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From one of South Korea's most revered science fiction writers, an absorbing tale of corporate …
“Your mother is going to be a star,” said the man in the gray uniform.
— Counterweight by Anton Hur, Djuna
From one of South Korea's most revered science fiction writers, an absorbing tale of corporate …
The #SFFBookClub selection for September 2024
Fetter was raised to kill, honed as a knife to cut down his sainted father. …
The #SFFBookClub pick for August 2024
"A daring post-apocalyptic novel from a powerful rising literary voice. With winter looming, a small …
Content warning plot discussion
This reads like a parable of the european takeover of the americas, except that the natives realized their mistake (just) in time this time around.
There wasn't much scifi or fantasy, except for the implied apocalypse that happened out of frame.
I was constantly frustrated with the characters for not being more proactive about stuff like: checking what happened with the power, being suspicious of Scott, following up on Scott after multiple red flags, etc. - but maybe I'm having unrealistic expectations about characters who don't know they're in a story.
I liked the strong themes of community and mutual support, even in the face of (imo realistic) uneven participation.
Overall a good read, I enjoyed it.
"A daring post-apocalyptic novel from a powerful rising literary voice. With winter looming, a small …
A crack echoed through the boreal landscape, a momentary chaos in the still afternoon air.
"A daring post-apocalyptic novel from a powerful rising literary voice. With winter looming, a small …
The July 2024 #SFFBookClub pick
Content warning now with spoilers!
I did feel like some of the plot mechanisms did get repetitive, though. For example, one of his enemies defeating him in battle, then holding him prisoner until he could be rescued. Or thinking somebody he cared about had been killed only to find out they were ok, actually.
Nigerian God-Punk - a powerful and atmospheric urban fantasy set in Lagos.
Since the Orisha …
In a lot of ways, this reminds me of the Akata series, but for adults - Nigerian setting, making friends and enemies with supernatural entities, Nsibidi script as magic writing, etc. (This is not a criticism of the Akata series, I love them.)
The setting was the best part of this for me - I enjoyed postapocalyptic, god-ravaged Lagos.
I appreciate that David is imperfect and fallible - he makes mistakes, fails, etc., and it has real consequences for him.
The first section (book? sub-book?) was my favorite, followed by the second - as the story progressed, I felt like it kept getting progressively more frantic and less coherent.
Overall, I enjoyed it, though, and I'm looking forward to more.
Nigerian God-Punk - a powerful and atmospheric urban fantasy set in Lagos.
Since the Orisha …
Content warning chapter 21 spoiler
My first thought for "the place where iron lives" was a laundromat
Nigerian God-Punk - a powerful and atmospheric urban fantasy set in Lagos.
Since the Orisha …
The #SFFBookClub pick for May 2024
It was magic. In every world, it was a kind of magic. "No maids, no …
This one just wasn't for me. I feel like it was one of those books that's all setting and no plot - and the setting was great, but I just couldn't engage with it.
Shan Frankland forever abandoned the world she knew to come to the rescue of a …
It kept very much to the themes of the original: genocide, greed, betrayal, and the sheer amount of damage a few bad-faith actors can do in a system not designed to account for them
Finished just in time for #SFFBookClub sequels month 😅
It was magic. In every world, it was a kind of magic. "No maids, no …
#SFFBookClub pick for April 2024
Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal. 1828. Robin Swift, …
Content warning I don't think I can review this without some vague spoilers
Babel is a story of colonialism, racism, sexism, whiteness, Englishness, loss, betrayal, and despair. It's basically a modern parable grittily illustrating the causes and consequences of colonialism.
I love the translation magic mechanism, and I found the embedded etymology tidbits super interesting.
I also appreciate that the author had the courage to allow Bad Things to happen to major characters - not in a GRRM torture porn kind of way, but just as a kind of natural consequence of the world and the characters' interactions.
Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal. 1828. Robin Swift, …
By the time Professor Richard Lovell found his way through Canton’s narrow alleys to the faded address in his diary, the boy was the only one in the house left alive.
— Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution by R. F. Kuang
