Book Review: Dawnshard, by Brandon Sanderson (Book 3.5 of the Stormlight Archive)

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Book, Book Review, Brandon Sanderson, Cosmere, Fantasy, Reading, Stormlight Archive

I know things around here have been pretty quiet on the book front lately, but that has largely been due to my decision to reread the Stormlight Archive a short while back to prepare for Rhythm of War, the soon to be released fourth book in the series.  Somewhere along the way, however, I signed onto a Kickstarter campaign and with it got my hands on this new novella set between the events of Oathbringer and the new release.

Taking place a few months after the Battle of Thaylen Field, the story centers around the merchant, a popular interlude character, Ryan Ftori.  Since we last met her, she has been gifted control of a state of the art sailing ship named the Wandersail by her former master Vstim.  Despite harboring doubts about the willingness of the crew to accept her command in light of the injuries she suffered in Words of Radiance, Rysn is eager to go out and get acquainted with the ship.  Forgoing a number of more mundane trade missions, she ultimately chooses something far more adventurous for its first voyage after learning that the only hope for curing her pet Larkin’s mysterious illness is to bring it home to Aimia.  Knowing the Alethi have a keen interest in the forbidding land and the strange, Stormlight stealing creatures guarding it, Ryan approaches Navani Kholin, newly crowned Queen of Urithiru, and accepts a mission to search for the legendary island of Akinah.  Given the danger and sensitivity of the quest, a small contingent of ardents and Knights Radiant will go on the voyage as well, and they are headed by none other than Bridge Four’s own the Lopen.

I greatly enjoyed this novella and found it made me even more excited for Rhythm of War, something I wasn’t quite sure was possible.  As fun as it was to have more time with characters like Rysn and the Lopen, this story was no mere side quest.  No spoilers, but some major events happen to these characters that could greatly impact the balance of power on Roshar.   Perhaps even more interestingly, the story also contributes greatly to filling in some of the gaps in our knowledge about Roshar and provides some tantalizing clues about Cosmere lore as well.  For teasers, readers finally learn a bit more about the fate of Aimia and the Sleepless, and are treated to explicit references to the shattering of Adonalsium and the Horneaters’ role knowledge of Cultivation’s Perpendicularity.  More generally, it was also fascinating to see how quickly fabrial technology is advancing for the Radiant forces.  I’m really curious to see how this aspect of the story develops, especially as the various Cosmere novels start moving further along their timelines.

At this point I feel like there are so many things that I am tempted to explore and theorize about, but with a full length novel coming up (it’s out tomorrow!) I’m going to hit pause on that for now.  My next order of business is to get through my reread of Oathbringer to fully prepare me for that experience.  Hopefully I’ll be back soon with even more Cosmere stuff to share!

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Book Review: The Traitor Baru Cormorant (Book One in the Masquerade Series), by Seth Dickinson

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Book, Book Review, Fantasy, Masquerade, Reading, Seth Dickinson

It’s hard to believe, but this was the first full length novel I’ve read this year!  The ebook had been available for free via the Tor Publishing newsletter a little while back and despite my best intentions, I promptly let it collect virtual dust upon download.  Fortunately, one of my goals for the year is to make a more determined effort to actually read the books I own and this felt like a good place to start my journey.  Published in 2015, this hard fantasy novel is both the author’s debut effort and the beginning of the much acclaimed Masquerade series.

The story is told from the perspective of a young woman named Baru Cormorant.  Born in the small seaside nation of Taranoke, we first meet her as a child seeking to understand what the arrival of ships from the Imperial Republic of Falcrest, informally referred to as the Masquerade on account of the masks worn by its officials, signifies and why it troubles her family.  Through her inquisitive nature, Baru inadvertently attracts the attention of an influential patron and with his encouragement attends the local branch of the Imperial Academy where she excels in her studies despite her own misgivings and parents’ disapproval.  Upon graduating she is appointed the Imperial Accountant of Aurdwynn, a divided and rebellious nation that serves as a vital strategic asset for Flacrest.  While some question whether an inexperienced youth from a newly acquired territory can fill the position, Baru, however, fully realizes the power granted to her and how to wield it.  Finding allies will be a delicate game though, for as much as the local Dukes and her Imperial colleagues have their own agendas, Baru is willing to sacrifice anything to fulfill her own; the power to destroy the Flacrest’s empire from within.

