rg9400's reviews
207 reviews

Voyage of the Damned by Frances White

funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book is juggling a variety of different elements. While comparisons are going to be drawn towards Agatha Christie, I actually found myself thinking a lot about Gideon the Ninth which also has all these disparate houses with unique roles and abilities, people dying, a glib main character who uses jokes as a defense mechanism, queer characters and romances, and similar themes of self-acceptance. However, Gideon the Ninth manages to balance all these unique elements in a way that Voyage of the Damned doesn't exactly succeed at. 

At its core is a murder mystery, filled with suspects that start to become eliminated, each suspect with their own secrets and powers. I actually thought the core mystery was engaging, though I really dislike one of the reveals at the end. There isn't a ton of investigation and legwork as other elements tend to eat up focus, but I did end up feeling like each of the characters were distinctive with clues that tie into the various powers (though the magic isn't as integral to the mysteries as in something like The Tainted Cup).

Another very prominent element is our main character's personality and arc. Ganymedes is insufferable. But unlike with Gideon Nav, I did not enjoy his humor at all, and the crass sex jokes often felt like tonal whiplash in a bad way. I do actually think Ganymedes has an interesting arc that actually ties in well with the magic system and plot. Ganymedes and his province are constantly overlooked, leading to a feeling of inferiority. Unfortunately, I just couldn't stand him on the page, so it made his growth less engaging. He does have a young sidekick character who kind of just is there. I think she could have been more compelling had she been given more agency and her own personality other than "young kid who is meant to be adorable". Outside of that, the rest of the characters are similar to what you would expect from a murder mystery, more driven by their motives and secrets than actual character depth.

Next, we have the romance. I hated it. It is over the top mushy and disrupts the pacing constantly. There are also elements of it that I found made it deeply questionable just in terms of how it is set up. I don't have much more to say other than I wish it had been significantly toned down with a lot less page count and more buildup. I also would have changed the ending significantly.

Finally, the worldbuilding and the lore. For a "snowbound" murder mystery, there is actually a surprising amount of lore developed because each character is associated with a unique province with a unique role within the world. With such a limited page count, I think the world is surprisingly given more depth than I was expecting, and it does play a role in the mystery. However, I do think the politics and regions are going to still just be sketches compared to more traditional epic fantasy books, and this type of worldbuilding sometimes backfires where I felt wanting more understanding of the provinces beyond the role they are playing in the story. Again, I think Gideon the Ninth is able to do this in a way where the lore is a lot deeper than just the murder mystery, but it's also setting up a series and isn't a standalone. I think the epilogue was where I found this the most lacking because it pulls the reader out into the larger world, and that's when you realize how little you actually care or know about it. However, within the confines of the murder mystery, I think it's done well with the themes tying neatly into the mystery and character journey.

Overall, I am impressed with certain elements of this book like the mystery and the way it gets tied into the world in such a limited page count. However, the main character's humor is really grating, with the book struggling to effortlessly switch between the tones like Gideon the Ninth does. The writing is just not as sharp and cleverly constructed, and at times you just get thrown out of the book. More importantly, I **really** dislike the romance in this book, with that being enough to dock the review significantly. I don't think a lot of it is even salvageable. I appreciate that the book tries to balance all these elements together because outside of Gideon the Ninth, I can't really think of many others that even attempt it. And the book really had potential because it does some parts of it well, but at the end cannot bring everything together in a satisfying way.

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

dark informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book has a very unique approach that blends America's sociopolitical situation in terms of the prison industrial complex, consumerism, parasocial celebrity culture, and sports with a speculative fiction twist. Where prisoners compete in death matches to reduce their sentences but also carry weapons that have names and are referenced by those names constantly. Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah jumps between perspectives to explore multiple different facets of this version of America from the people watching to the protestors trying to undo the system to the businessmen at the top. Throughout, he sprinkles in actual stats and facts pulled from present day, demonstrating actual research into so many different facets of the prison system.  The book also doesn't shy away from asking some of the harder questions, namely what if some of the prisoners did do despicable things before ending up there. I appreciated that the book didn't paint all the characters as saints and did balance the various types of people that might end up in prison. Each POV has a very distinct voice, a testament to Nana's skill with prose. 

