Book #278 of 2020: The American Plague: The Untold Story of Yellow Fever, the Epidemic That Shaped Our History by Molly Caldwell Crosby Informative but not necessarily interesting, this 2006 volume is mostly about Dr. Walter Reed and his associates in late-19th-century Cuba as they attempt to determine once and for all how the infectious …
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Book Review: The Captive Kingdom by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Book #277 of 2020: The Captive Kingdom by Jennifer A. Nielsen (Ascendance #4) I was intrigued by the news that author Jennifer A. Nielsen would be returning to the world of her middle-grade fantasy Ascendance trilogy, but this next volume never quite manages to justify itself, especially given the backstory retcon twist midway through. The …
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Book Review: Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
Book #276 of 2020: Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse (Between Earth and Sky #1) An outstanding fantasy series debut, telling an interesting and distinctive story in a diverse world inspired by pre-Columbian indigenous civilizations. (Cacao as currency! I love it.) There’s a lot packed into this initial volume, from priestly power struggles to high-seas sorcery …
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Book Review: The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
Book #275 of 2020: The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow I like the concept of a historical fantasy novel where the women’s suffrage movement is accompanied by a resurgent interest in witchcraft, and how author Alix E. Harrow uses that framework to offer some incisive feminist commentary on marginalized voices preserving knowledge …
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Book Review: Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots
Book #274 of 2020: Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots This is a fun comic-booky novel of a henchwoman / budding supervillain, but I think I have too many logistical questions about the worldbuilding — and too much squeamishness over the surprisingly heavy amount of gore — to properly enjoy it. (These criminals can be arrested …
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Book Review: Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes by Tamim Ansary
Book #273 of 2020: Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes by Tamim Ansary Like that of many Americans, my formal education about world history has primarily focused on the threads that lead to modern ‘Western’ civilization, with minimal attention to the Muslim sphere of influence even in those eras when it …
Book Review: Memorial Drive: A Daughter’s Memoir by Natasha Trethewey
Book #272 of 2020: Memorial Drive: A Daughter’s Memoir by Natasha Trethewey A short but disturbing read, focused partly on author Natasha Trethewey’s experiences growing up mixed-race in the segregated Deep South and partly on her abusive stepfather threatening, beating, stalking, and ultimately murdering her mother. It’s obviously a deeply personal account, but it’s also …
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Book Review: Prince Caspian by C. S. Lewis
Book #271 of 2020: Prince Caspian by C. S. Lewis (The Chronicles of Narnia #4) Although perhaps not as enchanting as the original Narnia story, this first sequel (in writing / publication order) does much more to flesh out the worldbuilding, providing a sense of history, geography, and culture to the setting that had been …
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Book Review: Network Effect by Martha Wells
Book #270 of 2020: Network Effect by Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries #5) Everyone’s favorite antisocial cyborg bodyguard is back for its first full-length adventure, featuring the return of one of the more intriguing side characters from the original novellas. Murderbot’s acerbic interior monologue is always surprisingly relatable as the security unit forms grudging attachments …
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Book Review: Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
Book #269 of 2020: Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell A well-written piece of historical fiction, albeit one that often feels more like a mosaic of interesting vignettes than a coherently plotted novel. The title character is Shakespeare’s son who died at a young age — and may have played a role in his inspiration for Hamlet, …
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