Books I’ve read 📚 log(book)

Excellent fantasy – very 90s, and I devoured it in a single Saturday. Teenage boy with no family gets helped out of prison by a mysterious stranger who accepts him as apprentice. Said stranger turns out to be a jack-of-all trades spy, a charming and capable rogue. They encounter harship and intrigue and find friends and blah blah, classic fantasy story arc in the end.

Just One Damned Thing After Another

by Jodi Taylor · published 2013 · read 2021-07-02

Time travel comfort food! This book starts out as adult time travel Hogwarts: masking as an institute, St Mary dabbles in non-invasive time travel. Sorry, investigates major historical events in contemporary time. Our protagonist, a woman of distinctly urban fantasy heroine characteristics, is a historian and has to go through some harsh training (yay for training sequences) to join the small team retrieving information from the past.

God Stalk

by P.C. Hodgell · published 1982 · read 2021-07-01

God Stalk is a lot, and I think it's too much. The world is rich and the author glosses over much of it – which is something I like when done well (the city the book takes place in has strong China Mieville vibes!), but here it feels hasty and unfortunate.

Way Station

by Clifford D. Simak · published 1963 · read 2021-06-28

Rural US portal space travel scifi: Aliens need a portal on earth, to pass through, and they select Enoch as station keeper. Bonus: As long as he's in the station, he doesn't age. This goes well for over a hundred years (Enoch starts out fighting for Abe Lincoln). But in more modern times, the book being written in 1963, the CIA and other parties start being suspicious.

Vicious

by V.E. Schwab · published 2013 · read 2021-06-20

★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ (did not finish)

Villain protagonists are cool in theory, but hard to do well, and I didn't feel like Schwab got it right. It's not that there is no motivation or background, it's more that the protagonist is an asshole and I don't enjoy spending time with assholes.

Trail of Lightning

by Rebecca Roanhorse · published 2018 · read 2021-06-17

Urban fantasy needn't take place in a city, and this is a prime example: it may be a supernatural mystery story taking place in post-collapse North America on a reservation after the collapse of the USA, but it's still very much urban fantasy.

The Seep

by Chana Porter · published 2020 · read 2021-06-15

Solid ehhhh: The Seep is a short scifi novel(la?) about an alien race that gives humanity nearly unlimited powers, including self-transformation, and also influences their mind towards being mellow hippies. The protagonist is not really on board, but instead of exploring the world or herself, we get touches of everything and nothing more. The protagonist is trans, but never really thinks about what bodily transformation powers mean for that (jealousy? excitement? nah), for example. Her Jewish ancestry is touched on a bit, her native American one not at all, and her relationship to the Seep as a doctor and artist is pretty much brushed aside after one lukewarm take. Or: the Seep (the aliens) has an original voice, but it doesn't come enough to really explore it.

Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea

by Sarah Pinsker · published 2019 · read 2021-06-15

Sarah Pinsker writes excellent short stories. This collection opens with some shorter stories, which I found too short: They ended before anything could happen, all just setting up a scenario, then leaving me hungry for something:

The Innkeeper’s Song

by Peter S. Beagle · published 1993 · read 2021-06-14

Peter S. Beagle is always interesting and never quite conventional. This book starts out with the titular Innkeeper's Song, providing us with the entire plot condensed into a folk song, and then proceeds to elaborate in first-person chapters from different viewpoints. It does so beautifully, and it's never predictable, and yet, I never felt really close to the plot. I've felt this way about all books by Beagle so far, though, and I still like them.

City of Lies

by Sam Hawke · published 2018 · read 2021-06-13

White-hat assassin siblings have to defend the realm. It's a bit generic. Good parts: the role of the protagonist as defensive poison expert (unusual and refreshing), and a well-handled siege story. The truly stand-out part of the story was starting with the narrator highlighting the wonderful high-culture city they live in, and then pivoting over time to show the rotting foundations the realm is built on. Well-done, though having only the perspective of the whiny aristocracy took some getting used to.

