The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed

Four years ago, I wrote in a review of Premee Mohamed’s first book: “After reading this book, I will definitely pick up the next book by Premee Mohamed.  This author has a great deal of potential and I look forward to seeing what else she writes.” I am so glad I stuck with this author because The Butcher of the Forest is beautiful, lyrical, hear-wrenching, and wonderful. 

This is not the first book by Ms. Mohamed that I enjoyed - I liked The Annual Migration of Clouds a great deal and I am looking forward to the sequel coming out soon. But this book spoke to my heart. 

This novella has a dark fairy tale vibe - a woman is called upon by an evil tyrant to venture into a haunted fey forest to retrieve his lost children. But that plot description doesn’t do this book justice. In a few paragraphs the author can capture a mood and paint a picture that entrances and ensnares the reader. The language in this book a gorgeous and brutal. The sense of dread is palpable. I am unable to put into words how enjoyable the act of reading this book was. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. 

What Feasts At Night by T. Kingfisher

In the past 3-4 years, I have become a HUGE fan of T. Kingfisher aka Ursula Vernon. 

Ms. Vernon is the author of the Hamster Princess books, which both of my daughters have enjoyed (as have I!). Those books were my introduction to her, along with her social media presence, which I found through Seanan McGuire. 

Ordinarily, I don’t like horror. I never wanted to watch scary movies as a kid. I got nightmares from E.T.  But based on recommendations I read the Twisted Ones and The Holllow Places and I realized that I loved Ms. Vernon’s writing and I could make it through the scary parts unscathed with her as my guide. 

I started devouring her back catalog and putting all new releases on hold at the library.  I have subscribed to her Patreon and I convinced my wife to read Nettle and Bone, which she loved (as did I). 

I really enjoyed What Moves the Dead when it came out - I adored Angus and Ms. Potter and I thought Alex Easton was one of the most interesting, enjoyable protagonists in a Kingfisher book I had ever seen. (Toadling is still my favorite, I think). I didn’t remember the original Poe story that influenced it, but my only complaint about that book was that it was too short. 

So I was thrilled when I found out that a sequel was coming and even more thrilled when I got an audiobook eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

This new book, I believe, is not based on a Poe story but is an original creation. And it is wonderful! I was so happy to see Ms. Potter and Angus again, the Widow was my new favorite character, and the story was creepy in all the best ways. The descriptions of Alex’s PTSD feel very real. Once again, my only complaint is that it was too short! 

I really liked the narrator as well. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher!

Power to Yield and Other Stories by Bogi Takács

I first became aware of Bogi Takács when e was nominated for the Hugo award for best fan writer. I knew that e also wrote short stories, but I don’t read a lot of short stories in magazines or on websites, so I hadn’t encountered eir fiction before. But I LOVE a solo author short fiction collection so I jumped at a chance to request Power to Yield and Other Stories when I saw it on NetGalley. 

There is a mix of sci fi, fantasy, and some science fantasy in this collection and I enjoyed most all of them! Some made me think and some made my heart sing. My favorite story involved a mother who was stuck in the form of a houseplant while her child was preparing to be bar mitzvahed. It really captured the humanity in a profound yet quiet way that I really enjoyed. The title story in the collection, Power to Yield, was a little too violent and uncomfortable for my tastes, but I understand that that may have been part of the reason for the story. It still left me feeling icky. 

All in all, I am very glad I read this collection and I look forward to reading more stories by Bogi Takács. 

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for a fair review. 

Jade Shards by Fonda Lee

 

Every time I read something by Fonda Lee, I regret not having read more of her work. I previously loved The Jade Setter of Janloon but the Green Bone Saga is still on my TBR pile - I think the length is intimidating (as is the concerns of schlepping a giant tome on mass transit).  So when I saw a collection of short stories by her set in that universe from Subterranean Press on NetGalley, I thought I should request it to dip my toes back in those waters. This book was so good! Full of tidbits and snapshots, these stories might resonate more if I had already read the original trilogy but I found them satisfying and delightful. This a testament to Fonda Lee that these stories are so enjoyable even without the context of the larger narrative. 

I loved this book and I vow to prioritize reading the rest of Green Bone Saga this year. Thanks for the eARC in exchange for this honest review.

Mislaid In Parts Half Known by Seanan McGuire Audiobook

This is a fantastic Wayward Children audiobook!!

I love Seanan McGuire’s writing. (Note: I review a bunch of her books so I am copying part of some of my other reviews here to save time.). She has quickly become my favorite living writer and I feel very lucky that she is so prolific. I was first introduced to her work when her book Parasite, written as Mira Grant, was nominated for a Hugo Award. I loved it and quickly devoured the Newsflesh series before I realized that Mira Grant and Seanan McGuire were the same person. 

