Tag: Fantasy

The Summer War by Naomi Novik

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Title: The Summer War
Author: Naomi Novik
Format: eBook
Genre(s): Fantasy, Fairy Tales
Rating: ★★★★★

Novik’s latest novella is a fairy tale about a young witch, Celia, and her family’s connection to the Summer War, a seemingly unending conflict with the immortal summerlings. It is a story of conflict, but more than anything it’s a story about family and how we care for each other.

This story is especially focused on the theme of caring: Who we care for and why, how caring can develop over time, how that care can be one-sided or reciprocal, what happens when caring and principles come into conflict, and how it effects people’s decisions and actions. As you might imagine from the title, it also includes some enjoyable commentary about war (and the different people it benefits and harms) as well as the leaders trying to prolong or end it. It isn’t a perfect story — as with many novellas, it is more of a story about themes than characters, and some of the plot has an unrealistic flavor common to fairy tales — but it’s incredibly enjoyable for what it is.

Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare

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Title: Sword Catcher
Author: Cassandra Clare
Format: ebook
Genre(s): Fantasy
Rating: ★★☆☆☆

I picked up Sword Catcher hoping to be immersed in an intriguing fantasy world, but unfortunately it didn’t deliver for me on the fantasy, the characters, or (even knowing that this was likely just the first of a new series) a satisfying plot arc.

Instead of layering fantasy over the real world (as Clare has done in her young adult fiction), she sets the story in an entirely fictional world — but one that is a mish-mash of real-world people and places with just a thin veneer of fictional names: for example, a philosopher-king Markus Aurelian (Marcus Aurelius) who rules a city-state on the Gold (Silk) Road which has a population of Ashkars (Ashkenazis) confined to the Sault (Ghetto); the Ashkars have a history involving the Makabi (Maccabees) who used to be able to do magic but now can only do a limited form called gematry (gematria). I found myself distracted by those similarities and also overwhelmed by excessive detail (despite usually loving intricate fantasy worlds and magic systems), due to the world-building being presented in ways and at times that weren’t always relevant to the plot.

The plot and characters were also underwhelming as the book didn’t finish a complete story or character development arc, instead feeling like a giant “Part 1” for a longer story with the feel of New Adult rather than adult fiction. And while the world was full of detail, the characters and their actions felt half-finished; I struggled to believe some of their motivations and actions, and so much of the “web of corruption and intrigue” happened only in hints or off the page that by the time it all came to a head near the end I felt like I’d been reading a story about the wrong characters.

Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs

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Title: Ink Blood Sister Scribe
Author: Emma Törzs
Format: ebook (ARC)
Genre(s): Fantasy
Rating: ★★★☆☆

Törzs’s debut shows real promise as she introduces a fascinating world of book magic, three unique central characters, and realistic, conflicted relationships in which well-meaning people who care about each other still struggle to find the right way forward.

I love the intricacies of the magic in the story, and how the magic ties in to the conflicts between the characters — especially the complicated family relationships that Joanna, Esther, and Nicholas grapple with as they try to understand and deal with what’s happening around them. The book doesn’t entirely work for me, though: It has uneven pacing (taking about 20% of the book to really get moving and veering into extensive backstory just at the climax near the end), at least one obvious magical inconsistency, and leaves me more invested in Nicholas than the two title sisters. I also wasn’t too surprised by the way things played out, including the motivations for various characters’ actions that were revealed and explained at the end.

That said, I’m willing to forgive a debut novel for issues like pacing when it can deliver such interesting world building, believable relationships, and a magical system that feels new, and I look forward to how Törzs develops her storytelling in future books.

Thank you to NetGalley and Cornerstone (Penguin Random House) for providing an advanced reader copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Ink Blood Sister Scribe comes out on July 6, 2023.

