I read the last 1/3 of this book in a streetside cafe and it was a big mistake because I had to focus really hard on not tearing up. That's just how gI read the last 1/3 of this book in a streetside cafe and it was a big mistake because I had to focus really hard on not tearing up. That's just how good Silvia Moreno-Garcia is at bringing her characters to life and drawing me into their lives.
This novel is a few different things. It's a gently observed portrait of a first love so pure that even the lovers, teenagers whose ideas about these things are shaped by pop culture and hormones after all, don't realise they are in love. It's a beautiful depiction of what it means to be young and different and to find things to lose yourself and your doubts in - music, books, a group of weird but special friends.
It's also a novel that spans the emotional gamut from joy and friendship to misery and betrayal. The narrative skips between the 80s and the present day, showing us how the characters in the book got where they are, and where they’re going next. The picture of growing up in Mexico in the 80s is vivid and convincing. Not only am I sure it is true to that time and place, it is also so true to being young and hopeful and despairing. I could feel myself recognizing the situations in the book, even as the narrative added insight and depth to these situations in illuminating ways. After all, there’s no shortage of media about awkward youth and adult resolution, but a good novel like this can bring life and meaning to the same old scenarios in ways that you wouldn’t expect. And then there are the characters. Moreno-Garcia depicts flawed people, capable of good and bad, of magic and of malice. Mercedes, the main character in the book, is a teenage outsider, gawky and all sharp edges. She has a wonderful sensitivity to music, inherited from her ne'er-do-well dad, and a flair for magic - actual magic - inherited from her female ancestors. She's bright and cheeky and so on edge I wanted to ask her to just take a chill pill, even while totally understanding and even identifying with her. Her friends are Sebastian, another misfit kid, tall and dark and not at all handsome in the way the girls of their class prefer. He doodles on his sneakers, reads everything from Poe to Henry James and convinces himself he has a thing for the most popular girl in class. I wanted to slap him on the side of the head and tell him to stop wasting his time, but only time and experience will teach you some things. Daniela, the third member of their little coven, is a plump, shy girl who spends her time baking, reading romance novels and listening to sugary pop songs. An odd one for even these two to spend time with, but there is a solid core of goodness in her, and a basic common sense that Mercedes never really heeds.
At some point, Mercedes decides to rope in her friends to help her channel the power in music – in certain records – to work magic. The magic works, but it comes with its own price. Young and full of conflicts and hopes, Mercedes and Sebastian use and misuse magic and rip apart their friendship. It’s a measure of how much I came to care that I felt upset as I watched them destroy their bond. Not that these are Mercedes’ only conflicts. There’s the legacy of her father, who dies alone in a dingy apartment full of records and a manuscript about music in Mexico, years after separating from his family. Mercedes’ relationship with her mother is a distant one, literally and emotionally. Back in Mexico for her father’s funeral, Mercedes has to negotiate between her memories of the past and her hard-won adult selfhood. The switches between the two timeframes are extremely well structured, adding depth and resonance in carefully metered doses. The magic is downplayed, but effective. The paucity of special effects scenes, so to speak, makes their impact stronger. But the real drama is human, and it is compelling enough that I stuck around to see how it worked out.
So here is a vivid, engaging novel, one that grounds itself in a very realistic and detailed sense of times and places. When strangeness and magic enter, they add depth and drama to the story, but they don’t take it over. At some level this is as much as a conventional novel, whatever that is, as it is a genre novel. Early resonances with the realistically grounded fantasies of Jonathan Carroll and Graham Joyce lost ground as it became clear that Moreno-Garcia is less interested in the weird and numinous in itself, and in things inexplicable for the awe they conjure, than as elements in a story that is firmly about people in the world we like to call ‘real’. And that’s perfectly alright, in a novel as resonant and satisfying as this is.
Silvia Moreno-Garcia also has two volumes of short stories available. I like my genre fiction better in short story format, so I am certain to read these. However, on the strength of her debut novel, I look forward to reading more long-form works by her. Most of the weird/horror/fantasy novelists in the fray right now deal in a more pulpy or populist form of their idioms and we need, or at least I need, more novels like Signal To Noise around to remind me how vital and rewarding the novel format still is.
