Author: Grey

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Review

“This Way Out”

Tufayel Ahmed

This is a contender for “most stressful book I’ve ever read.” Science fiction and fantasy are easier; when the stakes are ‘the fate of the entire world,’ it’s easy to remember that these aren’t my problems they’re dealing with. This, though, is much more approachable in scale… which means it feels like the sort of thing I’d actually have to figure out.

Boy, am I glad that I’m already on the “going to therapy” train, reading through someone else’s breaking point that gets them to start was rough. Don’t want to be back there, thanks very much.

All that said, I did really enjoy the book. It’s not quite the Hero’s Journey, more of an immediate plummet and then a slow climb back up, but there’s a palpable sense of progress throughout. You can feel the protagonist’s work they’re putting in, and seeing it actually pay off feels very rewarding. Stick with it through the painful beginning, and I hope you’ll enjoy it too.1

  1. This is a Bookshop affiliate link – if you buy it from here, I get a little bit of commission. It won’t hurt my feelings if you buy it elsewhere; honestly, I’d rather you check it out from your local library, or go to a local book store. I use Bookshop affiliate links instead of Amazon because they distribute a significant chunk of their profits to small, local book stores. ↩
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Review

“Through a Darkening Glass”

R.S. Maxwell

I enjoyed this book a lot more than I expected to. Honestly, most of the way through I was looking at the protagonist like “you’re kinda the worst.” She is, though — bursts into this town and starts nosing around in everyone’s business, digging up the past, and it’s not even a “let’s help people figure this out!” kind of thing, she’s just over here like “I’m an English major and I’m gonna write a book about this!” That said, by the end of the book I was just accepting that that’s what she was like, and she learned some discretion at least, and meanwhile I was having so much fun with everything else going on that I didn’t much mind it anymore.

The overall feeling of this book is… a Gordian knot. It actually did a great job of tripping me up; I thought I’d figured out how everything was going to be tied together into one big bow at the end, and I was hilariously wrong. I think that’s about all I can say without it being too much of a spoiler.

Suffice it to say, I enjoyed the heck out of this book. It struck a truly wonderful balance between some Gothic spookiness, a romance arc, some mystery, a surprising amount of comedy, and a reasonably-accurate historical feel. Absolutely worth a read; check it out.1

  1. This is a Bookshop affiliate link – if you buy it from here, I get a little bit of commission. It won’t hurt my feelings if you buy it elsewhere; honestly, I’d rather you check it out from your local library, or go to a local book store. I use Bookshop affiliate links instead of Amazon because they distribute a significant chunk of their profits to small, local book stores. ↩
Categories
Review

“Cosmic Cats and Fantastic Furballs”

Mary A. Turzillo

In general, I enjoy anthologies; it’s a whole bunch of little things, so generally, even if one of them is bad, the next one won’t be. That said, on the occasions where I consistently don’t like them, they’re an edge case in the way I think about books. In general, my rule is that I have to get something like 10-20% of the way through a book before I can determine that I just don’t like it and won’t be finishing it. With an anthology, I instead feel like I have to give each story a shot… and then the stories themselves are, almost always, too short to be worth skipping once I’m partially through.

Which is a long-winded way of saying that I didn’t really enjoy this one. There’s just something about the way that Turzillo thinks, or writes, that didn’t click with me. Oh well, it wasn’t terribly long; on to the next book.

Categories
Playlist

Playlist of the Month: August 2024

Lotta country in this one, I think that may just be what August sounds like to me.

Hallelujah Anyway – Luke Sital-Singh on Hallelujah Anyway – Single

Call Your Mom – Noah Kahan on Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever)

Machine Learning – J. Maya on Machine Learning – Single

Beneath Oak Trees – Dylan Gossett on No Better Time – EP

Can I Ask – Yoste on A Place To Exist

Under The Surface – Sultan + Shepard & Nathan Nicholson on Endless, Dawn

Boys Of Faith (feat. Bon Iver) – Zach Bryan on Boys Of Faith – EP

Kalahari Down – Orville Peck on Bronco

Let Me Drown – Orville Peck on Bronco

Daytona Sand – Orville Peck on Bronco

Want You (living room floor version) – Yoste on Want You (living room floor version) – Single

Midnight Magic – Charles Fauna on L I M B O

One More Light – LINKIN PARK on One More Light

Carson – Harry Strange on Carson – Single

The Hurtin’ Kind – Orville Peck & Midland on Stampede

Down Bad – Taylor Swift on THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT: THE ANTHOLOGY

Bones Shake – Hazlett on Bones Shake – Single

Believe Again – Luke Sital-Singh on Believe Again – Single

The Age of Believing – Aron Wright on The Age of Believing – Single

Miénteme – Orville Peck & Bu Cuaron on Stampede

I Don’t Want To Lie (living room floor version) – Yoste on I Don’t Want To Lie (living room floor version) – Single