I’m just going to come out and say this book was amazing!  I loved the non-stop intrigue and couldn’t bring myself to put it down no matter how many times the story punched me in the gut.  This was a decidedly heavy novel, not so much on account of the writing style but rather in the harsh decisions made by Baru along the way.  What really made the story stand out were the lengths to which Baru was willing to go in the grim pursuit of her ultimate goal, betraying herself in heartbreaking and often brutal ways time and again.  Along these lines, I was rather surprised by the ending even though I called it pretty early on.  It wasn’t necessarily what happened that got me, but rather that the author actually went there.  At one point I said out loud to myself, “man it would be pretty messed up if they did X,” and low and behold that’s exactly what Baru decided!

Another highlight of this book was its impressive world building.  Even though the action was largely centered around a few specific locations, the world felt huge and well thought out.  Closer to home, the Masquerade’s imperial ambitions combined with its horrifying social conservatism and eugenics programs made a compelling and sadly very believable enemy.  It allowed for some excellent reflections upon the ways a colonizing force can exert its will over subject populations without explicit military intervention.  There was also plenty of political intrigue going on both inside and outside of Falcrest’s borders that I suspect will grow more complex as Baru continues her journey.  

Although I feel like I barely scratched the surface of this one, here is where I’ll wrap the review up.  While I sincerely doubt there’s a happy ending coming in this tale, I am nonetheless very eager to get started on the rest of the series since I may be able to complete it in relatively short order.  Book two, The Monster Baru Cormorant, was published last year while the third installment is currently slated for later this year.

Book Review: The Black God’s Drums, by P. Djeli Clarke

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Book, Book Review, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Mythology, P. Djeli Clark, Reading

Now I’m really getting back into the reading spirit!  This 2018 novella is my second story from author P. Djeli Clarke and one that I had been looking forward to for some time now.  This book seemed to be showing up everywhere where it first came out and after really enjoying my last work from this author I knew I had to get it off of my TBR list. 

The magic of the Afrikin gods is part of this city, ma maman used to say, buried in its bones and roots with the slaves that built it…

The story is set in the mid-1880s in an alternate history New Orleans.  Serving as a neutral port between the United States and the Confederacy, the city is a hub of intrigue, trade, and entertainment for people from both sides of the conflict.  It is also a popular destination for citizens of the newly independent Haiti and the Free Islands of the Carribean who won their independence from the colonial powers through the use of superior technology and a powerful, weather altering weapon dubbed the Black God’s Drums that drastically altered the balance of power in the region.  It is here that we are introduced to a teenage street urchin named Creeper who lives in a secluded part of an airship dock. Resourceful and street-smart, Creeper has been touched by Oya, the African Orisha goddess of wind and storms, and often is the beneficiary of her powers in times of need. One day while watching the city, Creeper happens to overhear a conversation between a Creole man and a group of Confederate officers.  It seems a Haitian scientist is conspiring to sell weapons technology to the Confederacy, a potentially deadly development for all involved given it catastrophic side effects. Feeling the need to act, Creeper seeks to enlist the help of the Midnight Robber, an airship under the command of the famed pirate Captain Ann-Marie and a pair of Sisters of the Holy Family to prevent a tragic loss of life.

I loved this!  The story hit so many of the right notes for me I’m not sure where to even start singing its praises.  New Orleans is a fantastic, magical place in our real world, but this book succeeded in making it even moreso in a way that felt authentic to the city.  I really enjoyed the way the author mixed in the essential parts of the city’s experience, everything from the local culture, dangerous storms, and revelry, with the more supernatural elements and African mythology.  The aesthetics of this story were also quite engaging, offering a mesmerizing balance of cool and terrifying devices and imagery. Right from the start the author invoked a steampunk vibe with descriptions of a dock teeming with gas lamps and airships before moving into the darker territory of weapons of mass destruction and the gas masks used in the Confederate States to create docile slaves.  On this note, I really liked how the technology fit seamlessly into the historical and cultural context of the story, making it feel all the more real.