A real-world setting doesn't hamper Hardinge's eye for strangeness and magic in this tale of a wishing-well spirit run amok and the children who unwitA real-world setting doesn't hamper Hardinge's eye for strangeness and magic in this tale of a wishing-well spirit run amok and the children who unwittingly fall under her spell. While the other two novels I've read by her focus on a young girl protagonist, this one has an ensemble of characters at its heart - the quiet, timid Ryan, outgoing, brash Josh and the flaky Chelle. Their families also form an important part of the story, especially Ryan's.
The language, imagery and integrity of this novel are outstanding. Hardinge commits to her story and doesn't pull punches, showing us her characters as the flawed beings they are, even if we can't help but root for them. I thought the ending was perhaps a shade too easy, but I appreciate that she doesn't simply weave a happy ever after for everyone, although she does leave her main characters closer to happiness than before, for the most part. ...more
It's a stark dystopia, an exploration of how facial expression can determine our interactions, how we perceive eThis book was just RIDICULOUSLY good.
It's a stark dystopia, an exploration of how facial expression can determine our interactions, how we perceive each other. It's an exploration of extreme and weird states of mind, from a tyrant who only lets half his brain sleep at any given time to the cartographers of a cavern-city who have to be a little crazy - a lot crazy, actually - to be able to map tunnels that twist, turn, tangle and even spool into contradictory Escher-dimensional twirls and of course the protagonist, Neverfell, who is a little insane herself. It's a richly realised world where a conniving, decadent aristocracy rules over a crushed underclass, all depicted in rich, telling detail. The prose itself is marvellous, full of rich similes and metaphors, lots of music and rhythm and colour. The plot is complex and peopled with supporting characters who are rarely just NPCs. It's amazing how much invention, inspiration, sensibility and sheer storytelling vigour has gone into this richly-stuffed novel. Just the kind of book I loved the best when I was in the age group it was written for, and still do. ...more
The afterlife as bureaucracy; a wimpy accountant ghost set on the trail of a missing ghostly official. A sinister priest whoI enjoyed this one a lot.
The afterlife as bureaucracy; a wimpy accountant ghost set on the trail of a missing ghostly official. A sinister priest who kills ghosts and leaves their haunts vulnerable to a weird infestation. A resourceful ghost boy and his dogs, an undertaker's son who can see ghosts and talk to them, his crooked uncle who shares his talent and a young girl who wants to be the Victorian equivalent of an investigative journalist. Several other ghosts, a kindly old undertaker who seems to have wandered out of a Dickens novel, some humour, some pathos, some action, and a complex, juicy plot that kept me hooked all the way to the end. This was a great big fruitcake of a novel!
I'd be especially happy if this one were to have a sequel. ...more
I'm a semi-lapsed fan of both Megadeth and epic fantasy, but I couldn't resist picking up this book when I saw it on sale at a bookstore near CandolimI'm a semi-lapsed fan of both Megadeth and epic fantasy, but I couldn't resist picking up this book when I saw it on sale at a bookstore near Candolim during my Goa holiday. I finished it in a day, at that, which is more a testament to how much it is fantasy junk food than any great merit it possesses. Hardy has expended a touching amount of effort in creating a detailed system of magic and indeed some of it is quite effectively depicted. The settings and characters are stock figures and the prose is effective, sometimes callow. Characters are really badly named and sometimes sound like cough syrups or proprietary drugs. The main fellow, Alador (or is it Alodar? Who knows? Who cares?) wants to win back his lost prestige by winning the favour of the queen. He's not a great warrior so he keeps mastering one form of magic after the other (one of which, confusingly, is called 'magic') until he is the promised Archimage who will liberate the kingdom from a demonic infestation. Pretty standard stuff, but Hardy's commitment to his story, his naive enthusiasm for his magic system, make it endearing if not impressive. ...more
Also, the protagonist manages to become unconscious every few chaThere's so much godfucking in this novel.
I'm being facetious. But really, there is.
Also, the protagonist manages to become unconscious every few chapters so that we have a plethora of chapters that begin with her regaining her senses and taking in her surroundings. Who does she think she is, Philip Marlowe?