How Far Will We Take It? – Orville Peck & Noah Cyrus on Stampede

Stay High – One Room on Lagoona

Stay Out of Trouble – OPLURE on Stay Out of Trouble – Single

I AM BLACK – BERWYN on I AM BLACK – Single

Little Bit of Magic – Thorin Loeks on Little Bit of Magic – Single

Shadow II – Charles Fauna on L I M B O

Little Homies – Vince Staples on Dark Times

Midnight Ride – Orville Peck, Kylie Minogue & Diplo on Midnight Ride – Single

Black&Blue – Vince Staples on Dark Times

Louder – Kygo, Julia Michaels & Chance Peña on Louder – Single

Far As I Can Go – Ian Harrison on Far As I Can Go – Single

Can’t Just Be Me – Vincent Mason on Can’t Just Be Me – EP

In Your Eyes – Sung on In Your Eyes – Single

feelslikeimfallinginlove – Coldplay on Moon Music

Macbeth – Max McNown on Macbeth – Single

Starforce – Saffari on Starforce – Single

Coming Home – ORACLE & Holochrome on Coming Home – EP

Mother – Allman Brown on Second Son, Pt. 2 – EP

Neptune – Beauvois on Dimensions – EP

Kaya – Yoste on Kaya – Single

Asymmetry – Axel Flóvent on Away From This Dream

Zzz – EDEN on Zzz – Single

I’m Your Man – Charles Fauna on L I M B O

Better Without You – Dixon Dallas on Happy Anniversary

Shallow Water – Elderbrook on Shallow Water – Single

Spin My Head – Massane & LeyeT on Visage 7 (Spin My Head) – Single

One Day – HAEVN on One Day – Single

Pink Pony Club – Chappell Roan on Pink Pony Club – Single

I Love You Always Forever – Donna Lewis on Now In a Minute

RA TA TA – Mahmood on RA TA TA – Single

As Above, So Below – Hayden Calnin on As Above, So Below – Single

JOYRIDE – Kesha on JOYRIDE – Single

places to be – Fred again.., Anderson .Paak & CHIKA on places to be – Single

Rhinestone Cowboy – Orville Peck, TJ Osborne, Waylon Payne & Fancy Hagood on Stampede1

Ever You’re Gone – Orville Peck & Teddy Swims on Stampede

Leaving Home – Ian Harrison on Ways To Get On Out – EP

My Kink Is Karma – Chappell Roan on The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess2

Love Me Back – Max McNown on Love Me Back – Single

High (Slowed + Reverb) – ORYL on High – Single

Stockholm (Hidden Tapes Remix) – Penny & Sparrow on Horse Color Two

Swallows – Bailey & Lonely in the Rain on Swallows – Single

Tamly Maak – Amr Diab on Tamally Maak

Unfair Love (feat. Shaun Holton) – Max Cruise on Unfair Love (feat. Shaun Holton) – Single

Composure – Charles Fauna on L I M B O

Good God, Hot Damn – Hayden Blount on Good God, Hot Damn – Single3

Feel It All – Chance Peña on Feel It All – Single

Leave With My Love – ayokay on Leave With My Love – Single

Until The End – Yoste on Until The End – Single

ESE VATO – DOMELIPA & Ozuna on ESE VATO – Single

Circles – Sines of Summer on Circles – Single

Time Well Wasted – The Fray on The Fray Is Back – EP4

ten – Fred again.., Jozzy & Jim Legxacy on ten days

All-American Boy – Steve Grand on All American Boy

Sleeping All Alone – Dixon Dallas on Happy Anniversary

Dior – Kirky on Dior – Single

why did you invite me to your wedding – Kevin Atwater on why did you invite me to your wedding – Single

Faded Evergreen – Ed Prosek, Portair & Driftwood Choir on Faded Evergreen – Single

Close Your Eyes – Matias Roden on Close Your Eyes – Single

Places – Elderbrook & Shimza on Another Touch

Noor Al Ain – Amr Diab on Noor Al Ain5

Dusk – ford. on (The) Evening

Hurt – Sleeping At Last on Hurt – Single

Banadek Taala – Amr Diab on Banadek Taala

5ever – EDEN on 5ever – Single

Sad Girls (feat. Rema) – Clean Bandit & French The Kid on Sad Girls (feat. Rema) – Single

Hesitate – Golden Vessel & Emerson Leif on Hesitate – Single

Paper Money (feat. Elliott Skinner) – Clothing on From Memory

Majuy – Hayden Calnin on All Kinds of Light

American Nights – Zach Bryan on The Great American Bar Scene

Babe, I’m All Yours – Garrett Kato on Babe, I’m All Yours – Single

28 – Zach Bryan on The Great American Bar Scene6

Addicted – Does it matter & Francis Skyes on Second Hand Love

Ketamine (feat. Tobe Nwigwe) – Penny & Sparrow on Ketamine (feat. Tobe Nwigwe) – Single