Cemetery Boys

by Aiden Thomas · published 2020 · read 2021-06-12

Coming-of-age novel set in an urban fantasy: Yadriel is a Latinx trans boy in the US. His whole family are brujx and don't accept him as a brujo. Naturally, he spends the novel proving himself – but with a fair bit of reflection and friendships and non-transition related plot thrown in. Intersectional YA is pretty cool and all (most non-Latinx people here are queer by default, delightfully), and my only issue with this was how predictable the plot is and how YA possibly just isn't for me anymore.

Peter Darling

by Austin Chant · published 2017 · read 2021-06-12

Peter Pan returns to Neverland, coming to terms with being a trans boy in bad old England. He starts out as a cruel boy and experiences some character growth … through the magic of Hook's pretty eyes? I don't know, y'all.

The Black Tides of Heaven

by J.Y. Yang · published 2017 · read 2021-06-10

Asian-inspired genderfun fantasy. Didn't compel me at all: the plot wasn't as focused as the short length warranted, and the characters didn't stand out to me at all. The plot was compressed and considering the high odds and tragedy, didn't make me care at all.

A Mist of Grit and Splinters

by Graydon Saunders · published 2020 · read 2021-06-08

Saunders goes back to military fiction here, and I didn't find any part of it particularly compelling, apart from the sneaky worldbuilding updates. The characters had enough personal stories, but didn't interest me, the overarching plot was slow, and the time jumping (there are five parts to the book, all start at the same time and move forward) didn't really work for me and was annoying to keep track of.

Under One Banner

by Graydon Saunders · read 2021-06-04

The series started dropping off for me a bit here: I didn't find the protagonist compelling, and her recovery from an active magic user to a military adviser only as interesting as the world it exposed. But the focus on military matters didn't interest me for the most part, so I focused on the implicit bits of civilian worldbuilding (I loved those, to compensate).

Heretics

by G.K. Chesterton · published 1905 · read 2021-06-03

Chesterton is an utter bastard, and enjoying himself while he's at it. As a result, I enjoyed myself, too: He's unrepentant in how conservative he is, and he likes using a handful of cheap tricks to make himself seem both very clever and very plausible. He's neither as clever nor as plausible as he thinks he is, but if I have to read an opposing viewpoint (and is he ever), I might as well enjoy myself. Though it would have been nice if he hadn't planned his chapters to lead from one witticism to the next – it's a bit obvious and tiring in the long run.

Safely You Deliver

by Graydon Saunders · published 2016 · read 2021-05-20

by Graydon Saunders · published 2015 · read 2021-05-17

A Succession of Bad Days

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Following The March North is not easy in any way, and yet, Saunders manages. Same world, directly after the events of the first book – but in a completely different role, keeping only side characters around. I'm very into this sort of continuity. Especially when it gives me civil engineering Hogwarts for severely overpowered magic users. Hell yes. The book sums it up best: "like a fairy-tale lost in a civil engineering manual."

The March North

by Graydon Saunders · published 2014 · last read 2021-05-16

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Sometimes I read books that make me very happy, so that I have to focus a lot to find reasons why other people would not be into them. Not so for The March North.

Orconomics

by J. Zachary Pike · published 2014 · read 2021-05-15

Orconomics was hilarious and heartbreaking, and that's coming from somebody who usually doesn't like "humerous" fantasy. Its mix of serious and funny reminds of Discworld – which, of course, can't be a favourable comparison, but it comes surprisingly close. Taking place in a clearly D&D inspired world, with the economic aspect of adventuring hero troops taken seriously. Also, Pike has absolutely had it with Fantasy racism and will punch you in the feelings over it.

The Ten Thousand Doors of January

by Alix E. Harrow · published 2019 · read 2021-05-13

Coming-of-age stories are possibly just not for me anymore. The book-driven portal fantasy is nice enough, and the helping of "remember how bad turn-of-the-century racism is" is not bad if a bit forced, but … I just didn't care about the predictable story. If only there had been a bigger focus on the portals, or the portal writing, or the portal worlds … I can appreciate why this book is popular, but it felt more generic than it should have to me.

The Song of Achilles

by Madeline Miller · published 2011 · read 2021-05-13

Circe was okayish, this is the second chance I was giving Miller before deciding that her access to myths doesn't match mine. I liked Achilles more than Circe, but part of that is that I'm a sucker for the pairing. I didn't like the depiction of Patroclus too much, and both felt oddly pale to me. I know it's the current poster child of queer readership and TikTok in particular, but … ehh. It's alright.