What brought these ideas to life, however, were the fantastic characters.  The two mains, Creeper and Captain Ann-Marie were real standouts for me. Creeper was a fun and resourceful person to follow, and the ways in which she was guided by and interacted with the piece of Oya within her gave her a depth that went well beyond her years.  Ann-Marie was likewise fascinating, fully capable of all the carousing and fighting one might expect from a pirate captain, but also with an unexpected depth that made her really memorable as well. Although they had a relatively minor part in terms of page time, I can’t leave the two nuns out of this review.  Curiously well connected and supplied, they offered some formidable aid to Creeper and Ann-Marie in their quest.

Put them all together and these elements made for one fascinating story that every bit lived up to my expectations.  The ideas, world building, and characters were all top notch and I could easily have spent another 300-400 pages more in this world.  That the author wove in an exciting blend of history, mythology, and steampunk imagery made it all the better for me. I am definitely adding more of his works to my priority reading queue and I recommend you all consider doing the same.

Book Review: The Lamb Will Slaughter the Lion, by Margaret Killjoy

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Anarchists, Book, Book Review, Danielle Cain, Fantasy, Horror, Margaret Killjoy, Reading

Hello again, long time no post!  I’m getting back into action and taking a step into the paranormal with this 2017 novella from new to me author Margaret Killjoy.  Since the author’s bio inspired me to read a bit more about them, I found that they are, among other things, a proud trans woman, anarchist, prepper, and electronic/death metal musician who maintains a Twitter feed worth reading.  But these are all topics for another day. Let’s end my review drought and bring on the book!

So yeah, welcome to Freedom, Iowa.  For the past year, we’ve had this benevolent, murderous spirit watching over us.  Which is weird, but it’s gone fine.

The story is set in the near future in a quasi-distopian United States and opens with our protagonist, a nomadic young woman named Danielle Cain, pulling a knife on an overly friendly man she hitched a ride with on her way to an anarchist commune in Freedom, Iowa.  In going there she hopes to find answers surrounding the final days of her friend Clay, who had finally settled down there only to eventually wander off and kill himself. The town, however, may hold more mysteries than answers for upon her approach to it Danielle encounters a number of horrifically mutated animals, most notably a strange deer feeding upon the carcass of a small animal.  Upon meeting the locals, she learns that the deer creature is the spirit Uliksi, a demon they summoned to prey upon those people who would seek authority over another. Suddenly her grim quest for answers gets a whole lot more complicated.

I enjoyed this for what it was: good, easy reading fun. While I can’t say it was particularly deep, the book’s commentary on the allure of power felt a bit cliche, it did have a certain charm that really drew me in.  The main characters were an immensely likable (if somewhat one dimensional) group of punks and anarchists and the potentially rogue Uliksi provided an intriguing dilemma. I also enjoyed that the book had a very familiar-to-me feeling sense of humor mixed with just enough action to help me make short work of its 84 pages.  Upon learning more about the author, I could see how their own experiences shaped this story and I absolutely enjoy supporting these types of characters and political ideals. As such, I am on board for reading the sequel and curious to see where the series goes from here.

Halloween Double Feature: The Haunting of Tram Car 015, by P. Djeli Clark

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13 Days of Halloween, Book, Book Review, Fantasy, Halloween, Horror, P. Djeli Clark, Reading

Good morning and Happy Halloween!  Welcome to part one of my annual Halloween Double Feature.  My first post of the day is a review of a spooky sounding novella I’ve been saving for this occasion.  Published in February 2019, it was also yet another read that I’d really been looking forward throughout the year.

The story is set in an alternate version of Cairo, Egypt in the year 1912.  In this world, Djinn and other supernatural natural entities have come to live openly alongside humans, transforming the city into a modern, prosperous metropolis.  Among their most prominent achievements is a system of magically endowed tram cars that offer a means of clean, efficient travel high above the busy streets. When one of these cars becomes the scene of some unusual happenings, however, it is up to Agent Hamed Nasr and his rookie partner Onsi Youssef of the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments, and Supernatural Entities to investigate and restore order.