Will You? – The Irrepressibles on Be Wild – Single

When the Sun Goes Down – Axel Flóvent on Away From This Dream

Bass Boat – Zach Bryan on The Great American Bar Scene

Moon River – Aquilo on A Quiet Invitation To A Hard Conversation

Where Are We Now? – Orville Peck & Mickey Guyton on Stampede

Want You To Want It – Aquilo on A Quiet Invitation To A Hard Conversation

Is What It Is – Chance Peña on Is What It Is – Single

Garden – Charles Fauna on L I M B O

I Love You’s – Hailee Steinfeld on I Love You’s – Single

Magnétique – LukHash on Magnétique – Single

WE PRAY – Coldplay, Little Simz, Burna Boy, Elyanna & TINI on Moon Music

Don’t Look Down – The Fray on The Fray Is Back – EP

Into Dust – Mazzy Star on So Tonight That I Might See

Edge of Saturday Night – The Blessed Madonna & Kylie Minogue on Godspeed

Razones – Ozuna, Anuel AA, DJ Luian & Mambo Kingz on Razones – Single

i think you can save me – Dimside on i think you can save me – Single7

Capilano – OCULA on Lost Horizon – EP

Enhorabuena – Manuel Turizo on Enhorabuena – Single

Charlie Brown – Rolipso on Charlie Brown – Single8

Dance (‘Til You Love Someone Else) – Sam Smith on Love Goes

Doja – Central Cee on Doja – Single

  1. Oh, this hits ↩
  2. The songwriting on this is just perfect, truly. ↩
  3. Very fun to sing along to. ↩
  4. Honestly, this EP is perfectly titled. ↩
  5. Been doing a bit of music recommendation swapping with some coworkers, so far I’m delighted by how well it’s working at getting me to listen to new stuff. ↩
  6. Really been enjoying this album by Zach Bryan! ↩
  7. Very Fred again.. feel to it, on the more ‘chill’ end of that spectrum. ↩
  8. return of the yodelstep ↩
Categories
Review

“Shards of Honor”

Lois McMaster Bujold

Somehow I had mixed this up in my head with the Honor Harrington books. Which isn’t much of a mystery; it’s space combat sci-fi, it’s got “Honor” in the name, easy enough to conflate.

That said, “Shards of Honor” was a good read; it’s got some Star Trek vibes in the beginning, but getting into the actual Space Combat Sci-Fi parts, it has a whole bunch of different vibes to it. The latter story arc got surprisingly comedic; I think it’s just the protagonist having a solid sense of humor as she faces adversity.

All in all, I enjoyed the read! Give it a go.1

  1. This is an Amazon affiliate link – if you buy it from here, I get a little bit of commission. It won’t hurt my feelings if you buy it elsewhere; honestly, I’d rather you check it out from your local library, or go to a local book store. I prefer Bookshop affiliate links to Amazon when possible, but in this case, the book wasn’t available there, so it’ll have to do. ↩
Categories
Review

“The Silences of Ararat”

L. Timmel Duchamp

This was an interesting little story; I see now why the collection it’s part of is titled “conversation pieces.” I quite enjoyed the process of piecing together the setting; vaguely in the future, definitely post-United States, with just a touch of magic. It reminds me of a book I didn’t finish, actually – The Fever King had a similar “the USA collapsed, here’s what it is now” kind of vibe going on, although that one was a lot more fantasy-forward.

An interesting read; I’d say it’s worth checking out.1

  1. This is an Amazon affiliate link – if you buy it from here, I get a little bit of commission. It won’t hurt my feelings if you buy it elsewhere; honestly, I’d rather you check it out from your local library, or go to a local book store. I prefer Bookshop affiliate links to Amazon when possible, but in this case, the book wasn’t available there, so it’ll have to do. ↩
Categories
Review

“That Wild Country”

Mark Kenyon

I went in with the wrong expectations here—I was expecting a purely-history book, and so the opening chapters being entirely autobiographical about this guy’s experience of going on hikes felt very weird. Over the course of the book, though, I adjusted to it being a split of history and autobiography, and I think Kenyon did as well, striking a better balance by the end.

It was nice that the book had, in essence, a thesis throughout: our public lands are the thing that truly makes America great, and we should be defending them against the predations of… industry and development, basically. And, as a bonus, this is something that we can build a bipartisan coalition around: “Cabela’s and REI” both agree that these public lands should be preserved for public use, if for slightly different reasons. But that’s the beauty of a multiple-use land arrangement; all the outdoorsy folks can do their thing.

