Category: Reviews

Greenmantle by Charles de Lint

Greenmantle by Charles de Lint

In Greenmantle, author Charles de Lint mixes fantasy and the mob and creates something new.

Invisible in the shadows of the side of his house, a small figure stirred. A smile touched her fox-thin features.” pg 67

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Ali and her mother, Frankie, recently won the lottery and used the money to move to a house out in the country. Their neighbor, Tony, has a checkered past and has moved out to the country for reasons of his own.

Together, they’ll explore a mysterious force in the woods that is connected to haunting music as well as face threats from a far more earthly menace.

I enjoyed Greenmantle quite a lot.

“Where it passed sleepers, dreams were suddenly filled with resonances never sensed before, while those who were awake, paused in their conversations for that one moment it took for the stag to go by, resuming them again then, knowing they weren’t quite the same, but not knowing why.” pg 100

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The fantasy portions of the story were my favorite. Lint writes them well- making the fantastical seem as if it is actually possible.

Easy to see why he was one of the first writers of the modern urban fantasy genre.

Highly recommended for fantasy readers. Thanks for reading!

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood (Persepolis, #1) by Marjane Satrapi

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood (Persepolis, #1) by Marjane Satrapi

I’m doing a series at work (a library) where I’m reading the classics that are painted on the stairs. “Persepolis” is one of the titles featured there.

It is a modern classic about Marjane Satrapi’s childhood in Iran around the time of the revolution.

The story is told in black and white graphics which took a little getting used to, but by the end, I rather liked.

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Our heroine is so brave throughout this novel. She goes to protests, though people have been killed while protesting.

She has political beliefs that challenge the status quo, even though she has family members who have died for similar beliefs.

She likes to wear western clothes and listen to western music, even though such things could get her into serious trouble.

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I liked Marjane a lot. But, having a daughter myself, I couldn’t help but empathize with her parents a little. They were trying to raise their daughter in such a challenging time- I can’t even imagine what that must have been like.

Even sending her out the door to school every day must have been a trial.

“Persepolis” has appeared on challenged or banned book lists in the past and I don’t understand why. I didn’t find anything offensive in these pages. The truth could be disturbing, but it is a good thing to put yourself in another person’s shoes for awhile.

It makes me realize what a charmed childhood I enjoyed.

Highly recommended.

Moonheart by Charles de Lint

Moonheart by Charles de Lint

That was what Sara liked best about Tamson House: that it didn’t seem to be a part of the world outside its walls. Stepping over its threshold was like stepping into a place where everything you knew had to be forgotten to make way for new rules.” pg 25

Moonheart is a story about magic, myth, and how one special house connects it all.

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There are many characters in Moonheart, so many that I won’t list them here. But they are easy to keep up with in the story because they are so different.

For as old as this book is (published in 1984), I felt that it had a lot of modern urban fantasy elements to it. Charles de Lint could be considered as one of the creators of that genre.

His story goes from this world, to other worlds, and back again. I enjoyed it a lot.

“There is no such thing as chance in the workings of the world,” he replied, repeating something he’d told her the second time they’d met on the shore. pg 309

That being said, the plot drags in places. This is a book for readers with solid attention spans. I struggled a little to stay interested until the ending, which comes quickly. But once you’re in the ending, you race to finish the book- because it is that good.

Recommended for urban fantasy readers. Thanks for reading!

How Not to Be a Hot Mess: A Survival Guide for Modern Life by Craig Hase, Devon Hase

How Not to Be a Hot Mess: A Survival Guide for Modern Life by Craig Hase, Devon Hase

“(This book) draws on Buddhist advice because, believe it or not, Buddhism has been through it all before. It’s seen wars, plagues, oppression, and ten thousand terrible haircuts – and it has, along the way, developed dependable ways to stay steady in the roller coaster of family feuds, romantic vacillations, uncertain futures, and all the rest.” pg 9, ebook

How Not to be a Hot Mess was a timely read for me, though there was little in here that was “new”. Instead, it offers gentle reminders to meditate, tell the truth, be generous and take care of yourself – all things that help mitigate hot messiness in the day-to-day.

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“So there are approximately one bajillion reasons why you should meditate. The top three reasons as I’ve just mentioned, are that you’ll be less stressed, more focused, and you might even stumble your way into slightly better humanhood.” pg 23, ebook

I used to meditate every day. But then, for whatever reason, I fell out of the habit. I’m going to be doing my best to bring it back because I think I was a calmer person and less reactive to things.

This book also reminded me about skillful speech.

“There are people out there- and I’ve met a lot of them now- who follow these guidelines of True, Kind, Timely, Helpful beautifully. And they all have some things in common: they have good friends, stable community connections, a sort of quiet confidence, and they kind of glow.” pg 53, ebook

I don’t tend to say a lot but I try to make what I say fit within those guidelines. This book reminded me of how important this can be. It’s like modern life makes me forget sometimes, in the mad crush and noise, what’s really important.

“You, too, can do this. It’s not just for fancy historical figures or people who write books and give TED talks and share wisdom from the mountaintops. You really can stay clear, say what’s true, give a little, make sex good, meditate occasionally, and be less of a jerk and more of a stable loving presence in your world. Right in the middle of everything.” pgs 84-85, ebook

Yes, I can do this. And so can you. Happy reading, friends.

