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An orphan’s life is harsh—and often short—in the mysterious island city of Camorr. But young …
These days, very few books keep me up until 2 at night. This one did it for me.
In a fantasy city inspired by Venice in the Renaissance, Locke Lamora is a thief. Not any common thief though, he's been brought up to be the BEST thief, along with his crew. He made me think of Arsène Lupin or Fantômas (minus the sadistic approach—which is taken by Lamora's enemies).
The action is fast-paced, the world is well made, but I regret that almost all major characters are men.
An orphan’s life is harsh—and often short—in the mysterious island city of Camorr. But young …
A very entertaining book!
After she and a dozen other children found them being raised by "Father," a cruel …
I'm pondering between "very good" and "excellent"
After she and a dozen other children found them being raised by "Father," a cruel …
Kinda creepy, but good
A black sun is rising …
Young Corban watches enviously as boys become warriors under …
The Divide.
It’s the edge of the universe.
Now it’s collapsing—and taking everyone and everything …
Nothing really memorable, but a good page turner nonetheless. The “military” themes are subverted quite a bit, so we avoid the worst types of copaganda that are normally present in military science fiction.
One character is woefully out of place in his new environment but knows how to do everything, he carries the plot ; one is the grizzled veteran plagued with doubt about her capacity to carry her duty ; then there’s the crew of “specialist” misfits without much depth… thankfully the pacing of the action is good, and the setting and main concepts are interesting. I wonder how the rest of series will go on, but I’m not on the edge of my seat waiting for it.
A bandit walks into a coffeehouse, and it all goes downhill from there. Guet Imm, …
A good short story (I think I discovered it in an award shortlist?) inspired by Asian history and religions. Perfect length to read on a train ride.
Chava is a golem, a woman made of clay, able to hear the thoughts and …
The Golem And The Jinni has a sequel that resolves some things, but not all of them. See my review of the first installment: lire.boitam.eu/book/8848
Both characters are more human, but don't want to lose what made them "them". Both are confronted by a being similar as them (but of the opposite sex), which doesn't make anything easier. The new cast of human characters are more interesting than the main couple, which is a nice change.
Chava is a golem, a creature made of clay, brought to life by a disgraced …
This series has many interesting ideas, told in a forward and enjoyable style. The main characters are well developed, some of them likeable, but not really relatable. But I guess it's the main crux of the books: how human can you be if you're a construct of earth made by a human being to serve another human being? How likeable and relatable do you need to be if you're a djinn, imprisonned by a human sorcerer for centuries, and not being able to be truly free and go back to your people? The golem and the djinn are different in every point. One comes from a Jewish Shtetl in Poland, the other comes from the desert of Syria. One wants to be free but can't, the other is free but doesn't want that burden. One is made of fire, the other of earth. One can't comprehend what drives humans, the …
This series has many interesting ideas, told in a forward and enjoyable style. The main characters are well developed, some of them likeable, but not really relatable. But I guess it's the main crux of the books: how human can you be if you're a construct of earth made by a human being to serve another human being? How likeable and relatable do you need to be if you're a djinn, imprisonned by a human sorcerer for centuries, and not being able to be truly free and go back to your people? The golem and the djinn are different in every point. One comes from a Jewish Shtetl in Poland, the other comes from the desert of Syria. One wants to be free but can't, the other is free but doesn't want that burden. One is made of fire, the other of earth. One can't comprehend what drives humans, the other cannot tune out of their thoughts. And yet, they both arrive in New York City at the same time in 1900, both are taken in by one of "their people" who recognizes how different and inhuman they are, and they end up meeting with each other. Then they both have to face their own past and origins. It was a good book, but the mythologizing of New York City as a logical conclusion for all humanity—you cannot be someone if you don't emigrate to New York—left me nonplussed.
"Acclaimed fantasy author China Mieville plunges us into the year the world was turned upside …
China Miéville is a storyteller, as he is a leftists. His month-by-month retelling of the October Revolution is deeply researched and engaging. He's also fair in his portrayal of a very partisan moment in time. And I really enjoyed the fact that he avoided delving into tedious debates about finer points of marxist theory ; there's a greay many books for that, but this book is perfect for a more general approach with rich details.
Kinch Na Shannack owes the Takers Guild a small fortune for his education as a …
I liked this book. It's not as serious and realist as Abercrobie's writing, not as convoluted as G.R.R. Martin's stories, it's 'adult' without falling into voyeuristic and misogynist drivel or manly-man power fantasies… A good summer reading, with a beautiful map before the story (and even a calendar with special months and weeks)
The worldbuilding is well done, especially when it comes to the use of magic. I was less concerned by the languages invented for the book, but it's of little importance in the logic of the book. Some prominent characters are not as engaging and well rounded as the main, but I guess that's what you get when your narrator is self-absorbed, kinda dishonest (he's a thief, after all) and more interested in this blind cat he found by chance.
It's been centuries since the robots of Panga gained self-awareness and laid down their tools; …
A monk looking for a purpose meets a robot. They both have much to discover from each other, as they tackle the meaning of life.
Short as it is, this book might serve as an introduction to a larger body of work set in the same world, but it also works well alone from other expectations.
I'd love to see more of that world, a sort of solarpunk utopia where suffering, or illness, or poverty, seem very foreign. The robot wants to check in on humanity, to ask them what they need, what the population of wild robots could help them with. What are the need of a society that's got everything? I'm curious. I want to read more.
A standalone novel in the fantastic world of Katherine Addison's award-winning The Goblin Emperor.
When …
This novel doesn't follow the same character as The Goblin Emperor, but builds up that same world. It is a crime fiction in a fantasy setting and not a regular ole fantasy novel (you know, the ones that start with “Harry y'er a chosen one!”).
I really liked the main character, it made me think a lot of Robert van Gulik's Judge Dee or Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael. He's a Witness For The Dead, as such he can “see” the last thoughts of the recently deceased, and he can fight ghuls. His “normal” cases relate mostly to ending inheritance disputes or finding tombstones, but sometimes, when an unknown, mysterious young woman washes up on the shore of the canal, he's called on to see what he can learn about her last moments… and if it shows that she was the victim of a murder, he's got to solve it. I …
This novel doesn't follow the same character as The Goblin Emperor, but builds up that same world. It is a crime fiction in a fantasy setting and not a regular ole fantasy novel (you know, the ones that start with “Harry y'er a chosen one!”).
I really liked the main character, it made me think a lot of Robert van Gulik's Judge Dee or Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael. He's a Witness For The Dead, as such he can “see” the last thoughts of the recently deceased, and he can fight ghuls. His “normal” cases relate mostly to ending inheritance disputes or finding tombstones, but sometimes, when an unknown, mysterious young woman washes up on the shore of the canal, he's called on to see what he can learn about her last moments… and if it shows that she was the victim of a murder, he's got to solve it. I also liked the setting, instead of seeing the court of the emperor, you see how his subjects live. There are a multitude of influences in the worldbuilding, it made me think of a late-19th century Japan—full of modern wonders (tramways, zeppelin factories!) along with a deep spiritual grounding of the characters, and a very stratified society. And lots of tea drinking.
The book was a fast read, the only problem being all the elven or goblin names to remember.
The hunt is over. After fifteen years of lies and sacrifice, Baru Cormorant has the …
My gripe with the second volume in the series was that Baru seems to lose all of her agency, after showing so much of it in the first volume. Here, it all comes together, along with some memorable settings and scenes.
I can't wait for the fourth (and final?) book.