Overall, I found this book quite enjoyable, and heartily recommend it. Check it out.1

  1. This is a Bookshop affiliate link – if you buy it from here, I get a little bit of commission. It won’t hurt my feelings if you buy it elsewhere; honestly, I’d rather you check it out from your local library, or go to a local book store. I use Bookshop affiliate links instead of Amazon because they distribute a significant chunk of their profits to small, local book stores. ↩
Categories
Review

“Queer Weird West Tales”

ed. Julie Bozza

“Queer science fiction anthology” might be my favorite genre, at this point. Save a couple creepy ones, the stories are almost all hopeful, and the last one in the collection was an excellent anchor to end on, a nice little redemption story. Definitely a bit predictable in what the twist was going to be, but it’s a 40-page short story, there isn’t that much room for surprise.

The ‘wild west’ framing is also a fun one, particularly in the handful of cases where the authors decided to twist what that actually meant. Really it’s more of a “frontier” collection than anything else, it’s just that “western” is the genre we think of for that concept.

Overall, quite enjoyable; give it a read.1

  1. This is a Bookshop affiliate link – if you buy it from here, I get a little bit of commission. It won’t hurt my feelings if you buy it elsewhere; honestly, I’d rather you check it out from your local library, or go to a local book store. I use Bookshop affiliate links instead of Amazon because they distribute a significant chunk of their profits to small, local book stores. ↩
Categories
Review

“Debunked”

Dito Abbott

Something like 100 pages in to this book I looked over at my sister and said “I can’t tell if I like this book or not, but hopefully I’ll figure it out by the end.” Here I am at the end of the book, and I’ve concluded that I did like it, although I don’t know if I liked it enough to go looking for the sequel.1

There’s parts of the writing that remind me of Terry Pratchett’s works for younger readers; the footnoting style is very reminiscent of that, really, but you can feel the different age group as the target demographic. I think the part I struggled with the most was the plot; the book feels less like A Story and more like a collection of setpieces strung together. A ramshackle lighthouse under siege during a storm! An airship full of strange creatures! A flying city next to a desert hurricane! A fortress library, suspended above the caldera of an active volcano! And, honestly, any one of these makes for a fun setting for some scenes, and a good little vignette, but piecing them all together into a coherent whole is… challenging.

That said, if you just want to settle in for a quick read with some solid comedy, this was a pretty good book. Go in with the right expectations, and have fun!2

  1. The book is very clear throughout that it is Book One of the series, it really wants you to know that it’s part of a series and there’s more books to read. ↩
  2. This is a Bookshop affiliate link – if you buy it from here, I get a little bit of commission. It won’t hurt my feelings if you buy it elsewhere; honestly, I’d rather you check it out from your local library, or go to a local book store. I use Bookshop affiliate links instead of Amazon because they distribute a significant chunk of their profits to small, local book stores. ↩
Categories
Playlist

Playlist of the Month: July 2024

Posting a bit late today—I’ve just got back from Vancouver, BC, and didn’t bring my laptop with me while I was up there. Whoops.

Hallelujah Anyway – Luke Sital-Singh on Hallelujah Anyway – Single

Call Your Mom – Noah Kahan on Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever)

Machine Learning – J. Maya on Machine Learning – Single

Beneath Oak Trees – Dylan Gossett on No Better Time – EP

Can I Ask – Yoste on A Place To Exist

Under The Surface – Sultan + Shepard & Nathan Nicholson on Endless, Dawn

Boys Of Faith (feat. Bon Iver) – Zach Bryan on Boys Of Faith – EP

Don’t Take the Money – Harry Strange & Mahogany on Don’t Take the Money – Single

Kalahari Down – Orville Peck on Bronco

Let Me Drown – Orville Peck on Bronco

Daytona Sand – Orville Peck on Bronco

CASTLE OF GLASS – LINKIN PARK on LIVING THINGS

Be Together – Enrique Iglesias on FINAL (Vol.2)

The Archer – Taylor Swift on Lover

Want You (living room floor version) – Yoste on Want You (living room floor version) – Single

DAUGHTER – Beyoncé on COWBOY CARTER

Midnight Magic – Charles Fauna on L I M B O

One More Light – LINKIN PARK on One More Light

Carson – Harry Strange on Carson – Single

Take Me Back – Allman Brown on Take Me Back – Single

Lake Tota – Hayden Calnin on Lake Tota – Single

Pig feet (feat. Childish Major) – ScHoolboy Q on BLUE LIPS

The Hurtin’ Kind – Orville Peck & Midland on Stampede: Vol. 1

Down Bad – Taylor Swift on THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT: THE ANTHOLOGY

