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leonidskies's reviews
153 reviews
An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book, to me, is like the starjar it introduces on its first page - filled with chemicals and shaken up, it bursts into wondrous light.
That is to say, this book is really incredible. Achingly sad and brutal and filled with an endless and complicated variety of love. The characters are so human, so complex and shattered and holding each other up rather than together.
I can't find the right words to sum up how I feel about the book. It all works so well together that I tried to find a way to call it 'effortless', but it's not that. Maybe 'affecting' is right - something tied together so carefully that it can't help but cause a hundred feelings.
There's a lot of brutality and a lot of pain here. An Unkindness of Ghosts is saying so, so many things. It tells them through Aster, possibly one of my favourite characters I've ever been in the head of, but also through so many people who love her so deeply. Every chapter exceeded what came prior in illuminating the world and the people who mattered to the book, and nothing felt overexplained or contrived.
I've heard so much good about this book, but by the time I was done I knew just how little I'd known about it before going in. I'm going to be thinking about Aster and Theo especially for a long time. I'm going to be thinking about this book for a LONG time.
That is to say, this book is really incredible. Achingly sad and brutal and filled with an endless and complicated variety of love. The characters are so human, so complex and shattered and holding each other up rather than together.
I can't find the right words to sum up how I feel about the book. It all works so well together that I tried to find a way to call it 'effortless', but it's not that. Maybe 'affecting' is right - something tied together so carefully that it can't help but cause a hundred feelings.
There's a lot of brutality and a lot of pain here. An Unkindness of Ghosts is saying so, so many things. It tells them through Aster, possibly one of my favourite characters I've ever been in the head of, but also through so many people who love her so deeply. Every chapter exceeded what came prior in illuminating the world and the people who mattered to the book, and nothing felt overexplained or contrived.
I've heard so much good about this book, but by the time I was done I knew just how little I'd known about it before going in. I'm going to be thinking about Aster and Theo especially for a long time. I'm going to be thinking about this book for a LONG time.
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This is a really beautiful, meaningful book that I adored reading. I've been meaning to pick it up for a while and I'm glad I finally did.
I was particularly struck when reading by the empathy in this - the careful conceptualisation of experiences that would be dismissed as 'madness' as significant events regardless of the negative associations attached to them.
It's not a 'big' book, but it says everything it feels like it intends to and sets it in a beautifully described world packed with internal mystery that really spurs it forward. If you're happy to read a book that keeps you in the dark for a bit, plays with form, and wants you to sit with its meanings, this is absolutely for you.
I was particularly struck when reading by the empathy in this - the careful conceptualisation of experiences that would be dismissed as 'madness' as significant events regardless of the negative associations attached to them.
It's not a 'big' book, but it says everything it feels like it intends to and sets it in a beautifully described world packed with internal mystery that really spurs it forward. If you're happy to read a book that keeps you in the dark for a bit, plays with form, and wants you to sit with its meanings, this is absolutely for you.
The Extravaganza Eternia by Kristin Osani
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I read a copy of this book as a judge for the SSBA (Small Speculative Book Awards). This review is a reflection of my opinion and not directly of the book's performance in the competition.
This is a beautifully woven and deeply character-rich novella. The perspective is viscerally emotive and incredibly vivid in its snapshot of a really interesting world. It captures something really quite special about the importance of finding common cause with the people around you and allowing love to enter your life. It also has a nice romance-adjacent plot which falls at the core of the work but doesn't detract from the other things going on.
Something I found really special about it was the breath of queerness in the book, especially the volume of trans characters. As someone who reads a decent amount of books featuring trans characters, the sheer number of characters who were just incidentally trans was a really pleasant surprise.
I had one major hang-up with the book after the first few chapters - that the plot revolves around the traumatic murder of a black trans man - but I was happy with how the book resolved on this point.
Overall, though, resolution comes very quickly in this book, with a lot happening in a short space of time and several matters unresolved. I'm not sure if this is intended to be part of a series, but I definitely finished with unanswered questions.
All that said, I really enjoyed this work. It felt very fresh to read and was, of course, delightfully queer. I'm very glad I picked it up!
This is a beautifully woven and deeply character-rich novella. The perspective is viscerally emotive and incredibly vivid in its snapshot of a really interesting world. It captures something really quite special about the importance of finding common cause with the people around you and allowing love to enter your life. It also has a nice romance-adjacent plot which falls at the core of the work but doesn't detract from the other things going on.
Something I found really special about it was the breath of queerness in the book, especially the volume of trans characters. As someone who reads a decent amount of books featuring trans characters, the sheer number of characters who were just incidentally trans was a really pleasant surprise.
I had one major hang-up with the book after the first few chapters - that the plot revolves around the traumatic murder of a black trans man - but I was happy with how the book resolved on this point.
Overall, though, resolution comes very quickly in this book, with a lot happening in a short space of time and several matters unresolved. I'm not sure if this is intended to be part of a series, but I definitely finished with unanswered questions.