While the worldbuilding and themes and prose are excellent, I felt like the plot, and to an extent, the characters, were a bit lackluster. It does have an arc, but it kind of just ends without really being satisfying. In some ways, I think that is intentional but is also felt frustrating to see a few things build up to not really amount to anything. Specifically, there are two male characters whose POVs interject the main story without really being a part of the overarching plot. While the book does jump into many different perspectives, most of them felt connected to a degree. These two felt very independent. I kept waiting for them to connect, but when they do, they feel very anticlimactic. It didn't help that the narrators for these POVs were different, less engaging, and a bit hard to understand. I also noticed this with another random POV that didn't connect much further into the book, and that too very tangentially. These interrupt the flow and structure of the story that is largely centered on the relationship between two female legends in the sport, and I was left wanting more out of their story than the others.

Overall, I found the book a supercharged and more thematically direct version of The Hunger Games with a strong voice and unique attributes that left the plot a bit underbaked and strangely structured. Despite that, I do recommend it,

 

The Dollmakers by Lynn Buchanan

adventurous mysterious 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? Yes

3.5

I think the first 80% of this book is fantastic. It features a flawed main character where the story is fully aware of those flaws, and I think the way I viewed Shean shifted throughout the book is a testament to the strength of that. It also features another interesting character who I found immensely loveable, and the interactions between these characters throughout is very compelling. At its heart, this is a story about learning your path and finding a home, and it nails those cozy-ish vibes while still having intense and almost horrific moments. This balance between cutesy and horrific is very Studio Ghibli-esque which makes sense as it's a large influence for Lynn Buchanan. My problem is that in the last 20%, we suddenly start to get a ton of lore and worldbuilding. I didn't find this as engaging for a few reasons. First, I think the mysterious nature of the magic works a lot better, especially considering the Ghibli comparison. Second, it's ostensibly a standalone, so all of the lore feels like setup dumped after the fact, and I'm not sure if we'll end up getting a sequel anyways. It also results in a specific character getting more prominence despite being kind of shoehorned into the story, which draws focus away from our main duo a bit. I think the emotional core, the themes, and character growths are fantastic, and the setting is whimsical and strange and good enough to service that without needing all this elaborate explanation. I really liked it, but that negative, especially because it's almost entirely loaded into the ending, prevents me from labelling it a favorite.

Can't Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne

lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

This book fits into a recent trend of cozy fantasy specifically centered around characters setting up shops in high fantasy worlds, most often exemplified by Legends & Lattes. This genre often markets itself as low stakes, and I do find myself feeling like the books end up feeling a bit inconsequential after finishing them. I was not the biggest fan of Legends & Lattes. I've enjoyed some Rebecca Thorne's other books, so I was curious if she could put a spin on this subgenre. She does, but with mixed results. A problem with L&L was a feeling of repetitiveness and a formulaic structure, and this book does not get stuck with that problem. There are a lot of different threads going on at the same time, leading to a plot that feels a lot more dynamic than you'd expect. However, because of all of these different threads, it sometimes feels like the cozy town setting doesn't exactly establish itself, and it's missing that community feeling and the roster of side characters outside our main duo. There are a few, but they aren't given a lot of personality or depth. Also, some of the threads don't get resolved in this book, instead being kicked down the road for the sequels; however, it feels like they could have had a more satisfying pause than just sort of being left hanging, especially considering this book isn't that long. This book often shines the most when focused on its duo. The story doesn't feel overly sentimental or sappy like some books in this genre can be, and the characters are not really struggling with some of the more melodramatic conflicts. They're interesting and fun, though I wish they were a bit stronger because I expected more considering Thorne's other books. Overall, it's a fine entry into this genre and does a few things differently without really making itself stand out still. I think I prefer it over L&L's formula but would have liked a bit more heft to it like I got from Small Miracles. I'd be interested in seeing cozy fantasy move a bit outside this "shop" setup or put a cleverer spin on it because there are too many books using the exact same setup now.

