Wayward Bookshelf

Seasonal Fears by Seanan McGuire This is another wonderful weaving of folktale and alchemy from Seanan McGuire. Now the Alchemical Journeys series (at least both of them so far) explore the concept of making ideas or concepts incarnate, and as we can gather from the title, this book is all about the Seasons. Our main duo is Melanie & Harry. High school sweethearts who are hopelessly devoted. (yes, I'm singing the song).      And when an age old contest is kicked into effect, and Melanie and Harry are unwittingly in the running, they scramble to ensure their survival and maintain their humanity as previously unrealized instincts start to kick in. When I tried to explain this book to my partner, I found myself saying "It's like Hunger Games, but much better science fiction, way more folklore, better characters, and no stupid love triangle." So really, not like it at all I guess, except for the fact that a bunch of teenagers are competing for both survival and a ma...

  The Homeward Bounders by Diana Wynne Jones Diana Wynne Jones has been a favorite author since I was about 11, and I have been gradually collecting and reading all of her extensive catalog of books for the past decade or so. This year my partner gave me this one for my birthday. Short version: I loved it! All the stars! Long version: Jones is easily one of the reasons that I love portal fantasy so much because she was one of my earliest introductions to it, and she does it So. Well. In Homeward Bounders, she has created more of that parallel world magic goodness. The basic premise is that all the worlds are actually run by some demons who are playing tabletop games with the worlds themselves. (Also having finally started playing dnd last year, this aspect was fun for me to read too.) And when Jamie stumbles upon them at their game, they remove him from play as a random factor and make him a Homeward Bounder - which basically means he bounces from world to world and is given som...

The Forgotten Kingdom by Signe Pike Picking up right where the The Lost Queen left off, the Forgotten Kingdom continues to follow the different paths of Langoureth, Lailoken and Angharad as their fates carry them to pivotal points in their kindgom's story. Our characters are put through some incredibly difficult times that both change and shape them. They are complex, fleshed out and feel very real. There is so much richness and texture to the story, and I am particularly intrigued by who Angharad is shaping up to be. This book takes place at the beginning of the Anglo-Saxon invasion of Scotland, and so there are plenty of battles and skirmishes, and even some 'Battle of the Five Armies' vibes for fans of Tolkein as the whole of Scotland tries to protect their home. These books are also incredibly well-researched. For me in particular, knowing that all of the places in the book are based on real sites in Scotland makes me want to book a trip to Scotland immediately upon ...

A Killing Frost by Seanan McGuire Oh. My. Heavens. This book broke my heart and put it back together in the beautiful way that only books about beloved characters can do. This is the 14th novel in the October Daye series, and there have been several very long story arcs and big questions running since the beginning, and with this book we finally have the hints of resolution and answers to, well, at least some of them. It’s hard to say a whole lot without spoiling, and this is a book that MUST NOT be spoiled, so this review is going to tread carefully. . . Simon is one of the main focal points in this book, and while he’s been one of our reliable baddies since the beginning of Toby’s saga, he became a much more complicated character after The Brightest Fell - mostly because we the reader learned more about him. I really enjoyed having some of my Simon questions answered in this book. He continues to be a compelling character, and the more I learn about him the more I’m sympatheti...

Mort by Terry Pratchett Continuing my trek through the Discworld (I'm reading them chronologically because making any other kind of decision about where to begin proved to be too overwhelming), and so I have arrived at Mort. The first of the books about Death, who is very quickly becoming one of my most favorite Discworld characters. In this book, Death takes an apprentice named Mort; his first apprentice that we know of. Death also has a daughter named Ysabell and a very aged housekeeper/cook named Albert. These 4 comprise our main cast of characters. As Mort grows in his apprenticeship, Death decides to turn over all reaping responsibilities to him for a short time and go on a holiday. Things go sideways, as is to be somewhat expected when you put a teenage boy in charge of ushering souls to the afterlife. As is usual when I review installments in series, I'm just going to touch on some things I especially enjoyed (light spoiler warning, but no big plot points). Mor...

Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire Small Spoiler Alert - no major plot points, but I do talk about some of what's in the book. If you're planning to read it and want all surprises, maybe read this review later. While this book was really good, it didn't capture me quite as completely as a couple of the previous Wayward Children books did. It felt a little . . . fragmented? And not just because that's what Jack was experiencing, but because when the whole troupe goes on the quest to help one of their own, there are suddenly a lot of different interests and perspectives that we're supposed to care about (and we do! we really do!), but when I care in too many directions that pulls me away from the main thread of the book. Ensemble books have always been problematic for me for this reason, so within this series the even numbered books tend to be my favorite because they are the portal fantasies . . . Anyways, I always feel a little scatterbrained trying to revie...

Middlegame by Seanan McGuire Holy Smokes, where do I start?! Part science fiction, part alchemy, part siblings coming of age, part ode to language and math, part rebellion, with a dash of horror, this book has so many components that come together in the seamless, chaotically beautiful way that belongs only to Seanan McGuire's writing. Roger & Dodger are twins growing up in their respective adoptive homes on opposite coasts of the US. They are constructs created for a singular purpose by an alchemist, but they don't know this yet. They are also human, relatable, and intent on choosing their own way. They are terrific characters who are readable and yet clearly something new & powerful. The roles that Roger & Dodger serve is partially explained with the fictional book series, the Up and Under . This embedded fiction was one aspect of this read that I particularly enjoyed. Its a story within a story, with enough passages shared & examined to be a tantalizin...