Bones Shake – Hazlett on Bones Shake – Single

I Wanna Die in La (feat. girlhouse) – Jon Bryant on I Wanna Die in La (feat. girlhouse) – Single

iwaly – Shallou on iwaly – Single

Believe Again – Luke Sital-Singh on Believe Again – Single

The Age of Believing – Aron Wright on The Age of Believing – Single

Data – Aweezy on Data – Single

The River – Petey on The River – Single

Not Like Us – Kendrick Lamar on Not Like Us – Single

Miénteme – Orville Peck & Bu Cuaron on Stampede: Vol. 1

Conquer The Heart – Orville Peck & Nathaniel Rateliff on Stampede: Vol. 1

I Don’t Want To Lie (living room floor version) – Yoste on I Don’t Want To Lie (living room floor version) – Single

THICKRICK – Dominic Fike on 14 minutes

CHIHIRO – Billie Eilish on HIT ME HARD AND SOFT

Control – Emmit Fenn on The Last Dance – Single

How Far Will We Take It? – Orville Peck & Noah Cyrus on Stampede: Vol. 1

Stay High – One Room on Lagoona

Stay Out of Trouble – OPLURE on Stay Out of Trouble – Single

I AM BLACK – BERWYN on I AM BLACK – Single

Little Bit of Magic – Thorin Loeks on Little Bit of Magic – Single

Shadow II – Charles Fauna on L I M B O

Keep Moving – Aquilo on Painkiller – Single

Shadow I – Charles Fauna on L I M B O

Little Homies – Vince Staples on Dark Times

Midnight Ride – Orville Peck, Kylie Minogue & Diplo on Midnight Ride – Single

Heavy (feat. Kiiara) – Linkin Park on One More Light

Black&Blue – Vince Staples on Dark Times

Louder – Kygo, Julia Michaels & Chance Peña on Louder – Single

euphoria – Kendrick Lamar on euphoria – Single

Far As I Can Go – Ian Harrison on Far As I Can Go – Single

Can’t Just Be Me – Vincent Mason on Can’t Just Be Me – EP

In Your Eyes – Sung on In Your Eyes – Single

feelslikeimfallinginlove – Coldplay on Moon Music

Cologne – Emmit Fenn on Cologne – Single

Bad Advice – The Chainsmokers & ELIO on No Hard Feelings – EP

Dark – Does it matter & Francis Skyes on Dark – Single

Hurt People (feat. Madison Love) – Two Feet on A 20 Something F**k

DLR Freestyle – Zino Vinci on TFL Blues – EP

Wash It Away – Axel Flóvent on Away From This Dream

Magic Johnson – Aweezy on #Weezyforpresident – EP

Action Film (feat. Barletino) – Daara on Restricted Area

Touch the Surface – JOEL on Touch the Surface – Single

Macbeth – Max McNown on Macbeth – Single

Starforce – Saffari on Starforce – Single

Coming Home – ORACLE & Holochrome on Coming Home – EP

Jupiter – Beauvois on Dimensions – EP

Mother – Allman Brown on Second Son, Pt. 2 – EP

Neptune – Beauvois on Dimensions – EP

Kaya – Yoste on Kaya – Single1

Oblivion (Live at Hangar 30) – SYML on LIVE AT HANGAR 30

A.C. – Two Feet on A.C. – Single

Gather Together – EMBRZ on Gather Together

THE GREATEST – Billie Eilish on HIT ME HARD AND SOFT

Asymmetry – Axel Flóvent on Away From This Dream

Where We’d Be (feat. Tailor) – OCULA on Where We’d Be (feat. Tailor)

Zero – Octavian on Zero – Single2

Renegades – X Ambassadors on VHS

Zzz – EDEN on Zzz – Single

What Was I Made For? (From The Motion Picture “Barbie”) – Billie Eilish on What Was I Made For? (From The Motion Picture “Barbie”) – Single

Carousel – cln on Carousel – Single

I’m Your Man – Charles Fauna on L I M B O

Better Without You – Dixon Dallas on Happy Anniversary

Lose Your Love – Does it matter & Francis Skyes on Lose Your Love – Single

Apple – Charli xcx on BRAT

Shallow Water – Elderbrook on Shallow Water – Single

Spin My Head – Massane & LeyeT on Visage 7 (Spin My Head) – Single

One Day – HAEVN on One Day – Single

sex – EDEN on i think you think too much of me

Pink Pony Club – Chappell Roan on Pink Pony Club – Single3

I Love You Always Forever – Donna Lewis on Now In a Minute

RA TA TA – Mahmood on RA TA TA – Single

As Above, So Below – Hayden Calnin on As Above, So Below – Single

JOYRIDE – Kesha on JOYRIDE – Single4

places to be – Fred again.., Anderson .Paak & CHIKA on places to be – Single

Wake Up – Hilary Duff on Most Wanted

Jessie’s Girl – Rick Springfield on The Best of Rick Springfield

  1. Has Yoste released anything that didn’t immediately go into my playlist? I should check, I suppose I do have all the data for that… ↩
  2. This song inspired a feature request for the Music app: “use ML to detect sirens in tracks, and auto-skip those tracks when I’m in the Driving focus.” ↩
  3. Happy Pride, everyone! This song is: a bop. ↩
  4. “Are you a man? ‘Cause I’m a bitch.” is a hell of an opening line, and it just goes from there. Truly excellent. ↩
Categories
Review

“A Thousand Recipes for Revenge”

Beth Cato

Once again, a really interesting magic system—this time, focused entirely on food, although with a fun theological twist to how it works. In short, anyone can be a cook, but to make truly good food, you have to be a Chef: someone in possession of a tongue blessed by the five gods. Add to that the existence of magical ingredients, and the requirement that they only work when used by a Chef and blessed by the gods, and you’ve got a recipe for a very different course of history than we had.

