Tak! commented on The Old Goat and the Alien by Veo Corva
Avari keeps to themself. They're a goat-shape cosmoran, a member of the Cleaners' Union, and …
Thank you for CWing your spoilers ❤️
Reviews and Comments
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Non-bookposting: @Tak@glitch.taks.garden
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Tak! reviewed Siren Queen by Nghi Vo
It was magic. In every world, it was a kind of magic. "No maids, no …
Siren Queen
3 stars
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.
Tak! commented on Dirt Town by Hayley Scrivenor
When twelve-year-old Esther disappears on the way home from school in a small town in …
You'll never convince me that "Scrivenor" isn't a pseudonym
Tak! reviewed The Water Outlaws by S. L. Huang
In the jianghu, you break the law to make it your own.
Lin Chong is …
The Water Outlaws
4 stars
Content warning I don't have anything interesting to say without spoilers
This could have been titled The Radicalization of Lin Chong.
One thing that was striking to me was how almost all of the actors self-identified as working for the good of The Empire, but for some of them that meant the people in the Empire, and for others that meant this idealized abstract structure.
I appreciate that Lin's superhuman abilities were created/"unlocked" by a random experience she had, rather than heredity/Chosen One/etc.
Tak! reviewed Crossing the Line by Karen Traviss
Shan Frankland forever abandoned the world she knew to come to the rescue of a …
Crossing the Line
4 stars
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 😅
Tak! commented on Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon by Wole Talabi
Shigidi is a disgruntled and demotivated nightmare god in the Orisha spirit company, reluctantly answering …
The only novel from the Nebula finalists that wasn't already on my list
Tak! reviewed City of Pearl by Karen Traviss
Three separate alien societies have claims on Cavanagh's Star. But the new arrivals -- the …
City of Pearl
3 stars
Overall good scifi and world building, with what I consider appropriate cynicism/realism around human behavior in first contact scenarios
Tak! commented on At the Feet of the Sun by Victoria Goddard
Cliopher Mdang has been appointed Viceroy of Zunidh by his beloved Radiancy, the Last Emperor, …
The fediverse has broken me to the extent that I read Au'aua as awawa
Tak! commented on At the Feet of the Sun by Victoria Goddard
Cliopher Mdang has been appointed Viceroy of Zunidh by his beloved Radiancy, the Last Emperor, …
imbrangled
Tak! commented on The Beautiful Decay by Veo Corva
Something strange is happening in sleepy subterranean Tombtown. Necromancers are disappearing. The crypt is changing. …
Hi lovely folk,
I am surprised and delighted to say that my novel The Beautiful Decay is up for various awards at the Queer Indie Awards!
If you enjoyed it, it would mean a lot if you'd vote for it. 💙
Discoverability is incredibly difficult as a self-published author and awards can be a big help.
Voting closes 26th Jan!
Tak! reviewed Wondrous Journeys In Strange Lands by Sonia Nimr
Award-winning historical fantasy and literary folktale. Winner of the presigious Etisalat award.
In a tent …
Wondrous Journeys in Strange Lands
3 stars
I enjoyed the setting, and some of the substories were compelling, but as a whole it was too rambling and incohesive for me.
I feel like it would have worked better as a series of stories about different people from the same village or whatever instead of repeatedly being like "despite being in the middle of this incredibly urgent life crisis, the main character decides to spend six months teaching an older woman to fold laundry" or "despite having a very bad outcome two chapters ago, the main character decides to engage in exactly the same dangerous behavior with no additional precautions"
Tak! commented on Wondrous Journeys In Strange Lands by Sonia Nimr
Award-winning historical fantasy and literary folktale. Winner of the presigious Etisalat award.
In a tent …
Content warning overall plot arc comment
Ah, so it's a nested stories story
Tak! commented on Wondrous Journeys In Strange Lands by Sonia Nimr
Award-winning historical fantasy and literary folktale. Winner of the presigious Etisalat award.
In a tent …
Let's see if I finish this one in time for #SFFBookClub
Tak! rated The Border Keeper: 4 stars
The Border Keeper by Kerstin Hall
She lived where the railway tracks met the saltpan, on the Ahri side of the shadowline. In the old days, …
Tak! rated Rose/House: 4 stars
Rose/House by Arkady Martine
Basit Deniau’s houses were haunted to begin with.
A house embedded with an artificial intelligence is a common thing: a …