Book #25 of 2020: Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly Less a retelling than a continuation, this novel takes the standard version of the Cinderella fairy tale and imagines a possible redemption story for one of her wicked relations. But it really doesn’t work for me, on just about any level. Worst of all are the under-explained …
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Book #24 of 2020: Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin (Serpent & Dove #1) A reader’s enjoyment of this fantasy debut may depend on their fondness for certain fanfiction tropes about nemeses forced to fake a relationship for appearance’s sake. In this case, it’s a church witchfinder and a secret witch, whose dynamic of grudging …
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Book #23 of 2020: Star Wars: Dooku: Jedi Lost by Cavan Scott The treacherous Count Dooku feels like a bit of an afterthought in the Star Wars prequel movies, but I’m glad I took a chance on this recent full-cast audiobook fleshing out his backstory. It’s easy for franchise media tie-ins to come off as …
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Book #22 of 2020: Lalani of the Distant Sea by Erin Entrada Kelly I like the idea behind this wandering maritime adventure — think The Voyage of the Dawn Treader crossed with Disney’s Moana, roughly — but I feel like it would have been stronger if the point-of-view had stuck with the title heroine throughout …
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TV #1 of 2020: The Good Place, season 4 This heartfelt sitcom about trying to become a better person in the afterlife never quite surpassed its stellar first season, but it’s remained a surprisingly hilarious exploration of moral philosophy and a great showcase for the sort of tender character development creator Michael Schur perfected on …
Book #21 of 2020: Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor (Akata Witch #1) This middle-grade series debut has some terrific #ownvoices African-inspired fantasy worldbuilding, but it lags behind in matching that with any significant narrative development or character arcs. So much of the novel consists of either pure exposition about the setting or else the protagonist …
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Book #20 of 2020: Unquenchable Fire by Rachel Pollack This is a supremely odd book, and I’m honestly not sure whether I like it or not. The incomplete and elliptical reveals to its slipstream worldbuilding offer ambiguities that feel worth lingering over, but they also keep the reader at a certain distance from fully engaging …
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Book #19 of 2020: Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson As a fantasy and superhero buff, I have no issues with this novel’s premise of twins who erupt in flames when their emotions get out of control. And I accept the bond that develops between them and their new caretaker. But I just cannot …
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Book #18 of 2020: A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine (Teixcalaan #1) Overall a delightful piece of diplomatic-anthropological science-fiction, like the Imperial Radch trilogy mixed with The Traitor Baru Cormorant and just a dash of Altered Carbon. When her people’s ambassador to a conquering space empire suddenly dies, our protagonist is sent off to …
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Book #17 of 2020: Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators by Ronan Farrow Ronan Farrow is one of the journalists who helped to finally build a public case against Harvey Weinstein’s serial predation of women in Hollywood, and I initially wasn’t sure that I needed to read his account of …
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