Demon in White by Christopher Ruocchio

adventurous slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

I've been struggling with Sun Eater, but I wanted to give Demon in White a chance because I had heard from multiple people that it was their favorite in the series. Though I think there are some elements that do not work for me, I am baffled by the praise this book gets since I found it the weakest in the series where all the shortcomings of the series are on glaring display. 

First off, there is no way around it. These books are slow. They move at a glacial pace, with only like 5 to 6 events happening per book. This book is the worst offender in my opinion, with it feeling like maybe the slowest book I've read since I started really reading sci-fi/fantasy 5 years ago. The specific problem in this book is that the plot mostly revolves more around battles and politicking, both tropes that are fairly common in other books. The prior two books felt like they were covering more unique worldbuilding concepts, so despite the plot moving slowly, it didn't feel as noticeable since there weren't clear comparison points. The same cannot be said for this book, with a lot of the plot actually feeling similar to Red Rising #2, Golden Son. Obviously, there are some key differences, but the general vibe felt similar. Golden Son is less than half the page count of Demon in White and manages to accomplish a lot more in terms of plot, with the action sequences feeling far more engaging. Frankly speaking, I don't think Ruocchio is particularly great at writing action, which is a shame because there are hundreds of pages dedicated to it in this book. 

Given the lack of plot progression, you'd assume that this book is instead focused on developing characters. However, I don't think that's true either. Outside of Hadrian and Valka, none of the other characters are given any depth. The earlier issue in the prior books was that side characters were just discarded event to event, but now we actually have a few characters who have managed to stick around for a while, but they have no personality. They are like the fodder troops in other books, yet the book seems to not realize the lack of depth by constantly mentioning them and some of their farewells with more weight than they deserve. We do get a few new characters, namely related to the politics of the world, who do seem to add a more unique dimension to the story. Unfortunately, they remain mostly bare sketches of characters, though I do think they could develop into more interesting characters in the future. However, considering this book is 900 pages long, their development is still not particularly strong. The book (and series so far) really only focuses on our main duo. Valka was by far the most interesting character of the earlier books, but she's mostly relegated to a passive character in this book with her agency largely tied to that of Hadrian. I still find her interesting, but this feels like a regression to me. Hadrian is definitely given the most page count. But as I neared the end of this book, I started asking myself who Hadrian actually was as a character. I certainly understand his role in the plot. But looking at the actual character, I cannot name what really motivates and drives him, what his internal conflict actually is, or what he grows into as the future Hadrian that narrates this story. There are certainly tropes that apply to him, but despite being in his head, he feels devoid of personality and interiority. There is a clear comparison to other characters from sci-fi media, and Hadrian feels like the least compelling by a large margin.

The most interesting aspect of this series for me was the worldbuilding. I think the lore was fascinating, both in terms of the past as well as the present conflict. This book was a mixed bag in that regard. There were some interesting things we learned about the past that did seem like cool concepts. However, the way the story develops in regards to the current conflict and some of the ancillary parties went in directions I was not super happy with. The threat sort of starts to lose nuance which I actually thought was one of the more compelling questions from the first book -- what if the aliens are not necessarily the villains they are portrayed to be? Additionally, some of the other answers we get in this book, while unique, were mechanics that I just found wobbly and uninteresting.

As I touched above, the themes start to lose some of their depth in this book alongside some of the regression in character work and lore. Most notably, I think book 2 did a good job of building out a juxtaposition of Hadrian to some of the other entities he finds, often leading to an internal conflict where he tries to differentiate himself. This book doesn't touch on that theme at all. Maybe future books will, but it felt like it failed to build on what had come before. I do think it introduces a new theme at the end that could be interesting, but again, it is reminiscent of other books.

Given how little is accomplished in terms of plot, character work, lore, and themes, you might be wondering what could be filling 900 pages of content. I myself constantly asked this question as I slogged through the circular story and tried to find what narrative tension or suspense should be motivating me to keep turning the page. The answer is repetition. We are constantly bombarded with reminders of what we have read before. We keep being told about the events that have taken place across the last 2 books and this book, and that list keeps increasing. We kept being told the same aphorisms, fluffy quotes that manage to actually say nothing at all. In Game of Thrones, they repeat long epithets for certain characters whenever introducing them. It's like that throughout in this book, constantly. Just smashing the reader on the head with what has happened even while they are reading it.

