Only nine months after her debut as the superhero Dreadnought, Danny Tozer is already a …
Review of 'Sovereign' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
4.25 Still a very good YA superhero novel - but even I felt some trigger warnings for abuse and torture might be in order. Nothing too graphic, but it comes a little out of nowhere. The supervillains felt a little over-the-top in times, but with Rowling and Musk, they're unfortunately all too realistic in some regards. The plot keeps being interesting, even though some things felt a little too easy and some a little too hard on the heroine, keeping me from giving it five stars. Still very enjoyable, though.
4.25 An interesting look at the early Byzantines through an alternate history / fantasy lens. Old Greek pagan creatures and believers still exist, while Slavic and Avar tribes duke it out with a Byzantine border town in both the military and mystical-religious side. The idea of all the religions giving power to their believers and their myths is nicely executed and with little prejudice (especially surprising since the book is over a quarter-century old). The Slavs and Avars remain nameless and I can't vouch for their accuracy (though sources are sparse on the ground, of course), but the Byzantines and the pagan Greek rustics feel whole and realistic - small wonder since Turtledove is a trained Byzantinologist. The author also doesn't fall into the trap of discounting the female characters, though the narrative is told from a male POV exclusively. Also no stupid focus on violence and rape (actually no …
4.25 An interesting look at the early Byzantines through an alternate history / fantasy lens. Old Greek pagan creatures and believers still exist, while Slavic and Avar tribes duke it out with a Byzantine border town in both the military and mystical-religious side. The idea of all the religions giving power to their believers and their myths is nicely executed and with little prejudice (especially surprising since the book is over a quarter-century old). The Slavs and Avars remain nameless and I can't vouch for their accuracy (though sources are sparse on the ground, of course), but the Byzantines and the pagan Greek rustics feel whole and realistic - small wonder since Turtledove is a trained Byzantinologist. The author also doesn't fall into the trap of discounting the female characters, though the narrative is told from a male POV exclusively. Also no stupid focus on violence and rape (actually no rape, period - the only molesters are satyrs and even they are only into consensual sex).
I did enjoy the step back from Turtledove's epic multiple-volume, multiple-POV narratives and I'm going to read more of his earlier and standalone work. The only real complaint I have is that the Avars and Slavs remain a little too far away. Some of that is the Byzantine POV, but I could have seen one closer encounter. One more general twist would have been nice to have a bit more build-up at the end and I don't really like it, when authors spell out what every half-discerning reader had figured 150 pages earlier. Though the latter feels like an editorial insert.
Cover is more or less true to the book if you take the cross being more of a marker of the contents for prospective buyers. Blurb here on goodreads stupidly talks about Germanic tribes, but the actual blurb is truthful.
Bonus points for having a main character who is not stupid and a narrative that is not simply "Christianity (or Judaism - because there are certainly Jews in the book) is right". If pagan revival is your thing, you might be a little disappointed though. The alternate history is not the events, just in the dressings.
4.0 Das Buch ist nicht grundlos ein Klassiker der Science Fiction und wartet mit einigen wirklich ungewohnten Perspektiven auf. Dabei bleibt der Fokus in bester SF-Tradition auf den sozialen Auswirkungen und nicht so sehr auf der Technik. Das Ende ist ein wenig enttäuschend (was auch Lem in seinem Nachwort bemängelt), aber das Hauptproblem ist doch, dass der Text nicht so gut gealtert ist. Die Schatzgräber schleppen halt vor allem physikalische Dinge aus der Zone heraus und man würde doch die ein oder andere Computertechnologie oder ähnliches erwarten - oder zumindest Dinge, die andere Anknüpfungspunkte bieten würden.
Lems Nachwort ist übrigens auch ein wenig zu ausschweifend, wenn er auch eine sehr brauchbare Erklärung des Besuchs anbietet.
In 1810, Lucy Bluecrowne, twelve, is bored living ashore with her stepmother and half brother …
Review of 'Bluecrowne' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
4.0 A book outside the chronology of the previous two volumes, but ultimately a little too overtly fantastic for my tastes. The myths and techniques hinted at are interesting as is the historical setting and time travel of the roamers, but I greatly prefer the more subtle supernatural wonders of Greenglass House and Ghosts of Greenglass House. Another problem is that the characters, while interesting enough and tied to the main narrative of the series - aren't as fully developed as in the other titles. I did still enjoy it quite a bit and would certainly recommend it for readers who have like the series so far.
Young wizards Kit Rodriguez and Nita Callahan manage to wangle their way onto an elite …
Review of 'A wizard of Mars' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
4.0 Half a star reduction for the love story, a quarter of a star for the really long time to get the reader interested (even for a series that's famous for its slow movements) and a quarter star reduction for the love story. The world-building is excellent as always and the writing is great, both for the dialogues, the meaningful hard choices and the wonderful planetary vistas.
