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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
I would have picked this up so much sooner if someone had told me that one of the main characters was a drag king so I just want to let everyone know that one of the main characters is a drag king. Thank you.
This is a lovely historical romance with the lightest smattering of magic and some incredible atmosphere. And if it'd been billed as a historical romance with the lightest smattering of magic and some incredible atmosphere, I might've liked it better. But it's billed as 1940s urban fantasy featuring "six women" who find their "lives tangled with each other." And while I don't hold Klages accountable for the way the Tor packaged her writing, I found the disconnect between what the tin says and what the tin contains quite jarring.
So. If you go into this book knowing that the SFF elements are scant and feel tacked on so Tor would publish it, rather than being integral to the plot, and knowing that four of the "six women" are really just there to support the two main ones, then you might enjoy this book more than I did.
So. If you go into this book knowing that the SFF elements are scant and feel tacked on so Tor would publish it, rather than being integral to the plot, and knowing that four of the "six women" are really just there to support the two main ones, then you might enjoy this book more than I did.
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
An enjoyable evocative book about lesbian life in San Francisco in the 1940s, with a lot about weird fiction mixed in. The characters were good, the scene setting was really good, I just had wished there a were a little more of the strange in it. Still, I liked reading it all.
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A short and quick read - strongly recommended for fans of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries that wish they could take that aesthetic, the ache of a romance that is absolutely the point but also not the main point, and lean it a little queerer, a little more speculative fiction.
The problem with a good novella is that you absolutely are left wanting more. I want to know more about the magic of this world! I want to know more about these women, their lives and their loves. I want more!
The problem with a good novella is that you absolutely are left wanting more. I want to know more about the magic of this world! I want to know more about these women, their lives and their loves. I want more!
This was my third Tor novella and definitely the one I have enjoyed the most. The other two were both fascinating but felt rushed and overly constrained by their length. This story, about a group of queer female friends in 1940s San Francisco, worked perfectly for me as a novella. There wasn't a whole lot of world building needed, but the author painted a wonderfully immersive picture of the city in a handful of scenes. The characters endeared themselves to me immediately. And the touches of magic in this story were small but powerful. I do wish that there'd been a bit more of the fantasy element, but I was still thoroughly charmed by this story. I'll definitely be rereading it.
3.5 out of 5 stars -- see this review and others at The Speculative Shelf.
Passing Strange is a story of love and friendship among six women in 1940s San Francisco. Author Ellen Klages employs elegant prose, a straightforward plot, and a splash of magic to construct this beautiful and well-told story. Everything here works well, but nothing about it blew me away. That being said, I would read an entire book of Klages describing pastries!
Passing Strange is a story of love and friendship among six women in 1940s San Francisco. Author Ellen Klages employs elegant prose, a straightforward plot, and a splash of magic to construct this beautiful and well-told story. Everything here works well, but nothing about it blew me away. That being said, I would read an entire book of Klages describing pastries!