Babel by R.F. Kuang

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Title: Babel
Author: R.F. Kuang
Format: ebook
Genre(s): Fantasy, Historical
Rating: ★★★★★

This book feels like it was tailor-made for me: It tells the story of Robin Swift, a polyglot who is plucked from a cholera epidemic in Canton and eventually brought to the Babel Translation Institute in Oxford, to become a translator — a profession that, in this fantasy version of historical Britain, plays a critical role in facilitating the industrial revolution and colonial rule.

It’s a powerful story that explores an alternate history of the British empire as well as a young man’s coming of age. Both aspects of the story deal with the challenges of identity, privilege, and resistance movements, especially among those who walk the line between the haves and have-nots. Interwoven with the plot, we also see in-depth discussions of linguistic and translation theory — something that I would enjoy in any case, but that also comes to bear on the events of the book.

It’s hard to talk about the specifics of what moved me without giving anything away, so I’ll just note that this is probably the best book I read in 2022 and if you’re at all interested in language, colonialism, or resistance movements you should definitely give it a try.

Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher

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Title: Nettle & Bone
Author: T. Kingfisher
Format: ebook
Genre(s): Fantasy, Fairy Tales
Rating: ★★★★★

This gorgeous, haunting story has the feel of a dark fairy tale, with the princess Marra, a witch (called the dust-wife), the fairy godmother Agnes, and the former knight Fenris coming together as Marra tries to save her sister from a terrible fate.

Instead of being at court, where she struggles with politics and her family relationships, Marra lives at a convent and cultivates somewhat mundane skills like embroidery and spinning wool. But those skills turn out to benefit her as the dust-wife (in exchange for her help) sets her impossible tasks, which Marra works at with diligence — demonstrating the spirit of just putting one foot in front of the other and doing what’s right even when it’s terribly hard.

Every character seems to subvert our expectations from fairy tales, and I enjoyed seeing the different kinds of power and kindness exhibited by both the dust-wife and Agnes, as well as the quiet, gentle strength and support that Fenris provides. This is a beautifully woven story less about grand heroics and more about simply not giving up in the face of adversity.

A Restless Truth by Freya Marske

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Title: A Restless Truth
Author: Freya Marske
Format: ebook
Genre(s): Romance, Historical, Fantasy
Rating: ★★★☆☆

This is the sequel to A Marvellous Light, following Maud Blythe as she tries to solve a magical murder mystery while traveling on a ship back to England from New York — it is, as Marske calls it, “a bubbly Wodehousian romp.”

Unfortunately, the first book didn’t set me up for this one to be a romp, and I found myself jarred by the change in tone as well as the lack of intimacy-building between Maud and Violet, a striking actress who Maud recognizes from Robin’s earlier visions about the journey. The romance storyline is mainly about Maud’s self-discovery as she is captivated by Violet, whereas Violet plays the fairly predictable part of the more worldly, guarded flirt, creating a frustratingly insurmountable emotional distance between the two (although that does come across as more realistic in the end than a whirlwind romance). The magic/mystery storyline also fell flat for me, not offering enough new substance about magic and magical society aside from the revelation about Maud, and exasperating me when they make an enormous and completely avoidable blunder as the crisis is coming to a head.

The word that most describes this book for me is claustrophobic: I felt stuck on the ship, wishing for the end of the journey and a change in cast or setting, and ultimately left hoping that the next installment (perhaps following Alan Ross and Lord Hawthorn, who I loved seeing more sides of, although I’d be thrilled to get more of Adelaide Morrissey) will bring a breath of fresh air and some added depth to the series.

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

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Title: A Deadly Education
Author: Naomi Novik
Format: ebook
Genre(s): Fantasy
Rating: ★★★☆☆

While reading this book, I couldn’t stop thinking about the parallels to Cassandra Clare and Holly Black’s Magisterium series:

  • A boarding school where students have to prove themselves capable of great feats of magic to graduate;
  • a main character who wields dark magic and is prophesied to do great evil;
  • the main character’s best friend who is a golden child and viewed as the hero;
  • a developing group of friends/allies so the main character isn’t alone and has some reinforcement around their desire to stay good.