I had a lot of fun reading this as pretty much everything about the novella hit the right notes for me.  There was just a certain energy to the world that I found captivating, and I enjoyed the ways in which steampunk elements existed side by side with the magical to create something truly interesting.  It also helps that I tend to like a good detective story and watching this one play out in this setting was simply amazing to behold. That the action also occurred against the backdrop of preparations for  a massive Women’s Suffrage demonstration brought the story up to yet another level while at the same time making it feel more grounded and real. What brought it all home for me though was the rapport between the more cynical Hamed and the overly enthusiastic Onsi.  Their relationship managed to feel fresh and authentic despite being sounding like a pretty common pairing and gave the reader excellent eyes through which to encounter these events. Add in the other characters, particularly Superintendent Bashir, an uninspiring Tram official with a sweet tooth, and Abla, a shockingly well-connected waitress, and you have all the makings of an impressive novel packed into 100 or so pages.

I really don’t want to give away any bit of this story, so I’ll close by saying again what a pleasure this was to read.  This was easily one of my favorites of the year and I give it my highest recommendations. Being a novella, however, it went by entirely too fast so make sure you have more from the author in queue for when you finish!

Book Review: Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City, by K.J. Parker (Tom Holt)

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Book, Book Review, Fantasy, History, KJ Parker, Reading, Tom Holt

This next read was one of my most anticipated anticipated books of the year.  Published in April 2019, this fantasy novel had my interest the moment I saw the title!  It immediately brought to mind one of my favorite aspects of my much loved Total War series of computer games and I couldn’t wait to see how that would be put to page here.  Also of note, this is my first time coming across this author.

“According to the books (there’s an extensive literature on the subject) there are fifteen ways to defend a walled city…What the books don’t tell you is, there’s a sixteenth way. You can use it when you’ve got nothing; no stuff, no men and nobody to lead them. Apart from that, it’s got nothing to recommend it whatsoever.”

The story is set in a fictional medieval world and told from the point of view of a slick talking Colonel of Engineers named Orhan.  Although many citizens of the empire he serves view him as an undesirable on account of his race and upbringing, he has nevertheless earned a measure of title and respect on account of his leadership skills, engineering prowess, and (perhaps most importantly) shrewd understanding of graft.  His story begins at an imperial outpost where he inadvertently finds himself the sole survivor of suspiciously well coordinated pirate raid and, through a rather eventful chain of events, reports his superiors the particulars of the assault. As it becomes clear that this was only the beginning of an unknown and well prepared enemy’s war on the empire, Orhan returns to his troop of engineers and does what he can to get them as far away as possible from the impending conflict.  It’s not long, however, before some difficult questions and a nagging sense of duty lead him back to the Imperial capital where, as his luck goes, he returns just in time to find the Empire’s standing army slaughtered in the surrounding wilderness and the nearly defenseless city on the verge of being sieged. Assuming command, Orhan must use every last bit of strategy, guile, and engineering know-how to unite the city’s factions and organized a seemingly hopeless defense to buy its people every moment of life possible.

I went into this book with very high hopes and I am happy to say that it did not disappoint!  While it wasn’t quite the grim tale of a desperate and hard fought last stand I originally envisioned, I enjoyed this immensely nonetheless.  That’s not to say there wasn’t any action, indeed there were plenty of scenes with fighting and some deeply satisfying siege/counter siege tactics at play, but the real joy of this book was how Orhan’s personality shone through in his captivating account of the events surrounding the siege.  Informal and often whimsical, irreverent, and darkly humorous Orhan has absolutely no pretense about being an admirable or heroic person and yet often enough nearly succeeds at being both. I liked how he owned and embraced who he was, shying away from neither his faults nor the derogatory “milkface” slurs hurled at him on account of his “chronic skin condition.”  What I found most compelling about him, though, was that he was an immensely capable individual and his tendency to look at the siege as an engineering problem really brought an intriguing perspective to narrative; not just in how he went about defending the city but also in how that outlook shaped the way he interacted with the people around him, enemies and allies alike.