And, wonder of wonder, this is an author that actually followed that. Some of the different cultures of continental Europe are vaguely recognizable, but which countries actually exist and what they’re called, entirely different. Which is very fitting, honestly; given how much of our history has been driven by arguing about capital-g God, if we had very clear miracles happening all the time, a whole lot of things would’ve gone very differently. There’s no need for converting people when the extremely-active deities are out there doing it themselves.

Wrapped up in that setting, there’s a very interesting story: a former military Chef, now in hiding for leaving military service.1 And, separately, a foreign princess, freshly arrived in this vaguely-France-inspired country to be married to their crown prince, sealing an alliance of their kingdoms. Where it gets fun is finding all the places their stories intersect; early on, it’s just a brief flash of “based on timing, I think that coach the Chef saw go by was taking the princess to the ball!” But as the story goes, you can find more and more moments like that.

Towards the end, the plot gets absolutely wild. Somewhere between an M. Night Shyamalan twist and a well-done Marvel story, in how it feels, but that’s all the spoilers you’ll get from me. Go read the book!2

  1. And, for reference on what time period we’re vaguely in, several of the chapter-start quotes pull from regulations and other materials that very clearly state that a Chef is the property of the Crown. ↩
  2. This is a Bookshop affiliate link – if you buy it from here, I get a little bit of commission. It won’t hurt my feelings if you buy it elsewhere; honestly, I’d rather you check it out from your local library, or go to a local book store. I use Bookshop affiliate links instead of Amazon because they distribute a significant chunk of their profits to small, local book stores. ↩
Categories
Review

“The Alchemist”

Paolo Bacigalupi

A sequel to The Executioness, and one that answered some of the questions I wondered about in that one! (If it seems convenient that I read them in this order, it’s because I read the jacket and decided to start with The Executioness so that I could end on the, presumably, happier note of someone figuring this out.)

Because of course bramble, even magical bramble, can’t be the end state. It’s too complex; entropy always wins in the end. And here, someone figured out the proper way to burn it so that it truly dies.

Unfortunately for me, that happened far too early in the story for it to be a happy ending just like that. Looking at how many pages you have left is a great way to stress yourself out about a book.1 Still, figuring out just what would go wrong, and how the protagonist would get out of it, made this one more of a fun read than the first. Check it out.2

As a fun follow-on, after I went to post this review: I have, in fact, read this before, and even posted a review here! It’s been long enough that I had no memory of that, so I’m posting a new one as well. I suppose you can compare Past Grey’s thoughts, if you’d like.

  1. I’ve got another one I’m working on that I’ve had to take a break from for a month or so, because everything is going great for the protagonist… and I’m just barely halfway through. Something is about to go horribly wrong. ↩
  2. This is an Amazon affiliate link – if you buy it from here, I get a little bit of commission. It won’t hurt my feelings if you buy it elsewhere; honestly, I’d rather you check it out from your local library, or go to a local book store. I prefer Bookshop affiliate links to Amazon when possible, but in this case, the book wasn’t available there, so it’ll have to do. ↩
Categories
Review

“The Executioness”

Tobias S. Buckell

This is one of those stories where the worldbuilding is executed incredibly well, and it leaves me with so many interesting questions. The short version: magic exists! But using it generates bramble—a plant that you apparently can’t kill, and whose thorns, in a very fairy tale fashion, make you fall asleep. I, of course, immediately start wondering about the sort of ecosystem this implies—because, given something like that, surely something has evolved a way to eat it, right?1

The story itself is… not fun, really, but an interesting read, at least. Worth giving it a go, as it was a pretty quick one.2

  1. Or, also a fun concept, maybe not yet! Which does imply that the combination of magic and bramble is, on an evolutionary timescale, pretty recent. And that puts me back into my common thought “how can I explain this magic system as actually being some kind of advanced technology from right before the sci-fi civilization collapsed back to these dark ages?” ↩
  2. This is an Amazon affiliate link – if you buy it from here, I get a little bit of commission. It won’t hurt my feelings if you buy it elsewhere; honestly, I’d rather you check it out from your local library, or go to a local book store. I prefer Bookshop affiliate links to Amazon when possible, but in this case, the book wasn’t available there, so it’ll have to do. ↩
Categories
Review

“First Test”

Tamora Pierce; graphic novel adaptation by Devin Grayson and Becca Farrow

I somehow missed that this was going to be a thing until the day before it was released. It took me something like ten seconds between finding out it was up for preorder and actually putting in the preorder; I consider it a testament to my willpower that I made it days after it was delivered before I finally let it jump the queue and be my next thing to read.

