Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

Uncanny Times by Laura Anne Gilman

2 reviews

bookcaptivated's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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kiaras's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

4.25

Review originally posted here: https://waitingforfairies.com/2022/08/01/review-uncanny-times-by-laura-anne-gilman/

Laura Anne Gilman is a solid writer who usually has a unique take on things. (Wine. Magic. Enough said.) Her political rants are also on point — look up her Patreon or social media accounts. So I’m always surprised that she’s not way more popular than she actually is. Maybe this series* will change that. 

This book is probably my favorite thing that she’s ever done. Our main characters are brother and sister, so there’s no romantic tension to get in the way of the plot**. Using the Harker surname here is a little cliché, but it’s a handy shortcut to say that these people are monster hunters. 

Their upbringing seems to have been a little bit problematic and a lot traumatic. They were essentially orphaned as teenagers by a hunt that went wrong for their parents. They are also confronted with the fact that what they were told about the Uncanny being monsters lacking human-intelligence and the powers of speech was… less than accurate. 

Tracking down an Uncanny serial killer probably isn’t the time to confront that truth, but it definitely seems like it’ll be a future problem that Aaron and Rosemary will have to deal with. In fact, I think the whole book takes place over 3 or 4 days and neither of our protagonists get much sleep in that time frame. 

This is a fast-paced novel with a solid mystery and really great character interactions. Tense B&B dinners! Grisly crime scenes! A demon-hunting hell hound! Gilman always has interesting things to say about the lines between what makes us human and what actually makes a monster, and this series is no different. Did I mention I think it’s her best yet?

*This is being marketed as Volume 1 of the Huntsmen, and I hope that’s accurate because if I don’t get more Aaron & Rosemary, I might have to riot. 

**There’s some slight romantic vibes between one of our siblings and a side character (no spoilers!), but it’s slight enough that it barely registers, in my opinion. 


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