful and dark books I have read in a long time. It was a very hard read, but a good one.
Title: Karen Memory
Author: Elizabeth Bear
Genre: Steampunk western
Opening sentence:
You ain’t gonna like what I have to tell you, but I’m gonna tell you anyway.
Title: Velveteen vs. The Multiverse
Series: Velveteen vs. book 2
Author: Seanan McGuire
Genre: Superhero fiction, humor
I reviewed book 1, Velveteen vs. The Junior Super Patriots, last year and you can read my review here.
Opening sentence:
It was a beautiful September afternoon in the sleepy little town Isley, California (population 840, on a good day when no one had decided to drive up to Sacramento for some big city thrills).
Like with the first book and Cookie Cutter Superhero by Tansy Rayner Roberts this book is very much metafictional and it has so much love for the superhero genre. Both Roberts and McGuire understand that loving something allows you to look at something critical without that diminishing your love for it. The best satire always comes from a place of passion – because it requires a great amount of passion to acquire the level of knowledge it requires to really highlight the most funny and problematic areas of what you love. The Velveteen stories does just that.
Title: Kaleidoscope
Editor: Julia Rios & Alisa Krasnostein
Short story anthology
Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy, urban fantasy, horror, magical realism
Crowdfunded project that I have supported among with many other people. The anthology gathers original fantasy and science fiction stories about diverse young adult protagonists. And they use the word diverse to cover a broad spectrum of genders, sexuality, ethnicity, ability and everything from neurotypical to protagonists that isn’t. The authors themself are also quite diverse.
Title: Selkie Stories Are for Losers
Author: Sofia Samatar
Published: 7. January 2013 by Strange Horizons
Read: February 15, 2014
Genre: Ehhh
Length: 3108 words, short story
Format: Free online fiction
This is the part of my 100 Short Stories in 2014 challenge.
This story is both so hopeful and sad at the same time. The review is kind of spoilery because it is really hard to talk about this short a story without spoiling something + there is very little plot and it is all about the emotions.
Title: Sandry’s Book (or The Magic in the Weaving)
Author: Tamora Pierce
Series: Circle of Magic, book 1
Published: 1997 by Scholastic Press
Read: 2000
Format: Paperback, Danish
Genre: Fantasy, young adult
Earlier this week when I was putting together a list of epic fantasy books that I recommend, I had to write a little about the first book in the Circle of Magic series by Tamora Pierce. And I found that I almost couldn’t stop writing, so I decided that I would write a longer piece on the book. Mind you it has been a year or two since I read the series. But I have re-read it multiple times over the years. It is one of my favourite fantasy series. Why, you ask?