I don’t mean to say that this book felt cribbed; Novik brought a darker, more mature perspective to her story, with a different plot, a more dangerous world, and a clear message about inequality. I appreciated how the main character, Galadriel, had to navigate systemic bias and decide how to interact with students who were unaware of their own privilege. I also enjoyed seeing Galadriel’s friendships develop — and how naturally those friendships arose from her fair and respectful, albeit prickly, interactions with her peers — although I had trouble understanding how Orion had managed to get by so long being so incredibly dumb.

But in the end, whether it was the similarities to other books about coming of age in a magic school or my own fatigue around young adult fiction, I just couldn’t get excited enough about this story to continue the series.

Magic in Manhattan series by Allie Therin

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Title: Magic in Manhattan series: Spellbound, Starcrossed, and Wonderstruck
Author: Allie Therin
Format: ebook
Genre(s): Fantasy, Romance, Historical
Rating: ★★★★☆

This series took my favorite fiction genres and wrapped them up in a fast-paced, entertaining, touching story with a diverse cast of characters who are dealing with magical conundrums in New York. Although many interesting characters play a role, the books are definitely centered on Rory — a feisty young man who’s scraping by and trying to stay under the radar to hide his magic — and Arthur — a slightly older, rich congressman’s son who is mundane but wrapped up in the magical world — as they try to address the challenges both between them and around them.

There are so many things to enjoy in these books: witty dialogue, but not to the point of being outlandish; some characters who defy categorization as heroes or villains; many instances of people facing and working through issues of class, race, language, nationality, gender, and sexuality; the way prohibition, World War I, and other historical notes play a role in the plot; and a story that blends action and romance. It does have flaws here and there (like some pretty heavy exposition to get some of the backstory in the first book, a bit of a quick transition in the romance, and the use of some very fiendish, one-dimensional villains) but they didn’t get in the way of me gleefully devouring the series. It may not be the most sophisticated story I’ve read this year, but it was great fun!

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

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Title: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
Author: V.E. Schwab
Format: eBook (library)
Genre(s): Fantasy
Rating: ★★★★☆

What does it mean to belong to someone else, and what kind of legacy do you want to leave behind? After making a deal with the darkness, Addie finds that her wish to be free makes her something of an outcast — and spends the rest of her unnaturally long life defying the limitations of the deal.

Although at times I got frustrated by the short chapters and shifting timeline of the story (which frequently flips between past and present), I enjoyed how this presented Addie’s many overlapping layers: her young naïve self, her longing for connection, her sense of wonder, her anger and frustration at her circumstances, and her stubborn insistence not to give up or give in. I also appreciated the juxtaposition of the other main characters, Luc and Henry, who are very different and yet very similar — in their looks but also in how Addie is drawn to them while she also struggles with her relationship with each of them.

I loved following Addie’s journey (both internal and external) over the years and found the ending gleefully satisfying while at the same time very open and unfinished, in the best way.

A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske

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Title: A Marvellous Light
Author: Freya Marske
Genre(s): Romance, Historical, Fantasy
Rating: ★★★★☆

I loved this story — on its surface, a historical fantasy romance involving the affable baronet Robin Blythe being shoved into a ministry position that introduces him to the magical world, via the stand-offish magician Edwin Courcey and a magical curse.

Robin and Edwin are captivating characters, both struggling with other people’s expectations for them as well as their desire for each other. But the story goes beyond that, including blatant examples of sexism and racism (hat tip to the fabulous Adelaide Morrissey and Kitty Kaur — all I can say is “woe.”) that cloud the judgment of not only the non-magical Edwardian society but the magical community as well. I enjoyed how these themes were woven together with the plot, how the main characters grew through the story, and the delightful (albeit a bit hand-wavy, pun intended) magical system based on Cat’s Cradle.

I’m definitely looking forward to the upcoming sequel focused on Robin’s sister Maud, A Restless Truth.