The Poppy War (The Poppy War, #1) by R.F. Kuang

The Poppy War (The Poppy War, #1) by R.F. Kuang

“Her destiny had not been written in the stars… She had made her choices fully and autonomously. pg 528 ebook

The Poppy War begins like other fantasy novels: an underprivileged young person fights her way into a school where she learns more than she ever imagined. But after that, things go in an entirely different direction with war and all of the darkness and misery that goes along with that.

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Despite friend’s reviews that this was a dark book, I didn’t expect it to go as far as it did. Don’t get me wrong, this is still a great story about human passions, shamanism, and war – it was just hard to read at times.

And it is a long book, which is great because it gives R.F. Kuang plenty of time to develop characters and flesh out her world. She does both very well.

My favorite parts of the book were Rin’s interactions with her fellow soldiers, the Cike, a group of shamans who all have different powers. Their comradery was refreshing in the midst of some very dark times.

This is not a young adult book, so librarians please classify it correctly. Highly recommended for readers who like their fantasy epic and dark.

Vermilion: The Adventures of Lou Merriwether, Psychopomp by Molly Tanzer

Vermilion: The Adventures of Lou Merriwether, Psychopomp by Molly Tanzer

“How Lou hated dealing with the living. The dead were so much easier to manage.” loc 256 ebook.

Lou Merriwether is a psychopomp, or someone who assists spirits from the world of the living to the world of the dead. She doesn’t get along all that well with the living, including her mother, whom Lou had a falling out with around the time that her father passed away.

But when her mother asks her to investigate a series of disappearances, Lou feels like she can’t refuse and begins an adventure across the country and into danger, more danger than she realizes.

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“She’d hoped a personal visit to the Oakland office would yield better results than her telegram to Cheyenne, but it seemed no one wanted to talk. loc 863, ebook

In addition to her personal drama, Lou has to deal with racism almost all the time as a half-Chinese, half-white person. She finds all of this easier to deal with by dressing as a man.

I loved the character of Lou- she was so feisty and willing to stick her neck out to help her friends and, sometimes, people she just met. She occasionally uses colorful language, so be warned if that sort of thing bothers you.

This world has so many curious fantasy elements to it. There are talking walruses who ferry people from one place to another. There are talking bear tribes alongside Native American tribes in the west.

The author Molly Tanzer has such a huge imagination. The world she has created is dangerous but also fun to explore.

Highly recommended for fantasy and steampunk fans. I really enjoyed this one.

A Memory Called Empire (Teixcalaan, #1) by Arkady Martine

A Memory Called Empire (Teixcalaan, #1) by Arkady Martine

In A Memory Called Empire, a diplomat from an out-of-the-way space station makes her way through the Teixcalaan Empire, a society which is in some ways more advanced than her own, but in other ways not.

The most interesting part of this novel was the world building. Arkady Martin has created an amazing space opera with fascinating technologies and cultures.

On the other hand, her characters didn’t appeal to me at all. I made myself finish the book, but didn’t care much about what happened to anyone.

I wasn’t surprised this book won the Hugo Award – for world building alone.

For a first novel, it is a tremendous effort and I’m certain Arkady will write more fascinating books in the future.

Perhaps I’ll give some of those other books a go. I won’t be continuing on to the other books in this series.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Nora has lived through so much and is so disappointed with reality that she doesn’t want to live anymore.

“Nora shook her head. Wishing it would fall off. Her own head. Onto the floor. So she never had to have a conversation with a stranger ever again.” pg 15, ebook

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A suicide attempt takes her to a special place filled with books that tell life stories that could have been her own – if only she had made a different choice in her current life.

“Between life and death there is a library,” she said. “And within that library, the shelves go on for ever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived.” pg 29

Through living some of those lives, Nora learns about the power of choices and her own inner strength.

The Midnight Library is a beautiful book about life. I enjoyed learning and growing along with Nora.

“Maybe even the most seemingly perfectly intense or worthwhile lives ultimately felt the same. Acres of disappointment and monotony and hurts and rivalries but with flashes of wonder and beauty.” pg 137 ebook

Maybe they are. And maybe we all need to remember that even the smallest choices we make matter.

Highly recommended for fantasy readers.

Science of the Magical: From the Holy Grail to Love Potions to Superpowers by Matt Kaplan

Science of the Magical: From the Holy Grail to Love Potions to Superpowers by Matt Kaplan

“Does knowing how something magical works make it into something other than magic?” pg 7

In Science of the Magical, science correspondent Matt Kaplan examines phenomena from prophecy to immortality and more, seeking the science behind the magic. The result is a compelling look at life and humanity’s beliefs around such things.

“Our ancestors had a magical worldview. … For the Viking berserkers, no biochemistry was behind their rage; Odin was casting a spell. For pilgrims visiting the oracle at Delhi, no ethylene vapors were creeping up the fault below the temple; the spirit of Apollo was coming to force the priestess to speak with his voice.” pg 212

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You would think these activities would lose their magical feeling under Kaplan’s microscope, but the opposite is true. I felt more wonder learning the studies about Buddhist monks who can sit wrapped in wet sheets and not freeze or the symbiotic relationship between ravens and wolves, which was immortalized in the stories about Odin.

“… Dr. Stahler suspects that because wolf kills are considerably larger than those made by coyotes, the birds have more food to feed on. The ravens seem to have the ability to differentiate between the animals and selectively follow only wolves.” pg 102

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Though I knew some of what Kaplan reports in these pages, other ideas were totally new to me. Highly recommended for readers who enjoy non-fiction.

Thanks for reading!