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett This book has been on my TBR list for YEARS, and with the upcoming release of the TV series on Prime, I figured I'd better finally get around to it so I could enjoy the book before watching the show. Oh boy, I should not have waited so long. If this is on your TBR & you like that hilarious whimsy that British fantasy writers have a particular knack for, with a generous splash of religious mythology, move this book to the top of the pile. It's fantastic. I won't be going into the plot too much to avoid spoilers, but I most definitely have a little bit of a crush on Crowley - and not just because he's being played by David Tennant in the show (squee!) - and I want to be best friends with Arizaphale, if for no other reason than all those antique books. There's a whole host of characters beyond our main two, the horsemen of the apocolypse are particularly well done, the sat...

Deerskin by Robin McKinley When I added this to my TBR list, I had a few friends reach out and let me know that it was a really good book, but had some brutal moments. I appreciated those warnings because I did some research and then waited to read it until I was in a good mental place. So I'm starting this review with a trigger warning. This book has some really tough stuff in it. If rape or incest are triggers for you, be aware and take care of yourself. This is a retelling of Donkey Skin, a fairy tale published in the 1600's that has mostly faded into history, for understandable reasons, but McKinley handles it very well. Lissa is our main character, and her growth through the events of the story, and the conversation this book has around healing from trauma, are so authentic. There is some very real imagery of Lissa's body purging the wrong done to her at the end of the book, and they are powerful, painful and beautiful. While there are definitely fairytale and mag...

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab Someone in my bookish group of friends recommended this one to me, and I can't remember who it was - so if it was you, THANK YOU! Show me a story with parallel worlds and intriguing forms of magic, and I'll almost always show up for it, but on top of that, this book had some great world-building, terrific villains, dark forces at play, and a great wildcard in the form of Lila Bard. Kell is an Atari, a blood magic worker, one of just two that are known to exist. This allows him to move between the worlds - and as such he is basically a messenger between the crowns of these parallel Londons. When one of his errands lands him with a particularly dangerous artifact, he finds himself in some real trouble. . . And while he's pretty cool, he's not my favorite character, that would be Lila. She's confident and strong while still being relatable. She's pushy and bold enough to find, shall we say, creative solutions to the pro...

A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers If you haven't read The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers, I'd recommend reading it before opening A Closed Common Orbit. Technically you COULD read them non-sequentially as they focus on different characters and each have a contained story arc, BUT you would miss out on some fantastic world building, and some crucial details that explain how our protagonist, Sidra, ended up where she is. Sidra is an AI designed to interface throughout a ship, but she has instead been installed in a human body kit - a very illegal one at that. Our story begins with her trying to get her bearings, accept the kit's limitations, and create a backstory while working around her protocol not to lie. She lands with her guardian of sorts, Pepper, on Corion and tries to find a way to exist both in her new form and on solid land instead of in space. Now I'm a bit of a sucker for the philosophical debate about the rights of sentie...

Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire Another beautiful novel from Seanan McGuire. The openings of the Wayward Children books are some of my favorite pages to read. I look forward to them with relish. Seanan writes for those of us who as children who looked for Narnia in our closets, or down rabbit holes for adventure, or created imaginary worlds of our own to just belong in. For the dreamers & the lost ones. . . Beneath the Sugar Sky introduces us to Rini, who falls from the sky into the Turtle Pond at Eleanor West's home for Wayward Children. She is in search of her mother, Sumi, who was killed several years before being able to conceive Rini (time is wonderfully weird in Nonsense worlds). Time is running out because, since she's technically never been born, Rini is slowly disappearing. So Kade, Christopher, Nadya & a new character, a mermaid named Cora, join her in a quest that takes them to new worlds, to face old villains, make new friends, meet a baker and co...

Assassin's Fate by Robin Hobb I received an advanced digital copy of this book, and when I finished, I just re-read the ending about 8 times before finally putting it down . . . I will definitely be buying a hardcover for my shelf when it comes out. I have followed Fitz & the Fool since I was 13, and also read all the other Realm of the Elderlings titles as they came out. This final trilogy was an opportunity to revisit the world one more time, to see it expanded further, glimpse the future that Fitz & the Fool had called forth, and have some loose ends tied up. Without giving anything away, this final installment was a beautifully crafted book. I had no idea how Ms. Hobb was going to close out the series, and considering how long I've loved these characters, I was not sure if even the perfect ending would be satisfying. But it was. I read it 8 times because it was absolutely right. Consistent with the other books, the world building, plot and character developmen...

The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss I finished this book, and found myself several minutes later still staring blankly at the last page in some sort of wonder. . . I enjoyed the Slow Regard of Silent Things far more than I thought I might. Like so many of you, its not the book I am desperately ready for, but even so, it's been a while since I felt a book strike such a profoundly personal, meaningful chord.