Keladry of Mindelan is my comfort reading. The visual treatment here brought me so much joy; it’s quicker to read than the original novel is, and I suspect I’m going to wind up rereading it quite often as a result. Sitting down to reread the Protector of the Small quartet is an investment, it’s what I’m doing with my reading time for a while. This, I can get through in something like an hour.

There’s a couple places where I could feel the edits, but for the most part, everything felt natural; sure, the story was abridged some, but all of it made sense.1

Two thoughts on this visual treatment, specific to that: my immediate thought upon seeing Neal was “he looks like Sokka!” and I sorta held on to that feeling throughout.2

And, even more so in this visual treatment where the words stand alone more, one of my favorite quotes jumped out at me. I was glad it made it in:

The short sword is the sword of law. Without it, we are only animals. The long sword is the sword of duty. It is the terrible sword, the killing sword.

It should surprise precisely nobody that I’m going to recommend this book. I grabbed the paperback—I think I already knew that this was going to be an oft-reread comfort book for me, and wanted the comfortable feel of a paperback to match that. Please, vote with your wallet; get them to do the rest of the series, too.3 I really want to see a baby griffin. And, weirdly, one of the killing machines.

  1. Well, okay, the fact that the Gift was shown (only twice) and was the same vague sparkles each time instead of being the color of each person’s magic, that bugged me a bit. ↩
  2. Hakuin Seastone also sorta reminded me of Zuko, although I think he’s a bit more Live Action TV Series Zuko than Animated Series Zuko. ↩
  3. This is a Bookshop affiliate link – if you buy it from here, I get a little bit of commission. It won’t hurt my feelings if you buy it elsewhere; honestly, I’d rather you check it out from your local library, or go to a local book store. I use Bookshop affiliate links instead of Amazon because they distribute a significant chunk of their profits to small, local book stores. ↩
Categories
Playlist

Playlist of the Month: June 2024

If it’s Pride where you are, happy Pride! There’s a lot of Orville Peck in here, which I’ll pretend was a deliberate choice to celebrate.

gatsby – Daniel Leggs on gatsby – Single

Hallelujah Anyway – Luke Sital-Singh on Hallelujah Anyway – Single

Call Your Mom – Noah Kahan on Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever)

Machine Learning – J. Maya on Machine Learning – Single

Beneath Oak Trees – Dylan Gossett on No Better Time – EP

Can I Ask – Yoste on A Place To Exist

People Watching – Charles Fauna on People Watching – Single

Under The Surface – Sultan + Shepard & Nathan Nicholson on Endless, Dawn

Boys Of Faith (feat. Bon Iver) – Zach Bryan on Boys Of Faith – EP

Imitadora – Romeo Santos on Golden

The Night We Met – Amber Run on The Power Of Love – Single

Don’t Take the Money – Harry Strange & Mahogany on Don’t Take the Money – Single

Carrusel – Ozuna on Carrusel – Single

Kalahari Down – Orville Peck on Bronco

Highlights – Sasha Alex Sloan on Highlights – Single

Let Me Drown – Orville Peck on Bronco

Daytona Sand – Orville Peck on Bronco

Bronco – Orville Peck on Bronco

Lafayette – Orville Peck on Bronco

manly – Andy HD on how i felt in march of ’21 – Single

Oliver – FER4Z on Oliver – Single

Dragon – flora cash on Dragon – Single

CASTLE OF GLASS – LINKIN PARK on LIVING THINGS

JOLENE – Beyoncé on COWBOY CARTER

Be Together – Enrique Iglesias on FINAL (Vol.2)

The Archer – Taylor Swift on Lover

II MOST WANTED – Beyoncé & Miley Cyrus on COWBOY CARTER

Want You (living room floor version) – Yoste on Want You (living room floor version) – Single

They Can’t Hang – wes mills on They Can’t Hang – Single

DAUGHTER – Beyoncé on COWBOY CARTER

La Botella – Enrique Iglesias & El Alfa on FINAL (Vol.2)

Midnight Magic – Charles Fauna on L I M B O

One More Light – LINKIN PARK on One More Light

Carson – Harry Strange on Carson – Single

Go Home (Demo) – alberto brandt on Go Home (Demo) – Single

Don’t Matter to Me – Vancouver Sleep Clinic & GXNXVS on Don’t Matter to Me – Single

