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reviewed Under the Eye of the Big Bird by Hiromi Kawakami

Hiromi Kawakami: Under the Eye of the Big Bird (GraphicNovel)

From one of Japan's most brilliant and sensitive contemporary novelists, this speculative fiction masterpiece envisions …

Under the Eye of the Big Bird

This felt to me like a much more surreal variant of North Continent Ribbon. Each story/chapter was a continuation or a tangent of a previous one, but I don't feel like the whole contributed much to a more coherent understanding of the whole picture. Overall, the vibe was very vague, and I'm not sure how much I took away from the experience.

#SFFBookClub

reviewed Under the Eye of the Big Bird by Hiromi Kawakami

Hiromi Kawakami: Under the Eye of the Big Bird (GraphicNovel)

From one of Japan's most brilliant and sensitive contemporary novelists, this speculative fiction masterpiece envisions …

Under the Eye of the Big Bird

This was the #SFFBookClub book for August 2025.

In some ways, this book structurally reminded me of How High We Go in the Dark; they're both a post-apocalyptic, interconnected series of stories about humanity trying to survive. The stories here are further in the future and feel much more surreal and dreamlike. If anything, I feel like I've missed something critical as a reader--I can't quite put my finger on what this book is trying to do.

There are a few things that don't work for me. I think the stories largely don't stand on their own: there's many interesting ideas, but they don't feel connected via plot or resonate with a theme. There's also a penultimate chapter of the book where the book just out and out tells you everything it's been hinting at previously. I had guessed at a good bit of it, but it felt underwhelming …

reviewed Saints of Storm and Sorrow by Gabriella Buba (Stormbringer Saga, #1)

Gabriella Buba: Saints of Storm and Sorrow (2024, Titan Books Limited)

In this an enthralling Filipino-inspired epic fantasy, a nun concealing a goddess-given gift is unwillingly …

Saints of Storm and Sorrow

I don’t hate you. I hate that I don’t have better answers to all that’s wrong in my city. The only choices shouldn’t be bloody vengeance or doing nothing. I hate that the Codicíans’ ‘gift’ of empire is generations of trauma.

Overall, I think I'm a bit mixed on this book. I was most intrigued in the messy middle, where all of the characters are caught between competing and interesting tensions. It felt impossible for any character to do right by another while being caught in such structural traps. The focus of the book also (surprisingly?) felt firmly on these relationships between people who care about each other, and the messed up ways that colonialism warps their love.

I also quite enjoyed a character whose magic is tied to her emotions, and so she quite literally has to repress her anger and sadness in order to survive and hide.

It's …

reviewed Saints of Storm and Sorrow by Gabriella Buba (Stormbringer Saga, #1)

Gabriella Buba: Saints of Storm and Sorrow (2024, Titan Books Limited)

In this an enthralling Filipino-inspired epic fantasy, a nun concealing a goddess-given gift is unwillingly …

Saints of Storm and Sorrow

Content warning spoilers

✨ Just finished The Third Rule of Time Travel by Philip Fracassi (Kindle, £5.49). I was fully immersed — beautiful concept, emotionally rich, and the characters held real promise. It reminded me of early Stephen King at his best: a strong hook, layered grief, high stakes.
But like IT or Under the Dome, the ending felt like a betrayal. Rushed, unresolved, and emotionally hollow. Not tragic, not ambiguous — just… unfinished.
It’s such a familiar ache: when a story offers so much, only to falter in the final pages. Beautiful journey, wrong destination.
📚 Still, if you love compelling ideas and strong emotional arcs, it may be worth your time — just lower your expectations before the final chapter.

commented on Saints of Storm and Sorrow by Gabriella Buba (Stormbringer Saga, #1)

Gabriella Buba: Saints of Storm and Sorrow (2024, Titan Books Limited)

In this an enthralling Filipino-inspired epic fantasy, a nun concealing a goddess-given gift is unwillingly …