As a side note, even though it isn't related to the book itself, the narrator shifted the pronunciation of certain character names, specifically

Siren and Selene

, chapter to chapter. Both were baffling since they have clear Western pronunciations, and the narrator did do them correctly only to swap to drastically different ones and then back again, leading to confusion.

I've gone on a large rant here, and I do want to say that I think Ruocchio has some solid prose. However, beyond that, I am legitimately struggling to understand what people find good in this series and in this book in particular. I haven't been this opposed to the SFF popular opinion in a long time. Beyond feeling like this series doesn't really earn its page count, I can also clearly see its inspirations which inform so many of the high-level decisions. In that regard, this book really felt like it failed to differentiate itself, and frankly speaking, this book's inspirations are just a lot better than it at a fraction of the page count. I would highly recommend reading Red Rising or Dune instead of this series, and I will no longer be continuing with it.

The Failures by Benjamin Liar

adventurous dark mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

I absolutely loved this book. There's a lot to talk about, but it's hard to do so without spoilers. It's an unconventional narrative, with multiple POVs that seem very disparate, each with completely different types of worldbuilding and styles. Initially, this made it a bit harder to get into the book, especially because of how bonkers the worldbuilding is, but as I started to realize the way all the threads were being woven, I really appreciated how audacious it was. Pieces start clicking into place throughout, and maybe a few people would get annoyed at how it's all framed, but the puzzlebox structure was perfect for me. In fact, this book utilizes a narrative mechanic that I've always felt would have been fascinating to do in a book but had yet to ever see even really attempted. At times, you even have chapters where an in-world historian/scholar will try to analyze the events retroactively because so much of this book is piecing together the history of what has happened and how it influences what is happening and the characters' decisions. It leads to some unique character work as well. A sci-fi post-apocalyptic fantasy. It's about a dying world where light is disappearing and true dark encompasses everything. A world where a sleeping giant is imprisoned beneath the ground. Where people from a different (our) world can enter and be essentially gods. A world filled with machines, a group of wizards that disappeared, and an eclectic group of movers and shakers trying to make plots within plots within plots. And at the heart of everything, a bunch of lost children who all received a dream, a dream of trees, and grew up wanting to save the dying world. Highly recommend, 5/5 (edited)

Murder on Hunter's Eve by Morgan Stang

adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I adore these books and their fantasy-horror spin on classic Golden Age detective stories. The main quartet of characters are all very endearing, and though the focus is on the excellent duo of Evie and Isabeau, I loved all the Penny and Mr. Homes hijinks. This book breaks out of the mold of the last two by not being focused on a single trapped setting, though it maintains a list of eccentric suspects. I actually thought this worked to pretty good effect initially, and it maintained its unique tone and flavor throughout the different environments. However, unfortunately, the book lost me in its last 20-25%. It felt very rushed, with a lot of the reveals not landing at all for me. Whereas the prior two books did have the stereotypical scene where the detective reveals everything quickly, I still felt like the reveals were equally shocking and sensible with enough time to breathe. Here, there are so many that happen in quick succession, many of which didn't feel like they had been developed nearly enough. It felt like the book was aiming for a bit more shock value, and though it tried to share the clues that led to the conclusions, I felt they were a bit too far-fetched. I don't think this is an issue with the change in setup, just an issue with the plot and pacing. It also might have tried to do a bit too much by having all these characters with their own independent secrets. I think these books are at their best when focused on character interactions as they investigate and things start to go wrong, not as much for the plot twists or larger world lore. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing such recognizable inspirations be used in this Agatha Christie style formula, but it also means the worldbuilding doesn't feel as unique or intriguing to me. I know the review seems more negative, but that's just because the prior 2 books were 5/5s for me, and this one was sadly more of a miss. However, I still loved the first 75%, and I will absolutely read future books in this series because I love the concept and characters so much. 