For a brief note on the other characters, there were plenty of fascinating personalities scattered throughout the narrative.  This was without a doubt Orhan’s story, but it would not have been complete without some equally compelling individuals around him.  Lysimachus, a charismatic street tough with a penchant for carrying out impossible feats; Aichma, daughter of Orhan’s long deceased friend and tough as nails owner of a prominent tavern in the city’s less reputable area; and Sawdust, a former slave respected by all for her carpentry and design skills were particular favorites of mine.  The leader of the enemy camp was also an impressive character as well, but I think they are best left for the reader to discover!

On a slightly different note, I also really enjoyed how the issue of Orhan’s reliability as a narrator is brought to the forefront at the end of the novel by an excerpt from a future historian’s commentaries on his narrative.  It drew attention to Orhan’s penchant for lying, the (arguably) self-serving depiction of his central role in the conflict, and the fact that matches Orhan. And this is where things got real. These questions about the validity of Orhan’s story effectively pull the rug out from under the reader.  Not only do they make one rethink the entire account in which they were emotionally invested, but there is also the realization that this idea applies just as readily to our own histories. One common theme of the Hardcore History podcast I’ve gotten into is the idea/realization that even though most surviving accounts of ancient  history are simply not true, or at best unverifiable, we can’t simply ignore them without losing the only links we have to the past (thus giving them great power).  I know that’s a bit of a random tangent, but it was the first place my mind wandered after finishing the story!

Put that all together and I’ll say in closing that I was quite impressed by this book and its depth.  On the surface it was a fun, engaging account of one man uniting a city and fighting against impossible odds, but with only a little bit of digging it becomes so much more.  Go a bit deeper and it offers up some much more complicated questions and analyses of topics like race, identity, duty, politics and the role of the outsider in society (just to name a few).  Add in all the twists and turns of the plot and I can safely say that this book is in serious consideration for being my favorite read of the year. Get this one off of your TBR and into your hands ASAP!

Book Review: A People’s Future of the United States, edited by Victor LaValle and John Joseph Adams

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A. Merc Rustad, Book, Book Review, Daniel H. Wilson, Fantasy, Hugh Howley, Lizz Huerta, N.K. Jemisin, Omer El Akkad, Sci-Fi, Science Fiction, Short Story

I’ve probably said this before, but one of my greatest discoveries upon starting this blog was the wonders of short story compilations.  This one immediately caught my eye with its obvious homage to Howard Zinn’s famed historical text, A People’s History of the United States, and I was excited that the introduction mentioned that some of Zinn’s central ideas regarding power, representation, and inclusion were used as writing prompts for the 25 authors contributing to this compilation.

It pains me to say it, but taken as a whole I found this collection to be a bit uneven and occasionally unsatisfying.  I wanted to love it through and through, especially since I fully believe in and support both the ideals that inspired it and the voices of the authors presented, but several of the stories I just couldn’t connect with.  Some I didn’t find interesting, a couple had a writing style I couldn’t stand, and some were perhaps too thematically similar to the stories preceding them. Again, I absolutely believe that stories like these that examine issues of racial, sexual, and gender equality, civil rights, and the role of government are important, even essential, topics to cover, I was just not sold on how some of them were told.

That’s not to say I had a bad time with this read, though.  There were some real gems in here and upon looking back these far outshine the works I found less interesting.  To focus on the positive, my favorites (in the order presented) were:

Our Aim is Not to Die, by A. Merc Rustad: In an authoritarian future where conformity to a straight, white, conservative worldview is monitored through mandatory social media updates, a group of non-binary friends are forced to put their lives in the hands of an illusive AI promising to protect their secret.  I liked how this story provided both a glimpse of a social media-driven dystopia as well as a reminder that good actors can also leverage technology to the benefit of society.

The Wall, by Lizz Huerta: Secure in their position behind a border wall, a group of Mexican scientists work to re-humanize the drugged American soldiers used to instigate a brutal military coup in the former United States.  One of a few stories that depicts Mexico as the ultimate beneficiary of a border wall that shields it from the chaos of a failed US, this one just like it had the most complete vision of these stories.

