Reviews and Comments

Novella about a man who grew up the son of an unwed mother in 1940s Ireland. Mainly concerning his inner life as he goes about the daily grind of life, and how something in him changes after some chance encounters at the local nunnery (aka Magdalen Laundry). This one was not for me. The writing was fine, and the topic something I feel strongly about, but I didn’t enjoy this nor did it elicit any strong feelings in me. Found it vaguely tedious.

I enjoyed the characters, the worldbuilding, and found it a fresh and interesting take on Holmesian fiction, and I really liked Crow in particular. At times it felt a little disjointed, and though I really liked some parts, there were other parts that didn't appeal quite so much. Overall an enjoyable read.

The fates of a Godkiller, a baker, and a young girl and her pet God intertwine in this fantasy novel. I really wanted to like this more than I did, but for some reason neither the world, the story nor the characters really captured my interest. However, it really picked up by the end and pushed me into probable sequel-reading territory.

Though I devoured this as fast as I did the first book in The Tithenai Chronicles series, I didn’t enjoy it quite as much. There was a little too much rumination on self-worth (or the lack thereof) for my tastes. Still enjoy the worldbuilding and the characters a lot. I did like the addition of the new POV character and could easily have read a chapter or two more of their story. Liked it enough to read a threequel.

I really enjoyed A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows. A unabashadely queer novel deliciously somehow saturated with both tenderness and sweetness even though there are a lot of rather grim situations (murders/rape/abuse). After finishing I was left with the same kind of feelings I have after Becky Chambers or Katherine Addison novels. Absolutely delightful.

Going straight for the sequel

As a huge fan of Ann Leckie, but not someone who generally enjoys short stories very much, this was a bit mixed bag for me. I enjoyed the final two stories the most, the penultimate being the absolute delight that is "Saving Bacon". I loved it, and I love Slale Vachash-Troer and his family so, so much.