I'm being facetious again.
Things I liked: Oree's strange, magical vision. Blind, she can only 'see' magic and magical things. Imagine that! Picture it.
Oree's weird magic. Really magical and really weird.
All the godlings. Even the broody one Oree is in love with for most of this novel. What is it about Jemisin's protagonists and their affairs with broody gods/godlings?
I loved the style, the way little infodumps and reflections are patterned into the narrative in such an organic, well integrated way. I loved the fact that the world imagined here continues to be magical and fantastic even though we catch glimpses of very mundane lives steeped in the intrigue of politics or the everyday drudgery of poverty. I really love the fact that it isn't just a cod-European/Celtic world.
I also liked that the plot is propelled not by intrigue and battles but by magic and emotional growth. That, more than anything else, makes this better as both fantasy and a novel than too many other fantasy novels. ...more
A re-read, actually, and a different translation, but anyway.
I don't see this as lesser Borges at all. The stories rarely have the stunning extrapolaA re-read, actually, and a different translation, but anyway.
I don't see this as lesser Borges at all. The stories rarely have the stunning extrapolative gymnastics of Ficciones or The Aleph, but I think they have a more serene, wistful charm that places them as high as the former works. 'Ulrikke' is Borges' only romantic fiction, and it partakes of the strangeness of an MR James story. His Lovecraft tribute, 'There Are More Things' anticipates both Aickman and Ligotti in its assimilation of Lovecraft's contributions to the weird tale while discarding his limitations. 'The Mirror and the Mask' and 'Undr' are brilliant, evocative investigations of the power of words and stories while 'A Weary Man's Utopia' is surely proof of why it is important to ensure that genius is allowed to age - surely such a story would never have been written by a younger Borges.'The Congress' and 'The Book of Sand' are a little closer to the work we most commonly associate with Borges, and both have a most effective opening-out of scale, to the wondrous and universal in once case and to the deeply macabre in the title, which is the most effective invocation of infinity as claustrophobic I've ever read. 'The Other' is a meeting between Borges, our Blind Librarian's own equivalent of The Two Doctors. 'The Disk' is brilliant in its sense of ancient ages passing and its strange central image. 'The Bribe' feels a bit mechanical and 'Avelino Arredondo' is perhaps too topical for me, despite its immersive portrait of a man who has chosen to become a hermit for surprising reasons. All in all, while I might not agree with Borges that this is his best work - there are too many great things in his other books - I definitely don't agree that this is a lesser work. It has a special tender weariness of its own that should not be quickly dismissed as merely the side-effects of sensecence. ...more
It is impossible to even begin summing up Anna Tambour's novel 'Crandolin' without sounding a bit crazed. And that's not a bad thing at all. There's sIt is impossible to even begin summing up Anna Tambour's novel 'Crandolin' without sounding a bit crazed. And that's not a bad thing at all. There's something insane about this whole enterprise, but it is an inspired insanity, internally coherent and completely mesmerising.
See, there's this fellow, Nick Kippax. He's looking for piquant flavours. He's been through wine snobbery and the all the usual forbidden fruits of the gourmet. But he's after the grail now, the most legendary and elusive dishes of all time, among them the fabled crandolin. In a musty old tome, he finds a stain on the page that contains the recipe for this dish. He tastes it - and is hurtled into a multiple existence as a red blotch on a variety of entities across time and space. These include an itinerant musician's bladder-pipe, the face of a Soviet railway cook, a nest belonging to a family of cinnamologus birds and a jar of very rare honey.
Are you with me so far? Good work, you're probably ready to read the book itself, then, and need no further prompting from me.
If a completely bonkers conceit isn't enough, Tambour's novel is peopled with a delightful array of, well, people. There's the hapless Kippax himself, Galina, the railway cook, a matronly woman who is blind to her own manifest charms, the many railway employees who yearn for her, a group of railway-enthusiast tourists including a phlegmatic retired Indian railway man and his recumbent wife, there are wandering princes seeking adventure, wannabe brigands, a honey merchant, a master sweetmaker, a virgin in a tower, the Omniscient narrator, the eternal Muse and more. Enough characters to populate a medium-sized and very weird province, maybe even a smallish peninsula.There are even people who aren't people: a donkey whose affections are not to be trifled with, and the crandolin him/herself.