Take Me Back – Allman Brown on Take Me Back – Single

Lake Tota – Hayden Calnin on Lake Tota – Single

Vida – Miliano on Vida – Single

Stressed Days – Zino Vinci on Stressed Days – Single

Swans – Kai Bosch on Love, Throw Me A Bone – EP

Pig feet (feat. Childish Major) – ScHoolboy Q on BLUE LIPS

The Hurtin’ Kind – Orville Peck & Midland on Stampede: Vol. 1

Down Bad – Taylor Swift on THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT: THE ANTHOLOGY

Bones Shake – Hazlett on Bones Shake – Single

I Wanna Die in La (feat. girlhouse) – Jon Bryant on I Wanna Die in La (feat. girlhouse) – Single

iwaly – Shallou on iwaly – Single

Seasons – Thirty Seconds to Mars on Seasons (Acoustic) – Single

Twelveighteen – kiskadee on Twelveighteen / Heda – EP

Believe Again – Luke Sital-Singh on Believe Again – Single

The Age of Believing – Aron Wright on The Age of Believing – Single

Data – Aweezy on Data – Single

The River – Petey on The River – Single

Photoshoot Tonight – Isaac Dunbar on Beep Beep Repeat – EP

Not Like Us – Kendrick Lamar on Not Like Us – Single

Miénteme – Orville Peck & Bu Cuaron on Stampede: Vol. 1

Yet – Babsy. on Yet – Single

Conquer The Heart – Orville Peck & Nathaniel Rateliff on Stampede: Vol. 1

I Don’t Want To Lie (living room floor version) – Yoste on I Don’t Want To Lie (living room floor version) – Single

Oblivion – SYML on Oblivion – Single

THICKRICK – Dominic Fike on 14 minutes

CHIHIRO – Billie Eilish on HIT ME HARD AND SOFT

Control – Emmit Fenn on The Last Dance – Single

How Far Will We Take It? – Orville Peck & Noah Cyrus on Stampede: Vol. 11

Stay High – One Room on Lagoona

Chemical Sunset – Orville Peck & Allison Russell on Stampede: Vol. 1

hi grace – Dominic Fike on 14 minutes

Stay Out of Trouble – OPLURE on Stay Out of Trouble – Single

I AM BLACK – BERWYN on I AM BLACK – Single

Painkiller – Aquilo on Painkiller – Single

Little Bit of Magic – Thorin Loeks on Little Bit of Magic – Single2

We’re Over – ZEE on We’re Over – Single

Shadow II – Charles Fauna on L I M B O3

Keep Moving – Aquilo on Painkiller – Single

Follow The Feeling – Lonely in the Rain & PEARL on Follow The Feeling – Single

Shadow I – Charles Fauna on L I M B O

Little Homies – Vince Staples on Dark Times

Like No One Could – flora cash on Like No One Could – EP

Bloom – Edwin Raphael, wordsbyjuni & Kashmir Winter on Will You Think of Me Later? (Recurring Dream)

4U – Mac Ofro on 4U – Single

Midnight Ride – Orville Peck, Kylie Minogue & Diplo on Midnight Ride – Single

Heavy (feat. Kiiara) – Linkin Park on One More Light

BROADCAST: TIME AWAY – BIG SPECIAL on POSTINDUSTRIAL HOMETOWN BLUES

Same Old Song (S.O.S. Part 1) – Two Feet on A 20 Something F**k

Black&Blue – Vince Staples on Dark Times

Bando Dreams – Yung Fume on Bando Dreams – Single

Louder – Kygo, Julia Michaels & Chance Peña on Louder – Single

euphoria – Kendrick Lamar on euphoria – Single4

Far As I Can Go – Ian Harrison on Far As I Can Go – Single

Can’t Just Be Me – Vincent Mason on Can’t Just Be Me – EP

In Your Eyes – Sung on In Your Eyes – Single5

Feels – Moezi on Feels – Single

Que Sera – Yartti & Juma Mufasa on Que Sera – Single

Heaven in the Right Light – Old Sea Brigade on Heaven in the Right Light – Single

Pink Skies – Zach Bryan on Pink Skies – Single

feelslikeimfallinginlove – Coldplay on Moon Music6

Cologne – Emmit Fenn on Cologne – Single

In Your Eyes – The Weeknd on After Hours (Deluxe)

  1. I really enjoyed the music video of this one, too. ↩
  2. To really emphasize what the experience of these playlists is like, play this immediately after Pig Feet. ↩
  3. Delighted by how well this captures the feeling of what I liked about Charles Fauna originally without being derivative of his earlier work. ↩
  4. I know only a little bit about the Kendrick/Drake beef, but it sure does make for some good music. From one side. ↩
  5. This is why In Your Eyes by The Weeknd showed up later – the scansion works. ↩
  6. New Coldplay? In 2024??? It’s more likely than you think. ↩