Book #64 of 2019: Evermore by Sara Holland (Everless #2) Another YA fantasy duology with a promising first volume followed by a more conventional and generic sequel. The best thing about the opening Everless novel was its system of time as currency, in which the rich magically extend their existence by literally taxing the life …
Author Archives: Joe Kessler
Book Review: King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo
Book #63 of 2019: King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo (Nikolai Duology #1) After five novels — and some short stories that I haven’t yet read — author Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse setting feels wonderfully lived-in. This latest volume is the start of a new duology in that Russian-flavored fantasy world, but it essentially reads as …
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Book Review: The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow
Book #62 of 2019: The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow If not a Great American Novel, this winner of the 1954 National Book Award for Fiction at least feels like an attempt at a Great American Picaresque, following a charming young Jewish ruffian around Depression-era Chicago and his subsequent wanderings away from responsibility. …
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Book Review: The Island of Lost Maps: A True Story of Cartographic Crime by Miles Harvey
Book #61 of 2019: The Island of Lost Maps: A True Story of Cartographic Crime by Miles Harvey I like the parts of this book that are actually about cartographic history or the titular case of map theft, but author Miles Harvey spends far too much time philosophically musing, wildly extrapolating about the culprit, and …
Book Review: The High King by Lloyd Alexander
Book #60 of 2019: The High King by Lloyd Alexander (The Chronicles of Prydain #5) This children’s fantasy series hasn’t always had the most even storytelling, but the last volume is a proper finale that escalates the conflict, delivers some stirring emotional resolutions, and brings back many familiar characters along the way — including the …
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Book Review: Shortest Way Home: One Mayor’s Challenge and a Model for America’s Future by Peter Buttigieg
Book #59 of 2019: Shortest Way Home: One Mayor’s Challenge and a Model for America’s Future by Peter Buttigieg This book is interesting as a memoir of a young mayor, but I don’t think it particularly makes the case for the author’s long-shot presidential bid. Pete Buttigieg’s political successes in both campaigning and governing have …
Book Review: The Sisters of the Winter Wood by Rena Rossner
Book #58 of 2019: The Sisters of the Winter Wood by Rena Rossner This tale of two Jewish girls discovering their magical heritage in early 20th-century Moldova is a messy debut novel, and I wish it had better integration of its various parts. It’s both a retelling of the Christina Rossetti poem “Goblin Market” (far …
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Book Review: The Light Between Worlds by Laura E. Weymouth
Book #57 of 2019: The Light Between Worlds by Laura E. Weymouth Another postmodern portal fantasy focused less on magical adventuring and more on what happens after a return home from fairyland. It’s most similar to Seanan McGuire’s excellent Wayward Children series in that respect, although there are also shades of Neil Gaiman’s short story …
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Book Review: And the Ocean Was Our Sky by Patrick Ness
Book #56 of 2019: And the Ocean Was Our Sky by Patrick Ness I never know what to expect from Patrick Ness. That’s not necessarily a compliment — I’ve probably hated his books as often as I’ve loved them — but it speaks to a certain willingness to experiment that keeps me coming back to …
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Book Review: What the Night Sings by Vesper Stamper
Book #55 of 2019: What the Night Sings by Vesper Stamper Middle-grade fiction is sometimes tough to review critically, because much of what’s missing for an adult may actually make it more ideal for the intended audience. In this case, I think younger teens and preteens will get a lot out of this novel about …
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The Lesser Joke: book reviews and more 