Oh, themes? You want themes? How about the nature of love, the source of inspiration and the quandary of authorship? The diversity of food, the inner glory of donkeys and the elusiveness of truth. This book has enough themes for a bumper-sized Cliff's Notes and then some to spare.
Most of all, this book is completely original. And how many times do you find a book like that? I read a few hundred of the blasted things a year, and even I only encounter one or two really, really unique books on a good year. If I don't read another book as original, whimsical, witty and wondrous as this all year, it will still have been a very good year. Heck, a very good decade. ...more
Essential and mind-blowing. Kirby writes and draws like a man possessed, like an outsider artist weaving a mad mythos of his own, only with real storyEssential and mind-blowing. Kirby writes and draws like a man possessed, like an outsider artist weaving a mad mythos of his own, only with real storytelling chops. This first volume collecting Kirby's DC work introduces so many new entities - the New Gods, the Forever People, Mister Miracle, to say nothing of their dread nemesis, Darkseid and his henchmen, that its hard to keep track of what is going on at times. But it's all glorious, madly inventive epic comic book storytelling, so sit back and enjoy the ride! ...more
SPOILER ALERT: This review has genital warts in it. Spoilers, too.
The title promises more than the story delivers, possibly more than Willingham is caSPOILER ALERT: This review has genital warts in it. Spoilers, too.
The title promises more than the story delivers, possibly more than Willingham is capable of delivering. I found his Fables series dismally undermined by soap operatic gestures and an inability to deliver anything other than standard long-format commercial storytelling tropisms you can see in any number of long-running comic strips and television serials, decked out in Gaimanesque garb. Which is to say, hand-me-down Alan Moore hand-me-downs.
This could have been a great tale; Thessaly is a great character, one of the most powerful magic wielders in the Vertigoverse, richly deserving of a story in which she is actually the protagonist and driving force. Remember Thess was the only gal smart enough to ditch that serial mangler of lady friends, Morpheus. She was so smart even Gaiman, inordinately infatuated with his love-em-and-leave-em-to-fates-worse-than-big-sister-Death mopey Lothario of the dreamways, had to chalk her down as the one that got away.
But here...gah. There's this ghost, Fetch (encountered in Taller Tales too) who's both an amalgam of all the people Thess has killed and a smarmy he-ghost who wants to hook up with Thess and have adventures. Thess is having none of it. So Fetch brokers a totally brainless deal, gets Thess and himself into immense danger and finally has to sacrifice himself to undo his own mess. Well that's a great tale of Fetch, spectral asshole, but what's it got to do with Thess? Willingham too scared to make her the main player in her own title?
Sure there are some great scenes where Thess goes off visiting other realms to try and find a way to defeat looming nemesis, but they're just window dressing. Stripped to its essentials this could have been a story about a couple of high school kids, she won't give him time of day so he tries to impress her by palling up with some cool kids. Turns out the cool kids are gangsters and they're coming to mess with the object of the dork's unwanted attention. Dork mans up, faces off the heavies at great personal cost. Oh come on Willingham. Thess is worth much, more than this. Fie on you. May you be plagued with genital warts for this travesty. ...more
The 70s were quite a decade for pulp horror re-inventions of classic monsters, it would seem. I've reviewed a couple of Lowry's Dracula adventures andThe 70s were quite a decade for pulp horror re-inventions of classic monsters, it would seem. I've reviewed a couple of Lowry's Dracula adventures and Donald F. Glut, the man who wrote the original He-Man comics, wrote 11 novels about a resurrected Frankenstein's monster. This is the 4th in the series, and is dedicated, aptly enough, to Christopher Lee. It's the literary equivalent of Hammer's Dracula series, always heavier on hi-jinks and heaving bosoms than the rather darker and more gruesome Frankenstein films they made. The Monster has been resurrected by a modern scientist, has made friends with a hideously scarred human and made his way to Transylvania, where they naturally stumble into Castle Transylvania. Dracula is resurrected and brought back to Britain to unleash a scheme patterned after Stoker's novel. It's all quite entertaing, and written just a little better than Lowry's Dracula books, although not by much. Still, at 140 pages this is a bit of pulpy entertainment that never outstays its welcome. ...more
Ludicrous cover aside, this is a real corker of a fantasy adventure with science fiction underpinnings. Numerous gateways through time and space builtLudicrous cover aside, this is a real corker of a fantasy adventure with science fiction underpinnings. Numerous gateways through time and space built and rashly exploited by a race called the Q'hal have resulted in all sorts of temporal collapses. A group of people have resolved to travel from gateway to gateway, sealing each one so that this won't happen again. Of their number, only one survives - the mysterious, powerful Morgaine.