Riverbed, Omer El Akkad: A Muslim diplomat from Canada returns to her childhood hometown in the Midwestern United States to collect the belongings of her brother.  Killed after escaping an internment camps several years prior, his remains are part of a controversial period of history that has left people on both sides of the camps alienated.  A thought provoking look at the limits of protest and the lengths to which rank and file individuals will go to justify and rationalize their role in abuse. It also touches upon the human tendency to shy away from that which discomforts us by delivering on of my favorite quotes of the compilation:

“You know what this country is?  She said. “This country is a man trying to describe a burning building without using the word fire.”

No Algorithms in the World, by Hugh Howley: Story of a son bringing some life changing news to his near-future Archie Bunker dad.  A fun little slice of life story, it was also notable for being the only story in which the future more or less turns out alright.  It also shone an entertaining, yet no less accurate, light on the hypocrisy behind some strongly held conservative beliefs and the extent to which Google guides us all.

Give Me Cornbread or Give Me Death, N.K. Jemisin: This story of a black female militia fighting genetically engineered dragons set loose on their community by an oppressive government was probably my favorite in the collection.  Using the power of love and food (most notably collard greens), they find creative ways to turn the tools of the oppressors against their creators. Like so many of the other Jemisim works I’ve read this year, this not only made me think but made me really hungry as well!

A History of Barbed Wire, Daniel H. Wilson: A dead body found in the haven that is Cherokee Nation raises some profound security questions and reveals the lengths desperate people will go to in order to protect their family.  I apparently really enjoy a good detective story, and this one certainly fit the bill!

Book Review: Circe, by Madeline Miller

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Book, Book Review, Circe, Feminism, Madeline Miller, Mythology, Reading

I know I’m well past fashionably late in posting about this popular 2018 release, but after months and months of seeing a steady stream of glowing reviews how could I stay away?  Combine that with my general interest in Greek mythology and I felt very confident I had a winner here.

This book tells the story of the nymph Circe, in her own words and from her own point of view.  Daughter of the Titan Helios and the ocean nymph Perse, she is perhaps best known as the sorceress in Homer’s Odessey who transformed several of Odysseus’ men into pigs before eventually playing host to the travellers.  Her mythological presence, however, goes far beyond this appearance, crossing paths with other famed notables such as Daedalus, Jason and Madea, and the Minotaur, just to name a few.  Over the course of this story, the reader is treated to the tragic story of Circe’s life and her unique view of many popular mythological figures and events.

I was absolutely blown away by this book.  The mythology was as interesting as ever (although I would definitely recommend some familiarity with the source material going into this read), but it was Circe’s unique perspective and modern tone of voice that really made this story into something truly special.  By showing a side of the ancient myths that looks beyond the exploits and struggles of their often idealized male protagonists, this novel brought them to life in an entirely new way for me. Although there are many familiar people and places that appear in this tale, this is without a doubt Circe’s story and it focuses on the life of a woman wronged and her determination to carry on as best she can, despite what others may do to her or spread gossip about.  As Circe opines of Homer specifically other ancient poets in general:

Humbling women seems to me a chief past time of poets.  As if there can be no story unless we crawl and weep.

Circe, however, is definitely not one to be humble, no matter what comes her way.  I knew enough about the myths to not expect easy times for her, but that didn’t quite prepare me for how heavy and occasionally depressing this book got in places (indeed, I found the scenes in which she expounds upon her parenting fears particularly moving).  Deeply personal, the story details how she was shaped by the emotional abuse she was subjected to in her father’s court by her mother and siblings on account of her less than Olympian presence and her feelings of isolation following her exile to the island of Aeaea for practicing magic.  As such, there was a lot of raw emotion fueling this story, alternating between Circe’s profound loneliness to her unshakeable determination to exist on her own terms.  Armed with the knowledge that nymphs like her are dismissed as a punchline by the other gods – “an endless feast laid out upon a table, beautiful and renewing.  And so very bad at getting away” – and a strength of character she learned from a chance encounter with Prometheus, she gradually comes to master her skills and find occasional happiness even as events of the mythological world more and more begin forcing themselves upon both her island and herself.  It’s a journey that I found both profoundly sad and empowering, as well as one that I could not turn away from.