Catfishing on CatNet

by Naomi Kritzer · published 2019 · read 2021-05-13

Catfishing on CatNet was tons of fun. It's a not-quite-light YA about a helpful AI who just wants to look at cat pictures and also help their friends. In a way it's the YA version of MurderBot. It includes some heavy themes, and they are generally handled well. Kritzer has a really good grip on chatroom language and managed to write all those parts good without "hello, fellow kids" vibes, which I appreciated a lot.

The Bone Ships

by R. J. Barker · published 2019 · read 2021-05-04

World-building at the detriment of plot and character development is usually a prerogative of sci-fi, but this book proves that fantasy can do it, too. The world is awesome: it's a naval world, where most of the world is covered in water, which is inhabitated by very aggressive animals, and states consist of island chains. Barker's worldbuilding is actually stunning: a coherent vision of society, customs and history down to fabrics used, gender roles, food chain logistics, magic, and social mobility. All told nicely within the story with barely and info dumps.

One Fell Sweep

by Ilona Andrews · published 2016 · read 2021-04-29

Ensemble casts are very hit and miss for me, and this one was a miss. The Innkeeper Chronicles have an ensemble cast by design, but this book added more family (the protagonist's sister and niece) to the mix, and that one plus a siege story just didn't do it for me. Still a nice comfort read, but not generally it.

Sweep in Peace

by Ilona Andrews · published 2015 · read 2021-04-28

More magical tavern innkeeper stories! This one wasn't that different from the first part. It has found its footing, and instead of going for more of the usual urban fantasy romance stuff, it is about an intergalactic peace conference. Our protagonist has to handle three warring species under her roof, and it's fun and comfy and an all-around good time. Still not the height of … anything, but good fun.

Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City

by K.J. Parker · published 2019 · read 2021-04-27

Badass titles are the clickbait of the literary world, and this one worked very well on me. The book was not quite as good as the title. It was a bit too smug and too self-involved and too busy being clever. It's pseudo-Roman military engineering with a snarky first-person narrator. Fantasy Rome doing Fantasy Roman things: the book.

The Curse of Chalion

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 2001 · read 2021-04-25

Bujold has a type. The type here being "adult physically broken but very clever reluctant hero, who meddles with aristocracy without being a ruler himself". It's not like they are the same person: there are differences between Miles Vorkosigan and Cazaril. Caz had a much worse life and less privileges, and is also less (over-)confident. But the parallels are very much there.

Harpist in the Wind

by Patricia A. McKillip · published 1979 · read 2021-04-23

Concluding this series, the established power couple tackles the remaining big riddles in the world, and finally figure out what's going on. Some parts of it were obvious, at least the direction – but the conclusion surprised me and was impressive. I can't say more because it'd be impossible to do without heavy spoilers.

Heir of Sea and Fire

by Patricia A. McKillip · published 1977 · read 2021-04-18

Fiancées in fantasy books are often not taken quite seriously, even more so if they are a princess. McKillip will have none of that, and elevates the fiancée of the first book's hero to the new protagonist. The change in point of view does the trilogy a world of good, but doesn't change the odd pace and oddly distanced narrative at heart.

The Riddle-Master of Hed

by Patricia A. McKillip · published 1976 · read 2021-04-16

Reluctant heroes are a bit overdone, but this one is honest and plausible (though, as all reluctant heroes, a bit tedious). That's the good part, possibly. The characters are not exactly one-dimensional, but the book is certainly reluctant to show you more than one dimension at a time.

The Door into Sunset

by Diane Duane · published 1992 · read 2021-04-14

Silly me, I assumed that this series was a trilogy. This book was published in 1992 and doesn't wrap up the series. There were some news on the final volume in 2018/2019, nothing since then. Sad stuff, I would have loved a real ending, and this book was … not it.

A Desolation Called Peace

by Arkady Martine · published 2021 · read 2021-04-11

Generally, A Desolation Called Peace is nearly as good as A Memory Called Empire. It replaces parts of the intrical cultural commentary with very alien aliens who need to be communicated with, but surprisingly, the aliens are one of the weakest parts of the book. This is basially the anti-Tchaikovsky, where humans are inevitably more interesting than even hive mind aliens.