This novel is set on a world that exists in a pre-industrial, feudal level of development with rival clans vying for High Kingship. Vanye is a half-blood in a time when clans stick to their own, cast out by his father for slaying a half-brother. During his wanderings, he releases Morgaine, a figure of century-old dark legend on his world, from a temporal prison and is made to swear an oath of allegiance to her and accompany her on her quest to seal this world's gates.
Cherryh has, as usual, created a richly detailed geography and ethnography, and it's a complex, fascinating world that this story plays out against. There's just enough detail, never too much, and I was completely drawn into Vanye's struggles to make sense of his strange liege-lady and to negotiate the currents and counter-currents of intrigue that surround them everywhere they go.
A few plot developments towards the end happen faster than I could follow at first, but this for the most part a compact but rich novel, skilfully paced and packed with nuanced characterisation and deep worldbuilding. I look forward to reading the rest of this trilogy. ...more
a most unusual fantasy, set in a world somewhat orthogonal to (Victorian?) England (?). The fairy folk, selkies, a lost heiress...it's a bit like a cla most unusual fantasy, set in a world somewhat orthogonal to (Victorian?) England (?). The fairy folk, selkies, a lost heiress...it's a bit like a classic melodrama mixed in with some folk-infused fantasy on one level, but the power, strangeness and evocativeness of the narrative kicks it into another level. A somewhat tidy ending for my tastes once again but I'm starting to realise that I possibly only like incredibly bleak endings or open endings. ...more
Howl was certainly a delightful read with lots of subplots and details that the movie, amazing as it was, probably didn't have room for. At times the Howl was certainly a delightful read with lots of subplots and details that the movie, amazing as it was, probably didn't have room for. At times the plot grew simply too complicated for me, as opposed to complex - it was always pretty clear what was going to happen and who was going to be who, and that's not just because I'd seen the movie. A rather over-tidy ending, which I felt about another Wynne-Jones novel I've read but lots of memorable characters and highly effective moments of both wonder and terror along the way....more
This is a significant volume in the Recluce saga, going several generations back in time to witness the founding of Recluce as a bastion of Order amidThis is a significant volume in the Recluce saga, going several generations back in time to witness the founding of Recluce as a bastion of Order amidst Chaotic or indifferent nations. It begins well enough with poetic language that is a step or two above anything in The Magic Of Recluce (although the cod-Biblical language we are treated to at one point is cringe-inducing as are the many song lyrics interspersed, although not as totally lacking any attempt at actual lyricism as the rather dull poetry in Erikson's novels). Things get to an exciting start with the protagonist making a daring escape across snowy cliffs and continue to be exciting as he is captured by the White (Chaos) wizards, has his memory blocked and is put to work on a road crew. Overcoming this indenture is the last moment of high adventure in this book.
Thereafter, the protagonist winds up marrying the very woman he has spent half the novel escaping. They proceed to the isle of Recluce where they carry on the most inane, annoying love-hate relationship that eventually breaks down into love. It's hard to see how anyone could love the self-righteous hero or his equally self-righteous wife; perhaps it's just Modesitt who loves them too much not to give them some sort of happy ending.
Anyhow, the powerful White mages do what they can to scuttle this incipient Black(Order-based) haven, so the protagonist has to weave more and more powerful magics, which have unfortunate side-effects for the rest of the world, something that is rather glibly glossed over as 'necessity'. And then there's all the fucking logistics. It seems as if the second half of the novel is one long list of administrative decisions interspersed with an annoying love plot and a few big ticket magical displays which are undermined by their ambiguous consequences.