Pity there's only one more novel and one hard-to-get short story collection in the series.
Jirel of Joiry is a collection of five fantasy stories by C. L. Moore, often …
Review of 'Jirel of joiry' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
4.25 Probably with half a point or so of historical interest. This short story collection - most of them rather loosely woven together, except for Kiss of the Black God and Shadow of the Black God - piqued my interest, because having a badass female main character roughly contemporary to Howard's and Lovecraft's is quite unique. Jirel does not disappoint much, but don't expect completely modern sensibilities. In most of the stories the focus is on the narrative and especially the utterly strange environs.
Still, some of the stories really are quite imaginative, especially Hellsgarde, and some almost pass the Bechdel Test. While there are some passages that make it clear that C. L. Moore was still very much a product of her time, the moments of weakness make Jirel more believable and less invulnerable than other sword and sorcery characters. Ultimately it's still surprising how such a character driven …
4.25 Probably with half a point or so of historical interest. This short story collection - most of them rather loosely woven together, except for Kiss of the Black God and Shadow of the Black God - piqued my interest, because having a badass female main character roughly contemporary to Howard's and Lovecraft's is quite unique. Jirel does not disappoint much, but don't expect completely modern sensibilities. In most of the stories the focus is on the narrative and especially the utterly strange environs.
Still, some of the stories really are quite imaginative, especially Hellsgarde, and some almost pass the Bechdel Test. While there are some passages that make it clear that C. L. Moore was still very much a product of her time, the moments of weakness make Jirel more believable and less invulnerable than other sword and sorcery characters. Ultimately it's still surprising how such a character driven by joy in life, but also furiously struggling against her enemies made it into the pulps.
4.25 Definitely a good fantasy novel with refreshingly non-anthropecentric worldbuilding. Since I came here from the Murderbort Diaries, I was expecting a little more, but it's a worthy read with some great non-tradtional fantasy images, even if it reads a little like Gargoyles fanfic at times (I'm not saying the Raksura aren't their own thing, but there are some similarities). I didn't like the weird noun-based naming scheme and I am a little uncomfortable with what seems like veering really close to ableism and bashing mixed-race relationships. Knowing the author, I have little doubt there will be a very good resolution to those things. Still, I can see how it could turn some people off from reading. As an aside: the lgbt topics in this one are mostly in the past or a little subtle, though nicely laid.back at the same time.
An impulsive word can start a war.
A timely word can stop one.
A simple …
Review of 'The Hands of the Emperor' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
4.5 A very lovely story about a couple of old men discovering their friendships and how to not act unemotional for others' benefits. The one bigger complaint I have is that it is just a little too nice and easy for most of the part. Sure, there are some challenges for Cliopher, the Emperor and their friends, but apart from one section there are few parts where the reader really feels any tension and the new society they're building is just too good, but I guess the latter is kind of the point. Minor quibbles are that the last third is dragging on a little, the editing is bordering on quite bad in parts and the thing is quite literally the heaviest read I had in a while. If you have the paper version you might want to invest in a good lectern.
The undeniable strong points are the depiction …
4.5 A very lovely story about a couple of old men discovering their friendships and how to not act unemotional for others' benefits. The one bigger complaint I have is that it is just a little too nice and easy for most of the part. Sure, there are some challenges for Cliopher, the Emperor and their friends, but apart from one section there are few parts where the reader really feels any tension and the new society they're building is just too good, but I guess the latter is kind of the point. Minor quibbles are that the last third is dragging on a little, the editing is bordering on quite bad in parts and the thing is quite literally the heaviest read I had in a while. If you have the paper version you might want to invest in a good lectern.
The undeniable strong points are the depiction of rich fantasy world that is modern in most ways except for technology, but where PoC are not only the default, but almost the only characters. Of course, there's still racism too, but the story wonderfully shows how the protagonist is learning to stand up for his home culture in even more ways and how difficult it is to reconcile identity and home connections in the face of moving away. This could have used some more challenges, of course, but it is still a topic rarely explored in any detail in fantasy.
Overall I enjoyed the book very much and would recommend it to anybody who likes their reads less hectic and less dark.
4.5 Ein sehr schöner Roman mit wechselnden Perspektiven, der in ein sehr queeres und authentisches Berlin der Weimarer Zeit führt, das mit einem kleinen aber ergiebigen Schuss Alternativgeschichte getränkt ist. Die Charaktere - allen voran Nike und Sandor - sind glaubhaft gezeichnet und ihre Probleme wirken echt und (von den magischen Eskapaden natürlich abgesehen) nicht überzogen.