Despite all that heavy content, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and give it my highest recommendation.  It more than lived up to all the praise I’ve seen for it, no small feat at this point, and offered a gripping story with an incredible leading lady.  I’ve seen that the author has also written some other books inspired by Greek mythology and I am definitely going to be adding those to my reading pile.  I think I just need a little bit of time to read some lighter fare before jumping in.

 

Book Review: How Long ‘Til Black Future Month, by N.K. Jemisin

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Afrofuturism, Book, Book Review, Fantasy, Magical Realism, N.K. Jemisin, Reading, Sci-Fi, Science Fiction, Short Story

Published in November 2018, this collection of short stories from three-time Hugo award winner N.K. Jemisin was something I had been looking forward to since it first starting appearing on lists of upcoming releases early last year.  In her introduction to the collection, Jemisin sets the tone by talking a bit about her experiences getting started as writer and “how hard it’s been for me to love science fiction and fantasy as a black woman” given the genre’s historical issues with representation.  She goes on, however, to express her cautious excitement that enough people in the community are now willing to engage in open and earnest conversations about its flaws and what can be done better going forward. It was in this spirit that the stories in this compilation came to life as a part of Jemisin’s ongoing journey to “finally accept myself and begin spinning the futures I want to see.”

As for my own experience with book, I absolutely loved it!  With only a couple of exceptions, I highly enjoyed everything that these 22 short stories had to offer.  They comprised a variety of genres, alternating between magical realism, Lovecraftian horror, medieval fantasy, post-apocalyptic earthes, and space adventures.  What each story had in common were excellent characters, settings, and ideas that gave the reader a tantalizing glimpse into each of the worlds created. Jemisin’s ability to give vibrant life to the people, and often even the places, she writes about really drew me in and immersed me into each and every story.

Going into the book my plan was to feature a top five in this space, but by the time I got to the end I found that I had flagged over half of the stories as potential favorites!  It was definitely a joyous problem to have, but after some serious deliberation I finally narrowed my list down to the following six, presented in the order they appeared:

The Effluent Engine (2011): Set in the early 1800s, this steampunk-inspired tale tells the story of a Haitian secret agent named Jessline.  We meet her in New Orleans where she is trying to recruit to a famed Creole scientist to help the newly independent nation of Haiti develop methane-propelled airships defend its borders.  Though she initially fails to get his attention, she may perhaps have found a more receptive partner in his sister.

Brides of Heaven (2007): After an accident in transit, a group of Muslim women find that they are the sole survivors of colony ship sent to a distant planet.  While they have been able to establish a secure settlement on their new home, the odds of long-term survival of the colony seem non-existent.  That outlook may have been changed, however, after one woman’s unapproved expedition into the wilderness leads her to encounter a seemingly sentient pool of liquid.

Cuisine Des Memoires (2018): Two friends dine in an ultra-exclusive restaurant that purports to be able to recreate any meal from the past, be it of historical or personal significance.  When the skeptic among them is finally convinced of the restaurant’s authenticity, he begins a desperate search for answers that may lead him to places best left alone.  In addition to making me really hungry, I really liked this story’s warning about living excessively in the past.

The Narcomancer (2007): Set in a roughly medieval African society where mages wield the power of sleep magic, this story follows the quest of a particularly adept Gatherer named Cet who accepts a mission to relieve a nearby settlement beingpreyed upon by a rival magician.  Although more than capable of carrying out the task, he finds his focus tested by an alluring woman named Namsut, the scorned secondwife of the village’s deceased leader.

On the Banks of the River Lex (2010): On a post-apocalyptic Earth, humans have died off and their old Gods and ideas are slowly wasting away in the ruins of their abandoned cities.  Death, however, has been particularly restless of late and finds that a chance encounter with a family octopi may give his existence a new purpose.  Just good, bizarre fun in this one.