A Memory Called Empire

by Arkady Martine · published 2019 · last read 2021-03-26

A junior ambassador from one alien nation and planet to another, which boasts of a highly complex language and culture? Finding herself scrambling to catch up with her predecessor (rudely murdered, instead of being in her brain as would be appropriate), trying not to share his fate? Sudden conspiracies, even more complex cultural games, plus an assistent she's very much into? Hell yes.

Legend

by David Gemmell · published 1984 · read 2021-03-20

On my reading list, this book had the note "Big heroic classic fantasy", and that's exactly what it is. Big damn heroes doing heroic things. The aging hero coming back one more time, the hopelessly besieged city, the … young fated couple: This book has it all. I haven't read any other Drenai Saga books, so take this review with a bit of salt:

Sharp Teeth

by Toby Barlow · published 2007 · read 2021-03-16

Werewolf packs in LA might seem like an urban fantasy staple (and it is), but not like this: Toby Barlow tells the brutal (but not edgy! never that) story of the werewolves and their surroundings in form of an epic, 300 page modern poem.

Lord of Light

by Roger Zelazny · published 1967 · read 2021-03-15

Lord of Light is hard to describe without spoilers up to the last third of the book, so I won't even try. You have been warned: hic sunt ~~dracones~~ spoilers. Even adding this book to my "space monks" list is technically a spoiler.

Stoker’s Wilde

by Steven Hopstaken · published 2019 · read 2021-03-14

Imagine, if you will, Bram Stoker: a dour, somewhat dull man who is always out of place in the illustrious company of his fellow fantastical authors – like a clerk joining a circus. Do you really believe that this man came up with Dracula, of all things?

Clean Sweep

by Ilona Andrews · published 2013 · read 2021-03-13

Ilona Andrews, who I only knew from her Kate Daniels series, with the magical tavern/innkeeper trope. This is significantly worse than Kate Daniels – writing quality, plot quality, worldbuilding, characters: Everything. Apparently this series grew out of an online serial, which accounts for some of it.

War Music

by Christopher Logue · published 2015 · read 2021-03-12

War Music is art. Christopher Logue transformed the Iliad into a modern poem, and it's all kinds of awesome. The story is the real deal: Heroes of old, clad in bronze, fighting for a city and for honour and most of all for an honourable way back home. And yet, it's clearly written by somebody living in our age. Free-form poetry, modern comparisons – but all steeped in the awe of a gigantic, real, old story. I'm extremely into it. You might be too! This book might be more enjoyable when you can place all the names and comments (like "Dido might have become a grandmother / And Rome not had its day"), but it's still a lot of fun when you're just into the language and the story.

Turn the Ship Around!

by L. David Marquet · published 2012 · read 2021-03-11

Anarchic structures are great, particularly at groups under a certain size. I know this, my friends know this – I didn't expect a US submarine captain to know and advocate it. Yet that was the pleasant surprise I got.

Flight to Arras

by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry · published 1942 · read 2021-03-10

Published in 1942, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry talks about his life, experience, thoughts and feelings about being a pilot in WWII, while on the defensive and with little hope of surviving. The novella follows one flight, and comments on both the flight itself (mechanically, strategically) and the war in general.

The Wizards and the Warriors

by Hugh Cook · published 1986 · read 2021-03-09

Some wizards try to re-capture an artifact that could end the world, but get caught up in wars, petty conflicts, their own desires, centuries-old curses, the works. This book is much less generic than both the title and this summary make it sound. A lot about it is unique – like A Song of Ice and Fire crossed with Malazan.

The Empress of Salt and Fortune

by Nghi Vo · published 2020 · read 2021-02-26

High fantasy novella, vaguely Chinese-plus-Inuit (shush, it makes sense). After the Empress has died, a young monk – monks are enby in this world, which is neat – travels to her old castle, that has been off limits for decades. They explore the house and chronicle the stories of various things they find. It turns out to be vastly different than expected.