Sehr schön fand ich auch das Zusammenwirken der verschiedenen gesellschaftlichen Strömungen und das Gefühl, dass es manchmal eben auch an den Nebencharakteren liegt etwas zu bewegen. Hier ist keine Idee der großen Männer am Werk, alle Charaktere spielen in einem Ensemble. Nett waren auch die Subversionen einiger typischer Tropoi, aber dazu möchte ich lieber nicht zu viel sagen.
Als einziger Kritikpunkt kam der Höhepunkt zum Ende doch etwas plötzlich und eine Verwicklung mehr hätte vielleicht nicht geschadet. Schön war aber, dass sich typisch für die Zeit eben auch nicht immer alles in Wohlgefallen auflöst. …
4.5 Ein sehr schöner Roman mit wechselnden Perspektiven, der in ein sehr queeres und authentisches Berlin der Weimarer Zeit führt, das mit einem kleinen aber ergiebigen Schuss Alternativgeschichte getränkt ist. Die Charaktere - allen voran Nike und Sandor - sind glaubhaft gezeichnet und ihre Probleme wirken echt und (von den magischen Eskapaden natürlich abgesehen) nicht überzogen.
Sehr schön fand ich auch das Zusammenwirken der verschiedenen gesellschaftlichen Strömungen und das Gefühl, dass es manchmal eben auch an den Nebencharakteren liegt etwas zu bewegen. Hier ist keine Idee der großen Männer am Werk, alle Charaktere spielen in einem Ensemble. Nett waren auch die Subversionen einiger typischer Tropoi, aber dazu möchte ich lieber nicht zu viel sagen.
Als einziger Kritikpunkt kam der Höhepunkt zum Ende doch etwas plötzlich und eine Verwicklung mehr hätte vielleicht nicht geschadet. Schön war aber, dass sich typisch für die Zeit eben auch nicht immer alles in Wohlgefallen auflöst. Und ein wenig eine Chance auf ein Sequel hat dem Gefallen auch nicht geschadet.
Nicht begeistert bin ich von der Tagline "Babylon Berlin mit Magie", aber dafür ist das Cover schön.
4.5 This was a surprisingly enjoyable read - well-paced with a rather good mystery and some surprising twists. Even the love story was not too sweet and basically believable. Some of the alt-history tech was a bit too much, but with no major wars, no real democracies and tiny bickering states in Germany in Italy the lack of internal combustion automobiles was still okay and I've never been one to complain about airships.
Definitely a good book and a great gift for any MAGA relatives you really want to annoy. Maybe Turtledove should team up again with Dreyfuss? I think the two really go well together.
High Fantasy with a double-shot of self-reinvention
Worn out after decades of packing steel and …
Review of 'Legends & Lattes' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
4.5 A lovely slice-of-life coffeeshop AU of your usual D&D campaign. The setting is not terribly developed, but the author went a little further than just Orcs, Dwarves, Demons. It's romanticised as heck, including the organised crime part, but in times like these this I just what you need some of the time. For those not too much into romance: that part is important, but not pushed into the foreground. The story is mostly about friends as found family.
There's a tiny bit missing for a full five star rating, but it's not much. In print price is a little high too, but I got a verysolid PoD offering here in Germany.
A fast paced, humorous YA science fiction. Young Daystar, raised by his mother Cimorene at …
Review of 'Talking to Dragons' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
3.75 Not a bad fantasy picaresque for a younger audience and miles ahead of the preceding volume. However, it's doesn't quite reach the heights of Cimorene's first "solo" adventure and there's people marrying again - well it's a fairy tale setting, so I won't complain too much. Pity the series couldn't keep up the level of the second volume throughout, though.
Kim, a young street waif disguised as a boy, takes up with traveling magician Mairelon …
Review of 'Mairelon the magician' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
4.0 Delightful little novel - part Regency Urban Fantasy Mystery, part Fantasy of Manners, part Screwball Comedy. The tone starts out a bit dark, but turns lighter and lighter over the relatively short narrative. The viewpoint character, Kim, is on the interesting side gender-wise for the early 90ies, but I suspect there weill be a decided turn to the convetional in the next installment. The book's only fault is that it is not terribly surprising or suspenseful, but that's fine for me. At least everybody is scheming to get something or someone.
Review of 'Ghosts of Greenglass House' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
4.5 Takes a tad longer to build up and doesn't reach quite as satisfying ending as the first volume, but still a really good middle-grader / young-adult mystery. The second-to-last twist is quite nice especially. And I really like the use of roleplaying characters to help someone overcome their hang-ups. Might not be the most realistic thing, but it feels good. The setting gets a little less vague now too and that's always nice. Also the hobby horse and the Liberty of Gammerbund are pretty cool additions. Only thing I would wish for is that the next volume set in this time period should maybe not take place at Christmas again.