Sinners, Saints, Dragons, and Haints, in the City Beneath the Still Waters (2010): Set in New Orleans, a man named Tookie chooses to stay in his house even as Hurricane Katrina approaches the city.  On the eve of the storm he is befriended by a winged lizard who helps our hero navigate the flooded streets and confront a malevolent creature lurking in the depths.

Book Review: Warbreaker, by Brandon Sanderson

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Book, Book Review, Brandon Sanderson, Coppermind, Cosmere, Fantasy, Reading, Warbreaker

I never quite imagined being able to say this, but I think I am actually close to caught up on all the currently in print Cosmere novels!  I had originally hoped to get to this particular one last year, but apparently a whole lot of other people had the same idea, and I had to wait several long months for my library hold to finally come through and grant me my Sanderson fix.

Warbreaker takes place on the Shardworld of Nalthis and follows the journey of two sisters, Vivenna and Siri.  The eldest daughter of the King of Idris, Vivenna has spent her entire life preparing to become the bride of the God King, the powerful and fearsome ruler of the rival nation Hallandren.  When the day comes to send her away, however, her father cannot bear to do so and delivers his youngest daughter, Siri, in her place. Taken completely unaware by this change in plans, the free-spirited and often rebellious Siri must quickly come to terms with her new responsibilities and face the reality that she will be living the rest of her life (however long that may be) in a hostile land.  Vivenna, in shock as well, is for the first time in her life unsure of her position and ultimately concocts a daring, if somewhat hasty, plan to rescue her sister. It soon becomes quite apparent, however, that neither of them will find what they expect in Hallendren.

While I liked the overall story a lot, I felt that this was perhaps the most uneven of all the Cosmere novels I’ve read thus far.  The format of the e-book was a major factor in this feeling, as each chapter was followed by a link to the author’s extensive annotations and notes about what just happened.  While interesting at first, I ultimately found these sections too distracting to keep up with and simply stopped reading them. I’m sure I missed some good tidbits, but honestly I feel like anything that important really should have found its way into the story one way or another.  Relatedly, I thought the ending in particular was rather abrupt and incomplete, especially since I had long given up on the annotations by that point. I won’t spoil what happens, but between how quickly certain characters come together and the sudden and rather ambiguous resolution of the main conflict I was left somewhat unsatisfied.  Finally, and while this may seem minor, but I also found it distracting that Earth creatures kept appearing throughout the story. I don’t know if this has been the case in any of the other books (it certainly is not in the Stormlight Archive), but for some reason I found it more often than not broke the mood of the story for me (amusing uses of dead squirrels aside).

That’s not to say this book was a complete miss, though.  The world building was still up to Sanderson’s usual high standards and the magic system on Nalthis was equally interesting as well.  I liked the concept of Breath and colors as the local forms of Investiture and thought it was really interesting that the former attribute could be transferred (endowed, if you will) from one person to another.  It definitely added an interesting social dynamic to this world that is rather different from what we’ve come across elsewhere in the Cosmere.

The characters were also a definite strength of the story.  For Siri and Vivenna, I really enjoyed seeing how their attitudes and perspectives changed as the story went on and they adjusted to new circumstances.  In particular, I liked Siri’s gradual realization of her strengths and watching Vivenna cast off a lot of her naivety and prejudice to embrace her own newfound abilities.  Moving beyond them, I also really the rest of the POV characters were excellent as well. The demigod Lightsong was a fantastic character for adding levity, though at the same time his redemption arc offered fascinating insights into the dynamics of this world.  Stealing the show, however, was the duo of Vasher and his talking sword, Nightblood. Vashar fulfilled the role of the rogue, curmudgeonly do-gooder with a sordid past admirably and was an excellent contrast to Nightblood, whose gleeful and almost child-like enthusiasm about its uses was almost as unnerving as its abilities to make pure-hearted people physically ill by its presence and pushing the less noble into uncontrollable fits of aggression.  Collectively this was a fascinating cast of characters that were indeed able to make up for some of the flaws in the overall telling of this story.

On that note, now is the perfect time to transition into a spoiler section where I get into some extended Cosmere stuff.  If you have not yet read the Stormlight Archive books through Oathbringer yet, I strongly suggest going no further.