Maybe this is a sophomore slump for this series. Maybe I shouldn't have read this book so soon after the first one. Maybe Modesitt doesn't really get much better than this. I shall have to decide if its worth finding out. ...more
This isn't pathbreaking fantasy, and it suffers from issues of pacing, prose and characterisation, but it's an engaging and sometimes moving story forThis isn't pathbreaking fantasy, and it suffers from issues of pacing, prose and characterisation, but it's an engaging and sometimes moving story for all that.
A coming of age novel set in a fantastic world (aren't they all?), The Magic Of Recluce often seems bogged down in diurnal detail: meals at inns, distances travelled, long hours of discomfort, but I can also see how Modesitt felt the need to include these things as a way to ground his fantasy narrative, give it a lived-in feel. The prose itself is serviceable, but ever so slightly awkward. Sometimes it's hard to tell exactly which character is being referred to, or who just spoke and Modessit's reliance on onomatopoeia to convey action can get tiresome as well as opaque. The characters are broad archetypes to the point of cliche, but Modesitt goes beyond the traditional gender roles of a lot of fantasy.
Despite the fact that things often move too slowly for the narrative's good, the plot is actually very well shaped and highly effective, setting up a central conflict and then successively raising the stakes, along with interludes to gather energy. It all builds up to a magnificent sorcercous confrontation in a forbidden castle - pure fantasy overdrive. Along the way, we're exposed to complex and compelling political currents and an interesting, nuanced conception of magic.
This book also features the single most awesome pony in all of fantastic fiction.
So there you go: a middling epic fantasy novel that offers an interesting take on magic, a richly imagined world, a predictable but exciting plot, some infelicities of style and a certain shallowness of charaterisation. Quite a few rungs above Eddings and certainly more genuinely imaginative and original than Jordan. ...more
I was very ready to be disappointed by this novel; second of a series as well as one of the first few Gemmells I've read. There were times when it seeI was very ready to be disappointed by this novel; second of a series as well as one of the first few Gemmells I've read. There were times when it seemed like the story was a little too similar to Legend; but for the most part this resolved into the fact that it was really the same conflict, a generation later. I also feared that the romantic interests in the novel would see Gemmell starting to emulate that other David, Eddings, in the cozy, cloying way he pairs off members of his party of adventurers, but our David here has a more complex understanding of human nature even if his emotional scenes are not the most sophisticated.
Oh but the heroics. Once again there were scenes of heroism on large and small stages, physical, mental and spiritual and always against the odds. Stirring scenes of sacrifice, camaraderie and loyalty. Gemmell wrote heroic fantasy and his conception of heroism was robust, unapologetic and downright inspiring. And once again, martial highlights are supported by equally effective magical elements and a cast of rugged, endearing characters which is if anything even more varied and memorable than the last time around (although no one quite reaches the archetypal level of Druss). Honest, effective entertainment that wears its heart on its sleeve. I can think of worse ways to spend my time. ...more
A strange if charming little book. It begins with the tragic deaths of two young brothers who are then reunited in the land of Ningiyama, where the woA strange if charming little book. It begins with the tragic deaths of two young brothers who are then reunited in the land of Ningiyama, where the world is still as it was in the age of sagas with many adventures to be had. However, the boys discover that not all adventures are worth having as they find themselves facing increasingly evil foes and long odds. The end of the story took me by surprise and I'm not sure what to make of it. Despite what a one-star review on this site claims, the ending actually was foreshadowed earlier on and the world after Ningiyama was named by the elder brother Lionheart. Still, it's a strange way to end a children's story and I'd like to know what an actual 10-year old reader (the suggested lowest age on my copy of this book) would make of it. ...more
It's a book about cats. With wings. By Ursula Le Guin. Of course I loved it even if I'm about 24 years older than its target audience.It's a book about cats. With wings. By Ursula Le Guin. Of course I loved it even if I'm about 24 years older than its target audience....more
Jayaprakash
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