Book #192 of 2022: Last Night in Montreal by Emily St. John Mandel There are hints in this 2009 debut novel from author Emily St. John Mandel of the talents she’d bring to later works like Station Eleven, but on the whole, it’s a bit miserable. This is a story about sad people acting inexplicably …
Continue reading “Book Review: Last Night in Montreal by Emily St. John Mandel”
Book #191 of 2022: Star Wars: Brotherhood by Mike Chen A good but not great Star Wars novel, taking place after Anakin and Padme get married at the end of Episode II but before he takes on Ahsoka as his padawan in the Clone Wars movie. The premise / goal here seems twofold: to show …
Continue reading “Book Review: Star Wars: Brotherhood by Mike Chen”
Book #190 of 2022: Thistlefoot by GennaRose Nethercott It’s apparent early on that there are two opposing threads in this story, and while I hoped they would eventually align and synergize, the narrative never really gets there for me. The stronger element is the #ownvoices presentation of Russian Jewish history, specifically concerning the pogroms of …
Continue reading “Book Review: Thistlefoot by GennaRose Nethercott”
TV #58 of 2022: Dead to Me, season 3 The first year of this show started off relatively grounded and serious before escalating wildly into a succession of ridiculous soap-opera twists, which then took center stage in season 2. This final run seems aimed to split the difference, with more of the identical twin / …
Book #189 of 2022: The Farthest Shore by Ursula K. Le Guin (Earthsea #3) The Earthsea Cycle was originally presented as a trilogy, published from 1968 to 1972, and in that context, I think this concluding novel is a bit of a disappointment. It’s heavy on mysticism but light on plot or detailed worldbuilding, and …
Continue reading “Book Review: The Farthest Shore by Ursula K. Le Guin”
Book #188 of 2022: Hickory Dickory Dock by Agatha Christie (Hercule Poirot #27) A weaker Poirot entry. The inciting event of a string of petty thefts, vandalism, and related mischief at a youth hostel seems well below the Belgian detective’s usual standards for investigation, and his premonition that the case will soon prove more serious …
Continue reading “Book Review: Hickory Dickory Dock by Agatha Christie”
Book #187 of 2022: The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard (Lays of the Hearth-Fire #1) A wonderful warm hug of a novel, and probably my top read of the year. It’s rare for a 900-page fantasy tome to feel so cozy, let alone to forgo any significant romance or acts of violence throughout …
Continue reading “Book Review: The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard”
Book #186 of 2022: Even Though I Knew the End by C. L. Polk Like most novellas, this fantasy story feels like it probably could have been improved by developing its plots, themes, and worldbuilding at greater length, but in the short space allotted, it gets by just fine on pure premise and tone. It’s …
Continue reading “Book Review: Even Though I Knew the End by C. L. Polk”
Book #185 of 2022: Seasparrow by Kristin Cashore (Graceling Realm #5) The loose Graceling series moves at unusual rhythms, both on the macro level of an ostensibly-cohesive ongoing saga and on the micro level within its individual books. These stories regularly zig where the rest of the fantasy genre tends to zag, and while the …
Continue reading “Book Review: Seasparrow by Kristin Cashore”
Book #184 of 2022: Fevered Star by Rebecca Roanhorse (Between Earth and Sky #2) Black Sun was one of my top reads of 2020, an adult fantasy debut set in a refreshingly diverse world inspired by pre-Columbian indigenous civilizations. Any sequel would likely struggle to match it, and sure enough, this bridge title in the …
Continue reading “Book Review: Fevered Star by Rebecca Roanhorse”
The Lesser Joke: book reviews and more