All that said, I really enjoyed this work. It felt very fresh to read and was, of course, delightfully queer. I'm very glad I picked it up!
Asexuality in Young Adult Fiction by Noah O'Connor
informative
fast-paced
3.25
I think, on the most part, this is good scholarship, and it's definitely worth reading if you're at all interested in asexuality in YA literature (or the question of representation in fiction at all - this has good stuff that can be applied across the board, and communicates it clearly).
However, I had two issues with it that dampened my impression overall: the approach claimed to be empirical in nature, but I was unclear on what constituted the judgement of supporting or subverting the tropes in question, which made it hard to get behind the moral judgements the author made about the tropes. I simply disagree that asexual representation that does something other than wholeheartedly rejecting what is referred to here as Asexual Exile is 'bad representation'. I think there's room for all kinds of asexual representation - something the author states elsewhere in the book - and that some readers will feel empowered more by books that represent their experience or feelings as opposed to an 'ideal' scenario, and I absolutely disagree with the idea that this potentially resonant representation is not only harmful but actively contributes to queer suicide. Both myself and the author are asexual, so obviously there's a lot of room for agreement/disagreement on this - I just happen to disagree!
My disagreement here looks large (I just wanted to be clear!) but I still absolutely recommend this to anyone who's interested in these topics. It's a good tool for thinking about these things, and it certainly had me thinking a lot.
However, I had two issues with it that dampened my impression overall: the approach claimed to be empirical in nature, but I was unclear on what constituted the judgement of supporting or subverting the tropes in question, which made it hard to get behind the moral judgements the author made about the tropes. I simply disagree that asexual representation that does something other than wholeheartedly rejecting what is referred to here as Asexual Exile is 'bad representation'. I think there's room for all kinds of asexual representation - something the author states elsewhere in the book - and that some readers will feel empowered more by books that represent their experience or feelings as opposed to an 'ideal' scenario, and I absolutely disagree with the idea that this potentially resonant representation is not only harmful but actively contributes to queer suicide. Both myself and the author are asexual, so obviously there's a lot of room for agreement/disagreement on this - I just happen to disagree!
My disagreement here looks large (I just wanted to be clear!) but I still absolutely recommend this to anyone who's interested in these topics. It's a good tool for thinking about these things, and it certainly had me thinking a lot.
Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
This book is fantastically clever, full of immense heart, and is also pretty terrifying in some places to boot.
It's funny and queer and heartbreaking and so so so so so many things, artfully constructed and tightly executed. Sometimes you just read something and you're like wow. This is so utterly CONVINCING, I have confidence in the author to not fuck this.
Tingle's experience and expertise really shines through. There's so much going on, and it all fits together really well. Also, it's a nice big 'fuck you' to the little toy executives are calling "AI", and I love it.
This is my first work I've read by Chuck Tingle - I'm not really an erotica or satire kind of guy - but I'm so excited to read Camp Damascus and everything else he has coming next.
It's funny and queer and heartbreaking and so so so so so many things, artfully constructed and tightly executed. Sometimes you just read something and you're like wow. This is so utterly CONVINCING, I have confidence in the author to not fuck this.
Tingle's experience and expertise really shines through. There's so much going on, and it all fits together really well. Also, it's a nice big 'fuck you' to the little toy executives are calling "AI", and I love it.
This is my first work I've read by Chuck Tingle - I'm not really an erotica or satire kind of guy - but I'm so excited to read Camp Damascus and everything else he has coming next.
Mothers of Fate by Lynne Hugo
dark
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I received an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for my review.
This is a really solid book. It's not super my thing, but I think it was good in what it was doing.
This is a book about people who make a lot of mistakes while they're thinking mostly about themselves and very little about the people they love. Each character was complicated and made some truly painful (in a satisfying way) choices and a lot of them were genuinely difficult to like for most of the novel, making this an experience less where I was hoping something specific would happen and more where I was watching very messy people ruin things but didn't have to feel guilty about being entertained by the suffering of real people.
The book itself was a pretty fast read and largely easy to digest - the only real stumbling blocks for me were elements where the prose needed another round of edits. There were several mistakes, but I'm reading this book months before release so I don't think they'll all be in the final book.
This is a really solid book. It's not super my thing, but I think it was good in what it was doing.
This is a book about people who make a lot of mistakes while they're thinking mostly about themselves and very little about the people they love. Each character was complicated and made some truly painful (in a satisfying way) choices and a lot of them were genuinely difficult to like for most of the novel, making this an experience less where I was hoping something specific would happen and more where I was watching very messy people ruin things but didn't have to feel guilty about being entertained by the suffering of real people.
The book itself was a pretty fast read and largely easy to digest - the only real stumbling blocks for me were elements where the prose needed another round of edits. There were several mistakes, but I'm reading this book months before release so I don't think they'll all be in the final book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, War
Moderate: Ableism, Sexism, Abortion, Abandonment
Minor: Child abuse, Homophobia
Dudes Rock: A Celebration of Queer Masculinity in Speculative Fiction by Jay Kang Romanus
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I really enjoyed this book! It was a mixed collection, but with more good than average and more average than meh, so really solid overall.
