Reviews No Longer in Progress 2018

[wrongtrainrighttime]

Giving myself review amnesty here. This is a series of capsule reviews, to stand in for the full reviews that I didn't finish before 2018 did.



> TOO LIKE THE LIGHTNING (Terra Ignota #1) by Ada Palmer

Fun narrative voice and device, though I understand it was cribbed from a historical form anyway. Some interesting world-building that is, at least, internally consistent, but otherwise feels extremely affected, the way your average Sorting Hat rip-off does. Sooooo bad at gender. So very bad. Felt weirdly reactionary in its politics overall, actually. Entertaining enough that I finished it. Absolutely no interest in touching the sequels.

> SPEAK EASY by Catherynne M. Valente

I was pretty excited to read this, since it was a Valente that I had hitherto not had access to due to Subterranean Press not deigning to publish it electronically until recently. Has her signature way with language and vivid, frenetic fantasy; definitely peak Valente, which may be good or bad. The cruelty of the ending frustrates the heck out of me, but not, I think, because it was a wrong ending. And it made me think about the real Zelda Fitzgerald. So, it has that going for it.

> SO PUSH YOUR FACE INTO THE MIRROR UNTIL IT BREAKS by Tara Wrist

A novel published by my excellent friend Tara Wrist! The title link goes to the novel on itch.io, where you can pay-what-you-want for a collection of five excellent stories. All of them are different and excellent, but for my money the very best (and, not coincidentally, my favorite) is DEFINE ME WITH A KNIFE, which just starts off breakneck and never stops. But really, all of them are great. Read the previews at the link and you'll see. I'm so glad to know someone who writes such excellent things. (And if you like her fiction, check her Twitter for links to her critical writing, which is equally excellent.)

> THE LAMB WILL SLAUGTHER THE LION (Danielle Cain #1) by Margaret Killjoy
> THE BARROW WILL SEND WHAT IT MAY (Danielle Cain #2) by Margaret Killjoy

New and unique fantasy, not just in the section of society that Killjoy is writing about but also the sense of the magic in general. A little strange and offbeat, it can be called but not bound. It has its own rules. I love the phrase "endless spirit."

The first one's prose left me a little cold, it felt a bit lackluster and the plot a bit rushed. I really wanted a novel to sink into everything and the details. I felt like more space would have helped with ratcheting up the tension. The second one immediately felt a lot sharper, the prose tighter and more focused. I have high hopes for the third installment, if one turns up. Loved the gentle build of Danielle and Brynn's relationship throughout both novellas.

> THE TAIGA SYNDROME by Cristina Rivera Garza (trans. Suzanne Jill Levine and Aviva Kana)

I read this because of an excellent review, before wandering away from it, and then attempting to wander back. I think overall my impression was of disappointment. It started off very good, with a core mystery, an interesting voice, a dreamy and detached mood that intrigued me from the start as we follow the detective protagonist's desultory attempts to track down her target. And then it detoured into a sex scene and I immediately became bored; it felt like it was there more for shock value than because it actually did something for the book. That was about when it lost me; I finished THE TAIGA SYNDROME, but after that, the magic was more or less gone.

> GODFORSAKEN GRAPES: A SLIGHTLY TIPSY JOURNEY THROUGH THE WORLD OF STRANGE, OBSCURE, AND UNDERAPPRECIATED WINE by Jason Wilson

I picked up GODFORSAKEN GRAPES on sale, and it was a good buy. This book is half food history, half memoir, half travelogue, somehow mushed together into a surprisingly harmonious and readable whole. Wilson's love for wine in general, and for the obscure varieties he seeks out in particular, really shines through and knits everything together. As someone who has no thoughts in particular about wine, I nonetheless read this straight through. I liked it enough to pick up his previous book.

> BOOZEHOUND: ON THE TRAIL OF THE RARE, THE OBSCURE, AND THE OVERRATED IN SPIRITS by Jason Wilson

BOOZEHOUND is a similar project to GODFORSAKEN GRAPES, but with a broader topic. That is to its detriment, as it feels less focused overall without the slender topic to tie it all together. And, well, the writing overall just feels less mature. It just doesn't cohere as a book the way GODFORSAKEN GRAPES does. still not a bad read.

Honorary mention to NINEFOX GAMBIT (Machineries of Empire #1) by Yoon Ha Lee, which I reread in the latter half of December while unexpectedly traveling. I still loved it.

Half-read at the end of the year:
- RAVEN STRATAGEM (Machineries of Empire #2) by Yoon Ha Lee (yes, finally got around to the sequels)
- SEVERANCE by Ling Ma
- GODS, MONSTERS, AND THE LUCKY PEACH by Kelly Robson
- THE BONELESS MERCIES by April Genevieve Tucholke
- JOHN DIES AT THE END by David Wong
- HOW TO FRACTURE A FAIRY TALE by Jane Yolen
- THE RED THREADS OF FORTUNE & THE BLACK TIDES OF HEAVEN by JY Yang