The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring mysterious reflective slow-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? Yes

5.0

This book is the closest to a modern classic that I've read in the last few years. I could rave about almost every aspect of it. So much of it feels inventive, breaking the mold, yet also steeped in the classical epics, a truly fresh, truly modern hero's journey. The structure is unlike anything I've seen before, using multiple layers of framing stories, second person, jumping between the different layers, shifting perspectives sometimes even within a sentence. There are so many different flourishes that all feel unique to this book. None of them feel gimmicky either -- by the end, I felt like I understood why the author selected to incorporate each stylistic choice, melding the form with character and theme. Even outside of the structure, the prose is extremely strong, easy to read but filled with depth and meaning and beauty. The vibrant world is bursting with life, almost feeling like a fairy tale in how magic and myth are infused throughout every little detail. Make no mistake though, it can be brutal. Like Homer's Odyssey before it, this book is composed of multiple adventures and adversaries, each distinct and posing unique challenges for our heroes. Even though it encompasses five days and only exists within 500 pages, I felt like I had read a full series of books. The characters are so loveable, and I was fully invested in seeing them strive so hard to achieve their individual goals. Like any epic myth, there are a multitude of themes throughout, and I loved the way Jimenez was able to capture their parallels to a more modern, "real" life as well. Just stop reading this review and read this book. It's an absolute must-read.

Hell For Hire by Rachel Aaron

adventurous 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? Yes

4.0

I enjoyed this book even though it wasn't as urban as I was expecting. I think the expectation should be a bit less Dresden and more His Dark Materials (at least that would have aligned my own personal expectations better). There is a fair amount of intriguing worldbuilding between all the different types of magic wielders and demons, and even though I don't enjoy the exposition-heavy focus that such worldbuilding usually entails, I was entertained learning the lore. This is in no short part due to the loveable duo of Bex and Adrian, though I would say Bex has much more of the spotlight. The worldbuilding and low stakes nature of the job made the first half drag a bit, but the second half was a breeze to get through. The characters and lore made the book for me, and I might check out the sequel.

The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera

adventurous challenging fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

This is a hard book to review. On one hand, it's very fresh and unique, confident in not following any rules of the genre. On the other hand, I struggled to stay engaged as the story dropped threads and picked up new threads every few chapters. There is a certain lack of narrative thrust, particularly in the second half, that tends to deflate any tension I was feeling in the book. At its core, the idea of the book is fascinating, an epic fantasy about rebelling against a father that seems almost godlike that is set inside a world that feels almost the same as our current one, even in terms of politics and societal norms. For example, there is social media and online dating. The reader just gets thrown in, and there is no attempt to justify rules or why things work or exist the way they do. I actually appreciated just how confident Vajra was in his writing and worldbuilding. I also really liked the political tumult throughout the city, and how it feels like just a part of everyday life for all of its inhabitants. We have group therapy with the Unchosen/Almost Chosen, and even the multicultural and diverse religions feel so matter of fact. Rebellion and sedition are just normal activities. By not putting extra weight on these concepts that could dominate other books, Vajra is able to build a vibrant world that does truly feel refreshing. Even when we get to studying doors, I was really enjoying the story, and all the different origin myths throughout the book were also things I thought were done very well. However, in the second half of the book, our character ends up moving a lot, and the world seems to shift dramatically while offscreen. Side characters that were compelling disappear, and I struggled to understand what the first half was really building towards. The matter-of-fact approach in this section of the book feels more like a negative, causing the plot to move very fast without giving enough weight or time to breathe towards moments that did feel like they should have been significant. I get not giving significance to the tropes and staples of fantasy to take another approach, but *something* should feel like it has more purpose to it as the replacement. The ending just sort of happens, and at that time, I was left thoroughly confused with what I had just read. Not from a comprehension perspective, just from what it all was trying to achieve. I actually think the book is not particularly dense, and the prose is fairly clear while still having a unique style to it. However, I didn't fully grasp if there was more of a thematic depth to the story, especially because my understanding of Sri Lankan history and circumstances is very limited, and the author might have been pulling from that with his multicultural, multifaceted city. I want to say I liked this book because of how unique it is and how confident it is in its uniqueness. However, my own personal enjoyment wasn't super high by the end of it. I do think the first half is fantastic though, and I wish the author was able to deliver something that built off that, though I do want to read more into what he was trying to do since I still don't fully think I get it.