tehanu

I skipped last week because, while I had done a lot of reading, I hadn't actually finished anything. I was burned out by the past few weeks at work and personal life, so I didn't write anything up. 

What I Have Read

If you were a Mythical Thing by Kangofu_CB - Re-read bc I love this author. Solid romance between gym teacher Clint and Bucky, who is also a were wolf.

He Who Drowned the World - Shelley Parker-Chan - Book Club Re-Read. THis book rewards rereading. The characters all feel so real and could be main characters in their own stories. I had completely forgotten the last third of the book. Edit after book club: It also has a fascinating set of comparisons between many different characters - Zhu has so many connections and parallels in other characters, and in her relationships with other characters, that I loved to re-read and get a better sense of them. So many pairs of brothers in this set of novels and so many of them are vicious struggles for power; Zhu's closest friend and near-brother is willing to die for her, over and over. Deeply fractured and unequal marriages between men who disdain their wives - Zhu's wife adores her and is a trusted ally. Revenge is a continuing theme and every time someone gets it, it destroys them. Zhu wants a different kind of world and she's willing to be ruthless for it, and it's clear that is the only way out of a cycle of repeated revenge and power struggles.

My Favorite Thing is Monsters  vol 1- Emil Ferris - Well written and the art is beautiful, however, the conceit is that the book is a handwritten child's notebook and so it's literally on lined paper and HARD TO READ. The POV of a young lesbian main character in 1960s Chicago and is deeply lovely -her fascination with classic movie monsters is so charming and so recognizable. Not a Hugos nominee this year, but the second volume is.

The Hunger and The Dusk vol 1. by G. Willow Wilson - A romance and adventure story - an orc healer is set to work with a team of human adventurers to face an enemy to both human and orc society, and fulfill a peace treaty between the enemy societies. I think this is mediocre, unfortunately . The art is lovely, but the writing is thin. They refer to tropes but don't actually depict them, so it feels very lazy and informed rather than characterized. Neither main romantic lead seems to have been really written, just assembled from tropes - and while I love romance novels and tropes, this isn't even using the tropes in the writing, it's just having the characters mention the tropes in their informed backstory. As a sidebar, I think the alliance between orcs and humans is supposed to be a commentary on racism in DnD settings - orcs are often treated as nonsentient and racially evil in gaming settings, while this books fleshes out orc society and culture and makes the secondary pairing into two really interesting people. If you want to pick it up, they are actually pretty interesting! However, the common enemy just.... evil hive mind nonsentient elves? Who maybe actually have a horrible king and a shared cunning plan? It kind of undercuts the exploration of orcs as sentient and worthy of attention and care if you turn around and assign the name traits to a different random fantasy species. Hugo award nominee, does not merit the award.

We Called Them Giants - Kieron Gillen - I read this immediately after The Hunger and The Dusk and contrast is striking. This book is also working hard from some tropes, but really works them and digs right in. The POV character is engaging with a terrifying and inhuman opponent, only to discover slowly that there is intelligence, compassion, and even communication. Overwhelmingly well done, great character work, the art is haunting and the pacing is excellent. It is a much tighter story with a simpler premise and delivers on it.


What I'm Reading
The Ministry of Time by Kailane Bradley – 25% ish,
Hunting Toward Heartstill by Blackkat -about 45%
The Antarctica Conspiracy Derin Edala – slightly on hold.
Someone You Can Build a Nest In – John Wiswell – 15%

What I'll Read Next
Hugo Nominees are out!
Track Changes
The Deep Dark
My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, Book 2
The Tainted Cup
Alien Clay
Service Model
The Ministry of Time
Someone You Can Build a Nest In
Star Trek: Lower Decks: Warp Your Own Way
Monstress, Vol. 9: The Possessed
Navigational Entanglements
The Butcher of the Forest
The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain
Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the Alt-Right
The Brides of High Hill
The Tusks of Extinction
“Charting the Cliff: An Investigation into the 2023 Hugo Nomination Statistics”
“Signs of Life”
“By Salt, By Sea, By Light of Stars”
“The Brotherhood of Montague St. Video”
“Loneliness Universe”
“The 2023 Hugo Awards: A Report on Censorship and Exclusion”
“The Four Sisters Overlooking the Sea”
“Lake of Souls”