Reviews and Comments

Sally Strange

SallyStrange@bookwyrm.social

Joined 1 year, 11 months ago

Interests: climate, science, sci-fi, fantasy, LGBTQIA+, history, anarchism, anti-racism, labor politics

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Cherie Priest: Dreadnought (2010, Tor)

A decent follow-up to Boneshaker but with a slow start

I will say, first off, that the final scenes at the end are thrilling.

The slow start that I mentioned has to do with us getting to know a new character, a young widow who's a nurse in a Confederate hospital. In this alternate timeline, the Civil war lasts for decades instead of 4 years. She journeys across the continent from Tennessee to Seattle, and along the way, she gets a bit of anti-racist education. My main critique is that the author takes too long to make it clear to the reader that she's not trying to build up sympathy for the Confederacy, and there's one moment where Nurse Mercy stops herself from calling a Black character she's just met the n-word, but Priest doesn't stop herself from writing it out. It's just my opinion that if it's inappropriate for the character to speak aloud to a Black character, then …

reviewed Boneshaker by Cherie Priest (The Clockwork Century, #1)

Cherie Priest: Boneshaker (Paperback, 2009, Tor)

In the early days of the Civil War, rumors of gold in the frozen Klondike …

An interesting steampunk world to explore

Swashbuckling middle-aged mom of a teen boy battles zombies in steampunk Seattle. What's not to love? Satisfying ending in that the battle with the Big Bad isn't easy but also isn't the book's main attraction and doesn't get dragged out.

Cherie Priest: Dreadnought (2010, Tor)

Excellent adventure writing; it's a bit slow to build up but the final showdown on the rails through the Rockies is campy steampunk excitement. The protagonist being a Confederate nurse counts against it, unfortunately; her journey to racial tolerance includes her thinking but not saying (and thus telling the readers but not the Black character) the n-word about a Black character. I say, if she wouldn't say it to a Black person in 1887, then surely the author should not say it to her readers.

started reading Boneshaker by Cherie Priest (The Clockwork Century, #1)

Cherie Priest: Boneshaker (Paperback, 2009, Tor)

In the early days of the Civil War, rumors of gold in the frozen Klondike …

"Womb City" was so intimately painful. I needed a break, something adventurous and not too serious. This is perfect. Steampunk Seattle with zombies. The main character is a middle-aged woman trying to find her son.

Chanda Prescod-Weinstein: The Disordered Cosmos (Hardcover, 2021, Bold Type Books)

From a star theoretical physicist, a journey into the world of particle physics and the …

Learn a bit about physics and a lot about the culture of science

Besides learning that the eumelanin molecule itself is a fascinating thing that could be the building block of successful tech that integrates with human bodies, I also learned about Mauna Kea, racism and sexism in scientific institutions, and Afro-Caribbean spirituality. Definitely recommend. You might not learn as much about physics as you expect, but that's OK. The rest of it is just as important. Maybe more so.

reviewed Blood Trials by N. E. Davenport (The Blood Gift Duology, #1)

N. E. Davenport: Blood Trials (2022, HarperCollins Publishers)

Blending fantasy and science fiction, N. E. Davenport's fast-paced, action-packed debut kicks off a duology …

Sci-fantasy with heavy-handed social commentary

I wanted to like this book more. A brash young woman challenging racism and sexism while trying to simultaneously conceal and learn to use secret goddess-given powers? Advanced technology along with gods and goddesses answering prayers or creating monsters? Sounds great in theory. The problems arise with the execution.

First, the protagonist, Ikenna, is exceptionally dense. OK, she's grieving the unexpected death of her grandfather, but that's no excuse to simply take the word of the very first person who suggests that his death wasn't accidental as to who the responsible parties might be and fixate on murdering those people for the first 2/3 of the book. She repeatedly misses obvious clues that she's being played. I am not one of those people who solves mysteries ahead of the conclusion of a mystery book, but even I could see it coming. She trusts and distrusts completely and suddenly, based on …