How You Stand, How You Move, How You Live

by Missy Vineyard · published 2007 · read 2021-02-25

Everything I knew about the Alexander Technique came from cultural osmosis and Michael Ashcroft's tweets. Now I know more: It's about taking care of your body (posture, harmful patterns, pain and age) by taking care of your thoughts. Mens sana in corpore sano only the other way round. Missy Vineyard has a lot of experience helping people fix their bodies, but also with their mental hangups and how these two influence each other. My biggest takeaway, apart from some very useful mental exercises, was an increased skepticism against what I feel I know about my body.

On Venus, Have We Got a Rabbi!

by William Tenn · published 1974 · read 2021-02-20

You know how I'm into space monks, aka scifi that has serious thoughts about religion? Yes, this is it. Hilariously tongue-in-cheek, there's nothing I did not like about this short story. It's written in 1974, and thankfully available online, both in text and as an even more hilarious reading by the author. The tone is everything. Space jews arguing about the inclusion of alien species. Let me just say “Papa, you’re so old-fashioned! You yourself told me that the blue Jews from Aldebaran show how adaptable our people are.” – if this doesn't sell you on the story, pass it by.

The Misplaced Legion

by Harry Turtledove · published 1987 · read 2021-02-16

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ (did not finish)

When a Roman legion fights some Gauls, they are magically placed in a different world. This world has actual magic, has never heard from their world, and the society and politics closely resemble the Byzantian empire. Turtledove clearly knows his history, and makes sure to show how the legion adapts to the different world, the different language, the different gods. He handles that part well.

Sailing to Sarantium

by Guy Gavriel Kay · published 1998 · read 2021-02-10

Sailing to Sarantium was my first Guy Gavriel Kay book, and it won't be my last. Not just that it didn't wrap up in one book (boo! … kidding), I also enjoyed the style a lot. Kay lets his story take place in Byzantium during Constantine's reign. It's not called Byzantium to allow for some creative freedoms and minor magic, but everything very clearly maps 1:1 to historic characters.

Never Split the Difference

by Chris Voss · published 2016 · read 2021-02-08

Negotiations and bargaining explained by an FBI hostage negotiator – unsurprisingly a book where the show-off anecdotes are gripping. But beneath the standard self-help structure (bits of information sandwiched by ~~boasts~~ stories), there's a solid core: A general theory of negotiations, explained with plenty of examples. Bonus points for the clear chapter summaries.

This Census-Taker

by China Miéville · published 2016 · read 2021-02-02

Young child discovers the world – his occasionally psychopathic father, his practical but proud mother, and the little town at the foot of the mountain. Everything is both creepy and boring – a uniquely kafkaesque mix (and the end is straight up like a Kafka short story that I can point at).

Comes Around Again

by scarletjedi · published 2016 · read 2021-01-31

Sansukh-variation, with travelling back to the past to fix things. Not as well-written as Sansukh, but then again, what is? Decent and entertaining, but might have done more with the added knowledge – "some moments in time are fixed" is such a cope.

Sansûkh

by determamfidd · published 2017 · last read 2021-01-27

Sansûkh is an incredibly well-researched, detailed, well-written Lord of the Rings fanfiction, telling the whole story from the perspective of the dead dwarves keeping watch over their relatives. Its protagonist is Thorin Oakenshield, and in addition to all the plots told by the primary books, it also features Erebor and Mirkwood. The writing is very appropriate and well-done, and I enjoyed every part of it tremendously. It's funny, and it's epic, and it's very much as it should be.

The Lost City of Ithos

by John Bierce · published 2020 · read 2021-01-26

Currently the last part of the Mage Errant series, I was not all that much in love with this book. It's the set-up to drag the whole series out, in that Fantasy spiral of upping the stakes forever. Characters were still okay (though mostly carried by the work of the previous parts), but the plot turned very generic..

Probably Still the Chosen One

by Kelly Barnhill · published 2017 · last read 2021-01-24

Did you dream of being the hero of your own adventurous story as a kid? If you did, this will be good for you. Also, painful.

Mimus

by Lilli Thal · published 2003 · last read 2021-01-21

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Mimus is the wonderfully cruel tale of Prince Florin. In the struggle of two nations, the baddies use the age-old plot of suggesting peace-talks to come closer to their enemies. They capture the royal family and important court officials. Everybody is imprisoned, except Prince Florin, who is humiliatingly apprenticed to the court jester. That's the short setup. The book follows Florin in his reluctant apprenticeship to Mimus, through hardship, diplomacy, heartbreak and the realisation that life goes on.