I started reading her works under her own name, starting with Sparrow Hill Road, which is amazing, but I picked it because I was intimidated by her long running October Daye series. I had read some Urban Fantasy before, and I fondly remember Mercedes Lackey’s Diana Tregarde books, but my tastes run more to science fiction and then secondary world fantasy, so I was hesitant to dive into such a long series. I picked up the first book, Rosemary and Rue, when it was on sale as a kindle daily deal, and I found it somewhat disappointing compared to her other work. I reminded myself that it was her first published novel, so I cut it some slack. Then Incryptid was nominated for the Best Series Hugo in 2018 and I dove into that instead. I loved it! So I vowed to give Toby another chance. And I was so glad that I did! It is no one of my favorite series. 

I was already a big fan of Ms. McGuire’s when the first wayward children book, Every Heart a Doorway, came out, and I loved it! As a kid who grew up loving the Oz series and resenting the Christian imagery in Narnia, it was right up my alley. It is a wonderful book and this is an excellent series, definitely deserving of its Best Series Hugo win.  In this series, the odd numbered books are the main timeline, and the even numbered books tell stories outside the main timeline - sometimes introducing us to new characters when they travel through their Doors, and other times showing up backstory of preexisting characters. 

I was overjoyed when the publisher and NetGalley awarded me an eARC of the audiobook of Mislaid In Parts Half Known. I have been hoping for eARCs of the wayward children books every year and this year I was finally lucky enough to get one!

This story starts with Antsy, who was introduced in the last volume, and follows her story at the school. The adventure (that’s not a spoiler, is it? Surely not) ropes in perennial favorites Sumi, Kade, Christopher, and Cora. There is a decent amount of world hopping in this book, and my only complaint is that it was too short! I know this is a series of novellas, but this volume, like several of the previous ones, feels so restricted by its length. I feel like this story could have easily been told in a 300-500 page novel and then we would’ve gotten more insights into the characters’ feelings and motivations. 

But that is a minor, minor quibble. This was another amazing entry in this series and I cannot wait to devour the next one!

I read this book originally back in July when I got an eARC, and I just listened to the audio book version and it was excellent. The narrator did an excellent job with all of the characters’ voices and I really enjoyed it. 

The Fractured Dark by Megan E. O'Keefe

Oooof. I soooo wanted to love this book like the first one. I had never read anything by Megan E. O’Keefe before the Blighted Stars, but I had heard good things about Velocity Weapon (and I found it on my virtual TBR pile, purchased when it was on sale ages ago). 

Everything I enjoyed about the first book seemed to be missing or muted here. No robots, very little spaceship excitement, mostly it was people talking in rooms boringly. The romance, which had a good long slow burn last time, had hit the reset button and slogged for the first half? third? of this volume. 

This book was sooooooo long. I felt like hundreds of pages could’ve been cut and not impacted the overall story, which barely progressed the plot of the semi intelligent fungus taking over everything. Furthermore, the antagonist Fletch was just too creepy and unpleasant that he didn’t really fit in this kind of book. We didn’t need a domestic violence stalker to team up with the fungus. 

Honestly, I’m not sure if I’m going to read the third book when it comes out - I don’t know if I care enough about these characters or this world to slog through another doorstop of a novel. 

Thanks to Orbit and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. 

Saevus Corax Gets Away With Murder by K. J. Parker

 

This final volume of a trilogy felt both incredibly similar and predictable while continuing to surprise me throughout. 

A while back, I became a fan of K. J. Parker. I first heard the name of this author via Jo Walton’s monthly reading lists on Tor dot com. So I requested an eARC of A Practical Guide to Conquering the World by K.J. Parker and loved it! It was grabby (in a “can’t put this book down” kind of way) and it was thoroughly enjoyable. I said I’d be looking out for more books by K. J. Parker and I later really enjoyed an eARC of the Long Game and Pulling the Wings off Angels, which were both delightful books! After that, I went back and read Sixteen Ways to Defend A Walled City and How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It, which were also wonderful. Parker’s books that I have read have been first person tales whose protagonists are usually clever bastards (in a thoroughly enjoyable manner). 

The titular Saevus Corax is no different - a man who is too clever by half that runs a business reclaiming armor and other loot from battlefield corpses. In this presumably final novel, Corax’s world effectively falls apart and the book spins off in some unexpected directions. I wasn’t expecting to learn more about his brother, and there were a number of deaths that really saddened me, as well as some fake outs that surprised me. I guess maybe someone could’ve seen the ending coming but I certainly didn’t. This book had the same feel as all of the other Parker books I have read, but it didn’t feel the same, if that makes any sense. A good end to a good trilogy. 

Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.