There's sort of something for everyone in this collection - there's sexy paranormal horror and contemplative familial sci fi and comedic fantasy job applications. It's all very very queer and a LOT of it was very trans, so it was super up my alley a lot of the time. And sometimes, when it wasn't, it just wasn't my kind of genre/story!
I highly recommend this collection if you want some speculative short stories with queer men, especially if you're an existing fan of any of these authors! When I was done with the stories I followed a bunch of them on social media and I'm excited to see what they do next 👀
There's sort of something for everyone in this collection - there's sexy paranormal horror and contemplative familial sci fi and comedic fantasy job applications. It's all very very queer and a LOT of it was very trans, so it was super up my alley a lot of the time. And sometimes, when it wasn't, it just wasn't my kind of genre/story!
I highly recommend this collection if you want some speculative short stories with queer men, especially if you're an existing fan of any of these authors! When I was done with the stories I followed a bunch of them on social media and I'm excited to see what they do next 👀
Peerless: Wushuang (Novel) Vol. 1 by Meng Xi Shi
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
This seems like a pretty solid start to a series! This is the first part of five (!!) but it makes a good start to establishing what I can only imagine will be a decently slow burn romance.
I've read Qian Qiu/Thousand Autumns and this, loosely, follows a lot of similar tropes, down to 'prideful, powerful man with no real morals bullies a significantly less powerful, disabled man, and does this mostly through flirting'. It's an acquired taste for sure, and Feng Xiao is (thus far) not all that interesting and is mostly just annoying and cruel.
Cui Buqu is far more interesting a character, and I enjoyed the side characters he's operating alongside a lot too. The politics of it all hasn't really grabbed me so far - the politics of empire expansion isn't really that interesting to me - but the pettier squabbles are fun. I'm interested to see where it goes, but it might be a while before I pick another volume of this one up.
I've read Qian Qiu/Thousand Autumns and this, loosely, follows a lot of similar tropes, down to 'prideful, powerful man with no real morals bullies a significantly less powerful, disabled man, and does this mostly through flirting'. It's an acquired taste for sure, and Feng Xiao is (thus far) not all that interesting and is mostly just annoying and cruel.
Cui Buqu is far more interesting a character, and I enjoyed the side characters he's operating alongside a lot too. The politics of it all hasn't really grabbed me so far - the politics of empire expansion isn't really that interesting to me - but the pettier squabbles are fun. I'm interested to see where it goes, but it might be a while before I pick another volume of this one up.
Bisection by Sheila Jenné
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.25
I read a copy of this book as a judge for the Self Published Sci Fi Competition - these are my personal thoughts rather than an indication of the book's overall performance in the competition.
I really, really enjoyed this book! The characters were intriguing and even the minor characters have their chance to shine, though Tria and Resa are the stars of the show. Their journey was both interesting and emotional, and I really liked what Jenné did throughout with them.
This book has a lot of heart, and took a different approach than I'm used to thinking about when it comes to first contact stories - something that initially focuses on two non-human species. It was clearly extensively thought out and there was so much going on, I was immediately drawn in and the book managed to hold my attention really consistently throughout with a well-paced plot.
I'll admit I was a little disappointed about one of the plot directions it took, but it resolved that direction well and the logic within the story made sense so it's not exactly a complaint, just a preference.
Overall, I think this is a really good book and definitely worth reading if you're looking for a super interesting and queer-inclusive take on a first contact story.
I really, really enjoyed this book! The characters were intriguing and even the minor characters have their chance to shine, though Tria and Resa are the stars of the show. Their journey was both interesting and emotional, and I really liked what Jenné did throughout with them.
This book has a lot of heart, and took a different approach than I'm used to thinking about when it comes to first contact stories - something that initially focuses on two non-human species. It was clearly extensively thought out and there was so much going on, I was immediately drawn in and the book managed to hold my attention really consistently throughout with a well-paced plot.
I'll admit I was a little disappointed about one of the plot directions it took, but it resolved that direction well and the logic within the story made sense so it's not exactly a complaint, just a preference.
Overall, I think this is a really good book and definitely worth reading if you're looking for a super interesting and queer-inclusive take on a first contact story.
Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the Alt-Right by Jordan S. Carroll
informative
fast-paced
4.0
This is an incisive, interesting read about the influences of the far right on science fiction, common tropes, and the way the far right read sci fi. It was a short work, and I read it in two sittings and it was just generally a really good read (and free, available on the publisher's website!). I found it a little difficult to read in places - I never want to see the word Faustian again - but it was a very informative and clearly well-researched piece.
It unfortunately dates itself in calling itself dated at the end 😅 but otherwise a super solid piece of work.
It unfortunately dates itself in calling itself dated at the end 😅 but otherwise a super solid piece of work.