Im Land des Windes

by Licia Troisi · published 2004 · last read 2021-01-18

Worldbuilding! I forgot about the worldbuilding of this book. For example, there are tower cities where everything is organised by the tower layers.

Die Panne

by Friedrich Dürrenmatt · published 1956 · read 2021-01-17

Our protagonist has a breakdown and, because the village inn is full, is invited to stay in a local mansion. It turns out that his host is a retired judge, and together with his friends, a retired prosecutor and a retired attorney, they stage a mock-trial of their guest – all in good fun – of crimes yet to be named. The rest is very Dürrenmatt. Short and enjoyable, but always with an edge of unease.

Grass for his Pillow

by Lian Hearn · published 2003 · last read 2021-01-17

Enjoyable second part of the series: Our heroes encounter adversity and have to make bad choices and live with their decisions. Less comfort read than the first part, different and good. The ending is extremely stupid and sets up the exceedingly stupid cause for the drama causing part three and four.

Across the Nightingale Floor

by Lian Hearn · published 2002 · last read 2021-01-16

Everybody is extremely dramatic in this book. Very YA. But it stood up to a re-read surprisingly well: Young boy in faux-Japan gets his family murdered, is adopted into a clan and things escalate from there. Oh, and it turns out he's not only adopted by the rightful leader of the clan, he's also born to a long line of secret assassins and has lots of magical gifts. And everybody wants a piece of them.

A Wild Ride Through the Night

by Walter Moers · published 2001 · last read 2021-01-13

Walter Moers decided to branch out and do something wildly different. Okay, maybe not wildly: there's still much absurdity going on. But it's not Zamonien. Instead, it's the story of Gustave Doré, the famous painter. Or rather, his paintings. Or rather, all of his paintings, shoved together into a rather trippy (but entertaining!) story.

Madita

by Astrid Lindgren · published 1960 · last read 2021-01-12

Madita is a somewhat less intense Pippi: she has a younger sister and is up to all sorts of ridiculous nonsense, but doesn't go to society-breaking extremes. Well, usually.

Just a Random Tuesday…

by Twisted Biscuit · published 2006 · read 2021-01-09

Delightfully snarky fanfic, in which we get a mostly canon-compliant inner monologue of McGonagall, mostly about Umbridge, ridiculous students and absurd colleagues. Good length, good general writing style, but lots of fluctuations in quality: Inner monologue good, storytelling mediocre, I think.

Schadenfreude

by Tiffany Watt Smith · published 2018 · read 2021-01-08

Schadenfreude ist die schönste Freude” – “Schadenfreude is the best joy” says a German proverb. If you're not on board with this, this book might make you look at the more positive sides of finding joy in other people's misfortune. Or it might bore you to tears with strained examples for Schadenfreude for chapter upon chapter. I know that “This book should have been a blog post” is tired and meh, but in this case I'd say: this book's afterword (which contains the good parts) would suffice as a blog post.

Naudsonce

by H. Beam Piper · published 1962 · read 2021-01-07

Naudsonce is a very neat linugistical scifi story. It's also terribly unimaginative in every other way: Aliens who communicate wildly differently, yet follow human norms in every other way? Puh-lease. Everything good done here was done better by Vernor Vinge.

Weaving Fate

by Aidan Wachter · read 2021-01-06

Weaving Fate is a woo book. The author believes in magic and assumes you do, too. I found this strangely refreshing, to be honest, and it made it easy to separate out the useful stuff, for my intents and purposes.

Annals of Arithmancy

by White Squirrel · read 2021-01-05

Last part of the trilogy. Not bad per se, but far from good. A collection of "look where I could take this" stories, loosely connected. No urgency or impact, really. Better than the original epilogue, but what isn't.

Lady Archimedes

by White Squirrel · published 2018 · read 2021-01-04

Second part of a Harry Potter fanfic. Better plot elements, maybe, but worse writing – started being a drag at some point. Still good execution on the theme of "what if science nerd, but Hermione" – several leagues more plausible and readable than HPMOR. I still like how it quotes extensively from pop and less-pop culture, and how it integrates then-current events.

The Arithmancer

by White Squirrel · published 2015 · read 2021-01-03